90 The Next Day

In a room guarded by a gargoyle, Professor Dumbledore absently stroked his long white beard while eyeing four of the most capable witches and wizards at Hogwarts with his piercing blue eyes.

The tension in the room slowly built until the silence was finally broken.

"How did this happen?" he demanded. "Three trolls were wandering about the castle. It's a miracle that no student was killed."

The four house leaders of Hogwarts leaned back, feeling the anger coming off the Headmaster.

As he fell silent, Professor Flitwick stepped forward and explained in a high pitch voice, "I've examined the castle's wards. There was a hole in the dungeon's wards."

All eyes turned to the master of the dungeons.

"Don't look at me like that," Professor Snape snapped. "I routinely check the wards in the dungeons. Two days ago, they were completely fine."

Before the room could devolve into a shouting match, Professor Dumbledore calmly interrupted, "Severus, no one is accusing you of anything. We are simply trying to find out the truth of what happened so we can stop it from happening again."

Professor Snape briefly locked eyes with the Headmaster before nodding.

Professor Sprout broke the uncomfortable silence with a question, "Could a student have done this? Maybe as a horrible prank gone too far. It wouldn't be the first time a student has gone overboard."

Turning to her longtime friend, Professor McGonagall replied, "I doubt a student could pull that off. It would take a powerful and skilled person to poke a hole in the wards while leaving the rest of them intact."

Nodding in agreement, Professor Dumbledore added, "I agree with Minerva, whoever did this has experience breaking into highly secured places."

Connecting the dots, Professor Snape quickly concluded, "You're talking about the break-in at Gringotts. You think they're connected, don't you?"

Professor Dumbledore gravely nodded his head.

"I want you all to tighten security in the third-floor corridor. We can't let anyone get their hands on the stone."

Seeing agreement on everyone's face, Professor Dumbledore changed gears. "What about the troll's memory? Perhaps through them, we can discover who led them to the castle."

Professor Snape grimly shook his head, "I'm afraid that's a dead end. It appears whoever let the trolls in the castle confounded them. All they remember is they were having a boundary dispute, and then a shadow appeared. They don't remember anything past that point."

The only visible response Professor Dumbledore had to that piece of knowledge was his blue eyes slightly narrowing.

"What about the two trolls trapped with the Ebublio Jinx? Have you discovered who was responsible?"

"Well, I was only able to get something out of the river troll. The only thing on its mind was that a little brat was responsible. The troll was obsessed with revenge and was planning to hide in the forest near Hogwarts and wait for an opportunity. Considering that it was likely a Hogwarts student, I deemed it necessary to erase its memory."

Professor McGonagall frowned, "You shouldn't have done that, Severus. The ministry is sure to make a fuss."

A sneer appeared on Professor Snape's face, "Professors are given a lot of leeway when they act in defense of Hogwarts students."

"What about the paintings?" Professor Dumbledore asked. "Surely with as many talking statues and paintings we have in the castle, someone saw something."

"I may be able to shed some light on that," a high pitch voice replied.

All eyes turned to the shortest professor at Hogwarts.

"None of the paintings or statues near the captured forest troll saw anything. Most of them agree that one minute the troll was wandering around, and the next it was trapped."

"This means whoever was responsible either had an invisibility cloak, or had mastered the Disillusionment Charm. Considering the rarity of the former, I doubt a student would have one."

With all eyes on Professor Flitwick, no one noticed the slight twitch Professor Dumbledore made.

Leaning forward, Dumbledore asked, "What about the other?"

A little hesitant, Professor Flitwick replied, "Well, one of the paintings reported seeing a young male Ravenclaw student appear out of nowhere and draw a second troll away from the girl's bathroom on the first floor."

There was a moment of grim silence as all the professors played out the likely scenario of what would have happened to Harry, Ron, and Hermoine had there been a second troll inside the bathroom.

"Why didn't they come forward?" Professor McGonagall asked. "Saving three fellow students is a worthy accomplishment."

Professor Snape sneered, "Perhaps whoever it was doesn't feel the constant need to be congratulated and praised."

Professor Dumbledore ignored the heads of Slytherin and Gryffindor, who were glaring at one another.

