Eleanor Harris sat down resolutely, spine rigid, trying to keep as much composure as possible. She dabbed at her face with a handkerchief but seemed otherwise reasonably calm. Ginny sat down on the opposite side fidgeting around with her bag. Two other Gryffindor girls sat inside this compartment. A tall girl next to Eleanor patted her on the shoulder and whispered some soothing words towards her. The other girl, rather fierce-looking, stared at the entering boy and raised an eyebrow.

Tem remained standing in front of Eleanor and took a look around, inspecting the scene for any details that might help him with this new theft. Nathan stayed between the doors for a few seconds, before convincing himself with a deep breath to come inside and close the compartment doors behind him. Still, he stood as far back as possible, trying to be as meek as a mouse in a dark corner. Tem decided he would've to talk with him about this later. There were more pressing matters to attend to.

"Miss Harris, what can you tell me about the disappearance of your necklace?" asked Tem right away.

"Well, I'm nearly always wearing it. I didn't take it off to change into my school robes, which we all did early in the train ride. I'm sure my necklace was still there at that point. I remember touching the pendant to place it on top of my uniform. Previously I had been wearing a blouse, which would explain that bit of day cream, as you mentioned.

We talked after we changed and suddenly Ginny wondered about my necklace being no longer where it belongs. We had been laughing hard moments earlier and had to calm down again. I remember laying my head down on the seat recuperating from the cramps in my stomach." She pointed to the space next to her and reenacted her motions for Tem, who nodded.

"My first thought was it might've unlatched itself and fell down. So naturally, we checked the floor, but my necklace was gone."

"I assume the rest of you saw nothing unusual at that moment, being incapacitated by laughter as well?" asked Tem.

The other girls nodded, looking remorseful.

"Even then I'm sure nobody entered our compartment," said Ginny. "It's as if it vanished into thin air."

"Well, just to make sure... Is any of you capable of casting the Revelio charm?" asked Tem.

"Uhm, sure," replied Ginny.

"Could you please cast it for us? I want to make certain this compartment was not charmed to hide anything nefarious."

"I... I don't think that will be necessary," said Eleanor in a hesitant voice.

Tem inclined his head, curious of Eleanor's reaction. "Why do you think that?"

"Well, uhm, I checked for my necklace somehow being invisible and it's just not the case.

"When? How did you check? We were all searching furiously." said Ginny, looking confused at Eleanor.

"Listen, it's not invisible or hidden here, I know it," said Eleanor, raising her voice.

"Ah, bollocks. I'm telling you, if anything of Jim's theory is remotely possible, I'm going to be truly angry." Ginny got up and shouted, "Revelio!"

Light, fiery sparks emanated from the tip of her wand, a shimmering coat of flares fell over the compartment and the occupants like a fine cover of dust. Everybody, except Eleanor, looked around for any potential changes, but nothing appeared out of thin air. No necklace lying on the floor waiting to be picked up again. Not that Tem had expected that.

"Alright, there is nothing hidden inside this compartment. We can continue with the investigation. Ms Harris, the necklace seems to have a...," but his voice broke off mid-sentence.

Eleanor was sitting slumped down on her seat, her hair falling around her face, shielding it from view, quietly sobbing.

"Ms Harris, what is wrong?" asked Tem, with concern on his face.

"Don't look at me," weeped the girl.

Tem was at a loss, not knowing what to do, or what was happening. Ginny got up and sat closely next to Eleanor, comforting her.

"It's alright Eleanor. Everything will be fine," said Ginny soothingly.

"No, it won't," replied Eleanor and raised her head.

The other girls gasped. The fierce-looking girl put her hand in front of her mouth. Tem involuntarily took a step back and a low "Oh" escaped his mouth. He had not expected this turn of events. Ahead of him sat a crying girl. Scar tissue encompassed half of her face and chin. Her mouth on her left side was listlessly drooping, the muscles not working properly anymore.

"What happened?" whispered Tem, barely a breath coming out of his mouth.

"The battle last year, that's what happened. I got attacked by a Death Eater and this is part of my reward," replied Eleanor, bitterness in her voice.

"But, but... I thought they fixed your injuries? You said they did," said Ginny.

"Well, I lied. They couldn't fix everything. The curse that must've hit me resulted in irreparable damage. I can only use a transfiguration charm to hide it." The girl placed her face back behind her hands.

If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

"I am truly sorry for the discomfort I caused. That was not my intention, and definitely not part of my investigation," said Tem.

In his mind, he cursed himself for his lack of knowledge regarding spells. There was so much to learn if he were to be a part of this world and provide his services as an investigator, even if lacking magical prowess himself.

"Please, if you'd like, I can come back later for the remaining questions and talk to Jim Krane first," said Tem.

At that, Eleanor partially pulled her hands away again and with hard eyes and a scowl looked at Tem. "No, no. It's alright, let's finish this. I want my necklace back and Jim exposed for the thief he is."

"Uhm, alright then," said Tem, slightly taken aback by her fierce declaration.

"Just let me cast the illusion charm again."

She pulled out her wand, swivelled it in front of her face, and said, "Evanesco cicatrice!"

At once, her face got smooth again, and the scars faded away.

"I can only do this with my body because I know how it used to look. The doctors at the hospital taught me this specific use. Otherwise, I'm somewhat lousy at illusion magic. Before you ask what else I can make disappear." She looked at Tem with an air of superiority.

"Thank you, for your forwardness. This is certainly helpful information," answered Tem. Yet, still only your testimony and maybe worth looking into its validity, he thought.

