Author's Note: Hello, readers! I am faithfully updating my story, thus another chapter! You know how I love it when you guys read and give me feedback. I get giddy inside.

Again, I do not take credit for the works of Lewis Caroll, Queen JK Rowling, Ted Dekker, and the lovely Tumblr person who I got the cover photo from.

Here's chapter 4, written with love. It took a little longer to write this, because a great deal of cannon information was needed. I did quite a bit of potter research for this. Enjoy!

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Chapter 4

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The Ministry's Enquiry

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The healer had promptly commanded me back into bed, and had me drink a turquoise potion. She then went off to other errands and left me slouching on my bed. I was already planning an escape route from the hospital when the healer came back, whispering to a man in black robes. He gave her a curt nod and walked with a slight limp to the left side of my bed.

"Dear child," he began, not softening his expression. "Rufus Scrimgeour. I'm an auror. I'm truly sorry to have to whisk you away just when you awoke, but there is a Ministry trial regarding the incident, and it must proceed as planned. If you would get dressed, please," he nodded at the healer, who brought me a set of clothes. I scurried into the bathroom and pulled on the faded pair of jeans that were a few inches too short and a plain white T that was a size too big. I washed my face in the sink and stared at my reflection in the mirror. Apparently, I had yet to hit puberty. My cheeks still had their youthful fullness. I looked down at my body. Was this really how I looked like back when I was ten?

I shrugged and stepped back out to meet Scrimgeour. A pair of ankle boots sat next to the bed, and I knelt to put them on. Scrimgeour was impatient. He seemed to wear a permanent frown as he led me out St. Mungo's. London was damp in the spring, and the moist air hit us right as we stepped out the hospital entrance. I hadn't realized how much I missed England. I trailed behind Scrimgeour as we made our way around London. We weaved our way through the crowds with ease. Teenagers walked in packs, laughing loudly, their eyes on each other instead of the electronic devices of the 21st century. Businessmen strode with a set jaw, bumping into anyone who got in their way. Scrimgeour stopped abruptly, and I nearly walked into him.

"Step in, please," he said, gesturing to an old red phone booth. I gave a yelp of recognition and followed his instructions. I watched as he put in a few coins and dialed '62442'.

"Welcome to the Ministry of Magic, please state your name and your business," a female voice rang out from the phone box.

"Rufus Scrimgeour, Auror's Office," he said coolly. "Escorting Ms Jane Kingsleigh to the Investigation Trial."

I was about to correct him, when the voice replied. "Thank you," she said. "Visitor, please take the badge and attach it to the front of your robes."

A square silver badge was chucked out, reading Jane Kingsleigh, Investigation Trial, on it. I sighed and pinned it to my shirt.

Suddenly, we were plummeting down into the ground. I held onto the ledge and bit my lower lip. The phone booth screeched to a stop and chucked us out into the Atrium. Scrimgeour shoved me lightly into an empty lift and pressed the button to level nine. I immediately realized where we were headed.

"Excuse me, sir," I said hesitantly. "Am I in trouble?"

Scrimgeour glanced at me and shook his head. "You are being brought forth as a witness."

"To what exactly?"

He looked at me with shock. "To the accident, of course. The muggle train from France to England was attacked by dark wizards three months ago. What else did you think this was for?"

Before I could respond, the lift's bell rung and Scrimgeour ushered me out. We descended a short flight of stairs into a hall with rough walls. Torches illuminated the corridor to the courtroom's heavy doors. Scrimgeour pushed it open and we made our way in. The benches were filled with wizards and witches in plum coloured robes, all of whom were chattering softly. I counted around twenty of them. This was obviously not a full trial, but it was serious enough to be held in the courtroom.

"Rufus, right on time!" My head shot up to find Dumbledore sitting as the Chief Warlock. He sat behind a raised desk, peering through his half moon spectacles. "Ms Kingsleigh, if you would please take your seat." It took me a moment to realize he was addressing me. I sat in the chair in the centre of the courtroom, nervously fidgeting as twenty pairs of eyes stared straight at me. I heard a soft cough to my right, and almost yelled aloud when my eyes fell upon a teenage Aunt Alice sitting right there in a high collared light blue coat. She gave me an encouraging smile.

