Author's Note: Yay! Introducing a new pairing in this chapter. I hope you love it as much as I do! Thank you for all the love for the last one. I think things are finally moving along quite nicely! In addition, the first story in this series, Nights in Diagon Alley has made it to the Finals in the Enchanted Awards over on the GES Facebook group. Thank you if you voted in the Semi-Finals! If you wouldn't mind taking a few minutes to pop over and vote for me again, I'd love you even more. I'm also up for a few other stories/categories. I'll list them below. The voting link is there too! Thank you in advance if you happen to vote!

*When Worlds Collide: Best Crossover*

-Nights in Diagon Alley

-Wolves without Teeth

*All the Feels: Best Angst*

-Teardrops & Teacups

VOTE HERE: h*t*tps:/drive*.*google*.*com/drive/folders/0B3wiwGvGfgYMUVZKZWF4ZkZMWUE?usp=sharing(remove the * to access the link)

Huge thanks to GaeilgeRua for beta reading today! Lots of love to you, my dear! xxDustNight

Disclaimer: All non-original characters, plot points, and information belongs to J.K. Rowling, BBC, or Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The story plot and dialogue belongs to me. I do not write for profit.

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Nights in 221B

Rated: M

Pairing: Hermione/Sherlock, Sherlock/John (implied)

Summary: When Hermione leaves the wizarding world behind, choosing to aid Sherlock in his desperate search for Moriarty, she learns much more about the consulting detective than she ever thought possible.

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Chapter Seven

"No."

"You're being unreasonable, Hermione," Harry admonished, heavily setting his teacup back into its saucer and causing it to clatter. "It's not safe for you here. You need to come back to Diagon Alley."

Huffing, Hermione threw her hands into the air and stalked towards the window in similar fashion to Sherlock when he was having a tantrum. Drawing back the curtain, she looked into the dark street below. She knew Draco and Sherlock were down there somewhere, lurking in the shadows and allowing her and Harry to have this heated discussion alone.

"It's not safe anywhere, Harry," she muttered, letting the curtain fall back into place, shielding the night from her view. Harry and Draco came through the floo a few hours ago now, interrupting Sherlock and Hermione's evening routine of research and reading. She slowly turned and gave her best friend a hard stare. "What makes you think I would be safer in Diagon Alley, or anywhere in the Wizarding sector, versus here in Muggle London?"

He opened his mouth to reply, but inevitably shut it and merely shrugged. "I worry about you. I can't help it. When you're here, I can't keep an eye on you," he admitted, rubbing a hand through his hair. Leaning back in the chair he sat, which happened to be John's, he observed her for a quiet moment. "I know you can take care of yourself, but I understand just how much you've been through, and how the War affected you. I don't want to see anything bad happen to you when you finally seem to be happy."

His words meant a lot to Hermione, and she gave him a sad smile. Dropping into her own chair, she reached across the small space and took his hand in her own. "Look, Moriarty is coming for people like me no matter where I may be. He is cunning, clever, and probably at least two steps ahead of us right now. We have to be ready for him regardless of where I'm currently living."

Harry gave her hand a squeeze before releasing his grip. "I'm just going to have to trust you on this one, huh?" Standing, Harry shoved his hands into the pockets of his robe and moved to the middle of the room. Turning slowly, he took in his surroundings before saying anything further. "You're happy here?"

"Yes," Hermione answered quietly, watching her friend carefully. He stopped and looked to her, his chest puffing up before he exhaled in a sigh. She knew he was conflicted, wanting her to be comfortable and happy, but also afraid to lose her entirely. Hell, she was still working out her situation. Never would she have thought it would be so easy to walk away from the Wizarding world, but she'd done just that.

"That's all that matters then, I suppose," Harry conceded, finally gracing her with a grin.

Saying nothing further on that matter, Hermione wrapped her arms around her middle and frowned. "Have you talked to the Creevy family yet?" She hated to bring it up, but it's why he and Draco were here, after all. They came to figure out what happened to Dennis, and possibly find any clues that Scotland Yard may have missed.

