After leaving Madame Pomfry, Harry and Hermione headed outside. Since the weather was still warm and sunny, they headed down to the shore of the Black Lake. Hermione sat herself down on one of the rocks while Harry, found several flat stones and began attempting to skim them along the surface. Though with varying degrees of success. Not long afterwards, he got bored with that and took a seat close to Hermione. Looking at her, he could see she had questions.

"Alright." He said. "Ask away, but I feel they are too personal, I hold the right to refuse to answer." He said.

Hermione was surprised at this, as he usually needed to be wheedled into talking about his private life. But she decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth and ask the questions that had been going round her brain.

"Ok Harry." She started. "The first one is about your exams. While I'm not saying you are stupid or anything." She added. "But to take 6 OWL's almost a year early, not to mention two of them you have never studied before, seems a bit over your capabilities. How did you do it?" She asked.

Harry, who had expected this to be the first question, gave her a smile.

"You are right when you say I'm not stupid." He replied slowly. "But what you don't know is why I have not been doing particularly well in school." He continued. "It all started my first day of infant school. I'm sure my relatives would not have sent me had the education officer not known of my existence. Dudley and I arrive for our first day and we are seated on opposite sides of the classroom. I had done this on my Aunt's orders so I would not make her Son look bad. One of the first things we did was have the register taken. Since I had no idea of my name, they always called me Freak or Boy, I did not answer when they read out my real name. The teacher came over and I was confirmed what my name was. Looking back, I could see she was concerned but I was not the only person who had not answered."

While Harry was speaking, Hermione listened in horror as he casually described not even knowing his own name before starting school.

"Anyway." Harry continued. "After that, the teacher asked if any of us could read. I again was under orders to not say anything, so I kept quiet. However, we were all tested and they soon found out that I could read and write, far better than most five year olds. It was even more surprising when you consider that I was only a month past my 4th birthday. I'm not sure why I started so early, as I was never told and I certainly never asked. This was highlighted by the fact that Dudley could do neither and had a paddy in the middle of the class when he found out that I could do something he could not. At the end of the day my teacher told my Aunt and I was practically dragged back to their house. I was then berated for showing Dudley up. They could not tell me not to do it as it was already well known that I could, so they made me teach Dudley. That did not go well as Dudley did not want to learn and was allowed to beat me if he felt like it. However, Dudley was soon receiving special classes as he was considered 'backwards'. This did not help me and it got worse as we got older. I was forbidden from showing Dudley up, but after I failed several tests, my relatives were called in for some meetings as they wanted to know why I had gone from the top of the class to almost the bottom. This did not please my Aunt either as she had to make things up as to why. Eventually we came to a compromise, I was not to fail any test, but I was not to be top of the class either. It was quite a balancing act, especially with homework, but I eventually became quite good and passing but not shining."

By this time Hermione had tears in her eyes. She wanted to hug him but she could see he had more to tell.

"Then I started Hogwarts." Harry kept going. "Before I left my Aunt made it clear to me that she knew the marking system Hogwarts used and expected me to continue passing, but not being top of the class as she did not want any visits from the staff! She was clueless of course as the staff would not talk to them about magical matters, it would go to my Magical Guardian. Who, before the summer, was our esteemed Headmaster, now it has been passed to Sirius where it should have been." Harry paused and took a drink from a bottle of water he had taken from his robes. He offered it to Hermione who shook her head before continuing. "For the theory in the classes, it was pretty much the same as it had always been. I would do the homework as required before re-doing it with enough errors to make it an Acceptable or the occasional Exceeds Expectations. The practical parts of the classes, except Potions presented a harder challenge. I found that I was naturally very talented at practical magic. Often it would only take me one or two tries to get a spell correct. I had to start deliberately making mistakes. I did too well my First year as when my Aunt read my school report, she decided to punish me. And when Dobby caused the fuss that just made the situation worse. I learned my lesson and kept my marks down second year. When it came to choosing my electives, despite wanting to do three, I held it back to two. I also chose a subject I knew I had no talent in so I would not have to try and do badly. I have been helped by the fact that I've not had to do end of tear exams too often due to other activities!"

