Chapter Twenty Four
The Older Holmes
Sherlock was sitting in the train sided by Anderson, Sally and Lestrade. Mike, Molly and John were sitting in front of him, throwing their hands in the air in frustration.
"You are being absolutely adamant! Use your head, Sherlock!" John said, facing him.
Sherlock took a deep breath and then sighed. Breathing didn't come to him without effort yet. He felt as if his lungs were still expelling the water, still complaining about it, struggling. Luckily he was now dry and John had purchased chocolate from the witch with the trolley and had made sure Sherlock ate it, and that helped more than anything. Sherlock had a few reasons why he didn't want to tell Professor Adara. By now the Shrieking Shack – that he had never gotten to see but he was sure contained all the traces of Moriarty's plans – must have been emptied, becoming useless as a proof. From what he had seen, Moriarty was a competent wizard and he would have no trouble in getting rid of whatever it was he kept there. Secondly, he had no witnesses of what had happened. John and Molly had gotten there after Moriarty had vanished and Professor Adara would have to believe his word alone, which Moriarty would refute. He had, of course, the Muggle newspaper – he was now thankful he had left it at Irene's guard or it would be all ruined by now, destroyed by the water of the lake – but that only proved that Moriarty knew how to make a pulley system, it didn't do nothing to prove he had made the pulley system that killed Victor Trevor. Once again, it was Moriarty's word against his. And the most important thing was that he was sure Moriarty would escape immune to any accusation.
"They can check his wand!" Molly said, as a last attempt to convince Sherlock.
It was not as if this was exactly a discussion. Whether Sherlock wanted it or not they'd tell professor Adara as soon as the train reached Hogwarts. They were just trying to get Sherlock to cooperate.
Sherlock was tired; his mind was a swirl of fog and he couldn't focus properly. So he shrugged his shoulders, willing to let it rest. He was most worried about his wand; he had lost it in the fight and he was not sure if it was forever sunken in the lake or if Moriarty had gotten hold of it.
"Alright." He conceded, eating the last bit of chocolate. "We'll go to Professor Adara."
"It was not a choice we were giving you." John told him.
Their eyes locked and Sherlock saw the worry in John's, despite his sharp tone. John was still mad, not only with James Moriarty – who he knew well as Moriarty was the Slytherin's seeker – but also with Sherlock. He could have trusted him, he could have told him about his plans, about what he intended to do. Instead, as if he considered John a burden, Sherlock had sneaked out and went to search for clues on his own, putting his life in danger in the process. He could have died and the thought of Sherlock's pallor when he removed him from the frozen water would haunt him for a long time.
Sherlock, John, Molly and Mike followed 'The Yard' into the Castle. Lestrade, who had heard Sherlock's explanation on the way back to the Castle attentively, was giving them directions. He would go with Sherlock and the others to Professor's Adara office whilst Sally would meet Irene at 'The Pupil's Eye' Office and fetch the Muggle newspaper; it was something to support their theory.
Sherlock was half-dragged to the interior of the Castle and they went up the stairs together. Sherlock was staying behind and John stepped back, standing by his side. He held Sherlock's hand and they both shared a look.
They walked through the Gargoyle Corridor and then stepped on the stone staircase, which moved in circular motion straight away. Lestrade, who was ahead, knocked on the door.
The door opened immediately, and as the Red Sea being parted by Moses, all of them moved out of the way, leaving Sherlock staring at the tall figure standing behind a desk. Professor Adara raised her chin slightly when she saw them all, standing side by side outside the office, framed by the door.
"Come on in." Professor Adara said.
John let go of John's hand and pushed him slightly forward, making him give an unwanted step towards the door. Sherlock walked in, followed promptly by all the others. They were a big troupe. By the time Mike was about to close the door Sally and Irene appeared as well, and they closed the door behind them after entering the office.
