Hey again! :) I'm sorry it took me so long, I got disconnected from this story for a bit. That has two reasons.
Firstly, I honestly expected a bit more feedback for this fanfic, and the fact that I did not get that was a bit difficult to swallow at times- and I know readers are not obligated to leave comments, but it does help motivating an author for sure :)
Secondly, I've been thinking of another story to write called Threatening Thomas, which would be a bit darker than usual, probably either 5 or 10 chapters. I have the idea for it and somewhat of an outline, but I'm not sure if I'll ever write it. If I do, I probably won't publish it until it's almost finished, if so.
Anyways, this is chapter 14 now, currently working on the very last chapter, which I hope I will publish sometime this month. Thank you for all your support and for reading my little story! :)
"I have to say, I am very curious about your explanation for this peculiar behavior in the middle of the night", McGonagall's voice was cutting, "besides- what is in that blanket? Aren't you a bit too old for pranks, Severus?"
Snape curled his lips, he had expected for McGonagall to blame him for this- but before he could say anything, Remus Lupin stepped forward, "this isn't a prank, Minerva", he kept his voice low, "please, if you let us inside, we…we will explain."
The older witch frowned, but eventually she opened the door wider to let them come inside her office, "your little present will stay outside, though- the smell is rather unpleasant."
"Certainly- he can stay out here for now", Snape agreed, seeing that Remus wanted to argue, and they followed McGonagall into the room, Remus closing the door behind him.
"What do you mean- he can stay out?", there was a reason McGonagall was Albus' right hand- she was quick witted and sharp, "this…does not mean what I think it does, I may hope."
Remus exhaled, "we…found Luke."
For a moment, McGonagall closed her eyes, suddenly looking ten years older. She sat down heavily in one of the chairs at the round wooden table in the middle of her office, motioning Snape and Remus to do the same.
"He…only disappeared a few days ago, but…that smell…", she sighed, and Snape hated to admit that he was secretly impressed by how fast McGonagall was connecting the dots.
"He's been dead for about a month", he began, and then they told her everything- because really, there was no point in pretending any longer. They told her about the Polyjuice, Dumbledore's horcrux, the kidnapping of the boys, Sirius' and Tom's true identity, and Pettigrew's part in it all.
McGonagall's face grew more and more pale the longer she listened, but she did not interrupt them once.
"Albus…send me away earlier, saying he was ill. The results of his destroyed horcrux", she shook her head, "and…Peter is captured now?"
"He is at the dungeons at Gryffindor Manor, yes", Remus replied, "we assume that Dumbledore has no idea about that- and that he did not help Pettigrew in kidnapping the boys."
"He must be going insane with questions right now- and what is he going to do about Luke?"
"We do not know that- we do not have any solid proof yet that it was Dumbledore who killed Luke and hid him to create the horcrux. It could have been Pettigrew, and Dumbledore used the murder against him and made him take the Polyjuice as blackmail."
"Does that mean there is a chance that there is another dead student or staff member lying around somewhere?"
Snape nodded, "until we can interrogate Pettigrew, there is a chance, yes."
"Why can't he be interrogated now?"
Remus snorted, "he turned himself into an Animagus right before the Founders captured him- most likely to avoid Veritaserum. Quite clever because he also managed to find some kind of barrier for the spell that forces him to turn back into his human form."
McGonagall sighed, "what are we going to do, then?"
"We want to give Luke back to his parents and family", Remus said quietly, "and…maybe that can be done without anyone else knowing? Just to keep Dumbledore in the shadows for a bit longer."
"Please bring him inside", McGonagall's voice was quiet now as well, "I would like to see him."
Snape gave a curt nod and stood up, returning seconds later with Luke, still inside the blanket. He carefully opened the blanket, but closed it quickly after he heard McGonagall groan in anguish.
Luke's face looked rougher than it had when they first found him- decay was doing its job, and soon, he would be unrecognizable.
