Dumbledore wasn't happy. Not at all. While Harry hadn't yet undermined his authority, just mentioning teachers bullying students was a very evident hint that nobody could miss. And then, expelling bullies – didn't he know that they needed another chance? Well, to be honest, it was only after they failed two chances before, but how could they be redeemed?
While he fumed about these missed chances, he couldn't honestly say these changes were not welcome for the school. He knew these were long overdue. In a way, he had let the school deteriorate just for the chance to save a few misguided souls. Each miss pained him tremendously, but could he honestly say that redeeming the very few was worth the price paid by others? He knew he'd never been a good judge of that. Ever since he failed to redeem Grindelwald he felt as if he didn't put enough effort in redeeming that brilliant youth. Was that reason enough to subject others to injustice just for the chance to redeem a few? He wished he could give an honest answer to that.
Still, he had some more urgent matters to tackle. He needed to restructure the point system to make it truly fair and not depend on some teachers' whims. That was also long overdue, mainly due to his obsession on redeeming Severus. The poor child should have realized that once he bore that mark, his fate was sealed. Albus only wished he could have found a way to remove that mark before it became too late.
He wondered what changes this new ownership would bring. True, the school was long overdue for some changes and he had failed in not introducing change at a slow rate, as appropriate for the very conservative British Wizarding world. Now, he doubted it would be a slow change. Youth had no patience, he knew from long personal experience, and the changes would be very swift, he was sure. He wasn't too sure about how he could adapt to such changes. Well, he had no choice if he wanted to keep his job, that was now very uncertain. He'd have to try his best. It was no longer just the chance to influence Harry Potter. He had nowhere to go, if that happened. The house he had inherited along with his brother had been neglected for close to a century and was probably inhabitable. For more years than he cared to count, Hogwarts had been his home. He just couldn't contemplate losing it. Besides, if Albus lost his position as headmaster, he was quite sure to lose his other positions shortly after. He'd do whatever he could to keep his job.
\/\/\/
The first week of the year passed with no problems, although a few students tried to tease the Potters for being married or for owning the school. It was all done in good nature. Nobody dared act maliciously towards the couple that could expel them from school.
Actually, Hogwarts started feeling much nicer than before. At first, Harry thought this was mainly due to him living with Hermione as a married couple, sharing a bed and enjoying matrimonial bliss each night and some mornings too, but he then noticed that other students also felt that way.
"I don't feel as stressed as before," Neville told them. "I hadn't suffered any physical bullying before, but just those nasty remarks. Now I feel more at ease."
But some didn't feel that way. The Potters were just finishing their morning exercise when they found a girl wearing only a flimsy nightgown and no shoes or slippers, sleeping on the ground at the shore of the lake, shivering not quite lightly.
The girl opened her eyes as soon as they stopped near her. Hermione noticed and was quick to ask her, "What are you doing here? It's too cold to spend the night outside. Don't you know?"
The girl tried to shrug, but her tremors made it difficult to notice. "It's nothing. I need to sleep here many nights."
"And why is that?" Harry asked while Hermione cast a warming charm on the girl.
"The Nargles take my things many times and lock me out when I start looking for them. They usually return them after a few weeks," the girl answered.
"We shall see about that," Harry answered, quite firmly. "Now, I think you should visit the infirmary to make sure you're alright and Hermione will bring you some clothes. What's your name and your house?"
"Please don't bother. The Nargles may get nasty if someone interferes," the girl pleaded. She then noticed the determined look on both Potters and sighed. "I'm Luna Lovegood, second year Ravenclaw, although most people call me Loony."
"That's bullying!" Harry fumed, "and it's forbidden. I'll make sure that whoever calls you that name is punished appropriately. Now, you can lean on me on the way to the infirmary."
Hermione conjured a blanket and wrapped it around Luna, adding another warming charm, gaining herself a thankful smile. She then moved swiftly towards the Ravenclaw tower while Harry accompanied Luna.
A short while later, Hermione joined them at the infirmary, where both Luna and Harry were enjoying hot chocolate while another cup was waiting for her. Luna drank her beverage slowly and then took the clothes that Hermione brought and moved to a partition to change. Hermione made sure that the girl was far enough not to hear them and then cast a silence ward before turning to Harry. "Her dorm mates are horrible to her. I had to threaten them with expulsion for them to bring her things back. Some were even taken by older girls. I think we need to address this problem during breakfast."
"Do you think her head-of-house knows?" Harry asked.
She didn't hesitate. "I doubt it. Professor Flitwick would not have let them act that way. I think Luna doesn't complain, fearing retaliation." She then gave it another thought. "I think we can ask the portraits in the Ravenclaw dorms to report who was involved. Since we are the owners, they are obliged to tell us if we ask them."
"We'll do that and make sure the bullies are punished!"
Luna returned a short while later, properly dressed and looking recovered from her nightly adventure. Harry turned to her. "Luna, I need to know the names of all those students that took part in your bullying. Such behavior is no longer tolerated at Hogwarts."
