As promised, on the day Hermione is to be discharged, Draco takes Sarah to collect her daughter. As soon as Hermione's medication had arrived, Healer Heath gave her strict orders to rest for a minimum of three days. Then he discharges her into the care of her husband and mother.
Hermione thanks her healer before leaving for home, where Sarah announces that she has packed her night bag and will spend the night looking after her grandson, so they can get a good night's sleep. After a cup of tea and cuddling Scorpius, the tired parents head straight to bed, where they remain until Sarah wakes them up for dinner at seven o'clock.
While sleeping, Sarah had taken Scorpius for a walk down by the river, and Mitty had cooked them a lasagna. When they've finished eating, Draco helps his wife back up to bed, as she is still exhausted, and then helps Sarah wash up, bathe Scorpius and put him to bed. Sarah sleeps in the spare room beside Scorpius, offering to get up at night if her grandson wakes up. Although Scorpius sleeps through the night now, the thought still counts.
The following day, when Sarah is ready to leave for home, Hermione and Draco hug her tightly, grateful for her staying the night with Scorpius. She shrugs, claiming to have just wanted some Scorpius and Nana time. After dropping Sarah off at home, the family of three lounges on their couch beneath a large blanket, big enough for them all, and watch a few films to pass the day.
By Sunday night, Hermione is thoroughly bored and eager to return to work, guilty that her students' education has been interrupted because of her. However, when she brings up her wishes to return to work with Draco, he quickly refuses, reminding her that she was ordered to rest for three days. Hermione couldn't argue and knew it was a long shot to ask.
When Draco returns to work on Monday, Hermione stays home with Scorpius. Draco wanted to take their son back to nursery, but Hermione had missed holding her son and cuddling him while she was ill. She promises they'll have a lazy day reading, watching films and napping. She hadn't realised how much she had put her son through the past five days and how much attention he craved from her, so she was glad Draco made her stay off work.
However, Hermione is up at six o'clock, ready to return to Hogwarts and teach. She dresses in her favourite robes, cooks breakfast for her family and awards them with breakfast in bed. Scorpius enjoys snuggling up to his father as they share slices of toast and dippy egg. At seven o'clock, Hermione takes Scorpius to nursery, promising to meet Draco at their rooms in the castle. Although, it is much simpler to apparate to the gates of Hogwarts and walk across the grounds.
As she comes into view of Hagrid's hut, she receives an excited wave from the man sitting eating breakfast with an old Fang chewing on a bit of sausage that dropped from the plate. Hermione returns his wave, glad to be back.
Over the nearby mountains of the Scottish Highlands soars a large owl, its grey wings stretched to over five metres as it swiftly dives down into a valley. In some cultures, the mysterious bird is known as 'The Phantom of the North' due in part to its apparent ability to change direction so quickly it gives the impression of a ghost flying through walls. Smoothly, the owl pulls up its beak before reaching the ground and soars over the gates of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
From outside the castle, it may appear that all students have already settled back into school routine: waking up, eating breakfast, classes with a lunch break, then studying before dinner and hanging in the common room before bed. They had only been back at school three weeks, and it probably felt like they'd never left. Four years' worth of students could remember the chaos of the Harry Potter Hogwarts years, where it seemed like something new and exciting was happening every day. Still, nothing exciting had happened at Hogwarts since the announcement of The Marriage Decree two years ago. In fact, Hogwarts had become rather boring for drama and gossip.
In the Forbidden Forest, the large owl coasts at great speed, weaving between the trees and the odd creature until it breaks out into the grounds of Hogwarts. Below the owl is a class of students with their professor. He seems to be more excited than the students at seeing an owl of such size. The owl doesn't linger, flying towards the greenhouses, where students are listening to their young professor explain the importance of the Mandrake. Although not for long, the owl takes great pleasure in soaring past, low enough to be seen through the glass windows of the greenhouses. The class, now disrupted, all pile out onto the grounds to watch the owl begin to encircle the castle of Hogwarts.
The instructions given to the owl by its master had been clear - create as much commotion as possible. To cause any level of commotion, the owl needed to be seen by as many people as possible. So, beginning at the first-floor windows, the great owl flew outside the castle, going up floor by floor. There would be no need for the owl to perform any twirls, dives, or loops as the creature's sheer size was awe-inspiring enough. Finally, the great grey owl reached the top of the Headmistress Tower. Perching silently, it waits for the woman inside to catch sight of the bird, open the window and accept the roll of parchment attached to its foot by its master.
Hermione had been teaching the laws of transfiguration to her first years when she lost their focus on Wednesday morning. As she wrote the notes on the blackboard, a sudden gasp drew her attention back to the students. The class was on the edge of their seats, staring out the window.
"What is so exciting outside of a third-story window that you aren't paying attention in my class?" She rhetorically asks, trying to draw their attention back.
"Did you see the size of it?" Ruby Landers states, taking her professor's question as permission to talk.
"What breed do you think it was?" Harrison Finlay asks.
"No, idea," Lucile mutters.
With her curiosity getting the better of her, Hermione walks over to the windows but finds no creature of interest. "What just happened?"
"There was this massive owl that just soared past the windows," Sophie answers.
"It's got to be a great grey owl," Anders Tarquin announces. His eyes are scanning a page of his care of magical creatures textbook, despite not taking the class.
"Okay, okay, back to me, please," Hermione announces, closing the curtains with a wave of her hand.
"Whoa!" A few students mutter, staring at their professor with the same awe they gave to the owl.
