Sorry that it's been a week. Things have been very hectic lately. So here you go. Hope you enjoy it. Let me know what you think!

Chapter 22

Prove Yourself

May 3, 1999

Luke, Michael, Marco, and Britley were finishing decorating the choir room that they reserved to use for the Ravenclaw party. Hermione went to see how things were looking.

"It looks great Luke. Britley, did you do most of the decorating?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah, the boys were useless. Clarke and Flora helped as well." Britley said.

"Well, you did an awesome job. I hope you all have a wonderful evening. I am sure I'll hear all about it later. Everyone have fun. Oh Luke, can I talk to you for a moment."

Luke and Hermione stepped away from the other three, but Michael needed to listen in. Hermione had glanced at him oddly a few times. Maybe she knew something.

"Luke, the guy in America has killed again, well killed on the 1st. He killed three people this time. I feel like I'm very close to figuring something out, so close. There is something that's been eating at me since yesterday, but I can't put my finger on it yet. I'll figure it out, but tomorrow I'm going to be with Draco, Ron, Roddy, and Harry talking and working on it. We're going to meet in Hogsmeade first then head out after a bite to eat. Just wanted to let you know that I won't be around a whole lot tomorrow. I know everyone is excited to get another day free of lessons this week and I'm sure Hogsmeade is going to be crazy, but I really need to work on this with the boys. I hope you and everyone have a wonderful time at the party tonight. I'll be around tonight if you need me."

"I'm sorry this is happening. I am sure Neville and I will be able to hold the fort down tomorrow. Thanks!" Luke said.

Hermione headed back to her room to do some reading and to ponder on what was eating at her.

Michael began to freak out. She was figuring everything out. She was too damn smart. She needed to be taken care of. She needed to die. Luke looked over at Michael and asked if he was okay he said he was fine he just needed to go grab something to drink. How the hell was he going to kill her? She wouldn't be alone with him, she was too smart to fall for that. He went and grabbed a cup of punch and watched many of the past and present Ravenclaw students make their way into the room all while thinking of how he was going to deal with little Miss Granger.

He knew he couldn't be the one to do it. It came to him all at once. Luke. He would put Luke under the imperius curse. He knew that it was considered one of the unforgivable curses but he didn't care. He made his way back to Luke and swiftly and silently cast the curse on Luke. He planted what he wanted to be done in Luke's mind. Luke was ordered to kill Hermione Granger with the sectumsempra curse. She needed to be killed tomorrow before she had time to hold a meeting with her friends. Once everything had been completed Michael snapped out of it and was completely pleasant and normal the rest of the evening. He didn't even know he had cast the curse on Luke.

All of the sudden Luke had a strong desire to go and find Hermione, but he reckoned he needed to stay at the party for a while longer. He would see her in the morning and walk her to the gate before their day in Hogsmeade.

May 4, 1999

Michael got up and left early in the morning. He said he had to be at work in a few hours and needed to get some things done at home before work. He wasn't planning on working. He was planning on running. He didn't know why, but he knew he needed to run. He couldn't tell anyone where he was, not even Luke. He was scaring even himself.

Hermione found Luke waiting outside of her portrait hole and he asked if he could walk her to Hogsmeade. She agreed and asked about the party. He told her how wonderful everything went and how everyone had an excellent time. He was acting very nervous.

Luke was waiting for the massive groups of students to thin out before he preformed the curse on Hermione. He was getting more and more nervous the closer they got to the gate. He needed all these students to get out of his way. Finally, the students began to clear out of the way. They were walking much faster than they were. They were very close to the gate now. Luke knew he needed to do it soon. Good, her friends weren't there yet.

Shit!

He spoke too soon. Just then Draco, Ron, Harry, and some guy Luke didn't know apparated right outside the gate. Hermione quickened her steps. He was just going to have to do it.

Shit!

They stepped outside of the gate and Luke reached for his wand. Hermione walked over to Draco to give him a hug. Luke had his wand in his hand and was poised, waiting for Hermione to turn around.

