Really sorry about the last-minute posting, I have to fill in for Emma as she has no internet access available please be gentle!



On her way to the scene of the crime, turnedskyward wondered idly just what kind of thief would steal a Quidditch Cup. Frowning over the destruction that she found in the Trophy Room, she was so lost in thought that she didn’t hear ardweden come up behind her.

“Hi!”

“Gah!” turnedskyward responded. “Merlin! You scared me...” The two watched each other in awkward silence, before turnedskyward finally said, “What?”

“Oh! Um, I have some information about the lost Quidditch Cup, I think. I mean, I didn't think much of it at the time, but now that everyone's talking about it, I think I was around there when it happened, and I figured I'd let you know about it.”

“Oh! Oh, well, great!” turnedskyward perked up at the idea of information. “Let’s hear what you have to say.”

ardweden absent-mindedly twirled a lock of hair around her finger. “Well, um... I was looking for delfina. She's my twin, you know? We were going to work on some stuff that night. Anyway, I figured I'd catch her after the referee meeting was over.” She squinted in thought. “I don't remember exactly- well, it had to have been reasonably after the meeting. Maybe about ten minutes? I'm not sure. Sometimes those meetings go over, and I don't want to interrupt anything. Anyway, I heard some sort of crash which might have had something to do with it. What do you think?”

When turnedskyward had finally managed to process the quickly-given information, she blinked. “What time did this occur?” she asked, a little dazed.

“I don't really remember, but I don't like interrupting anything. So it had to have been from ten to twenty minutes. I think closer to ten; I really didn't want to lose her.”

turnedskyward stared at her. “I meant what hour...”

A look of comprehension dawned on ardweden’s face. “Oh. Oh! Well, why didn’t you say so?”

turnedskyward’s eyelid twitched. “Like... Nine pm?” she suggested, prompting the other girl onward.

“Oh. Oh, no, definitely not that late. That meeting was only supposed to go to 8:30.”

“But you say it did run a little late...” turnedskyward reminded her.

ardweden shrugged. “Well, they do sometimes. It didn't that time, because I ran into delfina, skei, and iloveparis_ well away from the meeting room. I checked there first.”

turnedskyward nodded, hummed. “I see... Where did you run into the girls?”

ardweden screwed her face up in thought. “It was around the Trophy Room... um, shoot, I’m no good at directions. South, I think? Yeah. On a Hogwarts map, it'd probably be below. We met in an intersection; they were turning a corner and we sorta ran into each other. Lucky me, really.”

“Did you catch what they were wearing?”

“Um, just the standard robe getups,” she said with a shrug.

“I see.” Pause. “Did you stop to talk with them?”

ardweden raised her brows in surprise. “Of course I did! I was there to see delfina, after all.”

”What did you discuss?

ardweden shrugged. “Oh, well. I was kind of curious as to why they were still around, I mean, if the meeting was over. Sami said they had just grabbed a snack.”

With a frown, turnedskyward reasoned, “Dinner is at seven... Their being hungry so soon didn't strike you as being peculiar?”

ardweden shrugged again. “Not really. I grab snacks at odd times, too.”

turnedskyward scrutinized her. “Is that all you discussed?”

“You mean outside of pulling delfina away so we could work on the pra- project? Not really. But they did hear a crash, too,” she finished hurriedly.

But alas, turnedskyward had caught the stumble. “Wait, go back a minute. What were you about to say?”

ardweden fought to look innocent. “Nothing!”

”So you could work on the .. prank?” she prompted.

ardweden was graciously indignant. “Hey, delfina’s a fine, upstanding member of Hogwarts. She'd never do something like that.”

turnedskyward gave her a grave look. “This bears explaining, miss. We are, after all, conducting a serious investigation here and the penalties for lying to an official investigator are severe.”

After a pause, ardweden said uncomfortably, “You're just upset 'cause we didn't let you in on it.”

”Yeah, so?” She shook her head. “Did this prank have anything to do with the theft of the Quidditch Cup?”

“No!” ardweden said in horror.

“What was the prank then?”

”Well, just a little something to do with coldfury. He's been getting uppity. ... You won't tell anyone, will you?”

“My lips are sealed!” turnedskyward said with a giggle.

“If word leaks out about that - especially to the Hufflepuff team - it's totally not going to work. Anyway, no. It's got nothing to do with the cup.”

“Be that as it may, this would be in utter confidence. Hufflepuff would never get word,” turnedskyward assured her.