"Now, who can tell me the third law of transfiguration?"
Sophie's hand is instantly in the air, so Hermione chooses her to answer. When her cousin does with as much fluency and understanding as she would find in the textbook, she awards Ravenclaw house three points.
Before Hermione can move on and refocus her class on the blackboard, their headmistress' voice echoes throughout the castle.
"Attention! Students of Hogwarts, for the remainder of the day, you will partake in private study in the library, Great Hall or your common room. The staff of Hogwarts are to meet in the staff room in ten minutes."
Hermione frowns as worry shivers down her back. Something serious is going on, and she is nervous about finding out.
A few students cheer as they pack their bags and vacate the classroom as quickly as possible. However, Sophie and her friends remain seated, watching their professor intently.
"Professor Granger?" Sophie raises her hand.
"Yes, Miss Adair," Hermione calls on her as she packs her work into her satchel.
"What's going on? Has this got something to do what the large owl?"
"I can only assume that it does," Hermione agrees, turning to face her cousin and friends. "In private study, continue with the laws of transfiguration. Miss Lander, could you let the Gryffindors' who couldn't wait to leave too, there will be consequences for anyone who doesn't return to my class with the full list."
"Yes, professor," Ruby agrees reluctantly.
Once packed up, Hermione ushers the children out of her classroom, locking the door behind her before rushing down to the staff room.
Most of Hogwarts' staff are already sitting around the comfortable armchairs and couches, sitting at the round table, or standing in the kitchen making hot drinks. When Hermione arrives, Draco beckons her to the small round table in the kitchenette, where he's already made them a cup of tea.
"What's going on?" She asks, sitting beside him and Pansy.
"You know as much as I do." He shrugs.
"It's got to do with that owl, right?" Hermione asks, taking a sip from the much-needed hot beverage.
"What owl?" Draco asks.
"Of course!" She suddenly realises that he wouldn't have seen the owl from the dungeons. "I never saw it myself, but my students wouldn't settle after they saw this large owl."
Behind them, Aurora Sinistra comments, "My sixth-year students saw it too. You'd think they'd know how to handle themselves, but they were far too excitable to continue to teach."
"I didn't bother trying." Pansy grins. "I left them theorising about the damned bird. Of course, if Minerva asks, I'll tell her debating different theories is an important skill in understanding history, blah, blah, blah."
Aurora chuckles at the younger professor's antics, taking the last spare seat a the table just as the door bursts open. The staff were expecting to find Minerva entering with information on what was going on. Instead, Hagrid stands before them, pure excitement written across his face.
"Did you see the size of that great grey owl?"
A few of the staff groan, going back to their own conversations, used to Hagrid's interest in animals and finding no pleasure in listening to him ramble about specific creatures.
Hermione beckons her friend over, wondering if he has any knowledge about the owl.
Hagrid pulls up a stool to join them at the table. "The largest I ever saw. He must have had a wingspan of at least five-and-a-half feet," he continues talking about the owl.
"What do you think it's doing here, Hagrid?" Hermione asks.
"Delivering post from someone important. The great grey owl is native across Russia and Canada but is so rarely seen that it's called the Phantom of the North. I only know of a few people in Britain who have used the great grey owl as their personal owl."
"Who?" Draco asks, mesmerised by the bird.
"A few Ministers of Magic, but most notably, You-Know-Who, during the first war," Hagrid answers, eyes widening as he realises what he just said.
The staff room had fallen silent during Hagrid's explanation. The professors were now exchanging looks of pure fear, wondering if the owl had been sent from the new Death Eater movement. Surely their new Dark Lord would know the connection between Lord Voldemort and the great grey owl.
"They have been awfully quiet since Harry's birthday," Filius Flitwick comments.
Hermione shakes her head. "One showed up at Scorpius' birthday party."
"What happened?" Darius Cain asks, his ex-auror mind making him suddenly interested.
"An auror showed up claiming more than seven of us were in meeting, but there wasn't. The auror searched the surrounding area and found a Death Eater had been watching us," Draco explains. "Harry and I chased him down, and he was taken into holding." He purposefully doesn't mention that the Death Eater had been a student of Hogwarts a year prior.
Filius sighs, shaking his head, "I feel so much sympathy for your family. If it's not the Death Eaters, it's the Minister trying to knock you down. You two are strong, though. I'm confident you'll always be able to get back up."
Hermione smiles. "Thanks, Filius."
Draco grips Hermione's hand. He doesn't want his colleagues' pity, but he supposes it just means they care about them.
The staff room door opens once more, and all eyes turn to watch Minerva McGonagall enter, a grim expression across her face.
"Who sent the great grey owl?" Jonathan Atkins asks from the back of the room.
"I suppose it was a rather large owl," Minerva mentions, scanning the room.
"No, that's its name," Hagrid corrects.
The headmistress ignores his comments as she counts the staff in attendance. "Who are we missing?"
"Me, I'm here," Neville Longbottom runs up behind Minerva.
Minerva moves into the centre of the room, in front of the fireplace, as Neville collapses in a spare armchair, breathing heavily. Septima Vector fills a glass with water and passes it to the young professor.
"Thank you, the greenhouses are further from the castle than I thought," Neville admits. "Sorry, I'm late, Minerva."
"You're forgiven, Neville." Minerva smiles slightly.
"Did the Death Eaters send the owl?" Filius blurts out.
"What?" Neville gasps.
