Dantes walked into a very noisy Great Hall and headed for the head table where the teachers and Headmaster were seated. From the expression on the ancient wizard's face, Dumbledore had apparently received a shock a short time ago and hadn't had a chance to recover.
Well, Dantes thought to himself, I hope he can take another one, because I would hate to go down in history as the wizard who gave Dumbledore a heart attack.
As the students realised there was a stranger at the head table, silence again fell over the room like a wave. Those closest to the head table wanted to hear what was being said by this stranger given that it was rare to have visitors in the morning on the last day at Hogwarts.
"Good morning Headmaster." Dantes greeted the elder wizard.
Dumbledore looked at him a moment before replying. "Greetings, Lord Dantes, but unfortunately as of this morning, I am no longer the Headmaster. If you need to discuss school matters, I believe you will need to speak to Headmistress McGonagall."
"I am sorry to hear that." Dantes sounded as if he really meant it. "My visit here today is to inform you that as of the end of this school year there will be a change in the governance of this school. I as the heir of Rowena Ravenclaw am taking Hogwarts back from the people of wizarding Britain…"
" You can't do that! " Hermione shouted from her position near the head of the Gryffindor table.
Dantes turned to face the Gryffindor table and the person who had interrupted him. "And why can't I, Miss…"
"Hermione Granger." She got to her feet determined to challenge him. "And you can't take Hogwarts away from the control of the people of magical Britain, because of the charter one of your ancestors signed, along with the other Founder's heirs that ceded control to the people of Wizarding Britain in perpetuity."
"Ah yes, that charter." Dantes smile if anything grew even wider. "You are very knowledgeable. Why are you not in Ravenclaw house?"
"Because the Sorting Hat felt I was a better fit for Gryffindor." Hermione told him and then demanded. "Don't change the subject! You have no right to take control of the school according to the charter. It says so in Hogwarts a History ."
"Ah yes that biased and inaccurate book." Dantes nodded. "Actually, it is the Charter mentioned in that book that gives me the right to take control of the school back."
Hermione looked as if she wanted to slap him for daring to call one of her favourite books biased and inaccurate, but before she could say anything further, McGonagall asked, "How does the Charter give you control?"
"I'm sure you are very familiar with legal loopholes." At McGonagall's nod Dantes continued, "Well the Founder's Heirs were fairly intelligent and put a well disguised one in the Charter, hoping it would never be needed. Basically the Charter states that Hogwarts will remain under the control of the people of magical Britain, or its chosen representatives, only so long as the government has no part in teaching the children at Hogwarts without the Headmaster or Headmistress' approval and even then there needed to be a very good reason as to why. No laws forcing said employee upon the school. The charter didn't cover former government employees only active ones, such as Delores Umbridge. She remained Undersecretary to the Minister while she was teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts and while she was pretending to be Headmistress."
"If you don't mind, I think we need to discuss this matter in private, Lord Dantes." McGonagall got to her feet. "Also if you don't mind, I would like Dumbledore to accompany us because I would like his input as well."
"It doesn't bother me." Dantes shrugged and waited for Headmistress McGonagall and the former Headmaster to lead the way.
...
Once they were all seated in what used to be Dumbledore's office, with Fawkes perched on Dumbledore's rather bony knees, McGonagall asked. "What is your real reason for taking control of the school?"
"Because I can," Dantes told her. "I have done some checking over the school records for the past one hundred years and did you know that the schools of magical Europe have fallen way behind their counterparts in other countries, like China, Japan, Australia, and America, just to name a few. Hogwarts has the lowest scores of all three of the major magical schools and that has got to change. My ancestor founded this school along with others to provide the best magical education available to young witches and wizards, but that standard has been lost. I intend to get it back."
"And how do you intend to do that?" Dumbledore wanted to know.
"The school will be shut down until I can redesign the curriculum and get teachers who are the very best in their professions to teach them. Some of the old courses will be brought back so that the children can understand all sides of magic; light, dark, and grey. This school will not reopen until I have teachers and courses I feel will not shame this school. Also there will be non-magical classes taught here as well, because the non-magical world, no matter how much witches and wizards may want to believe otherwise is slowly encroaching on us and we must be able to deal with them as equals and not as backwards idiots." The expression on Dantes' face was grim.
"You are just going to close the school with no warning, what about the teachers who have devoted their lives to teaching here?" McGonagall asked when she finally recovered from the shock of this young man telling her he considered her work substandard.
"All teachers will have the option to try for new teaching positions, once I have the curriculum decided. If they meet the standards I want they will be given first preference over any others since they have a history with this school." Dantes assured her, but then he said. "If they are not capable, I will not be hiring them back."
"You do realise you will be driving good teachers away." Dumbledore pointed out. "There is no need to do a wholesale change. It is far better to do it gradually."
"When was the last time any course was improved on or changed for a better one without the change being imposed on you from the outside?" Dantes inquired, knowing the answer already. "British magical society is stagnant. There have been no major changes in over one hundred years at least and even then they were only minor changes. If we are to survive as a people changes need to be made and made quickly."
"And when will this occur?" McGonagall wanted to know.
.....
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