"I want to leave school, Head of House. I won't be coming back next term."
Second-year Roger Malone sat across from Pomona.
"May I ask why?" she asked gently and calmly. "You know, many people dream of having an opportunity like yours."
Roger rubbed his nose, lowered his head, and said quietly, "For the past two years, I've always felt hostility. It's directed at students like me, isn't it? They call us Mudbloods?"
"Who calls you that?" Pomona asked.
Roger still kept his head lowered.
"Was it Draco Malfoy?"
Roger remained silent.
She took a breath and continued in the same gentle voice. "Other than calling you that, what else did he do to you?"
Roger shook his head. "There's no point telling you. He can do whatever he wants at this school."
"Who told you that...?"
"His father is a school governor. This whole school belongs to them." Roger cut Pomona off. "And the Dark Lord Harry Potter defeated—his father worked for the Dark Lord. They plan to get rid of people like me, just like last year."
Pomona had no answer.
"I heard the Dark Lord will come back. I've already told my parents, and they think it's too unsafe to stay here. There's still time for me to go back and enter Year Seven."
"What proof do you have that your parents know about this?" Pomona asked.
Roger Malone took a crumpled sheet of paper from his pocket and placed it on the desk before Pomona, then lowered his head again.
She unfolded the paper. It was a letter printed by machine, with a handwritten signature at the end. Above the signature was contact information, including what appeared to be a telephone number.
"I'll contact your mother," Pomona said, setting the letter down.
"May I go now?"