"I-I didn't do it."

Mckenzie had heard those words a hundred times before, in the field and in the questioning room. But something about the way the prisoner said it made her want to believe it. She took a sip of her coffee, regarded the cramped walls of the room, and sat down.

"The truth of that is what I'm here to figure out." Mckenzie assured her. Harrietta was slight of build, with narrow features and a mousy disposition, but the report in her office had told a different story. In particular, the fact that it had taken three aurors to bring her down. But no amount of dueling skill would serve her in the depths of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. "My name is Mckenzie Calderwood. As you might have guessed, I'm an Auror." And an expert in the criminally deranged, but she didn't need to know that.

"'M Harrietta. Harrietta Hound." The girl bit her lip, which didn't make her seem any older. She was twenty at most, if Mckenzie was generous. "My friends...I..." Her hands were trembling and she shoved them onto her lap. "You can call me Harri. If you want."

"Certainly." Mckenzie offered her a smile. "You say that you didn't do it. From all we've been able to discover, you are the only suspect. Do you know something that we don't?"

"It was Bobble!" Harri said. "Bobble did it!"

"And who is Bobble?" Mckenzie made a note of the name. There was a transcribing quill tucked behind the window, but she did like to be thorough.

"She was my friend." Harri's eyes drifted to the dark wall beside her. "I helped fix her, she really, really needed it."

"You say you fixed her. Can you elaborate on that?"

"Well, she, I was, she was just a head when I bought her, and then I put her together again." Harri flashed a smile, but it disappeared within a blink.

"...perhaps you'd like to explain how you met Bobble." Mckenzie said. Wading into the depths of someone's mind, especially someone like Harri, tended to mislead even the most established in her field. At least she'd have a timeline, this way."

"Yeah, I, I'll do that." Harri nodded. "I went to visit Borgin and Burke's..."


It was the first time I'd been able to visit for a while. Mr. Barrowmont didn't trust me to go out on my own, so I had to go with him, or one of my tutors, and they didn't want me to go alone either. They were being paid for it and it would waste their time and I stopped begging them eventually. But I was excited, because it meant I was going to be able to buy things, and I even had an allowance.

It wasn't a real allowance, but I was going to start Snatching soon, and Mr. Barrowmont said he wanted me to get a taste of the rewards. It was dusty inside, like most of the things hadn't even been moved in a long time, and there wasn't much light, either. There was a fireplace, but it might have been made of stone, because it wasn't lit and it wasn't hot. There was a man behind the desk, with tiny glasses and he was bent over, but he stood right up when Mr. Barrowmont walked in.

Mr. Barrowmont always made people see him, even though he was small and thin and he never talked very loud. I think it was because of his robes; they swooped around when he walked, but whenever I asked him, he just smiled and told me to go back to practicing.

"Good evening, Sir Barrowmont!" He put his book to the side, quick-like, and he stood up and bowed and everything.

"Good evening, Borgin." Mr. Barrowmont said, though he barely looked at him. "This young lady will be purchasing something. Best leave her to it."

"Right," Borgin looked at me then. "Of course, Sir. M'lady." And he sat back in his chair like it wasn't comfortable any more.

Mr. Barrowmont just stood by the door, then he gestured for me to browse as I pleased, so I did. There were all kinds of things there. There were slippers that looked like they were made of dragon scales, there was a wand sheathe partly made of a black stone that moved like skin, a big shelf filled with books that I couldn't even read the titles of, and I read a lot of books. There were talismans, too, and this beating heart that was in two parts, but one half was all split up like a puzzle piece.

I looked through a lot of stuff, but I didn't want to keep Mr. Barrowmont waiting for long, so I only went to things that looked interesting, and that's when I saw Bobble for the first time. She was a skull, sat up on a pedestal in the corner, with these kinds of runes all over it, like a crown on the top and reaching over her nose and her mouth. They were carved in, it looked like, and I thought she was beautiful the first time I saw her.

