The desk was cramped with files and bureaucratic paperwork as Amelia Bones had dinner in her office.
After countless days and years as head of the Department for Magical Law Enforcement, she had grown used to taking her meals in her office when her job demanded absolute focus and dedication – which was like every second day.
She was the chief of the chief department in the ministry. Almost all the other departments reported to the DMLE, and by extent to her own persona. The authority gained was the reward for many, many nights with little to no sleep and overtime work.
As Ms. Bones took a spoonful of the onion soup her secretary Lucy had kindly brought to her office, she didn't stop reading a report propped against a pillar of parchment, a chandelier hanging from the ceiling lighting up the room with warm, orange rays.
"Seems like the auror office hasn't found any trace of the escapees since the breakout two weeks ago." She thought as she read the writing of head auror Rufus Scrimgeour and bit her tongue.
"How is it that a dozen of the most prominent death eaters can vanish like that? I don't think they've gone into hiding, I mean, why should they? They are criminals and I doubt it they broke out of Azkaban just to live a peaceful life somewhere in the Scottish Highlands!", Ms. Bones huffed, "Rufus, you better double your efforts to find these thugs or I'll have a word with Fudge.."
Amelia Bones saw herself as a servant of the British people. She fought against injustice and for the safety of the civilians, the people that made the UK the country it was. So, naturally, when there was a gang of notorious murderers on the loose, she would do everything to see these people back in their dark cells.
"Amelia, you have a visitor." Her secretary's voice then made her jerk, the sudden noise something she had not expected at all, and just barely did she manage to not spill the contents of her bowl due to her movements.
"Who is it?" Ms. Bones asked with curiosity, knowing precisely that she had not scheduled a meeting during dinner with anyone. The short ministry witch got up from her seat to be able to look over the wall of files in front of her and was greeted by the sight of her secretary standing in the doorway with none other than Albus Dumbledore.
"Albus? To what do I owe the pleasure?" Ms. Bones slightly gasped in disbelief and the headmaster of Hogwarts chuckled in amusement.
"I'm sorry if I interrupted your break.. Judging from the files on your desk I assume you've had a long day.", Dumbledore commented and invited himself into her office, "But to answer your question, I have urgent businesses to discuss with you. Urgent, but pleasant news, for once."
"It's okay, Lucy. It's not like the first time he's done this." Ms. Bones told her secretary, who looked incredulous because of the visitor's confident entrance.
"It's really impolite to just enter someone's private office." She curtly remarked with venomous dislike directed at the headmaster before closing the door and leaving the two elderly people alone in the office.
"So, what brought you here? As you guessed correctly, I've had a tiring day and I'm not really eager to make it any more arduous if your reason to be here is not of the utmost importance. You know we both go back a long time, but that doesn't mean you can have an appointment with me whenever you like." Ms. Bones explained and Dumbledore nodded understandingly.
"I know. And I wouldn't be here if it wasn't absolutely necessary, my dear." He stated and the ministry witch rolled her eyes.
"Just spill the beans, Albus."
"What if I told you I have proof that Peter Pettigrew is alive?" The headmaster asked with a most sincere voice and the head of the DMLE narrowed her eyes on the headmaster.
The word "proof" meant the world to Amelia Bones. She was a woman of judiciary, following evidence was what she was living for. And she hated it like no other when people used the word "proof" when there was little to no objective truth behind someone's exclamation.
"Proof? Albus, don't be silly. You even once talked to me about him bringing back the dark lord from the dead last summer.. I mean, is this a joke?" She couldn't believe the man standing in front of her really came to her to discuss something that most obviously was everything but true.
"No, it is not.", Dumbledore declared and Ms. Bones shook her head in disbelief, "Amelia, why should I lie to you about such a severe issue? What gain could possibly await me should I lie to the head of the DMLE?"
This was a claim the ministry witch thoroughly considered for a moment. She knew Dumbledore better than many: If there was one thing the legendary wizard was NOT known for then it was acting in a way that would damage his reputation. Albus Dumbledore was a proud man.
But at the same time, she knew what the "Daily Prophet" wrote about his recent decay of mind and body, how he hadn't been the same since the summer. The prophet had to be read with caution, but Ms. Bones also didn't think they were straight up lying.
"Okay, what is your proof, Albus?", She finally decided to at least hear him out, "And why are you telling me this, of all people?"
"Peter Pettigrew is in my custody and can be brought into the ministry whenever you think my claims deserve some investigations..", Dumbledore explained, "And as to why I'm telling you: I am here to demand a fair trial in order to prove Sirius Black's innocence by proving Peter Pettigrew is guilty of everything Mr. Black was accused of in 1981."
