We see what happens after Malfoy's infamous whisper was caught by Lily.
SEVERUS VIII
Severus barely gave any attention to the students as they left the classroom. He could hardly suffer students, but first-years were the worst. A mix of arrogant spoiled children who came thinking they already knew everything, excited kids who thought it was marvelous to learn magic (mostly Muggle-born children who had no idea what this world really was about), and lazy babies who already wished the year was over. He probably brought a few of them back on land with this lesson, if the first lesson of last week had not been enough.
Severus hated the beginning of the term. He had the impression that he needed to teach all over again the same things he taught the students the year before. Couldn't they remember anything they learned? The first-years at least had the excuse of not having learned anything to remember. If their parents didn't teach them anything before they arrived at Hogwarts, it wasn't their fault. But the six other cohorts of indolent kids, some of which were legally adults, tired Snape. It wouldn't be by trying to avoid homework at all costs that they would be prepared for what life held in reserve for them. Such irresponsibility was unacceptable.
Severus reviewed the Wiggenweld Potions the students prepared today. It was a basic potion, and a very useful one, and yet very few managed to make it so it was drinkable, let alone efficient. Not even one of them got it right. As always, Severus would have to place his requirements very high to force them to achieve any progress.
Someone then walked into his dungeons. Severus was not entirely displeased to see Draco Malfoy walk into his classroom. The badge of Prefect shone even in the darkness on the boy's robes. Severus didn't regret giving him that position even an instant. He deserved it. Way more than his acolytes, who looked barely able to look straight at a cauldron. Severus supposed that simple-minded people like them could not be expected to do more than to follow someone brighter than them, like Lucius' son.
"Mr Malfoy," he curtly welcomed him.
"Professor, I've just been given a detention."
Severus frowned. "You have been given a detention. By who? And why?"
"By Potter's mother."
Severus' heart stopped for a moment. He hoped that Draco didn't see the panic he knew must have gone for an instant through his eyes when his student mentioned who gave him the detention. But Severus was a master when it came to hiding his thoughts and emotions, and he behaved as if the news didn't affect him.
"For you, Mr Malfoy, this is Professor Evans. As a prefect, you must be an example and call the figures of authority appropriately."
"Yes, professor," Malfoy said, but he came back to attack again. "She gave me three days of detention. For nothing!"
Severus frowned further. Three days of detention? "Why did she give you three days of detention? She should have told you why."
Malfoy shrugged. "I was talking in class while she was speaking."
He looked at Snape, hopeful. Snape looked at him for a moment.
"I will talk to her," he finally said.
During dinner, Severus threw several glances in Lily's direction. He feared the discussion he would soon have with her. Ever since Lily came to Hogwarts, he mostly avoided her. He didn't want to have significant interactions with her, out of fear that it might take a wrong turn. Ever since he got rid of Pettigrew, Lily behaved better towards him, but she obviously didn't like him much anyway, especially after Severus criticized her son's participation to the Triwizard Tournament last year. He supposed that she would never see her son for who he really was, nor trust anyone criticizing him in any way. But it wasn't the reason why Severus disapproved that she was made professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts.
When he learned that Lily would be teaching at this position, he went straight to Dumbledore and had a few harsh words like he seldom used with the powerful wizard. For Severus, Dumbledore was irresponsible to make Lily the new professor for this subject. For decades now, even before Severus studied at Hogwarts, no professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts managed to stay more than a year. One of them, that fool Quirrell, even died. Even though Severus brushed aside the rumours that the position was cursed, judging it to be nothing but the fruit of children's imagination, he wasn't willing to run the risk, however small it was. Not for Lily.
Dumbledore had tried to calm down Severus during this conversation, but to no avail. Severus even threatened to leave Hogwarts. He wasn't sure himself if he would have carried out his threat, but Dumbledore deftly pointed out that if he really cared about Lily, he would stay at Hogwarts to ensure her safety. Severus had to admit defeat, and to suffer another Professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts he disapproved of.
The past five years had been ripe with people inappropriate for the position. Severus had put forward his name again and again, every year, but Dumbledore refused, again and again. Instead, they had the frail and incompetent, the traitorous Quirinius Quirrell, the swaggering and incompetent Gilderoy Lockhart, then the undeserving and incompetent Remus Lupin. Severus never understood why Dumbledore took this man, who was without experience and asked so little from his students that they all obtained good results without any effort. Then there had been Alastor Moody. Or at least, he was there for a part of the year, then replaced by Crouch Junior when he impersonated the former Auror. At the very least, Moody and Crouch proved to be competent, although they were far from being the best candidates available. And now there was Lily.
