A/N: Sorry for the wait! I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Chapter 59: New Subjects

"Lily, I'm sure Dumbledore would understand if you do not want to come – "

"No." Lily looked up into the grey eyes of Remus Lupin, swirling with concern, but refused to let her resolve waver.

The Gryffindor Prefects had just been delivered a message from the Headmaster, requesting that they join him in his office. The prospect of discussing Thursday's hate-fuelled attacks on muggleborns with Professor Dumbledore – perhaps even dissecting them in detail – was not at all enticing, and yet Lily knew that hiding away and wallowing in her fears was exactly what whoever had committed those attacks had wanted. She drew herself up, breathing in deeply and lifting her head a few inches higher. She might be unable to change what had happened, but she would do all she could to deny the attackers any further satisfaction and triumph. She was not going to give in and let them walk over her and other muggleborns again.

"Thanks, Remus," she said with a wan smile, "but I'm coming. I want to help."

Remus met her eyes and, after a moment's consideration, he nodded. They headed over to the Portrait Hole where they joined the other Gryffindor Prefects.

"See you later," Lily called to Mary, Alice and Marlene, who waved back at her.

"I wish we were coming too," said Alice longingly.

"Bring us back all the news!" James shouted over to them from the window seat.

Remus smiled and raised a hand in recognition. Then the four Prefects departed from the Common Room and headed down the hallway towards Dumbledore's office. None of them spoke, each locked in their own thoughts, in tune to the seriousness of their summons. Lily was uncomfortably aware of the solemnity of the situation and how Hogwarts' future hung precariously in the balance. Was Dumbledore summoning them to ask them to step up their Prefects duties in a further attempt to clamp down on discord among the students? Was he sending for them so he could ask them for suggestions on how to prevent similar attacks and scares in the future? Or were they being called for him to inform them that he and the school governors had decided that Hogwarts was to be closed…?

With dread pooling heavily in her stomach, Lily followed the other silent Prefects onto the spiralling staircase behind Dumbledore's griffin, and they ascended to the small lobby outside the wooden door at the entrance to his office, which was open. The sound of many voices was filtering out, and as Lily peered around the doorway she saw that the Headmaster's office was full of many occupants.

"Good." Professor McGonagall strode forwards to usher them inside. "Come in, quickly."

Lily and the others hurriedly filed inside Dumbledore's intriguing office and went to stand beside the cluster of Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin Prefects who were already there, while Professor McGonagall shut the door behind them. The Prefects were not Dumbledore's only guests. All of the teachers stood there too, wearing dour and mournful expressions. They formed a kind of semicircle around Dumbledore, who stood in front of his desk, apparently midway through chairing a meeting. A sombre, desolate mood hung palpably in the air, much as if they all stood at someone's deathbed, striving to prevent the inevitable.

Dumbledore lowered his keen gaze upon them and nodded gravely. "Thank you all for joining us. Now that the Prefects from all four Houses are present, we can continue our discussion.

"I am sure you – and the rest of the school – have been wondering what has been going on these last two days. Yesterday I had many lengthy discussions with the school governors regarding recent events – the attack on four first-years with muggle parents; the hate message directed at muggleborns; and a month ago the attack using Dark Magic on Mr Potter and Mr Black. We are all in agreement that our first concern is the safety of Hogwarts' students. We are also in agreement that recent events are unacceptable and cannot be allowed to happen again. Parents will rightly be concerned about the well-being of their children, and I have already received owls from angry and fretful parents who intend to withdraw their children from the school unless we can devise a method by which we can prevent further atrocities and guarantee the safety of all students. I must be candid and inform you that if we cannot find a solution, the governors will have no choice but to ask that I close the school."

Lily could feel the tension now. A few of the Prefects were exchanging nervous glances with each other, and even the teachers looked upset at the prospect of the end of Hogwarts. Professor Flitwick was blinking furiously, young Professor Sinistra was openly crying into her handkerchief, and there was a hard edge to Professor McGonagall's jaw that showed she was only just managing to reign in her feelings. Lily was feeling horribly unsettled herself. The idea of being sent home to her mother and father – of having to live like a muggle – of trying to forget everything about Hogwarts and instead blend in with the muggle world – was too appalling to accept. She could not go back to living like that, living without magic. She simply did not belong in Petunia's world anymore… Hogwarts, the wizarding world, was her real home. Her heart fluttered with panic at the thought of losing it forever and she shot Dumbledore a fearful, enquiring look. He had rarely looked so grim.

"You may be wondering why I have summoned you here today, and how you can contribute to our discussions. It is my feeling that as representatives of Hogwarts' students, from each of its four Houses, it is your right to have your say on how we might proceed from here. We value each of your views, and fully appreciate that you may have an equally valuable perspective that we have not yet considered and should be taken into account."

He surveyed them all, teachers and Prefects, welcoming any one of them to step forward.

"We have already introduced stringent rules since the attack on Potter and Black," said Professor Sprout imperiously. "What more can be done? Curfew has been brought forward, and the students have always been accompanied by a person of trust – a teacher or a Prefect – when outside a place of safety."

"But that failed," objected Professor McGonagall. "When Potter and Black were attacked, they were in the presence of a Prefect. Even worse – Professor Sinistra, a teacher, was taking the first-years down to the Great Hall when this latest attack occurred."

