Not one of their number had moved by the time James had returned from fetching the Headmaster.
The girls were hunched together on a sofa by the far window, holding back the tears that threatened to spill, finding comfort in each other's presence. Vivienne and Caspian were whispering softly together, stood alone at the side of the room. Peter and Remus had pulled a bunch of beanbags together in the centre of the room. Their game of cards was rather half hearted. Sirius just sat in one the large bay windows, staring out over the grounds, his face deathly pale.
Dumbledore took the sight in carefully. And then, he shifted his attention once again to the piece of paper in his hand. With a deep sigh, he slowly shook his head. "In all my time at Hogwarts …" He murmured softly.

The journey to Dumbledore's office had been terrifying for James. The irony of his new status as Head Boy was not lost on him. How exactly did one tell their Headmaster that they'd had a raucous welcome back party – only to find one of their friends missing the next morning, with only a note as evidence. James could tell that Dumbledore was shaken by the incident, in spite of his attempts to remain calm
"Potter?"
James immediately answered the Headmaster, "Yes sir?"
"Were the seventh year Gryffindors, Miss and Mr Szelsky and yourself the only ones in this room last night?"
He winced as he answered, "Yes."
Silence hung in the air as they both contemplated what that meant.
"How can you be sure?"
"I-" James paused for a moment, realising the reality of his following words, "- I placed a locking charm on the door that only I could undo."
James said a silent apology to Elodie. If he hadn't locked the door, then maybe things would have been different. The note made it clear someone had taken her, the threat implicit in the message left behind.
"I see." He paused for a moment. "Did anyone else know you were here?"
"I don't think so, sir."
James wanted nothing more than to get out of this suddenly constricting room. He could tell he wasn't alone in this. Sirius' foot was tapping, Lily couldn't stop fidgeting and Caspian kept glancing anxiously toward the door.
"Maybe this is a prank?" Alice said.

It would make sense. There was a reason James was friends with Elodie, she was always up for a laugh.
Anyway, people didn't just go missing. Especially not at Hogwarts, Dumbledore simply wouldn't let it happen.
Everyone's faces seemed to light up ever so slightly with hope at these words.
Even Dumbledore seemed to agree with Alice, saying, "I think it's all best that you head back to your dormitories now."

Vivienne in particular seemed happy at this, "Thank you, sir."
"But don't think you won't be punished." Dumbledore warned, "I wonder how many detentions we could make you serve for this."
His small joke caused chuckles after the stress of the past hour.
Without a glance back, James left the room, eager for the comfort of his bed.

Early that afternoon, the eight remaining Gryffindors had gathered next to the Black Lake. None of them seemed to have an appetite for lunch. The arrival of Vivienne and Caspian would have normally been treated as odd. But, under the circumstances, it only felt right to have the previous night's group together.
"How long do you think until we find her?" Izzy asked.
It was the topic they had all been avoiding, yet they were unable to think of anything else.
"Don't you mean how long until she strolls back triumphant?" James snorted. He had since decided that this whole affair was a magnificent prank on Elodie's part.
"I dunno, Prongs," Sirius murmured, staring out over the water.
Marlene chose this moment to stand up, pulling Lily with her.
"Okay guys, it's our last year, can't we just enjoy it?"
Lily nodded her agreement, "Elodie can't rule our lives if she's not even here!"
A few more of them; Sirius, Izzy and James joined them. Shrieking and giggling, they raced towards the edge of the Black Lake, throwing off their outer layers on the way. In that moment, as the last of the summer sun beat down on his back, James felt pure joy. He would miss Hogwarts and his friends indescribable amounts after this year.

That feeling was soon destroyed when Izzy, who had been at the front of the group stopped in her tracks and let out an ear splitting scream.

"What?" James yelled, forcing himself to run faster than he had thought possible to catch her.
Sirius, Marlene and he reached Izzy at the same time. And they saw exactly what she saw.
Washed up on the shore of the Black Lake was a body.
A female body, with pale skin and golden hair. An all too recognisable red stiletto shoe lay abandoned on the grass in front of them.

"James, what-"
"Lily, stay back!" James cried, turning to catch Lily as she ran into the group. With all the strength he had left, mentally as well as physically, he restrained the struggling redhead and turned her away from the horrific sight that lay ahead. As Lily burst into tears and beat her hands against his chest, James slowly felt his heart break. He had been wrong.
This was no prank.
Those who had remained sitting could not fail to notice what was occurring. All ten of them now stood in a huddle, behind the red shoe and in front of the body. Loud, gut wrenching sobs from Lily was all that could be heard.

James was the only one who moved closer to the body. What he saw was something he knew he would never forget.
It was undoubtfully Elodie. Her body lay limp, washed up against the shore, her hair tangled with the weeds that grew from its base. Along her abdomen there were several cuts. Stab wounds, James realised. The blood had pooled around her, staining the white dress she still wore. Water gently lapped against her skin, at odds with her deathly stillness.
What scared James most though, was her eyes. They were still open. He almost expected her to crack a grin and shout 'boo!'
It took him a great amount of pain to turn around and face the group.

"It's her."

The words visibly broke everyone there. James could hardly stand to watch and instead chose to stare at the dead girl. And he noticed something he hadn't seen on first glance.
Along her forehead, the word 'bitch' was inscribed, in crimson red lipstick.
Now there was something more tangible in the silent air. Fear.
Last night, eleven had been alive.
Now there was only ten.
Someone knew what had happened to Elodie.

Someone was a killer.