More quick notes to reviewers before we begin this most tragic of chapters…

VoyICJ – Nope, no parties for Freelancer, so she stays up very late turning random thoughts into random words… ^_^  Glad you're enjoying this story… I'm certainly having a lot of fun writing it!  *laughs*

Galileo – Thanks.  I was wondering what kind of reaction the 12 to 13 transition would get.  ^_^  And yes, I will let you know what this mysterious creature is… very soon, actually…

Chocchip –  *soaks up kind review*  Thank you!  And I will most DEFINITELY not give up on Dumbledore and McGonagall… bwa ha ha ha ha…

Aeryn Alexander – Hee hee… you're not the first person that's complimented me on character names, so I'm going to be walking around with a big goofy grin on my face for the next few days… *bangs head against the wall in attempt to shrink it back to normal size*  And no, Icarus Knight is not an Animagus.  Hang tight, though – the creature mystery will be solved soon.

~~ Chapter Fifteen: A Terrible Tragedy ~~

            Dumbledore had been gone for three days, and despite receiving at least two owls a day from him, Minerva McGonagall couldn't help but worry.  She was the kind of person who liked to be in control of the situation, and right now, that was the last thing they were.  If their mysterious foe could slay the Minister of Magic, how easy would it be for them to place other strategic blows?  Was anywhere safe?

            As the day drew to a close, McGonagall started to write yet another letter to the Ministry of Magic expressing her concern, but that task was halted when a loud bang on the door to her office caused her to look up in surprise.  There was another bang, and the door fell over.  Standing in the doorway with a slightly embarrassed look on his face was Rubeus Hagrid.  Behind him was a teary-eyed Penelope Clearwater.  Minerva rose to her feet and walked over to them.  "What's going on?" she asked.  "Penelope, what's wrong?"

            "We can't find Su Li anywhere," Penelope said, fighting to keep composure.  "The Ravenclaw girls were supposed to have a meeting an hour ago, and she wasn't there.  We've been looking for her ever since, and we can't find her!"

            Fear seized the heart of the deputy headmistress, but she couldn't let it show in front of a student.  "She must be found," Minerva said.  "We'll get the entire school looking.  Don't worry about the door right now, Hagrid."

            Hagrid had bent over with the intention to pick up the door and replace it, but he stopped at her request.  "Come," Minerva said to her two companions.  "We've not a minute to lose.  She could be in danger."

            Half an hour of searching commenced.  Not even the combined efforts of all the students and staff combing every square inch of the castle could locate the missing girl.  Finally, Hagrid, Remus Lupin, and Severus Snape took a group of seventh-years into the Dark Forest to search there.  The odds that Su was in there were slim to none, but it was the only place that hadn't been searched thus far.  Hopefully, they would find what they expected to: nothing.

            "I don't understand," Oliver Wood whispered to Percy Weasley as the group of three teachers and five students picked their way along the mist-covered forest floor.  "Why would Su have gone out here?  It's forbidden even when Dumbledore is here."

            "We have to make sure," Percy whispered back.  "We have to find her."

            The snapping of a twig was heard, and Hagrid, in the lead, brought the group to a halt.  Lupin and Snape immediately had their wands out.  "Who's there?" called Percy.

            A soft moan was heard.  "That has to be Su," said Percy, and holding his lantern up high, he started running in the direction of the sound.  The others were close behind.

            It was, indeed, the missing girl.  She was laying in a bed of moss, barely clinging to life.  Four long, deep parallel gashes two inches apart ran across her chest, and with every labored breath, a few more drops of blood leaked from the wounds.  Her hair was matted with dirt and blood and lay in clumps around her pale face.  Her half-open eyes saw the approaching people, and a surge of hope rose from their depths.  She tried to speak, but her words were unable to make sense.

            Percy dropped to his knees beside Su and attempted to lift up her head.  Snape advised him against doing so, and knelt down on her other side.  Percy whispered words of encouragement to the girl as Snape pulled out a small vial of liquid and began pouring it over the gashes.  "You're going to be all right," the Head Boy assured her.  "Just stay with us."

            Su tried to speak again, and this time, several words could be discerned.  "Bella ran away," she said.  "Had to… find her…"

            Bella was Su's cat.  Percy looked around for any sign of the feline, and when he saw it, he wished he hadn't.  The shredded-up ball of fur and blood he mistook for a pile of sticks at first was the runaway cat.  Percy cringed and decided not to inform the girl that her cat had been turned into mincemeat.