The young witch who taught Astronomy gave a great sniff and revealed pink eyes above her white handkerchief. "I d-don't know what happened…" she stammered, her breath hitching. "When we left the classroom I'm sure I had the whole class with me, but when we reached the lower floors we converged on several other classes… There were students everywhere, and some – somehow they gave me the slip…"

"We do not apportion any of the blame to you," said Dumbledore gently. "Our measures relied on every student taking responsibility for their safety – and that of others – too, and co-operating with the new rules. Yet it is clear that certain students had already decided not to comply and deliberately sought to lead vulnerable young children away from your care at a time when the corridors would be busiest and it would be hardest to keep track of every student in your charge."

"Precisely!" erupted Professor McGonagall, her glasses flashing dangerously. "It is those students who planned this latest attack who are to blame! To draw off defenceless eleven-year-olds at one of the busiest, most chaotic times of day, to torment them so that the teachers would be drawn hither, and to simultaneously write that – that revolting, that monstrous message on a wall in such close proximity to the Great Hall, where many would see it and be affected by its brutal insinuations… Such behaviour exposes cold-blooded engineering and callous desire to persecute fellow witches and wizards… It is they who merit punishment, no one else!"

Lily found herself nodding, in full agreement. If only they could find the students who were the root cause of all this enmity within Hogwarts, if only Severus would confess their names, they could be expelled from the school and no one else need suffer! Remus and many of the other Prefects were muttering in consensus too.

"Hear, hear!" squeaked Professor Flitwick, standing on tiptoes to pat Professor Sinistra on the elbow.

"Let us not be hasty to apportion blame, however," put in Professor Slughorn agitatedly. "We do not yet know who carried out these attacks, and we cannot penalise any student in good faith without incontrovertible evidence."

"But will we ever discover their identities?" sighed Professor Sprout. "All four victims report their attackers were masked and are too afraid to speak of their ordeal for fear of further punishment. We cannot force anymore information from them."

"Perhaps this is a time for more drastic measures, like Veritaserum!" said Professor McGonagall fiercely.

"Merlin's beard! We cannot interrogate every student in this school!" gasped Slughorn weakly. "It would be unethical, and I do not possess anywhere near the quantities required for interrogation on such a vast scale! The cost of its ingredients is, alas, prohibitive…"

"I understand your sentiments, Minerva," said Dumbledore. "What has occurred has been cruel and will have deleterious repercussions on hundreds of members of Hogwarts' community. However we cannot deprive every student of this school their rights to privacy and their own minds for the sake of seeking out the perpetrators. Moreover, what would we stand to gain by actually identifying the perpetrators? I for one feel strongly that they should not be severely punished for their offences."

A stunned silence hung in the room for several long seconds while this unexpected announcement trickled through several layers of comprehension.

"Albus, have you lost your mind?" said Professor McGonagall finally, clearly affronted. "I understand your reluctance to punish children, but however old they are, they have committed acts that are cruel to the extreme, planned in cold blood and designed to terrorise young, impressionable muggleborns! They are beyond evil. Suspension or even expulsion come nowhere near the punishments they deserve."

"No, Minerva," said Dumbledore, firmly yet sombrely. McGonagall's eyes widened behind her glasses as if she could not believe this was Dumbledore who was speaking. "The perpetrators are sorely misguided, but they are not evil. That is too strong a word. They have acted not because they are bad at heart, but because of the influences they have been exposed to, the prejudices long-held in the wizarding world and the opinions they have heard from their parents as they have grown up. These acts are a product of the society we live in and the values it has preached for far too long. These young people have been caught in the middle and have been driven to willingly commit atrocities and parrot extreme views, but they are not to blame."

Professor McGonagall's nostrils flared as she raised her head a little higher in the slightest nod, and she did not challenge Dumbledore again.

"Well said," nodded Professor Sprout approvingly. "These young people are not the root cause of the problem here at Hogwarts. Even if we were to ascertain who they are – which I think we have agreed would be a most arduous and likely unsuccessful task – punishing them would not solve the matter on our hands. If we are to prevent similar horrors in the future, we need to change the thinking of our students."

"Quite right!" squeaked Professor Flitwick. "Prevention is better than cure, I say! We must transform the students' way of thinking so that they respect one another and learn to appreciate their differences in background and culture, rather than see them as a cause for mistrust and enmity."

"I'm afraid I must interject," blustered Slughorn, who was mopping his sweating brow and looking most uncomfortable with the turn in the conversation. "It is all well and good to say we must alter how our students regard wizarding and muggle backgrounds, but this is something that has been instilled in them from birth! Children in wizarding families have grown up with the status wizarding blood confers ingrained in them, and the precious value of wizarding heritage taught as something to be lauded and protected, rather than undermined by intermingling with the muggle way of life. How in Merlin's name do you propose that we engineer such a change in their thinking?"

"That, Horace, is indeed the question we now must answer," said Dumbledore. "I fear there is no easy answer, but we must attempt it, or Hogwarts may be no more."

Silence pervaded the room once again. Dumbledore surveyed each of his colleagues in turn, but none of them spoke.

