Questions During the Audit

While Lucretia was receiving treatment at St. Mungo's, Mr. Crouch's Auror Task Force was also run ragged.

Williams pondered where to begin.

He had encountered this sort of situation several times already. Quite a few orphanages lay outside government jurisdiction, with Muggle officials probably visiting only once a year, yet they were not well-known private charities either.

The Ministry of Magic had never had much of a solution for places in this gray area. Director Crouch always said it was a loophole in the system.

But Williams felt the issue was not that simple.

He and two other Aurors cast Confundus Charms on themselves, disguising themselves as investigators from the Muggle social welfare department, then headed to Wool's Orphanage.

The sky was overcast, making the already dilapidated building look even more unpleasant than it had when they came at night last time.

The paint on the walls had peeled away badly, and the bricks beneath were cracked.

Williams recalled the things the Director had warned them about.

The grass in the yard grew wild, while the metal playground equipment meant for the children lay buried in it, rusted beyond recognition.

What on earth were the real Muggle welfare departments doing?

"Remember," Williams said in a low voice, "we're here to investigate this place's adoption records from the past five years. Muggles are sensitive about this sort of thing. Don't make them suspicious."

They entered the director's office, where a foul smell of mold hit them in the face.

Williams could not help recalling the case they had handled last year. An abandoned classroom at Hogwarts had smelled exactly the same.

He rubbed his nose, hoping this investigation would be over quickly.

The fat woman had recovered after the Memory Charm from several days ago wore off, but her eyes were full of suspicion as she watched the investigators.

"All the records from the past five years?" She folded her arms. "Who remembers things from that long ago clearly? Besides, those documents were already..."

Williams produced a document stamped with a government seal. "We have the authority to access any relevant files. If you refuse to cooperate, we will have no choice but to request that our superiors take other measures."

At the sight of the government seal, the director's attitude softened somewhat, though she still looked reluctant. "Fine. The archives are in the basement. But no one has been down there in a long time. It's dusty everywhere..."

The basement was even darker and damper than they had imagined.

Williams switched on a flashlight, its beam sweeping over rows of yellowed filing cabinets.

"Split up," he said. "Focus on adoption records around 1970. And don't forget the Director's instructions—write down anything that seems unusual."

As time passed, Williams grew increasingly dissatisfied while flipping through the moldy files.

The more he read, the more clearly the scattered records confirmed an unsettling fact: this orphanage's neglect of the children far exceeded anything they had imagined.

Most of the children's records at the orphanage were extremely brief, even sloppily written.

Moreover, compared against past charity donation records, the donations and listed expenditures did not match at all.

The accounts showed substantial charitable donations coming in every month, yet spending on the children's food, medical care, and education was pitifully low.

Even more suspiciously, some large donations vanished without a trace after being entered into the accounts.

Williams pointed to an expense record. "Look here. During last winter's flu season, over twenty children fell ill, but the orphanage reimbursed less than ten pounds in medicine for each child. Yet the donation ledger shows they received nearly five hundred pounds in medical donations that month."

The younger Auror frowned. "Where did that money go? I told you, when we came last time, that corridor was freezing. The windows did nothing to keep out the wind."

Williams continued searching. "And this. Winter heating costs were nearly zero. They said the children only needed to exercise more to stay warm. But the accounts state that they purchased a large quantity of coal."

When they examined the medical records, the situation became even more unsettling.

Sick children often did not receive timely treatment. The orphanage's attitude was that if they could endure it, there was no need to go to the hospital.

If you can't find the book by its title, try searching for the author. It may simply have been renamed!

Some severely ill children were even isolated directly in the attic and left to fend for themselves.

"That explains why those medical records were so perfunctory. They simply didn't care whether these children lived or died."

The dust in the basement made them cough constantly. Just as they were about to carry the documents upstairs to examine them, a young Auror suddenly spoke.

"Captain, I found Viola's record!"

Williams took the file. "Let me see. It says that a month and a half ago, this girl named Viola suddenly fell seriously ill with a persistent high fever. There are no further records after that, but a month later, she appeared on the attendance sheet again, and..."

The young Auror leaned closer. "And what?"

"And the orphanage records say that her behavior changed drastically after she recovered."

Williams pointed at a line of messy handwriting.

"Although she had never really played with the other children in the orphanage before, afterward she often stayed alone in the garden, or spent time only with that blonde girl, Emily."

Another Auror said, "Isn't it normal for illness to change someone's personality?"

"Yeah. My aunt had a serious illness before. She used to be hot-tempered, but after she was discharged from St. Mungo's, her whole temperament became much gentler."

Williams coughed twice from the dust. "But the problem is, it doesn't match the accounts we just saw. Come look. The other sick children received at most two pounds for medical expenses, but Viola's hospitalization record is blank? It was initially one hundred pounds, but it was crossed out, and then there was a question mark added afterward?"

The young Auror leaned in for a closer look. "Could her condition have been especially serious?"

Williams frowned. "If it was really that serious, why is there no information from any hospital? And the payment method for this sum is strange too. It wasn't paid from the donation account, but..."

His finger stopped on a line of writing.

"From an anonymous donor."

Just then, they heard a commotion from upstairs.

Williams signaled for everyone to be quiet and listened carefully. The director was arguing with an orphanage caretaker.

"Director, they're social welfare investigators. If they find out you secretly diverted..."

The director's shrill voice came through the floorboards. "I told you, I know nothing about that! Martha was on duty that night, but she resigned long ago. She works at another welfare home in London now. Do you understand?"

Williams exchanged a look with the other Aurors.

Martha?

It was the first time they had heard that name.

And that night...

Were they talking about the night Viola fell ill?

Williams said quietly, "Take all these files back for Director Crouch to see. Find out where this Martha is now. And that anonymous donation—look into who made it."

As they gathered the files and prepared to leave, Williams's gaze fell upon a yellowed photograph.

It was a group photo from last Christmas. Viola stood in the farthest corner with her head lowered and an indifferent expression, while Emily beside her rested a hand on her shoulder.

"Maybe..." he said thoughtfully, "we should also ask Emily what exactly happened while Viola was sick."

"So you mean we split up?"

The young Auror wiped dust from his robes, rose with the documents in his arms, and muttered that these Muggles could at least clean their archive room once in a while.

"Mm. Judy, stay here with me. You're a woman, so Emily should relax more when you speak with her. The rest of you, work a little harder and check whether any of the welfare homes in London have recently hired a caretaker named Martha."