Professor McGonnagal sat, hands clasped in her lap. Dumbledore was sitting in a armchair by the fire in the staff room.
"Professors," he said. "You may be wondering why I have brought you here."
A curious murmur travelled through the room.
"Well, I am not sure that you have noticed but I…haven't been myself lately." Dumbledore started.
Everyone nodded. The staff were quite worried, the professor never called meetings in the middle of lessons. It must be urgent.
"Well, the basis of the fact is, I'm being blackmailed. And I don't know what to do about it."
"But professor!" said McGonnagal. "It's you!"
Dumbledore looked at her gravely. "Minerva. You are looking at me through rose-tinted spectacles and, fashionable as they may be, I am not perfect. I do not know what to do. Therefore I have come to ask your advice.
"Albus," asked Sprout. "What did you do to give him something to be blackmailed for? I mean, you never…"
"I do not wish to disclose that," Dumbledore almost snapped. The teachers had never seen him like this before.
"Professor," Snape sneered. "Surely you know who it is who is doing this. I mean, there are certain spells you can carry out to discover these things."
"I am aware of the spells," Dumbledore said. "And I know who is blackmailing me. He has visited me in person. Therefore, I do have evidence. But what I want is safety regards in the school to increase. I am worried for the pupils well-being and the safety of certain young witches and wizards."
Everyone fell silent. "What do you want us to do?" McGonnagal asked.
"I need all the pupils to stay together, all the time, and be accompanied by a teacher if possible. They must be in the common room and stay there by 5o-clock. Not sneaking out, not even to the library. If they want to go to the library they must go at lunchtime only. Please go back and tell your houses."
The teachers took this as the sign to go, and left, leaving Dumbledore in his chair, on his own.
***
The pupils listened to the announcement in the common room.
McGonnagal had told them they were to be accompanied everywhere…but not why. It made no sense.
"Could this be something to do with Dumbledore asking us to keep a look out?" Harry asked Ron in a whisper, then louder to McGonnagal, "what about our detention? Do we still have to go…OW!" Ron had trodden hard on his foot, obviously hoping she'd forgotten.
"Yes," Said the professor. "Filch will come to collect you two and Martin at eight, instead of you going down to the entrance hall."
Then she left.
"Why have you got a detention?" asked Martin. Ron rolled his eyes. "Don't ask. You?"
"Nothing."
"You got into detention for nothing?" Harry said sarcastically. "An all time low, Snape must have been really annoyed!"
"Ha ha," Martin replied. "I'm going up to my dorm. Get me when Filch comes."
***
"Wonder what they'll make us do," whispered Ron as the three boys headed down the main staircase.
"Silence!" snapped Filch.
"Yeah, whatever," muttered Ron, but under his breath. They followed Filch outside until they reached Hagrid's hut.
"Not the forbidden forest," moaned Harry. Martin looked pale, even in the moonlight.
It was a full moon. If it was going to be anything like Harry's last visits to the forbidden forest, he didn't think Ron could handle it.
"Don't worry," growled Filch. "Maybe next time. You're just helping Hagrid with his gardening." He rolled his eyes, as if he didn't think their punishment was dangerous or potentially lethal enough.
Filch knocked on Hagrid's door and left.
"All righ'?" asked Hagrid, as he let them in. "Lemme jus' get the bulbs for yeh. Yer in fer a treat, I can tell yeh."
The three boys looked at each other curiously.
"Moonlight Kribfruit," Hagrid said proudly as he dumped what looked like muddy jellybeans on the table. "Or the bulbs fer 'em, anyways. Come out beau'iful, but they 'ave to be planted by full moon. Yeh can see there's one tonight."
Ron heaved a sigh of relief. "So we're just planting a few bulbs?"
Hagrid looked offended. "Jus' bulbs? These ent jus' bulbs. They're tricky little beggars. Get 'em under a full moon, and they'll jump aroun' like no-one's business. Ent 'appy til they're safely buried under good foot's worth er mud."
"OK…" Harry said, "So shall we go and start digging holes?"
"Yeah, go on."
It took Martin, Harry and Ron about an hour to dig foot deep holes for all the Kribfruit bulbs. Hagrid hadn't helped them. "Got summat else ter do," he'd said shiftily, hiding his umbrella behind his back.
"Ready!" They called. Hagrid came out with the bulbs. Harry noticed they were wrapped up very tightly in Muggle cling film, and they seemed to be squirming.
"I'm opening 'em careful, like, so be ready ter catch em."
No sooner had Hagrid started to open the cling film that Harry heard a loud growl. Crookshanks leapt up to the bulbs in Hagrid's hands and started clawing at them. The cling film ripped. Suddenly, it was chaos.
There were bulbs bouncing everywhere. The three boys were shouting out to each other, "one over there, get that one," as Hagrid was shouting, "flippin' cat, get off me!" at the top of his voice, trying to unhook Crookshanks' claws, which in the shock of being thwacked on the head with a Moonlight Kribfruit bulb, the cat had sunk into Hagrid's giant chest.
"Go an' get the bulbs," Hagrid gasped, exhausted. The three boys had already ran off through the grounds after them.
Harry was creeping on the edge of the forest, hoping to catch a bulb off guard, when he heard voices.
"But sir, I'm trying. I just haven't found anything yet." Harry double taked. The voiced belonged to Martin. Harry hid behind a bush nearby, and watched the two. It was him alright, and he was with the man Harry had seen outside the portrait hole.
Harry heard a noise that sounded suspiciously like a slap.
"Look, McKenzie," the man said. "I've got you out of some tough situations. Now you're going to help me out of mine. I need to get Dumbledore…you know I do."
Harry had the feeling he wasn't supposed to be listening. But what was it the man had called Martin? 'McKenzie' wasn't his name. And why did the man want to 'get' Dumbledore.
"Can't you get rid of someone else?" begged Martin, cowering under the man. "I mean, you could get anyone. Even Pettigrew could get the Potters. I…I could deliver you the Weasleys. I know their sons."
Harry felt a rush of intense anger.
"No. Look where it got Peter. I need someone good. I want my masters respect, not just his thanks."
'So.' Harry thought. 'They're working for Voldemort.'
The two appeared to have finished talking. Quickly as he could Harry rushed back to Hagrids hut with the bulbs he had managed to catch.