Severus was forced to admit it, and he regretted doing so, but Lily might be the first professor to occupy this position for who he could say with certainty that she deserved it. Back when they both studied at Hogwarts, Lily was almost better than Severus at everything. She was the only person he could tolerate and congratulate for actually being better than he was. She was even better than he was in Potions and Defence Against the Dark Arts. She got more Outstandings than he did in her N.E.W.T.s, and she was one of the most powerful members of the Order of the Phoenix. It wasn't for nothing that, despite her origins, the Dark Lord tried to recruit her. Even if Severus had not subtly encouraged him to recruit Lily Evans, he suspected that the Dark Lord would have tried to make her join his ranks nonetheless. Such potential could not go unnoticed for such a powerful wizard. It wasn't for nothing that Lily managed to become an Auror after less than three years of training, despite not having practiced magic on a regular basis for over ten years prior to that. If she had, who knew where she could be today. Severus' opposition to her posting at Hogwarts was because he judged it was potentially dangerous for her, not to mention she would be way more useful in other operations against the Dark Lord. In some way, keeping her at the castle was a waste.
He never discussed it with Lily, however. It was with Dumbledore that he discussed about it, but to no avail. The headmaster went so far as to suggest Severus should talk about all this with Lily if he was so concerned about her, but that whatever he would say or do, Lily was an adult, free and conscious of her decisions.
But today, Severus could not avoid Lily. He would have to talk to her about Draco Malfoy and the detention she gave him. He found it strange that Lily gave him three days of detention. It didn't sound like her. Or had her son told her so many lies she believed about Draco Malfoy that she felt the need to punish his student? As much as Severus dreaded his meeting with Lily, he had to talk to her. Draco was one of his students, and if Lily unfairly gave detention to a Slytherin, Severus had to defend him.
After dinner, long after Lily left the staff table, Severus left it too and headed towards her office. He found her busy working, not surprised at all. Lily could never be accused of being lazy. He had to admit it, she impressively managed to organize her subject in no time. When Severus walked into her office and she looked up from her work, she frowned. She put aside her feather and stared at him, still sitting.
"What can I do for you?" she asked him.
For a mere moment, Severus hesitated, but the instant was so short that he was sure Lily didn't notice it. "I have just been informed that you gave a detention to one of my students," he said on a very even and soft voice.
Understanding painted like the light of day right away on Lily's face. "Ah. So your favourite student complained to you. I can't say that I'm surprised."
"Usually, when a professor gives a punishment of this nature, he informs the Head of the House the student belongs to," Severus said on a harder tone.
Lily shrugged. "Well, now you are informed. I apologize for the inconvenience. The next time I give a detention to a student from your house, I'll tell you right away."
He was somewhat taken aback by her nonchalant attitude. She treated the whole thing as if this was no big deal.
"Do you really believe this is a good idea to punish Draco Malfoy so harshly, given the current circumstances?"
He wasn't really thinking about the ties between the Dark Lord and the boy's father. Severus knew that the Dark Lord would not give a second's thought about the child of one of his supporters getting detention, and even Lucius would probably not be foolish enough to bring up the issue with their master. But Lucius had a lot of relations inside the Ministry, including Fudge and Umbridge themselves. The people who were looking for any opportunity to fire Lily.
"I cannot control what your favourite student will do after he leaves Hogwarts, Severus. But as long as he is a student here, and as long as I am a teacher, I will do everything to make him not follow the same path his parents took. I may not have managed to stop you from taking that path, and maybe I will fail with Draco as well, but I can try nonetheless."
This gave Severus a hit in the stomach. She compared him to Lucius' son. It was true that Severus saw parts of himself into Draco. Perhaps he saw too much there. But that Lily saw similarities between both of them, and not good ones…
He didn't show any of these thoughts and continued.
"I fail to see how talking during lessons warrants detention for three consecutive days," he declared. Even he wasn't that harsh with his students.
Lily looked surprised first, but then she laughed, in a humourless way. This wasn't the kind of Lily's laugh that Severus enjoyed. And she stared at him on an accusing tone when she replied.
"Maybe this is no big deal for you, but to me, a student who calls his own teacher a Mudblood in front of the whole classroom is unacceptable."
Severus was shocked. He was even afraid that for a mere moment, he let his emotions show up. So this was the reason for these detentions. This changed everything. But Lily continued to speak in the meantime.
"So yes, I gave Darco three evenings of detention. One for troubling a lesson, another for disrespecting a member of the staff, and the third for using heinous and racist language. If you want to contest my decision, then I'm happy to discuss it with Dumbledore if you want."
