Severus sat at his desk drinking champagne out of the novelty mug Chiara Lobosca had unexpectedly gifted him for Christmas. He supposed it was in thanks for his consenting to allow her to observe while he brewed the December wolfsbane. It was very bright, the glaze cycling through all the colors of the rainbow. On one side read the phrase "TEARS OF MY STUDENTS," in large, friendly letters. It was such a distinctly odd clash of message and design, he suspected she had enchanted an ordinary mug herself, or with the help of an upper year. It was the most unusual gift he had received by far. The most interesting was probably the selection of books Petunia had given him: the Handbook for Mental Health Care of Disaster Victims, the Handbook of Adolescent Psychology, and Psychic Trauma. The best gift was that he did not have to fail any students based on fundamental misunderstanding of basic potions principles on the mid-year exams. All the failures were in the details instead, and a lower percentage than he usually saw. He was, in fact, approaching a normal curve in the passing range for all his classes, for the first time in his teaching career. Hence, the champagne, leftover from the New Year party in the staff room.

There was a knock on his office door. He quickly disillusioned the mug and also the Sorting Hat before calling whoever it was to enter. The Hat snickered at him. It had teased him over receiving the mug in the first place when he got it back from Albus yesterday, then teased him for keeping and using the mug, and now for hiding the mug. There was no pleasing it.

It was a student who stepped into the room, despite the late hour on the first day back, Gwenog Jones. He nodded greeting. "Ms. Jones. What can I do for you?"

She smiled at him. "Happy New Year, sir. There were a couple things I wanted to talk to you about before curfew, if you had a moment." He gestured for her to sit and waited for her to continue. "First off, I had a chat with Augusta over the break."

"Oh?"

"She's given me permission to take over leadership of most of the house in her name while she focuses on keeping certain of her classmates out of trouble." Severus snorted. He had no doubt that arrangement was entirely Gwenog's idea. Assuming Augusta understood what power she was giving up, she was even lazier than Severus had thought. Gwenog grinned. "With that in mind, I had a few ideas to go over with you."

"She's the poisoner!" the Hat silently screamed in his ear.

It had continued to obsess about that throughout its time with Albus, apparently, and came back to him with multiple annoying accusations. Severus did not necessarily disagree about Gwenog, but he didn't answer the Hat either. In fact if the Hat was right, he was quite pleased with Gwenog. "I'm listening."

"You evil, manipulative bat!"

Just like Salazar. Shut up. He sealed his mind completely with Occlumency, reducing the Hat to a lifeless state so he could attend to his student without distraction.

"I've decided to have the prefects do a headcount in the dorms before curfew. Ravenclaw already does it; really, all the Houses should. It should make our patrols easier."

"Should you become Head Girl next year, you can make it a school-wide requirement."

She smiled at him and continued, "I think the career counseling we get as 5th years comes too late, since our electives are already locked in. After talking with Erika, Felix, Bryce, and a few others, I'd like to introduce a question and answer session for the second years around March or so to help them pick electives more appropriately."

Severus bit back a smile of his own. Gwenog's impromptu focus group for this matter were well-chosen. Erika was certainly the prefect who knew the second years best. Felix took the most electives, and was Sacred Twenty-Eight under close scrutiny of his family. Bryce as a muggle-born represented Felix' polar opposite in terms of familial guidance and support. "What exactly do you have in mind?" he asked neutrally.

"I should think the sixth year prefects would be the best people to run the session. We've been through career counseling already and don't have to worry about studying for O.W.L.s or N.E.W.T.s. Burke is game, especially if I do most of the prep work. I'd like to get at least one prefect from each House."

Severus' eyebrows rose. "You mean for this to be for all the second years, not just ours?"

Gwenog beamed at him; her guileless expression did not match the calculating glint in her eyes. "But of course! It's not just our second years who would benefit from advice. I would make it an open session. I can't force non-Slytherins to come, but it would be churlish to exclude them, don't you think?" Her tone was now sanctimonious. "Plus, it's a good opportunity for the juniors to start networking outside the House, and foster inter-House cooperation amongst both the juniors and the prefects..."

