Chapter One
Cornelius Fudge was busy as a Minister for Magic could be. Sipping the last cold dregs of his stale tea, he smacked his lips and yawned, staring at the filtered sunlight coming through his office window. It was feeble, and Fudge could sense a great storm coming, as torpid drizzling pattered against his view. "What a day," he murmured grumpily. He blew the dust off the colossal binder sitting on his table, and struggling thumbed through it, wiping his sweaty brow with a handkerchief. Everything looked very blurry and Fudge felt his eye muscles weaken in strength. Slowly, his head hit the desk as his eyes slowly closed, and he began to snore.
Suddenly, there was a beep that came from his telephone. He yelped in surprise and pressed a red button on its keypad. Instantaneously, the receiver levitated into the air, followed by a spiraling cord, and displayed a holographic yet silhouetted moving graphic of his secretary. "State your business," he muttered irascibly.
"Albus Dumbledore requests an audience," the silhouetted figure said in a monotonous, droning voice.
"Dumbledore? I told him I was too busy today," Fudge groaned. "He's been visiting too often, and he's ruining my schedule. Ward him off."
"He insists."
"He can't insist, I'm the Minister of Magic and I've got more important business to do," Fudge replied. Of course, he felt annoyed sitting here, leafing through these endless memos, yet a meeting with Dumbledore was the last thing he wanted. Some droning lie about You-Know-Who coming back and such.
"He says he'll wait until you're finished, but he requires to see you today."
"What the heck is wrong with him? Tell him to come now, then. But I've got an appointment with Dawlish at fifteen minutes to two."
"Yes, sir." The voice echoed away, and the holographic image faded out, as the receiver gradually flewback to its original niche. Almost instantaneously, there was a knock on Fudge's door, suggesting Dumbledore had already come. "Here we go," Fudge muttered to himself, flicking his wand at the door as it creakily opened, revealing a tall figure, an old man aged with time, a wrinkled brow, a stern expression, large spectacles and a great, bushy silver beard.
"Albus Dumbledore, nice to see you again," Fudge said sarcastically, his mouth dry.
"Same to you, Cornelius," the man said, striding towards him, a red phoenix perched on his shoulder. Fudge immediately recognized him as Fawkes.
"Would you like some tea?" Fudge asked politely.
"I would, though I wish not to disturb you," Dumbledore replied calmly.
"Not at all," Fudge lied, flicking his wand once again, producing a tray of two cups of tea and a small platter of Pumpkin Pasties. "So, what brings you here-again?" Fudge added, munching on a pasty.
"I've been researching more into the propaganda concerning Vol-"
"If you don't mind, I'd rather you don't use his name in my office," Fudge said, reddening.
"My apologies, Cornelius. However, this comes to be an important message to bear whether or not I use his name. You-Know-Who is on the move once again. I've regathered the Order of the Phoenix-"
"Really?" Fudge said, standing up. "Seriously? You are only jeopardizing our magical community more than helping it, Albus. You're causing a wave of lies that will completely scare us. They'll lose faith in me. Are you attempting to threaten my job?"
"Cornelius, please," Dumbledore answered. "I would much prefer the Headmaster's chair at Hogwarts to the job of Minister of Magic. My home is Hogwarts, not the Ministry. I am not a politician, I am a teacher. Please wait for me to finish.
"Lately, the Order of the Phoenix has been attempting to find the plans of You-Know-Who so we can figure out where he plans to strike next."
"Again!" Fudge exclaimed. "Where's your proof of that? The Dark Lord is gone, Albus. You're being demented by some illusion of the boy's concoction-"
"You mean Harry?" Albus said, his eyebrows raised. "Believe me, that boy's suffered much more than we can imagine."
"You think so?" Fudge laughed. "The boy is insane, coming out of the maze at thirteen, holding the corpse of Diggory in his arms-you can't actually think he saw You-Know-Who?"
"I can," replied Dumbledore firmly. "Even Severus is convinced that he is suffering, as he can see these images through Occlumency. That lightning bolt across his forehead allows him to see into You-Know-Who's mind, haunting him with the plans of You-Know-Who and his meetings with Death Eaters."
"So, what is the Dark Lord's plan?" Fudge asked mockingly.
