A/N: I don't own Harry Potter or any related characters

It took Severus nearly an hour to find Hermione and Draco. They'd holed up in an abandoned classroom on the fifth floor of the last corridor... the one that can only be accessed if the stairs thought one had need.

"Miss Granger?" Severus asked, knocking on the door. The door cracked open and Draco peeked his head out.

"Come on in. Hermione's working on our plan now."

Severus stepped into the classroom. There was a large whiteboard against one wall. He was certain it had previously been a chalkboard. Hermione was scribbling something on it, a list of some sort.

"Miss Granger?" he asked, trying to read her scrawling writing.

"Professor, did he say anything useful after Draco and I left?"

"No, he told me to talk some sense into you."

"What did you say to that?" she asked, adding another note onto the board. The marker in her hand changed color from red to blue as she wrote.

"I told him would speak to you immediately," Severus answered. Hermione looked over at him.

"And?"

"And I am currently speaking to you. It is, of course, not on the subject Dumbledore would like to believe, but I can safely say I spoke with you. What is all of this?"

"Plans," Hermione answered. "Plans to get Dumbledore out of the school, replace him with Professor McGonagall and expel Warrington for what he did to me," Hermione answered. Severus studied the board.

"And how exactly are you going to remove Dumbledore from the school?" Severus asked. Draco smiled, taking Hermione's hand.

"Simple," Draco stated. "My father will hear about this. He doesn't need to know who was assaulted, only that it happened and the idiotic man refuses to help the witch."

"Your father also told you to keep a low profile."

"I know, but this is more important than that. Hermione's safety is more important than what he wants. Once he hears about what happened, well, part of it, he'll have the board suspend Dumbledore while there is an investigation. In that time, the Deputy Headmistress will take over."

Severus nodded. He'd been worried Draco and Hermione might go about this half cocked, with their emotions influencing their moves. He had been worried this whole thing would end up blowing up in their faces. He should have known better. Draco always had been intelligent enough to follow some political strategy. He might make a decent minister some day.

"What do you need me to do?" Severus asked. Hermione turned and gave him a grim smile.

"For now, nothing. Mr. Malfoy will probably call on you, tell him the truth, leaving my name out of it for now. We all know how he feels about my heritage. For now, you're just protecting my identity," Hermione added. Severus nodded.

"Should I speak with Minerva?" he asked. Draco and Hermione glanced at each other.

"If you want to tell her what happened in the meeting, go ahead. We don't want her to know too much about our plans beforehand, just in case something goes wrong. She can also plead ignorance if things go sideways," Draco explained

"I will go see her now, let her know what happened during the meeting," Severus said, sweeping from the room. Hermione and Draco watched him leave.

"This is going work," she whispered, leaning against Draco.

"It will, it has to," he agreed, holding her close. The idea of this plan not working, of Warrington getting away with what he had done, made Draco's blood boil. If this didn't work, he'd make sure Warrington paid for his crimes himself.