"Did you keep your old homework?" Hermine asked, not being able to help herself. "I mean the ones that you changed as they were 'too good'?"

Harry nodded.

"Yes, they are all safe and sound in my trunk." He replied. "Things changed again last year however. I found I needed to use all my natural talents just to survive. That is why I always enjoyed Quidditch, it was something I could do well in and my Aunt would never know." He added. "That blasted tournament, caused me to try and find a way to be able to train properly. Then I was sent home with a pat on the back and isolated. My relatives did not care how I was, but from the letter I sent him just before we got on the express, Sirius must have figured it out. How he did it, I still don't know as I was not really paying much attention to anything at the time. I was at Privet Drive for just under 48 hours and then I was not. I woke up and I was in a bedroom of the Black family home near Munich, Germany. Sirius was clearly very worried about me as he had called a healer. When this healer examined me, they were so concerned that I was immediately moved to a clinic. I was in such a bad mental state, they had me on suicide watch!"

At this Hermione could not help herself any longer and threw her arms around her friend. Harry could hear her saying something but it was muffled by her hair and his robes. He gently extracted her until he could hear what she was saying.

"I'm so sorry Harry!" She said over and over again, her tears flowing freely and her voice getting hoarse. "I swear I didn't know." She said after taking a deep breath.

"And that is why I am giving you another chance." He said softly. "You have realised your mistake and have apologised for it." He added, stroking her hair.

Hermine sighed and nestled into his neck, taking comfort that he was not rejecting her. She then remembered the story and looked up at him.

Seeing her expression, Harry nodded and continued.

"Since I'm fairly sure you have never been in a mental health clinic, you'll not be aware of how things work. Apart from my three meals and two treatment sessions daily, I had nothing to do. I was not allowed out and the TV, which was in German, was only on for a few hours a day. By the end of the second day, I was bored. I've never done well when I'm not allowed to do anything. There was a library of sorts, but again most of the books were in German, and of the few English ones, none were interesting. I mentioned it to my Healer who, after a talk with Sirius, allowed me to get some tutorials in Potions, Defence, Charms and Transfiguration. These were soon added to with Arithmancy and Runes and suddenly my days were full. And with the added bonus of being told categorically that I would never be returning to Privet Drive, I allowed myself to be stretched that I have never done so before."

Hermione lifted her head again, a quizzical expression in her face.

"But still Harry, you only had about 2 months and that is not a lot of time. I mean, how much time every day did you get?" She asked.

"On my average day I would be up at 6:30am and do 20 minutes of exercise before breakfast at 7. I had to eat a big breakfast so I was not done until about 7:45. Then I would go to my Healer's office for a one to one session from 8 – 9 every day Monday through Friday. Though it rarely lasted the full hour. Then I would have two, 2 hour tutorials until 1pm. Lunch for half an hour, usually some sort of pasta, then a therapy session from 1:30 to 3pm. Sometimes it was group therapy, sometimes music. Occasionally it was art therapy, though that only happened twice as I didn't enjoy it. Sometimes we even played sport, it really depended. Then I had a break for half an hour before my third tutorial of the day from 3:30 – 5:30pm. Then we had dinner. Again that was a big meal for me as the potions I was taking made me very hungry. Then I had free time until 7pm when I had my last tutorial of the day. That lasted until 9pm. Then I would get ready for bed and relax in my room until lights out at 10pm." Harry took another sip of water as he waited for Hermione to respond.

"Was that every day? What about weekends? When did you do homework?" She rattled out her questions.

Harry put a finger to her lips to halt the stream of questions. This made Hermione blush and Harry feel embarrassed.

