Burke didn't tell Morris about the dragon epic. Probably so he wouldn't get nervous and lose his temper when the O.W.L. was around the corner. He told Marcus, though. After that, Flint was pestering me with questions about what the dragon looked like and how it was behaving. Flint really liked animals. But in a good way.
After performing the quest with someone else's hands, I criminally relaxed, completely forgetting that canon likes to pop up at the most unexpected moment.
- Charlie says the dragon isn't Norbert, it's Norberta. - Ron laughed as he showed me the letter, - I'll have to tell Hagrid.
- Determining the sex of a dragon isn't that easy, - I snorted, - It's not like with a cat. You can't look under its tail and figure it out.
- Anyway, the dragon's doing pretty well there, - Ron smiled, - I didn't want him to get killed.
- Neither did I, - I agreed, - Even though I'm Black. Where are the others?
- When I went to look for you to show the letter, the others were still in the library.
- I just got an answer from my aunt, - I said, - I wanted to read it in silence, so I left.
- Oh, - Ron was embarrassed, - I distracted you, didn't I? Hermione keeps telling me that I'm not a bit tactful.
- No, - I brushed him off, - I was on my way back anyway.
The boys weren't in the library. We looked at each other perplexed.
- We haven't finished our essays yet, - said Ron, bewildered, - Where did they go?
The answer came at dinner. Along with the scandal. Hermione, Harry, Neville and Draco had been caught by Snape in the Forbidden Corridor. Every of them lost fifty points and was given a disciplinary punishment. Gryffindors were... I couldn't even find the word, furious, disappointed and, at the same time, sorry for their misguided freshmen. Slytherins were quiet, but they looked at Draco disapprovingly, too. Burke and Weasley weren't swearing, but they weren't trying to defend first-years from their professors, either. Though that was exactly what was clear. Burke would do it for me, and Percy would protect Ron, but we had nothing to do with it.
- Why did you have to go there? - Ron was indignant.
- We heard Professor Snape threatening Professor Quirrell, - Hermione said quietly. Her eyes were wet. - We decided to follow Professor Snape.
- I see, - I rolled my eyes, - Defenders of the unjustly offended and oppressed ones. What's your business?
Draco almost cringed at my question, which was uncharacteristic of him. Usually he was sarcastic, showing off and proving his point to the last.
- I wanted to prove them wrong, - Malfoy exhaled.
- How was that?
- Badly, - muttered Malfoy, - He really did threaten Quirrell. And then he went into the Forbidden Corridor.
- And you two clueless spies followed him? - I asked rhetorically. - Don't answer that. Did he catch you on the way out?
- We got distracted, - Potter said, reluctantly. - We were speculating about what might be down the hall. He caught us off guard!
Potter even had the conscience to look indignant. What a bad Snape! Walking quietly! Catching freshmen in forbidden rooms and punishing them!
- Why are you smirking? - Ron nudged me in the side.
- I'm sorry, - I snorted, my grin coming out of my mouth.
- What am I supposed to do now? - Hermione gasped.
- What did Snape tell you? - Ron asked.
- He said that if we have time to do something stupid, we'll have time to wash the cauldrons, - Neville voiced for the first time during the conversation, - Granny's going to kill me.
- Guys, sooner or later, it would happen, - I shrugged, - Someone would get detention anyway.
- I've never... never, - Hermione wailed, her eyes watering.
- Not again, - Potter rolled his eyes, - How much water do you have in you, Hermione?
- Don't you care about our punishment? How could you? - she cried out in a high-pitched voice.
- I've been punished all my life, one way or another, - Potter shrugged, - Let's wash the cauldrons, it's not deathly...
- It's common sense, - I admitted.
- I'm glad I wasn't with you, - Ron muttered.
- My grandmother's going to kill me, - Neville repeated in a miserable voice. Draco sighed doomfully.
Be at the school exit tonight at eleven o'clock to serve your detention. Mr. Filch will be waiting for you there.
Prof. M. McGonagall.
Additional quest started
Bunnies for a late supper
Cancel detention and keep your friends safe
Bonus for completing: Variable
Penalty for failure: Variable
- I don't get it, - Draco blinked, - I thought the punishment started tomorrow. And we're supposed to be washing cauldrons at Professor Snape's! What the?!
$# ! Having pulled off a brilliant dragon handoff combination, I thought I'd managed to avoid this situation. But no...
- Do you know where Burke is? - I asked the senior sitting next to me.
- Nope, - the boy shook his head.
- Farley? - maybe the girls' prefect would be helpful for once.
