CONTENT AND TRIGGER WARNING: This chapter contains content that might be troubling to some readers, including, but not limited to, depictions of and references to death, self-harm and suicide, graphic violence, sexual assault, strong language and more.

Please be mindful of these sensitive themes and other possible triggers. Remember to practice self-care before, during and after reading.

LORELEI

We witnessed with our own eyes how someone was murdered by the Avada Kedavra killer. Everything went silent and everyone held their breaths as if the world had stopped from turning.

"ROWEN!" Napatayo si Lucius mula sa pagkakaluhod at akmang hahawakan na ang lalaking nakabulagta sa stage. Pati si Helios na ilang hakbang ang layo sa kapwa niya founder, tinangka rin siyang hawakan.

"DON'T TOUCH HIM!" Loki shouted, rushing up to the stage where the victim was unconsciously lying. His yell caused the two on the stage to freeze for a minute. He knelt before the body and felt the pulse on the latter's wrist. Tumingin siya sa akin at marahan siyang umiling. "He's gone."

Almost everyone in the hall let out a gasp, causing unintelligible murmurs that sounded like buzzing of bees.

"Baka 'yan ang Avada Kedavra curse!" sigaw ng isa sa mga attendee. Napa-"oo nga" ang ilan sa mga katabi niya kaya lalo pang umingay sa hall.

"You're an idiot if you believe that a curse has killed him." Loki rose to his feet and stuffed his hands inside his robe's pockets. "An ingenious trick is involved here, not a spell that can instantly kill someone. Lorelei, come here."

Pagtawag niya sa pangalan ko, agad akong lumapit sa kaniya. I walked past Leona who was looking worried and Herschel who was perfectly calm despite the situation.

"Sino ba kayong dalawa?" kunot-noong tanong ni Helios, palipat-lipat ang tingin sa amin. "Ayaw n'yong lumapit kami sa katawan ni Rowen. Pero kayong dalawa, nandiyan sa tabi niya."

"Sorry, we lied. We're not Harry Potter fans. We're detectives hired to investigate the Avada Kedavra murders." Loki knelt again near the victim's body and began observing the scarf wrapped around his neck. He turned to Herschel who stood at the foot of the stage. "Did you bring that thing?"

"Of course!" Lumapit ang tech savvy acquaintance niya at iniabot ang isang magnet. "Here."

"Very good," Loki replied. Gumamit siya ng panyo para hawakan ang magnet at inilibot 'yon sa bandang leeg ng biktima. A needle about two inches long got attached to it. Maingat niyang hinawakan 'yon, iniwasang matusok ang kaniyang kamay. "Gotcha!"

"So that's the needle laced with curare." Herschel pointed at the magnet in my companion's hand. "There must be a puncture mark on his neck."

"Can you call the police, Hershey?" Loki unwrapped the blue-and-white scarf around Rowen's neck. I leaned closer to the body and saw a tiny red dot around his throat. May kaunting dugong lumalabas doon. "It's about time for Inspector Tobias and the Angeles City Police Department to enter the scene. Make sure no one leaves this hall. The culprit is definitely among us."

"Got it!" Herschel pulled out his phone and dialed a number.

Tobias? That's the thick-browed inspector in charge of the café murder investigation where Loki and Alistair first met. Pinaniwala rin namin siya na mag-boyfriend-girlfriend kami.

Sunod na kinapkap ng kasama ko ang bulsa ng robe ni Rowen. Nakita niya roon ang phone ng biktima. He made some swiping gestures on the screen and tapped the messages icon. He showed me the "Avada Kedavra" message from an unregistered number sent four minutes ago.

"Once again, the killer sent that message first before shooting a poisoned-laced needle at their target." I folded my arms across my chest as we exchanged glances. "We've confirmed what we already know."

"The most important question right now is: how did the killer prick the victim with this needle?" He returned the phone inside the victim's robe pocket. He also removed his black cloak to cover the corpse. "As you can see, magic didn't murder your founders. Ingenuity did."

