Chapter XXI

Tom was right. The Minister of Magic was in Dumbledore's office, along with Kingsley and another Auror Harry did not know. The Minister was rocking backward and forward on his toes beside the fire, apparently immensely pleased with the situation. Harry also saw Percy Weasley hovering excitedly beside the wall, a quill and a heavy scroll of parchment in his hands, apparently poised to take notes.

The portraits of old headmasters and headmistresses were not shaming sleep tonight. All of them were watching what was happening below, alert and serious. As Harry and Tom entered, a few flitted into neighboring frames and whispered urgently into their neighbor's ears.

"Minister, I am not surprised to see you," Tom Riddle said as he and Harry escorted Umbridge into the room. "Would you believe that your employee attacked myself and my fiancé as we were heading back to Gryffindor Tower."

"Well, well, well, no use lying now, Mr. Potter," The Minister said, looking victorious at Harry.

"We're not lying," Harry said. "Tom and I were on our way back to Gryffindor Tower when Umbridge attacked us. I do not believe we have broken any school rules or those Ministry degrees. Unless it is now illegal to walk with your boyfriend."

"So," Fudge said, his voice thick with anger, "it is news to you, is it, that an illegal student organization has been discovered within this school?"

"Yes, it is," Harry said.

"I think, Minister," Umbridge said, silkily from beside him, "we might make better progress if I fetch our informant."

"Yes, you do that," Fudge said, nodding, and he glanced maliciously at Dumbledore as Umbridge left the room. "There's nothing like a good witness, is there, Dumbledore?"

"Nothing at all, Cornelius," Dumbledore said gravely, inclining his head.

There was a wait of several minutes, in which nobody looked at each other, then Harry heard the door open behind him. Umbridge moved past him into the room, gripping by the shoulder Cho's curly-haired friend Marietta, who was hiding her face in her hands.

"Don't be scared, dear, don't be frightened," Professor Umbridge said softly, patting her on the back, "it's quite all right, now. You have done the right thing. The Minister is very pleased with you. He'll be telling your mother what a good girl you've been. Marietta's mother, Minister," she added, looking up at Fudge, "is Madam Edgecombe from the Department of Magical Transportation. Floo Network office—she's been helping us police the Hogwarts fire, you know."

"Jolly good, jolly good!" Fudge said heartily. "Like mother, like daughter, eh? Well, come on, now, dear, look up, don't be shy, let's hear what you've got to—galloping gargoyles!"

As Marietta raised her head, Fudge leapt backwards in shock, nearly landing himself in the fire. He cursed and stamped on the hem of his cloak, which had started to smoke, and Marietta gave a wail and puled the neck of her robes right up to her eyes, but not before the whole room had seen that her face was horribly disfigured by a series of close-set purple pustules that had spread across her nose and cheeks to form the word "SNEAK."

Tom smirked and said, "You better hope that your new marks aren't permanent, Miss Edgecombe. Would be a horrible thing to ruin your life over this mistake."

Marietta gave a muffled wail as Umbridge gave Tom a dirty look. "Never mind the spots dear, just take your robes away from your mouth and tell the Minister—

But Marietta gave another muffled wail and shook her head frantically.

"Fine, I'll tell him," Umbridge snapped. She hitched her sickly smile back onto her face and said, "Well, Minister, Miss Edgecombe here came to my office shortly after dinner this evening and told me she had something she wanted to tell me. She said that if I proceeded to a secret room on the seventh floor, sometimes known as the Room of Requirement, I would find out something to my advantage. I questioned her a little further and she admitted that there was to be a sort of meeting there. Unfortunately at that point this hex," she waved impatiently at Marietta's concealed face, "came into operation and upon catching sight of her face in my mirror the girl became too distressed to tell me any more."

It was clear that Marietta was not going to talk. Tom gave her a sharp look as he crossed his arms, looking impatient as Umbridge continued. "You will remember, Minister, that I sent you a report back in October that Potter had met a number of fellow students in the Hog's Head in Hogsmeade—"

"Objection!" Tom yelled, getting the room's attention. "You are very good at giving stories, Umbridge, but where is the evidence?" he asked.

