Author's Note: Hi all. I just wanted to answer some questions you guys left in your reviews. No, I have not written these type of stories before, but I find working in the field of intelligence to be fascinating, even though I could never do that because I would not do well under torture, lol. The story will only be from Lily's point of view, James will appear very, very soon... so don't worry :) I could never leave him out, I mean, this IS an L/J story, after all, but right now I'm focusing more of the technicalities and the intricacies of the WBI and Ministry. Yes, I have read Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code and I thought it was absolutely brilliant, but this story has no relation to that. Espionage and The Da Vinci Code are not similar at all; the only similar thing between them is that the opening scenes included scattered paintings of Michaelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci at the Louvre. There is no dead curator or albino named Silas :) Don't worry. Thanks for the feedback, hope there is no confusion, and have fun reading!

Oh, by the way, this is the un-betaed, uncut version... my beta was taking a little longer than I had expected with the editing, so I decided to post this firsthand. The edited version should be up... in about a week, so please excuse any mistakes you see here :) What can I say, I'm lazy. And sorry for the wait. An edited version of "Chapter 1: The Fine Art" is posted along with this update.

Espionage

Chapter Two: Partners

"The only thing to fear is fear itself." Franklin D. Roosevelt

Voldemort, Voldemort, Voldemort.

Gosh, that name alone just helped thousands of memories, images, words, and thoughts fleet back into my mind.

He was so famous, so excruciatingly brilliant, yet everybody feared this ruthless wizard. He was so damn admirable but so bloodcurdling intimidating, nobody even dared to speak his very name.

It was such a funny thing that one person caused such a big scare in a world where it seemed like anything was possible. It's so ironic. At first, the Ministry dismissed him as another crazed lunatic out of the many who have tried and failed what he had finished and succeeded in, desiring and craving to have control over the world, but I guess we all really underestimated his manipulative abilities and questioned the loyalty of all his followers.

We had been hunting him for years, it felt like. We often got leads that led us to dead ends. Nothing was more unsatisfying than knowing we had lost. He was calling all the shots while we were clumsily stumbling after his every disastrous move.

Hundreds, thousands, millions, perhaps, were effected by this wizard. The numbers were unbelievable and gobsmacking. What he did... the things that he had done to the innocent... simply putting it, it was terrible, horrible, and most of all, unnecessary.

During his reign, the whole wizarding world was unput. Everybody was nervous, frazzled... after all; they could die any second, couldn't they? It was a shame that they've just realized that fact when a wizard was causing horror everywhere. Nobody felt safe; it felt like the times of Grindelwald and Hitler. Loved ones were broken apart, trust was shattered, everybody was teetering on an edge; waiting to be shoved off any second. There was no balance in the world. It seemed everybody only had themselves and could only depend on themselves. There were no smiles or laughter; warmth which once had showered the face of the earth, suddenly disappeared as these dark, dark times loomed on by.

It was complete mayhem. We didn't know who to trust, who worked for who, who was acting under the Unforgivable Curse or doing it out of free will... it was something that had gone beyond the control of magic. That was the time when I learned fear can be something so great, so vast... yet at the same time it could be so fucking scary, it blew my mind and just about everybody else's.

His army was gargantuan and numerous, filled with all kinds of creatures. The misunderstood creatures that everybody had come to fear. Giants, werewolves, vampires, kappas, banshees, boggarts (blasted things), and most frightening of all, dementors.

It felt like everybody's worst nightmare had come true.

But then everything slowly got better somehow. Our intel had become more true, our agents had adapted... and amidst all the chaos, we had come upon something. Something that didn't lead us to a dead end. Instead, it led us to the Dark Lord himself.

When I had finally, finally caught him in Guadalajara... my moment of happiness, bliss, and that safe, warm feeling of security had came. I had done it. I had finally fucking done it, after all this effort, time, and hard work. He was in my, excuse me, the Ministry's possession...

