9AM on the dot

For the first time in her life Sophie was actually...on time. There were several reasons for this; one she wanted to make the best first impression possible, and two hadn't gotten a whole lot of sleep the night before because she was so worried about making the best first impression possible. Things were different this year, she couldn't just be loud and goofy. She was, for the moment at least, one of the central mouthpieces for SAWS. What she did mattered, how she presented herself mattered. Was it possible the petite sixteen year old was putting far too much pressure on herself? Completely, totally, utterly, probably in actuality, yes. She was even more on edge because this would be the first full moon of the school year. Ollie was already gone, safely on her way and all that but Sophie worried. A lot hinged on this first full moon going exactly, by the book, according to plan. It was a lot to process after months of not having to worry about much.

It wasn't that Headmaster Reid, on the whole, seemed unfriendly - quite the opposite. There was just something imposing about him - not in the way Snark had been, but in the way he carried himself. He didn't seem cold or distant, and he genuinely seemed to want what was best for everyone involved and to keep Ollie safe. There was just something about his gaunt features, it gave him the appearance of being rather grave until he offered a wide crooked smile - at least these were the things that Sophie remembered standing out about him at the Arrival Festival and the Welcoming Feast. In the one or two spare times she'd seen him since then (he was a very busy man after all) it had abstractly occurred to her that he had extraordinarily kind eyes. She tried to remember that as she stood before the griffin statue, lightly fingering the bracelet Colton had given her, wishing she actually felt as brave as she was supposed to be.

"Sherbet lemon," her voice echoed in the empty hall, just a hint of a quiver that she quickly tried to cover. Ascending the staircase she toyed with the ring on her middle finger. She could do this, it wasn't scary (except in all the ways it was). She doubled checked her bag for the tin of homemade sweets, it seemed a silly gesture now but SAWS hadn't had a chance to talk about a proper thank you gift for the man who seemed so willing to welcome Olivia back to Hogwarts. For the millionth time she wished she had Ollie with her, but the situation was what it was and when Sophie reached the top of the stairs she took another deep breath and squared her shoulders. Posture was everything, her mother had taught her that, when you carried yourself with an air of dignity (not superiority) people treated you with dignity. Stepping into the office she glanced around, biting the inside of her cheek before speaking, "Headmaster? Sophie Flickwick, we have a nine o'clock"?

Herschel had been expecting the young Gryffindor. She had arranged a meeting with him, wanting to discuss with him SAWS and, Herschel assumed, probably his decision to allow werewolves back at Hogwarts. He had worked with her schedule, and she was due to meet him at nine that morning.

She was right on time, and he motioned for her to take a seat in one of the high backed chairs across from his desk. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Flickwick," Herschel said with a smile. "Please, make yourself comfortable." If it wasn't so close to breakfast he would have offered her some tea, perhaps some snacks, but he wasn't sure it would be appropriate at the moment.

Herschel waited on her to get comfortable before settling into his seat, shuffling around a few pieces of parchment on his desk. "So you wanted to discuss SAWS with me?" Herschel asked. "I'll admit I've been waiting to hear from someone who is a part of the group. This year is going to be an interesting one for the organization, that's for certain. But hopefully you'll see less resistance... Are you in charge of the group now, Miss Flickwick?"

Sophie felt more at ease the moment he smiled at her and found herself relaxing ever so slightly to return the gesture as she sat down. Hugging her bag on her lap she bit her bottom lip before opening and pulling out a crimson and gold hued tin and setting it on his desk, "Homemade Toffee, it seems silly now... but we haven't had a chance for a proper meeting to discuss the best way to show our gratitude in a more meaningful way. I wasn't even sure if you liked sweets, it was a fact woefully missing from all the Daily Prophet articles about you," she stopped then to take a deep breath. If she couldn't keep from rambling he was never going to take her remotely seriously and then they'd be in serious trouble.

"Thank you, for meeting with me. I know you must be very busy with the first week of the year," her voice was genuine as she tried to remind herself not to fidget. She had no real reason to be nervous, he seemed more than willing to talk to her and quite amiable. "I wouldn't say leader exactly," she paused again trying to choose her words carefully, "We've all always just pitched in where we could, and I wouldn't want to presume to be the voice of everyone involved in the group - but I am the one organizing the first meeting and I wanted to..." she trailed off, narrowing her eyebrows in thought, trying to find the right words, "to see what kind of adversity we're facing this year".

