Trust and Betrayal

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Who did she trust? Those were four simple words but they posed such a complex question. Amelia Bones took longer than she expected to form an answer. The question wasn't simple at all when you teased it apart. Who would you trust with your purse or your Gringotts account? Who would you trust with your wand or with your heart? Who would you trust with your life or with a secret? The Director of Magical Law Enforcement came up with different answers for each question. She found a surprisingly short list of Aurors and friends. Some of her acquaintances lacked the judgment that experience would bring them over time. Some were too political to give good advice and then keep both the answers and the questions to themselves.

There were only a handful of friends in the Wizengamot and the Auror's office that would be both insightful and discreet. Perhaps it was the way this felt so political that helped her decide what to do and where to go. Director Bones went home on time. Unless her niece was staying with her, leaving the office at close of business only happened once a fortnight. From her home, Amelia took the floo to visit her friend. Any excuse would do. In fact, it had been considerably too long.

Amelia Bones landed in a well-practiced crouch as she came out of the floo at Longbottom Manor. She was still wearing her work robes. She drew her wand without thinking and started to remove the soot from the floo. The Longbottom house elf had decades of practice as well. The elf accomplished with the snap of her fingers what the Director could do in half a minute.

"Welcome, Madam Bones. Mistress asks to speak with you when you're done. Please follow me."

"Thank you, Dilly," she said.

The house elf was dressed in a coral-colored saree and moved with stately dignity. Amelia followed the elf with slow and measured steps. House elf magic made it impossible to tell if the elf was wonderfully graceful or if she were skating along an inch above the floor.

It wasn't long until the elf and the witch reached a small sitting room. If the meeting went well, Director Bones could talk with Augusta Longbottom over drinks. If the meeting went poorly, then Amelia could ask Gus for political advice. The elf closed the doors after Amelia entered.

"Well, Ted, I'd say it's good to see you, but nobody hides good news," she said.

Solicitor Ted Tonks rose to greet the Director of Magical Law Enforcement. "A pleasure to see you again. I'll let you decide if you want to hug me or hex me when we're done. I am trying to keep two of my clients safe. The more I try to help, the more problems I find in the Department and in the Wizengamot. If we do our jobs properly, then this might not blow up in our faces."

"That.. that almost sounds like a threat," she said. It was a threat, though a mild one.

"I suppose, but not more than your other high-profile cases. I admit I'm worried. This one is personal, so I want it to end well."

Amelia Bones knew that reputation was everything. Even more than money or power, her success depended on trust. Wizards had to willingly give her information that might or might not be revealed to the public months later. Her subordinates had to give her bad news without hesitation. Their warnings of what was about to happen let her prepare rather than always be caught by surprise. She wasn't a Seer, but trust was the best potion she had for viewing the future.

The unassuming wizard who sat across from her had a reputation as well. You could break your word and surprise Ted Tonks, but only once. That was the only chance you'd get unless you lived a very long and exemplary life. He was known to be generous to his friends and silent as the grave to those who'd lost his confidence.

He was giving her an easy way out by mentioning the sensitivity of his clients. She could walk away and there would not be repercussions. They would still be friends. She would have to respect his trust if she stayed. Some wizards would try to manipulate her. Ted was not one of them. He wouldn't exaggerate the case simply to lure her interest.

She sat down to hear what he had to say. The drinks with Augusta Longbottom would have to wait.

Ted began, "You read that Lord Potter is the fourth Contestant in the Triwizard Tournament."

Amelia snorted. The contradiction of that statement was glaring. Director Barty Crouch couldn't be trusted to mix a glass of water unless there was a Sickle stuck to the bottom of the cup.

Ted continued, "I offered the judges a large sum of money to release Lord Potter from the Tournament. I was surprised when they turned me down."

Amelia listened. The way you surprised Solicitor Tonks was to have something to hide that he hadn't already taken into consideration. More than one client had said Tonks made it easy to do well by first doing good.

Of course she had to ask. "How much money are we talking about?"

"Two-thousand Galleons. Call it two-million pounds sterling."

"And they turned you down?" she asked. That was enough money to get the attention of almost any wizard or witch. She wondered how many of her staff could resist a bribe of that size.

"Not even a counteroffer to see how much I'd pay," he added.

