He
glanced
towards
the
girl
by
Lord Slytherin's side. "Your actions and behaviour suggest you are in favour of muggleborns in our world."
The mask tilted slightly. "…I prefer to think I am in favour of brilliant and talented witches and wizards who strive to better themselves."
For a brief moment, a corner of the girl's lips curled upwards before slipping back into her un-childlike blank facade, common among pureblood children, but always disturbing to see.
Dumbledore stroked his beard. "As the headmaster of a school, this is a sentiment I can fully endorse."
Slytherin nodded, once.
"I wonder if you might be interested in seeing this." Dumbledore reached to his side and placed a document he'd recently received in front of Lord Slytherin. It was an advanced copy from Arthur of his proposal for a muggle protection act.
Slytherin picked it up and glanced through the pages. "I've already seen this." He put the parchments back down again.
Dumbledore chuckled. "And?"
"I think it's self serving and short sighted."
He raised an eyebrow. Slytherin certainly didn't mince his words once you got him going did he? "Would you care to elaborate?"
"The vast majority of the proposal deals with increasing the powers of the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office, either directly, by allowing them to call auror raids on suspected individuals, or indirectly, by massively increasing the number of items that are classified as muggle in origin, thus necessitating a larger staff and bigger budget. That's understandable, considering the author of the bill is the head of the department."
Dumbledore frowned. "But muggles make new things all the time, surely you see the need to increase the number of items in the classifications?"
"Well, that brings me to the short sighted bit. Hermione?"
Miss Granger snapped her head sideways. "Yes, my lord?"
"What would your opinion be on a policy that advocated the continued banning of the integration of magic with new technologies as they develop? ceramics, plastics, chemicals, etc?"
Technologies such as electronics, lasers,
Dumbledore raised an eyebrow and turned his attention to the muggleborn girl.
Miss Granger seemed to think for a few moments. Eventually she spoke. "If magicals ban such integration, they may find, one day, that technology has become superior to magic, or that muggles have independently discovered either the existence of magic or even how to use it."
"Well reasoned, Hermione."
For a moment, Miss Granger beamed.
Dumbledore frowned. Was that likely? Certainly a lot had changed in the muggle world over his lifetime, but how possible was it that they would achieve something as improbable as discovering how to circumvent memory charms, or even use magic themselves. They were muggles. He shook his head. "I really can't see that happening, Lord Slytherin."
Miss Granger frowned.
Slytherin tapped his fingers on the armchair rest. "Then we find ourselves at an impasse, Dumbledore."
"Surely you see it is important to protect the wellbeing of those who live now, rather than sacrifice them for preventing the hypothetical and highly improbable doomsday scenarios of the far future that wizards can deal with, if and when they occur?"
Lord Slytherin stopped tapping his fingers. Eventually, he spoke, and when he did, the words had a hint of steel and a bite that his previous speech lacked. "That's rich coming from you."
Dumbledore's eyebrows both rose. Well, that was certainly a reaction. He raked his eyes over Slytherin wishing he could see the man's face. "I don't understand."
Slytherin lay back in his chair and his voice returned to his previous slow, deep rumble. "No, I don't suppose you do."
The two gazed at each other for an age. Old face staring into blank mask.
He cleared his throat, picked up the papers in front of him and idly shuffled them. "I have here the papers for Miss Granger's admittance to our healing program—" Miss Granger perked up.
"—however, there is one thing I would like to discuss first."
"Oh?"
"I understand that you've made aspersions as to the suitability of our highly qualified and talented potions master."
"I may have made comments, yes."
"I'd like your assurances that he will be allowed to continue the job for which he is almost uniquely positioned for."
Miss Granger stood, fists clenched at her side. "That man tried to mind rape me! And then as good as threatened to expel me for defending myself!" "Miss Granger." Dumbledore looked towards Slytherin. The man didn't move, seemingly uninterested in reigning in the irate girl. "Legilimency is not illegal. And I would remind you that your own Lord Slytherin, 'mind raped', as you put it, young Romulus Volf just the other night, in a manner far worse than Professor Snape may have attempted on you, if it is even true."
Granger scoffed. "That was different. That was in a duel. And my lord wasn't a professor giving a class and mind raping his students."
"Be that as it may," he straightened the parchments on the desk. "I would like your assurances, Lord Slytherin, that Professor Snape will be allowed to continue his job."
Granger sat back down.
Slytherin watched him, silent and unmoving. Dumbledore started meaningfully tapping the parchments in front of him.
Slytherin leaned forward. "If that bastard tries anything like he tried with Hermione ever again, on her or anyone else under my protection, I will eject him from the dungeons so fast, he'll be a smear on the ceiling."
"Noted, Lord Slytherin."
Miss Granger huffed.
Slytherin leaned back. "Go on then. Stamp the damn parchments."
Dumbledore smiled, flipped over the parchments, picked up his phoenix feather quill, and signed. "Congratulations, Miss Granger, you are now officially the youngest healer trainee in Hogwarts history."
Miss Granger nodded, stood, took the proffered parchments, and she and Lord Slytherin turned to leave.
"Oh, one last thing, Lord Slytherin."
The masked man turned back.
"If there are important issues regarding the running of Hogwarts that I feel a Lord of one of the four houses could provide useful input on, would said lord be interested in giving that input?"
The man stood stock still. Then he topped an imaginary hat. "Owl it all to Daphne. She'll give you my input."
Then the man turned, and he and the girl left without another backwards glance. Just as the door closed shut, he felt a strong pulse of magic and the telltale swoosh of a
cleaning charm sweep through his office, wiping out all traces of the man who'd just left.
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