Author's note: it's been eight years; I think we all know I don't own Harry Potter, so I'm not going to include the disclaimer anymore.
Also, as per usual, my language translations come from Google Translate, so I apologise for any butchering of the languages used in this story.

Read on, oh faithful ones...

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Chapter Forty Five

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Warning: this chapter is heavy with torture and unpleasant scenes. Please do not read on if it will make you uncomfortable.

...

Present

Amelie blinked at her reflection in the mirror, not truly recognising herself. She was far too thin; her body lacked any real definition; her fingernails were either chipped, bloodied, or missing entirely; her limbs were covered in bruises, and where she wasn't bruised, she was pale in a way that indicated limited access to sunlight for far too long. She had no idea how long she'd been here, nor how long it had been since she'd seen sunlight.

The most disconcerting part was the red hair, Amelie decided, tugging at one of the bright strands. It was an awkward movement as her wrists were bound together in front of her body.

"It's not right," Amelie muttered.

"French, Amelie," a voice reminded her from the shadows.

"Ce n'est pas normal," she repeated.

"Your hair?" another voice asked in a soft whisper.

"Oui," Amelie agreed.

"We can fix that," Whisper promised.

Shadow stepped out of the darkness and guided Amelie away from the mirror and out of the small room, down a corridor, and into a room filled with the smell of chemicals that made her eyes burn and water.

"Almost done, Phoenix. Just relax now," Shadow said, sitting her into a chair and tilting Amelie back towards the sink.

Ginny sighed and closed her eyes as warm water was poured back over her brunette hair.

...

An unknown time ago

"The condition is that I get a new call sign. I'm sorry, Pansy, but I hate Red Fox."

Incredulous at the request, Pansy laughed. "Change it to whatever you want, Ginevra."

Ginny smiled at Pansy's incredulous laughter, then her smile faded. "We need to discuss this properly, don't we? It's not just a matter of seeing Shadow and Whisper; they can only do so much, and if I'm going back..." she sighed heavily. "I know Jacques; he won't believe that I suddenly got amnesia after the building collapsed, and then just so happen to remember everything now. If Project Serpent have redone all of the work Ginevra destroyed, he'll be suspicious if I arrive now at the tail-end."

Pansy sighed at the implication and nodded. "I know, but this time we have someone on the inside. He's willing to provide information for protection, but we have no way of knowing whether his information is actually worth something without you checking it over first. If you go back to Avenir, then he can help smooth over your return."

Ginny frowned at this new information. "Who is he?"

"Marcel. It seems the deaths of his best friends was cause enough for him to seek out safe-haven. He's agreed to testify against them."

Ginny was surprised at this. She had always suspected that Marcel had been sincere about his crush on Odette rather than the witches' man everyone else thought him to be, but she hadn't known that he'd considered Amelie to be his best friend as well. She wondered if that would change when he realised that Amelie was neither dead nor really Amelie.

"What do you think Jacques will believe: you being captured and released, or you being captured and escaping? No one took credit to Avenir's destruction, but we can fix that easily enough," Pansy said, as if creating groups to blame for destroying random buildings on the outskirts of France was an everyday occurrence.

Perhaps, for her, it was.

"He knows how powerful Amelie was, so escaping might be an option if she got hold of someone's wand. Maybe a mistake could be made, especially after this long being a prisoner," Ginny murmured to herself.

"Are you two actually coming, or do Blaise and I need to defile the library again?" Draco asked, grinning.

"Again? What... Actually, no, I don't want to know," Pansy said, pinching the bridge of her nose.

Draco's grin faded when he saw their expressions. "What's going on?"

"I'll tell you in the library," Pansy said, nodding for him to go ahead.

"You said that ten minutes ago, Pans," Draco muttered, but returned to the library.

This time, Pansy and Ginny actually followed him.

Neither Draco nor Blaise were happy that Ginny had to leave again. Draco paced back and forth, looking as though he was trying to come up with an argument for her not to leave, or at least, for him and Blaise to go with her.

"When are you leaving?" Blaise asked, sounding as reluctant as Draco looked.

"I'm not sure. Whisper and Shadow need to work on me first. I can't go back like this," Ginny said.

"What, healthy and unharmed?" Draco snapped.

"Yes, actually. I need to go back and be trusted by Jacques, by everyone at Avenir. If they had any idea that I was the one to bring them down, then Shadow and Whisper's work would be a walk in the park."

"We saw the memory that convinced Pansy, Gin, we know that," Blaise said. He caught Draco's hand as he passed by again, tugging his boyfriend onto his lap. "We know that Gin needs to go back, right, Dray?"

