Fic: Murder at Midnight, part 2 (no challenge)
Title: Murder at Midnight
Summary: Harry isn't sure how it happened, but he trusted the twins to set him up on a retreat for the weekend. The weekend turns into a murder mystery
Characters/Pairings: Harry/Draco, Multiple Pairings - no one knows who the other person is
Genre: Murder Mystery, gen, romance
Beta: burningchaos
Rating/Warnings: T/M - no real warnings, slight character death - but it was a must. This was written many years ago for a fix exchange, but was never given because the person holding the exchange disappeared. I do hope you enjoy - and if you want the notes of who was who and all that fun stuff you can find it here.
Medium: fic
Word Count: 2967 words for part 2
Can the Order post to Tumblr?: sure
If yes, your Tumblr username: super_cynful (or some variation of that)
Part 1
They didn’t have to wait long before the next part of the dramatics began. They heard voices yelling in the hallway and door slamming. “Well, I will show you then! I’m better than the other two; I will prove it to you if it kills me!” Nancy yelled. She stumbled into the drawing room and went straight to the bartender. He gave her a martini without even asking. “Thank you, Joshua,” she said softly.
Nancy looked around the room as if having forgotten that there were guests present. “I’m sorry for my family’s behavior,” she said. “They are on their best behavior tonight, though. Typically they yell at each other even more. Hell, I think I’m the only one that is even halfway real with anyone.”
“Nancy, there you are. Do you want to go now?”
“Oh, Tom, don’t be silly. I have to entertain father’s guests while everyone else has a breakdown. I do love you, although I shouldn’t say that too loudly.” She walked over to him and kissed him soundly. Her movements showed how drunk she truly was. She stumbled past him and fell promptly into Richard’s lap. “Now aren’t you comfortable?” she asked coyly.
“Nancy, come on! You don’t have to prove anything!” Tom said quietly, knowing every eye in the room was on him. He walked over to her and pulled her out of Richard’s lap. “All we have to do is leave and never look back.”
“Oh, but why leave when my family is just so entertaining?” She removed herself from his grip and proceeded to wind her body around another gentleman. Then all at once she seemed to pass out into the lap of the Lizabeth.
Lizabeth had a look of horror on her face. Tom walked over to her and shook his head. “I’m through with you now.”
He began to walk out of the room when the Suzette yelled, “She isn’t breathing!”
Lizabeth screamed, panic had clearly consumed her as pushed Nancy off of her lap, “Are you sure? She died? On me? Do something about this!”
The bartender ran over to her and began to perform CPR to no use while Suzette ran out of the room and gathered the family. Gregory ran to his daughter’s side and began to cry. “What happened to her?”
The guests stood around shocked as they watched the scene unfolding. Some in disbelief, some curious, and then there was Harry and the four he was with. They watched intently, paying close attention to every detail.
No more than a half hour had past when there was a knock at the door and a detective showed up. He examined the girl’s body and took statements from each family member. Beatrice was sitting in the corner with a smile on her face. Patrick sat down at the piano and just began to play music with Arabella singing softly beside him. Meredith sat next to her daughter’s body and sobbed; meanwhile Gregory talked softly with each guest wondering what they saw and Tom sat in a corner sobbing.
Harry noticed one other girl walk over to Beatrice. He nodded his head to Calvin. It was the girl that had sat to his left. “I believe her name was Grace. She was very quiet.” Gretchen and Joan were still intent on the scene before them. They were whispering between themselves. Harry stood up, “Would you like to get another drink?”
Calvin nodded and they both walked for another drink. After getting it they settled back into the corner they were in when they first arrived. “So what do you think is going on?” Harry asked.
“I think that we are to believe that the sister had something to do with this murder,” Calvin began, “but I’m not so sure about that.”
Harry nodded his head. “From all of my past experience, it isn’t the most obvious person. Most people would assume either her or the secret boyfriend.”
“You mean, you don’t think he did it?” Calvin asked a bit surprised. “I do suppose you are right. He would be rather obvious, wouldn’t he?”
“Most definitely. My money is on the quiet girl sitting with Beatrice. She is an unknown. She is managing to fit in with the rest of the ‘guests,’ but she also knows the family,” he said pointing to the girl with Beatrice.
