Miss Rita Skeeter knew most who were acquainted with her would describe her as a complete and utter bitch. Well, her personal goal in life was to bring the great and the good down a few pegs, knock them off their pedestals. She could be accused of conducting a campaign of petty revenge, but the worst dregs of wizarding society would still refer to her as a jumped up mudblood. She was a halfblood in truth. Her father had kept a mudblood lover but in the interests of his family name and pureblood heritage, had refused to recognize his bastard child. She reflected on her relatives in the magical world with a sneer. She should have been a Flint, but she was an embarrassment to their good name. She put the final words on her two articles going to press tonight for tomorrow's edition of the Daily Prophet. Her spite and vitriol poured into the first article describing Hogwarts as a failing institution, doomed after the Peverell heir had removed the family trust. No more funding for muggleborns there. Skeeter herself had been the recipient of a full scholarship. She was grateful to her benefactor but seeing as he hated an despised the status quo as well, she felt no remorse in butchering her former alma mater.
The second piece was for the family section, written in a matter of fact tone, completely without her usual flourishes. A soupçon of sympathy sprinkled the article but in moderation. The piece detailing the home life of the supposed Chosen one. The truth was the boy had been treated with suspision and derision since returning to the Magical World at 11. His mother was painted as the neglectful bitch she had proved to be, but most of the article spoke of the Deatheater the 'sainted' Lily Potter had married who had abused the boy constantly at home and at school. Three ex-teachers had spoken out about the crimes of Severus Snape. Most daminig had been Remus Lupin, but Delores Umbridge and Alastor Moody had also catalogued the hazing, the unjust point taking, the serial detentions and the phyiscal and emotional abuse. Snape was a bitter, violent man, only free because of the personal vindication of his innocence by Albus Dumbledore, despite the fact he had been named during the trials by Igor Karkaroff, and on arrest proved to be a fully marked deatheater.
She remembered first meeting the Boy-who-lived during her coverage of the weighing of the wands ceremony during the Triwizard Tournament. The boy had reportedly proved to be justifiably courageous with his full oath sworn right after the drawing of the champions from the Goblet of Fire, in front of all, stating on his life and magic that he had not entered the competition nor had another enter for him. Quick thinking on his part had stopped anyone thinking of him as a cheat, but as a victim of some nefarious scheme. Most had thought the headmaster had done it to temper the Golden boy, who had so far at school failed to shine except academically. The Wizarding World wanted a hero not a swot. His oath had been backed by Professor Moody in no uncertain terms had spoken of a plot to kill the Boy-who-lived. She had been quite prepared to destroy the boy's reputation, but he was nothing like her expectations. The Potter's were known to be wealthy and the Widow still dressed in the finest of fashions, not that she was seen in public often, but the boy she interviewed was an urchin with second, maybe third hand robes, ill-fitting and broken muggle spectacles and worn out trainers on his feet. James Potter would be revolving in his grave to see his eldest, his heir dressed this way. As she talked to the boy of his shock entry into the competition in seclusion away from the hubbub in the main hall, the boy had stopped her mid flow. "You better wrap this up now. I've missed Potions and the Professor will be arriving any minute to make sure I do not sully his or my mother's good names." As soon as the words were out of the boy's mouth, the door had crashed open and the bat like visage of the Potions master had dragged the boy out of the side chamber with such force the boy's robes had ripped, Harry had back tracked fast across the room on his backside to but the maximum amount of space between himself and his teacher. She had then witnessed as the boy curled to protect himself as the man approached. The man had only stopped when he remembered he had an audience as the Judges, the representatives of the other schools and the ministry looked on. Only Mad-Eye had moved forward to protect the boy. No one said anything, as Severus Snape was the boy's guardian. The rumour was the Potter child needed firm hand. From Rita's stand point this was not discipline but abuse. The subtle control of Albus Dumbledore meant not a bad word could be published about his pet Deatheater.
She noted the Potter Boy had carefully stared at her, acknowledging the look of horror of the journalist's face at the scene before her was in marked contrast with uncomfortable, embarrassed or disdainful expressions of the other occupants of the room. She knew Snape's metal, he was a bully. Over that year she had corresponded with Potter, met his friends and grown to appreciate the boy's patience and depth of character. Small snippets of gossip made it to her, which she followed up. Then came her scoop at the end, the disappearance and murder of Cedric Diggory, the fact the notorious Deatheater Barty Crounch Junior lived and had masqueraded at Hogwarts all year, and then the fact Lord Black had been innocent and imprisoned without a trial. The true secret keeper alive having hidden in his animagus firm in the Gryffindor boy's dormitory, the pet of Ronald Wealsey.
