The Expectant Detectives

Hi out there! Hope everyone is doing well. It saddened me to see that not as many people reviewed this last chapter as the one before. I encourage you to review! Even if you don't play the Review Sing-A-Long, REVIEW!! I only made up the game as a bit of fun to encourage readers to put in their two cents. Thank you for reading my rant.

PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!!!

***

Chapter Twenty-one


Hermione assigned what she referred to as “The Find the Elf Project” to Sirius. He was nearly sneering at her by the time she finished giving him the instructions, along with the book she had gotten from Madam Pince, the elf family trees that she couldn’t find in the book, and the stern instructions that if he dared tried to palm this assignment on anyone else that he would suffer the consequences.


“Large purple pustules will be involved and they won’t be on your forehead,” she warned him.


“You would never,” he growled.


Hermione only grinned coolly and said, “Ask Harry about the contract for Dumbledore’s Army before you make any snap judgments.”


He did speak to Harry and was quite diligent doing the research from that moment forward.


On another front, Hermione had Harry looking through the visitor logs for Azkaban and had asked Severus to look at the records of the aurors who worked in the prison at the time Yaxley was there, but just prior to the kiss and just after it was given.


“What am I looking for?” Severus asked her.


“Anything out of place. Actions that seem odd or unlike the guard in question,” she told him as she nibbled on her food.


“But why look at the guards at all?” Harry asked. “Rules…”


“Rules mean nothing unless you have someone to uphold them,” she said casually. “It only takes one man or woman taking a bribe to look the other way and the rest is meaningless.”


“But why would anyone take a bribe?” Harry asked, which gained a snort from Severus.


“Your Gryffindor colors are showing, Potter,” Severus muttered. “Money, as the muggles are fond of saying, makes the world go around.”


“So you think an evil…”


“I didn’t say they were evil,” Hermione told him. “Greed is normal, Harry. It’s not good nor is it wise given the place of work of the auror in question, but it is utterly human.” She studied her friend a moment before looking over to her husband, who looked up to meet her eyes. “You were right. I’m not much of a Gryffindor, am I?”


“There’s nothing wrong with that, pet,” Severus said, sounding as cheerful as the dark man could ever pull off.


“That doesn’t by anyway mean that I was supposed to be put into Slytherin,” she murmured, but then rubbed at her stomach. “I need an antacid.” She stood up. “I think I should have been sorted into Ravenclaw.”


Severus and Harry snorted at that.


“You have too much grit for their tastes,” Harry said casually.


“And are far too underhanded as well,” Severus added.


“I am not underhanded!” she protested, but when the two wizards just stared at her she added in a mutter, “Nothing I would admit to at any rate.” Huffing that she was going to get her antacids, she left the two of them there chuckling at her answer.


“So do you really think she should have been in Slytherin?” Harry asked him.


Smiling evilly he said, “Did she tell you about the threat she made to Sirius if he didn’t do the work himself?”


“Some of it. He mentioned purple pustules being involved,” he murmured. “Why?”


“That was yet another Slytherin tactic I had nothing to do with,” Severus answered, standing up with a file in his hand. “I found something. “Do you know a auror by the name of Jenson, Paul-Robert?”


“No,” he said, taking the file from him and read it. “He was on the same floor and ward as Yaxley. So they would have had contact. And wow, he vanished, leaving his wife and the job just a day after Yaxley was given the kiss. That’s just weird considering that Jenson had been married for fifty-seven years already.” He handed the file back over to Severus. “I need to go question the man’s ex-wife and other aurors who worked with him. I’ll floo if I find anything out.”


“You might look into the man’s finances while you’re at it,” Severus told him. “See if he had a reason to take a bribe. I’ll pickup reviewing the visitor’s log where you left off and see if we can find any discrepancies.”


Harry nodded, saying, “I’ll ask if Jenson had any bad habits that might have helped encourage him to take a bribe too. Later.”


Hermione walked over to Severus, slipping into his lap. Resting her head on his shoulder. Absently he kissed her forehead and rubbed her back as he kept reading.


“I was thinking,” Hermione whispered. “Wulfric might not be the best of names. I mean look at Remus Lupin. It’s like his name predetermined who and what he was going to be.” She lifted her head and looked into his eyes. “Divination aside, but that is a bit too on the mark for my tastes.”


“So what boy’s name do you prefer?” he inquired quietly.


“I haven’t a clue,” she murmured, kissing his neck. “Just as long as the name doesn’t have anything to do with dark magical creatures or involve where we conceived them in any fashion, it doesn’t matter.”


“I found something,” Severus told her.


“What?” she asked, looking at the paper he was holding.


“Yaxley had a visitor, only one, during the entire time he was a prisoner before he was given the kiss. Claims to have been his solicitor.”


Hermione frowned as she thought that over. “But I thought the only time that the prisoners were given time with their representative was at the Ministry.”


“They were,” he said. “It was done for security reasons. Said that it was an emergency meeting there at the prison. But this tale only gets more complex.” He looked into her eyes. “His real solicitor was a witch, not a wizard. And apparently the guards didn’t know that either.”


“That or they were paid not to care,” she murmured, as she stood up with the papers in her hand. “I need to…”


“Lay down,” he told her, pulling her back to stand in front of him. “You are off the case, remember?”


“But…” He pressed a finger to her lips to stop her from saying anything more.


“You are on leave,” he murmured, taking the papers from her and tossing them aside. “Must I repeat that you are to be resting?”


“If you were in bed with me naked, I’m sure I could overlook my need to work now that I’m feeling better,” she said coyly as she slowly unbuttoned the collar of his robes.


“I’m sure you could, witch,” he replied, scooping her up and taking her straight over to the bed. “But what you have in mind isn’t resting.”


“That may be true,” she breathed, kissing his mouth lightly. “But it’s sure to have me sleeping if done correctly multiple times.”


***

Time once more for my favorite game and yours--The Review Sing-A-Long!!! The answer to the last one was "No Ordinary Love" by Sade. Cookies go out to chris7100 and LadyFireCrab for getting it right. If I missed you, I'm sorry.

Time for the next song! "Life's a review, but it's not fair/I break the rules, so I don't care/So I keep doin' my own thing/Walkin' tall against the rain" As usual, I don't own or profit from any of the songs used in the game. So here's your clue. This rap/singing mix performed by three of the music/rap industries strongest, not to mention popular acts out there. One can do no wrong, another can't seem to keep his foot out of his mouth, but I'm sure the singer could provide umbrellas against anything else that he may bring down on himself. There you go! Hope that was enough of a clue for you. Here's to hoping you have an excellent week!