Title: Murder by Magic
Author: Sara
Rating: PG-13 I suppose.
Pairings: Ginny/Draco, Ron/Hermione, Munch/Severus, Jack/Ed
Summary: What happens when a certain pair of homicide detectives catch a very unusual case?
A/N: This is a crossover between Law & Order and Harry Potter. Sorta strange, but hey.

"Okay, there used to be this wizard who went as evil as you could go. He called himself Lord Voldemort. He gathered followers and became more and more powerful. He killed and tortured Muggles - non magic folk - and Muggle borns - witches or wizards with one or more non magic parent - because he believed that they were beneath him. It didn't take long for everyone to become terrified of him. People wouldn't even say his name. Well, one day, he decided to go after the Potters. Their so-called friend had betrayed their location to him and he went to find them. He killed Harry's parents, and then went to kill Harry, who was only 1 year old at the time. But he couldn't do it. He cast the killing curse and somehow, no one really quite understands how, it rebounded on him and barely alive, he fled." Hermione took a breath.

Their five guests were now staring at Harry in awe. She smiled. "Yes, it was quite amazing. Anyway, Harry was sent to live with his Aunt and Uncle, since they were his only living relatives. Unfortunately, they were also the worst sort of Muggles - they had a very Medieval attitude about magic and tried to, unsuccessfully 'squash the magic out of him'. Of course, they failed and he eventually came to Hogwarts where myself and Ron met him and we all became best friends. In first year, he came face-to-face with Voldemort again and escaped; in second year, he slew a basilisk, which is a huge snake that kills you simply by looking into your eyes, and rescued Ginny from the Chamber of Secrets, after again meeting Voldemort. In third year, we found out the truth about who betrayed Harry's parents to Voldemort, and in fourth year, Voldemort finally came back. In fifth year, the ministry of magic, which Fudge was the head of at the time, would not acknowledge that Voldemort had returned until Fudge saw him himself. Then in sixth year, Harry faced off with Voldemort again, same with seventh year. Finally, after two more years of fighting, Harry defeated him with his own wand," Hermione finished. Harry was now blushing at the looks he was getting.

"I had a lot of help, people. There's no way I could have ever done all of that by myself. And some of it was simply good luck," Harry quickly said.

"Harry is a Gryffindor." Draco smiled. "Which is one of the Houses this school is divided into, and thus, very, very modest. He's probably one of the most powerful wizards of his generation, but you'll never get him to take any credit for it."

"Anyway, the point of the story is that Voldemort's followers were called Death Eaters. These people were basically his inner circle and just liked torturing and killing - with the exception of course, Severus, who was a spy for our side at great risk to himself," Hermione added. This time

the awe-inspired looks were cast at Severus. He just rolled his eyes. "After Voldemort's downfall, the final time, nearly all of his followers were captured, however, two still remain at large - Lucius Malfoy and Thaddeus Nott. We believe that one of these people are responsible for Fudge's death."

"Wait, Malfoy, isn't that his last name?" Abbie asked, pointing to Draco.

"Unfortunately," he said, disgusted, "it's my father. He's a bit of an arse."

"There's the understatement of the year." Ginny rolled her eyes. "He's... no, I don't think there's a word quite vile enough to describe him. I'm just glad he didn't manage to poison you, Draco."

"Oh, he was close. I just finally grew a backbone and stood up to him." Draco shrugged.

"Now who's being modest?" Harry teased.

"Shut it," Draco grumbled.

"So, anyway, does everyone understand?" Hermione asked.

"If this person is a wizard who committed this crime, how could we possibly help you?" Ed asked.

"You don't have to be magical to be intelligent or helpful," Ginny answered. "Besides, it's not like we would let you continue to try to identify a man whom you had no chance of identifying - that would be pointless. Our Headmaster believes that this is a time for inter-world cooperation," she paused, "and we also wanted to fill you in because if it is either Lucius or Nott, they're going to kill again."

"I wonder why whoever it was decided to kill Fudge in America?" Harry wondered.

"Probably thought Dumbledore wouldn't pick up on it. Fools," Severus muttered. "Dumbledore knows everything. That makes me think it wasn't Lucius. He may be a complete bastard, but he's not stupid."

"That's true. Hey, I have a question, where the body was found, was there a symbol drawn anywhere near him or on him? Maybe a skull with a snake through the mouth?" Harry asked Ed and Lennie.

"Yeah, there was something like that burned onto his forearm," Lennie responded. "I'd show you a picture, but it's with all the evidence..." he trailed off as all the evidence appeared in a box right before him. "Wow."

Harry smiled, "Magic is handy like that. Can you find it?"

"Sure," he riffled through the box and found a picture of the guy's forearm with the tattoo-like object and handed it to Harry.

"Yeah, this is definitely the work of a Death Eater." Harry nodded grimly.

"Is there any chance it was an imposter? Someone trying to frame the Death Eaters?" Jack asked. "Because it seems to me that someone in hiding wouldn't want to bring attention to themselves by killing."

