Author's Notes:

Hello, again! Sorry for the delay — I was busy, and am hopelessly addicted to Supernatural. Here's chapter nine, though!

Once again, though it goes without saying, Pauie is the best beta in the whole wide world!

A huge hug and a load of gratitude towards inspirations and Inverarity on the forums, for all their nitpicks on my excerpts from this chapter :).

Reviews are love, but hate will be met with a scary version of me.

Chapter 9: Chris Stevens Confesses

Tap. Tap. Tap.

"Mmmm?" Harry groaned, turning over in his bed, and gasping as sharp pain shot through his leg. "Parvati?" His arm touched empty space beside him on the bed, and he opened his eyes with another groan.

The knocks repeated themselves.

"Harry?" sounded Ron's voice. "We need to discuss the case, mate, everyone is—"

"Let him get some sleep, Ron, his leg didn't feel good last night," interrupted Ginny's muffled voice. "Take your time, Harry," she said.

"Parvati said I could wake him up," said Ron's fading voice as Harry heard the footsteps grow faint while they walked away.

Harry yawned, sitting up on his bed. Parvati had obviously woken up much earlier, and was probably sorting through her work. Rubbing his eyes, Harry padded to the en-suite to shower and get dressed. He was tired, but he didn't want a delay in anything because of him.

***

"So, this is a clean murder."

"Yep," said Anthony. "No evidence of breaking and entering, no prints to be matched … all the tracks are covered. We're dealing with a thorough person here."

"So the killer was known to Andrew," said Romilda.

"Yeah, but we'd already established that. It's someone from that group of kids."

"How can you be so sure?" Irene asked Anthony. "I mean — couldn't this be someone else entirely? Maybe these kids found out something about someone?"

There was silence. Anthony nodded. "That's a very legit assumption." He turned to Ginny. "You're trying to get that Daisy girl to warm up to you, aren't you?"

"I'm trying," said Ginny. She was sitting beside Harry on the couch and their knees touched as she adjusted her trousers. "I'll try to get some stories from her — you know, about her friends. I'll try to find out if there was bitterness, if they were always friends… the whole Daisy-Chris and the Daisy-Rebecca deal… even a small clue could lead us to something big."

"You keep that up," replied Anthony. "The rest of us… we'll try with the others, though I'm not sure how successful everyone is going to get."

"Just look for an opening and plunge in," shrugged Ginny. "That's what I did."

"And we're forgetting something else," Ron spoke up. He gestured to Harry. "Your name on the chit?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah. What was my name doing there? I hope this isn't getting personal…"

"I don't think so," shrugged Anthony. "Not unless you actually knew either of these people personally."

"Well, I didn't," said Harry. "I don't recognise any of them."

"Then we'll just have to dig in deeper, and find out what this is."

There was more silence. Harry felt Ginny's knee touch his again and he moved away slightly, leaning back on the cushion as he did so. "Has anyone realised," he began slowly, "that this isn't like a normal serial killing case?"

"What do you mean?" asked Anthony.

Harry turned to Ron. "Remember that other serial killing Walanger once dealt with? The one we wrote up the paperwork for?"

"Yeah," said Ron. "I remember." His eyes sparkled with understanding. "You're right. This is different." He turned to Anthony. "This doesn't have the regular markings of a serial killing."

"That it doesn't," agreed Anthony.

"What do you mean?" Romilda asked them. "I've never worked such a case before, so you'll haver to enlighten me…"

"There's always a definite pattern," said Ron to Romilda. "Every killer has a preferred method… and these people almost never leave the bodies like that. They're always well hidden."

"Well, this is an exception," shrugged Anthony.

"Or maybe he or she wanted the bodies to be found?" supplied Ginny.

"Why?"

"Well, for starters," said Ginny, "there's been no evidence available on any of the scenes of crime. No murder weapon, prints… I don't think the culprit is scared of us to actually hide the body. It's like a challenge."

There was silence. "Andrew doesn't fit the profile of the other murders, though," said Harry, breaking the quiet. He bit his lip. "I'm no psychologist, but I know that serial killers always have a preferred method of killing their victims. Here, last night, we saw that Andrew was struck on his abdomen."

