Professor Greengrass stormed into the hospital wing, carrying Marigold in her arms. Madam Abbott’s jaw dropped upon noticing that Marigold was stiff as though she was dead.

 “Daphne, what happened?” she asked, horrified.

 “We found Miss Lupin-Black and Mr Potter,” Professor Greengrass replied. “But Miss Lupin-Black seems unconscious.”

 Madam Abbott hurriedly led Professor Greengrass to one of the beds, where she put Marigold down; they exchanged concerned looks as Marigold lay there, still as a rock.

 Meanwhile, in the Headmistress’s office, James was in tears, explaining everything to the professors.

 “I had no idea I was being kidnapped until I found myself down in the chamber,” he said, between tears.

 “Mr Potter, calm down,” Professor McGonagall had her arm over James’s shoulder, comforting him.

 “That means Delphini must’ve used the Imperius Curse, then!” Professor Slughorn was disgusted.

 “Then Miss Lupin-Black found you, didn’t she?” Professor Longbottom asked James, who nodded.

 “And then…”

 “What happened then, Mr Potter?” Professor Flitwick asked, concerned.

 “And then…” James started crying harder. “Delphini tortured her, I begged her to stop, she didn’t listen, I couldn’t do anything…”

 “Oh, dear,” Professor McGonagall hugged him tightly.

 As James sobbed in her arms, Professor Greengrass came into the office.

 “Minerva, I’ve got some awful news,” she said. “Miss Lupin-Black is in a serious condition. Hannah believes she’s in a coma.”

 “Well, when does she expect Miss Lupin-Black will wake up?” Professor Slughorn asked.

 “She doesn’t know,” Professor Greengrass replied, her voice quivering.

 Professor Longbottom turned pale; he was brought back to when he was three, walking into St Mungo's Hospital with his grandmother, which he still recalled vividly to this day.

 When he saw his parents on the beds, the young Neville immediately became worried.

 “Mum?”

 Alice, whose hair was white instead of the usual blonde, stared back at her son blankly, and held out an outstretched hand, handing Neville a chewing gum wrapper.

 Neville, surprised, turned to look at his father this time.

 “Dad?”

 Frank stared back at him with a vacant expression. No warm words, no tender hug, no loving kiss.

 “They can’t recognise us anymore, Neville,” Augusta said sadly, comforting her grandson, who started crying.

 Professor Longbottom’s thoughts drifted off back to Marigold, who was tortured and now in the hospital wing, and no one knew when or even whether she would wake up.

 ‘No, not Marigold, she’s only seventeen, she’s too young, no….’

 Professor Longbottom broke into a cold sweat.

 “When Miss Lupin-Black wakes up, do you think…?” he couldn’t dare spit out the words.

 Next to Professor Longbottom, Professor Flitwick burst into tears.

 “We don’t know anything now,” Professor McGonagall said, trying to comfort them. “But we’ll monitor Miss Lupin-Black regularly.”

 “Delphini may have left by now, but that doesn’t mean Hogwarts is completely safe,” Professor Slughorn said.

 “I agree with you, Horace,” Professor McGonagall replied. “Neville, please send owls to all the parents. And I’ll make an announcement explaining what happened to the rest of the students.”

* * *

 Before supper that night, all the students, except James, whom the professors all agreed to send to the hospital wing so that he could relax, were gathered in the Great Hall.

 “As some of you may already know, Delphini broke into Hogwarts earlier today.” Professor McGonagall began. “She used the Imperius Curse on James Potter, a sixth-year student, while he was asleep, and kidnapped him into the Chamber of Secrets.”

 There was a collective gasp in the Great Hall.

 “I knew it!” Andrew hissed.

 “I can’t believe he actually was in the chamber,” Rose added, shocked. “I thought we’ve been over that when Voldemort was defeated.”

 “Luckily, Marigold Lupin-Black, whom you may know as the current Head Girl, managed to save him in time,” Professor McGonagall continued. “However, Delphini used the Cruciatus Curse on Miss Lupin-Black to the point where she ended up unconscious.”

 Hagrid started blubbering. The students gasped even louder and began whispering to each other, some with concern and others with anger and disgust.

 “Pity that Delphini didn’t kill her,” Parkinson scoffed. “She should’ve killed them both.”

 “Both Miss Lupin-Black and Mr Potter are in the hospital wing,” Professor McGonagall continued. “Unlike Miss Lupin-Black, Mr Potter is in good condition. However, I ask all of you to look out for your fellow students and express your care towards these two.”

 “As if anyone cares about them,” Parkinson rolled her eyes.

 “Now that Delphini broke into Hogwarts and placed two of our students in grave danger, it is very likely that Delphini may cause more harm in the future,” Professor McGonagall continued. “I’m afraid we might see another wide-scale conflict in the wizarding world.”

 The entire Great Hall fell solemnly silent.

* * *

 During supper, Albus suddenly banged the table. Andrew, Louis, James, Rose, Scorpius, Lily and Hugo stared at him wide-eyed.

 “I’m not letting Delphini get away with it anymore!” Albus snarled; his green eyes had an uncharacteristic angry glow in them.

 “I know, deportation is one thing, but harming innocent people like Marigold and James is another,” Louis added, his usually calm, angelic face flushed with anger.

 “Yeah, they could’ve died!” Lily added.

 “And Marigold is in the hospital wing!” Scorpius added.

 “Delphini went too far this time,” Andrew added.

 “She needs to go,” Hugo added.

 “But what can we do?” Rose asked. “As much as I want Delphini gone, it’s out of our ability to make it happen since we’re only students. What can we do to get rid of her?”

 Albus thought for a second, then opened his mouth.

 “I have an idea.”