Romance Festival - Hogwarts Mystery

Detective Andre

The rest of the week passed as normally as a week at  Hogwarts could, especially considering the outdoor lessons and the impending festival. 

Sarah hadn't received anymore notes, no secret admirer revealed himself or herself, and she hadn't heard from Andre since her outfit consultation. She figured he must have forgotten his promise to help her, until their last lesson of the week. 

Sarah joined the throng of students milling about on the training grounds before their joint Care of Magical Creatures and Flying class began. Andre spotted her, running forward and taking her by the hands. 

"I've almost finished with your outfits! They might be some of my best work yet! Also," he looked around before lowering his voice. "I've developed a plan to unmask your admirers. Meet me in the courtyard before dinner. We'll find your date there!"

Several gasps sounded from their classmates, causing Sarah to look around. A massive shape was soaring through the air, coming toward them. Sarah squinted and saw what might have been a hippogriff hurtling towards them. A much small shape was flying next to it. The students hurried to make space as the creature landed with a running stop in front of them. Madam Hooch landed next to it and dismounted her broom. 

"Griffins!" shouted Kettleburn, leaping from the large creature's back. "Part eagle, part lion, all magnificent!"

"And the perfect subject for our joint lesson," added Hooch. "Now, as these two classes are normally taught outside, Professor Kettleburn and I've thought of a way to make this more exciting."

"Who'd like to go on a ride?" Kettleburn asked. 

Sarah watched Barnaby nearly run his classmates over to be first to volunteer. 

"Steady on," said Hooch, holding out a hand. "Lecture and safety protocols first, rides after."

Nothing had done a better job of clearing Sarah's troubles from her mind than beholding the griffin. Tall, proud, and graceful, she found the creature gorgeous and eagerly copied down every word Kettleburn said about it in her notebook. She hoped she could find a griffin for her own in the Magical Creatures Reserve soon. 

Flying on its back was exhilarating, even more so than flying on a broom. She watched all of her classmates become the size of doxies as the creature lunged higher and higher, a stomach churning mix of flight and running through the air. Too soon, she heard Kettleburn's whistle and the creature returned to the ground in a series of jolting thuds as the front talons and back paws slowed to a stop. 

Sliding from it's back, she thanked it and stroked it's broad back before running to Andre. 

"That was amazing!" she told him. "Did you see me?"

"I saw you," he said. He sounded miserable. Sarah threw the windswept hair out of her face to his look of disappointment.

"What's wrong?"

"Come look at this." He led her to one of the tables the students used while polishing their brooms.

"Oh no." Laying on the table was a green sugar quill. It held down a folded note with her name on it.

"Someone must have left it here while you were riding the griffin," said Andre. "I was too busy watching you to see who it was."

 Sarah opened the note. It read:

You would be the sweetest date to the festival!

"At least this one isn't as cheesy as the first two," Sarah muttered. "But it's completely different handwriting again!"

"Don't panic," he said. The class had been dismissed, so Andre pulled her aside by the castle wall, away from any students who might overhear. "The sugar quill is another clue. Who do you know that reminds you of sugar quills? Think hard."

"I don't know," said Sarah. "Chiara knocked over a bunch of sugar quills the other day at Zonko's. I helped her pick them up. Other than that, I have no idea. I like sugar quills, but their not my favorite or anything."

"Alright," said Andre. "This adjusts my plan slightly, but it should still work. I've got to run a couple of errands, slip into my investigation shoes, and then I'll meet you in the courtyard."

"You have investigation shoes?" she asked. 

"You don't?" he said, before scurrying back to the castle. 

Sarah headed to her dormitory to drop off her bag and and change into clothes more suited for the warm weather. There, she met Rowan, who was was searching frantically through her wardrobe for something to wear for the festival. 

"Have you found your secret admirer?" she asked after Sarah greeted her. 

"Andre says he's going to reveal the admirer in the courtyard right now," she said. "Want to come?"

"No thanks," said Rowan tossing the woolen hat she'd bought when they first met at Diagon Alley out of the wardrobe in frustration. "I have nothing to wear to this thing!"

"That's a shame," said Sarah. "Who are you going with?"

"I'm not telling!" Rowan told her for the thousandth time. 

"Fine," she said. "Feel free to look through my stuff if you want. Or ask Penny for help later."

Sarah hurried down to the courtyard. Seeing Andre hunched behind the fountain, she crouched  and made her way over to him. 

Peering around a column next to him, she saw a group of her friends standing around, most of them looking confused. 

"So, who is it?" Sarah whispered to Andre. 

"One of those people," he whispered back. 

"What? Andre, there's..." she did a quick count, "SEVEN people out there!"

"Shh! There weren't a ton of clues to narrow it down further, okay? They are the seven likeliest people in all of Hogwarts."

Sarah peered out at the crowd again. "Merula is out there?"

Andre shrugged. "You mentioned that she wanted to be your Valentine before. She seemed like someone who would be too proud to ask you in person. She my have planted the gobstone during your potions class."

"Alright," said Sarah. She surveyed the group again. Along with Merula stood Penny, Badeea, Jae, Talbott, Barnaby, and Chiara. "So, how are we going to get the truth out of these people?"

Andre grinned. "This is where my genius comes in! I've lured them here under the guise of offering to design them outfits for the festival. I'll ask them questions about their style, but secretly we're actually asking questions that will tell us which person your admirer is! You can be my assistant. Just follow my lead."

"It's worth a shot, I guess," said Sarah uncertainly. Sadly, she surveyed the crowd again. "Though I can tell you now, it's not Barnaby. He's already got a date."

"Are you sure? He was my number one suspect. He's dated you before, and those goofy notes seem like something he would do. Well, he's here. I'll question him anyway." He stood up. "You ready?"

Sarah nodded. "Let's do this."