Hogwarts Again - A New Generation

Chapter 16 - Contemplation

Disclaimer: You know the drill.

Author's Note: I originally posted this chapter for New Year, but there was some problem, but fortunately I came back to read my own fic again today and saw the problem and properly updated it again... Anyway, Happy New Year!

The three of them found a compartment soon enough and put on their school robes on top of the simple Muggle clothes - jeans and T-shirt. Then they went to find James. Robert still couldn't believe The James Potter, son of The Harry Potter, was really their cousin but tagged along behind them.

He was not there in any of the carriages, and by the time they'd searched half the train, Robert suggested visiting him after he was sorted, in his House, the next morning; it would be way easier than searching the whole train.

Though Ivy wanted very much to agree and return to their compartment, she was a woman - okay, a girl - of her word, and she and Daisy continued searching. At last, about four by five of the train later, they found him sitting in a compartment, chatting animatedly with two others of his age, eating chocolate frogs all the while. How he managed to speak clearly with a frog-head in his mouth, they would never find out.

"There you are, James" Daisy sounded exhausted. No wonder, seeing as they'd scoured more than three-quarters of the train. "Of course you'd pick the compartment farthest away from us. We've been searching for you for ages!"

James looked up at them in astonishment. "Oh! Ivy! Daisy! I totally forgot you were going to Hogwarts, too."

"And you totally forgot to send me the letter telling me in detail how the food fight and the Great Prank went," Ivy mock-glared at him.

He grinned, not a trace of apology. "Sorry. Why were you searching for me?"

"Mum told us to 'look after you,' but we're hoping you can look after yourself. We don't have time to babysit you." Daisy smirked at him.

James looked offended. "I don't need to be looked after. Doesn't Aunt Violet know that? She ought to."

A shrug. "Mums are strange."

"Okay, well, yes, I can look after myself. Please leave. I was in the process of making friends when you two - three - butted in. Now, scram!"

"You shouldn't speak like that to your elders," Ivy said solemnly and turned to leave him to his process of making friends.

"You're hardly elders. You're 12, for Merlin's sake!"

"You're 11! We're older than you so we're your elders." Daisy had to shout now to be heard, and as they exited that part of the train, they could vaguely make out that James was being sarcastic again, though they couldn't hear exactly what he was saying.

"So that's over," Robert said. He'd been hovering awkwardly during the whole conversation, studying James closely. It was probably a disappointment. He'd probably expected him to be the carbon copy of Uncle Harry, but he wasn't. He was am equal mix of Harry and Ginny, with Ginny's eyes and Harry's hair, and both their personalities. Sarcastic and funny, but you did not mess with him when he was angry, for he had the Weasley temper.

"Yeah," Daisy answered as they entered their own compartment and collapsed on the seats, tired from running across the train.

"So." Robert spoke again after they'd all caught their breaths. He looked serious again. "We have a mystery on our hands, my friends, and I intend to clear it up as soon as possible."

"Yes, Auror Mason," Daisy said.

He gave her a look. "We're not going to solve all of it ourselves, we're just 12, as James Potter so kindly pointed out. We don't know everything."

Ivy squinted at him. "That's not student behavior, Bobby. We do things on our own."

"Yeah, but listen. We can't try to solve this. We have, like, no idea what this is even about, or even if this is dangerous or if we're making a mountain out of an anthill. Or whatever the saying says. Just last night, I read a case with my dad about how the Ministry had caught a criminal, and I was like, Oh wow, I'd never have thought of doing that! How did they manage to do that?! Besides, think, you two. We're Ravenclaw. We should think! Gray is sixth year - now seventh. We're second year. We don't have much knowledge, except for what we've learned in class and studied in the library. Gray... He has experience. Something we absolutely lack. But the school staff are even more experienced than he is. They'll be able to take care of him. Assuming this is even real and we're not just talking conspiracy theories."

He took a breath and was about to continue when Daisy beat his to it. "Okay, cut the lecture. We'll find out what they're up to and we'll tell the teachers. We won't try anything to stop them or whatever. We'll simply find out and report. Understood?"

"Yes, Professor Dursley," Robert mocked. Daisy rolled her eyes.

"So," Ivy looked at them. "What's our name? Our group's name? Every detective group has a name, right?"

Robert and Daisy looked at each other, looked at Ivy, and then shrugged. Ivy sighed. She knew Daisy was no good at coming up with names. She'd suggested they name their owl Owlbert Einstein, after the wizard who'd posed as a Muggle and invented the light bulb, but fortunately, dad had intervened in time to name him Erwin.

"If you ask me, we don't want to have a name." Daisy spoke. "That'll only invite suspicion, people asking why we need a name. I say we don't have a group name at all."

Robert nodded. "That's a good point. What's the use of a name if we can't even refer to ourselves by it?"

"Okay," Ivy said. "No name. What now?"

"Well, first, we try to come up with all the reasons Gray and his girlfriend would go to the Forest, and all the possibilities of what they might be planning to abduct." Robert took out a long piece of parchment from his pocket, and Daisy produced a quill from nowhere. "And we write them down. Brainstorm start!"

"One, they might be trying to abduct students," Ivy suggested. Robert scribbled in his barely eligible handwriting, which only he could read.

"Or some magical creature which would be a help in some Ministry-forbidden potion," Daisy put in. "The Voice mentioned a potion, didn't it?"

"Or simply something that they can't do at Hogwarts, but is not illegal," Robert wrote it down. "They may not be necessarily evil, but there's the fact that the Voice sounded evil and why they were communicating with it in the first place. I mean, it was the end of the term. They could as easily have talked to whoever it was after going home, or through letters. So out best guess is that they're all evil and are trying to abduct a student or a creature."

"Students or creatures, plural," Ivy said. "The Voice said 'Capture them soon.'"

"Right. Plural. Anything else?"

There was an empty sort of silence for a while before Ivy spoke again. "Them... They might've been referring to objects, as well, right? Maybe ingredients for potions?"

"No," Daisy shook her head. "The Voice said 'I want them captured if I'm to brew the potion.' What object would you capture?"

"The snitch?" Robert suggested.

Daisy gave his a look. "Oh yes, everyone puts the snitch in their potions, yeah." Robert huffed. "Besides, the girl said they'd have to 'contain them' so it has to be a living thing, not counting bludgers and snitches."

"Okay, no more mocking," Robert announced. "If you don't have a good idea, don't open your mouth."

"Anything from the trolley, dears?"

They all nearly jumped out of their skins as a new voice reached their ears. They looked towards the sliding doors and there stood the Trolley Witch.

"Um, yes, three cauldron cakes." Robert looked at the other two to see if this was okay and they each nodded. "And one chocolate frog for myself. That's all."

They paid the money - it was Daisy's turn this time, and as soon as the witch was gone, she said, "She scared me."

"Clearly," Robert said.

"Stop being sarcastic."

"Stop saying the obvious."

"I was just implying that it was a close call!"

"How was what you said implying anything like that?"

"Oh, shut up! What if she heard what we were discussing?"

"Well, I'm sure she didn't," Ivy put in. "She's been the trolley witch for years, and she has manners, unlike you."

"Shut up, both of you."

And they argued and ate and slept for the rest of the journey. Rebecca woke them up. "You three still sleeping? I came to see what was taking you so long. It's time to get out of the train, come quickly."

They all got safely off the train before it could start going back to London and this time, there were carriages to take them to Hogwarts.

"Well, Hogwarts, and Not Really Brand New Mystery," Robert announced to the whole world. "Here we come."

"Shout it out a little louder, why don't you."

Author's Note: A new term begins for them just as a new year begins for us. Happy New Year!