"Hermione, do you recognize this symbol or mark? Have you seen it in any of the books you've read in the Library?" Jerry gripped Hermione's shoulders, his breathing quickening.
"N-no. Never. If I'd seen it, I'd remember." Hermione looked bewildered. "Jerry, are you sure it isn't just something you doodled?"
"No..." Jerry murmured. He pulled out the Marauder's Map and searched it carefully, only to find that Dumbledore wasn't at Hogwarts either.
That old codger Dumbledore was never around when Jerry needed him!
Jerry looked back down at the parchment in his hand and frowned. Then, as if something had occurred to him, he hurried toward the Library.
"Wait, Jerry..." Hermione had just taken a wrapped beef sandwich from her pocket, but Jerry was already gone.
"Honestly!" Hermione complained as she gathered up the textbooks Jerry had left on the table.
Carrying Jerry's books, Hermione ran into Neville in the corridor. He was holding his Mimbulus mimbletonia and was on his way to the greenhouse to show it to Professor Sprout.
"Hermione..." Neville began, but Hermione cut him off.
"Beef sandwich. Feed the dog for me." She thrust the sandwich into Neville's hands and hurried toward the Library.
"Feed... feed the dog?" Neville looked at the sandwich, then at Hermione's retreating figure, utterly baffled.
On the Library's second floor, Hermione sat at a desk beside the railing while Jerry darted between the bookshelves.
"Found it!" Jerry let out a breath and pulled a thick book from the bottom shelf in the corner.
"An Analysis of Ancient Runes?" Hermione frowned. "Jerry, are you saying the mark on the parchment is a Rune?"
"But I've never seen this Rune before." Hermione shook her head. Ancient Runes was one of her electives.
"Ancient Runes first came into widespread use in the second century