Chapter 15: Ciphers

           “Miss van Leeuwen, don’t you have a class to attend?” It’s the first period of Wednesday and I’m sitting in the atrium, having breakfast.

            “Good morning, professor. I’m having my first class in the third period today.” I tell professor McGonagall.
            “Good. Maybe it’s a good idea if you go to the training center. Mr. Harkness and professor Black have found a new clue, they might need some help.” She turns around and leaves the atrium.
            I decide to do what professor McGonagall just told me, so I finish my plate and walk downstairs. “Morning!”
            “Morning…” I hear two voices mumble.
            “Well, that sounds exciting. What’s up?”
            “Here’s what’s up.” Jack hands me the bomb.
            “Aha…” I don’t understand. Well, I do understand they’re still investigating the bomb, but what’s so special? Wait a second, is that what I think it is? “Is that a code?”
            “Yep. Well, we think it’s a code. We don’t know if the characters are from a specific language yet, and what they might mean. It’s also possible they’re not from a language and…”
            “Yeah, yeah. You still have to decipher it. I get it.” I interrupt Jack, a bit annoyed. I’m not stupid. “I don’t think these are characters from a language. They’re too… square.”
            “We noticed.” Sirius says.
            “It could be Masonic.” I say, still studying the cipher.
            “I’m sorry, what?”
            “Masonic cipher. Also known as the pigpen cipher, or Freemason’s. It’s a geometric cipher. It’s quite a simple cipher.” Jack explains.
            “You do need a key, though.” I say. A key. Masonic cipher, bomb, Silence will fall… Silence. That’s it! “Here” I throw the bomb back to Jack.
            “Careful!”
            “What? It’s a fake. It’s not gonna explode when you drop it.” I grab a piece of paper and a pen and start deciphering. “Death.”
            “What?” The two men asks.
            “Death. It says ‘death’.”

After my classes I immediately go back downstairs. There appeared to be more ciphers on the bomb. “And? Got something more?”
            “Nope. We tried using ‘Silence’ and ‘Death’ as a key, but they didn’t work.”
            “We also tried some others. They also didn’t work.” Sirius points at a whiteboard that’s filled with words. Fluffy. Angel. School. TARDIS. Just to call a few.
            “Got any ideas?”
            I look at the ciphers, which are written down on another board. “Err… Coornhert. Doctor. Book. No, you already used that one. Cipher. Dumbledore. Pigfarts.”
            “Pigfarts?” Both men look confused.
            “Yeah. It’s a magical school. On Mars. The headmaster is a lion. Who can talk.”
            “Are you okay?” Sirius asks.
            “What’s up with the accent?” What accent?
            “Ugh. You guys are no fun.”
            “Maybe you should go to Pigfarts.” Jack teases.
            “I can’t go to Pigfarts. It’s on Mars. I need a rocket ship.” Ah. Now I notice the accent.
            “There’s the TARDIS.” Sirius says.
            “Yeah, but I don’t know how to fly her.”
            “To go back to the original subject; can you think of some more keys?”
            “Sure.” I look at the clock that hangs on the other side of the training center. “I should go back upstairs. Still got homework to do. I’ll also ask people. About the key, I mean.” I run upstairs and walk into the room. There’s one person that I know who knows a lot, and that specific person is sitting behind her desk. “Hermione!”
            “If it’s not about the test week you’d better not waste my time.” Right. We have a test week next week, what means Hermione is studying 24/7.
            “Alrighty then. Lotte!” I look around. “Okay… Hermione, where’s Lotte?”
            “Don’t know.”
            “And Chantal?”
            “Don’t know.” Well, that’s helpful.
            “Thanks anyway.” I walk back to the door, which opens as I want to grab the doorknob. “LOTTE!”
            “Hi!”
            “Can the two of you please be a bit more quiet? I’m trying to study.” I chuckle when Lotte rolls with her eyes.
            “Do you have any idea for a key?” I ask Lotte.
            “A key?”
            “Yeah, a key to decipher ciphers.”
            “What kind of cipher?”
            “Masonic. Wait.” I grab the blue notebook out of my bag. “Here.”
            Lotte flips through the pages that describe the ciphers. “The letters could be numbers.”
            “Okay… Listening.”
            “If you use ‘Silence’ as the key for all of these ciphers, you get 4 letter words, using the letters A ‘til J. 10 letters.”
            “10 digits.”
            “Exactly. So if we take it the easy way, CCAJ would be 2209, CGBA would be 2610, CBBC would be 2112 and so on.”
            “They’re dates.”
            “Really?”
            “Yeah. 2112. 21-12. My birthday. The day Umbridge accused us of the theft.”
            “I see.” Lotte grabs her school diary. “Here, 26-10. The Wednesday before Halloween.”
            “The day of the Weeping Angels.”
            “And Thursday 22-09. The day Fluffy was poisoned.”
            “Okay. CDBC makes 23-12, the day of the Silence, and AJAB makes 09-01, the day before yesterday.”
            “The day of the bomb.”
            “So if these ciphers are the dates of the incidents in the past…”
            “Then the other ciphers could be the dates of the incidents that are coming.”
            “That would mean the next incident will be on…” I write down the deciphering of the next code, “24-01.”
            Lotte flips through her diary. “That’s the Tuesday after the test week. So we’ve got a little bit less than two weeks to figure out what the next incident will be.:
            “I think we already know.” I say.
            Lotte looks at me. “Do you really think someone’s going to be murdered?”
            “We’d better tell Jack and Sirius.”

