Thanks for all the follows, favs and reviews :)

(forTheLoveOfHades) I'm glad you think so. Probably... though then he would have to deal with Mycroft (because he would find out, no doubt about it) :)

(SeverusDmitri18) I am glad you like it, though I will probably disappoint you - neither Holmes is dating Harry. I'm trying to follow canon, so Harry is happily married to Ginny

(zeynel) Thank you! :)

(Zarathustra46) Aw, my memory... I honestly remembered only the apparition parts. But I reread the DH chapter properly and you're absolutely right. I changed it to make it more book-like (hopefully). And thank you for telling me about the mistake, I will try to pay more attention from now on. Glad you like the story otherwise. Thanks again.

(Sarah) I'm glad :) Depends how much time they will have during the case - and what questions will be asked. I expect bits and pieces mentioned here and there - and not only from 7th year. Later there may be chapters focusing only on what Sherlock and John discover about their wizarding acquaintances.

(KG86) I'm glad you like it :D I am sure if things go south, John can handle it... or even prevent that.

(goanago) Thank you :D i'm glad you think so!

(Man of Kent - Railwayman) Thanks :)

(CaitlinNicDhiarmaid)Thanks, I am glad. Yeah, I reread the chapter and got where my mistake was. Thank you for the help :)

CHAPTER 17

"So which house is it?" asked John as they emerged from the alley. He looked around - thankfully not many people were around, but it still left John wondering if it wouldn't raise suspicion when the three of them entered a house they had no business to be in. He pushed that worry behind – between Sherlock and Weasley's magic they would surely find a way how not to get arrested. Even more so since he remembered Greg mentioning Aurors mixing with Muggles occasionally - that meant they had some sort of cover story they used... right?

"The big one on the left," Weasley pointed at one of the houses across the road – unsurprisingly it was the most expensive looking one (though others weren't far behind).

John whistled, "He certainly had money to spare if he was able to rent this. But isn't it a bit excessive – just for one man, I mean." The garden that came with the house was beautiful and there was a stone pavement leading towards the house. And though most of the building was obscured by trees, the visible parts just screamed 'money'.

"You're right. He didn't need it. He was just flaunting his money," said Sherlock looking at the house in disgust. "So proud of his achievements, he just couldn't help but display his wealth, could he? Concerned parties knew exactly where all that money came from and trembled not to become his newest 'sponsors', while others thought him to be only a wealthy businessman. And so clever at hiding any trails leading to him…"

John rarely heard Sherlock talk like this – sure, he did dislike people, and wasn't afraid to voice it, but it usually happened only after having some sort of a clash with them. But he admitted to never meeting Milverton in person – did that mean Sherlock was actually displaying this attitude on behalf of the blackmailer's victims?

"Oh, I wish I could have got him while he was still alive. But he managed to elude even me on the few occasions I tried to have a look at his business," finished the detective in a mix of wonder and resentment.

John sighed… yeah, that explained it... "But why would he be living in a rented house, I doubt he would have a problem buying it."

"What for?" Sherlock dismissed the idea. "It's easier to move when he just rents it. Trust me, he needed to do that quite a few times." Suddenly he narrowed his eyes and turned towards Weasley, "Didn't you say the housekeeper left?!"

"She did…" he started, but as he followed Sherlock's gaze, he groaned, "Oh, Merlin… but the charms should work, she will be gone soon."

And really - a nervous looking young woman was walking towards the house, then it looked like she changed her mind about approaching it and started walking in the opposite direction... but the luck was not with them. After a few steps she noticed them watching the house and she obviously recognized the Auror, because she raised her hand in greeting and crossed the road as soon as it was possible.

Oh, Mr Weasley," she cried when she approached them. "Whatever are you doing here again?" Her eyes widened upon seeing his companions. "Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson," she said breathlessly, glancing from one to the other. "So it was a murder! I thought so! And now you are here. My employer didn't believe me when I told him Mr Milverton was murdered and the place should be left. He said it –"

"No such thing," interrupted her Sherlock, though he managed to do so charmingly, giving her a bright smile. "Though I heard Mr Milverton's occupation might have been a bit questionable, so I understand your concern, but Mr Weasley assured us that it was a mere heart attack. And while it's unfortunate, I fear there is nothing I can help with."

The Auror just blinked at the man's weird behaviour and closed his mouth, swallowing whatever reply he might have prepared. John wanted to tell him that it was quite normal for Sherlock to act nicer than his usual self and not to be alarmed, but couldn't without getting the woman's attention.

