Chapter Twelve
The Cursed Ladle
Chaos had broken out shortly after Dumbledore had left, and the professors hurried to call the students to order, asking the prefects to gather them by house. Harry wasted no time heading over to the table, Audi and Moody right behind him. Harry cast a spell over the punch bowl, which glowed a bright green in response.
"Nothing in there. It must have been in her cup," he said. Audi had stooped over to pick them up, carefully smelling what was left of Jennifer's drink, glowing green as well, putting a tiny bit on her fingers.
"This doesn't seem to be tampered with either," Audi said.
"Looks can be deceiving, Audi, dear. It wouldn't be easy for anyone to get near someone like Jennifer Craw without being noticed," Mad-eye Moody said. "Unless it was planned out well in advance. Perhaps the poison we're looking for was designed specifically to kill her alone. In which case, many of us could have been drinking poison tonight and just not known it."
"But wouldn't that have still shown up with a poison detection spell?" Audi asked.
"Wait a minute," Harry said, staring at the punch bowl. Lying inside was a silver ladle with an ornate handle. "That wasn't the ladle we were using before. It was crystal," he said, slipping on some gloves and gingerly removing it from the punch.
"Look Harry," Ron said from behind the table. "Here's the crystal one," he said, pointing under the table. Hermione, who had come up beside them was looking over his shoulder at the one Harry was holding.
"Those markings on the handle, that crest looks familiar," Hermione said.
"It's the Craw family crest, I recognize the motto," Harry said at last. "This is the Queen's Ladle! The one the Ministry has been looking for!"
"If that's the Queen's Ladle, it's been tampered with," Audi said. "The original curse was to kill anyone except a Craw. Now it's working the opposite."
Just then, Arthur Weasley made his way over the excited people gathering around, trying to hear what was going on.
"The room is secured, no one is coming or leaving yet," Arthur said firmly. "Moody, would you mind clearing some room around the table?"
"All right folks, you heard the Minister, everyone get back," Moody said, shooing them back as Arthur moved in closer to get a better look.
"Good lord, that's the Queen's Ladle, isn't it?" Arthur said. "It could have killed everyone!"
"Yes, only someone altered it so it'd only kill its owners, the Craws," Harry said.
"Well, there's little doubt there would be only one Craw here," Audi said, sounding angry. "This wasn't just attempted murder, this was an attempted assassination."
Harry's gaze fell on Draco Malfoy, standing near the Slytherins, talking to Amadeus, Roger, and Casper. Without another word he strode over, ignoring Audi's warning not to do anything too hasty. Draco glanced up as Harry came over and warily waved the three he was talking with to step back into line. Danny frowned, taking a step back.
"Do you recognize this?" Harry asked, holding the Ladle out.
"No," Draco said, "Why, what makes you think that I should?"
"It was taken from your father's house five years ago on a raid, and then it was stolen while Anna Black was bringing it back. Strange for it to turn up again here at Hogwarts of all places," Harry said.
"Look, Auror Potter," Draco said with undisguised contempt. "If you want to accuse me of something, do it, since it seems in your nature to accuse me of everything. But I'm going to laugh if whoever did this kills someone else while you're busy trying to peg it on me." Harry took a threatening step forward and Draco made a movement as if going for his wand when Vallid stepped between them, putting a hand on Harry's shoulder.
"Harry, he didn't do it," Vallid said firmly, making him look over at her.
"There, you heard the Truth Seeker," Draco said. "I suggest you back off before you make me have to defend myself. Wouldn't that look good in the papers, the great Potter losing his cool in front of a thousand people," he taunted.
"Fine, but I'm watching you, Draco. Remember that," Harry said in a low voice, allowing Vallid to lead him back towards the table.
"Harry, I've checked everyone in the room. As far as I can tell, no one here directly attempted to kill her. In fact, most of them seem extremely angry that this happened. If we don't work to keep our tempers, the place may likely go up like a bomb," Vallid warned him.
"Sorry, Lunette. It's just too much coincidence for my liking, this Ladle was in Malfoy hands."
"Lucius' hands, not Draco's. Look, I know Draco is anything but pleasant, and he can be a pain in the ass in his own right, but I don't think he has the motive to kill Jennifer," Vallid said.
"What about his father's trial? And Severus' betrayal, what of that?" Harry asked.
"Harry, for once I think your emotions are getting in the way," Lunette said gently. "Whoever attempted to kill Jennifer did it for a very specific reason. Find out what that is, and you'll be one step closer to tracking down who did it."
Just then the Ministry officers let Minerva through, drawing attention from around the room. Her face was lined with worry as she scanned the students and hastily headed towards the Gryffindor side.
"Mr. Willowby, would you come with me, please?" Minerva asked.
A soft gasp of surprise and concern could be heard among the rest of the students as Corey numbly walked out of the crowd, his face pale as he stepped over to her. Minerva put an arm around him, quickly walking him out of the room, talking to him quietly.
"Doug, you don't think she's…" Gail whispered quietly, a fearful look on her face. Some of the younger girls had started to cry softly.