“Thank goodness. I've got to be more careful about this. So... yeah. Anything else?”

turnedskyward pouted. “Well, as I see I'm getting nowhere with the prank deal... You didn't notice if any of the refs were carrying anything, did you?”

ardweden looked thoughtful. “I think someone had a sandwich.”

turnedskyward’s eyelid gave another twitch. “Well. I think that about wraps this up. Thank you for... er.... all your, um... help. And I'll, er, contact you if we need anything else!”





Chewing on a toothpick, turnedskyward shrank back against the wall, pulling karenhealey with her, for what seemed like the millionth time. “Come on,” karenhealey complained. “You’re cramping my style.”

“Shh,” turnedskyward hissed insistently. Once the talkative group of Hufflepuffs had passed, she sighed, gave karenhealey a glare. “Well, if you hadn’t insisted on wearing that ridiculous trenchcoat-”

“Oi! Don’t knock it,” karenhealey said warningly, turning up her collar. “We’re investigating. I want to look the part.”

“I’m investigating,” turnedskyward corrected. “You're along for the ride. Record-keeping. And for your ideas. That’s all,” she said firmly.

karenhealey pouted. “Party pooper.” Pause. “Is she ever coming out? We’ve been waiting here for hours.”

“Fifteen minutes. Nice try.” karenhealey pouted, ready to say something else, but suddenly turnedskyward hissed, “Shh! Here she comes!”

As zania passed by, turnedskyward and karenhealey lunged at her, dragging the Slytherin Prefect into the conveniently-empty classroom across the hall. “Hey-!” zania began as they pushed her into a chair. She smoothed back her auburn hair, glaring at the two girls suspiciously. “What-”

“Lumos,” karenhealey said, pointing her wand at the Slytherin Prefect, casting an eerie and cinematic glow on the girl, who flinched. turnedskyward gave her counterpart a funny look, and karenhealey shrugged. “Saw it in a Muggle film once,” she explained with a shrug. turnedskyward rolled her eyes.

“Do you mind?” zania snapped peevishly, raising a hand to shield her eyes. “What do you want?”

“Why don’t you tell us about the Ravenclaw House Cup?” karenhealey demanded. turnedskyward glared at her.

zania blinked. “It was stolen,” she patronised.

karenhealey growled. zania smirked. turnedskyward sighed. “You were there,” she prompted.

zania shook her head. “After the fact. I was walking toward the kitchen at around 8:43pm.”

When it became apparent that the Prefect didn’t intend on continuing without prompting, turnedskyward said, “And?”

zania rolled her eyes, looked bored. “On my way, I heard a loud crash coming from the Trophy Room and started to run in that direction. As I turned the corner, I passed a robed figure leaning against the wall and paused to ask if whomever it was needed help. It was dark and I couldn't quite make out the person, but the figure shook its head and waved me off in the direction of the crash.”

“Did you happen to note if the door was forced?”

“Yeah, was the door forced?” karenhealey piped up.

turnedskyward shot her a Look, and her trench-coated counterpart slumped into a chair, pouting sullenly. turnedskyward returned her gaze to zania. “The door?” she repeated.

“Hmm. I don’t remember,” zania said vaguely. “But I did note a lumpy bundle at its feet before I ran off to investigate.”

“How large was the bundle?” turnedskyward asked, bringing out a Dict-O-Quill and parchment. When the little quill was happily marking its way across the parchment, turnedskyward nodded in approval.

“Unfortunately, I was more concerned with checking out the noise I'd heard and didn't pay a lot of attention. It looked like a puddle of cloth in the shadows. It wasn't till afterwards that I realized it might have been important.”

“Okay then... Tell me everything you noticed when you came to the crime scene,” turnedskyward demanded.

zania sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. “The Ravenclaws arrived around 8:50pm. That's all really. If I told you more, I'd be making it up...” She paused. “I mean, is there something specific you want to know?”

turnedskyward hesitated, thinking. “Did you see what direction the hooded figure went?”

“When I went on towards the Trophy Room, they were still in the hallway. By the time I returned, they were gone.” The Slytherin Prefect frowned. “I don't seem to be much of a help.”

karenhealey, sensing they were losing their witness, barged onward. “Did the bundle look to be about the same size as the Cup?”

zania sighed in exasperation. “I don’t know. Look, I was about to run after the figure, but the Claws arrived and instead of letting me go find the culprit, they rattled off questions long enough that too much time had passed. By the time they decided we should go after the figure, it was far too late. They wasted my time and theirs,” she snapped.

“So the Claws actually impeded the investigation?” karenhealey asked, earning another sharp look from turnedskyward.

