"Expelliarmus!" came a sudden shout from behind Elliot and Casper, and the wand was yanked from Grimm's hand by an invisible force. Both he and Honeydew spun around to the entrance, shocked by what had happened, and a vengeful smile flashed on Hermione's face.
In the darkness around them, with the moon as the only light source, the doorway to the roof looked like a gateway to an even deeper darkness. Shadows shifted in the doorway, finally forming the shape of Professor McGonagall. Like a witch from old legends, she approached with her wand out in front of her, pointing it straight at the Hufflepuff and the Slytherin.
"Incarcerous!" she cast another spell, and both students fell to the floor, bound. Elliot struggled to break free, while Casper glared at McGonagall and said defiantly:
"You're too late, Professor! You might have caught me, but your favorite student has lost her powers!"
"Lumos!" McGonagall lit up the roof. She stayed calm, her eyes studying the bound Hufflepuff.
"What makes you think that, Mr. Honeydew?" she asked as calmly as if she were asking a question in Transfiguration class.
"I drank her potion!" he snapped, glaring at the Gryffindor head of house, then added triumphantly, "You can't undo that now."
"Oh! You're absolutely right about that!" McGonagall's face didn't show a hint of emotion. "I borrowed some truth serum from Professor Snape and disguised it as an 'Essence of the Sky Vortex' potion. I assume that's the potion you mean?" She paused, as if expecting Honeydew to confirm, then continued, "If so, there's no need to undo its effect. In fact, it's been very helpful for us to understand what's going on."
Casper froze, shocked by what he'd just heard. Meanwhile, Hermione, flushed from excitement, picked up her wand and thought, 'It was so lucky the professor called me in after class yesterday...'
***
Yesterday, McGonagall asked Hermione to come to her office again. 'What is it this time?' Hermione wondered. She felt a heaviness in her chest, just like two nights ago after sending off the dragon. She hadn't seen the professor since then and had managed to calm down a bit. But now it was all coming back: McGonagall's disapproving look and disappointment, her own shame and fear. Something told her this meeting meant trouble.
Arriving at the office at the set time, Hermione knocked and walked in. As soon as she opened the door, she knew things were taking a serious turn. 'This is even worse than I expected,' she thought. McGonagall was sitting at her desk as usual, but by the window, to Hermione's surprise, stood Dumbledore, looking at something in the schoolyard with interest.
"Oh, those mischievous Weasleys!" he said with a grin, turning away from the window.
He looked at Hermione, friendly but with a sharp gaze, and said with a slight sigh:
"Miss Granger! Come in, come in… Minerva and I were just talking about you."
Hermione stepped inside, closed the door behind her, and walked hesitantly toward McGonagall's desk. Both professors were looking at her strangely, as if they were seeing her for the first time and trying to figure out who she was.
"Miss Granger," Professor McGonagall began, "I asked you to come here, and I've requested the headmaster to join us," she gave a slight nod towards Dumbledore, "to discuss the strange series of events that have happened recently at our school. As far as we know, you've been involved in every part of that series. In fact, we suspect that you might be the main cause of these events! Is there anything you'd like to tell us?"
McGonagall fell silent and looked hard at Hermione. Dumbledore's kind gaze was just as sharp, and he didn't take his eyes off her either. Hermione felt trapped again, and just when she thought everything was almost sorted out! 'Should I tell them or not? And if I do, what do I say?' She didn't know what to do and stood there, her face red with nerves, twisting her fingers. Her eyes found a note lying on the floor, and she stared at it, afraid to meet the teachers' eyes.
Sensing her hesitation and doubts, Dumbledore cleared his throat and spoke gently, "Hermione, I want to help you. But you need to be honest with us. We can't go on like this... Recently, I, and then Minerva, started to suspect that you were connected to the 'Sky Vortex' amulet. Now we're almost sure you had it…"
Hermione's face went red, and she felt her legs give out as she sank onto a nearby chair. Tears began to run down her cheeks.
"Yes," she whispered, barely audible.
"Miss Granger…" McGonagall said, looking at her in confusion. "What happened?"
"Are you… going to… send me to prison?" Hermione asked through her tears, her voice shaky.
"What?!" McGonagall stared at her, shocked. "What are you talking about?"