Calvin nodded his head. “I see what you mean.” He looked at Harry and smiled. “So, I guess this means the two of us can sit back and listen to the loudmouth over there describe how it was the gardener.”
Harry laughed. He enjoyed the ongoing conversation he had with Calvin. He was beginning to wish he knew who he really was. From the glances he received from Calvin, they could possibly have an interesting relationship. Harry couldn’t think of anyone that he had felt this at ease with in a long time.
Upon mention of the gardener, he seemed to appear out of thin air. “’Scuse me, Sir.” He walked up to Gregory. “I thought you should be knowin’ that a ladder was found outside of Miss Nancy’s room. It looks as if someone was going to be using it later.”
The inspector and Gregory spoke in hushed tones with the gardener. Gregory had large hand movements pointing at the different people it could have been.
“This is where we see that it could be Gregory,” Harry said.
“Or it could be the mother who is sobbing. There is nothing more shocking than a person who is so distraught after they have committed murder,” Calvin replied pointing to the mother.
Harry laughed. “I think I will stick with the mysterious girl.”
Calvin laughed too as he reached for his glass. Their hands touched for a quick second. They gazed into each other’s eyes and looked away. “I do believe you are on to something.”
“I hope that I am,” he replied quietly, hoping that Calvin wouldn’t notice.
Another hour passed with notes on how everyone was reacting. Everyone aside from them laughed quietly in the face of the death before them. It was also obvious to anyone who was paying attention that Richard now tried to be in the middle of everything and that Lizabeth seemed to be clinging to Richard, whether from too much to drink or the shock of a dead woman in her lap.
“Excuse me everyone,” the Inspector spoke up. “I need everyone’s attention. I unfortunately cannot let anyone leave tonight. There is some evidence that will appear shortly to help find the murderer. I cannot disclose what it is, but I must see each and everyone one of you back here at 11:00 a.m. sharp.”
Harry stretched and held his hand out to help Calvin up. Calvin looked at him for a moment before he accepted it. Harry let his hand drop after Calvin stood up, tingles running up his spine. “I guess we should go up then.”
“Yes, we should.” Calvin brushed the wrinkles from his trousers and began to walk out with Harry following him up the stairs leaving the other occupants downstairs.
They entered their room and to their sides of the room. Harry looked over at him. “Do you want to use the loo first?”
“I will be quick about it,” he replied. Calvin gathered his things for bed and stepped into the connecting room.
Harry sat down on his bed and ran his hands through his hair. He hadn’t felt this attracted to anyone else in a long time. He pondered what his next move would be. He hoped that Calvin would actually be interested, but he didn’t know. Getting to know him as first as whom he really was, was going to be the first step. He really wanted to know who Calvin was. No one that he knew of attracted him this much. Calvin was witty and looked at the larger picture and not at what you were supposed to see. That was something that Harry had wanted for a long time.
Calvin came out of the bathroom dressed for bed. “Your turn, John,” he said casually. He walked to his bed and pulled down the blankets. He grabbed a book off the side table and sat in the bed reading.
Harry got up and hopped into a cold shower. It wouldn’t do for his pajamas to show how he was affected by the other man. He quickly got ready for bed and walked out. “Well, goodnight, Calvin.”
“’Nite, John,” was the reply from the other bed.
Harry lay down, unable to get comfortable. He fell into a light sleep. His training kicked into overdrive as he listened to the other man. Calvin put his book up and sighed. He turned out the light and lay down, sleep eluding him for awhile.
The sun came pouring through the window bright and early the next morning. Harry woke from his restless slumber to a rooster crowing in the backyard somewhere.
“Bloody rooster needs to be in a soup,” mumbled the form in the other bed.
Harry laughed, “It definitely needs to be somewhere else.” He tried to pull the blankets back over his head, but it didn’t work. Years of little to no sleep were working against him. He got up and went into the bathroom, showered and got ready for the day.
“You are a morning person, aren’t you?” came the accusation from the bed on the other side of the room when Harry emerged from the bathroom.
“I have been accused of that once or twice. It has never been easy for me to sleep late,” was Harry’s matter of fact reply.
Calvin sat up and rubbed his eyes. Harry’s eyes tried to avoid the patch of skin that was showing as Calvin stretched. He got up out of bed and moved to the loo.
