With that, we are unfortunately at the end of another issue of Hogwarts Monthly News. But before you go, I, Daphne Clarke, am here to share with you the answers and winners to December’s interactive story of the month: Eyes In The Dark!

If you recall, my mystery story had open submissions for anyone who wanted to try their luck in solving it. And out of the seven submissions I’ve received, only one person was able to get it right. They were… drumroll please…

Abraham Isaac! Congratulations on being the only person to solve this tough case and receive the Skillful Detective award! Now, I’m sure you’re all wondering what the answer was, so down below are a list of clues included in the story that you may have just missed by a hair.

Astraea’s Past:
- The name of the character in the story is Astraea Tonks. Astraea is a term of Greek origin for “star” or “starry one.” This emphasises her connection to the Black Family.
- Astraea is described to be an extremely talented Slytherin girl, who’s exceptionally skilled in dueling and spellcasting. She has piercing eyes, sharp features, and most importantly, an unruly mess of curly black hair. Remind you of anyone? Hopefully it does, because it was meant to reference the resemblance Astraea had with Bellatrix Lestrange. 

Part One:
- The Note: The first note in the story read: I see you Astraea. And I know who you are. It had a scorch mark on the edge. The note was given to Astraea in Potions, but earlier that day in Charms class, they had to practise Incendio, the Fire-Making Charm. Astraea spots Harry’s spell backfire, while Hermione says: “Careful! I swear you’re going to burn something…” This is foreshadowing to the scorch mark on the note.
- Neville’s Glances: He was meant to seem nervous around Astraea due to her resemblance to Bellatrix, the woman who tortured his parents. 
- Ginny’s Horror: Ginny seemed scared of Astraea because she knew the secret that would be revealed later in the story.

Part Two:
- Charms Class: In Charms the next day, Astraea was distracted by Ron and Harry, who were opening Chocolate Frogs. When she goes to her usual spot in the library later, it’s littered with candy wrappers.
- Snape’s Looks: Astraea’s magic was strong in DADA, and Snape’s looks are again meant to be a reminder of her connection to Bellatrix.
- The Book: Pure-Blood Directory is seen left on Astraea’s table. This is a reference to the Black family, and how Harry (or the entirety of the Golden Trio for that matter) could’ve been searching for more information on Astraea.
- Second Note: Another note shows up at Astraea’s usual spot for dinner. It’s described to have a faint smell of treacle tart, known to be Harry’s favourite dessert. 
- The “Looming Presence:” Once Astraea goes outside, she feels someone behind her, but no one’s there. It was really Harry under his invisibility cloak.
- The Argument: While walking to her common room, Astraea overhears Pansy and Draco arguing about her. Pansy was mad at him because he wouldn’t tell her why he had been so observant of Astraea recently. It was because he had found out they were (blood) cousins through relation to Bellatrix. This also explains Pansy’s hostile behaviour towards her. She didn’t like Draco’s attention being on someone else even though Astraea is just his cousin.

Part Three:
- Hermione’s Nagging: This also relates to her chattiness with Astraea in previous parts, but it’s because she wants information. She knows the same thing Harry does, and is trying to get close (without stalking).
- Neville’s Shock: While Astraea is running to the library, Neville nearly yells out “Blimey, I thought you were Bellatrix!” but he doesn’t get to that before he’s cut off.
- The Riddle: There was a lot hidden in the riddle!
The first line was “I shine brightest when shadows fall.” And what star shines brightest in the night? Sirius.  
The second line, “A winter light that outshines all,” references how Sirius is most brightest in the winter/northern hemisphere. This one was far-fetched and only made sense if you got the first line, but I honestly just needed a way to make the riddle longer.
The third line is "The hunter’s friend, both fierce and true," is all about dogs. The “hunter’s friend,” aka man’s friend is a dog. Sirius is known as the Dog Star, and Canis Major, which is the constellation Sirius is found in translates to Greater Dog in Latin. This points towards Sirius’ animagus.
The last line is “My name and path both lead to you.” This is meant to serve as the final explanation/trigger that explains it all, so let me sum up the complete story below.

Astraea Tonks is the biological daughter of Bellatrix Black, though she was adopted by Andromeda Tonks. Andromeda was one of the very few members of the Black family who knew about Astraea’s existence. Determined to distance Astraea from Bellatrix’s dark reputation, Andromeda never associated her with her biological mother. To ensure this secrecy, everyone who knew—including Ted Tonks and Nymphadora Tonks—kept the truth hidden from Astraea for years.

Now, for the timeline! Astraea is in her sixth year at Hogwarts. A few months earlier, Sirius Black passed away, and prior to his death, he revealed the truth about Astraea to Harry Potter. After Sirius’s death, Harry, struggling without guidance, became curious about Astraea and her loyalties. His uncertainty led him to closely observe her actions despite the many protests from his friends. Both Ron and Hermione were aware of Harry’s actions, with Hermione even subtly helping him at times (if you look closely enough). I mean, Harry certainly wouldn’t have been clever enough to craft a riddle like that one, which is why Hermione almost became his “sidekick” or partner in crime.

Harry’s behavior was inspired by the obsession he displayed in Half-Blood Prince when trying to determine if Draco Malfoy was a Death Eater. This time, instead of focusing on Malfoy, his fixation turned toward my character, Astraea. In conclusion, his stalking tendencies stemmed from the need to find out where Astraea’s loyalties lay, who she was, if she knew about Bellatrix, etc. 

I obviously did not expect anyone to understand the whole story, but hopefully some of you readers noticed the references to Bellatrix, and maybe even the clues that led back to Harry!

Despite not mentioning this before, I feel like celebrations are also in order to those who voted Hermione as their answer. Well done to Annalah Vartuli and Marietta Oizys! You weren’t able to quite solve the mystery completely, but your attention to detail has earned you the Clever Clue Finder award. Once again, congratulations to all three of you, and thank you for your participation <3

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After all this blabbing, it’s time to wrap it up. From behalf of the HMN team, we hope you loved Issue 11! We had many amusing holidays such as Opposite Day, and lots of fun reading about Australian slang for Australia Day. Not to mention, we were witness to the start of an incredible, new monthly chapter: Musical Musings! 

Lastly, HMN’s special chapter for our one year anniversary. Hopefully, it gave you readers a little sneak peek of life in our news group, and how we pull together to craft our amazing issues for you all. I’ll see you back on the 28th for the early release of Issue 12. I’m looking forward to it! Toodles <3

Written by Daphne Clarke.
Edited by Hazel Antler. 
Proofread by Daphne Clarke.