Throughout the Easter holidays, McGonagall tried to decide on the best course of action to take with the book of Hermione's that had fallen into her possession. Although the truth was that despite her initial rash vow to fight back against the dark, she just couldn't see a way of doing it. McGonagall was a smart woman, and she was well aware that the way Voldemort had gone about things this time had made it harder to gather supporters to rise up against him. Even those who didn't believe he and his family could be trusted were reluctant to fight as at the moment the wizarding world was at peace. Voldemort wasn't waging a war, and no-one wanted to ignite one.
As much as McGonagall wanted to do something with the book in her possession, she didn't know what. It was clear that Hermione was gearing up to have some sort of say in the running of Hogwarts, and even though McGonagall didn't like it, she had to admit the dark weren't doing anything wrong. The truth was with the Minister of Magic little more than a stooge for Voldemort and his family, they were well within their rights to do anything they wished with Hogwarts. McGonagall just had to find a way to make sure that they didn't get rid of her as they obviously planned to.
By the end of the Easter holidays, McGonagall had settled on a plan of action, although she didn't really know if it would work. She would have tried implementing it over the holidays, but as it turned out she'd seen very little of the headmaster over the break. The couple of times she had seen Severus in school, he'd been busy and she hadn't been able to catch him alone. She had been hoping to catch him on the last day of the holidays, as the students who'd gone home for Easter were travelling back to Hogwarts, but there'd been no sign of him until the feast on the evening.
Not wanting to miss the opportunity to try out her plan of action, McGonagall headed to the headmaster's office as soon as she could after dinner. Severus had left The Great Hall slightly early, and she was just hoping that it hadn't been to go home. It was common knowledge that Rosmerta was pregnant, and while McGonagall didn't know when she as due, last time she'd seen her down at Hogsmeade she looked to be getting near to the end of her pregnancy. Fortunately when McGonagall knocked on the headmaster's door, Severus's voice called out for her to enter. Unfortunately, the headmaster wasn't alone when McGonagall entered the room. Hermione was sitting in front of his desk, and she did not look happy with the interruption.
"Minerva, what can I do for you?" Severus asked politely.
"I wish to discuss something of a delicate nature," McGonagall answered. Settling down in the chair beside Hermione, she pulled the notebook out of her robes.
"Hey, that's my book," Hermione cried. "I've been looking for it all holidays."
"It was found in the library," McGonagall said, carelessly passing the book back to Hermione.
"Thank you for returning it, Minerva," Severus said. "Now, if that's all, we're in the middle of something."
"I took the liberty of looking inside the book while it was in my possession," McGonagall said.
"I bet you did, you nosey old bag," Hermione muttered.
"I'm very pleased I did," McGonagall continued, ignoring Hermione. "It contained a lot of interesting information. Information I'm sure the public will be keen to know."
"I doubt that," Hermione laughed. "It's merely a few notes I've made about the staff, using my experience as a student. Why would anyone be interested by that?"
"They will be when things you've noted start to come true," McGonagall replied. "Your notebook may not outline exactly what you're up to, but it's clear enough that you're going to be involved in staffing issues. I'm not sure how many parents will be happy knowing their children's education is in the hands of a teenager."
"Just what are you saying, Minerva?" Severus questioned.
"In that book is a section about me," McGonagall said. "Hermione notes I'm a good Professor, which I am. Yet she still plans to get rid of me."
"So?" Hermione retorted with a shrug, seemingly unconcerned that her plan to fire the Transfiguration Professor had been exposed. "I did note my reasons for your dismissal."
"You did," McGonagall agreed with a nod. "But I am unwilling to leave Hogwarts without a fight. Hogwarts has been my life from before you were born. I am a good Professor, you admitted it yourself. There is no just cause for sacking me."
"So you're warning us that if we terminate your contract, you'll be fighting it?" Severus asked in confusion. To be honest he'd always expected McGonagall would fight her sacking, but it seemed strange for her to pre-warn them.
