Note: Cop!AU, mentions of murder, may be slightly gruesome
The woman opened her eyes, meeting nothing but darkness. She winced when a light suddenly blinded her features. The only thing she could see beyond the brightness was a dark figure.
"You will pay for what your deception caused," growled a raspy voice.
"W-What?"
"You will pay!"
The woman felt nothing but excruciating pain as her life was taken from the world.
"Morning, everyone," Hermione said as she walked into the conference room of the police department. She came around the table and took her seat next to Ginny, who already had the projector warmed up and ready to go.
"The victim's name is Katie Bell, and she was twenty-three. She was found floating in the Susquehanna River wearing a white dress and a Red Dahlia was sticking out of the eye socket...without the eye," Ginny answered, shuddering and pressing a button so the pictures could appear on the projection screen.
Blaise and Neville winced at the sight of the woman, while the others remained impassive.
"Have there been any others?" Neville asked, glancing towards Ginny.
She shook her head. "They believe this to be the first one, but the commissioner requested our help on the killer's behavior. None of the evidence they've acquired have amounted to anything, so they're hoping that another angle would bring them closer to the truth before something happens again."
Daphne nodded. "I believe that's the best option," she said. "Is there anything else that we need to know?"
"They'll provide the rest of the information in Selinsgrove," Ginny answered.
Neville raised his hand. "We're getting permission from the chief first, right?"
"Obviously, Longbottom," Draco drawled. "Why would this case be any different?"
Neville's cheeks flushed red as he cleared his throat. "Right. I knew that."
Draco rolled his eyes. "Honestly," he muttered to himself before examining his nails.
Hermione shook her head disapprovingly. "We're boarding the jet in about thirty minutes, so get along you two," she said looking directly at Neville and Draco, "and get a move on."
She stood up from her seat and walked out of the room, curly hair bouncing with each step. Neville and Draco looked at one another before turning away from each other with snorts.
"And I thought Potter and I had issues," Blaise remarked, grinning as he stood up and jerked his head towards the door. The man mentioned glared in Blaise's direction.
"Come on, Daph," Blaise said, paying Harry no mind, "before they try to get the good seats."
"They're all good seats, Blaise," Daphne replied, walking along with the man.
"Ha," Blaise said, "that's what they want you to think."
Harry cleared his throat and stood up as well. "No time to waste." He didn't say anything else as he walked out of the conference room, leaving Ginny, Draco, and Neville. Ginny gathered her laptop and files, placing the pen behind her ear as she looked pointedly at the males.
"Just because I'm the one behind the computer doesn't mean that I won't hesitate to send something scary to your phones," she threatened.
Draco scoffed. "We're grown men that analyze bad people's minds for a living," he said, "nothing you send over will be scary."
"Try me, mister," Ginny said with narrowed eyes before marching out of the room.
Neville scratched the back of his head before following suit. "I'm not tempting her this time."
Draco threw his hands up in the air. "I am not afraid of Weasley."
"Are you forgetting Christmas, Malfoy?"
"That was circumstantial."
He paced in the dimly lit room, clenching and unclenching his fists.
"Forever and always, darling."
He ground his teeth, and his mouth twitched. It was all her fault. She did this to him.
"I will always love you."
He reached for his hair, pulling at it and growling in frustration. If she had just listened to him, nothing would have happened!
"Ah!"
He screamed, using all of the lung power he possessed. It was a raw, throat burning sensation, and it was what he wanted. Within the distance a woman was afraid for her life; a life that she would no longer have.
The group arrived at the police station located in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania. The station wasn't large, but it was roomy enough for the amount of officers that moved about.
Blaise was sizing up the place when a burly man with dark hair approached the group.
"Welcome to our town," he said, "I'm Commissioner Thomas."
Harry gave the commissioner a nod. "Pleasure to be here," he said, introducing himself along with everyone else.
"I hate that have brought you all here," Commissioner Thomas said, "but I've heard you all are the best around the world. I don't want this problem to get worse."
"What evidence has been discovered?" Hermione asked.
"The woman was a young brunette, and she was found drowned with a red dahlia in her eye," the Commissioner answered.
