…. For Dra …

Written for the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition || Team Appleby Arrows | Round vi. Cult Classics | Beater II | Frankenstein

5. (word) Bloodthirsty

8. (location) Nurmengard

14. (object) Mirror

WARNING: Crime!AU | murder | violence | blood | insanity |

Got a secret (can you keep it?)

Hermione Granger walked as gracefully as possible; which wasn't easy considering that her umbrella seemed to have a mind of its own. The heavy wind and rain that poured down from the slate grey skies only made matters worse.

Finally, after what felt like hours, the young woman reached her destination. Completely drenched, she rang the doorbell of the ancient and frightening building. Well, with its towers, grand windows and enormous front gates, one might have called it an old fortress.

Nonetheless, she folded her umbrella and put it into the brown bag she had carried along.

Suddenly, a hoarse voice was heard through the speakers.

"Nurmengard hospital for mental disorders and diseases. What do you want?"

'I'm fine, and thanks for asking,' Hermione thought sarcastically, but she pulled herself together. Sure, she didn't expect to find a roaring fire or a chimney on the inside to warm herself, but the shabby old building would at least keep the rain out.

"Dr. Hermione Granger, forensic pathologist," she introduced herself, albeit speaking loudly into the microphone, "I got a call earlier from your Director, asking for my expertise."

Without another reply, the tall iron gate opened with a nasty shrieking sound.

x.x.x

Detective Draco Malfoy was bent over the bodies; his nose almost touching the lifeless skin of the victims on the floor.

'And one would think something this place is safe…'' he thought and shook his head.

He was about to examine the victim's clothes once more, when the high security door behind him opened.

Draco turned around-phone still in his hand-before he let his eyes wander over the intruders.

One of them, an old bitter looking woman whom he had met earlier, was the asylum's–pardon–hospital's director, Druella Black. Her long, grey hair was bound together in some sort of messy bunand the pantsuit she wore let people to believe that she was still living in a time when witches had been burned on the stage.

She was accompanied by two other women. One, who shared Black's facial features and who–with her high cheekbones, pale lips and untamed curly hair–looked unhealthy thin; her ribs and collarbone clearly visible through the thin fabric of the cotton gown she wore.

Draco assumed she was a lot older than himself, but younger than Director Black. The expression on her face, however, resembled a shy, timid and scared little girl rather than a grown-up woman. And when she looked at him with her dark, brown yes, an involuntary shiver ran down his spine.

'Poor woman,' he thought. 'She's-'

"What do we have here?" asked the third woman who had entered.

Draco moved his head ever-so-slightly and looked her up and down. He had trouble to keep his mouth shut, for the hazel-eyed beauty, with her bushy brown hair neatly put together in a ponytail and her expensive looking leather bag in hand, was indeed a sight.

Since she didn't receive an answer, the young woman stepped forward.

"I assume you are Detective Malfoy?" she asked and extended her hand for him to shake. "From the London Police Department?"

Draco just nodded; resisting the urge to roll his grey eyes.

"I'm Dr. Hermione Granger."

Glancing at her, then at the bag she carried and back at her, the blond detective put two and two together. "Ah, I see. You're the new pathologist?" he asked annoyed.

But the captain had done it before, so it didn't surprise him to see that he got a new partner assigned once again.

'But a woman? Really?'

"Well, I would have preferred to pick my own medical examiner for this case, but – "

"But?" She gave him a challenging look before she sat down her bag and put on a pair of white rubber gloves.

Draco, who had turned around halfway, turned his head backwards and shrugged. "But at least you're a nice one to look at."

x.x.x

Hermione boiled and balled her hands into fists.

'Why, oh why do I always have to work with people like him?' she thought and tried very hard not to turn around and punch this arrogant Detective right into the face. She was, after all, at a crime scene and the four dismembered bodies on the ground were already enough.

Giving her best to ignore the annoying, arrogant–damn handsome–blond man, she shook her head and took a deep breath.

