Paragraph 6 - 53 : The Goodrow Affair

The four friends attempted debriefing all of this new data. The Hufflepuff witch who looked so superficial with her weird actions and her permanent smile had in fact most likely one of the deepest personalities among all the people living in the castle. And the four friends, if they trusted Mrs. Candler, had the opportunity to pick an injustice and make things right regarding it. They initially envisioned using the purported power of Akinori Milpense's silvery object on the unfair treatment of Martin Hift's father. But Ann had something else in mind. She felt that it was a good occasion to use the Intuition Potion, because it might tip them off about the worst possible injustice. If it were the case, they could right the biggest wrong ever made, and Akinori Milpense's supposed magic would end up being most efficient. Eleanor, Judith and Sigismond had drunk the Intuition Potion, and Ann had wanted to use it on her for a long time. If they brewed it, Ann would be the only legitimate candidate left to try it out. She knew it, and the drive behind her advocacy of the Intuition Potion's use was obvious : she was at least as much interested in drinking the awful purple beverage as in making Akinori Milpense's powers extremely beneficial. Yet, she had a point. Thus, the four friends would once more meet in the Arch Room, and produce a fourth and final glass of the potion. When they first reconvened there, they had to clean it up. Since they had visited it last, when they had hypothesised that Peeves had taken Ann's copy of the recipe, nobody had set foot in it. Or somebody had opened the door, seen almost nothing apart from the stack of broomsticks that was actually the cauldron and pieces of wood that hid the books holding the parchment with the set of instructions, noticed that the room was smelly and dusty, and left it. At least, everything was there, except the ingredients of course. They brought those that they already had in their standard kit, which was different from last school-years, since none of the four friends was any longer a third-year, meaning that some excessively basic ingredients were missing, and Eleanor was now a sixth-year, which implied she had more ingredients than before, but also more fancy ones that were useless for the very straightforward Intuition Potion. Ann reasoned :

We can afford to order the few ingredients none of us has in store, and wait for them to arrive. There is no risk injustice will just vanish in the meantime

They resumed their custom of checking the process, to make sure that they wouldn't miss anything. Judith was now the only one among the four friends who had concocted the potion from beginning to end alone. However, she kept focused and didn't become overconfident, double-checking her operations as if she were the one who would drink the potion. Finally, at the beginning of December, the potion was ready, and they gathered round Ann who was beaming in spite of the fact she knew exactly what she could expect from the beverage's taste. She opted for the Sigismond technique, drinking the purple liquid bottoms up. Her face underwent worrying transformations and deformations, but after a few minutes, her traits were back to normal. As soon as she could speak without her mouth looking like it was convulsing, she said :

I need every edition of the Daily Prophet in the last thirty days

Judith replied :

Fine, Dad reads the Daily Prophet at breakfast everyday, this is good, but what is less great is that every edition goes to the Parry's dustbin at the end of the day

Sigismond had better news :

Mum always keeps the Daily Prophet. Because it is the standard primary good for her investigations. We have almost every edition since I guess the time I was born and Mum started working. Since she is the one who triggered our efforts, she will probably package the latest thirty editions within a few days and send them to us by owl. I hope it won't be too heavy for the owl

Sure enough, two days later, Sigismond saw an overloaded owl flying towards him at breakfast, and landing in a not so smooth way. The young wizard severed the rope linking the owl's leg and the parcel it had been carrying. The owl, probably as much relieved of several pounds as relieved of the psychological pressure of having to perform this uncomfortable task, took off on the spot. Sigismond quietly finished his breakfast, then brought the package without checking its contents to his dormitory, where it would wait before he and Ann could meet for the former to pass on the latter the thirty editions that were hopefully in the parcel. He went down to attend his first class of the day, and embroidered on the back of his tie the necessary update. After a few messages conveyed thanks to the 'Mitto' spell, needed to ensure the coordination between Sigismond and Ann, the boy waited for lunchtime. Then, he went back up to his dormitory, retrieved the parcel, and brought it to Ann who was in front of her plate in the Great Hall. She unwrapped the package, and here they were, the thirty latest editions of the Daily Prophet. Ann was clearly eager to work on this new investigation, and let her dish cool down while browsing the stack of newspapers. She wasn't even reading the titles or the dates, but obviously the potion was doing the job, since, on reaching the edition of November the thirteenth, she felt the urge to pick it and leave the remaining editions aside. She flipped through the pages, till getting the impression she was at the right spot, and began reading the articles on the corresponding page. After going through all of them, it was clear to her that only one matched the required features. She embroidered in green threads :

Found it. We have to meet as soon as possible. 6pm, in the Arch Room ?

