Chapter 1: Merlin's Lost Book

Out in the carriage hallway, the prefect raises her eyebrow at Bex, looking down her nose at the first year. "I haven't the time for this, I just caught a group of third-years trying to set these off in the train toilets and I need to get them locked up. I suppose I can come back and help you look for your friend's book after. Give me a moment."

She moves to head past Bex. The only thing in the next train is more compartments, so she's clearly heading towards the baggage car.*

Meanwhile, in the baggage car, Rafaella disappears and begins to zoom back and forth down the hallways of trunks, her eyes strafing the cages for signs of a large owl or Caroline's name. Ava hangs back and begins to study the groupings of baggage, surely there must be some order. She notices that the cages of owls are gathered together in one place along each row for easier care, and they all seem to be on the shelves on the right side from the door the three girls entered, so that at least takes care of half of the carriage. Still, there's a dozen rows to search.

Caroline has less luck with the barn owl. It nips her finger, not hard enough to draw blood, but it pinches, and it hurts! Then the owl explodes out of the cage in a rain of feathers. It alights on a trunk high above, on the top storage shelf. It's head spins around and it fixes its eyes on Caroline with a fierce glare and lets out an offended "Screeeeee!"

As Ava whispers about the side the owl cages are stored and begins to walk along the shelves the barn owl's head swivels in her direction. Its head bobs back around and it takes off, leading Caroline around a corner.

Almost at once Caroline, Ava and Rafaella almost crash into one another. The three girls look up and the barn owl is sitting on top of a large cage on a shelf just a head level among a dozen other cages. Inside the enormous eagle-owl's eyes widen. Pecker's ear tufts raise in surprise and he lets out a cry of "Eeeah!"

*

In the hallway, the prefect's eyes soften at Bex's concern. She stops and gives a small smile, shifting the Wildfire Whiz-bangs in her arms. "Well, it's very kind of you to come and find a prefect for your friend.Wait..." she thinks a moment. "Was your friend the little crying boy in the compartment a couple carriages down? I asked those first-years to leave him be, but I should think they were just joking around with him. Suppose he got a bit nervous, poor thing, but I remember the boy with the Ballycastle Bats scarf. I just saw him and his friends buying some snacks from the Trolley Witch."

The prefect looks askance as the three girls come rushing out, out of breath from the effort of searching and getting out of the baggage carriage, with Pecker flapping after them, a humongous cage clutched in Caroline's skinny 11-year-old arms. In one fluid motion Pecker glides down into the cage, door waiting open, and perches, looking chastised under the prefect's eye."Are you helping this young man look for that poor boy's book? Well, that's very kind of you," she sniffs, looking down her nose at Raffaella, as if she can smell a troublemaker, but the prefect looks kindly on Ava and Caroline who have the good sense, in her estimation, to look meek.

"I think I passed by the boy you're looking for on my way here. He and his friends were at the trolley, but were heading towards the back of the train. You could try the observation car. Would you like me to come along?" her tone is patronizing, she's talking to the group as if they're babies.