Severus decided that he had wasted enough time pondering the day's events at his desk. It was time for him to go speak with Minerva. Severus slowly pulled himself to his feet. From there, it took mere seconds for him to make his way around his desk, to the fireplace, and from there to floo to Minerva's office.

"Severus?" Minerva asked, looking up from the stack of paperwork on her desk. "This is unexpected– is everything alright?"

Severus took a moment to brush off any soot from the fireplace that might have clung to him. Then he looked up, made heavy eye contact with Minerva, and said, "No, everything is decidedly not alright."

Minerva frowned and waved her wand, exchanging the students chair in front of her desk for a much more comfortable chair. "Take a seat, then, and tell me what is going on."

Severus took the proffered seat and held his silence for a moment while he ordered his thoughts. "Today, during Potter's potions class, there was an incident," Severus began slowly.

"Potter's potion exploded, splashing onto everyone in his vicinity. Whatever it was, exactly, that Potter created, soaked through students' robes without a trace and caused a breakout of hives. I was able to administer an antidote to most of the afflicted students, but Potter was difficult about allowing me to treat him.

"He tried to slip out of the classroom before I had a chance to assess his situation. When I finally convinced him to show me his arms– the only place the potion had landed on him– I saw that his hands were wrapped in bandages. As I said, the potion in question will soak clear through any material without a trace, so it was clear that he must have had hives beneath the bandages.

"This complicated the situation, of course, because the presence of bandages implied that he had previously been treated for an injury. Depending on the treatment, there could be a dangerous interaction with the antidote I was using.

"Again, Potter was difficult, but I managed to convince him to let me see the injuries. His hands were still in poor shape, but worse than that, Potter informed me that he never went to Poppy for treatment. And after further persuasion, he finally told me that the injuries were caused by Umbridge."

As Severus had spoken, Minerva's countenance had grown darker and darker. When he finally fell silent, Minerva responded. "You mean to say that Umbridge has been hurting him– here? At Hogwarts? When– no, not… It must have been during those damned detentions."

"It was."

This caused Minerva's face to transform from grim fury to despondency. "I have failed that poor boy in so many ways," she whispered morosely. "I told him to keep his head down– I even reprimanded him further for getting more detentions, earlier in the school year. It is no wonder he never came to me."

Then Minerva cleared her throat, settling her expression into something more neutral. "I am sure that I do not want to know, but what, exactly, did she do to him?"

Severus braced himself for Minerva's inevitably poor reaction. "Umbridge forced him to use a Black Quill to write lines, and before you ask, the line was 'I must not tell lies'. And I am not sure what caused the injury on his other hand, but it looked to be a severe, localized burn."

At this, Minerva's countenance lost any neutrality it might have held and became downright thunderous. "You mean to say," Minerva said, her voice frighteningly calm, "that that– that– hag used a Black Quill on one of my students? In my school?"

Severus held his silence. With Minerva this angry, it was better to stay out of it until she had calmed down, at least until she was coherent again.

Minerva got up from her desk and began to pace around her office. It was cliche, but Severus was inexorably reminded of a lioness pacing in her cage.

"This cannot stand," Minerva finally said, after several long minutes of stalking around and muttering under her breath.

Severus nodded his agreement; that much was obvious.

"Albus is gone, and all of our positions are at risk because of that power-hungry bitch, so we will have to be extraordinarily careful about this," Minerva said. "I believe this is a situation that calls more for cunning and cleverness than bravery and valor–"

Just then, the fireplace flared a bright, emerald green. A moment later, Poppy's head appeared in the flames. Severus got to his feet and joined Minerva in standing by the fireplace.

"Poppy, what is it?" Minerva asked worriedly.

"Minerva– oh, Severus, if you're there, then Minerva, you must already know that Mr Potter is currently in my care, yes?" Poppy asked Minerva.

Minerva nodded brusquely.

"Good, that's less I have to explain. Potter was resting peacefully after I treated his hives, when Umbridge came sweeping into my infirmary and gave Mr Potter a detention because he did not address her when she came in, of all things! She scheduled it for this evening at seven o'clock, and he is certainly not well enough to attend detention with that– with her," Poppy spilled out in a rush. Then she took a deep breath and said, "Fix this."

Before Minerva or Severus could respond, Poppy turned to face Severus directly. "Oh, and Severus? I assume that the reason you wanted me to wait to release Potter until after you contacted me had something to do with this possibility?"

It had mostly been a tactic to delay telling Poppy about Umbridge until after Severus had discussed it with McGonagall. But he simply nodded, not wanting to waste time getting into that when they clearly had bigger problems.

