Missing Persons
Maya slid off Mr Barn Owl's back. "Engorgio!"
Rowan, who had been pacing the Owlery, grinned from ear to ear. "Maya!" Then her expression changed to one of horror. "What happened to you?!"
"I had to take a dive in the ash pit," said Maya. "Barely made it out with this." She held out the half-burnt Black Quill.
Rowan gasped. "It's—"
"I know," said Maya. "If only I'd found it faster..."
Rowan cut her off with a sharp wave of her hand. "It's alright. You did good. Are you feeling any side effects from using the Shrinking and Engorgement Charms on yourself?"
Maya shook her head, making black dust fall to the floor. "I feel fine, though I do have a newfound respect for insects... Let's see what these secret instructions say." She pointed her wand at the quill, but Rowan stopped her.
"Wait, let me do it. You might cover up the writing with the soot on your hands... Thanks. Reparifarge!"
The remains of the Black Quill unfurled into a charred bit of parchment in Rowan's hands. Maya wiped her palms on her equally-dirty robes, and noticed that she had left a mark on Mr Barn Owl's otherwise cream-coloured feathers. She winced apologetically before checking the message from the Gryffindor common room. Most of it was burnt off, but by some miracle, an important-looking part had survived the flames.
...nsfigure this letter back into a Black Quill and dispose of it. Once you are finished, proceed to the farthest corridor at the east end of the fifth floor.
Failure to follow your instructions will result in severe punishment.
-R
"Well, that explains why it was in the fire," said Maya. "'Proceed to the farthest corridor at the east end of the fifth floor'... What's in that corridor?"
"Nothing that I know of," Rowan muttered. "Just a bunch of empty classrooms that were probably used before the war, when the student body was bigger."
"Well, maybe we'll find something!" Maya carefully put the note in her bag and was about to leave when the door to the Owlery burst open.
There stood Professor McGonagall, glaring daggers at the second-year Slytherins with Angelica Cole at her side.
"Professor McGonagall!" Maya exclaimed. She tried to look innocent, then realised that her efforts were futile considering she was covered in ashes. "Er... Congratulations on winning the Quidditch match!"
"That's enough, Miss Shafiq." The deputy headmistress's stern stare seemed to freeze Maya in place. "I will be upfront about this. Did you enter the Gryffindor common room?"
"No," said Maya a bit too quickly.
Professor McGonagall's nostrils flared. "Is that so? Because I have been informed that Miss Khanna was loitering in the Owlery throughout the entire match, and Miss Cole witnessed an owl leaving the common room just as she returned. Upon further inspection, she also found small black footprints—footprints, not shoeprints—coming from the fireplace. And here you are, covered in ashes and noticeably barefoot. So allow me to repeat my question: Did you enter the Gryffindor common room?"
Maya fidgeted for a moment before replying. "...Yes, but only because I was trying to help my friend, Ben Copper. He's a Gryffindor too."
Neither professor nor prefect looked amused.
"I'm aware," said Professor McGonagall. "Why did you think that sneaking into the common room would help find him?"
This time, Rowan jumped up to answer. "It sounds stupid, but we thought that there might be a clue somewhere inside."
"We were desperate, Professor," Maya added. "We had to check everywhere. We're afraid Ben might be hurt..."
Professor McGonagall was silent for a moment, looking back and forth between Maya and Rowan. Angelica was scowling, but the older witch's expression was unreadable.
"...Very well. Be on your way."
All three students looked up at her with a start.
"Wha—You aren't going to take house points from them?!" Angelica sputtered.
"Although Miss Shafiq and Miss Khanna made an ill-advised decision, they showed great courage, and did so in search of their friend. Their Gryffindor friend," said Professor McGonagall firmly. "And I know they will never attempt to enter another house's common room again."
"Of course, Professor." Rowan said.
Maya shrugged. "Not unless it's necessary."
The corner of Professor McGonagall's mouth seemed to twitch. "You're just like your brother. ...I assume you didn't find what you were looking for?"
Maya and Rowan looked at each other in a silent debate. Why not?
Professor McGonagall's face went slack. "No... You didn't...?"
Tentatively, Maya opened her mokeskin bag and handed over the note. Professor McGonagall read it, eyes becoming as round as Sickles.
"Professor?" Angelica asked nervously. "Professor, what is it?"
Instead of showing her the note, Professor McGonagall said, "Miss Cole, I want you to alert the other prefects and have them keep the students in their common rooms. No one leaves until we have ascertained the situation."
