A/N: Thank you everyone for the reviews, favorites and follows. I love getting email notifications and reading the reviews. I will try to PM with answers to any questions you may have, so please feel free to ask. I am working a bit of an odd schedule so I may take time to get back to you, but I will do my best.

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{Parseltongue}

The rest of the day went quickly for Tom and his followers as they settled into their new rooms. Fenrir and Harry settled into Tom's rooms while the Malfoys and Lestranges settled into rooms on either side of the Founder Rooms. Barty Crouch Jr. also moved into smaller rooms a bit further down the hall. It was Tom's intention to have all of the rooms assigned to his followers to connect onto this previously unused hallway. He wanted to have easy access to those he trusted while keeping others from knowing where they were, and this hall was designed to be difficult to find.

Thankfully, the magic of the castle allowed for the addition of the new rooms at his request; something that would allow him and his followers to have their privacy as they held meetings away from the regular staff. The privacy would also allow the children a bit of freedom as they could roam the hallway to get to each other's quarters without the risk of coming across someone that Tom and his followers did not trust. All they had to do now was ensure that Corvus and his cousins knew that they should not leave the Founders Hallway without an adult present. It was a good thing that Corvus was old enough to understand that he was not to just ignore wards that were placed for his safety.

While his followers and heir were settling in, Tom was hard at work in his new office. One of the first things he did was send a letter off to Madam Marchbanks about the end of year tests. Once the letter had been sent he delved back into the ledgers for the school. Next to the ledgers he had a pile of parchment filled with notes he had taken in an effort to understand just what Dumbledore had been doing.

He had lists of everything that had be spent using funds from the school and while he had been mostly confused about the accounts, now that he had spent three days looking over them he was irritated. When five o'clock arrived, Tom placed his notes in a pile to be collected by Onyx when it was time for the staff meeting, made another request of the house elves and then went to join his followers in the hall. Seeing his Inner Circle with the exception of Severus who was still at Durmstrang, he smirked. "Shall we go to dinner?"

With him leading the way and Fenrir and Lucius taking up places slightly behind him with Corvus, Draco, and Xavier following behind with Narcissa and Bellatrix behind the children. At the back of the procession was Rodolphus, Rabastan and Barty.

Descending the main stairs, the procession came across Dumbledore having a quiet conversation right beside the front door with Minerva and Sirius. All three halted their conversation when Minerva glanced up and saw Tom and his followers descending the stairs with smirks on most of their faces. As soon as her eyes widened and her face paled, they gained the attention of Dumbledore and Sirius.

"Ah, Dumbledore, saying your final goodbyes I see." Tom's voice was betrayed none of the amusement he felt as he spoke. Tom slowly pulled a pocket watch out of his robe pocket and made a show of glancing down to check the time. "And here I was thinking I would be too late to see you off. But here we are and it is now five o' clock. I do hope that the elves were able to help you with your packing?"

The look on Dumbledore's face had the others biting their cheeks in an effort to keep their masks in place.

"Indeed. Though I don't see the point in removing my things from the castle as I will be returning when you show your true intentions." Minerva and Sirius both looked like they agreed with their leader.

"Hn, we will just have to see. Let us not delay however; I will have the elves make sure that you arrive at Hogsmeade with no problems. Have a good day, Mr. Dumbledore."

Dumbledore just glared at Tom for a moment before turning to Minerva to speak quietly. "I will speak with you soon. Keep heart, my dear." With one halfhearted twinkle, Dumbledore turned and walked slowly down the steps of Hogwarts and towards the gates.

While Sirius just turned a glare onto Tom and his followers, Minerva pressed a hand to her lips as though she were trying to keep herself from breaking down right there in the front hall. With one last smirk in their direction, Tom moved towards the doors to the Great Hall; his group following without another word.

Dinner was a fairly quiet affair for the most part. Most of the teachers were worrying about the meeting that would be following dinner and thus ended up keeping up a quiet conversation among themselves as they wondered as to wither or not the new adults at their table would be their replacements. Dumbledore's main followers just keep to themselves, more worried about their leader than their own positions.

The students that were still at the school were sending curious looks towards, not only the new adults at the table, but also towards the three young children that were sitting next to their new Headmaster.

As the deserts disappeared from the table, Bellatrix rose and turned to address Tom. "Lord Riddle-Slytherin, I will escort the children back to our rooms before joining you for the meeting."

"That is fine, I will see you in a few minutes then."

Bellatrix nodded and followed her son and his cousins as they made their way out of the Great Hall. Once they were back on the fifth floor she called for Onyx to lead them back to their rooms so that she would not lose her way in the unfamiliar hallways. After settling the boys into the new room that would be their classroom from now own so that they could be watched over by the familiar portraits that had been housed in the Black Manor portrait hall, she made were way to the teachers meeting room.