Severus did grin now. This was clearly part of her plan to land the Head Girl position. "It is an excellent idea, and I will support you to the other staff. You're quite right that we should not burden seventh years with the task." That would risk the current Head Boy and Girl usurping control of the project. Severus was confident Gwenog could hold her own against the other sixth-year prefects. "I'd like to see a written proposal for what topics you will cover, what questions you anticipate - poll our own second and third years for that - and how you might answer the questions."

"I'll get it to you next week and talk to the other prefects once you've signed off."

"I'll ask either Professor McGonagall or the Headmaster to endorse it for you as well." He was sure either of them would without much thought. The idea was a good one and did not create extra work for the staff. "What else?"

"I think we should increase our House's participation in the extracurricular clubs, besides just quidditch. It will give people more opportunities to compete outside the common room." And thus cut down on some of the in-fighting. Maybe. "I'd like to see Slytherin students heading up every club in a few years," she continued.

Severus' eyes narrowed slightly. He wondered if Gwenog had deduced his overarching ambition for Slytherin House and was pandering to him with this. "I do not oppose students' participation in approved extracurricular activities, so long as their regular coursework does not lag," he said.

"Great! With that in mind, we were wondering if you would be interested in being the faculty sponsor of a dueling club?" Severus' eyes narrowed further, and he said nothing. Gwenog was not at all cowed by his expression and continued, "There used to be a club years ago, but as far as I can tell, it pretty much ended when Professor Dumbledore started having all the trouble keeping a Defense Professor for more than one year, because it was the Defense Professor who ran it before. There's a lot of senior students who feel behind in Defense because of the turnover and would love to learn dueling from you."

And he might actually enjoy it as well. What was the catch, besides more work? "Professor Flitwick might be more qualified as an ex-dueling champion," he pointed out expressionlessly.

"He's only more qualified on paper," Gwenog said confidently. "And he already runs the frog choir and both magic and muggle music clubs, and the Gobbledygook language club. Plus he sponsors the charms club, although he doesn't run the meetings. You only sponsor the potions club." Because it was a requirement of his faculty appointment. He only went to the first and last meeting every year. "It would boost morale if our Head of House sponsored another club, I think. Also," she grinned slyly, "I happen to know of a few troublemakers that would be interested in getting on your good side if it meant they could learn some of the spells you were slinging around in the common room at the start of term. I figured if you're in charge of the club, you'd be perfectly entitled to make strict entry requirements, like students have to be passing their other classes and are banned from the club if they're caught fighting in the corridors."

No doubt Gwenog would be sure to let said troublemakers know who had convinced him to start the club in the first place. Clever girl. And she was right again, that such a club would benefit the school at large.

"I figured prefects who got 'O's on their Defense O.W.L.s could be the default club officers and your principle teaching assistants, since we're starting mid-year," she said. Which meant of course that Gwenog would be an officer, and that Augusta would not.

He snorted again. "I see you have it all worked out, Ms. Jones."

She pulled a roll of parchment out of her bag. "Even have the proposal drawn up for you."

He accepted it bemusedly. "I'll consider it. Was there anything else?"

"Just one more thing. I wondered if you had anything more planned for the Heir of Slytherin competition?"

"Yes. I have a voting box prepared that I will place in the common room on Monday. I will post results of this initial polling on the bulletin board after one week. These will not be the final results, but rather a starting point from which those in the lead will be expected to further position themselves and compete." He grinned at her slight scowl. "I hope this does not ruin your plans to sweep the majority of the lower years with your competitors being none the wiser."

She shrugged, expression wry. "I couldn't expect you to make it too easy on me, sir."

"No. Those with talent and ambition must learn to live with targets on their backs."

"As you say, sir. That's all I wanted to ask."

"Good night, then. And thank you for your diligence."

"Goodnight."

As soon as she left, he unsealed his mind. The Hat sputtered indignantly at him. Severus simply recalled the conversation, allowing the Hat to view what it had missed. After a moment, it observed, "You're proud of her."

I am. She is what this House should be.

"She did have some good ideas," the Hat admitted grudgingly. "The curse on the Defense position is a terrible blight on the school of which I was unaware until this year."

