Upon entering the Castle doors and finding themselves in the Entrance Hall, Ron shook his head, sending the water in it everywhere, "Blimey! If that downpour keeps up, the lake's going to overflow, I'm soaked."
"I hope the First Years will be alri - aagghhh!" Hermione yelled out, getting hit with something, an all new feeling of cold washing through her body as she started shivering again. Jake looked up and saw that Peeves was high above them, dropping Water Balloons on people as they passed by.
"PEEVES!" An angry voice rang out in the Entrance Hall, "GET DOWN HERE AT ONCE!" Professor McGonagall yelled.
"Not doing nothing!" Cackled Peeves maliciously. "Already wet aren't they?" He asked as he lobbed another water balloon at a few Fifth-Year Hufflepuff girls, who screamed and made a beeline for the Great Hall.
Jake, swiftly and with ever thinning patience, whipped his wand out, aimed it up, and the Poltergeist suddenly found himself being dragged down towards them. Hermione looked at him, then Peeves, then back to him. She had never seen any of the Professors do this with Peeves, and wondered why they hadn't before, unless it was against the rules or something.
Peeves was unable to move in any direction as he flailed about in place, desperately trying to worm his way out of his current situation. When he was down and in front of McGonagall, she was fuming, "Peeves, if you continue with this insufferable behavior tonight, I will go and get the Headmaster and we shall see what he has to say about this!"
"S-Sorry, your Deputy Headship. M-Me will be leaving now," Peeves said, and the moment he was able to, zoomed through one of the walls, not reappearing for the night.
"Thank you, Kidd, I don't think he will return tonight," McGonagall said with a thankful look towards him, "Into the Great Hall, come along now!" She ushered everyone inside the doors that lead to the Hall, which looked as amazing as ever, with the usual decorations that came with the Start-of-Term feast. Golden plates and goblets gleamed by the light of hundreds upon hundreds of candles that floated high above the tables. A lot of Whispering began to ring through the Hall after a few students from each House saw them, particularly Jake. Because of the Daily Prophet writing about him in the World Cup, he was now just as famous, if not more so than Harry it seemed.
The Quartet, along with Neville, went and sat down at the Gryffindor table beside Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, commonly referred to as Nearly Headless Nick, in all his pearly white, semi-transparent glory; Nick was dressed in his usual doublet, but it had a particularly large ruff, which served the dual purpose of looking extra-festive, and insuring that his head didn't wobble too much from the little thread of skin and muscle tissue still holding it up. "Good evening!" He said, beaming at them.
"Says who?" Harry asked, clearly in a mood, "Hope they hurry up with the Sorting, I'm starving."
"Hiya Harry," a highly excited and breathless voice called down the table. Colin Creevey came bounding down the table to talk to his Hero.
"Hi, Colin," Harry replied warily.
"Harry, guess what? Guess what, Harry? My brother's starting! My brother Dennis!" The boy said excitedly.
"Er - that's good," Harry said.
"He's really excited too! I just hope he's in Gryffindor! Keep your fingers crossed, eh, Harry?" Colin was bursting with excitement that he should in all honesty not have this late into the day, Jake thought, but he said nothing.
"Er - yeah, alright," Harry smiled and turned back to his friends and Nick. "Brothers and Sisters usually get in the same House, don't they?" He asked them.
"Not necessarily," Hermione said, "take Parvati and Padma, they are twins, but Padma is in Ravenclaw."
"It is bizarre, though, that they weren't both in Ravenclaw or Gryffindor," Jake said thoughtfully. He looked up and down the table, noticing a lot of empty seats at each table, "Going to be a lot of new First Years, it seems."
"Where's the new Defense teacher?" Harry asked aloud.
"Maybe they couldn't get anyone?" Hermione asked anxiously.
"If that was the case, the Ministry would've appointed someone themselves," Jake said, "but only in the event of Dumbledore incapable of finding someone himself."
"That's good to know," Hermione said, having learned something new.
Hermione looked at Harry and saw him continuing to scan the table, but she didn't understand why, "Oh hurry up!" Ron moaned impatiently, "I could eat a Hippogriff..." If there was one thing Ron loved, it was food, to the point where Hermione found it somewhat repulsive the way he ate and the habit he had of talking with his mouth full.
