Hermione Granger
After the subject of Sirius Black finally came to an end, Hermione decided to take the boys to her room and show them the results of all her hard work over the summer. At first both Harry and Ron were quite sceptical of her proposal, no doubt suspecting that the whole thing was just another bout of her paranoia about Michael Brown, but after a few minutes of convincing they decided to follow her, if only to stop her from pestering them further.
That didn't of course stop them from complaining all the way to her room, but fortunately, once they entered the room and saw the board in all its magnificent glory, they fell silent, their doubt replaced by what she assumed was pure awe.
It took a few seconds before Ron, who was the first one to come to his senses, spoke.
"H-Hermione, what exactly are we... are we looking at? Ron asked in a trembling voice, staring at the object in question with his eyes wide open. Harry, who was standing right next to him, fared no better as he watched it with his mouth gaping open and a stunned expression on his face.
"This... is the Board." Hermione replied slowly, her voice filled with pure awe. She stared at her creation for a few seconds, simply enjoying the sight of her magnum opus, but then forced herself to look away, knowing that now was not the time to admire her own work. She turned to the boys and spread her arms, unable to contain the pride she felt. "Isn't it beautiful?"
It really was.
On the wall behind Hermione lay an enormous and beautiful array of patterns and schemes, almost incomprehensible in its scale. The name " Board" was actually a little misleading, as Hermione's creation, though once contained on a single cork board, had become so much more. The board had already consumed an entire wall, spreading across her room like some kind of vine, growing steadily every day.
The board was made of countless newspaper articles, photos, notes and pictures that Hermione had managed to acquire during her investigation, with each part of this unfathomable puzzle connected by a myriad of colored strings, each representing some type of connection between events. What that connection was varied depending on the color, thickness and length of the strings linking them.
This entire vortex of knowledge, though chaotic and nonsensical at first glance, was actually swirling together toward the very center of the board, where all the pages and strings seemed to eventually lead, pointing to the final conclusion. There, acting as the bizarre core of the whole structure, lay a picture of Michael Brown, looking at Hermione with his typical chaotic smile on his face.
If Hermione had to compare the board to something, she would say that it looked like some kind of strange living organism, with every string acting like a vein, all of them leading to the heart of that organism, Brown's photo. She could almost see it all move, the strings pulsing constantly, filling the beating heart with more proof of Brown's guilt.
Yes, the board was her magnum opus, a creation designed solely to prove that Michael Brown was the Heir of Slytherin, the person responsible for everything that had happened during their previous year at Hogwarts. It was simply beautiful.
Unfortunately, her friends did not seem to share her opinion.
"Beautiful?! More like barmy! How long did you even do that?!" Ron exclaimed, pointing at the board with a shaking finger. Hermione furrowed her brow, not expecting such a negative reaction.
"Well, I started around the first week of summer vacation, if that makes any difference." Hermione said, rather offended by Ron's reaction. At least she was doing something productive with her time, instead of gorging on food, as he undoubtedly did.
"You spent the whole summer on this?! Hermione, this is just nuts!" Ron exclaimed incredulously, his voice full of judgment.
"You made it clear that you wouldn't help me, so I had to act on my own." Hermione replied defensively. She spent the first week of the summer depressed by the fact that she was unable to prove Brown's guilt. Fortunately, after a few days of moping, she had a revelation. As if guided by divine light, she began compiling an extensive list of evidence, more determined than ever. Her work escalated with each passing day, eventually culminating in the board lying before them. It was hard work, but it was worth it. "Besides, thanks to what you described as 'barmy,' I finally have irrefutable proof of Brown's guilt."
"You...do?" Harry asked doubtfully, though there was a certain interest audible in his voice. He probably didn't fully believe her, but he was at least willing to change his mind if given sufficient evidence.
Hermione smiled. She wouldn't disappoint him.
"Yes, I do! Look at the section by the nightstand! That's where it all starts!" Hermione exclaimed excitedly and walked over to the section in question, ready to explain everything. She pointed to the single sheet of paper inside the bundle. "As you know, it all starts with my conversation with Brown on the Hogwarts Express. Although I certainly forgot some things, I tried to create a full transcription of our conversation, which you are free to read. In it, Brown already outlines his horrible view of Hogwarts, accusing the lecturers of abusing Quill for their own selfish purposes."
Hermione then approached another bundle of paper, much larger than the previous one.
