"Do you think she could have gotten out?" Rachel asked, kneeling down and peering under the sofa.
"I doubt it," Theo said.
"I've already checked upstairs and the cellar. Dingbat has to be somewhere," she said, fishing a cat toy out from underneath the sofa, but not finding the cat. "She could have gotten out when I was tending the garden this afternoon. Have you seen her since then?"
"I don't think so, but I don't really keep track of when I see the cats," he said.
Rachel shook her head as she pushed herself back to her feet and dusted off her robes. "She's probably eating one of my plant beds and then she's going to make herself ill. I'll go get her."
They'd had a quiet weekend. Rachel had read a book, brewed the standard potions they needed for the household, tended her ingredient beds, wrote an article for Witch Weekly, and had spent some time simply relaxing with Theo. She was heading into the Department first thing tomorrow. She had resolved to quit messing around and to just get her time with the Morsius Pensieve over and done with.
She went out the back door and down the steps into the garden. They were far enough away from things that the only light was from the windows and the stars and moon. "Dingbat?" she called, conjuring a small light orb with her left hand as she went to go dig around in the plant beds for her cat. Hopefully she hadn't gone too far.
A few things happened at once. She had the sudden awareness that she was not alone. She saw the lurid green light of the Killing Curse. As she dropped she connected the path of the Killing Curse to a very familiar form.
Black cloak with pointed hood. Mask covering their face. It was a number of her nightmares come to life right here in her back garden.
Rachel couldn't describe the feeling that came over her. Fear didn't begin to touch on it. Vacancy and numbness were closer. Her body was freezing. There was a sharp pain in her chest. She barely registered the Killing Curse missing her as she raised her hands.
There were no thoughts in her mind as she stretched her arms with her palms out and her fingers splayed, framing the Death Eater between them. She brought her hands together and down in the same motion. She lost her vision for a moment as a strike of lightning arced down from the cloudless sky right in front of her with a loud crack.
The Death Eater was thrown several feet in the air and hit the ground with a thump.
She stared, her hand still pressed together as though she was praying. She was vaguely aware of her chest rising and falling. The thud of her own heart sounded loud in her ears.
"Rachel! Rachel!"
Time seemed to restart and she turned to see Theo running toward her with his wand drawn.
"Rachel? What happened? Are you hurt?" he asked, frantically looking around.
Licking her lips, she reached for the words. "Death Eater," she managed to get out after spending a long few seconds trying.
He was still looking around, so she shakily led the way over to where the body had fallen. They both stared down at it.
"What about our wards?" Theo asked. "Our wards cover the grounds."
She had to take a few more breaths before she could even attempt to access the wards. She held her hands out, frowning as she reached for the wards. "They're gone. Our wards are gone."
Theo looked around. "Are there more Death Eaters? Do Death Eaters attack solo?"
"I think if there were more, we would have seen them by now."
"We need to call the MLE," he said.
"In a minute," she said.
"Rachel-"
"In a minute. I need to see who I killed."
They both looked back at the body. "Are we sure they're dead?" he asked warily.
"We better make sure," she said, staring down at them.
"Well, we can do that much with a simple diagnostic charm." Theo pointed his wand and silently cast. "They're dead."
Rachel nodded. She would have been surprised if they could have survived what she'd done to them. She glanced down at her hands. Had she really done that?
"Ready for the MLE?" he prompted.
"Not yet. I need to know who I killed."
Theo looked back at the body. "Want me to do it?" he offered with obvious reluctance.
That was enough for her to gather her resolve. She wasn't going to make Theo do this for her. This was her responsibility.
She knelt and eased the mask off the Death Eater's face and set it on the grass next to him.
"Barty Crouch Junior. It's been a long time since we last saw him," he said.
"He hasn't been spotted since the war ended. Why is he here? Why now?" she asked, looking at his face. His eyes were still open, but they were clearly lifeless.
"I don't know. Let's go call the MLE," Theo said, his hand resting on her shoulder.
She let him guide her back to the house and to the sofa. She sat, feeling a little lightheaded, and watched as he went to the floo.
"Ministry. MLE offices," he said after throwing in the floo powder.
"You've reached the MLE. Is this an emergency?" the on-call auror asked.
"This is Wizengamot Member Rachel Snow's residence. Our wards are down and a Death Eater attacked us," Theo said, his forehead furrowing with the words.
There was a long pause. "On-call team! I need the on-call team for a reported Death Eater attack at a Wizengamot Member's house! Stand back, we're on our way through!"
