I'll be honored if anyone thinks J.K. Rowling wrote this.

EARLY TUESDAY MORNING – GRIMMAULD PLACE

Hermione rubbed her eyes. The four of them had put the memories of the three interviews into a pensieve and had been in the family room watching them over and over again looking for evidence. Now they were in the kitchen discussing once again what they had seen. "I wish I could say it was a sure thing, but it really depends on the judges. Remember, we have to convince all three that the trial should be postponed pending further investigation. To me it's obvious that any of the three you talked to could have been the poisoner. All had motive, means, and opportunity. It comes down to the willingness to act, and that's where Snape's in trouble. Everyone knows he's able to kill in cold blood. On the other hand, Robins never got his hands dirty. Diggory killed a person, but it was during a battle. Turpin was an auror with one significant black mark on his record; however, although he's been bitter since, there hasn't been any indication that he would murder someone in cold blood. Without additional evidence, none can be forced to take veritaserum."

Ginny glumly used her wand to warm up the coffee she was drinking to stay awake and took a sip. "I would guess that suggesting your client is innocent because he could kill more professionally won't get Snape off."

Hermione put her head on the table. "I feel so helpless. We must be missing something."

Harry put his head back, bending his neck over the back of the chair. "We can't give up now."

Ron snorted. "I think we've gone about as far as we can go. Snape's trial begins in, what, just over twenty-four hours now. We don't have any more leads. We've talked to everyone who could possibly help us, including the portraits. Even the gossip only got us so far. I want to help him too, mate, but just sitting around talking to each other isn't going to do any good at this point."

Hermione suddenly sat up with a jolt as she exclaimed "Ron – you're a genius!" She dashed back into the family room and dove into the pensieve. He looked confusedly after her and muttered, "Thank you."

"What are you two waiting for?" exclaimed Ginny after a moment as she jumped up. That shook the two wizards out of their shock and the three raced into the family room. They joined Hermione in the pensieve, and found themselves in the Robins' living room.

"What are we looking for, Hermione?" whispered Ginny.

"Hush. Watch Leala," Hermione murmured back, never removing her eyes from Taylor's wife. "…I don't see who orders specific files and have no idea what the Director was investigating," she was saying. "That's it!" Hermione exclaimed. "Ginny, when you gave the Headmistress the list of names to see if they had a potions NEWT, did you ask about Leala Robins?"

Ginny nodded. "Yes, I did. She was on our list but we didn't see her name on the NEWT scroll."

"By chance, did you cross-reference her by her maiden name?"

Ginny's mouth dropped open. "No, I checked under her current name."

"Would you mind contacting the Headmistress again to check under her maiden name?"

"Sure, Hermione. Do we know what her maiden name was?"

Harry felt excitement building. "Let me look at my notes – I saw it when I was going through her husband's file. But why are we asking?" The three looked at Hermione expectantly as the memory conversation continued around them.

"You pointed it out, Ron. People talk! When I go to the Files Room I usually don't see more than two or three workers at a time. More aren't needed since magic handles most of the actual work. Leala may not see who summons specific files, but I'm guessing that her office is like every other in the world in that people talk to their office co-workers about what they're doing, especially if it's juicy. And even if not, in an office that small she's going to have some access to whatever check-out system is used. She'll know if a major case is being pursued." The four made their way out of the pensieve as Taylor was talking about letting bygones be bygones.

Harry immediately summoned his notes and skimmed through them. "Found it! Her name was Branstone before she got married."

Ginny ran to the fireplace and called for Hogwarts. A few minutes later, she backed out of the floo again, smiling triumphantly. "I think we've done it! The name jogged the Headmistress' memory. Although Leala Branstone didn't earn a potions NEWT, she did have advanced potions training. Apparently she'd been a good student but she dropped out just before the test. Her mother had died suddenly and she left school to help take care of her two much younger brothers. She never returned."

