Chapter 17
The news of a potential prowler had spread all over the castle by lunch the next day.
Tony had called the staff into a meeting and had explained the situation with a few details (i.e. radios) omitted and altered. He managed to find enough self-restraint to not mentally set the Headmaster’s robes on fire when it came out that Hagrid had been doing some Order work that had come up last minute.
Tony walked out of that meeting and headed for Gryffindor Tower, where he told the Trio everything behind the safety of closed doors.
“Unbelievable,” Hermione rubbed her eyes.
“Mm. To say the least,” Tony looked at each to see that it had not been an easy night for them. Mi’s red eyes confirmed it, but he knew that it would stay with her for quite a while from then on.
Harry shook his head. “But why wouldn’t Dumbledore have said something? The least he could have done was to have someone out there by Hagrid’s.”
“You’d think, yeah. He’s fixing it now until Hagrid gets back Monday.”
“What about the Saturday classes, then?” Ron reminded them of the missed class make up day.
“The rest of us are double-blocking,” Tony explained, leaning more weight against Neville’s bedpost. “That solves that problem.”
Harry nodded thoughtfully. “Did you lot find anything about who was at the Hut?”
“No,” he shook his head, “but not for lack of trying.”
No matter what he did, he hadn’t been able to find one shred of proof that someone other than the girls had been there. Good grief – if he didn’t know any better, he would have thought it was all in Mi’s head.
But Hannah had heard steps and the doorknob rattle, so there had to be something.
He reluctantly told as much to them and Hermione agreed.
“Who really knows if I did see something actually there?” she shrugged, her side also against a bedpost – this one Dean’s. “It was still unnerving.”
“I’ll say,” Tony nodded. He’d been frantic when he heard Mi calling for someone to actually go and get them. Once he’d gotten there, he made sure there was no one lurking around.
Still, no sign of anyone besides the girls that had been there.
Magically or otherwise.
Merlin knew, he believed them, but there was no evidence.
“Harry,” Tony turned to him. “I went over where you three met your girl last night, but I couldn’t find anything there, either.”
Also not for lack of trying.
He’d gone over the area with a fine toothed comb, but it didn't turn anything up.
What was strange, though, was that when he’d been in the area near the kitchens, his Magic … pulled? Tugged?
He couldn’t explain it, but it had unnerved him. And while it had only happened once, that had been all he needed.
He’d never felt the tugging sensation before – like someone had tugged his sleeve or something to get attention – and he couldn't come up with a possible explanation now. The whole thing, however, was something he kept to himself, not wanting to upset the Trio even more than they already were.
Besides, for all he knew, it would never happen again, so what would be the point of telling them, anyway? He just made a note of it and moved on.
“Thanks for trying, though,” Harry smiled slightly at him.
But there was one thing.
Tony turned to Ron with a thoughtful look on his face. “Are you sure you didn’t see anything out there?”
“Positive,” he nodded.
“Just me and Harry, then,” Mi shrugged. “Us and the girls.”
“Which tosses my previous theory out the window,” he sighed, scrubbing his short brown hair. Seeing their looks, he shrugged. “Remember the two incidents before the wedding last summer? I did think it could’ve been that, but me and Ron didn’t experience anything at all last night. I’m not sure what role the bond’s playing, but we’re going to need to consider that maybe Harry and Mi are creating some sort of feedback loop for whatever was plaguing me at the Burrow. It may also be possible that the bond’s amplifying things so that people in close proximity are experiencing it, too.”
“It’s logical,” Hermione thought for a moment, “but there’s also the possibility that someone was there and was just under some kind of enchantment or that Hannah and I were.”
“Maybe. From your descriptions,” Tony shrugged, “it didn’t have to be a strong spell or a long lasting one.”
“So, what would’ve been the whole point, then?” Harry looked from Mi to Tony with puzzled green eyes.
Ron lifted a shoulder, offering, “Maybe someone came back for something they lost? Or wanted to find?”
“Or,” Hermione straightened, affixing Tony with an intense brown-eyed scrutiny. “Tony’s the only American in the school and the only full Italian on Staff… It could be that the school is reacting to that and the three of us,” she looked at Harry and Ron, “are feeling that thanks to the bond. AJ spends a lot of time with us as well as at least one of the Triplets at any given time – and Hannah was close enough to me to maybe be affected as well.”
Those were still a lot of possibilities, though.