"Hmm," Dumbledore chuckled softly, smiling. "I think I understand why you might think that," he said gently. Hermione looked at him hopefully. "I believe Miss Granger misunderstood the law about the possession of the 'Sky Vortex' amulet after reading an Auror's guide. Let me explain. If you had kept such an amulet with the intention to use it on someone else, you would certainly be sent to prison. But we believe that this amulet was used on you. Isn't that right?"
Hermione nodded, swallowing, trying to smile as she wiped away her tears.
"This explains a lot," Dumbledore went on. "Like your amazing progress at the start of the school year. The first thing the amulet does is help focus magical energy while it adjusts to the wizard. It also explains why your performance dropped so much by the end of the year... But most importantly, it sheds light on why the League of Light is so interested in you, and even the recent rumors about a dragon. There was a dragon, wasn't there?" Dumbledore squinted slyly, and McGonagall raised an eyebrow, looking at Hermione. Hermione nodded, glancing away.
McGonagall shook her head disapprovingly, frowning as she thought about everything that had happened.
"Miss Granger, I won't ask where you got a dragon, though I have to admit, I'm impressed," Dumbledore said, smiling at Hermione. "But we need to hear the rest of the story, with no holding back. Using the 'Sky Vortex' amulet is a serious violation. And the League of Light's interest could be very dangerous for the other students at Hogwarts."
Hermione sighed with relief, straightened her shoulders, and began to tell Dumbledore and McGonagall everything. They listened carefully, occasionally asking questions. When she mentioned their trip to the Forbidden Forest for unicorn milk, they exchanged looks, and Hermione saw the disapproval on McGonagall's face again, but the professor stayed silent. When Hermione finished, the Gryffindor head of house finally spoke, still shaking her head:
"You should have just come to us and told us everything…" She looked Hermione straight in her eyes.
"I was scared…" Hermione said quietly, looking for a place to hide from her embarrassment.
McGonagall glanced at Dumbledore as if seeking his opinion, then said, "And about your plan to catch Elliot… I think we need to make some changes to it…"
***
The changes McGonagall made to the plan were pretty major. Besides her presence, which ended up saving Hermione and her friends, she suggested using a Transfigured truth serum. This not only avoided the risk of using the real potion but also forced Honeydew to reveal everything. Hermione shuddered at the thought that Casper would actually drink the real potion made from the 'Sky Vortex.'
Meanwhile, Grimm had quieted down, finally stopping his struggling. Maybe he was just tired, or maybe he was gathering strength for another try. Honeydew, on the other hand, seemed to finally realize he wasn't just caught, but had also laid all his cards on the table. He couldn't talk his way out of this. He slumped, the triumph and defiance gone from his eyes. Once again, he looked like the same harmless wizard she had always known. Hermione even felt a little sorry for him. 'He still wanted to be friends with me,' she thought for a second, but quickly pushed that away, reminding herself who was lying in front of her. He hadn't planned on showing any mercy to Harry and Ron…
McGonagall helped bring Hermione's friends back to their senses—they had no idea what just happened. At the meeting yesterday, the professor had asked Hermione not to clue them in, to make the trap more believable. So, they didn't know until the last moment that their, admittedly not-so-great, plan had a backup. And what a backup it was!
McGonagall lifted the 'Imperius' Curse from Elliot, then removed the bindings and stepped aside. Grimm got to his feet, looking around with a scowl. It seemed like he didn't quite understand what was going on at first. But as the situation became clear to him, he turned toward Honeydew lying on the floor. The hatred in Elliot's eyes was something Hermione had never seen before. She always thought he hated her with all his heart, but now she realized she'd been wrong.
The Slytherin unconsciously reached into his robe pocket, searching for his wand, never taking his eyes off Honeydew. 'He's not going to use it for anything good. If McGonagall weren't here,' Hermione thought, 'Casper would be in serious trouble. And Elliot probably wouldn't even need magic to deal with him.' Meanwhile, Grimm was slowly moving toward Honeydew, who was cowering on the floor. Elliot bent down toward him… At that moment, Honeydew seemed to see the dangerous glint in Elliot's eyes, and maybe even caught a glimpse of his own death in them. Whatever it was, he suddenly started thrashing around on the floor, screaming:
"Professor, help! He's going to kill me!"
McGonagall was already stepping in.
"Mr. Grimm, please don't do anything foolish that you'll regret later. Mr. Honeydew will face the consequences for what he did to you and to Hermione Granger. I promise you that," she said firmly.
