Lisbon Hotel, Winchester

Hermione, Draco and Ron landed in the grounds of the Lisbon Hotel. Ron brushed himself down. "Eight years since I took that bloody Apparition test and it still never sits right with me."

Hermione smiled at him as she pulled a twig from his hair. "Oh, Ronald."

Draco cleared his throat loudly. "Shall we?" He nodded towards the grand facade.

The trio made their way up the drive and entered the gaudy hotel, the foyer this time displaying growling leopard statues, resplendent with their glowing ruby eyes.

"Mum'd like this."

"No she wouldn't, Ron. Trust me." Hermione walked over to the reception desk where Eddy Raines sat wide-eyed, staring at them. "Hello Eddy, we'd like to talk to your boss."

Marianna Hopson's Office, Lisbon Hotel

The hotel manager greeted them with a flick of her perfectly coiffed hair. "Gentlemen, Lady. How can I be of assistance?"

"Ms. Hopson, we know there have been dealings with dark artefacts in your hotel. We need to take you in for questioning. It's up to you whether you'd like to come quietly or make a scene." Hermione unclipped the handcuffs from her belt.

Marianna's eyes flashed. "I'm sorry, I really have no idea what you're talking about."

"And then there's the murder of Gregory Goyle." Ron stepped forward.

"I've already told you, I had nothing to do with that." She laughed shrilly stepping away from them behind her desk.

Draco took out the list of runes. "Ms. Hopson, do you know what these are?"

Marianna paled beneath her mahogany tan.

"I do. I know that they're passcodes for access to high level vault keys at Gringotts. Some of which belong to the wealthiest clients who have booked into your hotel over the past six months. Gregory Goyle was stealing these when he was killed."

"Oh, how terrible." She waved a scarlet-clawed hand. "But you can't imagine I knew anything about this!"

Draco continued, stepping ever closer to her. "I also know that the artifacts were just a warm up, a test, if you will, to see how far he'd go for you. But this was what you were really after, wasn't it? Greg wasn't the only one wanting to start a new life somewhere far away, was he?"

She sat heavily in her desk chair. "I had nothing to do with any of this. I like my life! I didn't want to go anywhere!"

Ron came round to sit on the edge of her desk. "And then you arranged an attempted abduction on Hermione Granger, to have the blame thrown on Terrence Higgs and his gang of trolls."

Hermione leveled her own wand at her. "Where's the rest of it, Marianna?"

"You're insane!"

"You killed my friend and you tried to kidnap Hermione. Admit it!" Draco leaned closer to her still.

"Ok, fine! But it's not what you think! Look, I found out he was selling these things from the basement, and I blackmailed him into giving me a cut of his profits, I admit that. But I didn't have anything to do with any of this! I couldn't kill someone! I wouldn't even know how to kidnap a person!"

Hermione smiled. "You're coming with us, Miss Hopson."

Once Ron had secured the cuffs on Marianna he nodded to Hermione. "Ready."

Draco echoed the sentiment. "Ready."

Hermione stepped carefully towards the door, opening it in one swift pull. "Not listening at doors were you, Eddy?" She said to the young man outside.

"N-No. Of course not, I just came to see..."

"You'll be going away for a very long time, Ms Hopson." Ron remarked loudly.

"No, please! You've got it all wrong!"

"Oh Merlin." Eddy breathed, panic flitting across his face.

"I'm sure you'll have an ample opportunity in Azkaban to think about what you've done, trust me." Draco assured her. "Won't she, Eddy?"

"I... uh, sure. I guess."

"Killing a person and then attempted abduction of a war heroine. That carries a hefty sentence."

"Don't forget lying to an Auror." Ron chimed in. "That'll add a few more months."

"We could be looking at life." Hermione offered. "A very long sentence, indeed. Isn't it, Eddy?"

Eddy swallowed. "I don't... I don't know anything about it."

Draco turned towards him. "Don't you, Eddy? Because I feel like you do."

A tense silence filled the room.

"I don't understand."

"Really?" Draco questioned. "Because I think you lied about these runes."

"No I didn't." Eddy was quick to jump to his own defense as Draco circled towards him.

"All those guests you check in each and every day, into the premier suites, the president suites, the honeymoon suites. It sure would feel good to get rich off their accounts. You must have thought about it. Considered it."

Eddy shook his head. "I didn't do it."

"Roll up your sleeves, Eddy."

"No."

"Eddy, just do what he asks." Hermione advised.

Draco raised his wand. "Roll up your sleeves, Eddy."

"No!" Eddy whimpered.

"Roll. Up. Your. Sleeves." Draco growled. "Imper-"

"Alright alright!" He wailed. "I did it! I killed him!"