That was horrible news. It meant that Potter's involvement in the tournament was more than a matter of money. Things could get serious very quickly when the stakes were that high. Dead bodies started turning up when far smaller sums were involved. She'd like to have her Aurors on this case well before that happened.

"When would you need my help?" she asked.

"Hmm. It looks like Dumbledore broke a number of laws at Hogwarts. The contestants in the Tournament were entered into a magical contract without prior consent. That is particularly troubling since Lord Potter is underage. It was probably illegal and clearly abuse of a magical minor. How would the politics look if "the boy who lived" became "the boy who died" because the three judges entered him in a magical contract and then took his magic?"

Short of murdering the Queen of England, causing the death of Lord H. J. Potter would be the scandal of the century in magical Britain.

Amelia sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "How bad is it?" she asked.

"Chief Warlock Dumbledore thinks laws are for little people. He spends other people's money," Tonks said. His tone of voice said that he did not approve.

The Director of Magical Law Enforcement could think of a long list of wizards and witches who thought the ends justified the means. "You want our office to look into it?" she asked.

Ted Tonks squinted his eyes closed for a moment and steeled himself. "Amelia, it gets worse. I have to wrap up the Potter situation before I can act for my second client. I've done some digging in the department and in the Wizengamot records. I met your former partner. Sirius Black says he is innocent and that he never received a trial."

"What!" she said. To her own surprise, she had shouted. To her greater surprise Amelia Bones found herself standing up. She reached for the arm of the chair as if she expected it to move underneath her. The rest of the world had moved, why not the chair as well.

Solicitor Tonks simply folded his hands in his lap and waited quietly for the implications of his last statement to sink in. He'd said so much that it took a while for the Director of Magical Law Enforcement to understand all that it meant.

Sirius Black had been her assigned partner when they were Aurors on the street. They had counted on each other. Sirius also spent a decade in Azkaban. That injustice shouted at her with a familiar voice.

Black was also one of the richest men in magical Britain. Money talked, and in this case a family fortune had been silenced during the height of a civil war. As the head of the Black family, Lord Black would also take his seat in the Wizengamot and have the voting privileges of one of the Most Ancient and Noble houses. Power made things happen, but not if it was abducted in the middle of the night.

As a minor note, a case like this could overturn the government after a no-confidence vote in the Wizengamot. Saying that Lord Black never had a trial was like saying the Prime Minister was really a Russian Werewolf. This wasn't a small oversight. It was a silent coup, an admission of treason and gross corruption at the highest levels of government. Someone obviously wanted Sirius out of the way.

Amelia Bones had learned a lot in the Auror's Academy and on the streets. She was surprised they hadn't killed Sirius outright if they wanted him out of the way that badly. She knew that what someone wanted to do and what they could actually accomplish were usually two different things. Like many other witches, her life and the life of her niece had been turned upside down at the end of the first wizarding war. Perhaps they thought that Sirius would die in Azkaban.

Amelia had a cauldron full of questions, but something was missing. She let herself think until she found it again.

"I've met Lord Potter. How does this concern him?" she asked.

Tonks spoke at a clear and steady pace as if he were laying out a case for a client. "Lord Black wasn't the Potter's Secret Keeper. He took the Godfather Oath for Harry. I can't ask for Black's trial while Harry is at risk in the Triwizard Tournament. They could use Harry to threaten Sirius."

Amelia wondered who could hurt Lord Potter. Another piece of the puzzle fell into place for her. Barty Crouch was the Director of Magical Law Enforcement when Sirius was sent to Azkaban. Albus Dumbledore was, and still is, the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot. A decade ago, those two wizards should have signed the parchment work that sent a titled lord to Azkaban. Both of the aforementioned wizards were now judges in the Triwizard Tournament.

It was impossible for Sirius to have betrayed the Potters if he had sworn the Godfather Oath and was alive today. His magic would have killed him if he put any of the Potters in danger. Logic didn't have a strong tradition among witches and wizards, but even a first-year student at Hogwarts could figure out this case in a minute. From the opposite perspective, it would take an extraordinary legal mind to twist the case so there was a shred of guilt against Sirius. A simple test of his oath would be all the evidence a judge or jury would need. She also knew that the Wizengamot was less influenced by evidence and truth.

Amelia Bones took a moment to breathe and collect her thoughts. That habit saved her life on the street and in the office. A decade ago, Crouch and Dumbledore held the two of the most powerful positions in government. They were not far away from that even now. No wonder Tonks needed help. He had truly run into a blind alley. The two of them would be lucky to get out of this predicament alive.

