"Shhh! Back off! You're stepping on me. If the Invisibility Cloak comes off, we're finished, you know. We'll be doing detention for the rest of our lives or worse."
"I can't help it if you walk too slow. What's wrong with you? Can't you move quickly on land or do you want Filch to catch us?"
"Quiet! Did you hear that? It sounded like Mrs. Norris. Just a few steps further. We're almost there." The black haired boy's voice was tense with apprehension. "We're here."
He gazed at the imposing statue for a moment, and collected his thoughts.
His tall companion could hear the boy's rapid breathing.
"Are you sure he's not in?"
"Yes, I got the information from McGonagall herself. They went to a birthday party for that creepy bartender at the Three Broomsticks. They'll be back late."
"Then let's do it. The longer we wait, the more chance we have of getting caught, and I, for one, have no intentions of getting caught."
The black-haired boy took a deep breath. "Licorice Pipes!" he cried with as much authority as he could muster.
The hidden door swung open soundlessly, revealing the spiral staircase leading to Dumbledore's office..
They crept up the staircase soundlessly, pausing only to gather the invisibility cloak around them tightly.
"You do realize this is cheating?" The boy adjusted his glasses and waited.
"You know, I don't really believe it cheating when one considers that the entire student population is slowly being bored to death in History of Magic. I consider it an opportunity to focus our studies for the examination more productively, leaving us time for more….erm, pleasurable pursuits." The taller boy grinned under the Cloak.
"Well, since you put it that way, I really can't object. Where do you suppose he keeps his pre-examination staff reviews?"
"Closest to the Pensieve, I would imagine. We'd better be quiet. The portraits may not all be asleep and we can't afford any slip-ups.
They entered Dumbledore's office to the sight of Fawkes sleeping on his perch with his head tucked under his wing, and the assembled headmasters portraits snoring softly from the walls. It was becoming quite late.
The tall boy took the crystal phial nearest the Pensieve and emptied the contents into the bowl. The silvery mix swirled about. Gradually, dim shapes could be seen. The boys leaned over the stone bowl and…
"I would appreciate an explanation as to why you chose to hex Bertha Jorkins. She was in considerable distress having her tongue adhered to the roof of her mouth. I suppose you found that funny?"
The two boys looked at each other with astonishment and glee. The greasy git actually got himself in trouble with Dumbledore! This was better than any inside information on Professor Binn's History of Magic examination.
Severus Snape hung his head. His greasy hair fell over his face.
"I expect an answer from you immediately."
"She followed me."
"What do you mean she followed you? Followed you where?"
"I was meeting someone and she … followed me."
"Why would you hex her for something like that?" Dumbledore looked genuinely perplexed until a look of understanding lit his kindly blue eyes. "Who were you meeting, Severus?"
Severus Snape's sallow face blushed. He hesitated and then blurted out: "Florence. I was meeting Florence and Bertha followed us and saw us…" He was almost shouting by the end of his confession, and caught himself in time before he further embarrassed himself.
Dumbledore pondered his words for a moment and then smiled kindly. "I think I understand what happened now. You and Florence were looking for a little privacy and Bertha interrupted you….."
"She laughed at me and threatened to tell the whole school, and then she made fun of Florence for being with me."
Dumbledore sighed. "Bertha would be well advised to respect her fellow students. I'll speak to her about it. I must still give you a detention for using a hex on another student. You know that's against Hogwarts rules. However, in view of the mitigating circumstances, you may serve one evening with Professor Slughorn in the Potions room as your detention, researching antidotes for doxie bites."
"Let's get out of here."
The boys under the invisibility cloak were holding their sides with silent laughter.
"Brilliant! That greasy git was actually snogging someone. I guess every pot does have it's lid. But what's wrong with Florence? She looked normal enough.", the taller boy sputtered through his laughter.
"Look, I think we'd better drop it before anyone finds out we've been here. We're in enough trouble as it is after that last incident with him. Anyway, I think it's kind of mean to use this against him. Let's get out of here, it's really late."
As they left, the taller boy's heel caught on the Invisibility cloak, exposing both their faces. They quickly pulled the cloak over their heads and exited the room.
The shadowy portrait of Phineas Nigellus smirked at their retreating backs.
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More than twenty years later, on one of many bright spring Saturday afternoons spent miserably in Professor Severus Snape's dungeon office, Harry Potter pulled an index card from the stack he was rewriting. On the card was a cryptic inscription:
James Potter and Sirius Black:
Infraction: Reported breaking and entering the headmaster's office, violation of student's and faculty's privacy
Punishment: Rewrite and alphabetize every existing student infraction from Argus Filch's files without the use of magic.
Duration: 10 Saturday afternoons
Harry whistled softly. " They really pulled out the stoppers on that stunt. I wonder what that was all about?"
He no longer felt quite so alone.