Magical Mischief: Year One

xx. Aftermath

They arrived in front of a large, golden gargoyle of a majestic eagle. Hagrid muttered a few words that sounded strangely like "Yorkshire Pudding," and the eagle moved aside to reveal a winding stone staircase. They climbed the staircase and Hagrid knocked on the door, the sound echoing through the empty corridor below.

"Come in," came Dumbledore's voice.

They opened the door and emerged into a room that James could only describe as 'whimsical'. Telescopes and various strange astronomy trinkets sat on tables, and the walls were adorned with pictures of what James assumed were past Hogwarts Headmasters and Headmistresses. Dumbledore himself sat behind his desk, gazing at them calmly, as if he wasn't surprised at all as to why Hagrid was leading three eleven year olds into his office at nearly two o'clock in the morning.

"Professor Dumbledore, sir,' Hagrid greeted him gruffly.

"Good evening, Hagrid," Dumbledore said, peering around the half-giant at James, Sirius, Peter and Snape. "May I ask what has happened?"

"Found these four at the edge o' the Forbidden Forest, sir," said Hagrid. "Reckon they got in'o some trouble with the Centaurs."

"There's much more than that," James spoke up, stepping forward. "We ran into the Death Eaters."

Dumbledore shot to his feet. He walked quickly to the fireplace and grabbed a handful of Floo Powder, throwing it into the ashes. "Elias," he spoke into the fire.

Warren's face appeared in the ashes. "Is everything alright, Professor Dumbledore?"

"I'm afraid not. There has been a Death Eater encounter in the Forbidden Forest. Please notify the Auror Department at the Ministry and aid them in searching the grounds."

Warren's face disappeared from the fireplace and Dumbledore turned to Hagrid. "Go join the Aurors in their search please, Hagrid. Lead them to where you found these young gentlemen."

Hagrid nodded and left, leaving the four boys alone with the Headmaster. He stared at them, unmoving, for what felt like ages. James could feel the guilt in his stomach as Dumbledore's eyes searched their faces as if they were looking right through them. "For some of you," he started, "this is becoming an increasingly concerning habit. Tell me, what were you doing out in the Forest so long after curfew?"

"It was my fault, Professor." James at once, and the heads of the other three boys snapped up to stare at him. "I had a game that I wanted to play with them, out of sight of the teachers."

"And what game was it, precisely?"

"Running at the Whomping Willow, sir."

"I see." Dumbledore was silent for a moment. "Mr. Snape, is what Mr. Potter is saying true?"

Snape looked stunned for a fraction of a second, but he quickly fixed his expression. "Yes, it's true, it was his idea."

It took all of James' willpower not to strangle him, and he could tell that Sirius and Peter felt the same.

Dumbledore sighed. "Mr. Snape, you are dismissed for now, but we will discuss your punishment later. Please go straight back to your dormitory, and refrain from taking any detours. I will be notifying Professor Slughorn of your return."

Snape looked elated as he jumped up and rushed out of the office, leaving the other three alone with Dumbledore.

After a minute of excruciating silence, the old wizard finally spoke. "It has not escaped my notice that Mr. Lupin has once again departed the castle tonight. I don't suppose your excursion had anything to do with that?"

"No, sir," said Sirius.

"You weren't trying to follow him?"

Sirius pulled a rather impressive innocent face. "Follow him?" he echoed. "If we were allowed to go with him to support him we would, but there would be no point in sneaking off."

"Yeah, it's like James said," Peter jumped in. "We were just going to see the tree."

"Very well." Dumbledore rose from his seat, sighing. "I will be forced to write home to each of your parents. I am not blind to the fact that this is not your first time out of bed after hours. I need not remind you that we are living in dangerous times. Not only do you sneak out of the castle at night, but you follow it up with a visit to the Forbidden Forest where you proceeded to come across a group of fugitives wanted for murder." His eyes flickered to James. "You must understand that hiding yourselves from view does not exempt you from danger."

James' stomach twisted. Clearly, Dumbledore knew about his Invisibility cloak.

"That being said, you three have prevented what was possibly an attack on the school, and for that, I am very grateful."

The three boys looked up from where they had each been staring at their shoes.

"Twenty points to Gryffindor," Dumbledore said, his eyes returning to their twinkling selves. "For each of you."

James blinked. "Thank you, sir."

At that moment, a loud knock sounded from outside the office door. Dumbledore waved it open to reveal Fleamont Potter, the look on his face making James gulp nervously. It hadn't occurred to him that his father would be coming with the Auror squad to investigate.

Behind Mr. Potter stood a handsome, yet intimidating wizard. He strode through the doorway, going to firmly shake Dumbledore's hand.

"Ah, good evening Alastor, Fleamont," Dumbledore said, nodding to each arrival in turn. "How is the search coming along?"

"The intruders are gone," The wizard named Alastor said. "We suspect they left after they were spotted. If they had been planning to attack, they would no longer have had the element of surprise."

"Thank you, Alastor. We will discuss security measures in a moment." he turned to Mr. Potter. "Fleamont, would you be so kind as to escort these three young men back to the Gryffindor common room? We don't want Mr. Filch getting the wrong idea."

"Certainly, Professor." Mr. Potter's stern expression did not waver as he ushered James, Sirius and Peter out the door.

They walked in uncomfortable silence the entire way. When they arrived at the portrait of the Fat Lady, Mr. Potter turned to look at Sirius and Peter. "You two head on in. Go right up to bed. It's late. I want to have a word with James."

The two nodded and hurried inside, each shooting James an apologetic glance.

Mr. Potter turned his stern gaze on his son. "Care to explain?"

"I'm sorry, dad," James sighed, running his hand through his hair.

"When I gave you that cloak I knew I would be stepping into something I would regret. But I expected more from you, James."

James stared at the floor. "It was just a harmless game," he mumbled.

"I'm not blind to the fact that your friend Remus Lupin has left the castle yet again. If I can see through your lies then Dumbledore certainly has. I don't recommend adding 'pulling a fast one on Dumbledore' to your bucket list of mischief making."

James looked up at his father sadly. "We didn't mean for anything bad to happen. We just wanted to see where he was going. I care about him a lot and I want to be there for him however I can, but I think he's lying to us, dad."

"Your friend is going through a hard time," Mr. Potter said carefully. "If he knows you truly care about him, he will tell you the truth himself when he is ready."

James nodded, giving his dad a small smile.

Mr. Potter wrapped his son in a hug. "Off to bed now," he said. "And no more sneaking out after curfew!"