"I'm going through the rest of the Gryffindor's of her year now to see if she tampered with any of their work as she did his," admitted Severus. "For someone with her personality, I find it hard to believe Potter is the only student who's work she dummified. I do know she has a very hard time when other students know something she doesn't or get the answer to a question right when she answered, or would've answered, incorrectly."
Minerva sighed. "I can see a lot of long nights ahead of us to try and find out just how wide spread her cheating was." She glared at Ronald. "And if I find one single assignment of yours that's not actually in your own hand or in words you actually know the meaning of, you'll find yourself out of here as well, young man."
Ron scowled and grumped. "I did my own work, mostly. My turned in assignments were all written by me and in my own words. Sometimes my brothers or Potter would help me with but she never would. She always said she had too much to do preparing for whatever the Headmaster told us was going to happen that year and with her own classes and stuff. Potter, when I did get him to help me, insisted I actually do the assignment before he'd help me with it. Then he'd look it over to correct my spelling and grammar usage. Or point out places where I could add more to make it better or where I was incorrect. I usually didn't bother adding more but I'd correct my mistakes. Sometimes he'd explain stuff I didn't get but I didn't really want to hear it. Neither he nor my siblings ever did the work for me."
Silkily, Severus said, "That is good news for you, Mr. Weasely. If it's true but we all know what a liar you are. So you'll excuse us if we don't take your word for it."
Ron rolled his eyes but didn't bother to answer the charge as he knew the Potions Master liked him even less than Ron liked the Potions Master. He watched silently as Hermione was forcibly removed from the Castle in the company of Kingsley and his partner. The magic of the Castle had already removed her name from the student rolls and any images of her as a student now had a black ribbon with a large golden 'C' trimmed in silver cutting across it. Nor could the ribbon be removed as it was now a part of the picture. She'd been formally expelled and the ribbon was a mark of her disgrace. It had been a long time since a student was expelled but Hermione Granger wasn't the first. Nor was she likely to be the last.
Albus was too busy floundering, wondering just how things had gotten so out of control to notice when the two remaining students as well as the staff left the office. He'd watched silently as Kingsley and his partner had led the distraught Ms. Granger to the fireplace and ushered her through the flames with all her belongings. All he could think was, "Now what will I do to control Mr. Potter?"
...
Severus decided to stop by Potter's room to give him a heads up and warn him to be alert as the Headmaster was likely to come after him now that he had finally noticed things in the Castle weren't running according to his whim. He knew Albus would be calling the boy to his office as soon as he recovered from tonight's events. Likely as not as soon as he'd figured out exactly how he wanted to spin Ms. Granger's expulsion and the marking of the three students. Potter deserved to be warned so he could be prepared to defend himself and not be blindsided by the old man yet again.
Not that Severus had any intention of allowing him to face the Headmaster alone. Now that he understood what the Old Man had been trying to do and how intelligent as well as how Slytherin Potter actually was, he was determined the Old Man wouldn't destroy the boy as he had so many others. Himself included. Because looking into Potter and recognizing how games had been played with the boy and his reputation and image had forced him to realize that for the Old Man to have succeeded as well as he had, he'd have to have done this before. That had him looking through piles of Hogwarts records and transcripts.
For the first time, he finally understood the bond of hatred between the Dark Lord and Albus Dumbledore. The Dark Lord was afraid of Albus. Not because Albus was any more powerful than himself really. More because Albus had already been the cause of so much suffering and pain for him, it was hard for him to realize he didn't have that power any more. The Dark Lord wasn't a helpless, defenseless child any more without resources or affiliations of his own to call upon. Still old lessons tend to stick with you and Albus had taught his lessons very well.
Seeing that had allowed Severus to look at his own situation with clearer eyes as well. He could now see how Albus had played him just as easily as he'd been playing with Potter. He'd made sure the Marauders never really got into trouble when they'd ambush the Slytherin students. Especially Severus. He controlled Minerva to the point where he almost could be said to do her thinking for her. It was clear in how she almost universally blamed Potter for everything that went wrong in the Castle during the last four years.
And since he had Slughorn by the balls, -literally- it had been just as easy to make sure the Slytherins got into trouble every time they defended themselves or retaliated. Slughorn had been a disgusting man who collected children as naturally as some people collect stamps or rocks. He was also a little too fond of them for his own good. Especially well born sons of high-ranking and influential people. He would then blackmail his chosen victims later in their adult lives for political favors as he needed them. And Albus had known it. So naturally he'd used that small indiscretion of his to bend him to Albus' will in the matters between Gryffindor and Slytherin House. Consequently Slughorn had never bothered to stand up for the students of his house just as Albus never stood up for Slughorn's victims. Or interfered in his choices so long as the student Slughorn chose wasn't a Gryffindor.
It was no wonder so many of his classmates had gravitated to the Dark Lord. They had answered his call because they were hurt and angry after seven years of abuse and mistreatment in the Albus run Hogwarts where anything and anyone Slytherin was automatically bad just because he said they were. The foreign born and educated Death Eaters and those who hadn't attended Hogwarts during Albus' tenure didn't have that excuse but they more than likely had their own reasons.