"That was Monday to Friday. On Saturdays I had the same tutorial schedule but no therapy and Sundays was a day of rest, though I always felt restless. And as for homework, there is no need of any when you have one to one lessons. The general point of homework is for the teacher to make sure you understand what was taught." He replied.

Hermione nodded at that, she had heard that point before.

"So how smart are you?" She asked, rather fearful of the answer.

"Not quite as smart as you, though quite a bit smarter than most." He replied. "I bet, if you had the same tutors as me you would have taken your OWL's as well and done just as well as I did." He paused. "Is there anything else you want to know?" He asked.

Hermione nodded.

"How did Sirius get free?" She asked.

"Well it turns out that when someone never has a trial, it is illegal to put a 'Kiss on Sight' order on them, as Fudge the incompetent did! Shortly after we arrived in Germany, and on the advice of Ted Tonks, he negotiated a surrender to the German Ministry and underwent questioning under veritasirum under the auspices of the ICW. He was subsequently cleared of all charges and the ICW declared him a free man. Here in Britain however, the British Ministry have refused to recognise the decision and the 'Kiss on Sight' order has remained in force. This has caused problems for the Great Whiskered One as he has been forced to try and explain why the British Ministry is disobeying an ICW ruling. Apparently he has not been doing a very good job as he has been suspended from his Supreme Mugwump position." He paused again and, reaching inside his robes, took out a chewy cereal, fruit and chocolate bar and began to eat it. "Anyway, with Sirius still not being free in England, it has become necessary for him to appoint a representative. He recently welcomed Andromeda Tonks back into the Black family, along with her Husband and Daughter. Have you met her by the way?" He asked. "She's an Auror and I'm told she might be involved in a vigilante group run by Dumbledore."

"I did meet someone over the summer by the name of Tonks. Though I didn't get her first name." Hermione replied.

"Well with a name like Nymphadora I'm not surprised." Harry remarked. "When Andi told me, all I could think of was the jokes and nicknames the poor girl must have gotten while she was here." Harry paused again, finished his cereal bar and took another drink of water. "Well Andi is now Sirius' official proxy in Britain. She also has the Black and Potter votes on the Wizengamot, something Dumbledore was not too happy about either as he no longer controls them. Her husband Ted is Sirius' solicitor and is the one responsible for stopping the Prophet printing its usual rubbish. And from what Sirius said earlier, they will be paying Fudge a visit and he will find himself having to sack Umbridge or face prison. And since we can always count on Fudge doing what is best for Fudge, she will no longer be working for the Ministry by the end of the day. I wonder who he will appoint instead?" He wondered to himself.

Hermione looked at him, questions still shining in her eyes when they both heard the sound of feet on the lose stones. Turning, they saw Ginny and Luna walking in their direction. Oddly enough, they were holding hands. Harry turned to Hermione and raised a questioning eyebrow. Hermione shrugged in response to indicate she had no idea. Harry then jumped to his feet and helped Hermione to hers. Still holding onto Harry's hand and having no desire to let it go, they walked towards the approaching pair.

"Hello Hermione." Luna greeted the older girl. "You seem to be free of Wrackspurts today!" She said dreamily, still holding Ginny's hand.

"Hi Luna." Hermione replied. "I'm feeling better so maybe that's the cause." She added, looking at Ginny with a raised eyebrow of her own.

Ginny blushed as red as her hair, but did not let go of Luna's hand.

"Have you heard? There's going to be an important announcement at lunch so we all have to attend." Ginny said, desperate for something to say.

Harry, who had decided to ignore the hand holding until one or other of the girls decided to tell him anything, shook his head.

"We hadn't heard, but it is not surprising after our meeting with Professor McGonagall and Madame Pomfry earlier this morning." He replied.

"Are you alright Harry?" Ginny asked. "I didn't see you on the train nor in the great hall last night for the feast."