"The flower suggests that the feels betrayed," Daphne commented, "and in the eye? It sounds very personal."
"He could be angry at a girlfriend or lover," Blaise suggested.
"A drowning for a lover sounds like he's hesitant about something," Neville said, "so maybe a family member?"
"Familial relationships do have more betrayal killings," Harry said, stroking his chin.
"Wouldn't it have been easier to shoot her or something?" Draco asked, receiving glares from the others.
"It suggests that he wanted her to feel his hurt," Daphne said.
"Something doesn't feel right," Hermione added with a frown, "but we'll figure this out."
Before the group could continue their conversation, they were interrupted by the receptionist approaching them with a grave look on her face.
"Guys," she said , "they've found another one."
oo0oo
The group had gathered at the bank behind the university where the medical examiner was already inspecting the body.
"Another drowning," he informed them, carefully plucking the flower out of the girl's eye socket. "I hope y'all find this guy soon." The man frowned as the group look towards one another.
"Has Ginny gotten back with information on the flowers?" Daphne asked.
"There's a florist on the outskirts of town that has a specific batch of the Red Dahlias on the market," Harry responded, "and the owners are an elderly couple."
"Thinking one flipped out from the last of their wits?" Blaise asked.
Hermione snorted. "Hardly. They have a grandson that maintains the shop, and from what Ginny found on his school records, he's not the most pleasant of people."
"Daph, you and Hermione go to the couple's home and see what they can tell you about their grandson," Harry directed. "Blaise and I will go back to the department and see if they come up with anything significant on the bodies."
He glanced over at Draco and Neville. "The two of you head to the florist shop and see if you can talk to the grandson or find something useful."
With everyone given their assignments, the pairs split up to complete them.
oo0oo
While Hermione and Daphne were at the elderly couple's home, the women learned that their grandson Barty was picked on in school, and the bullying prompted him to be a delinquent. He came to them after a tragedy involving his parents, but the couple gave nothing more.
Blaise and Harry didn't learn anything more from the body other than this woman struggled as she drowned. Nothing else was different or found to aid in pinpointing the killer.
Draco and Neville bickered before getting to the florist shop, and they learned that Barty was nowhere to be found. That gave them the incentive to take a look around and find some clues.
Draco and Neville were walking around the greenhouse behind the florist shop, searching for something suspicious. They believed that it was Barty; he was the only one to make sense in the investigation so far, but they had to have the evidence to be sure.
"I don't know," Neville said tentatively. "Something about this seems too easy."
Draco snorted. "What's wrong about the case being easy? Isn't that better for us?"
Neville shook his head. "It's not that I don't want an easy case," he said, "but it feels like it's being fed to us too easily. Like, an imaginary silver platter with the suspect and evidence all handed out."
His partner frowned. "I hate to admit it, but I think you're onto something."
"So you're agreeing with me?" Neville asked incredulously.
"Don't push your luck, Longbottom," Draco quipped.
"We've been working together for nearly two years, Malfoy," Neville said. "We don't have to be friends, but you have to understand that we have to agree on something. Why do you think Harry keeps putting assigning us as investigation partners? We need to start coming together, and you need to stop trying to belittle me!"
While Neville continued to vent, Draco looked deep in thought. He blinked as his brows rose, and he put a hand out to stop Neville.
"Say that again, Longbottom," he said.
Neville blushed once he was interrupted before coughing. "Say what again?"
"Ugh, nevermind," Draco huffed. "Think about it. I know what it is."
"What do you mean?" Neville asked, knitting his brows.
"I mean, I've been looking at this all wrong," he said pushing past Neville and dialing a number on his phone. "I think it's time to give the profile. I'll tell Granger."
Neville scrambled behind Draco. "What? W-Wait for me, Malfoy!"
"We're looking for a male in his early to late twenties," Draco said, arms folded as he glanced over in Neville's direction.
"He's presumptuous in his actions because he's trying to make anyone understand his story," Neville added.
"That means he likes to seek approval in any work that he's accomplished in the past, and not receiving that has caused him to lash out," Blaise continued.
