A/N: Another update? Merlin, that was fast!

Well, I was so excited about this chapter that I ended up writing this in the lab after quickly finishing my work. So I won't keep you waiting. I just hope you won't kill me after reading this. Sorry it's so short, but there was no way I could make this any bigger.

Review responses:

MidnightGoddess2112: hehehe. And I'm glad I'm back too!

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Guest: I can neither confirm nor deny this :3

So HP isn't mine, it's JKRs, but I'm just playing with this universe and only my OCs are mine. Now I'll shut up so you can get on with the story. PLEASE REVIEW! Cheers!

CHAPTER NINETEEN: ATTEMPTED MURDER

"She fits the criteria," Harry said, finally closing the file an hour later. "She is a Gryffindor, she had access to Lucy's potion bottle - after all, they lived in the same room - and since she was her friend, I bet she knew that Lucy took the Ferrosophoric potion every day."

Teddy nodded. "She even knew about the pregnancy, Harry. She was with Lucy when she found out about it, according to Madam Patil."

"I'm sure that's the reason why she used the abortifacient to kill Lucy," Harry agreed. "Perhaps she was trying to make it look like Lucy killed herself after finding out about the pregnancy."

"But why?" Teddy asked, leaning backwards in his chair and crossing his arms across his chest. "Why would she do this to her own friend? To her best mate?"

There was that nagging feeling again. The feeling that he was missing something. Something important...

There was a moment of silence before Teddy sat up straight again. "I just realised, I think she lied to me."

Harry looked at him sharply. "When?"

"The day I first met her. She said that she was James' friend first, and then she became Lucy's friend through him."

Harry looked puzzled. "So?"

"Today, when I was sitting with the others in the Great Hall, James was sort of shouting at Clara," Teddy explained, recalling what transpired in the Great Hall. "He said something like, 'No, you're not, stop pretending to be. Lu's gone, so I don't see why you hang around me anymore'. It didn't seem suspicious to me at the moment 'cause I didn't immediately make the connection, but now that I think about it, it's definitely a red herring."

"So she wasn't James' friend at all."

Teddy shook his head. "Why would she lie, though? if she wasn't his friend? Do you think she was attracted to him or something? What if she killed Lucy to get her out of the way?"

Harry was quiet for a moment, processing the information. "Do you reckon," he said slowly, "that she might have killed Lucy by mistake?"

Teddy froze. "Wh-what do you mean?" he asked.

Harry took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. "What if she wasn't trying to kill Lucy at all? What if she only wanted to kill the baby?"

"... You agree that she might have been -?"

"Jealous of Lucy?" Harry finished for him. "Maybe."

"So... it's possible she might have had a thing for James?" Teddy asked. "That's why she was trying to hang around him so much?"

"If James says that he's not her friend, but Clara still said that she was close to him, I can't quite see any other possibility."

"So she killed the thing that would bind them together permanently," Teddy realised. The pieces of the puzzle were falling into place. "Their baby."

"Exactly."

"Or she might have killed Lucy on purpose, to have a clear field to throw the Quaffle in the hoop," Harry surmised, echoing Teddy's earlier thoughts.

"Either way, it's got to be her," Teddy said.

"But where does Zachary Williamson fit into all this?"

Teddy shrugged. "Maybe she wanted to know how he killed Alison so she could do it herself? That doesn't make sense, though; Zach got caught, so it wasn't a foolproof plan. Why would she want to implement the same modus operandi? "

"Also, how would the croton oil be in her possession?" Harry said. "Surely Zachary didn't give it to her before he got put into Azkaban. Why would he?"

"And how did it come to be in James' trunk, anyway?"

"Why don't we ask her these questions ourselves? Bring her in," Harry ordered.

"James, come on, you've gotta eat something," Clara said, pushing a plate of chicken and gravy towards him.

"No, you've gotta stop this nonsense, Clara," James snapped, shoving the plate away, causing it to hit his glass of water with a clink. A couple of people looked up to see the source of the noise. James ignored them. "I already told you, I don't want anymore. I've already had a sandwich and that's more than enough for me."

"It's too less -"

"I already told you, I'm not hungry."

"Why?" she demanded.

"Just because." James snapped. "Why do you care so much?"

"You barely had anything at lunch, and now you won't even have dinner!"

"I'm sick and tired of this. I'm going to bed." James tried to get up, but Clara pulled his hand and forced him to sit back down.

"You can't keep on moping around forever," Clara said, narrowing her eyes. "You have to move on, for fuck's sake."

James stared at her incredulously. "Move on? Are you fuckin' serious, woman? You know how much I loved Lu -"

"But she's gone!" Clara said, banging her fist on the table. More people looked up this time, some shooting them filthy looks. James noticed that even his siblings were staring at the two of them. "She's dead and you're still alive. Don't waste away your life for her - find someone else, get back to the world of the living!"

"I thought she was your friend," James said accusingly, glaring at her. How dare she ask him to stop thinking about Lucy? "How can you have bloody forgotten her so quickly?"

Clara's eyes widened, and she backpedalled. "No, it's not - It's just, I - I mean, Lu wouldn't have wanted you to waste away - listen, just drink the juice, okay? Please? I won't ask you anymore."

"Merlin, all right," James sighed, taking the glass of juice and gulping it down. In his haste, he didn't notice the strange gleam in Clara's eyes as she watched him drain the entire glass.

