For disclaimer please see chapter 01.

Spoilers: There are HEAVY spoilers for OotP!

A/N: Thank you! Thank you! Thank you for reviewing! Comments to my poor, neglected readers can be found at the bottom. But now – enjoy (hopefully ;-) ) !

The OC's:

- Todd Garrett  : owner of the pub and the inn called `The queasy Bludger´, friend of Olivers' 

- Polly Graham : cook at `The queasy Bludger´

- Shauna, Lydia & Daphne : waitresses at `The queasy Bludger´

~*~*~*~

"So," the blue-haired lady said.

"So…" Todd Garrett, owner of `The queasy Bludger´ answered, brows furrowed in

concentration. "Um…so what?"

"So what do you think? Do these kind of things happen often around here?"

Todd laughed humourlessly. "Do you mean if my pub is often used as a place to dump

corpses? No, not really. It's just a pub after all."

"Right. Sorry, that's not what I meant," she sighed, scrunching up her rather large

hooked nose. "So let me rephrase, please. Do you know the victim? Or maybe you might have a theory why he was `dumped´ - as you so charmingly put it – in your pub. Surely there must be a reason for that."

Todd shook his head. "No, Miss Tonks. I have absolutely no idea about the identity of

the poor man."

"Hm. Alright. Who has access to the kitchen?"

"Well, Polly Graham, of course," Todd shrugged, "then there are the waitresses, Shauna,

Lydia and Daphne."

Tonks scribbled the names down (she simply had to get one of Kingsely's enchanted

quills Tonks decided as her fingers cramped up from writing), content with the fact that at least there weren't too many people who had access to the crime scene. Maybe this case would prove to be not as complicated as she had feared in the end.

"Oh wait!" Todd suddenly cried, "I forgot the delivery crewmen and - of course – the

kitchen is open to the pub so we can reach the guests more easily. So if you think about it…"he trailed off miserably, "If you think of it everybody can enter the kitchen from the pub…"

"…which can also be entered by everyone." They finished together. Tonks' shoulders

sank. Maybe this case was going to be even more complicated than she had thought before.

~*~*~*~*~

Polly Graham finished her tale with a loud, pitiful wail. Black mascara ran down her

cheeks, following the tears of distress she had been unable to suppress as she recalled the incident ,as she referred to it in her mind. The middle-aged witch blew her nose with flourish, then her blue eyes settled back on the tall dark man before her. "And that," she said in a shaking voice, "that is all I know."

The man nodded sympathetically and gave her a compassionate smile while his

enchanted quill furiously scribbled down her report. "Every little detail helps, Madam." He assured her in his deep baritone as he took out a small card from his pocket and handed it to the flustered Polly. "Just in case that you remember anything else, Mrs. Graham, this my office. Any messages will be forwarded to me immediately." 

A final nod and he swept out of the room, robes billowing behind him mysteriously.

Kingsley Shacklebolt did not hear the sigh that left Polly's lips as he left.

~*~*~*~

Upon entering the small room where the next witnesses were waiting to make their

report Kingsely hadn't expected to see a familiar face, much less to find a member of the Order of the Phoenix waiting for him. Nevertheless, it was nobody else but his well-known junior-colleague Hermione Granger who jumped back from a young man as if she had been caught with her hands in the cookie jar. Kingsley had to suppress a sudden urge to laugh at the young woman's flustered appearance. The youngest Weasley boy would not be pleased when he learned of Hermione's new-found interest, the Auror mused. Still, he could not endanger his position as a member of the Order in front of this unknown youth. You never knew…

"You must be one of the Aurors who have been sent to sort out this mess, aren't you?

I'm Hermione Granger and this is Oliver Wood. Do you want to write down our names?" Obviously Hermione had already recalled that they did not know each other in public and Kingsely gave her a half-smile for her thoughtfulness. He was starting to believe the rumours that this petite woman was the smartest witch of her generation.

