Day Ten:

The owner of the dogwood wand used to cast Avada Kedavra that fateful morning pulled a scroll from under her door. An invitation to meet with Voldemort, she read with trepidation. Why on Earth would Voldemort want to meet with her? It wasn’t as if she’d ever done anything bad. But, shaking her head, she left to meet with him, for Voldemort is not a person one can easily refuse.

--

“Tell me the truth,” said Voldemort. “Did you murder Ella Starburst?”

The girl gasped. “Absolutely not!”

“I don’t believe you,” said the evil wizard. He stared at her for a few long minutes, during which the girl fidgeted in her chair, kicked her feet, and eventually decided to trust him with a different answer.

“Okay, yes, I did.”

“I knew it. Stand up and come with me.”

She didn’t consider doing otherwise for even a moment. Walking slightly behind Voldy and trying not to step on his feet, the girl followed him into a room off of the area in which his group had learned the Unforgivable Curses. The walls of this room were lined with bottles containing death (some instant, some long and torturous, and some unlabeled. She didn’t want to think about what was in those.) The middle of the room, however, was empty and just the right size for two people to take up dueling stances, which is what they did.

Over the course of the day, Voldemort imparted hundreds of secrets of murder. The girl grew more and more uneasy as the day went on and she amassed more information she never would have expected to learn prior to this vacation. Eventually, the evil wizard glanced at a clock and sighed. 

“That seems to be all we have time for today,” he said. “Now, who do you want to kill next?” The girl hesitated, taken aback. “How about Zeke?” Voldemort suggested. “You must dislike him.” She nodded and began to make plans for his killing.

--

NatureWriter ate his enchilada casserole happily, excited that Dumbledore and Voldemort (though probably mostly Dumbledore) had researched their guests’ likes so thoroughly. The cooks here seemed to make it differently than his mom, though: it tasted like there was a bit more cilantro than usual, perhaps? But it didn't matter. He was vastly enjoying the dish, and it seemed that everyone else (also served some of their favorite foods) was as well. Perhaps too much, actually.

Zeke belched loudly and rubbed his stomach. “Must have eaten a bit too much,” he announced to the table in general. “I'm heading to the bathroom.”

“Yeah, like we care,” muttered Asthene.

At that moment, attendants came out bearing plates laden with dessert, and NatureWriter dug into the luscious chocolate cake in front of him. His stomach grumbled, and he paused to rub it. “I’m feeling a bit sick, too,” he told Yxek, being the type of kind and generous person who didn’t wish to bother other people with his issues, besides Yxek, seeing as Yxek had a perfectly good reason for knowing this information and caring about NatureWriter. This taken care of, he stood up and left for the bathroom. 

Rushing to get to the bathroom soon and feeling the discomfort in his belly growing, he didn’t realize he’d stepped on something until it flopped under his foot. Looking down, he gasped to see what - or whom - he had trod on. “Zeke was stabbed!” he yelled as loudly as he could. The rest of the vacationers immediately came running over. Their comments had only just begun - “How did he die?” “Who could have killed him?” “Maybe it was NatureWriter!” - when NatureWriter vomited.

“Ewww!” exclaimed Breeze.

<yuok?> asked Yxek concernedly.

“Ye- I’m not actually sure,” said NatureWriter. “My stomach still hurts.” He began to place his hand on his stomach, only to feel his arm spasm. “Er- my arm-” he started to say, but found that he could not. His body was going numb, he realized, and he began to fall backwards. He could dimly hear the upset voices of the surrounding CBers and companions trying to figure out what was going on and asking if anyone knew anything about poisons, but it was too late. The poison reached his heart, and slowly, painfully, his life faded away.

The murderer looked at the two bodies, a bit confused. They had only intended there to be one death tonight. Who would have wanted to kill Zeke? they wondered. It couldn’t have been- wait. What it if it was? What if… They grew angry as their plot changed before their eyes. They needed to do something about this imposter, this- this- fake murderer.

--

Dead: Catsclaw, Spiffycat, Emerald Frost, Autumn, Mor, harry pooooooootter!, Beatrice, Claaws, Summer, Beverly, Jarnen, NK, Ella Starburst, Zeke, NatureWriter

Alive: Gracia, Soren, Levana, Yxek, Andrea, Sammy, Leafpool, Arwen, Serene, Kitten, Breeze, Darkking, Asthene, Leo, Noon, Kat

Um. Yes, I am one of the writers! I was very surprised that it took so long for me to get guessed, especially when I made the mistake of posting as Voldemort at the same time as I posted as myself. But none of the other people you guessed are my partner!

