Harry, we have to stop this.
Why?
My father...if he knows, he's going to kill me.
He won't, Draco. I won't let him.
"Please give way to the police, please give way."
Percy Weasley squeezed through the crowd of students, making his way to the crime scene.
"Good morning Sir."
"Good morning, Percy. Lets go."
Percy followed his officer, walking further into the forbidden forest. A strong smell of rotting meat and death hit him, as he treaded on the fallened leaves, careful not to destroy any evidence.
"Over there."
Percy nodded and walked towards the body lying under the tree. He took out his gloves and put them on. Crouching down, he lifted up the white cloth, and a pale face stared back at him, black wavy hair falling into soulless eyes.
"Who is she?"
"Lisa Turpin. Seventh year. Ravenclaw."
"Who did this?"
"That, is what you are going to find out."
Percy looked at the corpse again and though he smelled a faint scent of cabbages. He pulled the white cloth over the body and his blood turned cold.
"Don't worry, I'm going to find the bastard that killed you."
Harry, are you sure they won't find out?
They won't, Draco. They won't. They have nothing.
Percy slumped into his chair, staring blankly at the ceiling.
There was nothing. Nothing at all. No fingerprints, no blood. Nothing. How was he going to catch the culprit?
Percy sighed, burying his head into his hands. Suddenly, he heard a knock from the door.
"Come in."
Penelope Clearwater entered and Percy smiled.
"The report is ready."
"Thanks."
"Good luck. Hope you'll find the killer." Penelope smiled as she closed the door.
Percy looked at the report, his eyes scanning quickly through it.
Approx. Time of Death: 9.00 to 9.30 P.M, 26 March 1998
Crime scene: The forbidden forest
Cause of Death: Suffocation
Percy looked further.
Evidence found on corpse:
1) A strand of blond hair 10.5 cm long
2) A green silk thread
'Blond hair...there's so many blondes in the school! And the hair may not be the killers. It may be her friends's. No use.
'Green silk...have to ask Pen to check out the manufacturer...'
Percy closed the report, his right hand rubbing his tired eyes. After a while, he stood up and walked to the door, taking his cloak off the hanger.
"Miss Brocklehurst, do you know Lisa Turpin?"
"Yes Sir. She's a Ravenclaw and is...was in the same year as I am. We were good friends."
"Do you find anything amiss in her behavior recently?"
"No...but she was sick on the day she was...she was killed."
"Can you tell me the details? The time you saw her, when and where."
"That day when I woke up, around 7:30 A.M, Lisa told me that she was sick and did not want to watch the quidditch match, then she returned to bed. After supper, when I came back to the room, she said she felt better and went to the library as usual, at around 9 P.M. That was the last time I saw her."
"Do you recall any other incidents? Anything."
"I don't know...but that night, she kept on waking up to drink from a bottle. She normally was a heavy-sleeper and I don't recall her having the bottle."
"Thank you Miss Brocklehurst. And take this," Percy handed a hankerchief to her.
"Don't cry. Your friend wouldn't have wanted you to be sad."
Percy went through everything said by the people he interviewed. It was no help at all. He was still at the same place where he started out at first. Frustrated, he buried his hands in his hair, staring at the patch of grass in-front of him. A pair of shoes suddenly came into view.
"In trouble?"
"Penelope? Why are you here?"
Penelope smiled, tossing her long hair behind her shoulders.
"You wanted the name of the manufacturer, didn't you?"
"Good afternoon, Mrs. Hopkins."
"Good day, Sir and Madam. How can I help you?"
"We believe you're the only shop in the world that produces such a kind of silk, right?"
Penelope handed the thread of silk to the shopkeeper and she studied it carefully.
"Yes, I made this silk myself."
"Mrs. Hopkins, we believe that whomever that bought this silk from you is connected to a murder. We hope that you'll help us by listing out all the people that bought such an item from you."
"Hold on for a moment, I'll need to check the account book."
"Sorry, Professor Snape. Can we talk to Mr. Malfoy for a while?"
Severus Snape glared at the two polices for a while before giving Draco permission to go out.
"What do you want?" Draco asked.
