Disclaimer: JK Rowling created Harry Potter. I don't own it.

Chapter 15

Personal Involvement

12th September, 1998

"There're rumours saying we'll finally be doing something. I mean, arrests and stuff," Neville had said. But an Auror didn't trust rumours, and after a few months of "working" – training – at the Auror Office, Lee didn't really believe that today was the day anything would change.

As it turned out, the rumours, for once, were not that far off the mark.

"I have called you all here," Kingsley said, "because there is an urgent matter at hand. I would not normally call upon Aurors-in-training, but you have all demonstrated your skill and courage and I think that, under the supervision of a senior Auror, you will be able to carry out your mission. We do not have nearly enough senior Aurors to get this done quickly, which is the second reason why I thought of you." Kingsley's eyes scanned the room. "This urgent matter is, of course, the Death Eaters still at large."

Lee reflexively clenched his fist.

"They are dangerous to the population of the wizarding world, but also to the human population in general. They must be caught and locked away as quickly as possible. And so... I have asked the Head of the Office to chalk up this list of Death Eaters. We have already relinquished half of them to the Hit Wizards, because the Aurors aren't numerous enough. All our senior Aurors have taken up a case. This leaves us with six. I want each pair to choose one; you will pursue this case extensively and intensively until he is caught. Each pair will have an accomplished Auror with them on the field."

The "pairs" he kept talking about were the groups they'd been assigned to two weeks after starting training. After examining their results, the Head, Gawain Robards, had paired them up with one another by level, matching weaknesses and strengths. Neville, who was excelled in Concealment and Disguise and was passable in Defence and Offence, was paired with Wood, who was better at Stealth and Tracking. Lee himself had been put together with Harry. The idea was that the two team members would complement each other, but it hadn't always worked out; Ron, for example, couldn't stand his partner, and the feeling was mutual, which made their work that much harder.

Kingsley was passing out copies of the short list now. Lee quickly scanned his; it was in alphabetical order. Avery, Marcus. Gibbon, Teague. Lestrange, Rabastan. Lestrange, Rodolphus. Rookwood, Augustus. Wilkes, Valerio.

"I would rather this be dealt with as quickly as possible," Kingsley was saying. "If you could submit your choice before the end of the day..."

But Lee was only half listening now, clenching the paper so tightly it was crumpling between his fingers, so tightly his knuckles had gone white, so tightly that Harry, who was sitting next to him, nudged him and asked him if he was all right. Lee shook his head and didn't say anything.

Rookwood, Augustus. Rookwood, Augustus. Rookwood. Rookwood. Rookwood.

"Lee," Harry said quietly, "I don't think it's a good idea."

"Oh, because you have a better one?" Lee said, slightly too loudly.

Harry shook his head and returned his attention to Kingsley.

Thirty minutes later, Lee was first in line to scrawl his name on the list the Minister had tacked to the bulletin board. Right beside Rookwood, Augustus, he wrote: Group n° 3, Lee Jordan & Harry Potter.

If there was one thing Lee really hated, it was his job. His bloody heroic job as an Auror. Oh, yes, it sounded like a cool thing to do at first. Yay, look at me, I'm hunting down Dark Wizards. But really, all he'd been doing since he got here was listen to retired Aurors drone on about the dangers and risks involved (I know that, of course I do, I fought in a bloody war) and screech about how his stance was all wrong and how he should never, ever put his wand somewhere it took more than 0.77 seconds to draw it from.

Auror training was as hard as it was made out to be, and nowhere near as interesting except for a few on-the-field exercises that at least let you breathe in the fresh outside air. There was only one reason he was still going along with this. He was more determined than maybe anyone else to become an Auror as quickly as possible – hopefully before the five years of training were up. And it wasn't because this was his dream job – that was Harry's idealistic approach, not his. Lee had a personal reason for taking Kingsley up on his offer.

He did everything he could to be the best. He often stayed up until early in the morning studying, which had helped him quickly rise to the top of his class in all theoretical, written tests. He'd had to work harder for the concrete stuff, but not a lot. He had always liked Transfiguration – Fred used to say he had a crush on McGonagall, which was so not true – and so was better than average at Concealment and Disguise, and had even mastered the Disillusionment Charm so well he could make himself practically invisible. Thanks to his DA year he'd learned enough to handle himself well in Defence and Offence – though it annoyed him that Harry could beat him so effortlessly. Harry seemed to rely on instinct more than anything else, and it worked. Wandless and Wordless had Lee lost at first, but a few nights of practice had ended that. Potions and Poisons was relatively straightforward; it was Stealth and Tracking that really did him in. He always got caught. He had to be the worst in that particular class, or maybe second or third worst, slightly above Neville and Ron who were ridiculously clumsy.

"You okay, Lee?"

He looked up at Neville and forced a smile. "Fine. Well, I'm a bit bored, but..."

