I apologize for my two weeks hiatus. I was kind of absorbed by another project.

Now, back to the world of Harry Potter, and Lily experiences the aftermath of the Triwizard Tournament, as the Ministry of Magic changes.


LILY XXXIV

Lily was completing a report on a seizure of illegal alcoholic beverages. The Magical Law Enforcement Patrol had recently seized a huge shipment that came from France, carrying alcohol that was way too concentrated for British regulations. It was thanks to Lily that they intercepted the shipment. During her travels abroad, she gathered a lot of information about illegal activities. She couldn't transmit the information while she was in Europe, her contacts with the Ministry being limited to crucial communication to chase Crouch Junior, but now that she was back, she provided all the information she gathered, and it began to pay. Even as far as Bulgaria, the Ministry of Magic of that country managed to arrest a smuggler of dark magic artifacts with information Lily gathered and the British Ministry of Magic then transferred to them. The only domain in which it didn't pay was for the main objective of that mission: capturing Bartemius Crouch Junior.

One of her colleagues walked by her cubicle, and Lily waved her hand at him. He ignored her and kept walking. Lily shook her head and sighed, returning to writing her report. It had been like that for about two weeks now. Ever since the Triwizard Tournament had been over, the ambiance at the Ministry of Magic changed, and with that the behavior of many of her colleagues towards Lily. Fudge and his allies had been going through all the departments, making it clear that they wouldn't suffer any employee being more loyal to Dumbledore than to the Ministry. That meant that all those who were not loyal to Fudge could leave immediately.

Rumors were spreading inside the Ministry. Cedric Diggory's death was spoken as an accident, the result of Dumbledore taking insufficient measures to ensure the safety of his students, refusing to allow the Ministry to intervene on the school grounds, and even allowing illegitimate candidates to participate to the Tournament. The Daily Prophet supported it, journalists recuperating Rita Skeeter's latest articles to discredit Dumbledore, and Harry by the same occasion. As a result, Lily was targeted as well.

Not everyone was hostile to her. Many of her colleagues among Aurors, especially those she worked closely with, were still on very good terms with her. Nymphadora, Miranda and Kingsley's behaviors towards her had not changed. Even Rufus Scrimgeour treated her the same way as before, and she had the support of Amelia Bones as well. However, she was also removed from the most important files that the Auror Headquarters were responsible of. Miranda had complained about this with Scrimgeour, who refused to bring Lily back on the Crouch case. And whenever Lily walked in the corridors of the Ministry, she heard whispers behind her back, and not like those she heard when she began working here.

As she finished writing down her report, she thought of Harry. She wasn't sure if he was conscious yet about how things were dire in the Ministry. She didn't tell him how the atmosphere had changed, how her colleagues in general had become colder towards her. He already had a lot on his shoulders, and she didn't want him to know she struggled on her side as well. For now, being given the cold shoulder by some people at the Ministry looked secondary to Lily when compared to what Harry went through two weeks ago.

Dumbledore had arranged for someone of the Order to watch over him at all times. He said the protection he inherited from the events at Godric's Hollow would keep protecting him while he lived with Lily, even if he wandered outside their apartment, but Dumbledore remained cautious all the same. Lily wished she could be with her son more often to ensure his safety, but Dumbledore was clear that they needed her elsewhere. Lily yawned. She slept little last night. She had been guarding the door leading to the Department of Mysteries.

According to Dumbledore, aside from rebuilding his army, Voldemort would be looking for a way to kill Harry, once and for all. For that, Dumbledore suspected that he would try to get his hands on a copy of the prophecy that was made years ago. The same prophecy that seemed to indicate that the Dark Lord and Harry were destined to fight each other.

Lily knew the prophecy. Dumbledore told her a very long time ago, before they went into hiding. Before James died. Lily had never really believed in prophecies. Divination never looked like something very serious to her. But Voldemort had taken this prophecy very seriously. It seemed that to him, the mere possibility that Harry might be destined to defeat him was a good enough reason to murder him while he was still a baby. And according to Dumbledore, whether the prophecy was true or not, Voldemort did believe in it, and it was enough reason to put everything in place to protect Harry. And to prevent Voldemort from stealing that prophecy.

