Disclaimer: Only the premise of this story belongs to me – the whole HP universe most obviously belongs to JK Rowling. I just like taking it all out to play with for a little while :-) - ES

Chapter 31

Albus was angry, no, furious! After McGonagall's announcement this morning, he had requested a Staff Meeting for later in the day. 'How dare she!' he thought to himself. 'Harry is not supposed to have this many friends, he's supposed to be isolated and lonely. All my plans were for naught!' He tried to get his emotions under control, but was having some difficulty as he had never had one of his pawns move against his plans in such a fashion before. And to have his Deputy Headmistress make such an announcement at breakfast! He was caught completely off-guard but clapped with the rest of the staff, eye-twinkle in full force while inside he was fuming. He had to gain control over the boy again if his plans were to reach fruition. That was why he called the Staff Meeting – he would find out the reason his Deputy had made such a decision without his knowledge and hopefully put a stop to what he saw as the boy's meddling with his plans.

Later that afternoon, in the Staff Room...

Albus arrived as the others were settling into their seats. Taking his seat at the head of the table, he appeared to survey his staff. In reality, he was using Legilimency to try and see what they were all thinking. Many appeared surprised that he had called this meeting on such short notice, although Professors Snape and McGonagall seemed to have expected something like this, and looked to be slightly wary. Done with his mental probing, he called the meeting to order.

"I know that you are all wondering why I have called this meeting." at their nods, he continued, "I was concerned over the formation of these all-house common rooms." at their shocked faces, he said "Perhaps, Minerva, you can explain why you felt the need to do this without consulting the rest of us?"

"Albus, you cannot be serious!" exclaimed McGonagall, "Inter-house unity is something we have always worked towards, and I thought you, of all people, would encourage the dissipation of animosity between the students. There have been several altercations in the past few years, especially between Slytherin house and Gryffindor house, that required treatment at St. Mungo's due to their severity. I stand by my decision and, as you well know, it is within my responsibilities to oversee such a thing. Do any of you object to the formation of these all-house common rooms?" she asked her colleagues.

"I, for one, approve such a novel approach to solving the sometimes open hostilities between the houses. This school was formed to bring people together, not drive them apart!" squeaked Flitwick, as the others nodded at his words.

"Besides, Albus, there was some consultation – I was the one to help Mr. Potter with this idea and sent him to see Minerva last evening. I am quite proud that he wants to interact with other students, regardless of house affiliation. The child already has friends in each of the houses and it is my hope that the others will see this as an example of how they should interact, instead of the open hostility that many of them have against Slytherin." said Snape.

"You are quite right, Severus." Madam Pomfrey chimed in, "In the years since the war against You-Know-Who started, the amount of students I have seen for injuries from these petty inter-house rivalries has dramatically increased. At least, this way, there is a chance for better relations between them. And who knows, maybe the upper years will see this and stop trying to hex each other in the hallways." Pomfrey said hopefully.

"I feel that this is a great way for the students to get together, without having to crowd into the library or go outside. And I'm sure that Minerva has put some alarms on the rooms in case of any incidents." at this McGonagall nodded so Professor Sprout continued, "I'm glad to see some of my Puffs are among young Mr. Potter's friends. As you know, my house is known for loyalty and hard-work. That shouldn't mean that they are loyal to only themselves, however, and I am pleased that Mr. Potter has been able to cross the lines of House affiliation to make some friends. It sets a good example of what they can do if they work together, instead of working against each other."

"I would like to mention that I have seen an increase in all of Mr. Potter's friends as far as academic achievement, as well, so it seems that Pomona is quite right. Mr. Potter and everyone in his little group of friends have the highest scores in all their classes, and show themselves proficient at the practical work as well, according to all of your reports." stated McGonagall, while the others nodded in agreement.

"It appears that they, too, have discovered the benefits of working together, even if they have not outwardly acknowledged such a thing. I'm glad that one of my Snakes had the courage to approach his fellow students and form such a group. I think we can expect great things from Mr. Potter." Snape said.

"Well, it appears that everyone is in concurrence about this, Albus. Do you still wish to question my decision about these all-house common rooms? Or are you satisfied with our explanations?" said McGonagall, in a voice that brooked no argument.

"No, my dear, you have explained it quite well. I just wanted to make sure that this was a thought-out plan and not an attempt to create more opportunities to fight without supervision." Dumbledore said.

His response, while sounding like he was agreeable, left more than a few of the teachers a little upset. Dumbledore closed the meeting and left to return to his office. While the others were departing, McGonagall approached Snape.

"Severus, could we meet in your quarters later? I would like to resume our game of chess. As I remember, you are one game up on me and I would like to chance to remedy that situation." McGonagall asked.

Snape knew by this that she wanted to have a private conversation with him, and acquiesced, "My dear Minerva, if you should wish to lose again, who am I to stop you? I will see you at 8?"

McGonagall nodded, knowing that Snape had gotten the idea, and would speak with her later.

Severus Snape's quarters, later that evening...

Snape turned to the door as a knock was heard. Glancing at the clock, he saw that it was eight o' clock. Waving his wand, the door opened to reveal Minerva McGonagall. Gesturing for her to enter, he turned back and sealed the door after her with another wave of his wand and went to join his guest in front of the fireplace, where the chess table was already set up.

"So, Minerva, what can I do for you this fine evening?" asked Snape, as he poured them both a dram of scotch.

