The Barker Scare

Selene stared at the newspaper in front of her, staring at a large picture of a man under the headline of the paper. The other Side of Saftey A new article by Emmett Fisher. The man had been reporting the entire time on the Barker problem, and suddenly there was breaking news that Barker had been seen, only to have been found to have had two people in a warehouse in muggle London. One of them, Khaat Lupin, head of St. Mungos, a woman who had done remarkable work in the field of healing, and was nothing but a good witch, she had been found, tortured, with a student of Hogwarts, Elijah Krum. Besides Krum being found, the ministry was going to prosecute Greyback because of her connection to him. "Zat eez not fair." She whispered sipping some pumpkin juice and reading on.

I also remind the public of Imperio, love potions, and Stockholm's syndrome (a syndrome where victims fall in love with their kidnappers because they are keeping them alive therefore they “saved their life”) all of which are probabilities in this situation.

Naomi.. her friend, her best friend since she had grown up with her. Her only friend growing up.. an odd pair, but still... friends. Selene bit her lower lip, drumming her fingers on the table. She DID have a connection to Greyback.. but would she go after Selene? Surely not.. Naomi probably wasn't even thinking of her right now.. probably to caught up in the spell of her capture to even think about anything but him... how horrible, to fall in love with a man, a man who tortured you.. a man who kept you in a cell..

Selene folded up the paper and looked around the room. It was big news at Hogwarts right now, Barker had kidnapped and tortured two of their members, and it was like a giant hole had been taken out of the Slytherin table. They always looked surely, but they looked even more surely then usual. Krum had been their mascot, and now a stupid Death Eater had taken him away, and Naomi? She had been quite popular, and her absence was felt by all. Selene shook her head. "Poor Naomi.." She whispered softly, staring at the picture of the man who had taken her. "How could someone do zat to her? Eet eez not fair." She whispered and then pushed the paper way, starting to eat her breakfast.

Tifanie finished reading the article with a feeling of sickness in her stomach. She had come to England imagining she would have fun, perhaps even become Champion for Beauxbatons. Of course, Selene had obtained that honour, but even so, Tifanie had never conceived that she could be hit by the barrage of bad news and strange rumours that she'd been hearing ever since she set foot on British soil.

She glanced at her peers, knowing they would be wondering the same things as her. Was it still safe here, if a poor girl from Hogwarts could be kidnapped from right under the professor's noses? She repressed the other thought that immediately followed, the one that suggested maybe the professors were somehow in on it. That would mean her own sister was a Death Eater, and Caelani would never do that.

"Why do they think she is his accomplice?" she asked nobody in particular. "She's only a student, like us."

Selene slowly looked up at Tifanie and then set her spoon down carefully. "I am tempted to send an owl to ze Minister of Magic, Eef eet eez one zing I know, eet eez zat Naomi would NOT fall in love wiz... wiz something like zat! 'e eez not even zat cute, Naomi would not like him. Eet 'as to be zis.. zis..." She looked back at the paper quickly, "Stockholm's syndrome, she 'as been put under 'is spell, and I 'ope zat zey are smart enough to realize eet." She said with a look of anger at the paper. "Eef zere eez one zing I know, eet eez zat Naomi would never fall in love.. ever. I grew up wiz her my entire life, she eez my best friend... and she would not approve of zis... zis.. torture, and kidnap zing... no absolutely not." She shook her head sadly.

"Actually, I WILL send a letter to zis.. Minister of Magic, or to zis Emmett Fisher... zey need to know what Naomi eez actually like, zey must not convict her of somezing zat she obviously 'as no control over!" She said and looked upset. "What do you zink Tifanie? Zis Barker man.. zere are THREE students zat are not at zis school right now because of 'im." She glanced over at the Hufflepuff table to, a bunch of students were staring at the empty seat Chase Moor had left. "I heard zat zey picked her up in Hogsmeade, trying to play eet down I bet, Some Hufflepuffs are talking about how ze Ministry if protecting her. I don't know why, but zey must be, because she isn't zere, and 'er 'air stands out a lot doez eet not?" She said in a lowered voice, before looking back at Tifanie.

"Mmmmm," Tifanie's reply was non-commital.

"Nobody can apparate on Hogwarts grounds," she stated. "I bet it was convenient that she was in Hogsmeade, but wouldn't it be better for them to play up the danger angle?"

Once more, Tifanie's thoughts strayed to the triwizard tournament and all the publicity surrounding it. Perhaps it wouldn't be such a good idea, after all.

"Oh, I don't know, Selene," she confessed. "If they make a big deal out of it, people will say Hogwarts is not safe enough for the Tournament, but if they don't, people will not care because it's not happening to them. It is a lose-lose situation."

"I think you should write that letter though, for Naomi. It is not fair to treat her like a criminal. Who knows what that man did to her?"