"Hermione is but one example. Do you honestly believe her parents would've allowed her to accept his bribe if they knew what he was asking her to do? Or even if they knew why he was asking her to do it? To say nothing of where the coin he offered her was coming from. That's not an excuse for her wrongdoing. She did know it wasn't his coin to offer and she was well aware her accepting it qualified as stealing since she has from time to time freely admitted she knew my vaults and wealth were being concealed from me deliberately."
"She has also read Hogwarts: A History cover to cover. So she knew the by-laws regarding cheating and other students homework assignments. She isn't stupid. So when she read those by-laws, she knew what they said and understood being asked to monitor my class work was her being asked to break the by-laws and risked her own enrollment. She also knew the cost of getting caught breaking the by-laws was expulsion. She just likes sucking up to authority figures and if she can do something for them no one else is doing or can do, all the better for her as she sees it as making herself indispensable to them. Then they will defend her when the other students or adults get upset with her for the way she behaves. So yes, she did expect him to make sure she never got into trouble for what she was doing with my homework."
He quirked up one side of his lips. "And by the way, Dumbledore never asked her to substitute my assignments with her own. He never even actually asked her to dumb my work down. He only asked her to monitor my work. He wanted to know what I knew and was learning so he could more aptly tailor the hoops he was having me jump through each year to fit my current abilities. She chose to do the substitution on her own because I'm smarter than she is and she wanted to be in the top ranks of the students of our year. She's always read a great deal and her word comprehension level is exceedingly high. But it doesn't translate for her into real world situations and every day living. In other words, she knows what she's reading and understands it right up to the point where she has to put it in her own words."
"Therefore, she knew she was breaking school rules as well as society laws. She just didn't care because she thought she wouldn't get into trouble even if she did get caught. Because she had his patronage and McGonagain likes her."
"Professor McGonagal, Potter. You don't have to like her or even respect her but use her full name and title please," Severus lightly scolded him. Personally he liked the nickname but it was disrespectful so he couldn't let Potter call her as such in his presence without correcting him.
Harry inclined his head but went on with what he was saying. "She thought Dumbledore could get her out of any mess getting caught would land her in. Besides which, it stoked her ego to know she could get marks outshining all the kids here who outrank her in other ways she can do nothing about. And no matter what she says, she is well aware Hogwarts is administered by the School Board. We may have a Headmaster but he's not in charge of the school charter. They are. But just as she got away with setting your robes on fire and with stealing from the student cupboards in our second year, she thought she'd get away with this because she thought his need of her services was too great for him to let her get into trouble over it. After all, she was the only student he hired to keep an eye on my study material. So she assumed he needed her far more than he actually does."
Severus didn't bother responding about Hermione. He knew Harry knew the girl far better than he ever would. And honestly, now that the girl was no longer a student of Hogwarts, he found he truly didn't care what became of her any longer. He knew there was still trouble to come from the girl. After all, she was sitting in an interrogation room at the Ministry right now being interrogated as to how she came to be expelled from Hogwarts. If said interrogator asked the right questions, a whole peck of trouble could be brewing for the school just because she'd been one of Dumbledore's paid stooges.
He pursed his lips as he considered what to do about Albus. "That's a good idea, Mr. Potter. We definitely should be able to dig up enough dirt on him to get the Board to dismiss him and replace him with someone else. Minerva is next in line for the job but I'm not sure if that is the best idea under the circumstances."
Harry gave his head a brief shake. "No. I agree and honestly I wasn't thinking of her in the role at all. Not only does she listen to our current Headmaster too much but she's still angry at me for calling for judgement on her three students. And she honestly believes I'll revoke the scholarships as well as extract further retribution. Not to mention all the times she's failed to do her job as well. You know as well as I do, she does little if anything to police her tower. Gryffindors know by their second month here they have to take care of themselves because she won't lift a finger for us. it's why your Slytherins have such a terrible time with the twins actually. Your students pick on someone from Gryffindor and the twins get even. They pick on someone else from a different tower, no payback. Pick on another Gryffindor, payback via the twins."
Severus blinked after a few seconds of listening wide-eyed as a correlation he hadn't seen was explained to him. Quietly and without really thinking about what he was saying he said, "Actually, she doesn't hold you responsible for their marking any longer." He came back to awareness. "She did at first and yes, she was angry with you then. But we, the other teachers got it through her head what you did and why. So she isn't angry with you about it any more. I can't say if she fears for the scholarships or not. She hasn't said one way or the other what she thinks of those. But just out of curiosity, who were you considering then?" he asked narrowing his eyes.
"I'd thought of you as it would please Mr. Molt and Lucius would definitely vote for you. But then I considered your tower and who'd most likely replace you as Head of House. Slytherins have been sidelined and poorly treated for so long now those kids depend on you. They need you to stay right where you are. As for the Molting toddler, he can get a much greater pay out with you as Head of Slytherin than he'll reap if you are moved to the Headmaster chair. Because in the Headmaster's seat you have to be impartial. You can't defend one over another based on what house they're in. Nor will you be able to talk with the students as easily. Which cuts down on your ability to recruit and train the students for him."