"I hope not," Doug said, gazing over to where Taylor and Danny stood, both with lost expressions on their faces.
It wasn't long after that when the students were taken to their dorms. The rest of the guests gathered around Vallid, Arthur and Harry, giving and getting as much information as they possibly could before leaving. Only Vallid happened to notice when Viviane slipped out of the room.
It wasn't until the next morning that Corey was allowed into the hospital wing. Early morning sunlight poured through the windows as he stepped into the room with McGonagall, but things still seemed dreary somehow. He saw his dad first, sitting by his mom's bed and reading a book out loud. She seemed quite pale and eerily still, frighteningly so… in fact, he would have mistaken her for dead if it hadn't been for his dad's actions. Beside them, sitting up in bed, sat Anna, reading her own book and looking quite bored with being in bed. But the oddest thing that Corey noted was the door to the back room, for it had been completely covered with locks of all different sorts and all different sizes and shapes of keyholes. As they came near, Severus paused his reading, nodding gently to them, his expression tired.
"Corey and McGonagall are here now," Severus explained to Jennifer.
"How is she?" Minerva asked.
"Weak," Severus said, "But stronger than before. Doctor Sagittari is going to wait another day before we try waking her and putting her under a normal Sleeping Potion."
"And how are you, Anna?" Minerva inquired.
"I'm ready to get out of this bed," she admitted, "but Sagittari insisted I stay until he was sure everything was all right."
"I will be ready for you to get out of here as well," Minerva admitted with an almost stern smile. "Four teachers out in one day is more than I like to juggle. But then, Dumbledore decided to cancel all classes for the day anyhow. Too many Aurors and Ministry investigators about poking into things."
"Four teachers?" Corey wondered, staring at the door again.
"Yes, Pyther has taken ill as well," Severus said quickly. "But Sagittari said he'd be back to normal in a couple of days. Professor, as soon as Jennifer is stable…"
"You may take as long as you need, Severus," Minerva assured him. "Harry has volunteered to help with your class as long as you need him, and I'm sure Hermione can manage Potions for a little while. Now, I have some things to take care of. I'm sure Dumbledore and Harry will be down to tell you how the investigation is going."
"Whoever did this had better pray Harry finds them before I do," Severus said, a low growl in his voice.
"Odd, that's about what Dumbledore said as well," Minerva said with a serious smile and a nod, leaving the room.
"What are you reading?" Corey asked quietly.
"Tennyson," Severus said. Corey made a face. "Cosmic Sleep leaves the person cursed with it aware of things happening around her, so I have been attempting to keep her distracted."
"So she can hear us?" Corey said, and Severus nodded slowly. "Can I talk to her, then?" he asked quietly. Severus nodded and went over to the other side of Anna, the two of them gazing over as Corey took Jennifer's hand murmuring quietly to her.
"She's going to pull through this, Severus," Anna assured him after a moment. "Sagittari and Dumbledore, and even Pyther for that matter, have done everything in their power to make sure of that."
"I know," Severus said quietly. "I still can't help but wonder if there couldn't have been something I could have done, something I could have noticed to prevent this. I also should never have kept to that silly schedule when I knew it was taxing her strength."
"Severus, Jennifer wanted a child this year. In fact, knowing her, it was probably some master plan to make sure we both had kids the same age," she said. Severus snorted lightly at that.
"There may be some truth in that," he admitted.
"There's always some truth in anything about her," Anna chuckled. "But then she is such a terrible liar."
"Everyone has their faults," Severus said. "Speaking of which, where is Sirius? He's going to need to know about this." Anna became subdued. "After all, those children are not only yours –"
"Don't remind me," Anna snapped closing her eyes and rubbing her head. But Severus just waited patiently for her to open her eyes again, looking at her steadily. "I got angry and sent him away and told him not to come near me the day I found out I was pregnant. I haven't seen him since. I've just been staying at the flat."
"Why didn't you tell anyone?" Severus asked with a frown.
"Dumbledore, Minerva, and Harry know, but I told them to stay out of it," Anna said, sounding frustrated. "I don't get it, I thought… I didn't mean for him to go away for this long," she said, trying not to sound upset. "He probably got fed up with my temper and just doesn't want to come back."
"How did you send him away?" Severus asked, squinting suspiciously.
"I don't know, I just… sent him away," Anna said. Severus' eyes glittered with realization, sighing and then grimacing. He stood up and went back to his chair, grabbing his cloak as Corey looked up at him curiously. "Where are you going?"
"To talk to Sirius," Severus said. "Harry hasn't been able to get a moment away from here since last night and someone has to tell Sirius what's going on before the paper arrives. Here, Corey, finish reading this to her while I'm gone," he said, handing him the book.
"But… but this is poetry! And I'll have it stuck in my memory the rest of my life!" Corey protested.
"Good. Finish it." Severus said in a voice that breached no argument, before he went out the door. Corey sighed and looked over at Jennifer.
"I hope you know I wouldn't do this for any other girl but you," Corey told her. He moved the gold snake bookmark out of the way, halfway through the Idylls of the King.