Professor Umbridge sneered at Tom, giving him the ugliest look Harry has ever seen. "Why Mr. Riddle, I have testimony from Willy Widdershins, who happened to be in the bar at the time. He was heavily bandaged, it is true, but his hearing was quite unimpeded," Umbridge said smugly. "He heard every word Potter, and you Mr. Riddle, said and hastened straight to the school to report to me—

"If memory serves me, Mr. Widdershins has done a little crime of his own," Tom said smoothly. "Setting up regurgitating toilets, was it not? So you've sweep his crime away for a testimony?"

"Blatant corruption!" roared the portrait of the corpulent, red-nosed wizard on the wall behind Dumbledore's desk. "The Ministry did not cut deals with petty criminals in my day, no sir, they did not!"

"Thank you, Fortescue, that will do," Dumbledore said softly.

"The purpose of Potter's meeting with these students," Professor Umbridge continued, "was to learn spells and curses the Ministry has decided are inappropriate for school-age—"

"I think you'll find you're wrong there, Dolores," Dumbledore said quietly, peering at her over the half-moon spectacles perched halfway down his crooked nose.

Harry stared at him then turned to look at Tom, who had a quizzical look on his face. "I'll have to think about this one carefully," Tom whispered under his breath. "One wrong move…"

"Oho!" Fudge said, bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet again. "Yes, do let's hear the latest cock-and-bull story designed to pull Potter out of trouble! Go on, then, Dumbledore, go on—Willy Widdershins was lying, was he? Or was it Potter's identical twin in the Hog's Head that day? Or is there the usual simple explanation involving a reversal of time, a dead man coming back to life, and a couple of invisible dementors?"

Percy Weasley let out a hearty laugh. "Oh, very good, Minister, very good!"

Harry could have kicked him. Then he saw, to his astonishment, that Tom was laughing as well.

"My, my… how an imbecile like you became Minister I wish to know," Tom said, still chuckling darkly. "Do you even know how to work with dates, Minister? Perhaps I can teach you. The Educational Decree, which makes such groups illegal, was passed on October seventh. However, the Hogsmeade visit when such a gathering could have taken place was on October fifth, two days before the passing of the decree. If such a gathering happened at that time and place, it was, by all legal terms, completely legal and Harry and I broke no rules."

Percy looked as though he had been stuck in the face by something very heavy. Fudge remained motionless in mid-bounce, his mouth hanging open.

Umbridge recovered first. "That's all very fine, Mr. Riddle," she said, smiling sweetly. "But we are now nearly six months on from the introduction of Educational Decree Number Twenty-four. If the first meeting was not illegal, all those that have happened since most certainly are."

"All those that happened since? Tell me Professor, how do you know if such meetings occur? That this was not the first meeting since October fifth? Do you have evidence that the meetings continued?" Tom asked, a knowing smirk growing on his face.

As Tom spoke, Harry heard a rustle behind him and rather thought Kingsley whispered something. He could have sworn too that he felt something brush against his side, a gentle something like a draft or bird wings, but looking down he saw nothing there.

"Evidence?" Umbridge repeated with that horrible wide toadlike smile. "Have you not been listening, Mr. Riddle? Why do you think Miss Edgecombe is here?"

"She can tell you of six months worth of meetings then? For all I remember I only see her in class," Tom said. "Besides Umbridge, I thought we were all under the impression that she was merely reporting a meeting tonight."

"Miss Edgecombe," Umbridge said at once, "tell us how long these meetings have been going on, dear. You can simply nod or shake your head. I'm sure that won't make the spots worse. Have they been happening regularly over the last six months? Just nod or shake your head, dear."

Everyone in the room was gazing at the top of Marietta's face. Only her eyes were visible between the pulled-up robes and her curly fringe. Harry thought it was a trick in the firelight, but he thought that the eyes looked blank, staring at Tom. And then—to Harry's amazement—Marietta shook her head.

Umbridge looked quickly at fudge and then back at Marietta. "I don't think you understand the question, dear? I'm asking whether you've been going to these meetings for the past six months? You have, haven't you?"

