Chapter 43

Criminal Error

14th March, 1998

They had finally cornered him. He could scarcely believe it. Months of efforts, months of despair, months of filling in that stupid casebook, and now, finally, here he was, facing off with Rookwood. It had happened completely by chance. The casebook had actually ended up being completely useless, but he wasn't thinking about that now. It didn't matter, what mattered was the result. Every little scribble, every curse learnt, every bead of sweat – it had all been worth it, more than worth it, if this was how it was going to end. If they caught him, he would hand in his resignation letter tomorrow and that would be the end of it. He would have succeeded. He would have avenged Fred.

His hand shook around his wand, and Savage caught the movement. He shot the trainee a sharp glance that said, Lee, collect yourself. You can do this. But it wasn't fear that had Lee shaking. He wasn't afraid. He had been waiting for so long that he couldn't be afraid. He knew he was ready. It wasn't fear, it was anticipation. If he had been a dog on Savage's leash, that sharp glance would have been a tug on the leash to try to hold him back, and it wouldn't have worked. The leash would have snapped.

"Well, well, well," Rookwood said, breaking the heavy silence that had settled when he caught sight of the three Aurors; Lee tensed at the sound of his voice. "What have we here?"

"Augustus Rookwood," Savage said, "We are a team of Aurors dispatched by the Ministry to arrest you. Will you follow in peace?"

This was simple procedure, ensuring the legality of the fight that was about to follow. They couldn't attack first, not unless Rookwood made it clear he wasn't going to give himself up.

"In peace, Auror?" Rookwood asked. "Why, certainly. I'm simply dying to go to Azkaban. You know, I've been on the run for so long simply to turn myself in when three scrawny –" his lip curled – "Aurors ask me to. Without even saying please, no less."

"Stupefy!" Harry cried.

Rookwood dodged the spell and turned to stare at Harry. "Potter? It is you, isn't it? It's you –" and he non-verbally shot a jet of violet light at Harry, who barely had time to Shield himself. "Petrificus Totalus!" and then Savage was down, unable to move.

"Damn," Harry said, casting a Shield over Savage and moving so that Rookwood was between him and Lee.

He shot a glance at his partner over Rookwood's shoulder, a glance which meant, Distract him. He didn't need to ask twice; Lee was more than willing for an opportunity to talk.

"I have waited," he said, searching the ex-Death Eater's face, "for so long."

"I'm honoured," Rookwood sneered. "Seems like I have a fan. Be serious, kid. You're just a little boy trying to play hero... Why are you even doing this job?"

"You killed my best friend," he snarled. "You murdered my father savagely –"

"Which one was that?" Rookwood asked tauntingly. "You're not exactly narrowing it down."

He kept looking back and forth over his shoulder at Harry. Whenever he tried to step to the side to get out from between them, they followed. But it was a stalemate; if either of them tried anything, Rookwood would have time to attack the other. Savage was down... Savage, the senior Auror, would know what to do in a situation like this. But Lee and Harry were duellists, not field experts. They could have taken Rookwood down in a fair fight, but in real life, they were harmless.

Lee felt his fury build up as he understood this. No. He had not worked so hard for months to end up as weak as he had been during the Battle – too weak to help Fred. He would not lose.

Distract him, Lee.

"Scared yet, are you, Rookwood?" he taunted. "Look at you, harmless and hopeless. You're a goner, you worthless murderer. You're caught. You might as well hand yourself in and maybe you'll get off light. Maybe you'll only get, what, eighty years in Azkaban?" Lee continued. "That's nothing for a guy like you, right? If you're lucky you'll be dead before they decide to allow the Dementors back in."

"Look at you, Mister Auror," Rookwood said. "I didn't think they hired – hey!"

Rookwood's eyes widened and he let loose a volley of swear words as his wand flew out of his hand, wrenched away by the force of Harry's non-verbal Expelliarmus. It was one of his favourite spells, the one he was most at ease with and the first one he had mastered non-verbal casting of.

"Didn't think they hired what, exactly?" Lee asked.

"Useless little shits like you," Rookwood spat. "Worthless – piece – of – shit."

"You're unarmed," Lee said. "Talk now, or we can take you in the hard way."

"Lee," Harry said warningly. "Lee, get on with it."

He was right. There was no need to have Rookwood talk. The proper procedure was to Stun him and bring him to Azkaban, or cuff him and bring him to Azkaban. But Lee wasn't a proper Auror.

"Damn you, Rookwood," Lee said, ignoring his friend and keeping his gaze on Rookwood. "Why did you do it?"

"If you're expecting remorse," Rookwood said, "then go find someone else."

He spun on his heel, and suddenly Lee knew that, even though they had taken his wand and the risks of Splinching himself were high, he was going to try to Disapparate. Harry cried "No!" and then an incantation Lee didn't catch, but for once, Lee's reflexes were faster.

Rookwood fell to his knees on the spot and screamed out in pain, his body convulsing under the non-verbal Cruciatus. It was less potent than a verbal curse would have been, but seemed to do the job all right. Lee watched him impassively, feeling a sort of sick vengeful feeling rise in him for all of five seconds, which was all it took for Savage to finally free himself of the Full Body-Bind. Lee heard a cry of "Stupefy!" aimed at Rookwood and had the satisfaction of seeing his enemy crumple to the ground and lie still. Then Savage screamed out another incantation, something Lee didn't recognise, and then a white-hot, searing pain filled him, and then he lost consciousness.

