"Ready for this?" Gwenog asked.
"I am," Rachel said. She had been training for this for the past several months. While she'd never played in front of an audience this big before, she didn't feel any more daunted than she had been playing at Hogwarts.
"Good. Confidence is good," Gwenog said with a nod. "The Falcons are a rough team, but you've got me and Teagan looking out for you. Be prepared for their Seeker to try to unseat you. You're quick and agile, I'm not worried about it. Just be prepared."
"I'm prepared," she promised. Glynnis had been preparing her for exactly this. Right now was the time to show the rest of the League that Rachel couldn't be beaten through aggressive play.
"Alright, in formation," Gwenog called, moving to the front of the team.
Rachel took her place at the back of the left flank, feeling a little silly. Usually flying in formations was left to stunt teams, but it was apparently League standard to enter the stadium in formation.
She mounted her broom, reminded herself that her focus was on the Snitch and on Nadia Basting, who was the Falcon's Seeker, and that all of her other problems could go away for a while.
The announcer was muffled through the stands, but they heard their entrance cue easily enough and took off flying. It felt good to fly. Even now, with the roar of a crowd of nearly a thousand people, it felt good to be doing something she was good at. She stayed in position in the formation, but scanned the crowd as she flew. Everyone had come to see her first game. She had given her free tickets to Severus, Sirius, and Remus, and had promised to rotate free tickets among her friends who wanted to see her play. Her next game wasn't until July, so she'd be able to bring Ginny and Luna then as well.
The stands were too crowded for her to be able to pick out anyone specifically, but she did see both the grey robes of the stadium security and the blue robes of the MLE. Madam Bones had sent Tonks and Johansen and ten of the MLE Patrol to watch the stands for dangers. Rachel felt a little bit guilty about that, but Tonks had pointed out that this was simply part of their jobs and if it had been another Wizengamot member receiving these threats, they'd have a security contingent with them in public as well.
The letter writer had sent more threats following Rita Skeeter's trial. Rachel was more worried that the person writing these letters would hurt someone trying to reach her than she was worried that the letter writer would hurt or kill her.
After a full loop around the stands, Rachel took her position as they faced off against the Falcon's team. She was a little surprised by how big everyone seemed, but she was used to playing with teenagers and women. The Quaffle was thrown at the sound of the whistle and Rachel immediately flew higher, keeping an eye on Nadia while she went. Nadia was also the smallest member of her team but she probably had another three stone on Rachel.
Rachel dodged a Bludger, made brief eye contact with Gwenog and took off. The weather was mostly clear today and the sunshine would make for a good environment to see the Snitch. Nadia was a quarter of the way across the pitch, but Rachel could see that she was assessing her instead of looking for the Snitch.
She decided to start looking and see what Nadia did in response. It wouldn't do either of them any good to sit here and stare at each other. She entered a crosshatch search pattern, staying well above the Chasers. Gwenog had told her that the Falcon and Harpies Chasers were fairly evenly matched and that she didn't want Rachel interfering with a team as violent as the Falcons.
Rachel found that it was curious that the Falcons were known for being violent and wondered how that sort of reputation was made. Were they really violent or was it just one or two players? Were they actually more violent than other teams or were they just caught fouling players more often? Doing all of the statistics for her study on prisons had made her start thinking like that about other things and wondering what else people believed that simply didn't match when the numbers were laid out.
Nadia was tailing Rachel, which Rachel didn't mind. The less attention Nadia paid to the Snitch, the more opportunities Rachel had. Rachel suspected that Nadia was used to being the faster Seeker, since many Seekers in the League were men, but doubted she'd find that to be the case here.
The commentator was focused on the Chasers, which Rachel also didn't mind. People would pay attention once they were after the Snitch.
The flash of green light nearly hit her, and would have if she hadn't seen it out of the corner of her eye and swerved down.
"What the fuck?" Nadia shouted.
Rachel knew the Killing Curse when she saw it and she turned in time to dodge another one. Fortunately she was high enough up that the curse was dissipating into the air instead of hitting someone across the stadium.
"Remain calm. Take cover," the commentator told the stadium, though he sounded half panicked. There were screams in the stadium as people realized what was happening.
"Up, go up!" Rachel shouted to her team and to the Falcons. They were too close to whoever was casting at them.
"Fly up!" Gwenog instructed the team, the Falcon's captain urging his players higher as well.
Rachel remained where she was, dodging another curse and trying to see where the person casting spells was or if there was more than one of them.
"That means you too!" Gwenog shouted at Rachel.
"No, I need them to keep casting at me so the MLE can find them!" Rachel called back.
"No! Fly up now!" Gwenog shouted.
Rachel sighed and did as instructed, joining the rest of the team out of spell range.
"Should we land outside the stadium?" Valmai called, peering down at the stadium.
"No," Rachel called to her. "Where there's one Death Eater there's usually more."
"Aren't there supposed to be wards stopping them from casting spells at us?" one of the Falcons asked, looking half panicked.
"Nothing stops the Killing Curse, you idiot!" Nadia shouted.
"Everyone remain calm," Teagan said. "What do we do?"
"We should move to another location behind wards until the MLE and the security guards have control over the stadium," Rachel said, glad for her auror training now. Her job was to get potential targets to safety, alert Tonks to her location, and wait for further instructions.
"Anglesey Stadium," Gwenog said. "We can get in the wards there."
"We're just leaving everyone? My sister is down there," Valmai said, looking stricken.
Rachel felt a twinge as she thought of her friends and family down in the stadium, but she knew she would be bringing more danger to them by going back.
"We're not helping by going back," Gwenog said, glancing at Rachel. "Does everyone know where Anglesey Stadium is to apparate there?"
They agreed that they did and one by one disappeared. Rachel looked back at the stadium with regret and then apparated to the entrance of Anglesey Stadium.
