(DMacX) I am glad we talked about this :)

(Sarah) Thanks. Well, someone needs to do that, but now that this is done, they can have more fun... not that I am saying Sherlock doesn't find interrogating people fun. But Diagon Alley is still more fun (at least for me to write)

(HarnGin) Thank you. And I know, it is nice - I guess he is entitled to do nice things once in a while, even though it might be a stretch for him...
Well, Sherlock is on a case, so no food... unfortunately for the other two, it's around lunch time, though Ron might have been hungry even if it wasn't :D

(SeverusDmitri18) Absolutely :)

(Sailor Celaeno) Thanks :)

(swanpride) I am sure Sherlock would get it one way or another.

(dana-san) Thanks. I checked the chapter, though I doubt I found what you had in mind. But if there are any more jarring things, just let me know and I would make corrections. Lets say that if Sherlock doesn't learn to at least tolerate Ron, his chances that he will be well liked in wizarding world are not good.

(mervoparkite) I'm glad you like it :) It will get better... eventually, don't worry.

(merchiewnnabe) Thank you! This means a lot to me :) umm... yeah, I was told that sometimes I am too formal. Hope later chapters are less and less so. If there is anything that you find too distracting (or just plain stupid on my part), just let me know where and what it is and I will make the corrections. Teddy is in school right now, so he is not planned in this story, but Hermione will show up (I've been saying this for a long time, but trust me she really will be there). Thank yo again for your wonderful review :)

And special thanks for Zarathustra46 and DMacX, who helped with next chapters. I don't know what I would do without you :)

CHAPTER 21

"What are you going to do then?" asked the wizard, while he studied the writing intently. He hated to admit it, but the detective was right – it would be better to leave this to Mycroft.

Which would also mean the three of them could (finally!) part. He couldn't wait to get as far away as possible from this menace. He wanted to hex him quite a few times during their short acquaintanceship, but this last thing – leaving those blasted papers behind – it was literally the last drop. He'd had enough of the detective and of being regarded as an idiot. He didn't need this sort of Malfoy-ish behaviour around!

It was not that he was opposed to Sherlock's decision to help that Blackwell woman, it was the fact that the man thought he could do anything. For Merlin's sake, it was Ron's case! He was just a bloody consultant or something along those lines and yet, he got the impression he was in charge here. The wizard didn't expect much, but informing him about such decisions, should have been automatic. As if he would not agree with such a gesture! The fact that this act also showed that the detective was able to behave like a human being towards a total stranger, while he found it impossible to be civil to Ron himself, just added insult to injury. One more time, he swore, one more time…

The sooner he got away from Sherlock bloody Holmes, the better… He wondered whom he could rope into this ungrateful job if Harry would not have time to deal with Holmes by himself.

"Simple," shrugged Sherlock. "John and I are going to Diagon Alley."

"You are going to Diagon Alley?" Ron's head snapped towards him, hoping that somehow he just imagined what the man said.

"We are?" asked John.

"Why not?" asked the detective. "Don't tell me you don't want to go back, John. I, for one know you were terribly disappointed when we needed to leave yesterday."

"Yes," nodded John, not even bothering to deny it, "but…"

"I thought you were going to do something more… meaningful," interjected the Auror, glaring at the Muggle. This was certainly not what he expected. "Shouldn't you concentrate on the case? Just because you are going to delegate some work to your brother, doesn't mean you have nothing to do! Imagine the fiasco, when it gets out that all you want to do is frolic around in wizarding places! Why don't you try looking for information about that gang leader of yours while Mycroft looks for his location? You have contacts with Muggle police; they might know something. This is why you were called in after all!"

"Excuse me? Frolic?!" Sherlock spat out the word. "I want to engage in potion experiments. I already made some notes and the time while I wait for Mycroft would be sufficient to start on them. It would be hard to do if I don't stop in the Alley and buy some ingredients first though. And," he turned to John and started reasoning with him, as soon as he noticed that Ron remained unmoved, "I still didn't think of an acceptable excuse for Molly, or Lestrade for that matter. Wouldn't it be better if we avoid them for the time being? Going to Yard would be practically inviting him to ask. And if I don't start on those experiments then I will be forced to continue with the cultures I left at Bart's, because for now there is simply nothing I can do with this case. Besides, the man is inconsequential."

