Monday, early evening

Fauna stood outside the door to Professor Mainwaring’s office, shifting from foot to foot and looking down the corridors. She kept second guessing herself, wondering whether she and Astrid had decided on 7:00 or 7:30. It was about 7:05 and Astrid was nowhere in sight. She chewed on her lower lip, thinking maybe she should check by the Great Hall, or the Ravenclaw common room, but then what if she missed Astrid while she was looking for her, because maybe she was just running a little late, and then Fauna would miss the meeting, and-

Letting out a sigh, Fauna put a halt on that train of thought and looked down at Pax Wintergreen with a hesitant smile. “Well, we’re here,” she told him, trying to sound enthusiastic. “I’m not sure where Astrid is, though. I hope… she’ll be here soon.”

Fauna was about to knock on the door when she suddenly remembered how she’d felt as a first year, talking to a teacher outside of class. It had been terrifying, absolutely terrifying. Pax was not only a sweet kid, but showed bravery, asking to come with her like he had.

“He- Professor Mainwaring- may seem a little gruff in class,” she said, lowering her voice. “But… he’s actually very nice. He does a good job looking over us Huffles,” Fauna smiled reassuringly, and then knocked on the door. The first year’s presence actually made her feel more resolute and confident, somehow. She wasn’t alone in this. Other people cared about Ollie too, even people who hadn’t met her.

 Professor Mainwaring was engaged in the marking of homework, a task he rarely relished at this time of the year. Few pupils bothered opening their books over the holidays so most of their answers were a far cry from their best work. He expected a certain level of rustiness after the summer's break  but really, a few senior students' spectacular drivel suggested their minds had actually regressed since he had last seen them. Still that was nothing additional homework and a few spot tests couldn't sort out. 

 On hearing the knock, he set aside the scrolls, making sure to conceal the names of the guilty, and walked to the door. Opening it he was puzzled. The two before him certainly made a strange pair and he had a sudden dread that some accident or such had to have befallen the Hufflepuff common room to bring them here together.

 Brushing aside such worries he smiled,

 "Miss Blake, Mr Wintergreen, Good Evening.  Do come in and take a seat and then you can tell me to what I owe this pleasant if unexpected company this evening."

Pax glanced at Fauna as if for assurance, or approval (or possibly both), then sidled nervously into Professor Mainwaring's office. Fauna's reassurance about the Defence teacher had been welcome, but had not entirely dispelled Pax's anxieties. It wasn't just that it was one of the somewhat sterner, no-nonsense teachers; Pax actually quite liked Professor Mainwaring, even if he was a little intimidated by him. It was more to do with meeting with a teacher to inquire after a rather sensitive topic.

'We were... we were wondering about...' Pax started timidly, then clamped his mouth shut and looked back over at Fauna. Better to let her explain it. Coming here had been her idea after all, and she knew more about what was going on, not to mention she was a seventh-year. Pax was only tagging along; he knew so little of the ins and outs of Olivia Foley's situation that when he had heard of Fauna and Astrid's plans to speak to the Head of Hufflepuff, he had asked if he could join them mostly so that he could find out more.

Keeping Ollie from school because of something she couldn't help definitely seemed unfair, but... Was it possibly Headmistress Snark had a good reason for it? Something Fauna and the others didn't know? Pax never wanted to make an uninformed decision about where he stood on any given subject. And once he knew where he stood, he could start finding out what to do about it. At the moment, much as Pax tried to stay impartial, he still hoped it would involve figuring out how to bring Ollie back to school.

Fauna smiled back at the professor and led the way in, taking a seat when it was offered. Pax started to pipe up but then he got nervous, which was something she could certainly relate to, so she nodded at him encouragingly.

“It’s okay,” she told the boy, and then glanced at Professor Mainwaring and the pile of papers on his desk. Perhaps she should have made an appointment. “Uh, if you have a few minutes,” she began hesitantly. This would probably take more than a few minutes. “We were… hoping to talk to you about Ollie.”

Fauna paused, waiting for some indication that he had the time and was willing to listen. “Astrid should be here soon, too. But I guess the first thing I should do, is… explain. There are a lot rumors that SAWS had something to do with the fire.. in the infirmary,” she said softly, looking down. She felt guilty and horrible about what had happened, even though she hadn’t been connected to it in any way. “But we didn’t,” Fauna glanced up to look him in the eye. Her use of ‘we’ let him know that she was a part of SAWS, and that she trusted him enough to tell him.