"We believe that the Dark Lord is attempting to figure out a way to dispose of Harry once and for all. I cannot figure out how exactly, but I believe he is attempting to concoct an Unexistus potion."
"Oh, really, an Unex-" Fudge looked startled for a moment, then asked, "Wait, what in blazes is an Unexistus potion?"
"It was originally used by the Dark wizard Grindelwald," Dumbledore said, pulling out a sodden, ancient parchment which had briskly scribbled writing on it, from his robes. Fudge took it reluctantly and unfolded the paper, finding a diagram which seemed to be comprised of galaxies.
"What's this supposed to mean?" Fudge asked.
"Well, Cornelius, Grindelwald wrote this many decades ago, allowing him to trap wizards and witches with an Unexistus potion, banishing them to an alternate universe."
"Are you raving mad? How is that possible?"
"It is," Dumbledore replied tersely, ignoring the Minister's impoliteness. "Grindelwald is all the proof we need. He created an alternate universe specifically for the purpose of banishing them."
"And you think that You-Know-Who will find a way to do the same?"
"It's a safe bet," Dumbledore said, taking back the parchment. "If I am right, he may be attempting to snare Harry in a trap by leading him away from the safety of Hogwarts."
"You mistrust the castle's safety?"
"No, but Harry tends to have a certain disregard for the rules," the headmaster replied gravely. "I fear that his adventurous spirit and curious mind will lead him astray, right into The Dark Lord's plans. If so, he will be banished, allowing He Who Must Not Be Named to continue his work on Horcruxes."
"What does he necessarily plan to do? Hide them?"
"He wants to seal them," Dumbledore said, standing up. "So they can't be destroyed by anything, not even the Basilisk venom within the sword of Godric Gryffindor, or Fiendfyre."
"But how can he seal them?" Fudge asked curiously.
"Through the Deathly Hallows," the headmaster licked his lips.
"How?"
"Well, the Hallows have a deeper power than originally known. It is said that before Death took the brothers after granting them their wishes, the brothers magically changed the objects such that they would be able to seal Horcruxes. Before they could actually create any Horcruxes, though, Death stole their souls and left the three Deathly Hallows somewhere unknown, still fresh with their magical power. If You-Know-Who finds the Hallows, he must place them under a beam of moonlight just in the way they are arranged in a symbol. Then, he must place all the Horcruxes (except Nagini, his only animated Horcrux) nested in the symbol. As for the snake, she must be placed last, surrounding the Hallows. It is said-and Grindelwald has mentioned it too-that if done so, the Horcruxes will be indomitable."
"And you think that Harry can stop him?"
"It is all based on the prophecy, Fudge. The fact that Harry is the one to defeat the Dark Lord is in the prophecy. Yet, he would anyway have killed him even without the mention of the Trelawney's prediction; the Dark Lord murdered his parents."
"Have you told him yet about this?"
"No," Dumbledore replied, "but the time will come to do so."
"Look, Albus," Fudge said, standing up, "I'm sorry, but I really cannot find the significance of suggesting that the Dark Lord is concocting a Whatsits potion. It just doesn't make any sense! I don't believe that the Dark Lord has returned; if I tell people he is back, I'll be treated like a coward! Don't you think he is hallucinating?"
Dumbledore stood up too and gave Fudge a stern eye. "I am sure the boy is not hallucinating," he said firmly. "His scar has a potential of allowing him to see into the Dark Lord's mind-something of a gift, and a curse. Yet, I know-through what Harry tells me at school-that their is tension brewing at the Malfoy Manor, where the Dark Lord is currently in hiding."
"I am sorry, Dumbledore, but if you are finding a Minister of Magic who will support this story, you'll need to find someone else."
"Not at all, Cornelius," Dumbledore replied, smiling. "I only come to warn you, yet at Hogwarts, help will always be given to those who deserve it. And because of that, I will never have a slightest plan of seizing your power." He smiled and called Fawkes to his shoulder, disappearing in a flash of light and dazzling the Minister. Fudge immediately grunted and flicked once again through the dusty folder before him, his mind cluttered with everything he had just heard. Soon, he was once again asleep, his head pressed flatly against the binder.