"No, they did not," Minerva answers, not understanding the connection. A sigh of relief ripples through the staff room. "The owl circled the castle numerous times, ensuring it was seen by as many students as possible before delivering a letter to me. I believe the sender wished to cause as much commotion as possible."
"Minister Shacklebolt?" Hermione assumes. "It's his style to cause havoc."
"Yes," Minerva confirms. "I will read the letter to you, then discuss our plans." The headmistress clears her throat and then begins. "Dear Headmistress Minerva McGonagall, I am writing to inform you the Department of Educational Standards will be conducting their first termly inspection of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry over Thursday, 26th and Friday, 27th of September."
"But that's tomorrow," Pansy interrupts
"Please allow me to finish before we leap into a discussion," Minerva reminds her staff. "The inspection will be led by Elias Woodward, Head of the Department for Education. Mr Woodward will be accompanied by two junior inspectors: Julius Callaghan and Sylvia Backhouse. Please find attached a copy of the schedule for the inspection. Thank you," Minerva pauses. "It's signed by the Minister."
"What's this timetable, Minerva?" Filius asks.
"Thursday morning, the inspectors will sit with Filius and me to discuss the running of the school and attainment records. They will also meet with all house prefects to gain their opinion on the school and their responsibilities. Over Thursday afternoon and Friday morning, the three inspectors will conduct thirty-minute observations on each professor. Then on Friday afternoon, Mr Woodward, Mr Callaghan and Ms Backhouse speak with the heads of each house."
"Wow, that's intense!" Jonathan whistles loudly.
"I do not like the sound of these observations," Septima Vector mutters.
"At least you only teach fourth-year up," Auror points out. "The younger one will be too curious by the inspectors to focus. What happens if we're graded poorly in our observations? Will you be forced to replace us?" She asks.
The noise level in the staff room rises as each member voices their worries and questions. Minerva realises rather suddenly that the Department for Educational Standards is much more dangerous than she initially thought, even with the friendly Elias Woodward in charge.
"Enough," Minerva calls. "None of you are going to be replaced. I am confident in all your abilities to teach. I am also confident that our children are well-educated and happy.
"You're right, Minerva. We're always working towards making Hogwarts a better place. I am sure our school is better today than ever," Filius adds.
"I only have one issue," Minerva states. "They wish to see our attainment records. By the end of today, I'd like you to make an end-of-year grade prediction for all students you teach. Please use their grades from last year and any homework they have already completed this year to make your prediction."
A few of the staff groan, knowing it will be a long night of paperwork.
"I will inform the students of our inspection at dinner tonight. I do not expect you to stay and work into the night. You may rest when your grade predictions are in my office, and you have lesson plans for the next two days copied for the inspectors." Minerva smiles sadly, leaving.
Hermione and Draco sigh, looking at each other. They often planned lessons together, making their classes look similar. They started with a small retrieval quiz on previously taught knowledge, then taught their lesson. They also gave one piece of homework a week. This means that they both had many pieces of students' work to go through to make their grade predictions.
"I'll call David, ask if he can pick Scorpius up and keep him overnight," Hermione suggests.
Draco nods, slouching as he finishes his cup of tea. He's not looking forward to the mountain of work ahead of him.
Hermione and Draco retreat to their rooms to get started on their grade predictions. All they needed to do was work out the average grade from their homework and retrieval quizzes and then make a prediction for the next grade. However, with over five-hundred students at Hogwarts, it wasn't going to be quick.
At lunchtime, Hermione floos to the Leaky Cauldron, steps out into Muggle London to call her uncle during his lunch break and asks him for a favour. David quickly agrees, having missed having a child around the house. It'll give him something to look forward to during the afternoon. Hermione worries about her uncle and makes a mental note to speak to Sophie about sending her father more letters.
Hermione's only gone for about five minutes. Still, when she floos back to their room, she finds Pansy and Neville sitting at either end of the couch. Their own work is spread across the coffee table as they work on making their own grade predictions.
"I was thoroughly bored doing this on my own," Pansy states when Hermione asks why they're here and not in their own room.
"Me too," Neville adds. His eyes are focused on his long parchment, which has every student's name written in one column and their grades from their homework in the columns beside it.
Hermione leaves them to it, going to her desk to get back to work.
An hour later, Pansy groans, throwing her head back against the couch. "Why am I such a great professor?" She complains.
Neville laughs but ultimately ignores her, wanting to finish soon so he can go home for dinner with his pregnant wife and young son.
Hermione sighs, "Why are you complaining?" She gives in and asks her friend.
"I thought I would be a fun professor and only set a few inches of homework twice a week instead of one long weekly piece. It's left me with twice as many grades," Pansy explains.
Draco laughs, "You are your own worst enemy," he mutters.
"I'm going to the kitchen for tea. Shall I bring back a pot?" Pansy asks, standing up.
"Yes, please," Hermione calls.
"Neville?" Pansy asks.
"No, thanks. I don't plan on being here much longer," he admits.
"You know, Neville," Pansy says softly with a sweet smile. "If you were truly as kind as everyone thinks you are, you would stay and help me with my grades."
Neville looks up at his colleague, sees her smile and shudders. "You're not as sweet as you think."
Pansy scoffs, leaving for the tea, and by the time she returns, Neville has gone, having finished his work.
"What do you think he meant by that?" Pansy asks, lounging across Draco and Hermione's bed with the tea tray.
"When you do that smile, to try and convince people to do something for you, it's actually quite scary," Hermione explains.
