Disclaimer: Harry Potter and his world belong to J.K. Rowling and her assorted publishers, not to me.

Spoilers: All five HP novels. SUMMERTIME IN THE CAULDRON

(Meetings VII: Albus and Severus)

(9 July 1996, afternoon)

"You wanted to see me, Headmaster?" Severus Snape inquired.

"Yes. It's about your Sixth-Year NEWT Potions class." Albus Dumbledore was studying a scroll on his desk. "You see, the Potions OWL scores have finally come in, and there were not enough recipients of your required O grade to hold a full class; you would have to hold two, of differing levels, and we are trying to cut your schedule a little, not increase it. Also, there have been a number of parents petitioning me to insist that their students have a place in your class."

Snape sighed. "I feared as much." He looked up at Dumbledore for a moment. "I don't suppose I can reserve those worthies for an Advanced Potions seminar, can I?"

"No, sadly, although there is no reason that you cannot do individual mentoring and project work. All the students listed are capable of extra-credit work. Also, such a seminar would be acrimonious at best: you would have three Slytherins, two Gryffindors, two Ravenclaws and two Hufflepuffs." He pushed the scroll over to Snape.

"Hmm…Granger I expected, but not Mr. Thomas. Boot and Padma Patil are also no surprise. Miss Bones, also no surprise; she is highly motivated, if not so much a pure intellect. Macmillan also makes up for intellect by making much more effort. Malfoy, Nott and Bulstrode." He pushed back the scroll. "I don't suppose that I can relegate the lesser lights to a 'Household Potions' class, can I?"

Dumbledore smiled. "Since these are entering sixth-Years, and that class would be of Fourth-Year curriculum at best, I doubt that they would learn anything useful that they do not already know."

"And if I lower my entrance requirement to an E?"

"Then you have many more; in fact, possibly too many for all four Houses in one class. If you can manage them, you only need to drop the true 'dunderheads' as you call them." He pushed over another scroll; Snape read it through. His eyes widened in shock as he saw some names.

"Longbottom scraped an E??"

"Indeed he did. Remember: Neville is truly gifted in Herbology, and understands plant properties better than most; he is mainly unnerved by you on the practical exercises." Dumbledore pushed his glasses up his nose. "Severus, we are going to have to see what can be done for him. His fear of you is actually a bit past what is warranted, even if you were as much of an ogre as he thinks you are. While he will gallantly endure everything you throw at him, the fear will still come out in forgetfulness and trembling hands."

"And yet another cauldron explosion. Albus, I have not yet had a fatality in my classes in fifteen years of teaching; and in Sixth Year, some of the brews are far more dangerous. I don't want Longbottom to cause the first one." Snape stood up and paced a little. "I don't dislike the boy, truly I do not; but I fear that I may lose my patience too easily and trigger just such an explosion. He needs to learn how to work under adverse conditions. I don't know how much he knows about me, or how much of my attitude toward him is role-playing. Is there any way we can get Honoria Longbottom into the Order? That would help him in the Junior Order, which he will certainly wish to join."

"Nor do I; as to Honoria, she is on my list of recruit prospects for this summer. I also don't think Neville wants to cause fatalities either, not now, when he is coming along so well in all his other classes, especially Defense." The blue eyes were twinkling again. "Hmm…I wonder how he's going to do there, with you as a Professor. He was one of the many from my 'Army' who got a DADA O grade."

"That I am less concerned about; wasn't he one of the ones from the Ministry battle, who actually came out with no worse than a broken nose, and still tried to fight back? In that class, he can face me on more even terms; perhaps that will help. He has more than sufficient motivation, now that he has actually met his family's enemies and fought against Bella, and certainly his fair share of courage." Snape sighed. "He should fear her far more than he does me; she did do him harm, and will again if she ever catches him."

Dumbledore nodded sadly. "I agree there; I'm willing to bet a Galleon or two that his Boggart will change this year. One's first experience with the wrong end of a Cruciatus Curse—and I am not at all certain it was his first—can be quite motivating, and you at least have not sunk that low in your dealings with him. But his father's wand was broken that night; a new wand of his very own cannot but help. As to your second comment, I suspect that he knows that there is a reason to trust you, simply because Harry knew. But knowing that as an abstract, and dealing with you in person are two quite different things. You have played your role so well, there are quite a few people who truly don't know what side you are on, or if you're still playing both sides and won't truly decide until the end."

