The Justice Team
Chapter 13 - Political Intrigue
"Do you think Potter's acting weird?"
Daphne bit her lip to hide her amusement, "Not really. He's happier than normal, how is that weird?"
"Because Potter when he's not being sarcastic and bitter is weird," Draco said honestly.
"He is allowed to be happy, Draco," Daphne said, filing away some old case files.
Draco hung up his Auror robes and frowned, "But he isn't normally so happy. Do you think he's seeing someone?"
"How should I know?" Daphne asked, she grabbed her jacket and flung it on, "You spend more time with him than I do."
"I've not really seen him over the last couple of weeks," Draco said honestly, "He's been busy with that smuggling case upstairs."
"That smuggling case has been a bit of a godsend," Daphne said honestly, "Neville going upstairs to help out has given me a break."
"I thought you two had made up," Draco said as they began to ascend the basement stairs together.
"We have," Daphne said, "But agreeing to wait for someone and then having to work with them and act normal isn't easy."
Draco smiled sympathetically, "Well if it helps, I think you made the right decision."
"It doesn't help," Daphne sighed. They reached the top of the stairs and Draco began to lock up the basement, "But do you know what would help?"
"Buying you dinner at your favourite restaurant on Moat Lane?" Draco asked.
"Exactly," Daphne said with an easy smile.
"Sorry, but your dinner is going to have to wait."
Draco resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he turned around to face Harry, "I've barely seen you in two weeks and then you show up as I'm locking up on a Saturday night?"
Harry looked a little guilty, but he also looked very different. His usual messy facial hair was gone and his hair had even been tamed a little. He wasn't wearing his usual red leather jacket, and he didn't smell of smoke.
"I know that it sucks but this murder case just came in and there is nobody upstairs who is free to take it," Harry explained, "This smuggling ring is just getting bigger and bigger. It's taken the whole department by storm."
"Well we can decline cases," Daphne said matter of factly as she took the file from his hands, "So if this one isn't worth wasting our weekend on we won't...oh...it's an interesting one Draco."
Draco shook his head in amusement and took the file from her, "Riley Jameson...why do I recognise that name?"
"Because he worked in the Minister for Magic's office," Harry replied, "He was the Finance Minister."
Draco's eyes widened and then he smirked, "The Minister for Magic's Finance Minister was found dead in a brothel in Knockturn Alley? Yeah, we'll take this one."
"I thought you might," Harry said, amusement sparkling in his eyes, "Thanks Malfoy, you're doing me a big favour."
"I expect firewhiskey as payment," Draco said, unlocking the basement door.
"You'll get it," Harry called as he walked away, "Ogden's best!"
Draco chuckled and then gave the basement door a kick, "Time to call in the team."
"Are you going to ignore that forever?" Hermione asked with a raised eyebrow.
Theo nodded as the beeping on his communication bracelet got louder, "I plan to, yes."
Hermione shot him an amused look, "Theo, it could be important."
"It's Saturday night!" Theo objected, "It's about the only night of the week I get to spend with you when you don't work."
Hermione smiled brightly at him, "And I'm honoured, but you're not the first Auror that I've dated. When that bracelet goes you have to run off into the night, I know how it works."
"That was maybe how it worked with your other Auror boyfriends," Theo said, "But I'm not your typical Auror. I don't get a buzz out of fighting like some people."
Hermione was trying very hard not to laugh, "You might as well just say his name. I know who you're talking about."
Theo looked at her with a genuine, fond smile, "I'm not Ron. I like my job but I'm not obsessed with it and I certainly won't leave you on a Saturday night to go and look at dead bodies-"
They were interrupted by the loud whir of the fireplace in front of them. Theo groaned in frustration as Hermione reached for her wand, "Don't answer it."
"It's obviously important Theo," Hermione said simply, grabbing her wand from the coffee table, "But I appreciate the thought, really."
Theo grumbled all the same and Hermione activated the floo. Unsurprisingly Draco's face appeared in the fireplace, and he didn't look best pleased, "Finally! I floo-ed your flat, and I tried your communication bracelet about 5 times. I figured you'd be here, we've got a case."
"It's Saturday night, I refuse to go anywhere," Theo said calmly.
Draco smirked, "What if I told you that our victim was found dead in a brothel in Knockturn Alley?"
"I'd say that's boring," Theo replied.
Draco's smirk widened, "Well what if I said that the victim was called Riley Jameson?"
Hermione's eyes popped, "The Finance Minister?"
"One and the same," Draco replied smugly.
Theo glanced over at Hermione, "Hermione-"
Hermione smiled fondly at him, "Go, Theo."
Theo grinned at her and turned to the fireplace, "I'll be there in 10, Draco."
"This case better be huge and important," Eddie said as he stalked into the basement, "Because you dragged me away from my Saturday night."
"Dana's working upstairs anyway," Draco said offhandedly, "What would you have been doing if you weren't here?"
"Watching Netflix and drinking beer," Eddie grumbled.
"I'm not even going to ask what Netflix is," Draco said, grabbing a brown file and sitting on the edge of his desk, "But as you are all here now, I will brief you on the case."
"And trust me Eddie, it's an interesting one," Daphne said cryptically.
Draco nodded his agreement, "Our victim is Riley Jameson."
"The finance Minister?" Eddie asked in disbelief.
"Yes Eddie," Theo said with a smirk, "The Finance Minister. Wait till you hear where they found him."
"He was found in the 'reputable' institute that we know as Sally's," Draco said, aware that everyone in this room would know exactly what he was talking about.
Eddie's eyes widened, "He was found in a brothel? The finance Minister?"
"He was found dead in a brothel," Daphne added, "It doesn't look good for our Minister, does it?"
"I don't think Percy Weasley is going to get elected for another term after this scandal." Draco said, sounding far too pleased about this fact.
Eddie shook his head in disbelief, "How come we have the case?"
"Upstairs are still rushed off their feet with that big smuggling ring they uncovered," Draco said with a wave of his hand, "So we're getting the overspill, as usual."
"This department is ridiculously understaffed," Theo said irritably.
"Budget cuts," Daphne shrugged.
Draco ignored them and continued with the case briefing, "Anyway, the basic crime bunch already surveyed the crime scene and the body is currently with the coroner. They didn't find anything suspicious but we'll have another look anyway. The coroner did say that the cause of death was definitely asphyxiation but we'll know more about how he died later."
"So what now?" Theo asked.
"I'm going to go and have a second look at that crime scene with Eddie," Draco replied, "And you two are going to Sally's."
Daphne frowned, "What do you mean by that?"
"I mean you're going to go and talk to Sally," Draco said, "You've known her for years Daphne and I'm pretty sure Theo is acquainted with her. If anyone is going to get anything out of her it's you. We need to know about everyone who works there and the type of clients they get."
"Sally won't divulge any details about her clientele, you know that," Daphne said, narrowing her eyes at Draco.
"Make her divulge," Draco said with a pointed look, "You'll think of something, I'm sure of it."
"Uh Draco, the apparition point is that way," Eddie pointed out as Draco walked towards the stairs leading into the main department.
"I know, I need to talk to Potter about something before we head out," Draco replied, "There was a page missing from the file, it must have fallen out when he was bringing it down here."
