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bottom_dracoTitle: What Really Happened
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
flaminia_x
Prompt: PROMPT #22
Adapted from: Clue
Pairing: Harry/Draco
Word Count: ~7300
Rating: PG
Contains (Highlight to view): *None except for a rather AU-ish setting*
Disclaimer: Harry Potter characters are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No profit is being made, and no copyright infringement is intended. Clue characters and dialogue are the property of Paramount Pictures and all the associated peoples, whomever they may be. Still no profit made, no copyright infringement is intended.
Notes: I love Clue, and this was seriously the only prompt I wanted to write. Thanks so much for letting me play around with this!! I know it’s not entirely romance- or relationship-heavy, and there’s just no porn, so my apologies for that, but it just wouldn’t shoehorn itself into the movie plot. Also, large portions of dialogue are taken straight from the movie, so please to be considering this as part fanfic, part homage to one of my favorite movies! And thanks to this site for providing me with the entire script to the movie as a starting point! All changes to the movie are my own.
Summary: Harry and a group of Slytherins are invited to a mysterious dinner with a mysterious man at Malfoy Manor, but only Draco’s butler, Wadsworth, seems to know what is going on …
What Really Happened
The butler stepped briskly down the hallway of Malfoy Manor, heading toward the library. Hearing the lively strains of Celestina Warbeck, he paused and shook his head before entering.
“Is everything ready, Gabrielle?” he asked. “You have your instructions?”
“Oui, monsieur,” she replied, polishing the glassware.
“Very well, then,” he said. “Carry on.” Spinning on his heel, he left, headed for the kitchens hastily. There wasn’t much time.
“Is everything ready, Miss Cho?” he inquired.
Cho turned around quickly, startled. Her newly sharpened knife pointed at the butler’s throat, causing him to jump back in alarm. “Dinner will be ready at 7:30, sir,” she said.
Just then, the doorbell rang. Gulping, he replied, “Er, good, good. I’ll just go attend to the door.”
Walking quickly to the foyer, the butler opened the door. “Good evening, sir!” he said jovially.
“Good evening,” a man said from the front step. “I’m –”
“Yes, sir, Mr. Zabini, you are expected. May I take your robe?” the butler asked pleasantly.
Blaise Zabini nodded imperiously and stepped inside, handing the butler his dark green traveling robe. “Don’t recall seeing you here before, Mr …”
“Wadsworth, sir,” the butler responded. “I am Mr. Malfoy’s new butler. Now, if you’ll come with me to the library.”
Opening the door, he showed Blaise into the Malfoy library. “Gabrielle, if you would be so kind to attend to Mr. Zabini. Give him anything he requires – within reason, that is.”
The doorbell rang again. “Please excuse me.” Closing the doors behind him, Wadsworth walked quickly off toward the front door again.
On the front step stood a woman dressed entirely in black. “Do come in, Ms. Parkinson,” Wadsworth said.
Pansy Parkinson sniffed once, looking down her nose at the butler. “And just how do you know who I am?”
“Because you are expected,” Wadsworth replied smoothly, helping her out of her robes, lined with white ermine. “Just this way toward the library.”
He opened the door, bowing at her to enter ahead of him. “Ms. Parkinson, may I introduce you to Gabrielle, our maid? And I believe you may recall Mr. Zabini.”
As he left the room, Pansy sniffed again in Gabrielle’s direction, but greeted Blaise a bit more personally. “Hello,” she said.
“Hello, yourself,” he replied.
The library door opened again a moment later. Wadsworth escorted in a young blonde woman. “Ms. Greengrass, may I present to you Mr. Zabini and Ms. Parkinson.”
Astoria Greengrass walked haughtily in, allowing Blaise to shake her gloved hand and staring disapprovingly at Gabrielle’s décolletage.
The doorbell rang once more.
“Really, Wadsworth, old chap,” Blaise drawled, “surely Draco could afford a house elf these days?”
“There is nothing shameful about service,” Wadsworth replied calmly, “and the exercise does me good. Excuse me once more.”
Opening the front door, his eyes widened the tiniest of fractions before his normal calm and professional demeanour settled onto his face. “Welcome, Mr. Potter,” he said.
“Thank you,” Harry Potter replied. “I was afraid I might run a bit late in this weather.”
“We have been expecting you, sir,” Wadsworth said.
Just then, two small cracks of Apparation signaled the arrival of the last of the guests.
“Ah, very good,” Wadsworth said. “Ms. Davis, Mr. Nott, please, do come in.”
A moment later, he opened the door to the library, escorting them in. “May I present Ms. Davis, Mr. Nott, and Mr. Potter.”
The group turned around to look at Harry suspiciously. Harry flushed slightly and took a glass of wine from Gabrielle gratefully. Just then, the cook rang a loud gong, signalling that dinner was ready. Harry jumped, spilling a bit of wine onto Astoria.
“Oh, uh, here, hold on, allow me to clean that up for you …” he said anxiously.
“I suppose I am glad to see that little has changed, Mr. Potter,” she whispered scathingly, moving away from his fumbling hands.
“Dinner is ready,” Wadsworth announced, and led the lot of them to the dining room.
Harry found himself seated next to an empty place at the table. “Mr. Wadsworth, here, is this for you?”
“Oh, no sir,” Wadsworth answered. “I am merely a humble butler.”
Looking around and realizing the rest of the table was staring at him, Harry soldiered on. “And, uh, what does that mean?”
Wadsworth drew himself up straight. “I buttle, sir.”
“Well, butler,” Pansy said. “What, exactly, are we all here for?”
“Ours is not to reason why …” Wadsworth said under his breath.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that,” Theo said blandly, staring at the butler.
“Nothing, sir,” Wadsworth said. “Nothing important, anyway.”
“So who is the empty chair for, then, if not for you?” Harry asked.
“For our seventh guest, Mr. Boddy,” Wadsworth answered.
“Who?” Blaise and Astoria asked in tandem.
“Don’t remember anyone by that name from Hogwarts,” Tracey Davis said.
“It is of little concern now,” Wadsworth said. “Please, eat while it’s hot.”
“Are you sure we shouldn’t wait for Mr. Boddy, then?” Harry asked.
Gabrielle clucked her tongue. “Don’t worry, I will keep something warm for him.”
“I bet you will,” Pansy said bitingly, staring at the tiny maid’s outfit the blonde was wearing.
“Please, go ahead,” Wadsworth said.
The guests sat at the table, eating in silence. Occasionally the former Slytherins whispered to their neighbors, but Harry was pointedly ignored. Awkwardly he slurped his soup, earning withering stares from his dinner companions. Shrugging, he slouched down in his chair.
Gabrielle opened the door to the dining room with a crash, coinciding with a peal of thunder outside. Harry jumped again, splashing Tracey with the last of his wine.
“Oh, I’m so sorry, I just – the noise, and – here, let me get that,” he stammered, trying to clean up after himself.
Tracey whispered a quiet incantation, waving a dainty wand in a cigarette holder and vanishing the mess. “Please, Potter. Sit back before you hurt yourself.”
“Right,” Harry said quietly. “So, what have you been up to since Hogwarts, then?”
Tracey looked askance at him, then looked around at the rest of the table. Blaise smiled predatorily, setting down his fork, while Pansy sniggered into her napkin.
“Are you claiming not to know of my … line of work, Potter?” she said smoothly, sitting back and crossing her legs.
Harry shook his head, chewing. “No, I don’t really know what, uh, any of you have been up to, actually.”
Tracey smiled, revealing two rows of sharp, small teeth. “I, Potter, run the biggest escort service in wizarding Britain.”
Harry coughed. “Is that –”
“Legal?” Tracy asked innocently. “Not hardly. But surely big bad Auror Potter won’t turn in an old school chum.” She laughed and re-crossed her legs.
Harry blushed, turning away. “What about you, Theo?”
Theo finished chewing and dabbed at the corner of his mouth before replying. “I’m a Healer now, actually.”
“Oh? What discipline?” Harry asked.
“Mind healing,” Theo replied, picking up his fork. “But in case you were thinking of signing up for an appointment – don’t deny it, you could probably use it, from what I hear – I’m not currently practicing.”
“You should,” Blaise said under his breath. “Practice makes perfect.”
“Shut it,” Theo said easily. “I decided to leave private practice to work for the Ministry – department of national wizarding health and welfare, to be precise. I’m in administration now. And since you piped up, why don’t you share next?”
“Fine,” Blaise said. ”I’m an Unspeakable.”
“You are?” Harry asked. “I don’t recall seeing you around the Auror Division much. What are you working on?”
“Silly Potter,” Blaise said almost fondly. “I’m an Unspeakable. I can’t speak about it.”
“Right,” Harry gritted his teeth. “And I suppose the rest of you can’t share either?”
“There’s not much to say,” Pansy said condescendingly. “Astoria and I married well. Unlike some.”
“Indeed,” Astoria averred. “And we all know what you do, Potter.”
“That’s Head Auror Potter to the likes of you,” Theo said, earning himself a glare from across the table.
The door to the dining room swung open again. Wadsworth and a mysterious dark-haired man walked in.
“Ladies and gentlemen, may I present Mr. Boddy,” Wadsworth said, showing the other man to the empty chair.
Mr. Boddy walked over to the chair and slouched down into it arrogantly, pinching Gabrielle’s bum when she handed him a glass of wine.
“Well, well, our host finally deigns to appear,” Pansy snarked. “Care to tell us exactly what is going on, or do we get to guess?”
Wadsworth moved over next to the table. “Actually, I might be able to help there. I believe we all received an owl recently, no? Mine carried a note saying It will be to your advantage to be present on this date because a Mr. Boddy will bring to an end a certain long-standing confidential and painful financial liability. It was signed ‘a friend’.”
“I got the same owl,” Harry said. Tracey and Blaise nodded, while the others murmured anxiously amongst themselves.
Gabrielle returned with a bowl of soup.