Any one – or a combination of multiple – could have been responsible, but Tony still couldn’t rule out the thought that someone was up to no good.
The teachers were going to take care of that. Measures were in place that were now watched to be sure things were as they should be.
“Well,” Tony crossed his arms. “I don’t know what to tell you.”
“But, wait, Hermione,” Harry frowned at her. “What about what happened at the Burrow? And the night I left my Aunt’s?”
“That’s assuming that all those things are connected somehow,” she shook her head. “Maybe it is our doing since we came of age at the same time or near enough.”
Who knows?
“Yeah, well,” Tony sighed, “we don’t actually have anything concrete to go on right now, anyway. It’s either in your heads or someone’s really good at sneaking around.”
“It’s just like what we saw earlier, though,” Harry told him, “out at the Pitch when the alarms went off.”
“There’s no reason to suspect everything that we’ve experienced at this point are all connected,” Hermione pointed out.
Tony nodded in agreement. “Nothing more we can do but speculate,” he pushed away from the bedpost, “and that won’t grade papers or teach classes,” he glanced at the time.
The topic petered out after that and Tony had to run.
* **
By Sunday, the entire school was on edge.
Tony heard whispers as he travelled the halls and shook his head as he caught some of the suggestions – least of all, the ones about how maybe it was Sirius Black trying to make another attempt on Harry.
It certainly explained why the Trio’s House didn’t let any of them go by themselves as first Sunday, then Monday drew to a close.
Tuesday afternoon, however, came to be a tad more exciting enough to draw his attention from his fellow teachers and the students speculating crazier ideas – some crazy enough to actually be plausible.
It didn’t start Tuesday afternoon, however; the morning brought its own surprise.
The first thing that Tony woke up to that morning was the fact that his head hurt.
That usually wouldn’t mean much – how many times had he passed out drunk or in the middle of a really hard case? -, but the headache also found itself a friend.
Last year, the Trio had been plagued with some sort of energy drain that hadn’t affected him as much because of the magic bind he’d been hit with. He’d still felt tired, but it hadn’t been until that very moment that he’d fully understood how exhausted they must’ve been.
‘What did I do last night?’ he scowled as he pried an eye open.
He blinked a few times to properly wake up, before wincing at the pain in his head. He hated migraines.
Or headaches in general, but what could you do in a high-stress environment?
Heaving a sigh – and grateful that his headache just seemed to be a headache after all (‘nothing some aspirin won’t cure’), he levered himself up and let his elbows take his weight as he looked around.
His bed was against the furthest wall, a dresser and mirror to his left, bathroom and walk-in closet to his right.
He didn’t exactly need the closet, but he couldn’t see his bedroom ever not having one, so…
Tony tipped his head back to groan at the ceiling, knowing he had to get up but wanting to burrow back into his warm bed for another hour or so. He had to teach, however, so he pulled himself together and eventually got up and dressed.
Heaving a deeper sigh, he went to find aspirin and it took him an embarrassing amount of time to remember that he did not, in fact, need Muggle medicine in a Magical school.
Making note of the time he had left, Tony collected wand, radio, flashlight, knife – or two -, his phone and his wallet before heading for breakfast in the Great Hall.
He found a seat at the Hufflepuff table and was munching on toast while trying to figure out why he would even need his wallet and phone for the next couple months – ‘Must’ve grabbed them by force of habit.’ -, when the Trio stopped next to him.
“Good morning, Tony,” Mi beamed, adjusting her bag strap. “How are you today?”
“Tired,” he sighed, looking up at them. “Had an energy drain or something.”
“We didn’t,” Ron told him.
“I thought we would all experience one together,” Harry frowned, pushing his glasses back up his nose.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought, too,” Tony lifted a shoulder. He wasn’t exactly worried about it, but he was curious as hell to figure out why. Usually, one of the others would be affected, too, but it didn’t seem that way this time.
Huh.
Odd.
Hermione looked thoughtful as a group of Badgers passed to get seats. “Tony,” she tilted her head. “What did you do last night?”
“Grade papers,” he answered. “I’ll be getting your homework back on Friday, I think.”
“That’s it?” Ron blinked.
“Unless I’ve started sleepwalking or doing Magic in my sleep. Why?”
“Well,” Mi tapped her lips. “Do you remember how we said that Palmer told us that it might be emotional?”