- I don't know, - the senior brushed me off.
Morris and Marcus weren't there either. Lights out was already on. Draco had to go to the Forbidden Forest in half an hour. Bad. Terrible.
- Why at the school exit? - Malfoy began to panic, - What does that mean?!
- Quit, - I ordered. - I'm going to go.
- Where? - Malfoy said indignantly, - Don't tell me you're going to bed! I need...
- I'm going to wander the halls, looking for the prefects, - I explained, - Give me a note.
- Yeah, - the senior grumbled, watching as Draco handed me the note, - The fifty points wasn't enough; we need to lose a hundred more.
- Of course, - I said nonchalantly, - The fact that even the nerdy Granger got detention is a huge blow to my ego.
The senior looked away. Whatever.
- So you... - Draco grumbled.
- I'm going to go find someone, - I muttered, - and show them the note. Let them judge the legality of this punishment.
- I'll go with you, - Draco snapped.
- You've done well enough today, - I cut him off.
Where to find Burke? There were a lot of options. The most likely one was that Burke was on a date with a Ravenclaw girl whose last name I'd forgotten. Morris and Marcus weren't either, and that definitely wasn't a coincidence. Where Farley might have been, I couldn't even guess. I hadn't really paid much attention to her, even though she was our head girl. Looking for other prefects? On one hand, it wasn't safe. On the other hand, they wouldn't eat me. The main thing was not to run into the teachers. The map wasn't much help. While it showed everyone in the house in Grimmauld Place perfectly, it showed absolutely no one at Hogwarts. It was a terrible flaw.
Luck smiled at me on the Grand Staircase, where I snuck in. Luck went by the name Claudia Metcalfe, and she was clearly patrolling the corridors.
- Metcalfe! - I exclaimed and rushed toward her.
- Don't try to tell me you're lost, - she warned me, - You've been here for almost a year, it won't work.
- No, - I brushed her off, - I'm not here about that. Burke's gone, and it's urgent!
I handed her the note.
- What's that? - she frowned, glancing down at the piece of paper.
- Is it normal? - I asked.
- Did they send this to Malfoy? - Metcalfe glared at me. It gave me the creeps.
I nodded.
- Okay, - Metcalfe squared her shoulders, - This isn't normal. Freshmen have no business being outside the castle at night. And I'd say it's someone else's stupid joke. Professor McGonagall couldn't have written that.
With a wave of her wand, Metcalfe checked the time. It was ten minutes to the appointed time.
- Go back to the living room, - the school prefect ordered, - I'll deal with the jokers. If it's the Weasley twins, they won't be happy at all.
She said that last part in a particularly ominous tone. It made me feel uncomfortable. I wandered down the stairs.
As soon as I entered the living room, a Cerberus attacked me. The Cerberus was a three-headed monster made up of Herbert Burke, Morris Foley, and Marcus Flint. All of the cerberus heads were clearly angry.
- After lights out...
- Did you want an adventure?
- You've already lost points!
- And after that, you and Malfoy dare to run away!
- The rules are for dummies, aren't they?!
- You understand nothing, do you?
Out of the flurry of recriminations, indignation, and other expressions of concern, I was able to deduce only one thing.
- Wait, where's Draco?
- We should ask you! You left together, - Burke exclaimed.
- No, - I blinked, - I left alone. He was supposed to stay here.
Burke looked at me. I looked at Burke.
- Did he really go? - I sighed.
- Where? - Burke, Flint, and Foley asked together.
- To detention, - I said.
- At night? - Foley grunted skeptically.
- Moreover, it's outside the castle, - I added.
- You could have made a better excuse, - said Morris, - and a more plausible one.
- I'm not lying, - I said seriously, - Draco got a note from Professor McGonagall, telling him about detention at eleven, he should meet Filch outside the school. I thought it was crazy. You weren't there, so I decided to find one of the prefects and ask if it was a joke. I found Metcalfe, gave her the note, and she promised to take care of it.
- Metcalfe's no joke, - Burke frowned.
- I'm not kidding, either, - I said indignantly. He must know I didn't say things I hadn't checked, why wouldn't he believe me?
- There was a note, I saw it, - came the voice of the senior I'd been torturing about the location of the prefects.
- Nolan, - Burke turned to him, - Then why did you let them go?!
- I'm not their babysitter, - he shrugged.
- Tail, - Morris put his hands on my shoulders, - Why do you always get dragged into troubles?
- The moment I was born, - I said, - the stars were aligned in such an unusual way that it determined my fate.
