Chapter 10: Dealing with the press

"What are you doing here!" he practically growled.

Rita Skeeter had worked for the daily prophet for many years and she was no stranger to being in threatening situations to get a story. Now normally she would not have really considered the Boy-Who-Lived a threat at all but she could tell by the look in his eyes that something had changed in this young man. She had no doubt that he would curse her where she stood and she began to wonder why she ever agreed to this meeting. Sure the meddlesome know it all had told her that it would be worth her time but seriously what was worth getting hexed over.

"You have ten seconds to explain why you are here before my husband start blasting you back through the fireplace." Ginny stated in a cold tone.

Just then Hermione came through the fireplace and seeing the situation before her immediately leapt into action. "Harry, Ginny please put your wands away! I brought her here but we somehow got separated in the floo network I swear the Ministry is interfering with it again. "

Remus who had been invited to stay as an advisor for the second meeting quickly jump into the conversation "What do you mean you were separated?" He asked with a concerned tone.

"One minute I was holding onto Rita and then it felt like something bumped into me and she shot ahead of me." Hermione replied

Remus quickly waved his wand and where there was once a fireplace there was now a solid wall. Everyone looked to him with concern when he began to explain.

"We have been hearing some rumors that would seem to be confirmed by Hermione's experience. The Ministry is tampering with the floo network so they can trace everyone's travels. If they traced Hermione then they now know where we are. While they would not know the address since Grimmauld is still under Fidelius. They would however be able to floo in following her trace. I suggest we complete our meeting with Ms. Skeeter quickly and then we should leave here."

Harry was about to object but Moony assured him that he would explain everything and address his concerns as soon as the meeting was over.

Hermione seeing the need to move on took charge of the meeting. "Harry I know Rita Skeeter may not be your favorite person in the world but she is very good at what she does."

Harry glared at Hermione like she had lost her mind. "And just what does she do so well besides make our lives miserable with her made up stories?"'

Ginny wrapped her arms around Harry's to assure him that she was there for him.

"Like her or not she knows how to sway public opinion better than anyone. This is where she can help you." She responded like it should be obvious.

Rita feeling uncomfortable being discussed as if she were not there decided to comment "Lord Potter you have to understand that your status means the public wishes to read any information they can about your life. Since you do not wish to work with the press we work with what we have. It is your own fault really."

"MY FAULT? Who wrote the stories? who printed them? How is any of that my fault?" Harry asked more than a little angry

"If you would just accept your public.." Rita started but was interrupted by Harry "It don't want any public I don't want to be famous."

Remus responded to Harry's objections "Harry I know what you wish and believe me when I say that I wish you were not made famous 15 years ago but we cannot change what has happened. What we have to do is learn to live with what has happened and deal with what life gives us. I realize you would rather not be a celebrity but I think Hermione is right. If you were to employ Ms. Skeeter's skill she could benefit us greatly in the war effort."

Ginny who knew this would be a sore subject with Harry added as gently as she could "You need to think about what they are saying. I know how you feel love but it is not going to go away just because you want it too. The people will listen to you and if you embraced that you would be more powerful than the minister himself. You could change the direction the war is going simply by providing the hope the people so desperately need."

Harry gave Ginny a defeated look knowing that he was not going to win this argument. He knew that they were right but he could never be one of the Lockhart types that talks constantly about how great they are. He also didn't believe the people should be listening to him but rather thinking for themselves. So it was with a very apprehensive sigh that he asked Rita what he must do.

"In short you have to embrace your status. You have to be seen and heard. If you want the truth to be heard you have to allow yourself to actually be interviewed. Now if I was given an exclusive interview.." Rita's response was cut off by Hermione. "You were not invited here so you could write the story of the century."

Everyone looked to Hermione with a confused expression so she explained. "Harry what you need is a Press Agent."

Harry buried his head in his hands not wanting to deal with this. Ginny realizing this asked "Do you trust me?"

"Of course I trust you Gin! " He quickly responded.

Ginny nodded her head with a smile and quick kiss and turned to the two ladies. "Rita, Hermione if we offer you both positions." Hermione immediately started to object when Ginny shot her a scathing glare. "No Hermione you started this and we will agree but only if she reports directly to you. Rita If we offered you the position what would you do to turn around Harry's Image."