"I wanted peace and quiet on the train and by the time we arrived at the castle, I decided I could not stomach the feast either. Though I have been told what happened." Harry paused. "I'm sorry, we've not been introduced, though I think I've seen you around. I'm Harry." Thankfully he was holding Hermione's right hand with his left, so he extended his right hand towards the Blonde.

Luna, who was in the same positon, shook Harry's hand.

"I know who you are Harry Potter. I'm Luna, Luna Lovegood." Luna's smile increased as she was not being ignored.

"Any relation to Xenophilius Lovegood, Editor of the Quibbler?" Harry asked.

"That's my Daddy." Luna replied. "Do you read our magazine?" She asked.

"I've just started to. Some of the theories sound outlandish, but do bear investigating further." Harry replied.

This made Luna's smile wide further, if that was possible. She then motioned to Ginny with her spare hand.

"And this is Ginevra, my Girlfriend." Luna added proudly.

"Luna!" Ginny squeaked. "I thought we weren't going to tell anyone?" She added.

"Well they both noticed our hands, even if they did not say anything. It was only polite to explain things." Luna paused before turning back to Harry and Hermione. "We have to keep it quiet as if Ginevra's Mum finds out, she will get a Howler. The Twins know, but Ronald does not. Will you keep it quiet?" She asked.

Harry took one look at Hermione, who nodded at him. The then turned back to the younger girls.

"Of course." They replied together. "We won't tell anyone until you say it's ok." Hermione added as Harry nodded in agreement. Hermione then looked at her Watch and gave a squeak of her own. "Gracious, it's nearly 12, we'd better head in for lunch so we don't miss the announcement.

The four of them headed back to the castle and directly to the Great Hall. By this time Luna and Ginny were no longer holding hands, but Luna still accompanied the three Gryffindor's to their table. They had only just sat down when a familiar, and highly unwelcome voice spoke up.

"What are you doing here Loony?" Ron Weasley demanded. "Go back to your own table!"

Harry, who happened to be seated between Luna and Hermione, put his hand on her shoulder to stop her from going anywhere. He then looked at Ron with undisguised contempt in his vibrant green eyes.

"Ron, stop being a Git for once in your life!" Harry snapped at the Red-head. "I invited Luna to sit with us as she's my friend." He added.

"And besides that Ronald." Hermione added. "She can sit at any table she likes, so long as it is not one of the school feasts."

Ron looked shocked for a minute, before his eyes narrowed.

"That will be 25 points from Gryffindor for insulting a Prefect!" Ron replied smugly.

"I think not!" Came a voice from behind Harry. They all turned to see Professor McGonagall looking at Ron distastefully. "All Prefect positions, as well as their privileges and responsibilities, have been suspended pending the announcement." She paused. "Besides, that was clear abuse of power. While Mr Potter's language could have been more polite, his meaning was sound. As such, the loss is rescinded."

Ron looked shocked, he had been planning how he could do pretty much whatever he wanted since he had received the Badge. Now his Head of House had taken the wind out of his sails. He looked grumpily at the empty table as if willing the food to appear.

Harry meanwhile, gave the Professor a smile and a nod.

"Thank you Professor." He replied.

Minerva nodded and made her way up to the staff table. Most of the staff were already seated. The only notable absence was the Headmaster, but Minerva seemed unconcerned as she waited for a few stragglers amongst the students to take their seats. She then looked at her three fellow heads of house who began doing a headcount, to make sure all their house was present.

A few minutes later, once all pupils were accounted for, Minerva stood and fired off a noise maker to get quiet. There was soon silence in the Great Hall.

"Thank you for all being here." She began. "Owing to the resignation of the majority of our Prefects yesterday, we have decided that a more open way of selecting Prefects is in order. As soon as lunch is over, you will all head to your respective house common rooms where house meetings will take place. During those meetings each of your houses will elect two Prefects, one male and one female, from each of the Fifth, Sixth and Seventh years. In addition, each House will nominate two of your Seventh years, one boy and one girl, for the position of Head Boy and Head Girl. Then we will meet back here for dinner where the whole school will elect their choices from the nominees. No-one in any of those three respective years will be prevented from running for Prefect as long as they can get two students to nominate them. To ensure fair play, an independent Professor will be present for the election in each of the common rooms. The details will be passed on to you by your respective heads of house who will also nominate their own choices for Prefect and Head Boy and Girl nominations." Minerva paused and was about to continue when she was interrupted.

