A/N: Quite a few followers I have managed. It makes me feel like Voldermort. No! I didn't mean that! Hmm… I am acting like Ron. Anyway, the next chapter is ready to read. Enjoy!

The Ministry Transformation

He had to go. It didn't matter what Lance said. He could not ignore this threat hanging over his friends and Mrs Weasley. He would not be able to forgive himself if something happened to them.

Without sparing a thought, Harry apparated to Diagonal Alley. He appeared in a small crevice hidden from view. To his surprise, everything was normal here. Was it just a false alarm?

Harry decided to wait a bit longer before coming to a conclusion. Anyway, it was pointless carrying out an attack in broad daylight. What could be gained from this? No matter what their goal could be, it was too risky. He could see some Aurors moving among the crowd as well.

Harry carefully examined the crowd trying to see any inconsistencies; anything out of the ordinary. Something must have happened for the portkey to be triggered and he had to find out what. A cursory glance gave a sense of normalcy but on closer examination he noticed a few discrepancies. He spotted a man standing perfectly still in a corner next to the sports shop. At first, it looked as if he was just loitering around but his stillness made Harry feel uneasy. What Harry found more peculiar was his face. It was completely blank, devoid of any expressions. As if he was wearing a mask. That's it! He was actually wearing a mask. On closer look, he noticed the person was looking at someone. Tracing his gaze, he found another person, sitting at the foot of the steps of Gringotts. He was unmoving as well and wore a similar mask.

In this way he tracked thirteen men positioned randomly around the street, each one looking at the next one. There stillness indicated that they were waiting for something, but what? And where were the other two? Were they death eaters? They had to be. There was no other reason for them to go to such trouble.

First he needed to ensure that his friends and Hermione were safe. He put on his mask and walked briskly to Madam Malkin's hoping to find them. Unfortunately, they were not there. He knew of only one clothing store. He walked to the centre and looked around for a shop where they could be. And then, all hell broke loose.

The Alley was filled curse fire and screams. Harry fell to the ground and tried to see what was going on. The people he had noticed earlier were replaced by masked death eaters who were firing curses around them, at random targets. So they were death eaters after all. He could also identify spell fire coming from the roof of two buildings.

Surprisingly, they were only using non-lethal curses. That was strange, when did they start caring for human life caught in the crossfire? They didn't and never would. It started to make sense to Harry. They were here to cause chaos and draw as much attention to themselves as possible. They seemed to be a diversion team distracting their adversaries; but from what?

There was total bedlam all around; most of them not even bothering to fight back, just running to a hole to hide into. Those who retaliated ended up getting stunned or injured from behind. Each one of the Death eaters held their ground, their carefully planned position making it difficult for a counter attack. This seemed to be a well thought out strategy.

The Order had not yet arrived. Where the hell were they? Harry decided not to intervene since no one was in any mortal danger. Finally, he spotted whom he was searching for. They were in a small store that Harry hadn't noticed, peeking through the window. Harry sighed in relief seeing that they were safe. They were safe.

Ginny and Hermione came running out while Mrs Weasley was trying to frantically call them back. This was not good. He had to do something. He couldn't fight back with such a formation of death eaters. It was impossible to maintain a three sixty degree vision which was required to fight them off. He had to look for another way.

His eyes fell on a death eater standing closest to him. Yeah, it was suicide but there was no other option. He wouldn't stand a chance if he went against them as he was now. He disillusioned himself and crawled towards his target. He still wasn't able to apparate while disillusioned. He transfigured his own clothes into a black cloak and conjured a death eater mask.

As soon he was standing right behind the death eater, he disillusioned him first and then stunned him, appearing in his place. It was so fast that one had to be looking at them closely to notice the switch. He bent down for the wand the death dropped and snapped it. He needed to break the chain of death eaters or else it would be very difficult to beat them.

First, he needed to deal with the roof support they had. He observed two death eaters firing down at the crowd; or what remained standing. He took careful aim and discretely fired silent stunners at the two death eaters on the roof. He hit both the targets; one went down in a heap, while the other, to Harry's horror, toppled over the roof falling straight to the ground which was twenty feet below. However, his fall slowed down after his shoulder hit a window ledge. The fall didn't seem fatal; at least that's what Harry hoped.

