Legal Disclaimer: I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

Warning: This work may be offensive to some readers. There's also references to major injury, blood, attempted murder, betrayal, and abuse of authority. Feel free to back out if need be.

Author's Note: The best part of writing a character who never appears and who is only referenced once in a throwaway line is that they're completely open to interpretation. I'm gonna save y'all some confusion: Benjy Fenwick is referenced in OotP when Moody shows Harry the picture of the original Order. Apparently, they only found bits of him. And that's where canon stops.

Submitting Info:
Stacked with: Ministry (Winter Year 1); RAVEN (2023); MC4A (Winter Year 5)
Individual Challenges: Old Shoes (Y); Bucket Listing (Y); Short Jog; Two Cakes (Y); Eating Cake (Y); Ship Sails; Rowl in Her Grave; Lunar Era; Can of Spite
Ministry Challenges: RRD [Day 09] (Benjy/Amelia)
RAVEN Challenges: Settings [33](Cold); Items [128](Tea); Colors [45](Ebony)
Other Challenges: Zee Monthly [Day 12](Icon)
Other MC4A Challenges: Ship (n/a)[ SpMic1 (Newsroom/Journalism); FaBig (Quilt); WiBig (Singing/Chanting); WiMed2 (Crying/Sobbing; Nightmare)]; Chim [Rick]("Louder than Words" – Tick, Tick, Boom; Life/Death; Race Bend);Fire [x3](Bang); TWT (NB Benjy Fenwick)[Task#1 (Night)]; Soup [B](Because of Canon); Swap [Dishes (Black Tea Cup; Elephant Teapot; Zebra Patterned Plate); Bedding (Cat Block Quilt); Accessories (Bejeweled Frog Broach)]
Representation(s): Jewish Amelia Bones/Benjy Fenwick; Jewish & NB Benjy Fenwick
Primary & Secondary Bonus Challenges: Gingersnap; Fruit Fly; Second Verse (Not a Lamp; Car in a Tutu; Unwanted Advice); Chorus (Tomorrow's Shade; Fire Song; Unicorn)
Tertiary & Generic Bonus Challenges: RoIL (Amelioration); AD (Amphibian); O3 (Oust); Share (Ameliorate)
Word Count: 1035 words

(^^)
Saved by the Frog of Love
(^^)

It was late when Amelia felt the wards around the family manor go off. She had still been relaxing from a long shift investigating suspected Death Eaters. As a junior auror, she often got assigned to things much more mundane than that, but with the way that things were ramping up, it was all hands on deck. It didn't help that there was no way of telling who was friend or foe because of the frequent use of the Imperius Curse.

That was also why the wards going off was so concerning. As an auror, she had studied many specialty wards. She had personally added to the manor's security schema as she had mastered them. It had nothing on Black familial magic, of course, because the Bones familial magic was healing, not warding and battle magic. But between what was there and what she had added, it was just as good as any goblin-trained ward master could lay.

For them to be screaming now meant that they were being breached by someone who would was injured, cursed, or otherwise not themself.

Quickly, Amelia set aside her tea tray, careful not to upset the ebony teacup or the teapot shaped like an elephant. Tea could be reheated after she dealt with whatever this was. If the tea spilled onto the zebra patterned plate holding the last blackberry jammy dodgers in the house, well, then there would be no saving any of them. She wrapped a block quilt made with cat fabrics around her wide shoulders like a shawl to keep off the chill of the February night as she rushed from her sitting room to the receiving room where anyone trying to apparate or portkey into the manor would be redirected automatically.

She held her wand in ready position as she opened the door carefully. Immediately, it felt like all the air had been sucked out of her lungs. Her beloved Benjy was collapse on the rug in front of the fireplace. The bejeweled frog brooch she had give xem as a courting gift (and which doubled as a portkey) lay near xyr limp right hand as blood soaked the rug in an ever-growing stain.

Amelia rushed into the room, determined to save her love. While Benjy was covered in contusions and scratches, the worst of the injuries appeared to be from the stump where xyr wand hand used to be. From the jaggedness of the wound's edges, it looked like the hand had been blasted off rather than severed.

She chanted the strongest healing spell she knew as she twirled her wand over the stump. It would ruin any chance of regrowing the hand, which was already slim to begin with as the wound was likely caused by magic in the first place, but at the rate that Benjy was losing blood, it was the hand or her love's life. She knew which Benjy would prefer at the end of the day.

In the back of her mind, she was also reciting the Mourner's Kaddish. It was instinctive. If she had to lose Benjy, she wanted xem to go peacefully, surrounded by the comfort of their shared faith. If she managed to save xem, then the Lord deserved the praise.

Benjy groaned as xe came back around. Xyr eyes fluttered briefly before opening the tiniest bit. Xe raised xyr remaining hand weakly. Amelia had to choke back a sob of relief.

"I thought I had lost you," she cried, dropping her wand to lift xyr hand to her cheek. "What happened? Was it Death Eaters?"

"It was Dumbledore," Benjy rasped. Amelia shook her head in disbelief. She couldn't believe it, even if he would be a perfect target for the Death Eaters to control. He had so many powerful positions both in Britain and internationally. But everyone knew that Dumbledore was the only person that You-Know-Who feared.

"How did you find out that he was being controlled?"

"Oh, Amelia, my love," Benjy whispered like xe was worried about being overheard, "he isn't!"

"What?" Amelia asked through suddenly numb lips.

And just like the bursting of a dam, the whole story came tumbling out of Benjy. Xe had been approached to join a secret group dedicated to fighting the Death Eaters. Desperate to do something about everyone disappearing or dying, Benjy had agreed. Only the more involved with the group, this Order of the Phoenix, the more xe realized that it wasn't actually doing anything to stem the tide. Dumbledore just used the group to gather intelligence on what both the Death Eaters and the Ministry was doing.

The real shocking thing was that Benjy had discovered that Dumbledore was actively working against official measures to stop the Death Eaters. Not only that, but Dumbledore was manipulating things in the shadows to escalate the violence, to prolong the danger.

"But why would he do that?" Amelia asked, horrified that anyone could be so heartless.

"Think about it, my love," Benjy said. "Every single day that this war continues, we all grow more desperate for any sort of savior. We forged Dumbledore into a shining icon, our powerful port in the storm around us. As the darkness grows around us, he just shines brighter."

Benjy seemed to melt back on the floor. Xe looked exhausted, both blood loss and recounting xyr tale. She ran her fingers over xyr cheeks.

"Why did he attack you tonight?"

"I told him that I was quitting the Order. When he asked why, I foolishly told him." Benjy turned xyr head to press a kiss against the tips of her fingers. "If it was not for the brooch you gave me, I would not have been able to escape."

Amelia smiled even though she still had tears on her cheeks. She had insisted that Benjy accept the family heirloom, gaudy and odd though it was. All of the Bones family had something like it to serve as an emergency portkey. They were not even betrothed yet, but Amelia had managed to get her parents to agree. She had no doubts that Benjy was spot on with xyr assessment of the situation.

It reassured her that xe had been saved by her love.