Author's Notes:

Hello! Apologies for the lateness (and any errors that you find in this chapter). I've been busy, disillusioned and addicted to Supernatural. Plus this chapter is a giant one. I will try to update asap. I promise. :)

Pauie is the most wonderful Beta and it is with her help that you're getting to read this chapter. The idea of the train scene was hers!

I would also like to thank the wonderful Britons of MNFF again, because they've helped me a lot with food and restaurants in London. :)

Many thanks to padfoot_returns (Riham) for the sweet chapter tiltle.

Oh, and twenty-seventh of September is Pauie's birthday. I would like to dedicate my chapter to Pauie, who is a wonderful Beta and a lovely sis, too!

Reviews will be loved. Hate will be salted and burned. Constructive criticism is always good. :)

Chapter 10: Uh-Oh

August gave way to September, which slipped away rapidly, reaching its last week in what seemed like a jiffy. The sky became sorrowful again as rain began to lash London. There was greenery everywhere, and the dry, hot days were replaced by pleasant ones.

The Aurors had a definite suspect: Daisy. They didn't rule out any of the others that they had met on the day of the murder either, because any one of them could also be easily involved. Elizabeth's continuous accusations could be a way of shifting suspicion from herself. The twins were quick to shift their suspicions, too, and Chris could have hurt himself, after all. Rebecca was being suspiciously strange with her moods.

The murderer had done a very clever job, though. They had blocked Andrew's Floo connection and they seemed to have locked his door with powerful enchantments and made it unbreakable, so that Andrew would be truly dead before anyone could save him. Harry, however had no doubt that these serial killings had a motive that wasn't very pleasant. There was definitely something very sinister hidden below all the murders.

At home, Naina and Rose had both begun to walk; a phenomenon which was welcomed with great cheer and marvel. It became a daily routine for the tired Aurors to just ask the girls to walk from the sofa to the television set, from the dining table to the kitchen and so on. They walked as though someone had just fed them five bottles of Firewhiskey, but it was wonderful, nonetheless.

In the meantime, Ginny managed to win over Daisy's trust. Ryan, Daisy's brother had left for Hogwarts, making the teenager lonelier, and Ginny took that to her advantage, because this seemed like the only way.

After scouring everything, the Aurors were certain that there was no evidence for them to work on, which left them at a seeming dead-end. They now went to their Headquarters daily, only to sort out paperwork pertaining to the killings. Ron and Irene visited Rebecca and Chris, too, and though the arrangement was not as good as Ginny and Daisy's, they managed to win a small amount of the teenagers' trusts.

From what Ron and Irene found out, Rebecca and Chris had been in Ravenclaw, along with Belinda, Andrew and Daisy. The five Ravenclaws had got along well: that was until Daisy broke her friendship with Rebecca after an incident. Rebecca still considered Daisy a friend, anyway. Charlotte had also lived close to Rebecca and they had known each other very well.

On the other hand, Elizabeth had been a Gryffindor, while the twins were in Hufflepuff. Charlotte Seam, another victim, was in Hufflepuff too. The two other victims were Alison Henry and Jennifer Daniels.

Rebecca, Belinda, Chris, Jennifer, Alison and another boy called Shaun had been very close friends at Hogwarts. Similarly, Daisy, Andrew, Elizabeth, Neil, Mike, Charlotte and another Hufflepuff called Parineeta had been another group of friends. It was all very confusing, how their friend groups were interwoven, but after much note taking, the Aurors could remember who was whose friend.

Ron and Hermione seemed to be going through a rough spot in their marriage. They argued over the silliest of things, much like the times at Hogwarts. Each time, they would have a taunting match, which almost always ended with a tearful Hermione and an irritated Ron. This made Ron try and escape being at home even more, which meant that he was spending a lot of time at work, where his mind seemed to calm down.

The worst of all was that Ron was so engrossed with his work that he forgot about Hermione's birthday, but even when he remembered in the evening at last, he couldn't seem to find time even to get her a flower on that day. Hermione refused to talk to him for an entire week.

"Where have you been?" asked Hermione, as Ron entered the house on what would proceed to be a terrible night. "It's half-past eleven already, and the others came in at eight."

