Prophet Aftermath - II

<No POV>

HEADMASTER'S OFFICE

Dumbledore was standing in his office and trying to appease the Minister while promising both the Minister and Madam Bones that nothing like this will ever happen at Hogwarts again.

Dumbledore thought "I should not have allowed Hagrid to take Harry into the Forbidden Forest. It has led to all these problems. Now I will have to change the plans I had about Harry confronting Tom. I would have to either abort the plan or make sure that the incident remains a secret. Another dangerous incident involving Harry will make others truly believe Rita's allegations and consider removing their children from Hogwarts.

Damn that woman. From where did she get the idea to allege such a thing. Now I have to make sure that any future incidents I use to test Harry remains a secret or else I will be forced to expel him from Hogwarts to appease others."

While Dumbledore was lost in his thoughts, Malfoy and Madam Longbottom returned to the office followed by the professors.

Malfoy "You are very fortunate Headmaster that Draco was not harmed yesterday. Now I cannot harshly punish those involved. But at the very least I will make sure that your plans of making that oaf the next Care of Magical Creatures professor after the current one retires are foiled. This incident is enough to convince the others governors that our children are not safe near him."

Madam Longbottom "I also agree that Hagrid is not suited to be a teacher. If he thinks Forbidden forest is safe for first years then I am afraid to think what dangerous creatures he will deem safe for the children in his classes.

Minerva should also be punished. The punishment I am considering for her is removing her from the Head of the House position. Neville was hurt yesterday and I heard that he was hurt during his first flying class too. She did not do her job and inform me about these incidents. After asking some other children I have come to know that she is neglecting a lot of her important duties as Head of Gryffindor house. I will not allow this to continue.

I recommend looking for a replacement for the Head of Gryffindor. During the next Governors meet, I am sure many people will agree with me on the punishment suggested after I show them my findings."

McGonagall did not look happy but she did not try to argue since she knew that due to her other posts she was not performing her duties as the Head of the House properly.

Dumbledore was also not happy but he could not do anything to save her from the punishment. McGonagall spent a lot of time doing some of his work due to him being busy with his other jobs. This led to her neglecting most of her other duties. Hagrid will also be disappointed after hearing that his dreams of teaching a class will not come true.

Suddenly the two Aurors rushed into the room and whispered something in Madam Bones's ear. After they were finished relaying the news, Madam Bones looked mad and while glaring at Dumbledore she went towards the fireplace and called for reinforcements using the Floo.

Madam Bones "You have a lot of explaining to do Headmaster. Can you explain why you have a Cerberus inside the school and why is it behind a door that is locked by only a simple locking charm that can be opened by a first year spell?"

Dumbledore paled at the revealation but did not reply. The other attendants in the room including the Minister gasped.

Madam Bones "I am calling more Aurors and people from Department of Control of Magical Creatures to take care of it. Don't dare deny having knowledge of the creature since we have many witnesses of you announcing the danger in front of the whole school during the opening feast."

She was going to continue but was interrupted when the Floo lit up and many people came through it. Some Aurors and some people from the Department of Control of Magical Creatures.

Dumbledore found his voice after seeing a lot of people in the room and said "You are mistaken, that is not a Cerberus. It is just a three headed dog and is Hagrid's pet. He has assured me that it will not harm any student. Don't harm it. If you want, I will ask Hagrid to remove it from the castle safely."

Malfoy "I have never heard of a three headed dog before. It must be a Cerberus. Kill the creature. I don't want it to be anywhere near Hogwarts where it can harm my son."

Amelia "I agree. If it is not possible to safely subdue the creature, kill it. I am not risking the lives of others just for Hagrid to have his pet back. Also investigate why it was inside the castle in the first place. I don't think we will get a straight answer from the Headmaster. We will ask for an explanation from him when we have uncovered the whole plot ourselves."

The Aurors and the people from the Department of Control of Magical Creatures nodded and left the room. After they left, Madam Bones explained the whole situation to everyone else in the room.

Madam Longbottom "Dumbledore. Why is such a dangerous creature inside Hogwarts near the children? And are you mad? You also announced that the third floor corridor was dangerous to a crowd of curious children who would have gone there as a challenge. I think you have gone senile with old age and need to be replaced for the safety of the children."

Amelia "Professor McGonagall. As the Deputy Headmistress you must know about this. Explain to me what the creature was doing inside the school or else your punishment will increase."

Dumbledore sighed "There is no need to ask Minerva. I will explain. You see before the start of the school year, Nicholas Flamel asked my help in safeguarding his philosopher stone. The Flamels had heard rumours about a Dark wizard coming after the stone and wanted my help in finding a good place to hide it. I agreed to help them and decided to protect the stone inside Hogwarts since it is highly secure due to the wards. It is stored behind a series of traps in the third floor corridor."

McGonagall added "Albus asked all the other professors to install a series of traps in the corridor for extra protection. The three headed dog was a trap designed by Hagrid. Once you overcome that, you will have to face one trap after another until the end of the corridor."

Madam Bones "So you decided it was wise decision to house a highly dangerous artefact that is being hunted by many dark wizards inside a school full of children. I agree with Madam Longbottom, You are mad. It seems a dark wizard did manage to overcome the Hogwarts wards and is after the stone. That will explain all the attacks on Harry Potter this year."

Madam Longbottom "Poor boy. Because of your decision he had to face many life threatening situations. I want that stone out of this school by the day's end. I will bring up this issue in front of the Wizengamot after the investigation is complete. Your punishment will be decided by them since the Governors cannot decide due to severity of the issue. I will take my leave now. Amelia inform me when the investigation is concluded."

Fudge "I am going too. Madam Bones, I am giving you free reign to catch the dark wizard involved. I want him in prison and away from Hogwarts as soon as possible."

With that Madam Longbottom, Fudge and Malfoy left the school via the Floo.

Madam Bones turned towards the Professors and ordered "I want you to suspend all classes until the dark wizard is found. Send all the children to their dormitories and make sure that they stay there until the investigation is completed."

Madam Bones then left to join her Aurors. Dumbledore and McGonagall decided to complete the task she had given them since she was now in control and they couldn't do anything to stop her. They called a meeting of all professors to inform them about the new development.