Nodding at Hermione, Lily looked off thoughtfully and fell quiet, frowning as she tried to piece together what precisely it was that was happening at her son's school, and thus, to her son. After what had happened when he'd been a baby she remained protective to a fault.
Neville looked around the room and frowned a touch, shifting in his chair and moving to stand. "Mrs. Potter I've got to get going, my Gran's ordered a book for me to pick up at the shop and if I forget it again she'll send a Howler, I'm sure of it." Not that his Gran was especially short-tempered, but that book had been sitting in that shop since last term, and she'd gotten enough owls about it telling her to come to pick it up.
Hermione looked at Neville and then down at her own notes, "actually Harry, I've got to get going too, Neville wait, I'll walk with you."
"See you all," he gave a little wave, Hermione beside him doing the same and headed out of the kitchen, showing himself out of the front door, determined not to forget the book again. Lily gave a little laugh once Neville had gone and looked back at the remaining children, pouring herself another cup of tea.
"You know if the Ministry's this involved you'll have to be more careful than careful Harry," Lily said finally, watching her son.
Blaise stood and gave Lily a warm smile. "I should get going myself. Thank you, Mrs. Potter for having us," he said with a nod before looking at Harry. "I'll see you back in the dorms or around Hogsmeade here later."
Harry nodded and watched Blaise as he showed himself out the front door. Harry turned to look at Lily and nodded. "I know," he agreed with a sigh, slouching a little bit on his chair. "She's horrible, Mum. I've seen kids come out of detention with her rubbing her palms. I'm not sure what she's doing in there and thankfully I haven't been subjected to her detentions, but it doesn't seem right." He knew when to assert himself and while he disagreed with her teaching methods, he knew when not to bother. This was one of those cases.
He exhaled a breath and slid a hand over his face. "Half of my house seems okay with her and the other half, like Blaise and I, know that what's happening isn't right."
Once the last of her son's friends had left, Lily's expression grew more serious. "Harry," she began, waving a hand as she cut off his train of thought about Umbridge.
"I've always trusted you, and I believe you when you say how horrible she is, but Harry," she shifted in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest. "The Ministry is powerful, and you have to be careful."
If Harry and his friends believed that what had been happening in the school was wrong and thought they knew how to remedy it, she would turn a blind eye, but the idea of something going on in Hogwarts being so close to the Ministry was unsettling. She knew it was right, and she was glad that her son had become the sort of person who stood up and did something when things had gone askew, but the Ministry was powerful.
"Just, promise me if you mean to do something truly stupid, you'll tell me first? Maybe I could be your back-up. Okay?"
Harry sighed and slouched in his seat. He wasn't dismissing what his Mum was saying, she was right (and had always been honest with him). So once she was finished, he nodded. "I know," he said, looking at her.
"Truthfully, it wouldn't be my choice to go so strongly against her, even as subtle as we're attempting to be. But we also have our OWLS this year and not everyone as talented in DADA as yours truly." His tone was teasing toward the end of that as he sent her a teasing smile.
Harry looked at his cup of tea and considered the options. "Honestly though, if you have a better idea then I'm all ears, Mum. You will absolutely be my first call or back up if something comes up."
MAKE IT SO. harry needs these influences in his life
Lily frowned when her son mentioned the possibility that she might have a better idea, and shook her head. "Short of tapping Horace for his thoughts on the matter, which I'm certain you would not have me to, I don't - Hermione's plan makes the most sense. It's dangerous, far more so than I'd like for any of you to involve yourselves in - but it makes sense."
Turning her head towards the counter she looked at her wand, left waiting there after being used to get the kettle to a boil for tea, and considered for a moment before turning back to her son.
"Of course, I can't let you do this unprepared either Harry. I'll write to Dumbledore and see about getting you a pass to go home for the weekend. I'll show you what I know, and you can show your students." Lily certainly couldn't be the one leading a clandestine DADA course but she would be damned if her son was put to the task without knowing everything she had to teach.
Harry actually took a minute to consider that before he shook his head. "Aside from being sometimes the least subtle of Slytherin's, I'm not sure what he could do in this situation. Especially with Sn - Professor Snape as Head of Slytherin." There were days (often) that he wished his Uncle Slughorn remained Head of Slytherin but that honor went to Professor Snape who... well, Harry had some conflicted feelings regarding.
Despite having been sorted into his house.
His mouth curled up a bit when she started a kettle for tea. Harry looked at his mum and gave her a grateful smile. If it was anyone else, he would be surprised by the offer. But, Lily had always been open with him regarding everything that had brought them to this point and he was grateful for that. "Thank you, Mum - I would appreciate it. At this point, any little thing will help."
After grabbing a biscuit from the tray on the table, he looked at Lily again. "How are you doing, Mum? Have you seen Uncle Sirius recently? I worry about him being holed up in that house of his 24/7."
For just a moment Lily failed to catch herself and she frowned deeply at the mention of Severus. They hadn't spoken in years, and while her son knew, to some extent that they had grown up together in the same town, she hadn't yet told him the extent of the story. Some things a boy didn't need to know about his professor, much less his head of house. It would only complicate things for Harry, and Lily thought at present, things seemed complicated enough for her son.
