He didn't bother concealing his sneer as she floundered for an answer. "Does Ms. Abbott pay the tuition of Ms. Bones? or vice versa? I know for a fact those two girls spends almost as much time at each others homes as they do at their own. Ms. Davis and Ms. Greengrass are the same way. Neither of those girls pay their host family when they come for a visit. And if that's the case, then shouldn't Ms. Granger also be making some kind of payments to the Weasely household? Especially since she spends far more time there then Mr. Potter does and so uses more of the adult Weasely resources than he does?"
"But Ms. Granger isn't as wealthy as Mr. Potter is, Severus. She doesn't have the resources to call on that he does," Minerva protested. "She's muggleborn. The family knows she doesn't have as much money as our people do."
He snorted. "She is rich enough. As Mr. Potter pointed out in the Library yesterday, her parents make quite a bit of money as cosmetic dentists for the elite of their world and she's their only child. She wouldn't be a student here if they didn't. Remember, Albus doesn't accept poor muggleborns into Hogwarts Halls. Only those rich enough to afford the tuition and pay the goblin conversion fees are sent invitations to attend. Nor does she seem to have Aunts and Uncles with children of their own. So when her parents pass on, she will inherit everything they have which includes a very healthy inheritance from both sets of grandparents. So yes, if the adult Weaselys need their children's friends to pay room and board for their visits, she could certainly afford to do so. Yet as far as I know, she never has. Nor have they ever asked her to because I highly doubt they expect any such thing. From her or Mr. Potter."
"Yet he's been paying those two Weasely tuition since they got old enough to attend Hogwarts. With the grades Ronald pulls down, Potter could rightfully demand his expulsion and the Board would do nothing but escort him to the gates. Yet he hasn't and he won't. Just in case you missed it, that means he was paying their tuition before he ever met them, Minerva, as it is a well established fact he didn't meet them until he was trying to find the train to come here as a first year and tuition is paid when an invitation to attend is accepted. Not upon arrival at the school."
"But he marked them, Severus," she whined, ignoring everything he had said about the true nature of her three lions. "He had no right to do that. If he didn't want to give them what you claim they were asking for he should've just told them so. If they insisted, he could have brought the matter to one of us. But he didn't. He marked them. On their faces. Not even muggle make-up could cover the marks up this morning. The girls tried it but the marks bled right through the stuff. How are they supposed to ever be able to hold their heads up in public again? He marked them as if they were his property."
Severus made a non-committal noise as he knew it was true. "Since that is virtually what they admitted to being, you're correct. He did. They admitted he was their Patron and they have consistently been doing wrong by him for years now. They came in there demanding in front of witnesses that he allow them to continue doing wrong by him. So he treated them as was his right as their Patron. And I just got through telling you, by Wizarding law, he is indeed their patron as he is subsidizing their schooling here. He told them they wouldn't be able to conceal their new adornments. After all, in his eyes, they worked hard to earn those marks. Why should they desire to conceal them? I know for a fact he told them the route to their freedom is in their own hands," Severus said blithely.
"What? But how?" Her eyes widened it suddenly occurred to her what he might be saying. She gasped. "Surely you don't think they should apologize to him? He hurt them. They didn't hurt him."
"Wrong!" Severus snarled at her. "First off, he didn't hurt them at all. Not a one of them shed so much as a single tear when those marks were formed. Second: Even if he had, as their Patron knowingly wronged by them, he more than had the right to do so. As he told Ms. Granger he could've chosen to have them hung from the Quiditch Pitch posts and flogged daily for their crimes against him. He didn't. He chose a painless marking that left behind a visible mark they can remove in time with some diligence and hard work on their part. Third: They did hurt him. Every day for the last four years, they have been hurting him while you stand around blaming him for the things they are doing to him. Claiming he is the one doing wrong. That he deserves to be punished for the lies they spew."
"Do you have any idea how much it hurts to think someone is your friend only to find out later they were using you for what being around you could do for them? I do. More than one person has used me for my potions knowledge and skills. Or for my knowledge of Defense spells and counters. And it hurts every time. They were using him for his money and the benefits his fame can bring them. It's not quite the same as being used for your knowledge and skills but the feelings involved are. Do you know that pain? I doubt it. Or you wouldn't be sitting here claiming they haven't hurt him."
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