"You'll not be sacking me, Severus," McGonagall replied with a slight smile. "Not unless you want the contents of Hermione's book to be made public."
"You've just given it back to me," Hermione laughed. "You don't have the contents anymore."
"On the contrary, I kept a copy," McGonagall returned with a smug smile.
"I still don't get the big deal," Severus said. "So what if Hermione's book is made public? Do you really think it'll matter?"
"I do," McGonagall answered with a nod. "Oh, I'm sure you can spin a good explanation about why she's making notes on the staff, but by then the damage could already have been done. As I said earlier, I can't see the general public been happy that the staffing at Hogwarts is determined by a teenager. It'll cause unrest and distrust in the community."
"We can deal with unrest," Hermione answered with a shrug.
"But would your father want to deal with it?" McGonagall asked. "He's gone about things very differently this time. He's created a scenario where people have no reason to fight him. Yet as I'm sure you're all aware, all it takes is for one spark and the past tensions are reignited. It won't take much to remind people of just what your father is capable of, and how much of a danger he poses to our world. The question is, do you want to be responsible for possibly starting a full on war, Hermione?"
"I doubt the contents of my notebook would result in a war," Hermione sniffed haughtily.
"But are you willing to take that risk?" McGonagall questioned.
"What do you want?" Hermione asked through clenched teeth, knowing that McGonagall was right and the slightest thing could change the way the wizarding world perceived her father and their family.
"Simple, I want to keep my job," McGonagall answered. "I think the students deserve to have at least one member of staff that isn't controlled by your family."
"And why would we keep someone on staff who's spent the last couple of years being nothing but a disruptive force?" Severus questioned.
"To keep me quiet," McGonagall replied, shooting Severus a triumphant smile. "I'm less trouble on the staff, believe me."
"And if we let you carry on teaching?" Hermione asked. "What then?"
"Nothing," McGonagall replied. "Things carry on the way they've always been. I will continue to be the best Professor I can be, and to be there for the students, and I keep quiet about your notes."
"Fine," Hermione conceded. "You can keep your job."
"Just like that?" McGonagall asked, suddenly worried that it had been far too easy to bend Hermione and Severus to her will.
"Just like that," Hermione confirmed with a nod of her head. "You're right, leaking my notes could cause problems we don't need. And you're also right about your abilities as a Professor. You're one of the best we've got, and it won't hurt Hogwarts to have such an experienced Professor on the staff. I'm willing to admit I was hasty in choosing to get rid of you, and I'm happy to relent and let you keep your job."
"Now that's sorted, is there anything else?" Severus asked McGonagall.
"I don't think so," McGonagall answered, her head swimming from how fast Hermione had conceded defeat. She'd been prepared for a long fight, but it had taken less and half an hour to ensure she kept her job.
"In that case, my sister and I were in the middle of a private meeting," Severus said.
"I'll be going." Rising to her feet, McGonagall made it all the way to the door, before she turned back to the pair of siblings. "Oh, another thing. You'd also earmarked Sybill Trelawney to get rid of."
"No," Hermione interrupted. "She's going. I'm willing to make an exception for you, because you actually are a competent Professor, but that woman is a fraud. She delights in trying to scare people, and I won't stand for it."
"She's lucky she's still here," Severus added when McGonagall opened her mouth to protest. "It wasn't until after I'd given everyone the chance to stay on the staff that I discovered what she was really like. I'm sorry Minerva, but we won't change our minds on this one. You've kept your job, so don't push your luck. Not a lot of people get away with blackmailing the children of The Dark Lord. Consider yourself very fortunate."
McGonagall nodded her head as she turned and left the headmaster's office. What Severus had said was right, she was fortunate to have gotten away with her risky strategy of blackmailing him and Hermione. Although she couldn't for the life of her work out why they'd given in so easily. To be honest, she wasn't even sure her arguments were that persuasive, and she doubted making Hermione's notes public would cause that much fuss. So why had they backed down and let her remain on the staff when they could have called her bluff and gotten rid of her? McGonagall wasn't sure, but she was sure that she would have to be on her guard. People who angered the dark tended to end up dead, and she had no intention of ending up like Ron Weasley or Poppy Pomfrey.
