"So you want me to cross reference death eaters with wych elms?" Lyra asked. Harry quickly scribbled that down. He reread his notes over again. Candles, blitz attack, high risk victim. He tapped his quill against the desk. Something about all of this seemed weirdly familiar. Grey also wanted a list of Matthew Pritchard's and Mary Summerland's possible enemies.
"That's exactly what I need you to do, Lyra, according to Neville, it's the only one in the area. It's worth looking into." Grey said
"I guess I'm on it" they mumbled
"Good, get back to me as soon as you can. Over and out"
"Great, thanks Grey" Lyra mumbled "So Harry, you want to research the locals or the weird cult stuff" they asked him
"Is it ok if I take the weird cult stuff?" he asked
"Go for it. That seems more up your alley than people stuff"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Harry asked
"You've definitely got a stronger stomach for this stuff than me. You don't even flinch when we have to see bodies anymore."
"Guess I'm just used to it at this point" he mumbled. Something about this felt so familiar, he just couldn't get it. He thought of something quickly. He got up and left Lyra's office. He went to his own desk and opened one of his drawers. It was there, just where he left it. He grabbed it and hurried back to Lyra's office. He dropped it on the table
"Woah, that does not look standard Auror issue" Lyra said
"It's not"
"So what is it?" They asked curiously
"The secrets of the darkest arts." He said, opening the book
"Are you even allowed to have that at work?"
"No idea. Dumbledore made me read it when I was in 6th year. That's a bit of a long story, anyway. If we want to find dark magic spells, we need to look in here."
"And you just so happen to have it on your desk?" Lyra asked
"Yup, I thought it might come in handy one day"
"Harry, should I send Grey after you?" Lyra asked. He looked confused for a minute. His eyes widened in realization
"Merlin no, I've never used any of these spells, I just thought I might need it for a case or something" he flipped to the index. "If I've heard of a dark ritual using wych elms, candles, and high risk victims, it would be in here. That's probably why it would sound so familiar"
Blood Woods, Higham, England"That's exactly what I need you to do, Lyra, according to Neville, it's the only one in the area. It's worth looking into" Grey said into her phone. Ron could not make out the voices on the other end. "Good, get back to me as soon as you can. Over and out". Ron followed Grey deeper into the woods around them. The trees seemed to reach out, almost as though they were trying to grab him. He shivered at them. There was something not quite right about them.
"Constable, how well did you know Mary Summerland?" Grey called to him.
"My daughter's good friends with her, so I would say I know her well enough" he said
"What can you tell us about her?"
"She's well-liked, a good kid. She is one of the members of the school's god squad and the celibacy club. She's been dating Matthew for a little over a year now" he said
"So she was religious?" Grey asked
"Very, her dad is the minister" he said
"She has a lot of friends?" Grey asked
"Think so, she's pretty popular" he said
"Any enemies?" She asked
"None that I know of, Abigail alway talked about how much everyone liked her. Well, I guess you could say that a satanist wouldn't like her. She's devout." He said
"We'll make a note of that," Grey said "this is rough country, I'd probably get lost out here pretty quickly"
"Most people would, the only reason we don't is cause we've all grown up here" he said
"Are you saying that you would have to be local to get around these woods?" She asked
"I mean, I guess you could get lucky," he said. His phone rang, "sorry, I have to take this," he said. He stepped away. Grey stealthily took out her wand and cast a muffliato charm.
"You were paying attention, weren't you?" She asked Ron
"Yeah of course I was," Ron said.
"What are you making of it?" She asked
"Our killer or killers are probably local, given what the constable said about the woods. Is it just me, or does no one have anything bad to say about our victims? It's weird. You would think that someone would have something bad to say about them. It's like they've got the entire town wrapped around their fingers" Ron said
"Yeah, that was bothering me too. If everyone thinks they are so perfect, there is definitely more going on. You and I were both immediately skeptical of them. My guess is we aren't the only ones. I think we need to find out who else is" Grey said
Higham Police Station, Higham. EnglandNeville Longbottom and Zaima Nabih combed through the missing person files. Nothing stood out. Most of them were either kids labeled as runaways or low risk victims. Not many that reminded them of Mary Summerland or Matthew Pritchard. After skimming what had to be their 10th or 11th file, Zaima excused herself to go talk to the sheriff. Neville took the time to stretch his legs. He looked around the office and found a rugby ball on one of the shelves and picked it up.
"You play?" A voice behind him asked
"No, definitely not," he said
"I probably wouldn't either if it weren't for my father" he said "David," he said
"Neville Longbottom," he said
"Hey, uh, is my father the sheriff around?" He asked
"Yeah, he's in his office talking to another agent," Neville said. David's eyes went wide.
