Chapter 11 Meetings

"Well, we've got a lot of questions, rather light on answers. This is rather tougher than most. Just how did Voldemort come back from the dead, and how do we know he won't do it again?" Harry said. They were around a table at the library in 12 Grimmauld Place.

Evan and Hermione both sat silent and looked uncertain. Finally Hermione said, "We're going to have to talk to the Department of Mysteries over this. They had observers at the take-down of the Death Eaters, but they aren't saying what they observed or what they've deduced from it."

"All right, this is an open file. We're going to work it. Where is Tonks?" Harry asked. Tonks was now Head of Investigations for Mk-1, and she would resign from MLE as soon as their appropriation came through and she could be put on the payroll. She was also, right now, their only investigator.

"She's over at MLE, talking to some people about getting access to their files. As long as she's at least nominally part of MLE, they can't say no, but there's already some foot dragging there." Evan replied.

"Once she does leave, it will get a lot worse. Can't say that I like that thought." Harry said. Access to MLE's files had been absolutely crucial during Operation Beowulf, and that whole investigation had been kicked off by one informant's report.

"With the best will in the world, it would be a serious problem, Harry. It isn't going to just happen. Sorting through the lost dogs and general rubbish to find the pearls would be a full time job, and it would inevitably be imperfect. Things would fall through the cracks." Evan said.

"She's also talking to people, looking for people we might want to recruit. MI-5 and MI-6 spend years training their people. We're going to have to throw people in at the deep end and have them learn on the job." Evan added.

Harry frowned. "Poaching people. I'll have that talk with Director Shacklebolt. He's not going to like it, but there's no help for it. Meanwhile, current business. How do you raise the dead?"

"Well, there's one way we both know about, Harry." Hermione said.

When they both turned to look at her, she added, "The Philosopher's Stone. Voldemort wanted it so he could return from the dead. We know that."

"Professor Dumbledore said the Stone had been destroyed." Harry replied.

"Due respect, Harry, but that's not something we can simply take at face value." Evan said.

"I don't think he'd lie to me. Not about that." Harry replied.

"He's your friend, and he was your mentor. I quite understand how you feel. He is not infallible. He withheld information from you. He may well have had good intentions, but he also made serious errors. We need to find out more." Evan said, making a decisive gesture.

Harry frowned. He could not deny that Evan was right at least in part, but he was deeply uncomfortable about this. His feelings about Dumbledore were very tangled and conflicted. That he genuinely cared about Harry he had no doubt, but there were also the years he had spent at the mercy of the Dursleys. There was the whole question of how much of the danger that he had been plunged into time and again had been in spite of Dumbledore, and how much because of him.

"What, precisely, do we know about the Stone?" Evan asked.

Hermione said, "According to our research, the Stone was created by the alchemist Nicholas Flamel. It can be used to make the Elixir Vitae, which makes the drinker immortal. Flamel was reported to be over 600 years old. From what Dumbledore said to Harry, you have to keep on drinking the Elixir to stay alive. Immortality is over-stating it a bit, really. It stops you aging. I doubt if it protects you against death by violence, either."

"Professor Dumbledore told me that the Stone had been destroyed. He said that Nicholas Flamel had agreed to that being done, and that he had enough of the elixir to live for a while, to set his affairs in order." Harry added.

Evan looked dubious. "I do rather have a problem with that. Several, actually. Flamel had survived over 600 years, centuries when people knew he had the Stone and how valuable and powerful it was. Voldemort would not have been the only one who would kill, or do anything, to lay hands on it. Not by a long chalk. A man who had survived all that, and then he just decides to roll over and die? I don't see it."

Hermione leaned over the table. "I don't say Dumbledore lied, Harry, but did he tell you everything, and did he know everything?"

"Question assumptions, Harry. Sergeant Fletcher will go on about that all day if you let him. Assumption one, there was only one Philosopher's Stone. If Flamel could make one, who's to say he couldn't make another?" Evan said.

"It does make sense, Harry. Dumbledore went out of his way to tell you the Stone had been destroyed. He probably wanted it known, so Voldemort would know and stop going after it. Flamel stocks up on Elixir and goes underground. Eventually, when the coast is clear and everyone thinks he's dead, he makes another Stone. That gets Voldemort off his back and stops Voldemort from using it, and allows him to keep on using it." Hermione said.

