It took considerably longer for the parchment to make its way around the table than it took for everyone to introduce themselves, so by the time Sybill Trelawney managed to find her name in among all her poetically imprecise proclamations, the notes from Fudge's excuse for a meeting were just resting in Severus' hands. He attempted to feign boredom as he skimmed over the first page, but even the pretense failed as his eyes picked out what sounded alarmingly like educational decrees.

The Fourteenth Charter of the United Kingdom Wizarding Community places the responsibility of establishing, organizing, and maintaining educational institutions on the Ministry of Magic. To fulfill this responsibility the Ministry, by statutes, has vested the general administration and supervision of the public schools in a ministry of education composed of five members. The Ministry of Magic, under the authority of Minister Cornelius Fudge, and the Ministry of Education, by decree of loyalty and service to the Ministry of Magic, do hereby recognize and grant the full authority of legislative and executive privilege to the current Headmistress or Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and to the elected Board of Governors. Legally, the Headmaster or Headmistress draws his or her authority directly from the Ministry of Magic, and therefore supercedes any ruling from the Board of Governors.

Severus blinked and took a deep breath, suddenly gaining a new form of respect for a woman who could pen such beaurocratic garble while in a meeting. It was, he noted, very neatly penned at that. There would be no claiming that her writing was illegible. He was tempted to skim through the document, but he didn't dare, and he put his mind to the task of reading every word and comprehending every word. After all, he had no desire to have his signature appended to a magically and legally binding document if he didn't know what it said.

…the Headmaster or Headmistress, or in the absence of the Headmaster or Headmistress a competent appointee by the Ministry of Education, is responsible for the selection and recommendation for employment of all personnel in the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The Ministry of Education may reject recommendations, but it may employ personnel only on the recommendation of the Headmaster or Headmistress, or of a competent absentee appointee, or of the Minister of Magic…

After re-reading that passage twice, Severus came to the conclusion that he truly wished he had a copy of Hogwarts' charter as Dumbledore had drawn it up. Or better yet, Dumbledore himself. There was most likely a change of some sort in the paragraph he'd just read, but having never bothered to truly study the school charter, he'd no idea what it was. Though something tickled his mind about the recommendations—hadn't that been the sole responsibility of the Headmaster in the past? This 'competent appointee' bit made him rather nervous, and he made a mental note to keep that in mind when he came to a part about the termination of employees.

…in accordance with the European Federation of Magic Ministries Enduring Employment Decree and the United Kingdom Ministry of Magic Reasonable Discharge Statute, all personnel remain on probationary status until continuing service status (tenure) is attained. Professional Instructors (i.e., certified professor) are eligible for tenure upon the completion of three continuous years of service to the school. After tenure has been attained, dismissal must be supported by sufficient evidence that the professional is either incompetent to teach or is a detriment to the school, staff and/or students …

Reading this garbage was going to make him go cross-eyed eventually, he was sure of it. If he'd not misread that passage, it said that anyone who had been teaching for more than three years (and he definitely fell into that category) had tenure, which meant… He skimmed over the last of it again. Tenure apparently meant absolutely nothing. What other reasons were there, after all, for dismissing a teacher? Incompetence and 'detriment to the school, staff and/or students'. Extraordinarily vague, in his opinion. Frighteningly so, in fact. He could almost see himself being declared a 'detriment' because he scowled at people.

…the system of evaluation provides for enhancing teaching skills, knowledge of subject matter being taught and knowledge of new/innovative methods of instruction. Evaluations will be conducted a minimum of four times each term, and shall not exceed twelve times in any single term. Continued employment is contingent upon removal of serious deficiencies in these areas…

So, in other words, after any of the twelve reviews he might be forced to endure over the course of a single term, his job could be on the line. Severus was beginning to wonder if he could 'accidentally' set this parchment on fire.

…in accordance with the Edict 17-A.5589-15B in the Charter of the Ministry of Magic, the Ministry of Education may suspend or dismiss any teacher, staff member, or other regular employee so appointed on the written recommendation of the Headmaster or Headmistress of the school, for immorality, misconduct in office, incompetence, willful neglect of duty, or when, in the opinion of the Ministry, the best interests of the schools may require, subject to the provisions of the Edict referred to in the preceding paragraph…

Severus could almost feel his job slipping away. This document was riddled with ways for the Ministry to terminate the employment of any member of the staff, and Severus had little doubt that he would be at the top of Cornelius Fudge's list, given what the Minister knew of him. Rubbing his eyes with his thumb and forefinger, Severus continued to read the document.

It stretched on for three pages. Three pages of gibberish that all boiled down to one simple fact—Regalia Malfoy would be holding all their livelihoods and futures in a string between her fingertips, and they were all going to be subject to her slightest whim. By the time he passed the parchment to Minerva, Severus felt positively numb, and he wished he could have some more of that Firewhiskey.

