An; No excuses for the delay in updates except for the fact I needed a break from writing. I hope I can earn your forgiveness with this chapter.
This chapter is supported by the Dark Knight quote 'You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain."
Becoming The Villains
Four AM arrives and the loud raucous in the forest finally comes to a halt. The lights flicker out and four merry teenagers, bar from one fourth year witch, appear from the dark boundary of trees. Ashley and Alex struggle to support a heavily intoxicated Jessie whilst Hermione stifles giggles behind her hand.
"Hey...Hey Azhley. W-when you gonna geh ah boyfriend?" Jessie slurs. "You've bin single...too long."
"I don't have relationships Jess, I don't need the distraction. Now let's get to bed shall we."
"You boring. 'ermione and Ali-Alix...Alex. If they can do it, why can't you?"
Ashley ignores the question.
They continue their journey back, and it's only when they pass a small clearing not a stone's throw away from the Beauxbatons that that silence is broken by Hermione. Noticing a dark green canvas in a triangular prism structure, she says "There's a random tent over there, who lives there?"
Alex noticed the tent too and answered. "That would be the Master, he uses it every time he needs to come to Hogwarts. Not for staying in really, more for storage."
"Storage?"
"What happens when there is a major emergency and the Aurors can't handle it? We are on hiatus for now but we can't abandon our responsibilities, and so our supplies and equipment is stored in there."
"I can understand supplies, but equipment...What equipment do we need other than our wands?"
Alex is about to reply but stops just as a mischievous glint appears in her eyes. "I can tell you now and be here til dawn...or we could just show you. Right Ash?"
Ashley peers up from the other side of Jessie who is still slouching on her feet, arm hooked behind both supporting girls neck's. "Alex, we really should be heading back."
"For training purposes, come on it's already late and if we're caught back we'll be in trouble either way." Alex reasons.
"We can show her tomorrow, the tent is not going anywhere."
Jessie slurs her approval of the detour. "Take the ztick out yur arse Ash and let em do it."
Ashley frowns in irritation, an obvious sign of her defense weakening.
"What do you say Hermione?" Alex asks.
"Ash is probably right and I am tired...but I am also curious. Perhaps for just a minute."
Hermione's consent is enough to convince the leader girl who signs. "You have...Three minutes max." She finishes whilst checking her magically-powered watch.
Alex immediately drops Jessie's arm and takes Hermione's hand, pulling her away and leaving Ashley to wrestle with a staggering teenager all by herself. "You absolute twit."
Alex ignores her and jogs with Hermione on the end of her arm towards the tent. They stop at the flap and Alex flips it up. The tent is dark, cold and eerily quiet. Hermione instantly gets an uncomfortable feeling in her stomach. Alex too can sense something but seeing no immediate danger and her excitement fuelling her, she shakes the feeling off and turns to Hermione. "After you."
Hermione has lost her enthusiasm and the feeling still remains. She can't brush it off as easily as Alex can, despite the experience on the older girl's side that tries to reassure her. All Hermione knows is that something is off about this tent. "Alex, maybe Ashley was right, I can wait another time."
"You won't get in trouble I promise." Alex replies.
"It's not that."
"Then what is it?"
Hermione looks into the dark gloom wearily. Alex understands and starts to console her.
"It's just an empty tent." Alex places her hands on Hermione's shoulders. "How about I go in first?"
"No!" Alex and Hermione both do not expect how harsh or shrill Hermione's tone is. Hermione instead raises her wand and mutters "Homenum Revelio"
The charm immediately marks the ground not three feet away inside the tent. Just as soon as Hermione's suspicions are confirmed, Alex jumps into protective mode. She places herself in front of Hermione and non-verbally lights her wand in the doorway. Where the marker is she can see no human life form. "Finite Incantatem."
Nothing is revealed. Both witches know the human-presence-revealing charm wouldn't mark something that isn't there so the whole situation is confusing. Alex slowly begins entering the tent until she is practically standing over the marker. Alex sighs and says "Odd, but there's nothing here Hermione. We need to move this rolled-up rug though, I almost tripped over it."
