Indignation and Confrontation

Severus didn't take the main doors into the Hall. He preferred the side doors that led directly to the teachers table. He sat down in his regular spot, and began to eat. McGonagall started in "What in the world happened to Potter now? All of that blood-"

He sighed and answered "He was like that when I went to collect him at the gate-"

"You collected him?" Dumbledore said sharply

"Yes. For some unknown reason he decided not to change out of Muggle clothes or take the carriages." he said with borderline indifference. Dumbledore seemed much more intrigued by this information than he was. "Was he hurt?" he asked, just as sharply as the first question.

"Didn't ask." he said shortly

Neither McGonagall or Dumbledore talked to him for the rest of the main feast, which he was completely okay with. He could hear Slughorn on his left talking to Flitwick about Charms work, which seemed to be a rather one sided conversation, although to his credit, Flitwick did seem to be paying close attention. Severus didn't know if he was pretending or not. On the complete other side of the table he noticed Trelawney. She was as silent as he was, but she was staring at Dumbledore, who seemed to not notice her. Suddenly, her eyes shifted to his and the brown eyes met the black ones. He looked away immediately; Trelawney was the one person at Hogwarts who truly made him uncomfortable. He had heard Minerva's rants a million times about how the subject was useless, and how Sybil was a fraud but he knew the truth, not that he would ever give it away. He felt a certain respect for the woman, because he knew that she had heard what others said about her. But she had merely kept to herself, and hadn't changed her ways a single bit. Yes, he respected that very much. He'd never tell anyone though.

He glanced down and saw dessert. His sweet tooth gave in again, and he snatched a brownie from the table and bit into it, enjoying the richness. It was a Muggle sweet that his mother baked when he was young. Once, he had mentioned this to Dumbledore on accident at the table when they were eating and ever since then, they had appeared at meals. Now that he was going to die, he couldn't help but admit to himself that he liked the man. He never thought he would say that to himself, he had hated Dumbledore in his school days. But he had definitely treated Severus better as an adult. At this moment, Dumbledore stood up to make his start of term speech. As he started speaking, Severus wasn't really paying attention to it until he heard a collective gasp from the Hall. Looking up, he realized that the student body had noticed the cursed hand.

"Nothing to worry about." he said airily. (McGonagall sniffed angrily and readjusted next to him. He ignored her as he listened.) "Now… to our new students, welcome, to our old students, welcome back! Another year full of magical education awaits you. Our caretaker, Mr. Filch, has asked me to remind all students not to enter the Forbidden Forest. Certain joke items, such as products from Zonko's in Hogsmeade are still against the rules to possess, and there is a blanket ban on any joke items bought at the shop called Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. Those wishing to play for their House Quidditch teams should give their names to their Heads of Houses as usual. We are also looking for new Quidditch commentators, who should do likewise.

We are pleased to welcome a new member of staff this year. Professor Slughorn-"

Severus watched him stand and smile down at the hall. A sudden jolt washed through him as he remembered what came next. He had been waiting for this moment since he had started to work at the castle. He straightened, his eyes flashing in triumph as Dumbledore went on.

"-is a former colleague of mine who has agreed to resume his old post of Potions master."

He heard the word go around the Hall like an echo. This was it. This was his moment.

"Professor Snape, meanwhile, will be taking over the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

"No!" shouted a voice at the Gryffindor table. As the Slytherins burst into applause and cheers, the rest of the hall buzzed in conversation and some looked at Potter, who seemed unable to hide his indignation. Severus almost smiled, really, this was the icing on the cake. But he wouldn't show off, not like Potter would've done. Instead, he merely raised a hand in lazy acknowledgement of the applause from the Slytherin table.

Dumbledore let the conversation continue for a few more seconds before clearing his throat and continuing "

Now, as everybody in this Hall knows, Lord Voldemort and his followers are once more at large and gaining in strength. I cannot emphasise strongly enough how dangerous the present situation is, and how much care each of us at Hogwarts must take to ensure that we remain safe. The castle's magical fortifications have been strengthened over the summer, we are protected in new and more powerful ways, but we must still guard scrupulously against carelessness on the part of any student or member of staff. I urge you, therefore, to abide by any security restrictions that your teachers might impose upon you, however irksome you might find them – in particular, the rule that you are not to be out of bed after hours. I implore you, should you notice anything strange or suspicious within or outside the castle, to report it to a member of staff immediately. I trust you to conduct yourselves, always, with the utmost regard for your own and each other's safety."