And I was in for a huge payday.

The fear he had put into me and the whole wizarding world seemed to have evaporated as quickly as it had came. It was an unsettling feeling and it definitely felt quite good.

I smiled ruefully to myself and feeling rather brilliant, I gripped my wand and ran it slowly and lightly against his throat.

"I've been hunting you down for months," I said. "You're quite good at hiding from the Ministry."

He said nothing.

"If I wanted to, I could Avada Kedavra you right now," I whispered maliciously, inching closer and closer toward his ear. I knew it was so, so wrong... but pride had taken over myself. We were centimeters apart; I could hear his exact breathing patterns. "But I won't, because I'd rather see you suffer slowly before you die."

He chuckled, slowly and deeply. "If I were you, I wouldn't say things like that."

I smiled, raising an eyebrow. What did he know? I just captured him, for Christ's sake! I decided to rub it in a bit more until he sounded as scared as I was.

"God, that was smashingly easy, catching you and your little ring of Death Eaters... or, tell me, have you just gotten softer," I murmured. "It's such a shame, you were quite good."

"I'll make you eat your words, bitch," he replied scathingly, clearly enunciating the last word.

I grinned amusedly to myself but inside, chunks of my confidence were breaking. Have I just made a huge mistake? "Raising the stakes in the competition, eh? We'll see, fucker."

"And that we shall." He kept composure, his red eyes burning a hole through my green ones. I could feel it.

I felt a bit shaky. It was wrong of me to brag and belittle him, especially in front of him, but I just couldn't help it. I stood straight. "Guards," I commanded. And with one last daring, lingering look into the pathetic eyes of this sad excuse of a wizard, I turned around. "Take him in."

I strode right out, feeling happier than ever, knowing that tonight, the Wizarding World would finally get a good night's sleep.

But right now, in my life, I had never regretted anything so much as to what had happened in Guadalajara.

Fuck Lanning. Fuck my pride. Fuck everything. Most of all, fuck Voldemort. Fuck that stupid son of a bitch.

Oh, why did I have to be like that?

"I am calmed the fuck down," Lanning snapped back at me, interrupting my reminiscing of Guadalajara.

"This is bad," I murmured.

"No shit, Evans," Lanning retorted.

"Is the Ministry doing anything?" I asked. "Are the people informed?"

Lanning snorted. "Like the Ministry ever does anything at all. No, the people don't know yet, but they probably will soon, since he will probably act soon, knowing him."

"So what are we going to do?"

Lanning looked up at me, with a fleck of fear in his eyes. "I'm not sure." He exhaled.

"Pull yourself together," I directed. "I know you're scared, worried, and feeling fucked, but just sitting here isn't going to do anything. We've got to get as much intel as we can get as possible. So he broke into the Louvre and scattered all those paintings as a message to let us know he's alive?"

"According to what we know, yes, that's why he did it."

Oh, damn. Another thought occurred to me. "Does the RSC have anything to do with this?"

Lanning rolled his eyes. "Please, Lily. That is my fucking dream for the Dark Lord to join forces with RSC. He'd have them Avada Kedavra'd so fast, we would've barely remembered their damn presence in Wizarding history."

I smiled. "Yeah, you are right. But why would he do that? Of all places, target the Louvre, I mean? Just to show us how powerful he is the second time he's around, or is there something secret about it?"

"The Louvre is practically the most famous art museum in the world with security tighter than some airports, for Christ's sake. He's probably just trying to show us how uncatchable he is this time. Listen, Lily, don't even bother wasting your time thinking about this. We have little intel as it is, don't stress yourself out."

"There's just something... fishy about why he would target the Louvre," I responded with an unsure feeling. I shook it off.

"I'm going to give the board a visit," Lanning said loathingly. He smiled grimly. "It should be... interesting."

&&&&&

I went back to my desk, feeling tired and defeated. The fate of all wizard kind was resting on my hands. And the bureau's, of course.