"Is everyone alright? Is anyone hurt?" Teagan asked once they'd all gathered inside the meeting area of the stadium.
"I think we're alright. I think they were targeting Rachel," Wilda said, turning to look at her.
"I think that's probably true. I'm sorry," Rachel said. "I'm going to send a message to a few people so they know where we are. Does anyone else know the Patronus charm?"
People shook their heads or said no, so Rachel focused and cast the Patronus charm. "To Nymphadora Tonks. I'm safe with the team and the Falcons. Please let me know when we can return."
She waited for a moment and then cast her Patronus again. "To Seren Bowfield. The team, the Falcons, and I are safe at Anglesey Stadium. We'll return once it's safe to do so." Then she turned to the Falcon's captain. "Should I contact your captain as well?"
"I didn't know the Patronus charm could do that," he said. "Please tell Micheal Berkley that we're safe and will await a message to return."
Rachel cast her Patronus charm once more. "To Michael Berkley. This is Rachel Snow with the Harpies. The Falcons, the Harpies, and myself are at Anglesey Stadium and will remain here until it's safe to return."
"Do you think you can teach the rest of that spell?" Gwenog asked.
"Yes, I'd be glad to," Rachel said, discovering that it felt odd to be around people who couldn't cast the Patronus charm. After the DA, the Order, and the aurors, she was used to people being able to cast it for themselves. She sank down on the nearest bench, feeling confused and guilty.
"Are you sure you're alright? Someone just tried to kill you," Valmai asked, sitting down next to her.
"I'm alright. I just regret putting all of you in danger. I suppose I didn't really expect for the Death Eaters to try to kill me during a Quidditch match, but maybe I should have."
"You think that Seren didn't ask all of us before she invited you to join the team? You think that we don't know you're the Girl-Who-Lived and that chaos that comes with your life?" Gwenog asked.
"We knew what we were signing up for," Teagan said.
"As for us, it is Quidditch, sometimes people die," the Falcon's captain said with a shrug.
Rachel arched her eyebrows in disbelief. Maybe the Falcons were as violent as everyone said they were.
Severus' doe galloped into the room. "Rachel, where are you? Are you safe? Don't come back yet."
"Is it always a doe? I thought there were other animals?" Nadia asked.
"That's my father's. We have the same Patronus form," Rachel said, drawing her wand again.
"That's so sweet," Wilda said.
Rachel cast her Patronus. "To Severus Snape. I'm fine, I'm safe, I'm with my team. Please be careful."
"Could you send a message to my sister to check on her?" Valmai asked.
"Sure," Rachel said, casting the spell once more. "To Gwendolyn Morgan. Your sister and the rest of the team are safe. If you know someone nearby who can send a Patronus message, please have them send one back to us so that we know you and the rest of the team are safe as well."
"I really want to learn that spell," Valmai said quietly as she sat down. "Monday, before we're in the air, go over it with the team please."
"I will," Rachel promised, feeling a surge of guilt.
"Please, make yourselves as comfortable as possible," Wilda said to the Falcons. "I think we may be here for a little bit until someone tells us it is safe."
"We'll call the match a draw then, I guess?" the Falcon's captain asked as he sat.
"Either that or we do a rematch," Gwenog said.
Rachel looked down at her knees and wondered if it would be safe for her to play in a rematch, or at all for that matter. She supposed that depending on whether or not this was some random Death Eaters or if it was the letter writer. If it was random Death Eaters, she had a problem on her hands. If it was the letter writer, well, maybe they'll have caught them and it would be safe. There was no way to know until someone contacted them.
She settled in to wait, hoping that there wasn't a panic in the stadium.
Severus glanced around the Falcon's stadium as he waited for the game to begin. He was seated with Rachel's friends. Black and Lupin were on the other side of her friends. He had briefly spoken with Miles and Adrian, who had wanted to come see Rachel's first game. Both of them seemed to be doing well in their post Hogwarts careers, with Miles with the aurors and Adrian working in Diagon Alley.
"There she is," Millie said as the Harpies flew out in formation.
Severus watched, feeling both pride that Rachel had accomplished her goals, and worry about her playing in the League and openly being in a public space. Rachel had told him that Tonks, Johansen, and a contingent of the MLE Patrol would be in the stands today, which in no way made him feel better. If things were at the point where she needed that sort of guard, he felt she likely shouldn't be playing publicly at all.
"I don't even know who to cheer for. The Falcons are my team," Draco said.
"Draco," Hermione said reprovingly.
"Well, obviously I'm cheering for Rachel…" he said, though the way he trailed off made it clear he was conflicted.
"What do you know about the Falcon's Seeker?" Theo asked, tilting his head up as the game began and Rachel flew higher.
"Nadia Basting. She's been on the main team for five years now. She's a good Seeker, but Rachel is faster. We can expect her to play aggressively. Rachel needs to show she can't be pushed around by other Seekers, and this is a good opportunity for her to do so. Some of the bigger Seekers will still try, but if she can prove herself here, it will go a long way," Draco said.
Severus looked at the other Seeker and strangely found himself missing the days when Rachel was playing at Hogwarts and wasn't outsized by every player on the pitch. Rachel dodged a Bludger, her captain moving in to redirect it, and he watched her look around as he reminded himself that however small and delicate Rachel was, she was a skilled Quidditch player and could handle being in the League.
Rachel began a search pattern and the other Seeker moved to follow her. Severus watched her warily, anticipating malfeasance. He was abruptly glad that he did not see her work as an auror. If he was worried about her here, he would absolutely be on edge watching her face off against Death Eaters. He was actually quietly impressed at how well the auror teams were working. He was certain Rachel would have told him if there had been a casualty on one of the teams and from the arrest reports in the Daily Prophet they were making a good dent in the remaining Death Eaters. Attacks had slowed to maybe once a month and if things continued this way, they would stop all together in the next few months. The war was over, as impossible as that seemed. He would still be grateful when Rachel left the aurors and started her Mastery.
