Hello Everyone! I want to thank everyone who has reviewed this. I love hearing what you all think. There was one review asking about Auror training, and how it is stated in the books to take 3 years. My plan was for two years of advanced magical education and then the final year being a probationary Auroro. I had all of this in my notes, but alas I completely forgot to put it in the chapters. Teddy and Whistler are actually Probies right now and won't become full Aurors until they've finished their first year and Morris gives his recommendation.
As always, please review and let me know what you think! Sadly Harry Potter is not mine, but the wonderful J.K. Rowlings.
"Okay, Peter, show it to me again," Teddy said.
"But Ted, I've already walked you through it a thousand times." Peter's hair was messy, and he looked exhausted. They were, after all, getting into the early hours of the morning, but Teddy didn't care. They needed to keep combing through Peter's findings until they found something that would explain it all, something that cleared Ravi, that proved that she was innocent. Peter glared at Teddy, yawning, his arms crossed.
"Fine," he said flatly. "But then I am going home to sleep. Stare at the body all night if you want to, but I need my rest."
Teddy nodded but said nothing else, waiting for Peter to begin once again. Nothing new came to Teddy as he watched Peter explain the puncture marks once again. Teddy had matched them against every kind of tooth he could think of – a Muggle trick he had picked up – and his conclusion was that due to their small, curved, narrow shape, the only things that could leave a mark like that were vampire fangs.
Vampires were rare, though they were more common in the rest of Europe than they were in England. As the condition had to be passed on deliberately rather than randomly, like werewolf bites, and few people wanted to give up food in exchange for blood, vampires' numbers were dwindling. There were only two registered vampires in all of the UK: Ravi and another vampire named Sanguini. Sanguine had emigrated from Italy, while Ravi had been attacked while traveling in Transylvania, just after her graduation from Hogwarts. As far as Teddy was aware, she had never feasted on a human before, preferring a diet of animal blood.
"Look," he said, "if it is a vampire that killed Rose, then we can't just jump to the conclusion that it was Ravi. She has no history of attacking humans."
It was a statement that he had voiced already. As expected, Peter came back with the same response that he had the last three times.
"It happened in her house, and we have no records of her being in contact with any other vampires. And Sanguini is currently on the road with that strange fellow he's friends with."
"But Sanguini has a history of consuming human blood."
"Then go and talk to him, Teddy, but the chances of one vampire drinking someone dry in a separate vampire's home…" Peter let his thoughts trail off as he covered the body and put a Freezing Charm on it. Teddy still stared at it, imagining Rose's dead face beneath the cloth.
"Right," Peter said, turning off the light and putting his traveling cloak on. "I either have to hand over the body to the Muggles, or tell Harry this information tomorrow morning. You've got until then to find something that clears her. Or they'll have to take her in."
With that, Peter took the lift up towards the Atrium and left Teddy sitting alone in the dark.
Harry had always told Teddy to trust his instincts, which currently screamed that Ravi was not responsible. However, Teddy's gut alone would not be able to clear her. Ravi was on the run, o one apart from he and Kaylee knew where she was, and Teddy really did not think that Sanguini had killed Rose. Peter was right – he was currently traveling through Ireland. Vampires were faster than normal human beings, but not that quick.
Teddy sighed, rubbing his temples. He knew that if Ravi was caught, she would be convicted swiftly. The trial would be only a formality, and she would join the long list of dark creatures that wanted to be good, but could just not help themselves around uncontaminated people.
Trying to keep his anger down, Teddy made his decision and took the lift to the Muggle Liaison office. He doubted that Kaylee would still be in the office, but at the very least he could leave her a note. The Auror Office and Department of International Magical Cooperation seemed to be the only ones that truly never shut down. Teddy was surprised, however, to see Kaylee still sitting at her desk. She was quietly humming the newest Weird Sisters single while doodling on her notepad. Teddy cleared his throat and she spun around, smiling widely.
"What are you still doing here?" he asked.
She twirled around in her chair a few times before answering. "Well, we're partners right now. I figured you were staying for some reason, so I thought I'd hang around and catch up on work, just in case you needed something."
He stared at her for a moment, wondering why she wouldn't choose to do something else with her Friday night. Then, just like she had done before, Kaylee seemed to answer the question that he had not said out loud.
"Whistler and I had plans, but she's on her security detail. Poor girl pulled the short straw and got sent to Azkaban for a twelve-hour shift."
"Well, I need a favor." Teddy looked around to make sure no one was going to overhear him. "I need you to let me back into the crime scene."
Kaylee stared at him for a long while before speaking, and Teddy thought he might finally understand how she and Whistler had become best friends. Then she nodded, and with a flick of her wand, filed the reports that she had been working on and stood up. As she started to walk away, Teddy stared after her. He had not intended for Kaylee to come with him.
