Petrified Secrets: The Discovery of Penelope Clearwater

"Ah Headmaster Dumbledore, to what do I owe the honor of a call?"

The older man sighed, before stuffing away any pride he had built up over the years. It was time for humility, for him to place the safety of others first and foremost.

"Director Bones, I wish to inform you of a situation that we have just discovered."

Amelia's 'enjoying your suffering' smile fell instantly as she stood from her desk. "Am I clear to enter."

"You are."

Seconds later the head of the DMLE stepped into Albus Dumbledore's office.

"I must admit I did not expect you to actually contact me involving Hogwarts business."

"I have been far too prideful in the past and that much is obvious. I want to resolve this situation before anything horrible happens."

"What has occurred?"

"A fifth year student was found petrified."

Her eyes widened, before she brought out a parchment to use for note taking. "What do we know?"

"They were discovered less than an hour ago and was reported by another student."

"Names of both"

"Penelope Clearwater was the victim, a Muggle-born witch who was sorted into Ravenclaw. The one who found her was Harry Potter."

" The Harry Potter?"

"The very same, she was discovered in a hallway near the library. According to her friends she had skipped the Halloween festival to get an early jump on homework."

"And Mr. Potter's reasoning for not being at the festivities?"

"I have not interviewed him yet, I wanted you to be present."

The Bones matron's monocle almost fell off her face in shock. Apparently Dumbledore really was serious about his interest in receiving help.

"He is nearby?"

"Waiting outside of my office as we speak."

"Bring him in please, I would hate to keep him up any later than we have to."

...

"Mr. Potter"

"Madam Bones, Headmaster." Both adults blinked in surprise at the boy's knowledge of her identity.

"I was unaware you two had met Harry."

"Oh we have not, but I began studying the Magical government over summer after finishing my work, I have quite a lot to catch up on after all."

"Indeed my boy, Director Bones would like to ask you a few questions. If you find it acceptable I will represent your best interests as you are a minor and cannot be questioned without a guardian. If you wish for someone else we can hold off."

"No need Headmaster, I trust you."

The old man smiled, before gesturing for Amelia to begin.

"Mr. Potter, could you describe what happened when you found Ms. Clearwater please."

"I was heading towards the library to see if there were any books to catch my interest when I turned the corner and discovered a student lying on the ground. I immediately moved forward to check her vitals and discovered she was alive but unresponsive. I then sent out an emergency flare with my wand and waited for help to arrive."

"You did not try and find help directly?"

"I did not want to leave her vulnerable."

"Why would you say that?"

"Last year."

Both adults nodded gravely, before the DMLE director continued her questioning. "May I ask why you were not at the celebrations this evening?"

"I find the idea of celebrating the murder of my parents with candy and laughter to be insulting."

Amelia winced at the cold tone, while Dumbledore hung his head in shame. He had never taken into consideration that Harry might not want to be present at the festivities, and thus had never sought to check on him.

He should have.

"I understand, did you see anything else at the scene? Perhaps a figure or anything out of place?"

"Her body was posed unnaturally with her right hand extended and her left hand placed upon her face. It appears to be similar to what I have seen other girls do when they are applying makeup using a 'compact mirror'. This would prove correct as there was a small object located nearby, but the mirror was completely shattered. Based upon what I have seen of their durability from one of my housemates I would assume that the mirror was shattered before it fell along with her. Her eyes seemed to have been focused on the mirror itself, there was no expression of shock or fear so I would guess she was not expecting whatever happened."

Both adults gaped at the student in shock.

"That… is quite impressive Mr. Potter. How did you manage to remember all of that."

"Eidetic memory. I can perfectly recall anything I have ever experienced. After a certain point."

"A certain point my boy?" Albus inquired.

"I cannot recall my mother being murdered in front of me, nor surviving the killing curse. My first memory is waking up at the Orphanage."

"O-o-orphanage!?" the witch stuttered in shock.

"Yes, it is where I live. I am afraid I cannot go into more detail for safety reasons."

"I see… if anything new comes up may I interview you at a later date Mr. Potter?"

"Of course Madame, anything I can do to help."

With that he was dismissed, leaving the woman to turn slowly to the elder Wizard. "After this situation is resolved Albus, I would like to know why the hero of the Wizarding World has been living in an orphanage for the past decade."

"I understand."

"Until then… what do you think we should do?"

"I am praying that this is only a prank gone wrong, but in case it is not I would like to request Aurora presence at Hogwarts."

"You realize if we have squads roaming the halls it was cause a panic."

"I do, which is why I was hoping we could keep it at a minimum until we know more. Perhaps one or two of the younger recruits. If this does turn out to be a prank then they could be explained as using this time for an apprenticeship or minor field experience."

Amelia nodded, there would be no way they could justify dozen of Aurors, nor shutting the school down on such flimsy evidence. In the back of her mind she wondered that if it had been a Pureblood who was attacked if this conversation would even be happening, but dismissed the idea.

"I… have just the person in mind Headmaster."

....

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