"So," Severus began in one of his signature silky tones. "If we do not sign this," he waved a hand at the parchment, "what happens?"

"You will be dismissed for failure to cooperate with Ministry decrees," Malfoy answered promptly. There was no hint of beating about the bush. "I would advise you to sign it."

"Then why should we bother with each of us reading it individually?" Minerva asked, peering over the top of her glasses at the new Headmistress. "We've no choice but to sign it, it would seem, and we can all take a copy of it to peruse at our leisure after the fact."

Malfoy lifted an eyebrow in an almost eerie imitation of Lucius. "Do you wish to sign a legally and magically binding document which you have not read?" she asked, her voice clearly implying that she thought this suggestion was the height of ridiculous.

Minerva adjusted the parchment in her hand and began reading aloud. "The Fourteenth Charter of the United Kingdom Wizarding Community places the responsibility of establishing…" Severus stifled a yawn at hearing the words he had just finished reading, but reminded himself that this was the lesser of the evils. If it were not read aloud, it would take at least another half hour for the parchment to make its way around the table. He schooled his expression to one of impassive disinterest while Minerva repeated the decrees, one at a time, regarding the hiring, evaluation and dismissal of staff. By the time she reached the last paragraph, there was more than one tight expression around the table.

"Well?" Minerva asked, taking off her spectacles and folding them in her hand. "Does anyone not understand what we are being asked to sign?" The question was greeted only with silence. "Does anyone not understand the consequences of not signing this document?" Again there was silence. "Very well, then." She dipped her quill in the small jar of ink in front of her, and a moment later, her signature was slanting across the page.

After a brief hesitation, Severus reached for the parchment and scrawled his own name in cramped, small, jagged letters. Pomona signed it next, and then Sybill, then Rolanda. Filius and Binns were next, A moment later, Hagrid scrawled his name onto the parchment, and he was the last of them. There was more than one resentful face around the table, and, though Malfoy seemed to have won this round, Severus had his doubts that she would win the next so cleanly.

"Very good, then," she said, glancing through the parchment quickly and then applying her signature to the last page. "Now that we have that taken care of, there are a few more things I wish to discuss with you all. First, I have been looking over the scheduling for the upcoming term, and I must say it is simply atrocious. I've been working on re-distributing classes a bit, and I think I've come to a conclusion that should alleviate some of the load. These," she held up several pages of parchment, "are copies of the revised schedule. Look over it, please, and if you have any significant objections to it, please make note of them so we may address them later. These are your copies so feel free to make notes on them. Also, Professors Flitwick, McGonagall, Sprout, Snape, I have the House Schedules drawn up. I'll need you to look over them as well."

Severus now had three sheets of parchment in his hands, and Malfoy was pulling another thick stack from her folder. Charms indeed.

"I have also been going over the OWL and NEWT scores for the last ten years, and I've found some interesting patterns in them. Fair warning, I will want to be discussing the students' records with each of you individually, so you might wish to look over the OWL and NEWT results for your subject for the last ten years or so."

Severus closed his eyes and breathed deeply, then scrawled himself a note to himself to pull his students' records for the last decade. That, at least, would not be a problem for him; his organization system, while complex, was flawless.

"I also need to schedule meeting times with each of you, so I'm going to pass around this schedule for the next five days. I need each of you to write yourself in for a time that is convenient—hour and a half blocks, please. You four," she indicated the Heads of Houses, "I need you to schedule yourselves for either a single two-and-a-half-hour blocks or two hour-and-a-half blocks. Professor McGonagall, I need an additional two hours from you as well, preferably later in the week than your initial meeting. Professor Snape, I need an extra hour and a half from you, as well. Professor Hagrid, I need an extra hour from you as well."

Severus pinched his nose. That was… four hours she wanted? Or five? He sighed and looked at the blank schedule in McGonagall's hands; at least everyone had had the sense to let the Heads schedule their times first since they had need of such bloody big blocks. He watched as Minerva neatly blocked off the time from 12:30 until 3:00 Monday, and then from 9:00 until 11:00 on Wednesday. He traded a furtive glance with the Head of Gryffindor, then blocked himself in for Monday from 10:00 till 12:30 and again from 6:00 till 7:00. Even if no one else joined in, he and Minerva were going to manage to tie up the Headmistress' entire day tomorrow, it seemed. There was certainly no time for lunch in that tight block.

Passing the parchment to Pomona, Severus couldn't quite stop a smile as she blocked herself in from 11:00 to 1:30 on Tuesday, and then Flitwick scheduled himself immediately prior to that, from 8:30 to 11:00. One by one, the rest of the teachers kept innocent expressions on themselves as they blocked out their hour and a half meetings with the new Headmistress, not leaving so much as a fifteen minute break in the meetings all day long on either Monday or Tuesday. When the schedule was passed down to Malfoy again, Severus watched intently as she read over it, nodding.

