Congratulations to Risi – who was the first to respond to my question on my profile page. Risi gets a 10K word drabble involving two characters of Risi's choosing in any scenario posed within 7 days of her giving me parameters for the story. I will be posting future contests as my story continues.

Disclaimer: Fan fiction is written by (surprise!) fans, who spend money. Obviously, this is fan fiction, I am a fan and I spend money on HP. So I am not making money from this, not now, not ever. Ms. Rowling doesn't even know I exist and I am just fine with that. On with the story…

After the two children had finished their meal, he had gently coaxed Jena into taking her last potion. She had taken a long time to fall into slumber, glancing fearfully around the open room. Professor Savoy had finally simply spelled a privacy screen around her, much to the mediwitch's annoyance. He was somewhat at a loss with the Matron; he had never known her to be that obtuse before. He would need to speak to her in private. Classes started in the morning, however, and he wanted to get his Prefect back to his common room, and make a check on his snakes.

"Professor? Did Jena… well, she wasn't really talking about being lazy, you know doing a few chores and then doing nothing as most do during the summer holidays, was she?" the prefect's quietly spoken question breaking into his musings.

"No, Mr. Murphy, I don't believe so."

"She really worked form sun up to sun down?"

"In all likelihood." he replied dryly.

"Sir, does she really think she was being lazy or does she thing we would see her as lazy?" he asked incredulously.

"Yes, she might see it as being lazy if she stopped working without being instructed to do so, and she was definitely afraid that we would see her as lazy for having done that. She also didn't see anything wrong with her punishment." the professor replied quietly.

"How can that be?" he asked, "Surely she has seen other kids?"

"Yes. But she has been different. She only knows that she is different." Professor Savoy replied quietly, considering the conversation with the girl carefully. "It will be our job, and the job of her house, to teach her that she is just like every other Slytherin. It will not be an easy task." In the coming days, he wondered just how true that statement would come to be.

Professor Savoy walked into the common room with the 5th year prefect, and noticed a quiet, controlled chaos. There appeared to be a study group already in progress… ah. Mr. Abernathy's etiquette group, of course. He stifled a smirk. Well, the boy would learn.

"Mr. Abernathy, starting with the first years already?" he asked quietly, eyeing the five children gathered round the surly 7th year prefect. He noticed that Morganna Jorgenson was actually the younger sibling of his other 7th year prefect, who was being somewhat unsuccessful in trying to unobtrusively monitor the lesson. While attempting a look of dignified apathy, it was very clear that she was untrusting of the 'class'.

"Sir. We were just covering status, seating and ranking."

"I see. And I assume you are doing that by blood status?" he asked, carefully keeping his face neutral. Damn. He had been so consumed with the young girl upstairs that he hadn't gotten a good grip in his own common room. He swallowed a sigh. Well, it wasn't too late.

"Of course sir."

"And exactly how are you determining that?" he asked.

The 7th year's prefect eyes snapped to his. "I am not sure what you mean sir."

"I mean, I assume you have yourself at the head of the table as the heir of a pureblood family, and the oldest present. The two boys are seated to your right, as they are on the dominant side and ranked by both heir status and age. The girls are to your left, the non dominant side, with the highest ranking girl present anchoring the end of the table, correct?

"Well, it would seem you don't need the study group," replied the prefect, cheekily.

"That's five points for your cheek. Now do me the favor of answering my question. How are you determining blood status? Or do you need some additional 'motivation'?"

"Well, luckily, the first years have all memorized their family trees as most pureblood families still keep that practice, so we were able to figure that out in short, order, sir. Of course, Savoy, I am not sure that's a British family name, is it? Sir." the youth asked in a slow drawl, taking on a surly 'Sir' at the end not quite slowly enough to get a detention.

"Actually, it's French, but I am from New Zealand, and my family was indeed from England at one point. Be that as it may, let me assure you that while it is important to know this tradition, where it originated from, and under what conditions you should follow this type of etiquette… teaching it as the norm is not acceptable. So, you are willing to take these young one's word on their heritage?" he asked, letting just a hint of snideness enter his tone.

"That's rude, sir." said the female 7th year prefect, dropping her pretense of remaining aloof. "One should take the word of the witch or wizard, unless you are certain." she said, tone flat, and eyes showing a bit of unease.

"And you are?"

"Bristol. Bristol Jorgenson. 7the year girl's prefect, sir."

