Champions

Amelia

Sebastian was pale and shaking by the time he left for the British Ministry of Magic, and it was all he could do to keep his stomach from rebelling. In all the long years he spent fighting depraved Dark Wizards as a younger man, he had never seen such horrors! He had some serious words for whoever left the boy there, and was bound and determined to get to the bottom of it!

The downside was that all roads led to Albus Dumbledore, and that was a problem.

But that was an issue for another day, however; at the moment he was more concerned about finalizing his plans. Based on the memories of the Dursleys, Harry truly was as good-natured as Fleur believed him to be, and her comments about his age suddenly made horrifying sense. The abuse that those despicable people had heaped upon him was extensive and painful.

Between his anger, his disgust, and the fact that he was sick to his stomach, he was in no mood to put up with bureaucracy today. He completely ignored the wand checker – a privilege few could get away with – and headed straight for the Auror office. When he reached it, he bypassed the spluttering secretary and made his way straight to the back.

He had been here many times as an Auror on foreign exchange, and was quite well acquainted with the current Director. While he himself had moved on to politics, Amelia Bones had risen through the ranks of the male-dominated profession and done quite well for herself. She was a fair-minded woman who was all about protecting the public, which made her the perfect person to go to.

He knocked on her door just as a young, flamboyantly-dressed Auror caught up with him.

"Excuse me sir!" she called. "You can't be in here without an appointment, I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to leave!"

Amused in spite of himself, Sebastian turned to her with a quirked eyebrow. "And you are?"

The girl's hot pink hair practically wilted in confusion at the question, and Sebastian wondered if it was a trick of the light. "Er, Auror Tonks, sir," she frowned. "Really, you'll need to come with me."

Before he could respond, the door behind him opened to reveal Amelia herself. Her eyes widened slightly upon seeing him, and then narrowed when they landed on Tonks. Finally, she smirked.

"Do you have to give my Aurors such a hard time, Sebastian?" she asked him with audible amusement.

"That is 'alf the fun, Amelia," he grinned, genuinely pleased to see his old friend. "Though I 'ave to admit, your latest batch is certainly more... colorful." Smirking himself, he added, "I believe she chased me up three floors before she caught me."

Amelia snorted in amusement.

"Erm, you know each other?" asked Tonks hesitantly, and this time Sebastian was certain that her hair wilted! It was now almost flat against her scalp, perfectly mirroring her nervous state!

Amelia nodded and resumed the stern façade that she almost always wore in public. "Auror Tonks," she offered, "Meet Retired French Master Auror Sebastian Delacour." Turning back to Sebastian, she added, "Nymphadora here is our newest graduate from the program."

Tonks went wide-eyed at the introduction, and he caught the edge of a wince at the use of her first name, which he filed away for future reference. It was always good to have a little extra ammunition about people; you never knew when you might run into them on opposite sides of the negotiating table. Outwardly, he just shook her hand.

"Take care of yourself, Auror Tonks," he said seriously. "It's a dangerous world."

"So what brings you here, Sebastian?" asked Amelia. "It's been an awfully long time since you've graced these halls."