Hermione turned around and moved away from Draco just a bit. Luke raised his wand and began to speak. Draco heard the sounds coming out of Luke's mouth and saw the motion of the wand and shoved Hermione to the side and put himself in the direct line of attack. He fell to the ground and began to groan in pain. Luke tried again for Hermione, but Roddy had his wand at the ready and disarmed Luke and Harry had bound his hands. Ron and Roddy were now holding Luke and Hermione had tears streaming down her face.

"Draco! Draco! No, please, no! We need to get him help, NOW!" Hermione cried. There were a fair amount of students gathered around now.

Harry hollered at Ron to tell them all to get the hell away and then looked down at Draco.

"It's going to be okay, Hermione, Snape had a counter curse." He began to heal the wounds on Draco's body carefully. Draco slowly stopped withering in pain and his breathing became more normal. Luke didn't know what he was doing so he hadn't hit any major arteries or veins and part of the curse missed. Harry levitated Draco off the ground and headed for Madam Pomfrey. Roddy shoved his wand in Luke's back and they followed suit and Ron wrapped his arms around Hermione and led her back to Hogwarts. Once everyone was in the hospital wing and Hermione calmed down Ron rushed to find McGonagall.

"There is no way Luke's been preforming these curses." Hermione cried. Madam Pomfrey was working on Draco steadily but didn't look worried. "He's been here, he has only left Hogwarts once, and there were no murders durning that time. It couldn't have been him. Why was he trying to kill me?" She cried again.

"I don't think he is in his right mind, I think he is under the imperius curse, but we will let McGonagall see to that." Harry explained going to sit down by Hermione and wrapped her in his arms.

"Mr. Potter, you did an excellent job healing Mr. Malfoy. I've given him a blood replenishing potion and he should wake very soon. Why is it that even though you are no longer a student here that someone connected to you is in my wing, again?" Madam Pomfrey asked.

"I wish I knew, ma'am. I wish I knew. I guess we all did spend a fair amount of time in here, didn't we?" Harry answered. She just nodded.

McGonagall came rushing in the room about that time.

"What has gone on here, Miss Granger?" McGonagall asked.

Hermione filled her in and Harry, Ron, and Roddy filled in gaps she left out. Harry told her that he believes Luke to be under the imperius curse and McGonagall nods.

All the sudden Hermione looks at Roddy and exclaims, "I know who our murderer is."

"Who?" They all chorused.

"It's Michael Corner. I think he has no idea what he is doing, and I think that Luke is under the Imperius. Ron, Harry, remember me telling you about how I think Michael has PTSD. Well, I think that when he sees someone who reminds him of something from the war it triggers an episode. He has no control over it and has no idea what he is doing. He may not even know after. I saw him at the memorial and something started to nag at me and then whenever I'd see him something would register with me but then it was gone before I could act on it. Harry, when you said out of his mind, it all hit me. I think that Michael overheard me telling Luke I would be working on the case today with you and he went into an episode. I think he cast that curse on Luke and probably has no idea."

McGonagall said the counter curse to the imperius and Luke looked around.

"Mr. McLaughlin why did you try to kill Hermione?" McGonagall asked.

"I...I...did what?" Luke stammered out.

"You tried to cast a sectumsempra on Hermione and Draco saw what you were doing and pushed her out of the way but took the curse himself, he is going to be fine. Don't worry. I remembered the counter curse and was able to heal Draco before we even got back inside the gates." Harry remarked.

Luke was shaking. "I...I...would never try to kill Hermione, she's my friend. I don't know what happened. I don't even know what the sectumsempra looks like. I have never preformed that curse before or even seen anyone else use it." His reply was laced with fear and anger.

"Mr. McLaughlin we feel you have been put under an imperious curse. Do you know who would have put you under that curse?" McGonagall said, trying to sooth her student.

"No, I was at the party all last night. There were loads of people there. It could have been anyone."

