Douglas returned to his office that evening, not for a moment placing all his faith in Draco Malfoy's promise.
Truth be told, his real aim had simply been to use Draco as a conduit—to make sure Lucius Malfoy got the message about where he stood.
As soon as Douglas entered, and seeing he was alone, Sirius shifted back into human form, brows knitted in concern.
"What happened? Why are you back so late?"
Douglas took the cup of tea Dobby handed him, sipped, and gave a brief account of the evening's events.
At the news that Harry was unharmed, Sirius visibly relaxed. But then he frowned again,
"So you're making deals with the Malfoy family now? Is your Defence Against the Dark Arts Class Representative position really worth all that?"
Douglas picked up a stack of graded papers from his desk—Dobby's handiwork—and gave a small, wry smile.
"It's not really a deal. I'm not sure why young Malfoy values that title so much, but honestly, even without this incident, the position would've been his anyway.
Theodore just isn't quite up to the task. Especially after Mario Nott graduated this year—his intimidation factor's dropped off a cliff. He can't keep the Slytherins in line anymore."
Sirius's eyes narrowed at the mention of the Nott family, but he snorted,
"If I remember right, Theodore Nott's the son of Death Eater Nott—still rotting in Azkaban.
But you should watch yourself with Lucius. He's one of the few old-guard Death Eaters who dodged justice.
Of course, the fact you managed to take Dobby off his hands—well, that just means you're even more devious than he is. That's the only way to handle those pureblood snobs…"
Douglas couldn't tell whether Sirius was praising or insulting him.
Dobby, standing nearby, grinned so wide his ears nearly flopped over, but didn't say a word.
In recent weeks, Dobby had made remarkable progress. Douglas had found him a pile of films and videos about butlers, encouraging him to imitate Muggle butler manners in his downtime.
Still, Dobby's moments of elegance were fleeting. Most of the time, unless he was reading, he reverted to his usual, excitable self.
For example, whenever Douglas finished grading and praised Dobby's work, Dobby would immediately burst into tears and snot, as if the dignified butler from moments before had never existed.
Douglas quickly penned a letter—no overt threats, just a calm statement of facts.
But he made sure to include two key points:
First, that Voldemort would inevitably return.
Second, that Voldemort's resurrection was already part of Dumbledore's plan.
How Lucius would interpret these was anyone's guess.
To avoid rattling Malfoy's fragile nerves, Douglas instructed Dobby to send the letter by owl to Malfoy Manor.
If he'd sent Dobby himself, or had the elf pin the letter to the front gate with a dagger—well, Lucius would never let that go. That would cross a line, amounting to a direct threat against his family.
With everything arranged, it was already half past ten.
Douglas and Sirius used the Floo Network to return to their home in the Muggle world.
Once home, Douglas checked the phone's answering machine. The voices of Bill and Charlie came through the speaker:
"Hey, hey, hey, it's S.B.—hahaha! That's so you. I saw today's Daily Prophet—everyone's gobsmacked… If you're home tonight, be sure to call me back. I'll be around for the next couple of days."
"So cool! I knew you'd pull it off. The whole dragon reserve's talking about you—amazing… No need to call me, I've got to get back to the big guys tonight…"
Douglas had already told them he'd secured a special passage, allowing him to travel directly between Hogwarts and his home.
He called Bill back. The phone barely rang once before Bill picked up.
Before Douglas could say a word, Bill launched in:
"Haha, I knew you'd call tonight! So, mate, how does it feel to be the first Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor to get a second term in decades?"
Douglas sighed,
"Oh, I've got plenty of feelings. First day on the job, I caught two students selling my entrance exam answers. The worst part? Their forgeries were so crude…"
Bill burst out laughing,
"Students these days are hopeless—pulling that right under your nose! I'll have to write to my siblings and warn them to steer clear of those two, or their IQ might drop… Wait, two people? Don't tell me it was George and Fred—"
He trailed off, suddenly realizing that if it wasn't his brothers, Douglas wouldn't have brought it up.
Now it was Douglas's turn to laugh heartily.
Bill caught on instantly, and the two shared a good laugh.
Then Bill pressed for details, hungry for gossip.
Douglas explained Percy's plan.
Bill approved wholeheartedly,
"Hogwarts really is dangerous this year. Percy did the right thing—he's finally acting like a big brother… By the way, do you have any extra protective charms? Send me a few, would you?"
Douglas agreed, but made it clear he'd need to catch a few Dementors first…
—
The next morning, Douglas appeared on the castle lawn.
Professor Lupin was already there, waiting for the students.
Douglas greeted him and mentioned Hagrid's situation. Lupin smiled,
"No problem. I heard about yesterday too. After the morning run, I'll organize some activities to help everyone get to know each other."
Douglas nodded, but noticing Hagrid's hut was still dark, guessed the man was still asleep, and headed over.
As Douglas approached, a dog barked loudly inside, followed by Hagrid's gruff, sleep-thickened voice:
"Who's out there?"
Douglas called through the door with a chuckle,
"Hagrid, don't forget your promise. The students will be here soon—you wouldn't want them to see a professor lazier than themselves, would you?"
At that, Hagrid, who'd just sat up on the edge of his bed, jolted awake.
"I haven't forgotten! Give me a minute!"
Douglas heard a great clattering inside. About eight minutes later, Hagrid finally opened the door, mouth stretched wide in a tremendous yawn.
"Come on, it's just running, isn't it? I'm always dashing through the Forbidden Forest after magical creatures."
Douglas grinned,
"Then you should share some of those stories with the students later—I'm sure they'd love to hear them. Oh, and you know Professor Lupin, right?"
Hagrid puffed up, as if Douglas didn't know:
"Course I do! I used to chase them out of the Forest all the time. Him and… cough, cough—well, you know his real secret, right? Poor lad, that one."
Douglas tensed,
"Hagrid, mind your tongue. His identity isn't something the students should know right now… Unless you want me to put a spell on you to keep you quiet for a while."
Hagrid clapped a hand over his mouth and shook his head vigorously,
"Don't worry, I'm the best at keeping secrets… Well, there've been a few accidents, but I've always kept Remus's secret. Knew it back when he was a student—never told a soul."
Douglas shot him a skeptical look, but in the end, chose to trust him.
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