Chapter Thirty-Five – A Change of Plans
Draco had other reason for concern, as he explained at breakfast. "The poltergeist was much stronger last night," he said. Everyone, even Hagrid, agrees that they felt something, and Hagrid says it was stronger than the previous night. It even knocked a trophy off the mantle above the floo fireplace in the common room. Pansy was really frightened."
"I certainly was," she seconded Draco's report, "and Hagrid seemed shaken as well. He stayed back in the common room to investigate."
The Owls arrived with our papers and I immediately opened the Daily Prophet, being interested to learn if they would have anything more to say about the death of Rita Skeeter or the amazing change in tone and political orientation shown in her final article. I was shocked to see that Rita had a couple final shots from the grave against the new administration:
MUGGLE BOMBS FOUND IN DEPUTY MINISTER'S OFFICE - DEPUTY MINISTER WEASLEY CLAIMS THEY AREN'T HIS
MINISTER SHACKLEBOLT LIVING IN SWELL DIGS, LOVES MUGGLE SHERRY
The first article was just plain snide, alternately implying that Dad was a blithering idiot and that he was a sinister bomber, brazenly operating from the executive wing of the Ministry. A note at the end of the article said it was 'compiled and written by senior reporter Malcolm Frakes from notes left in ace investigative reporter Rita Skeeter's personal notebook, which she certainly would have turned into a hard-hitting expose, had she not been prevented by her own brutal murder'. That came about as close to accusing Dad of murdering Rita to keep her quiet as one could get, without stating a clear accusation. It was masterful innuendo and misdirection.
The second article went into very great detail about the estate at which the Minister was living, its furnishings, the quality of food and drink available to the Minister and his guests, and even included a short mention of our dinner at the Muggle restaurant on the night that Rita had been killed - a dinner which Malcolm Frakes implied was arranged to provide an alibi for the Minister and Dad at the time of Rita's murder. He didn't make an outright accusation, but that was clearly the conclusion to which the reader was being led.
We passed the article around the table, sharing our concerns about the gross unfairness of all that was said. Our indignation was interrupted by Hermione's identification of the greater problem. "How did they get this information? We were the only ones who knew this. We told very few people. It's us, Mom, Dad, Shacklebolt and his aurors, and McGonagall."
"I also told Draco and Pansy," Harry corrected Hermione.
"No," she replied, "you told them about the bombs, not about either of our dinners or Shacklebolt's borrowed estate. Our enemies at the Daily Prophet have a spy in our camp."
The Quibbler had more information on Rita's career and a long article on her death, ending with an apology for attacking her after she was deceased. Xenophilius had deduced that she had been squashed while in her bug form, and reported that he had obtained a copy of the giant footprint and taken it to the Ministry, demanding that the auror corps investigate and search for a matching shoe print among the Wizard population. He said the auror corps were best equipped to conduct the investigation, because his own analysis revealed that the print had been made by a standard issue auror boot. This forced the Ministry to admit that an auror had been tailing Rita and had accidentally squashed her after she transformed into a bug to avoid pursuit. Xenophilius ended the article with what I guess must be called his own invention of the trailing headline: IS MINISTRY EXPLANATION OF RITA SKEETER'S 'ACCIDENTAL' DEATH AT ALL BELIEVABLE?
At the end of breakfast, McGonagall asked to speak to Harry in her office. This postponed our planned departure to shop in the Muggle stores for the emergency generator and the supplies for our trip. With an unknown amount of time to kill, I went for a walk beside the lake with Hermione. "Do you think the prophecies are real and do you think that they refer to us, personally?" I asked Hermione.
"I'm really not a believer in prophesy. I think these new prophecies are given credence by Professor McGonagall only because of the previous prophecy that Professor Trelawney made about Harry. I can reconcile how that one worked out strictly by logic: it only worked because Voldemort psyched himself into believing it, and because Dumbledore was a believer in prophecy.
"I'm really not the person to ask whether a prophecy is true. I'm a logical person and I don't believe in divination. But then, my Muggle physics can't reconcile apparation or flying on a broom. I just don't fully understand my new world. If I don't believe in prophecy, why should I believe one just because it is about me? If you're disposed to accept that someone like Trelawney, whom we've observed to be pretty much a fraud with regard to everything she did in her class, can actually predict or influence the future through things that she sees in a trance, then it's reasonable to say those particular prophecies refer to us and to Harry, Ron, and Neville. It really comes down to whether or not you believe that sort of thing. I didn't grow up steeped in witchcraft, like you did, so it's natural that I would have less belief in a prophecy than you would. If I don't believe in the truth of prophesy, then it shouldn't matter what this one says, or whether Trelawney is referring to me."
"You say shouldn't, rather than doesn't, which means to me that it is having an effect on you, even if you don't think it should," I replied.
A very short period of time passed before Harry joined us. "I showed Professor McGonagall the articles in the Daily Prophet. She immediately replied, 'we've got a spy in our midst and should guard our speech, where others can overhear us'. I took that to mean the Slytherins. On the whole, she didn't seem all that upset about the bad publicity. I believe her exact comment was 'that's not at all fair to Arthur, but I think Kingsley had it coming.'
