A Study in Magic
by Books of Change
Warning/Notes: This is a BBC Sherlock and Harry Potter crossover AU. The HP timeline and BBC Sherlock's timeline has been shifted forwards and backwards to match up. One major BBC Sherlock character's gender has changed for the sake of the plot. The story was planned and written before season 2 (but incorporating elements of thereof as much as possible). Readers beware!
Chapter Sixty Five: Cross Examination
Harry never thought something could possibly ruin the day Remus received the werewolf cure, but that was before he saw Ron and Hermione's faces after he and Julia were portkeyed back to Hogwarts, right inside the Music Room. Harry felt his insides turn to ice when Ron told him Luna Lovegood eavesdropped into Hermione's flute lessons without either of them noticing, and how this made them think there was a potential leak.
"…You're taking this very well," said Julia, after several stunned seconds.
Harry said nothing—couldn't, because the news had sent him into a state of wild panic. All he could think was that it was over, the agent succeeded and that he'd failed in the worst way possible.
"We need to tell Dumbledore," said Hermione urgently. "Harry, you know where his office is, don't you?"
"Yeah," croaked Harry in a voice unlike his normal one. "Yeah, I've been there twice."
"Good. Take us there, Harry."
Harry led Ron, Hermione and Julia to the stone gargoyle that served as the entrance to the headmaster's office. There they spent five minutes calling out the names of different sweets because Harry didn't know the password and it wasn't Cockroach Clusters. The gargoyle finally stepped aside when Ron shouted: 'Acid Pops!' between horrible swear words. They rode the revolving staircase inside and let out a collective sigh of relief when they saw the dim light shining on the bottom of the oak doors—Albus Dumbledore was still awake.
Hermione told Dumbledore their concerns after he invited them in. Harry hung back while Hermione talked. The low lights inside the office cast deep shadows on all occupants and objects, and as he studied Dumbledore's calm but sombre countenance, it struck Harry suddenly how very old he was looking. He knew, of course, that Dumbledore was getting on in years, but somehow he never really thought of Dumbledore as an old man.
The lines on Dumbledore's ancient face seemed much deeper when Hermione finished speaking.
"Thank you very much for alerting me," said Dumbledore gravely. "You did the right thing to tell me your suspicions as soon as possible."
"What are we to do, Professor?" asked Hermione anxiously.
"Sherlock needs to be informed," said Dumbledore. "Please contact him at the earliest opportunity, but only after you have found a secure place to make the call. I myself will inform him of the potential leak, but he will undoubtedly want more details from you directly."
Harry no more looked forward to this than he looked forward to seeing Sherlock's reaction to the news.
"I will also advise you to set aside any feelings of failure and continue your efforts to uncover the agent," said Dumbledore.
"But the agent might know how close we are in figuring him out!" said Ron. "Doesn't that change everything?"
"The investigation must continue nevertheless," said Dumbledore firmly. "The agent may know everything you have discussed, this is true. But what exactly would the agent know from your meetings? We must also consider how the agent and Lord Voldemort—" Ron flinched "—would react to the information they have gained.
"Let suppose for the moment the agent had overheard all of your meetings," Dumbledore began. "If he did, he would know you were searching for anyone who has the wrong name for their physical body through an enchanted map. He would also know we were collecting fluid or tissue samples of the Ministry workers involved in the Triwizard Tournament, particularly Misters Bagman and Crouch."
"How did you—"
"Mr. Lestrade was not the only person Sherlock asked to obtain these things for him," said Dumbledore quietly. "I trust you know that we were able to collect hair and saliva samples of Mr. Crouch and Mr. Bagman at the Ministry of Magic and the Yule Ball, and that the DNA profile of Mr. Crouch at the Ministry differed from the DNA profile of Mr. Crouch present at the Yule Ball. If the agent knew we were trying to profile his DNA, why did he not take preventive measures? Mr. Crouch could've easily refused the tea Mr. Lestrade offered. He also could've excused himself from the Yule Ball, where one cannot help but eat and drink to avoid suspicion."