"Kingsley Shacklebolt," he introduced himself, "My partner, Nymphadora Tonks, and I

are indeed here to `sort out this mess´." Kingsely smiled down at the two and took a seat next to Hermione's silent companion, who was busy disentangling himself from the bed-sheets, blushing ever so slightly in the process. There was a story behind this, Kingsely mused and resolved that further investigations concerning those two were due as soon as he found some spare time. He picked up his enchanted quill and tapped it lightly with his wand. "May I?" the tall Auror inquired politely.

"Sure," Wood supplied, giving Kinsley a first taste of his Scottish accent. A light bulb

went on inside Shacklebolt's head – Tonks had once explained to him that women went crazy over accents. And chocolate, she had added with a conspiring wink, but he hadn't paid much attention to that particular fact. He cleared his throat. "Well, let's start at the beginning. What did you two do this morning just before the corpse was found?"

"Eat." Obviously Wood wasn't a man of many words.

"Right. When was that?"

"It must have been about twelve o'clock," Hermione supplied, "We were halfway

through lunch when there was a terrible scream from the kitchen."

Kingsely's quill scratched over the parchment in excitement, every now and then

sending drops of ink over the corners of the paper. Kingsley gestured for Hermione to continue.

"There was a sudden panic where half the guests were trying to flee the pub, while the

other half tried to get to the kitchen – probably to find out what has happened. Oliver and I also went for the kitchen, where we were let in by Todd Garrett, the owner of the pub. He's a friend of Oliver's."

Kingsley raised a broad eyebrow. "How long have you known Mr. Garrett?"

Oliver shrugged nonchalantly (which was a hard thing to do, considering the fact that he

was still fighting a loosing battle against the bed-sheets). "A couple of friends and I always used to come to "The queasy Bludger" in the holidays back when I was still in school. Todd quickly found out that I was captain of the Quidditch team of my house. He tended to give me advice." Wood smiled ruefully, "Mostly the kind of advice that ensures that you loose the match."

"So you're just acquaintances?"

"Actually, we're pretty close friends by now."

Kingsley slipped into what Tonks liked to call his `interrogator´-mode. His back

straightened just a little while his hands started to knot themselves in a distracting way. "Since when is `now´, Mr. Wood?"

The Scotsman furrowed his brows. "Since I applied for the position on Puddlemere

United's reserve team. With all due respect, sir, how does this relate to the case?"

"Background information."

"I'm not what you'd call an expert on these matters, but I would have thought that

background information on the victim might be more important."

Kingsley snorted and opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted by Hermione

who was wearing a forced smile.

"Well, now that we've cleared up the priorities, let's get back to the topic, shall we?

Auror Shacklebolt, do you already have a suspect?" Her eyes pleaded with Kingsely to let the matter drop. He nodded slightly, knowing he would get all the information he wanted from Hermione later.

"Isn't it me who should ask the questions here?" Kingsley inquired with a smile.

"Ask away, then!" Hermione beamed.

~*~*~*~

Interrogation proved to be a tricky thing. It was half an hour after Kingsley had started

talking to Oliver and Hermione and all he'd gotten was a relatively detailed account by Hermoine and monosyllables from Oliver. Kingsely fervently hoped that Tonks had had more luck in gathering useful information. Frustrated he cleared his throat. "So, now that we've settled when the pub was built, what you've eaten, what book you've bought and why the Chudley Cannons are not to be supported, we should bring our attention to the victim. Was there anything special you noticed about him?"

"You mean besides the fact that he was dead?" Oliver inquired dryly. Kingsely

frowned. He was starting to question Hermione's taste in men. However, it was once more Hermione who dissolved the tension.

"He was frozen stiff, you see. There was ice all over him, but his clothes and skin

looked unmarred. As if he hadn't fought back at all."

"So you believe that he was already dead when he was put into the fridge?"

Hermione nodded. "I think so. They wouldn't have been able to do so anyway if he

was still alive. Someone would have heard something."