"We just got her back, Blaise," Draco said, words muffled against the curve of Blaise's shoulder. "I don't... I can't do it again. Please. Someone else can go, anyone other than Gin. What about a Polyjuice Potion?" he suggested desperately.

Ginny shook her head. "They would look like me, not Amelie. Besides, they won't have Amelie's memories and experiences, even if they could speak French. I'm the only one who can do this, Draco. I don't want to leave either," she admitted, her voice soft.

"Then don't. We'll just go kill the bastard and that'll be it!" Draco said, turning to face Ginny and Pansy from inside Blaise's embrace.

Pansy sighed and shook her head. "We can't, Draco. Their work needs to be destroyed as well."

"Again, you mean? Look how well that turned out last time!" he snapped.

"Dray," Blaise murmured, fingers digging into Draco's biceps to keep him seated.

"Don't Dray me, Blaise! This... doesn't make any sense! It's just going to happen all over again and we'll probably lose Gin again as well. I can't. Blaise, I can't. I won't."

"You're not going to lose me. I mean it. Draco, please, believe me. You won't lose me," Ginny said, moving to cup his cheek.

"You said that last time as well," Draco said, his eyes closed and voice breaking.

"Ginevra's going to destroy Avenir's work again, as you said. Last time, we - I - didn't know how far Avenir reached within the French Ministry; I do now, so once the evidence is collated, Avenir will be destroyed once and for all. Besides, Ginevra will also have a chance to find out what happened to Skeleton. Skeleton's family needs an answer or closure at the very least," Pansy added, her tone not allowing for any further conversation.

"Fuck. This... This isn't fair."

Behind Draco, Blaise snorted. "When is anything fair, love?"

Draco ignored him and grabbed Ginny's hands. "Can you promise we won't lose you again, Gin love?"

"You can't promise that, Gin. You don't have to promise that," Blaise said firmly, tugging Draco back against his chest. "Think about this, love. You can't make Gin promise this; we don't know what will happen in the time she's away. We both know that a broken promise is worse than none at all."

Draco sagged back against Blaise's chest and closed his eyes tightly.

"Whisper and Shadow will be expecting you this evening, Ginerva. You have the day to do whatever you want," Pansy said after a moment of silence.

"Th-thank you, Pansy," Ginny said, her voice thick. "Blaise, Dray? Take me home?"

Blaise kissed Draco's cheek, grabbed both his and Ginny's hands, and Side Apparated them home.

...

Present

"Phoenix? Can you check this is the right shade?" Whisper asked, prompting Ginny to open her eyes once more.

Shadow transfigured a handheld mirror for her and held it up, Whisper lighting their wand and ensuring that Ginny could see the hair from different angles.

"Plus foncé. Pas beaucoup," Amelie replied. (Darker. Not a lot.)

Shadow nodded, measuring and mixing some more chemicals together. Handing the bowl to Whisper, they were both silent as the mixture was carefully applied to Ginny's hair.

As the mix was massaged into her hair and heat applied for it to set, Ginny thought back to the aftermath of the fall of Avenir.

...

Almost three days after Ginevra's extraction from Avenir found her in Pansy's library. She'd slept for the better part of those three days, exhausted in every way possible: emotionally, physically, magically. Her wounds and bruises were starting to clear, but most of the larger ones were still there, though Ginevra was glad they no longer ached.

"Would you like me to contact your brother? Or Storm and Snow? They've been eagerly anticipating your arrival for quite some time now," Pansy said.

Her lips quirked at the thought of Draco and Blaise's insistent questions over every update she provided them about Ginevra's mission. What did she mean that Ginevra was doing this; what about that; was she really all right; who was this bastard Jacques?

To Pansy's surprise, Ginevra shook her head firmly. "No. I can't put them at risk. It's likely that my disappearance from Avenir will implicate me. There wasn't enough evidence of my supposed death left in the ruins. Avenir - Jacques - will look into me when they realise this; they'll find something that leads them back here. I can't... I can't let that happen."

Pansy raised an eyebrow. "You honestly think they'll find something? I set up your persona as Amelie personally, Ginevra."

Ginevra looked Pansy in the eye; the swelling had gone down but she was still bruised and the purplish-yellow colouring was a stark contrast against her pale skin. "Yes, Jacques will. He won't stop if he thinks I'm still alive. In his fucked up way, he thinks he loves me, Amelie; he will do whatever he has to do to find her again."

Pansy frowned at her certainty. "All right. We can leave something in the Avenir ruins so no one would ever think you're alive. I'll ensure we have enough Skele-Grow potions ready," she said, starting to write on a parchment.

Ginevra nodded firmly. "One more thing, Pans?"