“I don’t know if anything can be done for Darcy,” she shook her head. “She just made a mistake, you know? Since we’ve lost another Hufflepuff, it’s just… it’s just been hard.”

The common room that weekend had been strangely morose and solemn. Fauna couldn’t seem to keep her head up or her spirits high, either. Ollie was her best friend and Darcy was one of her closest friends. Now both of them were expelled from Hogwarts and it didn’t look like they’d be back anytime soon.

“I should tell you what we’ve been trying to do so far. Nothing bad, nothing like pranks.” Perhaps, in the Headmistress’s mind, their actions would be seen as worse than pranks, but Fauna didn’t want to dwell on that. “I’ve just sent out some letters and talked to some people. As far as I know, Miss Gertrudis and Mr. Greyfriar are fighting for Ollie at the Ministry. And, I should be getting information soon about werewolf laws and other cases where… something similar might have happened. Where a student was discriminated against and expelled.”

She shifted in her seat and glanced at Pax. “So, the reason we’re here… is to, well, let you know what’s been going on. To run some ideas by you, and maybe get your advice?” Fauna said the last part hopefully. SAWS, and Ollie, needed as much help as they could get. They’d been lucky so far, with the support from people in the Ministry, Tulo, and Akiva. Fauna might be pressing her luck, but she thought that Professor Mainwaring would have a lot of knowledge to offer because of his personal experience with werewolves and his position in the school.

  Theobald listened to Fauna with a combination of sorrow, sympathy and pride. She had come a long, long way from the timid girl she once was. When she first attended Hogwarts he would never had imagined her as one to be founding pressure groups and writing to senior Ministry officials. It was such a shame that it was such a tragic reason that had led her to do it.

 Mr Wintergreen he had yet to get to know as well but he was impressed by him so far, both in his knowledge and the character he had shown in joining Fauna in this. Few at his age would be interested in such issues, especially given that it was very unlikely that he knew Ollie.

 "I know Miss Bloxham is not a wicked girl, Fauna. Her heart is in the right place but she made a significant error in judgement in what she did. She was lucky not to have hurt someone or to have caused greater damage to the castle.  Her fate unfortunately lies beyond my hands.
 
 As for Ollie I glad to see that she has such true and loyal friends. She will need all the support that we can give her in the days ahead.  I am impressed by the efforts that you have already made on her behalf.

 I have already spoken to the Headmistress to try to get her to change her mind on this subject. Unfortunately I must regret to say that I was unsuccessful in this and I strongly doubt that she will be amenable to any future arguments, however well reasoned.

 I see though that you have already decided that her ruling is not sufficient reason  to give up trying. In this you are correct to pin your hopes on the Ministry. It is after all the body that has ultimate jurisdiction over the issue of werewolf rights. Personally I applaud your actions Miss Blake and I will say that I have never more been more proud of you but I would also urge you to exercise caution. Going over the Headmistress' head is not without risks. Should she learn of what you are trying to do I doubt that she would in any way be understanding. I have already lost two Hufflepuffs this term. I would hate to loose a third."

Pax sat quietly, hands tightly folded in his lap, as he listened to the information Professor Mainwaring had to impart. He ducked his head a little at the mention of Darcy Bloxham; he had conflicting feelings over that whole event, ranging from irrational guilt for Darcy getting into trouble, to fear of what could have happened if the fire hadn't been stopped when it was. But he understood the reasons of both sides for that conflict; and the overall underlying reason of course came down to Ollie, whose circumstances he still did not fully understand.

'Um, Professor... I mean, if you don't mind my asking... Only... Did Headmistress Snark... Did she say why Ollie couldn't come back? It's just...' He glanced at Fauna again, seeking reassurance that we wasn't overstepping his bounds. 'I don't know all that much about werewolves, except for what you told us in class. I guess I was wondering... Did something change, that makes things different from last year? Or...' Pax didn't need to ask if it was only the headteacher that had changed in the equation. It was not only strongly implied; it seemed to be the cause of Ollie's expulsion. Where Professor Greyfriar had been tolerant, the new headmistress was... less tolerant. Pax still wished to know her reasoning.

 Why indeed? That was a hard question to answer. He could Pax tell the truth – that Analiza Snark was a spiteful bigot, that she was a rude, cruel woman who hid her prejudice in a veil of public decency. Somehow, though, he doubted that it would do anything other than cost him his job. Even though he felt like screaming it from the top of his lungs it would be better that he at most alluded to it and let them reason it out for themselves.  