Professor Adara's office was filled with strange objects, some of which Sherlock was able to identify, others too complex even for his deductive skills. But he didn't admire the place for long. Standing on the right side of the room, looking rather grim, was Mycroft. Sherlock frowned when he saw his brother there, holding his umbrella and what seemed like a scroll of parchment. Mycroft seemed less surprised to see Sherlock there. Then, looking again at Professor Adara, Sherlock's gaze fixed upon the desk and he saw it. Placed over it was his wand.
Professor Adara conjured a few more chairs in front of the desk and urged the students to sit down. They all did, except for Sherlock, who stood on the left side of the desk, facing Mycroft again. Professor Adara didn't insist. She sat as well, looking up.
"I was just talking to your brother." She told Sherlock, as a way to start the conversation.
Sherlock nodded.
"I assume you have something to tell me?"
Sherlock nodded again. He wasn't sure how to start this. He hadn't prepared himself and the fogginess in his mind wasn't helping.
"I know who killed Victor Trevor."
Professor Adara stared at him for a minute, then looked at the others and finally she picked up the wand placed over her desk.
"We found this at the Ancient Artefacts Room." She said. "The scroll that had been stolen was replaced as well, so we have it back in our hands. This was the wand Mr. Adair found there, with the scroll."
She showed the wand to Sherlock with a piercing look.
"You brother has identified this wand as being yours. Can you confirm that?"
Sherlock frowned once again.
"Yes, that is my wand. I lost it at Hogsmeade."
"And how do you explain it showing up at the Ancient Artefacts Room just as the stolen scroll is back again?"
Sherlock didn't answer. He looked at Mycroft, then back at Professor Adara. John got up.
"It wasn't Sherlock. He was with us. We just arrived in the train."
Professor Adara nodded.
"Let us hear what happened then. You claim to know who the murderer of Victor Trevor is?"
Sherlock swallowed and then cleared his throat.
"Yes." He extended a hand in the direction of Irene, who passed him the newspaper. Sherlock extended it in front of Professor Adara. "Here. James Moriarty. He killed Victor Trevor."
Professor Adara read the article with care, and then looked at the picture for a long time.
"Yes, he warned us you might say that."
Sherlock froze in his place.
"What do you mean?" He asked.
"James Moriarty met me here about an hour ago. He was concerned someone might use this," She pointed at the newspaper. "Against him."
"Why would he lie?" John asked, pointing at Sherlock, disliking the way the conversation was going.
"I never said he would." Professor Adara affirmed. She then got up and approached a very small owl that stood still on the left side of the room, right where Mycroft stood, and tied a memo to its leg.
"Take this to Mr. Adair." Professor Adara demanded.
The owl flew away and a few minutes later a new knock on the door announced Mr. Adair, who had James Moriarty with him.
They students turned on their chairs, in unison. James Moriarty grinned. He faced Sherlock. Professor Adara fetched another chair and pointed at it. Moriarty, standing on the opposite side of Sherlock, did not complain; he sat, a malicious twinkle in his eyes. He locked eyes with John. John turned his gaze away immediately and looked at Sherlock.
"James here seems to think you are using him as a scapegoat." Professor Adara uttered.
Sherlock shook his head.
"Why would I do that?"
"Because you killed Victor Trevor."
Moriarty's voice resonated inside the office, loud and clear. The others faced him again but he paid them no attention.
"It was very clever, to find all these things about someone and then use methods to make it look like it was them who did it."
Sherlock scoffed.
"Find something else. That excuse is old."
"Check his wand." Moriarty said, facing Professor Adara this time. "Check the charm he performed. "
"Irene gave me this newspaper a long time after Victor Trevor was killed." Sherlock said and Irene nodded.
"It's true. I did."
Moriarty turned serious.
"Well, if you're going to cheat with all your friends… Are they in this as well? Protecting you? God knows John Watson had a good reason to want Victor Trevor out of the way." He then spoke to John. "How's the seeker badge suiting you?"
