Chapter 21
Discussions, Letters and Reports
Tuesday, August 26th, 1994 – 10:00 AM
Lily Potter was currently sitting in the dining room at Potter Manor, sipping on a cup of tea. After returning home with Harry, Rose and Hermione, she chose not to go back to bed. Instead of heading to bed, she had decided to take a nice, long soak in the large tub in the Master Bath. She had been in the tub for nearly two hours before she had gotten out.
The three teens however, had gone back to bed – all of them in Harry's bedroom. Melina, the head Potter House-Elf had come to her twenty minutes ago, and told her that the three teens were awake again. Lily noted that the elf was blushing a bit, and it didn't take long for Lily to realize why. She suspected that the teens decided to have a bit of early morning fun after waking up. She could not blame them. How many times in the many years she and James had been a couple had they had a bit of morning fun to start the day? She had lost count, but it was a lot!
Before dismissing Melina, she requested that the elves fix a late breakfast for herself and the three teens. Melina had nodded, bowed and vanished, likely to the kitchen.
Over the past hour or so, she had been relaxing in her and her husband's combined Study, going through the mail, while writing a few letters of her own. She had seen that damnable article in the Daily Prophet, which blamed the riot on the Bulgarians. She had half a mind to send them a Howler!
She had gotten letters from the Greengrasses, Patils, and Abbots, three of House Potter's Allies whose children – or the Abbot family's case, their whole family - had been at the Quidditch World Cup. All of them had left before the Riots began, and they were all worried about her, James, and her children. From their letters, they had apparently read the Daily Prophet about the Riot. Other friends of the family had also written to her about the Riot. She wrote one specific letter detailing the Riot, who was likely responsible for it, while also saying that she, James, her twins, and everyone that was with them were all safe. She then copied the letters, addressed each of them to various recipients, and signed her name to each letter. Then she sent the letters out with three of the family owls.
Another letter she read was for her husband, summoning him to an emergency Wizengamot session for the following day at ten-o-clock. Lily had grinned as she read the letter. She hadn't heard anything from her husband, nor Sirius or Amelia, since they had left for the Ministry. But if the emergency session was anything to go by, it seemed they were already quite successful. Especially as the letter revealed the session would be trials for those instigators of the Riot.
Lily's thoughts were interrupted as Harry, Rose and Hermione entered the dining room. From their appearance, Lily guessed they had all just taken showers before they came down. She wondered if they had taken a shower together. The shower in the upstairs family bathroom was big enough for the three of them after all. As they sat down, Melina appeared and served the four of them a full English breakfast, along with jugs or orange juice and ice-cold water. Melina and the elves were always very efficient when it came to serving the meals for the family.
"Thank you, Melina," Lily said; the teens thanked the elf as well, "If any post arrives, bring it here until I leave the dining room."
"Yes, Lady Lily," Melina said, she bowed and vanished.
"Good morning, you three," Lily addressed the teens, as they started in on their meal, "Did you get enough sleep?"
"Yes, Mum," Rose said, "Those three extra hours were exactly what we needed."
Harry and Hermione nodded in agreement.
"Are you still feeling any after-effects of the Cruciatus, Harry?" Lily asked.
"No, Mum, I'm fine," Harry said.
"He hasn't had any twitches or shown any signs of pain since we woke up," Lily said.
"No pain, just pleasure," Rose said.
Lily merely smiled as she caught Harry glaring at his sister. She knew her suspicions were correct.
"Have you heard anything from Dad, Sirius or Amelia?" Harry asked.
"No," Lily said, "However... I did receive a letter for your father, summoning him to an emergency Wizengamot session tomorrow. All members are required to be there. Apparently it is for trials regarding the instigators behind the Riots."
Harry, Rose and Hermione grinned at this news.
"It sounds as if they've been pretty successful already this morning," Hermione said; then she frowned, "Has there been any news about how many died last night?"
"No," Lily said, "And you won't find it in the Daily Prophet yet either. The information in today's edition about the Riot is rubbish. They're blaming it on Bulgarians, and there is absolutely no mention of the Dark Mark yet."
Harry scoffed. "It sounds as if whoever wrote the article heard there was a riot, but couldn't get any information. So they simply made up a story so it could be placed in today's edition."
