"Colin…" Barnaby tried to remember, after all, each year there were many new students assigned to each house. "The first-year Gryffindor obsessed with photographs?"
"That's him," the freckled girl nodded. "They found him petrified and checked the camera to see if it had any pictures of the attacker, but the camera was fried. Do you have another needle like the one you used on Filch's cat?"
"I'm afraid not, that was the last one," Barnaby shook his head. "What happened to him?"
"The headmaster left him in the infirmary for now and said that when the mandrakes in the greenhouse mature, they'll use them to cure the petrification," the blond boy recalled.
Barnaby exchanged a few more words with them to understand the general picture and then said goodbye, feeling confused by Dumbledore's statement.
"Why wait for the Hogwarts mandrakes to mature?" Sanshi was just as confused and asked the same question Barnaby had. "Can't they just buy a vial of mandrake extract from a shop in Diagon Alley to give it to him and find out the attacker's identity?"
(This was also my first reaction when I read the second book. Dumbledore spoke as if the only mandrakes in the world were those in the school's greenhouse, but there's a whole magical community out there. St. Mungo's should have plenty of vials stored to cure petrification. Delaying the cure was as stupid as when, in the first year, a troll appeared "in the dungeons" and he asked the students to return to their homes, with two of them being in or near the dungeons. Re-reading the books with perspective reveals a lot of flaws.)
"The worst part is that a second attack means there really is a Chamber of Secrets somewhere in Hogwarts, but why has it opened again?" Barnaby responded, trying to understand this point.
And where was it?
"Maybe it has something to do with what happened last year?" Sanshi suggested doubtfully.
"It's a possibility," Barnaby made a mental note to go buy a vial of mandrake extract himself tomorrow in Diagon Alley.
The Next Morning…
"What do you mean you don't have a single vial of mandrake extract left?" Barnaby asked the seventh vendor he visited in a potions shop.
"Just what you've heard, lad," the old man with a purple hat shrugged. "Someone's been buying up all the mandrake extract reserves in Diagon Alley at twice the price for weeks now. Hell, even some raw materials like the mandrakes haven't been spared!" The last comment even contained a trace of discontent.
Mandrakes are the central ingredient for mandrake extract, but they're also used in many other potions, and selling them to a third party instead of the usual shops had caused some problems in the potions community.
The only positive part was that they weren't used in too many common potions and could wait a few months to resume production, but it still felt wrong that someone made a move like this.
"Can't you order some vials from abroad?" Barnaby insisted.
"Forget it, the cost of bringing them in through Ministry inspection to here isn't worth it. Too much paperwork and almost no profit," the old man waved his hand. "Even St. Mungo's has been wary these days, thinking someone might try to steal their reserves."
Well, there goes plan B.
"I see, it's a shame," Barnaby left the shop and stood on a corner, reflecting as he watched people come and go on the street. "This isn't normal."
"Maybe you should tell Tonks," Sanshi suggested. "I mean, this is definitely suspicious behavior worth investigating, right?"
"What worries me is also who's backing whoever did this…"
Who has that much money and influence to make such large purchases anonymously?
He wasn't sure if Tonks could handle it, but if it involved Moody and his veteran Aurors, Tonks' safety would be greater. It could also earn her merits in the Ministry, which would help her career as an Auror.
"I suppose we could try it," Barnaby sighed as he headed home and wrote a letter to his girlfriend, explaining what had happened at the castle, his meager findings, and asking her to be alert in case the Ministry tried to pull a dirty move.
He handed the letter to an owl in the castle's Owlery and as he descended the steps, he realized he might need to act.
"If there's one petrified student, there will be more."
He looked at the hut from the Owlery stairs and shook his head.
"I have to send my father away somehow," Barnaby decided as he resumed his descent. "If there are more victims and my father isn't at Hogwarts, they won't be able to label him as a suspect using his expulsion as 'evidence'."
The question was how to achieve it.
He needed to leave for a while, but the reason had to be solid enough to convince him to go willingly. He had only a few ideas to work with.
A Month Later…
"Barnaby!" Hagrid entered the hut excitedly, waving a letter between his fingers. "Remember my subscription to 'Fangs, Claws, and Hides'? Well, this week they held a raffle among all their members, and I won!"
"Really?" Barnaby put on a surprised expression.
"Of course," Hagrid showed him the winning letter. "I won an all-expenses-paid trip with double stops to Egypt and Nepal!"
"That's great, Dad!" Barnaby was genuinely happy for his father. "Do you need me to help you pack?"
"I'll handle it, don't worry. I've already requested a leave of absence from Dumbledore! He was strangely enthusiastic about the idea…" Hagrid shook his head while pacing back and forth excitedly. "Oh, it's a shame it's only for one person. If it were for two, we could make it a family trip."
Or he could gift the trip so his son and Tonks could advance in their relationship…
"It's fine, you know I can handle everything here while you're on the trip," Barnaby patted his chest confidently.
"I never doubted it for a moment," Hagrid nodded with satisfaction and confidence, while looking left and right scratching his head. "Um… Where did I put the suitcase?"
"Under the bed," Calcifer reminded from the fireplace.
"Oh! Right, right…"
In the end, Barnaby couldn't resist and helped his father pack to ensure he didn't forget anything. Clothes, travel guides, enough money, and all the essentials.
After seeing his father off happily with a flushed face, he closed the door and collapsed into the armchair with a tired but relieved expression.
"Looks like I have to cancel the plan: Kidnapping the Keeper of the Keys of Hogwarts," he thought while throwing a log into Calcifer.
This prize came at the best possible time, and he didn't even have to lift a finger!