James Potter the first. Besides, you're one to talk, Mr. Gremlin.'
'Got high marks this year, all across the board,' Noah said primly.
Ron grinned again. 'Thanks to your friend Petra, no doubt. She's to you Gremlins what Hermione was for Harry and me. Hold on. She wants to say hello, James.'
The face in the coals sank out of sight. A moment later, Hermione's pleasant smile and perpetually bushy hair formed. 'James, you look very handsome,' she said proudly. 'Don't you listen to your uncle. He studied plenty and was just as worried about marks as anyone.'
'That's not true!' a muffled voice called from the depths of the fireplace. Hermione grimaced.
'Well, almost anyone,' she conceded. 'Anyway, your mum and dad will be very proud of you, and so are your uncle and me. Oh, I just can't believe how fast the time goes. It seems like only yesterday that we were all still there,' she sighed, looking around the common room. 'It looks almost exactly the same. We'll have to make a point of visiting next year. It'll be nice to see the old place again.' Even in the embers, Aunt Hermione's eyes glistened a little. She blinked, and then returned her gaze to James. 'Anyway, James. Ron's been talking to your father, you know, and the two of them wanted to ask you something. I thought it'd be best if someone besides either of them brought it up, though, because, frankly, they're both so silly about it that they'd influence your response.'
'What is it?' James asked, squatting down in front of the fireplace.
'Don't kneel,' Hermione chided automatically. 'You'll scuff up your pants with ash. It's about the Headmistress. She's planning to retire, you know.'
James didn't know. 'She is? But… what would she do with herself?'
Hermione gave James a look that said she'd just remembered how old he was. 'Minerva McGonagall has quite a life outside the walls of Hogwarts, James, as difficult as that may be for you believe. She's even, I understand, taken Mr. Finney up on his offer of dinner in London.'
'She did?' James hooted.
'She did?' Noah chimed almost simultaneously from the couch, looking up from a book.
Hermione rolled her eyes. 'It was a purely professional meeting, I can assure you both. She performed a few minor memory modifications upon Mr. Finney, not really causing him to forget his visit here, but altering it. It's all a part of Mr. Dolohov's programme to 'clean'--as he calls it--the school's security record. Still,' Hermione added, lowering her voice a bit, 'she did speak rather highly of Mr. Finney. It would be quite nice to think that she might find a, er, companion for herself. After all…'
'Hermione!' Ron's voice barked from the depths of the fireplace again.
'Anyway,' Hermione said, turning businesslike. 'Yes, the Headmistress does plan to retire, possibly as soon as this summer, assuming a suitable replacement could be found. Most likely, she will stay on to teach Transfiguration and help the new headmaster, whoever he or she might be. Some had suggested Neville Longbottom, but the Ministry feels he might be a bit young for the post, which is just silly, but politics being what they are…'
'Merlin!' James exclaimed. 'You're all thinking of asking him to be the new headmaster!'
A whoop of happy triumph emanated from the depths of the fireplace. Hermione scowled.
'You can leave me out of this, thank you very much. This is all your father's and uncle's idea. But I can see you are as mad about it as they are.'
'But how can he be the headmaster?' Noah asked, jumping off the couch and crouching in front of the fireplace. 'Sorry,' he added quickly. 'Couldn't help overhearing and all that.'
'Really?' Hermione replied a bit archly. 'Here, I had assumed you were suitably entrenched in that Arithmancy textbook. How silly of me. Please do keep it a secret, though, the both of you. Oh, what am I saying? Ron, you might as well explain this.' She sighed and blew her bangs out of her face in a gesture James remembered from his earliest memories of Aunt Hermione. She gave a bemused smile. 'James, have a good trip. We'll see you in a week. Rose and Hugo say hello and to buy them some Cauldron Cakes on the train. Good day, Noah.'
She disappeared from the embers and Uncle Ron's face appeared again. 'Excellent idea, eh?' he announced, looking from Noah to James enthusiastically.
'But how?' Noah asked again. 'I mean, the bloke was the most potentially dangerous wizard in the history of the planet a few weeks ago, wasn't he? And now you think the Ministry will put him in charge of a bunch of kids?'
'Not without lots of oversight,' Ron said quickly. He had obviously thought a lot about it. 'That's where McGonagall and Neville come in. They'll watch him and help out, sort of like a board of directors. McGonagall has already agreed to it, although we had to push her a bit on it. She's afraid she'll still basically be doing all the work, but with Merlin getting the credit. Might happen, too, I guess, but your dad and I don't think so. Merlin seems the sort of guy born to lead, you know?'
'Yeah,' James agreed. 'But still, he comes from a time when leading meant telling people which guillotine had the shortest queue. I can't imagine that the Ministry will agree to put him in charge of Hogwarts.'
'Your Merlin's a surprisingly quick study, James,' Ron said seriously. 'He's already been all over the Ministry, meeting people and having big, long discussions about the way things work in this day and age. He's warming up to it, I have to say!'
'So why wouldn't they put him somewhere there, then?' Noah asked. 'I mean, most famous wizard in the world and all. Seems like he'd be in line for Minister of Magic, if nothing else.'
Ron grinned a bit maliciously. 'I suppose you are both too young to understand the implications of the phrase 'overqualified and underexperienced'. Basically, no department wants him. A guy like Merlin doesn't work well behind a desk, for one thing. And it's hard to imagine that any department head who hired him would stay the department head for very long afterwards.'
'You mean he'd take over, right?' James confirmed.
'Take over, at the very least. He's a bit of a loose cannon. Sure, he's probably the most powerful single wizard alive today, but with a thousand-year gap in his work experience. As fast as he picks things up, he's sure to be a poor fit in the red tape world of the Ministry. Your dad can hardly stand it, James. Think about what it'll be like for a bloke who's used to being able to banish his enemies to the netherworld with a glance. The fact of the matter is that the Ministry is looking for an out-of-the-way place to stick the old man. Someplace prominent enough to fit a wizard of his stature, but far enough away not to threaten anyone, metaphorically speaking. Or maybe even not metaphorically speaking. One never knows.'
'And Hogwarts just happens to be in need of a new headmaster,' Noah said, grinning.
'Well?' Ron said, meeting Noah's grin. 'It does seem a little too perfect, doesn't it?'
'Even if the Ministry does agree to it, you think he'll do it?' James asked.
In the fireplace, Ron seemed to shrug. 'Who can tell? Nobody has asked him yet. But first thing's first.' Ron grew serious and studied James. 'You know him best, nephew. You were there when he came out of the past. You were the one who talked him into coming and helping Hogwarts and the wizarding world. What do you think? Do you think he'd be a good headmaster? Do you think we should ask him?'
Noah leaned back against the base of the couch, looking at James, waiting for his response. James knew he should think about it, but he already knew his answer. Merlin was a complicated man, and he wasn't exactly what anyone could call 'good', not in the sense that Albus Dumbledore or even Minerva McGonagall were good. But James knew one thing for sure: Merlin wanted to be good. It was hard to tell if it was better to have a headmaster who was good by nature or one that was good because he had to try to be so every day, but James was old enough
