Hogwarts Mystery- The Beginning of Mystery

Chapter 13: Punishment! or was it Reward?

Cyrene, Rowan, Penny and Merula got out of the room and closed the door behind them. Luckily, Mrs Norris was still asleep from the Sleeping Draught. Penny went back to her common room early since she wanted to recover from the cold.

'We did it!' Rowan said in relief.

'I should have known better than to follow you idiots. I'll find the real Cursed Vaults by myself.' Merula scoffed before walking away.

'That wasn't a Cursed Vault, was it?' Cyrene asked Rowan.

'It doesn't seem likely, but the ice itself did appear to be cursed. Maybe it's protecting a vault? Or somehow escaping from one? Deciphering those runes could give us a clue...' Rowan went into her usual trance when she was in deep thought about something.

'Either way, it seems your vision was some sort of prophecy. If the ice is spreading, it could eventually encase all of Hogwarts...' she told Cyrene.

'We can try to work it out later. Let's get back to the Hufflepuff Common Room before we get caught by Filch or Snape...' said Cyrene.

'There's only one place you're going after what you've done to Mrs Norris.' The familiar voice of Filch said towards them. 'You're heading straight to Professor Snape. He'll let me use the old punishments this time...' he said excitedly.

Filch lead Cyrene and Rowan to the Great Hall to report to Snape. Cyrene wondered if Penny or Merula were caught. She watched anxiously as Filch was telling Snape everything. He seemed very enthusiastic doing it.

'You made a mess of my classroom.' Snape said as soon as he saw Cyrene. 'You duelled on school grounds. You brewed a Sleeping Draught without permission. You used said potion to incapacitate Mrs Norris, whose only crime was protecting you fools from the cursed ice. You corrupted multiple students by convincing them to join your misguided adventure, and break school rules.' More and more anger showed on his face with every sentence.

'And nearly got the lot of you killed!' Snape finished by yelling in Cyrene's face. A few nearby students jumped in shock from Snape's yelling.

'This is all my fault, Professor Snape. Please don't punish my friends.' said Cyrene almost too innocently.

'You'll all be punished. But you will have it much, much worse.' Snape sneered. 'Sixty points from Hufflepuff.'

'Sixty House Points?!' Cyrene knew Jane was going to be more than disappointed at the news.

'Consider yourself fortunate. If it were up to me, I would snap your wand in half, and send you to Azkaban.' said Snape calmly. Cyrene cringed at the thought of being in Azkaban and Snape being Headmaster of Hogwarts. 'Unfortunately, it is not my decision.'

'I don't understand...' Cyrene thought Snape could be responsible for her punishment.

'Professor Dumbledore has requested a private audience with you, Lennox.' Cyrene thought she would rather go to Azkaban than see the Headmaster privately. She could not imagine what Dumbledore had in store for her. 'Now get out of my sight.' Snape said before Cyrene could get lost in her thoughts.

Frustrated and scared, Cyrene walked out of the Great Hall to go to the Courtyard, where Dumbledore had asked her to meet. She found Rowan waiting for her, concerned. Despite Rowan not needing to meet privately with Dumbledore, Cyrene was not glad that Rowan had to face a detention with Mr Filch. She felt guilty for getting Rowan in trouble.

'Cyrene! I wanted to catch you before you meet with Professor Dumbledore!' said Rowan.

'I'm sorry, Rowan, but I'm on my way to be punished. I can't ask the Headmaster if he'll hire you to be a professor someday.' said Cyrene sadly. She was expecting to be expelled and the thought of not seeing Rowan again just made her heart sink.

'It's not about that.' said Rowan quickly. 'Although, if the opportunity presents itself, that would be really cool. It's about the code we saw scrawled in the cursed ice. I found an obscure book about ciphers. I think I know what it means.'

'That's amazing, Rowan. What does the code say?' Cyrene felt distracted from her thoughts of Dumbledore's punishment.

"The Ice Knight stands guard past the Vanished Stairs."

'I saw stairs and a suit of armour in my vision...'

'It's obviously ominous, and since we found it in the cursed ice, it must be connected to the Cursed Vaults.' said Rowan thoughtfully. 'I'll spend the summer holidays searching for any references I can find to Ice Knights and Vanished Stairs at Hogwarts. Hopefully, I'll have it worked out by the time we return for our second year.'

Cyrene never realised the school year was nearly over since she spent so much free time in the Duelling Club and investigating the mystery of the Cursed Vaults. She was also occupied with the niffler she was taking care of, which she named Treasure. It managed to warm up to her and show affection.

'If we return for our second year. I'm expecting to be expelled.' said Cyrene.

'I hope not, Cyrene. I want to solve this mystery with my best friend.'

Cyrene continued to walk slowly to the Courtyard where Dumbledore was waiting for her while gazing up at the night sky full of stars. She felt hungry and exhausted since she hasn't had dinner yet.

'Thank you for meeting with me, Cyrene.' said Professor Dumbledore.

'Of course, Professor Dumbledore. I---'

'It's beautiful, isn't it?' Dumbledore asked as he looked up into the night sky again.

'Sir?'

'The quiet night, the crisp air---it truly puts your troubles into perspective, doesn't it?' Dumbledore said, ignoring Cyrene. 'I often come here when I need to make an important decision.'

'Professor Snape said you wanted to talk to me about everything I've done wrong this year.' said Cyrene. 'And about what happened with the cursed ice.'

'You are expecting a lecture, but I feel as though you want to ask me about something.' Dumbledore looked back down at Cyrene.

'I had a vision, Professor. I saw living armour, hidden passages, cursed ice... When I heard about the ice, I had to know what it is about. I thought... I think it has to do with my brother.'

'Interesting. I have a feeling these things will become clearer to you in the coming years at Hogwarts.' Dumbledore said thoughtfully.

'I'm not going to be expelled?'

'You have made many, many mistakes this year, Cyrene. But you have also demonstrated bravery, compassion, and resourcefulness. You show great promise. All things considered, I believe you have earned one hundred points for Hufflepuff.'

'One hundred House Points?! Wow. Thank you, Professor.' Cyrene was not expecting any House Points at all.

'In the years to come, you must be mindful of how your decisions impact others.' Dumbledore said slowly. 'Remember, Cyrene, it is not our abilities that show what we truly are. It is our choices.'

'Can we talk more about the cursed ice? And my brother? And the Cursed Vaults?'

'We can and we will. Next year. Enjoy your summer holidays, Cyrene.' Dumbledore finished and walked out of the Courtyard. Cyrene went back to her dormitory in the Hufflepuff Common Room, thinking about her last day of being a first year at Hogwarts tomorrow.