Hermione comes in at the same time that Alex drops to her knees. Hermione soon finds herself on her back by a back-pedalling Alex, retreating in shock and fear. "Alex, watch it will you."
"Don't look Hermione."
"Don't look at what?" Hermione says peering round Alex.
"I said DON'T…" Hermione's scream indicated it is too late, that brought the attention of a startled Ashley and a slightly sobered and confused Jessie. They peer in from behind and the four girls look in aghast at the picture in front of them.
The charm hadn't lied, the room isn't as empty of people as they first thought...And the rug that Alex tried to move is not a rug at all.
It is the dead body of Ludo Bagman
Ten minutes later
All four BIA members are back in the forest and the fairy lights are back on. None of them are even close to a mood to party. Hermione sits silently crying on a rock, seeing a dead body for the first time shook her up. Alex spends some time comforting her whilst harshly arguing against Ashley's on-going ramblings. Jessie is stoically staring into a small cup of water, her drunkenness a thing of the past.
"We have to tell someone." Ashley states firmly.
"And put ourselves right in the frame for suspicion?" Alex dubiously asks.
"If we tell the right person they'll understand. Dumbledore most likely."
"What the guy who bickers and despises the actions of our Master?"
"He has never looked upon us in dislike before."
"Ashley, this isn't a prank gone wrong or a fight in the halls. There was a potential murder and it either occured inside that tent or the body was dumped there. We know we are innocent, but our ties to the potential murder scene added to the convenience of our late hour trysts and discovery of the body...Well, it doesn't look good for us does it." Alex counters.
"Wouldn't we gain suspicion by NOT reporting the body?" Ashley replies rhetorically.
"We don't need the publicity of a murder on us, Hermione has enough on her plate as it is, any opportunity we can get to keep our names clean and away from suspicion, we should take it." Alexis says.
"Wake up and smell the bacon Alex!" Ashley snaps. "Whether we report it or not we WILL be under suspicion. A crime has happened at Hogwarts, Hermione has people who knows she has been out all night, if we don't report this it will come back and, believe you me, it will bite us in the arse."
Alex is about to argue when Hermione croakily adds. "S-she's right. We have to report it."
Ashley and Alex give her time to wipe some stray tears away and compose herself. "We are innocent, we know it. But that is not the point, the point is who else knows it. None of us are well regarded at the moment. Throughout the school, country and world; who out of them can safely say that they know we are innocent. Not even my friends could say that without secretly doubting it. Don't you see, it's not about avoiding suspicion or proving our innocence, it's about what happens now. And that's simple; everything falls apart. Either way, that happens."
Ashley and Alex are silent as they contemplate this. Jessie speaks this time "We should find out for ourselves. We are the good guys so why not act like it. Do the right thing and then we can focus on finding out the truth, like the good guys are supposed to do."
Alex now looks convinced, but she needs more answers before she can go through with it. "What if they arrest us on the principle that we are the main suspects?"
"They can't arrest us without evidence. They can only question us until they have enough reason to bring us in." Ashley answers more calmly than before.
Hermione lets out a depressing moan. "It's happening again isn't it? Like at the first task, someone is trying to sabotage us. It can't be a coincidence that the only people who were out this late, that have more than just a fleeting connection to the Master, are us. And that we were the ones who found the body, in a tent full of your equipment. This was set up."
"How Hermione, how did they know we would try and enter the tent? We didn't know we were going to until lovergirl here twisted our arms." Ashley refers to Alex.
Alex looks at her girlfriend in agreement. "She's right Hun, it was wrong place wrong time, with maybe an ironic coincidence to boot."
"In cases like murder, there are no coincidences. Especially not to the law." Hermione wisely counters.
"The point stands, we will let the law enforcement deal with the murder investigation their way, including our interrogations we will most likely get, all whilst we try and replicate the investigation but our way. Obviously keeping it to ourselves and a touch of subtlety will do much better for us." Ashley concludes the debate.
