#burialtask007

could  you  please  state  your  name,  age,  house,  and  wand  specifications  for  the  record ?

merlin  it  was  nice  to  see  cathy  out  in  the  lobby.  at  the  very  least  it  was  comforting  to  hear  a  friend’s  voice  right  before  the  interview,  after  all  that  was  who  had  taken  lena’s  alibi  before  this  whole  mess  had  started.  as  they  asked  the  first  question  a  second  time,  lena  blushed  and  mumbled  out  a  quick  apology.  perhaps  now  wasn’t  the  time  to  attempt  to  self  soothe  and  it  could  wait  until  after  all  this  business  was  done.  ❛  i’m  helena  hyslop,  most  people  call  me  lena.  i  am  twenty  five  and  a  gryffindor  through  and  through.  i  have  a  spruce  and  dragon  heartstring  wand  that  is  brittle  and  it’s  nine  and  a  half  inches.  ❜  

who  sent  out  your  invitation  to  the  norris’s  home  ?  

❛  well,  i  would  hope  the  norris  family.  i’m  not  familiar  with  the  family  but  it  looked  like  it  was  their  seal  on  the  wax.  ❜

was  there  a  signature  of  any  kind  ?

❛  yes.  from  what  i  remember  it  was  mister  norris’.  the  invitation  burned  up  in  my  hand  before  i  could  take  further  stock  of  it.  ❜

did  you  attend  the  event  with  anyone  ?

for  a  moment  her  heart  twinged  with  guilt  as  she  thought  about  the  fight  that  monty  and  odessa  got  in,  and  then  anger  replaced  guilt  as  she  thought  about  what  she’d  heard  monty  say.  ❛  i  did,  i  attended  with  fleamont  potter.  ❜

could  you  state,  in  your  own  words,  what  happened  at  mr.  norris’s  home  prior  to  his  arrival  ?

well  we  watched  lazarus  avery  force  him  into  the  form  of  a  cat  from  underneath  an  invisibility  cloak  while  trespassing  on  private  property.  though  relevant,  it  made  too  many  questions  rise  and  she  hadn’t  had  the  opportunity  to  question  lazarus  about  it.  maybe,  and  merlin  was  it  a  small  maybe,  lazarus  had  done  a  good  thing  ?  

❛  monty  —   uh,  fleamont  —  sorry  can  i  use  nicknames  here  ?  gave  me  a  run  down  of  what  to  expect.  i  haven’t  been  to  many  dinner  parties  hosted  by  purebloods  and  black  tie  has  never  been  the  level  of  formality  that  i’m  comfortable  with,  ❜  she  tried  to  laugh,  to  diffuse  the  tension  she  was  feeling,  but  nothing  was  helping.  everyone  she  knew  who  had  attended  the  party  had  felt  like  their  nerves  were  live  wires  just  waiting  to  strike  at  someone.  

❛  i  didn’t  really  mingle  with  many  people.  truth  be  told  i  had  a  bit  of  a  panic  in  the  guest  bathroom.  you  know  we  all  thought  mister  norris  was  dead  and  to  be  in  his  home  by  ourselves  was  a  bit  of  a  foreign  experience.  the  dinner  was  nice,  the  seance  was  less  nice.  ❜  she  took  a  deep  breath.  ❛  i  feel  responsible  for  the  spat  between  odessa  bones  and  fleamont  potter.  i’m  not  sure  if  they’re  still  together  after  everything  that  happened.  i  was  trying  to  comfort  monty  and  —  ❜  she  wasn’t  sure  what  else  to  say  but  the  truth  of  her  spiel  would  likely  distract  from  the  lack  of  anything  helpful  to  the  investigation.  at  least  it  got  her  to  stop  thinking  about  what  she’d  witnessed  well  before  the  dinner  party.  ❛  and  my  feelings  got  away  from  me.  ❜

were  you,  at  any  point,  aware  of  mr.  norris’s  location  between  the  night  of  his  alleged  disappearance  and  the  dinner  party  ?

