"Why don't you go first, Mister Potter," Professor Lupin said.

Albus Dumbledore sat at his desk, looking in frustration between his diary and a huge pile of correspondence. Trouble was stirring at the ICW again. The French and Italian delegations had somehow put their differences behind them and were making a fresh effort to put sanctions on the Swiss. He was sure that he could help broker an amicable resolution, or at least set the French and Italians back at each other's throats again, but he really couldn't afford to miss the next Wizengamot session. Dolores Umbridge, and wasn't there someone who should have never been made Head Girl, had managed to weasel her way into the Minister's Office and was putting legislation proposals on his desk every week. The first few had been so openly bigotted and discriminatory that they were defeated without needing his intervention, but she quickly learned how to hide the true purpose of what she was attempting and her latest attempts were getting too devious for the average Wizengamot member to decipher.

Once again, he internally debated dropping one of his many responsibilities, but, once again, he came up short when he tried to think of anyone who could replace him. Elphias Doge was the only Wizengamot member who he really trusted and Elphias had never had a good head for politics. At the ICW, the Germans were in the best position to take the Supreme Mugwump position, which would be bad enough, but knowing his luck, it would go to the Spanish, which would be much worse.

Hogwarts was probably the easiest place for someone to take his place, but Minerva already essentially ran the school and Dumbledore couldn't risk being away from the castle for too long. Not while Voldemort was making moves again and Harry Potter was here. Besides, Remus Lupin had just started and Minerva wouldn't survive the backlash if the nature of his condition got out.

With a sigh, Dumbledore resolved to try his best with the European situation by owl and pulled a fresh sheet of parchment towards him, but he hadn't even got his quill tip wet when one of his delicate silver instruments began squealing loudly. By the time he had reached it, the sound had already stopped. Dumbledore tapped it with his wand quickly. This device was supposed to report the presence of dangerous creatures within the boundaries of the school, but whatever it had detected had disappeared before it could be identified. He did get a location though, the staff room.

Leaping down the stairs, three at a time, he considered what it might be. A salamander seemed the most likely, if the fire had been burning unattended, but that wouldn't explain why it had disappeared so suddenly. He hoped that it wasn't another basilisk. After all, the one from last year had escaped detection for a thousand years. Dumbledore had spent almost the entire summer searching the Chamber of Secrets and crawling through miles of Hogwarts' plumbing, but it wasn't impossible that something could have escaped his notice.

By chance, he met Severus on the way to the staff room. With one look at Dumbledore's concerned expression, Severus quickly changed course and hurried after the headmaster.

"What is it?" he asked. Dumbledore was always glad that his double-agent was so cool under pressure.

"A dangerous creature appeared for a moment. I don't know what it is, or even if it is still there."

"Where?"

"The staff room."

Severus almost choked in surprise.

"Lupin!" he almost snarled.

Dumbledore almost sighed at Severus's ability to jump to old prejudice. It was weeks still until the next full moon. But wasn't Remus supposed to be teaching the third-year Gryffindors? And that meant…

"Harry."

A minute later, Dumbledore burst into the staff room, Severus close behind him. The third-year Gryffindor students were there, some were standing, others collapsed on the floor. None of them were moving. Dumbledore saw Harry facing away from him, with Remus, still a wizard, next to Harry. Dumbledore didn't see any creature, but whatever it was could have struck and then hidden itself again already.

"Petrified?" Severus said. He was examining the closest student to him, Miss Granger, who had fallen to the floor, a fear written all over her frozen face. "Are you sure that there are no more basilisks in the school?"

"No," Dumbledore said simply. He took a step towards the lavatory on the far side of the room, determined to scan the plumbing, but something moved in the shadows in the corner of the room.

His wand automatically shot up to point at the figure who emerged, but Dumbledore was momentarily stunned into inaction.

"You've known all along, Albus, haven't you," Gellert Grindelwald said. "It was your spell which killed her. Her blood is on your hands."

"What the?!" Severus yelled, a curse already forming at the top of his wand, but Dumbledore held up a hand to stop him.

"Riddikulus," Dumbledore said. There was a puff of smoke and Grindelwald was replaced by a tiny puppet. It started shouting angrily in German in a tiny, high-pitched voice.

"Grindelwald?" Snape asked.

"It would be for the best if you were to forget about that," Dumbledore said, with a significant glance at his Potions Master.

For a moment, Severus' eyes glazed over, and then he shook his head rapidly.

"What the…?!"

"A Boggart," Dumbledore said.

"A Boggart did this?" Severus asked sceptically, looking around the room.

Dumbledore looked at the placement of the students and at the out of place wardrobe.

"Yes," he said. "It was Mr. Potter's turn. See?" He pointed at where Harry was standing at the front of the class. "It must have been a particularly powerful Boggart, to take on so much of the power of the basilisk that it copied its powerful gaze. At least none of the students have died."

He shot two Patronuses out of his wand, to Minerva and Pomona. Severus busied himself with sealing away the Boggart, while Dumbledore ensured that the students were all in the same condition.

"Headmaster!" Minerva cried out when she entered a few minutes later, Pomona right behind her.

"More petrifications I'm afraid," Dumbledore said seriously. "From Mister Potter's Boggart, of all things. Pomona…"

"Don't! Don't ask me for more bloody mandrakes," the herbology professor said angrily. "It'll be months… years to grow enough for this many students. Hardly anywhere in the world has the right sets of conditions in order to grow them properly and in bulk. We already gutted the worldwide market by refusing to sell what we made last year."

Dumbledore winced internally.

"What are we going to tell the parents," Minerva despaired. "More petrifications? This is Miss Granger's second time!"

"We'll have to tell them the truth, of course," Dumbledore said. "At least there is no dangerous animal loose in the castle this time."

"What about Black?" Severus asked.

"What about him?" Dumbledore asked him. "I suspect it would be incredibly easy to keep Mister Potter safe in his current condition. Goodness, I could just keep him in my office easily enough."

Minerva was looking at Remus' shocked expression.

"This has to be a record for the shortest term as Defence Professor," she said. "We'll need to find a replacement."

Dumbledore sighed. It seemed that the Swiss would have to fend for themselves this time.

I don't know where you could take this story. Maybe Harry doesn't wake up until a week before the first task. Maybe Pettigrew is revealed in the aftermath. Maybe he is petrified, too. Maybe Sirius decides to leave the country, or to prove his innocence.