Inscrutable: A long lost name

Chapter 2 Inscrutable: A long lost name

As Harry entered his cubicle he saw Dean was waiting for him. After years being best mates with Harry, Dean knew something was definitely not right.

He greeted Harry with, “What’s wrong?”

Harry ran his hands through his untidy hair while he tried to act nonchalant, “Nothing much, it’s just the Minister and Kingsley think I’m the best choice for solving Gwenog’s case.”

Dean looked momentarily stymied. He shook his head as he said, “But how’s that possible? What about the senior Aurors?”

“I said the same thing, but it seems they have a high opinion about my capabilities.” Harry said sarcastically.

“No one doubts your abilities mate, after all you defeated Voldemort! But this - this is a high profile case... Putting you on this case will make the media pay even more attention!” Dean stopped, but only to take a breath. “How come Kingsley agreed to this?” Dean’s face was turning that crimson it normally did when he gets really angry.

Harry merely shrugged. “That’s the least of my problems mate. I can’t ponder now on why they chose me, they must have had their reasons.” Looking up, Harry caught his friend’s eye.

“I think we need to get going. Kingsley assured me that I will get full support from the others, we need to call a meeting and decide what our next step should be.” The impatience was evident in Harry’s voice.

Dean nodded as he walked out the door, “Let me go get them.”

*********************

Fifteen minutes later members of the Auror team had assembled: Dawlish, Tonks, Savage, Proudfoot, and Williamson were gathered in front of Harry’s cubical. All of them had a solemn look on their faces as they waited for Harry to speak.

Harry cleared his throat a little before saying, “Well, now that you all are here-”

“Zabini isn’t here.” Dawlish interrupted. Harry looked at Dean questioningly.

“Everyone was informed about the situation; it seems Zabini is late as usual.”

Harry scowled. Zabini and he had never really got along with one another. After the war Harry tried let go all of his presumptions about the Slytherin house. But when his former classmate had joined the Auror training, Harry realized some Slytherins are always Slytherins. Zabini’s pompous behavior and disregard for rules and regulations made Harry remember some of the worst qualities from his Slytherin classmates. It’s still a wonder how the junior Auror had managed to keep his position for one whole year.  
“We can’t wait for anyone, there’s no time to waste.”

“As all of you know, the Minister and Kingsley have somehow decided to give me the responsibility of this case.” Harry said this in one single breath without taking any pause. He looked at everyone, expecting an angry outburst. But to his utter surprise Savage sighed and said, “My heart goes out to you mate.”

The tension seemed to ease at Savage’s witty response because all of them looked amused.

“I didn’t want to take it but for some weird reason the Minister and Kingsley thought it was for the best. I really don’t want to disrespect my seniors-” He started to explain but Tonks interrupted,

“Oh Harry, don’t sweat it. Do you see us complaining?”

Harry shook his head, “Thank you, but I can’t do this without your help. So,-”

“Anything Harry.” Tonks cut him off again.

“The first thing that we need to do is to meet with the Holyhead officials. Without their help it will be impossible to proceed.”

Williamson nodded and said, “Yes, I reckon I saw Kingsley talking with someone. Let me go and check if she’s still here.”

Harry had always liked Williamson for his quick wit. Despite being a senior Auror, Williamson and Harry seemed to share a special friendship. They had worked together on many cases and he realized the sync between them came handy in field investigations.

“Can you check on that? Better be quick.” Harry urged.

Proudfoot, a rather quiet man around his mid thirties talked for the first time in the meeting, “We are going to need Gwenog’s file. We need to know every possible detail of her life. Her family, friends, foes…every bit of information.”

“I’m on it!” Before Harry could say anything more, Dean was running for the Administrative Records Department.  Dean’s eagerness made Harry laugh to himself; he knew that his friend was only excited to get the record because Gwenog was such a famous Quidditch player and coach. Dean practically lived and breathed Quidditch.

He looked back at the remaining Aurors and said, “We should sit and discuss on how we are going to handle this. If you could please come in my cubical, I think it’s spacious enough to seat all of us for now.”

Harry’s dislike for enclosed space showed openly when someone entered his cubical. It was messy to the last bit. Parchments, previous case photos, quills, files, books… everything was strewn haphazardly. He preferred an open and free environment to work with a clear mind. But some jobs can’t be done without a desk so he reluctantly kept his cubical.  As they entered the small space, Tonks looked at it for a second and remarked,

“Jeez harry… You’re an Auror! At least use a cleaning spell from time to time. This is just utter mess. How do you even work here?”  Tonks swished her wand, muttering a cleaning spell. All the books, parchments, quills went flying to their places and few seconds later his cubical was much cleaner and organized.

He grinned and said, “Thanks Tonks.”

Harry realized Dawlish, the senior Auror, a rather tall man with a sharp face was still standing at the doorway, hesitating. Harry wasn’t really surprised at Dawlish’s behavior because Dawlish was famous for his “Cleanliness.” Dawlish washed his hands every chance he got and it’s no wonder that he would hesitate to enter a messy room like his.