"He…can stay here tonight", McGonagall said eventually, "I will personally contact his family in the morning and have them…see Luke."
"Thank you, Minerva", Remus' gratitude was sincere- it would be one hell of a job to tell the family that Luke was dead, let alone show them his body.
"We will keep you updated about Pettigrew", Remus added, standing up, "and…please be careful around Dumbledore. We do not know if he suspects us behind destroying his horcrux, or who he suspects, but he's in a very emotional state right now."
Minerva nodded, standing up as well, "thank you, to the both of you", she looked over to Snape, "you have made Hogwarts proud tonight."
"Spoken by a true Gryffindor", but there was no spite in Snape's words as he stood up, following Remus to the door, "have a good night, Minerva."
They left, walking back down the staircase which led to McGonagall's office in silence, and it was Remus who broke the silence eventually, "would you…like some tea, maybe?"
Snape hid his smile, and then he nodded, "certainly- I actually brewed some peppermint tea earlier today- will you be my guest?"
"I…would like that, yes", Remus smiled as well now, and they kept walking back to Snape's quarters, the silence between them more than comfortable.
A few days had passed, which had been mostly filled with sleeping, eating, taking medicine, playing chess with Godric, listening to Godric's and Salazar's stories, and taking lots of naps.
Even though the Founders tried their best to keep him entertained, Sirius was still mostly laying around in bed, watching it snow every day. And with every passing day, he got more and more restless.
The snow outside was tempting in its own way- snowball fights, sledding, skiing, building a snowman, ice skating- and he was laying in bed.
He turned his head when there was a knock on the door, and then Gryffindor appeared, smiling at him like he always did, "how are you doing this morning, Sirius?"
"I want to go outside", Sirius replied instead of answering, "I'm done with this."
The Founder sighed, closing the door behind him, "we've talked about this, boy. You are still not healed properly to go outside- especially in this weather."
"I've been laying around here for days now", Sirius shot back, "my head doesn't even hurt that much anymore!"
"But it still hurts, Sirius- and that is why you still need to rest."
"For…how much longer?"
Gryffindor sighed again, "about a week, Sirius", he eventually said, looking straight into the boys' eyes, which immediately darkened.
"A week? I'm not gonna lay around here for that much longer! That's boring as hell, I want to get up and do stuff!"
Godric just looked at him, he had expected Sirius to react like this- the boy was not happy to bend over books like Tom did, he wanted to run around and explore; to play and to do whatever came to his mind- and he had been laying in bed for almost a week already.
"You will have to stay in bed if you want to get better, angry boy", he told him, not taking his eyes off Sirius, "and that is not up for discussion."
We'll see about that.
Sirius was fuming now, lashing out at the only person who was there at the moment, "if you had done your search right, I wouldn't have to stay in bed at all", he spat out, "pretty pathetic it took you a whole day to find us, mighty Founder!"
He half expected Gryffindor to yell at him now, or to even slap him- but he simply stood up and turned for the door, "Salazar will bring you something to eat and another healing potion in a minute", he told him, his voice not betraying any emotion, "you can let him know if there is anything else you need", and with that, he was gone- and Sirius stared at the door, a mix of anger and despair on his face.
Damn Gryffindor, damn Pettigrew, damn everything!
He forced back the tears, not wanting to have Salazar see him cry when he walked into the room, staring outside into the snow again. He hated being helpless, he hated being at the mercy of others, being weak...
I'm useless. I can't do anything anymore.
"Sirius?"
He didn't turn around, he didn't want to face Salazar, "I'm…not hungry", he just mumbled, his voice flat, "but…you can leave the food here, I'll eat it later", he didn't realize that he wasn't being polite, treating Salazar like a servant, but the Founder did not comment on that, "very well. I'll see you later then, Sirius", he kept his voice calm, heading back for the door. Godric had told him about their interaction- and he needed the boy to figure out by himself what he had done wrong.
