Very painful and believable; your terse, tense, strong Rufus is exactly the way I imagine him, even down to the way he deals with young Abrams (great scene). You've rendered Rufus in such interestingly-complex ways -- no simple "good guy" Auror here. Rookwood is equally well-characterized. Their shared senses of betrayal are effectively done as well. And finally, I love stories that fit into the cracks of canon as well as this one does.