Chapter 20 - A Ride and a Boggart
(A/N - After reading the chapter title, you know what's coming…but I have to do some other things before and after we get there, so, be patient!)
Harry soon found out just how bad it could be as soon as he entered his room. Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle either had a hidden talent for special effects work, or they had help, because there were very life-like looking dementors floating through the air, surrounding him, following him wherever he went. As he climbed into his bed, he even found one waiting for him, complete with a rotting hand and long fingers that reached for him as soon as he moved the covers. Fortunately for Harry, due to the sheer numbers of animated "dementors" that were now running into each other in their attempts to swarm around him, he started to find it very funny. "Hey, Malfoy, good job! I was wondering, are these relatives from your mum's or your dad's side? I still haven't figured out why you thought I needed to meet your family this way! I mean, you could just invite me down to the gates to meet them in person!"
"Told you, Malfoy!" Blaise Zabini chuckled, "Subtlety has its place, remember? Just because one is good, it doesn't mean 100 are better, right, Potter?"
"Shut it, Zabini!" Malfoy growled. "For all of your pure-blood claims, you sure do stick up for the half-bloods like Potter and those Mudbloods you hang out with, especially that Mudblood Puckle. I admit, she's not bad to look at, and I'm sure there are some things I could do to her that would be VERY enjoyable, but, actually spending time with her afterwards? Not on your life!"
Harry's temper had started to rise as he heard this. He sat on the edge of his bed, and said, with noticeable restraint, "Just watch it, Golden-boy! I probably shouldn't say anything, because I'd so like to see what happens if you tried what you were just thinking about, but I'll just ask you this. Do you know the whole story about why Lockhart didn't return to school this year? I was there and saw what happened…On second thought, Malfoy, the more that I think about it, the more I like the idea. Why don't you or your buddies go ahead and try something with Miss Puckle? I'm sure that if St. Mungo's had a few more "boy sopranos" in residence to join Gilderoy, they might be able to form a choir to help with fundraising and such! Ah, but I forgot a small detail. You wouldn't be able to remember the words to any songs you know, though! That would make it difficult, now wouldn't it?"
As soon as Malfoy realized what Harry was referring to, he winced and went to his own bed. Crabbe and Goyle both got dizzy staring at the dementors circling their heads, so they, too retired. That left Harry and Blaise to deal with the creations, and they ended up coming up with a plan to do so. Blaise had magically duplicated a sign he had made, which said "Pleasant Dreams to you all! Courtesy of Draco Malfoy" and attached it to each dementor. Then, since they seemed to be charmed to follow Harry wherever he went, he led the whole lot of them out of their dorm room and into the room of the Seventh Year Slytherins, who had a later curfew than the Third Years. Before he left the room, he reversed the charm that attracted the dementors to him and redirected it to the seventh year boys. "Yeah, Malfoy's sure going to be popular with the Seventh Years tomorrow, isn't he, Blaise?" Harry smirked.
****
As he read his Third Year schedule during breakfast the next morning, Harry was happy to see that his first class the following morning was Charms with Flitwick and Puckle, then History of Magic, followed in the afternoon by Care of Magical Creatures with the Gryffindors. <Great, that means I'll get to see Hermione and Ron today!> he thought, as he started to realize that he really did enjoy being with them more than his housemates. <Yeah, Ron's not too bad, once you get to know him, and Hermione is …well, she's just really nice to me.> His eyes glazed over for a moment; until he saw Rubeus come in swinging a dead polecat. <Hmmm, wonder what Hagrid's going to show us today? Maybe it's something that eats polecats…Hey, I'd better get going if I'm going to say hello to Miss Puckle before class starts.>
When he got to the Charms classroom, he saw he was the only one of his classmates there. "Oh, hello Mr. Potter!" Miss Puckle's familiar voice greeted him as he walked in. "You're here early! Professor Flitwick and your classmates probably won't be in for a few minutes, but that should give me time to thank you properly for what you did last year! I thought it was very brave for you to be able to get rid of the basilisk, and protect Ginny and Hermione while you were doing it. Thank you, Harry, from all of us!" she said with feeling.
Harry looked into her eyes as she said this, and saw…something there that was quite unfamiliar. Immediately, he felt his neck and ears getting warm. "That…that's quite all right, Miss Puckle. My pleasure and all." He caught a glimpse of his reflection in a mirror in the corner, and saw that he was now blushing quite noticeably.