He jumped to his feet as he saw a flash of green light heading towards Rachel. He found his wand in his hand as she dodged and listened to the screams and the surge of the stadium.
"Remain calm. Take cover," the commentator announced as people panicked.
Severus searched the stands as another green light flashed towards Rachel as the teams on the pitch flew away. Rachel's friends had stood as well and everyone had their wands drawn as they searched. From the direction of the light, the Killing Curse had come from somewhere in their section of the stands.
A third Killing Curse was fired and Severus forced himself to remain focused on the crowd rather than checking on Rachel. He trusted her abilities.
"There!" Ron shouted, sending a Stunning spell.
He missed, but Severus' Stunning spell didn't and the man collapsed to the ground as people screamed. "Stay here," he told them, moving to try and fight his way to the man. He couldn't let someone portkey away with him. "Stay with them," he called to Black and Lupin, getting a sharp nod in return.
Draco, Ron, and Miles joined him, but Severus didn't mind as they actually had the authority as aurors to make an arrest.
"Send a Patronus to Tonks and Johansen; get them over here," Severus instructed.
"On it," Miles said.
"Let us through, we're aurors," Draco demanded, his wand still out.
"To Nymphadora Tonks. We're in section three of the stands and have stunned the person casting spells at Rachel. Please meet us here," Miles said to his Patronus.
Severus glanced up and saw that both teams had vanished. He hoped they had retreated to a warded area and knew that Rachel would know what to do. He would have to trust her for now.
"Remain calm. We're aurors. We're here to help," Ron said.
"It was him! It was him!" A woman shrieked, pointing at the fallen man.
"We're aurors. We'll take your statement in a moment," Miles said.
Finally they made it to the man that Severus had stunned and flipped him over.
"Thorfinn Rowle," Draco said, sounding shocked.
Severus was also surprised. Thorfinn was a former Wizengamot member and a known Death Eater. He should have been in hiding or have fled Britain, not in the open at a Quidditch game.
"Keep your guard up. Where there's one Death Eater, there might be more," Ron said.
The woman shrieked again and Miles moved to calm her down.
Severus cast his Patronus. "To Rachel Snow. Rachel, where are you? Are you safe? Don't come back yet." He needed to know now that things were slightly settled, though he could hear the stadium panicking around him as the commentator continued to ask people to sit down and calm down.
A moment later Rachel's doe trotted over to him. "I'm fine, I'm safe, I'm with my team. Please be careful."
He relaxed a little. She was safe, that's all he needed to know right now.
"Thank Merlin," Draco said. He had bound Rowle and was standing over him with his wand still pointing at him.
Tonks and Johansen made their way to them, wands out and looking alert.
"Thorfinn Rowle," Draco called to them.
"We have a witness," Miles said from where he was sitting next to the woman and patting her hand.
"I heard from Rachel. She says she's fine," Tonks said.
"She said the same to me just a moment ago," Severus confirmed.
"Stadium security and the MLE Patrol are helping to calm people down and to do an orderly evacuation of the stadium," Johansen said. "We'll take him back to the MLE."
Tonks turned to Severus. "I'm going to bring Rachel in so she can make a statement. It might be a few hours until you hear from her. Could you let the rest of her group know so they aren't worried?"
"I will," Severus said, a little frustrated that he was being dismissed, but he knew the aurors needed to handle this part.
He made his way back up the stands to where Rachel's friends were seated.
"Well?" Black called, the entire group looking at Severus expectantly.
"I have heard from Rachel myself. She is in a safe place with her team," he said, beginning with the most important part. "The man we captured is Death Eater Thorfinn Rowle. The stadium is being evacuated. Rachel is going to the MLE to make a statement; we'll hear from her later today."
"Thorfinn Rowle, the former Wizengamot member?" Neville asked.
"I'm afraid so," he said. He wondered if Rowle was the one writing threatening letters or if this was some other plot. He supposed they'd know soon enough.
"Well, no one is hurt, and I think that's the important part," Hermione said.
"Rachel said she wasn't hurt?" Theo checked.
"She said she was fine," Severus said, which from Rachel could mean almost anything.
Theo nodded, looking as though he understood.
"Nice shot, sir," Millie said.
"Thank you," Severus said as he sat down. It had been risky to do in a crowd, but it had been necessary.
"Well, not quite like the games at Hogwarts," Adrian said.
Severus sighed. He never thought he would miss Rachel playing in Quidditch games at Hogwarts, but here he was.
Rachel stood at the sound of footsteps coming down the hall, drawing her wand. Gwenog stood a moment later, also pulling out her wand, the Falcon's captain a few seconds behind her.
Seren entered the room with the rest of the team, her eyes quickly looking over them before focusing on the Falcons. "The stadium has been cleared and it's safe for your team to return. The rest of your team is waiting for you there."
"Thank you. And thank you for your hospitality," the Falcon's captain said to Gwenog, bowing briefly before gathering his team and leaving.
"Are you all alright?" Gwendolyn asked, going to her sister.
"We're fine. It was Rachel they were aiming at," Valmai said. "Were you alright at the stadium?"
"We were fine in the box. There was some panic in the crowds but security and the MLE Patrol contained everyone. There were no significant injuries," Seren said.
"Did they find the person who was sending the Killing Curse?" Gwenog asked.
"Was it Death Eaters?" Teagan asked, her eyes wide.
"An auror came to speak with me. The person responsible was apprehended but they're not releasing their identity at this time," Seren said, looking back at Rachel again. "They indicated that they would let us know if they thought the threat was contained or if we should be concerned about more attacks."
"Do you want me to resign?" Rachel asked with a heavy heart. She loved playing, but she couldn't put people in danger like this. A lot of things could have gone very wrong today. They'd been lucky no one was killed or injured.