Snape's smile was thin. "And many of them are in my House, too; the very audience I must please the most." The smile faded. "And some of them are in the Order, or will be in the Junior Order. For example, Mr. Ron Weasley does not trust me at all, even knowing that I am Order and that his brothers and parents do trust me to an extent. In fact, I suspect I will have to start an Occlumency seminar, as well, for those who know too much; and I do not look forward to it; how I am going cover having two Fifth-Years in with the Sixth-Years will be interesting. Yet I see that he managed an 'E', even on the written examination, despite his lack of focus, and his usual apparent inability to do decent written work without Miss Granger proofreading his essays."

"Or shoving him into doing them in the first place," Dumbledore agreed. "This is one case where I fear his aspirations may be too high. If he cannot manage the work here, he will have a harder time at the Auror Academy." He considered for a moment. "This is also a case where I could almost wish that talents had been switched. Ron is simply not quite as academically gifted as Harry, but I'm not certain if his Quidditch skills are enough for him to turn professional should he not qualify for Auror training. Yet, he is an excellent strategist, and far more Quidditch-focused than is good for his academics. Harry, on the other hand, could probably play for the national team right now, with only a little coaching: but it is far too dangerous for him to do so, until the War is over. A Seeker is simply a good moving target." He took a lemon drop from his jar, and ate it silently. "I think Ron is capable of more, did he but focus on his work more; he is too easily distracted."

"With regard to Quidditch: I understand his favorite team is the Chudley Cannons, and if he applies to them, he would certainly be no worse than they have had in the past," Snape suggested with a thin smile. "Also, if he would simply resolve his situation with Miss Granger, it would do both of them good. I do believe they are the only two people in the entire school that do not know that they fancy each other—never mind that he can never match her intellectually. If even I can see it, when I am the least expert person in the entire place about romance, then he is truly clueless."

"Ah, yes—young love. It does tend to disorient one a bit." The old man's eyes twinkled even more. "I do believe that some of the senior students may be organizing a wagering pool on when they finally do get together."

"And, as usual, if you have no proof, you cannot stop it," Snape replied dryly. He returned to the listings.

"Albus, you mentioned at the Heads meeting that we might offer a summer review course for those who need it. If those who received an E were invited to take the course, and perform acceptably or not, might I have more leeway in my acceptances? The Seventh-Year class will be small enough for one section only; I would truly wish the same of the Sixth-Year."

"That is a definite idea, and may help get some of the parents off my back." Dumbledore looked thoughtful. "There is a problem, though: two of the students whose parents are most insistent are Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle. While Mr. Crabbe received an E on his Theory grade, his Practical was an A; the reverse was true for Mr. Goyle. What are their aspiraions?"

Snape scowled. "I suspect both are somewhat brighter than they allow anyone to see: but they have been quite well conditioned by their fathers to believe that their highest duty in life is to be Draco Malfoy's guards and thugs while in school, and to receive the Mark as soon as they come of age. For Mr. Crabbe, that will be this coming December; for Mr. Goyle, that will be the following February. I have been slowly trying to get them to show me what they are actually qualified for, other than Quidditch Beaters, which sadly is not a great deal. I do intend to have a serious chat with each of them alone, as I do with all in my House who are prospects for His service; they will need to know just what they are in for, do they take the Mark, and that it is not a game, but far more serious than they currently believe. They also need to know that if they do not meet the Dark Lord's minimum standards of competency, their lives will be rather short: either at the hands of the Ministry if they get caught, or that of the Dark Lord, if they fail. In truth, I'm surprised that their fathers have lasted this long; they have no more intelligence than their sons."

Another, less pleasant thought struck him. "Albus, I am reminded rather unpleasantly of a truly horrifying parallel: that Dursley boy. He's also only good in athletics, he's not all that bright or academically motivated despite attending boarding school, and he's a lifelong bully of the smaller and weaker. Vernon Dursley is actually somewhat brighter than either Crabbe Sr. or Goyle Sr., but is equally as bigoted."

"Then it is as well that Dudley is a Muggle, and did not receive a Hogwarts letter; aside from the fact that Vernon and Petunia would never hear of it at best, and disown him at worst, I could see him Sorted into your House, despite being Muggleborn, and then things would be really complicated." Dumbledore returned to his notes. "But in reference to your own students: would you be amenable to taking them in the summer class? This would be an ideal opportunity for just that conference. Mr. Malfoy would not need the class, as he has already qualified for your NEWT class on his own merits. They need to make their way without being in someone's shadow."