"Dumbledore's a good judge of character Harry, really, even though he doesn't show it," said Lily carefully, her face shifting into a mask of careful neutrality. She wasn't crazy about the idea of Severus teaching either, knowing all too well how cantankerous and thorny he was, not to mention his questionable involvements that had ultimately caused their friendship to end.
That somber train of thought was thoroughly, and somewhat awkwardly derailed when he asked about his godfather, and again Lily had to stop herself from letting her expression betray her.
"I," this wasn't a difficult question, and she knew that, but she didn't like talking about Sirius. It never failed to make her feel awkward, for a multitude of reasons. "No? I mean, he came around a few weeks ago, he was in town because of that bike of his," she paused suddenly and waved a hand towards a new shelf on the wall that was now holding their spices. "He put that up."
Harry noticed the frown on his Mum's face when he mentioned Snape and while he had been curious as to how close they'd been, he'd never asked. Truth was, he didn't really want or need to know. He wanted to base his opinions on Snape based on how he treated his students. Honestly, it went both ways, he had felt a certain amount of loathing and contempt from the Head of Slytherin but more often than not, he left him well enough alone.
So long as he didn't cause any embarrassment to Slytherin, naturally.
His position on the Quidditch team had certainly helped.
Harry snorted at Lily's carefully worded phrase about Dumbledore and his character judgement. "Well, I should hope so since he is the Headmaster of our school," he agreed, giving her a little smile. "The Ministry however seems less than impressed." Course, that wasn't too surprising since the Ministry didn't actually believe anything that was going on in the first place.
Namely Voldemort.
Harry glanced at the shelf that was now hung up and nodded. "It looks good," he said and looked at her again with a little grin. Though he would never say a word, unless prompted, he had always got the feeling that his Godfather was very fond of his Mum (and vice versa). "So long as he's getting out. I know he's working on the place but staying at Grimmauld day and night would probably drive me batty."
She wanted to say that Harry seemed to think that his godfather had a long drive to get to battiness, but she refrained. The further away from the matters of both Snape, and Severus, the more comfortable she would be.
"I promise, I'll keep checking on him for you Harry, but I'm certain he'll grow quite weary of my fussing." A quick note here and there wouldn't hurt anyone, right? "Perhaps the next time you're home he'll come to dinner so you can see for yourself."
This wasn't getting off the topic of Sirius at all. This was actually more like digging a bigger hole for herself to climb into, and a moment later she was swift to change the subject.
"How's your friend, by the way? Hermione. I saw her with you earlier, but we didn't get a chance to chat."
"Somehow, I doubt it," Harry mused with a grin. "You balance out the unique mixture of Kreacher and Uncle Remus when he stops by."
He knew that Padfoot had taken care of himself decently enough over the years with the assistance of the house-elf, wolf, and his Mum. Harry grinned when Lily suggested inviting him to dinner while he was home and nodded. "It has been a while, at least since Summer. I know he's been a bit busy himself, especially recently with everything going on."
Harry grinned automatically when she brought up Hermione but cleared his throat as he took a sip of his tea before answering. "She's good, no doubt at the bookstore and plotting in only the way she can."
Refilling her tea she eyed her son, grinning slightly. "Are you sure this isn't your way of worrying over me not having any company as well, Harry? I assure you I keep very busy." Entirely with research projects and penning the occasional letter to a distant friend, her social calendar wasn't exactly blacked out.
But the grin that appeared on Harry's face when she mentioned his friend was all Lily needed to seize the chance to shift the conversation, turning the tables on him.
"You know," she began mildly, hiding her smile behind the rim of her teacup. "I hope you're aware that it wouldn't bother me in the slightest if you skipped a visit to my house because you used your Hogsmeade visit on a proper date."
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i forgot we said the others were heading out!
Neville looked around the room and frowned a touch, shifting in his chair and moving to stand. "Mrs. Potter I've got to get going, my Gran's ordered a book for me to pick up at the shop and if I forget it again she'll send a Howler, I'm sure of it." Not that his Gran was especially short-tempered, but that book had been sitting in that shop since last term, and she'd gotten enough owls about it telling her to come to pick it up.
Hermione looked at Neville and then down at her own notes, "actually Harry, I've got to get going too, Neville wait, I'll walk with you."
"See you all," he gave a little wave, Hermione beside him doing the same and headed out of the kitchen, showing himself out of the front door, determined not to forget the book again. Lily gave a little laugh once Neville had gone and looked back at the remaining children, pouring herself another cup of tea.
"You know if the Ministry's this involved you'll have to be more careful than careful Harry," Lily said finally, watching her son.
ahhh! I totally forgot that!
Harry nodded and watched Blaise as he showed himself out the front door. Harry turned to look at Lily and nodded. "I know," he agreed with a sigh, slouching a little bit on his chair. "She's horrible, Mum. I've seen kids come out of detention with her rubbing her palms. I'm not sure what she's doing in there and thankfully I haven't been subjected to her detentions, but it doesn't seem right." He knew when to assert himself and while he disagreed with her teaching methods, he knew when not to bother. This was one of those cases.
