Chapter 11

But there's a side to you that I never knew, never knew

And the things you'd say they were never true, never true...

(Adele, Set fire to the rain)

As usual, if you recognise anything, it's not mine, and I make no money.

Tra8erse was my beta for this chapter. If you find the reading more pleasant than previous chapters and devoid of silly mistakes, it's entirely thanks to her! Any remaining mistakes are entirely my own.

After the intense session with the girls, Harry and Ron's time with Dumbledore's portrait felt rather anticlimactic.

The old Headmaster had been his usual jovial self, all smiles and complete with garish socks, a knitting magazine on the coffee table and a full box of sherbet lemons.

Oh, he had been most helpful, having sworn that all Severus Snape ever did since he switched sided was obey his orders. Snape's first estimation that Dumbledore would die within the year after Riddle's curse attached itself to his hand had been confirmed by his own healer, Alfred Constanz. Yes, he was really pleading with Severus on the Astronomy Tower to kill him as he had been ordered to do, because Severus couldn't help hesitating, despite knowing it had to be done.

He attested that Professor Snape had always acted in the best interests of the Order of the Phoenix, of the students of Hogwarts and of the wizarding world in general. He even added that he, Dumbledore, could not have dreamt of a more loyal lieutenant.

Ron mostly listened, because he had never had much interaction with Dumbledore. Still, he could not help thinking this sounded... wrong, for want of a better word.

Portrait Dumbledore had no idea of what had happened between him and Harry at King's Cross. Being on a very different wavelength with his former mentor on something so life-changing was deeply upsetting, to say the least. Dumbledore was very curious about it, but it was quite disturbing to see him ignorant of what happened, having believed for so long that he was quite omniscient.

The more they spoke, the more Harry felt, just like Ron, that all of this felt artificial.

He suddenly realised that the portrait acted like the Headmaster they had imagined he was when they were twelve or thirteen, but not like the real wizard.

Harry supposed it was because the portrait was not really Dumbledore any more. But then why did the Ministry set such store by wakeful portraits if they were only a caricature of the true person and did not retain their original's personality?

Sure, Hermione had made a great fuss about Phineas Black's portrait when they were on the run, but the wizard was pure Slytherin. He always sounded much too Snape-like and was therefore odious to Harry. He had mostly left it to Hermione to interact with Phineas Black.

All in all, the portraits seemed rather useless, since most of the past Heads around them were doing nothing but snore or, like Phineas Black, stare at them with a sneer.

Still, Harry could not help feeling he was missing something.

Ron had little to no experience with portraits, except for the ordinary portraits that adorned the corridors of the school, the Fat Lady who seemed to make a point of nagging him in place of his mother or the odious Mrs Black at Grimmauld Place. He did not think that Dumbledore was not who he was supposed to be, because for him he still sounded like the pleasant if eccentric authority figure he used to admire from afar.

The only thing that he, with his keen eye for detail, found strange was the way several portraits watched Dumbledore covertly—the way you would watch a miscreant child who had promised to behave but whom you do not really trust.

Useless bunch of morons, he thought. It was just as difficult to try to have a real, meaningful conversation with them as it was to try to talk to old Kreacher.

The Headmistress proved much more welcoming. She arrived as soon as she could get out of her meeting and put her former students at ease, saying how proud of them she was and insisting that they should call her Minerva and not Professor McGonagall.

Best of all, she treated them with her house-elves' idea of a light snack – which was roughly the same as Molly's and satisfied even Ron's appetite.

The Headmistress confirmed that someone must have relayed information from Severus Snape to the Order at least from July 1997, right after the fall of the Ministry.

She had been sent words of what to expect at Hogwarts at least three weeks before Severus's appointment as Headmaster and the promulgation of the blood status laws. It had come with a "suggestion" to visit the first-year muggleborn and explain that there had been a mistake in the ministry's files and that they would not be able to attend Hogwarts until next year.

She had no idea though, who the contact might have been. If Kingsley did not know, only Remus Lupin, who acted as chief information officer after Dumbledore's death, could have had any inkling of who relayed the information to them, but he had taken this knowledge to his grave. Maybe Mundungus Fletcher? Severus used him once, he could have done it again.

"It is possible," said Harry. "We are still trying to locate Mundungus. You remember he grabbed his Order of Merlin and the bonus, announced he was retiring 'somewhere sunny where they know how to make a hero welcome' and Apparated away before I could corner him and tell him what I think of his abandoning Moody in the middle of the fight. He could be anywhere."