Again, Marietta shook her head.

"What do you mean by shaking your head, dear?" Umbridge said in a testy voice.

"Her meaning should be quite clear," Tom said. "There has been no secret meetings for the past six months. Correct, Marietta?"

Marietta nodded.

"But there was a meeting tonight!" Umbridge said furiously. "There was a meeting, Miss Edgecombe, you told me about it, in the Room of Requirement! And Potter was the leader, was he not, Potter organized it, Potter—why are you shaking your head, girl?"

"Surely you know the universal sign of 'No,' Professor?" Tom said coldly.

Professor Umbridge seized Marietta, pulled her around to face her and began shaking her very hard. A split second later Dumbledore was on his feet, his wand raised. Kingsley started forward and Umbridge leapt back from Marietta, waving her hands in the air as though they had been burned.

"I cannot allow you to manhandle my students, Dolores," Dumbledore said, and for the first time he looked angry.

"Dolores," Fudge said, with the air of trying to settle something once and for all, "the meeting tonight—the one we know definitely happened—"

"Yes," Umbridge said, pulling herself together, "yes… well, Miss Edgecombe tipped me off and I proceeded at once to the seventh floor accompanied by certain trustworthy students—"

"Parkinson, Crabbe, Goyle, Greengrass, a couple others and a bullied Malcolm Baddock, who was forced to join Umbridge," Tom interrupted. "Hardly a trustworthy group, seeing how they constantly bully and harass other students. But please, continue."

Both the Minister and Umbridge gave Tom death glares and Harry couldn't help but feel an itchy feeling in his hand. He wanted to curse them, to hurt them for looking at his Lord like that. Just kill them and be done with it! He thought in his head.

"It does not matter what you say Mr. Riddle, I have your name… all of the names in fact… on this pretty piece of evidence," Umbridge said. And much to Harry's horror, she withdrew from her pocket the list of names that had been pinned upon the Room of Requirement's wall and handed it to Fudge.

"The moment I saw Potter's name on the list, I knew what we were dealing with," she said softly.

"Excellent," Fudge said, a smile spreading across his face, "Excellent, Dolores. And… by thunder…"

He looked up at Dumbledore, who was still standing beside Marietta, his wand held loosely in his hand.

"See what they've named themselves? Fudge said quietly. "Dumbledore's Army."

Tom let out a soft, almost silent chuckle, his face perfectly still though Harry knew that he was smirking inside. "You lose, old man," Tom said under his breath. Harry stared at Tom and it only took a moment to realized what he had done. Without Harry noticing, Tom somehow slipped the list in Umbridge's pocket and altered her memories.

"Well, the game is up," Dumbledore said simply. "Would you like a written confession from me, Cornelius—or will a statement before these witnesses suffice?"

Fudge looked utterly surprised. "Statement?" he said slowly. "What—I don't—?"

"Dumbledore's Army, Cornelius," Dumbledore said, still smiling as he waved the list of names before Fudge's face. "Not Potter's Army. Dumbledore's Army."

"But—but—"

Understanding blazed suddenly in Fudge's face. He took a horrified step backward, yelped, and jumped out of the fire again.

"You?" he whispered, stamping again on his smoldering cloak.

"That's right," Dumbledore said pleasantly.

"You organized this?"

"I did," Dumbledore said.

"You recruited these students for—for your army?"

"Tonight was supposed to be the first meeting," Dumbledore said nodding. "Merely to see whether they would be interested in joining me. I see now that it was a mistake to invite Miss Edgecombe, of course."

"Harry," Tom whispered. He leaned close to Harry's ear and whispered, "What have we learned tonight?"

Harry answered immediately, his eyes glancing at Tom. "Play to people's fears," he whispered. "Fudge is scared of Dumbledore stealing his power… so you forced Dumbledore into a corner where he has to admit Fudge's worst fear."

"And now… Dumbledore's worst fear will be realized," Tom whispered. "Forced to flee this school, leaving his students vulnerable to Lord Voldemort's whims. Though, they both will be dead soon."