"You can resign if you want to. It's understandable if you don't want to put yourself in such a vulnerable position. But we knew when we signed you that this could be a potential problem and we were willing to take the risk. If that has changed for anyone, they're welcome to say so now or to speak with me privately," Seren said.
"I don't have a problem with it for the same reason I didn't have a problem with it before. There are spells on all the stadiums that protect us from spells. Obviously that does not block the Killing Curse, but if they're aiming the Killing Curse at someone it's going to be Rachel. If she's willing to take that risk, then I'm not going to speak against her," Wilda said.
"I'm not worried about it," Cadie said. "How many more Death Eaters can there be out there?"
"I don't like what happened and I think we need to come up with some contingency plans based on things that might happen, but I don't have a problem with having Rachel on the team," Gwendolyn said.
"We can do that," Seren said. "I think flying away from the danger is a perfectly reasonable plan for the time being and we can work out other plans for different scenarios."
"What do you think?" Valmai asked, looking at Gwenog.
"I don't want Rachel to leave the team, but I do want to hear an assessment from the aurors about the potential threats that remain before we field her publicly again," Gwenog said after a moment.
"I wasn't planning on it," Seren said, glancing at Rachel.
"I have been receiving threatening letters," Rachel told the team. "It's something we've been trying to keep quiet. If the person they caught was the one writing the letters, the danger may have passed. If it was just a random Death Eater, then I think it stands to reason that they may try to kill me again."
"How many Death Eaters are still out there?" Meredith asked, looking very worried.
"It's hard to give an exact number. Some of them will have fled by now and some are in hiding. We don't really need to worry about them. There are a few high ranking Death Eaters that we're still looking for, but we aren't expecting them to make public appearances. We have probably another twenty Death Eaters we know about for certain that we haven't found. With the attacks tapering off, we're expecting that everyone else is stepping away from the Death Eaters and is pretending they weren't involved at all," Rachel explained.
"It's crazy to think that someone can be a Death Eater and then just go back to their normal life, but I suppose some did that after the first war too," Wilda said.
"A lot of them did," Seren said. "Fortunately the MLE has learned from their mistakes and is prosecuting very harshly this time around."
"What's happening with the game?" Gwenog asked.
"Replaying next Saturday, at our stadium this time. Rachel-" Seren turned to her.
Rachel shook her head. "I understand."
"We'll get you back out there as soon as it is safe," Seren promised.
Tonks' jack rabbit Patronus bounded into the room. "Rachel, we need you at the MLE. Let me know you're coming and I'll meet you at the floo."
"Rachel promised to teach us how to do that. Did you get her messages?" Valmai asked.
"We did," Gwendolyn said. "I'd like to learn it as well."
"That might not be a bad idea," Seren said.
"I need to go," Rachel said apologetically. "I can teach you the basics of the spell on Monday if you'd like."
"We would. Good luck," Gwenog said.
Rachel went to her changing room and got back into her everyday clothes and robes. She pulled out her wand. "To Nymphadora Tonks. I'll be there in five minutes," she told her Patronus and then began making her way out of the stadium. This was not the way she'd wanted her day to go at all. At least Rita Skeeter wouldn't be around to write about in the Daily Prophet tomorrow.
Once outside she apparated to the MLE back door and then took the floo into the MLE.
"Were you hit by anything?" Tonks asked as soon as she was through.
"No, nothing. I'm fine," Rachel said, glancing at Auror Lewis, who was apparently on floo duty today. He gave a sympathetic nod to her and she nodded back before accompanying Tonks down the hallway. "Who did we get? Is it the letter writer?"
"You're not going to believe this, but Thorfinn Rowle. We don't know if he's the letter writer yet. Madam Bones told us to wait for you before we interrogated him, assuming you want to watch.
"I do," Rachel said. The more information she had about what happened, the better prepared she could be. "I heard there weren't any injuries in the crowd?"
"The MLE Patrol and the stadium security managed to keep people from stampeding and led an orderly evacuation of the stadium. Once it was clear the danger was over, people calmed down," Tonks said. "Severus was actually the one that stunned Rowle. Right place, right time, and a hell of a lot of skill to pick a single person out of a crowd like that."
Rachel decided that she was going to go check on Severus after this and make sure he was alright, and assure him that she was alright. "How did no one recognize him? He's on wanted posters. Was he using Polyjuice?"
Tonks sighed. "He cut his hair, grew a beard, and is just fairly nondescript. No one looked closely until after Severus stunned him."
Rachel's estimation of the general public dropped a little lower. Thorfinn Rowle was a known and wanted Death Eater and a former Wizengamot member. People should have been able to recognize him, even with facial hair.
Tonks led her into a room where they found Madam Bones, Head Auror Robards, Auror Shacklebolt, and Auror Johansen.
"You weren't injured?" Madam Bones checked.
"I'm fine. Nothing hit me," Rachel promised. "The Killing Curse is slow and I had plenty of time to get out of the way."
"It was lucky you turned to see it in time. He was casting at your back," Tonks said
"Obviously Rowle doesn't know anything about Quidditch, because if he did he would have waited until I was in a different search pattern," Rachel said.
"Let's be thankful for small mercies then," Madam Bones said. "Gawain, would you take the lead and bring Shacklebolt with you?"
"On it," Head Auror Robards said, inclining his head briefly at Rachel before leaving the room with Kingsley.
"What's going to happen?" Rachel asked. They hadn't covered interrogation in their auror classes.
"Since he is a known Death Eater, we can question him with Veritaserum without his consent," Madam Bones said. "We'll do a deeper interrogation later. Right now we want the basics. What crimes he has committed. Where is his base of operation. Who is he working with. What plans he knows of further attacks. And, of course, whether or not he is the person who has been threatening you."
Rachel nodded. A light turned on behind a large window set into the wall to show that Robards, Kingsley, and Thorfinn Rowle were in the room next to theirs. Thorfinn was still bound and was unconscious. "Some sort of one way glass? Can they hear us?" Rachel asked.
