Kamakura, Japan - July 31, 1996
Hadrian was extremely excited and nervous. Today was his sixth birthday, and he thought he might finally be able to have a proper birthday, like the ones Dudley had had, but he was also worried that his family would forget.
He was laying in his usual position, sandwiched between his parents. Ever since they had come to Japan Hadrian had been trying to seem more grown up and staying in his own bed during the night. So far he hadn't managed to go a full night, usually ending up slipping into bed with his fathers around 2 or 3 in the morning. Last night he hadn't even tried to stay in his own bed. He was just to on edge.
Looking around he noticed that both his fathers were still asleep. That was odd for him because his papa was almost always up before him and his dad. If papa wasn't up yet it meant that it had to be extremely early.
Severus had started getting used to being able to sleep in and now got up around 9am. But that was early to Hadrian and James, who normally slept until almost noon. Like the others, Sirius liked to sleep in, but Remus normally was up and researching by 7am. Hadrian was starting to agree with his uncle Sirius, morning people were evil, especially when they woke him up.
Hadrian cuddled back under the blankets. He loved being able to do that. He was just starting to doze again when the room was stormed.
Remus had woken up at his usual time. They all knew that Hadrian had never had a proper birthday so they decided to make sure he had one. Hadrian had been nervous and twitchy all day yesterday. Remus had convinced the other adults not to let on that anything was going on.
They had taken turns going out to get Hadrian any last minute presents they thought he might need, they had actually had almost all of his presents before they even left Britain. Remus had personally picked out a cake. In traditional Remus style, it was a nice fudge cake, covered in smooth buttercream and raspberries. They had already figured out that of all the fruit they had had Hadrian try, he loved raspberries the most.
He had managed to get Sirius up early enough to help him get everything ready. Both Remus and Sirius had agreed to let Sev and James sleep in and do all the preparations for the party themselves.
Sirius had grumbled a lot until Remus had reminded him that it was for Hadrian, then he stopped. Remus had smiled at that. There was no denying that Sirius was less than sane, and many would find him intimidating at times, but he clearly adored his god son. Remus had compared him to a puppy following the boy around and Sirius had actually been pleased at the comparison.
By 8:30 everything was set. Going to the door where they knew the other three would be. Pushing the door open they came into the room. Remus was carrying the first two presents they had gotten for Hadrian, he knew that Sirius was going to change into Padfoot, and that was exactly what he did.
They clearly hadn't thought things through. Almost as soon as they had slammed into the room James had pushed Hadrian behind him and both him and Severus were up and shooting spells at them. Remus dove out of the room and Sirius ended up in his Padfoot form under the bed.
Remus was extremely glad that he had chosen to bring presents rather than the cake. There was just no justification for destroying a perfectly good chocolate cake. He peaked into the room when he heard Hadrian start to giggle.
"Really?" Remus demanded as he stepped cautiously back into the room with his hands on his hips. "We talked about this last night before you went to bed. You knew that we would be coming in to wake you all up for Hadrian's birthday."
Padfood just whined from under the bed. Even he wasn't crazy enough to come out and face down James and Severus, just in case they didn't like being woken up any more than he did.
James looked slightly embarrassed as he apologized, Severus just looked defiant. It was naturally Severus that answered back.
"You said that you would wake us up when everything was ready. At no point did you say that you were going to storm our room. And will you get out from under the bed mutt, it isn't like it would protect you if I really wanted to get to you."
Remus apologized for letting Sirius convince him to do it, Padfoot just looked slightly proud of himself, but he still had his tail between his legs. To Hadrian it was probably one of the best ways to start a great day, even if it did start way to early.
The day was spent playing and exploring. Hadrian knew that he was probably one of the luckiest kids in the world. He had gone from having nothing to having an incredible family that loved him. Dobby was also always hanging around just in case he needed anything.
Ever since Sev had brought Dobby home the little elf had been completely loyal to Hadrian. The two had bonded right away. When Hadrian first learned of Dobby's self harm issue he had given him strict orders to never harm himself again. Now, even if Dobby felt the instinct to hurt himself the magic wouldn't let him. Dobby felt incredible gratitude to the little boy that so clearly cared about him so he was completely devoted.
They lived in a wizarding tent up in the mountains around one of the temples that made the town so popular with tourists. The tent was top of the line. It had 6 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, a kitchen, dining room, living room, library, a potions lab, and a medium sized greenhouse. There was even a full sized patio out front, and the entire thing was completely covered in anti-muggle and notice-me-not charms.
