Chapter Three:
The Mystery of the Sender

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Harry paced around the room, beads of sweat trickling down his face, like a stream. He was tensed and, in a dilemma. After much well concealed probation, or at least as concealed as it could be with him and Ginny, the two reckless souls, in charge, he managed to gather the chosen 'cousins' of his.

"Look, Harry," Hermione demanded his attention. "This could just be some sort of a trap! Just like the Sirius' one! Do you want to repeat the mistake of trusting an unknown source?!" They were in the drawing room of the Grimmauld place, discussing the letter which had broken the short-lived peace of the individuals gathered in the house. Privacy charms were already in place, giving them no need to fear for external intrusion.

"If there's someone out there who needs my help, I'll do it!" Harry shot back, turning to face his paranoid friend. Although Sirius' death was a constant reminder of his impulsive decision-making, the thought about some stranded person seeking for his help in despair was too overwhelming for him to remember actions and regrets of the past. "I'm going there, whether you guys are coming with me or not!"

A shuffling sound was heard and he felt a hand slip into his. "And I, will go along with you," Ginny said. "Follow you wherever you go."

"Count me in, mate." Ron stood up from his seat on the armchair. Hermione shot him a furtive look but he was not looking her way.

"This is what we are now," Neville spoke up after a long pause. "War changed us. We can be paranoid, Hermione, but war also changed our attitude, didn't it? Deep down, you want to help them out as well, don't you?" Hermione stayed silent, swaying lightly.

"It's her decision, Nev," Luna stated. "But if you ask me, I'd say to see the good in all things. If a person can be helped by us, it's a positive change. If not, we get another lesson to not trust anyone blindly. That, too, is a positive step as it changes the way life has to be perceived."

"I– you are right, Luna."

Luna smiled. "What are friends for? I shall follow your decision, Harry Potter."

"Five of us are in, Harry," Ginny stated. "You are not alone."

A sharp intake of breath proceeded the words which echoed throughout the room. "Six of us are in." Harry saw Hermione's small, indefinite yet determined smile. He glanced at everyone in the room and some pieces of the puzzle began to fall in. Ginny's fierce nature to follow him no matter what; Ron's loyalty towards him; Neville's growing perseverance to work for others' welfare; Luna's wise perception of life and its games; Hermione's smartness at handling things; and his own bravery to face the ghosts of the regrets of his past to help someone in danger. Perhaps that was why they were chosen.

Perhaps that was why they were the perfect team. . .

—xoxo—

"Now, if we are going anywhere, we need to solve the mystery of the changing names," Hermione stated, looking at all of their letters which were on the dining table. Harry had already stated of his theory behind naming them with adjectives and it was satiable. They were now set upon figuring out the sender's unpronouncable names. "What is the common factor between all of these names. . .?"

"A capital letter in each one besides mine?" Ron asked. Luna's face brightened at his statement.

"I'd like to think it's a clue. A sentence of its own if we were to put the words in proper order," Luna suggested. "The capitalised letter would be the starting alphabet!"

Harry summoned a parchment and quill and, started writing down all the words on it as Ron dictated. Hermione and Luna pondered the meaning as he scribbled away hastily, finishing after a few minutes. He held it up for everyone to see and give their opinions.

"I think 'ma' and 'si' can be interpreted as 'am' and 'is'," Neville stated, leaning in to take a closer look.

"'I' can stay the same so," Ron mused. "it will be 'I am is'? Blimey?"

"If there is 'I am', then they are probably telling who they are. Look, 'na' can be read as 'an'. What if it's 'I am an'?" Ginny questioned, narrowing her eyes at the innocent paper as if trying to demand it to decipher itself.  Harry smiled at her antics.

"Then they aren't human," Hermione reasoned. "You won't use that particular article for humans. What if they are goblins? After all, goblins are the only creatures who can read and write besides the human race, if you exclude people with lycanthrophy."

"We shouldn't reach conclusions before deciphering everything," Luna put in and everyone nodded. Hermione supplied parchment and quills from her bag so that everyone could write the words down and try to decipher them. It took a while of effort, with Ron complaining the most about not being able to concentrate without food in his stomach, but they reached the most probable answer.

"I guess this is it." Harry looked at his parchment, which had a lot of scribbles and even doodles, then at his friends who nodded for him to go on. All they had to do was arrange all the unjumbled words in alphabetical order of their own surnames. Starting from Hermione's surname, 'Granger', with a 'G' till Ron's surname, 'Weasley', with a 'W', it was arranged and a proper sentence was formed. In a clear voice, he read, "'I, Rune, am an Unspeakable. Seems you found out who I am'."

A short chapter but I hope it satisfied the mystery of the sender. Can you guys guess who Rune is? ;)

Thank you for reading!

Miyoko x