Murder On The Hogwarts Express

by kkwide

Harry Potter, Head Auror, is finishing up after a long day at work, when his boss - and his best friend - Hermione barges into his office, looking completely shocked. There has been a death on the Hogwarts Express. To a parent who only put his three children to the said train that morning, it is undoubtedly the most terrifying news. This is a story about solving a crime.

7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Then there are some minor points that strike me as suggestive

Hogwarts, 11 January 2022

"What do you mean? Why couldn't we take our girls home before the inspection is done?" Mrs Scott asks sharply, or, jumps at Harry in the hallway, as soon as the Head Auror steps outside from the classroom. Mr and Mrs Westen too step closer to him, both looking bewildered.

It is later in the morning, but the breakfast is still being served, and Harry watches as Miss Scott and Miss Westen leave the Entrance Hall together, moving towards the Great Hall, both fidgeting slightly – a somewhat mild aftereffect of Veritaserum, before he turns to the irritated and concerned parents.

"I understand your worry," he says, and as one of them looks like they have a couple of things to point out to him, he quickly continues, "I really do – you must know my three children are here as well –" Which seems to make the effect Harry was hoping for, "but, we strongly believe this to be an individual incident, and in order to close this case, we need all witnesses present, and available," He says with a calming, but authoritative voice. "The Minister has approved this arrangement, and in return, we will do everything in our powers to solve this incident, and have your children's lives back to normal again."

Mrs Scott sighs disappointedly, Mr Westen shakes his head in dissatisfaction, but Mrs Westen, at least, gives Harry an understanding nod. "Of course, Auror Potter," she says, glancing at her fellow parents. "We just have to trust that our children are safe, under the protection of the Auror Office, as well as the school teachers," she says pointedly, aiming her words at her husband and Mrs Scott – who both seem to calm down a bit.

As the parents leave the Entrance Hall, Harry lets out a long breath, and walks to the front doors, stepping outside. He breathes in the cold air, hoping it will clear his head. His mind is working furiously, putting together what he knows and what he has observed, moving the pieces to their correct spots in the timeline.

What had happened to Travers?

He mulls over the two questionings from the past hour and a half, and neither Westen or Hazel Scott saw Travers after the row between his son, Scorpius, Riley and Travers. Both were naturally asked, had they any knowledge of Travers's death, had they themselves been part of it, or if they knew anyone, who was. Questions, which Harry knew would shock the parents, as they did Riley's parents, and Mr and Mrs Scott the previous day.

Neither the Scott sisters nor Westen had anything to do with what happened to Travers. But, as all three girls were close to the victim, Harry thinks there could be something else, some small detail they didn't know to ask, and the girls didn't know to tell. Miss Westen hadn't mentioned the row in the train corridor during her first questioning. During her second, she had told Harry that she hadn't thought it was important, and thus had left the occurrence unmentioned. Today, Westen told him that she did know it had been important, but, as her friend's sister – Pamela Scott – had asked both her sister and Westen not to say anything about it, claiming Albus would've been in trouble, Westen had promised to not say anything about it.

And naturally, Harry wonders, if either the younger Miss Scott or Miss Westen and Albus are, or have been close – why else would they have lied in order to 'protect' Albus? He wonders if the witches are those kinds of girls his sons had described; chasing his Albus because he looks like Harry, which, truthfully, makes Harry's skin crawl.

"Sir?" Quinn murmurs from the doorway.

Harry jumps slightly – he hasn't even heard of Quinn approaching him. He clears his throat, and nods at Quinn. "Is James ready?"

"Yes. Mrs Potter is there as well," He says calmly. "We're ready when you are."

Harry nods again. "Let's get this over with," he grunts, and steps inside, feeling nervous and concerned.

Before Harry had left the village early in the morning, to meet the Headmistress, he had talked with Quinn, and asked if he was going to question James about the party – as he, like Quinn, was aware that there had been alcohol and underage kids involved in the party, and not an adult supervising the get-together; something that could be quite uncomfortable to Harry, should it come to public knowledge – but Quinn had told Harry that he didn't think it was important to ask about it, as they were more interested to know where James had been during the train ride, if he had seen Travers during it, and, if he had anything to do with her death, or, if he knew anyone who had.

