SixPerfections: I'm unsure if Jen and Lily will have a happy ending, honestly. Every time I think I've made a decision about it, my muse nudges me down the other road. As for how far ahead I have the story planned, my notes cover most of the rest of this year and some of the more important scenes for the next; summer of '96 is pretty much set except for the little things that always pop up closer to the time of actual writing. Seventh year is what's giving me ulcers because 1) I'll have turned canon on its head so much that the book is absolutely useless (as if it weren't already!), and 2) I can't figure out how to pump it up after Jen's – dare I say it? – epic sixth year.

Brian1972: The Blacks didn't use Jen being blind as an excuse for her not attending Hogwarts primarily because Jen does not want everyone and their grandmother to know that she was disabled. Only a few people knew, and now that she can see again, it's a moot point.

sleath56: Thank you very much for your perspective on the matter of a Jen/Lily resolution; as I thankfully do not have personal experience with this issue, an informed view is appreciated. As I told SixPerfections, I am still undecided on this subject, but to address one of your concerns, when I talk about a "resolution", I am not implying that Jen would treat Lily as her mother and put aside everything that happened prior. I mean instead that she would no longer hate Lily as much as she does now and that they would begin building a relationship where they view each other as equals.

Funny story; my computer apparently thought this past weekend was a perfect time to crash on me, and yes, that's with exams looming in my none too distant future. Joy. I finally managed to get everything repaired – obviously, or I wouldn't be posting this right now – but you'll have to excuse me if the chapter is a little short as a result.

That said, my muse decided to start us off this time with something a little more… light-hearted than normal.

Disclaimer: Did Dumbledore always have trouble finding a teacher for the DADA post, even having Umbridge forced on him in book 5, even though it is explicitly stated that Snape desperately wanted the job? If so, I don't own the Harry Potter franchise; it belongs to J.K. Rowling, Scholastic Press, Warner Bros., and whoever else she sold the rights to.

Chapter 10
Positions of Authority

Filius was jolted from his wandering thoughts as he noticed someone else hurrying down the stone corridor leading to the teachers' lounge. "Cutting it close, aren't you, Minerva?"

"As if you're one to talk," the Scotswoman rejoined jokingly, slowing so that he might catch up. "At least I was busy doing something productive, no matter how irritating parchmentwork is. What have you been up to this morning?"

"Stress relief." The witch nodded, knowing that he often spent long periods in the unofficial dueling hall during the summer and winter holidays to both keep his skills rust-free and work out any leftover frustration built up from dealing with intentionally obtuse students. Of course, today's practice was all caused by one person in particular.

The cat Animagus agreed, "The Prophet articles a few days ago were quite… surprising. I'm tempted to head to the Blacks' estate and get some answers myself, but while Sirius was one of my students—"

"Miss Black is a Ravenclaw, yes, I am full aware." He smiled weakly at his colleague. "As a matter of fact, I visited her the very day their response was published. The world at large may be fooled, but we know she was originally Lily's child."

"'Originally'?" Minerva repeated in confusion. "You mean that wasn't just a heap of lies?"

"Apparently some of my distant cousins earned a nice bit of gold last summer," he answered in a cool tone. Full-blooded goblins'… distaste for him, and his for them in return, was well known to the other members of staff. So great was their enmity that rather than depositing his pay in a vault, he insisted Albus parcel out his gold in one lump sum at the beginning of the school year, just after the tuition fees were collected. He had had too many paychecks from when he was a professional duelist disappear on their way to his account.

"I'm afraid I don't understand."

"She underwent a blood adoption at Gringotts to replace Lily's traits with Lestrange's, and almost certainly paid a tidy sum more to keep them all quiet about it. When I asked her why, she said that it was to more securely cement her place in the line of succession."

"…I suppose it could be worse," the woman finally allowed. "At least she wasn't doing it just to spite Lily. While I don't approve of what she did to her daughter, and Miss Black is well within her rights to hold a grudge, taking a Death Eater as a replacement mother would have been a wee bit more revenge than I could comfortably condone."