"Oh, have you decided to talk to me, then? Well, I was working," Ron replied, seating himself at the dining table. "I'm working on the case, if you haven't noticed."

"Yes, yes," muttered Hermione. "Of course."

"What's for food?" Ron asked, ignoring Hermione's mutterings.

"Salad and stew," said Hermione, spooning salad into a plate and ladling cold stew for Ron. He swallowed a spoonful of stew, and almost spat it out.

"It's gone cold."

"You must come home on time if you want it to be warm, then," snapped Hermione.

"Couldn't you wait for me?"

Hermione looked at him and frowned. "What do you think of yourself, Ron? First of all, you come late. Then, you want all of us to wait for you to come home and then serve food so that you can have it warm. You're happily enjoying outside, and here you're asking us to starve ourselves and wait for your grand arrival."

"I'm not enjoying, Hermione, it's work!"

"And do these teenagers have so much of information inside them that even after interrogating her for about two months, you have not acquired it all?"

"Well, it's not easy to get them to talk."

"Yes, Ron, of course, you must take as much time as you can, shouldn't you? How will you spend time with her otherwise?"

Ron raised an eyebrow. "Who?"

"Don't talk as though you don't know."

"I really don't."

Hermione proceeded to leave for their room. "Well, then, I'm not as big a fool as you think."

***

Ginny made her way to Harry's room on the morning of September the twenty-seventh, carrying a few files in her hands. She had just wished Ron and Hermione a happy marriage anniversary, and wished to discuss an idea that she had with Harry.

The door to Harry's room was open, and Parvati was fixing her hair at the dressing table, while Harry was carefully folding his robes so that he could carry them to the Ministry to put on over his Muggle clothes. He momentarily looked up and noticed the other Auror. "Ready?"

Ginny nodded. "Yeah. Today's going to be boring, though. We're to make files for all the suspects and complete the information in those."

Harry sighed. "I just wish we could get more leads. We're doing nothing except paperwork at the moment, and that isn't right."

Ginny sighed. "Just an alphabet written in a most confusing way to be going on with… this is proving to be difficult. The murderer is too clever."

Harry shrugged and began to put on his tie. He did one turn and waved his wand, but had soon converted it into a confusing tangle. Ginny giggled as she saw him tackle this. "You can't even do your tie properly?"

Harry went red. "Of course I can do it… I did it at Hogwarts all the time didn't I? The spell just went wrong, I guess."

Parvati smiled at him from the dressing table. "Just give me a minute, Harry, I'll disentangle that." She got up and went to him. Just as she got hold of the tie, Naina called from her cradle.

"Mummy?"

"Coming, sweetie," said Parvati. She looked at Ginny. "Could you get this right for him? Naina will most probably need her formula now and she'll throw a tantrum if I don't oblige. Someone—" Parvati raised an eyebrow at Harry, "—has spoiled her."

"Hey!" said Harry, defensively. "I haven't spoiled my daughter!"

"Kidding," Parvati replied calmly. "No, actually, I don't want to keep her hungry. So… Ginny?"

"Sure," said Ginny, as she stepped forward, and began to right Harry's tie. Parvati exited the room with a very groggy Naina, who was clutching her mother's hand as she toddled on.

Harry stood still, as Ginny's small hands worked on his tie. Her brown eyes were concentrated on his collar area, while she carefully straightened the knots. She made sure that his collar was not standing awkwardly, as she moved her fingers around the edges, smoothening them. Just then, a strand of her hair fell into her eye. She jerked her head, trying to get it away. It flew back and landed on her eye again.

Harry chuckled as he reached out a hand and tucked the strand behind Ginny's ear. "Why did you have to make your own life difficult by doing such things to your hair?"

She didn't reply. The touch of his hand on her skin had knocked all the sense out of her. She looked into his eyes and saw the bewilderment in them. Obviously, he had no idea of what had passed through her when he had done that to her hair. Realising what she was doing, Ginny felt a blush creep up her cheeks, and looked down, taking deep breaths. She needed to control herself. She decided to lure him into a better discussion. "Have you greeted Ron and Hermione yet?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah, but I think they aren't talking to each other again."

