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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
- 8
- 9
- 10
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 8 – It’s in the Details
The next morning had a chill damp in the air which was unusual this late in May. Harry got up and headed downstairs when the smell of a fry-up hit him.
“What are you making?” Harry asked.
Severus was standing at the stove with his back to Harry. He was already dressed for the day in the same jeans as yesterday, but he must have found one of Teddy’s old shirts in a dresser. It was a black “Morose Malaclaws” tee which fit very snugly across Severus’ wider shoulders. It also rode up on his longer torso showing flashes of pale white skin along his lower back as he stirred whatever was in the pan. Harry realized that maybe he should have dressed as well.
“An omelet – bacon and cheese since you purchased them. Toast is coming up. Do you want coffee?” Severus said in a pleasant voice. Harry had forgotten just how nice the man’s voice was. The deep timbre was very sexy. He had rarely heard it in such neutral circumstances so that too was a nice change.
“Yeah, coffee sounds good.” Severus stepped away from the pan a moment and poured Harry a cup and handed it to him. Harry noticed the table was set for two. “What’s the occasion?”
“I was hungry. It’s just as easy to cook for two as one,” Severus said. “I was about to knock on your door. It’s already 8:30 and I assume your friend might show any minute.” He pulled down on the too-short shirt.
“Kingsley’s not coming until 9:45.” Severus looked at him. “Oh, wait…Sherlock, right. He’s not much of an early riser unless there’s a case,” Severus raised one eyebrow at him, “which of course, there is,” Harry finished.
Severus slid the omelet onto a plate and cut it in half. He slid half of it onto another plate and sat it in front of Harry. He then took the toast out, stacked them on a plate and sat down. He took two slices and passed the plate to Harry. Severus pulled down on the shirt before he sat.
Harry slathered butter onto his toast and then took a bite of the omelet. “Wow, this is good,” he praised Severus as he savored the gooey deliciousness before him.
“I added in both Cheddar and Monterrey cheese since you got the mixed package. I added a small assortment of spices as well. I was pleasantly surprised at your spice rack.”
Harry almost laughed his eggs out onto the table. “Ok, sorry. That could be taken the wrong way.”
Severus smirked knowingly. “I meant, for a single man, you have a lot of cooking essentials.”
“I like to cook. It’s a hobby.” Harry took another bite. “I didn’t know you cooked, though.”
“Neither did I really. I assumed since I was a Potions Master that I could find my way around a kitchen. It seems as though I was right.”
“But you cooked this Muggle-style. Hardly any Wizards do that,” Harry noted.
“You do. Half the equipment here looks Muggle-based,” Severus observed.
“Yes, but I was raised by Muggles and had to cook for them. I never learned to cook any other way.” As if Molly would have allowed him to cook when he stayed with them.
It occurred to Harry that this was the Half-Blood Prince and it was possible that he too had to learn to cook that way since his father disliked magic as much as Harry’s relatives did.
Before he could say anything though, Severus asked, “Didn’t you start Hogwarts when you were eleven? When did you cook for Muggles?” Severus looked at him very curiously.
“Before I started at Hogwarts and, then, during the summers afterwards,” Harry explained.
“Your family made an eleven year old cook for them? What were you, their house elf?” He sounded insulted on Harry’s behalf. As happy as that made Harry, he didn’t feel like discussing the Dursleys. He had put them behind him.
“Very nearly. Sounds like you’ve remembered more,” Harry commented to change the subject. “What else do you remember?”
Severus looked annoyed at Harry’s diversionary tactics but acquiesced. “I remember words like Accio, Alohamora, and Stupefy. I remember a very dark room. I think I spent a lot of time in it.”
“That’s probably the Potion’s Lab or your office. They were in the dungeons at Hogwarts.”
“Really? I must not have been well-liked.”
“I believe it was your choice. I think most of your potions needed to be kept in cool, dark places. I’m positive it was nothing personal,” Harry said with a smile.
“Very reassuring,” Severus replied before continuing. “Green. I remember a very vivid green.”
“The Slytherin Common Room. You were their Head of House. It was filled with green.”
“That was one of the houses at Hogwarts, right?” Severus asked with a furrowed brow as if concentrating on something. Harry swallowed the last bite of his toast and looked up at him. Severus froze. He was staring into Harry’s eyes.
“What? Do I have toast crumbs or something?” Harry asked, wiping his face with his hands. Just then the bell rang. Harry jumped. Almost no one rang the doorbell and it was too early for Kingsley.
“Looks like Sherlock may have learned some manners after all,” Harry said as he got up.
“It would be nice if he could be housebroken, “ Severus quipped. Harry flashed him a smile.

