Things couldn't have been worse.
Filch took them down to McGonagall's study on the first floor, where they sat and waited without saying a word to each other. Hermione was trembling. Neville looked like he was about to burst into tears. Even Draco appeared to be agitated and nervous. Excuses, alibis, and wild cover up stories chased each other around in Harry's brain, all more feeble than the previous one. They were caught and there was no way he could explain any of it. McGonagall was obviously going to ask why they had been outside, but Harry couldn't very well say that they'd been spying on a professor, could he, even if he told her about the dragon? He wondered how his father had managed during school - the man was the image of the perfect student, yet if what Bellatrix said was true, he even murdered someone while he was attending Hogwarts, yet he never got caught.
But, of course, Tom Marvolo Riddle was a genius - Harry definitely didn't think of himself as a genius.
Harry straightened up in his chair as the door creaked open and Professor McGonagall entered, followed by Ronald Weasley.
Harry glared at the redhead. The Gryffindor just smiled patronizingly.
McGonagall sat down in the chair behind her desk. Harry spoke before she could, though.
"Where's my head of house? In fact, where are their heads of houses?" He gestured to Hermione and Neville.
"I do not recall any rule which states that the only teachers that can discipline students are their heads of houses, Mr. Riddle," she replied, her voice barely civil. "I refuse to call Professor Snape, as all he will give you is a slap on the wrist!"
"You have every right to discipline us, Professor, during class. But our heads of houses should be alerted if their students are misbehaving. I believe it is clearly stated in the Hogwarts rules. After all, how can we expect you to be fair if our heads of houses aren't supervising? You are the Head of Gryffindor - Draco and I are Slytherin, Hermione is a Ravenclaw, and Neville is a Hufflepuff. I believe it's my right to have Professor Snape here if I so wish."
McGonagall looked like she was barely restraining herself from taking out her wand and hexing Harry's mouth off, but she managed to stiffly grab some floo powder and throw it in the fire.
Several minutes later, Professors Snape, Flitwick, and Sprout crowded into the office, standing around McGonagall's desk.
"Whatever is going on?" Flitwick asked, still in his long dressing gown and night cap.
"Mister Riddle, Mister Malfoy, Mister Longbottom, and Miss Granger were all outside the castle after curfew!"
The three Professors all spun around to stare at them.
"I'm disgusted," McGonagall continued. "Four students out of bed in one night! I've never heard of such a thing before!"
"Miss. Granger!" Flitwick exclaimed. "I thought you would've had better sense than this! Twenty - no - fifty points from Ravenclaw and a detention!"
Hermione's lip trembled and she hung her head in shame.
"I - I - Mister Longbottom!" Sprout stuttered. She pulled her nightgown tighter around herself. "I am shocked and appalled! Fifty points and a detention as well!"
Neville sniffled, his shoulders shaking.
"Well - I'm shocked that you both were stupid enough to go outside at night," Severus began. He was the only professor fully dressed. "Especially these days, it's very dangerous-"
"I believe that Mr. Riddle is the ringleader!" McGonagall cut in, interrupting Snape.
"-Fifty points from both of you. Detention, as well."
"But - but Professor-"
"You can't-"
"I can and I am. Are you suggesting I should treat you differently than Miss. Granger or Mr. Longbottom, when you all broke the same rule?"
Harry hung his head. "No, Professor Snape."
Harry saw Weasley smirk out of the corner of his eye.
"But what about Weasley, Professor?" he asked suddenly, tilting his head in the direction of the redheaded Gryffindor.
"What?"
"Weasley, Professor. I heard him talking to Professor McGonagall earlier about how he saw us leave the castle. And since he's here right now, he's obviously breaking curfew. Why isn't he being disciplined?"
Snape looked at McGonagall with a questioning expression on his face. Weasley's eyes had grown big and his face was flushed with anger.
McGonagall hesitated, but eventually said, "Fifty points from Gryffindor and a detention, Mister Weasley."
Harry smiled maliciously at the redheaded Gryffindor.
"Will the heads of houses escort their students back to the dormitories, just to make sure they don't go wondering through the halls anymore tonight?"
The four friends all stood up and followed their Professors out of the office and through the halls. Hermione and Neville were both immediately escorted back to the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff Dormitories by Flitwick and Sprout.
Instead of taking Harry and Draco back to the dorm, Severus led them into his office and motioned for them to sit down in front of his desk.