"And, I would surmise, elder sister of Morganna Jorgenson, seated to Ms. Nott's left?"

"Yes sir."

"So, I am telling you then, that I am head of my family, the Patriarch. Lord Savoy. Who moves?"

"Well sir, we are already seated, the hostess would likely take the women and leave to give you a seat politely." replied Abernathy.

"So then you would take the hostess seat?" Professor Savoy asked, eyebrow going toward the hairline.

"Well, I don't know your blood status, do I? You are from New Zealand." said Mr. Abernathy, somewhat crossly.

"But I told you. How would you test it if you didn't believe me?" he asked.

"I could cast a status charm." He said slowly, suddenly realizing he had no idea where his head of house was going with this line of questioning.

"Do you know how that charm works, Mr. Abernathy?" he asked.

"It tests if your blood status," he said, rolling his eyes at his professor.

"No. It tests your knowledge of your blood status. If a muggle were convinced beyond the shadow of a doubt that they were a pure blood wizard, that spell would show them as such. That spell measures conviction, in much the way that Verisatum measured truth." he explained.

"So what, if you doubted if you were pure blood, and you actually were a pure blood, it would show you as a mudblood?" the boy asked incredulously.

"Another 10 points for your foul language, Mr. Abernathy. And yes, it would show you less as pureblood." he replied, allowing the first hints of irritation to enter his voice. "And if you knew nothing of your heritage, it would show nothing. The spell wouldn't work at all. But that is not why the spell is worthless Mr. Abernathy. I have been remiss in setting you loose with these young ones. Blood status Does. Not. Matter. Muggleborn, half blood, pure blood are all irrelevant. It is your actions, your deeds that show your true convictions. We must learn the ways of our culture, and understand the traditional roles; heir, head of the family, hostess, mother, matriarch – all crucial that we learn them. But important not in and of themselves; we learn them to understand our history, or choices as a culture and our choices to adhere to that which adds value to wizard kind, and reject that which does not honor us." Professor Savoy explained feverently, voice warm with passion, eyes snapping with repressed anger.

"You can't say the value to the wizarding world is the same for a muggleborn than a pureblood?" the prefect scoffed at his professor. "Surely the family of a muggle having no knowledge of us, having never contributed to our culture, would not be worth the family of a pureblood?"

"Mr. Dearborn, are you muggleborn?" he asked, turning to the most junior male at the table.

"Aye sir. Half-blood."

"And has your family ever murdered the sole heir of a pureblood family?" he asked quietly.

"Wha – I…?" the young boy sputtered, not sure what to think of Professor's question.

"What are you getting at?" snapped the prefect, hissing out 'sir' as the Professor's glare hit his eyes.

"I am pointing out that the war which has torn this country apart for the past 20 years was waged by one maniacal madman in the name of the importance of blood purity. One half-blood madman, as Tom Riddle, also known as Voldemort," the professor spat " who killed off no less that 5 pureblood lines –all members dead, their bloodline lost to us. Prince? Gone. Pettigrew? Gone. In addition, many lines now have a single or a combined single heir – Potter, 1 heir, Malfoy, 1 heir, Black, 1 heir, and that heir is the one and the same as the Malfoy heir. The Kearns heir lies recovering from her injuries, her sole crime being a pureblood who was born into service of a madman. No muggle has done more to threaten the very existence of Wizard-kind, and yet you set him to your left, to place him beneath you. Ms. Kearns was borne into servitude. Will you have her at your feet? What has she done to deserve that fate?" the professor's voice crescendo his form looming over the very angry teen.

"Your point, sir?" snapped the prefect, his pureblood culture not allowing him back down from the onslaught against the values he was born into.

"My point is to understand traditions, but not be ruled by them. So, I come to your table, what do you do?" he asked again, getting the smoldering anger in his voice under control.

"I am not going to answer that, sir. Why don't you share with me your wisdom?" the boy returned snidely.

"Another 5 points Mr. Abernathy, and you are very much trying my patience." Professor Savoy said forcefully. "I would suggest, in ignorance, always treat those you don't know as equal. If they are more powerful than you, they will see your comfort level as quiet confidence, if they are less powerful, as humility, and if you are equal, then it was correct. But in general, never assume you are better or worse than anyone. You both put your pants on one pant leg at a time, and you all need to eat, sleep and love. You are equal. And I will not have any more of the elitist blood garbage being spewed as some sort of oracle. Are we clear?" the professor watched closely as a myriad of emotions played over the young man's face.

