Headmaster for a day (was Prank WAS :Re: CHAPDISC: DH33, The Prince's Tale

[Ceridwen]

No: HPFGUIDX 184898

Potioncat:
> Explain what you know. Which boys are in your office? Tell us what you 
> think the boys said.  What do you feel for or about the boys?  Have you 
> called in anyone else? Why are you taking the action you decide upon?

Ceridwen:
Okay, I'll play!

Prank:
If I am a Legilimens, I do not practice it on the students. 
McGonagall will never let me forget it if I do.  ;)  I may not be a
Legilimens.  Either way, I must rely upon these students to tell me
what I need to know.

In my office:
Students: James, Sirius, Severus, Peter.  Remus is still in the shack
given that it is either late at night or very early in the morning - I
am assuming it is still dark outside.
Faculty: HoH for Gryffindor and Slytherin; Madam Pomphrey; whichever
staff member heard the disturbance or was alerted to the problem by
one of the boys.

Why:
Disturbance on the grounds - one boy has dragged another out of the
tunnel leading to the Shrieking Shack, or, one of the boys, perhaps
two or more of them, contacted a member of staff once these two were
out of the willow's tunnel.

Both boys have been seen in the infirmary to ascertain if there are
any injuries and if so, if they were from werewolf bite or claw.

Stories I receive:
>From James & Sirius, possibly Peter:  Severus has gone through the
tunnel to the Shrieking Shack.  James pulled him out.
From Severus: Sirius told him how to get past the willow's defenses in
order to find out a secret he wants to know.  Severus tells me he
believes that Sirius wanted to kill him.

My position:
I have sanctioned a werewolf's attendance at Hogwarts.  I have either
done this without the knowledge of the Board of Governors or I have
assumed personal responsibility for his conduct and constraint at the
full moon and have presented my plan to them.  I believe I have vetted
my plan with them and they voted on the funds needed to obtain and
plant the Whomping Willow and to construct or buy the shack.

My concerns:
1)  Apparently the Gryffindor boys know about Remus's condition.  They
know how to get past the willow's defenses.  Have they ever tried to
visit Remus during his incarceration in the shack?

1a)  Have any of them been bitten?

2)  Apparently Sirius gave the secret of the willow to a fellow
student who, for whatever reason, wanted to "know something" about
Remus.  Severus apparently suspects Remus's condition, or that there
is something particular about him which is not particular to any other
student.

2a)  It is apparent that Severus now knows beyond a doubt that Remus
is a werewolf.  He got close enough to the entrance of the shack to
see the beast.  He had to be given a calming solution of some sort for
his nerves.

Other concerns:
3)  The potential for a near-miss tonight and future potential for
tragedy in the future.

4)  The ruination of my plans to show that werewolfism is not a
barrier to education.

Necessities:
4a)  I need to get promises of secrecy from all of these boys, hence
Peter's presence whether or not he was in on the initial disruption.

4b)  I need to find out the extent of the knowledge of Remus's
condition.  Does anyone else know?

4c)  I need to troubleshoot in case one or more of these boys have
told parents or other students.

5)  I need to impress upon these boys that this is not a reason for
pranking if that is what it was, and that Remus's condition is in no
way negotiable for their personal grudges.  I will treat this as an
offense despite the intentions because of the gravity of the situation.

In the immediate aftermath I extract promises from the boys to
withhold information about Remus and his condition.  I swear them all
to secrecy and tell them to come back after classes the next day if it
is a school day, or to come to my office after lunch if it is a weekend.

I tell Madam Pomphrey to bring Remus to me once he is recovered in the
morning, which should be before the other boys return.  I will ask
Remus what he knows about this "prank" and what his friends in
Gryffindor know.  I may need to visit him in the infirmary, depending
on his condition after a night as a transformed beast.  I ask Madam
Pomphrey to advise me on which course of action will be best.

I ask the HoHs and the other staff members what they know about the
relationship between these five boys.  I will discover that there has
been a rivalry between them since their first year.  Slughorn will be
particularly valuable since I am assuming the same class schedules
held then as they do in the books and Gryffindor and Slytherin have
Potions together.

I also ask if my HoHs have had to deal with these students in relation
to each other, the Marauder contingent on one side and Severus and
possibly other Slytherins on the other side, or if they have received
complaints from one group against the other.  I also ask them to speak
to their prefects about these students to see if there have been other
problems or scuttlebut we are not aware of.

In the morning I speak to Remus.  He was not aware of the plan to have
Severus enter the shack.  He is not pleased, I expect, since any
attack he might have made against another student would have meant his
immediate expulsion and possibly his future inability to interact in
WW society due to publicity and lack of education.  He is aware that
his friends know about the willow and the shack and his condition.  I
will probably get the impression that he is not telling me everything,
but he does not give me the overt impression that he is withholding
vital information (the other Marauders are animagi).  If Remus is
anything like he is as an adult in PoA, he is very good at not telling
something.  I am left at a disadvantage since I do not know the other
Gryffs are animagi.

I assign detention based on the information I have to hand.  I am not
aware that the Gryffs are animagi but I know they are privy to
something I have tried to keep secret.  I extract another promise that
none of the boys mention what happened.  I assign detentions,
splitting the Gryffs up since I believe they would merely have fun at
detention if they are together.  I have Severus working with one each
per night for their week's detention with Mr. Filch, Hagrid, Professor
Slughorn, and Madam Pomphrey.  I believe the detention(s) with Madam
Pomphrey will impress upon them the seriousness of what might have
happened.  Each boy will have a second detention with three of the
four.  I ensure that Sirius will have two detentions with Madam Pomphrey.

I do commend James on his actions to rescue a student who is not his
friend.  I do not lessen his detentions because of it since I want the
seriousness of the situation to be indelibly branded on their brains.

I ask my HoHs and, at a later staff meeting where the problem is
discussed, I also ask the other faculty and staff, to keep a closer
eye on these particular students and keep track of what they are doing
to each other.  I also imply that I won't be unhappy if they receive
more detentions for their behavior toward each other.

If I think of anything else, I'll add it.

Ceridwen.