He exhaled a breath and slid a hand over his face. "Half of my house seems okay with her and the other half, like Blaise and I, know that what's happening isn't right."
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"I've always trusted you, and I believe you when you say how horrible she is, but Harry," she shifted in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest. "The Ministry is powerful, and you have to be careful."
If Harry and his friends believed that what had been happening in the school was wrong and thought they knew how to remedy it, she would turn a blind eye, but the idea of something going on in Hogwarts being so close to the Ministry was unsettling. She knew it was right, and she was glad that her son had become the sort of person who stood up and did something when things had gone askew, but the Ministry was powerful.
"Just, promise me if you mean to do something truly stupid, you'll tell me first? Maybe I could be your back-up. Okay?"
sirius has to live in this universe ok? LOL!
"Truthfully, it wouldn't be my choice to go so strongly against her, even as subtle as we're attempting to be. But we also have our OWLS this year and not everyone as talented in DADA as yours truly." His tone was teasing toward the end of that as he sent her a teasing smile.
Harry looked at his cup of tea and considered the options. "Honestly though, if you have a better idea then I'm all ears, Mum. You will absolutely be my first call or back up if something comes up."
MAKE IT SO. harry needs these influences in his life
Turning her head towards the counter she looked at her wand, left waiting there after being used to get the kettle to a boil for tea, and considered for a moment before turning back to her son.
"Of course, I can't let you do this unprepared either Harry. I'll write to Dumbledore and see about getting you a pass to go home for the weekend. I'll show you what I know, and you can show your students." Lily certainly couldn't be the one leading a clandestine DADA course but she would be damned if her son was put to the task without knowing everything she had to teach.
Agreed!!
Despite having been sorted into his house.
His mouth curled up a bit when she started a kettle for tea. Harry looked at his mum and gave her a grateful smile. If it was anyone else, he would be surprised by the offer. But, Lily had always been open with him regarding everything that had brought them to this point and he was grateful for that. "Thank you, Mum - I would appreciate it. At this point, any little thing will help."
After grabbing a biscuit from the tray on the table, he looked at Lily again. "How are you doing, Mum? Have you seen Uncle Sirius recently? I worry about him being holed up in that house of his 24/7."
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"Dumbledore's a good judge of character Harry, really, even though he doesn't show it," said Lily carefully, her face shifting into a mask of careful neutrality. She wasn't crazy about the idea of Severus teaching either, knowing all too well how cantankerous and thorny he was, not to mention his questionable involvements that had ultimately caused their friendship to end.
That somber train of thought was thoroughly, and somewhat awkwardly derailed when he asked about his godfather, and again Lily had to stop herself from letting her expression betray her.
"I," this wasn't a difficult question, and she knew that, but she didn't like talking about Sirius. It never failed to make her feel awkward, for a multitude of reasons. "No? I mean, he came around a few weeks ago, he was in town because of that bike of his," she paused suddenly and waved a hand towards a new shelf on the wall that was now holding their spices. "He put that up."
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So long as he didn't cause any embarrassment to Slytherin, naturally.
His position on the Quidditch team had certainly helped.
Harry snorted at Lily's carefully worded phrase about Dumbledore and his character judgement. "Well, I should hope so since he is the Headmaster of our school," he agreed, giving her a little smile. "The Ministry however seems less than impressed." Course, that wasn't too surprising since the Ministry didn't actually believe anything that was going on in the first place.
Namely Voldemort.
Harry glanced at the shelf that was now hung up and nodded. "It looks good," he said and looked at her again with a little grin. Though he would never say a word, unless prompted, he had always got the feeling that his Godfather was very fond of his Mum (and vice versa). "So long as he's getting out. I know he's working on the place but staying at Grimmauld day and night would probably drive me batty."
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"I promise, I'll keep checking on him for you Harry, but I'm certain he'll grow quite weary of my fussing." A quick note here and there wouldn't hurt anyone, right? "Perhaps the next time you're home he'll come to dinner so you can see for yourself."
This wasn't getting off the topic of Sirius at all. This was actually more like digging a bigger hole for herself to climb into, and a moment later she was swift to change the subject.
"How's your friend, by the way? Hermione. I saw her with you earlier, but we didn't get a chance to chat."
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He knew that Padfoot had taken care of himself decently enough over the years with the assistance of the house-elf, wolf, and his Mum. Harry grinned when Lily suggested inviting him to dinner while he was home and nodded. "It has been a while, at least since Summer. I know he's been a bit busy himself, especially recently with everything going on."
Harry grinned automatically when she brought up Hermione but cleared his throat as he took a sip of his tea before answering. "She's good, no doubt at the bookstore and plotting in only the way she can."
no subject
But the grin that appeared on Harry's face when she mentioned his friend was all Lily needed to seize the chance to shift the conversation, turning the tables on him.
"You know," she began mildly, hiding her smile behind the rim of her teacup. "I hope you're aware that it wouldn't bother me in the slightest if you skipped a visit to my house because you used your Hogsmeade visit on a proper date."