"Hem hem." Umbridge cleared her throat. "What is all this nonsense about electing Prefects? It is a long and glorious tradition that Prefects are decided by the Head of House, why are we changing it?"

Minerva rounded on the toad-like woman with an expression of incredulity on her face.

"Were you not here last night?" Minerva asked. "Most of our nominated Prefects resigned and we have been unable to replace them as all offers have been refused. We therefore decided, partly to answer the complaints and concerns that have been raised, to adopt electing Prefects on a trial basis. If the system works, we will continue to use it going forward. If not, we will have to decide what to do when the time comes."

"I shall be informing the Minister about this!" Umbridge. "I'm sure he will have something to say about it." She added.

"The Minister may have something to say about it." Minerva replied. "But legally he is forbidden from interfering in Hogwarts affairs. He has no power to enforce changes to staff, classes or school policies and rules. That responsibility lies with the Governors as Trustees. Since the Minister is not on the Board of Governors, he has no power to force changes." Minerva's eyes never left Umbridge who squirmed under the gimlet gaze.

Umbridge sat down at this, but you could see she was not happy.

"If there are no further interruptions." Minerva continued. "We will have our lunch before heading to the common rooms."

No sooner had she finished speaking than the tables were filled with the usual lunchtime food. Different kinds of sandwiches, soup, several types of salad, fruit and pitchers of pumpkin juice.

Ron, as was his usual wont, threw himself into his food. He piled up a plate that was literally overflowing with food and began to stuff his face. Harry, while not as rushed nor as slovenly as his former best friend, still filled his plate and poured himself a goblet of juice. He then took another vial of purple potion from his robes, along with another filled with a pale yellow potion, opened them both and downed them one after the other. Pulling a face at the taste, he took several swallows of pumpkin juice, even though he was known not to be too keen on the drink. He then went about emptying his plate almost as quickly as Ron. He then poured himself a bowl of tomato soup and after finishing that, got some chicken pasta and a couple of apples.

Between bites, he spoke talked mostly with Hermione who was watching him like a hawk, though he did not ignore Luna. He was among the last to finish, though Ron was still hard at it as he got up.

"Better head to the common room." He said to Hermione, who had finished some time earlier.

Hermione nodded and got to her feet, pleased when Harry took her hand but decided not to comment. Harry turned to Luna and gave her another smile.

"Do you want to sit with us at dinner?" He asked.

Luna looked as if she could not believe her luck and Ginny flashed him a grateful smile.

"I'd love to." Luna replied. "As long as we are allowed."

Harry nodded and headed out of the Great Hall, hand in hand with Hermione. Luna and Ginny followed and the four of them headed for the main stairs. They split up on the 6th floor as Luna headed towards the Ravenclaw common room while the three Gryffindor's headed to their own. They had not gone very far however when they heard two familiar voices.

"Doth mine eyes deceive me Gred?" Said one voice.

"I don't think they do." Replied the other. "Though I thought I was Forge and you were Gred?"

"No, I'm sure we decided that I was Forge today." The first voice said.

Harry, Hermione and Ginny turned and saw Fred and George Weasley emerge from a side corridor. Harry raised an eyebrow at the pair of them.

"What are you on about" He asked.

"Well." One said.

"We could not help notice." The other continued.

"That you Harrikins are holding the hand of the delectable Miss Granger." The both added.

Harry looked down as if he were unaware that he was indeed holding Hermione's hand. On seeing he was, he shrugged, but to Hermione's delight, did not let go.

"Yes it appears I am." He replied. "Does that mean something?"

