I tapped my pen on the desk in the offbeat rhythm of my thoughts. Everyone was in a disheartened mood thanks to the local gossips. It seemed Cedric Diggory had been found murdered this morning outside the Dark Woods no less. The gossips were spreading everything from chainsaw maniac to rogue lion, the boy had been raped to the boy was caught raping some innocent young woman, and very few had the correct tale. It seemed he was found torn to pieces with only his face still intact. One would have thought a human had been responsible if not for the sheer gruesomeness of the kill and the look of horror forever left upon his cold face. Something had ripped and mangled his body so there would never be an open coffin; there would also be the question if every piece had been recovered, since what was recovered was nothing more than several pounds of meat and bone.
I could only hope the Dark One's innate lust for blood and violence had been appeased for the moment. It was easy enough to cover up when it was deer or cattle. No one ever questioned the needs for more animals to be delivered every time the Mandrake, Karkaroff's Ship, came through. Yet, every once in a while it seemed the Dark Lord needed something more challenging, something more bloodthirsty and cruel to satiate his thirst. I dreaded these dark times, but accepted them as they come. It seemed they were always a cruel reminder of our arcane past, as if we needed to be reminded of the ghastly scenes the residents had witnessed throughout the years.
Watching the pupils with their bowed heads silently studying upon the latest questions left me little to do, but dwell on my morbid thoughts. It seemed even the mark upon my leg throbbed with knowing. I sighed, sitting back with my arms crossed. It never failed to dampen spirits, even if they hadn't known the boy. I'd met him once, but remembered him from his transcripts as being a bright, well rounded young man with lots of promises. A shame he'd never be able to fulfill such a destiny.
With only minutes left of class the PA system blasted to life, Professor Dumbledore's voice rang through the rooms and hallways with its sad overtones. "Today at Azkaban University we acknowledge the loss of one of our own. He was not only a student here, but a man who'd already started making his mark upon the world. He was exceptionally hard working, fair minded, and most of all a fierce, fierce friend. In today's world we must remember the bonds of friendship are more important than anything. Now I ask us all to take a moment of silence for our fellow student."
No one dared to even cough throughout the seriousness of the topic. It was easy enough as the girl's eyes grew moist with tears and the boys fought back their own grief, but as in all things it would pass. They would move on with their own lives and this boy would be forgotten amongst memories, only looked back upon as a tragedy and mystery. I'd seen it happen too many times to count, each time was the same, each time as bloody and ghastly as the last, each time loved ones were left with nothing more than memories and a lame cover story of a wild bear or cougar; one had even claimed taken into the water by a shark. It would be the same for as long as our cursed existence was here.
The bell rung indicating the end of this session and everyone jostled around to leave the grim walls and sad reminders. It was still fresh, but before long it would be nothing more than a vague distant retention, only recalled when some reminder happen to catch their attention.
I moved as they left, lost within my own thoughts. I had my own weekend planned, something to help me ease the troubled memories that ran rampant upon my brain. I was going to get a book of Craniology, a science involved with proportions of the face and skull. I was curious how it might reflect in animals as well. It was something I'd only touched upon before and hoped it might lead to some clues I might have missed throughout the years.