Headmaster's Office - 12:20 PM
Harry just barely resisted the urge to fidget, feeling keenly uncomfortable. The tension in the room was thick enough to be cut, and in spite of the Headmaster's efforts to be diplomatic, the situation could very easily devolve into chaos. Due to the large number of occupants, Dumbledore had rearranged the room into two sides, with his chair serving as the divider. On one side sat Harry, Lily, and Severus, and the other sat James and Jim, the both of whom looked like they'd rather be anywhere else than there. On the opposite side across from Dumbledore sat McGonagall, glaring so intensely at James and Jim that Harry was surprised that neither of their heads spontaneously combusted.
"Well," said Dumbledore without a hint of awkwardness, "now that we're all gathered, I believe we can get started. Since Professor Snape initially requested this meeting, I will allow him to proceed first." Snape lightly cleared his throat before speaking.
"Yes, thank you Headmaster. Mr. James Potter behaved rather appallingly in my class today, and is very much due punishment for his exceedingly offensive antics." James scowled furiously and made to speak, before a harsh glare from McGonagall immediately silenced him.
"During my lecture, he failed to answer pop quiz questions that he ought to have known if he'd completed his required homework reading. He proceeded to insult my appearance, insult my reputation, and insult my person by calling me a very inappropriate name I shan't dare repeat. As a result, his odious actions resulted in a very well-earned forty point loss for Gryffindor House. It would have been fifty point loss had Miss Hermione Granger not stopped Mr. Potter from making a continued fool of himself, an act which earned her ten points. Additionally to that dismal showing, he and his Potions partner failed in their given assignment, earning a "Troll" for the day." As one, almost all of the adults turned to look at Jim, who flushed in embarrassment. McGonagall looked particularly furious, her lips thinned in anger.
"Is this true Jim?" asked Dumbledore, radiating disappointment. A scowling James made to speak but Dumbledore raised his hand, effectively silencing the man.
"Y-yes, t-that's true. But it's not my fault! He started it! He asked me a bunch of questions completely unrelated to-" Dumbledore once more raised his hand, and Jim immediately grew quiet.
"I believe that is enough Jim. Per Professor Snape, the questions were in the context of your homework assignment, which, if you'd failed to complete, you should have easily admitted to not knowing. As such, since you have admitted to rudely insulting a Professor multiple times within a classroom setting, I am assigning you to two weeks detention, which will be spent with Professor Snape." Jim (and James) scowled furiously, but neither rebutted. "As such, part of the detention will be spent redoing the failed assignment to improve your grade, a rather magnanimous favor that Professor Snape is certainly not obliged to provide either you or Mr. Weasley.
"Indeed." said McGonagall, her expression thunderous.
"Additionally," said Dumbledore "you will give Professor Snape a public apology for your disrespectful actions, with the assurance that it will not happen again." His tone brokered no argument as he stared intently at Jim and James.
"Yes Professor Dumbledore," Jim said tightly, "I will give the apology and serve my detention."
"You most certainly will." McGonagall gave Jim a gimlet eye, almost daring him to speak. Teeth clenched, he quickly looked away.
"Excellent. Professor McGonagall, please escort Jim back to the Great Hall to catch up on his lunch. Professor Snape, is there anything else you wished to address?"
"No Headmaster, that is all. I will take my leave now, I have plenty to prepare for." Snape smiled condescendingly Jim, standing to leave. He gave Lily a parting squeeze on her shoulder (which James glared at), nodded amiably at Harry, then exited the office, robe soundlessly billowing behind him. McGonagall and Jim both stood from their chairs and made their exits, with the former blatantly ignoring James as she marched his son out of the room. Once gone, Dumbledore turned to Harry.
"Was there something you wished to discuss Mr. Potter?"
"Yes Headmaster, there is." Reaching into his satchel, Harry whipped out the scroll with a flourish and handed it to his father, who snatched it up and unrolled it. Then, his eyes widened.
