First, they went to the prefect's compartment and fetched the Gryffindor prefect Sherwood Martens, as well as the Slytherin prefect Graham Pritchard.

"Come on, we had it handled, didn't we?" asked Sherwood Martens. "Didn't I tell you I sent an owl ahead and the teachers will find the missing items, and the thief?" He looked incredulously at the first year in front of him.

"True. That you did. But can we take the chance of the culprit getting away? Maybe stealing more?" asked Tem.

"How could he, or she, for that matter? Nobody can get off the train and if they do, it's quite obvious who the despicable thief is.

The Slytherin prefect chimed in, "You're not sorted yet, but named a Slytherin as the culprit? I didn't think it would come to that, even after last year's events."

"Well, it's not because he's a Slytherin. Other behaviour might have led to this constellation, but I'm not basing my conclusions on these circumstantial factors. You said it yourself, I'm not sorted yet, therefore had no experience of my own to succumb to prejudice," explained Tem calmly. "If you'd please follow me. I promise to make it quick and then you can decide how to proceed from there."

"Fine. Let's get it over with," said Sherwood with a sigh.

The group marched through the corridor and stood in front of Jim Krane's compartment a few moments later. On their way, multiple students saw the group moving past and recognised something was about to happen. Many doors slid open and various students followed them.

Tem knocked more forcefully at the compartment door this time. The Slytherins inside all looked up in surprise as the four boys entered. The young investigator took in one deep breath.

"Mr Krane, based on my investigation, I have reason to believe you were involved in the thefts of the missing objects of Mr Damian Caervey and Ms Eleanor Harris," said Tem.

Jim Krane sat motionless in his corner, looking blankly at the detective, missing any emotional reaction to the accusation. While Tem had expected this demeanour, it was unnerving nonetheless. He would've considered some derisive comment of disbelief more comforting than nothing at all.

Dale came to his friend's aid, obliging with a more natural reaction. He jumped up at Tem's words, his face an angry grimace, and began shouting, "That's outrageous! You can't be serious! That's plain ridiculous!"

"Please, stay calm. Obviously, I'm going to explain my reasoning," said Tem, showing his palms.

"What's there to reason? Fabricating evidence! Believing these conniving Gryffindors, that's all you do!" Dale continued to shout.

"Sit down, Dale, and shut up. Don't make this longer than it has to be," said the Slytherin prefect with an annoyed look on his face.

Dale appeared for a second as if he wanted to continue shouting, nearly at the prefect in front of him. With some grumbling he sat down and crossed his arms over his stomach, still irritated.

"Thank you," said Graham Pritchard, and motioned Tem to proceed with a wave of his hand and a frown on his face. He seemed unconvinced Tem could present a solid case and peered at his watch for a moment.

Tem cleared his throat. "As I was saying, I believe Mr Krane was indeed involved in the thefts. Admittedly, I was unable to ascertain the whereabouts of the missing objects so far. Nonetheless, I am going to present the evidence in order to acquire access to check the storage compartment of this train.

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“But first, we have to admit to the fact that Mr Krane has an apparent motive to seek revenge against Mr Caervey and Ms Harris. He admitted to having threatened both students last year."

Dale was about to interject, but before he could utter another outburst, both prefects held up their hands, stopping him. Jim Krane remained at most mildly curious at Tem's rendition, neither denying nor supporting it with a reaction.

"While there were no further altercations between the involved parties, it seems highly suspicious to me, no one will recount the details of the threats, being privy to that information. That in itself does not constitute Mr Krane as the thief, of course, but plays a part in the bigger picture.

“Additionally, and conveniently, he cast an inconspicuous spell afterwards. Lumos, overriding the last cast spell he used to acquire the item in question. There are various spells known to a Hogwarts student now attending his fifth year that can be instrumental in obtaining objects. As for Lumos, I presume, he needed it to stow away the objects.

“Mr Krane did not fully manage to get rid of some evidence." Tem pulled a small evidence bag out of his pocket, holding it up. It contained a small piece of a silver necklace.

"Not that again," shouted Dale, unable to hold back any longer. "That's no evidence, but a tiny speck of silver!"

"True," and Tem allowed himself one second pause, before pulling out another small evidence pack, similar to the first, "but in my investigation of the bathroom used by Mr Krane, I found more pieces of the same necklace." The second bag held multiple shattered fragments of silver chain. "I have concluded that the method used to obtain the necklace burst the chains open and Mr Krane could not find all of them."

"Other people use that bathroom, too!" cried Dale.

"That is true, however, there is a link between the pieces pointing to Mr Krane, who stowed the contraband in the storage wagon. I found more fragments of silver chains next to the door." Tem pulled out a third evidence bag. "There wasn't much time for Mr Krane to get back with Ms Harris shouting his name throughout the cart, he could not hide all the proof."

"It's all circumstantial! Nobody saw him near the storage wagon, correct?" asked Dale.

"No student came forth with the information of placing him there."

"And we can't get into that wagon while the train is moving. How do you suppose he got in then, huh?"

"That, I do not know. Nevertheless, the evidence points to the thief tampering with the storage doors, as there were marks on the door. With Mr Krane not being honest with me in our conversation, I have to assume a less cooperative demeanour than he tried to portray," said Tem.

"What? He told you everything you asked about," said Dale, angrily.

"And yet, Mr Krane said he was not in the other wagon during the altercation between Mr Caervey and Mr Rowle, while I saw him leaving the scene. He moved away, while all the other spectators came closer to see what was happening."

At that last sentence, Dale only stared open-mouthed at Tem, unable to find any other words for a retort. He looked desperately at Jim, who decided to break his silence and stoic listening.

"And yet," mimicking Tem's choice of words, "I stole nothing."

Now, it was Tem's turn to stare in disbelief at the other student, who had uttered these words in complete calm and full conviction. Tem was convinced all the evidence he brought against Jim would lead to a confession. He had feared, until they found the objects, Jim could hold onto the lie, but he hoped he would break earlier. Then again, this boy was far from normal.

"Well, may this as it be, the evidence against you is considerable. While I'm not a hundred percent convinced, from my point of view, it warrants the further surveillance of your person," said Sherwood Martens with a neutral voice.

"Sure, Sherwood, you'd like that as your fine Gryffindors were the victims of these thefts. You're bound to jump to action against a Slytherin," said Graham Pritchard.

"I'd say the exact same if it were a Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, or Gryffindor. I don't care which house the thief belongs to. Or are you saying the evidence doesn’t point towards Mr Krane?"

"Hmph, no," said Pritchard grudgingly, "I guess not." He glared at Jim as if to take affront to the integrity of Slytherin house.

"Let's make it simple, shall we? Mr Krane, please accompany us to the prefects compartment for the rest of the trip. Afterwards, I'm sure we will sort everything out. I'm not saying you are the thief, just yet, but since we can't be sure we need to take precautions. Will that be acceptable with you?" asked the Gryffindor prefect, already starting to turn.

A moment passed, in which there was no reaction by Jim Krane. All students looked at him, waiting for his response. Tem swept his gaze between the prefect and Jim, frowning. Suddenly, the Slytherin boy jerked into activity and said, "No, that won't do. I don't think you have the authority to strip me of my freedom to move freely around the Hogwarts Express."