The year 1985 was inscribed on a small golden plaque, on the highest shelf in the library. Climbing the precariously fragile ladder left Hermione’s heart thumping in her chest when she reached the dusty, long-abandoned shelf. It was nearly bare, as were many of the shelves in the years that followed. As it was, only five scrolls could be found for the year 1985. One was lined with golden ink that shimmered, and the smiling portrait of a very elderly man, wearing a crown made of sparkling crystal. It was an obituary, for the late king whose reign ended at age one hundred and ninety-six, due to a bout of illness. The three other scrolls were nearly identical in size; each an obituary too, of men who looked so alike, that Hermione nearly wondered if it was a copied parchment. Alexander II, the first-born, was stabbed through the heart by his wife. An imperius curse was suspected, but could not be proven. 