When the Hogwarts Express pulled into Hogsmeade Station, Dumbledore asked Harry for his Invisibility Cloak. Harry gave it to Dumbledore, who used it to cover Hermione, who had been placed on a stretcher that Dumbledore had created with a flick of his wand. 'We don't want anyone to panic.' He said, and walked off onto the platform, the invisible stretcher hovering beside him.
'Come with us.' McGonagall said, and Harry, Ron, Ginny, Fred and George quietly followed the three teachers to the carriages.
***
Harry, Ron, Ginny, Fred and George sat quietly at the Gryffindor table at the beginning of term feast, all trying to come to terms with the fact that one of their best friends had died. The atmosphere in the Great Hall didn't seem to be as cheery as usual. The news of an attack on the train had been heard by most of the students, but the story had been altered as it had been passed on, and very few people actually realised there had been a death.
Dumbledore stood up, and called for silence, even though the room was nearly silent already. 'As most of you know, a student was attacked on the Hogwarts Express. Now it is my duty to inform you that the student, Miss Hermione Granger, was killed in this incident. No one knows who did this, but let me assure you, we will find the murderer. I have been talking to Cornelius Fudge, the minister for magic, and several representatives from the Department of Mysteries will be arriving at the school tomorrow morning. It will be their job to find the murderer. If you have any information, we beg you to talk to them.'
***
Harry was sitting by one of the windows of the Gryffindor common room the next morning, not feeling like going to breakfast. With all of yesterday's action, it hadn't really hit him that Hermione was dead. Now it was beginning to sink in, and he was grieving. Ron was in a similar state, and had refused to leave their dormitory.
Harry was staring out of the window, thinking of all the things he and Hermione had been through together – going after the Philosopher's Stone in their first year, trying to find Slytherin's heir in their second year, trying to save Sirius Black from the Dementors in their third year, and he remembered all the help and support she had given him in the Tri-wizard Tournament last year.
As Harry stared out the window, he suddenly realised that there were three people coming up the drive to the main doors of the school. There were two witches and a wizard, and Harry didn't recognise any of them. He saw Dumbledore appear and shake all the strangers' hands. He realised that these must be the representatives from the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry of Magic.
***
Dumbledore sat at his desk in his office, and on the other side of the desk sat the three members of the department of Mysteries. They had introduced themselves as Inspector Anastacia Semaphore, who was in charge of the investigation into Hermione's murder, Sergeant Beth Titus, one of Inspector Semaphore's colleagues, and Brad Dunst, a young wizard who was new to the department, and had come along to shadow Inspector Semaphore and Sergeant Titus.
'This school is having a bad time lately.' Dumbledore sighed. 'What with this, and Cedric Diggory last year in the Tri-wizard Tournament.'
'We will try our best to keep this away from the media and the papers.' Inspector Semaphore said.
'Thank you for your time, all three of you. Hogwarts usually has a good reputation; I can't believe that any of the students here would do anything like this.'
'Well, when can we start questioning people?'
'As soon as you like.'
'Well, what we need to know is who Miss Granger was particularly close to, and whether she had any particular enemies.'
'That's simple.' Dumbledore said. 'She was always with Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley. They're both Gryffindor fifth years.'
'And enemies?'
'Well, I know she had a grudge against Draco Malfoy, a Slytherin fifth year. She, Harry and Ron all hated him, and vice versa, but I can't believe he would kill her.'
'He probably didn't. We have inspected the body of Miss Granger, and we know she was stabbed in the chest, and probably knocked against the wall of the compartment – her skull was fractured. I don't think that many of the fifth year students would have the strength to do that. Maybe a seventh year, or more likely an adult, but I don't think it was someone of Miss Granger's age.'