Lily began to grow anxious. If Dumbledore and the other teachers could not contrive a solution, did this really spell the end for Hogwarts? She gave a start. Dumbledore's keen blue eyes were now fixed on her.

"I would like to invite any suggestions that any of our Prefects may have," he said kindly, turning his eyes to each of them. "No idea will be too silly or far-fetched that it will be laughed at. I welcome anything you can add to our quandary."

"Sir?" Remus had stepped forward, and was already looking daunted by the innumerable pairs of eyes turning onto him. Dumbledore gave him a warm smile and gestured him to continue, which he did haltingly. "Well… There's the Muggle Studies club, where students learn about muggles and how they live. I know it's quite small right now, but I've heard a few people from wizarding backgrounds saying how useful and interesting they find it. Maybe if – you know – we could get everyone to join, students from wizarding families would be able to learn about muggles and – and understand them better."

There was much murmuring from the teachers and many of them nodded their heads.

Dumbledore regarded Remus with high esteem. "I do believe you are onto something there," he said pensively. "Yes… I myself am most fond of that particular club."

"A club could not be made compulsory for all," put in Professor Flitwick. "But perhaps we could form a new subject called Muggle Studies, and make its lessons compulsory for all students."

There was renewed nodding and mutters of approval. "Muggle Studies classes," repeated Dumbledore thoughtfully. "Yes, teaching the whole school about muggles would certainly address our aim to change students' prejudices against the non-magical community. Well I do believe we have our solution, for which we must thank Mr Lupin."

Remus blushed bright red.

But Lily had spotted something, and it was bothering her so much that she felt she must speak up.

"Excuse me, Professor Dumbledore," Lily said timidly, "but I feel that this approach is quite… um… one-sided. It should help students from Pureblood families to understand muggleborns better, but there's no help for muggleborns to understand the magical world better. I can't speak for other muggleborns, but I found it very difficult when I first started at Hogwarts. I was thrown into a world I knew nothing about, and often made what I later found out were absurd, elementary mistakes to my classmates because I just had no idea what was normal. Wouldn't it be a good idea to also cater for muggleborns so that they can better understand the wizarding world too and help them fit in more easily?"

For a second, Lily feared she had stepped out of line in criticising Dumbledore's plan. But then –

"An excellent idea!" boomed Professor Sprout heartily.

"I certainly agree," concurred Professor McGonagall. "In this way, no one will feel left out. Every student will stand to learn something and will also be in a position to teach their fellows about other matters."

Lily's eyes found Dumbledore's, and to her relief, he was smiling down at her with pride.

"A most admirable suggestion, Miss Evans. I take my hat off to you. So, we shall set up two new compulsory subjects. One, like the Muggle Studies club, will educate students about the muggle world; and the other will educate students about the wizarding world." He looked round at them all, beaming. "Well now, are we all in accord?"

xXxXx

"They're bringing in two new subjects."

"They're what?"

"And they're compulsory!"

"New subjects…?"

The news was relayed over and over around the Slytherin Common Room on Saturday evening after the Slytherin Prefects returned from Dumbledore's office and brought back the astonishing information to the Slytherin dungeon.

Severus had been attentively listening in on Parkinson's conversation with some of the other Slytherin sixth-years. The Prefect's account had been interrupted multiple times, giving an annoyingly jumbled overview, but he had gathered the overall impression.

He hunched over, staring into the fire, its white-hot tongs blazing trails onto his eyes while he mulled over this news. This move from Dumbledore was certainly unforeseen, although excessive punishment and unanimous constraint were diametric opposites to the Headmaster's usual methods, despite general expectation of some such extreme measures given the attack on the vulnerable eleven-year-old muggleborns. Even Severus had expected Dumbledore to hunt down his housemates and ensure they were held to account for their acts of muggleborn hate. Dumbledore had practically confirmed to him he knew they were to blame for the attacks on James and Sirius, so it would be no great leap for his quick mind to suspect that they were also involved in this week's events. His eyes had spent half the day darting to the entrance of the Slytherin Common Room, expecting to see the Headmaster standing there at any moment. So why hadn't he?

But of course, Dumbledore's inclination was always to trust, to allow freedom even to the point of risk. Severus snorted. Yes, now he thought about it, Dumbledore would certainly favour an educational change. The chance to indoctrinate all the students of Hogwarts about muggles and wizarding traditions, and, most likely, even the Dark Lord himself. Dumbledore had always made his views on these matters pointedly lucid and would no doubt revel in the opportunity to spout them more frequently and, this time, with some semblance of 'justification'.

Severus frowned into the fire. Perhaps he was being overly sceptical of the new educational programme. Though where he was concerned, one could never be too mistrustful of the seemingly benign Albus Dumbledore, who beneath the serene, placid exterior was working furiously hard, pulling at strings to achieve his own ends and designs.

But Severus barely knew the names of the two new subjects, let alone what would be covered in them, and even more importantly who would be teaching them. He sighed in resignation. He would have to reserve judgement for the time being, whatever his gut instincts.

"Wizarding Culture and Muggle Studies?"

Severus looked up at the scornful voice. He saw Rosier shaking his head, a derisive expression on his face.

"Honestly, what are they thinking? What a waste of time!"

