Chapter 2

Author's note: I own nothing. I just happen to have the habit of borrowing characters and playing around with them.

As to why the world is the way it is in this story, please c/f to author's note in chapter 1.

Description of murder(s) and politics herein may be gory and unpalatable to readers. If blood and gore offends you, and if depictions of any kind of non-western or non-modern-democratic government offends you, this story and the original AU murder mystery on which it are based are not for you. I do not say this to alienate my readers. I am merely giving fair warning.

Long footnotes follow chapter. You have been warned.

Politics of Academic Murder

Chapter 2

'Did you get the sense that Chancellor Flitwick seemed particularly keen to forward the idea that there was a robbery by the undesirable elements of society leading to Professor Dumbledore's death?' asked Hermione when they Apparated to her door of her flat at Victoria Road. 'I know age had been catching with Dumbledore, but I highly doubt he would be that much incapacitated as to be caught unaware by robbers.'

Her flat was a lived-in place on the third floor of an Edwardian building with a drawing room that doubled up as Hermione's study of sorts. Persons entering the modest flat would find two large, tall bookshelves at right angles to one another against the walls. A functional writing desk stood at the corner, on which were books, measuring implements, a calculator, an abacus, a welter of papers and a tray containing student essay scripts. Further into the room, on the same side, was a lovely fireplace of brick, with two comfortable black cushioned single-seat sofas at the side of the hearth nearest the door, and a coal-scuttle. A clock, photographs of her parents, and a jar of floo powder stood on the dust-free mantelpiece, and a convenient magazine stand remained well-placed between the fireplace and the desk. On the other side of the door, to the left of the entrant was a short book cabinet on which stood a telephone and a stack of books on Arithmancy and Potions. In the corner beyond was the side wall and three full-length windows adorned with floral print curtains at the furthest end of the door. Before the windows stood a polished goban of the traditional Japanese make, which in turn had two goke atop it. Two cushions by the sides of the goban and a low side-table containing a dessert dish with sweets and chocolates completed this pleasant picture.

'It seemed to me,' input Severus musingly as Hermione locked her door, 'that he did not know whether he wanted to endorse the robbery-cum-murder idea or the suicide idea. That in itself is remarkable odd. What is he hiding? Just what is the report hiding?'

'Which is to say Professor Flitwick knows Harry is hiding something but is uncertain as to how he should proceed without offending the Great Leader,' agreed the young Arthimancer as she slipped out of her court shoes and into a pair of beaded at-home slippers. 'Just what makes the Chancellor think we can pull off such a coup? It's like playing white and trying to win a Go match by one moku and one moku only.'

'You know,' he responded thoughtfully, removing his shoes and striding purposefully to the goban before the full-length windows overlooking the street. 'I think that is exactly what we are supposed to do. We are to conduct our investigation as prescribed by the law for Unspeakable Unspeakables and depart when we have finished. Shall I illustrate with a game with a three stone handicap?'

As his words penetrated her mind, she raised a brow in interest. 'One can only be in atari for so many moves,' she said, pottering into the kitchenette on the left. 'Will green tea do?'

'Only if you stick a nori piece into it,' he answered, sitting cross-legged on the cushion before the goban and reviewing the Potter-Weasley report on Dumbledore's unfortunate death. 'Do you know what else is odd with this account?' he continued when she returned with a pot of tea and two cups.

'Surprise me,' she intoned as she sat in seiza on her cushion. 'If you are going to rattle on about the ineptitude of the Aurory, spare me. I am already acquainted with the pungent terms with which you use to describe the Potter bureaucratic machine. We are, or at least, were Unspeakable Unspeakables, Harry would have to accept our findings however reluctantly.'

Instead of answering her, Severus opened the goke containing the black go-ishi and pushed it towards her. 'A three stone handicap – place them where you like.'

She sniffed indignantly, her eyes flashing. 'I think it monstrously unfair that you should be giving me a handicap. Playing black already has its advantages in Go. If you weren't illustrating your point of winning this investigation with a certain number of moku, I would be offended.' Severus laughed at her and made a gesture for her to place the stones on the board before he would continue. 'You had better not be evading my questions!'

