Silent waves - Part 2
MURDER AT HOGWARTS. POTIONS MASTER FOUND DEAD.
Renowned potions master and Hogwarts Professor Severus Tobias Snape was found brutally murdered within the castle walls early this morning. The corpse was found by resident mediwitch Poppy Pomphrey in the morning. The death was immediately ruled to be homicide, given the obvious evidence of torture on the body. Hogwarts has been temporarily closed in response to........(read more.)
AD Case No. 92#3423/09 Transcript #04
Witness:- Neville Longbottom
Interrogator:- Senior Auror Gavain Robards
Scribe:- Auror Trainee Susan Claridge
GR - State your full legal name, and your relationship with the victim.
NL - Neville Francis Longbottom. And Professor Snape is.... was my potions professor since last year. (Gulps nervously) We did not like each other. He always picked on me and my friends. He was verbally abusive, and never wasted an opportunity to humiliate me or my friends.
GR - Your friends being.....
NL - Ronald Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Faye Dunbar.
GR - So, it's safe to say that your relationship with late Professor Snape was extremely antagonistic.
NL - Umm...I guess.
GR - Is it true that during your first year at Hogwarts, you and your friends suspected that Professor Snape was trying to steal the Philosopher's stone to revive the Dark Lord He-who-must-not-be-named?
NL - Well.... It's more compli…
GR - Answer with yes or no, please.
NL - Um...Yes?
GR - Thank you. Now, your housemates reported that you were not present in the common room or your dorms the entire afternoon on the day before the murder. Where were you?
NL - In the greenhouses by the lake. It's relaxing.
GR - And what was it that you were unwinding from?
NL - I was having these intense headaches since the morning, and Ron - that's Ronald Weasley was fighting with his sister about some diary of hers..... And Ron can be really loud when he's angry. So, I left the common room.
GR - And when did you return to the common room?
NL - Just before dinner.
GR - Did you spend the entire afternoon in the greenhouse?
NL - No.... I left the greenhouse around 5. I....
The witness appeared extremely confused at this point. He seemed totally unable to recall his memories. A short examination showed the witness to be suffering from a ill placed memory charm. The witness's wand, upon checking, showed that the last spell used was Obliviate. The spell appeared incomplete, as if it was done in a hurry.
GR - Let's continue, we'll circle back to it later. What did you do after dinner?
NL - I uhhh..... I don't remember.
GR - What's the last thing you do remember?
NL - Going to see Madam Pomphrey. I remember being unable to sleep. She gave me a dreamless sleep potion.
AD Case No. 92#3423/09 Transcript #09
Witness:- Poppy Pomphrey
Interrogator:- Senior Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt
Scribe:- Auror Trainee Steven Blackthorn
KS - Hey, Poppy.
PP - Kings.
KS - Sorry about this, but please state your full legal name and your relationship with the victim.
PP - Persephone Calliope Pomphrey. I was Severus' mentor during his attempt to clear the Novice healer accreditation required for his Potions mastery. When he assumed his position as the Potions Professor at Hogwarts, we became quick friends, and remained as such till.....
KS - Ah. It says that you were the one who found the body.
PP -(nodded sadly.)
KS - I am truly sorry for your loss, Poppy. I can imagine how hard it must be for you. Whenever you want a break, you only need to tell me, and we can stop.
PP - I appreciate that, Kingsley. But, I'd rather we get this over with now.
KS - I understand. Now, Why were you in his private lab at that time of the day?
PP - As you know, Severus is the one who supplies the necessary potions required for the hospital wing. I had run out of Pepper-ups and Dreamless Sleep the day before, and.....
KS - Hold on. Is that a usual occurrence? If I remember correctly, Pepper-up usually comes in demand towards the end of the year, and Dreamless Sleep is not something that's given out in large quantities.
PP - (Sigh) It's not. This year has been.....weird, you could say. A lot of students have been claiming to be experiencing intense nightmares throughout the term. Albus and Severus had suspected that some student had smuggled in some sort of dark artefact. I was told that the teachers had searched the dorms thoroughly, but nothing had turned up. Then there was the disappearance of the Ravenclaw ghost. The other school ghosts are agitated because of it.
KS - When was this?
PP - Sometime around Halloween. Everyone's been on edge since then.
KS - As much as I'd love to dive into this, I'm afraid we need to stay on topic here. Now, after you found Professor Snape's body, what did you do?
PP - I immediately sent word to Albus, before sec....
Note:- The interview was interrupted by the explosion in room 207. Poppy Pomphrey was excused and ordered to present herself for the rest of her interview at a later date. However, initial assessment notes that the matron's involvement in the case to be highly unlikely, and beyond her notes as the first responder on scene, the witness's priority has been reassigned to level Delta.
For the mediwitch's notes, see Tab 7, Tag green.
Incident report C207#92/17085
Undersigned Kingsley Shacklebolt, Senior Auror.
First Responders:- Kingsley Shacklebolt, Steven Blackthorn, Rufus Scrimgeor, Persephone Pomphrey (MW)
Myself, Poppy, and Steven were the first to arrive on scene, immediately after the explosion at 14:57 hours. Rufus arrived shortly after, and conceded command to myself, after which he proceeded to rally the rescue teams and healers.
