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.

Meanwhile, in a building far off the radar of any "See-All", two figures sat huddled, talking quietly.

"They actually got the muggle police involved?" sneered the taller one. He had long blonde hair, held a cane, and carried an air of aristocracy about him. He was named Lucius Malfoy. His companion was shorter, much more the henchman type. He had black hair, a sneering, vile face, and was named Thaddeus Nott.

"I always knew Dumbledore was an old fool," Nott replied smugly. "Now, who is our next victim?"

"Oh, you're going to love this." Lucius' smile was nothing short of venomous.

XxXxX

"You know, we're looking at this like it's one of them, either or - isn't it entirely possible that they're conspiring?" Ed asked.

"That's another possibility - but Lucius, he's..." Hermione started.

"...a condescending bastard?" Harry supplied.

"That works. I'm not sure if he would lower himself to work with a Nott. They were never on the same level - socially, financially, or within Voldemort's ranks."

"If there are only two of them left it doesn't seem like he has much choice," Jack pointed out.

"Lucius is also very pretty. I would not be surprised if he seduced someone into following orders for him. And there is always Imperius," Severus responded.

"What's that?" Abbie asked.

"It's another Unforgivable Curse," Hermione explained. "It forces whoever you cast it on to do anything and everything you ask them to - even killing others or themselves. Luckily, it is possible to overthrow. Harry was able to in our fourth year."

"How many of these 'Unforgivable Curses' are there? And what does the title mean?" Anita asked.

"There are three," Hermione started, switching into textbook mode. "Imperius, Cruciatus, and Avada Kedavra. The first, like I said, allows the caster complete control over whoever they are casting it on, but it is possible to throw it off. The word used to cast it is imperio, which is Latin for 'order', 'govern', or 'command'. The second is probably the worst, depending on your viewpoint. It is merely constant, never-ending pain. The word Cruciatus is Latin for torture. The spell, crucio, is Latin for torment. It is possible to drive people insane using this curse. The third curse is also horrible - Avada Kedavra. It is the killing curse. There is no known defense to it and only Harry has survived it. All of these curses are given the name Unforgivable because using them on another human being can result in a life term in Azkaban," Hermione finished.

"Thank you," Anita replied. "You sound so knowledgeable about this."

Hermione flushed. "Thanks."

"Hermione spends her spare time reading gigantic textbooks. She's probably read nearly every book in the Hogwarts library." Ron smirked.

"Oh shush, Ron." Hermione hit him.

"It is certainly not a bad thing - Hermione was always top notch in her studies. Something I cannot say for you, can I?" Severus said to Ron.

Ron turned a little red. "Yeah, Harry and I were always the ones being nagged by 'Mione to do our homework. Especially Potions work."

"I wonder why." Severus rolled his eyes.

A few of the non-magical folks were looking slightly confused, so Harry elaborated. "Severus teaches Potions here at Hogwarts. We used to be his students. While we were, Voldemort was still at large, so Severus had to act like he hated all students beside his Slytherins, because he's also the Head of the Slytherin house. Now, he's mellowed - he's still strict as all hell because it's Potions and one mistake could be fatal, but he doesn't favor the Slytherins anymore."

"Yes, that was one of the most irritating aspects of spying, having to belittle those students who were truly gifted. At least Draco was rather good at Potions on his own merits, so that wasn't too painful,"Severus added.

"I was a snooty little Slytherin pureblood, up until sixth year. Everyone thought I was going to go dark, except for Severus, who always tried to show me the right way, even if he had to do it subtly," Draco informed their guests.

Suddenly, the Headmaster walked into the Great Hall. He looked slightly troubled. "I have to send one of the detectives back immediately - the person responsible for this crime you are discussing now has struck again. I have just found out that Sybil Trelawney was killed about an hour ago in the Manhattan area."

"I'll go," Ed spoke up. Dumbledore nodded.

"Follow me," he replied. Ed noticed that the twinkle he'd saw in the old man's eye the first time he'd met him was diminished. There was an aura of melancholy around him - obviously, he'd known this victim. It seemed as though all of the magical people had. Ed followed Dumbledore out of the Great Hall.

"Am I right in assuming you all knew this victim?" Jack asked.