            “We deciphered the codes!” Lotte and I yell as we walk into the training center. We hear some stumbling coming from the office.
            “You know, I think we should wait here.” I say.
            “You’re probably right.”
            The door of the office opens. “What?! Oh, it’s you. What is it?” Jack stands in the opening.
            “Told you.” I whisper. Lotte grins. “We deciphered the codes.” I tell Jack.
            “Really?” Jack doesn’t sound very surprised. “What’s the key.”
            “Silence.” Lotte and I say.
            “That’s impossible.” I can hear Sirius say before he appears. “We worked with that key and could only make gibberish of it.”
            “Maybe, but what if those gibberish words would be numbers?” Lotte asks.
            “Numbers?” Jack asks.
            “Dates, to be precisely.” I say.
            “Dates? How can they be dates?” Sirius asks.
            “Yes, dates. The first five are the dates of the past incidents.” Lotte explains.
            “So we think the other dates are dates of coming incidents.” I continue.
            “Okay, what are the dates?” Jack asks.
            “Err…” I grab the notebook. “The ninth of February…”
            “The twenty-ninth of February…” Lotte continues.
            “The firth of April…”
            “The twenty-seventh of April…”
            “The tenth of May…”
            “The fourth of June…”
            “And the twenty-ninth of July.” I finish. Jack has written down all these dates.
            “We also think that the next incident might be a murder.” Lotte says.
            “Why?” Sirius asks.
            “Because of the word ‘death’. It’s in the same code, you need the same key to decipher it.” I say.
            “You’d almost think they want us to know.” Sirius says.
            “I don’t think it, I know it.” Jack says.
            “What do you mean?” Sirius asks.
            “They give us clues. It’s obvious they want us to know.” Lotte says.
            “Do you really think there’s going to be a murder?” Sirius asks.
            “I’m afraid so.” I answer.
            “I think she’s right. We’ve already been close to a murder before.” I wonder if Jack means the incident with the Weeping Angels or the one with the Silence. Kayleigh almost died at the first one, but the latter was also very dangerous. “It won’t be a surprise if there really is a murder going to happen. Look around if any of the students or teachers are acting strange. Try to find any more clues. We have to prevent this.”
            “Alright.” Lotte and I walk back to the stairs.
            “Wait.” We stop and turn back around. “If the headmaster of Pigfarts is a talking lion…” Jack starts,
            “What…” Lotte says.
            “And if Pigfarts is on Mars, does that mean Narnia can be found on Mars?”
            I smirk and walk away. 

Chapter 14: Bite Me!

            “Okay, so, why would someone place a fake bomb in the Room of Requirement?” Jack writes some things down on the whiteboard, while Sirius tries to make coffee. With the accent on ‘tries’. 