* * * * *

“I forgot you had that bloody spell on the house. I sent John an hour ago to deliver this but he couldn’t find the damned place.” Sherlock stood on the stoop looking agitated.
“Good morning to you, too,” Harry greeted the irritated man. Sherlock thrust the iPhone into Harry’s hands.
“Are you coming in?” Harry asked.
“No. I have something I want to look into. When will you be done at the Weasleys?”
“Not sure. I plan to go over after talking to Kingsley.”
“Okay. Text me on this when you’re done. I’ve preprogrammed my number…” Sherlock grimaced as Harry gave him a blank look, “Really? You’ve never learned how to text?!” Sherlock seemed completely flummoxed when Harry shook his head. “Fine, then just call me,” Sherlock said.
“How terrible. You’ll actually have to hear my voice,” Harry said with a chuckle.
Sherlock turned and left. Harry waved at his back, “Bye, then.”
Harry shut the door and turned to go back inside but Severus was standing right behind him. Harry nearly jumped out of his socks. “Merlin! You scared me.”
“I thought you were an Auror. Shouldn’t you be more aware of your surroundings?” Severus commented before turning to go back inside. He yanked down on the shirt yet again.
“Hardy har…I’m going to go finish that delicious breakfast you made, then I’ll do the dishes and get dressed.”
“Could you make this shirt longer?” Severus asked with an irritated tone to his voice.
“If you’re very good,” Harry teased. Severus glared at him. Harry gave in and waved his wand, disappointed that he wouldn’t see that sexy little stripe of flesh for the rest of the morning. ‘Did I just use sexy and Severus in the same thought?’ Harry began to wonder what was wrong with him and decided to blame his nocturnal, subconscious mind.

