
Resistance and Revolt (Year 2A)
Longbottom Manor
"Thank you all for being here this evening for the annual Governors meeting. I will be cheering the meeting this year," Augustra stated from the head of the long table.
Before her sat the other twelve members of the Hogwarts School Governors. On the right side of the table sat Governors Potter(Theodore), Bones, MacMillan, Moon, Marshbanks, all members of gray or light families along with Madam Longbottom. On the left side of he table sat the Governors Leverage, Greengrass, Nott, Pucey, Crouch, Avery and the newest Governor Stewart.
Due to the Black family no longer existing, their hereditary seat was given to the halfblooded Javon Stewart who acted as his own caucus. The flight of the Malfoys from Britain also made the transfer easier as Lucius,the previous Chairman of the Board (he illegally held the Black vote), would have fought tooth and nail to keep his position. Another change the board experienced is the presence of Theodore Potter-Tonks now holding regency of the Potters seat instead of Lord Kent.
Augustra hoped that with the change in Leadership and the equal number of votes on both sides, the board would now be able to function in their oversight capacity effectively.
"The first item on the agenda is ... The possible change of curriculum at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," she continued after the welcome, " We are open to suggestions."
Lord Lucien Leverage was the first to be acknowledged. "My friends and I on the left believe that as wizards and witches, our children should learn as such and be taught as such. Dumbledore in his infinite wisdom, has made it forbidden to practice the holy days that are sacred to our kind. He has removed classes that taught the immigrant population about their new world. He has forced our children of Nobel birth and heritage, to embrace the muggle farce that they call holidays, in an effort to make these interlopers more comfortable. This is a damn shame. I propose this Bill of Correction to my ... colleagues on the right for consideration. I hope we do what is right for our future generations."
The bills were distributed quickly and read in silence. Augustra, as chairwoman of the Board, had already seen the bill and agreed with most of its recommendations. She sat and wondered how Lucien had allowed the Malfoy upstart to usurp his leadership of the Darker families. He was a fantastic speaker and was able to convince a dragon that it was a house fly. But as inspiring as he was, his politics was still opposing hers in most matters.
She scanned the right side of the table to see if they realized how devious the bill was. She was slightly disappointed.
For as accepting as the light families were to newcomers, they were still purebloods who loved traditions. With that in mind she realized that most were ready to vote for the bill with no debate of changes. When her eyes landed on Ted, she sighed in relief. As if sensing her approval, he raised his little wand to be acknowledged.
"This is a well crafted bill, I must say. There are however parts of it I disagree with vehemently. The bill asks for an increase in fees paid by the Muggleborn and halfblood students and a cut in those paid by purebloods, and term it as repayment for their induction into our society. That argument is so flawed that I don't even know where to begin my deconstruction. The bill also calls for the dismissal of the Muggle Studies course and Professor because, and I quote 'It is a waste of pureblood time'. While I agree that it is a waste of time, it is due to how outdated the course is that makes it useless and not it's very nature. Finally it calls for a reduction of the number of Muggleborns admitted to the school each year citing that it will improve the quality of education the students will receive. I disagree with that sentiment wholeheartedly."
As he sat, Augustra could see the other light-sided purebloods realize what a mistake their vote would have been. She could now see that the debates would be long and arduous. She welcomed it.
Change was coming to Hogwarts whether she liked it or not.
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Switzerland
The first two months had gone by so fast that Susan was exhausted. She felt she had experienced a chronic whiplash. Her course load was almost unimaginable, but rewarding beyond measure. The magical muscles were strained from the amount of exercise it was undergoing that she had been feeling a continuous ache in her sternum for the past two weeks.
He sentiments were expressed by Cayden. He was just as exhausted as she was, but even more vocal than she was.
At the moment they had just finished reading reading a letter from their friends at Hogwarts. It detailed the changes the school was warring with and against. Their ghost teacher was exorcised from the castle and a new professor was running them ragged to get then to an acceptable level of knowledge in History. Also Wizarding Studies and Muggle Studies were now compulsory for all students, no exemptions. For the boys and Luna, it was a welcomed change, but the other students were furious. Muggle Studies ensured that the student were able to get their GCES at the end of the 3 year course and Wizarding Studies was to give them an appreciation for their magic and the magic surrounding them.
Cayden and Susan both agreed that it was a small step to correct the problems in Magical Britain
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Ravenclaw Common room
Cho Chang sat in the center of the common room observing the comings and goings of the other students. Occasionally, when something or someone annoyed her, she irises would flash red for a second before returning to normal.
Her friends have all abandoned her due to her new antisocial behaviour, and have even begun to whisper about her behind her back. But she wasn't bothered a bit about it.
Though her plans were in its primary stages, it was shaping up quite nicely. Mudbloods and Harry Potter were enjoying the last of their freedom.
She didn't have the necessary power to kill the stains on Wizarding history, so she was going to free Salazar's beast to cull them. The only reason she had not done so already is because of the lack of power to actually use parseltongue and control the beast. Her first attempts almost cost her her life.
But she had a year to plan and build her power. She was gathering the ingredients necessary for the Power increasing ritual she would do.
Thinking about her power increase to come caused her eyes to flash red and a cruel smile to spread across her face.
Their days were certainly numbered.
**********
Gryffindor Common room
Harry and his friends were in their dorms doing a bit of Divination experimentation under the watchful eyes of the Prewitt Weasley twin and Luna.
Elemental Divination was both powerful and fairly simple for those who had Elemental affinities. It was also the only type of Divination that could be practiced by magical beings that had no seer talent.
It was taught at the Magical Institute, in years 4 and/or 5. A little pre-preparation never hurt anyone.
At the moment Harry was generating a sphere of almost solid air. His eyes had lost all colour in his attempt to See. He was focusing on anything that might hinder him from having a good school year.
Just as he was about to give up on Seeing anything, an image flashed before him. That of a Tiara. The feeling coming from it was ominous to say the least.
A shiver ran down his spine. The year just took a dramatic turn for the worse.