'I would not dare!' he declared in a monotone, pouring out the tea with the tiniest hint off a smirk. 'You are undoubtedly wondering why a three stone handicap?'

'Would it crush you if I said I already know?' she asked on setting the stones close to three corners of the board in the komuku positions.

He sipped his tea and stared unblinkingly at her. 'Terribly so, Dr Granger.'

'Well, be crushed then,' said she with a playful smile. 'From their report, you think Harry and Ron are three steps ahead of us: One – the official report on suicide, Two – Harry letting us investigate, Three – the pervasive smell of cover-up in the air. Furthermore, since black always moves first in Go it is an apt representation of them and whatever it is they did in their statement. Quite fitting really, since this assumption places them as mildly suspicious characters.'

He nodded. 'They think they can play in permanent in atari as you mentioned earlier, but we will surprise them, with a tsuke, thereby demonstrating that we dare go next to them or rather, we dare to be directly next to the Minister's stone but only briefly.'

'So that we are only in contact with his manoeuvres one manoeuvre at a time,' she said, before bringing the subject back to the matter of their investigation. 'Let us begin by recounting the general details of Dumbledore's death.'

Severus inhaled and made his move on the board with a white stone. 'It was on the morning of the bank holiday, three days ago. As Head of Department of the Transfiguration department of the University, he had lodgings within Merton College. He resided there, which is not surprising, given that he is a stingy old bugger. His manservant, Filch went to rouse him. As we know, his age was catching up with him, and he was no longer the sprightly Headmaster and Secret Head of the Unspeakable Unspeakables we know so well.'

He paused when she placed a stone in the hoshi position to counter his move. He placed a stone down with a smart click and went on. 'Aside from the point that his decrepitude was finally taking a physical toll on his aged body now that he has run out of the elixir of life he pinched from the late Flamel all that years ago. Also, it is a well-known fact that he has relied on the aid of a walking stick for the past year. It would come as no surprise that he required some assistance to rise in the morning. Filch would help him rise and dress and then escort him to the halls for breakfast and whatever duties he needed to attend. If we are to believe Messrs Potter and Weasley, Dumbledore was also becoming increasingly frail in the past year, so much so that he was needful of the helping hand of Filch.'

She responded with a stone on the board in nobi before taking the report and reading it for herself. 'So Filch went to the chamber that morning. The facts seem too straightforward if they are to be believed. Filch enters stage right and found Dumbledore hanging from a beam just above his desk. There were indications that his possessions had been rifled and a valuable person item, namely a jewelled magnifying glass, had been taken. Some valuable objects were also reported stolen from the Merton College wizarding chapel, which coincidentally adjoins Dumbledore's chambers.'

'Too bloody conveniently,' muttered Severus, staring at the board when she met his move with an atari. 'Bloody Gryffindors are so transparent! How many times must I tell you not to move into the offensive too soon. When will you learn that doing so shows your opponent that which you have in mind too early in the game!'

'Rubbish,' she retorted coldly with a dismissive flick of the wrist. 'I'm playing as the boys would. From the way they have behaved in their investigation, I would be tempted to say they believe they are invincible. Only those sure of their invincibility will dare to attempt to take another's stone so early in the game.'

'What about building up the game? Go is not about offence versus defence. It is about the joseki,' he hissed, placing a stone on the board.

'Your joseki is old!' she snorted scornfully. 'The kosumi has not been used for at least two hundred years and you bring it back into play?'

'That's because I'm thinking at least eight moves in advance. That's what we need to do if we are going against the Minister and his freckled underling!' he snarled testily.

'Ron is not an underling!'

'Oh, forgive me!' he snapped, putting down his cup lightly. 'The Minister who cannot even play wizarding chess to save his life places someone who can near him to bail him out of trouble and bolster his legitimacy if need be. That someone must be a comrade rather than an underling.'

'Just what are you trying to say?' She glowered at him upon making her move on the board.