All the charms allowed for Hadrian, James, and Sirius to spend much of the after noon flying around. James had gotten Hadrian a child's broom as one of his presents. It was only one of the presents he received, he actually received over a dozen presents from his family, and even a hand made picture frame from Dobby. Hadrian had hugged the little elf when he got it, then he made them all take a family photo, with Dobby included, and then put the picture in the frame. Dobby burst in to tears when he saw that Hadrian really considered him to be a part of the family.
It was two days later that Sirius learned some startling information. All the work that they had been doing to get free of Dumbledore, the work for the bank, and all the research they had had to do for both the Wizengamot and school board had left them little time to go through all the information from the trunk. Sirius was going through one of the journals when he saw his brothers name. Reading further, he learned that his little brother was alive, and according to the journal he had turned away for the dark lord that his parents had forced him to serve. At this point in time, his little brother was laying, comatose, in a British hospital.
They were in luck, and the name of the hospital was mentioned. This allowed for Remus to return to England that day and go to the hospital. Once he had clearly identified Regulus he was able to use persuasion, and a little magic, to convince the hospital staff that Regulus was being transferred to a new hospital.
Then he used his portkey to return the two of them to Japan. While Remus had been getting Regulus, the others were preparing one of the spare rooms for him. As a potions master, Severus was required to have a medi-wizard license so he was at least able to assist in some medical situations. From everything that they had read in the journal, Regulus did not have any serious underlying conditions. His escape from Voldemort's trap had caused Regulus to completely empty his core.
He would simply need time. The journal said that his core would have refilled enough for him to wake up by the end of the next year, but it would take another year after that for him to regain even a basic amount of magic. He wouldn't be able to properly cast for at least three years.
While the others were getting Regulus settled in his new room, Severus was in his lab. The potion that Regulus had had to drink was known as The Drink of Despair, and it could last for decades. It would slow down Regulus's recovery.
Sirius suggested that he make sure that there was enough for Kreacher. The elf was completely devoted to Regulus and could serve as a nurse to him while Regulus recovered.
When the potion was done Sirius called Kreacher to him. As the Lord Black he could call him from where ever he was.
The filthy elf arrived with a soft pop. "Nasty master bes calling Kreacher."
Sirius took a deep breath and forced himself to be calm. "Yes Kreacher. I want you to drink this."
Kreacher looked critically between Sirius and the vial in his hand. Severus decided to step in, he knew that even before drinking the potion Kreacher and Sirius had had issues.
"Kreacher, I know that the Dark Lord forced you to drink a potion that made you see and feel terrible things. This potion will make those bad things stop."
Kreacher didn't need any more encouragement after that. He reached out and grabbed the potion and drank it all in one shot. It was clear that the potion worked as Kreacher slowly relaxed and his eyes became clearer.
"What else can Kreacher bes doing for nasty master?" It was clear that Kreacher still didn't like Sirius and Severus's lips twitched.
Before Sirius could say anything, Severus once again stepped in. "Kreacher, we need you to do something for us. We were hoping that you would get us the locket your master Regulus told you to destroy."
Kreacher paled until he was almost chalk white, which Sirius actually found to be impressive. Sirius knew there was only one way that they were going to be able to calm the angry and scared elf.
"Kreacher, follow me." Sirius then led Kreacher into the room where they had placed Regulus.
"Master Regulus, master Regulus. Yous has come back." Kreacher was excited to see the man he had cared for as a child.
"Kreacher," Severus got Kreacher's attention. "We want to destroy the locket, just like your master Regulus did. As you can see, Regulus has been hurt, but he's getting better. We want to be able to tell him that the locket has been destroyed when he wakes up."
As soon as Sev finished saying this, Kreacher popped away. He was back almost instantly with the locket in his hand. Severus took the locket straight to the mail box and sent the locket directly to Ragnock. He got a message back only a few moments later telling him that the locket was on its way to being destroyed. Kreacher was excited when he was told this.
Sirius made a deal with Kreacher. Kreacher would be the primary caregiver for Regulus until he woke up, so long as he cleaned up Grimmauld Place. The elf had readily agreed, and even thanked Sirius for being so kind.
The rest of the summer was spent working and playing.
Hogwarts, Great Hall - September 1, 1996
Bill Weasley had never wished that the summer had lasted longer more. Normally, Bill was excited for school. It was a chance to see his friends again, but more importantly, it got him away from his overbearing mother.
