Teenage Detective
Chapter 8: Mystery Solve
Almost everyone in Dumbledore's office watched in surprise and amazement as the impostor changed his appearance, into none other than Harry Potter. He greeted them graciously with a simple morning gesture, which everyone replied in return.
Phillips, seething with anger after seeing Harry, made another one of his rash decision. "Potter, you're under arrest for impersonating a high ranking officer," he scowled. People turned to him, giving him questionable stares.
Kingsley simply shook his head in embarrassment. In all his years working as an Auror, he never wanted to meet and work with people like Phillips. He then stood beside Harry. "No one is going to be arrested… until Mr. Potter here explains things through," the dark skin Auror said. Then he narrowed his eyes at Phillips. "And you're not a high ranking Auror!" he snarled dangerously, making Phillips squirmed immediately.
Harry laughed at the scenario before him. "That's enough, Kingsley – I can take things from here," he said confidently, after he stopped laughing. The bold Auror never took his eyes off Phillips, but merely nodded and walked back, leaving Harry in the middle like an actor in some sort of theatre. Then Dumbledore spoke from behind his desks, in his chair.
"Mr. Potter will you kindly tell us as to why you're gathering Hogwart's finest here in my office," the Headmaster spoke in a soft tone. "I'm sure it has to do with the recent murders," he added, with an amused twinkle in his eyes.
Harry smiled appreciatively at his mentor. "You're absolutely correct, Professor Dumbledore," he said with manners. Then he made his way in front of the seventh years. "I'm sorry to gather you all in such a short notice, I know all of you have better things to do than being here," he said apologetically. The 7th year pupils nodded in understanding and they answered back, not minding what Harry had done.
"I gathered you all here by disguising myself as Phillips… so that I could trap the murderer," he spoke in a rather guilty tone.
"A trap!" roared Phillips furiously. Kingsley shushed him harshly making the blonde man frightened again. Most students were puzzled with what Harry just said, but Hermione already figured it out. She gave a knowing smirk at Harry in understanding but the raven-haired boy did not acknowledge it.
"As you all witnessed just now, I disguised myself as Phillips by using the Polyjuice Potion to make sure that the murderer would be tricked into thinking that the Aurors got the wrong culprit again," he explained. "Of course now that the real Phillips is here, I have to reveal myself so now the murderer is trapped and cannot get out of this room."
"Wait a minute," yelled Seamus from behind the Ravenclaws. "There's a murderer in this room?"
"Are you crazy Potter!" Draco continued. "You stuck all of us in here with a raving lunatic?" the Slytherin yelled furiously, thus creating panic amongst the people in the room. Boys and girls started acting ready to run away frantically until Dumbledore silenced them.
"Be quiet everyone… as long as the Aurors, the teachers and I are here, there's no need for panic," spoke the old wizard, giving everyone safety reassurance. He then turned to Harry. "You may continue Harry," he told the raven-haired boy.
Harry nodded affirmatively. "Firstly I would like to explain how the people were murdered." Harry looked at each and every pair of eyes, listening intently to his story. He continued, "In the thousand years of Hogwarts history, people have walk along the corridors, the halls, the stairs, the steps, gardens and other places. Even the most unused walkways have been walked on once. But there were also the untouched parts of Hogwarts, seen and unseen to our eyes. We walk everyday to our classes, we've seen these places, but we never bother to put a finger on it."
"What place is that?" Phillips asked, rudely, but in his heart, he was mighty curious as everyone else. "I don't understand a bit what you're saying," he added, just for further mocking.
"I understood what you mean, Mr. Potter," said Dumbledore, smiling arms by the armrest. McGonagall was beside him.
Harry turned to Dumbledore with a smile. "I believe there's one here, sir… would you mind show it to everyone here," he asked.
Dumbledore stood up and bowed slightly. "With pleasure," he said. As he moved people made a way for him. Then he bent down and reached his hand to a small space between a trunk and the chair. "Be careful to not stand in the middle of the room," he ordered.
Harry moved to the crowd and the Aurors too made their off the centre. The old wizard was groping the wall in that tight space. "Let me see now… oh not here… maybe here… no…. ah, here it is!" he happily said the last part.
A noise of falling down rocks was heard and a huge pit was form in the middle of the room. It was almost a circular hole. The people in the room huddled together, afraid that they might fall into it.