Also, and this is not to you, Leafy, but to Ella & co., do you really think that Dumbledore would murder people? I mean seriously? 

Day Eleven:

All night, the murderer lay awake, thinking about the best method of dealing with the imposter. I know Voldemort’s giving her extra lessons, they thought, but the train of thought stopped in its tracks as the murderer was overcome by rage. I should be the one getting those extra lessons! I did all the real work! She’s taking credit for my actions!

Suddenly, they thought of a brilliant idea. It was unbelievably clever, undeniably neat, and incredibly… perfect. I’ll find a way, the murderer promised themself. Andrea will tell me the secrets Voldemort has told her.

--

Andrea walked down Knockturn Alley, still desolate from Zeke’s death. If only she had thought it through before murdering him! Now it was too late, and she regretted her actions sincerely. She was so lost in a fog of sadness that she didn’t hear footsteps behind her.

Suddenly, a blindfold was thrown over her eyes and a gag stuffed in her mouth before she realized what was happening.

“Show me a place where we can talk undisturbed,” a voice commanded. Oddly enough, the voice echoed inside her skull, as if it was only in her mind. Without a doubt, she wanted to do exactly what this person said. Unthinkingly, she continued walking forward until she judged herself to be standing at the door of the building where Voldemort taught his lessons.

We can talk in here, she responded in her head.

Excellent, the person replied. A hand gripped her wrist and she was virtually dragged inside the building, then through another door. Andrea judged, by the scent of mildew, that this was a closet; though a large one, for she could twirl with her arms extended and not hit anything.

“Cut it out,” she heard the person grumble. Not knowing what compelled her, she stopped mid-twirl. “Okay, now we’ll get down to business,” they continued. They took out the gag. Andrea opened her mouth to scream for help, but instead felt a drop of something trickle down her throat. She swallowed hard. “What’s your last name?” the person asked her.

Andrea answered automatically. “I have no last name, because Ella didn’t make me one.” How strange. The thought of making up a last name never even entered her head, as it usually did.

“Excellent,” answered the person crisply. “Now, what secrets has Voldemort told you?”

Andrea knew she couldn’t lie. But she didn’t want to give anything away that would help this horrible person learn how to murder people. She decided to slip through a loophole. “Voldemort told us that he would personally kill us if we told his secrets-”

“Crucio!” shouted the voice. Andrea crumpled as pain tore through her body. It was her only reality, and it was awful. Awful- pain- make it stop- make it stop!

Suddenly, the pain ceased, and she was left crouched on the floor, shaking and sobbing. She heard a cruel chuckle as the other person watched her suffering. “Now,” they continued, “answer the question directly. What secrets has Voldemort taught you?” A slightly different wording this time, Andrea noticed, to block out any loopholes. However, she had an idea.

“Voldemort taught me Avada Kedavra,” she whispered, as if it were the greatest secret ever. To her dismay, she heard the person grumble “not helpful” followed by another “Crucio!” Again, pain raced through her body. Unbearable agony- as though she was on fire. The pain wracked her endlessly, so when it finally abated, she was clutching her legs to her chest, huddled in a ball.

“I already know Avada Kedavra,” the person growled. “What kind of murderer do you think I am?” Andrea felt a thrill of fear when she realized she was speaking to the murderer, and what they could do to her at any time. So she had to keep resisting the torture. If she gave in, she knew, she would be killed.

However, after five more sessions of unbearable pain, Andrea felt her will weakening to a breaking point. Death, she realized, would be a welcome relief from her reality.

“I’ll tell you everything,” she croaked through parched lips. And she did. She spilled the darkest secrets of the ages. Secrets of horrifying curses, of rare and dangerous poisons, of abominable spells fueled by anger. She told everything, until her voice was gone and she had to speak in a rasping whisper.

“Very interesting,” the murderer commented thoughtfully, then remained silent. They were making no attempt to kill her, Andrea realized, so maybe they would let her go.

“Can I leave now?” she whispered hoarsely. The murderer laughed with genuine mirth, and Andrea’s heart sank.