That was the theory, anyway. He’d had emotional energy drains before – most of them at school -, but he couldn’t claim to have felt this sort of one before. “Vividly.”
“Because,” she shifted uncertainly. “I just … were you … thinking about … well, the funeral?”
Oh, Curly Top?
But why would that –
Guilt suddenly flooded him as he remembered.
Something must have showed on his face, because Mi smiled sadly. “That would be a good reason.”
It would be, wouldn’t it.
Except –
“Mi,” he shook his head at her, the guilt and sadness being buried down again. “I’m pretty sure the entire school would know if I was. Can’t keep secrets, remember? But I’m pretty sure I was grading papers, then I went to bed. That’s it.”
Harry seemed to think of something else. “Maybe it’s not … Sherlock,” he winced apologetically at Tony, “but what if it’s something related to NCIS?”
He had been feeling relief at actually being respected as a valued member of staff … and it was nice to not have to worry about the things that usually plagued him.
“That might be,” he nodded. “Haven’t had a true vacation in a while. Staying at the Burrow doesn’t count, I’m afraid.”
There were literally a dozen reasons to have an energy drain that didn’t involve actually doing anything, so they could argue and debate until sundown, but he didn’t have the time to do it.
“I hate to eat and run,” he finished his coffee, “but I need to take care of this headache I have. See you later.”
He made sure to dust off crumbs as he made his way out of the Hall, nodding at greetings on the way, and glanced up to find Dumbledore ahead.
He seemed absorbed in the conversation he was having with –
Tony recognized the other Wizard and tried turning back around, but the Headmaster saw him first.
“Tony!” he jovially called, directing his friend’s attention toward the Italian as he winced and turned with a convincing smile. “Have you met Derek McIntosh? I don’t recall you doing so at the wedding.”
The man beamed as Tony eyed his friend.
Oh, he remembered well, alright. Both his tattoo – he’d just caught a flash of ink, after all, but not anything concrete – and that cold feeling that had crept down his spine when the man had shook hands with Harry and Ron.
He wasn’t interested in a repeat of that, thanks.
“Sir,” he nodded, inching closer to Dumbledore. “Headmaster, if you don’t mind, I have some business to take care of, so if you both will excuse me.”
H really hoped he didn’t show how much he didn’t want to linger in the man’s presence. Along with the cold feeling he and the Trio had experienced, there was just something about him that Tony didn’t like.
There was obviously no reason for him to feel that way, but he’d long listened to his feelings before NCIS and they hadn’t led him astray, yet.
It wasn’t a very strong feeling, just a trickle of unease that he could use to justify almost running from them, but it was there nonetheless.
* **
His headache was gone by the time lunch rolled around and he whistled a cheerful tune as he followed his class out.
Tony greeted some of his Fifth Years and almost literally collided with Ginny at a corner as she frowned down at a slip of paper in her hand.
“Careful, Gin,” he steadied her as she wavered in step at the near miss. “Eyes on the road.”
“Hi, Tony,” she gave him a fleeting smile before returning a frown at the paper.
He eyed his sister-in-law (‘Mi’s right,’ he reflected, ‘it does take some getting used to.’) and followed her gaze. “Whatcha got there?”
“I don’t know,” she gave it to him. “I got it at breakfast.”
Tony unfolded the small square to see her name, then ‘LA,3’. ‘Oh, yeah. I forgot about that.’
After last Friday’s lesson, Tony, Mac and Deeks put their heads together and came up with something of a plan. He’d talked it over with Dumbledore, who promised to discuss it with the other teachers, and it seemed promising so far.
That, however, was a secret best revealed Halloween – and Hogsmeade – weekend.
“Hm,” he studied it. “And you’re the only one?”
“No,” she shook her head, her red hair held back in a braid that moved with her actions. “Some of the Slytherins and Ravenclaws have them, too, and it started on the first of the month.”
All was going according to plan, then.
He feigned rather convincing ignorance as he returned the slip and escorted her to the Great Hall for lunch. With any luck at all, his participation would stay secret for another two weeks.
They met up with Neville, Seamus, Dean and two of Vince Muldoon’s roommates at the Hall.
“Sittin’ with us today, Professor?” Seamus grinned at him. “Saw you with the Hufflepuffs this mornin’.”
“Sure,” he nodded. “I can do that.”
“I used to think,” Ginny mused as they went on to find seats, “that all teachers sat together.”