❛  no.  ❜  in  the  strangest  sense  it  wasn’t  a  lie.  she’d  known  lazarus  had  taken  him  to  the  norris  household  on  the  night  a  few  weeks  prior  but  she  didn’t  know  what  had  happened  to  him  after  that  and  she  hadn’t  wanted  to.  apparently  mister  norris  was  fine  as  could  be.    

as  far  as  the  seance,  what  kind  of  questions  were  asked  of  the  deceased,  mr.  cygnus  black  ?  

❛  the  kind  typically  asked  of  the  dead  ?  ❜  she  tried,  wanting  to  bring  some  kind  of  levity  to  the  interview.  it  felt  far  more  like  an  interrogation  than  what  made  her  comfortable.  ❛  identifying  questions,  mostly,  in  the  form  of  yes  and  no.  do  you  know  anyone  in  this  room  ?  are  you  related  to  any  of  the  people  here  ?  do  you  have  a  message  for  anyone  here  ?  things  like  that.  ❜

did  anyone  seem  particularly  uncomfortable  with  the  event  during  or  immediately  after  ?

❛  everyone  was  uncomfortable,  i  think.  i  certainly  was.  ❜  well  that  sounded  suspicious.  the  burial  society  had  been  involved  in  two  too  many  deaths  as  far  as  lena  was  concerned  and  even  if  she  hadn’t  been  present  for  what  had  happened  with  cygnus,  after  henry’s  end,  putting  two  and  two  together  wasn’t  exactly  newts  level  arithmancy.  ❛  death  isn’t  something  i’m  particularly  comfortable  with.  ❜

do  you  know  if  there’s  anyone  else  who  might  be  more  knowledgeable  about  the  situation  ?

❛  to  be  fair,  here,  we’re  all  twenty  something  idiots  who  thought  a  seance  in  the  middle  of  august  was  a  good  idea.  i’m  not  sure  anyone  is  knowledgeable  about  the  situation.  ❜  said  the  girl  who  was  employed  by  the  very  ministry  questioning  her.  ❛  it  was  all  a  mess  and  everyone  wanted  to  get  out,  being  asked  to  leave  by  mister  norris  was  the  blessing  of  the  evening.  ❜

do  you  know  anything  about  the  necklace  that  was  recovered  ?

❛  no,  i  don’t  remember  the  necklace  or  anything  coming  up  about  it.  ❜

were  you  aware  of  any  business  dealings  between  mr.  norris  and  mr.  black  ?

❛    i’m  not  really  privy  to  the  dealings  of  anyone,  to  be  fair.  ❜  lena  told  them  honestly.  

would  you  be  willing  to  leave  your  memories  with  us  for  observation  ?

❛  sure  ?  ❜  her  hesitance  was  only  in  that  she  wasn’t  sure  what  her  memories  would  reveal.  the  jitters  of  the  night  wouldn’t  weave  their  way  into  a  pensieve,  not  like  if  they’d  had  someone  skilled  at  legilimens  dive  into  her  head.  surely  the  department  of  magical  law  enforcement  didn’t  have  that  kind  of  budget  ?  at  least  she  could  cut  out  the  part  where  she  destroyed  monty  and  odessa’s  relationship.  

have  you  spoken  with  anyone  outside  of  the  attendees  about  the  event  ?  

❛  i  did.  ❜

if  so,  who  ?  and  what  did  you  tell  them  ?

❛  my  sister,  felicity.  i  had  to  unpack  the  events  of  the  night  with  someone  and  there’s  no  one  i  trust  more  than  her.  to  be  clear,  it  wasn’t  focused  on  the  seance  or  anything  of  importance,  just  something  that  had  happened  with  monty.  ❜

is  there  anything  else  of  relevance  that  you  can  think  of  that  i  didn’t  ask  you  about  ?

could  you  please  state  your  name,  age,  house,  and  wand  specifications  for  the  record  ?

❛  my  name  is  lazarus  duncan  avery.  i’m  twenty  five  and  i  graduated  from  slytherin.  i  have  a  wand  made  of  poplar  wood,  with  runes  carved  at  the  point  of  contact  with  my  palm,  and  it  has  a  dragon  heartstring  core.  it’s  supple  and  fourteen  and  a  half  inches.  ❜    

who  sent  out  your  invitation  to  the  norris’s  home  ?  

