Albus Dumbledore was having possibly the worst day of his life and he'd fought Gellert Grindelwald so that was saying something. But as he stood and studied the ruins that used to be his beloved school, Hogwarts. He honestly couldn't think of anything worse. He turned and looked towards his Potions Master, Severus Snape, who was also studying the damage with a blank look on his face.
'I think we might have to evacuate, Albus. The repairs on the castle will take weeks, possibly months depending on the number of house-elves we have working on it,' drawled Severus.
Dumbledore's face took on a tired look and his lips pulled into a frown, he sighed. 'I'm afraid you may be right, my boy. I believe we should gather everyone in my office and discuss how to move forward.'
Severus gave a short nod and made to walk away before he apparently thought better of it and turned to Dumbledore once more. 'I'm correct in assuming the perpetrators will be punished?' he asked with a slight sneer.
Dumbledore's blue eyes twinkled for a brief few seconds before he chuckled lightly and answered with, 'of course, Severus, don't you worry. It's up there on my to-do list, right after we discuss our options on evacuation.'
Severus felt pleased with that information and knowing a dismissal when he heard one, nodded once before replying. 'Well I shall gather the staff and meet you in your office,' and with that he was gone.
Ten minutes later, Dumbledore was sat in his chair at his desk, while the rest of his office was occupied with a number of his teaching staff. Pomona Sprout, the Herbology teacher and Head of Hufflepuff house sat on a crimson coloured sofa with Filius Flitwick, the Charms teacher and Head of Ravenclaw house on her left and Remus Lupin the DADA teacher on her right.
Severus Snape, who taught Potions and was also Head of Slytherin house, stood to the side of Albus' desk with Minerva McGonagall, who taught Transfiguration and was also Head of Gryffindor, stood on his right.
There were a few other teachers scattered around the room that included, Madame Hooch the flying instructor, Professor Trelawney who taught Divination, Professor Binns who taught History of Magic and also happened to be a ghost and Rubeus Hagrid, a half-giant who was the groundskeeper.
Dumbledore cleared his throat, which was the cue for his staff to stop talking and pay attention to him. Once he was happy they were listening, he started talking. 'I regret to inform you all, that the damage the castle has suffered tonight appears to be extremely severe. It could take anywhere between a few weeks and a few months to fix it, and it's with that unfortunate news in mind that I have decided that Hogwarts will have to be evacuated.'
Almost immediately his staff started to quietly murmur to each other. He caught a whispered, 'where will we go?' From Pomona to Madame Hooch, who was stood behind her where she sat on the sofa. Remus was talking with Filius about informing the student's parents and Professor Trelawney was mumbling something about tea leaves and bad omens in the general direction of Hagrid, who seemed to be in deep thought so probably didn't hear a word she said.
In the end, it was Minerva that spoke up addressing Albus. 'I think I may know someone who might be able to help. I have a cousin who runs a magical school, you might have heard of her Albus. She's called Ada Cackle and she's the Headmistress of Cackle's Academy for Witches. I can send her an owl and ask her to set up a meeting, unless you have arrangements already made?'
Dumbledore had heard of Ada Cackle. Her school was located in the country somewhere, in the southeast of England. If he remembered correctly, there were possibly three other magical schools located in Britain. He didn't know much about the other schools, as magical communities tended to keep to themselves and some weren't as big as others. He was almost certain that one of the schools was called Rectangle's and notes how odd of a name that is. Then again, his school was called Hogwarts, so who was he to judge.
But yes, he had definitely heard of Ada Cackle. There had been a tiny article a few years ago in the prophet, about how an evil witch had tried to take over Cackle's and it ended up being saved by a first-year student. That same student apparently went on to save the school a few more times with the help of her two friends. He chuckled as he thought about his own trio of school-saving students, who are now third-years. He had a feeling that Harry, Ron and Hermione would probably have a lot in common with the little witch from Cackle's.
He looked up as he heard a quiet cough and realised that he hadn't answered his Deputy Headmistress yet. Minerva was looking at him with a slight smirk and a cocked eyebrow, as she always did when he got lost in thought. He opened his mouth to reply. 'Ah yes Minerva, that sounds like a wonderful idea. I hadn't thought of arrangements yet but if your cousin is amenable, I think it would be a wonderful opportunity for the students, and of course the staff as well.'
'Albus, that is possibly one of the most ridiculous plans I've ever heard! It's right up there, with the one where you thought hiring a werewolf as a teacher was a good idea.' Snape turned to glare at Remus as he said this. Remus for his part, just gave Snape a wolfish smile, which of course made Snape's eyes burn with disgust. Snape turned sharply back to Albus and continued his rant, 'I've heard that school only takes on witches, and the magic it teaches is extremely traditional. For Merlin's sake, they don't even use wands. They also happen to sing their spells and they have to rhyme. Can you imagine that Albus? Can you picture the Dark Lord having to quickly come up with a rhyme before he casts a killing curse? No! I refuse to take part. The school is an abomination and I won't be subjected to it,' implored Severus, who had been as still as a statue for the entire meeting, but apparently had now found his voice.