Elliot froze. He stood there, hunched over, eyes blazing with hatred. Even now, it looked like he wasn't sure if he should listen to the professor or just go through with it. And if he'd had his wand, he might not have stopped. But without it, he slowly pulled himself together.
"Alright, Professor," he muttered reluctantly. And, after all, he still gave Casper a quick kick before stepping away from him.
"Mr. Grimm," McGonagall said, "you need to promise me that you'll stop any hostile actions toward Hermione Granger," she said, giving the Slytherin a firm look. "As you know now, all of this—or most of it," she corrected herself, "was orchestrated by Mr. Honeydew."
She looked intently at Elliot, waiting. He still glared at Hermione with anger but finally muttered, "Yeah, I get it..." After a pause, he added, "Alright, truce?"
"Yes, of course!" Hermione answered quickly, then, feeling a bit awkward, said, "I'm sorry. I really was wrong."
Elliot gave a reluctant nod.
"Can I go now, Professor?" he asked, turning to McGonagall.
"Just one more thing. Please keep what happened here a secret. The Ministry of Magic is investigating this, and we'd like to avoid unnecessary attention."
"Fine," Elliot said, picking up his wand. He gave Casper one last hateful look before leaving the roof.
Honeydew, who had been squirming right up until the last moment, even though the immediate threat had passed, relaxed noticeably after the Slytherin finally left. 'Looks like he's more afraid of his former puppet than the professor,' Hermione thought. She frowned, watching him more closely—he was still moving around on the floor in a strange way, maybe just trying to fake being scared. 'Maybe he's trying to reach for his wand?' the thought crossed her mind.
Just then, Casper smirked. His whole attitude shifted. Even though he was still tied up on the floor, his eyes were once again full of confidence and arrogance. Hermione tensed—his sudden calm probably had nothing to do with Elliot leaving. Then, with a poisonous smile, Honeydew looked at McGonagall and said:
"Thanks for the help, Professor. I'll be sure to let Thomas know how kind you were. You remember your Tommy, don't you?"
McGonagall flinched, like she'd been slapped. But she quickly pulled herself together.
"I don't think you'll be talking to Mr. Nightshade anytime soon, Mr. Honeydew," she said, her voice cold, but her eyes betraying the turmoil inside. Hermione could see that Casper had hit something personal and painful in the usually composed Head of Gryffindor.
Honeydew laughed smugly and… disappeared. Where he had been lying moments ago, there was only an old, worn-out book left behind, with the title 'Poems. Reveries of the Future' on the cover.
The professor slowly walked over and read the title. Then she closed her eyes, as if trying to push away an unwanted memory from the past. The trio of friends, still in shock, watched her in silence. Finally, McGonagall opened her eyes, took a deep breath, and said:
"A portal… after all these years… who would've thought."
The friends didn't move, afraid to break the silence. Then the professor looked at Hermione, Harry, and Ron with a distant expression, as if just now remembering they were there. She pulled herself together and said firmly:
"As for you three, I hope this will be a lesson. You can't try to solve every problem on your own. Things would've been much simpler if you'd just talked to me or Albus… Is that clear?"
"Clear," the friends answered, slightly out of sync.
"Then you can go," McGonagall said tiredly. Her eyes were still drawn to the book lying on the floor.
***
Honeydew's disappearance was noticed right away, and of course, it sparked a wave of rumors and guesses. The next morning, during breakfast, the Great Hall was full of excited chatter and debates. When Dumbledore stood up to make an announcement, the talking immediately stopped, and a heavy silence fell over the room. The headmaster looked around the hall, then spoke loudly and clearly:
"Students of Hogwarts! Yesterday, an incident occurred that forced us to part ways with one of you—Mr. Honeydew. He will not be returning. Our school is like a big family, and we strive for friendship and understanding between all students, no matter the house. We are always here to help you if you face any challenges. You can always come to your heads of house or to me directly if you feel something is happening that threatens you or anyone else at school. Don't hesitate—our job is to help you."
As Dumbledore said this, his eyes briefly lingered on Hermione. She felt herself blush. As he continued, the murmuring in the hall started to grow louder.
"And along with that," the headmaster continued, "all students must remember that some actions are unforgivable, and the school cannot guarantee a place for those who break the rules. Studying at Hogwarts is a privilege, not a right."
"What did he do?" voices shouted from all sides. The murmurs turned into louder cries: "Tell us, Professor!" students demanded, waiting for details.