This summer had been the best of his life. He had actually loved working. The shop wasn't overly busy, they usually only had a few people visit each day, so he had been able to get a lot of reading done. Madam Hollans knew so much, and she had been happy to teach him.
There was also the extra spending money it gave him. Since Arthur also had a new job that paid a lot better, he hadn't allowed Bill to pay for his school supplies. The largest expense that he had been planning for was his new school books, so he had even more money than he had thought. He had even gotten to open his own account at the bank.
Percy and Charlie had both tried to go to work with him every day he went. Percy had spent so much time in the library that Bill had thought he was going to move in there. When Bill had asked him why he didn't just take the books out and read them at home Percy had told him that Molly had started checking every book he brought home. He knew that there were many books that she wouldn't let him read, so he just decided to keep them all from getting the headache that always came with an angry Molly. After that Bill had let him come to work with him every day. Percy had been extremely upset when Bill had finished work because it meant that he wouldn't be able to go to the library as often as he wanted. He had only calmed down when their father had promised to bring him to the library while Bill was away at school, it didn't hurt that he also promised that he would pick up books for him on the way home and sneak them in so Molly wouldn't know.
As soon as Charlie had heard of the nature preserve he had started to come along. It was a fight to get Charlie to leave every day. Bill had almost had a heart attack when he had gone to pick him up at the end of the day only to find him holding a baby occamy. Occamy were classified as a level XXXX beast by the ministry and were known to be very aggressive. Once Bill had started to breathe again Charlie had told him all about how some of the beast handlers had offered to teach him a few things. They had agreed that they wouldn't tell their mother that Charlie would be taking lessons at the preserve. The staff at the preserve had even said that Charlie would have a summer job there for next summer if he wanted it. Charlie had been so excited that Bill had actually thought that Charlie might just drop out of school right then and there to take the job.
When he finished his job, Bill had gone to the ministry to take the OWLs that he wanted to. He decided to take warding, curse breaking, enchanting, spell crafting, and spell weaving. There really hadn't been enough time during the summer to properly study the subjects but he had still managed to pass them all and would be able to start to work on his NEWTs, he had even managed to get an O in warding, though he knew that was due to Madam Hollans and Professor Snape.
While waiting for his tests at the ministry, Bill had learned some interesting information. When you took your OWLs and NEWTs at school, you could only test in the classes you took, But if you took them at the ministry you could try any subject you wanted. Also, the tests were only offered to fifth and seventh years at the school, but you could take any test at any time at the ministry, so long as you understood that if you failed than that was it, there was no retesting without having to attend a certified class on the subject. This meant that, if Bill wanted he could take his NEWTs in any of his OWL subjects whenever he felt ready, he could also take other OWLs next summer. He decided that he was going to study a few more things, like languages, and take his OWLs in them over the yule holidays, and try for the NEWTs during the summer. He knew that it was going to be a lot of work, but he just wanted to try. If he didn't feel confident in his chances of passing he would just postpone when he took the tests. He had also seen a few students from the other houses. There hadn't been a single other Gryffindor, but there had been 18 Slytherins, 21 Ravenclaws, and 13 Hufflepuffs. They had told him that their heads of house and family members secretly encouraged them to study other courses. Bill was stunned that Professor McGonagall didn't do the same for her students, but then he thought about how completely devoted she was to the headmaster, just like his mother.
Life had gotten a lot better for Bill. He finally had a plan for his life.
He watched as all the new students were sorted. Since Lord Peverell had made sure that all children were given a chance to attend there were a lot more students being sorted. This year the sorting hat had to sort over 150 kids, most of them were in upper years and had finally been given a chance to learn at the school. Bill thought it was great.
Up at the staff table, not everyone was as happy as Bill. Albus was furious at all the dark students now attending his light school. He knew that he was going to have to try and keep an eye on all of them. There was just no telling what diabolical things they would get up to if they weren't careful.
Minerva, was thinking along the same lines as she read out the names. Although most of the dark students weren't sorted into her house, some were. She made sure to memorize their faces and names so that she could pay special attention to them. She hated that her den was being infiltrated by these 'children'. She would never forgive Lord Peverell for forcing Albus to let them in, and would do what ever she could to try and revoke their acceptance.
Kamakura, Japan - October 24, 1996
Severus was critically watching his husband and friend. Both James and Sirius had been acting extremely strange. Hadrian was finally sleeping in his own bed most of the time. He usually only climbed into bed with his fathers once every week or two.
James had actually broken down crying multiple times last week because Hadrian had slept in his own bed. He had had a complete meltdown when Dobby had made his favourite dinner. The elf was oddly happy and terrified as James had hugged him repeatedly. Kreacher wouldn't even come near him after that.
