The lift dinged and Harry and Susan were escorted out by Proudfoot. They were right in front of a set of doors that led into the Auror Department. The doors were open, and a constant stream of people rushed in and out of the room. Suddenly, a familiar face poked around the corner and suddenly rushed forward.
"Harry!" Tonks shouted when she caught sight of his scorched robes. She pushed past the group of Aurors clustered around him and immediately started checking him over for injuries.
"I'm fine," Harry assured her. He frowned at her unusual, deep-blue hair. Harry had been around Tonks long enough to understand the subtle emotional and mental changes that could impact a Metamorphmagus's ability to control their appearance. Blue was a classic sign that Tonks was puzzled about something or thinking deeply on a subject
"I'm fine too," Susan added sarcastically, finally making Tonks realise that she was there too.
Tonks gave Susan a sheepish smile. "Sorry."
They were fine now that they were up in the Auror Department. With the Fiendfyre snuffed out, Proudfoot and the Aurors under his command had led Harry and Susan to the lift and then back up to the Auror Department to get cleaned up and checked out. Their small cuts and scrapes had already been cleaned up by a healer, including Harry's broken knuckles from when he'd punched that Death Eater's mask.
However, despite the fact that they were fine, the Auror Department was anything but. As the three of them were ushered through the mess of workers, Harry grimaced at how panicked and uncoordinated everyone seemed.
Everyone was in an uproar as Aurors and various ministerial support staff rushed around the building in order to deal with all of the high-priority issues that popped up all at once. The fiendfyre in the Beast Division Offices of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures had caused a substantial amount of damage and weakened the magically-enhanced support structures that allowed the Ministry building to remain stable underground. It was going to be hellish trying to fix any damage to the ward scheme and the underlying structure of the building, but that wasn't the only issue that had popped up.
On the way up in the lift, Proudfoot had caught Harry and Susan up on what had happened since they'd gone down there. During the attack, the members of the Beast Division Offices had been put under the Imperius curse and were sent to wreak havoc throughout the Ministry. One died by an Auror who was acting in self-defense, while the rest were subdued. Still, they had managed to cause quite a bit of vandalism throughout the Atrium and several other levels of the Ministry.
"The Minister's in a meeting with Dawlish right now," Tonks explained to Harry as they wove their way through the crowd of workers towards the back offices in the Auror Department. "He's not happy."
"I wouldn't be either if the Ministry was attacked under my watch," Susan muttered as she squeezed past a couple of clerks who were carrying tall stacks of parchment.
Tonks's eyes flickered around the area, looking for any intrusive ears, but everyone seemed to be quite focused on the pandemonium around them. "I need to talk to you two."
Tonks grabbed their robes and pulled them into a nearby office. It was empty, save for the clutter on the desk. Tonks quickly shut the door behind them and the noise of panicked workers faded. "Look, Kingsley's pissed that all this happened," Tonks explained quickly. "He yelled at Dawlish in front of everyone for not being more prepared in the case of an emergency like this, but then he cooled down a bit and decided to talk it out with him privately."
"Probably gonna let him off with a slap on the wrist," Harry snorted.
"Exactly," Tonks nodded. "But, before the Minister arrived, Dawlish was trying to organize people together to deal with the imperiused workers who were causing chaos throughout the Ministry. It was a lot of what you'd expect: micromanaging everyone and handing off most of the actual work to the Senior Aurors. But then we got word that there was a fire in the Beasts Division offices, and, well, Dawlish almost seemed relieved when he heard that."
"Relieved?" Susan repeated, frowning. "Why would he be relieved?"
Tonks shrugged awkwardly and her blue hair rippled as it turned a shade darker. "I don't know, but it literally looked like a weight left his shoulders. It was really weird."
"Did he have any idea that Susan and I were there?" Harry asked.
"Maybe; I'm not sure," Tonks answered. "No one said it aloud, but you know as well as I do that he likes to keep tabs on you, especially since you're out from under his thumb while you're working with Susan and Director Bones."
Harry blew air out of his mouth. Despite their differences, surely Dawlish didn't want him killed. Though, maybe Dawlish would see it as a thorn leaving his side if Harry couldn't show him up or interfere with the department's operations anymore. Harry wasn't quite sure.
"Maybe it had something to do with Amos being there," Susan suggested. "After all, Dawlish had been being really hard on Amos over something lately, and Amos was acting really weird with all of his documents."
"What documents?" Tonks asked.
Susan pulled out the shrunken pile of documents that she had stuffed inside her robes. "Amos tried to burn these in his office," she told Tonks. "He's not well in the head, so he's off at St Mungo's right now. I doubt we'll get any answers from him anytime soon, but these might explain why Dawlish was relieved that the offices were burning down."
"Maybe," Harry said, willing to grant her that her logic was sound. "But we won't know until we look through the documents."
"Right," Susan nodded. "We can start on it as soon as we get out of here."
"Before that," Tonks interjected quickly. "Director Bones wants to speak to both of you. She wants to hear your accounts of what happened and to discuss something else with you."