Now she was planning her first book, the Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore, but first she would ruin Severus and Lily Snape's reputations. Her present piece only ghosted on Harry's unhappy home life. Her next piece would go in depth into the background of the man who had made their Chosen One's life a living hell at home and at school. The fact all stood by and allowed it to happen, even the boy's mother. The fact the Snape's had spent the generous allowance for the Potter heirs upkeep not on the boy but on themselves. Rita had copies of the accounts from Slug and Jiggers on Snape's expenditure, paid for by the Potter Accounts. The man was a thief as well. Rita then paused and jotted down some notes. She had spoken to Petunia Dursley, just before the family had emigrated to South Africa. Lilly Snape had not given her sister one knut for the nearly ten years to the woman who had brought up her son, while drawing the full allowance from her late husband's vaults to spend on herself and her lover/husband and then on Snape's daughters.
Minerva was called to Gringott's for an evening meeting. She was only acting Headmistress as the board were still undecided who would take the post. Minerva in reality did not want to step into Albus' shoes and hoped the Board would appoint someone new, from outside of the current staff. Severus and Filius were unlikely to even be considered. One too young and one not fully human. She, Poppy and Pomona did not want it. Her own favourite was Horace Slughorn. He was well liked by the staff and the ministry. A good stop gap, but unlikely to take it as he wished to return to retirement.
Minerva was shown into the office of Farnaringer, the holder of the Hogwarts accounts. He was a goblin of few words. He pulled up the accounts ledger and pointed to the current month's page. In the summer the accounts normally were slightly in the red, due to maintence expenditure before the fees were banked. This year, the proposed fees column was drastically lower. The goblin then in a low gravelly voice stated "Budget cuts are needed. Across the board, Staff have to go, or you all must take a pay cut. Projections put a 20% drop in revenue and in student numbers. Fees must rise, belts must be tightened."
Minerva looked over the account's before noticing, the fees from he Peverell-Hogwarts Trust were absent.
"There has been a mistake. The Muggleborn scholarships are missing." Minerva kept her cool. One always talked plainly to Goblin's, no need for courtesy or politeness.
"No trust fund. Lord Peverell has reassigned the funds." said the banker curtly.
"That is impossible, those funds have been assigned for generations! Who will provide the muggleborn scholarships now?" said the shocked scholar, her mind reeling on the thousands of galleons stripped from their accounts without warning or justification
"I just over see the accounts. You have to rebalance your budget. You have a month to reorganise the school's spending." The goblin then packed up the ledger before stating in a condescending tone. "I will be reassigned to more profitable work in September. Your new account manger will be a teller not a senior partner." and with that the small figure retreated from the office. Minerva knew the next Board meeting in three days would see her sacked for mismanagement for allowing this to happen.
Severus Snape looked at the watery scrabbled eggs, the burnt bacon and the soggy toast on the table. He then looked at his wife, there was a woman who should not have to cook. "Philomena, I think you should take over cooking duties for the rest of the summer." Hopefully his eldest daughter was a better cook than his wife. His owl, Diogenes, then swooped into the dining room with its mismatched chairs, china and cutlery. The fine mahogany table and chairs, the french china and silver tableware and cutlery were a thing of the past. Snape appreciated the finer things in life, he no longer could drink fine cognac or port, select wines from the Manor's cellar or afford those items from Fortnum's that he relished. Now they had to make do. He thought sourly of his stepson who had proved truly short sighted. The privations, restrictions and disciplining had been necessary to strengthen the boy;s character for his task ahead, The boy had to destroy the dark lord, had to sacrifice himself for all. Snape knew Potter's destiny, something he would never tell delicate Lily. Harry had no need for comforts, he was a weapon, forged in adversity. God help them, he had tried so hard but the boy was truly a Potter, spoiled and self-centred.
Lily looked tired as she read the paper. The headline screamed the usual tripe spouted by Rita Skeeter. The Prophet was a true rag these days. Lily paled, "Harry has given that woman an interview. It's a fairly balanced piece." Lily would have expected a much harsher piece from Rita Skeeter. In her words she found out that Harry was had taken his muggle exams and felt more connected with his Aunt rather than his mother and her husband. There was nothing in print that anyone at Hogwarts or in the Order did not know. Harry called Snape a harsh disciplinarian. That was kinder than she expected. The editorial was sharper and raked over the details. The Chosen One neglected and shunned at home. It could have been worse, a lot worse. In truth, Lily hated looking at her son. He looked so like James, her lost love. She had married Severus because he loved her deeply, she knew deep down she did not return his feelings, not with the same intensity. She never spoke of her first marriage but she had fallen deeply, passionately and truly in love with the grieving, intense James who she had shared Head duties with at school. Harry was so like his father; not the fool, the joker or the Quidditch player but that heart broken young man who had lost his family.