Sirius wasn't any better. Kreacher was avoiding him too, after Sirius had tearfully apologized for all the arguments that they had had over the years. He had started to decorate the tent, he had then stopped and restarted, changing the colours multiple times. Right now, there tent was decorated in pink and gold for some odd reason.
They had all decided to quickly renew their vows. Allowing Severus to take the last name Prince-Peverell. The colour scheme that Sirius and James had chosen had been blue and bronze, it had actually been quite beautiful. But before they had managed to get those colours they had gone through almost every other colour in the rainbow in less than a week.
Both Severus and Remus were at first concerned that they had gotten cursed somehow. They had found the temple two weeks before and were now working at finding all the information inside. Severus had been examining all the potions ingredients for something that could cause symptoms like Sirius and James were displaying, while remus was examining every object they could find.
Whenever they ask James or Sirius what was going on they would either get angry, or break down in tears. Whenever they started crying Hadrian was the only one that could calm them down. Hadrian had warned them off of upsetting the two after he had spent over 4 hours being hugged non stop while being cried on.
As Severus watched, James became angrier and angrier at the book he was reading, until he just snapped and set the book on fire before he threw it across the tent. Remus and Dobby grabbed for the book as quickly as they could. Remus wanted to save the book, while Dobby wanted to make sure the tent didn't catch fire or get dirty.
That was when every thing made sense and his eyes became huge as he cursed his own stupidity.
"What's wrong Severus?" Remus asked once he was sure that the book was safe.
"I know what's going on with them. There's only one thing I know of that causes reactions like theirs and turns James into a pyro when he gets upset at something. Pregnancy."
"What?" Remus was shocked. It had never even occurred to him that either of the two men could be pregnant, although it did make sense.
Men didn't handle pregnancy very well. Women were far more capable of handling the shifting hormones, while men just couldn't handle them. Pregnant males often times had moments where they would become completely irrational, especially if there was even a hint that their partner wasn't completely devoted.
"I am not, nor have I ever been, a pyro." James told his husband as he folded his arms over his chest and stomped one of his feet, reminding Severus of a child throwing a temper tantrum, though, he would never say that.
"James, when you were pregnant with Hadrian you set my potions lab on fire, with me in it."
"While maybe you shouldn't have spent so much time in there. You should have been with me."
"James. I was brewing the nutrition potions you needed to take to ensure Hadrian was healthy."
"Leave him alone." Sirius said as he went over to his pouting friend.
Remus and Severus just looked at each other. This was going to be fun. A pregnant James had been hard enough to deal with last time. Now it was both James and Sirius, there was going to be no telling the kind of havoc they could wreak.
While James and Sirius were busy talking to one another Sev cast a silent pregnancy detection spell. It came back positive, with the added shocker of Sirius carrying twins. According to the spell James's pregnancy was only a few days further along, and they were both due in the last week of may. Although Severus expected Sirius to go into labour sooner as he was carrying twins.
James and Sirius both started to happily chat with each other about having kids at the same times before James suddenly stopped. His eyes misted over before he quickly moved over to his son and settled the boy on his lap as he sat down while he insisted over and over again that they weren't trying to replace him and that they would always love him. Sirius quickly joined them, joining James in telling Hadrian that they would always love him.
Hadrian just gave Severus and Remus a droll look. "What did I tell you about upsetting them?"
"You knew." All four adults said at the same time.
"Of course. I thought you all knew." Hadrian said confusedly.
"But… But how?" James asked.
"The magic told me. There have been little bright lights of magic forming in there stomachs for a few weeks now. I thought you all knew." Hadrian was confused.
He still didn't fully understand that everyone didn't know the things he did. His fathers and uncles had told him that as he grew older he would begin to remember things from his past life, but it still confused him.
They spent the next little while going over how things were going to change, but they would always love him. Severus was glad that Hadrian was so mature for his age. He was slightly worried that Hadrian would become jealous of his younger siblings, or think that his family didn't love him anymore. But Hadrian was thrilled at the idea of siblings.
Remus started to draw up plans for what James and Sirius wouldn't be able to do. Male pregnancy's were extremely delicate because the male body wasn't designed to protect a growing infant. That meant that there were now all sorts of jobs that they wouldn't be able to do.