 Choosing his words carefully he began,
 “There was nothing Miss Foley did that changed from last year or the years before that Mr Wintergreen. She took her potion religiously. Each and every full moon she went to a secure room for the time of her change. There was no incident in the holidays that caused anyone any concern that she would cease to behave as impeccably in the future.

 The conversation that I had with the Headmistress must remain between us as it would be a breach of professional etiquette for me to divulge her private thoughts. I can tell you though the reasons that some of the wizarding public would object to Olivia’s return to Hogwarts now that they know of her condition.

 One factor is fear. While registered werewolves have access to secure facilities and the Wolfsbane potion, as I mentioned in class, there are a few werewolves that choose not to make themselves known to the Ministry. Some do so out of a fear of prejudice and of being ostracised by their friends and family. Others do so out of darker reasons. You are too young to return the last war but during it one in particular of these rose to prominence. His name was Fenrir Greyback.

 Theobald’s voice became hard and bitter as he say the name of the man he hated most in the entire world although it softened and became more weary as he went on ,
 “Greyback hated the wizarding world. He made it his mission to infect as many people as possible in order to raise an army of werewolves to bring down the Ministry. He particularly favoured placing himself near children at the time of his change. Of course his plan had a glaring flaw. People infected with lycanthropy retain their minds except during the full moon. The vast majority of his ‘converts’ rejected him out of hand, at least at first. Were it not for Voldemort we would have been more than capable of bringing Greyback and his cronies to heel, if you pardon the pun.
 
 You will note that I said at first. Those newly infected with the curse of lycanthropy naturally expected their loved ones to rally behind them.  I regret to say that in many cases they did not. There are many witches and wizards, far too many, who look down on and hate werewolves for what they are, viewing them as somehow less than human. Those who hold such views held most of the levers of power in the run-up to the last war and they made sure that those who believed like them were able to discriminate against werewolves in the job market. Even highly qualified individuals found that they could gain no employment or proper home in our society. Inevitably they turned against it and the less moral and more easily led drifted to Greyback’s side, further heightening the divide between werewolves and the general public.
 
 After the fall of Voldemort, matters improved. Our new leaders, who had fought against the prejudice and tyranny of those dark times, sought to rectify this situation and tried to take steps towards improving werewolves’ rights. They were not able to cure society of all its ill feelings however which is why Miss Foley’s expulsion has support in some quarters.

 There are those of course who agree with the Headmistress’ decision who would not think of themselves as prejudiced. These people if asked would often say they support werewolves’ rights. They are afraid though of what might happen if a werewolf such as Olivia forgot to take her potion or took a potion that for some reason did not work, especially if their children were attending the school with her.  A lot of such fear is down to simple ignorance. The Ministry was perfectly capable of containing registered werewolves even without the Wolfsbane potion. We simply had to use secure rooms and other means of constraint.

 This latter crowd are the ones that could be persuaded if they were properly educated and are perhaps the best target for those who wish to change society for the better. The ones who are prejudiced often turn their noses up at other beings such centaurs, house elves, merfolk and even muggle-born wizards. Their hatred of werewolves is much more deep seated and reflects the fact that they do not wish to have to let themselves be ‘sullied’ by association with those they deem inferior. Such bigots can occasionally be convinced of the errors of their ways but more often than not they and their views can only be confronted.

 I have been out of the Ministry for a number of years now so I cannot say whether its new leadership is as committed to the rights of werewolves and other beings as its predecessor was. I dare say that in the coming days and weeks we will find out.”

Fauna smiled sadly. It was nice to hear that Professor Mainwaring had tried to talk some sense into the Headmistress, but disappointing that even he hadn’t been able to sway her. When he went on to say that he was proud of her, her eyes widened and she nodded stiffly, her throat closing up with emotion. In the past, she’d never drawn much attention to herself, good or bad, and in Defense classes, she’d always been mediocre despite how hard she tried. So to hear that he was proud of her and that he didn’t want to lose another Hufflepuff… suffice it to say, Fauna felt grateful that Pax spoke up next, because she could not.

She nodded at the first-year. It was a good, fair question, and showed he was trying to see all sides to the situation. She listened to the professor’s response very attentively, even more so than she would have in class. Here, it was almost as if they were talking like three people trying to do the right thing, and not so much like one professor lecturing two students. It was different and strange- sort of like being an adult. She was 17, but often felt younger than her age.