Judith answered :

Found the right edition ? That was quick

Ann replied :

The right edition and the article that goes with it

On leaving the Great Hall, Ann unceremoniously, and somewhat impolitely, abandoned the twenty nine useless editions at Slytherin table. At 6pm, when her last class of the day finished, Ann sprinted towards the Arch Room, and arrived first. She thought :

Of course, the others probably have far away classes, and don't run as fast as I do. Especially Sigismond

One by one, the three remaining friends entered the Arch Room. Sigismond was not last, because the classroom where his last lesson of the day had taken place was relatively close to the destination. As had been the case when they had first met in the Friends Room, Eleanor was the last one. Ann thought :

Well, Eleanor is tiny, so her short steps don't make her move forward as quickly as those of a basketball player

She proceeded to show them the article of interest. It read :

A New Development In The Goodrow Affair. One remembers (our edition of October the 25th) that Mr. Fedapp, a wizard known for his connections with several members of the Order of the Phoenix, had accused Mrs. Goodrow of being a former You-Know-Who sympathiser. Mr. Fedapp's prestige and clout had lent credibility to his claim, and Mrs. Goodrow has been on the defensive ever since. Our sources report she visited Saint Mungo's repeatedly for rehabilitation cures. Nevertheless, a journalist belonging to a less established news agency, Mr. Soulkish, had sought to disprove Mr. Fedapp's assertions, and had concluded the latter had spoken too lightly based on circumstantial information. Mr. Soulkish had furthermore involved Mr. Moxy, an employee of the Ministry, for having withheld his doubts about Mr. Fedapp's statements, allegedly out of selfishness, as he would have wanted to avoid incurring Mr. Fedapp's anger. This led to turmoil. Mr. Soulkish's work was praised for being thorough. As a result, Mr. Moxy had taken the brunt of the public outcry, and his career progress was definitively put on hold. Nevertheless, a twist recently came up. Two unquestionable witnesses testified yesterday that Mr. Moxy had made an Unbreakable Vow to clear his name. The content was, in short, that Mr. Moxy would always speak the truth and seek it in public maters. One of the witnesses is the person with whom Mr. Moxy made the Unbreakable Vow. Immediately after, he had offered to give a press conference during which he flatly denied the allegations of cowardice against him. The fact that he did not die as a consequence ended up proving his innocence. Wizards and witches present to the press conference almost unanimously praised Mr. Moxy for having been steadfast and having stood up to pressure. The Ministry, in the wake of this turnaround, promoted Mr. Moxy. Mrs. Goodrow's and Mr. Soulkish's could not be reached for a reaction

Eleanor reasoned :

If this is an instance of injustice, then it means that the journalist, Mr. Soulkish, was right, and that either Mr. Moxy found a way to cheat an Unbreakable Vow, or manipulated it to look like he was proving his innocence. Trouble is, the article doesn't confirm or infirm Mr. Fedapp's accusations. If this wizard made a defamatory conjecture against Mrs. Goodrow, then the latter is the one who was most wronged. Potentially, two people ended unfairly on the wrong side of the media showdown : Mrs. Goodrow and Mr. Soulkish. Ann, what do you think, or rather, feel ?

Ann replied, in a slightly disappointed tone :

Err. Nothing. The potion seems to have stopped giving me guidance

Sigismond told Ann :

The first thing we can do is reading through this edition and all the twenty nine ones remaining. Maybe we will be able to connect the dots this way. Ann, could you collect the rest of the Daily Prophet copies ?

Ann remembered with guilt that she had let these to rot on the Slytherin table in the Great Hall. She said :

Wait, I am going to pick them up

She ran to the Great Hall, but somebody had visibly tidied up the stack of newspapers, perhaps even thrown it away. She had to find the right person. Someone who could designate the place where her pile of articles had ended, but who wouldn't judge her too harshly, and who would be easy to locate. Well, that was obvious. Only one person fitted this description. She hurried towards the entrance, crossed the threshold into the cold winter air, and made her way to Hagrid's hut. Ann hoped he wouldn't be on a mission far away from his dwelling. Fortunately, she quickly spotted him. He wasn't at his cabin, but his massive stature was heading towards the greenhouses. Ann broke again into a run. This time, she was the one with the short legs who couldn't have matched the half-giant's speed if he had decided to move faster. She went level with him, and panting, said :

Mr. Hagrid, err…I trust you know a lot of practical things, what is supposed to happen in the castle, and so on, right ?

Rubeus Hagrid stopped in this tracks, turned ninety degrees to face Ann, and answered :

Well, yeah, more or less

Ann was delighted, this was her best hope :

Great. Suppose you would have forgotten something big on a table in the Great Hall at lunch, where would it be now ?