"I wanted to have something I could take back to the group when we meet on Sunday. Headmistress Snark was not, for many reasons, particularly fond of us. I wanted to make it absolutely clear we have no intention of being a thorn in your side. I feel like education is a really crucial part of making this year work. We have a reputation of being too idealistic, childish in our desire for equality... I myself was guilty of vastly over simplifying the issue prior to last March," she swallowed hard and forced herself to meet the Headmaster's gaze, "March changed a lot of opinions, it opened up our eyes to the real dangers on both sides of the equation, and I understand that ignorance and fear are powerful motivators".

She leaned forward a little, hands braced on the plush arms of the high backed chair, "We, I, want to make your job as easy as possible. I want you to know that we're not trying to deny the reality of the danger. We want everyone to feel secure and safe, and I know without full transparency of what goes on that's going to be difficult. I have some ideas, we had lecturers last year - it didn't go particularly well, but my godfather is Griffon Manley, head of the RCMC and I know he'd be willing to come talk, answer questions from the students, the staff, whoever if you'd like to allow him," chewing the inside of her lip she forced herself to take a deep breath and exhale slowly. He was going to think she was a loon.

Folding her hands over her bag again she gave the Headmaster a small, once again bashful smile, "I'm sorry. I talk too much. I just... Ollie is my best friend Sir. She's like my sister, and I don't know that we ever believed we would get her back. I want to do whatever I can to make her transition as easy as possible, to make your job as easy as possible. I know that SAWS isn't school sanctioned and the last thing anyone wants is for you to be accused of an unfair bias... but I, at least, am acutely aware that you are taking on a very big risk and want to do whatever is necessary to build a healthy, respectful rapport with the new administration," and like that she seemed to have run out of things to say, for once.

Herschel carefully took the tin from the girl, and pulled the lid off. "You are in luck, Miss Flickwick, I happen to be rather fond of toffees. You'll learn, as wizards and witches get older, it seems our sweet tooth seems to grow in size." The headmaster took one of the candies out to eat, savoring the taste as the little Gryffindor talked. She had a lot to say, it seemed, and rather than interrupt her, Herschel let the girl get everything off her chance at once.

He remained silent, carefully picking through everything that she had said, wanting to address all of her concerns carefully, without putting himself in a future bind. If he seemed too eager to help now, then SAWS might expect more out of him than he was willing to give them. He knew that Flickwick's mother was killed in the werewolf attacks earlier in the year, and he could imagine it would change the opinions of a lot of students who were involved with the group.

"What happened in March was a real tragedy for the wizarding world, but was not entirely reflective on the entire werewolf populace. There were special circumstances due to the... direwolf situation. I am truly sorry for your loss, Miss Flickwick, and am proud to know that you have chosen to continue on with a path of what you think is right and that yourself, and hopefully the student group, have come to realize that this is about more than acceptance."

He summoned a pitcher of water and poured himself a glass to help wash down the remaining flavor of toffee. "You are correct- fear and ignorance are your biggest competitors, and the best way to resolve that issue is through education. It is one thing to want equal rights for werewolves, it is another to expect the entire wizard populace to think of them as innocent and harmless creatures."

"Allowing Miss Foley and Miss McGee the chance to attend Hogwarts this year was not a decision I made lightly, Miss Flickwick. I assured her mother that I would look after her best interests, and I intend to do so. I believe that SAWS is a part of her best interests. It is good to know you do not intend to be a thorn in my side, and that you care enough about my opinions and the reputation of myself and of yourself and your peers to arrange this meeting so early in the year." He paused again, sipping his water.

"I believe that your group has a right to exist at Hogwarts. I believe it is wise to educate others on the very real dangers of werewolves, while empowering them to look beyond the curse to see the person behind it."

"I will admit that I cannot take a very proactive with SAWS itself, Miss Flickwick. I have to be very careful with how I conduct myself concerning this matter, and as you said- prevent myself from seeming too biased in one direction or the other. However, I would like for yourself and your fellow SAWS members to know that I do not intend to interfere with your group or to shut it down, as long as you all conduct yourselves with decorum and follow school rules for the duration of your meetings and events."