C.O.T.D.
"Bitch," Hermione snarled, glaring at the door McGonagall had just swept out of. She'd been in her brother's office to discuss her thoughts of training new, younger members of staff, but they'd barely had a chance to begin before they'd been interrupted. "How dare she blackmail us?"
"And just how did she get away with it?" Severus asked his sister. "Why did you back down and let her keep her job?"
"Because the old cow was right," Hermione admitted with a sigh. "My notes might not be much, but they could be the spark to ignite a rebellion. With Lottie and your baby due any day now, we don't need a full scale war. I didn't like it, but I gave in to keep the peace. Besides, it's only for another year or two."
"And you think she'll then retire peacefully?" Severus asked with a disbelieving chuckle. "In wizarding years, she's not that old, Hermione. She's only about father's age, and he's still got plenty of life left in him. Then look at Dumbledore, he was over a hundred and he would have carried on teaching for years if father hadn't killed him. I hate to say it, but I don't think you'll be getting rid of Minerva in the next few years."
"I will," Hermione answered with confidence. "My notes might cause a stir at the present moment, but they won't forever. In a couple of years once everything is in place, the Ministry will announce the new changes to the school systems. It'll be common knowledge that I'm leading the revolution, so McGonagall will have no ammunition to hurt us with. All she's done is earned herself a couple more years of working here. Her days are still numbered, she just doesn't realise it yet."
"Very impressive," Severus chuckled in admiration. "I always underestimate how devious you can be, Hermione."
"You would think by now you would know what I'm capable of," Hermione replied with a devious smirk.
"Speaking of what you're capable of, how are thing coming along with your plans to deal with the Weasley girl?"
"Everything is in place," Hermione answered. "I've just got to get her outside on the full moon at the end of the month."
"Outside of school grounds if you can," Severus said. "If she's found outside of school grounds, the blame will be on her shoulders. However, if she's inside the grounds, we could get into trouble for not protecting her."
"Don't worry, there'll be no come back on the school," Hermione reassured her brother. "Ginny is going to be the one at fault. She's going to be the one sneaking out of school in the middle of the night."
"Just be careful," Severus warned. "This is an ambitious plan you've got going on. You don't want to have dealt with the McGonagall situation, only to have something go wrong with the Weasley girl and still get a rebellion. If anything, this has the potential to be more damaging than anything Minerva McGonagall can throw at us."
"You worry too much, Severus," Hermione replied, just as the floo network sounded in the corner of the room.
"It's my job to worry," Severus answered as he headed over to the fire. Seeing it was just a call, he knelt down on the floor and found Beth's head floating in the flames. "Beth. What's wrong? Is it Rosmerta?"
"Rosmerta's fine," Beth answered. "She's just gone into labour. We're already at the hospital."
"I'm coming," Severus replied, jumping to his feet and ending the call. "Harry, we need to tell Harry," He said to Hermione as he picked up his cloak and swung it over his shoulders upside down in his panic.
"Calm down," Hermione said calmly as her brother fixed his cloak. "Rosmerta needs you to be calm. You go on through to the hospital, and I'll go and grab Harry. Either Lucius or Narcissa can let us use their floo so we can come and join you."
"Yes, that sounds like a plan," Severus said with a nod as he picked up some floo powder.
Hermione watched as her brother headed off to hospital in a panic. Shaking her head, she left the headmaster's office and went to grab Harry. Together the pair went down to the dungeons, where Lucius and Narcissa were settled in their rooms for the evening, and they used the floo in Narcissa's office to go to the hospital. Once at the hospital they settled down with Beth, Voldemort and Charlotte as they waited to meet the newest member of the family.