Her pleading tone had Pansy looking up from her parchment. The last time Ginevra had sounded like this, she had requested immediate extraction and destroyed Avenir. The tone sent a chill up Pansy's spine, though she didn't show it as she waited for Ginevra to continue.

"I need you to Obliviate me."

"I beg your pardon?" Pansy asked, stunned.

"When... If Jacques or Avenir find me, I need to be innocent. I can't remember any of this; they'll get it out of me. I need to forget," Ginevra said firmly.

"You said the same thing in your debriefing, Ginevra. You were being paranoid then, why is now any different?" Pansy asked.

"I haven't been just sleeping these last three days, Pans. I've been formulating a plan, and most of that plan involves me not remembering a thing."

Pansy set her quill down and sat back in her seat, considering Ginevra for a long moment. "You're not just talking about Avenir and Amelie, are you?"

"No. I need to forget everything, Pansy. The last three years, they can't get it from me if I don't remember any of it."

"Do you know how much it costs to train a Cloffice agent, Ginevra? How much time and money you're going to waste by Obliviating these memories?"

Ginevra's lip twitched slightly. "Yes, actually; you've told me often enough."

Pansy sighed and rubbed her temples. "Draco and Blaise are going to kill me if I agree to this."

"I'll write them a letter," Ginevra said.

"A letter? Oh, Ginevra, if you honestly think they'll be appeased by a letter, you've got another think coming."

"I know, Pans. But I also know that if I see them, I won't do it. I don't want to do this, but I have to. It's not paranoia; I need to keep them safe. They'll understand that."

Pansy shook her head. "Merlin's balls, Ginevra. You're putting me between a rock and a hard place, here. I... I'm going to need more convincing than this, Ginevra. Just that you might be found by Avenir isn't enough to Obliviate three years of memories and training."

"It should be," Ginevra said, her voice barely a whisper. "Give me a Pensieve; I'll change your mind in less than an hour."

Again, Pansy was surprised by Ginevra's certainty. Flicking her wand, one of her bookcases slid to the side to reveal a glowing Pensieve. Another flick of her wand had a one hour timer appearing above the Pensieve. "All right; you've got one hour, Ginevra."

Heading to the Pensieve, Ginevra tried to think of the most convincing memory. Squeezing her eyes tightly at the wave of nausea that followed, she pressed the tip of her wand to her temple, withdrawing a white wispy memory. Placing it into the swirling water, Ginevra waited until Pansy was beside her before looking down into the water.

The screams and stench were unfortunately familiar to Pansy. The cages were as disgusting as Ginevra's reports had stated, the witches and wizards in them malnourished and either dying or wishing they were.

Ginevra swallowed her nausea and continued past the cages without looking at them or their inhabitants, and then walked straight through a wall that Pansy hadn't noticed.

For someone who had such an inherent pride on knowing everything around them, not noticing a fake wall stopped Pansy short for a moment. She inspected it closely and realised that there was a spell on the wall itself, something designed to purposely stop people from noticing it and ignoring the fact that a wall was there in the first place. It was an odd spell to use on a wall as most people would hardly notice a wall anyway, simply pass by it all together, so Pansy had to assume that whatever was behind the wall was worse than the cages full of humans in front of it.

Bracing herself for the worst, Pansy followed Ginevra through the bewitched wall and into the room beyond.

On seeing the room beyond the wall, Pansy found that bracing herself for the worst hadn't been enough. Nothing she could have done could have prepared her for this.

Almost twenty children were chained to beds. They were all sleeping as Amelie's modified sleeping charm was administered on a regular basis. By their feet were charts which showed their vitals, as well as another bar to show if and when these Muggle-born and orphaned wizard-born children would reach their magical ability.

According to the reports Ginevra read, as soon as any child reached their magical ability, they were sent on to Avenir's bastardised version of a wizarding school to be taught only what Avenir thought acceptable and necessary.

The children that didn't show any magical ability were sent away for further experiments and often became human test subjects for spells and potions that Avenir's employees created. Including several spells and potions that Amelie herself had made.

"Ginevra? Why wasn't this in your report?" Pansy asked, her voice trembling as much as her hands. It spoke volumes that either were visible.

Ginevra was silent for a moment longer, watching as her memory-self sobbed on the floor as the implications, the weight, of everything she had ever done for Avenir, for Jacques, pressed down on her. Looking away from her past-self, Ginevra licked her lips. "I couldn't write it down. I couldn't - can't - even verbalise this. I tried to Obliviate myself, Pans."

"Malfunctioning wands and Gilderoy Lockhart aside, you can't Obliviate yourself," Pansy said, even though she knew that Ginevra already knew that.