About a minute later two aurors came through the floo and drew their wands. "Death Eaters?" the first asked, looking from place to place.
"He's in the back garden. He's, uh, dead," Theo said.
"Just one?" the second auror asked.
"If there are more, we haven't seen them," Theo said, glancing at Rachel.
Rachel shrugged slightly. She didn't know why there weren't more Death Eaters here.
The two aurors glanced at each other. "Are either of you injured?"
"Rachel, did anything hit you?" Theo checked.
"No, I dodged the Killing Curse. That's it." She leaned forward and put her head in her hands. The longer she sat here, the dizzier she became. She could feel her chest growing tighter, just like it used to in enclosed spaces.
"I guess we'll go look at the Death Eater," the first auror said, sounding uncertain. "In the back garden?"
"Through that door and to the west. Can't miss him," Theo said. He moved to take a seat next to Rachel, apparently willing to let the aurors go off by themselves.
She felt his hand resting on her knee.
"Doing alright?" he checked quietly.
"Dizzy," she said, a little embarrassed. She'd killed people before without reacting like this.
"You can rest against me," he said, moving his arm behind her shoulders and letting her rest her head against his shoulder.
She soaked in his warmth and comfort, knowing that he was feeling her trembling. Closing her eyes, she took some slow breaths and she tried to loosen the tight feeling in her chest.
"Wizengamot Member Snow? This is Head Auror Robards. May I come through?" came a voice from the fireplace a few minutes later.
Rachel nodded against Theo.
"Yes, please join us," Theo called.
"Are either of you injured?" Gawain checked as soon as he was in their living room.
"No, we're both fine. Please sit," Rachel said, reaching for her good manners.
Gawain settled into one of the armchairs across from them. "I have reports that the Death Eater who attacked you is dead. Can you confirm?"
"Yes. I killed him."
They sat quietly with that for a moment, Rachel working on steadying her breathing.
"Are you prepared to give a statement or do you need some time first?" Gawain asked.
She swallowed a few times. "I can give a statement," she said, hearing that her voice wasn't quite steady.
"You can wait if you need to," Theo prompted quietly.
"I can do it. I went out into the garden. I was looking for my cat. I saw something out of the corner of my eye. He cast the Killing Curse at me. I dodged."
The room was quiet again as Rachel tried to gather herself.
"Our wards are down," Theo added when she didn't continue. "Rachel checked them after the incident. All of our wards are down and we didn't feel them go down."
"We should have. They're designed so that I should feel them being taken down," she said.
"We know. This is a problem we've been having," Gawain said. "Is there somewhere safe you can go for a few days? I'll get someone here to put your wards back up, but it may take a day or two."
"Bill Weasley. I want Bill Weasley," Rachel said.
"That can be arranged," he agreed.
"We can stay with Rachel's father for a day or two. His home is under the Fidelius charm," Theo said.
"That's fine," Gawain said. "Rachel, you were outside. Someone cast the Killing Curse at you. You dodged."
Suddenly overcome, Rachel leaned forward and vomited. She could still feel herself shaking.
"Do you want to lie down?" Theo asked at the same time as Gawain said, "Oh dear."
Kreacher appeared, vanished the vomit with one motion and pressed a damp rag and a glass of water into her hands. "Here Miss. Miss needs help."
Rachel wiped her face and then sipped at the water, feeling her stomach roll.
"Rachel, it's alright if you'd like more time. This is a common reaction to what you've just been through," Gawain said.
She shook her head. "I saw that it was a Death Eater. And I suppose I simply just reacted. I called lightning. Which struck him. It threw his body a short distance. Theo came out after that."
"I heard the sound. It was like a loud crack in the air. I found Rachel. We checked to make sure the Death Eater was dead and we checked his identity and then called the MLE. It's Barty Crouch Junior," Theo finished for her.
"So I heard," Gawain said.
"I shouldn't have killed him. Now we don't know who he was working with or how he was taking down the wards," she said.
"It was a life or death situation and you responded accordingly. Nothing more," Gawain said pragmatically. "If the attacks continue, we'll know he was working with someone. If they don't, we'll know he was acting alone or his group disbanded."
That didn't seem good enough.
"I'm going to send my Patronus to Severus so we don't surprise him when we show up. Do you need us for anything else?" Theo checked.
"That's it. Rachel, I'll tell Sumner and Booker that you'll be away for a few days," Gawain said.
