Draco Malfoy quickly made his way across Hogwarts' grounds under the cloak of the old moon. Scotland in September was typically on the warmer side of things, yet the night brought a slight chill to the young wizard as he slipped silently into the Forbidden Forest. He felt a brief twinge as he crossed over the anti-apparition wards and vanished into the night. The Head of Slytherin disapparated on the deserted street outside the darken Leaky Cauldron and quickly summoned the Knight Bus to his aid.

The Potions instructor calmly leaned against the lamp post as he waited, his wand sheathed in the wrist holder. As he closed his eyes, his senses highetened and encompassed the area around him. To the casual observer, the young Slytherin was the picture of aristocratic ease. Behind his closed eyelids, the night's events replayed.

"I apologize for dragging you all away from your last class of the day. However, I felt that it was imperative that you be updated immediately." Taking a deep breath, "Rubeus Hagrid has been taken into the Ministry of Magic on a warrant issued by the Department of Magical Creatures."

"Hagrid?" The flying instructor leapt from his place, "the only thing that is remotely dangerous about Hagrid is some of the creatures that he keeps." Tilting his head slightly, letting the long ginger hair smack the side of his face, "did a parent file a complaint? I know that it's early, just a few days into the new term and all, but ..."

"No Mr. Weasley. At best I can think that whatever charges that have been brought against our Keeper of keys is trumped up." The Headmistress rubbed her hands together.

"And the worst, Minerva?" The Medi-witch leaned forward, her brown eyes vacant of any warmth.

"That Hagrid's inherited genetics from his mother's side is being used against him."

"But the new Dangerous Creature's Act said 'giants' not half-giants!" Indignation, on behalf of her gentle souled friend, flashed in Ms. Granger's eyes.

"If what you believe to be true, Professor, than perhaps it would be prudent to-"

"Sorry all for barging in like this, but I'm suppose to check in with the Headmistress," the raven haired wizard glanced at the piece of parchment. "Headmistress Minerva McGonagall and some of your students, the ones with blue and yellow stripes on the ties, said you were all in here." Swallowing, "I hope that I haven't arrived at a bad time?"

"I'm Minerva McGonagall and you are?"

"Stephen...uh...Storm," he nervously swiped the Stetson off his head.

Arching an eyebrow at the young wizard, he can't be more than eighteen years old or I'm a hag. "And you are here because...?"

"Oh! The Board of Governors...your Board of Governors that is to say..." The wizard pulled a hankerchief out of a pocket in his robes, "I'm the new Care of Magic Creatures professor." Gulping, he glanced around the shocked Staff Room. "Um, that fellow Mr. Kingsley stressed the need for one and since I was visiting some friends..."

Holding up her hand, "wait a tick! Kingsley as in Kingsley Shacklebolt?"

Backing away from the enraged medi-witch, "black guy...bald with an earring in his ear?"

"That son of a rat!When I get my hands wrapped around that-" Whirling on her old mentor, "at least now we know why he isn't returning our firecalls."

"Restrain yourself, Ms. Granger!" Turning back to the skittish wizard, "please continue."

"Well...I was visiting some friends here in Britain and met Mr. Shacklebolt?...We got to talking and one thing led to another. I mentioned that I grew up at the base of Mt. Shasta - Mt. Shasta City to be exact. Well one subject led to another, we ended up spending a good portion of the night discussing various magical creatures; the ones indegionous to the Redwood National Park to be exact. Anywho, the next thing I know is this Kingsley guy is practically shoving the application down my throat; all the while moaning about needing a new instructor here at your school." Shrugging, "you can imagine the pressure I was under when I went before your Board. And, well, here I am."

"Mr...Storm, is it?" At the sandy haired wizard's nod, "whenexactly did your interview take place?"

"Um, two-three days ago, Ma'am. They sure seemed mighty relieved that they had found someone."

"Those two-faced, greasy, flobberworms! Hagrid was just arrested this afternoon and they were already planning on replacing him before there was even a need!" The Medi-witch's wand sparked as ranted. "Minerva," whirling around on her former Head. "If that's not proof of a conspiracy, than I don't know what is!"

"Um, ladies...?" Swallowing as the collective eyes of the school's staff fell once more onto him, "it's been an exhausting week for me and as it's a weekend..." Straightening,"if it's not too much of an inconvenience, I'd like to find my quarters and get some rest before Monday morning classes."

"Of course," the Headmistress summoned a house elf. "Escort Mr. Storm to the guest tower and a suitable room." Returning her attention to the confused Yankee, "Professor Hagrid was arrested just a few short hours ago. Until that point, he was our Care of Magical Creatures instructor and until we can properly sort through this mess - Hogwarts' welcomes you. Be that as it may, it isn't right to allow someone else into his quarters." Peering over the rim of her spectacles, "you understand of course."

"Of course," Storm bowed as he allowed the house elf to led him away.

Draco straightened as the triple-decker screeched to a stop in front of him, tapping the garbage can and sending it rolling into the deserted street. Stan Shunpike stepped out onto the curb in the wake of the doors. Brushing off his purple conductors uniform, "whatcha needing?"