Such fear is down to simple ignorance… proper education may persuade them… his words echoed what Tulo had told her and the ideas that Fauna herself was forming. When he seemed finished speaking, she looked at him and nodded slowly.

“One thing I was thinking about… well, since we learn about werewolves in Defense classes, I thought that…” she took a deep breath. “If it’s possible, if I can find someone willing to talk to students, maybe… a werewolf could visit as a guest speaker during one of your lessons?” Fauna paused, peering at him nervously. She knew more than a few werewolves now, after working with them over the summer. Asking Miss Gertrudis to speak about the werewolf programs she’d started was also an option.

“I think it would help for people to hear about lycanthropy from someone who… lives with it. In class, we do tend to focus on, well, rogue werewolves, because that’s who we’d need to defend ourselves against. Which is important!” Fauna added, worried he would think she was criticizing him. “But, it would be good to hear from someone trying to lead a normal life, to understand what they have to go through. Students, even if it’s just a few, might start to see them more as people, less as creatures.”

Tulo’s words rang in her mind, but she kept quiet, waiting to hear what the professor thought.

Theobald was sure that the Headmistress would not approve of such a guest speaker. So be it.  It would mean though that he could not allow her to find out until after the event.

 "Meeting a normal werewolf would definitely help dispel irrational fears about them amongst your classmates and would be a valuable education for them. There would be several provisos that I would have insist on though. First of all it would need to be kept secret until it happens lest opposition be raised by certain parties. Secondly it would have to not be on a day of the full moon. While personally I would not be worried if it was, holding it then would be playing into the hands of the prejudiced."

Pax chewed on his lip, still digesting everything Professor Mainwaring and Fauna had said. Somewhere in the back of his mind he was pleased to note that even knowing Madam Snark's reasoning, he was still on Ollie's side. The headmistress's arguments for banning Ollie were at least understandable even if they weren't excusable. After all, how had Ollie become a werewolf in the first place? Another one must have bitten her. Rogue werewolves still existed, even without the influence of Voldemort and Greyback.

But Ollie wasn't like that, not if what he'd heard from her friends was anything to go by. She would never just forget to take her potion, and the staff at the school would never let anything like that happen anyway. All of this was completely beyond Ollie's control and she had done everything in her power to keep her werewolf side in check, and yet she was still being treated like she was dangerous. It wasn't fair. Fauna was right; people, especially their generation, needed to get used to the idea of werewolves as people. It wasn't as if they weren't people most of the time, after all!

'W-we wouldn't want anyone to get into trouble, though,' Pax added in a small voice, uncomfortable with the idea of having to keep a guest werewolf secret. Was it really better to beg foregiveness than ask permission? Professor Mainwaring was already doing so much for them, Pax knew he'd feel awful if the Defense teacher's career was put in jeopardy over this. 'If the headmistress found out about it after it happened, wouldn't she be a lot angrier than if we had only asked? And if there were parents who already don't want their kids to be near werewolves...' The young Hufflepuff resumed chewing anxiously on his lower lip.

Fauna bit her lip, relieved that the professor agreed with her but very worried now that he’d mentioned the need for secrecy. That meant he didn’t think Headmistress Snark would allow a werewolf to visit them on school property.

She let out a small sigh. It was so hard to remember who they were dealing with. Snark started this problem in the first place and likely wouldn’t be willing to help solve it. Then Pax spoke, bringing up a very crucial point. By asking him to do this, Fauna was putting the professor’s career into jeopardy, a reality that hadn’t sunk in until now. Her eyes widened fearfully. Professor Mainwaring needed his job. The students really needed him too, especially this school year. There had to be some other options.

“Right,” she nodded at Pax and looked at the professor. “I don’t… I don’t want you to lose your job,” she said softly, shaking her head. “Um… we could try asking her, first. If she says no… maybe she would allow Miss Gertrudis to speak, at least…” Fauna trailed off, thinking. “And, there is a Hogsmeade weekend coming up.” Her face brightened a little. “So if she won’t allow a werewolf to visit us, we would just have to visit a werewolf. We’d have to be careful, but… your name, and the Defense class, wouldn’t necessarily be attached to it then, in case she finds out and tries to pin it on you or another professor.”

Fauna and Astrid could plan it, get the word out discreetly. It would be like a SAWS field trip, but open to any student who wanted to meet a werewolf and get an understanding of what life was like for them. Her heart thudded from nerves and excitement. She looked between Pax and the professor, hoping she wasn’t crazy and that it was a decent idea.

