The Graveyard

I sat at my desk, twirling my quill between my fingers. So many people had already been killed. There was talk of shutting the school down, but I was doing my best to block it at every turn. We would find the killer!

I was currently drafting a letter to the Board of Governors, and the Minister of Magic, outlining our plan. I glanced at the person across from me. We were both deep in thought, trying to figure out how to say 'Fuck off,' but perhaps in a more politically correct way.

"Well what if we say-" I began, then stopped. I switched to twiddling the quill between two fingers. It was lucky we hadn't been having much luck, or ink would have been everywhere. "Damn it!" I exclaimed as my quill finally gave up and snapped in half.

"Here!" she said, reaching into her handy bag. "Take this one."

"Thanks, but I've got one... somewhere," I replied, searching my desk.

"Just take it." She rolled her eyes. I grinned sheepishly, accepting it.

We finished the letters, then cast drying spells and rolled them up. I handed them to my owl, who took off out the window.

The person across from me stood to leave. I tried to hand back the quill. "Keep it," she shrugged. "I've got plenty."

"Thanks," I nodded, leaning back in my chair as she walked out the door. I pulled off the back feathers, as they got in the way when I chewed on them. It was, I reflected, one thing definitely in favor of muggle writing utensils.

I had been chewing for a minute before the odd taste registered. I leapt up, rushing to my bookcase, hoping to be able to figure out the potion that I wasn't even sure yet was lethal. In my haste, I ignored my paper cut.

Frantically searching, I didn't notice the swing slowly open. I didn't notice the person enter the room until I spun around, having exhausted my limited supply of potions books. The person grinned. It took on a distinctly different edge than it had only minutes before. I couldn't breathe.

"It wasn't the quill," she giggled.

"Then what was it?" I asked. My expression turned from false-calm to horror as my arm went numb, then bit by bit, the rest of my body.

"The books!" She giggled again. "If you hadn't cut yourself so the blood-extracting potion entered directly into your blood stream, it would have gotten you eventually, as it is very difficult to wash off."

The grinning face of my betrayer was the last image I saw as the torturously slow-acting potion brought me to my knees. I closed my eyes, slumping to the side, before breathing my last breath.

I pant as I lean against a tree, staring around. Serpent, my friend, was nowhere in sight. 'Surely she can't be this slow?' I think to myself. Only moments ago, she had ambled up, claiming to be bored and full of pent up energy. A race had seemed like the perfect solution.

I was pretty fast, and just because Serpent was my friend didn't mean I was going to go easy on her. She had raced beside me for a while, but she turned her head and watched a few students go past. The distraction was enough for me to gain a considerable lead.

That was the last time I had seen her.

'You okay there?' a person approached, smiling as I leant over to catch my breath.

'Yeah, thanks,' I replied. 'Just had a race. Have you seen Serpent?'

'No, I haven't sorry,' the person replied. 'But you seem parched. Would you lik a drink?' she held out a glass, full to the brim with bubbling pumpkin juice. It was ice-cold and looked utterly delicious.

'Thanks!' I exclaimed, taking it from her and taking large gulps from it. I pause, looking over the brim at her grinning face. 'Oh, crap,' I laugh. 'You put omething in here, didn't you? What was it?'

I look around. The place was deserted. We were alone.

'Oh, just some lethal poison,' she replied offhandedly, inpsecting her fingernails.

'Excuse me?' I choked. I was starting to get short of breath. The more I struggled, the weaker I got. She watched me with a small smile as a clutched at her robes with one hand, the other tearing at my throat.

My last thought before I died was, 'Gosh, I hope Serpent's okay...'

NEW GAME HERE!