It appeared as if Harry's treachery went unnoticed. He looked around to see Hermione and Ginny take out a death eater. Hermione was playing defense while Ginny was on an outright assault. They were defending two kids who were crying behind them. Harry found himself standing nearest to them, their wands raised towards him; an unexpected turn of events.

They were quickly onto him, sending a stream of curses at him. Harry just apparated away since he didn't want to return fire. He ensured that his apparition was with the twist and without any silencing charm. Harry appeared on the roof where the one of the death eaters laid stunned. He broke his wand and began picking the death eaters off one by one.

Realizing that they were being butchered, the death eaters finally started to move out of position, some of them trying to return fire in Harry's general direction. Harry ducked and brought up a shield to ensure his safety.

In the distance, Harry saw a group of Aurors running towards the source of action. He could make out Kingsley and Tonks among them. Why were they so late? Two death eaters running in their direction were disarmed and knocked out without wasting a breath. The remaining just admitted defeat and dropped their wands. What was happening? Harry was unable to comprehend what was going around him. One of the Aurors spotted him but before he could alert the others, Harry disapparated.

***B***

"Something is wrong. Why are they so late?" Ron said worriedly, pacing the floor. "I should have gone with them."

"I am sure they would be fine." Harry said calmly. He knew they were safe, otherwise he would have had joined Ron as well.

"Should I go to Diagon Alley to check on them?" Ron asked Harry, looking for support; which he didn't get.

"I don't think that is advisable. If something had happened, we would have been informed right away."

"How can you be so calm about this?" Ron asked with annoyance.

"There is no point getting worked up over things that might not have happened. We-" Harry was interrupted by a sound at the door. Ron practically flew to do the door, where he found his family entering, in one piece.

Ron's worry transformed into irritation. "What took you so long?"

"We come through hell and that's the welcome we get." Ginny muttered. Mrs Weasley just hugged Ron, leaving him confused. Hermione stood behind them with a pensive look.

"We will tell you when everyone has gathered." Mrs Weasley stated. Ron tried to ask something but his mom's raised hand silenced him.

A few hours later, everyone was sitting at the table trying to have lunch, but no one had touched their plates yet. There was an uncomfortable silence hanging around them.

Ron couldn't take it anymore. "Get on with it, will you?"

"Diagon Alley was attacked." Ginny announced, which drew a gasp from Ron, while the others remained silent. They knew it already. Harry, on his part, just tried to look shocked. Acting wasn't his forte though and he was glad no one was looking at him.

"What happened?" Ron whispered, while the others looked on with interest. Even they didn't have the details.

Hermione dove into the explanation. "We had just finished buying Ginny's robes, when we heard commotion outside the store. Looking through the glass door we found that a few death eaters were throwing curses around, trying to take out as many civilians as possible. Any who tried to resist was put down as well. Luckily, they were not using any lethal curses."

Ginny took over. "We decided to stay put since no one was in any real danger. However, we saw a woman getting stunned, leaving behind two small children. We had to do something. They would have gotten hurt either by spell fire or the stampede that followed. We ran out and covered the children, trying to block any spells coming our way. We also managed to take out a death eater who was trying to take us out."

Everyone smiled at that with a proud look on their faces. "I bet that would make it to the newspapers." Fred presumed.

"Our little sister is going to make us proud." George announced with a puffed chest.

"Oh no! Ron has infected my dear brother." Fred exclaimed pointing at George. Everyone chuckled in spite of the sombre mood. They really did know how to bring a smile on someone's face even in the darkest of times, Harry thought.

"As we were saying," Hermione continued, slightly peeved by the interruption. "…we finished off the death eater and found another one looking in our direction. He didn't even raise his wand to fight back when we threw curses at him and he just disapparated. As soon as he was gone, a death eater suddenly appeared, where the previous one was standing a moment ago, knocked out on the ground. It seemed that there was a disillusionment charm on the fallen death eater, which was lifted. We decided to take the children to safety since there was no danger nearby. Before we could even move there was a series of spell fire coming from one of the rooftops, taking out a few death eaters with great accuracy. Seeing that they were being crushed and were standing out in the open, they made a run for it. However, their escape was cut-off by the oncoming Aurors who made quick work of them. Surprisingly, the rest of them surrendered. The death eater on the roof disapparated before the Aurors could apprehend him." Hermione explained in one breath.

