Punishments, Suspicions, and Decisions
Percy, Ron, and Neville left McGonagall's office after being scolded to exhaustion for having been caught fighting. Draco and his followers were sent with Snape, since he was the head of their house, while Grover was sent with Professor Sprout. He, however, seemed genuinely remorseful, far more than all of them combined. In fact, the moment he saw Professor Sprout arrive, he almost dropped to his knees in front of her, asking for a severe punishment for having struck one of his classmates, completely taking her by surprise. Sprout, with a clearly confused expression, simply took him with her.
Meanwhile, Percy, after being scolded as if he were receiving a full lecture, rushed out of McGonagall's office along with the other two, although not before she very clearly told them to wait for their punishment.
So no, they had not gotten away with it at all, especially considering the point deduction for Gryffindor. At the very least, something to be thankful for was that Slytherin had lost the same number of points, since Professor McGonagall had caught all of them. If it had been Snape, he might have saved the snakes, punishing only the others and taking points from them alone. But while McGonagall is not like Snape, who blatantly supports his own house, she is also quite fair.
"Professor McGonagall is scary when she's angry," Percy blurted out first.
"And on top of that, now we have to deal with Hermione," Ron added, which made all three of them wear the same exhausted expression.
"First McGonagall the elder and now the…" Before Percy could finish what he was about to say, just as they turned the corner on their way to the Gryffindor common room, Hermione appeared standing there, arms crossed and with a genuinely furious expression. Her hair looked even wilder than usual, making her seem like a ball of pure anger.
"Aaah!" Percy yelled on reflex when he saw her.
"How rude," Hermione said immediately upon seeing Percy's frightened face, as if she were some kind of monster. Even though she did not know that, to Percy at that moment, she absolutely was. A monster straight out of a book or something like that.
"Ahem…" Percy cleared his throat, a bit embarrassed by having screamed so cowardly. "I was just a little surprised. Knights are not afraid of anything," he said quickly.
"Yeah, sure," Hermione replied, not believing it in the slightest. "So?" she asked immediately, fixing the three of them with that judging stare.
"So what?" the three asked, completely confused.
"Do not play dumb. How many points were taken from you?" she demanded, and her anger seemed to grow with every word.
That made all three take a step back, even the knight who moments ago had claimed he feared nothing.
The three swallowed, unwilling to say it, while staring at the fierceness on Hermione's face.
"Hey, guys, you have no idea what I just saw," Harry said just in time, arriving behind them, still a bit out of breath from running.
Percy saw his brother arrive for a split second before grabbing him by the shoulders and throwing him directly toward Hermione. Then he grabbed Neville and took off at full speed. Ron stood there, confused for a moment, before bolting after them as well.
Harry stopped just short of crashing into Hermione, wearing a completely lost expression. "Uh… what just happened?" he said, rubbing his temple lightly.
"I'm sorry, Hermione, it was a total of thirty points!" Percy shouted from far away.
Before Harry could even react, he suddenly felt two hands grab him and shove him aside.
"What?!" Hermione shouted, ready to sprint after them, but Harry was blocking her path, so she forcefully pushed him to the side.
Then she took off running after the three of them, while Harry remained standing there, completely confused.
"What is wrong with them?" he said, watching as the three idiots fled with a furious Hermione right on their heels.
…
Meanwhile, a celebration was taking place in the Gryffindor common room thanks to the match they had won. Pieces of cake were being handed out, which the Weasley twins had managed to "steal" from the kitchens. Although, to be fair, the house elves were so kind that they would probably have prepared them themselves if asked.
After congratulating Harry, he joined the group sitting in a corner, chatting calmly, or rather, being scolded by Hermione until he arrived. Before speaking, Harry looked around for a moment to see if anyone was paying attention. However, everyone was cheering for the Weasley twins, who were putting on some sort of comedic act together with Lee Jordan, so no one was paying them any attention.
Then he began to tell them what he had seen earlier, after trying to put his broom away.
"So then, you saw Snape and Grover heading toward the Forbidden Forest together?" Percy asked, sitting beside the others, while Hermione continued to send irritated looks at the three of them, which they were doing their best to ignore.
"Yes, but they went in different directions. So I chose to follow Snape," Harry explained.
He talked about how he had seen Snape threatening Quirrell, trying to force him to let him into the secret room and steal whatever was inside. And since they already knew it was the Philosopher's Stone, everything started to make sense.
"So in the end, it was Snape all along," Percy said immediately. "Now I feel bad for accidentally hitting Quirrell," he added, remembering Harry's first match.
"Yeah. It looks like Quirrell is also helping to protect the stone. Snape wanted him to tell him what kind of protection he used, but Quirrell refused," Harry commented with a serious expression.
"Then as long as Quirrell stays there, Snape won't be able to reach the Philosopher's Stone," Hermione said, alarmed, already thinking that it would not last very long, considering the Defense professor's nature.
"We have to help him," Ron said immediately, as if everything now depended on them.