Tom nodded as she claimed a seat between her husband and brother-in-law before he began to speak.

"Before we get started with our staff meeting, I feel I must ask a question." He had everyone's attention. "Mr. Flitch, why are you here?"

Before the old man had a chance to speak, Minerva spoke up with her voice tight with anger. "I told him that you wished to see all Hogwarts employees after dinner." She was not the only follower of Dumbledore that was glaring at him now. Sirius, Hagrid and Flitch were glaring as well.

"And that is the problem, Professor McGonagall. Mr. Flitch is not, nor has he ever been, employed by Hogwarts." This comment had everyone freezing in their seats and turning their confused gazes towards Mr. Flitch, who was now the only one glaring at Tom. "Just what is it that you supposedly do here, Mr. Flitch?"

"I am the caretaker. I see to the castle." The old man finally spat.

"No, there is no one being paid as a caretaker, nor has there ever been a need for the position as it is the duties of the house elves to see to the castle. What is it that you do here?" Tom's voice was hard as he once again asked the duties of the old man before him.

After a quiet moment of hesitation where Mr. Flitch continued to glare at the new Headmaster, he finally spoke. "I do whatever Dumbledore asks me too. Run errands mostly...and look after the castle." The last was added petulantly.

"I see, and I suppose that it was Mr. Dumbledore that paid you your wages." When Flitch nodded he continued. "I understand, you were Mr. Dumbledore personal assistant. As such, your presence is not permitted at the school any longer. May I suggest you join Mr. Dumbledore so that you may work out your continued employment with him? I have no need for a personal assistant to run my errands after all."

"You can't do that, this is his home." Minerva's brogue was thick as she lashed out at this newest injustice. She pinched her lips closed when Tom turned his cold gaze in her direction.

"I think that you will find I can Professor McGonagall. Mr. Flitch has no business on school grounds now that his employer has been removed. He has one hour to vacate the premises. Mr. Flitch, I have already asked that the elves assist you in getting your things packed. They will see you off to Hogsmeade within the hour." His tone rang with finality.

While Minerva sat steaming in her seat, Mr. Flitch stomped out of the room while muttering under his breath. After a moment of silence Tom began to address the Hogwarts staff who looked confused.

"Now that that has been taken care of, I will get on with it. This is of course going to be the first of many meetings through the rest of the year. In addition to having meetings with all teachers present, each member of the staff will be meeting with me individually throughout the rest of the year as well." Tom looked at everyone for a moment before continuing.

"This year will continue as normally as possible, but there will be a few changes that will be taking place. The first major change that will be taking place is that all classes will be reviewed. I am sure that you have noticed the additional people that have joined us at dinner and now in this meeting. For those of you that are unfamiliar with them, let me introduce you to Lord Rodolphus Lestrange and his wife Bellatrix, Rabastan Lestrange, Lord Lucius Malfoy and his wife Narcissa, and of course Barty Crouch and Lord Fenton Grey."

"Please continue your classes as you would be teaching them as normally as possible. They will be merely observing at this point. They will also be joining you during your office hours and for those of you that are Heads of House to one of the houses, they will be joining you on your house meetings. I will also be monitoring classes and office hours when I have a chance. Any questions so far?"

It was Filius Flitwick that spoke. "Will those doing the monitoring be the only ones that are able to suggest changes to classes, or will we be able to make suggestions during our individual meetings?" A few of the teachers nodded as they also wanted to know if they would have any say in changes being made to their own classes. A few of them had made requests before only for Dumbledore to tell them that no changes were needed.

"If there is something that you wish to bring to my attention during our individual meetings, then that is more than fine. If there is something that you have concerns over that cannot wait for a meeting, you may of course bring it to my attention. Anyone else?"

"Are your people here going to be our replacements at the end of the year?" Sirius asked while shooting a glare towards his cousin across the table. His obvious annoyance only grew when she ignored him. He had always hated his family and now was furious at the thought that his cousin could take his job.

"No one will be losing their positions unless they are not doing their jobs. It is my hope that they will be teaching some of the new classes that will be introduced at the beginning of next year." Tom held up a hand when it looked like he was going to be interrupted. "Those classes are still being considered so we will not be discussing them at this time. You will be informed of new classes that will be offered by the end of the year or perhaps after summer break has begun."