"Yes sir." the boy finally snapped.

"Good. Then this lesson is over. Your assignment is an essay, not less than a foot, outlining the arguments Mr. Abernathy and I made and why you agree or disagree. Dismissed!" Professor Savoy states, snapping the last word sharply at the children to get them to disperse quickly.

"Mr. Murphy, still with me?" he replied, noticing the boy had stepped out of his periphery, but was now moving back to his side

"Yes sir."

"This is where I take my leave of you. I would ask that you visit Jena each day, and two days hence, start testing her for her learning skills as the 7th year prefects should have done with the other first years. I would like to speak to you at 8 pm on Wednesday about her progress. Is this acceptable?"

"More than acceptable professor," the young prefect said, a warm smile spilling across his face.

Professor Savoy returned to his rooms. The DADA rooms were much more open and bright than his previous rooms in the dungeon. He worried about being farther away from his snakes, but in reality it was just a few flights up, and the Bloody Baron had agreed to help monitor them as he had in the past. He had been amused to find out that the ghosts were not fooled by his transformation. His mentor's strong magic combined with the potion he had developed had caused a permanent stasis in his new form. He glanced in the mirror above the cupboard that held his liquor as he poured himself a small serving on the strong spirits, still with a jolt that his raven hair and black eyes were now this person with warm sandy blond hair and soft blue eyes. He chuckled. Dumbledore had really wanted to be sure he was never recognized. He wondered if Dumbledore even knew of the ghost inability to be fooled in such a way?

When the Baron had finally come to his room, and told him that he missed the sarcastic wit but that the children were happier he had nearly choked on his tea. But the relief of having someone to converse with, someone that knew him in his entirety had been… he took another small sip as he considered what he was feeling. It had been as if a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Already feeling unburdened from the oppression of falling into the lure of two of the most powerful wizards of the age, the sense that he could speak freely of his being in its entirety had been nearly overwhelming.

His thoughts returned to the young girl upstairs, and he chuckled to himself. What had possessed him to name the child? Jena – little bird in Arabic – a small bird, lost in the desert. How apt for this one. He sighed inwardly. What had possessed him to take guardianship of this child? He shook his head. He had spent the last nearly two years running around the continent, trying to get a grip on who he was now, and what he was to become now that had had a future beyond the war. It made him crazy. Shaking away his dilemma, he buried himself in the tasks at hand – a lifetime of using this escape made him fall to it as a man to water in the desert. He had a letter to write to Wizarding Family Services. That would keep him distracted. Nicely.

The Sunday staff meeting was a Hogwarts tradition. Professor Savoy had gone on from the letter, to last minute checks of his lesson plans, penning an application to take his Master exam at the next holiday – all in all a profitable afternoon. Remembering to wear a mask of quiet curiosity of the exact nature of the staff meeting, he entered the staff lounge.

"Professor Savoy, ready for classes?" enquired the headmistress, already ensconced at the head of the table.

"Of course. I am very pleased with the resources, and eager to get working."

"And your accommodations suit your needs?" enquired the Headmistress.

"Yes, the rooms are fine. But if I may, I have an interest in potions as my mother was a potion master. I wouldn't want to intrude on the lab of a colleague, but is there a bit of space I could use?" he asked neutrally. The space in his quarters meant for dueling and the like was unsuitable. Too much natural light. To many delicate ingredients degraded with sun, he needed a space in the dungeon to work and keep an eye on his snakes. This opportunity was just too good to pass up.

"Well, we have a number of small labs that have served apprentices in the past, but most have been vacant or sealed for 50 years or more. But I will be happy to update one for you, that ought to be simple enough." replied the headmistress with a negligent wave of her hand. He was of course, aware of these rooms and kept the smirk off his face. He knew just the one he wanted. It had a secret entrance into the common room. He wondered if the Headmistress new of it? Soon the remainder of the staff arrived, and they got down to business.

"Now that your houses are settled, I will ask each of the heads of house to give an update. We will ha Eugene go last as he seems to have the most difficulties at the moment. Filius, why don't you begin with Ravenclaw?" she gestured to her deputy.