Rita thought this was all rather amusing but could not fathom why she would leave they paper "Why would I accept such a position I think is the better question?"

Ginny gave a little chuckle knowing she would have her right where she wanted her "Because we can pay you about ten times what you ever made at the paper. Now answer my question please."

Rita's eyes looked like they were about to pop out of her head they were so wide and she began to see the dollar signs. Then taking a quick drink of water to calm a bit began to think "Well first Harry would have to give Interviews. Not necessarily for every story but he would have to frequently respond to requests for a statement at the very least. At the risk of giving away my own secrets, if he gave more regular interviews he would grant himself a certain amount of power. A reporter would not dare print anything negative about you since the most damaging thing to their career would having been the only reporter not allowed at your next press conference."

Ginny thought for a minute and nodded "Would the question list of any potential interview be screened?"

Rita smiled knowing this one knew something about what she was talking about "At first yes but once a reporter shows they are willing to work with us we would need to give them a wider range. Harry also needs to be seen by the public. Frankly I am shocked he has not had the Head of House Ball yet. I didn't think you needed enemies that badly Harry?"

Ginny looked rather embarrassed and put her head down; Remus looked uncomfortable, while Hermione and Harry looked rather confused. Remus was kind enough to explain. "It is customary for a Head of house to hold a Ball to announce important events in the change of a family's status."

Rita added to the explanation "More than customary I think. To not do so is insulting to the other families. Blood feuds have been declared over less. Right now you have three major announcements you have failed to announce to the other families. The change in head of house in not one but two houses; you brought Hermione here into the Black family something that will be insulting to some families anyway and you married without introducing the new Lady of the house. And if I am not mistaken you are in the midst of another insult as I detect a parental bond and yet the child has not been introduced. Each of these events would normally require a Ball all on their own so you have insulted the other families' not once but four times at current count."

Harry sat there shocked he did not know what to say. Being the head of an ancient house seemed to come with a lot of headaches.

Remus was the first to respond "I can assure you Ms. Skeeter that all these changes have occurred in a short span of time and there has not been any time to hold any such formal announcement Ball as of yet. I am not even sure it would be safe in the current environment to do so."

Skeeter nodded but continued "That is the only reason the situation is salvageable at all. Given the current climate and the rapid succession of the changes, the other houses would be more open to forgiving the oversight but that situation comes with an expiration date and I am afraid that is fast approaching. As for the safety I would not worry about it. While in private you are certainly correct to be worried about your safety, in a public venue such as a Head of House Ball any public hostility would been seen as an insult to other houses and they would not risk pushing support to your side with such an action. Frankly not having the Ball is asking the other families not to support you. Even your friend Mr. Longbottom would have to avoid being seen in public with you if he did not wish to alienate his house."

"How soon would we need to hold the Ball?" Ginny asked

"Invitations should go out in the next three weeks at the minimum. You could hold off the actual date of the Ball for as much a couple months as long as the actual invitations are sent out before that. As long as the invitation spelled out what you intended to publicly announced it should be fine." Rita quickly responded

Harry was starting to feel a little overwhelmed and was not sure he wanted to know the answer to the question but asked anyway. "Is there anything else I should be doing I did not know about?"

Rita quickly nodded all business in this her element. "Yes. You also need to attach you name to some sort of charity organization. Malfoy is a perfect example of this."

Everyone had a shocked expression when Hermione asked the question everyone was thinking "Maloy? What has he ever done that could be considered charitable?"

"Nothing anymore obviously but at one time he was the largest contributor of a tuition assistance program that I believe more than one of Lady Potter's siblings benefited from." Replied Rita

Ginny looked like she might be sick. The thought of her family owing anything to Malfoy was a truly unpleasant thought.

"But why would he care about such a thing?" Harry asked

"Because Lucius Malfoy understood public perception he was able to worm his way into positions of power. How do you think he was able to get on the Board of Governors for Hogwarts? How do you think he so easily avoided Azkaban after the first war? Oh there were more than a few bribes to be sure but the rest accepted it so easily because they could not see past the perception that those charitable contribution created. Perception is fact and Lucius understood that."

