Headmaster Flitwick stood on a floating platform behind the lectern while he was giving his welcoming speech to the students of Hogwarts. A gaggle of eleven- year-olds nervously stood in a group between the table of teachers and four rows of long tables where the older students sat. While the older students listened respectfully to the leader of the school, the real attention was focused on the new comers.
Patiently waiting for his cue, Professor Neville Longbottom stood by a stool with an old fashioned pointy Wizard’s hat on it. As the headmaster was finishing his opening remarks, Longbottom looked over at the nervous little faces standing in front of him. Whenever, he noticed a particularly scared face he would catch the boy or girl’s eye. Once he had the child’s attention, he would give him or her a smile and a reassuring nod. That was usually enough to settle the young person’s nerves.
As the Headmaster finished his speech, he nodded over to Professor Longbottom to begin the next step of ceremony. As Neville unrolled the almost metre long scroll which contained the list names of the new students, Flitwick rode his platform back to the Staff Table to take his seat in the middle.
When he saw that the Headmaster was in his proper place, Longbottom cleared his throat and began the centuries’ old rite of the Sorting of the new Hogwarts students. The third name Longbottom announced was to the Hall was Cristabel Abigail Baird.
The small girl turned toward him and, with hands on her hips, whispered up to the robed adult, –My name is Abby, not that other one.â€
Longbottom nodded, conjured an ink bottle with a quill and corrected the roster. He re-introduced the girl to her classmates, –Abby Baird.â€
Abby sat on the chair and the hat was barely on her head when it shouted to the world that she had been sorted into Gryffindor. The whole table cheered around Harry Baird as Albus slapped his classmate on the back. Abby jumped off of the stool and sat next to Rose and Kaitlin not her older brother.
A little while later, Kaitlin Jones was shocked when her cousin, Rhys, was sorted into Hufflepuff. As Kaitlin watched her cousin being congratulated by his new housemates at their table, she turned to fix James Potter with an icy stare.
James returned her challenging look with one of his own.
–What?†he silently mouthed at her.
–Potter, you better be as good as you think you are. Rhys is a much better Seeker than I am. That’s why I let you win at Holyhead, so Rhys could take your place,†Kaitlin said with a face full of anguish.
–You’re lying! I won the position because I’m much better than you,†James responded.
–Maybe you are, but he’s way better than you. I’ve seen both of you play,†Kaitlin said.
As James turned his head away from Kaitlin in disgust to talk to his cousin Freddy, Scorpius looked at Kaitlin to see if she was smirking at James like she had gotten one over on him. However, Kaitlin just sat there biting her lower lip looking concerned about the hitch in her plans for Quidditch dominance.
Scorpius’ eyes moved from Kaitlin to Rose. She was oblivious to the Quidditch implications of the Sorting. She was sitting on her feet, elbows resting on the table to provide her with elevation. Rose leaned over the edge of the table and looked up and down the long row of her housemates. As she finished her sweep, Rose turned across the table to face Scorpius. –I don’t see Margaret Quince anywhere and I don’t recall seeing her on the Hogsmeade Platform either.â€
Scorpius thought about it and realized he had no memory of Margaret since loading her trunk and boarding the train. He paused to think and finally answered Rose, –Maybe she got sick on the train and she’s resting up in the tower or in the Hospital Wing?â€
Rose shrugged. She hoped he was correct. Scorpius’s comment did offer a logical explanation to her absence from the feast. After all, Margaret was on the train. She had to be in school somewhere.
Leaky Cauldron
Hannah Abbott Longbottom gently levitated the wicker basket carrying her sleeping nine-week-old daughter, Alice Lorelei Longbottom. As she and the basket passed the little boxes containing the room keys, she reached into the box marked with a –Twenty-Two†and removed the old skeleton key.