She seemed to be quite enamoured by the consulting detective, nodding at his every word. The doctor was sure she followed the blog and the newspapers too, though they stopped appearing there so frequently now.

"Oh, Mr Milverton's business was more than questionable!" she exclaimed. "But why else would you be here if it's not a murder? Though Mr Dorking - he owns the house - also thinks it was just a heart attack."

"We just came to have a look at the house," said Sherlock simply. "It's a nice place. Right John?"

"Umm… yes?" hesitated John, then cleared his throat, hoping he understood his friend's plan correctly, "I mean, yes, of course! We… umm… had a disagreement with our landlady... yesterday? – You understand; she had enough of the crazy experiments going on and there was also not enough space for those in the flat. Then Mr Weasley here told us about this location so we thought we'd give it a look as the landlady wants us gone as soon as possible. Though of course we don't want to hurry things up, we just came to have a look..."

"Quite a terrible misunderstanding. The experiments are harmless," countered Sherlock giving John a brief glare. "But it's a happy coincidence that we would find someone who could tell us everything about the house and its previous inhabitant. So we can be sure if we want to contact the owner and not bother him without a reason. Of course only if you have the time, Miss...?"

"Agatha Miles, but call me Agatha, please," she told them.

"In that case, I'm Sherlock," he retorted. "So what brought you back Agatha? Mr Weasley informed me you left in a hurry last time you were here."

"Oh, I did!" she replied suddenly flushed, remembering the injustice. "But Mr Dorking said that the fact the tenant died doesn't mean I am off duty. I told him that it might be a murder though! It was just soo suspicious. Have you seen Mr Milverton? No? Well, let me assure you that despite his physique and smoking he was healthy as a horse – it simply couldn't have been a heart attack! Either way, I told Mr Dorking to treat the house carefully, in case Mr Milverton had unfinished business here. Oh, I shouldn't say bad things about the dead. I should not! But he was that sort of the man, you know – one who would manage to find a way how to torment others from beyond a grave, but Mr Dorking didn't listen to me at all. Told me to stop believing in stupid fables! And stop making up stories about Mr Milverton. Ha! Would you believe that? Is it my fault, he didn't know just whom he housed?"

"That surprises me! I would expect someone with such an estate to do more background checks..." Sherlock shook his head solemnly, gazing at Agatha. "Would you care to join me for a walk around the neighbourhood and tell me more? John and Mr Weasley wouldn't mind waiting for us, right?" He turned towards his companions for affirmation.

Weasley was just staring at the detective in disbelief – definitely wondering why the man decided to go for a walk in the middle of investigation. And John didn't answer as he was too busy fighting a sudden coughing fit. Oh, God, he thought. What was he hoping to achieve? Sherlock's behaviour should have raised warning bells from the start, but somehow John missed the signs – he just hoped it was still salvageable without giving the woman some false hopes. "Sherlock, you cannot just bother..." started the doctor really wanting to stop it this instant, but Agatha answered at the same time.

"Oh," she glanced at John briefly, something flickering in her eyes, but nodded, "all right. I guess you need to know the place if you're considering living here, right?"

With that they left, while the woman was happily chattering and pointing here and there, while the detective nodded along. Soon they rounded a corner and disappeared from sight.

"What... was that?" asked Weasley stunned.

"Well, I've seen him to pretend sometimes to coax the witnesses to reveal something, but this is a whole new level," replied John still kind of dazed.

"And what are we supposed to do now?!" asked the Auror in exasperation. "We cannot go inside without him."

Oh my, thought John. And here he was hoping there would be no more arguments. "Well... we could have a look at the house from outside?" he offered feebly. Weasley gave him such a look that he didn't bother with other ideas, but they crossed the road anyway, silently deciding they should wait for the detective there.

When they were only a few steps from the house, John felt an inexplicable urge to turn away and go to have a look at Mrs Hudson's problematic Hoover she mentioned last week, but Weasley dragged him towards the gate where he inconspicuously waved the wand and the feeling was gone in a whiff. The doctor understood that those were the same enchantments that prevented Agatha from entering. It would be an awkward return home, if Weasley let him go - not only he had no idea how to repair malfunctioning Hoovers... but Sherlock would definitely have a thing or two to say about his sudden decision to leave...