"What? Why?" she asked.
"Because you've just been through a sudden trauma and need some time off. If you were still in the MLE, I would bench you for a week, but you're not, so all I can do is implore you to take care of yourself and to give yourself some grace," he said. "Amelia and Rufus would tell you the same thing, and if you're back at the Wizengamot tomorrow, you'll have both of them in your office telling you that."
Sometimes it felt like the entire Ministry was trying to parent her when she had three perfectly good parents. "Alright," she said, deciding she'd give it a day while she dealt with the wards and the rest of the fallout of this.
"To Severus Snape. There's been a minor emergency and Rachel and I are going to come to you in the next little bit," Theo told his Patronus.
"Kreacher will pack bags for Miss and Master."
"Wait. Where is Dingbat?" she asked.
"Under Miss' bed," Kreacher said.
Rachel sighed and leaned against Theo again.
Severus' doe trotted into the room. "Come when you're ready. I'm prepared for you."
Gawain nodded as he stood. "I'm going to go check on the aurors and we'll get out of your hair."
"Thank you," Theo said.
Rachel closed her eyes and listened as Gawain left the house.
"Still dizzy?" Theo checked.
"A little."
"Why don't you let me side-along apparate you then. We don't need to end this night in a splinching."
She nodded and slowly breathed. She needed a minute before she did anything.
Severus was waiting for them when they arrived in his living room. "There was an emergency?" he asked, looking them over.
Theo set down their bags and helped Rachel over to the sofa. "A Death Eater attacked our home," he told him as they sat.
Moving to his armchair, Severus looked very concerned. "Just one?"
"We only saw one. I assume if there were more, they would have attacked us while we were stumbling around figuring out what to do. He took down our wards without us realizing it," Theo said. He wrapped one arm around Rachel's back.
She leaned against him, grateful for his presence. She couldn't stop shaking and she was freezing.
"He? We know who the Death Eater is?"
"Barty Crouch Junior," Rachel managed to say. "Apparently he's the one who has been taking down the wards for these attacks."
The room was quiet as they all seemed to take a moment to contemplate that.
"Has the MLE had any sightings of him since the end of the war?" Severus checked.
"No. No one has seen him since the end of the war. We had presumed he'd left the country under an alias," she said.
"Maybe he did and then came back," Theo suggested.
They'd never know now. Her impulsively killing him had lost them a lot of information.
"I don't suppose the MLE caught him?" Severus asked.
Rachel realized that they hadn't told him everything. "I killed him," she said shortly, feeling a tremor race through her body. Theo gently squeezed her closer in response.
"You did what you needed to do to defend yourself and Theo," Severus said after a moment.
She shook her head. "It wasn't necessary for me to kill him."
"He cast the Killing Curse at you," Theo pointed out.
"I've had the Killing Curse cast at me before without killing someone in response," she said, shaking her head and hearing the quiver in her voice. "He was not a threat to me."
"He meant to kill you," Severus said, trying to meet her eyes.
"I could have just as easily stunned him or taken his wand." She wondered how long it was going to take the MLE to realize that. If they wanted her up on charges for this, she wouldn't fight it.
"Then why didn't you?" he asked after a long moment.
Wasn't that the question of the hour? She was incredibly powerful. She knew hundreds of spells wandlessly. She was an elemental witch. Knocking him off his feet and taking his wand would have been simple. She could have neatly delivered a wanted Death Eater to the MLE for interrogation and trial.
"Rachel," Theo said.
After a moment she managed to look at him.
"No one blames you. You were attacked with life threatening force and you responded. Just like Gawain said. You didn't do anything wrong," he said, holding her gaze.
"I don't think I can agree with that."
"Feelings after death and killing are often confused, as you well know," Severus said. "It's been a stressful experience. How you feel right now will not always be how you feel."
She knew that was true. She had killed Bellatrix Lestrange and had learned to come to terms with it. Killing the Dark Lord had never bothered her conscience much. Who was she to argue with a prophecy that said she would? Besides, killing him had ended the war and it was impossible to argue that it had been the wrong thing to do.
Killing Barty Crouch Junior felt wrong. It felt like she'd made a deadly mistake in her panic. Given who she was, she couldn't afford to panic. She needed better control than that. She'd thought she'd had better control than that.
"Does it help to know that he intended to murder us in our sleep?" Theo asked.
