the hat | 𝐬.𝐛

𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟵 || To Find a Clue

Saturday morning, Emery found herself pressed against the window in her dormitory, waiting for the first snowfall.

But when her results proved to be negative, she sighed and agreed to accompany Cecy to the Great Hall for breakfast.

She was wearing a short grey dress that reached just below her knees, accompanied with a pair of black stockings, and her hair was in an updo. She finished off with her hat, and gloves, then followed her cousin to the Great Hall.

After she was done eating, she went up to the library to complete her pending assignments and projects, singing 'God Rest Ye, Merry Hippogriffs' at the top of her lungs.

When she reached the library, Madam Pince gave her a warning glare.

"What?" she asked. "I didn't do anything," she said. Then she smiled mischievously. "Yet," she added.

"OUT!" barked Madam Pince.

"But, hey, I won't do anything, promise," argued Emery. She pulled Cecilia close to her and pointed to her. "See? Cecy's with me. She won't allow me to be silly," said Emery.

"Oh, very well," grudged the librarian, adjusting the pince-nez glasses on her crooked nose. 

Once Emery and Cecilia had found a table, Emery leaned close to Cecilia. 

"She looks like a bat," whispered Emery loudly.

Cecilia pursed her lips and tried not to giggle. "Shh," she whispered. "You'll get banned from the library. Permanently."

"Okay. Okay," said Emery, nodding to herself. "I'll be quiet, I won't make noise, I'll be quiet, I won't make noise," she murmured under her breath.

"Em," whispered Cecilia warningly.

"Oh, right."

Emery bit her lip and began reading the aspects of human transfiguration, when something blue fell onto her book.

It was a flower made of fabric.

Emery picked it up and looked at it. She thought it looked familiar. She studied it a bit, then realized it had fallen from her hat.

The Ravenclaw took off her hat and placed it on the table, taking the blue flower between her fingers and studying it.

Then she noticed that it was no ordinary fabric flower. The petals were all stuck together, surrounding the center. When she touched a petal, it fell off.

She'd never seen them made so weak. Huffing in curiosity, she picked off another petal. One by one, she picked off all the petals.

In her hands, there lay a minute capsule, made of silver metal.

Emery knew at once that this was meant to be there. It was a clue, perhaps a message from her father.

Her breath hitched and blood rushed to her head. This was it.

She saw an opening, and gently twisted the cap open. 

Out fell a tightly coiled minute piece of parchment.

Emery's fingers fumbled and dropped the parchment. She bent down and picked it up, her fingers sweaty and sticky due to the amount of nervousness she felt.

She unfurled the parchment, slowly, waiting in anticipation with bated breath for what was to come.

There was nothing understandable in what was written on the parchment.

.----  ....-  -----  ....-  .----  ----.  -....  -----

Emery's eyes were nearly bleached out.

"What the heck?" she muttered.

She sighed as she looked at the note in disappointment. But at the same time, she knew she had no right to feel disappointed.

Of course it would be coded. What did she expect? A nice happy message? Well if it really was her father writing this, then he wouldn't make it so easy for people to find him.

Of course there'd be some sort of code, she thought.

Emery looked at the parchment, just to see a few dots and dashes.

As is someone had suddenly brainwashed her, a thought struck her mind.

Morse Code.

Suddenly feeling excited, she rushed to the 'Codes' section in the library, before rushing to grab a book on Morse Code.

Skipping through the first pages, which were the history and introduction to Morse Code, she finally found a page with the key.

She skimmed the page, looking for one dot, four dashes.

Nothing.

It was, much to Emery's disappointment, a dead end.

Or.. what if?

Emery flipped a couple of more pages in the Morse Code book.

Bingo!

She punched the air subtly in victory. She struck gold this time.

These weren't letters, they were numbers. Emery wasted no time in decoding the code, and looked at her parchment once she was done.

14041960

Perhaps these were coordinates to her father's location. 

No, he wouldn't make it so easy. 

These numbers meant something else. 

Perhaps a date,  Emery thought.

She decided to test her theory and split the numbers. 

14-04-1960.

That fit. 

Emery wrote it in her parchment, in the date format.

14th April 1960.

Then it hit her.

It was her birthdate.

a/n: I'd like to personally thank Slytherxngxrl for helping Emery Fowl become more popular. please follow her, as she's supporting me like crazy.

thank you so, so much. from both me, and Emery👒

love, elsie.