Not a flicker of a reaction on her face. If she was surprised at the staff meetings now scheduled from 7:00 in the morning until 7:00 in the evening for the next two days, she didn't show it. "Very good," she replied, frowning slightly. A frown of concentration, though, Severus was certain. She was taking this entirely too well. "I'm going to go ahead and schedule another meeting with the entire staff on…" she studied the schedule for a moment, and then nodded, seeming to have decided something. "On Thursday. From one to four." Severus' scowl deepened. Another three hours of meeting. He was already tired of the meetings, and they hadn't even begun yet.

"And, I think I'll… yes." She made a sweeping motion with her quill and seemed to block off an entire day. "Very good. Did everyone make note of their meeting times?" She glanced around the table, and her eyes landed on Vector. "7:00 on Monday?" she asked, and Vector nodded. "Professor Sinastra…" her eyes drifted around the table and then landed on the dark-haired astronomy professor. "Tomorrow at 8:45. Professor Snape," those gray eyes sought out his, and she smiled tightly. "10:15."

Severus' eyes narrowed. He'd blocked himself for 10:30. Before he could protest, though, Malfoy was reminding Minerva that her meeting was at 12:45. Fifteen minutes later than Minerva had scheduled herself. The Headmistress was moving everyone's meeting time forward by fifteen minutes, effectively scheduling herself breaks between each of them. Shrewd. On some level, he respected that, even if it did foil their plans.

"Too smart for her own good," Minerva murmured, and Severus snorted softly.

"I don't anticipate that any of these meetings will last more than an hour," she informed them, "and, as a general note, I am going to want to discuss NEWT and OWL scores with each of you, and I want you to bring along a list of anything you need in your classroom for the coming year. Supplies, repairs, anything you would like to address regarding your classes and classrooms. And I want to know what you want, let me worry about what you can have and what is in the budget." Malfoy stood, smoothing her ruby-colored velvet robes. "It has been a pleasure to meet all of you. Professor Flitwick, Professor Sprout, Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape, remain please. The rest of you enjoy your lunch."

Severus kept his eyes trained on the parchment on the table in front of him as his colleagues filed out of the room, and silence reigned for a long moment afterward, until Malfoy finally shut the door.

"From each of you, I will want to hear what needs your Houses have, and any concerns you have regarding their education. I will also need an inventory of the dormitory rooms, and a list of repairs and purchases that need to be made. I have allotted each of you an additional hour simply because I feel you will have more concerns to address, since you have not only your classes, but the students in your Houses to worry over. You needn't prepare any truly detailed information for me for this meeting, but do keep your schedule open on Thursday morning, please, as my instinct tells me that the five of us will be meeting again before the end of the week. I'll make that official after I've had a chance to speak with each of you individually. Professor Sprout, Professor Flitwick, you may both go."

Spoken like a true Malfoy. The dismissal was obvious in her voice, and it brooked no argument. They were as good as servants receiving their orders. Even the good-natured Pomona Sprout seemed miffed by the casual dismissal. When it was merely Minerva and Severus left in the room, Malfoy regarded them both with a cool, confident expression. "Professor McGonagall," she began, "I'm going to wish to discuss a few points of school tradition and needs with you. That is your additional meeting. I don't think you'll need to do any additional preparations for it; it's mostly for my benefit, as I anticipate having a number of questions after having met with everyone else. If there is anything specific you need to discuss, that's fine of course, I just wanted to assure you that I've nothing specific planned for it."

She turned slowly to Severus, regarding him with a discerning eye. "And, Professor Snape," she said softly, and he made a point not to look too interested. "The additional hour you scheduled is to discuss this," she reached into that flat folder that contained enough parchment to put the Ministry of Magic to shame. Severus frowned slightly and reached for the page, glancing over it.

It was his latest request to be considered for the Defense Against the Dark Arts position. He offered it back to her, not daring to let his hopes rise.

"Be prepared to convince me, Professor Snape," she told him, and it had the sound of a suggestion. "I am an open-minded woman."

Raising an eyebrow, Severus nodded. "Of course, Headmistress."

"Very well, then. You may both go. Enjoy your lunch," she told them. "I suppose I'd best go find out what Minister Fudge is into."

Severus snorted softly, and, carefully avoiding Minerva's eyes, he leaned his head to the side. "Do you know the way to the Great Hall, Headmistress? The corridors can be quite confusing at times."

She smiled, a distant smile that any Malfoy would have been proud of. "I believe I can find my way, Professor. But thank you all the same." She inclined her head gracefully, and gathered her folder, quill, parchment and cloak, and then slipped past Severus and McGonagall and into the corridor. Severus couldn't help but watch the seductive sway of her hips as she walked down the hall.

"Will you please try to control yourself, Severus?" Minerva asked sharply. "First you're drooling over her pretty face and now you're making a fool of yourself in an attempt to win that Defense position. Remember who she is," this was accompanied by a firm finger in his chest, "and remember who still holds her strings."