ron’s thoughts filled herne’s head with quesns “does this mean they didn’t kill him?” she asked “if they wanted all of this from him, what would possess them to exat the massare in the penthouse?”
“you all an worry and talk yourselves in irles, but i have to get this stuff together and do the drop,” parkinson stated, the hint of pani in her voie malfoy reahed aross the sofa and ped a hand on hers the kneazle pushed herself under their fingers
“hang on” ron shook his head “what’s inquollis arpus folia? why are they asking for a pnt?”
harry finally found his voie and added, “i’ve never heard that menned in pons or herbology”
“be ho, potter, were you ever listening in pons or herbology?” herne shot malfoy a look of warning and started to ask parkinson if she knew anything about marwan’s potential herbologial ties did he have a greenhouse? did he own any ompanies that produed produts from pnts? with every quesn, herne grew more frustrated beause parkinson simply did not know the man or his dealings well enough
“there is someone who might be able to help us,” harry offered when everyone turned to him he shrugged “neville”
malfoy groaned
herne had a thought, and suddenly, she felt the urse raging inside her again “yes, harry, you’re right you, malfoy, and parkinson should go to hogwarts and ask for neville’s help even if he an’t, maybe you an searh the restrited sen for any rman on the pnt, and perhaps—” herne pointed to the kneazle “—historial instanes of body sing?”
“and that leaves you and weasley doing what exatly?” malfoy quipped with a raised brow
“i already have a few leads to hase down thanks to that board of yours,” ron offered and he and malfoy stared eah other down for an unomfortable minute finally, ron titled his head and said, “you might have to expin to me what gertrude lokhart is doing up there though”
malfoy narrowed his eyes, but the hint of a smirk rept over his features “well, if you must know” while he expined that a man in cardiff had seen marwan’s partiipan in a harity event run by gertrude lokhart and had begun stalking marwan, herne pulled harry aside and out into the hallway
harry look dazed, as if it took a moment to realize what hened he stared down the hall toward the lift, a disoriented look on his fae he then fttened a bit of his hair bak absentmindedly
“so, you’re going to trust malfoy?” harry said quietly
frustran washed over herne, but she tried to keep it hidden how ould harry still be aught up in the idea that malfoy had a hand in the rimes? even after he spoke up for malfoy at his trial, harry still had his head in the past “well,” she tried to find a way to get to harry, “you have been w with him”
harry rossed his arms “i’ve been trying to find out what he really knows about all of this”
“and what have you found, harry?” herne pointed to the room “you’ve seen the board, the ransom note seems to me like he’s telling the truth”
“the truth? you believe that?” harry took a few steps away from her she ould see the anger taking over “you believe that zivantus hired him to iigate his own death?” herne ignored the look of omplete disbelief on his fae “how?”
she paniked, “divinan, perhaps”
“you don’t believe in that!”
“but we’ve seen it be real on oan, haven’t we?” herne briefly thought of sybill trewney and her mostly patheti devon to the pratie of seeing shuddering, herne ontinued, “i’m not saying it isn’t odd, but maybe zivantus hired malfoy to solve it maybe there’s some sort of ontrat or vow involved”
“an unbreakable vow”
“maybe his death and bertrie’s situan are oed maybe he knew it and thought malfoy would solve his murder and save his daughter”
“but why hire malfoy? why not go to the authorities?”
herne shot harry a pointed look her mind sreamed he is the authorities! just trust him! but before she ould form an atual reply, the room door swung open
“and then he imed that he was gertrude lokhart,” malfoy walked past herne and harry, ron at his side listening ily “and that the person running the remember me please charity ball was an imposter”
parkinson joined them and they all stood in the hallway staring at eah other awkwardly “right,” herne finally said “you three go speak with neville ron and i will work the other leads” her pulse raed with the involuntary thrill at thought of harry and malfoy fored to work together with a sny parkinson looking on and then she ringed, her ranal side almost disgusted to the point of sikness she took a breath and omposed herself herne gned at her wath, “meet bak here before eleven tonight”
“what about the rest of the things on the list?” parkinson asked “how are we supposed to get everything they’re asking for? at this point, all we have is the kneazle” she gned at the door to the room with a worried expresn “and i don’t want to give her up”
“leave the rest to me,” herne assured she wathed as the three of them walked to the lift and didn“t miss the hallenging look harry sent her before the doors had losed she didn’t take it to heart and hoped her intuin to send them off together would help the ase and not end in disaster “okay, ron,” she turned to her fiane “you need to follow up on—”
he interrupted her with a kiss it aught her by surprise, but she welomed the warmth and familiarity of ron’s lips, the omfort of something real and solid before her it steadied her where before she’d been unravelling to the threads of the ase and the urse
“i haven’t seen you for days, “ne,” he whispered after pulling away
she swallowed her guilt “i know, work has been—” she