Kingsley turned exasperatingly at Dumbledore. "Sir, you could kill someone with that," he stated distressingly.
Dumbledore smiled wanly. "Do not be worried, Kingsley… this hole is harmless, its only five feet deep," said the old wizard, as he made his way back to his rightful place.
Hearing Dumbledore's explanation, people began to moved closer to the pit. They stretched their heads so they can take a peek. It was true, it was only five feet deep and they could see the grey stony floor. Harry then walked along the edges of the hole, hands in his pocket.
"This trap is open by a hidden trigger, and there are other triggers as well hidden around the castle, where no one could touch… but all of them had a common thing… they are all harmless, with no intent of killing a person," Harry explained, but then got interrupted by Hermione.
"But what about Jamie Wescott? He was hung ten feet high above all our reach," she said anxiously. Her thought was back on the falling rocks that almost killed Harry. That was no harmless trap.
Harry smirked, a smirk that showed discovery. "The body was hung ten feet high, it's absurd if we look it as suicide, because it was impossible to hang by the neck ten feet high. But if we look it as something else… let's say the trigger was somewhere near the cogwheels or somewhere near the walls… shouldn't the rope too be invisible… therefore, the rope wasn't meant to catch the person by the neck, but by the feet, an old muggle trick."
Gasps were heard, those who understood were mostly familiar with the muggle world. Then McGonagall voiced out. "If the traps were harmless then the victims were already dead before they were trapped," she said with utter concern.
Harry looked up at the Gryffindor Head of House. "Close, professor… but let's leave it for now and back to the killer's agenda here since he arrive during the beginning of the this school year. He already had taken one victim and took the place of that person to gain his needs. And from there on, he took several more victims and their forms; even students here.."
People began to whisper around, nervous though they still did not know what Harry meant. Harry continued to speak while the pit slowly disappeared. "The murderer is one of the seventh years that I have gathered," Harry said bluntly, creating more panic but the students kept control. "Though not necessary the murderer always has to be a seventh year, he can be a sixth, a fourth or even a first," he said without any sign of trouble.
"Preposterous," Phillips interrupted intentionally. "How can someone be a seventh year student then becomes a year younger or a toddler?" he rolled his eyes and shook his head.
"The Polyjuice Potion," Hermione answered brightly, her right hand raised in the air.
"Precisely," Harry beamed at her and she blushed. Phillips grumbled though no one could hear him. "The murderer used the Polyjuice to disguise himself as a student, plus, he added an extra ingredient to his daily concoction. Professor Snape.."
Snape lifted a small pot from his feet. He put on Dumbledore's desk so everyone could take a good look at it. It was a plant with thin stems but wildly grew like grass and bunch of wild fiery shaped leaves sprouting form the stem.
"It's a Longevity Plant," Neville said excitedly, Snape glared at him, making the Gryffindor squirm.
"I was going to tell everyone but thank you, Mr. Longbottom," the greasy haired man said though not menacingly. "This plant is a dangerous plant that could affect a person's mental stability and weaken the physical condition."
"And it can also show us who is the murderer right now," said Harry, his eyes roamed around the Slytherins and the Gryffindors. Some people gulped in anticipation. The tension of finding out the identity of the murderer was heavy.
Harry continued speaking. "Professor Snape's Longevity Plants were stolen at the start of the term by the murderer who assumed the identity of the first victim. He used the plant, combining with the Polyjuice Potion, to make the effects longer than an hour. The side effect of the plant can cause a person's temper flare and attitude to turn rotten and so on and such forth. In other words, this person is not himself." The last sentence made some people tense. "Now who amongst your friends… who is not himself lately?" Harry asked with the motion of his hand.
The Gryffindor seventh years and Draco too were the ones mostly tense. They knew who Harry meant, so they turned their heads to the one person that fit Harry's description. Hermione knew who Harry was talking about and was shocked to see of all people. "You mean?" she said.
"It can't be," Dean said in disbelief.
"Oh my," both Lavender and Parvati gasped in unison, clasping their hands to their mouth.
Harry pointed all his fingers towards the murderer fiercely. "Seamus Finnigan!"