Harry rolled his eyes and said, “You can enter now Dawlish. Tonks has cleaned the room.”

Both Tonks and Savage laughed. Dawlish entered, looking slightly embarrassed.

“Er... it wasn’t about-”

Savage, still laughing said, “Leave it mate. We know what you are going to say. I still wonder how you got this Auror position. Were you using a cleaning spell during your field exams too?

Dawlish turned a beautiful color of red. Tonks came forward and ended the teasing, “Leave him be, we have serious issues to discuss now.”

Proudfoot nodded and took a parchment and quill from Harry’s table as he took a seat. Harry cleared his throat and started, “Er... so what do we know about Gwenog? Except for the fact the she was a Beater and Harpies coach?”

“I heard she was a head strong woman. Everyone called her “The woman of steel”.”

Harry nodded to this information. Tonks continued, “Never had many friends and family though. You know... not a very “social” person.”

“And what’s the basis of this information?” Proudfoot asked without taking his eyes from the parchment as he scribbled away.

“Umm… Witch Weekly.” Tonks looked slightly embarrassed as she said so.

Proudfoot stopped his scribbling and looked at Tonks with a slight frown on his face.

“You do realize Tonks that this is an official investigation? We can’t rely on some Gossip Magazine to provide us reliable information.”

Tonks, looking abashed and muttered something sounded like a “sorry.”

Proudfoot was a respected senior Auror who was popular for his straight-forward, disciplined approach to his cases. Harry liked him enough but sometimes Proudfoot’s “no nonsense” approach came across as rude to some people. Whoever named him “Proudfoot” was absolutely right with their choice.

To take the focus off of Tonks, Harry intervened, “Until we have the file or any solid information, these informal sources are worth considering. Since we have nothing in our hands to move further I think we just need to explore whatever we can come up with.”

Proudfoot looked at him for a moment and said at last, “Fair enough.”

“Do we know how she was murdered?” Savage asked.

“Unclear. The Prophet didn’t say anything in the morning edition. It may have been the killing curse because her body showed no sign of injuries.” Proudfoot answered.

“As we haven’t checked if there were any signs of torture... I think we should wait for the Harpies official report before we make any conclusion about this.” Harry commented.

They were all quiet for a moment when Savage asked again, “Who could even do this?”

Proudfoot shrugged and said, “The possible motives are countless. But first we should look at who will gain a direct benefit from the coach of rival team being killed?”

Harry answered quietly, “Puddlemere United.”

Proudfoot nodded. Tonks shook her head and said, “But the League has been going on since 1674. It’s always been a healthy competition.”

“It’s still the strongest motive if you are handling a murder case of a coach.” Proudfoot persisted.

Harry tried to ease things a bit, “What I think Proudfoot is trying to say is that at this point of time, we can’t rule out anything.”

Dean entered at that moment, clutching a file. He threw the file to Harry while he took a seat in front of Harry’s table. “So, what are we discussing?”

Tonks replied, “Nothing much.”

Harry, on the other hand has started to read Gwenog’s file. The page was simply a profile with a picture of hers. The picture Gwenog had a serious look on her face as she played with her beater’s bat with one hand to another. Harry read on for few minutes when Proudfoot asked, “So... going to share?”

Harry looked up from the file and began to report to those gathered around. “Nothing written about her father. Her mother and sister live in the West End of London.”

“That’s interesting. Is her father dead or did she just not keep contact with them?” Dean asked eagerly.

Harry skimmed to the last pages of the file and concluded, “Like I said nothing is specified here. Other than that and some brief information about her career... umm, yeah. That’s it.”

“Read it to us. We all need to know as much as information possible.” Dean’s tone of voice continued to show his enthusiasm.

Harry took a breath and started. “She attended Hogwarts from 1979 to 1986. She was a Ravenclaw beater and helped her house to win the Quidditch cup for four consecutive years. She joined Holyhead as a reserve player in 1987. The Harpies made her an official player during the mid season of 1990. They reached the semi-finals that year, thanks to Jones.”

He looked up from his file saw that everyone was listening to him with utmost concentration except for Dean who was chewing Harry’s quill. Harry continued nevertheless, “The Harpies continued their good form... Um... Till 1995. Jones retired in 1995 due to a bad thigh injury.”

Harry paused until Savage pressed, “Then?”

“Why don’t you ask the walking and talking Quidditch Encyclopedia Mr. Dean Thomas? He looks rather bored.” Harry smirked as he said so.

Dean rolled his eyes and began to speak rapidly, gesturing with his hands and trying to look at them all. “Come on! Everyone knows how she revolutionized Quidditch! Even though she failed miserably in her first year as a coach... the Harpies came last at the league table in 1997 and then-”
Dean couldn’t continue his jabber because Williamson entered hastily and the Harpies official was hot on his heels.

Both Tonks and Dean gasped slightly. Even Harry couldn’t believe his eyes. The Harpies official William brought with him was none other than Hermione Granger.

“Her-Hermione?” Somehow Harry finally managed to speak.

