To: harry(dot)potter(at)gringotts(dot)wiz(dot)uk

From: ddbartondurs(at)yahoo(dot)co(dot)uk

Subject: Lunch

Harry,

Hoping this finds you. Hermione told me that this was the best way to contact you, if I don't have an owl. Phillip was all for getting one until he found out how expensive they were. And the kind of mess they leave. :-)

I don't even know how we'd get it back if we let it go. Yours used to go out and hunt for itself as I recall, didn't she? She was a beautiful thing.

I was hoping we could get some lunch soon? I've got Mon. off. Do you have time?

Hermione says to tell you to just reply with the delivery owl. Address it to my email address, ddbartondurs(at)yahoo(dot)co(dot)uk. The owl will know what to do with it. If you want to send it with your own owl, make sure she knows to take it to Gringotts

Dudley

Harry smiled as he penned his response, pleased that Dudley had written to him. He had some idea of going to see Dudley at some point, but truthfully he was a little nervous about bothering him. He also didn't know how he'd take owl post. Trust Hermione to have anticipated this.

Dear Dudley,

Lunch sounds great. I'm free Monday. I can meet you at 12:00 at your house.

Thanks,

Harry

"Harry?" called Ginny from downstairs, "Hermione's here."

Think of the devil and she appears.

Harry addressed the letter to the odd address Dudley had included.

"Harry?" called Ginny again, she sounded worried.

"Give me a minute." Harry tied the letter onto the owl's foot and sent it back out the window.

Harry trotted down the stairs to the kitchen. He assumed Hermione was here about some fairly routine paperwork regarding Tim. He was unprepared for a Hermione who was pale to the lips. She sat at the kitchen table, across from Ginny. Kreacher was handing her a cup of tea, which spilled as her hand shook slightly.

"Hermione?" Harry asked in a low voice, "What's happened?"

"Tim and Lily are at school today?" asked Hermione, she looked at her cup rather than at Ginny or Harry.

Harry sat down next to Ginny who clasped his hand.

"Yes," replied Ginny, "Why?"

Hermione closed her eyes and nodded. She took a deep breath before looking at the two of them, "Tim's mother was released from hospital yesterday...and...and they found her...dead this morning." she paused as though forcing herself to go on, "The Muggles are assuming it was an OD, but there's signs that it was...Ron and Ackerly are checking it out...there's signs that she was killed by dark magic."

A shard of ice seemed to pierce Harry's stomach. He squeezed Ginny's hand then let it go, spreading his hands out on the table in front of him. A trick to stop them trembling, "What signs?" he asked calmly, as though this were a witness interveiw. The tremor was caused by that spike of adrenaline that accompanied a new case.

"She was found dead this morning. In a house that had been abandoned and taken over by some drug addicts. She died without any signs of violence. When the police went around asking, someone apparently reported seeing her arguing with a man at a bus stop. They left together. She was found later in the squat by some other people...they thought she was still off on a nod." Hermione grimaced, "She was dead. The Muggle coroner is going to do an autopsy. I don't think he'll find any conclusive evidence of drugs."

"So," said Harry softly, "Do we have any witnesses to the death? Could it have been something like a heart attack?" He examined his hands as they pressed against the wood of the table, "I mean she wasn't very strong. It could have been natural causes."

"Her hospital record shows no history of heart problems. She'd been admitted into a methadone program. That was the condition of her release." Hermione replied,

"So, there were witnesses actually saw the death?"

Hermione nodded, "Just one. The police thought so, anyway. She told the police that the man Mary was arguing with didn't notice she was there. She was hiding under a blanket, apparently"

"Ron's coming here when he's done questioning her." Hermione fixed him with an acute look, "You can't investigate this, Harry." she said firmly, "You have a conflict of interest. Right now, we have to think of what-how to tell Tim."

"Do we...do we have to tell him?" asked Ginny softly, "I mean, he knew that he wasn't going to be able to see her...he knew that she..."Ginny swallowed hard.