"I did," he replied, his face etched with remorse. "It was hard enough talking to the Creevy's back after the war, let alone a second time now. This Moriarty truly needs to be stopped. Our people have had enough pain and suffering this lifetime."

"We'll find him, Harry."

Footsteps were heard on the stairs, and shortly thereafter, Sherlock walked into the room followed by a grumpy looking Draco. "Molly is on her way," the detective informed them before swooping forward to peck Hermione on the cheek. He then took his seat, still bundled up in his trademark coat. He either didn't notice, or chose to ignore, the glare Draco was shooting his way from where he still lingered by the door.

"You said that she would be able to tell us more about what killed Creevy, right?" Draco piped up, crossing his arms and leaning in the doorway. One pale eyebrow was quirked as if he didn't believe Sherlock's friends would be able to help in the slightest.

"I trust Molly's expertise in this area, explicitly. In fact, I would trust her with my life," Sherlock informed Draco, eyes narrowing in distaste.

"Well, that's good to know," a cheerful voice piped up from behind Draco, causing him to startle and whirl around. Luckily, he didn't raise his wand. The smiling face of Molly Hooper was revealed as she stepped around the flustered wizard so she could enter the room. "Hi, everyone!" She said with a wave. "I hope I'm not too late. The autopsy took a bit longer than I imagined."

"You're fine, Molly," Sherlock replied, standing again to go make tea. Hermione gave him a strange look since it was usually her that made tea for guests. "What do you have for us?"

"Oh? Who are you two? I don't believe we've met. I'm Molly Hooper," the woman introduced herself to the two wizards, ignoring Sherlock's question. She shook each of their hands in turn. "Sherlock told me you have, um, special powers just like Hermione."

"By the time we solve this case, all of London is going to know about witches and wizards," Draco grumbled as he watched Harry shake her hand and introduce himself. "I'm Draco, Draco Malfoy," he told her, taking her small hand in his when it was his turn. As she smiled up at him, he felt his heart speed up. She was far prettier than he'd originally noticed, and she didn't seem to mind his bad attitude.

"Oh, so you're Draco! Sherlock mentioned you used to date Hermione." She turned and sent a dramatic wink towards Hermione, who she had met a few weeks prior when Sherlock was working another case.

"Come now, Molly," Hermione spoke as she stood to help Sherlock carry the tea into the room. "Draco doesn't like to be teased. Have some tea and tell Sherlock about that file in your jacket before he has to steal it from you." She laughed at the flabbergasted look on Draco's pointed face.

Molly laughed too, but for an entirely different reason. "You really have been spending a lot of time around Sherlock. I thought I had this thing pretty well hidden." From inside her coat she extracted the folder which was promptly plucked from her hand by Sherlock's nimble fingers. Taking a seat on the sofa, she accepted a cup of tea from Hermione.

"He sort of rubs off on you," Hermione admitted, joining the pathologist on the sofa. She gave her lover a fond smile when he briefly glanced her way before returning his attention to the file he was reading.

"He does," Molly said with a shrug before sipping her tea. "So, what do you think, Sherlock? I didn't find anything out of the ordinary in the victim's blood, but his pupils were dilated and his skin was an odd sort of grey that isn't typical of the deceased."

"Potion?" Harry wondered aloud, peering over Sherlock's shoulder to get a better look at the file. "We know Moriarty is incapable of performing magic, so it couldn't be a killing curse."

"There's something odd about this, that is certain," Sherlock mumbled, closing the file and handing it to Harry. He then ran both hands up over his face and through his hair. "I am going to need you to check again, Molly. Check his heart and liver, and possibly his tongue." He hurried toward his friend and grabbed hold of her arm, gently.

"Um, sure. Alright," Molly managed to say as she was lifted to her feet. "If it's that urgent, I guess I can go back and take another look tonight. Thanks for the tea, Hermione."

