Following his meeting with the Ministry, Dumbledore chose not to make a public announcement about his imminent departure. In fact he didn't even brief all his staff about the upcoming change. Instead, the only people he confided in were Minerva McGonagall and Kingsley Shackelbolt. He also assured McGonagall that she would be taking over as head once he left, and he made it clear that Kingsley's job was also safe. After all, it was even more imperative to have an Auror on the staff when he'd been forced out and Hermione was still at large.
However, while Dumbledore had wanted to keep the news quiet it was impossible with the Slytherins in school. The very day of the meeting, Lucius and Voldemort had sent word to Draco and Hermione to inform them of the outcome of the meeting. Voldemort even suggested that if they could get Dumbledore removed before Christmas it would be all the more fun.
Knowing exactly how to get rid of Dumbledore quickly, Hermione has assured her father it would be done and asked Severus to bring forward the potions explosion. While Severus was sorting the perfect lesson to cause trouble with Harry and Ron, and subsequently Dumbledore, Hermione and the Slytherins set about informing the school that Dumbledore's time as headmaster was coming to an end.
Initially there had been some scepticism about the rumours, but several people were able to check with parents who worked at the Ministry and find that the Slytherins were telling the truth. Of course there was still those who refused to believe what was being said, but even they couldn't deny it when there was an article in The Daily Prophet about Dumbledore's imminent departure and the Ministry itself had confirmed that he would be leaving his post at the end of the current term.
The morning the article was in The Daily Prophet, Harry and Ron were devastated as they'd been adamant that the Slytherins were merely trying to cause trouble. Hoping that even the paper had gotten the story wrong, they headed off to the headmaster's office hoping to speak to Dumbledore, as he hadn't been at breakfast that morning.
"Don't you two have classes to go to?" Dumbledore asked when he opened the door to the pair.
"We've got a free period this morning," Harry replied.
"Those are for studying," Dumbledore said with a sigh, although he allowed the pair to enter his office. "But I'm guessing you're not here about your school work."
"Have you seen The Daily Prophet?" Ron asked.
"No, but I was informed of the article late last night," Dumbledore said as he slumped into the chair behind his desk.
Neither Harry or Ron had ever seen Dumbledore looking so defeated, not even when the truth about Hermione came out, so they were seriously worried. They didn't need to ask if the article was true, they could already tell by the headmaster's attitude that he'd been defeated.
"I can't believe the Ministry would do this," Harry grouched as he and Ron also sat down. "Don't they realise how defenceless they're leaving the school?"
"I'm afraid the Ministry have lost faith in me," Dumbledore admitted with a sigh. "They're blinded by Voldemort's lies and Lucius's gold. Until we can prove their true colours, I'm afraid our hands are tied."
"You're not giving up, are you?" Harry asked, not liking the note of defeat in Dumbledore's voice.
"Not while there's a breath left in my body," Dumbledore vowed, showing a bit more of his fighting spirit. "I wish I could reassure you both and say that I will be back soon, but I don't know if I can. The only way I can return as headmaster is to bring down Voldemort and his Death Eaters."
"Then we do that," Harry said passionately. "Let's stop waiting for them to come to us. Let's take the fight to them."
"And how do we do that?" Dumbledore asked. "The Death Eater attacks are becoming increasingly frequent, but the Ministry refuse to acknowledge Voldemort is running things. And even those who do admit he's likely behind them think he's justified given what's happened to Hermione recently."
"She's the real problem here," Ron spat. "Without her, You-Know-Who wouldn't be playing the good guy. He would have shown his true colours right away and not cared who knew he was in charge of the Death Eaters."
"It is true that with Hermione around he has changed his tactics," Dumbledore conceded. "And sadly for us, him having a daughter is doing his reputation the world of good. Even people who feared for their lives in the first war, are willing to give him the benefit of the doubt these days."
"Is that the key?" Harry asked. "Do we bring him down by taking out Hermione?"
"Actually, I fear that will only hurt our cause further," Dumbledore admitted. "If we do anything to Hermione, we risk being seen as the bad guys. As tough as it is, I think all we can do is wait for Voldemort and his daughter to show their true nature. I know exactly what he's like, and I know this tactic must be killing him. Sooner or later his patience will snap and he'll show himself for the monster he truly is. We just need to be ready for when that happens."