And for the first time, in a long time, I felt truly and utterly scared.

I had no idea what was going to happen and it was nerve-wrecking. My whole life, I've always felt this confidence exuberate from myself... I've always believed in myself, thinking that I could achieve whatever I wanted to make myself happy. I don't know why; it was just a lingering feeling inside of me. It never left or changed. It felt miraculously superb.

But now, this feeling has evaporated and this cold, harsh air of reality has filled. I could die... or even worse, let down hundreds of people. Hundreds of innocent people who have done no wrong.

I guess, all of a sudden, the weight, stress, and rigors of this job had smacked me in the face. What happened to my incredible drive? The drive that let me to the capture of Voldemort in Guadalajara?

It was... simply, gone.

I heaved a long sigh, wondering what would happen to me. I wouldn't go into hiding. Somebody would eventually find me, anyways.

My office, okay, more like cubicle, had a door that I usually left open.

Today, I closed it.

I needed some privacy... I needed some time to think and re-evaluate my life.

Was I really happy, doing this? Did it fulfill me?

I walked over to my sizable, mahogany cabinet and opened the doors, reveling slightly in its grandeur.

Amidst all the missions, paperwork, and meetings, I barely had time to come in here.

I smiled to myself. It really had been a long time. Too long, in fact.

I reached in for my Pensieve and pulled my wand from my pocket.

10ΒΌ inches of absolute perfection. It was thin, long, and swishy... which was ideal for charmwork. I can still remember Mr. Ollivander's exact words.

The contents within the basin started to swirl very fast. It had become so transparent, I could see right through it. I've always thought this part of the Pensieve process was the most beautiful. It was liberating seeing the swirls of silver escape from the bowl. I touched the tip of my willow wand to my temple and began to think, rounding up past memories of Guadalajara and Voldemort.

Slowly, I dragged my wand back into the pensieve. Feeling content, I placed the bowl back into its proper place and silently closed the cabinet door.

I was utterly at peace when these memories were safely packed into the pensieve. Right now, the last thing I needed was memories of him.

There was a knock on the door and Lanning poked his head in. "Evans, since when did you lock your door?"

"Sorry for needing some privacy," I replied dryly. "After all, this is only my office."

Lanning chuckled. "Very funny, Evans."

I raised an eyebrow. "I am quite the comedian. Anyways, what'd the board say?"

Lanning exhaled slowly. "Well."

"Well, what?"

Lanning opened the door wider and next to him was another man. He had wire-thin glasses, alarming hazel eyes, and messy black hair.

"This," he said, motioning to the other man, "is James Potter."

"Nice to meet you," I replied, offering my hand. He shook it firmly.

"It's going to be a pleasure working with you, Miss Evans; I've only heard good things about you. Must I say, I'm very impressed," James answered politely.

"What? We're going to be working together?"

"Yes," Lanning responded hesitantly, "the board... has decided to recruit Mr. Potter here as your partner. He is a very good Auror who worked in the Ministry. You will be working together to track and bring down the Dark Lord."

"Partners," I repeated, unable to process the information. "...partners?"

"Yes, Lily," Lanning replied thickly, "Partners. James will be your partner from now on."

James smiled warmly. "I'm not all that bad, Lily." Ugh, wuss.

I blatantly ignored James and turned to Lanning, "Partners!" I seethed. "Why do I need a partner? I was doing a great job without one!"

"Because," Lanning answered slowly, "times are getting tough, Lily. Stop being a stubborn bitch, swallow some of that pride, and get all the help that we can right now."

"I don't need any help," I responded through gritted teeth. But I knew Lanning was right. I needed to swallow my pride because that's the thing that would always get me in trouble.

Lanning said nothing.

"So, I guess this would make us partners in crime?" James asked, hoping to ease the tension in the air with a lame joke.

I didn't laugh. He wasn't funny. I just turned around and left.