"Oh, right," Eddie said, sounding a little sceptic.
He followed Draco into the main department anyway. It was busy and bustling, as it always was when there was a big ongoing case. The team office was hectic, Dana was arguing with someone down the floo while Harrison sat with a huge stack of paperwork on his desk. Ron was nowhere to be seen and neither was Harry.
"Stay here," Draco said to Eddie as he walked over to Harry's office. He knocked hard at the door and after a moment heard Harry call, "Come in!"
Draco opened the door and got a shock when he realised that Harry wasn't alone in his office. He was sitting at his desk and someone was sitting on it, a rather attractive someone at that. Draco didn't recognise the man, he had short mousy brown hair and dark blue eyes. His face was young and cheerful and he smiled brightly when he saw Draco which only pissed the former Slytherin off more.
"You must be the fabled Auror Malfoy," The man said in a thick Dublin accent, "I've heard loads about you. Harry reckons you're one of the best around here, I'd have never of thought it when we were at school."
Draco frowned, "We were at school together?"
Harry bit his lip and cut in, "Yes, this is Oliver Rivers. He was in our year, in Hufflepuff."
"Ah," Draco said, "Well I don't remember you, sorry."
Oliver shrugged and didn't seem phased by this, "Oh it's alright. I was fairly quiet, I wouldn't expect you to remember me. I mean I remember you but it was kind of hard not to notice you at school. You did seem to like to draw attention to yourself."
"Mostly by insulting me across the great hall," Harry added.
Draco narrowed his eyes at Harry, "No offence Oliver, but what are you doing here?"
"Oh I was just bringing Harry dinner," Oliver replied, "He's been forgetting to eat with this case, you see?"
Draco nodded slowly and caught Harry's eye. The dark haired man said, "He's my boyfriend, Draco."
"Oh," Draco realised, "Right, sorry. I wasn't aware you were...well, openly dating men."
Harry shrugged, "There's a first time for everything. I'm sure the press will cotton on soon enough, but at least I won't have to hide who I am anymore."
"True," Draco said.
"Anyway, what brings you here?" Harry asked.
"There was a page missing from the case file," Draco replied, "I didn't know if it had any important information on it."
"Oh, yes," Harry realised, "It was just the tail end of the coroner's initial report. It said that the victim's wedding ring was gone, and it looked like it had been taken forcefully."
"After his death?"
"That was what the coroner thought," Harry said with a nod.
"Right, thanks," Draco said somewhat awkwardly, "Enjoy your Saturday night. It was nice meeting you Oliver."
"You too," Oliver smiled.
"Please don't tell Hermione that I had to come to a brothel as part of this case," Theo whispered.
Daphne looked up at the fairly ordinary building they were standing in front of in Knockturn Alley, "Don't tell Neville and I won't tell Hermione."
"Deal," Theo said simply.
"Come on," Daphne sighed, "Let's get this over with."
Theo followed her into the 'reception' of the brothel. Inside it was very grand and posh looking, but it was all a farce for what it really was. It was supposed to look Victorian, or at least that was always what Daphne had assumed. The booths had marble tables and leather seats, and there was a very nice bar. But upstairs was where the bedrooms were and subsequently, where all of the money was made.
Daphne stepped up to the desk, "Hey Loretta."
The young blonde woman looked up and smiled, "Oh hi Daphne! Are you here to see Sally?"
Daphne nodded, "Is she here?"
Loretta nodded, "She's just upstairs, did you hear about the dead guy? It's really rattled her."
"I heard," Daphne said, "It won't be good for business."
Loretta shook her head and lowered her voice, "It's been so quiet tonight," she said as Theo stepped forward into the light, "Oh hey Theo. Harley is free tonight, she's still your favourite, right?"
Theo looked a little embarrassed, "I've got a new favourite, but thanks Lorrie."
"He's trying his hand at the serious relationship thing," Daphne explained.
Loretta grinned, "Ooh, good luck Theo!"
Theo rolled his eyes at her sarcasm, and Daphne said, "So Sally's just in her office?"
"Yep, go on up," Loretta said cheerfully.
Daphne smiled at Loretta and headed for the stairs with Theo hot on her heels. As they climbed up the marble stairs, adorned with a red velvet carpet, Theo asked, "Why are you looking so nervous Daphne? I thought you and Sally were friends."
"We were," Daphne said quietly, "Until I quit."
"She won't begrudge you for that," Theo said.
"I wouldn't be so sure," Daphne sighed, "I always thought that I was better than this place and Sally knew that. When I left I took some of her best clients with me."
Theo looked a little nervous, "How mad do you think she'll be?"
"I don't know," Daphne replied, stepping off of the staircase and making a beeline for Sally's office.
When she reached the door she hesitated for a moment before rapping her knuckles against it. A voice immediately called, "Come in!"
Daphne took a small breath to steady her nerves and stepped inside. Theo followed her and shut the door behind him. There was a desk in the small office and a chair behind that desk. Sitting in the desk was Sally, the owner of this 'fine' establishment. She was tall and skinny with long, luscious curled hair. Her hazel hair, combined with her pale complexion and deep green eyes, ensured that she was a very beautiful woman.
Her eyes scanned Daphne with interest and then she said, "It is true."
Daphne narrowed her eyes at Sally, "What is?"
"That you're working with the Aurors," Sally replied matter of factly.
Daphne and Theo hadn't worn their Auror robes for this visit. They generally didn't if they wanted to go back into the criminal world that they had grown up in. Something about them was clearly fishy however and Sally was very perceptive at the best of times.
"I had heard the rumours," Sally said, cocking her head at Daphne, "When all of my best clients came back here because you had left the business I got suspicious. Most of my girls were saying you had probably just gotten pregnant, but Daphne Greengrass does not mess up contraception charms. I figured that the law had probably caught up to you."
Daphne rolled her eyes, "I'm not just working with the Aurors, I am an Auror and so is Theo."
"The law caught up to you both then," Sally said with an amused glint in her eye, "I wondered why I hadn't seen you around here in a while, Theo."
"It has nothing to do with the Aurors," Theo said stubbornly.
"He's got a girlfriend," Daphne said with a wave of her hand, "A very nice, sensible girlfriend. A Gryffindor at that."
Sally smirked, "Haven't you two both grown up?"
Daphne bit back a nasty comment, "You know why we're here Sally."
"I've no idea," Sally remarked.
"The Finance Minister died in your brothel," Daphne said bluntly, "He was choked to death, and I need to know who was with him the night that he died. I need to know who found his body."
"Client confidentiality Daphne," Sally said as she tapped her nose, "I can't say."
"You had better say," Daphne said firmly, "Because if you don't there will be hell to pay. This case is high profile, the Aurors are never going to let this slide. If you don't give us the information we need to find out who killed this man, your entire business will be brought to the ground. I'll name every worker I know here and I'll even help with the raids that will follow."
Sally looked unsettled for the first time. Something akin to fear flashed in her eyes, "You would bring yourself down in the process."
"I have immunity," Daphne said, "I work for the Ministry. The only person I would bring down is you, Sally."
Sally swallowed and gave a miniscule nod, "He liked Keeley, she was his favourite and I think that was who he was seeing that night. Harley found him in the bathtub the next morning."
