Disclaimer: All of the characters that are depicted in this story belong to J. K. Rowling except the ones that are first introduced in this story.

Chapter 21

A Very Ministry Xmas

Harry couldn't have been happier that the holiday break had come just in time to get rid of the mobs of students that had wanted to talk to him about the events at the DA meeting. The news had spread quickly and everyone was totally astounded. Hermione had shown him the book where she had read about the Merlin Effect. The book described the effect as a state when power emanated off of the one who had achieved it. According to the book, there were only a few wizards in history who had ever actually achieved it. They were Merlin himself, a few other names that Harry recognized from History of Magic, and Dumbledore. Most of the wizards had only achieved the effect once or twice in their lives. If it was in fact the Merlin Effect that had happened at the tournament, it was truly an astounding phenomenon, but it also made it very unlikely that it would ever happen again.

Despite successfully escaping the mobs of questions about the Merlin Effect, Harry could not escape the scolding that the fake Professor McGonagall gave for going over her head to arrange the visit to the Ministry of Magic on Xmas. Apparently, Bellatrix Lestrange had gotten better at impersonating the real Professor McGonagall than she was on his first evening at school. When he told her what he would be doing on Xmas, she had given him a lecture that Harry could easily see Professor McGonagall giving him and then took ten points from Gryffindor. Although she hid it well, Harry found that he was able to read between the lines and tell that Lestrange was truly unhappy that he was endorsing the Ministry and he was extremely glad that he had made Lestrange unhappy.

Xmas morning, Harry awoke to find the usual stack of presents at the foot of his bed. Ever since the Weaslys had gone into hiding, they hadn't been able to send any mail and Ron said there was only a fifty to fifty chance that they would be able to send a Xmas present. Sadly, this year there was no sweater from Mrs. Weasly, just a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans from Hermione, a box of chocolate cauldrons from Ron, and some Drooble's Best Blowing Gum from Hagrid.

Aside from these, there was one more present from Angie. Harry opened it to reveal a small brown box with the words Dueler's Wand Servicing Kit in gold letters on the top. Inside the box, Harry found a small jar of wand polish, a single glove to protect his wand from a sweaty hand, and a small pocket-size book that explained how to service your wand.

When Harry and Ron went down to the common room, they found Hermione and Ginny waiting for them.

"Happy Xmas Ron." Hermione said when she saw him. She was smiling broadly at Ron and didn't seem to have noticed Harry. Harry wondered briefly why her attitude toward Ron had changed, but his question was answered when Hermione brushed back her hair to reveal a new pair of earrings with blue beads hanging down from them. It didn't take much for Harry to guess who they were from. Harry had figured out Hermione's hint and during the Hogsmeade visit had commented to Ron that buying a girl a present was a good way to rectify a problem. Ron had then proceeded to disappear from Harry and Hermione at the Three Broomsticks saying that he needed to go to the bathroom. Harry guessed that he had gone back to the jewelry store where Harry had bought Ginny's present and bought Hermione's earrings.

"Hi Hermione." said Ron looking slightly nervous. Harry smiled to himself then turned his attention on Ginny.

Seeing Ginny smile again after seeing her do nothing but frown for the last week or so was a sight for sore eyes. It was like being lost at sea for several years and then finally seeing land. She motioned to him to head down for breakfast. Harry and Ginny headed out of the portrait hole leaving Ron and Hermione to enjoy another one of their starring contests. Once outside, Ginny pulled out from beneath her shirt the gold necklace with the red ruby on it that she was wearing and showed it to Harry.

"Thanks." she said brightly.

"Don't mention it." Harry responded.

"I suppose you just got me this to relieve yourself of guilt?"

"Mostly yeah." (They're joking).

"I suppose you expect some kind of return gift?" Harry smiled.

"Ginny your giving it to me right now."

Just outside the doors that led into the great hall, Ginny pulled him to one side and put her arms around him.

"Are you sure you wouldn't like something else?" she offered seductively. At this Harry suddenly turned serious and pulled away from her.

"Ginny listen to me. Bellatrix Lestrange is in the great hall right now. What if she saw us together?" The serious look on Ginny's face revealed that she understood what Harry was saying. If Bellatrix Lestrange saw that Harry Potter had a girlfriend, the first thing she would do is tell Voldemort. "We're friends alright? Just friends." It was clear that Ginny did not like the idea, but did not see any way around it.

"Alright." she finally said. "For now."

Harry had a very enjoyable Xmas breakfast with Ginny, the teachers, and the other students who had chosen to stay for the holiday break which included Steve the new beater, Hannah Abbot and Susan Bones of Hufflepuff, a pair of Ravenclaw twin boys named Sam and Joel, and Pansy Parkinson. Harry spent most of his time chatting happily with Angie who was in a very festive mood and trying to convince the rest of the staff to go caroling with her later on. When Harry was done with his breakfast, he wished everyone a happy Xmas and left the school for the Ministry.