Then Pomfrey glanced over her shoulder, deeper into the infirmary. "I have to go, but I expect Mr Potter to be able to rest peacefully this evening." With that, she cut off the connection, leaving Severus and Minerva alone in Minerva's office once again.

Minerva began pacing her office anew. She was muttering under her breath, and from the expression on her face, Severus was willing to bet that none of it boded well for Umbridge. Taking care to avoid her path, Severus resumed his seat in front of her desk.

Eventually, Minerva sighed and migrated back to her desk, sitting down. "As relieving as that was, we still have to figure out how the hell to fix this."

"Hold on," Severus said slowly. He had the beginnings of a plan forming in his mind. He didn't like the plan, per se, but it would solve their most pressing problems, and that was more important than what Severus wanted, at the moment.

While the pieces of the plan were falling into place, he realized that this plan would involve him publicly opposing Umbridge. He worried, for the briefest of moments, about how the Dark Lord would react to this, especially since Severus had spent so much time pretending to support her specifically to appease the Dark Lord.

But then Severus thought about it for a moment longer, and realized that the Dark Lord would react poorly to someone other than himself marking Potter permanently. So Severus thought that the Dark Lord could be made to see that there was a difference here, between opposing Umbridge and supporting Dumbledore.

And besides, if it came down to it, Severus could say that McGonagall had made him participate in the plan, which would be wholly believable thanks to the nature of it.

"What Umbridge is doing is undeniably illegal, yes?" Severus finally asked.

Minerva nodded slowly. "But we'll never get proof– with the current smear campaign against Potter, and his minor status, there is little chance his testimony will sway a courtroom."

Severus smiled grimly. "But my word and my experience would have a much better chance of swaying a court."

"Yes, but then Umbridge could argue that you were mistaken about the cause of the injuries– wait. Oh, Severus, surely you don't mean to–"

"It is the best plan. If I take Potter's place during his detention, then he will be spared from it. And by taking his place, I can gather the information we need to build a strong case against Umbridge," Severus said grimly.

"I cannot let you do this, Severus. There must be another way," Minerva said.

"If there is, I would love to hear it," Severus said, instinctively knowing that this was their best plan to accomplish all they needed to– namely, preventing Potter from enduring another torture session and gathering evidence to oust Umbridge from their school.

Minerva began to pace around her office again, muttering to herself this time. She kept going for far longer than she had before.

Eventually, she came to a halt and said, "I still do not like this, but I do have a suggestion. Poppy ought to be the one to file a complaint, she is well respected and her word is less easily dismissed– you know someone would argue that your former status as a Death Eater makes anything you say suspect."

"That will work," Severus said. "So, after the detention, I ought to go right to Poppy so she can gather the evidence necessary to file the report."

Minerva nodded firmly.

"Then our final step is that we must find something to do with Potter while I am impersonating him, because it is entirely too risky to have two people bearing his appearance in the building at the same time. We will also require some other items for me to impersonate him properly– like a lock of his hair, a replica of his wand and glasses, and a uniform," Severus said.

"That first one is easy– it is a Friday, so we can send Harry to Grimmauld Place to spend the night with Sirius. As for the second, I think we ought to try and get the hair without his knowledge. I have the feeling that he would object to this plan, and besides, the fewer people who know of the plan, the better."

"Then how do you suggest we get his hair?" Severus asked incredulously. "We are already running low on time, and we still need to retrieve some Polyjuice Potion, find a set of school robes, transfigure a replica of Potter's wand, and transfigure a replica of Potter's glasses," Severus listed off in a rush.

"Leave the hair to me. And I can handle the robes too, actually," Minerva said. She waved her wand and a full set of a Gryffindor uniform appeared on her desk. "There you are. Shall we split up so you can retrieve the potion and– do you have a clear enough image to transfigure the wand and glasses yourself?"

"I do."

"Then let us be off. Meet back here when we're done?" Minerva asked.

Minerva's office was much more centrally located than Severus's was, so it made the most sense. He nodded and turned to floo back to his office.

Once there, his actions finally caught up with him. He had volunteered to take Potter's place for what was essentially a torture session with Umbridge. Severus knew why he had done it: he'd sworn to protect Potter, Potter was a mere child, they needed evidence against Umbridge, and other reasons that were not as easy to articulate.

But it was still difficult to wrap his mind around the decision that he had made.

Severus forced himself to push away thoughts of what was to come so that he could focus on what he needed to do in the moment. He needed to collect the Polyjuice Potion and the things he would be transfiguring: a stirring rod, and a pair of sunglasses.

It took him no time at all to collect the items. He sat down at his desk and transfigured the sunglasses into Potter's glasses first, since that was the easier task of the two. Then he closed his eyes for a moment and built as clear a visual of Potter's wand as he could manage. When he was satisfied, he waved his wand and transfigured the stirring rod.