For a time, Severus didn't answer. Now, all he wished was to get out of this conversation. And he found a way.
"Draco Malfoy is a student of the House of Slytherin, and as Head of the House of Slytherin, I must be informed of whatever violation of the rules he commits, and whatever punishment he receives. As his Head of House, I am responsible to ensure he respects the rules. I hope you understand this."
"I do," Lily replied evenly.
"Then we have nothing else to discuss. Next time you give a detention to one of my students, I expect to be informed."
On that, he walked away. Severus avoided discussing the real matter, which was that one of his students, one in which he placed so many hopes, treated Lily Evans the same way Severus himself once did. And unlike Severus, this student had no remorse, and instead he looked for a way out of it. Severus was at the same time furious, troubled and shaken. It had been a long time since he almost had to face one of the actions he regretted the most in his life. He avoided thinking about it most of the time, except when he needed to remind himself why he was doing all of this, why he was following Dumbledore and the Order. It was all for Lily. But for now, he had something else to deal with.
Tonight, just before the curfew, Severus summoned Draco into his office. He walked in with the assurance and pride proper to his family and his house. But tonight, Severus was to remove this confidence from his student.
"Mr Malfoy, I announce you that not only you will attend the detention Professor Evans gave you on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evening, but I also give you a detention here for the Friday evening and the whole morning of Saturday."
For a moment, Malfoy didn't seem to know how to react. He was stunned. For once, Severus felt good to remove the proud smile on his student's face. Because for once, Draco Malfoy had no right to display it. But it came back almost immediately.
"Excuse me, Professor. I think I misunderstood…"
"You haven't misunderstood anything, Mr Malfoy. You will do the detention Professor Evans gave you, then do the detention I just gave you as well. Any reluctance from your part to do this will result in additional disciplinary measures. Did I make myself clear?"
The son of Lucius Malfoy looked totally stunned this time. Speechless.
"I don't understand…" he began.
"If you don't understand, then let me explain you, Mr Malfoy. You are a Prefect. When I chose you for this position, I expected you to behave intelligently, to inspire respect for authority, and that you would honor the House of Slytherin by assuming this function. Today, you were stupid, showed a total disrespect to a staff member of this school, and humiliated your house and me by your general behavior."
"But…" Malfoy began. However, Severus didn't let him finish.
"Not to mention that you have come in my office, pretending that a teacher gave you excessive punishment only for disturbing her class. Which wasn't true. You lied to me, Mr Malfoy."
The boy now looked blank as a sheet of paper.
"I expect you to better behave in the future. If I ever hear again that you got sanctioned for disrespecting an authority figure in this castle, I'll make sure to impose further sanctions that will make you regret you were not sent to Hufflepuff in your first year."
Malfoy opened his mouth in shock. Severus knew he hit the target. For such a young man full of promises, it was the supreme insult to be told he would be better in Hufflepuff.
"But… Professor… I… You're not going to believe a Mu…"
The young man stopped mid-word at the assassin look his professor sent him. "If I ever hear you utter this word, or hear that you uttered it, I can assure you will regret it for the rest of your life."
Malfoy was speechless again. Severus went on.
"I expect a lot from you, Mr Malfoy, as do your parents. But so far, in five years, you have never been able to produce a single work that was better than that of a certain student who was born from Muggle parents."
Another hit on the mark. Malfoy's eyes widened.
"Focus on your duties as Prefect, and on your studies. You will regret it if you continue to prove that Lily Evans Potter was right to punish you. Now go."
Malfoy looked as if he was petrified. Eventually though, almost shyly, in a way that wasn't fitting for his rank, he walked towards the door to leave the office. Severus was almost rid of him when he turned again.
"Professor… We have a Quidditch practice on Saturday morning. Maybe I could have my detention on Sunday inst…"
"You will have your detention at the moment I decided," Severus snapped. "And don't try to move your Quidditch practice. I'll make sure Mr Montague doesn't."
Looking afraid, Draco Malfoy almost ran out. Severus sighed. He hated to be forced to put back to their place his own students, and especially Malfoy. But sometimes, Lucius' son was really stupid. He wasn't as stupid as most students, he had great potential, but really… Calling his own teacher a Mudblood, in the middle of a lesson? What kind of fool would do that?
Severus knew the answer very well. The same kind of fool who called the same woman by the same word in front of the whole school years ago, at the same age. This was his greatest regret in life, the one action he couldn't go back on. Lily would never forgive him this, and to be honest, he understood her.
Slowly, Severus took a piece of parchment from his desk. And he began to write a letter.
Please review.
Next chapter: Susan