Obligatory Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any character, story element or plot item originally published in the Harry Potter books or movies that I may refer to in this story. I'm merely playing in the sandbox.

Chapter 4

Dumbledore didn't like having staff meetings on the weekends, but it seemed like it would be necessary. The letter he held was one thing he needed to broach. As he sat at the conference table, he looked at the room carefully.

The chatter from most of the room died down. Severus had been silent as usual, simply drinking from a teacup and watching the room. "Thank you. I know that normally we try to keep your weekends free, but I'm afraid something has come to my attention that does need to be addressed." He paused, then looked at Severus. "Please, no comment, we're aware of your view on Mr. Potter."

Severus sneered, but simply took a drink from his cup. It was McGonagall who spoke now. "What did the boy do this time?"

"The hostility brought the contents of the letter to mind again, and he frowned. I'll come back to that later. "Have any of you seen Mr. Potter in the last week?"

Several mouths opened, then they looked at each other. "He's not been in my class." Pomona began.

"Nor mine," Filius said, but paused, hand moving as though he was weighing something. "His assignments are being turned in, though."

"Same here," Pomona said. "He's not doing the practical work but doing very well on the theory."

The answer was the same around from all of the teachers who taught the boy. What surprised him was the response from Septimus. "I've been getting work from him as well. It's third year level, but very good. Someone is tutoring him, but I didn't authorize it. I do grade them, though."

"The boy's been gone but his essays are good. His classmates drove him out, if you ask me..." Hagrid set his own larger teacup down and reached for a biscuit. "Still, I know how it is to be viewed as a monster."

"He shouldn't have asked that question."

Albus held a hand up, seeing the opening. "I've received a note from Remus Lupin." Severus snorted but held his tongue. "If I may," Albus began, lifting the parchment. "I believe I'm going to read it in its entirety.

"Acting in the stead of the boy's godfather, I am writing to express my disappointment in the standards at Hogwarts and advise you that for the remainder of the year, I will be pulling Harry Potter from membership in the Gryffindor House and tutoring him personally. While I may only hold a Mastery in Defense, I believe I am more than capable of meeting the requirements of a fourth-year student's education in other courses. Please advise his former Head of House that he will no longer be taking Divination and I hope to have him caught up in Arithmancy by the end of this year."

Between Septimius's laugh, Patricia's airy announcement of having foreseen this and Severus's commentary about having another Gryffindor werewolf to take care of, Albus almost lost his temper. He set the parchment aside and rubbed the bridge of his now. "Enough!"

The room fell silent again and he lifted the letter again. "Minerva, I am shocked and appalled that you would not only listen to rumor mongering but would encourage the assumption that he was a future Dark Lord with a simple question. He thought it was on the test. He worried it might be on the OWL and with Granger not helping him with his studies anymore, he wanted to make sure he understood the content as well as possible." Albus looked up and eyed his Deputy with a hard stare.

"Do I want to know, Minerva?" He deliberately left out that he had not continued into the description of what she had said to the boy.

"He really didn't mean to use those spells in the Tournament?" The hard tone had left her voice and she looked sick.

"No." His eyes narrowed at her, and she squirmed. "What did you say?"

"I…I called him a disgrace. I asked what his parents would think."

"Minerva, you called a student in your care a disgrace…for asking a question…in a classroom." He looked at Severus. "We now have two teachers who have openly attacked a student verbally. It appears that your little meeting was overheard. I have had this letter for a few days now and have done some quiet investigating. The article in the Prophet confirms that Ronald Weasley heard it. Others did, too, then word spread throughout the school."

He set the letter aside, deciding not to read the rest of it. "I did not realize how the school was acting. I have been too busy with this Tournament and have trusted the wrong people to act on my behalf, it would seem." He deliberately did not look at Minerva then.

"I have received copies of all the work that Harry has submitted, including samples of potions for your course, Severus. However, he's doing it, since you refuse to publish a syllabus, he is working on the actual potions that you have done in your courses. His work is exemplary."

"He cheated. He's a bumbling idiot with a cauldron."

"I don't think so. His assignments to me include a written vow signed in blood. He wouldn't have submitted the second assignment if he'd broken the first vow. He would be dead."

The room was silent. "He swore on his life?" Pomona said, sounding nearly as horrified as he had when he'd read the vow.

"Yes. His note included the statement that it was a cheap vow to make since he's not certain he will live past the first task." He was silent. "I have to address this at the next meal. I have to address this in front of the visiting schools. I need to know that you have had a meeting with your students about this. Within the week."

He stood and strode away, heading to his office. He had another potion essay to review and grade, in case Severus did not grade it properly. Pausing for a moment, he stood straight. "Minerva, a moment please." He continued into his office, hearing his Deputy following him. He closed the door as she entered, slipping his wand away.

"I believe we need to have a discussion of decorum and discretion when dealing with student affairs." He pinned her to the chair with a firm gaze and had no satisfaction in seeing her wilt before him.

At breakfast, no food was on the table. Hermione looked around and, beyond the mournful look on Ron's face, the consensus appeared to be confusion. She looked at the head table and found that most of the seats were empty. Soon, the teachers came in, shepherding a few late risers and moved to their seats at the front. Dumbledore stood and clapped his hands once, the main doors shutting with a dull thud.

"May I have your attention?"

Everyone but Ron turned to the front, Ron still staring where the food should be until he jumped, looking in the direction of the table. Hermione noted that McGonagall was slipping away her wand and she fought back a laugh.

"As a Headmaster, I have often had to address this fine institution, sometimes to impart good news, sometimes bad. Never have I had to speak to you as I am now. The fact that we have visitors here during this speech saddens me even more than I can tell you." He was silent for a moment.

