ROSIER

11

Lifeless
...

Gwen kept her hands knotted behind her back. The one to shake Beulah Redford's much bigger one felt out of place. Almost like it needed time to process the scene.

Big Red. The woman from the forest. Possible suspect. Dorcas' family.

Her brain put together the unlikely while keeping her act of nonchalance up. In the moment, it was a blessing that she had more than enough practice in hiding behind masks. Still, she couldn't shake the feeling like Red could see right through her.

The similarities were few between Dorcas and Red, but the blonde could see them now as apparent as they could be. They shared a hairline and an asymmetrical eye shape. Even the dark brown skin tone was of the same shade with a shared triangle shaped birthmark on the left side of their jawline.

It was all Gwen could think about as she went through what she and Remus had found out. She let a cautious gaze rest upon Dorcas throughout the night and during breakfast.
She wanted to believe they misread the happenings in the forest. Perhaps there was a different reason behind why the Aurors were searching the spot. But her brain forced her down the other route. The one knowing Red was part of the murder. And what that would mean for Dorcas.

"Cas?" Gwen asked calmly. "What exactly is your dad's cousin doing in Hogsmeade?"

"Some ministry business." The brunette shrugged. Her mouth was full of toast. "Nothing interesting."

The blonde grabbed hold of Remus outside the Great Hall, weighing him in on the new information she collected. He was intrigued, asking question after question on every possible aspect of the interaction. How her voice sounded up close and when it was calm. How strong her handshake was. If she wore interesting clothes or carried any special objects with her. It was the questions she extracted all night, none with a satisfying answer.

They hurried to Hogsmeade again and their visit quickly turned into an observation. They were crouched down behind bins that granted a nearly free sight on the pension's doors.

The moustached Auror stood right in front of it. His job consisted of keeping any intruders out of the pension.

"Red has a connection to Dorcas," Remus scribbled down the new information on empty wrappers he found inside the bin. "Are you going to tell her that her family is potentially working for 'You know who'?"

"I don't know," Gwen sighed, leaning against the House wall. Her legs were beginning to hurt from all the crouching, and the smell of rubbish was irritating her nose. "Dorcas values her family over everything. How am I supposed to tell her about it? I don't even know if she would believe me."

"Then keep it a secret as long as Red isn't becoming dangerous," Remus said after a moment. "After that, she has every right to know the truth about Red. But right now... sometimes, secrets aren't wrong if they keep others from harm."

"The way you say that almost makes it sound like you're hiding one yourself," Gwen chuckled lightly. She noticed a slight difference in his gaze, soon forgotten when Garg pushed his head through the rubbish. In a reflex, the blonde pushed his head down so Remus wouldn't see him. A task just seconds too late when he stared right at her hands and the horns sticking out at the sides.

"Was that a Gargoyle?" He asked with an open mouth to which the stone creature pushed his head back up, causing Gwen to stumble back.

"I am Garg. Nice to meet you." He greeted, showing himself whole to further impress the boy. "I'm Gwen's best friend, and I'm very smart, you see. I found out about the Auror's room. All on my own at that." He held his hand out for a greeting.