CRACK!
The still air of the night seemed to ripple with disturbance as six people materialised out of thin air right under a huge tree which stood outside a majestic house. The house was eerie. One of the window panes was shattered.
Harry limped along with his colleagues through the gates and the open doors into the lavishly decorated lounge. They saw two women on a couch, sobbing uncontrollably.
Ginny, Romilda and Irene rushed forward to comfort the women and assure them that their child’s murderer would be caught. Harry had not expected this. Walanger had told him that Andrew lived with his parents and his grandmother. No one had been at home when he was murdered. Andrew’s mother and grandmother had apparently been out for grocery shopping, while his father was out of town due to work. Andrew’s girlfriend, Elizabeth, had discovered that something was amiss when she dropped in for a visit after being called home by Andrew and no one replied when she rang the bell. She had immediately called her friends, a pair of twins named Mike and Neil who had been just as unsuccessful in entering until they finally broke a window. They had found Andrew lying dead and had tried to contact the Auror department at once. They could only get through at midnight, though, but Elizabeth had wasted no time in suggesting that they interrogate Daisy Joe.
“It’s that Daisy Joe…” said a voice, and Harry turned around to see a teary brunette emerge from a dark corner. She was flanked by a pair of twin men who seemed to be grieving, too. Both the men had dark hair with a bit of stubble. One of the twins wore a pair of shorts while the other was dressed in jeans and a green t-shirt.
Harry frowned. If this girl was so sure that it was Daisy, then he needed to interrogate both the girl and Daisy thoroughly. “May I know your name?”
“Elizabeth Richards.”
Ron sighed. “Well, we need to get you through a short interrogation before talking to Daisy. If you are very sure that she is responsible for this and if you can provide us with the necessary evidence, then tactful interrogation of Daisy can get us a confession from her.”
“Okay, I’m ready to answer your questions,” replied Elizabeth.
Harry nodded and gestured to a couch. Just as he sat down along with Elizabeth, Irene, Romilda and Ginny got up from their place along with the two women. Romilda and Irene called Anthony and followed them to another room.
“What happened?” asked Harry.
“Nothing,” Ginny replied, “they’re going in to investigate the murder scene and Andrew’s body. I decided to stay back in case you two need help.”
“We’re going to interrogate her,” said Harry. “She reckons Daisy is the murderer.”
Ginny shrugged, looking a little disbelieving. “Hmmm…”
“Oh sure,” Elizabeth gritted out noticing the look on Ginny’s face. “Cute, sweet, adorable Daisy… who could ever suspect her?”
“I’m sorry?”
Elizabeth frowned. “Daisy isn’t as innocent as she looks. Do you know that she and Andrew had dinner together today, just before Andrew got killed? I came here at around ten. I had Floo’d Andrew at seven and he told me that he was looking forward to dinner with Daisy and that we couldn’t go on a date, so we could just spend time together. I didn’t mind him spending time with Daisy, because Daisy always has one of us as her dinner companion on Wednesdays, and they’re no more than the best of friends. Andrew also told me that he would be alone, since his Mum and Gran would go out for their Wednesday shopping. I Floo’d again at nine, but when I was talking to him, he clearly wasn’t alone because Daisy was chirping about in the background. I told him that I’d meet him at nine-thirty, but I had a few things to sort out before I left, so it was ten.”
“It was already ten when you came?”
“Yeah. I rang the bell around a hundred times, but Andrew never came…” Elizabeth’s eyes began to fill with tears, and swiping at them, she murmured an apology. “I’m sorry… so- I called Mike and Neil and they couldn’t break down the door- even Alohomora and Reducto didn’t work; so they had to break a window instead. By the time we had all entered safely and looked for Andrew, it was ten-thirty. His Gran and Mum came back at around the same time as we found Andrew in his study. We didn’t do anything to the body as we tried to contact your department immediately. We could only connect at midnight, though. Someone seemed to have tampered with the Floo connection of the house.”