"Well we were wondering." The second twin replied.

"If you and Miss Granger are dating." The first continued.

"And if you are." The second added.

"When did you begin?" They both asked at the same time.

"Why do you want to know?" Harry asked. Though he reckoned he would not like the answer.

"The pool of course." They both replied.

Harry looked at Hermione, who looked just as puzzled as he was.

"What pool?" Hermione asked.

"The Harry and Hermione dating pool of course." The first twin replied.

"It's been going since Ginny here was ikkle firstie. I reckon most of the school has got in on it, including some who have left." The second twin added.

"Are you saying people have been betting on whether Hermione and I are dating?" Harry asked, his face getting red and his eyes narrowing.

"Oh no Harrikins." The second twin replied.

"We all knew you would eventually date." The first twin added.

"The question was when!" The both finished.

Harry could feel himself blushing, but soon realised that he was not averse to dating Hermione. It was then a picture of her at the Yule ball last year floated before his eyes. He then looked at Hermione who was blushing just as hard as he was. Her eyes however, were fixed on his. He could clearly see hope in her chocolate brown orbs so he took all his Gryffindor courage in both hands.

"Would you like to be my Girlfriend Hermione?" He asked, quite proud of himself that he did not stutter.

The same could not be said for Hermione however. She appeared to be frozen on the spot and unable to speak. Harry, took her other hand so he was now holding them both. This seemed to shake her out of her shock. She nodded and threw herself in for a hug. And she was rewarded by a proper hug, not the usual stiff as a board.

Meanwhile the twins were pulling out a piece of parchment and checking the date. Ginny however decided to congratulate them.

"Thank goodness! I hoped you would be together." She gushed, giving them both a hug.

By this time the five of them had reached the portrait. They gave the password and entered to find about half the house already there. Finding space on a sofa, Harry and Hermione sat next to each other as they waited for the rest of their House to arrive.

Not long afterwards, Professor McGonagall entered followed by Professor Vector, the Arithmancy Professor. As they entered, the students who had been chatting, quieted almost at once. Professor Vector stood to one side of the room so she could watch proceedings but not participate but Minerva walked to the centre of the room.

"Is everyone here?" She asked, not wanting to do a headcount.

Harry looked to see if there was anyone he knew who was not there. There was one obvious absentee. He was about to say something when Ginny beat him to it.

"My Brother Ron is not here yet Professor." She replied. "He was still eating when we left lunch, so I don't know how long he'll be.

Hermione turned to Harry who reached inside his robes. Then suddenly Ron burst through the portrait hole. He had bits of food round his mouth and several stains, most likely soup, on the front of his robes.

"Take a seat Mr Weasley." Minerva said, glaring at him.

Shrinking under her gaze, Ron sat next to Seamus and waited quietly. Once everyone was quiet she continued.

"As I announced in the Great Hall, we will be holding elections for each of the 6 Prefect positions as well as for nominees for the position of Head Boy and Girl. We will start with the Fifth years. If anyone wants to nominate another student for the position, please raise your hand to let me know. First the male Prefect. Do I have any nominations?" She asked, looking around the room.

Almost immediately Hermione's hand shot in the air, much in the manner she used to do in class before Harry managed to get her to calm down a little. She was closely followed by Neville, Katie Bell and several others.

"Yes Mr Longbottom?" Minerva asked, having seen his hand first.

"I nominate Harry Potter." Neville said clearly, his voice showing confidence he rarely showed.

"Very good. Does anyone second Mr Potter's nomination?"

This time a forest of hands showed. Minerva looked around the room and picked one at random.

"Thank you Miss Bell." She said, giving Katie a nod.

"Do you accept the nomination Mr Potter?" Minerva asked.

Harry, after a gentle hand squeeze by Hermione, nodded his head.

"Yes Professor I do." He stated clearly, though not loudly.

"Do I have any other nominations?" She asked.

Harry raised his hand.

