Chapter 11 ~ The First Death.

"How ya feeling mate?'' Karil enquired as he sat down by his friend's hospital bed. 

Ly pulled a face. ''Well, Madam Pomfrey mended my leg in a jiffy. The only thing that's keeping me here is that apparently I still need to 'rest'.''

Karil raised his eyebrows. ''Sounds like she made short work of your injury then. I thought it was serious.''

''Undoubtedly less serious than a coma. Yeah, it kinda exploded, but she healed it up in no time.'' Ly looked at the box of confectionary in Karil's hand, purposely steering away from the uncomfortable subject of Maurelle's prophecy.

''So, what about having some of that then?'' 

Karil grinned and handed him a chocolate frog. ''Just don't get chocolate on the sheets.'' He advised his friend. ''Madam Pomfrey nearly refused to let me bring them in here until I swore that we wouldn't dirty anything.''

Ly grinned and tore open the packet. ''Believe me, I wouldn't waste any chocolate on smearing the sheets. After eating nothing but savoury for the past day, I'm assure you I'll eat all of that box.''

Twenty minutes of light conversation and eating of confectionary followed Ly's resolution, and sure enough, twenty minutes after he declared it, the box was empty and both boys were full. 

The small talk had been enjoyable, but once the confectionary had stopped distracting Ly, he finally asked Karil why he'd not been sent into a coma. He'd been dying to know why it hadn't happened but had kept silent about the incident in Karil's visit, as he could tell it was an awkward subject. But now he needed to know.

''Karil, why did I not get hit by the bludger and sent into a comatose? What happened to stop the prophecy from taking place?''

Karil sighed. He knew the question would come up. But Ly had to know what had happened. 

''Maurelle.'' Was his short answer. Ly raised his eyebrows. 

''Come on mate, don't give me that. I need the full story.''

With another sigh, Karil began from the start of the quidditch match and explained what had happened as simply as he could, leaving out the emotional side of things.

''So, yeah.'' Karil finished. He watched Ly rest back on the pillows and let out breath.

''God, I've been such a git.'' Ly concluded. Karil restrained a grin. It was a funny reaction after a rather serious story. Ly looked up at his friend. ''I can't wait till I'm out of this bed. I have to thank her. Not to mention apologize for my awful behavior.''

Karil made no remark, just nodded, there didn't seem to be anything to say. Then the short moment of reflection on Ly's part was interrupted by an angry shriek from Madam Pomfrey as she discovered a smudge of chocolate on the pillow.

***

''Hey! Maurelle!'' 

She turned to look up at the two boys as they raced down the stairs after her. A scowl immediately dawned on her face as her eyes flickered over Ly, who had now slowed to a halt and was panting slightly. Ly tried not to be put off by her disgusted expression. His usual charming demeanor was then replaced with sincerity.

''Maurelle, I'd like to apologize for my diabolical behavior towards you when you ended up saving me. I am truly sorry.'' He rushed it a bit, but it seemed to make an impression.

Karil watched Maurelle's face as Ly addressed her gravely. She was inspecting him closely, like Karil when he summed up a person. It was that look when you felt like she was looking into your soul with that powerful grey stare. At one moment Karil though he saw a flicker of a soft smile on her face. And the the usual expression returned. He shook his head slighty to himself. She was always like that, cold, determined. He wished he knew who the real Maurelle was, underneath the hard exterior.

Ly looked at Maurelle for conformation. Karil was also staring at the girl. Was she actually going to be friendly?

''You are forgiven.'' No, her voice was cold as she stalked away. Ly turned to his friend with a sigh. 

''Well, at least I'm in the clear.'' 

Karil nodded. ''Come on then, let's get to breakfast. Otherwise all the bacon'll gone.'' The last comment triggered a fast pace down the stairs from Ly and Karil followed him to the great hall.

''You got any post?'' Ly asked after reading a warming letter from his parents. Karil shook his head.

''Just the daily prophet. Probably a waste of time to be honest.'' He unrolled the tube of paper and shook it out to reveal the front page. There was a gasp from both him and his friend. Now they knew why the whispers had started a few minutes ago.

Adorning the front page of the paper was a picture of a tall, regal looking witch, and above the picture, the headline;

''MISSING MINISTRY OFFICIAL FOUND DEAD IN SCOTLAND.''

The boys exchanged glances before reading on.

''Important ministry official Ophelia Fitzroy has been found dead in a woodland on the outskirts of Mawdon, the all-wizarding village in the scottish highlands not far from Hogsmeade, after being reported as missing two weeks ago. It is thought to be the work of criminal by the name of Calix Trail, who escaped the clutches of aurors when being escorted to Askaban last year. Miss Fitzroy was a valuable member of the wizengamot and worked on several court cases, including that of Trail, therefore it is presumed he wished to have revenge on the woman, who declared his sentence the year before. She was a talented member of the ministry and her loss is mourned by all who worked there, including the minister himself. We interviewed a close colleague of hers, Fenelia Darmon.

''She was a very shrewd, sizing woman who took no nonsense but was fair in every way, and very dedicated to her job. She was slightly obsessed with the case involving Calix Trail, as she feared dark wizards paticularly, and hadn't been herself since his escape. She went to Scotland for a short holiday a month back, but when her letters stopped coming I became worried and after a week reported her silence. It was then revealed to me that she had gone missing from her holiday lodge. The last two weeks have been agony for me, and finding her dead was a hard blow to me. We are all missing her at the ministry, and the minister himself has donated to the memorial that we have created there.''

And we will mourn also the loss of this treasured ministry worker. All is being done to capture the suspected Calix Trail.

-Joanne Montgomery, reporter for ''The Daily Prophet''.''

The murmurs around the tables had increased to full-scale debates by now between the students, and the Headmistress, slightly alarmed by this reaction, stood up and rapped sharply on the table with her wand to gain the student's attention.

''Now, I understand that it alarming that this crime has been committed near our very school itself, but I must assure you that we are now on high-security mode and all teachers are aware and prepared for any attacks, though it is thought to be  unlikely any will occur. For now, I ask that you take extra care when outside the castle, and I regret to say the next Hogsmeade weekend has been cancelled.'' A loud uproar came after this, but the headmistress gave her audience a steely glance and they quietened. ''Now, I believe that all of you will have classes to attend. Breakfast is over.''

The dishes and remaining food vanished from the tables and the students, beginning to whisper once more, made to get up and hurry to their classes. Karil and Ly were the only ones silent, excluding their neighbour, Maurelle, who walked silenly away with her brow creased. The three all seemed to be deep in thought as they hurried from the hall.