"Professor McGonagall says the Ministry has obtained credit cards for several Muggle-born employees, who shop for the few things the Ministry buys in the Muggle world. It turns out Arthur neglected to tell you that among the 'Muggle artifacts' found in the offices of the Voldemort supporters were half a dozen Muggle credit cards. They were perfectly free to shop the Muggle stores. Anyway, since Hermione and I were raised in Muggle homes, we've been on the radar enough that the Ministry can get cards for us, but it will take weeks."
"I already have a Muggle credit card," Hermione replied. My parents insisted that I have one. It only has a three hundred pound limit, and it's back at my parents' house, but I can get it, if you think we'll need more than your three-hundred and twenty pounds. I wasn't able to sell the house when I moved them to Australia. The story is that they've gone on a long holiday to stay with a sick relative, while I stayed on at boarding school. I could stop by the house without rousing a lot of undue attention."
"I doubt they'd waste the manpower all this time," Harry observed, "but the Death Eaters could be watching the house. They certainly watched Grimmauld Place all this time. You'd have to be careful and not go alone when you pick up the card. I doubt we can buy everything we need with the money that Shacklebolt gave me."
"We've been stupid!" Hermione exclaimed. "If the Death Eaters have been watching Grimmauld Place all this time, then they saw Margaret and Millicent enter the house. If Kreacher answered the door, they probably didn't see Narcissa, but they certainly know somebody is staying there. If it was only Kreacher, they would have just exchanged words at the door without entering. I'd say that Margaret and Millicent were in great danger, but if that were the case, something bad would have happened by now."
"Maybe they think I was at the house," Harry suggested.
"Or maybe they've chosen to watch Margaret and Millicent to find out what other spots they visit."
"In which case they probably know that we met Margaret in Godric's Hollow," I remarked. "Of course, if they wanted to move against Margaret, they've already had ample time to do so."
"They're probably not in great danger, but we should send Margaret ad owl and suggest that Pansy send a warning to Millicent. One that doesn't give our game away. Perhaps just say that we have reason to believe that someone is following Millicent, since she was called into the Ministry. At least that's what I'd do," Hermione concluded.
We all agreed that this was a good idea and the only thing we could reasonably do to protect the girls, without drawing even more attention to them.
"I suppose we should also warn Narcissa, although I blame her for putting two young girls in harm's way because of her own bad faith and stupidity," Harry suggested.
"Yes, we'll warn her too. Right after we figure out how we're going to get all this shopping done," Hermione agreed.
"You know what?" I said, "this plan is getting way too complicated. It makes no sense to expose ourselves to the risk of problems with the Muggles and Death Eaters before we go on our trip. Especially for something like a generator that will mainly be used after we return. Do we really need a cell phone lifeline to Hogwarts, and do we want Bill to know we have them? Just take your owl and we can leave by surprise this afternoon, before any snoopy persons miss us. If McGonagall has been talking at the Ministry about our trip and the shopping we plan to do, the Death Eaters may be waiting for us. Let's just leave right away!"
"That makes sense," Harry said. "I'll alert McGonagall to cover for us and line up Bill, the auror. Hermione can round up the others. Ginny can find Molly, and George will have to apparate to Shell Cottage to get Bill and Fleur. We'll leave as soon as we can get everyone assembled. I'll send the owls and summon Kreacher to warn Narcissa."
I found Mom lounging in the Gryffindor common room, starting to prepare her lecture notes for the coming semester. It was the sixth place that I had gone searching for her. She was surprised that we were leaving immediately, but said that she had been packed for days.
"Shopping seemed to be just way to much bother and danger," I replied. "Besides, Harry doesn't need to wait for a return owl from Ollivander's, since McGonagall was able to identify the rowan wand which was stolen from Filch as having belonged to Bella. Apparently it is the wand of the crazy people."
"Yes, rowan is associated with mentally unstable Witches, but not unstable Wizards, so it's perfectly natural to assume that Bella used the rowan. The Headmaster is mistaken, however. Bella's wand was walnut."
"Ron took her original wand, Mom. She was using a replacement."
"I doubt she would have replaced it with rowan. Bella was a very proud Witch. A rowan wand behaves differently than most wands. I'm sure I would have noticed a rowan wand when I was dueling Bellatrix. It's an understandable mistake, but your headmaster is mistaken. And please… I really wish you would show the proper respect and stop referring to the headmaster as 'McGonagall'. It's just not proper behavior for a school girl."
I love Mom dearly, but school girl! I went upstairs to the dorm to grab what I had packed for the trip. This saved a fight with Mom.
By 11:00 A.M. we were ready to set off on our journey. We all linked arms with either Hagrid or Fleur, since they were the only ones who knew our destination. At 11:10 Greenwich time, we were standing on a pebble-covered drive in front of tall wrought-iron gates, which were the only break we could see in a ten foot stone wall, fronted by tall bushes, that stretched as far as we could see in either direction. We saw nothing beyond the gates, except a continuation of the path that curved and faded into the distant shade, amidst tall hedges on either side of the path. There was a large brass bell beside the gate and Fleur grabbed its rope, giving a hard tug, which caused a loud ringing that echoed inside our heads.
"I remember standing right here and pulling this very rope, when I was late getting back to school, and more than once," recollected Fleur, "and this same old woman caretaker, Madame Roche, in the same silly pink dress and pink hat, who is approaching us now, always gave me a severe reproach, before deciding to let me back in."