Can Hogwarts Make a Mistake?

Chapter 13

After Herbology about a week ago, I asked Professor Longbottom about the tutoring.

"So you want me to help you out with your magic?" he asked me.

"Yes! I'm sick of people calling me a Squib!" Unless, of course, I was one. I didn't say that, though.

"Okay," he said. As I silently cheered to myself, he spoke. "Learning magic is usually impossible, however. These lessons will be very challenging. I know what that's like, you know. To be called a Squib..." His face reddened slightly and I dismissed the subject.

"I get it, and I know how hard it's going to be."

"Up for the challenge?"

"Definitely."

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What with everything going on at once, I'd almost, but not completely, forgotten about the Yaxley / Mr. Malfoy ordeal. Rose, however, had not and had been doing research consistently ever since I first overheard them. One day, curiosity overcame me and I asked Rose what she was doing when I very well knew she was researching the Imperius Curse, Igor Karkaroff, Madame Edgecombe, and Yaxley.

"Hi Rose! How are you?" I asked, way too cheerfully to fit my usual sarcastic, pessimistic disposition. Rose detected my falseness right away but went along with it. She was sitting underneath the shady oak tree where I had once held my tutoring sessions with James. As the hour was nearing dinner, there were few people around, so I was in no danger of being overheard.

"Well, good afternoon to you, Hermione. I'm well, thank you," she said politely, visage depicting a normal conversation between the two of us.

"So... What are you doing there?"

"Oh, you know, normal stuff... That essay Professor McGonagall assigned is not going to write itself..."

"Isn't that the worst?"

"It is, isn't it?"

"Oh! Something about the Imperius Curse there?" Here, I sat myself down beside her to take a look at the stack of papers she was reading intensely.

"No, why do you ask?"

"Oh, I thought I saw the word Imperius on the paper there..."

"Well, there's nothing here about it."

"You sure?"

"Oh, Hermione. Just say it! You want to know more about that Yaxley / Malfoy affair."

I hesitated. As I'm sure I've mentioned before, I have a pride issue. I don't like admitting I am wrong, or that someone else is right, and especially not both.

"Okay, okay. Will you just show me what you've got?"

Rose threw an issue of The Prophet at me. "This came yesterday."

I briefly glanced at the headline. Muggle and Muggle-Born Slaughter! Unknown Source: Voldemort Imitator? Someone was killing Muggles and Muggle-borns? This was not good. I said that very thing to Rose, who responded with a snarky, "Really? I thought it was the second coming." Rolling my eyes in response, I continued on in the article.

As reported in Wednesday's issue of the Prophet, authorities discovered Muggle-born Laura Wilkins (Department of Magical Cooperation) dead, clearly from the Killing Curse, the likes of which have not been seen since the reign of Voldemort.

To date, there have been exactly seven more Muggles and Muggle-borns have been killed in this manner. The best conclusion local Ministry authorities have come to is that there is a crazed Voldemort impersonator doing this. Criminal profilers in the Department of Magical Securities offices have released their statement as follows:

"Whoever is committing these crimes wants the power of being able to scare civilians, just as Voldemort was able to scare us for years. The criminal may be a former Death Eater or a Death Eater 'wanna-be', so in awe of Voldemort's power and control that he or she would do anything to be in his position. We warn all civilians, most especially Ministry officials, Muggle-borns, and wizards of all-magical or half-blood who mingle consistently with Muggles to be on the lookout."

I looked up at Rose who was gazing at me, searching for any reaction.

"Hermione?"

In response, I simply gazed up at her quizzically.

"I think I figured it out."

Again, I only gestured in response, a small sigh of permission for her to continue at full speed.

"So," she began, pausing to take a huge breath to last her the three full minutes she'd be talking, "When Voldemort was at power and he had like a million Death Eaters, his followers, if they were too chicken to snuff the guys themselves, they'd Imperius a low ranking Ministry worker to Imperius someone higher up in the hierarchy of things and the chain would continue until the Minister himself was under Voldemort's control, though quite indirectly. After Voldemort was destroyed and the surviving Death Eaters were being hunted, they bloody had a hell of a whole lot more on their minds than undoing the Imperius Curse they'd cast. Either that or they couldn't even remember or keep track of all the people on which they'd cast the spell. So just now, Yaxley and Mr. Malfoy are realizing what's going on and are trying to stop it, either by change of heart-" Rose here had a fit of coughing that sounded uncannily like "quite unlikely", "-or they're trying to cover their, well, for lack of a better word, asses when Aurors find the murderers, perform a countercurse, and get the victims to rat out whoever Imperiused them."

 She stopped and I took it as a sign that she was finished. Because she spat this all out so quickly, it took me longer to process the information than it took Rose to say it all. After I took long enough, Rose said, slightly irritated by the sound of her voice, "Do I need to say it again?" I shook my head.

"I'm heading back to the common room. This is a lot to sort out. Are you going to come?" I asked her, standing up.

She didn't have a chance to answer, because no sooner did I turn around to head back to the dormitories that both of us were hit by a beam of red light.