A moving staircase was taking them slowly upward. The stair itself was so magnificent, Jessica couldn't see how Dumbledore's office could be even better. She was enjoying the ride so much, that at first she didn't notice when they stopped. Harry led them over to a large oak door, and as Jessica inspected it closer, she assumed that behind this was Dumbledore's office. Harry raised his hand, grabbed the huge brass knockers, and knocked hard. A harsh voice answered.
"Yes, yes, come in."
Harry was a little startled, but he slowly pulled open the door and walked in, the others following behind him.
The office was absolutely amazing in every aspect. However, Jessica did not have time to observe it for very long, because something that seemed very misplaced caught her attention at once. At the huge oak desk, in the chair that she could only assume was Dumbledore's, was a most unwelcome and unpleasant surprise. Professor Snape lifted his greasy head which had been bent over some papers on the desk as they entered the room. He narrowed his glare as he surveyed them all. Jessica felt her breath catch in her throat. This was quite possibly the worst case scenario. They hadn't even considered this as a possibility.
Harry, who had apparently over the years become accustomed to being insolent with Snape, said, "Where's Professor Dumbledore?"
Snape continued to glare at them for another full minute before he lowered his head back to the desk and began shuffling papers.
"I should like to know that myself." Suddenly, his head snapped back up. "What is it that you want with the Headmaster?" he asked slowly...dangerously.
Ron stood his ground. "We just need to see the headmaster."
Snape stood slowly and advanced on them. On the path he was walking, he was going to run right in to Amanda in the invisibility cloak. Jessica felt her shift nervously to the left, next to her.
"I asked you," Snape said in a deadly quiet voice, "What you are doing here. Now answer me or you will all be facing extreme punishments."
Hermione threw a sidelong glance at all of them, warning them not to speak. Here eyes lingered on Jessica for a moment, who's hand went quickly to her throat to make sure her scar was well covered.
"Well," Hermione began slowly, obviously doing some fast thinking, "Well, we we're just wondering if we could get our results from our exams last week back early. That's all."
Snape's mouth curled in to a sneer. "Do you really think I'm that stupid, Miss Granger? I know you, Potter, Weasley, and this...this..." his voice faltered as he looked at Jessica. "Well...this stranger, are up to something."
"What gives you that idea?" Jessica said a lot braver than she felt.
"Listen to me, Miss Ciccone. You may be new here, and Dumbledore may believe you to be innocent, but I can see right through your little act. You're in the league with Potter. You're heads are overly inflated. I will personally see to it that I am your downfall. I am making it my mission to prove that you are up to no good. And furthermore..."
"Severus."
Everyone jumped, and Snape spun around. A very stern looking Dumbledore was standing in the back of the office, holding a letter in his right hand.
"Headmaster," Snape said silkily, "Thank goodness you're here. I've just caught Potter, Weasley, Granger, and Ciccone here trying to force their way in to your office. Demanding to see you, I'm afraid sir."
Dumbledore fixed them with a penetrating stare. After a full minute, he turned back to Snape. "Thank you Severus, and what was it that you wanted with me?"
Snape's face turned a nasty yellow color. "I was merely checking on our progress with our...project, sir." He gave Dumbledore a very pointed look.
Dumbledore nodded solemnly. "Understandable, Severus. However, I must ask you to leave me with the students now. I want a word with them. I assure you that Professor McGonagall has copies of all of the papers you came to see. Now if you'll excuse us..." He walked over to the door and held it open for Snape.
Snape cast them one last look of pure venom, then swept wordlessly from the room.
Dumbledore shut the door quietly behind him, then walked over to his desk and sank in to his chair with a sigh. He then turned his attention toward Harry, Ron, Hermione, Jessica, and, unknown to him, Amanda.
"Please, sit," He said beckoning to four chairs in front of his desk. They sat down and cast nervous glances at eachother. Jessica prodded Harry hard on the leg to signal him to talk first. He recognized the signal and gave a small nod.
Harry cleared his throat and launched in to the story. He stumbled in a few parts, trying to remember what they decided to tell him. Before he knew it, he had given Dumbledore a catalog of events, starting from the discovering of the legend, and ending with the arrival of Amanda. Leaving out, of course, some key incriminating factors, such as the ancient rune that Jessica had said out of nowhere one evening, the countless times they had been listening to private conversations, and the possibility of some ancient connection between Harry, Jessica, and Amanda. Making it sound as though they had stumbled across the legend, heard some rumors, and put two and two together.
Dumbledore never spoke during Harry's speech. He merely nodded at the appropriate times, and at the mention of Amanda's arrival, he stood up very quickly.