"She taught Divination," Hermione looked completely shocked. "I can't believe it. I mean, it was crazy Professor Trelawney - we all made fun of her and thought she was completely insane. And me! I was horrible to her, always looking down on her, Merlin..." she trailed off.

Ron pulled her to him. "Hermione, it's all right. It wasn't like you were alone."

"I know," she said into Ron's shoulder, "but I feel horrible."

"You know what this means, right?" Draco spoke up.

"It is a message." Severus nodded solemnly. "A message that even those who work at Hogwarts are not safe." He paused and looked at the four remaining non-magical guests. "And now, neither are you."

XxXxX

After Ed returned, bearing the news that the body had been killed the same way and that the Dark Mark was burned onto Trelawney's forearm post-mortem, Harry announced that they would all be staying the night - protected at Hogwarts. Anita protested this at first, saying that she had a family to return to, but Harry informed her that they were already being relocated. Everyone was involved now, and there was no turning back.

A slight change had occurred, since the finding of the second body. Predictably, the atmosphere was even more subdued, but Severus noted curiously that Jack seemed to gravitate closer to Ed. No one else had really noticed as no one else had really been paying attention, their energy focused on what needed to be done to stop any more killings, but Severus had always been extremely observant. It was a necessary trait of a spy, former or otherwise.

After a while, he decided to test his theory by bringing up an excuse to get himself alone with Jack. He suggested a restroom break, one he could tell the other man would eagerly take him up on. As luck would have it, no one else did. He led Jack to the nearest restroom.

Quickly, they both finished and were walking back to the Great Hall. Severus posed his question then, "How close are you and Detective Green?"

Jack looked at him surprised before answering honestly - "We've been lovers for about six months now."

Severus nodded. "Thought so."

"How could you tell?"

"Do not worry, you were not being obvious, I am simply used to having to pick up on small details, such as your gradual movement to sitting next to him."

"Ah," Jack responded. "I suppose this recent threat has worried me a little."

"Yes, how they managed to capture Trelawney is a bit of a mystery. She rarely ever came out of her tower. Clearly, we've underestimated whoever this is; it makes me think it's Lucius."

They continued to talk as they entered the Great Hall again.

"What time is it?" Ron asked.

"Nearly six," Hermione told him. "Why?"

"I'm hungry," he responded.

"Are you ever not hungry?" she asked, exasperated.

"Hey, it's been awhile since lunch," Ron protested.

"Not even five hours," Hermione pointed out dryly.

"That's awhile!" he exclaimed. Hermione just shook her head.

"Is anyone else hungry?" she asked.

Ed, Jack, Lennie, Abbie, Harry, and Draco were all hungry, so they decided to head back down to the kitchens for some food.

XxXxX

After dinner, their discussing and planning took them deep into the night. It was around one a.m. when Severus finally spoke up, catching everyone's attention. "I think it is time for bed," he said. "Follow me, I will show you all to your rooms," he said to all of the non-magical law enforcers. They did so; Anita was showed to a special room and given the access to floo to her family, Lennie was next, then Abbie, and finally Severus led Ed and Jack to their room. Ed fought off a flush as realized Severus had to know about him and Jack to give them one room. He thanked him discreetly.

"No problem," Severus waved away his thank you and headed back to his own rooms. As he walked into the living room area, familiar, slender arms wrapped themselves around him. He turned. "John." He sighed, letting the older man kiss him.

"I've been waiting; how was your day?" John asked, sarcastic. It was clear the day had been trying.

Severus snorted, "As if you even need to ask." He kissed John again. "They killed Trelawney."

"I know, I heard." John sighed. "It's all right, Severus, we'll get whoever is doing this."

"I hope so."

"So, how tired are you?" John asked, kissing Severus again, with more intent this time.

"Not that tired." Severus smirked, returning the kiss.

"Lead the way, then." John smiled and allowed Severus to drag him into his bedroom.

XxXxX

Meanwhile, Ed and Jack were talking quietly in their room.

"Can you believe all this? Magic, wizards, curses, Dementors? I feel like I'm losing my mind. Everything I've ever thought is being completely turned upside down." Ed shook his head.

"I know, it's insane," Jack agreed.

"So, how did Severus know we were lovers?" Ed asked curiously.

"Well, when we went to use the restroom, he asked me. Apparently I started gravitating towards you after the second body was found. I was worried." Jack looked at Ed sheepishly and Ed smiled.

