Chapter Three

Let the Fun Begin

Luna Potter couldn't sleep – it was one of those nights when her brain wouldn't stop being hyperactive. It refused to let her sleep … and so there she laid on her back, staring at the ceiling, hoping that sleep would come her way. Luna sighed and turned her head towards the alarm clock on the bedside table.

She rolled her eyes and whispered, "Ah, great. It's 12 o'clock, just a few more hours till I have to wake up." Luna knew that tomorrow was not going to be a good day. Going to work tired was the worst possible thing she could do. Her only cure would be coffee, and lots of it.

She looked over to her boyfriend, Draco Malfoy, who was sleeping peacefully after a long day of school. Teaching children could literally suck the life out of a person. Little Dementor brats, as he liked to call them. She wondered what he would call their future children … Luna smiled and looked at the ceiling again. She reminisced about the last three years and how her life had changed completely.

After the incident with her mother, she had immediately gone to her Uncle Moony's house. He had welcomed her with open arms (of course) and after she had explained what had happened, he had offered her a piece of advice: Luna, my dear, take back your life. Luna did just that. She moved in with Draco, got her dream job, improved her relationship with her dad and brother, and lastly adopted a spotted brown and white Border Collie police dog named Lucifer (or just Luci). She was three years old and currently sleeping on the bed with them, much to Draco's dislike.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of her phone ringing. Luna immediately sat up and looked at who was calling.

"Detective Inspector Potter," she answered the phone with utmost professionalism.

"Potter, get your arse down to Brighton Palace Pier," a gruff voice replied. "There's been a murder at Charms and Crystals."

Luna rubbed her eyes. "On my way, sir." She promptly ended the phone call.

"Draco" – she nudged her boyfriend gently – "there's been a murder."

He sleepily responded, "Go get them, Sherlock."

She excitedly climbed out of the bed, waking up Luci in the process. "Come on, Luci; we've got a bad guy to catch."

The three-year-old pup hopped off the bed and ran to the front door of their house, while Luna got dressed and brushed her teeth quickly. Luna then joined Lucifer by the front door. "Let's go, Luci. We've got ourselves a good old fashioned murder …"

Luna and Lucifer happily arrived at the crime scene. Luna walked to the front door of the shop and took a moment to survey the chaos. She walked past shelved knickknacks and then pulled the crime-scene tape up and ducked through. Luci trotted underneath the tape easily. There were police and forensic experts littered across the shop.

She looked around in curiosity. There were "magical" crystals, bracelets and all sorts of trinkets for sale. Muggles are strange. It was like a store in Diagon Alley called Magical Trinkets. Luna frowned the more she studied the place – she had a weird feeling about this shop. At first, she'd thought it was just some muggle trying to make a living selling fake magical items, but there was something here that didn't feel right … She was about to study an item when the Head Inspector called her over.

"Potter, come here." He was standing in the doorway of the owner's office. She looked over to Luci "Luci, see what you can find." The dog barked in acknowledgement.

Luna joined her boss in the doorway of the office. "What do we have, sir?"

"The body is Alexa Nightingale," he replied, moving aside to allow Luna into the room. "She is 35 years old. Her parents died when she was a young girl. She doesn't have any other family, either." They finally reached the body. A forensic expert was taking pictures already. Luna looked closely – Alexa was quite a beautiful woman. Such a shame she was murdered, and so young, too.

"She's not married, she has no kids and no friends," her boss continued.

Luna crouched next to the deceased, avoiding the forensic expert. She examined the body, looking for anything that could indicate the cause of death; alas, she found none. She once again frowned. Her gut was screaming at her, insisting that a wizard or a witch killed this woman. I'm sure of it, she thought to herself. The corpse was too perfect.

Luna was just about to ask DI Graves if a toxicology report had been processed yet (highly doubtful), but before she could, his cell rang. She could see her boss visibly turning pale and his eyes widening in shock.

"I'm on my way, Melissa," he said and ended the call. "My wife's in labour, Potter. Can you handle this mess yourself?"

"I'm not a rookie, sir." She rolled her eyes.

DI Graves chuckled, already moving out of the office. "Watch your cheek, Potter."

Luna smiled mischievously. "I hope you have a boy, sir," she called after him, knowing full well that DI Graves wanted a little girl as he already had three boys and certainly didn't want another one.

"I don't have time for your nonsense!" he yelled as he ran out of the shop, hoping to be in time for his wife's birth.

Luna laughed (which was quite inappropriate for a crime-scene, but she didn't care). It was always fun, messing with the Inspector. Before Luna could ask the forensic expert in the room about the toxicology report, Lucifer came running into the room, barking loudly. The pup had found something. Luna stood up, wincing slightly. "Lucifer, what did you find, pup?"

The pup immediately scattered out of the office and Luna chased after her. They eventually ended up in the back of the storeroom, where there was one lone door. Lucifer scratched at the door. There was something in that room.

Luna raised her hand to open the door but was interrupted by a police officer who'd entered the storeroom.

"DI Potter, we have man named Jamie Scamander who claims to be from MI6," the policeman drawled.

"Send him in," Luna ordered. After the police officer had removed himself from the storeroom, Luna looked over at her pup and sighed.

"Luci," she said to her dog while tugging on a piece of her hair, "I wonder why the Ministry is interested in a muggle murder …"