Never Let Go by majestic_ginny
Chapter Notes: Happy new year, everyone. Hope you enjoy this chapter.
And as usual, I'm not JKR.
--Nadia
"What!?"
But that was not possible, Teddy thought, not really paying attention to Harry's outburst. It really wasn't possible. Just the thought of that being true was terrifying. They had banked so much on Zachary being the perpetrator. The implications of his death and what they meant for the case was too debilitating to consider.
The Auror, to his credit, maintained his official demeanour despite Harry's outburst. "Yes, Sir. Zachary Williamson is dead, and he's been dead for the past two months."
"Have you checked his magical signature?" Harry demanded, grabbing his wand from the table, standing up. Teddy got to his feet too, ready to follow Harry out.
"Yes, Sir, his core signature is a hundred percent match," Dawson replied, stepping aside hastily as Harry charged towards the door. The door was flung open, and Teddy had a feeling Harry had done wandless magic without meaning to. While Harry needed to use his wand for all of his conscious spellwork, sometimes he displayed the occasional wandless magic when he was under too much stress or extremely furious. In this case, Teddy thought it was a bit of both those emotions that caused this bout of accidental wandless magic.
"What about Muggle forensics?" Harry asked, striding out into the Auror office. Some of the Aurors curiously looked on, wondering what had their Head so agitated. Harry ignored them. "His magical signature might have been tampered with. Have you done the Muggle DNA tests?"
"We did, Sir," Dawson replied. "I'm sorry, Auror Potter. It's a match too."
Harry swore. "How is he dead? He can't be dead! He's our prime suspect!"
"With all due respect, Harry, I think he might just lose that status in light of recent events," Teddy said as he tried to keep up with Harry's gait.
Harry shot Teddy a dirty look, effectively shutting him up. Not the time for wise cracks, Lupin, Teddy reprimanded himself.
"Where's the body?" Harry asked.
"On this floor, Auror Potter," Dawson replied. "We've kept him in the mortuary. We didn't think you'd want him in St. Mungo's before our own mediwizards got to check him out."
"Yeah, you guessed right," Harry said as they turned the corner and came to the Magiforensics Office. The mediwitches and wizards milling about the corridors didn't spare them much thought; Teddy figured Harry had been there often enough to not warrant much of fuss. When they finally arrived at the door marked 'Morgue', Harry turned to the junior Auror. "Thanks, Dawson," he said, giving the Auror a small nod. "Lupin and I will take it from here. You may return to your duties".
"Yes, Sir," Dawson replied, giving Harry a salute. He nodded at Teddy before turning on his heels and walking back towards the Auror offices.
Turning back towards the morgue door, Harry pushed it open without bothering to knock and walked in. Teddy followed Harry.
The morgue was a cool and rather sterile-looking room full of white walls and metallic tables, not unlike the morgues Teddy had seen on Muggle telly. The only difference was the torches along the walls and balls of floating light that illuminated the room, and instead of doctors in white coats there were mediwizards and witches milling about wearing light blue robes. A couple of them surrounded a body draped in white, waving their wands around different limbs. Puffs of different coloured smoke appeared at regular intervals, and one of the mediwitches must have understood the significance of the colours, for she tutted and scribbled something down on the piece of parchment on her clipboard.
A blonde woman looked up from her work and frowned when she saw them enter. "Gloves," she said.
Harry stopped short. "But —"
The woman glared. "Gloves."
Harry sighed in irritation, pointing his wands at random and muttering "Accio gloves." A drawer from the table beside them shot open, nearly falling out, and a pair of gloves flew out and landed on Harry's outstretched hand. He pulled them on quickly.
"Happy, Astoria?" Harry asked, rolling his eyes. Teddy finally realised who the woman was: Astoria Malfoy, Head of the Magiforensics Office.
Madam Malfoy looked unfazed. "I would be if I didn't have to remind you to put these on every single time, Potter. I don't want the hassle of extra paperwork on my hands if you die from an infection you caught in my morgue."
Harry waved her off. "Yes, your husband would be pleased at that. Anyway I'm here about something important."
"Indeed." Madam Malfoy raised her eyebrows.
"I need to see Zachary Williamson's body," Harry said, ignoring her less than friendly attitude. "I've heard he's here."
Madam Malfoy smirked. "Good to see your hearing hasn't failed you. He's this way," she said, getting up from her chair. "Lisa," she said to the mediwitch she was working with. "Could you please check the injury on the back of the head? I have a feeling that the head trauma might be the possible cause of death."
The woman named Lisa nodded. "Right away, ma'am."
Madam Malfoy looked over at Harry and Teddy. "Is that one of your trainees?" she asked, nodding towards Teddy.