“No thanks, Gabby, babe,” Mr. Boddy said, waving her away nonchalantly.
“Wait, so you know her?” Harry asked.
“Sure,” the dark-haired man said easily. “Don’t we, luv?”
Gabrielle recoiled and went to return the soup to the kitchen.
“Well, since it appears we are all finished in here, might I suggest that we retire to the study for coffee and brandy? Perhaps then we will find out why we are all actually here,” Wadsworth suggested.
Standing, Mr. Boddy strode forcefully out of the dining room, the guests slowly following.
Once the guests were ensconced in the study with brandy, Wadsworth cleared his throat. “If I might have your attention,” he stated. “Ladies and gentlemen, this parchment will reveal what it is that we all have in common.”
Tapping the parchment with his wand, he spoke a quiet spell and stood back as handwriting scrawled across its surface.
“Hmmph. Parlor tricks,” Mr. Boddy said. “I’m leaving. Anyone else with me?”
“I’m sorry, sir,” Wadsworth said loudly. “I’m afraid I cannot allow you to leave this house.”
Thunder pealed loudly outside, causing Harry once more to jump.
“Oh? And I suppose you think you can stop me, eh, butler?” Mr. Boddy sneered. Placing his brandy on the end table, he rose to leave, but the door to the study slammed shut.
“Yes, I can,” Wadsworth said calmly. “There is no way out. Anti-apparition charms have been placed about the premises, and the doors and windows will only respond to my Unlocking Charms.”
“This is an outrage!” Pansy cried.
“You have no right to hold us prisoner here, butler,” Blaise said warningly, the other Slytherins murmuring darkly in agreement.
“Ladies and gentlemen, please!” Wadsworth shouted. “Please, return to the study. I promise you, everything will be explained there.”
Slowly, the lot of them shuffled into the study, confused and angry. Once they were all seated, Wadsworth passed around the brandy again. “Now,” he continued. “Ladies and gentlemen, we all have one very important thing in common. You are all being blackmailed!”
A collective gasp went up from around the room, Blaise looking darkly at Harry, who almost lost control of his snifter.
“For some time, all of you have been paying what you can afford,” Wadsworth said.
“Some more than others, then,” Theo said sotto voce.
“Indeed,” Wadsworth continued. “In some cases, quite considerably more than what you can afford. But no one knows who it is that is blackmailing you, do you?”
“I quite simply have no idea what you are on about,” Astoria said icily. “My life is an open book. There is nothing that anyone could hold against me.”
No one else said a word, instead staring in turn at their brandy or at the wall.
“Quite,” Wadsworth said. “In the interest of full disclosure –”
“Wait a just a minute, butler,” Pansy interrupted. “Surely there is no need to reveal all of our secrets.”
“I’m sorry, but such are my instructions,” Wadsworth said. “Now, Healer Nott, you are trained in mind healing. Did you not specialize in helping the paranoid, homicidal, and those suffering from delusions of grandeur?”
“Yes, but now I work for the Ministry,” Theo snarked.
“I see,” Wadsworth said. “So, nothing has changed, then. But you did not choose to leave private practice – you were forced out, were you not?”
“Tsk, tsk, Theo, whatever did you do?” Astoria asked, a spiteful smile on her lips.
“He did what licensed doctors are not allowed to do with their female patients,” Wadsworth explained delicately.
“Theo!” Pansy cried, while Blaise smirked and raised his snifter in Nott’s direction.
“How crude,” Astoria said quietly, wetting her lips with brandy.
“Perhaps you should not pass moral judgments, Ms. Greengrass,” Wadsworth said. “Given that you are here because your husband, Miles Bletchley, is only a member of the Wizengamot because you accepted bribes on his behalf!”
“Well, well,” Theo said with a sneer. “Our little girl’s grown up.”
“It’s a vicious lie,” Astoria said, her face paling. “I’ve only paid to keep that story out of the papers. It’s hard to remove the taint of suspicion, as well you know.”
“I believe you, Astoria,” Pansy said haughtily. “I, too, am being blackmailed for something I didn’t do.”
Harry and Blaise nodded. “Me too,” they said in tandem.
“Not me,” Tracey said throatily, taking a large swallow of her brandy.
“What?” Harry asked. “You’re not being blackmailed? But –”
“Oh, no, Potter,” Tracey chuckled. “I’m being blackmailed, but I definitely did what I am being blackmailed for.”
“Oh,” Harry said, remembering their earlier conversation. “Right.”
“You didn’t seem surprised to hear about that earlier, Blaise,” Tracey said.
“Word gets around, Davis,” Blaise drawled.
“Oh, and here I just thought he was one of your … clients,” Astoria said, looking over at Blaise.
“Hardly,” Blaise said disdainfully, shuddering.
“That’s not a no,” Pansy smirked.
“Yes it is,” Blaise replied.
“Yes, it’s a no, or yes, it’s a yes?” Theo needled.
“Yes, it’s a no!” Blaise growled.
Wadsworth exclaimed, “That’s a double negative! I think. At the very least, it’s proof positive. I’m afraid you gave yourself away.”
“Are you trying to make me look stupid in front of the others?” Blaise asked.
“You need little help from me, sir,” Wadsworth responded.
“Damn right,” Blaise said, then winced as he realized what he said. In the corner, Pansy stifled a snigger.
“And you, Ms. Parkinson,” Wadsworth said, whirling toward her. “You’ve been paying this blackmailer ever since your late husband died under rather mysterious circumstances.”
Tracey laughed, swirling her brandy. “Didja kill him, Pansy?” she asked coarsely.
“I most certainly did not!” Pansy said, drawing herself up.
“Then why are you paying the blackmailer?” Blaise asked.
“I dislike scandal,” Pansy sniffed. “We had a very … public confrontation. But he wasn’t well, you see. Could have benefited from Theo over there, perhaps. He had threatened to kill me in public.”
“Why would he want to kill you in public?” Astoria asked.
“I think she means he said, in public, that he wanted to kill her,” Theo said quietly.
Astoria blushed and looked away.
“What was his line of work?” Theo asked.
“Potions,” Pansy said. “One of the top Potioneers for St. Mungo’s actually. Found dead at home, all the important bits lying on the floor.”
Harry and Blaise both winced and crossed their legs.
“At least I have a little bit more time on my hands now that his were cut off,” she said nonchalantly.
“Wasn’t he your second husband?” Wadsworth asked.
“My first disappeared one day,” Pansy said.
“And never came back?” Harry asked.
“He never was very good at Apparation,” Pansy sighed. “I assume he splinched himself into non-existence – not even a single hair of him left.”
Harry stood up, restless. “I, uh, I have something to say. No sense in waiting for him to out me, so to speak. You all know who I am, you know I’m Head Auror now. And I’m … gay.”
Pansy snorted indelicately.
“I have no problems with it,” Harry hastened to add. “I’m fine with it, there’s no drama, all my friends are alright with it. I just, uh, don’t know whether or not the Ministry would have a problem with it, and I don’t want to butt heads with Kingsley right now – oh, I didn’t mean it that way, Zabini – and, yeah, I just don’t want to risk any problems at work.”
Everyone merely glanced at him with expressions of boredom.
“Right,” Harry said. “Thank you.” He sat down again on the edge of the couch self-consciously.
“Well, that just leaves Mr. Boddy, here,” Theo said.
“What’s your secret, strange man?” Pansy added.
“His secret?” Wadsworth said. “Oh, has no one guessed? He’s your blackmailer!”
“Bastard!” Blaise snarled, lunging for him. Astoria’s grip on her brandy tightened, and Pansy’s lips compressed into a tight line. Tracey growled low in her throat and stood. Walking over to him, she kneed him straight in the bollocks.
“Oi, Tracey, really?” Harry asked.
Wadsworth clapped his hands twice, loud enough to startle everyone. “Listen, everyone. I’ve called for the Aurors – they’ll be here soon.”
Harry grimaced and ran a hand over his face.
“Perhaps if you all told the Aurors your stories of blackmail, they might be able to press charges,” Wadsworth said. “After all, we have our memories – surely the Wizengamot would convict him on Pensieve testimony.”
Harry shook his head. “Inadmissible, sorry – too easily manipulated.”
Mr. Boddy stood up. Waving his wand, he whispered a quick Accio and several boxes flew into his hands. “Ladies and gentlemen,” he said, handing the boxes out to each of the guests, “who can guess what’s in these?”
“Evidence against us?” Theo said darkly.
Tracey smiled. “I don’t mind … gifts … from strange men.”
Each one of them opened their box. In each was a wand.
Mr. Boddy continued. “Each of those wands has a peculiar feature. Each will cast one Unforgiveable, completely untraceable by any known magical means. Now, if you turn me over to the Aurors, you all risk being exposed. Denounced. Humiliated in public. But if one of you kills old Wadsworth here, no one but us will ever know. He is the one, as you may remember, who has locked you in here, and he won’t let you go unless you turn me in. So. You have a decision to make. One of you kill him and we can all leave, or turn me and risk losing everything you’ve ever worked for. Your choice.”
Sitting down again in his chair with a snifter of brandy, he smiled cruelly, then shouted, “Nox!”
Instantly, the room was completely dark. Somewhere, someone whispered something, and a flash of green light permeated the darkness.
Someone else called “Lumos!” When the lights returned, Astoria shrieked. Mr. Boddy lay dead on the floor.
“Let me through!” Theo called, racing over to check the man. “He’s dead,” he whispered dumbfoundedly.
“But who did it?” Tracey asked.
“Dunno, but it wasn’t me,” Harry said.
Just then, a scream echoed from a different room. The group looked wide-eyed at one another, then raced out of the study, leaving Mr. Boddy laying on the floor.
“Gabrielle!” Harry called. “What if the murderer is in there with her?”
“But I thought the murderer was one of us?” Astoria asked confusedly.
“Never mind, just open the door!” Harry shouted.
Gabrielle opened the door. “You – you daft lot!”