He now held a reasonable replica of Potter's wand. He stowed it, along with the glasses and the Polyjuice Potion, in his pockets and set off for Minerva's office again.

When he arrived, the office was still empty. Severus walked back over to Minerva's desk and set the replicas of Potter's possessions onto the stack of the uniform. Then he sat back down in the visitor chair and settled in to wait for Minerva to return.

In the silence of Minerva's empty office, his thoughts turned back to what he would soon be facing.

He would have to really sell his performance as Potter, because they couldn't risk Umbridge becoming suspicious. They hadn't yet had time to build a substantial case against her, and if she discovered their plan she could fire them, thus ending any opportunity they would have to protect their students or build a case against her.

Which meant that Severus needed to construct a mental image of how Potter acted in detention, so he could have something to base his performance off of.

The hours Severus had spent supervising Potter in detention were finally coming in handy. Severus looked back on those memories, focusing particularly on the more recent ones since they would be the most likely to still be reflective of Potter's behavior.

As he looked back, Severus was startled to realize that Potter tended to put his head down and just get through it. Particularly when he was in detention alone and without his friends– like this detention with Umbrige would be.

Severus brought himself back to the present. He was oddly disappointed by this revelation– he would have liked to have been able to do something, anything at all, besides sit there in Potter's place and grit his teeth. But given that Potter was supposed to be going to the detention straight from the Hospital Wing, it didn't make any sense for him to be more rebellious than normal.

So Severus was going to have to do what Potter would do– grit his teeth and bear it.

At least it would be manageable. Because if Potter, a fifteen year old boy, could manage to bear it, then Severus, a grown adult with heavy experience in surviving unpleasant things, could manage just fine.

And then, once Severus was done with the detention, he would be able to go straight to Poppy, and they could proceed to bring about Umbridge's downfall. This would be a pleasant enough thought to carry him through the detention.

The door to McGonagall's office opened. "Severus?" Minerva asked as she closed the door behind her.

"Here," Severus said, twisting around in the chair.

"Ah, good, you are back. I have managed to discreetly acquire his hair. All we need to do now is decide on the logistics of getting Mr Potter out of the building and replacing him with you," Minerva said. Then she added, "Oh, and we do need to eat."

"And one of us needs to inform Poppy of whatever we decide regarding removing Potter from the situation," Severus said.

"If you go eat in the Great Hall, Severus, I can go eat with Poppy– something I often do– to update her, and your presence in the Great Hall should prevent Umbridge from getting suspicious."

Severus was not particularly a fan of eating in the Great Hall on a day like this, but he could recognize the wisdom in the plan, so he nodded.

"The detention is at seven, so we have little time to plan before you need to make an appearance at dinner," Minerva said.

"Very well. I ought to go to the Hospital Wing to take the Polyjuice Potion, so I can leave as Potter and head directly to the detention. That means that Potter must be gone by the time I arrive," Severus said.

"And I can carry the things you will need to augment your impersonation myself, because it is best for you not to be carrying those things and the Polyjuice Potion at the same time. I will leave them in Poppy's office for you."

"You ought to warn the mutt about our plan while you're in Poppy's office," Severus said reluctantly.

"Good plan," Minerva said. "I shall make sure to do that after I catch Poppy up, but before we go to eat with Potter. Oh, and I almost forgot– Potter's hair." She held out a small, clear bag that contained a few strands of dark hair.

Severus accepted the bag, and then pulled out the bottle of Polyjuice Potion he'd acquired from his office. He uncorked the bottle with one hand and dropped the hairs in with the other, then re-corked the bottle. He would need to drink from the bottle during the detention, and so he transfigured it into a standard– though opaque– water bottle, which he placed into one of his many pockets for the time being.

A comfortable silence had fallen between him and Minerva. Severus searched his brain for anything that they might have missed or neglected to account for. A lot was at stake with this plan, so they needed to execute it as perfectly as possible. Severus refused to put his bodily health in danger for anything less.

"Can you think of anything we've missed?" Minerva asked.

Severus paused, then slowly shook his head. "I think we have planned for everything we possibly can. And of course, we will have the ability to improvise and adapt if things start to go awry."

"Of course."

Minerva got to her feet, and so did Severus.

"We ought to be on our way, then," Minerva said.

Severus nodded. He stuck his hand out for Minerva to shake, and she grabbed it firmly. But then she pulled on his hand and wrapped her arms around him in a hug.

"Thank you for doing this," she whispered.

Then she released the hug and cleared her throat. Severus was still slightly stunned from the hug, so he continued to stand, silent.

"Right, well. I am off to see Poppy," Minerva said. Then she turned and walked out of her office.