A ginger haired woman, who was checking into the Leaky Cauldron with her husband, ogled the little brown haired angel as she slept in her basket. The women smiled and gently touched the face of the sleeping girl. She gave Hannah a smile and passed on the same advice that everyone, except Luna, had given her. –Enjoy them while they’re young. They grow up so quickly.â€
Hannah smiled as if it was the first time she had been told that and continued escorting her new borders toward the stairway which led them up to the inn’s suites.
The couple was from Londonderry and they had, earlier that day, placed both of their children on the Hogwarts Express. After leaving Kings Cross, they had spent the rest of day sightseeing in Muggle London, shopping in Diagon Alley, and were about to begin a romantic getaway at the Leaky Cauldron to celebrate their first childfree evenings.
As she walked quietly as possible up inn’s second-floor hallway with the basket floating smoothly behind them, Hannah said, –Room Twenty-Two has a couple of special features that the two of you might find quite stimulating.†As they passed room Twenty, Hannah heard a muffled voice of someone saying something.
The little group of adults in the hallway came to an abrupt stop.
"Did you hear that?†Hannah asked the couple.
"Yes. It sounded like a child’s voice,†the husband answered.
–Room Number Twenty isn’t supposed to be occupied,†Hannah said as she turned back toward where she had heard the sound. A sudden wave of foreboding filled her chest; it was like the air surrounding her had suddenly grown thick.
The husband took a couple of extra steps to place himself between the door and his wife as he pulled his wand from the inside pocket of his suit jacket.
Hannah took Alice’s wicker basket and handed it to the wife. The two women looked at each other and an unspoken request passed between them. The wife nodded in return. Hannah knew that the woman would protect Alice as if she was her own.
Hannah walked to her right and knocked on the door of room twenty.
–Help,†cried a muffled, weak voice. Hannah inserted her magical pass key into the keyhole, waved her wand thinking the spell name, and the door unlocked.
The husband entered the room in front of Hannah. On the bed and the floor lay four people, two adults and two girls. They were magically bound and three of them were still fully gagged. The gag on the younger child, who lay on the floor, was partly off.
Hannah froze for a second, taking in the scene. She sent out her Patronus to the one man she was sure would know what to do: Harry Potter. She mumbled her message to head of the Aurors and then turned her attention to helping the checking in couple to free the bound family.
After about ten minutes, Harry and two people clad in sky blue robes entered the room. Hannah had summoned water and she was comforting the smaller of the two girls as she sat next to her holding her hand and stroking the dishwater-blonde hair. –You’ve been very brave. What’s your name?†she asked.
–Remington Alexandra Quince. We came to Diagon Alley yesterday to get my sister her books and today we were going to put Maggie on the Hogwarts Express, but we never made it to the station,†the weeping six-year-old said.
Harry Potter turned from his preliminary questioning of the father of the family, who had not been robbed of any monies Muggle or Magical, to bend down and look into the little girl’s teary, red eyes. –Maggie Quince. Do you mean Margaret Quince?†he asked.
–I’m here, Mr. Potter,†and Harry Potter turned to his left to find a face that looked very familiar. The girl’s face was familiar because, earlier in the day, he had seen her talking to his sons and niece on platform nine and three quarters. The face he had seen on the platform had joined his children on the train ride up to Hogwarts.
Hogwarts Great Hall
Just as the plates, full of every dessert imaginable, appeared on the Gryffindor house table, Scorpius noticed that Professor Longbottom had walked out of a room behind the Staff Table and was standing next to the Headmaster at the table in an animated discussion. Scorpius reached over to tap the table in front of Rose. Rose, who had been selecting an iced raspberry tart for her sweet of the day, sat the pastry on a small plate and turned to the front of the Great Hall to observe the teacher’s conversation.
Just as Jimber stuffed an entire eighth of chocolate cake into his mouth and began to reach for a glass of pumpkin juice to wash it down, the Headmaster announced in a loud, magically enhanced voice. –Will James Potter and all of the second year Gryffindor students please report to your Head-of-House Professor Longbottom at the door behind and to the left of the staff table?â€
–Wumber wha’ dey van’ wif us?†Jimber asked, as he attempted to quickly swallow the cake, which had left brown icing remnants like a mustache across his top lip.
