Slytherin Tales: The Divine Seven

Chapter 17: The Mystery of the Missing Staff

Once the staircase made it to the top, we got off and he led me to the innermost part of the office. There waiting for me were several members of the staff as well as the headmaster, Professor Willoughby. All of them were staring at me intensely as I walked in, which was extremely intimidating. Professor Wolfram led me up to the headmaster's desk and stood behind me as I found out why I was there.

"Miss Sinclair, you must be wondering why I have summoned you here. Last night there was an incident; our Caretaker, Mr. Graves, found two students: one was cursed with an extremely powerful hex and the other, a prefect, had been murdered."

"Murdered?!" My eyes went wide. There was a murder?!

"Last night while Professor Spinster was overseeing your detention, she left to tend to the situation, but the living student's curse has so far proved too powerful to break quickly," Professor Willoughby began his explanation, his voice becoming hoarse at the end. He took a pause to clear his throat before continuing. "When she returned and sent you back to your dorm there was a breach of a magical barrier. An object was stolen last night," he opened an old book on his desk and flipped to a page, handing me the passage. It was an illustration of a staff, next to it on the opposite page was a candlestick. It took a moment for me to understand, but then it clicked in my head.

"The third object of the Divine Seven," I whispered.

"The staff was stolen from Professor Spinster's office last night. We had been keeping it there in preparation to move it to a safer, more protected spot within the castle. It was locked away in a cabinet. Not even all of the staff even knew of its location. This morning when we were investigating, we found traces from you on the cabinet. Additionally, the student's affiliations occurred before any detentions were held last night."

"Wait," I interrupted. "Are you accusing me of doing this?" I asked, bewildered.

"Unfortunately the circumstances are suspicious enough that you are the primary suspect, yes."

"But Professor! I would never..." I felt a twinge of fear. What could this mean?

"We have yet to find the staff, but we were hoping for your cooperation in telling us where it would be."

"That's impossible, I didn't take it," I frowned. He sighed.

"I don't want to imagine a student being responsible for such crimes, but your knack for trouble and your interest in Dark Arts make your prospects look less than hopeful. Not to mention the timeline of events pins you out as being likely."

"She also requested to serve detention with me, possibly because she already knew of the staff's whereabouts," Professor Spinster added, her usually peppy voice now low and afflicted with woe.

"Sir, you can check my things. I'm sure you won't find-"

"We already did, and while we didn't find the staff, we found this," he paused once more and pulled out a ring. "We had been hiding this behind some protective enchantments that were broken into last week. How then did it manage to get into the pocket of your robe?" I was shocked. This couldn't be happening. I was trying to process so much at once. The Divine Seven were real, and from the sound of it were hidden in the castle, somehow the ring ended up in my robe pocket, and I was the one they suspected of stealing.

"I really have no idea, sir. Please, you have to believe me."

"This doesn't look good, Miss Sinclair. The punishment for thievery of this level is expulsion," Professor Willoughby said grimly. My eyes widened at this. Was I going to be expelled?

"Someone has to be framing me!" I exclaimed desperately. Suddenly, Professor Wolfram came to my rescue.

"Headmaster, I find it difficult to believe a first year student could be capable of murdering a senior prefect, let alone mastermind such a detailed and thought-out plot," Professor Wolfram came to my defense, making the other teachers think for a moment. "At the very least, it's a little hasty to accuse her right away of such a crime without any definite proof of her being behind the staff's disappearance. Of course the circumstances are extremely suspicious and she is not clear in the slightest, but I think we should consider all possibilities before we take action." I mentally thanked Professor Wolfram for his help, for he made them all stop and think. I considered my words carefully before I spoke.

"Let me prove it," I added determinedly. They all looked at me. "Let me prove I wasn't the one who stole the objects. If I can find out who really did it, then I'll show you it wasn't me," I suggest hopefully. Please let me try. Professor Willoughby thought for a moment before nodding.

"That sounds fair to me. Before we formally accuse Miss Sinclair, I think it's only just that we give her a chance to prove her innocence. If she is truly innocent, time will tell. You are all dismissed," and with that, he dismissed the teachers. He then turned to me before speaking. "You have until the end of the week. After that, I'm afraid we'll have to push our convictions. I hope for your sake that you succeed." He blinked slowly before grabbing my hand in his large, wrinkled old hands. "Believe. Believe in what's right and let your convictions lead you to the answer. Believe in the people who deserve it, but above all, believe in yourself," he finished speaking and released me. I had avoided expulsion, but now I had a mystery to solve. What have I gotten myself into?