--Chapter 2--
Headmistress Malfoy
August 16
Severus was the first to arrive in the staff room, which was set up to accommodate the entire faculty in this, the first meeting with the newly appointed Headmistress Regalia Malfoy. He wasn't sure what to expect, but to some extent, that only increased the excitement. And, Merlin help him, he was excited, as only a man who loved the thrill of dancing on a knife's edge could be. His excitement manifested itself only as a glitter to his obsidian eyes, though, and he settled himself into a chair near the foot of the table, positioned so that he could watch Regalia Malfoy and Cornelius Fudge; as he assumed they would be sitting at the head of the table. And he assumed that it would be Fudge at the head, with Malfoy on his right, so Severus positioned himself at the opposite corner.
Minerva was the next to arrive, not five minutes on his heels, and he smiled slightly at the look on her face. She had intended to be the first, and he'd actually underestimated the margin by which she would be early. He'd thought perhaps fifteen or twenty minutes, which was why he arrived thirty minutes early, and she surprised him by being there so soon. "Minerva," he said, nodding at her as she took her place at the foot of the table.
"Severus," she returned his nod.
"Has Fudge arrived yet?" he asked softly, and she nodded. "Dobby told me that he'd just walked in the door."
"Excellent," he murmured. "With luck, they'll be here..."
The door opened behind them and Severus smiled slightly, pointedly not turning his head. "Momentarily," he finished, under his breath. Minerva smiled tightly and also kept her eyes trained straight ahead.
"Ah, Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape. I hadn't expected to find anyone here so early," Fudge's brief delay in speaking gave truth to that statement; he'd intended to have the upper hand, to be there when everyone else arrived. To make everyone choose their seats relative to him, but now he had to choose his relative to the two teachers. Perfect.
"Wouldn't want to keep you waiting, Minister," Minerva said, her voice formal and stiff, though Severus doubted anyone who didn't know her at least as well he did would have been able to detect the note.
"Very good. Very good. Madame Malfoy, why don't you sit here," he indicated the chair to the right of the head, as Severus had expected, "and we'll just settle in to wait." Fudge pulled the chair for Malfoy, and paused before sitting, and then turned her back to them. Severus found himself holding his breath as she lifted gloved hands and pushed back the hood of her travelling cloak, which was a pale dove gray trimmed in creamy velvet. He could see only the back of her head, which, unsurprisingly, was covered with a silken sheath of pale gold hair that she wore gathered into an elegant style full of graceful curls and tiny braids. It was an elegant coiffure, to be sure, but it would have looked less out of place on a ballroom floor than it did in the staff room of Hogwarts. She turned her head slightly, apparently taking Fudge into her sights for he suddenly moved forward to take her cloak. Severus filed that away in his mind. Even the Minister of Magic attends her. Interesting. Her robes were a shade that Severus normally found repulsive-- red. Gryffindor Red, he always thought of it, but for the first time, he found himself looking at the shade with something akin to appreciation in his eyes. This particular shade of red was not so gaudy or ostentatious as the crimson of the Gryffindor Quidditch robes, but it was vibrant, and commanded attention. It was a color evocative of royalty. As she turned around, something happened which Severus did not expect.
He was shocked. It took a great deal to surprise Severus, and more still to shock him, but he was shocked. Far from the elegant dowager he had been anticipating, Regalia Malfoy looked to be barely thirty, if she was that old. Severus' eyes swept her lithe form and he had his doubts that her age was as advanced as that. There was no line marring the creamy complexion of her face, no weight of years darkening her blue-gray eyes. And she was breathtaking, though that was hardly a surprise when he considered it. Severus had always thought it rather a shame that Draco Malfoy was a boy; his features would have been so much more attractive on a girl, and now, Severus was faced with the very image of what a female Draco Malfoy might look like at the height of her bloom. High cheekbones, a delicate curve to her jaw, a slender neck and a dainty nose, Regalia was the sort of woman that teenage boys dreamed about when they unconsciously spilled themselves onto their sheets at night. Severus felt a stirring that he wouldn't have believed likely, and wasn't about to admit, but could not deny.
"Well," Fudge said suddenly as Malfoy settled into her chair, "I had intended to introduce everyone at once, but I suppose it would be polite to begin the introductions now. This is Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress and Transformation teacher," Severus winced. Transformation? That wasn't going to go over well. He slipped a furtive glance at Minerva and coughed politely rather than laughing at the tight expression on her face.
