Author's Note: There's going to be a bit of a tone shift in this chapter because it's primarily told through Ginny's POV. She might not come across as sympathetic, but remember that she's from a big family and has to fight for any attention she gets.
Updated as of 7/19/21
XOXOXOX
"...And you're not to make the excuse that Snape is tougher on Gryffindors again," said Dad sternly. "Twelve OWL's will be difficult, but Bill managed it and you're every bit as bright as he is. I know you can do it too, Percy, if you properly apply yourself."
Percy nodded importantly.
"But you must remember that family is what's most important," Mum fussed. "If Ronnie's having any trouble keeping up with his studies- you're to help him no matter how busy you may be."
"Of course." Percy smiled at Ronnie, and condescendingly patted his shoulder. "I'll always have time for you Ronnie. Even if you're sorted into Hufflepuff, you mustn't hesitate to come to the Gryffindor Common Room for help."
"Sod off Perce- I'll be fine," said Ronnie. He knew he wasn't as smart as Percy or Bill, but the Twins got on alright so he'd do okay. Although none of the spells he'd tried had worked, and most of Ginny's had. But that was probly just cuz she had a fancy new wand- it wasn't fair!
"Now, Mum, Dad- I really must be going. I'm up front, the prefects have got two compartments to themselves, and I must make a good first impression. Can you imagine if they thought that I wasn't punctual?" Percy shuttered, hugged Mum and Dad, and hurried off.
Ronnie bounced impatiently, as Dad lectured the Twins. The black and red train called to him, full of wide-open compartments, Hogwarts- he was so close! He'd finally be free of his brothers, of Ginny. He'd be able to make something of himself, he'd be Ickle Ronniekins no longer! From now on, he was Ron.
"...You're to remember the line between pranks and jokes and bullying," said Dad sternly. "And I know it may be difficult, but… Bring the Cup back to Gryffindor!"
The Twins straightened.
"I know George's blunder cost us the game against Ravenclaw last year," said Fred seriously.
"That was you," said George.
"Ahh yes, that's right, you were the one who accidentally took out our seeker against Slyth-"
"The important thing is that we'll do better this year," said George quickly.
"But you must remember that family is what's most important," Mum fussed. "If Ronnie's being bullied- you're to protect him no matter your quidditch obligations."
"Of course," the Twins said in unison.
"We'll always make time for Ickle Ronniekins," said Fred.
"Even when he's sorted into Hufflepuff," said George.
"And throws a tantrum in his first class with Snape," said Fred.
"He'll still be our prat of a brother."
"And if anyone bullies you."
"They'll regret it," said George.
"I'll be fine- if anyone tries me I'll hex 'em," Ron blustered. He wouldn't need anyone's help. Hogwarts would be different.
"I'm sure you'll frighten all your wicked bullies, Ickle Ronniekins," said Fred easily.
"With all those hexes and curses you can't do," said George.
Well… Well it wasn't like any of the other students were gonna know any curses either! It was his brothers who were the weird ones- Dad said most new students were like him and couldn't do any magic. He'd be fine! Hogwarts was gonna be great. He'd work hard, be a good student, make some friends, and- yeah, yeah… He'd be the one helping 'em with spells, he'd protect 'em from bullies, teach 'em how to ride a broom- it was gonna be wicked! It didn't matter if they were the coolest kids or not, he just wanted friends who… who made him feel like he was Ron, not Ronnie.
"Ginny," said Dad. "You're going to do great. You could be the top of your class, the best seeker since your brother Charlie, or the most popular witch since Lily Evans. Or maybe you'll be all three. You're going to find that you're not like everyone else Ginny- you're special. That's why me and your mother bought you your wand. Your future is full of possibilities and we don't want to limit you. Use your time at Hogwarts to figure out what you want to be."
Ginny this. Ginny that. Ron would show them. He tightened his grip on Charlie's old wand.
"And do look after Ronnie," Mum fussed. "You know how he is. How difficult things will be for him."
"Ron can look after himself," Ginny snapped. She took his hand. "Let's go Ron."
Mum wrapped Ron in a hug. "My sweet, sweet baby boy!"
Ron reluctantly hugged her back, feeling a bit warm. The Twins sneered at him.
