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Crime is of the Essence	By : K8BNimble Category: Harry Potter Crossovers > Slash - Male/Male Views: 6594 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or BBC’s Sherlock nor do I make money from this. I just like playing with them. Harry Potter is owned by owned by JK Rowling, Scholastic and Warner Brothers & BBC’s Sherlock is owned by, well, the BBC

Chapter List
- 11
- 12
- 13
And I still don’t own either Harry Potter or BBC’s Sherlock. I also make no money on this either….

Story note: The year is 2018. It’s canon until the Epilogue. Harry never married. Ron and Hermione had Rose and Hugo earlier than indicated in the books so that they are older in this story. Rose was born in 2002 and Hugo in 2005. Other minor modifications made without notice probably!
Reminder: The Sherlock in this story is from BBC's Sherlock which is set in contemporary times. This IS NOT Robert Downey Jr.'s Sherlock nor any traditional versions as portrayed by Jeremy Brett or any other actor. This is Sherlock as portrayed by Benedict Cumberbatch. You do not need to have seen the BBC series to follow this story.

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Crime is of the Essence

Chapter 11 – Reporting In
Back at Grimmauld Place, Harry finished filling in Kingsley, Draco, Ron and Hermione about what Severus, Sherlock and he had learned. They were comparing notes. Hermione was in the recliner, listening to the video recordings on Harry’s iPhone. Although not an official Auror, Kinglsey never minded when they used her as a “consultant”. Harry, Sherlock and Severus sat on the sofa while the other three were on the extra kitchen chairs Harry had pulled into the room. He had, at least, transfigured them to be slightly more comfortable.
“So, no one in the Department of Mysteries has heard of the Essence of Evan?” Harry asked. Draco and Kingsley had just finished a fire-call with Banner, the head of that department.
Draco shook his head. Kingsley added, “Nor has anyone in any of the other departments. If it’s a drug, it’s very new.”
“I guess St. Mungos better get a bigger rehab section. Between all the Polyjuice addicts clogging up their outpatient beds and the Rapturous users filling the in-patient rooms, there'll be no space for new druggies,” Ron commented.
Draco was looking at Sherlock’s iPhone which Harry noticed was making Sherlock twitch nervously. Harry rubbed Sherlock’s thigh in reassurance.
“If I didn’t know better, I’d think those numbers were Apparation coordinates,” Draco stated as he studied the screen.
“Too many numbers. I thought so at first, too. Have you talked to Scorpius, yet?” Harry asked.
“I did. He was quite upset that someone might have tampered with his memories. He didn’t even remember why they started going to Madame Puddifoot’s in the first place.”
Kingsley looked at both Ron and Draco. “Are both of you up to attending the fundraiser tonight? I can reassign Willoughby and Strank if you’d prefer to be with your children.” Ron shook his head to decline the offer.
“Scorpius said he’d prefer to stay at Hogwarts,” Draco replied.
“What made him want to start boarding?” Harry asked. Draco glared at him. Harry knew he probably shouldn't ask something that personal in this group, but it sort of slipped out. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to pry.”
“You never do, do you, Potter? Yet, somehow, you always manage to,” Draco replied with a small laugh. “No matter. Scorpius doesn’t like Malfoy Manor, particularly after Astoria passed. The portraits were always insulting us. I Silencio’d the lot of them but he is still uncomfortable there. I think it reminds him too much of his mother. He’s always been sensitive.”
Harry remembered Astoria fondly and could understand the boy’s feelings. “The portraits at Hogwarts talk too, don’t they?”
“Yes, but they’re not family. As you might recall, my parents were not the most friendly of people. Our ancestors were worse. At least at Hogwarts there’s only one relative’s portrait in the dungeons and she is remarkably quiet. Rachnia barely said two words to me when I attended school. That’s about as pleasant as my family gets.”
“Your mother saved my life, Draco,” Harry reminded him.
“And yet when was the last time you asked her for tea or visited us at the Manor?” Draco asked with a sour look. Harry flushed. He barely asked Draco to lunch when he was in town, let alone his extended family.
The only reason Malfoy Manor was still in Draco’s possession was Harry’s passionate argument that the woman who had saved him should not lose her home for her husband’s transgressions. In the end, the Manor was about all they had left. Narcissa refused to sell it, instead selling off other property to maintain it. She'd wanted Lucius to have it after he’d finished his latest stint in Azkaban which had ended five years prior. The only thing they had managed to get him on was tax evasion, but it was enough to strip most of their wealth. Since his release though, Lucius had been busy trying to rebuild his empire. The man had a nose for business that Harry couldn’t deny and charisma enough to woo a niffler into giving you its gold. The fact that he’d begun appearing in the society pages once again, without any taint on him, was evidence enough.
Harry hated going to the Manor. It made him think about the time he'd spent in their dungeon. He shuddered. He felt a hand soothing his back and he looked over to see Severus watching him closely as he rubbed circles in between Harry’s shoulder blades. He smiled gratefully at Severus for trying to comfort him. He then felt a hand from his other side rest on his thigh. Sherlock was returning the favor. He saw Severus’ gaze shift to the hand on his leg and narrow. Severus removed his hand, followed by Sherlock.
Harry shifted forward in the seat awkwardly. “Point taken, Draco.” Harry was glad Ron had stayed silent throughout the discussion of Draco’s parents. Draco and Ron had a cordial working relationship but that would be about the extent of it.
