The next morning, I had barely finished getting dressed when a sharp knock sounded against the other side of my enchanted door.
I glanced toward the mirror and recognised one of the older prefects waiting outside.
Another knock came.
"Mr Hawthorn?"
"One moment."
I opened the door and stepped out, hat in hand and expression carefully neutral.
The prefect looked distinctly uncomfortable.
"Professor Snape wants to see you downstairs."
My good mood disappeared.
"Now?"
"Now."
Wonderful.
I had expected Professor Snape's office to be somewhere in the dungeons. So I'd been told, anyway. In Slytherin House, however, you were only told exactly where it was if you actually needed to visit him—and needing to visit Professor Snape was rarely a good thing.
Instead, the prefect led me toward an already familiar hidden entrance.
Really? For something like this?
It took me only a moment to realise I wasn't being escorted to Professor Snape's office at all.
I was being taken to the Serpent Court.
When the doors opened, I immediately realised tonight would be very different.
For one thing, Professor Snape was there.
That alone stopped me for perhaps half a second before I continued toward the centre of the chamber rather than the surrounding benches where I had sat last time.
I noted I was not alone and could take a guess about who was standing with me in the middle of the arena.
The Serpent Court belonged to Slytherin students. As far as I understood it, Professor Snape did not ordinarily sit in judgment over it—or even openly acknowledge that it existed.
That was rather the point.
The Court existed for matters internal to the House: disputes, accusations, breaches of confidence and conduct that Slytherins were expected to settle among themselves without dragging teachers into every petty quarrel.
Snape obviously knew about it. He was Head of Slytherin House and a former Slytherin himself.
Knowing about it, however, was not the same as attending.
Tonight, Professor Snape was attending.
A high-backed chair had been placed slightly apart from where the three heads of the Runespoor factions usually stood. Snape sat upon it, back ramrod straight, hands folded before him and his expression utterly unreadable.
That alone told me exactly how serious this had become. This wasn't merely about Slytherin rules.
Professor McGonagall had caught four students outside their Houses after curfew, three of them transporting an illegal dragon through the school and the fourth attempting to expose them.
Well,we did not get caught with the dragon but still..
Actual school rules had been broken. The Head of Slytherin couldn't simply pretend the matter belonged entirely to us students alone.
Mr Malfoy was already standing in the centre of the chamber, his hood lowered. He looked around at the gathered students, doing his best to appear noble and haughty.
He managed mostly scared and annoyed.
I suppressed a sigh as I stepped into place beside him and lowered my own hood.
The prefect who had escorted me here had been kind enough to conjure one for me so I could fulfil the requirements of the ceremonial attire.
Around us sat the whole of Slytherin House, their faces hidden beneath their hoods. The only exceptions were the three heads of the Runespoor factions, standing before their respective sections in green cloaks and masks.
I recognised several by posture alone.
Mr.Malfoy glanced toward me and I gave him a polite nod.
He just looked away. Apparently we weren't friends tonight.
Professor Snape rose from his seat and walked closer and that was somehow worse than if the heads had started on us.
"This House possesses traditions which Hogwarts School has, on occasion, permitted its students to maintain without interference."
On occasion.
Interesting way of putting it.
"The Serpent Court ordinarily concerns itself with matters internal to Slytherin House. I do not preside over it. I do not ordinarily attend or even acknowledge it."
His black eyes moved over the gathered students.
"Tonight is not an ordinary case."
Then they settled on Mr.Malfoy and me.
"Mr Hawthorn and Mr Malfoy have both committed violations of Hogwarts rules. Those violations have already been witnessed, recorded and punished by Professor McGonagall. They are therefore matters which this Court possesses no authority over."
That distinction was important. Professor Snape wasn't here to let Slytherin overturn McGonagall's punishment. Nor was the Court going to decide whether we'd broken curfew.
We had, end of discussion.
"However," Snape continued, "the circumstances surrounding those violations raise questions of conduct within my House."
There it was.
"Since the two matters cannot be cleanly separated, I will remain as witness to these proceedings and intervene should this Court stray beyond its authority."
Not a judge, a Witness.
After Professor Snape said his piece he gave a small nod and returned to his seat and sat again.
One of the central hooded figures stepped closer to the rail of their part of the stone bleachers. His mask gleamed dully in the eerie light, and his green cloak hung from his shoulders without moving. Perhaps this one was the Dreamer.
"Alexander Hawthorn."
I straightened and looked in their general direction rather than directly into their eyes—or whatever passed for eyes behind some of those masks. Mind magic existed, after all, and the number of secrets I carried had been steadily increasing.
"Remove your hood."
Mine was already down, but I understood the command to be part of the ritual. I touched two fingers to its edge and folded it more neatly around my neck.