He made a move and as he did so, a nerve jumped at the corner of his mouth. 'If it was the Minister playing at this whole situation, he would want to be in permanent atari, permanently on the verge on taking his opponent's stones without pause and without regard for joseki. But the Deputy Commissioner of the Aurory can play and will play to cover up the inevitable mess left by the Minister's habit of charging in without thinking.'

'That is a grave accusation, Severus,' she warned, looking up at him worryingly. 'One wrong move and you could end up like Lucius Malfoy.'

'That is the whole point of our investigation,' he purred lowly, causing a chill to run down her spine. 'The Deputy Commissioner of the Aurory knows he cannot keep attacking for the sake of taking more stones, so he launches into the attack you just did.'

'But the keima attack does not mean he is looking to control the board or the situation,' protested Hermione.

'In controlling the situation, he controls the Minister. It is simple politics,' stated Severus, his eyes glittering strangely in thought. 'You will note that those discoveries were made after Filch had roused the other wizarding scholars and Fellows of the college having found the body of the much-beloved Dumbledore.' He paused to place a stone in ate upon receiving the official account from his companion. 'The brilliant deduction of Messrs Potter and Weasley hinted that it was theft and murder.'

'A reason Professor Flitwick seemed both keen and frighten to accept,' pointed out Hermione with another move.

Carelessly tossing aside the report as if it were as offensive as the articles published in the Daily Prophet, Severus responded on the board and looked up at her, his eyes boring into hers. 'Remind me of their wild theory.'

'But you've read it!' she protested both his verbal request and at the manner in which their game had unfolded.

'Talking helps to make the whole convoluted mess seem more comprehensible to the eyes of the mind.' He gestured broadly to the set up on the goban.

Hermione let out a long suffering sigh. Knowing that their early game play had already reflected the situation outlined in the report whereby the vulnerability of the University of Cambridge was outlined. The statement claimed that the lack of walls around the university and each college made it prone to any itinerants who wished to besiege the inhabitants of the institution. That much was true. The idea that no one would wish to enter and cause any harm to the students and Fellows of the university had carried over from the late Middle Ages, and it would be all to easy for an outsider to enter and create havoc within the institution. That theory did signify the death of the cluster of white stones at the top left hand cover. Yet, in that small truth, there was a bigger lie. The lay of the board thus far would suggest that the black player (as Severus had taken to represent the official Ministry Inquiry) had control over the left corner of the board and that one avenue of investigation was now closed to her and Severus. However, it also indicated to her, as it would to any experienced Go player, the white player had thrown away that cluster of stones. Black had not taken that sector; it only thought it had. It made sense of course, the whole itinerant-causing-havoc through theft and accidental murder theory was rubbish. If the Ministry and the Aurory wanted the investigators appointed by the university's wizarding division to believe that little lie, she and Severus would believe it behind knowing winks, nudges and smirks. But it not change the fact that they had control over the centre, and that could potentially work to their benefit.

As she lifted her eyes from the board to meet his cynical, dangerously glinting ones, she swallowed hard on seeing that which she had not earlier foreseen. 'We have to test them and trap them,' she said slowly in realisation. 'We may privately doubt the report's claim that itinerant mercenaries and the dodgy elements of our society entered Merton College at night to rob the chapel of its valuables, then robbed Professor Dumbledore and then hung him. We may even doubt Professor Flitwick's story that Professor Dumbledore had been disturbed by them, went to investigate, thereby incurring their wrath so much so that they turned on him, hanged him from his own roof beam and robbed him for good measure.'

'A masterful display of the Aurory's logical deduction from the facts,' deadpanned Severus in a bored tone with the slightest hint of sarcasm.

'Doesn't it strike you as odd that Professor Dumbledore, an aged wizard who needed the aid of a walking stick, needed help to rise in the morning, and needed help to be escorted to the hall for his meals, would rise in the night on discerning the presence of intruders and head to the chapel, alone, to investigate matters,' Hermione said, placing a stone on the board to further her attempt to control the centre.

