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"No!" man's scream sounded loudly in quite apartment.
His neighbors alarmed ran out on the corridor. Gideon Crux was kneeling on the floor, his face frozen in a wince of pain and terror, his eyes fixed on bodies of his wife and daughter lying before him.
First Aurors appeared five minutes later.
With time the flat was filled with man and women clad in uniforms. It wasn't anymore a flat of the happy family but a place of brutal murder.
Harry looked at the cruel contrast between walls of the room covered with children's pictures and family photographs with the floor streaming with blood and bodies hidden under white sheets. He squatted and raised a corner of the sheet. It was another familiar face. Millicent Crux, née Bulstrode, had died with her eyes wide open in terror. Her entire body was covered with clotted blood. Harry took a deep breath and moved his eyes lower. A little girl, Ivy embraced her mother. Her small arms were drowned in blood. Harry noticed that bones of girl's arms had been broken, he was able to see bones that had pierced child's sensitive skin. The sight alone was making him nauseous.
"It's horrible" Thomas came up ready to give his report.
Harry put the sheet down and got up.
" Where is Ginny? " he asked
"Auror Weasley is by the door. She's keeping reporters away. Mr Crux is in the next room. A healer gave him something to calm him down. We waited with interrogation for you "
Harry nodded his head. Last thing they needed right now were bodies on front pages.
"What do we know so far?" Ron asked averting his gaze from battered bodies
" Millicent Crux was staying at home mom, her husband works as a salesman. Today, he left for work around 7.30 a.m. Millicent Crux was last seen around 11 a.m. when she talked with the neighbor , after that no one saw neither her nor her daughter "
Harry looked at his watch,it was 3 p.m. On the normal day he would have been sitting opposite Pansy in their café, but there was nothing normal about this day.
"Who found them?" Harry asked pulling away his thoughts from Pansy, and Ron's earlier suggestion.
"Mr Crux, he got back home about 2.40. He claims that he was at work all day long . We'll have to check it but what kind of father would do something like that to his own child?"
Harry couldn't disagree with him. The murderer had had about three and half an hour to get inside home and kill it residents. It was more than enough time.
" Do we have anything else? Is something missing, did they keep money or jewelery here? " Ron asked in faint hope that this attack had been only a robbery
"No, according to Mr Crux everything is the way it was. They were really an average family, there was nothing special about them "
"Alright Thomas take care of transporting bodies to St Mungo's, and we will talk with Mr Crux"
Thomas nodded grateful that he wouldn't be the one interrogating agonized man
" We will catch this guy, right?" Ron and Harry nodded in a silent vow.
"Why did somebody do it? Why? " Gideon was in shock " Milli and my little girl! My little princess! Why? " he sobbed tightening his hands around the photograph he was holding.
Harry looked at him with sympathy " Mr Crux, I know that this is not a right moment, but we would like to ask you a few questions. I'm sorry but it's necessary. "
"Of course, I understand, it's your job " Gideon said trying to calm down " Ask away "
"Were your wife recently worried about anything? Did she say anything about being observed , or did someone threaten her?" Harry started with a standard series of questions
"Not more than usual" Gideon shrugged
"What do you mean ? Did someone threaten her? "
"Milli, her family had been associated with Voldemort " Gideon explained " People, they sometimes called her names, several times she was asked to leave the shop , you know the ordinary things you had to hear about a dozen times already. Milli told me not to worry about it. That it happened to all of her friends so there was no need to worry about it" Gideon's shoulders shook helplessly.
" Did it happen to you also?" Ron asked curious
" No, I was brought up in US, I came here 5 years ago. I met Milli, we fell in love and I stayed "
Harry and Ron looked at themselves. Ivy Crux was about 8 years old.
"That means that Ivy weren't your daughter? " Harry asked
" She was! " Gideon almost shouted " she was my daughter, in every sense of this word apart from biological "
" And what about her biological father? Did he stay in touch with his daughter? "
" Ivy's father was Milli's first husband , but he died during the war" Gideon looked at Harry "Actually, I think you may knew him, his name was Crabbe, Vincent Crabbe"
Harry stared at him amazed with that piece of information.