"He didn't know," said Harry, his insides thawing a bit. "At least, didn't know enough about DNA to stop us…"
"Precisely," said Dumbledore, nodding at Harry in approval. "As you rightly reasoned, we can conclude either the agent has not eavesdropped into your meetings, at least not until after the Yule Ball, or he did eavesdrop, but didn't have the necessary knowledge or help that would allow him to understand what you were talking about. Either case is to our advantage."
The four of them nodded.
"Now let us suppose the agent has eavesdropped into your meetings after the Yule Ball," Dumbledore continued. "That would mean he has gained access to Hogwarts, the Music Room in particular. If so, it is highly unlikely the agent would've failed to notice you are brewing the Polyjuice potion there. Would he not suspect you have figured out how he is infiltrating Hogwarts and sabotage your brewing efforts? Would not Lord Voldemort," (Ron flinched again), "react to the news with terrible anger? Harry's previous visions of Voldemort occurred when Voldemort's emotions were at height. Thus we can expect Harry to have a third vision if he were angry. But there have been no visions since the Champion selection. The agent of course may have chosen to hide this information from his master, but he would still need to change tactics in order to succeed. That the agent needs to change tactics at all would indicate to Voldemort things are not going according to plan, and you know how he reacted the last time things did not go according to plan."
"He was absolutely thrilled," muttered Harry and Julia shivered.
"Quite so," said Dumbledore. "Of course, the agent may have conceived a suitable alternative shortly after he discovered your Polyjuice brewing efforts, thus preventing Lord Voldemort from getting too angry. However, I imagine Voldemort would be absolutely irate if he learned a Muggle was instrumental in dismantling his plans."
"It would definitely piss him off," said Ron, and Hermione nodded fervently.
"Indeed," said Dumbledore, smiling. "So this is my assessment of the situation: the agent may have eavesdropped into your meetings, but evidence suggests he has not overheard anything important. Therefore the investigation may continue, but you must take measures that will ensure your meetings are truly secret. Do you accept this?"
"Yes, Professor," said the four of them.
"Good," said Dumbledore, nodding again. "Now your first task should be obvious to you."
"Find somewhere we can hold private meetings," said Julia. "Or find a way to make a room private."
"Do you know a good place, Professor?" Hermione asked. "You know everything about Hogwarts…"
"Oh, I would never claim knowing everything about Hogwarts," said Dumbledore. "Only a month ago, for instance, I took a wrong turning on the way to the bathroom and found myself in a beautifully proportioned room I have never seen before, containing a really rather magnificent collection of chamber pots. When I went back to investigate more closely, I discovered that the room had vanished. I'm still keeping an eye for it. Possibly it is only accessible at five-thirty in the morning. Or it may only appear at the full moon—or when the seeker has an exceptionally full bladder."
Ron and Julia snorted. Hermione frowned, but Harry could've sworn Dumbledore gave them a small wink.
"But to return to the subject of soundproofing and security, the normal practice is to use the Imperturbable charm," said Dumbledore. "But this would require you to learn the charm, and the fact you are learning the charm at all would alert the agent that you are aware of his activities. The charm itself is not unbreakable, and without definite knowledge on how the agent may be eavesdropping on you, it would be unadvisable to rely on it. So I suggest you ask the House-elves in the kitchens for a suitable place. Their knowledge of this castle is quite extraordinary, as one can expect from those who care for it daily."
"Yes, professor," said Hermione promptly.
"Excellent," said Dumbledore. "Now I have only two more things to say to you, and afterwards you may go and inform Sherlock to his heart's content."
The four of them waited for Dumbledore to speak breathlessly.
"First, it is vital that you understand the importance of discovering the agent," said Dumbledore. "And by discover, I mean obtaining evidence that shows who exactly he is. You may not be aware of this, but the Ministry is reluctant to consider the possibility that Pettigrew and the agent may be working to bring Lord Voldemort back."
"Why would they think that?" said Ron incredulously after shuddering at Voldemort's name. "What else could they be doing?"
