Magnus had slumped on the Ravenclaw table with his eyes closed, trying to get his mind to stop thinking.
It was all he had done over and over since being dismissed, and his head was beginning to ache from it.
It was now almost an hour and a half since the Minister had called for recess, and still no one had come to summon them.
Actually, that was another point he had been mulling over.
When the time came, would they be summoned as a group or in the same manner they had been questioned?
I mean, the nature of their offenses were different, so it made sense in a way that they would be called in one at a time.
He would probably be the last to go in because his would be the most serious of all.
The Great Hall had become too quiet after Fred's incident.
The empty dishes had vanished after they were done with their meals.
Even Fred's parents had stopped lecturing him, and a pregnant silence had fallen over the hall since not much was coming from Hermione's table either.
Then suddenly, the massive double doors were thrown open and Professor McGonagall came striding toward them.
"Arthur, Molly, I take it you have had your meals," she called in a casual familiarity, though there was still an underlying sternness.
"We have... professor, what is going on…" Mrs. Weasley, who had stood up at the sight of McGonagall, began to ask, but McGonagall stopped her.
"Not here, Mrs. Weasley," she said, heading towards the other tables.
"Ms. Granger, Mr. Magnus, gather around please."
The Deputy Headmistress waited patiently as the others gathered around her.
"They are ready for you now. If you can all follow me, please."
McGonagall announced before beginning to lead them out of the hall.
'It's together then,' Magnus thought to himself.
They were hearing the Ministry's decision as a group, which was confusing.
It didn't help that McGonagall's face and voice betrayed no sort of hint, the kind Magnus had been looking for.
The three of them found themselves walking quite close to each other since the incident.
He could see how bad they all wanted to talk to each other, but this was not the time to test the adults' patience.
They eventually reached the entrance to the Headmaster's office, and Professor McGonagall gave the password to the gargoyle.
Flitwick was waiting for them at the top of the moving stairs, and he stepped aside to let them in.
The door gently closed once all of them were inside.
Magnus was shocked to realize the room was not like he had left it.
I mean, those he had left here before being dismissed were still in their respective seats, but now, there were other additions.
Just seated near McGonagall was Snape.
The moment Magnus saw the trodden, almost angry look on his face, he felt a spark of hope ignite inside him.
Anything that may have made Snape this dissatisfied was definitely something in his favor.
That thought, however, flew out.
He reminded himself that Snape was an expert in mind games, or maybe he was just furious over the fact that Hagrid had not been involved in this process.
'You can't have all the wins, you devil,' Magnus cursed in his mind.
Whether Snape could read it, he didn't care. It was his last spite on him, whatever else the Ministry may have decided.
Also present was Professor Lupin, the man in charge of Defense Against the Dark Arts.
Why the hell he was here, Magnus did not know.
Professor Sprout was also present, and that made Magnus realize that, with the exception of Lupin and Dumbledore, the rest of the teachers were Heads of the four houses.
Additional seats had been set up, and the parents and the three students sat down.
The Minister beamed at them, sending yet another ray of hope shining through the fog in Magnus' heart.
"I personally want to thank you parents for being patient with us," Fudge began in a charming tone.
"I believe you will all agree with me that this is a matter of utmost concern, and as such we had to handle it with the seriousness it entails."
That ray dimmed a little.
"After a long discussion, both we as Ministry and the teachers here have decided there will be no punishment on any of the students nor the Pokémon involved in this matter."
"Yes!" Fred yelled, and his mother slapped him gently on the back.
Magnus wanted to do the same, but then he also wanted to cry in joy.
But he didn't.
For some reason, he still felt like it was a trap.
There was no way he was getting off that easy.
McGonagall was also eyeing Fred murderously.
The Minister, however, diffused the tension.
"Please allow him, Mrs. Weasley. I believe we all deserve a bit of that. It's been a tense couple of days."
Magnus could see that even the Grangers were beaming and patting their daughter.
Hermione, however, just like Magnus, seemed to be thinking there was a trap coming.
So like him, she did not display any sort of excitement.
Fred noticed the tension still in their faces, and his excitement seemed to disappear.
"There is, however, something we need to discuss with the three of you,"
Mr. Fudge said, scanning the faces of the three students in turn.
'Here it comes,' Magnus thought.
The Minister's eyes narrowed on Magnus.
"Your research appears to have a lot of merit. It's indeed astonishing that someone so young could have done that much and with no support or resources."
He paused.
Magnus did not know whether to thank him or not, so he stayed quiet.
"Are you certain that what you explained to us cuts across all Pokémon?"
He didn't know exactly what the Minister was referring to.
He had, after all, told them a lot of things.
He, however, nodded.
"I am, sir."
Whatever he had said, he was sure of it.
"In that case, we cannot just turn a blind eye.
It's clear that the Pokémon are too powerful to be sidelined.
I have agreed the Ministry will allocate more resources and manpower to the Department of Control of Magical Creatures and Pokémon, which will specifically go to the Pokémon Affairs Office under Mrs. Winsted here."
The lady now spared Magnus one of her heartwarming smiles.
But by now, it had lost all its warmth on him.
He would never see her the same way again.
"That said, you Mr. Magnus, Mr. Weasley, and Ms. Granger are central to this new phase."
Both the parents and the students looked curious and concerned.
"It's nothing to worry about," Fudge said, smiling.
"After consulting your teachers and Headmaster, they have agreed to form a Pokémon Development and Research Club here.
I will leave out the details of the matter, but this club will have the full support of the Ministry of Magic.
That club will work closely with the Pokémon Affairs Office to see that this matter of Pokémon evolutions and any other matter concerning Pokémon have been studied in detail.
And due to the vast knowledge the three of you have in this, I hope you will be members of this club."
Magnus nodded at once, still not trusting himself to smile or breathe in relief.
There wasn't a trap.
"That is, of course, if your parents are okay with this," the Minister added.
"I'm in, Dad," Fred said, looking at his parents.
Mrs. Weasley didn't look angry this time, though she was looking at her husband.
"That depends on whether this one will behave, Minister," Arthur said, looking at his son sternly.
"Of course, Arthur," the Minister smiled.
"Mr. Weasley, will you?" he asked Fred.
"Of course, sir. I will," Fred declared excitedly.
"Mum?" Hermione beseeched her parents.
Mrs. Granger turned to the Minister.
"My apologies, sir, but I assume they will be under the supervision of grownups."
It was the Headmaster who answered instead.
"At all times, Mrs. Granger.
The club will be under our Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Lupin.
He is more than qualified to handle any emergency."
Lupin nodded and beamed an enchanting smile at the worried parents.
Mr. Granger nodded.
"In that case, we will let her decide."
Hermione's dad said, and his daughter smiled brilliantly.
"I'm in," she declared, her worried look dissipating.
"Excellent," Fudge declared.
"One last thing.
The Ministry has been stiff and unyielding before this, and as such had lost a lot of trust.
It's my hope in future, should any of you encounter anything of such concern, you will share it with us and trust us to act in the best interest."
He beamed before turning to his colleagues and then to the Headmaster.
"Again, I thank you all for your patience.
We shall leave the rest to the Headmaster."