Lesson Plans

Hermione took her time packing up her things when the bell rang at the end of Transfiguration on Monday. She'd thought about Goyle's situation all weekend, and had come up with what she felt sure was a sound and concise argument to present to McGonagall in support of her plan.

"You coming?" someone called.

She turned to see Ron and Harry standing in the doorway. "You go ahead," she said. "I need to talk to Professor McGonagall about something. I'll see you at lunch."

"Probably wants to do some extra credit," she heard Ron say to Harry as they left.

At the front of the classroom, Professor McGonagall was using her wand to erase the spell paradigms they'd studied in class that day from the blackboards. Hermione remained by her desk, fiddling with the strap on her satchel. Despite all her preparation, she felt suddenly and uncharacteristically nervous. She'd never tackled a project quite so large on her own before.

Before Hermione had a chance to choose flight, however, McGonagall turned around and saw her standing there. "Yes, Miss Granger?" she said briskly, though not unkindly. "Do you need something?"

Hugging her satchel to her chest, Hermione approached McGonagall's desk. "I-I wanted to talk to you about Gregory," she said.

"Gregory?" McGonagall said, pulling her chair away from the desk to sit down.

"Yes, Gregory Goyle."

"I knew who you meant, Miss Granger." Hermione blushed. "What did you want to tell me about him?" She folded her hands on the desk before her.

"Well, he...er...he came to see me on Saturday."

"I see."

"He said you'd sent him to me."

"Indeed I did. He's been struggling with his lessons for quite some time now, and I thought you'd be an excellent tutor for him."

Despite her best efforts, Hermione couldn't help blushing with pride. "Thank you, Professor. I appreciate your confidence in me."

McGonagall studied Hermione over her square-rimmed spectacles. "Why do I suspect there's more to this than you're letting on?"

Hermione looked at her feet. "There is, Professor. You see--"

The door to the Transfiguration classroom banged open and Professor Snape swept in, his robes billowing in his wake. "Professor, I--" He spotted Hermione standing there and scowled. "My apologies, Professor, I didn't realize you were occupied." Hermione felt herself wilt a little under his dark gaze.

"No harm done, Severus," McGonagall said. "Miss Granger was just updating me on one of her extracurricular projects."

"No doubt something that involves Potter and Weasley violating school rules and getting away with it," Snape muttered. Hermione bristled, but McGonagall forestalled her retort with a raise of her hand. "I'll come back at a time more convenient for you then," he continued.

"Professor, wait!" Hermione cried out, surprising even herself with the strength of her voice.

Snape peered down his long, hooked nose at her as though she were a heap of dragon dung he'd just missed stepping in. "Yes, Miss Granger?" he said with an aggrieved sigh.

"It's...well...I...what I wanted--"

"Go on, I haven't got all day."

"Severus, give the girl a chance to speak," McGonagall said evenly.

Hermione took a deep breath. "What I came to talk to Professor McGonagall about I wanted to discuss with you as well," she said.

Snape lifted an eyebrow. "Indeed? And what would that be?"

"It's about Gregory Goyle."

"Goyle?" His eyes narrowed. "Don't tell me he's been threatening the first years again?"

"Er, no," Hermione stammered, flustered by her inability to remain focused. "Er, I don't know if he has, sir, that's not what I wanted to say."

"Then what did you want to say?"

"Severus," McGonagall said before Hermione had a chance to continue, "Miss Granger has kindly agreed to tutor Mr. Goyle. No doubt she thought you should know, seeing as he's a member of your house."

Snape pulled himself up to his fullest height and loomed over Hermione. If possible, his sallow face seemed even more discolored. "What would possess you to agree to such a thing?" he demanded to know. "Surely your partners in crime aren't a party to this?"

Hermione sought courage in her growing anger. "If you mean Ron and Harry, no, they don't know. But this isn't a simple matter of providing Gregory extra help in some of his lessons."

"It isn't?" McGonagall asked, genuinely curious.

"No, Professor," Hermione said. "It's that--well, Gregory can't read."

Snape sniffed. "Can't read? That's preposterous. He may not be as literate as you, Miss Granger, but he can certainly read."

"No he can't," Hermione insisted, determined not to waver. "Not at any meaningful level."

"What do you mean by that?" McGonagall asked.

"He knows the mechanics of reading--he can recognize letters and string them together into words, and words into sentences--but he can't--his brain can't interpret what he's reading into something that makes sense. He has dyslexia." She exhaled loudly.

"Dyslexia?" Snape asked, his manner less challenging that it had been a few moments earlier. "What in the name of Merlin is that?"

"It's a learning disability. Whenever Gregory tries to read words on a page, his brain jumbles the letters so he can scarcely distinguish the difference between 'cat' and 'act'."

"And how did you come to be aware of the existence of this...disability?" Snape wanted to know. "And how to recognize Goyle has it?"

Knowing that what she was about to say would probably not be well-received by either Snape or McGonagall, Hermione took a half-step back. "It's a quite common condition among Muggles," she said. "Many Muggle children struggle with variations of dyslexia in primary school."

"Muggles," Snape said with a sneer.

"Yes, Professor."

"You expect me to believe a pureblooded wizard from one of our oldest families suffers from a *Muggle* condition?"

She raised her chin in defiance. "It's not just a Muggle condition. And I believe Gregory may not be the only one who has it."

"You believe--" Snape inhaled sharply through his nostrils and turned to McGonagall. "Professor, are you listening to this nonsense?"

"Quiet, Severus," McGonagall said, not taking her gaze away from Hermione. "Miss Granger, what makes you think this disease may have infected our society?"