"Ron," said Dad. "Remember. Your mum and I, we don't expect you to be like your brothers or Ginny- it wouldn't be fair. Have a good time at Hogwarts."
"Err.." said Ron… Maybe… It would be okay if Dad expected something from him… That would be... fair… "Thanks."
Ron trudged to the Hogwarts Express. Someday, he'd be the best Weasley. Even if the words on a textbook got all fuzzy after a few minutes, he'd carry on, even if the magic that came to all the others so easily seemed so out-of-reach, he'd make it do what he wanted. Someday… Someday, Dad and all the others would...
The Twins pulled him into a free compartment.
"Ronnie," said Fred.
"We've decided we ought to teach you a charm," said George.
"It's really very fancy," said Fred.
"It's really very advanced," said George.
"A seventh year spell," said Fred.
"To show to a pretty girl," said George.
"Someone you really want to impress," said Fred.
Ron listened eagerly, and memorized the spell, despite his misgivings. Because he didn't need to be headboy, he didn't need to be a prefect, he didn't need to make the quidditch team or be some brilliant student. He didn't even need to be popular, he was fine being a loser as long as he could find one person- just one- who thought that Mediocre Ron was something special.
XOXOXOX
Ginny searched Madam Pomfrey's office. There was a bookcase, unimportant- it offered nowhere for a killer to hide. There were two closets - one full of cauldrons, potion ingredients, and vials; the other full of medical supplies. There was also a pair of desks, one in the center of the room with parchment and quill, and the other- shunted off in a corner- appeared to be a workstation. Most intriguing was a bed closed off from the room by a curtain. It was empty and nobody was hiding underneath it either.
But Ginny didn't give up. She paced the room in case the killer had an invisibility cloak. He had to be bloody somewhere! She hadn't seen anybody leave after Hermione had blasted open the door! Of course, it was possible that the killer had escaped in the smoke after Little Miss Perfect had cast that stupid little explosion charm like some horrible harpy, so desperate to show off in front of Harry Potter that she hadn't even considered that it would help the killer escape. If Hermione hadn't panicked, they'd probably have caught the killer by now, and then… Then, everything would be fixed! Percy and the Twins would stop- stop looking at her like she was some imposter who'd stolen their Ginny away. Mum and Dad would finally write to her! They'd be proud of her again, even if she was in Slytherin. She wasn't a true Slytherin afterall: she'd never read ahead in the textbooks and try to show off how much smarter than everyone, she'd never lie about her family no matter how much flack she got for it, and she wouldn't be caught dead brownnosing to Draco Malfoy... Of course, she'd be a true Slytherin in a heartbeat if it meant she could be first in her class, if it meant she was smart enough to protect Harry from Snape, if it meant she could cast bloody explosion charms. Why had Hermione fainted now- when they needed her more than ever!
Ginny paced the room again, her wand sparking in her hand. Ron was standing uselessly by the door, in the wrong direction, almost like he was trying to keep anyone from coming in. And Harry… Dear Harry was…
... Muggle thing. It must have been a muggle thing. But Ginny… Ginny would be open minded, she decided, even if what Harry was doing was disgusting and gross. He'd grown up all alone, he clearly needed Ginny to teach him right from wrong, civilized from barbaric, proper from improper… That it was wrong, barbaric, and improper to straddle a corpse, paw at its chest and snog it. What in the world? She'd err…
She'd checked everything. The killer must've escaped. Ginny tried to leave Pomfrey's office and chase after him, but Ron shoved her back inside. "Stay behind me Ginny," her dumb older brother Ron snapped. "Neville said that his Great Uncle Algie dropped him from a building and he bounced when he hit the ground. If the killer comes back to finish us off, you take Harry and Hermione and jump out the win-"
A dark figure burst into the Hospital Wing. Ron yelped, pushed her back behind him, and tried to cast a curse. Nothing happened.
"Petrificus Totalus!" Ginny screamed.
The figure countered the curse with a flick of his wand. "Put your wands down you foolish children," Snape roared, shoving the two of them aside, stepping over Hermione, and forcing himself into the room. Ginny could have sworn that Snape's eyes softened when he saw Harry snogging Pomfrey's corpse, but it must have been her imagination because a moment later Snape yanked Harry's cloak and tossed him aside. Snape placed a hand against Madam Pomfrey's neck feeling for something. He didn't find it. Snape wilted, trembled, stiffened, and rose.