            I walk towards him, put a coffee pad in the machine and push the  button. “See? It’s not that hard.” I grab the mug that’s now filled with coffee and give it to Sirius before I put another coffee pad in the machine. I turn around to see what Jack wrote on the whiteboard while the machine does its job. The words ‘fake bomb’ and ‘Silence will fall’ are written down under the timeline, with an arrow connecting the ‘Silence will fall’ sentence with the Silence incident that happened right before Christmas. “Their trying to create panic.” I say.
            “Okay… Explain.” Jack leans back to the whiteboard.
            I give Jack the hot beverage. “They placed a bomb that wouldn’t explode in a room from which the existence is only known by few. The Room showed it in every situation, no matter what the Room was like. I’d say the one who placed it wanted it to be found, otherwise the Room wouldn’t be able to show it in other situations.” Fred explained me how the Room really works when we walked back to the training center.
            “That… is very well thought of you.” Jack turns back around and writes the words ‘create panic’ on the board.
            “Do you also got a theory about ‘Silence will fall’?” Sirius asks.
            “Uh, yeah. Well, sorta. That sentence refers to the incident that happened before this one. Just like the objects that were found at the earlier incidents. It doesn’t make really sense, though.”
            “What do you mean?” Jack asks.
            “It’s like the book page at the Angel incident. The Book was stolen after that. It was like a warning.”
            “But the Silence have already been here.” Fred notices.
            “Yeah, but what if that was a forerunner of what’s going to happen? I think the sentence ‘Silence will fall’ has two meanings. One, this incident is connected to the others. Two, there’s more to come. It’s possible that there will be another, more dangerous, incident including the Silence, though it’s also possible that ‘Silence’ refers to the last incident and ‘will fall’     refers to a next incident.”
            The three men think about that for a while.
            “That’s brilliant.” Sirius eventually says.
            “She is brilliant.” Jack points out.
            “Sometimes I just wonder how you’re able to figure things like this out.” Fred says.
            “Yeah, sometimes I wonder about that too.” I answer. “So, Jack, you said you got some more information about the Book?”
            “Yep. And once again, you were right. It’s full of information about all the teachers, about their backgrounds, their interests, their personal life. Everything. Some of them even have a criminal record.”
            “Really? Which teachers?” Fred asks.
            “Err… One of them would be me.” Sirius says.
            “Not so surprising.” I say.
            “Oi, you know what’s surprising? That you don’t have one yet.”
            “Oh! I’m not that bad!”
            “Well…” I send Jack a look.
            “He also got one.” Sirius says.
            “Also not so surprising.” Fred says.
            “I don’t have a record.” Jack says indignant.
            “Really?” I say, teasing Jack.
            “Whatever I did before I start working here is none of your business.”
            “What did you do before you started working here?” I  ask. “I mean, I know you’re immortal and all, so you must have done something.”
            “Ah, you know, traveled a lot, fought aliens, worked for this institute called Torchwood.” There’s something weird in the way Jack says this. Almost… Sad. “Anyway, we were talking about the Book. Except for the information about the teachers there are also maps of the school, with all the information you can imagine. Secret chambers, tunnels, weak spots.”
            “Wow. I can’t believe I was right about that.”
            “Yeah, you’re brain almost works like a criminal one.” Sirius smirks.
            “Oh, can we please stop about that?”
            Jack laughs. “He’s right. That’s what makes you so brilliant.”
            “I’m brilliant because I have a criminal brain?”
            “Err… Okay, let’s just forget that. Becky, Fred. I want you two to look around in school and try to find something that’s unusual, something that can help us. Look at the students and the teachers, how they behave, look around in classrooms if there’s something that doesn’t belong. I also want you to keep thinking about more theories.” I guess this means we’re finished for now.
            “Alright.” Fred starts to walk away,
            “Yes sir.” I answer Jack before I follow Fred.
            “Don’t sir me.”
            I turn back around. “Yes ma’am.”
            I can hear Jack smirk as Fred and I walk upstairs.