"You must think from the Ministry's perspective," said Dumbledore quietly. "The investigation itself started because we have access to information they do not have. I am speaking, of course, of Harry's visions. Also, unlike our friends at the Ministry, many of whom neither knows nor cares much about the Muggle world, we are using Muggle technology and science to gather intelligence. So it is not surprising the Ministry holds a different position."
Hermione bit her lip.
"The Ministry believes the agent and Pettigrew are using all their energies in hiding and running away," said Dumbledore. "This certainly explains the Ministry's continued failure to capture them. But it does not explain the disappearance of Bertha Jorkins in the place Lord Voldemort was last known to be, the sudden increase in wizards engaged in Muggle crime, and the murder of Frank Bryce following their escape. I have tried to convince the Minister of Magic that all four cases are linked, but he disagrees."
Harry swallowed.
"There is, however, a bit of hope," said Dumbledore. "The Ministry does not deny the agent exists. As long as we can agree on this, we can hope to convince the Ministry of what Lord Voldemort is doing."
"We just need to find him," said Harry hollowly.
"Yes," said Dumbledore, nodding. "Now my second point: I know some of you, seeing how lucky we have been, may feel tempted to push that luck and confront the agent yourself," (Ron's ears went red) "or seeing how you blundered in this one area, are tempted to turn too cautious and do nothing until you have covered every contingency," (Hermione flushed.) "So my advice is to resist either extreme. Both action and caution have their value, but it does not do well to focus on one at the expense of the other. Please remember that."
Dumbledore stood up. Sensing the meeting was over, Harry rose too, and so did his friends. But before they left, Dumbledore said one last thing:
"I have full confidence in all of you. Just do your best."
-oo00oo-
The hallway outside Dumbledore's office was empty by the time Harry, Ron, Hermione and Julia left it. Harry checked his watch and was startled at how late it was.
"So what do we do now? Go to the kitchens?" said Ron.
"Shhhh!" Hermione hissed. "We're out in the open! Who knows who might be hearing?"
Ron quickly shut his mouth.
"Are you sure you want to go to the kitchens?" asked Julia in a low voice. "It's not exactly secret. Almost everyone in my house knows where it is because of the First Task party…"
Hermione bit her lip briefly before her expression cleared.
"We don't need go to the kitchens to talk to the elves," she whispered. "Dobby and Blippy usually shows up when Harry calls them."
"But he still needs to be somewhere no one can hear him before he asks," said Julia. "Damn, it's catch-22…"
"Catch, what?" said Ron, bewildered.
"Never mind," said Hermione quickly. She whispered something into Ron's ear first, then Julia, and finally grabbed Harry by the ear and whispered: "Get a noise-cancelling paper charm and call them inside your four-poster. I told Ron to be on the lookout and Julia to standby. That's the best we can do for now."
Julia returned to the Hufflepuff Basement and Harry, Ron and Hermione the Gryffindor tower after this. When Harry, Ron and Hermione climbed through the portrait hole, they found the common room empty except for Ginny and Neville, who were sitting in the armchairs by the fireplace.
"You two go up, I'll tell them," said Hermione, much to Ginny and Neville's obvious confusion.
Harry and Ron ran up to their dormitory. Dean and Seamus, to their relief, were fast asleep. Ron took out his wand and stood menacingly at the foot of Harry's bed, and Harry drew the curtains of his four-poster around him and attached a noise-cancelling paper charm on the fabric.
Harry was about to call Blippy and Dobby when a thought made him pause for a second. He wasn't sure if he should call both Dobby and Blippy. All the times he'd seen them together, they kept trying to one-up the other for some reason. He was probably better off calling just one. But which of the two should he call?
After some consideration, Harry decided to flip a coin. The knut he tossed came up heads.
"Dobby?" he called out.
Immediately there was a loud crack.
"Harry Potter, sir!"
Dobby the house-elf was standing on top of his bed. As he sank into a deep bow so low that his pencil-like nose brushed the blanket, Harry couldn't help but notice the elf was wearing Benedict's old baby bear vest, an outfit Sherlock despised, and all of the hats Mrs. Hudson knitted for Benedict piled one on top of the other, with the one that looked like a stuffed orangutan on the very top. On his feet were John's hideous Christmas socks from the past five years.
