Chapter Twenty

Getting Answers

"So was that it?" Scorpius asked as they left Hagrid's hut. "Whoever wrote the note just wanted us to save an egg?"

"Not just the note," Courtney said. She looked at Lynne and Albus. "The Mysterious Voice. Just before the niffler, the voice told me to get my wand out and to use the Levitation Charm."

"And that saved the egg," Lynne concluded. "So at least we know now that the voice is one of the good guys… or something, at least. And probably connected to the person who wrote the note."

"Still a big question," Scorpius reminded. "The note was left on Potter's bed, and Glass is the one who's hearing voices. Why did Ibrams and I even need to be there?" Considering how Lynne was just about always with Courtney and Albus, the implications were clear: Why did the writer of the note decide that Scorpius needed to be with them?

"I guess now we should start looking into this," Albus said.

Lynne nodded. "Yeah. Let's do some research, meet back at the Great Hall with what we find."

They started walking in separate directions. After a turn, Courtney bumped into something. She whipped around to see James was standing there.

"Hey," he said. He recognized her but didn't seem all that surprised to see her. "What are you doing here so late?"

"I was at Hagrid's," she said. "With your brother, and Lynne, and Scorpius. Someone left a note by Albus's bed saying it was important that we go there."

James raised an eyebrow. "Really? I wouldn't have expected Malfoy to be with you."

"Neither did we, at first. But then one of Hagrid's eggs nearly broke and this voice in my head - you know the one - told me to use the Levitation Charm to save it just before it happened."

"Think I've got it," James said. "So you're probably trying to find out exactly what happened? Like where this voice in your head is coming from, stuff like that?"

"Yeah. But don't worry. I already have a direction."

The next morning, Courtney arrived at Professor Vector's office. She had decided the previous night that it was too late to see her. But Courtney and her friends had agreed that they would come see Vector to report any more suspicious activity.

"Miss Glass," Vector said. "Is there something you need to see me about?"

Courtney nodded. "Do you remember when I first came here, because of a mystery voice in my head telling me to?"

"Naturally," Vector replied. "You said that you would keep an eye out for other events of that nature. Since you are here now, I will extrapolate that you have noticed something?"

Courtney explained the basics - the note Albus got, the egg nearly breaking, and the voice in her head helping her save the egg. Vector listened silently until Courtney was finished.

"Thank you, Miss Glass. Before we move into the more pressing matters, I would just like to say it is superb how much care Professor Hagrid now takes with the hippogriff eggs these days. Now, have you learned anything pertaining to these occurrences since last night?"

"No," she admitted. "Lynne and Albus are doing research on their own. I decided to talk to you first thing."

"That sound like reasonable planning," Vector complimented. "Thank you for reporting this to me. I will see what I can find to help in solving this."

At the Great Hall, Courtney found Lynne and Scorpius. Albus arrived a few moments after Courtney did.

"I went to the library and looked for everything I could find on people hearing voices," Lynne said. "Since that's our best lead. I have six books checked out right now. When we have time, I want to do some of the tests, like to make sure you're not a Parseltongue."

"I took the note and showed it to Professor Longbottom," Albus said. "The writer had to be a Gryffindor, so I wanted to see if Longbottom recognized the handwriting. He said it was too standard handwriting, like it was written with an automatic quill."

"I went and saw Vector to let her know what happened at Hagrid's," Courtney told them. "She doesn't have any information yet but she's on it."

"I'm doing a spell," Scorpius said, surprising the others. "Detecting trickery. Seeing things that are hidden. It'll take a little while, though, since there are a few items I need, including an older student to help out. I'll let you all know when it's ready."

"Thanks," Albus said.