"But everyone will learn so much under you," Harry whispered.

"Shh… watch," Tom said, his eyes flickering towards the scene in front of them.

"Weasley!" Fudge cried, now positively quivering with delight. "Weasley, have you written it all down, everything he's said, his confession, have you got it?"

"Yes, sir, I've got it, yes!" Percy said, scanning his notes joyfully.

"Very well, then," Fudge said, now radiant with glee. "Duplicate your notes, Weasley, and send a copy to the Daily Prophet at once. If we send a fast owl we should make the morning edition!" Percy dashed from the room, slamming the door behind him, and Fudge turned back to Dumbledore, "You will now be escorted back to the Ministry, where you will be formally charged and then sent to Azkaban to await trial!"

"Ah," Dumbledore said gently, "yes. Yes. I thought we might hit that little snag."

"Snag?" Fudge said, his voice still vibrating with joy. "I see no snag, Dumbledore!"

"Be ready to duck," Tom whispered in Harry's ear. "When I tell you, move."

"I am afraid you are under the delusion that I am going to—what is the phrase? 'Come quietly.' I am afraid I have no intentions of going to Azkaban, Cornelius."

"Enough of this," Umbridge said. "Take him!" she yelled at Kingsley and the other Auror. Chaos happened. There was a streak of silver light flashing and then a bang, like a gunshot, and the floor trembled. Harry and Tom ducked quickly, Tom shielding Harry. When the light started to vanish, Harry was surprised to see that Dumbledore was gone.

"Where is he?" Fudge yelled, "Where is he?"

"I don't know!" Kingsley shouted.

"Well, he can't have Disapparated!" Umbridge cried. "You can't inside this school—"

They were interrupted by a cold, harsh laughter. The two Aurors, Fudge, and Umbridge turned towards Tom. He was standing to his feet, laughing maniacally at their actions. Harry ran towards Marietta and said, "Get out of here!" She ran and Harry smiled when the door closed. He pulled out his wand and locked it.

"Mr. Riddle this is no laughing matter!" Umbridge said. "You will cease this instance!"

Tom turned towards Umbridge and took a step forward, still laughing. His laughter grew higher and colder with each step, his body changing before the four of them. Harry aimed his wand at Kingsley and the other Auror and disarmed their wands before they had a chance to raise them.

A cold skeletal man stood in front of them now, with a smooth, snake-like head with red eyes and slits for a nose. "I had quite enough of your babblings… Professor Umbridge," Voldemort teased.

"You—you—"

"My god," Fudge gasped, his face turning white as a sheet. His horrified eyes turned desperately to Harry. "Well! Do something!" he cried out.

Voldemort turned to Harry, "Yes Harry," he said, his cold voice now airy, "do something."

Harry looked at Voldemort and smiled, saying three words that shattered everyone's hopes in that room. "Yes, my Lord." Quick as a flash he aimed his wand at the Minister. "Incendio,." A wave of fire shot from Harry's wand and the Minister's clothes quickly caught on fire.

The portraits of the past headmasters and headmistresses screamed in panic, all of them trying to run away from their portraits, to get away from Hogwarts castle and warn someone, anyone, of what is happening. Unfortunately, Voldemort waved his wand and the portraits all fell to the ground, their occupants sealed in their frames. The Minister's panicked screams filled the room along with smoke from his burning robes as the flames started to lick and touch his skin.

"Harry! What are you doing?" Kingsley demanded. Harry turned away from the burning Minister and smiled. "Simple," he said. "I'm serving my Lord as his Dark Prince… however… we can't let you tell anyone. I'm sorry Kingsley."

"Harry we can talk about this, we can help you," Kingsley said. "We can run—do the right thing. Nobody has to get hurt. He is… that thing is a monster, Harry, a monster who is using you to—"

"Do not talk about my love that way!" Harry screamed. "I don't want you to die Kingsley! I like you, I have no problems with you! But things need to change…" Harry wiped away the angry tears that were forming in his eyes. "And if… and if this is the way it has to be… I'm sorry."