"Ministry of Magic," the Potions professor snapped as he brushed past the other wizard and boarded. Sneering at the driver, he maneuvered through the beds full of sleeping occupants. Locating a seat on the second level, the blonde wizard pulled his cloak around him. While apparating to his destination would have been faster, using multiple methods of transportation helped to obscure his movements from unwanted attentions.

"Silence!" The symphony of voices vabirated under the hard grey eyes of the wizard cloaked in the shadows. "What's done is done-"

"How can you be so cold, Draco?" The medi-witch snapped, "Hagrid's been setup and you don't even care!"

"I never said that, vile woman. Arguing, name calling and finger pointing will not help anyone. If that is all you want to do to help," the Head of Slytherin frowned, "then I strongly advise you to return to your normal activities and leave this matter in the hands that are more than capable of getting to the bottom of the matter."

"What do you know about this, Ferret?"

"Same as anyone else, Buck-teeth!"

"Children!" McGonagall stepped between the quarrelsome duo, "honestly. In the name of all that is divine, can neither of you two act your age whilst in the same room?"

"She started it," the Malfoy heir said as he pointed a finger at the blushing witch.

"Did not!"

"Both of you stop!" The Headmistress growled as she flicked her wand at the pair. "Blessed silence."

The bus careened around a sharp corner before jerking to an abrupt stop. "Ministry of Magic!"

Shaking his head, the Slytherin quickly disembarked and hurried into the alleyway. Glancing around to check for anyone looking, he stepped inside a red phone booth. As the door unfolded, closing him inside, the ground beneath his feet gave way. There has got to be a less nauseous way to get into the cursed building.Sliding down the curling pipeline, his thoughts carried him back towards the staff meeting.

"Now that we are acting like the adults that we are again," McGonagall glared briefly at the duo. "I have already contacted former Headmaster Dumbledore and he is searching for a suitable barrister. With luck, Professor Hagrid should be released within the next day or so." Glancing around at the silently assembled staff members, "in the meanwhile we present a united front to the school and the rest of the world. Hogwarts' has seen darker times than this and we still stand." She paused as though listening to something or someone that only she could hear. "Earlier, I saw Professor Snape-"

"What?"

"Where?"

"Is he alright?"

Holding her hands up, "he appeared to be fine."

"Appeared? Headmistress, with all due respect what do you mean?" The Head of Huffelpuff asked as she leaned forward, her blouse beneath her robes drooping.

Squinting her eyes shut against the sight of the other witch's assets, "we spoke briefly in the Headmistress' office before he disappeared again." The medi-witch's eyes widened briefly before she flew out of the staff door and raced down the hallway. Raising her eyes slightly at the younger Gryffindor's antics, "from our brief conversation: it would appear that there is more going on that what we, the public, are currently aware of."

"Forgive me, Headmistress. But the picture of Professor Snape, being dragged from the grounds in between two aurors, was splashed all over the papers. No one has seen him, nor heard of him since than." Taking a deep breath, "now he's waltzing right into the school and out again without anyone else seeing or hearing him?"

"I understand your reservations, Professor Dillenger. However, we are discussing the only wizard to have successfully fooled Voldemort." McGonagall's voice pulsed with pride, "thus it is unwise to underestimate Slytherin cunning."

The Head of Slytherin suppressed a snort, his silver eyes laughing at the unfortunate Huffelpuff. He quietly absorbed the banter around him, memorizing the conversation for later entertainment when he joined with his brethren.

"Slytherin cunning!" Freja Wormwood snorted into her tea, "more like he jumped ship at the last moment."

"You dare?" Hogwarts' mistress roared, "you weren't here the nights that he dragged himself into the castle. Nor were you here on those memorable occasions when he was lucky enough not to splinch himself and was carried like a broken rag doll by Hagrid into the castle." Slicing the empty air before her with her hand, "we won't even begin to delve into the days and weeks that he was missing - missing and we all feared that he was dead!" Jabbing her finger into the Huffelpuff's generous chest, "where were you when he was laying in a puddle of his blood and body fluids? Stinking to high heaven just because the sadistic bastard was bored? Who's skirt were you hiding under when time after time he shamed himself, crawling in the filth for the tiniest scraps of information: hoping that he could save a life or find the key to bring that monster to justice?"

The Head of Slytherin cautiously wrapped his arm around the enraged Lioness' middle, pulling her away from the pale witch.

His feet once more upon solid ground, "lumos." The tip of his wand glowed, illuminating the hall before him. Years of training his senses paid off as he made out the faint sound of voices ahead of him, deep within the fathomless depths of the darkness that stretch out beyond the range of his charm.

After dragging the raging Headmistress from the staff room and securing her back in her chambers to cool off, the Potions instructor slowly made his way down the hallway. Brushing a rebellious lock of hair from his face, he worried his lip deep in thought.

