Chapter 10

Harry sat in the chair of his office as he attempted to pour through the murder case. All the minor ones were currently being looked at by some of the lower end Aurors, who had stepped up and taken initiative over them. The case had become top priority, and required all higher ups to give it their full analysis.

However his mind wasn't on the case at all, but was stuck on thoughts of the previous night.

Harry had to admit, for all it was worth, Malfoy was good for Hermione. It was a conclusion he had come to the night before while watching the two of them interact. He kept her balanced, and provided the intellectual conversation that she definitely would not have gotten with Ron. He let her be herself, and let her have opinions that differed from his without becoming defensive.

Ron was one of his best mates, even with the stunt he pulled yesterday. He cared for him as he was a brother that Harry never had. But he couldn't look past that when it came to their relationship. Ron was in the wrong for so many different things, but he refused to accept responsibility for any of it. He lied, he cheated, and he hurt Hermione. Ginny was also a world famous Quidditch player, like her brother, however she was one of the most grounded people he had ever seen.

He had gotten lucky with her. She loved him truly, for everything, despite his past and the things he had achieved. She loved him just for being Harry, and no one else.

It would have been perfect, to have Hermione be with Ron, because it would have been all nicely packaged together. That way, they could all be one big family. However life just didn't work that way and Harry knew better than anyone that some relationships just weren't meant to be.

He had learned from Ginny that Hermione cared for Draco, more than just friends. Of course Ginny had made him swear not to tell anyone that he knew, Hermione included. He suspected that it was something Hermione was still unsure of, and Harry respected that. He wanted to tell her to take a chance if she felt something for her. Granted, it was complicated, Draco having a son and all. However Scorpius seemed to be quite taken with Hermione.

Harry was curious about one thing though, how did Ron know that Hermione would be at his house last night?

"Diane?" Harry called in his secretary, using one of the paging spells he had picked up a few years back.

She stood at the door, and he gestured for her to come in and close the door.

"I have a question for you. Do you know how Ron Weasley may have found out that Hermione and Draco were having dinner at my place last night?" He asked her, hoping she would be able to find out.

Diane shook her head, "It was a conversation you had in private, wasn't it? So the chances of someone overhearing it would be completely unlikely. I can look into it, and see if anyone told him."

He smiled at her, "Thank you, Diane." She began to leave, when he called back to her, "Diane, could you also send Draco Malfoy an owl, telling him that I wish to speak with him about a personal matter?"

"Of course, Mr. Potter," Diane said as she walked out of the room.

It turned out that he didn't have to end up waiting long before Draco Malfoy showed up at his door.

"You wanted to see me, Potter?" Malfoy asked, politely.

"Harry, please," he said, as he invited the man in to come sit. "If you're going to be friends with Hermione, then we could at least call each other by out given nights.

"Right," Malfoy-Draco, said, sounding slightly uncomfortable. "Harry it is."

"I wanted to talk to you about Hermione," Harry said, as he leaned forward.

"I'm not using her," Draco said quickly. "She's a friend, and I enjoy being able to talk to her about things."

"I know," Harry said, and Draco began to look confused. "Look, you were there last night. You saw what happened when Ron came back in. He hurt her a lot, and last night you only saw a fraction of it. You don't know how bad it was when it first happened. She refused to do anything but work, and she tried to cut everyone out of her life. Her parents were barely there for her after the war, and she tried cutting off ties with them as well. She fell into a bad place, and I don't want to see anything like that happen to her again. She's begun to pick herself up, and I think your company is helping her."

Draco sat in silence as he listened, "I had no idea it was that bad," he said honestly. "I knew she was in a lot of pain, but she never told me just how much."

"I also know you have feelings for her," Harry said bluntly.

A wave of shock crossed over Draco's face, but he quickly covered it up.

"Don't act so shocked," Harry said with a chuckle, "A blind man could see your feelings for her. All night you were sneaking glances at her, and you seemed intent on making her smile. It's not hard to tell that you like her."

"I won't act upon it. I care about her too much to jeopardise our friendship. You don't have to worry about it."

"Actually, that is the opposite of what I wanted to tell you," Harry stated. "I don't think either of you should be afraid to act on your feelings because of consequences on the side. I know that there's a lot of bad history, but all of that is in the past. The end of the war gave us all a clean slate, and I'd hate to see you guys lose your chance of happiness."