Lily knew that Dumbledore took Harry's safety as seriously as she did, but it couldn't stop her to worry day and night. She could take the mistrust from the Ministry and her colleagues, the articles in the newspapers that questioned the sanity of both her son and Dumbledore, her relegation to secondary tasks, even the threat Voldemort represented for her own life. The threat on Harry was another matter. Back when he was a baby, in the months that followed James' death, she had been plagued by incessant nightmares and constant anxiety over her son's life. She was worried at all times of day that Voldemort and his allies might still be out there and trying to harm her boy. Many told her she was being paranoid, but in light of events over the past few years, her fears were quite grounded. And now, Voldemort was back for good, and it would only be a matter of time before he reconstituted his army. Lily knew he would come for her. And for Harry.

"Lily." She was taken out of her thoughts and the report she just finished by Miranda Savage. "I need your help on a case. Some of the information you gathered might be helpful. Come."

Lily followed the senior Auror, who led her to one of the rooms made for interrogation and discussion. On their way, Lily noticed many people looking at her weirdly. One Auror who was particularly old had the latest edition of the Daily Prophet opened at the front page, with a huge photo of Albus Dumbledore, and looked almost with disgust towards Lily. She suspected the main article cast doubts on Dumbledore's ability to fulfill his duties as Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards. He was supposed to give a speech this afternoon at a meeting of the Confederation, and to announce Voldemort's return on the same occasion. Lily hoped that it would be enough to convince people. If Fudge refused to believe in Voldemort's return, then the population and the other Ministries around the world had to be warned.

Miranda closed the door once Lily was inside.

"Listen to me, Lily. Officially, we have been discussing the fact that one of my sources confirmed the information you brought about a black market for dark magic artifacts operating in Ukraine and Poland. If you are asked questions about this, you answer that, and people will believe that it took more than a few minutes to discuss it."

Lily frowned. "What is going on?"

"I wanted you to know since you've been a part of the operation. We're ending the search for Bartemius Crouch Junior."

"WHAT! Are you fools?"

"This is about the same reaction I had when Madam Bones announced it to me," Miranda replied, gritting her teeth. "The decision comes from Fudge's office. She obviously wasn't happy with it either."

Lily scoffed. She couldn't believe it. "What is he doing? He can't close an investigation like that. We have an assassin on the run. He killed George Goldstein and Cedric Diggory!"

"We know he did." Miranda closed her only eye and sighed heavily. "Apparently, his staff went over our investigation and found several irregularities. Most of them involving you."

"What do you mean? What does he blame me for?"

"You're the one who found out that Crouch Junior was still alive, based on images coming from Muggle cameras. That, plus the fact you couldn't find him during the many months you spent in Europe… The Minister claims you invented the story and that no proof we gathered could indicate that Barty Crouch Junior is still alive."

"That's nonsense! We have the photos. We have proof that he committed two murders. We have Harry's and Moddy's testimonies about his actions. We have Mr Crouch's admission, for god's sake!"

"We know all that, but the Minister and his people dismissed it. They say that neither your son, nor Alastor, nor Crouch are reliable sources, and that proofs coming from Muggle sources are not reliable either. Mr Crouch is officially leaving today, so Fudge claims there are no more reasons to continue this… joke."

Miranda almost spat the last words. Lily wanted nothing more but to head to Fudge's office and smash some sense into his head. First, he was denying Voldemort's return, then he was closing an investigation on an assassin who he knew perfectly well was still alive. Fudge really lost his mind this time.

"Look, I'm telling you because Madam Bones is as angry as we both are right now," Miranda continued. "And she wants us to keep looking for Crouch Junior." That caught Lily's attention. "This will be off the books. No one else at the Ministry is to know about this, except you, me and Madam Bones herself. She knows that Crouch Junior remains a threat. And she wants you back on the operation. Consider yourself reinstated, even though it's not official."

In some strange way, Lily felt relieved. "We're lucky that some people still retain some sense in this ministry," she said, discouraged.

"I know how you feel. Fudge has been meddling into our cases way too much recently. I had the visit of one of his staff member, and he advised me to put some distance between you and me. That's why we must not show we are still working together. From now on, I will behave as if I barely gave you any consideration. This is necessary to continue the inquiry on Crouch, and to not raise suspicions from Fudge and his sycophants."