"Potter," Snape whispered, standing over Harry, glaring into his green eyes. "Tell me everything you know."
"We were trying to find Madam Pomfrey sir," said Harry bravely. "Hermione and Ginny tried to open the door with an unlocking charm. We heard a scream, a flash of green, and then Hermione exploded the door open. But when we came in, we only found Madam Pomfrey, sir. Nobody else was here."
Snape glanced around the room, his dark eyes absorbing every detail. For a moment, Snape did nothing, just stood still, deep in thought. Finally Snape spoke, his voice clear and loud. "Tell nobody about this. Not your classmates, not your parents, not even your professors." Snape's voice became cold and mocking. "I do not know what you thought you saw Potter, but there was no killer. This was clearly an accident. Poppy has always been foolish. She was just a nurse, but she always liked to play pretend like she was a Potions Master. She was running one of her dangerous experiments, got careless, and had it backfire on her." The git's lip curled smugly. "I had warned her this would happen eventually. But she never listened."
Ginny shook. What a git! What a soddin' prat! What a bloody arse!
Harry looked like he was going to explode. "But sir-"
"SHUT UP POTTER!" Snape screamed, and he looked like he'd murder the next person who spoke. Snape searched the room, scouring over every inch, inspecting every chair, every book, every cauldron carefully. A scrap of paper on Pomfrey's workstation caught his attention. Snape scanned it, rummaged through the workstation, and paced the room once more, groping against the air, as if he was hoping to bump into something unseen. He found nothing. Snape rocked back and forth, finally turning to leave. He paused at the doorway. ""If any of you tell anyone about any of this," he hissed softly, "you will be expelled."
"I'm writing to Dad, no matter what you try to do to us," Ron said bravely. Just this once, sounding kind of cool.
"If you send a letter," said Snape, his lip curling. "It will be intercepted, your memories will be destroyed, and you will be expelled. It would be a blessing, one less Weasley to tolerate. By all means, I encourage you to try it."
"You can't stop us," Ginny said. "We can tell Professor McGonagall or Professor Quir-"
"NO!" Snape bellowed, shocking Ginny into silence. Snape took three loud breaths, wiped some grease off his forehead, and scanned the room once more. His dark eyes settled on Hermione's unconscious form. "I can see you are all dunderheads. If you do not wish for Miss Granger to die, you will see her to bed. Magical exhaustion is a serious affliction. You may explain the situation to her when she awakens, but you must be alone. Not even a spider is permitted to overhear your conversation. Am I clear?"
"Yes sir," said Ginny, Harry, and Ron sullenly. And Snape slithered out of the classroom with a swish of his raggedy dark cloak.
Something about the situation seemed off, but Ginny couldn't quite place it. Either way, Hermione did need to be taken to bed.
Something squeaked and scratched against a cauldron.
"Scabbers!" said Ron happily, running to find his old fat rat shivering in a cauldron in Pomfrey's workstation. He fed the rat a few treats, before holding up a torn scrap of parchment. "He's going to be alright! Pomfrey inspected him beforehand, and left a note."
Ginny read it over.
After a series of tests I, Poppy Pomfrey, have found Scabbers to be perfectly normal, free of disease and curses. I have found him to be a rare breed however, with a much longer lifespan than average. Make sure to let him sleep and give him plenty of treats, to ensure his continued health and happiness.
- Poppy Pomfrey
Ginny smiled. She knew Ron loved his pet, no matter what he might say. She yearned to keep searching for the killer, with just a little more time she knew she'd be able to find him, but just like always Hermione got in the way. They'd have to get her to bed and by the time she woke, the killer would be long gone. But there was no helping it. Snape had said the brown-haired brown noser would die if they didn't find her a bed, so that was that. With Ron's help, Ginny hefted Hermione up, and carried her to some place where she could get some rest.
Harry whispered something to Madam Pomfrey's corpse, and closed its eyes. Then he followed after them.
XOXOXOXOX
Hermione spat the last of her suds onto the floor, and vanished it away with a flick of her wand. She'd had no choice but to brush her teeth immediately after waking of course, plaque grew most quickly when you were asleep- with no saliva in your mouth to stunt bacterial growth.
