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SIYE Time:16:42 on 28th March 2024
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Harry Potter and the Nameless Man
By Brennus

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Category: Alternate Universe
Characters:Harry/Ginny
Genres: Action/Adventure
Warnings: Death, Disturbing Imagery, Extreme Language, Intimate Sexual Situations, Violence
Story is Complete
Rating: R
Reviews: 362
Summary: Newly appointed probationary Auror Ginny Weasley wanted to do something more meaningful with her life than just play Quidditch. Newly promoted Assistant Head Auror Harry Potter has problems, not least of all that his ex-girlfriend has just moved in with another man. When a pure-blood hunting serial killer suddenly appears, will the Departments latest recruit be a help or a distraction for him?
Hitcount: Story Total: 80316; Chapter Total: 7032
Awards: View Trophy Room




Author's Notes:
Can I just apologise in advance for this chapter’s mention of Ron Weasley’s toilet habits.

Massive thanks to Arnel for her continued attempts at making me understand capitalisation and hyphen usage in the world of Ms Rowling. Oh, and my choices of singular vs. plural verb tenses went completely to pot this time round. I have a very limited amount of space in my brain and it appears that every time I learn a new grammatical rule I forget an old one. I’m blaming the alcohol, personally.




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Chapter 5 — Misdirection



The alarm clock rang as it was wont to do every morning, and Ginny dragged herself from her bed. She washed and dressed without consciously paying much attention to what she was doing. Fortunately, she managed to put all her clothing on the right way round. Her mind was elsewhere this morning.

Making her way downstairs, she entered the kitchen and made herself a cup of tea. Ron was already sitting at the kitchen table stuffing his face while her mother darted around, no doubt preparing her son’s second breakfast course. Poor Ron, Ginny thought sarcastically, so much food; so few hours in the day to eat it all. No wonder he always stunk out the toilet when he used it.

Moving over to the table, Ginny picked up a piece of toast from the pile stacked on a plate and was amused to see her brother glare at her resentfully. Whether this was because she had dared to actually eat some of the available food, or just his normal jealousy of her, she couldn’t decide.

As she munched her toast she glanced around to see if the paper was available. Seeing it sitting folded on the counter, she stood and retrieved it. She returned to her seat and spread it out in front of her to read. It took a few seconds for the headlines to register in her brain.

“Oh, shit!” she cursed.

“Ginny! I will not have you using language like that in the house!” her mother rebuked her. “What on earth has got you so upset?”

“I’ll have to go,” Ginny responded, pushing back her chair. “There’s been another murder.”

“Oh, I saw the front page. Horrid, isn’t it?” her mother agreed with a shudder. “Wait, why do you have to rush into work? Surely you haven’t got anything to do with this?”

“Of course I have,” Ginny said irritably as she moved to collect her cloak. “I’ve been involved in the investigation of the first murder.”

“No wonder they haven’t caught the bloke who did it yet,” Ron smirked.

Ginny resisted the urge to punch him in the face.

“But you’ve only just started!” her mother objected. “They can’t expect you to be involved in a horrible thing like this!”

“I’m part of the team investigating these crimes, Mum. I’m an Auror; that’s what we do,” Ginny snapped. Her mother’s overprotectiveness was becoming unbearable.

“You shouldn’t be mixed up in this sort of thing!” Molly wailed. “You’re only a young girl, you shouldn’t… wait! Where are you going?”

Not trusting herself to reply, Ginny threw her cloak on over her Auror robes and headed for the Floo. Without a backwards glance, she threw the Floo powder into the flames and a few seconds later arrived at the Ministry. She hurried to her workplace, muttering murderously about her family as she went. She arrived to find the others already there.

“Oh, good, you’re here,” Susan said, noting her arrival. “I’m sure you have all heard there’s been another murder. The duty team are already on site and we’re to follow on immediately. Everyone got their gear? Good, let’s go.”

Fifteen minutes later they stood in a dingy side street that led off of Knockturn Alley. A large crowd had already gathered at the entrance to the Alley and was being held back by other Aurors. It was with some trepidation that Ginny approached the body that lay on the cold stone floor.

“It has all the hallmarks of our killer,” Susan announced as she examined the body.

“The poor woman has certainly been carved open the same way,” Sonia agreed. “Have the same organs been removed?”

Susan flicked her wand a few times. “Yeah, her heart and liver are missing. Damn.”