Pansy frowns in contemplation. "It works on Ron," she mentions.
"He'd do anything for you anyway," Draco points out.
"True." Pansy shrugs.
"Anyway, back to work," Hermione states, turning back to her desk.
Pansy sighs and accios her work to her friends' bed, where she continues to work.
For the next few hours, the group of three work in relative silence, with the rustling of parchment and the scribbling of quills being the only sounds heard. Then, around ten o'clock, Hermione and Draco begin to hear soft snores and turn to find Pansy asleep atop their bed with work parchments around her.
"Let her sleep for now," Draco tells Hermione. "We can wake her when we've finished."
Hermione finishes her grade predictions and sends them to the headmistress's office just before eleven o'clock. She then inspects Pansy's predictions and finds her friend is almost done, so instead of waking her tired friend, Hermione finishes them for her and sends them off. While waiting for her husband to complete his work, Hermione collects all the parchment from her bed, creating a neat pile for Pansy to return to her room.
Once Draco is done, he sends them off and changes into his pyjamas in their bathroom. "I'll take the couch," he mutters, not daring to wake Pansy up.
"No, you'll end up with a bad back," Hermione reminds him.
"I'm not waking her up," Draco warns.
"I'm not suggesting you do. We've got two long days ahead of us, and we need as much sleep as possible. We're all adults here, and you can't convince me you and Pansy have never shared a bed," Hermione says. She pulls back the covers as far as she can, with Pansy asleep in the middle and climbs in.
"Not since before Hogwarts, when we were children," Draco whispers, not wanting to wake Pansy.
"It's really not a big deal," Hermione yawns loudly.
Before Draco can argue, he notices his wife has drifted off. Sighing to himself, he glares at his friend as he slowly climbs into bed, turning his back to Pansy. He too soon falls fast asleep, mentally exhausted from staring at his students' sloppy handwriting for the past ten hours.
When Pansy awakes early on Thursday morning, she feels well-rested for the first time in months. Then she remembers she spent the night at Hogwarts due to the inspections, so she hadn't slept with one twin's foot in her back or the other twin's hand in her face. Stretching, Pansy punches someone in the face and scrambles up, wondering who was in bed with her.
"What the fuck, Pansy?" Draco shouts, covering his face with his hands.
Pansy realises in horror that she spent the night in Hermione and Draco's bed as she takes in her surroundings. Her second realisation is that she never finished her work before falling asleep.
"Shit!" Pansy scans the bed and then the floor for all the students' work she remembers having on the bed with her.
"You're fine, Pansy," Hermione tells her, sitting in bed.
"I'm not," Draco complains. "I think you broke my nose."
"You were nearly finished, so I did the rest and sent them to Minerva," Hermione explains, reaching over to inspect her husband's face. "You are fine. It's not broken."
Pansy sits back in relief. "Thank you, Hermione. I owe you... something. Whatever you want when this is over, it's yours."
Hermione chuckles, "Thanks, Pansy. You might want to go back to your rooms and change. It's half-six, and Minerva wants us all to attend breakfast." She climbs out of bed and heads to the bathroom to change.
Draco shakes his head. "I let you into my bed out of the kindness of my heart, and this is how you repay me," he states, pointing at his red nose.
"Yeah, right, you were just too scared to wake me," Pansy scoffs, standing up.
"Yeah, because last time I tried, you punched me in the face," Draco points out. "There's just no winning."
"Whatever, I'm sorry about your face. See you at breakfast." Pansy leaves for her own room.
There's a nervous silence over the Great Hall during breakfast as the students and professor pick at their food. All the students had been informed about the inspections during dinner. They were left on edge when Headmistress McGonagall informed the students that the inspectors would meet with a few students from each house.
Headmistress Minerva McGonagall and Deputy Headmaster Filius Flitwick are the only people not in attendance for breakfast as they are already in their meeting with the three inspectors.
Hermione has two free periods first thing on a Thursday. However, she still goes to her classroom to go over her afternoon lesson plans, as those would be the classes an inspector might pop into unexpectedly. Repeatedly, she has to stand from her desk and walk a lap around her classroom to expel some of the nervous energy. During the second lesson, Draco joins her as they have a shared free period. They talk about anything but the inspection to distract themselves, but it doesn't work, and soon he has to leave as it's nearly time for the third lesson.
At lunchtime, the staff pile into the staff room, awaiting Filius or Minerva's arrival to inform them how their meetings with the inspectors went that morning.
As soon as Filius enters, all eyes are on him, waiting for him to answer the unasked question.
"Right," he mutters, making his way to the centre of the room. "Mr Woodward is pleased with the attainment grade predictions and the steps we are taking the target student who is falling behind their grades from the previous year. He also told us that during the observations, he will use questions written by the Minister to write their report on us."
"What does he know about how to teach?" Pansy asks angrily.
"Mr Woodward explained that these questions focus on the content of lessons, the involvement of students, the respect between staff and students, and general class management," Filius explains.
"The Minister believes we are teaching students certain ideologies that are against the ministry," Hermione announces. "Obviously, we aren't, but if we stick to our lesson plans, they won't have any reason to believe otherwise."
Slowly, the staff retreat back to their classrooms, ready for the afternoon to bring their observations. Many agree they would rather have there's today to get it out of the way than have to sleep with the knowledge that it would be coming tomorrow morning.
As Hermione teaches her fifth-year class after lunch, she spends the whole lesson panicking at every slight creak of desk or rustle of parchment. Then, with twenty minutes left of class, she's confident they won't arrive at this lesson and settles into teaching.
