Percival suddenly came to a halt and gathered his bearings as he stepped out of the fireplace he'd landed in. He was in an office of some sort, although realised fairly quickly that it had to be the headmaster's as he caught sight of the man behind his desk looking at him in shock and horror.
"Mr Graves... What are you doing here?" The man asked, standing. There was a third man in the room, and Blackrose quickly turned and whispered something to him, causing him to scurry from the room with the same urgency as if he had just been set on fire.
Percival raised an eyebrow. "I'm here because my daughter told me I was needed. She didn't give me any details, although I assume she isn't wrong."
"Er... No, no. She isn't wrong. In fact... I was just writing a letter to you now."
"Well... Do you want to tell me what happened then?" Percival asked, growing slightly impatient.
"Of course! It was only a minor incident. No one was hurt or anything. Just a silly Halloween prank was pulled that was maybe overstepping a few boundaries in the light of recent... Assemblies. It wasn't so bad, it's only that a couple students seemed a bit uncomfortable with it. A joke from the older students' not found funny by the first years, if you understand? A bit unfortunate, I'm sure no one meant any harm by it but... Obviously it is a good idea to bring you in just in case."
"... Obviously."
"We've cleaned it up and all that so..."
"So why have I been brought here then if there is no crime scene to investigate or take any evidence from?"
Blackrose looked as if he wished his desk would suddenly come to life and swallow him whole. "To... Tell you that it happened?"
"Why couldn't you have just put that in the letter you were planning on sending?"
"You're totally right, Mr Graves. I'll make sure to do that next time."
"Next time?"
"If there is a next time." Blackrose walked from behind his desk towards Percival, picking up his bowl of Floo powder as he went and offering it to the man.
"No, not quite yet." Percival said, halting the other man in his tracks. "I want to have a word with my daughter before I go."
"Of course." Blackrose nodded, although his face looked as if he had just been forced to suck on a lemon. "Take as long as you want."
- - - - -
Sophia and David were sat, secluded in shadow halfway up the staircase that the dummy was still hung from. It had been at least three hours since the rest of the school had left the Hall, chatting and with full stomachs.
From their vantage point, the two children were able to see how people reacted upon seeing the dummy for the second time. Some weren't bothered at all, although the rest of them fell into two categories. Many looked disgusted, either because the dummy existed in the first place or because it still hadn't been taken down. Some, however, looked up at the figure in awe, laughing and pointing.
These were mainly students in the upper years.
Since then, though, Sophia had grown cold and tired, and yawned while a bad thought occurred to her. Maybe she hadn't been specific enough with her Father. Maybe he wasn't coming tonight at all and she had just wasted her and David's evening entirely.
Her stomach rumbled painfully as she realised that she hadn't eaten since before the quidditch match. Resting her head on David's stiff shoulder, she closed her eyes for a second.
Suddenly she was jolted awake. She turned her head frantically towards David and saw that he was holding a finger to his lips before pointing between the bars of the staircase railing. Leaning forward to get a better look, Sophia watched as a small group of teachers and a pukwudgie quickly tore down the dummy, disposing of it efficiently. Sophia's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
Once they were gone, she turned back to her friend and whispered.
"If they could take it down so quickly, why didn't they do it before? And why were they in such a rush?"
David merely shrugged.
A few minutes later, it was Sophia's turn to point something out. A figure was walking out from beneath the stairs, cloaked in shadow. Sophia stood slowly and carefully, trying to see who it was.
"Father!" She called suddenly, scurrying down the stairs at break neck speed. Although it turned into falling once she realised that her legs had fallen asleep.
Percival turned and quickly flung himself forward, catching his daughter before she landed face first on the stone floor.
"Father I knew you'd come!" She said excitedly.
"I knew you'd wait for me." Percival said. "Is it safe to speak here? I want to get your side of the story." He glanced around, and for a second was shocked to see that someone else was there, although relaxed again almost immediately when he saw that it was just David, stretching his legs out in order not the fall over like his friend had done.
"It's safe, yes." Sophia said. "Since the feast ended only a few people have been here, and that was only about five minutes ago.
"Alright I need to know everything." Percival said.
- - - - -
When Sophia had finished her story, Percival looked as if he were ready to kill.
"So you say that they only took it down a little bit ago?" He asked, thinking back to the man who had run off after he had appeared in the office under the headmaster's orders.
"Yes. Personally we don't understand that. They seemed like they were in such a rush to get it down, and yet they waited over four hours to do so."
"It was because of me." Percival said. "They didn't want me seeing it. Or they wanted to make out like they'd sorted it out far earlier than they actually had." He sucked in a breath. "Sophia, tell me more about the dummy itself. I need specific details. Anything that you think may help me in my investigation."
Sophia scrunched up her nose in concentration and looked a bit lost. "I thought I'd told you everything already though."
"The handwriting." A small, uncertain voice said.
Percival and Sophia turned to look at David in surprise.
"What do you mean?" Percival asked, encouragingly.
"The handwriting was different from the note that Sophia showed me at the start of the year."
Percival pondered on this for a little bit, thinking about what else could be between Sophia's story and the pieces of paper that he and his husband had spent so long studying.
"This has to have been done by a different person." He said at last. "The difference in handwriting and the fact that the dummy could be taken down. It means that magic wasn't used to keep it up, the same way that magic was used to protect the messages." He paused again, thinking about the implications of his realisation. "That also means that it could've been anyone. Seventh year magic wasn't required."
- - - - - - - - - -
I almost didn't get this out on time because I completely forgot that today was Friday... Whoops.
Anyway, hoped you enjoyed it. :)
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Innocence
Fanfiction'Percival carefully took Credence's hands in his. "My darling." He said softly. "Hatred is a foul creature born initially from fear. But like a fire, as it spreads it becomes all-consuming and destructive. In time, the hatred may be quenched but fro...