John got up, ready to punch Moriarty in the face, but Molly held his arm.
"Check his wand then." She said, turning to Professor Adara. "There's nothing there. Sherlock didn't do anything."
John, who was fuming and still looking at Moriarty, spoke.
"I didn't even know Sherlock when Victor Trevor was killed. You charmed the equipment. You almost killed him today!" He shouted, pointing at Sherlock with a movement of his head.
Professor Adara got up and they all fell silent, looking at him. She picked Sherlock's wand.
"You won't mind if I check it?" She asked Sherlock.
Sherlock nodded, in approval. He was sure the wand would reveal more than it should; there had to be a reason for Moriarty to get that to the Professor's attention, but asking her to not check his wand would have the same effect.
Professor Adara performed Prior Incantato. They all watched as the last charm performed by the wand was revealed. Frigidus.
Professor Adara looked at Sherlock and raised an eyebrow.
"Care to explain?"
Sherlock agreed. He then started to speak, slowly.
"I've been investigating Victor Trevor's case since he was murdered. That's why I told you about the charmed quills, Professor. I thought there was a relation between those two things."
"How did you get to that conclusion?"
Professor Adara was clever. There were things Sherlock was not saying and she knew what they were, but she still wanted him to pronounce them.
"I-" Sherlock hesitated. He would have to tell the truth, but he could spare involving 'The Yard' in it. "I went to the Owlery the night Victor Trevor was killed. I saw the pulley system. I found one of these." He pulled the four pieces of red string from his pocket – the parchment that held them had been ruined by the water of the lake – and placed them on top of the table. "I collected a few samples of Victor's blood…"
"It was concealed." Professor Adara pointed out.
"Yeah." Sherlock agreed. "It wasn't a very powerful concealment charm. I used an un-concealment charm to check everything."
Professor Adara nodded. She seemed surprised.
"It still required great magic skills." She said.
"I have them."
Sherlock looked at her defiantly and she grinned at his narcissist composure. Sherlock pressed on.
"Then there was the break in at the Ancient Artefacts Room. There was another piece there. Then the other one was at Hogsmeade, at the Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop. All the quills disappeared and by then I had figured someone might want to curse other students, besides Trevor."
"How did you know Trevor had been cursed? These red strings tell you nothing about it."
"Oh. Well, I used some Cruor to check Victor's blood and it showed a curse perfectly."
Professor Adara accented with a movement of her head in understanding and then added, before Sherlock could continue.
"And this one," She said, pointing at the fourth red string. "You found it at the library."
It was not a question but Sherlock answered either way.
"Yes."
"So it was you who broke in?"
Sherlock had no choice but to tell the truth.
"Yes. I was looking for information about the red strings."
"At the Restricted Section?" Professor Adara inquired.
"Yes."
"Did you find anything?"
Sherlock nodded.
"Yes. Yes, I did. But I still couldn't erase these marks. I don't know how to perform the charm to do it."
Professor Adara held the string in her hand. She waited for Sherlock to continue once again.
"I remembered something from when I was eight years old, an accident that had occurred at a Muggle school. Some boy who had been hanged upside down and charmed. He had been injured. But I couldn't find the name or a photograph of the culprit of it in any wizard newspaper. Then I remembered there was a Muggle version of the news and I asked Irene here to fetch it for me. She did, and there was him."
He spit the word, pointing without looking at Moriarty.
"I wanted to be sure before I did anything, so I went to Hogsmeade. I thought he might be using the Shrieking Shack to hide whatever it was he needed. That's when he met me. He was waiting for me there, outside."
He finally faced Moriarty, who wore the same smug expression as usual. Sherlock spoke once again.
"We duelled each other. We both fell into the lake. I lost." He admitted. "He encased me underneath the ice in the lake. John and Molly found me and saved me. That's all that happened."
Moriarty smiled this time.
