Marietta Edgecombe wasn't exactly pretty—she could even be considered a bit homely.
She had reddish-blonde curls, was slightly plump, and freckles dotted her face.
When she walked into the basement of the Three Broomsticks, she looked absolutely terrified.
"Dear Marietta!" Selwyn stood up, walked over, and gently wrapped her arm around Marietta's.
Like a puppet pulled by invisible strings, Marietta let herself be led to the round table and sat down helplessly.
She glanced timidly at the Slytherin students surrounding her… even though she, a sixth-year Ravenclaw, was older than most of the D.A. members present.
With a pleading expression, she looked at Selwyn.
"Please, Tiffany… don't make me…"
"No need to worry about that. This is just a little gathering…" Selwyn said sweetly.
Then she picked up the Butterbeer laced with Veritaserum and placed it in front of Marietta Edgecombe.
"Go on, drink it, Marietta," she said softly.
Marietta's trembling hand took hold of the mug.
"Just finish this, and we'll be friends," Selwyn said in an enticing voice. "And once we're friends, we won't force you to say anything you don't want to…"
"Really?" Marietta stared at her in disbelief. "Tiffany… you won't trouble my mother anymore?"
"Of course not!" Selwyn nodded pleasantly.
Miss Marietta Edgecombe seemed to finally make up her mind. She raised the Butterbeer.
Jon frowned as he watched the naïve Ravenclaw girl gulp down the entire mug in one go.
...
Miss Edgecombe suddenly looked unwell. She clutched her head and let out several low groans…
After ten seconds or so, she opened her eyes again—now unfocused, her cheeks slack, her movements slow and vacant.
"Can you hear me?" Jon asked calmly.
Marietta's eyelids fluttered.
"I can hear you," she whispered.
"Selwyn, Pansy—get a quill. Write down everything she says." Jon turned and instructed the two girls.
They quickly fumbled through their bags.
"Who are you?" Jon asked first.
"Marietta Edgecombe," she said, taking a deep, shaky breath before speaking again in a flat, emotionless voice.
"Did you join Potter, Weasley, and Granger in forming a group opposing Professor Dolores Umbridge?" Jon continued gently. "Tell me everything you know about this group."
"Yes… On the first Sunday of October, Granger from Gryffindor organized the meeting. I didn't want to go, but Cho dragged me along because her boyfriend Cedric was attending…"
"Get to the point!" Blaise Zabini interrupted impatiently.
Marietta flinched, looking terrified. She darted panicked glances around the room, barely able to speak.
Jon shot Blaise a sharp glare. Blaise gave an awkward laugh and shrank back.
"Comfort her," Jon signaled to Selwyn.
Selwyn immediately wrapped an arm around Marietta and murmured soothing words until the girl calmed down.
When Marietta's emotions stabilized, Jon asked again,
"Marietta, the meeting Granger organized… tell us everything about it."
"It was at the Hog's Head. Granger and Potter persuaded us to join an illegal group called 'Dumbledore's Army.' At first, our purpose was simply to oppose Umbridge and uncover the truth behind 'Jon Hart's' death; but after Professor Alastor Moody left the school, our goal turned into practicing defensive spells…" Marietta said softly.
When she mentioned "Dumbledore's Army (D.A.)," expressions turned peculiar among the members of the "Dolores Association (D.A.)."
"Quite a coincidence, isn't it?" Sean Avery whispered into Jon's ear.
"Yeah," Jon nodded calmly—though the satisfaction he felt inside was unmistakable.
Marietta continued describing everything:
"...For the past few months, we've met once or twice a week in a secret room on the eighth floor. They say it's sometimes called the Room of Requirement…"
"And when is your next meeting?" Jon asked once she finished.
Marietta responded in the same monotone:
"...Granger gave each of us a Galleon. The meeting time appears on it the day before."
As she spoke, she pulled the gold coin from her pocket.
Jon almost reached out—but hesitated. What if Hermione had cast some curse on the coin? Something that harmed anyone outside Dumbledore's Army who touched it...
"Blaise, take it. Hand it to Professor Umbridge right now!" Jon said, turning toward Blaise Zabini.
Poor Blaise had no idea Jon was using him as a test subject. He immediately stood, grabbed the Galleon, and said,
"I'll take care of it, Christopher!"
Then he dashed out of the basement, scampering toward the castle.
...
After another ten minutes of questioning—
Miss Marietta Edgecombe had confessed everything. And just as Jon expected, no purple pustules appeared on her face.
Pansy Parkinson and Tiffany Selwyn had finished their notes as well.
"Then we're done here…" Jon said, standing.
Not wanting to give Selwyn a chance to trap him in conversation, he quickly left the basement and stepped out of the Three Broomsticks.
"Looks like Christopher has a date," several D.A. members murmured.
"Seems that way. Wonder who it is?"
...
A few minutes later, Jon arrived at the entrance of Madam Puddifoot's Tea House.
Because it was Valentine's Day, the place was more crowded than usual.
His left hand pressed lightly against the ring on his right—ready to take it off at any moment. Jon lowered his head, preparing to slip into the teahouse.
"Oof—"
Not paying attention, he bumped straight into a girl standing at the doorway.
"Sorry…" Jon said quickly, lifting his head.
He froze.
The girl, too, stiffened for a moment. Her brow creased, but she recovered almost instantly.
"Are you here to see my sister, Mr. Patrick?" Daphne Greengrass asked calmly.