"Another thing that I wished to speak to you about was confirmed with Madam Marchbanks earlier today. All of the end of year exams will be extended to include the questions that would be asked on the International Standard NEWTs, OWLs and WOMBATs. Students will be receiving International Standard and British Standard scores. This will be a period of transition, but it is my hope that we will be only providing International Standard scores by the end of a two year period."

"I am sorry." Pomona Sprout spoke quietly as she gained Tom's attention. "Will changing over to International Standards cause problems for our Owl and NEWT students? How different are the standards?"

"That is a great question. It will be quite a transition and some of our students will be finding themselves facing quite a challenge. Right now, the British Standard of education is roughly almost two years behind the International Standard. It is for this reason that we will be having more extensive exams at the end of the year. Not only will they be the student's final scores for the year, but they will also act as placement tests for their classes next year. Those that are taking their owls this year may gain a score for their British Standard OWL, but that will not mean that they will be placed in a NEWT level class for that subject."

"How will they graduate on time with their NEWTs if they are not allowed to study?" Minerva asked with wide eyes.

"They will be placed in a class for their skill and knowledge level and they will be taught the information they need to learn to meet international standards. Those students that have already passed the British Standard OWLs will be allowed to remain at Hogwarts for two additional years and those that are going to be taking their OWLs should have enough time to catch up if they put in the proper effort."

"Some of the students will not be able to afford two additional years, Headmaster." Horace Slughorn watched his former student with knowing eyes, already knowing that the brilliant man would have an answer to an issue he knew the others had on their minds. Tom had always been one of his favorite students.

"The students will be allowed continue their studies at no cost due to their tuition having been raised without need. Each student that requires additional time for their studies will be given an accounting of how much tuition can still be used to pay for additional classes. I will be adjusting the tuition for those in younger years so that they will have discounts for next years tuition."

"What? I thought that Hogwarts was having issues with money. Every time I asked for new brooms, the Head…Mr. Dumbledore told me that there was no money for new supplies." Rolonda Hooch looked confused as did a few of the other teachers that had asked for supplies over the years.

"Hn. Well I can tell you that the money is there. I have spent three days going through the accounts and yesterday I sent an inquiry off to Gringotts. I saw more than a few requests for supplies along with notations that they had been denied, only to see the accounts at Gringotts growing. From what I can understand from the letter they sent, the reason Hogwarts has not been getting supplies is that Mr. Dumbledore continued to insist that the Goblins allow him to take Galleons directly from the school vaults instead of having businesses bill the vaults directly. I could not tell you his reasoning, but every time he was denied access to the vaults he denied all requests instead of following protocol for school purchases."

"That doesn't make since." One of the teachers muttered.

"Like I said, I cannot tell you his reasoning, the only thing I can tell you is that the money is there and future requests will be given full consideration, also there will be no problems with the additional classes and teachers that will be added next year. While classes were cut and supplies were being denied the tuition was never cut back. It was actually raised a few times. I will do everything that I can to ensure that our students are getting the education that they are paying for. I don't want to keep you much longer tonight." Tom looked down at his pocket watch before looking back up. "Are there any other questions I can answer tonight?"

Horace leaned forward with his next question. "Getting back to the issue of the end-of-term exams, you said that they would be used as placement tests for classes next year…can you explain that a bit more Headmaster?" He had always expected great things from his former student and couldn't wait to see what he had planned for the school.

"Of course. All students will be placed into classes based on where they stand in their studies instead of simply taking classes with their year mates from this point on. Even if we are able to admit more students than normal to the school, class sizes will be reduced. Hogwarts was designed to house many more students than it is currently educating; in fact, we are only operating with about a fourth of the amount of students we should be for first though seventh years. As to the new layout or the classes, I will use the core classes as an example as to the layout we will use next year. Coincidently, this is the layout that most of the International Standard schools have adopted aside from a few."

"As of right now, each subject has two classes per year group with everyone from the same year learning the same information. Instead of this layout, students will be taking classes geared towards their skill and knowledge level. For instance, Transfiguration will now have levels such as Transfiguration 1.1, 1.2, 2.1, 2.2, and so forth up to levels 7.1, 7.2. Obviously the first number refers year level, though a student in second year can take Transfiguration 3.2 if they display the knowledge and sill for the class. International Standard OWLs are taken though 5.1 and 2 and NEWTs are taken though 7.1 and 2. Having each year level divided into two groups allows for those that are able to advance at a faster rate to do so while those that need more time for the basics to have that time to put forth the best effort they can to achieve a passing grade. Classes ending in .1 will be for students that generally achieve an Acceptable or lower and the syllabus will be geared toward ensuring that those students can get Acceptable on their end-of-term tests. Classes ending in .2 will be geared towards those students that are able to maintain Exceeds Expectations and Outstanding's. They will have the chance to learn more spells as they will be working at an accelerated rate, and that should allow for more time to be spent on spell work. No student should progress into the next class without a passing grade. If a student does not achieve at least an Acceptable, they will remain in the same class until they do so. There is no reason for a student with a failing grade in first year to advance to the second year classes when they do not have the skill or knowledge to keep up with the course work."

