"All staff and students must report to the Great Hall immediately. All staff and students must report to the Great Hall immediately. An important announcement is to be made immediately," a stern woman's voice reverberated throughout the castle.
Lily looked around at her friends, who looked just as confused and curious as she felt.
"If it's an important announcement, shouldn't we be hearing Professor Brown's voice?" Hugo asked as they all stood up.
"Perhaps he's already in the Great Hall," Lola suggested.
"Any idea what's up, guys?" Mitch asked as he, Lars, Justin, and Scorpius came to walk with them. Scorpius wrapped his arm around Lily's shoulders.
"Not a clue," Megan replied.
"If there was something to report, shouldn't they have done it at dinner an hour ago?" Justin said as they left the common room. The other members of Slytherin were all filing through and out of the dungeons, making their way to the Great Hall.
"You would think. Maybe it just happened," Scorpius retorted.
"Must be serious then," Shannon commented.
The Entrance Hall was teeming with students as everyone was making their way into the Great Hall. When the group walked in, they immediately went toward the Slytherin table. Lily looked up at where the staff usually ate, and felt her stomach drop. The governors were standing in front, Brunt standing at the podium.
"Great. Just the person we want to give a speech," Hugo mocked dryly as he sat with them at their table.
It seemed to be at least another ten minutes before the room had filled, and the tables were surrounded by students. Lily glanced at the staff at their table. They looked curious, although she noticed that Professor Longbottom wasn't happy looking. And Lily began to worry when she saw that Professor Brown was absent. A bad feeling was coming over Lily, and it was coming fast.
It took another five minutes for everyone to settle down and become quiet. Brunt cleared her throat, and then she began to speak.
"Attention, Hogwarts students. We, the governors of Hogwarts, have a very important announcement to give to you. It concerns you greatly, and it has been asked by my associates that I be the one to give you the news."
Students stirred and muttered lowly, but stopped after a swift moment. Brunt began again. "It is with an impartial opinion that I announce to you all that Professor Brown is to be replaced tomorrow."
"What!" Hugo exclaimed. And at his voice, a loud vibration of voices arose in the room. People all over the room were muttering and whispering. Rumors were already starting, and truths were being demanded. Lily found herself sinking. Changes. Things were changing. Fast, and badly.
"Quiet! Quiet!" Brunt hushed. When people settled, a tense and confused air settled over the room. "Now, this is not a temporary replacement. He will, at the least, be replaced until the end of all exams. This is simply a test to see how better things are around Hogwarts become with someone new in charge." Brunt took a moment to look over them all. "Now, we will introduce our new, temporary headmaster tomorrow morning when that person arrives. For now, you are all dismissed back to your common rooms."
"What a bitch!" Lars exclaimed as they all began to file out of the Great Hall with all the other students.
Scorpius wrapped his arm around Lily's shoulder. "You alright, baby? You seem preoccupied."
Lily blinked as she looked at him. Then she glanced over at the stairs leading to the next floor. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." She hesitated, but then steeled her resolve. "I'll see you guys later. I need to do something."
She heard the others calling to her, asking her questions, but Lily kept moving through the crowd. She eventually fell behind a group of Ravenclaws and Gryffindors, and followed them up a couple of flights. She'd almost made it to where she would have to separate, but life's cruelty was rearing its ugly head.
"What are you doing up here, Lily?"
Lily stopped walking, and tensed immediately at the sound of Albus's voice. She turned to look at him, and she felt her nerves shiver even more when she saw that he was accompanied by Rose, Lorcan, . . . and Lysander.
Albus stepped closer. "I said, what are you doing up here? We were supposed to return to our common rooms."
Lily did her best to keep her cool. "I don't remember it being an order. Just a statement. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have something I need to do."
She began to turn, but she was stopped again, this time by Rose. "It's almost curfew for everyone, and I know that you aren't on patrol tonight. So, go back to your common room, and tell Hugo to return to ours."
Lily pushed back her irritation. They were wasting her time! Who knew how much she had left? "It may be close to curfew. But it's not yet. So unless you have a valid reason, you don't have the right to send me back. If you want to question this, we can ask Professor Longbottom. But, for the moment, excuse me. I need to do something," Lily said calmly.
"Planning to tramp around in one of the dark corners?" Lysander said, his voice oddly scathing. Lorcan shot his brother a surprised look.
Lily tensed even more, but she kept her calm. Now was not the time to blow up. "You know, Lysander, I would try to remember why you have those bandages around your forehead still. I don't think you want it to be repeated."
"Are you threatening him?" Rose demanded.