"I had the same thought," Lily said, nodding.
"How could they get away with that?" Hermione asked.
"Their main sponsor is the Ministry," Harry said, "They can pretty much get away with anything."
Hermione frowned and looked at Lily, who shrugged and nodded.
"He's right, Hermione – after all, they do have exclusive rights to interviews with the Minister," Lily said, "And there is nothing like libel and slander laws in the wizarding world. It doesn't matter either way, though. I imagine the media is at the Ministry trying to get information. Tomorrow the Daily Prophet will have the real story."
"That is probable," Rose said, "After all, it is better than the fiction they've put out today. Wait! Have you heard back from our friends? The Greengrasses, the Patils -"
"I received letters from the Greengrasses, Patils, and Abbots," Lily said, "They all left the campgrounds after the match and before the Riots. Daphne and Astoria spent the night at Lord Davis' house, with plans on returning home this morning."
The three teens emitted a sigh of relief.
"Of course, they found out about the Riots due to the Daily Prophet," Lily said, "So they were asking whether the article was true or not. I wrote back to them and told them all that I could."
"Did you tell them that we – er – killed Crabbe and Goyle's fathers?" Harry asked, with a soft voice.
"I left that part out, actually," Lily said, smiling softly, "I decided the three of you could give that information out. Do you want to talk about it? I know you told the story to everyone last night. But we never got a chance to talk about what happened."
"The one that died be-because of me," Harry said, "He – he was targeting Rose and Hermione. He noticed they were putting up defensive shields to guard us and Dora, and he must have been trying to take them down so the shields would be gone. I saw him choose them as targets, and I sent a spell-chain at him. Disarming, Bone-Breaking, and Reducto. I was simply trying to stop him from using his wand. I didn't mean for his leg to... but it happened, and I guess I didn't count on him losing so much blood."
"After Harry had gone down due to the Cruciatus, Rose and I panicked," Hermione said; Rose nodded, with a frown, "We just wanted the fight to be over. So we sent spell-chains of our own to the man who cursed Harry. I suppose the combination of all those spells hitting him must have killed him."
"We were just trying to take him out of the fight," Rose said, "We... we didn't want to kill him. I'd have been fine just to see him arrested."
Harry and Hermione nodded in agreement with Rose.
"As James told you last night, none of you are at fault," Lily said. "You defended yourselves, Dora, and the Delacour sisters very well. Just as we taught you. James and I taught all three of you those spell-chains last summer, knowing well enough that those spell-chains could simply incapacitate a person, or it could also kill them. I want to remind you of one particular lesson we taught you. What is the difference between a duel and a fight?"
"During duels, both competitors almost always walk away from them," Harry said. "We fight to win, sure. But we do not fight to kill."
"During a fight – at least with spells and curses," Rose said, "We fight to survive. Whether or not that -"
She frowned and looked down at her plate. Hermione took over for her.
"Even if that means we have to severely injure or kill our opponent," she said. "We fight to survive."
"And what were you doing last night?" Lily asked.
"Fighting to survive," Harry said.
"Fighting to protect each other, and Dora," Rose said, "And Fleur and Gabrielle."
Hermione nodded in agreement.
"Exactly," Lily said, smiling, "Which you did, very successfully I might add. You could have been injured far worse than a Cruciatus Curse. Those two men were Death Eaters. Crabbe and Goyle were not the smartest of the bunch, but they were some of the meanest. James and I both fought the pair of them during the War when we were in skirmishes. This was, of course, before I discovered I was pregnant. Then I retired from doing my part in the war – the fighting at least. Anyway, we were so angry when they were able to avoid Azkaban. You heard what they were planning on doing to the Delacour sisters. Do you think you weren't added into their plans when they saw you?"
Hermione and Rose's eyes widened. Anger marred Harry's expression.
"While I wish you didn't have to kill someone at your age," Lily said, "I am so very proud of all of you. And
I know James, Sirius, Amelia and all your friends – those who matter anyway - will say the same."
"Thanks, Mum," "Thanks, Lily," Harry, Rose and Hermione all said.
Silence reigned for half-a-minute as the four continued eating their breakfast. Then Harry cleared his throat.