"It injured his spleen," said Anthony, nodding. "Forensics sent the autopsy report."

"Yeah," replied Harry. "But before this, the victims were always struck on their backs."

That doesn't say anything," said Anthony. "It's still the same method of killing — stab injuries."

"No, but it does seem like the killer was afraid of showing themselves on all the other cases, as they never seem to have approached the victims up front. This is different. It's as though the murderer wanted Andrew to know who they were."

"Hmm…" Anthony was looking at the forensics report again. "I realise I didn't notice something, though."

"What?"

Anthony looked up at the others. "There are hesitation cuts around the main stab. That makes this one of two possibilities: either that the murderer knew Andrew very well, and possibly even cared for him, or that Andrew killed himself. And these weren't found on any of the other victims. So in all possibility, it's someone who was closest to Andrew amongst everyone else, or a suicide, which is looking less and less likely."

"How's your leg?"

"Much better, thanks," said Harry, adjusting his tie and turning to smile at Parvati.

"So, more interviews today, then?"

"Yeah," said Harry. "Let's see what comes of it." He picked up his briefcase and leaned over to peck Parvati lightly on her lips.

"Harry? Oh – oh, sorry."

Harry turned around just in time to see Ginny make her way out of the room, red on her face. He bit his lip, and then turned towards Parvati again. "See you."

She smiled. "Bye, Harry."

"Hermione, have you seen my file?"

"I put it in your wardrobe, Ron. You had left it on the table last night."

Hermione rocked a sleepy Rose in her arms as Ron opened his wardrobe and began to look for the file. After last night, Hermione had been feeling oddly light; it was as though a huge worry had been lifted off her shoulders. Ron still loved her. He still cared for her, and he wasn't tired of her.

"I can't find it," said Ron in a grumpy voice. He turned to Hermione and crossed his arms. "Why did you move it from where it was?"

"Because it was just lying around, and—"

"Well, it's not here."

"Let me look for it."

"No, I'm getting late. Let it be. I'll manage," sighed Ron, picking up his briefcase, and heading up to the door. "It may mean a few more hours at night, but—"

"Oh, for the love of Merlin, Ron," Hermione had put Rose down, and was halfway to the wardrobe, but her husband had already vanished from the doorway. She sighed, and pulled out one or two of his robes, to find the file sitting there. "Really," she told herself, and picked up Rose before heading to the living room to hand over the file. Ron was waiting for the others.

"Here," said Hermione, handing him the folder.

He didn't take it. "Where was it?"

"Right where I said it would be. You just didn't look hard enough, Ron."

He sighed and opened his briefcase, and something about his expression just made Hermione want to fling the file at his face.

Ginny tried to ignore the twang of pain clawing at her insides as she left Harry's room and took the stairs. Sometimes, it was difficult to digest that Harry was not just with someone in a casual relationship — he was married — actually married. Walking to the living room, she saw Ron with Hermione. They seemed to be having an argument.

"Ron, stop being unreasonable," said Hermione. "I put it in your wardrobe because you had left it lying around."

"But you didn't have to do that!"

"Fine. I won't do it again. I'm sorry I helped you. Now can we stop fighting? I need to get Rose and Hugo ready for the crèche."

Ron's eyes widened. "You put Rose and Hugo in a crèche?"

"How else am I supposed to work in the evenings?"

"But you could have said… I'm ready to take care of them!"

"Okay, come at six in the evening today—"

"That's not possible."

"Great, I'll just keep them in a playpen next to all my toxic potions, then."

Ron sighed. "Okay, then. What is Parvati doing?"

"Harry is taking care of Naina."

"What?"

"Yes," said Hermione, upset at Ron now. "He's agreed to come back early and look after Naina."

Ginny sighed and decided to announce herself before this escalated. "Where are the others?" she asked, walking to the couple, and Hermione turned towards her, he expression changing from anger to a wan smile.

"They should just be coming, I think."

"Well, Harry's ready," said Ginny, trying not to flinch at the mental image of him kissing his wife. "I'm not sure what's taking him time, though."