"Magic is a gift. Despite the feelings of some, it is not our greatest gift. Camaraderie, friendship, family…these bonds will carry us further than our own magic will ever take us." He gestured and a stick appeared next to him. He casually snapped it in half, setting the halves beside him. "As you can see, one stick alone is easily broken. A group of them, however," he said, pausing as four similar pieces of wood were conjured. He bunched them together and failed at the same feat. "A group united will withstand greater forces than the one.

"Many of you, our visitors not included, have forced one of our own out., leaving him alone." Dumbledore gave another wave and the wood vanished from the table. "There have been rumors about Harry Potter in these hallowed halls that must be laid to rest. He did not enter the Tournament, neither intentionally nor willingly, but was entered by someone else. Due to the nature of the competition, he is a competitor. As he rejects the word Champion for himself, so do we as the judges of the Triwizard Tournament. We do not know who put his name in there. We assume it was to harm him in some way. It has already done so."

Hermione glanced down the line of students and felt her heart sink when she did not see Harry at the table. Others were coming to the same conclusion, the only one not seeming to move was the strange blonde girl she'd run across in the library from time to time. She seemed blissfully unaware of anything around her at that time, not even seeming to listen to the headmaster.

"I have received a notice that Harry has been withdrawn from school, potentially forever, by those who have his best interest at heart. As I was considering this situation and how to remedy it, I received a certain copy of the Prophet, declaring him to be a willing Dark Lord in training." His look turned to the Gryffindor table.

"It amazes me that two loyal friends would sit back and ignore the fact that he asked a simple question., not declared himself for the Dark."

He took a breath. "For those of you unaware, Harry Potter asked a question in Defense class. I authorized the demonstration of the Unforgiveables, and he asked if the law pertained only to their usage on human beings. I have a signed letter from his new tutor, one that I not only know, but trust implicitly, that he asked because he didn't understand the law and thought it might be on his OWLs." He was silent. "Even one of my staff joined you in the open hostility and for that, I wish I could apologize to him. Unfortunately, I don't know where he is presently. I have written a letter as such, but such things should be said in person. Many of you should take that lesson to heart."

He took a sip from his goblet, setting it down before continuing what seemed to be a well-prepared speech. "For the near universal bullying that these two events have led to, Hogwarts will be cancelling the next Hogsmeade weekend. The December weekend will remain in place for now, but I will expect an improvement in behavior from my students. Of course, my words about the weekend do not pertain to our guests. Feel free to enjoy the facilities of the village as your leadership allow."

As he started to sit, he paused again. "I nearly forgot. There will be an all-house meeting for each Hogwarts house. Be prepared to discuss your part in these matters. I will expect each of my Heads to do their duty to curtail the unnecessary bullying."

Hermione looked at McGonagall, who held her head firmly up, but seemed to stare into the ether. Snape, however, rolled his eyes and the message was made clear to all who saw. Slytherin would be doing the bare minimum to meet this requirement. She glanced around and saw that Hagrid wasn't at Breakfast. She considered for a moment, then realized that she had a free period after breakfast. She packed away the book she was going to read, ate a quick breakfast at a pace that would have impressed the bottomless pit down the table from her. Soon, she was heading toward the doors.

Hagrid's chimney was giving off a stream of smoke, so she knew he was up. She moved down the hill with careful steps, then stopped at his door. She knocked. "Hagrid?"

The large man opened the door, wiping his eyes. Hermione noted that they were red and irritated. She weighed it out and wondered how much he'd had to drink the night before. "Hagrid, did you know?"

"Dumbledore made the announcement, didn't he? Aye, lass, I knew." He sat on a stool outside of the hut, closing the door as he did so. "Dumbledore explained everything. I don't like to think about how I acted, though."

"We all did it, Hagrid." Hermione was silent. "Do you know where he is?"

"No. The only thing we know is that he's still somehow handing in his assignments. Even Professor Snape has been getting papers in. Turns out he's brewing potions somehow, too."

"You don't have to be in that lab to brew, Hagrid," Hermione said softly, thinking of a potion brewed in a girls' toilet one year.

Hagrid shrugged, then looked at her. "Why did you turn your back on him?"

The question was meant to be a simple request for information, but the giant man's words cut deeply. "I just…he's always in the middle of things. I had to go back in time to save his godfather. I shouldn't have been meddling with that time turner anyway, I was crazed to think it was that important to take all of the courses offered. But I was nearly killed by dementors, a werewolf…I could have erased my own existence with that stunt. Next thing I know, he's in this Tournament. I just couldn't take it." She sighed. "He did the same thing to me over that broom, but this time the danger is real."

"It was then, too, lass. You didn't like it when he did it to you."

Icy cold tendrils flowed down her spine and settled into her stomach, and she exhaled slowly in the chill morning air. "I…" She couldn't think of a defense. "I did the same thing."

The pair sat in silence, each thinking of the events of the last few months.

AN: In my recent three posts, two stories basically, in Thoughtful Wanderings, I've explored a few themes based on the tales of wayward spouses and their usual responses and actions. I noticed just now, editing, that I basically did this with Hermione. She's going back to a repeated defense that does apply in one perspective but isn't the same thing in another. I guess that it's just suddenly interesting to me. I hadn't realized I was doing it.

I want to thank Hands Off MY Wolfie for locating the name and explaining why the name didn't look familiar to me. It was changed, as my own was, so it shouldn't surprise me that others have done it.

As always, I hope you are enjoying and let me know what you think. Even a negative review is welcome as long as it is founded in a reasonable nature.