"Not particularly." She hated the idea that she put Theo in danger just by being who she was. Theo had told her more than once that he knew what came with her life, just as he had when they were children, and he was choosing this. Sometimes Rachel wished she'd been offered a choice in what her life looked like.
"Did the MLE respond at least?" Severus asked.
"We called them after we figured out what had happened. There really wasn't any time," Theo said, shaking his head. "One moment we're sitting quietly. The next moment, boom."
"Boom?" he repeated, his eyebrows furrowed.
"I called lightning," she admitted sheepishly. "I…I don't know. I just reacted."
Severus nodded. "Not a terrible reaction in a life threatening situation."
"It is if I want the person alive to be questioned so we can find his associates," she pointed out.
"I don't particularly care if the person attacking you lives, as long as you are alive and unharmed. Parents' prerogative," he said.
Rachel sighed. "I can't stop shaking. I am freezing."
"Mild shock, I think," Theo said.
"Here, let me cover you with something and then let's get some hot tea into you. Have you eaten tonight?" Severus asked, standing and drawing his wand.
"We had dinner about an hour ago," Theo said.
"Good." Severus conjured a blanket and settled it over Rachel before applying a warming charm to it. "I'll go put the kettle on. I'll be right back. Would you like biscuits?"
"No, thank you." She didn't want to try to put anything solid in her stomach right now.
"Not for me, thanks," Theo said.
They watched as Severus left the room and they could hear his footsteps moving around in the kitchen. They listened quietly, Rachel taking in the safety of being in her childhood home. Severus had always ensured this was a safe place for her no matter what else was happening in her life.
"Rachel. No matter what happened out there, I'm grateful that you protected yourself. I'm grateful that you protected me and our home. He would have killed all of us given the opportunity."
She slowly exhaled as she imagined them going to bed oblivious to the fact that there was a Death Eater lurking in wait outside. Barty Crouch Junior was a patient man. He would have waited for her to go to sleep no matter how long it took. This night could have easily ended very differently.
"I honestly didn't expect them to come for me," she admitted.
"He should have retreated instead of fighting you in the garden. He should have apparated away and tried again later," he said.
"My back was turned. I sensed…I don't even know what I sensed, but I sensed something and I turned and the light of the Killing Curse was coming toward me, and I saw a Death Eater." Rachel exhaled again. "And I just reacted. I didn't think. I just brought my hands up and called down lightning."
Theo squeezed her again. "That's one you've always had an affinity for."
"That was the first piece of elemental magic Louisa taught me. She said people often had elements that were easier for them, and lightning and fire seem to be mine. I wish I wasn't so destructive."
"Elemental magic by its nature is destructive. People don't become elemental witches and wizards to grow gardens. People with an affinity for water aren't watering flowers, they're calling floods to drown their enemies," he pointed out.
Rachel could do some with water, but she knew there were others who could do much more. She also knew from seeing Professor Dumbledore at work that he'd had affinities with earth and air.
Severus returned with a tea tray and paused at the sofa for each of them to take a cup.
She wrapped her hands around her cup, more intending to use it to warm her fingers than to drink it.
"I'd like you to stay here until your wards are rebuilt," he said as he returned to his armchair.
"We'd appreciate that," Theo said.
"Yes, please," Rachel said. She knew the House Elves would take care of each other and the cats and owls. For right now, she was exactly where she wanted to be.
She had sent Theo to bed because he was nearly asleep already. Severus had gone upstairs to put together the bed in the guest bedroom for him. Rachel had told him that he could go to bed too if he wanted, and he said that he didn't particularly feel like sleeping. She knew he was staying up because she was staying up. If she was a better daughter, she'd go lay down in her bedroom and let Seveus go to sleep, but right now she didn't want to be alone.
As the night passed, she was able to stop shaking and calm down a little. She'd had some tea, though she'd had to use a warming charm on her cup twice, and she'd declined food.
She could see the hints of a spring sunrise out the windows as she shifted on the sofa. With the dawn of a new day came a sense of reality. She had killed someone. It was going to be in the newspaper - if not this morning's, then in the Evening Prophet. The whole thing about her fighting Death Eaters was going to be dragged out again.
A lot of her time had been spent reworking her public image. She wasn't a traumatized child. She wasn't a deadly warrior who sparred with Death Eaters. She was a researcher and a lawmaker. She was approachable and fair minded and championed the rights of those who didn't have representation. They'd be spending months doing damage control after this, and that was if the MLE didn't decide to charge her with murder.
