Part 4 : Miss Parry’s Angst, Paragraph 1 - 37 : Rest Or Test

The beginning of the summer holidays was uneventful, but it became soon obvious to the parents of the four friends that something special had happened. The behaviour of their son or daughter had undergone a more or less blatant shift. Eleanor had been outspoken about her new friendship, since she didn't need to worry about the reaction of her parents and her siblings, who were making up a united family where every member was happy about the others' joy, even at times when this meant that they would get less as a result. In a nutshell, the standard in Eleanor's family was a faithful reflection of Eleanor's mindset : bring something positive to the group. It might be cheerfulness, consideration, respect, or just everyday politeness. Whatever it would be, it would matter as long as it was benevolent. The children could openly talk about their down moments, and there would always be somebody close to comfort them. This didn't imply that Eleanor's attitude had not changed, though. It was apparent that her attachment to the three others was stronger than to any other friend : whenever her mother, father, brother or sister would say they were puzzled by an action undertaken by Ann, Judith, or Sigismond, Eleanor would be faster than ever to explain it and make it likable. The atmosphere at Sigismond's home was very different, but not the opposite : the Candler family was affluent, the house was three storeys high, and Sigismond could rely on servants for a lot of things. However, Sigismond hadn't evolved into a spoiled brat. Perhaps because he was so dreamy and serene, perhaps because his parents were strict. They were also distant, although Mrs. Candler could be vehement if one dared speaking ill of Sigismond's lack of determination and awkwardness. She had once ousted guests who, after a few glasses of wine, had belittled Sigismond's 'apathetic' demeanour. Mr. Candler, who was a Muggle, wasn't worried in the least about the risks that life at Hogwarts entailed, since his wife was a professional magical objects hunter, and was therefore putting her life in jeopardy quite often in dramatic circumstances. Mrs. Candler had not chosen this career path out of appreciation for adventure, but because she had one rare gift which gave her an edge in her business : whenever a wizard or a witch would Disapparate in front of her, she could have a glimpse of the destination where they were headed. This helped a lot while chasing dubious people carrying stolen objects. In the middle of this, Sigismond would stay most of the time in his bedroom, which was his personal little world, where he could dream, read, and add entries to his diary. Nevertheless, meal-time was of prime importance at the Candlers'. Therefore, both Sigismond's parents were able to notice three times a day that their son was somewhat more focused, paying more attention to what others were saying around him, less prone to be taken aback by a sudden question. Ann, whose both parents were Muggles, had to reassure them permanently, not only because Hogwarts was a place with numerous dangerous features, but also because they knew that Ann's defects could land her in trouble. So as not to create superfluous worries, she had by the way abstained from mentioning that a long string of dark wizards had studied at Slytherin. Her parents would ask a lot of questions, request details about the way things were working at Hogwarts, in spite of the fact she had now already spent three full years there. Yet, on the other hand, they were very supportive of their daughter. Ann was a bit frustrated at the constant flow of questions, especially when those were questions which she had already answered two days or two years before, but that her parents had repeated because they were so preoccupied, given that they couldn't help Ann at all in her studies, nor really understand how Professors and magic itself protected the students to a certain extent. All in all, life at home was pleasant and comfortable, although it included long discussions with extremely curious parents about what magic allowed to do or couldn't make happen. Judith's parents, on their part, were becoming more suspicious of their daughter, because they had the impression they were losing control. Judith was suddenly slightly too happy to follow the rules and adhere to the constraints of everyday life. Family was probably the only group in which Judith had not striven to fit in. She had been grumpily abiding by the home rules during the best part of her young life. She was receptive to criticism from her parents and very intent on not disappointing nor hurting people, though, which made her parents' task not too difficult either. Judith would not talk about any social group to which she could belong, although her father being a wizard, he knew that she was most likely very sociable out there, she wouldn't have landed in Hufflepuff otherwise. Therefore, her parents were aware there was probably a big difference between Judith the teenager at home, and Judith the student at Hogwarts. In the holidays' second week, however, her parents came across an occasion to pierce their daughter's armour. Judith brought it herself actually. She had picked up the Daily Prophet after her father, who was ensuring safety and security at the Ministry of Magic, had been finished with the newspaper and had left for his workplace. On reaching page three, she found a most intriguing article. A Slytherin student, Peter Perklus, had been questioned by Aurors because he had been at the place where a member of a reputable family of Pure-Blood wizards and witches had mysteriously disappeared. According to Perklus' testimony, he had entered the house where he believed his help was needed, had felt the presence of a magical being, but not knowing if this was a friendly or inamicable person, had cast the most powerful counter-spell at his disposal, a spell which was supposed to shield him from magic. The Aurors had established that Perklus had kept the spell's effects alive till after the loss of any trace of the victim's presence. Though, the use of this protective spell was seen as suspicious, because it was typically the kind of spell one would use to act at the expense of somebody else while trying to prevent the adversary from using protective magic themselves. But the Aurors had found no indication, through 'Priori Incantatem', that Perklus' wand had performed any other kind of magic. They had envisioned he could have used a spare wand to cast a harmful spell on the victim, but they had rejected this hypothesis, since Perklus' powers were most likely insufficient to handle at the same time the powerful protection of the first spell, and the almost equally potent magic required to wipe a magical being from existence. The investigators considered that Perklus' statement, according to which he had felt a magical presence, was nothing more and nothing less than an assertion that the victim had been there in front of him at the time of their disappearance. Perklus had said that there was no light during the whole time he spent there, thus the victim could have been facing him without being seen. He had added that he had heard the sound of two gusts of wind, but Aurors had disregarded that, because these noises could have been nothing more than, well, wind. The article concluded that there was no evidence of wrongdoing by Peter Perklus, and that he consequently remained free, a simple witness with weird whereabouts. Judith had read the article at top speed. She had seen Peter Perklus. He was, well, the kind of young wizard the figure of whom Judith's gaze would linger on. Judith had already been blushing at recalling Peter's allure. Her reddening intensified when she realised that there were probably fifteen or twenty boys whom she subjected to the same observation. She remembered what Arthur Fosty had said about Ravenclaw's Amalie Eamon, who went from one boy to another. Judith thought :