"It is also my intention to eventually reopen Hogwarts to BEAST studies, which would cover 8.1, 8.2, 9.1, and 9.2 classes. As you all should know from your own educations, once the BEASTs have been taken, students are then eligible for Apprenticeships. Something that Hogwarts once offered."

"And just who will be preparing these students for the Brutally Exhausting, Atrocious Skills Test? It seems that you expect us to give up all of our free time to teach yet more classes." Minerva looked as though she was ready to spit nails. "Some of us already have full schedules."

"I fully expect each core class to eventually have at least three teachers, if not more as we accept more children. As of right now there are no teachers here that have more than twelve classes a week since the NEWT classes are combined. I have checked your own schedule for instance and you have twelve classes a week. Three days a week you have classes for four hours and then classes for six hours two days a week. You can certainly expect to spend quite a bit more time in the classroom as the contract for a teaching position at Hogwarts specifies that you teach classes for seven hours a day at minimum on weekdays, just as students should be having classes for at least seven hours each day on weekdays if not more. That does not even take into account any special classes that could be offered on weekends. While you can certainly expect help with the workload for your respective classes, you should go ahead and expect that you will be spending more time teaching than you do currently."

"I don't have time for more classes. I have other duties to see to." Minerva glared at Tom as she spoke.

"I think that you will see some time opening up in your schedule as you are no longer going to be filling the post of Deputy Headmistress. I was actually going to speak to you about that after the meeting, but it seems prudent to mention it now as you seem to doubt your availability to the students. Your current employee contract for the position of Head of House of Gryffindor and Transfiguration Professor actually states that you are unable to hold another position. I am unsure how it is that you came to the position of Deputy Headmistress in the first place. That should open your schedule so that you have more time for your teaching and Head of House duties." Tom never changed his tone when speaking though he did have to hide his smirk when Minerva paled.

Hagrid looked confused as he looked from the pale Minerva to the stoic new Headmaster. His eyes widened when Tom turned his attention towards him.

"Hagrid, before I forget, I will be meeting with you later this week and I will need for you to have an inventory of all creatures and beings residing within the Forbidden Forrest and the within the lake. Could you have that ready by the end of the week?" Tom raised his brow in question.

"I could." Hagrid spoke hesitantly. "Why would you be needing to know everything in the forest?" He looked genuinely confused at the request.

"I will need to know as the wards are currently indicating that there are dangerous creatures within both the forest and lake. The inventory will allow me to provide accurate information when I contact the Department of Magical Creatures for their removal."

"Their aint nothing in that forest that is dangerous." Hagrid was puffing out his cheeks as he looked at Tom. He sounded as though he did not know wither to be angry of afraid for his creatures. "I have been looking after the forest for a long time now and aint no one ever been hurt."

"Be that as it may, I will need that list by the end of the week." Tom turned his attention back to the rest of the staff without waiting to see if the half-giant had anything else to say. "Now, were there any other pressing matters that we would need to speak about tonight?" He looked around and nodded when the Charms Professor raised his hand. "Yes, Professor Flitwick?"

"I was wondering if anything could be done about the History class. My students are always upset about taking their end-of-term tests in that class and with the changeover to International Standard, I know that they will be even more worried. I doubt that any of the students will be able to pass a basic History exam unless they have been studying independently."

Tom nodded. "I requested that Madam Marchbanks send me a recommendation for a History Professor this morning. She is currently asking around for someone that will be able to help the students and I hope to have someone installed by the end of two weeks. Unfortunately, Professor Binns has not been Hogwarts official History Teacher since he died. The contract with Hogwarts was dissolved at the time of his death. We will be moving the class to a different room within the castle until such time as he moves on or is banished. At the time of his death, Mr. Dumbledore placed himself as History Professor and did not inform anyone of the change. As there are no records showing he has ever taught History at Hogwarts, the Goblins will be ensuring that all wages due to the position of History Professor will be returned.

Tom looked around the room feeling quite pleased that even his most staunch supporters were currently looking devastated at this new information. There was simply no reason that they could think of that would explain why he would collect the wages of a position he did not hold. As he dismissed the teachers from the meeting, Tom looked around and saw his followers chatting amicably with a few of the teachers that had remained behind to chat. All in all, this was a great day. He smirked as he left to find his way back to his rooms.