“Of course you can leave!” the murderer said, still laughing. “And why not send you on your way with some nice tea and biscuits? In fact, why not take a selfie here in this dank closet? Then I’ll set you free with a lovely parting gift: my wand! No,” the murderer said, growing serious. “Our time together was too important for word to get out about it. There’s no way I can let you go, Andrea. You understand that; you’re a smart young lady.” They paused, then added, “You were a useless excuse for a murderer, anyway; killing Zeke was a work of genius, but you ruined it by moping around and feeling all sorry.”

Andrea felt tears gather in her eyes at the mention of his name. She knew the murderer was wrong. Zeke didn’t deserve to die, and neither did she. But with a sinking heart, she realized that was exactly what would happen.

“Avada Kedavra!” the murderer shouted. There was a flash of green light through her blindfold, then… nothing.

--

“Has anybody seen Andrea recently?” Dumbledore asked. He looked around the dining area at the sea of shaking heads.

“She wasn’t with us in Voldemort’s group today,” Kitten pointed out worriedly.

“But she talked to us at breakfast,” Levana pointed out. “Remember?”

“Yeah, that’s right. She sat at our table,” Breeze explained. “So she must’ve gone missing sometime between breakfast and the groups meeting up.”

“Do you think she got lost on the way to wherever Voldemort’s group gathers?” Kat asked.

“We should check!” Darkking exclaimed. “Everyone in Voldy’s group, let’s go check Knockturn Alley and see if we can find her.” Yxek, Sammy, Leafpool, and Kitten agreeably followed Darkking as he led the way out.

As Kitten passed the old building where Voldemort’s classes were held, she felt a strange urge to check inside. Not really knowing why, she entered the building and scanned the interior, hoping for some sign of Andrea. Suddenly, she spotted a closet in the corner. Weird, she thought. I never noticed that there. Kitten crossed the room and pulled the door open.

The smell of mildew hit her like a cement truck. She wrinkled her nose. All of a sudden, she looked down at the ground and gasped.

Andrea was lying on the floor, face frozen in an expression of terror. Kitten dropped to the floor beside her and felt frantically for a pulse.

Nothing.

--

Dead: Catsclaw, Spiffycat, Emerald Frost, Autumn, Mor, harry pooooooootter!, Beatrice, Claaws, Summer, Beverly, Jarnen, NK, Ella Starburst, Zeke, NatureWriter, Andrea

Alive: Gracia, Soren, Levana, Yxek, Sammy, Leafpool, Arwen, Serene, Kitten, Breeze, Darkking, Asthene, Leo, Noon, Kat

Day Twelve:

“Look, too many people are getting murdered,” said Kat as the few remaining vacationers ate breakfast. “We need to stick together and make sure that the murderer can't get alone, or get any of us alone.”

“I have a better idea,” said Levana. “How about we just leave?”

“No, remember what Beverly found out the day she died? We can't get out. The door's locked.” There was a brief silence after Kitten’s pronouncement.

“Soooo... go pester Dumbledore and make him let us out!” suggested Leafpool.

“Where is Dumbledore, anyway?” asked Sammy.

<inhs><room> answered Noon, to the surprise of the older and taller people, who hadn't noticed she was there.

<heab><ando><ndus> added Yxek.

“Well that's sad,” said Kat impatiently, “But what about my idea?”

“Motion to try Kat’s idea?” said Kitten.

“Seconded!” Leo called.

“Motion passes,” said Kitten conclusively.

“I'm not sure that’s entirely how it works,” began Levana, but no one was listening to her.

--

Kat ate her dinner with satisfaction. Her plan had worked, so far. No one had died today! Some people had less fun, sure, and she still didn’t understand why the group had to go to the dullest places in Diagon Alley all day, but those things weren’t important in the grand scheme of things. She yawned, put her fork down, and stood up. “Guys, I'm going downstairs to get teal M&Ms from the candy bar. Make sure no one else leaves!” They nodded and continued eating their dinners in silence. (Except Kitten, who muttered to the nearest person, “Teal M&Ms? Who cares about what color their M&Ms are?”)

Kat headed down the stairs and grabbed a handful of candy, not noticing the other person until their wand was pointed at her chest. “You? What? How? But- no- wait- but-” she sputtered.

The murderer sighed. “What is it with all of you and your silly, useless questions? Avada Kedavra!”