"They can't hear us; we have charms on this room," Tonks said. "It just looks like a solid wall on their side. Come take a seat. Long day."
Rachel sat down next to Madam Bones and Tonks sat down on her other side.
In the other room, Kingsley had set up a transcription quill with a long scroll of parchment and Robards was dosing Rowle with Veritaserum. Robards sat down across the table from Rowle, while Kingsley stood nearby with his wand drawn.
"We're ready," Robards said.
Kingsley pointed his wand at Rowle and a moment later Rowle was sitting up straight.
"State your name," Robards said.
"Thorfinn Antonius Rowle."
"State your birthdate."
"Seventeenth of July, 1956."
The questioning went in this vein of establishing basic facts for a few minutes. Interestingly, Rowle couldn't answer where he lived, which meant it was under the Fidelius charm.
"Have you ever used the Killing Curse?" Robards asked.
"Yes." Rowle seemed almost listless as he answered.
"List the instances of when you have used the Killing Curse."
"Three times today at Falmouth Stadium to kill Rachel Snow, but I didn't succeed. Once in London two weeks ago to kill an unknown muggle. Once in Derby six weeks ago to kill an unknown muggle. Once in Leicester nine weeks ago to kill an unknown muggle."
The list went on and on, moving from muggles, to muggleborns, occasionally to people with names, but mostly he simply gave a descriptor of their blood or magical status. This list went back until he was only listing by year.
"Have you ever used the Cruciatus Curse?" Robards asked when Rowle stopped speaking.
Rowle began giving a list again and Rachel rested her hand over her mouth. He gave a much smaller list for the Imperius Curse.
About thirty minutes later they reached the question Rachel was really interested in. "Have you been writing threatening letters to Rachel Snow?"
"Yes."
Rachel exhaled. It was Rowle. He was the letter writer.
"Finally," Tonks said quietly.
"Why were you writing these letters?" Robards asked.
"To draw her to me so I could kill her," Rowle answered.
That didn't make sense to Rachel.
"Why were you targeting Rachel Snow?" Robards tried.
"She's the reason my son is in Azkaban," Rowle said.
That part made sense at least. Rachel was almost relieved it was that rather than just because she killed the Dark Lord.
"Where did you get the information about her whereabouts and activities?"
"My former clerk, Aaron Parkins, sent me letters after I requested the information from him."
Rachel turned to look at Madam Bones. "Was he someone who was questioned?"
"No, he doesn't clerk for the Wizengamot any longer. I'll have to check to see what department he's clerking for now," Madam Bones said.
She nodded, though she was glad to have the source of the information identified.
The questioning continued for another ten minutes before Rowle started refusing to answer. The Veritaserum had worn off.
"That will do for now," Madam Bones said as she stood. "I'm going to go put together an arrest warrant for Aaron Parkins. I'll have Robards draw up charges on Rowle, this one is going to be complicated. Rachel, you're done for the day. Tonks, please see her safely to her destination."
"Thank you," Rachel said.
Madam Bones shook her head. "I'm only glad this was resolved without anyone getting hurt today. We're fortunate to have caught him before he can kill again."
Rachel and Tonks left together, Rachel's mind racing with what she'd just heard. Rowle was almost more of a serial killer than a Death Eater. He'd killed so many people.
"Will you be alright today?" Tonks asked.
"Yes. I'm going to check on Severus, then on Sirius, then on my friends," Rachel said.
"Alright, I'll see you on Monday then."
"You will," Rachel promised.
"Rachel," Severus said, standing as soon as Rachel apparated into the sitting room.
"Severus," she said, immediately going to hug him. She rested her head against his chest as she felt his arms wrap around her back. Even though she had known he was alright, it was still a relief to see it for herself. She imagined he felt the same way.
"You're shaking," he said, briefly smoothing her hair.
"Just a little stressed, I think," she said as she released him.
"I can imagine so." He looked down at her. "Do you want some food? Tea?"
"Tea," she said, not feeling ready to eat just yet. "Unfortunately I can't stay long, I need to make a few stops and let everyone know I'm alright."
He nodded. "I'm sure everyone wants to see for themselves. I appreciate you coming here."
"Of course. You're always my first stop," she told him as they went into the kitchen. "I'm told that you were the one who stunned Rowle."
"I was," he said, moving to put the kettle on the stove.
"Thank you. And it was an amazing shot, from what I hear."
"Skill and a little bit of luck," Severus said. "He was still looking in the direction of the pitch, so I was able to stun him from behind."
"I'm just glad he was apprehended," she said as she sat down at the kitchen table. "He was the one writing the letters."
"Good. I'm glad he was caught as well." Severus finished using his wand on the kettle and sent teacups over to the table along with a plate of biscuits. "Did he say why he was writing the letters?"
"He blamed me for his son being sent to Azkaban." Rachel sighed. "I was on the team that captured Thomas Rowle, and of course I was sitting on the trial, but I don't recall if I was the one who stunned him."
"I'm not sure it would matter to him if you were the one who stunned him." Severus poured two cups of tea and sat down across from her.
Rachel prepared her tea as she thought about it. "Then why focus on me? Why not Draco? He was both on the team who caught Thomas and sat on the trial that found him guilty?"
"Because you are a figurehead," he said steadily. "Just like Albus and Scrimgeour, people will laud you when things are going right and blame you when they are going wrong. In Rowle's mind, you killed the Dark Lord, therefore you are responsible for the plight of the Death Eaters in the following months."
"I keep looking at my life and trying to figure out where I went wrong."
Severus looked at her. "What do you mean by that?"
