Well, still one chapter to go. The clues - the major ones as to who did it are in this chapter.Hints:Flitwick does reveal somethingThe iinvestigators found something while searching Dumbledore's room againAnd there's the Pliny the elder reference.

There's still 1 chapter to go. It was stated in this chapter that it was neither suicide nor "undesirable elements" murdering him. There's more to it than meets the eye.

Thank you, thank you. This story has been fun for me too. Reviews - well, they will come when they come. So long as people read my work, I am content. Thank you for your kind words of encouragement.

Thank you. Considering that I took a long sabbatical from fanfic writing, I am quite overwhelmed by the warmth on my return. The next instalment should be up sometime next week - late next week. Thank you once again.

Molly does not appear in this story, not even as a walk-on role. However, now that you mention it... I should write her in one of my murder mysteries....

Well, well, my beta was stumped right to the end as well. She suspected someone else and not a Weasley or a Potter on grounds that they were too obvious. But since everyone (or nearly everyone) is a possible suspect, anything goes! *Cackle*As for what Dumbles discovered... I have only one word of advice - consider the current Potter administration and what it is like. Think you on that.The busyness this time of year is madness, mainly with editing and ghostwriting work. This story as well as the 3rd mystery I am currently conceptualising keeps me occupied. So long as I do not have time to dwell on all that has passed in my personal life. Meanwhile, I am still panicking that I have less than 2500 words of  the 6000 word ghostwriting project. Eek!

Well, well, my beta was stumped right to the end as well. She suspected someone else and not a Weasley or a Potter on grounds that they were too obvious. But since everyone (or nearly everyone) is a possible suspect, anything goes! *Cackle*As for what Dumbles discovered... I have only one word of advice - consider the current Potter administration and what it is like. Think you on that.The busyness this time of year is madness, mainly with editing and ghostwriting work. This story as well as the 3rd mystery I am currently conceptualising keeps me occupied. So long as I do not have time to dwell on all that has passed in my personal life. Meanwhile, I am still panicking that I have less than 2500 words of  the 6000 word ghostwriting project. Eek!

I welcome speculation as to who did it... 

This is not a CSI episode, unfortunately. Remember that I picture the wizarding world to be quite Victorian... As for what happens next, well... read on when the next instalment appears.

I am very glad you enjoy it; there will be more shortly. It is my policy to post complete stories.

Ah ha! A reader finally points out that everyone is under suspicion. I confess I was too transparent with the identity of the killer in the 1st story, so in this, I decided everyone would be a suspect. *cackle* Well, this is the halfway mark, 3 more chapters to go of suspense, Go and dystopic politics.

I do try to inject some plot progression here and there, and Ch 2 was no exception. Go has a certain resonance with Severus, and I felt he would be best equipped to treat life as he would a game of Go. But I am rambling. :p Read on! This plot even confuses me sometimes.

Oh yes, almost as delicious as my frosted cupcakes!

My dear Chatelaine,Unfortunately, I know nothing about Canasta. Is it like Patience? I play Patience every now and then. The definitions of the joseki moves are explained, and are intended to give readers a hint as to how the plot will progress. So the only possible thing to do now is to let the people who covered up the murder to think they are winning, and to test whether their complacency has gotten the better of them? What better thing to do than to investigate the gameplay of those who think they are winning, and invade empty territory when they least expect it? There is a reason why Go is called "encircling chess" in Mandarin. Tee hee.best,Lady Strange.

Thank you for taking the time to read the 1st story before this one. I haven't written in a long while for the fandom, and do worry that I am a little rusty. Ch 2 will be up later this week (it is already Monday in my half of the world) as soon as I go through it one more time.

Glad you liked it.

I wonder whether it would give too much of the ending away.... *goes to refer to chapter 6* No, I can tell you that SS and HG do end up teaching in Paris II and Paris IV by the end of the story. See, and I have given nothing away! If you want to see more on the politics of Potter's Britain, wait till you see the exposition of how his administration has devolved.... You already get a hint of it in Ch 1 with the mention of "itinerant Undesirables"...It is the least I can do for you after all you have done for me. *hugs* Here's hoping that I get back to your end of the pond so that I can formally express my gratitude in person.

no need for... erm... formal expressions.  just get yourself over to this side of the pond - anywhere on this side!

Thank you for pointing out the missing word. My betas and I must have missed it. Well, it is a short mystery. Not as gory as "Christmas Presents Undisguised", but equally as disturbing. Thank you for your encouragement.

Ah well, I write the kind of political system I know best - and I don't mean the kind I learn from my Plato, Xenophon and Caesar. And to think I was told I was not cut out for the academic world *grumble* The Burma bit was added in after last minute consideration because I wanted Dumbledore to be a mildly sympathetic character since he did spend the whole of this story dead.Ginny is as I think she would be in this dystopic world. I always wanted a villain that was somewhat flawed. I presume S&H did testify. I love their new lives too, and cannot help but long for that kind of a life myself. However, they will not be able to rest on their laurels too much... Their reputation as sleuths may have just followed them across the English Channel... *cackle*And thanks for the review! :)

You must thank my betas for the footnotes. They are conversant in both British and American English. Whereas I am only proficient in the former. As you can imagine, this leads to much misunderstanding between myself and the readers when I first started out because several words existent in both British and American English have different definitions, and there are spelling differences between the two as well that led one camp to say my language skills were sub-par.I come from a purely british/commonwealth tradition where undress has several meanings among them - removing clothes from oneself, informal academic gowns worn for teaching by the academic staff of Oxbridge.The type of "robe" you are describing would be a dress gown in the loosest sense of the word, meaning - something you throw on to hide the fact that you are either naked or just in undergarments. 

I provide fair warning on long footnotes because many readers have complained (in the past) that my footnotes are too long and do not add anything to the plot. I repeat footnotes because past experience has taught me that readers very seldom refer back to an earlier chapter where something is explained.An example would be the reticule vs ridicule distinction in my regency fic. reticule is the handbag used by ladies ca. the late 1790s to late victorian times (c. 1901). But between the years 1798-1825, it was called a ridicule because it was thought ridiculous to carry a handbag for things when previously you would have pockets to do so. Readers who did not read the footnotes in an earlier chapter came across the term in a much later chapter and inundated me with emails as to my incorrect use of the term. To prevent such things from happening, I repeat footnotes in the hope that readers pay attention. However, that seems doomed to failure as well as readers complain that my footnotes are unwieldy.

I am glad you enjoyed this fic. At present, real life is rather hectic for me, so there are no current plans for another serious mystery. Perhaps when I find more time to write... Thank you for the compliments.

I would not say you lost your touch. Rather, I made everyone a suspect. Ah yes, the carrefour reference. I am helpless biased that way... :)