"Thank you Sally," Daphne said with false kindness, "Your business lives to fight another day."
Sally did not say another word as Daphne opened the door and led Theo back towards the staircase. They didn't say a word to each other until they were well out of earshot.
"I think that went well," Theo remarked.
"It did actually," Daphne agreed, "But when you threaten someone's business they tend to give you what you want. We need to talk to the two girls that Sally mentioned, I'll talk to Keeley. You should talk to Harley, you know her better than me."
"But Hermione will-"
"Don't sleep with her and it will be fine," Daphne said simply.
"You have been really quiet since you came out of Harry's office."
"I'm focusing on the case," Draco muttered irritably.
Eddie glanced up at the building in front of them, "We haven't even gotten to the crime scene yet, and speaking of the case-"
"I won't tell Dana you were in a brothel," Draco said, shooting Eddie a vaguely amused look as they stepped into the reception area. Unlike Daphne and Theo, they were wearing their Auror robes so the moment Loretta saw them she knew why they were there.
"Oh, you're the Aurors who are coming to see the crime scene!" She exclaimed, "I was told to take you to it when you get here. Gosh! Eddie! I didn't know you were an Auror."
"It's a recent development," Eddie said sheepishly, "Where's the crime scene Lorrie?"
"It's the big posh room on the top floor," Loretta said, leading them towards the stairs, "But I'll take you there. This whole thing is horrible, isn't it? Poor Harley was such a mess when she found him."
"So something like this has never happened here before?" Draco asked.
Loretta shook her head, "No, Mr...? Sorry, I don't think I've seen you around here before."
"Malfoy," Draco said calmly, "Draco Malfoy, and I've never been here which is why you haven't seen me here. Is this the first instance of a serious crime here?"
"There have been things every so often, sure," Loretta said, "Like things have gone missing and sometimes the men get a bit aggressive after a few firewhiskeys but never a murder Mr. Malfoy. He was murdered, wasn't he?"
"Unless he choked himself to death, yes," Draco replied.
Loretta gasped, "He was choked to death? Who would do something like that?"
"That's what we're trying to find out Lorrie," Eddie said gently as they stepped off of the staircase on the top floor.
Loretta nodded tearfully, "It's that door there. The basic crime Aurors put barriers and everything on the whole room so that nobody can get in."
"It's so people can't tamper with the crime scene," Eddie explained, "Thanks for all your help Lorrie."
"It's okay Eddie," Loretta said, "But I hope you find who did it. I hope it isn't someone who works here, that would be horrible."
"We'll get to the bottom of it," Eddie promised.
Draco silently used his badge to gain access to the crime scene and they both stepped through the barrier. Once they were inside the bedroom Eddie said, "Now that was bad form. That poor girl was actually upset and you were all cold and cruel. You're bad Auror and I'm good Auror, clearly."
"What?" Draco asked blankly.
"It's a muggle thing," Eddie muttered, "What has put you in such a bad mood?"
Draco glared at Eddie, "Did you know Potter has a boyfriend?"
"I suspected," Eddie admitted, "I mean he shaved his beard and stopped wearing his leather jackets. He's even trying to stop smoking, people only do shit like that if they're in a relationship. Who's he dating?"
"Some Irish guy called Oliver Rivers," Draco said, "He was a Hufflepuff."
"Oh, Ollie!" Eddie said, "He's a really nice guy. We were friends at school, we sort of fell out of contact though...I wonder what he's doing these days."
"Apart from Potter?"
"I meant what he was doing for a job," Eddie said with a knowing smirk, "But you sound pretty jealous."
"Jealous?" Draco asked in disbelief, "Why would I be jealous about Potter dating some Irish guy?"
Eddie bit his tongue and stopped himself from saying, 'Because you clearly fancy the pants off of Harry Potter.'
"Anyway, we have a job to do," Draco said, "The case file said he was found in the bath, come on."
Eddie dutifully followed Draco into a large, grand bathroom. The tub had been drained but apart from that the room had been left exactly as it was when the body was found.
"I don't see anything suspicious," Eddie said as he looked around, "No signs of a struggle..."
Draco nodded, "He didn't see it coming. Maybe he was asleep or maybe he just trusted his murderer, but there certainly doesn't seem to have been a struggle. What about DNA?"
"Just doing the test," Eddie said, he was waving his wand around in circular motions with his eyes shut tightly. After a few minutes he lowered his wand and said, "Done."
Draco dimmed the lights and all fingerprints shone in the darkness, "What do the colours mean?"
Eddie bit his lip, "Each colour is a different DNA print."
"Are you saying there are fingerprints in here matching 6 people's DNA?" Draco asked in disbelief. He put the lights back on.
"That's exactly what I'm saying," Eddie said.
Draco sighed, "I'm starting to regret taking this case. I could have been having a lovely dinner with Daphne right now, instead I'm doing this."
"You have to admit though, it is an interesting case."
"I'm admitting nothing," Draco said in frustration, "I'm going back to the basement, I've got a few files I need to look over. I need you to gather the fingerprints of every worker in this place, alright?"
"Yes boss," Eddie said.
"Are you Keeley?" Daphne asked a young redhead.
The girl jumped, she didn't look much older than 19 or 20. She was wearing a skimpy dress and her long red hair was flowing down her back. She was very pretty, if a little vulnerable looking.
She nodded slowly, "Who's asking?"
"I'm Daphne Greengrass," Daphne said gently, "I'm with the Aurors, and I used to work here."
"You went from working here to working with the Aurors?" Keeley asked in surprise.
Daphne nodded and sat down across from the girl in the bar, "I started working for Sally when I was 17."
"Me too," Keeley said, staring down at her glass, "What was your excuse?"
Daphne frowned, "Well, it was sort of complicated. I didn't get on very well with my parents so when I finished school I moved in with my boyfriend. He wasn't involved in the nicest of things so I ended up working for Sally to make ends meet."
"Not because he forced you to work for her?" Keeley asked.
Daphne looked down at the marble table, "Like I said, it was complicated."
"When did you quit?" Keeley asked.
"I quit working for Sally when I was 22," Daphne replied, "And I quit working in this business about 6 months ago."
"I don't know how I'll ever be able to quit," Keeley sighed, "It's the only way I can stay in the magical world, nobody else will employ me."
"You're a squib," Daphne realised.
Keeley nodded miserably, "I love it here, I don't want to go live in the muggle world. They're so boring there, but I'm an outcast wherever I go."
"I'm sorry," Daphne said, and she really meant it.
"It's okay," Keeley said, "You need to talk to me about Riley, don't you?"
Daphne nodded, "Yeah, I do."
"He was a nice guy," Keeley admitted, "That's what's so horrible about this. Some of the guys in here are horrible bastards, but Riley was nice. He never hurt anyone, he was just here because he needed that kind of stimulation, you know?"
"He was married," Daphne reminded her.
"I know," Keeley sighed, "But his wife was frigid and he had such a stressful job. He felt bad about it, he sometimes even cried. He was a sensitive guy, I don't know why someone would want to do this to him."
"Keeley, you must have been the last person to see him alive," Daphne said, "You realise that means I'll need an alibi from you, right?"