She sat, her hands wrapped around her warm teacup, and tried to figure out how to put the feeling into words. "All of these people…It's almost like I'm not real to them. Even Anyssa, she said that she was starting to believe what people said about me. And when they interviewed the clerks, there were all these crazy rumors about me. I don't mind the Quidditch stuff, because when people talk to me about Quidditch stuff, that's things I've actually done. But people act like just because I killed the Dark Lord, I can do anything, when Professor Dumbledore was really the person who did the difficult part in killing the Dark Lord."
"I maintain that Albus could not have killed the Dark Lord. Both of you did the part you were capable of doing. And I believe Albus has not made his part of the battle with the Dark Lord well known because he wishes for you to step into his role when he's gone, and he knows the effect of defeating a dark lord in the public's eyes. I regret that this is not the life you want, Rachel. But it is where you are right now. That does not mean that changes can't be made."
"It's not that this isn't the life that I want. I wanted to be on the Harpies. I want to do my Potions Mastery. I willingly signed up for the aurors and I think it's important. And I am doing important things in the Wizengamot. I wanted the ability to change things in the magical world, and now I have it, so I should use it. Those things are fine," she explained. "I just want people to see me for who I am, not some mythical person who killed the Dark Lord, or a broken child to be pitied, or someone they can use for their own agenda. I just want to be Rachel."
Severus nodded. "Some of that will come with time and people getting to know you. I'm hoping now that something has been done about the Daily Prophet that the newspaper will be willing to see you more holistically. But you will always be the person who killed the Dark Lord, just as Albus will always be the person who defeated Grindelwald. Just like Albus, you will be known for other things as you live your life and do those things. But, for now, this is how people know you."
"I'm planning on doing another interview with Witch Weekly. I'm going to propose a column to them about muggles. I could write a short segment once a month about muggles and I think that might be both a way to reach a new audience and to let people know about me a little bit," she said. She was hoping they would accept that. For all she knew, Witch Weekly wouldn't want to write about muggles, no matter who was writing the column.
"I think Witch Weekly is a good way for people to see another side of you. As much as you are the person who killed the Dark Lord, and a Wizengamot member, you are also a young woman."
Rachel didn't feel that she particularly needed people to see her as a young woman either, but she'd settle for as close to a person as she could get.
"How are things going with Theo?" he asked.
She took a sip of her tea. "I need to talk with him. I'm not sure I made it clear enough to him how dangerous dating me might be."
Severus arched his eyebrows at her. "Theo was your companion through seven years at Hogwarts. I think by now he is very aware of the threats to you and that accompanying you is not without risks."
"That's probably true. I just want to make sure he knows what he's getting into. Today could have gone very wrong. There could have been more Death Eaters. People could have been killed in the stands. It worries me that I put all of you, and many more people, in danger."
"You're right that today could have gone differently if there had been more Death Eaters there or if they'd had another objective. But that is true at any public gathering while there are Death Eaters still free. Life is not without risks. It's clear that Rowle did not care whether he was captured or killed, or he would not have entered the stadium as himself and without a means of escape. Do the aurors think more public Death Eater attacks on you are likely?"
"I don't know. I'm going to talk with Madam Bones next week and check to see where she thinks we are on things. We're pretty close to the teams being dissolved entirely. I'm not going back onto the pitch in public until we're as sure as possible there won't be another attack," Rachel said. She was hoping that everyone on the team still wanted her there.
"I think that's a reasonable precaution. You can only do what you can. You know I'd never advocate for taking risks with your safety, but I still want you to be able to have the life that you want as much as possible," Severus said, pushing the plate of biscuits in her direction.
Rachel took a biscuit. She wanted to live her life as well. She just wanted to make sure she wasn't accidentally going to get anyone else killed.
"Sirius?" Rachel called upon entering Twelve Grimmauld Place.
A moment later Sirius and Remus entered the hallway.
"Thank Merlin," Sirius said as he moved to hug her.
Rachel hugged him back.
"We were hoping that we'd hear from you today," Remus said.
"I know," she said, releasing Sirius and he released her a moment later. "I've been making the rounds just so no one is worried."
"Doesn't stop us from being worried, we're just glad you're alright. Come sit down for a minute," Sirius said, leading the way into the sitting room.
Rachel took her usual armchair while Sirius and Remus sat down on the sofa.
"Not the way you wanted your first League game to go, I imagine," Remus said sympathetically.
"Not really. We were lucky no one was injured or killed." She wondered how long it would take her to stop feeling guilty about that.
"What are the aurors doing about it?" Sirius asked.
"Well, they captured Thorfinn Rowle, and he'll be going to prison for the rest of his life and that's a very good thing because apparently he has killed a lot of people. Like, really, a lot of people. He was using the Killing Curse on muggles," Rachel began.
"Can't say I'm surprised. Rowle was always a hardline pureblood supremacist. I don't think anyone was shocked to learn that he is a Death Eater," Sirius said, shaking his head. "Alfred Selwyn on the other hand was a surprise. We could actually work with him in the Wizengamot. How is sitting next to Anyssa working out?"
"We're talking, at least. She seems to support my proposal. About my proposal," she said, knowing she should have come to Sirius before now, but still not knowing what to say.
"I'll support it, of course. You don't even have to ask," he said quickly.
"Have you read it?" she asked.
"No. Do I need to? I know what Azkaban is like; I don't need to read a book on it."
Rachel sat for a moment, stymied by his refusal. "Don't you want to know what I'm proposing to put in its place? If anyone could see potential problems with what I'm proposing, it would probably be you."
Sirius sighed. "I support your proposal, Rachel. I just don't want anything to do with Azkaban."
"Alright," she said, deciding that she wouldn't ask for him to speak for her proposal at all.
Remus patted Sirius' hand. "It's just a difficult subject for him."
"I understand," she said quickly.
"With capturing Rowle, does Amelia think the threat to you has passed?" Remus asked.
"I'm not sure yet. Rowle was the one writing the threatening letters. I'll ask Madam Bones next week what she thinks."
"How are things going with the aurors? You and Draco alright?" Sirius asked.