Marianna gasped. "You piece of shit."

"We still need to see your arms."

Eddy did as she asked. "Ok, ok, I have the bite mark, you know I do. You bit me when I tried to kidnap you. I did it. Fine. I killed Greg."

"You check out all the new applicants as their forms come across your desk, don't you?" Hermione asked. "I bet you were thrilled when you found out Goyle had been hired. With his connections you knew he'd be able to get you what you wanted. And if it all went south you had an easy target to blame."

Eddy stared at her, not saying a word.

Draco walked over and looked deep into his eyes. "Why'd you kill him?"

Eddy sighed. "He said... he said he wanted to quit. Said he wanted to get out of it all, and leave and start a new life. I tried to threaten him, I knew it had worked for Ms Hopson, but he kept records of every conversation, every owl I'd sent him. I thought he was going to turn me in. I thought I'd get sent to Azkaban."

"Like you wouldn't if you murdered him." Ron muttered.

"It wasn't like that. I panicked. I didn't know what to do."

"And the killing curse was your best option?" Hermione asked.

"No, I... I don't know. It was never meant to be like this. I'm sorry."

"I think we've heard enough." Hermione walked over to him, tightening the magical cuffs around his wrists. "Ron, can you take him to the Ministry holding cells please."

"Sure thing." He released Marianna and took a firm grip on Eddy's arm, before apparating them both out of the building.

"Thank you for you co-operation Miss Hopson."

"You mean, I'm... I'm free to go?" Marianna simpered.

"There's still the matter of the blackmail charge you confessed to, but we'll deal with that in due course. You won't be able to apparate or portkey out of the country so please don't try." Hermione warned her.

"And that's it?"

"That's it."

"I never thought..." She looked between the two Aurors. "I didn't even know they spoke to each other."

"It's not a surprise. They would have both worked as hard as they could to keep it hidden from everyone."

"I'm sorry. I just... I'm sorry. He was nice guy, Greg. He worked hard. He deserved a better life."

"Things don't always work out the way they should." Draco turned to leave.

Hermione followed him. "Thank you, Miss Hopson. We'll be in touch."

Hermione Granger's Office, DMLE

Hermione signed off the last form on the Goyle case with a flourish. It hadn't been an easy one - it never was if you knew the victim, even if it wasn't on the best of terms.

A quiet shuffle prompter her to look up and see Draco stood in her doorway.

"Malfoy." She nodded. "Are you heading to the pub with everyone?"

"Oh. No." He shook his head.

"It would be nice to see you there." She smiled. "It might do you good, instead of being home alone."

He shrugged. "Maybe."

Hermione stood surveying him for a long moment. "You're going to see Mrs. Goyle, aren't you?"

"I owe it to her. She deserves an explanation."

She walked over to him, the quiet of the empty office heavy around them as she reached up to envelop him in a hug. She heard his gentle breaths as he eventually slid his arms around her, returning the embrace.

"Thank you." He murmured.

She released him and stepped back. "Think about joining us. I'll be there too." She smiled. "I'd like to see you there."

He held her gaze as a shiver brushed delicately along her spine. "Good night, Hermione."

"Good night, Draco."

Mrs. Goyle's Home

Draco knocked on the worn, wooden door of the small terraced house. She opened the door, pausing before smiling gently at him.

"Mrs. Goyle. Might I come in?"

Her smile turned sad as she beckoned him in, tears shining on her eyelashes. She poured him a tea as he took a seat on her sofa.

He took a deep breath. "When I heard Greg had been murdered, I thought it was because of his past. Our past. I thought he hadn't got out of it. I thought he'd gone back to his old ways." He looked over at her as she quietly observed him. "But I was wrong. He had changed. He worked so hard to turn his life around. And someone else's greed and manipulation ruined it all for him. Just like I manipulated him for my own greed in school."

"Draco..."

He wasn't sure when the tears started, but they had and there was nothing he could do to stop it. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Goyle. I'm sorry I let him down, I'm sorry I didn't help him when he asked, and I'm sorry for the way I treated him when we were children. Please, if you can, please forgive me."

Gently, she took his hand. "Draco, you do not need my forgiveness. You were a good friend to Greg. He cared for you very much. As do I."

She wrapped a soft arm around his shoulders as he leaned into her, welcoming the motherly embrace that he so craved.

"You're a good man, Draco Malfoy. You're a good man."

A/N: Thank you so much for sticking with this until the end! It's been so much fun to write a mystery, and I love getting stuck in the post-Hogwarts AU world.

This storyline was adapted from The Mentalist S02 E14 'Blood In Blood Out'.

Feedback is always hugely appreciated, and the next instalment of the Investigative Auror Mysteries will be up shortly!