"What...?" Angelica sounded horrified.
"Now!" said Professor McGonagall sharply.
Angelica faltered for a moment, but then her expression hardened. "You two, come with me!"
"What?!" Maya exclaimed. "No, I'm going to that corridor! I need answers!"
"So do I!" Rowan butted in.
"Fine, you two can join," snapped Professor McGonagall. "But you stay behind me!"
Maya and Rowan nodded. Angelica thrust up her hands in frustration before sprinting down the stairs.
Professor McGonagall moved swiftly, only slowing down once to throw a handful of Floo Powder into a fire and shout, "Severus!" Moments later, Professor Snape emerged from the emerald green flames. "Fifth floor, east end corridor."
If Professor Snape had any questions, he didn't voice them. He gave one look at Maya and Rowan before following Professor McGonagall down to the fifth floor.
They raced across the castle and arrived at the door to the east end corridor. Instead of barging in, the professors drew their wands and pressed themselves against the door.
Professor McGonagall looked at Maya and Rowan and placed a finger against her lips. "Be quiet, but stay close," she whispered. "On the count of three, Severus. One... two... three!"
BANG!
The door was blasted open—Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape strode into the corridor with their wands held high. But whatever they were expecting, it certainly wasn't this.
The corridor was dim, illuminated only by the light coming through the frost-covered windows. The temperature was too low for a fire to burn—icicles hung from the braziers instead. Most importantly, there were giant formations of ice growing everywhere. It was a stark contrast from Hogwarts's usual warm atmosphere—the corridor looked like a hauntingly beautiful cave of blue-tinted crystals. And in the middle of it was...
"Ben!" Maya gasped.
Ben was fully encased in the glacial mass. Maya tried running to him, but Professor Snape stopped her from getting any closer.
"Stand back," he warned. Maya obeyed the order, but she stood on her toes to get a better look. Ben's eyes seemed to be closed.
Professor McGonagall swung her wand in a swish of tartan robes. "Flipendo!"
The ice was supposed to turn opaque, then shatter. Maya heard the blast from Professor McGonagall's wand, it was without a doubt the most powerful Knockback Jinx she had ever seen. And yet, the ice refused to break.
"No..." Professor McGonagall said breathily. Maya had never seen her so distraught. "The Knockback Jinx was always enough to counter the Curse of Ice, and yet it seems to have become impervious. How can this be...?"
"Simple," said Professor Snape. "It has evolved; adapted to our use of Flipendo like a virus would to a vaccine. Incendio would melt it away," he offered.
"Along with Copper's flesh!" Professor McGonagall said hotly.
"I never said he would survive."
Professor McGonagall glowered at the Potions Master like he was just another poorly-behaved student. "We will cast the Fire-Making Spell together, starting with the ice farthest from the boy's body. Be careful, Severus."
Professor Snape rolled up his sleeves. "...Fine."
The two worked their way towards Ben, thinning the ice with the bright orange flames from their wands. The professors worked fast—it was a matter of minutes before Ben fell out of the ice and onto the floor.
According to Madam Pomfrey, Ben would need rehabilitation but wouldn't suffer from any long-lasting effects of the Curse of Ice. She also made it very clear that he was not to be disturbed while he recovered. But at least he was alive.
"It's a good thing you found him when you did. If I had the authority, I'd give you twenty points," said a tall Black wizard in scarlet robes. He spoke in a deep voice that most people would probably find reassuring if they hadn't just seen their friend's cold body get carried to a hospital wing. "Kingsley Shacklebolt, leading Auror on this missing persons case."
Auror Shacklebolt extended his hand. Maya shook it gingerly, eyeing the single golden hoop hanging from his ear. She wasn't too keen on Aurors.
"I'm Maya Shafiq, and this is Rowan Khanna." Maya introduced herself and her friend quickly, not taking her eyes off the wizard.
So you're Jacob Shafiq's sister... The words never left Auror Shacklebolt's tongue, but Maya could practically hear them from the way he blinked.
"Very well then, Maya, Rowan. May I call you Maya and Rowan? ...Thank you. Now, could you answer a few questions for me?"
Maya and Rowan exchanged glances, shrugged, and nodded.
"Exellent." Auror Shacklebolt cleared his throat. "Now... Does Ben have any enemies that you know of? Besides R; I've seen the note."
"Well, there's Merula Snyde," said Rowan matter-of-factly. "She hates Ben."
"Calls him 'mudblood'," Maya added.
Auror Shacklebolt wrote something down on a roll of parchment. "I see. Merula Snyde..."