“But why do you think Daisy murdered Andrew? Just because she was here before the murder took place, it doesn’t mean that she’s responsible for all this.”
Elizabeth shook her head. “Daisy and Andrew had something going on between them… something that both of them refused to discuss with Neil, Mike or me. They actually purchased cell phones to connect conveniently and have had a lot of private conversations lately. They seemed to be deeply involved in something. Both of them have been really stressed too. I-”
Elizabeth stopped midway and gazed at the door. Harry turned around too, to see a tearful Rebecca enter the house along with a young man. He had longish blonde hair and eyes slightly red for the moment. He was quite tall like Ron. He was also well-built and he carried himself smartly, as he came to the Aurors. “Chris Stevens,” he said, holding out his hand and sniffling slightly. “Andrew was a good friend of mine. Becks and I came as soon as we heard… we would definitely like to help you out.”
Rebecca wiped her eyes as fresh tears appeared in them. “I don’t u-understand what’s happening… e-everyone who’s c-close to me is…” she hid her face in her hands, unable to control her sobs anymore. Chris put an arm around her, tears beginning to flood his own eyes.
“Hey Becks, it’ll be fine. We’re going to help these Aurors to find the culprit… and yeah, who’s Ron?”
Rebecca sniffled and looked up, as Ron smiled at her lightly. “He’s Ron,” she said, gesturing at the red haired man. “He is the only Auror who can actually understand the sentiments of people. The rest of them…”
“Come on, Becks,” said Chris, and wiping his eyes, he grinned weakly at the other Aurors. “Hey, don’t mind her. She’s been really upset since Belinda’s death and she might seem rude, but really, Becks is sweet. Just give her time to adjust to everything that has happened.”
Rebecca looked at Elizabeth. “Did you call Daisy?”
Elizabeth nodded. “She’s a bloody bitch… flashes off that cute smile and gets away with anything. I’m sure she’s the one who’s behind all of this…”
Rebecca frowned. “Come on, Liz, you can’t suspect Daisy!”
“Why not? I’m sure-”
“Hey-” interrupted Chris, before she could continue. “Will you people stop talking about Daisy? Please…?”
Rebecca sighed and kept a hand on his shoulder, nodding. “Sorry…”
Chris smiled, looking slightly uncomfortable. “I… I hope she isn’t coming here?”
“She might be,” Elizabeth replied. “I called- oh, speak of the devil…” She got up from the couch and walked to the door, where Harry could see the silhouette of a person ascending the stairs. Ginny frowned and got up, as Harry and Ron got up too, following her to the door. They stopped there to see Elizabeth stare daggers at Daisy while she looked fearfully at the Aurors and then at Elizabeth.
“What’s happened to Andrew?”
“Well, you should know, shouldn’t you? After all, you were with him before it happened.”
“I have no idea of what happened! I swear, I-”
SMACK!
Elizabeth had slapped Daisy hard. The latter placed a hand on her cheek, looking down. Ginny leapt forward, pulling Daisy out of the way before Elizabeth could hit her again. “Please calm down, we won’t allow such assault.”
“YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT THIS HAG IS CAPABLE OF!” screamed Elizabeth, her eyes beginning to brim with tears. “SHE HAS KILLED ANDREW AND NOW SHE’S ACTING INNOCENT! SHE SHOULD BE-” Elizabeth walked to Daisy to hit her again, but Ginny put an arm around Daisy and pulled her closer, scowling at Elizabeth.
“I think I just said something.”
Elizabeth stopped, took a deep breath and stomped back to the house. Harry looked at Ginny, who touched Daisy’s cheek lightly. He had just registered that the other girl was quite short. “Hey… are you alright?”
Daisy looked up and nodded, blinking a fair few times. Harry couldn’t help but notice the helplessness that seemed to brim over in her eyes and the fact that she was actually fighting back tears. “Is- is Andrew really dead?”
Ginny nodded. “I’m sorry…”
“Can- can I go and s-see him?”