"Er… are you wearing all the clothes John and Sherlock's been giving you?" asked Harry.
"Oh no, sir," said Dobby happily. "Dobby has been taking some for Winky, too, sir."
"Yeah, how is Winky?"
Dobby's ears drooped slightly.
"Winky is drinking lots again, sir," he said sadly, his enormous round green eyes, large as tennis balls, downcast. "She is feeling discouraged, sir, of ever doing well enough to get Mr. Lestrade's approval. It has been over two months and Mr. Lestrade has not said anything about Mr. Crouch."
"I'll talk to him," said Harry.
"That would be most kind of you, sir!" said Dobby as he sank into a deep bow again. "Harry Potter is always so kind and thoughtful! Winky will surely be happy when she is hearing the news! Ah, if only Happy Potter were happy also!" Dobby went on, straightening up again and looking timidly at Harry. "Dobby is thinking Harry Potter is very troubled. Dobby also thinks Mr. Sherlock is troubled too, for when Dobby goes to 221B, Mr. Sherlock is always marching up and down, up and down, in the living room with his Thinking face."
"There's been a lot going on," Harry murmured.
The elf surveyed Harry out of his vast, orb-like eyes. Then he said very seriously, his ears drooping, "Dobby wishes he could help Harry Potter, for Harry Potter set Dobby free and Dobby is much, much happier now."
Harry stared at him for a moment. Then he smiled.
"There is something you can do for me, Dobby," said Harry.
The elf beamed.
"Name it, Harry Potter, sir!"
"I need to find a place where six people can hold meetings without being overheard or discovered by anyone. Especially," Harry clenched his fists, "outsiders. But I still need to be able to call Sherlock."
Harry half-expected the elf's smile to vanish, his ears to droop; he expected him to say it was impossible, or else that he would try to find somewhere. He did not expect Dobby to give a little skip, his ears waggling cheerfully, and clap his hands together.
"Dobby knows the perfect place, sir!" he said happily. "Dobby heard tell of it from the other house-elves when he came to Hogwarts, sir. It is known by us as the Come and Go Room, sir, or else as the Room of Requirement!"
"Why?" Harry said curiously.
"Because it is a room that a person can only enter when they have real need of it," said Dobby seriously. "Sometimes it is there, and sometimes it is not, but when it appears, it is always equipped for the seeker's needs. Dobby has used it, sir," said the elf, dropping his voice and looking guilty, "when Winky has been very drunk; he has hidden her in the Room of Requirement and he has found antidotes to Butterbeer there, and a nice elf-sized bed to settle her on while she sleeps it off, sir. Dobby knows Mr. Filch has found extra cleaning materials there when he has run short, sir. And—"
"—if you really needed a bathroom," said Harry, remembering what Dumbledore had said minutes ago, "would it fill itself with chamber pots?"
"Dobby expects so, sir," said Dobby, nodding earnestly. "It is a most amazing room, sir."
"How many people know about it?" said Harry.
"Very few, sir. Mostly people stumbles across it when they needs it, sir, but often they never finds it again, for they do not know that it is always there waiting to be called into service, sir."
"It sounds brilliant," said Harry, his heart racing. "It sounds perfect, Dobby. When can you show me where it is?"
"Any time, Harry Potter, sir," said Dobby, looking delighted at Harry's enthusiasm. "We could go now, if you like!"
For a moment Harry was tempted to go with Dobby. He was halfway out of his bed, intending to pull out his Invisibility Cloak, when a voice very much like Dumbledore's whispered in his ear: don't push your luck
"Not now, Dobby," said Harry reluctantly, sinking back into his bed. "This is really important … I don't want to blow it, it'll need proper planning. Listen, can you just tell me exactly where this Room of Requirement is, and how to get in there?"
Harry drew the curtains back after thanking Dobby and the elf returned to the kitchens. He and Ron dashed back to the empty common room, where Hermione, Neville and Ginny were waiting for them. Harry could tell from Neville and Ginny's grave expressions they knew what was at stake.
