Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling. This fanfiction is not written to make money. No profit is being generated and no copyright infringement is intended. All events in this story are based on the Harry Potter series.
Chapter Two
Harry woke up the next morning to find Ron and Hermione already seated at the breakfast table, munching toasts, and each reading a copy of the Morning Prophet. Hermione, for her part, even had several Muggle newspapers beside her.
"'Morning!" Harry said, settling down on a chair next to Hermione, helping himself to some toast, and pouring himself a cup of coffee.
"'Morning, bro'," Ron muttered, not taking his eyes off the sports section of his Prophet. He was the team captain of the Chudley Cannons, and he was keeping a close watch on the other teams' performance in the league.
"'Morning, Harry," Hermione said, putting down her paper, and taking a sip from her mug of tea.
"So is there anything about him in there?" Harry asked.
"No," said Hermione. "I think the Ministry's keeping it secret that we're interested so the killer will not be alarmed."
She opened the Daily Mail and disappeared behind it. Harry reached for the Times and scanned its pages. They sat in silence for a few minutes, occasionally munching their toasts or sipping coffee and (in Hermione's case) tea. Then Hermione put down her last paper with a sigh.
"Nothing in the Muggle news, either," she said, as she finished the last of her toast and gulping down the remaining tea in her mug.
"Well, it really won't be that easy," said Harry. But we'll find him, Hermione. We'll stop him before he kills his next victim."
Hermione stood up.
"You'd better hurry up, Harry. The sooner we get into this, the better," she said, and headed to her room to take a shower.
Harry put down his newspaper and returned to his toast. He sat there munching it quietly, and thinking about the steps they're going to take to find the murderer.
Ron put down his paper with a sigh and sipped his coffee.
"What's up?" asked Harry.
"The Ballycastle Bats are getting really stronger this season," Ron said. "They just murdered the Tornados yesterday."
"Oh," said Harry. "But you beat them during your previous match, didn't you?"
"Yeah, but that was before Zacharias Smith joined them. That git's getting really good."
"Well, he's already good when he was playing for Hufflepuff at Hogwarts, wasn't he? I thought Ginny would be joining the team this year. She's also good, and she'll be a match for Smith."
"It's not only Smith," said Ron, with a worried look on his face. "They've also got a new Seeker, Desmond Williams."
"Isn't that the bloke who-?"
"Replaced you as Seeker when we graduated from Hogwarts, yeah," Ron said dully. "And he's pretty good. Not up to your standard, of course, but still pretty good."
"Well, your Seeker's not that bad, either. We've seen him make awesome captures when he's on form," said Harry, trying to comfort him.
"Yeah, when he's on form," Ron said. "But that jerk's always having problems with injuries."
"Oh come on, Ron. I'm sure you can retain the title this year. Just focus on it and keep training hard," Harry advised.
Harry had opted not to pursue a professional Quidditch career because of his work as an Auror, but he plays Quidditch for recreation and exercise, and he is also a reserve Seeker in the national team. He also plays in exhibition matches in the league, at Hogwarts, and even abroad.
"Yeah," said Ron, as he finished his coffee. "I think I'll increase team practices to four times a week. Puddlemere United's even doing five times a week!"
"Well, you know what Wood's like," said Harry, grinning as he remembered his former captain in the Gryffindor Quidditch Team. "He's probably the most grueling Quidditch captain who'd ever existed."
Hermione emerged from her bedroom, dressed ready for field work.
"Harry, you'd better hurry up," she said as she went to the shoe rack to put on her sneakers.
"Yeah, I suppose," Harry said. He drained the last of his coffee and went to his room to take a shower.
By the time he has finished and dressed, Hermione had cleared the remnants of their breakfast, and Ron was talking to his team manager at the fireplace. Harry put on his shoes as Hermione came out from the kitchen.
"-okay? Tell them I want to push the team to its limits if I have to. I'll see you later, Bert," Ron said, finishing the conversation. Gilbert Brown, Ron's team manager, nodded at Harry and Hermione, and disappeared with a faint pop. Ron turned to his two best friends.
"So what are you two up to today?"
Hermione grabbed her cloak and pulled it on. "We'll be out for today, Ron. Maybe for a couple of days, 'till we find the murderer. You'll be okay here, won't you?"
"Yeah, I suppose," Ron said. "Maybe I'll ask Becky to come over."
"Oh, by the way, Ron," said Harry as he pulled on his jacket, "if Margaret calls, tell her for me, will you? I haven't got time to send her an owl. Tell her it's really urgent."
"I'll take care of it," Ron nodded. "What about you, Hermione, have you told Charles yet?"
Charles Davies was Hermione's boyfriend for a couple of months, Margaret Hunter was Harry's girlfriend for barely a week, and Becky Johnson was Ron's fiancée. They are to be married in three months.
"Yes.I flooed him yesterday but he's not even home. So I just told his roommate to pass on the message." Hermione frowned. "He couldn't even tell me where Charles went. I guess I'll confront him when I get back from this."
"Don't you think that he might be cheating on you, Hermione?" said Ron cautiously. "I always thought that he couldn't be trusted."
"Yeah," Harry added. "I never trusted him, either."
"Oh, stop acting like overprotective brothers," Hermione said impatiently. "I'm not that stupid, you know, and I'm not a little girl anymore."
"We're just concerned, Hermione. Just look at your previous boyfriend," Ron said. "It was lucky that Becky was the one who saw him with that slut. If it had been me or Harry, he would never have reached St. Mungo's alive."
"Yeah, right. Thanks for your concern," Hermione said, rolling her eyes. "Come on, Harry."
She and Harry moved to the Apparition point just inside their front door, bade Ron goodbye, and disappeared with a soft pop, only to reappear seconds later at the Atrium of the Ministry of Magic.