"Er... Mum," Harry said, "Yesterday, you told me that you were going to talk to Sirius, Amelia, Remus, and the Luna's parents about the Committee's stipulation regarding me and my female form. You said you had theories you wanted to discuss with them. Er... you said you would talk to me about that today?"
Lily nodded slowly. She had been planning on having this discussion soon enough. During her nearly two hours in the bathtub, she had spent half the time going over what exactly she should say to Harry. She had been quite outnumbered when it came to whether or not she should tell Harry about her theory – the 'extreme theory'. It was a hard decision, but she decided she'd agree with her husband and friends. She would not tell Harry that theory right now.
"I did say that, didn't I?" Lily asked, "Very well, we can discuss that."
"We have a theory of our own, Mum," Harry said, "Dora helped us come up with it."
"Oh?" Lily asked, "Tell me yours and I'll tell you mine."
Or rather Xenophilius' theory, she amended mentally. She very much hoped the teens' theory wasn't anywhere near as extreme as her own, or similar to it!
"Dora believes – and we agreed with her," Harry said, "That the Committee made this sub-law for a specific reason. We think that they believe, that since I can turn into a female, become pregnant, and give birth to children, then I should consider myself a future wife and mother."
"Well, Dora said he could be both husband and wife, and father and mother," Hermione clarified.
"But definitely wife and mother," Rose said, "According to what we believe the Committee believes, that is."
"That does sound like a pretty good theory," Lily said, nodding. "They see your female form as another witch capable of bringing forth more of the next generation of our society. As a wizard, you can do the same. However..."
"Since he can be a father and mother," Hermione said, "The Committee might want him to be both instead of decide to just be one."
"And they passed this sub-law," Rose said, "So Harry has the 'opportunity' to see if he – or rather, his female form – is capable of being compatible with a wizard."
Lily grimaced. Her own theory did not account for compatibility. If someone wanted Harry to become pregnant with their Heir, they probably didn't care about compatibility. Still, she wouldn't voice this theory to Harry or the girls until further proof was discovered. She did agree with the others that the theory would only make the teens paranoid.
"That does sound plausible," Lily said. "A very good theory. Something neither I, nor the other adults, came up with. I'll have to discuss this with James."
"What theories did you come up with?" Hermione asked.
"One in particular that seems plausible," Lily said. "However, compared to yours, this one just sounds rather silly. We called it the 'embarrassment theory'. The Committee wants to embarrass you, Harry. One half of the Twins-Who-Lived, the 'Vanquisher of Voldemort', the Heir to the House of Potter, but first and foremost, a wizard and a boy. Having to be a girl and lay down with other wizards. The Committee might figure you would be rather embarrassed about it. It could lower your self-confidence and self-esteem.
"Not to mention who you would have to be with during the Experience. I'm sure you know there are boys who wouldn't see you as a friend or ally. Someone – like Draco Malfoy, for example – who would simply like to use you, and then taunt you with it when you're in your normal form. Those who would want to... show their dominance over the 'Vanquisher of Voldemort'."
"So your theory is that the Committee is simply trying to sully my reputation," Harry asked.
Lily sighed and nodded. The theory seemed stupid compared to the one she just heard about from the teens. It was embarrassing just having to explain it, after hearing what they had to say. She was going to rant to her husband about not being able to tell the teens her theory.
"I suppose I could see how it could be possible," Harry said. "Nothing I couldn't live with. I would endure if it I had to. A bit of embarrassment might be better than wizards thinking I'm trying to figure out whether or not they're compatible with me."
"Am I going to lose you to a bloke, Harry?" Hermione asked, in an obviously joking manner.
"I don't know, Hermione," Rose said, "Wait, isn't Dora also capable of siring children? If so, Dora could be the father of your children. Then you'll be able to tell blokes you have someone compatible already!"
"Rose!" Harry groaned.
Lily grinned. She knew Rose was joking with her brother. But she had to admit, her daughter did have a nice idea.
"If, in a few years, the Committee ever enforces you to have to become pregnant, Harry," Lily said, "We'll give Rose's idea a shot. I'm sure Dora would be happy to go along with it."
"Please tell me you're joking, Mum," Harry said.