Harmony saw it, too. "Oh, sorry, Harry, I didn't mean to…embarrass you like that. Oh, drat, we don't want your classmates to see you that way when they start coming in." And she waved her wand, casting a charm that reversed his flushed appearance.
As Harry watched her cast the spell, he finally understood what Ginny had said about Miss Puckle's wand. "Erm…Miss Puckle? Thanks for taking care of that, but…I couldn't help noticing your wand just now. It looks just like…Granger's!"
Now it was the assistant professor's time to quickly turn quite red. She stammered for a second, "Er…oh, really, Mr. Potter? I…well, I never noticed…Just a coincidence, I'm sure…" Fortunately for her, this awkward scene was cut short by the arrival of Professor Flitwick, followed closely by some Slytherin students. Harry took his seat, but he noticed that Miss Puckle seemed to deliberately avoid looking at him for the rest of the class.
Harry was pleased to get out of the castle after lunch that day. He had already been to Professor Binns' class, and he needed some sunlight and fresh air to counteract the drowsiness he always felt. Yesterday's rain had cleared; the sky was a clear, pale gray, and the grass was springy and damp underfoot as he set off for his first ever Care of Magical Creatures class. He was in such a hurry that he failed to notice that the Gruesome Threesome were right behind him as he walked down towards Hagrid's hut. Malfoy was in a very animated conversation with the troll boys, so Harry "accidentally" dropped his Monster Book of Monsters (which caused it to growl menacingly) so they would pass him as he stopped to pick it up. As he looked up, though, he saw Ron and Hermione walking towards them. He immediately noticed that they were not speaking to each other, but when Hermione saw him, she came over to say hello as Ron tagged along behind, still with a closed expression on his face.
"What's up, you two?" Harry asked. "So Ron, what'd you say to Hermione this time to set her off?"
"Hey, Potter, watch it!" Ron said, tightly. "It wasn't me; it was Professor Trelawney that started it!"
Hermione glared at her red-headed friend. "That's true, Ron, but you don't have to keep bringing it up, now do you? 'Professor Trelawney said you didn't have the right aura! You just don't like being bad at something for a change!' "She mimicked Ron's sing-song voice. "Honestly! If being good at divination means I have to pretend to find any meaning in a lump of tea leaves, I'm not sure I'll be studying it much longer. That lesson was absolute rubbish compared with my Arithmancy class!"
Harry was quite confused. "Who…who's this Trelawney person? Is she the Divination professor? I haven't had that class yet. And, wait a minute, Hermione, you can't have had Arithmancy - it's the same time as Divination, if I remember the schedule I saw this morning."
Ron nodded his head. "Yeah, and her schedule says she's taking Muggle Studies, too, at the same time. What's going on, 'Mione?"
"RONALD WEASLEY! How many times have I told you to NOT call me by that name! Just because your sister prefers her name to be shortened, it doesn't mean you can be that familiar with ME!" OOOOH!" and with that, she adjusted the book bag on her shoulders and stalked away.
Hagrid was waiting for his class at the door of his hut…
*****
"Right - who wants to go first?"
The entire class of Slytherins and Gryffindors l backed farther away in answer. The hippogriffs were tossing their fierce heads and flexing their powerful wings; they didn't seem to like being tethered like this.
"No one?" said Hagrid, with a pleading look. "How about someone from Slytherin? Nothing to be worried about, you lot - I'm right here!"
"I'll do it," said Harry.
Harry thought he heard a quick intake of breath coming from Hermione's direction when he said that, but he wasn't sure why as he climbed over the paddock fence.
****
As Harry watched the rest of the class work with the hippogriffs after his trip around the paddock <Well, I still prefer riding a Nimbus Two Thousand and One, I'd say!>, he noticed that Ron and Hermione were both attempting to get close to the chestnut hippogriff, without too much success. <Ron doesn't seem too interested in being near the creature, or is it Hermione he's trying to avoid?> he observed. Without any warning, Harry had another flash…this time, of a dark night, and him giving Hermione a leg up as she climbed on Buckbeak's back, then the …wonderful, warm feel of her arms wrapping themselves tightly around his waist as he sat in front of her…them gliding off, her frightened voice in his ear, muttering about not liking it, them flying next to a window, her pulling out her wand that looked just like Miss Puckle's, and then…
Just as he had totally lost himself in the sensations from this scene playing in his mind, he was startled out of his pleasant thought by a high-pitched scream from Malfoy, who lay curled in the grass, blood blossoming over his robes.