"Is he doing this on purpose?" burst out the Auror suddenly, glancing at his watch after a few moments of awkward silence "To show me that I can't get rid of him no matter what bloody thing he might do?"

"What do you mean?" John took the opportunity to start a conversation - no matter how ill-advised that might have been - it was still better than the silence.

"You want to tell me that Harry didn't explain it?" asked the redhead sounding surprised.

"Well, he told us that you're like a Detective Inspector and can forbid Sherlock from accompanying you," said John confused.

"Well true," shrugged Weasley. "It can be done, but I doubt I would do that... It's all Holmes' fault," he said, then elaborated upon seeing John's raised eyebrows. "I mean the other Holmes, Mycroft – I don't know why Harry stands him – or how for that matter, but he gave him a promise that Sherlock would gain the permission to know ages ago. This whole thing was Holmes' idea from the start and he made sure it was supported by the right people. Having the detective denied the opportunity to show his skills now would be destroying all the work that was put into this – I don't care about Mycroft, but he roped a lot of great people into this, including Hermione and Harry, so I will at least try to make this work!" he vowed. "But it's taking a lot of effort. I mean it is not the idea to strengthen the cooperation between wizards and Muggles, that I am wary of... it's the person they chose for that purpose. Even if we all bend backwards who is to say Sherlock Holmes won't ruin it all by himself?!"

John could definitely respect that – such loyalty to friends. He even ignored the comment about Sherlock – it wasn't like he was blind to how difficult his friend could behave. "He won't," he assured the Auror. "He would never jeopardize this chance."

The wizard just shrugged, not truly believing it, but he didn't start another rant - instead he lapsed into silence again.

There was another thing that caught John's attention and as it didn't seem like Weasley had anything else to say, he brought it up. "So Mycroft approached you, not the other way around?" he asked, recalling the detective's comments about his brother being excited about the whole thing. Did the man know how interested Sherlock would be and make all this possible simply to make his brother happy? That didn't sound like Holmes behaviour at all – doing something just because of that... on the other hand it was exactly like Holmes to contrive elaborate and nearly impossible thing instead of just letting someone know they care like a normal human being – it was simply easier for them.

"Well yeah," replied the redhead. "After he convinced Harry - or more like wore him down - he left the promotion of that idea to him, correctly assuming that once Harry agreed, things would go more or less smoothly."

"So how did Harry and Mycroft became friends... they are friends, aren't they?" asked John.

"I guess... yeah," shrugged Weasley. "If you accept the fact that Mycroft Holmes is capable of feeling a genuine friendship towards someone."

"I'm still working on it," admitted John truthfully.

"Don't worry about it," retorted the Auror waving his hand dismissively. "It's been years and I am still waiting for the catch. Especially considering their first meeting."

"What happened?" asked the Doctor eagerly - he knew it didn't go as smoothly as Harry tried to tell them.

"I don't know much," said Weasley, "but from what Harry said he had a file on him. Stuff from his past – mostly stupid nonsense, because not only is it hard for Muggles to get information about wizards, it's even harder to avoid lies about Harry – no matter if you're wizard or Muggle. Only a few books have his story down more or less truthfully, but even those leave a good chunk out - but at least they don't add some drivel. So, Holmes wasn't exactly nice about what he found. But why he didn't ask the bloody Minister of Magic, who's known Harry for years and instead gathered information behind everyone's back, I would never understand. It's probably his thing. And if Harry hates something it's having false accusations thrown at him. And there he was - some bloke he met for the first time in his life, claiming to know him based on things that were taken out of context."

"Mycroft does that," agreed John. "It's more than uncomfortable. Though at least everything he had about me was correct." He remembered how annoyed he was in the warehouse, when the older Holmes started reading facts about him and wondered if he would've reacted stronger if he suddenly started pinning things he never did on him, simply because he was misinformed. "So, how did you meet Harry?" he asked, leaving the Mycroft topic behind.

"We met on the train to school at the beginning of our first year," said the wizard fondly. "Best decision ever to sit in Harry's compartment. We exchanged some stuff and stories and just like that we were friends. We were sorted into the same House that evening and later became friends with Hermione too, though that took a lot more time. She annoyed us at first – well, mostly me. Seemed terribly bookish and just your typical goody-two-shoes, so it took some time and very unusual circumstances..."

"Hey, aren't you married to her?" wondered John aloud. "Wait, what unusual circumstances?"