"But what if you're not around?" Harry questioned. "We need you, Sir. We can't win this war without you."
"Harry, I am being removed from Hogwarts, not exiled from the country," Dumbledore said with a slight chuckle. "I may not be at school, but I will be with the Order. I will still be here to fight, don't you worry about that."
"What's going to happen at Hogwarts once you leave?" Ron asked. "Will the Ministry put someone in charge who's sympathetic towards the dark?"
"No, Professor McGonagall will be taking charge," Dumbledore replied. "And Kingsley will be remaining on the staff. Nothing much will really change."
"Everything will change," Harry grumbled. "The place won't be the same without you."
"I appreciate you saying that, Harry," Dumbledore said with a soft smile. "And don't forget, it is only temporary. I will be back in this office eventually. And in the mean time I want the pair of you to keep your noses clean. I know it's hard, but you have to stay away from Hermione."
"Even though she was behind these recent accidents of ours?" Ron asked.
Even though they'd never been able to prove Hermione and her gang were behind recent events, it was a theory both Ron and Harry believed with all their hearts. Although it didn't bother either of them that just days earlier they believed their own friends were out to get them, and they'd had no proof of that either.
"Given that our suspicions are out there, I don't think she would dare make another move against you," Dumbledore assured the pair. "She was lucky that I couldn't prove anything, but if she pushes it, that luck will desert her."
"It's going to be hard ignoring her," Harry admitted. "She has a way of getting right under your skin."
What he didn't add was that not all of it was due to her true nature. Part of the reason she got under Harry's skin was down to the fact that he was attracted to her. It didn't matter how much he hated her and wanted nothing more than to bring her and her father down, there was still a flicker of arousal every time he saw her.
"I know, but do your best," Dumbledore advised. "It won't be forever, Harry. There's just a few more weeks until Christmas, at least get to the holidays without further incident."
Vowing that they would do just that, Harry and Ron said their goodbyes and headed off to lessons unaware that their promise would be broken within days and the incident they were about to get embroiled in would bring about an early departure for the headmaster.
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Over lunchtime, Severus carefully prepared the lesson for his sixth years, already anticipating the fireworks that would happen both during the lesson and afterwards. From the moment Hermione had approached him, he'd had a potion in mind for the accident she'd wanted Harry and Ron to cause. And now not only would the accident get the woeful pair into trouble, but it would also be the final nail in Dumbledore's coffin. Even though the headmaster had already been relieved of his position, Severus knew Voldemort was keen to push him over the edge early, and given the fact it was because of Dumbledore he'd had to teach Harry and Ron this year, he was more than happy to cooperate.
As usual, Severus had posted the instructions for the shrinking potion on the blackboard and the cauldrons were ready to go. However, the students had to fetch their own supplies from the cupboard. After all, if everything was laid out in front of them, they would never learn to differentiate between different ingredients.
When the students filed into the lesson, Severus gave them a couple of minutes to get settled before he called for silence. After briefly explaining about the shrinking potion they would be brewing, he set them off working, informing them that he would be checking their work in an hour. That would be just the perfect time to slip a little something into Harry and Ron's potion and cause a hell of a mess.
Settling down to do some marking, Severus kept one eye on the lesson. As usual it took Harry and Ron far longer than anyone else to gather all their ingredients, and at one point he even heard them having a discussion over which lemon-grass to use, dry or fresh, even though the ingredients clearly listed a pinch of dried lemon-grass.
"They don't need me at all, they could mess this up all by themselves," he muttered as the pair finally settled at their desk, although which variety of lemon-grass they were using Severus didn't know. Not that it actually made too much difference as using the wrong sort of lemon-grass would only affect the colour and texture, not the actual use of the potion, and it certainly wouldn't cause an explosion.
After an hour, Severus rose to his feet, a small vial of poppy seeds hidden in his hand. When mixed into the potion the students were currently brewing the poppy seeds would act as tiny explosives and make a bit of a bang. Making his way around the classroom, Severus passed judgement on the work and offered advice if needed. Slowly he made his way towards Harry and Ron's workspace, a sneer curling at his lip as he saw the limp potion the pair were struggling to get thickened.