On his way to the school, Harry had met James at the Quidditch pitch, where the boy had been flying laps, looking somewhat unfocused. As Harry had asked, if everything was okay, James had merely waved him off, muttering something about school stuff. He had asked James, if he wanted to talk about the questioning that would happen later in the morning, remembering how shocked James had been the previous night after Harry had informed him of the matter, as well as asked if he and Ginny could attend the questioning. When James had stayed silent, Harry had continued to reassure his son, explaining once more that it was only to clear his name off the table, as he had been witnessed having a dispute with Travers during the holidays, and because he had left his compartment for thirty minutes towards the end of the train ride, and unfortunately, Rose could not say if she had been in his company exactly that time.

He empties his mind and walks inside the classroom behind Quinn and gives his son a reassuring smile, before taking a seat next to him. "You're doing all right, son," He murmurs, squeezing James's shoulder. James's jaw is tight, and he doesn't look back, but gives back a small, jerky nod.

Harry exchanges a look with Ginny, and briefly thinks that he hasn't seen her as fragile and concerned after – after the war, and for a small moment, he wants to pull her into a warm embrace, to give her strength and comfort. But the moment passes, and instead, Harry focuses on Quinn, who starts to speak.

Quinn explains the process to James, Harry and Ginny, as well as Professor Fox. He asks Smith to administer the correct dose of Veritaserum into a small vial, and then asks James to come forth to drink it. He does, and Harry tries to swallow past the thick lump in his throat as he sees his son's appearance change, from rigid and tense to sluggish and relaxed.

James returns to his seat, and lazily looks at Quinn, who smiles at him.

"Hello, James," Quinn says kindly.

James smirks at the Auror. "Laurean Quinn," he says easily.

Quinn nods. "Could you state your whole name and birthday for me, James?"

"James Sirius Potter, April 2nd, 2004," He says immediately.

"Good," Quinn says, and then glances at his papers. "Do you know why we are here?"

James inclines his head, "To figure out what happened to Travers."

Quinn watches him carefully. "Were you acquainted with Miss Travers?"

"Not really. She dated my brother a while back, and dumped him in front of everyone after getting what she wanted," James says indifferently.

"Did you see her during the train ride back to Hogwarts?" Quinn asks then, and James shakes his head.

"No, I didn't."

Quinn nods, "Tell me about your train ride…"

And it goes on, almost the same as the day before; James spent the train ride with his girlfriend and his friends, and left them only to change into his robes for a thirty minutes time, around five in the afternoon, during which he met first with Hugo, and then with Rose. He had given some joke products to Hugo, which Rose had then confiscated from her brother. James had gone back to his compartment after that.

James answers 'no' in a calm voice, when Quinn asks if the boy had anything to do with Travers's death, or if he does know someone, who did.

He doesn't know anything about the incident, and he hasn't really seen anything that could help with the inspection.

The questioning finally ends, and James seems a bit bleary and confused, still evidently under the potion. They wait until they are sure he can leave the room, to retreat into his dormitory for a bit and skip his morning classes with his Head of House's permission.

"Are you all right James?" Ginny asks quietly, as they step outside the room.

James grunts, leaning away from his mother, who tries to soothe his hair back. "'m fine, mum. Just want to rest for a b–" his voice trails off, as his gaze locks to somewhere behind Harry's shoulder.

Harry follows James's gaze, and sees Malfoy and Scorpius, standing against the wall near them, both looking tensely at the floor.

James leaves after hugging Ginny, and after murmuring a quiet 'later' to Harry. Ginny looks stonily at the Malfoys, before giving Harry a sharp look.

"I'll be back at one for Albus's questioning," she informs Harry, before turning in her heels and marching towards the Grand staircase, presumably to see if Lily or her nieces or nephews have a free period.

They are questioning Scorpius still before lunch, then Rose during lunch, and Albus after it. After Albus, there's a handful of students to be heard, whom have informed that they had seen Travers during the train ride. Harry sighs inwardly, knowing it will be another long day.

