Alexandra Hinsley, director of Ministry relations, waived to her secretary and took a long sip from her coffee…with all the rumblings about "You Know Who" the director had been spending many late nights in her comfortable office combating the lies of Albus Dumbledore and Harry Potter. Opening the door and hanging her coat on the rack, Alexandra reached for the light switch; the director shocked to see a tall, lanky form standing behind her desk, examining a book. Reaching for her wand, the woman couldn't help but be stunned as the sight of a familiar trench coat began to bring back old memories, long buried.

"Aren't you happy to see me?" Nathan laughed, turning around slowly with his hands up, slightly relaxing the director, who none the less kept her wand pointed at her visitor.

"No, I can't say that I am. How did you get in here?" To Alexandra's surprise, she couldn't stop her wand hand from shaking. The look in Nathan's eyes only made it worse.

"The ministry doesn't change its security protocols nearly enough….they tend to wait until something bad happens before they change things. Anyone could sneak in here if they wanted to bad enough…."

Walking around to the other side of the desk, Nathan noticed Alexandra's face had softened since he had last seen her…..though a few years older, the delicate features still made the director an attractive woman, dark hair falling past her shoulders with no signs of gray. The ivy green eyes locked with Nathan's own, wavering under this unexpected pressure of this visit.

"Just get out and I'll pretend…"

"You'll pretend nothing happened? That's sort of your job, isn't it? You've been doing that since…" Nathan chuckled, taking a seat and crossing his legs; as if this was a afternoon brunch between friends and not a stand-off at wand point.

"You know that wasn't my decision! I was just relaying orders!" Alexandra hissed, reaffirming the wand grip and making sure to keep it leveled at the intruder's chest.

"I guess that's why it was so easy for you to forget…to push it to the back of your mind and carry on your day to day basis….just like the public out there. They just ignore what they don't want to hear and keep on going through the daily routine. "

"The public doesn't need to know everything that goes on. For their own protection, it's best they don't know about…"

"About all the Ministry's dirty dealings?" Nathan's grin did nothing to relieve the tension in the air, the scarred hands of the visitor straightening out the collar of his trench coat.

"We did what was best! We did what we had to do!" The director's rising voice had caught the attention of her secretary, who walked over to the door and tapped on it lightly. There had been no appointments for today before noon, and the young man had seen no one enter the room aside from his boss.

"Is everything alright?" He called, receiving a short, "Everything's fine.", followed by an uncharacteristically bass like cough that could have been a laugh. Shrugging it off as the stress of the job, the young receptionist returned to his small desk.

Back in the room, Alexandra was staring daggers into her former associate. His mere presence at the ministry, much less in her office, could be a public relations nightmare. Nathan Pierce wasn't supposed to exist. He was a ghost of the Ministry that had come back to haunt them…

"You know….the funny thing about murder….it's a bit like what I would imagine a horcrux being….it rips out a piece of your soul every time you do it….do you remember the Irving's? Terrible Death Eaters…much too dangerous to be captured…."

"Stop it! Shut your mouth!" Alexandra made to hex the former Auror but a vice-like grip caught her wrist, turning it until the wand fell from her hand as her face contorted in pain.

"You could argue that Henry Irving didn't deserve a trial…..maybe even Laura Irving….but those little children? I remember the reasoning….."To send a message to the Death Eaters"…while the minister gave speeches, someone had to be out there doing the dirty work….getting blood on their hands…."

"You didn't complain about it when you deposited all those galleons into your bank account!" Alexandra spat, Nathan turning her wrist just a fraction more to send a shot of pain up her arm.

"I knew what I was doing was for the greater good….that someone had to do it, and better me than someone else….someone who could get to sleep at night with a clear conscience…." Nathan's voice trailed off, eyes glazing over in memory before the struggles of the director snapped the former Auror back to the present.

"What is it you want?" The director tried to soften her voice, but the sharpness in it was unmistakable.

Letting her go, Nathan picked up his old comrade's wand; deciding to hold onto it until Alexandra calmed down.

"Not much at all….I just need you to drop the charges against Reno…

"You know I can't do that. He's a multi-repeat offender facing a long prison sentence. Honestly, I would do just about anything to make you go away….but there's no way I can get him released."

Scanning her features, Nathan could see the honesty behind Alexandra's words….but, rather than crushing the former Auror's hopes, it simply forced him to plan B.

"Fair enough….then just tell me where he is. I'll do the rest."

The director's jaw dropped as the implications of her visitor's request sank in.

"You can't be serious! Breaking him out of the ministry's holding facility? That's insane! Even if you could get past the guards, you'd never get him out of the building! The Aurors will arrest you and you'll be put in the cell next to him."

"O ye of little faith…which cell is he in?" Ignoring the director's protests, Nathan checked his phone for the time, noting there was only a few minutes until the next shift change.

"They've been moving him between the general holding tank and the rehabilitation office. This time of morning he's probably in the rehabilitation office. They like to raise them early. When you get off the elevator, take the second left and you'll find it." Alexandra held her breath, waiting for the next demand from this returned nightmare….but instead, she received a gentle wave.

"Good day to you Alexandra...I hope I won't need to come back…" Heading to the door, Nathan tapped his head and muttered a quick disillusionment charm. The door opened only briefly as the skinny man slipped through it, shutting it soundlessly and leaving the office in a few long strides. Dropping the director's wand in a trash bin, Nathan made for the elevator.

Within the office, Alexandra breathed a sigh of relief. She hoped that was the last time she saw the former Auror….her hands were still shaking and her breaths kept coming in gasps.

Trying to regain her composure, the director reached into the bottom drawer of her desk, producing a small bottle with a deep auburn tinted liquid. Taking several large gulps, Alexandra took a few seconds to catch her breath and let the burning subside before calling in her secretary.

Leaning in the door, the secretary's smile began to fall as he observed the tortured look on his boss' face.

"I'm taking the day off, reschedule all of my appointments. And have security install new alarms."

"Will do mam… but new alarms? Has something happened?"

"Just do it!" Alexandra snapped, standing abruptly from her chair and nearly forgetting her coat as she stormed from the office.

Puzzled, the secretary headed back to his office to reschedule the appointments and contact the Magical Law Enforcement office….not missing the bottle of liquor still sitting on the director's desk, though it was much more empty than the last time the secretary had seen it immerge from his boss' desk.

Stepping off the elevator, Nathan narrowly avoided running into several approaching guards, headed home after a long shift. Following Alexandra's instructions, the Rehabilitation office was exactly where it was supposed to be.

Within, Reno saw two quick flashes against the door's window screen. As the door opened, the attending physician paid no attention to the new arrival….a goofy smile crossed the prisoner's face and, following his eyes, the elder doctor turned in time to receive a stunning spell to the face.

Releasing Reno's restraints, Nathan allowed his friend a few moments to stretch his limbs before heading out the door. Recasting his disillusionment charm(the door had been enchanted to remove all prior charms and magical effects in order to keep the prisoners from hiding contraband going in), Nathan and Reno made for the elevator. There only problem would be to escape the ministry before anyone found the two unconscious guards and the stunned doctor…