"Agents, wait, are you guys those MI5 Agents? He asked
"Yeah, that's us" Neville said
"Mad cool, I always wanted to be one of you guys. I have like a million questions." he said. His face fell. "Wait, what would MI5 agents be doing in Higham?" He asked
"Ah there was a murder on the mountain side, and now a girl is missing"
"A girl is missing?" David asked
"It's Mary son," the sheriff said
"Mary Summerland?" He asked
"Yeah it is," his father said
"Oh my god, what about Matthew? Did someone tell him yet?" David asked. Zaima and Neville looked at each other. The Sheriff sighed
"Matthew was the body we found in the woods," Hubbards said. David stumbled back and held his hand up to his mouth
Blood Woods, Higham EnglandGrey scanned the woods around them. The constable had since returned from his phone call. Right now, Ron was trying to figure out if he could get him to say a word against the vics. Grey knew it would be useless. The vics already had the constable and the sheriff wrapped around their fingers. It did make her think. How did they get everyone to act the way they were? In her experience, the people who were able to do that were usually pretty good manipulators. She made a mental note of that. Grey heard a branch creek nearby. She turned sharply in that direction and saw something move in the tree line. She looked over to Ron and the Constable
"Guns out you reckon?" The constable asked, looking at the pistol strapped to her leg. She noticed that he only carried a baton.
"Not yet," she said. She walked slowly towards the trees. Ron followed close behind her. She made it look like she was reaching for her pistol, while she was actually ready to grab her own wand, any second. "Mary, Mary Summerland? My name is Agent Grey, I'm with MI5-" they heard crunching sounds deeper into the woods. Grey picked up the pace. She reached the clearing. There was no one there. She looked around the clearing. In the center was a large tree, a wych elm. Grey walked towards it. She examined the branches closely. In one, was a piece of ripped fabric. Next to it was a piece of paper. Grey took it and held it up to the light. She saw a splatter of blood in the corner.
The Eaters commands that the virgin be sacrificed at the next full moon
Higham Police Station, Higham, England"I'm sorry son," the sheriff said. David still had his hand over his mouth. "Mary is still missing. We need to arrange a search party. I need you to get the teams together and meet as at the trail about a ΒΌ of a mile south of the peak"
"Yeah, ok" David said, his voice still shaking.
"Take a minute son," the sheriff said. He nodded and dropped into one of the spare chairs. There was a ringing coming from Zaima's phone.
"Sorry I have to take this," she stepped aside
"Poor kid," Neville said
"Yeah, you never even want to think about something like this happening, and then, it does" the sheriff said
"Were David and Matthew close?" Neville asked
"Yeah, they were, they grew up together. Bible classes, rugby practice and then down here at the station. Matthew had to have been at our house at least one dinner a week. We also lost David at least once a week to the Pritchards. I reckon I never did see those boys too far apart"
"Merlin, that's awful" Neville said
"Merlin? That's a funny sort of phrase," the Sheriff said. Oops, he guessed that muggles didn't exactly use Merlin that often.
"Yeah, it was an old joke at my highschool."
"Odd," The detective said. Zaima stepped back towards them. She flipped her phone closed.
"I just got a call from Grey. We won't need the search party." She said darkly
"Why has something happened?" David asked
"They found a note in one of the trees. Hold on, she just sent me a photo of the note. The Eaters command that the virgin be sacrificed at the next full moon" Zaima read.
"Eater, is that some sort of demon group?" The sheriff asked
"No idea, Grey is bringing the letter back to get processed. Her and Ron will be back in about half an hour, so we can debrief"
About half an hour later, Zaima Nabih found herself standing outside the police station. She needed a break from the inspectors and their theories. All this talk of devil worship and human sacrifices was starting to make her feel a little sick. It was odd that it would make her feel sick. Especially given what she did for a living. She found herself lost in her own musings when she noticed a girl walk up to the police station doors. She was young, younger than Neville, Harry or Ron. She had to still be in highschool. She reached out for the door handle. She then pulled her hand back. She began to pace around the door. She reached out for the door again and the same pattern insured. Zaima watched with interest. After following her pattern several times, the girls turned to leave, and her head was hung. Zaima decided to approach her.
"Hi," Zaima said. The girl jumped. The girl looked like a deer in headlights. Zaima feared that the girl would bolt. "My name is Zaima, is there something you want to talk to a police officer about?" The girl shook her head fiercely. "Well, good thing I'm not a police officer," she cocked her head in confusion.
