Harry didn’t look at the others, unsure if he wanted to see their expressions. Well, he knew nothing would shake Luna. She was steady as a rock. He just… He didn’t want to fight about this. He had thought long and hard about this without the others’ knowledge. He hadn’t wanted them to try to stop him or fight him on it.

His decision had come from a single fact: having four separate houses in the school had done more ill than good throughout the years. His own personal experience attested to this. Even in the history of the founders, there had been conflict. But he was sure they would be appalled at how bad things had gotten. 

Why was this a good thing?

From the very beginning of discovering he was a wizard, Harry had learned that being in a certain house meant everythingto people. He didn’t know what the Ravenclaws and the Hufflepuffs thought, but he knew how Draco had felt as an eleven year old. Ron had voiced his childish opinions as well. Even Hagrid had been biased. Both Ron and Draco had been indoctrinated in the hatred of other houses from a very young age.

It was just a dumb house!

It was where students slept. It was home, yes, but why did that give students a reason to abhor other students from another house? Why had this become so entrenched in the very culture of the wizarding world? Were other countries like this? Did other schools hold that much power over their society?

These opinions had forged Harry into becoming a Gryffindor instead of becoming a Slytherin. Harry regretted the division that he’d allowed himself to be part of – denying himself friends from other houses. Why didn’t he meet Luna sooner? He’d been so focused on his own house, he missed out on being her friend for all these years. What would’ve been different if he’d been part of another house? What kind of Hufflepuff would he have been? What kind of Ravenclaw would he have been? What kind of Slytherin would he have been? 

He wasn’t sure. 

The true sin had been thinking one house was good and another evil; thus, all within their walls were evil or destined to be so. Draco – while, yes, he’d been an unpleasant little brat – was not an evil eleven year old child.

Of course, given time, anyone could turn towards the darkness.

But children weren’t evil. They weren’t born evil. They were children, who learned from their parents.

And their parents had learned from theirs, the never ending cycle continuing to breed prejudice in their hearts.

It was more than apparent in Sirius. He always said that Snape was an evil Slytherin. What did that even mean? What did Slytherin have to do with a person’s morality, their worth, their value – their core soul? Did the hat really sort childrenbased on their potential to grow into devious, horrible adults? Or otherwise?

No.

Harry refused to believe that a hatcould see such linear paths in their destinies.

No more.

The segregation had created the seeds of hate in the hearts of children. If a whole house was assumed to be evil, it was natural that the Slytherins acted like it – it was in their nature to hide the truth, to protect and cherish this act of self preservation. They had to survive when an entire school demonized them.

No.

More.

Harry knew he was working against the clock. He wasn’t going to have much time before the adults took back control. But with what time he did have he was determined to rock the entire foundation Hogwarts had been built upon. He wanted the seeds planted and rooted so deep that when the adults tore the control away from him, the students of Hogwarts would have a new heart and soul.

United as one.

United against evil.

United against prejudice.

United for a better future.

“Harry…” whispered Hermione.

He slowly turned around, facing the others. Hermione – and Ron – appeared shocked, but she also looked faintly proud. Draco was horrified, yet contemplative. And Luna had a happy vague look in her eyes as she smiled lightly.

“Well, we’ve got a lot of work to do and not a lot of time, don’t we?” said Harry with a deep breath. He glanced at them tentatively.

“A lot of work?” breathed Hermione. Her chest rose. “You change everythingand you think you can do it overnight?!” she shrieked.

Harry winced.

“Oh, I’m sure we have even less time than that,” said Luna with that same light smile. “I suspect the Professors are looking for us now.”

“That’s right!” cried Umbridge, puffing up and looking smug. “Just you wait until I get my hands on you, Mr. Potter. Not even Argus has enough tools to punish you with – you will deeply regret this. You—”

“Silencio.”

Umbridge continued to mouth her threats, growing more purple by the moment as she realized she’d been silenced. She glared at the girl.

Luna smiled benignly, but there was something different about the light in her pale eyes. She lowered her wand. “Please don’t threaten my friends,” she said, her voice light. A chill slid down Harry’s spine. “I don’t like that.”

Okay… remember never to make Luna mad.

Hermione dragged her hands over her face. “How do you expect to eliminate the houses?” she cried. She stopped briefly to take a deep breath, continuing a bit more calmly. “Do you have any idea how much work it would be to do that?” She began to count with her fingers, seeming to grow more feverish with each item. “Classes, sleeping arrangements, heads of houses, the point system, even Quidditch – it’ll be nearly impossible to organize all that without any help from the teachers. You can’t do this by yourself, Harry.”

“I think she’s right, mate,” said Ron, shaking his head. “It’s a wild idea, but…”

“Can you imagine the chaos it would cause trying to relocate students, especially the older ones who have established their routine?” said Hermione, sounding somewhat frantic. “The Ravenclaws will probably kill you, Harry,” she whispered, her eyes wide at the thought.