He nodded in agreement with that; he had enjoyed having both young women as students, and despite his own disappointment with Lily's actions post-graduation, he found that he still had a bit of a soft spot for her. Her daughter, in her own way, was much the same.

The door to the teachers' lounge opened at their approach. From inside, Filius heard Severus's snarl. "I offered to take the position this year, just as I have for the past thirteen, but you said no, you had it under control. And you chose him?! I won't stand for this!"

The pair of professors shared a wary glance before entering. "Dare I ask what that was about?"

The potions master glared at them for a moment, his gaze barely lightening even though they were not the source of his rage. "Albus, in his infinite wisdom, has decided to hire James bloody Potter as the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor."

Oh, joy, Filius thought sarcastically, already seeing how things would surely play out in the near future. This year is going to be fun.

"Dear Merlin, Albus, what were you thinking?" Minerva demanded.

The white-haired wizard blinked in surprise at that response. "Whatever do you mean, Minerva? I thought you'd be happy to have one of your former Lions return for a year."

"I would be, except now I'm going to spend the next ten months making sure one or both of them don't wind up dead at the other's hand."

"Now, surely it would not be that bad—"

"Want to bet?" hissed Severus.

"—if for no other reason that I expect them to act with the maturity appropriate for their ages," Albus finished with a stern glare at the head of Slytherin house.

Severus met the headmaster's eyes without a hint of discomfort. "I'm seriously considering handing you my resignation here and now and forcing you to find a new Potions professor in the next week and a half. How's that for maturity?"

"Eighteen years is far too long to maintain a schoolboy grudge," Albus rebuked.

"He attacked me not a month ago!"

Filius raised a brow at that declaration; neither Albus nor Minerva seemed surprised, though Pomona, sitting in the corner, was as much in the dark as he. "I must say, this is the first time I have heard of this. Under what circumstances did such an altercation occur?"

The three shifted nervously, and he had to fight hard to keep his eyes from rolling. It must have had something to do with their precious 'Order', then. He was not sure exactly what the purpose of their organization was, but he had his guesses. After all, only a fool would miss the fact that it had been extremely active during the War, went dormant when You-Know-Who was defeated, and returned immediately after Miss Black reported the news of an unknown dark wizard who claimed to be You-Know-Who resurrected.

"It was just a misunderstanding that got out of hand," Albus temporized, giving the Charms professor a brief glance before returning his attention to Severus. "I will have words with him – strong words," he added at the younger wizard's glare, "but for your part, I hope that you would be willing to at least not instigate any conflicts between the two of you."

Severus crossed his arms and settled in his chair. "Very well. I won't start anything, but you can be damn sure that I'll finish it. I will not roll over and grovel to maintain Potter's excessively inflated sense of self-importance, nor will I allow him to bully any of my Snakes as he did when we were students."

"That… is an acceptable compromise, I suppose." The headmaster sat and gestured for the two last heads of house to take their own seats. "Aside from our new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, are there any other issues we need to handle before we get to the purpose of this meeting?"

The other members of staff looked at each other and shook their heads.

"Very well. Pomona, who are your choices for our newest prefects?"

Shrugging, the slightly dumpy woman replied, "Ernie Macmillan for the boys, and while it was close, the girls will be represented by Hannah Abbott. I considered Miss Bones – she certainly bloomed over the course of last year – but I fear she could well regress should I place that duty on her."

"Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson." The uproar that announcement created caused Severus to reel back in surprise.

"That is completely unacceptable," Minerva snapped. "You said you would not tolerate bullies only a minute ago, but while Mr. Malfoy has been too clever to be caught, it is very clear that the other students at least believe that he is one. And I know that Miss Parkinson has harassed her fellows considering I've seen her do it and punished her for it multiple times. Whatever could have possibly convinced you to pick them?"

"It's not like I have much of a choice this year!"

Tapping his sharp fingernails on the table to call their attention to him, Filius asked, "What do you mean by that?"

