The House Cup

(Author's Note/Question, would you rather the 

Dueling Tournament to be first

or the Quidditch Tournament to be first

Both will be covered, I am just asking about preference)

"Welcome students, to another year at Hogwarts. For those who have been living under a rock for the last 8 months, or have never seen the wizarding world before, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Gregory Gage, and I will be your headmaster for the foreseeable future. Before you all go to your dormitories, I would like to make a few introductions as well as a few announcements.

First, I would like to introduce our new alchemy professor, Lynn Rowle. Professor Rowle is known for his research into the perfection of the anti-magic stone."

A black-haired man who appeared to be in his twenties and gave off a no-nonsense vibe stood up and bowed towards the students before sitting back down.

"Next, I would like to introduce our new charms professor, Jonathan Cash. Professor Cash is known for his research on the uses of the fire making charm."

A gaunt and graying wizard stood up and gave the children a wave before returning to his seat.

"Furthermore, I would like to introduce Mrs. Arabella Figg, who will be helping Mr. Filch as an additional caretaker."

A short gray-haired woman with a cat in her arms stood up and smiled at the students.

"Lastly, I would like to introduce Healer Sophia Derwent and Healer Augustus Pye, both of whom will be aiding Madam Pomfrey in the school's hospital ward."

A kind and plump witch with brunette hair stood up and waved, while Augustus Pye stood up and gave the students a cold glance before sitting back down.

"Now that introductions are out of the way, I will continue on to the announcements. 

First, Professor Flitwick will become the new professor of the newly introduced dueling class, while Augustus Pye will be the assigned healer of the class. 

Second, Honorary Vice Headmaster Dumbledore will be the new professor of the White Arts class, which will be the class offered in place of Defense Against the Dark Arts. 

Third, electives will be offered starting in second year rather than third year, and this batch's second- and third-year students will share elective classes together. 

Fourth, Alchemy is now offered as an elective starting in your second year, rather than in the sixth as it was previously. 

Fifth, as I am sure you all saw in the Hogwarts letter, first years are now allowed to bring their brooms to school, if they so choose. Additionally, they are allowed to try out for one of the two house teams. That's right, each house will now have two quidditch teams. Furthermore, there will be an end of the year quidditch tournament. For more details, please see Madam Hooch."

The students erupted in cheers at the revelation that there was going to be more quidditch teams and therefore more quidditch matches and more opportunities to play. Fireworks were set off and some Gryffindor third years even jumped onto the long table and started dancing. Just as it seemed like everything was about to get out of control, headmaster Gage cast a mass silencio that caused all the ruckus to die down.

"5 points from Gryffindor," Gage said, while staring at the now slightly sullen third years returned to their seats.

"Continuing on, in addition to the dueling class, there will also be a dueling ranking, with matches held every Friday after classes. There will also be a start of year dueling tournament for all years, to determine preliminary rankings. You will learn more about these things during your first dueling class."

The students, having learned from the Gryffindors' mistakes broke out into subdued whispers. 

"Additionally, if you want to be a Hogwarts champion in five years, you must take Potions, Alchemy, Herbology, Charms, and Dueling.

Lastly, and most importantly, this year's house cup will come with rewards both in the form of privileges and cash prizes. The winning house will get 10000 galleons for the improvement/renovation of their house dormitories, restrooms, and common rooms. Additionally, students of the winning house will have their curfew extended by 1 hour. Furthermore, 5th-7th year students of the winning house will be given limited access to the restricted section of the Hogwarts library. The winning Head of House will be given a bonus of 100 galleons. Lastly, the Great Hall will be decked out in the winning house's colors for the entire school year.

With all the announcements finished, it is off to be with you all." Headmaster Gage said as the doors to the great hall swung open and green, yellow, red, and blue arrows appeared on the floor directing students to their specific house.

That night, the school was abuzz with excitement, they had known that the new headmaster was going to change things, but not this much. Few students slept that night as they were much too busy thinking about what this school year would bring.

The next day, Sunday, while the students were busy exploring the castle, creating friends, or reconnecting with those they hadn't seen all summer, the professors were having one last meeting before classes were to start the next day.

"Alright professors, most of us have done this sort of thing before, but I am going to remind you all that the points system has been slightly adjusted this year, to avoid blatant favoritism," Gregory said, as he gazed at Professor Snape for emphasis, "heads of house can only take away 20 points per house per class session, of course there are exceptions, but they must be verified by either me or Vice Headmaster McGonagall. Additionally, heads of house cannot give their house more than 20 points per house per class session, with exceptions, which can be applied for through me only. Any questions?" Gregory asked as Snape glared daggers at him.

Silence reigned throughout the newly refurbished staff room (curtesy of Lucius Malfoy and the Board of Governors).

"Very well, moving on to bonuses. In order to encourage our professors to strive for excellence, the Board of Governors has generously (and unknowingly) stated that for every student who is able to achieve an O on the OWLs, the professor of the subject will be given 15 galleons. Additionally, for every student who is able to achieve an O on the NEWTs, the professor of the subject will be given 25 galleons. Any questions?" Gregory asked.

"What if our class is not recognized by the Ministry for Magic?" Dumbledore asked, after all it's easy money, one would just have to work a little harder.

"With your connections, Dumbledore, you should be able to get the ministry to approve of changing the DADA assessment to the White Arts assessment." Gregory replied.

(Author's Note: I am assuming Alchemy was already an offered OWL, that no one in England took.)

"Any additional questions?" Gregory asked. No more questions were brought up. "Very well, this meeting is adjourned, I look forward to seeing our students flourish this year."

With that, the professors slowly filed out of the room and went to check over their lesson plans one last time.