"That's what I feared. We think we know who is doing this. You don't by chance still have Mr. Corner's address do you?" McGonagall asked.

"In my room, I've got it. I owl and floo him often. Why?" They all looked at him, "Oh no. It can't be Michael, it can't be. He isn't a blood thirsty. He hates that stuff." He looked at Hermione and then at Draco, "Oh Damn! His PTSD. Shit! Hermione, I'm so so sorry. I would never hurt you. I might not be Draco's biggest fan but I wouldn't try to kill him."

"It's okay Luke. We know it wasn't you acting on your own. I fear that Michael is going into his fits and killing people. How does he even know the curse? It wasn't something anyone really knew." Hermione asked.

"I have no idea, I was just thinking about that." Harry replied.

"Luke, I'm Roddy Allen and I work with a team of murder investigators in America. I have been trying to get this guy since he started killing. Can you get me that address so I can let my boss know and we can get someone looking for him?"

"Sure thing, I'll be back in just a moment." Luke answered and headed out of the hospital wing.

"Mr. Weasley, why don't you go with Mr. McLaughlin."

Ron nodded and followed after Luke.

Draco began to wake up around that time. "Hermione. Hermione. Is Hermione okay?" Draco asked franticly with a very hoarse voice.

"I'm fine, Draco. I'm fine. I didn't get hurt at all. You pushed me out of the way. You saved me from some very severe pain. Thank you, Draco. Thank you." She leaned down and kissed him. She could feel the tears on his cheeks and gently brushed them aside. "It's all going to be okay now. It's okay. Harry healed you before we even got you to the hospital wing." She kissed him again and laced here fingers through his.

"Thank you, Potter. Thank you." Draco whimpered.

Madam Pomfrey gave him some water and a small bit more of blood replenishing potion. McGonagall filled Draco in on everything and Roddy told him Michael. You could see the anger resinating from Draco. He was furious.

"Buddy, there isn't anything we can do about this right now. I'm gonna let Johnny Ray know as soon as Luke gets back. Luke had no idea what he did to her. I'm just glad y'all can all think on your feet. Smart group of witches and wizards you've got here, Headmistress. Don't be angry. We can't change what happened. Hermione is okay, you're well on your way to being just fine. Luke, man, he didn't know what he was doing. I don't think he'd ever harm her." Roddy said to his oldest friend knowing that Draco was much more worried about Hermione than his own pain. He figured that Draco figured he deserved the pain.

Draco took deep breaths and Hermione gently rubbed the palm of his hand.

Ron and Luke walked back into the room and handed Roddy the address.

"This is his home address and the name of the muggle place he works at. This is his girlfriends name and the name of a few of his wizarding friends. He also has a muggle friend named Josh who works with him at the chemical place. That's all I have, I'm sorry I can't be of more help." Luke said still obviously embarrassed by what happened. "Draco, I'm terribly sorry. I really didn't have any idea what I was doing. I would never."

"It's fine, McLaughlin." Draco hissed. He was still trying to simmer down his anger. Hermione squeezed his hand and looked at him with a knowing look.

"Is there a floo I can use, it would be much faster than owling him." Roddy asked. "Shit, he's going to kill me it's only a little after 5 back home. Damn time difference."

McGonagall pointed to the floo at the far end of the hospital wing and Roddy headed down there. She took Luke out of the wing and back to her office.

"Johnny Ray Byrd. Limestone, Tennessee. United States." Roddy shouted into the floo. He could feel the magic pulsing and looking for Johnny Ray. It found his floo and Roddy hollered, "Johnny Ray! Damn it, Johnny Ray, wake the hell up! We've had a massive breakthrough! Johnny Ray!" Roddy's voice echoed through the floo and into Johnny Ray's bedroom.

"What the fuckin hell, Roddy? Is this necessary? It is 5:20 in the blasted morning?" Johnny Ray said groggily.

