Neville, who had been knocked unconscious, wasn't found until after the first class of the morning, when someone discovered him in a corner of the Gryffindor common room.
Christmas had just ended, and before leaving, the Weasley twins had dressed him up as a Christmas tree covered in presents to disguise him.
It had to be said that the disguise was remarkably effective and lasted for quite some time.
After being rescued, Neville didn't even bother completely untangling the ribbons before stumbling toward Professor McGonagall's office to report what had happened.
"Minerva!"
Inside Hogwarts Castle, a series of urgent knocks sounded on the door of the Deputy Headmistress's office.
"Please come in," Professor McGonagall said.
The door was pushed open, and a man entered.
His long black hair draped over his shoulders like a curtain. Between it was a sallow face and a pair of dark eyes.
Severus Snape.
"Weasley, Potter, and Granger from Gryffindor didn't come to my Potions class today," Snape said gloomily.
When he heard the last name, Professor McGonagall's eyebrows twitched noticeably.
"I went to Flitwick as well."
"The Weasley twins are also missing," Snape said coldly.
"We also need to add Ravenclaw's Lovegood."
This information had come from Professor Sprout.
That was sufficient proof that the truancy had been planned and organized.
A sense of foreboding rose in Professor McGonagall's mind.
Her eagle-like eyebrows furrowed.
Her first reaction wasn't anger, but consideration.
Hermione's presence gave her reason to question the truthfulness of Harry's earlier words.
"Ministry of Magic... Ministry of Magic..."
Professor McGonagall murmured, her brow furrowed as she recalled what Harry had said not long ago.
Snape stood with his hands behind his back, his face expressionless.
If what Harry had said was true...
That could be deadly.
She glanced at Snape. The man's expression remained perfectly normal, and for the time being, she couldn't discern anything from him.
"Deduct one hundred points from each of their Houses," Professor McGonagall said coldly.
In an instant, the Gryffindor beads in the giant hourglass that recorded the House Cup scores dropped to the bottom.
Slytherin was now far ahead.
"Also, Severus, come with me. And call Filius as well."
Professor McGonagall immediately stood up and prepared to leave the office.
"Classes without teachers will study on their own for now."
Professor McGonagall quickly made the necessary arrangements.
The clinking of silver ornaments suddenly came from outside the door.
Trelawney, wearing her strange collection of accessories, burst through the wooden door of Professor McGonagall's office.
"I want to go too."
Professor Trelawney spoke somewhat timidly, waving her hands as though she were afraid.
"You?"
Professor McGonagall narrowed her eyes.
"If we're unlucky, we might run into some fighting..."
Professor McGonagall stopped halfway through her sentence.
At the mention of the word "battle," Professor Trelawney's legs instinctively went weak. Fortunately, Professor Flitwick, who had just arrived, caught her at the doorway and helped keep her from falling.
"I'll be careful," Trelawney said stubbornly nonetheless.
"Sybill! You're not good at fighting," Professor McGonagall said sternly.
"I have a premonition that something big will happen soon, something that will shake the entire wizarding world. I want to make a prediction and guide us in the right direction."
"What?"
Professor McGonagall looked surprised.
Although Professor McGonagall had always disliked Trelawney's predictions, for some reason, she didn't mock her this time.
Then she glanced at the old clock hanging on the wall.
Its rusty hands seemed to be telling her that she couldn't waste any more time.
Even if all of this was false, they couldn't simply allow several students to leave the school. The wizarding world was far from peaceful at the moment.
"If you're coming, then come with me."
Her authoritative gaze swept over Trelawney before she stepped out of the office, with Flitwick and Snape following closely behind.
All of this was unknown to those who had already arrived at the gates of the Ministry of Magic.
The Floo Network was much faster than their flying broomsticks.
With a click, the transparent glass door of the telephone box was pulled open.
The group squeezed inside, with the boys crowding around the edges to make room for the girls.
"Six... two... four... four... two..."
Hermione reached toward the keypad and dialled the number.
"Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Please state your name and the purpose of your visit."
"Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, George Weasley, Fred Weasley, Luna Lovegood."
Hermione spoke incredibly quickly, as though racing against time.
"Principal Pierce Sinkness sent us here to pay our respects to the current Minister for Magic."
The information had been provided by Dolores Umbridge.
Hermione lied without batting an eye.
Fred and George quietly gave her a thumbs-up, while Luna carefully examined the strange telephone.
"Thank you," the indifferent voice said.
"Guests, please take the badges and pin them to your clothing."
Six badges slid out through the metal chute that was normally used to dispense coins.
Hermione picked them up, held them out, and distributed them among her companions.
"Guests of the Ministry of Magic, you will need to go through security and register your wands. The security checkpoint is located at the far end of the main hall."
"Understood!"
Harry shouted, a sudden pain shooting through his scar.
"Can we proceed now?"
The floor of the telephone box suddenly began to shake.
The pavement outside gradually rose above the windows. Darkness closed in overhead, and with a dull grinding sound, the telephone box descended into the depths of the Ministry of Magic.
A thin golden ray of light shone onto their feet, then widened and moved upward across their bodies.
In the cramped space, Harry gripped his wand and crouched as low as possible, peering through the glass to see whether anyone was waiting for them in the main hall.
But the hall appeared to be empty.
The light was dimmer than it had been during the day. There was no fire burning in the fireplace set into the wall.
Yet when the elevator came to a smooth stop, Harry could still see the golden symbol on the dark-blue ceiling twisting erratically.
"The Ministry of Magic hopes you have a pleasant evening," the woman's voice said.
The telephone box door suddenly opened.
Harry stumbled out, followed by the Weasley twins, then Hermione and Luna, and finally Ron.
The only sound that could be heard in the main hall was the continuous rush of the golden fountain. Water gushed endlessly from the wand of the male witch, the centaur's arrows, the tip of the goblin's hat, and the house-elf's ears, falling into the circular pool below.
They ran toward the security checkpoint, where a person sat completely concealed beneath a cloak.
An invisible wall blocked their path.
It was as though they had crashed into an inflated sphere, sending them bouncing several steps backward.
"All right, students who skipped school. It's time to go back to class."
A tired, weary voice came from beneath the cloak.
Then the figure removed the cloak, revealing his true face.