The curse was a blight on everyone; it was the main reason that Albus was so certain the Dark Lord was not entirely dead.

"Are you really going to let her get away with using poison on her fellow students?"

We have no proof of that.

"Only because you're not looking for it."

Nor will I. If there had been a plot with potentially lasting or fatal consequences against any student, Slytherin or otherwise, I would stop at nothing to find the perpetrator. That kind of behavior can only grow to lethal recklessness or habitual violence. If this plot had been carried out merely for petty vengeance or temporary reprieve, I likewise would not tolerate it, for the same reason. To think that it was done for grander purpose and with clear care to prevent lasting harm is reassuring to me. And he suspected, should he go digging for evidence against Gwenog, all of it would instead point to Augusta, or some other likely candidate, either because she was innocent or because she had thought to cover her tracks in more ways than one. He probably could find proof if he wanted to, but then he would be obliged to punish the perpetrator. Nor did he desire to teach Gwenog how to deceive him, not this year, nor would he fan the flames of his own feud with Augusta. He would know he and the Hat were wrong in their suspicions if his seventh years were targeted again.

His thoughts were disturbed by another knock on the door. Gwenog opened it again without waiting for permission; this time, her expression was not satisfied but rather concerned. "Sorry, sir. When I got back to the common room, Felix told me we're one off on the head count. Dirk missed the feast. None of the seventh years I talked to saw him on the train, or in their dorms, and he's about to miss curfew. Does he have a dispensation?"

"No," Severus said shortly as he stood up from his desk. "Thank you for bringing the matter to my attention, Ms. Jones. Back to the dormitory with you and arrange for the prefects to search there, please, thoroughly. If you cannot find him there, I will take care of it."

He ushered her out of the room, and they walked in opposite directions, she towards the Slytherin common room, he towards Argus' office. He drew his wand as he walked. "Point Me: Dirk Prentiss," he muttered. The wand spun three circles in his hand before shooting off a puff of smoke and lying still. He cursed. Wherever Dirk was, it was behind wards. He was either skulking, or he really wasn't here at all. Severus berated himself for not taking attendance personally at dinner. He should have known not to trust the system. He should have known not to relax too early. It was too good to be true to think all the students would make it back from the holidays on time two years in a row.

"Even for you, that seems pessimistic," the Hat commented.

Not at all, Severus thought at it darkly. Last year was a fluke. Students have gone missing over the breaks every year for the past decade. During the war, it was from all the Houses, from murders, kidnappings, fleeing threats against their families, or seventh years being recruited to join the violence. Since the war ended, it's mostly mere Gryffindor truancy, but missing Slytherins after breaks can be suicides. The Prentiss home is not a happy one.

He ran up the stairs and burst into Argus' office without knocking. Fortunately, the old caretaker was still there, going through the student roll he took at the door and cross-checking with the students who had stayed at Hogwarts over the break. "Argus, did Dirk Prentiss check in? My prefect reported him missing."

Argus immediately flipped to the Slytherin list at the bottom of the pile; he always organized things alphabetically. He ran a gnarled finger down the list of names and shook his head. "No. Sorry, Professor. I should have noticed sooner. It were Peeves what slowed me down - knocked into me at the top of the grand staircase with a whole pile of essays he stole from Professor Slinkhard's office. Took over an hour to sort through the mess."

"Coordinate a search for him, would you? I don't think he's here, but we have to check. If he is here, he's hiding from a Point Me."

"Sure thing, Professor." He stood up from his desk, wincing a little with arthritis.

Severus stepped back out into the corridor. "Expecto Patronum! Albus, a student is missing, Dirk Prentiss. I'm coming up." He raced after his patronus up two more flights of stairs to the headmaster's office. "Ice mice." The gargoyle moved aside. Albus was ready for him, talking to the portraits. "He didn't sign in with Argus," Severus said without preamble. "My prefects report no one saw him on the train, but he didn't stay here for Christmas, nor have I received correspondence from his family. Have you?"

Albus shook his head. "I sent Dilys to inquire at St. Mungo's. In the meantime, shall we floo Mr. Prentiss?"

