Betty Cooper turned the page of the Daily Prophet , bypassing Rita Skeeter's section altogether. She wasn't in much of the mood to see the vile witch spinning more lies to her readers and entrapping them in a web of deception. It was ensnaring and Betty, fresh off her first year as an Auror, had enough of it. She had just graduated from the program and spent the last year trying to catch Death Eaters that had been in hiding since the fall of Voldemort. She, unlike so many of her counterparts, wasn't afraid to say his name. A name was just a name and the fear you gave it meant it had more control over you than you had over it.

Rumor had it, it was Harry Potter's fourth year in Hogwarts. She hadn't followed the teenaged-boy around like some gossip columnist – Rita Skeeter – but she had been interested in hearing how he was doing in school. After all, he was the reason Lord Voldemort had fallen from power and in such a horrific way. She knew the entire wizarding community owed him their gratitude. It was heartbreaking that James and Lily Potter had to pay such a terrible price. She had been in school when they were in the Order of the Phoenix, four years younger than Lily was. She hadn't known the other girl in school but had heard of her. Head Boy and Girl of their time. Betty had secretly been amazed by all Lily Potter had done and she was crestfallen when Voldemort had murdered her.

That was one of the main reasons Betty had joined the Auror department. She wanted to put a stop to all the murders that were happening in her country. Voldemort was back and killing once more. No matter what the Ministry may think, she knew that Voldemort would return one day. She took a sip of her coffee to give herself something to do. She had prolonged the moment for as long as she could and now she needed to get a move on if she wanted to make it to work on time.

Cleaning up her dishes, Betty waved her wand and the dishes began to clink gently in the sink, washing themselves as she finished her coffee. She had to meet with – who was it again? Jughead Jones, that's right. He had graduated a year before her and was a prolific member of the Order, often answering to Dumbledore on assignments the other man had for him. Betty knew Jughead valued his position in the Order but as far as knowing each other, the two were colleagues at best.

She hurried to put on her peacoat, looking around her tiny London apartment one last time to make sure she had everything she needed. Then she grabbed her bag of Floo powder and pinched some between her index finger and thumb. Throwing it into her fireplace, she watched as the emerald flames licked at the crate before climbing into the fire.

"Ministry of Magic!" she called in a clear voice.

Moments later, she was stepping out of the fire grate at the Ministry of Magic and joined the steady flow of people heading to their departments. Betty walked along the linoleum floor briskly, making it to her office in good time and stopping just shy of her door. Lucius Malfoy and Cornelius Fudge were talking just a few feet away from her and she curled her lip.

Lucius was as slimy as they came and she heard that his son was no better. He had been friends with Bellatrix Lestrange at one point, even a Death Eater alongside her, and Betty didn't have the patience for him. She didn't believe that he had come back to the right side after

Voldemort's downfall and was just waiting for his time, but how on earth could she say that to the Minister of Magic himself? Cornelius loved Malfoy. He loved the galleons he donated too.

Then there was the fact that the other man was married to Bellatrix's sister, Narcissa. Bellatrix had done some of the most vile magic Betty had ever seen. She drove Frank and Alice Longbottom to insanity and had destroyed two of the best witches and wizards their kind had ever seen. She visited Frank and Alice at St. Mungo's every chance she got; Alice Cooper having been best friends with the latter. It was hard for Betty to watch her mom with her best friend now. Alice Cooper was upset every time she saw Mrs. Longbottom at St. Mungo's and Betty didn't know what to do to help her. She wanted so very desperately to help.

Then there was her father, Hal Cooper. Hal was a respected member of the Wizengamot and a highly respected member of the wizarding community in general. He had been at the fight with the other members of the Order the night Bellatrix tortured the Longbottoms into insanity. She knew her dad had done everything he could to hold Bellatrix off but his magic was evenly matched against the superb witch, and, sadly, he hadn't been able to save his friends.

Since the Coopers visited the Longbottoms regularly, it gave Betty a chance to get to know their son, Neville. Her friend and close confidant, Kevin Keller, also knew him. Kevin was a professor at Hogwarts and often said Neville showed an aptitude for Herbology. She knew it had to be hard on the young guy, to not have his parent's magic or his parents around, but Betty also knew he worked hard. He worked as hard as he could to make them proud and for that, Betty admired the young wizard.

Just then, Cornelius and Lucius turned to her, Lucius's mouth curling up into a sneer.

"Ah, if it isn't our very own Ms. Cooper," he jeered. "Good lord, I do hope they're paying you enough to cover the bills."

Fudge laughed uncomfortably at what Malfoy said but Betty didn't bat an eye.

"They're paying me what I deserve, Lucius," she replied coolly. "Which is more than I can say for some people." Her eyes lingered on him for a moment, taking a moment to feel pleasure as he flushed red at her scathing remark. Served the dick right .