Ginny looked at Harry, seeking permission. “Sure,” said Harry. “I think we should be going there too.”
Ginny nodded, as she followed Harry and Ron, accompanied by Daisy. They went into the house to see Elizabeth crying into the shoulder of one of the twins, who glared at Daisy as much as the other twin did. Rebecca was just watching from a couch and Chris was determinedly not looking at Daisy.
“Just a minute,” said Daisy, and the Aurors stopped as she walked over to the twins. “Listen- Neil, Mike, I really… I don’t know… I’ve not done anything…! Please… you believe me, don’t you?”
The man who was comforting Elizabeth looked away. “I only believe that you have murdered Andrew.”
Daisy just stared at him for a few minutes, before looking at the other twin. “Neil…?”
Neil looked down and Daisy seemed to understand. “Thanks a lot… and I thought I finally had true friends.” She looked at the Aurors, drawing in deep breaths as she did so. “Let’s go and see Andrew… I just wanted to check if my friends are with me… but it seems…” she sighed as the four of them began to walk up the stairs.
“He was found in his study,” supplied Ron quietly, as they reached the first landing.
The study was a huge room with many bookshelves and a table to seat four. The other Aurors were already looking around, but Andrew’s relatives were missing.
“Where are Andrew’s mother and grandmother?” enquired Ginny, as Anthony approached them.
“They are upstairs, resting in their rooms. We assured them that we would take care of everything, and they really needed sleep, so we told them to go and rest,” Anthony replied. “Come, have a look, we found a few things.”
“Daisy wants to see him first,” said Ginny.
“Oh,” Anthony moved out of the way, so that Andrew’s body got a clear view. Daisy gasped and so did Ginny.
Andrew lay on a pool of blood in the corner spread eagled, struck on the stomach and covered in blood. His eyes were open and his expression seemed to be filled with desperation. There was also a small chit next to his body. ‘I want Harry Potter.’
Ginny took a deep breath. The chit seemed to send shivers down her spine. Instinctively, she grabbed Harry’s arm, who looked at her, concerned. “Harry, that-!”
Harry looked at Daisy. “What did Andrew think about me, Daisy?”
“He- he was really inspired by you. You were always like… like his role model,” replied Daisy, her face so pallid that she looked ready to pass out right there. “He wanted to be an Auror. He was in awe of how you defeated Lord Voldemort and… and he wanted to help catch-” Daisy couldn’t speak anymore. Just for a moment, Harry thought that she would break down, but her face had regained its composure before he could think. He sighed.
“Let’s look around. Daisy, if you could-?”
Daisy turned around, looking neurasthenic. “Yeah, thanks for letting me see him…” She walked out of the room, shutting the door behind her. Just as she did so, Anthony produced a tiny notepad from his pocket.
“What’s that?” asked Ron.
“Wait, I’ll explain everything to you,” Anthony replied. He walked to the body, Ginny, Harry and Ron following him. Crouching down beside the body, Anthony explained. “See this.” He pointed out to a faint trail of blood starting from a great pool beside the window and ending in the one that Andrew lay in.
“He has been dragged!” Ron exclaimed.
“No,” Anthony corrected him, “he has dragged himself.” He stood up, and the rest of the Aurors stood up with him. “Look, from what I’ve deduced, Andrew was stabbed right there by the window, and he forced himself to this table so that he could get this.” He showed the notepad. “He obviously wanted to leave a message, but all that the poor guy could manage was-” Anthony opened the notepad to reveal a large stain of blood, resembling just one alphabet: ‘D’.
Ginny’s jaw dropped. “‘D’… Daisy!”
“It’s not necessarily a ‘D’,” Ron said, scrutinising the alphabet. “It could be a crude ‘O’, a ‘P’, a half- formed ‘B’ or even… an ‘R’.”
“You mean, for Rebecca?” Irene questioned.
