Malfoy in trouble

Professor Flitwick did not bother chasing them: he already knew who they were, thanks to Kaiser's map. It had been reproduced and passed on to both Daphne and the professor, along with their communication device. He approached the unconscious students, and immediately cast a Finite Incantatem to cancel any ongoing spells. He frowned when he noticed there was still traces of magic. He cast several diagnosis spells, before his expression darkened. He went through a series of counter curses after carefully analysing the spells. Having mastered his craft years ago, he had the time to learn new skills. The logical choice would be areas very close to charms, and one of which was Curse Breaking. It involved breaking curses cast upon people, or simply breaking through wards, which wasn't that different in theory.

After making sure that no residual spells were left, he sent several patronus messages with different targets: Madam Pomfrey, Albus Dumbledore, Minerval McGonagall and Severus Snape. Albus Dumbledore, being both Harry's guardian and the headmaster must absolutely be made aware of this attack, to deal with it however he sees fit, though they would make sure the aurors are called, obviously. Dumbledore did not have the authority to just sweep this under the rugs. McGonagall and Filius would make sure of that.

Madam Pomfrey, being the school nurse, should not be underestimated. She may be a nurse in name, but she was more qualified than half the healers at St Mungo's, therefore, Filius would trust her judgment of their safety over his own. As for Severus Snape, he was the head of Slytherin's school house, which means that in the absence of the students' parents, he would be the one responsible for them.

Filius conjured two stretchers, and levitated the unconscious Gryffindors, placing them gently on top of them. Then, he carefully made his way towards the infirmary. Madam Pomfrey met him half way, and immediately got to work. She first made sure no lingering curses were cast on him, before they resumed their journey towards the infirmary. There, stood in her nightgown, Minerva McGonagall, her face livid. She did not notice her inappropriate clothes, being too concerned with the students' safety. As a transfiguration master, a wave of her wand is all it would take to fix her clothes, and she did so after the school nurse informed her of their situation, and of her outfit.

Albus Dumbledore arrived at the same time as Severus Snape, with a heavy frown on his face. He did not like this situation at all, and knew all to well how much trouble it is going to be. Severus Snape, on the other hand, wore an ice cold expression, as if he was unconcerned with the situation, but his Slytherin's mind was overdriving, thinking of the implications of this situation.

"Will they be alright?" Albus asked Pomfrey, who nodded in response.

"They seem to have been subjected to some kind of mental attack for an extended amount of time." Pomfrey concluded. "They will need a week of rest, at the very least. But you are the better Legilimens, maybe it would be prudent to assess the situation yourself?" she suggested.

Dumbledore approached the unconscious Harry, and placed the tip of his wand on his forehead, after which he delved into his mind. He spent several seconds, before he pulled back, and repeated the same procedure for Ronald.

"They will be fine." He confirmed.

"Who did this to them, Albus?" Minerva asked the headmaster. He would obviously know the assailants, or at least who the victims thought were the assailants, since he was just inside their mind reviewing their memories, while making sure they were alright.

"Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle." Albus said, turning to Severus. "Severus, please call them to my office, and make sure to confiscate their wands beforehand. We do not want them to incriminate themselves any further." Severus nodded, and got to work.

"Headmaster," Minerva said angrily. "Childish spells can be forgiven, given the damage they inflict is temporary. But this? I will accept nothing less than their expulsion from Hogwarts' ground." Albus knew that arguing when emotions were running high was a bad move, especially since he didn't have much to win from defending them. Not that he intended to, but he understood that the assailants being from influential families made the situation a lot more delicate than it should be.

"Perhaps it would be wise to call the aurors?" Filius interrupted. "It is our duty to discipline mischievous students. It isn't our job, however, to deal with criminals."

"I concur, headmaster." Madam Pomfrey added. "This goes beyond what we are expected to deal with."

"Indeed." The headmaster nodded. "Filius, please contact the aurors and inform them of the situation. I will be meeting the assailants in my office."

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Malfoy knew he screwed up big time the moment his head of the house called for him. What he did was definitely going overboard, so he expected heavy punishments. The headmaster would obviously try to expel him from the school, as Gryffindor's head would insist, but the board of governors would intervene, and force the headmaster to reduce the punishment to something more acceptable (to them of course).