"I'm warning him," Lily retorted. "I'm done hiding things from him. And I don't control him. So if he gets angry at you again, Lysander, I'm not stopping him." Then she turned on her heel and began to walk away.
"Get back here! We aren't done!" Albus yelled after her.
Lily held her head high, and she kept walking.
When Lily arrived at the office to the headmaster, she didn't bother with knocking. She burst through the door, and found Professor Brown taking things out of his desk.
"Professor! What's this about them replacing you?" Lily demanded.
Professor Brown looked up at her, but then continued to take things out. "I'm not your professor anymore, Lily. You can call me by my name."
Lily sighed heavily. "Ok then. Jacob, what are they talking about?"
Now Professor Brown sighed, and looked up at her fully. "It's true, Lily. I am being temporarily, and possibly permanently, replaced."
"But why?" Lily demanded. "You said they needed a reason!"
"They found a reason," Professor Brown replied. "Marigold Brunt and her supporters attacked how I apparently wasn't helping students study, and how I had let house rivalries get worse. They stated that these things had gotten out of control. Students were getting too violent around other Houses, and they weren't getting help with lessons. So, they suggested a temporary replacement to prove that I wasn't doing well and that someone could do better."
Lily scowled. "So, how can we fight against it?"
He shrugged. "We can't. They got two areas that I can't fight against. They know I won't try to hinder students on their studying to make this new headmaster look bad. There's nothing I can do, because they know that I want things to get better just as much as they do," Professor Brown replied.
"We have to do something!" Lily argued.
Professor Brown came around the desk, and moved to place his hands on Lily's shoulders as he stood in front of her. "Lily, there are millions of fights in a person's life. Internal and external. Mental and physical. But we can't win them all. And when it's obvious that we can't win, it's best to hold your head high, and lose with dignity."
Lily watched as he turned back to his desk, and began to empty it out. Then she turned around and began to leave the office. She didn't bother saying goodbye. She knew she'd see him again, and as their reinstated headmaster. Because maybe Professor Brown was right. Maybe he couldn't win this fight.
But she could. Once she figured out how.
Lily went straight to bed once she'd gotten back to the common room. She didn't say anything to the others, and she didn't bother telling Hugo about how Rose was demanding he go back there tonight.
Scorpius obviously followed her, but she was glad that he let her change and climb into bed without a word. But once he had finally come to lay beside her, he ran a few fingers through her hair. "What happened?" he whispered.
"Professor Brown doesn't think he can win, so he won't fight against them," she mumbled.
"And?" Scorpius urged.
"I want to fight for him. He's a great headmaster, and Brunt's ideals are insane." She sighed. "And what's worse is that they attacked him based on House rivalries. Rivalries that I've made worse over the years."
"This isn't your fault," he countered.
"Sure as hell feels like I've contributed to it though. And I've got to help. He's helped me over the last five years," Lily replied.
"Well, you'll think of something, sweetheart," he assured.
But as the night went on and the morning came, Lily wasn't so sure. She had no idea before sleeping, nothing came to her in her dreams, and was still clueless after she woke up. The Great Hall was silent as all the students anticipated the introduction of their new and "temporary" headmaster. Hugo immediately came to join them at their table. Lily examined the man that stood near the podium with a critical eye. He looked to be an average height, and was lean. His hair could almost be considered long, and was practically white. He looked to be middle-aged, and his expression was oddly blank.
Once everyone was seated, Brunt stood at the podium again. "Attention, students. Before we begin eating, I would like to introduce our replacement for the position of headmaster, Professor Heyes," Brunt introduced.
The applause from students was dull as the man approached the podium. And when he spoke, his voice was as monotonous as his expression. "Good morning, students. I'm happy to take over the position of headmaster here at Hogwarts. I assure you. I plan to raise the bar and expectations of this school." That was all he said, and then he moved away from the podium, and made his way to the staff table. No other adult spoke, so they all began eating.
"I don't like the sound of that," Lily muttered.
"Danger to slackers," Jace sighed.
They had both been right, and everyone soon saw that. It was obvious with the new messages put on the common room bulletin boards.
"Newly Placed Rules:
1. All students will report to their own common rooms. There will be checks. 2. Any sign of fighting will be punished by immediate suspension or expulsion. 3. Games in common rooms are now banned. This time is to be used for studying. 4. The library will now only be open after lessons, and will close after dinner. 5. Quidditch practices will be held under staff supervision to prevent any injuries. 6. All Hogsmeade visits are now cancelled. Studying for tests should be more important.