"Let's look at the fifth-year Slytherins, shall we? We all know we can count Misters Crabbe and Goyle right out; honestly, I'm shocked they managed to progress as far as they have. Mr. Nott? How many detentions has he served for bullying Muggleborns? Perhaps Mr. Zabini could have been an option, but with his unfortunate demise last year, the only boy I could possibly choose is Mr. Malfoy.

"For the girls, Miss Moon is too shy and quiet for any kind of authority, and Miss Bulstrode is not exactly the sharpest girl. I shudder to think how Miss Greengrass would behave should I give her the position." The other staff nodded; the blonde Pureblood could be described as 'flighty' were one feeling especially generous. She was intelligent, but her primary interest lay in choosing her next boyfriend of the week rather than academics. "As with the boys, I am left with Miss Parkinson, despite how loath I am to give the badge to her."

"What about Miss Davis? You neglected to mention her in your summary," Pomona noted.

Severus sighed. "She is the most responsible of the fifth-year girls, I agree, and like you said about Miss Bones, she truly came out of her shell recently. Unfortunately, she would face the same hurdle I would have had Slughorn selected me for the position. In the Snake Pit, no one is going to listen to a half-blood prefect. At best, I would be setting her up to be ignored."

"And at worst?" Filius prompted.

"…Do you remember Paul Edgecombe?"

The quarter-goblin winced, as did the others in the room. Edgecombe had been a Slytherin prefect only a few years older than Severus. In early November of his fifth year, he had gone missing for a full day and was ultimately found unconscious at the foot of a stairwell in a less-traveled wing of the castle. Pomfrey had had quite a difficult time dispelling all the hexes inflicted upon him. No one ever confessed to the attack, and almost immediately after his awakening, the boy had turned in his badge. He chose to be tutored at home for his final two years of schooling.

"As you can guess, I would much rather spare Miss Davis from suffering a similar fate."

"Understandable," murmured Albus. "Minerva, how about you?"

"My choices are obvious. Danny Potter and Hermione Granger."

The professors all nodded, so it was a shock when Albus frowned and asked, "Are you sure Mr. Potter is the best choice?"

"What are you talking about, Albus? How could he not be? A Special Award for Services to the School for slaying Slytherin's basilisk, the other Lions adore him for his Quidditch talent, and then there's the Triwizard Tournament to consider."

"I am considering the Tournament, specifically that he did not enter himself and yet was forced to compete," the headmaster replied. "Not to mention, his showing was not exactly stellar. If we add in the fact that he only recently discovered he has a sister, one I think we are all aware he did not build the best of relationships with last year, I believe Mr. Potter already has quite enough on his plate as it is. Asking him to shoulder yet another burden is too much."

Minerva blinked rapidly at that reasoning. Finally finding her voice, she said, "Those are good points, but we also must keep in mind that passing him over could also impact his emotional well-being."

"Yes, please let us keep stroking the brat's ego," snarked Severus.

Albus shrugged helplessly. "The choice is ultimately yours, of course, but I maintain that giving him the position, even if he expects it, could do more harm than good."

"…Perhaps you're right," she agreed at last. "Neville Longbottom, then."

"Er, Minerva? I don't think giving Mr. Longbottom any authority over the daughter of Bellatrix Lestrange is exactly a good idea," Pomona offered tentatively.

"Mr. Weasley, then! Does anyone else have input they would like to offer?!"

Filius was tempted to point out the redhead's poor marks and general lackadaisical attitude, but decided against it upon seeing the wild look in the Scotswoman's eyes. The mental image of her covering her face in blue woad and chasing them all out of the room with a giant claymore flashed in front of him, and he fought down a giggle. Now was not the time to test her temper.

"Mr. Weasley it is, then. I'm sure Miss Granger will be able to keep him in line just fine," Albus said in a conciliatory voice. "Filius, I recall you saying the now sixth- and seventh-years you chose as prefects after the winter holidays last year were only temporary. Have you changed your mind on that, or are you giving the badges to others?"

He thought for a few moments before answering. "I do believe I will leave them in their positions for the moment. They were fairly effective last term, though I will still be keeping a closer eye on my house for the foreseeable future."

"Very well. And for the fifth-years?"

