The Night the Men Came
Tess wandered down a shadowy hallway. She reached up to a doorknob that was oddly out of place - it was up near her head. She grasped the handle and the door opened, into a room full of light. Tess saw a dresser, a nightstand with a small lamp sitting on a lace doily. On the bed was a flowery bedspread. Everything was oversized. She could barely see over the top of the bed.
As she came into the room, she heard a mournful voice call out, "Oh, Scott!" Tess turned to see her mother, tears in her eyes, a desolate look on her face.
Tess sat up in bed. The flickering green lights were brightening, a sign that it was nearly morning. Rebecca would be by soon to wake them. She lay back down on her pillow and thought about her dream.
Where was I? She pressed herself to recall the house in which the room had been. That's my grandmother's house. My aunt and uncle live there, now.
Why was everything so big? She searched her memories of her grandmother's house. I must have been remembering being a little girl. A toddler, maybe.
Why was my mother so sad? Why was she calling out for Scott? We don’t know anyone named Scott!
Then, she remembered, That's what Meadows called me! In just that way!
My mind must be mixing things up. We don’t know anyone named Scott. Meadows and my mother don't know each other, either. We've never socialised with the Meadows family at all . . .
Her mind suddenly turned to the events of the night before. I’m stuck on this whole Scott Highcross thing. That’s why his name popped up in my dream.
Why did someone take Esther’s name off of the list? That’s what’s driving me crazy.
Outside her curtained bed, she heard Rebecca's quiet footfalls. A pale hand appeared at the curtain. Rebecca's kind eyes gazed at her from the opening. "Awake already? Up you go, now. Time for your shower."
Tess got up, and gathered her school clothes and her towel. After everything that had happened the night before, Tess was in a low mood. She kept her eyes lowered as she came out into the room.
Pauline noticed it right away. She gave Tess a firm hug. "Are you alright? You look down this morning."
Tess shook her head. "Just a bad dream is all."
“This whole thing has been weird and confusing. It must be hard for you, being in the middle of it.” Tess nodded. Pauline probed further. “What were you dreaming about? That boy, Scott?”
"I guess. Maybe. I dreamed that I was a little girl, and my mother was sad about something. And I've been trying to remember if this was something that really happened, or if it was just a dream."
"Well, I'm sure your mother has been sad before. If you saw her that way as a little girl, it may have confused you."
Tess glanced in Vanessa’s direction. She was just going into the water closet. Tess said, “In my dream, Mother called out ‘Scott,’ just like Meadows did that first day of Fig. It’s got me all turned around.”
“Oh,” said Pauline, “and we’ve got Fig today, too. You were probably worried about that, too. It all got mixed up.”
“Yes, I think so.”
Rebecca was speaking to Morwena. “Aren’t you going to shower with the other girls?”
“No. I’ll shower this afternoon.”
Vanessa emerged from the water closet. “Alright,” said Rebecca. “The four of you, then. Let’s get you showered and ready for your classes.”
The melancholy mood was slow to leave Tess. The voice from her dream rang in her ear, and the sad look on her mother's face stayed like a shadow in the corner of her vision.
Gregor lectured through the whole period, which only invited her mind to wander. She tried again to imagine what Esther looked like. She’s got to be a brunette like me. I must look a lot like her to fool him so.
In Charms, Flitwick had them practice a new spell, and that kept her focus on what she was doing. When it came time for Transfiguration, she had a project to work on. She kept her focus on her notes, and on the coarse piece of wool she was transfiguring into smooth felt. Meadows walked around the room, coaching the other students. Meadows said nothing to Tess, and once she was working on her project, Tess did not look at her teacher.
As the girls were walking down the stairs for lunch, however, Pauline tugged Tess' sleeve and said, "You know what? I saw it! I saw her look at you with that sad look! She was gazing right at you. I'm sure of it!"
Morwena, who had been lost in thought, stopped suddenly. "Is this still happening?"
"Yes!" said Pauline. "Tess had a strange dream this morning, and it reminded her of Meadows calling her Scott on the first day of class. And so, I watched today, and right at the end of class, while we were all working, I saw her gaze at Tess! It looked like . . . I don't know. Sad, is all I can say."
“That’s right, she called you Scott on Friday.” Morwena pursed her lips, and her brow furrowed. “Scott . . . Highcross? It’s too odd, too much of a coincidence.”
At the Entrance Hall, Morwena stepped out of the flow of students walking to the Great Hall. She fished into her bag and pulled out the copy of the lists that Robert had made for them. She pointed first to Scott Highcross’ name. “Look! He was a Prefect, a Fifth Year, in ’92.”
Tess gasped. “I didn’t even notice that last night! I was just looking for Esther!”
Morwena held the Hufflepuff list side by side with the Slytherin list. “Meadows was a Fifth Year, too, and a Prefect, that same year. They must have known one another.”
