Albus sat in his office and was in quite a conundrum. He had meticulously planned for years to keep Peter Pettigrew hidden from Voldemort and his followers, so that he could be manipulated into assisting the Dark Lord return when the time was right. He was far from having that plan be realized, years behind in fact, and now he no longer had an actual servant of the Dark Lord within his grasp. His plans would have to be changed once again.

He had been tempted to Obliviate everyone that had seen Peter's body the night before and decided against it, since Minerva had a bit of resistance to it, due to her Animagus status. He might have still done it, had she not immediately informed the Ministry of the discovery. Finding a dead wizard ten years after his supposed death was quite the feat. Finding out he was an unregistered Animagus was even worse. That wasn't what concerned Albus, however.

The problem with finding Peter after all this time, was Sirius Black. Harry's godfather.

Albus was the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamut, or the legal authority that dealt with laws and punishments for the magical community. He had signed off on the Minister of Magic's completely unlawful imprisonment of Sirius Black without a trial ten years ago, for the death of Pettigrew and a dozen muggles, all because he needed to have the wizard out of the way to make sure that Harry was raised away from the wizarding world and with blood relatives.

He knew it was a horrible thing to have done; but, he absolutely needed Harry ignorant of everything in their world for as long as possible. It had almost worked. He had had the boy watched on occasion and knew that he was being treated unfairly and that his self esteem was as low as possible. It was the best possible situation. It was also the perfect breeding ground for someone to go in, sweep him off his feet and rescue him, and gain his undying trust and devotion.

That part didn't quite work out so well. Hagrid did swoop in, scared the boy, then Professor Quirrell was killed. By the time Harry showed up at school, he wasn't the impressionable boy Albus had hoped he would be. He was also quite smart and the few times he had used Legilimens on him, he gained nothing except the spells constantly going through the boy's head as well as cleaning things.

Now this had to happen. Albus thought as he took off his fake glasses and rubbed his face. He hated wearing the damn things; but, they gave him the air of a wise person and that was essential to keeping his image intact. If people started to doubt that he was the all-powerful wizard that he was, they might not listen to him when he tried to rally them again against the next rise of Voldemort.

Albus already had three letters from the Ministry, one of which was a howler that yelled at him in the voice of Amelia Bones, the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. She complained about not letting her and her Auror teams scour the castle on a monthly basis. He had denied her each time she asked, because the last thing he needed were Aurors specialized in discovering secrets into a castle that was filled with them.

The letter from the Minister of Magic was a politely worded admonishment for allowing a class four dangerous creature into the school, which was the Cerberus dog called Fluffy. The third letter was the worst one, because it was from the International Confederation of Wizards and it asked him, in no uncertain terms, to retire as the Supreme Mugwump. He would never give that up, since having the influence internationally was what he would need to muster the proper response to fight Voldemort when he returned.

At the moment, he was waiting for the inevitable visit by Amelia and her Aurors to retrieve Peter Pettigrew's body. It was to be entered into evidence and investigated, which meant he was going to have to step in again to protect the Weasleys from it. He didn't regret bringing the large family into his machinations, even though he had to agree to pay for the tuition for every child of theirs to attended Hogwarts.

It was a small price to pay for loyalty and the promise of future fighters for the cause. The two oldest, Bill and Charlie, were already highly regarded in their fields and were fine additions to the Order. Molly had kept her word and raised them right. It's just too bad she had messed up with the twins. They were a bit too troublesome and mischievous to be proper members and would only have supporting roles, at best. That was fine, though. Everyone had their roles to play, the same as he did.

Albus slipped on his glasses and gently stroked Fawkes as he passed the phoenix' perch. It let out a squawk and he smiled. “Yes, old friend. Intruders. Unfortunately, they are ones we must welcome.”

The phoenix settled down and rested. Soon it would molt and then it would burst into flames. It was always an event for Albus to see, even though he had seen it hundreds of times. It always happened on the phoenix's birthday every year and he looked forward to it each and every time.