The words were no sooner out of his mouth than the doors of the Great Hall opened and silence fell. Professor McGonagall was leading a longer than usual line of First-Years up to the front of the Hall. Hermione noticed how absolutely drenched the new First-Years looked, 'Did they end up swimming across the lake?' She thought to herself. They were all shivering with a combination of being cold and being nervous. Professor McGonagall placed a three-legged stool on the ground before the First-Years and, on top of it, an extremely old, dirty, patched Wizard's hat. The hat sat there in silence, no one saying a word or making a sound as they awaited the words that it had to say. Then a long tear near the brim opened wide like a mouth, and the hat broke into song:
A thousand years or more ago,
When I was newly sewn,
There lived four witches and wizards of renown,
Whose names are still well known:
Bold Gryffindor, from wild moor,
Fair Ravenclaw, from glen,
Sweet Hufflepuff, from valley broad,
Shrewd Slytherin, from fen.
They shared a wish, a hope, a dream,
They hatched a daring plan
To educate young sorcerers
Thus Hogwarts School began.
Now each of these four founders
Formed their own house, for each
Did value different virtues
In the ones they had to teach.
By Gryffindor, the bravest were
Prized far beyond the rest;
For Ravenclaw, the cleverest
Would always be the best;
For Hufflepuff, hard workers were
Most worthy of admission;
And power-hungry Slytherin
Loved those of great ambition.
While still alive they did divide
Their favorites from the throng,
Yet how to pick the worthy ones
When they were dead and gone?
'Twas Gryffindor who found the way,
He whipped me off his head,
The founders put some brains in me
So I could choose instead!
Now slip me snug about your ears,
I've never yet been wrong,
I'll have a look inside your mind
And tell where you belong!
The Great Hall rang with applause as the Sorting Hat finished, "That's not the song it sang when it sorted us," Harry said after the applause died down.
"Well, you did miss the Sorting the past two years, remember?" Jake pointed out to him.
Professor McGonagall began unrolling the large scroll of parchment that had the names of the new students on it, "When I call out your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool," she said to the First-Years, "When the hat announces your House, you will go and sit at the appropriate table."
She began to call out names, and when it got to Colin's brother, Dennis, the Hat called out, "GRYFFINDOR!" and Jake clapped at his joining of the House. It was always nice to see some new First Years for Gryffindor.
"Colin!" Dennis yelled as he got closer to his brother, "Colin, I fell in! Something massive in the water pushed me back into the boat!"
"Cool!" Colin had said, sounding just as excited, "It must have been the Giant Squid!"
" Wow ," Dennis said, proving that he and Colin were definitely brothers.
The Sorting continued on, with many students going to each House. "Oh, hurry up!" Ron groaned in famished agony.
"Now, Ron, the Sorting's much more important than food," Nick said, clapping for the newest Gryffindor so far.
They bickered for a moment while Jake looked at the First-Years, and his eye wandered back to the Gryffindor Table. He saw Katie Bell talking with one of her friends in Fifth Year. She was one of Gryffindor's Chaser's on their Quidditch Team, and someone he called a friend. He looked back up and saw McGonagall pick up the Hat and Stool, carrying them off. It wasn't until she came back that Dumbledore got to his feet. He was smiling around at all of them, his arms opened wide in welcome, "I have only two words to say to you," he said in his usual deep voice as it echoed around the Great Hall, " Tuck in !"
Everyone began filling their plates, and Nick watched mournfully, as he wasn't able to eat anything being a Ghost and all, "Aaah, 'at's be'er," Ron said with a mouth full of mashed potatoes.
Jake looked up at him just as he was about to put his bite into his mouth, "How about you wait to fully chew your food before talking?"
Ron didn't get to respond, though, as Nick spoke next, "You're lucky there's a feast at all tonight, you know," he said with a sigh, "There was trouble in the Kitchens earlier."
"Why? Wha' 'appened?" Harry asked, also with a full mouth.
"I swear to my own Ancestor, if either of you talk with a full mouth once again, I'm shoveling food down your throats until you stop breathing," Jake said in a tone that meant he wasn't playing around.
"Peeves, of course," Nick continued, unfazed, and shaking his head, "The usual argument, you know. He wanted to attend the feast - well, it's quite out of the question, you know what he's like, utterly uncivilized, can't see a plate of food without throwing it. We held a ghost's council - the Fat Friar was all for giving him the chance, he always is - but most wisely, in my opinion, the Bloody Baron put his foot down."