Harry was silently working up his courage to ask Calvin out after they left the hotel when the other man came back into the room smiling. “Do you think we will have great fun today? I bet there will be more mayhem from Richard and Lizabeth than anything else.”
“I expect we shall hear something out of the two of them.” He looked down at his hands. “What are you doing after you leave here?”
Calvin looked at Harry with a strange look. “More than likely I will be going home and straight to bed. If someone decides to wake me, I shall cook them in a stew.”
“Oh,” he said, “I guess that is a good idea.”
“Is there something that you wanted?” Calvin asked.
Harry looked at his hands as he felt his face turning red. “Well, it isn’t very many people that I meet that I get along with, that’s all.”
“So did you want to continue our newfound alliance?” Calvin asked skeptically.
“Alliance, yes, that would be a good word for it.” Harry carefully looked up at Calvin who had a questioning look on his face. “It’s just that people see me and think one thing. I don’t think I have ever gotten to know anyone without any reservations.”
“I understand what you mean. If you are willing after all is said and done, we could go for maybe a bit a tea at this coffee shop I know,” Calvin said.
Harry’s face brightened. “I would love to.” He stood up and opened the door. “I do believe breakfast waits along with the dreaded murder suspect.”
Calvin smiled at him and walked out the door. “I do hope that you will still want to go. You can be so refreshingly cute at times.”
Harry laughed and followed the man downstairs to the drawing room. A buffet had been set up alongside a wall and the others were coming in slowly. Some were grumbling about damned roosters, while one or two others were quite obviously morning people.
Finally the great event arrived. The inspector showed up with a large envelope. “Good morning everyone, good morning,” he said quite chipper. He was obviously another morning person.
Harry and Calvin were sitting in their corner quietly watching the other participants greet the Inspector.
“I’m sorry to say that I’m going to have to take someone into custody this morning.” The Inspector looked around. “But first, I want to know what you think.” He went around the room getting responses from everyone.
The majority of the room decided that Beatrice was the murderer because she hated her sister. Gretchen had decided that it was actually Patrick the brother. He wanted the inheritance to himself, so if he could frame the other sister he would succeed.
The Inspector looked to Harry and Calvin. They both said Grace simultaneously and the Inspector gazed at them carefully. He looked away and spoke to the crowd again. “Shockingly, someone actually has found the culprit. She is Grace Smith, cousin to the girls.”
Grace stood up in shock, “How dare you!” She attempted to walk out of the room, but was blocked by the gardener. “You can’t prove it.”
“Au contraire, Ms. Smith,” the Inspector began, “the final piece fell into place last night when I heard about the ladder. I inspected the site and found a small footprint in the mud. I had looked at everyone’s shoes and yours was covered in mud. Frank, take her away!”
Grace struggled against the gardener, but he held her until the handcuffs were put on her. The Inspector turned and looked at Harry and Calvin again. “I’m surprised that anyone pointed the finger at Ms. Smith. Can you explain how you knew?”
Calvin spoke up, “It was not from the lack of acting skills of the other family members. She seemed to blend into the crowd so much so that you couldn’t tell if she were a family member or not. She did clearly know the family, so she had to be in on the plot all along.”
“She also was the only female wearing shoes made for the outdoors last night,” Harry added.
“Very good, both of you,” was all the Inspector could say.
Then Gregory stood up and clapped his hands. “Thank you, thank you all! I do hope that you enjoyed yourselves.” He was greeted with a round of applause. “In just a few more minutes you will be changing back into yourself. If you have made new friends, please do not let their appearance startle to.” Gregory seemed to look in the corner at Harry and Calvin, but he also noticed the look at a few other people.
“Are you sure, John?” Calvin asked softly.
He looked over at Calvin and smiled, “I have never been surer.” He took Calvin’s hand in his. “In fact, if it doesn’t bother you, I will hold your hand until we are finished.”
They entwined hands as Gregory began speaking again. “When we the change is complete, I shall bring out our entire cast.”
Harry took a look around the room. It seemed as if a few people were closer. Lizabeth and Richard were in each other’s arms. Their disappointment over not guessing the correct murderer had already faded.