Cornelius shifted onto the balls of his feet, changing the topic hastily. "Yes, well, Mr. Malfoy has just given a very generous donation to St. Mungo's."

"How nice of him," came another voice and Betty turned over her shoulder, spotting Jughead Jones walking towards them. "Betty, a word in my office if you don't mind."

"Not at all, Jughead," she murmured, following the other man into his office and shutting the door behind her quietly. She turned in time to see him unfastening his cloak.

"Sorry, I didn't actually have anything to talk about, I just didn't want to be around Malfoy any longer than necessary. He's such a pompous git," Jughead muttered, and Betty laughed gently.

"We all know how Lucius Malfoy operates," she replied.

Jughead hummed thoughtfully before changing the topic. "There's a meeting with the Order, Wednesday night at Headquarters. Are you going to be there?"

"Definitely," she assured him. "I've got to speak to Dumbledore about that file on Sirius Black."

"You still working on that?" Jughead asked, and Betty sighed.

"Yes," she admitted. "My team hasn't made much headway on his case. As we all know, its almost unheard of to escape Azkaban and yet, Sirius Black managed. He didn't get Potter but rumor has it, they're in touch."

"You know how much I love the rumor mill, Betty," Jughead said.

"About as much as you love gossiping old ladies," Betty replied, and Jughead smirked. Then he ran a hand down his face.

"How are Archie and Sweet Pea coming along with the assignment for the Aurors?" Jughead asked and Betty sighed.

Sweet Pea was the boss of her Auror team and she answered directly to him, but he and Archie Andrews were both running groups in the Order, which meant they had to also answer to each other. As two guys who didn't get along, Betty didn't know which one hated the other more.

"It's going. Sweets is being his usual charming self when it comes to Archie, and Archie is giving as good as he gets."

Jughead sighed. "Yes, definitely a mistake to put those two together. I trust you're working on mediating as much as you can?"

Betty chuckled dryly. "Easier said than done, but yes, I'm trying to play mediator. Sweets and Archie are good if they're usually left on opposite ends of the room. I can make them play nicer that way."

"Thanks, Betty," Jughead said appreciatively. Then – "How is your case on the Quidditch World Cup going?"

Betty sighed. "Well, while Runcorn and Rosier led the attacks on the Muggles and we've got them arrested, there are still several witches and wizards I haven't placed at the scene of the crime, yet. I know we modified the Roberts' memories but as far as having answers to who all the Death Eaters were that night, I don't know. I'm assuming it was a bunch of drunken men getting their kicks going by terrorizing poor muggles."

"Damn them," Jughead sighed in frustration before nodding. "All right, good work Betty. Just keep at it until we have a few more people in Azkaban awaiting trial."

"What about Lucius?" Betty asked after a moment's hesitation.

"Be careful around him. He's still got Cornelius eating out of the palm of his hand for all the donations he's made this year alone. We need concrete proof that he was a part of the group that night before we accuse him. But I agree with you. There's no way he wasn't there."

Betty expelled a soft sigh past petal lips. "Okay. I'll see if I can get Runcorn or Rosier to talk."

"Be careful with them, they're animals," Jughead warned her. "I don't want you getting in the line of fire just to try and say you were able to arrest dark wizards."

"Jughead," Betty laughed. "That's the very definition of my job."

Chuckling, Jughead sighed a moment later. "I know. Just watch your back, Betty. You're one of the best Aurors I have. We took a massive loss with the Longbottoms and there are still dark wizards out there with a thirst for pain that rivals Lestrange's."

"I know," she murmured, tucking her hair behind her ear. "I promise to be careful."

"Okay," he agreed after a moment. "Now, there's rumors that Igor Karkaroff is playing dirty at the school. That he's trying to trip up the other contestants so Krum stands a better chance at winning."

Betty snorted indelicately. "First of all, Jughead, they're not rumors if Albus Dumbledore is trusting them with you explicitly. And we all knew Karkaroff would play dirty. He doesn't play by the rulebook, we know this."

Jughead nodded. "I know. I just didn't think he'd be stupid enough to do anything with Albus there."

"And still no word on how Harry Potter's name got into the Goblet of Fire?" Betty asked.

"None," Jughead said. "He swears he didn't ask an older student to do it for him and Dumbledore believes him. Therefore, I believe him too."

"As do I," Betty agreed.. "I don't think the kid wants anymore fame in his life and we all know that the tournament is dangerous. I don't think he would have willingly put himself into that kind of a situation. Not at the age of fourteen."

Jughead agreed with a hum. "Okay, so I've got to go talk to Cheryl Blossom about something but report back to Sweets on what you find out about the other Death Eaters at the match this summer. And make sure to keep your head down, Betty. No one needs to find out you're looking into it."