* * * * *

Kingsley arrived right on time. Dressed in his formal work attire, he looked every bit the Head of the Auror Office that he was. Harry let him in and his towering figure seemed to dwarf the narrow halls and rooms of Grimmauld Place.
“Severus Snape,” he greeted. “It’s been too long.” He held out his hand. Severus looked at Harry but then held his own hand out and allowed Kingsley to shake it.
“I know you don’t remember me, but we were both members of the Order of the Phoenix,” Kingsley said by way of introduction.
“He’s started to get some of his memories back, Kingsley,” Harry informed his boss.
“That’s wonderful. Which ones?” he asked Harry.
“He remembers…”
“I’m right here,” Severus interrupted the two. Harry blushed. Severus turned to Kingsley and said, “I don’t remember much in the way of personal information yet. I don’t remember you, or this Order or my years at Hogwarts. I have started to remember some of my magical skills like how to brew Wolfsbane, for example.”
“You’ve remembered that?” Harry blurted out.
“It just came to me,” Severus said.
Harry patted his arm. “Not surprising considering how much you made of it for Remus.”
“Remus? Sorry, don’t remember him. Is he also a friend of mine?” Severus asked.
Both Harry and Kingsley shifted uncomfortably. “I wouldn’t say friend, exactly,” Harry finally said.
“Ah…I understand.” Severus answered. “Perhaps I should go see him?” Severus sat on the sofa and Harry sat beside him.
“He’s long dead, Severus. He died in the final battle.” Kingsley filled him in as he took a seat on the recliner.
“Oh…It’s weird, isn’t it?” Severus mused.
“What’s weird?” Harry asked.
“You’d think I would at least remember or feel something about a person when I hear about their death if I loved them.”
“LOVED?!” Harry spluttered. Kingsley choked.
Severus gazed at both of them. “Isn’t that what you meant? That we weren’t exactly friends? I assumed that was a polite way of saying we were partners.”
“No..no…no..,” Harry said. “You didn’t really like each other. At all.”
“Oh…”
“And you’re straight,” Harry added for good measure.
“I am?” This seemed to confuse Severus. “One would think I’d at least remember that.” He looked at Harry closely. “Are you sure?” Harry blushed. Thinking about Snape’s sexuality made him think about his dreams. This was not the right time for that.
Kingsley coughed again. “Maybe we can settle your sexuality at a later date, Severus. I would like to talk about what we’ve learned since last night.”
“Ok. Did the autopsy come back?”
“Yes. The man was identified as Blumber Toffington. He’s done a number of stints for drug trafficking, robbery, and forgery. As expected, he did not die from the neck wound. That was done after the fact. He actually seems to have died from blunt trauma.”
“Someone hit him?” Severus asked.
“More like someone threw him against the wall and the shelf caught the back of his neck. Death was pretty quick but it looks accidental.”
“That would take a really strong person to do that,” Severus stated.
“Or a really powerful Stupefy or Expelliarmus spell,” Harry corrected him since Severus wasn’t thinking magically. A spell like one of those was the most likely scenario.
“Yes, I agree. Severus, do you have your wand on you?” Kingsley asked.
“No. As I told Harry earlier, I found no wand in my robes.”
“You want to do a Priori Incantatum on his wand,” Harry said to clarify Kingsley’s request. “Do you think he did it?”
“It is a possibility, Harry,” Kingsley said while looking at Severus.
“You’re wrong,” Harry stated.
“Harry, thank you for your noble, but misguided attempt at protecting my honor, but remember we did discuss the possibility last night. I cannot remember what happened. I was there so, for all I know, I did do it.”
Harry huffed but nodded in capitulation. He knew he couldn’t let his emotions get the better of him. He also knew the Wizarding World’s habit of jumping to the wrong conclusion when it came to Severus Snape. He’d been guilty of it himself. He just usually jumped in the other direction.
“It is a possibility, that’s all Harry. It’s also likely if he did do it, that it was done in his own defense. Clearly, there was an altercation of some sort prior to his death. It’s also clear there was a third party who went out of his way to make it look as though Severus killed him. They went so far as to call Muggle Law enforcement. That, in and of itself, makes me believe Severus was not the culprit.”
“You’d be the only one at the Ministry who would believe that, sir,” Harry said.
“I agree. So isn’t it lucky I happen to be the Head of the Auror Office and feel no compunction to tell anyone else about Severus’ appearance at the crime scene for now. If you and Sherlock can unravel this before the general public learns that Severus is still alive, I have no qualms about allowing him to stay here.”
Harry felt relieved at Kingsley’s apparent change of heart from the previous evening.
Kingsley looked Severus in the eye. “I owe you too much not to give you the benefit of the doubt for the moment.”
“For the moment. Understood,” Severus answered.
“Why would a Wizard call in Muggle Law Enforcement?” Harry wondered aloud.
“It’s not like they would see anything other than the body in a run-down empty shop.”
“Perhaps it was a delaying tactic?” Severus suggested. “As long as Muggles surrounded the area, the Aurors couldn’t investigate.”
Kingsley nodded. “Very possible and part of what we’ll need to discover. Now, to the second item of importance. The hair in the vial was yours. We are working on dating it. Are you sure you’ve only had your hair cut at the Ministry?”
“Yes. Once every couple of months when I’m in town.”
“And do your house elves destroy your hair when they clean the house?”
Harry paused and bit his lower lip. Kingsley looked pained. “You haven’t ordered your house elves to destroy your hair? Harry, you must do so immediately. If you order them, then they cannot break their oath.”
“I told you that you needed house elves,” Severus muttered. Harry looked at him in annoyance.
“Sir, I don’t have house elves,” Harry sheepishly admitted.
Kingsley’s eyes widened at the statement and then realization hit. “Granger, right?” Kingsley nodded his head in understanding. “Who cleans for you, then? We’ll need to talk to them.”
“No one. I clean my own house,” Harry responded.
“And not very well, I might add,” Severus said.
“Shut it, you.” Harry glared at his house guest.
Kingsley laughed. “The Savior of the Wizarding World cleans his own house? That’s priceless!” After he finished laughing, he asked, “How many guests do you have, other than Severus of course?”
“None.”
“Who’s had access to your house for the last six to twelve months? Who have you had as guests?”
“Ron and Hermione and their kids. Really, all the Weasleys at some point or another. Teddy and Andromeda. Sometimes, Neville and Luna come for dinner. And uh…” Suddenly he remembered a small Quidditch viewing party he had several months ago to watch Ginny’s season opener. There had been a number of former Gryffindor friends and their spouses along with several co-workers from the Ministry. Kingsley had been invited but hadn’t attended. He reminded Kingsley about it. “I did change the wards afterwards, though,” Harry stated.
“At least you did that much. I’ll need all of their names, Harry.”
“Yes, of course. I’ll get it to you this afternoon.”
“I’m meeting Draco later to review security protocols for tonight. Do you want to join us?”
“Actually, I have a lead I’d like to follow-up on if you don’t mind.” He didn’t want to mention Rose’s involvement yet.
“If Severus goes with you, be sure he’s glamoured properly,” Kingsley ordered. “You are still attending the fundraiser, right?”
“Do you think I should?” Harry hoped he wouldn’t have to.
“Yes. You should be there,” Kingsley said.
Harry knew it wasn’t a suggestion and sighed. It was the yearly Ministry Ball to raise money for the orphanage. Harry loathed the annual event as he had to play nice and mingle with Ministry officials, foreign dignitaries and John Q. Public. Since he did so few public events, the Ball had a tendency to attract people that would otherwise not buy tickets just so they had the opportunity to talk or dance with Harry. This year would be filled with dancing with loads of strangers since he didn’t have a date. The thought made him groan.
Kingsley chuckled. “No date this year?”
Harry shook his head and then an idea hit him. He looked at Severus. Severus eyed him nervously. “Absolutely not. I wouldn’t know the first thing about how to behave at one of those functions,” Severus exclaimed.
Kingsley tapped his lips a moment in thought. “Actually, that is a good idea, but not as your date, Harry.” Kingsley looked at Severus appraisingly.

