Hey guys! Thank you all so much for the favs, reviews, alerts and PM's. I've been absolutely ecstatic that it crossed 100 reviews :)

Also, thanks for sticking with this story despite my long absence! The story is in its final stages, and this chapter basically reveals most of it. Just the hearing and a lil bit left after this!

So, on with it then!

Enjoy!


Recap:

The gap between the last photos in the first group to the first in the third was a window of 14 days. "Can you recall what happened between Halloween and 14th November in your 7th year? Ginny asked, looking through the pictures again.


"The match." Rose and Al exclaimed together, exchanging dark looks.

"Which one?" Hermione asked, prodding for details.

"The one between Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, our first match of the season." Rose answered slowly, wondering how it fit into the scheme of things.

"Ravenclaw won; there was a brilliant after party. That's pretty much all I remember." Al told him, shrugging.

And then it struck her. "It was the party he got together with June." She choked out, recovering from her shock. She watched the realization spread across Al's face too, at her words. "He was drunk, we all were. I didn't think much of it at the time, but Rose is right. That was the first time he ever gave June any sort of attention. And she hung on like a leech from the next day." Al recollected.

"It's not like he was complaining." Rose snorted, internally regretting every second of that fight she had had with him, about Mark Corner. If she hadn't left, he wouldn't have gotten sloshed, and if he had been sober, he would never have spoken to June. The burden of the consequences of that fight weighed her down now.

"Of course he wasn't, June was a very" whatever he was going to say, he swallowed, after receiving a death glare from his favourite cousin.

"Alright, back to the topic. It's quite obvious now that June had a part to play in all this too. The question is, did all this lead up to the murder, or is it a different case altogether." Hermione said, calling the youngsters back to attention.

Harry decided to apparate back at that very moment, startling them all as he popped in suddenly. He had 2 folders in his hand, which obviously contained the report he had gone looking for. Before he revealed what he had found out, however, he stooped down to see what they had been up to in his absence.

"Aunt Hermione noticed the difference in Scorpius' stance and behaviour in the different photos. We put them in order, and realized that he moved from happy to uneasy in a span of 2 weeks, sometime during our 7th year. Only one major event happened during that time span, a quidditch match victory, leading up to the beginning of his relationship with June, during the after match party." Al filled him in. He listened to the story, not interrupting, while he surveyed the pictures himself, a thoughtful look on his face.

"It might be something, but there is no proof for any of this. It may not be the reason at all." Harry admitted, sorry to see the disappointed looks around him.

"It's alright. Good job guys, we have discovered a lot in the past few minutes." Harry said, pacing up and down as he put things into perspective.

"So there was a change in Scorpius' behaviour immediately after he met June. Six months later, he wanted to confess his love for Rose, when he met Jake, and that changed the game again. He told Rose to stay out of his life, something that June obviously wanted, and then moved in with June. They got engaged a year later, but waited till last year to finally tie the knot. Then, June claimed she was pregnant, two months before Scorpius was accused and sent to Azkaban. He was in jail for six months, was pining for June the entire time, while she didn't have the courage to face him. Rose impersonated June; June found out, met Scorpius herself, and then Scorpius kicked the actual June out, demanding to see Rose. Rose then found out she had been lying to Scorpius about the pregnancy matter, possibly to save her marriage, but the man in question doesn't remember anything but a few useless details." Harry said, bringing everyone up to speed.

"Am I missing anything?" he questioned, stopping his pacing to survey his audience.

"Meanwhile the actual culprit, Jake Rodgers, June's elder brother, committed heinous crimes, and tried to frame Scorpius for the entire fiasco. He most probably also kidnapped me, and was posing as Mr. Malfoy while doing so. And he has an accomplice." Rose added to her Uncle's summary.

"That is consistent with what I discovered at the Manor. The person who broke in to steal Malfoy's DNA was a relative of the Malfoys. Jake falls under that category; he becomes family by default as he is June's brother." Hermione stated, adding some proof to their theory, though not anything substantial.

"Now the question is why he did it, what were his motives?" Harry pondered, starting to pace once more. "Also, how did he manage to frame Scorpius, without any trace of magic?" Al wondered out loud.

"He could have blackmailed him with something…" Hermione trailed off. Harry shook his head, "No, that doesn't explain his missing memories."

What did you find out from the report, Uncle Harry? Anything on Jake?" Rose asked, aiming for a different angle.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" he cried, turning back to the table and picking up the file.