He turns to look at the Malfoys. "Scorpius?" Harry says steadily. "They're ready for you."

Scorpius nods, walking into the room without even glancing at his father or Harry. Malfoy follows him, but looks at Harry for a split second, right as he walks past him.

Harry tries to give him a reassuring smile, but Malfoy's expressionless face doesn't falter, and then he too has disappeared into the room.

Before Harry had left the pub in the morning, he had gone to knock on Malfoy's door. The blonde had looked quite bleary eyed, even though he had obviously been awake long enough to change into his day robes and smooth down his hair. Harry had apologised for what had happened the previous night, told him that it will not happen again, promising to keep himself in check. Malfoy had merely nodded and stared at him blankly, and Harry had bristled inwardly at his indifferent response. Harry had then asked, again, if he could be present during Scorpius's questioning, which Quinn would be performing once more. Malfoy had agreed and then excused himself, closing the door to Harry's face.

Not that he had been expecting anything else. What happened the previous night, had been a mistake – something Harry should not have let happen, regardless of how much he had wanted it.

He can only hope it will not affect the inspection in any way. Malfoy seems to be controlling himself quite well nowadays, but Harry still fears that what happened between them, destroyed the little improvement that Harry thinks has happened to their professional relationship during the past two days.

Harry walks into the room, moves to sit on the back with Slughorn and watches as Quinn gives the same explanation to Malfoy and Scorpius, as he did to Harry, Ginny and James only forty-five minutes ago. Scorpius moves closer to Quinn to take the potion, and the effect is instant; his shoulders sag, and he somewhat slumps back into his chair – a posture Harry has never seen Scorpius take, even as he has spent time with Harry's son at his home. Regardless of how carefree Scorpius is compared to his father, his posture and gracefulness have always screamed of a Malfoy.

After asking Scorpius to confirm his whole name and birthday, Quinn continues, "Tell me about the train ride. You arrived to King's Cross with the Potters, yes?"

Scorpius nods, "Yes, I spent my holiday with them. Mr Potter took us to the train, and then, Albus and I went to sit with our friends, Julian and Cecil, in their compartment."

"Did you leave your compartment at any point?"

"Yes, I did. To change into my robes, as did my friends," Scorpius says immediately.

Quinn nods. "What happened after you changed into your robes?"

Scorpius grimaces slightly. "I – I sought Travers."

Harry's brows lift up at the words, and he doesn't miss the stiffness on Malfoy's back.

"Why?" Quinn continues calmly.

"So I could ask her not to speak of what she saw at the party."

Quinn's eyes flicker back to his notes. "The party at the Potter house? What did she see?"

Harry sees the narrow-eyed look Malfoy gives to Quinn.

Scorpius evidently tries to fight against the potion, but in vain, as the answer bursts from his lips a moment after, "She saw Potter and me, upstairs."

Harry sees how there's a flicker of shock on Malfoy's otherwise expressionless look, as then the man glances at his son. Harry too feels…apprehensive.

"She saw you?" Quinn asks, his voice tight, his expression quite uncomfortable, presumably having a good idea of what Travers saw.

"Kissing. Touching each other. Intimately."

Bloody hell, Harry thinks, not really wanting to picture the details of the occurrence. Scorpius and Albus, they were – they were together, weren't they? So, something had happened between them, even though he and Malfoy both had thought it improbable.

Quinn clears his throat. "And why did you think Travers would have told someone about it?"

Scorpius's neck is flaming red, but his voice is still calm and collected. "I didn't know she would, but I wanted to make sure that she didn't."

"When you talked to her in the corridor, you mean?"

"Yes. And she almost agreed, but – but then Albus walked up to us, telling her to bugger off, to stop harassing me, and…and Travers proceeded to decline my request, and threatened both Albus and me."

Harry feels anxious, briefly wondering if Scorpius and Albus had wanted to keep their relationship in secret so vehemently that they had…acted upon it?

"Did you see Travers after the occurrence in the corridor between you, Albus, Travers and Riley?" Quinn asks, taking notes.

Scorpius shakes his head. "No. I told Albus I wanted to be by myself, and I went to search an empty compartment, where I stayed for the rest of the trip. I saw Albus at the carriages the next time."

