The next day I started Care of Magical Creatures again for the second time. Hagrid told me at breakfast in the Great Hall to come to his hut as soon as I could. Of course, I obliged. I didn't mind, I had his class first anyway.

"Rollie, thank yeh fer comin' in early ter talk. I figured we could outline some important things fer this semester ter give yeh a curriculum tha' Zita would approve of."

"Absolutely, I always appreciate your company. And Fang is a delight." I petted his big boarhound, who lay by my side.

"Anyways, 's a rare opportunity tha' anyone gets ter study the silver jackalope. I'm jus a bit too busy ter closely analyze it meself even though I have access ter it. I couldn' think o' a better person ter make observations 'n you, Rollie."

"Oh. Wow, I'm honored."

"Depending on wha' kind o' research yeh do, yeh might be able ter publish it."

"Damn, I didn't even think of that," I uttered, but I was embarrassed to swear in front of Hagrid. "Sorry for cursing."

Hagrid guffawed. "Yer a good kid, Rollie. Anyways, wha' d'you think 'bout tha' idea?"

"I think it’s marvelous. Do you know what I would be doing with it?"

"Well, tha's a good question. I guess I'm not too sure yet since the silver jackalope is pretty... still. But we know tha' Jolly really likes yeh, so maybe if yeh spend more time around it, who knows wha' might happen. So I guess yeh'd jus sit around with it an' take notes."

"Sounds good to me!" I felt a sense of relief. I didn't want the semester to get any more challenging with Arithmancy on my plate.

"Yeh know, Zita had a conversation with me 'bout this whole arrangement. If yeh're looking fer an opportunity this summer, I know someone close ter me who's a revered dragonologist. Would yeh have any interest working with 'im?"

My mind went blank as my eyes lit up like fireworks. "Uh, yeah, definitely. That sounds amazing. I've never seen a dragon before!"

Hagrid boomed with laughter. "I love the excitement. Perhaps we could take a little field trip before the school year ends, an' I could show yeh a live dragon. Yeh could even bring a few friends if yeh wanted. I know Daphne is a good kid along with the Lyptus twins."

"Yeah, I'll let them know."

Later at dinner, I told my friends all about that idea, and they were a little nervous, but they agreed that they would come with me if Hagrid was able to plan a safe dragon trip.

After we finished eating, I went up to the Room of Requirement with Magdalene. We continued to work through the challenging Arithmancy homework. I found it difficult, but it appeared to be second nature for Magdalene. She was in the middle of explaining a concept to me that was so foreign it took me extra time to realize what I was even writing on my parchment.

"How are you coming along, Rollie?" Magdalene asked.

"I'm okay. I'm definitely going to need to devote some time over the weekend to study this stuff and really get it solidified in my head, y'know?"

"Ah." Magdalene nodded. "I understand. If you need some extra help on the weekends, I’m around. Unless it's during a Quidditch match." Magdalene smiled.

"Of course, I would never miss a Quidditch match. The thing is, I'm in Care of Magical Creatures again, and I'm supposed to study this magical animal as part of an independent study. However, I only have time to do observation hours on Saturday and Sunday. It should be pretty chill, but would you be down to help me study while I do that?"

"What kind of creature are you observing?" Magdalene arched her brow.

"I hope you're good at keeping secrets, but it's a silver jackalope. It's really cute, its name is Jolly, and it doesn't do a whole lot. It just sorta stands there like a statue. We can just study while we're near it, and if it moves, I'll make a note. Would you be down?" I asked, praying that she would at least give me a maybe.

"Of course, that sounds rather interesting. I can't say I'm familiar with a silver jackalope. I also enjoyed Care of Magical Creatures. Hagrid is such a gent."

"Agreed, love that guy." I smiled. "Well, cool, good to know. We'll do that this weekend then?"

"As long as we can take care of it in the morning?"

"That works for me."

After classes wrapped up on Friday, I went to Hagrid's cottage to iron out my details for the silver jackalope observations. I would have a piece of parchment ready to document any movement. But since we both assumed that Jolly would be docile and statuesque, we decided that I would just make a summary of my hour-long analysis. Hagrid requested that I also bring a jar with me, "Yeh never know wha' yeh might have ter collect," he said, pointing his finger in the air. "Oh, Rollie! I'm glad yer here. Before I forget, let's take a look at tha’ picture. I finally got it today!"

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

"Oh, cool," I said with feigned excitement. I didn't care much, but Hagrid’s enthusiasm was charming.

Hagrid opened up the letter delicately with his large hands. He grinned from ear to ear upon first glance, but when he took a closer look, his jaw dropped, and his eyes widened.

"Everything all right, Hagrid? You know, it's supposed to move, right? Magic photos have motion, you know this, yeah?"

Hagrid continued staring at the photo. His head twitched. He looked away and back at it again.

"Can I see?" I held out my hand.

"Rollie, d'you remember seeing anything out o' the ordinary tha' day?" His voice trembled.

"I mean, there was a bird that attacked me, yeah."

"Do yeh know ‘bout ‘he who shall not be named?’"

"Oh. Yeah, I think so. You mean, Voldemort?"

Hagrid winced. "Please, don' say his name. But yes. He's in this picture. He's standing righ' nex' ter yeh with a horrible grin."

