The news of Voldemort's return is already spreading, and many people are already taking action.

LILY XXXII

They both Apparated in the atrium of the Ministry of Magic. Lily used Side-Along Apparition to make sure that Crouch would not escape her. He might profess that he despised dark magic and was decided to confront Voldemort and his supporters, including his own son, but Lily wasn't ready to fully trust him. He could still try to escape.

"We've got to see Amelia right away," Crouch said, hurrying to the lifts. "She's probably already aware of what happened at Hogwarts and Diggory's death, but she will not know about the Dark Lord's return. I suggest you contact the other Aurors involved in tracking my son and inform them of the latest developments."

"First, we're going to see Madam Bones together," Lily said. She wouldn't let Crouch out of her sight, and informing Amelia about the situation was a priority. She could summon all concerned people much quicker than Lily could, including those still at Hogwarts.

Lily's mind and heart were both racing. Only a few hours ago, she had watched her son walk into a maze which she believed was the last straight line before he was free from this stupid binding magical contract. He had returned, carrying another dead student, heavily injured, to announce that Voldemort was back.

Lily had known forever, deep within herself, that this day would arrive, sooner or later. Dumbledore repeated more than once that some day, Voldemort would return. But Lily had not been prepared for this to happen that night. There was no way to be prepared for such an event.

She couldn't stop thinking about Harry and worrying about him. He narrowly escaped death tonight. It wasn't the first time, but this time, he had faced Voldemort himself. Not a memory kept within a diary. Not someone else's body who Voldemort occupied. He fought Voldemort himself. Lily's memory of when he walked into their home was fresh as if it happened yesterday. She couldn't believe that they would relive those horrible days again. A part of her wanted to rebel, refusing to accept that all the sacrifices they made years ago, all those deaths, all that had been for nothing, for the era of fear and death and suffering was upon them again. She thought she understood why some people like Fudge didn't want to believe that Voldemort was back. And yet, they would need to convince them. They couldn't allow people to ignore such a terrible truth.

Lily and Crouch took a lift to the floor where the Department of Magical Law Enforcement was located. In silence, they then rushed to Amelia Bones' office. The Ministry was almost empty. They were in the middle of the night. Even at the Auror Headquarters, offices were devoid of life. However, Crouch had no doubt that Madam Bones would be at her office. She was always first to answer when a crime as major as a murder took place. It was to her office that he wrote when he contacted the Ministry earlier in the evening. This explained why Aurors and other people in the service of Law Enforcement showed up at Hogwarts, not long after Harry and Cedric reappeared. Miranda Savage had been among them. Lily didn't get the chance to talk to her, since she had remained close to Harry all the time since he returned, but she would explain to her colleague everything the moment they would see each other, which would certainly happen very soon.

They arrived in front of the office of Amelia Bones. Her assistant was in front of the door leading to her office. He looked up when he heard them approaching.

"Mr Crouch?" He looked surprised.

"We need to speak with Madam Bones. Immediately. This is an urgent matter," he said without preamble.

"Madam Bones is not available," the employee said, sounding confused. "She is discussing with the Minister in his office as we speak."

Lily and Crouch looked at each other, and for once, it seemed like their minds were synchronized and they knew what it meant.

"I thought you would be there too, Mr Crouch. All the heads of department were called for an emergency meeting," the assistant said.

"I've got to go there. Evans, find Savage. Inform her."

And on that, Crouch was gone, walking quickly with a decided step. Lily didn't try to stop him this time. If Fudge gathered all heads of departments in his office, it was that the situation was grave. Who knew what the minister could be saying and deciding right now?

"Please, inform me when Madam Bones will be back," Lily asked the assistant.

"I can schedule an appointment with you, if you want," he offered.

"No. I will need to see her right away when she comes back. It is an emergency."

She tried to communicate to the man that it was truly urgent.

"I'll tell her that you requested an urgent meeting with her, Mrs Evans. I'll contact you as soon as she is ready to see you."

"Thank you."

Lily walked away, straight to her cubicle office. There, she wrote a quick message, which she sent with a tap of her wand. The sheet of paper took an aeroplane shape and headed out. Then Lily waited.

Voldemort was back.

Voldemort was actually back. He wasn't occupying someone else's body. He wasn't a shadow of his former self anymore. He was a full bodied, powerful dark wizard. And her son just escaped him.

He was back.

She couldn't prevent herself from thinking about that fateful night, fourteen years ago.

Lily, take Harry and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off...

AVADA KEDAVRA!