There were already plenty of words inscribed on the scroll, probably case notes or something. Maya squinted, but she couldn't decipher it from behind.
"Before his disappearance, did you see him acting strangely?"
Picking at her gloves, Maya replied, "No, I only saw him on the Hogwarts Express for a fleeting moment. And he wasn't acting any stranger than normal at the end of last year either."
"Alright then... Did Ben ever talk about his family?" asked Auror Shacklebolt. "His personal life outside of Hogwarts? Or what his parents did for a living?"
Maya shook her head. "Not really, no. At least, not that I can remember."
"What about owl post? Do you recall him getting any strange letters?"
Rowan tilted her head. "He was always on the other side of the Great Hall," she said after a short pause. "Perhaps you could try asking the Gryffindors?"
"Oh, I will," said Auror Shacklebolt. "Just making sure. Did Ben join his family for the Christmas and Easter holidays, or did he stay at Hogwarts?"
"He went home," Maya replied. "...Why are you asking all these questions about Ben's family?"
Auror Shacklebolt took a moment to roll up his scroll and stow it away. "When Ben Copper was first reported missing, I assumed he would have left the castle in an attempt to return home. But when I visited the Coppers' last known residence, they weren't there."
Maya blinked. "The house was empty?"
"Not empty," said Auror Shacklebolt, "but occupied by another Muggle family. They said they had been living there for the last five years, and it was the first they had heard of the Coppers. I asked the neighbours, too—none of them remembered Ben or his family. They didn't show any signs of poorly-altered memories either."
"But... Ben's a Muggle-born," stated Rowan. "Someone must have delivered his Hogwarts letter."
"Yes, I already spoke to Professor Flitwick about that. He confirms that the Coppers were present when Ben received his letter, but now they are nowhere to be found."
Maya could feel her palms getting sweaty. "...Ben's parents are missing? The Muggles?"
Auror Shacklebolt sighed tiredly, making his gold earring wobble. "Yes, which makes this missing persons case an especially difficult one. Thanks to you, we now have evidence to believe that a third party is responsible for the Coppers' disappearances, but the Ministry of Magic has no jurisdiction in the non-magical world. That, combined with the Statute of Secrecy, means that our options for investigation are severely limited."
Suddenly, Maya was very thankful for Auror Shacklebolt's calm and reassuring demeanour. If his tone wasn't as deep as it was, she would probably have much more trouble containing her panic.
Panic...
"Merlin's beard... Does Ben know about this?" Maya asked no one in particular.
"We won't know until he wakes up," said Auror Shacklebolt. "When he does, can I ask you two to join me? I'm certain that Ben will have plenty of information to share, but he will doubtless be very distraught. Seeing a pair of friendly faces would be a big help."
"And if he doesn't know about his parents, then we can help break the news..." Rowan muttered.
Auror Shacklebolt nodded. "Yes, that too. In the meantime, I need you two to keep everything we discussed a secret. If word gets out about someone attacking Muggles and Muggle-borns, there would be a..." he paused for a second, contemplating on what to say, "...a panic."
Maya understood. The Ministry was already stretched thin maintaining the peace they had now—he couldn't afford to break it.
"Of course, Auror Shacklebolt."
The Black wizard rose to his feet. He moved about as fast as he spoke—that is, not at all. "If you'll excuse me, I must be taking my leave now."
"Where are you going?" asked Rowan.
"To investigate the dorms and offices for evidence," said Auror Shacklebolt. "If R is at Hogwarts, perhaps they have a Memory Potion hidden away. ...I'll have to check your bags for evidence as well."
Maya froze. "Excuse me?"
"Just being thorough."
Auror Shacklebolt held out his hand. Rowan bit her lip, but handed over her satchel anyway. Maya grudgingly did the same.
The Auror poked his wand through the inside of Rowan's satchel, muttering under his breath. "...Nothing," he said, returning the bag with a smile. He tried to open Maya's, but the flap refused to budge. "Hmm. Mokeskin. Sorry, Maya, you'll have to empty it."
Don't show him...
Starting with her ink bottles, Maya pulled out object after object—Chronicles of a Curse-Breaker, quills, spare parchment, a large amount of notes, empty potion vials, and a telescope. Seeing no end to her baggage, she turned the bag upside-down and gave it a shake. All eight of her textbooks and a set of brass scales dropped loudly on the floor.
"I can have those back, right?" Maya asked once Auror Shacklebolt was finished prodding through her belongings. "Mom's gonna flip if we have to buy those books for a third time."