There was silence. Hermione looked at Ron, then Ginny. She bit her lip. "I… I think I should go get the kids ready." Her voice caught in her throat, and Ginny was surprised to see tears in her eyes.

"What happened?!" she asked, wondering why Hermione was so upset. The fight right now hadn't seemed all that big.

Ron was staring at his wife helplessly, as Hermione shook her head. "I…" not completing the sentence, she left the room with Rose in her arms.

Ginny glared briefly at her brother before following her sister-in-law to her bedroom. Hermione was wiping her eyes as she changed Rose's nappy, and Ginny went ahead and squeezed her shoulder. "Is anything wrong?"

"No," sniffed the other woman. "It's fine, Ginny, you can go on."

"Tell me, Hermione," said Ginny, moving to the other side of Rose's cot. "If I can talk to Ron…"

"You can't," said Hermione, her voice breaking again, as another tear rolled down her cheek. "I… just leave this alone."

"He's my brother, and I'll give him a good kick up his arse if it's necessary," said Ginny. "You can tell me."

Hermione looked up at Ginny and sighed, before putting Rose in the cot and settling herself on the bed. "I think Ron is tired of me."

"What?"

"He is so different these days… he's snapped at me a lot lately. He also seems so distant, sometimes… it's been around a month now, Ginny, I've noticed."

"Have you tried speaking to him?" asked Ginny.

"He says it's all the work. He said that last night… and it's back to square-one now."

Ginny sighed. "Then it's probably just that. It's just a phase, Hermione… maybe it's all the pressure. We're always on a case, no matter what. Maybe he wants to spend time with you, and is frustrated because he can't."

Hermione nodded and took a deep breath. "And… and I'm scared, Ginny."

"For what?"

"I – I think Ron might be having an affair," said Hermione in a small voice, finally letting the ugly fear that had been sitting in her mind for weeks. The loss of interest, the late nights… nothing else seemed to explain it.

Ginny raised an eyebrow. "What makes you think that?"

"I don't know, Ginny, I just—"

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Ginny couldn't help but laugh. "Ron cannot have a fling when you're there for him! He loves you!"

"Ginny," said Hermione, fresh tears filling her eyes. "He seems to be bored of living with me."

"Hey," Ginny said, "don't say that, all right? He isn't the type to leave you and go after other women, Hermione. He's a tactless arse, but he's loyal. He cares for you. Ron loves you like crazy, to even think of leaving you."

Hermione sniffled. "I don't know, Ginny, and I hope my suspicions are false."

***

"Now that our Green Dragons have grown into seedlings, we will be adding manure to nourish them. They'll be fully grown in a week, and then we can juice the leaves."

Professor Neville Longbottom returned to tending the other plants in Greenhouse Four, as the seventh-years began to work on their class assignment. The Ravenclaws were with the Gryffindors today, which meant that Daisy, Andrew and Liz were working together.

Daisy, along with her friends, grabbed a sack of dried dragon dung and dragged it to their spot, where a box of chalk waited, ready to be reduced to powder. Green Dragons were strange plants, named so because the juice of their leaves contained properties similar to dragon blood.

Liz placed a pot on the table, as Andrew tore open the sack of dung and put some into the pot using a shovel. Daisy pointed her wand at the chalk. "Reducto."

The white blocks were instantly reduced to powder, and as Daisy scooped some to throw it into the pot, Liz giggled.

"What?" asked Daisy, craning her neck to look at whatever Liz found to be amusing. What she saw was a very ridiculous sight. For there stood Chris Stevens, mangling the chalk blocks with a large stone in his hand. He wore a murderous expression, his hair almost falling into his eyes. Beside him, Rebecca Palmer had raised an eyebrow incredulously and Belinda Spencer was shaking her head.

"Oh… Merlin… he… is… so… cute," gasped Liz, between giggles. Daisy looked at her, disgusted.

"Not you too, Liz. Not for that brainless git, at least."

Liz giggled some more. "I know why you're saying that… you like him!"

"No!" Daisy felt a blush creep up her cheeks.

"You're blushing, Daisy," said Liz, stifling her giggles with great difficulty.