Ginny could only look on sadly at the prostrate body. The girl’s face had been contorted in death suggesting she had died in great pain. The few smudges of make-up that remained looked grossly out of place. She’d been stripped to the waist, but her body was so mutilated that no man would ever have found pleasure looking at her. Even so, Ginny had the urge to conjure a blanket to cover the poor girl.

“It’s probably a waste of time, but we should make an appeal for witnesses,” Susan decided.

Ginny knew exactly what her team leader meant. They were standing in Knockturn Alley: home of criminals, pure-blood supremacists and assorted scum, all of whom had one thing in common — they hated Aurors. What happened in Knockturn Alley normally stayed in Knockturn Alley. A secret code of silence ensured no law official would ever find the slightest co-operation here.

Suddenly, Ginny felt enormously angry. This girl was one of the Alley’s own. Judging by her looks, she’d come here for a night out and had ended up being brutally butchered. But did it matter to the crowd pressing at the end of the Alley? No, they looked on in the hope that they’d get to see a dead body and a bit of blood. Bastards. Ginny stomped down to the end of the Alley and stood just behind the Aurors who were performing crowd control duties.

“A woman has been viciously murdered in this alley sometime between ten o’clock and midnight last night,” she shouted. The crowd was instantly silent and one of the Aurors looked back over his shoulder at Ginny in surprise.

“Did anyone happen to witness the crime or see anything suspicious happening last night?” Ginny continued.

The crowd was silent apart from a few muffled chuckles from the back. Ginny tried again.

“Did anyone see anything?” she yelled.

“Why should we tell you if we did?” an unidentified voice called.

“This woman was killed right here!” Ginny retorted. “Don’t you want the sick bastard who killed her to be caught?”

“Like you lot would do anything to help us,” the voice called again. “If there’s a problem in the Alley, we’ll deal with it!”

A chorus of voices yelled their agreement and several people waved their fists in the air.

“Are you trying to start a riot?” hissed the Auror who had turned to her.

Ginny ignored him.

“I promise, if you help us catch this person, that proper justice will be served to them. If you’d just…” Ginny’s voice was drowned out by jeers and shouts. She tried yelling over the noise but most of the crowd were now hurling abuse at her. She was just about to draw her wand and cast a Sonorus spell when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned and saw Susan looking at her sadly.

“Nice try, Ginny, but it’s no use. They’ll never help us,” she told Ginny. “Come back to the crime scene and help us look for clues.”

Letting her shoulders slump, Ginny allowed herself to be led back to the body. The crowd didn’t care about the victim, she realised. They just wanted an opportunity to spew their hatred and contempt at a figure of authority. It wouldn’t have mattered if it had been their own mothers that were laying dead, the embittered low-lifes that had gathered here wouldn’t have said a word to help an Auror.

As they walked back Ginny idly wondered how long she would have to be in the job before she would stop caring what the mob thought of her.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

As was becoming normal during the investigation, the team had been called into the Assistant Head Auror’s office just before lunchtime to deliver a progress report. As the team took their seats, which were arranged around Potter’s desk, Ginny couldn’t help but notice that the man himself looked extremely grim.

“The victim was a single woman named Carrie Brown,” Susan said, kicking things off. “She was twenty-two years old and apparently unemployed. The only surviving relative is a brother who we are still trying to trace.”

“Blood status?” Harry asked.

“Pure-blood,” Susan replied. “Her mother and father fought in the war on the ‘other’ side. Both were confirmed killed in the final battle.”

“Damn,” Harry said shaking his head. “Have we confirmed that it was definitely the same killer?”

“Ninety-nine per cent certain, I’m afraid. Both women had their heart and liver removed with great care and skill. There are corresponding similarities in the way the organs were removed in both cases. The knife used seems to be the same, as well.” Susan’s face was a mask of professionalism, but Ginny could tell that inside her friend was very angry.

“Okay, it’s the same killer,” Harry acknowledged. “Did he or she leave us any new clues this time?”

“No,” Susan confirmed. “The site is completely clean and there were no signs of magic being used at all. The body is at St Mungo’s being looked at as we speak. The locals, despite Ginny’s best efforts, have been less than forthcoming in providing information.”

“Yeah, I heard Miss Weasley tried to bully the whole of Knockturn Alley into talking,” Harry said with a smirk. Ginny blushed at the attention. “But the fact remains we have no new clues and we’re no closer to figuring out who did this, is that right?”