Sirius didn't respond, he just kept staring outside the window, an unhappy expression on his face. He longed to get up and run around, he missed being at Hogwarts, being among the other students- he even missed Tom, if he was being honest with himself.
Eventually, looking outside became boring again- so he ate the food Salazar brought and took the healing potion, and then he slowly went to the bathroom. Using the toilet and brushing his teeth and face was the only respite he got from lying down, and he hated how long it took him to even walk over to the bathroom.
Useless. Useless. Useless…
He avoided looking at his reflection when he washed his hands, his head getting dizzy again.
You're pathetic. So damn weak…just like Pettigrew said.
He curled himself into a ball once he got back in his bed, exhausted. It did not take him long before he was asleep again, and when he woke up hours later, there was another tray with food, and another healing potion by his bedside.
Sirius ate and drank, thinking how just a day ago Gryffindor had told him a spooky vampire story while he had eaten his lunch, and he forced himself to look at the snow again.
I don't need Gryffindor. I don't.
He tried to take another nap but he was wide awake now- and there was nothing to do, no one to talk to…just silence.
Usually, either Godric or Salazar would have checked in on him by now, telling him about what was going on in the Manor, and the Ministry, and what mischief the owls were getting into…
He sighed, turning around in his bed, his ears perking up when he heard a knock on the door.
Gryffindor!
But it wasn't. Of course it wasn't. It was a house elf bringing him another healing potion, and after Sirius had taken it, his glance fell on the chessboard on his nightstand, they had started another game just yesterday, and Gryffindor had told him how much progress he'd made and how proud…
With a sudden impulse of anger, he lifted up his arm and wiped down the chess pieces, watching them fall to the ground, trembling.
"I hate chess", he croaked, knowing very well he was lying, "he wasn't…gonna finish the game with me…anyways."
And then tears welled up in his eyes, and he stared at the chess pieces, his eyes getting blurry. He knew the chessboard was expensive, and the figurines were probably expensive as well, and now they were laying on the ground, and he'd get punished, and why was everything always going wrong in his life?
Sirius sobbed, not caring anymore that he was crying. He got out of his bed and slowly started to pick up the small figurines, his head hurting. Everything was hurting.
I can't…I can't…it hurts so much…
He leaned his head back against the bed, tears streaming down his cheeks. Not even in that cell he had felt this miserable and this lonely, Tom had been there, sacrificing himself for him, protecting him from the torture, but here…
I have no one. I'm useless, I'm weak, it's no wonder Gryffindor wants nothing to do with me anymore.
"Nothing to do with you, hmm? It sounded like you did not want me around anymore, angry little boy."
Sirius did not dare to look up, he didn't need Gryffindor to see how red his face had gotten, sitting on the floor like this, in the middle of all the scrambled chess pieces.
"I…was just…the…pieces…fell down…and…and…"
"They fell down, Sirius?", Gryffindor's voice was mild, very mild, and the boy could feel his gaze on him, and he had to sob again.
"I…I…was…so angry."
And then the Founder sighed, sitting down next to him, "I know this has been difficult for you, Sirius…but we've been trying to help you. You don't think Salazar and I were worried sick about you and Tom, that day? It was the worst day of my life."
Sirius winced like he had been slapped, the guilt and shame he felt overwhelming, overbearing, "I…I…wasn't…I…didn't…mean…", the lump in his throat made it impossible to say anything else, and he was crying again, knowing he had messed everything up.
Again.
"You need to learn to think before you act, angry boy", Gryffindor's voice was calm, "a lot of the situations you get yourself in could have been avoided if you had stopped yourself to think of the consequences- and I'm not only talking about throwing chess pieces around, I'm also talking about your behavior at Hogwarts."
Sirius cried silently; each word Gryffindor's felt like a punch in the gut. He'd happily take any spanking instead, but this was…just as bad as when Aurelius had lectured him that one day.
I see a liar, a cheat, and a thief.
