Weighing Options

Hermione had felt how much Cedric's death affected Harry and this was a golden opportunity to insure that couldn't happen again, it would also really piss Albus Dumbledore off to not only lose his best contestant but Angelina would have been a strong contender as well.

"I think we could quite easily handle the timetable aspect of it, with only six students having three different levels in one class wouldn't matter. They would still be taught their subjects better than Percy Weasley could manage; Albus has made these appointments with no regard to the education the students would receive. I really don't think Hogwarts is going to survive this," said Minerva.

Pomona had a worried expression on her face before Harry reassured her, "the Potter Institute will remain open and in Italy for many, many years, we are gradually moving out of Britain all together and would only ever consider returning if their laws fell into line with those we live under here. As it will probably take decades for that to happen we will only be visitors in our own country and are actually considering taking out Italian Citizenship."

This came as a great relief to Pomona as her husband and son would be sneered at in the current British wizarding society but she was still headmistress and had to make decisions based on that. "The biggest problem I can see is our library is currently only stocked with books up to OWL level, I know that was Hermione and Emma's priority but we could have a student taking his NEWT's this year."

"Mum and I are sorting through the other books and will have the library up to NEWT level by Christmas, Cedric could have a reusable portkey to Potter Manor Library which rivals Hogwarts and should contain anything he's looking for."

The nodding heads seemed to signal that everyone was happy with that idea so Harry pushed for a decision, "I think we really need to move quickly because if the old goat gets wind of this then his wand will be firing out obliviate spells quicker than mum's automatic pistol."

They all agreed to go for it but this brought out the other problem, the rest of Hogwarts wanting to transfer here. Again Harry solved the problem, "students wanting to leave Hogwarts for a better education is not our fault and with the orphanage based here we will be at full capacity. I agree with Minerva though, this could spell the beginning of the end for Hogwarts. They will have to fire Dumbledore, completely revamp the staff and syllabus then spend lots of gold on the castle improving facilities. Whether there is the political and financial backing to do that is again not our problem, I am hardly likely to donate gold to an institution that we are in direct competition with."

It hurt everyone in the room that the situation at Hogwarts had got so dire that closure seemed a real danger but they had responsibilities to the students who had signed up to attend the Institute and that had to take priority over sentimentality.

Harry phoned Amelia to do something he hated, asking for a favour. As he was also reporting a suspected crime and the favour was more administrative than anything else he was confident she would say yes.

...

The atmosphere inside Hogwarts was that of a wet weekend in Scunthorpe, there was no Quidditch, no house cup and the only thing worth commenting on was when Romilda Vane thought she would make a play for the new Ron Weasley in the great hall. Even that was over in seconds as Millicent Bulstrode snatched the girl up by her long dark hair and tossed the screaming witch the full length of the Gryffindor table. Professor prat aka Percy rushed over to officiate when Millicent just pointed at her betrothal ring and stared at her future brother-in-law daring the professor to try and punish her. A situation that McGonagall would have dealt with in seconds saw the new head of house back down from a fourteen-year-old witch, changed days in Hogwarts.

Therefore the arrival of the minister and head of the DMLE with the accompanying aurors made everyone sit up and take notice, a sense of anticipation swept through the hall as the five walked towards the head table.

It wasn't strictly necessary for Amelia to be here but she had invited herself along as any opportunity to stick it to Dumbledore was not to be missed in her book. Her years of being an auror meant it was second nature for her to automatically scan any room she entered and the great hall of Hogwarts was sending her signals that she didn't like.

The atmosphere seemed to be one mostly of depression and when she glanced at the top table it was immediately obvious where one of the problems lay, the kids were being taught by kids. She would have to talk to Harry about their agreement to take on Voldemort first as Albus was doing untold damage to their society with his blatant disregard to the educational needs of Hogwarts students.

She also couldn't help but notice Percy Weasley looked as if he hadn't slept in weeks and was beginning to lose his hair while Oliver Wood actually had a nervous tick at his left eye as the old fool sat on that ridiculous golden throne and ignored the fact that his world was collapsing down around his ears.

"Good afternoon minister, to what do we owe the pleasure of this visit?" Dumbledore barely kept the sarcasm out his voice.

Amelia on the other hand was all sweetness and light as she slipped the knife between Dumbledore's ribs, "oh we just popped in to let you know that your petition to have Igor Karkaroff, the Durmstrang headmaster given diplomatic immunity was unanimously rejected. Any death eater entering our country will face the same fate as the rest of their brethren - no exceptions."

Albus tried to bluster, "but surely as a visiting headmaster he should be shown the reverence that position deserves?"

Again Amelia kept her voice light as she twisted the knife, "the only head I know that deserves reverence is Headmistress Lupin who's doing a wonderful job and loved by her students, I know Susan thinks the world of her. The days of people carrying a dark mark being given respect are gone forever, they don't deserve anything but the veil of death which is exactly what awaits them should they set foot in Britain."

Amelia was delighted by the old goat's reaction as not only did her barb strike home but the news of a Mrs Lupin being Headmistress had shocked him to his core, now for phase two while he was off balance.

"We have received a worrying report from a concerned parent about a professor teaching here, Oliver Woods could you come down here a second please?" Amelia was still smiling and she hadn't even needed to lie, Harry was concerned and a parent as she watched the young man walk round the table towards them as Albus only now realised he should have protested.

....

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