Chapter 34: Mr. Potter Goes to the Ministry

July 4th, 1995

"Harry, you have to calm down," begged Ginny anxiously, "If someone comes to see what's up how will you explain this? How will you explain what you know?"

"Please, Harry," said Hermione, putting her arms around him, "Please calm down. I know you're mad, and I know you are right to be mad. But if you blow your top here everything could fall apart!"

Harry seemed to growl for a moment, then took a deep breath.

"All right," said Harry, "I will do it. Because you asked me to, Hermione. I know you are looking out for me, so I'll trust you."

"Thank you," said Hermione. She turned Harry towards her, then kissed him. It started as a fairly gentle kiss, but suddenly Harry wanted more. The kiss grew more energetic, and suddenly it became far more than that. It was almost frenzied. Harry's hands began to move along her back, down...

"Hey, now stop that!" said Ginny suddenly, "Not only am I still here, but might I remind the two of you that much as you might want to, you can't be intimate yet!"

Harry pulled away, his face aghast. "Hermione, I'm so sorry…"

"Don't apologize Harry," said Hermione. She looked a bit flushed, but otherwise seemed to be okay, "I got carried away as well. Let's just say we were both getting a bit ahead of ourselves."

Harry shook his head. "I appreciate that, I just… well I was channeling my rage into, um, other areas."

"It isn't going to work," said Ginny, "Snape is in and out of here all the time. Harry will go off on him sooner or later."

"Why don't we just say he saw it in Voldemort's mind?" asked Hermione, "I mean, technically, it's true."

"No," said Harry, "I will control myself. It just came to me as a huge shock. I'll handle it from here."

Harry wanted to say something else to Hermione, but knew he couldn't. If he did everything would fall apart. No, he had to stay silent on this. He'd almost seriously screwed up today, and nearly cost him his chance to get out of that damn contract safely in the process.

"Harry," said Hermione as Ginny led the way out, "Even if we didn't have that difficulty to deal with, I don't think I'm ready for that quite yet."

"I understand," said Harry.

Hermione smiled devilishly, "But I want you to know, I could almost feel you wanting me. It felt good. Keep your mouth shut, but I'm going to have to figure out exactly how I'm going to do this."

Harry swallowed, but said nothing.

Hermione laughed. "That's a good boy." And she led him out of the room.

XXXXX

"Fudge intends to put Harry on trial for Underage Magic," said Arthur that evening when he got back from work.

"I've never so much as received a warning," said Harry, "How can he justify this?"

"You cast a Patronus in broad daylight in front of two non-magicals," said Arthur, "He's trying to overwhelm you with minutiae and keep you off balance."

"I should talk to Daphne," mused Harry.

"You can't leave No. 12 Harry," explained Sirius.

"Then bring her here," demanded Harry.

"We can't let Daphne into the Order Headquarters," replied Molly.

"She's one of our closest friends Mum," said Ginny, "I'd trust her with my life."

"She will not betray us," insisted Harry.

"Sorry, we can't risk it. Dumbledore's orders," said Tonks.

"Hey, this is my girlfriend we're talking about here," said Ron, sounding slightly offended, "I say we can trust her."

"I know how you feel Ron, but we just can't let her in on the secret," insisted Sirius.

"It's your house," said Harry

"And Daphne will be welcome here anytime. Once the Fidelius is lifted. But she isn't getting in on the secret and that is that." said Sirius firmly. He didn't seem to like what he was saying though. He couldn't quite meet Harry's eyes.

Harry nodded. "Could I send Ron to speak to her?" he asked.

Molly and Arthur looked at each other for a moment.

"That would be acceptable." said Arthur.

"Let me write down what Ron needs to ask her," said Harry. He ran up to the room he shared with Ron. He didn't need to write anything down though. Instead he pulled out the note that Sirius had handed him. The one written by the Secret Keeper with the location of the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix.

Harry ran back downstairs to Ron, who was at the floo. "Yeah, Harry just wanted me to bring a question or two through," said the boy to the fire, which had taken the shape of the head of Daphne Greengrass.

"Well I'd be delighted to have you over Ron, regardless of the circumstances," said Daphne.

Harry went over to Ron and whispered in his ear, "Just give her the note and bring her back through."

Ron glanced at the note then barely managed to stifle a laugh. "Right, I'm coming through," he said as he leapt into the fire.

It was several minutes before he came back. Harry assumed Ron was greeting Daphne, in whatever form she was willing to. Then, Ron came back through the floo.

"That didn't take very long," said Sirius suspiciously.

"Sorry," said Harry, "but I really needed to talk to Daphne. You really should have made sure that you secured that note you gave me."

"Wait, you didn't…" said Sirius angrily.

And then, Daphne Greengrass popped out of the Floo.

"So this is the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix," said Daphne, unimpressed, "I expected more."

"Harry!" shouted Molly angrily.