"I know and I've got one," Keeley said, "Last night Riley came in and asked for me, like he normally does. I talk to him and I think he likes that, I think it made this whole thing feel less harsh and fake for him, you know?"
Daphne nodded, and Keeley continued, "So we slept together and then he said he was going to go for a bath. He did that quite a lot so I went downstairs to get a drink. I ended up getting caught up in a...well you can guess what was going on, and I really needed the extra cash. By the time I was getting ready to head back upstairs it was the early hours of this morning and Harley was running down the stairs screaming that Riley was dead."
"Who could have gotten into that room while you were gone?" Daphne asked.
"Anyone," Keeley replied, "The rooms aren't locked, but Loretta was on the door all night so it must have been someone who was already inside the building...unless they used the back entrance behind the bar."
"Who can verify your alibi then?" Daphne asked.
"Georgie and Tammy, they were the girls I was with at the time," Keeley said.
"Okay, thanks for being honest with me Keeley," Daphne said as she got to her feet, "Don't go too far until this has been solved, alright? We might need to ask you some more questions."
"Sure thing," Keeley replied.
"Harley."
The woman in front of Theo spun around and smiled broadly at him, "Theo! It's been ages!"
Theo smiled nervously at her. Harley was beautiful, she had tanned skin and jet black hair. Her eyes were a warm shade of brown and she had a beautiful smile.
"I know, I sort of...met someone," Theo admitted.
Harley's smile widened, "That's great! You were always so lonely, I bet she's nice."
"She's great," Theo said honestly, "It's actually business that I'm here on, Harley."
"You're here with the Aurors," Harley said.
"Is it that obvious?" Theo asked.
Harley smiled slightly, "To me, yes. I'm glad you found something though Theo, you were wasting your talent before."
Theo chuckled, "Thanks, I guess. Look Harley, I hate to do this but I have to talk to you about what happened this morning."
Harley's smile disappeared.
"You found Riley Jameson, didn't you?" Theo prodded.
Harley sighed, "Yes, I did."
"What were you doing up there?" Theo asked as gently as he could.
"I was trying to find a room, I had a client," Harley replied, "I noticed there was nobody in that one so I went to check it out and then I saw him...in the bath."
"Did you see anything strange while you were in there?" Theo asked.
Harley shook her head, "No, just him."
"You're sure?"
"I'm sure."
Draco groaned and threw the file he had been reading on his desk. He was in a terrible mood tonight, Eddie had been right about that. He stalked out to his patio and lit a cigarette, staring out into the night sky like it was the reason for his anger.
"God, that smell makes it hard to resist," Harry's voice said from above.
Draco rolled his eyes, "If you come down, I'll give you one."
There was silence for a moment until Harry dropped down onto Draco's patio. It was rather impressive to watch, considering the gap between the two. As promised, Draco held out a cigarette and Harry took it gratefully.
"What the hell has happened to you?" Draco asked.
Harry frowned, "Hmm? How do you mean?" he asked, breathing a sigh of appreciation as he took his first drag of the cigarette.
"The leather jackets are gone, and so is your facial hair," Draco pointed out, "And you're trying to stop smoking?"
"Ollie," Harry replied as he blew out a ring of smoke, "He thinks it's a disgusting habit, and he doesn't like facial hair. He thinks its ticklish."
Draco rolled his eyes, "Since when does Harry Potter change for anyone?"
"Since when does Draco Malfoy defend me?" Harry asked with an amused look, "What's brought on your foul mood anyway?"
"This fucking case," Draco said irritably, "The crime scene is covered in finger prints. None of the workers at the brothel are using their real names. I spoke to a Harley Davidson and a Loretta Lynne today. How am I supposed to do anything without real identities? Then there's this report about the Finance Minister's spending over the last month but it's magically encrypted and I can't make out a bloody word of it!"
"Woah, Draco," Harry said calmly, "You need to calm down. It's my fault, I shouldn't have given you this case on a Saturday night. Why don't you go home and come back to it with fresh eyes in the morning?"
Draco sat down heavily and shook his head, "It has nothing to do with it being a Saturday night. I just don't like this case, something about it doesn't sit right with me. Do you know that every other member of my team is on first name terms with the people who work in that brothel?"
"Well I'm not surprised," Harry said honestly, "It's a fairly popular place for people involved in the criminal underworld."
"Well I never went to it and I never will," Draco said distastefully, "I find it depressing that people feel they have no other option than to pay for sex."
"Some people do feel that way though," Harry said, "I never have and I never will either but you've got to admit that you get lonely sometimes."
"I get lonely for company," Draco said, aware he was probably over-sharing, "I miss having someone to talk to and rant to when I'm in a bad mood. It's not the sex that I miss, I can go to a club and meet someone and have that easily. Meeting someone who actually understands me and wants to talk to me is the hard part."
Harry smiled slightly, "Well I know it's not the same, but I'm here to talk if you ever need it. And I'll always listen to you rant about cases, I know how frustrating they can get," he stubbed out his cigarette, "But I think you should go home."
"I will, once I've had re-brief with the team," Draco promised.
Harry caught his gaze and held it for a moment too long, "Good. I'll see you tomorrow. I should have time to drop in and check up on the case after church-"
"Church?" Draco asked in disbelief.
Harry looked sheepish as he replied, "Oliver's a muggle-born and it's important to him so whenever I stay over on a Saturday I go to church with him on a Sunday."
Draco shook his head, "You're a lost bloody cause Potter," he muttered as he stalked back into the basement just as Daphne and Theo returned.
"Eddie's still collecting DNA samples," Daphne yawned, "He told me to tell you that he'd probably be a while so to do the re-brief without him."
"It's more of a debrief," Draco said, "Because when we're done I'm sending you all home tonight. We can reconvene tomorrow morning, but it is a Saturday night. Anyway, Eddie and I found lots of different fingerprints at the crime scene so analysing them is going to take a long time."
"It sounds like the girls all share the rooms," Theo said, "So it might not make a difference. Those fingerprints could all be innocent."
"All the same, we have to check that the fingerprints all match people who work at the brothel," Draco said quietly, "But beyond the fingerprints, the crime scene was a dead end. Did you two have more luck?"
"Sally is going to be co-operative because I threatened her with Auror raids if she refused to help us," Daphne said, "I talked to the girl that was with Riley Jameson the night he died and I don't think she had anything to do with it. She can't be older than 20 and she's pretty vulnerable. Her alibi checked out too."
"I spoke to Harley, the woman who found his body," Theo said, "And she seemed pretty shaken up by what happened. Everyone at the brothel did."
"Apart from Sally," Daphne said pointedly.
"Alright," Draco yawned, "Well I found this finance report. It was something that Riley was working on but it's magically encrypted so I'm going to give it you, Theo. Go through it tomorrow and come back into work when you have something out of it, if he was working on anything dodgy it might be the reason he was killed."
"Will do," Theo promised.
"Are we free to go then?" Daphne asked.
Draco nodded and hung up his Auror robes, "I'll see you both in the morning," he said as he exited the basement as fast as humanly possible.
"We need to find someone for Draco."
Eddie frowned as he looked up from his report, "To screw?"