"Is this Amanda here?" he asked them.
Hermione nodded, and pointed to a corner where Amanda had last been standing. The four of them turned in their seats, and Dumbledore stared at the spot intently. As they watched, Amanda slid the cloak off. When it was all the way off, Dumbledore conjured her chair and invited her to sit down. Then, he turned to Harry.
"You father's old invisibility cloak, I presume?" he said with a hint of the familiar twinkle in his eyes.
Harry nodded. "Yes sir, Professor Dumbledore. It was only so that we didn't run in to anyone on the way here...before we had time to explain the situation to you." He was sounding anxious, but visibly relaxed when Dumbledore gave a small smile.
"And I expect it was a most unpleasant surprise to find Professor Snape in my office?" he asked kindly. Harry managed a weak smile.
"Now on to more pressing matters," Dumbledore said, suddenly business-like, "What are we to do with you, Amanda?" Amanda merely continued to look at Dumbledore, amazed that he'd actually said her name. "Well," he continued slowly, "Even if I knew how, I would not send you home. I see no point in it now. However, we must do something so that we do not arouse suspicions." He sat back down and stared in to space for a long time. "I think," he said thoughtfully, "the best way to deal with this is in the same manner that we dealt with Miss Ciccone. You will stay and study magic here at Hogwarts, not that it is safer than sending you home, but I assure you that we will do everything in our power to protect the school. I warn you however," he said, suddenly very stern, "to no longer concern yourselves with that legend. It is a matter for the teachers to handle, and handle it we will. Also, I will have to ask you not to mention the information you have stumbled across to other
students. You can imagine what a panic it would cause." He stopped to clear his throat.
Hermione took advantage of this momentary silence, and spoke up quite suddenly. "Sir? Are they going to have to close the school?"
Dumbledore studied her for a long moment. "Of that, Miss Granger, I am not sure. But I beg you, if any other complications arise, come and see me immediately. Don't talk to anyone else about what you discover, not even the other professors. Do you understand?" All of them nodded in turn. "Very well, then. You may all return to your dormitory. Amanda, you will be staying with the Gryffindors too. You may share Miss Ciccone's room with her. I will conjure another bed for you. The professors will be alerted of your arrival so that you may attend the classes without complications."
Yeah...right, Jessica thought dryly.
"Now is there anything else you have to tell me?" he said, focusing his gaze on Jessica. She felt her hand start nervously towards her throat, but was able to stop it halfway up. She dropped her eyes and stared instead at her knees.
"No, sir. There's nothing else."
"Yes, yes, come in."
Harry was a little startled, but he slowly pulled open the door and walked in, the others following behind him.
The office was absolutely amazing in every aspect. However, Jessica did not have time to observe it for very long, because something that seemed very misplaced caught her attention at once. At the huge oak desk, in the chair that she could only assume was Dumbledore's, was a most unwelcome and unpleasant surprise. Professor Snape lifted his greasy head which had been bent over some papers on the desk as they entered the room. He narrowed his glare as he surveyed them all. Jessica felt her breath catch in her throat. This was quite possibly the worst case scenario. They hadn't even considered this as a possibility.
Harry, who had apparently over the years become accustomed to being insolent with Snape, said, "Where's Professor Dumbledore?"
Snape continued to glare at them for another full minute before he lowered his head back to the desk and began shuffling papers.
"I should like to know that myself." Suddenly, his head snapped back up. "What is it that you want with the Headmaster?" he asked slowly...dangerously.
Ron stood his ground. "We just need to see the headmaster."
Snape stood slowly and advanced on them. On the path he was walking, he was going to run right in to Amanda in the invisibility cloak. Jessica felt her shift nervously to the left, next to her.
"I asked you," Snape said in a deadly quiet voice, "What you are doing here. Now answer me or you will all be facing extreme punishments."
Hermione threw a sidelong glance at all of them, warning them not to speak. Here eyes lingered on Jessica for a moment, who's hand went quickly to her throat to make sure her scar was well covered.
"Well," Hermione began slowly, obviously doing some fast thinking, "Well, we we're just wondering if we could get our results from our exams last week back early. That's all."
Snape's mouth curled in to a sneer. "Do you really think I'm that stupid, Miss Granger? I know you, Potter, Weasley, and this...this..." his voice faltered as he looked at Jessica. "Well...this stranger, are up to something."
"What gives you that idea?" Jessica said a lot braver than she felt.
"Listen to me, Miss Ciccone. You may be new here, and Dumbledore may believe you to be innocent, but I can see right through your little act. You're in the league with Potter. You're heads are overly inflated. I will personally see to it that I am your downfall. I am making it my mission to prove that you are up to no good. And furthermore..."