            Suddenly, Su's body went limp.  Snape swore and clenched the vial so tightly it broke.  He shook the fragments of glass and drops of liquid from his hands, then stood up.  Lupin uneasily took a step closer to the Potions Master.  "Severus?" he said.

            Snape closed his eyes and shook his head.  "She's dead."

            The entire school was waiting for them when they returned from the forest.  Snape and Lupin were in the lead, followed by the five students.  Hagrid brought up the rear.  Minerva McGonagall broke from the masses and met them halfway.  "Did you find anything?" she asked.  "Anything at all?"

            Snape's voice was heavy as he spoke a response.  "Everything."

            Snape, Lupin, and the five students moved aside as Hagrid walked up to the deputy headmistress.  In his arms, he carried the body of Su Li.  "There was nothing we could do for her," Hagrid said.  "She's gone."

            As soon as Minerva's cry of agony reached the ears of the Hogwarts students, they knew a tragedy had struck.  Minerva herself was almost unable to stand under the weight of the pain, and her knees buckled.  Lupin saw her losing balance and rushed to her aid.  The Transfiguration instructor threw her arms around her friend and wept bitterly.  Even the usually impassive Severus Snape had tears in his eyes.  It was a tragedy that Hogwarts would never forget.

            "Let me help you."

            "I can get it."

            "Severus, please."  Alina Terringer set down the cloth soaked in wound-cleaning solution and took Snape's uninjured left hand in both of hers.  "You can't let it go untreated.  If you don't want me to do it, I'll get someone from medical."

            "Don't bother," Snape said, unable to look her in the eyes.

            After bringing the body of Su Li back to Hogwarts, Snape retreated to his chambers.  A fire was burning in the fireplace, and he was sitting in a chair a few feet away.  Next to him, holding a medical kit, knelt Alina, trying to persuade him to let her clean the numerous cuts in his hand that were sustained when he broke the glass vial in his fist.

            "There wasn't anything you could have done."

            "You're right, there wasn't.  But that doesn't change the fact that a student is dead."

            "Nor does it change the fact that if you expect to be able to utilize your right hand in the future, you need to let me help you."

            Snape did not respond verbally, but gave her his right hand.  With a pair of tweezers, she set to the task of removing the small fragments of glass still embedded in his skin.  "How bad is it?" he finally asked.

            "Not too bad," she replied.  "What did you have in that vial, some sort of healing solution?"

            He nodded.

            She could tell; the edges of the cuts were already starting to heal.  She had to work fast to remove all the glass before the skin closed around it, though.  "When I was little, my mother would always tell me that she could make a wound heal by kissing it," she said.  "I never believed her.  Healing seemed so much more complicated than that.  Then I became a witch and discovered that there's a potion that can make bones grow overnight."

            "Yes, and pray you never have to use it.  It's terribly painful."

            Alina could see no more glass, so she set down the tweezers and picked up the cloth.  "This might sting a bit," she warned, and pressed the cloth to the cuts.  A soft hissing was heard as the medicine made contact with flesh.  Snape didn't even blink.  "You have a very high tolerance for pain," she commented.

            "No, I'm just a masochist."

            Alina stopped rubbing the cloth over his skin and looked at him.  "You're not serious, are you?"

            "Of course not."

            Despite everything, a small smile worked its way onto her face.  "You're a cynic, that's what you are."

            "So I've been told."

            Alina set the cloth down and reached for a piece of gauze.  She wrapped it around his hand several times, then secured the ends with a bit of medical tape.  "What's going to happen to the school?" she asked.

            He shook his head.  "I don't know.  Professor McGonagall has already left for London to alert Dumbledore to the situation.  They should be back by tomorrow morning.  We won't know until then."

            Lucius Malfoy was walking past Snape's chambers on the way to the Slytherin tower to check on his son when he heard voices coming from the interior.  The door was slightly ajar, and he wondered if his friend was in there.  He glanced inside, and in the light of a blazing fire, he could discern two figures.  One of them was Severus Snape.  His heart sank as he realized who the other was – Alina Terringer.

            Lucius began walking again, as fast as he could without being heard.  Confusion swam through his heart.  Snape and Alina were in there, alone, and holding hands.  He couldn't understand why that image bothered him so much, but it did.  He remembered Snape telling him that he and Alina were only friends.  "She's in love with you, Lucius," he had said.  He didn't believe it, of course, but still… what if?  What if it was true?

            It's better this way, Lucius told himself.  You're a pureblood.  She's a Muggle-born.  It would never work.  It's not right.  Besides, she's in love with Severus, not you.  This arrangement will make everyone happy.

