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The Corpse Wore Toilet Paper
By lucky_black_cat

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Category: Hogwarts Express Challenge (2006-3)
Characters:None
Genres: Action/Adventure, Drama, Fluff
Warnings: Death, Extreme Language, Violence
Story is Complete
Rating: PG-13
Reviews: 29
Summary: ** Winner of Best Overall in the Hogwarts Express Challenge **
When the corpse of a Death Eater is found in the bathroom, aboard the Hogwarts Express, it will take inter-house to cooperation to solve the murder, and save Ginny's life along the way.
Hitcount: Story Total: 14095; Chapter Total: 2853







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Chapter 2



After all fifth years and above had been asked to move into Compartment C (which was, with difference, the largest in the train) and had declared themselves as comfortable as it was possible to be in such a situation, Harry had decided to get on with the interviews. He had enlarged the adjoining compartment until it became spacious enough for a wooden desk, six chairs and six people. While the conjuring of the furniture had been Hermione’s doing, the idea of asking Theodore Nott to help with the investigation had been all Harry’s, and now he was paying for it with Ron’s uninterrupted flow of complaints.

“I don’t know why you two trust him,” Ron muttered yet again after the thirteenth interview. “How do you know he’s not involved in this?”

Harry and Hermione looked at each other and rolled their eyes.

“For your information, Weasley, I have an alibi. You would have realised if you’d cared to notice who was taking Malfoy’s post as a Prefect,” Nott answered laconically.

“Yes, well,” Ron admitted, a bit disgruntled. “But what about earlier? How do I know you didn’t do it before the Prefects’ meeting, huh?” Ron seemed very proud of himself for finding a loophole in Nott’s alibi.

“I saw him board on the train two minutes before we left Hogsmeade Station,” Harry explained in a bored voice. “And the meeting started when we left, at eleven o’clock sharp. He wouldn’t have had time to do it.”

“Though I am very honoured that you should think so highly of my duelling abilities,” Nott sneered.

Ron grunted again and crossed his arms. “Oh, really, I never said…”

“For Merlin’s sake, Ron, just leave it already, he didn’t do it!” Hermione spat, completely exasperated.

“Alright, so he’s innocent! There are dozens of innocent people in this train! So why does it have to be him?”

“When you’re dealing with an affair as low and dirty as this, you need someone who’s used to living underground,” Nott answered philosophically. “But if you’d rather it was another Slytherin… I can hear Pansy screeching from here.” Nott nodded in the direction of the wall that separated them from Compartment C; from where Pansy’s unpleasant voice could be heard complaining loudly.

Ron kept grunting disconnected sentences under his breath. Harry sighed and shook his head before turning to look at the papers on his desk. One of them was a list of the names of all fifth years and above, which they were using to keep track of the people they interviewed, and the other was a map of the compartments of the train, which Dean Thomas had provided them shortly after making sure Parvati was all right.

“Ok,” Harry spoke up, crossing out Colin Creevey’s name in the list. “Who now, d’you reckon?”

Nott stood behind Harry’s chair and checked the list over his shoulder. He pondered for a moment and then said, “What about the Longbottom boy?”

Ron snorted derisively. “Neville? Please, don’t make me laugh. I’ve seen Bellatrix duel, and I’ve seen Neville duel, and there’s a huge difference. There’s no way he could have done it.”

“Sounds fine to me,” Harry agreed, completely ignoring Ron. “Won’t you call him, Hermione, please?” Once she had gone out, Harry turned to Ron and said, “I don’t believe he did it either, Ron, but he had a reason to want Bellatrix dead, and I want to hear anything he’s got to say on the matter.”

In that moment, Hermione reappeared through the door, Neville in tow. He looked at each of them a bit anxiously, and kept rubbing his hands together to keep them from shaking. Though he seemed to calm down a bit when Harry smiled at him and asked him to sit down, he didn’t look completely comfortable.

“Neville,” Harry asked kindly. “Did you hear what happened?”

“Y-yes,” he stuttered. “I heard someone’s been killed. A-a Death Eater, they say.”

“They’re right,” Nott nodded. “Do you know the identity of the victim?” Neville shook his head no, all the while watching Nott with something akin to apprehension. “Bellatrix Lestrange, Longbottom. Ring a bell?”

Neville’s eyes widened in terror and he gasped. “I didn’t know it was her,” he breathed.

“Do you have any idea who might have done it?” Harry asked conversationally.

“No. Not me,” Neville replied, and then added something else under his breath.

“What was that?” Nott asked, raising his eyebrows.

Neville looked at Nott and, taking a deep breath, answered, “I said, I wish it had been me.” He let out a nervous laugh. Nott smiled, and this friendly gesture from the Slytherin seemed to soothe Neville a bit more.

“Neville, at what time did you board on the train?” Harry asked kindly.

