Jackdaw continued:
"The information recorded on that page points to a hidden cave in the Forbidden Forest, northeast of Hogwarts."
I was so excited that I invited... my beloved Anne to explore with me.
"But Anne didn't come on the appointed day."
"I don't know why she didn't show up, but I couldn't wait any longer, so I decided to go check it out myself, and then... I died while exploring that cave."
"OK." Draco gave an OK sign, his face showing an expression that said, "I understand."
There's only one truth...
Hermione and Jackdaw both looked at him, puzzled.
Do you understand now?
Draco announced in a very serious tone, "The truth is—your head has been chopped off."
Hermione stumbled and nearly fell.
" Draco! That's true... but do you need to deduce that? Even a blind man can see it!"
This sounds like utter nonsense, but it is, in fact, a stark reality.
Jackdaw was also speechless, and he said helplessly, "... Sir, I know I became like this because my head was chopped off. What I want to know is, who, and why, chopped off my head?"
"Oh," Draco nodded readily, then his tone shifted, his eyes sharpening, "Who chopped off your head isn't important for now."
"The important thing is that you yourself said that the cave was very dangerous, so dangerous that it cost you, a wizard who studies Ancient Magic, your life."
"Now you want the two of us students to go? Mr. Jackdaw, what... what are you up to?"
Jackdaw was left speechless by the questioning, unable to find suitable words to defend himself, and looked extremely pathetic.
"However..." Draco hesitated, looking at the ghost's pitiful appearance, "It's not entirely impossible to go. After all, that fragment is useful to us."
"Really?! Young Master Malfoy, you're willing to help me?!" Hope rekindled in Jackdaw's eyes.
"I'll listen to my wife." Draco didn't look at him, but turned to Hermione. "If she says go, I'll go. If you can convince her, we'll help you with this."
Hermione's cheeks flushed red. She felt helpless but also happy. This guy always pushed the decision-making power onto her, which was clearly to protect her.
"Kind girl, please... I've been wandering in this castle for far too long, not knowing why I died, and now Anne is being implicated and wronged because of me." Jackdaw began to earnestly recount his tragic story to Hermione.
As Hermione looked at the pitiful ghost before her, a strong sense of justice gradually welled up within her.
"I've heard you're one of the smartest, kindest, and most righteous witches at Hogwarts."
"Only you can unravel this mystery and clear the innocent's name. I'm willing to tell you the secret of that Ancient Magic book fragment without reservation..."
He praised Her to the best of his ability.
Hermione blushed slightly at the praise, but she was more stung by the words " Azkaban " and "innocent."
"Alright, Draco, let's go see. For the truth, and for the person who might have been wrongly accused."
"That's wonderful, thank you!" Jackdaw overwhelmed with gratitude, though he couldn't shed a tear.
Seeing Hermione agree, Draco nodded as well, then turned to Jackdaw: "Alright, the deal is done."
Besides helping you uncover the truth behind the death, you also need to clear the name of that girl named Anne, right? What happened to her? Why was she imprisoned in Azkaban?"
"Actually... if the truth about my death is revealed, Anne should be able to clear her name..." he hesitated.
"It sounds like a clichéd tragedy: a lovestruck man goes on an adventure for the girl he loves, only to meet with misfortune, and the girl is framed as the murderer."
Draco succinctly summarized it.
Minmin aware of Jackdaw's ambiguity, pressed, "What do you mean by 'should'? What exactly is the relationship between the truth and her innocence?"
"Let's be clearer," Draco pressed. "We don't want to get dragged into some old, unsolved case."
"That's how it is." Jackdaw choked back tears, forced to reveal the cruel truth.
" Anne was falsely accused by Apollonia. Apollonia claimed to have witnessed Anne committing the crime at the cave entrance."
"Based solely on this one-sided account, Anne was convicted of murder and sent directly to Azkaban."
"Decades of torment... she's gone mad."
"Whenever I think of her withered hand reaching out through the cell door, I feel..."
His voice was filled with pain and guilt.
Hermione shuddered, the color draining from her face, replaced by burning rage. "Based on just a word?"
"Yes!" Jackdaw said.
"No physical evidence? No trial? Are the laws of the Ministry of Magic just for show?" Hermione asked again.
" Apollonia is from Black clan, while Anne is just a Muggle-born..." Jackdaw revealed the truth.
"A Pure-blood testimony is enough to convict a Muggle-born person and send her to a place like Azkaban?" Hermione's voice trembled with excitement.
She couldn't help but think that if it weren't for Draco, if the name Malfoy weren't standing beside her at this moment.
If she were just an ordinary Muggle-born witch without a powerful background, what would be her fate in the face of such injustice and framing? This thought chilled her to the bone.
Draco's reaction was relatively calm. "What's so strange about that? It's just because Apollonia's surname is Black, one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, and because Anne is Muggle-born."
"Arresting her would save the Ministry of Magic so much trouble. They wouldn't have to risk venturing into the dangerous Forbidden Forest to investigate, deal with thorny Ancient Magic cases, or risk offending a prominent Pure-blood families to question their testimony."
A 'crazy' Muggle-born witch obsessed with dangerous magic murders her Pure-blood boyfriend for love and then disappears into the Forbidden Forest —what a 'reasonable' and 'convenient' story."
"Those people at the Ministry of Magic are experts at this kind of thing." His tone was full of disdain for the Ministry of Magic officials.
Listening to Draco's analysis,
Hermione felt a chill creep up her spine.
Although she knew that prejudice and bureaucracy existed in the Ministry of Magic, the sheer blatant way someone's life was destroyed still filled her with intense suffocation and anger.
She thought to herself, if it weren't for Draco protecting her...
A Muggle-born genius witch, in the eyes of some Pure-blood wizards and Ministry of Magic officials,
Is it possible that she could also end up like Anne at any time because of some unfounded accusation, or simply because she got in someone's way?
This thought sent chills down her spine even further.