Harry Potter Murder Mystery
By Lauren Hillman
***Another Note from Me: I cease to be amazed at the reviews that are being sent in. To some people 14 or so reviews is not a big deal, but to me it means the world. When your best friend, who is one of the biggest Harry Potter fans I've ever known, praises your work, you know you've done pretty damn well. Thanks Val. Really, just you saying how much you liked it made me really happy, so...I guess this chapter goes to you, and everyone who has reviewed. Please don't hesitate to send in your comments, it means so much. I hope you all liked this story, and without further ado, here is the final chapter for "Harry Potter Murder Mystery." ~Lauren~
Chapter Eight ~ The Conclusion, Part Two
Before Harry could do anything, his friends all sat down on the chairs. Harry had no choice but to follow suite. It seemed that all of them trusted Dumbledore, so he should too.
When everyone was seated, Harry realized there was an empty chair, as if they were missing someone. Dumbledore noticed his gaze and said, "He should be coming any minute now."
"Who's he?" asked Harry.
Dumbledore just sat there, as if in a trance. A minute later, the doors swung open, and Donald Newt Stilkinson walked in. There was no blood, no anything. Donald walked towards the empty chair and said, "Sorry I'm late. Filch had to come and get me, and he was late. It was a mess."
Harry had had enough. "Look, what is going on? These people are supposed to be dead. Why don't you just tell us? Why are you just sitting there?"
"One moment Harry, please. Just a few more people..." said Dumbledore. At that moment, the doors opened again and in walked Filch, holding Mrs. Norris.
"Excellent. Now that everyone is here I shall begin," said Dumbledore. Filch stood in a corner, silent and menacing.
Dumbledore leaned forward, eyes sparkling. "Every ten years, the staff and I go over the list for who will be staying for winter holidays. And it is during every ten years that we decide to test the students who do stay."
"Wait. It was all a joke? You tricked us into thinking that people were dead and we were next?" Harry was livid. It was so ridiculous!
"No, not a joke. A test to see where you are logically with your skills," replied Dumbledore.
"But it has nothing to do with magic!" cried Harry. "Shouldn't you be testing us on magic?"
"Exactly. It has nothing to do with magic. That's the point. To test you on your common sense, to see what you do in the face of danger."
Harry lay back in the chair. It was difficult for him to understand that what he and his friends had just gone through for a couple hours was all fake.
"Did you really have to keep turning off the lights though? It was a tad annoying," said Ginny.
Everyone laughed and Dumbledore smiled at her.
"Wait. Let me go through this one by one," said Neville, obviously the most confused.
"You sent us the note, even though the doors really were unlocked," began Neville.
"Correct," replied Dumbledore.
"And...you made the Fat Lady leave her portrait? And Donald," Neville pointed to Donald, "was just pretending to be dead?"
"Exactly. As was Madam Pince. If you recall, though, none of you checked for a pulse. The simple things you missed would have led you right to the culprit: that this was all just a test," said Dumbledore.
"Wait! What about that crazy person who was chasing us? Who was that?" asked Fred.
They all heard a grumbling noise coming from Filchs' corner. "Yes, the person pretending to be the murderer was Mr. Filch here," replied Dumbledore.
"So he just randomly chased us throughout the castle?" asked George.
"Well...that wasn't really part of the plan. Mr. Filch here sort of, er, improvised a bit," said Dumbledore in what sounded to Harry like an irritated voice.
"I wouldn't doubt that he would be the murderer, if this was real and all," said Fred in a low voice to Harry. Harry smirked.
"So what did the test prove?" asked Harry.
"That all of you are able to cope with danger, without the use of magic. Although you did happen to use Donald's wand, which I did not expect," Dumbledore smiled.
Harry blushed and handed the wand to Donald.
"But what was the point? What do we do now that it's over?" asked Harry again.
"We eat. I am sure you are all very hungry from this tiring ordeal." And with a wave of his wand, Dumbledore conjured food. Lots of food. The chairs in which they were sitting vanished, and were instead replaced with a wooden bench. They were all sitting at the long Gryffindor table.
After a long hour of eating, they all retreated to the Gryffindor common room, which was thankfully open. (With the exception of Donald and Malfoy, who went to their separate Hufflepuff and Slytherin common rooms).
As Ron and Harry played a game of Wizard Chess, Hermione was fervently turning pages in a book. Finally, she rushed over to the two of them and said, "I knew it! Look at what I found!"
"Please, Hermione, we're not in the mood for Runes theories or Arithmancy figures," complained Ron.
Hermione gave him a piercing glare before she said, "No, really. I had thought I read something in Hogwarts: A History. And I did! Listen. 'Every Headmaster at Hogwarts has had their fun during Winter Holiday. Using the students who stay at the school, they test their common sense without magic by pretending to lock the school, when suddenly people turn up dead. The Headmasters do this mainly for amusement during the school's downtime, but also to see the strength of character in a few selected students.'" Hermione stopped. "Well?"
"It's tradition then?" asked Harry.
"It would appear so. But at least we can't say the holiday was boring, right?" said Ron.
They all laughed and a couple hours later they all went up to bed. No murderer, no dead students, just full stomachs and dreams of opening presents on Christmas Day.
* * *
When school began a week later, Seamus was talking to Harry and Ron.
"So, how was holiday here? Bet it was pretty boring. Honestly, I don't know why you don't go stay with your mum," Seamus said.
"Let's just say Christmas will never be the same again..." said Harry with a wink at Ron.