“What? Is the murderer in here?” Theo asked.
“Yes!” Gabrielle said. “Well, now he is. Or she!”
“Explain yourself,” Wadsworth said.
“Well, one of you must be the murderer, and you are all in here with me now!” Gabrielle said, lip trembling. “I am so frightened!”
“Come back with us to the study,” Blaise said, tucking the smaller girl under his arm and grazing her bum with his hand.
“This is just terrible,” Wadsworth mumbled. “This is not what I had planned.”
Harry overheard and walked a bit closer.
“Wait, what you had planned? I thought you were the butler! Isn’t this Mr. Boddy’s plan?” Tracey demanded.
“I am a butler,” Wadsworth said. “I am not the butler.”
“I wondered when Draco had hired you,” Pansy mused. “You weren’t here last time.”
“Be that as it may,” Wadsworth continued, “I was the one that invited you. Mr. Boddy was blackmailing me, as well, you see. I brought you here so that together, we could undo him.”
“What could he possibly blackmail a butler over?” Theo mused.
“I, too, am a homosexual,” Wadsworth said, “and Mr. Boddy, my former employer, did not approve of my last partner. Thought he would bring shame on the household. The price we paid to allow our relationship to continue was that we worked, unpaid, for years. We were no better than house elves. My partner … ended his own life as a result of his torment.”
“Dreadful,” Pansy murmured.
“So I thought the best thing to do would be to collect all of his victims in one place, call the authorities, turn him, and see justice done,” Wadsworth continued.
“But what do we do now? We don’t know which one of us killed him!” Blaise said.
“We had better find out in the next hour, before the Aurors arrive,” Wadsworth said.
“But how? If we can’t trace the spell or the wand, how will we know which one of you did it?” Theo asked.
“One of you?” Pansy asked. “You’re still in this muck too, Nott.”
“None of us are going to admit it,” Harry said. “But it sure as Fiendfyre wasn’t me.”
“Maybe it wasn’t one of us, after all?” Astoria asked. “Is there no one else left in the house?”
“The cook!” Wadsworth cried, leading them all to the kitchen.
“But where did she go?” Tracey asked.
Harry looked around briefly, then walked over to the freezer. When he opened the door, the cook’s body tumbled out, but with a dagger protruding from her back.
Pansy stifled a scream.
“Quick, help me lay her down,” Harry gasped, struggling under the weight. “No, don’t touch the knife,” he yelled at Blaise, who had reached out to yank the knife out. “It’s evidence.”
“But what kind of witch or wizard stabs someone? It’s so … Muggle,” Astoria pointed out. “So uncouth.”
“And if we all have Untraceable wands, then why not just use them instead?” Pansy asked.
“Because they were both killed by the same person,” Theo said grimly. “Wand can only be used once, remember?”
“Maybe, Nott,” Harry said, looking up at him with narrowed eyes. “Maybe. But who would want to kill the cook?”
“Not me,” Tracey snorted. “The soup was actually pretty decent.”
“Classy, Davis,” Pansy commented darkly. “Better watch out, someone might just kill you over your bad jokes.” Noticing the glares everyone was giving her, she continued. “Not me, of course.”
“Are you sure? Not you, I mean?” Astoria asked. “How many husbands have you had, anyway?”
“Mine, or other women’s?” Pansy responded, eyes flashing.
“Your own will do to start,” Astoria said.
“Five,” Pansy said.
“Five?” Blaise asked. “Blimey, Pans.”
“Just the five,” Pansy responded. “Husbands should be like dress robes. Soft, strong, and interchangeable to suit the occasion.”
“You lure husbands to their death like a spider with flies,” Theo criticized.
“Flies are where men are their most vulnerable,” Pansy rejoindered.
“Ladies and gentlemen, this isn’t helping,” Wadsworth said. “Let’s take Cho’s body to the study. It will help keep things … tidier … that way.”
As they made their way back to the study, Theo, who was carrying her feet, suddenly dropped her to the ground with a thud. “The body’s gone!”
“No, you dolt, she’s right here,” Blaise grumbled, struggling with the sudden extra weight.
“No, Mr. Boddy’s body! It’s gone,” Theo said.
“But you said he was dead!” Harry exclaimed.
“Hey, I’m a Mind Healer, remember?” Theo snapped.
“Guess we should have cut his bits off too. You know, to make sure he was dead,” Tracey said, looking sideways at Pansy.
“Uncalled-for, you cow,” Pansy said under her breath.
“Wait a mo,” Harry said. “If Mr. Boddy wasn’t dead, then he could have killed Cho.”
“Brilliant, Potter,” Astoria said. “For once something you said makes sense. But then where did he go afters?”
“Maybe he went to the loo,” Tracey said. “Speaking of which, Gabrielle, do you have one around here?”
“Oui, right down this hall,” the maid responded.
“No thanks, I just want to wash my hands,” Tracey replied, smirking at Gabrielle’s confused expression. But when she opened the door, Mr. Boddy tumbled out at her feet.
At her scream, the other guests came running.
“Merlin, he’s dead again,” Wadsworth said. “Look – his head is all bloody.”
“What kind of wizard bashes someone over the head?” Blaise asked. “Isn’t that overkill?”
“It must be the same killer – they used their wand for the first spell, and then killed the Muggle way the other two times,” Pansy said.
“No, that doesn’t make sense any more, because no one killed Mr. Boddy with a spell,” Harry said. “All of our wands are still unused.”
“Oh, Merlin, that’s it,” Tracey breathed. “That way we can’t tell who it is, because unless more than one of us used the Unforgivable spell on our wand, the killer would have the only wand that had been used.”
“Good thinking, Tracey,” Harry said, slipping into Auror mode. “We’re back at square one.”
Together, they moved Mr. Boddy and Cho into the study, maneuvering them both into position on the sofa.
“Look, Wadsworth, are we all accounted for?” Blaise said, pouring everyone a stiff drink. “Is there anyone else in the house?”
“No,” Wadsworth said.
“No, we aren’t all accounted for, or no, there isn’t anyone else in the house?” Theo questioned.
“Yes,” Wadsworth replied.
“Yes to which?” Theo persisted.
“Sorry, I meant yes, meaning no,” Wadsworth answered.
“Butler! I want a straight answer. Is there someone else here, or isn’t there, yes or no?” Blaise shouted.
“No,” Wadsworth said.
“No, there is someone else here, or no, there isn’t?” Blaise said, frustrated.
“Yes,” Wadsworth replied.
“Oh, shut up, the lot of you!” Pansy said. “The Aurors will be here in about half an hour, and we are no closer to having anything reasonable to tell them.”
“And the old butler here won’t give us a straight answer about whether there’s anyone else in the house, so I say we split up and search the Manor,” Theo said decisively.
“Yes, pairs,” Harry said automatically.
“But wait, what about the person who gets paired up with the murderer?” Astoria said.
“And then we’ll know who the murderer is!” Theo replied.
“Yes, and that will be great news for the newly deceased,” Pansy snarked.
“Casualties are inevitable. You cannot make an omelet without breaking a few eggs,” Theo said.
“And have you seen our cook lately?” Tracey scoffed.
“We don’t have a choice,” Harry continued.
“But I am afraid of the dark,” Gabrielle said, frightened. “Who will go with me upstairs?”
Blaise and Theo each moved closer to her, saying “I will” in tandem. Harry and Wadsworth both answered, “No, thank you.”
“Okay, pair up according to height,” Harry said. “I’ll go with Wadsworth. Send out flares – from your own wand, please – if you find anything or if you’re in distress. Do not, under any circumstances, use the Unforgivable wands.”
“Wait, about the wands,” Theo said. “Why don’t we all leave them here? That way no one could accidentally use them.”
“Or kill anyone with them,” Pansy said.
“Good idea. Wadsworth, do you have some sort of trunk or chest, anything we can lock?” Harry asked.
“Certainly, right here in the study,” Wadsworth said. Leading them back into the room, he opened a chest. “Wands in here, please, quickly.”
Everyone placed the wands that Mr. Boddy had given them into the chest. Wadsworth closed it, then pulled out his own regular wand.
“Hey, why are you the one who gets to lock up the wands?” Blaise asked. “Then you could get to them at any point.”
“But I’m not the murderer,” Wadsworth explained.
“We don’t know that,” Pansy said.
“Fine. I’ll lock it,” Harry said.
“No deal, Potter,” Theo said.
“Well, then, what do we do?” Blaise asked. “None of us trust each other.”
“Let Wadsworth do it. He’s already got us locked in this bloody Manor, at least if anything happens we know exactly who it is,” Astoria said.
Before anyone else could register a complaint, Wadsworth had pulled out a key and quickly locked the chest. “Look, a Muggle key. No magic. I’ll even toss it out the front door. That way no one is at a greater advantage than another.”
“Fine,” Tracey said. “Let’s go.”
But as they opened the door to throw out the key, they heard the distinct crack of Apparation, and suddenly Auror Robards was on the doorstep.
“Good evening, folks,” he greeted them. “Did someone request some assistance?”
A chorus of “No”s erupted at the same time as Astoria and Harry said “Yes.”
“There seems to be some kind of disagreement,” Robards noticed. “Is everything alright?”
At his perplexed look, Wadsworth stepped forward. “Do come in, Auror! Please, right this way.”
“Alright, there, Harry?” Robards asked, cocking an eyebrow at him.
“Uh, yes, sir,” Harry responded, confused by Wadsworth’s behavior. “Just having a friendly get-together, sir.”
“Can I ask why you called me here tonight?” Robards continued.
“Loud noise,” Wadsworth improvised. “Thought there might be a burglar. Can I interest you in some brandy?”
“No thank you,” Robards said. “Not while on duty. Now, you said you heard a noise?”
“It was probably nothing,” Harry said, everyone else nodding and smiling behind him. “Probably just a house elf or something.”
Robards reached into his pocket, distracted. “Drat. Something’s going on at the office. Would it be possible to use the Floo?”