"Junior Auror Edward Lupin, ma'am," Teddy answered hesitantly. The woman did seen a bit cool with Harry, and Teddy wondered if he'd receive the same treatment Harry was getting.
She nodded, and Teddy thought he saw a slight hint of recognition in her eyes at his name. Teddy had seen her husband, who happened to be one of his cousins, so he assumed Mr Malfoy might have mentioned him to her. "Astoria Malfoy, Head of the Magiforensics Office, though you probably already know who I am," she replied, holding out her hand, which Teddy shook.
"Yes, ma'am," Teddy replied.
After a brief but firm handshake, she dropped her hand and looked at Harry. "Let's go see your man before your hair turns greyer, Potter. This way. We kept him in a separate room considering the sensitive nature of the case." Without looking at Harry's indignant face or waiting for a response, she headed towards a door near the back of the room.
Once they were all inside, Madam Malfoy closed the door and headed towards the table in the center of the room, which had a body covered with a white sheet. The room smelled strongly of cleaning solutions, which slightly masked the smell of the dead body, and for this Teddy was glad. After one and a half months, the body was bound to be badly decomposed and, frankly, smelly. His sense of smell, which was rather strong compared to other people's, probably wouldn't be able to bear the foul stench of decaying flesh alone. He turned to Harry, who had a slight crinkle around his nose but otherwise looked untroubled. Malfoy, on the other hand, looked perfectly at ease as she carefully but expertly uncovered the body.
Teddy had only one word to describe the body: revolting. Barely anything of Zachary's once handsome face could be recognised. The skin was stretched tightly over the bones, the jaws hollowed. The skin was cracked in places and in other places, rather liquidy. The most shocking thing, though, was that in the middle of his body, where his organs would have been, there was a sizeable chunk missing. Not blown apart or ripped off like an animal attack, though; it was just... not there. Teddy hung back, not wanting to see any more of the disfigured body than he had to.
Harry, however, went closer until he was right beside Madam Malfoy. "How long has he been dead?" he asked.
"More than two months, probably 2 months and a week," she replied. "We made the estimate based on the humidity and temperature of the area in the last two months, and the cellular degeneration of the body."
"And it definitely is him? No Polyjuice?" Harry asked. Teddy thought that Harry was in denial. Any Auror would be in this case. Zachary was the only lead they had, and he was dead. They didn't have a suspect anymore. Naturally, Harry would be grasping at straws, trying to confirm whether it really was Zachary lying there on the table, long dead.
Madam Malfoy nodded. "No doubt about it, we checked and cross-checked and checked again. Even Polyjuice can't change the magical core of a person, and besides, it would wear off in an hour even if the person is dead."
"What about... I don't know, body changing charms?" Harry said wildly.
The blonde woman sighed in exasperation. "Potter, I know how to do my job. There is no doubt at all that this is Zachary Williamson, escaped Azkaban Prisoner, son of Demetrius Williamson. Core signatures can't lie, and they cannot match in even identical twins, and this man's core signature is a hundred percent match with Zachary Williamson. I'm sorry."
Harry let out a frustrated sigh, running a hand through his hair. "Okay, fine, it's him. Can you give me anything else? How did he die?"
The corner of Madam Malfoy's mouth turned upwards. "Now you're asking the right questions, Potter."
Harry looked up. "Please tell me you have something I can work with, Astoria."
Madal Malfoy shrugged. "It's not good, but it definitely is interesting, to say the least. See the missing pieces from his body?"
Harry nodded. "Was it an animal attack, or...?"
"No, that wound is magical," she replied. "That, Potter, is what happens when a wizard with an Apparition ban and no proper licence to begin with tries to Apparate."
Harry stared. "He died by... Splinching?"
To say Teddy was surprised was an understatement. So far, Teddy had heard about people leaving behind body parts while Splinching. Hell, he had once left behind his little toe and a large chunk of his hair during Apparition lessons in his sixth year. But he had never heard of someone dying due to Splinching.
"Ten points to Gryffindor," Madam Malfoy said in response to Harry's question. "Zachary either didn't realise he had an Apparition ban, or he didn't take it too seriously."
"It is nearly impossible to Apparate if you have a magical ban set on you by the Ministry," he said.
"Yes," she agreed. "But he tried, nonetheless. Some highly experienced Wizards might still manage to move a few feet with minor Splinches, but Zachary didn't even pass his test. The poor boy left behind half his heart and a multitude of other internal organs and a leg. He died on the spot, with his organs heaped up around two feet away from him."
Teddy shuddered. That was, indeed, a terrible way to die. Nobody deserved an ending like that.
He saw Harry shake his head, although he didn't know whether it was at the boy's awful death or at his plain stupidity.
"What about his belongings, ma'am?" Teddy asked.