As it is already time for dinner, we walk to the atrium. Chantal, Lotte and George are already sitting at a table.
            “Ola.” I say as I sit down.
            “Hey. Where have the two of you been?” Chantal asks.
            “Training center.” Fred answers, stealing some fries from his brother’s plate.
            “Because of the bomb?” Lotte asks.
            “What? How do you know about that?” That happened, like, one hour ago.
            “The whole school already knows.” George says. “Don’t ask me how that’s possible, because I don’t know.”
            “Yeah, suddenly people were talking about it and the news spread quickly.” Chantal says.
            “Wow.” I say. “Maybe… Eh, no, never mind.”
            “What were you going to say?” Lotte asks.
            “Err… Well, I was thinking. Maybe the one who placed the bomb is the one who spread the rumor.”
            “Why do you think that?”
            “Because that would cause big chaos. Students would panic. The whole school would shut down to be sure no-one would get hurt.”
            “Seems legit.”
            “Now, what are my favorite criminals planning to do this time?” I turn around and face the most annoying guy of school; Dudley
            “Dudley, go away.” I try, even though I know it won’t work.
            “No. So, a bomb, eh?”
            “Yep, there was a bomb found. Now, leave. You still have a chance.”
            “So I’ve heard.” Dudley says, ignoring the second part. “I’m sure you are the one who have put that bomb in school.”
            “Why would we do that?” I try to stay calm. “We love it here.”
            “Yeah, right. And I have to believe that. You’re bloody terrorists you are. Those aliens, the theft. I’m sure it all has to do with you.”
            “I totally agree with Dudley.” Lindsey, one of the popular and very annoying girls, joins in, followed by one of her friends. “Who else would’ve done this than you freaks?”
            Oh, I hate that girl. “Excuse me, how did you just call us?”
            “Didn’t you hear the lady? That means you’re not only as stupid as you look, but also deaf.” Oh, wrong choice, Dudley, wrong choice.
            “Dudley, just wondering, have you ever looked in a mirror?”
            Looking at his face, that came out harsh. Good. “Oh, bite me.”
            “Really? Bite you?”
            “Yeah, that’s what I said. Bite me.” I grab Dudley’s arm and bit it. Hard. As I let go I can see a bite mark on his arm. “You bit me!”
            “Oh my God. Did you just bit him? Did she just bite him?” Lindsey stares at the bite mark, still not believing her own eyes.
            “You asked for it.” I say. “And you know what? You may be happy I didn’t punch you in the face.”
            “You wouldn’t dare.” Dudley snarls.
            “Really? Because I just dared to bite you. Daring to punch someone in the face is quite easy in comparison.” I hear Lotte, Chantal, Fred and George chuckle behind me. “Now, don’t accuse me or my friends ever again, or I will punch you in the face. Is that understood?” Dudley stumbles back and runs away as fast as he can, followed by his minions.
            Lindsey and her friend still stand in front of me. “Freak.”
            “Bitch.”
            “Lunatic.”
            “Whore.”
            Lindsey, suppressing a “Oh no, you didn’t.”, seems to notice that she won’t be winning this, because she turns around with a displeased look on her face. “Come on, Claire, let’s go.”
            “Now that was brilliant.” Fred says.
            I turn around. “Does anyone of you has something to drink for me? I want that Dudley-taste out of my mouth.”
            “Miss Van Leeuwen, I want to speak to you in my office. Now.” Once again I turn around, this time to face professor McGonagall. Oh crap. I follow the severe looking woman to her office at the -2^nd floor. She closes the door and turns around. “I have heard you bit one of the students. Is this true?”
            I don’t see the point in lying. “Yes, professor.”
            “I see. Now, can you tell me what happened. Mr. Dursley told me he was just talking to you and your friends when you became aggressive, though I’m not quite sure if I have to believe that.”
            I should’ve known. The big crybaby. “Mr. Dursley accused me and my friends for being responsible of the incidents that happened in the past months. He called me stupid and told me I could bite him. Of course, that was not meant as an invitation, but I took the chance to show him he is messing with the wrong person.”
            Professor McGonagall’s face is hard to read, but I can see her eyes light up a bit, like she’s approving of my defense. “Now tell me, miss Van Leeuwen, what was the reason of Mr. Dursley’s accuse? Why this moment?”
            “I was talking to my friends about the last incident, the bomb, and how quickly the rumor had spread. Mr. Dursley overheard us talking.”
            “You and Mr. Dursley have had some more misunderstandings from the start, is that correct?”
            “Yes, professor.”
            “And from what I’ve heard from my colleagues it is mostly Mr. Dursley who start those so said fights, am I rightly informed?”
            “Yes, professor.”
            “Then I’d say you had a very decent reason for the incident with Mr. Dursley and that there is no reason for punishment. However, if I hear anything more about a misunderstanding between you and Mr. Dursley containing not just words, I will have to expel you for a little while. Is that understood?”
            “Yes, professor.”
            “Before you go, you said something about the last incident. What do you know about that? And I want to know everything. I figured you’re helping Mr. Harkness and professor Black with the investigation.”
            “The bomb was found about 2 hours ago now, and the rumor was spread almost immediately.”
            “Alright, and your theory?”
            “The person who placed the bomb wanted it to be found. It is possible that he is also the one who started the rumor to create chaos.”
            “I can hear Mr. Harkness trained you well. I allow you to go on, on condition that your grades are staying at a good level.”
            “Thank you, professor. I’ll make sure my grades are top priority.”
            “Very well. You can go now.”
            “Thank you, professor.” I walk to the door.
            “Oh, and miss Van Leeuwen, I already talked to Mr. Harkness. If it gets too dangerous, you’re off the case. Be careful.”
            “Yes, professor. I will.”