Harry turned to Voldemort and said, "Make his quick… and painless. Please?"

"Of course my love," Voldemort said. He pulled Harry into a possessive kiss, wrapping an arm protectively around Harry as his other aimed at Kingsley. Harry shut his eyes as Voldemort said against their kiss, "Avada Kedavra."

Kingsley's body fell to the floor, followed quickly by the second Auror. Voldemort continued to kiss Harry, shielding his eyes from the burning Minister as Voldemort turned his wand towards Fudge. Voldemort said the Unforgivable Curse again against Harry's lips, biting Harry's lower one.

Harry moaned as Fudge's body fell, Voldemort waving his wand to extinguish the flames.

During this time Umbridge just stood in horror, shocked at what occurred. Voldemort turned his red eyes unto her and smirked as he moved away from Harry and towards her again. He jabbed his wand towards her, and she fell unconscious.

"Harry, order the crows to steal Percy's transcript and wipe his mind of the last two hours," Voldemort commanded. "I will tidy this room."

"Yes, my Lord," Harry said. Tom quickly put out the fireplace and Harry ran towards the darkest corner, disappearing into it. "Lead me to Percy Weasley, now!" he yelled in the total darkness. Bands of red eyes appeared and seemingly created a pathway that led towards a faraway light. Harry followed the trail the crows made and was surprised to find himself in The Owlery. Percy Weasley was sitting and frantically copying his own notes. "I would stop that, if I was you," Harry threatened.

Percy jumped and turned to see Harry. "P-Potter!" he said, surprised. "You'll not get out of this one—"

"I don't have time, Obliviate!" Harry yelled. A soft light hit Percy and he slunk into his seat. Harry walked towards his unconscious body and took his notes. "Destroy these," he ordered the crows, throwing the notes on the ground. "And bring him to his home. Unharmed." Harry stressed the last part. He watched as the darkness in the shadows appeared to grow, crows manifesting as if from nowhere and slowly covering Percy's slumped body until Harry could barely see a piece of his red hair. Then the darkness disappeared all at once, along with Percy's body.

Harry stepped back into the complete darkness and returned to the Headmaster's office. He was shocked to see that it was clean. Kingsley's, Fudge's and the other Auror's bodies were nowhere to be found. Everything was back in their place, and the headmasters and headmistresses of Hogwarts were all sleeping in their portraits. The only people in the room was Tom (who was back to his handsome body), who was sitting in the Headmaster's chair, and Umbridge, who was still lying on the floor unconscious. "Where are—"

"The bodies will appear at different times spaced weeks apart," Tom said. "The portraits were all given a complex memory charm, please do not ask me how I managed that and Umbridge is still alive. It is as if nothing has happened in this room tonight. But come, we have unfinished business. I hoped we could wait until your O.W.L. exams, but no more. We strike tonight."

"Okay," Harry said. "What is the plan?"

"Follow me, and I will tell you," Tom said. He flicked his wand and rope appeared, tying Umbridge's hands together. With another flick, the toad woman woke up. "Get up Dolores," Tom said in a falsely sweet voice. "We are going for a little walk, and you are going to hear about all the delightful things Harry and I are going to do to your precious Ministry."

"You will unhand me, Potter!" She screamed, apparently recovered from her shock and fright of seeing the Minister of Magic burned then killed. Tom frowned, and, with a snap, a piece of cloth was stuffed in Professor Umbridge's mouth. "Much better," Tom sighed in relief. He took Harry's hand and the two walked out of the office, Professor Umbridge following them as if pulled by an invisible leash.

They walked down the spiral staircase and into the empty corridor. "I have wished we could have delayed this until after your examinations, love, but Dumbledore has just presented me the perfect opportunity," Tom began.

"It's okay, I'll just study twice as hard when we're done," Harry smiled.

"Good boy," Tom said, squeezing Harry's hand affectionately. "Believe me when I say that I will be disciplinary if I find you slacking."

"Yes, My Lord," Harry said, grinning slightly.