Albus left his office at a fast walk and because of his long robes, it looked like he was gliding across the floor. It wasn't until he went down to the first floor that he noticed a distinct change in the stone of the floor and the walls. The ground floor was the same and he told himself to ask Argus what he had been doing to make the stone look so close to new.

“Hello, Headmaster.” Amelia Bones said as she walked in through the large oak doors.

“Ah, Amelia. A pleasant surprise.” Albus said in a jovial tone. “I see you've brought Kinglsey and John as well.”

Amelia sighed. “We are Aurors, Headmaster. Using our first names is disrespectful, especially since we are here in an official capacity.”

Albus smiled. “But I've known you all since you attended school.” He said. “Calling you Bones, Shacklebolt and Dawlish doesn't feel like the proper thing to do.”

“Well, it is.” Amelia said. “I assume you took the body to the hospital wing.”

Albus looked around to see if anyone else heard her. “Please, not so loud. No one else knows there was a death on the premises.”

Amelia huffed. “You are coddling them too much, Headmaster.” She said and walked by him. “I brought a special award for Missus Norris. Where is she?”

“I believe she is with the caretaker.” Albus said and started to follow her with the other other two Aurors behind them.

“Meow.” Missus Norris said as she came around the corner.

“There's the cat of the hour.” Amelia smiled as she came to a stop and knelt. “The Ministry thanks you for your efforts to protect the students.” She said and took out a fat fake mouse. “Please accept this as a reward.”

Missus Norris looked at the simple cat toy with concern and then at Amelia.

Amelia chuckled. “No, it's not filled with poison. There's only a large cat treat inside.”

In the next moment, there was a flash of sharp claws, the toy was torn in half, and Missus Norris walked away with the large treat in her mouth.

“She showed you.” Shacklebolt said with a chuckle.

“I told you that you should have just brought the treat.” Dawlish said.

“I needed to see how she managed to catch a large sewer rat.” Amelia said and stood as she vanished the cat toy's remains. “Now I know.” She walked on and went to the hospital wing.

*

“He looks absolutely pitiful.” Dawlish said half an hour later as they carried the shrouded body out of the castle under a Disillusionment charm.

“You try living as a rat for ten years.” Kingsley said. “I'm surprised he's not just skin and bones.”

“He was well taken care of and was eating constantly.” Amelia said with a sigh. “I remember Bill telling me about his brother Percy's pet rat, Scabbers.”

“You're joking.” Dawlish said, his voice full of disbelief. “A pure blood wizarding family was harbouring a suspected Death Eater all this time?”

“Where else would be a good spot to hide from scrutiny?” Amelia asked. “I'd like to know how he never gave himself away all these years after becoming a family pet.”

“I'd suggest looking into the Weasleys.” Kinglsey said and then sighed. “It won't work, though. Arthur's one of the most loyal members of the Ministry. We're not going to find anything on him.”

“Or his family.” Dawlish said. “They are almost too clean, you know?”

“Oh, yes. I know.” Amelia said as they passed through the gates of the castle grounds. “Here's good enough.”

“I am not apparating with it.” Dawlish said and took two steps away. “I am not getting splinched with a dead rat.”

Kingsley laughed. “You need more practice, Dawlish. You can only splinch yourself.”

“...and what you're wearing and carrying.” Dawlish said. “See you back at the office.” He said and disappeared.

“Wimp.” Kingsley said and stepped close to Amelia and the body. “Shall I or do you want the honors?”

“I'll side-along.” Amelia said and tucked her arm around Kingsley's waist and looked up at his tall stature.

“Careful, there. I might think you're wanting more than a quick apparition.” Kingsley said with a smile. His bright white teeth contrasted with his very dark skin.

“I am your boss.” Amelia said and put her other hand on the body.

“You know, I have a thing for women in authority.” Kingsley admitted.

Amelia couldn't help but smile at him and then they disappeared.