The girl hesitated. She clearly didn't want to worsen her position by angering the bullies. Hermione noticed. "Luna, if we let them continue, it will only get worse. Besides, I've already found some of them just by trying to collect your clothes. It will be much better if we learn it all from you at once than having to find the information piece by piece."
Luna sighed. She then took the parchment and quill that Hermione conjured and started writing names. Although none of the Potters knew all the names of Ravenclaw students, just by noticing the number of names it became clear that the problem crossed year and gender boundaries. When Luna finished writing, it looked like a third of Ravenclaw students were involved, making Harry quite furious. He still tried to keep his temper in check. "Would you like us to accompany you back to your dorm?" he asked.
Luna giggled. "You're a boy. You can't come to the girls' dorms. Besides, I think you need to change, unless you want to go like this to breakfast."
Harry grimaced, realizing that both he and Hermione were sweaty and were wearing muggle exercise clothing which wasn't suitable for breakfast in the Great Hall, certainly not at the high table.
"Will you be safe if you go there alone?" he asked.
Luna shrugged. "Maybe, but I don't think I'll go there. I'll wait for you near the Great Hall, if you don't mind."
"In that case, you can come to our apartment and wait there. It's more comfortable, I think," Hermione suggested.
Luna beamed a smile at her. "I don't mind coming along."
Indeed, Luna walked with them and waited in the entrance hall of their apartment, browsing through some of the ancient books that were there. She then walked at their side to the great hall.
"Why don't you join us at our table?" Harry asked.
"Isn't that table reserved for your family and friends?"
"Of course, but I hope you'd like to be our friend, Luna."
Her smile was all the answer he needed before leading her to the high table and letting her sit at his left while Hermione sat at his right.
The staff table filled slowly, with each member turning to the owner's table and bowing or mumbling "Good Morning" before sitting. When Flitwick came in, Harry motioned him to come sit with them. The short professor was surprised but seemed delighted to do so.
As soon as he sat adjacent to Hermione, Harry asked him, "What do you know about bullying in the Ravenclaw dorms?"
The professor looked surprised. "I know nothing about any bullying there. Nobody has ever complained since I'm the head of house."
Harry sighed. "Victims of bullies don't usually complain, fearing retaliation, if the bullies are not severely punished. This has been the norm until we took over, but people are still afraid. You see, we found Luna sleeping outside, on the ground, wearing only a night gown. She could get very ill that way, and we understand that this was not the first time."
Hermione took over. "I went to her dorm to bring her some clothes and had to confront her dorm mates to get her things back. Some of the older students were also involved."
Flitwick looked furious. "I'll investigate this thoroughly, and I'll make sure the perpetrators are fully punished, Ravenclaw should be the house of the studious, not the bullies!"
"We already have a list, if you like," Harry offered.
"Keep it! We may compare it after I finish my investigation. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a House meeting to set." Flitwick nodded to all present and moved swiftly to the hall, stopping at the Ravenclaw table.
"Have you seen his expression?" Hermione asked.
Harry nodded. "I wouldn't like that furious determination directed at me. You know he was a dueling champion before becoming a teacher, don't you?"
He then turned to Luna. "Please join us at this table from now on. I think you'll feel better here, with friends."
Luna smiled brilliantly at him. "I also think I will."
\/\/\/
It turned out that Flitwick set the House meeting after the last lesson of the afternoon, leaving him enough time until dinner to start his investigation and the punishment. When Luna joined the Potters for dinner, she had a lot to tell them.
"The professor called me to stand at his side. He then told the students how you found me this morning and that I didn't give him any names. He then asked who was involved in taking my stuff and locking me out. At first nobody stepped forward. He then said that Hermione found out some of the bullies and they should better step forward or their punishment would be doubled. One by one, all my dorm mates stepped forward and then the third year girls and some older ones too, along with a few boys. Flitwick was appalled. He took fifty points for each bully, leaving Ravenclaw in a deficit of points, and gave each two weeks detention with either Hagrid, cleaning the pens, or with Filch, cleaning toilets. He also demoted the prefects, since it was their duty to prevent such behavior."
"He did well. Did he catch all the bullies?" Harry asked.
"I think so. There were twelve names in the list that I gave you. He found twenty-two. I wasn't even aware of some. They probably only helped the others," Luna told them.
"I hope they won't try anything with you," Hermione noted.
Luna dismissed the idea. "The professor made sure they understood that it was their deeds that caused the problems, not me. 'You don't have to like her or the way she talks and acts, but you have to respect her rights just the way you want others to respect your rights. If anybody as much as speaks threateningly at her, they will be expelled. No bullies will stay in Ravenclaw for as long as I head it!' He looked really frightening."
\/\/\/
It turned out alright, although not immediately. Two days after the house meeting, Luna's dorm mates apologized, some with honest tears in their eyes. Some accepted the blame, explaining that Luna's weird ideas antagonized them. Others said they just couldn't stand the social pressure. Luna was kind enough to accept all the apologies. The other students took a bit longer to think and to accept the blame, but they all apologized within a few more days. It would still take most of the fall term for Ravenclaw to start catching up with the point loss.
The incident could not be kept secret, if only due to the massive point loss. The whole school was made aware that the new policy about bullying was very real.