"I know, but I still tried. I was this close to breaking my wand just so it would work," Ginevra said, her voice breaking.

"What happened to them? Were you able to remove them from here?"

Ginevra nodded. "I did it three days before I brought the building down; I took them to an orphanage in England so Avenir wouldn't be able to get them again. I increased the see-me-not spell on the wall so even Etienne or Jacques would forget about the room. I... I used an illusion spell on the beds, just in case."

Pansy sighed heavily and nodded. "All right, Ginevra. I'll Obliviate you."

"Thank you, Pansy," Ginevra said gratefully.

She turned and left the memory before it could continue, and Pansy followed her as the memory turned dark around them.

Straightening up out of the Pensieve, Ginevra shuddered and stepped back, her arms clutched over her stomach as she tried to contain the nausea.

The time was still counting down above the Pensieve and Ginevra realised that Pansy had been convinced in fifteen minutes. She felt no pride at the fact, and moved to sit down once more, hoping for the Obliviation sooner rather than later.

"Ginevra. Are you certain about this?" Pansy asked, her wand resting on her leg.

She nodded. "A hundred percent certain, Pans. Please."

Pansy sighed heavily again. "Which orphanage did you send the children to? I'll personally make sure they are never used like that again. I'll have to send someone in to see if we can find where Avenir's personal school is," she said, already thinking through the agents available.

Snow and Storm would be too emotionally invested, as would Holey Forge, Herbologist, and Snare; not that Pansy blamed them in the slightest. Gabrielle was already on assignment, and Luna was planning on retiring. Perhaps Skeleton would be able to take the undercover assignment instead, she mused.

"All right, Ginevra. I'll Obliviate you once Shadow and Whisper are finished with you; there'll be no point in Obliviating you twice."

Ginevra nodded.

...

Present

"Amelie," Shadow said.

Blinking her eyes open, Amelie looked at the reflection in the handheld mirror Whisper transfigured. "Oui, parfait," she replied through a swollen and bloodied lip. (Yes, perfect.)

"Good. Then we'll continue," Whisper said softly, lifting their wand and pointing it at her.

Amelie screamed as her humerus bones were forcibly removed.

...

Ginevra screamed as her humerus bones were forcibly removed.

Whisper brushed her hair back gently, dabbed at the sweat that gathered on her face. "It's all right, Red Fox. It will be over soon. Soon, you will forget everything."

"We will miss you," Shadow said with a sad smile.

Ginevra breathed heavily, trying not to focus on her arms flopping bonelessly by her sides. "I know. I'd say I'd keep in touch, but... This is for the best."

"We know you believe that," Whisper said.

Ginevra swallowed past the lump in her throat; second thoughts clouded her mind, but she had known they would and she dismissed them.

She had sent her letters to Draco and Blaise, explaining what she was doing and trying to gloss over the why but stating it was important. She had sent a similar letter to Gabrielle, Neville, Dennis, and George because they deserved to know as well. Pansy had promised to show them the memory Ginevra had left in her Pensieve. It would explain why far more than Ginevra's words ever could.

It was too late to back out now.

"Keep going," Ginevra said with a brief nod.

Whisper and Shadow both pointed their wands at her and with a scream of pain, Ginevra's world went dark.

Waking up three days later in St. Mungo's, Ginny found out that she had been hit by a bus while visiting Muggle London. Molly had been beside herself with worry and stayed by her bed vigilantly, ensuring that the healers and doctors were doing everything they could to make sure her baby girl woke up whole and healthy.

"Don't worry, Ginny dear. Your boss is making sure your job is held for you while you recover," Molly promised with a smile, brushing Ginny's hair back from her face.

"My boss?" Ginny echoed, frowning in confusion.

"Yes, the Head of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures," Molly said.

Pansy's memory altering charm took root at the words and Ginny nodded. Of course she worked for the Ministry; she'd been working there ever since she graduated from Hogwarts after the war.

Licking her lips, Ginny looked around the hospital room. Her brothers and their partners were strewn about the room, the morning still too early for them to wake up yet.

"Where's Harry?" she asked Molly, whose face fell at the name.

"He's been busy at work, dear, and couldn't make it. He should be by this afternoon though," Molly said brightly. "Now, how about I go find a healer and get some food for all of us? Your brothers have been just as worried as I have, dear, and I'm sure everyone will have worked up an appetite."

Despite not feeling very hungry, Ginny simply nodded. Molly had barely left the room before George was awake and by her side.

"Want me to steal you away, dearest sister?" he asked in a low voice, adding a conspiratorial wink to make her smile.

"Always, brother dearest," Ginny said, somewhere between laughing and crying as George hugged her warmly.