"As if we need to learn about wizarding culture!" scoffed Avery.

Severus listened in mutely as his Slytherin companions continued to vent their opinions on Dumbledore's move.

"Yeah, it's only mudbloods who don't know our ways, and they don't even deserve a place here at Hogwarts!" added Wilkes. "We shouldn't have to give up one of our free periods a week to sit through stuff we already know, just for them! They don't have the right to be here learning magic anyway."

"That's not even the worst of it," muttered Rosier. He looked utterly disgusted. "I would much rather sit through Wizarding Culture than endure some muggle-loving fool lecturing us in Muggle Studies." He pulled a face as if he had just swallowed something foul.

"My father will hit the roof when he hears we will be forced to learn about useless, scheming, dirty muggles," said Mulciber darkly. "As if learning more about muggles will endear us to them! Ha. How deluded. It'll just make everyone aware of even more reasons why we should separate ourselves from muggles and put them firmly back in their place."

"Huh! I wonder who'll be teaching Muggle Studies! Bet it's Dumbledore. That'll be his dream job, he's always been ridiculously besotted with muggles. He won't miss the chance to lecture us all about how wonderful they are for hours on end…"

Severus looked away and said nothing. In his view, the most telling part of the news that had been brought back from Dumbledore's council was that lessons would be restarting on Monday. That meant that Dumbledore felt confident in sourcing two new teachers within just thirty-six hours, or else that the teachers required were already on hand. Severus could imagine Dumbledore expounding on muggle rights and the reprehensible 'arrogance' of wizards through the ages, and yet he felt sure it would not be the Headmaster himself who would end up teaching them.

But the best ramifications of all were, without a doubt, that the school was to remain open, and he would get to see Lily again at last.

xXxXx

There was an air of tentative excitement on Monday morning as Lily and Remus led a large group of Gryffindors down to breakfast. No one knew quite what to expect after the upheaval of the last few days, but it felt good to get out of Gryffindor Tower and return to some form of normality. The Great Hall was buzzing with the kind of chatter that usually accompanied the first day of term, and Lily's spirits couldn't help lifting.

It was clear though that the enforced separation over the weekend had injected a sense of paranoia into the students. People were looking over their shoulders anxiously, or else glaring belligerently, as students from other Houses hurried past them, and no one was stopping to talk to their friends at other tables. As for Lily – it had been a very long time since she and Severus had dared approach each other at their respective House tables. A glimpse, a shared glance or a secret smile were all they ventured in the Great Hall nowadays.

Lily took her seat at the Gryffindor bench, surreptitiously scouring the Slytherin table for Severus. After a minute she found him, deep in conversation with Rabastan Lestrange. A jolt of annoyance shook her, until she found a pair of black, piercing eyes looking right back at her, even though his lips were still moving around words of a conversation that she could not hear.

She gave Severus a little smile, and her heart leapt as he gave her the tiniest nod of recognition. She had missed him an awful lot over the last four days.

"Look!" gasped Mary, pointing up at the teachers' table. "Who are they?"

Lily's head shot round. She scanned the row of teachers and saw two wizards whom she did not recognise sitting at the long table. A young, red-haired wizard sat to one side of Dumbledore, and appeared to be in lively conversation with Professor Sprout, who was dabbing tears of laughter from her eyes. An older wizard, more of Dumbledore's ilk, was sitting beside Professor Slughorn. Like the Headmaster he had white hair and a white beard, though not long enough to be tucked into his belt.

"They must be the new teachers!" said Lily, hit with sudden realisation and now looking at them intently. "I wonder who they are!"

As if registering her thoughts, Dumbledore chose that moment to stand up and raise his hands for silence. As many other people were also staring shamelessly at the new teachers, the hubbub died away quickly.

"A very good morning to you all!" Dumbledore greeted them loudly, spreading his arms wide in a gesture of welcome. "I am delighted to see you all here before me, after the sad events of last week. By now I am sure you are all admirably well-informed, thanks to the prolific grapevine of adolescent tongue-wagglings, of the fact that lessons shall be restarting today, on the proviso that two new subjects will be taught to all students with immediate effect."

A perfectly still hush had fallen over the whole hall, and all faces were glued to Dumbledore's.

"Our first new subject," Dumbledore announced, "is Wizarding Culture, and I am pleased to say that this class will be taken by Professor Greengrass. He has kindly offered to take time out from his work at the Ministry of Magic to help break down the barriers to the magical world for those with a muggleborn upbringing, and teach all about the nuances of our rich culture and society." The old wizard with long white hair stood up and raised a hand in comfortable acknowledgement of the smattering of polite applause he received.

Like Dumbledore he exuded a sense of worldly knowledge and venerable power, yet now Lily looked at him, he was less like their Headmaster than at first glance. He was plumper, as if he was frequently accustomed to dining at lavish dinner parties, and his sleek white hair was half pulled back into a thong, revealing a high forehead that gave him an almost arrogant appearance. This feeling was reinforced by a self-assured smile just visible beneath his beard, which overall gave an impression that he had used his calibre to gain himself a job, a position in society and great wealth that far eclipsed that of the Headmaster, and he was proud of it. Yet he appeared affable enough as he nodded to them all and sat back down at the high table.