"You should've called Blippy," said Hermione when Harry told them about the Room of Requirement.
"Why?" Harry said defensively.
"Well… it's just that Dobby's plans aren't always that safe. Don't you remember when he lost you all the bones in your arm?"
"This room isn't just some mad idea of Dobby's, and it's the other house-elves who told him about it."
Hermione's expression cleared.
"The other elves use this room?"
"Yeah."
"Oh, well, that's all right then," said Hermione. "Now we just have to text Sherlock and Julia about the meeting."
"When should we meet?"
"Five o' clock in the morning; four thirty is the earliest we can leave the tower, and we need travel time."
Harry sent a text to Julia as soon as he finished texting Sherlock.
Meeting tomorrow 5AM at the seventh floor opposite to the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy being clubbed by trolls
Julia replied within seconds:
Ok
-oo00oo-
Sherlock didn't reply until four thirty in the morning, and by then Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville and Ginny were all fast asleep. Harry was the first to wake up because Sherlock called him after sending a multitude texts. After confirming the meeting time, Harry texted Julia a reminder and she replied: Am already at the seventh floor. Wondering if Julia slept at all, Harry shook Ron, Hermione, Neville and Ginny awake.
At twenty minutes before five o' clock, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville and Ginny left the Gryffindor common room, Harry clutching a certain piece of aged parchment in his hand. Though curfew had ended, all five of them kept looking around nervously as they made their way along the seventh floor.
"Hold it, one last check," warned Harry, unfolding the piece of parchment at the top of the last staircase, tapping it with his wand and muttering, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."
A map of Hogwarts appeared on the blank surface of the parchment. Tiny black dots, labeled with names, showed where various people were.
"Filch and Mrs. Norris are on the second floor," said Harry, holding the map close to his eyes. "All of the teachers are in their offices."
"What about the ghosts?" Hermione said anxiously.
"None floating about the seventh floor," said Harry. "Okay, let's go."
They hurried along the corridor to the place Dobby had described to Harry, a stretch of blank wall opposite an enormous tapestry depicting Barnabas the Barmy's foolish attempt to train trolls for the ballet. As promised, Julia was waiting for them there.
"Okay," said Harry quietly, while a moth-eaten troll paused in his relentless clubbing of the would-be ballet teacher to watch them. "Dobby said to walk past this bit of wall three times, concentrating hard on what we need."
They did so, turning sharply at the window just beyond the blank wall, then at the man-sized vase on its other side. Ron and Ginny had screwed up their eyes in concentration; Hermione was whispering something under her breath; Julia kept glaring at the wall; Neville made straining noises and his red face made it look like he was trying to lay a Quaffle-sized egg; Harry's fists were clenched as he stared ahead of him.
We need somewhere to hold a secret meeting… he thought. Just give us a place where no one can overhear us or find us… somewhere we can talk to Sherlock in secret…
"Harry!" said Hermione sharply, as they wheeled around after their third walk past.
A highly polished door had appeared in the wall. Ron and Neville were staring at it, looking slightly wary. Harry reached out, seized the brass handle, pulled open the door and led the way into a spacious room lit with flickering torches like those that illuminated the dungeons eight floors below.
The walls were lined with wooden bookcases and there were comfortable-looking chairs surrounding an oval-shaped mahogany table in the centre. A set of shelves at the far end of the room had several drawers and held a range of curious instruments such as giant Sneakoscopes, stuff that looked like extra-squiggly, golden television aerials that hummed slightly, and what appeared to be a large mirror except it wasn't reflecting the room, but had shadowy figures that were moving around inside it, none of them clearly in focus. A mirror that did reflect the room was hanging on a wall next to wheeled blackboard, and it looked identical to the mirror that hung above 221B's mantelpiece.
"Look at all this space," said Ron enthusiastically as he drew a chair. "We can actually sit down!"
"And just look at these books!" said Hermione excitedly, running a finger along the spines of the large leather-bound tomes. "Enchanted Counterintelligence … From the Symposium of Magical Security … Dropping Eaves on the Eavesdropper … wow…" She looked around at Harry, her face glowing. "Harry, this is wonderful, there's everything we need here!"