While watching them, he saw their images fade into the image of Ron and Pansy. Harry’s eyes got bigger. He never would have suspected that of Pansy, but he was right about him being Ron. Gretchen turned out to be Hermione who was holding hands with Susan Bones. The other loudmouth, Avery was Blaise. Harry’s eyes kept skimming until he felt the nerve to look into the eyes of Draco.
Draco looked just as nervous as Harry felt, but neither had let go of the hand they were holding. “Did you know,” he whispered.
Harry shook his head no.
Draco started to remove his hand from Harry’s, but Harry stopped him. “You didn’t forget that we have tea after this, did you?”
Draco smiled at him, “No, I didn’t forget. I just thought you might like your hand back before Weasley storms over here and cuts mine off.”
Harry laughed. He then looked up to see Ron getting yelled at by Pansy for inappropriate behavior that was not fitting of a Gryffindor. He was not supposed to attract her in the least.
Gregory, who just happened to be George, looked at Harry and smiled after noting the hand position of him and Draco. “Thank you very much, everyone! Thank you! I’m sure a few of you are shocked.”
Fred burst into the room, “But we felt that after the war, a few of us needed a new start. Sometimes we can’t see beyond an image, until the image is destroyed.”
“And so, without final ado, our cast! Gregory was of course played by me. Our groundskeeper was Fred.” George went into the list of characters. Ginny was Suzette, Bill the Bartender. Lee Jordan was Percival. Tonks was a surprise as Beatrice followed by Inspector Moony. Alicia was Meredith. Dean portrayed Patrick and Katie was his love Arabella. Angelina played Grace and Michael Corner portrayed Tom. The cast was finished out with Nancy being Cho.
Draco leaned over and whispered into Harry’s ear, “I have always said that Cho must die.”
Harry laughed softly and put his arm around the blond beside him. He was happy, in fact he felt like today was the start of something new and fresh in his life and nothing could change that. He looked into Draco’s eyes and then leaned in to kiss him softly.
Draco looked up at him, “What was that for?”
“Just because I can feel the start of something new. I’m ready for some tea, how about you?” He took Draco’s hand and they slipped out of the room unnoticed by all except the twins who exchanged a high five.
cyn/slytherin/99points
Summary: Harry isn't sure how it happened, but he trusted the twins to set him up on a retreat for the weekend. The weekend turns into a murder mystery
Characters/Pairings: Harry/Draco, Multiple Pairings - no one knows who the other person is
Genre: Murder Mystery, gen, romance
Beta: burningchaos
Rating/Warnings: T/M - no real warnings, slight character death - but it was a must. This was written many years ago for a fix exchange, but was never given because the person holding the exchange disappeared. I do hope you enjoy - and if you want the notes of who was who and all that fun stuff you can find it here.
Medium: fic
Word Count: 2967 words for part 2
Can the Order post to Tumblr?: sure
If yes, your Tumblr username: super_cynful (or some variation of that)
Part 1
They didn’t have to wait long before the next part of the dramatics began. They heard voices yelling in the hallway and door slamming. “Well, I will show you then! I’m better than the other two; I will prove it to you if it kills me!” Nancy yelled. She stumbled into the drawing room and went straight to the bartender. He gave her a martini without even asking. “Thank you, Joshua,” she said softly.
Nancy looked around the room as if having forgotten that there were guests present. “I’m sorry for my family’s behavior,” she said. “They are on their best behavior tonight, though. Typically they yell at each other even more. Hell, I think I’m the only one that is even halfway real with anyone.”
“Nancy, there you are. Do you want to go now?”
“Oh, Tom, don’t be silly. I have to entertain father’s guests while everyone else has a breakdown. I do love you, although I shouldn’t say that too loudly.” She walked over to him and kissed him soundly. Her movements showed how drunk she truly was. She stumbled past him and fell promptly into Richard’s lap. “Now aren’t you comfortable?” she asked coyly.
“Nancy, come on! You don’t have to prove anything!” Tom said quietly, knowing every eye in the room was on him. He walked over to her and pulled her out of Richard’s lap. “All we have to do is leave and never look back.”
“Oh, but why leave when my family is just so entertaining?” She removed herself from his grip and proceeded to wind her body around another gentleman. Then all at once she seemed to pass out into the lap of the Lizabeth.