The Hufflepuff table was in turmoil. Up until now, there were only guesses about what happened to Honeydew, but with the headmaster officially announcing his expulsion, things escalated quickly. Many of the Hufflepuffs weren't ready to accept this, especially without any explanation. During his time at Hogwarts, Casper had earned the trust and friendship of many students in his house. They knew him as a fun and friendly guy who easily made friends with everyone, despite not being particularly strong in magic. This made it even harder to believe he'd done something serious enough for what Dumbledore was talking about.
Some of his classmates jumped up from their seats, demanding answers.
"That's not true!" one student shouted angrily. "Honeydew would never do anything that deserved expulsion!"
"We need an explanation!" another student added, her eyes shining with confusion and hurt.
"I don't believe he's guilty of anything serious!" shouted one of Casper's close friends, someone who had spent a lot of time with him. "He was set up!"
Dumbledore raised his hand, calling for silence. Once the hall had quieted down a bit, he continued in the same firm, unyielding tone.
"Unfortunately, we have no doubt about Honeydew's involvement in the offense he's accused of. Professor McGonagall was there in person when it happened. Right now, I can't give you any more details due to the ongoing investigation by the Ministry of Magic. But believe me, his actions deserve not only expulsion, but something much more serious."
With that, Dumbledore slowly sat back down, finishing his announcement. The students kept whispering, talking about what he'd said. A few still tried to ask questions, but Dumbledore didn't respond. Instead, he calmly continued his breakfast, leaving everyone to wonder about Honeydew's fate.
Hermione glanced over at the Slytherin table. Elliot was quietly eating his breakfast, as if all the chaos around him had nothing to do with him.
***
That evening, shortly before dinner, Hermione sat by the lake with Miranda. Her Ravenclaw friend knew about Hermione's recent troubles, including her tense relationship with Elliot and how Honeydew had supported Hermione in their arguments. That's why Miranda immediately asked if Hermione knew anything about Casper's expulsion. With her sharp instincts, Miranda quickly picked up from Hermione's vague answers that she was hiding something.
"You definitely know something about Honeydew's disappearance, don't you?" Miranda asked directly, giving her friend a sharp look.
Hermione remembered McGonagall's request, but she felt she could trust Miranda. In the end, she agreed to tell her the truth about the previous night, making her promise to keep it a secret.
As Hermione told the story, Miranda's eyes grew wider with shock, and her exclamations of "Oh!" and "No way!" kept interrupting the story. When Hermione mentioned Casper's order to kill Harry and Ron, Miranda even pulled back a little, covering her mouth with her hand. She couldn't believe something like that could happen inside Hogwarts. When Hermione finished, she took a deep breath, as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. The two friends sat in silence for a while as Miranda tried to process everything she'd just heard.
"This is unbelievable," Miranda said quietly, still shocked. "And on top of that, he ran away… That explains why he didn't come back for his things. Filch was packing everything up early this morning, grumbling the whole time, then sent his bags to his parents."
"Yeah, he ran," Hermione confirmed, "and honestly, I'm a little scared to go home now," she admitted.
"They have to give you protection," Miranda said confidently. "They can't just leave you like this after everything that's happened."
"I hope so. Dumbledore promised me he'd talk to the Minister of Magic about it," Hermione replied.
She fell quiet, staring at the still water of the lake, her thoughts drifting to home, thinking about seeing her parents soon. What worried her most was that she might be putting them in danger.
"By the way, did you see the evening 'Prophet'?" Miranda asked suddenly.
"No," Hermione admitted, "I wasn't really in the mood for it today…"
"Here, take a look," Miranda said, handing the newspaper to her.
On the front page of the newspaper, Hermione saw the headline in big bold letters:
Where's Our Boy?
What's Being Kept Quiet Behind Hogwarts' Walls?
Once again, something has happened in the wizarding world that has left more questions than answers. At the center of it all is Casper Honeydew, a Hogwarts student whose disappearance and the charges against him have shocked those in the know.
In an exclusive interview with 'The Daily Prophet', Casper's mother, Mrs. Honeydew, shared her worries and confusion. Her words, filled with pain and hope, painted a picture of Casper as a kind and cheerful boy, and his sudden disappearance has left the family devastated.
"It's impossible to believe that Casper could be involved in anything dark," she said, barely holding back tears.
