Chapter Four
"I'm going for a walk!" Harry anounced, not bothering to wait for an answer. His Aunt and Uncle could really care less whether or not he was blown to bits. They didn't care if he was in danger, a though he pushed aside as he headed down the sidewalk. After all, the little girl would warn him if he was in danger, she hadn't let him down yet.
Inside the library Harry was shocked to find the ghost standing right next to the front desk, nodding like she thought Harry was on the right trail. The old Librarian was oblivious to her, and looked up once briefly to get a look at Harry before turning back to her book. Wandering around towards the back, Harry looked at the shelf which stored the microfilm, wondering which one to select. He didn't have to wonder for long, the ghost chose for him, a single capsul glowing brightly as he pulled it from the shelf, threading through one of three machines. He scanned all the headlines as he clicked from page to page, finally stopping on the fourth. The headline read:
"Missing Girl Still Not Found. Police Suspect A Runaway, Adoptive Parents Feel Otherwise." Leaning back in his chair, Harry read on. "Mr. and Mrs. Bennet say that nine year old Jessica was always bright and happy and loved to read books about magic people and places. Jessica was a bright student and seemed to have loved everything about her home. The adoptive parents fear the worst, that their little girl may have been abducticted. A 500 pound reward is being offered for any knowledge of Jessica Bennet's wherabouts." A tiny picture was next to the article, a nine year old girl with long hair and bright eyes. Her smile was so bright Harry could have swore he heard her laughter coming right out of the screen.
"Ah, Jessica Bennet," came an old, gnarled voice. Harry turned to find the old librarian reading over his shoulder. "I remember her."
"I beg your pardon?" Harry pressed, hoping to obtain more information.
"Little Jessica Bennet," the librarian repeated. "I remember her. Very bright, she was. Always reading stories about wizards and dragon and such. She believed in those things, her magical creatures and people. She loved them."
"So what happened to her?"
"No one is certain. It happened October 31st, and Jessica had just left the Halloween storytime here. I remember her rambling on afterwords, before she left, about how she was going to a friend's birthday party and how she was going to be dressed up as a wizard." She paused and Harry sat up a little bit more to hear better. "Her parents said that she had asked to sleep out in the yard, it was so warm out. So they agreed and she went out into the tent with her books. The next morning she had vanished."
"Vanished?" Harry repeated.
"Just vanished," the librarian confirmed. "The police looked everywhere for her but they never found anything. The cops think she ran away. But I knew little Jessica. She wouldn't have run away, not even if a faerie had asked her too. She would have called for her parents, rest their souls."
"What happened to them?"
"They died soon after the police decided to put away the case. Heart break. Not her brith parents, mind you. Her real mother had died giving birth, and her father never showed up but once, and he didn't want to have anything to do with her. Was muttering something like "muggle" at her adoption signing. Poor little Jessica..." The librarian sighed, wiping a tear from her eye. "And what's got you looking into this case."
"Er...a friend of mine was a friend of the Bennets," Harry lied. "He's upset that the case has gone overlooked for so long. He's trying to find any information possible. He...uh...well, he's got s special gift-"
"Your friend's a psychic?" the librarian asked. Surprisingly, she didn't seem at all upset at the thought, rather, she seemed excited almost. Harry just nodded, letting his little plot unfold. The librarian got up and walked off for a moment, then returned with a small silver butterfly charm. Half of the clasp was broken off and there wasn't a chain for it, just the charm. She placed it in Harry's hand and closed his fingers around it. "Take this to your friend. Maybe he can find something out to put Jessica to rest."
"Do you believe in psychics?" Harry questioned.
"I believe in anything that can help, and if that means believeing in the unknown, then its worth it."
What a nice muggle, Harry thought. He felt bad as he walked home. The librarian had loved the little girl. Her words kept running through his mind as he walked the empty sidewalk. "It had happened October 31st..." Suddenly it dawned on Harry! She had died the night his parents had been murdered, the night he'd been orphaned. Was that the connection? Did that have something to do with her going missing? If it did, Harry wanted to know what.