"Let's just say I am half-joking and call it a possibility," Lily said. "Gives us a back-up plan if we need it."
Harry groaned and sank in his chair. Rose and Hermione snickered at his reaction.
"By the way, during the discussion about theories yesterday," Lily said, "I also came up with another plan. I'm going to be talking to Madam Pomfrey. Before you go off to Hogwarts, I'm going to give each of you a vial of month-long Contraceptive Draught. Once a month, I'm going to be sending you a care package, Rose. There will be vials in it for all three of you. When Madam Pomfrey hands out her Draughts to the witches, you're going to be taking my version instead. Harry, I suspect you'll have to be in your female form when you take the Draught."
"Probably best," Hermione said, "Since it affects the womb, and boys don't have those."
"Okay, but why are we using your Draughts instead of Madam Pomfrey's?" Rose asked.
Lily figured she could reveal this much. "It prevents accidents. Someone could prank Madam Pomfrey and she could end up giving you a placebo."
"A fake potion?" Hermione asked, her eyes going wide, "Could that really happen?"
"It is a possibility," Lily said. "Which is why I'm going to be talking to Madam Pomfrey. I'll tell her my plans to send you my versions of the Draught, while also warning her about my theory of someone messing with her, even as a prank. I highly doubt it will happen. However, I'm simply doing this as a precaution. Call it being a mother. You three are now going to be part of the Experience. I'm just making sure you're going to be safe. I believe Amelia will do the same for Susan."
"Can we tell our other friends?" Rose asked. "I wouldn't want anything to happen to them."
Lily nodded. "Very well, but make sure they do not tell anyone. I don't want to start a panic over a possibility of a prank."
Rose nodded. "We'll make sure they don't tell anyone else."
Lily sighed, feeling better than she had been. While she didn't tell the teens about her theory of someone attempting to make Harry pregnant with their Heir, she at least gave them a bit of warning.
"That reminds me," Lily said, "James has plans to meet with the Free Use Committee, and express his – and ours – grief about this stupid sub-law. We also have a theory that you, Harry, are the main target behind this sub-law, since you are the only known male-oriented Metamorph."
"But isn't that illegal?" Hermione asked, "A law which targets one specific person?"
"Indeed it is," Lily said, "Which is why James will be meeting with the Committee. He wants to know if they're targeting Harry. As the aggrieved parent of a teen targeted with this law, he has that right. He has decided he'll meet with the Committee on the same day we have our Girls' Day Out shopping trip. So let's figure out when that will be. And I can write James a letter, so he can request a meeting with the Committee. He could request the meeting before he leaves the Ministry today."
"Thursday or Friday," Harry said. "Tomorrow's the Wizengamot session. It could last all day. I know Dad, Sirius, and Amelia want to meet with the Headmaster about the Tournament. It would be Dad's choice whether he wants that meeting to happen before or after the Committee meeting."
"I imagine he'll want it to happen after the Committee meeting," Lily said, "Just in case something happens during it that he wants to speak to Albus about."
"So... how about Thursday for the shopping trip then?" Rose asked.
"Harry?" Lily asked. "It is your choice. You'll be in your female form all day that day, after all."
Harry grimaced, then nodded. "Thursday it is, if Dad agrees."
"I'll write to your father when I'm finished with breakfast," Lily said.
"We'll figure out an outfit for you to wear on Thursday, Harry," Rose said, "Luckily, your female form is my size. So there should be no problems there. Mum, now that we're talking about the shopping trip, we – Hermione and I, that is – wanted to ask you something."
"Alright," Lily said.
"We were wondering if you'd take us – all three of us – into Whimsic Alley," Rose said, "We – er – wanted to explore the clothing shops."
"And Madame Amour's?" Lily asked; she smiled when Rose and Hermione blushed, "I did give you the Owl-Order booklet on your birthday, Rose. Along with... that other gift I will care not to mention at the table. I'm not surprised you want to visit that store. Behave between now and then, and I'll take the three of you into Whimsic Alley."
Rose and Hermione grinned. Harry rolled her eyes at them.
"Thanks, Mum," "Thanks, Lily," Rose and Hermione said.
"I take it you're not interested in Whimsic Alley, Harry?" Lily asked.
