"Something's wrong, Jon… something's wrong…" A breathless voice came from one of the portraits.
"What is it, Dexter?" Jon looked up, frowning.
There was no need for Headmaster Dexter Fortescue to explain further. Outside, thunderous knocking erupted, like an earthquake shaking the door—
"Professor Dumbledore… Professor Dumbledore…"
It was the voice of Rubeus Hagrid, the Care of Magical Creatures professor.
Jon frowned slightly. Taking a sip of Polyjuice Potion, he said calmly, "Dexter, let Professor Hagrid in."
...
With a loud bang, the office door was flung open.
Hagrid barreled inside, a helmet-like cap perched atop his dark, wild hair.
"Professor Dumbledore… there's been an attack… Gryffindor's Katie Bell—she's in critical condition…" Hagrid gasped, his words tumbling out in a rush.
"Hagrid—" Albus Dumbledore tried to interrupt him.
"I just took Katie to the Hospital Wing… Harry and Hermione are dealing with that opal necklace—" Hagrid continued loudly.
"Hagrid!" Dumbledore raised his voice. "Calm down. Listen to me."
"Oh!" Hagrid froze, then nodded vigorously. "Right—yes, Headmaster."
"Am I to understand that Gryffindor's Katie Bell was attacked by an object—specifically the opal necklace you mentioned?" Dumbledore asked evenly.
"Yes, yes, that's right…" Hagrid nodded again and again.
"And what is Miss Bell's condition now?" Dumbledore continued.
"I took her straight to the Hospital Wing. Madam Pomfrey said her life's in danger…"
Dumbledore frowned. "And… were there any other witnesses?"
"Yes—Harry and Hermione were nearby. And there's another Gryffindor girl, Leanne—she's Katie's friend…" Hagrid replied, nodding once more.
"Very well. Where are they now? And the opal necklace you mentioned—have them come to my office at once," Dumbledore said.
"Just a moment, Headmaster… Oh—they're here!"
...
Because Hagrid had rushed Katie Bell to the Hospital Wing first, the three who had followed more slowly now arrived at the Headmaster's Office as well.
"Syrup biscuits!" Hermione Granger's clear voice rang out, followed by the familiar rumble of the staircase.
Harry, Hermione, and Leanne climbed the stairs and entered the office.
Rain and sleet battered the windows, making the glass rattle in its frame. Inside, however, the fireplace crackled with a strong, lively fire, filling the room with warmth.
"What happened?" Headmaster Albus Dumbledore asked, his expression grave.
The girl named Leanne began to speak haltingly. She was crying so hard that she had to stop several times mid-sentence.
She told Professor Dumbledore how Katie had gone to the restroom at the Three Broomsticks, and how she had come back acting strangely, carrying an unmarked package… how they had argued because she believed Katie shouldn't have agreed to pass along something of unknown origin; how the argument escalated until they started pulling at the parcel, which was torn open in the struggle…
At that point, Leanne completely broke down and could no longer speak.
"Very well, Miss Leanne," Dumbledore said, nodding thoughtfully. "Hagrid, would you please take her to the Hospital Wing? I believe Madam Pomfrey can help her calm down."
"Of course, no problem," Hagrid replied. He seemed to realize that his presence made the office feel far more cramped.
Bending low, he gently supported Leanne and guided her out of the room.
"Dilys," Dumbledore said to an old portrait hanging near the ceiling, "would you kindly go to the Hospital Wing and check on Miss Bell's condition?"
A witch with long, curling silver hair immediately opened her eyes. "At once."
"Phineas, go contact Professor Snape. And Dexter, contact Professor McGonagall," Dumbledore continued. "Have them come to my office as quickly as possible."
The three wizards stepped out through the sides of their portrait frames—but instead of appearing in neighboring frames, as so often happened at Hogwarts, they vanished entirely.
Only then did Dumbledore turn back to Harry and Hermione.
He took the scarf-wrapped necklace from Harry's hands and placed it on his desk. Raising the Elder Wand, he carefully loosened the scarf and made several deliberate, intricate gestures toward the necklace.
After a long moment of contemplation, he turned back to them. "What happened after Katie touched the necklace?"
"She rose into the air," Harry answered before Hermione could speak. "Then she started screaming, and after that she fell, Professor."
"And neither of you touched it afterward?"
"No. Hermione told me to wrap it up with a scarf…"
"A very wise decision, Miss Granger," Dumbledore said in praise, before turning away again.
He walked to the long table at the back of the office, searched for a moment, and finally picked up a silver statue shaped like a goat.
...
Professor Severus Snape and Professor Minerva McGonagall entered the Headmaster's Office one after the other.
They already knew what had happened.
Professor Snape had been summoned by Phineas. Professor McGonagall, on the other hand, appeared not to have received Dexter's message at all—she had instead run into Leanne and Hagrid in the corridor.
Snape went straight for the opal necklace on the desk, raising his wand toward it without hesitation.
Professor McGonagall, meanwhile, looked over Harry and Hermione with concern, asking them several follow-up questions.
As for Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, he maintained his usual 'unfathomable' expression, clearly deep in thought.