"Madame Malfoy," she said, nodding in the direction of the young woman.
"Professor McGonagall," Malfoy replied in a melodious voice.
"And this," Fudge gestured, "is Severus Snape, potions teacher."
This time, Severus was the one whose features tightened almost imperceptibly. It might seem a small thing to Minister Cornelius, but Severus had worked long and hard for that title. Potions Master, not just the Potions teacher.
"Professor Snape," she acknowledged, and he heard a slight lilt that was intriguing enough to assuage the wound to his pride that Fudge had dealt. He wanted to make her talk, suddenly, to hear how deeply that velvet caress infiltrated her speech. The three words he'd heard her speak were not enough.
He contented himself with merely watching her, though, as he was likely the most ill-equipped person on staff to be making polite small talk with anyone, least of all a beautiful young woman. Headmistress! he corrected himself sternly. She may be young and beautiful, but those are hardly admirable qualities in a Headmistress. She needs to be stern, to command respect and authority from students and teachers alike! She needs to be able to put a halt to hexes hurled in the halls, not to look like a stiff wind might blow her over.
"Shall I summon the others to come immediately?" Minerva said suddenly. "They were told ten, but I'm sure I can round them all up five or ten minutes early."
"That won't be nec—" Malfoy began, but Fudge interrupted her.
"Yes, Minerva. I believe that the sooner everyone arrives, the better. I'm a busy man, and I haven't all day for this."
Severus barely refrained from lifting an eyebrow. A busy man who couldn't wait ten minutes for a meeting that he planned to begin at the scheduled time? What was ten minutes going to buy him, anyway? And it was a risky move, speaking for the feminine young Malfoy at such a juncture. The staff wasn't likely to have much faith in anything she did say if she couldn't command respect here, on her own territory. Severus made a mental note to pull her aside and explain to her that she needed to keep as tenacious a grasp as possible on whatever power Fudge allowed her, before he usurped it all. The thought had no more than cleared his mind before he gave himself a mental shake—he was not supposed to be on her side in this matter.
A glance at Minerva said that the Deputy Headmistress was decidedly less concerned about Regalia Malfoy's potential reputation. "Professor?" she said pointedly, raising an eyebrow, and Severus (correctly) interpreted the gesture as an indication that he was to join her in 'rounding up the rest of the staff'.
"Pardon me, Minister. Headmistress," he nodded to each of them in turn, and made careful note of Malfoy's face at being addressed such. There was no flicker of emotion or acknowledgement beyond the inclination of her head. She had a great deal of potential. If she survived this assignment, at least.
Once they were in the corridor, Minerva shut the door firmly and Severus finally faced her, lifting an eyebrow of his own. "I wasn't of the impression that you would need help summoning everyone else," he said softly as they walked. She'd set a painstakingly slow pace, and for a moment, humor flickered across her face.
"I don't," she replied shortly. "Even if I had any intention of bringing everyone together early, which I don't."
"Then why did you offer?" Severus asked, a smile tugging at his lips.
"Oh, I meant it when I offered, but Fudge's little jab about not having all day…" she scowled. "I have half a mind to dispatch the House Elves to tell everyone to be five minutes late."
Severus chuckled softly. "Amusing though that might be, I don't think it's a good idea."
"I know," she muttered. "But a woman can have her fantasies." He snorted softly. "And speaking of fantasies, Severus Snape, I want you to keep yours out of that meeting. We need all the wits we can get in there, and I won't have your serpentine cunning undermined by a one-eyed snake. Is that perfectly clear?"
"What?!" His voice was much more akin to an indignant squeak than he would have preferred, and he stopped, gaping openly at her. "I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about."
She snorted this time. "That's why you have drool all over the front of your robe."
"I do not!" he protested, but glanced down surreptitiously. Surely he hadn't…
"Ha! See, you had to check, because you know that you were staring at her like a lovesick boy. You just keep your mind on more important things, and save it for the weekend. Hell, Severus, you keep your wits about you today, and I'll pay for your next foray into London with the woman of your choice."
He scowled. "I ought to hold you to that," he muttered sullenly.
She chuckled. "You do that. Just make sure that you remember who Regalia Malfoy is and don't make a fool of yourself over her."
The nerve. He wanted nothing more than to continue to protest, but he knew that the more he protested, the less credible he seemed, so he gathered his dignity and spoke in a clipped tone. "Of course," he conceded. "But you must allow that she is much more pleasing to look at than anything Hogwarts has had to offer in… well, since before I was a student, at the very least."