Lizabeth had a look of horror on her face. Tom walked over to her and shook his head. “I’m through with you now.”
He began to walk out of the room when the Suzette yelled, “She isn’t breathing!”
Lizabeth screamed, panic had clearly consumed her as pushed Nancy off of her lap, “Are you sure? She died? On me? Do something about this!”
The bartender ran over to her and began to perform CPR to no use while Suzette ran out of the room and gathered the family. Gregory ran to his daughter’s side and began to cry. “What happened to her?”
The guests stood around shocked as they watched the scene unfolding. Some in disbelief, some curious, and then there was Harry and the four he was with. They watched intently, paying close attention to every detail.
No more than a half hour had past when there was a knock at the door and a detective showed up. He examined the girl’s body and took statements from each family member. Beatrice was sitting in the corner with a smile on her face. Patrick sat down at the piano and just began to play music with Arabella singing softly beside him. Meredith sat next to her daughter’s body and sobbed; meanwhile Gregory talked softly with each guest wondering what they saw and Tom sat in a corner sobbing.
Harry noticed one other girl walk over to Beatrice. He nodded his head to Calvin. It was the girl that had sat to his left. “I believe her name was Grace. She was very quiet.” Gretchen and Joan were still intent on the scene before them. They were whispering between themselves. Harry stood up, “Would you like to get another drink?”
Calvin nodded and they both walked for another drink. After getting it they settled back into the corner they were in when they first arrived. “So what do you think is going on?” Harry asked.
“I think that we are to believe that the sister had something to do with this murder,” Calvin began, “but I’m not so sure about that.”
Harry nodded his head. “From all of my past experience, it isn’t the most obvious person. Most people would assume either her or the secret boyfriend.”
“You mean, you don’t think he did it?” Calvin asked a bit surprised. “I do suppose you are right. He would be rather obvious, wouldn’t he?”
“Most definitely. My money is on the quiet girl sitting with Beatrice. She is an unknown. She is managing to fit in with the rest of the ‘guests,’ but she also knows the family,” he said pointing to the girl with Beatrice.
Calvin nodded his head. “I see what you mean.” He looked at Harry and smiled. “So, I guess this means the two of us can sit back and listen to the loudmouth over there describe how it was the gardener.”
Harry laughed. He enjoyed the ongoing conversation he had with Calvin. He was beginning to wish he knew who he really was. From the glances he received from Calvin, they could possibly have an interesting relationship. Harry couldn’t think of anyone that he had felt this at ease with in a long time.
Upon mention of the gardener, he seemed to appear out of thin air. “’Scuse me, Sir.” He walked up to Gregory. “I thought you should be knowin’ that a ladder was found outside of Miss Nancy’s room. It looks as if someone was going to be using it later.”
The inspector and Gregory spoke in hushed tones with the gardener. Gregory had large hand movements pointing at the different people it could have been.
“This is where we see that it could be Gregory,” Harry said.
“Or it could be the mother who is sobbing. There is nothing more shocking than a person who is so distraught after they have committed murder,” Calvin replied pointing to the mother.
Harry laughed. “I think I will stick with the mysterious girl.”
Calvin laughed too as he reached for his glass. Their hands touched for a quick second. They gazed into each other’s eyes and looked away. “I do believe you are on to something.”
“I hope that I am,” he replied quietly, hoping that Calvin wouldn’t notice.
Another hour passed with notes on how everyone was reacting. Everyone aside from them laughed quietly in the face of the death before them. It was also obvious to anyone who was paying attention that Richard now tried to be in the middle of everything and that Lizabeth seemed to be clinging to Richard, whether from too much to drink or the shock of a dead woman in her lap.
“Excuse me everyone,” the Inspector spoke up. “I need everyone’s attention. I unfortunately cannot let anyone leave tonight. There is some evidence that will appear shortly to help find the murderer. I cannot disclose what it is, but I must see each and everyone one of you back here at 11:00 a.m. sharp.”
Harry stretched and held his hand out to help Calvin up. Calvin looked at him for a moment before he accepted it. Harry let his hand drop after Calvin stood up, tingles running up his spine. “I guess we should go up then.”
“Yes, we should.” Calvin brushed the wrinkles from his trousers and began to walk out with Harry following him up the stairs leaving the other occupants downstairs.