"I'm sorry I didn't listen to you," she finally said, because out of all of her regrets, that was at least one she could apologize for.
"About what?" Severus asked, his brow furrowing briefly.
"About putting the house under the Fidelius charm. This wouldn't have happened if I had listened to you."
"The situation was perhaps more urgent than we realized," he allowed.
"Barty Crouch Junior attacking me doesn't make sense," she said, because this had been bothering her all night. "I am the last person he should want to attack. If he'd stuck to killing muggleborn families the way that he was, we never would have caught him."
"He underestimated you. Many people do, usually to their detriment."
Rachel shook her head in disbelief. "I am the most dangerous person in the country. No one should underestimate me."
"As I have said before, you are not the most dangerous person, you are the most powerful. There is a difference," he began.
"You don't understand. I hit him so hard that I blasted him through the air. I wasn't even sure where his body had landed at first," she said, hearing the panic rising in her voice. "I wasn't even trying to kill him. I just saw a Death Eater, and it was like I was back in the war all over again, and I just…I just wanted to get him away from me."
Severus nodded slightly. "It's not surprising that this happened. You have PTSD from the war, as do I. As do many people who fought in it. You saw a reminder of a battle where you were in life threatening danger and your body responded as though you were still in the war."
"It wasn't really a flashback. I knew where I was," Rachel said with a small frown.
"You knew where you were, but your body didn't. What did it feel like?" he asked.
She shifted uncomfortably as she thought about it. "It felt like I wasn't even in my body. It felt unreal. I don't even remember making the decision to attack him. Just one moment I was dodging the Killing Curse, and the next I was stunned by the lightning. I can't do that. I can't lose control like that. I'm too dangerous."
"You're not more dangerous than anyone who carries a wand."
"You know that's not true. I could kill dozens of people at once if they're grouped together," she insisted.
"So could I. So can anyone who can call Fiendfyre," Severus said flatly. "There are spells I know that I have certainly not taught you."
Part of her was intrigued about what he might not have taught her, given that he'd taught her a great deal over the years, but she didn't need any new ways of killing people. She had quite enough of those already.
"You are not wrong that you need to be careful with what you can do. But I do not see this situation happening again unless you are attacked by a Death Eater again, in which case I want you to use lethal force," he finished.
"What if I am? We know there are Death Eaters we haven't caught. He could have been working with people. We'll never know now that I've killed him."
"If the attacks continue, we'll know he was working with people and that he taught someone else to take down wards. If the attacks stop, he was working alone, or his followers are too cowardly to attack without leadership. Personally, I believe he was working alone. If he'd had allies, he would have brought them with him last night," Severus said.
There should have been more Death Eaters there. She was a difficult target. They should have surrounded her. They should have put up an anti-apparition ward and used Fiendfyre to burn them inside the building. It wouldn't have worked, she and Theo both carried portkeys, but it probably would have killed her cats and House Elves.
"I really hope he was working alone, because that means these attacks are over," she finally said. If the attacks stopped, then at least she'd accomplished something.
"I hope that as well. At a minimum, they've lost one of their lynch pins."
She nodded once. She'd be happier if Crouch Junior was heading to prison, but she couldn't change that now.
Rachel looked up at the sound of someone in the hallway and Theo came downstairs to join them. "Did you sleep at all?" she asked.
"I think I got a few hours," he said, looking somewhat weary. "I'm going to drop by the Guild this morning and take care of a few things there and then I will be back."
"Do you have time for breakfast before you go?" Severus asked.
"Yes, I can do that. Come eat something," Theo said, holding his hand out to Rachel.
She accepted it and let him guide her to her feet, even though she wasn't shaking any longer. They followed Severus into the kitchen.
"What are your plans today, Rachel?" Severus asked as he began taking eggs from the fridge.
She had the sneaking suspicion that she was going to be called into to talk to Rufus, but she'd wait and see what happened first. "I need to talk with people. I'd like to tell the people who care about us what happened before they have to read it in the Evening Prophet."
"You think it won't be in the paper this morning?" Theo asked.
"No, Gawain will have told them to keep it quiet until Amelia and Rufus could be notified. They can't keep it a secret forever, but the press isn't exactly watching the aurors to see if they bring back dead bodies in the night," she said.
"How many eggs?" Severus asked.
"Three, please," Theo said.
"Two for me," Rachel said, figuring she could manage eggs and toast. She moved to retrieve the loaf of bread while Severus put on the kettle and set a frying pan on the stove.
