meant to be (1)

43

Things couldn't have been worse.

Filch took us down to Professor McGonagall's study on the first floor, where we sat and waited without saying a word to each other.

Excuses, alibis and wild cover-up stories chased each other around in my brain, each more feeble than the last.

I couldn't see how we were going to get out of trouble this time. I was concerned. How could we have been so stupid as to forget the Cloak?

There was no reason on earth that Professor McGonagall would accept for our being out of bed and creeping around the school in the dead of night, let alone being up the tallest astronomy tower, which was out of bounds except for classes. Add Norbert and the Invisibility Cloak and we might as well be packing our bags already.

Had I thought that things couldn't have been worse? I was wrong. When McGonagall appeared, she was leading Neville.

"Harry!" Neville burst out, the moment he saw us. "I was trying to find you to warn you, I heard Malfoy saying he was going to catch you, he said you had a drag-"

Harry and I shook our heads violently to shut Neville up, but Professor McGonagall had seen.
She looked more likely to breathe fire than Norbert as she towerd over us.

"I would never have believed it of any of you. Mr. Filch says you were up the astronomy tower. It's one o'clock in the morning. Explain yourselves."

There was something wrong with my voice. I couldn't speak. I was staring at my slippers, as still as a statue.

"I think I've got a good idea of what's going on." said Professor McGonagall. "It doesn't take a genius to work it out. You fed Draco Malfoy some cock-and-bull store about a dragon, trying to get him out of bed and into trouble. I've already caught him. I suppose you think it's funny that Longbottom here heard the story and believed it, too?"

I caught Neville's eyes and tried to tell him without word that this wasn't true, because Neville was looking stunned and hurt. Poor, blundering Neville - I knew what it must have cost him to try and find us in the dark, to warn us.

"I'm disgusted" said Professor McGonnagal. "Four students out of bed in one night! I've never heard of such a thing before! You, Miss Clarke, I thought you had more sense. As for you, Mr Potter, I thought Gryffindor meant more to you than this. All three of you will receive detentions - yes, you too, Mr Longbottom, nothing gives you the right to walk around school at night, especially these days, it's very dangerous - and fifty points will be taken from Gryffindor."

"Fifty?" Harry and I gasped at the same time, exchanging shocked looks. We would lose the lead, the least we'd won in the last Quidditch match.

"Fifty points each!" said Professor McGonagall, breathing through her long pointed nose.

"Professor - please -"

"You can't-"

"Don't tell me what I can and can't do, Potter. Now get back to bed, all of you. I've never been more ashamed of Gryffindor students."

A hundred and fifty points lost. That put Gryffindor in last place. In one night, we'd ruined any chance Gryffindor had had for the House Cup. I felt as though as the bottom had dropped of my stomach. How could we ever make up for this?

I didn't sleep all night. I couldn't stop thinking of Neville, who now also was in trouble because of us. I couldn't think of anything that would comfort him the next day. I was dreading the dawn. What would happen when the rest of Gryffindor found out what we'd done?