She sighed heavily. "Still, I don't really believe Severus would have been desperate enough to use him more than once. He was too good a spy to relish the idea of working with someone as unreliable as Mundungus and I doubt Remus would have trusted Mundungus again after Alastor's death... But I have no other ideas. There was too much bad blood between him and Remus for him to place his life in one of the Marauder's hands, even if things thawed a little after Sirius Black's death."

This was news to Harry, whose eyebrows nearly reached his hairline, but the Headmistress returned to the main point. "It couldn't have been one of the Aurors – even before Dumbledore's death, Severus avoided them like the plague because of..." She let her voice trail, "How did he call it? Ah! Yes. Because of their 'conflicting loyalties between the Order and the Ministry'."

As expected, the two young Aurors struggled, torn between outrage and amusement.

"The pot calling the kettle black!" snorted Ron.

"Well, there was certainly no love lost between Severus and Alastor Moody," said Minerva dryly.

"I thought it was Barty Crouch Junior who was harsh on Professor Snape, not the real Moody," interjected Harry.

Minerva's face fell immediately. "No. The false Professor Moody wouldn't have been able to fool us if he had acted too differently from the real one."

"Ah! Of course!"

"Barty Crouch could tap into his memories at will while Alastor was his prisoner. It was the only reason he was kept alive. Severus certainly didn't trust the real Alastor any more than Alastor trusted him. It was the only thing we could be thankful for, because otherwise Voldemort would have been sure that Severus was a spy and he would have killed him without giving him a chance to explain."

She added more whisky to her tea and fortified herself with the rest of the cup, while Ron watched, fascinated. He certainly could not drink that much strong alcohol, even watered down by tea. A quick glance at Harry proved that his friend thought very much the same.

"I don't know what really happened when Severus was arrested after the first war, but whenever Alastor taunted him with horror tales about the Death Eaters as if he was personally responsible, Severus would retort with 'holier-than-thou sadists who ascribe their own misdeeds to others.'"

She sighed. "He was thrown into Azkaban and tortured before Dumbledore could intervene, you know. I've always wondered why they refused to check with Dumbledore whether Severus was telling the truth or not."

She spoke sadly, and Harry exchanged wary looks with Ron. Of course, they heard the stories, which were on the mind of most fresh Auror recruits, even if they did not want to believe them.

Seamus Finnegan had pointedly asked about the rumours of torture when they began their training, saying they had better tell it there and then because he would quit if it were true. Seamus always went straight to the point when he had something on his mind, and after being made an example of so often by the Carrows, he was intimately familiar with torture.

The senior Aurors had looked clearly annoyed, even insulted. They had stared at every one of them very hard—though no member of the D.A. let himself be intimidated any more—and they had dismissed it as rubbish and Death Eaters' propaganda. They also stated that if any of them ever simply dared to think they might be getting a free hand at mistreating people, "Auror or not, you will find yourself on a free trip to Azkaban before you can say Crucio."

Aware she had spoiled the mood, McGonagall recollected herself and tried to speak more cheerfully. "Well, this was only to say that Severus wouldn't have trusted an Auror. Maybe you'll have to wait until he's better so that he can tell you himself how he passed information."

Harry shook his head in annoyance. "We have to find out now. We don't want to take the chance that Professor Snape's enemies will manage to pull enough strings in the Wizengamot to have him tried while he's still in St Mungo's and unable to defend himself."

Minerva once again marvelled at the way he had matured and gained so much political insight in just a few months, though she knew they had Shacklebolt to thank for it.

"There seems to be some kind of conspiracy against him," he added.

She narrowed her eyes, wondering at the same time why she was surprised.

"They won't be made public before the trial, but you should know the kind of accusations that are brought against him. We will shortly call an Order meeting to discuss them. I hardly need to tell you that the Ministry had no choice but to register the complaints."

Professor McGonagall frowned, clearly upset. She sent Dumbledore's portrait a venomous glare, making abundantly clear whom she considered responsible for the whole mess and asked cautiously, "What sort of accusations?"

Harry coughed nervously. "See for yourself," he said, handing her a very long scroll.

She settled back in her seat. Her frown grew more pronounced as she read. Finally, she exclaimed, "I don't believe it! Slytherins accusing Severus – Severus! - of discrimination... Public disparagement of his own House! And... Ha! 'Abuse of authority by specifically targeting and endangering the Slytherin students'. That's rich!"

