The banquet ended.
The Hogwarts Headmaster's office.
The portraits of past headmasters on the walls all had their eyes closed.
Phineas Nigellus Black's chest rose and fell steadily.
Armando Dippet gave faint snores.
No one was asleep.
The fingers gripping chair armrests inside the frames betrayed them.
They were all straining their ears.
Douglas leaned beside Fawkes's perch, letting Fawkes tease his hair with his beak.
Dumbledore sat behind the broad desk.
His fingers were interlaced.
A long parchment list lay spread across the desktop.
The edges of the parchment curled slightly.
Professor McGonagall stood before the desk.
Both hands pressed hard against its surface.
Her expression was stern.
"Fifty students from fifth through seventh year."
McGonagall spoke.
Her knuckles tapped the edge of the parchment.
"Holmes. The Academic Affairs Office did approve the fieldwork plan for the Dahshur desert in Egypt last year."
She straightened.
Her gaze swept back and forth between Douglas and Sirius.
"We all agreed at the time to use Ankh-Ka's tomb as the ultimate testing ground for the upper years."
"But that was before Umbridge turned Hogwarts into a clockwork factory."
"Look at the names on this."
McGonagall's voice carried exhaustion and firmness.
"They have just endured more than a month of extreme pressure."
"They slept only four hours a day."
"Their nerves have been stretched to breaking point."
"Now you want to throw these children on the verge of collapse into real ancient Egyptian curses."
Douglas took a sip of tea.
The tea was slightly astringent.
"Professor McGonagall. This is already the trimmed-down list."
Sirius sank into an armchair nearby.
His right hand deftly twirled his wand.
The wooden shaft spun between his fingers.
"Minerva. The place has been completely renovated."
Sirius stopped his wand.
"This is no longer an expedition we're going into