“Severus, you were always one of the most observant people I knew. If you watched the crowd from an inconspicuous spot, you might pick up something we might otherwise miss.” He turned back to Harry. “If you are a target, Harry, this could very well attract the perpetrator to show himself. I’ll assign several other Aurors to keep a close eye on you.”
“Great. Usually I’m just the PR prop. Now, I’ve been promoted to bait.” Harry sighed dramatically, earning him a glower from his boss.
“It will be interesting to see if anyone shows that has not been there before. We will have cameras on the floor. Just don’t leave with anyone.”
“I don’t think that’s likely, Kingsley,” Harry said in a cynical tone. When was the last time he’d ever left anywhere with a stranger? He thought about Severus’ role and it concerned him. “Don’t you think if Severus comes to the Ball he might be recognized? Not a good way to keep him hidden,” Harry stated.
“Sometimes the best hiding place is in plain sight. Just be sure his glamour is a good one,” Kingsley said. “I’ll get his invitation worked up. What name would you like to go by, Severus?”
Without blinking, Severus answered, “Evan.”
That made Harry blink. Was it still true? Did some part of Severus still love Harry’s mother?
“An interesting choice, Severus.” Kingsley said looking at Harry’s reaction. Kingsley had been one of the few people that witnessed Severus’ pensieve memories in order to exonerate him. He turned back to Severus. “May I ask why?”
“Not sure. Something I remembered. Is it not appropriate?” Severus asked.
“It’s fine. How about a last name?”
“I can’t think of anything offhand.”
“Fine. We’ll think of something suitable along with a fake personal history.” Kingsley stopped a moment and looked Severus up and down. “There’s no time to order formal robes so I’ll send one of my sets. I believe they should fit with little alteration.” Severus looked aghast. Kingsley looked down at his own elaborately decorated bright green Wizarding robes. “Not to worry. I’ll send something more sedate. I don’t want you attracting too much attention.”
“Apparently, that’s my job,” Harry piped in.
“Indeed. I’m sure your celebrity status comes in handy,” Severus replied sarcastically. Harry made a face in response.
“If that’s all for now, gentlemen, I will see you later. It should prove to be a long and interesting day.”