"Well, we have an excellent group – 4 dorm rooms, 26 in all first years. All have a good grasp on the wizarding world. I have one child that is phobic of the dark it would seem, and none that have shown signs of home sicknesses. One child has night terrors; mother was an Auror that died a few years ago…

Savoy listened with half an ear. Auror's children or Order member's children who had lost a mother, father, sister or brother in each of the other houses. A nut allergy, a diabetic, a few asthmatics – good thing he was getting his potions mastery he thought, thinking that it wasn't just his snakes that would need some help. He couldn't help but notice that none of his colleagues mentioned if any of the children were abused, or had learning difficulties, or needed supplies. Didn't they check for such things?

The last staff meeting of the weekend was always reserved for house trouble and sharing observations, and any last minute problems. This was not his first time being the focus of this meeting, but it was his alter ego's - Professor Savoy's first, but only years of being a spy was keeping him from panicking as the struggled to remain 'uncertain' but still get the very best information to his colleagues and work things out for his children, his snakes.

"Yes, I have one child who is clearly abused – Ms. Kearns. The Slytherins have named her Jena." Well, not technically a lie. He was a Slytherin, after all. "She has only been in the custody of her father for a couple of years, and the abuse had not been as harsh. However, she was abused worse before then. She will likely be very timid. Please approach her slowly, and do not call her out. She appears to trust men a bit more than women. It may have been her mother who was abusive. It's difficult to know at this point. The five other first years are either pureblood or half-blood. Morganna is Bristol's younger sister, and there appears to be a very good sibling bond there. Ms. Nott and Ms. DeWitt will need watching, they appear to b bullying a bit already. All have what they need for their supplies, and seem well organized. I have a question however, do you test your students to ensure they have the proper skills for class?"

"What do you mean?" asked the Headmistress.

"Well, we can't be certain as many children are home schooled that they know their penmanship, reading , math and such?" he asked, trying to keep a note of uncertainty in his voice.

"No, that really is not necessary. It will become obvious in their classes." Stated the headmistress.

"But not right away. Wouldn't it be better to get them some extra help if they needed it before they fell behind?" he asked looking around. Some of his colleagues appeared thoughtful, other simply gave him patronizing looks. Let them think he was the new, idealistic teacher then. He had only ever worried about his snakes, but maybe now, without the war, without the madmen, he could finally do something about the things that drove him crazy in the past, the things that made him angry when he was a child without proper clothes or books, having to try and make do with whatever he could get his hands on. Maybe he could spare more children that fate…

"Well, if you find time to do that with your slytherins we'd love to hear how that went Eugene." Replied the headmistress not unkindly. The tone wasn't completely patronizing.

Professor Savoy studied the group for a long moment. These were order member, members of the 'light'. And yet they didn't check for the neglected. Was it in ignorance? Were they so convinced of the goodness of the world that they could not conceive of the darkness? Or was it simply too hard to think of such things, to know they happened with a frequency that most would find unsettling? Were they cowards that would look away at such things?

"I will find the time Headmistress, and use my Prefects to best advantage. Also, I wanted to say that my upper years appear cliquish as well, with Mr. Abernathy being a bit of a lead in that. I have already taken the young man down a peg or two, but won't be adverse with my colleague's gentle assistance in the matter." He noted.

"Well, the head of Slytherin has already docked him 40 points. This is quite frankly unprecedented. You have no desire for the house cup?" Professor Savoy noted that the Headmistress kept her stern expression, but in his former life he had know her many ears, and knew what a barb of friendship it actually was.

"I trust my colleagues, headmistress. I may take points, but you all award them for the well prepared, the hard worker, and the child that goes beyond the required. Slytherins will excel." he replied.

"Care to make a wager on that?" asked the Headmistress, a flash of a cat's cunning coming t her eyes.

"A friendly wager. Yes. My students will make up the 40 points in the first week." He said… or?" he cocked an eyebrow in invitation.

"Or? Or a bottle of Ogden's? Elf Wine?" she suggested.

"Or… you offer 10 hours of tutoring to the student of my choice." He smirked inwardly. He would leverage her propensity for wagers to help him gain the cup. Once entrenched, it would be quite easy to manipulate the woman into a bet on the cup itself.

"And if win, you get 10 hours of administrative duties of my choice?" she replied cattily.

"Agreed." Professor Savoy replied.

The first week of school. A wager, a bully to watch and a child to get out of the infirmary. It should be quite a week he thought.