* * *
***PLEASE KEEP REVIEWING! EVEN IF THE STORY IS FINISHED, I WANNA KEEP HEARING FROM YOU GUYS! PLEASE KEEP IT UP!***
***Another Note from Me: I cease to be amazed at the reviews that are being sent in. To some people 14 or so reviews is not a big deal, but to me it means the world. When your best friend, who is one of the biggest Harry Potter fans I've ever known, praises your work, you know you've done pretty damn well. Thanks Val. Really, just you saying how much you liked it made me really happy, so...I guess this chapter goes to you, and everyone who has reviewed. Please don't hesitate to send in your comments, it means so much. I hope you all liked this story, and without further ado, here is the final chapter for "Harry Potter Murder Mystery." ~Lauren~
Chapter Eight ~ The Conclusion, Part Two
Before Harry could do anything, his friends all sat down on the chairs. Harry had no choice but to follow suite. It seemed that all of them trusted Dumbledore, so he should too.
When everyone was seated, Harry realized there was an empty chair, as if they were missing someone. Dumbledore noticed his gaze and said, "He should be coming any minute now."
"Who's he?" asked Harry.
Dumbledore just sat there, as if in a trance. A minute later, the doors swung open, and Donald Newt Stilkinson walked in. There was no blood, no anything. Donald walked towards the empty chair and said, "Sorry I'm late. Filch had to come and get me, and he was late. It was a mess."
Harry had had enough. "Look, what is going on? These people are supposed to be dead. Why don't you just tell us? Why are you just sitting there?"
"One moment Harry, please. Just a few more people..." said Dumbledore. At that moment, the doors opened again and in walked Filch, holding Mrs. Norris.
"Excellent. Now that everyone is here I shall begin," said Dumbledore. Filch stood in a corner, silent and menacing.
Dumbledore leaned forward, eyes sparkling. "Every ten years, the staff and I go over the list for who will be staying for winter holidays. And it is during every ten years that we decide to test the students who do stay."
"Wait. It was all a joke? You tricked us into thinking that people were dead and we were next?" Harry was livid. It was so ridiculous!
"No, not a joke. A test to see where you are logically with your skills," replied Dumbledore.
"But it has nothing to do with magic!" cried Harry. "Shouldn't you be testing us on magic?"
"Exactly. It has nothing to do with magic. That's the point. To test you on your common sense, to see what you do in the face of danger."
Harry lay back in the chair. It was difficult for him to understand that what he and his friends had just gone through for a couple hours was all fake.
"Did you really have to keep turning off the lights though? It was a tad annoying," said Ginny.
Everyone laughed and Dumbledore smiled at her.
"Wait. Let me go through this one by one," said Neville, obviously the most confused.
"You sent us the note, even though the doors really were unlocked," began Neville.
"Correct," replied Dumbledore.
"And...you made the Fat Lady leave her portrait? And Donald," Neville pointed to Donald, "was just pretending to be dead?"
"Exactly. As was Madam Pince. If you recall, though, none of you checked for a pulse. The simple things you missed would have led you right to the culprit: that this was all just a test," said Dumbledore.
"Wait! What about that crazy person who was chasing us? Who was that?" asked Fred.
They all heard a grumbling noise coming from Filchs' corner. "Yes, the person pretending to be the murderer was Mr. Filch here," replied Dumbledore.
"So he just randomly chased us throughout the castle?" asked George.
"Well...that wasn't really part of the plan. Mr. Filch here sort of, er, improvised a bit," said Dumbledore in what sounded to Harry like an irritated voice.
"I wouldn't doubt that he would be the murderer, if this was real and all," said Fred in a low voice to Harry. Harry smirked.
"So what did the test prove?" asked Harry.
"That all of you are able to cope with danger, without the use of magic. Although you did happen to use Donald's wand, which I did not expect," Dumbledore smiled.
Harry blushed and handed the wand to Donald.
"But what was the point? What do we do now that it's over?" asked Harry again.
"We eat. I am sure you are all very hungry from this tiring ordeal." And with a wave of his wand, Dumbledore conjured food. Lots of food. The chairs in which they were sitting vanished, and were instead replaced with a wooden bench. They were all sitting at the long Gryffindor table.
After a long hour of eating, they all retreated to the Gryffindor common room, which was thankfully open. (With the exception of Donald and Malfoy, who went to their separate Hufflepuff and Slytherin common rooms).
As Ron and Harry played a game of Wizard Chess, Hermione was fervently turning pages in a book. Finally, she rushed over to the two of them and said, "I knew it! Look at what I found!"
"Please, Hermione, we're not in the mood for Runes theories or Arithmancy figures," complained Ron.
Hermione gave him a piercing glare before she said, "No, really. I had thought I read something in Hogwarts: A History. And I did! Listen. 'Every Headmaster at Hogwarts has had their fun during Winter Holiday. Using the students who stay at the school, they test their common sense without magic by pretending to lock the school, when suddenly people turn up dead. The Headmasters do this mainly for amusement during the school's downtime, but also to see the strength of character in a few selected students.'" Hermione stopped. "Well?"
"It's tradition then?" asked Harry.
"It would appear so. But at least we can't say the holiday was boring, right?" said Ron.
They all laughed and a couple hours later they all went up to bed. No murderer, no dead students, just full stomachs and dreams of opening presents on Christmas Day.
* * *
When school began a week later, Seamus was talking to Harry and Ron.
"So, how was holiday here? Bet it was pretty boring. Honestly, I don't know why you don't go stay with your mum," Seamus said.
"Let's just say Christmas will never be the same again..." said Harry with a wink at Ron.
* * *
***PLEASE KEEP REVIEWING! EVEN IF THE STORY IS FINISHED, I WANNA KEEP HEARING FROM YOU GUYS! PLEASE KEEP IT UP!***
