The Unknown of the Order (Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery

The Vigilante

Diego's eyes widened. "You proposed to Sarah?"

He shook his head. "I was going to, but that was the night the Dark Lord returned. Sarah took off without me that night. Then I was stuck in Romania, then there was everything with my parents..."

"So, when are you going to do it then?"

"No point, now," said Barnaby. "Sarah said she just wants to be friends."

"Really?" Perhaps he imagined it, but it looked like Diego was trying not to smile. "That's...Sorry to hear that."

Barnaby glanced over to see Sarah returning to the table holding three mugs in between her hands. What looked like an edition of the Dailey Prophet was hanging from between the mugs and her left hand. 

"Please mate, don't say anything to Sarah about this."

This time, Diego really did smile. "I can promise you that."

Sarah sat the mugs down and the newspaper slid onto the table. The corner of it was wet from its contact to the mug, but a cloaked figure was still visible on the picture of the front page. It wasn't a photograph, it looked more like a hand-drawn sketch. The figure kept running into the frame, looking about, then disapparting. The headline read: VIGILANTE SPOTTED.

"I asked the guy at the bar about this vigilante person, and he handed me this," said Sarah sitting down. "Listen to this." The men bent their heads in close to hear her read from the paper. 

"The Hooded figure known as the Vigilante was spotted by a ministry worker as he or she attempted to place a bound victim in the entrance to the Ministry of Magic. The Vigilante appeared in front of the Ministry on Tuesday morning at 7 am when the invisibility cloak he or she had been wearing slipped off. 

"'As there were muggles all over the place, we couldn't do much in the way of catching him,' said Mr. Perkins, a ministry worker who'd gone in early to dispose of a batch of biting doorknobs. Perkins describes the figure as short and thin, but wearing a hooded cloak.

"The victim wished to remain anonymous, but ministry sources have confirmed that it was another person who aligned with You-Know-Who during the Wizarding War, but was cleared of any willful wrongdoing by the ministry."

Sarah put the paper down. "The rest is is just an interview with Fudge. He spouts off a lot of rubbish about the Vigilante acting out on prejudice, the threat he poses to the wizarding community, and he all but accuses Dumbledore of being behind it."

"Do you think Dumbledore is behind it?" asked Diego. 

Sarah shook her head. "I'm sure he knows about it, but I admit whoever this vigilante is, they aren't being discreet. I don't think Dumbledore would approve of their methods."

Barnaby concentrated hard on what the others were saying, trying to follow along. Why couldn't he understand anything if it wasn't about bowtruckles?

"So..." he said, wanting to be included in the conversation, "so this person knows how to find old Death Eaters?"

"Exactly," said Sarah. "The ministry could be right. They might only be rounding up people who aren't Death Eaters anymore--"

"But," said Diego, "they could actually be finding real Death Eaters, and the ministry refuses to admit it."

"Either way," said Sarah, "I'd like to know how they are tracking them all down."

"So, we need to find this Villain Auntie," said Barnaby. 

"Vigilante," said Sarah. She gave him the encouraging smile she always gave him when he tried to learn a new concept. For a moment, it made him forget everything that had happened since the Tri-Wizard Tournament. He had to stop himself from reaching under the table to grab her hand. "Problem is," she continued, "if the Ministry can't track this person down, I don't see how we can."

Barnaby pulled the paper to his side of the table to study the picture. "Is this a drawing?" he asked. 

Sarah nodded. "Based on what Perkins saw."

Barnaby looked hard at the picture. Back when he'd taken painting lessons with Badeea, she tried to teach them differences between painting male and female figures. He tried to remember what she'd said. Males usually were broader, taller, with sharper angles and straight lines, while women were softer and more curvy. 

He had no idea if the figure was male or female by the drawing, and realized that Perkins might not have done a great job describing the figure anyway, but he did notice something interesting in the picture. 

The figure had a long necklace around their neck. The chain hung down to their stomach. The pendant was large and round, with a small protrusion at the end, almost like a...dungbomb. 

Barnaby spun the paper back around to face Sarah and pointed at the necklace. "Look!"

Sarah peered down at it. "What?"

"Who do we know that has a necklace like that?"

Sarah gasped. "No way! Barnaby, you're a genius! I can't believe it!"

Barnaby frowned, confused. So, was he a genius or not?

Diego apparently felt much the same. "What are you talking about? How is he a genius?"

Sarah jumped up. "I'll explain everything back at the house," said Sarah. "Let's get out of here, before someone tries to murder us."