Luna let out a soft laugh.

“Let’s not forget that not all of the students will readily support you in this,” said Draco, folding his arms. He frowned, darkness entering his expression. “You’re fighting against centuries of tradition. You’ll have the hardest time with the purebloods.”

Harry sighed, drawing a hand over his face. He rubbed his eyes beneath his glasses and didn’t look at them for a long minute. They were right; he knew it. But he refused to back down just yet.

“I have to try,” whispered Harry. “Wehave to try.”

“Wouldn’t the other professors be glad to support Harry?” asked Luna, her tone gentle, yet serious. “The students aren’t the only ones who dislike Professor Umbridge.”

She’s right… Snape hates Umbridge, too. Maybe he’d be willing to support this.

Well, there was one thing he could do immediately. He was desperate to show somechange before he was thrown into detention for the rest of his life – and then some.

“Dobby!” cried Harry. The little house elf poppedbeside him, staring up at him with wide eyes. He clapped with delight, fat tears welling up and streaming down his cheeks.

“Oh, Master Headmaster Harry Potter, sir! Dobby wishes to congratulate Master Headmaster Harry Potter, sir, for becoming Headmaster of Hogwarts.”

“Dobby, just Harry, please. Hey—” Harry grabbed the exuberant elf by the wrists before Dobby could wrangle his long ears as punishment for some dumb reason. “Hey, can you do me a favor, please?” he asked gently.

“Oh, anything, Master Headmaster Harry Potter, sir!”

Harry sighed at the name. I’m stuck with that, aren’t I?He let go of Dobby when the elf stopped moving around with such enthusiasm. “Could you change all of the uniforms in the school? Can you change them to have a unified scarf with all four house colors and the Hogwarts emblem? Is that possible?”

“Oh, of course! Elf magic is very powerful! Dobby would be happy to do this for Master Headmaster Harry Potter, sir.”

With a snap of his long fingers, Harry felt the magic flow in the air. He stared, watching as shimmering threads swirled around each of them in turn. They disappeared in a gentle glitter of amber gold light. He blinked for a long moment, as if his breath had been stolen with their disappearance. 

He had never seenmagic like that.

What was this?

Their uniforms changed from black with the respective color to black with a medley of the four colors. The Hogwarts logo replaced the house badge on their chest. Harry smiled. Well, it was a start in the very least.

“Thank you, Dobby; that’s perfect,” said Harry, his heart lifting with encouragement. “Can you do one more thing? I also want anything blocking the common rooms removed. No more passwords, nothing – can you do that?”

“Of course, Master Headmaster Harry Potter, sir! Dobby’ll be getting to it immediately,” said Dobby, clapping his hands together and bouncing excitedly. “The rest of the elves are delighted the castle has accepted her new Headmaster! We house elves are thrilled to have Master Headmaster Harry Potter as Headmaster!”

And with a snap of his fingers, he disappeared.

What?

There was a little jolt in his heart. The school had accepted him as Headmaster? Was that a thing? The magic, then… Was that part of becoming the Headmaster of Hogwarts? Or was it something more?

He glanced around the room, looking up at the portraits. Most were gazing down at him with contempt and outrage – except for one.

“Professor Dippet,” began Harry, looking up at the portrait of the old man. “What did Dobby mean by that? Has Hogwarts accepted me as the current Headmaster?”

The rest of the portraits turned their faces away from Harry; many of them trembled with their rage. The old professor gave him a slow nod, his eyes narrowing.

“Yes, she has. It would appear that the school has deemed a fifteen year old boy the most worthy of the position at this time.”

“I haven’t seen anything so insulting and demeaning to the honor of this school in all my days,” snapped Phineas Nigellus Black. “A studentas the Headmaster – preposterous.”

“Despite our feelings on the matter, we are bound to the Headmaster of the school,” said Dippet, his tone even. “We are bound to Hogwarts. Would it not be a dishonor to her name if we rejected what she accepted?”

There were a number of huffs and scoffs to this.

I didn’t think the school could or would actually accept me. I just wanted to shake things up. How can I be the real Headmaster?

Then, a burden fell upon Harry’s shoulders, unlike any physical weight he had experienced before. His legs buckled. He sucked in his breath, losing his balance under the shock and weight. His back slammed against the desk; he clutched onto it, before he lost his strength. He crashed to the floor.

“Harry!”

“Potter—”

A gentle hand touched his back. Luna. Harry heaved a deep breath, trying to get his bearings. A strong arm held him by the underarm at his other side, supporting him up from the floor. Ron.Hermione knelt in front of him, worry in her eyes.

“What is this?” whispered Harry.

“That would be the magic of Hogwarts, empowering you with her protection, but also you with hers. The weight of such responsibility comes with a price,” said Dippet. His expression became pinched, like he had just swallowed an entire lemon. “It is confirmed. We have our underage Headmaster.”