Jenna Lily Potter: Sorcerer's Stone

Chapter 16: Forbidden Forest

A/N: Just so you know im dedicating a chapter to each of my folowers.

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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. Hermione and I were trembling. Never and I repeat NEVER get in trouble with Aunt Minerva. Excuses, alibis, and wild cover- up stories chased each other around Jenna's brain, each more feeble than the last. She couldn't see how they were going to get out of trouble this time. They were cornered. How could they have been so stupid as to forget the cloak?

There was no reason on earth that Professor McGonagall would accept for their 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 they might as well be packing their bags already.

Had Jenna thought that things couldn't have been worse? She was wrong.

When Professor McGonagall appeared, she was leading Neville.

"Harry! Jenna! Lilian!" Neville burst out, the moment he saw the other four. "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 --"

I shook my head violently to shut Neville up, but Professor McGonagall had seen. She looked more likely to breathe fire than Norbert as she towered over the five of them. I'm dead. I'm dead, I'm dead.

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

It was the first time Hermione had ever failed to answer a teacher's question. She was staring at her slippers, as still as a statue.

"I think I've got a good idea of what's been going on," said Professor McGonagall. "It doesn't take a genius to work it out. You fed Draco Malfoy some cock-and-bull story 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?"

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

"I'm disgusted," said Professor McGonagall. "Four students out of bed in one night! I've never heard of such a thing before! You, Miss Granger, I thought you had more sense. As for you, Mr. Potter, I thought Gryffindor meant more to you than this. All five 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 gasped -- they would lose the lead, the lead he'd won in the last Quidditch match.

"Fifty points," said Professor McGonagall, breathing heavily through her long, pointed nose. "Each. And 10 points from Hufflepuff Ms.Starling"

"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. Jenna please stay behind."

Lilian, Neville, Hermione, and Harry filed out and towards the common room.

Minnie closed the door with a swish of her wand and turned furiously at me. I kept my sight down on the floor.