"I asked for a shrinking potion, not a bowl of watery soup," Severus sneered, causing a couple of the Slytherins to chuckle at his dismissal of the two Gryffindors. "I despair of you two, I really do," he added with a dramatic sigh.
When Harry and Ron turned to look at each other, no doubt silently cursing him, Severus used the opportunity to tip some poppy seeds into the mix. He then carried on his tour of the classroom, giving Draco a subtle nod as he passed the blond wizard. On cue, Draco headed towards Harry and Ron's workstation, which just so happened to be located beside the wooden spoons. Waiting until Draco was making a show of picking a new spoon, Severus turned his attention back towards the hapless Gryffindor duo.
"Mr Weasley, Mr Potter, I suggest one of you starts stirring that potion or else you will be here until tomorrow," Severus snapped. "It needs a constant ten minute stirring at this stage."
Even though he doubted they're reached that stage, Severus watched as Ron hastily grabbed a wooden spoon from the supply and began to vigorously stir the potion. No sooner had the redhead completed one whole lap of the cauldron with his spoon then there was a loud banging noise and both yellow-green potion and acrid yellow steam rose into the air. In the midst of the commotion, the duo managed to knock their table over, and slipping on the potion underfoot, Draco went crashing to the ground.
"What on earth?" Severus bellowed as the class erupted into cries and shouts.
"Draco," Hermione cried, abandoning her own potion and rushing to her boyfriend's side. "Are you okay?" she asked in concern.
"Ooh, I think I've dislocated my shoulder," Draco moaned dramatically, although he gave Hermione a wink to let her know that really he was okay.
"Professor Snape, Draco is hurt," Hermione called, coughing slightly at the smoke from Harry and Ron's cauldron had yet to be cleared.
"I will be there in a minute," Severus called back as he raised his wand and cleared the smoke from the room.
That sight that greeted him was Draco lying sprawled on the potion covered floor, Hermione kneeling at his side. Harry and Ron's desk had been tipped over and their cauldron was lying on it's side on the floor of the classroom. As the pair themselves, they were standing dripping in disgusting looking yellow-green goo and smoke was rising from Ron's eyebrows from where they'd been singed in the explosion.
"Just look at this mess," Severus seethed, glaring at the two Gryffindors. "Can't you two incompetent fools do anything right?"
"We don't know what happened," Harry muttered. "The potion just exploded."
"Hey, we're covered in shrinking potion, we're going to shrink," Ron cried shrilly as he began to panic.
"That only thing shrinking here is your brain, and it wasn't that big to start with," Severus muttered. "You don't actually need to worry about the potion shrinking you. It wasn't finished, but even if it had been, I doubt you two would have brewed it correctly."
"So we're safe?" Ron asked happily.
"I guess that all depends on if you managed to brew a different potion," Severus answered with a shrug. "I'll have to analyse your potion, not only to find out what went wrong, but to see if there's going to be any consequences."
"There already is one consequence," Hermione hissed. "Draco is hurt."
"Can you get up, Draco?" Severus asked.
"I can try," Draco replied, making a show of getting to his feet with his girlfriend's help.
"You better run along to the hospital wing, Hermione can go with you," Severus said.
"Just wait until my father hears about this," Draco hissed as he and Hermione pushed past Harry and Ron to exit the classroom.
"I want everyone out of here except you two," Severus said, pointing to Harry and Ron. "You two are going to stay here and clean up this mess."
"What about ourselves? We're covered in potion," Harry argued.
"Which I will be taking samples of to determine what exactly you did wrong," Severus snapped as he pulled out his wand and siphoned off the worst of the potion from the two boys. "You can clean yourselves up properly once you're finished here. And of course, you have detentions until the end of the year, you've each lost fifty house points, and I will be reporting this incident to the headmaster. I am not happy."
"So what else is new?" Harry muttered as Severus stalked back towards his desk.
"I heard that Mr Potter," Severus called back. "That's another ten house points you've lost for back-chatting me. Now get on with cleaning up this mess, this potion is beginning to smell."
Stuck covered in foul smelling potion, which seemed to get worse as time passed, Harry and Ron were forced to clean the entire potions classroom before they were free to go. Although they were warned that it was not the end of the matter, and they were ordered to return to the dungeons after dinner, by which time Severus would have finished his analysis and would know why the potion exploded.