Quinn nods slowly. "Do you have any information about the circumstances of Travers's death?"

"No," Scorpius says steadily.

"Do you know anyone who would know what happened to Travers?"

"No."

Harry sighs in relief inwardly, thanking bloody Merlin that Scorpius hasn't got anything to do with Travers's death. He glances at Malfoy, who too looks relieved, the walls around him crumbling slightly, as he squeezes his son's hand, swallowing hard.

The Malfoys walk outside the room after fifteen minutes, after Malfoy stiffly informs Harry that he will be at the crime scene. Slughorn leaves too, and then it is just Harry, Quinn and Smith.

Harry pinches the bridge of his nose, feeling now more nervous of Albus's questioning than he had been. There's of course Rose, who was probably the last one to see Travers alive, but…it couldn't have been Rose. It couldn't have been Albus, either, Harry reminds himself.

---

Their lunchbreak is silent; both Quinn and Smith know to leave Harry to his own devices. Harry steps outside of the classroom after forcing down a couple of forkfuls of shepherd's pie, and sees Ron pacing along the hall, nervously biting his fingernails.

"Hey, mate," Ron says, a bit stiffly, stopping in his tracks. Harry sees the worry and dread in his eyes.

Harry walks up to him, to clap him on his shoulder, to hug him. He wants to reassure him, wants to tell him that their children have nothing to do with Travers's death, that it must be an unfortunate coincidence that they are being questioned today under Veritaserum. But nothing comes out from his mouth, as the words are stuck somewhere in his throat.

"They're gonna be all right, Harry," Ron murmurs, as they pull away from each other. "It's our children we're talking about. You know they've nothing to do with it…"

Harry knows Ron's right, but – but why are they in the centre of this? Why?

Of course, he has thought of the possibility of a set up – and had spoken about it with Hermione the previous night, after giving her an update of the situation. It could be possible – that someone did this to harm Harry, Hermione, Ron and their families. Someone could've done it for multiple reasons; to hurt Harry or Hermione – who are both in respectable and high positions at the Ministry; to hurt their children, because they are the children of the 'golden trio'. But by whom it would've been done? The people who had seen their children in contact with Travers, were from different houses, different years, different families – yes, some of them were Travers's friends, but they too were questioned under Veritaserum. Had there been a setup, it would've come up. Harry's sure of it.

He trails a hand through his hair. "Yeah. I just want to get this case figured out," Harry mutters, his mind whirling, and thinks bitterly how he's not any closer figuring out what happened to Travers than he was three days ago.

Ron gives him a strained look. "I know you'll crack it. You're the best there is," He says, and when Harry glances at him with a wary look, Ron shrugs and continues pointedly, "I mean, you did defeat the darkest wizard there was…"

Harry shakes his head in exasperation, shoves Ron lightly, feeling a bit better. Soon, Hermione and Rose join them, and it is time for Rose's questioning.

A moment later, Harry watches from the back of the classroom, as Rose's hands shake when she tips down the vial of Veritaserum, and watches, as Quinn begins to question her as he did with James and Scorpius earlier.

"Tell me you whole name and birthday, Rose," Quinn says steadily.

Rose immediately speaks in a monotonic voice, "Rose Jean Granger-Weasley, born on July 23rd, 2006."

Quinn nods. "Good. Do you know why you are being questioned again?"

"Yes," Rose says quickly. "I might be the last person who saw Jenna Travers alive in the train."

Harry sees the tension between Hermione's shoulders, and the worry in Ron's eyes.

Quinn scribbles something down. "Tell me about the train ride…"

And again, Rose goes through the trip, almost exactly like she had explained it the previous day. Except, the only difference being, that Rose had met with James and Hugo before she had met Travers. Harry frowns a bit at that, but as Quinn continues the questioning, it is apparent that Rose had merely mixed those two events, after being very nervous about her questioning. What she tells now, Harry thinks, matches to the times James gave them; some time after five.

"…And, as I was returning back to my compartment, I saw her – Jenna," Rose says, her voice calm, the words flowing out of her in a steady stream.