Beside me, Malfoy did the same.
Malfoy.
Might as well drop the Mr for now. There was little point pretending at polite civility when we were standing here because, for once, we were openly opposed.
A strange sense of repetition settled over the chamber. The last time we had stood here together, Malfoy had challenged me to a duel and the evening had ended with him on the floor.
Judging by the rigidity of his shoulders, he remembered that perfectly well.
"Alexander Hawthorn," the masked student said. "Did you leave Slytherin House after curfew?"
"Yes."
"Did you knowingly accompany Harry Potter and Hermione Granger?"
"I did."
"Did you know the purpose of their excursion?"
"Yes."
"State it."
I cleared my throat.
"We were transporting an illegally hatched Norwegian Ridgeback to the Astronomy Tower so that associates of Charles Weasley could remove it from Hogwarts."
Somewhere in the stone bleachers somebody coughed loudly, masking what I thought sounded like a laugh.
Another person made a similarly suspicious choking noise.
Snape's face remained completely blank and I had to give it to the professor,which required impressive self-control.
"Why?"
"Why was the dragon being removed?" I asked.
"Why were you involved?"
"Oh,I wanted to."
Several hoods shifted.
"Elaborate."
"I had been observing the dragon since before its hatching. Hagrid allowed me to examine its incubation and development. Once it became obvious he couldn't keep Norbert here,Mr. Potter and Ms.Granger arranged for its removal."
"Norbert?" asked the assumed Dreamer of the Runespoor.
"The dragon's name, yes."
Another suspicious noise came from somewhere to my right but I ignored it and continued.
"They needed another person to help transport the crate since Mr. Weasley was bitten by the dragon and was in the Hospital wing. I was interested in seeing the matter through, so I agreed to help out."
"For Gryffindors?" Dreamer asked
I shook my head
"No, for the dragon."
Professor Snape's mouth did something extremely small and unpleasant that might have been a smile, had he not murdered it before it was fully born.
The questioning continued.
"Did you disclose any Slytherin passage to Potter or Granger?"
"No, are there some Slytherin specific ones?" I asked curiously but the Dreamer assumed just ignored me and went on.
"Did you provide them with information concerning prefect patrols?"
"No."
"Did you employ House resources?"
"No, do we have resources too?" I asked just to make a nuisance of myself rather than any real wish to know.
"Did any Slytherin other than yourself assist in the operation?"
"No unless you count Malfoy here, who did not particularly help and is the main reason why we are here." I said with a shrug.
My comment was mainly ignored again and the masked one
"Did you help them to select the route you used?"
"I pointed out that the best way up to the Tower was the stairs." I said innocently.
That produced considerably more movement and even audible laughter from the others sitting in the bleachers.
Even the figure of the Dreamer assumed paused at that and its shoulders shook suspiciously.
"You know safer routes to the Astronomy Tower." Dreamer asked after a moment of silence. Well it wasn't a question per se, not in the tone used.
"Yes."
"How many?"
I hesitated, Tweak would kill me if I gave out information without needing to.
"Several." I admitted
A few quiet chuckles came from around and I simply shrugged.
"I agreed to carry a crate. I didn't agree to show them how I moved around Hogwarts."
That seemed to satisfy most of the Slytherins in the audience.
The questioner nodded approvingly or just to signify being ready and retreated. Another approached their own railing and began their questions.
Apparently they don't agree even about the questions needing to be asked.
"Do you understand that your actions risked House points?"
"Yes."
"And nevertheless proceeded?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
I considered saying dragon again since it remained an excellent argument.
Instead I answered seriously.
"I judged my interest in the matter worth the risk. At the time, I considered that risk manageable."
"And was it?"
I thought about Norbert disappearing into the night beneath Charlie Weasley's friends. Then about Professor McGonagall's face.
"Ask me again after detention." I said
That earned several laughs around the chamber
Snape did not laugh.
His eyes promised that detention might substantially influence my eventual answer.
That was apparently enough for him,since he returned and sat with his faction.
"Draco Malfoy." Came the voice from the other side, perhaps from the Critic faction.
Draco straightened.
"How did you learn of the excursion?"
"I borrowed a book from Weasley. He'd left a letter inside detailing when and how they intended to get rid of the dragon."
"Did Hawthorn's actions, to your knowledge, disclose any secret belonging to Slytherin House?"
Draco hesitated.
"No." he said grudgingly.
"Did his actions directly threaten a member of this House?"
"He was risking our points."
That wasn't the question and apparently everyone else thought the same thing.
"Did his actions directly threaten a member of this House?"
"No."
"Then explain your involvement."
Malfoy's jaw tightened.