"You've filed ... an injunction! Against me interfering with your schooling?! Against me interfering with your mother's professional and legal affairs? Or even speaking to either of you without your representation present? You mean Snivellus?! Why you little bastard!"
"James!" said Lily and Dumbledore angrily. Ignoring James' outburst, Harry spoke.
"You should listen to them Father dearest. After all, you did just slander her and your Heir by insinuating that either of us were born out of wedlock with that tasteless remark.'' James scowled thunderously while Lily and Dumbledore looked at Harry with varying levels of amazement. "Funnily enough, I had planned on merely owling you a copy, but seeing your face in person makes so much sweeter." Harry smiled, his eyes practically gleaming as James shook in his outrage.
"Do you really think you're going to accomplish anything with this little stunt boy?" James snarled. "In case you've forgotten, Dumbledore is the Chief Warlock! He'll never let this stand." James turned to look at Dumbledore as if expecting his agreement, only to lightly deflate as Dumbledore just stared disappointingly.
"Oh, I haven't forgotten. The minute you broke the seal and read the title, my solicitor was alerted that the process has been served. As such, he is filing a motion to ensure Headmaster Dumbledore recuses himself from any legal action involving our family, due to his rather uncommon conflict of interest." Harry smiled at Dumbledore who blinked a few times, while Lily tried (and failed) to hide her smile. "You will also find that this is all perfectly legal, in line with the overarching Wizengamot Charter and House Potter's Charter regarding the affairs of second-born sons. It seems there is an established precedence in place that a second-born magical son will have ample opportunity to pursue an education and acquire some form of a future, since the entirety of the family's wealth, influence, and other such things would go directly to the Heir. Likewise, in the event of a wizarding divorce and a subsequent settlement, the ex-husband Lord is no longer legally obligated to muddle about in any of the ex-wife Lady's business. Both are rather obscure, but saw a resurgence during the Inheritance Act of 1588 and a few times after. But, I won't bore you with the historical intricacies that I am certain a Lord of your station is already quite versed with." Harry smiled again and Lily delicately coughed into her hand, eyes crinkled in delight.
"Harry," Dumbledore interrupted, "I know you're upset about the Howler incident, and I don't blame you (he glared in James' direction). But isn't this a little extreme?" Before Lily could angrily interject, Harry spoke.
"No Headmaster, it decidedly is not. You see, threatening to have my mother and I banished from wizarding society is extreme. Threatening my mother and I in front of several hundred witnesses to have our wands snapped is extreme. Calling my mother a mudblood was extreme. This? This is just logical and legal self-interest. Now, if I may be excused?" Dumbledore sighed once more, nodding in agreement. Satisfied, Harry turned and gave a triumphant Lily a firm one-armed hug before leaving, smiling all the way.
Once he left, the remaining three adults all stared at each other in differing levels of anger and discomfort.
"Lily," Dumbledore sighed "Is it possible for you and James to-"
"No Headmaster Dumbledore, it is not possible for Lord Potter and I to do anything at this current time. He made all of his intentions regarding my son and I quite clear in the drunken Howler he sent. No more words are needed or wanted. Should Lord Potter have need to discuss anything with me, our solicitors can make the necessary arrangements. And please, it is Professor Evans, as we are professional colleagues and not friends. Now unless there is anything else pertaining to the other children's schooling that requires my presence, I believe it is time to take my leave. " Lily's tone brokered no argument, and she immediately stood and strode out of the room, leaving two speechless men in her wake.
Gryffindor Common Room - 1:45PM
After another thorough chewing out by Professor McGonagall, a quietly stewing Jim was dropped off at the Great Hall and all but commanded to eat lunch and immediately return to his Common Room. Sitting stone-faced and alone, Jim picked at a chicken salad sandwich, thoughts growing darker at his current misfortunes. He'd been thoroughly humiliated in Potions and in the Headmaster's Office, and now, he not only had detention for the next two weeks with Snivellus, he had to write the greasy-haired git an apology! For nothing! Growing increasingly angry, Jim quickly finished his meal and trudged his way to the Gryffindor Common Room. Upon entering the passageway, he immediately made his presence known.