Albus smirked at the fact that the big scary Potions Master was basically having a tantrum. It was no secret that Severus did not like change, or noise or anything not involving Potions, books and wizard chess. He especially did not like meeting new people!And it was an even bigger known fact, that Severus Snape did not like children. He just about put up with the children in his own house. So it could be a difficult task trying to persuade him that evacuating to a school full of children and staff he doesn't know, who chant their spells and don't use wands or modern magic, was actually a good idea without bringing up the fact that it was his fault Harry's parents were dead. That it was his duty to protect Harry, because he swore to it and an unbreakable vow meant 'no backsies.' If that failed, he could always use the 'you love Lily card,' because Dumbledore might be an extremely wise and powerful wizard, but he was definitely not above using emotional blackmail to get his way.
As albus was thinking about this, he caught the hushed tones of Minerva whispering harshly to Severus, imploring that in no uncertain terms, he was coming with them. He was almost 95% sure he heard a whispered threat from Minerva of bodily harm, using a series of probably banned hexes, when of course Severus argued back with the fact that he had made up his mind and he wasn't going to change it.
Deciding he probably shouldn't let things go that far, although he was not going to lie, it was rather amusing watching them bicker like schoolchildren. It definitely wouldn't do to have to take his Potions Master to the Infirmary when Minerva no doubt made good on her threats, so he conveniently intervened.
'Severus, my boy. I know how much this idea must upset you, but as teachers, we need to do what's best for the students. Do you really want to leave your Slytherins in the clutches of witches who chant their spells? Who knows what could happen without you there. Young Draco Malfoy might decide he adores chanting and didn't you mention the other day that he wanted to become a Healer after Hogwarts? Well maybe without your guidance at Cackle's, he might decide that his passion lies in chanting and he may also decide he wants to become a world-famous chantsmith. Do you think you could live with yourself if you weren't there to make sure that didn't happen? Do you think Lucius would ever forgive you? You're his Godfather. His future literally depends on you Severus.'
Severus quite rightly looked appalled at this idea. His eyebrows had shot up into his hairline and his nearly black eyes could rival that of a cartoon baby with how wide they had gone. It was all quite amusing and Albus couldn't help but stifle a laugh when he heard the telltale sounds of Minerva's obnoxious sniggering and the giggling of the rest of his staff, who he was sure were trying their very best to hide it, due to not wanting to upset the overgrown man-child that was his head of Slytherin house. And to be quite honest, Severus did actually look very much like he wanted to start shooting off killing curses, so it was probably best that they did hide it.
Severus's mouth opened and he very uncharacteristically spluttered for a few seconds, before maintaining his regal composure and starting again. 'Albus, that is absurd, how can you even think that? Of all the things you could use as blackmail, that is the one you choose to go with? You couldn't have just used the 'Lily is dead and it's all your fault, severus' card? He whined. 'You know I hate rhymes and I told you about those nightmares of singing Slytherins in confidence. And just so you know, I absolutely detest you right now and you're not allowed to use the Lily card again until Harry Potter is in definite mortal peril and you're 200% sure he's going to die without my assistance. I guess I have no other choice now but to accept your plans to move to that wretched school, but believe me when I say this, it will all go terribly wrong and I'll take great pleasure in telling you 'I told you so' when it inevitably does,' Snape finished this sentence with his best ex-Death Eater sneer.
Albus choose to ignore the majority of the words Severus had spoken, especially the quip about blackmail because he's only human and sometimes a man has to resort to petty tactics to get his way. He decided to only focus on the positives because he was nothing if he wasn't optimistic and with that, he answered with a good-natured, 'Severus, my boy. I'm thrilled that you have decided that my plan is, in fact, brilliant and you will accompany us all on our journey to Cackle's Academy. He was pretty sure he heard Minerva make a strangled noise at the words 'my plan,' but again he's chose to ignore it and continued, but this time making sure to address all of his staff. 'I'm sure our students are wondering what's happening, so I'd like all four heads of houses to go and speak to them. Answer any questions they may have and calm their worries, but also don't reveal my plan.' He heard the strangled noise again, 'Just yet. We'll have an assembly once we know exactly what's happening, and Minerva I think you have a letter to write my dear,' and with that, his staff all left his office to get on with the tasks he had set them. Albus Dumbledore sat back in his chair thinking about how much of an adventure it was going to be when Hogwarts eventually moved to cackles. He was very much looking forward to it.