The Marauders: Year Five #Wattys2017

Exactly What You Deserve

Exactly What You Deserve

Albus Dumbledore sat behind his desk, his eyes cast downward at a sheath of papers, his fingers steepled before his face, eyes looking out the window that shone off over the tops of the Forbidden Forest... It was early on Tuesday, 4 November, and he was waiting for a visitor, watching as Fawkes preened his feathers carefully with his long, sharp beak.

There came a knock upon the door.

"Come in," Dumbledore called and, as he did, he rose to his feet, standing tall behind the desk, staring down upon the new arrival. "I trust you found your way along without much trouble, Mr. Rosier?" he asked.

Evan Rosier adjusted his tie, "Yes sir, no trouble at all." He looked around, "This is a very spacious and interesting office, sir. What do all these instruments do?"

Dumbledore watched as Evan Rosier inspected a silver ball on a sort of suspended string that wiggled and wove about in various directions. "That one detects liars," he said. "The pendulum swings faster when a person tells a lie." Evan looked at it, then backed away slowly. Dumbledore smirked discreetly. "Have a seat, Mr. Rosier," Dumbledore announced and he waved for Evan to take the seat opposite his desk.

Evan glanced at the wall of funny instruments again wistfully, then walked over to Dumbledore's desk and sat. He sat in a conservative matter, his hands on his knees and back straight. He stared at Dumbledore expectantly, his eyebrow cocked.

Dumbledore cleared his throat, "Mr. Rosier, I wanted to speak with you about an incident that has recently come to my attention concerning a student who was recently attacked in a boys' toilet near the library. Perhaps you've heard about what happened?"

Rosier worked very hard to keep his face perfectly straight. "No, sir. What happened?" He even played at concern, his forehead wrinkling.

Dumbledore said, "Well, a young man was... mocked... for his sexual orientation, and subsequently physically attacked, resulting in the loss of his hair, and a good many minor injuries, and a severely damaged self-esteem."

Rosier stared at Dumbledore.

"Are you certain you don't know anything about what happened to Sirius Black, Mr. Rosier?"

It was clear in Albus Dumbledore's eyes then that he knew the real answer, that he was asking as a formality. Evan Rosier drew a deep breath - it was time to spin this a different direction. He closed his eyes, mustered up a bit of moistness so that they shone when he opened them back up, and he whispered, "I might... know a... a little."

Dumbledore stared at Rosier.

Evan then gave the performance of his life. "I tried to stop Mulciber, sir. It was his idea - all of it. We were in the hall, just passing by, and he saw Remus and Sirius in the library and - and he saw Sirius go to the toilet and he was just enraged sir! I've never seen anything like, like a bull. He... he ran after Sirius and by the time the rest of us got there, he'd already beat Sirius up and he had him by his hair, it's how he was holding him still, you see, sir, and the only way to save Sirius -- we had to cut his hair, sir, to get him away from Mulciber!"

Evan Rosier felt quite proud of himself then, as actual tears fell over his cheeks. He'd managed to explain it all - including the hex if they did the priori incantatem on his wand!

Dumbledore sat, contemplating this answer.

Evan made sure to continue on crying, waiting for Dumbledore to comfort him...