Harry Potter and the Secret Treasures

“Anyone we know dead?” asked Ron in a determinedly casual voice; he posed the same question every time Hermione opened her paper.

Since the summer vacation, tragic things had been happening every day, making people nervous. Everyone was more concerned about the current situation in the Wizarding World, but Ron himself did not subscribe to newspapers, and neither did Lavender, so his source of information was Hermione, and then he would later repeat what she said to Lavender.

Every morning, Hermione would read out the most important news to their group.

Sometimes Neville, Ginny, Colin and others would join them, listening to the updates and occasionally offering their opinions.

“No, but there have been more Dementor attacks,” said Hermione. “And an arrest.”

“Excellent, who?” said Harry immediately. This was probably the best news he had heard in recent times.

Although the Ministry incident last term had resulted in many key Death Eaters being sent to Azkaban, weakening Voldemort’s forces, there were still many who slipped through the net. There were more than just these Death Eaters that Evan and Harry had seen at Voldemort’s resurrection ceremony that day.

Not to mention, Voldemort’s power had been growing recently.

“Stan Shunpike,” said Hermione.

“What?”

“How could it be him?”

“That Knight Bus conductor, what did he do?” Evan asked as well. He remembered the spotty youth. As far as he knew, this guy had a good sense of humor and loved to brag, talk big and show off.

Shunpike had indeed gotten himself into trouble before, but if he was said to be a Death Eater, Evan didn’t believe it.

Voldemort wasn’t one to recruit just any wizard. The Death Eaters, as his elite force, had very high standards for membership.

It would be a gross underestimation of Voldemort to allow even a fellow like Stan Shunpike to join.

“ ‘Stanley Shunpike,’” read Hermione, “’conductor on the popular Wizarding conveyance the Knight Bus, has been arrested on suspicion of Death Eater activity. Mr. Shunpike, 21, was taken into custody late last night after a raid on his Clapham home …’”

“Stan Shunpike, a Death Eater? No way!” Harry made a judgment before Hermione finished reading.

“If he is, he’s probably the dumbest Death Eater I’ve ever seen!” said Elaine.

“He might have been put under the Imperius Curse,” said Ron reasonably. “You never can tell!”

“He’s just the conductor of the Knight Bus. There’s no point in controlling him,” Evan shook his head.

“Yeah, it says here that he was arrested after he was overheard talking about the Death Eaters’ secret plans in a pub.” Hermione looked up with a troubled expression on her face. “That’s stupid, discussing the Death Eaters’ secret plans in front of so many people. If he was under the Imperius Curse, he’d hardly stand around gossiping about their plans, would he?”

“So, he was just boasting,” Evan concluded.

The first time he’d seen Stan was when he had just turned into a cat and followed Harry, and had no way of changing back.

To be honest, Shunpike gave Evan the impression that he was unreliable and he couldn’t even tell the priorities of things.

“I dunno what they’re playing at, taking Stan seriously,” said Harry discontentedly.

“They probably want to look as though they’re doing something,” said Hermione, frowning and setting the newspaper down. “People are terrified; but don’t worry about what the Ministry of Magic is doing for now, let’s talk about what’s happening in school. I told Evan about this matter last night, about the incident in Herbology when Hannah Abbott was called out of class…”

Indeed, Hermione had brought it up when they were alone the previous evening.

After that, no one had seen Hannah again. Evan had even used the D.A. coins to contact Ernie and confirm that Hannah hadn’t returned to the Hufflepuff common room. There was even worse news.

“What happened to Hannah? Where’s she now?”

“She’s left Hogwarts, and the news spread throughout Hufflepuff. It was said that her mother was murdered…” said Hermione in a low voice.

Evan glanced towards the Hufflepuff table; the atmosphere there seemed as gloomy as the weather outside.

Many people were whispering with their heads down, and they must be talking about Hannah.

A murder involving a classmate’s parent hit much closer to home than any headline in the paper. The shock was palpable. While the news hadn’t spread across the school yet, it was only a matter of time. Such things couldn’t be kept secret at Hogwarts.

“This is just the beginning. I heard last night that Parvati said her parents were going to take her and her sister Padma back to India. Hufflepuff’s Eloise Midgen has already completed the withdrawal procedures and will probably leave today. And…”

“Wait, Hermione, how come we don’t know about any of this?” said Ron, goggling at Hermione.

“Because you and Harry are focusing all your attention on Quidditch, you naturally won’t notice these changes,” said Hermione. “Anyway, a lot of students are now seriously considering withdrawing from school. I’m certain this is just the beginning.”

“Why would they do that? No matter how you look at it, Hogwarts is safer than their homes, bound to be! We’ve got Aurors, and all those extra protective spells, and we’ve got Dumbledore!”

“I don’t think we’ve got him all the time,” said Hermione very quietly, glancing toward the staff table. “Haven’t you noticed? His seat’s been empty as often as Hagrid’s since the start of term.”

“Yes, he’s not here. Dumbledore has a lot of things to deal with, and he also needs to organize the Order of the Phoenix,” said Evan. “However, he should be back tonight because he wants Harry and I to go to his office.”

“Dumbledore makes time to return when needed, but the real issue is what this absence signifies,” said Hermione thoughtfully. “Evan, I thought more about it before going to bed last night, and I think your perspective is right. The fact that Dumbledore is frequently away underscores how dire the current situation is. It’s likely tied to that matter.”

Aside from the changes within the school, the topic Evan and Hermione had discussed the previous night was the magic and messages left behind by Salazar Slytherin.

The two of them had been in the caverns beneath the Vampire Fortress, where Hermione had transcribed some of the ancient runes etched into the rock walls. After weeks of deciphering, the messages appeared to be connected to the final remnant of the evil god’s brain that Slytherin had taken away…

Dumbledore should have known all this, but he told Evan nothing.

If he intended to deal with the matter alone, could that explain the curse-laden markings on his right arm?!

The heavy conversation ended with the arrival of Lavender and Parvati. As Hermione said, they both looked sad. Lavender was Parvati’s best friend in school. If the Patil twins’ parents wanted them to leave Hogwarts, they might not meet again for a long time. …

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