Staff Meeting
While the conversation between Harry and Sirius was going on, in the living room,
"Severus. I don't know if I'm more disappointed in your behavior towards Mr. Potter or Mr. Longbottom" Dumbledore said "I don't mind the pop-quiz, but singling Harry out was uncalled for. Especially since you knew that he was raised muggle and wasn't aware of our world until a full month before coming."
"At least Miss. Granger had time to memorize her books" Sprout said.
"What I don't get and would like an answer for, why did HARRY get the blame when NEVILLE'S potion exploded?
"He was working next to him and should have noticed" Snape said having a feeling that they wouldn't like the answer.
He was right.
"Paying more attention to his OWN Potions!" McGonagall exclaimed dangerously.
"Could the book have been exaggerating?" Moody suggested.
Figuring that the truth would be the only way to be let off relatively easy, Snape answered,
"No. It was correct with each quote." Snape said.
"It's no wonder Neville's terrified of you!" Remus gasped. "I figured SOMETHING was up that first lesson, but I didn't know it went back this far."
"And you didn't even GIVE Potter a chance to show you that he's more like his mother in personality." Flitwick pointed out.
"Severus, you came to me that afternoon complaining that Harry was 'mediocre, arrogant as James, a determined rule-breaker, delighted to find himself famous, attention-seeking, and impertinent'" Dumbledore said calmly quoting Snape. "However, from what it seems to me, some of those were yourself as well as what you wanted to see."
"Actually, some of it is a more accurate description of Mr. Malfoy" Sprout mused.
"Thank you for reminding me" McGonagall said. "Your blatant favoritism."
"You can't say you three don't show it" Snape said. "If I recall correctly, it was you, Minerva, who got Potter on the Quidditch team that year."
"WHOA!" Remus interrupted. "Harry got on his FIRST year?! I thought it was second."
"He didn't tell you?" McGonagall asked. "It should be discussed in the next chapter."
"Looking forward to that" Moody said.
"Anyways," McGonagall said turning to Snape. "I keep my Quidditch favoritism and my general favoritism separated. If you might recall Severus, that same year I took 150 points away from my Gryffindors." And a fraction of that from your Slytherin, but I'm not going to say that out loud in front of Remus.
Remus rose his eyebrows. That was a good chunk.
"Then explain why Slytherin seems to loose the most points between the three of you" Snape challenged glad he had an edge with the general houses. He knew that arguing about Potter was a loosing battle. Especially as the fact that their childhoods were ALMOST mirror images was disrupting his image of the boy.
"When your Slytherins deserve the points they will get them" Sprout said. "I can't tell you the number of your snakes I have caught goofing off in my Greenhouses. Malfoy being the ringleader as of late."
"I understand your need to favor him Severus" Flitwick said. "Between being his godfather and having to be close to the family for your job with the Order, but it's as Remus here pointed out. There's a line on how to treat students that are family. Private lessons are fine as are friendly chit-chat. But to show him off to make the other students feel…insubordinate… it's no wonder Mr. Malfoy struts around the school like he owns it."
"He's gotten better about that" McGonagall pointed out "Especially since Lucius lost his place in the school governors."
"Sir?" Remus asked seeing the headmaster deep in thought.
A loud bang from another room that sounded like someone hitting a table hard woke Dumbledore from his thoughts.
"Sorry" Dumbledore apologized. "I was just thinking. When I was at school, the Slytherins weren't near as…what's a good term for it?"
"Pompous?/Idiotic?/Selfish?" McGonagall, Sprout, and Flitwick suggested.
"I feel the love" Snape said sarcastically.
"Prone to the Dark Arts" Dumbledore said giving his older heads a look. "I noticed that about when Tom Riddle started learning and gathering followers, THAT was when the major shift formed. There was always a bit of a shift from the time when Salazar Slytherin left the school, but it wasn't until Riddle joined us when the goal of unity seemed so unreachable. It's every headmaster's goal to establish unity in the castle…so that the houses are merely to lower classroom sizes and to have FRIENDLY competition. I've been toying with the idea of getting rid of the house cup for a trial period and instead of points, just detentions and whatever the teacher comes up with. I will see what these books show, especially the fifth, sixth, and seventh books before I make my final decision."
The teachers nodded.
"Now Severus," Dumbledore said. "About Mr. Malfoy…"
Snape held up his hand.
"I'm way ahead of you Headmaster" Snape said. "I wasn't too pleased about reading the truth in Draco's first real conversations with Potter. Especially as the one on the train as it went against what Draco told me. I'm keeping a mental tally of the times Draco has lied to me. When I reach the final count, I will decide how to react to my godson."
"Very good" Dumbledore said "Anything else?"
"I have a question" Remus said. "how bad is the rest of the book on my nerves?"
"Let's just say," Sprout said with a chuckle. "From what I remember, if this book doesn't make you as grey as Albus, you will be by the end of the series."
"Great. Now I have to deal with an overprotective Padfoot" Remus groaned.
"Before we adjourn for bed," Dumbledore said. "Remus. I would like to apologize for not believing you when you were a muggle school councilor."
"I should have filed for that muggle social service worker before I got fired for missing too many days instead of the magical." Remus said. "Thank Merlin Harry hasn't figured it out yet."
The teachers left the room to see Harry going up the stairs and Sirius turning to his godson.
"Harry!"
Harry froze and turned to his godfather.
"I love you" Sirius told the boy.
Remus smiled which dropped suddenly when he saw the shocked look on Harry's face. The shock melted to a smile before Harry responded.
"I-I love you too" Harry said hesitantly before going upstairs.
"Nobody should hesitate with those four words" McGonagall said after a few moments of silence.
"How much did you hear?" Sirius asked.
"Just the sappy stuff" Snape said.
Sirius turned to the other teachers.
"How much of that was sappy?" Remus asked his friend as Sirius had once teased James about being sappy.
"You'd be surprised" Sirius said.
"Before I forget," Dumbledore said turning to Snape. "You might want to mention to Mr. Potter JUST how close you and Lily had been."
Snape looked ready to kiss a basilisk before doing that.
"You don't have to go into why your patronus is what it is. Just to mention to Harry that you were the one who introduced Lily to our world and that you two were friends until you had a slip of the tongue."
"If the situation calls for it, I'll tell him. But not before" Snape said.