******
Later that evening, seated by himself at the Slytherin table, Harry noticed a large group of his housemates huddled together on the other end, deep in conversation. Harry was sure they were cooking up their own version of how Malfoy had been injured. He looked over at the Gryffindor table, and saw that Ron and Hermione had also noticed that Hagrid was not present at the meal. He saw Ron look at his watch, say something to Hermione, and then the two of them headed off towards the main doors to the grounds. <They must be going down to check on Hagrid. Hope he's not been sacked! I'm sure that Malfoy must have been doing something stupid to get Buckbeak to attack him like that. He sure wasn't mean to me, now was he! And, now that I think about it, it was quite the ride I got to take…but I wish I knew what that dream I had about riding him with Hermione meant!>, Harry thought. <Guess I'll just have to ask Dumbledore the next time I see him. By the way, where is the Headmaster?>
Harry then noticed there were two chairs besides Hagrid's empty at the head table at the moment, Miss Puckle's and Dumbledore's. The normal occupants of those chairs were at that moment meeting in Miss Puckle's office.
"Headmaster, I'm glad I saw you walking by just now. Sorry if I delayed your dinner, but…I need to tell you about something that happened earlier today."
"Well, Miss Puckle, I must admit, based on the last two years I was expecting this unscheduled meeting to be earlier in the term!" he twinkled at her. "You've made it through almost a full class day this time without having to discuss Mr. Potter with me!"
"I won't even bother to ask how you knew this was about Harry!" she blushed. "But, I'm afraid it is. This morning, he had occasion to look closely at my wand, and he must have had a similar opportunity to notice Hermione's, because he said they looked the same. You know, that's strange, that never came up in all the preparations we made before I came here. Wonder why neither I nor your future self ever thought about that being a problem?"
"Well, Hermione, I'm sure that the two of you had a lot on your mind at the time, eh? Besides, I'm not too concerned about this incident by itself. I'm sure you can think of a reasonable explanation for the apparent likeness, if the subject comes up again with either your younger self or Harry? Just try to be discrete, and avoid situations where your wands will be close to each other with curious eyes around!"
"Yes, sir! I do have a question, though. Is there some way I can slightly change the appearance of my wand without affecting its properties in any way? This wand and I have been through a lot together, some of it twice," she smirked, "and I would hate to do something that can't be reversed."
"Yes, my dear, there are ways. Sometimes wands do, coincidentally, look almost exactly alike; so to prevent wizards and witches from getting their wands confused, there are methods of uniquely identifying them. I will consult with my friend Mr. Ollivander, and get back to you with the specifics. Since you have a vine wood wand, I'm sure that there are some obvious modifications that can be easily completed. But, I sense that there is more that you want to tell me…am I right?"
She was caught off guard by his question, because she had already decided earlier that she wouldn't mention what was bothering her to anyone. But, now she knew it was useless to try to cover up. "Now that you mention it, Albus… yes, there was one thing. When I was talking to Harry before class started this morning, I thanked him for what he had done last term for the school, and also Hermione, Ginny and me. When I said this, he …he…erm, he looked into my eyes, and I couldn't help but look back into those…beautiful green eyes of his…and, well, he started blushing quite a lot so I assume he could tell my thoughts weren't all that…professional at the moment. Since I knew that the other students would notice if they caught him that way, I cast a charm on him to mask his flushed face. That's when he noticed my wand, by the way. Oh, Albus, I think I'm doing so well, and then…he looks at me, or I notice him doing something familiar, and…all those feelings I have for him come back again."
"It's completely understandable, Hermione, if you'd just think about why this is happening. Haven't you recognized the pattern here? These incidents seem to happen after you've been away from him for a while - after the summer or winter breaks, isn't it?" She thought for a moment, and then nodded. "As I suspected, that just means that when you are seeing him in a classroom situation during the year, you are more comfortable at keeping the student-teacher relationship completely proper. But, after a longer separation, you have to work a little to control your feelings. Don't worry about Harry's reaction too much. He is, obviously, a maturing boy, so he has random 'thoughts' like that all the time, so I'm sure he will just chalk it up to hormones and go on with his life. He's got quite enough else to worry about this year, as you well know!"