"I'm going for a walk!" Harry anounced, not bothering to wait for an answer. His Aunt and Uncle could really care less whether or not he was blown to bits. They didn't care if he was in danger, a though he pushed aside as he headed down the sidewalk. After all, the little girl would warn him if he was in danger, she hadn't let him down yet.
Inside the library Harry was shocked to find the ghost standing right next to the front desk, nodding like she thought Harry was on the right trail. The old Librarian was oblivious to her, and looked up once briefly to get a look at Harry before turning back to her book. Wandering around towards the back, Harry looked at the shelf which stored the microfilm, wondering which one to select. He didn't have to wonder for long, the ghost chose for him, a single capsul glowing brightly as he pulled it from the shelf, threading through one of three machines. He scanned all the headlines as he clicked from page to page, finally stopping on the fourth. The headline read:
"Missing Girl Still Not Found. Police Suspect A Runaway, Adoptive Parents Feel Otherwise." Leaning back in his chair, Harry read on. "Mr. and Mrs. Bennet say that nine year old Jessica was always bright and happy and loved to read books about magic people and places. Jessica was a bright student and seemed to have loved everything about her home. The adoptive parents fear the worst, that their little girl may have been abducticted. A 500 pound reward is being offered for any knowledge of Jessica Bennet's wherabouts." A tiny picture was next to the article, a nine year old girl with long hair and bright eyes. Her smile was so bright Harry could have swore he heard her laughter coming right out of the screen.
"Ah, Jessica Bennet," came an old, gnarled voice. Harry turned to find the old librarian reading over his shoulder. "I remember her."
"I beg your pardon?" Harry pressed, hoping to obtain more information.
"Little Jessica Bennet," the librarian repeated. "I remember her. Very bright, she was. Always reading stories about wizards and dragon and such. She believed in those things, her magical creatures and people. She loved them."
"So what happened to her?"
"No one is certain. It happened October 31st, and Jessica had just left the Halloween storytime here. I remember her rambling on afterwords, before she left, about how she was going to a friend's birthday party and how she was going to be dressed up as a wizard." She paused and Harry sat up a little bit more to hear better. "Her parents said that she had asked to sleep out in the yard, it was so warm out. So they agreed and she went out into the tent with her books. The next morning she had vanished."
"Vanished?" Harry repeated.
"Just vanished," the librarian confirmed. "The police looked everywhere for her but they never found anything. The cops think she ran away. But I knew little Jessica. She wouldn't have run away, not even if a faerie had asked her too. She would have called for her parents, rest their souls."
"What happened to them?"
"They died soon after the police decided to put away the case. Heart break. Not her brith parents, mind you. Her real mother had died giving birth, and her father never showed up but once, and he didn't want to have anything to do with her. Was muttering something like "muggle" at her adoption signing. Poor little Jessica..." The librarian sighed, wiping a tear from her eye. "And what's got you looking into this case."
"Er...a friend of mine was a friend of the Bennets," Harry lied. "He's upset that the case has gone overlooked for so long. He's trying to find any information possible. He...uh...well, he's got s special gift-"
"Your friend's a psychic?" the librarian asked. Surprisingly, she didn't seem at all upset at the thought, rather, she seemed excited almost. Harry just nodded, letting his little plot unfold. The librarian got up and walked off for a moment, then returned with a small silver butterfly charm. Half of the clasp was broken off and there wasn't a chain for it, just the charm. She placed it in Harry's hand and closed his fingers around it. "Take this to your friend. Maybe he can find something out to put Jessica to rest."
"Do you believe in psychics?" Harry questioned.
"I believe in anything that can help, and if that means believeing in the unknown, then its worth it."
What a nice muggle, Harry thought. He felt bad as he walked home. The librarian had loved the little girl. Her words kept running through his mind as he walked the empty sidewalk. "It had happened October 31st..." Suddenly it dawned on Harry! She had died the night his parents had been murdered, the night he'd been orphaned. Was that the connection? Did that have something to do with her going missing? If it did, Harry wanted to know what.