Teenage Detective
Chapter 5
Tears in the Lake
The next day was bleak and unexciting as rain invaded Hogwarts. It was only showery, but nobody wanted to catch a cold when it was near Christmas. The students were spending their time inside, doing anything to pass their time till whenever the rain ended. Everybody was bored to death, but only two people were excluded from them. Harry and Dennis, who were sitting by the window, were talking and playing Wizard's Chess not aware of someone looking at them. Hermione was keeping a close eye on them, whilst doing her own work. She only did this to avoid stalking Harry, like she did before, and wait for them to go off somewhere, so that she can sneak into the boy's dorm. The opportunity came shortly afterwards.
Harry gazed at the rippling lake from the window, whilst listening to Dennis. He did not care about playing Wizard's Chess anymore as it reminded him of Ron. "I tell you, Harry. Walden could be found easily if it weren't for the heavy rain that day. Bloody lazy Aurors, always find an excuse when the work turns hard," Dennis ranted, while putting his rook forward. But his words made Harry realised something. He turned to Dennis with surprise eyes.
"What did you say?" he asked. Dennis looked up at him.
"Always find an excuse when the wo-" Dennis was cut off quickly.
"No before that."
"Walden could be found easily if it weren't for the heavy r-," the young Creevey did not get to finish as Harry stood up form his seat, somewhat joyous and somewhat serious.
"That's it," he said loudly, causing everyone to look at him. "How could I missed it – it's so obvious!"
"What is it, Harry? – Did you figure something out?" Dennis said anxiously.
"Come Dennis, I'll explain on the way. Grab your robe and raincoat and don't forget mine too… we're going outside," he said with utter glee.
Dennis gaped at him. Others who heard him thought he was crazy. Hermione was feeling distressed, her old worried self could not contain it but manage to stuff it and still stick to the plan.
"Outside… in the rain!" Dennis almost yelled.
Harry stared at him. "It's only drizzling, we're going to the lake and I am very need of your help," he pleaded.
Dennis did not protest, as he fetched their robes and raincoats. They exited through the portrait hole and made their way outside.
Hermione acted immediately, and asked Ginny to look out for Harry if he came back. She went up into Harry's room which he shared three other boys. The short journey made her reminiscence about the day when Ron died. Shrugging that annoying memory, she walked into the room.
No time for examining the condition of the room, she moved towards Harry's bed and started searching frantically for the article. She rummaged around Harry's trunk, the table beside Harry's bed and her eyes paused on Ron's bed.
Though it still saddened her that Ron was gone now but… "I shan't give up on Harry," she said to herself determinedly. She drew her eyes away from Ron's bed and back to Harry's. If there was nothing in the trunk or on table, then one more place that could be kept for secret. She searched under the bed and found several things including Harry's Firebolt, schoolbooks, rolls of parchments, bottles of inks, and a bunch of other stuff. With a simple Lighting Spell, she found books… literature books to be precise. Surprised that Harry had one of these, she picked up one of them. She read the title and grinned widely.
"Basil Sleuth, World's Greatest Wizard Detective – I didn't know Harry read this," she said to herself and giggled. She picked up the other books, and was deeply amazed that Harry had all these mystery novels, and also a complete set of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes. "No wonder he has this inquisitive inside," she giggled. She had to ask Harry about these mystery novels one day. She put back the books neatly the way it was. As she did this, her eyes fell upon a silver metallic suitcase with the name 'Sirius' on it, hidden under the headboard of the bed.
Harry explained to Dennis about Walden Macnus as they passed the Great Hall. Dennis was all ears when it came to Harry talking. They wore their raincoats upon their attires, and walked out of the castle. They trudged through the wet grass and small puddles as they neared the lake.
"So you have a hunch that Walden is around the lake? But I don't see him anywhere," said the mousy haired boy, as he peered around the lake.
"He's not around the lake but rather in the lake itself," said Harry. "We searched the land, the forest but not inside the lake. No one thought of that when Walden went missing."
"By thunder, why didn't we think of that before?"
"Because the blundering idiot Phillips ordered the Aurors to search the forest because it was the plan that the murderer expected it to be just to divert our attention from the lake."
They walked around the lake with careful and alert eyes as they kept a watch out for anything.