"That's a good point, but with magic... it's a lot easier to kill and torture. No blood, no clean up, no fingerprints... all you do is wave a wand. You can drive someone to insanity simply by keeping them under the Cruciatus curse. It's simply never-ending excruciating pain." Harry shook his head. "And this symbol? This is one of the hardest to duplicate. Voldemort made it that way on purpose. If this is an imposter he's been studying the Death Eaters for years and would have to be extremely powerful."

"I want regular old non-magical killers back." Lennie sighed.

Ron gave him a sympathetic look. "Yeah, but luckily we have a fitting place to keep all of these lunatics."

"Where do you imprison a wizard? Couldn't they simply escape?" Abbie asked, curiously.

"We keep them at Azkaban - surrounded around the clock by Dementors... horrible creatures that suck the happiness right out of you," Hermione told her. "Just being around them for a few minutes makes you want to crawl into a little ball and die, but for days, weeks, months, or even years? You'd be hard pressed to find the will to breathe, let alone escape."

"What about the worst offenders?" Jack asked. "Do you have something like the Death Penalty?"

"Death would be a welcome respite to many of the people in Azkaban," Severus said solemnly. "I had to spend a few days there myself because everyone believed me to be a Death Eater. Which, I suppose, proves that I was a good spy, but that was enough time for me just to want to be killed and have it over. No, we have the Dementor's kiss. It's the worst punishment one could ever get. It doesn't kill you; it sucks out your soul."

"Damn." Ed shivered. "Sounds harsh."

"Very harsh." Draco nodded. "A person without a soul is hardly a person anymore. Sure, they're breathing and alive, but they're merely a shell of their former self."

Ginny shook her head, "Enough of this topic! It's much too morbid and depressing. It's after one; let's have some lunch before we have to venture back into the world of murderers and other despicable people."

Ron nodded, "Good idea! I'm starving."

"You're always starving." Hermione rolled her eyes. "Anyway, the Hogwarts House Elves," here she frowned slightly, "are fantastic. They make the best food. We can all head down to the kitchen and talk of much more light-hearted things before we get back to this murder. I'm sure you have a million questions."

Ed grinned. "To say the least,"

"Come on then." She smiled, gesturing for everyone to follow her. Severus started walking in the opposite direction. "You coming, Severus?"

"I shall meet you there. I am going to see if John would like to come. He is most likely on his lunch break currently," he replied

"All right." She nodded.

XxXxX

About fifteen minutes later, Lennie heard Severus and who Hermione had explained was his lover, approaching the kitchen. For some reason he thought that the man's voice had sounded very familiar, which of course, he dismissed as absurd, until he walked through the door. It was none other than John Munch - former Baltimore detective, current SVU detective, and conspiracy theorist.

"John!" he exclaimed, in shock. Munch looked at him, surprised. "Are you... a... wizard?" Lennie asked.

"Lennie?" John asked, surprised but amused. "Severus, when you said you had 'guests' today, you should have been more specific."

"I was unaware you two knew each other," Severus replied, equally amused.

John rolled his eyes and turned back to his gaping fellow detective. "No, Lennie, I'm not a wizard. I just met Severus a couple years ago, and we really got along..."

"So you're just gay?"

"Yes."

"Okay, that's... yeah, I can live with that."

Munch looked amused. "So being gay is more normal than being a wizard?" he asked, dryly. "Gotcha. We'd better broadcast this - then maybe the Christian Coalition will lighten up once they see the choices."

"No, it's just that I've had way too many surprises today, I don't think I could take anymore. Besides, you've been married four times - it's not exactly hard to imagine that something's been wrong."

Severus smirked at that. "That is true."

"You didn't have to back him up, you know," John replied, sitting down and grabbing a sandwich off the tray on the table.

"Of course I did, I'm a Slytherin." Severus responded.

"Okay, can someone explain to me what that means?" Abbie asked.

"Slytherin is one of the four houses that this school is divided into. The other three are Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff. You're sorted in your first year by the sorting hat - that determines which house you'd do best in. Each house represents certain characteristics. People in Gryffindor are brave and courageous; people in Ravenclaw are wise and studious; people in Hufflepuff are loyal and hard-working; and people in Slytherin are cunning and ambitious." Hermione explained.

"That's my Hermione - sounding like she swallowed the textbook!" Ron laughed, helping himself to another sandwich.

"And that's Ron - acting like a garbage disposal!" Hermione retorted.

"I have a question," Jack spoke up suddenly. "Earlier, Hermione mentioned muggle borns as people who have one or both non magic parents. How is it possible for someone to be a wizard or witch if their parents aren't magical?"

"Bloodlines," Severus responded. "Hermione is muggle born, both of her parents are dentists; however, she has an ancestor who was a wizard."

"Yes," John spoke up, "Severus has tried explaining this to me and the way it sounds, everyone has some magical blood in them. My great-great-great aunt on my mom's side was a witch. It's fascinating."

Ron snorted, "You two are ridiculously suited for each other, the way you both love knowing more than others."

Ed looked at Ron curiously. "From what I can figure out, you and Hermione are married, right? And Ginny and Draco, they're dating?"

"Yeah, that's right." Ron nodded. "And John and Severus have been dating for a couple years."

"So, are you two just really open minded or is the Wizarding World different when it comes to sexuality?" Ed wondered.

