Hermione's shoulders stooped as she gripped her broom for dear life. Her fear of heights had been with her ever since she had first flown on a broom. Unfortunately it was the most convenient way to get where one was going in the wizarding world. And she didn't have time to mess around. The anomaly had come up again.
"How long did the other ones last, again?" she asked Fiona Starler.
"They average a week. Some more, some less," she replied in a professional tone that was starting to get on Hermione's nerves. It was one thing to be professional, but it was something completely different to sound as if you looked down on your boss.
"And the accidents? Do they happen after the anomaly leaves or while it's still there?"
"While it's there, making it nearly impossible to tell when it's going to happen. There doesn't seem to be any pattern to how long they last. The shortest anomaly lasted for four days and the longest for eight. Also, the accidents have been increasing in viciousness. Someone might die this time," stated the older woman. It was as if she was rattling off her times tables. Hermione glared at her for her callousness, but cursed inside her head. If only it hadn't taken a week to get permission for a formal inquest. "Damn red tape," she muttered.
Soon, though, the school was looming in the distance, and hovering above it eerily was the anomaly. It looked dark and foreboding, and yet colorful and gorgeous at the same time. When Hermione looked at it, she felt a knot form in her stomach. All those years ago she had walked out of Divination class because it wasn't real, only guesswork. But when she looked at the...thing hanging over the school, she had a very bad feeling about the whole investigation.
~
"Cara, slow down. Better yet, stop and breath. Here. Take of sip of my water. Okay start at the beginning, and then move on to the middle and end. Don't jump around." Aislin was busily trying to calm a frantic Cara and she was thankful to do it. If she wasn't busy with her friend, Aislin knew that she herself would be the frantic one. It hadn't taken long for rumors to start flying about the Ministry wanting to talk to the oldest Weasley child.
"I saw it. The thing that's making those clouds. It was a dream. I wasn't going to tell you because I was so afraid, but for some reason it's not so scary anymore-"
"Nothing ever is in the light of day."
"Anyway, I suppose I didn't really see it. It was just this black blob in my dream - very flowing and...slithery. But it was real." Cara paused for a moment, looked around and then whispered, "I heard it talk to me. It's going to kill me next."
"Is that all?" Aislin laughed. "You're worried because you dreamed about a snake wearing a cloak? Cara I think that it's time you knew the truth. Dreams cannot kill you. And neither can thunder clouds for that matter. Unless of course...the lightning thing, but most wizards that are struck by lightning live very long and prosperous lives. My point is, you're becoming as paranoid as all of them if you buy into all this smoke and mirrors," Aislin said casually. She held to the assumption that there was some student in the school laughing their butt off at all the trouble they caused. The only reason she was nervous about the Ministry coming to interview her was for Shandeigh's sake.
"Aislin, I've had nightmare before, and that was not just a nightmare. It was real. It was a vision, a premonition, call it what you want. It doesn't' change the fact that whatever this is wants me." Cara's face was dead serious, and so Aislin changed tactics.
"Okay, I can see that you really believe this whole thing. Why don't' you go to Professor Lentho? He'll get the Ministry Agents to talk to you. Or I will. They're coming to talk to me anyway," Aislin said as she wrapped her arm around her friend's shoulders. "Would that make you feel better?"
Cara sat bolt upright. She turned to Aislin and slowly stood up. "No. No. No. You cannot go to anyone with this. I told you because...you're my friend. No one else can know. They'll think I'm crazy, the way you did. 'snake wearing a cloak'," mimicked Cara. "I'm not going to have them cart me away for questioning. I can't handle it. I'm staying as far away fro those agents as possible."
Aislin stood up too. "Okay, I won't tell. And wherever you go, will you take Shandeigh with you. I don't want them taking her away for questioning, either." There was a knock at the door. Aislin waved Cara, holding Shandeigh, back to a place out of view of the door. She then opened the door a crack to find the head girl glaring down at her.
"The Ministry Agents have arrived. They want to talk to you and Cara in the library," spat out the tall seventh year.
"I'll be down in a while. Let me get my robes on," Aislin said, slamming the door. She threw on a robe that didn't look like it was too dirty, stopped at the mirror, which assured her she looked fine, and walked down to the library.
There were three people at the longest table next to Professor Lentho, the headmaster of Pendragon. Aislin recognized one of the women as Hermione Granger, a friend of her father's but the other woman and the man were strangers.