Harry cleared his throat. "If the girls want me to go there with them, then I will go."
Rose snorted. "Very diplomatic of you, Harry."
Harry blushed and Rose and Hermione giggled. Lily merely smiled.
"I'm sure you'll find something there you like, Harry," Lily said. "Your father likes Whimsic Alley too, after all. He goes there for presents for my birthday and our anniversary."
"I'm... not sure I wanted to know that, Mum," Harry said.
"Yeah, me neither!" Rose groaned, "Especially while we're eating!"
Lily merely chuckled and continued her breakfast.
Tuesday, August 26th, 1994 – 11:45 AM
James was currently sitting at his desk in his and Sirius' private corner office – a benefit of being two of the top Senior Aurors in the Department. Sirius and Amelia were currently interrogating Lucius Malfoy for a second time. Arthur Weasley and the Aurors and DMLE officers who had accompanied him to Malfoy Manor had returned half-an-hour ago with a report of their findings. To quote Arthur, it was a 'treasure trove of Dark Artifacts – biggest I've ever seen!' Sirius and Amelia were now discussing these Artifacts with Malfoy.
James was currently reading through the Dicta-Quill transcripts of the interrogations that had taken place with several Death Eaters over the past few hours. He, along with Sirius, Amelia, Rufus Scrimgeour, and a few choice DMLE Solicitors all had copies of these transcripts. They would be going through them, trying to come up with a good strategy for Amelia to use during the trials at the Wizengamot session. During the late hours of the afternoon, this group would have a meeting to go through their strategies.
Meanwhile, other Aurors and Hit Wizards were secretly, and silently, rounding up those Ministry Workers whose names they had received from Severus Snape's interrogation. These people would be checked for Dark Marks, and interrogated with Veritaserum to see whether or not they were supporters of Voldemort, and traitors to the Ministry of Magic. James was rather peeved that Dolores Umbridge was not on this list. She seemed like the right type to be a supporter of Voldemort and his beliefs.
James heard a flapping of wings, and smiled when he saw one of the Potter Family Owls fly over to his desk and land on the lamp on the corner.
"Hello, Chrysanthemum," James said, "Do you have a letter from my wife?"
The owl hooted and stuck out its leg.
"Thank you," James said, taking the scroll, "Remain here in case I need to reply."
The owl hooted again and relaxed on its temporary perch. James relaxed in his chair and unrolled the scroll then began to read.
My dearest James,
You just missed the most delicious of mid-morning English breakfasts made by our house-elves today, along with a fine discussion between our twins, Hermione and I. I will discuss most of what we talked about when you come home. One topic we discussed was to set a date for our Girls' Day Out Shopping Trip. We decided it would be Thursday. If you would like to speak to the Free Use Committee that day, feel free. I figured you would like to set up a meeting with them before you leave the Ministry.
I received a letter for you earlier today. It was a summons to the emergency Wizengamot session tomorrow at ten in the morning. Though I am sure you know all about that. It sounds as if you have had a busy day already. Please, at the very least, summarize it in a letter so I can let the kids know. Then we can discuss it in length tonight during dinner – which you better be here for!
Have you seen that bullshit the Daily Prophet likes to call a report on the Riots? They're blaming the Bulgarians for the riot! I received letters from our friends – many of whom were at the Quidditch World Cup, but left before the riots started. They think the Bulgarians are to blame, thanks to the Prophet. I wrote them and told them what really happened. I hope that is okay with you. News of what really happened needs to get out there. People need to know the Death Eaters are back! However, knowing how good you, Sirius and Amelia are at your jobs, I'm sure you will round up many of those bastards from last night.
I did not go back to bed when we returned home this morning. I took a two-hour long bath instead, and wished you were there with me. So I imagine I'll be going to bed fairly early this evening. I do hope you're here to tuck me in, if you know what I mean.
I will see you when you come home. Again, be here for dinner, James Potter!
I love you, and always will,
Lily
James smiled as he set down the letter. It was certainly in his plans to be home for dinner. And going to bed early did seem like a lovely idea... though he had no intentions of going straight to sleep.