"We'll like to ask you where you were on 26 March, from 9 P.M onwards."
"Why are you asking me this question?"
"Just answer them." Percy glared at Draco.
"I was in the Slytherin common room with my friends."
"Who were the people present?" Penelope asked.
"Blaise, Pansy, Vincent, Gregory."
"When did the party end?"
"Around midnight."
"Were you there the whole time?"
"No. I went to the kitchen to get some drinks at around 9 P.M. I came back at around 9.30 P.M. I went out again at around 10 P.M to return the cups and came about 15 minutes later."
"Mr. Malfoy, do you recognize this cloak?" Percy asked, handing a picture of a cloak to Draco.
"Yes. I bought it a few months ago for my father. A Christmas present."
"Your father?"
Percy turned around to look at Penelope, who was also staring back at him.
"Was your father in Hogwarts?"
"Yes. He stayed in Hogwarts from 25 to 26 March."
"And for?"
"He came to visit Professor Snape, a family friend, and to watch the quidditch match."
"Thank you, Mr. Malfoy. We'll contact you if we need any more help."
"You are welcome."
Harry, they came to me today.
Did they ask you about the cloak?
They did.
Good. Everything's according to plan.
"What he said was true. All the people said that he was with them except from 9 to 9.30 P.M. and from 10 to 10.15 P.M. They were celebrating Slytherin's win over Hufflepuff. The house-elves also said that they saw him in the kitchen and gave him the drinks."
"But he didn't have any witness when he was walking back."
"It's impossible, Percy. That'll only leave him 15 minutes. Even 30 minutes wouldn't be enough for him to kill and carry the body to the forbidden forest."
"What about the cloak? Did he have it?" Percy asked.
"No. I've searched through his room. He doesn't have the cloak."
Percy sighed, nursing his hands around the cup of hot coffee that Penelope bought for him.
"Percy, why do you think that it's Draco Malfoy?"
"I don't know. I just don't trust that kid."
"I don't think Draco Malfoy did it. I think it's Lucius Malfoy. He didn't have any witness during the murder period and a thread from his cloak was found."
"Lucius Malfoy didn't have any reason to kill the Lisa Turpin."
"Oh yes, he did. I just interrogated Padma Patil, another Ravenclaw. She told me that Lisa Turpin knocked into Lucius Malfoy after supper, on 25 March. She also said that Malfoy wore the same cloak for both days."
"He killed her because she knocked into him?"
"Wait...I'm not finished. Lisa Turpin later wanted to tell her something, and mumbled about Lucius Malfoy and a mark, but she didn't finish it. Padma said that Lisa looked very frightened then. Maybe she saw the dark mark..."
"Though I'm quite sure Malfoy already sold himself to You-Know-Who, I'm still not convinced that he killed Lisa Turpin. Why can't he use a memory charm? And Lucius Malfoy wouldn't kill using his hands. That's too muggle-like. He'll use magic. Like the killing curse."
"Well, I'm going to get a warrant to interrogate him now. Want to come along?"
"No...I think I'll keep a closer look on junior Malfoy."
Draco, did you tell him?
I told him already.
Perfect.
Percy walked down the corridor, recalling the crime scene. The ground was dry, and there was a heavy stench of rotten meat. He had took a look at the body, hollow eyes staring back at him...and there was a faint scent of cabbages.
Cabbages...cabbages! That's it! It must be in some ways connected to the murderer. Percy ran through all the available sources of cabbages. The kitchen and Hagrid.
When Percy went to the kitchen, the house-elves told him that nobody asked for any cabbages and kept on pushing food to him. After he finally managed to escape the house-elves, he went to Hagrid's hut.
"Oh, 'ello Percy. Com'on in!"
Percy wented into the warm, cosy hut and sat down on the huge armchair.
"Hagrid, did you plant any cabbages?"
"Nah, stopped since a few weeks ago. All those stupid leeches ate up ever'thing! Nothin' can kill them, even Harry can't!
"Harry?"
"Yah, good boy. Tried to help me get rid of them. If ya wanna get some cabbages, go look for Severus! He has some for his potions."
"Professor Snape?"