"I can't believe you really put a dirty brush in your mouth and scrub your teeth with that smelly goo," said Ron, sounding both repulsed and fascinated. "I thought Ginny was just being a berk when she told me you did that every morning."
"I've no choice," Hermione said loftily. "Hogwarts has no sinks near the Dormitories but I shan't let that get in the way of proper dental hygiene, I made a promise to Dad after all. Besides, wizards used to just vanish their waste after taking a poo. I read all about it in Hogwarts, A History by Bathilda Bagshot. So this is really quite normal behavior for a witch."
Ron and Harry seemed deeply impressed. Ginny not so much, but Hermione was quite sure she was just jealous of Hermione's superior knowledge and dental care- like all the other girls in the Slytherin Dormitory. The three of them had taken Hermione up to the Boy's Dorm in the Gryffindor Tower and Gentle Ron had romantically nursed her back to health until Hermione had awoken and brushed her teeth. Harry then explained what they'd seen in Pomfrey's Office, how nasty Snape had been (although his meanness seemed suspicious to Hermione), and how they'd found Scabbers with a note from Madam Pomfrey that cleared him as a normal rat.
Oh how exciting! Conspiracies and a literal locked-room mystery! Hermione could be a proper Velma Dinkley, a Nancy Drew, why even a Sherlock Holmes!
"What are you so happy about?" Ron asked miserably, Scabbers snoring in his lap. "A nurse is dead, probably murdered, and slimy old Snape is trying to keep us from saying anything for who knows why?"
"I'm sure Hermione knows why," Supportive Ginny said. "Go on. Enlighten us with your wisdom. Show us how much smarter you are than everyone, we were only there, but I'm sure there's some tiny detail us ignorant plebeians have overlooked. Perhaps a misplaced modifier in Snape's wording which clearly suggests that You-Know-Who was in the room all along, disguised as a perfectly innocuous sentence clause."
"Hmm," Hermione tapped her wand against her lips thoughtfully. "There's a lot of merit in that idea Ginny. I don't think you're right in the particulars of course, but you're probably right from a broader perspective."
"Blimey, she actually answered that," Ron said, blinking. "I don't think even Perce would've answered that."
Aww, Ron must have really looked up to Purse. Hermione blushed at the compliment, but decided it would be inappropriate to address it. She didn't think her friends had really understood what she'd just said. How could she explain, without sounding condescending? She tapped her wand against her lips thoughtfully.
"I wonder why Snape doesn't want us to go to the professors?" Hermione asked finally. "Maybe he thinks one of them is in on it?"
"Or maybe he's in on it," said Harry bitterly.
Hermione nodded, that was a possibility as well. She reached into her cloak, and pulled out the emergency quill and parchment she kept on her person in case she might need to take notes unexpectedly- as any sensible student ought. "Ginny, could you record the possibilities while me, Ron, and Harry brainstorm?" That had been a bit presumptuous, hadn't it? "You're free to join as well of course!"
"Of course your highness," said Ginny, giving her some friendly jibes as she took the quill. "Thank you, your highness, for allowing me to record your ingenious thoughts. For deigning to include me in your presence."
"Any other possibilities?" Hermione asked eagerly, staring at Handsome Ron.
Handsome Ron scratched his head.
Hermione tried again. "Do you think perhaps Professor Snape was afraid that the murderer has an ally in the school, unaware of the murderer's presence?"
"I dunno," said Ron. "Sure."
"Excellent idea Ron," said Hermione happily. "Add it to the list Ginny."
Ginny grumbled.
"As for me," said Hermione, "I would venture to hypothesize that perhaps Professor Snape suspects the murderer to be less dangerous when complacent." Hermione clucked as she realized something important. "No Ginny, hypothesize is spelled with a 'y' not an 'i'. Don't give me that look- I'm only trying to help, you needn't feel embarrassed of course, that's quite silly, mistakes are how we learn."
Hermione shan't take away note-taking duties from Ginny, even if the girl's penmanship was rather boyish, and even if she was so careless as to not even colour code her notes. She could hardly expect Ginny to come as a readymade Watson without giving her space to grow.
"Yes Perce," said Ginny.