He was forthright, didn't dance around the subjects, and seem to take her seriously. This was both a new and strange occurrence in her life. She'd never really had to be adult about anything before, there was always someone to buffer the blow of the real world. Of course he wasn't telling her anything she hadn't already surmised herself. The fact that they had let Ollie back in, had accepted Lexi, if it went wrong it was Reid's neck on the line. He might have been paying political favors but he also seemed to genuinely respect the fact that she was there, wanting to talk issues over rather than rebelling or protesting.

It was easy to decide then that she liked him, it put her more at ease even if he wasn't going to throw his full weight behind the group. There was something reassuring about his having Ollie's best interests at heart. "I would never ask you to publicly or privately take a side, Sir. I realize that you have to be impartial, that student safety has to come before anything else," her expression was very serious as her fingers ran over the bracelet on her wrist when he mentioned her mother, she gave a small nod and took a deep breath, "Thank you, Sir. I know it may seem strange but losing her in that way has only strengthened my resolve in some ways".

Her smile was faint when she looked up at him, giving her head a small shake, "I know that we all have varying degrees of conviction on the issues, that some of us are more idealistic than others, but now that some level of the right to an education has been restored I believe our time is better spent trying to  understand Werewolf legislation, and educating the denizens of Hogwarts about the realities of Werewolves, without bias - both the dangers and safety measures in place and other possible solutions. I've already started researching the regulation, testing, and distribution of Wolfsbane," she trailed off, realizing that tidbit was a tangential side fact.

"I can promise you I will do everything in my power to make sure SAWS conducts itself with the utmost decorum," she paused, a fretful expression creasing her brow as she imagined the word decorum and the name Figaro Sellaphix existing in the same small space, maybe she could get Colton or one of his friends to sit on the squirmy bugger when they were in public. "I know we have a lot of minds to change about the seriousness of our cause, and am so grateful you're giving us the opportunity to try. I can't promise you wont regret it, but I will do everything in my power to keep that from happening"... it wasn't much of a promise when she thought of Fig.

Clearing her throat did have two marginally larger favors to ask, "Of course as I said before I don't want to claim to be the only voice of SAWS, and if you would be willing I'd like to have you address the group as a whole, after our first meeting and some general recruitment. I thought we might have a booth for Club day, I know we're not school affiliated but our numbers have taken a serious hit with most of our members graduating last spring. I'm asking your permission because I wouldn't want to put you in the awkward position of having to shut us down or acting like you're in full support of our actions without warning, and there isn't any rush to answer, just something to mull over".

Herschel liked the way that Sophie Flickwick was conducting herself. She seemed to be a mature young lady, who had a very serious grasp on what the reality of the situation was. He appreciated her ability to behave like an adult in the face of adversity, and to be respectful toward him- even if some of his words might be something she did not fully support or agree with. If Sophie continued to help steer SAWS, Herschel hoped she would continue this behavior and steer the group in a right and appropriate direction.

"I think that educating the students and our guests is a very good step to take, Miss Flickwick. Doing so without bias is going to be your best course of action, and I hope that the rest of the members of your group agree with you. The reality is that the situation is not pretty- and the reality is there are valid reasons for why some of the situation is so very, very ugly."

"Research is definitely your friend. I'm sure that there are many at the Ministry would be very interested in helping with your cause. The library might be rather short on updated material concerning the rights of werewolves and how things have evolved, but I am certain you could easily put together small pamphlets on the important issues. If you contact the correct people, you could probably get them mass produced for little or no cost." He would help her as much as he could with this, even if it was only aiding in making sure that she had what she needed to be successful- and for SAWS to come off as something more serious than a hippy group wanting everyone to hug and love werewolves.

"I appreciate your assurance that the group will attempt to remain as disruptive as possible. And if you would like for me to come and address the group, I would be happy to do so Miss Flickwick. No doubt there are plenty of questions for me, and I would like to assure not only you but those who are active in the organization that I do not intend to meddle with your cause unless I feel your group has gotten out of hand or broken school regulations."

He paused when she asked about setting up a booth for club day. It was true that they were not an officially sanctioned group, but the fact of the matter was that they still existed, and not only did they exist, but they had a voice which had been heard throughout the British wizarding community. Denying them approval could create more of a stir than he desired right off the bat. "I will permit you to have a booth at club day," he answered slowly. "But I need you to be sure that it runs smoothly with little interruption. If someone from Hogwarts or from any other school causes problems, I need you to not retalliate, and to instead speak to me about it. I am trying very hard to keep any disturbances under control and in my hands rather than in the hands of the students."