* * * * *

Hermione studied the video of Rose in shock. “Ron, were you anywhere near Hyde Park yesterday?”
“No. I don’t know how she would have gotten there.” Ron shifted in his seat. They were sitting in Hermione’s home office. She was a solicitor for charitable organizations. She helped set up their official licensing and managed their tax preparations. Ron had joined them at home after Harry contacted him.
“Was she with you the whole time?” Harry asked.
Ron turned a bit red. “Uh, no. We ran into some of her school chums and she wanted to have lunch with them. Hugo and I went to The Crup and Kneazle. I thought she went to Madam Puddifoot’s.”
“Is that place still around?” Harry asked cringing at the memories of the most awkward date in his life.
“You don’t get to Hogsmeade much, do you?” Hermione asked with a smile. “The kids still love it. It’s more popular than ever. Since Hogwarts had a holiday yesterday, I’m sure the place was full of students. That’s one of the few places the boarders can get to. So if they wanted to meet with their non-boarding friends, it’s a convenient location.”
“I still can’t get used to the fact that Hogwarts doesn’t require boarding anymore,” Harry said. After the war, many parents were uneasy about letting their children get too far away from home. As Hogwarts was the center of the final battle, many said their kids couldn’t go back if they couldn’t see them more often.
Headmistress McGonagall offered the option of letting children Floo home each day. Everyone was surprised that at least half the parents took that option. Harry assumed they needed the reassurance that their children were safe. Now, only about a quarter of the student population lived there full time. Most of them lived at home now, including Rose and Hugo. Harry wondered what his years would have been like if it was set up like that. Would he have felt more isolated since he had no home to go to as the Dursleys would have never allowed daily Flooing into their normal home or would he have been closer to the students that remained with him.
“I think we should go talk to her,” Harry suggested.
“Do you think she’s in danger? Should we pull her from the school?” Ron asked.
“I honestly don’t know. She’s probably safe. If we put Neville on alert, he’ll be sure she stays that way.” Harry knew Neville could protect the students. “Who are Rose and Hugo staying with tonight while you’re at the fundraiser?” Harry asked.
“Mum and Dad. They didn’t want to go to the Ball since Dad’s mungusfungus flared up.” Ron scrunched his face in disgust.
“Wish I had a reason like that to stay home,” Harry muttered.
“You’d rather have squishy painful feet than dance with a bunch of fangirls and boys?” Harry just glared at her and she laughed. She turned serious then. “Do you think we should still go? I mean – I understand you having to go, but maybe we should stay home?”
“I’ll go ‘Mione,” Ron offered. “I want to catch this creep and possibly belt them for involving my daughter. I’d feel better if you stayed with the kids.”
Hermione reached out and held his hand. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were trying to protect me,” she said warmly. Ron blushed. “But you’re right. I want to stay with Rose and Hugo. We should be safe at your mum and dad’s place. I’ll put up some extra wards tonight. No one will be able to get in except you.”
She stood up and gathered her things. “Let’s go then. Off to Hogwarts.”