"Nothing except his clothes" she replied.
"Well," said Harry. "I guess that's that, then. We know how he died and that it is, in fact, Zachary. Now we have to basically set up a new timeline. Again," he added with a scowl.
Teddy sighed. Indeed, they had to establish a timeline of events if they wanted to make heads or heels of this case.
Harry turned to Madam Malfoy and nodded. "Thanks for your help, Astoria. Let us know if you find anything else."
"Was just doing my job," she replied, shrugging. "But you're welcome, anyway." Madam Malfoy covered the body with the cloth again before leading them out of the room. Teddy was glad to be finally out of there. He doubted he could have stayed in there much longer, and was thankful for the breath of fresh air.
"I trust you can find your way out, Potter?" she asked once they were out of the morgue. "You've been here enough times to not need a map anymore."
"Thanks, but I think I know my way around here, Astoria."
She grinned. "You think you know your way around here? How thick is that?"
Harry rolled his eyes. "Your husband has rubbed off on you too much."
"You set yourself up for that one, Potter."
Harry shrugged. "Someday, Malfoy. Someday, I'll have one up over you."
"Until that day, Potter."
Once they were back in Harry's office, Harry plopped down on his chair and leaned back. "What have we got, Teddy?" he asked tiredly.
Teddy took his usual seat and took out his trusty notebook and a Muggle pencil. "We need to establish a timeline of events, Harry. I really think the math is all off and unless we have a proper timeline, it's becoming harder and harder to match everything."
"Okay," said Harry. "Let's start all the way from Alison Macdougal's case."
Teddy nodded and put his pencil to the paper.
"According to Madam Patil, a vial of Croton oil was stolen from her in May last year." He scribbled down, 'May 2021: Croton oil stolen'.
"And Alison died in June 2021, which gives a one month window for her to be poisoned," Harry stated. "Zachary was imprisoned the week after she was found." Teddy nodded and wrote '17th June 2021: Alison Macdougal found dead in her dormitory' and '24th June 2021: Zachary Williamson incarcerated in Azkaban' below his previous entry.
"When did he escape?" Teddy asked, looking up at Harry.
"Three months ago from now, two and a half months before Lucy died," Harry replied. "Tenth of June this year."
Teddy wrote '10th June 2022: Williamson escapes Azkaban.' "So that's nearly a year, then."
"Yes. When did Lucy find out about her pregnancy?"
"Sometime in June," Teddy answered. "So whoever killed her must have put the poison in her potion after that. Otherwise it beats the whole purpose of using an abortifacient."
"Term ended twentieth June, so we'll assume that poison consumption started sometime there," Harry said. "Write that down."
Teddy obliged, noting down 'Approx 20th June, 2022: Poison consumption started.' "And then when we asked that Muggle man during the search a few days ago, he said he saw Zachary two months prior."
Harry grunted in assent. "Two months before that date equates to around fifteen days after the escape, which is —"
"Twenty-fifth June," Teddy finished for him, writing down '25th June, 2022: spotted in Bath.' "North Sea to Bath took him fifteen days, Harry. No way he could have gone to Hogwarts himself to spike the potion."
"Only if he was in regular correspondence with the girl in Hogwarts, he could ask her to put it in."
"Back to square one, Harry. We have to find the girl. Find the girl and the case is solved." Teddy had to go back to Hogwarts again.
"That's our next step. Right now, let's get this over with. Zachary died two months ago. Today's the eleventh of September, making that... around the last few days of June, or early July at most. Twenty-ninth June to third July, I'd say," calculated Harry.
Teddy wrote '29th June-2nd July: Died in Plymouth.' in his notebook. "So Azkaban to Bath took him fifteen days, and Bath to Plymouth would have been another week or so," he said.
Harry shrugged. "Does the maths match up now?" he asked Teddy.
Teddy nodded. "Yes, it does. And at least now we know why he hadn't reached Newquay yet."
"He tried Apparating in Plymouth," Harry said. "I think he must have got tired, on the run for so long. He probably tried to take the shorter path the rest of the way, and that's what killed him."
Teddy closed his notebook, sensing that Zarchary's timeline was completed. "Has anyone told Williamson yet."
Harry took a deep breath. "I'm sure someone has gone to tell him about it. I don't want to think about his reaction, Teddy."
Teddy didn't want to, either. Hearing your son died was bound to be hard, but the circumstances of this death? Not only was it horrific, but the fact that he might have been innocent in the end... that didn't bode well.
No, he still could have killed Alison in the first place, and done this one with an accomplice, Teddy thought. They needed to find the girl. Teddy was going to go back to Hogwarts.
