"Harry!" Neville burst Out, the moment he saw the other two. "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 shook his 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 three of them.

"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?"

Harry 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 -- Harry knew what it must have cost him to try and find them in the dark, to warn them.

"But profferer that isn't true at all!" Amelia sighed and looked down at her feet she could feel Professor McGonagall's sharp gaze on her. "I'm the reason we were out after hours."

Professor McGonagall gasped. "Miss Potter expilane."

Amelia would be smirking if she didn't have to be acting. She took a breath and looked up to meet Professor McGonagall's eyes. "I heard there was going to be a big meteor shower happening soon and planned to sneak out Harry offered to join me. Hermione tried to stop us but we wouldn't listen. As for why Malfoy thinks we have a dragon I might know why that is. The other week where were talking about them and how to adopt one. Malfoy must have overheard us and thought we had a dragon with us. It was just talk Professor nothing more. Please don't punish Hermione and Neville they meant the best they really did."

Professor McGonagall wasn't buying it. 

"I'm disgusted," said Professor McGonagall. "Five 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 four 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 and Hufflepuff."

"Fifty?" Harry gasped -- they would lose the lead, the lead he'd won in the last Quidditch match.

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

"Professor -- please "You can't --"