Severus nodded and stepped to the hearth. He gathered a pinch of sparkling grey floo powder and threw it into the fire. "Number 6, Promenade of St. Giles, Aberdeen," Albus read from the massive registrar of students' home addresses. As soon as the flames turned green, Severus knelt to put his head in them and repeated the address. He closed his eyes until the whirl of fireplaces stopped. He was looking out into a dark room. From the greenish light on the hearth, he could make out faint details. The bones of the house looked fine: the floor was solid wood, and the firelight glinted off of gilded molding near the ceiling. Some of the furniture was covered in dust cloths. The rest of it and much of the floor was covered in garbage: empty and broken bottles, dirty dishes, soiled clothing, and scattered papers. And a discarded shrunken head rolled over near the fire. A doxy flew by to its nest in the corner. Charming. No wonder Dirk yearned for a Ministry job to escape this pigsty. "Hello! Floo call! This is Professor Severus Snape looking for Dirk Prentiss!" He waited but heard no answer. He shouted a few more times, but eventually had to give up. He pulled his head back out and turned to face Albus. "No answer. I could go through, but Alexandra Prentiss is in Azkaban for serving the Dark Lord. The house could be warded with something nasty for those seeking entry uninvited."

"No one by his name or description at St. Mungo's," former Headmistress Derwent reported, slipping back into her frame.

"Has Mr. Prentiss learnt the Patronus charm, Severus?"

Severus snorted. "From Slinkhard? No. Don't expect any of the seventh years to learn it in class this year." The current Defense Professor was even more useless than normal. Not only was he was a pacifist, he was an incompetent one. His only redeeming quality in Severus' view was his anal attention to correcting the students' grammar on the lengthy essays he assigned.

"So he will not be able to reply... Do you think it would be a risk to him should we reach out to him?"

Severus thought, then shook his head. "No matter who he's with, he is still a Hogwarts student. Even partisans shouldn't hurt him just because you're looking for a student."

"Very well. Expecto Patronum! Dirk Prentiss, if you are able, please report your location to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." The great silver pheonix hovered a moment, then winged away through the window. Severus breathed a sigh of relief. The patronus was looking for him, so Dirk was alive.

"Excellent, it seems your student is well. He is of age, isn't he? Perhaps playing truant is his own choice."

"Alive is not the same as well, Albus." He was not in the mood for the headmaster's perpetual optimism, not when it amounted to condescension of his Slytherins.

The door opened. Minerva McGonagall walked in, face drawn, lips thin. "Severus, Ms. Jones reported to me when she could not find you: Mr. Prentiss is not in the Slytherin dormitories. She also reports none of Mr. Prentiss' friends have corresponded with him over the break. Gifts apparently were sent to him, but none received in return."

Severus cursed under his breath again. He grabbed another pinch of floo powder. "We need to search that house."

"If you must break in, at least go by the front door, Severus," Albus suggested with a soft chuckle.

"Fine. We'll do it properly. Ministry of Magic." He stepped through the floo into the Ministry atrium, empty except for the night guard at this time. Said night guard was not keeping watch, instead groping around under the desk. Albus stepped through behind him. Severus strode up to the desk and slapped the wood to get the man's attention. "There is a student missing from Hogwarts, Dirk Prentiss, eighteen," he announced when the wizard's startled head shot up. "Family is out of contact by floo. Please notify the auror on call that Headmaster Dumbledore and Professor Snape will be visiting the Prentiss residence in Aberdeen." He turned around and stalked back to Albus. "Have you ever been to Aberdeen?" he muttered.

"Once or twice." Albus offered his arm, and Severus took it. They disapparated away.

Author's note: Severus did say that Slytherin is the psychologically problematic house for a reason. It's funny, I think the only time anyone explicitly took attendance to make sure all the students showed up to term in the books was when Filch was checking everyone with a Probity Probe at the start of 6th year. The rest of the time, students just showed up on the train and walked right in, and role call didn't happen until class. It's not like Hagrid even checked names to make sure he had all the right first years, just "are y'all here? Follow me!" Thank you for the reviews. Will definitely have an update by Friday, but might release it earlier.