Hermione, without any guilt, placed the suitcase on the bed and opened it. Her eyes gleamed with satisfaction. She hit the jackpot, and found odd things to be collected by a person. There was lots of dirt wrapped in a plastic sealed wrap, and a few parchments that contained notes. Hermione picked up the notes and began to read it through. One thing she noticed was Harry's writing had been a lot neater than the last time she remembered.
This will take a lot of time to read she realised and shuffled hastily through the notes and stumbled upon a note that has the name 'Ron Weasley'.
"What is this?" she thought, narrowing her eyes at the particular note. She read the content of the notes and found out it was the victims that had been murdered. The first name shocked her already.
Susan Bones, Sept 20th, 7th year Hufflepuff, Caucasian girl, body found near Room of Requirement. Face disfigured, limbs still attached, some parts of her auburn hair has been cut. Sources say that she has been searching for someone.
Hermione fidgeted for a moment. She knew Susan Bones from the D.A and sometimes she was her study partner. Susan sometimes asked things about Harry that made Hermione think the Hufflepuff was one of those girls. The main point was there were murders before Ron. How could she not know this? Maybe the fact was Susan was a Hufflepuff that no one cared about. She noticed there were some dry water drops smudging the ink.
Benny Tong, Oct 3rd, 4th year Hufflepuff, Asian boy, body found near the spiral stairs that lead to Divination Tower. Face diifigured, middle fingers cut off. Sources say he was going to detention, odd thing he doesn't have one.
Walden McNus, Oct 25th, 3rd year Ravenclaw, male half-giant, helping Hagrid with the shrewts after his Care of Magical Creatures class. Still reported missing in the forest.
Questions flooded her mind. She did not know there were people murdered before Ron. She had been ignorant to other things than her own reputation. Then there was Ron's name, which she skipped out of anxiety. She found the article under that pile of notes.
Harry and Dennis walked around for about half an hour. They halted suddenly when Harry spotted something near the bank. "Look, Dennis," said Harry, his forefinger pointing to the ground. "Do you see the dragging mark on the ground?"
"It looks like something big was dragged out of the lake, the mark is still here after weeks," said the young Creevey with same keen attention as Harry.
"Not dragged out, Dennis but rather dumped into the lake, Walden is in the lake!"
"Oh my! Someone needs to get him out of there. We need to call for help quickly."
Denniswas about to run to the castle but Harry stopped him. "I got a better idea." Harry took out a vile from his robe and dropped three drops of its yellow liquid content on his tongue.
"What's that? It better not be what I think it is," said Dennis with a hint of doubt and anxious.
Harry grinned at the boy. "It's a Linguistic Potion." He moved towards the bank with Dennis following him with utter curiosity. The raven haired knelt down and spoke something. His voice sounded like screeching and puzzled Dennis.
"What are you doing? Calling a mermaid?"
Harry turned to him and grinned appreciatively. "That's what I intended to do."
A minute later, a creature that almost resembled a man came splashing out of the water. He has grayish skin and long, wild dark green hair. He swam towards Harry, its silver fish tail was visible under the water. Harry smiled and nodded as though greeting it. The merman smiled in return. Both of them exchanged some words in the merpeople language, leaving Dennis feeling abandoned and distant as he was confused. The merman dived back into the water.
"What did you say to him?" Dennis quickly asked after the merman was gone.
"Sorry to make you stand there, listening to our babbling," Harry said as he stood up.
"It's quite alright, what did you ask him anyway?"
"Do you know how I discern Walden is in the lake?" Harry asked back, ignoring the boy's question but the boy shook his head. "That day when the rain was heavy, the Aurors did check the lake but did not discover this dragging marks that stretch from here to the forest because the water level was high that day that the water went into the forest due to the rain. Basic Muggle Science knowledge, the water covered up the dragging mark but lucky for us, the mark was still here."
Dennis was in utter astonishment by Harry's explanation. "So what now?"
"The merperson that I called upon is going to contact his people to find Walden's body or whatever left of him for us," said Harry in a suspense tone. The young Creevey turned all of the sudden… scared. Harry noticed this and spoke, "Whatever we're going to find, it's not going to be pleasant so I advise you to hold your stomach."
"So we wait," said the young Creevey anxiously.
"Yes – if you want, you can call the professors now," said Harry thoughtfully.
"No, I want to see it." Dennis grinned weakly.
"Suit yourself."
