We Will Shine {Book 6 in the Star of Gryffindor Series}

Chapter 36 - Numb

~Astra~

ANTHONY GOLDSTEIN EXECUTED

We all saw the headline before Colette could even pick up the Quibbler from where the owl had dropped it. With the drop came a heavy silence. I got the feeling it was all over the room, in little pockets around other kids who were paying attention, other kids who were finding out.

There, on the front of the page was a smiling man, surrounded by a small, laughing family. Caleb, a fifth year who was not at breakfast today, was still all over the hall, looking up at us from the cover of the magazine, hugging his father with his two much younger siblings. His father looked like the type of father I would have dreamed about when I was younger, all smiles and love and fun. Not at all the type to murder a politician in cold blood.

I knew appearances could be deceiving, but I also knew Faith had picked a humanizing picture on purpose. Because the Prophet had only given his mugshot, not even mentioned his family. And Caleb deserved to have his father shown in a better light. His father who was murdered, just as much as Patagonia Monez.

"Well, that's a downer," James said, breaking the silence but not the heaviness. He picked up the magazine that we'd all been staring at, and flipped it over. In response, Colette rolled her eyes and snatched it up.

"I can't believe they actually did it," Albus said, blinking. "I can't believe they're actually going to get away with it."

"They won't get away with it forever," James said. "Everything will be put right eventually."

"How long is it until eventually?" Wren asked dully. James gave her a confused glance, but I understood. Things had been wrong, and getting worse, for a long time. Every time people said it couldn't get worse, it did. How long would this spiral last? I wasn't too hopeful.

"Well, I don't know," James was saying. "But not forever. I know that. As long as there are good people in the world, evil can't take over completely."

"What happens when there are no good people left?"

Now we were all frowning at Wren. Pessimism wasn't really her style so much as it was mine, or Colette's. James touched her arm softly. "Are you all right?"

"Is anyone?" She closed her eyes and leaned her head into hands, resting on the table. "Sorry. There's just a lot on my mind. This is all so much bigger than it seems."

"We know," James said. "I'm not discounting that, I promise."

"It kind of seems like you are, when you're talking about hope and how it'll work out in the end," Albus said, an edge of irritation in his voice. "We don't know if anything's going to work out at all."

"If you think having hope discounts what you're going through, Albus, maybe you're mad," James snapped. Albus put his hands up in mock surrender, and rolled his eyes as soon as James had looked away. Wren had looked up again, and was watching them both warily.

I sighed. "Let's not talk about it, then. Not the future, at least."

"I agree," Colette said, looking up from the Quibbler. "The present is heavy enough."

For once, we had a little more information than the Quibbler. Katreena Predatel had confirmed that Russey himself had been the murderer, but of course Wren couldn't tell Faith that. Faith had printed several theories about what had really happened, including the closest: the idea that Russey had had people take Monez out.

Of course, knowing the truth wasn't comforting when a man had been killed for a crime he didn't commit.

The next week was rough. There were many people in school who had decided that they supported the prime minister, even if he was a bit extreme. There were others who thought it was insane, couldn't believe no one was doing anything about it. The vast majority of people I saw, though, seemed a little saddened, but after a day or two, it was a thing of the past. A shame, of course, but what could you do?