"Beautiful story." He congratulated. "How long did it take you to come up with it?" He then turned to professor Adara. "I am in awe at this entire story. Using my past to create an alibi is disgusting. I was in the school all along, you can ask Mrs. Hudson."
Professor Adara faced Sherlock.
"You do know your wand performed the Frigidus curse? That is a charm used to freeze water. Then it was found at the Ancient Artefacts Room."
"I've been with them all the time!" Sherlock said, pointing at his friends.
"All the time?" Moriarty asked. "Can they confirm that? I thought I heard you say you faced me at the Shrieking Shack alone."
John and Molly looked at each other.
"Was he with you all the time at Hogsmeade?" Professor Adara asked them.
They faced Sherlock and then looked at each other again and facing Professor Adara shook their heads.
"No. He left us for a while." John said. "But I am sure there is…"
Moriarty interrupted.
"There you go, see? Au revoir alibi. I feel insulted by the minute. Breaking into the Ancient Artefacts Room, putting the scroll back in place to erase clues, and then encasing himself in ice just in time for his friends to save him. Brilliant plan."
Mycroft walked forward silently and placed his umbrella on the corner of the secretary, hanging by its handle.
"You said," He asked, speaking to Sherlock. "That you were encased underneath the ice."
Sherlock accented.
"Yes. They can confirm that."
John and Molly nodded. Lestrade spoke.
"We found them all by the lake. It was frozen; there was a big hole in it, through which they pulled him from within. I can testify to that."
"So, the lake was not completely frozen?" Mycroft inquired, facing Lestrade.
"No. There was a layer on top. That's all."
Mycroft smiled.
"Do you mind?" He asked Professor Adara, pointing at a silver tin that was placed n top of the desk. Professor Adara acquiesced.
Mycroft removed his own wand from his pocket and then pointed it at the tin. Without a word the tin filled up with water almost to the brim. He then gave Moriarty Sherlock's wand.
"Can you please perform the charm Frigidus?"
Moriarty faced him with a defiant look and then, raising the wand he spoke the charm.
"Frigidus!" He mouthed.
Immediately a coat of ice covered the surface of the water, thick enough that when Mycroft poked it, it remained solid and untouched. He performed another charm and the water became liquid again. He passed the wand to Sherlock's hand and then incited him as well.
"You know the charm." He said.
Sherlock approached and took a deep breath. He said the word out loud.
"Frigidus!"
This time, the water froze. Not just the surface, but completely. Mycroft turned the tin upside down and the block of ice fell on the secretary, shattering into pieces.
"Not a perfect charm." He told Sherlock. "The ice should be more compact, it shouldn't have shattered."
He made a movement with his wand and the pieces of ice disappeared. Professor Adara was facing him.
"The charm at the lake was not performed by Sherlock. If it had been it would have encased him in ice, instead of just trapping him underneath a layer. The whole lake would have frozen. So someone else performed the charm with Sherlock's wand."
What happened next was quick, almost unpredictable. Moriarty had slid a hand into his pocket and felt his own wand warm against his skin. He spoke the words he had been practicing for such a long time, the magic contained in the scroll Sebastian had stolen a long time ago and then replaced this same day. He knew what the consequences might be for him. He knew that like the others he might die, despite the charms he had made to protect himself and Sebastian if it came to this. But Sebastian was safe. By this time he was still destroying all the clues of their presence at the Shrieking Shack and Sebastian's safety was all that mattered. If something happened to him, Sebastian would continue his legacy.
"Interficere!"
Moriary had, however, forgotten one thing: in that room was one the most intelligent men he would have the chance to meet. Mycroft had read Moriarty like a page of an open book and seen what Sherlock had failed to. So when the wand performed the charm, ready to take all over the Castle, ready to kill in one single blow, with a silent curse, all the students and Professors and every living being at Hogwarts, Moriarty felt as if his entrails were on fire. His body was not responding to his commands and his tongue tasted like ash. And he realised in that moment that it was not just an impression. He was burning from the inside.