Sophie tried not to feel a vague sense of unease at how well all of this seemed to be going. She was not, by nature, a pessimist but the last year had taught her nothing if not that life often through you hard curves when you least expected it. It felt very surreal to be sitting in the Headmaster's office having a civilized and respectful conversation when not so very long ago the administration had been bribing people to spy and undermine them, deface their posters, tried to cause the group to implode from the inside. SAWS had not always been on the up and up, there had been radical members like Darcy, Sophie knew why Snark felt they were a threat. Still, times were changing it seemed - even if they didn't have the full support of Reid, he seemed willing enough to let them exist.

His pamphlet idea was actually quite good, thus far most everything had been hand made which might have been why so few people took them seriously. Maybe a bake sale to raise funds...she'd have to think about it later, "I'll see what I can find.  If nothing else I could owl a few of my mother's friends at the Ministry," she thought of Griffon then. She knew his general stance on the whole scenario was that it wasn't safe... but he'd also been the one to tell her not to give up on the cause when she'd felt so lost in the months after Ramona's death. Clearing her throat, her smile was wane as he mentioned addressing the group. Maybe...she could trick Figaro with some candy and lock him in a broom closet? She should have given him more credit than that, it really wasn't fair to assume he'd be childish and loud (even if that was sort of his M.O. in life).

She was glad for the reassurance that he wouldn't meddle so long as they behaved themselves. It was important, she could count on the other members for that. She was also relived that he didn't shoot down the idea of a booth in it's entirety right off the bat. "I understand Sir, Olivia and I have talked a little about that already," well they had talked about it in so much as Sophie knew Ollie was to come to him with any grievances or perceived threats and taunting from her fellow students. It was hard for Sophie, in a way, because she was so used to just shooting off her mouth. Her righteous anger could build to a towering inferno if she let it...but she couldn't do that anymore. There was a certain level of decorum she had to keep now. It wouldn't be easy, but she hoped she'd manage.

"It might be harder to manage but I promise to do what I can. It's an issue people feel passionately about - on both sides, but I will try my level best to make sure we aren't the problem," it was the most she could give him. She was only sixteen after all, she had no real control over what the other members of SAWS did. She could try, and she would try, maybe if she could find a way to explain it to them. She knew not many of the upper years would be keen on the idea of tattling rather than just rolling up their sleeves and dealing with it the way they had up to now. For better or worse, things were different now and they'd started to build a name for themselves. It meant a tighter reign, Sophie just hoped she had the social influence to make it all happen. She'd hate to let everyone down, Ollie most importantly.

((godmoding approved by SJ))

Herschel was pleased to hear that Miss Foley had already mentioned- to at least one of her friends- that he had instructed her not to get into any fights, but to let a member of the staff handle it. It would be harder for the girl because of her Prefect status to try not to take matters into her own hands, but he had faith that things would go rather smoothly for the most part. And as long as she did her best, he would be satisfied. Sometimes the effort you put into something outweighed the end results.

"I expect those on the opposing side to be equally well behaved," Herschel assured Sophie. "I won't have superfluous fighting when this is something that should be handled in calm, mature, intellectual debate rather than with hexes, curses, and fists." Hopefully those who opposed SAWS had gotten all of that mess out of their systems the previous year.

"Is there anything else you'd like to ask me about?" Herschel asked Sophie. She shook her head no, and he was glad that he had been thorough. THe meeting might have been short, but being efficient was a skill that never went to waste.

Though he had addressed Miss Flickwick's initial concerns, it was still early in the year, and there was no doubt she would have further questions once the year got going and their meetings started. "Please feel free to meet with me as the year progresses should you have any other questions or concerns, Miss Flickwick. I believe an open line of communication is best for everyone in this situation. I would like to tell you that I very much appreciate your respect and your mature attitude toward this situation. Behavior like yours goes a long way, and I hope that you continue to to put it to use. If you approach all obstacles in your life like this- head on and with a level head- it will do nothing but benefit you and help you get to where you want to be in the future."

Herschel smiled as the girl politely excused herself and left his office. If all of his interactions with student and staff went as well as this one did, then running Hogwarts this year was going to be far more a blessing than he had expected.