Ashley's confidence seems noticeably false. Hermione can not shake her suspicions that the murder is linked to her saboteur of unknown identification.🎊 Alex dreads the morning to come and Jessie starts recrossing her body with her fingers, hoping a divine intervention would keep them all together.
Uncertainty and fear is amongst them in bucket loads, the one thing they do understand is things were about to turn horrifically bleak.
Later on that day…
Guilty is the verdict.
By the eyes of the student body that is.
As agreed, the discovery of the body was reported straight to the headmaster the minute the quartet felt stable enough to return to the castle. The only person who they could trust was the great sorcerer. Dumbledore looks out for the girls despite his dislikes regarding their director of operations. He is the only person besides Dominic himself that could understand their position.
Dumbledore was awake and alert, almost as if a sixth sense had discovered that something wasn't right that night and he needed to be awake for any developments. Hermione did not doubt that that was a very close approximation to the real reason Albus Dumbledore expected them in the early hours of the morning. Nothing happens on Hogwarts grounds that the headmaster doesn't sense, even if he doesn't outright know what it was that occured.
There was no doubt though, the BIA were in the epicentre of controversy. And Dumbledore did not sugarcoat like he normally would've. The grim circumstances that threaten to impact upon the four girls, all of whom he supported with all his confidence; it meant they need facts, not softened blows or bent truths. Their innocence is not just a matter of fact, but a matter of opinion to those whose verdict wasn't official but no less devastating.
The public.
Dumbledore announced the incident at breakfast, much to the surprise of students and staff alike. He did not give any more information than he needed to. The basic explanation he gave was about the body of Ludo Bagman being discovered on the grounds and that the incident had been reported to the appropriate Ministry departments. He gave no names, no times or whereabouts, and no specifics. That thankfully was not quite enough fuel for open season to begin upon the BIA's public image, not many people knew that the four girls were even out that late.
But those that did know grew immediately wary. Especially the three people Hermione was already losing the trust of. Harry, Ron and Ginny.
Hermione knows firsthand that when a concept of a thought built inside the three Gryffindor's heads it takes a lot to shake off. When it isn't shaken off the Gryffindor's tendency is to start jabbing and testing the waters. When more evidence supports their ideas it takes a matter of moments before they turn reckless and investigative. It is a trait Hermione is partly prone to, and never had those tendencies been used on her, or any of the four Gryffindor's.
The three suspecting Gryffindor's were almost definitely at their breaking point even before the announcement. If it had been anyone other than Hermione they would've definitely acted prior to this. Perhaps the trust in her still ran deep inside them somewhere, despite the obvious evidence of waning. Hermione feels slightly thankful and blessed to still have something to cling onto if she wants their friendship to survive.
Although having seeing their reactions of earlier, Hermione had a mountain to climb in order to do so.
The looks she received earlier were ones she couldn't quite decipher. She had sat alone, more out of dread and worry than neglect or avoidance. She consciously shrunk when Dumbledore announced the incident, despite never mentioning her name or hinting of her involvement. She knew it would look fishy but have someone else be shown a dead body for the first time and tell her they would be comfortable to talk about it or acknowledge it several hours later.
The fact that the rest of the BIA were not there also made her annoyed and bitter. Thoughts of cowardice, selfishness and lack of responsibility invaded her mind. It was only when Hermione realised that she would probably do the same thing if she could that the absence of the BIA was justified. It wasn't unusual not to always see the BIA at breakfast or any mealtimes, their occasional appearances ensured they could be able to come and go without much notice. Hermione being absent however would definitely look fishy though, especially in this scenario.
Aside from unknown looks from people in the knowledge of the BIA's activities, the announcement hadn't seemed to spark any more suspicion than all the controversy of the tournament already had. However throughout the course of the day, that would change.