"Who was it?" He asked in a tone that suggested that he already figured out the answer and was only asking to let everyone else in on the secret.

"According to the paintings, it was young Mr. Fawley."

Professor Sprout's bushy eyebrows rose in surprise, "Isn't Mr. Fawley in his third year? The Disillusionment Charm and the Ebublio Jinx are very advanced fifth-year spells."

Professor Flitwick gave a proud grin, "Mr. Fawley is extremely advanced for his age. I knew he was working ahead on his own, but I didn't think he was that far ahead."

Professor McGonagall nodded in agreement, "I've been working with Mr. Fawley on the weekends. He has already gone through a great deal of the third-year curriculum."

Professor Dumbledore leaned back in his chair and absently drummed his fingers on his desk. The four house heads fell silent at the sight of the Headmaster in deep thought.

It didn't take long for Professor Dumbledore to nod to himself as if he had formulated a plan and had carefully weighed all the options.

His electric blue eyes locked with a pair of seemingly black ones.

"Severus," he commanded, "I want all other troll's memories completely erased."

Looking around the room, he added, "I don't want any word of what happened last night to get out. As far as the rest of the school is concerned, the professors dealt with the other two trolls."

"What about the paintings?" Professor Sprout pointed out. "Many of them are prone to gossip."

"I'll take care of it," Professor McGonagall said firmly. "The paintings understand they have a duty to Hogwarts."

"It's a shame," Professor Flitwick squeaked with a regretful sigh. "Mr. Fawley did a great service to the school. It's a shame he won't get rewarded for his deeds."

"Bah," Professor Snape sneered, "He should be grateful that he isn't getting punished."

"Maybe there is something we can do for him," Professor McGonagall mused.

"Mr. Fawley has indicated to me that he is interested in the student exchange program."

"Yeah, but the board of governors are the ones who choose in the end." Professor Sprout logically pointed out, "And doesn't his grandmother serve on the board? Somehow, I doubt he needs help in getting chosen."

"What about his friends," Professor McGonagall countered. "Alicia Spinnet turned in a student exchange form, and I'll bet his other friends have as well. If I had to guess, they're all planning to visit the same school if they get selected."

Professor Sprout nodded, "If I remember correctly, he spends a great deal of time with Cedric Diggory, who also turned in a request."

All eyes turned to Professor Snape expectantly, who snapped defensively, "What? I don't spend all my time learning who my students spend their free time with."

Professor McGonagall gave Professor Snape a stern look of disapproval.

Choosing to ignore the potions master, Professor McGonagall turned to the others and said, "When I turn over the list to the board of governors. I will recommend that his friends be chosen. While they don't have to follow my recommendations, the board tends to go with those I recommend."

Seeing how everyone seemed to be satisfied with Professor McGonagall's suggestion, Professor Flitwick asked, "Do you want me to send for him?"

All eyes turned to Professor Dumbledore, who nodded, "Yes, I want to know what happened first hand. He might have unknowingly seen something that could help us identify whoever let in the troll."

********

The day after Halloween, I found myself down at the lake with my friends. We were all playing tag with Athena. Except we decided to spice things up a bit and play the game in the air. I smiled when I saw Athena in the air, happily chasing everyone around. She wasn't the best at tag, she did fine chasing everyone down, but her problem was that she wanted to be the chaser at all times.

When Athena was worn out, we all headed back to the castle. The castle was still buzzing about the previous night's events. Rumors flitted about the castle, most involved Harry Potter battling against an army of trolls. The rumors made me laugh. If things went according to plan, he wasn't even the one who took down the troll. It was Ron who did the deed.

"So, what do you think really happened?" Anna wondered out loud. "How on earth do trolls gain access to the castle?"

"Some could have let them in. It was in the dungeon, maybe one of the older Slytherins did it," Alicia teased.

Anna rolled her eyes and fired back, "Yeah, except if one of us did it, we wouldn't be stupid enough to set them loose where the entrance to our dorm was located. That kind of planning is more Gryfinndor's style."

Playing peacemaker, I interjected, "Not to mention, I'm pretty sure Professor Snape would kill them."

Anna, Cedric and Alicia all nodded in agreement. If there was one professor you didn't want to piss off, it was Professor Snape.