"There is something I don't understand." Harry put forth with genuine curiosity. "Why didn't everyone apparate away to protect themselves or why didn't the death eaters disapparated to escape capture? Any why were the Aurors so late to show up?"

"It's very simple actually." Hermione explained with her usual know-it-all tone. "There were powerful anti-apparition wards placed around Diagon Alley, covering the whole street."

Harry looked shocked. It seemed that he had unknowingly, let slip one of his skills. He hoped it wouldn't reach the ears of the enemy.

"That's right." George agreed with a serious tone. "We tried to apparate away with the under aged students in our store but we could not do so. We decided to barricade the store and gave refuge to anyone who came running in our direction."

"However, this is not the whole story. Let me enlighten you with the facts that I noticed." Hermione went on with a meditative look. "I believe that the whole thing was planned out. The positions that the death eaters had taken were strategically chosen, giving them a massive advantage over any retaliation from our side. The few Aurors who were patrolling around were taken out first. Then they began taking out civilians at random and putting down any resilience from our side. They caused absolute pandemonium among the people who were stuck in the street. I feel that this was only a diversion, what with the wards and non-lethal curses."

"You are actually right, Hermione." Mr Weasley nodded. "This attack was used to mask their original goal; to infiltrate the ministry." Everyone gasped, bar the Order members. "However, the diversion ended too early for their liking and the Ministry was able to ward off the attack with minimum casualties. They even managed to capture around twenty five death eaters in the process."

"Where were you when this happened?" Ginny asked curiously.

"I was in my office doing my work, without even realizing what was going on." Mr Weasley admitted with a sheepish smile. "When I came out, the death eaters had already been apprehended. Later I learned that the death eaters were trying to force their way in through the floos and the lifts but were soon detected. All exits were sealed and the Aurors present within the Ministry overpowered them with the help of the Order members who had managed to arrive in the nick of time. There were only two casualties among the Aurors. The rest had minor scrapes and wounds."

"Oh! I am so glad you are safe." Mrs Weasley exclaimed hugging her husband. She quickly pulled back and asked with a worried look. "What about Percy?"

"As if we care" Ron said nonchalantly but there was a hint of worry in his eyes as well. Mrs Weasley glared at him.

"He is fine. I saw him after the attack." Mr Weasley assured her.

"I just realized something." Bill said thoughtfully "If there were wards around Diagon Alley, how did the death eater who was taking out his own people, disapparated? Was he also part of the plan to confuse us?"

"I don't think so." Ginny disagreed. "He must have been rather powerful to overcome the wards. Also, I heard Kingsley say to one of the Aurors that wands of two of the death eaters had been snapped. One of them was the already stunned death eater that we both saw earlier. It won't be wrong on our part to deduce that the death eater, if we could call him that, was definitely on our side."

"I thought breaking a wand was a serious offense and against wizarding laws even though if the owner was a death eater." Charlie mused.

"I agree but I would rather prefer a wandless death eater. They don't deserve a wand anyway." Ron stated firmly.

"You know, it could be possible that he could be a spy amongst the death eaters." Bill supposed. "However, I don't think the Order is aware of anyone from our side within You-Know-Who's circle."

"If that is the case, it would be very important to try and contact him and get him in the Order." Mr Weasley suggested.

"We neither know his identity nor do we know what his intentions are. I think we should just wait and watch and let him make an appearance." Charlie pointed out. Unknown to everyone, Harry had a discreet smile on his face. Oh! He was loving the mystery around him.

"Speaking of the Order-" the twins began but were interrupted by Mr and Mrs Weasley.

"Not yet." The twins held an expression of utter disappointment, which they tried to overdo by pouting their lips and making puppy eyes, giving them a comical look. The Burrow was once again filled with laughter.

***B***

Harry returned from his training – after being berated by Lance for his indulgence in yesterday's situation – to find everyone having breakfast. He was famished and joined them at the table after washing up.

"Good morning Harry, seen today's edition of Daily Prophet?" Hermione enquired.

"Good morning. I stopped reading them a while ago. Why? I bet the whole paper would be talking about yesterday's twin strikes." Harry surmised.