“Unless St Mungo’s comes up with something… no, we’re no closer to solving this,” Susan admitted.

“Okay, that’s what I thought,” Harry confirmed. “I’ve been in conference this morning with the Head Auror and the Minister for Magic himself. Both of them are deeply concerned about this case and the possible ramifications from it. The killer appears to be preying on pure-bloods and this is creating all sorts of political upheavals. The pure-blood lobby is using these deaths as an excuse to claim that they have been persecuted since the end of the war and to demand more powers to protect themselves. The last thing we need right now is the pure-bloods re-establishing themselves as a major political power. We need to find this killer before this situation is turned into a political crisis.”

“Sweet Merlin,” Susan muttered with a slight smile. “Harry Potter… actually thinking about political motivations and effects. What is the world coming to?”

“You were always the one who thought about that stuff, Susan,” Harry responded. “You’ve obviously taught me well.”

“Maybe,” she agreed. “But with the Minister involved I assume something’s about to change. Have we been taken off the case?”

“No, you haven’t,” Harry said apologetically. “But I have been appointed to head the investigation.”

Susan seemed to think about that for a second. “That makes sense, Harry,” she said. “The Minister can now say that he’s assigned Harry Potter to the case. From a public point of view he’s showing that he’s giving the matter top priority. I mean, putting ‘The Chosen One’ onto the problem? What more could he do?”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Harry said dismissively. “All it really means is that I’ve got to drop all my work and you get one more team member. Whoopee-do. We still need a break in this case.”

“I’m sure you’ll think of something, Harry. You normally do,” Susan said grinning.

“Thanks,” Harry responded sarcastically. “Right, as this case has now become the department’s top priority, I’ve arranged to take over interview room one which will now be our incident room. We’ll move all the evidence from the case in there and it will give us a bit of space to spread out. But before we do that I suggest we head down to the canteen and get a bite to eat. It’s going to be a long day.”

“Okay, as long as you’re buying, Harry,” Susan replied.

“Aren’t I always?” Harry said tragically.

Ginny laughed.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

The four, now five, team members made their way to the Ministry canteen for a hasty lunch before they transferred their operations to the assigned interview room. Secretly, Ginny was thrilled that she would actually be working with Harry and was keen to see how he operated.

Remembering Susan’s warning about eating hot food from the canteen, Ginny selected a chicken salad for herself after she noted Susan had already gone for that option. Harry, bravely or foolishly, ordered a cooked meal, although Ginny wasn’t absolutely sure what it was.

Ginny and Susan sat next to each other and Harry came and sat opposite them. Sonia and Howell sat at a nearby table gossiping. Ginny had been surprised to find the big Welshman was as much of a gossip as his partner. Perhaps that’s why they worked so well together?

“What is that you’re eating, Harry?” Susan asked eyeing Harry’s plate in disgust.

“Curry and chips… I think,” he replied, prodding an unidentified piece of meat with his knife.

“I’ll take your word for it,” Susan sniffed. “Does this canteen serve anything without chips?”

“This salad,” Ginny pointed out.

“I do not consider three wet lettuce leaves and a spring onion to be ‘a salad’,” Susan sniffed.

“Susan, eating here is cheap, quick and convenient; that’s why we come here,” said Harry in a voice which suggested this was an old topic. “If you solve this case I promise to take you out to the swankest restaurant you can find and buy you a slap-up meal, okay?”

“Only Susan?” Ginny teased. “What happens if I’m the one who finds the vital clue?”

“In that case we’ll dump Susan at the nearest McDonalds and I’ll wine and dine you instead,” Harry said grinning.

“Thanks!” Susan snorted indignantly. “Although I’m sure you’d be better suited to a cheap burger place than me!”

“Ooooohhh,” Harry teased, clutching at an imaginary handbag. “I’m sorry we don’t all have your refined tastes, Miss Bones.”

“Refined? Harry, if it was up to you, you’d probably eat steak and chips Monday through to Saturday, with a greasy burger for dinner on the Sunday!” Susan accused him.

“Sounds fine to me,” Ginny chipped in. “I could just go for a nice juicy bit of sirloin about now.”

“See, Susan?” Harry said. “I’m not as abnormal as you think. Ginny appreciates good, hearty fare as well.”

Susan said nothing, but viscously forked a piece of chicken on her plate instead.

