Many books in the East said something similar: keep close to worthy ministers and keep petty men at a distance. So-called worthy ministers were incorruptible officials who could remonstrate with the emperor to his face. They would urge foolish monarchs to immediately correct their moral failings and become good emperors who were diligent, frugal, and cared for their people.
When everyone else was having fun, no one would be pleased if a "worthy minister" suddenly brought something like that up. After "borrowing" Neville, Pomona did not punish the older students who had been fooling around. She acted as if nothing had happened; that was her way of dealing with people.
Even games meant to be played in earnest could go down in history. The organizers needed to ensure the fairness of the competition, and secrecy was essential. The Ministry of Magic had not made them sign confidentiality agreements merely to make it easier for them to use magic during the summer holidays.
The advantage of using hedges was that they could be made to grow another section at any time, or excess branches could be trimmed away. After dividing the maze into many sections, she scrambled their order and distributed the smaller pieces among them. That way, she did not have to worry about anyone leaking secrets because they knew too much.
The children who received the blueprints did not understand what was drawn on them. It was somewhat dull, but everyone who had stayed obeyed. They had already finished dividing into groups over the previous few days; next came the on-site survey.
Once the survey was completed, Pomona divided the grounds into several sections marked off by white lines on the ground, so that each group could complete its own small portion within one section.
She did not dictate