Short course at following petition (7)
I believe the answer is:
entreat
'following petition' is the definition.
'entreat' can be an answer for 'petition' (I've seen this before). I am not certain of the 'following' bit.
'short course at' is the wordplay.
'short' means to remove the last letter.
'course' becomes 'entree' (entree is a kind of course).
'entree' with its last letter taken off is 'entre'.
'entre'+'at'='ENTREAT'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for entreat that I've seen before include "Beg earnestly, appeal" , "Beseech, implore" , "Pray" , "Request earnestly" , "Will's pass" .)