Neville's POV
The same night, a few days before Christmas Eve, the gang was getting set up for the big prank. Harry had snuck in and was giving them a hand, since he had the most power. They needed it. Silently they crept through the castle, starting at the top and working their way down. The whole of Hogwarts would have a new look in a few days. They just hoped that the new Headmaster would be happy with it. He should be, he seemed like a reasonable guy.
The Board of Governors couldn't get anyone they wanted in the position, so they had to outsource. Because of the contract they signed for the money Harry and 'Reggie' gave them they had to do it right. The man they hired was an Irish man, Ossian Murphy. He was a portly man, that didn't come off as fat, just healthy. He had a head of grey hair, that was cropped short, and a short beard to match. His blue eyes were always watchful and the smile he bore rarely left his face. He had been the Headmaster of a smaller school in Ireland, one that the students that couldn't attend Hogwarts, for some reason or another, tended. He laughed with the students on harmless pranks, but he took the bullying ward very seriously.
Malfoy, along with being embarrassed, had to spend a lot of time being lectured by Binns on the school charter. Then he was tested. He had to repeat the detention for every time he failed. It had been three days, and he was still trying. Ron started tomorrow, and they were betting on how long it took him, since he tended to fall asleep the moment Binns started talking.
Since the hiring of Murphy there were many changes at Hogwarts. New people hired and some on the verge of being fired. Binns was reassigned to overseeing detention, and Trelawney was on the edge of a nervous breakdown. Filch and Finch were on tenterhooks, both were under severe observation, one more remark to the children that the castle didn't like, and they would be booted.
McGonagall was bitter, because after her tea with Albus she knew that he was cursed. The problem was that she didn't know how, but she was sure she knew who. Harry Potter. With his permission she cast every spell she knew on Albus to find out what had happened. They all came back negative. There was nothing wrong with the man, except he could not talk about Harry Potter. She tried for over an hour to find out what the blasted boy had done but could only get that he somehow had Albus' wand. It was starting to distract her in class and she had been chided by the new headmaster for a minor mishap of Ron Weasley's hand turning into a pincushion while she was not paying attention. She, who had been teaching for over 35 years, had been reprimanded like a child. Maybe she would look into retirement, after all. With Dumbledore gone, the castle was not the same anyway. She had saved up a good amount of money, plus there was a good pension with the end of her tenure.
The rest of the staff was doing well. After the first meeting during the beginning of the Winter Holiday, they understood where they stood.
Murphy also hired a curse-breaker for the DADA class, and hired an alumnus for the job, Willie Gillies. Gillies was a Ravenclaw in 1966, and had nine OWLs, a masters in Defense, and had been applying for the job for years. He was a fair, but strict teacher, and everyone felt hopeful for the future, should war break out. Fifth and seventh years had been worried about the tests, now were not.
Shaking himself out of his thoughts the sandy-haired boy got back to work. Neville's job was to charm the halls. It was a huge task, since he had to go floor to floor and cast his part on every wall. There was a trigger that would be set off Christmas Eve morning. He was very tired by the end of the night and was more than willing to sleep till noon. Happy to know that they were doing something epic.
.....
Can't wait to read more exciting chapters then what are you waiting for Join my p*atreon right now.
Get 60+ Premium chapters.
Link: p*atreon.com/Earthly_Writer (Remove the *)
2 Chapters for all free members.