The Expectant Detectives
folder
Harry Potter › Het - Male/Female › Snape/Hermione
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
31
Views:
15,573
Reviews:
165
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
2
Category:
Harry Potter › Het - Male/Female › Snape/Hermione
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
31
Views:
15,573
Reviews:
165
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
2
Disclaimer:
I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters therein. Nor do I make any moneys from the writing of this story. Though Lord knows I wish I did.
Chapter Twelve
Hello one and all! I hope all is going well. Please enjoy the new chapter and if you could, review. The feedback helps me more than I can say.
PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!!
***
Chapter Twelve
Hermione went to visit Luna and Ginny at the Potter's home after Severus went to conduct school business. Ginny no sooner set down the tea tray than Hermione was complaining that she didn’t know what was worse—the fact that she had been forced into medical leave and was being constantly pulled back into work or the fact that once this case was done she would have nothing to do.
“You could set up the nursery,” Ginny suggested.
“For a year?” Hermione asked dryly. “Besides the house elves might revolt if I tried.” When Ginny frowned, she went on with, “They could see it as a sign that I’m trying to free them again.”
“Perhaps your husband might consider having you teach at the school,” Luna said. “It’s not as if it would be out of pity. You’ve been teaching now for five years at the auror department. For you, it would simply be a change of venue.”
“I thought of asking him,” she said with a sigh. “But something tells me that if I did, I would be going around the castle in a bubble. He practically wants me doing so what with that intruder that came into our rooms earlier today…”
“Stop!” Ginny snapped. “An intruder? How in the name of Merlin did that happen?”
“That is rather odd considering the warding the school has and those you had me help you research and put up in your private rooms,” Luna said casually adding, “Now if it were a house elf or a wizard using elf magic…”
“That’s it,” Hermione breathed. “Why didn’t I think of it before?”
“What?” Ginny demanded. “Have pity on me! I don’t think like you two do. I’m normal!”
Both the other witches looked to each other and back to her saying nothing for a time before Hermione said, “You’re just as odd thinking as the two of us and don’t you forget it. Yours is but a different area of expertise.”
Laughing now Ginny told them, “Okay, point made, but explain what you mean by what you said about that being it!”
“Question, how were they able to get the dead bodies into Malfoy Manner? It’s unplottable and has a secret keeper.”
“Elf magic,” Ginny whispered. “That’s the only way.”
“Yes, but I didn’t figure that out until now,” Hermione muttered. “It’s the only way our villain could have gotten into the school as well. But pray tell just whose house elves has a connection to both the school and Malfoy Manor?”
They were all silent for a time before Hermione cursed to herself. “I can only think of one,” she sighed, looking to the others.
“Malfoy,” Ginny said sounding upset. “I thought he changed his ways.”
“He did and that’s why it doesn’t make any sense.”
***
“Come in! Come in! My this is a honor!” Cornelius Fudge crowed at seeing both the former death eaters at the front door of his as yet unopened museum. “Come to see what I’ve been making of all the donations, eh?”
“You could say that,” Lucius sneered looking up at a statue of Fudge he had on more than one occasion wished had been destroyed during the battle at the Department of Mysteries. It had just been everyone’s bad luck that the fighting never reached that far into the Ministry of Magic.
“We need to speak to you,” Severus said, as he was looking at a wanted poster for Sirius Black. “You do realize that Sirius Black was perhaps the only one in his family that wasn’t a death eater?” He looked over to Fudge.
“Just showing what the world was like back then,” he told them. “Can I get either of you a cup of tea…?”
“No thank you,” Lucius muttered, stopping in front of a painting of Bellatrix LeStrange, which if memory served him correctly had been done for her sixteenth birthday. “Where did you get this from?”
“Oh that!” Fudge went over. “It was taken from the LeStrange estate during a raid and subsequently sold at auction for a hand full of knuts.”
“Why isn’t she moving?” Severus asked quietly.
“Oh she does,” Fudge answered, looking at his pocket watch. “It’ll be any minute now.”
“What…”
The portrait of a young, happy, and sane Bellatrix changed in a heartbeat. Her face went hard, her eyes went manic, and her lips went into a snarl that would have made most shake with fear.
“My life, my body, and my very soul belong to the Dark Lord!” She raged. “He is our destiny!”
“Bullocks!” snapped Severus. “He was a mad half blood more than willing to kill anyone, including you, Bella.”
