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'Put it away, Potter,' a voice said as two figures stepped out of the shadows. One was a tall, dark-skinned man in dark blue and purple robes, while the other was a short woman with shocking pink hair.
'Kingsley?' Harry said, lowering his wand. 'Tonks?'
'Wotcher, Harry,' the pink-haired woman said and Kingsley frowned at her.
'What are you doing here?' Harry asked and Kingsley turned towards him.
'Dumbledore sent us to warn you. Minister Harris has assigned two Aurors to bring you in and they're both loyal to him. He believes that Harris can't be trusted...'
'Then why isn't Dumbledore doing something?' Ron demanded, hotly.
'He is,' Kingsley rumbled, crossing his arms across his chest.
'Dumbledore can't openly oppose the Ministry,' Tonks said and Ron snorted.
'Harris is the key to what happened to you, Harry,' Kingsley said. 'It's him you need to investigate...'
He and Tonks disapparated as the door opened to admit Luna, Neville, Ginny and Hermione.
'Come on,' Harry said, grabbing the camera from Ron. 'Let's get these pictures developed. We need to talk...'
#################
'So, Dumbledore thinks that Minister Harris is involved in whatever happened to Harry?' Neville asked, after they were all seated back at the table.
'He is Minister for Law and Justice,' Hermione said. 'If anyone has the influence to frame Harry, it's him. Haven't you done that yet?' she demanded of Ron, who was tapping the miniature camera with his wand.
'Keep your shirt on,' he muttered. 'I've got it, I've got...there...'
He gave the camera a final tap and it started whirring and clicking, a ghostly image of the Auror reports appearing on the wall.
'Samuel Birkenshaw,' Harry read. 'Suspected ties to known smugglers, racketeers and the black market...'
'Does it say what killed him?' Ginny asked and Ron scowled.
'Hang on, alright. Jeez...' He said, flicking to the next page. 'Cause of death, a stunning spell fired at close range...'
'A stunning spell?' Harry asked.
'That's what I said, mate...'
'Yeah. Sorry. It's just, I remember hearing that somewhere recently...'
'Where?' Hermione asked.
'If I knew that,' Harry snapped and Hermione's eyes narrowed.
'Alright. You don't need to bite my head off...'
'Yeah. Come on, mate,' Ron added. 'You need to calm down...'
'That's easy for you to say. In case you've forgotten, I'm being accused of murder...'
'No-one's forgotten, Harry,' Ginny said, coolly. 'In case you've forgotten, we're trying to help you...'
'Yeah...you're right. I'm sorry. It's just...I know that I've heard something like this before...'
'Maybe you read it, somewhere,' Luna said and Harry sighed.
'Do you know how many reports I read every day. It's not like I saw it in the Daily Prophet or...'
'What is it, Harry?' Neville asked as his voice trailed off.
'I did read it in the Daily Prophet,' Harry said. 'There was a story about a man being found dead in Nocturn Alley. I...I think he was killed by a stunning spell...'
'If that's true,' Hermione said. 'Then, I know where we need to go...'
'Where?' Ron asked and Hermione grinned.
'The Daily Prophet office...'
#################
'Why would anyone come here?' Ron asked, as they stepped into the offices of the Daily Prophet, being greeted by rows of dusty shelves.
'They have back issues of every edition here,' Hermione whispered and Ron shrugged.
'Like I said, why would anyone want to come here...'
'What are we looking for?' Neville asked, quickly.
'We need back issues for this year. This way...'
Hermione lead them along the rows of shelves towards one that looked indistinguishable from the others.
'Here. This is it,' she said. Quickly, they took their seats at the table between the shelves as Harry removed his invisibility cloak. Hopefully, in the shadowy recesses of the shelves, he wouldn't be noticed.
'What now?' he asked as Hermione pulled six leather-bound volumes from the shelves and dumped them on the table.
'Now, we start reading...'
#################
'Got it,' Harry said, pushing the volume that he had been leafing through into the centre of the table as the others gathered round to read.
'At 01:45 on the morning of June 8th, the bodies of two wizards were discovered near Knockturn Alley. Both appeared to have been killed by a stunning spell from close range. The bodies have been identified as Andrew Winstone and Robert Lynard, both of whom have been under surveillance by the Auror Office. The deaths are being treated as suspicious and senior Auror Julian Harris is investigating...'
'Harris,' Neville said and Harry nodded.
'It can't be a coincidence that he was investigating,' he said, keeping his voice low. 'I'll bet Harris killed them...'
'But why would he investigate the case?' Luna asked and Harry shrugged.
'I don't know. Maybe he was ordered to. Either way, it gave him a perfect opportunity to cover his tracks...'
'That's all very well,' Hermione said,' but it's all circumstantial evidence. It doesn't prove that he killed them...'
'No,' Harry said. 'It doesn't. So, we need to make him confess...'
'How?' Ginny asked and Harry smiled, grimly.
'I've got a plan...'
#################
'Evening, Ron,' Jeremiah said, as he rose from his seat behind the desk. 'You still working?'
'Something like that,' Ron said. 'Anyway, I'm sorry about this...'
'Sorry about what...?'
'Stupefy!' Ron said, drawing his wand, the stunning spell knocking him back against the wall.
'Come on,' he said, pushing open the door to let the others in. 'We need to move...'
Quickly, they piled into the lift, just as two more Aurors stepped into the corridor.
'Potter!' One of them yelled, drawing his wand as Ginny snapped off a shot that made him dive for cover. With a grunt, Neville heaved the doors closed, punching the button for the Auror office. A few seconds later, the lift juddered to a halt and Neville opened the doors to reveal Minister Harris, flanked by half a dozen Aurors with their wands raised.
'Potter,' Harris said. 'Don't move...'
Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. Any reviews, comments or constructive criticisms are very welcome.