"Our second new subject is Muggle Studies, which will be taught by my friend here Professor Prewett," Dumbledore continued. The red-headed wizard at Dumbledore's left stood up and gave a cheery wave. In his early thirties, this wizard was much younger than most of the other teachers, save their Astronomy teacher Professor Sinistra, who had been only an assistant teacher in their first year at Hogwarts. There was something about his goodhumoured face, stocky build and confident grin that implied a strength and warmth which immediately inspired Lily to have faith in him.

"After the success of the Muggle Studies club, which has been running at Hogwarts for the last few years, Professor Prewett will be here to give all students a better understanding of muggles and the similarities of their lives with our own."

Lily smiled up encouragingly at the new Professor, but out of the corner of her eye she caught sight of several knots of Slytherins bending the heads together and muttering disrespectfully, and her expression hardened.

"I can already hear the questions you are all bursting to ask, and I hope I shall address most of them now. Every student, regardless of what year they are in, will have one lesson in each of these subjects a week. I am afraid this means that the First and Second Years will lose their Friday afternoons off, and the older students will forfeit some of their free periods."

There was some disgruntled muttering at this unsavoury news, which Dumbledore hastened to acknowledge.

"I understand this is irksome and steals you away from whiling away time gossiping or playing gobstone matches – undeniably very important activities – but I would not ask you to do this if there was not a very good reason. I urge you all to engage with your excellent new teachers, for there has never been a time in which it is more critical to learn to respect and care for each other, to embrace our differences, and to work together to protect the safety of our school's community, lest Hogwarts and indeed the wizarding world as we know it, is broken and lost for good."

What vocal discord had been rippling around the Great Hall fizzled out. It seemed that everyone was uncomfortably aware that it was only by the fact that these lessons were taking place that Hogwarts had been allowed to stay open.

Dumbledore clapped his hands briskly together. "Now, each lesson will be held with students from one House within one year group only, so that common beliefs can be better targeted. There will be a policy of 'what is discussed within the classroom, stays within the classroom' to encourage you to speak up and be honest, so that assumptions and prejudices can be addressed in a safe, non-judgemental and welcoming environment. I am sure I can rely on you all for your co-operation in this."

Dumbledore smiled around at them all.

"Well, I won't keep you from your scrumptious breakfasts any longer. I know how important it is for you to be fuelled up for your busy classes today. Tuck in!"

He sat down, and turned to engage Professor Prewett in conversation.

"What do you think?" Lily asked her Gryffindor friends, going back to her toast. Based on first-impressions, she was quite optimistic about the new teachers. They didn't promise to be a complete flop, at any rate, unlike several of their hopeless DADA teachers over the years.

"Oooh, Professor Prewett is young, isn't he?" gushed Mary excitedly, twisting in her seat to get a better view of him.

Lily raised an eyebrow. That was not the kind of response she had been looking for.

"He's at least ten years older than us," she responded fairly.

Mary turned around and pouted at her. "Yes, but I mean, compared to the other teachers – well, look at him! He must be about a hundred years younger than Dumbledore, mustn't he! He looks quite groovy."

"If your criteria for being attractive is purely founded on the absence of a long white beard or a bald head, then yes, he has his merits," said Lily, grinning. Alice and Marlene erupted into gales of laughter. Marlene giggled so much that Sirius Black looked around curiously, and on realising she had captured his attention she knocked her spoon to the floor with a clatter in her haste to tuck her hair coquettishly behind her ear. She didn't emerge from under the table until Sirius had gone back to his conversation with his three best friends.

"But seriously," said Mary, leaning forward with only the faintest red spots on her cheeks, "do you know anything more about him?"

Alice chewed her lip, looking thoughtful. "I thought I heard my dad mention a Prewett working with him in the Auror Office, but I'm not sure if it's him. I think he said that Prewett had a twin brother – I don't know whether it's this Prewett he worked with. If it means that much to you Mary, I can write to my dad and ask…"

Mary's face had lit up, whether at the news that their teacher might be an Auror, or that he had a rather more available twin brother, Lily didn't know and didn't bother asking. She smiled widely as she busied herself with her toast.

"What?" demanded Mary indignantly. "What, Lily? What's wrong with wanting to know more about our new Professor, who just happens to be quite good-looking?"

All four girls jumped as Professor McGonagall suddenly loomed over them, brandishing their new timetables. Their Head of House gave Mary a rather stern look as she handed her a piece of parchment, though Mary was too busy studying what was written on it to notice.

"We start Muggle Studies today!" she exclaimed excitedly once McGonagall had proceeded down the table. "Excellent!"

Lily shook her head in exasperation. Yes, she was looking forward to learning new subjects and meeting their new teachers, but the best part of today's timetable by far was that she and Severus had Charms together in just a few hours. Her heart leapt at the thought.

xXxXx

"Greengrass… Greengrass…" Rosier looked up at the ceiling, as if working back through family trees in his head. "That's a well-known old name. Pureblood, I think."

Severus watched his friend as he sipped his coffee, hoping for some enlightenment. He had seen the name in the book on Wizarding Genealogy that Rosier had lent him back in second year, and he thought he'd read about a Greengrass in the Prophet one time, but he couldn't remember anything more. However, if Professor Greengrass was anyone worth knowing, his fellow Slytherins would be able to tell him.