As her seventh-year students arrive for the sixth period, Hermione is busy writing the small retrieval quiz on the blackboard when someone clears their throat. Hermione stiffens, turning to find an unfamiliar man at the back of the classroom. She assumes this is Mr Julius Callaghan and smiles politely.
"Welcome to transfiguration class. Is it Mr Callaghan?" Hermione asks, walking towards him.
"Yes, Ms Granger. Is there a spare desk where I may sit?" Mr Callaghan asks.
"Yes, you may sit here," Hermione gestures to an empty desk, where she has left her lesson plan, just in case an inspector showed up.
"You're organised," the inspector mutters.
"Thank you, Mr Callaghan."
Usually, her students arrive, set up their desks and get on with their retrieval quiz. However, when Hermione turns around, she finds them all staring at the inspector.
"You have three minutes left," Hermione states, drawing their attention back to their work.
Standing at her desk, Hermione scans over her lesson plan, ensuring she knows exactly what she's teaching for the next fifty minutes. Then once the three minutes are up, she walks to the front of the class.
"Let's start," Hermione calls the class to focus on her.
As they go through the retrieval questions, Hermione gives out three house points to each student who raises their hand and answers correctly. Then, waving her hand over the blackboard, the quiz disappears. Hermione flips the board to reveal the objectives of this lesson. Usually, she would verbally inform the students, but it didn't hurt to make it obvious to the inspector.
"This half-term we are focusing on conjuration," Hermione begins. "We all know from the quiz that conjuration is the creation of something from nothing. But who can remind me of the restrictions in place to protect a caster from the dangers of conjuring?
A Hufflepuff girl raises her hand, and Hermione nods at her. "There are restrictions by nature and restrictions by law. Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration is a ministerial law that dictates the rule of transfiguration, including conjuration. Gamp's Law restricts legally what we can conjure," she answers. "Then there are the five Principal Exceptions, which are nature's restrictions on conjuration, things that physically cannot be created from nothing. This includes food, air, gold, humans and money."
"Well done, five house points to Hufflepuff."
Hermione glances at the inspector and finds him scribbling away on his parchment. She decides not to look at him again.
"Elton Elderberry believed there were six exceptions to Gamp's Law," a Ravenclaw boy shouts.
"Thank you, Mr Hallet, but please raise your hand next time," Hermione reminds him.
Samuel Hallet raises his hand, so Hermione calls on him. "Elton Elderberry believed that since Earth is 71 per cent water, we cannot create more from nothing. So, the augamenti charm is summoning water from the ground rather than conjuring it."
"That is fascinating," Hermione states, knowing the inspector wouldn't like her next comment. "Mr Hallet, I would be interested in reading an essay on the matter, and I will count the grade as a private study."
Hermione often encouraged her students to study anything they were interested in outside of class and would substitute any private study work for that week's homework. Somehow, she doubted the Ministry would be pleased with her asking students to study topics, not on the curriculum or recognised by the Ministry.
"Moving on, today's class aims to practice conjuring birds non-verbally. Please stand," Hermione instructs.
Once the students are clear of their desks, Hermione pushes the desks aside, creating space for them to practice.
"Circle time," she reminds them, and the students stand in a circle.
Hermione begins by raising her wand hand and non-verbally casting avis. From the end of her wand shoots a flock of robins, accompanied by a loud blast like a firework.
"Remember to think not only of the spell but the breed of bird you wish to conjure," Hermione reminds the class.
Taking a step back, Hermione watches as, one at a time, her students complete the hand movement in an attempt to conjure birds. When the last student makes their attempt but fails, all the students turn to look at their teacher, and most of them are disappointed. Only two had managed to conjure a flock of birds.
"This is a difficult task, don't look so downhearted. We will continue this practice in Monday's class. We have time for one more turn each; try to picture the birds in your mind while saying avis in your head," Hermione further explains. "Also, I would picture a small bird, don't go for a hawk straight away, work your way up from a hummingbird, perhaps."
By the end of class, three more students have conjured a flock of birds, and Hermione appropriately awards house points. As the students pack their bags, she turns to the inspector's desk to find them empty. She doesn't know when he left, but it must have been during the practical element of the lesson. Hermione takes a deep breath, settling behind her desk, glad that her observation is over but not feeling very optimistic about the grade she would receive.
After their last lesson, all professors meet in the staff room for an unofficial debrief. Bathsheda Babbling, the professor of the study of ancient runes, uncorks a bottle of wine and begins pouring small glasses for everyone. Everyone is a little giddy now the first day of inspections is out of the way, especially those professors who had their observations that afternoon.
"Go on then, who's had their observation?" Bathsheda asks, raising her own hand.
Hagrid, Hermione, Neville and Jonathan also raise their hands.
"It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be," Jonathan admits.
"Better than the last observation we had in 1995," Hagrid grumbles.
Hermione recalls the inspections Professor Umbridge had conducted and agrees they were nowhere near that bad.
"Mine only stayed ten minutes," Neville admits. "Ms Backhouse refused to wear the earmuffs even after I informed her of the dangers of hearing a juvenile mandrake shriek. I had to ask her to leave."
"Good on you, Neville," Bathsheda comments, clearly having had a few small glasses of wine herself.
"Although, I dare say she might be back tomorrow to finish your observation," Aurora suggests.
Neville's face falls, clearly wishing he had allowed Ms Backhouse to remain and faint from the mandrake shriek.