"Sorry, buddy. I know it's early, but we know who has been committing the murders. It's Michael Corner. I've got his address and the name of all of his known contacts in America. He went to school with Draco and them. He is suffering from PTSD, which is a traumatic stress disorder. He probably has no idea he is committing these murders. He is very dangerous. Hermione said that when people have this PTSD they do things they don't normally do, they act very out of character. I need to be here for a little while, Michael put someone under the Imperius and Draco was hit by the sectumsempra. I just need to be here." Roddy answered.

"Stay. Take care of things there. What's this fellows address and known contacts?" Johnny Ray asked now fully awake and pleased Roddy had called him to tell him good news and it wasn't Greg.

Roddy gave him all the information he had and thanked Johnny Ray.

"Roddy, you've worked very hard on this case. You need to stay there and be with your friend. Tell Draco I hope he gets to feelin' better real soon. We will be in contact. Thank you for everything."

"Thank you, Johnny Ray. Thank you. Be careful. I'll be home to help soon."

Limestone, Tennessee, United States

Johnny Ray tried to go back to sleep but sleep wasn't coming to him. He got up and packed a bag and made himself some breakfast. He decided he'd head to the office early and see what information he could dig up on this Michael Corner fellow.

Washington DC, United States

Johnny Ray was drinking sweet tea and reading a book about PTSD when Greg arrived.

"Sir, you're here early." Greg commented.

"Yes, I've been here for a while. Roddy floo'd me very early this morning. They figured out who the murderer is. Michael Corner. He went to school with Draco and his friends. He is suffering from PTSD which can occur in anyone who had been through any kind of traumatic event. It's very common in muggle soldiers and in war victims. I am sure this guy saw enough horrible stuff to have flashbacks for the rest of his life. I have his home address and his place of work and all of his known contacts here in the States. I also found out he has a portkey that allows him to travel freely. So it's going to take a lot of time to trace this things."

"Well, damn. I am glad we know who is causing these murders, but damn. What do you need me to do?" Greg asked.

"I need you to gather the team that is most comfortable working with muggles and knows how to blend in better. Roddy won't be here for a while. His friend, Draco, was hit with the sectumsempra because someone was under the imperius. He needs to stay there for a while longer. So we won't have him, but I would like for Holland, Welch, Rodriquez, and Sutton on this case as whoever you feel they need to work together most efficiently. Pull them off any other cases they are working. This is our number one priority."

"Yes, sir. I will call them all in. I think that Gilliam, Kidd, and Wilcox would help out the team. Those three okay?"

"Those are excellent. Thank you so much. I'll be in to brief everyone in about 30 minutes."

Washington State, United States

Michael was running around his house packing clothes and books and grabbing anything else he might need or want. He was going to have to run. He had no idea why he was going to have to run, but he knew he needed to. He was going to have to live for a muggle for a long time. He was going to have change his name and rarely visit any wizarding communities much less the ones near where he actually lived. He was going to clean out his muggle bank account and his wizarding one once they opened. He would have to apparate to DC to clean out his vault in the wizarding bank, but he needed wizarding money. He packed everything he could and shrunk it all down and put it all in a muggle backpack. He apparated to the bank in DC and took enough money to last him a very long time out. He then apparated back to his house in Blaine. He had no idea where he was going to go. He knew that people would be coming to look for him soon, so he needed to figure something out and fast. He got on the internet and began to look up places he could go and live and places that would allow him to work. He could just do manual labor and be hired from day to day or week to week that way he could travel more easily. He would be harder to track if he did that. He no longer had a trace on him and he had an international portkey that allowed him to travel where ever he set it to whenever he wanted to. He figured he would start in the general area. He settled on Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Shit! Wina! He would have to owl her when he got where he was going. He didn't have time to owl her now. He was going to miss her. He really liked her. Maybe, one day, they would be able to be together.

He also realized that he was going to have to cut off all communication from anyone back home. Luke. His parents. The few other friends he had. Shit. Why the hell was he running? He wished he knew.

Hogwarts

Draco had nodded off and Hermione, Ron, Harry, and Roddy were sitting around talking.

