Ron sat gaping at her, Hermione had her hands clasped to her mouth, and
Harry's eyes had become so large, she thought they might fall out of his
head. Jessica had just finished telling them of the conversation she had
overheard. Jessica nodded, and as she watched, Hermione lowered her hands
from her mouth.
"They found all of the in the Forbidden Forest?" she asked shakily. Again, Jessica nodded.
"But how did the killers get on and off the grounds without anyone noticing them?" Ron asked, not really expecting an answer.
Jessica looked down at her hands. "I dunno," she whispered, "But I do have a question. Professor McGonagall said that there were only "so many" Aurors out there to kill dark wizards. How many are there?" she asked.
Everyone looked at Hermione. She put on a look of deep concentration, and finally she said slowly, "The last time I researched them, there was about twenty eight found world wide." And then, catching the looks on their faces, she added hurriedly, "But that number may have gone up since then. I haven't looked it up for a month."
"Don't be stupid," Ron said irritably, "There's no way that they could have trained enough Aurors to replace all those dead ones." He realized what he had said after it was out of his mouth, and caught his mistake quickly. "Sorry Hermione. You're not being stupid," he said. She gave him an appraising look and then nodded, turning back to the conversation.
"Has it hit the newspapers yet?" Harry wondered aloud.
"I don't think so," Hermione said, "I've been getting the Daily Prophet delivered, and I haven't seen anything about it. But who knows what the Skeeter woman will do to get the story," Hermione added with a scowl. Harry nodded. He remembered how annoyingly persistent she was to get her hands on anything incriminating. And she already knew about Jessica, so she'd probably try and make this whole thing seem like her fault.
He sat and thought for a long moment. No, he thought. No, she had been in the room with him when it had happened, there was no way she could have done it. He was angry with himself for even considering that as a possibility. It is however, said another voice in the back of his mind, odd that they should trust her, when they haven't even known her for a month. He was considering this fact when Ron broke the silence.
"Well, I think the real question is, what are we gonna do?" he asked, somewhat impatiently.
"Oh Ron," Hermione said, "I don't think we should get involved in this. I mean, Aurors are specifically trained to kill dark wizards, and if they couldn't even handle this…" she trailed off in to silence for a moment. Finally, composing herself she said, "If they couldn't handle it, then I don't want to know what it is at all."
"Hermione!" said Ron, exasperated, "Harry has been up against You- Know-Who how many times? And he's still alive isn't he? Well, whoever did this can't possibly be worse the You-Know-Who can they?"
"But that's exactly what I'm worried about Ron!" Hermione interrupted, "I think it may actually be You-Know-Who that did this!"
There was a long silence, and finally Ron said, "You're nutters. There's no way You-Know-Who could have gotten on the grounds. The security is too intense. No. It had to be someone they wouldn't suspect, and now that Voldemort's got his body back, he'd be easy enough to recognize wouldn't he?'
Again, there was a long silence. But this time, it was Harry who broke it. "He's done it before, Ron," he said, thinking very hard, "And I don't expect it would be too hard for him to get one of his Death Eaters to get him on to the grounds." The he turned to Jessica, "I think that right now we should decide what we can do to help."
"Well," Jessica said slowly, "The teachers are trying to get those communicators working, so until then…"
"Wait," Hermione suddenly interrupted, "I've read about that before. That's no legend. That's true, and if the teachers can find that spell to activate those communicators, then we may stand a chance…"
"But what if they can't?" Jessica interjected. She noticed they were all looking at her in mild surprise. True, even she had been surprised by her sudden show of enthusiasm, but it was an urgent matter.
"What I mean," she continued calmly, "Is that we need another plan. We need help." She stopped and thought for a moment, "But first, we need to find out those Auror's real identities."
"They found all of the in the Forbidden Forest?" she asked shakily. Again, Jessica nodded.
"But how did the killers get on and off the grounds without anyone noticing them?" Ron asked, not really expecting an answer.
Jessica looked down at her hands. "I dunno," she whispered, "But I do have a question. Professor McGonagall said that there were only "so many" Aurors out there to kill dark wizards. How many are there?" she asked.
Everyone looked at Hermione. She put on a look of deep concentration, and finally she said slowly, "The last time I researched them, there was about twenty eight found world wide." And then, catching the looks on their faces, she added hurriedly, "But that number may have gone up since then. I haven't looked it up for a month."
"Don't be stupid," Ron said irritably, "There's no way that they could have trained enough Aurors to replace all those dead ones." He realized what he had said after it was out of his mouth, and caught his mistake quickly. "Sorry Hermione. You're not being stupid," he said. She gave him an appraising look and then nodded, turning back to the conversation.
"Has it hit the newspapers yet?" Harry wondered aloud.
"I don't think so," Hermione said, "I've been getting the Daily Prophet delivered, and I haven't seen anything about it. But who knows what the Skeeter woman will do to get the story," Hermione added with a scowl. Harry nodded. He remembered how annoyingly persistent she was to get her hands on anything incriminating. And she already knew about Jessica, so she'd probably try and make this whole thing seem like her fault.
He sat and thought for a long moment. No, he thought. No, she had been in the room with him when it had happened, there was no way she could have done it. He was angry with himself for even considering that as a possibility. It is however, said another voice in the back of his mind, odd that they should trust her, when they haven't even known her for a month. He was considering this fact when Ron broke the silence.
"Well, I think the real question is, what are we gonna do?" he asked, somewhat impatiently.
"Oh Ron," Hermione said, "I don't think we should get involved in this. I mean, Aurors are specifically trained to kill dark wizards, and if they couldn't even handle this…" she trailed off in to silence for a moment. Finally, composing herself she said, "If they couldn't handle it, then I don't want to know what it is at all."
"Hermione!" said Ron, exasperated, "Harry has been up against You- Know-Who how many times? And he's still alive isn't he? Well, whoever did this can't possibly be worse the You-Know-Who can they?"
"But that's exactly what I'm worried about Ron!" Hermione interrupted, "I think it may actually be You-Know-Who that did this!"
There was a long silence, and finally Ron said, "You're nutters. There's no way You-Know-Who could have gotten on the grounds. The security is too intense. No. It had to be someone they wouldn't suspect, and now that Voldemort's got his body back, he'd be easy enough to recognize wouldn't he?'
Again, there was a long silence. But this time, it was Harry who broke it. "He's done it before, Ron," he said, thinking very hard, "And I don't expect it would be too hard for him to get one of his Death Eaters to get him on to the grounds." The he turned to Jessica, "I think that right now we should decide what we can do to help."
"Well," Jessica said slowly, "The teachers are trying to get those communicators working, so until then…"
"Wait," Hermione suddenly interrupted, "I've read about that before. That's no legend. That's true, and if the teachers can find that spell to activate those communicators, then we may stand a chance…"
"But what if they can't?" Jessica interjected. She noticed they were all looking at her in mild surprise. True, even she had been surprised by her sudden show of enthusiasm, but it was an urgent matter.
"What I mean," she continued calmly, "Is that we need another plan. We need help." She stopped and thought for a moment, "But first, we need to find out those Auror's real identities."