Blood Vengeance

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Harry found Ron and Mike in their work area, and put up wards when he entered.

"Harry, we got nothing back from records, yet," Mike informed him.

"Thanks, Mike, but I... I got the case! Robards gave it to me," he said, still amazed it worked.

"Awesome, mate!" Ron said, a little surprised.

Mike clapped his hand on his shoulder. "Yeah, good on ya, told you to lay it out."

"Yeah... this is my only chance, though," Harry said.

"You bet on catching DEK? Man... that's going to be rough. I'm sure he's not going to give you too long to do it, and Proudfoot is gonna be after your ass for that," Mike warned.

"I know. Go home, get some sleep, Mike."

"I'll be back for the night shift, unless another body turns up."

"Please, no."

"A'righ' see you later," Mike said and walked out.

"You're playing with fire, Harry," Ron grunted.

"What choice did I have? He wasn't going to ever let me be an Auror. They want me gone."

"The problem is that this case won't magically fix everything. They still hate you."

"They can hate me all they want. I'm going to get this guy."

"Easier said than done. 'Mione was right about the ID. Our community is small enough that I would have thought that we'd have a hit."

"He's young... young enough. I'll take his picture to Hogwarts. Maybe that's why there are five missing years."

"You really think? That a seventeen or eighteen-year-old would do this?" Ron asked, amazed.

"I honestly thought that no human would be able to torture and execute sentient beings this way," Harry grunted. "Will you send McGonagall a photo? I'll pop over there after I'm finished checking in on Malfoy."

"What are you going back there for? You got more than a statement," Ron asked, with an eyebrow.

Harry didn't want to answer him. He needed to make sure that Malfoy was doing okay. Withdrawal was a bitch to go through. He saw enough people detoxing in a cell to know.

"Just briefing Terry on the case and Malfoy only gave us what DEK did to him."

Ron gave him a sideways glance but kept his mouth shut. "Who's going to watch it?"

"I will... as much as I can stomach after I check out Hogwarts. I do want to swing by the crime scene, again. I didn't exactly examine it."

"Not much different than the others. Standard wards on it for protection."

"Did you get the prints and blood out to Scotland yard?"

Ron shook his head. "You really think that'll do anything?"

"Ron, I've tried to tell you that the muggle crime scene investigations are way more extensive than ours, and they don't have magic. Besides, this guy, DEK, he's a muggleborn. I feel it in my bones. He uses muggle tools and escaped into that mall."

"Harry, accusing a muggleborn... it will create resentment if you give that profile."

"And if I called him a pureblood, it wouldn't? DEK knows and understands the muggle world. His spells are rudimentary. That Lung-Filling Curse was the most sophisticated magic he did. He prefers knives and tools to his wand. It's not natural for a pureblood to do... or maybe even a half-blood."