Chapter Ten

Vector's Office

"Did either of you hear that?" Courtney asked.

"Hear what?" Albus responded.

So no, he hadn't. And it seemed like Lynne didn't hear it either. That meant that whoever had spoken to Courtney didn't want them to know.

Forget that, she thought. Lynne and Albus were her friends, they deserved to know.

"There was this voice," she said simply. "It told me to go to Headmistress Vector's office."

"Well, that's not a good sign," Albus noted.

Lynne shrugged. "If it's something Dark and manipulative, then it won't be expecting us to go with you."

She didn't even ask. In Lynne's mind, it was pretty much a given that she and Albus would be coming with Courtney. But it still raised a question in Courtney's mind: If it was something Dark, why try to manipulate a random Hufflepuff? Especially when Albus Potter was standing right beside her?

"Thanks," Courtney said. "I guess we're going, then."

When they arrived at Vector's office, they found that there were already two students present, in addition to Professor Longbottom and Professor Asmius. To her surprise, Courtney actually recognized one of the students.

"James? Scorpius?" Albus said.

The two boys turned toward the speaker. "Al-" James started to say.

"May I ask why you three are here?" Asmius said calmly.

"We're actually not sure ourselves," Lynne replied cheerfully.

Beside James, the boy that Albus had called Scorpius raised an eyebrow in amusement. He folded his arms across his chest and continued watching without speaking.

"If you are unsure of the reason," Vector spoke up, "yet you are certain that a reason exists, then please leave my office so that we can finish with these two troublemakers. Once that is complete, I would be happy to find the problem."

That sounded reasonable enough. Courtney turned and started walking out of the office, and Lynne followed. Albus muttered, "You're already in trouble this early in the year?" to James before joining them.

"Wonder what James and Scorpius did," Courtney noted.

"If James did something wrong before the Quidditch match, then Professor Longbottom probably wouldn't have let him play," Lynne analyzed. "Which means that whatever he did either happened after the game, or nobody found out about it until after the game."

"Did you notice anything he might have done during the match?" Courtney asked Albus.

"No." Albus sighed. "He was blocking the goals, not interfering with the others, nothing illegal as far as I could tell."

"That still leaves a very small window of time for whatever he did," Lynne pointed out. "And at this point we don't even know for sure if what Scorpius did was related, or when it happened."

"I think it was related," Courtney said. "Since they were both in there at the same time…"

"Good point," Albus said. "And with the Heads of both Gryffindor and Slytherin talking to both of them… Maybe they tried cursing each other or something after the match?"

"You can come in now," Vector informed them. The three first-years walked back into the office as James and Scorpius left.

"Well, it looks like I am no longer needed here," Professor Asmius noted as she stood to follow them. "I must be off as well."

"What did James and Scorpius do?" Albus questioned.

Vector waved a hand. "Surprisingly, it was a pointless argument, spurned by Gryffindor's loss in the Quidditch match, regarding the nature of Gryffindor and the usefulness of Slytherin House… or, as James had put it, the lack thereof. As I'm sure you can imagine, these kinds of clashes are fairly common between Gryffindors and Slytherins, nothing to be worried about, but once they pulled out their wands a punishment was in order. Gryffindor lost twenty-five points and Slytherin lost twenty."

That didn't sound right. "That's not fair," Courtney pointed out. "They were both fighting so if they lose points they should lose the same amount."

"Miss Glass," Vector said clearly. "Mr. Malfoy is a first-year student, while Mr. Potter - the one who just left, that is -" she regarded Albus "- is a third-year. After attending this school for two years already, he is expected to know better. That is why his penalty was more severe. Also," Here, she lowered her voice. "He is, by blood if not by name, a Weasley. The Weasley family has long been one of the most honourable here-"

"But if he's a troublemaker then he'll be a really big troublemaker," Albus figured. "You're punishing him extra so he doesn't end up causing as many problems as Uncle George did."

Vector nodded. "Precisely. That said, the extra five points really is just because he ought to know better and needs to serve as a better example for the younger students." A pause. "All that said, none of you knew about their fight when you came here. So what exactly do you need?"

It was Lynne who answered. "How common is it, in Hogwarts, for students to hear mysterious voices that no one else can hear?"

"Not unheard of, but not good," Professor Longbottom spoke up. "Parseltongue, legilimency, some hallucinatory potions… First time I'd ever heard of it happening, there was a monster loose in the castle."

"What did the voice tell you, Miss Ibrams?" Vector continued.

"Not me. Courtney. And it just told her to come here."

A grave expression crossed Vector's face. She folded her hands together and looked at Courtney. "I see. I'm afraid I do not know who was speaking to you, nor can I fathom why. Keep an eye out for anything suspicious." She regarded Lynne and Albus. "If you two expect to spend much time around her, I would recommend you keep watch as well."

"Understood," Lynne said.

"Constant vigilance," Albus quoted.

Professor Longbottom smiled slightly at that. "Thank you," Courtney finished. "If we see anything, we'll report it to you."

Courtney, Lynne, and Albus were dismissed.