"Things are fine with the aurors. It's been quiet. We're just about running out of Death Eaters to capture, which was the point," she said. "I expect the teams will be disbanded in the next month or so."
"Are you planning to join the aurors or are you starting your mastery?" Remus asked.
"Potions Mastery," Rachel said firmly. She was not cut out to be an auror.
"You're doing Potions because you want to or because Snape wants you to?" Sirius asked.
"Because I want to, I promise. I actually have this whole project about sleeping potions and it's going to take years, but I'm super invested in it," she said. "I'd offer to show you my research-"
Sirius laughed and quickly shook his head. "No, I get it. If that's what you want to do, that's what you want to do. I'm not trying to dissuade you. I just want for you to have the life that you want. Too much has been taken from you. Is all of this going to be a problem with you playing for the Harpies?"
"I'm not playing in the rematch on Saturday. We'll see what the aurors say. If Madam Bones thinks the threat has passed, I'll try again. If not…"
"If not?" Remus prompted.
"Well, I suppose we'll figure that out. I'm not going to put people in danger just because I want to play Quidditch. But at some point the remaining Death Eaters aren't going to care enough about me to expose themselves. Today was dangerous. If Rowle had cared more about killing people in general than he did about killing me, then a lot of people could have died."
"But that could happen at any time, anywhere. You wouldn't even have to be there," Sirius said. "If the Death Eaters want to make public attacks, we can't stop them. That's the truth of it. We can have security, and we do, but if the Death Eaters, or anyone else, really wants to kill people, they will. Best we can do is stop them from doing it again."
"Sirius is right. I don't think you can lay what might have happened at your own feet, Rachel," Remus said with a nod. "I can see if you're concerned about people being attacked to reach you, but in a Quidditch game, they do not have to do that. You are out in the open."
"Thanks for that image," Sirius said, rubbing his brow. "Wasn't it bad enough we nearly saw her get killed today?"
Rachel bit back the words that she didn't care if the Death Eaters tried to kill her, knowing that wouldn't comfort Sirius. She looked down at her knees and puzzled over that. She didn't want to die, she wasn't seeking death. But she hadn't been afraid when the Killing Curse had been cast at her today, and she didn't find the prospect of more Death Eaters seeking her out to be frightening, other than what they might do to other people.
"Let us know what Amelia says, will you? We'd like to know if she believes that there is still a present threat to you," Remus said.
"I will," Rachel promised, though she suspected she might need to speak with Torey about all of this. "Are you both alright?"
"We are. We were worried about you, but we're thankful that you weren't hurt," Remus said.
"Didn't do us any good to see that, but we're glad you're alright. You'll let us know when we can come to a game again?" Sirius asked.
"Yes, absolutely," Rachel said, hoping that would happen sometime in the near future. "I'm glad you're both okay."
Rachel apparated home with a strangely heavy heart. It had been a long day. She anticipated that she was going to have difficulty sleeping tonight, but she thought that might be normal. Wasn't it normal to have difficulty sleeping after someone tried to kill you?
She found the study group in the sitting room and came to take a seat.
"We were hoping you would turn up here eventually," Millie said.
"Just had a few stops to make. I figured Severus and Sirius and Remus should know I was alright. I also had to stop at the MLE," she said.
"Was Rowle writing the letters?" Draco asked.
"Yes."
"Good," Draco said, getting several looks. He sighed. "Good that we finally captured the person making the threats, not good that he was writing them."
Rachel nodded. "I'll talk with Madam Bones on Monday and see where we're at. I'm hoping this will mean that the general threat to me has passed."
"Hopefully," Neville said.
"What happened with the Harpies?" Hermione asked.
"We're replaying the game on Saturday with Glynnis as the Seeker. I'm not playing in public until we feel reasonably sure this won't happen again."
"Good, though you could have taken Nadia," Draco said.
"Maybe," she said, feeling a tinge of regret that she would never know if she could have won today's game.
"You're alright?" Theo asked.
"Yes. It's just been a long day," she said.
"I'll bet it has," Millie said. "What do you want to do for the rest of the day?"
Rachel shook her head. "Just have things be relatively calm, that's all."
"Completely understandable," Hermione said, checking her watch. "I am a little late for a study session, I just wanted to know that you were alright first. I won't be back until late tonight, but I'll be with Susan."
"Good luck," Millie said.
"Happy studying," Draco said, raising his eyebrows at her when she looked at him.
"Thank you," Hermione said before gathering her things and flooing away.
"I assume no one else has pressing studying to get to?" Draco asked.
"No. Just no," Millie said.
Neville shook his head. "I do all my studying at my mastery. My mistress says that's a full time job and that people aren't expected to do more than that."
Theo shrugged. "I do research on the side, but I don't have anything pressing right now."
Rachel had things she should do, but she was feeling a little odd. "I'm going to go change and check on Feverfew," she said, standing up again.
"Alright. Maybe we'll watch a movie tonight," Millie suggested. "We could try going to the rental shop without Hermione. I think we're ready for that."
Rachel nodded. "Maybe." She left the room and went upstairs to her bedroom, where she closed the door and hung up her robes in her wardrobe, retrieving her wand and sliding it into her trouser pocket.
She sat down on her bed and mentally prodded at herself, trying to figure out what the problem was this time. She'd been fine up until a little bit ago.
Feverfew came over and sat down next to her, tilting her head as she watched Rachel.
"What?" Rachel asked, half expecting an answer.
Her cat continued to watch her, seeming to wait for something, but it wasn't in the way she usually asked for food or to be petted.
Rachel reminded herself that she had cast the animagus revealing spell on Feverfew more than once and her cat was just a cat. "Well, if you don't know, I don't either," she told her. She exhaled and tried to do what Torey had taught her about identifying the moment when she had started to feel weird and then noticing what had been happening just before that moment.
