Summer Camp, Week 7

Time for teamwork. Write about a group having to work together to solve a mystery puzzle

Word count: 1141

Betaed by Crissie. Thank you so much!

Hermione had always liked puzzles. Back in school she had been the one to solve Professor Snape's riddle. So, of course when she noticed something strange about her neighbours, she had to figure things out.

She told Ginny about it in turn, Ginny had told Harry who had brought Ron with him into the game. The four of them had camped around in her apartment, watching their neighbours very carefully. It was something very strange that they could see all of the flat rooms. Each one of them had a window. They could see the inside of the flat, however, the best room to observe the others was the kitchen. It was a big room with a comfy sofa and green tables. It was a typical Muggle flat. And yet it held something special inside it.

The four friends noticed that during the week two pairs of people would dance around the kitchen. One of them consisted of a brunette girl always dressed up in mini-dresses and high heels. She was always accompanied by a huge man that looked like he could be Hagrid's son.

They danced around each other when cooking and they were never seen without the other. The girl looked so petite near him.

In the bedroom, Hermione had noticed that when this particular pair could be seen in the kitchen, they had their light off. In the beginning, it had seemed a natural reaction, if you weren't in a room, why keep the light on?

However, after the third week of 'camping', Ron had pointed out that the second pair had the light on in the very same room.

Now, the second pair was a girl of medium height, always wearing large jumpers or t-shirts. She had no shoes on. Accompanying her, there was a guy of similar height and build. The girls looked alike, however, after close observation, Hermione and Ginny had decided that they couldn't be more different. Ron and Harry had pointed out the same thing with the two guys.

After a whole month, the team of five had to admit, their mystery was just as mysterious as when they'd started, and for the life of them, they couldn't understand it. They could see the bedroom, it was the same room.

Ginny had let herself in once, after claiming that she had been given the wrong address by a guy with whom she'd had a date the night before. The couple, and it had been the petite girl and big guy couple, had been sympathetic and had invited her for tea and cakes. Ginny had inspected their flat and had reported back to the four who had been watching from their window.

The biggest mystery had been that after Ginny left and they had led her to the door, the second they had returned in the kitchen, they weren't there any longer. Instead was the other couple. Ginny had been half-tempted to go back, but Harry had stopped her. At that point, it had become more than just a game.

They had checked early in the game, after Harry's suggestion, if they were magical. Then it would at least have an explanation. Although not a reasonable one. What reason could one have to go from their house to another at different times, every day of every week?

No one. And in that, resided the mystery. 'Barmy,' in Ron's words. And indeed they were. Their whole month had been a continuous work and discussion and the most important topic was 'who will keep watch'.

Fortunately, Harry, Hermione and Ron were all used to working together in a team, they'd done it in all their school years. And then, Ginny was a wife, friend and sister to them, she complimented them nicely.

However, the four friends had racked their brain for weeks and couldn't find anything to aid them in their self-given quest. Or rather, a quest born from Hermione's curiosity. And yet, it was a Saturday night when it happened.

They were watching an old movie—Hermione had figured out how to mingle magic and electronics a few years back—when it had clicked. The movie that had started playing was E.T and in a flash, both Harry and Hermione's head had snapped towards one another, both saying—

"DS9!"

"Star Wars!"

Ron knew about DS9 because Hermione had told him countless times of one of the best TV shows she'd watched, whereas Ginny knew Star Wars, more or less because of Harry. The guy was obsessed about Star Wars, light swords and Obi Wan and Luke. He liked to compare the Dark Lord to Darth Vader.

"So, they might be aliens?" Ginny said, before the two of them forgot about their mystery couples and started a fight of which star was best.

"Yes," Hermione said, reluctantly turning back to Ginny and Ron. "It all makes sense now. It could be that they have a teleporter in the flat. We couldn't sense it because magical people don't know about aliens or space. I mean, not even Muggles do, but they suspect?"

"Do you think it's a reconnaissance mission?" asked Harry.

Hermione shook her head. "I cannot be sure. In this neighbourhood? I can't tell. It's quite boring, and nothing interesting happens. But if they are wanting to hide? Then this is the best neighbourhood. "

"Nothing interesting?" shouted Ron, so suddenly that the other three cringes from the volume of his voice. "Hermione, you're a witch. And you brought three magical friends with you. If your guess is true, they may have been studying you, us! All on a silver platter."

Hermione gasped and rushed towards the window. For the first time, she made eye contact with them. But just for a second. But it was enough for chills to enter her body.

"We should go and confront them." Ginny suggested, looking at the window.

"No," Hermione and Harry said at once. "It's late and we're tired. We don't want mistakes and we don't want to break the Statute of Secrecy. Let's go tomorrow." Hermione declared and the other three agreed.

Little did they know that the next day when they would go to the flat and ask, the girl wearing the large t-shirt answered and when questioned she was genuinely confused about their enquiries. Upon revising their photos—secretly taken of course—the four friends didn't see the petite girl and the big guy any longer. All of them had been replaced by the couple they had questioned.

It seemed that their movie night had solved their hard worked puzzle. Or not. They couldn't be too sure. They knew they had to watch out, because something strange had happened with the flat and the couples, of that, they were certain.

And Hermione couldn't forget the shivers she'd felt when they'd locked eyes for that one second. Something strange indeed.