They explored the room some more as Hermione slid Nocebos for the Nosy from its shelf, sank on to the nearest chair and began to read. Julia moved across to the door and turned the key protruding from the lock; it clicked in a satisfyingly loud way. Ginny examined the drawers and found rolls of parchment, quills and ink bottles. Harry stood in front of the reflecting mirror. For several moments, all it did was display his reflection.
Then the mirror-Harry winked, turned around and walked to the door. The mirror's surface turned grey and opaque when the door shut behind it. Then on the next blink, Harry was looking into the interior of 221B's living room.
"I know what that is," said Julia while Harry gaped in astonishment. "It's a two-way mirror."
"What does it do?" Harry asked.
"It lets you talk to the person who has the companion mirror," said Julia. "It's like video conferencing except magic."
"How do you know this?"
"Uncle Jason felt bad he never got my Owl asking for a snake two years ago, so he got me one for Christmas."
Harry snorted as he recalled their effort to see if Draco Malfoy was a Parselmouth. The barn owl they used to send the letter to Mr. Jason returned to Hogwarts about a month after the whole fiasco was over, looking grimy and exhausted with many of its feathers sticking out in different directions. The owl took flight whenever Harry and his friends entered the Owlry since then, apparently afraid that they would send it on a similarly grueling errand.
Harry told Sherlock via text to stand in front of the mirror at the mantelpiece. It wasn't long before a tousled-haired Sherlock walked into view. Harry was so fascinated by the enchantment, the fact Sherlock looked tired and was still wearing sleepwear barely registered.
"Intriguing," said Sherlock in a deep voice as he looked at Harry from the other side of the glass. "I didn't know this mirror was connected to another one."
"Sorry to wake you up," said Harry.
Sherlock made a dismissive gesture. "So you called me. What is it?"
Ron and Hermione quickly joined Harry at the mirror told Sherlock all about Luna, their suspicions that the agent may have overheard them, and what Dumbledore told them. Though Sherlock didn't speak, let alone yell, and the only sign of what was going inside his head was the little frown that wrinkled his eyebrows, Harry had a feeling the news was making Sherlock enormously furious. Hermione must have noticed this, too, because she quickly became very nervous and despondent.
Sherlock remained silent when Hermione finished speaking. He walked up and down the living room a few times. Then he stopped in front of the mantelpiece, lifted the skull and pulled out a small cardboard box from underneath it.
"What's that?" Ron asked nervously.
"Nicotine patch," said Sherlock. "Helps me think."
"You, um, took out three," said Hermione as Sherlock slapped a patch onto his forearm.
"This is a three patch problem," said Sherlock. "Now don't talk to me for the next fifty minutes."
The six of them waited while Sherlock presumably thought; they didn't know what he was doing for sure, as the mirror went to back reflecting the Room of Requirement when they moved away from it. Ginny tried to comfort them by reminding them Dumbledore's reasoning, but Harry, who knew Sherlock better than most, knew that his brooding silences were often a sign that a case was going badly.
Harry didn't know when the six of them dosed off, but they woke up when a loud rattling noise came from the mirror. Everyone scrambled to stand in front of it. Sherlock appeared in due time, and as soon as he started talking, whatever relief Harry got from the meeting with Dumbledore vanished.
Sherlock disagreed with Dumbledore's assessment that their investigation could continue as usual. He argued Dumbledore's reasoning failed to account all the possible players in Voldemort's scheme, like the military wizard Moran and Rita Skeeter (a name none of them expected), and was biased towards the most optimistic interpretation of the given data (i.e. Voldemort will fail to keep his anger in check and would know if the agent is hiding things from him). Rather than give into optimism, he said, they should consider the more realistic/pessimistic scenario: Voldemort knew his plan wasn't working, thus would attempt to gain his objective through alternative methods. Therefore they should focus on figuring out why exactly LV wanted to kidnap Harry, so they could place preventive measures accordingly.