"Of course I'm not!" Daisy lied.

"Aw… have a look at that! You look like a strawberry!"

Daisy looked at Andrew. "Say something!"

Andrew just chuckled. "You are blushing, actually."

"No! It's a trick of the light! How can I blush without realising it?"

Liz laughed even more. "You like him, don't you?"

"No, no, no!"

"Tell me the truth."

"Okay," said Daisy, flaring up. "Stevens is definitely going to become an executioner once he's out of Hogwarts. Is that true enough?" Then frowning, she returned to her work.

Daisy smiled as the happy memory came flooding into her mind. Those days had been so great… so peaceful… devoid of worries. Andrew and Liz had started dating around a month after that particular incident. Daisy remembered the countless times she had helped Andrew sneak out of the Ravenclaw Tower to meet Liz after curfew — Daisy had been the Head Girl, with Chris as the Head Boy.

Liz never really had any feelings for Chris; she just thought that he was cute. But Daisy's feelings for Chris were something she didn't want to think about. She couldn't believe what she had felt for him in those days, but now, the feeling had vanished. Daisy only hated Chris now. She hated him more than anyone else.

Sighing, Daisy sat up on her bed. It was already ten. She could do some of her household chores. Her head felt better, though it still throbbed. At least she wasn't feeling jittery anymore. She pulled open the drawer on her bedside table and read Andrew's letter again, sadness and pain weighing her heart. But at the same time, she knew that she'd have to do it. She'd have to take on the responsibility, and strengthen herself to handle it.

"Here's to one of the best friendships of my life; here's to some of the best moments of my life and here's to you, one of my best friends ever." This was what Andrew had said yesterday, when they had had dinner together. Daisy still remembered his words vividly, as he had toasted her in front of the whole restaurant.

Yes Andrew, I'll never forget what we've shared. I'll never forget what it was like to have a friend who I could fall back upon; a friend who I could trust with my eyes shut.

Daisy had a quick shower and put on her favourite trousers and a yellow t-shirt. When she was sad, she always wore bright colours to tune her mind to cheer up. This usually worked. Daisy would find her mood better at the end of the day. But right now, this was just a futile attempt. 'Sad' wasn't a word to even scratch the surface of any of the emotions that were running through her mind. This was grief. This was pain so intense, it was worse than being physical. No Cruciatus Curse could probably compare to it. It ripped through Daisy's veins, making her feel sick to her stomach, and making her head spin. The only reason her eyes were still dry was that it had been an honest request from Andrew before he died. However, Daisy couldn't see how he expected her, or any of the people who loved him to not feel the agony.

As she dried her hair with a towel, Daisy opened her wardrobe and retrieved Ryan's gift from the first drawer. Keeping the package on her bed, she went over to shut the drawer when she noticed a folder inside it. Smiling as she realised what it was, Daisy kept the folder on her bed and walked out of the room along with the package.

Ryan was in the kitchen. He extracted the marmalade and butter from a shelf and kept them on the table along with a stack of toast. He removed two more plates from a cabinet as Daisy walked to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

He turned around to see her smile at him. "How are you feeling now?"

"Better," Daisy replied. "You forgot to take your gift, though."

Ryan smiled and took the package from her. He then tore open the wrappings to reveal a brand new camera. His face broke into a wide smile. "I've always wanted one! Thanks!"

Daisy grinned and gave him a small hug. "I thought you might quite like to capture your best moments and keep them with you forever. I got this at a Wizarding shop, so whatever you snap with it turns into a moving photograph."

"Thanks, Daisy, thank you so much," said Ryan once again, as the duo sat at the table. They ate in relative silence, finishing off the toast in a few minutes. They then washed their dishes together and Daisy returned to her room. Ryan remained at the dining table with an essay for school.

As she sat on the bed, Daisy took the folder that she had placed there before breakfast and opened it, smiling at the topmost photo. It was one of the best moments… one of the funniest times of her life. But things had changed and Daisy had changed after that.

"Oh, what an arse I am!" Andrew was on his knees with his hands up in the air, at the centre of the Ravenclaw common room.

