Appare Vestigium

Back at Hogwarts, all the teachers were out in the grounds trying to put out the fire in Hagrid's cabin. It was clear that it was not a regular fire. It resisted any attempts at putting it out, but it also did not spread. After a while, there was only a smouldering heap of coals left of the cabin.

Headmistress Minerva McGonagall was inspecting the site.

"This was not an accident," she said. "This was cursed fire, set by wizards."

"A good thing you were not home last night Hagrid," Professor Flitwick said. "Or you might have been caught in it as well."

Hagrid didn't say anything, he just looked dejectedly at the heap of coals that used to be his home.

Professor McGonagall suddenly stopped her circling. "Come, take a look at this," she said, pointing at the ground leading into the forest. "Our footprints are all around the cabin, so it is impossible to say who was here. But here is a series of footprints clearly coming from over there, and then later, running that way. Appare Vestigium."

In a swirl of gold, the horrible scene unfolded. They saw three people knocking on the door, then running the other way. When they followed the swirls, they saw two of them running into a group of people. The third followed, but then tried to run away. Then, they all disappeared.

"We need to know who those people were," Professor McGonagall said in the dead quiet that had fallen.

"I kno' who the young ones are. I recognised them. Tha' was Scorpius, Albus and Rose," Hagrid said "But who were they meetin'? And what were they doin' out here so late?"

"And why did they set your cabin on fire?" added Professor Flitwick.

"They wouldn' a done that. It must have been the fire they were runnin' from."

"How did they all get out of the castle?" asked McGonagall "The door was securely locked and was still so when I opened it to come down here. Are you sure it is them, Hagrid?"

"Fairly sure, but it coulda' been someone else too I s'pose."

"We need to check their beds. You and the other Heads of Houses have to do a roll call, Filius. We need to see if every student is accounted for. But try not to wake the whole school because of it."

"Yes, Headmistress, we'll do that right away." Professor Flitwick ran off to start checking on the students. The other Heads of Houses quickly followed.

"Hagrid, I am sorry about your cabin. Hopefully, it can be rebuilt," Professor McGonagall said to Hagrid.

"Don' worry abou' that just now, Headmistress, go find yer missing students!" Hagrid said.

McGonagall walked briskly up to the castle to alert the Ministry of what had occurred. She did not look forward to explaining to the Minister for Magic that her daughter had somehow gotten out of the castle, almost gotten caught in a fire, and then been taken by unknown people without anyone noticing.

***

In the Headmistress' office, Hermione, Ron, Harry, Ginny, and Draco were all glaring at McGonagall. She sat with her usual poise, but she couldn't hide that she knew their anger was slightly justified.

"How did this happen? I thought you had heightened the security!" Hermione asked. She tried to keep a respectful tone, but her self-control had already been under immense pressure, and this did not help. She should have been better aware of the risks to her family! But Hogwarts was supposed to be a safe location, the safest place in Britain! What more could she have done, to prevent this from happening?

"We had. We have. We still don't know how they got out, or what they were doing in the Forest in the middle of the night. The door was locked, teachers were patrolling the corridors and we had closed all known secret passages. There should have been no way out."

Just then, Hugo Granger-Weasley and Lily Potter were brought into the room by Professor Neville Longbottom. They looked a bit scared, seeing their parents and Professor McGonagall all looking at them.

"What is going on? Are we in trouble?" Hugo asked.

"Where is Rose? She didn't come back last night," Lily added.

"Didn't come back?" Ginny asked. "You saw her go somewhere?"

"No," Lily replied quickly, not looking up.

"Lily, this is important," Harry added.

"I promised I wouldn't tell. She was just going down to… No."

"Lily, if you know something about where Rose is, I need you to tell me now." Ginny looked at her daughter sternly. When she used that look, her children knew there was little room for arguing. Lily squirmed.

"She went down to see Hagrid," Hugo interjected. He too looked down at his robes, not meeting his parent's eyes. "We both heard her. It was late. We went and asked where she was going. She said she had got a letter from Hagrid, and that he needed help down in his cabin. We wanted to come too, but she said she would take care of it." He said all of this extremely fast, as if to get the worst of it over with. He hoped he would not be held accountable for not alerting the teachers when Rose broke curfew.

"A letter from Hagrid?" Hermione asked incredulously, looking at the others.

"Hagrid would never do that," Harry said.

"He has asked us to do that before," Ron reminded them.

"Yes, but not in a situation like this. Besides, Hagrid wasn't home, was he?" Harry looked to Professor McGonagall.

"No. Hagrid was down in the village, and when he was on his way home, he saw his cabin on fire."

"On fire? Has Hagrid's cabin burned down?" asked Lily, worried.

"And what happened to Rose?" Hugo added.

"That is what we are trying to find out," Hermione explained. "As well as Albus and Scorpius"

"Al is missing too? What happened to them?" Lily asked, sounding more frightened.

"It is likely that Albus also got a letter from Hagrid. They met, got down to the cabin together, and ran when it started burning. Then they ran into a group of… others? Who takes them away somewhere?" Ginny suggested. She instantly regretted saying this in front of the children. All the adults shared gloomy looks. None of them said it out loud, but the word hung in the air between them.

"Who? What's going on?" Hugo asked.

"No need for you to worry about this, Hugo. We will find them," Hermione said comfortingly.

"But Mum…"

"Listen, both of you. It is especially important that you always stay inside the castle, is that clear? Do not go out exploring or searching for Rose and Albus. When you have lessons in the grounds, Neville or Hagrid will come and escort you from the Entrance Hall. Apart from that, stay inside the castle. Am I clear?"

"But why? What has happened to them?" Lily wanted to know.

"I cannot explain it all now. We need to go find them."

And with that, Hermione, Ron, Harry, Ginny, and Draco were out the door.

"I hate it when she does that. Please, Professor McGonagall, tell us. What has happened?" Hugo asked.

McGonagall sighed. She probably shouldn't tell them anything when their parents had not done so, but she knew from experience that telling students not to worry about something did not stop them from trying to figure things out. "We don't know exactly what has happened, but Granger-Weasley, Malfoy and Potter got out of the castle somehow, even when the door was locked, and went down to Hagrid's hut and then ran into someone unexpected there. Do you have any idea how they got out of the castle? If so, you need to tell me. I promise you won't be punished if you tell me about it now."

"No, I can't think of any way that they would have gotten out. Unless the Prefects have a separate exit or something?" Hugo said.

"No, Rose said she hoped Hagrid had made sure the door was open, if he wanted them to come down. She didn't mention any other way," Lily added.

"Very well. You may leave. But remember, don't leave the castle, especially not at night, or wander around after curfew," McGonagall told them. "We don't want any more incidents like this one."

"Yes Headmistress," the two said in unison as they left the office to go back to their Common room. They would probably keep their promise. At least for a few days.