"You're not saying you know the location of Black, do you?", She gasped and shook her head vigorously, "Albus, if you have been in contact with that.. beast and have not reported this encounter to the ministry, then I have no choice but to arrest you."
"Please, don't jump to wrong conclusions before you've heard the whole story. I thought you were always interested in the accused's point of view?" Dumbledore replied light-heartedly like the threat of his arrest had never been vocalized and Ms Bones gritted her teeth: She knew he was right.
"Fine. Though be aware I'm not in the best mood after you've interrupted my dinner. Your chances of getting out of this building as a free man are slim, professor." She declared before grabbing the bowl of now cooled onion soup, knowing her old acquaintance would probably talk for a tiring amount of time…
And so Dumbledore told Ms. Bones the entire story of how Peter Pettigrew actually betrayed Lily and James Potter before blowing up the street when Sirius Black confronted him a day later, causing the death of a dozen muggles before fleeing into the sewerage nearby as an animagus.
"I don't know what to say, Albus.. It's a coherent and conclusive tale, but I can't believe it until I've seen Pettigrew with my own eyes.. Though I guess I won't have you arrested today, old friend." The head of the DMLE sighed and let her shoulders slump.
"This is the craziest thing I've heard in a while.." She thought.
"Thank you, Amelia. My freedom is very dear to me." Dumbledore mildly chuckled and Ms. Bones restrained herself from shooting the elderly man a nasty glare: The headmaster was far too confident in his cause for her liking.
"So, I assume you want me to schedule a hearing for Mr. Pettigrew, right?" She didn't beat around the bush and intensely mustered Dumbledore's facial expressions.
"No. I want you to schedule a hearing for Mr. Black where his innocence and Mr. Pettigrew's guilt can both be proven." He corrected and the ministry witch huffed.
"That is IF he truly is innocent, Albus." Ms. Bones countered cooly.
"I take it that you agree to schedule such a hearing?" Dumbledore ignored her last comment and the head of the DMLE nodded curtly.
"If you're telling the truth, I will be the one who opened the case of the decade. If you're lying, I have nothing you lose. In stark contrast to you, Albus." She slightly grinned and reached for a blank roll of parchment before pulling a quill and a bottle of ink out of a drawer.
"The wizengamot's first general debate of the year will be held on the thirty-first of January, just as usual. I think you might want to have the biggest audience possible for such an important matter." Ms. Bones informed the headmaster who chuckled mildly.
"This sounds like you're convinced of my claims."
"No matter the outcome, it will help my reputation. I think you know this motive quite well, Albus.", She stated as she started scribbling a note to the Wizengamot Administration Services, "But yes.. What is your personal motive in this? Even if you're telling the truth, why do YOU care about the freedom of one single individual?"
"The freedom of Sirius Black will have many consequences. Mainly positive ones." Dumbledore mysteriously answered with a sparkle in his brilliant-blue eyes.
"What a schemer you are, Albus..", Madam Bones sighed as she shortly cast him a glance, "But honestly I don't know what the pardon of a single man could achieve except the conviction of another old death eater."
"Do you really think it is a coincidence that Peter Pettigrew seemingly returned from the dead for most, mere weeks after a dozen of his fellow death eaters broke out of Azkaban?", Dumbledore asked with curiosity, "Especially with the knowledge of Sirius being innocent.."
"You CLAIM that he is innocent, Albus!"
"Alright, with the possibility of Mr. Black being innocent you should question the narrative of the prophet on the mass-breakout." The headmaster corrected himself before turning on his heels and heading for the exit door.
"I think I've taken more than enough of your precious time, Amelia. You've probably seen enough of me until the general debate in a few weeks." Dumbledore was just about to leave the office when Ms. Bones sprang up from her chair and appeared above the wall of files and paperwork.
"This is all about your foolish nonsense of You-Know-Who having returned to Britain, isn't it?" The ministry witch sharply concluded and the headmaster smiled in return.
"Of course it is."
The conversation with Professor Dumbledore plagued Ms. Bones even hours after the man with half-moon spectacles had left her office.
She whole-heartedly wanted to dismiss his claims as lies and conspiracies, but every time she tried to convince herself of this, she failed: The Dumbledore she knew was calculating, clever, but also unorthodox. Brilliantly so.
No matter how much she tried to find an explanation for him lying about the entire issue of Peter Pettigrew, the head of the DMLE did not come up with a conclusive reason.
Ms. Bones knew the newspapers were portraying him in a bad light, but she also knew they had a point: Albus Dumbledore ALWAYS wanted to control and manipulate things to his advantage.
"Or is he really getting too old now? With him being sick every other month I wonder how his mind is coping with things.." She mused as she left her office approximately around midnight.