"Ok, then. Let's get back to your missing necklace, shall we?" Tem cleared his throat. "Your necklace appears to have high sentimental value for you, is that correct?"

"Yes," she said, not providing any further explanation.

"Can you please describe it?"

"It's a mostly simple silver necklace, but has a couple larger, artfully interwoven strands in it. The silver pendant shows a fine structure resembling vines, that are intertwined with golden strands. It's possible to open it to look at the picture inside. Quite valuable, although I don't know how many galleons one can attain by selling it," Eleanor said, her voice detached from any emotion, trying to increase her chances of remaining calm.

"I'm sure that's not it. That little weasel knows how much this necklace means to me. That's why he went after it." Her eyes exuded an angry glow again. "Damian's watch is missing, you said? I think he got it from a close relative or so. For me, the case is closed."

She sat back resolutely, her arms crossed in front of her.

"The connection seems unmistakable, that much appears true. It might still be a coincidence, perhaps. The disappearance seems impossible without the use of magic to obtain the objects in question. Obviously, the selection of witches and wizards on this train is quite extensive. Still, I have a hard time imagining Jim going after you two in such a blatant fashion. He must've known his name would come up.

"Therefore, I have to ask what occurred on the night of the incident involving the Shrieking Shack?" Tem asked.

"All just a harmless prank. No actual harm done if it weren't for how stupidly Jim behaved. Mind you, I wasn't even really involved," said Eleanor with an air of dismissal. "Sure, I knew about it and let it happen. Again, I didn't think more of it than a little joke."

Tem's look remained on her, expectantly. An uncomfortable silence stretched throughout the room.

"Uhm, as I was saying. That evening, quite early in the first term, the boys were chasing Jim down the road from the castle. Nerves were somewhat strained, I guess, with how the year before that ended. Us Gryffindors, well, we weren't happy how the Slytherins behaved under Umbridge and, you know, all those rumours surrounding Dumbledore's death."

The girl sighed deeply, before continuing, "A couple jinxes were thrown around and Jim only evaded or dispelled them. At some point, he ran for it. He tried to hide in the Shrieking Shack and he got the brilliant idea of locking himself in there."

She shifted uneasily on her seat. "He seemed not to have an agreeable night there. Seemed... a bit off his rocker afterward. But that's it. A couple of his housemates got him out around midnight. He wasn't in there that long. I don't get what the fuss is all about.

"He threatened me sometime later. As if I had personally locked him in there." Eleanor shook her head in confusion.

"Are you sure he had his wand with him the whole time inside that haunted house?" asked Tem.

"Yeah, he blocked further entrance himself in there with a spell and shoved some furniture in front of the door. The boys tried to get in and then waited, before getting bored. At first, they wanted to make sure he couldn't get out, thinking they would teach him a lesson if he had to stay the night. They changed their minds rather quickly."

"Who else was involved that evening?"

"Hmm, let me think. The usual group I think. Morrison, Garth, Peakes, and Melinda over there." She pointed at the fierce girl in the corner.

Melinda added, "I joined them later and no, he didn't threaten me. Nothing has been stolen, so far..."

Tem nodded his thanks.

"Did he say anything about that night in the Shrieking Shack to you?" asked Tem.

"Hmm. He rambled some incoherent stuff. I can't really remember. It's not like I make it a habit of listening to someone like him." Eleanor frowned, tapping her knee with her fingers.

"Something mental about werewolves gnawing my bones." Eleanor snorted derisively.

Meanwhile, Tem got more curious about how the fierce-looking girl, Melinda, reacted to the recital of events. At the last sentence, the girl looked rather quizzically and as if about to say something, but thought better of it. Tem couldn't discern any insincerity by Eleanor, but maybe there was more behind her story than she wanted to let on.

The detective didn’t drill any deeper on that negligible topic. A potential motive was established, and only the length to which Jim might go could vary, if he was the culprit at all. He peered at Nathan and gave him a sign pointing to his notebook. He hoped his meaning was clear, as they hadn't discussed simple messages. Probably a great idea to remedy that later if they were to continue working together. Nathan nodded and underlined parts of his notes.

"Do you know of any other threats he made towards... members of your group?" Tem stumbled over a different way to say tormentors in a neutral way. He believed that his personal opinion of their behaviour should not influence his investigation. Trying to stay neutral to all involved parties was the best unless riling someone up with a well-placed comment to uncover potentially more details was in order. The question wasn't if this girl deserved to be the victim of theft for the wrong she might have done. Admittedly, it wasn't always easy to keep these things separated.

"No, we haven't talked about him afterward. I can't remember anything else. In fact, the others let him be after the incident," said Eleanor.

"So there was no other altercation between Jim and any of your group of friends?"

"Not that I know of. I guess he continued glaring at us, but everybody kept out of each other's way."

"Hmm, I'm not sure. A couple months later, Damian got back into the common room. White as a sheet, as if he had seen a ghost for the first time, without knowing they were usually quite affable," said Ginny, thoughtful. "He said Jim had confused him with some weird ramblings and tried to act calm. Said he was tired and needed to go to bed. It was early in the evening, mind you."

"Maybe that's the reason he didn't mention Jim when I questioned him about potential enemies. Thank you, for bringing this to my attention. We shall question him next. If you think of anything else, please don't hesitate to talk to me," said Tem.

The boys said their goodbyes with the promise of delivering back the necklace as soon as possible if they could find it. Outside, in the corridor, Tem beckoned Nathan to a corner, farther back from Jim's compartment. It was time to plan the upcoming questioning.