This is a re-post of a story I wrote part of a little while ago. I didn't like it, so am doing it again.
-- Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter --
Please Review.
The Minister of Magic
Chapter 1 – War Over Politics
"Well if anybody cared to show me you charming garden…ah that young man's finished, why doesn't he take a stroll with me?"
The atmosphere around the table changed perceptibly. Everyone looked from Scrimgeour to Harry. Nobody seemed to find Scrimgeour's pretence that he did not know Harry's name convincing, or find it natural that he should be chosen to accompany the minister around the garden when Ginny, Fleur and George also had clean plates.
"Yeah, all right," said Harry into the silence.
He was not fooled; for all Scrimgeour's talk that they had just been in the area, that Percy wanted to look up his family, this must be the real reason that they had come, so that Scrimgeour could speak to Harry alone.
"It's fine," he said quietly, as he passed Lupin, who had half-risen from his chair. "Fine," he added as Mr Weasley opened his mouth to speak.
"Wonderful!" Said Scrimgeour, standing back to let Harry pass through the door ahead of him. "We'll just take a turn around the garden and then Percy and I'll be off. Carry on, everyone!"
Harry walked across the yard towards the Weasleys' overgrown, snow-covered garden, Scrimgeour limping slightly at his side. He had, Harry knew, been the Head of the Auror Office; he looked tough and battle-scarred, very different from portly Fudge in his bowler hat.
"Charming," said Scrimgeour, stopping at the garden fence and looking out over the snowy lawn and the indistinguishable plants. "Charming."
"I've wanted to meet you for a very long time," said Scrimgeour, after a few moments, watching Harry out of the corner of his eye. "Did you know that?"
"No," said Harry truthfully.
"Oh yes, for a very long time. But Dumbledore has been very protective of you," said Scrimgeour. "Natural, of course, natural, after what you've been through … especially what happened at the ministry …"
He waited for Harry to say something, but Harry did not oblige, so he went on, "I have been hoping for an occasion to talk to you ever since I gained office, but Dumbledore has – most understandable, as I say – prevented this. The rumours that have flown around! All these whispers of a prophecy … of you being the 'Chosen One' … I assume Dumbledore has discussed these matters with you?"
After a while of watching the flower beds for a while he decided on the truth … or a bit of it. "Yeah, we've discussed it."
"Have you, have you …" Scrimgeour said, squinting at Him. "And what has Dumbledore told you, Harry?"
Sorry, but that's between us,' said Harry, keeping his voice as pleasant as possible.
"Of course, sorry for nosing in." he fell silent for a bit, as if carefully choosing his words.
"Well people believe you are the Chosen One, you see, they think your quite the hero – which of course you are Harry, chosen or not! How many times have you faced He Who Must Not Be Named now? Well anyway the point is you are a symbol of hope for many, Harry. The idea that there is someone out there who might be able, who might even be destined to destroy He Who Must Not Be Named – well naturally it gives people a lift, keep heads up, encourage them to keep fighting"
"What I'm offering is for you to come to the Ministry once in a while, show your face to the media and some of the staff, tell them their doing a good job, and go home."
"You'll be benefiting too, I can give you the opportunity to speak to my successor Gawain Robards, who is Head of the Auror Office, I understand that you cherish an ambition to become an Auror. Well that can be arranged very easily." Scrimgeour looked at Harry so intently that Harry felt awkward and resumed staring at the Gnome who had just managed to get hold of a worm, and was now tugging very hard on it, trying to get it out of the frozen ground.
"So basically," Harry said as though clarifying the minister's speech "you'd like to think I'm working for the ministry, and I get to become an Auror."
"Work with the ministry, Harry, not for it. Although if you need money, that's no issue, but it'll be on your terms, and you can come in whenever and with whomever you like" Scrimgeour said, trying to calm Harry down.
"On my terms…right." Harry looked up to see Scrimgeour's hopefully face. "I want Umbridge and Fudge out of there…"
"Harry, we can't just get rid of people just like that, they made mistakes, but they're still important parts of the ministry, I mean we can just go around…"
"Umbridge tortured me and my friends last year, she sent Dementors after me, and Fudge, Fudge delayed the news of Voldemort's return by a year." Harry raised his hand with the words 'I must not lie' printed across them, daring the minister to object.