Everyone sat in a rather stunned silence for a while. Even Ginny and Remus who are familiar with the magical society did not realize everything that went on in the back ground. Finally seeing that he had little hope but to accept his role in this society if he wanted to win this war Harry asked in a slightly defeated voice "So will you take the job?"

Rita thought it over for a few minutes. She had always enjoyed the power to destroy someone with her stories it was a power she could so easily wield. It had not started out that way. She had started out as a very honest and respectable journalist but as so often happens she had become addicted to the fame and wealth that comes with telling the public what they want to hear. Once you tell them what they really want to hear the most, they will keep coming back to hear what you have to say next. The only real problem with this is that it also means they expect what you have to say to be even more earth shattering then the last which was why her stories had become filled with less and less truth until she was nearly making up the entire story. So she really thought about the offer before her. Not only were they offering to pay her a huge amount of money but it may be fun to build someone up for a change and do something positive. She was also pretty sure she would not have a place in the world that You-know-Who would create. Coming to a decision she nodded.

"You have a deal Lord and Lady Potter Black. We should get to work on the details of the Head of House Ball Immediately and get a release to the press as soon as possible. Ms. Granger as I will be reporting to you I suggest we setup daily meetings to go over anything that needs addressed. I would in turn suggest you have daily meetings with the Lord and/or Lady Potter."

"Harry might I suggest we let the ladies take care of the final details. In the mean time I suggest the two of us move to the study as we have several security issues to discuss." Remus commented.

It was agreed and the ladies got to work on the details while Harry and Remus headed up to the study. As they were headed up the stairs Harry was nearly knocked over by an excited five year old missile squealing "Daddy!"

Harry hugged Lisa tight as she jumped into his arms. He had missed getting to spend time with her today but he knew that he would not get to spend every minute with her. "What are you doing sweetie? I thought you were playing with the elves?"

Lisa shrugged as she responded "I was but they said they had work to get done and I was bored so I went exploring. Did you know there is a bedroom on the third floor that has an animal that is a cross between a bird and a horse?"

Harry suddenly became very panicked. He had forgotten all about Buckbeak staying in Mrs. Black's room. "Honey are you ok? You could have been hurt you should not go in there without me or mum!"

Lisa Suddenly looked down she did not know what she did wrong. Remus on the other hand who had been watching the two with an amused gleam in his eye assured Lisa and Harry. "It's ok Harry a Hippogriff can sense the complete lack of guile in a child so young. I doubt he would ever hurt her in fact Hippogriff's rarely choose a human as a master but when they do it is always at Lisa's age. Tell me did he happen to lie down in front of you?"

Lisa smiled and nodded "He sure did! He has the softest feathers and he let me cuddle up against him."

Remus chuckled while Harry looked puzzled all though slightly more amused than before. "Well it would seem that Buckbeak is now your pet and I dare say you are safer with him than any creature on the planet."

Lisa gave an excited giggle "Can I keep him daddy?"

Harry smiled and kissed his daughter's forehead "We will have to talk about it but for right now why don't you head down to the sitting room where mum is. Aunt Hermione is there also I need to talk with Uncle Moony about some things ok beautiful?" Lisa kissed her dad before leaping out of his arms and taking off in a sprint through the house again.

Remus chuckled and placed a hand on Harry's shoulder "Uncle?" was all he asked.

Harry smiled back at the older man "Yeah well I figured it might be too weird if I thought of you as a brother and I know you would never try to replace my dad so uncle seemed only natural."

Remus gave a watery smile and gave a hug to the only person he had left that he thought of as family "Thank you Harry you have no idea what that means to me."

Settling down in the study Remus began the conversation that brought them here. "I think it would be wise to move your family to Potter Manor or Black Castle. Both have security in place that far surpasses the security here and if the Ministry was able to trace Hermione than it is only a matter of time before Voldemort knows how to get to you. We cannot leave the floo disconnected from the network for long as that would become increasingly suspicious."

Harry was looking very concerned when Moony reassured him a little. "As I said earlier because of the Fidelius charm we are still hidden so we should be safe as long as the floo is closed but that is a short term solution."

Harry thought about it for a moment before asking his first question. "If they can trace a floo connections how will another location be any more secure?"