They entered their room and to their sides of the room. Harry looked over at him. “Do you want to use the loo first?”
“I will be quick about it,” he replied. Calvin gathered his things for bed and stepped into the connecting room.
Harry sat down on his bed and ran his hands through his hair. He hadn’t felt this attracted to anyone else in a long time. He pondered what his next move would be. He hoped that Calvin would actually be interested, but he didn’t know. Getting to know him as first as whom he really was, was going to be the first step. He really wanted to know who Calvin was. No one that he knew of attracted him this much. Calvin was witty and looked at the larger picture and not at what you were supposed to see. That was something that Harry had wanted for a long time.
Calvin came out of the bathroom dressed for bed. “Your turn, John,” he said casually. He walked to his bed and pulled down the blankets. He grabbed a book off the side table and sat in the bed reading.
Harry got up and hopped into a cold shower. It wouldn’t do for his pajamas to show how he was affected by the other man. He quickly got ready for bed and walked out. “Well, goodnight, Calvin.”
“’Nite, John,” was the reply from the other bed.
Harry lay down, unable to get comfortable. He fell into a light sleep. His training kicked into overdrive as he listened to the other man. Calvin put his book up and sighed. He turned out the light and lay down, sleep eluding him for awhile.
The sun came pouring through the window bright and early the next morning. Harry woke from his restless slumber to a rooster crowing in the backyard somewhere.
“Bloody rooster needs to be in a soup,” mumbled the form in the other bed.
Harry laughed, “It definitely needs to be somewhere else.” He tried to pull the blankets back over his head, but it didn’t work. Years of little to no sleep were working against him. He got up and went into the bathroom, showered and got ready for the day.
“You are a morning person, aren’t you?” came the accusation from the bed on the other side of the room when Harry emerged from the bathroom.
“I have been accused of that once or twice. It has never been easy for me to sleep late,” was Harry’s matter of fact reply.
Calvin sat up and rubbed his eyes. Harry’s eyes tried to avoid the patch of skin that was showing as Calvin stretched. He got up out of bed and moved to the loo.
Harry was silently working up his courage to ask Calvin out after they left the hotel when the other man came back into the room smiling. “Do you think we will have great fun today? I bet there will be more mayhem from Richard and Lizabeth than anything else.”
“I expect we shall hear something out of the two of them.” He looked down at his hands. “What are you doing after you leave here?”
Calvin looked at Harry with a strange look. “More than likely I will be going home and straight to bed. If someone decides to wake me, I shall cook them in a stew.”
“Oh,” he said, “I guess that is a good idea.”
“Is there something that you wanted?” Calvin asked.
Harry looked at his hands as he felt his face turning red. “Well, it isn’t very many people that I meet that I get along with, that’s all.”
“So did you want to continue our newfound alliance?” Calvin asked skeptically.
“Alliance, yes, that would be a good word for it.” Harry carefully looked up at Calvin who had a questioning look on his face. “It’s just that people see me and think one thing. I don’t think I have ever gotten to know anyone without any reservations.”
“I understand what you mean. If you are willing after all is said and done, we could go for maybe a bit a tea at this coffee shop I know,” Calvin said.
Harry’s face brightened. “I would love to.” He stood up and opened the door. “I do believe breakfast waits along with the dreaded murder suspect.”
Calvin smiled at him and walked out the door. “I do hope that you will still want to go. You can be so refreshingly cute at times.”
Harry laughed and followed the man downstairs to the drawing room. A buffet had been set up alongside a wall and the others were coming in slowly. Some were grumbling about damned roosters, while one or two others were quite obviously morning people.
Finally the great event arrived. The inspector showed up with a large envelope. “Good morning everyone, good morning,” he said quite chipper. He was obviously another morning person.
Harry and Calvin were sitting in their corner quietly watching the other participants greet the Inspector.
“I’m sorry to say that I’m going to have to take someone into custody this morning.” The Inspector looked around. “But first, I want to know what you think.” He went around the room getting responses from everyone.
The majority of the room decided that Beatrice was the murderer because she hated her sister. Gretchen had decided that it was actually Patrick the brother. He wanted the inheritance to himself, so if he could frame the other sister he would succeed.