"Yeah, we thought Peeves seemed hacked off about something, then Jake put him in his place... so what did he do in the Kitchens?" Ron asked, going for another bite of food.
"Oh, the usual," Nick said with a shrug, "wreaked havoc and mayhem. Pots and pans everywhere. Place swimming in soup. Terrified the house-elves out of their wits-"
The next thing Jake knew, Hermione had knocked over her goblet of Pumpkin Juice, which began to spread over the tablecloth, but he pulled his wand out and non-verbally used Scourgify to clean it up, "There are house-elves here ?" She asked, staring, horror-struck, at Nick, "Here at Hogwarts ?"
"Certainly," he said as though it was completely obvious to everyone, "the largest number in any dwelling in Britain, I believe. Over a hundred at least."
"I've never seen one!" Hermione yelled, causing a few Gryffindor around them to look at her.
"Well, they hardly ever leave the kitchen by day, do they?" Nick asked without waiting for an answer, "They come out at night to do a bit of cleaning... see to the fires and so on... I mean, you're not supposed to see them, are you? That's the mark of a good house-elf, isn't it? That you don't know it's there?"
Hermione stared at him in utter disbelief, "But they get paid ? They get holidays , don't they? And - and sick leave, pensions, and everything?"
Nick then chortled so much that his ruff slipped and his head flopped about, dangling dangerously on the skin and muscle that held his head connected to his body, "Sick leave and pensions?" He asked, pushing his head back into place and securing it once more with his ruff, "House-elves don't want sick leave and pensions!"
Hermione looked back down at her plate of hardly touched food, then placed her knife and fork down upon it, pushing it away from her, "Oh, come on, Hermione," Ron said, making sure to swallow his food before speaking, "You won't get them sick leave by starving yourself!"
Slave labor," she said, breathing hard through her nose, "that's what made this dinner. Slave labor ."
Jake sighed, causing her to look at him curiously, "I hate to say it, but Ron's right, Hermione," he looked at her, "starving yourself won't help them, it'll only make you incapable of helping me help them."
Her eyes lit up like a Christmas Tree, "Y-You mean...?"
"I do. Together, we will help them, in some way," he said and pulled her food back towards her, and filled up half of her Goblet with half of his, "but I need you at full strength."
She looked at him with so much compassion, she was incapable of holding it all in, and gave him a tight embrace as she muttered "Thank you" half a dozen times. When she let him go, she did continue eating, but only because he got her to see reason. Tomorrow, she decided, they'd start their research towards helping the House-Elves.
When the Dinner and Desserts had disappeared from their golden plates, the rain drumming heavily still against the high, dark glass of the windows, Albus Dumbledore stood up once more, and the buzz and chatter of the Hall ceased immediately to the point where only the howling winds, heavy rain, and occasional thunder could be heard, "So!" Dumbledore yelled, smiling around at them, "Now that we are all fed and watered, I must once more ask for your undivided attention, while I give out a few notices.
"Mr. Filch, our caretaker, has asked me to tell you that the list of objects forbidden inside the castle has this year been extended to include Screaming Yo-yos, Fanged Frisbees, and Ever-Bashing Boomerangs. The full list comprises some four hundred and thirty-seven items, I believe, and can be viewed in Mr. Filch's office, if anybody would like to check it out," the corners of his mouth twitched ever so slightly as he continued, "As ever, I would like to remind you all that the forest on the grounds is out-of-bounds to students, as is the village of Hogsmeade to all below Third-Year. It also pains me to say this, but it is my duty to inform you that the Inter-House Quidditch Cup will not take place this year!"
Lots of surprising and complaining voices were heard across the Hall. Jake had predicted this, as the Tournament was naturally going to take precedence over the Quidditch Cup. He glanced at Katie and saw her looking appalled as she glanced around.
"This is due to an event that will be starting in October, and continuing throughout the school year, taking up much of the teachers' time and energy - but I am sure you will all enjoy it immensely. I have great pleasure in announcing that this year at Hogwarts, we have the Honor of hosting a very exciting event over the coming months, an event that has not been held for over a century. It is my very great pleasure to inform you that the Triwizard Tournament will be taking place at Hogwarts this year!" Dumbledore said in an almost magnanimous tone.
"You're JOKING!" Fred Weasley said loudly, and the silence that had presented itself when Dumbledore stood up to talk was broken by raucous laughter from all four tables, surprisingly.