James was also going to have to arrange for a proxy for his seats in the Wizengamot. There was no way he would be able to handle the meetings while pregnant. The members were just to annoying and the last thing any of them needed was James getting angry because he had a tendency to light what ever was annoying him on fire. It would not be a good idea for James to be in the same room as Dumbledore, especially since the old man had previously kidnapped James's first born.
James would need to start making arrangements now. The school board only met 2-3 times a year, and the next one wasn't until just before the yule holidays. James insisted that he still go to that meeting as he still wanted to upset Dumbledore more. Thankfully James would only be showing a little at that time, and they would be able to hide that with loose robes. James said that he would make the arrangements for a proxy starting for the January session. He couldn't leave before the school board meeting as it would draw attention to him if he skipped one meeting but attended the other.
Only a few days after the pregnancy had been confirmed Sirius was working on translating one of the ancient potions books that they had found. As happy as he was that he was going to be a father he really wished he would be able to keep working in the temple. Both he and James were already frustrated with the fact that they had been restricted from going in the temple. They understood the reasoning, there were traps and curses all over the place, plus all the different potions ingredients. Even a slight bump in the wrong place right now could cause a miscarriage, and many of the older potions ingredients had been linked to birth defects so they needed to be careful.
All that they could really do right now was translations. That was what led to Sirius's discovery. While going over some of the potions masters research he found that he had been researching on how to heal brain injuries, specifically injuries that had been cause by curses.
Sirius thought about his friends, Frank and Alice Longbottom. A potion like this had the potential to help heal them, at least a little. He knew from the journals that their son Neville was currently living with his abusive grandmother. There was no doubt in Sirius's mind that if Alice ever found out what Augusta Longbottom had done to her son she would curse the woman to oblivion and back, and that was just for starters.
It took hours of non stop work, but by the time Severus and Remus returned from the temple with more books Sirius was done. Calling Severus over he showed him what he had been working on. Severus agreed with him that there was a great deal of potential in the potion. The potions master had never managed to finish creating it, but Severus thought that he could.
There had been so many advancements in potions since this book had been written. If he could combine some of the higher level healing potions with this potion that seemed to be focused on the brain he believed that he could actually reverse the damage that had occurred to Frank and Alice's nerves and brain tissue. Severus decided that he was going to work on it whenever he had a free moment.
Wizengamot - December 2, 1996
James was actually smiling as the Wizengamot meeting came to an end. This was the last meeting he was going to have to attend until June. He decided to ask Kingsley's uncle, Kensington, to serve as his proxy, as he felt he could trust the man. The Wizengamot usually only met once a month on the first or second Monday of the month. There hadn't been much that he could do over the past few meetings. Which he was both grateful for, and not. He was glad because he didn't think getting into a debate with raging hormones was a good idea. Severus was right, though James wasn't going to admit it to him, James's first reaction when he got angry while pregnant was to light things on fire. And as much as he would have enjoyed it, lighting Albus Dumbledore on fire, in front of witnesses, was not a good idea. But he was also incredibly board, which could also be just as dangerous, especially for a prankster.
A majority of each of the meetings had been devoted to setting up the guidelines for the DCW. James had enjoyed shooting down most of Dumbledore's ideas. He didn't want Dumbledore to have any control of the new department. Lucius and Narcissa were both extremely helpful in this area. More often than not Narcissa managed to step in before him. Narcissa was clearly extremely passionate about this subject.
Narcissa had recently started to hold parties and host fundraisers for the department and the orphanage. Just in the few months since the Sea Cliff Home opened, Narcissa had raised over a million galleons for them with fundraisers.
There were currently only 23 children, ranging in age from 4-17, living there. With all that money the home payed for all the students tuition and school supplies so that there would be more scholarships available for the other children. The money that wasn't spent on supplies and necessities for the children was stored in the bank. The goblins were taking the task of ensuring that the money meant to protect children was looked after extremely well. Ragnock himself, personally watched over the accounts to ensure that there wasn't any mismanagement.
James had noticed during both this meeting, and the last, that Narcissa was almost glowing. He smirked.
When he saw her suddenly go pale when one of the older lords, that he knew wore strong cologne, walked up to her James was sure. He went over after the man walked away and handed her his handkerchief that had been scented with lavender and peppermint. He often used it when he got nauseous.
Narcissa caught the soothing scents and brought the fabric up to her nose and took a few deep breaths. Once she stopped feeling like she was going to be sick she looked over at James. Seeing his secret little smile she put things together.
"When?" She asked, smirking back at him.
"End of May, just a few days before a friendly dog I know. You?"
Narcissa's eyes widened fractionally, the only evidence of her shock and joy through her pure blood mask. "Beginning of May. I don't envy those teaching in the future."
