The next Monday, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Jessica all went to the staff
meeting. As soon as they reached the door, they heard the voices drifting
toward them. They stood huddled together out of sight, beyond the door.
They could see through a tiny crack, and from the looks of it, no one had
good news.
"I have succeeded in finding the spell," Professor Trelawny said in her quite mysterious voice, "However, I am afraid that it is an ancient rune, so I will leave it open to the staff to interpret. I, as you all know, specialize only in unveiling the mysteries of the future."
"Very well, Sybill. Will you please give the paper to Professor Sinistra, I believe she will be able to interpret it for us." There was a sound of bangles clicking together and paper sliding across wood. Through the crack between the door and the frame, they could see Professor Sinistra scoop up the piece of parchment and study it intensely. She held it close to her face, muttering under her breath, Finally she set the parchment back on the table and smiled at Professor Dumbledore.
"It is a very simple spell. It is only four words. The rest is merely there to confuse the people trying to interpret it," she said. Harry realized that he had never heard her speak before. Her voice was soft and musical, and made Harry think of a carousel at a carnival. Slow and melodic.
"Very well, and what is the spell?" Dumbledore asked.
"birung kab hawts goftren!" she said in her strange drawl.
Hermione cast a side long glance at the three of them, which said all too clearly, "I've read that somewhere before."
Dumbledore nodded, and turned to Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall.
"And have you two had any luck finding the names of these Aurors?" he asked them.
Snape looked at McGonagall who nodded, and shuffled the papers in front of her. "Yes," she said, obviously pleased with herself, "It took a fair bit of work, mind you. They only wrote it in one document, as I'm sure they didn't want everyone knowing the truth." She looked around and continued, "The names of these people are as follows. Albert Terulty, Isabel Hebwofs, Dilan Chertun, Seria Ontenegro, Kila Zurk, Jacob Gusweny, Alfred Elithab, Yana Lukra, Saria Evans, and finally," here she stared around importantly, "Vincent Ciccone." There was a lingering silence after these words.
"What on Earth does all this mean?" Professor Flitwick asked urgently.
"It means," Dumbledore said calmly, "that we have a very unusual mystery on our hands."
Professor Trelawny smiled her simpering dewy smile.
"Say no more," she said, "If you will excuse me, I will go and consult the crystal orb. Perhaps then we shall understand this situation more clearly." They heard her many necklaces and bracelets clicking as she stood. Jessica's stomach dropped. In a moment she would come walking out the door they were trying to hide behind. Apparently, Harry, Ron, and Hermione had realized this too. They straightened up, and took off running down the corridor. They ran until they could no longer hear her footsteps, then, panting, they stopped to take a look around. Harry noticed an empty classroom nearby and beckoned them over to it.
The four of them walked in, and Ron shut the door quietly behind him. None of them knew what to say. Jessica didn't mind the silence, her own thoughts were racing. Elithab? Alfred Elithab? Her old English teacher? Funny, she thought, it seems so long ago. It seems like another world, but he couldn't be an Auror! But then again, she thought wryly, everyone did say that he's been around since the beginning of time. But no, she thought suddenly, there was no such thing as magic where she came from, was there? The wave of her tumbling thoughts was interrupted by Hermione.
"Ciccone?" she wondered aloud, "Hmm. Jessica, did you by chance have an ancestor by the name of Vincent?"
Jessica shrugged. She had never known much about her family's past. Infact, she only had a vague guess of what nationalities she was. I wish I'd done that family tree in Social Studies class last year, she thought bitterly. But wait, she thought abruptly, she had once asked her mom about her family's history. Her mother's reaction had been very strange indeed, she admitted to herself, turning over the memory inside of her mind. Her mother's eyes had misted over, and she turned away. She didn't speak for a long time, and when she finally did, it was in an odd and constrained voice.
"Your grandparents were killed in a plane crash. I was only six at the time. And because I was an only child, I've never known anything about our family," she said quietly, "The foster family that raised me tried to help me find information, but there wasn't any to be found. It's almost as if they didn't exist…"
Jessica stood in the dark classroom, looking at Harry, Ron, and Hermione's darkened faces. She considered telling them of this conversation, but there was no point. She already knew the truth. She was related to Vincent Ciccone, it explained the fact that her family was untraceable. In her veins ran the blood of Vincent Ciccone, one of the ten Aurors of destiny.