"I need Daphne to help plan my defense!" objected Harry.

"Dumbledore will lead your defense," said Tonks.

"I put my faith in Dumbledore last year," said Harry, "what I got for it was entered in a deadly tournament, a Headmaster who thought I was lying, and a Dark Lord returning. Sorry, I'm done just trusting Albus Dumbledore. He has to earn my trust back. I'm discussing my case with a person I trust."

Sirius hung his head. "I… I understand. Daphne can stay."

"What?" shouted Molly.

"Harry isn't the only one Dumbledore failed," said Sirius, "I've been a good soldier about it given how much he has done to help me since I escaped Azkaban, but he really let me down in the months following James and Lily's deaths. Harry has the right to be represented by the person he chooses. Harry has the right to ask Daphne to represent him, if that is who he wants,"

"She's only fifteen!" objected Arthur, "She can't represent him in front of the Wizengamot!"

"Actually, as Successor Designate of my father's seat on the Wizengamot, and with his permission, I can." said Daphne, "That is the law!"

"I trust Daphne with my life, as Ginny said," said Harry.

"We'll get started in a moment then," said Daphne, "But first, have you heard from Blaise at all?"

"Why do you ask?" inquired Harry.

"Because he ran away from home," said Daphne, "And no one has any idea where he is."

XXXXX

July 5th, 1995

Blaise slipped into the Hogs Head quietly. He was in real danger here. Anyone here might work for his mother. But she was less welcome here than anywhere else that Blaise knew about. If Blaise was going to find his father, he would have to take a few risks, and the risk here was far less than in Knockturn Alley.

And there was a lot of risk. He'd been on the run ever since he had walked into that room and seen the elder Crabbe and Goyle. At that moment he'd realized that his mother knew. And so, he'd started throwing blasting curses.

There was no one in the bar except the owner.

"What are you doing here?" demanded Aberforth Dumbledore, "School's been out for some time."

"I'm looking for someone," said Blaise, "My father."

"Does your father have a name?" asked Aberforth.

"Pascal Zabini," replied Blaise.

"Oh, that'd make you Blaise," said Aberforth, "Your mother has been looking for you."

"I am very aware of that," said Blaise.

"Your father rarely comes here anymore," admitted Aberforth, "He avoids any place that Clarise ever comes to like the plague, and while she ain't exactly welcome here, she will show up when she needs to."

"Dammit," said Blaise angrily.

"Now, I do know where you might find him, if he was trying to lie low," said Aberforth, "There's a place in northern Wales, a muggle pub called the Ram's Cradle. Out of the way for most wizards, and not a Floo for miles. Plus, your mother doesn't have a lot of friends in Wales."

Blaise nodded. It was worth a try. It was the only lead he had.

XXXXX

They'd managed to pull Daphne aside and tell her everything before they had started. She had been surprised that Harry now had Voldemort's memories, but she seemed to think this would be a big advantage.

"So who is Dolores Umbridge?" asked Harry. He was sitting with Daphne, Hermione, Ginny, Sirius and Remus in the sitting room. Molly was cleaning nearby, but obviously keeping an eye on the situation.

"Trouble," said Daphne, "She's the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister for Magic. That means she controls the Minister's Wizengamot agenda, and she is in charge of keeping the individual departments conforming to official Ministry Policy. She's also a vindictive bitch. If even half the stories from her tenure in the Improper Use of Magic office are true, she's a monster. She is very good at her job too, but that is mostly because she's so passive aggressive. She seems very nice and proper, until you get on her bad side."

"She was behind that abomination of a werewolf bill after our third year, wasn't she?" asked Hermione.

"Yes," said Remus, "Which I believe your father supported, Daphne."

"Oh, believe me, Astoria and I reamed him over that one," said Daphne bitterly, "He never listens to us though. He did manage to excise some of the worst elements of the bill, but that really doesn't earn him any points in my book. He should have opposed it."

"In any case," said Hermione, "We know Umbridge was behind the attack on Harry."

"How do you know that?" asked Sirius.

"Percy told me," said Harry tersely.

Molly, Sirius, and Remus all stared at Harry. "Percy told you?" demanded Molly.

"Yes, he's my mole inside the Ministry," said Harry, "He was most apologetic about the rather public fight he had with your husband, but it was necessary for Fudge to trust him."

"Why didn't you tell us this?" demanded Molly.

Harry gave Ginny a hard stare. "I don't know, why didn't you, Ginny?"

Ginny winced slightly, "Well I thought the feud would look more authentic…"

"If it was authentic?" said Harry, "That's pretty cynical Ginny. Your father can still avoid Percy at work without having to believe his son betrayed him."

"I'm sorry Mum," said Ginny, "I should have told you. This cloak and dagger stuff can get a bit confusing."

"Molly, given some of the decisions that Dumbledore has made," said Sirius, his eyes indicating Hermione, "Can you really blame Ginny for being overly security conscious?"