"Even if I did care for her, there's nothing saying she likes me back," Draco reminded him. "Besides, I also have Scorpius worry about."

"You won't know if she likes you if you don't try," Harry shrugged. "Besides, Scorpius likes Hermione, so I doubt he would mind too much. Every time she talked to him last night, his face lit up so bright."

Draco didn't say anything, and looked as if he was contemplating what he was saying.

"Mr. Potter?" Diane's voice called out from the other side of the door.

Harry called her in, "Yes, Diane?" he asked her.

"A house elf just reported that they found the dead body of their master. I think it's related to the serial killer case."

Harry stood from his chair rapidly, "Diane, contact Hermione and her team and tell them to go to the location to start collecting as much information and evidence as they can."

Draco stood as well, "I see you're busy, so I'll get back to my job," he said.

"Draco, just know that Ginny and I would support the two of you if you began a relationship. And what you chose to do is your business, but if you harm Hermione, I will make you suffer. Don't doubt that for a minute. As much as I like getting to know you, without all the differences of the war, Hermione is my sister, and I will not tolerate anyone hurting her again."

Draco nodded, "Of course, Harry. I'll see you around."

Harry ran his hands through his hair. Another murder was not good. They fought an entire war to prevent the prejudice in society, yet here was someone thinking they were above the law. He hated that this was happening. He would catch this person, one way or another

Hermione examined the remains of Fredrick Gregson, a wealthy 25 year old, who also happened to be a pureblood. She had assigned Patrick to looking into his history, seeing as she knew absolutely nothing about him. She knew that he probably got his education elsewhere, because she had never seen him around Hogwarts, but that was it.

The scarring of flesh matched those of the other two victims, so she could conclude that the killer was the same. While going over the body, she checked the pockets to see if there was another message, like the one left last time. Smith was standing at the other end of the room, to see if he could collect any sort of trace of another person at the scene.

To her surprise, she found a piece of paper folded neatly, however this time, it was left in the tuck of the victim's shirt.

I know you think I'm wrong for taking judgement into my own hands, but you do not know the half of it. They watched him die, and they did nothing. They may not have said the spell, but they are just as guilty. So they deserve to face the exact same fate.

"Harry," she said, calling her friend over. "It's a vengeance killing. It's not target towards all Death Eaters, but specific ones. Whoever is after them, is after people who watched a specific person's death and did nothing to help," she said, as she handed him the note.

"While it changes the mentality for this case, I wish I could say this helped us. So many innocents died in the war, and there's no way of knowing just who it was," Harry said with a sigh. If anything, this keeps everything exactly the same as it was.

"I don't think there's anything else I can get from this here, Harry. Mind if I take it back to the lab?" Hermione asked.

Harry nodded, and beckoned for some of her Aurors to move the body back for her.

Hermione sighed. She was not a medical examiner, yet here she was going over the body as if it was something she was skilled at. Yes, she would be able to do it efficiently, but it was not her main area of expertise. Thankfully, Dean and Patrick knew enough about the body to take charge in this section. She was simply there to supervise, and provide any insights she may have, in a theoretical sense.

"Well, the damage to this body is identical to the ones on the other two victims," Patrick confirmed.

"Based on the note we found with this body, I think it's safe to say that whoever is killing these people, is killing them because the person they lost died a similar way. The only close connection between our victims is that they all watched the death of this person," Hermione said to them.

"So if we find out who died like this during the war, we could find the killer?" Dean said, piecing together more information.

"Easier said than done," Hermione said softly. "So many people died during the war, and most people don't even know what exactly befell their loved ones during their last moments. Besides there's no way to really tell how each person died, because we didn't catalogue cause of death specifically after the war. The people on duty just said casualty of war. Basically all the remains have been buried already, so we can't even get them back. While knowing how the person whom the killer wants vengeance for would be beneficial, there's no way to get that information."

"So basically, we still know absolutely nothing about the murderer," Dean said flatly, as he drew a conclusion.

"Not necessarily," Hermione stated. "Maybe there's more of a connection in the victims. If we could find out who fought by the victims, or who was in their 'circle', then we may be able to find out other possible targets, and take them into protection. Of course, that's going to be far more difficult, but I'm sure Harry can stick someone on that. Patrick, could send him a real quick owl about that?" she asked him, and he nodded, as he composed what she had just said.

"Hermione," Dean said, as he used his want to magically lift something from one of the wounds.