"But we still need to find the agent!" Hermione protested. "He needs to be caught!"
"Yes, but the leak has rendered many of our conclusions about him obsolete," said Sherlock tersely. "We need fresh data and we only have ten days to get it. I am by no means thinking we cannot uncover the agent, but to assume we can is the height of foolishness. The only good thing I can say of this situation is that the agent is just as pressed in time as we are."
The mirror went back to reflecting its surroundings after Sherlock ordered them to start researching LV's goals and motives. A heavy silence fell on the room in its wake. All of them were thinking the same thing: Who was right?
"They can't be both right," said Ron flatly. "I reckon they're both off. I mean, Sherlock's brilliant and all, but he's not a wizard. Dumbledore's brilliant too, but he can't be right all the time."
"I think we should listen to Dumbledore," said Hermione. "I do think Sherlock has a point, but Dumbledore understands You-Know-Who better. He led the resistance against You-Know-Who when he was powerful the last time, so he knows how he works and how he reacts to stuff." She paused. "And didn't you think Sherlock was a bit … slower today? I mean," she added quickly at Harry's furious look, "he must have trouble sleeping because of Benedict, and that's really not his fault, but you know lack of sleep impairs thinking and—"
"You're right Dumbledore understands You-Know-Who better," said Julia, interrupting. "But I find Sherlock is more accurate when it comes to criminals. He never thinks the best of them, and in this case, you really shouldn't."
"But we're dealing with You-Know-Who, not just any criminal!" Hermione argued. "He's the mastermind behind it all! Don't you think we should trust the person who knows him the best?"
"I don't doubt Dumbledore's assessment; I just think Sherlock has the better counter-strategy," said Julia, frowning.
"Isn't that the same thing as saying you think Sherlock is more right?" said Ron.
Harry remained silent while Ron, Hermione and Julia argued. In his mind, the problem was both Dumbledore and Sherlock sounded equally right. He was used to the idea of Sherlock being right and Dumbledore just knowing things. It never occurred to him he would face a situation where the two people whose brains he trusted the most would disagree.
"What do you think, Harry?"
The question jerked Harry out of his thoughts. He looked up and found Ron, Hermione, Julia, Neville and Ginny looking at him expectantly. It took Harry a many blinks to realise what they were thinking.
"Why are you asking me?" he sputtered.
"You must have an idea what we should do," said Ginny. "You're pretty good at deductions."
"I don't remember doing any deductions for this case!"
"Yes, you did. You noticed the significance of Winky being dismissed on Boxing day," said Hermione.
"And how that relates to Pettigrew," Julia added.
"And if you want non-case examples, we have two," said Ron. "You figured out Hogwarts is hosting an inter-school competition in the train and what the Second task is."
"Those were just pat deductions!" cried Harry in frustration. "They're not on the same scale as this!"
"That's okay," said Neville. "We just want to know how we're supposed to help. You can figure that out, right?"
Harry stopped. Then he took in several deep breaths. Yes, this … this was something he could do. Maybe. Possibly. He was afraid to think, as the memory of his failure to keep the case secret like John told him to was still painfully fresh in his mind.
"…Okay," said Harry slowly, but thinking as hard as he could. "Let's go over the stuff both Sherlock and Dumbledore agree on … the stuff we need to get more evidence for."
"I'll write it down," said Hermione. Then she ran over to the blackboard and picked up a chalk.
"One: the agent has no idea how badly he's failing," said Harry.
"True that," said Ron. "Sherlock said Dumbledore got that right."
Harry nodded. "Two: Voldemort doesn't know badly his plan is failing, but this can change."
Hermione made an agreeing noise as she wrote this down.
"Three: the agent is probably Barty Crouch's son."
Ron, Ginny and Neville did a double-take.
"…I forgot about that," said Ron. "But that's probably true, right? I wonder why Dumbledore didn't mention it."
"Probably thought he didn't have to," said Harry. "That's Sherlock's biggest beef against Dumbledore: he doesn't tell you everything, just the stuff he thinks you need to know at the moment."
"He just wants us to figure it out on our own," said Hermione. "It's not like Sherlock can't."