"It had to be the wards failing," Cedric thoughtfully replied. "There is no other way it could happen. Remember, Hagrid told us that spells prevent creatures from the forest coming into the grounds. One of them must have failed."

I glanced over at my best friend, without any information, he had gotten extremely close to the truth. The only thing preventing himself from seeing the whole picture was not knowing that there was a highly valued artifact the Voldemort was seeking. Sometimes, I forget how smart Cedric can be.

"Do you still think they're down?" Alicia asked with a hopeful glint in her eye. "If three first-years can take down a troll, I bet we could take one."

I must have made a face because Anna looked at me and asked, "What was that?"

"What was what? I didn't do anything."

"You made a face."

"No, I didn't."

"Yes, you did."

"Describe it," I challenged.

Anna smirked, "It was your smug face."

I puffed up my chest and declared, "I do not have a smug look."

Anna grinned and looked to Alicia for backup. Alicia, the traitor, smiled and nodded like she knew exactly what Anna was talking about.

Feeling outnumbered, I looked to Cedric for backup. "Tell them, Cedric. Tell them I don't have a smug face."

Feeling confidant, I turned back to Anna and awaited Cedric's reply that would vindicate me. After a few moments of silence, I turned back to Cedric and saw him looking at me with an awkward look.

"You see," Anna crowed triumphantly. "Even Cedic thinks you have a smug look."

I shot a betrayed look towards Cedric that asked whatever happened to the bro-code.

Sensing victory, Anna pounced, "Now, what did you?"

Seeing how all my friends were ganging up on me, I rolled my eyes in surrender. "Fine. I'll tell you."

I glanced around to make sure there wasn't anyone around to overhear, "Last night, completely by coincidence. I happened to come across two trolls on the first floor."

Everyone blinked in surprise.

Alicia was the first to recover, and she shot me a hurt look, "You went troll hunting and didn't bring me along."

I rolled my eyes. Gryffindors, am I right?

"You did what?" Anna hissed.

Always the level headed one, Cedric replied, "Since you're here, I'm assuming everything went fine."

"Of course, who do you think I am? Those two trolls didn't stand a chance."

Anna pointed a finger at me and announced, "There it is again, that's your smug face."

My face flushed red in embarrassment. "Fine, I have a smug look. Deal with it."

Before anything else could be said, a note came soaring through the air and landed in my lap. Quickly opening it, I realized it was a summons from Professor Flitwick, but instead of summoning me to his office. He wanted me to come to the Headmaster's office immediately.

Looking over my shoulder, Alicia teased, "Ohhh, someone's in trouble."

Anna snatched the note out of my hand to read it for herself.

"How do they know what you did?" Cedric asked. "Did someone see you?"

My mind raced over everything that happened last night. How did they find out? No one else was there. No one could have seen me, well except for a... Almost immediately, the answer came to me. A stupid painting must have seen me when I dismissed the disillusionment charm.

"You think you're in trouble?" Cedric asked.

Before I could reply, Anna snapped, "Of course he won't be in trouble. Didn't they give Harry Potter points? How could they punish Alex for doing the same thing?"

Seeing Anna going from being furious at me to being riled up at the idea of me being punished for the very reason why she was mad in the first place made me smile.

"I'll be fine," I soothed.

As I headed out to the Headmaster's office, I prayed in a lower tone, "I just hope my mum doesn't find out."

Professor Flitwick was waiting for me at the gargoyle who was guarding the Headmaster's office entrance. Try as he might, Professor Flitwick had trouble keeping his expressions in check, and the happy smile and proud look on his face set aside any worries that I was in serious trouble.

"Come along, Mr. Fawley, follow me."

Heading up the stairs leading to Professor Dumbledore's office, I made sure my occlumency shields were as tight as they ever had been before. If Professor Dumbledore wanted to know my secrets, he would have to get them the old fashioned way.

I paused when I saw Professor McGonagall, Snape, and Sprout in the office. I hadn't been expecting them to be here. But, after some thought, it made sense. If they were trying to learn everything that happened last night, it makes sense that they would all be here.

Professor Dumbledore looked at me with a twinkle in his eye, "Take a seat, Mr. Fawley."