James grinned. Neither did he. There was no way that his child, Sirius's twins, and a Malfoy wasn't going to result in chaos for 7 full years.
Narcissa was pleased as she got ready to leave the Wizengamot. She had once again managed to ensure that Albus Dumbledore had no control over the Sea Cliff Home. The man just wouldn't quit. Casually she gently ran her hand over her slowly growing stomach. Thinking about the child growing inside her made her worried. She was terrified that she would suffer another miscarriage.
When she had first found out that the muggle techniques had allowed her to get pregnant so quickly she had instantly made another appointment with them. They had labeled her pregnancy as 'high risk' and insisted that she go in to be checked multiple times a month. Her muggle healer had assured her that they wanted her to be completely honest with them, and if she felt like something was going on she was to come in so that they could check.
Narcissa had been stunned when her healer had showed her what they called an ultrasound machine. She and Lucius had been a little dubious when the technician had first started to spread jell on her stomach. But then she had shown them their baby. The fact that she could actually see her unborn babies heart beat made everything so much more real. Lucius had used one of their camera's to take a picture. Although the muggle healers had given them photos, they had wanted a wizarding photo. Now, safely tucked in the inside pockets of both Lucius and her robes, was a black and white photo of their babies beating heart.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw as James snuck out. Turning slightly she saw that he was slipping out while Dumbledore was looking around, clearly trying to spot him.
Lucius joined her and they left.
Hogwarts, School Board Meeting Room - December 4, 1996
James entered the school board room for the second time. There were usually only two board meetings a year, one before yule and the other before summer, unless there was some kind of emergency.
This was the last meeting he would have to attend until after he gave birth. He couldn't wait for it. Between the work for the bank and all the prep work they had to do for all the different meetings, and trying to go over all the information in the trunks, it was wearing them all down. Their plan was to only focus on their work for the bank and going through the trunks. It would be a nice break.
When the others came in he was joined on his side of the table by an odd mix of the other school governors. Fawley from the light, Gibbon from the dark, and all four neutrals, Ollivander, Shacklebolt, Kingsley, and Travers, all came over to him. James smiled at them all, it was apparent that James now controlled the board even more than he had before.
Like he had before, James sat silently as they went over the minutes from the last meeting. It was hard not to smirk over at Dumbledore. Just like last time Molly and Andromeda both started going on about the books they needed to remove, but Molly also decided to add on that they shouldn't let the children from the darker families access certain books. James rolled his eyes, and he knew he wasn't the only one. When the vote came for removing the books it failed. Dumbledore looked like he had swallowed an entire lemon at once. Andromeda Tonks fumed silently. Molly, like usual, wasn't capable of being silent and let them all know about how she felt about the lost vote.
Eventually James decided to speak up. "Headmaster, I have a question."
"What can I do for you my boy?"
"I was wondering why you haven't made use of the Helena vault and hired the appropriate number of staff."
"There is no need my boy. My staff is fully capable of doing their jobs."
"Actually headmaster, they aren't. According to the description of the work schedule I have received from one of your former employees, it is quite common for the teachers to spend over 60 hours per week setting up for class, teaching, and then cleaning up after class. That doesn't even take into account the amount of time they spend marking assignments and tests. Plus doing rounds and detentions. It isn't legal for them to work that much. And that was all before we opened up the school to more students. If there is ever an accident that happens as a result of overworked staff the school is liable. It could cost us tens of thousands of galleons. This school needs to be appropriately staffed. Personally, I would recommend at least two teachers for the core classes, so that they can split up the years, and multiple assistance. I think we should also ensure that there are at least 2 fully qualified healers, one male and one female. As the medical exams showed last year, Madam Pomfrey is clearly overworked and hasn't been able to treat all the students properly. You also need more than just 2 caretakers for a building this size."
"Now my boy. Surely you are exaggerating. I know that you don't understand the inner workings of the school, given that you never attended, but we are doing just fine."
"I disagree headmaster." Gerbot Ollivander said. "My daughter has told me many stories about students running wild because there just isn't enough teachers to cope with them all. And like Lord Peverell said, that was before we had an influx of more students. There is no possible chance that they can keep up with all the extra work. The requirements to access the vault are easy to complete so that isn't an excuse."
"And again, like Lord Peverell said, it isn't even legal to have the staff working so much. We are all, in effect, breaking the law if we don't hire more staff." Kensington Shaklebolt added.