"How was your observation?" Draco asks, sipping his wine.
"After telling everyone to stick to their lesson plans and not to mention anything the Ministry is against, Samuel Hallet brought up the sixth principal exception to Gamp's Law. I couldn't not ask him to research it and write an essay for me. Who would I be if I didn't encourage private study?" Hermione complains, slumping on the couch. "I didn't even see Mr Callaghan leave. He just slipped out."
"You'll be fine, Hermione." Draco kisses her cheek to reassure her.
"Thank you," she mutters.
"Well," Bathsheda begins. "Elias was a sweetheart and commented on how he remembered my lesson on fwooper from when he was a student. Of course, I joked that now I felt old, but he laughed and told me I was as quick as ever," she chuckles.
"I hope I get Elias," Draco comments.
"You don't want Mr Callaghan," Jonathan assures him. "He spent my whole class muttering under his breath. I get the feeling he voted against making muggle studies mandatory up to fifth year," he scoffs.
"I gather Ms Backhouse isn't much better," Draco sighs.
"No, she's not," Hagrid agrees. "But better than Umbridge."
"That's not much of a reassurance," Draco laughs.
Just before dinner, the Heads of Houses meet with Minerva to go over some of the questions she has already been asked and that they might be asked tomorrow afternoon. The relief Hermione had felt from having her observation out of the way disappears as a new stress makes itself home in her mind.
Instead of staying for dinner, Hermione and Draco collect Scorpius from nursery together and then take him home. Mitty has made them a casserole, which Hermione reheats with a wave of her wand before they enjoy at the kitchen table. Afterwards, Draco excuses himself to their study, stressing out over his lesson plan. At the same time, Hermione bathes Scorpius and puts him to bed with bedtime stories.
After an hour, Hermione goes downstairs to distract Draco from himself. She sits on the edge of his desk, picking up his lesson plans for his three lessons on Friday.
"Well, I hope they come during second period," Hermione says, placing the lesson plan back down. "The third-year Hufflepuffs and Slytherins are great, and the lesson is practical, which the students always love."
Draco leans back in his chair, taking his wife's hand in his as he absentmindedly begins to massage her knuckles.
"My sixth-years were supposed to be working on their dissection; some of them have sloppy techniques. Suppose I express how I've noticed their low-quality ingredients preparation and will be practising. In that case, I'm hoping the inspector with appreciate I've taken their needs into consideration while planning," Draco explains.
"They will, I'm sure." Hermione nods. "If they don't, we'll argue your case with Elias. He's on our side."
"I need to go to bed," Draco mutters, kissing the back of Hermione's hand. "I'm exhausted."
"I'm just going to tidy up the kitchen, then I'll join you," Hermione says.
"Thank you," Draco yawns as he stands. "I'll make us dinner tomorrow night," he promises as an apology for not helping with the tidying.
"I'll look forward to it." Hermione kisses his cheek, then herds him out of their study and towards the stairs.
When Hermione joins him half an hour later, Draco's already fast asleep in their bed. She didn't blame him, as it had been a long night and an even longer day. As soon as she's washed and changed, Hermione joins him in bed, falling asleep just as fast.
After dropping Scorpius off at nursery, Hermione and Draco arrive at Hogwarts before breakfast. In the foyer, they split their separate ways to prepare for their day's first classes. An hour before their first class, Hermione sits at her desk sipping a cup of tea while eating a croissant as she marks homework she collected the previous day. However, Draco races around his classroom, setting out the equipment needed for his first lesson, as it always takes the students five minutes to set up their workbenches. At least there won't be any wasted time. Then he writes a few questions on the blackboard just before his fifth-year students arrive.
For Hermione, the morning goes rather quickly. She frequently thinks about how the opposite is most likely true for her husband. As she has the fifth-year Ravenclaws after Draco, she asks them if any inspector came to his lesson, and they inform her they haven't. During their break, Hermione ventures down to the staff room, hoping to find Draco, but he does not show up, so she assumes he still hasn't been observed. This means they would visit him in his fourth lesson since Draco has a free period after break. Hermione hopes the sixth-year students are kind to him.
During his free period, Draco sets up his class with the equipment needed for preparations, then takes to stalking around the castle to dispel his nervous energy before class. However, this soon turns into a mistake as he ends up on the sixth floor with only five minutes to reach the dungeons before his class. He arrives two minutes late, and his students are already sitting at their desks, scribbling their answers to the questions on the board. Unfortunately, Mr Callaghan is also scribbling away at the back of the classroom. Hoping his observation isn't over before it begins, Draco walks down the aisle between the students' desks up to his own.
"Good morning, class. I appreciate you getting on with the retrieval questions while I took care of an issue," Draco lies. "I'll give you two more minutes, and then we'll begin."
Draco turns to face his desk, taking an unsteady breath before picking up his notes. It would be fine.
After going through the retrieval questions and making notes of a few common mistakes, Draco begins his class.
"If you recall, two weeks ago, I asked you all to provide me with some examples of the different methods of dissections. I was rather disappointed with the results. Many of you were rather sloppy with dicing and slicing," Professor Malfoy confidently informs them. "Not to worry though, we still have plenty of time to perfect your technique before your NEWT exams next year. I will demonstrate each method at the front before sending you off to practice."