Quinn nods at her. "How did Miss Travers seem to you? Distressed? Peaceful?"

"Distressed," Rose says instantly. "Because most of her things in her trunk were covered in the Permanent Colour-Change Ink by Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes," she continues, "Which can be removed only by their Guaranteed Five-Second Ink Removal potion."

Ron lets out a very quiet groan. Hermione gives her husband a narrow-eyed look.

Quinn, however, is focused on Rose. "What happened then?"

"I felt bad, because I heard what had happened at the party, how – how cruel James had been," and Harry wants to purse his lips, since, yes James had been quite out of line, but then again, so had Travers, with how she had treated Albus, as well as spreading awful rumours about Harry and his son on the train, in the beginning of their holidays.

Quinn glances at his notes. "You think James's actions were not acceptable, even after what Travers had done to his brother?"

Rose frowns at him, shaking her head. "No. Jenna and Albus – they broke up a long time ago, and ignored each other afterwards. James shouldn't have said those things to her."

Quinn nods. "What happened after you found her with her trunk, on the train?"

"I told her that I'm sorry for how my cousin had acted. I told her I could lend her some books, if needed – as I had some of them in my trunk."

"Why did you have sixth year books in your trunk?"

Rose answers without a pause, "Because I like to read ahead."

"Did you go to Travers's compartment?"

Rose nods. "I did. I picked up a book from my trunk, and went to bring it to her, to her compartment."

"What time was it?"

Rose frowns slightly. "Around six."

Thirty minutes before the train reached Hogsmeade. Something Rose hadn't clearly remembered yesterday, when she had been asked the very same question. Harry frowns, knowing that he needs to go over the details again with Malfoy.

"How long did you stay there?" Quinn asks, after scribbling the details down.

"Less than five minutes."

Quinn nods, his expression calm. "Was she alive and well when you left her compartment?"

"Yes." Rose says without a doubt.

"…Was there anything out of ordinary in Travers's behaviour?"

Rose shakes her head. "No. She was quite a lot calmer than she had been in the corridor earlier," she says resolutely.

Quinn nods slowly. "Did you go straight to your own compartment after leaving Miss Travers's?" He asks.

"Yes."

"Did you see anyone as you left her compartment? Did you see anyone walking towards, or into Travers's compartment?" Quinn asks calmly.

"No, I did not see anyone after I left Jenna's compartment." Rose says instantly.

"Do you have anything to do with Jenna Travers's death?" Quinn asks, for the third time today.

"No."

Harry lets out a quiet sigh of relief. Rose doesn't know anyone who would know anything about Travers's death either, as Quinn asks it from her next.

There's still Albus, and after that, Harry can focus again. When Albus's questioning is over, after the Veritaserum has removed any possible suspicion towards Harry's younger son, they're back in the beginning. This time, however, Harry will be glad to have been wasted two days, if he can prove that the suspicions towards his children are removed.

Rose leaves with Ron and Flitwick, towards the Ravenclaw tower, while Hermione stays close to the door, her gaze at Harry.

"What next?" She asks quietly.

Both Quinn and Smith leave the room for a bit – Harry knows that it is merely to give Harry and his boss some privacy, as they will both need to return soon back for Albus's questioning.

Harry lets out a sigh, leaning back on his chair. "After Albus?"

Hermione nods. "We both know there will not be anything crucial found by questioning Albus again," she says, giving Harry a small smile. "The boy doesn't have a dishonest bone in his body…"

"Yeah, I know…" Harry mutters. "There will be others, questioned later today. But I have to say, Hermione," Harry says, giving his friend a grim look, "It doesn't look good. We're not closer than we were two days ago."

Hermione grimaces. "I was dreading you'd say that…" She says, leaning against the wall, watching upwards at the ceiling.

They both know, that sometimes it takes time, and that not every case gets solved. However, murder cases tend to be so rare, that they do get solved. Always.

"I need to talk to Malfoy again, to go see the train again. Perhaps it'll help, if nothing else comes up before that," Harry says wearily.

Hermione nods, watching Harry carefully. "Is everything all right? Between you and…Draco?" She asks, and Harry feels odd, that Hermione calls him by his first name, while Harry, well…Harry tries to keep it at 'Malfoy'.

