*flashback*

Albus Dumbledore sighed and looked regretfully away from the window. He turned resignedly and surveyed the small group of people sitting before him.

"Greetings, my friends," he said, smiling sadly, eyes no longer twinkling quite so merrily, but the same good humor was held in them. "I suppose you all know by now why you were summoned."

Cornelius Fudge, Minerva McGonnagal, Severus Snape, Sally Sprout, and Ferguson Flitwick looked around at each other. After a brief, uncertain moment, Flitwick, Snape, and Fudge nodded, while Professors Sprout and McGonnagal merely raised their eyebrows and looked to Dumbledore for explanation.

He looked calmly at them all. "I know quite well," he stated, "that certain rivalries exist quite...fiercely...at this school. This has been going on for as long as one can remember, but in the present situation, it cannot and will not be tolerated any longer."

The group of adults shifted slightly in their chairs as they waited for Dumbledore to continue.

"With the continued, powerful rise of Voldemort, it is necessary for people to force themselves to trust certain others they -ah- normally wouldn't have, in regular circumstances. This is required if our kind has any hope at all of overcoming the Dark Lord before he becomes the all-powerful sorceror he thirsts to become. Does everyone here see my reasoning?"

All the teachers and Fudge nodded, though Snape seemed to do so rather reluctantly.

Dumbledore smiled once more. "I'm pleased everyone here agrees. You understand this difficult task must be undertaken immediately. We have no time to spare."

Everyone present murmered, "Yes, Headmaster," and Professor Sprout actually rose from her chair to stand by the door, appearing for all the world as if she were about to rush to the Hufflepuff Commons as soon as possible, to whip her students into shape.

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled, as they used to all the time, but he said only, "Very well. Thank you for taking the time for this meeting."

All the Professors rose, Fudge stood in front of Dumbledore's desk to talk, and Sprout hurried out the door. Just then, Dumbledore, whose face for the past few moments had held a pondering look, said suddenly--

"Oh, wait one moment, please."

All the adults turned back to look at him.

"I would like a word with Minerva and Severus, if you please. We have something to discuss."

Only Flitwick turned and left, as Sprout had long since vanished, and Fudge seemed to still want to chat with Dumbledore.

As Snape and McGonnagal turned to walk over, Fudge began earnestly--

"Dumbledore, we really must talk. The Office is buzzing with rumors, and I need your help to--"

Dumbledore interrupted politely. Fudge and Dumbledore had been on quite civil, if a bit stiff, terms since the previous summer. "I sincerely appreciate your faith in my abilities, Fudge, but I'm afraid I cannot talk now. If you will, owl me tomorrow, and we will arrange a private meeting."

Fudge frowned but complied. He nodded to Dumbledore and the remaining professors, and swept out the of the room.

Once the door had shut firmly once more, Dumbledore turned to face the other two. "Sit down, sit down," he said, gesturing to a couple of the chairs set before his desk.

"I will get right to the point. What I must tell you is a continuation of the brief discussion we had moments ago with everyone else. As I said then, a lack of trust within members of the same side, fighting for a common goal, will simply not do. Confusion, chaos, and suspicion abounded on the Light side 14 years ago, and it was what eventually brought us down.

"Only the simple trust and faith of an infant child brought us back on our feet. We had almost lost when something everyone referred to as 'mere motherly love' saved a *species*, in one manner of speaking.

"However, this time we cannot hope for another Harry Potter. We must use our own resources and intelligence for survial, and, eventually, triumph. This will not be easy, and I will not attempt to lighten your spirits with lies and false hopes.

"We must have a mutual understanding, of trust, faith, and possibly, friendship." Here Dumbledore stopped gazing dreamily at a point beyond the professers, and seemed to return to the present. He smiled apologetically at them, and said, "Forgive me. I lost my train of thought for a few moments."

"As I was saying, everyone here at this school is aware of, rivalries exist between all of the houses. However, everyone will also state that the strongest, meanest, and deepest roots of mistrust exist between the houses of Gryffindor and Slytherin.

"Almost every person in either of the houses would be happy to see one in the other house harmed in any way possible. They are not the source of the problem, though. One does not pull the branch of a weed off in hopes of the pesky plant withering away and dying.

"Before the petty differences can possibly be settled, we must resolve the very heart, the source of the problem.

"Another area almost everyone at this school will agree on is where the most heated, hateful exchanges take place; certain members of the opposing houses quarrel and fight to the *extreme*.

"It is the hate, or what they consider to be hate, that exists between two boys. Two young men, total opposites, but also the same in so many ways.

"This is our source. We must rebuild a certain bridge that was burned years ago, ages before it came to affect the people it does now. We must teach acceptance, as well as show it ourselves." Dumbledore sighed impressively. Snape and McGonnagall looked in awe of his little speech.

He cleared his throat, and concluded--

"Professors, if you would be so kind, please bring me Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy."


*/flashback*



a/n: so what do you think? if you want me to continue this flashback, you'll just have to wait several more chapters. but i dunno. i think it might be best just to leave it up to the reader's imagination. like how do harry and draco react when they are forced to learn to trust each other? and also, dumbledore seems to have his reasons for believing draco to remain on the light side, doesn't he? We'll see...

next chapter: draco and harry head out to the weasley's, and we meet up with our favorite crimson clan again. yeah!