Seamus tensed and gritted his teeth, while glaring at Harry. He was sweating from nervousness. Aurors immediately acted, they quickly moved by the sandy haired boy's side and grabbed his arms so he couldn't move. "What the bloody blaze are you doing to me!" he yelled furiously in a not so Irish accent. "I'm innocent; I didn't do any of those murders!"
"Seamus!" Harry called upon the murderer's name with a certain power. Seamus gazed at Harry with hatred. "Are you really the Seamus Finnigan that I have shared a dorm with since first year?" Harry's voice got louder with every word he spoke.
"What are you talking about, Potter?" Seamus spoke again in not his usual accent. Everyone finally recognised it. Aurors brought 'Seamus' to the centre of the room, near Harry. He was shouting and cursing as he was being dragged forcefully. Everyone now knew this was not the good natured, fun loving Irish lad they used to hang out with.
"Severus," Harry said and the Potion Master moved towards 'Seamus'. He approached the murderer without any feelings. In his hand was a veil with a thick black liquid in it. Kingsley then choked 'Seamus' so he would open his mouth and Snape poured all the content down the sandy haired boy's throat.
The potion began to take affect. 'Seamus' made choking noises and his face grew veins around it. He was thrown to the centre of the room, where everyone could see him changing. The effects of the previous Polyjuice wore off, Aurors released the murderer fronm their grips to let the transformation complete. From sandy haired to white bald head, from built to skinny lanky old man with crooked nose and sharp brows. The old man, his age was impossible to tell, spat saliva on the floor, it seemed he wanted to vomit. Some of the people were disgusted and look away, almost all of them.
"Who – who is this old man?" Phillips asked, stuttering. He was the only one scared, holding on to nearest person, who shrugged him off.
The old man struggled to stand. He fell every time he knelt. The two men that held him just now, went to the old man and helped him up but kept a firm hold on him. Harry pointed all of right hand fingers at the old man. "The murderer… is you… Dr. Gerrard Smith!'
Over three quarters of people in the room were utterly puzzled by the identity of the murderer, only few knew who the old man was, and one had the biggest shock of her life and had to blurt it out.
"That's impossible, he's been dead over twenty years," she said and got furtive glances form almost everyone. She clapped her hands to her mouth after realising what she said. She glanced at Harry, and saw the evident suspiciousness in his green incisive eyes.
None the less, it was a small matter. "Hermione is right… again," Harry said hesitantly. He took out an article and read it to everyone with perfect narrative tone. It was the same article that Hermione read. "So if this guy is really the wizard mortician, Dr. Gerrard Smith, then whose body did they find that fateful date?" Dumbledore asked Harry, feeling intrigued just like everyone else in the room.
"That's simple, the body they found was the guard of the mansion, Edward Mendy. He fit almost perfectly well with Gerrard Smith, posture, physics and skin colour. With some minor adjustments to the body of Mendy, and the help of Wizarding Mortician magic, Aurors were tricked into recognising the guard as Dr. Gerrard Smith. While they were all in a wild goose chase for the supposed murderer, you took everyone's body, isn't that right?" the last question was directed to the old shaking man, who raised his head and met Harry's face with his beady evil brown eyes. He laughed throatily, which scares the girls.
"You think you know everything, maybe I did kill them all, Mr. Goody-goody Weltaker and that simply too pretty Cellar woman, but what about now…" his voice turned maniacal and cruel. "What about now? What makes you think I killed the five students?"
Harry's intense face held a triumphant smirk. "Because your first time using the forbidden Reliving Arts was a failure," he said bluntly, and each and every pair of eyes fell back onto Harry. "You need humans parts and bones of a half-giant to create the Reliving Art…. Thus anyone here want to explain this forbidden practice?" Harry asked the people in the room. Snape volunteered.
"The Reliving Arts…," he began in his teaching voice. "Never to be considered a miraculous spell to heal, but a dangerous and devilish way to bring someone very dear to you back to life, using six human parts that represent your love ones precisely example like blood, skin colour or the colour of the eye, and bones of a half-giant for creating the human flesh form scratch. It was considered to be banned by all countries all over the world for its substance using fresh flesh."
"And that love was your late wife, am I right, Dr?" Harry asked, even though he was speaking to a murderer, he was polite.
"I'm not speaking," Smith spoke back rudely.