"I am not joking, Mr. Weasley," Dumbledore said, "though now that you mention it, I did hear an excellent one over the summer about a troll, a hag, and a leprechaun who all go into a bar..."
Professor McGonagall cleared her throat loudly.
"Er - but maybe this is not the time... no..." he said, smile ever present, "where was I? Ah yes, the Tournament-"
Before he could go on to explain more, there was a deafening rumble of thunder and the doors of the Great Hall banged open. A man stood in the doorway, leaning upon a long staff, shrouded in a black travelling cloak. Every head in the Great Hall swiveled toward the stranger, suddenly brightly illuminated by a fork of lightning that flashed across the ceiling. He lowered his hood, shook out a long mane of grizzled, dark gray hair, then began to walk up toward the teachers' table.
A dull clunk echoed throughout the Hall with every other step the man took. He reached the end of the top table, turned right, and limped heavily toward Dumbledore. Another flash of lightning crossed the ceiling, and Hermione gasped at what she saw.
The lightning had thrown the man's face into sharp relief, and it was a face unlike any that she had ever seen. It looked as though it had been carved out of weathered wood by someone who had only the vaguest idea of what human faces are supposed to look like, and was none too skilled with a chisel. His face was scarred horribly, the mouth looked like a diagonal gash, and a large chunk of his nose was missing. That wasn't what made Hermione gasp, though, it was his eyes; one of them was small, dark, and beady, but the other eye was large, round as a coin, and a vivid, electric blue. The blue eye was moving ceaselessly, without blinking, and was rolling up, down, left, and right, quite independently of the normal eye - and then it rolled right over, pointing straight into the back of his head, leaving nothing but a whiteness for all of them to see.
The stranger reached Dumbledore and stretched out a hand that was as badly scarred as his face, and Dumbledore shook it, muttering some words none of them could hear. He seemed to be making some sort of inquiry of the stranger, who shook his head unsmilingly and replied in an undertone. Dumbledore then nodded and gestured the man to the empty seat on his right-hand side.
"Well, this seems like a good time to get these two announcements out of the way; Firstly, I would like to introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Alastor Moody!" Dumbledore said, clapping for the man. Few others clapped, most students being either afraid of the man, or still in shock of his entrance.
"Moody? Mad-Eye Moody ? The one your dad went to help this morning?" Harry muttered to Ron.
"Only one man named Alastor Moody. That's him," Jake said, eyeing the man with interest.
"Secondly, it pains me to announce this, but due to some... unforeseen actions from the previous Year, Professor Trelawney has been let go as Divination Teacher," Dumbledore said, causing surprise among the students, but none were more surprised than Jake, "Instead, taking her place as Divination Teacher for the time being until a suitable replacement is found, one of the Centaur's that lives in the Forbidden Forest by the name of Firenze will be hosting the Class outside near the edge of the Forest at the appropriate times for each class. It will be different from how Sybill Trelawney taught it, that much he assured me of. For those still taking Divination, you will be seeing how a Centaur studies it."
Hermione was silently in glee that Trelawney had been sacked, but a little peeved at the class still being available, "Firenze is a nice Centaur, he'll be a good replacement until a better one is found, someone who is maybe actually a Seer," Jake said, glancing at his friends.
"With those two announcements out of the way, please allow me to continue with my explanation; the Tournament, well, some of you will not know what this tournament involves, so I hope those who do know will forgive me for giving a short explanation, and allow their attention to wander freely.
"The Triwizard Tournament was first established some seven hundred years ago as a friendly competition between the three largest European schools of wizardry: Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang. A champion was selected to represent each school, and the three champions competed in three magical tasks. The schools took it in turns to host the tournament once every five years, and it was generally agreed to be a most excellent way of establishing ties between young witches and wizards of different nationalities - until, that is, the death toll mounted so high that the tournament was discontinued."
'Jake said as much back on the Train,' Hermione thought to herself, 'and they still want to bring it back?'
"There have been several attempts over the centuries to reinstate the Tournament," Dumbledore continued, "none of which were very successful. However, the Department of International Magical Cooperation, and the Department of Magical Games and Sports have decided the time is ripe for another attempt. We have worked hard over the summer to ensure that this time, no champion will find himself or herself in mortal danger."
"I find that hard to believe," Jake said quietly.