"Probably how the meeting with Shingleton went," Harry murmured.
"Well, let's not keep her waiting then," Susan said as she started for the door.
The noise of the Auror Department returned, and Tonks guided Harry and Susan through the chaos again. Thankfully, they didn't have to go far to reach the conference room that Amelia was sitting in. Daphne was there too, looking every bit like the prim and proper politician she was.
Tonks opened the door. "Ma'am, they're here," she called in before stepping aside so that Harry and Susan could enter.
"We'll talk later," Harry told Tonks.
She gave him a sharp nod and closed the door behind him and Susan before returning to her duties.
"Sit," Amelia said to them, directly cutting to the chase. "We have a lot to discuss."
Harry nodded and sat down beside Daphne, and Susan sat on his other side. Daphne was giving him a curious, examining look up and down and raised an eyebrow at his disheveled state. Harry just shrugged in reply.
"You'll be pleased to know that Lord Shingleton has agreed to support Miss Greengrass's emergency proposal to take over her family's seat in the Wizengamot and become the new head of the Greengrass family in exchange for supporting one of his bills," Amelia explained to Harry and Susan. "If everything proceeds as planned, the proposal will pass tomorrow during the morning Wizengamot session. After the proposal has been passed, Miss Greengrass will remain in the Wizengamot until the lunch recess at which time she will bring the two of you to her family's manor in order to obtain any documents that could prove her father's association with the remaining Death Eaters and Bellatrix Lestrange."
Well, that was a relief at least. With any luck, Cyrus Greengrass and Nerys Orpington would be behind bars in a day or two, and Harry and Susan would have an actionable lead on Bellatrix.
"However," Daphne interjected as she leaned forward. "Things might not be so simple anymore."
A somber tone filled the room.
"How's that?" Susan asked.
Daphne gestured at Susan and Harry. "The attack on the Ministry makes the Minister look weak—even more weak than he already seems."
Amelia grumbled in annoyance at the comment but didn't disagree.
"There'll be articles out tomorrow about the attack, and everyone will be questioning the Minister's leadership," Daphne continued. "It doesn't help that the Auror Department is in chaos after the first attack on Ministry soil since the war or that the Minister yelled at Head Auror Dawlish in front of everyone. The Wizengamot's going to go for his throat tomorrow, and it's possible that some people might jump oppose anything he supports as an act of protest against his leadership."
"Surely they wouldn't vote against their conscience just because of this," Susan said.
Daphne's lips quirked upwards. "Sounds to me like you don't know politicians very well."
"In any case," Amelia interrupted. "Myself, Daphne, and the Minister are going to be stuck shoring up our supporters tonight to make sure everything goes smoothly tomorrow. The Minster is prepared to throw all of his political capital behind this because if you two manage to take down Bellatrix Lestrange, it'll be a big win for him and for the Ministry."
"We'll get the job done once we get the documents from Greengrass Manor," Harry confirmed seriously.
"Good," Amelia said, rolling up a sheet of parchment in front of her and tucking it inside of her robes. "Now then, it's time for us all to get to work."
Everyone stood up from the table at the dismissal. As Harry stood and started for the door, both Susan and Daphne reached out to grab his arm. They both froze in place when they saw what the other was doing, but neither released Harry's arm after several awkward seconds.
"Harry, stay behind for a moment, would you?" Amelia spoke up, interrupting the awkward moment.
"Sure," Harry nodded, his gaze flickering between Susan and Daphne. "I'll catch up with both of you later."
"Tomorrow morning, before the Wizengamot meeting," Daphne grimaced. "I'll be busy the rest of the day dealing with this mess."
"I'll meet you outside the Wizengamot Chambers then," Harry replied, subtly turning his body to briefly obscure Susan from view.
Daphne looked like she wanted to say something, but the look vanished as she put on a purely neutral expression. "See you then," she promised, letting her fingers gently trail down his arm as she turned and left.
As Daphne exited the room, Harry turned around to Susan, who was watching Daphne's retreating back. "What was that?" He whispered.
"What was what?" Susan replied with a challenging eyebrow.
Merlin, he hated playing these games with her. "You know what."
"I'll be waiting for you outside, Harry," Susan said as she let go of him.
Harry sighed in frustration. He didn't know what that little moment between the two women was about, but he didn't like it.
"Sit," Amelia said to him with a slight smirk on her lips, undoubtedly due to the awkward situation she had just witnessed. Harry doubted that the smirk would last long though if this turned into a bigger problem. For all her seriousness and professionalism, everyone knew that Amelia had a soft spot for her niece. She never wanted to see her hurt.
Harry sat back down in his recently vacated seat.
Amelia steepled her fingers together and peered over them towards Harry. "Last time we spoke, you told me about how Dawlish was retaliating against you over the Briar's Thorn incident as well as your lack of confidence in his leadership of the Auror Department. I put my faith in you by allowing you to work under Susan on this case, and so far you have met my expectations."
"I appreciate that—" Harry began to speak, but Amelia held up her hand to stop him.
