Rogue
Lily Evans' life lacks challenge. She's sick of bringing in Splinchers. That is until a certain blast from the past comes back on the scene and turns her world upside down.
Darkness is all around and closing in fast, even if it can't be seen.
Disclaimer:
Methinks as thou art scrolling,
It will be obvious to thee,
That 'Harry Potter' etc. belongs to J.K Rowling,
And most definitely not to me.
Chapter 1 – I Hate Those Damn Splinchers
Lily Evans waved goodbye to the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad and wearily handcuffed the two teenage lawbreakers standing in front of her. She activated the Portkey function on the cuffs and immediately apparated after them. In her office, she gestured for them to sit down while she wrote in their files.
"Name." She said monotonously to the male.
"Angus Lowry." He replied suavely. "You know, maybe we could come to some kind of mutual arrangement with this." He winked suggestively.
Lily rolled her eyes and smirked as the girl sitting next to him slapped him across the face.
"Age." She asked him, in the same monotonous tone.
"Eighteen."
"Mr. Lowry, as you are a first time offender, you will receive the minimum fine of three galleons, to be paid withinthe week and your first of three possible warnings. Upon ignoring the third warning, you will be sentenced to the minimum of a week in Azkaban Prison. Blah, blah, blah, don't do it again, be a good boy and get your licence, you are free to go."
Angus waved goodbye and told his girlfriend that he would wait outside in the hall for her.
"Name." Lily asked the girl.
"Emily Spinnet and I'm eighteen. Hey! Aren't you Lily Evans?"
"Yes." Said Lily slowly, pointing to the name plaque that was sitting on her desk, right in front of Emily.
"Yeah, I remember you! You were Head Girl when I was in first year. Weren't you always chasing after James Potter?"
"No. It was the other way round." Said Lily, through gritted teeth.
"Oh…Well it was nice seeing you again!"
"Uh huh. Three galleons by next Wednesday, first of three warnings, then a week in Azkaban, get your licence, goodbye." She said shortly.
As soon as Emily had closed the office door, Lily put her head in her hands and growled. Then she decided what she finally must do. Jumping up and out of her desk chair, she marched down the hall to the Head Auror's office.
His secretary, Lolita, smiled at Lily as she approached her desk.
"Hey Lol, is The Boss in? I really need to talk to him about something."
"Yeah, he is. Hang on, just let me announce you formally." They both smirked and rolled their eyes. Lolita walked over to Mr. Hildegard's office door and knocked.
"Lily Evans to see you Sir." She said professionally.
"Thank you Lolita. Come in Miss Evans."
Lily smiled at Lolita and entered Mr. Hildegard's office.
"Sir." She said, as soon as she sat down. "I'm unsatisfied with my current job situation." Mr Hildegard smiled.
"Never one to beat about the bush, are you Miss Evans?"
"I believe not, Sir."
"What exactly are you unsatisfied with? I do hope that I'm not pushing you too hard."
Lily rolled her eyes at his sexist comment.
"No Sir. I assure you that it is quite the opposite. I'm sick of bringing in Splinchers! That's Intern stuff! I've been out of training college for a year now and I'm still doing Intern's stuff!" She sighed exasperatingly.
Mr Hildegard sat there and studied her for a moment.
"Miss Evans, does this have something to do with money? I believe that the amount that we pay you currently is quite reasonable."
"No Sir, this has nothing to do with money. I need challenge in my work and I'm just not challenged by bringing in Splinchers and fining them, nearly every day."
"Well Miss Evans, I must inform you that the rate of petty crime has decreased by 30 per cent in the last year, due to the contribution to society that you and your colleagues make. You have also proven yourself to be exceptionally skilled and capable; however, I'm afraid that we don't have any major cases to spare, at present."
"Very well, Sir." Lily nodded sadly.
"If you are patient, Miss Evans, something appropriate may come along in the near future, but until then, I'm afraid that there's nothing I can do." He said kindly.
Lily sighed.
"Thank you for your time Sir."
Lolita knocked on and opened the office door.
"Sorry to interrupt you Sir, but this Urgent file just arrived from Special Branch and it, well it's urgent."
Mr. Hildegard summoned the scarlet folder from Lolita's arms and opened it. He scanned quickly through the file with his eyes squinted in disbelief.
"What is it Sir?" Asked Lily curiously.
"It seems," Said Mr. Hildegard with disbelief "that Special Branch has had a bit of trouble with one of their agents and as they are all out investigating mysterious muggle deaths and the like, they've asked for the assistance of our department."
"Which agent?"
"James Potter."
"James Potter? Are you sure? What's he done now?"
Lily smirked as she thought to herself. Sexual Assault or Indecent Exposure most likely. Or just another stupid, immature prank, probably on his boss.
