Chương 50: chapter 50

When it dawned on the Headmaster what it was Harry said, he too went a little white and near collapsed back into his chair before properly retaking his seat. He simply did not know what to say.

A little quieter, Harry snarled, "I've had it, Headmaster. I am not kidding when I tell you I've had enough. I have finally reached the end of my tether with the fucking lot of you; and, unless things immediately become a lot safer for me around here, I'm gone!

"You can snap my wand, you can bind my magic, you can expel me from the school; the bond between Hermione, Daphne and I has not been finalised; so, doing all that will not unnecessarily harm them."

After a short hesitation he said, "I'll even make it easier for you. Tell me, right now, what the Hell is going on with the two youngest Weasleys being back here, or I head to the DMLE and demand my immediate expulsion from the magical world. I'll be gone from this world before the sun sets."

The Headmaster knew right then things had escalated to the point where all was lost unless he immediately acted. He sighed and sat forward with his elbows on the desk, his hands clasped and resting his forehead on them. As he looked down, he could see Harry's wand sitting on the desk between his elbows, waiting to be snapped.

Harry waited for a few long moments. When the Headmaster still didn't say anything he huffed and said, "Right." He spun around to look at Hermione and Daphne. "Sorry, ladies," he said to them both. "But, it looks like this is where we part ways."

He then stepped forward to give Hermione, still sobbing, a hug. He needed to say goodbye. "Take care of yourself, Hermione. If Malfoy calls you a Mudblood again, give him a good swift kick in the goolies for me, yeah?" and pulled back.

While holding her in the crook of his left arm, he used the ball of his right thumb to brush away the tears on her cheeks as she looked back and nodded.

"Hey," he said. "You know I can't stay. Sooner or later one of these death-defying risks to me in this school will no longer be defied; and, I'll be dead. Its better I go now, before the bond finalises and risks your health along with mine."

"I know," she sobbed. "You need to take care of yourself, Harry. I'm going to miss you." Then she kissed him on the cheek before backing away.

"Me too," he replied, before turning to Daphne.

Daphne immediately came forward and enveloped him in a hug of her own; which he returned. "Goodbye, Harry," she said. "I'm sorry things didn't work out for you... for us."

Pulling back, she then broke down in tears.

"Hey," he softly said. "Please don't cry on my behalf. You know I need to do this."

"Mister Potter," the Headmaster called.

Harry ignored him, for the moment, as he tried to calm Daphne down.

"Mister Potter," the Headmaster called a little more loudly.

Giving it another couple of moments while he held Daphne, Harry then turned to Dumbledore - who had quite the unusual expression on his face - and replied, "I'm not ignoring you, Headmaster. I'm saying goodbye to these two lovely ladies."

"Mister Potter," the Headmaster said once more. "I cannot expel the two Weasley children because they have not yet been found guilty of a crime."

Harry snorted back and said, "No, maybe not. However, you most certainly can suspend them until the results of that trial are determined.

"However, we've gone beyond that, now. The two Weasleys are only the latest of my issues with you, the rest of the staff and this school. Now that we've reached that point it's easy for me to recognise the truth. If things stay the way they are, here; I'm going to die before I can graduate.

"So no thank you, Headmaster," Harry sighed. "I've had enough. And I can't see you, with your 'you must learn to forgive' bullshit, doing what needs to be done to make the rest of my time in this place non-life threatening... even if securing the safety of your students is your primary responsibility as Headmaster."

"What do you want me to do, Mister Potter?" the Headmaster quietly asked.

"Headmaster, you can't be..." exclaimed Professor Snape.

"Silence! Severus," the Headmaster half-bellowed in a snap right back at the man. "Things have clearly reached the point where Mister Potter feels quite comfortable... and that it's his best option... to give up his magic rather than stay here another moment, as the way things are. And I find that horrifying.

"Clearly, I have been incredibly remiss in my responsibilities as Headmaster; and I intend to rectify that, immediately." He then turned back to Harry and, in a softer voice, again asked, "What do I and the staff need to do to change your mind, Mister Potter."

Harry stared back at the old man with Daphne still in his arms, and thought about it for a few moments.

Finally, with a huff, he replied, "Fine." With a nod of his head towards Professor Snape, he said, "Professor Snape needs to immediately and forevermore cease his attacks on myself, other students and the memory of my father. I will not tolerate a single instance of abuse from the man, ever again. The fact that he abuses a student... any student... should see him immediately placed on probation; and, any further instances, summarily dismissed. He may be one of magical Britain's premiere Potions Masters, but he sucks as a teacher. Instead, he's a bully.

"He takes points for things like 'blinking too loudly' or 'asking a question'. That is, of course, if you're not a Slytherin. If you're a Slytherin, you get points for things like 'looking attentive' or 'wearing green'. It makes a complete mockery of the points system. And the points system is a fundamental core of your discipline system. Many students now ignore the system because Professor Snape has tainted it to the point its nought but a joke. As such, many... if not most... students now can no longer be bothered with earning points or losing them."

The man in question seethed in his place, but kept his opinions to himself.

"Next," Harry continued. "The ongoing abuse of students by other students, for whatever reason, must end immediately. Use of the term 'mudblood', or similar sneers, must see swift punishment of the offender. And, the punishment must be sufficient enough to have those who offend think twice before doing it again. Make terms like 'mudblood' and 'half-breed' taboo words anywhere on Hogwarts grounds, on the Express and on both train stations. It's flat-out bullying and needs to be dealt with.

"This year, you've told us we're to have delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. Do you really want them to experience Hogwarts with none of that fixed? What sort of image does that promote?