"That's true." Charlie agreed with a proud smile. "There is even a mention of Ginny and Hermione in it."

"… Two witches from the school of Hogwarts displayed such an act of bravery that deserved appreciation of the highest level." Fred intoned with a funny imitation of an aristrocatic voice, reading from the paper. "They fought with valour, without any consideration for their personal safety, to protect two children who were caught in the mayhem that had ensued. They even managed to take out a few death eaters in the process. Their gallantry was commendable. Later, it was learned that they were friends of Harry Potter – Hermione Granger and Ginevra Weasley. When questioned about their skills, they informed that it was due to the training imparted on them by Harry Potter himself. It is left to be said how skilled the Boy-Who-Lived is…"

A red faced Hermione said to Harry "Quite melodramatic, don't you think? Also we just took out one death eater. Anyway, what I was trying to tell you was that all of yesterday's account was from page two onwards."

"How come? What could be more important than what had happened?" The looks that the Weasley siblings were shooting at him gave him a clue. "It's not about me is it?" Harry asked with dread. There were a few nods. Harry asked with aggravation. "What did I do? As far as I am aware, I haven't done anything to draw anyone's attention."

"Well, you see, it seems that the Daily Prophet somehow learned that you were the new Head Boy of Hogwarts." Bill informed him.

"But how?" Harry asked, slightly relieved that it had nothing to do with his other activities.

Everyone stared at the twins, who had sheepish smiles on their faces. "It's our fault. We decided to make some badges for Hogwarts with your name on it."

"What do they say?" Harry asked with a small smile playing on his face.

"There are a lot of variations, charmed onto the badge. 'Big Head Boy' and 'Hairy Head Boy' are some of them." Fred explained. Harry chuckled. They never ceased to amaze him. "You are not mad at us?"

"Why should I be? You are the best." Harry praised them.

"We knew it all along." The twins held smug looks.

"However, I would request a fifty percent share of the profits you get from those badges." Harry said with an air of a businessman.

"Done" The twins agreed.

Hermione looked curiously at Harry. "Are you not disturbed by the report about you in the Daily Prophet? It says here that your selection was due to favouritism and that you used your name and wealth to buy your way to that position. The article also contains a series of snippets from various purebloods badmouthing about you."

"I am not concerned about what others think about me. Not anymore. If the people around me have faith in me and believe in what I am, then that's all I need." Harry stated, dismissing Hermione's curiosity. Everyone was in awe of his maturity and wisdom.

Harry wondered how only a few words could have such an effect on the people around him. The words came automatically to him; he didn't even need to think over what he was going to say. It didn't use to happen before. Something was changing within him.

***B***

Only a week remained. He was dying to go to Hogwarts and was getting bored of nothing to do. He had so much time on his hands that he even managed to read the books that Lance and Hermione had given him. Not that they were uninteresting but reading books was not something he preferred. Ron was busy with his training and as the days of their departure neared, his training period increased exponentially, leaving behind a very tired Ron. Quidditch was a rarity what with everyone occupied with their daily routine. Hermione was buried in her books and all his attempts to drag her out failed miserably.

The portkey vibrated a few times but none of the alerts agreed with the limitations that Lance had set on Harry. His training was moving along smoothly but Harry didn't fail to notice the deterioration in Lance's health. He seemed to move more sluggishly and looked as if he could fall any moment.

His own physique had improved a bit and he finally managed to fill out the oversized clothing his aunt had bought for him earlier. However, his body still dwarfed in comparison with the likes of Charlie or Ron.

However, it was not all that gloomy. Harry found Ginny to be nice person to talk to and fun to be around. He had never really talked with her initially but now they conversed with such ease as if they were long-time friends. They even played chess, and to Harry's delight, winning most of the games. He teased her relentlessly until she threatened him with her Bat-Bogey hexes. Harry had told her that she was still under age and he had the upper hand to which she had reminded him that they would be returning to Hogwarts soon. That shut him up.

***B***

Something changed in the Ministry. Or someone. The impossible happened.

After the attempted infiltration in the Ministry, new measures had been introduced to improve the screening process and security had been increased. Auror training was given priority and wages had been increased to make it an attractive employment option. Full scale hiring was taking place and a huge training ground was acquired to meet the needs of the heavy recruitment. The Ministry was in the process of creating a standalone team with their own headquarters situated in a secret location. All experienced Aurors had been chosen to be a part of that team.

