'detective #2'

𝐀𝐃𝐀 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐊𝐄𝐑 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐌𝐔𝐑𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐃 𝐎𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐇 𝐎𝐅 𝐉𝐔𝐋𝐘.

It was gruesome, yet so interesting. She was stabbed seventeen times in the back, not even killed in a magical way. She was in her seventh year in Hogwarts, with perfect grades and had a loving family and circle of friends. She was en-route to become a healer. Why would anyone kill her?

That was what drew Valerie to the case. And for the fact that this was connected to her past, it was a bonus.

Valerie flashed a brilliant grin at Madame Pince.

"Hello, do you know where the old Daily Prophet papers are?"

"What timeframe?" The old librarian grumbled, bored.

"Last year, please."

She shuffled through some shelves and handed Valerie a huge box. Valerie read each one of the covers to cover, wanting some reference or a small box talking about the murder.

And she did. On 17th July, a small article was published, tucked away where it would be easy to miss. It mentioned some vague details, her family, the date of the funeral and where the body was found. She carefully wrote those lines on a parchment.

A student named Ada Parker, a muggle-born, was found murdered by seventeen stabs from a knife. The body was found by the Boy Who Lived, Harry Potter..

Harry Potter. She had pondered hours about that voice that just popped up in her head when she saw his scar. And here he was, connected to this mysterious murder. She had to talk to him. 

Valerie handed the stack of papers back to Madame Pince and dashed out of the library, looking for Harry Potter. She spotted him in a hallway, clutching his hand as if it hurt.

"Valerie," he greeted her with a strained smile.

"Ada Parker, I need to know everything about how you found her," Valerie demanded.

Harry folded his arms (which made him wince). "Does this have anything to do with what you remembered when you saw my scar?"

Valerie shot him a dirty look. "That's none of your concern, Potter."

Harry insisted. "You want something from me, and I want something from you."

"No. My thing is personal, yours isn't. Yours is a murder case, which everyone has a right to know,"

"No. My thing is personal too. You're not some authorized investigator who can interrogate me like this," he said defiantly. Valerie seethed.

"Fine! See you later, then." Valerie said, coldly, making sure anger was in her voice.

"Fine! Good luck finding the information you'll never get!" Harry said. He walked away, but slower than before.

Valerie took a deep breath. She had no choice. She would despise every second of it but Harry was right, she had no other sources. She couldn't ask any of the teachers, they would be suspicious. Harry was her only hope.

"I'll tell you," she conceded suddenly, making him stop.

He turned, waiting expectantly and Valerie lied. Partly. It was the first lie she would ever tell him.

"When I saw your scar, I remembered a girl named Ada. I went to the library and found out she was killed. The case is unsolved, so I wanted to solve it to see if it links to my past,"

Harry nodded, believing every word.

Fool.

"I was going to the washroom with a.... disillusionment charm. On the way to the washroom, I found the body."

Valerie frowned. "The washroom is on the third floor. The body was found in the ground floor."

"How do you know that?" Harry challenged.

Valerie crossed her arms. "I know I'm right, Potter. The point is you are lying to me. I need you to be honest."

Harry sighed, running his hands through his already messy hair. Valerie spotted a flash of blood as he did so. She ignored it.

"Fine. There was a tournament and I was a participant. To solve a riddle, I did go to the washroom except the prefect's one. I got the password from--" his voice broke. He swallowed.

"--I got it from a friend who wanted to help me."

"Why a washroom?" Valerie asked, very suspicious.

"It was an egg. When you opened it, it screamed. However, when you opened it under-water, you could hear a riddle,"

"And why did you use a disillusionment charm?"

"It was curfew. I would get detention if I was seen."

Valerie enjoyed this. "You couldn't have just seen the body and continued to walk to the washroom--"

"No," Harry agreed. "I saw it when I was coming back from the washroom."

"And you used the same path which you came to the washroom?"

"Yes."

"How long did you spend in the washroom?"

Harry threw his hands up, exasperated. Then, he winced. "I don't know! It wasn't like there was a timer!"

"Approximately?" Valerie asked, not fazed by his frustaration.

"About thirty minutes, I guess."

"And what time did you go there?"

"10:30ish?"

Valerie nodded. "Thanks, Potter."

Harry's eyes sparkled. "Can I join you?"

Valerie shook her head. "No way."

"Please, that's not fair. I discovered the corpse. I deserve to help!"

"And what help would you be? You're not exactly the brightest bulb in the electrical shop,"

"Electrical shop?" Harry chuckled. "And I could make things faster. I'm good at reading people. We could interrogate two suspects at once and have fun!"

"Fun," Valerie echoed flatly.

"I'm fun to be with!"

"No." Valerie spun around and walked off.

"Wait! Come on, Valerie. I need a distraction from all the crap in my life. This is perfect. Please!"

Valerie stopped. She heard the desperation in his voice and felt a pang of sympathy. His green eyes were filled with more sorrow than McGonagall's. Valerie wondered what he had gone through all these years.

"Fine," she relented, exhaling deeply.

"You should be grateful I'm nice," Valerie said.

Harry beamed. "How would I survive without your niceness?" he teased and followed her.

"Can we have codenames?" he asked excitedly.

"Whatever," Valerie muttered.

"I'll be Detective #1 and you'll be Detective #2."

Valerie protested. "Why do I have to be second?"

"We're going by who's cooler,"

"Cooler? The whole school knows you have a fiery temper."

Harry glared. "That was only one time."

"Two times, actually."

"One time."

"You yelled at Hermione? And you yelled at Hermione and Ron for their constant arguing."

"One time."

"Two times."

"One time."

"Two times."

"One--"

"Let's settle this with rock, paper, scissors. The winner gets to be Detective #1."

Harry agreed. "3..2...1..."

She showed scissors while Harry's hand was clenched. It was a rock. He won.

"Ha!" he grinned.

"I hate you," Valerie said, even though she predicted he would choose rock.

"Did you let me win?" he asked, pretending to be hurt.

"Of course, I did." And that wasn't a lie.

madi speaks!

ok, this is an enemies to lovers but first let me make them enemies ok? before that let val harbour a smol crush for harry UwU. lmao, I hate this chapter. also don't be a silent reader! say something. please.

also feedback???? how's it going????what about ada's mystery??