"I…I can go back to Remus, and…I'll leave you alone", he choked out, not being able to stand this any longer, "I'll leave Aurelius…alone, too. He'll…be glad."
"And why do you think Aurelius would be glad?"
Sirius shrugged, avoiding to look at the Founder, "he's always mad…at me", he eventually whispered, his voice strained and tired, "it's…always wrong, what I do."
Godric suppressed a smile, "and that bothers you, hmm?"
"Yeah", the boy was still staring at the floor, "he…said that I'm a liar. And a cheat. And a thief", his eyes filled with tears again, "and I'm not good enough at Quidditch, or classes…not like…not like…"
"Not like Tom?"
Sirius winced again, but then he quickly nodded.
"I see…", Godric very carefully put his arm around the boy, just like he had done with Tom, that night he'd found him in the hallway, "I'd like to show you something, sweet boy. A memory."
The boy blinked, clearly taken aback by being called sweet boy, "uhm…what? What memory?"
"Close your eyes…and I'll show you."
Sirius wasn't sure what any of this meant- but he was tired, so very tired of it all…so he closed his eyes, and then suddenly he was in the living room of Gryffindor Manor, and the Founders were there, and then the door opened, and in stormed Aurelius.
"Where are they?"
"Good morning to you as well, son. They are both still asleep."
"And…how are they? How badly injured? What did…"
Gryffindor was watching the expression on Sirius' face as he watched the memory of that day when Aurelius had been rushing back from Hogwarts, demanding to see the boys, sick with worry for them.
The Founder smiled when he saw the disbelief on the boys' face, and then…realization.
Finally.
"He…he was worried", Sirius whispered after the memory had ended, "he…he cares about me. Both me and Tom."
"He does, Sirius", Gryffindor replied, his voice soft, "he would not discipline you and wanting you to do better if he did not care. He knows you are smart and capable of everything you set your mind to, little boy- and that includes Quidditch. Playing chess. Working hard in class."
"He…he did say that I've been doing better at Quidditch", Sirius now said quietly, looking down, "and…I thought…I thought…"
"You thought he spanked you because he does not like you, I know", Godric sighed, pulling the boy closer, "he would just let you do whatever you want if he didn't care, not wanting you to be better. To do better."
Sirius bit his lips, feeling the emotions whirling inside his head. Aurelius cared for him. He cared. He liked him. He had disciplined him because he cared.
Just like…
Ohmygod.
Gryffindor wasn't at all surprised when the boy next to him suddenly started to sob, and then threw his arms around him, "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"
"Shhh…it's all good…it's okay, sweet boy. I'm here…I'm here, Sirius", and he held the boy tight, needing him to know how much he was loved.
"You might be able to destroy me, but never my idea!", Tom declared, raising his sword, "I fought, and others will continue the fight, there will always be someone to continue", he marched across the stage, "do you want to continue? Do you?"
"Aaaaand…stop!", Cormac stood up, walking over to the stage, "not bad, Sayre. Put more emphasis on the do you at the end- but overall, not bad. Five-minute break, and then we'll rehearse the scene in the library."
Tom wiped the sweat off his forehead, the costume he was wearing was a bit heavy, and his scene had been going on for ten minutes. They had not only picked him first for the Christmas play, they had also given him one of the lead roles, which meant he had a lot of text to study.
Rehearsals were three times a week, the one on the weekend being the longest, and even though he was constantly around the other students, barely had any time to himself anymore, he just loved to act. He was still shocked how much he enjoyed all this- the rehearsals, the text studies, the development of a play, the feeling of…belonging.
"Well done, Tommy", Aurelius had walked up to him, handing him a glass of water, "drink up. Would not want you to get dehydrated."
Tom snorted, "as if that was possible on your watch", he took the water, emptying the glass within seconds, secretly more than grateful for it. Aurelius did not miss any rehearsals- he was always there, watching, commenting on his performance, making sure he drank enough, and helping him put his costume on.