"Potions?" echoed the wizard still glaring. "You can't even brew those! It might end up as a disaster! You're a Muggle, try to remember that!" He paused when Sherlock's final words finally hit him. "Wait a moment… why in Merlin's name do you want your brother to find him then?!"

"Exactly," nodded the dark-haired man ignoring the warning about potions. "I want Mycroft to find him, personal information about him is really not that important. We're tracking Milverton's steps, not his, because what we need to know is what he did outside of his routine, instead of catching some con-artist."

"Really?" asked John. It looked like Sherlock already formed a hypothesis about the murder and he was following it. The doctor wondered what it is, because he was still in the dark.

"Don't you see it?" sighed the detective. "We are looking for a wizard – most probably a criminal – hiding among Muggles. Which is rather clever," he mused, "considering you usually try to stay away from our world. It means you would overlook them, if they don't do anything that draws attention to them – like now."

"Aha… sure," agreed Ron flatly. "And this occurred to you… how?"

John was rather interested to know too, as he wondered what line of thoughts his friend used to figure this out.

"Because right now I operate with two premises," replied Sherlock. "First: One of Milverton's past victims had some wizarding connection and someone wanted to avenge them. However, for this to be true they would – for some reason – wait an unnecessary long time to commit the act, as we know that, except for Miss Blackwell, he didn't currently have anyone else on his list. That is assuming they even know about the connexions. The victims usually do not tell or leave clues leading to Milverton. Regardless, this venue needs to be covered as well, that's why we need the backgrounds to be checked."

"What is the other one?" asked John.

"Second," continued Sherlock, "Milverton lived by his routine, never changing it, except when he was hunting down information. So we know that this was disrupted, because of Miss Blackwell. Why? He needed to find her previous lover, of course, because he wanted the leverage that man could have provided. Somehow along the way, he started posing a threat to a member of your community. It might have been various reasons, from accidentally discovering said magical person, to being a thorn in some plan they might have had in that area. I don't need to tell you that wherever Milverton found Miss Blackwell's 'friend' is not exactly a good neighbourhood – that's given by his occupation. So we need to ask, what kind of wizard or witch would live in, or visit, a questionable Muggle area and take murder as an answer to encountering a nosy Muggle? There must have been other ways and yet, they decided for this route…"

Ron was staring at the detective. "There are… but they all involve the Ministry. They could have cast charms on Milverton, so he wouldn't remember. But that would alert the Ministry, as unauthorized use of spells on Muggles isn't allowed. So they would be reversed to find out who did it. It is possible to do that, unless the strongest charms are used, which only a very few can do – in that case it would be ill-advised to try to remove them for the possibility of damaging the victim's mind. Or the witch or wizard in question could have informed authorities from the start and they could have taken care of Milverton, but in that scenario, this person would need to actually come to the Ministry, because we were unaware of anything that might have happened with Milverton until he was murdered. So your theory about the murderer being someone who wants to avoid us seems plausible."

Sherlock seemed extremely happy upon hearing this. "I knew it! This is better than I initially thought! We really are looking for a wizarding outlaw, gentlemen!" he exclaimed excitedly.

"Why is he so happy?" Ron turned to John and asked quietly, not for the first time questioning the sanity of the detective. If anything this was time to panic. He recollected the list of wanted people, and though it wasn't long, there were some people from the wizarding war that had disappeared without a trace.

"Don't mind it. He just enjoys when the criminals show a bit of competence," replied John, used to his friend's antics.

"Joy," deadpanned the wizard, still thinking just whom they might be dealing with.