“See, we really don’t know if the culprit is amongst the people we know or not; and we cannot conveniently assume such a thing either. ‘R’, ‘P’, ‘O’ and ‘D’ could be anyone…”
“And how about this?” asked Harry, suddenly. He showed the Aurors the D and traced his finger on the curve. “This curve is too narrow… it could be that the blood just dripped in the wrong place and what Andrew actually wanted to write, was an ‘I’?”
There was silence for just a moment, but it was broken with a small chuckle from Irene. “That’s me!”
Harry sighed for the umpteenth time. “Oh… I seriously didn’t think of that. What I’m saying is that Andrew might have wanted to write a message with an ‘I am…’ or something of that sort. But for that matter, there are thousands of people whose names start with ‘I’.”
Romilda snorted. “Did you get anything else, Anthony?”
“No,” replied Anthony. “Let’s keep looking, though. We might find something. Look in the shelves and amongst the bundles of parchment. Check his phone for any message that he might have left or received.”
The other Aurors nodded and separated, as they began to comb the area for clues. As Harry got down on his knees to search below the table, the door of the study opened. Harry looked up to see Rebecca enter the room. “I- I wanted to see Andrew…”
“Yeah, sure,” replied Anthony, going over to Rebecca along with Irene. “He’s right there.”
Harry saw Rebecca walk to Andrew’s body. Just as she approached it, there was a clicking sound, and the room was plunged into pitch darkness.
There was a sigh from somewhere, and Irene’s voice was heard. “What on earth-? Lumos.”
Nothing happened.
“Oh no… what’s happening-?”
“Ow- ow- OUCH! Eew… Anthony, you pushed me right onto Andrew. Yuck! I’ve got blood all over- oh!”
“EEW! Ron, you tripped me!”
“Sorry Rebecca…”
“Harry, where are you?”
“Right here- OW! I hit my head!”
There was a giggle. “Where is everyone and what the hell is happening?”
“This is stupid! Why are we all behaving like kids?”
Harry got to his feet, rubbing his head. “Okay, keep quiet everyone!”
Everybody stopped talking at once. There was another giggle.
“Romilda,” called out Harry, warningly.
“Sorry, Harry.”
“Right. Listen up, now. Did any of you get Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder along?”
There was silence, and a voice that belonged to Irene replied, “I did- I usually have it in my purse, and I think the packet is torn or something… I’m so sorry…”
“Did you get something to get us through this, then?”
“No… the Hand of Glory is a dark object and the only other thing that helps is the Illuminator… I’m afraid I left that at home…”
“Lovely. We’ll just have to wait for the lights to-” Harry stopped abruptly, as there was a bloodcurdling yell from downstairs.
“That was Chris!” exclaimed Rebecca from the other corner of the room.
Harry took a sharp breath. “Something’s definitely wrong, come on!”
“How do we go?!”
“Just- just… do anything! We’ve got to get there!”
Harry began to feel his way through the room, moving as fast as possible. The darkness was absolutely thick, and he couldn’t see so much as the frame of his glasses. Stretching his arms outwards, he touched the furniture and moved on, when someone crashed onto him, making him knock onto the bookshelf. “Sorry, who-?”
“Harry, could you just help me? I lost my balance…”
It was Ginny. Harry got down to his knees and stretched out his hand, when someone else bumped onto him from the back. Harry jerked forwards, landing right next to Ginny. There was a flowery smell as she turned, and he could feel her warm breath on his neck. His stomach did a somersault, and his heart threatened to break his rib cage and come out. As he raised his hand, his fingers brushed against her soft hair, sending electric shocks right through him. Harry withdrew his hand immediately, and felt the floor, until he found her hand at last. “Come on.”
He got up, pulling her and holding her hand tightly as he began to move again. Finally, when he touched the doorway and had gotten himself outside, the darkness dissolved. The bright lights of the corridor blinded Harry for a moment, and he shielded his eyes with his arm before looking around briefly. Everyone was outside the room now and Rebecca and Irene were covered in Andrew’s blood. Ginny squeezed her hand free of his. “Come on, what are we waiting for?”
