For the first time ever, the Great Hall was completely an utterly silent. I bet that if I dropped a pin, I could hear it clatter to the floor. Even Dumbledore looked a bit surprised. 

 She continued walking without looking back until she disappeared into the castle.

“What is it with her?” I said, trying to keep myself from running after her.

“Reading between the lines, I’d say she thinks you’re a bit conceited, mate” Sirius replied.

 “My parents sent me a copy of the Daily Prophet in the newspaper today” Remus replied, holding up a newspaper that I hadn’t noticed when sitting down.

“Don’t believe that rubbish” Sirius said. “Last month some old loon reported that he had seen a wild Hippogriff swooping down and eating muggles in central London.”

“Well, this one’s about Riddle” Remus said in a dark tone.

 “Please sit down, James” Dumbledore said politely, not bothering to look up.

I obeyed his command and sat down in a chair across the desk from him.

“You wanted to tell me something, sir?” I asked, feeling awkward. Dumbledore finally looked up, and when he did I was surprised by the look on his face. Dumbledore wasn’t the person to smile a lot, but his face usually had a hint of happiness and joy in it. My surprise came from his extremely grim face.

“What is it, sir?”

 “We’ve got this” I remember whispering to myself right before I felt a sharp pain on my head and everything went black. 

 “C’mon, mate!” Sirius exclaimed, shoving me off my bed. We were sitting in our dormitory on the morning of winter break. The train would be leaving about an hour from then.

I fell on the floor and propped myself up with my back to my bedside table. Sirius looked down at me.

“Have you gone mental?” He asked.