To his delight, Minerva shot him a dangerous look. Touche, he thought triumphantly. Minerva steered them into her office, and he seated himself in one of the chairs in front of her desk. She glanced at the clock on the mantle of her fireplace, and said, "I suppose we shouldn't waste more than five minutes of Minister Fudge's time before calling the others, what do you think?"
Severus chuckled. It was ten till ten already, and if she waited five minutes, he didn't think they'd gain Fudge a second. "Sounds like an inspired plan to me, Minerva," he replied.
"Firewhiskey?" she offered, reaching for a decanter and a pair of glasses.
"Maybe one shot," he said after a moment, and she splashed a measure of the golden liquid into a glass and handed it to him. When she'd returned to lean against her desk with her own glass in her hand, Severus lifted his in silent toast, and she lifted hers as well. They both tossed the fiery liquid down their throats and sighed, though Severus' sigh was almost a wince. Minerva drank her whiskey as though it were the sweetest and most mellow of wines.
"Well?" she asked after a moment. "What was your impression of her?"
Severus studied his glass for a moment, frowning at the drop of liquid that remained in it and tossing ideas around in his head, discarding each of them in turn. Finally, he leaned forward and placed the glass on the desk. "She's young," he said at last, with something of an apologetic shrug. "I'm afraid I haven't been able to get past how very young she is. When I do, perhaps I'll be of more use."
Minerva snorted softly. "I thought the same thing," she muttered, reaching for the decanter and pouring herself another measure of whiskey, then holding up the bottle in offering to Severus. He lifted a hand to indicate that he didn't want any more. "I'm glad we were there early," Minerva said after another pause. "I shudder to think what nonsense Fudge could have slipped past us while we were recovering from that shock."
"Hrm," Severus replied neutrally, turning over the brief encounter in his mind, looking for other clues. "She seems… I don't know. Nice, perhaps? She was going to tell you not to bother gathering everyone. Perhaps she will have a respect for our time."
"She let Fudge plow right over her. I had hoped that this woman wouldn't be a puppet on Ministry strings, but I have a feeling that was too much to expect."
"Well," Severus speculated slowly, "if she is young and impressionable, maybe we can slip off those Ministry strings and replace them with strings of our own design. She can't possibly have much experience, after all, so who would she turn to besides the Deputy Headmistress?"
Minerva smiled slyly. "Who just happens to be old enough to be her grandmother, and somewhat softhearted?"
Severus shrugged as though the idea hadn't crossed his mind, though that was exactly as he'd been thinking. "A young woman alone in a hostile environment, I'm sure she'll need some support from a… mentor figure."
Laughing softly, Minerva finished off her whiskey. "You might just have a point, Severus." She glanced at the clock, then gathered the two glasses. "I suppose I should make a token effort towards gathering everyone," she said with a sigh, then picked up a fistful of glittering floo powder. She tossed it into the fireplace and called firmly, "The kitchens!" A moment later, she had given the order for the House Elves to find the teachers and have them make their way to the staff room, and then she gestured for Severus to return with her.
When they walked in, Sprout and Flitwick were already there, and Sinastra was rounding the corner. Excellent, Severus thought. They were helping with the pretense already. Within five minutes, everyone had arrived, and, Severus noted with some slight degree of smugness, it was not quite five minutes until ten. Fudge looked as though he might burst a blood vessel.
"Ah, I believe that is everyone," Minerva said as Sybill took her seat, and Fudge nodded briskly.
"Quite," he replied, then cleared his throat. "Well, ah, let me see. I suppose that there is no reason to beat around the bush, so allow me to introduce to you your new Headmistress, Regalia Malfoy. Headmistress Malfoy, this is your faculty, and I'm sure you can learn who they are at a later date… there are really more important things to be discussing just now. Will you take notes, please?"
Severus winced inwardly at the dismissal from Fudge. There were more important things than the faculty, were there? And the Headmistress was to take notes, was she? Very interesting indeed. Malfoy did not argue, though, but merely took out a bottle of ink and uncapped it, then took out a quill. She spread the parchment onto the table and wrote the date neatly on one page, then looked expectantly at Fudge, her rosebud mouth shut. So young, Severus thought.
"Right, then. On to more important matters. First off, I want to address a few points with you all. The Ministry has approved a number of streamlining processes, and I must admit that some of them might come as a surprise to you. For one thing, we are looking at ways to expedite the replacement of staff when positions become available, and we have reached the conclusion that, at least on a trial basis, the Headmistress will have full authority to make changes to the staff as she sees fit, with only my own approval required. You will all note the difference in this policy from previous requirements of approval from the Board of Governors and the Ministry of Education."