“Not this teacher,” Tony scowled, green eyes narrowing at Dumbledore’s innocent look as their gazes caught. “Not for long, anyway. I don’t know how the others do it, but please stop me if I start offering lemon drops.”
“Oh, hey,” he smiled in amusement as he was presented with a tin. “Is this new? What happened to the old ones?” He opened it to see what looked like –
“Tony?” a hand waving in front of his nose snapped him out of that odd daydream. Well, it snapped him back to the present, anyway.
“Hm?”
“Are you okay?” Neville frowned. “You spaced out for a minute.”
“Really? Maybe that Pepper Up was a little too strong,” he absently rubbed his temple as he sat next to Ginny. It took him a few moments, but – “Anyone seen the Trio?”
“They went to the Owlery,” Dean told him. “I think they’re still looking for Hedwig.”
Tony nodded and bit into a sandwich. He was slightly worried about Harry’s owl, too. None of them had seen her since before summer and glimpses at best. He still thought that there was something going on, but he didn’t want to jump to conclusions before he knew more than that. Especially since a lot of the other owls and eagles didn’t seem to be reacting any strangely than Hedwig was. Well, if they were, he hadn’t heard about it.
Tony enjoyed lunch, hiding a grin as he saw others get their own slips of paper via Post, and interacting with the students as he waited for the Trio to appear. They eventually did, but they brought Vince and a familiar older Witch with them.
“Mrs. Muldoon! What brings you to Hogwarts? Are you okay, Professor?”
Tony hacked into his tea as AJ lightly patted his shoulder. “Where do you come from?” he wheezed, not having seen her materialize next to him.
“Happy Tuesday, AJ,” Collie Muldoon beamed at the younger Witch as she and the others approached. “How’s your Second Year been?”
Tony focused on breathing as they chatted, Harry catching his eye and giving him a sympathetic look. He lifted a shoulder in response.
AJ was a quiet little Hufflepuff, wasn’t she?
Collie Muldoon was a nice looking Witch, with Vince’s brown eyes and her shoulder length brown-blonde hair. When he first met her, he’d been reminded of a toned down version of Sparky. His old friend was – in turn – a less caffeinated version of Abby Scuito or maybe Abby was what Sparky would be like on the Good Stuff.
Collie reminded him of the good times he’d had over the years and, as a result, felt an overwhelming fondness for her. And while she was fair on the eyes, Tony had caught her blushing at quite a few people of either gender and they blushed back. One Witch and one Wizard in particular, so Tony had spent most of his week with them debating who she would be more inclined to pursue.
“Professor,” Vince called him from his thoughts. “I was wondering if we could have a word.”
“Hm? Oh, right. Sure,” he finished up and promised to meet with the Trio later before heading out of the Great Hall after Vince and Collie.
Vince led them to an empty classroom and made sure to lock the door.
“Suddenly, I’m not sure if I want to be here,” Tony eyed him half-jokingly.
“Professor DiNozzo,” Collie stepped forward. “You’re teaching Defense, right?”
Oh, is that what this was about?
“I am,” he nodded, relaxing now that he wasn’t going to get yelled at or disappeared off somewhere never to be seen or heard from again. “Something I can help you with?”
“I wouldn’t want to be a burden,” she worried her bottom lip, darting a glance at Vince as he stood near the door. “But … I have a problem and I couldn’t find the Headmaster, so …”
“Okay,” he nodded. “What sort of problem?”
She glanced at Vince again before pulling him farther away to whisper, “I’ve had reason to believe that there’s an intruder that’s been on my property. I hear sounds upstairs and I see a light in the woods, but I haven’t been able to catch anyone. I set up wards that haven’t been tripped yet and I’m at a loss at what to do next. There’s no evidence of a person sneaking around, so I don’t know where they’re coming in.”
“And you want me to look into this,” he nodded. “I’ll be more than happy to investigate.”
“Would you?” she deflated in relief. “Thank you so much.”
“Not a problem,” he shook his head. He’d actually been a little homesick without a case to solve and having to deal with school things all the time. This would give him something to do to ease that. Plus, he thought back to last week, it may be connected to Mi’s experience at Hagrid’s. It could be a lead and what kind of investigator would he be if he didn’t follow it?
They sent Vince off to eat before class so Collie could tell him everything without worrying her son.
Tony got her statement and left her in Sprout’s capable hands to run to his own class, assuring her that he would look into it as soon as possible.