Lily closed her eyes at the memory, and tears threatened to break through her eyelids. She couldn't do it again. She couldn't go through another entire war. She knew that the time would come, but she thought… She foolishly thought that she would have more time. Enough time to see Harry grow up. Enough time so he could have a real childhood. Though, did he have a normal childhood at all? From his very first day at Hogwarts, Voldemort had been omnipresent. But still, she had hoped that he wouldn't come back right away. That they could give her son some semblance of normality before he became a man. He was only fourteen. It was too soon. They couldn't ask from him… They couldn't ask from her to make him the one person who could defeat the most evil wizard in history.

She thought of all these times when he was young. Before he came to Hogwarts. Before she told him of the magical world. When it was only the two of them, mother and son, living together, safe from the rest of the world. Maybe they should have remained there. Maybe she should never have sent him to Hogwarts. Maybe it would have been safer for him. She knew that Voldemort was seeking Harry's blood, and this could only be for one thing. Voldemort could never have put his hand on Harry's blood if Lily had kept him away from the wizarding world.

But she knew that it was false. Voldemort would have found another way to come back. If Harry had not gone to Hogwarts, Lily wouldn't have been there, in the dungeons, three years ago, to stop him from using the Philosopher's Stone. Voldemort would have been back sooner. He would have found them. And he would have killed them. Lily would probably not have been any challenge to him after not using magic for years. And Harry even less. He wouldn't have had the wand Ollivander gave him before he entered Hogwarts.

Lily didn't know how it happened. She didn't know why Harry was given… Why the wand that shared the same core as Voldemort's wand chose Harry. But she couldn't thank God enough for giving him that wand. It saved him tonight. Much like his father's protection saved him three years ago. Or Fawkes, in the Chamber of Secrets. Or Severus, last year, when Pettigrew stunned her. It seemed that somehow, something or someone was watching over Harry.

There was something Harry told her while she led him to the infirmary. He said that his father wanted to tell her something.

He told me to say… He loves you.

Lily knew what Dumbledore said. That it wasn't really James. That it was only an echo of James, a fragment of him. Still…

Lily had to face the truth. No matter what she would have done, Voldemort would have come back, one day or another. He was back now, and the priority was to fight him and his supporters, and to protect Harry at all costs.

"I received your message." Miranda Savage just walked into the Auror Headquarters. She walked straight to Lily. "You said it was urgent and you had to see me immediately. What's going on?"

"We need to talk," Lily said. "But not here. Let's take one of the meeting rooms."

Miranda followed her, and Lily closed the door behind, even locking it in the process.

"This must be serious," Miranda noticed.

"It is. But first, I need to know, how is the investigation on Cedric Diggory's death going?" Miranda had been one of the Aurors and other Ministry's officials to arrive on the scene not long after Harry came back. Lily heard that she took the head of the investigation, being the most senior official on place after Fudge and Crouch.

"We have sent the body for examination, brought the Triwizard Cup to be examined as well, examined the centre of the maze where everything would have happened, and took depositions from the other champions. Except from your son. Dumbledore clearly forbade us from seeing him."

There was a point of accusation in her voice. "Harry has gone through a lot tonight. He is resting right now. Asleep. I will allow you to question him as much as you like later, but for now, there is something more urgent. Harry told me everything. I can tell you what he told me…"

"Lily, I must stop you there. I need to hear it from him, not from someone who heard it from him. It's necessary to have the best testimony we can. It must be direct, coming from the source itself, directly."

"I know. But this is…"

"I'll hear it from him. I understand he needs to rest, but I will get the story once he is…"

"Voldemort is back."

Savage stopped talking. She stopped moving. She stared at Lily without any expression. Then…

"Tell me," she simply said.

Lily told her everything. Everything Harry told them about what happened tonight. Miranda listened intently, asking questions from time to time, but allowing Lily to tell the whole story uninterrupted for the most part. When she was done, Miranda kept staring at her.

"You believe your son?" she then asked.

"I have no reason to doubt his word," Lily declared.

"So Bartemius Crouch Junior killed Cedric Diggory?"

"Everything points to it."

"In a cemetery? Where the bones of You-Know-Who's father were buried?"

"Yes."

"Is it possible that…"

Someone smashed against the door.

"Mrs Evans. Mrs Savage. Madam Bones requests your presence in her office immediately," a voice came from the other side.

Lily recognized the voice of the assistant. Lily unlocked the door, and she, Miranda and the assistant walked together towards the office. The assistant let them in while he remained outside. Inside, Amelia Bones was already sitting behind her desk, Crouch in front of it. The moment Lily and Miranda walked in, she waved her wand and the door closed behind them. Lily heard the specific sound of a door being locked.

"Officially, this reunion is to debrief you before you leave the secret mission to find Bartemius Crouch Junior," Amelia Bones said without preamble.