"But, what do I do about it? You know of course, that I surely don't want to cause Harry any discomfort! I'm also quite sure that if he knew his charms teacher is in love with…well, not him exactly, but who she knows he will be in a few years, it would cause him a lot of confusion, at the very least. Not to mention what would happen if …you know, my younger self noticed it, too. I'm starting to notice that they are spending a lot more time together, and not just studying, either. You know, if it weren't so weird it would be funny, but sometimes I have seen them together, and I find myself feeling very jealous…of myself, mind you!" Her eyes were starting to glisten with tears as she said this. "It's just so…frustrating, sometimes!"
"Ah…Miss Puckle, since I am sure that your situation is unique, I don't know what else to say to you. No great words of wisdom this time, I'm afraid. I'll just repeat my previous advice - I assume you are continuing your chats with Minerva? Sometimes a listening ear, especially from another woman, is the best you can hope for."
"Yes, I have really enjoyed our gab sessions! I was already planning on talking to her about this, you know, but you brought it up just now, so I had to answer your question."
"That's quite all right, Harmony. Just take all this as a reminder to be on your guard constantly, because there are others around who may start to notice similarities between you and Miss Granger. Now, you are quite late for dinner, so why don't you go down to see if there is anything left! Besides, I have to check on Mr. Malfoy's injury on the way to the Great Hall before I write up the accident report for the Ministry this evening. Shall we?"
*****
As Harry was adding more ingredients to his Shrinking Solution the next day, he was having trouble ignoring how Professor Snape was treating the Gryffindors, especially Hermione. All she had said was that she could help Longbottom fix his potion, and he called her a show-off. <That's not very nice of him -I know how she works - she'd just tell him what to do to fix it, he'd have to do all the work on his own anyway.>
But then, Seamus Finnegan interrupted. "Hey, Potter! Did you hear? Sirius Black's been sighted near here - it was in the Daily Prophet this morning. Bet you're scared, eh? I would be if I were you, with a condemned murderer after me and all!"
"Why would I be scared?" Harry said. "As long as he stays away from me, we'll both be fine."
Harry saw that Malfoy was watching him closely. He leaned across the table.
"So, if you did run in to him, I bet you think that you could handle him single-handed, eh, Potter?"
****
The next morning, it was time for Harry's first Defense against the Dark Arts lesson with Professor Lupin. He had overheard a few third years at the Gryffindor table murmuring something about a…boggart, whatever that was, and something to do with Longbottom's grandmother and Professor Snape during their lesson the previous afternoon, but it didn't make any sense to him.
As they followed Professor Lupin into the staffroom, he was surprised (and a bit pleased) to see Miss Puckle sitting in a chair, reading a very old copy of Hogwarts, a History. He caught her eye and smiled at her, but her face was impassive as she quickly turned the page and looked away. Professor Lupin, however, took in a deep breath as he walked past her chair. He looked over at her with a very puzzled expression on his face. "Strange…but that doesn't make any sense…I could have sworn…" he mumbled under his breath. Out loud, he said, "Ah, Miss Puckle! Care to stay for a bit? I'm sure that you won't be facing the same thing that happened at Severus's expense yesterday, eh?", and both of them chuckled.
"Why yes, Professor, I'm sure it will be quite…interesting to see how the Slytherins deal with your practical lesson today. If you're sure I won't be a distraction?"
"Actually, Miss Puckle, I must admit, you are quite the distraction, but a very pleasant one at that!" Most of the Slytherin boys and quite a few of the girls groaned at Lupin's corny line, but he just smiled and walked to the front of the room. "Now, then, class, I have been extremely fortunate in procuring another subject for our lesson today. Apparently there is a large group of them in the castle this year, so I'll be able to perform this demonstration in all the third-year classes this week and still have enough for other purposes." As Professor Lupin went to stand next to it, the wardrobe gave a sudden wobble, banging off the wall.
****
"Who would have thought that Malfoy is afraid of so many things that the boggart got confused and couldn't decide what to change into?" Harry said, laughing, to Blaise as they left the room. "And then, when first Crabbe, and then, Goyle went up against it, and both times it turned into Draco! - that was brilliant!"