"You can have them back," said Auror Shacklebolt. "Thank you for your cooperation."
He exited the room, leaving Maya and Rowan to stare at the door. Maya listened to the sound of his footsteps growing farther and farther away until they faded completely, got up, and opened the door to check if he was really gone.
"I cannot believe that you lied to an Auror," Rowan whispered. Her words gave the impression of scolding, but there was a hint of excitement bubbling in her tone.
"Technically, I didn't." Maya gestured for Rowan to follow her outside. "I just held onto a couple of things."
When turning her bag upside-down, she'd made sure that several items wouldn't fall out. Specifically, the first Black Quill they'd gotten from the Whomping Willow, the Emergency Perfume, and the pink binder full of disguised notes they'd gotten from Yekaterina.
"I'm pretty sure that still counts as withholding evidence."
Turning a corner, Maya asked, "Are you seriously pretending you didn't do the same thing? I don't remember you handing over your knife."
"Guilty as charged," Rowan chirped, putting her hands in the air. "But seriously, I was half-expecting you to at least give him the quill."
"Yeah, about that..." Maya did another scan of their surroundings before ducking through a doorframe. "I heard a voice telling me not to."
Rowan exhaled so sharply she fogged up her glasses. "You heard another voice? Do you know who it was?"
"It was faint, but I'm sure it was Jacob's." Maya would know her brother's voice anywhere. "He said not to show the Black Quill, so I held onto the potion and binder while I was at it. He didn't say why, but I trust my brother. If he's telling me to withhold evidence, I'm sure he has his reasons."
"Wow..." Rowan pinched the bridge of her nose right underneath her glasses. "This just keeps getting stranger and stranger."
She still sounded pretty excited, though.
Ben's sudden reappearance, along with the high-profile investigation of Kingsley Shacklebolt, sent the entire school abuzz. Penny, being the queen of gossip she was, informed Maya that everyone knew about her infiltration into the Gryffindor common room and her vital role in finding Ben.
"Well, that explains all the looks I was getting in Charms and Potions," said Maya. "Would it be possible to let them know that Rowan played just as big a part?"
"Even if it were possible, I'd rather not," said Rowan with a shudder. "I'm perfectly fine with you being the sole centre of attention."
Maya shot her a look through her goggles. "Well, I'm not fine with that! Ugh... Penny, have you heard anything else about Auror Shacklebolt?"
"What, aside from him being the coolest bloke ever?" Tonks chortled. She'd changed her appearance multiple times in an attempt to evoke the same sort of charisma, but was slightly off the mark. Maya suspected it had something to do with Tonks being unable to give up her electric-blue hair. "Reckon I could become an Auror like him?"
"You'd have to study a lot harder than you do now," said Rowan, her serious tone offset by Penny's giggling. "How about we start by talking less in class?"
Professor Sprout cleared her throat, looking in their general direction. Rowan raised her eyebrows in a what-did-I-tell-you sort of way. Maya snapped her earmuffs back on, waited for the signal, then uprooted her Mandrake before quickly stuffing the plant into a new pot. From behind the leaves, she kept a watchful eye on the distance between Diego Caplan and the Puffapod in the back.
There weren't many chances to talk when repotting Mandrakes due to the fatal consequences of taking off the earmuffs. Thankfully, Penny was able to spare a moment after class.
"I heard Auror Shacklebolt roped off the corridor where you found Ben, and set up a rotation of prefects to guard the place. He's searching the dorms, but also doing a good job at making sure the gossip doesn't spread."
"Makes sense," said Maya. He'd told Maya and Rowan to keep quiet, even though they'd let Penny and Tonks in on it. "Thanks for telling me, Penny."
"Anything to help you, Maya," Penny said with a wink. She went off to join her group of friends... no, her other other group of friends.
Pushing her awe at Penny's social skills aside, Maya rejoined with Rowan and left the greenhouses.
"Maya, I've been thinking," Rowan muttered. "About Ben's parents, that is. Both of R's messages ended the same way."
"You mean the thing about how failure will result in severe punishment?"
They walked indoors and were met with a sudden drop of temperature. Frost was growing on the castle walls like white moss, and small icicles had formed on the ceiling. Rowan shivered and readjusted her multicoloured scarf while Maya gave her hat a tug.
"Yeah... The message we found at the Whomping Willow said to return the Black Quill to the tree, and to make sure it didn't fall into the wrong hands. And... when you think about it from R's perspective... Ben failed at both. We took the quill, and didn't return it to the Whomping Willow."