"W-Wala naman sa amin ang lumapit kay Rowen kanina!" May mga namuong pawis sa noo ni Helios. "N-Nakita n'yo namang may distansiya sa aming tatlo—"

"There's no need for any close physical contact." Loki faced the last remaining founder. "All they need is a clever contraption that can shoot this needle. They did a good job at concealing the murder weapon."

"It's probably an item that won't look suspicious even if they wave it around." I crossed the stage as if we were on a play. I drew something from my robe's pocket. "For instance, this wand. They could have disguised the blowgun into this stick. No one will suspect that it's capable of murder."

"This is the part where we apply the process of elimination." Without turning to Helios, Loki motioned his hand toward him. "You're on the stage with Rowen, just a few steps away from him. He's an easy target for you."

"But Rowen's puncture mark was on the right side of his neck," I came to the remaining founder's defense. Hindi ko na napigilan ang sarili kong mag-share ng deductions. "Helios was standing on his left. Kung siya nga ang nag-shoot ng karayom sa katabi niya, dapat nasa kaliwa ang puncture mark, hindi sa kanan."

"Right. The whole time, he was either behind or on the left of the victim. From those positions, there's no way the needle could have struck the right side of the victim's neck."

"How about Lucius?" Nabaling ako sa lalaking maputla ang mukha. Teka. Hindi yata siya namumutla, talagang gano'n ang kulay niya. "Noong nasa stage na siya, ilang hakbang mula kay Rowen, inilabas niya ang kaniyang wand. Puwedeng doon na niya pasimpleng shinoot ang karayom."

"Possible, but he would have found it difficult to aim at Rowen's neck. Yes, he drew his wand, but he would need to raise it and point where he wanted the needle to hit. That would arouse suspicions. Do you know why the victims were shot around that neck?"

Napasulyap ako sa aking robe. "Dahil sa suot na Hogwarts uniform at makapal na itim na robe, balot na balot ang mga katawan nila. Ang tanging vulnerability ay sa leeg dahil manipis ang scarf, tama? Doon puwedeng makapag-penetrate ang karayom."

"Correct. If you'll tie it to the first two murders, Lucius wasn't even in the footages. Assuming that these serial murders were committed by one person, he couldn't have done them."

"If not them, then who?"

"Someone from the crowd, someone who's a meter or two away from Rowen." Loki faced the members of the Order who got puzzled expressions on their faces. He then turned to me. "There's a lot of suspects here, but we can cross out everyone else on our list except the perpetrator."

Sa tantiya ko, mahigit dalawandaan ang members ng Harry Potter Club na ito. Sa sobrang dami nila, mahirap i-narrow down ang bilang ng mga suspek. So how would he do it?

"Who among them are within the range to shoot Rowen with the poison-laced needle?" He waved his right hand to the crowd near the stage. "Those who are standing in front, near the podium. And among them, who could have modified a wand into a murder weapon that can shoot needles?"

My eyes widened in shock as I stared at our two companions—Herschel and Leona. Dahil parehong member ng Einsteinian Club ang dalawa, sila ang pinaka-capable na i-modify ang wand. And between the two of them . . .

No, it can't be! I slowly shook my head, trying to get rid of that thought in my head.

"Who among them appeared in the video footage?" He shifted his gaze to Leona whose face turned white. Her body also began trembling. Nalingon din si Herschel sa katabi niyang babae, pero walang bakas ng pagkagulat sa kaniyang mukha.

I stood frozen, staring at the girl who was being suspected of killing three people. I hoped that Loki's deductions were entirely wrong. I found it hard to imagine that she could have done it.

"You're in the perfect position to shoot Rowen with a needle." Loki jumped off the stage and approached Leona. He trailed his lackluster eyes down her right sleeve and squinted at the wand. "All you need to do is adjust the angle, point it at your target, then shoot."

Bumaba rin ako mula sa stage at nilapitan ang kasama ko. Kumuyom ang mga kamao ni Leona, lalong humigpit ang hawak niya sa pinaghihinalaang murder weapon. I wanted to hear her defense. I wanted to hear her deny the accusation. But she remained silent, possibly an admission of guilt.

That could explain why her wand did not light up earlier. The one in her hand must be the modified version with a different function, not the one that Herschel originally created. Around the time that everyone was chanting Lumos, she might be preparing it to commit murder.