"There's worse, Professor."

"Worse?" She went on reading with apprehension. Visibly shaken, she paled as she read one complaint after another. Suddenly, she sat bolt upright. "It can't be true!" she cried. "They wouldn't dare!"

"I'm afraid they have already dared."

The portraits were suddenly all attention. The dozing old coots, as both Harry and Ron had labelled them in their mind, were very much awake now and their stares none too gentle. Several voices demanded, "What's going on? What are they accusing him of now? Tell us!"

Minerva McGonagall's voice was venomous when she answered. "Here are complaints from parents – muggle parents, would you believe it! - who accuse Severus of everything short of actually raping their children: physical abuse, fon-" she faltered before squaring her jaw and confronting the portraits again. "-fondling, fingering... inserting... Eww! And some even claim that it happened in this office!"

Harry and Ron would never have imagined that the portraits could protest so loudly. Both reflexively drew their wands and adopted the stance for dealing with riots. The cries of outrage stopped only when Professor McGonagall shouted several times, "Silence! All of you, be quiet!"

Mumbling and grumbling, the portraits stopped taking the two Aurors to task but could not refrain from discussing between themselves, which still made a loud background noise. The Headmistress shrugged, "They resent it as much as I do. Severus may have fooled us all, but they witnessed what passed between him and Dumbledore all these years and how he managed to protect the students and Hogwarts for months, all alone."

"I beg your pardon, Headmistress, he wasn't totally alone. He had us." They turned to Phineas Black, who sneered at them. "I am dismayed that you came to take Albus Dumbledore's testimony but not that of the other Heads. One would have supposed this to be serious enough to ensure that you obtain as many testimonies as possible to prove that nothing untoward ever happened in this office…" he coughed. "At least not under Headmaster Snape."

"Phineas! I'll have none of your innuendos! What Armando did with his wife in his own office is none of your business!" Harry and Ron exchanged baffled looks. "And I very well remember from the story that he had ordered everyone out."

"And I maintain the old exhibitionist never gave the order. At least, he forgot to bar access to those who were not in their frame at the time," said Black haughtily. Before the Headmistress could object, he added,"Be that as it may, I now speak on behalf of my colleagues. We want you to note our collective, unconditional support of Headmaster Snape and that you register our testimonies—if you please, Headmistress?" He added the last words as an afterthought, though it sounded more like a demand than a question.

"Alright. Everyone!" All portraits snapped to attention. "I give you leave to testify here or in any Court which will ask about what happened in this office under Headmaster Snape or between Headmaster Dumbledore and Professor Snape."

"This is not enough, Minerva." It was Dumbledore, who, for the first time since Harry had arrived, displayed something of his old authority. "You also have to revoke any order or constraint Severus or I may have imposed on all portraits in the past. Our two Aurors will bear witness. This is the only way to be sure that their testimonies will not be contested before the Wizengamot."

"Oh, the legal mind! You're right, Dumbledore. Do you know the appropriate wording I must use?"

"I never had to use it but Harry or Ronald will surely know."

They did not, but Ron solved this soon enough by Fire-calling the Ministry.

Meanwhile, Harry was asking Dumbledore, "Aren't you bound by the same restrictions? Won't we have to take your deposition all over again?"

"No, because I'm already cleared as a former Chief Warlock, or my other portrait at the Ministry wouldn't be able to act properly."

When all was done, Ron set about taking each wakeful portrait's formal statement while Harry continued the conversation with the Headmistress.

"There is something very troubling about Professor Snape. I take it you knew him very well?"

For a few seconds, there was a misty look to her eyes. She answered with less than her usual composure,"I flattered myself that I did, until he killed Dumbledore. After that, you can guess how I felt. You can say we were very good friends for sixteen years. I can only hope…" She bit her lips, and downed another teacup in one swallow—yet another she had liberally laced with pure malt.

She did not sigh aloud, but Harry felt sure she did inwardly before she spoke again.

"You must understand that Hogwarts staff is one big family. We live here together for months on end with the same goal of educating our students as best as possible... while trying to remain sane at the same time." Harry laughed obligingly at the mild joke. "Add the fact that we were both Order members and you can understand that we were bound to be rather closer than the other teachers."

