A Cloud Before the Moon

Chapter 12

That evening, Letha had a great deal to think about. What had Snape meant?

"There is only one man to whom I can tell;

You will understand if you listen well:

He is a man whom we both know;

When he went to Paris, he came out of the shadow;

Into sunlight colored with such purity;

As to cause a great alchemist to sigh with envy."

A man they both knew - who went to Paris? What was he talking about? She could think of no such a person. Then she considered Paris from Greek mythology. That didn't make sense either. "If you listen well"? - maybe the key was in the words themselves. Paris - shadow - sunlight - alchemist - an alchemist makes gold - sunlight is gold. Golden sunlight? She was still perplexed. Maybe some sleep would help. But she could not sleep; she kept thinking about the riddle.

Words - listen to the words -she thought; in Paris, the words are in French. She took a quill and parchment, and wrote:

Shadow - Ombre

Sunlight - Lumiere de soleil

Golden - Or - De l'or - D'or

She stared at the words. Ombre. "Of the shadow" - De l'ombre - or D'ombre. "D'ombre" - into gold - "D'or". D'ombre. D'or. She said it out loud. "D'ombre! D'or!" She repeated it. And then it occurred to her - Dumbledore!

But why? She considered the question soberly. She thought about Malfoy's case. The Ministry had cleared Malfoy without so much as a trial. Maybe Snape thought Dumbledore would do the same for him? That was not going to happen! There would be no favors, no pardons, if she could help it.

Then again, Dumbledore was not a politician. He was different. She had always admired his independence and forthrightness, his willingness to stand up to those in power. What should she do, what was right? She wanted to do the right thing. She suddenly felt very weary, and closed her eyes. In front of her she saw Snape's black, empty, bloodshot eyes. As she gazed at them, they transformed into a boy's eyes, and she watched as they peered up at her from a pale mud-streaked face. She opened her own eyes and shook her head to clear away the image. She decided - against her better judgment - she would contact Dumbledore.

That issue resolved for the moment, her thoughts turned to Sirius Black. He was clearly guilty, yet he insisted he was not. Pettigrew was dead, that much was certain, and there were scores of identical eyewitness accounts pointing to Black. Simple. Then again, when was anything ever simple? As ridiculous as it seemed, maybe she should review the facts. That way, at least she would be satisfied.

And who was the troublemaker who had taught her to think that way? Dumbledore, of course! Grandma Ephie. Her parents. But Ephie was dead. Daddy was dead. Mummy was in St. Mungo's, completely off her rocker.

After a good cry and a cup of tea, Letha's head felt clearer. She composed a vague, brief note.

Dear Professor Dumbledore,

A former student sends regards from Azkaban.

Regards,

L. Faraday

She was afraid to be more explicit, in case it was intercepted. She tied it to her owl's leg and sent the owl on her way. Then she picked up one of the Black files to re-read, starting with one of the five separate Auror's reports.

After several hours of sifting through evidence, Letha concluded that there was one aspect of the Black case, which had not been explored. She had found a witness statement by a Muggle police detective named Inspector McCullough, in which he referred to some "forensic evidence" which should be examined. In its wisdom, the Ministry had seen to it that the detective had been Obliviated. Furthermore, whatever "forensic evidence" he referred to had apparently been ignored, because the Ministry had no interest in Muggle methodologies.

Letha had no idea how to track down this evidence, but she thought the best place to start would be to look for McCullough. It seemed likely that he worked at the local police station where the attack occurred, and that she even might find the evidence there. When she was younger, she had enjoyed reading Muggle detective novels, and was excited at the idea of playing that role herself. She wanted to get to work on it right away. First she stopped by the office. She asked George Bailey to let her supervisor know she would be out for a day or two "verifying sources"; he agreed to pass on that vague message in exchange for an equally vague promise of a date with her sometime in the near future. Then she went home to prepare her supplies. She put together a simple but functional Muggle wardrobe to take along, some currency, a map, some other necessaries. She stuffed it all in a large shoulder bag that said "LV" all over it. She had no clue what "LV" stood for, but it had been a birthday gift from her friend Anjana's Muggle parents, and she though it would serve the purpose. She examined the map, and found a spot where she thought she might Apparate inconspicuously. After all her preparations had been made, she ate a light dinner and went to bed early.