I decided to redo this cjapter a little because I didnt like what i wrote. Sorry to everone who read the last version. I still don't have a Bata so please ignore the mistakes. Also leave your reviews I love hearing what you guys think.
Hermione woke up to the sound of her alarm clock blaring in the background of her peaceful sleep. She opened her eyes, realizing that the sun was peeking through her window, she grabbed her wand and flicked it towards the intrusive sound making it stop. Stretching she pulled the warm covers back and stepped out of bed the cool air making her shiver.
Heading into her small bathroom, she began her normal morning routine. Once she stepped back into her room she began trying to find something to wear. Deciding on a simple white dress shirt and black trousers she applied a little makeup. After she approved her look in the mirror, she headed downstairs to grab a cup of coffee.
As she stands at her kitchen sink the smell of coffee surrounded her she was thinking about Andrew, and how weird it was McGonagall never mentioned him before. Her attention was averted to the window as a blue light slithers in. It stops in front of her. Confused about who could be trying to contact her she puts all thoughts of Andrew on hold.
It begins take the shape of a horned owl a voice comes from it, "Hermione you need to come to the medical office first thing this morning." She recognizes the voice as being the chief medical examiner Mrs. kimble.
Knowing that it must be of great importance Hermione scrambled through her small kitchen finishing the last of her coffee and leaving the empty cup on the island. She rushed to the sitting area grabbing a handful of floo powder and stepped into the fireplace saying in a loud voice, "The Ministry of magic." The green flames engulfed her. When they finally cleared she stepped through to the normal hustle and bustle.
It was like this every morning people running around trying to get to their respective places. She fought her way through the crowd of people to get the elevator. Hearing the shout of a newsboy advertise the headlines of today's Daily Prophet, "Detectives baffled by blazing wheelchair."
Finally making it inside the elevator she told the elf her desired floor. The small cramped space was packed with people. She heard the clearing of a throat beside her, turning her head to greet the person.
"Hello, Ms. Granger." Greeted an older wizard she recognized as Mr. Tuttle, he worked in her department as a chief executive officer.
He was in charge of offering people protection if needed. She knew, because of the recent killings that Lucius Malfoy had taken him up on his offer, but no one else had.
"Good Morning Mr. Tuttle." She greeted him back. He gave her a bright smile before opening his mouth and asking in a small whisper, "How's the case going? Do you know who was found the other day?"
She thought before she answered. She didn't want anyone to overhear. "It's good, but we still don't know who the body is." Whispering back the man frowned but nods his head.
Stepping off the elevator the first thing she noticed was that everyone was running around. Conversations flying around she could only catch a few snippets like "impossible, Who do we inform, and never seen before."
Her curiosity was growing as she headed straight for Mrs. Kimble's office. Crossing the threshold of the small lab she saw the plump woman standing beside a metal table with a white sheet over what she assumed was the body. Mrs. Kimble looked up from her clipboard giving Hermione a small smile. She returned the favor as she walked over to stand beside her.
"We did a dental test on the victim and found out he's Foalyn Lestrange, but Cause of death was undetermined because of the state of the body." The woman proclaimed. This news was not good, because now they still weren't any closer to finding out who it was or why.
"But there's somethings I think you should see." She said lifting the sheet.
The body was just as she expected, burnt with no sign of it being the once powerful wizard. Mrs. Kimble grabbed the wrist with a gloved hand and pointed to the hand where Hermione could see that he was missing his fingers.
"He was tortured before being killed." She stated. The woman nodded her head in agreement.
"Upon further inspection we also found that his tongue and been removed." She said placing the hand in its original position.
Her mind was racing with so many thoughts she felt dizzy. She looked up and something on the other table caught her attention. Walking to the to other side of the medical table she saw that there was a mini muggle motor with fire damage on it sitting there. "This can't be what he used to control the wheelchair is it?" She asked baffled.
The woman followed her gaze and said, "We can't be sure, but this case is like nothing I've ever seen before."
She began looking around hoping this case wouldn't get any crazier than it already had.
But knowing her luck it was just the beginning, because at that moment Mrs. Kimble walked over to her desk grabbing a plastic bag. Walking back to where Hermione was. Dangling the small bag in front of her face she could clearly see something was inside. The item was small about the size of a nail. She also noted that it was white, but she had no idea what it was.
"What is that?" She grabbed the bag to have a closer look. It had no identifiable marks on it.
"I think it's a crystal, but I'm not sure what kind." Hermione began to think about this. Why would there be a crystal and where was it located?
"Where was it found?" She questioned turning the bag over in her hand. She could feel the small indentation of the crystal through the bag.
The woman reached for the bag. Hermione returned it safely back to her. "It was lodged inside the motor." She answered walking back over to her desk placing it on top.
She felt completely frustrated the more she thought about it. This killer wasn't making it easy. Turning to leave she asked, "Is that all you've found?" Hoping it was because she needed to talk to Harry about the recent revaluations.
The older witch nodded her head. Thankful that she was, Hermione walked out of the office determined to solve this one.
OoOoO
Harry's office was on the 14th floor the same as hers. She lifted her hand and knocked. A voice granted her access. Walking inside she could see that the office was covered in unfiled paperwork. She saw him sitting behind his desk reading the Daily Prophet. Looking up from the newspaper he offered her a smile.
"Anything new?" Harry questioned placing the paper on his desk. He had dark circles under his eyes, she guessed he hadn't been sleeping well.
"There's a lot to tell you." She confessed. She walked over to a leather seat in front of his and say down. This was going to be interesting.
After telling him about everything that happened at the medical examiners office he was silent. Scratching the back of his head he looked completely dumbfounded. She felt the same way like they knew this was going to be extremely difficult case to crack.