"Mr Potter?" Minerva asked, rather puzzled.

"I nominate Neville Longbottom." Harry said in the same clear voice.

Minerva looked shocked for a minute while Ron could not believe his 'Best Mate' had not nominated him and crossed his arms in a huff. Minerva then nodded.

"Does anyone second Mr Longbottom's nomination?" She asked, looking around.

Harry looked at Hermione and gave her hand a squeeze. Realising what Harry was doing, she raised her hand.

"Miss Granger. Thank you. Are there any other nominations?" She looked around for a few seconds. "Very well then, does anyone object to a simple open ballot of raised hands?" She asked. Again no-one said anything so she continued. "All those in favour of Mr Potter please raise your hands."

As soon as she had spoken almost all the house, except for one or two exceptions, raised their hands. Harry was not one of them however.

"Since we have a clear majority, we have no need to ask for further votes. Congratulations Mr Potter, you are now the Gryffindor Fifth year male Prefect." As she spoke the Prefect badge that had been adorning Ron's robes, appeared in her hand and she handed it over. "Now we come to the election of the Fifth year female Prefect. Do I have any Nominations?

This time Harry's arm shot into the air, accompanied by several others. Minerva looked around and picked another.

"Miss Johnson?" She asked, speaking to Angelina.

"I nominate Hermione Granger." The Seventh year girl, wearing the Quidditch Captain badge replied.

"Thank you. Does anyone wish to second this nomination?" She asked.

Again there were numerous hands in the air and again Minerva picked seemingly at random.

"Miss Branstone, thank you. Miss Granger, I take it you accept the nomination?" she asked. At Hermione's nod she continued. "Are there any other nominations?" She asked.

Harry heard a giggle and saw Lavender Brown put her hand in the air.

"Yes Miss Brown?" Minerva asked.

"I nominate Parvati Patil." Lavender said with a small giggle.

Minerva let out a small sigh but continued.

"Very well. Does anyone wish to second Miss Patil's nomination?" She asked.

Several girls put up their hands.

"Thank you Miss Perks. Do you accept the nomination Miss Patil?" Minerva asked.

"Yes Professor." Harry's date for the Yule ball replied with barely a giggle.

"Very well then, are there any other nominations?" Minerva asked the House. When she got no response, she continued. "Very well then, will all those who vote for Hermione Granger to be Fifth year female Prefect, please raise your hands."

A good portion, easily at least two thirds, but not as many as Harry had achieved, raised their hands. Minerva did a count while Professor Vector did the same. Once she had finished counting she asked for the vote for Parvati. It was clearly less, looking like no more than a quarter. Minerva counted anyway. Once she was satisfied and Professor Vector agreed she cleared her throat.

"Once again we have a clear majority. Congratulations Miss Granger." Minerva said handing over the badge that Hermione had returned the evening before. "Now, normally I would have nominated my own candidates for the position of Prefect but both candidates that the House nominated were ones I could have chosen anyway. Now we come to our Sixth year Prefects, first the male. Are there any nominations?" She asked.

Harry and Hermione exchanged glances. Ian Davison, the prefect who had held the job before resigning, had done a reasonable job the year before. He had not taken part in the shunning that Harry had endured and he seemed to be good at keeping the peace. Harry gave a nod and Hermione raised her hand, though at a more sedate pace than before.

"Miss Granger?" Minerva asked.

"I nominate Ian Davison." She said clearly.

Minerva nodded.

"Are there any other nominations?" She asked.

There were several, she noted each one in turn.

"Very well, we now have four candidates. If no candidate gets over 60% of the vote in the first round, the lowest two will drop out and the vote will be repeated. My choice of candidate, Mr Davison, has again already been nominated so I will name the candidates one at a time and then I will count the votes.

Calling for a show of hands for Ian, it showed he had a lot, but didn't look quite enough for the required 60%. The other three all had significantly less so Minerva tallied the votes and the bottom two were removed before votes were cast again. This time Ian got a clear two thirds majority and was handed the badge.