So far only the Minister himself, several Aurors and a few reporters had made a special appearance at Hogwarts regarding the murder case. The confirmation of the killing curse could be magically traced by Ministry experts and therefore an official private investigator was contacted to start the investigation the next day. For now the area where Hermione and the girls found the body is closed off and strictly prohibited, although the area of investigation was displayed like a museum artefact. That resulted in many curious eyes peeking in on the scene.
But that was not what started the rumour mill. Dumbledore was obliged to provide the Aurors with the relevant information regarding Ludo Bagman's discovery, that information included the BIA and their account of events. The Aurors were legally responsible for the privacy of the eye witness accounts, but that didn't stop information of a certain celebration taking place that night in the forest, as well as the owner of the tent the body was discovered in, being leaked to the reporters. And therefore leaked quickly into the student population.
At first nobody recognised the name of Dominic Van Barr so this information was like a name in an unknown textbook. The party however got loads of attention as even the weaker brained students could tell that the party members must've been either the eye witnesses or the murderers themselves. And at times Hogwarts was like a network of communication. Information of missing students and suspicious activities could get easily tracked down and disected. That is exactly what happened, through sheer collaboration the student body tracked down a name. One, Hermione Granger.
If Hermione was an outsider she would have commended the efforts of a school that normally have trouble banding together. What a shame that the one time they do it's to her disadvantage.
Hermione just had experienced the worst eighteen hours of her life. She knows that the torture only gets worse from here. No Harry. No Ron. No Ginny. No house support.
Most frustratingly no BIA, they are in panic mode and have been trying to contact the Master all day with no luck, this left Hermione to dawdle and drag herself through torturously long classes that felt like each classroom was a separate section of the devil's kitchen. The only person she had was Roxy, Hermione is wholeheartedly thankful for that.
It is her voice that softly breaks through Hermione's melancholic trance. "Mi?"
Hermione is leaning her cheek into her hand with her elbow planted on the table. Her eyes weakly meet Roxy's and reads the question in them. "I'm fine."
Roxy doesn't even pretend to be fooled by that statement. "You're crying and you haven't written a single word for ages now." She indicates to the undetected rivers trickling from the corner of Hermione's eyes, and then nods at the abandoned sheet of parchment in front of her.
Hermione stubbornly insists with dignity. "I'm fine."
Roxy knows Hermione will keep on lying and bottling up. Hermione obviously appreciates her company but also finds enough reason to not converse with her or talk about what's bothering her. Roxy feels a fire of irritation burning, it's not like she doesn't know already what she's upset about. It is purely down to Hermione's belief that a little first year girl cannot understand the problems associated with isolation and suspicion.
But Roxy does understand. Maybe other factors are in play that Roxy can not help with or advise on. But she can understand isolation, therefore she can help. It is up to Hermione to let her in though.
"I am not an idiot. Neither am I too young to understand. Your probably the only true friend I have. Learning to cope with loneliness is a lesson I know well." Roxy explains.
Hermione gives her a wry smile and opens her mouth, probably again to deflect the conversation from continuing. Roxy cuts her off. "If you think I won't understand then why not teach me to? I can't begin to understand how being accused of something, especially something that is criminal, must feel like especially when you are going through it alone. But I believe the going through it alone thing is where you are going wrong?"
Hermione let's loose a bitter remark that comes out with little to no control. "It seems that is easier said than done."
"You have me. Am I not enough?" Roxy counters.
Hermione fondly touches her arm. "You are making all the difference Rox. Without you I wouldn't be able to cope at all. But, I say this with utmost respect and admiration, you are not the right person to talk to about this."
She frowns and her mouth twitches. "Because I'm too young?" She insinuates.
"Because your innocence is not something I want to take from you. It's too late for me." Hermione firmly answers.
Roxy softens a bit but continues to break down Hermione's defences. "Remember what I said yesterday, about trusting you and stuff, I meant it. Trust means a lot to me, does it not mean the same to you?"
"Of course."
"Then why does it feel like our friendship is unequal? You know a lot about me and want to learn more, and I willing to give more. Yet I can't get a small bit of information about you, especially when it is information that is obviously on your mind."