His narrowed his eyes and responded to her move. 'According to Messrs Potter and Weasley, people in extremis have been known to perform many extraordinary things. If we are to believe our venerable Minister and his less venerable lackey, Dumbledore, though increasingly frail with age, was a very determined wizard. He had, as we are reminded in the report led the battle against the Dark Lord nearly ten years ago.'

Hermione suppressed a sigh of irritation. 'All Britain knew of Dumbledore's greatness. His greatness is only one notch lower than that of the Greater Leader Harry Potter! And since everyone in the British Isles knew if Dumbledore's campaign against Voldemort, it is no surprise that his name has come to be associated with fortitude in adversity.'

'Just like how the Minister's name had come to be a byword for moral and physical courage throughout the United Kingdom, as if he were the only morally upright and courageous one. What about those of us who spied and lied through our teeth for the cause?' commented the Alchemist bitterly, placing his stone on the board with more force than was necessary.

'All that is immaterial,' comforted she, reaching forward and patting his hand until he jerked it away from her. 'We have to concentrate on the matter at hand. Surely, it must have occurred to Harry and Ron that their report would strike us as odd. Are we expected to believe that these disposed squibs and wizards-deprived-of-wands-turned-robbers, who were so unfortunate to be disturbed, pounced on Dumbledore, took him back to his chamber and hanged him there? Granted, Professor Dumbledore had bent a little in age, but it is farfetched to insinuate the frail and aged wizard was such a threat that they would kill him. If I were a thief caught off guard, my first instinct to be knock the fellow unconscious and run. And given Professor Dumbledore's recent spate of ill health, his aged frailty, he could not have prevented the robbers' escape or even pursue them or take them on en masse. Why should they even bother to take him, order him to lead them back to his chambers and kill him there?'

'To quote the words of the Chancellor, "Who knows the minds of thieves and murderers? I have recorded the facts. I do not attempt to understand the minds of such lowlifes." Very succinct of him to make such a declaration,' Severus snorted. 'Additionally, we are told, despite being ordered to investigate into the "wherefore", that any signs of the itinerants or dispossessed members of the wizarding community were gone the day after the theft and murder. How very convenient for the Minister and the Deputy Commissioner of the Aurory!'

'Conveniently, they did not interview Filch even though he was the first to discover the body,' Hermione said quietly, making a hasami move on the board.

'Why should they? They would only look on him as a squib – an unimportant person, and a useless freeloading being within wizarding society, unable to contribute to the community in anyway or serve the growth of the wizarding economy.' His lips curled contemptuously at the current administration's blatant prejudice of the less fortunate and he placed a stone right before her on her side of the board. 'That is also exactly how the Ministry views the wizards who have been stripped of their wands, their properties and dignities – useless, freeloaders who are better off dead. But since they are clearly not dead, they would have to be shunned and left to shift for themselves. These non-contributing elements of our society should not be spoken of or addressed. Our "beloved Great Leader" said so in his latest speech to commemorate the founding of the Ministry of Magic.'

Her eyes flickered up, accompanied by a small gasp. While she had been affronted by his direct portrayal of the Potter Administration's socio-economic stance (a stance for which she had nothing but disgust), she was more surprised by his move on the board. He had just placed a stone into her territory, the lower centre of the board, which was directly before her. The hiraki at this point – what was he trying to accomplish? Unable to fathom his reason, she lifted her astonished eyes to meet his level, challenging gaze. 'That's not the smartest move or the strongest move,' she managed to whisper.

'Are you speaking of the official report's failure to consider the possible contributions of Filch's testimony, my take on Ministry policy, or are you, by any chance commenting on the move I just made.' His lips twitched into a knowing smirk.

'All three, if you must know,' she replied, with an edge of annoyed dissatisfaction in her voice. 'Are you testing me to see how I would respond, or are you measuring from strength from a far higher position? What have I done that you are playing shidou go with me? I thought we had agreed to respect each other's abilities and capabilities.'