"There, happy now?" James said, slamming the glass on the table.

Clara smiled sweetly. "Very happy, indeed."

James rolled his eyes. "Whatever," he muttered, standing up.

His vision blurred.

He frowned. he was probably sleepy, he thought. Shaking his head to get rid of the drowsiness, he took a step forward, and staggered.

What's happening? he thought wildly, as his knees buckled. He collapsed on the ground with a thump, pain flaring in his stomach.

No! No - help! he tried to scream, but he couldn't move his mouth. The screams died away in his throat. He could feel his arms and legs start to shake uncontrollably against the stone floor. Dark spots appeared in his already blurry vision. Bile rose up in his throat. He wretched through the violent seizures.

But it was not vomit that spilled out his throat. It was something else, red and sticky, with a tangy taste of iron.

Blood.

The pain in his stomach was killing him.

He wondered if that was literally true.

Above him, he thought he heard people screaming and shouting, moving frantically. Some people shouted his name, some voices familiar, others unknown. He could feel hands gripping his arm, pulling and tugging, trying to stop him from jerking around.

He retched again, and more blood spouted from his mouth.

The last thing he heard before everything went black was a loud, male voice shouting, "James! JAMES!"

He recognised that voice. But he couldn't remember who it belonged to.

It hurts, it hurts so much. Make it stop.

Somewhere in the corner of his mind, he remembered a face. He remembered red hair, a sweet smile. She looked at him, one hand outstretched calling him to her. Telling him to take her hand.

He wanted to take it. He wanted to go to her.

Lucy... he thought.

Her name was the last thought to go through his head before everything was over.

Teddy and Harry finally arrived at Hogwarts during dinnertime. It took them awhile to get the arrest warrant and other documents ready, and by the time they had sent a Floo letter to the headmaster's office and readied a team of Aurors to accompany them to Hogwarts, nearly two hours had passed. Teddy's stomach rumbled. He wondered how long it would take before it was all finally over.

Professor Longbottom was waiting for them on the steps of the marble staircase in the Entrance Hall. His eyes moved solemnly from Harry and Teddy to the group of Aurors assembled behind them.

"Harry," he said, coming forwards to greet them once they had entered through the oak front doors. "I got your letter. Are you absolutely sure about this?"

"Yes, Neville," said Harry tiredly, shaking hands with his friend and former classmate. "I'm afraid everything points towards her being linked to the murder. I need to take her in and interrogate her. If she is innocent, though, we will return her to Hogwarts safely."

Teddy doubted that would be the case, but he said nothing.

Longbottom sighed. "Very well," he said, motioning for them to follow him. "Come to my office. I'll have her called there. Thankfully, she is of age, so her parents don't have to be informed about this, or else taking her in for questioning would be an entirely different matter."

That was true, Teddy thought as he climbed up the familiar steps. If she were a minor, the grilling would have to be done inside Hogwarts instead of the ministry, in the presence of the girl's parents and the Headmaster. Arresting minors did not fall under their jurisdiction; there was a separate branch for handling underage criminals, and further coordinating with them would have been a field day.

They had only ascended a few steps up the marble staircase when they heard a loud commotion taking place in the Great Hall. Teddy frowned. He wondered if there was a food fight going on. There had been only one during his time at Hogwarts, and it was rather short lived and ended rather abruptly when a plate of pie had landed squarely on Professor McGonagall's face. Each and every student present in the Hall at the time had received a day's worth of detention.

"What's happening in there?" Professor Longbottom wondered aloud. He turned around and hurriedly descended the steps. "Harry, I trust you know the way to my office? Why don't you go on up and I'll join you -"

"James!"

Teddy froze, and so did Harry. James? But there were probably a dozen Jameses in Hogwarts. Surely it couldn't be his god-brother.

"Harry, do you think -" But Teddy didn't get to finish the sentence.

"Potter!"

"James!"

"Someone, help him!"

Teddy didn't miss the alarmed look in Harry's eyes. Something was happening with James in there. Harry jumped down the stairs three at a time and darted into the Great Hall, with Teddy, Professor Longbottom and the other Aurors in tow. There was a sea of students surrounding the Gryffindor table, craning their necks to get a better look of what was happening. Harry and Teddy pushed past the terrified students until they reached the centre of the commotion.

Teddy's blood froze at what he saw.

A boy was lying on the stone floor in a pool of blood, jerking violently, while Albus and Louis held onto his arms trying to stop his thrashing around. Dominique had her arms wrapped tightly around Lily as the younger girl sobbed on her shoulders. Blood and foam dripped from the corner of the boy's mouth. His eyes were rolled backwards.

"JAMES!" Teddy heard Harry shout, before he ran forwards and fell to his knees beside the boy's head.

It was then that Teddy recognised who the boy was, and he stopped breathing.

James.

Teddy could feel his own legs moving forwards of their own accord, and he found himself kneeling down beside James. He could hear his heart thumping in his ears. He didn't notice how his mouth hung open as he stared, horrified, at the boy he considered his own sibling.

"Dad, help him!" Albus cried. A tear ran down his anguished face as he held onto his brother.

Teddy tried to call his brother's name, but his voice had left him.

"James!" Harry cried. Teddy barely registered Madam Patil bending down beside him, gripping James's arm in a vice-grip as she tried to take his vitals. "JAMES!"

A/N2: ... Please don't kill me.

-Nadia