Lily was shocked for a moment. Then Miranda spoke up. "Who is leaving the operation?"

Amelia turned towards Crouch. The man looked tired, but also angry. "I have been asked by the Minister of Magic to hand my resignation." He looked at Lily. "He obviously didn't appreciate the conversation we had with him earlier tonight."

"Are you going to leave?" Lily asked. Against all her own expectations, she was afraid of what would happen if he did.

"I will. Anyway, this whole affair with my son is going to blow into my face very soon. Fudge will have my skin one way or another. It is better that I leave now while I can still do it on my own terms to a certain extent."

"Barty, I'm really sorry," Amelia then said. "I don't approve what you did with your son. You broke too many laws and endangered the wizarding community. But I am sorry."

"I know," he replied shortly. "Now, if you will excuse me, I will prepare the transition for my successor."

And just like that, he left. It was strange, but despite everything Crouch did, how ambitious and unlikable he was, Lily felt sorry for the man.

"Is that serious?" she then asked her head of department.

"It is very serious," Madam Amelia Bones replied. She looked tired. "I just came out of a meeting with the Minister, people from his Office, and the heads of all departments. A meeting that was quite… hectic, to say the least. I haven't seen the Minister so agitated in a very long time. He had quite a few chosen words on many subjects. He told what, according to him, happened tonight at the Triwizard Tournament which led to the death of a student. He told us that Dumbledore was trying to cover it with some impossible tale. And he reminded us of the necessity to remain entirely loyal to the Ministry. Barty walked into the meeting in the middle of it, obviously outraged that he wasn't invited to it like all other heads of department, and he began to give his own version of what happened tonight. He couldn't tell everything because Fudge interrupted him continuously and he was eventually escorted outside this meeting, but I got the general sense of what he was trying to tell us."

Amelia Bones then looked straight at Lily. "I heard two versions so far, one of which was incomplete. But I heard that you may have the complete version of it, Evans. So I would appreciate if you told me what happened in your own words. How did Cedric Diggory die?"

And so Lily repeated Harry's story again. Madam Bones listened to her attentively. When Lily was done telling her everything, just like Miranda before, she looked straight at Lily for a moment. Then she leaned back into her chair, something Lily never saw her doing.

"This is about what Barty tried to tell us tonight." She looked very tired. She then looked back to Lily. "I must remove you from the search of Bartemius Crouch Junior."

It was as if Lily was given a punch in the stomach. "What?"

"Madam Bones…" Miranda stepped up to speak, "if I may, Evans hasn't done anything that justifies removing her from this case. She hasn't found Crouch Junior, but neither did I, and…"

"I'm not removing her because of her performance." Madam Bones straightened up, and she was again the unflinching head of department. "I'm removing you, Evans, because Fudge is going to order your removal very soon. To ensure that I keep the control on this investigation and that the research keeps going, I have no other choice. I cannot give Fudge any reason to doubt me at this stage."

Lily was confused, speechless. Was Amelia Bones, the sister of Edgar Bones, really throwing her under the bus to save her position.

"Now, Barty Crouch Junior killed Cedric Diggory?" Amelia asked.

"According to Evans' son, he did. And since it is very unlikely that Harry Potter could have killed Cedric Diggory himself, I don't see why he would invent such a thing," Miranda answered.

"We have Diggory's body?" Bones then asked, before Lily, still stunned, could object to her son being treated like a suspect. "The Cup that acted as a Portkey? Any other evidence?"

"We collected everything at Hogwarts," Miranda confirmed. Lily couldn't get to react. They were talking too quickly.

"What about the graveyard? Do we know where it was?"

"In fact, I have an idea. During my research of Bartemius Crouch Junior, some clues led me to a small village by the name of Little Hangleton. And guess who is buried there?"

"Tom Riddle," Lily whispered, finally managing to speak. In the meantime, Amelia Bones wrote something on a small piece of paper, which she handed to Miranda right away.

"Get to that graveyard with these three Aurors. Be careful when you arrive there. Collect all the evidence you can find. And go now. Evans, you stay here. Go now, Savage."

Miranda looked to Lily, with something like a somewhat apologizing face, something Lily very rarely saw with that woman, and left. Lily was now alone with Amelia Bones, somewhat stunned by what happened in the last few minutes.

"I apologize, Evans," Amelia then said. "But I have no choice but to keep you away from any investigation concerning Crouch Junior or Voldemort. After the reunion I just had, Fudge had a few chosen words about you with me. He clearly stated that you were not trustworthy. I do not agree with his assessment, but to have a chance that he may even believe whatever we find, you must stay far from it, or else he and many others will not believe anything I present to them."