"Well, Ron came home late last night… again."

"I wish he would stop upsetting her so much. I tried speaking to him, but he doesn't seem to understand."

Ginny sighed. "Exactly. Ron does not understand. I can't believe him, seriously. He's being such a prat! Poor Hermione is constantly on the verge of tears these days… Anyway, I'm planning to send them on a date today. I need your help."

"Yes, tell me."

"Send Ron to that restaurant called Scoffers at around eight in the evening. It's in Battersea."

"Done," replied Harry smiling. "Let's leave, then. Underground again, today?"

Ginny nodded. "I think that's safer. The car can be easily tampered with."

Harry shrugged. "Come on."

They caught a train to the Ministry and as it rattled on, Ginny leaned onto the window and shut her eyes. Harry glanced up at her face, at her red hair flying merrily with the train's speed, and smiled to himself.

The train kept jerking to a halt at various stations and rattled on to the next. Harry, who was lost in his thoughts, only jerked back to reality when Ginny opened her eyes with a startled expression. "I fell asleep!" she exclaimed, rubbing her eyes. "But where are we? Shouldn't we have reached our station by now? What have you been doing?"

"Um…" Harry had no idea of which stop they were heading towards. A cool female voice which Harry hadn't heard until now announced the next station, though, and to his horror, Harry realised that they were two stations past their destination.

Ginny gave Harry an exasperated look. "I never knew that you, of all people, day-dreamed, Harry, but you've just proved it. Come on…" She grasped his hand and pulled him to the door, as the train halted again. They got off and bought two more tickets, to travel back to the Ministry, before going to the next platform and getting into the train that arrived.

***

Ron flattened his hair and adjusted his collar, as he sat upon a cushiony chair at Scoffers. Hermione would arrive at any moment, and he didn't want to upset her today. She was already prone to getting upset at his smallest remark. Also, he couldn't make out what she'd said to him the other day. Who did she mean by 'her'? Did she seriously think that Ron was having an affair?

Anyway, today was their marriage anniversary and Ron had decided that he'd not give Hermione a chance to be upset. He definitely loved her, and this fact had to be reinforced into her. Smiling, Ron removed a small box from his pocket. It had the pair of pearl earrings that Hermione had craved for so long. These earrings would help him reunite with his love.

The door to the restaurant opened with a soft clink and Ron looked up, expecting Hermione. He was surprised, however, to see Rebecca walk in "Hi!" she greeted, spotting Ron and coming over to him.

Ron smiled. "Hey!"

"Waiting for your wife?" Rebecca asked the Auror.

"Yep, you?"

"Friendly dinner with Chris." She pointed out to Chris on another table and he waved at Ron. She glanced at Chris and lowered her voice. "He always prefers company on Wednesdays."

Ron frowned. "Why?"

"Daisy."

Ron, like the other Aurors knew that Chris and Daisy had a past, but he wondered if it would be connected to the murders in some way. He had no idea what kind of a past it was, though, or what circumstances they'd split-up under, and the Aurors were looking for a source who would give them the information.

"They went out for a while in our seventh year, you know," Rebecca told Ron. "They were in love."

"Then why did they break up?"

Rebecca sighed. "Because of a stupid mistake that Chris made." She glanced at him again. "I can't tell you…"

"Rebecca," said Ron, "You should know that we are trying to dig up these bits of information. We will find out some other way." He pointed to the seat beside him. "If there's anything, please tell me. I've been trying to convey this to you for over a month."

Rebecca looked at Ron, and hesitantly took the seat. "Chris was just so stupid…" she sighed. "He may never forgive me for telling you about this. But, like you said, you'll find out, so I'd rather not have my friends looked at like they're liars."

Ron nodded. "Don't worry. Go on."

"Daisy and Chris had fancied each other for a long time before they finally started seeing each other. It took a lot of nudging, but everyone was happy for them."

Ron took a deep breath. It didn't seem long ago that Hermione and he had got together … after years of fancying each other too. Rebecca didn't seem to notice Ron's expression, though, and she continued with her story.

