11 Chapter Ten: The Crime

Thirty-five Minutes Earlier

NAMORA

Namora stood in the cabinet between Grindelwald and Albus. She was silent, adrenaline still making her nerves shot, her eyes wide as if she was living a nightmare over and over. Now all four of them stood there in the darkness of the cabinet, not saying a word. Albus sighed and squeezed by Queenie to open the cabinet's door. "Ready everyone?" Albus was met by silence, but pushed open the wooden door.

The same dusty, shadowed room met them. Albus stumbled out first and helped a startled Queenie from the cabinet and helped her to sit down on a wooden box. Grindelwald came after and mumbled something to himself as he stood by Albus. Namora was dazed as she stepped out from the cabinet and wobbled unsteadily on her feet. "Namora!" Queenie said and rushed to hug her, "Namora what happened?" "I. I...don't know..." She said, tears filling her eyes. "Did...I kill someone?" Queenie looked down and struggled to find words, the young boy, Grindelwald. He stared at her blankly, but with a hint of remorse in his eyes. Albus took a step towards her and placed a steady hand on her shoulder. "You protected your friend, Namora." She shivered as she remembered the woman. She had never killed anyone. She didn't mean to...

"Namora?" Albus asked and took her hand questioningly. "Talk to me?" "I...I'm fine," Namora mumbled and glared at him angrily. She was angry. Not with him, but with herself. Albus let go of her hand nodded slowly, but he didn't seem convinced by her oblivious excuse. "Soooo, shall we go Albus?" Grindelwald said, leaning casually against Albus' shoulder.

"Wait a lick? How did you find us?" Queenie asked. Albus opened his mouth, but nothing came out. "Were you following us?" Queenie said, eyebrows raised quizzically. "No, no, we..." Albus started. "We were running from the caretaker when he "assumed" that we flooded the Slytherin hallway and then.." he said his arms going outwards as he gestured to the room, "...we found ourselves hiding here and one thing lead to another." "I'm still confused," Queenie said. "The Slytherin hallway is flooded?" Grindelwald sighed as if he was bored, but Albus nodded. "Yeah." "And you think it was caused by a busted water pipe?" "Wait a moment, how did you...?" ALbus started. "Oh. Well, I can read minds." "Ohhhh," Albus said as Grindelwald looked her up and down as if he was intrigued.

Namora flicked up her eyes to meet Grindelwald's. He looked mysterious. Like he was full of secrets. Namora got shivers from his cold stare and turned towards Queenie. "I think...I think we should go." Queenie rubbed Namora's shoulders, trying to comfort her. "Maybe if we go to the fest, things will lighten up." Namora felt like she was going to cry, but she didn't want to in front of Albus. She didn't want to seem weak so she made a quick exit with Queenie following behind her, trying to make her smile by telling her jokes. Albus suddenly looked down and realized that he was still holding Namora's scarf. "Wait Namora your...!" The door shut. "...scarf," Albus sighed as grave silence filled the rooom. "We should also get going, I'm actually hungry for something," Grindelwald said as he waited by the door for Albus. Albus felt guilty inside. He almost felt like he had let Namora down somehow. "Hey. It's alright. We're okay. You're okay," Grindelwald said placing his hands on Albus' shoulders. "You're right. I just wish we would have gotten there sooner." "It is what it is." "Yes, I suppose so." Grindelwald held out his arm for Albus to take which he did. Albus let Grindelwald walk him out of the room and he felt as if soemthing bad were coming to Hogwarts.

Namora and Queenie raced down the moving stairways and towards the Great Hall. "Wait!" Queenie yelled. "SHHhhh" Namora said and they hid behind a pillar. "What is it?" Queenie moved roughly from Namora's squeezing hands and dusted off her robes. "You need to freshen up or at least change your robes. They might suspect..." Namora's face grew grim, but she nodded. "You're right". Namora peeked from their hiding spot. "We're going to have to go back to my common room." "Let's go then," Queenie said.

