Bad Vibes
"BOOM."
An explosion suddenly blew open the door of an old mansion, an old mansion that looked high-class, yet clearly neglected; at least for the past couple of months.
Remus Lupin stepped in after blasting the door open, his wand raised, followed by Nymphadora Tonks.
The moment they crossed the threshold, a horrible smell hit them, making both of them grimace.
Meanwhile, a third person entered behind them; Edward Greengrass, whose face, as always, remained stoic. He calmly pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and placed it over his mouth and nose, while in his other hand he held his wand, quietly observing the surroundings inside the mansion.
"I think this is the address Sirius Black sent. It seems it's the right one," Remus said as he tried to cover his nose with his hand. But one side effect of having been a werewolf for so many years, even if he had been cured recently by Wanda, was that his sense of smell was far stronger than anyone else's. So he was fighting back a strong urge to throw up as he spoke.
"Mmm…" Edward murmured calmly as he began walking toward where the smell was coming from. His gaze checked every corner along the way, not just on guard, but alert for any kind of trap.
But as he moved forward, there didn't seem to be any… until he reached the exact source of that horrible smell.
Even he couldn't stop his face from tightening in disgust at what was laid out on the large table.
Tonks, walking behind him, leaned in for a moment before covering her mouth and running off, about to throw up. Remus didn't even look; he already knew what was there without needing to see it. The smell alone told him everything.
A corpse.
And not just that. A rotting corpse on the table.
The most disgusting part was that it had been cut into pieces and laid out on a large silver tray, like some kind of twisted banquet. Though there was only one plate, stained with dried blood, and cutlery that had clearly been used.
Edward stepped into the dining room and stared at the body from head to toe. Remus followed, but only glanced from the side, his expression clearly disgusted, unable to stand it for long. Tonks didn't even come back near the room.
Edward's gaze settled on the man's chest, covered in maggots, and he noticed that the bones of his torso and some ribs were broken. His heart, liver, and lungs were missing, though it was impossible to tell whether they had been removed… or eaten by vermin.
"Revelio," he murmured, moving his wand lightly.
But the spell revealed nothing.
Edward moved his wand again and murmured, "Appare Vestigium."
At once, golden dust flowed from his wand, spreading through the entire room. For a moment, it seemed to form shapes sitting around the table… but before they could take real form, the dust stopped and dropped to the floor all at once.
Edward's expression didn't change much as his eyes stayed fixed on the corpse.
"Is this the caretaker of this place?" Edward asked, studying the corpse's face, though it was barely recognizable.
"Looks like it. According to the information Wendel found, this house was looked after by a man named Frank Bryce. When the owner died, he was briefly arrested as the main suspect. Though he was later released due to lack of evidence, since the bodies that were found showed no signs of injury or poisoning. The muggle town kept suspecting him, so he wasn't close to anyone. Most likely, no one even noticed his disappearance," Remus said, giving the corpse a quick glance before looking away again.
"Avada Kedavra leaves no marks. Obviously, muggles have no way of finding much. Seems like the magical world failed this man more than once," Edward said in a serious tone.
Then he turned and stepped out of the dining room, observing the mansion for a moment. The paintings, the books, and some relics, most of them covered with white sheets, all thick with dust.
Tonks, who was outside the dining room, approached again, while Remus and Edward seemed to be thinking the same thing.
"Let's go. Check the next location," Edward said before walking toward the exit.
But for a moment, he stopped.
He looked toward the kitchen.
And, as a sign of respect for the man, he moved his wand slightly.
A flame ignited inside the mansion.
He wouldn't have to remain bound to that place anymore.
And his soul… could finally rest.
…
Harry, with a thoughtful expression, kept tapping the table in front of him with his finger, while his friends had already gone back to their own things, finishing the homework the professors had given them, just like most of the Ravenclaws.
"This doesn't make sense," Harry said suddenly, like he was trying to finish a thought that just wouldn't fit together.
That made Hermione Granger, Draco Malfoy, and Daphne Greengrass look at him for a moment.
"What doesn't?" Hermione asked, watching him closely.
"Those wizards who attacked us… they didn't seem to be targeting me directly.. Now that I think about it, it looked like they were targeting Crouch. But I was in the way," Harry said, in a serious tone.
"Well, that's obvious. They probably didn't want anyone finding out he had freed his son from prison or something like that," Daphne said, looking at her friend with a confused expression. "Even so, Sirius managed to get the information before the Ministry took Crouch away and locked him in St. Mungo's without allowing visitors," she added.
"No, it's not just that. Obviously, people finding out that Crouch's son is free and helping whoever's behind this would be a problem. But it's not something you'd risk breaking into Hogwarts for, especially now that it's protected by my mother. We already know everyone in England is afraid of her. And even so, they risked getting caught. So it's not just that," Harry said, his gaze still serious. "Crouch said something… a few words that no matter how much time passes, I can't get out of my head. He said he was afraid of the monster… and then he said 'demon.'"
"Couldn't it be that he thinks his son turned into one or something?" Draco asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah, but… why use those two terms?" Harry replied, still serious.
The others fell silent.
"Maybe you're just overthinking it," Daphne said calmly, knowing the three of them tended to do that sometimes; like with the golden egg problem.
"I don't know… that 'demon' thing still gives me a bad feeling. And those strange creatures that have been showing up lately…" Harry said, uneasy.
The others just exchanged glances.
"We said this year we'd leave everything in the hands of the adults. They seem to be doing everything they can to give us a normal year. And we agreed to support that," Hermione said firmly.
"Yeah, I know, but—"
"Just stop thinking about it. They'll handle it. They're already busy with all of this. When they need our help, they'll tell us. Meanwhile, we're just teenagers in a magical school. Besides, both you and Draco still need to prepare for the maze. You still don't know what you'll face inside," Hermione said, her tone serious.
"You're right, but…" Harry was about to continue, but when he saw Hermione's steady expression, he just let out a "Fine…" and dropped back into his seat. "Maybe I'm just looking for a distraction," he added, muttering to himself.
But even as he said that, he couldn't stop thinking about the word "demon."
And then, an image appeared in his mind.
A memory Billy had shared with him, about a dream.
A man covered in blood, eating something horrible.
And eyes completely red.
With a touch… strangely familiar.
"Demon…" Harry murmured, as that image kept lingering in his mind.
More than anything… those eyes looked way too similar to someone who used chaos magic.
"Harry. Luciel's looking for you outside," Terry said as he approached, raising a hand to get his attention.
"Oh, right." Harry said with a small smile, pushing all of that aside, like everything else dropped into the background. Now he had more important things to deal with… like a small bit of revenge against a certain half-veela.
Of course, his friends noticed and gave him a look, but Harry had already walked off.
"He's planning something bad, isn't he?" Draco said, like he had him completely figured out.
"Yes," Hermione said, nodding without hesitation.
"It's way too obvious," Daphne added with a faint smile.