The Headmaster's Curse by Kbharlow

Summary: Voldemort didn't just leave a curse on the defense position, he also left a curse on the headmaster's position - one that made the headmaster blind to children that were mistreated. He knew from experience how easy it was to swing mistreated children to the dark arts. They were so ready to either find a way to defend themselves and/or get back at their tormentor. That means that the headmaster was also blind to bullying in the school.

Severus had always thought that the Headmaster didn't care about children who weren't Gryfindors. But then he watched as Potter was bullied by Draco and then tormented by the entire school during his second year. He also noticed the signs of abuse/neglect in Potter. In his observations of the headmaster, he kept thinking - surely he would care what happened to his golden Gryffindor? Surely something would be done. But the more he watched Dumbledore, the more he noticed that Dumbledore didn't seem to realize anything was wrong. It's like his attention was subtly deflected/his eyes glazed over a bit.

Does he then try to remove the curse? Find it? Bring it to the headmaster's attention? Does it resist attention, so when he tries to bring his concerns to Minerva or the other heads of house, their attention is likewise deflected? What flaw in the curse allows him to notice the problem? Severus realizes that he needs to act on his own to solve the bullying problem in the school that he has contributed to - has he been affected by the curse as well? He also needs to help the children with troubled home lives. How does he get around the curse? How does this change his interactions with Harry, the rest of the school? Do any of the other teachers notice? How would one go about breaking a curse like this?

You've got the perfect storm here - no good defense teacher teaching students how to defend themselves (compliant population), no good history teacher teaching students the pitfalls of history so that they don't repeat it, and a bunch of bullies and resentful children ready and eager to walk the dark path.

Does Binns remaining as the history teacher have anything to do with the curses set?

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