A shiver ran down her spine. She had pursued her job for many years now, but even an experienced woman like herself, who was basically making her living by examining dead people, was shocked to see a scene this horrible.

Four bodies. Two males and two females. All of different ages.

She bent down to get a closer look; ignoring Detective Malfoy's breath against her neck as he mirrored her actions.

The youngest victim, with dark and slightly curly hair seemed to be around her own age. His eyes were closed and both his arms had been cut off – probably with a sharp-edged object, since the cuts looked unruly and the tissue completely damaged. Whoever did this was probably in a hurry.

The second victim, an elderly man around 60, was positioned right next him; his skin was beyond pale and eyes had been closed, too. This time, however, both his legs had been cut off. Judging by the ragged wound, Hermione was convinced that the same weapon had been used.

The last two victims were both female. The first, tall and slightly elder, wore an elegant blue-green costume. Her long black hair was streaked with grey and braided in a French twist. The second woman looked to be the complete opposite: she was rather plump, wore a pair of hand-me down pants and a dirty apron. Her hair was bright red and curly. The most terrifying thing was -

"Granger, I don't have all time," Detective Malfoy's complained.

Hermione sighed. She took one last look at the open wounds and got up from the floor to face both Malfoy and Nurmengard's Director Black, who was still holding the hand of the other woman.

"Alright. As you can see, the first victim got both his arms cut of," she said in a professional voice and tossed her gloves into the nearest trash bin. "The second one lost both his other limbs."

"Obviously, isn't it?" Malfoy sneered. "Even I can see that. Cause of death?"

The young woman rolled her eyes. "The major blood vessels in the inside of the upper arm and inner thigh were damaged."

"Meaning?"

"They bleed out."

His expression darkened. "I see. What about the other two?

She didn't like the tone he used.

"The redhead," she said and pointed to victim number four, "has a 20 centimetre long cut on her lower abdomen."

This seemed to have captured the Detective's attention, for his grey eyes widened in surprise.

"Why?"

"It seems like all her organs have been taken out of her body," Hermione explained and couldn't prevent the shiver from running down her spine at imagining the amount of pain the poor woman had been put through.

Malfoy, who had apparently watched her, noticed that something was bothering her.

"What about her?" he asked and pointed to the raven-haired lady.

"She also bears a wound about the same length on her upper torso. Same, sharp weapon used," Hermione answered and swallowed hard. "Her heart has been cut out."

She hesitated for a moment. "And she was still alive and conscious when the cut was made. All victims were."

x.x.x

Draco sucked in a deep breath. This was worse than he thought.

"Whoever did this," the pretty pathologist mumbled and met his eyes, "is either a terribly bloodthirsty person or – "

"Or," Malfoy interrupted sarcastically, "a very hungry vampire. And considering the latter doesn't exist, I'll take the liberty and assume we're searching for an incredibly unmerciful and bloodthirsty killer."

Dr. Granger rolled her eyes at him. Draco could see that she had a feisty reply on the tip of her tongue, but she only nodded.

"Judging their body's state and liver temperatures," she continued matter-of-factly, "I estimate point of death to be 20 hours ago. They probably died only a couple of hours apart."

Draco nodded, then turned around to Director Black, who was silently standing at the far end of the room.

"Ms Black, do you know any of these people?" he asked, and tried to ignore the creepy looks the other ghost-like woman was giving him.

Nurmengard's director sighed, but her face remained unmoved. "They all lived here. Neville," she pointed at the younger man, "was a patient here at the hospital."

'Or prison,' Draco thought as he took in the scary surroundings. This place looked exactly like a haunted castle in one of the many horror movies his ex-girlfriend used to watch…

"Mr. Filch here," a bony finger pointed to the second corpse, "is our caretaker. Ms. Weasley–the one with the red hair–was our cook."