Severus immediately pulled himself out of his stupor and, after taking a moment to collect himself, he strode out of Minerva's office and towards the Great Hall.

Severus slipped out of the Great Hall a bit before the end of dinner. He'd managed to show up in time to avoid sitting next to Umbridge, so he'd managed to have a relatively peaceful meal.

Now he was heading through the hallways to the Hospital Wing. He thought he had managed to time his departure well enough that Minerva should have gotten Potter to Grimmauld Place, meaning that Severus should also have enough time to get into disguise, but if he hadn't, there was not much he could do about it now.

Thankfully, when Severus cracked open the door to the infirmary, he was greeted with silence. He pushed the door the rest of the way open and strode over to Poppy's office, where Minerva ought to have left his supplies.

"Poppy?" he called, knocking on the door.

"Come in, come in," Poppy called from inside.

Severus pushed his way inside. Poppy was seated at her desk, filling in some paperwork. Without looking up, she gestured to one of the desk chairs. "Minerva left some things for you there."

Sure enough, there on the chair were the things he was going to need. Severus picked up the pile and looked back at Poppy. She had already returned to her work, so Severus quietly slipped out of her office, so as to not disturb her.

Severus walked over to one of the beds surrounded by privacy curtains and pulled them shut behind him. Then he set the clothing items onto the bed and cast a temporary expansion charm on them. He had no desire to see more of Potter's body than he had to, so he would be changing into the uniform before taking the Polyjuice Potion.

With all the parts of his disguise acquired and prepared, there was no reason to delay any longer. He quickly doffed his own teaching attire and pulled on the temporarily enlarged uniform. Then he pulled the Polyjuice Potion out of his pocket and forced down a large swallow.

Immediately, his stomach began to writhe. This was followed by the sensation of his skin melting like hot wax as it rearranged itself. Deep in his bones, he felt a painful pressure as his body reformed itself into Potter's.

The first thing he noticed was how abominably blurry everything was. Severus grabbed the transfigured glasses from the pile on the bed and set them on his face. Then he retrieved his own wand from the pocket of his robes, which were on the bed, and cast a spell to adjust the prescription on the glass.

Now able to see properly, Severus was momentarily surprised by how very small Potter was. Objectively, he knew that Potter was small– he saw the boy often enough to know that. But it was another thing entirely to view the world from this lower perspective.

Then Severus looked down at Potter's hands– his hands, now– and was relieved to see that the hives had been removed without a trace, and that the other injuries on Potter's hands were at least healed, though badly scarred.

When the uniform automatically resized itself to fit, conforming to his new, smaller stature, Severus cast Tempus.

He was beginning to run low on time. He shoved both his replica wand and the water bottle containing the Polyjuice Potion into the uniform pocket. He carefully placed his wand into the pocket of his teaching robes, and then folded the robes into a compact stack of cloth.

On his way out of the Hospital Wing, Severus stopped by Poppy's office to drop off his robes and wand. He had little desire to risk Umbridge finding his belongings on Harry Potter– that was the last thing they needed, for Umbridge to accuse Potter of thievery.

Severus was not at all a fan of being in Umbridge's presence without a functioning wand. He had to admit, though, that it was likely for the best that he would not have the capability to give into an urge to attack or retaliate against her.

Severus exited the infirmary and began to hurry towards Umbridge's office, mostly driven by his reluctance to make things worse for himself by being late. After he had strode confidently down several hallways, he realized that he was still walking like himself.

He slowed for a moment, trying to recall how Potter walked. A quick scan of his memories seemed to suggest that Potter tended to walk with his shoulders hunched and his head down.

Severus quickly adopted the new pose and resumed his walk to Umbridge's office, though he found it odd that Potter didn't strut around like he owned the place, as he would have said Potter did, if anyone was to ask. Severus's scan of his own memories precluded the influence of expectations, though, so he knew his observations had been accurate.

Realizing that he had slowed again, Severus refocused on maintaining an imitation of Potter's demeanor and continued walking.

In no time at all, Severus found himself standing outside Umbridge's office door. He came to a halt and stared at the nameplate.

What he had agreed to do– what he had suggested– was just now starting to feel real. Severus had agreed to take Potter's place in this detention, knowing what Umbridge did, knowing that he would essentially be sacrificing himself for Potter.

And no one had pushed him into it.

But at this moment, he was out of time, and there was no way to back out of it now. Severus took in one last deep breath and knocked on the door.

AN: so im not sure what happened with the last chapter, but there was a pretty dramatic drop in the number of reviews I got on it compared to the number I got on the first two. that didn't feel great, so I'd really appreciate it if we could get back to where we were at before :D