Interrogation room 207 was completely destroyed, and the floor beneath had collapsed partially, cutting off the access in and out of the archives below. Preliminary scans showed 6 live signatures trapped in the rubble. Auror Trainee Susan Claridge was found dead, impaled on a steel beam. A Hogwarts House elf, whom Poppy identified as Hockey, was found laughing hysterically on top of the debris, bashing its head violently on the concrete. The elf was stunned and taken into custody immediately.
Neville Longbottom, Gawain Robards, Cecily Richards, and Kevin Smith were recovered from the rubble by myself and Steven Blackthorn, and were administered immediate medical care by Poppy. Both Longbottom and Robards were found to be suffering from concussion and broken bones, and were transferred to St. Mungos under the custody of Steven Blackthorn and Rufus Scrimgeor.
Initial assessment shows that Longbottom heir to be the intended target of the attack. Claridge had presumably shielded Longbottom, preventing any major injury.
Possible inquiry needed to ascertain why an underage Heir was detained and interrogated without an adult guardian present.
Preliminary examination further points to the traces of the same potion mixture as seen on Severus Snape's body at Hogwarts. Possible connection between the cases cannot be ignored. The house Elf Hockey is detained in Cell 22B for further interrogation.
MAYHEM IN THE MINISTRY! EXPLOSION LANDS LONGBOTTOM AND THREE AURORS AT ST. MUNGO'S. ONE DEAD.
Following the gruesome murder of Hogwarts Professor Severus Snape, another attack strikes right in the heart of the ministry, this time against Neville Longbottom, who was providing testimony to the aurors regarding the murder. Inside sources claim one junior Auror dead, along with three others in critical condition. The Longbottom heir himself is reportedly in a coma......read more.
AD Case No. 92#3423/09 Transcript #43
Witness:- Hermione Jean Granger
Interrogator:- Senior Jonathan Proudfoot
Scribe:- Auror Trainee Steven Blackthorn
JP - State your full legal name and your relationship with the victim.
HG - Hermione Jean Granger. I was a student of Professor Snape's.
JP - I have here with me, Neville Longbottom’s interview transcript, where he states that Professor Snape was highly antagonistic towards him and his friends, including you. Is this statement correct?
The witness appeared highly uncomfortable at the question. She seemed hesitant to answer.
HG - Ye- Yes.
JP - What do you think caused such behaviour from the Professor's end?
HG - I don't know. He was like that from the very first period we had with him. The older students had warned us that the professor was mean towards anyone other than the Slytherins.
JP - What can you tell us about the events on the evening before the murder?
HG - It was quite normal, much like every other day.
JP- No unusual occurrences?
HG - Well, Neville has been complaining about a headache all day, which could be considered unusual. He rarely got sick. He'd joked that it was most likely due to Ron's ongoing argument with Ginny. To be fair, Ron does tend to get loud when he's angry.
JP - When did that argument begin?
HG - That morning, soon after we woke up. Ginny had accused Ron of going through her stuff, and stealing her diary….. well, she accused the twins first. And believe me, I know how ridiculous it sounds, boys can't even get into the girls' dorms, which I would've pointed out to her had she calmed down for a minute.
JP - (Grinning) Ah, trust me, it wouldn't have gone the way you wanted anyway. I'd worked with Gideon and Fabian Prewett during the war. The Prewett temper is legendary.
The witness seemed bit more comfortable at this point. She offered a small smile, relaxing into her chair.
JP - Now, Miss Granger, your files and your friends’ testimonials show me that you have quite the memory. A near perfect recall. Impressive. What's even more impressive is the perfect O’s you've gained for all the subjects you've taken. Even for Potions. You must be proud. Now, with that in mind, I ask again, was there anything unusual that happened during the year at Hogwarts?
The uncomfortable look returned at this point. The witness appeared more self conscious and panicked.
HG - Umm…. There was this one thing…..
JP - Dobby, right?
HG - (Looking stunned) Ho..How?
JP - We'd interviewed Ron Weasley yesterday. I assume you know that the elf named Dobby belongs to the Malfoys, yes?
HG - Yes…ummm, I know.
JP - And how exactly did you come by that knowledge?
…..
JP - No answer? Don't worry. We can move on. Today, earlier in the morning, we'd interviewed a fifth year Slytherin, named Gemma Fawley. Are you familiar with her?
HG - (Nods hesitantly) She's a perfect.
JP - She had this really interesting story to share. Do you know what that story was, Miss Granger?
HG - ……..
JP - I was being truthful earlier, you know. You are an incredible witch, Miss Granger. In my entire career of nearly 30 years, I've never seen a second year student who has successfully brewed and tested the Polyjuice potion. Like I said, impressive.
HG - ……
JP - I only have one more question left. I suggest you answer it truthfully, and I swear, things would go much smoother for you. Where did you brew the potion?
HG - (panicked) I would like to leave, please.
JP - Ofcourse. After you've answered my question.
HG - I want to go. Please.
JP - Just answer the question, miss Granger.
HG - Please….
The witness became completely incoherent after this point, and soon broke down into hysteric behaviour. A healer was summoned and the witness forcibly sedated.
End transcript.
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