"I knew Potter was breaking school rules. So I intended to inform Professor McGonagall about it to get them in trouble or even expelled."
He said proudly and when nobody congratulated him over his magnificent plan his face fell to a slightly petulant glower.
"So your intention was to report Potter, Granger and Hawthorn to Professor McGonagall in the hope that they would be punished—possibly expelled."
Draco's eyes flickered toward me in silence.
"Correct?"
"Yes." He admitted.
The sound of several students whispering to their friend next to them went through the chamber like a rushing wind and the sound seemed extraordinarily loud.
The Critic assumed did not bother trying to silence them but went on
"Knowing Hawthorn was a member of your own House, and being equally aware of our rules here?."
"He was helping them!" Malfoy spat out clearly frustrated.
"For a dragon," someone murmured loudly behind the Critic and I could spot several shoulders shaking in suppressed laughter.
Draco flushed.
"He was going to cost Slytherin points!"
The figure assumed to Critic leaned forward.
"Was the dragon successfully removed from Hogwarts?"
Draco looked furious now.
"Yes."
"So your intervention achieved none of its objectives and doubled Slytherin's loss."
Draco's fists clenched.
"I didn't know McGonagall would also punish me!"
"Nor, apparently, that Professor McGonagall was entirely capable of catching Hawthorn without your assistance. If your sole concern was enforcing school rules, an anonymous warning would have accomplished far more with considerably less risk to Slytherin.".
Draco turned toward me face beet red and pointed at me accusingly.
"He knew better!"
Oh.
That was perhaps not the direction he should have taken.
"He knows the castle better than Potter. Everyone knows that. He could have avoided being caught!"
Several hooded heads turned toward me and kept nodding in agreement but I just remained still, face all as serene as I could make it.
Draco realised his mistake approximately two seconds too late. As the Critic assumed spoke again.
"You are arguing that Hawthorn possessed the ability to conceal the excursion more effectively."
Draco said nothing.
"And chose not to reveal those methods to Gryffindors."
Silence.
"While you attempted to reveal Hawthorn himself to a professor."
Draco went so pale that it was unpleasant to look at even from where I was standing. Another hooded student rose behind the Masked leader of their faction.
"Why did you not bring the matter before the House?"
Draco looked around.
"I didn't have time."
"You had time to follow them." He pointed out.
"I had to catch them doing it!" Malfoy defended himself "So McGonagall would believe me!"
There was an awful little silence after that.
I almost felt sorry for him, almost.
The student asking the questions slowly sat down. Another voice came from the darkness, this time from the other faction's stand not behind Critics.
"Why did Professor McGonagall need to believe you?"
Draco's mouth opened but nothing came out.
"Had Hawthorn acted against you personally?"
"No."
"Against your family?"
"No."
"Against Slytherin?"
"He was helping the Nimu cursed Gryffindors!Isn't that enough!"
Malfoy burst out clearly beyond mad at this point since he was being questioned not me.
The speaker's voice remained patient.
"Association with students of another House is not treachery."
Draco's jaw tightened as he barely reined in his emotions.
"He embarrassed Slytherin."
"By being caught?" asked the same voice
"Yes!"
"And your response was to attempt to ensure that he was caught." Came the amused question, and that one landed beautifully to already agitated Slytherin.
He turned toward me and waved his hands furiously at me and screamed.
"This isn't fair! He gets away with everything!"
Oh, Draco.
I closed my eyes briefly.
Don't keep digging in such haste.
"He beat me down here and everyone acted like that proved something! Then he walks around doing whatever he wants, dealing with Gryffindors and Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs like House doesn't matter, and nobody says anything!"
There it was.
Not the dragon. Not the points. Not even Potter.
Me. That was what had pushed him into acting so recklessly.
The silence that followed felt different and Malfoy seemed to realise it too. Realise he might have said too much.
Professor Snape had not moved throughout the exchange but his expression had become more glacial as the time went on.
The Critic assumed turned toward me.
"Alexander Hawthorn."
"Yes?"
"Do you believe Mr Malfoy's actions were directed against you personally?"
I looked at Malfoy who was staring straight ahead now, hands in fists and shaking.
I could say yes. It would probably have ended whatever remained of his defence, but instead I shook my head.
"I cannot know Mr Malfoy's intentions. I just think it was one of those one swing,two blundgers kind of situation"
The Critic assumed nodded and people around me started whispering once more,
Malfoy looked at me from the corner of his eye and I just shrugged slightly back.
I wasn't going to lie for him.
But neither was I going to kick him while he was standing in the middle of the House assebly with a shovel in his hands and a remarkably deep hole beneath his feet.
He was doing perfectly well on his own.
The questioning continued for another ten minutes, although nothing particularly important emerged.