“Less than five minutes before we left Hogsmeade,” Neville answered.

“Where did you go once you got on the train?”

Neville blushed faintly. “I was with Luna.”

“Luna Lovegood? Ravenclaw fifth year?” Nott asked suddenly. Neville answered yes, and Nott nodded briefly.

“What compartment were you in, Neville?” Harry asked, turning the map over to Neville so he could see it.

“This one,” Neville reached out to point the compartment that was nearest the bathroom.

“Did you hear anything unusual?” Nott asked interestedly, leaning forward to show Neville that he had his attention.

“No,” Neville shook his head. “Not a thing. Not even a voice. First notice we had was when Lavender screamed.”

“Was anyone else with you in that compartment?” Harry asked.

“No,” Neville answered, flushing again. “We were alone.”

“That’s all, Neville. Thanks a lot,” Harry told him with a smile. “You may go.”

Neville nodded, got up and walked out of the compartment.

“I think,” Harry announced, “that we can be certain that Neville didn’t do it.”

“Just what I told you before he arrived,” Ron nodded. “He couldn’t have done it; he’s not such a good dueller.”

“I’m not talking only about that,” Harry replied, scratching Neville’s name off the suspect list. “Didn’t you hear what he said? He said he wished he had killed her. He was honest with us. If he had been guilty, he wouldn’t have admitted his desire for revenge so readily.”

Nott grinned. “You’re a smart one, Potter. And to think that you ended up in Gryffindor...” He shook his head in disbelief.

Ron snorted and rolled his eyes. Nott glared at him, as if daring him to say something, but he didn’t.

“There was something else that called my attention,” Harry said to the others. “He said they didn’t hear a thing, and they were next to the bathroom.”

“Maybe he lied,” suggested Ron. “Maybe he wasn’t paying attention to anything but Luna, and didn’t want to admit it.”

“Or maybe someone put Imperturbable and Silencing Charms on the bathroom so nobody outside would know what was going on,” Harry suggested.

“That makes sense,” nodded Nott. “They probably locked the door as they went out, too.”

“Well, it would be stupid to check everyone’s wands for locking spells,” said Hermione, “because some people lock their compartments so they won’t be disturbed.”

“That’s true. The Slytherin compartment is always locked by a charm that only a Slytherin can open. Well, a Slytherin and anyone a Slytherin lets in on the knowledge, of course,” Nott answered, sitting down on Harry’s left.

“Who’s next?” asked Ron, walking forward to see the list.

“What about Ginny?” Harry suggested.

Hermione nodded. “I’ll go get her.”

In no time, Hermione was back carrying Ginny. Once again, like before, Harry was caught off guard by her weak appearance. Her skin, normally creamy and soft, looked as if it was withering before their very eyes, and the heaviness in her movements was alarming. Harry got up and helped her to a chair, in which she remained unmoving, grateful for the rest. Her hair, he noted, was even darker than before, and she seemed to be having trouble keeping her eyes open. Immediately after sitting down, she brought a hand to her forehead and closed her eyes, as if trying to chase away a headache.

“Ginny, are you feeling all right?” Harry heard himself ask concernedly.

“She’s been looking off-colour all day,” Ron chimed in before his sister had time to answer herself.

Nott took a seat beside the youngest Weasley. “Your hair isn’t normally this shade, is it, Ginny?” Nott asked concernedly, surprising everyone through his use of her first name.

“No… it’s brighter, bright red,” Ginny answered, and Harry was alarmed at the sound of her voice, weak and tired.

“Can I have a word with you, Hermione?” Nott asked unexpectedly, looking at the bushy-haired witch. She nodded and both went out of the compartment. Instants later, Nott came back in, and Hermione disappeared down the corridor toward the compartment that the Slytherins usually occupied. Harry did not comment, nor did Ron — they just looked at Nott, who gave a reassuring nod and took a seat beside Ginny, watching her critically. Ginny did not seem to be bothered by him — instead, it looked like she trusted him, because she seemed ready to doze off at any moment.

“Are you sleepy, Ginny?” Harry asked.

“Yeah,” Ginny replied, rubbing her eyes. “A lot… I’ve fallen asleep twice already, I haven’t been able to help it… And it’s strange, ‘cause I slept twelve hours last night.”

“Did you hear Lavender scream earlier, Ginny?” Harry asked quietly, locking his gaze with hers.

“No,” Ginny answered, frowning in confusion. She supported her head with her hand and looked at Harry lazily; her usual sparkle gone as if it had never been there.

“What did you eat for breakfast?” Nott asked suddenly.

Harry and Ron both raised their eyebrows at the unusual question, but Ginny didn’t show signs of shock or surprise. She just answered in a toneless voice that she had taken toast and pumpkin juice.

“Were you feeling like this before breakfast?” Nott asked again.

