Chapter 14: Compensation Over Expulsion

I couldn't sleep that night. I was so giddy with happiness that I couldn't get my mind and body to shut down. Ben, Rowan, and I had finally found proof that the Cursed Vaults existed, and it totally changed how I had been thinking of my brother all these years…

Jacob wasn't crazy, after all! If only there was a way that I could tell him…

The next morning, I packed my bags to get ready to head back home with the rest of my fellow Gryffindors. As we were packing, Rowan and I talked about our summer holidays and how we believed that we got away with it last night, when we entered the forbidden corridor without getting caught. Before we left the Common Room, we were certain that everyone was asleep, and there was no one in the corridors, not even Mr. Filch, as we headed to and from the forbidden corridor. Even Ben Copper was less nervous about our chances of getting caught once we returned to the Common Room without running into anyone.

On the way to lunch with Rowan, I saw Angie running toward us. At first, I was excited to see her, but when I noticed the look on her face, I wasn't as thrilled. Somehow, I knew why she looked so disappointed… She found out, but how, I didn't know.

"Jane!" she called to me in the corridor. "We need to talk!" The tone in her voice indicated that it wasn't a request.

I told Rowan to go ahead to lunch without me before I hesitantly approached my prefect. "Hey," I greeted her somewhat guiltily.

"Hey," she responded indifferently before she began a long spiel that I was sure I was going to avoid, but I was wrong. "I warned you that word travels fast at Hogwarts, Jane. There is a rumor going around that there is what people call 'cursed ice' at Hogwarts, and that it could be connected to a cursed vault. Now, I'm not a hundred percent certain whether this is true, but what is true is that you, Rowan Khanna, and Ben Copper were seen sneaking out of the Gryffindor Common Room after hours and into the forbidden corridor last night, and that you were followed by Merula Snyde. Would you care to explain what happened?"

I was in total disbelief. How in the name of Merlin did she find out? How did anyone? There wasn't anyone in the corridors last night…was there?

"Please, Jane," she said, noticing my silence. "I need to know the truth. It would greatly damage our relationship if you lie to me."

I sighed. I didn't want to lie to her, as we had just become friends, so I felt like I had no choice but to admit my guilt. "Yes, but it was my idea. I thought the corridor was connected to the Cursed Vaults and was hoping to find a clue about my brother." I neglected to tell her that I had, indeed, found said clue, that being the cursed ice.

"I understand why you did it," Angie nodded, "but you have to realize that you represent all of Gryffindor. Professor Dumbledore has requested to see you later this evening. Here is his message that Professor McGonagall asked me to give you." She handed me a folded-up piece of paper that had my full first and last name written in neat handwriting.

"Why does he want to see me?" I asked nervously. Wasn't he busy writing letters to the Ministry?

Or worse, he was writing a letter to Mum, telling her not to bother sending me back to Hogwarts next year, because I was to be expelled.

Would Rowan and Ben be punished as well? If that was the case, I didn't think it was fair, seeing as I asked them to come with me, and I didn't want them to take the fall with me.

"I assume to talk about what did or did not happen in that corridor," Angie said with a shrug.

I sighed again, this time with tears pricking my eyes over the fear of losing a friend and getting expelled on top of that. "I'm sorry, Angie. You've been a good friend to me, and I—"

"It's alright," Angie interrupted. "Like I said, lying to me would have greatly damaged our friendship, and I am grateful you didn't lie, so our friendship still remains strong for now." Then, something unexpected happened. She hugged me! "Good luck, Jane," she said, holding me tightly to her like a sister would to her younger sibling before being reprimanded by their parent. "You're going to need it." She then pulled away and rushed down the corridor, wiping her eyes as she went.

Wow, I exclaimed in awe to myself. I never knew her to be so emotional, especially toward me, of all people. She clearly felt genuine sympathy toward me, knowing I would be punished for what I did, but the severity of that punishment was unknown. She seemed to also feel genuine fear to see me expelled, seeing as the possibility of that happening was pretty high. Her being so emotional toward me just proved that even though she had a somewhat strict personality (hence why she became prefect), she also had a soft spot for people she was close to, including people whom she saw great potential in—people like me—and she'd be willing to help those people as much as possible, even if it risked sacrificing her prefect privileges, like when she taught Rowan and I how to duel last term. I was happy to have a friend like Angie, and I didn't want to lose that friendship between us.

Before I went into the Great Hall to join Rowan for our last lunch together before the summer holidays, I unfolded Dumbledore's letter. The letter only had three words written on it, and they were words that somehow made me lose my appetite from nervousness: Clocktower Courtyard, 6:00.