Draco typed everything into his phone. "What about her?" he asked, eyeing the fashionably dressed elderly woman.

The corners of Black's slips twitched ever-so-slightly. "Professor Isobel McGonagall. She's our psychologist. She's working with all our patients. My daughter Bella," she brushed her hand through the woman's black curls, who still stared at the bodies in trance, "is especially taken aback by her sudden death. You have to understand, it's not easy for her. You see, just the earlier week, my Bella lost her fiancé. Now this…"

Draco watched as Dr. Granger's eyes sparkled with new-found interest as she eyed Bella Black. But no matter how hard the blond tried, he couldn't help but find that there was to her than she led on.

He shook his head, trying to get that woman out of his head.

"Who has access to this Nurmengard after nightfall?" Granger suddenly asked, and Draco couldn't but slightly smile at her. 'Perhaps she's not as bad as I thought'.

Druella shrugged. "It's an isolated facility. The hospital's graveyard as well as staff and patient's quarters are located within these walls. There is no way in or out without our security noticing."

Draco exchanged a concerned glance with his pathologist; hazel eyes meeting grey ones. "This means the murder is here, within Nurmengard."

x.x.x

"Are you sure you didn't see anything?"

The only response was a thrown flashlight that nearly missed his head. Immediately, the Detective backed out of the cell–room–and shut the door.

"This is useless!" he said frustrated and leaned back against the cold stone wall. They had interrogated at least a dozen of patients, but so far they had learned nothing that would help them solve this case. "All these people! They are either mute, deaf, blind, paranoid, schizophrenic, insane or a combination of all those things! We will never get something useful out of them."

Hermione sighed and tightened her coat around her; the cold and freezing air was floating through Nurmengard's old hallways were chilly.

"We have neither suspects, nor motive, nor ideas as to why the bodies have been dismembered!" the blonde thundered and stared at her with his intense grey eyes. "And it looks like neither patients nor staff members had anything to do with it. How can this be? How can someone even want to work in here? This place is horrible."

The woman only shrugged her shoulders and thought about the raven-haired, dead psychologist. "I think they want to help these people."

Malfoy sneered. "Yeah, see where it got them..."

"Are you suggesting cause of death was stupidity, Detective?" she asked, the slightest bit of amusement in her voice.

He only chuckled. "If the shoe fits…"

"Psst."

Hermione looked around. "Did you hear this?"

Malfoy nodded.

"Psst," the voice sounded again, "Psst. I'm here. Around the corner."

Hands around his gun, Malfoy went first. Soon after, he lowered his weapon and signalled her to come after him.

Hazel eyes widened when she spotted the young, platinum-blonde woman that was hiding behind a gigantic statue of Gellert Grindelwald–Nurmengard's founder.

"Who are you?" the blond asked, and the softness in his voice surprised her.

x.x.x

Her name was Luna. She had lived here for quite some time – hallucinations were the reason for her stay. But due to good behaviour, she was allowed to help out in the library every now and then.

'This girl seems saner than most of the people here,' Draco thought and listened closely to what the blue-eyed blonde had to say.

"I think I know whom you are looking for," she finally said and took Granger's hand. "If you promise not to tell, I'll show you."

"We promise," they both replied unison and followed the girl dressed in a pair of unicorn-pyjamas.

x.x.x

"Whose place is this?" Hermione asked, wide eyed and shocked.

The detective on her left was equally pale at seeing the room in front of them: A single bed, no windows, a shattered mirror on the other side, pillows torn apart with their feathers flying around, pages torn out of books, shelves broken and their wood spread all over the room.

"It belongs Director Black's daughter," Luna explained in a dreamy voice.

Hermione exchanged a glance with Draco.

"She lives here? I thought she isn't a patient?"

Luna played with a strand of her blonde hair. "Well, the Director says she doesn't need to be officially admitted to the hospital as long as she is under Ms. Black's watch."

The detective raised an eyebrow and moved his eyes around the room once again. "Is that so?"