Hermione smiled at the compliment, and continued. "Now, what do the majority of these explanations have in common?" She asked eagerly, allowing her friends to realize the implications of Professor Snape's actions for themselves.
Harry started. "Snape must have thought the killer was still-"
"Shh," snapped Hermione, waiting for Clever Ron to work it out for himself. And people said that she was a know-it-all!
"Oh I get it!" Ginny said excitedly. Then scowled. "Of course it would be after Little Miss Perfect though."
All eyes turned to Clever Ron. Clever Ron scratched his head. They waited. And waited.
"Because Snape's a git," Ron finally said, sighing. "I don't know. Mysteries have never really been my thing…" Ron pet Scabber's absent-mindedly, his dreamy blue eyes faraway. The rat, on the other hand, seemed strangely alert. "Go on, say it Ginny, I know you're thinking it. I haven't really got a thing do I?"
"You're good at plenty Ron," said Ginny evenly.
Ron kept petting Scabbers. "But I'm not great at anything. Not like you three. Hermione kept giving me free shots at the hoop, no keeper, and I kept missing 'em. Sorry for failing your tests Hermione, I don't blame you for it. I'm sure you weren't trying to humiliate me on purpose, it probably seemed easy to someone like you."
Uh… Err…
Hermione stared at Ginny's notes. After this, they'd need to address some other key questions. Why had the killer done it? How had the killer done it? How come they hadn't seen the killer when they'd entered the room? How had the killer gotten away? Where was the killer hiding now? If some professors were not to be trusted, then how were they to capture the killer?
Huh, everyone was staring at her?
W-why in the world were they staring?
"I- I think Snape thought the killer was still in the room. Snape must not have thought he could catch the killer so he was just saying things to make him complacent," Hermione said at last, feeling like she'd failed an important tes- Scabbers the fat rat glared at her with what almost seemed like intelligence. "So the question we need to be asking is how did they escape our notice? What kind of magic would make that possible? Perhaps invisibility, perhaps camouflage, perhaps transfiguration. So going off that, we need to be asking ourselves what was in the room? Where could they have hidden? What could they have turned themselves into?"
"Well." Ron smiled faintly. "Anyone have any ideas?"
"I think we might want to figure out what curse the killer used as well," said Harry. "It might narrow down the suspects. And when we go after him, we'll know what to look out for."
Hermione started, and raised an eyebrow. She wasn't used to being surprised by others. "That's a good idea Harry, I hadn't thought of it. To the library!"
At the library Harry and Ron researched lethal curses that emitted a green light. Hermione and Ginny looked into how the killer could have escaped, Hermione searching through books, Ginny taking notes, and the fat rat Scabbers napping beside them.
First Hermione researched teleportation magic. Portkeys, apparition, and floo. Madam Pomfrey's office hadn't had a fireplace so floo was impossible. Hogwarts had wards which made apparition impossible, and a portkey unlikely. So the killer teleporting away was out.
Hermione and Ginny researched different ways to conceal. First they searched for invisibility charms, and found the disillusionment charm, which would have allowed the killer to blend in with the surroundings like a chameleon, effectively making them invisible. But Ron, Harry, and Ginny had checked the room themselves. And Professor Snape had paced the room several times as well. Despite that, there were still two plausible ways the killer could have escaped using a disillusionment charm. They could have escaped immediately after Hermione had blasted open the door. Or they'd still been in the room, Professor Snape had been an accomplice, and had felt the killer and gotten them out of there. If Snape was in on it, he would have wanted to prevent them from telling professors, giving more credence to that hypothesis. Hermione shared her thoughts with Ginny, and made sure the girl recorded everything so Hermione could look over the notes later.
There was also a sixth-year charm called cave inimicum which worked similar to a disillusionment charm, and created a barrier which rendered those inside invisible and mute. But the larger size of the barrier made it inferior to the disillusionment charm, as Professor Snape would have been more likely to stumble into it during his check of the room, and the implications of the killer using cave inimicum were the same.
It was also possible the killer had worn an invisibility cloak. Those were extremely rare though, making it less plausible than a disillusionment charm.
That was all they could find on concealment.
"What do you think of this, Hermione?" Ginny asked, pointing at a passage on the confundus charm.