Namora and Queenie peeked their heads up to see if anyone was coming before standing up. Namora looked at the moving staircase and was relieved to see no one using it. She and Queenie raced up the steps and let the staircase move them to a landing where they jumped off only to run down a corridor. Over the past few years, Namora knew of several ways to get to the Ravenclaw tower from the bottom floor. one way included a broom in which she was certain she would never use. Another way used the stairs, like she had just done. Then one way included a secret passageway which was covered in cobwebs for she was going in between the castle walls to get to the Ravenclaw tower.

Namora and Queenie came to the eagle knocker on the door and she quickly answered the riddle. The eagle opened it's beak to ask: I never was but always will be. No one ever saw me but everyone knows I exist. I give people the motivation to better themselves every day. What am I? "Tomorrow" Namora answered. Queenie was surprised. "I don't think I would have gotten that," she chuckled, trying to lighten the mood, but Namora ignored as the door opened.

She jogged up to her room in which she shared with Jillian, Hemley, and Sarah, and went to a trunk that sat at the foot of her bed. Queenie gasped as she looked at the room. "I can't believe you haven't taken me up here yet. It's stunning. I love that blue color this house has," she said as she admired Namora's four poster bed. Namora pulled out some fresh clothes and changed as Queenie looked around the room. Her head was still swirling from earlier. Truthfully, she didn't want to do anything. She especially didn't want to go to the feast tonight. She just wanted to hide away from the world. She pulled on a new robe and sighed as she said: "Alright." Queenie turned around and nodded. "That's much better," she said then looked at her own robes. "It looks as if I tripped in the quidditch pitch you have here," Queenie said with a small smile. "I'll make something up."

Namora nodded slowly and turned her face away from Queenie as tears began falling down her face. "Oh. Oh, doll. It's okay," Queenie said coming to her side immediately. She held out he sleeve of her robe and gently dabbed Namora's red eyes. "It will be okay. See. Here. Where's that lucky scarf of yours?" Namora's face dropped. "My scarf..." Queenie quickly said: "How about soemthing else? A...a hat?" Namora began crying again and Queenie guided her to sit on the bed. She tucked Namora's hair out of her eyes and behind her ears. "We will find your scarf. Let's go to the feast. The tournament is coming to a close anyways. We should enjoy ourselves." Namora perked up a bit. Enough to stop crying. "You're right...". Queenie hooked her arm around Namora's and gave her a smile. "Let's go have fun."

They ran out of the girls dormitory into the Ravenclaw common room and out the door. They laughed as they both slipped on the steps of the moving staircase. Namora jumped the last four steps and landed with a loud thud on the floor. Queenie laughed. "How do you do that?" Namora gave her a small smile, starting to feel better. "I can't ne late for class." "So you jump the steps?" "Yep," Namora replied back. They continued to jog down the hallway until they had finally reached the Great Hall. As they came in, Namora knew that there was something serious happening for the the hall was unusually quiet. A few students turned to look at them, but most of the students payed attention to the Headmaster. Some were talking in low voices and their eyes darted around as if something were to suddenly happen. "What is going on?" Namora mumbled to Queenie as they took their seats at the Ravenclaw table. "Oh no..." Queenie said and Namora knew that she had read someone's mind. Namora looked looked at her for a moment before meeting her eyes.

The Headmaster stomped his foot loudly and the whispering and conversations quieted almost instantly. "Now students, I have a piece of parchment and a quill in my hand. I will be leaving this here, in the Great Hall, in hope that one or maybe a few of you will sign it, saying you have committed the crime. This will remain here for the rest of tonight and until sunset tomorrow. I advise all of you to take this matter seriously. Pranks or jokes will not be permitted and those who dare do so shall be punished fairly. Enjoy the rest of your evening students."

The hall erupted into conversation again about the ordeal. There was a "BANG!" and a flash of light as the parchment and quill floated down and stuck itself to the professor's table. The students jumped at the sound, some of them screaming, others pulling out their wands instinctively. Headmistress Esmelda seemed nervous and tapped her spoon on her bowl of soup. Headmaster Crichington had his feet set upon the table and held a large cup of butterbeer in his big hands. He didn't seem to be concerned at all, but he wasn't one to speak his mind nor Headmaster Copperal fixed his monocle and was scanning the hall as if he expected a student to raise and start firing spells at any moment. Phineas Black however, had left the feast once the parchment and quill were sealed to the table.

