Summary: The students need educating.

A/N: Back from my cruise. It was amazing. Hope you all had a great couple of weeks. Thanks for reading and commenting. Hope you like this next chapter.

Chapter 7

Severus was coming down the hallway when he heard it.

"Your dad got what he deserved!"

"No one deserves to die!" the young man's shaky voice came from around the corner.

Severus steeled himself as he drew his wand and turned the corner.

"What is going on here?" he demanded.

Two second-year Gryffindors–Jacob Hurley and Tara Lincoln–were accosting his second-year student Steven Gibbon.

The Gryffindors straightened, filled with fear. Mr. Gibbons' fists unclenched. He glowered at the other two but said nothing.

"Think it's funny to tease about the loss of a parent, do you?" Severus said quietly.

Lincoln shook her head vehemently. "No… no sir!"

"Detention for the both of you, Lincoln and Hurley. I also expect a two-foot essay from you both on loss of life due to the war. I want you both to interview a student who has lost a parent and find out what it's like. You may interview Mr. Gibbon if he is agreeable."

Gibbon's eyes widened. "I…"

"Mr. Gibbon, you don't have to agree. I understand this is a sensitive subject."

"I will if they can keep their traps shut about my dad being a Death Eater!"

"A sensible thing to ask. I will leave you three to work it out and see you two promptly at seven tonight for cauldron scrubbing."

He withdrew, leaving them to it. Inside, he was enraged. The nerve of those students bullying his Slytherin. It was always the Gryffindors!

His thoughts were dark for a few more minutes. As he calmed himself, he realized it probably wasn't just Gryffindors being mean to Slytherins. It was probably a school-wide issue, and the professors probably were blind to it because it was happening in deserted corridors like the one he had just come from. He had just happened to stumble upon it. Suddenly, an idea came to him. He changed his course and headed for the Headmistress' office. Riding the moving staircase up, he knocked when he'd reached the top.

"Oh, Severus! Come in, come in!" Minerva greeted.

Severus did so and settled into the seat in front of Minerva's desk.

"I have an idea," he said.

"What is it?"

"I just ran into a couple of Gryffindors teasing one of my Slytherins about the death of his father."

"Oh, Merlin."

"It has been properly addressed, but I was thinking. This is undoubtedly not a unique occurrence. Perhaps we can have a couple of assemblies to speak about what it's like to lose a parent in this way, or what it feels like to be the child of an… enemy of state."

"That's a good idea, but who would we get to give the lectures?"

"I can volunteer to talk about actually being a Death Eater. I'm not sure otherwise. Perhaps we can bring in some graduates? Malfoy perhaps, and Theodore Nott? His father was killed in the final battle."

Minerva scribbled down their names. "I'll need to address this with the Board, of course, but I think they will agree that it will promote empathy amongst the students. They certainly need a lot of that. Once I get the okay from them, I'll reach out to both Mr. Malfoy and Nott and see if they are willing to share what they experienced."

Severus stood. "Thank you, Minerva."

"Oh, and I will make an announcement at dinner tonight that any bullying is unacceptable, and if it centers around the war it will not be tolerated."

"Should you throw in a little threat of suspension?" Severus asked as he arched a brow.

"I'm incensed enough to do so. I'll think about it."

ooo

That evening as dinner was about to commence, Minerva rose and moved over to the podium. The food hadn't appeared yet, and the students were looking around quizzically as it was usually set out as the students moved into the Hall.

"Good evening, students," she began. "It has come to my attention that there has been some teasing about students who have lost parents in the war." Her eyes fell on the two Gryffindors at fault. "I want to be clear that teasing is not allowed here at Hogwarts, and this kind of teasing is cruel and even worse than other types of bullying. I warn all of you now that any future occurrences will be met with severe punishments, up to and including suspension."

She eyed each table of students before sitting down and waving her wand. Dinner appeared in front of everyone.

"I've asked Miss Lincoln and Mr. Hurley to meet me after dinner," Hermione advised Minerva once the Headmistress had settled into her seat.

She gave the younger witch a quick nod.

"Make sure they are done by seven so they can report for detention," Severus said.

"What exactly happened?" Jonathan piped in.

Severus explained what he'd seen and heard. Jonathan's lips thinned in disgust.

Minerva leaned in so she could see Severus.

"The Board thinks your idea has merit. They've given permission for us to move forward."

"Excellent. That was a fast decision."

"I believe everyone wants to move beyond the war, and if this helps, then they're all for it," Minerva explained.

Everyone was looking at them curiously.

"We will be having a series of assemblies given to increase understanding of the war and those students who were inadvertently involved in it. Severus has volunteered to describe what it was like to be a Death Eater, and I am in communication with Draco Malfoy and Theodore Nott to see if they'll each give a presentation."

"Good," Pomona said. "The students need to know what it's really like. These young ones just judge, judge, judge."

"That's for sure," Hooch interjected. "I heard them all going at it on the field before flying class yesterday. They need a wake up call."

"That's what I intend to give them," Severus said.