He immediately started writing a reply to Lily. He told her he would speak to the Committee and arrange a date for a meeting, hopefully for Thursday. He then summarized, as Lily asked, what had been going on that morning at the Ministry, without telling her too much. He would tell her more that evening. He then commented that he had read the article in the Prophet, and he too was angry as she was about the lies. He thanked her for writing their friends back. He ended the letter with promises that he'd be home for dinner, and that he looked forward to 'tucking in' his wife.
He signed the letter, rolled it up, and tied it to his owl's leg.
"Back home to Lily, Chrysanthemum," James ordered.
The owl hooted then flew out the door. Sirius walked in, just as the owl flew over his head.
"Whoa!" he laughed, "Nice to see you too, Chrys!"
James laughed. "You finished with Malfoy?"
"Yep!" Sirius said, "But you're going to have to wait for that explanation. Amelia's invited both of us to her office for lunch. She asked Samantha to grab us three specials from the Leaky Cauldron. She's expecting a status report from the Campgrounds soon, and wants us in her office so we can discuss it. We'll discuss everything else, including Malfoy too."
"Well, alright," James said, standing up, "But first, I need to head to the Free Use Committee Office. They're on this floor, aren't they?"
"Down the corridor," Sirius said, "Ah, yes, the meeting you were planning. I almost forgot."
"Yep!" James said.
The two Senior Aurors and best friends started making their way out of Auror Headquarters.
"Speaking of meeting," Sirius said, "We need to figure when we're going to have that surprise meeting with Dumbledore about the Tournament."
"We can discuss that with Amelia," James said.
"Probably best," Sirius agreed.
Three minutes later, the pair entered the front office of the Free Use Committee. They walked over to the reception desk, where a young witch in her twenties, a secretary, was sitting.
"May I help you gentlemen?" she asked, when she saw them.
"I wish to arrange a meeting with the Free Use Committee to take place sometime this Thursday," James said.
"Focus of the meeting?" the secretary asked.
"I am an aggrieved parent," James said, "who believes the Committee's latest law – the one about the male-oriented Metamorph – is targeting my son in particular. I would like to discuss the law with the Committee."
"You believe it targets your son and only your son?" the secretary asked.
"That would be correct," James said.
The secretary scoffed, "Sir, that would be illegal!"
"That is why I'm requesting the meeting," James said. "So I can make sure the Committee is being just and fair with this particular law, since it affects my son. As he is the future Lord of my House, I am most concerned with how this law could affect his future."
"Hmm... your son's name?" the secretary asked.
"Harry Potter," James said, "I am his father, James Potter."
The secretary's eyes widened. "I-I see. Well, any particular time you'd like the meeting to take place?"
"Sometime between the hours of nine and five," James said, "Perhaps at ten-o-clock?"
The secretary nodded and wrote something down on a parchment in front of her.
"I will speak to one of the Committee members as soon as possible," the secretary said, "And either I, or one of the Committee, will send you a letter, which will either have notification of whether they accept or deny your request. If accepted, the letter will inform you of when the meeting will take place."
"Thank you," James said.
He and Sirius then left the office and headed for the DMLE offices.
"That was easier than expected," Sirius said, "I thought she'd refuse your request."
"She's a simple secretary, Sirius," James said, "It is not up to her to refuse my request. Now, if the Committee refuses my request... I will have words with them anyway!"
Sirius laughed. "I cannot argue with that!"
Five minutes later, they entered Amelia's office. Amelia was sitting at her desk, and Samantha was also there. The secretary was setting the freshly hot meals from the Leaky Cauldron, which were in paper sacks, on Amelia's desk.
"Thank you, Samantha," Amelia said, "Hold all messages until I say so. Unless they're very important, or an emergency."
Samantha bowed lightly, turned and headed out of the room. James and Sirius sat down in the chairs on the nearest side of Amelia's desk. They proceeded to open the sacks, revealing BLT sandwiches and chips, as well as bottles of chilled butterbeer.
"Brilliant," Amelia said, "A good meal after a tough morning."
"A morning which didn't seem to end," James said, "We would have been here a few minutes ago, but we took a detour to the Free Use Committee Office. I requested a meeting with them for Thursday. Lily wrote to me, and said she planned for her, the twins and Hermione to have their Girls' Day Out Shopping Trip on Thursday. So even if I have nothing else to do here that day, at least I won't be bored, alone at home. Their shopping trip will likely take much of the day."