I ran right up to her, but I couldn't touch, I knew that, not until I bought it. I must have been there for a couple of minutes just staring, because Mr. Barrowmont was behind me all of a sudden.

"Inferi skull." Mr. Barrowmont read out. "Ten galleons." And I felt a pit in my stomach, because I knew that I only had eight. He looked at me and I looked at him and it was like I could see clouds in his eyes. I know occlumency and legilimency, and he did use the former, but I don't think he even needed the latter, 'cause he knew what I was thinking.

"You are in an open field. An Auror is approaching on a Nimbus 2001. They intend to attack you. What do you do?"

"I feint and counter the flying charm on the Nimbus!" I answered quick, like I always did with Mr. Barrowmont's tests. "It's the biggest difference in our resources and they'll be expecting a hex."

"You are coming up on a small room. There is a fountain at the center, with two capable combatants guarding the door to the other side. What is your first move?"

"Incendio the water in the fountain. The steam could hurt them, but it'll definitely conceal me and spoil their advantage."

"You are in a large cave. You are to disable a giant."

"Conjunctivitis curse, to blind it."

"It wears goggles."

"Bombarda the ceiling, so rocks hit it."

"It is wearing a very thick helmet."

"Defodio the ground beneath its feet, so it falls in."

Mr. Barrowmont inclined his head, then handed me two extra galleons.

"Thanks, dad!" I blurted out without even thinking about it, then my gut was back to twisting around itself.

"Buy your skull and we will forget that was said," he said, which I was grateful for, because he used to get a lot more angry whenever I slipped up with that. I grabbed the stand the skull was on and walked over to the counter and paid for it right there. Borgin seemed eager to wrap things up, so he didn't even speak, just gave me a bag to carry it in.

Mr. Barrowmont took me home right after that, we apparated, and I had to do it myself because I'd never learn if I didn't. The first few times, I didn't hit the mark, but that time, I did. I was right in my room and I knew he'd be somewhere else. I knew if I listened closely I'd be able to hear him, but I just trusted it and looked for somewhere to put my new ornament.

It wasn't a huge room, but it wasn't small, either. I had a big bed all to myself, with one wall that was nothing but books and a desk for my studies, another that curved out and had mirrors so I could practice my dueling forms, and the rest had dressers and shelves for the rest of my things, plus a door to the bathroom. I wasn't allowed to change it much, but I liked the dark floorboards and the green walls anyway.

Anyway, while I was moving stuff around, I noticed that the bag had opened. I didn't open it and there wasn't anybody else that could have wandered in, but I walked over and there was the skull on my bed. I stared at it for a moment, and then it moved! Its jaw worked, it rolled to the side, and then it was propped upright!

"H-Hello?" I whispered to it. It didn't say anything, and it didn't have eyes for me to see where it was looking, so I had to guess at my questions. "Can you understand me?" I asked, then it wagged its jaw, which just made the rest of the skull move up and come back down. It was nodding at me! My heart was ready to pound right through my chest, and my fingers were shaking, and my head was filled with all kinds of dreams.

"Do you like my room?" I asked it, and it wobbled about a bit, like it was looking all around, and then it nodded again. "Do you like me?" I looked into its eyeholes and it seemed to look back. I was worried for half a moment before it nodded. "Do you want to stay with me? I'll feed...I'll...polish you! Every day! Do you want that?" I asked it, because I'd only had one pet before, and after it died, Mr. Barrowmont had said that any more would be too distracting. But he'd helped me buy the skull himself, so I didn't see any harm in it.

I hugged it as soon as it agreed, smiling like an idiot when I did.

"I'll name you Bobble! It's not just yours, but she's gone now, and...and, you're a girl, aren't you?" I didn't know what skull was meant to look like what, but it agreed to it all the same. "Bobble, then! You're my Bobble!" I giggled and pulled her onto my lap. She was my very first friend.