"Ah, that is easy," he said with a grin. "Anthony Goldstein and Jennifer Black."

For the second time, the eldest of their quintet offered his opinion, though this time it was accompanied with a grimace. "Perhaps someone other than Miss Black should have that position."

"Oh? And on just what do you base this opinion?"

"Well, she's only been a student here for a single year, and not a typical one, for that matter." The headmaster's smooth answer was not persuasive; though Filius did not believe Albus had it out for Miss Black as Rita Skeeter had implied, he had noticed a slight bias against her. He was also well aware that the other wizard had maintained a close relationship with the Potters over the years. Albus likely knew Miss Black's true parentage and might be subconsciously holding her choice to stay with the Blacks against her. "Then we must keep in mind that I expect quite a few students will be reluctant to obey the daughter of an insane terrorist—"

"Yet you had no complaints against Mr. Malfoy nor Miss Parkinson, both of whose fathers were Death Eaters. They may have been acquitted, but it is obvious that they were just as culpable."

"But that's just it; they were acquitted. The Lestranges were found guilty and sentenced to life in Azkaban. There is a profound difference there."

"Regardless, I have full faith in Miss Black's ability to pull through the controversy and be an effective authority figure." The Charms professor gave the room a fierce smile. "Besides, she has already proven that she will not tolerate anyone mistreating the younger years. Granting her the prefect's badge would give her the ability to stop any bullying without resorting to hurling lightning bolts around."

His boss raised a finger. "But do you want a prefect who has shown that her first recourse is violence?"

"Albus, when I heard what had been going on, I was quite tempted to toss in a few curses of my own," he admitted freely. "As such, it would be hypocritical to hold that against her."

"You would be hard-pressed to find someone who could do the job better," interjected Severus. "If I were in Filius's shoes, she would be my pick, as well."

"Oho, is that approval I hear?" Pomona teased.

The normally dour man was quiet for a second before commenting slowly, "You did not hear this from me, but someone might have had a pointed conversation with the Sorting Hat about not sending the next true Slytherin it meets to the Ravens' Nest."

Was that a joke?, Filius wondered with a small grin. His colleague was rarely so personable. "Keep your hands off her, Severus. That girl's mine."

"So you're maintaining her as your choice?" Albus cut in, draining the joviality from their conversation.

He met the other wizard's gaze squarely and nodded. "Yes, I am. You're not going to deny me this."

"If you insist. As for the Head Boy and Girl…" The white-bearded man trailed off and asked gently, "Pomona? Is something the matter?"

"No! Not at all." The head of Hufflepuff house continued her excited bouncing, looking more like a four-year-old on a sugar high than a witch of seventy-three years. "Please, go on."

Albus eyed her a moment longer. "If you're sure. The Head Girl will be Viola Pucey of Slytherin, and the Head Boy… Pomona, are you sure you don't need to visit the lavatory?"

"Just get on with it," Severus interrupted. "She'll be like that until you say that her pretty boy got the badge."

"…And the Head Boy is Cedric Diggory, yes. Must you take all the fun out of everything?"

"Ask the students. I'm sure they'll tell you just what a cruel, self-absorbed arse I am; I do believe some first-year Hufflepuffs have even called me a 'fun-sucking vampire' before. Without them around, you're the only source of foolishness I have left to feed on."

Minerva eyed the head of Slytherin suspiciously. "Severus, by any chance were you brewing a potion with intoxicating fumes and not using proper ventilation spells?"

"No, of course not." The woman kept up her gaze, and the man relented, "I was going to cast them, but Skelegrow weakens greatly should it have other forms of active magic nearby during the second stewing period. It was a choice between efficacy and comfort."

"Right. To Poppy with you. Shoo!" She shook her head as the wizard left. "What am I going to do about that man?"

Filius bit his lip to keep from laughing. "I don't know. Maybe we need to stage an intervention for all the staff?"

"All the staff? Why would we need that?"