Hermione held in a dismissive snort. "That's a good thought Ginny, but the killer would've had to confund all four of us into thinking he wasn't there, and then Professor Snape as well."
"But it's theoretically possible right? I didn't rule out your dumb cave inimicum idea."
Hermione shook her head and explained where Ginny had gone wrong. "After he escaped, he'd have to use the confundus charm on every single student he came across. Cave Inimicum doesn't have that scaling problem, although I think the Disillusionment Charm is still our best bet."
Ginny sighed. "You're right. Just like always. Ron's right- why am I even bothering?"
Hermione ached. She quite enjoyed having a rival. "If it had only been one of us, the confundus charm would be a real possibility Ginny. Chin up."
Ginny rolled her eyes.
"Let's move onto transfigurations," Hermione mumbled.
After some research, Hermione realized that it was possible the killer had performed a partial transfiguration, which would have allowed them to turn into a piece of furniture or lab equipment. It was about as plausible as the disillusionment charm, albeit with different strengths and weaknesses. A partial transformation still left some of the user's features intact, things like their nose and mouth remained (the killer still had to be able to breath after all), even if their shape was changed. It seemed rather unlikely that Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Professor Snape would overlook a lamp with a nose or a cauldron with a mouth while scanning Pomfrey's office. On the other hand, a partial transfiguration would have explained why Snape's spatial check hadn't turned up anything.
The second possibility was an animagi transformation, which required a magical registration. In that case the killer's identity was clearly Scabbers. It would have been the most plausible of all the ideas, except for the fact that Scabbers had an alibi. Madam Pomfrey's note. And if the animagi wasn't Scabbers, then the animagi transformation became much less likely.
"Yes Ginny," Hermione said patiently. "You still have to write it down in the notes, even if we ruled it out. No, don't organize it like that- you'll bias the results when we show it to Ronald and Harry!"
Ginny clucked, and scratched out the sub-heading labelled, Hermione's Dumb Ideas Which She's Forcing Me To Include and replaced it with Transfigurations - 2 - Animagi. Hermione nodded in approval. Dry, objective, no personality- it was perfect!
The final possibility was Hermione's favorite, and she deemed it the Ant Man Hypothesis. What if the user had performed a shrinking spell on themselves, and hidden themselves like a tiny ant? Unfortunately, Hermione could find no spell for such a thing, but she was convinced it was possible.
With their research into the escape possibilities completed they reconvened with Ron and Harry to go over their findings.
Harry told them that the curse the killer had used was avada kedavra. Green light, fatal, no marks left on the body, and it could be cast quickly. Everything fit.
Ginny shared what the two of them had found. Harry and Ron looked over Ginny's notes. In order, Hermione thought that a disillusionment charm was most likely, followed by a partial transfiguration, an invisibility cloak, an idea they hadn't thought of (a common mistake in problem-solving was to close the door to ideas you hadn't thought of initially), cave incinimum, the animagi transformation, and the Ant Man Hypothesis, although truthfully they were all about equally plausible.
"Blimey," said Ron, blinking. "You really are a genius, aren't you Hermione?"
"Thank you Ronald," Hermione said happily, blushing at the compliment. "Ginny did a lot of the work too."
Ginny smiled.
"Is there any more?" Harry looked over their notes, turning them over. "Am I missing something?"
Hermione shook her head.
"Then I think the two of you have overlooked something."
Hermione frowned. That was impossible. If she had made a mistake- which she very much doubted- it was simply inconceivable that it would be caught by anyone her own age.
"You've only judged your ideas by how they would get the killer out of the room," said Harry casually. "We also need to ask ourselves how the killer got into the room in the first place."
Oh… That was a good point. Wait.
Oh…
That was...
… A, very, very good point.
Most possibilities became less likely. One possibility became more likely. Much more likely. It answered all the important questions simply. How the killer got into the room. How the killer got out. The killer's motive. Where Madam Pomfrey's wand had gone.
And where the killer was right now.
Hermione staggered.
Scabbers watched her intently.
Author's Note: Thanks for reading! Be sure to like and follow if you enjoy reading the story. I'll probably change the summary to try and get more views. And now onto the reviews:
Iwik - I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far! I think Snape probably shared your worry. Right now I'm only planning to do the first year. Thanks for the review!