Signed, Professor Roderick Heyes"
"They're trying to make it worse," Lily complained as she sat with the other fifth years, Hugo included, in the common room. They had books open in front of them, but they weren't bothering to study. "They're going to make it worse, and then make it seem like it was impossible to fix Professor Brown's mistakes."
"You're probably right," Hugo muttered. "It's all getting stupid. I got yelled at for wearing a hat in my own common room last night. It hasn't even been a week yet, and it's already worse!"
"They won't even let us study really," Lola stated. "They're closing off the library after dinner. That's when most of us older students have time to study in there."
"Sixth and seventh years won't have as big a problem. But that's because they have some free periods. Fifth years don't, and we've got O.W.L.s this year," Megan pointed out.
"Now I know how out parents felt during their fifth year," Hugo muttered to Lily.
Lily stood up and began to pace around the table. "We have to do something! We have to fight this. Otherwise, Merlin knows how many of us will fail some of our O.W.L.s because we couldn't properly study for them!"
"But how can we do that?" Shannon asked.
"We just have to prove to the few sane governors that Professor Brown did his best, and that he succeeded," Lily said with determination.
"So, we just somehow have to prove that Professor Brown had made attempts to improve our studying and habits," Hugo said. "Perfect. Easy."
"Well there has to be something!" Lily argued. "They're trying to restrict what we learn, and they're going to make it seem like it's his fault!"
"Well, we'll need help," Lola pointed out. "Adult help."
Jace snapped his fingers. "Hey! Maybe those portraits of Snape and Dumbledore can help you," he suggested. "They've given you advice before, right?"
"But Heyes will never let her in there," Shannon countered.
It hit Lily like a shot as they kept talking and giving out suggestions. Dumbledore and Snape! Suddenly, it all made sense!
"That's it!" Lily exclaimed, making the others jump.
"What?" Megan asked.
"Dumbledore and Snape! They did try to help me! They practically told me what to do before all of this even happened!" Lily said eagerly.
"What'd they say?" Hugo inquired.
"A study group," Lily said.
The others looked at her skeptically.
"A study group?" Megan repeated.
"Lily, we kind of do that already," Shannon pointed out, motion toward their group now.
"No," Lily shook her head. "They talked about my father's fifth year, and what he did. That's the key! A big study group. All of the fifth years join an O.W.L. study group. It's perfect! We just make it seem like it was Professor Brown's idea before he was replaced! It'll raise our grades and House unity!"
"But we don't know exactly what will be on the O.W.L.s," Izzy pointed out. "I mean, the teachers are going over what they can, but they can't get to it all. Some of it we're going to have to remember from the last few years."
"I can find out," Lily replied. "I know that Slughorn has connections to the association that makes up these tests. I can ask him for a favor. He's bound to do it."
"But how do we get kids to join?" Hunter asked. "It won't be easy with how tense things are between Houses."
"We put up signs on all the common room bulletin boards to announce a fifth year meeting. Then we explain the idea, and they can choose to join," Lily replied.
"But how do we study what we don't know?" Monty countered.
"We teach each other. I can work out the details," Lily assured. "So, are you with me?"
They all looked at each other.
"It might be a long shot, but if you think it'll work, then I'm in," Hugo stated.
"We might as well try," Lola agreed.
And as the others all soon began to agree, Lily smiled. This could work.
Over the next week, tensions got worse around the school. Brunt's group of governors was cracking down hard on the tiniest things. Detentions were getting handed out more than grades. It was getting bad, and something needed to be done quickly. So Lily worked out every detail of the plan. She first told Slughorn about it, and then asked him to sneak in a list of all the topics that would be on their O.W.L.s this year. He first complimented her on her cleverness and wit, and then promised to get it as soon as he could.
Then she told Professor Longbottom, and then asked him if there was a room in the castle that they could use for their meeting. A room that would be undisturbed by others as the meeting went on. At first, he simply smiled at her. Then he told her that he would keep the seventh floor clear, and it would allow them to secretly use the Room of Requirement. Next, Lily was making the paper announcements. She set the meeting for that Saturday. Hugo hung one up in the Gryffindor common room, but they still had the other two Houses. Shannon recruited Chris to put one up in the Hufflepuff common room, and Lily had to hunt down Nadia to hang one up in Ravenclaw's common room.
But then they were ready for their meeting. Lily brought the others with her early. They all watched as Lily paced the hall.
We need a comfortable meeting room, Lily thought repeatedly. When the door finally appeared on the empty wall, she let the others in first. Then she kept the door slightly open for when the others arrived.
"This is awesome," Christian complimented as he looked around. The room looked like a classroom, only there were no desks, except for a table in the front, and the chairs were obviously much more comfortable.