"However, you can imagine my surprise this morning when I learned that Auror Proudfoot is investigating you over several cases of alleged sabotage regarding Head Auror Dawlish," Amelia said pointedly.
Her piercing gaze dug into Harry, and he struggled not to shrink back from it. There was a reason Amelia got to where she was today; she was a powerful, intimidating, and intelligent witch, and she didn't tolerate any nonsense from those beneath her.
Harry knew that there was no sense in lying here. Amelia clearly knew that something was afoot, but Harry didn't know how much she knew. He'd have to tread carefully here. As much as he respected Amelia, she was loyal to her vision of the Ministry, and that vision didn't include the internal sabotage of a Head Auror, regardless of how damaging or incompetent he might be.
"I didn't think it was worth mentioning," Harry admitted honestly. "Proudfoot's been investigating a lot of people. He only mentioned to me once that he had started to look into me too, but it seemed to me like he didn't have much to go on—he even agreed as much. I figured he'd be looking into more realistic suspects by now."
"He made it clear to me that you were still a suspect," Amelia replied. Harry could practically see her mind working to try to analyze him and piece things together. "I sidelined him because of how important you are in this case to get Bellatrix, but I don't appreciate being forced into a position like this."
"I'm sorry, but I can't help whatever Proudfoot wants to believe," Harry pointed out.
Amelia paused for a moment. "Proudfoot laid out his case for me."
"And?"
"And it is very persuasive."
Harry felt his blood run cold. There was no way Proudfoot had anything concrete on Harry; if he did, Harry would already be in a holding cell. But maybe he had something else, enough clues that formed a pattern that implicated Harry without directly pinning him to any singular event.
What could Proudfoot have found? Harry was always careful with his work. He did a little subtle magic here and there that couldn't be traced back to him, and Tonks was just as careful too. Maybe someone had caught something in a photo at a press conference or something that showed that it was a spell that caused Dawlish to make a fool of himself, but surely there wasn't anything that showed Harry or Tonks's involvement. Maybe Proudfoot didn't even have that.
"I didn't do anything that Proudfoot is accusing me of," Harry told Amelia passionately, letting some of his frustration leach out into his tone. "At least nothing that I know he's accused me of."
"Let me make the case clear for you then," Amelia said, laying her hands flat on the table. "Proudfoot has enough evidence that someone has been sabotaging Dawlish in public to make him look like a fool. It's been a coordinated effort that has gone on for long enough that he found a noticeable pattern. If it was a Death Eater or some other enemy of the state, they would've resorted to more extreme measures by now. It has to be someone who is slowly trying to ruin Dawlish's reputation as a competent professional."
Frankly, Dawlish was doing a good enough job of that himself; Harry was just helping the man along.
"Either this is being done by someone with a vendetta against Dawlish or someone who stands to gain from his humiliation," Amelia continued. "Or both. We know that Dawlish isn't a well-loved man and that there are many people who'd like nothing more than to see him gone from the Ministry, but few of them have ever been in the right places at the right times to sabotage Dawlish like he's been. You, however, fit the case of someone with both a vendetta against the man for how he's treated you and who stands to gain from his humiliation."
"The evidence doesn't work!" Harry shouted angrily. Amelia was watching him carefully now. "This has apparently been going on for months now, far longer than the month and a half since Dawlish and I got into a row over the Briar's Thorn incident. Secondly, like I told Proudfoot, if I wanted power in the Ministry, I could have used my fame as the Vanquisher of Voldemort to get an important position or taken up my family's seat in the Wizengamot."
"And yet, according to Proudfoot, you're the most likely suspect," Amelia replied quietly. "And I've never known Proudfoot to make claims like this when he was wrong. Even when it was all just based off of a gut feeling, he was always right in the end. I've known the man for years now, and he's never led me astray like this before."
"I fought to defend this country from the darkest wizard Britain has ever faced," Harry argued. "Do you seriously believe that I'd attempt to jeopardize our post-war stability by damaging our law enforcement?"
Amelia didn't say anything for several seconds. How could she? She was clearly torn between two competing veins of logic.
Ultimately, Amelia had no way of knowing the anger and frustration Harry held in his heart. Britain didn't change as much as it should have after the war; pure-bloods still held too much power over muggleborns and half-bloods, bigotry and the dark arts still flourished, and Death Eaters were being treated with leniency under Kingsley's government. It was like everyone wanted to brush over what had happened and avoid looking at the causes of the war. The circumstances that allowed Voldemort and the Death Eaters to flourish were still alive and well in the seedy underbelly of Britain, and Dawlish and Kingsley weren't doing anything to change it.
Finally, Amelia let out a sigh. "I am sorry to have questioned you over this. Susan vouches for you, and that should be enough for me. I'll talk to Proudfoot about this. If he can't give me anything concrete, then I'll ask him to move on from you."
Harry wanted to let out a sigh of his own, but he didn't want to jinx anything. "Thank you, Director."
Amelia nodded but her eyes were distant as she lost herself in thought.
A/N: Hey, thanks for reading! If you are interested in reading more or supporting me, check out at p atreon .com(slash) ashox