Detective: SerpentInRed

Of course we were friends, well not as good of friends as she is with other but still, so it didn’t seem odd at all when she asked me to help her with her Transfig. Homework (I am Ravenclaw alum after all!). I went to our beautiful library and wander through the section with books on the topic we were to be studying (optical repair charms) and readied our table. The same table we’d sat at over Halloween when we first met to discuss my lack of aptitude at herbology and, conversely, her aptitude for the blasted thing. She’d given me a book to help me study up on the subject way back when, but, I confess, my school work had kept me from it.
“What if she asks me about it?” it occurred to me as I awaited her arrival. I summoned it quickly and the moment it was in my hand I had it open. The binding tore like in some movie with too cheap of special effects, and I felt myself slipping into the book.
I wasn’t trapped. No. I was simply gone. As though I’d never existed at all.
(this is my first "death please PM me with comments!)

I always liked gazing at the House Point hourglasses by the entrance hall, especially the sapphire ones of the Ravenclaws. It makes me want to come there at night and just break the damn things, steal them, then leave the country. This night, though, students were forbidden to be out, since a friend of mine from Ravenclaw had gone missing. The whole day all of the Ravens had been dispatched to look for her. I was the only one left in Hogwarts, to report to them if ever Quik reappeared. It was slightly disconcerting that Dumbles wasn't doing anything about it though. It just so happens that the patrol bored me that I just had to drift off. Quik to me always did resemble the blue jewels in the hourglass, so I figured that I just had to look at them again, to see the her fading smile in the reflection of the hourglass and the twinkle of her eyes in the jewels.

And then, I was veering off course from the direction of the hourglass, like puppet strings were pulling me.

Oh, the Imperius Curse.

And would you look at that? A noose, precariously tied to one of the high chandeliers. So I was gonna die then. I kind of figured that out when my controller made me put the noose on. She appeared out from behind the only hourglass not beside ours, waving her wand casually. I then felt myself shimmer. My eyes darted to my arms, which were reaching for the rope, but they weren't there. I guessed at that point that she doesn't want me discovered when she put the disillusionment charm on me.

So, I died hanging by the rope, for everyone not to see. I can see why Dumbles didn't think she, or anyone close to her for the matter, is to be accused.

(I'm sorry, she didn't exactly pose a theme of death, so i kinda improvised : /)

My mind was oddly hazy as I patrol the dungeons. Not completely surprising, I supposed, considering I'd spent the day teaching and most of the night roaming the corridors. The mysterious disappearances of the two Ravenclaws had everyone baffled and on edge.

Some of the haze burned away as I entered the Entrance Hall. I didn't remember deciding to go up the stairs, nor was it a part of my route.

The haze pulled in around my mind once more, making me momentarily content before I realized something was wrong.

I snarled, recognizing the Imperius. The anger helped me push through the fog again.

She stood by the Point Hourglasses, a happy little smile on her face like a young Hufflepuff.

"Brave, girl," I spat, taking a step towards her, only to be stopped in my tracks by renewed power on the curse. My arm refused use the wand held loosely at my side. "Using the Unforgivables. What are your plans for me, then?"

Her smile broadened, now looking like something you'd see on the most malicious of my students before they declared they'd drowned your cat. It reminded me more of a certain Headmaster, however, considering everything. "I think, the same fate as that stupid Ravenclaw boy should do the trick," she said, pointing up.

My head automatically tilted upwards without conscious control. There, dimly, I could see the faintest outline of a body under a disillusionment, swinging back and forth in winter drafts, a ghastly omen for any who saw it.

The haze was closing again: I too tired to fight it, and the girl had just plucked my last hope--my wand--from my unresponsive fingers. I remember putting the noose on my own neck, and then no more.

New Game!

Detective is Miss Marauder.

(Okay guys, follow my lead!)

