Disclaimer: I am not George Lucas or J.K. Rowling.

A bus arrives near the Wizengamot Building, where Auror General Minerva McGonagall, Senator Charles Granger, Representative Dobby, Senator Luc Millefeuille, and W-PRC (Percy) wait.

James, Sirius, Riddle, and Hedwig get out.

James, Sirius, and Riddle approach Minerva and the Senators.

Minerva. Minister Riddle. Are you all right? Do you need medical attention? I have a fully equipped field surgery . . .

Riddle. No, no, no need. Thank you, Professor McGonagall. But I am well. Quite well, thanks to your Auror Knights.

Minerva glances at James and Sirius.

Minerva. Master Black? James?

James. Never better.

Sirius. [shrugs] Only a bump on the head. That field surgery must be needed elsewhere.

Minerva. It is. We don't even have a preliminary estimate of civilian casualties. [to Riddle] A broom is on its way, Minister. We'll have you before the Wizengamot within the hour. The Daily Prophet has already been notified that you will want to make a statement.

Riddle. I will. I will, indeed. You have always been of great value to me, Professor McGonagall. Thank you.

Minerva. The Aurors are honored to serve the Wizengamot, sir. [to Sirius] Is there anything else to support, Master Black? What of General Mulciber?

James. [wary] Count Yaxley was there. He's dead now.

Minerva looks James to Sirius in disbelief.

Minerva. Dead? Is this true? You killed Count Yaxley?

Sirius. My young friend is too modest. He killed Count Yaxley. I was . . . taking a nap.

Minerva. But . . . but . . . That is the best news I've heard since . . . since I can't even remember. James, how did you do it?

Looking uncomfortable, James glances at Riddle.

Riddle. It was . . . entirely extraordinary. I know next to nothing of swordplay, of course. To my amateur's eye, it seemed that Count Yaxley may have been . . . a trace overconfident, especially after having disposed of Master Black so neatly. Perhaps young James was simply more . . . highly motivated. After all, Yaxley was fighting only to slay an enemy. James was fighting to save, if I may presume the honor, a friend.

Minerva scowls darkly.

Minerva. I'm sure the Order will be very interested in your full report, James.

James. Of course, Professor McGonagall.

Sirius. And we must report that Mulciber escaped. He is as cowardly as ever.

Minerva nods.

Minerva. But he is only a military commander. Without Yaxley to hold the coalition together, these so-called independent regions will splinter, and they know it. [to Riddle] This is our best chance to sue for peace. We can end this war right now.

Riddle. I'm afraid peace is out of the question while Mulciber is at large. Yaxley was the only check on Mulciber's monstrous lust for slaughter. With Yaxley gone, the general has been unleashed to rampage across the galaxy. I'm afraid that, far from being over, this war is about to get a very great deal worse.

Sirius. And what of the Death Eaters? Yaxley's death should have at least begun the weakening of the darkness, but instead it feels stronger than ever. I fear Master Albus's intuition is correct: that Yaxley was merely the apprentice to the Death Eater, not the Master.

Minerva stares warningly at Sirius.

Minerva. The Death Eater, if one still exists, will reveal himself in time. They always do. [to Riddle] A more interesting puzzle is Mulciber. He had you at his mercy, Minister, and mercy is not numbered among his virtues. Though we all rejoice that he spared you, I cannot help but wonder why.

Riddle. I can only assume the separatists preferred to have me as a hostage rather than as a martyr. Though it is of course impossible to say. It may merely have been a whim of the general. He is notoriously erratic.

Minerva. Perhaps the separatist leadership can restrain him, in exchange for certain . . . considerations.

Riddle. Absolutely not. A negotiated peace would be a recognition of the Magical Union as the legitimate government of the rebellion systems, tantamount to losing the war. No, Professor McGonagall, this war can end in only one way: unconditional surrender. And while Mulciber lives, that will never happen.

Minerva. Then the Order of the Phoenix will make finding Mulciber our highest priority. [aside, to Riddle] This war has gone on far too long already. We will find him, and this war will end.

Riddle. I have no doubt of it. But we should never underestimate the deviousness of the separatists. It is possible that even the war itself has been only one further move in some greater game.

The Aurors and politicians move toward the broom, which has arrived. As Dobby and Millefeuille move on, the representative of Spinner's End knocks into the Senator of Beauxbatons.

Millefeuille. Watch it.

Dobby. Excuse Dobby.

The Aurors and politicians board the broomship, which takes off.

As the broomship lands, Minerva catches Sirius's eye.

Exit all but James, Sirius, and Minerva.

As James moves to follow the representatives of the Wizengamot, he notices Sirius fall back.

James. Aren't you coming, Professor?

Sirius. No. I'm not brave enough for politics. I have to report to the Order. Besides someone needs to be the poster boy.

James. Hold on. This whole operation was your idea.

Sirius. Let us not forget, James, that you rescued me from the nifflers. And you killed Count Yaxley. And you rescued the Minister, all while carrying me unconscious on your back.

James. All because of your training.

Sirius. James. Let's be fair. Today, you are the hero and you deserve your glorious day with the politicians.

James. All right. But you owe me and not for saving your skin for the tenth time.

Sirius. Ninth time. That business in the Stoatshead Hill doesn't . . . doesn't count. It was your fault in the first place. I'll see you at the briefing.

James. [laughs] Well, all right. Just this once.

Exit James.