"Damn, that man is observant."

"He was a spy at one point. I assume you'd have to be pretty observant for that."

"True. Can you imagine that? Spying on this evil wizard? That must've been so dangerous."

"Definitely."

"I wonder how he and Munch met."

"Do you know Detective Munch?" Jack asked.

"Not well; I've met him a couple times when SVU cases and our cases overlap. Didn't know he'd been married four times, though. I wonder what made him finally think he might be going after the wrong gender?"

"Who knows? Maybe we can get Severus to tell us the story tomorrow, if Detective Munch is here again. It is Saturday, he might have some time off."

"Ginny seemed to think it was funny. What do you think happened?"

"I have no clue. But I'm tired, I think I want to get to sleep." Jack yawned.

"All right, Jack, goodnight."

XxXxX

Lennie laid on the bed in his room and stared up at the ceiling. He really had no clue about what to make of all this. Everything he'd ever thought seemed to be completely wrong. He was supposed to be the old, jaded, seen-everything-there-is cop. Obviously there was a complete other world he'd been missing. Sleep seemed to be avoiding him tonight. He got up and put on his shoes. Granted, going for a walk in a huge castle he'd never been in before didn't seem like a very good idea, but he didn't have any other choice. He'd go crazy if he had to stay cooped up in this room for too long without being able to sleep.

He walked quietly down the hallway, looking at the pictures and everything around him. The found the castle undeniably fascinating and that made him feel like one of those tourists that always came to New York expecting The Big Apple and all the glitz and glamor instead of the reality of it. He wondered if this place was like that as well. Glittering and intriguing on the outside but hiding much more deep, dark secrets on the inside. He decided that in a world where it was possible to be driven insane by saying a word and waving a pointed stick, that was probably very likely.

"Unable to sleep?" inquired a soft voice. Lennie would've jumped, but his quick cop reflexes kept that from happening. He turned around and saw the benign face of the Headmaster.

"Yeah," Lennie responded. There was something about this old man that made you want to trust him. He appeared gentle, but there were moments, like the one where they found about the Divination professor, where you realized that he was extremely powerful behind his kind demeanor, long, white beard, and twinkling eyes. Lennie liked that. Sure, he had a few insecurities about his own age, not that he would actually tell anyone, but this man was an inspiration. Another odd thing, Lennie thought, Me? Thinking about inspiration. What is the world coming to?

"I find that a nice cup of tea usually does the trick." Dumbledore smiled warmly. "Follow me to my office, I'll get you one."

Shrugging, Lennie complied, and followed the old Headmaster to his office.

XxXxX

Abbie was pacing. She wasn't in control of things here, and it was driving her insane. Everything was so... wrong! This wasn't real, right?

While she had been able to keep herself together as she talked with the entire group, now, sitting alone having time to brood, she couldn't help but question her sanity. She needed sleep.

Maybe when I wake up, she thought, lying down in the bed and closing her eyes, I will be back in my own apartment and this will all have been a very bizarre dream.

XxXxX

Severus sighed as he tried to sleep. John laid next to him, his head resting on Severus' shoulder. Severus smiled a little; John was surprisingly, a big unconscious cuddler. Would he admit it during the day? Most likely not; the man was as stubborn as Severus himself sometimes.

Severus was worried; the only ones who would ever know that would be his ceiling and John, of course, but it was true. The fact that whoever was responsible - most likely Lucius, damn the bastard - had been able to capture Trelawney was a frightening prospect. Their new muggle compatriots would be in a lot of danger until this person was caught. They all seemed like very intelligent individuals and he didn't want anything to happen to them. Not that he would actually tell them that or anything.

"Go to sleep. Stop thinking," murmured a muffled voice near his ear. John had an uncanny ability to be able to read him, sometimes, and he didn't even have to be looking at him or fully awake.

"I can't."

"You're worrying too much."

"How do you always know?" Severus shifted to be able to look into John's eyes.

"Because I do it too. Now get to sleep." John kissed him and laid his head back on his shoulder. Soon, he was dead to the world once more.

Severus smirked and closed his eyes, lulled into sleep by the sound of John's breathing.

TBC

A/N: I haven't forgotten this story! I'm about half-way done with the next chapter. I should go work on that now, actually. Review, por favor. xD