A/N a few scenes that were 'off screen' as it were, from the last two chapters. I know that Mcgonagall seems a bit OOC here.. But she's being my voice today.
At Hogwarts:
After the Order meeting, Mcgonagall said goodbye to each member present in the kitchen, and was just about to take her leave when she noticed her least favourite colleague sneering at Sirius. Curious, she moved slightly closer and overheard Snape say "well, I had better take my leave as I have some important marking to do, as well as making notes for the next Order meeting and going to a few meetings with the Dark Lord, if I miss any then the Order might miss out on some vital information. Enjoy the rest of your cleaning, Black, not that it makes much of a difference to the work of the Order. Even the werewolf and the metamorphmagus do more than you do. Still, I suppose your vile friend would be turning in his grave if he realised that after all the 'hard work' he put in in the first war, you're just lazing around at -" Mcgonagall had heard enough, and dragging him away from Sirius, threw some Floo Powder into the fire and pushed him in. "I'm so sorry, Sirius, is he like this at every meeting?" "Yes, he is, and it's not like he actually contributes anything either, he never gives us any information until it's almost too late or there isn't enough of it. I wish I could be out there helping, Professor, I really do. And he is constantly abusing James' memory, in front of me, and in front of Ly. It's not fair but I can't retaliate. I'm trying to rise above it for Lyra's sake, but it's so hard." Minerva gave him a compassionate look. "I know, Sirius, I heard everything he said. I shall speak to Albus tonight, he should be ensuring everyone is civil because we need to be a team now, more than ever, and Severus gets away with a lot that anyone else wouldn't." Taking her leave, she headed back to Hogwarts, making sure to end up in Dumbledore's office rather than her own.
When Dumbledore came through the Floo, he was surprised to see her there. "Minerva? Why are you in here?" "We need to talk, Albus, about Severus' behaviour. You heard him earlier, when we accused Lyra and Sirius, he was sneering at her and insulting James! That is unacceptable behaviour, I know you heard it and you allow Severus to get away with a lot. If I insulted a dead family member, especially one of a student, I would get told off, be forced to apologise, and probably also be forced to leave my post at Hogwarts. It makes me wonder if all the complaints filed against his treatment of students are true! We've always given him the benefit of the doubt, Albus, but I think it's time we put the students first and not let him behave in that way. And you didn't even hear him after the meeting was over!" Albus had sat down by this point and was looking as if he was fascinated by the conversation.
"And don't you look at me like that, Albus, I know you too well! If you don't take any action about this then I will! Severus will not be allowed to behave in this way, towards the students, or towards the fellow members of the Order. You did not hear what he said to Sirius after the meeting! He was boasting to Sirius in the most offensive tones possible about how is own work is so much more useful to the Order than anything Sirius can do, and also made reference to the fact that Sirius won't be doing much in the evenings because he is stuck in the house. We both know that Severus' contribution to our work is minimal, especially as he spends more time insulting Sirius and Remus, and Lyra as well, than he does working with us. And this happens in every meeting as well! Sirius, thankfully, is trying his hardest to rise above it, for Lyra's sake, but he is finding it tough. He almost snapped earlier because Severus brought James into the mix. He should not be allowed to insult the Potters, Albus! It's a wonder Sirius hasn't thrown us out of the house to avoid Severus' bullying tendencies!"
Albus stood up again. "You said Sirius almost snapped, Minerva, why didn't he? If he can rise above this then I'm sure you can ignore Severus' behaviour as well." "He didn't snap, only because I intervened, Albus, and.." Here, she blushed. "Minerva?" "And I pushed him into the Floo! You didn't hear him Albus, it was disgusting! And to think we work with him, to think you encourage us all to trust and respect him!" "Minerva, may I ask you to just ignore him?" Minerva's mouth thinned. "No, Albus! You may not! We are supposed to be working as a team, and right now you are allowing him to bully members of the Order and get away with it! You need to make Severus see that this behaviour is not tolerated. At. All." She sighed. "I can see I am getting nowhere with you. But I assure you, if you don't deal with his appalling behaviour to Miss Potter, Sirius, the rest of the Order and all of the students here at Hogwarts, then I will. And we both know, as deputy head mistress here I can circumnavigate the headmaster if my students wellbeing is affected. If you don't do anything, then Snape will be gone from the castle."
Albus sat down, looking rather tired and old. Mcgonagall, feeling tendrils of guilt rising up inside her, pushed them down again and concentrated on her students. Distant memories welled up inside her, of Lyra's constantly poor grades in Potions but high grades in every other subject; of several other students coming to see her with complaints about his bullying and bias; and then one that made her feel even worse: Neville Longbottom's boggart. The memories flowed around her and strengthened her resolve. Her students came first, not her colleague.