Eventually after a small moment of deliberations the Heads of factions called for silence and the Planner assumed who had not really asked anything, took the lead.
"Alexander Hawthorn."
I straightened a bit and looked in his general direction.
"You knowingly violated school rules and, through your actions, brought a substantial loss of points upon Slytherin House."
"Yes."
"Curiosity does not exempt a member of this House from considering the consequences of his actions."
"No."
"You are formally reprimanded by this Court. Your right to vote in House matters is suspended until the end of term. As a first-year, this will affect you little."
I inclined my head.
"Understood."
"Your punishment under Hogwarts rules remains the concern of Hogwarts staff." He said, bowing slightly toward Professor Snape's seated figure.
My eyes flickered briefly toward Snape who looked almost disappointed that the Court hadn't given him an excuse to make things worse.
Then he turned.
"Draco Malfoy."
Draco stiffened.
"You knowingly violated school rules and thereby brought an additional loss of points upon Slytherin House."
His face tightened.
"More seriously, upon discovering another member of this House engaged in misconduct unrelated to internal Slytherin affairs, you chose neither to confront him nor to bring the matter before those empowered by House custom to hear it."
Draco stared at the floor.
"You instead attempted to expose that member directly to outside authority."
Nobody moved.
"Conflict within Slytherin remains within Slytherin unless necessity demands otherwise."
One of the first rules I'd learned down here.
"You have demonstrated no such necessity."
Draco swallowed.
"You are formally censured. Your presence within Slytherin House is henceforth suffered rather than welcomed, and your eligibility to join any faction shall remain restricted until that censure is lifted."
That sounded considerably worse than my reprimand.
Judging by Malfoy's expression, it was.
"Furthermore, this Court finds that your actions were influenced, at least in part, by an existing personal grievance against Alexander Hawthorn. We do not believe your actions were premeditated for that purpose. Rather, as Mr Hawthorn himself suggested, you encountered an opportunity to act upon that grievance and chose to take it."
Draco's head snapped upward.
"You will not pursue that grievance through Hogwarts staff."
"But—"
"Unless Hawthorn's actions present immediate danger to another student, violate obligations owed specifically to this House, or otherwise require intervention beyond your authority."
Draco's mouth closed.
"In such circumstances, you will bring the matter to a prefect, the Court, or Professor Snape as appropriate. You will not manufacture another opportunity to settle a House grievance through outsiders. Do you understand?"
Draco's answer came through clenched teeth.
"Yes."
"Say it properly," the presumed Planner demanded.
Draco's face burned in shame.
"I understand and abide by your ruling"
The figure looked toward Professor Snape. For the first time since his speech when proceedings began, Snape stood.
His robes fell around him like an inky waterfall.
"The Court has concluded its internal business."
Every hooded head inclined.
Snape's gaze settled first upon me.
"Mr Hawthorn."
"Professor."
"You appear remarkably satisfied with yourself for someone who has lost my House fifty points."
I carefully rearranged my face.
"I assure you, sir, appearances can be deceptive."
"Indeed."
His eyes narrowed.
"Your fascination with unusual magic has repeatedly demonstrated an unfortunate ability to overpower your sense of self-preservation."
I considered defending myself.
Then I remembered who I was talking to.
"Yes, Professor."
"Should you encounter another illegally hatched dragon within Hogwarts, you will inform a member of staff."
A pause.
"Before assisting in its transportation."
"Yes, Professor."
His gaze shifted to Malfoy.
"And Mr Malfoy."
Draco straightened.
"If you ever again decide that following rule-breakers after curfew constitutes a sensible method of preserving House points, I suggest you first perform the extraordinarily difficult arithmetic involved."
Someone behind me made a strangled noise and Snape's eyes flicked toward the sound.
Silence instantly returned.
"Both of you will serve the detention assigned by Professor McGonagall."
"Yes, Professor," we answered together.
Snape swept toward the doors and then stopped.
Without turning, he added,
"And should either of you provide Slytherin with another hundred-point evening before the end of this term, you may discover that Professor McGonagall's displeasure is the least imaginative punishment available to you."
The doors closed behind him and for perhaps three seconds nobody moved.
Then someone on the side started laughing. Then another joined them.
I glanced sideways at Malfoy and he was not happy. He looked murderous.
I decided that mentioning the dragon again would be unnecessarily cruel.
So naturally someone else did it for me.
"For a dragon, Hawthorn?"
I shrugged.
"It was a Norwegian Ridgeback."
That apparently made it worse.
By the time I left the Serpent Court, half the older students were still laughing, Draco was refusing to look at me, and I had acquired the uncomfortable suspicion that losing fifty points had somehow improved my reputation.
Slytherins were strange people.
Then again, I was apparently one of them.