“So, Ginny,” Harry said turning his attention to her. “Any luck with the flat hunting?”

“No, not that I’ve really had a chance to look,” Ginny admitted. “I really must try and find the time, though. The way things are going, I’ll have killed either my brother or my mum by the end of the month.”

“Ron still being an arse?” Susan asked. Ginny nodded in reply. “Well, you know my opinion of your brother.”

“You know Ginny’s family?” Harry asked in surprise.

“Not that well,” Susan confessed. “I was in the same year as Ginny’s brother Ron at Hogwarts. I’m afraid I had a bit of a run in with him during our last year there. He’d just split up with his girlfriend, um…”

“Hermione Granger,” Ginny supplied. “She was far too good for him.”

“That’s it; Hermione. Wonder what she’s doing now?” Susan pondered. “Anyway, after splitting up with her, Ron decides that I would be a suitable replacement. His chat up speech was just amazing. After virtually admitting that he would just be going out with me to make Hermione jealous, he then implies that I should be grateful for him asking me because he was a big-shot Quidditch captain, and that if I dropped my knickers often enough I could have the privilege of hanging out with him and his friends!”

“Nice,” Harry noted. “What did you do to him?”

“She hexed him within an inch of his life,” Ginny interrupted. “I could have kissed you that day, Susan. Ron had been winding me up for so long it was a joy to watch him vomit slugs. Oh, and those exploding boils lasted for weeks!”

“Bloody hell, Susan,” Harry said laughing. “I got off lightly when we split up, didn’t I?”

“I can still decide to punish you retrospectively,” Susan threatened. “So, my hexing didn’t induce Ron to change his ways, then?”

“Nah, he’s still a first class prat,” Ginny lamented. “First, he gets jealous because I get hired by a professional Quidditch team and he didn’t, even though he’s an average Keeper at best. Then, when I decide to pack that in and become an Auror, he’s jealous about that. Never mind the fact that he sat on his arse throughout most of his seventh year at Hogwarts and managed to only get two NEWTS”.

“I always thought that Hermione carried him a bit,” Susan admitted.

“A bit?” Ginny scoffed. “After they split up I don’t think Ron handed a single piece of homework in on time. He just sat there reading Quidditch magazines, propositioning any witch who walked by and moaning that he was hard-done by. Believe me, he hasn’t changed a bit.”

“I can see why you want to escape,” Harry sympathised. “So, what are you looking for? A proper flat or a house-share, or what?”

“Beggars can’t be choosers,” Ginny admitted. “I doubt I can afford a proper flat unless I find someone to share with. I suppose renting a room somewhere would be okay if I knew the people I was living with, but you have to be so careful, don’t you?”

“Let me think about this, Ginny,” Harry offered. “I may be able to find you something suitable.”

“Great! Let me know if you do,” Ginny said enthusiastically.

Susan looked suspiciously at Harry. “I think we’d better get back to work,” she announced.

Nodding, the three Aurors pushed their plates away and left the canteen. Ginny couldn’t help but notice the hard glares that Susan was directing at Harry’s back.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Next morning, Ginny ensured she was into work extra early. Setting up the new operations room the previous day had gone smoothly and everyone had agreed that the extra space was a great benefit. Several new ideas had been floated about, and the team seemed to gain a confidence boost. On her way in to the office Ginny encountered Howell and Sonia who seemed equally keen to get started that morning.

As soon as she entered the converted interview room Ginny knew something had happened. Harry and Susan were already there and they were standing together examining what appeared to be a copy of that morning’s Daily Prophet. The grim expressions on their faces suggested that whatever they were reading was not good news.

“Come in, you three,” Harry instructed when he noticed them. “We have a new problem.”

Potter spread the paper out on the desk in front of him and the team crowded round to read. Ginny gasped out loud when she read the headlines.

Knife Killer Speaks!
Attacks Are Revenge Against Pure-blood Community!
When will ‘The Executioner’ strike again?



Late last night the
Daily Prophet received a letter professing to be from the killer of the two young women found in dead Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley recently, explaining his actions and threatening further violence, writes Trevor Babcock, Senior News Correspondent.

The letter, which was dropped off at the Prophet’s reception desk by a cloaked man who did not speak to our staff, states that the murders are in revenge for alleged atrocities supposedly carried out by pure-blood witches and wizards against Muggles during the last war. The full text of the letter is as follows: -

Witches and Wizards of Britain

I write this letter so you should all know my true purpose and intent.