"Alright" Albus whispered, "I'll talk to him tomorrow." "Thank you" said Minerva, "I'll make you you don't forget. Good night, Albus." "Goodnight Minerva."
After she left, he put his head in his hands. Had he really been so neglectful of his students? Had the complaints about Severus been completely accurate rather than wildly exaggerated as he had thought? He had heard Severus' comment to Lyra earlier, and while he had thought that Severus could get over his schoolboy grudge, it was obvious he hadn't. And if Severus had felt able to insult James in front of him, what did he say when Lyra was in class without any teachers there? Waves of guilt throbbed through him. Had he really let his students be taught by a bully? Had he really let Lyra be taught and bullied by the man who had indirectly caused her parents death? Thinking it over, he decided that it would be best if he observed one of Severus' lessons first, (hidden, of course) before taking any action.
Rising, Albus quickly wrote a note to his deputy, sending it to her through Fawkes, who whistled approvingly, and went to bed.
At Grimmauld Place (Hermione, Ginny and Ron):
After Lyra had left them and headed upstairs, Ron and Hermione exchanged dark looks. They knew they had made a mistake and they had to fix things. After finding Lyra in the girls bedroom, Ron, Ginny and Hermione all went over to try and talk to her. However Lyra just ignored them. Eventually, they gave up when Lyra got so annoyed with their presence that she started getting changed in front of them. Hermione and Ginny were fine with this, as they often changed in each other's presence (although usually they'd turn away from each other to do so) but watching Lyra pull off her t-shirt had an alarming response in Ron, who turned bright red and practically fell over himself in his efforts to get out of the room before he saw any more of Lyra than he ought to. Once he had left the room, Lyra turned round and smirked to herself. After she got into bed, Hermione and Ginny both tried to talk to her once more but she merely rolled over and pretended to fall asleep. Annoyed, they tried desperately to talk loud enough that she would wake up and talk to them, but it didn't work. Soon they fell asleep, and Lyra was able to be alone.
At Grimmauld Place (Sirius, Remus and Tonks):
Sirius woke up, eyes opening blearily to check that Lyra was alright in her usual place in his bed.. Before noticing that she wasn't there, and waking up instantly, he sat up quickly before remembering what had happened the night before. He had felt humiliated, but had covered his tracks pretty well, preferring to present himself well to the Order and make himself less of a target for Snivellus. Snape! 'Must remember to refer to him as Snape, Sirius, or it will make it easier for him to bully Lyra'. It hadn't worked, however, and he had had to put up with his malicious behaviour before Mcgonagall intervened and sent him packing through the Floo with a satisfied smirk on her face. Still, recalling last night meant recalling the humiliated and mortified look on Lyra's face as she was forced to leave the kitchen. And then he remembered being accused of sleeping with his own god daughter by Molly, no less, and he realised he didn't want to get up and face her and everyone else who had believed her once again.
An hour later, he was still wrapped up in his duvet trying to pretend that last night was all a dream when his bedroom door burst open and Remus and Tonks came in. "OI, Sirius! Get out of bed you lazy lump!" "No..I'm fine, leave me alone" "Padfoot, you have to get up now, it's the morning." "No it's not." Sirius refused, stubbornly.
Eventually, after much cajoling, Remus and Tonks exchanged looks, before quickly grabbing Sirius' legs and trying to drag him out of the room. "NOOOOO" shrieked Sirius, you can't!" Desperately trying to work free from their strong grips, he clung on to the duvet and then onto the bed posts. Tonks sighed, and let go, and winked at Remus when he raised his eyebrows in a silent question. "You know, Sirius, I can't believe you, I thought you were a Gryffindor, I used to respect you! And I thought you loved your god daughter, but you clearly don't, as you're hiding up here and leaving her to face everybody on her own." Her hair now brown, she spoke in a depressed tone. When Sirius stopped struggling and leapt up, throwing clothes on himself in a hurry and almost running out of the door to find Lyra, Tonks exchanged grins with Remus, winked at him once more, and changed her hair back to bright pink before following the two men out of the room.
A/N I had to go out to a party earlier, (it's Christmas!) so this chapter is shorter and not really in chronological order as I didn't have enough time to write one with what i want to happen next. Spoiler though, Lyra and Mrs Weasleys confrontation probably won't be in the next chapter, but if it is it won't be the main event. ;)