Harry nodded hopefully. "I never realised that as a student, of course, but I hoped you'd be able to help. Professor Snape didn't seem to have many friends and I don't know who can help me to understand him – except Lucius Malfoy, but, as you can guess, I'm not anxious to ask him."

"I will try my best. Now, tell me what troubles you."

Harry blushed and cleared his throat before explaining that all previous trials and investigations had concluded that, apart from Bellatrix Lestrange and Lucius Malfoy, Severus Snape was the only member of the Inner Circle who did not "partake" of the entertainment at the Dark Revels. Bellatrix did not because Voldemort had always jealously kept her at his side as his acknowledged Favourite, Malfoy because of an archaic fidelity spell included in his marriage bond and Snape... because he simply could not.

"St Mungo's have absolute proof that Professor Snape was being dosed with a potion..." He cleared his throat again before going on, "...a dark potion that causes impotence, roughly from the time of Voldemort's return. They suppose that it was some kind of punishment from Voldemort, but other Death Eaters didn't seem to know anything about it. When you consider how Voldemort liked to humiliate and punish them in public when he was displeased, it sounds rather out of character to keep it a secret. Do you have any inkling of what happened?"

The Headmistress had gone rather red, and Harry didn't feel he was faring much better. He cursed himself for shying away from meeting Lucius Malfoy again. This was Minerva McGonagall, the Prude of Hogwarts, for pity's sake! Why did he have to ask her? Because you never found the guts to look Lucius Malfoy in the eyes and ask him about Snape's sexuality – and certainly not after reading all the Prophet clippings featuring the two of them before Malfoy's marriage!

He could only hope that Ron would get better answers from Dumbledore or from Phineas Black who seemed on close terms with Snape.

Suprisingly, the headmistress answered very candidly. "As a matter of fact, I know, and Dumbledore knew, of course, that Severus dosed himself with the Minui Gloriam Virilitatis potion. Voldemort had nothing to do with it. He would have killed Severus if he had known he was avoiding his... duties as a Death Eater."

"Why then?"

"Because Severus is not a rapist. He never was. He isn't even the man for casual sex, though he had many opportunities."

Harry stared at her somewhat incredulously. Had she really said what he thought she had? The old, ugly Snape?

His face must have betrayed his thoughts because she chuckled. "Really, Harry. You have to forget your childish prejudices and perceptions. You remember what Voldemort himself told you? That all the Death Eaters knew there had been women, "worthier women" he called them, in Severus's life after he'd lost your mother?" Harry did indeed remember, though he had tried to dismiss it as another one of Snape's ruses.

"They were pursuing him," she said with a strange satisfaction that Harry did not understand at first and then attributed to some bizarre kind of maternal pride. "Narcissa Malfoy tried for years to play matchmaker and she didn't have to look far to find willing witches for such a powerful, striking wizard. It was he who wasn't interested."

"So, he was celibate?" This he could easily believe of the poor Professor Snape: that he renounced everything because of his lost love. At least, this was what Harry wanted to believe of the man who loved his mother, who had been ready to sacrifice his life for her son. Somehow, Snape's love for his mother meant more now than the fact that she was married to his father, and he wanted to hold on to that one belief and keep it.

McGonagall hesitated, and suddenly sighed, somewhat resignedly. "No."

Harry swallowed, with a sinking feeling. "Malfoy?"

She pursed her lips. "Really, Harry, just because the Prophet writes to titillate dirty minds doesn't make it true, as you should well know. The Malfoys are married in the most old-fashioned way with a Fidelity bond, and even before Narcissa left Hogwarts, she and Lucius have always been totally devoted to each other."

"Sorry," he said as sheepishly as a first year.

Silence threatened to go on, though they kept looking at each other. McGonagall looked angry, though Harry felt that it was not at him. He was raking his brain to work out how to ask questions without being too crude, when she suddenly exhaled and said, rather petulantly, "If you must know, Severus was a little wild after graduation, like most young bachelors when success goes to their head… But after your mother's death he had just... Just the one lady friend before Voldemort's return."

"A lady friend? You mean a... A girlfriend?" He asked incredulously.

Clearly annoyed, and not a little flustered, the headmistress pursed her lips again. "The lady was significantly older than him, the term 'girlfriend' would hardly be appropriate. They became involved some time in the year following the first war and it lasted until he had to return to Voldemort."

"Oh... I see." He did not see at all. It was strangely disappointing to learn that for all the love Snape had felt for his mother, he had another lover. It felt somehow... adulterous. He felt betrayed.