'I would not dare to confront you in such a manner,' was the quiet purring reply. He received a snort of disbelief in return. 'However, I was thinking we could use this in our dealings with Messrs Potter and Weasley.' His eyes narrowed and he lowered his voice, making his tone even quieter. 'I don't see why we can't play tutoring Go with them. they are fifty years too young to play politics against me.'

'And we will do that by playing old joseki against them?' enquired she, tapping the side of her cheek thoughtfully.

'By interviewing Filch and determining what he has to say, before going after the Minister himself,' Severus announced when she set a black stone down. He surprised her by closing his goke. 'It may be easier to win with black, but it is possible for white to survive even after loosing the cluster on your top left hand side.'

'That is risky.' She stared at the stone he had placed in hiraki, in that position she had earlier considered neither smart nor strong.

'I know.' His lips curled again, complimenting the excited glittering of his obsidian eyes.

'We have made the assumption that Harry, Ron and even Professor Flitwick may be suspects.'

'Indeed.'

'The most the Chancellor did was cover something up. The bigger fishes in this game are the Minister and the Deputy Commissioner of the Aurory. All outcomes must have causes. We will uncover the causes.'

'Going against Harry and Ron – if they are indeed the culprits – will be difficult.'

'Well,' he said, the nerve at the corner of his lips pulsated a little, his eyes not leaving hers. 'They would not expect us to invade the territory before them. You said it yourself – a hiraki in that position appears foolhardy, but they will not expect it. But I sincerely doubt they will even know that we are playing shidou Go. They will think they have control of the board until we win at the minute. They won't even have time to resign the game.'

'You mean we metaphorically decapitate them?'

'No, we threaten to decapitate them, hold what we know above them and then leave.'

'Do we have any other option?' she asked softly, imploringly.

'This is murder, Hermione. We cannot pat Messrs Potter and Weasley gently on the heads,' said Severus slowly and deliberately. 'Remember the way the Chancellor reacted when he all but begged us to investigate. They have bared their fangs to him. They will be baring their fangs upon us, upon you and disregard the many years of friendship. I can see it in them. They are capable of it. What will you do when they bare their fangs at you? Pat them gently on the heads or dodge their fangs? We have to play the way it unfolds on the board.'

That was all the assurance Hermione needed to hear, for she reached across the side table for a post-it note to indicate that Severus had the next move on the goban. Sticking the note by the side of the board, she rose and took up a medium-sized canvas bag containing pens, papers and notebooks. 'Let's go find Filch then, we'll finish the game by and by as our findings dictate and events unfold.'

FOOTNOTES:

Everything here on wizarding politics is entirely made up.

Readers may object to the 'Secret Department of Unspeakable Unspeakables'. I call it thus, as I explained in the first story, Christmas Presents Undisguised, because the agents there are more unspeakable than normal unspeakables. They are so unspeakable that they are secret.

Nori is Japanese dried seaweed. I like putting a thin piece of nori in a pot of Japanese green tea as I believe it gives the tea depth of flavour. I have decided that Severus would share this taste.

Seiza is the name for the way they Japanese people kneel when they 'sit'.

Go is a board game for two players. Its Chinese name weiqi is significant because it translates into 'encircling chess', meaning your encircle your opponent's stones and capture them. I have used the Japanese name for the game because I am more familiar with the Japanese rules than Chinese rules. In Japanese, it may be referred to as both Igo and Go. Go is noted for being rich in strategic complexity despite its simple rules. Go is played by two players alternately placing black and white stones on the vacant intersections of a line grid. The standard size of this grid is 19 × 19, although the rules of Go can be freely applied to any size: 13 × 13 and 9 × 9 are also popular choices for more simple and tactic-oriented games as well as a way to introduce Go to new players. The objective of the game is to control a larger part of the board than the opponent. To achieve this, players strive to place their stones in such a way that they cannot be captured, while mapping out territories that cannot be invaded by the opponent without being captured. A stone or a group of stones is captured and removed if it has no empty adjacent intersections, the result of being completely surrounded by stones of the opposing color. Generally, placing stones close together helps them avoid capture, whereas placing them far apart allows a player to surround more territory. Part of the strategic difficulty of the game stems from finding a balance between these two conflicting interests. The game ends and the score is counted when both players consecutively pass on a turn, indicating that neither side can increase its territory nor reduce its opponent's.