“Certainly, sir, right this way,” Wadsworth said, leading him to the library. “Just in here, sir.”
As Robards entered, Wadsworth closed the door behind him and whispered a quick Locking Charm.
“What? You’re locking one of my colleagues up in the library?” Harry said.
“Look, everyone, when I summoned the Aurors earlier, it was before there had been two murders!” Wadsworth explained. “Now we’re all under suspicion, and wouldn’t it be much better for all of us if we could figure out what has been going on here before the authorities get involved?”
Pansy nodded. “For once, I’m with the butler.”
“Not from what I’ve heard,” Astoria sniggered.
“I agree,” Theo said. “Let’s figure this mystery out, shall we?”
“Right,” Harry said, resigned. “Split up and search the house. Make sure there’s no one else here.”
The group split up into their pairs and hurried throughout the house as best they could, trying hard not to create noise that would alert Robards to their movements. But as Blaise and Pansy rounded the corner to the conservatory, they stumbled across a secret passage in the wall that shunted them immediately into the lounge. As they tried the door, they realized it too was locked.
Forgetting their original intent to keep quiet, they began banging furiously on the door. “Let us out!” they cried.
Harry and Wadsworth ran from one direction into the hall, colliding with Astoria and Gabrielle.
“What is all this noise?” Harry hissed, landing hard on the floor. “Robards has to have heard us by now!”
“Unlock the door, Wadsworth!” Astoria commanded.
“I can’t – where’s my wand?” Wadsworth asked in amazement, patting down his pockets.
“I’ll take care of it!” Gabrielle said, running into the room with a wand. But as she did, she tripped over Harry, and a beam of light shot up into the ceiling, causing the chandelier to come crashing to the ground. Barely pausing, she aimed the wand at the door and cast a Bombardment spell, knocking the door wide open.
“What on earth was that!?” Blaise yelled, stumbling out of the door, Pansy hiding behind him.
“Better yet, where did you get that wand?” Harry asked suspiciously.
Gabrielle shrugged. “Out of that cabinet,” she pointed.
“But it was locked!” Wadsworth said. “You saw me do it!”
“No, it is unlocked now,” Gabrielle said.
“But who could have done that? And why?” Blaise asked.
“She’s the murderer,” Pansy said. “It’s the only answer.”
“But she wasn’t even in the room with Mr. Boddy, and she was with us when we found the cook,” Theo said.
“Blast,” Blaise swore. “At this rate, we’ll never figure it out.”
“Look, if they found one secret passageway, maybe there are more in here,” Harry said. “Split back up and search the house. There might still be someone hiding in here.”
“Fine, but let’s be quick about it,” Tracey said. “We have an Auror locked up in here, and sooner or later we’ll have to let him out.”
Harry sighed and shook his head. “Wadsworth, you’re staying with me.”
“As you wish, sir,” Wadsworth said.
The eight of them wandered about the house, investigating closets, showers, attics and cellars, but it was the sound of Pansy screaming that brought them all running around to the billiard room. As Harry and Wadsworth peeked in, they saw Gabrielle’s body laying on the billiard table.
“What? But how?” Theo said, flabbergasted.
“Strangled,” Harry said. “Who was with Gabrielle? Astoria?”
“Surely you jest,” Astoria sniffed. “I have neither the strength nor the interest in strangling someone I’ve only just met.”
“But you hadn’t just met her, had you?” Wadsworth said shrewdly.
“I beg your pardon?” Astoria said, her voice icy with disdain.
“Come now, Ms. Greengrass, you must surely have figured it out by now,” Wadsworth said. “Have none of you figured it out?”
“Please, share,” Pansy said drolly.
“The cook, and Gabrielle,” he continued. “What do they have in common?”
“They both worked here?” Theo asked.
“Yes – but there’s more,” Wadsworth said. “Did none of you deduce that they, too, were involved in this scheme? They are how Mr. Boddy got all of his information with which to blackmail you! They were his accomplices, don’t you see?”
“I see what you’re saying,” Blaise said. “So whoever realized that the cook was involved, and Gabrielle too, would have killed them!”
“Very astute, Mr. Zabini,” Wadsworth said. “I knew, from working for Mr. Boddy, that Cho had worked for one of you before. And you, Ms. Parkinson, you recognized Gabrielle, did you not?”
“Of course I did,” Pansy said. “One of my husbands had an affair with her, but I didn’t care. I wasn’t jealous. Didn’t even care for that husband much.”
“Ms. Davis, you also recognized her, didn’t you?” Wadsworth asked.
“She had … worked for me, before,” Tracey said.
“And we have already figured out, Mr. Zabini, that you may from time to time have procured Ms. Davis’s services, so you too knew her, no?” Wadsworth continued.
“Mr. Boddy threatened to send my mother pictures of me with her,” Blaise ground out. “The shock of seeing me with a … maid … would have killed her.”
“I thought you told me your mother died last year?” Theo asked. “So I guess Blaise here had a motive, eh?”
“You all have motives,” Wadsworth proclaimed. “But whoever killed Mr. Boddy knew that the cook and Gabrielle were his accomplices, he or she recognized them and knew that even with Mr. Boddy gone, they still had information that could damage them. No, all of them had to be killed.”
“And for that, they needed the wands we locked up!” Pansy said excitedly.
“But no one was killed with those wands, remember?” Harry said.
“No, no one was, you’re right,” Wadsworth said. “But think about who was missing when Mr. Boddy was killed. Who wasn’t in the room with us?”
“Gabrielle,” Theo said.
“And when we discovered Cho?”
“Gabrielle again,” Blaise said.
“But she didn’t kill herself,” Pansy said. “That’s preposterous.”
“No, someone let Gabrielle do her dirty work for her, and then finished the job herself,” Wadsworth said. “Ms. Greengrass, you were the one paired up with Gabrielle, were you not?”
“I was,” she confirmed. “But I had nothing against any of them, except Mr. Boddy.”
“You certainly did,” Wadsworth said, “because Cho used to be your cook. You figured out that she was the mole. And Mr. Boddy – well, we know your problem with him. Once Gabrielle had completed her tasks, you simply had to finish her off, and silly us gave you the perfect opportunity.”
“You certainly seem to have it all figured out, don’t you, butler,” Astoria said, sliding a green-tipped wand out from her sleeve. Tapping it against her chin, she continued, “You’re quite right, you know. Silly little Miles Bletchley could never have gotten onto the Wizengamot without my help, my hard work. No pesky little nobody was going to ruin my success. Why, we’d never recover, don’t you see? I had no choice.”
“Where did you get that wand?” Theo said. “That doesn’t look like –”
“No, it’s not one of those, though surely you didn’t think that someone like me couldn’t memorize a simple Locking Charm? How droll,” Astoria said. “It was quite simple to unlock it for her on our ‘search,’ then have her save the day with one. Quite poetic, really. But no, this is my own wand, thank you, and believe me, those Unforgivable wands pale in comparison.”
“But the Aurors – Robards will surely break out any minute, or he’ll have summoned the others to come,” Harry said. “You won’t want to do anything foolish, Astoria.”
“Oh, no, Mr. Potter,” Wadsworth said, smiling broadly. “They won’t come. Neither will Robards. He’s been … incapacitated. Now, I think we all owe Ms. Greengrass here a debt of gratitude for ridding us of our erstwhile blackmailer and his accomplices, and I think we ought to let her leave, as a token of our thanks.”
Astoria looked shrewdly at Wadsworth, then quickly pointed her wand at the lot of them. “If any one of you ever dares to speak a word of what has happened here, believe me, you shall live to rue the day. Or will you? Hmm. Yes. Wadsworth, the door, if you don’t mind.”
“Quite right, madam,” he said, and opened the front door for her.
“Ta ta, everyone, and thank you for the delightful dinner,” she simpered.
Wadsworth closed the door behind her and slumped to the ground in relief.
“But what if the authorities find out what happened?” Blaise whispered.
“Oh, don’t worry,” Wadsworth said. “The Aurors will take care of everything.”
“What?” Theo asked.
“I thought you said they weren’t coming?” Tracey asked suspiciously.
“Surely you didn’t think that a lead Auror would stay locked in a room with a Floo connection, did you?” Wadsworth asked, smiling at Harry.
Harry smiled back. “On the count of three?”
“Go!” Wadsworth shouted, and they flung open the front door just in time to witness a dozen Aurors taking Astoria Greengrass into official Ministry custody.
“Like the Canadian Mounties, we always get our man,” Harry said proudly.
“Astoria is a man?” Blaise asked in surprise, earning a sharp slap from Pansy.
“Well done, Wadsworth,” Harry smirked, stepping closer and wrapping his arms around the butler.
“Well done to you, too, Head Auror Potter,” Wadsworth said. Closing his eyes, he shuddered as the Disillusionment Charm took effect. Slowly, his appearance morphed back into that of Draco Malfoy.
“You!” the rest of the guests cried in unison. “But how did you –“ “No wonder we’d never seen you before!” “Of course, that’s how you knew the house so well!”
“Slytherin has really gone downhill since our school days,” Draco sighed. “Not a one of you even thought to ask where I was. Granted, there was a bit of excitement as a distraction.”
“So, you and Potter, then?” Theo asked softly.
“Of course,” Draco said. “We make a good team.”
“Indeed we do,” Harry said fondly. “And if you all don’t mind, I’m going to go home now and sleep with my partner!”
FIN
Author:
flaminia_xPrompt: PROMPT #22
Adapted from: Clue
Pairing: Harry/Draco
Word Count: ~7300
Rating: PG
Contains (Highlight to view): *None except for a rather AU-ish setting*
Disclaimer: Harry Potter characters are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No profit is being made, and no copyright infringement is intended. Clue characters and dialogue are the property of Paramount Pictures and all the associated peoples, whomever they may be. Still no profit made, no copyright infringement is intended.