Dumbledore was furious. Once again Sebastian Peverell had backed him into a corner, there was nothing he could do. He knew that many of the staff had often made requests for assistance but he hadn't allowed it. With things having to go through the goblins now, he knew that he wouldn't be able to hand pick the staff. He was already losing control on who got in to the school and who didn't, he didn't want to lose control of staffing. He had spent the entire summer trying to find a way to control who got a job at the school. He hadn't found a way to manage it, so he just hadn't bothered to hire extra staff.
"I motion that we require the hiring of more staff, before the end of the yule break." Travers said.
He was seconded by Gibbon. When the vote was called, only Dumbledore, Molly, and Andromeda voted against it. And again, Molly vented her displeasure.
"Now that that is done." James continued with a smile. "I would also recommend that we thank Professor Cuthbert Binns, and then remove him from the staff."
"Surely not. He has been teaching for years. He is a proud and loyal staff member." Dumbledore said.
"I am suggesting it. He may have worked here for a long time but not successfully. Less than a quarter of the students that take his class are able to achieve their NEWTs in the subject. Almost half of the students in this school fail to complete their OWLs. From what I have heard his class is seen as nap time. Not to mention, just how is it that a ghost is supposed to correct assignments and tests. It would be much better to hire other teachers for the subject." James had always hated having to go to Binns's class, which was probably why he skipped the class more than he had attended it.
"I agree." This time it was Fawley that spoke up. "I myself hated that class. The only reason I managed to get my NEWT in the subject was because I dropped the class after the OWLs and self studied for my NEWTs. And I know he hasn't gotten any better because both of my children are now doing the same, and all of my nieces and nephews complain about him."
"As do mine" many voices said.
Eventually James's ideas were agreed to. Dumbledore would be forced to hire a second teacher for all the core classes, and 2 teachers for history of magic. They were also requiring the hiring of a minimum of 2 assistants per subject. Both Filch and Hagrid would also be getting 2 assistants of their own.
James was thrilled as the meeting ended. Now Dumbledore was going to have to deal with new people. People that wouldn't be completely devoted to him. That would keep him distracted for a while. Plus the students would be getting a better education, that mattered to him, but mostly he wanted to make Dumbledore suffer, helping the students was just a side benefit.
Once he was in his office Albus once again threw a few of his little devices. Molly and Andromeda watched him stoically. They were both as furious as he was. Nothing had been going their way lately.
Once he calmed down a bit Albus sat down at his desk and got them all tea. Popping a lemon drop in his mouth he looked at Andromeda. "Andromeda, I am going to have to ask you to apply for one of the history professor positions. I know you have a masters in history. I will see what I can do to ensure that you get the job. We need to make sure we have at least some control over what the students are learning."
"I will be happy to help."
"Albus, what are we going to do? That man is destroying everything." Molly all but screamed.
"We will carry on. Like we always have." Albus said. He truly enjoyed how devoted Molly was to him, but her voice was like nails on a chalk board. "I will speak to my contacts and try to make sure that we have people applying for every new position."
Minerva came in then. When they explained everything to her she was just as frustrated as the others. Oh, she was happy that she would be getting assistants, but she didn't want anyone that the goblins would approve of. "Poppy isn't going to like this. You know how she felt at the end of last year with those St. Mungo's healers in her ward."
"I'm aware, but there's nothing we can do now. Luckily, Lord Peverell will be taking a few months off from the Wizengamot. He will be needed at work more and isn't set to return until June. That will give me a bit more time to regain some control. He has assigned Kensington Shaklebolt as his proxy, but I think I will be able to sway him. His nephew, Kingsley, is an auror. I could use Rufus Scrimgeour to offer to fast track the boys career."
"Have you heard anything from Severus. We all know that that was how he got the statistics on the hours we work." Minerva asked.
"Yes, but it really isn't much. As you know, the contract limits what he can say. It was basically just telling me that work was going well. He did suggest that some of my plans aren't working out the way that I want them too. He just kept going back to looking at the past and going to make sure everyone was where I left them. I think he might be losing his grip, he isn't making much sense."
"Are you sure he's telling you the truth. For all we know he's rejoined the death eaters." Andromeda said. She knew how close Severus had been to her cousin Regulus and her sisters husband, Lucius.
"The contract broke his oath to Lord Voldemort." Albus reminded them.
"Once a death eater, always a death eater." Molly said.
"We will have to wait and see." Albus said.
Molly and Andromeda left after that.
Minerva watched Molly glance back just before she left. "She's becoming more obsessed."