"It's not all it's made out to be, is it?" Neville asked. "Training, I mean. I thought the lessons would be more interesting, but..." His voice trailed off.

"Yeah."

Lee knew what he meant. They only had two two-hour lessons each day, during which everyone struggled and stared and didn't understand anything, and then they spent their afternoons filing, mopping up, trying to understand the lessons, or napping. During the first few weeks, they'd gone through Death Eaters' former houses hunting for Dark Artefacts, but that was over now.

Though they still hadn't done Malfoy Manor. Admittedly, the Malfoy kid – Draco? – had come to them and handed over an impressive array of Dark Artefacts, all extremely dangerous, but they had no reason to believe he had given them everything.

"Yeah, it is pretty bad, isn't it? Harry seems to like it, though."

Neville glanced over at the Boy-Who-Lived. "I don't know that he does. It just makes him forget, I think – gives him a purpose. He hasn't been the same since the war."

Lee laughed. "Who has?"

"You have a point," Neville said. "But I think I have."

Lee looked at him, surprised. "Yeah," he said after a moment. "Yeah, I s'pose you have."

"But now... this Death Eater thing, it's serious stuff, isn't it?"

"I think we're ready. We fought in the war."

"Yeah. Yeah, we did." Neville was silent for a moment. "You know, for a moment back there, I considered taking Lestrange. Either one of them."

Lee nodded. It wasn't a secret – or at least not anymore, not after the Prophet had started its idiotic Hero of the Week column, in which, every Monday, a reporter delved into the private life of a "war hero" – that Neville's parents had been tortured into insanity by Bellatrix, Rabastan and Rodolphus Lestrange, and Barty Crouch Jr.

"But then I thought, it wouldn't be right. Taking revenge – it's something they would do, you know?"

Lee nodded again, wondering if Neville knew just how personally involved he was with Rookwood – just why he had taken the case.

Neville gave a wry smile. "And Kingsley would never have let me, anyway. Everyone knows about my family and the Lestranges now." He looked serious again. "Lee, I can understand probably better than anyone what –"

Neville was cut off abruptly as Ron suddenly shoved past him and smashed his fist into Lee's face.

"You fucking bastard!" Ron snarled, pulling his arm back to deliver another punch. "Don't you dare take that case, it's mine, he's mine, Fred – " Ron seemed at a loss for words for a moment, then his fist connected with Lee's jaw again. "Bastard!" he repeated, drawing his wand.

And then everything went black.

A Stunning Spell. Definitely.

He hadn't heard Ron say anything except bastard, which he took to mean the redhead had actually mastered non-verbal magic. Of course. Ron had to choose this moment to let his skill show through.

If he was completely honest with himself, Lee had to admit he had been expecting the anger. No doubt Ron had intended to take the case for himself, to track Rookwood down to the ends of the earth and make him pay... but Lee had beat him to it, and he wasn't about to back down now. Not for anything in the world.

"Just what," Robards was saying furiously, "did you think you were doing? Stunning a colleague!"

"He provoked me," Ron said sullenly.

Lee bolted upright. He'd been lying on a sort of sofa, and after a moment he realised he was in the Aurors' lounge. Well, he sure hadn't gone far.

"Provoked you? Really? How so?"

Ron didn't say anything. But then, he didn't have a choice – if he said anything, Lee would be taken off the case, but Ron would also be forbidden to have anything to do with it. Personal grudges were not encouraged in the business.

"He provoked you," Robards repeated, his tone mocking. "You aren't at school anymore, kid. This is the real world. You need actual excuses if you want to go around Stunning people." Robards turned to Lee and smiled. He seemed to like him, if only for his good grades. "Ah, Jordan. You're up. Weasley..."

"I'm sorry," Ron said immediately, glaring at Lee.

"It's all right, mate," Lee replied, flashing a cold smile.

Ron turned on his heel and left the lounge. (It would always amuse Lee that the Aurors were viewed as serious, hard-working, elite wizards when they spent most of their time in the lounge being paid for doing paperwork or playing cards with other Aurors.)

Robards' expression darkened. "You chose Rookwood, right?"

Lee's pulse sped up. Did Robards know? "Yes," he said cautiously. "Is there anything wrong with that, sir?"

"He's extremely dangerous," Robards muttered, almost to himself.

"I was under the assumption that they all were, sir."

Robards looked at him, not looking amused. "Jordan, you're one of the best out of the new batch, but you're still a kid. You've only been in training for four months. So you... you be careful out there, okay?"

"Yes, sir."

"I've decided to hand you over to Savage," Robards went on. "The man's got two decades of experience on him, and he still has the reflexes he had when he was your age. He'll be supervising and helping you with Rookwood."

Richard Savage was well-known in the Auror Office. He had about two hundred scars and only three fingers on his left hand, and he was rumoured to be ruthless. Just the kind of guy Lee wanted by his side as he hunted down the Death Eater... but ultimately, Rookwood was his.