"I have succeeded in finding the spell," Professor Trelawny said in her quite mysterious voice, "However, I am afraid that it is an ancient rune, so I will leave it open to the staff to interpret. I, as you all know, specialize only in unveiling the mysteries of the future."
"Very well, Sybill. Will you please give the paper to Professor Sinistra, I believe she will be able to interpret it for us." There was a sound of bangles clicking together and paper sliding across wood. Through the crack between the door and the frame, they could see Professor Sinistra scoop up the piece of parchment and study it intensely. She held it close to her face, muttering under her breath, Finally she set the parchment back on the table and smiled at Professor Dumbledore.
"It is a very simple spell. It is only four words. The rest is merely there to confuse the people trying to interpret it," she said. Harry realized that he had never heard her speak before. Her voice was soft and musical, and made Harry think of a carousel at a carnival. Slow and melodic.
"Very well, and what is the spell?" Dumbledore asked.
"birung kab hawts goftren!" she said in her strange drawl.
Hermione cast a side long glance at the three of them, which said all too clearly, "I've read that somewhere before."
Dumbledore nodded, and turned to Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall.
"And have you two had any luck finding the names of these Aurors?" he asked them.
Snape looked at McGonagall who nodded, and shuffled the papers in front of her. "Yes," she said, obviously pleased with herself, "It took a fair bit of work, mind you. They only wrote it in one document, as I'm sure they didn't want everyone knowing the truth." She looked around and continued, "The names of these people are as follows. Albert Terulty, Isabel Hebwofs, Dilan Chertun, Seria Ontenegro, Kila Zurk, Jacob Gusweny, Alfred Elithab, Yana Lukra, Saria Evans, and finally," here she stared around importantly, "Vincent Ciccone." There was a lingering silence after these words.
"What on Earth does all this mean?" Professor Flitwick asked urgently.
"It means," Dumbledore said calmly, "that we have a very unusual mystery on our hands."
Professor Trelawny smiled her simpering dewy smile.
"Say no more," she said, "If you will excuse me, I will go and consult the crystal orb. Perhaps then we shall understand this situation more clearly." They heard her many necklaces and bracelets clicking as she stood. Jessica's stomach dropped. In a moment she would come walking out the door they were trying to hide behind. Apparently, Harry, Ron, and Hermione had realized this too. They straightened up, and took off running down the corridor. They ran until they could no longer hear her footsteps, then, panting, they stopped to take a look around. Harry noticed an empty classroom nearby and beckoned them over to it.
The four of them walked in, and Ron shut the door quietly behind him. None of them knew what to say. Jessica didn't mind the silence, her own thoughts were racing. Elithab? Alfred Elithab? Her old English teacher? Funny, she thought, it seems so long ago. It seems like another world, but he couldn't be an Auror! But then again, she thought wryly, everyone did say that he's been around since the beginning of time. But no, she thought suddenly, there was no such thing as magic where she came from, was there? The wave of her tumbling thoughts was interrupted by Hermione.
"Ciccone?" she wondered aloud, "Hmm. Jessica, did you by chance have an ancestor by the name of Vincent?"
Jessica shrugged. She had never known much about her family's past. Infact, she only had a vague guess of what nationalities she was. I wish I'd done that family tree in Social Studies class last year, she thought bitterly. But wait, she thought abruptly, she had once asked her mom about her family's history. Her mother's reaction had been very strange indeed, she admitted to herself, turning over the memory inside of her mind. Her mother's eyes had misted over, and she turned away. She didn't speak for a long time, and when she finally did, it was in an odd and constrained voice.
"Your grandparents were killed in a plane crash. I was only six at the time. And because I was an only child, I've never known anything about our family," she said quietly, "The foster family that raised me tried to help me find information, but there wasn't any to be found. It's almost as if they didn't exist…"
Jessica stood in the dark classroom, looking at Harry, Ron, and Hermione's darkened faces. She considered telling them of this conversation, but there was no point. She already knew the truth. She was related to Vincent Ciccone, it explained the fact that her family was untraceable. In her veins ran the blood of Vincent Ciccone, one of the ten Aurors of destiny.