Flint, Burke, and Nolan laughed. Morris groaned doomfully. Suddenly Burke froze and touched his badge perplexedly.
- Warmed up. One of the prefect's summoning.
- Metcalfe, - I suggested.
- I guess she caught Malfoy on her way out of school, - Herbert rolled his eyes, - I'll go get him.
For the first time in my life, those huge letters flashed before my eyes.
FAIL!
Quest failed
Bunnies for a late supper
You alerted the proper authorities late. Now your friends are walking in the most dangerous place in this location. Pray.
Luck -2
Lyrical digression.
Herbert Burke always thought there were only few things in the world that could really surprise him. This school year proved how badly mistaken he was. Cerberus in the school hallway. A dragon on the Astronomy Tower. Four freshmen in the Forbidden Forest. Claudia Metcalfe admitting her mistake.
- I was stupid, - she said grimly, - I thought it was a joke by the Weasley twins, so I took my time and didn't make it.
The bewildering note was frighteningly true. Metcalfe faced Filch halfway to the exit of the school. He informed her that the four freshmen had been taken away by Hagrid, as instructed by the teachers. That's when she felt bad, so she summoned all the prefects.
- Farly, find Snape, - Metcalfe ordered, - You find your Dean, too.
Metcalfe practically spat out the last word, nodding toward the Gryffindor head girl. The girls nodded and immediately hurried toward the Grand Staircase.
- Crystal, Gloria, - the prefects of Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff looked up at her, - Go to your living rooms and keep order. Don't say a word!
- Well? - Robert Hilliard grinned after the girls had gone, - Are we going to the Forbidden Forest?
- You're enjoying this, aren't you? - Truman snapped at him, - What's all this nonsense about detention?
- Even the seniors weren't sent to the Forbidden Forest as punishment, - remarked Shuffic, - It's ridiculous. What are we going to do?
- Wait for the deans? - Weasley suggested.
- How did you miss the note? - said Metcalfe. - Burke was in the kitchen.
Weasley turned pale. Burke blushed.
- They don't report to me, - Percy muttered, - I couldn't even imagine.
- Yes, - said Hilliard thoughtfully, - Something strange is going on at Hogwarts this year.
- Snape isn't here, - said Farly out of breath, - I left a note, but...
- Well done, Gemma, - Metcalfe praised dryly, - Go to your living room and keep a lookout. Especially Black, nobody knows what she'll do due to concern.
- Professor McGonagall is nowhere to be found, - the Gryffindor prefect said, - I left a note.
- I see, - Claudia said, and then looked at Shuffic with a glance. - No McGonagall. No Snape, - Metcalfe sighed deeply, - There seems to be no choice either. Lio and I will go to the Forbidden Forest. You'll stay at the edge, waiting for the little ones. I sincerely hope Hagrid will just take them to the edge of the forest and bring them back.
- I hope he's not anxious to show them some animal, - Shuffic drew his wand, - We'll take the path.
- And to the screaming, - Metcalfe added.
- Maybe we'll go with you, too? - Hilliard readily suggested.
- We can take care of ourselves, - Claudia brushed him off, - You be ready to run as fast as you can to the hospital wing. Burke, write to the Board of Governors and don't miss a thing.
- If the kids show up and we're not back yet, set off the green sparks to get us back, - Shuffic continued instructing the others.
I wanted to curse with foul language and loudly. Sleep was out of the question, of course. When Farly collapsed onto the couch by the fireplace and enlightened those who weren't aware of Draco's punishment, there was a murmur in the living room. Even those who had already gone to bed crawled out to the noise.
- Has McCat completely run out of brains?
- Freshmen in the Forbidden Forest? This is a nightmare!
- I checked, there's no such detention on the list of permissible disciplinary actions!
- Who has a copy of the Hogwarts charter?
- Has anyone written to Malfoy Senior yet?
I sat, leaning sideways against Morris. My mind was full of thoughts. Everything ended safely in canon, I reassured myself. That mantra wasn't working well. The seniors, led by Farly, were composing some sort of petition. Snape had been given a vote of no confidence, in all seriousness, impeachment proceedings were being discussed. At least, that's how I understood their conversation.
- Malfoy is a student of Slytherin, not Gryffindor, why would McCat give him such a detention?
- She's the vice-principal.
- Open your eyes! Detention is given in consultation with the Dean of the House! Which means Snape knows!
- Where is he, anyway?!
- I wonder if we need a Dean who can send us to the Forbidden Forest for a late dinner for werewolves at any time.
- Viva la revolucion, - I muttered.