“Now that you mention it… no,” Ginny replied, frowning a bit.

Harry caught onto Nott’s train of thought and asked what he knew was going to be the Slytherin’s next question. “Did anything unusual happen at breakfast? Did your food taste different from usual?”

“Not at all,” Ginny answered. “Only strange thing was… that Parkinson girl came from the Slytherin table to talk to me.”

This got everyone’s attention at once. “What did she want?” Harry asked instantly, remembering his own encounter with the Slytherin.

“She gave me some crap about forgetting old differences and fighting together. I thought she must be pulling my leg,” Ginny chuckled faintly.

“Ginny, do you think it’s possible that she slipped you something when you weren’t looking?” Harry asked, worried.

“I suppose she could have,” Ginny answered, and yawned. Barely seconds later, she was asleep.

****


Herm ione walked ahead, further down the train. She walked as fast as her legs would let her, wishing that nobody would see her there. Even though she knew that all the older Slytherins were far away from here, she couldn’t help but feel nervous. Eventually she looked behind her, to see if she was being followed. A couple of times she thought she caught a glimpse of someone hiding from her view, but she discarded this as paranoia. Hermione knew she was being stupid — after all, what could happen to her inside the Hogwarts Express? If she hurried, nobody had to know she had been there.

Finally she reached the compartment with a huge ‘S’ painted on the door. She looked to her right and left and, after making sure the coast was clear, took out her wand and muttered the incantation that Theodore had taught her moments ago. She just hoped she could make it work. With a triumphant gleam in her eyes, Hermione heard the door click open. She grinned and went into the compartment, closing the door after her.

Hermione looked around and gasped. There were more than a dozen trunks here! How was she supposed to search them all? She took a deep breath and started looking at the labels they wore. Blaise Zabini… Theodore Nott… Vincent Crabbe… Gregory Goyle… Pansy Parkinson. Hermione smirked. She’d start with Parkinson — she was curious about her, and besides, she wanted to see if she could find anything that told her Pansy wasn’t really on their side.

A quick Alohomora and the trunk lid opened. Hermione started rummaging through it. Old newspapers… clothes… Potions ingredients that Hermione couldn’t recognise… And then, she saw it. A small vial half-full of a colourless potion that smelled strongly of something that would be very valuable for the investigation. Without thinking it twice, Hermione stuffed it inside her robes and continued searching, so immersed in what she was doing that she didn’t hear someone coming in behind her until it was too late to escape.

“What do you think you’re doing?” snarled a voice in her ear. Hermione stiffened as she felt a wand tip digging into her back.

“N-Nothing,” Hermione muttered, wishing fervently that her attacker would believe her lame answer.

The other person laughed. “Why should I believe that?” was the response. “You’re just a filthy, worthless Mudblood.”

“I haven’t taken anything…”

“I’ll have to believe you this time… I’m not going to touch you. I don’t want to get my hands dirty. But just in case… Stupe-

Stupefy!” shouted a different voice from the doorway. Hermione remained frozen, her heart beating frantically in her chest. She closed her eyes in an attempt to calm down.

“The stupid hag,” Nott snarled, looking at the Stunned Pansy with disgust etched on his haughty features. “Are you ok, Hermione?” he asked, sitting down next to Hermione, who immediately hugged him fiercely. Nott started, taken off guard, but patted her back slightly.

“I thought she was going to kill me,” Hermione whispered, her voice quavering. “I thought she was someone else.”

Nott patted her head a bit awkwardly. “Nah, it’s that stupid charm she uses to modify her voice. It has a good side, though — one’s ears get tired of her usual screeching after a while.”

Hermione chuckled nervously and let him go. “Thanks, Theodore,” she smiled at him. “But… how did you know something would happen to me?”

“Your dear friend Ronald decided that he wouldn’t subject himself to the task of going from one compartment to the other to call in the witnesses, so I had to do it myself. When I went to call Luna Lovegood to check Neville’s alibi, I realised Pansy wasn’t in the compartment, and thought I should warn you,” Nott explained. “So, did you find anything?”

“A potion,” Hermione answered, taking out the vial. “Though I don’t recognise it.”

Nott took the vial from her, uncorked it and smelled it. “This explains a lot,” he muttered, a sombre expression on his face. “We need to get back to the others. I’ll explain later,” he added, noticing Hermione’s curious look.

They got up and walked towards the door. When Nott was about to go out, Hermione called him. “Wait,” she said. “Shouldn’t we take her with us?” she asked, jabbing her thumb in the direction of the unconscious Pansy.

“If it depended on me, I’d feed her to Hagrid’s Skrewts,” Nott replied. “But, unfortunately, it doesn't. Besides, I’m quite curious as to what she has to say…” He sighed in defeat and with a wave of his wand, levitated Pansy’s body into the air.

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