Severus frowned, watching as Malfoy dipped her quill in ink and touch it to parchment again and again.
"It is our belief that this new policy will make the transition times much shorter when we have need to add staff to Hogwarts, and I trust that there is nothing objectionable about this new policy?" Fudge glanced up at them, not really giving anyone a chance to speak before looking at his parchment again. "Excellent. Then we move on. The second order of business is with regards to the review process for our teachers. In the past, I'm afraid that Hogwarts has been quite remiss in offering feedback to the staff. Henceforth, each member of the faculty will be reviewed a minimum of four times in each term, though no more than twelve times in a term."
Twelve times in a term? Severus felt his mouth drop open, but that was nothing as compared to the reactions from Sybill and Rolanda. He recovered himself quickly, and glanced at Minerva, whose mouth had tightened into a thin line.
"These reviews will be most beneficial in identifying the strengths and weaknesses of each staff member, as well as giving us a clear idea of the staffing needs of the school. Also, as all increases in salary are based on these reviews, then it is clear that you will all stand to make significantly more money if you are reviewed more often, and that, of course, is not objectionable to anyone either, is it?"
And I suppose that a poor review will result in a decrease of salary, Severus thought sourly, thinking about the pages in his file that were courtesy of Dolores Umbridge and her miserable excuses for observations.
"Forging right ahead then, wonderful. Also, in light of the difficulties we have seen at Hogwarts in recent years, we have determined that there is need for a more stringent process of identifying undesirable staff members. Now, those of you who are exemplary will not even notice the difference, of course, but just to keep you all informed, here is the new policy. A staff member who is found to be lacking in any respect will be written up. After being written up four times, the Headmistress and I have the option of placing that person on notice, after which point we may remove him or her for any infraction. After six months of no infractions, the demerits will be disregarded at a rate of one in every six-month period."
A glance around the table showed more than one carefully guarded expression. This was not going well at all. Not at all. The 'meeting' dragged onward, and, two hours and fifteen new regulations later, Cornelius Fudge finally stood, clasping his hands together. "Wonderful. I feel we've made excellent progress today." No one so much as batted an eyelash. It had been the most demeaning meeting Severus had ever attended, barring none. "If there is no additional discussion, then I propose we adjourn for lunch. Unless, of course, you have anything you wish to add, Headmistress?" He looked at Malfoy for the first time in roughly thirty minutes.
"Yes, Minister Fudge," she said smoothly, and Severus remembered suddenly how velvety her voice was. She did not have an accent, precisely, but her words were lilted with the influence of France. "I do have some things to say. But you look absolutely famished. Why don't you go on and have lunch, and I'll just finish up here."
"Are you sure?" he asked, glancing at the faces which he finally seemed to notice were not precisely friendly-looking at the moment. "Whatever you have can certainly wait until after lunch and…"
"I'm certain," she replied. "You go along. I want to get to know my staff a bit. Go on," she had risen at some point, and all but shooed him from the room, but he was finally gone, and she closed the door with a firm click, then leaned against it, looking at all of them. The silence was nearly deafening, but the seconds ticked by. Severus could see that, one by one, everyone was turning to look at Malfoy, but he was determined not to follow suit. When she took her place again, then he would look at her, but he was not going to swivel around in his chair to regard her.
The minutes stretched on, and, at length, curiosity got the better of him, and he turned, glancing over his shoulder at her. That seemed to be her cue.
"Now that I have your attention," she said softly, "and Fudge is away, I think there are a few more things we need to discuss." She stepped away from the door and walked back to the head of the table, taking her seat there. "Beginning with these," she held up the pages she had been copying for Fudge. "This document has been charmed to be legally and magically binding," she informed them, "and it will require everyone's signature before the day is out. I will pass it around for everyone to read—and please read it—so we may discuss anything on it that needs clarification. And, in the mean time, I would like to know each of your names, because, inefficient though it may be, I tend to disagree with Minister Fudge that there are more 'important' things. So, I'm going to send these pages around this way," she placed the small stack of parchment on the table in front of Sybill, to her left, "and the introductions can begin with you," she nodded to Flitwick on her right.
A/N:
LinZE: thanks for the review, and I hope you don't have your heart set on a MM/SS pairing because it isn't happening. They're just colleagues.