"You won't believe this." He stated grimly, as he opened the report to the relevant page. His next words however, hadn't been anticipated by the rest. "He's a squib." Harry said, reading further.

"But- but... How?" Rose stammered, words failing her at such a discovery.

"Maybe this explains everything, Rose. Why there were no other traces of magic in that Adrian bloke's place. The inefficient spells, the shoddy planning, everything." Al said, taking up from where his father had left off, still immersed in the file.

"Still doesn't explain why he framed Scorpius, or how he did it." Hermione piped in, trying to keep them grounded.

"Maybe Scorpius was an easy target. He was his sister's boyfriend after all, plus an ex-death eater's son, pretty convenient. The prophet blew things out of proportion, the commoners were out raged, and all he needed was a scapegoat. Voila, Scorpius Malfoy is sent to Azkaban for a crime he didn't commit." Al said, his voice getting harsher with each word he spat, his anger on behalf of his best mate shining through.

"Calm down, Albus." Harry warned severely.

It had the desired effect, and he fell silent, still simmering with anger at the injustice of it all.

Rose didn't let herself get carried away with the new developments. All they were doing was conjecture, everything easily dismissed by a court, without evidence. She was more practical than her hot headed cousin, more of a rational thinker, though he often tagged her, a pessimist.

"Assuming what you say is true, how he did it still eludes us." she maintained. Al let out a frustrated groan at her logic. "He didn't have a want, obviously. Which probably means he had an accomplice, who did the dirty work for him?" Hermione guessed, trying to keep the discussion moving.

"Or he stole a wand." Al muttered darkly.

"Would that work, mum? A stolen wand, in the hands of a squib?" Rose asked.

"It would depend on a lot of things, I suppose. His capabilities, skills, how he channelized the little magic I him, whether he was always a squib or was turned into one, if he" Hermione rattled off, counting the factors rapidly.

"Ok, we get it." Harry interrupted, clearly used to her rants. "Can you figure it out from the information here?" he asked, handing her the file. She took it from him and got immersed in it immediately.

"While I was at the office, I put three teams out for Jake Rodgers. He should be ours by sunrise." Harry informed them, sighing.

Immediately Rose moved out of her seat, motioning for him to sit down, while Hermione figured things out. He took the seat gratefully, sinking into it as he helped himself to one of his wife's cookies.

"That's good news." Al nodded, "Should I go too?" he asked his father, ready to leave on command. "No, stay. We could use you here. It was thanks to your photos that we were able to identify him. Though why they are scattered all over my office, I don't know." Harry groaned reproachfully, staring around at the mess in his study.

"We'll help you clean up, don't worry." Rose promised, as she bent to pick up some pictures which had fallen to the ground. "Thank you, Rose. That would be a major help." Harry accepted, waiting on Hermione, as the two youngsters began clearing.

"Any leads on my wand?" she questioned hopefully. "No luck, sorry. However, I'm sure if we find Rodgers, we'll find the wand." Harry assured, confidently.

"It's getting late, Mione. Why don't you take that back home. I'm sure Ron will be worried. We can meet back here, early tomorrow to take things forward. I'll update Blake on what we found now." Harry proposed, getting to his feet.

"Yeah, that sounds good. Don't worry about Ron; I knocked him out with a dreamless sleep potion. He was throwing a hissy fit about Rose being involved." Hermione admitted sheepishly.

"I'll see you later then." She said, hugging him. "If you need to talk, you know where to find me." she addressed her daughter, before waving them all good night and disapparating home, folders in hand.

"We'll finish up here, Rosie, go home." Harry said, but she was adamant to help.

"Go home, Rose." Harry ordered, prying a set of photographs out of her hands. Stubborn as she was she wouldn't let go.

"I'm fine, Uncle Harry. Besides, if I go home now, I wouldn't be able to sleep anyway." she convinced, but she realized her attempt was in vain, as he wasn't even listening to her.

He was staring at the photos he had recovered from her, his expression closely guarded.

"What are these?" he asked, flipping through them, studying each one carefully.

"Did you notice his face too, then?" Ginny laughed, coming up behind him to see that he was looking at the third set Hermione had created, the pictures of Scorpius with June.

"I saw it too. He must really have loved her; I only saw that expression on Ron's face at the altar." Ginny said smiling, ignoring her husband's lack of response.