The detective didn't notice, as he was in his own world, continuing his own tirade, "They took care of Milverton later, when he was at home, where it would be almost impossible for us to suspect anything. They were just hoping you wouldn't become involved, because in that case, we, as in Muggles who would come in contact with the cadaver, would be trying to figure what happened, but at the end it would be dismissed as unknown yet natural case of death, because we would be missing one giant detail – that it really is possible to murder someone in a manner that literally leaves no trace…"

So the case was almost finished now. All they needed now was to call Mycroft, give him the name from Blackwell, and figure out how exactly Milverton encountered someone magical. It was true that the murderer might have fled after the act, but then they wouldn't take the pain to finish Milverton in his home, instead right where they met. No, Sherlock, was fairly certain that whoever that was, thought they were secure at their location. He looked at his two companions expecting some sort of recognition, but only John seemed somewhat impressed, the Auror on the other hand was completely unfocused and it was apparent that his mind was wandering. Sherlock narrowed his eyes. So he didn't even bother to hear him out after he doubted him?!

"I know you want that break badly, admitting it yourself, but do try to pay attention while we're still on the case," he said sarcastically. "Apparate us to the Alley and you can do what you wish, we won't be keeping you company any longer."

This worked as a switch on Ron, who really wanted to part with them on (relatively) good terms, after all, he would most likely not see the detective again (John he didn't mind at all and he would make sure to help him in the wizarding world whenever that would be possible without having to deal with Holmes too), but the pompous git just needed to open his gob, didn't he. "No!" he said forcefully.

"I beg your pardon?" Sherlock was evidentially taken aback.

"No I won't apparate you to the Alley!" growled Ron loudly. Then he reminded himself that they were still in front of Blackwell's house and lowered his voice, though it was still furious. "I won't apparate you anywhere! I put up with you for the whole morning. Can you even imagine how unprofessionally you're behaving?" He shook his head, "Of course you can. You're doing it on purpose! How long did you think I would last? Does it amuse you? Now let me behave like you do! We will find out how you like it! Who do you even think you are? You're allowed here, putting the reputation of the best people our Ministry has had in years – from Kingsley to Hermione – on stake if something, anything goes wrong. So you managed to figure the clues so far! Big deal! And that is assuming you even got it right! But it still doesn't give you the right to prance around like a bloody peacock. You don't know a thing about our world, our history and yet you have the gall to call me stupid? Do you think I can't turn the table and show how uninformed you are?! But I didn't do that! Harry didn't do that! We go out of our way to make you feel included, but bloody hell, I've had enough! I said I need a break. And I do! I'm resigning from this case! Congratulations! You won! It's not my obligation to take everything you throw at me! Just like it's not my obligation to take you to the Alley! You said you're finished with the case for today? Fine! So it's your free time now. I'm an Auror, not your wizarding transport. If you want to go there, I am sure you can manage it on your own. Like everything else, because you are just oh-so-bloody-brilliant!"

Though this outburst shouldn't have been unexpected it still left Sherlock speechless and it even took John, who saw the warning signs, a few seconds to recover. But when he did, he gladly took charge, preventing Sherlock from making this bad situation even worse.

"Sorry for all the trouble today," he started, not really sure what to say, to make the morning look less terrible. "Well, I for one, am grateful you were sent on this case with us. And I really appreciated what you told me about Hogwarts…"

Ron tore his glare from Sherlock. He was thankful that John didn't take this badly, because he really enjoyed his company. He still wasn't completely calmed down, but his problem was with Holmes, not John… "I see no reason, why you would need to feel sorry. And I wouldn't be opposed to telling you more, just give Harry a call, which reminds me," he turned the note from Miss Blackwell to the other side and took out a quill, as well as bottle of ink, from his pocket (John was once again reminded about all the stuff he saw him take out the previous day) and somehow managed to write on the paper. "He promised you his number, but forgot when he… had other things on his mind." They all knew what he was referring to. It was just too bad that Sherlock didn't take it to heart.

"Right," said John, pocketing the paper. He was glad, that Ron found it in himself to remember this – he wouldn't have been surprised if he deliberately forgot, especially since they wouldn't have asked. "Good luck with your brother."

"Yeah. Last time he asked for my help, I got stuck with an elephant trunk for five hours. Here is hoping this time it will go better. Have a nice day, John." The wizard gave the doctor a strained smile, deliberately not paying any attention to the detective. Then he turned away looking around for a good place to apparate. He decided to go down-street and soon disappeared around the corner.

When John shot his friend a disapproving glance, Sherlock just ignored him and took out his phone.

Woo hoo... go Ron! :) We'll be seeing him again (sooner than you think) don't worry