Harry nodded reluctantly. "That would make sense. That doesn't mean it's right, but it is certainly possible. Dumbledore would not have lied, really. It also takes us to the question of whether this is even in the remit of MK-1."

"How's that?" Evan asked.

"The Stone is a powerful artifact, but it's not a destructive one. If Flamel has lived over 600 years without turning into a Dark Lord, I don't see him changing his mind on that. Voldemort, if he isn't dead, is the threat." Harry said.

"Fair point, but we are still going to have to get facts to back up all this theorizing, so we know if it's a threat or not." Evan said.

"Next problem. The Philosopher's Stone wouldn't have brought Voldemort back from the dead that day in Godric's Hollow. There has to be another powerful artifact out there, one that can bring someone back from the dead." Evan said.

Hermione looked serious, and added, "Well, halfway back from the dead, anyway. Voldemort wasn't a living person, but he was more than a ghost. He had to be a parasite on someone as he was with Quirrel, drink unicorn blood to sustain himself. That was why he was so desperate to get the Stone."

Evan began ticking off points on his fingers. "Unanswered questions. What is this artifact, who has it, what are they doing or planning to do with it? Potential threat to the Realm? Absolutely."

At that point there was a knock on the door and Tonks came into the room. "Hello, all. What did I miss?"

"We're agreeing that we don't know nearly enough about Voldemort. How did it go at MLE?" Harry replied.

"Rather frostily. The word has got round that I'm on short time and working for you now, so favours, or even cooperation, are pretty thin on the ground. Getting access to their files is going to be a problem. Even if Director Shacklebolt says yes, you're going to see a lot of foot-dragging and obstruction at the working levels, even leaving aside that their system is pretty much of a mess at the best of times. I talked to some people I think are likely, just sizing them up. I'm not going to even hint at an offer without your say-so." She said.

"Good. The Secret Vote is Friday a week, so all being well we'll have money then, and we will be able to make offers to people. I've got a meeting with the Minister over that. I expect I'm going to be saying No very loudly and firmly. Sirius has been talking to Andromeda, and there's a lot of people who are not happy. Some of them are pushing to try to delay the Vote, or attach conditions to it. Meetings. I think I may wind up remembering playing tag with dragons as the good old days." Harry said.

"Well, there is one meeting that I can take in your place if you want, Harry. Might even be better if I do. We're going to have to talk to Professor Dumbledore and find out what he knows about all this." Evan said.

Harry took off his glasses, cocked his head to one side, then put them back on. "Thank you for the offer, Evan, and I wish I could take you up on it. I can't. I know him better than you do, and he's not a very easy man to read."

"All right. I've got the meeting with the Minister, and I have to make that one. Tonks, can you set up the one with Director Shacklebolt? Use your judgement on that. I'll want you there to back me up. You know MLE, and I don't."

"Certainly, Harry. Sooner rather than later?" She said.

Harry nodded. "After I've dealt with those two, then I can go up to Hogwarts and talk to Dumbledore." Harry said.

"No, you aren't going to do that, Harry." Evan's tone was firm and decisive.

"I beg your pardon?" Harry replied.

"Harry, that would absolutely send the wrong message. You are not a former student going to visit his old teacher, you are the Chief of MK-1 interviewing a person of interest in an ongoing investigation. You summon him, and you question him here or at a time and place of your choosing. We can be polite about it, that's all." Evan said.

Harry took his glasses off, bit the stem and then put them back on. "I knew I was going to regret taking this bloody job. We'll do it that way, Evan."

The meeting broke up after that, with Tonks and Hermione off to the next things on their To Do lists. Harry sat, brooding.

"Sickle for your thoughts." Evan said.

Harry looked up, and said, "My thoughts are conflicting, Evan."

"I was angry at Dumbledore for a long time. Now I've got a lot more sympathy for him. He was playing a deadly game for very high stakes. He was in the position of having to defend the wizarding world - Hell, the muggle world, too - against a threat that most people didn't believe, or want to believe, existed. He had few people and limited resources. Fudge and the Wizengamot wouldn't give him the time of day. It wasn't a choice whether or not to put people - friends - in harms way, it was a choice of which people and when. He led from in front, no one can deny that. When you walk in the shoes, you get a different view of things. He didn't have the MMS to back him up, either." Harry said.