"The Heads of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving with their short-listed contenders in October, and the selection of the Three Champions will take place on Halloween Night! An impartial Judge will decide which students are most worthy to compete for the Triwizard Cup, The glory of their School, and a Thousand Galleons in Prize Money."
"I'm going for it!" Fred hissed down the table, his face lit with enthusiasm.
"I wouldn't get ahead of myself, if I were you," Jake glanced at him. Fred didn't seem to hear him, though. A buzz of Whispering was heard at every table, until Dumbledore spoke again.
"Eager though I know all of you will be to bring the Triwizard Cup to Hogwarts, the Heads of the participating schools, along with the Ministry of Magic, have agreed to impose an age restriction on contenders this year. Only students of age - that is to say, Seventeen or older - will be allowed to put forward their names for consideration. This-" Dumbledore had to raise his voice as some unruly students began voicing their frustration, "- is a measure we feel is necessary, given that the Tournament tasks will still be difficult and dangerous, whatever precautions we take, and it is highly unlikely that students below Sixth and Seventh Year will be able to cope with them."
'Except for Jake, he could win the Tournament with absolute ease,' Hermione thought to herself again.
"I will personally be ensuring that no underage student hoodwinks our impartial judge into making them Hogwarts champion," Dumbledore continued, "I therefore beg you to not waste your time submitting yourself if you are under Seventeen. The delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving in October and will be remaining with us for the Greater part of this School Year. I know that you all will extend every courtesy to our Foreign Guests while they are with us, and will give your whole-hearted support to the Hogwarts Champion when he or she is selected. And now, it is late, and I know how important it is to you all to be alert and well-rested as you enter your lessons tomorrow morning. Bedtime! Chop chop!"
A great scraping and banging could be heard as students from all Four Houses stood up and swarmed the Double Doors and into the Entrance Hall to head for their respective House Common Rooms, the new Prefects leading the new First Years to their Respective Common Rooms as well.
"They can't do that!" Fred was heard yelling as girls that walked past Jake were giggling with their friends. He sighed as Fred continued speaking, "We're Seventeen in April, why can't we have a shot?"
"They're not stopping me entering," George spoke up as well, "the Champions'll get to do all sorts of stuff you'd never be allowed to do normally, and a Thousand Galleons in Prize money!"
"Yeah," Ron said with a faraway look on his face, "Yeah, a Thousand Galleons..."
"So... who do you think the impartial Judge is that will decide on the Champions?" Harry asked aloud as they walked.
"Dunno, but it's them we will have to fool. I reckon a couple drops of Aging Potion ought to do the trick, eh George?" Fred asked.
"It won't work. I doubt the Judge will be a person. And no Aging Potion is going to fool it, but go ahead, be my guest and make fools of yourselves, give us a laugh," Jake said with a cynical undertone.
"Yeah, but whoever this judge is will clearly choose the best from each school, regardless of their age," George said.
Katie came up from behind them, her friend in tow, giggling as they did, to throw in her two Sickles, "Then by all rights, it should be Jake who enters his name. He's clearly the best at magic in the world, but he might be denied entry for that reason. I'd support you, if you were to enter your name," she said to Jake, smiling at him.
"Well I'm not, even if I was Seventeen, but I'm glad to know you've got my back," he smiled back and everyone missed the murderous look on Hermione's face.
"Would be cool to enter, though," Ron said absent-mindedly.
"I suppose so... I've already got enough fame following me around, though, don't know that I want any more..." Harry said unsurely.
"Agreed, Potter, agreed," Jake said to another round of giggles from the girls.
They soon made it to the Fat Lady's portrait, "Password?" She asked them.
"Balderdash. A Prefect downstairs told me," George said.
The portrait opened to the Gryffindor Common Room, and it always gave off a cozy feeling, with the warm, crackling fire cozying up the whole circular room, which was full of squashy armchairs and tables.
The boys all climbed the stairs, except for Jake, he wanted to talk to Hermione a bit more about their proposed plan for the House-Elves. She stayed behind as well, bidding Harry and Ron goodnight.
"Good night, Jake," Katie said, "I hope you sleep well."
"Thank you. I hope you do as well," he said, smiling as she ascended the stairs.
Hermione was sitting in a chair next to the fire, trying to ignore Katie as she spoke to Jake. She stared into the fire, waiting for him to approach her.
She saw his presence approach her from her peripheral, and he sat down across from her, "Hermione?"
She looked over at him, "Yes?"
