"Sorry, Aunt Petunia."

Chapter 22: The Dragon Egg Hiest

Two children were sneaking out of the Gryffindor Common Room.

“You remember the plan, Neville?”

Well, if one applied the given definition of “sneaking out,” at least.

“Honestly, Harry, I was there when we came up with it.”

Were they trying to avoid everyone’s notice? Yes.

“Yeah, but you do keep forgetting the passwords, so I figured I better make sure…”

Did they have to do it? No.

“That’s because I’m not the one coming up with the passwords.”

Was their subterfuge completely unnecessary considering it would be hours till curfew still? Also yes.

“If you finally squared up and went to see Ron’s brother, you could-”

But the two enjoyed the aspect of sneakiness and were focused on it so much that they did not notice Professor Snape’s approach until they literally bumped into him.

It was a testament to Neville’s growth that he did not react beyond a quick apology.

“Ah, Mister Longbottom,” Professor Snape said. “How fortunate. I was hoping I’d find you with Ha- Mister Potter.”

“Why, sir?” Harry and Neville asked at the same time.

Professor Snape contemplated the question for a minute.

“Your grandmother requested your presence. And since I am already taking Mister Potter for an outing, Minerva asked if I could deliver you as well.”

Harry blinked, exchanging a glance with the other boy. But Neville was supposed to take the cloak! How was he going to do that if he was going to leave as well?

“Uh,” Neville said. “But… why?”

“I believe it has to do with your parents.” Professor Snape, apparently out of his newfound patience, started leading them by their shoulders towards the staircase. “I am glad to see you already dressed for the weather, although, why-”

“We were going for a short walk,” Harry interjected quickly, before Professor Snape could jump to conclusions and decide that they were up to no good.

They were, but there was no reason for him to know it. Draco, Hermione, and Ron could deal with the dragon egg even if they didn’t have the cloak. But they most definitely couldn’t do it if they were being stalked by a teacher or held up in detention.

Harry could see the three of them right around the corner, hiding in the corridor leading down to the dungeons. But Professor Snape’s pace was far too fast, and stopping to talk would put unnecessary attention on them, so all that was left for him was miming.

Sadly, no one really needed to say “our plan has gone totally awry before it even started, you’re on your own now, sorry,” often enough for it to have entered the cache of commonly understood gestures.

Harry settled for a small cutting motion over his neck along with pointing at Professor Snape with his thumb and hoped for the best.

***

“Snape is going to kill them?!” Ron whispered just a little too loudly. It earned him two elbows to the ribs, but all that was for nothing - the doors had already swung shut behind Harry, Neville, and Professor Snape.