"I can probably be back by lunch if we want to start trying to meet with people then," Theo said.
Rachel nodded. "Draco and Ron have probably heard by now. We'll have to wait until Millie and Natalie have finished at work for them. I'll see if I can grab Neville and Sirius in the Wizengamot chambers."
"You're going in? Didn't Gawain say not to?" he asked, Severus also looking over at the question.
"It would be wise not to push yourself into work immediately, especially since you have not slept," Severus added.
"I'm not. I'm just anticipating that I'll be called in by Rufus to give an accounting, and I can drop by and check in with Booker and anyone else who is around in the process," she said. "No work, I promise. If anyone tries to give me a proposal to review, I'll give it to Booker."
"Alright," Theo said, though he looked slightly skeptical. "We can probably catch Hermione after lunch if she's in between projects. I'm not sure what Ginny's schedule is today. And I think Luna and Rolf are too far away for news to reach them."
Rachel nodded. They could catch them up when they came back to Britain for Millie's wedding.
"How would you feel about going under the Fidelius charm, just in case Crouch Junior wasn't working alone?" Severus asked.
"I've learned my lesson. We'll have you set up the Fidelius charm before we move back in," she said, giving him a sideways glance.
Severus nodded, seeming content with that.
Rachel slowly exhaled. She'd learned that lesson. Always take the protections that were offered, even when they were inconvenient.
"Rachel, the Minister and Madam Bones were wondering if you had a moment for them today. I can put them off if you're not feeling up to coming into the Ministry," Booker's voice said as his red-tailed hawk Patronus settled on the back of the sofa.
"That's me then," Rachel said as she stood.
"You can delay if you want to," Severus reminded her.
"I think Rufus and Amelia will be more worried than they already are if I don't come in," she said, readying her hand to cast the Patronus charm.
"Our home is safe even from the Minister. He cannot reach you here."
Rachel smiled at him. "That's kind, but I do want to maintain my good relationship with him. My life is much easier when I'm not disagreeing with the Minister." She only disagreed with him when it was really important and they both knew it. She'd caused him to reconsider his course only three times in the last ten years, but it had been necessary each time.
"To Booker Richmond. I'll be there in about five minutes. Please let them know I'm on my way," she said to her Patronus. Her Patronus went trotting out the window with her message.
"I'll try to be home by lunch. Rufus and Amelia are busy people, so this shouldn't take long," she told Severus.
"I'll be here," he said.
Rachel considered it for a moment and then apparated herself back to her own living room. She needed the floo if she was going into the Ministry and she didn't like to use the public floo.
Kreacher, Dobby, and Tomsi all appeared.
"Miss should not return yet. The wards are not up," Kreacher said severely.
"I'm only here briefly to use the floo," she said. "Is everything alright here? Are the cats alright?"
"Everything is fine, Miss Rachel. We feed the cats and watch them. They is behaving," Dobby said.
"You all alright?" she double checked.
"We is fine. Miss should go," Kreacher said, getting nods from the other two.
"Alright. We're with Severus if you need us," Rachel said.
She took a handful of floo powder and tossed it into the fireplace. "Ministry. Wizengamot chambers." She stepped inside, her thoughts already ahead in the Ministry as the floo swiftly moved her to the Ministry, and then she stepped out into the Wizengamot anteroom.
Nodding to the guard, Rachel quickly moved to her office, where she found Booker waiting for her.
"Rachel," Monty called from his portrait.
"Yes?" she asked, stepping so that he could see her.
"You appear to be in one piece," he said, adjusting his glasses. "Are you well?"
"Well enough," she said.
Booker let out a small exhale to show what he thought of that answer. "The Minister and Madam Bones are in her Wizengamot office at the moment."
"I'll go join them then. Did they say anything else?" she asked.
Booker raised an eyebrow. "Just an inquiry into your well-being. I told them that as far as I knew you had weathered the night."
"Something like that."
"You and Theo were not injured?" he checked.
"No. I dodged the Killing Curse and killed Crouch Junior and that's about all that happened," she told him, knowing that she was going to be telling this to many people over the next week or two.
"You know, we often bemoaned you playing professional Quidditch, but perhaps it is a good thing if it taught you to dodge the Killing Curse with such alacrity," Monty said.
"I'm sure between Quidditch and auror training my reflexes are pretty decent." Rachel knew better than to suggest as such to Severus. He had made it through her Quidditch career without too much complaint, not even saying that he had told her so when she'd been badly injured. "Do we know if Draco, or Neville, or Sirius are around?"