The Inspector looked to Harry and Calvin. They both said Grace simultaneously and the Inspector gazed at them carefully. He looked away and spoke to the crowd again. “Shockingly, someone actually has found the culprit. She is Grace Smith, cousin to the girls.”
Grace stood up in shock, “How dare you!” She attempted to walk out of the room, but was blocked by the gardener. “You can’t prove it.”
“Au contraire, Ms. Smith,” the Inspector began, “the final piece fell into place last night when I heard about the ladder. I inspected the site and found a small footprint in the mud. I had looked at everyone’s shoes and yours was covered in mud. Frank, take her away!”
Grace struggled against the gardener, but he held her until the handcuffs were put on her. The Inspector turned and looked at Harry and Calvin again. “I’m surprised that anyone pointed the finger at Ms. Smith. Can you explain how you knew?”
Calvin spoke up, “It was not from the lack of acting skills of the other family members. She seemed to blend into the crowd so much so that you couldn’t tell if she were a family member or not. She did clearly know the family, so she had to be in on the plot all along.”
“She also was the only female wearing shoes made for the outdoors last night,” Harry added.
“Very good, both of you,” was all the Inspector could say.
Then Gregory stood up and clapped his hands. “Thank you, thank you all! I do hope that you enjoyed yourselves.” He was greeted with a round of applause. “In just a few more minutes you will be changing back into yourself. If you have made new friends, please do not let their appearance startle to.” Gregory seemed to look in the corner at Harry and Calvin, but he also noticed the look at a few other people.
“Are you sure, John?” Calvin asked softly.
He looked over at Calvin and smiled, “I have never been surer.” He took Calvin’s hand in his. “In fact, if it doesn’t bother you, I will hold your hand until we are finished.”
They entwined hands as Gregory began speaking again. “When we the change is complete, I shall bring out our entire cast.”
Harry took a look around the room. It seemed as if a few people were closer. Lizabeth and Richard were in each other’s arms. Their disappointment over not guessing the correct murderer had already faded.
While watching them, he saw their images fade into the image of Ron and Pansy. Harry’s eyes got bigger. He never would have suspected that of Pansy, but he was right about him being Ron. Gretchen turned out to be Hermione who was holding hands with Susan Bones. The other loudmouth, Avery was Blaise. Harry’s eyes kept skimming until he felt the nerve to look into the eyes of Draco.
Draco looked just as nervous as Harry felt, but neither had let go of the hand they were holding. “Did you know,” he whispered.
Harry shook his head no.
Draco started to remove his hand from Harry’s, but Harry stopped him. “You didn’t forget that we have tea after this, did you?”
Draco smiled at him, “No, I didn’t forget. I just thought you might like your hand back before Weasley storms over here and cuts mine off.”
Harry laughed. He then looked up to see Ron getting yelled at by Pansy for inappropriate behavior that was not fitting of a Gryffindor. He was not supposed to attract her in the least.
Gregory, who just happened to be George, looked at Harry and smiled after noting the hand position of him and Draco. “Thank you very much, everyone! Thank you! I’m sure a few of you are shocked.”
Fred burst into the room, “But we felt that after the war, a few of us needed a new start. Sometimes we can’t see beyond an image, until the image is destroyed.”
“And so, without final ado, our cast! Gregory was of course played by me. Our groundskeeper was Fred.” George went into the list of characters. Ginny was Suzette, Bill the Bartender. Lee Jordan was Percival. Tonks was a surprise as Beatrice followed by Inspector Moony. Alicia was Meredith. Dean portrayed Patrick and Katie was his love Arabella. Angelina played Grace and Michael Corner portrayed Tom. The cast was finished out with Nancy being Cho.
Draco leaned over and whispered into Harry’s ear, “I have always said that Cho must die.”
Harry laughed softly and put his arm around the blond beside him. He was happy, in fact he felt like today was the start of something new and fresh in his life and nothing could change that. He looked into Draco’s eyes and then leaned in to kiss him softly.
Draco looked up at him, “What was that for?”
“Just because I can feel the start of something new. I’m ready for some tea, how about you?” He took Draco’s hand and they slipped out of the room unnoticed by all except the twins who exchanged a high five.
cyn/slytherin/99points