"Hello, Miss Weasley. This is Assistant Head Granger and Agents Starler and Musklin. They just want to ask you a few questions. Do you want me to stay?" Professor Lentho directed his last question at Assistant Head Granger. She shook her head and he got up to leave. Once out of the library, everyone turned their attention to Aislin.
"Hello Aislin. Where's your roommate? Cara Wembly, right?"
"That's right. She seems to have caught what I had the last time the agents were here. She regrets that she can't be here, but when she gets better she'd be more than happy to talk to you," Aislin lied. She had a feeling that agent Starler saw right through her, though no one else showed any signs that they didn't believe her.
"Oh, well we're trying to figure out this whole mess before the next accident," (Aislin flinched, remembering Cara's dream), "and it's not completely important that we talk to her. It's you that people seem to be more worried about," stated Agent Starler.
"Yes, you've withdrawn somewhat, according to some people. You haven't spent any meals with your friends, and most of your free time is spent in your room. It has also been reported that you take walks late at night. This all started right around the time the Ministry took interest in the case. I have to tell you that it looks suspicious, like you're laying low." Aislin could tell that Hermione didn't want it to be her that was causing all this mess. Well, she thought, I can't disappoint you because I'm not.
Aislin didn't know what to say. If she told the truth about why she was hiding, some stupid kid who thought this whole would most likely gut her dog deal was funny as hell. If she lied that Agent Starler would know it and it would make her even more suspect. There wasn't much she could do. Except answer their accusations with questions.
"What do you want me to say?"
"Just the truth, dear," Agent Musklin said. His voice was smooth and his tone was pleasant. It was a nice voice and Aislin wanted to hear it again. She turned to him.
"The truth is that I don't know what's going on. I'm not the one causing it, and I don't know who is. Do you think that I'd freak out my own roommate, I love her to death-" Aislin stopped. She hadn't meant to mention Cara.
Agent Starler latched onto it. "What about your own roommate?"
"Nothing. I mean...her cat! Felix! He was the one that was killed. Not a very nice thing to kill your best friend's cat, is it?" Agent Starler backed off, but only after a glare from Hermione, who took over the conversation once again.
"Listen, Aislin, I've known you your whole life and I don't want to believe that you're the one who's doing this, but there's no one else who comes up. If you don't want us to center on you, then give s some information. AN alibi for you, a clue that leads to someone else, anything." Hermione's eyes were like steel and Aislin could see no room for defiance.
"Fine. The reason I've been in my room the entire time because I was out walking around after dark and I found this dog. She was so hungry that I had to bring her in. I couldn't let anyone find out about her."
"Why?"
"Why do you think? The first casualty of whatever sick person is doing this was a cat. After that, every single animal left. Did you see any birds out there when you came in? Our last owl didn't come back two days ago. We are officially cut off from everyone when it comes to communications. This dog must have been extremely hungry to even come in the castle. I thought that maybe if I hid it, she would be safe." Aislin could see that they weren't buying it. "That's the truth!"
"How did you hide a dog from the entire school? I should like to think that the teachers are somewhat sharper than that," Agent Musklin said in a soothing voice.
"I don't know how we did it. No one ever bothered to ask why I locked myself in my room! They just assume that I'm doing some Pagan ritual that brings about the apocalypse. First of all, I'm not Pagan! And second of all, as far as I know, my mother has never done anything anywhere near apocalyptic and she's never mentioned the desire or means to do so!" Aislin was getting agitated for some reason. After all those days of barely talking to anyone, she was making a fool out of herself in front of the very people she needed to convince.
Hermione looked at her with what Aislin could only determine as pity in her eyes. Then the expression changed. "When you said something about not wanting to hurt Cara. You didn't mean the cat, did you?" At this point, the young girl broke down. She just couldn't take it anymore, the pity in Hermione's eyes, the accusations in Starler's, or the patronization in Musklin's voice.
"She's had a dream last night. All I know is what she told me. She doesn't want you to know. She's terrified," choked Aislin between sobs. She felt a hand on her arm.
"And you? Are you afraid?" Musklin's voice was so nice and she couldn't resist it.
"I...I don't think so. I guess that I always just thought that it was some student, but ever since Cara told me about her dream, there's been some doubt. Not much, but it's there. What if this is some weird Dark Magic centered over the school. Animals know, and they all left. Would they leave if it was just a kid?" Aislin looked at the three sets of eyes around her. None of them were reassuring.