"Wrong hands, wrong place," Maya summarised. "You think the 'severe punishment' already happened to Ben?"
"I'm considering the possibility." Wringing out her hands, Rowan continued. "At first, I thought Ben getting trapped in the ice was the punishment. But he survived it, didn't he? But now that we know Ben's parents are missing... Maybe... R..."
They were getting a little too close to the Great Hall. A group of older Ravenclaws was passing through, so Rowan was slowing down to avoid being overheard. Maya acted natural, expecting her to continue once they were in the clear.
What Maya didn't expect was for a tall, blonde girl with a very muscular build to walk into Maya, knock her over, and continue on her way as if she hadn't seen or even felt the collision.
"Ow! You could at least apologise..." Maya muttered at the Ravenclaws. Some of them were snickering, but the large girl didn't react at all.
Rowan gave Maya a hand. "Are you alright? That was Erika Rath, one of the Ravenclaw beaters. Penny told me she's a menace on the pitch. Doesn't mean she has to be a menace in the halls as well..." Rowan glowered at Rath's back.
"Beater, huh? That explains the burly arms." Maya dusted herself off. "Anyway, you were saying that R might have murdered Ben's parents as punishment, right?"
Rowan flinched. "Maybe not murdered... But yes, I was trying to say that R is probably the reason they're missing. If R was holding Ben's parents hostage, then maybe they're the ones who were punished for his failure."
"That does make sense," said Maya. "It also explains why Ben couldn't just ask for help."
"But it doesn't explain who R is or what they're after." Rowan started rubbing her chin again, this time with furrowed brows.
Maya stopped in front of the giant hourglasses. "Auror Shacklebolt asked about any enemies Ben might have," she mused. "But Merula's the only one who I'd count as an enemy."
"...You don't think she's R, do you?"
"What? No," Maya scoffed. "First of all, she's twelve. Second of all, she's a pureblood. I doubt she'd be able to make the Coppers vanish. Ben, maybe, but his parents? Doubtful."
Rowan smirked. "That, and the only 'R' she's got is right in the middle of her given name."
Maya raised her eyebrows. "Well, if we're talking about initials..." She gave Rowan a mischievous grin.
"Hey! I know my name starts with 'R', but I am not R!" Rowan said in false anger, clearly trying not to laugh. "And for the record, I'm also twelve and a pureblood. Though, I do turn thirteen next month. ...Oh, Merlin's beard. I'm going to become a teenager," she gasped, as if becoming a teenager was some sort of terrible fate.
Maya allowed herself to giggle for a bit. "Alright, let's go over what we know about R. They're magical, since they transfigured their messages into Black Quills."
"Also, R was able to make Ben's Muggle parents disappear," Rowan added, "and they did a very good job. That suggests a level of understanding and competence in both the magical and non-magical."
"So, probably not a pureblood," said Maya. "And R... was able to hide the Black Quill in the Gryffindor common room. Though, you could just use an owl..." Mr Barn Owl was certainly smart enough.
Rowan snapped her fingers. "But not for the Whomping Willow! No owl would be able to get that close to its roots, so it had to have been placed there by hand."
"Yes, which means R must be here at Hogwarts!" Maya exclaimed. "And really, really good at long-range magic. Well, at least the list of possible suspects became a lot shorter."
"You're ri..." Rowan's smile fell as she trailed off. "Wait. ...R could be threatening more people. The first message didn't have instructions for disposal."
Maya wanted to slap herself. "Of course—it said to return it to the Whomping Willow. Ben was definitely getting instructions from R, but he might not be alone... R might have more people doing their dirty work."
Rowan groaned, rubbing her eyelids beneath her glasses. "Great. That one point just undermined everything we'd established. For all we know, R could be a very powerful Muggle with knowledge of the Wizarding World. And while I'm not saying that R is Margaret Thatcher, we don't have enough information to be certain of anything."
Maya was about to ask who Margaret Thatcher was when...
"Maya Shafiq! Rowan Khanna!"
The mellow voice belonged to Chiara Lobosca, a girl in their year with exceptionally pale skin and fine chin-length hair that was white as snow. Maya had never heard Chiara shout before; the Hufflepuff was usually on the soft-spoken side. But Chiara ran up to Maya and Rowan from down the hall, waving her hands for attention. She skidded to a stop in front of them, somewhat pink-faced, but quickly regained her composure.
"It's Ben Copper. He's awake, and he's asking to see you."