She also wanted to know where Black was. That was the part of her who remembered being a street Auror who chased after dark wizards. Another voice in her head wanted to find out what in Merlin's name happened to her partner and the people who framed him. She wanted to know if Harry was forced into the tournament to manipulate Sirius, or was Sirius incarcerated to get to Harry?

Amelia Bones knew Sirius Black. Underneath all her questions was the fear of what Sirius had become. She seldom got all that she wanted at the time when she wanted it but being the DMLE helped. More than most, she eventually got the information she needed.

Amelia knew that Tonks was good at what he did. He would never bring her a phenomenal mess like this unless he also had a few ways to untangle it. But first she had to ask.

"How is he?"

"Still rough, but a world better than what he was. Do you want to see him?" Tonks asked.

Amelia nodded as she spoke. "When he's ready. What do you need from me and when can I act on this?" she asked.

"Depending on how we approach it, I'd like your recommendation for a Department Barrister and a scrupulous judge with whom I could help build a case. Later, I'd like to borrow a pair of Aurors who look intimidating but stay inside the law. I thought I was nearly done with Harry's problem last week. Would they delay Sirius's trial until the Wizengamot convenes in the Spring?"

All of her Aurors stayed inside the law or she'd sack them. Some had a reputation for using their full authority up to the line the law allowed. She could also check the caseloads and recommend a judge and barrister, preferably ones who worked well together.

Amelia Bones said, "You're thinking like a Solicitor. Let me think like an Auror. If it wasn't Sirius who compromised the Fidelius Charm and turned the Potters over to Voldemort, then who was it?" she asked.

Tonks had the answer for her. "Peter Pettigrew," he said.

"Well shit. That's a dead end." Seers and Unspeakables aside, long-dead wizards couldn't give enough evidence to get Sirius released.

"Not as dead as I thought. Sirius found out that Pettigrew is alive. That is why he broke out of Azkaban," Tonks said.

"How do I find Pettigrew?" she asked. Tonks was playing his cards close to his chest and only giving her one piece at a time.

"You don't. We do. I think it will take four of us, maybe more. We have to solve both problems at the same time. Until we free Lord Potter, whoever is controlling the Triwizard Tournament has Sirius on a leash.

"You have to swear it," he said as he put out his hand.

Amelia Bones had been in this situation before. Somehow the lines between personal and professional obligations had become blurred. She'd worked undercover during her first years as an Auror. Sirius had done the same. In the field, Black had been an unshakable partner despite the crazy stunts he'd pulled in the office and off the job. Sirius was worth a magical vow.

"What do you want me to say?" she asked.

That was the question Ted had hoped for. Fortune favors the prepared. "Follow me," he said.

They clasped hands and both pointed their wands at their hands as they performed the vow.

"I swear by my magic that I will seek justice for Sirius Black and Harry Potter," he said.

"I so swear," she answered.

Their magic wrapped their hands in a golden halo. In less than a second, it crept up their arms and changed to a faint green color as it faded away.

"You took the oath too. You didn't have to do that," she said. Why was Tonks willing to risk his life and his magic for a client?

"Both Black and Potter are family. Distant family, but as I learned about them, I found myself involved. I wouldn't ask you to risk your magic if I wasn't committed as well. That, and I don't know how things work bringing Black into protective custody."

She ignored his deflection about custody. Binding his magic was such a Tonks thing to do. He sought equity even as he bound her in a life debt.

"I'll figure out how to get Sirius into custody in one piece. What about the judges?" she asked.

Ted Tonks gave her the faintest smile. It was not a sign of joy. It was something feral and dark like the way a wolf bares its fangs. "We will approach the three judges and then do to them exactly what they did to Lord Potter.. damn good and hard!" he said.

Seeing Tonks angry was a strange comfort. It was good to know he was human after all. She wouldn't hex him. She might even hug him, particularly since this could easily be the last time they'd see each other alive.

They confirmed their assignments and said their goodbyes. Amelia Bones prayed that Gus had their drinks ready. It wasn't every day that Amelia Bones had her world turned upside down.

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Author's Notes- Feedback is appreciated. Feedback is essential if you want more stories like this. What did you think of Amelia Bones, DMLE? Did Ted do the right thing by asking her for help?