Hermione took a deep breath and leaned back. Things were unraveling in ways she had expected, and in other ways she hadn't. The claim that children soldiers existed during the First War had always been a controversial one in the Ministry, but not entirely unfathomable. After all, that's what exactly happened during her own time, was it not? That's what Dumbledore's Army was about. Who's not to say that a similar thing hadn't happened before? During those times, even the Order of the Phoenix itself never balked at recruiting members who just graduated out of Hogwarts.
It was the other information which had surprised her. The man she had been interviewing had danced around the issue for quite some time, but this was the first time that her suspicion had been confirmed. Arthur Melvin. The name stroke a strange chord within her. Hermione didn't know how many Arthur Melvins were there in the wizarding world, but only one matched the description that had been given to her.
Arthur Melvin, leader of the mythical Knights of Walpurgis, was recruiting children soldiers out of Hogwarts.
The first thing Daniel felt when he stepped into Platform 9 ¾ was a warm body tackling him (or what felt like a tackle) and a pair of arms encircling him in a bear hug. "Oh, you're alright! I was so worried."
"Uh, yes. I am glad to see you too." Daniel felt warmth rising inexplicably to his cheeks.
Christine ignored—or more likely, didn't even noticed—the awkwardness in which Daniel tried to express himself. She looked him over, as if looking for wounds or scars. "I only heard bits and stories, that Diagon Alley was attacked by dark wizards. And then I heard your name mentioned over the airwave. Is it true? What did you see? How are you feeling? How about your parents? Are they alright too?"
Daniel's nervous laugh surprised Christine, but by this time she had known him well enough to realize that Daniel meant no harm by it. The boy simply didn't have the ability to express his emotions properly. Still, that didn't mean she couldn't give him a hard time about it, "Oh brilliant. You friend is concerned by your well-being and you're laughing straight to her face."
Her friend seemed to appreciate the humor. "Ah. Perhaps on the train?"
The Hogwarts Express let out a sigh, as if punctuating Daniel's words. Christine nodded emphatically and led the away into one of the carriages. Daniel, taking his usual place behind her, couldn't help but notice the subtle differences in the way the people around him acted. The parents held their children in their arms much longer than usual. Several adult wizards—no doubt Aurors sent to beef up security—tried to act inconspicuous and failed miserably. Christine was acting even more agitated than usual and considering what had happened, he couldn't say that he was surprised.
After setting themselves down in an empty compartment, Daniel asked, "Where's Mischa?"
"She'll be arriving tomorrow. Her parents are bringing her personally to Hogwarts," Christine bit her lower lip, obviously displeased with the arrangement. "My parents tried to do the same, but then they realized there's no way we're letting Muggles into Hogwarts itself."
"We?"
"Well, they… the wizarding community… you know what I mean." Christine positioned herself straight across from her friend and leaned forward. "It's the attack. Everybody's on edge. What the hell happened?"
Daniel gazed out the window, letting his mind organize itself. "I'm… honestly unsure. I was in the Alley, looking for… well, I can't remember and it probably doesn't matter anyway. It started with an explosion, I think. Thank goodness my parents weren't there. Then I must have blacked out. All I remember is fear. Extreme, debilitating fear, the kind that makes you want to curl up and hide somewhere until it goes away. The people at St. Mungo's believed that I was 'so traumatized that my mind repressed part of the memory.'" His air quote seemed comically out of place considering the gravity of his sentence.
"I've always thought that only happens on the telly," Christine commented. Meanwhile, the train finally jolted forward after letting out a loud whistle.
"Anyway, when I woke up, they told me that a group of wizards started attacking and killing everyone, and well, I suppose the rest you must've heard from the news." No, wait. That couldn't be right, could it? Daniel scratched the back of his head. Something was amiss, but he felt a metaphorical wall in his mind, blocking all access to that part of the memory.
Christine, too, seemed to be disappointed by it. "This is quite surreal."
"Heh. Tell me about it. I'm just glad I can put this behind me."
"Wait… you can't mean that you don't mind forgetting everything?"
"That sounds like a great idea to me. Let the grownups worry about it, you know. I think Mischa would agree with me."
Mischa would, of course, but unfortunately, she wasn't there. Christine was, and she was passionate. "But this is the biggest thing that has happened in our lives so far. Aren't you curious at all about it? I mean, who are these guys and why are they doing such a thing? I mean, I think that even though we're not involved, we can't just turn a blind eye on something like this. All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing… or something like that. Besides," her voice turned somber. "My friend is affected by it. Can't let that pass, now can I?"
"You've made up your mind, then?" It was a rhetorical question, of course. "And I suppose you've also come up with a way to find out?"
The guilty grin on Christine's face convinced him that she hadn't. "Ah, I'm sure if we work on it…"
"Perhaps I can help, then." Both children in the compartment turned towards the source of the voice. A lanky, obviously older student stood on the doorway, his back flat against the frame in what probably passed as a cool pose for him. Before any of them could properly react, the boy stepped inside and offered a hand, "The name's Tennyson, Kenneth Tennyson."
This is probably the most insight we've had about Christine and Daniel so far.