Xavier sat down in one. "These are nice!"
As the others moved around to try the chairs out, Hugo walked with Lily to the front. "Nervous, cuz?" he asked.
She shrugged. "A little. I've never had to face a group of this size, or with that much tension." Lily looked at him. "Will you sit in the front with me? It might look better with a Gryffindor and a Slytherin. More unified."
Hugo nodded as he dragged a chair up and next to the desk. "Of course."
It was almost an hour before the other fifth years began to fill the room. Lola eventually came up to Lily and Hugo.
"Shannon and I counted. Everyone's here now," she informed them.
Lily nodded, so Lola moved to sit back down. Lily took a deep breath as she looked over the room. Thirty-eight eyes, if her math was right, were staring back at her with a million different emotions.
"What's this about?" Randy Davies demanded.
"Yeah, Potter," Wilde said scathingly.
Lily ignored her tone and attitude. "Ok, we'll start. First of all, thanks for coming. There's something we need to talk about, and it's about Professor Brown."
"Isn't he fired now?" Manny asked.
"No, possibly replaced," Lily corrected. "And it's obvious that nobody likes how things are running now. Brunt's group in the board of governors didn't like how nice Professor Brown was to us. But we all liked Professor Brown, so we need to work to get him his job back."
"Why do we have to fight?" Rick Whitby from Hufflepuff asked.
"Because it's our fault that he might be replaced. We need to show that Professor Brown cared about our education, and we need to show that we can all get along," Lily told them.
"And how do you expect that to happen?" Julie McLaggen demanded dryly.
Lily stayed firm. "By forming what we've decided to call the JB Study Group."
"The what?" Randy asked.
"The JB Study Group, in honor of Professor Jacob Brown. The governors think that he failed if we don't do good on our O.W.L.s. That he didn't help to improve our studying. So we need to prove them wrong. So, we form a group to study and work on passing the written and practical tests of our O.W.L. Exams," Lily explained.
"That sounds ridiculous and boring," Adam Dumas from Gryffindor replied.
"Then leave," Hugo retorted simply.
Lily placed a hand on Hugo's shoulder. A fight wouldn't help, especially now that, in a way, they were related to Adam through his sister. "Look, we can't make you stay or join. But at least listen. I've taken an O.W.L. test before, and it wasn't easy. And to make it worse, the governors are trying to limit our studying resources, and limit what we're learning. So we're going to have to teach and re-teach ourselves."
"But how?" Hannah Belle asked.
"I can find out what will be on the tests. And then we can teach each other," Lily replied.
"You mean that a group would go over the topic, and then would teach it to the rest of us?" Connie asked.
"Exactly," Lily told her. "We would be split into groups. That group would study and learn about a certain topic. Then they would teach it to us all."
"But what about our homework?" Tara Epcot from Ravenclaw asked.
"We could help each other," Lola suggested. "It'll be almost like how we normally study, only with a larger group."
There was a thoughtful silence. But then Matt Cornfoot spoke. "How would we start?"
Lily smiled. "Well, I'll need everyone to sign a paper if you want to participate in the group. You can put down your name and best subject. And once I find out what's all on the tests, I'll make up groups and then call another meeting. We'll go over all the groups and make any needed changes."
"I think each House should choose one person to represent their House," Randy spoke. "That way everything is fair, and we can work more on House unity. It would be better if there was someone from each House helping to lead us."
Lily felt relief. They were working with her! "I think that's perfect. So, how about I pass out paper to everyone, and each person can vote on someone from their House to represent them all?"
Randy nodded. "That sounds fine."
So when paper appeared at the thought, Hugo passed it out. Quills and ink appeared next, so Lily handed it out to everyone as well. It was another five minutes before everyone had written down a name and passed it up to Lily. So Lily and Hugo took another few minutes to separate them, and then count the totals.
"Ok, so this is what it looks like it'll be. Slytherin House will be represented by me. Ravenclaw House will be represented by Randy Davies, Gryffindor House will be represented by Hugo Weasley, and Hufflepuff House will be represented by Jaclyn Munslow," Lily announced. She looked around at them all. "So, after all is said and done, perhaps us four should hang back and make sure everything is clear and fair?"
"That sounds like a good idea," Hugo agreed.
Lily nodded. "Ok, so now it's all about who will sign saying that they want to take part?"
Randy Davies stood up. "I'll sign it."
Lily and Hugo moved to stand behind the desk. Lily set out a roll of parchment. She placed a bottle of ink and quill down, and let all who wanted to sign form a line. Randy was the first to sign it. And it looked like everyone was signing it. Even Wilde and McLaggen. Lily was pleased.