Though she was the one who found a connection, Hermione was also the one who offered a caution. "We're still guessing. We don't have proof yet that Madley had called for Taylor's files, that Leala knew about it, or that she's capable of murder."

Ron rubbed his chin. "Draco said she was a Hufflepuff, and they prize loyalty. The fact that she dropped completely out of school to help at home shows she's loyal to her family. Historically, it's not unknown for one Hufflepuff spouse to kill to protect the other."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "I'm sure people who have killed to protect their spouse have come from every House. In any case, right now it's all circumstantial."

Harry snorted. "Circumstantial is all they have on Snape. We'll head back to the MLE and see what we can find. When the first Files Room worker comes in, we can start asking questions."

TUESDAY MORNING – MLE

Harry and Ron looked around the deserted room. They again tried to summon the list of cases Madley had been working on but were still unsuccessful. Frustrated, they finally sat down to wait for someone on the staff to show up.

At eight, a worker finally arrived. Harry recognized her from the visual recording he had seen on Saturday. She looked surprised to see anyone there. "Can I help you?"

"I'm Auror Potter and this is Auror Weasley. We're working on the Madley investigation."

"Oh – of course! I'm Salina Mann, the Head Clerk. I thought the case was already closed." She made her way over to a desk in the corner and summoned a pot of aromatic orange spice tea and some cups. "Want some?" she asked, holding out the pot.

With an appreciative sniff, Ron replied, "That would be grand, thanks." He took cups for both himself and Harry. "There's been an arrest, but some doubt remains and we're looking into the loose ends." Taking a soothing sip of the tea, he smiled engagingly at Salina. "It would really help if we knew what sort of cases the Director was working on before he was poisoned. After all, if he was getting close to an arrest, then someone could have had a motive to get him out of the way."

Salina smiled at them. "I may only be Files Room worker, but I wondered why Mr. Peakes didn't ask that very question right after the poison was identified." She shrugged. "I just thought it wasn't needed, that the murder must have been unrelated to anything Mr. Madley was working on. I'll get the list for you." She drew her wand. "Accio compressi a commentariis Madley quae ego auctoritate meae." As a sheet of paper flew into her hand, Harry and Ron looked at each other. "Never would have guessed that one, mate," Ron whispered. Harry nodded.

"Mr. Madley was, of course, briefed on every high-profile investigation and thus the list is quite long. However, it seems he was focusing on two cases." She summoned two folders. Opening the first one that appeared on her desk, she glanced at a summary page. "This one involves the daughter of a Wizengamut member who was beaten to death about three years ago; it seems her ex-boyfriend Gainor Overbridge is about to be arrested. That may have been a crime of passion as she was seeing another wizard at the same time she was dating him." As she was speaking, a second folder had landed on her desk. She closed the first folder and opened the new one. "This one involves a high-ranking Death Eater supporter, Taylor Robins. He …"

Harry felt his heart begin to race and interrupted. "Can we see those files?"

Salina was startled at the interruption but smiled. "Of course, you're authorized aurors." Obligingly, she handed the files over to him.

"Thanks, you've been very helpful." Taking the folders, he and Ron sat down at a nearby table. They quickly dismissed Overbridge; it seemed he was a high-profile case only due to the identity of his victim. Harry eagerly picked up Robins' folder to see what he had missed on Saturday afternoon. His heart sank as he scanned through it. It was exactly as he'd remembered. "There doesn't seem to be anything incriminating in here suggesting that Madley was actively pursuing a case against him," he said, puzzled. "Is there a supplemental file someplace else?"

Salina creased her brow and came over. "Let me see it." She quickly paged through it. "That's odd – you're right. This is all pretty innocuous." She bit her lip. "There's nothing in here to warrant the file being accessed so frequently or to account for the amount of time Mr. Madley kept it in his office." She drummed her fingers on the table. "Let me try something. There's a Head Clerk security spell I can use that will reveal if documents in a file have been removed without authorization." She pointed her wand at the cover of the file and said, "Revelabit libellis removentur a viscosum digitos." Approximately two dozen spectral pages floated up from the folder. It was hard to read the ghostly documents but they seemed to be financial and bank statements as well as several legal depositions.