The Keeper of Keys and Grounds was puzzled by the question, but replied after a short pause :

I'd go to the kitchens. Ter find the house-elves, see if they know somethin' about it

Ann thanked heartily Hagrid, and came back towards the castle. By that point, she was exhausted from having sprinted several times, therefore she just walked briskly. Ann hadn't been in the presence of a house-elf, neither at Hogwarts, nor elsewhere. Sure, if they all were in the kitchens, which she hadn't visited a single time either, this wasn't that surprising. Ann hadn't a clue about the way house-elves perceived wizards and witches, and she couldn't fathom either how she was supposed to address them. Would they be like Mr. Filch, and scold her for having been careless with her belongings ? On reaching the tall doors, she wondered whether the three others were frustrated by the delay. Probably not, for that wasn't in their temper. Before the holidays, Judith could have been concerned about a situation in which Ann had implied she would be back soon and where she was still not back more than ten minutes later. Nevertheless, Ann was the only one among the four friends who had remained constantly impulsive. Being rid of this worry, she directed her thoughts at locating the kitchens. She asked a few students, and after several fruitless attempts over different floors, was given reliable directions, which she put to good use. She had been carefree earlier, and had to be focused from this moment on. Ann memorised dutifully the instructions of the student who had claimed they were knowledgeable about the kitchens' location, and double-checked every of her turns, every landmark the student had indicated, every staircase's change of heart. Finally, she found herself in front of the painting that was supposed to be the entrance to the kitchens. There was nobody, and she thought she would wait for somebody, wizard, witch or house-elf, to come in and out of the kitchens, in order to take advantage of their opening to enter herself. She was in for a long wait. She started reasoning. The dishes appeared by magic on the tables of the Great Hall, thus there was no need for the house-elves to act like waiters in Muggle cafés or restaurants did, moving from the kitchens to the Great Hall. If their lodgings were connected to the kitchens, they could stay a long time there. Furthermore, it was almost dinner time, so they were probably very busy in there. Nonetheless, they most likely appreciated fresh air, which meant that at some point, they would go out. Trouble was, in the meantime, the three others would miss the meal. Ann contemplated also the possibility that the student, a Gryffindor boy, who had directed her there had played a prank on her. Perhaps this was a case of a Gryffindor misleading a Slyherin out of traditional enmity. He had sounded very truthful, though, and the location made sense, just beneath the Great Hall. To cap it all, her patience paid off with the arrival of Professor Snape, which typically heralded bad outcomes. The Potions Master addressed Ann :

What are you waiting for, Miss Aves ?

Ann wondered if she was at a forbidden place. The only way to know was to answer :

I…don't know how to enter. I am looking for an item I lost at lunch. Err…why does a Professor need to talk to the kitchens' staff ?

Ann feared she had gone too far, but Professor Snape just smirked and replied sternly, accentuating words in his usual way :

I need more chocolate in my cake

Ann didn't know if it was irony intended to deflect more politely than was Professor Snape's habit the overly curious question, or if her teacher had thought it fine to state clearly his goal. Professor Snape went to the painting, and tickled a pear on it. Ann was confused. The last thing she could have imagined was the asocial Potions Master tickling anything or anyone. Anyway, the entrance to the kitchens appeared, and Ann was able to see a small army of tiny creatures with bulging eyes, barely and clumsily clad, busy around dishes, ovens, and tables mirroring those above in the Great Hall. On spotting the two newcomers, four beaming house-elves went to greet them, and enquired enthusiastically about their wishes. Professor Snape, who didn't sound the least softened by the warm welcome, told Ann :

Miss Aves, you first

Ann thought her request would sound all the more rude that the house-elves had been so nice to her. She was still more afraid of being frowned upon, and said in a lower voice than usual :

Err…I forgot twenty nine editions of the Daily Prophet on the Slytherin table at lunchtime. Is it possible you would have kept this in store ?

She cast a sideway glance at Professor Snape, who highlighted his surprise with a sarcastic tone :

Twenty nine editions of the Daily Prophet. I only had to read the titles of one of them to come to the conclusion that I would not need to read any. What a poor use of your time

Ann dearly wanted to retort something, but she repressed this desire. She was already making her friends wait, if she had to tell them that an angry Professor Snape had confiscated the copies, she would feel very bad. The house-elves, once Professor Snape had blurted out his criticism, just beamed at Ann, and one of them told her :

Wait, I will see if we have found something at lunch time

Ann and the Potions Master remained standing in this awkward situation where nobody wanted to be in the company of the other, while the house-elf was away, looking for Ann's missing newspapers. He or she went back, a few minutes later, using magic to make the big stack of Daily Prophet editions fly in front of them. The heap was so high Ann couldn't see the house-elves head, hidden by the newspapers, until he or she had come close. Ann put the floating pile in her hand, smiled at the house-elves, thanked them, then hurriedly departed before Professor Snape could say aloud he wanted her out. She had recovered from her previous runs, and would have resumed sprinting towards the Arch Room if she hadn't been carrying a stack of paper that could easily drop or fly away. On arriving at the Arch Room, she said :

Sorry for the delay

She then elaborated, and recounted her little adventures to retrieve the copies. They split the task in four. Ann and Judith would read seven editions each, whereas Eleanor and Sigismond would take care of eight copies each. They then went back to their respective dormitories with their bonus homework.