Chapter 532 - Final Appointing Ⅱ

With Pomona Sprout sitting back down, Bathesheda glances around and spots two more unknown faces, who just happen to be identical. Glancing at them in curiosity, she sees the slightly hunched over Hogwarts caretaker, Argus Filch stand up. Clearing his throat, Caretaker Argus Filch says, "These two here are identical twins, Trever and Gary Peterson. They will be my two assistants here at Hogwarts during the day but will reside at Hogsmeade most nights with their families."

Bathesheda is a bit surprised at that revelation, but it made perfect sense. It was not as though the Hogwarts caretakers had to live at school only Filch did. And from what she knew the two of them were either squibs, muquibs, or maybe even one of each.

The two darker skinned men have carefully woven braids on their heads. They are rather muscled and even sitting down easily tower all of them. No wonder, they had been picked as caretakers. They could easily disarm a student even without the aid of a wand!

"Now that all introductions have been made except for one," Professor McGonagall stiffly said. "However, the latest Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor will be properly introduced upon their arrival." Though Minerva McGonagall's truly vexed expression spoke volumes of what she genuinely thought.

"Let us all disperse and allow our newest additions time to unpack before dinner," Professor McGonagall added as the figures in the room all arose except for Bathsheda.

The sleek figure of Minerva McGonagall moves across the room and purposefully sits herself across from Bathesheda Babbling. Without even being asked, Professor McGonagall grabs one of the still clean teacup and pours the remaining tea out for Bathesheda. Placing the last bits of the crumbled biscuits on the platter in front of her, Minerva says, "Tell me, what's wrong Bathesheda?"

Bathsheda sighs at the Deputy Headmaster's words. "There is such a large influx of transfer students this year and along with the rest of the Gryffindor's, I'm uncertain of what to do. Normally I would think it foolish, but there must be some sort of rules in set, Minerva. Otherwise, I fear that with some many children in Gryffindor, there will be some who will be missed and slip through the crack."

"Ah, yes," Minerva wisely said. "But you must remember, Gryffindor's don't always do well with rules. You can certainly recall your own time as one, Bathsheda."

"Yes," Bathsheda said with a guilty groan. "I was a bit of a hellion then. It must be karma coming back to bite me, after all these years."

"I most sincerely doubt that," Minerva plainly disagreed. "You were chosen to replace me, because you are the best candidate possible, and you are a Gryffindor yourself. Who better than a Gryffindor to understand another Gryffindor?"

"I know," Bathesheda tiredly said as she rubbed the back of her neck.

Trying to help, Minerva says, 'What sort of rules where you are thinking, Bathsheda?"

Bathsheda makes a wry face at Minerva and says, "We all make fun of Slughorn for his parties and favors, but strangely enough Slytherin works rather well like clockwork. There aren't too many rules in place that I know of and most likely there are several unspoken rules, but I'd like to borrow a few."

"Which are?' Minerva curiously asked.

"After a rather long-winded discussion with Horace, I was able to discover a few practices that might aide me," Bathsheda explained. "Number one, first and second years are on the lowest floors near to the common room entrance. And the older the students the further they are moved up in the dormitories. After their third year, all Slytherins are moved further up the dormitories to make room for the new year's. The third years do not move again until their sixth year with the sixth and seventh years being the furthest away from the common rooms."

Minerva's eyes blink in astonishment as she actually mutters, 'That is actually a rather brilliant practice. The older years which we usually worry about getting into the most mischievous of things must make their way down the entire Gryffindor tower, and have the fifth-year prefects between them and the exit."

"Exactly," Bathsheda said in satisfaction. "Next, the Prefects actually do their jobs. And do not give me excuses, Minerva, Gryffindor Prefects tend to become rather distracted at times or worse abandon the younger years as finals approach. Slytherin Prefects know to fulfill their duties, no matter what time of year it is. Thankfully, I managed to select a similar pair from Gryffindor with said characteristics."

"I will admit that is indeed the case at times," Minerva stiffly acknowledged.

"And lastly, for the time being, house unity," Bathsheda said. "From what Horace explained to me is that it is not that all of the Slytherin student get along as we have always initially believed, but rather it is an unspoken rule among them that no matter what happens inside the Slytherin quarters to never air the dirty laundry in public, and to always try act a united front no matter what their personal differences might be."

"Well, I can see how that might be useful," Minerva mused out loud. "However, in this instance the question is how to inspire or create such house unity, Bathshda?"

"I haven't quite figured it out yet," Bathsheba admitted. "But I thought in the meantime to start by holding a monthly house meeting for the students to air their differences or ideas."

"That is certainly a promising start," Minerva replied with a proud nod, before rising to her feet. "I must be going the Hogwarts letters are not yet done, and they will shortly be going out."

"Of course," Bathsheda muttered under breath, before taking a sip of her now cold tea. She really should not have chattered as much causing her tea to be cold now. With a sigh, she gulped down the cold tea, and numbly stuffed the broken bits of biscuits into her mouth. Her only consolation is that dinner is not that far off.

On the bright side, her conversation with Minerva proved illuminating proving that she was indeed on the correct path. Of course, that was only if she was able to bring her plans into fruition. Turning her attention back to the parchments filled with names, she quickly began to partner up first year children and the transfers with at least two already experienced years of their same year in a dorm. It was something that she had not mentioned to Minerva but was copying from Horace. It was a fairly good idea, which she was going to borrow and use!