Hermione takes that in. 'She's right' Hermione thinks to herself. It seems that prior to this moment Hermione could not differentiate between casual exchanges of personal life and widdling out information. Clearly the widdling was too much, and it very much shows.
What was she trying to say before Roxy brought this to her? That she only considers her a friend when she is providing details about her 'new' life; that when the first year genuinely wanted to return the favour out of friendship, Hermione didn't want to know? That is the impression Roxy had, and despite Hermione's inner confidence that she always did consider Roxy as a friend than just an informant, she still cannot find justification to that in the way she had been acting.
But right now this isn't about Ashley and Roxy, that is not why Hermione went to her new friend. She came here because she needed to and knew Roxy wouldn't judge or consider her negatively. She is a steady friend in a circle of friends in which Hermione is starting to lose.
Hermione's guilt reaches sky high when she finally realises a very startling thought. All she wants right now is a friend to talk to, and now she has one she doesn't want to talk, purely from the fact that she is driven to keep her life secret to protect the BIA.
She isn't going to do it anymore. At least, not to Roxy.
Roxy patiently waits for Hermione to show a proper reaction and soon enough Hermione envelopes the smaller girl into her arms. Her scent reminds her of another Milanski she knows. This feels great and is what Hermione has been dying for all day. "I don't want to talk about it Rox. I don't want to talk about losing friends, the body or the accusations. Ever since last night all I really needed was someone to hold; partner, family or friend. I will settle for friend."
Roxy clings back, a triumphant smile on her face. Hermione finally understands the worth Roxy has as a friend, and she deserves to have a friend worthy of her.
Hermione finds herself in the BIA's training quarters agitatedly waiting for the arrival of the three missing members. She has been kept away from the girl's for long enough today, and she rightly deserves an audience who can empathise with her trauma, guide her through the aggravation and most importantly comfort her and ease her pain. Roxy had relieved some of that pain but really she was completely the wrong person to provide her comfort in this troubling matter. Their absence, despite its necessary requirements, makes Hermione feel lonely, dejected and, to be quite frank, misused.
They know better than to leave a vulnerable trainee to go through the grinder alone. The fear, the worry, the sorrow and pain; it doesn't even feel anywhere close to being overcome without experienced and knowledgeable mentors to at least soften the blow that last night's events inflicted, as well as the aftermath.
Hermione can't really put the blame at their door entirely, and she is sure that they are not doing this out of spite. But they are the most at fault for Hermione's ongoing grief, and obligation or not they will hear about Hermione's distaste.
Around nine o'clock that very evening, the three girls make their return. Via the glum looks and sombre body language their efforts to contact the Master either went awry or left them unsatisfied, the last thing they need is a hot-headed lecture. 'Tough' Hermione thinks to herself.
"Where the hell have you been?!"
Alexis winces at the high-pitched tone, Jessie slumps onto the nearest armchair and ignores Hermione entirely. Ashley gives a slightly bitter reply "Our job."
"Your job?" Hermione replies, irked further by the apparent lack of remorse from any of them, including her girlfriend. A fact that stings her a bit but she shrugs off in favour of her anger. "Well whilst you were off gallivanting I was forced to sit whilst Dumbledore informed the entire school of what happened last night. That was followed by a whole day of accusations being hurled my away, images of those dead eyes staring back at me every time I closed my eyes and my close friends avoiding me like the plague."
"It hasn't exactly been a day in the park for us either." Jessie firmly responds.
"You're missing the point! Through all your experience and your obligations you completely missed the fact that this isn't just about you three anymore!" Hermione exclaims.
With a slight withering glare, Ashley replies. "Neither is it all about you."
"What is that supposed to mean?!"
Ashley shakes her head and pinches her nose. "Forget it."
"No, I won't forget it! This sort of thing is more of a common occurrence for you three than it is me! How many dead bodies have you seen, or even been personally responsible for? How many times have you all been through scrutiny and got out the other side unscratched?"