"Professor Snape, I understand that you have some cabbages with you."
"They are all used up."
"Sir, where were you during 26 March, from 9 to 9.30 P.M?"
"I was in Dumbledore's office. Go straight to the point boy, don't waste my time."
"Erm...nothing. Thank you Professor."
When Percy was about to leave, Snape gave him a small scroll of parchment.
"Take this to Argus and tell him to restock these ingredients. He didn't get enough the last time."
As Percy walked out of Snape's office, he read the names on the list. 'Lacewing flies, powdered bicorn horn, boomslang skin, fluxweed'. Coincidently, these items were also the ingredients for the Polyjuice potion. And...and the Polyjuice potion smelled like cabbages! That's it! The killer used Polyjuice, but for what? Percy looked at the list again. The only ingredients that were missing were leeches and knotgrass.
'Wait a minute...leeches? Harry helped Hagrid get rid of the leeches...'
Immediately, Percy ran to the Gryffindor tower.
"Harry, I need to talk to you for a moment!" Percy shouted.
Harry quickly told the rest of the quidditch players to continue practicing, before flying down to see Percy.
"Sorry for interrupting your practice, Harry. I need to ask you some questions."
"What is it?"
"You helped Hagrid get rid of the leeches, did you?"
"Yes..."
"Did you use it to make the Polyjuice Potion?"
"Yes. I made them a few weeks ago."
Percy though he saw Harry's eyes became a shade darker.
"Where did you get the rest of the ingredients from?"
"I took the knotgrass from the green-house, and...and I stole the rest from the potion classroom."
"Why did you make it?"
"I heard that Snape is going to test us on Polyjuice Potion, so I practised making it."
"Where were you on 26 March from 9 to 9.30 P.M?"
"I was on the quidditch pit with Ron. I let him fly my broom."
"Thank you, Harry."
"You're welcome."
"He committed suicide, Percy. Used the desino curse. A very difficult spell. His heart just stopped beating." Penelope read from the report.
"How did you find him?"
"A muggle that lived nearby reported seeing someone suspicious."
"Impossible...why would he commit suicide?" Percy asked.
"He ran away, Percy, that shows that he's guilty. And maybe he killed himself because he knew that he can't get away with it."
"I still don't think it's him. This must have got something to do with Draco Malfoy."
"Oh, come on Percy. It couldn't be Draco Malfoy. He didn't have enough time! I though we already fixed that."
"There must be some way..."
"Percy, it's Lucius Malfoy. Everything fits the profile. He didn't have any witness, and the hair, the thread of silk fit the profile. Further more, he had a reason to kill."
"But Lucius won't use his hands to kill!" Percy argued back.
"Then who do you think killed Lisa Turpin?"
"I don't know. But I'm sure Draco Malfoy has something to do with the murder."
"I already said that he didn't have enough..."
"What if someone helped him?"
"What?" Penelope stared at him, as if he's mad.
"What if Malfoy's not the only one that killed Lisa Turpin? What if someone helped him?"
"And who do you have in mind?"
"Harry Potter."
Draco, he came to me today.
What? Why?
They know about the potion.
What do we do now?
Just stay calm. They don't have anything on us. They have nothing. Nothing.
Percy paced around the Gryffindor dorm entrance, trying to link everything up. Suddenly, he felt a pat on his shoulder and he yelled.
"Hey! No need to be so jumpy."
"Ron! I was waiting for you."
"Me?"
"Where were you on 26 March, from 9 to 9.30 P.M?"
"I was flying."
"Was Harry with you?"
"He was watching me the whole time!"
"Ron, I need to ask you something about Harry. It's very important, you have to tell me the truth, ok?"
"Ok, Mr. Creevey, I understand that you are very...aware of what is happening around Mr. Potter."
"I...I just like to take his photos Sir. This isn't wrong, right?"
"No, it is not wrong. But we'll like you to help us. Can you show me all the photos you have of Mr. Harry Potter?"
"Pen, I got it."
"Got what?"
"I can link Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter together. I know how they did it."
"Are you sure? Do you have all the evidence?"
"No. But I know how they did it. We'll just have to force it out of them."