❛  presumably  mister  norris,  as  the  invitation  claimed  to  be  from  him.  ❜

was  there  a  signature  of  any  kind  ?

❛  there  was.  the  signature,  to  my  understanding,  was  written  in  mister  norris’  own  hand.  ❜

did  you  attend  the  event  with  anyone  ?

❛  i  had  the  honor  of  escorting  miss  prosperina  greengrass.  ❜

could  you  state,  in  your  own  words,  what  happened  at  mr.  norris’s  home  prior  to  his  arrival  ?

he’s  quiet  for  a  moment,  ordering  his  thoughts  and  parsing  through  quickly  what  was  worth  repeating.  ❛  prosperina  and  i  spent  much  of  the  pre  dinner  time  dancing  outside  of  the  dining  room  on  a  patio  space,  where  i’d  conjured  a  gramophone.  before  dinner  i’d  also  met  with  my  cousin,  taliesin  lestrange,  and  we  found  ourselves  spending  time  in  the  lounge.  ❜  lie.  he’d  drawn  taliesin  over  to  the  study,  but  that  was  an  easily  falsified  memory  and  taliesin  would  be  more  than  willing  to  confirm  laz’s  story  as  truth,  he  was  sure.  it  would  be  uncouth  to  be  confirmed  snooping  in  the  man’s  study.  it  was  best  to  remain  in  the  parts  of  the  house  that  were  most  likely  for  guests  to  mill  about  without  suspicion.  ❛  in  the  conservatory,  as  i’ve  always  found  myself  partial  to  plants,  i’d  met  with  lucretia  black.  ❜  and  artemis  fawley,  though  lazarus  wasn’t  sure  where  she  stood  with  the  ministry  and  if  it  was  worth  bringing  her  up.  

were  you,  at  any  point,  aware  of  mr.  norris’s  location  between  the  night  of  his  alleged  disappearance  and  the  dinner  party  ?

❛  no,  i  wasn’t.  ❜  of  course,  he’s  in  the  scottish  highlands  as  we  speak.  safe  in  olwyk.  ❛  i’m  thankful  that  he’s  returned  home,  though,  safe  and  in  one  piece.  ❜  

as  far  as  the  seance,  what  kind  of  questions  were  asked  of  the  deceased,  mr.  cygnus  black  ?  

❛  mostly  questions  regarding  his  identity,  trying  to  figure  out  who  he  was.  i  had  asked  if  he  were  related  to  anyone  in  the  room  and  he’d  confirmed  that  he  was,  which  narrowed  down  the  suspicions  for  most  that  he  was  either  mister  potter  or  himself,  rest  their  souls.  ❜  throwing  off  suspicions  with  a  lead  in  a  murder  investigation  was  surely  to  his  benefit  as  he  said,  ❛  the  spirit  of  mister  black  confirmed  that  someone  in  the  room  had  murdered  him,  burning  in  anger.  it  was  palpable,  really.  he  also  confirmed  that  he  had  a  message.  i  imagine  if  someone  wanted  to  perform  a  seance  on  a  more  advantageous  day  that  mister  black  would  come  through  quite  clearly.  ❜  he  paused  for  a  moment,  waiting  for  the  kind  of  spark  in  the  eye  of  an  auror  who  might  be willing  to  take  the  bait  so  they  might  get  a  major  break  in  a  case. 

❛  after  all,  ❜  laz  added  thoughtfully.  ❛  what’s  the  saying  ?  dead  men  tell  no  tales  ?  ❜ it  wasn’t  a  question. 

did  anyone  seem  particularly  uncomfortable  with  the  event  during  or  immediately  after  ?

❛  in  truth,  nearly  everyone.  necromantic  magics  aren’t  typically  looked  highly  upon,  especially  not  for  an  assembly  of  hogwarts  graduates.  ❜  after  a  moment,  he  admitted  with  a  mildly  chagrined  look  on  his  face,  ❛  i’m  glad  to  be  able  to  contribute  to  the  investigation  but  i  wish  i  had  left  before  the  whole  thing  had  begun.  ❜

do  you  know  if  there’s  anyone  else  who  might  be  more  knowledgeable  about  the  situation  ?

he  thought  for  a  moment.  ❛  fleamont  potter,  assuredly.  he  was  the  one  who  initiated  the  seance.  and  helena  hyslop  was  quite  cozy  with  him  at  the  event.  i’m  not  sure  if  he’s  confided  anything  in  her.  ❜ 

do  you  know  anything  about  the  necklace  that  was  recovered  ?