It had been when she was talking with Sirius and Remus. And she was a little annoyed that Sirius wasn't going to read her proposal, but she supposed she hadn't realized that reading about Azkaban would be so upsetting for him. She bit down on her lip, but decided that wasn't the moment that was bothering her. It was that she didn't care if the Death Eaters killed her.
What if she had died today?
She certainly would have felt like an idiot in the afterlife, being killed in a Quidditch match after going through all the trouble of killing the Dark Lord. That certainly wasn't the life her parents would have wanted her to live. And, of course, being killed in front of Severus and her friends would have been very bad for them. She didn't want to do that to them.
Then why had she thought that she didn't care if the Death Eaters killed her?
Did she care? The fact that she couldn't answer that question troubled her. She had a lot of good things in her life. She'd come back from the afterlife because she wanted this life. She cared about her family and her friends. But somewhere in her she felt deeply ambivalent about living.
She took a few slow and practiced breaths. It had been a hard day. She didn't always feel like this. Right now was a bad moment and it would pass. She had to keep those things in mind. Sometimes she thought spending two and a half years expecting to die had more of an impact on her than she wanted to admit.
A knock on her door roused her from her thoughts and she went to answer it.
"Hey. I wasn't sure if you wanted to be alone or if you wanted company," Theo said.
"You can come in." She needed to speak with him anyway. She opened the door further and then shut it again once Theo was in the room. "Sit anywhere," she said, going back to her bed.
Theo sat down next to her, leaving some space in between them and Feverfew on her opposite side. "I'm sorry today didn't work out the way you wanted it to."
"Thanks," she said. "Really, considering all the things that could have happened, this is the best possible outcome. We know who was writing the threats and he can't do it any longer, and we even know who was giving him information about me."
"Who?"
"His former clerk. He's in another department now, which is why he wasn't caught when the aurors interviewed the MLE and Wizengamot clerks," she explained.
Theo nodded. "I'm glad they caught him then. That's two fewer people we have to worry about."
Rachel agreed, though she wasn't looking forward to Rowle's trial. She felt like she had seen too many trials these past eight months and she really wanted them to be over. "You understand that dating me puts you in danger?"
Theo raised his eyebrows at her. "Rachel, I've been friends with you for nearly eight years, and I've been wanted by the Death Eaters for nearly four years. I know the type of danger you are in and I don't feel like I am in more danger by dating you."
"They will kill you to get to me," she insisted.
"How?" Theo asked. "Where do we go that they would kill us?"
Rachel exhaled as she tried to find the right argument.
"I can understand why you're afraid right now. Someone just tried to kill you a few hours ago and that's scary. But anywhere I would go with you on a date is somewhere I'd go with you as a friend. And I don't think not dating or not having friends is the answer."
"I'm more afraid of them killing you than I'm afraid of them killing me," she said, finding Feverfew climbing onto her lap.
"Also understandable, because I feel the same way about you. I think most people are more afraid of their loved ones dying than they are afraid of dying themselves," he said, taking her hand.
"Really?"
Theo was quiet for a moment. "Well. I don't know about most people, actually. I just know that it would hurt me more for you to die than it would hurt me to die."
She nodded, glad that someone understood that. Maybe she'd ask Torey if everyone felt that way.
"I don't think either of us are going to die. Honestly, this was a fairly bad attempt at killing you," he said, squeezing her hand.
"I noticed that too. He should have studied my flying patterns longer and made sure I was flying away from him for a longer period."
Theo shook his head. "Worse than that. Did any of those curses even come close to hitting you? Do you know how hard it is to hit a moving target from that far away?"
"Close in that I certainly noticed it and that if I hadn't seen it to move out of the way there's at least a small possibility the first one could have hit me. But nowhere near as close as when we fight the Death Eaters when we're called out," she reasoned.
"Then why did he not just gather some Death Eaters and attack someone so that the auror team would be called out? He has enough information to know when you're on call," Theo asked.
"I don't know. Madam Bones and Tonks think he's not well, like mentally. If he was being rational he never would have written the letters in the first place. And he was a wanted Death Eater and the only disguise he wore to the stadium was a beard."
"Which unfortunately says something that a wanted Death Eater can walk into a League stadium without Polyjuice or a disguise of some sorts." Theo shook his head. "Remember when we thought Sirius was a Death Eater?"
"Vividly."
"Makes me wonder if he'd trimmed his hair and cleaned up if he could have just gone anywhere he wanted to," Theo said.
Rachel shivered. The Death Eaters were supposed to have fled or be in hiding, not wandering free.
"Sorry, I'm not making this better, am I? I suppose what I'm saying is, if this is the worst they have to offer, we're in pretty good shape."
"Barty Crouch Junior and Peter Pettigrew are still out there, along with Augustus Rookwood, Amycus Carrow, and Walden Macnair. Any of them could be a significant threat to us. They think Pettigrew is long gone now that the Dark Lord isn't here to control him. No one has seen Rookwood or Crouch Junior, though they think Rookwood is still in Britain. They think the others have gone to ground, they're not participating in any of the attacks."
"And we'll have to deal with them if or when they show up. But you've been fighting Death Eaters for over half a year now. I think we can manage them. I'm not saying we should flagrantly go around in public. I'm saying that with the proper precautions I think we'll be alright," he said, nodding when she looked at him.
"I'm no match for Rookwood," she told him.
"You don't have to be a match for Rookwood. He doesn't want to be caught and our home has the Fidelius charm. As long as we aren't hanging out in a dark alley at night, I don't see how Rookwood can reach us without revealing himself," Theo reasoned. "The days of the Death Eaters amassing a large enough force to attack the Ministry or Diagon Alley are over. The ones left don't want to sacrifice themselves for the cause."
She suspected he was right about that. "I think today has just been a long day."
"Also understandable," he said, squeezing her hand again.
Rachel sat, Feverfew on her lap, Theo holding her hand, and tried to just breathe. They would be alright.