Namora stared blankly at her empty plate, looking at herself as if she was looking at someone else. The whole speech from Phineas Black had to be about her and Queenie's trip to Knockturn Alley. But when would she go up there? When would she scratch her name into the magical parchment sealing her fate? "Oh doodle dins Namora, at least eat some food, maybe it'll help you a little bit," Queenie said and placed a hand on Namora's shoulder, making her come out of her nervous state...Namora mumbled something how food doesn't help, but gathered some vegetables onto her plate along with a roll anyhow. Queenie sighed at what little she had gathered onto her plate, but smiled, suddenly getting a brilliant idea.

Queenie grabbed her wand and swished it through the air and a perfect little pastry was created from the feast on the Ravenclaw table. The last touch was a light drizzle of vanilla icing on the top before it floated down to rest on Namora's plate. Queenie smiled widely and blushed as she read soft memories in Namora's mind as she gaily picked up the pastry, smelled it and took a bite out of it. "This is quite good Queenie," Namora finally said and looked her in the eyes for a second. "Hey!" Someone said, sliding in between them. It was Jillian. "Woah, did you make that...?" She said pointing to the pastry in Namora's hands. "Yes, I did". "Can I get one?" Jillian said eagerly, her eyes already drifting to the pastry that Namora held. "Of Course!"

Queenie made another pastry and soon there was another student asking and then another. All crowded on beside Namora and Queenie to try and get a taste of the sweet delicacy. Namora squeezed out of the group as yet more students came. She could hear them "oohing" and "awing" at her creation as she started walking towards the doors. Queenie bobbed her head up, "Namora?" Namora turned and waved then motioned that she was going to leave. Queenie searched her eyes for a moment and Namora transformed her words into thoughts for Queenie to read. Queenie smile back before turning to make another pastry for a student with orange hair and freckles.

Namora turned and bumped into someone. They grabbed her hand as she started to fall. She smiled as she looked into the eyes of Percival Graves. He held her shortly before pulling her back up to a standing point. He studied her for a moment before saying: "Do yah want to sit down?" He gestured towards the very end of the Ravenclaw table. Namora gratefully accepted the offer and swung her leg over the bench, trying to act happy/

Percival coughed, " Your friend Queenie is quite a hoot. Yah know, in New York, she would've been in the funny papers." Namora let out a small laugh: "Is there really such a thing? Percival smiled and laughed: "Everything's different in New York." "So.." he said, changing the subject, "...are you excited to watch the tournament this weekend?" Namora shrugged, "I don't think we can...it's been cancelled." "I have hope that someone will confess," he said, making her feel a pang of guilt in her heart. "Yes..."she mumbled. "...someone will." Percival leaned towards her, his face full of worry. "You don't seem well," Namora looked up at him and wished so much that she could tell him what had happened at Knockturn Alley, but she couldn't. Even though he was her friend, she couldn't let anyone know what had happened.

"I, I..." She started before Queenie interrupted. "Hey Namora!" Queenie said as she slipped in to sit beside her. "I thought you'd be making more pastries," she said blatantly to Queenie. "Oh that? I just made a huge platter of them. See?" She said, her strawberry curls bouncing as she pointed down the table to a group of students stuffing the pastries into their mouths joyously.

"Mmmm," Namora said, and nodded her head. "Woah," Percival said, eyebrows raised as a Prefect from Slytherin came over to try one of the pastries. "Sooooo..." she said, turning back to face them, "...what are you two talking about?" Namora was quiet as she struggled to say something. "Just school," Percival told Queenie then gave Namora a sly wink. She gave him a sorrowful smile and then he coughed. "Excuse me girls, but I think I'll head back to my dormitory and turn in for the night," he said, giving Namora a knowing look before walking away. Namora sighed and slumped onto the table as she thought about Knockturn Alley. If only I could turn back time, Namora thought.