Chapter 58 - Prophet Aftermath - II (2/2)
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 ȧssured 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.