Author's Note: So it's been more than two years since I started this story. It's not over yet, but I've been working on it more lately, so hopefully we'll get to a conclusion soon. If you're still reading, thanks; I appreciate it!

Chapter 25: Retribution

The seedling sat on Amelia's desk. Fabian and Amelia had returned to the office in complete silence, with the witch clutching at the plant the entire time. Now she stared at it, her eyes fixed rigidly on the delicate leaves. No one had spoken to her; Dolores had walked past, stopped in confusion and then, when Fabian had whispered the sorry tale in her ear, made a quick exit. Nobody knew what to say. There didn't seem to be anything appropriate. Amelia knew least of all what to say. Though her career had been far from perfect, this very moment felt to her like the greatest of failures. Rowan had deserved better, much better, from her life, not just from Amelia. The conversation the Auror had had with her partner only a short while ago came back to her; what was her purpose, if she could not even save the people who mattered?

A shadow fell over the witch and she looked up; standing there, looking slightly like a patchwork doll, was Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody, a senior Auror and Amelia's mentor when she had first entered in service. He wore a grim look on his face and Amelia felt herself shiver; Moody didn't spend a lot of time in the office, so his presence here had to be for a special purpose. She saw Fabian duck out of sight behind a cubicle and she guessed he had something to do with it.

"If you've come to tell to me to get over myself-" Amelia began, her tone cold and harsher than it normally would've been when talking to this particular person.

"That's exactly what I've come to tell you," Moody interrupted in his gruff voice, "You made some basic errors today, Bones, I don't mind saying."

Amelia felt her shoulders sag and she wanted nothing more than to shrink into herself and disappear. She knew she'd been stupid, but hearing it from someone she respected so much made it all sink in just that little bit deeper. Perhaps Moody sensed this, because his tone soften (as much as was possible for him).

"But you've lost a friend," he said, "and that's rough. I won't pretend to think that anything warrants that."

He placed a scarred hand on her shoulder.

"You're a bloody good Auror," the wizard said, "and a fairly decent person as well. The best thing you can do to live up those names is to go and finish what you started."

Amelia nodded, her eyes welled up with tears. One escaped and she was quick to wipe it off her cheek. Moody gave a slight smile.

"There'll be a time for grieving," he said, "but right now I think you should go find who killed your friend and tear the bastards limb from limb."

"Following correct procedure, of course," he added somewhat begrudgingly.

Something that was a mix of a laugh and a sob came from Amelia's lips and she nodded again. The only person who was left now was Darius Finch. And he was going to pay.

After a quick trip to the bathroom to freshen up, Amelia strode into her workspace with a renewed sense of purpose. Fabian raised his head as she entered and whacked Frank on the arm, the latter immediately ceasing to speak. Dolores, who had been making tea, offered her boss a cup, but was dismissed with a wave of a hand. Right now, Amelia Bones meant business.

"As I'm sure you all know," she said, her voice still a little hard, "we lost an informant today. And a friend. But Rowan Griffiths did not die in vain, whatever her captors may have wished."

The Auror went over to her desk and picked up the sketch that had been so carefully done by Hestia Jones.

"Larry Stoneham," she said, holding up the slightly goofy likeness of the now dead boy, "He confessed right before he died and that, combined with the murder of Rowan, is, I think, enough to re-open the case. Not to mention enough to arrest Darius Finch."

"Which is what we all want right now," Dolores said, with uncharacteristic viciousness.

"Exactly," Amelia agreed.

Once again, the cogs of a plan were in motion, although this time they weren't attempting anything clever. Just get into the bar, find Darius, put him away for the rest of his life. Simple enough, if everything went according to schedule. Amelia had sent Dolores up to Crouch's office to present their argument. She had strict instructions not to leave the office without receiving a yes.

"Take it to the Minister, if you have to," Amelia said, "We're not letting this go."