#####

I didn't want to be expelled, but I may not have had a choice in the matter, and that worried me greatly as I walked through the corridors to the Clocktower Courtyard, which, I thought, was a very unusual place to meet to discuss such topics, seeing as the topic was one that normally would be better discussed behind closed doors, such as the Headmaster's Office. On the way, I bumped into Rowan.

"Jane!" she exclaimed. "I wanted to catch you before you met with Professor Dumbledore."

"I'm sorry, Rowan," I said, shaking my head, "but I'm on my way to be punished. I can't ask the Headmaster if he'll hire you to be a professor someday."

"It's not about that," Rowan said, somewhat hurt; "although, if the opportunity presented itself, that would be really cool." She then steered back on topic. "Anyway, it's about the code we saw scrawled in the cursed ice. I found an obscure book about ciphers. I think I know what it means."

"Wow!" I said, genuinely shocked. "That's amazing, Row. What does the code say?"

"'The Ice Knight stands guard past the Vanished Stairs,'" she recited.

"I saw stairs and a suit of armor in my vision," I admitted somewhat nervously, thinking back to Rowan's theory of my visions being part of an ominous prophecy. First, the vision of the cursed ice was revealed to be true, and now this, which was something we had yet to discover.

"It's obviously ominous," Rowan said with a shrug, "and since we found it in cursed ice, it must be connected to the Cursed Vaults. I'll spend the summer holidays searching for any references I can find to 'Ice Knights' and 'Vanished Stairs' at Hogwarts. Hopefully I'll have it worked out by the time we return for our second year."

"We?" I said with a frown. "I think it might just be you returning. I'm expecting to be expelled just like my brother."

"I hope not, Jane," Rowan shook her head. "I want to solve this mystery with my best friend."

I smiled. "Thanks, Rowan. You've definitely been a best friend to me since we first got to Hogwarts."

"Actually it was before we got to Hogwarts," she corrected me. "Remember when we met in Diagon Alley, I helped you find all your school supplies, and you suggested that I buy myself a cool hat, which, you've noticed, I'd worn literally all winter long? Penny even said she thought I looked good in the hat. I told her it was your idea, and she gave you a lot of praise. I don't know if she's told you that, but she really liked my hat and thought it was nice that you had suggested that I buy it. Merula said I'd look better with the Sorting Hat on my head. I mean, did you see the size of that thing? It barely fit on my head and reeked of old hairspray from an old hag! Anyway, she's just jealous that she doesn't know a thing about fashion sense. I mean have you seen her hair? It looks like an owl had swooped down and vomited on her head."

I laughed with tears in my eyes. "Ah, Rowan, I am going to miss you if I don't come back to Hogwarts."

"You will come back to Hogwarts," she said in an insistent tone. "Even if Dumbledore does end up expelling you, I'll just have to burst into his office tonight and hex him until he changes his mind to let you stay."

I laughed again. "I'm pretty sure that would get you expelled, too."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Rowan said, laughing in agreement.

"Thanks, Rowan, for being there for me," I said, smiling again and failing to fight back tears. "I don't mean 'there', like, just in that locked room with the ice. I mean in the whole time we've known each other—in Diagon Alley, on the train to Hogwarts, in the room with the Devil's Snare… And also for everything you've done for me—helping me find my school supplies, teaching me all of those dueling spells, standing up for me when people called me 'cursed' like my brother, defending me against Merula Snyde's bullying…mainly just being a good friend. I never thought I would fit in without your kindness and support." I truly meant what I said. Every word.

"And cleverness?" Rowan added teasingly.

I laughed again. "Yes, that too. You've been the greatest friend anyone could ask for."

Now, it was Rowan's turn to cry. With a sniffle, she wrapped me up in a tight hug, saying, "Aw, now you're making me cry."

"I've already been crying," I said with a small sob.

"I can see that," Rowan chuckled, pulling away. "Gryffindors aren't supposed to show their weaknesses, you know. They're supposed to be brave, chivalrous, non-emotional."

"I know," I nodded. "I'm aware of that. But despite choosing to be in Gryffindor, I feel I am a mix of the other three as well."

"What do you mean?" Rowan asked, puzzled.

"It's difficult to explain," I said honestly. "I just feel like I could've been Sorted into any house, really." I'm smart like a Ravenclaw, I'm kind like a Hufflepuff, I'm brave like a Gryffindor, and, at times, I'm a little cunning like a Slytherin. Even though I possessed all qualities for each house, I ultimately chose Gryffindor; but honestly, I didn't know why, and that was the part that was difficult to explain.

"Even Slytherin?" Rowan asked in a somewhat concerned tone, like she couldn't imagine me being in such a devious house, even though I could've picked that house if I wanted to, what with my strong ambition to find and save my brother.

"Yeah, maybe," I said honestly with a small shrug.

