When the Dust Settles

The Right Leadership

"Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts!" announced Headmistress Minerva McGonagall rather joyously. "Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say more than a few words, so please bear with me. A lot has happened since the last time you all roamed the halls of our beloved institution. Please know I speak on behalf of all the faculty and staff of Hogwarts when I tell you that this is your home, that you are safe here, and that, as we have demonstrated in the past, we will sooner lay down our lives than to let anything happen to you. Having said this, we understand that it might take some time before you all feel comfortable being here physically. We have taken steps in two basic areas to ensure your success: health and leadership." Lots of whispering caused the Headmistress to pause and take a sip from her goblet.

"On the one hand, health," The Headmistress continued once the students settled, "we have lived through and overcome situations that even the most perturb of imaginations could not phantom. We take this reality seriously at Hogwarts, which is why we have hired squib mental health counselors and St. Mungo's healers to help all students, faculty and staff navigate through these difficult times and those ahead of us." This piece of news was excitedly received by the cheering students from all houses.

"What is a mental health counselor?" whispered Ginny to Hermione in hopes that she would know.

"It's like a mind healer," Hermione whispered back. "Someone you can talk to and, depending on the type of healer, can give you certain medicines to help you manage difficulties that arise from diseases or maladies of the mind, like post-traumatic stress disorder."

"Great," Ginny nodded, "and what is post-traumatic stress disorder?"

"What we all have," Hermione shrugged. "The nightmares, the fear, the anxiety, the flashbacks. And that is just one example of a malady with which they can help."

"Muggles have a solution for this?" Ginny's eyes became surprisingly glassy despite the excitement in her voice.

"Muggles have solutions to a lot of the problems we currently have in the wizarding world." Hermione whispered back as she gestured for Ginny to turn her attention back to McGonagall.

"On the other hand, we have leadership. Over the past few years we have had a first row sit to good and terrible leadership. We learned just how true it is that leadership sets the tone for everything that happens within these walls and out there in the world. We understand a lot of you might want to choose a different path than that of those who came before you; indeed, some of you might be done with magic altogether and may want to pursue further education or other lifepath in the muggle world. For this reason, and with the help of different magical and squib academic communities across the globe, we have created a new curriculum that will aid all our students thrive in the magical and muggle world alike. New courses and Professors will be available to you moving forward and all students at Hogwarts will take wizarding and muggle classes alike so that, should you choose to step away from the wizarding world, you will be able to do so confident in your abilities to traverse the completely different landscape of the muggle world." This time the cheers from the students were louder, with the most vocal supporters being, to the surprise of the entire hall, Slytherin House.

"Now, the head of each house shall announce its prefects. Our standing tradition was to announce the new fifth year prefects, who would serve until graduation, however, due to changes in a lot of students' circumstances, we have decided to announce all new prefects each year." The commentary mill roared to life momentarily as students began discussing among themselves how they felt about the new development. "We believe," the voices quieted down slowly, but eventually Professor McGonagall was able to continue. "We believe this approach allows for more leadership opportunities for all students while ensuring that all students, including our prefects, have the chance to partake in the social aspect of schooling without having to forsake great opportunities. Without further ado, Professor Longbottom, if you please?"