Dumbledore paused to look at the students once more. He thought he saw Dumbledore stiffen a little and it occurred to him for the first time this was probably the last speech he would ever give the students at Hogwarts. The thought was a weird one for him, and he wondered if this had just occurred to the Headmaster himself. But before he had time to ponder the thought, Dumbledore smiled and said "But now, your beds await, as warm and comfortable as you could possibly wish, and I know that your top priority is to be well-rested for your lessons tomorrow. Let us therefore say goodnight. Pip pip!"

The buzz of conversation filled the room again as the students began filing out. The teachers had started to rise as well, but before he could make his escape, McGonagall said "A word please, Severus."

He sighed again and followed her out, down the west wing and into an empty classroom. He sat on a desk and watched her as she paced up by the vacant teachers table. She did this for a moment, then paused and turned to him. Glaring, she spat "Don't you think that if a student is covered in blood, the proper thing to do would be to bring them to the hospital wing?"

A memory swirled angrily in his brain, and he let it fester for a moment before answering "A student covered in blood, or just Harry Potter?"

She threw her hands up in exasperation "Anyone! Are you so vain-"

"Apparently. I saw nothing wrong with him. Other than blood he did not appear to be harmed in anyway. It might not have even been his, knowing his father." He glared pointedly at her, and she at least had the decency to look away. "Just because you and James Potter didn't get along-"

"You knew, even then, that it was more than that. It was four against one, and you sat back and let it happen. Every year, at least once, you come to me and tell me off for taking so many points, or for putting students in detention for trivial things. Where were you and Dumbledore when Potter and Lupin and the rest of them constantly found me in the corridors and hexed me into next week? Or was that too trivial for you?" he was shouting now, but he didn't care. McGonagall too looked furious.

"You need to let it go! That was so many years ago now, and here you are, still tormenting people for the fun of it-"

He sneered "I'm sorry, I believe it's your House that does that-"

"So Draco Malfoy doesn't exist then?" she shot back "Nor the rest of them?"

"Draco Malfoy is my problem. Both of the Potters were yours. Maybe you just aren't doing a good enough job at taking care of things, Minerva."

She opened her mouth to resort back, but she appeared to be so angry that she couldn't speak. An idea hit him, and he took advantage of her silence. He feigned a sigh, and said "If you want me monitor Draco Malfoy's actions more carefully than I shall. But Potter is still in your House, and he is still your responsibility."

"Fine."

"Good." He slid off his desk and walked to the door, yanking it open and stepping out into the nearly deserted corridor. He needed to get the hell out of there; he knew what was coming and it couldn't happen, not here-

But he wouldn't make it back to his rooms. He walked up a flight of stairs with as much dignity as he could muster, then flung open a random door and stepped inside, slamming it behind him. It was a broom closet; there were cobwebs everywhere. He tried to step away from them but accidently kicked a bottle of what he assumed was cleaner. It fell and spilled in his shoe, the one without a sock it it. Swearing profusely, he reached to the door handle and tried to open it, but found it had locked behind him. He only managed "Damnit!-" before

"What happened?" McGonagall said furiously.

She had caught him at the door. He assumed she went to relock it right as he had entered it, trying to sneak through. He looked down and saw James' blood all over his clothes and fists

But the cleaner was burning his skin now, and eating away at the leather in his shoe. It pulled him out of the memory swiftly, and he was still swearing when he pulled out his wand, hissed the incantation at the door, and it flew open. He almost tripped as he climbed out, but he made it, looked back, and saw that it was indeed some sort of magical cleaner. Most cleaners did have an acid base, after all. The door shut, and the corridor still empty, he limped his way back down the stairs and to his rooms.

It's a short one, but the next chapter will be uploaded later this week, sooner than usual. As always, leave a review telling me what you think! :)