"I can check and let you know when you're done with the Minister," Booker said with a nod. "Anyone else you're looking for?"
"Just those three for the moment, but I'm sure people will want to check in. I'm not intending to stay long today," she warned him.
"I would prefer that as well. I'm sure you need some time to adjust to the shock," Booker said, his expression a cross between worry and sympathy.
"I'm alright. I will be alright. I'm better than I was last night." She did feel a little steadier, even though she still felt guilty and uneasy.
"I think that is a rather low bar, dear," Monty said. "Please take some time to care for yourself."
"Yes, please do," Booker agreed.
"I will. I'm going to go see Rufus and Amelia and hopefully we can get everything squared away without me winding up in front of the Wizengamot."
Booker's brow furrowed. "You can't believe they would have you up on charges?"
"I wouldn't blame them if they did. I'll be back in a little bit." She effectively ended the conversation by leaving her office. She couldn't do that with Theo or Severus, but Monty was stuck in his frame and Booker would wait until they were in private to have a discussion.
She walked down the hallway to Madam Bones' office and then knocked.
Stella opened the door, appearing grim as she looked her over. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," Rachel said, bracing herself to answer that question a lot over the next few hours.
"Only you can walk out of a fight with Barty Crouch Junior and just say that you're fine. Anyone else would be in Saint Mungo's or dead, and I absolutely do include most of the aurors in that assessment," Stella said, standing back to let her inside.
"It wasn't really a fair fight. I had all the advantages," she said, following Stella to the inner door while ignoring Alcott. She'd never gotten along with the portrait in Amelia's office - but neither did anyone else.
"That's not what I hear," Stella said as she knocked.
Rachel had found over and over that people truly could not comprehend what she could do. The majority of them had never seen an elemental witch or wizard at work. Louisa had cautioned her against showing off what she could do, which was Rachel's natural inclination anyway.
Amelia called for them to join them at Stella's knock and Rachel went inside and found Rufus and Amelia sitting at her desk. They both looked at Rachel, seeming to assess for themselves that she was uninjured. "Please have a seat," Amelia said.
Rachel did so, trying not to feel weary. "You'd like to know what happened last night?" she checked.
"Gawain already filled us in on what you said. It might not be a bad idea for you to write a report. We can say you were acting as a recalled auror," Amelia said.
She swallowed. "If you want to charge me for killing him, I won't fight it," she said, doing her best to keep her voice steady.
"Nonsense, Rachel. It was a clear cut case of self defense," Rufus said, shaking his head.
"Barty Crouch Junior was hardly a threat to me."
"He took down your wards with the intent to murder you and Theo in your bed and then cast the Killing Curse at you. I would consider that a deadly threat and say that deadly force was warranted," Amelia said, raising her eyebrows. "If you were hearing a case, is that not what you would say?"
"I am not an ordinary person. What I can do is not ordinary," Rachel began.
"And thank Merlin for that. I'm starting to suspect you might have been the only one capable of dealing with him. If we'd sent aurors against him, lives would have been lost," Rufus said. "I assume this means you don't want any sort of official commendation."
"No, I do not want to be awarded for murdering someone," she said firmly.
"Not murder, Rachel. It's just like when you were with the aurors. He was an enemy combatant," Amelia began.
"You don't understand. I could have just as easily stunned him or taken his wand. He was not a threat to me," Rachel insisted. "If an auror killed someone who wasn't a threat, you'd call it murder."
The office was quiet for a moment.
"Was there a reason you didn't stun him?" Rufus finally asked, looking concerned.
"I panicked and reacted without thinking," she admitted. "I saw a Death Eater and I panicked."
"That's understandable," Amelia said. "You might be surprised by how many of the aurors and the MLE Patrol have had the same thing happen in the months after the war."
Rufus nodded. "The war took a toll on all of us and that is still felt years later. You didn't do anything wrong, Rachel. He tried to kill you. You stopped him."
"We'll never know how he was taking down the wards," Rachel pointed out. "We don't even know if he was working alone."
"We suspect if he hadn't been working alone there would have been more Death Eaters at your home last night," Amelia said. "We'll know for sure if the attacks stop over these next few months."
"As for the ward problem, I'm sure with the Unspeakables working on it, they'll eventually suss out a solution. How are the Unspeakables these days?" Rufus asked.
"Good." Better than the Wizengamot and the Potions Guild, at least.