Realisation struck the Aurors, and the six of them raced down the stairs to the living room, tailed by Rebecca. It was as though everything was frozen at the lounge. Daisy stood facing Chris, pale and desperate, her wand aloft. Chris, on the other hand, was nursing a gaping wound on his forearm, dripping blood all over the floor. Elizabeth, Neil and Mike looked terrified.
Ginny walked forward and kept a hand on Daisy’s shoulder. “What happened?”
It was Neil who replied. “Dunno… the room was suddenly dark and Chris yelled. When the lights came back…”
“Yeah, someone tried to attack me,” Chris said grimly, healing his cut non-verbally. “They seemed to have missed their aim, though.”
“What do you mean?” asked Ron, coming forward as Rebecca rushed over to Chris’ side.
Chris didn’t reply. Instead, his eyes widened as he noticed Rebecca. “What happened to you?”
Rebecca shivered. “I fell onto Andrew when the lights went out.”
“It happened up there, too?”
“Yeah… and you didn’t give Ron an answer, Chris.”
“Oh, sorry,” said Chris, gloomily. “I was just a little scared when I saw Becks… anyway; I think the attacker aimed at my diaphragm region, because luckily for me, I was standing cross-armed when I was attacked. Whoever it was did their job quite well, though, because neither did we hear someone get in, nor did we hear someone get out. The spell was cast non-verbally too; and I only felt my forearm get slashed.”
“And why,” asked Irene, looking at Daisy, “are you all positioned with your wand like that?”
“I just took it out and kept it ready when the lights went out… just in case, you know…”
“Are you sure that you didn’t try to attack the invader?”
Daisy shook her head, looking a little lost. “I wasn’t even aware of an invader until Chris yelled.”
“Because,” said Irene, her voice picking up a sarcastic tone, “I think you- OW!”
Ginny looked just in time to see Romilda stomp Irene on her foot discreetly; in an angle from which Daisy couldn’t see. “Okay,” said Ron, noticing Romilda and looking at the other Aurors. “I think we should go back up and see if something is different there, too. I don’t think it was a torn packet of Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder anymore…”
“I’ll stay here,” Ginny said, and as the other Aurors went back, she looked at Chris. “Are you sure you heard nothing suspicious? Not a sound?”
Chris shook his head. Elizabeth tut-tutted and spoke without keeping her voice down. “Yeah, that’s because the person was already in. The bloody hag kills Andrew and attacks Chris on the same day. After all this, she also has the guts to stand there shamelessly…”
Daisy looked directly at Elizabeth. “I didn’t do any of this, okay?”
“Yeah, you can say that. Unfortunately, we have enough proof that you are responsible for this.”
“I have no hand in this!”
“Yeah, right. We believe you.”
If a stare could kill, then Elizabeth would be dead. Daisy looked malicious, as she took a deep breath. “I don’t need any of you to believe me. I can prove myself innocent on my own, OKAY?” She shouted out the last word, her voice shaking with every syllable. Ginny squeezed her shoulder sympathetically, and Daisy looked at the redhead, her face as white as chalk and her lips twitching mildly. She staggered slightly and clutched Ginny’s sleeve as her eyes rolled upwards and her knees gave away. Gasping as Daisy slid down to the floor, Ginny came down to her knees, supporting Daisy and taking the teenager’s head on her shoulder. “Get her some water!”
Neil hesitated for a moment and ran into the kitchen, while Chris came to the duo and knelt before them. “Let her lie down and loosen her collar a bit.”
Ginny let Daisy lie down a little hesitantly, and noticing her, Chris said, “Don’t worry. I’m a trainee at St. Mungo’s. Loosen her shirt, now.” Ginny smiled back at Chris and loosened Daisy’s shirt slightly. Chris rubbed Daisy’s palm gently and lifted her, while he walked towards the sofa. As she felt Chris lift her, Daisy’s eyes opened slowly and she looked at Chris for a second.
