Harry slipped a hand inside his robes and withdrew the four letters.
By then, Hermione had reached his side.
A moment later, Daphne joined them, while Professor Snape stopped a few feet away, his dark eyes narrowing suspiciously.
Professor McGonagall looked from one student to the next.
Her frown deepened.
“Why are Miss Granger and Miss Greengrass involved in this, Mister Potter?”
Without answering immediately, Harry held out the letters.
“Because they’re part of it, Professor.”
The Transfiguration professor accepted the stack with visible impatience.
However, as soon as her eyes fell upon the Ministry seal and she began reading, her expression rapidly changed.
The irritation vanished.
Confusion replaced it.
Then came shock.
“Good heavens!”
Professor Snape stepped forward at once.
“What is it, Minerva?”
Instead of answering, she silently handed him the first letter.
Snape took it.
His eyes swept over the contents.
For perhaps the first time Harry could remember, the Potions Master’s usual mask slipped.
Only slightly.
But it slipped.
His eyes widened.
Then narrowed.
Then widened again.
Without a word, he snatched the second Ministry letter and read it as well.
The silence stretched.
Harry could practically hear the gears turning inside both professors’ heads.
Finally, McGonagall looked up.
Her gaze shifted between Harry, Hermione, and Daphne.
Then back to the letters.
Then back to the three students again.
“I see.”
Judging by her expression, she absolutely did not.
Snape lowered the parchment and fixed Harry with an unreadable stare.
“A soul bond.”
Harry nodded.
“Yes, Professor.”
“Two soul bonds,” corrected Snape.
Hermione cleared her throat.
“Technically, it’s one three-way soul bond.”
The silence that followed was almost painful.
Professor McGonagall blinked several times.
“A three-way…”
She stopped.
Started again.
“A three-way soul bond?”
“Yes, Professor.”
McGonagall looked as though she desperately wished someone would explain how this had happened.
Snape folded the letters with exaggerated precision.
“When?”
“This morning,” Harry replied.
“At approximately eleven twenty-three and eleven twenty-five.”
Professor Snape’s eyes narrowed.
“You know the exact times?”
“The Ministry apparently does.”
Harry gestured toward the letters.
The older wizard looked as though he wanted to say something.
Several things, actually.
None of them pleasant.
Before he could, however, Professor McGonagall took a deep breath and forced herself back into professional mode.
“Very well.”
She straightened.
“If the Ministry has already recognized the bonds, then the matter is legally binding.”
“It is,” Daphne confirmed.
“And Gringotts has already recognized them as well.”
McGonagall glanced at the remaining letters.
“Indeed.”
The professor pinched the bridge of her nose.
For a brief moment, Harry almost felt sorry for her.
Almost.
“Professor?” Hermione asked carefully.
McGonagall lowered her hand.
“Yes, Miss Granger?”
“The letters mention alternate accommodations.”
“They do.”
The professor sighed.
“And unfortunately, Ministerial law is quite explicit on the matter.”
Snape looked positively displeased.
“Students involved in a recognized soul bond cannot be housed separately from those to whom they are bonded.”
Hermione exchanged a quick glance with Harry.
Daphne looked entirely unsurprised.
McGonagall continued.
“Normally, arrangements are made for a private suite.”
“Normally?” asked Harry.
The professor gave him a look.
“Normally there are only two people involved.”
“Oh.”
“Exactly.”
A long silence followed.
Finally, Snape spoke.
“I assume the three of you intend to remain at Hogwarts.”
The Potions Master nodded once.
“Then accommodations will need to be arranged before curfew.”
McGonagall sighed again.
This time even more heavily.
“Which means I shall need to discuss the matter with the Headmaster.”
Harry immediately frowned.
The professor noticed.
“Mister Potter?”
“Professor, with all due respect, this is a legal matter.”
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
“It is.”
“The letters specifically instruct us to notify our Heads of House.”
McGonagall stared at him for several moments.
Understanding slowly dawned.
“You are reminding me that notification of the Headmaster is not legally required.”
Harry carefully kept his expression neutral.
“Yes, Professor.”
Behind him, Hermione suddenly found the floor fascinating.
Daphne appeared equally interested in the castle walls.
Professor Snape, however, looked dangerously close to smirking.
A terrifying sight.
McGonagall inhaled slowly.
Then exhaled.
“Be that as it may, Mister Potter, Professor Dumbledore will learn of this eventually.”
“Eventually,” Harry agreed.
The professor gave him another long look.
Then folded the letters and handed them back.
“Very well.”
She squared her shoulders.
“For now, return to the Great Hall.”
“Professor?” asked Daphne.
“Yes, Miss Greengrass?”
“When should we expect the accommodation arrangements?”
McGonagall glanced toward the doors.
“As soon as humanly possible.”
Professor Snape snorted.
“Which means sometime before sunrise if we’re fortunate.”
The older witch shot him an annoyed look.
Snape looked entirely unrepentant.
“Go back to the feast,” McGonagall ordered.
“The three of you have caused enough disruption for one evening.”
Harry accepted the letters and tucked them safely back into his robes.
“Yes, Professor.”
As the three students turned toward the Great Hall doors, Harry could already hear the noise of hundreds of students inside.
He had no doubt that the moment they returned, rumors would begin spreading through Hogwarts like Fiendfyre.
And by breakfast?
The entire school would know.