Then it struck him. A much older woman... Some kind of mother figure? He would never have imagined Snape like that... And yet... His imagination had led him to imagine his former teacher either as an inconsolable virgin from the Pensieve memories or as a desperate, jaded man using sex to forget his dead love... At least, before he had to take that potion. But then, all he had ever thought about Snape had always turned out to be lies or smokescreens.

He shook himself out of his mood and said with what he hoped sounded mature, "For all we took him for an old man, I suppose it is only logical. He was by far the youngest on staff, wasn't he?"

"Yes. He was a mere twenty-one when he was first appointed and only thirty-one when your lot came to Hogwarts. He's still young even if the students always imagine that their teachers have no private life and are at least one foot in the grave."

Harry swallowed uneasily at the cutting remark. He did not want to think of McGonagall's or Slughorn's private life, nor of any of his former teachers'.

Misinterpreting his unease, she said consolingly, "Do not think this ever stopped him from loving your mother, because it was the kind of love one never forgets, all the more because it was the first one and a tragedy. This... affair, it was not meant to be a life commitment for either of them. It was rather a matter of convenience and comfort... The bonding of comrades in arms if you want."

"Comrades? Was she an Order member then?"

Again, her brow darkened. "Yes," she answered at was difficult to be curter.

"Ah! That's why you know her. Did others know about the relationship too?"

"If Dumbledore knew, he was very discreet about it. Maybe Arthur or Kingsley?" She made a mental note to warn Molly as soon as Harry left, even if her friend had sworn to never tell another soul – and to have a few choice words with Dumbledore on the matter.

Harry felt for his former Head of House. He knew how straight-laced she was and could see from her rigid stance how very hard is was for her to speak about such things. She was obviously very fond of Snape, and it was no doubt as difficult for her to speak about her young colleague's sexuality as if he was her own son. Probably as hard as it was for him to speak about such things with her, whom he had long come to consider as some kind of honorary grandmother. Yet he had to prepare for every contingency. He forced himself to ask, "Is she still alive?"

She hesitated but finally nodded.

"Do you think she'd agree to come to court if necessary?"

"If there is no other way to help Severus, I suppose she will. But I can't imagine he would like to have it known and I really don't see how it would be helpful. He is accused of molesting students at the time when he was Headmaster. That relationship was long over by that time. I think that Constanz can provide proof enough that he took that potion of his and that he was... well… unable."

"Yes, but this lady's testimony or your mentioning that he had a lover would also prove without doubt that he had no psychological need to assault students. The accusations… They..." It was his turn to falter.

Now crimson, Harry nervously wiped his mouth with the back of his fingers. "Merlin! They are perverts, Minerva! Constanz warned me that they might try to imply that nobody knows for sure the effects of such a forbidden potion... That Snape may not have been able to... to go all the way, but that he still could have felt the... compulsion and… be able to feel something as he touched the children."

She listened in disgusted silence as Harry managed to continue, "He says that they will imply that, if Snape did it once, as Headmaster, this could mean he may have done it before or felt compelled to do it again. He says that recidivism is a well-known feature of paedophiles."

McGonagall was green. "Never!" She faltered, "He'd never... Not Severus... And how anyone could believe that Dumbledore would have tolerated..."

"Professor Dumbledore let the Marauders bully Snape himself to the point that he was nearly killed by Remus Lupin as a werewolf and publicly humiliated – sexually humiliated, Headmistress."

"That's not true."

"YES, IT IS!" Harry was shouting by now. "I don't know where you were, because you were a teacher yourself, but I saw it in Professor Snape's memories, right out of their DADA O.W.L.s! My own father had him upside down, showing his pants to everyone and threatening to take them off in public. He may have done it, I didn't see the rest. And they had just nearly choked him with a Scourgify raw on his mouth. I don't know what else you can call that!"

As she shook her head in silent negation, he exploded. "If Dumbledore let them get away with it because Severus Snape was an insignificant student, much less important to him than James Potter, Sirius Black or Remus Lupin, why wouldn't he let Professor Snape get away with anything when he desperately needed him as his spy?"

Suddenly conscious of her horrified, stricken look, he got a grip on himself. "Sorry, Professor, I couldn't help being the Devil's advocate." Though I could very well believe it of Dumbledore, he thought savagely. "I've been trying to anticipate every possible argument against Professor Snape. I just think it would be better to leave Professor Dumbledore out of the picture as much as possible."