* * * * *

Neville greeted them happily and offered tea while he sent one of the house elves to get Rose out of her Herbology class and accompany her back to his office.
“Deputy Headmaster, I did not put a Furnunculus hex on Dalias Fertesgon. Whoever told you that is lying! I don’t know where his boils came from!” She blurted out before she noticed her parents and Harry sitting in the room.
“Good to hear, Miss Weasley, but that’s not why I called you here,” Neville said calmly. Harry was impressed at how well Neville had adapted to life as the second in command at Hogwarts. He was sure when McGonagall finally retired, Neville would assume that spot.
“Rose,” Hermione started, “did you go to Hyde Park yesterday.” Rose looked confused.
“No, I was with Dad all day.”
Ron spoke up, “Except for lunch.”
“Oh yeah. I did go to Puddi’s with friends but that’s it.”
Harry gazed at his niece and made direct eye contact. “And you went nowhere else?” he asked.
“No. What’s this about Uncle Harry?”
Hermione handed her the iPhone with the recording. Her eyes widened. “But…that’s me…that can’t be me. I swear – we never left Puddi’s. You can ask any of them – Penelope, Scorpius, Ventura, or Luddy.”
“We will be asking them, Rose so you had better be telling us the truth,” Hermione said with a firm tone in her voice.
“That’s right. I must be lying, right, Mum! I’m always wrong.” Rose’s face turned red in anger.
“Rose, calm down.” Ron said. “Can you remember anything that might have been odd or out of sorts yesterday?”
“I’m telling you – nothing. It was just a normal lunch with my friends.”
“What did you talk about?” Harry asked. Seeing her frustration, he added, “It’s important. A man died near there yesterday and I’m trying to find witnesses. I promise you if you did go there and saw something, your mum and dad won’t punish you.”
Hermione glared at him for a split second and then relaxed. “That’s right, Rose. We’ll let it go if you can help Uncle Harry,” she said.
Rose sat down in a huff. “We just talked about the usual nonsense. Ventura’s new haircut, Penelope’s new bag, Scorpius complained about his father, Luddy complained about the food. Nothing special.” She thought for a moment and then added, “One weird thing did happen. I did get a little dizzy in the Witches Wash. I thought maybe the Plimpy soup had gone sour or something. It passed quickly though and I Flooed back to The Crup and Kneazle to meet Dad.”
The adults all looked at each other. Neville said, “I’ll go get the other students.” He stepped of out of the room.
“Who died?” Rose asked Harry.
Harry thought for a moment and decided to be honest. “I can’t tell you, Rose. We haven’t notified his next of kin, yet. We found him, here.” Harry pointed at the door just behind Rose’s head in the video. Rose paled a little. “Don’t tell anyone about this. I can trust my favorite niece, right?” Harry looked at her earnestly.
She nodded.

* * * * *

After interviewing the other students, Hermione and Ron decided to take Rose and Hugo to Ron’s parents immediately. Something was wrong. Each student had felt dizzy and ill in the washroom at Puddi’s.
“Neville,” Harry started, “I don’t know what you want to do. We don’t want to alarm anyone nor have we released this to the public, but I also don’t want to put the kids in harm’s way if there is a danger here.”
“Do you think they’d be safer at home?” Neville asked.
“I don’t know. Many of the parents will be at the fundraiser tonight so I imagine the older kids would be left alone. Are any of Rose’s friends boarders?”
“Scorpius Malfoy and Ventura Brookehall are boarders. The other two Floo home every night.”
“Why doesn’t it surprise me that the Malfoys stick with tradition?” Harry asked with a wry smile.
“Actually, it was at Scorpius’ request. He only started boarding this year,” Neville explained. “Draco had to approve but it was not his idea. I was surprised at how much Draco wanted him to remain at home and commute.”
Neville looked contemplative. “I think I’ll offer a last minute feast and festival in the Great Hall for anyone that wants to stay tonight. Students whose parents are attending the Ball tonight have probably made accommodations already, but if I can encourage anyone to stay, we can watch them.” Neville leaned back in his seat. “I’ll have to tell the staff something, Harry.”
“I’m alright with that. Just don’t give too many details and ensure their secrecy for now. I’ll see if I can get some on-duty Aurors to check in on you tonight. Can you really pull something together that fast?” Harry asked.
“I’m married to Luna Lovegood and have access to a hundred House Elves. I could probably start a nargle hunt in ten minutes if I needed to.” Neville laughed.
Harry laughed and had to agree. With Luna, anything was possible. “You and Luna need to visit soon. I need her to teach me how to make her Fairy Fart Cakes. Hugo loves those.”
“Hugo loves booger flavored Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans as well,” Neville observed. “He’s not exactly the bastion of good taste.”
Harry couldn’t argue with that.