"With all due respect, Professor, dyslexia is not a disease," Hermione insisted. "You can't catch it like you can a cold. It's a brain disorder. No one can predict who will have it and who won't, and very often it goes undiagnosed."

"How does one diagnose this condition in the first place?"

"Usually through testing early in primary school. Sometimes, though, its symptoms don't manifest themselves until much later in life."

McGonagall leaned back in her chair and steepled her fingers under her chin. "You believe Mr. Goyle falls into this category?"

"It's possible," Hermione admitted. "But, given the severity of his difficulty, I believe he's been like this all along." She took a deep breath and looked up at Professor Snape, who glowered at her from beneath furrowed eyebrows. "I believe his problem might have been detected much earlier, and dealt with appropriately, had he not been educated at home prior to coming to Hogwarts." She cringed, anticipating an outburst.

"Not been--" Snape sputtered. "Miss Granger, I'll have you know nearly all of our pureblooded students are educated at home before enrolling here, including your friends the Weasleys! That's the way our society has been doing things for centuries!"

"And that's why I think Gregory may not be alone in suffering from dyslexia."

Snape slammed his fist on the desk, making both Hermione and McGonagall jump. "This is an outrage!"

"Severus, please," McGonagall said. "I'd like to hear what Miss Granger has to say."

"Education at home is all well and good," Hermione began, occasionally glancing up at Snape's florid expression, "if the parents are up to the task. But what if-what if, for example, Goyle's mother suffers from undiagnosed dyslexia herself? How good an education can he receive if he's taught by someone who can hardly read?"

"This is just disgraceful!" Snape snarled. "Not only are you accusing Mr. Goyle of having a defective brain, but his mother as well?"

"Professor, don't you find it at all odd that the highest-achieving students at Hogwarts are almost always Muggleborns or halfbloods?" Snape pursed his lips, but said nothing. "You have no way of knowing what sort of education a student will receive before coming here. Muggleborns, like me, and many part-Muggles can benefit from a structured, regulated primary school education before coming here. But for pure wizarding families, learning is completely haphazard and at the whim of the parents."

"What would you suggest we do about this?" McGonagall asked.

"Ideally?" Hermione said, rubbing her hand against the back of her neck. "Reform the educational system entirely. Set up a means to test children for dyslexia and other learning disabilities while they're still young. Provide assistance where needed. Establish a uniform primary curriculum--or, even better, establish a primary school system similar to what we have in Muggle society."

McGonagall lifted an eyebrow. "That's a tall order." Snape snorted.

"Yes, Professor. But have you considered the dangers of an illiterate witch or wizard casting a spell improperly because they never learned it properly in the first place?" She looked at McGonagall and Snape in turn. "If you could have seen Gregory's Transfiguration essay--"

"I did, Miss Granger," McGonagall said with a sigh. She looked up at Snape. "I know it's not what you want to hear, but she's right about Mr. Goyle at the very least. It's possible she may be right about the rest as well."

"You intend to let this girl tell us how to run our educational system?" he yelped, gesturing toward Hermione.

"Don't be a fool," McGonagall retorted, pressing her lips together. "I have no intention of anything of the sort. But her argument has merit. You and I both know there are many students struggling to keep up with their classmates. Are we to ignore our task as educators and allow them to flounder, knowing the risk they pose when let loose in adult society?" She folded her hands before her and addressed Hermione. "I will convey what you have said to Professor Dumbledore and suggest we raise the issue at our next staff meeting. We may not be able to reform our entire system overnight, but we might be able to help those already within our care."

Hermione couldn't prevent a small grin from curving her lips. "Thank you, Professor."

"What about Mr. Goyle?" Snape asked. "What are we to do with him in the meantime? He's on academic probation; if his marks don't improve soon, he may have to leave Hogwarts."

"Actually, Professor," Hermione said, looking up at him hopefully, "I had hoped for permission to work with him on his reading skills as well as tutor him in the lessons he's failing."

"Are you qualified to do such a thing?" Snape asked. "This isn't a simple matter of checking over a homework assignment for spelling errors. Have you ever worked with someone with this sort of difficulty?"

"No, sir," she admitted. "But I've asked my mother to locate Muggle instructional guides for working with dyslexics and send them to me."

"Books," he said, raising his gaze to the ceiling. "Only you would think to find the solution to Mr. Goyle's problem in books." He raised a hand to halt her protest before she'd had a chance to voice it. "Silence, Miss Granger. I will allow you to proceed, on two conditions."

Hermione squared her shoulders. "Yes, Professor?"

"First, I expect your own work not to fall by the wayside. Any slip in the quality of your work and I will call an immediate halt to your tutoring Mr. Goyle."

"That goes for all your lessons, Miss Granger, not just Potions," McGonagall said.

Hermione nodded. "Understood."

"Second, I want weekly updates on your progress. Come to my office each Friday after supper and apprise me of the work you have done with Mr. Goyle and any improvement you have observed. In time, I may ask for written evidence of his progress, but for the time being an oral presentation from you will be sufficient."

"I believe that's a reasonable request," McGonagall said. "I would also like an opportunity to examine these instructional guides your mother is sending you. Perhaps we can find a way to incorporate them into our regular lessons."

"Of course," Hermione agreed, scarcely able to contain her excitement. "I'll bring them by your office as soon as they arrive." She reached down to retrieve her satchel from the floor and slung the strap over her shoulder. "Is there anything else?"

She could have sworn McGonagall almost smiled at her. "No, Miss Granger, I believe you've done quite enough for this morning. Go join your friends at lunch while you still can."

Hermione grinned. "Thank you, Professor McGonagall." She glanced up at Snape, whose expression remained unreadable. "Professor Snape." She fled, before either of them had a chance to rethink their decision.