He gives her a shrug. "Yeah. Why wouldn't it be?"

Hermione eyes him with a pointed look, a knowing look, and then, Harry realises. "You know…"

She nods slowly. "I know."

Harry groans, leaning forward, pressing the heels of his palms against his forehead, while resting his elbows at his knees, his fingers tangled into his hair. "You knew when you hired him, knew when you assigned him…"

Hermione sighs. "Yes, Harry. I knew. Does it matter?" She asks, somewhat tersely. "Are you unable to do your job because of him?" She asks, already knowing the answer, knowing, that nothing can make Harry unable to do his job, when he has decided to do it, to solve the crime.

"Hermione…" Harry murmurs, feeling ashamed that she knows.

Bloody Ginny. She had told her. Of course, she had told her.

"Does Ron know?" Harry asks, finally glancing at her, a cringe on his expression.

Hermione purses her lips. "Well – yes. And no." she admits, looks away, and then gives him a sympathetic look. "Ginny. She, um, told her family…It was last spring, a dinner at the Burrow, before the thing between Mark and her began. Only, she didn't mention the bit about Malfoy. Only that something had happened between you and someone else," she explains, and then gives Harry a sad look, "It was when you decided you'd get a divorce."

Harry sighs wearily, pulls off his glasses and rubs his face. "Bloody hell…" He mutters, feeling awful. What must the Weasleys think of him? Had they even known that his and Ginny's relationship had not been working for a long time? Had they known that they barely spent time together, and only when their children were at home? Had they known that Harry and Ginny were basically roommates, long before Harry had met Draco at the pub that night?

Harry hears Hermione walking closer to him, before sitting down next to him.

"Don't worry about it, Harry." Hermione says softly, stroking his hair with gentle fingers, allowing Harry to lean his head against her shoulder. "It happened a long time ago. They knew you were having problems for a while, and Ginny asked them not to say anything to you. I believe it wasn't discussed afterwards, and certainly not after Ginny started dating Mark."

After a moment, Harry pushes back his glasses, and leans back to look at her.

"Do you regret it?" Hermione asks, her eyes moving over his face, "Whatever it was that happened between you and Draco that night?"

Sex happened, Harry thinks, swallowing deeply. Something incredible happened, something, he hadn't even thought could be possible. He shakes his head. "No."

Hermione gives him a nod. Then, she lets out a long sigh. "The Minister needs an update," she says with a small grimace. "I have to go back to the Ministry."

Harry nods. "I'll floo you tonight."

Hermione smiles, kisses Harry on top of his head. "Okay."

She leaves, and Harry stays alone in the quiet classroom, for quite some time, going over the case in his mind, before Quinn and Smith return, followed by Ginny, Professor Slughorn, and Albus.

Quinn starts with Albus exactly the same way as he did with the others earlier. Harry and Ginny sit next to Albus, as Quinn asks him to state his name and birthday, as he asks Albus to go over the train ride, asks about the row in the train corridor.

"Why do you think Miss Scott thought you needed protection? Why would she lie and tell us that you weren't there?" Quinn asks, watching Albus carefully.

"Because she is in love with me." Albus says simply.

Ginny gasps, and Harry too stares at his son in shock.

"S-She's in love?" Quinn asks, surprised.

Albus nods. "She told me when I confronted her. After I demanded her to tell me why had she lied to the Aurors."

Bloody hell, Harry thinks.

Quinn clears his throat. "Tell me more about your relationship with Miss Travers. Did you stay mad at her, when you were separated? Bitter? Sad?"

"I was sad…and humiliated after what happened, but I think I recovered rather quickly," Albus says steadily.

Quinn nods at him. "So, during your Christmas holidays, how did you feel towards her?"

Albus shrugs. "Indifferent. I hadn't talked with her in a long time, hadn't been close to her, until the party."

"And after the party? You saw her? Talked to her?" Quinn asks.

Albus nods. "I saw her at the train, talking with Scorpius."

"How did you react?" Quinn asks carefully.