"If you believe you need any help with the Committee," Amelia said, "Sirius and I could accompany you."
"If they refuse a meeting, you two are welcome to come with me when I demand one," James said. "Either way it will happen Thursday morning."
Sirius laughed. "I kinda hope they do refuse. They need to realize they shouldn't mess with us."
"Anyway," James said, "Before we get into the reason you invited us, we also need to discuss the surprise meeting with Dumbledore concerning the Tournament. When should we have it?"
"Hmm," Amelia said, "Tomorrow's the Wizengamot Session which may last all day. You'll be having the Committee meeting on Thursday. Friday then. We'll discuss it with Bagman, and see if he wants to go, and if he wants to invite anyone. Even if he doesn't go, we'll go anyway. Then we'll figure out a time and head off to Hogwarts."
"Should we also contact Lord Davis?" Sirius asked.
"After we figure out when we'll be going," Amelia said. "Then we can ask Lord Davis if he wants to go."
"Ah, hell, that reminds me," James said, "I need to discuss House Davis' application with the Great Alliance."
"We could do so before the Wizengamot meeting," Sirius said, "All Wizengamot members are given a chance to meet with their Alliances during the hour before the meeting takes place."
James nodded, and took a bite of his sandwich. He swallowed, then said, "Excellent. Load off my mind. So, Amelia, Sirius says you're expecting the status report for the Campgrounds?"
Amelia picked up a scroll from her desk. "Samantha handed it to me when she brought our meals in. Haven't even opened it."
James and Sirius focused on their meals, while Amelia proceeded to unroll the scroll. She frowned as she read quickly through it.
"Well?" Sirius asked, after swallowing a bite of his sandwich, "Come on. Good news first. Any more dead Death Eaters?"
"Only one," Amelia said. "Marcus Flint's father. He had the Dark Mark on his arm. It is suspected that he perished while battling those who were fighting back against the Death Eaters."
"As we theorized," Sirius said.
"Goes along with the general information we received from the interrogations," James said, "Out of the group that Lucius Malfoy and Patroclus Nott described as who took part of the riot, Flint, Senior was the only one we hadn't been able to capture, kill, or whose bodies we hadn't recovered already. How many dead innocents?"
Amelia frowned. "Thirty-five dead bodies in total. One-hundred plus – no specific number – were injured who were still at the campgrounds and needed to be taken to St. Mungo's or other hospitals. Three of the dead were part of the Muggle staff who owned the land we borrowed for the campgrounds."
"Good Merlin!" James groaned.
"Fucking bastards!" Sirius growled.
"At the moment, it is just guess-work when it comes to nationalities," Amelia said, "In other words, whether they were English, Irish, Bulgarian, or from somewhere else. Thirteen bodies were found in the general vicinity of the Irish campsites. Hmm... strangely enough, while six bodies were found near the Bulgarian tents, there was no damage to the Bulgarian tents. Those bodies found near there, might have been running away to safety. The rest – around twenty or so – were found amongst the rest of the campgrounds. Best guess is most of them are members of British wizarding society."
"No damage to the Bulgarian area," James said. "Smart. The Death Eaters were trying to come up with an alibi. Blame it on the Bulgarians."
"They hadn't planned on so much opposition, or so many survivors," Sirius said, "Maybe they planned on a massacre? Nobody left to tell anyone they were Death Eaters attacking the campgrounds?"
"It is a theory," Amelia said, nodding. "One we will voice tomorrow during the Wizengamot session. A good part of our strategy. Inform the Wizengamot these bastards planned on a massacre."
"Wait a bloody second!" James exclaimed, "The Daily Prophet!"
"Huh?" Sirius asked.
"Have either of you read the Daily Prophet today?" James asked, "The front page article?"
Amelia's eyes widened. "They blamed the riot on the Bulgarians."
"At first I thought they were just writing rubbish – getting a story out there without getting the truth," James said. "What if... one of the Death Eaters wrote to the Prophet, and gave them the scoop on the article?"
"Maybe even bribed them to write that article," Sirius huffed.