"Because neither property has been used in many years and the Ministry believes no one is currently occupying either. As long as we play our cards right we can assure we keep it that way. Both locations offer every protection that can be given to a property and should be as safe if not safer than Hogwarts herself."

"What do you think Ginny" Harry thought to his wife

"If Remus thinks we are not safe here then I don't think we have much Choice. We should see what Tonks thinks that is why we hired her after all"

"I talked to Ginny and we agree. Get with Tonks and have her review the properties. She can make any adjustments to security that is needed. We trust her to take the appropriate measures. Just remember we have a daughter to consider and we want her life to remain as stable as possible. Would we be safe here for the next week?"

Remus nodded but changed the topic to a question he had been meaning to ask. "I'll get with her tonight. I have been meaning to ask you though I know you told me since you bonded with the wands that you can talk to each other through the link but I don't notice you doing it very often I would think that would be extremely useful."

Harry nodded and chuckled a little "Oh It can be useful and some things are rather easy. For example I was able to give her the entire contents of the conversation we had in just a few seconds. I simply allow her access to the memory and she has the same memory I do as if she was in the room. But to actually talk takes a conscious effort and we have to open ourselves to each other completely. We have to really concentrate on what we want the other to hear otherwise it is just a noise of every random thought running through our minds. The first day we both had such a major headache. I still get a headache if we try to talk through the link too long as I have to focus on it so hard. Ginny is quite a bit better at it she has even had a conversion with me and her mum at the same time but I think I would go nutters if I tried to do that."

Remus chuckled but he understood. He could not imagine trying to deal with the constant barrage of thoughts from another person.

Having wrapped up there business Remus left to go meet with Tonks on the plan to move the Potters while Harry went back to the sitting room to meet back up with the girls. Rita had already left having apparated from the back yard. Hermione and Ginny were tickling Lisa when Harry arrived and he could not help but pause a moment and watch his girls with a silly smile on his face. Ginny looked up to see him in the door way and flashed him a warming smile. "Hey! Did you and Remus get everything worked out?"

Harry walked over and hugged his two girls "I think so he just left to go meet with Tonks so I am sure she will be able to handle it. What about you what's the plan with Rita?"

Ginny shared the memory of the conversation with Harry so he was aware of the plan but Hermione began to explain so he let her just to make sure everyone was on the same page. "Well we decided the Head of House Ball will be on August 15th. That gives us a little over two months to plan and get other things done. In the mean time Rita is meeting with the Daily Profit and a short announcement will be made in tomorrow's addition nothing to specific just a general announcement. The most important thing included will be your marriage to Ginny as that is something that has the most impact on your family."

Harry nodded. He did not like having to deal with this but at the same time he accepted that it was simply going to be part of his life weather he wanted it or not. They talked a little while longer when Hermione said she needed to return to the Burrow. Harry and Ginny decided to go with her for a visit and to let Ginny's parents know about the story in the Prophet tomorrow as well as the plan on how they were going to be dealing with the press. Molly was less than pleased that her daughter's life would be playing out in public but they convinced her that this was simply something that came with the territory of being Harry Potter's wife. Something Harry apologized profusely for.

The next morning they were sitting at the table when the Profit arrived.

Harry Potter to Host Head of House Ball

In a surprise announcement yesterday it was announced that the famed reporter for the daily profit Rita Skeeter has taken up the position of press agent for the ancient and noble houses of Potter and Black. The head of both houses is none other than the Chosen One Harry Potter. Ms. Skeeter had the following comments.

"I am exited to announce the marriage of Harry Potter to Ginerva Weasley. Lady Potter-Black has taken her place in the houses and it is an excellent match. I have been fortunate to spend time with the couple and I can say with certainty that they are happily in love. It is also my privilege to announce that Lord and Lady Potter Black will host a Head of House Ball on August the 15th. While the arrangements are still being made at this moment I can say for certain that Invitations will be going out in the next two weeks. The Press of course will be allowed access to the event but any reporter or photographer wishing to attend must contact me or Hermione Granger before the event to make arrangements."

We here at the Prophet are glad to see Lord Potter take his rightful place in our society and wish Lord and Lady Potter Black all the best for a long and happy life.