"Well, Severus, I am hoping you can shed a little light on the mystery that is Harry Potter. I'm also hoping that I'm not wrong in assuming that you, too, are a little suspicious of the headmaster taking so much interest in the boy." said McGonagall.

"You're quite right, I have noticed his concern for the child. As for the mystery of Harry Potter, you'll have to be more specific." answered Snape.

"It's just, I know that he was raised by Petunia and have heard a few reports from Arabella that Harry was very shy and quiet."

"Wait, you mean Arabella Figg from the Order?"asked Snape, "How would she know what Harry is like?"

"Apparently, Dumbledore placed her near the Dursleys in Little Whinging to keep an eye on him. Again, this is just something to add to the list of things that Dumbledore has done to interfere with Mr. Potter's life." replied McGonagall.

"What do you mean by that? Has he interfered in other ways that you know of Minerva?"

"Well, you know that Lily didn't get along with Petunia, regardless of her attempts to." Snape nodded at this, "Lily told me once that Petunia and she had been quite close, but that it was magic that came between them. So, I'm pretty sure that she would not have left her obviously magical son to Petunia's care. After their parents were killed, they had a very public falling out at the funeral and she didn't think they would ever make it up. I attended the funeral myself and remember that argument, Petunia claimed that it was Lily's fault that they were targets of some mass-murdering psycho. Of course, she knew it was You-Know-Who, but couldn't say that because of the Statute of Secrecy. Because of that, I very highly doubt that they were on the list of guardians in the Potters' will. So, I started to have doubts as to Albus' intentions towards the boy." Snape gestured for her to continue. "My doubts were solidified when I overheard Arabella giving Albus a report on the boy. She said that he appeared quite small for his age and was often bruised. Albus brushed it off as children's horse-play and said that he was sure that Harry would hit his growth spurt, he was just young." Snape appeared shocked that Dumbledore would not investigate the boy's well-being. He had assured Snape many times over the years that the boy was hidden and well-taken care of. If what McGonagall said was true (and he had no reason to doubt it), Dumbledore had not only lied to him, but had placed the boy in a home that was quite unfit!

At Snape's shocked look, McGonagall continued, "Now these doubts have changed to suspicion as I see the way he is reacting to the boy – first because he is a Slytherin, and then over the fact that he has friends in all the houses. It is ridiculous the amount he is trying to control this child's life! I mean, I'm glad that he showed up looking fine and is in your house, as I know how protective you are of your Snakes. But his attitude toward anything to do with the boy is out of control!" exclaimed McGonagall.

Once Snape found his voice, he replied "I also have suspicions towards the headmaster's involvement in his life, but I had no idea of the level of manipulation he has sunk to with regards to even his home placement! Albus assured me that he was well-taken care of! To put the child with Petunia and not even check up on him! He has a lot to answer for." McGonagall nodded at this, a sad look on her face. "However,"Snape continued, "We cannot do anything about it right now. You have my word I will speak with young Mr. Potter and assure that his home-life amenable before he returns to that house." Seeing McGonagall about to protest, he said, "Minerva, we simply do not have any evidence that would be admissible. The best thing for us to do is watch out for the child, and encourage the other teachers to do the same. By all reports, he is well-liked by all of them, something I haven't seen since his mother was a student here, and hopefully they will all do right by him. His friends will also stand with him and most of the school has already noticed that he does not fit their previous definition of a Slytherin – he seems to have qualities that would have placed him in any of the houses, but his ambition won out and so he's a Slytherin. I must say, he is quite ambitious if one considers that his study group comes from all houses and has already stood together against others." concluded Snape.

"What do you mean by that last statement, Severus?" queried McGonagall.

"I trust you have noticed Mr. Weasley's attitude towards Mr. Potter?" seeing her nod, he continued, "Well, it appears that Mr. Weasley takes great offense to Mr. Potter's friendship with the other students when Mr. Potter turned that same friendship with him down on the train ride here. You see, Mr. Weasley insulted Mr. Malfoy at their first meeting, and Mr. Potter already considered him a friend, so he gave Mr. Weasley an earful and sent him on his way. From the very first day, I have witnessed this antagonism between them. Mr. Potter refuses to submit to him, and his friends do the same. They have already defended Mr. Potter to him and refuse to listen to him putting the others down." explained Snape.

"I have witnessed some of this behavior, and have had Weasley in detention already for his bad attitude. As you know, I am in charge of detentions and parent contact for such things, and have put him in detention, or had others do so for this. Albus assured me that the Weasley boy's heart is in the right place, when I spoke to him about it, and asked me to let me off the hook, as it were. I'm thinking that if I send a note to Molly, she will protest to Albus as well. Maybe I'll send a note to Arthur instead, he seems to be the more reasonable of the two. This behavior of his needs to stop before it escalates." said McGonagall.

"I'll trust you to handle that, then Minerva. In the meantime, I'll speak to Pomona and Poppy about keeping an eye out for Mr. Potter. I'd appreciate it if you could speak to Filius and Aurora about doing the same. In case you're wondering, I wouldn't bother asking Cuthbert – he barely notices he has students at this point, while Argus and Hagrid report directly to Dumbledore, so would be no help to us. I already know that Irma has been watching over Mr. Potter and his group due to the large amount of time they spend in the library, and she has assured me that she has his best interests at heart." concluded Snape.

McGonagall nodded at his statement.

"Now, then, if there's nothing else, let's get to this rousing chess game! I look forward to having two wins over you."Snape smirked, as he refilled their glasses and turned to the chess table.