"You're not planning on taking anymore points, are you?" Harry asked, eyeing him suspiciously.
"Of course not," Severus answered, sitting down in the chair behind his desk. "I was loathe to take the hundred points I did. No, I'm not going to punish you anymore. I just want to know what happened."
The door leading into Severus' private rooms opened slightly, drawing Harry's attention. A flash of black and tan fur bolted over to him and began licking his face.
"S - Sabine - down! Yes - yes - I like you, too - no! Down-"
Harry forcibly pushed the huge dog off of him. Still wagging her tail, Sabine reluctantly went to lie by Severus' feet.
"She's not too well trained, is she?" Draco drawled. He'd never cared much for animals in general.
"I tried to train her when I first got her," Severus said, sighing. "It didn't take. She's barely housebroken."
"She can attack on command, though," Harry announced. "Especially people she doesn't like."
"Muggles. And she doesn't care much for Dumbledore, either."
Harry snickered. "When did you get her, Severus?" he asked, genuinely curious. He'd first met Severus when he was three, and he never remembered him without Sabine.
"Around the time you were born. I didn't want a dog or any animal for that matter, but I was in Knockturn Alley, buying some ingredients-"
"Illegal ones?" Harry asked, smiling mischievously.
Severus continued as if he hadn't heard him. "-and I happened to run into Rudolphus Lestrange. I stopped to talk to him and put my shopping bags down for a few minutes. When I got home, I noticed one of them was moving and whimpering. I looked down in the bag and there she was. She was so tiny and thin - I could easily fit her in the palm of my hand."
"Did you feed her Miracle-Gro, Sev?" Harry asked, eyeing the now-gigantic dog.
"No, just regular dog food. She is big, isn't she? I didn't want to keep her at first, though. In fact, I was planning on taking her to the pound, but I couldn't bring myself to do it."
"Isn't she getting old, now? I mean, I'm twelve . . ."
"I magically bound her to me as my familiar, so she won't die until I do."
"That happens when you do that?" said Harry, surprised.
Severus nodded. "It's a complicated spell . . ." He shook his head. "Now back to business. What happened tonight?"
Harry and Draco glanced at each other, both of them wearing identical scowls.
Harry spoke first:
"We were in the library, and I noticed that that great giant oaf, Hagrid, was there as well - the man sticks out like a sore thumb in a place such as a library! I'm surprised he even knows how to read, let alone-"
Draco cleared his throat.
"But I digress. His behavior was very suspicious, to say the least. I tried talking to him, you know, so that he might tell me what he was up to, but it didn't work." Harry paused. "And by the way, if he asks, I'm writing an essay for you on teen pregnancy and parenting for a detention."
Severus blinked.
"After he left, I went back to the section he was in and, low and behold, the entire bookshelf was devoted to dragons."
"Dragons?" Severus repeated, incredulous. "You aren't implying . . ."
"We obviously came to the conclusion that something strange was going on, so we decided to-"
"You decided to," Draco cut in.
Harry ignored him. "-go out tonight and see if we could find out what was going on."
"And did you?"
"When we got to his hut, all the curtains were shut, but I just used the foe glass father gave me." He pulled it out of his pocket and held it up. "And guess what-he has a bloody dragon egg!"
"A dragon egg?! But how would Hagrid, of all people, get a hold of a dragon egg?!"
"I don't know! I find that odd, too, now that I have the chance to think about it."
"This could get him fired, couldn't it, Uncle Severus?" Draco asked eagerly. "Harry said we shouldn't tell anyone right now, but-"
"He's right. It would probably do more harm than good. Keeping a dragon is illegal, but Dumbledore would never fire Hagrid. All it would do is make the headmaster watch you closer, as it proves that you are spying on people. Of course, I'm sure the Board of Governors would be terribly interested in this . . ."
Harry nodded. "That's what I said."
Severus' face took on a pensive expression. "Why was Weasley out of bed, then?" he asked after a time.
Harry rolled his eyes. "Don't ask me! I have no idea! The little rodent probably was just trying to get me in trouble."
"Hmm." Severus was silent for a minute, finally saying, "It's been a long night. Go back to the dorm." He waved them away.
The two boys were practically out the door when Severus stopped them with his voice, "Oh, and Draco? Harry?"
"Yes, Severus?" they chorused.
"Twenty-five points each for reporting illegal activity to your head of house."
Harry and Draco both grinned all the way back to their room.