Blaise smirked back at him. "But, Harry, why didn't Lupin let you have a go at it? I mean, it's like he didn't think you could handle it or something. What, was he afraid that…You-Know-Who would show up for you? Besides, it looks like he's scared of a crystal ball or something, so he should know that everyone's got weird fears!"
Before long that term, what with his regular Quidditch practices and his DADA lessons, Harry was completely enjoying his third year. Professor Lupin seemed to really know his dark creatures, and had shown them Red Caps and Kappas already, and he had mentioned that he had already picked out their next subject and he had ordered one for class study already. Potions, however, was becoming less enjoyable for Harry. He was still at the top of his class, and was doing quite well in all of his work, but he was really beginning to see how unfair Professor Snape was with the Gryffindor students in their Double Potions class. He seemed especially to focus his attacks on Neville Longbottom and Hermione, and Harry could tell it was starting to get to her. On the Saturday before Halloween, Harry found her sitting out on the castle grounds, holding Crookshanks and looking forlorn.
"Hey, what's up, Granger? You look like you've lost a friend or something!" he said trying to be cheerful.
"Oh, hi Harry…funny you should mention that, but you may just be right," she said dejectedly. "It's Ron…well; it's actually Ron and his rat, Scabbers! I mean, a cat is supposed to chase and catch rats, isn't it? Crookshanks can't be expected to know it's wrong, now can he? And, how dare he tell Lavender that I don't think other people's pets matter very much! Of course I do! I love Crookshanks! He's the best pet I could ever have, and I know that Ron probably feels the same way about his rat…although I can't for the life of me understand why!"
Harry chuckled at this. "Yeah, it is a pretty pathetic rat, isn't it? I guess it's all he has, though…I mean, I have my Hedwig, and you have your Crookshanks. Even Longbottom has that…toad, right?"
"Now that you mention it, Harry, maybe a rat isn't all that bad. At least it has some fur that you can pet - not slimy skin like Trevor!" a small smile starting to form.
"That's more like it, Hermione! I much prefer seeing you smile, you're really pr…I mean…I don't like to see you sad." he said, quickly covering his slip-up.
Hermione looked over at him, not sure that she had heard what he almost said. But then, Crookshanks decided that he was being ignored, and jumped down from Hermione's lap. He slowly circled around Harry's legs, purring and rubbing up against him. "Oh, Harry, go ahead and pick him up. He usually doesn't take to others this easily, but I think he wants you to see the collar you bought him so he can thank you properly for it. I'm so glad you bought that for him! It was a great birthday present for me, too!" she smiled.
"Hermione, knock it off. You've thanked me for that collar nearly every time I've seen you since your birthday. If you keep this up, you're not getting anything for Christmas. I don't think my ego can take so much buttering up! I mean, it was just a collar for your cat!" he chuckled as he absent-mindedly petted Crookshanks, who had by now jumped into his lap.
"Sorry, Harry, it's just that…yours was the only present I got from anyone here, besides Miss Puckle, that is, and I really wasn't expecting you, especially, to give me anything. And, it wasn't just a collar, you know. I mean, those sapphires are beautiful! Where did you get something like that?"
"What, after the present you sent me for my birthday? There's no way I couldn't send you something nice in return! I bought it in Diagon Alley the afternoon after you bought Crookshanks. You mentioned that your birthday was in September, so I knew right away I had to get you something while I was near the shops. Remember, I told you I had to go back and buy one thing that I forgot right before dinner with the Weasleys? The wizard at the counter said that Sapphire was the traditional birthstone for September, so I thought it would be something for both you and your new pet! I still had to find out your actual birthday, though…"
"I've been meaning to ask you that, Harry. How did you manage that piece of information, anyway? I mean, it's not something that is all that common knowledge, unless you were snooping in the student files. I mean, I'm not sure any of my housemates…well, at least one of them, is aware of my birthday, based on his…I mean, what happened this year."
"Oh, that was easy…I just asked Miss Puckle! She seemed quite excited to tell me when I asked her. Of course, I had to show her what I had bought for Crookshanks and you, and she said I had very good taste, but she sounded a little…I don't know, choked up when she said it. Now, before I get off track, I have to ask you something. You were just talking about Ron, weren't you? He didn't get you anything for your birthday? I thought…well, you know, that you two were…good friends, at least, right?"
