"Merely dissatisfied? Severus, you're seriously covering for them!" Professor McGonagall's chest heaved with anger. "They mocked how Weasley earned points for the House through chess last year, turning Gryffindor's honor into a joke! They're openly ridiculing Hogwarts's rules! Albus! This is far more than a protest over House points! They're defying your authority! It's a provocation against the entire school! Another naked display of arrogance and divisive tendencies from those pure-blood families!"
"I'd wager the Chamber of Secrets incident and the Petrification Incident had something to do with them! They're guilty and using their absence to divert attention! Greengrass! The Avery family! Those family names themselves reek of Dark Magic!" Her fury and suspicion toward Slytherin had reached their peak. Any slight disturbance made her think of a conspiracy.
Dumbledore looked at the furious McGonagall, then glanced at Severus beside her, who still emanated an icy air of suspicion. When McGonagall mentioned Slytherin, his eyes had grown even deeper and more unreadable. Dumbledore felt a heavy weariness settle over him.
"Minerva, calm down." Dumbledore's voice was soothing, though an almost imperceptible sternness lay beneath it. "Their absence is how they chose to express their dissatisfaction. Though extreme, it does not violate school rules. Carmichael and Daphne's wording... was indeed inappropriate, but it reflected the will of the entire House, not an attack on any individual. As for directly connecting their absence to the Chamber of Secrets incident, we currently have no evidence."
"Our priority now is not Slytherin's dissatisfaction. That can be dealt with gradually afterward. Minerva, Severus," Dumbledore said in a low, grave voice, "I need you to investigate something immediately and thoroughly. Before Miss Ginny Weasley was rescued by Professor Lockhart and taken to the Hospital Wing, did anyone—any student, staff member, or even visitor—go near that abandoned