“Well, from my point of view, yes,” zania responded. “Look, I’ve got class. Is there anything else?”

“Do you have any theories on who might have taken the Cup?”

After a beat, zania responded, “I don't see why the Claws would steal their own cup, except maybe they wanted to prevent someone else from winning it the next time around. That seems a childish thing to do, though... maybe it was the Puffs,” she shrugged, bored. “They haven't been doing too well at Quidditch. it would be their only chance at the cup-- stealing it.”

turnedskyward raised a brow. “An interesting, if not a bit snarky, thought.” She paused. “Do you believe the referees would have any motivation to steal the Cup themselves? Perhaps to stir up trouble?”

zania looked thoughtful. “Hmmm.. were they all at Quidditch practice?” She frowned. “I'm not allowed down on the practice field, so I don't see a lot of that interaction.”

“We have witnesses who report that they were in a ref meeting. Or that they claim to have been..."

As if on cue, zania said, “Ohh... well, that seems a bit suspicious if you ask me... I would recommend questioning them as well, if you're trying to run a complete investigation. Now, if that's all...”

With a nod, turnedskyward thanked her. zania bounded off of the chair, fluffing her hair primly. “Glad to be of service,” she said. “Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

Once the Slytherin Prefect was out of sight, and karenhealey and turnedskyward were alone, they stared at each other. “Well,” turnedskyward finally said, “that was fun... and informative.”

“For you, maybe. You got to ask all the questions!”

“That was the deal, remember? Merlin. Next time I’ll just take loopychew with me. At least he won’t insist on wearing a stupid trenchcoat.”



It was a cold, clammy night in the castle, chillier still with the confusion and suspicion that settled over the campus like a poltergeist gone undetected. The concept of the crime had left the students reeling, passing house and classmates as possible perpetrators rather than the neighbors they'd been just hours before. The theft of the house cup was more than a goblet gone missing, it was a disruption to a symbol of pride, a symbol of success. Perhaps it'd acted as a barrier between the houses, for those who found themselves less skilled at Quidditch, or a temptation for the innately greedy to claim as their own. Whatever the reason, the cup had left its sactuary in Ravenclaw tower and Gryffindor wasn't about to take it lying down.

Neither was our fearless leader, Quidditch captain turnedskyward. No suspects were to go unquestioned, no clues were to go undetected, no possibilities were to go unconsidered, and no thiefs were to go unharmed(??). This was a serious investigation, and not for the faint of heart.

Which was why turnedskyward had gone to see thysanotus after breakfast the next morning, to corner the Ravenclaw before she had a chance to escape the firm eye of justice. Or even worse, to consult with her mastermind cohorts. Those Claws always were the wily ones, burying their noses in books as not to arise suspicion. Perhaps this was the same ploy, finding thysanotus pouring over an edition of Advanced Achievement in Charming.

"Could you please tell me about the events as you saw them of the evening the Ravenclaw's cup was stolen?" turnedskyward asked smoothly, rounding on our suspect.

thysanotus looked bewildered, blinking up from her text.

"Well, Canary(?) and I had to go and collect some papers and books so we could finish our Charms homework; it's very important for me to do well in Charms. But nevermind, we heard a commotion and came into the hallway."

A likely story, turnedskyward nodded, brow raised and chin peaked defiant in the presense of criminal smokescreen. Or was it? Her eyes darted down to the book's title with a knowing nod. Convenient how she happened to be consulting such an advanced text while she supposedly struggled. Was this a case of Ravenclaw academic ambition, or something more sinister?

"What time was this?" turnedskyward asked, beginning to pace circles around the suspect.

"About ten to nine, we bumped into the Slytherin prefect in the corridor," thysanotus hurried, perhaps a little too polished for comfort.

"Ah yes, Zan. What was she doing at the time?"

"Coming out of the trophy room, she looked worried. Distracted," thysanotus sighed. "It seemed like she was looking for someone. Then she told us the Quidditch Cup had been stolen.

"What did you do then?" turnedskyward continued, withdrawing a small pocket notebook to jot down notes. thysanotus didn't seem overtly pleased.

"Canary(?) and I were horrified. At first we didn't believe her. We had to check this wasn't some awful trick, but she was right. The Cup was really gone."

"Did you notice anything suspicious in the Trophy Room?" turnedskyward drawled, before adding quickly, "besides the obvious lack of cup?"

"No, I didn't notice else anything else odd, but I was so distressed that the cup was missing..."

"Hmm. Let's go back: What did you say you were doing before you met Zania?" turnedskyward squinted, leering over the girl slightly.