...

Present

Amelie knew that crying was useless. She wasn't given enough water to replenish the water she lost, so crying only resulted in dehydration and a headache.

Her door was opened and a piece of bread was thrown into the cell. Amelie was starving but the last piece of bread she'd eaten had been poisoned and she'd spent what felt like weeks hallucinating. The stomach pains were practically normal by this point, and she ignored the bread with little difficulty. A cup of water was thrown into the cell next, water splashing out onto the stone ground.

Her most recent bout of torture had involved poison ivy and nettles being rubbed against paper cuts all across her body as Amelie fought the urge to cry in pain. As a result, Amelie's body stung all over and moving was excruciating, but the idea of water was too tempting.

Amelie licked her dry lips and reached out to the water, wetting her fingertips and sucking them carefully. Her water had been laced with Veritaserum once, though she didn't know what these people wanted from her. She'd given them everything already.

Not tasting anything besides the dirt and dried blood on her fingers, Amelie struggled to crawl to the wet patch of stone. Dragging her dry tongue against the stone, fresh blood mixed with the water, but it was water and it was clean, and that was enough.

Her captors grabbed her by the hair and dragged her out of the cell, Amelie's body and limbs scratching against the rough stone as she was dragged into the next room. A potion was shoved in her mouth and her nose pinched so she'd swallow the concoction. Amelie squeezed her eyes shut as they started to water, the need for oxygen overtaking any resistance she might have had. She swallowed the potion, gasping for air once her nose was released.

Veritaserum again. A niggling at the back of her mind caught her attention and Amelie tried to bring it to the forefront as she waited for the truth serum to work through her system.

Poison ivy delayed the affects of Veritaserum.

Amelie held her breath at the realisation. She couldn't even remember how she knew this, but figured that she must have read it somewhere, perhaps in a book as a child, a half-forgotten memory only remembered now that it was necessary to know?

Her captors obviously hadn't read the same books, as they started asking Amelie questions without bothering to check the serum's effectiveness. After all this time, they'd finally made a mistake.

They hadn't tied her up in some time, knowing that Amelie no longer fought, thinking they'd broken her completely. Now, with the delay in the potion, Amelie watched them both carefully, waiting and hoping for another mistake in her favour.

Their questions washed over her, Amelie too intent on watching them to actually listen to them. One looked vaguely annoyed at her lack of response, moving forward to see if she'd bit through her tongue again. As soon as they were close enough, Amelie snatched their wand and forced herself to Apparate.

Using magic for the first time in what could have been years took its toll on Amelie and she let a blood-curdling scream loose as she disappeared from her captors' sight.

She felt sunshine on her face before any other sensation. There was no noise or smell or sight, just the feel of warmth on her skin. Amelie opened her eyes slowly, her vision adjusting after being in the dark for so long.

She had Apparated to the middle of the French wizarding world to Carrefour, the French equivalent of Diagon Alley. Witches and wizards stared at her, and Amelie wondered if she looked as tortured as she felt: practically naked with her clothes in tatters, her body bruised and beaten, her hair in knots and clumps after being dragged around, and clutching a foreign wand to her chest.

Said wand began to vibrate in her hands and Amelie's heart raced as she used the last of her meagre strength to throw it up into the air, the wand exploding down onto her in a shower of toothpicks and splinters. Amelie hardly felt the shards of wood hitting her skin, already in too much pain to notice more pain.

Screams of fear echoed around her, and more than one wand was pointed at her in response. The witches and wizards were scared but they weren't willing to hex an unarmed witch.

"Au secours," Amelie begged the crowd, then collapsed to the ground, her world going dark. (Help.)

...

Amelie woke up, blinking slowly and trying to determine where she was. The room around her was bright and white, early morning sunlight filtering in, and she knew then that she had well and truly escaped her captors. Relief flooded her, exhaustion on its heels, and Amelie slipped back into unconsciousness, sleeping fitfully as nightmares plagued her mind.

When Amelie woke a few hours later, the sun was brighter and filled the room with warmth. A knock at the door startled Amelie, but she called for the person to enter. She smiled as broadly as she could without re-splitting her lip when she saw her visitor.

"Jacques. Tu m'as tellement manqué," she said, reaching out to him. (I missed you so much.)

Jacques took her hand, inspecting the various bruises that still littered her skin. "Tu m'as manqué aussi, belle. Je suis heureux de vous revoir," he said, kissing her hand gently. (I missed you too, beautiful. I am glad to see you again.)

Tears welled in Amelie's eyes and for the first time in gods' knew how long, she let them fall.

...

End of the forty-fifth chapter.

Thanks for reading!