An hour later, Harry and Teddy found themselves at Auror Williamson's doorsteps. The beautiful estate was surrounded by a team of Aurors every hour of the day, with a few protective enchantments around the perimeter to prevent the suspended Auror from escaping. The only person allowed in and out of the house was his Ministry appointed house-elf; even Williamson's own elf had been relieved of his duties and taken under the Ministry's Liberated Elf Relocation Programme (Teddy's Aunt Hermione had been one of the founders).
As Teddy saw the Aurors on duty perform the counter-charms to unlock the doors for them, he wondered what they would say to the man who lost his son. Would Williamson blame them for Zachary's death? Teddy wouldn't be surprised. After all, Williamson seemed to think his son was innocent, and he would definitely think his son's death could have been prevented if they hadn't locked him up in the first place.
The door opened to reveal a little house-elf, who wore a blue toga of sorts and a hat fashioned out of a napkin which had the Ministry's crest on it. "Good evening, Mister Aurors Sirs," he squeaked, letting them inside the house. Behind them, the doors closed and Teddy heard a faint whooshing noise, indicating the enchantments had been reapplied on the doors. Once they were led into the living room, the house-elf piped up, "Should Tickle inform the Mister Williamson of your arrival, Sir?"
"Er, yes, that would be nice, thanks," Teddy said.
The elf nodded and scuttled away, leaving Harry and Teddy alone in the large living room.
A minute later, the house-elf came back, accompanied by Williamson.
"What do you want from me now, Potter?" he croaked when he saw them, his voice breaking. His eyes were red and puffy, though his face was an unreadable mask. "At least you could have the decency to let me mourn my son in peace before barging into my house like you own it."
"Demetrius, I'm sorry for your loss —" Harry began mechanically, but Williamson held up a hand.
"We both know you're not, so please, spare me," he said. "Just get on with whatever you're here for."
Harry nodded, clearly uncomfortable with the events. Frankly, Teddy was rather apprehensive, too. But whatever they had to ask, they had to ask quickly. They really had no time to lose. The more time they wasted, the further away they got from solving the case.
"Demetrius, did Zachary ever mention who was the person who helped him out of Azkaban? Did you talk to him after that last letter he sent you?"
"No," he grunted. "I haven't talked to him after his last letter. He was supposed to owl again when he reached Newquay."
"What about when he was still in prison?" Harry asked. "Did he tell you if was talking to anyone somehow?
Williamson scoffed. "I barely talked to him once when he was in prison, and that was to tell him about his mother's passing. I don't think he was in the mental state to think about his own freedom at the moment."
"Only — only once?" Harry sputtered. That can't be right, Teddy realized. There was no way that was true. He'd seen the logs. There were countless letters exchanged between Williamson and his son, and many visits over the year. There were pages upon pages of logs.
"Was I supposed to keep corresponding with my son so that you could accuse me of something else? Trying to break him out of prison, perhaps? Do I look stupid to you, Potter?" he snarked.
"Demetrius, we've seen the Azkaban records," Harry deadpanned. "Don't bother lie to us. There was a letter from you almost every single day, sometimes even twice in the same day. I have the list of logs sitting on my table —"
"What are you on about?" Williamson hissed, clearly lost on the allegations. "My only son just died, Potter. I haven't stooped that low that I'd put that grief aside and make up cock and bull stories to save my own hide. The only reason I'm still bothering to talk to you is so that you can get on with your case and find the person who actually killed those girls — at least that way I can clear my son's name even though he'd dead. The last thing I'd do right now is lie to you."
Teddy looked at Harry, who was equally as gobsmacked as him. "And — and would you agree to testify the same under influence of the truth potion, Veritaserum, if deemed necessary by the Ministry?" Harry tried, trying to regain control.
Wiiliamson looked straight into Harry's eyes. "Twice, if needed," he said. "I'm not lying, I have nothing to be afraid of."
Harry nodded, clearly disturbed. "Thank you for your cooperation, Williamson. We'll leave you to your business."
Williamson didn't reply. Turning on the spot, he made to leave.
"And, Demetrius?" Harry called, stopping him in his tracks. He didn't turn around; the former Auror stood still, waiting for Harry to speak.
"I really am sorry for your loss," Harry said quietly.
Williamson sighed. "Just get out of my house, Potter," he spat, before walking out of the arched door and out of sight.
"Harry," Teddy said in an undertone, turning towards his boss and godfather. "You know what this means, don't you?"
Without looking away from where Williamson disappeared, Harry replied, "I do. Someone else used his guise to break Zachary out of prison."
Chapter Endnotes: Weeeell... I really should stop putting new DUN DUN DUN moments at the ends of every chapter.
So... did you guys like it? Please let me know in your reviews! I love reviews. Reviews=love. Reviews=life. Hehe.
--Nadia