Accusations

Just at this moment, an old, rough voice resounded from behind the crowd of students, "What's going on here? What's going on?"

Argus Filch the old rheumatic and hunchbacked caretaker arrived and was pushing through the crowd. Attracted by Malfoy's plea for attention he headed in their direction. Then he saw Mrs. Norris and fell back, clutching his face in horror.

"My cat! My cat! What's happened to Mrs. Norris?" he shrieked.

Suddenly his eyes fell on Matthew who still had his Wand in his hand as he had cast diagnostic Charms on Mrs. Norris not long ago and was on high caution for a possible Basilisk attack outside of his knowledge.

'Oh shit!'

"You! What did you do to my Cat?" he screamed while pointing at Matthew, "You killed her!"

"Calm down Mr. Filch. She Isn't dead. We just found her." Tried Matthew to explain while getting a headache from this whole situation.

"I don't believe you. You! You've murdered my cat! You've killed her! I'll kill you! I'll —" he screeched as he was about to jump on Matthew.

"Argus!"

This was the moment Dumbledore and the other teachers arrived. The Headmaster passed the bystanders and approached the cat hanging from the torch bracket and detached it after a short moment of observation.

"Come with me, Argus," he said to Filch. "You, too, Mr. Mason, Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger."

'And another blond idiot needs attention.'

Lockhart stepped forward eagerly.

"My office is nearest, Headmaster — just upstairs — please feel free —"

"Thank you, Gilderoy," said Dumbledore.

The now-silent crowd of Students parted letting Dumbledore through. Lockhart, looking excited and important, hurried after Dumbledore; so did Professors McGonagall and Snape.

As they stepped into Lockharts Office which was also filled with Portraits of himself, Dumbledore put Mrs. Norris carefully on the desk and began to inspect her. The tip of Dumbledore's long, crooked nose was barely an inch from Mrs. Norris's fur. He was looking at her closely through his half-moon spectacles, his long fingers gently prodding and poking. Professor McGonagall was bent almost as close, her eyes narrowed. Snape loomed behind them, half in shadow, wearing a most peculiar expression: It was as though he was trying hard not to smile. And Lockhart was hovering around all of them, making suggestions.

"It was definitely a curse that killed her — probably the Transmogrifian Torture — I've seen it used many times, so unlucky I wasn't there, I know the very counter-curse that would have saved her..."

"Come on… No, it wasn't." Interrupted Matthew annoyed by the idiot, as all eyes in the room fell on him, "She isn't even dead. Mrs. Norris was petrified through very dark magic. According to my diagnostic charms, it wasn't Wizard Magic but something else entirely. I never saw or read anything about something similar with this kind of signature." Explained Matthew.

"You are just a Student you have no idea what you are talking about boy. Don't interrupt the Profe—" Commented Lockhart pissed off by Matthew's disrespect of him.

"I believe Mr. Mason is right." Resounded the voice of Dumbledore who just finished casting spells with his wand. "Mrs. Norris seems to be indeed petrified." Said Dumbledore as his eyes met Matthews who suddenly felt a push against his Occlumency shields. Not being surprised he steeled the strength of his shields and didn't let the Headmaster peek into his mind who quickly withdraw his Legillimency probe.

"That was uncalled for Headmaster. You shouldn't use Legillimency on your Students!" replied Matthew with a distrustful voice.

"ALBUS! You didn't!" exclaimed Professor McGonagall with shock in her voice.

"I'm sorry Minerva but I had to confirm their Innocence. The Situation is very Serious and as the Headmaster I have the Permission to safely use a mind probe on Students if required. Mr. Masons Shields are very powerful even from my perspective and didn't allow me to take a look. But I could confirm their Innocence through a quick probe of the other three." Explained the old man.

Mr. Filch was meanwhile still crying over his cat as the Headmaster turned to him.

"She's not dead, Argus," he said softly.

"Not dead?" choked Filch, looking through his fingers at Mrs. Norris. "But why's she all — all stiff and frozen?"

"She has been Petrified," said Dumbledore. "But how, I cannot say..."

"Ask him!" shrieked Filch, turning his blotched and tear-stained face to Matthew, "He had his Wand in his hand. He must have cursed her."

"No Mr. Mason is innocent," said Dumbledore firmly. "He and the other three Students just found her first. Mr. Mason was trying to find a way to help her, that's why he used his Wand."

"He did it, he did it!" Filch spat, his pouchy face purpling. "You saw what he wrote on the wall! Potter found — in my office — he told him I'm a — I'm a —" Filch's face worked horribly. "He knows I'm a Squib!" he finished.

"I didn't know you were a Squib." Sighed Matthew in expiration, "And Harry probably doesn't even know what a Squib is or that you are one. He lived his whole life in the Non-magical world. And there is no course in Hogwarts actually introducing the common knowledge of the Wizarding World."

"Excuses! I want someone punished." Screamed Filch.

"If I might speak, Headmaster, lacking education aside," said Snape from the shadows. "Potter and his friends may have simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time," he said, a slight sneer curling his mouth as though he doubted it. "But we do have a set of suspicious circumstances here. Why was he in the upstairs corridor at all? Why wasn't he at the Halloween feast?"

"With all respect Professor. This is at most circumstantial evidence. It doesn't matter what we were doing in the Corridor!" shot Matthew back protecting the younger Students with him, "The Headmaster already confirmed our innocence through a mind-probe which he did because of the special circumstances. But if you want to know, we visited the Deathday Party of Sir. Nicholas today. There are hundreds of ghostly eyewitnesses for that and were now on the way to the Kitchens to get something to eat. We wanted to use the secret Corridor behind the Portrait on the Second Floor when we came across Mrs. Norris." Explained Matthew covering Harry earning more of his goodwill.

"Hmpf. I see." Replied Snape disappointed, who missed an opportunity to punish Harry just now. "But I don't believe they are being wholly truthful Headmaster—" he tried again but got interrupted.

"Innocent until proved guilty, Severus," he said firmly.

Snape looked furious.

So did Filch.

But in the end, none of them got what they wanted. After explaining about the Cure with the Mandrakes Dumbledore got interrupted by Lockhart who offered to make it but only earned the ire of Snape.

"Why not ordering some Mandrakes Professor?" asked Matthew, "Wouldn't that be faster?"

"That would be indeed the case, Mr. Mason. But unfortunately, grown Mandrakes are quite expensive. The School doesn't have the budget to afford them so the best choice, for now, is to grow them ourselves." Explained the Headmaster looking a bit sad and older than he was. Probably remembering the troubles of running the School.

"I see. That's unfortunate." Replied Matthew.

There was a very awkward pause while Snape still looked icily at Lockhart.

"You may go," Dumbledore said to Matthew, Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

They went, as quickly as they could without actually running. When they were a floor up from Lockhart's office, they turned into an empty classroom and closed the door quietly behind them.

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