" Only few persons knew about it . They got married during the war as many others" Gideon stated seeing Aurors shocked expressions .
" I see. Do you remember anything strange about today? Maybe when you were leaving for work you noticed something?"
" No, everything was normal. I ate my breakfast, I was in a hurry because the boss doesn't like me being late. I kissed Milli goodbye, Ivy was sleeping in her room. Everything was perfect" Gideon bit his lips
" And Millicent, what was her plans for today? "
"Nothing special, shopping, preparing the dinner. If the weather was good a walk to the park with Ivy"
Gideon looked at the photograph he kept in his hands.
"It's us on the picnic" he said with breaking voice and handed them a photograph . Harry looked at the small girl sitting between her parents and waving at him. Who had been able to hurt someone so innocent, so pure?
" Do you have children Mr Potter?"
" No, I don't" Harry returned photograph to the mourning man
"They are the biggest treasure a man can have. The greatest." Gideon started encircling with his finger a silhouette of his wive and daughter and Harry knew that they would get nothing more from him.
" Thank you for your help Mr Crux " Harry got up "Do you want us to notify somebody? A family, or friends?"
Gideon shook his head. He didn't listen to them. In silence he fixed his eyes on the photograph from happiest times.
Harry and Ron breathed, when they left from the flat filled with mourning and joined Thomas, who was waiting for them.
"Ginny took bodies to St Mungo's " Thomas explained "Auror Weasley, ordered you to join him there as soon as you finish interrogations. They brought in the expert in recovering memories"
" Let's go then" Harry quickened his step.
"There is one thing I don't understand " Ron started when they walked few meters "why did he kill the girl?"
" Maybe he wanted to kill the entire family? "Thomas suggested „ Perhaps he planned waiting for the father, but panicked?"
" What do you think Harry?"
Harry stopped puzzled.
"I don't know" he finally admitted "I don't know how somebody could do such thing"
Once they reached St Mungo's they headed directly to the mortuary where Arthur was waiting for them. This case was their priority. Nobody who murdered the mother and the daughter could go unpunished. They had to find him. Together they entered the mortuary and greeted with Arthur, and the gray-haired expert on recovering memories Esmond Morley. His presence was the best proof just how seriously Ministry treated the case. He was the best and the most expensive specialist in their world. A living legend.
"Oh, good, you are on 're about to start" Esmond stood at the head of the table focusing his cold baby blues eyes on victims uncovered heads. They watched him working in silence.
" It's no use " Esmond announced after a moment reluctantly covering Millicent's face with the sheet " There is nothing left here "
"How is it possible?" Ron asked irritated
" A wizard you are looking for is not only very cruel, but also very clever " Esmond announced directing his gaze towards the body of the little girl "the curse he used ripped the mind of the victim to shreds. There is nothing left for me to work with"
Esmond knitted his brows and with gentle gesture completely, not fitting his powerful figure swept her tangled up hair aside.
" Poor little thing. " he stated with deep voice.
" So it's useless, we still got nothing" Ron summed up " Bollocks!"
"Wait a minute, don't give up just yet " Esmond focused and put his hands onto Ivy's head "strange, the curse didn't created such big damage here"
" From the position of the bodies and wounds we assumed that the mother had tried to shield the daughter with her own body" Harry explained
" Yes, it's possible that it stopped the curse to some degree at least " Esmond agreed "we may have something here after all, but it is only an image, I would have to work longer to get the rest " Esmond stated "when the mother shielded her, the girl couldn't really see anything clear, so it's rather a glimpse"
Aurors bend over the table watching the image of the last thing little Ivy Crux had seen before her brutal death.
"Sweet Merlin!" Ron groaned " Not again!"
The man on the picture was wearing a mask, a white Death Eater mask. Harry clenched his jaw and raised his head, his eyes coming across Artur's grave and worried look. A murder was always a bad thing, but a murder wearing a Death Eater mask was a nightmare coming true. How they were supposed to find him?
"Dad! Dad! We have something! " Ginny ran into mortuary breathless" The wand! We examine it, and we have a match. The wand used today was also used to kill elves at Pearl Lake "
Harry and Ron exchanged glances. They had been right. It was only a beginning.
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