She pursed her lips and seemed to shake herself out of her shock. She sounded more like her old self when she said, "In any case, this is pure slander! Slander against all of us, against the school. To think that we'd never notice if one of us did something like that! That no portrait, ghost or house-elf would ever protest or report abuse if they saw... It's... It's vile!"

Harry's voice was hard when he extended his hand to expose the blood quill scar. "And how long did it take you to learn what Umbridge was doing to us during her detentions?"

"Too long!" She cried. "And only because we didn't know that Fudge had relieved her from the traditional Teacher's Oath! But you have to understand that we were under as much pressure as the students from Umbridge and the Ministry. Dumbledore expressly forbade…" she faltered at Harry's smouldering look but went on with a deep sigh, "Well, we just couldn't attack her openly. But to think that Severus, of all people...!"

Harry kindly but firmly interrupted. "I am not trying to settle scores, but you must realise we'll really have to answer this kind of questions. You may be asked if it wasn't just the same thing again as with Umbridge: that you knew but felt you couldn't intervene."

"I'm willing to swear under Veritaserum, and I'm sure I can speak for all my colleagues, too, that we didn't see anything because there was nothing to see. You must take into account the very nature of this school, the oaths we take, the part portraits and all magical creatures play here. It is virtually impossible that anything this vile could happen without at least the Headmaster and his Deputies knowing. I don't know how you do it, Harry. To stay calm and..." She suddenly seemed to realise why Harry had those huge, dark smudges around the eyes and a haunted look. "Oh! I'm so sorry! It must be so horrible for you, my poor boy."

He looked her in the eyes, his jaw squared, and his entire body taut in the familiar stance she remembered sadly. He has always had too much on his young shoulders. "I am an Auror. We have to deal with the worst of humankind and of magic. And during the other war trials... Believe me, I learned more about perversion and sadism than I thought humanly possible. It doesn't mean this is easy, though."

"I know."

They heard footsteps and turned at the same time. It was Ron, of course.

"Hogwarts."

"What?"

"They all agree that Snape is not the only target of these accusations. Someone wants to discredit the school, to have people question the professionalism or integrity of the staff. Whether it is just personal revenge or some deeper plot to take over the school later, is unclear." He turned more specifically to the Headmistress. "I suggested that those who have access to other portraits let you know if someone happens to mention the school or Professor Snape in their presence."

She was impressed once again by the young Weasley's professionalism. He showed no hesitation in calling Severus "Professor Snape", either – some feat when you think how foulmouthed and vocal he had been at school.

"I think you're right, Ronald." She sighed. "I don't see yet where the accusations of abuse will lead us, but the complaints from the Slytherin students directly target me, not Severus. I can at least take this off your list of worries. I will publicly acknowledge that I wronged the whole House of Slytherin because of Pansy Parkinson's frightened response to Voldemort's ultimatum. It has to be done anyway. I will have to admit that I couldn't think of anything else on the spur of the moment than to imprison them in the dungeon and then to send them away."

"And how will you do that?" asked Harry.

"I'll ask Percy to arrange a press conference with the Prophet here at Hogwarts, and I'll have Prefects, representatives of the students and the decorated Slytherin Alumni attend. I will apologise of course, indeed I will offer the House of Slytherin the most formal and official apology, and for once, we'll be able to put Horace Slughorn's wide circle of relations to good use. He will so enjoy it!" She grinned wickedly. "Indeed, I think I will appoint him our liaison with the Ministry. I'm sure Percy and him are made to understand each other." Harry and Ron eyed her with admiration and no little awe at so perfect a solution of foisting both busybodies on each other for the Greater Good.

She went on, "Between the two of them, they'll manage to give the occasion the proper coverage. I will just have to solemnly acknowledge that Slytherins had no choice but to leave and that apart from very few they didn't join Voldemort. I'll also honour those who came back to fight with the rest of us. It will be perfect for the school morale. I expect to receive one or two dozen howlers, probably as many letters of support..." She smiled wryly. "The Board of Governors will so enjoy calling me a prejudiced old cow to my face."

Seeing them thunderstruck, she laughed, "Never fear, they'll just slap my wrist, and then we'll all pretend that I have learned my lesson and that all is well that ends well... Until Severus's trial."

Minui Gloriam Virilitatis = roughly translates as "I reduced the glory of man", i.e. his virility.