"Are you sure you want to hash all of that out with students?" Hermione asked.

He turned to her. "How else will they learn? They won't believe anyone unless they've actually lived what they are preaching about."

Hermione nodded. "Well, I just don't want you to be disrespected."

He smirked at her. "They wouldn't dare."

She shook her head and chuckled. "I can only imagine what you would do to them."

He became serious for a moment. "In reality, I do think that may be an issue, but they need to understand what has happened."

"You're an honorable man, Severus," Hermione told him.

He shrugged and went back to his meal. Her words burned within him, and he appreciated them, but he couldn't let her know she had affected him. He let his hair fall forward, shielding his eyes, and he observed her as she continued her dinner. He'd never noticed how lovely she was. Perhaps his younger libido made him realize just how appealing she was.

He threw that thought away from him. Their relationship was only professional. She was friendly, yes, but she would never be interested in him like that. He'd best just put the whole idea out of his head before he fell down a rabbit hole he didn't want to be stuck in.

ooo

Hermione opened her door and was surprised to see Ron standing there.

"Oh, hi, Ron. I wasn't expecting you."

"Yeah, I wanted to stop by and see you. I have a day off from my training."

"Great, come on in!"

She closed the door behind him and turned to find his arms surrounding her. He kissed her out of the blue. She pushed him away.

"What are you doing?"

"Saying hello. I know you've missed me."

Hermione folded her arms in front of her. "Ron. We're not together anymore. You have no right to kiss me or hug me like that."

"Oh, come on, Hermione. I've left you alone for weeks. Surely you've come to your senses!"

"Come to my senses? Are you serious? Ronald Weasley, I am not interested in you romantically. What we had was fleeting at best, and I'm not interested in continuing it. Now," she glared at him, "you can leave."

"Come on, Hermione! What's gotten into you. You know we're meant to be together. Why won't you come around?"

He reached out and grasped her arm. She shook herself from his grasp.

"Leave, Ron. Now."

"No! I'm staying here until I convince you to come back to me."

She grit her teeth. Her magic made her hair crackle as she regarded Ron with disdain. "That will never happen, Ron. I have no interest in being with you ever again!"

Storming over to the door, she flung it open and turned back to Ron.

"Get out, Ron."

She saw him extract his wand and in a millisecond, he was lying on the floor encased in ropes. She crouched over him, her wand pointed in his face.

"I swear, Ronald Weasley, if you ever lift your wand toward me again, you'll be in pieces!"

"I'm sorry to bother you, Hermione, but is everything all right?"

It was Severus, and he was standing in her doorway. She turned and frowned at him.

"Severus, I was just getting rid of a little problem I'm having."

Severus sauntered over. "Looks like you have everything under control. Would you like me to see him out? I could just float him to the gates and leave him to release himself."

Hermione smirked at him, getting up from her perch over the ginger wizard. She released him from his bonds. Ron scrambled off the floor.

"I should have known what was going on," he snarled. "Did he Imperius you?"

She looked at him crossly. "You're sounding like a broken record, Ronald. Now go, before I do something I'll regret."

"This isn't over, Hermione! I'll get you back if it's the last thing I do."

"I would think it would be, Weasley," Severus drolled.

Ron glowered at him. "Shut up, Snape. I know what you're about. Leave Hermione alone, you giant git."

He glowered at Severus and stormed out of Hermione's quarters. Severus looked over at her.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt. I came by to ask you something."

She was glaring at the door. His comment made her look over at him. She relaxed immediately.

"It's okay. I had no idea I would be lassoing a bull today."

"Yes, well, remind me never to hack you off."

She chuckled.

"I'm glad you came when you did. I'm not sure I would have controlled myself."

"Why did he raise his wand at you?"

She frowned again. "He can't get it through his head that we are over."

"Didn't you have that conversation a couple of weeks ago at Diagon Alley?"

She lifted her hands in frustration. "Yes! He won't take no for an answer."

Severus' eyebrows furrowed. "Hermione… is he a danger to you?"

"Oh, I don't think…"

"He seemed a bit deranged when he left."

Hermione's lips thinned as she thought about what Severus said.

"I don't think so, but I can't be certain. You're right, he was acting quite mad. Do you think he would do anything?"

"People who are desperate sometimes go to extremes."

"Hmm. I'll need to be careful, then." She paused for a second. "Wait, what did you want to ask me?"

Severus glanced back at her door and then turned back to Hermione. "Oh, yes. I was wondering if you'd give a presentation for the students. I think it would be beneficial for them to know what it was like for you on the run."

"Oh! Yes, I will do that. I'm sure they'd be surprised at all the mushrooms we ate."

"Mushrooms?"

She chuckled. "Sorry. Harry was always complaining about what little we had to eat. We lived on a lot of mushrooms."

Severus gave her a slight nod of his head. "I will leave you to your evening. We will be starting the assemblies next week. My presentation will be first, then I think I'll have you present second, and have our other guest speakers follow."

"I'll be ready," she said with a smile.

"Good night, then."

"Good night, Severus."