𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑟𝑡𝑦 𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡.

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In a private break room that had been cleared out for the headmaster's purposes, five Gryffindors, three students and two professors, sat with anxiety written all over their faces. McGonagall and Dumbledore were quite sure that their pupils had not let any information go, even if they themselves had no idea what was going on.

The trio of boys had not trusted the Ministry to divulge their information, but they knew that McGonagall, if not Dumbledore, would not immediately jump to punishment as the government would. The two adults would at least hear them out before skipping to any conclusions. They were very intelligent, having gained their high positions for a reason.

James rocked back and forth slightly in his chair, and McGonagall couldn't let the tension build any longer.

"Would you three mind explaining what is going on here?" she asked, starting in a low tone that quickly started to gain fierceness. "We wake up this morning and Nott is beaten half to death and six students missing without a single bit of knowledge from any of your classmates on why this could be happening."

The frown lines around her thin mouth deepened.

"I would hope you know that not only is this dangerous, but also an incredibly hard burden to place on a professor," she continued, trying not to let too much emotion leak into her voice. "You could have been killed."

Well, one of us was, Sirius thought sourly.

"So can you please tell me where the older brothers in your group are?" McGonagall finished, wringing her hands together at what she might hear.

As easily as they could lie and conceal information from the cold-hearted Ministry officials, they simply couldn't do the same for their beloved professor.

"Regulus is gone," Remus said truthfully with a vaguely remorseful tone. "We don't know where he went."

Seeing how McGonagall was about to open her mouth to reply to Remus, Sirius deftly cut in.

"He's fine, he can apparate and has his broom," he said reassuringly. "He'll be able to hide just-"

Remus dragged his fingers across his eyes in exasperation. Sometimes Sirius could be so damn careless and now was the absolute worst time to let that trait show. Next to the green eyed boy, James let out a deep sigh and slumped down in his chair.

None of them were being subtle about the fact that Sirius had just revealed something they had been trying to keep confidential.

"Why does Mr. Black need to hide?" Dumbledore asked calmly, having just observed the conversation until now.

The answer clicked with both professors as soon as the old man said this.

"I believe that it is quite possible Rosier's body might be in the grounds somewhere," James muttered. "Might want to clean that up before some first year finds it."

Remus felt highly guilty for finding James's comment about the death of another student amusing. 

McGonagall on the other hand, had four fingers pressed against her mouth with both horror and shock. The idea that Regulus Black had killed Evans Rosier was something she had never expected from a teenager. 

Although Sirius's older brother had always been a stereotypical pureblood Slytherin, McGonagall never pinned him as the type to commit cold-blooded murder, so there must have been some unknown motive, most likely related to the reason Hollis was in the hospital.

"And why might this be?" McGonagall asked, not hesitating to voice her question. "Why did you bring Hollis here?"

These questions were linked, and all five of them knew it.

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