Maybe I am frivolous…Hmm, probably not more than many Hogwarts boys. I heard some of them displayed appreciation for more than one witch

Anyway, Peter was in a tough spot. There was a mystery around this sequence of events. For a start, the newspaper itself didn't even mention the name of the 'reputable Pure-Blood family' to which the victim belonged. This was a standard use case for the Intuition Potion. But, it was dangerous : the potion might do whatever it would take for the drinker to locate the missing piece of information. And conversely, Judith was cautious. She was reminded of Ann noticing the cobwebs in the Arch Room - the very room where they used to brew the Intuition Potion - telling her it was surprising she wasn't afraid of spiders, and Judith had answered she was cautious, not a coward. Was declining to face a danger a cautious act, or a coward's behaviour ? She decided to put that thinking to rest. She didn't know that she was in for a nerve-wracking sleepless night. For she was unable to repel the urge to mull over the recent news. What if Peter found out that she could have drunk the potion, but had averted doing it out of fear ? He would probably sneer at her for her lack of bravery. Then, all these boys she liked crossing in Hogwarts corridors would cast sideways scornful looks at the utterly useless, unskilled Judith Parry. Conversely, if she drank the potion, even if she failed to find anything relevant, she would be able to impress these same boys. Maybe she was thinking like these young wizards who liked showing off. Perhaps she could ask Ann, Eleanor or Sigismond to use the potion in her stead. At least that would help Peter. But that wouldn't dismiss the accusations of lame cowardice. She came to realise that Eleanor and Sigismond had already swallowed it, and Ann had been the very first volunteer to put it down her throat. Could she solve the mystery from her bed ? She listed all the elements that the newspaper had laid out. There were just too many missing data. The same thoughts kept looping in Judith's head. When 5am rang, Judith knew she wouldn't be able to sleep as long as she was postponing the inevitable. She would have to brew the potion. One minute after having taken the decision, she was asleep.