“He is…” She stopped in mid-rant, her face relaxing as she looked out to who cut her off. “Severus? What are you talking about? The dark lord…”
“Is dead, Bella,” Lucius said. “He has been for well over 13 years now.”
Her face fell before it went hard. “You’re lying!”
“And you’re dead as well,” Severus told her.
“A strong witch or wizard must have felled me!” she exclaimed.
Clearing his throat, Lucius answered, “Actually, I don’t believe so.”
“It’s sad really,” Severus said, looking towards Fudge who was watching on with curiosity. “It’s one thing to be killed, but to be killed by Molly Weasley...”
“No,” Bellatrix whispered in horror.
“I didn’t tell you, did I?” Severus murmured, turning towards Lucius. “I found out some years back that the matriarch of the Weasleys not only killed her, but did so in a rather disgusting way.”
“How so?” Lucius asked him even as Bellatrix was yelling at him not to say a word.
“Molly Weasley shoved her wand up Bellatrix’s nose and dealt her a killing curse so powerful that it made her head explode.” The two wizards looked over towards the painting. The painted witch had lost all her coloring, if possible, and was staring at them in horror.
“No,” she whispered, her face fallen as tears popped into her eyes. “That isn’t how it was supposed to end!”
“We rarely get what we want in this life,” Severus said. “For instance, I have wanted to kill you with my bare hands for decades.” He pulled out his wand and pointed it at the painting. “I’ll just have to settle for this.” The spell he sent out had the painting melting. Her screams of pain and terror rang out, as it not only melted, but also burnt it into a pile of ash. Sighing he turned to look at Fudge. “I’ll pay you for the painting.”
“Good…good,” Fudge muttered, looking at the ash pile that his house elf was cleaning up at that moment.
“Now that Severus has had his fun, can you tell us if you had a collection of personal items of dead death eaters—such as hair brushes?” Lucius asked. “And if so, have you had any of them stolen lately that you haven’t told anyone about?”
***
It's time once again for the Review Sing-A-Long! The answer to the last one was "Get off of My Cloud" by the Rolling Stones. Cookies go out to SevBrandon for getting it right! If I missed you, I'm sorry.
Time for the next song! (And as usual, I do not own the rights to this or any of the songs I use for this game, nor do I make any moneys from any of them!) "When they review, review, review, review/ They beat him up until the teardrops start/ But he can't be wounded 'cause he's got no heart." Sorry to say, no hint today. Okay one--I guess you'll just have to be a good detective and suss it out, huh? Very cryptic that hint, but sorry to say that it was the best one that I could come up with. Oh well. Take care and have a wonderful day!
PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!!
***
Chapter Twelve
Hermione went to visit Luna and Ginny at the Potter's home after Severus went to conduct school business. Ginny no sooner set down the tea tray than Hermione was complaining that she didn’t know what was worse—the fact that she had been forced into medical leave and was being constantly pulled back into work or the fact that once this case was done she would have nothing to do.
“You could set up the nursery,” Ginny suggested.
“For a year?” Hermione asked dryly. “Besides the house elves might revolt if I tried.” When Ginny frowned, she went on with, “They could see it as a sign that I’m trying to free them again.”
“Perhaps your husband might consider having you teach at the school,” Luna said. “It’s not as if it would be out of pity. You’ve been teaching now for five years at the auror department. For you, it would simply be a change of venue.”
“I thought of asking him,” she said with a sigh. “But something tells me that if I did, I would be going around the castle in a bubble. He practically wants me doing so what with that intruder that came into our rooms earlier today…”
“Stop!” Ginny snapped. “An intruder? How in the name of Merlin did that happen?”
“That is rather odd considering the warding the school has and those you had me help you research and put up in your private rooms,” Luna said casually adding, “Now if it were a house elf or a wizard using elf magic…”
“That’s it,” Hermione breathed. “Why didn’t I think of it before?”
“What?” Ginny demanded. “Have pity on me! I don’t think like you two do. I’m normal!”
Both the other witches looked to each other and back to her saying nothing for a time before Hermione said, “You’re just as odd thinking as the two of us and don’t you forget it. Yours is but a different area of expertise.”
Laughing now Ginny told them, “Okay, point made, but explain what you mean by what you said about that being it!”
“Question, how were they able to get the dead bodies into Malfoy Manner? It’s unplottable and has a secret keeper.”
“Elf magic,” Ginny whispered. “That’s the only way.”
“Yes, but I didn’t figure that out until now,” Hermione muttered. “It’s the only way our villain could have gotten into the school as well. But pray tell just whose house elves has a connection to both the school and Malfoy Manor?”