"No, to date," Daphne replied, "He's lonely."
"I thought he was just jealous that Harry was dating someone," Eddie said, surprisingly perceptively.
"Oh, he is," Daphne agreed, "But he's lonely too and I think he needs someone to show him that Harry Potter isn't the best thing in the world."
"What are you thinking then? Blind dates?" Eddie asked eagerly, "Because I know tons of people-"
"Yeah, I know your love guru stats," Daphne laughed, "And I don't trust them, I'll do the setting up Eddie."
"But the million pound question is this," Eddie said with a smug grin as footsteps echoed on the basement stairs, "Are you going to set him up with a man or a woman?"
"From how much he's pining over Potter at the moment, I think he needs a man," Daphne replied in an amused whisper.
Moments later Draco stepped into the basement, looking slightly less tired than he had the night before. He went straight to his desk, took a file from his bag and began to read it, without a word to Daphne or Eddie.
"Are we getting instructions today or not?" Daphne asked pointedly.
"I'll give you something to do when I know what we're doing," Draco said, without taking his eyes off of the report, "And until I've read this report, I don't know what we're doing."
"What is the report?" Daphne asked curiously.
"It's what Theo managed to get out of that finance report I found," Draco replied, "Is the detailed report from the coroner here yet?"
"No," Eddie yawned, "It's Sunday, he's not working. It's one of the temps from St. Mungo's that come in and cover."
"Well go over there and find out what's taking so long," Draco said irritably, "I need more information. I'm going to go and talk to his wife, what she said in her initial interview to the basic crime lot doesn't seem right to me."
"Yes boss," Daphne said with a mock salute. She grabbed Eddie's arm and led him out of the basement.
"I'm sorry to stop by so early on a Sunday Mrs. Jameson," Draco apologised. He had just taken a seat in the very nice living room of Riley Jameson's house.
"I'm officially a widow Auror Malfoy, you can call me Jaqueline."
Draco smiled sympathetically, "Sorry Jacqueline. My team and I took over your husband's case and I just have some follow up questions to ask you."
"Ask away," Jacqueline said with a heavy sigh. She looked younger than her husband, but stress had given her premature lines on her face. She had thick black hair and a pale complexion, Draco guessed she probably had French roots.
"You told the basic crime Aurors that you knew your husband was having an affair," Draco said, "How long had you known?"
"For about a year," Jacqueline replied, "He thought that he hid it well, but I knew. Riley knew that I knew, we just never spoke about it."
"Did anyone else know?" Draco asked.
"As far as I'm aware, no," Jacqueline said, "But he was acting strange for the past month or so. He seemed paranoid, like he saw this coming. I thought it was just because things were stressful at work but...maybe I was wrong."
Draco nodded slowly as the cogs whirred in his head, "Did you know what he was working on?"
Jacqueline shook her head, "I never understood. He encrypted all of his reports so that foreign ministers couldn't steal his ideas. All I know is that it was something big, something that was really stressing him out."
"There's just one more thing. You didn't give the basic crime Aurors an alibi when they interviewed you," Draco said, "And we do need to ask you what you were doing between the hours of midnight on Saturday and 6am on Sunday morning."
"I was here, asleep," Jacqueline replied simply, "And no, nobody can verify that because I was alone."
"Okay," Draco said, rising to his feet, "Well thank you for your help, Jacqueline. We'll be back in touch if we have any further questions for you."
Knock. Knock.
"What do you want?" An irritated voice called from behind the door.
Daphne resisted the urge to roll her eyes as she opened the door and stepped into one of the rooms used by the coroners at St. Mungo's, "Information."
"Yeah? So does everyone else, you'll have to wait," The irritated looking man in front of them said.
Eddie stepped forward, "Ant, stop being a prat and help us out here."
Daphne then clicked and realised that this was Anthony Goldstein, the boy who had been famed for breaking broomsticks when they were at Hogwarts. Suddenly his short temper made a lot more sense.
Anthony rolled his eyes at Eddie, "I've got three bodies that need examining and three Aurors breathing down my neck for the results. Why should I give you the special treatment?"
"Maybe because we're working on this case for Harry Potter," Daphne replied shortly, "The Head Auror. He wants results Goldstein and he wants them now. Where's Riley Jameson?"
He didn't look happy about it, but Anthony pulled a sheet off of one of the three stretchers in the large room. Cold, pale and dead on that stretcher was none other than Riley Jameson.
"Here," Anthony said, "He was strangled, as I said in my initial report. That's not particularly interesting, but this is...from the markings around his neck my best guess is that the murder weapon was a bra strap."
"A bra strap?" Eddie asked in disbelief.
"He was found dead in a brothel," Daphne said dryly, "Are you really surprised?"
Eddie shrugged, and Anthony continued, "His wedding ring was definitely removed after his death, but there are no traces of DNA on his finger so I can't say who took it from him. The strange thing about this whole situation is that it seems like a woman killed him. But by the deepness of the marks and the angle that he was strangled, it looks like it was a man."
"Or we'll dealing with a tall, strong woman," Daphne added.
"They would have to be very tall and very strong," Anthony said, "Because there was no way that magic was used to kill this man."
"Okay," Eddie said quickly, before Daphne could start a fight, "Did you discover anything else unusual?"
"Nothing," Anthony replied, "Normally the fact he had sex a few hours before he was killed would be useful, but he was found in a brothel so..."
"Yeah," Eddie said awkwardly, "Well thanks for your help, Ant."
"My pleasure, Eddie," Anthony said sarcastically.
"You've been charming as always," Daphne said sarcastically as they were forced out of the room and the door was slammed rather hard in their faces.
"Daph!"
Daphne stopped in the corridor between the main justice department and the basement. Eddie shot her an amused look, "I'll leave you two to catch up," he said, wiggling his eyebrows as he continued in the direction of the basement.
Daphne turned around and put on a smile as she faced Neville, "Hey."
"Hey," Neville said back, a smile lighting up his tired face.
"You look exhausted," Daphne said, her eyes scanning him.
"I am," Neville admitted, "I can't wait for this case to be over so I can get back downstairs for a bit of a break. How is your case going?"
"We've not really got anywhere yet," Daphne said, leaning against the wall, "And it's a bit too personal for my liking."
Neville frowned, "Because of where they found him?"
"I worked there," Daphne said bluntly, watching Neville to see the disgust she expected to see on his face, "When I left Hogwarts I worked for Sally until I eventually got the guts to quit."
There was no disgust, if anything there was sympathy, "Well look at where you are now, that's what matters."
Daphne frowned slightly, "But I only ended up here because of chance. If Harry and Draco hadn't wanted to recruit me, then I wouldn't have been threatened with Azkaban. I'd still be doing what I used to do, I wouldn't be on this team."
"But you are on this team," Neville said with a smile, "And you're here because you deserve to be here."
"What about other people who don't deserve to be where they are?" Daphne argued, "What about people who are really stuck in that kind of life? I can't do anything for them."
Neville leant against the wall next to her, "Who do you want to help?"
"Why does it matter?" Daphne asked, "I can't do anything for her."
"You don't know that," Neville pointed out, "Who is she?"