Hearing Miranda speak this way about Fudge was a relief to Lily. Miranda was no member of the Order of the Phoenix, but Lily appreciated her determination and hard work to capture criminals. And seeing she despised Fudge's techniques was a boon.

"Okay, I get it," Lily replied.

"All the files on the case have been confiscated by Fudge, but I made copies over the last two weeks, in case something like that could happen. I'll send copies to you as well so we may continue to work. I'll contact you by owl to inform you of the next steps. Now, we better leave. This conversation is not to last too long in everyone else's eyes."

Miranda headed to the door, and she unlocked it. She then went through the doorway and looked at Lily. "Check your sources the next time, before you give us inaccurate information," she said loudly enough for many people to hear them.

Lily didn't react. She knew for certain now that this was only Miranda's way of tricking the others. Lily went back to her own cubicle, ignoring hostile and weird looks people threw her way, feeling much better than when she arrived at work this morning. She thought seriously about asking Miranda to join the Order when she had the occasion. She had few contacts with the older Auror since June, but with the operation off the books, she could try to make Miranda join the Order without the Ministry noticing it. Lily would still have to be careful though. Nymphadora had joined the Order easily and happily when Lily asked her, but Miranda was more skeptical by nature. It might not be as easy with her as with the young woman.

Once back at her desk, Lily started to worry again though. Fudge had officially ended the investigation on Crouch Junior. His reasons to do so were ludicrous. Everyone with an ounce of common sense would know that Barty Crouch Junior was alive, and a danger for the whole wizarding community. But again, no one with an ounce of common sense would think that Dumbledore was trying to overthrow him. This is the intelligence they got from the people around Fudge and that was shared at the last reunion of the Order. The Minister was clearly losing his mind. Lily couldn't believe that they were entering a new conflict against Voldemort with such an idiot at the head of the Ministry.

About an hour later, Lily was solicited again by the Magical Law Enforcement Patrol. They needed her help to apprehend another smuggler who might have brought objects filled with dark magic into the country. They needed an Auror with them in case there was any surprise or major threat they couldn't foresee. Her presence proved useless at the end though, as the supposed dark artifacts proved to be fake, and just as dangerous as the dolls she used to play with when she was a child. She came back to the Ministry and wrote her report for the event, once again. Then she dived into a review of another investigation. Aurors were sometimes asked to review the work of their colleagues, which often amounted to reviewing their reports, a job none of them appreciated.

"Having a long day?"

Lily raised her head to find Arthur Weasley next to her cubicle, his arms against the borders of the improvised wall. "Pretty much," Lily confirmed.

"Welcome to the club. I just heard that Barty was about to give a speech before his departure. It will take place in the atrium. You want to come?"

Lily thought about it for a moment. She didn't appreciate Bartemius Crouch Senior. However, she had to give it to him, when he faced threats, he didn't hide from them. He was intelligent and principled enough to acknowledge Voldemort's return and even confront Fudge about it. This cost him his job. Lily didn't think this man deserved his position at the Ministry, but at the same time, she felt the way and the reasons for which he was fired were wrong.

"I'm coming," she said.

She and Arthur walked out of the Auror Headquarters and went to the lifts.

"How are Molly and the children?" Lily asked him.

"Pretty good. At least, considering…" He added in whispers. "I'm eager to move into the headquarters. The Burrow has been our home forever, but I can't help but worry about them when they're at home."

"I know. I worry about Harry all the time me too." Arthur nodded, showing he completely understood. "Tell me your sons are not doing anything stupid and dangerous."

"Stupid, yes. Dangerous, no. Except Fred and George when they make things explode."

The lift arrived and they climbed into it. There were other people inside, so Arthur kept talking in low tone.

"But they do not put their lives into danger, if you see what I mean. Not even Ginny."

"I hope not." Lily had not forgotten how the poor girl was brought into the Chamber of Secrets. "How does she take… the recent turn of events?"

"Pretty well, I must say. Hermione is there, that helps her. I think she's happy to not be the only girl in the house aside from her mother."

"Hermione is already at your home?"

"She arrived two days ago. I explained to her parents what was going on. They were very understanding. Charming people," he said with a smile.

