"Moony greets Headmaster Dumbledore, and begs him not to poke his frighteningly long beard into other people's business."
Dumbledore froze for a moment.
But the map did not stop there. More words began appearing below.
"Prongs agrees with Moony's opinion, and would like to add that Headmaster Dumbledore is a pretentious old fool."
Though the situation was deadly serious for James, Snape found it rather amusing, and the corners of his mouth could not help but curl upward.
And then more words appeared...
"Padfoot expresses his surprise. How could such a decrepit old man be here? The only place he belongs is at The Hog's Head."
James shut his eyes in horror. When he opened them again, the map had already displayed its final message.
"Wormtail bids Headmaster Dumbledore good night, and suggests he go see Madam Pomfrey to have his crooked nose fixed."
Snape could no longer hold it in, and let out a quiet laugh. James, however, found no humor in it at all.
Unexpectedly, Dumbledore also laughed.
"How amusing," he said gently, "a rather fitting set of remarks.
"Is this map yours? James, can you tell me how to use it?" Dumbledore asked, turning toward James.
James's hand trembled as he drew his wand. His throat felt clogged, and he croaked out in a dry voice:
"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."
The blank parchment transformed into a detailed map of Hogwarts. Tiny moving dots, each labeled with names, revealed the precise locations of every person in the castle.
"'Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs, Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers'?" Dumbledore read softly, his eyes touched with nostalgia. "It reminds me what it feels like to be young."
"However, I cannot let you keep this map," he added, looking at the four little dots clustered in the upper-left corner. "See? There we are."
"'Moony,' I think I know who that is. But why do you three call yourselves 'Prongs,' 'Padfoot,' and 'Wormtail'?" Dumbledore asked.
James stammered, his mouth opening and closing, unable to form a complete sentence.
"I... I... no..."
"Oh, we shall leave that question for later." Dumbledore pointed at two small dots moving toward them. "Professor McGonagall is coming. Let us wait a moment."
Soon enough, there was a knock at the door.
Mulciber walked in, head hung low, his robes smeared with dirt and dust, his face streaked with blood.
Professor McGonagall followed closely behind, wand in hand.
"Albus, I brought him," Professor McGonagall said tiredly.
"Please, sit as well." With a gentle wave of his wand, Dumbledore conjured two more chairs.
"Now, lift your head," he said. "Mulciber, I imagine you have quite a lot you wish to tell us."
But Mulciber only glared at Dumbledore with resentment, remaining silent.
Dumbledore's piercing blue eyes bore into him for a long moment.
Slowly, the kindly smile vanished from his face, and the cheerful gleam behind his lenses disappeared.
Every wrinkle on his aged face now seemed etched with icy fury. A force radiated from him, an oppressive pressure as though he were aflame with burning heat.
Mulciber appeared frightened by this aura. His body trembled slightly, and instinctively he tried to rise and flee. But as soon as he stood, Dumbledore's magic forced him back down into the chair.
Then, with a wave of his wand, a flash of red light struck Mulciber. His head slumped, and he collapsed unconscious in the chair.
"James, Pandora," Dumbledore said, "you may return to your dormitories. Severus, you stay.
"Minerva, please fetch Horace and ask him to bring the potion."
At once, Professor McGonagall turned and left, taking James and Pandora with her.
What potion?
A faint unease rose in Snape's chest. Dumbledore had stunned Mulciber, and now asked McGonagall to summon Slughorn. Was he planning to use Veritaserum on him?
Snape recalled that if a subject was alert or on guard, Veritaserum's effects could be much weaker. But there was also a risk, the potion could sometimes cause irreversible damage to a person's memory.
Wasn't Dumbledore supposed to be the one who would protect every student, even at the cost of his own life?
But then Snape remembered, Dumbledore's protection of Draco had really been a trap, baiting Voldemort into a fatal snare.
The thought made Snape feel a new wariness toward Dumbledore.
Time passed in silence, minute by minute.
Hurried footsteps echoed in the corridor. Professor McGonagall returned, with Slughorn beside her.
"Albus," sweat beading his bald head, Slughorn gasped as soon as he saw Mulciber slumped in the chair. "Good heavens, what happened to Mulciber?"
"He has only been struck with a Stunning Spell," Dumbledore said. "Horace, do you have the potion?"
"Was it he who did this?" Slughorn looked at Dumbledore, his face full of doubt.
Seeing Dumbledore give a small nod, Slughorn hesitated, but at last handed over a small vial of clear liquid.
Dumbledore rose, walked to Mulciber's side, gently pried open his mouth, and dripped three drops of the potion inside. Then he pointed his wand at Mulciber's chest and said:
"Rennervate!"
Mulciber's eyes fluttered open. His gaze was vacant, his cheeks slack, as though his soul had fled.
Dumbledore crouched in front of him, his face level with Mulciber's.
"Can you hear me?" Dumbledore asked calmly.
Mulciber's eyelids flickered.
"Yes," he whispered.
"I want you to tell us," Dumbledore said slowly, "why were you in Hogsmeade? What did you do there?"
Mulciber shuddered, drawing in a long, deep breath. Then, in a flat, emotionless tone, he began to speak.
"The Master learned from me that Dumbledore had been away from the school often of late. He told me of the passage beside the library, and ordered me to use it to reach Hogsmeade.
"According to his instructions, I used the method he taught me to turn the corpses in the Hogsmeade graveyard into Inferi, and I planned to send them into the school through the passage...
"The Master said this school has betrayed its history, blackened its honor. It must be purified..."
Mulciber's eyelids twitched again.
"Tonight, just after I sent the Inferi into the passage, I heard a great rumbling, the passage collapsed..."
His voice shook with terror.
"My wand fell in the tremors, I couldn't find it. The Inferi lost control... I barely managed to escape.
"They poured out from the Post Office..."