--

Dumbledore angrily stared Voldemort in the face. “You can’t be serious. You want to let the murderer have free rein and do nothing to stop them?” 

Voldemort shook his head. “That’s not what I’m saying at all! I said that we should stand back and let the murderer kill people until they’re the only one left, at which point we can deal with them.”

“That’s what I said,” Dumbledore pointed out, barely keeping his temper under control.

“No, it’s completely different. You’re just too busy protecting your own interests to realize that what I’m saying is right.”

Dumbledore’s (admittedly not very good) retort was interrupted by a knock at the door. He turned with relief to open it. But when he saw the tear-stained faces of the CBeings outside, his relief immediately turned to fear, then sadness, then anger. He knew what they were going to say even before they said it.

“Um, Dumbledore, Kat’s dead.”

He took exactly seven deep breaths and asked Noon and Leafpool the first cohesive question that came to mind. “Who could it have been? Did anyone leave after her?”

“That’s the problem,” Leafpool said. “No one did. She was the only one gone.”

Dumbledore immediately turned to Voldemort. “Did you have anything to do with this?”

“I promise you that I did not! I was just explaining to you how we should leave the murderer alone and not get involved.”

“And I was just explaining to you how that basically means that everyone would die because we didn’t care about them enough to stop it, which seems exactly the kind of thing you would support if you were helping the murderer kill everyone!”

Leafpool and Noon watched this exchange with fascination, having never heard before the kind of discussions their two chaperones had when they weren’t around. Dumbledore seemed to realize this at the same time and motioned for them to leave.

“Oh, and also, Voldemort,” he continued when they’d left, “why did you insist on having blood-flavored lollipops, Cockroach Clusters, and Pepper Imps in the candy bar? Only evil people would want to eat those.”

“Well, then, why did you insist on having Toothflossing Stingmints? Only dentists would want to eat those.”

From where they stood outside the doorway, listening, Leafpool and Noon looked at each other and shook their heads. Nothing more to be gained here, Leafpool mouthed sadly.

--

Dead: Catsclaw, Spiffycat, Emerald Frost, Autumn, Mor, harry pooooooootter!, Beatrice, Claaws, Summer, Beverly, Jarnen, NK, Ella Starburst, Zeke, NatureWriter, Andrea, Kat

Alive: Gracia, Soren, Levana, Yxek, Sammy, Leafpool, Arwen, Serene, Kitten, Breeze, Darkking, Asthene, Leo, Noon

--

Dumbledore is not Hermione Granger. Nice try, though!

Unlucky Day Thirteen:

“So it was definitely Dark magic,” concluded Gracia, chewing thoughtfully on a wad of raspberry bubblegum. “Or a time turner. Or Voldemort. Or Voldemort using a time turner. Or Voldemort using Dark magic. Or Voldemort with a time turner using-”

“You’re not helping,” grumbled Asthene. Gracia subsided.

“I hate to admit it, but Asthene is right,” sighed Kitten. “We can’t exactly accuse Voldemort of killing off the guests. Then it would actually be true!” She giggled quietly at her own joke.

“But guys, the only solution is to tell Dumbledore,” Leo pointed out, nibbling a square of dark chocolate. Unable to resist the temptation any longer, Sammy snatched the bar out of Leo’s other hand and took a huge bite. Glaring at her, Leo added, “We can tell him anonymously, to make sure Voldy doesn’t find out.”

<dmbl><alll><redy><knws>, said a new voice. The dozen assorted CBers whipped around to spot Noon and Yxek emerging from the stairwell. Breeze noticed that Yxek was looking at Noon with a lovestruck expression, and she giggled. Ignoring her admirer, Noon gracefully leapt onto the table, fluttered her wings, and casually pierced a still-wriggling gummy worm with her talon. <told><hiim><ystr><daay>, she explained. The CBers exchanged awed glances at Noon’s bravery, but the awe turned to exasperation when she swept her tail and sent a bowl of skittles from the candy bar crashing to the floor.

<illl><pick><thse><uppp> offered Yxek immediately.

“Guys, I had an idea,” said Darkking, leaning forward on his elbows. “So, we should keep staying together in a group, like we did yesterday.”

“Even though that didn’t work,” pointed out Levana.

“Yeah, but we also have a person acting as a shadow. So, whenever someone has to leave the group to use the bathroom or whatever, we cast the Disillusioning charm on the shadow, and the shadow follows the person leaving wherever they go. To act as a witness to any murder that happens.”