Tess suddenly went pale. “You’re not going to ask her about him, are you?”
“Let’s see what Kaufmann brings us,” answered Morwena.
Robert, however, was focused on his NEWT projects. He made no attempt to speak to the girls until Thursday of that week. Even then, he sent a note.
A parchment paper aeroplane hit Tess in the elbow as she left the Great Hall after lunch on Thursday. She stepped out of the flow of students to read it. Her friends waited for her by the castle doors. (Their next class was Herbology.)
“It’s from Robert!” she said, excitedly. “He wants to meet us this afternoon.”
“When?” asked Morwena.
“He says ‘just after three.’ He’ll be waiting outside the library for us.”
Herbology took them right to three o’clock. During Professor Sprout’s lecture, Tess could hardly concentrate enough to take any notes. She was brimming with anticipation. This time, for certain, we’ll find Esther’s name. Once we know her name, we can find out more about her, and I’ll know why Scott thinks that I’m her.
The lecture had been on Portia’s Peonies, small flowers that tended to draw faeries to one’s garden. During the lab portion of the class, each table was to get two flower pots. The students were to plant peonies seeds and see which table’s flowers could draw a faery to it.
Tess hadn’t been paying attention, so Pauline took the lead. She made the two boys fetch the flower pots. She supervised as they clumsily filled each pot halfway with potting soil. Tess mopped up the spilled soil with her wand.
Larry said, “How ‘bout you two beauties bless our seeds, for luck, you know? Before we drop them in the pot.”
Pauline and Tess laughed at the suggestion. “What should we do, give them a kiss?” asked Tess.
“Sure!” said Pauline. “It’s worth a try.” Pauline reached into the little envelope Professor Sprout had provided them and pulled out a dusting of tiny seeds. She blew a kiss over them, and Tess followed suit. Then, Pauline dropped the seeds into the two pots.
“We’ll see!” she said with a laugh.
After class, the four girls made their way to the library. Robert Kaufmann was waiting outside the doors. “Hello ladies,” he said, smoothly. “How are you today?”
Morwena answered. “Fine. Do you have something for us?”
Robert smiled. “We’re waiting for Roddy. He’s bringing the list from Ravenclaw tower.” The girls clustered together to stay out of the flow of the hallway. Tess stuck her hands in the pockets of her robe. She was tense with nerves.
Robert asked, “How are you girls doing in History?”
Morwena shrugged. “Fine, I suppose. We haven’t had a test yet.”
“One is coming,” said Robert.
Pauline burst out: “I can’t stand that old ghost! I can’t understand a word he says, and I don’t understand anything in the book, either!”
Robert gazed kindly at her. “Binns’ voice does take some getting used to. The book gets easier, the more you read it. But, if you feel you need a little extra credit to keep up with those Ravenclaw witches, you’re talking to the right guys.
Morwena’s eyes went wide, but before she could form a question, Robert said, “Here comes Roddy.”
Roddy Martindale was another friend of Devon Covenshire. He was the classic Ravenclaw nerd. He had none of the polish of Robert Kaufmann. His hair was askew, his shirt was half untucked, and he wore thick unfashionable frames.
Robert called out to him. “Hullo, Rod.”
“God, that took forever!” said Roddy, flustered. “Sphinx popped a riddle on me just as I was heading out the door. Wouldn’t let me take the list out of the tower until I solved it. Doozy of a riddle, too. Took me a whole ten minutes to work it out.”
“Let’s get started,” said Robert. “These girls have waited patiently for several days for us. Let’s have a look at this list.”
They entered the library, the two boys in front. Tess and her friends kept closely together. Morwena was in front. Tess and Pauline were side by side. Rhiannon took up the rear.
As the boys past the front desk, Robert called out to Madam Pince. “Good afternoon, Madam. May we use Room 213?”
“Just until four o’clock,” intoned Madam Pince solemnly. Tess looked up at the clock. It was three thirty.
Room 213 was a large study room. In the center of the room were four tables of different heights and shapes that had been crammed together to make one big space. A dozen chairs circled the collection of tables. There were wooden partitions, separating this room from the rest of the library. These walls were cluttered with flyers. Against one wall was a rolling chalkboard, a few nubs of white chalk in the trays. One of the walls was stone. No pictures or flyers hung from it.
Martindale set the scroll he was holding down on the table and spread it out. “There it is, as you requested,” he said, in a pompous voice that reminded Tess strongly of her brother Devon. “The Slytherin list from ’92 – ’93.”
Tess gazed down at the parchment. Unlike the other list, this one had all the students in a single column, in alphabetical order by last name. In the middle of the list was Malfoy, Draco, 2. Just a few names above his was Highcross, Scott, 5, Prefect.
“He is a Prefect!” said Tess, proudly.
“He was, yes,” said Robert.
