A/N: Not my first fanfic, but my first to Mugglenet!
The day that Albus had his wonderful idea was a very lukewarm day.
It started out with the regular end-of-term businessâ”helping to coordinate the final feast, overseeing the prospective student lists, dealing with teacherâs complaints of summer pranks, and planning his annual vacation to Majorca. Fawkes was looking a bit peaky, which added yet another worry to his mind, and he felt the comings of a cold in his head.
He half-heartedly consoled himself with the fact that there was only a week left of term and that Gryffindor was hundreds of points ahead in the competition for the House Cup. Slytherin was in last place, due to some nasty pranks by some fourth-years, he thought with a gleeful chuckle.
Shouldnât be having such thoughts, he sighed. No house prejudices anymoreâŚat least none that any students can see.
A tawny owl tapped weakly on his window. Albus opened it and the bird flopped onto the ground, obviously overworked. Ministry of Magic: Great Britain was inscribed with green ink on the envelope. Typical of the Ministry, to not give their owls a bit of restâ”but ah, nothing I can do about that.
Albus slid open the seal and skimmed the letter. It was hardly life-threatening, simply requesting help with trouble from the Gringottâs Goblin Union that the Minister was unable to handle. He tossed it onto his deskâ”today was not a good day to deal with the Ministry.
There was a quick rap on the door, and without asking permission Minerva entered. âI ask myself every day why I didnât decide to be a Healer!â she exclaimed as she collapsed into a chair, clearly frazzled.
Albus chuckled. âWhat did some rascal do today?â
She shook her head angrily. âThat Evans girl had better get a hold of those hormones of hers! Though thereâs no doubt in my mind that Potter didnât bring it upon himself, butâ”oh!â she finished with an indignant snort.
âWhat did she doâ”or may I ask, what did he doâ”this time?â
âThought it would win over the poor girl to serenade her with a sappy Weird Sistersâ love ballad in the second floor corridor before lunchâ”idiot boy, heâs got to learn to be more subtleâ”and she, quite frankly, got enraged and pushed him out the window! Thank Merlin that Pettigrew was there to perform a quick Levitation, and even if the boy hadnât Potter wouldâve just landed in the lake, but stillâŚâ
Albus shook his head slowly. âShe defenestrated him? Quite cheeky, wouldnât you say?â
This stopped Minerva up short. âDefenestrateâ”?â
âTo push out a window. From fenestra, ae, feminine.â
She raised her brows.
âErâ”itâs Latin.â
âHmm. Well, anyway, a second-year panicked and enacted a homing alarm her worried mother had given her. People in high-risk jobs use themâ”they automatically call St. Mungoâs alert team. They, of course, couldnât Apparate in, so they were forced to repossess broomsticks from Hogsmeade and fly through some more windowsâ”fifteen broken ones to count, including the one Potter had fallen through. Rest assured they werenât happy when they saw it was a false alarm.â
âAnd who are we holding to blame?â Albus asked, unable to hold back a small chuckle.
âEvans, of course, though eyewitnesses swore she hadnât intended him to push him so far. Sheâs waiting at the bottom of the stairs. Choose however many points you wish to dock from Gryffindor, though Iâll be giving Potter a good talking-to about the finer points of wooing myself.â
âAh, yes,â Albus smiled. âPlease, send her up. Just the kind of spice I needed for my day!â
âOh, and before I leaveâ”have you received the recommendations for Head Boy and Girl for next year?â
âNo, mustâve gotten lost.â
âHereâs a copy.â She procured a sheet from her bag and handed it to him. âWeâll need the decision by next Friday.â
Minerva briskly walked out as Albus placed the list on his desk. âPotter?â asked the portrait of Lucille Edgemill, whoâd clearly just woken up.
âAye,â said the portly image of Sir Willoughby Hullahat. âTried to sing her a love song, which I can promise youâ”â
âDidnât go over too well?â she supplied.
The other pictures responded with enthusiastic agreements.
âPushed him out a window!â came the tiny voice of Everett Twillpit.
âPlaying hard to get, I say!â
âMust be. Whoâd be able to resist such a man?â
âCanât say⌠he was downright nasty back before puberty.â
âAnd after!â
âAnd during!â
This resulted with rounds of laughter from the portraits.