Notes: I love Clue, and this was seriously the only prompt I wanted to write. Thanks so much for letting me play around with this!! I know it’s not entirely romance- or relationship-heavy, and there’s just no porn, so my apologies for that, but it just wouldn’t shoehorn itself into the movie plot. Also, large portions of dialogue are taken straight from the movie, so please to be considering this as part fanfic, part homage to one of my favorite movies! And thanks to this site for providing me with the entire script to the movie as a starting point! All changes to the movie are my own.
Summary: Harry and a group of Slytherins are invited to a mysterious dinner with a mysterious man at Malfoy Manor, but only Draco’s butler, Wadsworth, seems to know what is going on …
What Really Happened
The butler stepped briskly down the hallway of Malfoy Manor, heading toward the library. Hearing the lively strains of Celestina Warbeck, he paused and shook his head before entering.
“Is everything ready, Gabrielle?” he asked. “You have your instructions?”
“Oui, monsieur,” she replied, polishing the glassware.
“Very well, then,” he said. “Carry on.” Spinning on his heel, he left, headed for the kitchens hastily. There wasn’t much time.
“Is everything ready, Miss Cho?” he inquired.
Cho turned around quickly, startled. Her newly sharpened knife pointed at the butler’s throat, causing him to jump back in alarm. “Dinner will be ready at 7:30, sir,” she said.
Just then, the doorbell rang. Gulping, he replied, “Er, good, good. I’ll just go attend to the door.”
Walking quickly to the foyer, the butler opened the door. “Good evening, sir!” he said jovially.
“Good evening,” a man said from the front step. “I’m –”
“Yes, sir, Mr. Zabini, you are expected. May I take your robe?” the butler asked pleasantly.
Blaise Zabini nodded imperiously and stepped inside, handing the butler his dark green traveling robe. “Don’t recall seeing you here before, Mr …”
“Wadsworth, sir,” the butler responded. “I am Mr. Malfoy’s new butler. Now, if you’ll come with me to the library.”
Opening the door, he showed Blaise into the Malfoy library. “Gabrielle, if you would be so kind to attend to Mr. Zabini. Give him anything he requires – within reason, that is.”
The doorbell rang again. “Please excuse me.” Closing the doors behind him, Wadsworth walked quickly off toward the front door again.
On the front step stood a woman dressed entirely in black. “Do come in, Ms. Parkinson,” Wadsworth said.
Pansy Parkinson sniffed once, looking down her nose at the butler. “And just how do you know who I am?”
“Because you are expected,” Wadsworth replied smoothly, helping her out of her robes, lined with white ermine. “Just this way toward the library.”
He opened the door, bowing at her to enter ahead of him. “Ms. Parkinson, may I introduce you to Gabrielle, our maid? And I believe you may recall Mr. Zabini.”
As he left the room, Pansy sniffed again in Gabrielle’s direction, but greeted Blaise a bit more personally. “Hello,” she said.
“Hello, yourself,” he replied.
The library door opened again a moment later. Wadsworth escorted in a young blonde woman. “Ms. Greengrass, may I present to you Mr. Zabini and Ms. Parkinson.”
Astoria Greengrass walked haughtily in, allowing Blaise to shake her gloved hand and staring disapprovingly at Gabrielle’s décolletage.
The doorbell rang once more.
“Really, Wadsworth, old chap,” Blaise drawled, “surely Draco could afford a house elf these days?”
“There is nothing shameful about service,” Wadsworth replied calmly, “and the exercise does me good. Excuse me once more.”
Opening the front door, his eyes widened the tiniest of fractions before his normal calm and professional demeanour settled onto his face. “Welcome, Mr. Potter,” he said.
“Thank you,” Harry Potter replied. “I was afraid I might run a bit late in this weather.”
“We have been expecting you, sir,” Wadsworth said.
Just then, two small cracks of Apparation signaled the arrival of the last of the guests.
“Ah, very good,” Wadsworth said. “Ms. Davis, Mr. Nott, please, do come in.”
A moment later, he opened the door to the library, escorting them in. “May I present Ms. Davis, Mr. Nott, and Mr. Potter.”
The group turned around to look at Harry suspiciously. Harry flushed slightly and took a glass of wine from Gabrielle gratefully. Just then, the cook rang a loud gong, signalling that dinner was ready. Harry jumped, spilling a bit of wine onto Astoria.
“Oh, uh, here, hold on, allow me to clean that up for you …” he said anxiously.
“I suppose I am glad to see that little has changed, Mr. Potter,” she whispered scathingly, moving away from his fumbling hands.
“Dinner is ready,” Wadsworth announced, and led the lot of them to the dining room.
Harry found himself seated next to an empty place at the table. “Mr. Wadsworth, here, is this for you?”
“Oh, no sir,” Wadsworth answered. “I am merely a humble butler.”
Looking around and realizing the rest of the table was staring at him, Harry soldiered on. “And, uh, what does that mean?”
Wadsworth drew himself up straight. “I buttle, sir.”
“Well, butler,” Pansy said. “What, exactly, are we all here for?”
“Ours is not to reason why …” Wadsworth said under his breath.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that,” Theo said blandly, staring at the butler.
“Nothing, sir,” Wadsworth said. “Nothing important, anyway.”
“So who is the empty chair for, then, if not for you?” Harry asked.
“For our seventh guest, Mr. Boddy,” Wadsworth answered.
“Who?” Blaise and Astoria asked in tandem.
“Don’t remember anyone by that name from Hogwarts,” Tracey Davis said.
“It is of little concern now,” Wadsworth said. “Please, eat while it’s hot.”
“Are you sure we shouldn’t wait for Mr. Boddy, then?” Harry asked.
Gabrielle clucked her tongue. “Don’t worry, I will keep something warm for him.”
“I bet you will,” Pansy said bitingly, staring at the tiny maid’s outfit the blonde was wearing.
“Please, go ahead,” Wadsworth said.
The guests sat at the table, eating in silence. Occasionally the former Slytherins whispered to their neighbors, but Harry was pointedly ignored. Awkwardly he slurped his soup, earning withering stares from his dinner companions. Shrugging, he slouched down in his chair.
Gabrielle opened the door to the dining room with a crash, coinciding with a peal of thunder outside. Harry jumped again, splashing Tracey with the last of his wine.
“Oh, I’m so sorry, I just – the noise, and – here, let me get that,” he stammered, trying to clean up after himself.
Tracey whispered a quiet incantation, waving a dainty wand in a cigarette holder and vanishing the mess. “Please, Potter. Sit back before you hurt yourself.”
“Right,” Harry said quietly. “So, what have you been up to since Hogwarts, then?”
Tracey looked askance at him, then looked around at the rest of the table. Blaise smiled predatorily, setting down his fork, while Pansy sniggered into her napkin.
“Are you claiming not to know of my … line of work, Potter?” she said smoothly, sitting back and crossing her legs.
Harry shook his head, chewing. “No, I don’t really know what, uh, any of you have been up to, actually.”
Tracey smiled, revealing two rows of sharp, small teeth. “I, Potter, run the biggest escort service in wizarding Britain.”
Harry coughed. “Is that –”
“Legal?” Tracy asked innocently. “Not hardly. But surely big bad Auror Potter won’t turn in an old school chum.” She laughed and re-crossed her legs.
Harry blushed, turning away. “What about you, Theo?”
Theo finished chewing and dabbed at the corner of his mouth before replying. “I’m a Healer now, actually.”
“Oh? What discipline?” Harry asked.
“Mind healing,” Theo replied, picking up his fork. “But in case you were thinking of signing up for an appointment – don’t deny it, you could probably use it, from what I hear – I’m not currently practicing.”
“You should,” Blaise said under his breath. “Practice makes perfect.”
“Shut it,” Theo said easily. “I decided to leave private practice to work for the Ministry – department of national wizarding health and welfare, to be precise. I’m in administration now. And since you piped up, why don’t you share next?”
“Fine,” Blaise said. ”I’m an Unspeakable.”
“You are?” Harry asked. “I don’t recall seeing you around the Auror Division much. What are you working on?”
“Silly Potter,” Blaise said almost fondly. “I’m an Unspeakable. I can’t speak about it.”
“Right,” Harry gritted his teeth. “And I suppose the rest of you can’t share either?”
“There’s not much to say,” Pansy said condescendingly. “Astoria and I married well. Unlike some.”
“Indeed,” Astoria averred. “And we all know what you do, Potter.”
“That’s Head Auror Potter to the likes of you,” Theo said, earning himself a glare from across the table.
The door to the dining room swung open again. Wadsworth and a mysterious dark-haired man walked in.
“Ladies and gentlemen, may I present Mr. Boddy,” Wadsworth said, showing the other man to the empty chair.
Mr. Boddy walked over to the chair and slouched down into it arrogantly, pinching Gabrielle’s bum when she handed him a glass of wine.
“Well, well, our host finally deigns to appear,” Pansy snarked. “Care to tell us exactly what is going on, or do we get to guess?”
Wadsworth moved over next to the table. “Actually, I might be able to help there. I believe we all received an owl recently, no? Mine carried a note saying It will be to your advantage to be present on this date because a Mr. Boddy will bring to an end a certain long-standing confidential and painful financial liability. It was signed ‘a friend’.”
“I got the same owl,” Harry said. Tracey and Blaise nodded, while the others murmured anxiously amongst themselves.
Gabrielle returned with a bowl of soup.
“No thanks, Gabby, babe,” Mr. Boddy said, waving her away nonchalantly.
“Wait, so you know her?” Harry asked.
“Sure,” the dark-haired man said easily. “Don’t we, luv?”
Gabrielle recoiled and went to return the soup to the kitchen.
“Well, since it appears we are all finished in here, might I suggest that we retire to the study for coffee and brandy? Perhaps then we will find out why we are all actually here,” Wadsworth suggested.
Standing, Mr. Boddy strode forcefully out of the dining room, the guests slowly following.