"How are your text studies coming along?", Aurelius asked now, taking the empty glass from him, "do you need any help?"
Tom blinked, "uhm…I'm doing fine", he answered after a short pause, "I usually…study by myself after dinner."
"It might help you to study with Lavender- she is the other lead after all, and you have a lot of scenes together", Aurelius suggested, and Tom had to begrudgingly admit that it wasn't a bad idea.
"I'll…think about it."
"And if you need to practice your lines- you can always come find me", Aurelius smiled at him, "or read them to Snowy."
Tom immediately tensed, "Snowy's dead", he hissed, "and her name is Copy. Not Snowy."
"I understand you miss Snowy- but don't you think you should give your new owl a chance?", Aurelius looked him straight in the eyes, "when's the last time you've been up at the Owlery? Spend some time with her?"
"It's…been a while", Tom replied, not feeling sorry about it, "I'm sure the other owls are keeping her company."
"Tom…", there was something like a warning in Aurelius' voice now, a warning Tom did not want to explore further, "you do understand that even if that owl's not Snowy, she is a living creature with feelings- and it is quite cruel to neglect her like this. I expect you to go up to the Owlery after dinner tonight to spend some time with your owl. Is that understood?", his tone had gotten more sharp towards the end, and Tom knew very well what would happen if he disobeyed Aurelius.
"Yes. I'll go see her tonight", he said between clenched teeth, hating this- he did not care for Copy, and he never would. Snowy had been his owl, and she had been perfect, no other owl would ever be this amazing.
He was still thinking that when he was sitting next to Copy hours later, irritated with the whole situation. He had brought his textbook up here because he was planning to study after but since he had no desire to talk to Copy, he decided it would be just as good to practice up here.
"Don't interrupt me, though", he warned the owl, who looked down in defeat. She was an intelligent animal, but she did not understand why her owner treated her with such disdain. She saw how all the other owls got visited, received treats and head pats, but Tom had not seen her in over a week, and barely bothered to look at her.
Tom started reciting his lines, and the owl listened attentively. She enjoyed the different tones of voice Tom used, and when he got to a difficult part where he had to talk really fast, she hooted quietly in appreciation.
The boy looked up from his book in surprise, taken aback by the sound. He wanted to tell her to be quiet again, but…something stopped him.
Her eyes…she looks so sad.
Tom had to swallow, putting down his book, "did you…uhm…like that? My…studying?"
He got another quiet little hoot as response.
There was a silence.
"I…I'll read you some more", Tom finally mumbled, not knowing what else to say, "the…part where I have to fight the werewolf."
He started reading again, and his owl listened quietly, but when he got to the most exciting part, she fluttered her wings a bit, and Tom had to smile, "it's a crazy scene, isn't it? But don't worry, I escape the werewolf unharmed."
His owl hooted, and it sounded relieved, and now he had to laugh, "I know, right? When I first read it, I thought I was going to be torn apart by the werewolf, too", and before he knew it, he was actually talking to his snowy owl- telling her everything about the play, and acting, and how much he loved the rehearsals.
The owl listened with great attention, happy to be included and talked to, and Tom realized he enjoyed this- talking to his owl, sharing his thoughts with her.
"I need to give you a name…", he finally said, deep in thought, "uhm…not Snowy. But maybe…Serenity?"
He got an excited hoot as a reply, and had to chuckle, "Serenity it is. I have to go now- but I'll be back tomorrow. I'll bring you some treats, okay?"
Serenity hooted louder, and if he did not know any better, he would have thought she was smiling.
He woke up by blinding pain.
"Whaa…"
"Get. Up."
Pettigrew whimpered, not understanding why he was not in his Animagus form any longer. It had prevented him from being tortured before, and he had hoped he could just stay in this cell unharmed until Dumbledore somehow rescued him. It was ironic that the headmaster was his only hope now, but he knew he needed him to keep pretending he was Luke Lightwing.
