Chapter fourteen

Harry explained his first idea to Severus and even though it was not really his thing, he did believe it was a good idea for Hogwarts and for the students. So Harry with the help from Severus worked on some different ideas that would benefit the students and staff. Once that was done, Harry would send notices to all house rooms and to the staff room so all would know what was going to be coming up at the end of the year. First he did need to talk to the staff as they will need to help. He was going to send out his noticed after the weekend.

On Friday afternoon, Harry was again at his desk when there was a knock on his office door.

'Come,' Harry called but kept writing, then he put his quill down, 'Ah Professor Weasley, what can I do for you this fine Friday afternoon?'

Hermione handed over some parchment, 'I realised I do not like being away from my husband.'

'This is your decision of course,' Harry summoned a form from one of his cabinets, filled it out, made copies. He sent one copy off to the ministry, he filed his copy then handed Mrs. Hermione Weasley her copy, 'Are you ready to leave now or do you still need to pack up your rooms?'

'Everything is done.'

Harry could see how much Hermione was trying to control her temper. He looked calm on the outside but his insides were jumping for joy. So he nodded and pointed to the fireplace, he did not even offer his hand, he knew she would ignore it.

'You brought this all on yourself you know. I could not believe how much you let him influence you. One of the smartest witches around and you went along with anything he wanted and what he wanted was wrong. I can honestly say that you disappointed me more than any other person. You used to have integrity, you used to stand up to anyone and stand up for what was right and what you believed in. Now you are just an extension of your husband, so much so that there is nothing of Hermione Granger left in you. I only hope that your children are young enough that they can find their true selves.'

Hermione was seething inside, but she realised she could not say at thing to Harry Potter. He had the support of the magical world, the support of the wizengamot, the minister, the governors, the support of the staff and students of Hogwarts. But the worse as far as she was concerned, he had the support of her own children. She turned and stepped into the fireplace, not even looking at Harry as she activated the floo.

Harry reset his enchantments before calling his owl down. He handed her the letter then watched as she took flight, then he left his office, heading down to dinner.

'Your face has relaxed, I can see the difference in you Harry. So what brought this on?' Severus asked.

'She's gone, handed in her resignation, then I told her exactly what I thought of her. I was polite of course, but she got the message. I'm just going to let the children know then I'll eat.'

'It's for the best,' Severus kissed Harry's cheek then walked up to the staff table while Harry went over to the Gryffindor table.

'I thought you should know that your mother handed in her resignation a few minutes ago.'

'She told us she was leaving; she hoped to see us at Christmas.'

'That is your decision; you can leave for the holidays or stay here. You're uncles and aunt has all said they will be there for all of you.'

'We got letters from Uncle Bill and Uncle Charlie explaining how they will help with anything we might want. Thank you Professor, for all your help.'

'You're welcome, enjoy your dinner,' Harry turned and walked to the staff table but smiled at his son who had been watching him.

'So you're opinion Severus, do you see them ceasing all this?'

'Not completely but they will not do anything that could cause them to end up in jail. That letter the minister sent them about their children and grandchildren will keep them from going to far.'

'Yes, losing custody of their children would give them second thoughts on the whole situation. Molly and Arthur would never be allowed to see their grandchildren alone, they would only get supervised visits. Ah Severus, none of this should have happened and I do understand how they felt, at the beginning. But when they started to lie or make up stories about me that is when my feelings for them changed. When you are grieving it does make people do things you would not believe, but they went too far and refused to tell the truth. I was heartbroken when Sirius died but I never took my grief or anger out on anyone nor did I lie. Oh well, it is over now, I would like those children to finally have a stable life.'

'They will now Harry. So even though she is gone, the questions will still go ahead tomorrow?'

'Yes, that way the students, staff and the reporters will hear the truth for themselves. No one will not be able to say the minister rigged the results just because we happen to be friends. So after dinner we have our staff meeting then a relaxing night.'

'Not so relaxing, not if I have my way Harry.' Severus smirked then dished himself up some dinner but he chuckled at Harry's quiet moan, 'Ah Headmaster, you might be my boss and very powerful, but it seems I do have power over you. I am going to use that to my advantage.'

'I bet you will Sev,' Harry shook his head in amusement but his body was on fire thinking about what his partner is going to do to him later that night.

Harry was sitting at his desk, Severus on the small sofa beside it. There were other chairs around the room waiting to be filled. Within minutes the rest of the staff started to arrive.

'As I wrote in my note, this is not a normal staff meeting. I have come up with two ideas I would like to implement for Hogwarts. One is something a lot of students have asked for even before I was born, so Minerva explained to me. The other idea is a radical idea but one I believe could benefit everyone that works at Hogwarts. So before we get to that, please help yourself to either tea or a drink.'

Harry waved his hand at the tray with a large tea pot sitting on it, along with biscuits. There was also a bottle of Firewhiskey with glasses on another tray. Some went for tea and biscuits, others for a drink, Harry and Severus had a cup of tea.

'Right, the first will require a small amount of assistance from the staff. I would like to put a graduation ball to be held after the seventh year students receive their N.E.W.T. results. I believe the students and staff could have a good night, but going a little further. The seventh years only can invite a guest from outside the school, whether it's a boyfriend, girlfriend or even just a friend. The most staff will need to do is just check empty classrooms, the quidditch changing rooms or the bushes surrounding the black lake. But it will not be a ball like the yule ball, it will be more like a party. The students who had been studying for seven years can finally relax and enjoy themselves. The staff who also get quite stressed during test times need to let their hair down, so to speak. If you agree with this raise your hand,' Harry smiled as every member of staff raised their hand.

'Thank you, but now to my rather radical idea. This is something I have spoken with the minister about, we both agreed it would help the staff of Hogwarts. So I would like your opinion before I take it to the governors. And just so you know, Albus Dumbledore first came up with this idea when he first became headmaster, but the staff back then did not agree. As I look around at all of you, some are the same age I am, some are a little older. Now as I'm sure you all know that staff used to be older, not old where they could not do the job, just older. So this idea, I believe that if all staff had their own private small cottages connected to the castle then they should be able to have a wife, husband, partner, even children. Naturally they would be able to come and go from their private rooms, but I will enchant those fireplaces with your magical signatures only, which means you could not bring in other guests without my approval. So before you all leave to think this idea over, Mr. Malfoy, you are my age, you could have a family but still do your duty as the healer of Hogwarts, is that something that would interest you?''

Harry and Severus couldn't help the small chuckle they both let out at the looks on the staff's faces, they were almost identical, completely stunned.