"Right, shall we begin?" Professor Dumbledore said. A woman with a square jaw and a monocle nodded next to him. "Investigation Trial on the fifteenth of April concerning the muggle train catastrophe on the fifth of January, where dark magic caused the explosion of three train compartments, leading to the death of 23 muggles, 1 wizard, and injury of 7 muggles and 1 witch. The Wizengamot court calls forth Ms Jane Kingsleigh, daughter of the deceased wizard Samuel Kingsleigh and muggle Beth Kigsleigh, as witness against the defense.

"You are Ms Jane Kingsleigh, of Hampshire, England?" Dumbledore stared at me intently. I glanced over at Aunt Alice who gave me a nod.

"Yes, I-I suppose I am," I said.

"Ms Kingsleigh, were you on the train from Paris to London when dark magic caused the compartments to explode?"

"I–I suppose I was," I muttered.

Dumbledore's face softened. "Do you recall anything?"

I shook my head. "I'm sorry, sir, but I don't remember what happened."

A few more wizards and witches asked me questions that I couldn't answer. They had clearly reached a dead end in the investigation.

"Very well, it seems we would only cause this child more pain by extending this trial," Dumbledore said. "Court Adjourned. Amelia?" he turned to the monocled witch. "Shall we take Ms Jane upstairs?"

"That's not necessary, Professor," Aunt Alice said as people began to trickle out of the room. "She's my cousin, sir, and my godchild."

Professor Dumbledore gave her a nod. "Very well, Alice. It's good to see you looking well."

Aunt Alice rushed to my side and hooked my arm in hers. "Come on," she whispered.

"Aunt Alice, what are you doing here?" I asked.

She shook her head. "I'm your cousin now, remember? Just Alice."

"Alice, then," I said as we walked up the stairs. "But what are you doing here?"

"When you had gone, I grew curious. I approached the door you had gone through and turned the knob. To my delight, it had clicked open. When I went through, I found myself in France, in 1984. I looked for you, but you were nowhere to be found. I thought that I had gone through the wrong door, you see. Then, I did a bit more thinking, and I supposed I was there to establish some sort of timeline before you arrived, so I attended the Beauxbatons Academy in the South of France and spent my summers in Romania to earn some money. The dragons here are quite similar to the jabberwocky in Underland. Of course, some of my schoolmates had attempted to trace my family roots. Apparently, there were Kingsleighs in Hampshire, and they were very happy to have a relation in Beauxbatons," we had reached the ninth floor, and rode the lift to the surface.

"I thought you couldn't leave the in between place, hadn't you said in your letter–"

"Yes, but I wrote that letter while I was still in Underland, when I hadn't understood quite as much of the realms as I do now. I had thought that Jasper would be able to help our other descendants, but I seem to have been mistaken as well."

"The Kingsleighs in Hampshire, were those who Professor Dumbledore had mentioned earlier?"

"Yes, Samuel and Beth. Apparently, my uncle Samuel had married a muggle, and they had a daughter. I've always wanted a cousin. So, after Beauxbatons, I got a job at Obscurus Books as an editor, hoping to run into you in Diagon Alley. Then the awful train incident had happened, and you ended up in St. Mungo's."

"Right, so where do we head off to now?"

"Norfolk – I bought a little house just outside the city there, just for us."

"How are we getting there?" I asked.

"I thought of using floo powder, but I think you'd prefer to see the sights. We're riding the train." Alice pulled out two tickets from her pocket and winked at me. We hailed a cab and got to Kings Cross Station right on time. I tried to stay awake, but after viewing a bit of the countryside, I couldn't help myself.

The vortex tugged at me, and I felt myself being sucked back into my own realm.

Joe was shaking me lightly. "Sleeping beauty, we're here."

I snapped my eyes open, and propped myself up. Joe's face was so close to mine. He smiled. I felt a blush creep up on me. I unbuckled my seat-belt and muttered an apology. He just laughed. We entered my house, and our lungs were instantly filled with the heavenly scent of pancakes and strawberries. It was my turn to smile.

"Come on," I said, taking him by the arm. "Breakfast is in the kitchen." I felt him chuckle behind me.

Papa and Mum were quite surprised to see me tugging a boy into the house. I had never exactly had anyone over before, not even Raph.

"And who is this strapping young lad?" Papa eyed Joe suspiciously from the breakfast table.

Joe held out his hand. "Joe, sir. I'm working on a project with Jane."