They were all silent for a time before Hermione cursed to herself. “I can only think of one,” she sighed, looking to the others.
“Malfoy,” Ginny said sounding upset. “I thought he changed his ways.”
“He did and that’s why it doesn’t make any sense.”
***
“Come in! Come in! My this is a honor!” Cornelius Fudge crowed at seeing both the former death eaters at the front door of his as yet unopened museum. “Come to see what I’ve been making of all the donations, eh?”
“You could say that,” Lucius sneered looking up at a statue of Fudge he had on more than one occasion wished had been destroyed during the battle at the Department of Mysteries. It had just been everyone’s bad luck that the fighting never reached that far into the Ministry of Magic.
“We need to speak to you,” Severus said, as he was looking at a wanted poster for Sirius Black. “You do realize that Sirius Black was perhaps the only one in his family that wasn’t a death eater?” He looked over to Fudge.
“Just showing what the world was like back then,” he told them. “Can I get either of you a cup of tea…?”
“No thank you,” Lucius muttered, stopping in front of a painting of Bellatrix LeStrange, which if memory served him correctly had been done for her sixteenth birthday. “Where did you get this from?”
“Oh that!” Fudge went over. “It was taken from the LeStrange estate during a raid and subsequently sold at auction for a hand full of knuts.”
“Why isn’t she moving?” Severus asked quietly.
“Oh she does,” Fudge answered, looking at his pocket watch. “It’ll be any minute now.”
“What…”
The portrait of a young, happy, and sane Bellatrix changed in a heartbeat. Her face went hard, her eyes went manic, and her lips went into a snarl that would have made most shake with fear.
“My life, my body, and my very soul belong to the Dark Lord!” She raged. “He is our destiny!”
“Bullocks!” snapped Severus. “He was a mad half blood more than willing to kill anyone, including you, Bella.”
“He is…” She stopped in mid-rant, her face relaxing as she looked out to who cut her off. “Severus? What are you talking about? The dark lord…”
“Is dead, Bella,” Lucius said. “He has been for well over 13 years now.”
Her face fell before it went hard. “You’re lying!”
“And you’re dead as well,” Severus told her.
“A strong witch or wizard must have felled me!” she exclaimed.
Clearing his throat, Lucius answered, “Actually, I don’t believe so.”
“It’s sad really,” Severus said, looking towards Fudge who was watching on with curiosity. “It’s one thing to be killed, but to be killed by Molly Weasley...”
“No,” Bellatrix whispered in horror.
“I didn’t tell you, did I?” Severus murmured, turning towards Lucius. “I found out some years back that the matriarch of the Weasleys not only killed her, but did so in a rather disgusting way.”
“How so?” Lucius asked him even as Bellatrix was yelling at him not to say a word.
“Molly Weasley shoved her wand up Bellatrix’s nose and dealt her a killing curse so powerful that it made her head explode.” The two wizards looked over towards the painting. The painted witch had lost all her coloring, if possible, and was staring at them in horror.
“No,” she whispered, her face fallen as tears popped into her eyes. “That isn’t how it was supposed to end!”
“We rarely get what we want in this life,” Severus said. “For instance, I have wanted to kill you with my bare hands for decades.” He pulled out his wand and pointed it at the painting. “I’ll just have to settle for this.” The spell he sent out had the painting melting. Her screams of pain and terror rang out, as it not only melted, but also burnt it into a pile of ash. Sighing he turned to look at Fudge. “I’ll pay you for the painting.”
“Good…good,” Fudge muttered, looking at the ash pile that his house elf was cleaning up at that moment.
“Now that Severus has had his fun, can you tell us if you had a collection of personal items of dead death eaters—such as hair brushes?” Lucius asked. “And if so, have you had any of them stolen lately that you haven’t told anyone about?”
***
It's time once again for the Review Sing-A-Long! The answer to the last one was "Get off of My Cloud" by the Rolling Stones. Cookies go out to SevBrandon for getting it right! If I missed you, I'm sorry.
Time for the next song! (And as usual, I do not own the rights to this or any of the songs I use for this game, nor do I make any moneys from any of them!) "When they review, review, review, review/ They beat him up until the teardrops start/ But he can't be wounded 'cause he's got no heart." Sorry to say, no hint today. Okay one--I guess you'll just have to be a good detective and suss it out, huh? Very cryptic that hint, but sorry to say that it was the best one that I could come up with. Oh well. Take care and have a wonderful day!