Once the guests were ensconced in the study with brandy, Wadsworth cleared his throat. “If I might have your attention,” he stated. “Ladies and gentlemen, this parchment will reveal what it is that we all have in common.”
Tapping the parchment with his wand, he spoke a quiet spell and stood back as handwriting scrawled across its surface.
“Hmmph. Parlor tricks,” Mr. Boddy said. “I’m leaving. Anyone else with me?”
“I’m sorry, sir,” Wadsworth said loudly. “I’m afraid I cannot allow you to leave this house.”
Thunder pealed loudly outside, causing Harry once more to jump.
“Oh? And I suppose you think you can stop me, eh, butler?” Mr. Boddy sneered. Placing his brandy on the end table, he rose to leave, but the door to the study slammed shut.
“Yes, I can,” Wadsworth said calmly. “There is no way out. Anti-apparition charms have been placed about the premises, and the doors and windows will only respond to my Unlocking Charms.”
“This is an outrage!” Pansy cried.
“You have no right to hold us prisoner here, butler,” Blaise said warningly, the other Slytherins murmuring darkly in agreement.
“Ladies and gentlemen, please!” Wadsworth shouted. “Please, return to the study. I promise you, everything will be explained there.”
Slowly, the lot of them shuffled into the study, confused and angry. Once they were all seated, Wadsworth passed around the brandy again. “Now,” he continued. “Ladies and gentlemen, we all have one very important thing in common. You are all being blackmailed!”
A collective gasp went up from around the room, Blaise looking darkly at Harry, who almost lost control of his snifter.
“For some time, all of you have been paying what you can afford,” Wadsworth said.
“Some more than others, then,” Theo said sotto voce.
“Indeed,” Wadsworth continued. “In some cases, quite considerably more than what you can afford. But no one knows who it is that is blackmailing you, do you?”
“I quite simply have no idea what you are on about,” Astoria said icily. “My life is an open book. There is nothing that anyone could hold against me.”
No one else said a word, instead staring in turn at their brandy or at the wall.
“Quite,” Wadsworth said. “In the interest of full disclosure –”
“Wait a just a minute, butler,” Pansy interrupted. “Surely there is no need to reveal all of our secrets.”
“I’m sorry, but such are my instructions,” Wadsworth said. “Now, Healer Nott, you are trained in mind healing. Did you not specialize in helping the paranoid, homicidal, and those suffering from delusions of grandeur?”
“Yes, but now I work for the Ministry,” Theo snarked.
“I see,” Wadsworth said. “So, nothing has changed, then. But you did not choose to leave private practice – you were forced out, were you not?”
“Tsk, tsk, Theo, whatever did you do?” Astoria asked, a spiteful smile on her lips.
“He did what licensed doctors are not allowed to do with their female patients,” Wadsworth explained delicately.
“Theo!” Pansy cried, while Blaise smirked and raised his snifter in Nott’s direction.
“How crude,” Astoria said quietly, wetting her lips with brandy.
“Perhaps you should not pass moral judgments, Ms. Greengrass,” Wadsworth said. “Given that you are here because your husband, Miles Bletchley, is only a member of the Wizengamot because you accepted bribes on his behalf!”
“Well, well,” Theo said with a sneer. “Our little girl’s grown up.”
“It’s a vicious lie,” Astoria said, her face paling. “I’ve only paid to keep that story out of the papers. It’s hard to remove the taint of suspicion, as well you know.”
“I believe you, Astoria,” Pansy said haughtily. “I, too, am being blackmailed for something I didn’t do.”
Harry and Blaise nodded. “Me too,” they said in tandem.
“Not me,” Tracey said throatily, taking a large swallow of her brandy.
“What?” Harry asked. “You’re not being blackmailed? But –”
“Oh, no, Potter,” Tracey chuckled. “I’m being blackmailed, but I definitely did what I am being blackmailed for.”
“Oh,” Harry said, remembering their earlier conversation. “Right.”
“You didn’t seem surprised to hear about that earlier, Blaise,” Tracey said.
“Word gets around, Davis,” Blaise drawled.
“Oh, and here I just thought he was one of your … clients,” Astoria said, looking over at Blaise.
“Hardly,” Blaise said disdainfully, shuddering.
“That’s not a no,” Pansy smirked.
“Yes it is,” Blaise replied.
“Yes, it’s a no, or yes, it’s a yes?” Theo needled.
“Yes, it’s a no!” Blaise growled.
Wadsworth exclaimed, “That’s a double negative! I think. At the very least, it’s proof positive. I’m afraid you gave yourself away.”
“Are you trying to make me look stupid in front of the others?” Blaise asked.
“You need little help from me, sir,” Wadsworth responded.
“Damn right,” Blaise said, then winced as he realized what he said. In the corner, Pansy stifled a snigger.
“And you, Ms. Parkinson,” Wadsworth said, whirling toward her. “You’ve been paying this blackmailer ever since your late husband died under rather mysterious circumstances.”
Tracey laughed, swirling her brandy. “Didja kill him, Pansy?” she asked coarsely.
“I most certainly did not!” Pansy said, drawing herself up.
“Then why are you paying the blackmailer?” Blaise asked.
“I dislike scandal,” Pansy sniffed. “We had a very … public confrontation. But he wasn’t well, you see. Could have benefited from Theo over there, perhaps. He had threatened to kill me in public.”
“Why would he want to kill you in public?” Astoria asked.
“I think she means he said, in public, that he wanted to kill her,” Theo said quietly.
Astoria blushed and looked away.
“What was his line of work?” Theo asked.
“Potions,” Pansy said. “One of the top Potioneers for St. Mungo’s actually. Found dead at home, all the important bits lying on the floor.”
Harry and Blaise both winced and crossed their legs.
“At least I have a little bit more time on my hands now that his were cut off,” she said nonchalantly.
“Wasn’t he your second husband?” Wadsworth asked.
“My first disappeared one day,” Pansy said.
“And never came back?” Harry asked.
“He never was very good at Apparation,” Pansy sighed. “I assume he splinched himself into non-existence – not even a single hair of him left.”
Harry stood up, restless. “I, uh, I have something to say. No sense in waiting for him to out me, so to speak. You all know who I am, you know I’m Head Auror now. And I’m … gay.”
Pansy snorted indelicately.
“I have no problems with it,” Harry hastened to add. “I’m fine with it, there’s no drama, all my friends are alright with it. I just, uh, don’t know whether or not the Ministry would have a problem with it, and I don’t want to butt heads with Kingsley right now – oh, I didn’t mean it that way, Zabini – and, yeah, I just don’t want to risk any problems at work.”
Everyone merely glanced at him with expressions of boredom.
“Right,” Harry said. “Thank you.” He sat down again on the edge of the couch self-consciously.
“Well, that just leaves Mr. Boddy, here,” Theo said.
“What’s your secret, strange man?” Pansy added.
“His secret?” Wadsworth said. “Oh, has no one guessed? He’s your blackmailer!”
“Bastard!” Blaise snarled, lunging for him. Astoria’s grip on her brandy tightened, and Pansy’s lips compressed into a tight line. Tracey growled low in her throat and stood. Walking over to him, she kneed him straight in the bollocks.
“Oi, Tracey, really?” Harry asked.
Wadsworth clapped his hands twice, loud enough to startle everyone. “Listen, everyone. I’ve called for the Aurors – they’ll be here soon.”
Harry grimaced and ran a hand over his face.
“Perhaps if you all told the Aurors your stories of blackmail, they might be able to press charges,” Wadsworth said. “After all, we have our memories – surely the Wizengamot would convict him on Pensieve testimony.”
Harry shook his head. “Inadmissible, sorry – too easily manipulated.”
Mr. Boddy stood up. Waving his wand, he whispered a quick Accio and several boxes flew into his hands. “Ladies and gentlemen,” he said, handing the boxes out to each of the guests, “who can guess what’s in these?”
“Evidence against us?” Theo said darkly.
Tracey smiled. “I don’t mind … gifts … from strange men.”
Each one of them opened their box. In each was a wand.
Mr. Boddy continued. “Each of those wands has a peculiar feature. Each will cast one Unforgiveable, completely untraceable by any known magical means. Now, if you turn me over to the Aurors, you all risk being exposed. Denounced. Humiliated in public. But if one of you kills old Wadsworth here, no one but us will ever know. He is the one, as you may remember, who has locked you in here, and he won’t let you go unless you turn me in. So. You have a decision to make. One of you kill him and we can all leave, or turn me and risk losing everything you’ve ever worked for. Your choice.”
Sitting down again in his chair with a snifter of brandy, he smiled cruelly, then shouted, “Nox!”
Instantly, the room was completely dark. Somewhere, someone whispered something, and a flash of green light permeated the darkness.
Someone else called “Lumos!” When the lights returned, Astoria shrieked. Mr. Boddy lay dead on the floor.
“Let me through!” Theo called, racing over to check the man. “He’s dead,” he whispered dumbfoundedly.
“But who did it?” Tracey asked.
“Dunno, but it wasn’t me,” Harry said.
Just then, a scream echoed from a different room. The group looked wide-eyed at one another, then raced out of the study, leaving Mr. Boddy laying on the floor.
“Gabrielle!” Harry called. “What if the murderer is in there with her?”
“But I thought the murderer was one of us?” Astoria asked confusedly.
“Never mind, just open the door!” Harry shouted.
Gabrielle opened the door. “You – you daft lot!”
“What? Is the murderer in here?” Theo asked.
“Yes!” Gabrielle said. “Well, now he is. Or she!”
“Explain yourself,” Wadsworth said.
“Well, one of you must be the murderer, and you are all in here with me now!” Gabrielle said, lip trembling. “I am so frightened!”
“Come back with us to the study,” Blaise said, tucking the smaller girl under his arm and grazing her bum with his hand.
“This is just terrible,” Wadsworth mumbled. “This is not what I had planned.”
Harry overheard and walked a bit closer.
“Wait, what you had planned? I thought you were the butler! Isn’t this Mr. Boddy’s plan?” Tracey demanded.