"Yeah, I thought so, too. I mean, I do spend some time with him, now that I've gotten to know him. I guess its all thanks to Ginny that I even talk to him. He can be quite annoying much of the time, but I really do consider him a friend, just as I do Neville or Dean. Or, at least I thought he was a friend, until the whole thing with Scabbers this year," she said with a heavy sigh.
"Hermione, is something else wrong? I mean, sitting here, I've noticed - you seem a lot more tired than normal. Are you having trouble with school this year? I mean, I know Professor Snape's been really hard on you this year, at least in our Double Potions classes, but I thought you would be used to that by now."
"Well, Harry, I am taking a few extra subjects this year through a special arrangement with Professor McGonagall, and I guess I'm still getting used to it. That's all, I suppose. I'm surprised you could tell."
"Yeah, it surprised me, too, but I was just looking at you sitting there, and it was almost as if I knew you were tired for some reason. Oh, yeah, that reminds me…"
"Reminds you about what, Mr. Potter?" he heard the voice of Miss Puckle come up behind him. "Hello, Hermione, Harry! Are you enjoying this fine Saturday afternoon out in the sun! Good for you!" But, before she could say anything else, the three of them were quite surprised to hear a strange sound coming from Crookshanks as he sat on Harry's lap. He was quite agitated, looking back and forth between Miss Puckle and Hermione while he was sniffing the air quite frantically, then glaring at Harmony especially. Finally, he seemed to give up and ran off back towards the castle.
Hermione was the first to speak. "Well, now that was quite unexpected, wasn't it? He's never acted like that before…wonder what's gotten into him? I hope he didn't pick up Scabbers' smell and is going off to chase him. That would be all I need today - to give Ron another reason to growl at me!"
While she was talking, both Harry and her failed to notice the sad expression on Harmony's face. She hadn't seen Crookshanks in Harry's lap when she came up behind him, or else she would have known to keep her distance from the half-Kneazle. She had made it a point to avoid the animal up to this point. <Poor Crookshanks…between my smell being just like Hermione's and the fact that I'm not being all that truthful in my current form, I'm sure he was quite confused!> As she took a seat next to them, she decided to distract her two cleverest students before they began to think about what had just happened. "So, what were you saying when I just came up, Harry? Something you were reminded of? Or, was it something personal between the two of you? If so, I'll leave you to it!"
Harry sputtered, "Oh, no, Miss Puckle. Nothing like that…In fact, you already know what it's about, anyway, and maybe you can help. Remember those memory flashes I described to you last year? Well, I've had a couple more since then, but these were different, somehow."
Both Hermione and Harmony's eyes were fixed on Harry, and, as they saw that there were no unwanted ears listening in, they said simultaneously, "What is it, Harry? Something wrong? What did you see? How were they different?"
"Whoa, one question at a time!" Harry said. "It's bad enough when its one of you, but two at once? Give a bloke a chance to breathe, and I'll tell you! To begin with, no, I didn't think that these flashes were anything to worry about…far from it, in fact. And, the reason they were different is that they were so…well, I guess intense is the best word. I mean, in both cases, it was almost as if I were there, smelling, seeing, feeling everything that was happening to me in the dream, if that's what it is." And then, he proceeded to describe both incidents, first, the one where he was talking to Hermione and Ron came in with his muddy Quidditch robes on, and second, what seemed to him to be a ride on a hippogriff with Hermione. "…I mean, it was as if I could feel her breath on my neck as she sat there…"he said. "Now, I know THAT has never happened to me, so I must be picking up on someone else's memories or something, right, Miss Puckle?"
But Miss Puckle was off in her own thoughts and memories at this time, and just sat there with a well-rehearsed "poker face" expression. Since her talk with Dumbledore at the first of the term she had spent a lot of time in a mirror learning how to control her outward expressions of emotion around Harry, and this was one of the first times she had to put it into actual practice.
"What is it, Miss Puckle?" Hermione said. "Why is Harry having dreams…about me? So, Harry, that explains your comment to Ron about the Quidditch robes back on the Hogwarts Express at least. You never did explain that very well and now I know why, with Ron there and all."
"Hmm, well, Harry, Hermione, I'm not sure…I'll discuss this with the Headmaster, and see what he thinks." Harmony said as she got up quickly, still maintaining her cool demeanor on the outside. "Yes, Dumbledore needs to know about this right away. Why don't you two head on back to the castle yourselves? I'll let you know if we come up with anything."