"We were going to the library, to collect books for our Charms assignment. Coming from the Common Room, after dinner... We'd been discussing our Charms work, and arguing over the finer details of the day's lessons. We'd been off to find a book to settle the matter," thysanotus stated matter-of-factly. She was certainly easing up over the topic of homework.

"What charm?" turnedskyward inquired, scribbling fervently.

"I'm not sure, it's all flown out of my mind now," thysanotus huffed dramatically. "It might have been Rictussempra or something similar."

"Rictussempra, eh? That's not your average charm."

"Well, what do you expect? We are Ravenclaws, after all. We have a reputation to maintain."

"Noted," turnedskyward remarked, dually making due of her comment, waving away thysanotus's apology on shortness.

"Did you want to know anything else?" thysanotus asked, tilting her chin slightly upwards in an effort to sneak a glance at turnedskyward's notes.

"One last question," turnedskyward announced, snapping her notebook shut and stuffing it swiftly into her coat pocket. "You didn't happen to see [Bad username: <lj user=]">"> around that evening, did you?"

"Bren? The only person we saw in the hallways was Zania, but we were arguing quite loudly, so anyone could have heard us coming."

"Alright. I think that's fine for now, thank you." With a curt nod, turnedskyward turned on her heel and marched away. Curious, indeed.



"Did the refs steal the cup?" turnedskyward probed, following delfina out of that morning's Transfiguration classroom. Perhaps the Quidditch Coach was paced a little too swiftly for comfort, or maybe the case really had gone to the Captain's head.

Startled and perhaps less than bemused, delfina whirled around, considering turnedskyward with a sigh. "After our meeting, iloveparis_, skei, thyanotus and I started talking about girly stuff, which promptly offended slytherinblack. He stalked off, mutting under his breath, and we continued off to the kitchens. Oh- we'd decided to get some sandwiches, y'know, just a snack. arweden ran into us, luckily... We were working on a, er, project together, so we wanted to continue on that."

"The prank, I assume?"

delfina hushed turnedskyward, pulling her over to a more private sector of the corridor. "I have no idea what you're talking about. Keep it down."

"Noted," turnedskyward nodded, withdrawing her notepad once more. "Did slytherinblack steal the cup?"

"How should I know?"

"Female intuition?" turnedskyward shrugged, pausing her pen over her paper.

"Unfortunetely, I was not at the crime scene when the theft happened. Therefore, I do not know who stole the Cup. zania was the only one around... She could have easily stashed it somewhere; she's a prefect, she knows the routes. She ran off, then came back. Why didn't canaryblack or thyanotus go with her?"

delfina shrugged, cutting off her own question, and peering over turnedskyward's shoulder. "Well, I have to get to class, good luck on the investigation." And with that, she was off.



Can you tell me a little bit about the events of the evening the Ravenclaw Cup was stolen? turnedskyward scrawled, passing the note under the sanctity of the Potions classroom's smoke to slytherinblack. The day's lesson was considerably most convenient.

What do you need to know? he jotted back, sliding it back to her after adding more Scurvy-grass to his concoction.

What were you doing between the hours of 8 and 9 PM that evening? turnedskyward wrote, a little perturbed. She would have thought the prior question leading enough. Very interesting.

Um... There was a meeting. And then the girls started talking about girly stuff, so I beat feet., he returned, this time floating the parchment under the table to turnedskyward as the smoke began to clear, leaving the room with only a slightly dreary tint.

Where did you go? turnedskyward scribbled, a little unsatisfied with his vague answer. So far he'd provided no solid alibi, which bode him no well in the situation.

I had to do Quidditch research, anyway. Looking up old winners, stuff like that.

turnedskyward's slooth senses went amuck, curious as to why this activity was so pivotal. And even more interesting still that he'd been alone in it, with no one to verify his whereabouts, and that perculiar pause in response after she sent back, Did you take the House Cup?

What would I have wanted with the House Cup? No, I didn't take it., he responsed finally, with only moments left of class.

Where did you do your "research" then? turnedskyward inquired, writing with all the fury she could muster, racing to beat the clock. She only had barely enough time to ask the question and send the parchment back to him before the Potions Mistress announced class over to the glee of her students, and perhaps in particular to a certain slytherinblack, who curiously ducked into the crowd and escaped from turnedskyward's leering gaze the moment he deemed it possible.


ETA:
Exhibit F: The robed figure: conceptualisation

Exhibit G: The lumpy bundle: Was the Cup concealed inside?