"He is from one of the oldest Pureblood families," put in Rabastan unexpectedly.

Severus and the other sixth year Slytherins looked at him avidly. Whatever Rabastan knew would be worth hearing. Severus waited.

"Greengrass is a well-respected wizard, close to the Minister of Magic. He has been a member of the Wizengamot for over fifty years."

"That's true, my father's mentioned a Greengrass from important Ministry hearings!" said Avery eagerly, before the others glared at him and shut him up. No one interrupted Rabastan Lestrange.

"And – and what do you think?" asked Rosier in hushed tones.

Rabastan drummed his fingers on the table, his eyes roving over the old wizard. "I think there is a chance that he will be a favourable teacher. He was at Hogwarts in Dumbledore's time, I believe, though I don't know that the two were ever more than amicable acquaintances. They must rub along comfortably enough at the Wizengamot for him to so quickly accept Dumbledore's request to teach here, but my father has always spoken much more highly of him than the Headmaster. He has always been a much more reasonable, obliging wizard, with a far more open mind towards new ideas."

Severus raised his head, his eyes connecting with Rabastan's in understanding. In spite of Dumbledore's intentions for these new lessons, Greengrass might deliver a far more welcoming approach to the importance of preserving wizarding traditions. Why Dumbledore had appointed this wizard to teach them about wizarding culture was most intriguing. Perhaps Dumbledore believed him to take his stance on the relative balance of wizarding and muggle rights. Or perhaps it was not Dumbledore's decision after all, and the governors had chosen him instead. Severus scrutinised the old wizard, who was shaking hands with the younger Prewett and nodding.

"This Prewett however," Rabastan continued, his voice tinged with curiosity. "He also comes from an old family, but I don't know anything further. What his recent background is I shall have to find out. We can hope that he lives up to the name he has inherited."

"The Prophet has a few rather uncomplimentary words to say about him," said Severus drily, turning to Rabastan. He handed him the newspaper, which he had been reading when Dumbledore had stood up to make his speech.

There had been a short article describing the school governors' decision to keep Hogwarts open on account of a new educational programme. The columnist had been supportive of Greengrass (though, in light of his high standing in the Ministry, this was now unsurprising to Severus), while it had been more reticent to give support to the 'young, eccentric Fabian Prewett, who despite being a talented, hardworking boy at Hogwarts famously boycotted all of his NEWT exams and yet was mysteriously awarded five honorary Outstanding NEWTs'.

However they did not have time to discuss the paper's take on Prewett for at that moment Slughorn came bumbling along, handing out updated timetables. Rabastan silently passed the paper back to Severus, looking contemplative.

"Here you go, m'boys!" Slughorn boomed genially. "Looking forward to your new lessons?"

Ignoring Slughorn's question, Severus took his new timetable and quickly scanned it. To his dismay, he had no new subjects today. He was not optimistic about Muggle Studies or Wizarding Culture, but he was interested to find out more about the two new members of staff and how they would portray the Dark Lord's movement.

On the upside, though, today he would finally be able to meet up with Lily.

At last Severus caught up with her during morning break two hours later, as she was making her way to the frosty courtyard with her Gryffindor friends. He had approached her rather warily, half-expecting her to blow up again at the sight of him, but she hung back and looked almost ashamed, as well as surprised, that he was seeking her out.

"How – how are you?" he asked tentatively as he drew her under the shelter of the cloisters in the courtyard. Some distance away, he saw Alice Walker eying him up with a mixture of reservation and – could that be, albeit reluctant, actual approval?

"Better," she said, giving him a sincere smile. Severus felt her give his arm a squeeze and heat blazed on his cheeks. "I'm glad to see you. I thought maybe – " Lily broke off looking uncomfortable. "I'm sorry for the things I said to you the other day, Severus. I didn't mean – "

"Don't mention it," Severus muttered. His overwhelming feeling was one of relief. The last time he had seen Lily, she had been angry and distraught, and though he had understood why she had been so agitated, he much preferred this calmer, warmer version. However Lily's close contact had taken him by surprise, and he was embarrassingly aware of how flushed his cheeks were. Then he noticed Lily's Gryffindor friends all looking over at them, and without hesitation he pulled Lily towards the door that would take them back indoors. He didn't want those silly girls nosing in on his private conversation…

Lily followed him without complaint, but as they walked down the empty corridor towards their Charms classroom she continued to look at him oddly.

"What?" he said brusquely, afraid she had noticed his coloured cheeks.

Lily ducked her head. "It's just – well – I thought, after what happened – I mean, not just after what I said, but after those things – that message on the wall – and your friends talking – I thought perhaps you might not – might not want to – "

Suddenly it hit him what Lily was trying to say. "Don't be stupid," he said at once, coming to a standstill. "Of course I want to speak to you, Lily! You think I give a damn about that message?"

Lily's eyes widened with sudden hurt and Severus felt a jolt of alarm. "No! I didn't mean it like that!" he gabbled hastily. "I just meant that – you seriously thought that message could alter my feelings about muggleborns? That what my Slytherin friends say about it could make me not want to see you as much? That message was unnecessarily cruel."

