Fandom High School

For as much as Hermione was all about learning and getting others to learn, she was also really sympathetic to the fact that the week had been traumatic, and that not everyone might be back to normal yet. Therefore, she was making sure today was going to be easy for everyone.

"I had class planned weeks ago, but in light of everything that's happened, I thought we could all use a distraction today. It's at least an on topic distraction, though," she said quickly, just in case anyone thought she'd lost her mind. "This is a film called do I have to meta this? Norma Rae, about a woman in America who started a movie to unionize the factory where she worked. Now I had an entire lecture on who the real woman was and what happened and how, but I realized that would take an entire class period, so instead I'm going to pass out these handouts while you watch. And check around the room, there's probably chocolate somewhere." People could probably use chocolate.

Hermione had not expected to have to wear layers of clothes to school in the middle of July, and yet here she was, not looking too happy about it. Or maybe she just hadn't wanted to leave London, either one. "Good morning," she greeted them. "Hopefully the cold wasn't too much of a shock to you this morning, but I'm going to try to get right into class anyway. One of the easiest ways to get involved in something is to volunteer. It's not the flashiest way to get something done, but it is a good way to make some kind of a difference. There are many ways to go about it, too. I've gone ahead and printed a list of volunteer jobs in Maryland just so you can see just how many jobs are out there and what a wide range there is."

As she passed the list out to the students, she continued, "Not every volunteer position is something you might like, so you want to make sure that what you're doing is something you care about, or know you're good at. If hunger and homelessness is something that bothers you, you can help at a soup kitchen or food bank. If you're good at carpentry and building things, you can help build homes for the underprivileged. It's up to you what you'd like to do, and you don't have to do it if you don't want. That's why it's called volunteering. It's also why you don't get paid.

"In this class period, I'd like you all to look over your lists and find something that you think you could do, or might be interested in. Whether or not you follow through with it is up to you, though I highly encourage it."

Hermione loved the start of a new class, and today was no exception. In fact, having two sessions a summer made it seem a lot like the very first day of a new school year twice in a matter of months. Add in the fact that they were in London and Hermione was a happy girl today.

"Hello everyone, and welcome to Social Activism. You can call me Miss Granger," she greeted them with a smile. And yes, she was still sticking with the Miss Granger thing. "If you're in this class, you're probably either here because of a paperwork error, or because you're interested in bringing about some kind of change in the world. Hopefully most of you are here for the second reason.

"To give you a little background on my experience here, when I was fourteen I started the Society for the Protection of Elfish Welfare, also known as S.P.E.W." She pronounced every letter separately and would get very upset if anyone called it 'Spew.' "There were house elves who worked as unpaid servants at my school and for some of the wizarding families that were being treated unfairly, and needed someone to stand up for them." No, they'd been fine on their own. "I tried to get the word out about the conditions in which they were working, organized clothing drives in order to free them, even fought for their rights back home while I was a student here." Please, please don't ask her how. "I think a lot of the time, people want to make a difference, but don't think they can or don't know where to start, especially when you're younger. But I managed to do some good-" Debatable. "-and I hope to be able to teach you how to be able to do the same." Truth. She was misguided in her cause, but she had a good system going. "Now, in this class we're going to learn about the different methods you can use in order to get things done, but first, I'd like to get to know who you are and what you're passionate about. So I'd like everyone to go around the room and tell me your name, year in school, and a cause you feel strongly about."