Chapter 2 - Whisperings

"Ow! Hey, who elbowed me!"

"Scrunch over, I need to sit."

"Oy!" James yelled. "We're not going to all fit in here." He pointed to the door and bellowed, "First years, get out of here."

"Hey," Molly said grumpily. "I was here third after Rose and Hugo!"

"Yeah, why do we have to get out?" Fred complained.

"Because we're older," James said, and for effect, brandished his wand. Everyone there knew that nobody was technically allowed to perform magic on the train - but everyone there also knew that James certainly wasn't going to let a little rule like that stop him.

"You're a git," Fred shouted back, but grabbed his trunk and left the train compartment. Molly looked for a minute like she was going to refuse, but in the end, she let out a very indignant huff and followed her cousin.

"You are a bit of a git," Albus said lightly, kicking back.

"Oh, come on," James shot back. "You know that all seven of us can't fit in here. Heck, it's crowded enough with Hugo and Lily."

"What are you reading?" Lily asked Rose, who had been ignoring everyone so far.

"New Charms book."

"Pft," came James' sound of disgust. "Studying already?"

"Not really," Rose said imperiously. "Most of this is boring - the first few months of class are probably going to be a pain. But they've got some really good spells in chapter 14."

"Such as...?"

Rose narrowed her eyes. "Why don't you try reading a bit yourself?"

James grinned and leaned back. "It's a trick!"

Rose rolled her eyes and went back to reading.

A half hour later, Albus was engrossed in a game of Exploding Snap with Lily, while Hugo and James ribbed the pair whenever a card exploded in front of their faces. Rose looked up with a grin whenever either of the two said anything memorable or witty, but for the most part, was engrossed in looking up Charms.

"It certainly looks like you five are enjoying yourself - especially you, Rose."

"What are you doing here," James said in a low voice, looking at the fourth year boy poking his head into their compartment. As soon as Albus saw who the newcomer was, he understood the undertone in his elder brother's voice. James didn't exactly get along best with his Slytherin rival, Scorpius.

"Now, now," Scorpius said, a faint ghost of a smile on his face. "I won't intrude on your game - or your reading - for long. I was wondering if I could speak with Albus."

Everyone turned to look at Albus. Rose had a curious look on her face, probably wondering why Scorpius wasn't including her in the talk; the two younger students were obviously trying to figure out what was going on at all; James, however, had an almost accusational stare at his younger sibling.

"Er, sure," Albus said.

A few seconds went by awkwardly before Scorpius smiled. "Not here - somewhere private."

Both James and Rose let out indignant noises but Albus shrugged, rising to his feet. He silently followed the Slytherin along the train until they came to one of the end compartments. Three sixth years were inside, but when Scorpius rapped on the door, all three got up and left. Even more surprisingly, the trio didn't leave to find another compartment, but guarded the door, making sure the pair wouldn't be interrupted or snooped upon.

"Your brother is quite... abrasive," Scorpius said, sitting down.

"Scorpius," Albus said, taking a seat as well, "whatever it is you want to talk about, bad-mouthing my brother isn't a good way to start."

"I understand," Scorpius said, smiling. "Albus, I want your help with something."

This wasn't unusual, as odd as it sounded. Albus and Scorpius had a history of quid-pro-quo arrangements, and while Albus had the uncomfortable feeling that Scorpius viewed him (and for that matter, everyone else) as pawns to achieve his ends, everything always seemed to work out for the better for both of them. Whether it was a streak of decency in the Slytherin or the simple understanding that you could sheer a sheep many times but only slaughter it once, Albus didn't know.

"Help with what?"

Scorpius sighed. "I'll be up front. Both of us know that the Malfoy family has a tendency to... skirt by troublesome issues of Wizarding Law."

Albus grinned. "That's one way of phrasing it."

"And, better or worse, that's how we maintain our living. However, something has come up that might eventually put a pinch on that living. A dark... something."

"Something?"

"I don't know how to describe it," Scorpius admitted. "Have you heard anything recently about 'The Siren'? Such as from your dad?"

"No."

"I'm not surprised. All there have been so far have been some vague whispers, not even enough to solidly piece together what's going on. From what I've put together, there's a new dark character or dark artifact called 'The Siren' that's emerged in the southern part of England."

"A... a new dark lord?" Albus asked, growing a bit alarmed; he remembered well the stories he'd heard about the last time a Dark Lord was present in the area.

"No, at least I'm pretty sure not," Scorpius said, frowning. "I haven't heard much, but the Siren, whatever or whoever it is, doesn't seem focused on raw power or conquering things. It's almost... fickle."

"Fickle," Albus echoed, bemused - and beginning to wonder if Scorpius was pulling one over him.

Scorpius sighed. "Like I said, I don't know much. But I think you should mention all of this to your father, and hopefully increase the ministry's auror presence in the area."

"Just my father?" Albus asked.

Scorpius rolled his eyes. "If you find it absolutely necessary, you can get some other members of your family involved, even if they are a bit less... refined."

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