"I asked her to bugger off. I think she was threatening him with something."

Quinn nods slowly. "Do you think she was speaking ill of you?"

"I don't know," Albus says. "She could have."

Harry frowns slightly. Albus had been sure of it before.

"Did she threaten you?" Quinn asks then.

Albus nods. "She did."

"About what happened at the party?" Quinn asks, his eyes moving over Albus's face. "Between you and Scorpius?"

Albus frowns at him, looking confused. "N-No?"

Harry exchanges a look with Quinn. It should not be possible for Albus to lie under Veritaserum.

"Miss Travers was threatening you, yes?" Quinn asks again.

Albus nods. "She was."

"Did she threaten to reveal your personal matters to others?"

"She did."

"Did they concern Scorpius?"

"N-No…" Albus says unsurely, "I don't know."

Harry gives Albus an incredulous look. "Are you lying, Albus?" Harry asks, feeling shocked and confused.

"Sir," Quinn says pointedly.

"No, dad. I'm not," Albus says clearly, watching Harry through hazy eyes.

"Then –"

Quinn clears his throat loudly. "Sir." He says tightly, interrupting Harry. Even Ginny's staring at Harry in disbelief.

Harry clenches his jaw, knowing he has no business to question Albus himself. He gives Quinn a sharp nod, staying silent.

"Did you attend the party your brother organised during New Year's?" Quinn asks from Albus.

Albus nods. "Yes, I did."

"Were you in your room, with Scorpius?" Quinn continues.

"Yes." Albus says indifferently.

"Did Miss Travers interrupt your – eh – intimate moment?" Quinn asks next.

Harry is mortified, while Ginny lets out shocked 'Their WHAT?!', her scream covering whatever Albus had answered.

"Mrs Potter." Quinn says steadily, giving Ginny a sharp look, somehow, to Harry's astonishment, making the redheaded woman silent. Ginny too is a bit taken aback, and stays quietly gaping at both Quinn and their son.

"Albus?" Quinn asks again. "Can you repeat your answer?"

"No. We didn't – we're not intimate." He says instantly, a confused look on his face.

A deep frown pulls itself between Quinn's brows. Harry feels as confused as Albus looks. How the hell could one of them lie during a questioning under Veritaserum? There has to be an explanation. It simply cannot be possible.

"What is going on?" Ginny asks incredulously, and Quinn merely gives her a pointed look, before turning his focus on Albus.

"You're saying that you weren't – erm – kissing Scorpius, and interrupted by Travers, at any point?" Quinn asks, a tinge of redness on his cheeks.

Albus shakes his head firmly. "No."

"Not even though Scorpius himself has said it had happened?"

Albus frowns deeply at Quinn. "No."

Ginny scoffs loudly, her words, and the glower in her expression aimed at Harry, after she sees the hesitant look in Harry's eyes. "Why are you taking Scorpius's word over our son's?!"

Harry frowns at Ginny, and then stares at both Albus and Quinn in bewilderment, wondering, what in Merlin is going on, knowing, that there is possibly no way either of the boys could have been able to lie under Veritaserum.

Then, after a short, baffling silence, Harry has a suspicion. A quite bothersome suspicion, in fact. "Quinn?" Harry asks almost wearily.

Quinn looks at Harry, helplessness flickering in his eyes, asking with his gaze if they should continue, or if they should somehow try to figure out if Albus is lying.

"Repeat what Scorpius had asked from Travers, before the dispute in the corridor," Harry says faintly.

Quinn frowns slightly, but then, seems to realise that Harry is on to something. He shuffles his pages and glances around before he finds what he's looking for.

"What is this?" Ginny hisses, giving Harry a disbelieving look.

Harry shakes his head to her, before inclining his jaw at Quinn, perfectly aware of the scowl he receives from Ginny in return.

"Scorpius asked Travers not to speak of what she had seen at the party," Quinn says, glancing at Harry and Albus, and then back to his notes, "And as I asked Scorpius, what had Travers seen, Scorpius confirmed that she had seen Scorpius with Potter, upstairs…er – kissing and, um, touching each other, intimately."