"Then, just around two months after they had begun to date, Chris told Daisy that he wanted to discontinue their relationship… Chris won't tell me why. He didn't want to talk about it, and I stopped asking. But Daisy obviously didn't like what he did. He was also under the impression that he had done the right thing and left Daisy to be miserable for days, by not speaking to her at all because she wasn't talking to him, and he thought she was being incredibly stupid."

"Then?"

"Daisy was in deep shock. She changed a lot… she was in a miserable condition. And Chris didn't seem to realise that he had fallen in love until around two weeks after they split up. When he started missing Daisy, he thought it was just because of the deep obsession that he had for her, but then, he turned out to be wrong. He went and apologised to Daisy, but she turned a deaf ear to his apologies and said plainly that she would never forgive him for whatever he did. And then… then, like an idiot, Chris did something else."

"What did he do?"

Rebecca shuddered. "I… I'm not sure. You should talk to either Daiy or Chris about it." She looked up at the Auror. "But I promise it has got nothing to do with anything that's happening. But what Chris did struck Daisy even harder and that was when she broke her friendship with me and Belinda, assuming that we were into whatever Chris had done, too. She has changed a lot, ever since. She's subdued. After Chris left her, Daisy began to keep to herself. I remember times when I didn't even realise her presence in our dormitory. So much more has happened to her since then… Charlotte's and Andrew's deaths… all of this has just left Daisy to dissolve into her own trauma."

"Daisy stopped talking to you for no reason, and it wasn't that big of a problem?" Ron asked the teenager.

"She was in a terrible state of mind," Rebecca shrugged. "I wouldn't be a good friend if I didn't understand her at such a point, would I?" She bit her lip. "I definitely don't have anything against anyone. Chris and I are best friends, and we have each other to keep our heads cool. Daisy, though, lost her closest friend to the murderer. And to top all that, Liz, Neil and Mike have begun to isolate her from themselves, as they are under the impression that she has killed Andrew. Parineeta, another of Daisy's friends is in India, now, clueless about what's going on here."

Rebecca looked pensive, as she stared at a point behind Ron, concern illuminating her young features. "Daisy desperately needs someone, Ron, she needs someone to comfort her, to listen to her… but who is there? She can't possibly sit and discuss this with her brother; he is too young to understand. Her parents are away at the moment, so the choice of talking to them is gone too. You see? That's why I think that though Daisy is troubled, she could never be the murderer."

There was silence, as Ron considered whatever Rebecca had told him. "Didn't you try to explain everything to Daisy after she broke her friendship with you?" he asked.

"She wouldn't listen. She is very stubborn. But I know that both Daisy and Chris really miss each other. That's why I dine with Chris on Wednesdays, and that is exactly why Daisy never eats alone on Wednesdays either. They went on a date every Wednesday."

Ron shook his head. "Why did Daisy erase your memory of Belinda's murder, if she considers all her ties with you broken, then?"

Rebecca shrugged. "Dunno… she probably felt sorry for me." Her eyes swivelled over to the door and widened as she saw something at a distance. "Oh, no."

Ron turned around to follow her line of vision, just to see Daisy enter the restaurant. She looked slightly pale as she walked in, and as Chris walked past, to the bathroom, both of them pretending to ignore each other, their arms brushed.

Chris looked around immediately, and Daisy paled even further. Everything seemed to freeze as the teenagers looked at each other, eyes wide. But that was just for a moment, because, Chris had already continued along his way as though nothing had happened and Daisy merely decided that she shouldn't be dining in the same restaurant as Chris. She promptly turned and walked out.

Ron looked at Rebecca, slightly saddened by what he had seen. If he didn't sort things out with Hermione now, he too would probably be in a similar condition. And he definitely didn't want that. Rebecca, on the other hand, called him forward to whisper something into his ear. He tilted his head and bent forward, just as he felt someone approach him. But this time, he heard a sob, very close to where he was sitting.

Ron ignored it and Rebecca was just about to say something, when the sobs grew louder. And he looked up just in time to see Hermione turnaround and walk away, the tears evident in her eyes.