Part 10

“You wanted to see me, Professor?” I asked quietly, anxious about the punishment that undoubtedly awaits me.

“This is not the first appearance of cursed ice at Hogwarts, Mr. Edwards,” she said. “This is also not the first time it has suddenly disappeared.”

“It’s gone?” I knew that it stopped spreading, but is it actually gone for good?

“Like the previous instance, it seems to have appeared when someone tampered with a Cursed Vault and disappeared when the door was opened,” she explained. “I’m sure you can guess who was responsible for opening the door the last time.”

“My brother…” So Jacob did discover the vault of ice…

“We don’t yet understand how the vault reappeared, or who first tampered with it this time,” she replied. “Truth be told, there is still much we don’t understand about the Cursed Vaults. I won’t bother asking if you were responsible. You are the only student who has shown the interest, recklessness, and talent to do such a thing. We’ve discovered evidence of your involvement, so I’ll be taking fifty points from Gryffindor. Professor Dumbledore will see you now to determine the full extent of your punishment…”

Fifty House Points! And an additional punishment from the Headmaster?! That’s the worst so far… I guess Merula was right to be grinning at me. She’ll definitely be happy once she finds out…

Professor McGonagall turned toward the statue behind us and said the words, “Iced mice!” Shortly after, the staircase leading up to the Headmaster’s office appeared.

“Professor Dumbledore is ready to see you now,” she said calmly.

I slowly went up the stairs, prepared to accept whatever punishment awaits me… Once I got inside, I checked the office quickly. There were many portraits hanging on the walls. Also, there were several shelves around the room, each containing various items.

I approached the Headmaster’s desk and quietly greeted him, “Professor Dumbledore?”

He was sitting there, writing something and not paying much attention to anything else. I waited a few moments before addressing him again, “Professor?”

Without raising his head, he calmly replied, “I will be with you in a moment, Dylan. I’m sure you can understand why I have pressing matters to address…”

I stood there for a bit while he was working. For some reason, the time was passing very slowly… I started looking around to pass the time. I had the feeling most of those portraits were looking at me. I slowly checked every shelf, every portrait, I even started looking at the books that were near the Headmaster’s desk. I had the feeling I was waiting for several hours until Professor Dumbledore finally addressed me.

“There. Now that’s finished,” he said as he was putting down his quill.

“What were you writing?” I asked curiously.

“Questions that I hope will finally provide some answers,” he calmly answered.

“You wanted to see me?” I was eager to find out what awaits me.

“It would appear that you discovered the source of the mysterious cursed ice,” he replied. “You revealed a vanished staircase, explored long-forgotten corridors of this school… and broke an ancient curse on a vault that many refused to believe existed despite overwhelming evidence.”

“I’m sorry I entered the vault without telling anyone, but I saw that same ice in my vision. I heard my brother’s voice…” I tried to explain.

“Vision like the one you describe are very rare indeed. You might ask yourself whether what you perceived is something else entirely. Is there anything you would like to say for yourself?” He asked with a calm voice.

“Who created the Cursed Vaults? And why?” I answered his questions with one of my own. To be fair, if anyone, Professor Dumbledore would know the answer to that.

“There are many theories. Some say they were crafted by one of the Founders, others say they were built by a paranoid Headmaster… As far as why, most of the speculation is too dangerous and implausible to indulge until we know the truth. I’ve been attempting to locate someone who may have the answers,” he explained. “I am awarding you fifty House Points for your heroism in breaking the curse, and once again ridding Hogwarts of the cursed ice.”

“Fifty House Points! That’s incredible. Thank you, Professor.” Wow! That’s something else. I was expecting to get severely punished, but instead, I got rewarded.

“Thank me by leaving the search for your brother and the remaining Cursed Vault to me,” he replied. “We will talk again at the end of your third year, and I would like to discuss something besides curses and your frequent misbehavior…”

I nodded quietly, content about my “punishment” and then I left his office. I tried my best to hide all the smiling, but I am fairly certain that Dumbledore noticed it. Well, who wouldn’t smile after that? His decision basically completely negated the penalty I got earlier from Professor McGonagall, which means I managed to get away without receiving any significant punishment.

***

The Great Hall was very lively and crowded. There were so many students present, eagerly awaiting the Headmaster’s speech. Cheerful laughter could be heard all over the place and all in all, the place was very much alive. The professors were already at the high table, waiting for the Headmaster’s speech. I quickly sat at my place just before he started.

“Another year gone!” He began addressing the students. “This year has been more difficult than most, but I want to thank all of you for showing great courage and resilience throughout. My hope is that next year will be equally thrilling, but far less dangerous.”

“Enough about next year. It’s time to award the winner of this year’s House Cup!” He suddenly changed the tone of his voice from serious to a very cheerful one.

“In fourth place, Ravenclaw, with 1032 points…” He started announcing Houses, one by one. “In third, Hufflepuff, with 1043… In second, Slytherin has 1046…”

“And with 1250 points, Gryffindor!” He turned toward our table and smiled at all of the Gryffindor students.

All of my housemates were very happy and excited. Some others – Slytherin students, in particular, were not so pleased by the announcement. I could notice Merula boiling in anger while looking my way. I guess she expected that my punishment will be much more severe than it actually was.

“Congratulations, Gryffindor! This year’s winners of the House Cup!” The Headmaster addressed us once again. “Please enjoy this delicious feast, and enjoy your summer!”

“We won the House Cup, Dylan! It’s all thanks to you!” Rowan happily said once the feast started.

“Thanks, but you know that’s not true. You and the rest of our housemates deserve all the praise to be fair,” I modestly replied.

“Well, I am glad either way!” He cheerfully added.

We then started enjoying the feast and recalling all the fun moments we had in the past year. All of us were happy and sad at the same time. Happy that the threat of the cursed ice is finally over and sad that soon all of us will head to our homes and there will be few months until we’re back at Hogwarts again. I couldn’t help but notice Merula gazing at me occasionally while I was talking to my friends. Maybe she is just annoyed that I didn’t get punished or it was the fact that Gryffindor won the House Cup, but either way, she was definitely upset. Hopefully, she’ll get over it after the summer holidays.

Before we knew it, the feast was over and soon it’ll be time to go. Something tells me that the next year will bring up more fun and excitement, and hopefully, I’ll find out what happened to Jacob…