It's known that before disappearing, Casper was disarmed by Professor McGonagall and used a portal(!) to escape from Hogwarts. The next morning, his belongings, along with a letter of expulsion and accusations of involvement in dangerous acts, were sent home. The details of these accusations are being kept under wraps, but they've sparked a flood of rumors and speculation in the wizarding community.
The Minister of Magic has expressed concern about the incident and promised to personally oversee the investigation. "We need to thoroughly investigate all the circumstances, including Professor McGonagall's actions," he said at a press conference, underlining the seriousness of the situation.
Mrs. Honeydew doesn't believe the accusations and insists her son would never resort to violence. "These charges are absurd. Our Casper is a good boy, he's always been a role model," she said, calling for justice and transparency in the investigation.
Her words, full of despair and love, strike a chord. Her question, "Where's our boy?" has become a cry for answers from the entire magical community.
Here at 'The Daily Prophet', we will continue to follow this story closely, hoping that soon the mystery of Casper Honeydew's disappearance will be solved, and justice will be served.
Special correspondent Isolde Peregrine.
Hermione read the article twice, then looked at Miranda and asked, worried:
"What do you think?"
"Hard to say," her friend shrugged. "Casper probably hasn't shown up at home. That would be way too obvious—it's the first place they'd look for him."
"Yeah, true," Hermione muttered, thinking. "Even if he did show up, his parents could be putting on an act…"
"They could," Miranda agreed, squinting a bit. "But one thing bothers me. Why is the Minister of Magic getting involved?"
It was a good question, and Hermione frowned, considering the article and Miranda's words.
"I wonder what the connection is between McGonagall and Nightshade," Miranda said, breaking her train of thought. "Maybe they went to school together?"
"I don't think it's just that," Hermione said, trying to remember the scene on the Astronomy Tower. "Casper knew something about the professor that really threw her off. I've never seen her so... rattled."
Miranda raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued, while Hermione continued:
"And I think that book was familiar to her too. You know, only powerful wizards in different places can create a portal…"
"Yeah, but that's incredibly difficult, especially at Hogwarts," Miranda said, still doubtful.
"McGonagall's a very powerful witch and the Deputy Headmistress. If anyone knows how to get around the restrictions, it's her," Hermione said, brushing aside her friend's doubts. "Nightshade's probably a strong wizard too. I think the portal was created back when she used to call him Tommy…"
"Maybe," Miranda agreed, a bit hesitant, then after a pause added, "There are definitely some strange details here that could catch the Ministry's attention…"
Hermione nodded in agreement. Silence fell again. A light breeze swirled fallen leaves across the surface of the lake. 'How things change,' Hermione thought. 'It seems like McGonagall once knew Nightshade well and even trusted him.' Just then, Miranda got her attention again.
"You know, with everything that's happened lately, I completely forgot to tell you about something I found!" Miranda said excitedly. "The other day in the Ravenclaw library—you know, the one in our common room—I came across some really interesting books and scrolls. You remember Rowena Ravenclaw was really into time magic, right? She experimented with slowing down time, and some say she even tried to stop it."
Hermione listened with interest and nodded. They'd talked about this before—anything to do with magic and time always fascinated her.
"So, I didn't just find scrolls and books from Rowena's time, but a few others too. And the best part? A lot of them had notes written by Terry Foster!" Miranda said, still sounding like she couldn't believe her luck.
"Terry Foster?" Hermione frowned, trying to remember where she'd heard that name before. "Isn't he the wizard who studied time magic and then disappeared?"
"Exactly!" Miranda said, her eyes shining with excitement. "Rumor has it he made some of the biggest breakthroughs in that area!"
"But there's no proof, is there? I remember reading that he just went away and hasn't been seen since," Hermione said doubtfully. "And does it even matter if he didn't leave any notes behind? Did you find anything interesting in those books?"
"Not yet," Miranda replied. "But I'm planning to take them with me over the holidays and really go through them. If I find anything new, I'll let you know."
"Alright, I hope you do," Hermione said, encouraging her. "Are you allowed to take them out of Hogwarts?"
"Yeah, I talked to Flitwick, our head of house, and he gave me permission. My family's pretty well-respected in Ravenclaw," she added with a playful grin.
"That's true," Hermione said, smirking. Then, after a pause, she added sadly, "You know, Miranda, sometimes I think if we could control time, a lot of things would be simpler."
"Or a lot more complicated," her friend replied quietly, smiling.