Meanwhile, Hermione was examining the article thoroughly. She still did not quite get as to why Harry smiled widely after seeing this article. All she knew was it was in the seventies. The picture of the seven people in front of the grey mansion did not have anything interesting in it, save some of them looked peculiar to her. She read it again…
Crossing Guards, Oct 30th 1970 – Seven people were killed in a mysterious massacre that happened yesterday. They were discovered by Dr. Warwick, who always makes a visit to Crossing Guards mansion every afternoon. All victims have their faces disfigured. The main suspect was the guard of the mansion, Edward Mendy, a muggle reported missing for three days. People from nearby town Abertown, have been inform to keep a lookout for the man, who is described as thin and pale with black hair.
The Wizarding World was devastated by the death of the famous wizards and witches. Among those who were killed was Aldon Welltaker, son of galleonaire Massimo Welltaker.
Hermione examined the picture again and Aldon was the jolly man that almost resembled Gilderoy Lockhart. But in her heart, Aldon also resemble someone she knew.
Aldon was successful on his own even without his father's influence. He created the nitros dirt, a dangerous item that can develop high quality medicine. Another victim was Geraldo Smith, or Gerald Smith, a scientist who is an expert in mortuary magic whose wife died only a year ago.
Hermione felt pity for him, and checked out the picture again. It was the slouching skinny man who grabbed her attention. His black hair was all messed up.
But the death of Wendy Cellar turned the world to gloom. She was a kind-hearted woman who helped St. Mungo's hospital in numerous operations and charities. Other victims who were killed are famous creature veterinarian Ranbough, healer Dr. Margus Taylor, Oriental Medicine Seller Wong Hu and Quidditch doctor Bale Candice. The whole Wizarding World would like to send their condolences to the family of these seven victims.
Hermione checked the picture one last time. The half giant was Ranbough, Dr. Margus was the woman with too much make up on, the Asian man was obviously Mr. Wong while Bale was the red hared man, who resembled someone Hermione knew but could not put a finger to it. Wendy Cellar was the beautiful auburn haired woman. If she was alive, Hermione thought she would be an idol to her.
Hermione stopped researching and sighed in frustration. She could not uncover it. Why would the death of seven people made Harry happy? She knew Harry was not deluded but why. Ginny was right, maybe she really needed to talk to Harry to clear things up. She put the notes back into the suitcase and put it back where Harry hid it. Then she went out of the room. Unknown to her, Harry had put a small wooden block near the suitcase. If the suitcase was removed, the block would fall and Harry would know if the suitcase was opened by someone else. Hermione was in a lot of trouble now.
She descended the stairs, and into the common room, only to found out that everyone was doing the same thing as an hour ago. It was indeed a dull day. The only people who were different were her friends, who were talking animatedly. She walked up to them and when she reached them, she was knocked hard by someone causing her to fall down. She landed on her bum but her shoulder hurt the most.
"Watch it" Hermione looked up at the perpetrator who has spoken harshly to her. It was Seamus and he was glaring menacingly at her. The sandy haired boy walked to the boys' dorm, sweating profusely too. Hermione rubbed her shoulder and winced.
"That Seamus has been a meanie lately," said Ginny as she helped Hermione up. "Don't mind him."
Someone else was changing. Yet again this one she knew, Seamus was not the same after Ron's funeral. He was distant and angry every time someone approached him. He did not hang out with his best friend, Dean Thomas anymore. 'Wonder what's wrong with him?' she thought. She and Ginny went to the girls and talked. She waited for Harry to return.
Bubbles ascended to the surface, not far from where Harry and Dennis were, creating small ripples on the lake. Harry noticed this, and stood up immediately. "Here it comes, Dennis. Whatever form Walden is now… be prepare."
Hearing Harry's warning, Dennis gulped. It was still pouring, suitable for the moment. Three merpeople came out of the water. They were a mile away from the two boys and were swimming frantically towards them.
"They sure in a lot of hurry," said Dennis. "And by the looks of it, they're carrying something, or someone or things in each of them."
The three underwater inhabitants arrived at the edge of the lake, and dropped off a very horrific sight. After seeing 'them', Harry's heart beat triple the speed, while Dennis ran to the nearest bushes, and threw up. The merpeople too felt a bit of discomfort carrying 'them'. Them being human limbs, or more precise, the half-giant Walden McNus' limbs. It seemed Walden was torn apart, both hands and legs unattached from his body. The torso and the upper body were slice opened, revealing nothing inside but blood mixed with water and intestines. The head was chopped off, and the face like the previous murders… disfigured.
