Rain poured down, and the night was as dark as ink.
The brightly lit Hogwarts Castle held up a world of light in the darkness, but the flickering torchlight in the storm silently revealed a grim atmosphere.
Minerva McGonagall, Head of Gryffindor House and Transfiguration Professor at Hogwarts, walked hurriedly. She left the castle through a door and entered an open-air corridor leading to a separate tower.
Perhaps it was sweat, perhaps it was the rain from outside the corridor.
In any case, droplets dotted Professor McGonagall's face, no longer young and etched by wind and frost. Her face was pale, her lips tightly pursed as she crossed the corridor into the small independent tower. After climbing several spiral staircases, she arrived at the door of the Headmaster's office.
As if sensing Professor McGonagall's terrible mood, the ugly stone gargoyle guarding the office jumped aside to reveal the passage before she could even finish the password.
There were two people in the office. One was naturally the owner of the office, the trusted Albus Dumbledore.
The other was her colleague, the Head of Slytherin House, Severus Snape.
Standing with his back to the firelight, Severus watched Minerva approach with quick strides. A flash of... well, at least Minerva thought it was schadenfreude, crossed his sallow face.
"How is it, Minerva?"
Dumbledore knew who it was without looking. He kept his head down, his expression grave, his gaze deep in the stack of parchment in his hands... Such parchments covered his desk.
"The situation isn't good—"
Minerva, eager to question him, choked on her breath and chose to answer Albus's question first.
"There are a few—the most serious is probably Foley. His leg was definitely hit by a highly corrosive dark curse. Poppy says there's little hope of saving it... So far, no one wants to admit who cast that dark curse... But Dumbledore!"
Minerva panted a few times, then suddenly raised her voice.
"But you can't blame this on Ares. He didn't attack anyone, did he? He just..."
"Reflected all the magic attacking him back."
Severus curled his lip, speaking in a smooth tone.
"Truly astonishing—dozens of people against one, and that one person reflected all the magic back. I'm not sure if I could do it, Minerva. Probably... definitely not.
I can't even figure out what magic could have such a powerful effect... And where did a fifth-year student get such magical power?"
"But you can't pin all the responsibility on Ares just because of that!"
Minerva glared at Severus, speaking sharply.
"We all know the cause of the matter, don't we?
It's ridiculous! That silly girl Bletchley from your Slytherin House tried to give Ares a love potion. When Ares saw through it, she turned her shame into anger and made false accusations, getting dozens of older students to surround him... They even insulted his deceased family!"
The anger flashing in Minerva's brown eyes was so intense that even Severus Snape didn't want to provoke her further.
"I'm not defending Bletchley's inappropriate behavior, Minerva, but... adolescent girls are always sensitive and fragile. I think Delfino must have used inappropriate words when exposing her cute little prank..."
He avoided Minerva's gaze and looked at the Headmaster, trying to draw Dumbledore into the debate.
"We can deduct points from Bletchley, give her detention, but the problem now is that Ares Delfino injured so many students, some of whom will have to live with severe disabilities for the rest of their lives."
Before McGonagall could refute him, Severus "tactfully" reminded her.
"Most importantly, these injured students... most come from prominent families."
"But we have to be reasonable, Severus!"
Spittle flew from Professor McGonagall's mouth.
"Who started this tragedy, Severus, hmm?!"
"But it's hard to reason with the parents of those disabled children, Minerva—"
Severus claimed not to be defending, but he was firmly shifting the blame for the Slytherin students.
"They don't care about the truth. They just want to punish the person who crippled their children—I must remind you again, Minerva, most of them come from prominent families...
Honestly, have you counted, Minerva? More than half of the Board of Governors have children or nephews involved. Most of the parents are either Ministry officials or have close ties with high-ranking officials."
"But, Dumbledore—"
Minerva didn't want to tangle with Severus anymore. She looked at Dumbledore, her chest heaving violently, her eyes full of expectation.
"You can withstand the pressure, right?"
Dumbledore didn't speak immediately. He seemed fascinated by the piles of parchment on his desk, his grim gaze lingering on them.
"This isn't about withstanding pressure, Minerva—"
Severus glanced at the silent Dumbledore, a hint of mockery flashing in his black eyes.
"This is... power, understand?
Either Professor Dumbledore expels Ares Delfino, or they will collectively file a lawsuit with the Ministry of Magic.
Sue Ares Delfino, then use their influence to force the Wizengamot to make a judgment, expelling Ares Delfino...
Personally, I think it's best not to let it escalate to the latter situation. Because in that case, Mr. Delfino might face more than just expulsion. They won't stop until they put him in Azkaban."
"Definitely."
In the portrait frame on the wall behind Dumbledore, a former Headmaster with a goatee nodded in agreement.
"And I think that would be reasonable!"
"Thank you for your opinion, Phineas."
Dumbledore finally lifted his gaze from the parchments and said coldly.
"Albus—"
Minerva couldn't refute Severus's words. She knew it was the truth, and denying it would be deceiving herself.
But she still looked expectantly at Professor Dumbledore, even though she sensed the... helplessness emerging between his deeply furrowed brows.
"You can help him, right? Save him from being expelled?"
"Oh—"
Severus let out a sneer.
"You're a bit late, Minerva. The governors left less than twenty minutes ago... If you had been here and seen their anger, you wouldn't harbor such unrealistic—"
"Where is Mr. Delfino?"
Dumbledore interrupted Severus. Having read all the parchments, he leaned back in his golden chair, took off his half-moon spectacles, and asked in a voice as gentle as his gesture of rubbing his brow.
"In my office—"
Minerva's face grew even paler. She had already... sensed something from Dumbledore's attitude.
"You asked me to collect all his homework since his first year. I did, and then I left him in my office."
"Is Mr. Delfino aware of the likely outcome he faces?"
Dumbledore continued to furrow his brow deeply.
"I believe—"
Professor McGonagall clutched her chest, gasping painfully.
"—he has an idea."
Silence fell for a moment. Even Severus retreated into the shadows and fell silent, offering no further opinion.
"Bring him to my office, will you, Minerva?"
Albus Dumbledore said.
"I want to have a chat with him."