“I am a butler,” Wadsworth said. “I am not the butler.”
“I wondered when Draco had hired you,” Pansy mused. “You weren’t here last time.”
“Be that as it may,” Wadsworth continued, “I was the one that invited you. Mr. Boddy was blackmailing me, as well, you see. I brought you here so that together, we could undo him.”
“What could he possibly blackmail a butler over?” Theo mused.
“I, too, am a homosexual,” Wadsworth said, “and Mr. Boddy, my former employer, did not approve of my last partner. Thought he would bring shame on the household. The price we paid to allow our relationship to continue was that we worked, unpaid, for years. We were no better than house elves. My partner … ended his own life as a result of his torment.”
“Dreadful,” Pansy murmured.
“So I thought the best thing to do would be to collect all of his victims in one place, call the authorities, turn him, and see justice done,” Wadsworth continued.
“But what do we do now? We don’t know which one of us killed him!” Blaise said.
“We had better find out in the next hour, before the Aurors arrive,” Wadsworth said.
“But how? If we can’t trace the spell or the wand, how will we know which one of you did it?” Theo asked.
“One of you?” Pansy asked. “You’re still in this muck too, Nott.”
“None of us are going to admit it,” Harry said. “But it sure as Fiendfyre wasn’t me.”
“Maybe it wasn’t one of us, after all?” Astoria asked. “Is there no one else left in the house?”
“The cook!” Wadsworth cried, leading them all to the kitchen.
“But where did she go?” Tracey asked.
Harry looked around briefly, then walked over to the freezer. When he opened the door, the cook’s body tumbled out, but with a dagger protruding from her back.
Pansy stifled a scream.
“Quick, help me lay her down,” Harry gasped, struggling under the weight. “No, don’t touch the knife,” he yelled at Blaise, who had reached out to yank the knife out. “It’s evidence.”
“But what kind of witch or wizard stabs someone? It’s so … Muggle,” Astoria pointed out. “So uncouth.”
“And if we all have Untraceable wands, then why not just use them instead?” Pansy asked.
“Because they were both killed by the same person,” Theo said grimly. “Wand can only be used once, remember?”
“Maybe, Nott,” Harry said, looking up at him with narrowed eyes. “Maybe. But who would want to kill the cook?”
“Not me,” Tracey snorted. “The soup was actually pretty decent.”
“Classy, Davis,” Pansy commented darkly. “Better watch out, someone might just kill you over your bad jokes.” Noticing the glares everyone was giving her, she continued. “Not me, of course.”
“Are you sure? Not you, I mean?” Astoria asked. “How many husbands have you had, anyway?”
“Mine, or other women’s?” Pansy responded, eyes flashing.
“Your own will do to start,” Astoria said.
“Five,” Pansy said.
“Five?” Blaise asked. “Blimey, Pans.”
“Just the five,” Pansy responded. “Husbands should be like dress robes. Soft, strong, and interchangeable to suit the occasion.”
“You lure husbands to their death like a spider with flies,” Theo criticized.
“Flies are where men are their most vulnerable,” Pansy rejoindered.
“Ladies and gentlemen, this isn’t helping,” Wadsworth said. “Let’s take Cho’s body to the study. It will help keep things … tidier … that way.”
As they made their way back to the study, Theo, who was carrying her feet, suddenly dropped her to the ground with a thud. “The body’s gone!”
“No, you dolt, she’s right here,” Blaise grumbled, struggling with the sudden extra weight.
“No, Mr. Boddy’s body! It’s gone,” Theo said.
“But you said he was dead!” Harry exclaimed.
“Hey, I’m a Mind Healer, remember?” Theo snapped.
“Guess we should have cut his bits off too. You know, to make sure he was dead,” Tracey said, looking sideways at Pansy.
“Uncalled-for, you cow,” Pansy said under her breath.
“Wait a mo,” Harry said. “If Mr. Boddy wasn’t dead, then he could have killed Cho.”
“Brilliant, Potter,” Astoria said. “For once something you said makes sense. But then where did he go afters?”
“Maybe he went to the loo,” Tracey said. “Speaking of which, Gabrielle, do you have one around here?”
“Oui, right down this hall,” the maid responded.
“No thanks, I just want to wash my hands,” Tracey replied, smirking at Gabrielle’s confused expression. But when she opened the door, Mr. Boddy tumbled out at her feet.
At her scream, the other guests came running.
“Merlin, he’s dead again,” Wadsworth said. “Look – his head is all bloody.”
“What kind of wizard bashes someone over the head?” Blaise asked. “Isn’t that overkill?”
“It must be the same killer – they used their wand for the first spell, and then killed the Muggle way the other two times,” Pansy said.
“No, that doesn’t make sense any more, because no one killed Mr. Boddy with a spell,” Harry said. “All of our wands are still unused.”
“Oh, Merlin, that’s it,” Tracey breathed. “That way we can’t tell who it is, because unless more than one of us used the Unforgivable spell on our wand, the killer would have the only wand that had been used.”
“Good thinking, Tracey,” Harry said, slipping into Auror mode. “We’re back at square one.”
Together, they moved Mr. Boddy and Cho into the study, maneuvering them both into position on the sofa.
“Look, Wadsworth, are we all accounted for?” Blaise said, pouring everyone a stiff drink. “Is there anyone else in the house?”
“No,” Wadsworth said.
“No, we aren’t all accounted for, or no, there isn’t anyone else in the house?” Theo questioned.
“Yes,” Wadsworth replied.
“Yes to which?” Theo persisted.
“Sorry, I meant yes, meaning no,” Wadsworth answered.
“Butler! I want a straight answer. Is there someone else here, or isn’t there, yes or no?” Blaise shouted.
“No,” Wadsworth said.
“No, there is someone else here, or no, there isn’t?” Blaise said, frustrated.
“Yes,” Wadsworth replied.
“Oh, shut up, the lot of you!” Pansy said. “The Aurors will be here in about half an hour, and we are no closer to having anything reasonable to tell them.”
“And the old butler here won’t give us a straight answer about whether there’s anyone else in the house, so I say we split up and search the Manor,” Theo said decisively.
“Yes, pairs,” Harry said automatically.
“But wait, what about the person who gets paired up with the murderer?” Astoria said.
“And then we’ll know who the murderer is!” Theo replied.
“Yes, and that will be great news for the newly deceased,” Pansy snarked.
“Casualties are inevitable. You cannot make an omelet without breaking a few eggs,” Theo said.
“And have you seen our cook lately?” Tracey scoffed.
“We don’t have a choice,” Harry continued.
“But I am afraid of the dark,” Gabrielle said, frightened. “Who will go with me upstairs?”
Blaise and Theo each moved closer to her, saying “I will” in tandem. Harry and Wadsworth both answered, “No, thank you.”
“Okay, pair up according to height,” Harry said. “I’ll go with Wadsworth. Send out flares – from your own wand, please – if you find anything or if you’re in distress. Do not, under any circumstances, use the Unforgivable wands.”
“Wait, about the wands,” Theo said. “Why don’t we all leave them here? That way no one could accidentally use them.”
“Or kill anyone with them,” Pansy said.
“Good idea. Wadsworth, do you have some sort of trunk or chest, anything we can lock?” Harry asked.
“Certainly, right here in the study,” Wadsworth said. Leading them back into the room, he opened a chest. “Wands in here, please, quickly.”
Everyone placed the wands that Mr. Boddy had given them into the chest. Wadsworth closed it, then pulled out his own regular wand.
“Hey, why are you the one who gets to lock up the wands?” Blaise asked. “Then you could get to them at any point.”
“But I’m not the murderer,” Wadsworth explained.
“We don’t know that,” Pansy said.
“Fine. I’ll lock it,” Harry said.
“No deal, Potter,” Theo said.
“Well, then, what do we do?” Blaise asked. “None of us trust each other.”
“Let Wadsworth do it. He’s already got us locked in this bloody Manor, at least if anything happens we know exactly who it is,” Astoria said.
Before anyone else could register a complaint, Wadsworth had pulled out a key and quickly locked the chest. “Look, a Muggle key. No magic. I’ll even toss it out the front door. That way no one is at a greater advantage than another.”
“Fine,” Tracey said. “Let’s go.”
But as they opened the door to throw out the key, they heard the distinct crack of Apparation, and suddenly Auror Robards was on the doorstep.
“Good evening, folks,” he greeted them. “Did someone request some assistance?”
A chorus of “No”s erupted at the same time as Astoria and Harry said “Yes.”
“There seems to be some kind of disagreement,” Robards noticed. “Is everything alright?”
At his perplexed look, Wadsworth stepped forward. “Do come in, Auror! Please, right this way.”
“Alright, there, Harry?” Robards asked, cocking an eyebrow at him.
“Uh, yes, sir,” Harry responded, confused by Wadsworth’s behavior. “Just having a friendly get-together, sir.”
“Can I ask why you called me here tonight?” Robards continued.
“Loud noise,” Wadsworth improvised. “Thought there might be a burglar. Can I interest you in some brandy?”
“No thank you,” Robards said. “Not while on duty. Now, you said you heard a noise?”
“It was probably nothing,” Harry said, everyone else nodding and smiling behind him. “Probably just a house elf or something.”
Robards reached into his pocket, distracted. “Drat. Something’s going on at the office. Would it be possible to use the Floo?”
“Certainly, sir, right this way,” Wadsworth said, leading him to the library. “Just in here, sir.”
As Robards entered, Wadsworth closed the door behind him and whispered a quick Locking Charm.
“What? You’re locking one of my colleagues up in the library?” Harry said.
“Look, everyone, when I summoned the Aurors earlier, it was before there had been two murders!” Wadsworth explained. “Now we’re all under suspicion, and wouldn’t it be much better for all of us if we could figure out what has been going on here before the authorities get involved?”
Pansy nodded. “For once, I’m with the butler.”