Tess ran through the list. “There’s no Esther!” she cried, her voice heavy with disappointment.
“No, she’s not here.”
Morwena pointed down at the parchment. “Morris Seersgrave is only listed once, I see. A Fourth Year.” Robert nodded but did not reply.
Pauline, at Morwena’s left, leaned over the table and peered down at the list. “Do you think this list has been tampered with, too?”
Roddy Martindale scoffed. “This list has not been tampered with.”
Hope surged back into Tess. “The other list was!”
Morwena: “How would anyone know? There isn’t an obvious mistake in this list, like there was in the other one.”
Robert looked at Roddy. “Indulge us for a moment, will you?” To Morwena, he asked, “Do you have your copy of the Slytherin list?”
“Yes!” Morwena reached into her bag and pulled out the other list. She spread it out beside the other list. She pointed to Seersgrave’s name at the top of the second column. “You see? Whoever altered the list copied this name and placed it over someone else’s name at the bottom of the first column. It took me several minutes of gazing at the list to spot the error.”
“And this wasn’t just an innocent mistake?” asked Roddy, skeptically.
“No, it wasn’t,” said Robert. “Like she said, the list was tampered with.”
“There’s no way this list has been altered,” insisted Roddy.
Robert ignored Roddy’s assertion. He turned to Morwena and said, “Let’s say for a moment that the person who altered our list also altered this one. How would he do it?”
Morwena at first only shrugged. Robert led her further. “Let’s speculate that brother Morris was not picked at random, that he fit more or less alphabetically over the name that was erased.”
“Esther’s name!” pressed Tess.
“Yes, for a moment, let’s call her Esther.” He pointed down towards the bottom of Roddy’s list. “Her name would be down here somewhere, with a last name starting with R, S, or T. Given that, what would you do if you wanted to cover up Esther’s name.”
“You’d have to copy a whole block of names,” said Morwena.
Robert drew his wand. Roddy immediately protested. “Come on, Kauff, this is poppycock!”
“If we’re right,” answered Robert, “we won’t even need to dim the lights. Now, hush!”
Robert’s brow furrowed with concentration. He waved his wand slowly over the parchment as he muttered the incantation. As before, his voice became louder, until the last few syllables were loud and sharp.
Right away, the parchment began to glow. There was not just a single spark, this time. The whole lower portion of the list lit up.
Roddy hissed an expletive. Robert quickly chastised him. “Roddy, please! There are ladies present!”
Roddy turned suddenly towards the door. “I’ll be right back,” he said.
Morwena bent low and gazed closely at the list. “Interesting. Morris Seersgrave’s name was not affected, but every name below his was modified. Every name from Raj Sultainblood to Blaise Zabini was moved up one place.”
Robert nodded. “We’re learning more about this Esther! Alphabetically, her surname must fall between Seersgrave and Sultainblood!”
Before they could discuss this further, Roddy returned with Madam Pince. He was in mid-rant. “It’s a historical document! Protected by a host of spells and charms. There’s even an arithmantic lock on it. How could it be modified?”
Madam Pince walked slowly into the room. “Kaufmann, girls,” she said, in way of greeting. She leaned over the table and gazed down on the list. She seemed completely unfazed by the revelation that this list had been modified.
Robert spoke in a gentle, respectful voice. “We were looking for a name on this list, but it was erased, copied over, in both the Slytherin and Ravenclaw records. Do you know anything about this, Madam?” asked Robert.
“I do,” she answered solemnly. “I remember well the night this list, and records like it, were confiscated and modified. It was late August, 1997, the night the men came. Scrimgeour was dead; the Dark Lord was in control of Ministry. These men were the vanguard, the first of the Dark Lord’s men to come to Hogwarts.
“Professor Snape advised us not to interfere with their work. They asked for lists and school records. We gave them what they wanted and walked away. The less we knew about it, the safer we would be.
“But of course, I was curious. I assumed that they were preparing for the coming purges and pogroms, to target enemies of the Dark Lord for retribution. They were preparing, but not in the way I expected.
“Only after the Dark Lord fell did I go back and look at the lists and see what they had done. Their intent was not to expose, but to conceal. They were distancing friends and family, severing their loved ones from students who were close to Dumbledore, to Scrimgeour, to Potter.”
Robert asked, “Are there any records that were not altered?”
Madam Pince shook her head. “No official record was spared. They took everything, even my own records. In their fear, they were extremely thorough.”
Her gaze fell on Tess, bewildered and desolate. “There may be unofficial records showing what you seek. There are many hidden places in the castle. Rooms are discovered, then lost, then found again by someone else. In one of those rooms could be the information that you seek.”
“Thank you, Madam,” said Robert, softly.
“Good day,” answered Madam Pince. “I remind you, the Ravenclaw Fifth Years have reserved this room at four o’clock.” With a nod, she swept from the room.