"She's a girl who works for Sally," Daphne admitted grudgingly, "She can't be more than 20 years old, and she clearly only works for Sally because nobody else will hire her. She's a squib."
Neville looked thoughtful, "I have a few friends who might be able to find something for her...let me have a think and get back to you, alright?"
"Alright," Daphne said, smiling very slightly at him, "Thanks Neville."
"Your welcome," Neville said, pushing himself off of the wall and smiling brightly at her as he walked back towards the main department.
"Alright everyone, listen up!" Draco said loudly, making sparks fly out of his wand.
Daphne, who had just entered the room, leant against her desk and looked at her boss. Eddie was here too, but Theo was still absent.
Draco looked a little bit more cheerful than he had earlier, "I think I might be onto something. Riley's wife had known for about a year that he was having an affair. Riley knew that she knew, therefore I highly doubt that she killed him. She doesn't have an alibi for the night he died, but it was the middle of the night so not many people do. She said that he had been paranoid in the last few months and that he was working on something very secretive."
"You think he was being blackmailed," Daphne realised.
Draco nodded, "And if Theo can work out what's in that secret finance report, we might know why. He's still working on it, but the report he gave me this morning was still very jumbled and I couldn't get much out of it. Now Eddie, did you get anything back about the fingerprints at the crime scene?"
"Yep," Eddie replied, rummaging on his desk for a file and pulling out a piece of paper, "Most of the finger prints belonged to Riley Jameson himself and Keeley Kandy; real name Kelsey Mitchell. The other 4 sets of prints were Harley Davidson's; real name Halle Garcia, Georgia Monroe; real name Gillian Gregg, Sally Anne-Perks a.k.a Sally, and Felicia Phelps."
Draco had listened intently, "Keeley, Georgia and Harley's alibi's checked out so you can scratch them off. Sally's alibi hasn't come back yet, but it's being checked. Who is Felicia Phelps?"
"She's a cleaner," Eddie replied, "She goes in once a week on a Friday morning and cleans the rooms."
"We'll need to check her alibi," Draco said thoughtfully, "Did you get that report from the coroner?"
"No, but we did get some more information," Daphne replied, "Riley was strangled with a bra strap."
Draco sighed, "Which implies a woman did this."
"He did say something was weird about this whole thing," Daphne added, "He said that it looked like a woman had done this but that he thought it was a man. Apparently the marks were pretty deep and the angle implied that whoever had strangled Riley was tall."
Draco's frown deepened, "Alright...Eddie, go and question the cleaner please. Daphne, chase up Sally's alibi."
Eddie walked towards the door to grab his robes, and Daphne made her way over to the fireplace as heavy footfalls echoed around the basement stairs. Draco looked at the door expectantly and was relieved when he saw Theo run in looking excited.
"What did you get from that report?" Draco asked anxiously.
"You will never believe this," Theo said a little breathily, "The report was top secret because it wasn't sanctioned by the Minister's office. He was fiddling, he was taking money out of the national budget and putting it towards a secret project."
"What project?" Draco asked, leaning forward on his desk with anticipation.
Theo's eyes shone with something akin to excitement, "A dragon blood smuggling ring. He was taking money out of the budget to fund it."
"The smuggling case that upstairs have been working on for the past two weeks?" Draco asked in astonishment.
Theo nodded again, "It was making a lot of money, selling the blood of rare dragons on the black market. The Aurors are working with Hermione's lot to try and arrest those responsible so that the dragons in question don't go extinct. The Aurors haven't been able to get anywhere near the funding side of things, and this is why."
"I have to take this to Potter," Draco said, snatching the report from Theo's hands, "Well done Theo, amazing work!" he shouted as he jogged from the basement.
He slowed down as he walked along the corridor, and took a breath before stepping into the main department. He weaved through the crowds to the office that Harry's team occupied. It was empty apart from Ron when Draco stepped in.
"Do you need Harry?" Ron asked glumly.
Draco nodded, "I think I've just accidentally found out who was funding your smuggling ring."
Ron's eyes widened, "Seriously?"
"Yeah," Draco said, "My case and your case just got tied in a really complicated knot. Is Potter in his office?"
Ron nodded, "Uh yeah, just go in."
Draco walked up to the door, knocked loudly once and then opened it. He could have cursed out loud when he saw Oliver Rivers sitting on Harry's desk again.
"Oh Draco, hi," Harry said distractedly.
"Hello Potter," Draco said calmly, "How was church?"
Harry glared at him, "Fine, Malfoy. What do you need?"
"I need a word in private," Draco replied, "I have sensitive business that I need to discuss with you."
"Business that can't be discussed in front of someone without security clearance?" Harry asked, narrowing his eyes slightly.
"Yes," Draco replied, "It's very sensitive information, trust me."
Harry sighed, "Sorry Oliver, I'll have to pass on lunch. This sounds important."
Oliver smiled, "It's alright, I'll see you for dinner instead?"
"Sure," Harry replied, smiling sheepishly at the former Hufflepuff as he got to his feet, and left the office.
When the door had snapped shut behind him, Harry said, "What do you want?"
"I want to slag you off for going to church," Draco said matter of factly as he lounged on Harry's desk, "But I need to tell you that I just found out who was funding your smuggling ring."
"Seriously?" Harry asked in shock.
Draco nodded smugly, "My victim, Riley Jameson."
"The Finance Minister?" Harry asked, the tone of his voice a little more high-pitched than normal.
Draco dropped the report onto his desk, "Yes, but there's more to it than that. He was being blackmailed, I'm certain of it."
"What gives you that impression?" Harry asked as he scanned the report.
"He was paranoid in the months leading up to his death and he was working on a top secret project which turns out to be the funding of an illegal smuggling ring," Draco said, "Combine that with the fact he liked to go to a brothel to relieve pressure. If someone in that ring found out about his extra-curricular activities they could easily blackmail him into funding their criminal smuggling ring."
"You make a good point," Harry said as he shut the report, "And we're officially working together on this one now. Find out who killed Jameson, because when you do they might lead me to the people behind this smuggling ring."
Draco gave him a determined nod, "I will."
Harry nodded back, "Oh and Draco?"
"Yes?" Draco said, his hand on the doorknob.
"Why don't you like Oliver?" Harry asked, "I thought you two might get on."
"You thought I would get on with a Hufflepuff who doesn't like to smoke or drink and goes to church?" Draco asked with a raised eyebrow, "As someone who smokes, drinks and doesn't believe in anything that he can't see. You really thought that?"
Harry smiled sheepishly, "Yeah well, when you put it like that..."
Draco smirked slightly, "See you around Potter."
"Keep me updated."
"I will."
"Who killed Jameson?"
"Uh, that's what we're trying to find out," Theo said.
Draco shook his head, "No. We know now that Jameson was funding the smuggling ring. We also suspect that he was being blackmailed so that he would fund that ring. He had been having an affair with a young brothel worker and his wife knew about it. He had been stealing money from the Minister's office. So who had motive?"
"His wife," Daphne replied instantly.
"Someone in the Minister's office who found out what he was doing," Eddie suggested.
"Someone who found out that he was funding the smuggling ring and wanted to stop it," Theo said, "Like an Auror."
"You think an Auror did this?" Draco asked in surprise.