Albus Dumbledore was having a very disagreeable morning, barely able to keep order in his own study as excited wizards and witches who were worried about Jennifer, the school, and the children kept a constant pace in and out of his office. He had finally dismissed everyone else when Harry came in to update him.
"We still don't know who brought the Ladle in, but it must have been someone who dropped it in and left before anything happened. That means they also probably left before anyone found out she survived," Harry said.
"And the newspaper?" Albus asked.
"Ron got the editor to agree to your proposal," Harry said with a nod. "In fact, Ron actually wrote the retraction before he wrote the article itself." Albus broke into an almost dangerous smile.
"Well done, Harry. Hopefully it'll prove quite enlightening," Dumbledore said. Just then there was a knock at the door and Minerva came in, with a rolled newspaper in her hand, looking rather disturbed.
"Here it is, Albus," Minerva said quietly. "And I've asked the owls to withhold outgoing post on a student level, just as you requested."
"Good, good," Dumbledore said, unrolling the paper to read the headline: Famous Hogwarts Professor Dies from Poisoning; Ministry Rules as Murder. "That should turn some heads, I think. My goodness, she's accumulated quite a list of accomplishments over the years, hasn't she," Dumbledore added, reading down the article before looking at Harry over the paper. "Ron has become quite a talented writer. You can tell him I said so," he added with a wink. Harry grinned at him.
"It won't take long for people to realize she's not dead, even withholding student post," Minerva said.
"Yes, but in the meantime, amid the rumors, we may see the consequences that whoever attempted to kill Jennifer wanted to happen," Dumbledore explained. "Perhaps we can gain some insight to who has done this."
It was not long after Harry had left that afternoon and Dumbledore had sat down to try and get a spare moment to relax that Minerva returned, the look on her face as she slipped in the door speaking volumes.
"I'm sorry, Professor Dumbledore, but Vice Chairman Balmweed is here to see you, along with Thurspire and, well…" Minerva hesitated but Dumbledore stood up, a flash in his eyes. "Apparently he believes he has a valid legal reason for being here. Shall I take them down to the other study?"
"No, show them in," Dumbledore said, steadily watching the door as Minerva went to get them. A moment later, the three men stepped in, and Dumbledore's eyes immediately fell on Lucius Malfoy. "Welcome Norman, Ederick. Lucius, I seem to recall forbidding you from entering this castle."
"I am here to regain a piece of property that is now in your possession," Lucius said. "Where is the Tome?"
"Safe at the moment," Dumbledore said.
"With all due respect, Professor, I think over the last two months it has been proven that this castle is not safe at all," Balmweed said sternly. "Imps trying to capture teachers, professors with failing magic, and now last night. In fact, I believe that the presence of these dangerous artifacts in the school only serves to bring more risks on the students. This is a school; it should not be a haven for such artifacts. That's what the Ministry is for."
"I see," Dumbledore said. "And I take it from the word 'artifacts' that you mean more than just the Tome?"
"The Tome was stolen from Malfoy and is now by all rights his, especially after having to square away countless fines for not licensing it with the Ministry. The Cauldron is another matter. Now that Professor Craw is dead, it needs to be protected, and I don't believe that the school now has the capacity to do so," Balmweed said. "It should be returned to the Ministry."
"So, even before twenty-four hours have past and before her family... let alone before the world... have truly begun to understand how great of a loss this is, you are here to rob her grave and take from her one of the things she risked her life to retrieve?" Dumbledore asked. His voice was calm, but there was no hiding the anger in his eyes. Norman Balmweed hesitated in the uneasy silence that followed.
It was so quiet that it took Ederick Thurspire a moment to realize why. He looked up at the paintings thoughtfully and then decided to back towards the door.
"Professor, my concern is only for the welfare of this school. The sooner we move the Cauldron and the Tome away from here, the safer it'll be," Balmweed explained. "We must think about the students at times like this."
"And if something befell Doctor Sagittari, would you be back for the Spear?" Dumbledore asked, the anger increasing in his voice. "And if I were to fall, would you be back for the Sword?"
"No one would ever take the Sword from this school, Professor," Balmweed protested, putting his hands up as Dumbledore stood.
"Yes, quite right, nor will you be taking any of the other parts of the Callum's Seal either, board recommendation or no. As for the Tome, I no longer possess it, and the person guarding it would sooner destroy it than have it fall to the wrong hands. You will have to take it by force," Dumbledore warned, looking directly at Malfoy, who squinted at him.
"I will have my Tome back, one way or the other," Malfoy assured Dumbledore coldly.
"I am quite sure that you will try," Dumbledore said with a thin smile that all three of them found disturbing.
With one last glare, Malfoy turned around and left, followed by Balmweed. Thurspire hesitated as if he were going to say something, but Balmweed called him again and he followed him out of the office.
Dumbledore sat back down tiredly, folding his fingers together as he looked across at the open doors, lost in thought. Apparently he wasn't the only one who was tired, for the paintings around him had begun to snore again.