Lily was staring up at him, a warm look in her eyes that made the heat burn even more fiercely on his cheeks, and she let out a sigh of unmistakeable relief.

"You don't know how relieved I am to hear you say that, Sev. You can't possibly still back You-Know-Who now, not when these acts have been done in his name."

Severus glowered at her. She wanted him to promise to spurn the Dark Lord just because a few seventeen-year-olds had got a bit carried away with Dark Magic?

When he spoke, his voice came out stiff. "Why do my views on the Dark Lord have anything to do with what happened last week? Besides, what happened was a mistake."

"A mistake?"

Lily's voice rose in derision, and she stared at him, her eyebrows ascending several inches. "You can't be serious."

"They made a mistake. I'm not saying it wasn't intentional, but it was a misjudgement. It won't happen again."

Lily's eyes narrowed. "How can you be so sure?"

Severus threw her a dark, significant look. "Because I had words with them. And Rabastan did, too."

Lily's expression turned cold at the mention of Rabastan. She had always taken issue with Rabastan Lestrange, for the knowledge that his father was a Death Eater had been an open secret within the school since they'd been in second year, and there were rumours that his older brother, Rodolphus, was also a Death Eater. Unlike many rumours circulating Hogwarts' corridors, this one was true – though Severus had not revealed this to Lily. The fact that Rabastan himself had been initiated into the Dark Lord's inner circle shortly after he had turned seventeen last year, Rabastan had only made known to Rosier, Wilkes, Avery, Mulciber, Nott, and Severus himself.

"So it was your friends."

"I never said that."

Lily glared at him. He had as good as confirmed it was his fellow Slytherins who were to blame for the attacks, though he would obstinately refuse to confirm the fact outright in order to protect them. He was being deliberately obtuse, and they both knew it.

"And they actually listened to you, then?" said Lily in a plainly disbelieving tone of voice. "I mean, Rabastan is sort of the leader of your little group isn't he? But you – "

Severus caught Lily's meaning instantly, though she did not complete her sentence, and he did not like it. She was insinuating, of course, how the other Slytherins looked down at him for his half-blood status, and – in spite of showing him cautious respect on account of his reputation for Dark Magic, and wanting to stay on the right side of him so he would deign to help them with homework assignments, and his shared views on the Dark Lord's movement – how they frequently treated him not unlike a second-class Slytherin.

"I spoke to them successfully enough on my own, thank you very much," he snapped irritably. "And the admitted they were wrong to act so threateningly, without Rabastan standing over their shoulders."

"They apologised? To you?"

Lily was goggling at him at this news, her eyes very nearly popping out of her head.

Severus drew himself up haughtily and gave a sharp nod.

"Wow…" Lily looked utterly amazed, but now there was something akin to admiration in her eyes as she gazed at him. She was clearly impressed by the way his housemates had come to respect his views, and the beginnings of self-worth mingled with pride began to stir in Severus' belly, dispelling all disgruntlement. Here, at last, was what he had been striving for, for years – to become a wizard who was in a position to vouch for her, who could protect her from the excesses of the Pureblood zealots. To become someone of worth and good-standing, to become someone Lily Evans could look up to with admiration, awe, and maybe even something more…

"Well, I must say I'm surprised – but very glad – that your housemates have started listening to you, and are starting to see the error of their ways. But do you really think they are genuinely sorry for what they did? Do you honestly believe that they're going to stop supporting You-Know-Who? And is an apology to a friend really enough considering the harm their actions have brought to so many people?"

The rush of pleasure Lily's glowing eyes had bestowed on him a minute ago faded as quickly as it had come. Severus was starting to get annoyed by how badly Lily was taking the stunt with the first-year muggleborns and the message on the wall, and felt angry at how she was using it as a reason for him and his friends to drop all support of the Dark Lord.

"Look, I get that the ambush on those first-year muggleborns was wrong, but there was no real harm done, was there? None of them actually got hurt by the fire, did they? And that message – it was distasteful, yes, but it looks much worse than it actually is. People are reading far more into it than they should, and taking it several steps further – "

"Wasn't that the point?" interjected Lily coldly. "Isn't that what they wanted everyone to think?"

"Maybe they did! I don't know! I wasn't part of it!" Severus snapped shortly. "But what I do know is that this was a foolhardy scheme dreamed up by some big-headed schoolboys, not anything ordered by someone higher. So don't you go blaming the Dark Lord for all this!"

"I don't believe this! You're actually defending what they did?"

"No," Severus corrected her bluntly, "I'm saying keep the Dark Lord out of this! It's all the fault of some over-the-top seventeen-year-olds, not one of the greatest wizards of all time. Don't you go painting him with the same black brush…"

He trailed off, the menace in his voice lingering between them. Lily looked very much like she wanted to give him a piece of her mind for trying to protect the Dark Lord from her criticism, but she seemed to think better of it.

She turned and continued along the corridor, and Severus kept pace with her. Through the silence, their feet carried them along the familiar route to their Charms classroom, though their minds were still firmly affixed elsewhere.

"So, what do you make of it all?" asked Lily after a while. "The two new lessons. I know you'll have an opinion."

