~ Chapter Four ~ Caught

                                    

                                          
-As the day progressed Gellert felt the pressure on his chest lessen and his stomach settled enough for him to enjoy his lunch. Freshly fuelled the class breezed by, and he was more than successful in turning a peacock into a champagne flute. He took extra time to visualise intricately cut glass on the base, twirling teal and blue coloured glass up through the stem. Overall he was impressed with his ability and was scrutinising it with such intensity he didn't notice the classroom door open less than half-way through class.
                          
Fingers wrapped around his shoulder making him jump, the glass slipping from his fingers and smashing on the ground. He felt guilty for the peacock, who he was sure wouldn't survive such an ordeal. Momentarily deafened by the shock he failed to hear the teacher calling his name, confused as to why he was suddenly being manhandled. He wasn't sure who pulled him off the stool and dragged him backwards, his brain to discombobulated to process the noise in his right ear. 
                          
Then as sudden as a Muffalato charm being lifted Gellert could hear clearly, a strong masculine voice thrummed in his ears.
                          
"...not sure what you have to do with it, but he wants to speak to you none-the-less."
                          
Gellert tried to twist his head to see who had him in such a firm grip, their arm locked under his own, but found the angle almost impossible. "What's going on?" He wheezed, for the arm was strangulating him slightly.
                          
"Were you not listening?"
                          
"I... This is all a shock. One minute I was in class and now I'm heading..." Gellert took note of the path they had taken through the castle, trying to calculate their possible destination. His eye's widened and he almost tried to dig his heels into the stone floor as he realised he was almost there, "The headmaster's office?" his voice almost failed him.
                          
"As I said Gellert, he just wants to ask you a few questions, nothing major. You have nothing to hide, I know you had nothing to do with it, you are a good student." The teacher's grip lessened and then tightened again, pulling him so they were face to face.
                          
"Professor Stephenson..." Gellert saw the confliction on her face he took it like a kick to the gut. They stood there for what felt like ten minutes, he could feel her wanting to pull him into a hug but also the desire to keep him at arm's length, just in case he couldn't be trusted. 
                          
Instead, they walked together, side by side, in silence up the private staircase to the headmaster's private domain. Gellert shuddered as he remembered the last time he had walked up to them, almost a year to the day, the day he found out his grandfather was close to taking his final breath. His father had been waiting for him then, looking solemn in one of the headmaster's plush chairs, he hesitated at the door, hoping he wouldn't be sat there again.
                          
Sensing Gellert's hesitation, Professor Stephenson lifted the heavy brass knocker three times in quick secession and bid him good luck before hurrying away.
                          
Gellert's reply died on his tongue as the doors swung open. Stepping inside he felt the press of ice-cold air against his clammy hands and sweaty brow. His father appeared to be absent, but that did little to quell the negative thoughts that battled in his head. The room seemed to stretch impossibly under his feet, taking longer than it should have for him to reach the high backed wooden chair the headmaster was gesturing to. His finger's gripped the underside of the seat for support.
                          
The headmaster sat behind a vast expanse of a desk, piles of papers, rolls of parchment and a multitude of small wooden objects scattered about the surface. He coughed once to force Gellert's attention away from the floor. "I'm sure your father will be joining us momentarily."
                          
The lack of any emotional markers in the Headmaster's voice unnerved Gellert, he secretly wished for the shouting to start so the mess could be over. His mouth felt like a desert, all the moisture flooding his palms and snaking down his spine. The excruciating silence cut short by the flapping wings of a large snowy owl as she entered through the window and landed on the desk. If Gellert hadn't been holding on to the chair with white knuckles he would have fallen off.