As I took a seat, silence filled the room. My guess is they were using their presence to try and get me to talk. While I'm sure that would have worked on most students, I was perfectly content to wait them out.

I could feel Professor Dumbledore and Professor Snape doing their best to make eye contact. Legilimency works best with direct eye contact. I resisted the urge to give them my best cheshire cat smile and simply stared right back at them.

Once again, the thought of learning legilimency crossed my mind. It hardly seemed fair that I was always the one on the receiving end. It was about time I learned to turn the tables.

Eventually, the silence was broken by a stern-faced Professor McGonagall, "I assume you know why you're here."

A strong sense of deja vu welled up in me. Those words were similar to what mum used to try and get me to confess to something I had done.

Two choices presented themselves to me. I could follow trusty rule number eleven, which is to deny everything unless presented evidence of said crime. Or, I could just go with the truth or some version of said truth.

I'm not going to lie. I was very tempted to follow rule eleven. It had served me well growing up. But, seeing the look in Professor Snape's dark eyes made me hesitate. I had a feeling that he wouldn't be as amused as my mother had been.

Before I could say anything, Professor Snape acidity remarked, "Don't bother lying, the paintings told us everything."

Deciding that the truth would serve me better, I replied, "I assume you're talking about the two trolls I trapped last night."

Speaking for the first time, Professor Dumbledore said, "We're trying to piece together everything that happened last night. Why don't you start at the beginning?

On my way to the office, I had already decided how to explain why I was on the first floor last night. It wasn't like I could tell them the truth. St. Mungo had a special place to keep people when people thought someone had lost their mind.

So, even though rule number eleven was denied to me, rule twenty-one, shifting blame was still useful.

Keeping my face as serious as I could, I told a version of the truth.

"Last night, when all students were leaving the great hall, I spotted two first-years slipping away."

Yes, that's right, I was blaming it all on Harry Potter. If you're going to punish me, you will have to punish the golden child.

When Professor Snape shot a gloating look at Professor McGonagall, I inwardly smiled. I knew Professor Snape would be all too happy to blame Harry for everything.

From there, my story didn't take too long. I'm not sure precisely what Professor Dumbledore was looking for. He just kept his eyes focused firmly on me throughout my story.

When I got to the part about the second troll, Professor McGonagall questioned, "Why didn't you go inside the bathroom. From your own words, you could hear noise coming from within."

I knew I needed to choose my words carefully. I hadn't mentioned the part where I stood guard while Harry, Ron, and Hermione dealt with a troll. Thank Merlin, I didn't drop the disillusionment charm until the troll was between me and the bathroom. I had a feeling that the professors would have responded poorly to that little tidbit.

"The troll was between me and the door," I explained. "I thought it would be better to draw it away, and once it was dealt with, I could return for the others."

Trying to project embarrassment, I added, "I may have gone a little overboard in getting its attention."

Professor Snape snorted, "I'll say, the only thing on that troll's mind was getting revenge. You should take better care when dealing with enemies."

Nodding that I understood, I finished my story, "Once the second troll was trapped, I went back to help. But, I saw Professor McGonagall, Snape and Quirrell enter the bathroom, and I figured they wouldn't need any help. So, I retreated to my dorm.

When I finished my story, everyone was silent as they absorbed everything.

Out of everyone there, it was Professor Sprout who seemed the most surprised. I couldn't blame her. I wasn't too active in her class. Outside of getting a good grade in her class, I pretty much kept under her radar.

The others didn't react as much to my story as I thought they would. Snape was too busy smirking at McGonagall. If not for her students, I wouldn't have even been in this situation.

At first, I was worried that Professor McGonagall might hold a grudge, but she seemed impervious to Snape's gloating and just seemed grateful everything worked out for the best. Professor Flitwick seemed to react the best, his features proud as I explained everything that happened.

Sighing heavily, Professor Dumbledore clarified, "So, outside of the professors and the two first years, you didn't see anything suspicious?"

I shook my head, "I wish I could be more helpful. But, no, I didn't."

After a few stern warnings about how lucky I had been, I was dismissed. On my way back to my dorm, I made a mental note to try and stay as far away from cannon as I could. I had a lot of things I needed to do and I didn't need to be distracted.