"Thank you, Aislin. This was an extremely enlightening conversation. You may go now, and please send Cara down. Sick or not." Hermione's voice was distant as she spoke and Aislin knew that the wheels were turning in her head.
Aislin stood in front of the door to her room for a few minutes. Cara would be furious that she betrayed her confidence. It's all for the best, Aislin thought. If they can get a picture of the...whatever it is...from Cara's dream, maybe they'll find it faster. Aislin took confidence in the thought and walked in. At first, she couldn't find Cara. She looked everywhere until she found her in the shower, head down, clutching Shandeigh to her. Aislin looked at her with wide eyes. She mouthed her name.
Cara looked up at her roommate and Aislin could see that Cara's eyes were bloodshot.
"You told them about the dream, didn't you?" Nod.
"They want to talk to me?" Nod.
"I knew it. Maybe the real reason I told you was so that you would be the sensible one and tell them. This will work out for the best." That was Cara's final decision it seemed. She let go of Shandeigh, who ran to Aislin and stood up. Cara took a deep breath and seemed to brace herself as she walked to the door.
"You're not mad, are you?" Aislin asked just as Cara's hand reached for the knob. There was a long pause, and Cara walked out without answering.
~
It was ten o'clock. Cara hadn't returned. Aislin had stayed up doing homework last night and was exhausted. She couldn't wait up to find out the answer to her last question. She looked at Shandeigh sleeping on the foot of her bed.
"She needs time to think. It'll be clear tomorrow, one way or the other. After all," Aislin said with a smirk, "tomorrow is another day." She blew out the candle and the room was dark.
A half hour later Shandeigh looked up at her owner who was now fast asleep. She cocked her head and sniffed the air. Her hair stood up on the back of her neck. The doorknob turned and Cara walked in. The girl smiled at the dog and the dog growled deeply from the back of her throat. Cara simply frowned.
***March 1***
"It's all going according to plan, my pet." The voice was like everything bad there ever was. And yet it sounded like nothing at all. "The Ministry," (the word was extracted like a bad tooth), "is on the trail, now though. SO the game must be played more carefully. It will be difficult, my pet." There was a deep cackle in the same voice. "But it will be ever so much more fun."
~
"I don't understand. What are we supposed to be looking for?" Hermione Granger had just gone over the tapes of the interviews for the fifth time.
"A man wearing a cape," Agent Starler offered.
"Well that narrows it down, doesn't it?" snapped Hermione. Agent Starler shrugged in that cool way of hers and Hermione was immediately ashamed that she showed weakness in front of the older woman, whom she now thoroughly hated.
There was a knock at the door. A young boy, first or second year, handed a piece of paper to Agent Musklin. "We found it when we stargazing last night with Professor Windstrom," explained the messenger. "The owl didn't come anywhere near the castle." Agent Musklin nodded and closed the door behind the kid. He handed the note to Hermione.
"It's not from Holmes," I thought for sure that he would be sticking his nose in whenever he could, thought Hermione to herself. It was from Ron. Hermione rolled her eyes unconsciously. Ron and Leslie had somehow heard that the investigation was at first centered on Aislin. They were appalled that they weren't told - yadda, yadda, yadda - wondered whether or not Hermione had been set straight - yadda, yadda, yadda - and wanted to know how Aislin was doing. She sighed as she crumpled the parchment into a ball and took a shot into the wastebasket.
"You know, I'm surprised that you haven't gone for the most obvious choice." Agent Starler's words were cold and indifferent.
"What is the most obvious choice, Agent Starler?" It was Musklin who had spoken. Hermione sense that he wasn't happy about being paired with the...
"Voldemort." Silence.
"What?!"
"You heard me loud and clear, Assistant Head Hermione Granger. Remember Voldemort? I know it's been a while since anyone has seen him around, but I think that you wouldn't have forgotten him so soon."
"He's dead. He was killed, my last year at Hogwarts," Hermione took the defensive. She felt it was her duty to stand up for Harry and his effectiveness.
"He was defeated your last year at Hogwarts, dear. No one knows whether he's dead or not. Or, more accurately, only one person knows if he's dead or not, and he's not talking about it to anyone here." Agent Starler had a fury in her eyes that Hermione had never seen before.
Hermione smiled, because for once, she had the upper hand. "Then we'll just have to ask him nicely, won't we?"
~
Agent Musklin flew to the nearest post office and sent an owl out to the person and address that Hermione had specified. He thought that it would be pointless and that no one would answer the letter. Not only was it answered the next day, but it was answered in person.