“Let me down.”
Chris stopped walking, but he didn’t let go of Daisy. “Daisy, you-”
“Let. Me. Down. I don’t want you to touch me.”
“Come on, Flower, you-”
“Don’t you dare use that name for me! It was meant for someone special.”
“I’m sorry…”
“We’ve been through this a hundred times, Chris, and I think my decision to never forgive you is a good one. I still stand by it. So let me down before I’m forced to hurt you.” Neil was back with the water now and as Chris let Daisy sit on the sofa, Ginny took the glass from Neil and gave it to Daisy. The younger girl placed a trembling hand on her head, as she drank the water.
“How do you feel?” Ginny asked her.
“Odd,” replied Daisy. She sighed. “I guess I should have had something for the mild headache that was troubling me in the evening-”
“Another headache?” asked Chris, his eyes widening. “Why don’t you go and get a check-up at St. Mungo’s?”
“- and now my head’s gone, plus I have this really odd sensation passing through me,” continued Daisy, as if Chris hadn’t spoken.
“Let’s get you home,” said Ginny, helping Daisy to her feet by lending a hand.
“No… I’m fine. I can go home by myself.” Daisy wobbled a bit on the spot, and Ginny caught her arm again.
“Come on, Daisy… I can tell that you’re feeling dizzy.”
“No, I’m just feeling a bit weird… but I can go home on my own. I guess I’ll just Apparate now and collect my car tomorrow.”
Ginny frowned. “I’m not allowing you to go home alone in this condition! I’m definitely dropping you. Come with me.”
“No, really, Ginny,” insisted Daisy. “I’m not feeling dizzy at all. I can manage!”
“Please don’t argue, Daisy, I’ve said that I’m taking you home, and I’m going to take you home. It’s Side-Along and it’s just a minute of necessary precaution. Don’t try to be too brave.”
“Okay then,” said Daisy, nodding with a sigh. Ginny smiled and walked out of the house along with her. They reached the gate and Daisy looked around to make sure that there were no Muggles, before giving her arm to Ginny. The latter turned on the spot and the duo arrived outside Daisy’s house within a minute. As Daisy opened the gate to the walk that led in, she looked at Ginny for a last time.
“Take care, all right?” said Ginny, giving Daisy’s back a short stroke. She felt very sorry for the teenager. As Daisy nodded, Ginny sighed and turned around, a feeling of sympathy rising in her. Daisy had to be a strong person to take so much. She, Ginny, would be devastated if her own friends turned against her like this.
Just as Ginny Apparated back to Andrew’s house and began to walk in, she saw a flash of silver behind a bush. Frowning, she walked to the area and looked behind the bush, to find no one.
Suddenly, there was another flash of silver, and Ginny just spotted a hooded figure vanish into the darkness outside the gate. Her heart hammering in her chest, Ginny ran to the gate and pushed it open.
Lighting her wand non-verbally, Ginny held it high, to throw light on the hooded figure retreating from her slowly, down the street. Ginny took off after the person and her quarry began to run too, taking a left turn into a dark alleyway. Ginny did not stop, as she pursued the person, running as fast as her legs could carry her. Suddenly, the other person stopped, turning to another narrow lane. Ginny ran for sometime, her breath coming in sharp gasps, until at last she reached a dead end. Smiling in victory, Ginny raised her wand and searched the shadows. But the smile vanished from her face as soon as it had come, for Ginny found no one in the area.
Killer Instincts by Ginny Weasley Potter
Chapter Notes: I hope this update is soon enough for you guys. I like this chapter a lot. :)
Please review, though. It's just a small thing that I really want in return for writing this story for hours. :)
Kudos to Pauie for perfecting this fic.
This fic is for Sr, another dear friend, and Chris is based on another of my amazing friends. Yes, he's really Daisy's classmate, but there's not much interaction between them. :)