"They wanted the Daily Prophet to influence us, and the rest of the Wizengamot, about the Bulgarians," James said, "It is part of their planned alibi."
"Excellent theory!" Amelia said, "Say, how about after lunch, the pair of you go to the Daily Prophet headquarters and follow that hunch? See if you're correct."
"We can also talk to Barnabus Cuffe about his part in the Triwizard Tournament instead of Rita Skeeter," James said; then realized something, "Rita Skeeter wrote that article about the Riot. We'll see what she has to say about it."
"Good idea," Amelia said; she munched on a chip and looked at the status report.
"Any known identities of the dead, yet?" Sirius asked.
Amelia shook her head. "There is a specific note here that says they're going to do identities this afternoon. They're considering collecting any wands they find with the bodies, and taking them to Garrick Ollivander."
"Smart," James said, nodding. "He knows every wand he ever sold. He can identify them, and they can base that on the identities."
"Correct," Amelia said, "We'll know more when they do, so we can inform the families. After the identities are discovered, then they'll focus on the property damage. Leave that for last."
She threw the parchment back on the desk, then took a bite of her sandwich.
"Alright," she said, after swallowing, "Let's discuss interrogations."
"Yeah," James said, "What did Malfoy say during the second interrogation? During the first one, we simply talked to him about the Riots. Who was there. His part of it: what he did. And wasn't that a nice turn of events to find out it was my Bone-Breaker which injured his leg!"
"He was still limping pretty badly on the way to and from the interrogation room!" Sirius said, with a laugh.
Amelia smirked. "Good, his injuries will be more proof. Anyway, with another dose of Veritaserum, he focused on what Arthur Weasley and the team at Malfoy Manor found. As well as the Chamber of Secrets ordeal."
"We got him, James," Sirius said, "We finally got him for the Chamber of Secrets. He admitted to placing the diary into Ginny Weasley's cauldron. But here's the kick. He had no idea what it would do. He simply wanted Arthur Weasley to find it, so he'd get in trouble for having a Dark Artifact. It wasn't his intention for Ginny to keep it and take it to Hogwarts. Malfoy's son was there – the boy could have been attacked."
"Still, he is the main culprit behind the Chamber of Secrets," Amelia said. "We also got him for dozens of Dark Artifacts. Some of them have been there since his father owned the Manor."
"Some sick and twisted idea of a collection," Sirius said, "Some collect Chocolate Frog Cards, the Malfoys collected Dark Artifacts, many of which could kill you in seconds."
"Arthur Weasley said he would be talking to his son, William," Amelia said, "To get him and some of his fellow Curse Breakers out to Malfoy Manor to help deal with the artifacts. So no matter whether or not Malfoy is sentenced tomorrow, he'll go to Azkaban for his other crimes. We got him."
"Excellent," James said, "Sirius, what will this mean for Narcissa and her son?"
"I'll have a conversation with her sometime to figure out what she's going to do," Sirius said, "Might have to go to Gringotts and talk with Keeper Ragnok, and see how Malfoy's sentencing affects the Marriage Contract my Uncle made for Narcissa and Lucius. Might be able to cancel the marriage. I'll worry about it when we're not focused with everything else. It is going to be a very long week."
"That it is," Amelia agreed, "So let's continue..."
The two Senior Aurors and DMLE Director proceeded on with their lunch and their discussion.
Weird ending, but decided it was a good cut off. I know, I know, Harry, Rose and Hermione had a morning shag, and I kept it off-screen. I did it on purpose, didn't want things to get too repetitive yet.
So this chapter teased the schedule coming up over the next few days chronologically in the story. Should be very fun!
There is a reason I am not putting too much focus on the interrogations. It would likely mess up my plans for the Wizengamot session, and trials. I have a very good idea for the trials, and don't want to give it away. Let's just say Amelia and the others will have a very good strategy planned, and at this point in the story, it is already well into being underway.
Next chapter: Snape and Dumbledore PoVs – Snape had a bit of an outing before he returned to Hogwarts, and meets with Dumbledore. We learn about Snape and Lily's friendship and the fallout of their friendship in this universe. Dumbledore views Snape's interrogation in the Pensieve, and he does not like what he sees!
Two chapters until James and Sirius visit the Daily Prophet.