One caught Ron's attention. "Hey – look at this one. Isn't that Madley's writing?" Squinting, he looked at it from several angles. "It looks an arrest warrant was imminent." He pointed at the top of the page. "The memo is dated the day of the party."

Harry pounded the table in excitement. "That's it! That's the smoking wand we've been looking for!" Turning to Salina, he asked, "Is there any record of people who have had access to this file since Madley was poisoned?"

The Head Clerk made a motion with her wand. "It was returned to this room very early Friday, just after midnight. That must have been when Mr. Madley collapsed from the effects of the poison; all files in his office were automatically returned at that point. It seems like the spells here in the Files Room must have been acting up again, because it was manually filed at 8:28 that morning." She looked at them sharply. "I see you reviewed the file Saturday afternoon. If you already knew he was being investigated, why did you need me to see if Mr. Madley had checked out his files?"

Harry frowned in thought. "I didn't see anything incriminating in the file and had hoped either I'd overlooked something or something might have been added since then. It's a good thing we came back – thanks to you we know someone removed documents from it prior to Saturday afternoon. Do you know who filed the folder after it was returned from Mr. Madley's office?"

Salina summoned a logbook. "It looks like Leala Robins. I see she came in Saturday morning – she must have gotten word that the filing spells were malfunctioning again. "

Harry leaned forward. "Did you know Leala is married to Taylor?"

Salina laughed. "No, you're mistaken. Robins is a common name. When I first saw the file I teased her about being related to someone Mr. Madley was interested in, and she assured me he was only a very distant cousin that she has no contact with."

Harry and Ron looked at each other before turning their attention back to the witch. "Interesting. Do you know when she'll be back in the office? We need to talk with her."

Salina spelled the files back to her desk; the ghostly pages followed. "She sent an owl to let me know she was taking a day off. She's not feeling well."

Ron put down his cup. "Sorry to hear that. We'll catch up with her later then. Thank you for your help."

Salina smiled at them. "I'm glad to be of assistance." Turning somber, she added, "I need to file a report on the missing documents. I'm not looking forward to the investigation that will follow. Records tampering is a serious offence."

The aurors exchanged a glance. "Can you hold off for a day or two?" Ron asked. "It could adversely impact the case if word gets out to the wrong people that we've discovered that papers are missing."

Salina nodded. "It will take me that long to gather the information I need. Let me know if you need to see the missing documents again."

After again expressing their appreciation, the two aurors made their way to Harry's office. Ron sank down into the visitor's chair while Harry cast a muffliato after shutting the door. Ron leaned his head back with his hands behind his head. "So now we know Leala knew Madley was investigating her husband and had access to his file. We also know she knew how to brew a deadly concentration of dragon dew and that she was at the Victory Day celebration."

Harry nodded as he sat down behind his desk. "And we know why she would have used dragon dew. She knew the record would be returned to the Files Room upon the Director's incapacitation. By giving him a poison which did not result in immediate death, she could intercept the folder and remove the incriminating pages before he died. That way, even if the files Madley was working on at the time of his death were investigated, there would be nothing damaging against her husband in them. She hoped that would be the end of the case against him and she was inadvertently helped by the fact that Peakes assumed Snape was the murderer and did not look any further. She apparently didn't know about the Head Clerk's security spell. If we hadn't become involved, it's possible no one would have ever given Robins' file a second look."

Ron tapped his fingers together. "The only question is if she acted alone or if she and Taylor worked together."

Harry smiled grimly. "I think it's time to pay a return visit on the Robins."

TUESDAY AFTERNOON – THE ROBINS' HOUSE

Once again Harry and Ron found themselves outside the two story brick home. Again, Leala answered the door. She did not look happy to see them.