Hugo nudged her. "Good work, cuz," he whispered.
Once everyone had signed it and sat back down, Lily rolled up the paper again. Then she smiled. "Ok. Until everything is ready for the next step, we won't be meeting. As soon as it is though, you'll see a notice on the bulletin board in your common room. Until then, you can go," Lily dismissed.
Everyone filed out except for four. Lily, Hugo, Randy Davies, and Jaclyn Munslow. The four gathered around the desk, pulling up a chair. The desk shrunk so that it was more like a coffee table. They were quiet until the last person out closed the door.
"I think we should set up the groups together," Randy said immediately.
Lily looked over Randy. He was pretty tall, and he had an athletic build. His brown hair was dark, and his eyes were grey. His face was serious, but Lily didn't really see hostility. Then she glanced at Jaclyn. She'd never personally met this girl. She was taller than Lily, obviously. Her hair was long and blonde, but she looked very timid.
"I think that's fair," Hugo agreed. "We know our own House members. We'll know how to pair them."
"How big should the groups be though?" Jaclyn asked.
"I was thinking maybe three or four? Just a reasonable number. Not big or small," Lily replied.
"That's a good idea," Randy said. "What if we do four to a group, each from a different House, unless there's an uneven number for who is good with what subject or such."
"That's perfect," Lily told him. "But we need to figure out how to make it known that this group is formed, but we need to make sure that Heyes can't ban us from doing this."
"We send the story to Roxy," Hugo said quickly. "She and Christian can put in the Hogwarts paper."
"And if they try to stop us, we put a smear campaign in the school paper. That makes Heyes look unpopular, and it makes him look like he's against helping us," Randy said.
"If we want to really do damage against him if that happens, we'll need to send that paper to our parents. If we get parents involved, that will get Heyes kicked out. And then when you add in the idea that Professor Brown helped to make our group, that puts him into a better light with parents," Lily worked out.
"The governors wouldn't let that happen," Jaclyn agreed. "But I think we need to figure out which governors are against Professor Brown. Know who are enemies are."
"I remember that a group of them was complaining about how Professor Brown was continuing to allow us to play Quidditch. Including Brunt, I think there was five in there," Lily told them.
"Can you remember any of them?" Randy asked.
Lily shrugged. "There were only two women, Brunt included. But I can't remember their faces or names."
"Patricia Stewart was the other woman," Hugo told them. "I know she's on Brunt's side. I've heard her 'politely' bashing Professor Brown before."
"So we need to figure out who the three guys are," Jaclyn murmured. "But how do we discover who?"
"We need to keep a careful eye out," Randy said. "See who those two women associate with the most."
"And we need to keep them away from group meetings. Can we keep having meetings here?" Jaclyn asked.
"Professors Longbottom and Slughorn know of this group assembling," Lily told them. "With their help, I think I can make sure that we're never caught in here."
"So, I guess that just leaves to when do the four of us meet again," Randy commented.
Lily sighed as she sat back in the chair. "Once I have the list for the tests."
"I think we need to get some of the library books out so that we can study them once we're in our groups," Hugo mentioned.
Lily thought a fully stocked bookshelf with textbooks and library books. It appeared in the corner in an instance. "I think we've got that covered."
"So we'll just make sure that everyone has the books and materials they need before leaving here," Jaclyn stated.
Randy stood up from his chair. "So, when you have the list, we meet again?"
Lily grinned. "I'll see you then."
Lily felt mentally exhausted when she entered the Slytherin common room. There weren't many kids there. It had been like that since games were banned in the common room.
"Lily," Scorpius greeted as he approached her. He wrapped his arms around her.
Lily rested her tired head on his chest. "Hi," she murmured.
"How did it go?" he asked.
"Really well actually," she replied. "I think it'll work."
"You sound dead tired," Scorpius commented.
"I feel that way too," Lily sighed.
"I should let you get to bed then, huh?" he mumbled. Lily felt like groaning. Now that there were nightly checks, Lily had been forced to sleep in her own bed. It was kind of weird for her, but she was sleeping at least. But she really missed falling asleep and waking up next to his warm body.
"No," Lily muttered. "Not yet exactly."
"It has been a while," he whispered. "These rules suck."
"Suck majorly," Lily agreed.
"Well, maybe we'll steal away to an empty classroom sometime," Scorpius hinted, his breath against her ear. It made her shiver slightly. The thought was very tempting.
"Maybe we will," she whispered back. But she planned to turn a maybe into a definitely. She was not going to let Brunt and her lackeys limit her already dwindling time with Scorpius at Hogwarts.