The hallway was long empty of any other employees and the torches burning in their brackets dimly lit up the place as Ms. Bones magically sealed her office before heading for the elevators. She had to admit even after all the years as an employee of the ministry, wandering through the enormous building at night still freaked her out a bit.
"Level eight, Atrium." The cool voice from the elevator snapped her out of her thoughts a few minutes later as the metal bars jumped aside, revealing the gigantic entrance hall with a deep-blue ceiling and golden ornaments.
Ms. Bones stepped out of the elevator and couldn't help but feel helplessly small in relation to the size of all the architecture to her left, right and in front of her.
"Maybe I really should candidate for the job of minister when the next elections come up.. It would be nice to be the boss of all.." Ms. Bones thought but then stopped mid-sentence when she perceived two figures standing at the Fountain of Magical Brethren.
"Who in Merlin's name is still here at this time of the day?" She furrowed her brows and strode closer to the mysterious duo.
The pair of man as she identified, judging by their height, had turned their back on the head of the DMLE, so she used her advantage and silently approached them, curious to hear what they were obviously talking about in hushed voices.
"Where have you seen him last?" One of the men asked.
"Probably in the mansion." The other responded with a shrug of his shoulders.
"You think somebody could have broken in and abducted him?"
"Highly unlikely. You know Malfoy Manor is protected by the strongest wards imaginable."
"Good evening, Lucius.", Ms. Bones then joined the conversation, making both men swirl around in their black robes, "And you too, Corban."
"Amelia.. what a pleasant surprise." The head of House Malfoy then curtly dipped his head with his characteristic smirk, but Ms. Bones could easily sense the panic in her colleague's voice.
"So, what brings two ministry officials to the Fountain of Magical Brethren at midnight, if I may ask? You two made quite the dubious impression on me." She asked and for a second she thought that the man called Corban Yaxley was reaching for his wand as he moved his hand from his torso towards the pocket of his robes.
"Lucius and I were just about to head to your department, ma'am. We've got a missing report for your employees." Yaxley explained as he cast his colleague a quick glance before the head of the DMLE raised her brow in curiosity.
"Who has gone missing?" She simply asked.
"My.. albino peacock." Lucius Malfoy admitted after what Ms. Bones assumed was a pause of embarrassment.
"Your albino peacock. Really?", She dryly laughed and rolled her eyes, "And you think it got abducted?"
"How do you know?!" The senior Malfoy then asked a bit too quickly for her liking, and the ministry witch sensed there was a bit more to the mysterious dialogue at the fountain than just a missing albino peacock.
"I overheard you two as I came down the hall.", Ms. Bones truthfully stated, "And as much as I understand Lucius' motive to be here at such an hour of the day, I cannot fathom yours, Yaxley."
The sarcasm in her voice was apparent and the employee of her department slightly gritted his teeth.
"I happened to be at Lucius' place when my friend noticed his pet was missing. So naturally, I accompanied him. As good friends should do.", He explained and again the head of the DMLE had the feeling he was itching to draw his wand, "And I think it's quite rude of you to insinuate anything.. paranormal when you're not the only one walking through these halls during the night, for once."
"It's a public building, Amelia. An encounter like that was bound to happen after what.. fifteen years as the head of the DMLE?" Lucius calmed the situation and Ms. Bones deeply exhaled.
"Fine, I believe you. But the next time we meet at such an inconvenient time of the day I hope it's not just a missing peacock that brings you here. Seriously Lucius, this could have easily waited for the morrow." She concluded and without casting the two men another look, she strode off towards the many fireplaces. The long day at work had taken its toll on the ministry witch, and she felt far too tired to discuss such mundane matters any longer.
"What a rich idiot he is.." She thought.
"Amelia, please. I think you simply can't comprehend what loss I had to face not even an hour ago. What this means to the prestige of my noble house!" Lucius called after her and sighed in relief when the ministry witch disappeared in a gush of emerald flames.
"Seems we really have to write a missing report for my peacock now." The senior Malfoy stated with a hint of amusement…
Author's note: Sorry for making you wait for more than a month again.. Feburary and March have been tough school months, but now I'm FREE. The school term is over for me, all that's left are 5 big exams in late spring, so I'll have more time for the story now. That's making me really happy!
I'm also quite chuffed that I now have finally finished the big chapter 30. In total I've written 34k words spread across 4 parts - so I hope you can see why I decided to divide one chapter into four individual ones. And I think this is the first one where neither Harry nor Hermione make an appearance.. But don't worry, I'm not planning on making a habit out of it ;-)
I guess that is all I want to say for now, so..
'Til the next time!
NewOrderFan05