If one were to connect the dots from the first incident up to the third one, it would make sense. In Godfrey's murder, she was not seen in the footage. But she could have been hiding behind the pillars, waiting to send the Avada Kedavra message and for the target to walk past her. Nang dinumog na ng mga estudyante ang katawan ng biktima, malamang nakisali na rin siya sa kanila para hindi magmukhang kanina-hinala.

In Sylvester's murder, she was walking down the hallway with Rowen and Helios while discussing Lucius' appointment to the Hogwarts Four. Some time before Sylvester collapsed, she must have secretly sent the Avada Kedavra message and shot the victim in front of her. Kagaya ng ibang members ng Order na nag-attend sa meeting, black robe ang suot niya noon na kakulay ng wand. Kapag pinanood sa video na hindi gano'n ka-clear, hindi agad mapapansin.

In Rowen's murder, she was only a few meters away from the victim. Because she was standing still, she did not have a hard time aiming the wand at her target. Hinintay niya ang pagkakataong hindi masyadong gumagalaw si Rowen para hindi magmintis ang kaniyang tira.

It was her all along.

"Do you mind if Herschel inspects your wand?" Loki stretched out his hand, waiting for her to surrender the murder weapon. "This will instantly prove your innocence."

She looked away, her eyes began welling up with tears. "It's a mistake to get you involved in this case. I underestimated you two. I shouldn't have told Hershey about it."

But why, Leona? I expected her to hand over the wand to Loki, but she pointed it at herself. Everyone around her took a step back.

"This is a game over for me!" she shrieked, her hands were uncontrollably shaking. Her body was somewhat betraying her, her eyes showed me that she was ready to pull the trigger.

"Leona, no!" I held up a hand as I took a step toward her. "Huwag mong gagawin 'yan—"

"I won't let the police take me away. I'd rather—"

"STUPEFY!"

May kulang pulang liwanag na nag-flash sa tabi. Lumingon ako kay Herschel na nakatayo sa 'di-kalayuan at nakatutok ang wand kay Leona. Bigla nitong nabitiwan ang hawak at bumagsak sa malamig na sahig—nakamulat pa ang mga mata, pero tila nanigas ang katawan.

"Stupidify?" Loki covered his hand with a handkerchief before picking up Leona's wand. "Does that spell make people stupid?"

"Stu-pe-fy," Herschel had to enunciate every syllable as he received the murder weapon. "A stunning spell that renders the target unconscious. But there's no magic involved here. The wand generates a high-voltage but low amperage electrical charge like a stun gun. The red flash of light earlier was only for a show."

The door of the function hall swung open. A familiar figure walked inside with two police officers. Loki exchanged pleasantries with Inspector Tobias and explained the details of the case to him. I watched the police put Leona on a stretcher and carry her outside. They also brought Rowen's body out of the hall.

The Avada Kedavra case was finally closed, but some questions lingered in my head. Hindi ko nalaman kung ano ang motibo ni Leona kung bakit niya nagawa ang lahat ng ito. Mukha siyang mabait na babae base sa interaction ko sa kaniya kanina sa lab.

"Thank you for putting an end to those murders." Hinatid kami ni Herschel sa campus entrance. Tapos na ang police questioning kaya puwede na kaming umalis. "Chivalry Academy shall know peace again, kahit nakalulungkot ang katotohanan."

"Do you know why she did it?" tanong ko. Parang hindi ako mapapanatag hangga't hindi ko nalalaman.

"It turns out that the four founders of the Order didn't come up with the thought of creating a fan club. They stole the idea from Leona's best friend and deprived her of any credit."

"What happened to that friend?"

"She committed suicide after the Harry Potter fan club got big last year. Seeing other people benefit from her ideas—the name, the structure, the activities—broke her heart. Nangako si Leona na ipaghihiganti siya gamit ang ninakaw sa kaniya."

Napapalatak si Loki. "What a waste of genius."

"Walang mabuting naidudulot ang pagnanakaw. Pero wala ring mabuting naidudulot ang paghihiganti, 'no?" komento ko bago bumaling ng tingin kay Loki. Sandaling nagtagpo ang tingin namin. Tila nagkaintindihan kami kung ano ang tinutukoy ko.

