Chapter 11: Murder in Progress

Harry was at my apartment long enough that he ended up sleeping on my couch, surrounded by papers covered in our scribbled ideas and plans.

Thankfully Harry staying the night at my place was old hat by now. Ron was rubbish at dealing with emotions, so Harry and I relied heavily on each other even when Ron had been in my good graces. The first time that Harry had fallen asleep on my couch Ron and Ginny had practically broke down my door, ready to hex both of us into oblivion. I'd had to petrify Ron so I could keep him from killing Harry and explain that nothing had happened.

After a long heart-to-heart with Ginny it was established that Harry was the closest thing I had to a brother, and nothing was ever going to happen between the two of us. And it was true; while I frantically searched for a cure for my parents, Ron had been disgusted and bored, but Harry let me bounce ideas off of him, even when they went completely over his head.

With a yawn I went about starting some coffee for us. We would need it if we were going to get everything done that we needed to.

Since the defeat of Voldemort, Harry slept like a rock. I theorized that it was a way to make up all the sleep lost back when his mind had been connected to the Dark Lord's. There were little things like that that showed that the war was truly over. That didn't mean that we escaped the war without mental scars as well as physical ones. However, we were healing, slowly but surely.

Harry still hadn't stirred by the time I was ready for work and in the process of making breakfast. The kitchen wasn't far from the living room so it wasn't difficult to lob an apple at the sleeping form of my best friend.

He sat up suddenly, panicked. His hand was clutching his one defensively, but without his glasses he was defenseless.

I laughed. " We're going to be late to work. Get your lazy rear off my couch."

Harry groaned and stretched before beginning the search for his glasses. His hair stuck up in every possible direction, but it was comforting in a way. Even as Harry grew into one of the best and strongest men I knew, there were still pieces of my scrawny friend I met all those years ago.

"You know where the bathroom is. I apparated to your place and got some clean clothes for you. Hurry or there won't be any food for you," I said, gesturing with a spatula.

By the time I got breakfast on the table Harry had emerged wearing fresh clothes, and his hair was damp, but only slightly more managed. It didn't take him long to wolf down breakfast. The coffee also helped immeasurable, because when Harry met my eyes his green eyes were shining with intelligence.

"We have a lot to get done," Harry said.

I nodded. "I already sent Thaxton an owl explaining that you agreed to help me today. He already thinks I'm an incompetent little girl, so I said it was for safety."

Harry nodded. "So do we need to stop by the Ministry at all?"

"Yes, I have some notes I need, and we're collecting another Ministry worker I've decided to poach."

I ignored the confused look on Harry's face and trooped the way to my office. Harry followed somewhat grudgingly- he knew me well enough to know I probably wouldn't answer any questions.

As we got closer to my office, I paused. "Someone has triggered the wards in my office."

Harry tensed. "How do you know? Wait, are we even allowed to put wards-"

I shushed him, listening intently. "Oh, for Merlin's sake," I muttered, exasperatedly moving to yank the door open.

My Lover's Grasp plant had tripled in size and it encompassed a lean young man yelling curses at it. It was a favorite plant of mine, and it was distantly related to Devil's Snare.

After a simple calming spell the plant shrank back, now only slightly larger than it had been yesterday. I somehow managed to keep a straight face. "I warned you to stay out of my office if I wasn't here, Zabini."

"And when you didn't tell me about your murderous houseplants you knew I would just be itching to go try my luck," Blaise accused, fruitlessly attempting to straighten his hair.

"I was hoping I would have a camera on the day," I sighed. "But the memory will suffice.

Blaise glowered at Harry. "You better not breathe a word of this, Potter. Now why am I here, Granger?"

I took a deep breath in. It somehow readied me for what I would have to say: "We need your help faking a murder."

A/N: Sorry for the late update. I normally try to post a new chapter every Sunday, but obviously that did not happen this time around. This week has been insane between exams and papers that are due. It's not even finals yet! As always, reviews are greatly appreciated. It really does make me happy and want to write more! I just want to give a special shoutout to MaMia for semi-consistently leaving intriguing comments.