A/N: As I said in the notes for the last chapter, I'm leaving tomorrow ... well, today for vacation. So I decided to post 2 chapters before I went to bed to hold you guys over a bit. I want to warn you, though. The end of chapter 12 is a cliffhanger. Have a good week.

Chapter 11

Versailles, France

Harry watched from the shadows as young Sandra Weasley was hugged by her parents. A very world weary Bill Weasley looked up to sky, tears streaming down his face.

Sandra glanced over to where he was hiding, but Harry just shrank back further. He couldn't face them. Not yet.

Godric's Hollow

Sunlight streamed through the windows as Severus stired groggily, forcing open his eyes. Staring down at him was Harry Potter's scruffy, early morning face. Severus frowned.

"Harry?" he blinked.

"Good morning, Sev." Harry chirrped. "I've been doing a little thinking." Severus stared blankly. "About the night Susan Bones died."

Severus grimaced. "Do you know what time it is?"

"Day time?"

He sighed. "I'll get dressed."

The Kitchen

Trishia Snape was singing, fixing breakfast and throwing amused glances at her barely awake husband. Harry carefully took off his holster and sat down across the table from Severus.

"You're seriously using ketcup?" he asked the former Professor.

"Yes."

"On eggs."

"Who made the ketcup?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Heinz."

"Who made the eggs?"

Harry looked to Trishia. She glared at both of them.

"You two are so hilarious I could bust."

Harry leaned forward in his chair. "Severus."

"Yeah?"

"That hooker who witnessed the jump the other night. What was her name?"

"Lavender. Lavender Brown," he answered carefully. If Harry had any sort of reaction to the news, it didn't show.

"What's a hooker?" Carrie asked, coming into the room.

"Shh, quiet. I'm combatting crime."

Harry ignored them. "Right, and she's in London witnessing Susan Bone's suicide - "

" - or murder - "

"Right, or murder, and my question is: what is she doing there? I asked around, that's not her usual turf."

"Wow, that's really reaching."

"Cut me a break. It's a hunch, Sev. I'm having a hunch."

"You couldn't have had it at home? You had to come here at 7:30 a.m. and have it?"

"7:35 and yes. I thought you'd be excited."

"I'm thrilled." He paused. "Okay."

"Okay, what?"

"Okay, go for it. I'm listening."

In the Auror training room

Harry and Severus stood on line at the firing range. Around them the echoing BOOM of gunshots filled the morning air. They struggled to be heard over the tumult.

"We know someone was in bed with Susan the night she died," Severus began.

"Right." Harry nodded. "Up until now we assumed it was a man."

"Let's say it was your old friend, Lavender."

"Okay. Disgusting, considering how well I know her, but okay."

Severus gave him a strange look. "Did you sleep with her - ?"

"Moving on." He gave his partner a look that clearly said the subject was dropped. "Let's sa Lavender slipped the mess remover into the pills."

"Say someone paid her to do it."

"Sure. She thinks, terrific, Susan swallows a couple downers and boom! She's dead. Then Lavender - "

"If it was her - "

"Right, right. Then Lavender has plenty of time to spritz the place up, get out, whatever."

"Except Susan jumps out the window."

"Or Lavender pushes her. Either way."

"Either way, she's gotta make a fast get-a-way because now the body's public. She hauls arse downstairs."

"People are coming out to see what happened."

"Someone spots her. She says 'Shit'."

"She actually stops and says 'Shit'."

"Or 'Damn'."

"Or 'Golly, I've been spotted'. The point being ... "

"The point being, now she has to cover her arse."

"So she says 'Officer, Officer, I saw the whole thing'."

"Right."

"Right."

"That's pretty fucking thin," Severus sighed.

"Very thin."

"Hell with it. Thin's my middle name."

"With your wife's cooking, I'm not surprised," smirked Harry.

"Would you lay off the cooking?"

"Tell her that."

Harry stepped to the line. He drew his Beretta and fired off the rest of his clip. Three-shots: two in the chest, one in the head. He removed the empty magazine lovingly and snapped in a new one.

Severus shook his head wryly. "You sleep with that thing under your pillow?"

"I would if I slept."

"Here, stand back." He stepped up and cracked his neck. He fired, the bang deafening, and the
target grew a third eye, dead center. He grinned. "Would you look at that? Pretty good for an old man."

Harry shruged and turned around. He shot backwards. The hole grew larger.

Severus glared at him. "Yeah, yeah. Bite me."