"Severus."
Everyone jumped, and Snape spun around. A very stern looking Dumbledore was standing in the back of the office, holding a letter in his right hand.
"Headmaster," Snape said silkily, "Thank goodness you're here. I've just caught Potter, Weasley, Granger, and Ciccone here trying to force their way in to your office. Demanding to see you, I'm afraid sir."
Dumbledore fixed them with a penetrating stare. After a full minute, he turned back to Snape. "Thank you Severus, and what was it that you wanted with me?"
Snape's face turned a nasty yellow color. "I was merely checking on our progress with our...project, sir." He gave Dumbledore a very pointed look.
Dumbledore nodded solemnly. "Understandable, Severus. However, I must ask you to leave me with the students now. I want a word with them. I assure you that Professor McGonagall has copies of all of the papers you came to see. Now if you'll excuse us..." He walked over to the door and held it open for Snape.
Snape cast them one last look of pure venom, then swept wordlessly from the room.
Dumbledore shut the door quietly behind him, then walked over to his desk and sank in to his chair with a sigh. He then turned his attention toward Harry, Ron, Hermione, Jessica, and, unknown to him, Amanda.
"Please, sit," He said beckoning to four chairs in front of his desk. They sat down and cast nervous glances at eachother. Jessica prodded Harry hard on the leg to signal him to talk first. He recognized the signal and gave a small nod.
Harry cleared his throat and launched in to the story. He stumbled in a few parts, trying to remember what they decided to tell him. Before he knew it, he had given Dumbledore a catalog of events, starting from the discovering of the legend, and ending with the arrival of Amanda. Leaving out, of course, some key incriminating factors, such as the ancient rune that Jessica had said out of nowhere one evening, the countless times they had been listening to private conversations, and the possibility of some ancient connection between Harry, Jessica, and Amanda. Making it sound as though they had stumbled across the legend, heard some rumors, and put two and two together.
Dumbledore never spoke during Harry's speech. He merely nodded at the appropriate times, and at the mention of Amanda's arrival, he stood up very quickly.
"Is this Amanda here?" he asked them.
Hermione nodded, and pointed to a corner where Amanda had last been standing. The four of them turned in their seats, and Dumbledore stared at the spot intently. As they watched, Amanda slid the cloak off. When it was all the way off, Dumbledore conjured her chair and invited her to sit down. Then, he turned to Harry.
"You father's old invisibility cloak, I presume?" he said with a hint of the familiar twinkle in his eyes.
Harry nodded. "Yes sir, Professor Dumbledore. It was only so that we didn't run in to anyone on the way here...before we had time to explain the situation to you." He was sounding anxious, but visibly relaxed when Dumbledore gave a small smile.
"And I expect it was a most unpleasant surprise to find Professor Snape in my office?" he asked kindly. Harry managed a weak smile.
"Now on to more pressing matters," Dumbledore said, suddenly business-like, "What are we to do with you, Amanda?" Amanda merely continued to look at Dumbledore, amazed that he'd actually said her name. "Well," he continued slowly, "Even if I knew how, I would not send you home. I see no point in it now. However, we must do something so that we do not arouse suspicions." He sat back down and stared in to space for a long time. "I think," he said thoughtfully, "the best way to deal with this is in the same manner that we dealt with Miss Ciccone. You will stay and study magic here at Hogwarts, not that it is safer than sending you home, but I assure you that we will do everything in our power to protect the school. I warn you however," he said, suddenly very stern, "to no longer concern yourselves with that legend. It is a matter for the teachers to handle, and handle it we will. Also, I will have to ask you not to mention the information you have stumbled across to other
students. You can imagine what a panic it would cause." He stopped to clear his throat.
Hermione took advantage of this momentary silence, and spoke up quite suddenly. "Sir? Are they going to have to close the school?"
Dumbledore studied her for a long moment. "Of that, Miss Granger, I am not sure. But I beg you, if any other complications arise, come and see me immediately. Don't talk to anyone else about what you discover, not even the other professors. Do you understand?" All of them nodded in turn. "Very well, then. You may all return to your dormitory. Amanda, you will be staying with the Gryffindors too. You may share Miss Ciccone's room with her. I will conjure another bed for you. The professors will be alerted of your arrival so that you may attend the classes without complications."
Yeah...right, Jessica thought dryly.
"Now is there anything else you have to tell me?" he said, focusing his gaze on Jessica. She felt her hand start nervously towards her throat, but was able to stop it halfway up. She dropped her eyes and stared instead at her knees.
"No, sir. There's nothing else."