According to the letter the minister had sent him, the Ministry had applied an anti Apparation barrier around itself similar to the one around Hogwarts. In order to get there, Harry would simply have to Apparate to the visitor's entrance. When Harry got to the familiar red phone booth, Scrimgeour was already there waiting for him along with a short bearded wizard holding a camera. The streets were empty (it being Xmas and all) so no one saw him Apparate.

"Hello there Mr. Potter." Scrimgeour said when he saw Harry holding his hand out to shake.

"Minister." Harry said very simply in return. Harry took Scrimgeour's hand reluctantly and shook it. As he did, the wizard with the camera snapped a picture of them shaking hands.

"This is Kevin by the way." said Scrimgeour introducing the man with the camera. "Kevin is a photographer for the Daily Prophet. He'll be following you around taking pictures." Harry suddenly regretted shaking Scrimgeour's hand. Scrimgeour held the door of the old phone booth open for Harry who stepped in. Scrimgeour followed and dialed the usual code for entrance. Kevin squeezed in last.

"Please state you name and purpose of visit." said the familiar cool female voice.

"Rufus Scrimgeour Minister of Magic escorting Kevin Kramer who is here to take photographs for the Daily Prophet, and Harry Potter who is here for a special visit." Scrimgeour said. The cool female voice gave the usual response and produced two badges from the coin slot. When Harry reached out to take his badge however, Scrimgeour waved his hand over the badge vanishing it. "There will be no need for badges Mr. Potter."

The floor of the phone booth immediately sank down into the ground and soon Harry was in the Atrium of the Ministry of Magic, which wasn't nearly as crowded as it had been when Harry first visited it for his disciplinary hearing, but there were still a few people wandering around. It was also decorated by a large Xmas tree and other Xmas decorations.

As the three of them walked down the Atrium to the elevators, Scrimgeour stopped them near the Fountain of Magical Bretheren which was fully rebuilt except for the wizard in the middle which still had it's head missing. Scrimgeour reached into his pocket and pulled out a few gallions and sickles and dropped them into the fountain. Harry followed suit and Kevin snapped a few pictures of them doing so. They both looked expectantly at Kevin, until he finally threw in a few knuts.

The three of them then made their way to the elevator where Scrimgeour pushed the button for the second level.

"Minister," Harry said breaking the silence. "I've been wondering why you chose today to have me visit the Ministry. Don't most people have the day off for Xmas?"

"Yes and that's why. If I'd had you visit on a normal work day, your presence would distract everyone from their work. Besides, it's not like there's no one here. Most of the department of magical law enforcement is still here."

"Why?"

"Well they all have the common agreement that You-Know-Who probably doesn't celebrate Xmas. Which reminds me, I don't get the day off either so I won't be showing you around. Andrew Donovan volunteered to show you around instead if you don't mind."

"Sure."

Scrimgeour led Harry down through the hallways of cubicles with magical paper airplanes flying between them. At the end of the hallway, they found a door leading to an office with the words Head of the Auror Office Andrew Donovan written on it in gold letters. Scrimgeour knocked on the door. After a minute or so of no answer, he knocked again, and then after another minute of no answer Scrimgeour simply opened the door and walked in.

Andrew Donovan's office was what could be considered Voldemort central. One wall was covered in pictures of Death Eaters in their cloaks and masks. Another wall was covered in prison photos of known Death Eaters. The third wall behind Andrew's desk was covered in pictures of Voldemort. Clearly there were no recent up close pictures of Voldemort. All the recent pictures were faraway shots where he was cloaked. There were also some shot of him looking slightly younger and more human. There were even some pictures of young Tom Riddle.

Andrew Donovan on the other hand had his head down on his desk and was clearly asleep because he was snoring loudly and drooling on the files he was resting his head on. Far from getting mad, Scrimgeour simply sighed fondly and muttered something that sounded like "Bloody workaholic."

Scrimgeour walked over to him and tapped him with his wand which emitted a shock of electricity that woke Andrew with a start.

"Poopytrim" he muttered as he shook off the surprise and took stock of who was standing in his office. "Sorry sir." he said to Scrimgeour once he finally woke up fully.

"It's alright." Scrimgeour said patting him on the shoulder. Scrimgeour then reached into his robes and pulled out a small bottle and handed it to Andrew who took it and took a large gulp of the liquid inside. It wasn't a glass bottle so Harry couldn't see what was inside. "Now show Mr. Potter around and when your done, go home and get some bloody sleep."