"Well, we faced a troll on Halloween," admitted the redhead. "A possessed professor let him in. And I was a prick to Hermione earlier that day, so she didn't know about him. We went to find her..." He paused for a moment as if contemplating something. "Muggles know about them, don't they? Stupid ugly brutes with clubs? Likely to bash anything that moves?"

"I guess we do," said John faintly, imagining three children facing something like that. And a possessed professor?! This wasn't mentioned in the book he read – he truly needed to find out what else was left out.

"Yeah, Harry jumped at him and I somehow levitated his own club and dropped it at his head. We were all okay at the end, though the bathroom where it all happened was in pieces. Then the teachers came... and Hermione lied for us. Took the whole blame, even if it was ours... my fault she was there in the first place. There was absolutely no need for her to do that, but she did anyway," elaborated the man. "So, it took a troll to figure out what an amazing friend Hermione is. Too bad there wasn't another troll handy that would make me realise she is not only a great friend, but a girl a lot sooner," he concluded smiling slightly.

The doctor wanted to ask more, but the detective was back, announcing his presence huffily because they failed to notice him. John thought that they had a reason, as he was too busy processing the existence of trolls – who apparently roamed wizarding schools freely and the wizard was daydreaming about days long past.

"I know exactly where to look now!" exclaimed Sherlock triumphantly. Ms Miles was suspiciously absent. "But we must hurry, Agatha thinks we no longer want to contact Dorking about the house, so we shouldn't be here. And she will surely be back soon after you cancel your enchantments. What is it by the way? Some sort of compulsion that prompts you to insist on doing some forgotten chore?" he asked the Auror not even waiting for reply. "I was mistaken; Milverton was just as stupid as everyone..."

"And where did you lose your girlfriend?" asked John mockingly.

"Huh?" Sherlock stared at him. "Oh – she went home, I believe. Or maybe to help a friend, I didn't pay attention. She prattled and prattled," confessed the detective almost desperately. "You wouldn't believe how hard it was to get the important things out of all that. And you're a terrible actor, John, she almost didn't buy the story about us looking for a new place to live."

"I am so terribly sorry. Maybe you could give me a warning next time," replied John dryly rolling his eyes. "And in case you were wondering, behaving like that is considered not good at all. But I am sure you have some brilliant reason for doing that."

"Of course I do. Weren't you listening? Milverton must have had a lot of hiding places in case of a burglary – a safe is obvious, but having everything at one place is risky, especially for a man who needs to have backup plans in case things go awry – so more than one hiding place. Such a nosy woman as that housekeeper wouldn't rest until she was aware of them, even if she would never act upon her discoveries. She also likes to gossip – you might have noticed bits of it – but I've taken the full brunt. No wonder she is still single, though the fact that she also clings to an overly romanticized image of her future partner might have helped that."

"Did she slap you?" asked John casually.

Sherlock was quite surprised by the unexpected question. "No?"

"Shame," retorted the doctor promptly.

"Oh, you're still worried about her," Sherlock rolled his eyes. "Well, stop that. I think she cooed what a charming couple we are somewhere between how Dorking wouldn't give her pay-rise and Milverton's terrible smoking habit - apparently his study smells like a tobacco company. Delightful, isn't it? Anyway, thinking I wanted to make you jealous for some reason wasn't exactly what I was going for, but as long as she was willing to talk about Milverton... In any case, you don't need to worry about her broken heart."

"I was not..." started John, but gave up - it was just a waste of energy. Thankfully there was a bright side to this - Sherlock's absence gave him the chance to talk to Ron Weasley for a few minutes, and he couldn't help but like him better now - and who knew, maybe Sherlock will be dashing madly around the house and give him time to inquire about the troll incident a bit more...

"Not to interrupt or anything," said the wizard suddenly, checking his watch once again. "But can we finally go into the house? I know you're not in a hurry, but some of us don't have the entire day."

"I don't know what are you waiting for then," replied Sherlock easily. "I expected you to have something that will open the door - because if you don't, you should have mentioned that before and we would have stopped at Baker Street to get my burgling kit. But of course you wouldn't think so far."

Okay... so I admit this probably isn't terribly canon behaviour for BBC Sherlock, but I always find Holmes' engaged to Milverton's housemaid in Doyle's original story terribly amusing, so I wanted to keep it... sort of... she went to show him around instead of becoming his fiancee though... Sorry again if it sounds weird.
And John and Ron are bonding over stories, yay :)