"True," Kingsely acknowledged, throwing a weary look at the pile of parchments his

quill was producing. There went his free weekend. "So we can say that the victim was killed in a way that didn't harm him physically and then…"

"No, we can't." Wood was staring intently at the opposite wall, his eyes clouded.

"Excuse me, but I was under the impression that I am the expert on this as you so

kindly reminded me, Mr. Wood." The Auror interjected, then halted as he saw the young man's eyes. Could it be? Kingsely changed his tactics. "When you looked at the body, Mr. Wood, what did you see?"

"His eyes were closed," Oliver recalled, "His face seemed relaxed and so did his entire

body. His clothes were slightly crumpled as if they had been slept in. There were dark circles under his eyes…"

Hermione threw Kingsely a confused look. "How?" she mouthed but the Auror

gestured for her to keep quiet and the Oliver speak.

"There was a small trail of blood on the floor leading from or to the fridge. It could

have been from some meat they were storing there but it also might have been from the victim. Next to him hung about twelve steaks, fourteen slices of…"

"That's enough, Mr. Wood. Enervate!" Kingsely touched Oliver's shoulder gently

with his wand and with a sudden start the Scotsman seemed to come back to the present. He blinked a few times, then his eyes focused on Hermione.

"Hi there," he smiled, "My mind was wandering again, wasn't it? Pay no mind to that.

It happens sometimes. Nothing to worry about."

With a worried expression she reached for his hands. "This has happened before

today? What if your mind goes wandering during a practice? You could get hurt and not even notice!"

Oliver shook his head. "It happens very seldom. Don't worry, I'm not going to let

anybody score just because my mind is a bit distracted."

"What you've done right now, Mr. Wood, is more than just being a bit distracted,"

Kingsley's calm voice broke in. "You're an eidetic, aren't you?"

"Huh?" Oliver shot him a confused look as Hermione's eyes suddenly went wide in

realization.

"Of course! It means that you're able to recall every visual impression to the very last

detail!"

"I can?" Wood seemed sceptic about the whole idea.

"Yes, Mr. Wood," Kingsely cut in, "It's a very rare ability in wizards. It's very useful,

but also dangerous as the mind of an eidetic is constantly threatened to get an overload of information and shuts off from the real world. Come to think of it, Mr. Wood, you should be under constant observation so that you're not alone when your mind decides to take a `time out´. Playing Quidditch, of course, is out of the question. You'll have to quit, I'm afraid."

Oliver was on his feet in a fraction of a second. "I will not." He glared down at the

Auror who returned his gaze evenly.

"That is your decision, Mr. Wood. I'm simply informing you that every time you

climb a broom, you're putting yourself in mortal danger."

~*~*~*~*~*~

Look for chapter 04 next weekend! Please let me know if you want to be notified when I update :)

Next chapter: Kingsely starts investigating the murder-case and Oliver, Hermione does the same and Oliver is in denial. Harry is still ignorant. ;-)

Comments:

A large, huge `Thank you!!!´ to Phire Phoenix, Headmaster Cromwell, Dragon Scales1, Alazne, Lid'l Rogue, Princess Jedi, Shannon Potter-Wood, Queenofdiamonds1, Ellie Bell

I was a bit nervous about chapter 02, because it took the story into a whole new direction. You people really give me confidence to carry this on. A heartfelt thank you for that J

· Kellie: A special `thank you´ to you for being tolerant. It's great to see that people appreciate the effort put into a story even if it doesn't feature their preferred pairing.

· Demetre Ironhilt: Thanks for your nice review. Poor Hermione is sure getting in over her head, but then again – so is Oliver!

· Aquilastor: Hermione the Quidditch fan – I have to expand that aspect a bit more. On the other hand, who can blame her with such a charming Quidditch-instructor? ;-)

· PAWaterScorpion8: Thanks so much for putting me on your favourites! I feel very special now & I'll try to live up to it! J

· L'eau Goddess: Thank you for your kind words. Personally, I always thought that Snape would look great in pink. He'll have to get rid of that `hairy legs´-problem, though. ;-)