"Don't think I haven't noticed the catnip you keep in your desk," he remarked in a nonchalant tone, and the witch's cheeks flushed bright red. "Let's also not forget that Poppy is alone all day with powerful painkillers, we have no idea what exactly Pomona grows in her greenhouses, and lemon drops are not supposed to be actually addicting, so clearly Albus is lacing them with something."

"You do realize we are both still here, yes?" said wizard asked with a raised brow, the Herbology professor giving them a baleful glare.

He and Minerva shared a quick look before they started laughing.

"I'll take that as a yes."

Cornelius grumpily set down his quill at the knock on his door. "This had better be bloody important!"

The offending slab of oak opened at his shout, and his undersecretary entered while carrying a sheet of parchment. "Is this a bad time?" she asked as she nonetheless made her way to his desk.

"That's one way to put it, Dolores." He waved an impatient hand at the stack of reports he had been perusing. "Weasley is asking for more money – again – so he can study Muggle 'fellytones' or whatever, Engels is buggering up Magical Cooperation even more than Crouch's death did, Croaker is still refusing to submit detailed reports about what the Unspeakables are working on, and Cresswell is dragging his feet on getting us out of liability for Ludo's gambling debts with the goblins. Merlin, is Bones the only Department Head who has any idea what she's actually doing?!"

"Well, I have something that might just cheer you up." The short, squat woman – less generous individuals might compare her to a toad, and despite how much Cornelius relied on her to get things done around the Ministry, he could not exactly deny that those people had a point – handed him the form she had been holding. "I just got through wrangling with the DME—"

"Don't even talk to me about those people," he shot back, dropping the parchment on his desk. He was not in a good mood with the Department of Magical Education at the moment. They had been given one task to complete this summer: find a way to get one of his people into Hogwarts, someone who was not drinking from Dumbledore's metaphorical teat and could therefore look at the school with an unbiased eye. He thought their most recent Educational Decree had been the way to go considering the old man's chronic inability to find fools willing to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts, but to his utter frustration, Dumbledore had convinced James Potter to take the post.

He had considered protesting that decision, citing the younger wizard's lack of a Mastery in the subject, but he knew going after Potter was ultimately a bad idea. The man's son was the Boy-Who-Lived, after all, and the public would not approve of him going after the father of their hero. Were that not enough, Cornelius was not nobility; Potter was, and should the Wizengamot be forced to choose between the Minister they had elected or one of their own members, he knew he might as well clean out his office right then.

"Now, Cornelius, I know they dropped the ball recently," Dolores simpered, "but that just means they were even more motivated to make up for it this time. Take a look."

Rolling his eyes, he gave the parchment a quick glance. His eyebrows rose as he took in the wording, and when he was done, a huff of disgust escaped him. "This is supposed to help? How, pray tell?" He read from the end of the sheet, "'Therefore, it is the decision of the Committee for Educational Effectiveness that all professors must be capable of fulfilling the duties of their position without outside assistance in order to maintain their post, including but not limited to lecturing, grading assignments, and administering discipline. In the event that any member of faculty is unable to comply with this Decree, the headmaster or headmistress has one week or until the beginning of the next term, whichever period is shorter, to procure a replacement. Should he or she fail to do so, Educational Decree 22 will come into effect.' Yes, this sounds like a threat, but we all know it's a bunch of twaddle. Dumbledore may be cracked, but he wouldn't pick a teacher who couldn't even do their job."

"Wouldn't he?" the undersecretary asked in a sweet tone. "After all, he's already done so."

"Explain."

The witch's broad grin grew sharp. "Why, Cuthbert Binns, of course. He's a ghost, and while it is true that he can lecture, if you want to call it that, he can't pick anything up. That means he can't grade assignments without someone else's help."

Cornelius blinked rapidly at that. Could it be that simple?

"If that's not enough, Binns couldn't recall anyone's name when I was in school, and I doubt that has changed in the intervening years. That means he's unlikely to be able to administer discipline effectively, which is yet another violation of this Decree." She laughed gaily. "It's marvelous, isn't it? On the surface it seems so innocuous and obvious, but that just means that Dumbledore will have an even harder time fighting it."