“Do you think it would work?” she half-whispered, a small smile forming on her face.

 Theobald was genuinely touched at his pupils' concern for him. He had similar worries himself of course. If he lost his job he could always go back to North America and teach there but he did not want to leave Hogwarts. It would be very disruptive to Charlton and Laurissa, not to mention that if he did it would still leave the pupils of the tender mercies of Analiza Snark. Given his intentions regarding the Headmistress though it was unlikely that they would remain colleagues for long, one way or the other.

 "My sincere thanks to you both for your concern.

 Your Hogsmeade idea  is definitely a good place to start.  It should help convince the unsure and energise those who already are committed to the cause. Choosing the right person to meet of course would of course be vital.

 Over time though we will need to involve the junior school as well though as Hogsmeade remains off limits to first and second years.

 As for your initial idea asking the Headmistress for approval I believe would be an exercise in futility as she would almost certainly refuse to allow a werewolf to speak.  Moreover if you do ask her and she refuses you lose the option of inviting a werewolf later on. I can act without her prior approval but refusing a direct edict would  not be sensible.  

 Miss Gertrudis however is another  matter. If such a prominent Ministry official requested to speak to the class she would be hard pressed to raise too many objections. She may still try though given Miss Gertrudis' outspoken support for werewolf rights."

Fauna had forgotten that the first and second-years wouldn’t be allowed to come on the Hogsmeade trip. She looked at Pax apologetically. She would have to find a way to reach out towards the younger ones who were interested.

As for the SAWS meeting in Hogsmeade, she was lucky enough to know a few werewolves personally. She hoped that Ollie would come, because she was a familiar face to many students. Fauna could also ask Mr. Reid, who she’d met during her internship. He had an adult perspective on the situation and she was curious to hear about his experiences.

She smiled at the professor and nodded. “I’ll just ask Miss Gertrudis first, then. You’re right- it’s better not to push a werewolf visit… at Hogwarts, for now.”

Fauna wished there was a way to include Pax in the Hogsmeade trip. However, Tulo did mention letters. If she could collect some letters from werewolves about their lives, perhaps she could convince Maddie to publish them in the school paper. She wasn’t sure if that was actually happening yet, because much like SAWS, it was an underground club. Still, it was a possibility.

She couldn’t help but grin at Professor Mainwaring. “Thank you so much for your advice. I feel like… all those ideas we had, now we can actually make them happen. Or… try, at least.”

Fauna looked at Pax, wanting to make sure she wasn’t leaving him out. “What do you think? Anything else we should bring up?”

'Hm?' Pax looked up, slightly caught offguard. He had been deep in thought, trying to figure out how first and second years might be able to meet a werewolf. Maybe during the holidays... People went home for the holidays, after all, that would be outside school jurisdiction... But maybe it would be too much to organise.

'I'd like it if we could get Madam Gertrudis,' Pax offered optimistically, fixing on the option that seemed the safest and most practical to accomplish. 'It'd be really great to learn more about werewolves, and what it's like for them and everything. I wonder if... I mean, like you said, Professor, people are afraid of things like this 'cause they don't know that much about them. I don't know much about centaurs or mermaids either, but they live right here in the school grounds... It'd be nice to learn about them, so we can understand better, like how some of the students learn about muggles and some learn about magical creatures... But beings aren't quite the same as creatures... Are they?'

Pax frowned a little, somewhat self-conscious when he realised he had been pretty much thinking aloud. 'Sorry. Um, who is Madam Gertrudis, anyway?' he asked, a little sheepish at not knowing. 'Is she to do with lots of magical beings, or just werewolves?'

  "Miss Gertrudis is the Head of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, a very senior position at the Ministry of Magic.

 The term magical creature actually encompasses beings but I certainly know and agree with what you mean. Magical creatures are divided into their groups:- beasts,beings and spirits. Beings are defined as those that have sufficient intelligence to understand the laws of the magical community and to bear part of the responsibility in shaping those laws. Beasts mostly lack intelligence although some, like manticores, are defined as such for their brutal or malign nature rather than their stupidity. Spirits encompass ghosts and the like. It is more complicated that that of course, especially as various beings have their own views on us classifying them but that is the gist of the division.

 Learning more about centaurs and mermaids is certainly a noble goal. Relations between wizards and many beings, including centaurs have sadly rarely been easy,  frequently due to arrogance and ignorance on our part. I can certainly lend you books on the subject if you would like although you may find more straight forward articles in the school library."