"Come on," she waved, without looking back. "It's not like the charm can be undone from here."
He ran after her and joined her in one of the lifts. Their footsteps echoed in the empty hall as they walked towards the fountain, and then they spun on the spot, appearing in front of Ravi's house.
Kaylee wobbled upon landing and grabbed Teddy's arm to steady herself. There was no one else on the street, and Teddy thought he heard distant bells chiming the early hours of the morning. Kaylee waved her wand, and Teddy assumed that the spell that would alert the authorities to someone entering the crime scene had been silenced.
He opened the door and waited to see if any alarms went off, but the place remained still and quiet. He murmured a thank-you to Kaylee before attempting to close the door behind him. It bounced back open. Teddy looked down and saw Kaylee's foot firmly rooted halfway across the threshold. She tried to step forward, but Teddy blocked her path with his arm.
Kaylee sighed but stepped back. "You're not going to let me come with you. And you don't want me to ask why, do you?"
Teddy shook his head. She shrugged, looked for a moment as if she was going to argue but then shook her head and muttered something about "idiotic Auror's" under her breath and Disapparated off the front step. He glanced outside at the street one more time before closing the door behind him.
If he could only find the knife that she had been stabbed with and somehow prove that that was how she died! He lit the tip of his wand. The house had an eerie feel to it, though given what had happened, he supposed that shouldn't be so surprising.
The house looked just as it had the night before. Teddy doubted that the police had set foot inside since the body was discovered, but he had not considered that they might have the knife hidden away in one of their evidence boxes. He wondered how severe of an infraction he would receive if he broke into the station and stole it.
His mind raced back to Ravi, hiding away only a few houses down. She was probably counting the seconds until the owls delivering the Daily Prophet began swooping into Wizarding homes. Teddy had never been given notice when Skeeter had written something about him. As he had a few days ago, he typically didn't see his face on the front page until he woke up. Teddy was not sure he would want the kind of advance notice that Ravi had without being able to do anything about it.
Unsure about where to look, Teddy started his search in the bedroom. The scarlet sheets had turned a brownish-red color since his last visit, but otherwise the room looked the same. Teddy knelt down and looked under the bed, not expecting to find anything. Surely if the knife had been in such an obvious location they would have found it. Doing his best not to disturb anything, he looked around the room, checking and rechecking every crevice. Only after an hour of searching did he have to conclude that the knife was not in the room. He had to admit that he was not surprised. Chances were that it wasn't even in the house. Whoever had committed the murder had probably taken it with them.
Searching the closet for the third time, Teddy froze as he heard a loud creak coming from the hallway. He plunged himself into darkness as he extinguished the light from his wand and waited. His eyes burned from the intensity with which he was trying to see in the darkness, and he raised his wand as a set of footsteps moved through the door. Teddy continued to wait, holding his breath.
"Lupin?" he heard a voice say. It sounded surprisingly close. "That you?"
A wand lit a few feet away from him. Teddy stared as the pale face of Ravi, her red eyes gleaming, came into view.
"What are you doing here?" they said at the same time, both in hushed whispers.
"Ravi, shouldn't you be at the Rabnotts'?" Teddy lowered his wand, though he did not pocket it. If it were possible, Ravi looked even paler than she had the previous night. Her skin was ashen, almost translucent.
"I couldn't stand just sitting there," she said. "I was getting antsy." Teddy noticed that her eyes kept flicking over to the pool of dry blood on the bed. "Erebus suggested coming here. See if there was anything that could help clear my name."
Teddy sighed. He knew how it felt to live in fear, not just because of his actions, but because of his werewolf blood. He could imagine that actually being a dark creature would be much worse than simply being related to one.
"You shouldn't have, Ravi," he said. "Returning to the crime scene just makes you look guiltier."
Scarlet flashed in her eyes. "Guiltier!" she snarled. "I'm not guilty at all. I've never hurt a human, never. I've never even had human blood."
"Well, that can't be true, can it?" said a voice from the dark hallway. Both Teddy and Ravi jumped, pointing their wands towards the source of the sound.
It was Bates, the prick from the Wizengamot who had removed Teddy from the case in the first place. His own wand was pointed at the pair of them as he stepped into the room.
"Well, well," he said, not even bothering to hide his pleasure. "I thought you wouldn't be able to let this go, Lupin. Considering your personal interest and all, you know. But not even I thought that you would go behind Potter's back to help that thing escape justice."
Teddy's grip on his wand tightened as he felt his anger bubbling up. Ravi was shaking beside him, although whether it was from anger or hunger, he was not sure. Worried about what might happen, Teddy cautiously stepped forward, blocking Ravi from Bates' view.