"And it says that he only has to the beginning of the following term to comply if that's less than a week away," Cornelius muttered with growing approval. "Today's the thirtieth. If we released it tomorrow afternoon, he would only have a few hours to find a replacement, maybe a little more if he could make a convincing argument that the school year officially begins once the students arrive. Even then, he wouldn't be able to find anyone in such a brief timeframe."

"Exactly! If we have someone already picked out on our end, she could be in place in short order."

"Excellent work, Dolores! I'll send a note to the DME and—" He paused when he noticed her twitch. "Is there something wrong with what I just said?"

"Not wrong, exactly, just… Well, I kind of hoped you would be willing to send me for this task," she explained.

The wizard stared at her. "Dolores, why would I ever agree to that proposal? You're my undersecretary, my right-hand witch. You know the level of incompetence I have to deal with on a daily basis. How would I get anything done around here without you to ride herd on these people?"

"I understand, Minister," she sighed with her head down, and he rolled his eyes. He always felt like an overly stern parent punishing a child when she did that, and worse, she knew it. He had lost count of the number of times she had used that strategy to get what she wanted. "I just thought, since this was so important to you, that you would want someone you were sure you could trust up there."

"Fine, fine. If you want it so badly, you can go to Hogwarts for this." She let out a girlish squeal of glee. "But! It'll be up to you to find a replacement for your duties here, and you need to go to the DME so they can arrange lessons for you. I will not put you in that castle and then have you sent back to me a week later because you are an even worse teacher than Binns is. That is a victory I refuse to give to Dumbledore."

She beamed. "I actually already put together a lesson plan and had the DME go over it. It's all approved."

Cornelius blinked at that. How long had she been planning this?

"One thing I will need to know, Cornelius, is just what this is all about. I know he's a meddling old man, but you've never gone after him like this before."

I wonder how much she's been wanting to ask that, he thought. "The answer is quite simple. It's because Dumbledore's become dangerous, to himself and others."

"Dangerous?" Dolores repeated slowly.

"Yes. We all know how eccentric he's known to be, but this summer has proven that it isn't him just getting a little funny in his old age. He is legitimately senile." Cornelius sighed. "I mean, look at how he took the news of this new dark wizard we were told about. Just because someone claims to be You-Know-Who back from the grave doesn't mean he actually is. Then, wanting to pull the Dementors out from Azkaban? If they're content on their barren rock, I say we leave them there and keep them away from the rest of us. He is so invested in the idea that he'll have another chance to shine that he's trying to gear us up for war! How will the other countries respond to that?!

"No, Albus Dumbledore was a great leader in his day, but that time is over," he concluded. "He has always placed the majority of his pride in being headmaster of Hogwarts. If I can convince him that he has failed there, then he may accept forced retirement more easily. We remove a destabilizing element, the public isn't stirred up with one of their heroes being dragged through the mud, and he gets to spend the last years of his life in peace and quiet rather than seeing monsters hiding behind every shadow. Everybody wins."

"So the plan for the High Inquisitor position is still on?" the woman asked with a greedy expression on her wide face.

He sighed. "Yes, since I'm sending you to Hogwarts, I'll make you the High Inquisitor. Not immediately, though; wait a week or two before you start rocking the boat. The last thing we need to do is give Dumbledore any hint of our trap before we spring it."

"Of course, Cornelius. Just tell me what you want me to do."

The prefects (with the exception of Jen) are the same as canon, I know, but she's only been making waves for one year. Those ripples aren't exactly large or far-reaching enough to change impressions made over the previous three.

And no, I don't know why my muse decided Snape needed to be buzzed off potion fumes. I think she was drawing from a memory of my high school zoology teacher, who had a bad habit of sniffing ammonia whenever we were dissecting. Considering the other people in that class, however, I can't exactly blame her for wanting some chemical happy time.

There was something else… Oh, yes. The idea for Umbridge becoming the History professor rather than teach DADA came from Harry Potter: Junior Inquisitor by sprinter1988. A very good story, but not for fans of Snape, Dumbledore, or any of the Order, really.

Silently Watches out.