"I would, except for one thing: I was hoping to have some advance-work this summer for the Junior Order members, especially Miss Granger, and I cannot see how I can do both without giving myself away. I have not yet had time to locate a supplemental Potions Professor, who could perhaps teach the Remedial class. If I offer advanced work for her, then I will have to offer it to all my O-level students, and I really do not want Malfoy here this summer, with Potter here and Lucius in Azkaban. Also, some of them will be in the summer Potions class, if they accept. I know Minerva and Filius will also want to have some of them here for research; Pomona has already planned some of what she wants Mr. Longbottom for." He looked up. "Has Filius seen any of these results?"

"Yes, and he says that he will abide by your wishes with regard to his House members."

"And what about Mr. Potter? He is the other hazard; if there are suspect students here this summer I will have to treat him in my usual manner, and I would prefer not to; nor should it be common knowledge that he is in residence here."

Dumbledore sat back, and thought for a few minutes. "Much will also depend on who else accepts the offer for the summer review course. Some of them will be Junior Order prospects as well, such as Mr. Finnegan, Miss Parvati Patil, Miss Abbott, and Mr. Finch-Fletchley; those can be trusted to keep still, if we allow the continuance of the DA over the summer. In fact, doing so will allow the Junior Order to practice under the cover of the DA. Others will be hazards, such as Mr. Zacharias Smith and Miss Parkinson."

"Why Smith? He has no love for the Dark Lord."

"He is also skeptical of both Mr. Potter and Miss Granger, even though he was a member of the DA. Remember, it was Miss Edgecombe who betrayed the DA to Umbridge and the Ministry; her mother works there in the Floo Regulation Department. I strongly suspect that they will be among those who are recruited by the Ministry faction from whence Umbridge came."

Snape shook his head. "At least that one is a Seventh-Year now, and not a prospect for this class."

"Actually, there is one more special case, and that may help or harm us: the Weasley twins. Remember they left here fairly close to the end of the year, six weeks before the NEWTs. I am willing to allow them to study this summer, and to be in your summer class, so that they may take their NEWTs at a special sitting this fall. Theirs is one case where I could prove that they left to avoid unwarranted excessive punishment by Umbridge. Considering the things that they invent, they are certainly qualified in Transfiguration, Charms and Potions; in fact, Filius is almost ready to grant them their Charms NEWT himself, just on the strength of that swamp they left here. My second reason for having them here is to give them more room to do research for Order devices, and my third is to serve as extra guards for Harry." Dumbledore smiled at his Potions Master's look of dismay.

"I can see two problems right there. One is their tendency to prank everyone in sight, and I am one of their favorite targets. The other is their shop; how will they run it and be here as well? That shop is one of our best assets in Diagon Alley."

Dumbledore had an answer. "I have told them that if I accept them, they must refrain from pranking the staff and the other students, especially you, and more especially during the classes and seminars; this is also an Order matter, where my word is far more law than merely being the Headmaster. You and they can work out among yourselves if a little pranking would be acceptable to maintain the cover of your mutual animosity. I will not forbid them from inventing, because that is how they show their true genius in those three core subjects, to say nothing of their value to the Order; in fact, I plan to give them the use of an unused classroom so that they have room to work. As to the shop, they have Mr. Lee Jordan to run it in their absence, and Miss Spinnet and Miss Johnson to assist in between going to Quidditch team tryouts; they are also of age, and they will not be forbidden to Apparate to the shop and back. I have also had that lifetime Quidditch ban lifted; even though they are no longer actual students, it would be unfair of me to leave no time for recreation this summer, and the Quidditch pitch is the best place for them to practice flying skills that may prove useful later. Filius is thinking about starting an aerial combat seminar this summer, by invitation only; they would be perfect to try out some of his ideas."

Snape leaned back in his chair. "So, to sum up: if we all agree, we will have a summer Remedial Potions class, for entering Sixth-Years, to either bring them up to speed for, or weed them out of, the Advanced class; a summer aerial combat seminar; summer independent study projects, involving various students and Professors; and a summer DA, involving any previous DA member who is here for any summer course. Minerva wants Miss Granger for research into secret Hogwarts history, and I want her for that Potions project you have in mind, for which I simply do not have time for either the research or the actual work on top of everything else. Mr. Potter will be assisting the staff in evaluating the Chamber of Secrets as well as attending the Potions class if he applies, the aerial combat seminar, and the summer DA. The summer Potions class will be focused on useful brews for the school stores, which will certainly save time and money. Do I have everything?"

"Yes, that indeed sums up matters in your usual concise fashion."

"Then I had better start on plans and schedules; I will be busy."

"So will I, my dear boy, so will I."