Dinner in the Great Hall was finishing. Hogwarts students were streaming out to go to their evening activities. Those activities could be writing essays for their assignments, studying the readings that had been set for their next classes, playing various wizarding games, or planning some amusing trouble for assorted helpless victims. At the Gryffindor table, James had been drawn into a discussion of tactics to be practised in their first quidditch training session. Quidditch had not started as it was still early in the term. The fanatics wanted to start unofficial training sessions.
A small person approached the Gryffindor table. It was Al, his little brother. Al had been sorted into Slytherin, and James was still struggling with what to do or say when they encountered each other. Al pushed a folded parchment into James’ outside robe pocket and left.
The other Gryffindor quidditch players looked at James and then went on with their discussion as though nothing had happened.
When the planning talk broke up James pulled the parchment out and unfolded it.
James,
Scorpius has a question. What is our feeble-brained mother doing?
His father saw her at an official quidditch social bash last night. She was there with the new beater for the Falmouth Falcons, that American dude.
They all know that mum and dad are separated but it has only been a few days and she is out with new men. This dude is ten years younger than her.
Can we disown our mother?
Al
James considered his reply. Back in the common room, James wrote a reply under Al’s signature. He would pass the note back to Al at breakfast.
Al
You are better with the biting, sarcastic phrasing.
Write a note to our mother telling her that we will no longer do what she says.
Don’t bother to explain, make it a Declaration of Independence.
Tell her that Dad did not put us up to this.
Let me sign it with you before we send it to her.
James
--ooOOoo—
Neville Longbottom was working in Greenhouse 3 when he got the news that he had been appointed as the Herbology professor and Gryffindor Head of House by Professor Sprout. She had just been appointed as headmistress. There had been a changing of the guard at Hogwarts. Many of the staff who had held their posts while Neville was a student had retired. Minerva McGonagall had served seven more years as headmistress. She was succeeded by Filius Flitwick who had recently retired. Martin Towler, the former Gryffindor Head of House, who always said he was filling in on a purely temporary basis, had also retired. Pomona Sprout would also soon retire, possibly at the end of this school year.
The school was physically the same. It had been repaired after the Battle of Hogwarts. The way the school worked was now very different. The House points system was gone. Headmistress McGonagall had made it a matter of urgency once the school had been opened. The only house competitions were sports based. Quidditch continued but mundane sports for boys and girls were introduced. Hogwarts was a British school; this meant that the sports would be cricket, soccer, netball, and basketball, for boys and girls. Athletics and swimming were also organized into competitions. Every pupil was expected to take part in two organized sports, one for summer and one for winter.
The post of deputy headmaster was now full-time. No Head of House had to neglect their house duties to be the deputy.
The next change was more profound. Professor McGonagall knew that a major failure at Hogwarts was the lack of individual care given to students. She knew that in all her time as the Gryffindor Head of House she mainly met and talked to students after they were in trouble over some issue which could have been avoided. In the past, there were not enough staff at Hogwarts to do all the jobs that had to be done and she knew that she was not seen often enough in the common room.
To try to remedy this, each Head of House had a housemaster and housemistress appointed to assist them in the mentoring, counselling, and caring roles. These positions were held by teachers who were often associate professors. They were recently qualified teachers who were judged to have the gifts and temperament of a carer.
Neville had been the Gryffindor housemaster since he started as an associate professor of Herbology.
The Golden Trio children would always be at the centre of attention. James Potter arrived at Hogwarts first and was sorted into Gryffindor. He seemed to be a replica of his grandfather, cheeky and popular. It was interesting to see his reaction to his brother Albus. James had been mercilessly teasing Al about being sorted into Slytherin. Al reacted badly. Neville and Hannah had been invited to Potter Manor for meals and social occasions over the summer break and had seen this happening.
Then Al really was sorted into Slytherin. Neville waited to see if James would get a guilt attack along the lines of ‘Did I cause that by joking that it would happen? Is this some kind of reverse cosmic payback?’
Then, in the days after the start of the term, more news arrived. Harry wrote to Neville to tell him that Ginny, now referred to as Ginevra, had left him and had filed for a permanent separation. Harry had already written to the boys.