"Well think about it," Theo said, "If he was funding the smuggling ring, nobody involved with it had motive to kill him. But someone who wanted to stop it, did."
"True," Draco said slowly, "So we agree that he was killed because of the smuggling ring. We don't know who killed him, but we do suspect that it's a man."
"Which rules out his wife," Daphne said.
"Not necessarily," Draco said with a slight smirk, "His wife didn't kill him personally. Does that mean that she wasn't behind his death? No. She could have had someone else do it for her. Dig deep into Jacqueline Jameson's life and follow her, I need to know everyone that she interacts with on a regular basis. I need to know if she knows anyone who has been in Azkaban or was once involved in the criminal underworld."
"You want to know if she knows an assassin," Daphne realised.
"Exactly," Draco replied, "So Theo and Eddie, I'm leaving that aspect of things to you. Daphne and I are going to review Harley's memory of the moment she found Riley's body, I'm sure that we missed something at the crime scene."
"Are you free tonight?" Daphne asked Draco casually.
Draco glanced at her, "Why? Are you asking me out?"
"I gave up on you a long time ago," Daphne smirked, "But I do have plans for you. Are you free?"
"I want to say no," Draco said, narrowing his eyes at her, "But that would be a lie. I'm free, why?"
"Well that's handy," Daphne said brightly, they were walking through the main department to find a room where they could use a pensieve, "Because you have a blind date tonight."
Draco groaned, "Daphne, what have I told you about those? They never end well! Who is it with?"
"I'm not telling you," Daphne grinned, "That's the whole point of a blind date, Draco."
"Well where is it then?" Draco asked.
"A nice little wizarding bar in Essex," Daphne replied, "Small and discreet, the way you like it."
"Man or woman?" Draco asked suspiciously.
"Blind date Draco, I'm not telling you," Daphne said again.
"You could at least tell me the bloody gender of the person you're trying to set me up with!" Draco said irritably as he opened the door to one of the memory viewing rooms.
"If you're going to be frustratingly bisexual then you are going to have to find out for yourself," Daphne said simply, "Blind dates are supposed to be blind. You're meeting at 9pm tonight."
"Unless I don't go," Draco pointed out.
"You're going," Daphne said, "Even if I have to frogmarch you there. I went to too much trouble to arrange this to let you stand him up."
"Him!" Draco exclaimed, "So it's a guy."
Daphne cursed inwardly, "Fine, it's a guy! But you won't get any more than that out of me!" she objected, pouring the memory into a pensieve to avoid being interrogated further by her friend.
"This is kind of creepy."
"It's a bit too much like stalking," Eddie agreed. He and Theo were camouflaged and had spent the last few hours following Jacqueline around. Thus far all that they had discovered was where she liked to shop and that she enjoyed Thai massages.
"Do you know Draco's going on a blind date tonight?" Eddie asked in amusement, "Daph set it up."
Theo snorted, "Woman or a bloke?"
"Bloke," Eddie replied, "She reckons he needs a man since he's been pining over Potter for the past few months."
Theo laughed quietly as Jacqueline came out of the massage parlour, "Who's this blind date with?"
"Oliver Wood," Eddie said in an amused whisper.
Theo had to hold his hand to his mouth to muffle his laughter, "Gryffindor, Quidditch player, that one?"
"Yep," Eddie said as they followed Jacqueline into an alleyway, "She thinks he's similar enough to Potter for it to be a success."
Jacqueline apparated away. Theo used a spell to discover her apparition co-ordinates and they followed her. She emerged in an alleyway and then began to make her way towards a large apartment building.
"She's either right and it will work or she's wrong and it will be a disaster," Theo said to Eddie as they continued to follow Jacqueline.
"I'm betting that it's going to be a disaster," Eddie sniggered. They had followed Jacqueline into the apartment building and were currently walking up a set of stairs.
She knocked on a door, and they made sure they checked the number on that door. After a few seconds the door swung open and a man appeared in the doorway. He smiled broadly at Jacqueline and kissed her. Eddie and Theo grinned with anticipation as Jacqueline was swept into the flat and the door was shut behind her.
"Did you see that guy?" Theo whispered.
Eddie nodded and whispered back, "He was tall and muscular, exactly like the murderer."
"We better go back and tell Draco that we have a possible suspect," Theo whispered, "But before we do, what do you say to revisiting our old job of breaking and entering?"
Eddie frowned, "What do you mean?"
"If we can sneak in there and somehow get a swab of DNA or even just a fingerprint, it could help as evidence," Theo replied, "So what do you say?"
As realisation shone in Eddie's eyes he said, "Let's do it."
"Please tell me that you found something," Draco said as he stared blankly at his desk.
"Yes, we did," Theo said triumphantly, "Didn't you two?"
"Not exactly," Draco replied, "We did forget to scan the bedroom for finger prints as well as the bathroom and it's been cleaned now. We did our best to do it in the memory format but there was only one extra set of finger prints and we haven't been able to find a match."
"What if I had a sample that you could crosscheck, would that help?" Theo asked.
Draco narrowed his eyes at his friend, "Yes. What did you find?"
"Jacqueline has a lover," Theo said, pulling his wand out and doing a charm that made a fingerprint appear in mid-air, "We don't know his name but we did write down his address."
"I'll put it through the database," Daphne said, taking a slip of paper from Eddie.
Draco had taken his wand out and conjured up the fingerprint he had found at the crime scene. The two prints merged together and glowed green which made Draco's eyes widen, "It's a match!"
Theo and Eddie shared a triumphant look as Draco slipped his wand back into his pocket, "Daphne, find out who this guy is and when you do, make sure you do a background check. Eddie, let's go back to the brothel and see if any of the girls remember seeing this guy on Saturday night. We'll go via the print room so you can turn your memory into a picture."
Eddie nodded, and Daphne busied herself with work. The basement was busy and bustling again, they were finally getting somewhere with this case.
"Good news!"
Daphne jumped when Draco stepped into the basement, "They recognised him?"
"At least three of the girls definitely remember seeing him on Saturday night," Draco said cheerfully, "And they are willing to provide their memories as evidence if required. He's our guy."
"I think you're right," Daphne agreed, "His name is Robert Stevenson. He is 45 years old and he's a retired Auror. He started out in basic crime and worked his way up the ranks until he was working for the top team. He never married and he has no children, he retired when he turned 40."
"An ex Auror would definitely want to stop a smuggling ring," Draco said, "Especially if his lovers Husband was funding that smuggling ring."
"An ex Auror would also know how to cover it up," Theo pointed out, "Killing him in a brothel with a bra strap and removing his wedding ring was clever. It led us down the complete wrong track until we found that encrypted finance report."
"This is our guy," Draco agreed, "And we have the evidence to arrest him. Whether we'll get a confession out of him easily… I don't know. But we do have enough evidence to extract his memories and convict him."
"Here's his address," Daphne said, holding out a slip of parchment.
Draco took it and smiled slightly at her, "I think you should make the arrest with me. This one was personal for you, I think you deserve it."
Daphne only nodded.
Draco then turned to Eddie and Theo, "Go and update Potter, I'm sure he's going to want to sit in on this interrogation."
"Where is Mr. Stevenson?" Harry asked the moment he saw Draco in the main justice department.