Another flash of excruciating pain hit him, so he whimpered, hastily trying to stand up, "please…I…"
"Crucio."
Gryffindor was clearly not in the mood to talk, and Peter screamed until he felt like he had lost his voice, and only then did the Founder stop the torture spell.
"You thought staying as a rat was such a clever little trick, didn't you?", Gryffindor did not even wait for his response, "how unfortunate for you that I found the spell to reverse that- but you'll be a rat forever regardless."
Pettigrew didn't respond, he was still shaking from the agony of the spell, feeling the blood coming out of his ears.
"You and I are going to have a little chat now- after you took some Veritaserum", he took a little vial with the potion, and Pettigrew began to shake even harder, "please…Sir, please…"
"Spare me your pathetic whimpers, rat", Godric did not even bother to look at him when he forced the Veritaserum down his throat, "you will die regardless- but it is up to you how painful you want to make your death. Now, who planned to kidnap Tom and Sirius from the dorms?"
"I…did", Pettigrew croaked, forced to tell the truth, "it was all…my idea."
"Dumbledore did not help you with that?"
"No."
"But he forced you to take Polyjuice?"
"Yes."
"Did you see him kill Luke?"
"No."
Gryffindor bit his lips, so much for having a witness- Peter was indeed useless.
"Does Dumbledore have more horcruxes than the one?"
"I don't know."
Useless.
"Crucio."
He enjoyed listening to Pettigrew's screams for a bit, and then he ended the spell. He would come back for more later- at least know they knew that there wasn't someone else involved in this. It had been Dumbledore murdering Luke and creating the horcrux, and it had been Pettigrew pretending to be Luke and kidnapping and torturing the boys.
There was no one else.
"Not bad, Thomas. Not bad."
Tom inwardly rolled his eyes at Cormac, he always had a feeling the older boy did not care much for him- he rarely ever praised him like he did the others, and he was certainly the most talented actor of them all.
He looked over to Aurelius who just winked at him, smiling, and then he joined the others at the side of the stage. It was only a few more weeks until Christmas, and everyone was eager to make the show a success.
Rehearsals were done for today, but they always had a meeting at the end where Cormac or Pauline would go over some important stuff, and then there was time to ask questions.
Tom drank some water while he absently listened to Pauline talking about the costumes, looking over to Aurelius who was leaning against the door with his arms crossed, casually observing the scene. He was not sure why Aurelius was always here- he was not part of the play after all and should have plenty to do with being Quidditch captain, but he never missed even one meeting or rehearsal.
"Now, there is one more thing we need to discuss", Cormac had taken over now, "since the play is getting closer, we need to talk about tickets. We as the performers have the privilege to choose tickets first, which means our families will get the best seats. We do need to ask everyone how many family members they plan on bringing though, to get an idea how many seats we will need to reserve."
Everything inside him froze.
Stop…talking.
But of course Cormac did not stop- what he did was worse. So much worse.
"Let's start over there on the left- Ginny, how many tickets for you?"
"Uhm…seven I think? I have to see if my brother Charlie can make it. If not, six."
"Okay. Parvati?"
"I need three, thanks."
There was a strange sound in his ears now, like…a buzzing. He did not want to keep listening to this, but he had to. He had to.
"I need four, for my parents and my sisters."
"I'll take four as well, please."
"Two for me, for my parents!"
"I need five, my grandparents are coming, too!"
He had no idea later how he managed to stand up, to walk- but somehow, he did get out of the room, and he was in the hallway, and then…the bathroom.
The second-floor girl's bathroom, to be exact.
It was empty, of course it was, and he walked over to the sinks in the middle of the room, staring at his reflection in the mirror for what felt like an eternity.
I need four, for my parents and my sisters.
Two for me, for my parents!
I need five, my grandparents are coming, too!
My parents and my sisters…
For my parents!