"I'm aware. But I can work that in my favour." Albus had seen Molly's obsession growing.
"Just be careful. You and I both know just what Molly does when she wants something."
"I'm aware." Albus did, on occasion, question if he had made the correct choice in choosing Molly to raise his children.
"Can we keep control with all these new people coming in?"
"I have my doubts, but we can try. It may take us a few years to gain control of the new staff members, but I have no doubts that we will be able to do it."
Minerva and Albus talked for a while longer before heading to the great hall to get something to eat.
Albus, at times, did miss Gellert. Minerva was a good general, but that was all she was, a general that followed orders.
St. Mungo's , Janus Thickey Ward - December 22, 1996
Neville Longbottom was panicking as he followed his gran down the hospital halls towards his parents room. He knew what was happening, his parents were dying.
It was a sad thought that the six year old boy was accepting of this fact. As much as he didn't want them to die, he knew that was selfish. He knew that they were suffering, and he didn't want them to suffer.
He just didn't want to know that there was no one left for him but his gran and his uncle. Right now his parents being alive gave him some protection, but if they died, that protection would be gone. He had already accepted that his gran would never love him, not in the way he saw other children being loved.
It was just outside the doors to the ward when he knew that he was wrong. He could hear voices in the ward and his gran froze for a moment before pushing open the doors. "F… Frank?"
Neville looked from his gran to the tall man standing in the room next to a woman that looked upset. This couldn't be. The healers had said that his parents would never get better.
As soon as the woman saw him tears filled her soft brown eyes. "Neville." She said before she rushed across the room and gathered the frozen child in her arms.
Neville couldn't breathe. This was his mother. His mother was hugging him. All of a sudden he broke down in great big shuddering sobs as he buried his head in his mothers chest and hugged her back.
Augusta had been fluttering around Frank while all this was happening trying to get his attention, but like his wife, he only had eyes for his son. Going over to them, completely ignoring his mother, he wrapped his arms around the both of them and let his own tears fall.
Nevill flinched when he felt his fathers arms around him. His gran had always told him how weak he was, and how his father would be ashamed of him, and now, he had just gotten his parents back and they were going to think he was weak too. Glancing up he saw something he didn't expect. His fathers light blue eyes, just like his own, were filled with tears too. How could he be weak if his father was crying too.
While all this was happening Augusta had turned on the healers. "How did this happen? You told us they would never recover."
"Well," one of the healer said, "as you know, when you placed them here you signed a contract giving us the right to try different treatments. Only a few weeks ago a potions master in Japan created a potion that showed great potential in helping the victims of curse caused mental injuries. The reports from all the hospitals that tried it were all extremely positive so we decided to give it a try last week, and this is the result."
"What do we do now? Can we go home with our son?" Alice asked. When the healers told her that they had been here for 5 years she hadn't wanted to believe it. Then she had seen her little boy. He may have grown a lot, but she would know her baby anywhere.
Now, she just wanted to make up for the lost time. She had already missed so much, and didn't want to mis another moment.
"Not yet. You're going to have to stay here a bit longer while we run a few tests to make sure that you're healthy enough to leave. It shouldn't be more than a week though, so you will be home before new years. We will just need to keep doing check ups from time to time so that we can report your recovery to Lord Prince."
"Lord Prince?" Frank looked up.
"Yes. The potion was created in a joint effort by Gringotts Bank, and Lord Severus Prince, who is currently working in Japan." The healer answered him, knowing that Augusta was going to get angry. They all knew about what Lord Prince had done during the war, when he had been known as Severus Snape. Many thought he had gotten away on a technicality, but a few on the hospital staff knew that was wrong, to them, he was, and always would be a hero, even more so now. But everyone knew Augusta Longbottom's opinion on anything dark. It was why they hadn't told her about the potion until now.
"You gave my son a potion created by that death eater?" She demanded. "How dare you. He could have been trying to kill him."
Frank frowned as he felt his son start to shake at his mothers yelling. "Enough, mother. You know as well as I do that Severus worked as a spy. He has already saved my life more times than I can count, and apparently he's done it again. Sev was, and is, my friend. Besides, clearly he wasn't trying to kill us. If he had wanted us dead, we would be dead. No, he was helping again, just like he always has."
Augusta was shocked. Frank rarely, if ever, spoke back to her. He just didn't understand the world. His father had sheltered him too much. She would just have to get in touch with Albus and he would get Frank back in line.
Neville didn't pay attention as the adults argued, he was happier than he had ever been before. He had his family back just in time for the holidays.