"Granger! You little traitor! Us Gryffindors are supposed to stick together! What the hell do you mean by calling me a 'braying ass' in front of the whole class? And in Snivellus's class at that!'' The entire room grew quiet, though many glared at the red-faced boy for yet another outburst.
"Oh, I'm so terribly sorry, Potter," she said, mockingly sweet. "I'm only a humble little Muggleborn still in awe of the wonders of the magical world. And when I see a braying ass magically disguised as a Hogwarts student, I CAN'T HELP POINTING IT OUT!" A few of the gatheredLions jumped in surprise, not used to the usually-polite girl yelling at all.
"Why you little...! Why the hell are you so upset anyway?!" He took angry steps in her direction. "It's just stupid house points! Nobody here cares about that except Little Miss Know-It-All Bucktoothed Betty!"
Hermione's eyes flashed dangerously, and she whipped out her wand. Startled, Jim fumbled for his own, but Hermione simply turned and walked to the stairs leading up to the dorms. There, she pointed her wand up each staircase and, to everyone's astonishment, shot off a series of loud popping fireworks before yelling "ALL PREFECTS TO THE COMMON ROOM FOR AN EMERGENCY MEETING IMMEDIATELY!"
Seconds later, dozens of older Lions - including all six prefects - poured into the room, where an enraged Hermione Granger stood atop a large coffee table with her wand at the ready, its tip (unbeknownst to her) glowing a menacing red. Surrounding her were the rest of the First Years, who all openly gawked in amazement. One in particular - Cormac McClaggen - stared with stars in his eyes.
Ralph MacMillan, the 7th Year prefect, was the first to speak. "What the HELL is going on down here?! Who called a prefect's meeting?!"
"I did," said Hermione calmly, looking down as a queen would address her subject. "I was told that if I ever had any questions, I should ask a prefect, no? Well, I have one pressing question, and I'd like it answered now." Her tone was unwavering.
"Have you gone completely mental?!" exclaimed Ralph before a female prefect, Emily Rossen, put her hand on his arm.
"Easy, Ralph. Let me. Miss Granger, er, Hermione. You're obviously distraught. Why don't you put your wand away and step down off the table and we can talk about this?" Hermione's eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Not until I've asked my question."
Emily took a deep breath. "Okay, then. What's your question?"
"The House Cup. Is it something Gryffindor House actually cares about? Something that we actually aspire to win? Or is it just a big joke that only 'Know-It-All Buck-toothed Bettys' worry about? Something we merely just have a laugh at when some braying ass of an idiot costs us dozens of house points in one fell swoop? Because if it is in fact the latter, then I promise from this moment henceforth I will not be caring about the House Cup. It will be a lot easier to pass my NEWTS if I'm not forced to carry a lion's dead weight!" Hermione glared at Jim and Ron at the end, daring the two red-faced boys to say anything. However, Percy Weasley missed the entire exchange and whirled around on his twin brothers, his expression annoyed. "Circe's sake, what have you idiots done now?!"
In unison, the twins put their hands up in a surrender gesture.
"Twasn't us, oh Perfect Prefect Percy." They responded in twin-speak. "We haven't lost any house points ... yet." "Haven't had time to do anything worth memorializing." "I mean, we did steal a toilet seat, but I don't think anyone's noticed yet."
"We've noticed," said Katie Bell and Alicia Spinnet, almost in unison and with obvious displeasure.
Clearing his throat, Neville interrupted the discussion. "It wasn't the twins, Percy. It was Jim."
"Oh, thanks a lot, traitor," snapped Jim. Neville scowled at him, but refrained from responding.