"What is that?" she asked with a gasp. This was different from all the bodies. There was something lodged into it, something that looked like… "-is that a hair?"

"Yeah," Dean said with a breath. "If this doesn't match the DNA of the victim, then it could be that of the killer!"

"Do a DNA tracing spell to reveal the owner of the hair!" she commanded. "Patrick, I'm sorry to do this, but I need you to send a letter to Harry saying we found something. If it's a false alarm, then I'll apologise to him, but otherwise we got something!"

"Genetio Revealio," Dean said, as he pointed to his wand to the tray in front of him.

There was a puff of purple smoke, and once it vanished, there was a scroll beside the hair.

"Dean, you found the hair, so you should be the one to find out who it was," Hermione said, as she handed the scroll to him.

"What happened?" an out of breath Harry said as he entered the room. "I got your message, what did you find?"

"We found a hair. It could belong to the victim, but if not, it could give us the identity of the killer," Hermione informed him. "In fact, Dean was just about to tell us who's hair it is."

Dean unravelled it, and she felt her breath catch in her throat. In this moment, everything could change. Once they found the killer, then the deaths would stop.

Dean read the name, and his face paled. "I think we got it wrong," he said.

Her face fell, "So it was the victim's hair?" she asked, waiting for confirmation.

"No, but I don't see how this person could have done it," Dean said softly. "Denis Creevey; that's who the hair belonged to."

"Colin's brother?" Harry asked, as he ran his hands through his hair. "Man. There's no way the hair could belong to someone else?"

"No," Hermione said as she shook her head. "The spell is one hundred percent accurate. The hair belongs to him. But why would he have a reason to kill anyone?"

"His brother died in the war, right?" Patrick said. "Maybe he wants revenge, because he feels as if the killer, or the bystanders, got off too easily. It's possible he's suffering a mental break down, especially with the anniversary of the Great Battle, and the death of his brother approaching. This could be a result of years of trauma and depression."

"I don't like it," Harry said with a sigh. "Colin was a great kid, and if Denis is anything like his brother, then he would be the last person I would expect this from. But we have a lead, so I'm going to have to bring him in for questioning."

She placed her hand on Harry's arm, "I'll be there with you. You don't have to do it alone."

"I'll get him in first thing in the morning," Harry said. "I'll have some Auror's watch over his home so there's no chance of him fleeing the country.

"What are you going to do right now?" she asked, a bit confused about why they couldn't just bring him in now.

"I have another appointment to get to," He said dodging her slightly.

"Fine," she said, eager to get back to the body, hoping she could find more on the body.

Harry nodded, before leaving her to resume her work.

He hated lying to Hermione, but he needed to have this talk with Ron to get him to straighten out, and to know his behaviour was not alright.

When he got back to his office, he found that he was already there waiting for him. He closed the door, and sat at his desk.

"Remembered who your friends are, Mate?" Ron asked, with a tinge of jealous. "Or are you all buddy-buddy with Malfoy now?"

"Ron, you need to sit down, and you need to listen real good. Hermione is no longer your girlfriend, so you do not have a right over her life anymore. If she wants to move on, then you let her, because you ended it with her, and therefore lost any chance of having a say anymore. You cheated on her, and lied to her, and if she never wants to get back together with you, then that is completely up to her, and you cannot fault her for her choice. She owes you nothing, and if she chooses not to want you in her life anymore, then that is up to her, and you will respect that. You are my friend as much as she is, but if you make me chose a side in this, I will not choose you. I care for you a lot, and you're my best mate, however you are wrong in this."

"I want her back," Ron said stubbornly. "I didn't want a serious relationship at the time, but I'm ready to be whatever she wants, and more. Don't I deserve to at least have her hear me out, or is that too much to ask from you, and your so-called right to judge everything and everyone."

"Ron, just last week you were pictured with three different girls! Clearly you aren't ready for a serious relationship. You need to re-evaluate your life, and your priorities. I suggest you go, and think, but really think about it, and decide what you want to do. However, what Hermione choses to do is up to her, and I will in no way pressure her to bend to your will."

Ron stood up and stormed out, but Harry didn't try to stop him. It was time Ron joined the rest of them, and grew the hell up.

A/N: Omg guys, thank you so much for all of your reviews! I love hearing the feedback you give me, and it's such a motivation to write. So thank you for all of your support, and see you next week!