Night had fallen, but the Headmaster's Office was brightly lit. Apart from Malfoy, Harry, and the others, the heads of all Four Houses were there. Lockhart had come along too.
Everyone looked grim except Lockhart. One look at his face made it clear he was only there to enjoy the spectacle!
"Mr. Malfoy, what exactly happened?"
Dumbledore glanced around and, once he saw everyone was present, asked the question.
"I... After Goyle and I came out of the dungeon, we saw Potter and Jerry standing in the corridor, staring at Filch's petrified cat."
"Professor, we really didn't do what happened in the corridor..." Harry grew anxious at Malfoy's words.
"Harry, calm down. There's no evidence that you had anything to do with this. But I think you should explain to everyone why you weren't in the Great Hall tonight."
"All right! Professor, Ron and I went to Nick's Deathday Party tonight. Nick, Moaning Myrtle, Peeves, and the other ghosts can all vouch for us!"
"After the party, we found the bloody writing and the petrified Mrs. Norris in the corridor. Then Malfoy came running over!"
"Anything else? Did anything unusual happen?"
"No!" Harry lowered his head and answered after a moment's thought.
The heads of house frowned as they watched Harry. They could all tell he wasn't telling the truth, and so could Dumbledore.
"All right, it's getting late. Harry, you and Malfoy should head back now. Get some rest. A lot has happened tonight."
"Headmaster, Potter..." Malfoy was unwilling to let Harry go without any punishment, but before he could finish, Snape grabbed him by the back of his collar and tossed him out of the Headmaster's Office. Goyle and Crabbe swallowed hard at the sight and hurried out after him.
Harry and the others caught Snape's look and