"Auror Potter, Auror Weasley. I'm sorry; you've come at a bad time as I'm not feeling well. Perhaps you can return tomorrow if I'm feeling better."

Harry shook his head. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Robins. We need to talk with you now."

Leala hesitated then let them in, directing them to the same living room they had sat in during their prior interview. Before they could stop her, she called out, "Taylor, could you come here?"

"We'd prefer to talk with you alone, ma'am," Ron said politely. "We'll interview your husband in a few minutes."

"Absolutely not. I'll not have aurors talk to my wife alone," the wizard demanded as he strode into the room.

"Very well." Harry motioned the Robins to sit down. "This might take a while."

"What's this all about, Potter?" Taylor said firmly. Harry notice Leala's hands were twisting in her lap; she refused to look up.

Harry made sure his wand was readily accessible; Ron copied him. "It appears an important file is missing some documents and your wife was the last one to have access to it."

"That doesn't mean anything. The pages could have gone missing before they were returned to the Files Room. I suggest you investigate the last person who had the file checked out."

"That won't be possible. Mr. Madley was personally reviewing the file the day he was poisoned."

"So maybe he removed the pages. He may have had the reputation of being incorruptible, but maybe someone found his price. It's not unknown. Even the most powerful wizards can be appeased with enough money."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Such as Voldemort?"

Taylor froze for a moment. "I have no idea what you're talking about. It's true I supported a perfectly legal party that was later found to be a front for he-who-must-not-be-named, but that's a far cry from having any personal knowledge of how he operated. Remember, he tortured me for protecting Leala's relatives."

"It's interesting, Mr. Robins, that he then let you, as well as your relatives, go free."

Taylor tapped his fingers together. "I don't know what you're insinuating, Potter, but I don't like it."

Leala looked up. "There's no proof in the files that my husband ever did anything wrong. Get out of here."

Harry turned a hard gaze at her. "I never said that we were talking about your husband's file."

"I – I – that is …" she came to a halt.

Taylor looked at her with a questioning look on his face. "Leala? Why would you do such a thing?"

"They were about to arrest you, Taylor! I had to stop it! You saved my family – I couldn't let you go to Azkaban for that!"

"But I won't go to Azkaban! I've already met with my lawyer and he agrees that everything I did was legal at the time." That technicality, he thought smugly to himself, together with the money he had already liberally dispensed among select Ministry officials would guarantee his freedom. After all, he had been able to bribe his way out from the clutches of the Dark Lord. Compared to that, escaping Ministry justice would be a breeze. He took a deep breath and shook his head. "You were foolish for taking those pages. I knew Madley was investigating me. I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to worry just because Madley wanted to make headlines. Now you're going to lose your job and possibly go to trial." He embraced his wife. "Ah, Leala. We'll get through this." Though I'll have to pay out even more, he added to himself.

Harry shook his head. "There's no doubt about going to trial. Record tampering will be just the first charge among several, more serious, ones."

"More charges?" At first puzzled, Taylor slowly began to look horrified and pulled away from his wife. "You don't mean …" He stared, stunned. "What did you do, Leala? Don't tell me that it was you that poisoned Madley!" he pleaded in a choked voice.

Leala put her face in her hands and sobbed. "I had to take action before you were arrested. I couldn't let you be dragged through the mud!"

Taylor looked like he was going into shock. "That would have been forgotten in a few years. But now you've guaranteed yourself a lifetime in Azkaban if not a dementor's kiss! How could you?"

"I did it all for you, Taylor! All of this was for you!"

Harry and Ron stood up. "I'm afraid you're going to have to come with us, Mrs. Robins." They led the broken woman to the door and apparated to the MLE holding cells.

TUESDAY LATE AFTERNOON – MLE

After processing Leala, which included a full confession by the now hysterical woman, Harry and Ron made their way to Peakes' office. A short wait later, spent listening to the receptionist complaining about the work required to move to a new office, they were invited in.