"No, Gin. I've seen this look on Ron's face too, only it wasn't during the wedding. It was in sixth year, on his birthday to be precise." Harry shook his head grimly.

"But, if that's true... That means-" Ginny trailed off, in shock as she followed Harry's train of thoughts.

"What? What happened on my dad's birthday? What does it mean?" Rose questioned, not understanding a word of what they were discussing, or why Ginny was so shocked.

"Call Hermione back." Harry told her, disregarding her questions. "I'm on it." Al complied, disapparating on the spot.

"What's happening, Aunt Ginny?" Rose asked, now frustrated at the lack of information.

"We'll explain in a second, dear." Ginny consoled her mind clearly elsewhere.

"What's wrong?" Hermione burst in, Al 2 seconds behind her.

"Amortentia." was all Harry said, waiting for her response.

"What? How?" she asked, finding it difficult to grasp the simple concept.

The word drew a gasp from Rose, and all the blood drained her face, as she thought over it. Her knuckles were white from her death grip on the chair in front of her, as the implications began to sink in.

A love potion.

Had it really been that simple?

It would explain why Scorpius had fallen for June so thoroughly, after the party. Why he couldn't go even a few minutes without her. Why it had caused such a strain on their friendship. Why he looked so uneasy when she wasn't by his side. How he had done everything she had commanded, including the murder of a young woman.

The thought made her sick to the stomach. She didn't know how much more of this she could bear.

Al's words came back to her, 'He fancied you. He was going to tell you that day.'

"If that was the case he couldn't have been in love with Rose, too!" Al said, voicing her thoughts and bringing her back to the present.

She had missed the discussion around her, but it hardly mattered anymore. She fought to keep focus and listen to what her mum was saying. "But it might have worn off. Six months is a long time, for it to act. He must have started regaining his will power back, and realized that he loved Rose, not June." Hermione was saying.

"Then why did he tell me to get lost?" Rose voiced, her inner turmoil clearly visible on her anguished face. Silence greeted her challenge, as they all mulled over it. A whole minute passed, before Al tried, tentatively, "Maybe she realized and added it to his drink again?"

"Yes! When she dragged him away, to meet her brother." Ginny jumped up. "He even has a drink in the photo. How hard would it have been to slip it in, especially when he was so distracted." She continued, convinced completely by this theory.

"It's definitely a possibility." Harry concluded. "You said he looked pale and nervous, they would both be signs of him having ingested the potion." Harry added.

"Or of fifty other potions or reasons." Hermione disagreed, obviously doubtful. "You have to admit that it is probable, Mione." Harry pressed, to which she grudgingly agreed.

"So if we search June's house we'll find traces of Amortentia?" Al asked, moving forward, trying to notch up some form of evidence to support their theory.

"Unlikely." Harry admitted, "He's been away for more than six months. And going by what Rose said about marriage problems, she must have stopped administering it a while before that. Even eight to ten months back."

"You can still try, can't you?" Hermione coerced, getting on board finally.

"Alright, I'll see what I can do." Harry gave in.

"Does amortentia give her the power of making him do what she wants?" Rose asked, her voice hollow.

"It would have made him so infatuated; he would have done anything she asked of him." Hermione answered, worried by the state of her daughter. When she moved to comfort her, however she flinched and turned away.

"How does Jake fit into all this?" Rose enquired, drawing everyone back to the case.

"He realizes that June has someone under her control, uses it to his advantage?" Al guessed.

"But June loved him; she went through the trouble of concocting a love potion for him. Sure it's a twisted way, but still. She wouldn't have given him up so easily." Hermione argued.

"He blackmailed her, then? Said he would expose her to Scorpius if she didn't comply?" Al tried again. "Or he imperiused her. That would explain how he got a wand. He stole hers. And she's probably his accomplice too." Rose said darkly.

"If that's true, all we have to do is find June. She'll be proof enough." Harry nodded, agreeing with his niece.

"So that explains how he did it. Why, is all that remains." Hermione sighed.

"We should get that straight from the horse's mouth, tomorrow morning." Harry said, barely concealing a yawn. "Well off you go. Get some rest before the hearing." he said, and pushed them all out, before anyone could protest otherwise.


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Do leave your thoughts! I would LOVE to hear what you guys are thinking. To all those of you who guessed it right, I hope you weren't disappointed!

Hope this explains why Scorpius was acting as he did? I know it doesn't justify his actions completely, but then again, the story isn't over, is it ;)

On that note, till next time :)