“Hey Harry... Long time no see.”

Harry grinned. Hermione, a fellow Gryffindor and a helpful friend who had provided her support in many ways during the war. Not to mention, Dumbledore’s Army was practically her idea.

Dean was still gaping at Hermione. He stammered, “Hermione... When di-did you join Holyhead? I thought... you didn’t like Quidditch!”

“A year and a half ago. For your information Dean, Quidditch has started to grow on me since I joined the Harpies.” Hermione said this with a twitch of smile.

Harry realized he was being rather rude by not introducing his classmate to everyone. “Savage, Dawlish, Proudfoot... This is Hermione Granger, an old friend of ours and now apparently a Holyhead Harpies official.”

“Press Secretary.” Hermione corrected. She shook hands with all of them and Tonks gave her a little wink.

“Ms. Granger, please take a seat. We have very important issues to discuss.” Proudfoot signaled.

Hermione took the seat right in front of Harry and Harry realized Hermione looked the same he remembered from the last time he had seen her.  She still had the same bushy hair and same bossy look on her face… except that she looked tired. Dark circles were clearly visible around her eyes.

“You look awful Hermione.” Harry stated.

“You would too if you hadn’t slept at all last night.” Her reply was quick, but she didn’t seem angry.

“Miss Granger, I can understand you are weary after last night’s incidents. I promise we won’t keep you long. We just need to ask a few important questions.” Proudfoot insisted.

“Please, don’t worry, I am happy to help. The fact that Ms. Jones... ” Hermione’s voice quivered.

Concerned, Harry asked, “Are you sure you’re okay Hermione? If you aren’t then we can do this later.”

Hermione  sighed, “No, I’m okay. It’s just... I can’t believe... I talked with her last night and then - an hour later I got the news…”

Hermione buried her face in her hands. Tonks moved hastily to keep a hand on her shoulder. She whispered, “Perhaps we should do this later Proudfoot. Clearly Hermione needs some time.”

Hermione shook her head then and said vigorously, “NO! The more we delay the more we fall behind. Whoever did this shouldn’t get away with it.”

“Start from the beginning then Hermione. When did you get the news?” Harry asked quietly.

“The bloke who found Ms. Jones body called the guards of her apartment. I was about to cook my dinner when the head of security of flooed in my drawing room. By the time I reached the scene, guards had already warded the place.”

Harry knew his old friend had a keen eye for detail, he wondered if she had noticed anything. “So, do you have any insight into how she was killed?”

“A killing curse for sure. There was no wound. I checked.” Hermione answered sadly.

Harry prompted, “Then what did you do?”

“I had to let know the Ministry and Harpies officials know first. Then I went to Ms. Jones mother... to give the news. The whole thing was just agonizing.”

Savage nodded and said, “Understandable. How are they coping?”

“I spoke to them this morning, they are doing better than last night.”

They were all quiet for a moment when Harry asked the inevitable question, “Hermione, do you have any idea who could do this? Did Gwenog have any enemies or rivals?”

Hermione gave another deep sigh and replied, “Harry, that’s what I’ve been trying to figure out since last night.”

“We had been discussing this before you came... Puddlemere United seems to gain a great deal of benefit from this murder.” Proudfoot affirmed again.

Hermione’s brow frowned, “Yes... so it seems.”  They all were contemplating on this thought when Savage urged.

“Ms. Granger... before we can dig further into this we need to know everything about Holyhead. The security plan surrounding the office and the stadium, the files of the owners, players, officials... ”

Hermione nodded as she replied, “I need to go back to Wales. I don’t think it will be possible for me to come back this evening with all the chaos back there. I will send someone with the documents you requested.”

Hermione stood up and shook hands with all of them. When she came forward to shake hands with Harry, she said, “I guess we’ll see each other more often now.”

Harry smiled sadly, “I’m sorry it’s under these circumstances. But it was nice to see you again Hermione.”

Hermione bade them goodbye and promised to send all the files that they requested by evening if she could.

*****************

That evening Harry sat at his desk, trying to find some peace with a cup of tea. The last few hours had been maddening. All the Aurors had to run to the Atrium to intercept the frenzied media and fans when they had broken the ward that Tonks created that morning...

Before they could recast the ward, some journalists had flocked to Harry out of nowhere, asking all sorts of weird questions. Harry eventually had to flee, or be surrounded by unreasoning fans and thoughtless reporters. He realized that if this went on then solving the case would become absolutely impossible in the coming days. So he had sent Williamson to meet the Minister and Kingsley to have them sign a decree preventing all visitors, fans and media from entering the Ministry until the situation returned to normal.

Harry took a sip of his tea and absentmindedly opened the players file that Hermione sent an hour ago. Skimming through a few pages, he realized that he had been out of touch with Quidditch for a long time. Some names he recalled vaguely from Dean’s blabber... other than that, he didn’t recognize a single one of them. Taking another sip of his tea, he turned to the reserve players list. He read on until he saw a name that made him stop, his eyes going wide:

Ginevra Weasley
Reserve Chaser
(Current ranking: 7)