Severus Snape observed the three of them as they descended their dorms stairs in trepidation, his emotionless face filling them with unprecedented dread.

"Professor? You asked for us?" Draco asked. He knew Severus, his godfather, was on their side, so there was no reason to fear him.

"I did, Mr. Malfoy." Severus nodded. "Your wands." He extended his hand to them. Noticing their hesitation, he was about to use an even colder tone, but Draco did not seem to be bothered, and handed his wand while urging his companions.

"Follow me." They walked in silence, before they reached a secluded area of the castle. Severus stopped, and turned towards his students, looking them up and down.

"I never thought you were stupid enough to do something like that, and yet you proved me wrong." Severus sneered.

"Flitwick caught us by surprise!" Draco defended. "We were going to-"

"Wrong answer, Mr. Malfoy." Severus glared at him, which left him and his companions dumbfounded. "You deny." His eyes lit up. "Whatever it is, as far as you are concerned, you were in your dorm preparing to sleep. Deny everything, understood?" They nodded vigorously. Severus knew it was pointless, but he had to maintain appearances. He guided them towards the headmaster's office, before he said some silly candy name the headmaster set as his password.

Malfoy was a lot more confident in his steps now that his godfather gave him a way out, though his confidence faltered when he was met with the icy glares of Minerva McGonagall, who seemed ready to curse them into next century. There was, however, two new faces in the room they didn't recognize.

"Are these the little criminals, Mr. Snape?" One of them whose beard was as disheveled as his hair, asked lazily. "They don't look like much." He sneered.

"You're not talking about us, are you?" Draco asked angrily. "I don't know if you've been hit on the head before, old man, but how can you call us, upstanding gentlemen of society, criminals?"

If anything, the auror was amused by his words. It was clear that the boy did not understand how the world worked just yet. But he decided to humor him.

"Do you deny assaulting Mr Potter and Mr Weasley, Mr Malfoy?" he asked with raised eyebrows.

"Assaulting Mr Potter?" Draco asked with wide eyes. 'He can act the part, I'll give him that.' The auror thought silently. "I did no such thing." 'But still, he is a dumbass.' He added.

Malfoy's original plan had been to obliviate Harry of his identify right after the attack, which means he got out of it scot-free. But there was tiny detail, that made his plan fundamentally wrong. Hogwarts wasn't called the 'safest place in the world' for nothing. While it did not have the ability to prevent attacks made by the students themselves, it was capable of determining the perpetrator.

Hogwarts didn't only have the ability to know where everyone on her grounds were, it was also capable of logging that information to be used later on by the headmaster, or to draw its own conclusion.

"He is guilty." A voice interrupted their conversation, prompting everyone to turn their heads to the source, which was surprisingly: the sorting hat. An awkward silence followed, before it was broken by the auror.

"Well, the hat has spoken. You're guilty." He shrugged, and prepared to detain him. Malfoy just stood there, unable to react to whatever was happening. He could not understand how the hat would speak now of all the times. It was common knowledge that it only spoke during the sorting ceremony, declaring only the house's name. And yet, now of all the times, it chose to say he was guilty?!

"Are you seriously going to-" Whatever Goyle was about to say was interrupted by a silencing spell and a glare by none other than Severus Snape. Severus had the foresight to shut him up before he said something that ended with his death.

He had asked the headmaster one, what prevented Voldemort from barging into the school after blocking the Floo Network, and erecting Anti Apparition and Anti Portkey wards, like he did to all his other victims. The answer shocked him to the core.

As long as you were in Hogwarts' range, it did not matter how powerful a wizard you were. Your life was literally in Hogwarts' metaphorical hands. The moment it decided to off you, not even ten lives could save you. Even Dumbledore, with his Death Stick, admitted to him that he would be helpless faced with Hogwarts' full might. It wasn't for no reason it was called an impregnable fortress. No intruder could ever come in without the headmaster's permission. Hogwarts, regrettably, could not see what was happening in its grounds. All it knew was everybody's positions.