My parents…
He suppressed a sob, still staring at his reflection. His brown hair, the tiny freckles on his nose, his eyes…the same eye color Aurelius had…and Sirius…
And with a crash, the mirror in front of him burst, glass shattering everywhere. He was breathing heavily now, not even realizing the cuts he had on his hand from slamming his fist into the glass.
He punched into the other mirror, not caring about the shattered glass or the blood on his hands, not even hearing Myrtle's shriek before she anxiously went to hide in one of the pipes, not seeing the door open behind him, he kept smashing his fists into the glass in a rage, wanting to never have to see his reflection again.
Not wanting to think about the fact what his answer to Cormac's question would have been.
Zero.
Zero.
Zero…
"Zero tickets for me", and then the tears did come, but he could not stop banging his fists against the broken glass, the blood running down his arm, not until…
"You're hurting yourself, Tommy", and then someone very gently took his arm, and when he turned around, his whole body trembling, his hands bleeding, his eyes blurry with tears- Godric Gryffindor was there.
"Please, have a seat."
"No, thank you", Mrs. Lightwing actually took a step back, her demeanor stiff and unfriendly, and then her husband put an arm around her, whispering something in her ear.
"I…understand this is difficult for you, and…", McGonagall did not get to finish her sentence because Mrs. Lightwing let out a bitter laugh, "you do? I imagine you have lost a child before, and then come to find out he was murdered by his headmaster but there is no proof to arrest said headmaster?"
"Please, Lavinia, you have to…"
"Do not tell me to calm down again! Do not!", Lavinia Lightwing hissed at her husband, her eyes blasting with fury before she faced McGonagall again, "it is nothing but scandalous and utterly shameful how this school has treated our son's death! Didn't you tell the students that Luke was found injured and is now at St. Mungo's?"
McGonagall winced. She had indeed said that since she had not known what else to do. Dumbledore had not left his office for days- and he refused to offer any kind of explanation. She had contacted Luke's parents a few days ago so they could take their son home and bury him, and seeing Luke's body had caused his mother to have a nervous breakdown in her office, crying and screaming from heartbreak.
Her grief had now moved on to the next stage- anger.
"I…can only apologize. The headmaster…"
"I wish to speak to Dumbledore", Lavinia Lightwing interrupted her again, not caring to be polite anymore, "and I wish to speak to him immediately."
"I do as well", Mr. Lightwing now declared, "Hogwarts has to acknowledge what happened. We want Dumbledore to be interrogated about Luke's death. How can he murder my son and still sit in his office? You have to understand that we need answers."
"I do understand that", McGonagall said quietly because honestly, she wanted answers as well. Remus had informed her that Gryffindor had questioned Pettigrew- and that he could not testify that Dumbledore had actually murdered Luke. The office of the headmaster was heavily protected, and if Dumbledore refused to come out, there was not much she could do since he had locked the doors.
"Well, take us to him", Luke's mother now demanded, "we were hesitant of getting the Ministry involved, especially since Leandra still goes to school here but if he does not speak with us today, we will have to inform Fudge."
"I…understand", McGonagall repeated somewhat numb, knowing that Fudge being involved would turn this into a full-blown disaster for Hogwarts. She had no choice but to take Luke's parents to Dumbledore's office though- mentally exhausted by what had happened.
They walked up the stairs to his office in silence, McGonagall leading the way, thinking this could not get any worse- when suddenly she heard quick footsteps running down the stairs towards her, and then a boy appeared from the top of the stairs, a boy who looked exactly like…
"Luke!", it was the last thing McGonagall heard Mrs. Lightwing behind her screech in utter shock, and then everything went black.
Yep…Luke's back ;) how and why and lots of Tom/ Gryff H/C and the Happy Ending will be in the next, last chapter.
And btw, the scene with Tom in the bathroom was my original idea for this story- the rest of it I built around it.
Read you soon!
xoxo,
Antonie ;)