"This section contains information about the first two months of Brown's education. It was considerably more difficult to obtain data on this period, since Brown seemed to keep a low profile at the time, but it is clear that during this period he continued to show disturbing signs of anarchism and barbarism, as he was constantly losing points due to his irrational and irresponsible behavior. A full list of lost points can be found in Note 14. I would like to highlight two important cases of lost points: Hagrid's and Lockhart's. Brown once lost points for stealing Hagrid's fishing rod. You might think this is insignificant, but it indicates his willingness to break the law for his own selfish ends. More importantly, he lost dozens of points for constantly provoking Lockhart. Knowing what we now know about Lockhart, this is far more significant than it seems."
Another bundle, this time called section 3.
"Now is the most vital period! In October, Brown's behavior changed dramatically, which led to the so-called "Prank War. According to witness testimony ( Section 3, notes 7-12), it was caused by Ravenclaw students hiding Brown's possessions. I don't know what exactly was stolen, but it's clear that whatever it was, it led to Brown spending the entire week torturing other students with extraordinary cruelty, breaking their spirits and tormenting them without mercy. It seemed that he finally found what he was looking for, because after a week he suddenly declared a ceasefire and negotiated peace with the rest of the students. It is worth remembering that the first attack (Mrs. Norris, note 23), took place on the same day that he ended the conflict. This means that whatever he lost and later recovered allowed him to petrify the students! That's the only rational explanation! This mysterious object, which I call object X for the moment, is the key to everything that followed!"
She could almost imagine the Board pulsing with satisfaction, pleased with her analysis. Hermione then pointed to another section, clearly excited by her own findings.
"It's time to mention Lockhart again! Did you notice that the second attack, the petrification of Herbert Burke (note 7), took place right after Brown publicly humiliated Lockhart during a quidditch match?! Just look at note 13! Given the later revelations about Lockhart's involvement, it's obvious that he was either goading Lockhart into attacking the students by constantly lowering his self-esteem and stressing him out, or he was already trying to frame him!"
Hermione practically skipped to the next section, located right next to her bed.
"Now comes the best part! Remember the Polyjuice mission?! I went over the whole situation many times (Section 5, notes 2-16) and determined that knocking me out gave Brown about thirty minutes to act unopposed! While it is true that my calculations ( note 18) show that it would be impossible for him to petrify three victims, located in different parts of the castle, and return to me within thirty minutes, this assumption is only valid if we do not take into account the recorder! Yes, the same recorder that Brown used to blackmail us!
As we already know, the Slytherin monster is in fact a basilisk, which Brown himself confirmed! His exact words can be found in Section 4, Note 31. Since the basilisk is a snake, it was most likely controlled by a parseltongue! Though I still have no proof of Brown's ability to use it, it would make sense for him or Lockhart to record the parstongue command on the recorder and use it to remotely control the basilisk! Manipulating us in this way would certainly require a lot of preparation, but Brown knew beforehand that I would approach him! It was his crazy friend who provided us with her hair in the first place! Yes, he drew me into the conversation while using the recorder to give commands to the monster! I'm sure that if we had obtained the recorder, we would have found parseltongue commands on it! That's why I think the voice recorder is another key item in this case!"
Another pulse of satisfaction came from the Board.
"Also, what about the time when he separated from his group after the battle with Lockhart (McGonagall testimony, section 7, note 9)? Even if we assume that the rest of the group did not help Brown, which is quite unlikely, Brown was absent for almost an hour, with no information about his activities during that time! There are only two rational explanations: either he was treating Lockhart and discussing next steps with him, or he was interacting with the monster, framing Lockhart and completing his year-long plan! It all comes together! All his anti-ministry lectures (Section 8), all the sudden protests (Section 9), all the petrifications, it was all part of his grand plan to destabilize Hogwarts and the Ministry! I don't know yet what his ultimate goal is, but I'm sure he's still plotting! The Chamber of Secrets was not the end! Maybe..."
Hermione stared at the board, searching for an answer. The board seemingly pulsed in response to Hermione's unspoken question.
'What about Sirius Black's escape?" came the thought.
"Hmm? Ah, yes! Sirius Black, of course! It can't be a coincidence that someone freed him at such a volatile time! I of course still have to do a thorough investigation, but I can already see it!" Hermione then remembered why she was explaining everything in the first place. She turned to her friends, ready to finally finish her speech "As you can see, everything clearly indicates that Brown is the culprit behind the current chaos! All we have to do is...!"
Only then did she notice that Harry and Ron, who had been previously listening to her explanation, had disappeared, leaving her alone in her room.
What, where had they gone? There was still so much to discuss!