            Lucius sighed and pressed his hand to his forehead.  Who am I kidding?  Congrats, Lucius.  You blew it.

            Eko Chang and Albus Dumbledore were finishing up another late night of political affairs when the door to the Minister of Magic's office flew open.  The interim Minister and the headmaster of Hogwarts looked up in surprise to see who would come in so unexpectedly.  Their shock was made greater when they saw who it was.

            "Minerva?" Dumbledore said in disbelief.  "What are you doing here?"

            "Albus, you have to return to Hogwarts immediately," she said.  "There's been a terrible tragedy."

            "… and it is with a heavy heart that I tell you that Hogwarts will be closed until this danger has passed."

            The Great Hall was so quiet after Dumbledore's announcement that one could hear the heartbeat of someone standing across the room.  The headmaster paused for a moment to let his words sink in, then continued.  "In a few moments, you will all be excused to pack.  School is suspended until we can be sure our students and faculty will be safe here.  You are dismissed."

            "Can you believe this?" Ron Weasley asked Harry Potter as the two boys packed their suitcases.  "What if they never figure out what it is?  What if Hogwarts is closed forever?"

            "Don't say things like that, Ron," Harry replied.  "They'll find what killed Su, get rid of it, and we'll be back in a week."

            "I hope so, for your sake," Ron said.  "I wish you didn't have to spend another minute with those awful Dursleys."

            "I may not have to.  Draco spoke to his father, and if it's all right with my aunt and uncle, I can stay with them until school opens again."

            Ron blinked twice, then stared at Harry.  "Hmm… Dursleys or Malfoys?  I can't decide which one's worse."

            "Oh, shut up, Ron."  He paused.  "How's Percy doing?"

            "Percy's been better," Ron admitted.  Both Percy and Penelope had taken Su's death very hard.  "He's going to stay with Penelope's family for a few days, and then the two of them are planning to visit Mr. and Mrs. Li before coming to our house.  You could come stay with us, you know."

            "It would probably get crowded, with your family and Penelope," Harry pointed out.  "I would hate to intrude any further."

            "My father wouldn't mind, especially as an alternative to you staying with… them."

            "You know, Ron, now that I think about it, I don't think the Malfoys are really 'evil' at all," Harry said.  "Just… misunderstood, you know, the product of how they were raised.  And I know, they've done evil things, especially Lucius, but that's changed.  They're different now."

            Ron sighed.  "Whatever you say.  Just be sure I get an owl from you every day so I know you're still alive."

            A small grin appeared on Harry's face.  "Sure thing."

            All the students had left, and most of the faculty as well.  The ones that still remained were Albus Dumbledore, Minerva McGonagall, Rubeus Hagrid, Severus Snape, and Remus Lupin.  These five were preparing to leave, but before they did, Dumbledore wanted one more look at the mysterious marks their mysterious creature left in its wake.

            "It's not a werewolf," Lupin assured Dumbledore as the headmaster ran his fingers over the four parallel slash marks on the trunk of a tree.  "Trust me.  It's not a werewolf."

            "I believe you," Dumbledore said, stepping away from the tree.  Lupin, of all people, would know if something was or wasn't the mark of a werewolf.  "But if it's not a werewolf, what is it?"

            Nobody had an answer.

            Suddenly, McGonagall stepped forward.  "I have an idea," she said.  "Hagrid, may I see some bark?"

            Hagrid peeled off a piece of bark and handed it to her.  "Don't follow you, Professor McGonagall, but here you go."

            She set the bark on the ground and transformed into her Animagus form.  The cat that was Minerva found the bark, extended her claws, and left a visible scratch mark on the wood.  She then changed back into a human and handed the piece of bark to Hagrid.  "Would you be so kind as to hold this up to the tree?" she asked.

            Hagrid performed what was asked of him.  "Where are you going with this, Professor?" he asked.

            "Notice the pattern of marks I left," she said, pointing at the piece of bark.  "Then look at the pattern of marks the creature left."

            "I think I see it," Snape said.  "The creature's mark is four parallel lines.  The mark you left is also four parallel lines."

            "So it's a cat," Lupin concluded.

            "Well, in theory, yes," McGonagall replied.  "The marks our creature left are much bigger, of course, but the point is that they are proportional."

            "So it's a very large cat," said Lupin.

            For a few seconds, they were completely silent and motionless as they pondered the facts.  Then, it hit them with the force of a thousand bricks, and the truth was as clear as day.  In unison, five voices spoke one word:

            "Nundu."