Waving his wand, two spare desks drag across the aisle, joining together to create one large workbench. The twelve sixth-year students gather around to watch as their professor demonstrates how to dice various ingredients before sending them off to practice at their desks. Draco wanders around the room, observing his class and correcting any mistakes discretely unless it's common enough to warrant the whole class's attention. Once he's confident in their dicing abilities, Draco recalls them to the workbench, demonstrating the correct slicing technique of the same ingredients. Slicing needs to be slow and steady, so it takes the rest of the class for his students to practice accurately.
Similarly to Hermione's observation, Mr Callaghan had slipped out during Draco's lesson. The professor had only noticed when he requested the class tidy their desks before dismissing them.
For lunch, instead of gathering in the Great Hall with the students, most of the professors find themselves in the staff room for another unofficial debrief. Spirits are higher as all observations are over, and everyone can relax. The heads of each house still need to meet with the inspectors to discuss how they run the houses for the better.
Once again, Bathsheda Babbling is pouring glasses of wine for everyone, although they seem bigger than yesterday.
"To surviving our first observations!" Bathsheda cheers once everyone has a glass.
The rest of the staff cheer in agreement before drinking their wine. Hermione passes her glass along to Hagrid, who is thankful to have another glass, as the first hadn't affected the half-giant.
"So, I got Mr Callaghan," Draco states, and those professors (who also had the displeasure of being observed by him) groan. "I went for a walk around the castle during my free period, then was five minutes late to the lesson. He was already sitting at the back of the room. Thankfully, the sixth-years had just gotten on with the work set on the blackboard. That's got to be in my favour. That they respect me enough to work while I'm not there."
"That's bad luck, Draco," Filius mutters, shaking his head.
"I doubt they'll appreciate that," Aurora comments.
Draco sighs, "Wishful thinking."
"Well, I got Mr Woodward himself." Pansy grins, lounging across a couch with Jonathan, sipping her wine. "It went amazingly. He told me afterwards that he enjoyed my 'modern teaching style'. I don't know what that means, but at least he enjoyed it."
"He might elaborate on his report," Hermione suggests.
"I'm just glad it's over," Pansy sighs pleasantly.
"It's over for you," Draco clarifies. "We still have our interview with all three of them to look forward to this afternoon."
Pansy laughs, "Good luck. I have one lesson after lunch, then I'm going home to sleep."
On Fridays, Hermione and Draco have no classes during their sixth period, so they usually meet in their rooms to catch up or grade work together. However, on the final day of Hogwarts' inspection, they are called to the Headmistress' office for their meetings with all three inspectors.
"Good afternoon," Elias Woodward greets them in Minerva's office's foyer, shaking both hands. "We will individually conduct the head-of-house meetings in the adjoining room. Ms Granger, you are next on my list."
"Have you already spoken to Filius and Jonathan?" Hermione asks.
"Yes, we have held our meetings with the heads of Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff," Elias confirms. "If you'd follow me, Ms Granger." He guides her into the next room, leaving Draco alone with Minerva.
"How is it all going?" Draco asks, taking a seat opposite the headmistress' desk.
"Perfectly well," Minerva begins. "Although, I heard you were late to your class."
Draco groans, "Don't even, Minerva. I was five minutes late. I was up on the sixth floor and had to run."
Minerva smiles, "I'll receive your grades in a week after the three inspectors have peer-reviewed each other's observations."
Draco rubs the space between his eyes, a headache forming. "How are we supposed to do one of these every term?"
"Mr Woodward informed me that the Minister himself requested termly inspections. Mr Woodward wished to only conduct one a year," Minerva states, staring pointedly at Draco. "He told me when the Minister is removed, he'll ensure the inspections are reduced."
Draco stares blankly back at his headmistress. Minerva knows Draco and Hermione are working with MACUSA to bring Kingsley Shacklebolt to justice and remove him from the Ministry. They had to tell her after recruiting numerous staff members to join their New Order. Minerva specifically told them that her professors were free to do whatever they pleased outside of Hogwarts, but the students were off-limits. The headmistress had never agreed with Albus Dumbledore in allowing the older students to join the Order of the Phoenix. Draco and Hermione agreed that they wouldn't ask their students to fight their battles. Especially with how disastrous their protest at the dinner to commemorate the second anniversary of the war had been.
"Elias must have assumed you were a part of the New Order. I'll privately correct him. Although, you have appreciated the information he has been providing about these inspections beforehand."
Minerva nods once, "I agree; his information was useful."
Draco smiles. "I'll thank him privately."
"Are you prepared for your meeting?" She asks, turning the conversation around.
"Yes, I'll be honest and tell them exactly what I've put in place to combat Slytherin's preconceived prejudices and our image," Draco explains.
"Good; I'm sure they will appreciate the steps you are taking."
"Thank you, Minerva."
After fifteen minutes, Elias Woodward and Hermione exit their meeting room with smiles. Hermione locks eyes with Draco, and her smile widens, clearly pleased with how her meeting went.
"Mr Malfoy, are you ready?" Mr Woodward asks.
"Yes, after you." Draco gestures for the Head of the Department for Education to enter the meeting room first.
Entering behind, Draco takes in the table, where three chairs are positioned around one end of the meeting table, with a singular chair at the opposite end, clearly intended for him.
Draco sits and pours a glass of water while he waits for the three inspectors to start asking him questions.
"Let's begin," Mr Woodward announces after Draco's taken his first sip. Draco nods for him to go ahead. "You are not only new to your role as Head of Slytherin House but also new to teaching. This is only your third year of being a Potions Professor. Do you feel you are experienced enough to be head of Slytherin house?"