“Not from what I’ve heard,” Astoria sniggered.
“I agree,” Theo said. “Let’s figure this mystery out, shall we?”
“Right,” Harry said, resigned. “Split up and search the house. Make sure there’s no one else here.”
The group split up into their pairs and hurried throughout the house as best they could, trying hard not to create noise that would alert Robards to their movements. But as Blaise and Pansy rounded the corner to the conservatory, they stumbled across a secret passage in the wall that shunted them immediately into the lounge. As they tried the door, they realized it too was locked.
Forgetting their original intent to keep quiet, they began banging furiously on the door. “Let us out!” they cried.
Harry and Wadsworth ran from one direction into the hall, colliding with Astoria and Gabrielle.
“What is all this noise?” Harry hissed, landing hard on the floor. “Robards has to have heard us by now!”
“Unlock the door, Wadsworth!” Astoria commanded.
“I can’t – where’s my wand?” Wadsworth asked in amazement, patting down his pockets.
“I’ll take care of it!” Gabrielle said, running into the room with a wand. But as she did, she tripped over Harry, and a beam of light shot up into the ceiling, causing the chandelier to come crashing to the ground. Barely pausing, she aimed the wand at the door and cast a Bombardment spell, knocking the door wide open.
“What on earth was that!?” Blaise yelled, stumbling out of the door, Pansy hiding behind him.
“Better yet, where did you get that wand?” Harry asked suspiciously.
Gabrielle shrugged. “Out of that cabinet,” she pointed.
“But it was locked!” Wadsworth said. “You saw me do it!”
“No, it is unlocked now,” Gabrielle said.
“But who could have done that? And why?” Blaise asked.
“She’s the murderer,” Pansy said. “It’s the only answer.”
“But she wasn’t even in the room with Mr. Boddy, and she was with us when we found the cook,” Theo said.
“Blast,” Blaise swore. “At this rate, we’ll never figure it out.”
“Look, if they found one secret passageway, maybe there are more in here,” Harry said. “Split back up and search the house. There might still be someone hiding in here.”
“Fine, but let’s be quick about it,” Tracey said. “We have an Auror locked up in here, and sooner or later we’ll have to let him out.”
Harry sighed and shook his head. “Wadsworth, you’re staying with me.”
“As you wish, sir,” Wadsworth said.
The eight of them wandered about the house, investigating closets, showers, attics and cellars, but it was the sound of Pansy screaming that brought them all running around to the billiard room. As Harry and Wadsworth peeked in, they saw Gabrielle’s body laying on the billiard table.
“What? But how?” Theo said, flabbergasted.
“Strangled,” Harry said. “Who was with Gabrielle? Astoria?”
“Surely you jest,” Astoria sniffed. “I have neither the strength nor the interest in strangling someone I’ve only just met.”
“But you hadn’t just met her, had you?” Wadsworth said shrewdly.
“I beg your pardon?” Astoria said, her voice icy with disdain.
“Come now, Ms. Greengrass, you must surely have figured it out by now,” Wadsworth said. “Have none of you figured it out?”
“Please, share,” Pansy said drolly.
“The cook, and Gabrielle,” he continued. “What do they have in common?”
“They both worked here?” Theo asked.
“Yes – but there’s more,” Wadsworth said. “Did none of you deduce that they, too, were involved in this scheme? They are how Mr. Boddy got all of his information with which to blackmail you! They were his accomplices, don’t you see?”
“I see what you’re saying,” Blaise said. “So whoever realized that the cook was involved, and Gabrielle too, would have killed them!”
“Very astute, Mr. Zabini,” Wadsworth said. “I knew, from working for Mr. Boddy, that Cho had worked for one of you before. And you, Ms. Parkinson, you recognized Gabrielle, did you not?”
“Of course I did,” Pansy said. “One of my husbands had an affair with her, but I didn’t care. I wasn’t jealous. Didn’t even care for that husband much.”
“Ms. Davis, you also recognized her, didn’t you?” Wadsworth asked.
“She had … worked for me, before,” Tracey said.
“And we have already figured out, Mr. Zabini, that you may from time to time have procured Ms. Davis’s services, so you too knew her, no?” Wadsworth continued.
“Mr. Boddy threatened to send my mother pictures of me with her,” Blaise ground out. “The shock of seeing me with a … maid … would have killed her.”
“I thought you told me your mother died last year?” Theo asked. “So I guess Blaise here had a motive, eh?”
“You all have motives,” Wadsworth proclaimed. “But whoever killed Mr. Boddy knew that the cook and Gabrielle were his accomplices, he or she recognized them and knew that even with Mr. Boddy gone, they still had information that could damage them. No, all of them had to be killed.”
“And for that, they needed the wands we locked up!” Pansy said excitedly.
“But no one was killed with those wands, remember?” Harry said.
“No, no one was, you’re right,” Wadsworth said. “But think about who was missing when Mr. Boddy was killed. Who wasn’t in the room with us?”
“Gabrielle,” Theo said.
“And when we discovered Cho?”
“Gabrielle again,” Blaise said.
“But she didn’t kill herself,” Pansy said. “That’s preposterous.”
“No, someone let Gabrielle do her dirty work for her, and then finished the job herself,” Wadsworth said. “Ms. Greengrass, you were the one paired up with Gabrielle, were you not?”
“I was,” she confirmed. “But I had nothing against any of them, except Mr. Boddy.”
“You certainly did,” Wadsworth said, “because Cho used to be your cook. You figured out that she was the mole. And Mr. Boddy – well, we know your problem with him. Once Gabrielle had completed her tasks, you simply had to finish her off, and silly us gave you the perfect opportunity.”
“You certainly seem to have it all figured out, don’t you, butler,” Astoria said, sliding a green-tipped wand out from her sleeve. Tapping it against her chin, she continued, “You’re quite right, you know. Silly little Miles Bletchley could never have gotten onto the Wizengamot without my help, my hard work. No pesky little nobody was going to ruin my success. Why, we’d never recover, don’t you see? I had no choice.”
“Where did you get that wand?” Theo said. “That doesn’t look like –”
“No, it’s not one of those, though surely you didn’t think that someone like me couldn’t memorize a simple Locking Charm? How droll,” Astoria said. “It was quite simple to unlock it for her on our ‘search,’ then have her save the day with one. Quite poetic, really. But no, this is my own wand, thank you, and believe me, those Unforgivable wands pale in comparison.”
“But the Aurors – Robards will surely break out any minute, or he’ll have summoned the others to come,” Harry said. “You won’t want to do anything foolish, Astoria.”
“Oh, no, Mr. Potter,” Wadsworth said, smiling broadly. “They won’t come. Neither will Robards. He’s been … incapacitated. Now, I think we all owe Ms. Greengrass here a debt of gratitude for ridding us of our erstwhile blackmailer and his accomplices, and I think we ought to let her leave, as a token of our thanks.”
Astoria looked shrewdly at Wadsworth, then quickly pointed her wand at the lot of them. “If any one of you ever dares to speak a word of what has happened here, believe me, you shall live to rue the day. Or will you? Hmm. Yes. Wadsworth, the door, if you don’t mind.”
“Quite right, madam,” he said, and opened the front door for her.
“Ta ta, everyone, and thank you for the delightful dinner,” she simpered.
Wadsworth closed the door behind her and slumped to the ground in relief.
“But what if the authorities find out what happened?” Blaise whispered.
“Oh, don’t worry,” Wadsworth said. “The Aurors will take care of everything.”
“What?” Theo asked.
“I thought you said they weren’t coming?” Tracey asked suspiciously.
“Surely you didn’t think that a lead Auror would stay locked in a room with a Floo connection, did you?” Wadsworth asked, smiling at Harry.
Harry smiled back. “On the count of three?”
“Go!” Wadsworth shouted, and they flung open the front door just in time to witness a dozen Aurors taking Astoria Greengrass into official Ministry custody.
“Like the Canadian Mounties, we always get our man,” Harry said proudly.
“Astoria is a man?” Blaise asked in surprise, earning a sharp slap from Pansy.
“Well done, Wadsworth,” Harry smirked, stepping closer and wrapping his arms around the butler.
“Well done to you, too, Head Auror Potter,” Wadsworth said. Closing his eyes, he shuddered as the Disillusionment Charm took effect. Slowly, his appearance morphed back into that of Draco Malfoy.
“You!” the rest of the guests cried in unison. “But how did you –“ “No wonder we’d never seen you before!” “Of course, that’s how you knew the house so well!”
“Slytherin has really gone downhill since our school days,” Draco sighed. “Not a one of you even thought to ask where I was. Granted, there was a bit of excitement as a distraction.”
“So, you and Potter, then?” Theo asked softly.
“Of course,” Draco said. “We make a good team.”
“Indeed we do,” Harry said fondly. “And if you all don’t mind, I’m going to go home now and sleep with my partner!”
FIN
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Date: 2013-03-05 09:26 pm (UTC)I did wonder where Draco was and why nobody was asking about him. Specially Harry. hehehe. I haven't seen this movie. But I really enjoyed the fic. Thank you!
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Date: 2013-04-09 02:17 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-03-05 10:10 pm (UTC)Very cute! Good job!
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Date: 2013-04-09 02:17 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-03-06 12:31 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-04-09 02:18 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-03-06 12:36 am (UTC)The ending made me :))))))))
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Date: 2013-04-09 02:18 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-03-07 05:47 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-04-09 02:18 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-03-08 10:21 am (UTC)I love the conversations between all the characters! The snarkiness of some parts was soooo precious! And it was so much fun watching them stumble around cluelessly (bickering almost all the way) trying to solve the mystery! Ooh, and the ending was such a surprise! I mean, I did wonder where was Draco and it was such a lovely surprise to discover where Draco had been throughout the whole story! Definitely gave me a good laugh, this one. Absolutely entertaining and cute! :D :D :D
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Date: 2013-04-09 02:19 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-03-19 11:12 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-04-09 02:19 am (UTC)