"Oh, what an arse I am!" he repeated, bending forward and touching his nose to the ground. Another round of giggles and sniggers erupted from the onlookers who circled him.

"Say 'cheese'!" giggled Daisy, as she snapped a photograph of Andrew. Andrew looked back at her and showed his pearly whites.

"Oh, what an arse I am!" He then returned to his place beside Daisy and looked around. "Max, truth or dare?" he asked, grinning at a tall, dark boy.

"Um… dare," said Max, smiling eagerly.

"All right," replied Andrew, looking around for a suitable thing to say. He cast his eyes at Rebecca, who was studying in a corner and smiled naughtily. "Max, I dare you to go and hug Rebecca."

The doorbell rang, bringing Daisy out of her reverie. As she heard Ryan attend to it, she rushed down the stairs to check on who it was. She sighed as she saw two of the Aurors enter the house. It was Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley. Another interview… oh no.

***

"So, how long have you been friends with Andrew?"

"Since my first year," Daisy said promptly. "So that makes it eight years."

"You knew him very well?"

"Yes," replied Daisy. "We were really good friends." Best friends, in fact.

"And what about the dinner with him last night? Why did he choose you over Elizabeth?"

"He didn't choose me over Elizabeth…" Daisy said, looking at Harry. "I never dine alone on Wednesdays… personal reasons…"

There was silence, as Ginny wrote down everything that Daisy had said. She looked up and smiled warmly at Daisy. "Just routine interrogations, don't worry."

Daisy sighed. "You're lying. I'm a suspect, right?"

The Aurors didn't reply. Harry shook his head lightly. "We need your account of what happened last night. When did you leave Andrew?"

"Just after Liz called," Daisy said, truthfully.

Harry looked up from his notes again. "What happened when the lights went off?"

"I – I didn't attack Chris."

There was silence again. Ginny sighed. "Harry, could – could I just talk to her alone for two minutes?"

Harry nodded, giving her a meaningful look. "All right. I'll wait outside." He walked out of the room shutting the door behind him. As long as Ginny got something out of Daisy, he wasn't worried about not being inside the room.

As Harry left the room, Daisy took a third dose of her potion. She wondered why Ginny Weasley was being so nice to her. One reason could be that the Aurors really suspected her. Ginny was probably trying to be more like a friend to get all the information. Daisy swallowed the sweet potion. She'd have to be careful with these people and beware of everything they asked or said.

"How are you feeling today?" asked Ginny, eyeing the medicine.

"Better," Daisy replied. "My head is still aching, though. And as much as the two of you try to convince me otherwise, I know that you suspect me." She wanted this to be straight.

"Daisy—"

"It's really easy, isn't it?" Daisy said, interrupting Ginny. "Just because I had a wand in my hand, it had to be me. And of course, Liz would suspect me, too."

"Daisy," said Ginny again. "I believe you."

Liar. Daisy looked at Ginny for a moment. "Really?" She raised an eyebrow. "How come?" Gotcha!

"I just know that it couldn't be you," said Ginny, and Daisy wanted to laugh at the terrible lie. "I'm going to help you fight this. I can convince Harry and Ron, but the rest… well, I can't promise."

Daisy looked at the other woman for a long time. Time to play along. "Thank you so much, Ms Weasley—"

"Call me Ginny."

"Okay… Ginny. Thank you. I—" Her hand knocked over the folder of pictures as she shifted a bit, and a photo fell out of it. As Ginny bent over to pick it up, Daisy noticed that it was the one in which Max had gone ahead and hugged Rebecca.

"Rebecca?" Ginny asked, amused. "You used to friends, right? What is this photo about?"

Oh, want to know what happened? Smooth. Daisy shook away her thoughts as she let out a wistful chuckle, involuntary warmth spreading across her face as she remembered that particular day. "Oh, those were spectacular moments, and I'm not going to forget that day. We had this game of Truth or Dare in our seventh year and this boy — Max took a dare to hug Rebecca. And, well…"

"No!" exclaimed Max, with a horrified. "She'll kill me if I hug her!"

"Just do it, Max," Chris said, from the other side of the room. "If she gets too angry, I'll handle her."