"Alright Harry, alright, I'll get rid of them, is that all?" He said sighing
"Nope, I want criminals tested with Veritiserum before their thrown in Azkaban. My godfather was an innocent man, yet you left him to rot in there for thirteen years. That includes all the current prisoners like Stan Shunpike, as well as future ones."
"Harry, we can't go dishing out truth potion to everyone we bring in. There are only five people in the last twenty years who have been able to make it."
"Snape didn't seem to have any trouble last year, I distinctly remember him giving Umbridge a bottle containing over 50 portions. Something like that could last the ministry a few years, if you were cleverer at using it that that cow was."
"Anything else?"
"We need more Aurors. I heard last time Voldemort recruited the Werewolves and Vampires. Also he has a generation of Slytherins to recruit from. We need to do the same. Send people to talk to all the different species, give more money to the Dementors, train normal ministry employees to protect themselves."
"I can't do that, we don't have the money for a start, and am I just suppose to tell everyone to stop working and take self defence lessons. The magical world would shut down, they'd be chaos, people would…"
"Oh stop whining, remember this is a war minister, not politics. People are only remembered for losing or winning wars, not staying in power for the longest. What do you immediately think of when I say Dumbledore?"
"Defeat of Grindelwald."
"What about Fudge?"
"Pinstriped suit with bowler hat?" Scrimgeour looked at Harry who groaned and motioned for him to continue"
"Idiot who let Voldemort put his foot in the door?"
Harry grinned. "Exactly, in ten years time do you want to be Rufus Scrimgeour, the Minister who let Voldemort take over the world, or do you want to be the hero of twenty first century who helped defeat He Who Should Be Named?"
"Let's look at it another way, if you don't do something, Voldemort will take over, and you obviously won't be Minister any longer as you'll be dead."
Scrimgeour stool looking off into the distance, mulling over Harry's words. "You're just like Dumbledore aren't you, but better, as I'm not forced to eat a Sherbet Lemon every time I speak to you…that sour taste in your mouth lasts for weeks…" He snapped out of it, and looked up to see Harry chuckling to himself.
"Should I take that as a compliment?"
"Defiantly a compliment, after all he is regarded as the greatest wizard of our time, what with Dragons blood and Dark Wizards."
"OK, so do you agree?"
"It seems you've changed my mind. You know you'd make a good Minister with arguments like that… I'll talk with Dumbledore, he's has probably already sent people to talk with the different species, and knows all the students that have been through Hogwarts for the last fifty odd years. Yes I'll do that, and you can be sure they'll announce it in the papers, so you can check up on that. Now is there anything else?"
"Not too much right?"
"Nope, just a few press conferences."
"Centred around helping people protect themselves."
"…Not Politics," Scrimgeour added, a grin tugging at the edges of his mouth. "And some private training if you or any of your friends would like it. You can send an owl, just make sure to send it to Minister Scrimgeour's Office, rather than to me personally, or the letter will never get through. We had a few problems last week involving cursed items through the post, so we got a few Goblin wards set up."
Harry let the Minister finish speaking, and help out his hand. Scrimgeour smiled again, and clasped Harry's with his.
On the way back into the house, Harry turned his head to see the Minister still there watching him walk away, the smile still on his grizzled face. "Oh, and Author Weasley could really do with a pay rise."
"Head of Muggle Relations is free, I'm push through the paperwork Monday." He murmured, looking up to see Harry had walked back inside, and in his place was his Personal assistant, glasses skewed, and Mashed potatoes being quickly wiped from his face.
"I'm sorry Minister, my family has always been ignorant to the ministry, choosing to blindly server Dumbledore, I on the other hand have my career in mind, and left while I could. I don't know why Dad, bothers, I mean I've only been working at the Ministry for two and a bit years and…"
"…you are still a secretary, while your Dad is a head of department. Now let's got Weatherby."