Hermione stepped down from the table and stalked over to the confused prefects. "I don't know how things are going for the upper years. But among the First Years, it has taken Neville, Parvati, Lavender and myself a week to make up for the twenty-five points Jim Potter's antics cost us on his first morning as a student."
Ralph coughed at that. "Yes, well. Admittedly that was a bad start for Potter, but hopefully, it's given him something to think about and won't happen..."
"Jim just lost us forty points in Potions," she said calmly.
Silence reigned once more as all six prefects (and the rest of the gathered upper year students) stared wide-eyed at the Boy-Who-Lived, who swallowed hard at attention that as of late, was not as favorable as he was accustomed. Then, the assembled Lions began murmuring their discontent. The twins were persistently incorrigible, but a forty point loss was what they might post in a week, not a single class. It represented nearly half the points the entire house had earned in the first week of school.
"Forty points... in one class," said Emily weakly. She braced herself against a couch, eyes wide in genuine shock.
"Actually," said Neville tiredly. "Forty points in under a minute." You could hear a pin drop in the deafening silence.
"... HOW!" shrieked another of the prefects.
Lavender spoke up. She'd been very proud of those two points that she'd won in Charms the day before. The fact that Hermione not only remembered it at all but considered it just as important as the dozen or so the Muggleborn had won by herself instantly endeared her to the other girl. "Well, first of all, he mocked Professor Snape for his grooming habits to his face. Which was very odd because Professor Snape's hair is fantastic, I mean the luster and layers! Anyway, he then went on a tear about how his father and Professor Snape hated one another and so his father basically told him it was okay to be disrespectful to the Professor. Then, he called Professor Snape 'Snivellus.' Did I forget anything?" she finished, turning to Hermione with her brow furrowed.
"Well," said Hermione, "it was patently obvious that Jim hadn't done the assigned reading, but that seems almost to quote Professor Snape, 'pedestrian' after everything else that happened." She glared balefully in Jim's direction.
"Of course," joined in Neville, "I'm sure he'd have carried on for longer and lost even more points had you not shut him up." He turned to the prefects. "For which she won us ten points back, by the way."
Ralph stared in mild amazement at Hermione, who lightly blushed at the attention. The most points any Gryffindor had ever been awarded in Professor Snape's class was eight points, since the man tended to be stingier with points in Gryffindor's favor. Lightly shaking his head, he turned to Jim. "Why ... in Merlin's name, why would you deliberately insult a Hogwarts professor on the first day of class?!"
Jim stiffened and looked around. He was dismayed, angry, and genuinely shocked that most of the house seemed to be against him. "Because I shouldn't have to put up with abuse from someone who's had it out for my family since before I was born. I shouldn't have to be embarrassed with obscure questions no First Year student would know."
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Show of hands, please. Are there any other First Years who didn't know the answer to at least one of Professor Snape's questions?"
"I knew all three." "I knew two but didn't know the Draught of Living Death one." "Really? It was highlighted in bold in the sidebar on page 3." "Ah darn it! I always forget to read the sidebars." Other than Ron, it appeared that all of the First Year Gryffindors knew the answer to at least one of Snape's questions. Finally, Jim snapped.
"SHUT UP, ALL OF YOU! SHUT UP THIS INSTANT! I SHOULDN'T BE TREATED LIKE THIS! I'M..."
"The Boy-Who-Lived! Yes, we know," finished Hermione, rolling her eyes in spite of the shocked expressions most in the room bore. With wide eyes, Ron slowly backed away from Jim. "Harry was right about you with what he said last Monday. You really don't think that the rules should apply to you, do you?"
Jim blinked rapidly, fighting back tears. Hermione almost started to feel bad seeing him on the verge of tears. Almost.
"I destroyed You-Know-Who! That should mean something to the lot of you!"
Hermione stepped forward to look Jim straight in the eye. "How?" she asked simply.
"Wh-wh-what?!"