"And what about Grover?" Percy asked with a serious look.
"At least now we know he is not the one after the stone, but he is still suspicious," Harry said, shaking his head, understanding his brother's feelings. After all, Grover was his friend. He had even gotten into trouble with them that very same day.
"Fine. You take care of helping Quirrell. I will deal with Grover once and for all," Percy said in a truly serious tone, something rare for him.
"You are not going to kill him, right?" Ron asked, his voice trembling slightly.
"Do not be an idiot," Percy replied simply. But his expression made it look like he actually would. In truth, that look came from the mix of complex emotions he was feeling. After so much time, he genuinely saw Grover as a friend, just like Neville. And Percy, who had not had many friends in the past, was the kind of person who would defend his own, just like his family, to the death. However, that changed if any of his friends could put his family in danger.
That was what gave Percy a bitter feeling in his chest. It was the first time he thought that he might have to choose, even though that choice had already been decided from the very beginning.
"Percy, maybe it is not what we think. After all, we do not have any solid proof, except that Grover goes into the Forbidden Forest. Just follow your feelings," Harry told him with a calming look, fully aware of his brother's inner conflict.
Percy nodded slightly, letting out a small smile.
That same night, while Harry, Ron, and the others in the room slept deeply, Percy suddenly opened his eyes and looked toward his brother's bed.
Slowly, he approached the nightstand beside the bed and opened the drawer, where he kept the two-way mirror used to communicate with home.
Normally, when they called, Harry and Percy were together, unless one of them wanted to complain to their mother about the other.
Percy stared at the mirror for a moment before lightly tapping it with his finger, as if knocking on a door.
He did not have to wait long for a face to appear in the reflection. It was Aunt Mor, wearing a slightly bored expression. A streak of red could be seen sliding down her cheek, while several growls echoed in the background. Many of them.
"You are calling a bit late," Mor said, as if she had been expecting the call, even though the mirror was usually always in Sally's possession.
"Aunt Mor, what are you doing?" Percy asked, watching as some kind of black scale flew behind her, covered in a red liquid.
"My cleaning job," Mor replied calmly, before moving her arm. For an instant, the surroundings seemed to light up with a red glow, accompanied by shrieks of something being burned.
"Ah… oh… okay," Percy said, not wanting to ask too much, since it sounded truly disgusting. "Did you know I would call?" he asked next, his expression serious.
Mor, who had been moving her hand, stopped, likely leaning on her wand, and nodded calmly.
"From the letters you were given, I expected that sooner or later you would figure it out and call me," Mor said with a serious expression.
"Figure it out?" Percy repeated, slightly confused, before an idea began to quickly take shape in his mind. "Well… yeah, it was easy to notice from the letters. Now I know. Why did you not tell me sooner?" he asked immediately.
Mor observed him in silence for a moment. Then she raised an eyebrow and narrowed her eyes.
"Tsk. You are bad at lying," she said bluntly.
Suddenly, the background behind her changed, transforming into a place Percy recognized instantly. His home.
Mor sat down on the usual sofa. "I worried for nothing. It seems you are still the same ignorant fool," she commented, though her posture looked a bit more relaxed.
Percy made a bitter face. His attempt to trick her into telling him the truth had failed completely.
"Why do you not want to tell me? You always dodge the topic. I have the right to know," Percy said with a sad, complaining look.
Mor stared at him. For a moment, her serious expression almost broke when she saw Percy's face. She let out a sigh.
"Percy, I do it for your own good. If you find out too early, something very, very annoying will be triggered, changing your life and your brother's in ways you cannot even imagine," she explained, clear conflict showing on her face. "You are my godchildren. It would break my heart if you were in danger and I could not do anything to help you."
"But what is so bad about it? We cannot just not find out at all. I need at least a hint," Percy insisted, refusing to back down.
Mor looked at him seriously. "Percy, I will not tell you. But I will not stop you from trying to discover it on your own either. I will only tell you one thing. Always trust your instincts."
Percy let out another sigh. He knew Mor would not tell him anything. Still, from the way she spoke and from the letters, he felt he already had a vague idea of what she meant. Maybe, if he found the root of everything, he could understand it.
"Then I will figure it out on my own," he said with a firm tone.
"Do not put yourself in danger. Your mom will be angry if something happens to you while you are doing something stupid," Mor warned him with a slight smile.
"It is fine. I have Harry by my side," Percy replied confidently.
"Neither of you inspires confidence. Even if Harry tries to keep more control, you are still two little idiots," Mor said affectionately before disappearing from the mirror.
Percy scratched his head lightly before putting the mirror away and lying back down.
Meanwhile, Mor, already seated in the house, stared at the mirror for a moment, her face heavy with conflict.
"The moment they find out, all the insects in Europe will start becoming far more annoying. I need to speed up the cleaning… I might need help," she murmured, before vanishing into the darkness, as if the shadows themselves swallowed her whole.