He woke up at the Ministry, in the Aurors' lounge, lying on one of the sofas. Had this all been a dream? He struggled to push himself into an upright position, feeling somewhat groggy, and noticed that Harry was sitting on another sofa, and Kingsley on yet another.

"Minister..." he said weakly. And then. "Rookwood!"

"He is being held in Azkaban, awaiting judgement," Kingsley said calmly. "That is not why I am here."

Of course not. Lee knew why the Minister was here – he had used the Cruciatus Curse. An Unforgivable. There were two witnesses, one of whom was Harry Potter and the other of whom was a senior Auror. By all rights he should already be in Azkaban, imprisoned for life.

"I know why you're here," Lee said stiffly. "I don't know why I'm here, though. I expected to find myself in Azkaban."

"Not without a trial," Kingsley said. "The Ministry looks after its own, Lee. You're one of our Aurors, and a good one at that."

That was a lie. Lee was the worst Auror he'd ever met. He got too involved in the cases he was given, talked to the family and friends of the victim until he hated the criminal he was chasing so much he wanted to kill him. He always caught his prize, always turned him over to the Ministry, and he did it quickly, but he wasn't a good Auror.

"An investigation is unnecessary," Kingsley went on. "There are witnesses, and your wand would surely reveal to us the last spell you used if we asked it to."

Lee stiffened and instinctively reached up his sleeve. His wand – he still had his wand. Was Kingsley completely crazy?

"… circumstances." Lee snapped back to attention and realised he'd missed out on a part of Kingsley's explanation. "During the wars, Aurors were given the right to use the Unforgivable Curses against Death Eaters. Harry himself –" he nodded at the Saviour "– used the Cruciatus on more than one occasion, and he wasn't an Auror then. You were chasing a Death Eater, so your use of an Unforgivable may have been warranted. Of course," he added, "the fact that you chose the Cruciatus Curse makes this a delicate matter. You could have used a Stunning Spell to neutralise Rookwood whom, Savage tells me, you had already cornered and disarmed . The Killing Curse would have guaranteed you a five-star cell in Azkaban for at least fifteen years. But the Cruciatus... The Cruciatus is difficult to deal with. Inflicting pain. Torturing someone. Why would you, an Auror, do that?" He paused. "How did you do it? The Cruciatus requires the desire to inflict pain... just for the sake of causing pain. I find it worrying that one of my Aurors was capable of casting the curse."

"The reason I became an Auror," Lee said quietly, "was to hunt down the people who had killed my friends and classmates. The reason I chose Rookwood was because he killed one of my best friends. And I used the curse because it was the first thing to come to mind when I faced him. I didn't just want revenge; I didn't just want him to pay for what he'd done. I wanted him to know what pain was."

Kingsley was silent. Then he stood up and swiftly left the room, Harry following right behind him. But Lee knew where he was and where the pair was likely to go; the Head Auror's office was just beside the Auror's lounge. He didn't think before casting the spell which would allow him to eavesdrop on their conversation; why would he, anyway? He was already as deeply in trouble as he could ever get. He had nothing to lose anymore.

After a second, Kingsley's voice rose from the other room, sounding bemused. "Savage cursed him," it said. "He saw Lee cast an Unforgivable and how did he react? He cursed him. The man has years of career behind him. It isn't like him to lose control."

"There were unlikely circumstances," the Head's voice said.

"True," Kingsley said, his voice low, and despite the magic Lee had to strain to hear his next words, which were addressed to Harry. "But you all have reason to hate the Death Eaters. You've all faced them down at least once, you've all lost someone to them. I didn't think Lee was so hateful – I didn't draw the line that linked him to Fred Weasley and Rookwood."

"It isn't your fault," Harry said. "None of us knew."

Lee was surprised at the lie, but Harry was saving his own neck with it.

"The curse," Kingsley said again. "It complicates everything. You've made a right mess of this situation... But if you play your cards right, Harry, you may yet save your friend."

Harry didn't hesitate. "How?"

Lee stiffened. He had cast an Unforgivable. Could Kingsley seriously be looking for a way for Lee to avoid punishment? Why was Harry so willing to go along with it?

"Savage will hate this," Kingsley said. "But the curse he used was outlawed only three months ago. By me. His testimony wouldn't hold up in court. He'd be exposing himself to a sentence as well. He has enough honour that he'd go through with it anyway, but I could make him back down."

"And Lee would get off – just like that?"

"No, of course not."

Kingsley then said something that Lee didn't hear – and he didn't quite catch the Head's reply, either. He managed to make out the words "improbable," "lucky," and "circumstances." He did hear the click of a door locking, though, and knew the three had left the room.

Lee slumped down on the sofa, rocked his head in his hands, and started crying.

Bound to happen... This I knew was going to happen when I started the story. I had a hard time convincing myself to write it down, but I did it, and I like it. How do you feel?