GREY WINGS || A Hogwarts Story

Chapter Ten

Exhausted, Grey chose to skip breakfast the next morning, instead, going straight to Dumbledore's office. His eyes felt sore and a lump still remained in his throat. 

All night, he'd been haunted by images of the tragedy, replaying over and over in his head. And now, his arms were lined with small burns to match his ruined palms. 

Upon entering Dumbledore's office, Grey was thoroughly unnerved to find all his teachers and the headmaster milling around the space. His arrival caused them all to stop and stare sympathetically at him. Sickness swelled in his stomach. 

"Ah, Grey, perfect timing. Come in." Dumbledore breached the silence, ushering him to a free seat. 

While passing a tearful Professor Merrythought, Grey received gentle pats on the shoulder which made him want to disappear altogether. When everyone was settled somewhat tightly in the space, Headmaster Dippet spoke. 

"Mr Willow, Albus has informed all of us what the state of things is. Now given our recent discussion on the matter, I have my reservations. So I will ask you plainly. Are you a seer?"

His tone was stern which made Grey even tenser than he already was. 

With a tremor in his voice, he replied, "Yes, sir."

A collective stir of discontentment echoed around the ensemble. 

"And you confess to lying during our previous conversation?" Dippet pressed.

"Yes sir," Grey muttered, averting his gaze down so as not to see the looks of disappointment. 

"It doesn't matter that Grey lied," Dumbledore spoke up suddenly. 

The noise of disapproval from Dippet didn't sway him. 

"He is only young and these things are overwhelming and frightening even to those trained in them."

Grey sent Dumbledore a grateful look. He was feeling very guilty for the way he had treated the professor. 

"Is it true you saw Mr Diggory's accident before it occurred?" Elks interjected. 

Grey nodded solemnly. 

There was a sniffle from Professor Bovin, the Hufflepuff head of house. But it was clear not all the staff mirrored her sadness. Prendergast had Grey fixed with a cold, calculating look.

"Why didn't you try to stop it then boy?" He hissed over Bovin's quiet cries. 

Anger flashed in Grey towards the teacher who had caused Derric so much grief. 

"I did." He spat back venomously. 

Prendergast scoffed.

"Really, because my students informed me that Diggory only fell because you -"

"That's enough Marin." Dippet interrupted.

It was good he did because Grey had been reaching for his wand. 

"The whole incident was a tragic accident, but it is not what we are here to discuss." He continued. "These developments put Mr Willow in a lot of danger."

Grey tensed.

"As you know, Grindelwald has been free for some months now and rumors state he found the obscurial from the prophecy."

So Credence was an obscurial, Grey noted silently. Given the flashes he'd seen that made a lot of sense. 

"But there are other whispers that speak of him searching for seers. I'm sure you've all seen the article in The Prophet about the murder of Casper Trelawney."