Neville called the boys into his office.
Neville: “James, Al, how are you?”
James: “OK”
Al: “OK”
Neville: “Al, do you know why I asked to see you.”
Al: “Is this about Mum running out on Dad? Yeh, I know.”
Neville: “Normally your Slytherin housemaster would talk to you, but I asked him to let me talk to you both at the same time.”
Al: “Yeh, OK.”
James: “Sure”
Neville: “I want you both to tell me if there is anything that you need. If you want to go home for a while, that can be arranged.”
James: “I’m OK. I don’t want to miss quidditch practice.”
Al: “I’m OK. It’s not like it was a big surprise or anything like that.”
Neville: “It wasn’t a big surprise. Why wasn’t it a surprise?”
James: “Mum has been talking about it for more than a year.”
Al: “When Dad wasn’t around, she would call all these different people and talk about leaving. I would arrive home from school, and she would be all girly and gush over Dad and me. Dad would go out to the farm to work on something, and she would call her lawyers or someone like that and talk about how much money they could get for her when the separation was done.”
James: “Dad was the one who was shocked. He knew nothing about it. Mum thought that she had it hidden from us, but we managed to overhear enough to work it out.”
Al: “Lily knew too. She was really mad at Mum for wanting to move back to London. Lily loves her pony and wants to ride her every day.”
Neville: “There are stables for horses in London. I have seen people riding in the big parks there.”
James: “It’s not the same. Lily can go and ride and groom Nellie any time she wants to at the Manor.”
Neville: “Are you upset about this?”
James: “No, it’s sad but, no I’m not upset.”
Al: “Nah, as long as I can talk to Dad, I’m fine. He’s always on our side. I’ll always be on his.”
Neville: “All right, I want you both to come and tell me if there is anything you need. Understood!”
Al: “Sure.”
James: “Yep.”
Neville: “Next, I want to talk about Rose Weasley.”
James: “Poor Rose.”
Al: “Yes, I saw her on the way here. She threatened to hit me if I tried to be sorry for her.”
Neville: “The funeral for her father will be soon. I will be taking her. What do you know about the situation?”
James: “Not a lot. The Ronald Weasley family is off limits.”
Al: “We only get to talk to them when we meet at The Burrow for Sunday lunch once a month and for two weeks during the summer break.”
James: “Rose and Hugo are pretty tight-lipped about what happens at their place.”
Al: “Hugo and Lily talk a lot; they really get on. Lily says that there are lots of secrets that she won’t tell us.”
Neville: “Rose seems to be coping remarkably well. Can you tell me anything at all?”
James: “No, better not.”
Al: “Nah.”
Neville sighed, “Thank you boys, you’d better go to dinner now.”
Al: “Goodnight, Professor.”
James: “Goodnight, Professor.”
--ooOOoo--
Neville finished his rounds and returned to his quarters. Hogwarts had private apartments for teaching staff which were comfortable by any standards. Hannah was waiting to hear if there was anything that Neville could tell her about the Potter and Weasley family dramas.
Neville flopped down in his favourite comfortable chair.
“That is it for the day unless there is another outbreak of Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes stink bombs. That was one of their first products and they still turn up here every year. I am seriously not liking them.”
Hannah moaned, “That is enough about them. What can you tell me about James, Al, and Rose?”
“James and Al suspected that Ginny was going to leave Harry. She tried to hide her plans that she was leaving, and they kept their suspicions secret. They both seem to be relaxed about it finally happening and are happy that they don’t have to keep it secret anymore.
The problem is Rose. Margaret talked to her in her office and Rose was so calm and controlled it was a little scary. It seems that Rose is not going to miss Ron at all. She wouldn’t say much about their home life. Margaret did say that Rose only wanted to talk about her mother and Hugo. Rose is very concerned about both of them.
I must say that Rose sounds like Hermione when she was in her first year. She was eleven going on twenty-five.
Those kids, they talk to each other. They share secrets and they are not going to tell me anything. James and Al kept their mother’s plans to walk out a secret. I don’t know if Harry knows that. They both want to stay with Harry, but it’s complicated. It can’t be easy for them.
The ones that I am concerned about are Rose and Hugo. That is a strange situation.”
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