"Obviously, you aren't Dumbledore. You aren't making his mistakes, either. You listen to your people, you don't try to do it all yourself, and you don't try to keep everything in your own head. As to the MMS, Dumbledore was a one man MMS." Evan said.

"Well, Dumbledore was incredibly brilliant ..." Harry said.

"I don't give a toss how brilliant he was." Evan replied impatiently.

He looked as Harry had seen him at the Hot Wash. "He was called on the carpet in front of Her Majesty for a shed load of mistakes on his watch. Avoidable mistakes. Your home life was only one. The Dursleys should have been vetted like - well, like the recruits for MK-1. Then they should have been monitored by someone more competent than Mrs. Figg. He meant well, I'll give him that. He didn't take the time to do it himself because he was too busy, he didn't put anyone trustworthy on the job because they were too busy, and he didn't listen to people who told him there was a problem."

"I'm not infallible, either." Harry said.

"No one is. Make the best decisions you can, learn from them, and move on." Evan replied.

Evan pointed his hand at him. "I've got ten years on you, and I've spent most of that studying the art of command. That's one of the elementary mistakes that you get warned about first year, with lots of horrible examples to drive the point home. Not just reading about it, either. They put you through field exercises where you are juggling four crises when sleep is a distant memory. Then you get to look back and realize what a drunken idiot you were."

"Maybe I should take lessons from you." Harry said.

Evan shook his head. "I am your loyal and supportive second in command because I am not nearly mad enough to want your job. I can give advice. If you want a mentor, you have a standing invitation to the Regimental Mess of the MMS. If there is a better mentor than Stan the Man, I don't know who he is."

"Thanks, Evan." Harry said.

Harry headed for the Floo, then stopped. *Well, maybe I should get some advice from my mentor before I go nose to nose with the Minister and the Governor General.*

A handful of Floo powder later he was at MMS HQ. He headed down to the Officer's Mess and took a seat. Two pints arrived on his table without his even having to ask, and they were followed shortly by the arrival of Major Lee.

"Hello, Sir Harry. How is the new job?" He asked.

"Challenging. I've got a meeting with the Minister and the Governor General in a few hours, and I thought I might ask you for some advice." Harry said.

"Wise of you. I'll do my best for you. What do you know of the Minister and the Governor General?"

"Madam Bones is ... well, she's a strong person, respected for being fair and just. Governor General French, I don't know him at all." Harry said.

"I do. He was the Commander of the MMS before I was. He was a good Commander. I respected him and learned a lot from him. Like Minister Bones, he's a strong person." Stan the Man replied.

Harry thought about that. He'd never thought this was going to be easy. "Where does that take me?"

"You have to be as strong as they are. You earned the respect of the officers of the MMS. Your invitation here was from them, not me. Custom and tradition. Now you have to do that again." He replied.

At Harry's frown, he continued. "You're a young man, barely more than a boy in their eyes, who has a knighthood, Her Majesty's confidence, and is about to be handed a lot of money to do things they have no say about. That's going to make them nervous. They are going to want to get control over you and MK-1, convince you that you work for them, or should."

"What do I do about that?" Harry asked.

"Don't let them. The only way they get that control is if you cede it to them, and that's a mistake you cannot afford to make. Certainly you are going to have to deal with them, but it has to be on your terms, not theirs." The Man said.

Harry thought about that. It would be very easy for him to come across as an arrogant prat, and that wouldn't do either.

Stan held up his glass. "Let me give you an example. Sergeant Fletcher, down the hall. If I tell him I want something looked into, he'll do it. If I tried to tell him how to do his job or what conclusions to draw, he'd tell me to go to Hell. Politely, of course."

"I don't work for them, I work with them. They don't get anything until they admit they have to treat me as an equal." Harry said.

"That's right. Sergeant Fletcher plows through a lot of stuff. He tells me what I need to know. I trust him to do that. You decide what they need to know." The Man said.

Harry finished his beer, then glanced at his watch. "I'm off to see the Minister. Wish me luck."

Harry was shown into the Minister's office, and Minister Bones and Governor General French were there waiting for him. He was glad he was wearing his bespoke suit. They were certainly well dressed.

"Harry, my boy, please have a seat." Minister Bones said.