"Don't be an idiot, Lupin," said Bates. "I've already sent a message to Potter."
Teddy heard a soft crack and felt his stomach drop as he heard two familiar voices open the front door to Ravi's house. Bates' smile grew.
"In here, Potter! Looks like we've got two for Azkaban tonight!"
Harry's face remained impassive throughout the entire arrest. His eyes remained fixed on Ravi, Morris and Bates. Only once did he glance at Teddy. It barely lasted a second, but it was enough to give Teddy the impression that his godfather was silently ordering him not to utter a single word. Teddy watched as Morris Disapparated with Ravi, leaving Harry, Bates and Teddy alone in the room. Bates opened his mouth, but before he could get the words out, Harry spoke.
"Thank you, Bates, for bringing this to my attention, but I have to insist that this is where your involvement stops. Teddy is an Auror, a probationary Auror, but therefore his actions and their consequences are for his Head to deal with. Not the Wizengamot."
"I'm not sure that is entirely appropriate, Potter," said Bates. "Given your… relationship with Lupin."
Harry walked over and grabbed Teddy by the arm. "Then take it up with the Minister," he said shortly.
Harry Disapparated back to the Ministry, taking Teddy with him. They landed in the Atrium, and Harry dropped his grip on Teddy's arm, allowing him to walk of his own accord. Silently, Teddy followed his godfather to the lifts and stepped inside the first available one. It was still early in the morning, leaving the Ministry empty except for a few wizards who worked graveyard shifts.
"In," Harry said, opening his office door. Teddy stepped inside, trying to ignore how hard the door closed behind Harry. Harry pointed his wand at the frosted windows and door. "Muffliato."
"Sit," he said, and Teddy complied without a word. He followed Harry's movements as Harry moved around to the other side of his desk and sat in the worn leather chair. Harry stared at Teddy. Teddy still could not make out any emotion in his eyes.
"So?" Harry finally said after a few minutes of very uncomfortable silence.
"What do you want me to say?"
"How about what the hell you were doing breaking into a crime scene at three in the morning? With the main suspect?" Harry did not yell, but Teddy could tell it took him some effort to keep his voice calm.
"You told me – well, okay, you implied - that I should keep working on the case!" Teddy said, somewhat defensively.
Harry sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Yes, but not to break the law. Teddy, you have to see how this looks to everyone. Ignoring regulations; investigating a case you're not on; being found at the crime scene with a prime suspect who had gone on the run."
Teddy shifted in his seat. He understood exactly what Bates and Rita Skeeter would try to insinuate. At best, it would be that he was trying to cover up for a friend. At worst, he could end up in prison for murder alongside Ravi.
"But this is Ravi, Harry," Teddy said. "When she showed up at the Rabnotts' house, she was terrified. She knew no one would believe her, and apparently Skeeter had got hold of the story somehow. If she had turned herself in –"
"Wait, you knew where Ravi was?" Harry interrupted.
Teddy nodded.
"Merlin, Ted! And you didn't report it?"
Teddy shook his head, refusing to give into his desire to look away from his godfathers eyes. Harry sighed once again, looking far older than thirty-six. Perhaps it was just the shadows under his eyes, or the fact that anyone would be tired at four a.m. He ran his fingers through his hair. They sat in the heavy silence for a few minutes while Harry scribbled something onto a piece of parchment. Teddy watched the sun begin to rise through the enchanted window. When the scratching of the quill stopped, Teddy turned his attention back to Harry.
"I need you to tell me everything that's happened since we last sat in this office." he said.
Teddy began to explain the events of his last twenty-four hours, and as he talked, he began to realize the flaws in his actions. The pit in his stomach grew as he explained how Ravi had come knocking on the Rabnotts' door and how he had promised not to divulge her location. He told Harry about what Peter had found and how he had decided to go to the house and see if he could find anything that could clear her name. Finally, he told Harry about Ravi showing up at the house in an effort to do the same thing.
"So you didn't plan to meet her there, or ask her to come?" Harry asked, suddenly sounding much more like his normal self.
"No," Teddy said. "Like I said, she was getting stir-crazy at the Rabnotts'. She wanted to see if she could find evidence, like me."
"How did Bates know she was there, I wonder," Harry muttered to himself. He was quiet for a moment, looking past Teddy, at something not in the office.
"Look," said Harry, turning his attention back to Teddy. "There's no way around it; I'm going to have to suspend you until the end of this case. I've already written up the documentation, but I'm not going to take away your compact. You're officially on file maintenance duty until further notice."
Harry handed the piece of parchment over to Teddy to sign before he folded it into a paper airplane and sent it off to Internal Affairs. "Look, if you weren't a probie, I'd probably have to fire you. Go home and get some rest, Teddy. Take tomorrow off. It's probably for the best."