"Good. As for tonight, once we dispose of Miss Umbridge, we will contact our followers immediately. I believe my Death Eaters will be all that is needed. Greyback will come along, just so he can act as messenger to the rest of the werewolves."

"Oh…" Harry frowned. "I don't like him. He scares me a little."

"I know he does, but our alliance with the werewolves is only temporary, my love," Tom said. "And he will be doing little to nothing here. I am sure bringing a ravenous werewolf into the Department of Mystery is not a very good idea. It is something the husk would do, but not us. However, that does not mean the werewolves don't have their usefulness, my love. But we can talk about that later, for now let me tell you what I have planned out."

They kept walking down the deserted corridors, Harry surprised that they weren't running into anyone. The two turned a corner and started slowly going down the marble staircase.

"We will infiltrate the Ministry using the Floo Network," Tom continued. "I believe we have given our followers enough time to rest after their stay in Azkaban. The Order will obviously be notified immediately about our break-in, but they should provide no difficulty for us."

"What if Sirius comes? Or Remus? Or Tonks or—"

"If you or I see that our members are about to provide a killing blow to them," Tom continued, "then you will simply stop them first."

"As a way to distract the Order? Make them think we're on their side?" Harry asked.

"Precisely," Tom said. They stepped into the entrance hall and Tom turned to Professor Umbridge. "Get the door," he ordered, swiping his wand and letting Umbridge's body fly out in front of them, slamming into the wooden doors that led outside, opening them slightly. The two walked through the door and out into the grounds. "With the prophecy in our possession, all we would need to do is kill Dumbledore and make it look as if I too have died."

"What!" Harry said, looking alarmed.

"Do not worry my love," Tom chuckled. "It is just a way for us to end this war before it starts properly. We will simply have one of my followers impersonate me."

"And they won't know of this part?"

"The impersonator? No, he won't," Tom said. "What reason would I have to explain my plans to the dead?" His eyes shifted towards Umbridge as they walked down to the grounds. In the distance Harry could see Hagrid's hut, there was a light on and smoke rising from the chimney. They turned and walked away from the hut as they continued towards the forest.

"What about after that?"

"Well with the prophecy in our possession, and the bodies of Dumbledore and 'Voldemort' to be found… the world will conclude that the two have killed each other and speculate on what happened and why their precious Minister Fudge seemingly ran away," Tom said. "It will be easy to insert a puppet for our uses until things eventual normalize. Ahh, here we are," Tom smiled as they walked into the forest. He turned to Harry and said, "If you would be so kind, my love."

Harry nodded and took the lead. He led Tom and Umbridge deeper into the forest until they could barely see in front of them. Then they heard hooves running on the ground and stopped. "Bane! Bane come help!" Harry yelled out. The hooves stopped for a moment before becoming louder. Bodies appeared and soon the centaurs have circled around them, Bane stepping forward.

"Harry Potter, what do you need help with?" Bane asked.

Harry pointed at Umbridge and said, "She tried to rip the child growing inside me out, she tried to kill the mare that you've help create Bane. Please, help me, she is the one I warned you—told you about. Take her far away from me, from my child, before she can hurt me or anyone again."

"Understood," Bane said. He looked at the other centaurs. The herd gave a great whooping sound as they ran towards Tom and Umbridge, snatching Umbridge from Tom and running away with her, her muffled screams filling the forest night. "You are Harry Potter's man?" Bane asked, looking at Tom.

"I am, and I am very grateful for all you have done for my Harry," Tom said. "And, just so you know, I am more than enough to satisfy my boy," Tom gave a lewd smirk. "He has no need for your… size."

Bane glared at Tom angrily, his hooves stomping on the ground. "Though I must admit your physical appearance is something to be admired… perhaps Harry is right, I might try to imitate it. Though that will be done the road. For now, our business with each other is done."

He took Harry's hand and the two walked out of the forest, satisfied and calmer than before. Once they reached the Forest Edge, and Tom knew that they weren't being followed by Bane or the centaur herd, he turned to Harry and said, "Our business with the Centaurs is complete. But our night is far from over. Come my love, your Lord has need of his Prince."

A/N: Next chapter last chapter!