Both Harry and Hermione were certain Sirius would forgive them for blaming him. If they pulled this off, Sirius would probably be rolling on the floor with laughter after hearing about it.
Nodding her head as she easily pictured such an event happening, Minerva had to agree. "That certainly sounds like something Sirius Black would pull. Do you have any notion of what Professor Snape is talking about, Miss Granger?"
They could both feel Snape and/or Dumbledore trying to read Hermione's thoughts. Without either of them removing their wands and actually casting the spell, their rings easily dealt with the problem. Hermione would also like to think she lied a lot more convincingly that after the troll incident in her first year. "Professor, Harry never left my side all night. If what Professor Snape claims happened then I would have had to have witnessed it, I didn't."
Albus wanted this wrapped up quickly, before any more revelations came out. "Severus, looking at the evidence I can't support your detentions of Mister Potter..."
"And my complaint against Professor Snape?" Harry's anger at hearing Remus Lupin had been forced into resigning was still mighty.
Wearing his best grandfatherly smile, Albus thought he had a rather elegant solution to this tricky problem. "Harry, my boy, Miss Granger just built a very convincing case for Professor Snape being confounded into believing something awful happened between you both."
Albus' wand had Harry's sleeve slipping from Severus' grasp and sliding up Harry's arm before flawlessly reattaching itself. "I can't punish someone who wasn't in complete control of their actions. The other matter mentioned was settled by trial many years ago." He may have thought this would end the matter but Albus was wrong, way wrong.
"Was my godfather the only person who was denied a trial after I defeated Voldemort? That smells something awful." Turning to his head of house, Harry had made a decision. "Professor McGonagall, I know part of the Hogwarts charter allows students to bring in their own tutor if they believe it would be beneficial. Myself, my girlfriend, Hermione, Luna here, Neville and Ron will no longer be taught potions by Professor Snape."
Hermione was in his head, asking how he knew that. Harry just showed her the pages of some book Tom must have read. 'The knowledge just feeds into my thoughts, pity our exams are over.' This revelation shocked Hermione into silence, it seemed too much like cheating before her sensible side kicked in and asserted itself. They needed every advantage they could get.
Trying to prevent Severus exploding, Albus attempted to be the voice of reason. "Harry, that would cost rather a lot of gold. Whatever money your parents left you, I'm sure they wouldn't want you to waste it like this. Won't you reconsider?"
Thinking for a few seconds, Harry again spoke with his head of house. "Professor McGonagall, I've reconsidered. It wouldn't be fair to the rest of my Gryffindor yearmates to have Professor Snape take his anger out on them. They are welcome to join me too."
The cheering from the Gryffindor table was almost enough to set the powder keg that was Severus Snape off. A quick glance confirmed neither teen was were wearing the rings Severus was sure were on their fingers last night, he also had no problem believing Black would curse him while he was unconscious.
While lending credence to him being confounded, not being able to get a read on either of these two concerned Severus a lot more. He needed to get to the bottom of this so Severus made one last desperate attempt to get Potter into detention.
"Headmaster, it's undeniable that Potter and his two friends were out after curfew last night. Aren't they going to receive any punishment, or is Potter exempt from the same rules that govern everyone else?"
This was just too good of an opportunity to tweak Snape's hooked nose for Harry to resist. Sirius would be pissing himself with laughter at this one. "But Professor Snape, you yourself said - in front of the Minister of Magic - that all three of us had been confounded by Black. Professor Dumbledore just ruled that people who aren't in complete control cannot be punished for their actions. I really think you should get Madam Pomfrey to check you out, there's no telling what else Sirius Black might have cast when you were unconscious…"
Seeing the writing was already on the wall, Severus swung around and marched out of the great hall - his customary cool cape action being somewhat unusually accompanied by the sound of sniggering Gryffindors.
"Was that really necessary Harry?"
Harry's jaw almost hit the floor at hearing the headmaster's rebuke. "I just walked in here to have my lunch, what did I do wrong? I'm not prepared to put up with Snape's bullying anymore, and you won't do anything about it, so what other choice do I have?"
"Forgiveness is a wonderful thing to learn and practice…"
Harry cut right across the headmaster. "My mother and father put me down for Hogwarts so I could study for my O.W.L.'s and N.E.W.T.'s, I didn't know Forgiveness was a course here - it certainly wasn't during my parents' time."
No one missed that a certain potions professor attended Hogwarts then too. "I'm having to find a tutor because one of your professors has never heard of the word you seem so fond of. James Potter being my father is all the reason he's ever needed to pick on me since my very first potions class, no more.
We also have another professor who's been dead for centuries, spending his afterlife boring us all to sleep. How can I possibly forget the professor who publicly predicts my death on a weekly basis and, considering two out of your last three defence professors have tried to kill me, we'll probably need to look at a defence tutor in September too. If I end up needing tutors for half of my subjects, what does that say about Hogwarts? The Prophet would have a field day with that information."
As they walked to the Gryffindor table, Luna was heard to mumble "Might as well open your own school".
Hermione couldn't resist a dig at a stunned Dumbledore and McGonagall. "That's a great idea, Luna. Harry, we need to look into that."
Sitting in his usual place, next to Ron, with Hermione on his other side. Luna was invited to slot in right beside Hermione. Harry's hand patted a slack-jawed Ron's shoulder. Their friend must have been really rocked by what just happened, Ron had stopped eating.
"Hey mate, great to see you back on your feet. Sorry you found out about Hermione and me like that. It wasn't our fault though, we intended that you'd be the first to know."
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