"Madam Minister, I am not your boy, nor anyone's except the Queen's." Harry replied, remaining standing. If she was trying to put him off balance, he wasn't going to let her.

If his reply upset either of them, they didn't show it. Governor General French replied, in a much more formal tone, "Sir Harry, please be seated. We have a good deal to go over."

Harry took a seat.

Minister Bones started, also more formally. "Sir Harry, there is a sizable faction in the Wizengamot that wishes to delay the Secret Vote, and wishes to know why you are asking for so much money."

"I am sure there is." Harry replied. Then he waited.

Madam Bones visibly decided that Harry wasn't going to answer. "Why do you need so much money?"

"To fulfill my remit from Her Majesty. I am to defend the Realm from threats that cannot be dealt with by the police or military. I have already identified several such threats, and dealt with one of them." Harry replied.

"I had heard that the MMS had deployed on an operation recently." The Governor-General said.

"They did. I believe that you are should know more about that. I will require your word, upon your Oath to the Queen, that you will tell nothing of this to anyone without my permission." Harry said, keeping his tone as level as he could.

"You have my word." Came from both the Minister and the Governor-General.

"This file is designated Operation Beowulf. It required me to call in the full strength of the MMS." He began.

Harry talked for about ten minutes, laying out what had been done and not sugar coating just how close-run a thing it had been. At the end of it both the Minister and the Governor-General were looking decidedly shaken.

"Her Majesty was naturally rather concerned over this, and so I was appointed to head an organization that would find and deal with such threats in more timely manner." Harry concluded.

Minister Bones recovered herself quickly. "I see, Sir Harry. You make your point. I will admit that I had my doubts, but that is no longer the case. There is a motion on the floor of the Wizengamot to delay the Secret Vote. I will see it quashed, and I will remind the waverers that they will be courting Her Majesty's displeasure."

"Thank you, Minister." Harry said.

"You have stated that you need a suitable property to house your organization. How large might it need to be?" The Minister said, going on to the next item.

*Thank you, Hermione.* "You have my written request, from my Head of Administration." Harry said.

"You could operate here in the Ministry Building. We would be glad to make space available." The Minister said.

"Generous of you, Minister, but the nature of our operations and the security required make that impractical." Harry replied. *For which read, there would be all sorts of people inviting themselves in to snoop around, and our people would be seen coming and going.*

"There were properties that were seized from the Death Eaters after the Restoration, since they had been convicted of treason against the Realm. If one of them was suitable, it could be granted to you, outright or on a lease for one galleon." The Minister said.

"Please owl a list to my Head of Administration. She will deal with that." Harry said. I didn't promise you a rose garden, Hermione.

"Very well." The Minister said.

"You have requested that the Department of Mysteries open their files to you. They are unused to doing that." The Minister went on.

"No doubt. This is another threat to the Realm that I am investigating." Harry said.

"What threat might that be?" The Governor General replied.

"Voldemort." Harry said.

"Voldemort is dead." Madam Bones said.

"He is, as far as we know. We do not know enough to say that he is not a threat, and we have some reason to believe he may still be. Operation Beowulf showed us that there are still Death Eaters, or Death Eater sympathizers, who remain a danger." Harry said.

He passed his hand over his scar. "Voldemort managed to come back from the dead once before, as I have good cause to know. We do not know what means he used to do that, where that means may be, or who has it. In my judgement, that is a potential threat."

"I see. I will direct the Head Unspeakable to cooperate fully with your investigation." The Minister said.

"Director Shacklebolt has complained that you are poaching on his preserves. Auror Tonks was specifically mentioned." The Minister continued.

"Well, I'm going to have that meeting with him, but I will say here that it is a regrettable necessity. Tonks was one of the first people I recruited. If you are going to steal brooms, Minister, steal Firebolts." Harry said.

The Minister chuckled a little at that. "Necessity presses, Sir Harry. Understood. I will inform Director Shacklebolt. As I am now aware, you have much on your plate."

"Are there any other matters, Sir Harry?" The Minister said.

"No. Thank you for your cooperation." Harry replied.

The Minister glanced at her watch. "I have a Wizengamot sitting. If you will excuse me."

After she left, Governor General French took his cane from where it stood against the wall, and stood up.

"Well done, Harry. Her Majesty will be pleased." He said, winked, and walked out.