"Then what are you?" The girl asked. Her voice was quiet, but high pitched
"I'm an MI5 agent." Zaima said "Here, we can go somewhere where you are comfortable,"
"Could we go to the church?" The girl asked
"Sure," Zaima said.
Grey and Ron stepped into the police station. The officers were busy. They were running every which way. It almost reminded Ron of the police office before the Yaxley raid. Grey picked up on this too and knotted her eyebrows in confusion. She approached the nearest police officer.
"What's going on?" She asked sharply. The young officer seemed to cower before Grey's fierceness. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out.
"We've got a suspect," the sheriff said.
"Who?" Grey asked
"David, do you want to tell her?" The sheriff said, clapping the boy on the shoulder.
"Er, yeah dad. Agent Nabih got a photo of the note from you. It said the people who were gonna sacrifice Mary were called the eater? There is this group called the Death Eaters. They hang out in the woods. Their leader, Darren Sutton, he's older. He has to be at least 20, but most of the members are in the local high school. They sound like they could be the right group." The boy said
"We've planned a raid to apprehend them." The Sherif said.
"When are we leaving?" Grey asked
Blood Woods, Higham, LondonIn the middle of the blood woods, lies an old cabin. It had long since been abandoned. It was a decrepit old building, with moss beginning to seep through the foundation. Ron Wealsey felt a twig break under him. It did not matter. The music coming from the house was too loud for anyone to hear his rather loud steps. Grey nodded for them to approach. They made their way to the door, careful to avoid the windows. Grey was the one to approach the door. She kicked it down and several deputies rushed in. Grey quickly followed. The others raced in. Ron followed Neville.
"Higham police! Every hand where we can see them!" The Sheriff yelled
"Where's Darren Sutton" Grey called. In the back corner of the room, lies a blood red curtain. Grey jerked her head in that direction. Ron and Neville rushed forward. They ripped it open. A man, no older than Neville or himself was standing there. He was wearing a muggle hoodie and jeans. He had his hands in the air. He was standing on a box, with what looked to be a pentagram behind him.
Agent Grey roughly shoved him down. He was sitting at a table. He still had that stupid smirk on his face. Grey stared at the kid, trying to see if he had any sort of occulucy blocks. He didn't. That would make her job a lot easier. She let him sit in the chair. The detective kept looking at her, waiting for instruction.
"Is someone gonna tell me why I'm here or are we just gonna keep staring all night?" he asked. The Sheriff looked at Grey to lead. She took out a photocopy of the note.
"This was found where Mary Summerland went missing," she said. He picked up the note and chuckled
"Is someone threatening Mary's life funny to you?" The Sheriff asked
"No, I think someone calling Mary Summerland a virgin is funny," he said. He laughed. Grey locked eyes with him. She took out the crime scene photos from a folder and placed it in front of him.
"Do you find this funny too?" She asked. He stared at the pictures, his eyes wide. A horrified expression was painted on his face.
Meanwhile, several miles away, Zaima took a seat at one of the church's pews. The young woman took the seat beside her. She watched the girl play with a beaded necklace she had with her. She wasn't looking Zaima in the eye. Zaima waited, knowing she would have to let the girl lead the conversation.
"Do you God is vengeful?" She asked
"What do you mean?" Zaima asked
"Do you think he punishes us?"
"That depends, do you think you have something worth being punished for?" The girl fell silent. She began to play with the beads in her hand again. Zaima waited.
"My friend Mary, she's missing, and it's my fault" She said, her voice breaking.
"Why is it your fault?" Zaima asked
"The skeleton you found in the trees, he died half a year ago. He was a hiker or something. He fell of the trail and cracked his head open"
"How do you know that?"
"We went to see the body all the time, we watched it decompose."
"Who's we?"
"All of us, the whole group. We thought it was cool. None of us had seen a dead body before"
"Did you ever tell anyone?" Zaima asked
"No, we thought it was just our thing. Something that could be ours without anyone else knowing about it. It was ours."
"This was a person," Zaima said
"I told you, we're being punished"
"Is there anything else you want to tell me?" Zaima asked
"They said there were candles and some satanic symbols there? Those weren't there before." She said. Zaima's eyes widened
"Are you sure?" She asked. The girl nodded. "I really appreciate you telling me this, I need to go let my team know." She said, getting up quickly. Before she could leave, the girl turned to her.
"So what do you think, is God punishing me?" She asked. Zaima thought for a moment.
"I think He was testing you. That's different from punishing you. If it makes you feel any better, I think you may have just passed."