When Snape finally lowered his wand—
Dumbledore asked calmly, "Severus, what do you think?"
"Miss Bell was very lucky," Severus Snape replied in his usual emotionless tone. "A highly dangerous curse was placed on that opal necklace. It seems only a small patch of her skin came into contact with it—there was a tiny hole in her glove. Had she worn the necklace around her neck, or even picked it up with an ungloved hand, she would have died. Quite possibly on the spot."
"Thank you, Severus," Dumbledore said mildly. "I believe I'll need you to assist Miss Bell now. Madam Pomfrey may not be able to contain the curse's rapid spread on her own."
"Yes, Headmaster," Snape replied, giving a slight nod. He picked up the scarf-wrapped necklace, cast a sideways glance at Harry Potter, and left the Headmaster's Office.
With Snape gone, Harry seemed to muster his courage.
After hesitating for a moment, he spoke up. "I think it was Draco Malfoy who gave Katie that necklace, Professor."
"Oh?" Dumbledore's tone lifted slightly. "That is a very serious accusation."
"I don't believe that's possible, Mr. Potter," Professor McGonagall said firmly. "Mr. Malfoy did not go to Hogsmeade today."
"What?" Harry froze. "But how could—"
"Because he spent the entire day in detention with me," Professor McGonagall said sternly. "He has failed to complete his Transfiguration homework twice in a row, Mr. Potter."
She then turned to Dumbledore. "By the way, Professor Dumbledore, there's something else…"
"What is it, Minerva?"
"When I saw Leanne just now, she seemed a bit calmer," Professor McGonagall said gravely. "She told me that the person Katie intended to deliver the necklace to… was you."
...
The Headmaster's Office fell instantly silent.
Hermione Granger's face showed clear fear, while Harry Potter looked openly angry.
"Deliver it to me?" Albus Dumbledore, however, seemed far from surprised. "I don't believe that would have been a very wise choice."
"Why do you say that?" Professor McGonagall asked, taken aback.
"Because she could never have passed Mr. Filch's inspection with that necklace," Dumbledore replied calmly. "Though in that case, the one most likely to be injured would have been Mr. Filch himself."
"I see…"
"And similarly," Dumbledore continued, "the necklace couldn't have been brought out from within Hogwarts either, for the same reason—it wouldn't have made it past Mr. Filch…"
"…And since Miss Bell went to the restroom to retrieve the package containing the necklace, the person who handed it to her was, in all likelihood, a woman."
Dumbledore paused, then once again walked to the long table at the back of the office and picked up the silver goat-shaped statue.
"The weather was dreadful today, so business at the Three Broomsticks wasn't very good," he said with a faint smile. "I happen to be on decent terms with the barman next door at the Hog's Head. He told me that during the time Miss Bell was coming and going from the Three Broomsticks, aside from Hogwarts students, there was only one female customer present—Nymphadora Tonks."
"It can't have been Tonks!" Harry blurted out. "Unless… unless she was under the Imperius Curse!"
"That's impossible as well," Hermione said firmly. "We spoke to her. She didn't show any signs of abnormal behavior at all."
"I trust Nymphadora completely," Dumbledore said evenly. "And attempting to control an Auror with the Imperius Curse is no easy feat."
Professor McGonagall and Hermione both stiffened, then nodded solemnly.
Only Harry stood there, looking completely at a loss.
"That will be all for now," Dumbledore said at last. "I ask only that you do not speak of anything you heard here to anyone else."
...
"What is really going on?" Harry Potter whispered once they'd left the Headmaster's Office.
"Isn't it obvious?" Hermione replied matter-of-factly. "If Professor Dumbledore is certain it wasn't Tonks, then there's only one person who could have given the necklace to Katie."
"Who?" Harry still looked confused.
"Madam Rosmerta," Hermione said helplessly. "She was the only woman in the Three Broomsticks at the time, aside from the students and Tonks."
"Oh—right!" Harry suddenly understood. "No wonder… I thought Madam Rosmerta seemed a bit off at the time. She must've been under the Imperius Curse…"
As he spoke, Harry frowned again. "But then why didn't Professor Dumbledore contact the Aurors? Why make us keep it secret?"
"Oh, Harry…" Hermione couldn't help rubbing her forehead. "That necklace was meant for Professor Dumbledore. That means someone tried to use Madam Rosmerta to attack—or even kill—him. If you arrest her immediately without flushing out the Death Eater behind her, what good does that do?"
"That makes sense…"
"And besides," Hermione added, shaking her head, "an attacker who's already been exposed is far less dangerous than one still hiding in the shadows."
...
At that very moment, back in the Headmaster's Office.
Headmistress Dilys Derwent had returned to her portrait.
"How is she?" Jon Hart asked with clear concern.
"Professor Snape has already brought the curse under control," Dilys replied with a smile. "He and Madam Pomfrey are preparing to transfer the girl to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. I believe she'll recover very soon."
"Good. Thank you for your trouble, Dilys."
"It was nothing, Jon… and I have another piece of good news," Dilys continued.
"Oh?" Jon looked at her in surprise.
"Miss Greengrass in the Hospital Wing appears to have woken up," Headmistress Dilys Derwent said, smiling broadly.