The blonde dreamy girl nodded enthusiastically and while Hermione moved to closer into the room, the girl leaned in and whispered, "but you know, we all know that she's not saner than any of us. Especially after her boyfriend killed himself."

Hermione bent down. "The boy killed himself?" she asked suspiciously and used a loose page of a book to pick up one of the shattered mirror fragments. She showed it to the Detective. "This could be part of our murder weapon."

"A broken mirror piece?"

She nodded. "The edges are incredibly sharp. It's enough to cut through human flesh and leave the marks we found on the victims."

Grey eyes looked at her with new-found interest. "So, we found the murder weapon and we have a suspect. All we need now is a motive."

Hermione felt her heart beating in her chest. "I think I already know the motive."

x.x.x

"Ms. Black, do you know where your daughter was last night?"

Draco watched as the old woman shifted uncomfortably in her office chair.

"I assume she was asleep."

"I see."

He watched Granger picking up a photograph from the desk. "This is your daughter with her boyfriend, right?"

Druella nodded uncomfortably. "Yes, she met Tom Riddle when he got admitted to Nurmengard a couple of years ago."

Grey eyes met hazel.

"So, Tom was a patient here, too?"

Ms. Black got up. "I wasn't very keen on this union, but Bella… well, she seemed so happy with him. Happier than I have ever seen her. Had I known what Tom was about to…"

"You mean the suicide?"

Black's eyes widened. "How did you – "

"Doesn't matter," Draco interrupted. "Your daughter's mental state is much more unstable than you want people to believe, isn't it?"

The old woman paled visibly; it was answer enough.

"We need to find Bella."

x.x.x

Hermione's heart was beating heavily in her chest as she followed Draco into the old shed near Nurmengard's graveyard.

It was dark, way past midnight, and she shivered.

Druella was following closely behind them.

Draco pushed the door open and pointed his gun straight at the person inside.

The sight greeting them caused all their eyes to widen in horror.

x.x.x

There she stood, Bella Black, with her unruly black curls framing her face-a bloody mirror blade in her hand-bent over a wooden table, which was loaded with decomposed body parts.

Draco moved closer to her–resisting the urge to vomit.

Bella didn't even notice them.

When she finally looked up, the wicked smile she flashed and the utmost joy that was written in her delusional eyes caused him to shiver.

"I did it, Mummy! Soon, my Tommy will be all alive again! Look! He has seven parts! Oh, how he loved the number seven!"

She was so lost-oblivious to reality-she didn't even notice the handcuffs he put around her wrists.

Meanwhile, Granger had moved closer to the body parts; she looked positively appalled.

"She dug him up," she whispered disgusted and hazel eyes met grey ones. "After they buried him, she opened his grave and cut of what was left of his body."

Draco was sure he would puke any minute.

"She used the victims' body parts to complete him. To rebuild her fiancé."

She took a closer look before turning away for good–having seen enough of that horror.

"Bella even sewed on Longbottom's and Filch's extremities as well as placed Ms. Weasley's organs and Ms. McGonagall's heart into Tom's body."

Draco shivered, then pointed towards the cord that lead from Tom's lifeless head towards the shed's roof.

"A lightning-bolt's energy was supposed to resurrect him."

He met Hermione's eyes and shivered. Then he crossed the distance between them and put an arm around her.

"Let's get some fresh air."

x.x.x

"What will happen to her?" Hermione asked once they were outside the door and pointed back towards Bella, who still stared at her dead fiancé's body as if he would wake up any minute.

"She'll be locked up in another facility," Draco said with pity and smiled sadly. "As morbid as it sounds, let's give her a moment. I think–in this absolutely weird and twisted way–the girl has never been happier."

The pretty pathologist nodded, enjoyed the fresh air and smiled at the Detective. "You know, you're not as bad as I thought, Malfoy."

Draco smiled. "We make a good team, Granger."