I stood up from the table and studied the image, and goosebumps covered my skin. There was a purple figure with yellow eyes standing next to me in the black and white photo. "Hagrid, I don't know what you're talking about. That looks like... Oliver Reinholt. I mean, it's a creepy version of him, but the face, the body, the posture, the smirk, and well... everything about it. That's Oliver. One-hundred percent."

"No way, Rollie, yeh weren' alive during tha' time. Tha's definitely 'he who shall not be named.'"

"No, Hagrid, it makes sense." I gazed up at the window and focused. I remembered seeing Oliver that day getting in an argument with Magdalene just before the bird flew up in my hands. He was coming back from the Forbidden Forest.

"We should take this ter Zita, get her thoughts on this," Hagrid said.

Both of us went to the headmaster's room, where we passed through the gargoyle statue. Zita sat in a velvet chair next to her small fireplace, staring into the gentle embers. "Hello, you two, how can I help you?"

"Zita, summat important happened." Hagrid told her about the time he took my photo, and she nodded her head, remembering the anecdote. "Well, the picture finally got developed, an' here it is. Who d'you see nex' ter Rollie?"

Zita held the image with both hands and narrowed her eyes at the figure next to me. "This looks like... 'he who shall not be named.'" Zita didn't recoil or flinch, it didn't seem to disturb her too much, but she couldn't pull her eyes away.

"No, that's definitely Oliver, the Quidditch All-Star from Gryffindor," I said.

Zita squinted at the photo. "I'm afraid not. Are you familiar with what 'he who shall not be named' looks like?"

"Uh yeah. I've seen photos in textbooks at school, the creepy looking snake-guy. But that's not him. That's definitely Oliver, I'm telling you, no mistake. Do you see his upright, confident posture? The dimples on his smirk?"

"Rollie, do you mind fetching Ms. Poisonwood?"

"Uh, no, not at all. May I ask why?"

"Please, just bring her in here. She's not in trouble. I just think we should bring in another opinion," Zita said.

"Okay, I'll be right back," I went downstairs to the common room and was able to catch Daphne while she was studying at a table. She was worried she was in trouble for a moment, but I explained the situation. Daphne shuddered at the mention of Voldemort.

"Why is it such a big deal to say his name?" I said.

“Didn't you learn about him from your history classes? He had a spell on his name where they could locate anyone who said it aloud."

"Yeah, but he's long been dead."

"You never know." Daphne shrugged. "He was a crafty one, and it wouldn't surprise me if he was still around and somehow behind the land curse."

"Pretty sure he's gone, but, I'll entertain the idea, I guess."

We went up to Zita's room, and after a quick greeting, Zita handed the image to Daphne.

"Who do you see in that photo?" Zita asked.

"Rollie told me both of you say it's 'he who shall not be named.'"

Zita sighed. "You weren't supposed to tell her that, Rollie. But I guess that's my fault for not making that clear."

"Don't worry, I didn't tell her who I see," I said.

Daphne frowned as she scanned the paper over and over again. She seemed hypnotized until she thrust the photo back to Zita.

"Well, who do you see?" Zita asked.

"This is Avery Fletcher." Daphne exhaled.

"Who is that?" I asked.

She turned to me with a frown. "My ex-boyfriend who graduated last year."

"I still think you're all crazy. That's definitely Oliver. I don't know how many times I have to say it. You should bring Oliver in and confirm it. While I'm not in the room, of course, because frankly, he drives me up a wall."

"All righ’, Rollie, let's not insult other students now," Hagrid said.

"No, that's definitely Avery in that photo." Daphne pointed. "Is he the one behind the land curse, you think? Rollie has never seen him, and I can kind of see how he could confuse Avery with Oliver."

"There's no confusion! It's not a lookalike," my voice rose, but I wasn't angry. Just annoyed.

"Wait! I think I might understand what's happening." Zita raised her hand. "This purple figure that was captured on film takes the shape of whoever the viewer dislikes the most. Does that make sense?"

"I mean, I guess it makes sense, considering I didn't even see anything stand next to me that day." I shrugged.

"I'm willing to bet that If we showed this image to any older wizard or witch from England, they'll see what Hagrid and I see. But for you younger kids, you just see someone you dislike," Zita said.

"Yeah, I definitely hate Oliver," I said, attempting a bit of humor, but Zita scowled at me.

"Rollie, I'm not going to pretend that people don't dislike each other. But hatred is detestable and not tolerated in this castle," Zita's tone was intense enough to burn.

"I'm sorry."

"It's all right. Now, I think I need to show this to a few more people. Thank you, Rollie and Daphne. You may leave now. Hagrid and I need to discuss some things."

"But wait, can I ask a question? Do we know anything that's going on at Hogwarts or the Forbidden Forest now? I mean, this is a pretty hefty clue, right?

Zita nodded. "Please don't worry about it too much. Continue to heed the protocols we've had in place all year, and you'll be safe. Hogwarts is safeguarded by a variety of complex spells that are near impossible to break. You're right. This is a major clue, but what it means? I can't say. I wish I had more information, but I'll give you an update as soon as we discover anything."

"I understand," I said. Daphne and I walked out and went back down into the common room.