Harriet Potter and the Alpha in the Dungeon

Chapter 16 - What's to Come

Thank you for reading! I don't own any of Harry Potter! Please let me know if you enjoy! Updates every Saturday!
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Harriet spent the night asleep in Severus's arms, as they lay in the nest that she had made on his bed.

Headmaster Snape didn't have to worry the next morning about his assistant showing up for class on time since they rose and readied for the day together.

Harriet wondered to herself what Severus would end up announcing to the students and staff of Hogwarts.

To Harriet's surprise, he wasted little time in making a formal statement about the events of the weekend.

After they walked into the Great Hall that morning for breakfast, Severus stepped up to the podium and took it upon himself as headmaster to address the many and ever changing rumors that had furiously circulated through the school over the weekend.

When Severus stood and peered over the crowded tables, with his black robes hanging elegantly down by his sides, a respectful hush fell over the crowd as everyone quieted in eager anticipation of what their strict leader had to say.

"I would like to firstly remind....everyone...about the importance of maintaining proper conduct and adhering to school rules." Severus spoke in his low rumble of a voice, "Should those rules be ignored...or violated.... and the culprits identified, those responsible are subject to punishment at the staffs' discretion, with the heavy seriousness and grim reality of potential expulsion."

Harriet noticed that while Severus spoke, an alarming amount of students kept glancing over at her as if they were silently seeking to confirm their own suspicions.

When Severus paused, a hand shot into the air from the Slytherin table.

Severus nodded over towards the boy to which the hand belonged, silently granting the student permission to speak.

"Is that what happened to our prefect, Headmaster?" The boy asked with a frown, "Was he expelled?"

"Any transgressions committed and punishments distributed will be kept confidential to protect the potential victims of such offenses and to not glorify those responsible." Severus replied in his steady purr, "I have no comment on the whereabouts of your former prefect, Mr. Glassing, I can only tell you that he, and his friends whom some of you may have noticed are also missing, remain unharmed. However, a new prefect for Slytherin will be chosen within the next week."

When Severus concluded that interesting statement, instead of more anxious silence, hundreds of speculative whispers erupted across each of the house tables, but Severus spoke over all of them, "If.....you will all mind the rules that have been put into place for safety and the furtherment of your own education.......then you have nothing to fear. Enjoy your meal this morning and see that you arrive at your first class of the day on time."

The whispers that had momentarily quieted came roaring back in full force when Severus walked away from his podium and returned to his seat at the High Table beside Harriet.

The majority of students were disappointed by their headmaster's statement.

He hadn't given out any details about what had happened to cause a prefect and his friends to no longer be seen at the castle.

He hadn't said a word about his recovery from alleged ill health or what assistance Harriet had offered him in his enfeebled state.......

Severus didn't feel that the details of the past few days concerned the general population of Hogwarts and so, he chose to omit them.