Draco clears his throat. "I feel as though there are two questions there. I am more than capable of teaching potions. My subject knowledge is excellent, and I've studied many different teaching styles before coming up with my own, which I find is very effective in potions lessons. As for being head of Slytherin house, I feel confident in improving the house."
"What do you mean by that?" Mr Callaghan asks.
"It's not a secret that Slytherin house has had some problems with their ideologies and prejudices since Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was founded," Draco begins. He makes eye contact with each inspector. "I can tell none of you was in Slytherin, so let me explain what the common room was like as a student. There was a hierarchy solely dependent on the student's family standing. You all know who my father is and what he was. That ensured I was near the top of the Slytherin hierarchy; I only had to tell my father about the misdeeds of another Slytherin student. All business with them would stop. The hierarchy ensured that students acted as they were expected, as they were taught by their parents. Many Slytherins didn't believe half of what they said and did, but they had to maintain their image."
"Are you trying to say your behaviour as a student was an act?" Mr Callaghan scoffs.
"Oh no, I believed mostly everything my father had taught me until the Dark Lord ordered me to kill Albus Dumbledore, but I was too deep by that point. Enough about me, though." Draco chuckles. "What I'm telling you is that I know how the Slytherin house works because I was the one running it as a student, especially from fifth year onwards. When Headmistress McGonagall offered me the role of head of house, I'll admit that I was apprehensive at first. Then I realised I was being given an opportunity to change the ways Slytherin house worked."
"What exactly have you done to change Slytherin's house?" Ms Backhouse asks.
"On my first night as Head of Slytherin House, I called a house meeting in the common room where I clarified my expectations. Our house's ideologies and prejudices have isolated us from the other houses, proving that our hatred of them was correct. I told my students that it would stop now. I would not tolerate any prejudice within the Slytherin house. I have set harsh punishment for any students I discover are spreading old ideologies. I have informed them that I will ensure we will not win the house cup until Slytherin house learns how to respect the other houses and the students within them."
"How can you ensure that?" Mr Callaghan asks, frowning.
"I'm taking this matter very seriously, Mr Callaghan. I will take and have taken house points from students who have not taken my expectations seriously," Draco answers. "Of course, I expected the older students to see how far they could push my boundaries, but I refused to budge. If I want non-pureblood and non-descendent students not to dread being sorted into Slytherin, I have to be strict with my rules."
"Is it working? Are the Slytherin students' attitudes and behaviours changing?" Mr Woodward asks, interested in Draco's steps to improve the house.
"I have seen a great improvement with the younger years. We have a group of first-year students who have formed a study group. Most of them are Ravenclaw, but a few students from the other houses join them every night. Also, in lessons, when asked to choose partners, I've heard from various teachers that the younger three years are beginning to mix with the other houses. The older years are still rather stuck in their ways. Although, most of them are no longer using harmful words against their fellow students, and there is a decrease in corridor cursing." Draco is proud of the progress already being made within Slytherin house. It might not sound like a great improvement; it has only been three weeks, but he's confident his students' attitudes and behaviours will improve.
"So, we know what you're doing to improve the house image, but what are you doing to create a better sense of community within the Slytherin house?" Mr Callaghan asks.
"At the moment, I have been focusing on what I've discussed. However, with the Quidditch season about to begin, I will be allowing parties after matches to allow the students to celebrate or commiserate together." Draco is pleased when Mr Callaghan's eyes light up at the mention of Quidditch. "I'm also organising to decorate and prepare cakes for all students' birthdays with the house elves. It can seem your birthday is overlooked at Hogwarts. I want my students to wake up to a celebration as if they were home. Hogwarts is supposed to be their home away from home, after all." Draco doesn't know where this idea came from, but the more he thinks about it, the more he likes the idea of making a celebration out of all students' birthdays, not just those in Slytherin.
The three inspectors scribble some notes, then whisper together before nodding in agreement. Mr Woodward raises to his feet with a smile across his face.
"Thank you for your time, Mr Malfoy." He holds his hand out.
Draco shakes all three inspector's hands, thanking them for their time before leaving. After a few quick words with Minerva, he and Hermione quickly leave before the inspectors can exit the room.
"Let's wait until we get home," Hermione suggests with a sigh, clearly exhausted from the past two days and still getting over the illness the previous week.
"One more lesson, then we have the weekend to relax," Draco promises, squeezing her hand.
Hermione hums appreciatively, resting her head against his shoulder.
"Before we head home, we should really visit Filius and Jonathan. Catch up with how their meetings went," Draco mentions.
Hermione sighs, "Yes, I want to be home by five, though."
"Agreed."
As agreed, Hermione and Draco are home by five o'clock. After their last lesson, they quickly catch up with Filius and Jonathan in the staff room about their individual meetings with the inspectors. Draco informs them about his birthday celebration plan, which he had told the inspectors about. The other heads of house agree to begin implementing the idea on Monday and to backtrack on any birthdays that might have already occurred in the last three weeks.
By half-four, the couple is flooing to The Leaky Cauldron and then apparating to Scorpius nursery to collect their son. As soon as they get home, they decide to get changed and walk down by the river to expel some of the nervous energy left over from the previous two days. Scorpius, becoming increasingly confident with walking each day, grabs his wellington boots and stares hopefully up at his mother.
Hermione chuckles and helps her son to put the wellies on, knowing he will be coming home filthy and in desperate need of a bath, but she doesn't mind. After the month they've had, they could do with letting their hair down and jumping in a few muddy puddles.