Hermione placed her hands on her hips. "After a call from our technical analyst, we learned that the killer is doing this to have his story heard."
"What does that mean?" one of the cops asked. "What difference does it make?"
"It makes a lot of sense," Blaise said, "because the killer felt a sense of betrayal in his past, and he's killing the women that resembles his mother, who he believes betrayed his father."
"He's drowning the women just like his father drowned his mother after finding her being unfaithful," Hermione clarified, "so in a sense he's believing to be his father."
"Why these specific women?" Another policemen asked.
"Because they resemble his mother," Draco answered, "and he believes she should be punished for her betrayal."
One man raised his hand. "How are we going to find him?"
"Ginny found an address of a farmhouse under the father's name in a remote area near the river, giving him complete access and seclusion," Harry replied. "So we need to get there as soon as possible, but as stealthily as possible."
"We don't know if he has someone else," Hermione said, "so we have to act as if he does to avoid any unnecessary casualties."
"Let's get there quickly," Neville said, "and get to the killer before he strikes again."
"Well said, Longbottom," Draco remarked sarcastically, but the small grin that he gave showed that he meant no harm.
Harry pinched the bridge of his nose, missing the last of the exchange. "Let's move out."
The groups had gathered into their dark trucks and were rushing towards the address that Ginny had found for them. Their sirens weren't on to prevent Barty from knowing of their arrival, and so things could run more smoothly and quickly.
Everyone unloaded the trucks as swiftly as they could, gathering near the entrance of the farmhouse.
Harry directed the groups to go into different areas to gain more coverage and keep Barty from slipping through their fingers.
The pairs moved quietly, looking around for any movement or suspicions. Neville and Draco were the pair to move through the front way, meeting the first corridor.
Suddenly, a scream sounded down the corridor, and Neville rushed towards it. Draco cursed under his breath, muttering about Longbottom trying to be the hero. He couldn't leave him alone, so Draco went after the man with his gun ready.
When he caught up to Neville, Draco saw the lean, dirty man holding a woman by the neck.
"Barty," Neville said in a calm tone, "you don't have to do this. If you let her go, your story can be told."
"This is her fault," Barty spat, "she did this! She betrayed me!"
"Come on, mate," Draco added, "that's not who you think it is. The one who betrayed you is long gone."
Barty was shaking, and the woman appeared more fearful than before.
Neville raised his hands, removing his finger from the trigger on his gun. "I know how it feels not to be heard and bullied. I know how it feels to be betrayed by someone you love."
Draco kept his gun steady on Barty, just in case something goes south.
"If you do this," Neville continued, "then your story won't be complete."
"She has to pay," Barty said, "she has to."
"She will," Neville continued, "but let us take care of it for you."
Barty's lip quivered, and his arm began to shake violently. It looked as if he would release the woman, but his face contorted into one of anger. Barry wound his arm back and roared, but was halted by the shot fired in his chest.
Draco had kept his arm steady, eyes narrowed while he watched Barty crumble to the ground. The woman fell into a heap, but was very much alive.
Neville looked at Draco with a horrified expression.
"What?" Draco said, "It was now or never, and I'd rather deal with things now than never."
Neville's shoulders fell when the others arrived to the room. Draco dusted himself off and folded his arms.
"Where did you lot get lost at?" he asked, "You missed everything."
Hermione looked ready to explode with a lecture, only to be quelled by the others. When everything was wrapped up, the group left Pennsylvania back home. Despite not being able to apprehend the killer, it was one less bad person that wouldn't be committing any crimes.
And that was just fine.
A/N: Written for The Houses Competiton and HSWW (Challenges and Assignment)
(THC) House: Hufflepuff; Year; HoH; Category: Themed; Prompt: [color] white and [object] red dahlia
(HSWW) Showtime: (character) Neville Longbottom
Count Your Buttons: (dialogue) "Right. I knew that.", (word) permission, (AU) Cop
Liza's Loves: Roger Cop - write a police officer!AU
Scavenger Hunt: write about a first and a last
Lent: No Canon Locations
Insane House Challenge: (word) susquehanna
Word Count: 2,381