"Good," he said with a single nod. "Take some time. This had to be a harrowing experience. How is Theo faring?"
"He handled it well. Better than me," she said.
"I'm glad he's well. Gawain has already contacted Bill Weasley. Bill will be at your home tomorrow to put up the wards and says he has some ideas up his sleeve for enhanced wards for your home," Amelia said.
"Thank you. I'll be interested in what he has in mind. I'm also going under the Fidelius charm."
"Can't say I blame you," Rufus said.
"It might be for the best," Amelia agreed. "Take a few days off and regain your bearings."
"Yes, do. Patrick knows you'll be out for a little bit and Booker can manage things here," he said.
"I'll take a few days." She'd actually like to get some sleep before she went back into the Department. It wasn't safe to wander there with her mind clouded. "Anything else you needed me for?"
"No, that was everything. Go get some rest," Amelia said.
"Thank you," Rachel said, nodding to them and leaving the office. She said goodbye to Stella and headed back in the direction of her office. She'd check in with people here and then go home so that she and Theo could have lunch and start contacting their friends. If possible, she didn't want any of them taken by surprise by the front page headline tonight.
"Oh for fuck's sake," Rachel said upon reading the large headline on the front page of the Evening Prophet. "Who approved that?"
"'Girl-Who-Lived Saves Britain from Death Eater Threat for the Third Time,'" Theo read out loud, shaking his head.
"We don't even know if the attacks are going to stop. He might not have been working alone," she said.
"Let's sit down. Dinner will be out of the oven in thirty minutes," Severus said.
Taking the newspaper with her, Rachel sat against Theo on the sofa and they read the article together. It was mostly factual, despite the headline. There was a quote from Amelia at the end, cautioning people to maintain their wards while it was determined if that was the last of the Death Eaters.
"May I see?" Severus asked when she folded the paper.
She stood up and brought it to him before sinking back down against Theo. It had been a long day and she was tired and she was going to take a dose of her modified Dreamless Sleep potion tonight since she knew she was safe under the Fidelius.
"Do you think the Dark Lord taught Crouch Junior to bring down wards?" Theo asked when Severus was finished reading.
"That's a possibility, though I'm not convinced that was the Dark Lord's invention. I'm still partial to the theory that was Rookwood's doing. He has the background for it," he said, setting aside the paper.
"Wonder where he is," Rachel said. "He's another one we haven't seen since the Dark Lord's death."
"Rookwood is an intelligent man. He's probably under an alias and has another research position in a distant country. He was always more interested in research and information than he was torture and killing. Not to say he wasn't a skilled fighter, but it wasn't where his primary interests were," Severus said.
"Why did he join the Death Eaters then?" Theo asked.
"Power and connections, mostly. While some of the Death Eaters were there because they enjoyed torture and killing, and for many of them it was at least partially ideological, most of them were there because they wanted power. You have to remember that people believed that the Death Eaters were going to win. They nearly did. When the Dark Lord took over the Ministry, his most loyal servants would have been awarded positions as Wizengamot Members or heads of departments," he explained.
"Rookwood wanted to be department head of the Unspeakables?" Rachel checked.
"He did. He wanted to expand what they were researching to include things like blood magic and the dark arts."
"Patrick would never allow that. Also, I kind of get the impression that he'd rather be just a researcher instead of department head," she admitted.
"Hardly surprising given the Unspeakables," Severus said.
"It's really not. Then again, after my time with the Spell Crafting Guild, I'm not sure anyone really likes an admin position in a research organization," Theo said.
"It is a bit of a thankless job," Severus agreed.
Rachel did not plan to take any sort of administrative position if she could help it. Dealing with her faction was bad enough and Sirius was the one who dealt with most of the day-to-day operations of the faction. She was called in when a decision needed to be made, or they needed to decide on a direction for the faction, or if there was a problem.
"What's next?" Theo asked when the silence stretched on.
"Bill is going to be doing our wards tomorrow morning. I'm going to meet with him. Amelia said he had some new things he wanted to try and I'd like to hear about them before he applies them to the house," she said.
"Shall we perform the Fidelius charm once the wards are finished?" Severus asked.
"We can, but the wards will take several hours," she warned them.
"I don't mind. I'd like to see what Bill is doing as well," he said.
"I'll join you. I told the Guild I wouldn't be in tomorrow," Theo said.
She nodded. That was just fine with her. They'd get the wards settled and then they could go home. She missed her cats.