Devotion - Rufus Scrimgeour

The funeral was on a Wednesday and, though that date was inconvenient, it had never presented itself as any kind of problem to Rufus Scrimgeour; if the event had been scheduled during his last moments to live, the soon to be Minster for Magic still would've been there. He stood at the side of the crowd, wanting to be as close as was possible, but respecting the right of family to take precedence. The wind ran across the grass and over his feet, creating ripples in the landscape as if the funeral party were some great ship anchored in the middle of a green sea. Rufus believed that, had she believed in such things, Amelia would be very happy here. There was an inescapable sense of calm, something that the world had not afforded the late Madam Bones on a regular basis. It made him sad to think of it; the last few years of her life had been constantly overarched by the shadow of some kind of chaos. If anyone deserved peace for all eternity, it was her.

It was hard for him to work out exactly how he felt; he had to be strong, he knew that, strong for her. The Ministry needed a moral voice more than ever now and, as Amelia could no longer be that, someone would have to take her place. Rufus didn't know if it could be him. No one could replace Amelia. She had been a singular personality, something that would never be seen again. But her voice had to remain, it was the one thing he was certain of. Amelia had relied on him a lot through out her career and Rufus was not about to let her down now. They had shared something special and he intended to honour that.

Rufus thought back to last summer, a time when things had been just as uncertain but somehow less sinister. He had been delivering some paperwork and had found her in a bit of state. She was putting on her plum coloured Wizengamot robes, swearing at the air.

"Rufus," Amelia cried, spinning around as he came in, "I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were here."

"I just have some case files that need signing off," Rufus said hesitantly, indicating the stack in his hands, "I can come back later, if now's not convenient."

"Not really," Amelia said distractedly.

The witch sat back down at her desk and began to rummage through a a draw.

"I have the Harry Potter hearing this morning," she said, her hands still flicking through things.

Rufus nodded; he had completely forgotten. Looking around her office, however, it didn't appear as if anything was happening. In fact, her office didn't look as if anything other than a large explosion of papers had happened. Amelia caught him looking around and raised an eyebrow.

"I thought," the wizard said, somewhat sheepishly, "that your office would've been in a better state if you were expecting visitors."

Amelia made a low noise that sounded almost like a growl.

"You must've been the only one who hasn't heard," she said aggressively, "The hearing has been moved, at the request of the Minister, to one of the old court rooms. It's a full jury. That's why I'm dressed up in this monkey suit."

Rufus was surprised. The case seemed fairly straight forward when Amelia had showed it to him the other day. When he thought about it, though, given the increasing paranoia of certain politicians regarding certain events, it wasn't that surprising.

Amelia was still fishing around in the draws.

"What have you lost?" Rufus asked, placing the papers down on the desk and going around to help her search.

"I am looking for," Amelia said, reaching to the back, "this."

She pulled out a monocle.

"I'm supposed to be trying it out," she explained, "to see if it improves my eyesight. The healer seemed to think this was the best option. I look ridiculous."

She put it on, to illustrate her point, and Rufus tried not to laugh.

"It's not that bad," he assured her.

Amelia tilted her head, disbelievingly.

"I look like the Monopoly Man," she said flatly.

"Who?" Rufus asked.

But Amelia had moved on.

"It's a bloody imposition," she complained, "The trial is going to drag on - Dolores will see to that - and I have two more meetings after this. I'm probably going to have to cancel, which will put me further behind in my work."

"I can go to those meetings if you like," Rufus offered, "I have a free hour or so and you won't have to worry."

Amelia leaned back in her chair, looking up at her colleague with a strange sort of smile.

"I'm not asking for that, darling," she said, reaching out her hand to touch his arm, "You know me; I like to complain when someone will listen."

Rufus did know her and she wasn't one to complain without cause. And he wanted to help her; with a slight sinking in his stomach, he realized that he always wanted to help her.

"It's not a problem," he said quietly, his voice not betraying any of the emotion he felt, "In fact, I'd say it's part of my job."

"And you're so good at it," Amelia said softly, once again smiling.

He watched her consider his offer, the corners of her eyes going slightly crinkly as the always did when she was in thought.

"Thank you," she said finally, her voice sincere.

Rufus bowed his head slightly.

"It's really not a problem."

At that moment, a secretary walked into the office.

"Madam Bones," the woman said, "you're wanted downstairs."

Amelia nodded, but, as the woman left, made a face at Rufus. He gave a wry grin. Amelia got up out of her chair and went to leave. She stopped in front of Rufus, her eyes glancing over his face. Then she reached up a hand and rested it on his cheek. Rufus felt an involuntary shiver go through his body.

"Dear Rufus," she said fondly, her voice soft, "What would I do without you?"

"I'm sure you would manage," Rufus said dutifully, "Actually, I'm sure you would succeed beautifully."

Amelia smiled, in the broad and open way that had come to be a source of light in Rufus' day. Then she walked off.

It was that smile that Rufus wanted to hold on to, that honest and genuine sign of happiness. He didn't want to think about the way she had died or how stressed she had been towards the end. He wanted to remember that warm and bright glow that had surrounded her, the aura that had drawn him in. Rufus stared out at the coffin, an unfamiliar burning sensation behind his eyes. Amelia Bones was his reason and now she was gone.