"Very well, let's move on to something more shocking," said Harry, as he pulled out another piece of paper from his pockets. "Maybe you're all wondering what did Dr. Gerrard Smith do after he murdered them all. Well he kidnapped the bodies, and this article in my hand, tell us the story. The day after the murder, the seven bodies were stolen from the magical morgue, and this tells us that Dr. Gerrard Smith did it because he was able to break the wards around the morgue," he explained. Harry passed the two articles to Kingsley and the Auror read it and then pass to the others. When the articles were at the hands of Ernie, Harry called him.
"Ernie… does any of the seven people in the picture look familiar to you?"
Ernie stared at Harry at the moment, then looked back at the picture for a few seconds and then shook his head. "Well look at the Asian lad. Does he look like someone you know?" Harry asked again and the Hufflepuff complied. Ernie looked closely, like he needed a magnifying glass. His eyes went wide all of a sudden and he spoke loudly, "That looks like Benny Tong, the second one who was murdered." People started gasping and whispering in this new information. Harry looked around and smiled silently, like he just won something.
Dean Thomas snatched the article from Ernie, ignoring his protest, and scanned the picture. He too, like Ernie, had his eyes form a saucer. He was in disbelief. "Hey, the guy beside the two women looks like Seamus!" he announced. Whispers turned into mutterings as people talk to each other.
It was Hermione's turn to snatch the article. She examined the picture and finally knew what Harry saw in the article. Each person in the picture resembled the victims accurately save two, the black haired woman, who still haven't been compared to anyone since there were only six people murdered, and one other. Hermione as always pointed this out.
"The red head doesn't look like Ron," she said loudly, raising the article in the air. People looked puzzled at her and it made her worried. Good thing, Harry picked up from there.
"Hermione's right, Bale Candice, the man in the picture does not resemble Ron at all," he said.
"What does it mean?" Dumbledore asked. The Headmaster was hiding a smile when he watched Harry explain to the people in the room. It was truly amazing.
"It means that on the night that Ron was murdered, he found someone, and that someone was Dr. Gerrard Smith disguised as Jamie Wescott, who was the first victim," Harry said, facing the Headmaster.
"So that's how he got into Hogwarts. I see, carry on," Dumbledore told him with his interest piqued like never before.
"Ron saw Dr. Gerrard Smith near the Slytherin table, picking up a Longevity Plant from under the table, where he hid it. Then unexpectedly a transformation occurred, Dr. Gerrard smith turned back from Jamie's form back to his old frail self, and Ron witnessed it. But being someone who hasn't deal with this kind of thing, Ron went to investigate instead of going for help. He could have taken out the doctor, but someone else clocked him from behind."
"There's another one!" Someone from the group blurted.
Hermione's brain went into work. 'Of course, that's how they got a half-giant into a lake!' she thought.
"Yes, there's another culprit here in this room with us, and he helped Dr. Gerrard Smith in doing these cruel and despicable things, especially throwing a half-giant's body into the lake." When Harry talked about this information, everyone squirmed in fear just like when Harry revealed the real murderer. The raven-haired turned to the murderer.
"Dr. Gerrard Smith," Harry called upon the murderer, who looked up at Harry with an evil sneer. "Would you mind telling us, who is your accomplice?" Harry asked directly, all politeness was gone as though he dreaded to reveal the second culprit.
Smith leered at him and cackled harshly, letting out some saliva on the floor. Girls squirmed more just by listening to his horrid laughter. He stopped and then spoke in a sly manner. "Ain't it obvious, meddlesome Potter! Family sticks together, right, Zacky," he said.
Ernie and Hannah had the shock of their life, stared at their fellow housemate with disbelief. "Zacharias… you!" said Ernie incredulously, his finger pointing at the blonde boy.
"What are you talking about?" Zacharias began to deny. "I don't know that man at all," he spoke as he moved away from the group of people towards the door. Unfortunately for him, two Aurors came out from behind Kingsley. Zacharias could not get away, and was grabbed by the two. He was moved to the centre of the room, and ended up near the doctor.
"Gerrard Smith here acquired the help of his nephew, Zacharias Smith to help him get whatever he needed and information regarding the castle," said Harry, continuing his long explanation but was cut off by Zacharias.
"I deny this wild accusation!" the Hufflepuff snarled. "Where's the proof?"