"Again, thanks for your help!" Kumaway sa amin Herschel. "If there's anything I can help you with, I'm just one call away."

"Thank you, Hershey."

Nagpaalam na kami sa kaniya. Bumalik na siya sa campus habang kami ni Loki'y pumunta sa waiting shed. Hinintay namin ang pagdating ni Mr. Vasquez para sunduin kami at ihatid pabalik sa apartment.

"Don't be sad about the resolution." Napansin siguro ni Loki na natulala ako dahil sa conclusion ng case kanina. "There are cases where the client is the culprit himself. In some instances—such as in Moriarty's case—the evildoer pretends to be the victim."

If that was his way of cheering me up, he miserably failed. "She's well aware of how good we are at solving cases, yet she went on with the third murder. Gano'n ba siya ka-confident na hindi natin siya mahuhuli?"

"She did say that she underestimated us. Those who have an appetite for murder sometimes crave for challenges and appreciation. Knowing that we were at her heels, she became more challenged in accomplishing what she set out to do."

Tumingin ako sa malayo. "When did you know it was her? Was it during the party?"

"In their laboratory, right after I realized that the killer had concealed the murder weapon into an object that wouldn't raise any suspicions. There are only two students in this academy who are most capable of inventing such a clever contraption. Hershey wasn't in any of the footages and he got a solid alibi around the time of the two murders, so I crossed him off the list. I've already told him the truth before we left his dorm."

"And you kept it a secret from me?" Bumaling ako sa kaniya. Mabuti pa ang acquaintance niya, sinabihan niya. Kaya pala hindi nasorpresa si Herschel nang i-reveal ni Loki kung sino ang killer. That also explained kung bakit naka-ready ang wand niya para i-stun si Leona. "Don't you trust me? Do you think I will spill the beans and sabotage the entire investigation? Is that why you kept me in the dark?"

He looked me straight in the eye and paused for a few beats. "I trust you, believe me, I do. But I needed you to act naturally. I also didn't want you to be upset as soon as you learned that a seemingly innocent girl is behind those murders."

I rolled my eyes and cut my gaze away from him. Baka nga nadismaya at nalungkot ako kapag nalaman ko agad ang katotohanan.

A blue sedan appeared on the horizon, drove in our direction, and parked in front of us. Lumabas agad si Mr. Vasquez para pagbuksan kami ng pinto. Kagaya kanina, sa backseat kami umupo. Nang ready na kami, nilisan na namin ang Chivalry Academy.

Mag-a-ala-sais na nang nakauwi kami sa apartment. Pag-akyat sa third floor, huminto muna si Loki sa tapat ng pintuan ng unit namin. May sobrang liit na papel na nakakalat sa harapan. Pinulot niya 'yon at maingat na binuksan ang pinto. There was a weird look on his face. What's the problem?

Umupo muna ako sa couch para ipahinga ang mga paa ko habang dumeretso sa kuwarto si Loki. Lumikha ng ingay ang mga gamit na hinuhulog niya sa sahig. May hinahanap yata siya sa cabinet o drawer. Kung hindi ko siya kilala, iisipin kong isa siyang batang sinusumpong ng tantrums.

Five minutes later, he emerged from his room. A serious expression dawned on his face. Ibang-iba na ang mood niya compared noong bago kami pumasok.

"Is something wrong?" I asked.

"Someone broke into our unit." He showed me the tiny piece of paper that he picked up earlier. "Before leaving our apartment this morning, I put this thing in the narrow gap between the door and the frame. If someone pries the door open, this bit will fall. We found it on the floor, which means . . ."

Hindi na niya kinailangan tapusin ang gusto niyang sabihin. If that was true, kailangan ko ring i-check mamaya kung may nawawala sa mga gamit ko. "Is there anything missing in your room?"

Loki gave me a slow nod. "My laptop containing the Pandora's Box is gone."

q.e.d.

Did you enjoy this chapter? Here's an extra treat: the QED-4 in their Hogwarts uniform!

Loki is Ravenclaw. 
Lorelei is Hufflepuff.
Jamie is Slytherin.
Alistair is Gryffindor.