“Wait, so the shadow would follow that person into the bathroom? Eww!” Breeze shuddered. She liked having privacy.

“No, but they would wait outside the bathroom and follow the person back to the group. I’m pretty sure the murderer wouldn’t go into the bathroom with someone else, either. We all have our boundaries.” Darkking smiled.

“Should we give it a try?” asked Breeze.

“Sure.” Gracia stood up. “Breeze, you walk up the stairs, get something from your room, and come back down. I’ll be your shadow. Somebody Disillusion me!” Soren, catching on quickly, rapped her on the head with her wand, and she seemed to fade into thin air.

Agreeably, Breeze climbed the stairs to the main hallway, with Gracia following quietly behind her. She opened the door to her room, grabbed the first thing she saw (a box of taffy from Honeydukes) and returned to the dining room.

“I didn’t get murdered,” she declared, placing the box on the table.

“She certainly didn’t,” agreed a voice from over her shoulder. Breeze jumped.

“Gracia! That startled me!” she exclaimed.

“Oh, quit your whining.” A piece of taffy floated into the air and hurled itself at Breeze’s head. It hit her square on the forehead, and she burst into tears.

“Stop it! You’re so mean!” she sobbed. Far from being discouraged, this made Gracia throw more taffy. But the sobbing and taffy-throwing were disrupted by the arrival of another.

“Oh dear,” Dumbledore sighed when he saw the scene. “Gracia, put the taffy down, please. I hate to be a downer, but one usually eats dessert after dinner, and it’s only four o’clock. The point being that you should perhaps wait another couple hours or so before delving into that.” He pointed to the candy bar and the taffy scattered on the floor.

“Sorry, Dumbledore,” they all said in unison, grinning mischievously.

--

After a delicious dinner and dessert at the candy bar, Noon felt herself growing sleepy. The heat from the fireplace made her feel peaceful. She was just about to fall asleep when a voice whispered in her ear.

“Hey Noon, want to go stargazing with us?” Leafpool whispered. With great effort, Noon raised her eyes to Leafpool and Arwen, crouching next to her. “It’s just me and Arwen, plus Leo as our shadow, and we figured you might want to come along.” Noon nodded sleepily, uncurled herself, and leapt onto Leafpool’s shoulder for the walk.

The night was quite dark, with no moon, but plenty of stars. There was a bit of a chill in the air. A perfect night for stargazing, Noon thought happily.

They finally found a spot behind one of the shops that offered an excellent view of the sky. The light pollution was minimal, and the buildings and trees were short enough not to block out the constellations. They spent a good twenty minutes gazing up at the stars in peaceful silence, feeling the wind on their faces, and growing sleepier and sleepier.

Finally, they all stood up and began walking toward the Leaky Cauldron once again. They walked for a bit, but stopped when Arwen stepped on something that made a crunching sound. Peering down, Noon spotted some sort of plant with long, thin leaves and a single white flower.

“What’s that smell?” asked Arwen. Noon sniffed, and she could smell a burnt aroma coming from the flower. Suddenly, her limbs tensed up, then worse, became numb. She couldn’t see, couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe…

<leeo> she gasped, but Leo didn’t respond. Apparently, whatever this was had affected her, too. She struggled to inhale, but to no avail. Her head ached fiercely. Her brain spiraled down and down and down, closer and closer to death.

Until finally, she died.

--

The murderer crouched in the shadows, a handkerchief over their nose, grinning with the thrill of eliminating three more people. They couldn’t see Leo, Disillusioned as she was. But, unknown to them, that poisonous plant had killed another person. They crept away, glad that Andrea had told them those herbological secrets.

Sorry, Dumbledore, they thought sarcastically. Didn’t you realize today was the thirteenth day of this vacation? Tsk tsk. Very unlucky.

--

Dead: Catsclaw, Spiffycat, Emerald Frost, Autumn, Mor, harry pooooooootter!, Beatrice, Claaws, Summer, Beverly, Jarnen, NK, Ella Starburst, Zeke, NatureWriter, Andrea, Kat, Leafpool, Arwen, Leo, Noon

Alive: Gracia, Soren, Levana, Yxek, Sammy, Serene, Kitten, Breeze, Darkking, Asthene