âStill pushing around the odd... snake, if you catch my meaning,â confided Sir Willoughby, âBut canât blame him. Not a bit.â
There was a quiet knock on the door, and the room fell silent.
âCome in, Miss Evans!â Dumbledore called, still grinning from the portraitsâ exchange.
A nervous sixteen-year old girl walked in, shoulders hunched in embarrassment. âListen, Professor, I really didnât mean toâ”â
He smiled, cutting her off. âI have no doubt that you contain no violent tendencies. It was simply a normal response to an annoying boy that went a tad wrong.â
âIf you call being scolded by the Assistant to Associate Director of St. Mungoâs in front of half the school as they regard your enemy as a martyr a tad wrong,â she muttered.
âThings couldâve been much worse,â Albus pointed out.
âHow?â
âWell, Potter couldâve gotten wet!â
This elicited a small smile from her.
âWell, defenestrating other students is not included in the handbook, nor is there any precedentâ”â
âSorry, sirâ”defenestratingâŚ?â
Albus sighed. âWe must add Latin as a subject. It means to push out of a window.â
âOh. Right.â
âAs I was saying, as there is no precedent, only my judgment will decide your punishment.â
She bowed her head, waiting for the blow.
âIâll say seventy-five points from Gryffindor.â
Lily winced. Not as bad as sheâd imagined, and sheâd really scored some points with her knowledge of brettlebugs in Herbology, so that might be enough to offset that⌠but seventy-five points! Lily Evans gained points! She let scoundrels like Potter and his Mermaiders lose pointsâŚ
âHowever,â Albus amended, âI do have some advice for you.â
âAd-advice?â
âGive Mr. Potter a chance. Youâre letting an image from five years ago blind you to who he truly is now.â
She cocked her head, confused. âButâ”but itâs not like heâs changedâŚâ
He smiled. âAre you the same girl you were five years ago?â
âWellâ”no, I suppose not⌠but still--he's done so much to me! And to other people. Really, he's just a bully." Albus gave her a stern look. She wrinkled her nose. "Alright. Iâll give him a chance.â Dumbledore could tell she was simply making the promise so she could get out of his office, but he continued on.
âAh. Good. Really, do think about it.â When she didnât leave, Dumbledore asked, âAnything else?â
âWell⌠thisâ”this wonât go on my record or anything, will it?â
âThe defenestration?â
She nodded quickly.
âNo, I donât believe so, since only infractions of fifty points or above are recorded.â
âBut mine was seventy-five!â
âHowever, due to your extreme open-mindedness about an old enemy, and a promise to improve your disposition, Iâm awarding you⌠forty points. Iâd say that would do it.â
She nodded gratefully. âThank you, Professor. May I go now?â
Albus smiled. âOf course. Though let me congratulate you on your exemplary marks on the exams youâve taken so far this week. You have a bright future.â
âRightâ”ohâ”well, thanks! Thanks a lot! Iâll see you... um⌠bye! Thanks!â She rushed out the door.
âMadly in love with him,â a portrait remarked.
âMade for each other,â another agreed.
Albus nodded. âTrue⌠very true⌠she just needs to see it.â
âAnd he needs to get some responsibility,â a woman added.
Albus frowned, glancing at the list of prospective Heads for next year.
Girls
Mary York
Hewford Pringle
Lily Evans
Alice Rhysford
Boys
Remus Lupin
Perry Winglepare
Will Wherins
He picked up a blue quill, a gift from the Giants Association for Fairer Hours and Better Wages (GAFHBW, ironically the word for âimpossibleâ in their language). Without thinking about the implications of his decision, he carefully penned in James Potter below Will Wherins.
âI do like this scandal!â exclaimed Madame Rose Truflee.
Albus quickly circled Lilyâs and Jamesâs names, blew on them to dry the ink, folded it up and addressed it to the Ministry (who handled the sending of beginning-of-term letters).
âA good dayâs work,â he said quietly to himself.
A/N: The idea for this came in a flash: why in the world did James Potter, troublemaker extraordinaire, end up Head Boy? If I get a good response, I might continue this into their seventh year (the story of James and Lily through the teachersâ perspective).
Please review!