Then came the vote for the Sixth year female Prefect. When Minerva called for nominations, Harry's hand was straight in the air.

"Yes Mr Potter." Minerva asked.

"I nominate Katie Bell." He said clearly, remembering how the girl had never abandoned him either during the Heir of Slytherin fiasco nor last year during the tournament. He could see Kate looked shocked but rather flattered at the nomination, so he figured she would accept.

"Thank you Mr Potter. Does anyone wish to second Miss Bell's nomination?" Minerva asked.

Quite a few raised their hands and Minerva picked another random hand, this time belonging to Lee Jordan, to second. After several others were nominated, including Minerva's choice, they had a vote.

It took 3 rounds to whittle it down with Katie managing to get a majority in the final round. Looking incredibly proud, Katie accepted the badge of Minerva before giving a smile at Harry. Minerva then cleared her throat again.

"Now we move on to the Seventh year Prefects. We will start, as before, with the male Prefect. Does anyone wish to nominate anyone?" She asked.

Harry, who did not think Kevin Wolfe, who had been the previous Prefect, had done a good job, had an idea. Since Kevin had also made it clear he was not really interested in the position anyway, Harry turned to Hermione and whispered in her ear.

"What about Gred and Forge?" He asked.

Hermione looked at him in horror before realising what he was doing, she slowly nodded and Harry raised his hand.

"Yes Mr Potter?" Minerva asked.

"I know this is a little unorthodox Professor. But I would like to nominate two candidates to share the position. After all, they have shared almost everything else so I think they would do a good job. After all, sometimes poachers make the best gamekeepers!" He remarked.

"You don't mean?" Minerva gasped, looking at the Weasley twins, who looked rather shocked themselves.

"Yes Professor, I would like to nominate Fred and George Weasley to be joint male Prefect." Harry said clearly.

Minerva, still looking a little shocked, managed to nod.

"Thank you Mr Potter." She managed to reply. "Does anyone wish to second this rather 'unique' candidate?" She asked in a rather strangled voice.

Hermione immediately put her hand up, this may have shocked Minerva more than the original nomination.

"Are you sure Miss Granger?" She asked, wondering if her favourite student had gone crazy.

"Yes Professor I am." She replied. "As Harry said, it a little unorthodox, but they know Hogwarts better than anyone and so they will be able to catch rule breakers more easily." She added.

Minerva was forced to agree with this and since her preferred choice had already spoken to her and asked not to be recommended, she was stuck. So she turned to the twins.

"Messer's Weasley and Weasley, do you accept the nomination?" She asked, almost hoping they would say no.

Fred and George looked at each other, realising that this was probably one of the best pranks of all time they both nodded.

"We accept." They replied together.

Minerva rolled her eyes but nodded before asking for other nominations. There were several, but after two rounds the Weasley twins had won. Looking rather gob-smacked, Minerva cut the badge in two and gave each twin half. They held them up like it was the crown jewels.

Not long afterwards Eleanor Branstone was re-named the Seventh year female Prefect before Minerva asked for nominations for the Head Boy and Girl candidates. Since neither Seventh year Prefect was interested, two other candidates were elected and would participate in the vote over dinner. Minerva then dismissed the meeting but asked the Prefects to remain behind. She handed them each a timetable.

"These are your patrol schedules for the year, if you need to be elsewhere on your patrol night, it is your responsibility to arrange cover by speaking to another Prefect. Also, to try and tackle bullying issues, I want at least one Prefect to be in the common room at all times between the end of classes and 10pm. Except for dinner of course. I will leave you to arrange this yourselves. Now do you have any questions?" She asked the 7. When they all shook their heads, she gave them a smile. "The Head Boy and Girl will probably want a meeting with all of you after their election so listen out for that. I'll leave you to it." She finished as she swept out of the common room followed by Professor Vector.