As the eight young Gryffindors followed their Head of House into the little study behind the Staff Table, Scorpius looked to the back of the room and instantly recognized two of the three adults standing next to the glass case which held numerous timepieces. Standing next to an unknown young woman with cropped brunette hair, Scorpius recognized Auror Sterling and Harry Potter. All three adults stood in front of the young people with stern looks on their faces.
Harry Potter raised a hand to forestall any talking. He looked at the faces of each of the students, seemly perplexed by something. After a moment or two he announced, –A situation has occurred and we need to question all of you. I want you to know that no-one in this room is in trouble. However, we will need to take your statements. You will be required to not speak talk to anyone about what you say in your statements. When we are finished with the statements we will discuss with you the reason for all of this.â€
–Uncle Harry, does it have something to do with Margaret Quince? Because-†began Rose Weasley.
Harry raised a hand toward his niece. –Rose! I said no one can talk about it,†Harry, with a razor edge in his voice, responded.
–Sorry,†Rose whimpered.
Scorpius glared over at Harry Potter, he didn’t like way her uncle had spoken to Rose. After all, she was just trying to be helpful.
–Auror Broomwright, I need you to take the statements of Jimber Dokes, Kaitlin Jones, and Rose Weasley,†Harry said, to the twenty-something brunette who was trying hard to scowl at her young charges.
–Auror Sterling, take my sons and Scorpius Malfoy, and I’ll interview Mr. Baird and Miss Gleich.â€
Scorpius and the Potter brothers followed Auror Sterling to a small wooden table in the corner. Sterling conjured four wooden chairs and asked Albus and Scorpius to sit on the leftmost chairs. Sterling next waved his wand over the two seated boys and a strange buzzing noise filled their ears so they could not hear James, although he was feet away. As Scorpius watched, James talked to the older man for about ten minutes. After James was done, Albus and James swapped places.
When it was Scorpius’ turn, Sterling looked down at a scroll, letting Scorpius squirm for a moment or two. He then asked, –For the record, please state your full name and tell me about the last time you saw Margaret Quince.â€
Scorpius wet his lips with a flick of his tongue and answered, –My name is Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy. And I last saw Margaret Quince on platform nine and three-quarters as we boarded the train to return to school.â€
Sterling jotted down some notes on a piece of parchment. Scorpius leaned forward to try and read the notes. The Auror used his off-hand to hide the writing. With a bit of annoyance in his voice, Sterling continued his questioning, –Can you tell me; how she was acting and how it compared to the way she normally acts. Did you notice any differences in the way she walked or talked?â€
Scorpius felt his face twist as he considered the brief encounter on the platform, –Well, she did seem very standoffish. Now Margaret is usually not very friendly toward us guys, but she is always talking to Jenelle and Rose. Today, she almost ignored Rose and Jen before she boarded the train.â€
The Auror scribbled more notes behind his hand. Scorpius ignored the note taking and considered the questions like they were moves in Wizard Chess trying to see where they were going. Sterling looked Scorpius in the eyes, –Did you actually see her board the train?â€
–Yes, I saw her enter the carriage and I saw her giving mean looks through the window as she walked past us,†answered Scorpius.
–Well, if you think of anything else please let us or one of your teachers know immediately. You lot got lucky last year, son. Don’t risk anything trying to be the heroes again,†warned Sterling.
Scorpius’ interview had ended last of all of the Gryffindors. The students stood at the front of the room not looking at each other, but closely observing the adults. The three Aurors held a conference in the back of the room; often the younger Aurors would reference their notes from their interviews. Harry turned toward the front of the room so he could address the students. However before he could start his talk, Headmaster Flitwick and Gryffindor Head of House Professor Longbottom entered the room from the Great Hall. The noise from beyond the door meant that the rest of the students had been dismissed from the feast.