"What's to be open minded about?" Ron asked, perplexed.

"The fact that John and Severus are both men," Ed responded.

"My sister-in-law isn't even completely human. I think that's a little bit stranger than two blokes." Ron shrugged.

Draco rolled his eyes, "Ron, he's Muggle! Most Muggles don't even let two people of the same sex marry each other."

"They don't? Why not?" Ron asked.

"Good question." Ed shook his head.

"The Wizarding World mostly discriminates against blood. Those who aren't 'pure-blooded' are sometimes looked down upon as inferior, hence the Dark Lord. That was his main cause, to rid the world of Muggles and Muggle borns. Or, it was the first time. The second time it was to kill Harry," Severus added.

"Of course, it's completely wrong, because Harry is half-blooded and he's one of the most powerful wizards of his generation and Hermione is the smartest of her generation and she's completely muggle born," Draco responded.

"So who is the Headmaster of this school? The man you mentioned earlier?" Anita asked. She'd been rather quiet up until now, attempting to soak everything and make sense of it. It wasn't much better, but she had finally stopped having the urge to pinch herself every three minutes.

"Albus Dumbledore - brilliant, powerful, and more than a little batty," Ron replied fondly.

"Indeed. We will be speaking to him after everyone is finished with lunch, so you shall be able to meet him then," Severus informed everyone. "And then, we have to figure out what we will be doing about this murder."

About ten minutes passed, when Munch spoke up, "I think it's time for me to go, Severus. I have to floo back and then drive back to the station."

Severus nodded. "I shall walk you back to my quarters," he responded. The two of them left the kitchen.

Lennie watched them, still slightly puzzled. "How did they meet?" he asked.

"It's actually really funny," Ginny laughed, "but you'll have to get Severus to tell you. He doesn't like other people 'gossiping' about him."

Lennie nodded, but then something occurred to him, "Won't the other people at the station realize that we're missing? And also, the people at McCoy's and Carmicheal's office?"

"Oh, no." Hermione shook her head. "We put a distraction charm around the buildings. It won't interfere with their work, but any time they need to talk to any of you, they will suddenly be distracted with something else and forget about it."

"You can do that?" Ed looked impressed. "That's cool."

About fifteen minutes later, Severus returned. "Is everyone finished eating?" he asked.

Everyone nodded and after that, Severus motioned for them to follow him. They did so, and made their way around the castle. Lennie found himself mesmerized - the pictures moved, there were ghosts flying around. He wondered what the school was like during the school year, when all of the students were there.

Eventually, they found themselves at a gargoyle. "What blasted piece of candy did the old fool choose as his password this time?" Severus asked, rolling his eyes.

"It's 'jolly rancher'," Harry replied, amused. "He's developed a liking to them. They're another muggle sweet similar to lemon drops, except they come in different flavors."

Severus shook his head and said the password. The gargoyle jumped aside and everyone headed up the stairs. Dumbledore's office was large, so even though they had eleven people, it wasn't cramped.

While the rest of the castle was rather interesting, what with the moving portraits, ghosts, and other things that would be entertaining to someone who had never seen them before, Dumbledore's office was a virtual playground. Different gizmos and gadgets were everywhere - Lenne, Jack, Ed, Abbie, and Anita had never seen so many peculiar objects. It was all too fascinating. As they were all absorbed in checking out all of Dumbledore's items, they missed seeing him walk in.

"Hello." He smiled pleasantly. Jack and Abbie jumped; Lennie, Anita, and Ed nearly did, but their quick cop reflexes kept them from making it visible.

"It's Merlin himself!" Jack exclaimed, in awe.

Dumbledore simply smiled. "Not quite, although I do believe Merlin was my great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grand uncle. My name is Albus Dumbledore, I am the Headmaster of this fine school. You may all call me Albus, of course."

"So you're the one that got us all brought here?" Lennie asked.

"Ah, yes, that was me. See, I saw you and your partner through my See-All. It alerts me to important events. The death of a former minister of magic is included in that category. I knew you had found poor Cornelius' body, and I knew you were working on the case and that your prosecutors had heard of the case as well. I also did not want to take the risk of obliviating you - law enforcement is tricky work and a mis-managed spell could have had a disastrous effect. Not to mention, if you ask Severus, I am a bit of a sentimental old fool. I would like to believe it is possible for the Muggle World and the Wizarding World to help each other out, occasionally."

Lennie nodded. There was something about this man - something that made you want to trust him. It was strange, but then again, this whole situation qualified as 'strange'.

"All I wanted to make sure is that if there are any more killings in New York in the Manhattan area that are magical - and I'm sure everyone here will be able to help you out with the detection of magical crimes - is that you two get assigned to the case. We hope to catch whoever is responsible before then, of course, but just in case." Dumbledore finished.

Ed and Lennie nodded, figuring that this sounded reasonable.

"Is that all, Albus?" Severus asked. At Dumbledore's nod, Severus turned to the group. "We'll all be heading back to the Great Hall so we can figure out what will be our primary course of action." The others nodded, and once again, they followed Severus to their destination.

TBC

A/N: I love crossovers. Review, por favor. xD