By now you will be aware of my sacred work to rid this country of all pure-blood magic users. Laughingly, I see that the powers that be think I attacked those two witches to harvest body parts for some Dark Magic rite. That you all should be taken in by this poppycock is testimony to what fools you all are!

I will tell you the real reason my knife has been put to such worthy work: to kill all the pure-bloods! For too long have the hated pure-bloods trodden on the backs of me and my fellow Muggles. I swear I will not rest until every person killed during the last war is avenged.

The knife I use is the same that Muggle surgeons use to cut diseased organs out of their patients and I will use it to cut out the disease that is the pure-bloods!

You have been warned; I will strike again!

The Executioner


Clearly this disturbing and irrational letter cast doubts on the statement released by the Department of Magical Law Enforcement recently claiming the crimes are of a ritualistic nature and suggests they have been pursuing the wrong lines of enquiry.

When asked to comment, respected businessman and pure-blood lobbyist Draco Malfoy made the following comment:

“This letter is an extremely disturbing development and clearly shows that the DMLE have been looking at this matter all wrong. Frankly, I’m not surprised by this as there seems to be a culture of discrimination against pure-bloods by the Ministry ever since the war. To assume that all pure-bloods followed Lord Voldemort is plainly ridiculous, but the DMLE, and particularly the Auror Department, seem to tar us all with the same brush.

The murdering maniac who wrote this letter seems to represent the typical reaction most Muggles have to the magical community when they discover our existence. I have long said that the Statute of Secrecy is insufficient to protect us and stronger laws are required. If the Aurors cannot protect us, then I call on the Wizengamot to provide us with greater powers to protect ourselves.”

Clearly, now the true identity of the killer has been made clear, many questions will be raised. Why has the Auror Department persisted in stating the killings were to harvest body parts for ritualistic use? What are they hiding from us? Why have steps not been taken to protect the magical community from the murderous impulses of Muggles such as this one?

Mr Malfoy speaks for many wizards and witches who are uncomfortable with the shackles placed on them by the Ministry and demand the right to protect themselves and their families. How many more helpless young witches have to die before action is taken. We at the
Prophet demand that this barbaric killer is brought to justice immediately and that changes are made in the law that the honest people of the Wizarding world can defend themselves from Muggle aggression.

For further coverage see pages 2, 3, 4, and 8.


“Does anyone believe this pile of unicorn shit?” Howell demanded as soon as he had finished reading.

“How can the killer be a Muggle? The murders were committed in Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley! A Muggle wouldn’t even be able to see those places!” Sonia pointed out in an exasperated voice.

“It seems a bit of a coincidence that Draco bloody Malfoy just happened to be available to provide a statement as well,” Susan noted.

“What do we know about this Draco Malfoy?” Harry asked. “I crossed swords with Lucius Malfoy a number of times, but I know nothing about his son.”

“He’s a worm,” Susan said with heat. “A sneering, pompous arse who is convinced of his own superiority over everyone just because his family have been a bunch of inbreeds for centuries. At Hogwarts he was a cowardly bully who relied on his followers to fight his battles for him, and his daddy’s name to get him out of trouble when his mouth ran away from him.”

“As much as I hated him, Lucius was a dangerous foe,” Harry noted.

“Draco isn’t half the wizard his father was, he just thinks he is,” Susan snorted. “He’s a petty, vindictive, little bastard who only escaped Azkaban because he was hiding in a deep, dark hole during the final battle against Voldemort.”

“He is a sneakily little git though,” Ginny pointed out. “Trying to profit from these murders is exactly the sort of thing he would do.”

“Sounds like you both have a high opinion of Mr Malfoy junior,” Harry noted with a smile.

“I think anyone who wasn’t a Slytherin at Hogwarts hated him,” Susan noted. “I believe Ginny here may have been responsible for hexing him a few times.”

“He hated my family,” Ginny explained. “A light pure-blood family was always going to be a target for him. He tried all sorts of nasty little schemes to get me and my brothers into trouble. That’s the way he works; he plots and plans, but he never does anything that would put himself in danger if he can help it.”

“I’d put every Galleon I owned on Draco being behind this letter,” Susan agreed. “I bet he bribed the journalist to print it as if it was fact, as well.”

