"Hey, Draco?"
"What?"
"You're a teacher at Hogwarts, right?"
"Hmm."
"Are you also the Slytherin Head of House?"
"Potter, are you insinuating that just because most of our peers thought I was the living embodiment of the Slytherin House that I'd automatically become the next Snape?"
"...Maybe."
"Unbelievable."
"So, you're not the Head of Slytherin?"
"Of course I am, don't be ridiculous."
"Then why get all pissy about me assuming?"
"Because you know what they say about assuming, Potter. And besides, I only accepted the position because if I hadn't, Theodore Nott would have been asked instead."
"That git is a professor? What does he teach?"
"Ancient Runes, if you can believe it. He's actually quite brilliant when it comes to his subject. It's every other aspect of life that he's incompetent in."
Harry snorts.
"I can believe that. So, are you the next Snape?"
It's Draco's turn to snort.
"Hardly. I like to think that I'm more fair than my godfather, but everyone else will say that I'm biased towards my House."
"Who isn't?"
"Exactly! My poor little freaks. They'd be so lost without me."
"Draco, I'm sure they'd be fine."
"No, you don't understand. If they had Nott, or any other Slytherin as a House Head, they'd end up like I did."
"...Meaning?"
"Meaning, I'm slowly trying to teach my kids that blood status isn't everything, that just because every Dark wizard was a Slytherin doesn't mean that every Slytherin is a Dark wizard. It doesn't help that the entire school treats them like they're all evil."
"...Like everyone at Hogwarts treated you and all the other Slytherins, you mean."
"I was only treated the way I was because of how I acted. By the time I learned that I wasn't better than Weasley or Granger or anyone else just because both of my parents were rich and magical, it was too late for me to undo the damage I'd done. I'm trying to make sure that the next generation of Slytherins doesn't do the same."
"That's very good of you."
"Yes, well, it's also very exhausting. I like to think I've made a lot of progress with the Slytherins, but the other houses still don't treat them like they're a part of the student body. Just last month one of my First Year girls was reduced to tears because a Hufflepuff Sixth Year told her that she'd never amount to anything better than a Death Eater. All she had done was laugh when her friend tripped."
"That's terrible."
"Tell me about it. I invited her to my office and gave her tea, but it was still almost half an hour before she managed to compose herself."
"I can't believe a Hufflepuff said that to her. Hufflepuffs are supposed to be the nice ones!"
"See what you did just now?"
"What?"
"Stereotypes. Generalization. It's not good. Hufflepuffs aren't 'the nice ones', as you so innaccurately put it. Hufflepuffs aren't sorted into their house because they're nice, just like Ravenclaws aren't Ravenclaws because they're smart."
"What is it, then, that determines what House you go into?"
"What you value. Someone could be the smartest eleven year old in their whole year, but if they think that being brave and chivalrous is the most important thing to them, they'll become a Gryffindor."
"Like Hermione."
"Exactly. Ravenclaws value knowledge and learning, Gryffindors value daring and courage, Hufflepuffs value loyalty and fairness, and Slytherins value ambitiousness and cleverness. It's not the Slytherins' fault that their House is based off of traits that make the best Dark wizards."
"Wow. That's pretty deep, Draco."
"I know. It took me almost an hour to think all that up."