Restoration

Chapter Twenty-Three

***

In the morning hours of the following day, even the lightest sleepers didn't hear nor sense a movement as Draco sneaked from one side of the castle to another. Determined to keep his promise, he had his eyes on the infirmary, where Katie Bell had been recovering.

He initially tried apparition, a magical form of transportation, in which the user travelled instantly from one location to another. But he had either been too tired or too energized to do it, adrenaline pulsing through his bloodstream.

He'd thought someone would've been protecting Katie, but since there was no one to be seen, he assumed the worst - that the professors already knew that the attack was not directed at the young and kind student. He neared her slowly and gently, lifting his wand above her head, mouthing Obliviate.

Draco relaxed, believing that the main threat to Elara's stay at Hogwarts was eliminated, but he hadn't thought of the bigger picture.

As soon as Dumbledore was alerted of the situation, he called for an emergency meeting. All professors knew it wasn't possible that the Cursed Necklace would've been just lying somewhere on the school grounds, so they concluded it must've been brought inside by someone. They all agreed that Katie wasn't capable of nor finding it by herself nor bringing it inside - something dark must've stood behind it.

And as the professors began discussing their theories, as to who might have been the main perpetrator, Dumbledore stared outside the window, noticing the familiar brown owl nearing them. It landed with grace and precision, and if that hadn't given its owner away, the golden necklace around its foot had. It was an owl from the Ministry of Magic, Department of mysteries, trained to deliver most secret letters with near-perfect timing.

Dumbledore petted the curious thing, already peeking inside his study, as he removed the letter from its mouth. Adorned with various symbols, the envelope had a spell on it - only opening once the recipient had it in his hands. Professor McGonagall had noticed Dumbledore wasn't paying attention to their debate anymore, as she stood behind his back, observing the letter. But the spell expected such occurrences - so it was impossible for anyone else unless the recipient allowed them to, to read the letter.

"Albus? What are they saying?" McGonagall quietly asked after a few moments of silence.

"You can read it yourself if you'd like," he handed her the letter, grabbing his beard, figuring out his next move.

"This...this does not look good," McGonagall gasped as she skimmed through the letter.

"No, I'm afraid not," Dumbledore continued, "I suggest we have a group vote on the matter."

And as other professors could not read the letter, Professor McGonagall coughed and fixed her posture, reading the important elements out loud.

"You have enquired about the following student -Miss Elara Morgaine Dotson, born 1st of October 1980, started Hogwarts in 1991 and briefly left during her third year, returning back this year," McGonagall stopped, biting her lip, staring hopelessly at the latter part. Noticing she had become rather uncomfortable speaking about the last bit, Dumbledore swished with his wand above the letter, pointing it at the sky above them. Golden letters began forming sentences, copied from the letter itself.

We regret to inform you that we have no documentation of an Elara Morgaine Dotson whatsoever - no birth certificate, admission to Hogwarts, nor her private training in the last three years.

Upon inspecting, we noticed that there had been traces of a file there in the past with her initials, but it's either been removed or stolen.