Papa shook his hand and nodded. "Well, don't just stand there, sit down. I hope you like pancakes." I flopped myself down next to Papa and pulled Joe after me.

"Mum has the best strawberry pancakes in the entire universe."

"She's exaggerating," Mum said, setting a fresh batch in front of us. "But I do expect you to eat it. Just a minute, Henry seems to have overslept."

The phone rang, and Papa stood to pick it up, leaving Joe and me alone.

"So, about that project," I began, pouring myself a tall glass of orange juice.

"Right, let's steer away from all the Disney adapted classics."

"Alright," I said. "What about film adaptations?"

"Yes, it's better we keep off those as well."

"So we're left with the long difficult novels."

"Afraid so. We could start with A Tale of Two Cities, say, this weekend?"

Papa came back into the room wearing a glum face. "Jane, that was Grandma Caroline. Great grandfather Samuel just passed away."

My face paled. A Samuel had died in the other realm too. "When?"

"Last night, in his sleep. We'll be going to England for the weekend to attend the funeral. If you'll excuse me," he sighed before leaving the room.

I nodded and shot Joe an apologetic smile. "Sorry, Joe, I guess we can't do this weekend."

He shrugged. "We could. I've always wanted to see England."

I stared at him wide eyed. "How much money do you have?"

"As much as anyone does."

"No, not everyone can just decide to go to England for the weekend."

He smiled sheepishly. "I've got a bit of money."

"You're kidding, aren't you?"

"No, England is the perfect place to shoot."

"But we're going to Glasgow, not London."

"It doesn't matter."

"You're not going to let this go, are you?"

"No," he said as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

I huffed. "Fine, but you'll have to go with us to the funeral."

"All right," he said, taking a forkful of pancakes.

I glanced at my watch. "Sweet chili sauce, I've got class in a bit."

Joe choked on his orange juice. "Sweet chili sauce?"

"Yes," I said. "Got a problem with that?"

He shook his head. "Come on, I've got class in an hour so I'll take you there."

We finished breakfast and I grabbed my knapsack. Joe struck up a conversation while he was driving, keeping me from falling asleep.

"When's your birthday?" he asked. I gave him a look, and he shrugged. "Can't I get to know you?"

"18th of December," I replied.

"That's this weekend," he said, his voice perking up.

"I know, it's no big deal," I shrugged. "When's your birthday?"

"Would you believe me if I said it was on the 18th of December?" He smiled at me.

"You're joking," I exclaimed. His eyes were dead set. "Oh my word, you're serious."

He nodded. "18th of December."

"And you're going to England to attend a funeral with us?"

"Well, I'm not exactly on good terms with my parents, so yes, I'd rather be out of the country."

"What happened with your parents?"

He cracked his neck. "My dad's a businessman back in San Francisco. We were quite well off. I used to go to university there. Then he started meddling in my life, you know, choosing which classes I ought to take, forcing me to work in the company, making me go along with him to meetings. I don't want all that. I want to be able to do my own thing. When he tried to sell my camera, I just lost it and transferred here."

"He wasn't too pleased, was he?"

"As pleased as a lion when a gazelle taunts him."

"Have you got much friends yet?"

He shrugged. "I'm not very good with people. They think I'm boring."

"Why is that?"

"I've always got my camera round my neck, and I do admit I tend to get too absorbed to notice anything else."

"Well, you and me both. I've always got my nose in a book."

"Don't all you literature majors do that?"

I shook my head as he pulled into a parking space. "You would think that."

"Really, when you think you have the world all figured out..." he rubbed his neck. "Hey, call me after class, all right? I'll take you to dinner."

"Like a date?"

He blushed. "Yeah, a date. If you want to."

I stared at him, wide eyed. Only then did I notice that he was quite handsome, even with the spray of freckles on his nose. He had a sharp jaw, and a warm smile, and his eyes had an intensity about them behind his thickly framed spectacles. His flaming red hair only amplified his strange aura of charm.

"But I haven't got your number," I said.

"It's in your knapsack. I slipped it in while you were sleeping."

I fumbled through my knapsack until the said piece of paper was in my hand. I grinned at him. "Clever."

"Hey, don't let your imagination run wild, all right? I've never asked a girl out before."

I laughed. "I've never been asked out on a date before, so no, I will not be expecting anything."

"Alright then," he grinned. "I'll see you."

"That you will," I said before hopping out of his car.