- What? - said Morris to me.
They're not exactly indifferent people. They all cared more about themselves, of course, but they also thought about Draco. I wondered how the canon students took this detention? Gryffindors didn't seem to notice anything at all, but slytherins?
- Has that ever happened before? - I asked, nodding toward the seniors.
- I've never seen, - said his cousin, - But it's the strangest thing that's ever happened at Hogwarts. Cerberus, detention for freshmen in the Forbidden Forest...
- Dragon, - Flint added.
- Dragon, - Morris said automatically, and then he realized, - Dragon?!
- Oh, forget, - Flint grinned.
- What sort of dragon? Why don't I know anything? - Morris pressed on, tugging at Flint.
- There was a story, - said Flint, - Burke told me.
- Why didn't he tell me? - Foley was indignant.
- Well, you're not allowed, - said Marcus, pleased with himself.
- Why not?
- Because...
- Why don't we make more noise, so everyone knows about the dragon? - I elbowed my cousin.
Flint said nothing. Morris stared at me suspiciously.
- You know that story, don't you?
Flint laughed. I sighed. I'd had enough of that. I should write to uncle Lucius.
Lyrical digression.
- I wasn't prepared for this, - Truman grumbled, - We're an eyesore here!
- We ought to be, Gabry, - Hilliard said wearily, - So the children can see us.
- What if something scarier sees us first? - the Hufflepuff prefect began pacing restlessly from side to side.
- There's four of us, we'll manage somehow, - said Weasley confidently, - as long as the children are alright.
Burke, who was not participating in the conversation, was the first to notice the red sparks flying over the forest.
- What the hell is that?
- I have no idea. - Hilliard exhaled. - It's not Metcalfe and Shuffic.
- It must be the children, - Truman somehow forgot his cowardice, - Do you think Shuffic and Metcalfe noticed?
- Very vividly, - said Weasley, - They must have.
Shuffic and Metcalfe, seeing the red sparks, darted off in that direction.
- What could it be? - Metcalfe shouted as they went.
- I don't know, and I don't want to guess, - Shuffic answered.
The boy and the girl flew at full speed into the clearing, where Hagrid, Granger, and Longbottom were grimly stomping about.
- Prefects! - the Gryffindor girl exclaimed with relief when she saw them, - Thank God!
- Where are the others? - Shuffic immediately asked. Metcalfe, meanwhile, carefully examined the freshmen for damage.
- They've gone somewhere else, - the girl gibbered, - Hagrid split us up, we went with him, and Harry and Draco went with the dog. I convinced Hagrid that looking for a wounded unicorn at night in the woods was dangerous for freshmen. So we sent out red sparks, and the boys still haven't shown up.
At the words "looking for a wounded unicorn," the faces of the seventh-years stretched.
- Show us the direction, we'll follow them, - Metcalfe said, barely able to control her voice, - We'll talk to you later, Hagrid.
- Follow the path to the forest exit, - said Shuffic, - The other prefects are at the edge.
The children nodded.
- Well, that's... that's... Harry... - said Hagrid, trying to formulate his thoughts.
- We'll find them, - Metcalfe cut him off. Shuffic eyed his partner warily. If he knew her well, that tone meant she was furious.
- Maybe I'm a little off-topic, but let me ask you, - Weasley said, gloomily staring at the woods, - Do you think Metcalfe and Shuffic are dating?
Hilliard sighed. Truman looked at Weasley as if he had desecrated some shrine. Burke raised his eyebrows very aristocratically.
- What? He's not afraid of her, he can even argue with her, and she listens to him.
- They often walk together, - said Robert thoughtfully, - It seems to be true.
- Shuffic has steel... well, you know, - Burke grinned.
- Metcalfe and Shuffic? No, - Truman shook his head, - That's impossible!
- You broke him, Weasley! - Robert patted the hufflepuff on the shoulder, - Gabriel's world will never be the same again!
- Truman, don't you think that... - Burke began, then suddenly stopped, - Where are Potter and Malfoy?
Granger and Longbottom, who had emerged from the forest, rushed over to them.
- Are they hurt? - Weasley took them in, - Is everyone all right? Where are the others?
- The prefects said they would find them, - Granger answered eagerly, - We were sent here, we're not hurt.
- What were you doing there? - Hilliard asked.
- Looking for a wounded unicorn, - Longbottom said with a frown.
- At night? In the woods? - Truman asked again. The children nodded. Hagrid, stupefied, stood silent.
The prefects had no reason not to believe the freshmen, so they just looked at each other puzzled.