“We need to squash this now,” Harry said flatly. “We can’t afford to have some pure-blood idiot hijacking the investigation for his own means. We need to prove that this letter is a fake.”

“But how?” Susan objected. “Everything in the letter is true. Admittedly, all the facts could easily been pulled out of the previous day’s Prophet, but the public won’t care about that. Even as we speak I bet ‘The Executioner’ is being written into folk lore!”

Harry looked thoughtful for a minute before a smile came onto his face.

“Oh, I know that expression!” Susan announced. “You’re either going to do something incredibly stupid or incredibly sneaky. Which is it, Potter?”

“Sneaky,” Harry confirmed. “The information in the letter was all factual as far as it went, or at least Draco thinks it is. We’re going to convince him that there was an error which he will desperately try to correct.”

The gathered Aurors all looked at him speculatively.

“Okay, here’s what we are going to do. Howell and Sonia, go and pull in this Babcock bloke who wrote this article. Tell him we know it’s a fake and hint we have evidence to prove it. Suggest that unless we receive full co-operation we’re going to have a sudden desire to start a new investigation into bribes paid to the press. Promise him that as long as he just agrees to be shadowed for a day or so we’ll look the other way this time. Susan and Ginny, the three of us are going to visit Mr Malfoy. I’m afraid that as an inexperienced Auror, Ginny, you’re going to let something slip that you shouldn’t. Hopefully, Draco will then run to his pet journalist and we can nab him.”

“But how are we going to convince Malfoy that there was something wrong with the letter?” Susan demanded.

“Simple,” Harry explained. “We lie through our teeth.”

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

As he, Susan and Ginny Apparated to the outskirts of the Malfoy estate, Harry suppressed a shudder. He’d been to this place before, late in the war when he’d been hunting Voldemort. In the end, the final battle had occurred in the Atrium of the Ministry itself, but the fight that had occurred in the grounds of Malfoy Manor had been bad enough. He’d lost some good friends here.

With the two witches flanking him on either side, Harry marched to the front gates of the estate and rang the bell. A few seconds later, a harassed-looking house-elf appeared and Harry demanded to see Malfoy. The elf vanished for a few minutes and then reappeared stating it had instructions to escort them to its master.

They were shown to an extremely elaborate reception room and informed that Draco Malfoy would be with them shortly. Harry stood and took in his surroundings with interest. He’d never seen so much gold-leaf used in decorating a room before and idly wondered if they’d been put in this room to prove a point. Judging by the deep frown on Ginny’s face, she didn’t approve of the décor at all.

After a sizable and rather predictable wait, the door opened and Draco Malfoy made his grand entrance. He was dressed in the finest silk robes, which were covered in exquisite decoration and were tailored to the highest standards. His hair looked like he had spent all morning in a salon and he smelt of expensive cologne. The expression on his face was one of such self-centred smugness that Harry had to restrain himself from slapping the man.

“Well, well, well,” Draco said with barely disguised contempt. “I am honoured. I’d expected a visit from the Auror Department, but I hadn’t expected ‘the Chosen One’ himself. Shame you had to befoul my property by bringing these other two wenches, but never mind.”

“I think we can do without the insults, Mr Malfoy,” Harry said sharply. “I assume that by your last comment you know why we’re here?”

“But of course,” Draco replied in a haughty voice. “I had been expecting agents of the corrupt Ministry to turn up ever since I spoke the truth in this morning’s paper. So what are your intensions, Potter? Do you think that by turning up at my home you will intimidate me to withdraw my comments? I think you’ll find I’m made of sterner stuff! It will take more than a few Aurors invading my privacy to prevent me exposing your lies!”

“I’m sorry, Mr Malfoy,” Harry said in a calm voice, “but I rather think you’ve got hold of the wrong end of the stick. We’re here to investigate the fake letter published by the Prophet this morning and track down the instigator. Whoever he, or she, is we fully intend to prosecute them for interfering in a murder investigation.”

“How typical,” Draco sneered. “Instantly assuming that the letter is a fake! Where’s your proof, Potter?”

“Oh, that’s not in the slightest doubt,” Susan said, joining the conversation. “The letter contains a glaring factual error that the real killer would have known.”

“What! But I carefully checked its contents against the press release! Err… just to establish it was authentic, of course,” Draco said. The arrogant sneer had left his face for the moment.