Basic Rules

(1) Two players, Black and White, take turns placing a stone (game piece) on a vacant point (intersection) of a 19 by 19 board (grid). Black always moves first. A 19x19 board is the standard size. Once played, a stone may not be moved to a different point.

(2) A vacant point adjacent to a stone is a liberty for that stone.

(3) Adjacent stones of the same color form a chain (also called a group) that shares its liberties in common, cannot subsequently be subdivided, and in effect becomes a single larger stone. Only stones connected to one another by the lines on the board create a chain.

(4) Chains may be expanded by playing additional stones of the same color on their liberties, or amalgamated by playing a stone on a mutual liberty of two or more chains of the same color.

(5) A chain must have at least one liberty to remain on the board. When a chain is surrounded by opposing stones so that it has no liberties, it is captured and removed from the board.

(6) If a stone is played where it has no liberties, but it occupies the last liberty of one or more opposing chains, then such chains are captured first, leaving the newly played stone at least one liberty.

(7) A stone cannot be played on a particular point, if doing so would recreate the board position that existed after the same player's previous turn.

(8) A player may pass instead of placing a stone, indicating that he sees no way to increase his territory or reduce his opponent's territory. When both players pass consecutively, the game ends and is then scored.

(9) A player's score is the number of empty points enclosed by his stones plus the number of opposing stones which he has captured. Points which are occupied by stones do not count for scoring purposes. The player with the higher score wins.

This is the essence of the game of Go. The risk of capture means that stones must work together to control territory, which makes the gameplay very complex and interesting.

Go allows one to play not only even games (games between players of roughly equal strength) but also handicap games (games between players of unequal strength). Without a handicap, even a slight difference in strength will generally be decisive.

Goban is the Go board. It is made from solid wood and is about 10 to 18 cm thick (1 inch=2.5 cm)

In the Japanese style, stones (go-ishi) are kept in matching solid wood bowls (goke), and are made of clamshell (white) and slate (black)

Komi rule – In Go, black makes the first move, so black has the advantage. Since black has the advantage, white has 5 ½ moku to start with. This means if white has 50 moku on the board, black needs 56 moku to win.

Moku – the point scoring in Go.

Tsuke – Where you place your stone next to your opponent's stone. But the stone that you have placed can only be in contact with the opponent stone at the time it is played for it to be a tsuke.

Hiraki – A move where you place a stone deep into unclaimed territory from an area that you can control. In so doing, you claim the unclaimed territory as your own.

Atari – When you only need one more move to capture a stone, it is known as atari.

Ate – pronounced (ah-tay). It is the process of placing a stone so that an opponent's stone is in atari.

Komoku – An opening move in Go where you place a stone under a star point. It captures less territory but is a great deal safer

Hoshi – A move deployed at the beginning of the game where you mirror your opponent's move on the other side of the board on the star points so that your stones are parallel to your opponent's. The star points are traditionally intersections marked with a small dot on the board

Nobi – A move that extends a stone you already have on the board.

Joseki is a set pattern of moves that brings benefit to both sides. Like chess openings, although it benefits both players, it can benefit one player over another if play is extended.

Keima – A keima attack in Go is similar to that of a knight's move in chess. This occurs when you go two units in one direction and another unit in different direction.

Kosumi – A standard Go response to the keima attack in the Edo period. It is rarely used now due to the komi rule. For komi rule, see above.

Hasami – An alternative to kosumi where you attack a stone from two sides instead one in kosumi.

Shidou Go is 'tutoring Go' whereby a player of higher skill plays against someone of lower skill by taking it easy on the lower skilled chap and making moves that will the teach the worse player some concepts of the game. The purpose of shidou Go is to lead the lower skilled player in the right direction. The teacher, of course, cannot make moves for the sake of winning.