"Yes sir." Scrimgeour left. Kevin was about to take a picture of Andrew's office, but Andrew stopped him.

"Hey no pictures of my office. Now step outside so I can talk to Mr. Potter." Kevin gave him a surly look and then left. Andrew then turned his attention on Harry. "Please sit down Mr. Potter. I was hoping that we could do some business real quick before you get on with your visit." Harry sat down. He wasn't to thrilled about the prospect of answering more of Andrew Donovan's questions, but didn't see any way around it. Andrew and Harry stared at each other for a moment across the desk before Andrew broke the silence.

"I don't suppose your going to tell me why you needed to visit Azkaban to retrieve that cup are you."

"Who said anything about a cup?" Harry asked trying to hide his surprise.

"Mike the Azkaban guard." Harry scowled in his mind.

"No I'm not going to tell you. It's between me and Dumbledore."

"And Nymphadora Tonks?"

"Tonks doesn't know what the cup is either, and she had the good sense not to ask."

"Right. Well the ministry has given up on trying to find out by it's own means, but I have my own theories. Do you know what a horcrux is?" Harry's throat suddenly went dry but he forced himself not to show it on his face.

"A what?"

"Never mind." It occurred to Harry that Andrew was trying to gain confirmation for his theory by mentioning it to Harry and seeing how he reacted. It was a clever move, but Harry was glad he had avoided it.

"Tell me Mr. Potter, what do you know about your scar on your forehead." Harry raised his eyebrows. This was and unexpected question.

"Well, it used to hurt whenever Voldemort was feeling particularly angry or pleased, but not so much anymore. Dumbledore believed that Voldemort was using Occlumency to prevent it because he sees it as a threat. It hurts the most when Voldemort touches me, and it came from being touched by the Avada Kedarva. That's about it."

"Actually Mr. Potter, the theory that your scar came from being touched by the Avada Kedarva is not consistent."

"What do you mean not consistent? I'm the only one whose been touched by the Avada Kedarva and lived right?"

"Actually Mr. Potter there is one other person who has been touched by the killing curse and lived."

"Who?"

"Voldemort." Andrew said it as if it was obvious. "The killing curse he fired at you bounced back and hit him. And yet he lived, but he does not have a lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead. Or does he?"

"No." Harry had never thought of this. Harry reached up and touched his scar. If his scar did not come from being touched by the killing curse, then where did it come from?

"Then your scar must have come from somewhere else."

"Do you know where?"

"I have a theory. Not a very likely theory, but it's a theory none the less."

"What is it?"

"It goes with my other theory about horcruxes, so you probably wouldn't understand it."

"What does that mean?" Harry thought. "Why does a theory about where my scar came from go with a theory about…" Just then a thought occurred to Harry. A terrible thought. A horrible thought. A thought so incredibly awful that it just simply couldn't be true. Harry pushed the thought to the back of his mind. "It's not true." He told himself. "It's just not true."

"Well that about does it Mr. Potter." Andrew said after another moment of silence where Andrew had started to nod off, but then taken another swig from the bottle that Scrimgeour had given him. "What's say we get on with this little visit." Harry agreed and the two of them set off.

Overall the experience wasn't as bad as Harry had thought it would be. Andrew Donovan wasn't really a bad guy once you got over the business end of him. Harry spent most of the day shaking hands with heads of departments while Kevin took pictures. Harry found he was actually enjoying learning more about his chosen career from talking to Andrew and other Aurors. The only real negative thing that happened was running into Cornelius Fudge who refused to talk to Harry and instead had cowered in the corner with a group of other Ministry officials that included Dolores Umbridge and Percy Weasly.

By evening, Andrew escorted Harry out of the visitor's entrance where he Apparated back to Hogwarts where Hagrid let him back in. Ginny was waiting for him in the entrance hall.

"How bad was it?" she asked.

"Not as bad as I thought it would be." Harry replied. Harry and Ginny walked back to the common room talking about what had happened during Harry's visit to the Ministry. When they arrived back in the Gryffindor common room however, their conversation was interrupted by the sight of Ron and Hermione snogging.

When Ron and Hermione realized they were no longer alone, which took another minute, what followed could only be described as one of the most uncomfortable silences of all time. The silence broke after two or three minutes when Harry for no explainable reason just started laughing, causing everyone to turn their attention to him and look at him as if he was from Mars.

"What's so funny?" Ron asked sounding offended.

"I don't know." Harry replied honestly. "I just think it's about bloody time." Slowly but surely, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione one by one joined Harry in laughter. Once they were tired of laughing, Harry and Ginny retreated back to their respective rooms to give Ron and Hermione some privacy.

Author's Note: And there you have it. Ron and Hermione are now finally officially dating. Harry and Ginny on the other hand, well that's another story for another chapter.