Jessie becomes heated as well as she answers. "You think it matters how many times you see dead bodies, or go through heaps of crap? You think it's any harder to see your first body than it is your fiftieth, or hundredth or more? Well it's not. With every death we witness we lose another fraction of ourselves. The day you become numb to it is the day you're no longer human."
"I'm sure you're right, but you three can simply do your jobs like nothing happened. You know how much I've been affected by today? Every time I think about everything my heart cracks, the feelings and emotions I feel are so violent they restrict my breathing. I know I won't sleep tonight, if I do it won't be a peaceful night's sleep. I can feel the stress and worry physically making me ill. And the only person who has stopped me going to a very dark place in your absence…" Hermione points at Ashley with emphasis. "...Is your sister. And I don't care what crap you had to sort out, I don't care what responsibilities you had to complete. All I know is even if you couldn't have given me advice or guided through the torment, you could have least been there for me in a situation where I have never felt so low, so lonely." Hermione ends her rant in tears.
Ashley steps forward and holds the younger girl by the shoulder. "For what it's worth we're sorry, for everything you've been put through since last night…" She shares a look with the other two silent girls and then meets Hermione's gaze again. "...And also because we haven't been completely honest with you. Indeed, contacting the Master was an absolute must and we still have yet to speak one-on-one with him. But today wasn't just about that. Your ordeal, your thought process, you're actions; it was all part of your training. It was a test."
Hermione replies in shock. "A test?"
"To see how you cope with independent thought and also see the activities you undertook to get through trauma and turmoil."
Hermione, having seen the new angle, immediately feels relieved. She is still angry a tad, but now that it is clear to her that the BIA had not misused her. They were aware of the fact that they were leaving Hermione to her own devices in a completely vulnerable environment, but not out of negligence, but as a way to strengthen her as a future hero. And Hermione has learnt a lot from her experience, so could she really stay mad at something she craves above most things.
"Ok. Now you've said that I feel a bit better...But you still could've let me know"
"We couldn't, it jeopardises the test entirely. If we had told you, you would've acted in a way we expected you to act. That is the wrong way to go about this test. Your reaction today was natural and unbiased, so now we can use the information you've told us about your experience to improve and better you for if that scenario happened for real." Ashley explains.
Hermione has a crazy thought and it ends up slipping out before she can stop it. "The body last night was not a hoax to setup the test was it?"
"To be honest, I wish it was. But as I said we need the Master here pronto, and if it was a hoax we would never have gone to Dumbledore about it and got the Ministry involved would we?" Ashley responds.
Hermione agrees. "Of course not, you're right. It's just...I'm looking for any excuse to prove that this really is not actually happening. The theories I have already come up with get sillier and sillier the more I try."
"It's happened. The investigation team will be here in the morning so I propose we at least try to get some sleep. I don't know about you girls but my bed is calling." Ashley turns to the rest of the group.
"Music to my ears. I'll follow you Ash."
"Alex?" Ash asks.
The normally vocal and opinionated girl lifted her empty eyes and merely shakes her head from her position on the sofa.
Ashley nods in response. "We'll see you in the morning then. Great hall, nine o'clock." Ashley and Jessie make to leave but not before Ash whispers so only Hermione can hear. "Talk to her."
The girls leave for their beds. Hermione immediately comes to her and sits beside her, lacing her fingers with Alex's left hand. "You ok?"
Alex reluctantly looks at her and smiles with fake cheerfulness. "Yeah. Just been a long day."
"You can say that again." Hermione concurs. "What's on your mind?"
Alexis huffs. "A lot. I feel restless yet emotionally drained." She turns to Hermione face on and,within a few seconds, leans in and chastely kisses her on the mouth. "I missed you today."
Hermione leans her forehead against hers. "I missed you too, more than anyone."
Alex looks down again, her expression downcast and mournful. "I'm sorry that all this ruined last night."
Hermione shakes her head. "Last night was wonderful, it was the early morning that ruined things. And it was out of your control."