"You try dealing with him when he knows someone's keeping data away from him," Harry muttered. "Anyway, items four and five are the agent was using Polyjuice to enter Hogwarts, and Voldemort wants to kidnap me. Anything else you want to add?"
"Six: Winky got sacked because of the agent," said Hermione angrily as she wrote everything down with such force that the chalk was breaking a bit with each stroke. "Oh, this makes me even angrier! If the agent is Crouch is son, then of course she'd be responsible for him! I bet Crouch made her do all the work after smuggling him home … then the son up and betrays her too! The nerve of them!"
"You leave off on that elf," said Ron irritably, while Neville looked down.
"No, you shut it," snapped Ginny. "Winky's important. Harry would've never noticed something was wrong if it weren't for her."
"But we already know about her for sure! There are no question marks about it! So why put her up on the board?"
Julia studied the list while Hermione, Ron and Ginny bickered. She looked pensive.
"Why would LV want to kidnap Harry?" said Julia, making the bickering trio pause. "Why is that necessary? What merit does it have?"
"Maybe he wanted to start his reign of terror with a bang," said Harry darkly. "Sending my dead body to Hogwarts would definitely do the trick…"
"That's not funny!" said Hermione, looking stricken. "Don't joke about stuff like that!"
"It wasn't a joke," snapped Harry.
"But if he wanted to make a statement, why would he try to kidnap you on the sly?" said Julia. "He tried to distract everyone with the dragon and used a secret portkey. Doesn't that mean he didn't want to make a big show out of it, at least until it was too late?" She paused. "Come to think of it, why hasn't he done anything else besides gathering money for his comeback? Shouldn't he be gathering his old followers or some such?"
"Aren't most of them in prison?" said Ginny.
"Not all of them," said Hermione. "Quite a few managed to keep themselves out. The Malfoys, for example."
"D'you reckon You-Know-Who contacted Lucius Malfoy?" said Ron quickly. "If he did, I'm going to tell Dad. He could catch him in the act!"
"I don't think Malfoy has any idea," said Julia thoughtfully. "He wouldn't have resisted the chance to rub it in our face if he did."
"But if his father didn't tell him…"
"This is just speculation," said Harry. "Maybe LV did. Maybe he didn't. I wouldn't, if I were him. Lucius Malfoy doesn't strike me as the type to do something unless there's a big return of investment. But he's not our main problem. Let's focus on the list."
There was a long pause while everyone thought it over.
"I see what you're saying," said Hermione to Julia. "Right now You-Know-Who is relying on his most loyal follower and no one else. Meaning he can't afford to bring in anyone who's loyalty is iffy to his scheme. Pettigrew doesn't count because he has everything to lose if he goes against You-Know-Who and Moran doesn't count either because he's terrible wizard and a wanted one at that. But what does this mean?"
"It means Voldemort isn't powerful enough!" said Harry excitedly, as everything clicked. "Yes, I see it now! He didn't have a body, remember, for the last twelve years! Now he might have something minimal enough to hold a wand, but it probably doesn't look very impressive! You can't lead a terrorist organization with just scary monologues and death— you need to look the part! Voldemort needs a body that's scary enough and powerful enough to really return! But what would he need to make something like that?"
Ron, Hermione, Neville and Ginny stared at him blankly.
"Magic—lots of powerful magic! Oh, c'mon, you know this!" said Harry, leaping to his feet and pacing. "You're custom designing your own body! You want to make sure it's the most powerful body you can get your hands on! So you collect powerful magical substances like, I don't know, unicorn blood and dragon hide! Then you remember there is a person who made you lose your old body, at least you think you know who this person is, and you want to make sure you have the magic that allowed him to do it! How can you get hold of this magic and make it yours?"
"…Get his blood," Julia gasped. "Sonofabitch, he wants—"
"—my blood," said Harry grimly. "He's after my blood."
-oo00oo-
Final Notes: The kids, particularly Harry, grow up. I feel like a proud parent. You should have all the data needed to figure out the solution. Can you guess?
ETA: fixed some number problems.