Lily needed some time to understand what was going on. Amelia Bones didn't turn on her. She didn't use her as a scapegoat. She was trying to show Fudge the truth.

"You believe Voldemort is back?"

The question Lily asked hung in the air for some time. Amelia Bones looked away for a time, then stared back at Lily. "Dumbledore believes he is. Unlike Fudge, for me, it is enough to assume that he is, even if I don't have unquestionable proof. And unlike some, I didn't spend the last thirteen years telling myself that the Wizarding War was over and that we would never face it again."

Lily was internally relieved. Although this was very bad news that the Minister of Magic refused to recognize that Voldemort was back, Amelia Bones was at the head of the department with the most resources and capacity, the one that would be in first line to fight Voldemort. Having her believe his return may be even more important than having Fudge believe it right now.

"Evans, I must warn you," Amelia then said. "You must keep a low profile for now. The Minister… is not in a very good mood. He fired Barty in front of all the other heads of department, and all he gave for a reason for his sacking was that he didn't tolerate disloyalty from his heads of department."

"I thought that Crouch was asked to resign," Lily said.

"Because I convinced Fudge afterwards that the wizarding community would be asking too many questions if he fired Crouch, and this might endanger the secrecy of the search for Barty Crouch Junior. So he made a deal with Crouch to hide his sacking as a resignation. But that will only be in the public eye. Barty has definitely been sacked. And he may not be the only one."

"You think that other people could be fired?"

"Fudge has done this in the past. He seldom shows it, but he can be ruthless when he wants. And right now, he is. So I would advise you to remain quiet for the time being."

"With all your respect, Madma Bones, I am not going to remain silent while the man who murdered my husband is back and commits assassinations again."

"I understand how you feel. But Fudge may seize any pretext to get rid of you at this stage. And you took an oath of fealty to the Ministry when you became an Auror. We may not like it sometimes, but this oath includes serving the Ministry of Magic and its mission. And the Ministry is headed by Cornelius Fudge right now. So I'm telling you to not give him any reason to get onto you. As to whether you will follow this advice, it depends on you."

Amelia Bones' eyes were warning her. Lily supposed that the woman was trying to help her, but as to herself, she wouldn't shut up only to keep her job. She didn't say it loud though. She already said it before, and she saw no need to repeat.

"Now, to other matters. How is your son?"

Lily was a little startled by the change of topic, though it was definitely linked with the previous discussion. "Resting. Recovering. He's got a lot to deal with right now."

Bones nodded. "I don't doubt it. There is nothing more you can do at the Ministry tonight. I suggest that you go back to him."

Lily nodded. "Thank you."

She turned on her heels and made to the door before Amelia stopped her one last time. "One more thing, Lily." She stopped turned again to face Amelia. "If my niece is to spend time with your son this summer, I need your word that you will ensure her safety. Do I have it?"

"You have it," Lily said, a little startled again by the question, though she shouldn't be surprised.

"Right. Off you go."

And Lily was dismissed. She left the office of Madam Bones and headed towards the exit of the Ministry. She was right. There was nothing else Lily could do at the Ministry tonight.

The last words she exchanged with Amelia Bones brought her mind to something she barely gave any thought since Harry came back from the maze. When she escorted him to the infirmary, some of his friends had gathered in front of the door leading to the hospital wing, trying to get news on him. They probably assumed he was already in the infirmary, when in fact the whole time he was telling Dumbledore about what happened in the maze and the graveyard. Lily had refused to let them bother him in the first place, and Sirius, who was also there, stopped the others from getting into the infirmary. It was only when Harry was in bed and asleep after drinking a sleeping potion that she went back to see them. It was only then that Lily realized that the friends who had been waiting for him were Ron, Hermione, and another girl with long red brownish hair. It had taken her some time to recognize Susan Bones. She was the daughter of Aurelius, Edgar's brother, who lived with his wife and only daughter in the same tower as Lily and Harry. Lily seldom saw them. The family didn't attract much attention. Lily knew that the girl came to their apartment a few times to make her homework with Harry and other students who lived in the Abandoned Tower, but she never considered the girl to be a close friend of Harry.

First, Lily had only be willing to let Ron and Hermione inside, since they were Harry's closest friends. It was then that the girl revealed who she was.

"I'm Harry's girlfriend." Lily had been stunned by the news, but before she could react, the girl went on. "I'm sorry. It's not really not how we wanted you to learn. We wanted to tell you after the third task was over."

Without saying a word, Lily had finally made a sign of head to indicate everyone could go in. She hadn't thought much about it afterwards. And right now, she didn't think much about it either. There was simply too much that happened that night to give much thought to such a trivial matter. However, it proved how disconnected she had been from her son for entire months, and how much had happened without her knowledge in her absence.

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