“What I don’t understand is how our kids got mixed up in this?” Ron said completely oblivious to the odd interaction between the three men on the couch.
“I don’t understand why Scorpius likes Rose so much. I thought he had better taste than to fall for a Weaselby,” Draco muttered but then Harry noticed the mischievious glint in Draco’s eyes as he looked up from under long blond lashes. Upon seeing Ron’s face turn red, he laughed. “I’m just poking at you. You really are too easy to get riled up. Rose seems quite normal. Amazing that, considering her parents.”
“If you gentlemen are finished?” Kingsley gave them a bemused look and then turned to Sherlock. “Sherlock, you mentioned…”
Hermione looked up and her eyes widened. “Oh my god!” Hermione yelled, interrupting Kingsley’s query. “I’m so stupid.” She stood up and ran out of the room and into Harry’s study.
“Well, she finally concedes my brilliance,” Draco said as they all stared at the empty hall she'd just run down.
“Are they always this way?” Severus asked Harry. Harry nodded. Severus noticed Ron gawking at him once again. “Mr. Weasley, do I have spinach in my teeth?”
“Wha? Oh, sorry sir. It’s just hard to believe you’re really Professor Snape. I mean, you don’t even look all gre…”
“Ron,” Harry warned.
“I mean, you don’t look like I remember. It’s just weird, that’s all.”
Severus arched an eyebrow at him and stared until Ron blushed. “I think I’ll go see what Hermione is up to,” Ron said finally and left the room.
Draco snickered. “Potter, you really should have shook my hand,” he said. It was an old, long-standing joke between them.
Sherlock shifted on the other side of Harry. “Perhaps I should attend this affair as well,” he said, changing the topic completely.
Everyone looked at him. “I believe something of great importance will happen tonight at the Ball. Are there any dignitaries attending?”
“Certainly. As usual, there will be Ministry officials, statesmen, celebrities and foreign dignitaries.”
“I wonder if this is not about drug use at all?” Sherlock pondered out loud.
Before Harry could ask him to elaborate, Hermione came back in to the room and thrust the <i>iPhone</i> into Harry’s hand. “We were wrong. It wasn’t some kind of lock they were talking about,” she said referring to their initial conversation after everyone had watched the recording. “Listen to the first voice again very carefully.” She hit play and turned the audio up as loud as she could. Ron was standing behind her.
“…got…Essence... Evan ,” the first voice said. Harry thought it did sound a little familiar. “’Bout time,” the second voice replied. “ I’m runnin’ low and a customer is coming in for it. Lock…. “The first voice interrupted, “Quiet! Don’t say that…”
Ron spoke up, “Now that you mention it, it does ring a bell.” He screwed up his face in concentration.
“Don’t sprain yourself thinking, Weasley,” Draco joked. “He is right. He sounds a little like that prat that taught Defense in our second year.”
“Yes!! Exactly!” Hermione shouted. She was very excited. “The lock they mentioned wasn’t a thing. It was a name. He was saying ‘Lockhart’!”
“What would this Lockhart have to do with Polyjuice Potion?” Severus asked. “Is he a Potions Master?”
Harry glanced at Severus and shook his head. “No, but he <i>was</i> incredibly gifted with memory charms.” Sudden understanding hit everyone.
“I thought he was locked up in St. Mungos, though? Didn’t the man blow his own memory out,” Draco asked.
“That’s what Hermione was checking on,” Ron said. “Guess who made a full recovery and was released nine months ago?”
“The Ministry was never notified of that,” Kingsley said. “Gilderoy Lockhart has crimes he needs to answer for now that he's regained his memory.”
“That’s the interesting thing,” Ron said. “When I asked if the Ministry had been notified, she said his files had no notation that notification was required. I think we need to get a warrant to see those files.”
“It would be interesting to find out who authorized his release,” Severus added.
“Draco, you and Ron should visit St. Mungos. I’ll fire-call Millsbury and get an emergency warrant,” Kingsley directed.
He turned to the others. “Good work. It’s 16:00 now. Let’s see if we can figure out where Lockhart went after he left the hospital.”
“Another thing,” Hermione said. “Lockhart said his goal back then was to market a line of hair care products.”
“I don’t believe he’s selling illegal shampoo and styling mousse,” Harry quipped.
“No, of course not. But considering his passion for it, I think it would mean he would know a lot about the use of hair in magical rites,” she explained.
“Why would he target Harry?” Severus asked.
“It was my fault he lost his memory,” Harry replied.
“Technically, it was mine since it was my broken wand that caused the backfire,” Ron argued.
“But he was cursing me at the time,” Harry responded. “I’m sure he would view it as at least partially my fault. He lost all his credibility and over ten years of his life because of those events.” Harry paused. “But…I wonder how he got my hair?” He thought for a moment and expanded his range of thought. He may not be the only target. Just the only one he knew about. He looked at Ron, “If Lockhart did blame both of us, how would he get our hair?”
Harry raised his eyebrows as realization hit.
Ron, Severus and Sherlock all said in unison, “Rose!”
Ron sat, looking faint.
Harry nodded. “Rose: the perfect accomplice. She has access to his targets and he can make her forget she ever helped him.”
“Weaselby is in danger, too?” Draco asked.
“Possibly,” Kingsley said. “We shouldn’t jump to conclusions but we need to take precautions. Draco, you’ll be Ron’s bodyguard tonight. Severus, you and Sherlock will watch Harry. I’ll implement wand identification security protocols for the event as well. I’ll notify the Auror Corps to watch for Lockhart and assign additional plainclothes Aurors to Security. We still don’t know what Lockhart might be planning.”
“So, this could be a case of simple revenge?” Severus asked.
“I don’t think there’s anything simple about this,” Sherlock answered.
- 11
- 12
- 13
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Crime is of the Essence