Whilst the secretary was off acting as envoy, the Aurors made a basic plan of attack. Whatever was done would need to be done quickly and effectively; the Death Eaters might currently believe they had killed Amelia and Fabian at the barn, but bursting into the Hangman's Noose would definitely correct that misapprehension. Once Finch got wind of it, he would probably disappear, if he hadn't already. Amelia was counting on his arrogance to bring him to his bar this evening, at which point they would arrest him. Frank had volunteered as watch. He would conceal himself in an alleyway near the bar, where he would wait and watch to see when Darius came in. Alice and her team, consisting of a further three Aurors, were to join Amelia, Gideon and Fabian in waiting. When Frank had given the signal, they would move in.

So, once again, Amelia found herself at Bartholomew's Buckets and Bristles. Hestia Jones had kept the store open past closing time and was now sitting behind the counter, looking slightly ill at ease amongst the crowd of Aurors.

"We'll have to put you on the payroll," Amelia joked.

The girl gave a small smile, but it didn't ease any of the tension in the room. Everyone knew that this was possibly their only chance to get it right. Amelia could hear her heart beating in her ears and she counted each thump, allowing it to get her into a rhythm; calm, beat, steady, beat, Rowan, beat. And so it went, until a frog, slivery and glowing, bounded through the window and into the room.

"He's here," the creature said in the voice of Frank, "and walking around like he owns the bloody planet. It's pretty empty right now; just a few customers. It's mostly him and the girls, and they seem to be avoiding him."

"Both Francesca and Rowan is probably enough to spur on a mutiny," Fabian said darkly.

Amelia felt a ball of anger growing in her stomach. Only this morning, that man had been part of a plot that killed a young girl and two of his own and now he was acting like nothing at all happened. Darius was lucky that Amelia was an ethical woman; had she been less of a moralist, his safety would have had less of a guarantee.

"He's staying on the floor," the frog continued, "I'd say move in now."

And then the amphibian disappeared.

"Let's go," Amelia said, "I want two people at the top of the stairs to cut him off. The rest of us take the edges of the room. Disapparate with precision; I don't want to give Finch any time to make a get away."

She counted down from three on her fingers. Across from her, Hestia seemed to be holding her breath, as if the countdown would lead to some kind of cataclysm. All the Aurors watched their commander, wands in hand. As her last finger went down, Amelia spun on the spot. Her mind focused on the interior of the Hangman's Noose, the wooden walls, the dark counter and the floating candles. Within a matter of seconds, her vision materialized before her as she appeared in the bar.

There was a split second of what seemed like total stillness, as if all kinetic energy had suddenly been sucked from the room and no one was capable of movement. The barman and the patrons just stared and the Auror's stared back. It was only for a moment, but Amelia could swear that one could have lived a lifetime. The person who broke it was the object of the mission; Darius Finch made a dash for the stairs, but Alice was there to cut him off. Casting a full body bind spell, she sent him crashing to the ground. As Fabian and Gideon grabbed him by the arms and hauled him upwards, Darius looked up at Alice and noted her face, gaping with surprise.

"Sorry I didn't call," Alice said sardonically, "but you neglected to give me a number."

The prisoner snarled.

"You bitch!" he spat.

Everybody else in the pub was still. Amelia caught the barman's eye, as he watched his boss struggle whilst the men released him from his bind and tied his hands behind his back. For a second it looked as he was going to say or do something. But then he just went back to shining his counter, as if nothing had happened. The patrons went back to drinking and the girls all shuffled quickly towards the stairs, with Alice letting them pass. Clearly Darius Finch was not a popular man. Either that or, if they were affiliated, it was now official Death Eater policy that Finch was a disposable product. Whatever the case, no one went to his aid.

Amelia now walked forwards, so that she could look Darius in the eyes.

"My name is Amelia Bones," she said quietly, "Auror. And you're under arrest for the murders of Francesca Dyer and Rowan Griffiths and for acting as an accomplice to murder in the cases of Fredrick Bartholomew and Kieran Swann."

She looked one more time at the face of Darius Finch, who continued to snarl and struggle. He looked more animal than human, something that Amelia thought aligned perfectly with what he had done. Or maybe not; murder was a human invention after all. Fabian gently pushed up the sleeve of the man's cloak to reveal a heavy black skull and snake insignia inked on his forearm. Amelia shuddered; that was about all the proof she needed.

"Get him out of here," she said, turning away.

The witch wanted to have some time to breathe before she had to face him again.