"Thank you, sir."

"You're welcome." Robards stared at him for a moment longer. "What was Weasley talking about?"

Lee shrugged. "I was out of line. Said something about the lesson this morning. Defence and Offence, when his partner managed to charm his trousers off – quite literally. He got defensive."

"Offensive, more like," Robards said. "Broke your nose; but we healed it quickly enough, there won't be any marks."

"Thank you."

"I think you're going to bruise, though."

"That's all right. I have... things. At home. To help."

Robards didn't question that. "One last thing, Lee... Any particular reason you chose Rookwood?"

"No, sir. Closed my eyes and pointed." Lee smirked. "He was unlucky."

Lee was humming to himself as he stepped into WWW, or Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes, that evening. Humming was a habit he'd taken up during the war; it soothed him. He hadn't been able to hum a proper tune since the Final Battle, though. Today, contentment filled him and he almost felt like bursting into song.

"Hey, Lee," Alicia said, grinning up at him from the sofa in which she was reclining. "What's got you in such a good mood? I'm sure you can be heard from down the street."

"Good day at work today," Lee said briefly, smiling at her. "It's been a while."

Alicia looked down at her hands. "Yes. I've... been busy."

"So have I," Lee said truthfully.

He examined his friend. She seemed tired and her face looked uncharacteristically drawn. Her wide smile didn't quite reach her eyes, which were faintly rimmed with dark circles, and her robes were plain black, almost too dull to be hers. He hadn't even known she owned a set of black robes – he hadn't seen her in anything of that colour since Hogwarts. And maybe they were her old Hogwarts robes, because unlike everything else she wore, they were loose at the waist. Or maybe she had just got thinner.

"So, why'd you come by?"

Alicia smiled again. "Wanted to see how you two were getting along. Work's good, then?"

Lee grinned back. "Perfect."

He looked over at George, who seemed to have nodded off in his armchair. George didn't sleep at night; he just stayed up and stared out the window. Sometimes he dozed off and woke up with a jolt, but this time he seemed to be sleeping peacefully.

Lee made a mental note to invite Alicia over whenever he could.

"He's sweet, isn't he?" Alicia commented. "I mean... it hurts to see him sometimes..."

"He's so much like Fred."

"Yeah, but – right now – look at him."

"He doesn't sleep," Lee blurted out. "At night, I mean. He has these – nightmares."

"He's sleeping like a baby now."

"What'd you do?"

"Dreamless Sleep potion."

"Really? He never lets me give it to him."

"I figured as much, so I hid it in the tea I made for him. Want some?"

"The potion, or the tea?"

"Both. Or either."

Lee grinned and sat down across from Alicia. "No, I'm all right."

She examined him. "You look better than all right. What happened?"

"Every pair has been assigned to the capture of a Death Eater," Lee said proudly, lifting his head. "I picked Rookwood."

Alicia didn't react the way he'd expected her to. She just sipped her tea and shrugged. "Guess that explains the bruise on your jaw, then."

"Yeah," Lee said, touching his face gingerly. "That would be Ron."

"Fred was his brother," Alicia said quietly. "Don't you think –"

"Personal involvement and all that. Ron wouldn't have been good for the job."

"And you're not personally involved in the least."

"I'm better at controlling my emotions." Lee sighed. "I think we both signed up for the same reason, you know."

"Harry's your partner, isn't he?"

Lee nodded.

"What does he think?"

"He disapproves, obviously. But he wouldn't keep me from doing anything." Lee laughed dryly. "He couldn't if he tried. Look, Alicia. Rookwood killed Fred. And now he's on the run. I'm going to catch him, and I'm going to bring him in. And then I'll trust the court do deal with him. Justice and all that. I swear, Alicia – I won't decide to take revenge. All I want to do is see Rookwood behind bars."

"Dead or alive."

Lee looked away. "I don't know. Azkaban sounds like a bad enough fate."

Alicia abruptly stood up. "I have... things to do. I have to go."

"Alicia, are you –"

"I have to go," she repeated firmly.

Lee raised his eyebrows at her but nodded and escorted her to the door. On the doorstep, Alicia leaned forward until her lips were right by his ear and whispered, "Be careful."

He wasn't quite sure what she meant by that, but he nodded.

"Try and get him to reopen the shop," Alicia continued. "It'll help."

"Alicia, are you okay?" he asked. "You look... ill."

"I'm fine," she said, looking away. "Or at the very least I'm not ill."

Next chap is mostly Draco, a little bit Astoria and a teensy bit Theo (whom I really like).

Over the following two weeks the Dramione starts. I don't know what day I'll post (I'm on vacation so I can do it pretty much whenever), I've been thinking about Wednesday and Friday to change a bit from Friday and Saturday, but I'm not sure.