The air in the hospital wing felt too cold after Madam Pomfrey's announcement.
He felt like dementors had begun to close in on him.
Magnus had just finished the last sip of tea when the door creaked open.
The nurse didn't need to announce who it was.
The small, poised figure with silver-blue robes walked towards him with a piercing gaze.
Magnus sat up straighter, brushing crumbs from his robes as his Head of House approached with that usual flicker of cheer... except today, it was buried under a thin veil of formality.
"Good morning, Mr. Magnus," Professor Flitwick said in a polite but clipped voice.
"Are you well enough to walk?"
Magnus nodded quickly, but Flitwick still gave Madam Pomfrey a questioning look.
"He's stable," she said shortly, "but keep a look on him, Filius. He's still healing."
"I'll be right beside him," Flitwick promised, then turned back to Magnus.
"Come along, lad... won't do to keep those lot waiting."
Magnus stood up and brushed his newly cleaned robes... an elf had brought them to him moments after the nurse had left.
He suddenly realized just how dry his mouth had gone.
'Here comes the last walk in Hogwarts,' he thought.
They walked in silence for a while.
The stone corridors of Hogwarts sounded more echoey than usual.
Maybe it was because they were deserted apart from the two of them.
He seemed to be seeing everything for the first time even though it was probably the last.
He wanted to drag back, if only to delay the arrival.
But despite Professor Flitwick's small legs, he was rushing through the corridors like he couldn't wait to get there.
Magnus had no choice but to catch up.
"Sherbet lemon" flitwick said when they reached the stone gargoyle guarding the entrance to the headmaster's office
magnus stepped behind him on moving staircase that began carrying them towards the top
The professor finally turned to face him
"You should know," he said gently, "this isn't a formal trial. You're not on the record.... But there are people in there who will treat it like one."
Magnus said nothing.
"The Minister himself came this morning," Flitwick continued.
"So did the Head of the Department for the Control of Magical Creatures and Pokémon.
And of course you are familiar with Mrs. Olenna Winsted. She is present as well."
Magnus barely heard the rest.
The Minister?
He hadn't expected that.
He'd expected Ministry lackeys and maybe a couple of angry officials.
Mrs. Olenna was a given since she headed the Pokémon department... but not the actual Minister for Magic.
That changed everything.
The staircase stopped.
Just as the door to the Headmaster's office swung open.
Magnus was surprised to see Hermione step out, followed closely by... but those... those were Mr. and Mrs. Granger.
Hermione's parents.
It was that bad?
Had Hermione also been hurt?
Then again, if the Minister was involved, it was past wondering whether it was serious.
Hermione looked surprised... and smiled a little hesitant as they passed each other.
'Truth.'
He could have sworn that was the word she had mouthed before quickly changing to "Hello Magnus."
"Hi," he said in a slightly trembling voice as he watched her stiff parents lead her away.
He had detected something like a hostile glare in Mrs. Granger's face when she heard her daughter mention his name.
Professor Flitwick greeted them cheerfully, but the two seemed too gloomy and stiff that they didn't seem to hear him.
Professor McGonagall came out shortly.
"You may come in, Filius," she said, stepping aside to usher them in.
"Ready?" Flitwick had the courtesy to ask with a smile, as if Magnus had the liberty to say no and head back.
"Yes, sir," he replied with a feigned smile.
His eyes briefly fell on Professor McGonagall, who had apparently been shocked by the Pichu.
She looked perfectly okay.
Without further questions, the two of them stepped inside, and McGonagall closed the door behind them.
It took him only one glimpse inside the Headmaster's office to realise things were way worse than he had imagined.
Dumbledore sat behind his grand desk.
One hand was stroking his long silver beard.
Magnus tried to catch the Headmaster's eyes for a hint, but he was looking anywhere but at him.
Next to him on his left sat the unmistakable Mrs. Olenna Winsted.
Today, she had her long dark braid coiled over one shoulder.
She didn't look so charming like she had appeared during the indexing...
Her clipboard looked heavy enough to dent a wall as she eyed him coldly.
Then again, Magnus had sensed this from the first day...
The woman definitely possessed a lot of personalities she could wear depending on what she wished to achieve.
Right now, the goal was to crush him.
The "crushing" was however done by the man seated behind a grand seat on the Headmaster's right.
His sharp eyes, though they held no particular menace at the moment, were set on him in a piercing gaze.
Even if he had never seen him before, he could have easily identified him as the Minister...
Just by the impeccable state of his robes and the air of importance around him.
But Magnus had seen Cornelius Fudge numerous times in the films...
It wasn't his look that worried him... it was his reputation for being irrational and partial in making decisions.
He only favoured things that appeared to work in his favour.
The bigger picture was lost to him.
His chances here were doomed.
Next to him was an overweight man Magnus had never seen before.
He had a bored expression and a Ministry badge pinned to his robes:
Alton Greaves, Head of the Department of Control of Magical Creatures and Pokémon.
"Filius..." Fudge called a cheerful greeting.
"I apologize for interrupting your lesson schedule... I'm sure you will understand the gravity of the issue at hand."
"Perfectly, Minister," Professor Flitwick answered in a firm tone.
"Filius," Dumbledore repeated his greeting as well before finally looking at him.
"Magnus," Dumbledore said, motioning to the empty chair placed deliberately in the center of the room.
"I take it you are feeling well enough?"
Magnus nodded.
He was looking at him but he wasn't seeing anything.
His vision had blurred as he listened to his thundering heart.
There were no shackles, no chains.
But the weight pressing on his chest felt heavier than any iron could be.
The Minister was the first to "officially" speak.
"We may begin," he said with a practiced smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.
Mrs. Winsted immediately put on her glasses before flipping through her clipboard.
"Do you know why you're here?"
Magnus opened his mouth... but no words came.
She adjusted her glasses and went on.
"We are here to determine the nature of your activities involving the Pokémon known by the provisional name of Pichu, registered under Ms. Hermione Granger,
and the transformation and subsequent use of magic by another Pokémon, an Eevee registered under Mr. Fred Weasley.
These two unusual events, both dangerous, have both been traced back to you through the course of our investigations."
Magnus swallowed.
He could already feel his throat tearing.
Flitwick placed a hand on his shoulder and Magnus almost recoiled.
He had almost forgotten the Charms Professor was right behind him.
The Greaves guy finally looked up from the parchment he had been lazily reviewing.
"In addition, we are going to assess whether your involvement, intentional or otherwise, poses a continued risk to students, staff, or the balance of magical creatures."
'In other words, they were here to decide whether he would be expelled...'
And what... detained by the Ministry... Azkaban?
Magnus looked toward Dumbledore, the one face in the room that still felt like it might offer a lifeline.
But Dumbledore merely nodded.
"You may speak now, Magnus. And speak only the truth."