"I know, Arthur. I know them as well."

The lift opened on the atrium.

"I must admit," Arthur said as they headed into the place with the other occupants of the lift, "Ginny surprises me. She was the one Molly and I worried the most about. With what happened to her two years ago, the diary and everything. But she seems to take things very well, and to face them courageously."

"That's a good thing."

"I know." He looked troubled. "At the same time… I get the impression that she grew up too quickly. She will soon be fourteen, you realize?"

Lily understood. She found that Harry was growing up too quickly as well, and not because time went on fast. "This war… It doesn't leave our children with many choices. They have to grow up faster than planned." Arthur nodded. "Have Bill and Charlie come to live with you?"

"Bill, yes," Arthur replied. "He still works at Gringotts, but he comes home now. But Charlie… Well, he is in Romania. Working for us, of course," he added in a whisper.

They had now joined a large crowd of people who gathered around a platform with micros upon it. Lily knew that these micros didn't use electricity or batteries, but rather magic to work. She recognized journalists both from newspapers and radio stations. They didn't seem to notice her, and she was glad for it.

"I hope he is safe," Arthur went on. "I don't like the idea of Charlie being far away. It's even harder for Molly."

"Considering what's going on in this part of the world, I don't blame her," Lily commented.

Arthur frowned. "What do you mean? What's going on in Romania?"

Lily frowned in return. But then she remembered. Though, to be honest… "Arthur, for someone who is so fascinated by Muggles, you don't know much about their history or what's happening in their world."

"What's happening?"

"The fall of the Berlin Wall? The Fall of the Soviet Union? It doesn't ring a bell to you, Arthur? All of Eastern Europe is in turmoil ever since. I could see it while I was on mission on the continent."

"Oh!" Arthur seemed to realize now. "Oh, yes. Yes. That was… Did it happen recently?"

Lily rolled her eyes. She kept herself appraised of what happened in the Muggle world, but among most wizards, even those intrigued by Muggles like Arthur, actual events in the world of the Muggles almost went unseen.

"Well, anyway… What about your son? How is Harry coping with all this?"

She sighed. "Decently well, I would say, considering…"

She didn't say another word for a time, and Arthur didn't trouble her silence either. She didn't want to tell Arthur that the best friend of his youngest son had nightmares. Lily heard her son cry more than once in his sleep at night, and even screaming once. Lily had gone into his bedroom when it happened, and despite Harry's attempts to reassure her that it was only a dream, she wasn't reassured at all.

Lily knew what her son was going through. He had seen a friend murdered right in front of him. She made nightmares without end when his father died. It took her years to recover to a certain extent. And still today, sometimes, she made nightmares about that night.

"At least, he's not spending his days alone," Lily said.

"Is Sirius with him when you're not home?" Arthur asked.

"No. Sirius is working. I was talking about Susan."

Arthur frowned again. "Susan?"

"His girlfriend," Lily specified. Arthur's face lightened up in understanding.

"Ah, yes. I think I recall Ron talking about her once or twice."

"At least, he's got someone to spend the day with. I'm not sure he would support spending his days all alone."

After James was gone, being alone had been the most difficult for Lily. Taking care of Harry helped, but remaining alone with your thoughts was the worst thing to do in such circumstances. Lily didn't know Susan very well. She saw her a few times when Harry studied with her during summer in the previous years, but the girl looked kind and decent. If she was anything like her uncle or her aunt, Lily had no problem allowing her into Harry's life. One of the only issues was that Lily felt weird about the fact that her son was dating the niece of her own boss. Another issue had been the girl's parents, who were very reluctant to let their daughter see her son when they came back from Hogwarts. Lily needed a rather painful and difficult with them to convince them their daughter risked nothing seeing Harry. Lily didn't blame them entirely. After all, they wanted to protect their daughter, just like Lily wanted to protect her son. And when compared to the discussions Lily had with her own sister and brother-in-law, this one had been a walk in the park. Even a week later, she was still exasperated by Vernon's behavior, and by Petunia's stubbornness in refusing to see what Dudley had become. Lily was disgusted when she was told what her nephew did during his vacation and free time. But anyway, they were safe now. It was all that mattered. Lily didn't have time to worry about the nephew who barely acknowledged her presence and who she barely knew herself. As long as Petunia and her family were in security, things were fine and Lily could focus on other critical matters, such as the looming war and a minister who buried his face in the sand.