***March 2***
"Wow, when you were telling me about this last week, I never thought of anything like this," Harry said to Hermione after introductions. "Your letter said urgent and now I know why. What do you need me for?"
"Well, Harry, the investigation has taken an...unexpected turn. Remember our last year at Hogwarts?" Hermione said, not really wanting to get to the point. Harry nodded hesitantly. "Well," Hermione continued. "There's been a little discrepancy when it comes to what exactly happened..."
"What we would like to know, Mr. Potter," Agent Starler cut in, "is what exactly happened to Voldemort. Did he simply lose his powers again, or did he die?" Harry balked a little at her abruptness. He glanced at Hermione who held an apology in her eyes.
"Well...I haven't talked about this for years. Gee, um, he died. I know he died. I...I...killed him," Harry's normally smooth speech pattern was turned to stuttering.
"You're sure, Mr. Potter?" Agent Musklin asked gently. "Because if you are, then we have a copycat on our hands. Not nearly the same strength yet, but it's growing. Whoever this is is flexing their muscles over us." Harry stared at him for a while. And then nodded.
"Voldemort was dead. Once someone's dead, you can't bring them back to life. I know. I want to help you to do whatever I can. If someone thinks that they can be the next Voldemort, then they have to realize that they'll have to deal with me too." For a moment in the candlelight, Hermione saw Harry's scar gleaming there on his forehead and he looked just like he had in another time, on another day.
~
"I'm so glad that you feel better, Cara," Aislin said.
"I am too. It turns out that even when I told it to you, it wasn't the same as telling it to someone that can do something about it. No offense," Cara said, smiling.
"None taken! Who do you think I am, Harry Potter? Going off catching supervillians? No, dear, I'll leave that to the pros." Shandeigh walked into the room. Lately she had been spending most of her time in the bathroom. The girls kept their room on the hot side and they just assumed that she liked to lie on the cool tiles. The dog walked over to Aislin without getting anywhere near Cara. Cara looked sad for a moment, but got over it quickly.
"Why do you think she's avoiding me?" she asked.
Aislin laughed. "Ever since I got her, she's been picky. She'll get over it. You bring her food, remember?" Cara laughed.
"When that guy went out today, he came back with someone else. Do you think he's a Special Agent or something?" Cara asked changing the subject.
"Maybe. Those Ministry workers have been especially secretive lately. I think they're getting nervous as it goes on. You never know how much time they have until the next accident," Aislin stopped her homework for a while to pet Shandeigh. The dog's hair was on end again. Aislin looked at her friend who smiled across the room at her.
"Yeah, I guess you never know." Aislin smiled back.
~
The two students who have given us the most information are these two," Hermione informed Harry. They didn't have much time to get him up to speed. Tomorrow was the fourth day. All days they had after that were gravy. "Aislin Weasley and Cara Wembly. The victims of the accidents were Jennifer Wallace, Professor Marks, and Car's cat. Jennifer has two broken legs that were healed quickly, the Professors neck took a little while longer, and the cat is dead. The attacks are building, and we fear that the next time our copycat strikes, they will kill a student or teacher." Harry nodded.
"Can I have a look at the files of the victims and the two girls that have given you information?" Harry asked. Hermione handed him the folders and he looked at them, reading carefully. There was silence in the room for a long time.
Finally Harry broke it. "Um, Hermione? Did you ever notice that - ?"
~
It was late. The girl wasn't on one of her midnight walks tonight. It was safe. The evil voice cursed violently. "Who is it, my pet? Who is that blasted man? I did not anticipate this. Those bumbling fools at the Ministry have an advantage. No, my pet, not a large one, but an advantage nonetheless." The voice paused and thought. "What would my master have done in this situation? I know, my pet! He would send an innocent bystander. I know just the person..."
A/N: Okay, okay. I know that you guys hate these serials, but give me credit. Yes, there is one more part, but I slaved writing this during the SUPERBOWL! Well, okay I liked writing it, but still...the SUPERBOWL! Anyway, if you aren't buying my excuses, then the next installment will finish the story, so don't fear.
Disclaimer: Sorry everyone, I think I forgot this in the first part, so Harry, Ron, Hermione, Voldemort, and a bunch of other stuff and people belong to JK Rowling, not me. If I did own it I would probably be at the Superbowl right now. Anyway Aislin, Cara, and all the other made up characters are mine, mine, ALL MINE! I'm a happy little miser. (Ok, I'll go away now.)