"How do you think that Corner knew that curse?" Roddy asked.

"I have no fucking idea." Ron scowled. "Anybody else know? That creep dated my sister."

"Ron!" Hermione said harshly. "He has no idea he is doing it. He can't stop it. He has no control over his body or his actions. He was a little... strange... but he isn't a bad guy. Like Luke said, he wasn't blood thirsty or anything close to that. As for knowing the curse, I don't have any ideas either. Harry? Do you have any idea?" Hermione asked.

Harry just shook his head.

Draco woke up feeling much better. Madam Pomfrey told him he was allowed to leave if someone was going to be with him for the next few days. Roddy told her that he'd be staying with him and this satisfied her.

"Draco, I just want to thank you for what you did for Hermione, today. You didn't have to do that. If you hadn't proven yourself before now you really proved yourself this morning. You've shown how much you've changed since we were in school and how much you care about Hermione. Thank you. I don't know what we would have done if anything had happened to Hermione. She is the one that's so good in crisis and is able to think in stressful situations. Ron and I aren't real good at it. We barely survived 2nd year without her and if it wasn't for her I don't know if we would have figured everything out. So, thank you." Harry said.

"Thank you, Malfoy." Ron said, "We kinda need her around. We love her too much to see her hurt like that." Ron added.

"I think I would have been in just as much pain as you two if something had happened to her." Draco said and looked at Hermione.

She smiled and said they should go see McGonagall. They all headed to McGonagall's office.

McGonagall assured them that Luke was under the curse and he has no idea how Michael would have known the curse. She was very pleased to see Draco doing much better and was thankful for everything everyone else had done.

Once they left her office they decided they all needed to get away for the rest of the day and they would head to Hermione's parents and order in food and have a few drinks. Hermione thought she should let Neville know what was going on, and also to tell him that she might not be back that night and to not worry at all. Hermione headed to find Neville, Roddy and Draco went and used the floo in Hermione's room and floo'd to her parents and Harry and Ron went to go get food and alcohol.

Granger House

They all ate and talked and drank, even Hermione, who wasn't a big drinker. Her emotions were running on high and she needed to calm down.

They enjoyed their evening. They played muggle drinking games Harry knew and laughed, watch TV, and had a good time. They all needed to relax and unwind and that's exactly what they did.

By midnight everyone had left but Draco, Roddy, and Hermione. Roddy wouldn't leave Draco, but Hermione reassured him that she would apparate back to his flat with him even if it was the next morning. Roddy took the hint and disapparated.

Draco and Hermione cuddled on the couch and watched TV for a while longer before neither one of them could keep their eyes open.

"Draco, you want to go sleep in a bed or is the couch okay?" Hermione asked very sleepily.

"Bed? Your bed?" Draco asked with as much of a smirk as he could for being very tired.

"Oh, hush. I just mean to sleep." She giggled.

"Yeah, let's head up to bed. I'd love to just sleep with you." Draco said.

They headed up the stairs and Draco wrapped his arms around Hermione and they both fell fast asleep.

Blaine, Washington, United States

Johnny Ray's team apparated to the closed WP and then took cars from there.

They needed to look as much like muggles as possible. Joey Rodriquez, Amber Holland, and Kyle Wilcox took a car and headed to Michael's work.

The rest of the team apparated to his house. It was empty. There was no one there. They took samples of everything. They ran test after test. They turned his entire house inside out. They did come across his computer which they were going to have to ask a muggle expert about. They shrank everything they thought could be of any importance and took it back with them to the WP.

Kyle, Amber, Joey came back saying that he hadn't shown up for work that day. They had tried calling and his muggle friend even went to his house and he wasn't there. He had never missed a day, he had never even been late. They were very worried.

Johnny Ray, Nikki, and Pete went to Wina's house. Melissa and Tyler headed to Anton's house. Amber and Joey headed to Malcolm's. Kyle took everything back to DC to find a muggle expert and begin processing everything.

Everyone came up empty. They all headed back to DC to see where to go from there.