Agitation spread through the crowd at this moment. Bartemius Crouch Senior came onto the platform for everyone to see him and positioned himself behind the micros. Flashes appeared from everywhere, photos of the man being taken. Lily noticed the presence of one of Arthur's sons, the one who was working for Crouch, not far behind him. Mr Crouch cleared his throat as silence settled in the atrium.

"My declaration will be short," he said, as cameras kept clicking. "An hour ago, I fulfilled my last duties as an officer for the Ministry of Magic for Great Britain and Ireland, and I handed my resignation as Head of the Department of International Magical Co-operation to the Minister."

This caused some shock among the assistance. Many people within the Ministry suspected that something like that was about to happen. Lily was among the few to know it with certainty, but rumours spread of a disagreement between Fudge and Crouch and that the latter would leave soon. Lily noticed how no one stood by Crouch's side as he made his announcement. He had really been abandoned by his colleagues and allies.

"I leave my office," he continued, "with the feeling of duty accomplished. I started working at the Ministry of Magic the moment I left school, and I don't regret it a single moment. The accomplishment I'm the most proud of is the role that I played as Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement during the last war, and contributing to put behind bars some of the most dangerous wizards and witches of our times. Assassins, traitors, murderers, fanatics of the dark arts. Putting them away is certainly the best thing I have done in my life."

There were many muffled approvals among the crowds. Lily had to give it to Crouch, he tremendously helped to arrest many Death Eaters. Too bad he let so many escape.

"If I have one regret about my career and my life… it is my son." The atrium fell completely silent at these words. "You all know that my son was arrested and sentenced to life in Azkaban for one of the most barbaric and horrible crime in our history. The torture to madness of two Aurors universally respected by our community. This is a crime that has weighed down on me… on all of us, for over ten years now. And this is something that will weigh over me, over us over the coming years as well."

That was when Lily suspected something was about to happen. And it did.

"Now, I owe you the truth. My son is alive."

This caused a very loud reaction. People stared at Crouch, turned to their neighbours in the crowd or looked anywhere to understand what was just said. Lily and Arthur stared at each other in stupor. They didn't expect this.

"I know it will come as a shock to many, as my son was officially declared dead and buried on the island of Azkaban over ten years ago. But he didn't die there. My wife did. Before she died herself, she…" He paused for a moment. "I had her switching places with my son in jail. She drank Polyjuice to take his appearance and was buried under his name."

The commotion in the atrium increased. Some people shouted at Crouch, realizing what was being revealed.

"There are no excuses for what I did. I freed a criminal. I kept him prisoner at my home for years. But last year, during the Quidditch World Cup, he escaped. And in the following days, he murdered not only my house-elf, who I had tasked with watching over him, but also a wizard by the name of George Goldstein who lived near the location of the World Cup. I also suspect him to be behind the assassination of Cedric Diggory, whose father is an employee of this Ministry, two weeks ago during the finale of the Triwizard Tournament."

Cameras clicked without a stop. Flashes illuminated the atrium. People talked so loudly that Crouch could barely make himself hear. Journalists wrote in their notebooks so feverishly that the grating of feathers against parchment was audible.

"I ask the wizarding community to be careful and to signal to the authorities any sighting of my son. He is dangerous, and he has already committed two… three murders since he escaped. As I'm no longer an officer of this Ministry, I am not being held by any oath of loyalty to the Minister, and I can also tell you this. The rumours that are circulating are true. Lord Voldemort is back."

This time, it caused real panic in the crowd.

"He is back, and my son helped him return. I can only advise every one of you to take the necessary precautions and to prepare for the oncoming war. For soon enough, we will be at war again, and this war may be worse than the previous one."

As Crouch left the platform and tried to wave away the reporters and photographs who tried to ask him questions, Arthur spoke in a very stunned voice next to Lily.

"That… was unexpected."

Indeed. Bartemius Crouch Senior just climbed many ladders in Lily's esteem. She was just as stunned as everyone in the atrium was.


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Next chapter: Ron