"Potter, Weasley, what do you need?" Peakes asked looking up from directing his possession into boxes. "I'll be moving into the Director's office on Thursday and don't have time to chat."

Harry stepped forward "Sir, we've found and arrested Mr. Madley's murderer."

With Peakes' attention distracted, several floating plaques and knick-knacks crashed to the floor. He cursed under his breath and cast a three quick reparos. He then turned to them, clearly annoyed. "The murderer is already in a holding cell. He'll be transported to Azkaban tomorrow, immediately after his trial."

"No, sir. You authorized me to continue the investigation. It turns out the murderer was an employee here in the MLE who thought that by poisoning Mr. Madley she would be protecting her husband from prosecution for providing support to Voldemort."

Peakes folded his arms across his chest. "The evidence against Snape is pretty clear-cut. You're mistaken. You boys had better recheck your evidence."

The two aurors shook their heads. "No, sir," Harry explained. "The real murderer confessed to us." Ron nodded in agreement, adding, "We can show you our memories."

Peakes leaned back against his desk and sighed. "Merlin!" he muttered. "I thought I'd finally caught that oily snake." He turned around to get a pensieve from the shelf behind him and slammed it onto his desk. "Let me see those memories right now. If I think the confession is sufficient for a conviction, I'll send you down to Snape's cell with a release order."

TUESDAY EVENING – HOGWARTS

"Welcome back, Severus!" Minerva rushed over to the floo in her office and gave him a hug. "Has the ludicrous charge against you been dropped?"

Snape stiffly accepted the hug before quickly stepping forward to get out of the way as Harry and Ron came through. "Yes, Headmistress. Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley tracked down the real murderer and were able to obtain a confession."

Harry smiled. "With your help, sir, as well as that of Hermione and Ginny. And Professor McGonagall, if you hadn't shortened the suspect list, we might have been too late."

In his portrait, Dumbledore leaned forward in his chair and smiled. "Severus, my boy, haven't I told you for the past five years that you are not alone, that you can rely on your friends to help."

Snape thoughtfully nodded.

The Headmistress motioned everyone to sit down. She called for an elf and asked him for a bottle of Ogden's finest and four glasses. After she poured them all drinks she held up her glass and made a toast to Severus' freedom. She then took a close at her potions professor. "You don't look too worse for the wear. Were you treated all right?"

Snape paused before replying to enjoy the burn of the drink going down his throat. He then shrugged. "I was treated much better than the last time I was in custody. For some reason, the guards seemed to be leery about upsetting me too much."

Harry snorted as he raised his own glass. "You do realize that if we hadn't been successful in identifying the real murderer, your best defense would have been that if you had done it, you would have been skilled enough not to have been caught."

Snape raised an eyebrow. "I can't help it if I'm good at what I do." He paused. "I admit that it would be an interesting challenge …"

McGonagall glared at him. "Absolutely not, Severus."

Snape raised his glass into the air and looked at it speculatively. "How about just causing a severe stomach upset?"

"Severus…"

"A minor one?"

"No!" McGonagall then smiled at him and raised her own glass.

"You just don't want me to have any fun," Snape sighed, but his mouth was twitching in an effort to keep from laughing. He took a final sip, and then put his glass down. "Headmistress, I appreciate this small get together, but I must be getting back to my office. I have classes tomorrow and I have been unable to prepare for them." He paused and smirked. "I believe the students will be interested in learning about poisons."

Ron gasped and Harry sputtered. Minerva just rolled her eyes. "I don't believe that's on the ministry-approved syllabus, Severus." She leaned back contentedly. "I'm sure the students will be happy to see you at breakfast tomorrow."

Snape snickered. "I'm sure they'll be ecstatic. Goodnight, all. Thank you." He stood and walked the door. Pausing a moment with his hand on its handle, he looked back. "And Headmistress, I'm looking forward to being Acting Headmaster during next year's Victory Day celebration."

Thank you for reading! Any thoughts, comments, or reviews would be gratefully appreciated!