"So why did you ultimately choose Gryffindor?" she asked curiously.

I shrugged again. "I don't know. I guess…my instinct just told me to pick that house? I don't know. Like I said, it's difficult to explain. It was sort of like a gut feeling; you know what I mean?" I then paused, thinking more deeply on the topic. "I mean, the majority of my family were Gryffindors," I added. "Maybe I just wanted to fit into the family better by choosing the same house." Not that they would shun me for not choosing Gryffindor, of course.

Rowan nodded understandingly. "That makes sense. Whatever you say, I'll support your decision, because you'll always be my best friend, and I don't want to spoil our friendship by not trusting you."

I wrapped Rowan up in another hug, saying, "Thanks, Row. I'll see you at the Feast."

"Good luck, Jane," she smiled. "I sure hope you don't get expelled. My thoughts go out with you." She then ran off toward the Great Hall to get a seat for the last evening meal for the year.

"I sure hope not, too," I murmured to myself as I watched her go.

#####

It was a quiet night with a calm breeze and the occasional wolf howling in the distance from the direction of the Forbidden Forest. Professor Dumbledore was standing contently beside the fountain with his arms held loosely behind his back, staring up at the stars dotting the sky.

Without turning around, he said in a calm voice as I approached him nervously, "Thank you for meeting with me, Janelle."

"Of course, Professor Dumbledore," I said, a little shocked that he said my first name instead of my surname, like most professors did. I then attempted to explain myself guiltily. "I—"

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Dumbledore said somewhat in a daze, continuing to look up at the night sky, like looking away for even a second would change its current appearance entirely to one that he wouldn't approve.

"Sir?" I asked, puzzled as to what the night sky has to do with my inevitable expulsion from this majestic castle that had become a second home to me that I didn't ever want to leave.

He continued speaking in that soft voice. "The quiet night, the crisp air… It truly puts your troubles into perspective, doesn't it?"

"I guess," I answered awkwardly, still unsure as to what he was talking about.

"I oftentimes come here when I need to make an important decision," he said, and at this point, I was in so much of a struggle to understand what the point of our meeting was that I almost demanded to know right there and then.

Instead, I said, "My Prefect said you wanted to see me about everything I've done wrong this year..." I then added guiltily, "And about what happened with the cursed ice."

He finally glanced down at me, but it was a warm, sincere look, like a grandfather would have toward his granddaughter. "You are expecting a lecture," he said, "but I feel as though you want to ask me about something…" He then paused with raised eyebrows as if giving me time to ask the right question. In all honesty, there were so many questions, such as what happened to my brother, why he went looking for the Cursed Vaults, whether Dumbledore knows where he disappeared, whether my visions were giving me any clues to my brother's whereabouts…

I ultimately decided to ask about my visions, since I had the disturbing feeling that they were images of bad things that would soon happen at Hogwarts. "I had a vision, Professor. I saw living armor, hidden passages, cursed ice…" I paused, feeling nervous, but I decided to continue, knowing that Dumbledore was a very wise and trustworthy wizard. "When I heard about the ice, I had to know what it was about. I thought…" I then thought differently, knowing this was a current situation and not a past one. "I think it has to do with my brother."

"Interesting," he said, regarding my statement. "I have a feeling these things will become clearer to you in the coming years at Hogwarts."

Coming years? I thought. Does that mean…?

"I'm not going to be expelled?" I asked, making sure I heard him correctly. Was I dreaming? I pinched myself to make sure.

"You have made many, many mistakes this year, Janelle," he said calmly, and I couldn't help but think in my head, Tell me something I don't know. "But you have also demonstrated bravery, compassion, and resourcefulness. You show great promise."

I pinched myself a few more times. I was in so much shock to hear such profound words from my headmaster.

"All things considered," he continued with a smile, "I believe you have earned one hundred points for Gryffindor."

Is he serious? I thought in amazement. One hundred House Points? Holy Merlin! This was incredible!

"In the years to come, you must be mindful of how your decisions impact others," he said in a warning tone, making me think of Rowan and Ben. "Remember, Janelle, it is not our abilities that show who we truly are. It is our choices." In other words, I thought, if I continued to make bad choices and continued my reckless pursuit of the Cursed Vaults, it could affect not just myself but others as well in a very negative way. Although, what Dumbledore didn't seem to understand was that I was pursuing the Cursed Vaults to do good—rescue my brother, and maybe even stop my visions from coming true along the way.

All things considered, I nodded and said, "Thank you, Professor Dumbledore. I'll remember."

"Very well," he nodded approvingly. "Hurry to the Great Hall now. The End-Of-Year Feast is about to commence. However, I may need a few more moments to prepare for my End-Of-Year Speech."