* * * * *

Harry decided to stop at Madame Puddifoot’s before heading back to check on Severus. It was 11:00 am. He could pick up some lunch and take it home.
The place was even tackier than he remembered. It was still hot, still steamy, and still frilly. He asked for the manager. He probably should have been surprised, but somehow he found he wasn’t. The manager was none other than Lavender ‘Lav-Lav’ Brown. She didn’t look all that much different except instead of a school uniform, she now wore a frothy white and pink concoction of a dress that matched the equally tacky décor.
“OHMYGODHARRYIT’SSOWONDERFULTO SEE YOU!!!” She was squealing as if they were long lost friends. The few patrons in there looked up to see the commotion. A flash went off. She knocked the wind out of him by hugging him so hard.
“Lavender, it’s nice to see you too,” he said as he pried her arms off of him. He hoped that picture wouldn’t turn up in the papers. He could see the headlines: “Harry Potter Finally Finds True Love at Madame Puddifoot’s” or some such rubbish.
“What are you doing here? Can I get you some tea? Do you have a date coming in? I can get you a nice private room!” She was yelling. He would remember to never bring a date here for a private room if he wanted to keep it private.
“Actually, I’m here on business,” he said to her. Looking around at the nosy patrons, he asked, “Do you have an office we can go to?”
“Sure, sure. Come this way.” Harry followed her into an equally pink office which reminded him of Umbridge. A shudder went through him. He loathed pink. He really loathed it.
After she sat down, he handed her the iPhone with Rose’s photo on it. “Did she come in here yesterday?
“Rose Weasley? Yeah, sure, she was here with a group of friends.”
“So you know who she is?”
Lavender laughed. “Kind of hard to miss that she’s a Weasley and with that bushy mane, she could only belong to Granger. She’s looking for trouble, that one. I bet Ron’s sorry he chose little Miss Brainiac now.”
Harry chose not to comment. Instead, he asked, “Why do you say Rose is looking for trouble?”
“She’s here a lot. Meeting with all kinds of people, kissing lots of different boys and then disappearing with them. She and her friends. A place like this is for sweet romance not for slutting around. It seems odd that they always come here as a group. I’ve suggested they might prefer The Crup and Kneazle down the road. I’ve considered banning them, but Scorpius always tips well. Is she in some kind of trouble?”
Harry heard the false sound of sympathy hitching in Lavender’s voice. He knew she was hoping for gossip. He was afraid he’d need to tell Hermione and Ron about Rose’s reputation. That would go over well. He tried to head it off as best he could. “No. I’m on an investigation and I think she may have seen something. So, she was here for lunch yesterday?” Lavender nodded.

“What time did she arrive?” Harry asked.
“It was 12:00 exactly. I remember the Malfoy boy yelling at the Lovebirds in the clock to stop cooing at each other. Those birds say “I Love You” twelve times at noon every day. It’s so romantic. But yesterday they only managed ten before the other boy threw a wadded-up napkin at them. The birds had to duck back into their house for safety. They almost didn’t come out for their 1:00 “You’re So Pretty” song, but by then the kids had left so they must have felt safe to come out on their perch again. Those kids are lucky there was no damage. I’d have chucked them out but Rose scolded them for misbehaving. Rose herself isn’t so bad but those other kids – they’re up to no good. You should tell Ron. How is Ron by the way?” she asked, badly hiding the tell-tale signs of crushed romance.
Harry heard ‘Won-Won’ in his head and almost laughed. She obviously thought he was the one that “got away.” Harry felt a little bad about that. “He’s good,” he answered but refocused on the case. “Rose and her group left about an hour later, then?”
“Oh, goodness no. They only came in for tea and stayed for about twenty minutes before they Flooed out again. They never stay for lunch.”
“Twenty minutes? Are you sure?”
“Yes. They all had some tea and then Flooed out. They Flooed back in about thirty minutes later, used the washrooms and left. That’s what they always do.” Harry now knew why Rose was so hungry when she got home last night. She had thought she’d eaten lunch, but didn’t. So what was she doing for those thirty minutes? Obviously, she was at the crime scene – but why was she there? Who took her there?
“How often does Rose come here? Or her friends?”
“Rose only started coming in a couple of months ago. Maybe once every couple of weeks? The other ones a bit longer. I don’t remember exactly. Hey, Harry, would you sign a picture I can post on the bulletin board?” Lavender requested with a wink. He agreed reluctantly. He might need Lavender’s assistance again.
Something wasn’t adding up and Harry was afraid of what Rose had gotten herself into.
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Crime is of the Essence