Harry incredibly calm, but still frightened, took a step closer. Upon close inspection, he found out all the bones in the victim's body were gone, leaving just flesh and blood.
Later when the two boys were fine, they informed Dumbledore of the incident. The Headmaster quickly called the Aurors and later informed the teachers to come to the lake. Harry and Dennis intended to follow, but Dennis felt he could not take another look at the body, so Harry went alone, and the young Creevey went to the Hospital Wing.
When Harry reached there, he saw Hagrid broke down in sobs, after seeing the remains of his favourite student. He did the only thing he could do at the moment, and went to comfort his big friend. Aurors came a few minutes later and took over the situation. Fortunately for everyone's satisfaction, Kingsley Shacklebolt took care of it, because Phillips has a meeting with Fudge.
"All the bones have been removed completely with expert hands, excluding the skull," Kingsley reported to Dumbledore. Harry listened nearby whilst still calming Hagrid. "I tell you, Albus. This is the work of pure evil."
"This shouldn't be happening at all – Voldemort's defeat should have brought peace, no more lives should be taken away," said Dumbledore disappointedly.
"Then what do you suggest, sir." The black skinned man looked expectantly at the Headmaster.
"Send word to the Ministry that Hogwarts will be closing till all is peaceful. The students will be sent home immediately," the old wizard explained in a regretful tone.
Harry felt relieved after Dumbledore spoke. With all the students going home, there will be fewer burdens, it would be easier to investigate, and hopefully no killings. He did not have any place to live so the castle would be his home for the moment and he could carry on even if it meant doing it without his acquaintance, Dennis. But his hope shattered as a voice came unannounced to ruin Dumbledore's plan.
"You cannot send the students home, Dumbledore," leered Phillips, who just came in the worst of time. Kingsley narrowed his eyes at the blonde Auror and Harry was in disbelief.
"And why did you say that, Mr. Phillips?And without a proper greeting"
"I have papers here sign by Minister Fudge, saying the students cannot leave or step out of the vicinity of Hogwarts." Phillips leered at the Headmaster and Kingsley. He was the epitome of utter rudeness. Kingsley glared at him enrage and incredulous.
"Are you out of your bloody mind," yelled the top Auror, he did not care if he cursed in front of Dumbledore. "What is the meaning of this?"
"Meaning? – You mean you don't know one of the students of Hogwarts is a potential psychotic murderer. You as an Auror should know this better." Phillips sneered at them. He was an idiot.
Kingsley was about to beat some sense into this guy but Dumbledore cut in the argument.
"If that is the authorisation from Fudge than so be it," said the old wizard. Kingsley protested strongly but the Headmaster spoke again. "But you cannot deny the student's privileges to visit Hogsmeade."
"May I remind you, sir, no student is allowed to go out of the vicinity of Hogwarts," Phillips reminded in his arrogant tone.
"Hogsmeade is within the vicinity of Hogwarts," quipped Dumbledore. He sent Harry and wink with a faint twinkle in his eye. Phillips' eyes bulged in disbelief and Harry tried to hold back a chuckle just looking at him.
"That's absurd," Phillips snarled rudely.
"Oh no, it's not absurd Mr. Phillips. You can check at our library, how large Hogwarts is," said Dumbledore, which made Kingsley smirked in delight.
Phillips was boiling with rage, but calmed himself, and regained his arrogance. "V-very w-we-ll then," he said stuttering, trying to hold back the anger. "But this rule is intact as of today; anyone who disobeys shall be punish severely… I bid you all goodbye." With that Phillips left but not before glaring at Harry. The raven haired boy gazed back hatefully at the fool.
"What shall we do now, Albus? If this continues till Christmas, no one is going back to their families," said Kingsley, with a hint of disappointment and irritation. Harry heard this and could not believe the situation turned worse.
Remus Lupin approached him as he got out of his thoughts. "Harry, get Hagrid back to his place, the teachers are going for a meeting without Hagrid. Come see me and Snape if you have time," said he. Harry nodded as he struggled to tell Hagrid to move to his hut. Fang followed them sadly seeing his master in a poor state. Hagrid was in no dire mood to do anything but manage to walk back safely to his place. On the way, Harry saw someone was hiding behind the trees in the forest. Even though the green leaves and branches obstructed his view, he managed to make out a golden speck of hair. He thought he recognised the person, when the person suddenly vanished.
'Could it be?' Harry thought to himself.