"No it wasn't." She replies incredulously. "I led you into that tent, I was the one who suggested we go in. You, me, all of us would not be suffering if I had listened to Ashley and just kept heading back."
"Don't be stupid, how could you have known. I went there of my own free will remember, and the body would've been found sooner or later." Hermione argues.
"It might not have put us anywhere near the frame though. Now, because of me, we discovered a dead body and the most likely actions of a murderer. A murder that we may have connections to."
"But that would've been the case with or without our discovery."
"We didn't exactly help things though did we."
Hermione takes Alex's face into her hands. "Alex, we are innocent. Our actions may be suspicions to others but it's just that, suspicions. Under Veritaserum and with no evidence linking us to the crime, we will have nothing to worry about."
Alex continues to look Hermione dead in the eye. "In the forest, when you said someone planned this, did you really mean that?"
Hermione thinks back and simply replies. "It was too coincidental, but Iike you all said there was no way anyone could've gambled on us entering that tent."
Alex looks uncomfortable but before she can avoid adding more Hermione intercepts. "Are you saying I might've been right?"
Alex looks back at her and sighs. "Someone could've gambled on us finding the body, I just hope and pray that I'm wrong."
Hermione looks surprised and asks again. "Do the others know about it?"
"Absolutely not. It hurts me to think about the possibility of it being this person, it will kill them if they thought about it too. Or most likely call it ridiculous."
Hermione also starts dreading the answer to her next question. "Who is it that you think did this?"
Alex hesitates.
"Alex, I promise I will try to keep an open mind about who you think it is. Please."
Alex picks at her fingers and internally battles with herself. Finally she voices words. "It's him. I think it was The Master."
Next Morning
The Great hall is a blast of noise like any other morning breakfast. The only difference this time is tension is in the air, conversations about the body and the investigation loop on and on, and Hermione has what looks to be five whole empty seats either side of her and ten opposite. She has officially been outcasted.
The BIA are here too this morning, awkwardly eating amongst the staff who, even though give a more mature attitude in contrast with the Gryffindor's, provide a likewise negative reaction to their presence as the students do with the second Hogwarts champion. Only Dumbledore is comfortable enough to talk to them, and only briefly due to his position in the centre of the staff table rather than on the end like the BIA are.
Hermione constantly shares sorrowful looks with the girls, each of whom return it with a positive gesture not quite filled with confidence.
It is half way through breakfast and Hermione is trying to focus on only her muesli and not the feeling of eyes on her and the feel in the air.
The Great hall silences immediately as the heavy double doors of the hall burst open and a tall, lanky man enters, a condescending grin plastered on his face which makes his thin moustache more prominent. Light brown trousers and a similar coloured tie meet the white t-shirt with almost a tea-stained lined pattern flying horizontally and vertically over it. His cloak is a colour that Hermione has never seen before in the current wizarding society, a shining silver. And his head is crowned by an Edwardian looking hat with a white feather dangling over the brim.
His voice is baritone and mingled still with youth even at his late thirties in appearance. "So sorry to disturb but the Ministry Detective agent has arrived."
Everyone stares as the guy smiles with emmaculate teeth that put a daughter of dentists to shame. He had exactly the looks and arrogance of a Malfoy, just lacking the blonde and replacing with reddish-brown. He spots Hermione's empty vicinity and smiles a wicked smile at Hermione who shudders. His eyes scan the hall and make contact with the three BIA girls who he immediately recognised to Hermione's surprise. His smile grows even more if that is possible, and never has she seen the older brunettes to shudder as she did then too. Hermione briefly entertained the thought of his smile being magical, causing the occupant it is aimed at to shudder in fear of it.
Hermione is surprised Dumbledore hasn't introduced or even reacted besides staring with untwinkling eyes. This guy must be bad news indeed.
When his visual analysis of the room is complete he bows at them all and says. "Detective Cyril Picard, at your service."
TBC... Suspicious Minds.