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"Yes." Affirmed the red-haired Ravenclaw. "While House MacDougal doesn't make business with House Selwyn - they're the leaders in the market of the Potions ingredients," she added when Alexandra raised an eyebrow, "we are allied with House Slughorn who are their main competitors and monitor their main commands. And in August, Hogwarts passed an order to House Selwyn of fifty Mandrakes for their greenhouses."
"It might still be a complete coincidence." Grumbled Hermione Granger, passing her nerves on her poor owl quill. The writing instrument wasn't going to work well after such a treatment.
"Perhaps or perhaps not." Try as she might, the Potter Heiress didn't see anything in their courses which might require this expenditure. They had studied the Mandrakes in Herbology, and the Potions from first to seventh year using them required one or two leaves. A plant or two was explainable. A lot of fifty was not. "Professor Sprout told us several times this year and the last the greenhouse earns money for the school. Not only that, but it supplies freely around one-thirds of all the Potions supplies for an entire year. There are some seeds they need to command because of the novelties and the regulations, but that's all. How much is worth a Mandrake apiece? "
"At the price of the market, my parents told me it was around twenty-seven Galleons each." Replied the MacDougal Heiress, reading the information on a parchment looking like a familial letter.
Fifty Mandrakes by twenty-seven gave a total purchase of one thousand three hundred and fifty Galleons. A rapid mental calculus and the last free member of House Potter arrived to the impressive number of twenty-five thousand six hundred and fifty pounds. Watching the bushy-haired Gryffindor, the green-eyed witch knew she had arrived to the same result.
"Still believe it's a coincidence, Hermione?"
"Err..." The huge sum left for an instant the Gryffindor girl speechless.
"No, it's not a coincidence, Alexandra." Told Nigel in a voice which was different from his usual timid one. "And there's another thing you've not noticed. We are speaking about how mature Mandrakes are needed to bring back the petrified victims back to normal, right?
"Yes..." She said, not realising where Nigel wanted to go to.
"Then why aren't Professor Dumbledore and the teachers buying mature ones immediately? The potion to brew can't be that difficult for a Potions Master like Snape, isn't it? One month at worst, and the professors know who has attacked the students. The only reason why they wouldn't do it is... "
"They already know who is responsible for the attacks...or at least they have a strong suspicion." Finished Hermione in a weak voice.
For a moment, everyone around the table looked at each other, trying to digest the implications of that news. Finally, Alexandra chose to break the silence.
"You could be right, Nigel. On the other hand, ordering non-mature Mandrakes in August and not buying mature ones don't require a massive Professor conspiracy to exist."
"In that case why are the Professors not talking to us?"
"Because the Vows they took when they were hired prevent them to talk to us about such matters." Revealed Morag. "There's no need to be a massive conspiracy inside Hogwarts. You only need one person to do all this."
"The one who's sitting in the Headmaster seat?" Asked Nigel, with a resignation suggesting he knew already the answer.
"Yep. The one sitting in the Headmaster's seat when he's not busy running to the Wizengamot and the ICW meetings." The presence of Dumbledore at Hogwarts had not increased since last year. If anything, it seemed to have slightly decreased. Unsurprisingly, doing three jobs at the same time was time-consuming.
There was a new moment where no one dared speaking, Alexandra finishing her Charms homework, Hermione her Astronomy chart and Nigel working with Morag on Potions preparations. This time it was Morag who raised her head to start anew the conversation.
"Well at least we have a clue. To know Mandrakes cure the victims, there must have been an incident at Hogwarts in the past."
"Yes, but Hogwarts is a thousand years old." Complained Hermione.
"No need to go back that far." Said Morag, playing absently with her hair strands. "It must have happened while Dumbledore was present. But I'm not sure if he was student or Professor when it happened."
"Only a hundred years or so of Daily Prophet archives to search. Joy." Sarcastically commented Alexandra. "Oh, no need to make me the big eyes, Morag. I'll do it." The MacDougal Heiress had indeed begun to glance suggestively at her. "But it's going to take me a good time to find what we search. Assuming we're right, it could have happened anytime between the 1880s and the 1980s."
"Okay. In the mean time, I will search any artefact, spell or monster having the capacity to petrify its victims." Assured Hermione. "That's pretty...vague, when you think of it."
"Do what you can, Hermione. In any cases, if the Heir continues on the same attack schedule, there are going to be more victims before we manage to the clues we need."
"By Merlin I hope not." Whispered Morag. Louder, she added: "Have you seen how Hogwarts students react?"
The four second-years all grimaced as they ranged their essays, ink, quills and parchments. The attacks on Creevey and Frazer had sounded the opening phase of a true atmosphere of fear at Hogwarts. Muggle-borns and Half-Bloods students were now only travelling in pack, seeking safety in numbers. The air abounded with horror tales and suspicions of who was behind the attacks. When the teachers were nowhere in sight, older students sold items and talismans supposed to protect the younger from evil influences. Nigel had considered buying some during a class break, before Morag and Alexandra convinced him that an evil-smelling onion, no matter how disgusting and dirty, was unlikely to deter a force which attacked adults and children indifferently.