Sirius. [to Minerva] You wanted to speak with me.

Minerva. It's James. I don't like his relationship with Riddle.

Sirius. We have had this conversation before.

Minerva. There is something between them, something new. I could see it in the Magic. It felt powerful . . . and incredibly dangerous.

Sirius. I trust James with my life.

Minerva. I know you do. I only wish we could trust the Minister with James's.

Sirius. [frowns] Yes. Riddle's policies are . . . sometimes questionable. But he dotes on James like a kindly old uncle on his favorite nephew.

Minerva. The Minister loves power. If he has any other passion, I have not seen it.

Sirius. [shakes his head] I recall that not so long ago, you were something of an admirer of his.

Minerva. Things change.

Silence.

Sirius. What would you have me do?

Minerva. I am not certain. You know my power. I cannot always interpret what I've seen. Be alert: Be mindful of James, and be careful of Riddle. He is not to be trusted, and his influence on James is dangerous.

Sirius. But if James is the Chosen One . . .

Minerva. All the more reason to fear an outsider's influence. We have circumstantial evidence that traces Voldemort to Riddle's inner circle.

Sirius. Are you certain?

Minerva. [shakes her head] Nothing is certain. But this raid . . . the capture of Tom Riddle had to be an inside job. And the timing . . . we were closing in on him, Master Black! The information you and James discovered . . . We had traced the Dark Lord to an abandoned factory in Knockturn Alley, not far from where James landed the cruiser. When the attack began, we were tracking him through the downlevel tunnels. The trail led to the sub-basement of the Riddle House.

Sirius. [stunned] Oh.

Minerva. We have to face the possibility, the probability, that what Yaxley told you on Borneo was actually true: that the Wizengamot is under the influence, under the control, of Lord Voldemort . . . that it has been for years.

Sirius. [swallows] Do you . . . do you have any suspects?

Minerva. Too many. All we know of Voldemort is that he is bipedal, of roughly human conformation. Augustus Rookwood comes to mind. I wouldn't rule out Amelia Bones, either. The Dark Lord might even be hiding among the Ministry guards. There's no way to know.

Sirius. Who's handling the questioning? I'd be happy to sit in. My perceptions are not as refined as some, but . . .

Minerva. [shakes her head] Interrogate the Minister for Magic's personal aides and advisors? Impossible.

Sirius. But . . .

Minerva. Riddle will never allow it. Though he hasn't said so, I'm not sure he even believes the Death Eaters exist.

Sirius. But how can he . . . ?

Minerva. Look at it from his point of view: the only real evidence we have is Yaxley's word. And he's dead now.

Sirius. The Death Eater on Spinner's End, the snake who killed Remus . . .

Minerva. Destroyed, as you know. [shakes her head] Relations with the Minister's office are . . . difficult. I feel he has lost his trust in the Aurors. I have certainly lost my trust in him.

Sirius. [frowns] But he doesn't have the authority to interfere with an Auror investigation, does he?

Minerva. The Wizengamot has surrendered so much power, it's hard to say where his authority stops.

Sirius. It's that bad?

Minerva. The only reason Riddle's not a suspect is because he already rules the galaxy.

Sirius. But we are closer than we have ever been to rooting out the Death Eater. That can only be good news. I would think James's friendship with Riddle could be of use to us in this. He has the kind of access to Riddle that other Aurors might only dream of. Their friendship is an asset, not a danger.

Minerva. You can't tell him.

Sirius. I beg your pardon?

Minerva. Of the whole Order, only Albus and myself know how deep this actually goes. And now you. I have decided to share this with you because you are in the best situation to watch James. Watch him. Nothing more.

Sirius shakes his head.

Sirius. We . . . we don't keep secrets from each other.

Minerva. You must keep this one. Potter is arguably the most powerful Auror alive, and he is still getting stronger. But he is not stable. You know it. We all do. It is why he cannot be given Mastership. We must keep him off the Board, despite his extraordinary gifts. And Auror prophecy . . . is not absolute. The less he has to do with Riddle, the better.

Sirius nods.

Sirius. What can I tell him?

Minerva. Tell him nothing. I sense the dark side around him, around them both.

Sirius. As it surrounds us all. The dark side touches all of us, Professor McGonagall, even you.

Minerva. I know that too well, Sirius. It is possible that we may have to . . . move against Riddle.

Sirius. Move against?

Minerva. If he is truly under the control of a Death Eater, it may be the only way.

Sirius stares at Minerva in disbelief.

You haven't been here, Sirius. You've been off fighting the war in the Muggle Suburbs. You don't know what it's been like, dealing with all the petty squabbles and special interests and greedy, grasping fools in the Wizengamot, and Riddle's constant, cynical, ruthless maneuvering for power. He carves away chunks of our freedom and bandages the wounds with tiny scraps of security. And for what? Look at this region, Sirius. We have given up so much freedom. How secure do we look?

Sirius grasps Minerva's hand.

Sirius. Professor McGonagall, Minerva. We'll go to Albus together. And among the three of us we'll work something out. We will. You'll see.

Minerva. It may be too late already.

Sirius. It may be. And it may not be. We can only do what we can do, Minerva. A very, very wise Auror once said to me, "We don't have to win. All we have to do is fight."

Minerva smiles.

Minerva. I seem to have forgotten that particular Auror. Thank you for reminding me.

Sirius. It was the least I could do. [aside] Things change, indeed.

Exit all.