Jackdaw's figure had faded to almost invisible, and his voice had become ethereal. "No need. For me, the truth coming to light is the best outcome!"
"I mean," Draco interrupted him, shaking the sack in his hand, "Don't you want to find yourself a better burial spot, and maybe even put up a tombstone or something?"
Hermione paused for a moment, then couldn't help but laugh. She hadn't expected Draco to be worrying about such "afterlife" details at this somber moment.
She looked at the ghost that was about to disappear.
Jackdaw's presence paused for a moment, as if he were truly contemplating, and then, that ethereal voice, carrying laughter and utter relief, drifted forth:
"You meant well, but my obsession has faded. Where this long-decayed body is buried is no longer important."
"Even a tombstone can't keep me here. Now that I know the truth and can leave peacefully, that is the best burial for me."
After speaking, he nodded slightly in the direction of Draco and Hermione, as if to acknowledge them, or perhaps as a final farewell.
Then, that last glimmer of light vanished completely in the cool evening breeze, leaving no trace.
Dedraco clicked his tongue, looking disgusted.
"He doesn't want to find a place himself, and dumps all the work on us. What a shameless guy..."
Hermione watched the direction where Jackdaw disappeared, her heart filled with mixed emotions. She whispered to Draco, "Let's see this through to the end."
"Not only for him, but also for Anne, to bring a satisfactory conclusion to this century-old misunderstanding."
Draco pursed his lips, but his tone softened:
"Alright, given how... devoted he is? Waiting a hundred years just to clear his girlfriend's name... I'll reluctantly find him a place."
"That's more like it." Hermione smiled slightly.
Draco glanced around at the lakeshore and the edge of the Forbidden Forest, then suggested, "Since he died here, he probably had some 'affection' for this area, right? How about burying him by the lake?"
Hermione thought for a moment and agreed, "It's quiet here, and we rarely get disturbed. Let's keep it here!"
Just as Draco raised his wand, preparing to use Transfiguration to make a suitable hole in the soft soil by the lake...
He suddenly caught a faint rustling sound coming from the bushes beside him. His eyes sharpened, and he instantly turned his wand in that direction, shouting, "Who's there? Show yourself!"
The bushes shook violently a few times.
A House-elf emerged shivering, its ears drooping and its body filthy.
Draco and Hermione immediately recognized that these were not the Goblin rebels, Ranrok's men, whom they had encountered before.
It must be House-elf.
Draco narrowed his eyes, sizing up the eavesdropping House-elf, and said rudely, "What are you doing hiding there? Who sent you to spy on us?"
The House-elf was so frightened that it fell to its knees with a "plop," frantically banging its head against the ground, its voice trembling with tears:
"No, I'm not spying on you, sir... I'm spying on Mr. Jackdaw!"
Upon hearing this, Hermione stepped forward, deflecting some of the oppressive force from Draco's wand, and asked in a relatively calm tone:
"Spying on Mr. Jackdaw? Why? Whose House-elf are you?"
The House-elf raised her tear-streaked and mud-covered face and answered in a trembling voice, "I... I am Scrope. I am... Miss Apollonia Miss Black's House-elf."
" Apollonia Black?" Hermione's brow furrowed immediately, and her voice became wary.
"Is that the witch who gave false testimony to the Ministry of Magic, causing Anne to be wrongfully imprisoned and eventually go mad?"
Upon hearing this name, tears streamed down the House-elf Scrope's cloudy eyes like broken beads. It shook its head violently and continued to cry:
"Miss... she was also deceived! She was also a victim of Jackdaw's deception, manipulation, and abandonment!"
Its words were like a thunderclap, exploding in Hermione's ears.
Hermione froze, repeating incredulously:
"You're saying... Jackdaw used her? Used her feelings, her family, her identity... to pursue Ancient Magic, and then turned around and abandoned her?"
She couldn't reconcile the image of that devoted, regretful soul, single-mindedly dedicated to clearing Anne, with that of a despicable person who exploited women's feelings and climbed the social ladder by stepping on others.
These words directly challenged Hermione's moral compass, which was built upon previous information.
Scrope nodded vigorously, sobbing uncontrollably:
"Yes, Miss! Mr. Jackdaw approached my young lady only for the Black clan's library, connections, and her financial support for his research into Ancient Magic."
"He used sweet words to deceive the young lady's heart, and after using her to obtain a key page of Ancient Magic book, he coldly distanced himself from her and then turned to pursue Miss Anne!"
"He trampled on the young lady's sincerity, tore her pride to shreds, and drove her into an abyss of jealousy and hatred... The young lady was almost driven mad at that time!"
Hermione felt a wave of dizziness and clutched her forehead.
The House-elf Scrope continued to weep, his voice filled with both protectiveness of his former master and heartache:
"I'm spying on Mr. Jackdaw not for revenge... I'm waiting for an opportunity to tell the truth to those who might find out later."
"My Miss Apollonia wasn't born so wicked; she was a victim too!"
"So she made a mistake later; she personally led Jackdaw into the Pensieve trap! And framed Miss Anne."
"But her story began with being deceived, manipulated, and heartlessly abandoned! I don't want her grievances to be buried!"
Draco, arms crossed, listened calmly, then interjected, "So, according to you, Jackdaw's final death was also orchestrated by Apollonia?"
Scrope nodded, choking back tears. "Yes... yes! The young lady was already furious and mentally unstable at that time."
"So, even as his soul completely dissipated, this guy never knew the true cause of his death—that it was a meticulously planned revenge by the woman he had once abandoned?"
"Yes... yes! Sir, you understood!" Scrope trembled. "The lady had gone mad by then!"
"She lied to him, saying there were the latest pages of Ancient Magic books there! That's why Mr. Jackdaw invited Miss Anne on an adventure, wanting to surprise her..."
"... Was it also her who sent Anne to Azkaban?" Draco's voice lowered, carrying a hint of coldness.
"It was... it was her." Scrope covered his face in anguish. "After Jackdaw's death, the young lady's hatred and madness completely consumed her."
"After Mr. Jackdaw's death, she vented all her resentment on Anne, fabricating evidence..."
Hearing this horrifying truth, Hermione felt a chill run down her spine. She murmured:
"This is... this is too cruel. What did Anne do wrong? She doesn't know anything, and she didn't do anything."