"You're welcome," Hermione replied with a frown as she took the hardly touched tea back from Molly before it could spill. She gave Sherlock a stern look as he all but herded Molly to the door. "Sherlock, you don't have to push."

"This is important, and you and I need to check into something, as well, before the night is through." He grabbed Hermione's coat from where it was hanging and threw it to her. "Potter, you should return to the Wizarding sector. I believe you will be more use to us there at the moment."

Hermione sighed in exasperation. "Don't you think I should go with Molly. She may need a wizard's expertise on this case." She hated to volunteer, especially since she had no desire to see her former schoolmate lying dead on a cold, hard slab. She bit her lip as Sherlock regarded her pensively, obviously deducing her current state of well-being. She knew the moment he realized she was completely unstable for such a task, but before he could voice his concern, someone else chimed in.

"I can go with her."

Every face in the room turned to stare at Draco, who had been the one to volunteer. Obviously uncomfortable by the sudden attention, he coughed and scratched at the back of his head. "It makes the most sense, I mean. Potter you're the lead on this case and Hermione really shouldn't… She has to help Sherlock," he ended a bit lamely, glowering as he glanced away from their stares.

Hermione clapped once, determined to break the awkward silence. "That settles it then. Harry, back to the Ministry for you while Sherlock and I chase whatever lead he's discovered. Molly, you take Draco with you back to Bart's and see if we can't discover any magical properties lingering from Moriarty. Sound good?"

"That works for me," Molly said with a shrug. "Come on, Draco. We can get a cab back to the hospital. See you sometime tomorrow?"

"Of course," Hermione told her, shrugging into her jacket. With a final nod, the pathologist and Draco disappeared down the stairs. She then turned to Harry with raised eyebrows. "Never saw that coming."

"What?" Her friend asked, oblivious to what she'd picked up on. He was headed to the fireplace, pulling a satchel of floo powder from the inside of his robes. "What's happening?"

"Molly and Draco. He was totally into her." She was grinning as Harry's mouth practically dropped open in shock.

"They just met."

"So? I knew there was something special about Sherlock the night I met him." Sherlock rolled his eyes at her as he shoved a few trinkets and his mobile into the pocket of his coat.

"I'll wait and see what happens, if you don't mind." Harry stepped into the fireplace and threw down a handful of floo powder. "See you later. The Ministry!"

"They'll be engaged in three months," Sherlock told her, looping his arm through hers and leading her to the door.

She let him lead her downstairs and into the night, not caring that she had no idea where they were off to. "What about us?" She inquired playfully, giggling when he shot her a look of admonishment.

"When the time is right, you will force me to marry you," he mumbled, pausing to hail a cab at the curb. The corner of his mouth lifted slightly as he turned to her. "And I will fight you over the color of the bridesmaids dresses-midnight blue, by the way-but you'll allow me to choose the honeymoon in the end."

"Oh really?" She whispered as Sherlock tugged her close. She smiled warmly up at him, her heart fluttering in her chest despite the tragedy and worry that lingered at the back of her mind.

"Yes," he said smugly before capturing her lips in a searing kiss just as the cab pulled up to the curb. Pulling back slightly so he could look into her chocolate eyes, he continued as if never stopping, "Now, let us go and pick up John. We're going to need his expertise for the next part of this case."

She nodded, heart full, before allowing him to open the door to the cab and help her inside. She briefly thought of Draco and the possibility that he may find happiness with Molly, and vice versa. Despite the chaos of the case, somehow the two had managed to find each other, just like Sherlock had found her. Sometimes, even in the darkest of nights, one just had to find their light.* Sherlock was her light, and tonight, he was shining just for her. As he settled next to her in the back seat of the cab, taking her hand in his, she tried to remind herself that as long as he was by her side, the nights wouldn't be so dark.

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*play off of Dumbledore's quote, "Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light."