Rebecca probably hadn't heard this, because she was still buried in her books. Max stood up nervously and walked over to her. "Uh, Rebecca?"

She looked up at him, raising an eyebrow. "Yes? I can't join you guys, sorry. I have to read this book today."

"Yeah… but… y-you know, I feel like a-a brother for you, and, um… you're great, sis!" Max bent over and hugged Rebecca swiftly.

"SQUISHY!" Daisy sang from behind, as Rebecca looked around, confused.

"Shut up!" said Max. He looked at Rebecca. "Sorry, it was a dare. But you're still like a sister to me."

Rebecca frowned and raised her eyebrow. "I'll not say anything this time, but I didn't like that at all. I don't want you people to include me in your dirty—"

"It wasn't dirty!" exclaimed Max, as he turned red. "We – we didn't mean anything bad…"

"But you're notincluding me in any of this nonsense. Do you understand that?I have a lot of work to do."

Max turned redder, if possible. "I'm very, very sorry…"

Rebecca took a deep breath, calming herself. "I forgive you, Max, but just don't do it again."

Max nodded as he walked away, still red on the face. Chris grinned. "Look at that! Isn't it—"

"Shut your trap, Chris, truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"So… um… yeah. Who is your latest crush and for how long have you liked her?"

The grin vanished and Chris's ears were soon a deep pink. "I- I-" he sputtered hopelessly, looking around for help.

"Well go on, Stevens, I'd like to know who the poor lass is," said Daisy, smirking.

Chris looked directly at her. "Uh… you. And I've liked you since-s-s-since…" his voice was low as he continued, "…well, a while. I've liked you for a while."

Daisy's smirk disappeared as soon as it had come, as she began to blush, too. She looked at Andrew, as though scared of what she had just heard and turned her gaze back at Chris. "What did you just say?"

Chris squirmed and looked at the floor as he spoke. "I… I have had a crush on you since our third year… right since that Transfiguration class where you helped me, and I, um…Daisy… I…" unable to continue, he hid his face in his hands.

All the occupants of the room were now staring at Daisy, probably awaiting her reply. Andrew had a hand on her shoulder and even Rebecca had looked up from her book to see what was going on. Suddenly, Daisy couldn't breathe any longer. She had to get out of the room; she had to go out. Hopelessly, she checked her watch. It was still half-an-hour to curfew, but she couldn't stand facing anyone in the room either. She stood up abruptly. "Um… I've gotta go… Head duties…"

And she could have sworn that this was the fastest she had ever run in her life, as she raced out the door of the common room and down the spiralling steps, hearing Andrew's footsteps follow her.

"I didn't sleep for the night… I even had to make sure that I didn't run into Chris when he began his patrol," sighed Daisy. Ginny wanted stories? She'd get stories. True stories too. Daisy wouldn't lie, and she was sure there was nothing to extract from this. But this certainly wouldn't end here. Ginny would come back and pretend to be a closer friend, and try to get more.

"Chris was … he was the most popular fellow in school," Daisy continued truthfully. "Girls were absolutely crazy about him. I, on the other hand, never paid him attention. He seemed too ordinary to me, and he hit on too many girls anyway. But finally and very ironically, it turned out that he liked me. My friends always teased me with him before he even confessed and I told them very clearly that I had absolutely no feelings for him. But I guess I was lying to everyone including myself, because I discovered my true feelings for him on the night that he confessed."

Ginny smiled. "You mean you were fond of him, too? So what happened after that?"

"I—" Daisy began, but there was a sharp knock on the door. Thank Merlin for that, or she'd run out of stories to tell soon. One story at a time.

"Can I come in now?" asked Harry's voice, sounding exasperated.

Ginny snorted. "Merlin, I forgot! Oh, come in, Harry!"

Harry opened the door and walked in, looking harassed, as Ginny gave him an apologetic look. But between that, Daisy couldn't help but notice the tiny nod from Ginny, and the slightly happy sparkle in Harry's eyes. Well, she, Daisy was right about her own suspicions here. And she was caught bang in the middle of this case. Life was possibly just about to become hell, if it wasn't hell-like already.