"In Interrogation 1, just waiting to be grilled by a certain Head Auror," Draco said in amusement.
Harry smiled sheepishly, "Yeah, I'm transparent, I know. Come on, we'll interrogate him together. This is still your case."
Draco opened the door and they stepped into the interrogation room together. They took seats opposite Robert Stevenson who stared at them intently.
"You were an Auror once Mr Stevenson," Harry said calmly, "You know how this works."
"I do," Robert said, just as calmly, "Which is why I won't answer any of your questions."
"You don't need to," Draco said simply, "We already have enough evidence to extract your memories. Your fingerprints were in the bedroom adjoining the bathroom where Riley Jameson was murdered. You were seen by at least three of the workers at the brothel on Saturday night close to the time that Mr. Jameson was murdered. Those workers are willing to provide their memories of this recollection to help prosecute you."
Robert narrowed his eyes at him, "You need a warrant signed by a judge to extract my memories without my consent."
"A warrant that looks like this one?" Draco asked, sliding a piece of parchment across the table.
Robert swallowed visibly as he looked at the paper. He licked his lips and glanced up, notable nerves in his eyes.
Harry looked impressed with Draco's work, "So Mr. Stevenson, we will get your memories and you will be convicted with or without a confession. All we can do for you now is lessen your sentence. If you are completely uncooperative you will be heading straight for Cell Block Z in Azkaban. I'm sure you know what the Death Eaters and murderers would do to a former Auror in there."
Robert swallowed again, but remained silent.
"If you do give us a written confession we can ensure you will be in Cell Block A or B," Draco continued, "Which would be far more comfortable for you."
"But you would still be serving a life sentence in Azkaban," Harry said, "With no hope of parole for at least 20 years. That would make you 65 by my reckoning by the time you got out. You were an Auror yourself so you know how this works. If you tell us who was blackmailing Riley Jameson you could serve 15 years and get out for good behaviour."
Robert looked down at the table for a long moment. Harry and Draco remained silent as they allowed him to think over this decision. Eventually he looked up and said, "I'll confess and give you their names for a guaranteed place in Cell Block A and the chance of parole after 15 years."
"Deal," Harry said, shaking his hand and sliding the confession paper over, "Write it all down and read it out too please, for the surveillance charms."
Robert sighed and began, "I've been with Jacqueline for just over a year now. She knew about Riley's affairs but he never cared enough to notice hers. When Riley started acting strangely I followed him and I realised that he was funding the smuggling ring that has been in the press recently. I thought by getting him out of the way it would put an end to the problem."
"But it was also pretty convenient for you," Draco said, "Because it would leave Jacqueline as a widow, free for you to marry. Right?"
Robert nodded reluctantly.
"So you killed Riley and tried to make it look as if someone else had," Draco stated.
"I thought if I killed him in that place and made it look like one of his whores had done it that nobody would ever look at me as a suspect," Robert admitted, "Clearly the Ministry isn't the same place that I left."
"Clearly," Harry and Draco said in unison.
"Write it all down," Harry re-iterated, "And then Auror Malfoy will transport you to a holding cell until your trial. Can I leave this in your capable hands, Auror Malfoy?"
Draco nodded, "I'll finish this up," he said.
"Draco! You're going to be late for your date!"
Draco rolled his eyes, "That was my intention, Daphne."
"Well you still have time to get there," Daphne said, her eyes glancing to the clock. It was quarter to 9pm.
"No I don't," Draco objected, "I'm in my work clothes and I don't have time to go home and get changed-"
"Easily fixed," Daphne said, waving her wand and transfiguring his black trousers and white shirt into a pair of smart jeans and a red polo shirt.
"Red?" Draco asked distastefully, "Gryffindor red? Oh you fucking haven't!"
Daphne grinned, "Run along Draco, you don't want to keep your lovely date waiting."
"You've set me up with a Gryffindor?" Draco asked in disbelief as Daphne dragged him out of the basement towards the apparition point, "Oh hell no, it better not be Finnegan. It isn't Finnegan, is it?"
"It's not Finnegan," Daphne replied honestly, "He wasn't even in our year, I doubt you'll remember him."
Draco narrowed his eyes at her, "Older or younger?"
"Older," Daphne replied quickly as she pushed him onto the apparition point, "The Toads Eye, Essex. On you go, have fun!"
"I hate you," Draco said without much real venom.
He turned on his heel and disappeared. Daphne clapped her hands together triumphantly and began to make her way upstairs in the hope of catching Neville before he headed home for the night. She was in luck, because she found him leaning against the railing on Harry's balcony.
"Do you have a minute?"
Neville spun around, "Oh Daphne, hey! I was just about to come and find you. I think I found a job for your squib friend."
"Did you really?" Daphne asked in surprise, "I thought you just said that you would ask around to be nice."
"I like to help people in need too," Neville said with a soft smile, "My friend Hannah is the landlady of the Leaky Cauldron. She's looking for a new waitress to work full-time, she doesn't do background checks or anything like that. She just wants someone who will work hard. Does that sound like your girl?"
"I think so," Daphne said with a real smile. She stepped forward and kissed Neville gently on the lips, "Thank you so much, I'll go and tell her the news right away."
Neville returned her smile, "If she's interested, she's to go to the Leaky Cauldron at 9am tomorrow."
"Thank you Neville," Daphne said again before rushing out of the department.
"Hey again Daphne!" Loretta said brightly, "I heard that you caught the guy who killed Riley."
"We did," Daphne said with a smile, "And he's going to go away for a long time."
"Good," Loretta said genuinely, "Are you here to see Sally because if you are, you should know that you really annoyed her the other day-"
"I'm not here to see Sally," Daphne cut in, "I'm here to see Keeley."
"Oh Keeley's just in the bar," Loretta said cheerfully, "She's not with a client so feel free to go on through."
"Thanks Lorrie," Daphne said, smiling at her old friend and stepping into the bar. She spotted Keeley right away and made a beeline for her table. She sat down without invitation and Keeley looked up, surprised to see her.
"Hey."
"Hey," Daphne replied, "I have a very important question for you and I need you to answer it honestly, okay?"
"Okay," Keeley said slowly.
"Do you want to get out of here?" Daphne asked.
Keeley frowned, "But I'm working...I can't just leave."
"You can if your intention is to never come back," Daphne told her.
Keeley's eyes widened, "What do you mean?"
"I've found a job for you," Daphne said, a smile playing on her lips, "How do you fancy being a waitress at the Leaky?"
"Seriously?" Keeley asked, excitement beginning to break through her harsh façade.
"Seriously," Daphne replied, "My...boyfriend...knows the landlady. She doesn't care about background checks, all she wants is someone who is willing to work hard."
"I would work so hard if it means never having to come back here," Keeley said in an excited whisper.
"You would have to go back to using your real name, Kelsey," Daphne said quietly.
Keeley nodded, "I'll shrug off everything to do with this place, the name and all. I swear."
"I believe you," Daphne said honestly.
"I won't disappoint you Daphne," Keeley promised.
Daphne smiled at her, "I know that you won't. Now come on, let's get out of here."
Keeley positively beamed at the thought.
TBC :)