"Umph!" Instinctively, wrapped his arms around his assailant. Spinning them around with the momentum from the collision, he slammed the warm body against the the stone wall. "Who-"

"Geez, Malfoy!" Wincing at the sharp pain in her back, she gently rubbed the back of her head where it had connected with the stones as she pushed the wizard's wand away from her throat.

"Oh, it's only you." The blonde wizard said, fighting the rise of red on his face. "You need to watch where you are going, instead of a book."

"And you need to dig that Pureblood nose out of your arse!"

"Ouch!"

"Please, it takes much more than that to penetrate that thick hide."

"I'll penetrate something-"

"Don't go there, that's just not right." Pushing the wizard to the side, "I hope that you weren't harassing our headmistress?"

"Me?" Scoffing, "you wound me, Granger." Clutching his chest dramatically, he rested the back of his wrist over his forehead and moaned. "Whoa is me! Help! Help! Someone cage the lioness!"

"Git!" Holding her hand over her mouth, she fought the urge to laugh. "You should have gone into theater." Shaking her head, "drama queen."

Stomping his foot in mock outrage, "I am not! You take that back you big meanie!"

Her one-time-nemesis' antics overcame her self-control as she bent over, clutching her stomach as she laughed. The medi-witch leaned against the stone wall for support until she could regain control of herself. "Thanks, I needed that."

"A Slytherin is always happy to serve, M'Lady." Malfoy courtly bowed, "what's got your knickers in a twist?"

"Minerva."

"Ah, I see." Quirking an eyebrow, "and what has our stern matriarch done now?"

"She's addicted to sleep potions," Ms. Granger hugged herself as the last lingering bit of laughter fled. "Oh, Drake!"

Pulling her against him, the Malfoy heir wrapped her in his arms. "Come now, talk with me." Rubbing his distraught friend's back, "you know that you'll feel better." As he spoke, he fished a hankerchief from within a pocket of his robes and transfigured it into a couch.

"Minerva missed lunch earlier, so I went up to make sure she made it down for dinner." Wiping the tears from her eyes, she continued. "When I got up to her office, she told me that Professor Snape was there." The Gryffindor smiled softly as she accepted a silver colored hankerchief and wiped the remnants of her tears from her face. "So I go in and there's no one there but Minerva. She summoned a house elf and the poor thing couldn't bring itself to lie to me. She told me all about the potions that Minerva's been taking and when I asked it to bring me one of the vials-" Sniffling, "it was one that Professor Snape had brewed himself for staff use. Come to think of it, it probably came from his personal stores."

"Mione, you're jumping tracks."

"Sorry," the witch mumbled into the borrowed hankerchief. "Anyways, I ended up dragging her to the Infirmary to run a blood test to determine the number of sleep inducing hormone levels her body is currently producing; the results clearly show an alarmingly high number of these." At the wizard's blank look, "the invisible to see agents that tell our brain to tell the rest of our body to sleep." At the blonde's puzzled nod, "in layman's terms: Minerva is addicted to sleep potions which resulted in her dreaming that Professor Snape was in that office with her and having a conversation."

"Potions can do that?"

"Potions are in essence, one of the key factors of magical medicine. Medicine can easily be "abused" without realizing it. There really ought to be more control on dispensing medicinal items in the Wizarding world like the Muggle."

"So now what?" Malfoy asked as he leaned back against the couch.

Drawing a deep breath, the medi-witch straightened. "Now I invoke authority to order our headmistress to take a vacation away from the school, for the good of her health." Gulping, "and try to wean her off the addiction as best as I can. If I can't- If I can't, I will have no choice but to send a full report of un-willful negligence to the Board of Governors."

The Head of Slytherin stepped into the dimly antechamber and quietly closed the door behind him with the Granger's voice ringing in his ears. "Forgive me tardiness, gentlemen. A minor disturbance at the school shortly before my departure."

"Since you're the reason why we're running late, you can explain."

Draco nodded his head warily, dreading the rapidly approaching meeting as he grasped the edge of the portkey.

A/N : Chapter 8 has been a complete torture for me to write. I really, really cannot wait for the actual plot to begin - so much so that I've had to go back and edit several times.

Still hunting for a beta :(

Chapter 9 is being written - so it begins...

atomicmom : wow, chapter 7 was "live" for all of an hour and you popped up! You're not stalking the story now, are you? lol Seriously, I appreciate the reviews - they are after all the food of us poor fanfic authors. I'm glad that I was able to create the snobby/backstabbers that I had pictured in my mind.

suchrandomness : I'm happy things are starting to shape up a bit. I don't want to just "dive" into the main story plot, I don't care for fics that do. If all goes according to my muse's plans, we should see at least 20 chapters with this fic - maybe more. As for "who IN Hogwarts' is in on it"...Draco (most certainly), Metsie the house elf(house elves are after all are "bound" to the family (past and present) that they serve. So it's logical to assume that she's fully aware of what's going. As Kreacher proved in OotP, they "see" and "hear" pretty much everything that goes on in their "homes".) As for "who else"...well there are a couple walking the castle halls that know more than perhaps they should, or should they? ...Ah, Harry, he's around somewhere. *stuffs "Harry" back into the broom closet.*