Ginny lets out an outrageous gasp, her eyes moving sharply from Quinn, to Harry, to Albus, and back to Quinn.

"What the hell is this?!" Ginny asks again, her eyes blazing with anger, before she turns to her son. "Albus, what is this?!"

"It's James," Albus says, finally, his face red, as if he has tried to stop himself from saying it.

"W-What?" Ginny breathes, utterly taken aback "J-James? James?" She whispers, looking like she's going to faint soon. And Harry thinks vaguely, it is quite remarkable, since Ginny's not a person who is easily shocked, not after growing up with six older brothers.

Albus nods, lazily. "Scorpius calls me Al. Not…not Potter."

As Ginny lets out a croak of incredulity, Harry, however, feels that everything is starting to make sense, even if the 'sense' makes him groan inwardly in exasperation and concern.

James was not questioned about the party under Veritaserum, because Quinn hadn't seen it important, knowing that Harry had been concerned about the alcohol and the underage kids. And because James had neither seen Scorpius nor Travers during the train ride, there was no way they could've put together the truth. Scorpius had asked Travers on the train not to say anything about James and him, knowing how she must've felt like after James had treated her so badly in the party. Albus on the other hand, hadn't apparently known about what had happened between his brother and his friend, and had thought that Travers had merely spoken ill about Albus. Or, perhaps, it was what Scorpius had insisted to Albus, Harry thinks. Albus hadn't even known that Scorpius had originally told Quinn that Travers had been threatening to spread false lies about Scorpius and Albus, something that Harry had seen from Albus's expression, when Quinn had asked about their relationship.

Quinn continues to ask if Albus had had anything to do with Travers's death – no – or if he knows anyone who had – no again.

Harry is relieved, but at the same time, puzzled and concerned regarding James. What was his son thinking? James is happily together with Charlotte, soon to be engaged, if Harry has understood correctly. James is also soon to be picked into one of the teams in the Quidditch league, where, Harry thinks with regret, being gay would definitely not be tolerated. James would lose the contract if it would come into public knowledge that he's seeing men. Harry is grateful, however, that his eldest has a strong alibi, and James's questioning under Veritaserum had gone as Harry had both hoped and expected – since it seems that James would have the best motive of all the students they have questioned.

A while later, the questioning has ended, and after fifteen minutes of excruciating silence, after Quinn has confirmed that the potion has worn off from Albus; Quinn, Smith and Slughorn make their excuses, leaving Harry and Ginny in the room with Albus, all three of them in uncomfortable shock.

As soon as the door closes, Albus takes in a couple of deep breaths, his hands shaking in his lap.

"Al…" Ginny says quietly, her voice weaker than Harry has heard in a long time.

"Don't." Albus says forcefully, covering his face with his hands. "Leave me alone."

Harry stares at Albus, not really knowing what to do, or what to say. He had suspected that Albus's and Scorpius's relationship had been something more than a friendly one, but in the end, he had thrown away those suspicions, thinking that it had been a mere lie on Scorpius's part. And apparently, it had been.

Harry looks at Ginny, who seems somewhat hurt by Albus's rejection. Harry wants to give her a smile, to assure her that their son will be all right, but how can he, if he's not sure of it himself. Because what Harry sees now, with Albus sitting there, facing away from his parents, his back in a tight curve, breathing unsteadily against his hands, well, Harry thinks that Albus might think of Scorpius as more than a friend, after all.

"Talk to us, Albus…" Harry says very quietly, feeling helpless. "I know you must feel betrayed. If you just help us understand –"

Albus nearly snarls at Harry, jumping up from his seat. "Betrayed? Betrayed? It's the fact that my best friend, and my bloody brother lied to me! They went behind my back! Can't that be enough, dad?!" He yells, storming away from the room.

Harry lets out a long sigh, while Ginny stands up, looking defeated.

"I-I'm…going to see James," She mutters mutedly before disappearing through the door after Albus.

Harry is alone, his mind reeling. He knows he can't think of what is happening between his sons and Scorpius, since he has a murder investigation going on. He knows he needs to focus and make himself ready to question the handful of students still, before he can think of other things.

He shakes his head, wondering when his life has not been complicated…