"About the House-Elves, obviously the Library is going to be our best bet, but what if the information is in the Restricted Section? If it's in the Hogwarts Library at all?" He asked her.
"Then you and I shall borrow Harry's Invisibility Cloak and scan the Restricted Section until we find it, then return both when we are done with them," she said like there was nothing wrong with what she said.
"You want us to borrow/steal his Cloak, and then borrow/steal a book from the Library?" He asked, just to be sure they were on the same page. She nodded ardently, "Okay, that works for me," he said without argument.
"I'm glad to hear it," she smiled widely, glad to know he cared about this as much as she did. She didn't care that her teeth were showing to him, because he never cared about the front teeth being larger than her other teeth. She walked over to him and embraced him as he stood up, "Thank you so much for this."
"I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't agree with your view on it," he said as he rested his chin on her head.
They separated and she watched him ascend the stairs, before going up the girl's staircase a moment later. She entered the room and the other girls were already asleep. She quietly changed into her pajamas, which her parents had bought for her and gave to her when she briefly saw them in Diagon Alley the day she got her Dress for the Yule Ball. The new set of pajamas had a thin, silk long-sleeved shirt, and thin silk pajama bottoms going down to her heels. Her Nightgown had grown small for her in a couple of ways, not that she was that developed anyway, but the gown had just seemed childish, and she intended to buy her own set of new pajamas, but her parents beat her to it. She had brushed her teeth after changing and then laid down in her bed, staring at her curtain after she had drawn it for privacy. She closed her eyes and sleep had soon taken her.
Jake had descended the stairs when he was sure Hermione had gone up to the Fourth Year Girl's Dormitory; there was something he had to talk to the Headmaster about, and he didn't want to worry Hermione about it.
He exited the Tower and made his way to the Headmaster's Office, and was pleasantly surprised to see that Dumbledore hadn't entered yet, but he was talking with Snape, "Ah, Jake, shouldn't you be in your bed right now?"
Snape turned around, "I believe that being out of your bed at this hour is worth, what, Ten Points from Gryffindor?"
Jake paid Snape absolutely no mind, "Yes, but there is something I need to talk to you about, Professor," Jake said calmly, "something that can't wait to tomorrow."
"Alright," Dumbledore sighed, "Let's talk in my Office. Severus, we shall continue our discussion tomorrow morning."
"But Headmaster-"
" Tomorrow morning , Severus," Dumbledore reiterated.
Jake saw Snape walk off, and he could only imagine the sneer on his face as he walked off. Dumbledore spoke the Password and entered his Office, Jake trailing behind him.
Dumbledore walked behind his large desk and sat down in the chair that was behind it, "So, what seems to be troubling you?"
Jake sat down in the chair on the opposite side of the desk, and looked at Dumbledore for a moment, "Sir, I ask that I have permission to make a Sleeping Draught for myself every night before bedtime, or, since they take a long time to brew, either I can use a Weekend to brew them in bulk, or Professor Snape can brew one for me in the way he did for Professor Lupin."
Dumbledore blinked upon hearing the request, his eyes not twinkling, "Might I ask why?"
"I've been having a recurring nightmare that wakes me up in the middle of the night, and I'd rather not have to use a Silencing Charm on the curtains for my bed in the event that an emergency happens and no one has time to open the curtains to my bed," Jake answered the Headmaster.
"How often does this Nightmare occur?"
"... every night, sir..." Jake closed his eye.
"Do you know the cause of it?" Dumbledore asked him.
"No, sir, I have no idea what causes it," he replied, opening his eye again.
"Alright, well... I get the feeling you'd rather not have Professor Snape make them... given last year," Dumbledore implied. They both, and Hermione, knew what the Potions Master did last year, which made it all the more curious that Snape was still around, "So I will give you special permission to be out of your Dormitory until Eleven o'clock every night, given the brewing time of a Sleeping Draught, so I will make sure that Mr. Filch is aware of your special permission and doesn't try and make trouble for you, but if you're caught out after Eleven, the Immunity to punishment will not hold, is that understood?"
"Yes, sir... thank you sir," Jake stood up, "does that include tonight?"
Dumbledore smiled, "Of course. Sleep well, Jake."
"I hope I do, sir," he turned and walked away, "I hope I do," he walked out of Dumbledore's Office and to the Potions Classroom so that he could brew the Sleeping Draught for the night, and hopefully he'd have a peaceful sleep for once since early July.