Thank you all for the reviews and for sticking with this story. There is a lot more to come! As always, I do not own Harry Potter and these characters, that honor goes to JK Rowling. This chapter is a little shorter, but the next one will be longer I promise!
With Draco and Narcissa settling and Harry safe in the confines of headquarters, Hermione was shocked that they had not been expecting something bad to happen. A few days after Narcissa had joined the group, Mr. Weasley came home with bad news. "Harry, a word please. I have sent for Dumbledore, he should be here momentarily." Everyone else followed and as there were no objections, they settled in waiting for Dumbledore as Mr. Weasley paced anxiously.
Suddenly the fire lit up and Dumbledore stepped out, "Arthur, you said it was urgent?"
"Yes, we heard word at the Ministry today that they are going to call Harry in for disciplinary action for not living at Privet Drive and not giving the address of where he is living. Fudge is drumming up charges to try to find a reason to snap Harry's wand."
"What? I haven't done anything! I don't have to go back to Privet Drive do I?" Harry burst out.
"Not with demenotrs swarming the neighborhood. It's not safe." Sirius added.
"When will they be sending the summons Arthur?" Dumbledore asked calmly.
"Tomorrow. We are lucky we have some spies that tipped us off." Mr. Weasley said.
"Well then it looks like I have some planning to do. No matter what happens, Harry you stay here until I have taken care of this. Do not go to the Ministry without me." Dumbledore commanded before sweeping out of the room.
"They can't really do something to me, can they? I mean I don't have to live a Privet Drive, right?" Harry asked, concerned etched on his face.
"The way the Ministry operated before, no. Now? Who knows?" Sirius said truthfully, as they all worried about what Fudge and the Ministry were really up to. They had already spent all summer trying to discredit Harry and Dumbledore, making Harry out to be an attention seeking psycho and Dumbledore a power hungry wizard bent on taking over the Ministry and the country. Now it appeared they wanted to kick Harry out of the wizarding world all together. So much for all the respect and awe for the "boy who lived".
As expected, the next morning an owl from the ministry managed to find Harry, dropping an official summons, telling Harry he had to appear at the Ministry within two days, prepared to tell them his whereabouts since he had left Privet Drive or to be expelled from Hogwarts and have his wand broken in half. Draco tried to cheer him up, "Well you can't tell them due to the charms on this place, imagine the look on Fudge's face!" When Harry didn't seem to calm down, he added, "Don't sweat it, Dumbledore will be back and will fix this."
"Yeah, Dumbledore will fix this." Harry repeated, though for the next day everyone in the house seemed on edge and subdued. Even Ron and Mrs. Weasley forgot to be terrible to Draco and the twins hadn't pulled a single prank. Everyone waited for Dumbledore to reappear and announce that he had fixed everything. It wasn't until late the next night that Dumbledore finally showed up.
"They can't expel me can they?" Harry asked right away, not even letting Dumbledore speak a word.
"No, I think that we will have a strong enough case to stop that from happening. They are going to give you a full hearing and I have been working hard on getting some witnesses to our side about why you need to be hidden at the moment. Not to worry, we will win this. You and Miss Granger however will need to be prepared to go to the Ministry tomorrow morning. Arthur will take you two and I will meet you there with our other witnesses."
Hermione interrupted, "Why am I to go too, Professor?"
"Because you saw dementors lurking by Harry's house, you saw them go straight for him. We need you to tell the Ministry that." Dumbledore explained.
"I saw them too!" Sirius said.
"Yes, but the Ministry thinks that you are a mad murdered. Don't think that your word will matter much, cuz." Draco said.
Dumbledore nodded. "Mister Malfoy is right. No, Hermione will have to suffice, though she will not be our only witness. May I suggest you dress to impress and be ready for tomorrow morning? I doubt this will be a pleasant trip. The Prime Minister and some of his staff are out for blood, they will learn however that not even the ministry is above the law. Until tomorrow." And with that Dumbledore was gone again.
Harry sat looking worried. Hermione reached out and grabbed his hand, "Don't worry, at least we will be together and Dumbledore seems to have a plan. It will be alright."
"Yes Potter, you have the greatest wizard of our time and the brightest witch of our age on your side, a bumbling idiot like Fudge doesn't stand a chance." Draco drawled, seemingly unconcerned though Hermione swore she saw some concern in his eyes when he looked at her. Why he would be worried about her she didn't know, but with all the preparations for the next day she didn't get a chance to ask.