❛  a  necklace  ?  ❜  he  sounded  appropriately  curious,  especially  coming  from  a  family  that  was  known  to  enjoy  their  heirlooms.  for  a  moment  he  wondered  if  it  was  the  cursed  thing  that  forced  someone  into  the  form  of  an  animal  —  it  wouldn’t  have  surprised  him  in  the  slightest.  ❛  i  don’t,  unfortunately,  i’m  sorry.  ❜

were  you  aware  of  any  business  dealings  between  mr.  norris  and  mr.  black  ?

❛  cygnus  and  i  were  in  the  same  circles  with  one  another  for  most  of  our  lives,  but  i  wasn’t  aware  of  any  business  he  and  mister  norris  might  have  shared  before  his  death,  as  we  didn’t  have  a  particularly  close  relationship.  ❜  a  truth,  but  only  just,  only  because  of  the  qualifier  before  he  died.  after  cygnus’  death,  lazarus  had  learned  a  lot  from  argus  and  the  books  that  mister  norris  had  kept  on  the  circus.  

would  you  be  willing  to  leave  your  memories  with  us  for  observation  ?

❛  some,  yes.  ❜  they’ll  be  adjusted,  of  course,  but  lazarus  only  lied  about  small  things  and  obfuscated  the  rest.  the  things  that  he  omitted  could  also  be  omitted  from  the  memories  and  the  little  distortions  of  the  truth  shouldn’t  raise  a  flag  with  most  of  their  investigators.  they’d  have  to  be  looking  for  the  tiniest  threads  to  pick  up  on  and  if  they  did  ...  well  in  truth  lazarus  would  more  than  likely  have  been  impressed.  ❛  you’ll  forgive  me  for  wanting  to  keep  the  moment  i  realized  that  i  wanted  to  ask  propserina  to  marry  me,  i  hope  ?  ❜

have  you  spoken  with  anyone  outside  of  the  attendees  about  the  event  ? 

❛  i  have.  ❜  

if  so,  who  ?  and  what  did  you  tell  them  ?

❛  only  my  parents.  i  have  dinner  with  them  on  thursday  nights  and  it  was  hard  to  avoid  attending  the  topic  of  a  believed  to  be  dead  man’s  dinner  party,  especially  when  my  mother  asks.  ❜  lazarus  admitted,  laughing  softly.   ❛  i  only  told  them  the  basics  of  the  event,  though.  that  our  host  did  not  make  an  appearance  until  he  was  asking  us  to  leave,  that  the  dinner  was  lovely.  i  omitted  the  part  where  their  son  participated  in  a  seance,  though  i  imagine  if  you  believe  this  might  be  public,  i  should  get  ahead  of  that  and  inform  them  soon.  ❜  he  looked  at  the  auror  with  a  quizzical  look,  ❛  do  you  think  the  prophet  will  hear  about  this  ?  ❜ 

is  there  anything  else  of  relevance  that  you  can  think  of  that  i  didn’t  ask  you  about  ?

could you please state your name, age, house, and wand specifications for the record?

‘  taliesin  cadfael  lestrange. twenty five. i attended beauxbatons.  blackthorn  wood,  kelpie  mane  core,  10 ½  inches ,   brittle.   it’s  a  family  heirloom,  previously  registered  to  rhys  dyfan  lestrange.  ’

who sent out your invitation to the norris’s home?

‘  i  assume  mr.  norris.  his  home  and  all.  ’

was there a signature of any kind?

he  pauses,  thinking  back,  and  nods.  ‘  yes,  actually,  now  that  you  mention  it.  he  did  sign  it,  which  answers  your  last  question.  ’

did you attend the event with anyone?