"What if the crystal is a way to get the muggle motor to work?" Harry said after a moment of silence. She thought about it, it could be possible.
"But where would he get them?" She retorted. This case had too many questions and not enough answers. Her head was starting to pound with the intense thinking being done.
"I think maybe after we catch this guy we hire him." He joked trying to make light of a horrible situation. Hermione smiled adding, "Yea, and maybe he can solve the other problems in this world."
Laughing at her joke he stood tapping his fingers on the edge of his oak desk. Walking to stand in front of the whiteboard that was beside his filing cabinet. It was scattered with pictures of the victims, the crime scenes, and notes scribbled all over.
"I just don't get it. These men weren't death eaters except Theodore Nott Sr. So why go after the other two?" He stated looking hard at the board. It was an obvious question everyone was asking.
"I don't think he's killing them, based on whether or not they had any connections to Voldemort, it's got to be something else." She countered. "I mean look at how the other two were killed Orion Black was slipped liquid radiation in his whiskey, it would have been extremely painful way to go." She said standing and pointing at his picture.
Moving on she pointed to the next victim. "But Theodore Nott Sr was pushed down the stairs, bad way to die but not what one would call horrendous."
Moving on to the last picture she stated, "And finally Foalyn Lestrange he had his tongue and fingers removed before being lit on fire. So maybe we should focus on Foalyn since he's the one who was tortured the most, maybe it has something to do with him."
Harry stepped back considering her words. "I think your right. Foalyn will be our focus for now, so I'll pull all records on him." He said as he clapped his hands together walking back to his desk to get to work.
She had smile on her face grateful that they might actually be making progress. Walking towards the door she turned around and said, "While you're doing that I'll talk to his house-elf and see if they know anything. I mean who better to ask than a creature who knows about your doings."
"Sounds like a plan." Harry shook his head in agreement.
Making her way out of his office she turned heading for the floo network, but was stopped when she ran right into someone's chest. Large hands grabbed to steady her. Confused she looked up to see who almost toppled her over. She instantly recognized those brown eyes and dark tan.
Andrew was currently holding her by the shoulders a look of concern on his face. "Are you ok?" He questioned his eyes looking her over searching for any damage.
She felt her heart banging against her ribcage, but shook off the initial shock. "What are you doing here?" She questioned looking around noticing some people were staring at them. Looking back at him she caught a Whiff of his cologne, he smelled of old books and cut grass.
He let out a small chuckle, which made her heart jump a little. Running his long fingers through his dark hair he looked around. He was wearing a white buttoned up shirt with black trousers. "I was wondering if perhaps you'd like to have dinner with me sometime?" He replied looking back at her with hopeful eyes.
To say she was perplexed by his offer was an understatement. She didn't know what to say. Why would he want to go out with her they only meet once.
He could see the wheels spinning in her head so he offered up an explanation, "I'm new here and thought it might be nice to get to know you, that's all."
She wasn't sure about this, but something in the back of her head said to give him a shot. Finally finding her voice she blushed a little and answered, "Sure, why not."
He seemed to be surprised by her response because he just stood there looking like a deer in the headlights. When he snapped out of it, his reply was simple, "How about this Saturday pick you up at 8?"
She nodded her head in agreement. Andrew gave her a bright smile and said, "Ok, sounds great. See ya Saturday."
Waving at him as he left she had to think a moment where was she headed before. Realization dawned on her, oh yea that's right Lestrange manor
oOoOo
Arriving outside the old manor she couldn't help but notice how it screamed pureblood wealth, with its huge exterior that had massive gothic style windows. She reached the mahogany door and lifted her hand to knock. The sound echoing all around her. The door opened to show a house-elf wearing nothing but a pillowcase.
"How can i help you?" Came its timid voice.
She instantly felt bad for the creature, who kept its head lowered. "I'm here to talk to you about your master." She spoke softly. The house-elf looked at her with worry on her face, clearly she knew something wasn't right.
"Has something happened to master Lestrange?" The house-elf's voice going frantic as she pulled on her oversized ears.
Hermione shook her head confirming that yes indeed something had happened and opened her mouth, "What's your name?" She questioned.
The house-elf began to sob uncontrollably. Tears staining the creatures face. She felt awful, but knew there was nothing that could be done.
"Molly is me name miss." she spoke in between wails. Hermione didn't know what to do now she needed to ask Molly some more questions, but she couldn't do that in the state she was in.
She nodded her head and said in a calm voice, "Ok, Molly I need you to tell me when was the last time you saw your master?"
The creature blew her nose into the garment she was wearing and blinked a couple of times trying to hold back the tears. "I seen him four nights ago. He even had a visitor, a Mr. Tuttle he did." She began pulling on her ears again and crying.
Hermione knew that Mr. Tuttle had probably come to offer Mr Lestrange some protection so it wasn't suspicious. She looked at the Molly and asked, "Is anything missing from the home?" Maybe he left, but that seemed unlikely.
Molly seemed to be thinking about it as she put her hand under her chin with her eyes to the ceiling. Her fingers snapped a look of accomplishment spread across her face. Her voice growing with excitement, the tears momentarily forgotten. "Up in masters bedroom Molly noticed an open draw and papers on the floor she just knew master would never leave it open like that. So I put all that papers back, but there was a picture missing."
She felt excitement come over her as she heard what Molly said. This could be a piece to the puzzle. "What was the picture of?" She asked.
The house-elf blinked a few times thinking again. "It was Master Foalyn, Mr. Black, Mr. Nott, and Mr. Malfoy." she replied.
Hermione felt her blood run cold three out of those four men were already dead. She bid her thanks to Molly and raced out the manor. She had to get to Harry to tell him she thinks the killer may have his next victim.