Wow, I thought to myself as I logged on to my computer (smuggled in and spelled to work) and signed into my emails. I had 143.
Most of them were from various social networking sites, there were a few FWDs, and one or two from my friends. I deleted all the FWDs and social networking sites straight away, they were useless, and decided to open one of the remaining emails that looked promising.
'Meet me in the Room of Requirements,' it said.
Okay, so maybe not as promising as I had thought, but either way ... I shrugged, logged off and picked up a book I had been meaning to give back to them.
It wasn't exactly early, about five minutes past curfew, but that was one of the perks of being a Prefect, I got to wander around "patrolling". That, and I could bail them out if we both got caught.
I made my way up the stairs to the Seventh Floor, so lost in thought I almost didn't see Mich as I walked straight into him.
"Oh my snape! I am so sorry, Mich! I wasn't paying attention," I admitted sheepishly.
"'S alright," he said quietly. Then, before I could say another word, he walked off and disappeaed around the corner.
I wonder what's wrong with him, I thought as I carried on.
I was almost at the Roomof Requirements, when a chill ripped down my spine. I shuddered, and looked behind me, just in case Peeves had decided to bother me, though we usually managed to get along. No one. Unless he was invisible ...
I didn't even feel it as the bullet shot through me. The book fell from my hands and dropped to the floor with a thud! opening to a page I could not see and the last thing I remembered was their brilliantly wicked grin, like that of a snake, gleaming with pride after it's first kill ... and strangely, Emma ... I recognized them in the last few seconds of my life, and briefly, the sharp, sweet pang of betrayel rushed through me ... How could you? I thought unhappily. I had not expected this, not from them.


(What do ya think, ne? Yay! I dieeeeed! PM me and tell me what you think!)

I glanced down at the book in my hands, rushing up the steps to the common room to return it. It wasn't actually vitally important, but I had always made a point to keep my word, and returning something on time was part of it.

As I rushed up the stairs, praying they didn't move before I got to the top. They did, of course. They always do when you're in a hurry.

I took a moment to get my bearings before rushing off again. I was in such a hurry, I barely noticed Mich walking down the hall, muttering about witches calling him stupid and running into him.

I heard footsteps behind me, making me slow. Just as I was about to turn, I heard a click. As if in slow motion, I fell, catching a brief glimpse of pink and the sound of feet running away as I slumped to the ground, drawing my final breath.

I was sitting under a tree near the lake. It was as sunny day, not a cloud in the sky. I was waiting to return the book I had borrowed, to it’s owner. It was a book about the life cycle of dragons, which I found really fascinating. Well I am a Ravenclaw, after all. I looked up and saw Mich coming out of the Entrance Hall , looking rather depressed. Poor guy, he hasn’t been the same since that Gryffindor girl said he was stupid. All he does mope around the Ravenclaw common room, mumbling to himself. I then saw a friend of mine, she looked happy hanging out with some other people that I hadn’t seen before.
No sign of the owner of the book, however. I sighed. The sun was starting to set.
Oh well, I thought to myself, I’ll give it back to tomorrow. I stood up to leave. Suddenly I heard a loud ‘bang’, and a terrible pain shot through my left leg. I stumbled forward, and fell onto my knees, which made my left leg burn with agonising pain. I looked up, I saw tall, dark, figure looming over me, I couldn’t make out who it was at first. Then it hit me.
“Why?”, I asked weakly.
They just smiled wickedly, showing their teeth, that seemed to twinkle in the twilight.
Bang. It seemed to echo in my head, then I realised, I had been shot in the chest. I fell onto my side, and watched my killer’s eyes fill with tears. Then everything went black.

"Yeah see you later MM," I said, everyone was handling the deaths shockingly well but we were all scared, curfew had been moved insanely far forward and so I had to hurry and return this book to a friend of a friend, I was kind of scared because I had I was suspicious of everyone (which made me feel awful because these are friends here) I also felt a little dumb because like this crazy fun Gryffindor is someone to worry about.
"Opps, sorry Mike."
"Where're you headed Quik?"
"I've got to return this before curfew," I'll admit I was shocked he responded as through-out all the deaths he's become more and more withdrawn.
"Be careful," and he walked off.
I wish I had been careful.
I was about halfway down the corridor to the Gryffs tower I saw a small smear of something red on the floor. I, being a bit of an idiot, followed the smear and came to more and more, I was so concentrated on what I now was sure was blood that I ended up running (hard) into the door to which the blood led. I opened the door and stepped inside turning on the lights.
"Oh my blog," I said before I heard the door click shut and the lock turned, "Oh, good it's only you-"
The words were all but stolen from my mouth by barrel leveled with my face and the trigger was pulled, it was a quick death (no pun intended).