Blaring red numbers from his nightstand told him it was only 2:30. With a groan Harry rolled over to pick up the phone whose roaring had ripped him out of his sleep.
"Potter here." Harry grumbled."
"Harry, it's me," came the apologetic voice of Hermione. Of course- she was the only one who would bother with a phone call. "I've gotten an urgent owl from Hogwarts."
"Hogwarts?" Harry repeated, confused, and a bit alarmed. "What happened?"
There was a silence on the other end of the line. Harry tried to remain patient- it wasn't commonly Hermione's job to deliver cases- she wasn't technically a profiler, more of a technical analyst (most wizards were rubbish at it.)
"Harry… they found another student." Harry sat up, stunned. Wordlessly and with his eyes glued to the wall ahead, he reached an arm over to nudge Ginny awake. After a momentary grumble Ginny too was alert- it wasn't the first time he'd woken her up for a case. Harry put Hermione on speaker while the two of them got dressed.
"Hey Hermione," Ginny greeted her.
"Hi, Ginny."
"What've ya got?" Ginny asked grimly as she pulled on some work pants.
"Some students were out serving detention with Hagrid in the Forbidden Forest and came across the body of a fourth year." Harry, who was in the bathroom washing his face, leaned over the sink. Ginny, too, froze, hands on her hips as she stood looking at the floor.
"Shit, Hermione…" came Ginny's eventual reply.
"I know. And that's the third in five months. I'll get Ron up and see you two in Hogsmeade, then."
"Sure." Ginny replied. "I'll get ahold of George-"
"And I'll get Creevey." Harry said. A moment later, Hermione was gone.
Once they reached Hogsmeade, it was a bit laborious getting to the Forest, not made particularly easier by George's taunts to his younger brother about entering "the cweepy cwawly fowest." Hermione, not officially an auror, prepared their press statement and talked to various professors about what could be done to ease the student's minds. Ginny talked to Hagrid and the children who'd found the girl, three fifth year Ravenclaws. Meanwhile, Harry, Ron, George, and Dennis Creevey overlooked the scene. The body had been left a hundered yards or so beyond the initial wall of trees. It was gruesome- she was covered in vines that seemed to be choking her.
"Incarcerous Spell." Dennis said grimly.
"Relashio!" Ron muttered. The vines loosened their grip and fell away from her body.
"Just like the other murders." George said. Harry looked over her.
"She has a significant number of bruises and scrapes, though, most likely not caused by the curse." Harry noted.
"It's unlikely he purposefully used any other measure to kill her, though."
"What's your reasoning, George?" Harry inquired.
"All their victims have been killed with that curse alone. His fascination with this particular curse tells us he doesn't plan to use something else." He said. "It is odd, however, that he continues to leave them in the Forest. Haven't they shut it down to students?"
"Yes, but this one's closer to the boundary than last time- Probable that they're pushing their limits, seeing how far they can go." Dennis said.
"And it's important to them, this killing." George added. "This is a personal crusade. Something they don't want to bring out into the open, but are certain must continue. They're willing to risk getting caught to continue hiding the bodies here."
It was true: a spell had been cast around the majority of the perimeter to identify anyone passing the boundary.
"I'll contact Mcgonagall- perhaps the spell alerts her right away who passed the line, and she can tell us who to go after." Harry offered. George frowned in return.
"You can try, but it would waste your time. They're sure to know about the spell, they must have found a secret way to get into the Forest- a loophole around the spell."
"With one of McGonagall's spells? Are you mad?" Ron exclaimed. "There's no way."
"Maybe not." George shrugged. "But her body got here somehow."
"What's her name?" Harry asked. It made him uneasy talking about her as just another body.
"Harper Yolt," Dennis replied. "Ravenclaw fourth year, Half Blood-"
"Hold on," Ron interjected. "Weren't the other two- er, Renee Faulkner and Max Trentworth- weren't they halfbloods too?" Dennis flipped up some papers on his clipboard, brown eyes scanning them for confirmation.
"Yes, that's right." His eyes squinted. "And it seems… well, it seems each had at least one parent who was a Squib." Dennis looked up into their faces, shocked.
"Well, it looks like we know who their targets are." Harry said firmly.
"I'll get a list of the halfblood students with registered squib parents." Ron said.
"Wait." Harry interjected. "Why not purebloods too?" Ron frowned.
"It's not common for wizards and witches to marry squibs, Harry. They're, er, not held in the greatest light."
"Yeah," George chimed in. "Mum's got some second cousin or whatever who's a squib, and she never talks about him. Kinda a disgrace to the family, he is." He grinned. "But maybe Ron's taken his place, who knows?" His comment was received with a blow from Ron over the head.
"Well, go ahead and run the check with purebloods, too, Ron, just in case, and while you're with her, talk to McGonagall." Ron nodded and headed out towards the castle. Harry sighed, and cast a Levitating Charm. "I'll take her body to the morgue over at St. Mungo's. George-"
"Yeah, I know. I'll get some rest, Harry. I'll be fine." George said tiredly. Harry looked hesitant to leave him, but nodded, and began trudging through the forest.