‘  yes,  i  went  with  a  friend.  lyall  lupin.  ’

could you state, in your own words, what happened at mr. norris’s home prior to his arrival?

so  much,  and  yet  absolutely  nothing.  there’s  a  long  pause  before  he  answers,  trying  to  recall  parts  that  might  have  been  of  any  use  to  their  investigation.  ‘  well,  he  was  not  there  when  people  arrived.  at  least,  he  did  not  seem  to  be.  i  believe  some  people  took  that  as  an  invitation  to  explore.   ’   he  remembers  lyall  likening  it  to  a  puzzle,  and  the  way  others  climbed  the  stairs  into  the  private  corners  of  the  home,  even  lazarus  had  done  some  investigating.  ‘   lucretia  black  lost  her  coat…  thought  it  might  have  been  misplaced  by  the  norris’s  elves,  asked  me  to  help  her  look  for  it  in  the  dressing  room.  she  found  a  box  there  that  i  believe  she  turned  over.  then  dinner,  nothing  interesting  there.  then…  well,  i  believe  someone  posited  the  idea  that  contact  be  made  to  mr.  norris  through  magical  means.   ’   he  believes  it  was  fleamont,  but  does  not  see  a  reason  why  that’s  important.  fleamont  was  as  much  a  victim  of  this  summer  as  anyone  could  claim  to  be,  so  taliesin  held  no  suspicion  of  him  and,  therefore,  him  being  the  ringleader  of  the  ghost  debacle  seemed  irrelevant.  ‘   then  that…  happened.  then  mr.  norris  made  himself  known.  ’

were you, at any point, aware of mr. norris’s location between the night of his alleged disappearance and the dinner party?

‘  certainly  not.  ’

as far as the séance, what kind of questions were asked of the deceased, mr. cygnus black?

‘   i  believe  people  were  just  trying  to  identify  him.  he  didn’t  come  through  quite  right  at  the  start.  when  it  was  clear  it  wasn’t  mr.  norris,  people  thought  perhaps  it  was  mr.  henry  potter,  and  they  tried  to  confirm.   ’   the  wix  in  the  waiting  room’s  voice  comes  back  to  him,  and  he  adds,   ‘   someone  asked  if  they  had  been  killed  by  someone  in  the  room…  i  don’t  remember  who  exactly,  i  was  a  bit  distracted.  he  said  yes  though.  ’

did anyone seem particularly uncomfortable with the event during or immediately after?

‘   i  think  we  all  were,  honestly.  it  was …  a  very  strange  circumstance.   ’

do you know if there’s anyone else who might be more knowledgeable about the situation?

‘   perhaps  mr.  norris?   i  mean,  it  depends  on  what  part  of  the  situation,  really.  i’m  sure  you’ve  got  experts  though.   ’

do you know anything about the necklace that was recovered?

‘   in  the  box  ?   i  mean,  i  was  there  when  it  was  found  but  nothing  beyond  that.   ’   the  animal  thing  was  certainly  interesting,  given  mr.  norris’s  line  of  work,  but  that  was  an  observation  he  would  keep  to  himself.  ’

were you aware of any business dealings between mr. norris and mr. black?

‘   no,  i  was  not.   ’

would you be willing to leave your memories with us for observation?

‘   unfortunately,  due  to  the  nature  of  my  work,  i  cannot  give  my  memories  over  unless  required  by  an  order.  i  promise,  there  isn’t  anything  of  interest,  but  it’s  just  something  i  adhere  to  at  all  times  in  order  to  maintain  professional  confidentiality.  just  in  case.  i’m  sure  you  understand.   ’   it  sounded  suspicious  and  he  knew  it,  but  there  was  no  physically  possible  for  taliesin  to  give  over  his  memories.  he  did  not  have  the  ability,  but  claiming  professionalism  sounded  better  than  just  saying  no.

have you spoken with anyone outside of the attendees about the event? if so, who? and what did you tell them?

‘   just  my  family.  my  parents  were  concerned,  given  what  happened,  and  i  needed  to  assure  them  that  everything  was  fine.  or,  at  least,  that  i  was  alright.  ’

is there anything else of relevance that you can think of that I didn’t ask you about?