"According to this file, Mr. Potter is responsible for the murder of a fellow officer."
"What!? That's not like him! I mean, he's a jerk, but he wouldn't do something like that, not unless his life was in danger."
"You know this Potter then?"
"Yes, unfortunately I do."
"Would you say that you know him well?"
"I wouldn't say that I knew him well, as a friend, but I know pretty much exactly how his mind works." Yeah, his thoughts are easy enough to predict. Girls, girls and when possible, naked girls.
"If you know as much as you claim to about this guy, I'll consider putting you on this case."
"Really Sir?"
"Yes Evans. As we both know very well, I would usually give a case like this to Fenwick or Shacklebolt, but as they are both busy, I'm prepared to hand it over to you. Especially if your personal knowledge of this guy will assist you in solving this case. Read through the file and get back to me on whether you're up to it or not." He passed her the file across the desk.
"Thank you Sir!"
Lily said goodbye to Mr Hildegard and as soon as she had closed his door, she then proceeded to dance around Lolita's desk, singing: "I got one, I got one, I finally got a good one!"
"Congratulations Lil! Who is it and what have they done?"
"Sorry Lol! That's classified information until I get clearance."
"Oh, ok."
"I'm going to go and read through it!"
Lolita smiled and shook her head at her friend's behaviour as Lily ran down the hall to her office and locked the door so that she wouldn't be disturbed.
She sat down at her desk and smiled warmly at the scarlet file in front of her that had both URGENT and CONFIDENTIAL printed in thick black letters on the front. All Aurors dreamed about files like these, knowing that they contained a big juicy case that they could really sink their teeth into. Almost bursting with excitement, Lily slowly opened the file, as if it were a treasure chest filled with precious jewels.
Paper-clipped to the document insidewas a dashingly handsome photograph of James that she knew Lolita would swoon over when she showed her. Smirking, Lily put the photograph aside and proceeded to read through the file.
Case Number: 393 401 256
Criminal Identification Number: 002 179
Criminal Full Name: James Edward Potter
Age: 23
Occupation: Auror – Special Branch Agent
Residence: 457 Phoenix Ave, Godric's Hollow.
Physical Characteristics:
Hair: Black
Eyes: Hazel.
Skin Tone: Lightly tanned.
Height: 6 ft 2
Fitness level: High
Distinguishing Feature(s): Small scar through left eyebrow.
Crime(s):
- Murder of fellow officer Zacharias Birch
- Resisting Arrest
Likely Sentence: Life in Azkaban
Bonus for Capture: 50 galleons (Subject to change)
Miscellaneous Information:
- Is rumoured to be allied with disgraced Special Branch Agent Alastor Moody
- Skilled Quidditch player and excellent flier
- Was Head Boy at Hogwarts
- Single, but rumoured to have been linked recently to singer Celestina Warbeck
- May still be in contact with school friends: Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, Chhaya Madhubala and Lily Evans
Lily furiously crossed her name from the list.
"I was never his friend." She muttered crossly.
Lily turned over the page and read through the rather grisly post-mortem of Zacharias Birch. It seemed that he had not only been murdered using the illegal and 'Unforgivable' Avada Kadavra curse, but also tortured for a significant amount of time using the infamous Crutacius Curse until his body was almost unrecognisable. Lily shuddered, remembering the extreme pain that she had experienced during Auror training while being under this curse in a training exercise. That was a day she'd never forget. It was under her first instructor, Alastor Moody, who had since been barred from The Aurors Guild for 'stirring up trouble'. Moody believed in learning by experience, and what an experience it had been. Lily had had enough of a challenge fighting off the Imperious Curse, but enduring twenty seconds under the Crutacius without screaming had been a whole new ordeal.
"An Auror should never show pain, because pain is weakness and no Auror should ever be weak, or show any weakness. Constant vigilance is required! If you young-uns can endure twenty seconds under this ruddy curse, without screaming, then you're ready to move onto the next level of your training." Lily remembered Moody growling at them. Why exactly Moody had been disgraced, Lily didn't know. But she did know that it had been something to do with him accusing some people, including some of his colleagues and Head Auror of Special Branch, of being allied with a mysterious Dark Lord that no one else had ever heard of. Voldenmert, or something. For this act of insolence, he was stripped of his titles and removed from his position, encouraging media coverage and rumours to spread about the events surrounding his allegations. Every one, including Lily, had always thought he was a bit crazy anyway.
Lily finished reading through the file. Her mind made up, she made the familiar journey down the hallway to Mr. Hildegard's office. After again being announced by a smirking Lolita, Lily entered his office and sat down.
"Well Miss Evans, I gather that you have made your final decision regarding this case. Are you up for it or not?"
"I think I can handle it."
"Congratulations Evans. You're on the case."