"How did you destroy You-Know-Who? I've read several books about the last war. They all just say You-Know-Who broke into your home, fought with your parents, and then tried to use the Killing Curse on you and your brother, when you somehow 'vanquished' him. How did you do it?"
Jim stared at her, his mouth opening and closing like a fish. Others in the room mimicked his expression, while some others (mainly muggleborns) stared thoughtfully at Hermione's questions.
"You don't know, do you?" she continued, her voice falsely incredulous. "You've been internationally famous and universally beloved for something that happened when you were a mere baby, and you haven't a real clue how it was accomplished. For all anyone knows, it could have been nothing but a magical fluke, but you expect to be treated like royalty for it, for all others to bow and genuflect before you." She scoffed and turned towards the stairs to the dorm room, the gathered crowd parting like the Red Sea. She stopped suddenly at the edge and whirled around, mouth curled in a rather cruel smile.
"You know, I just had the funniest notion! Wouldn't it be amusing if, for all this time, it had been Harry who destroyed You-Know-Who? And the real reason your parents separated and he lived with your mother was to keep him safe and hidden away, all the while you were put forward as the 'Boy-Who-Lived'?" She sneered at the title, some taken aback by the intensity of her expression. "Can you imagine? All this time you've been made famous as a ruse, because your Little Brother is the true wizarding hero you could never hope to be." She sneered once more, eyes glinting maliciously.
As she spoke, Jim's face twisted into a mask of rage, and with a vicious snarl, he pulled out his wand. But before he could cast a spell, each arm was immediately grabbed by Fred and George, who wrestled him as he struggled to break loose. That didn't stop him from screaming his rage "SHUT UP! SHUT YOUR FILTHY LITTLE MUDBLOOD MOUTH!"
There were audible gasps around the room, and Fred and George (as one) glared at his struggling form. Neville took an involuntary step towards Jim as if to strike him, but Hermione called his name sharply and he stopped, his fists still clenched. "Mudblood, Potter?" Hermione repeated, her brow quirking rather aloofly. "Seems like the idiom 'like father, like son' reigns correct in your case. Though I wonder, what would Professor McGonagall say to that?" She tilted her head as if genuinely confused. "Perhaps, we should ask her?" She turned her head, and the rest of the room followed her gaze to the entryway in the far wall... where Professor McGonagall stood completely aghast at the scene before her, eyes blown wide in genuine shock and anger.
"P-Pro-Professor?" Jim asked.
"Not. One. Word. Come over here. Right now." McGonagall spoke quietly but with a frightening intensity.
"Run along, Brother Dearest." Hermione hissed at Jim, who threw her a tearful scowl before slowly walking over to the Professor, wiping his nose on the sleeve of his robe. She stared unblinkingly at his cowered form before addressing the stunned Lions.
"I will not deduct any more points for what I have just witnessed. Mr. Potter will, instead, be serving detentions with me for the next month, once his and Mr. Ron Weasley's detentions have served with Professor Snape." Ron balked at the mention of his name while his brothers all frowned in his direction. "Miss Granger? As I understand it, this marks the second time today you have stood up to one of the most famous and revered figures in our society and chastised him for his atrocious conduct. That is two times you have done what is right rather than what is easy. Professor Snape has already awarded you ten points for the first instance, and I will match it for the second." Hermione graciously nodded her head in thanks.
McGonagall surveyed the room. "I don't know what each of you thinks, but I for one very much wish to win the House Cup. It saddens me to think that any of my Lions lack sufficient pride in their house to share that wish. But while I cannot make you care, I assure you, I can make life extremely difficult for you if you undermine others who do." She paused to glower at a shame-faced Jim. "Henceforth, any point deductions from a single individual in excess of five points in a day will be accompanied by detention with myself, as well as any point deductions caused by willful defiance of or disrespect towards a Hogwarts teacher. Am I understood?" The chastened crowd indicated that she was. "Good. Carry on. Mr. Potter, follow me."