Severus stole a glance at her. He thought she had sounded frigid, but he saw the corner of her lips twitching upwards wryly. She knew him well.

Severus looked away. He said nothing at first. He suspected his views on the matter would be quite different to Lily's. The new measures had their merits, in theory at any rate. Education worked better than rules and threats. But the massive flaw in the plan was the fact that education required a great deal of time and engagement from the students. In his honest opinion, he rather thought Dumbledore had missed the boat with trying to change the students' way of thinking, and said so.

"Perhaps it will serve a purpose for the younger students," he conceded, "but for us and the seventh-years – and probably even the fifth-years too – I believe this is all too much too late… far too late. So whatever effect it will have will be minimal to the point of being remarkably inconsequential."

Lily frowned. "If you'd only open your mind to muggles, Severus – "

"Will you open your mind to the traditions of wizarding society?" he shot back.

Lily opened her mouth to say she didn't need to, then realised that was precisely what Severus was getting at. He raised an eyebrow superciliously.

"You see? We know our own minds, as does everyone our age and older. We don't want to change, or to be forced to concede we might be wrong. I think it will be a total waste of time for the older year groups. Unlike the younger ones, who are far more impressionable and inexperienced, we have set our beliefs and hold to them with staunch conviction. Nothing that a teacher drones on about will change that."

Lily crossed her arms, and when she spoke her voice sounded cold. "Well, I think it's an excellent idea," she said sniffily, drawing herself up tall. Her bag swung at her side as she marched along briskly. "I for one would have found Wizarding Culture lessons immensely valuable when I joined Hogwarts. It would have saved me from making a lot of embarrassing mistakes, and looking a right idiot for being completely clueless about what it means to be Pureblood, or a werewolf, or a house-elf and so on! For muggleborns it'd make the transition from the muggle world to the wizarding world so much easier and help us to fit in. Even you, growing up cut off from most of the wizarding world, would have found it helpful, wouldn't you?"

Severus thought back to the humiliating occasions in which he had accidentally revealed his dearth of experience of the wizarding world in front of his Pureblood housemates and felt a wave of discomfort wash over him again, an unpleasant echo from the past.

"I s'pose," he grunted reluctantly. "But forcing us to sit through Muggle Studies… How can you think it's worthwhile to make people like us do Muggle Studies when we've grown up with muggles! You and I both have parents who are muggles, Lily! We practically lived as muggles for half our lives!"

"I think it'd be really interesting to study muggles from the wizarding point of view," said Lily brightly. "I think it'd be really good to get people to think about how difficult life is without magic, and to see how ingenious and resourceful muggles actually are, inventing electricity and engines and everything. It'd dispel that absurd Pureblood myth of muggles being stupid and narrow-minded at any rate."

They had reached their Charms classroom, and as they were early Lily plopped down onto a plinth beside a statue of armour to wait. After a moment's hesitation, Severus perched himself stiffly on the other end of the plinth, emitting a non-committal sound.

"Oh come on, Sev! You shouldn't write off the subject before you've even sat through one lesson! I thought you valued all aspects of a well-rounded education."

"Oh yes, like Divination and History of Magic are so worthwhile."

Lily seemed temporarily thrown for a moment, not by his sardonic attitude, but by the memories he had dredged up. He watched as she reflected on the endless brain-numbing torture of Binns' lessons, and their disastrous few weeks studying Divination back in Third Year before they gave the subject up, and when he saw her give a little grimace of assent he knew he had won the argument.

"I agree with a well-rounded education," he stipulated, "but some things we are forced to study in this place are not what I would call 'educational'. Divination: what a load of rubbish! It's all a load of guesswork and spooky, mysterious airs. I have my doubts that these new subjects will be any more useful or applicable to our futures. And so much depends on the abilities of the teacher…"

"I'm sure Professor Dumbledore will have chosen two very capable wizards to teach such important subjects," said Lily, with the faintest trace of reproach in her voice. "Anyway, we'll soon see for ourselves. When do you have your first new class? Gryffindor have Muggle Studies last period this afternoon!"

The bell rang, signalling the imminent start of the next lesson, as Severus fished around for a scrap of parchment in his bag.

"I'm afraid you'd have been better off keeping your free period," he muttered sceptically, earning him another glare from Lily. He consulted his new timetable. "Wizarding Culture… tomorrow before lunch."

"Oh good! Then you can tell me all about it! We don't have Wizarding Culture until Friday…"

"I thought," Severus reminded her with raised eyebrows, "that we were not meant to discuss the contents of these lessons outside the classroom, to aid pupil participation."

Lily flushed at his remonstration. "Well, yes, but… Oh, you know what I mean, Sev!" she said, swatting him over the head. He ducked, smirking. "You can tell me how good it is, at any rate!"

He stood up as the crowds of Gryffindors and Slytherins came rumbling towards them, and Professor Flitwick opened the door to the Charms classroom. He looked down at Lily, his eyes still dancing with amusement. Teasing her was too much fun.

"I suppose I could tell you that much, at any rate," he drawled, leading the way into the classroom, "if I felt so inclined…"

xXxXx

Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you make of the new subjects and Lily and Severus' reconciliation, it's really helpful to hear your views :)