As Professor Longbottom shut the door to the Great Hall, Flitwick turned toward Harry and said, –All students will remain in their dorms and all of the non-Head of House teachers will congregate in the Teacher’s lounge, as per your instructions, Harry.â€
Harry nodded. He looked over at those in the room and said, –Your classmate, Margaret Quince, is currently resting under Auror guard in St. Mungo’s Hospital. While she has no permanent injuries, the healers wanted to keep her and her whole family under observation overnight to ensure that there was no undiscovered curse present. The person you met this morning was not Margaret, but an imposter. Yesterday, the Quince family was attacked and they were found bound and gagged inside a room at the Leaky Cauldron. The attacker also clipped large pieces of hair from Margaret’s head before leaving the family.â€
–Polyjuice Potion?†interrupted Rose. Harry tried unsuccessfully to hide a smile, because the way Rose had just blurted out the answer so reminded him so much her mother.
–Margaret, the fake one, had a case with little drawers in it. When she moved it off of the trunk, I thought I heard glass clinking,†said Jimber.
Harry raised his hands to both silence the kids and to regain control of the room. –First things first,†Harry said staring his sons in the eyes. –There is a certain item missing from my locked desk drawer at home. James, Albus, which of you has the Marauder’s Map?â€
Scorpius looked at the two brothers and found it was the younger brother who was fidgeting. Finally, Albus gave in. –I have it. The map is in my trunk.â€
–Actually, I asked him to get it,†Rose confessed. As if she was unable to stop, she continued, –I thought it might make visiting Hagrid easier than it was last year. We hardly got the chance to sneak out…†The girl’s face went ashen as her brain had suddenly realized what her mouth was confessing to.
–I don’t care why. I just need the map. Now!†Harry said to the room at large.
Headmaster Flitwick looked to the floor and announced, –The Headmaster of Hogwarts needs a house-elf to assist him.†Suddenly standing in front of the small man was an elf wearing a cloth with a monogrammed H on it. Flitwick looked the elf in the eyes. –I need you to go to the Gryffindor tower, open the trunk of Albus Potter, and to retrieve for me-†He looked at over at Harry.
–A magical packet of seemingly blank, old parchment,†finished Harry Potter.
The elf disappeared, after bowing to both Harry Potter and the Headmaster. After what seemed like barely two minutes, the elf stood before Flitwick holding a packet of parchment in an extended hand. Flitwick took the pages, thanked the elf, who then disappeared, and handed it all to Harry Potter.
Potter took out his wand and touched the map, exclaiming, –I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.†On the pages in his hand, the outlines of rooms and dots of individuals appeared on the paper. Harry laid the map on a nearby table and flipped pages till he found the proper one. Harry pointed to a spot and one by one fixed each person in the room with a stare. –Everyone in this room is who they appear to be.â€
The two Aurors visibly relaxed behind their boss. Harry quickly separated the pages. –Headmaster, I need the full roster of students and staff that I requested.†Flitwick reached into his sleeve and pulled out a long scroll.
Scorpius first heard teacher’s names being called out. As Mr. Potter spoke a name, Auror Sterling would answer the name with the word. –Check.â€
After the Teacher’s lounge, the Gryffindors were checked on the map. House by house was cross-referenced that way until Harry Potter spoke. –All of the students and staff are accounted for on the roster except for Miss Quince, of course. That leaves us with a number of possibilities. However, what it does mean is that it is safe to let this lot go to Gryffindor tower and to bed. They’ve probably heard too much to get much sleep tonight. However, your parents will expect you to be ready for class tomorrow. I know I’ll expect James and Albus to be.â€
–Neville, a word,†requested Harry. The two men whispered to each other. Harry noticed that Scorpius and Rose were both leaning ear first toward their conversation. Rolling his eyes, he pulled out his wand and waved it. The buzzing sound from before his interrogation returned to his ears.
After the conversation with Harry, Professor Longbottom escorted his students up the stairs towards their beds. Although none of them talked, Rose and Scorpius exchanged a knowing look. So much for a quiet second year at school.