Harry was unfazed. "There's no need for evidence. Dr. Smith, tell us how you came into Hogwarts without being caught?" he asked the doctor.
Smith grinned cruelly all the time Harry spoke. Saliva around the side of his mouth dripped down the floor. The maniac optician spoke, "Have I no choice but to tell you all?"
"You already been caught, Doctor… I suggest you tell the whole story," said Kingsley in a commanding tone.
Smith looked on with a scowl on his face. "Alright, I tell you all. I did all of this to revive my late wife. She died because of a disease for which there is cure yet. I was dying and tried to kill myself so I can meet her, but every time I did someone had the nerve to save me. That goody Cellar woman and that annoying Weltaker, they just couldn't leave me alone!" The last sentence was emphasised loudly.
"I decided to turn to my specialty and how good it was to find a method to revive someone form the dead, especially a love one. The ingredients were found easily, it was very close indeed. The Reliving Spell was a blessing." His maniacal grin grew out of boundary.
"What I needed was from those seven dead people I murdered. How more delightful to see Megan came back to life." The room silent at the shocking revelation until Harry broke it.
"Only for a second and she was dead after that," Harry said blankly, Smith shot a murderous glare. "It was a failure because you use dead bodies and Ranbough was not a half-giant, he just a big quarter of a half-giant," he added.
"The point is she's alive, ain't she!" Smith snarled, trying to free himself from the Aurors grasp. He wanted to pounce on Harry but could not. Harry then retorted back.
"But every spell has to end it effects," he said simply, making Smith stiffened for a moment and grumbled in defeat. "Then you came to Hogwarts, and found the perfect people for your needs-" Harry was interrupted by the doctor, who continued for him.
"Then I kidnapped them all and replace them with the bodies of those seven I kidnapped twenty years ago," Smith said and everyone was shocked.
"Do you mean that… the victims are still alive?" Kingsley yelled furiously.
"He needed them fresh for the Reliving Arts," Harry said. "They're still alive, somewhere in this castle."
Hermione's heart beeped faster than normally. If what the doctor said was true then Ron was alive and who did they bury back at St. Catchpole Ottery graveyard.
Smith turned to his nephew with a cruel grin never leaving his face. "Oh, and Zachy here ask for help with his girlfriend, who was stolen by," he turned back at Harry, "you, Potter!" People gasped at this information.
Everyone turned to Zacharias, wondering if it was true. The Hufflepuff boy did not answer, merely silent and looking down on the floor. Harry spoke. "She's only a friend and still is today. She helped me get back on my feet. That is all to our relationship, nothing romantic, just friends." Zacharias gritted his teeth, listening to Harry's explanation that has been always the same. His uncle was about to retort but Harry forcefully cut him off harshly. "We're going off topic here. So you came here to Hogwarts with the help of your nephew, as Jamie Wescott in disguise and then you stole the Longevity Plants from Professor Snape. Then you kidnapped the victims and replace them with the previous people you murdered. But then I discovered you when you ran away from me during my walk to Potions, so you turn into Seamus Finnigan and put Edward Mendy body high up the ceiling to think that Jamie was murdered. And by the way, Jamie was a red head and he was the one resembled Bale Candice, but he changed his appearance and all the more proper for you." There was a dramatic pause when Harry stopped explaining.
"Now shall we go to the dungeons?" he said blankly and everyone stared puzzled at him.
Snape raised an eyebrow. "What for?"
"To show everyone what's been hiding under our noses since the beginning of this new term," Harry replied. The tension in the room was too much.
Dumbledore, Kingsley, the professors, the Aurors and the others followed Harry. They marched off to the dungeons along with the seventh years, who were so intrigued by Harry's ability to deduct and analyze, that they followed him, thanks to his insistence. Other students and professors looked at them as they passed by.
They reached a secret room, which was cleverly hidden among the dark shadowy areas of the corridor that Harry saw Smith run into.
They entered the room and were immediately in shock from what they saw. Hermione's jaw dropped when the firs thing she noticed was her supposedly dead boyfriend.
A/N: Ah the Beta version, is so marvelous, thank you Jason!i receive an email wanting to know what's my Friendster account and where do i live. Well i live in Malaysia, and the nick name is Bonta kun. Hope you find it and be sure to add me. Ciao!