The people who were arrested previously on flimsy grounds, including Stanley Shunpike, had been released after being judged by an unbiased hearing. The hearing process was fast tracked to cater to the number of arrests the Aurors managed to make.

Each of the Ministry employees was scanned and intense background checks were carried out to identify any supporters of the dark side. To their surprise, they found twenty nine employees with irrefutable evidence against them. The Ministry managed to apprehend eleven employees while the others were on the run.

Spontaneous raids were carried out in homes of suspected death eaters. However, success was very limited since everyone was on guard now. Knockturn Alley and many other suspicious locations were closely monitored for any suspect activities. Shops were searched thoroughly to look for dark objects and were confiscated when found.

Pamphlets and handbooks were distributed at all important locations to raise awareness among the people. Impromptu training sessions were carried out to teach the common public about self-defence. Patrolling had been increased to keep an eye on the neighbourhood.

The Ministry was also in the process of trying to freeze all death eater bank accounts and were in talks with the goblins to allow such a task. The goblins had initially refused to do so but it seemed that they were only buying time and would relent soon enough.

Mediators were sent to different parts of the United Kingdom to build a relationship of trust with other intelligent magical beings including giants, vampires, centaurs and werewolves. However, no success was forthcoming yet. A new department was opened in the ministry called Werewolf Support Services to offer aid to those inflicted with the condition. This was the topic of discussion at the dinner table in the Burrow.

"I have been asked to lead that department and reach out to the other werewolves." Remus informed them. "Actually they are just afraid to approach them themselves."

"I think this will do well for our cause. We might be able to tilt the support of werewolves, that You-Know-Who enjoys, in our favour." Bill pointed out.

"And if this works out, the other magical beasts would soon follow their lead and come to our side." Charlie said, nodding his head.

"You know, even if we manage to put them on the sidelines and away from the war, it will give us a huge advantage." Mr Weasley said.

"I have taken up the job." Remus announced. Everyone congratulated him. "This would assist me in the task that I have been working on for a long time without much success. Now I would be armed with hard facts rather than flimsy promises."

"These changes in the Ministry have been so sudden; so unexpected, that I wonder what had caused it." Hermione said with a pensive look.

"You just need to look to your right for the reason behind such changes." Remus said, gesturing towards Harry. He had not told his friends about his run in with the Minister.

Hermione was throwing piercing looks towards Harry while the others looked curiously at Harry.

"Remus, I don't think it was me." Harry said in reply ignoring all the stares. "It is impossible that a few words could have such an effect."

"You are underestimating the power behind words." Remus countered.

"Will someone explain us what you guys are talking about?" Ron asked with annoyance. Remus filled them in with what had happened the day Harry had gone to the Ministry to give his apparition test.

"… then Percy took him away." Remus completed.

"What happened next?" Hermione asked Harry, all heads turning in his direction.

Harry sighed. "Not much. I just said the usual; that I will not play the part of a mascot for the Ministry. Only thing I said differently was that if the Minister got his act together, I might think about supporting him." Harry gave the incomplete truth. The part he left out was too difficult to explain. He couldn't even believe he had said that earlier.

"He would not do so much just for your support?" Hermione pointed out.

"That is what I'm trying to say, this is happening not because of me. Someone else is responsible for it." Harry said unconvincingly. At the back of his mind, he knew that was not true. It couldn't just be a coincidence that from the day Harry encountered the Minister, the changes started to happen. However, he agreed with Hermione. The reason was not enough behind such a transformation. It was as if the changes were pre-planned, as though everything was thought out in advance and only now were set in motion. Even if the Minister was looking for his support, it was impossible on his part to achieve this much in just two weeks, no matter how shrewd or brilliant he was. It looked as if someone else was pulling the strings. Someone, who had been waiting for the go ahead from the Minister; but who was it?

Any further conversation was interrupted by a Patronus, which came through the wall and went to Remus. This had to be bad news. After getting the silent message Remus turned to everyone.

"There was another attack." Remus said with defeated eyes. "Hogsmeade was targeted. The barkeeper of Hog's Head is dead."