“Oh, it would have matched the press release,” Harry confirmed. “It’s standard policy in cases such as this to include a piece of misinformation in statements released to the press. That way if we do get some crackpot trying to claim responsibility, such as in this case, we can easily identify them easily.”

“What?” exclaimed Draco. “You mean part of what the press have printed is lies?”

“Can you really imagine trying to cut someone’s heart out with a tiny little knife?” snorted Ginny.

“Weasley!” Harry growled. “That’s classified information!”

“Sorry, sir,” Ginny apologised, looking contrite.

“Anyway,” Harry continued, sounding rather annoyed, “as you will gather, the true murderer would have known the real type of knife used, so this letter is obviously a fake. In view of the great concern you showed, I wanted to assure you personally that this fabrication is no cause for worry.”

“Thank you, Auror Potter,” said Draco, sounding a little sick. Harry mentally smirked to himself. Draco was clearly no match for his father in playing these types of games.

“I’m glad to have cleared this matter up,” Harry replied offering a polite smile. With a gesture he indicated for Ginny and Susan to take their leave. Just as they were nearly through the door Draco called out to them.

“I’m still concerned that these attacks are directed at the pure-blood community,” the blond haired man called. “You will keep me informed of developments, won’t you?”

“I’m afraid all information pertaining to the case will be strictly top secret,” Harry said spreading his hands apologetically. “Should we find any evidence that these murders are racially motivated against pure-bloods we will, of course, take the necessary steps to protect those at risk. Good afternoon, Mr Malfoy.”

Harry turned and walked rapidly out of the room before Draco could speak again. The three Aurors left the house and walked to the perimeter of the property in complete silence. It was only after they had Apparated back to the Ministry did they turn to face each other.

“That slimy little git,” Susan raged. “Calling us ‘wenches’ indeed.”

“Yeah, but the plan worked perfectly,” Ginny said happily. “The idiot nearly blurted out he wrote the letter! What a prat!”

“Well, the trap is baited,” Harry agreed. “Let’s see if Mr Malfoy is stupid enough to walk into it.”

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Severa l hours later, a rather agitated young man made his way through the offices of the Daily Prophet. He had been back here many times before and knew exactly where he was going.

Soon he arrived at a door marked ‘Trevor Babcock — Senior News Correspondent’ which he threw open and entered without knocking. The middle-aged, slightly overweight man sat behind the desk in the office looked up in surprise.

“Mr Malfoy!” the man exclaimed. “You shouldn’t be here. If anyone see’s you here…”

“Never mind that, Babcock,” Draco snapped. “You’ve made me look a bloody fool!”

“What?” Babcock exclaimed. “How? I’ve done nothing that would reflect badly on you, Mr Malfoy, I assure you.”

“Don’t play games with me,” Draco snarled. “The Aurors know that the letter from the murderer was a fake. They all but bloody accused me of writing it, as well!”

“But how could they know?” Babcock stuttered. “There was nothing in that letter which could have proved who it came from either way.”

“Apparently, the Aurors put duff information in their press releases as standard procedure purposely to stop this sort of thing happening,” Draco yelled. “So I have to ask myself, are you too incompetent to know this, or were you trying to set me up?”

“Set you up? Never! I’d never do such a thing, Mr Malfoy,” Babcock pleaded.

“Damn it, Babcock! What use are you to me if you don’t know this sort of thing? I pay you good money to be my voice in the press and I’m not getting my money’s worth!” Draco was angry now. He slammed his fist down onto Babcock’s desk. “You need to sort this mess out now.”

“But how?” Babcock asked. “If the Aurors know that the letter is a fake, what can we do?”

“Apparently, the knife used in the attacks wasn’t a Muggle scalpel; we can use that. Maybe we can write another letter saying the first was just a test to throw the authorities off? No, that doesn’t sound right,” Draco mused. “How about we just claim it was a misprint?”

“Err, I’m not sure that would work,” Babcock said hesitantly.

“No, maybe not,” Draco agreed with a frown. “Well, you think of something! I was gaining some useful political support thanks to that stupid letter; I’m damned if I’m throwing that away. Maybe if I write another letter exactly the same just changing the details of the murder weapon and you swop it with the original. I’ve still got the first draft of the letter so it won’t be hard to change…”

He was so wrapped up trying to think of ways to salvage his plan that he didn’t notice a dark-haired, female Auror emerge from underneath an Invisibility Cloak directly behind him.

Draco Malfoy’s political aspirations were about to take a large blow.

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