"No. We can't keep this from him." said Harry, bleakly, but with finality "He needs to know. It's his life."

"Oh, but..." Ginny started, for a moment she looked exactly like her mother.

"Harry's right." said Hermione, with a sigh, "It's just a question of how we tell him."

"If its dark magic...perhaps we shouldn't tell him that..." Ginny sounded as though she were pleading with Hermione.

A sudden thought made Harry look up sharply, "Do we know what the witnesses say Mary and the other man argued about?"

Hermione looked at him quizzically but pulled a parchment from her bag, "One of the Muggles the police questioned said she heard the woman telling the man that she wouldn't tell him where "the boy" was."

Harry nodded, perhaps there was more to Mary Dawson than it appeared "All right. Should we bring them home now, do you think?"

"I think so." said Ginny, "But, honestly, I need a cup of tea before..." she had never had to tell someone that a dark wizard had killed their family.

Harry had. He reached over and took her hand again, "Has anyone notified her other family?" he asked.

Hermione shook her head, "No need to. According to all the records, Mary and Tim were the only family the other had.."

"So there's no one to claim the body?" Ginny asked, in a sad voice.

Hermione shook her head.

"We'll take care of her final expenses," said Ginny firmly, pulling herself together, "Tim can't have his mum going to a pauper's grave." she wiped the one tear away that was trickling down her cheek with the heel of her hand.

The front door opened and shut. Ron's footsteps came down the stairs to the kitchen. His mouth was set into a grim line.

"So?" asked Harry, knowing he didn't need to say anything else.

Ron threw himself on the bench next to Hermione, "Found a Muggle who witnessed it. She was pretty out of it. Doing some kind of Muggle drugs at the time, so she thought she was seeing things. She said Mary came in with this bloke and they were arguing pretty hard. She kept saying 'You can't get him. I sent him somewhere safe' And then he smacked her across the face. She laughed at him and there was this flash of green light. The man left and the witness figured Mary had just passed out. When they tried to wake her up, she was dead." Ron put a small bottle on the table, filled with silver vapor, "I got the memories before they Obliviated the witness. Not that she needed it much." he finished darkly

Ginny put both hands over her mouth. Hermione put her head in her hands and Rom put his arm around her.

Harry stood up with exaggerated care, went to the sideboard and violently threw everything off of it with one sweep of his arm. He stood there leaning with his hands on the sideboard, breathing hard. Trying to get a grip on himself.

"Harry..?" said Hermione, softly, through the shocked silence. He felt their eyes on him, their concern

"Sorry." said Harry, he turned around. His wife and his best friends stood there with understanding in their eyes, "It's just...just a little close to home. You know?" He ran his hand through his hair.

Ginny nodded, then said softly, "Kreacher? Be a love, and get us each a glass of firewhiskey." she spread her hands palms up, in front of her, "I know its early, but I need something right now."

Kreacher obligingly brought the bottle and four shot glasses. Harry slid back in beside Ginny who put her arm around his back. He leaned his head on Ginny's, taking in the scent of her hair.

"Sorry about the mess," Harry said as Kreacher went to pick up the stuff that had been on the sideboard.

In answer, Kreacher patted Harry's arm gently, "Kreacher is knowing that Master Harry is just upset. Master Harry is worrying about Little Master Tim, let Kreacher be worrying about messes."

"Thank you, Kreacher." Harry said, gratefully.

Ginny poured them each a glass, she picked her glass up, held it aloft, "To Mary. She died protecting her son."

Harry sniffed, held his own glass up, "To Mary." he said hoarsely. The firewhisky had the desired affect and drove out the chill that had settled in his stomach, replacing it with a pleasantly hot sensation.

For several minutes, the four of them sat in silence with the only sound in the room being that of Kreacher cleaning up.

"I suppose we should get Tim from school," Harry said, "We can get Lily at the regular time?" Harry worried that Lily would take on too much responsibility for comforting Tim.

Ginny nodded, "I think, you're right, we should tell Tim alone first."