"You got it, Jughead," she promised him softly.

Then she left his office and was setting about to go see Sweet Pea.

XXX

"I will murder Archie Andrews," Sweet Pea growled ten minutes later and Betty stifled a laugh. The taller was always so mad at something the redhead had done.

"C'mon, Sweets, he's not that bad," Betty coaxed.

"Betty, you don't have to work with the guy every day," Sweet Pea sighed. "Andrews is thicker than a concussed troll."

Betty rolled her eyes but didn't opt to comment on that particular complaint. She changed the topic. "Where are we on Bertha Jorkins missing person's report?"

Sweet Pea sighed. "No sign of her since mid-July. It's not like her to not show up to work."

"I know," Betty murmured, thinking about the fact that her colleague hadn't been seen in weeks. Bertha, while an incredibly nosey person, was still really sweet and Betty would hate to think about anything bad happening to her. She looked at Sweet Pea. "I don't like this, Sweets."

"Tell you what, I'll have Veronica and Toni look into it. They're two of the best aurors next to you, and I can't have you on the case because Jughead wants you on the Quidditch World Cup case. How's that coming along?" Sweet Pea asked.

"Pretty good," Betty replied. "I've got Runcorn and Rosier awaiting trial. I want, so desperately, to put Lucius Malfoy on stand but Fudge would have a heart attack if I did."

"Best not use his favorite pretty boy as an example," Sweet Pea agreed. He touched her shoulder. "All right, you're doing well. Jughead wants you answering to him for the rest of the case and I'm fine with that. Just check in with me, okay?"

"Okay," Betty replied, nodding her head as she glanced back over her shoulder at Jughead. She still had so much to get done and needed to interview more of Bertha's colleagues. She didn't say friends because Bertha didn't really have friends. No one trusted her. And that hurt Betty's heart. The other woman was just curious for her own good. But that didn't mean she wanted something bad to happen to her. Betty looked back at Sweet Pea. "Are you giving me complete freedom on the Quidditch World Cup?"

Sweet Pea shrugged. "Don't get yourself killed, but yeah, you've got freedom. I need to go talk to the guards at Azkaban. Since Black broke out last year and hasn't been seen since, they've upped the security at the prison."

"You think Dementors would be able to do their actual jobs," Betty huffed an irritated sigh. She hated the Dementors. She had been to Azkaban twice and both times, she felt like the joy had been sucked right out of her. She wasn't allowed to produce her famous corporeal Patronus either, and how she wished she had been. She would have loved her cat to protect her.

"The Dementors don't give a shit if there isn't something in it for them," Sweet Pea replied. "But they're still infuriated that Sirius Black escaped their watch."

"I would be too," Betty muttered. "He is the reason the Potters were betrayed, after all."

Sweet Pea sighed. "I know. Okay, I've got to go deal with Archie and send Toni and Veronica look into Bertha's case. You go see what Jughead needs you to do. Report back to me this evening."

"You got it, boss," Betty replied, rolling up her sleeves and heading back down the hall to where Jughead was. She had her work cut out for her.

XXX

Jughead wanted Betty fully immersed in the events that happened at the Quidditch World Cup. He wanted her to drop the gavel on the two Death Eaters they had awaiting trial. Before he walked away, he looked back at her.

"Are you good to go to Azkaban to see if we can get more information out of Bellatrix Lestrange?"

"She won't turn on Voldemort," Betty replied. "She doesn't even think he's dead."

"Fudge is the only one who thinks he's dead," Jughead replied flatly. "And that's because he's blissfully unaware of the happenings in the wizarding world."

"Dumbledore's man," Betty smiled slightly, and Jughead pinked a bit. He cleared his throat the next minute.

"Dumbledore has proven more loyal than Fudge ever has. I answer to him," Jughead shrugged a dismissive shoulder. Betty placed her hand on his forearm.

"I know, Jughead," she assured him quietly. She liked answering to Jughead as much as she liked answering to Sweet Pea. They were both better than answering to Fudge. Jughead smiled at her softly.

"You're the best person for this job, Betty, because you're focused and want justice. The poor Roberts didn't deserve to go through the terror and humiliations that they went through at the World Cup and I'm just grateful that Barty Crouch had the mind to modify their memories."

"Is Mr. Roberts still acting bemused?" Betty bit her lip in worry.

"Kingsley checked on him discreetly and he's still a bit dazed but they're slowly regaining their mindsets. It was a large charm Barty had to use," Jughead sighed.

Betty frowned. "It shouldn't have had to have been used at all. I'll catch the rest of the Death Eaters who partook in it."

"Please do," Jughead replied. "Just watch your back."

"Of course," Betty murmured, turning on her heel and walking away from her boss of the moment. She had her work out for her and the first place she needed to get to was Azkaban. She set to work.