"I suppose not," said Molly.

"Back to the topic at hand," said Daphne, "If Harry's account is accurate, then the Ministry would have to be crazy to bring Harry up on charges. Without an Improper Use of Magic Office report indicating the Trace activated, how will they have any evidence?"

"They could use the Dementors as witnesses," said Remus.

"No, Dementors can't be used as witnesses," said Daphne, "They can submit anonymous testimony to the DMLE, but they do not bring dementors as witnesses to the Wizengamot. Ever. The only time they ever enter the Ministry is as guards for prisoners."

"What if Umbridge just assumed that there would be a record of it in the Improper Use of Magic office?" asked Hermione.

Daphne's eyes widened. "Yes, that might explain this. If Fudge set this in motion before she actually checked the Improper Use of Magic office for the violation…"

"Which means Umbridge probably hasn't told Fudge how weak her case is," said Harry, "She is probably going to try to just brazen through it."

"You know, Umbridge might try to bring up the dementors' testimony as anonymous Ministry officials," said Daphne, "It's legal, but…"

"But what?" asked Harry.

Daphne grinned viciously, "If she does so, we have her. My guess is that she will also try to make up an Improper Use of Magic violation, but I can deal with that. No, she is either going to lie to us and say the dementors have to have their identities kept secret for security reasons, in which case this must be approved by the Head of the DMLE, or she must claim they are exempt employees."

"Either way, we have this," said Daphne, "Now if you will excuse me, I am going to go spend some time with my boyfriend."

Daphne stood up and headed for the door.

"You know," said Harry as he stood up, "Someone should keep an eye on them."

"Yes, I'll join you," agreed Hermione.

The adults all had barely concealed grins as Harry and Hermione left the room.

"Well I guess I will have to keep an eye on them," said Ginny.

Harry and Hermione made their way up to the bedroom Harry shared with Ron. Ginny ran up right behind them.

"Is there something else?" asked Ginny.

"Yeah," said Harry, "The Prophecy."

"What prophecy?" asked Ron. Daphne also seemed confused.

"There was a prophecy made about me and Voldemort," explained Harry, "I've only heard part of it though. We need to hear the rest. Prophecies are kept in the Department of Mysteries. I could try to recover it when I go to the Ministry."

"You'd have to tell Sirius what was up though," said Hermione.

"Not necessarily, not if he isn't there," said Harry, with a smug grin, "What do you want to bet Umbridge tries to use the Prophet to smear me? But once we reveal that her allegations are lies..."

Daphne grinned, "You'll have them over a barrel then!"

"So what if I give Sirius another task, one he has to complete before picking me up at the Ministry…"

XXXXX

Sometime later, and after Ginny had long left the room, Harry had erected a curtain in the middle of the room to give them a small amount of privacy. Truthfully, he and Hermione weren't really snogging all that seriously. He was more interested in just holding her right now. He had put his hand up her shirt and on her belly, but that was basically it. From what he could hear from the other side of the curtain however, Ron and Daphne were being more active.

Harry probably should have guessed that Molly would barge in at some point. She took one look at the goings on in there and yelled, "Harry, Ron! What are you doing!"

Ron leapt to his feet. "We were just kissing!" he protested.

"And your hand, Harry?" demanded Molly.

"Is quite comfortable, thank you," said Harry, as he patted Hermione's belly. "It is also none of your concern. No offense Mrs. Weasley, but you aren't my mother."

"Sirius!" shouted Molly.

A moment later Sirius arrived at the door. "Is there a problem?"

"Your godson is… groping his girlfriend," protested Molly.

"Were his hands above the belt?" asked Sirius.

"Well, yes, but…"

Sirius shook his head. "I had this conversation with her parents. Neither I, nor they, care in that case."

"We weren't even snogging! Harry was just holding me!" objected Hermione.

"First, that is very sweet of you Harry," said Sirius, "Second, I'm very disappointed in you Harry. Imagine wasting a chance to snog like that!"

"We can snog whenever," said Harry, "I just felt we needed something a bit lower key after all we've been through today."

"Very considerate Harry," said Sirius, "Have at it!" And with that, he left the room.

"Does this mean I'm not getting in trouble for snogging Daphne?" asked Ron.

Molly's nostrils flared. "It most certainly does not! I am still your mother, and I determine what is appropriate behavior!"

Ron gave Harry a jealous look. Harry mouthed "Sorry," as Ron and Daphne were led out of the room.

"Poor Ron," said Hermione, "And Daphne too, I suppose."

"It's fine," said Harry, "Daphne won't get in trouble for this, and Arthur will convince Molly to go easy on Ron. As long as his trousers were still zipped at least. Did you happen to see if they were?"

"I wasn't looking at that part of his anatomy, no," said Hermione.

Harry laughed.

XXXXX

July 6th, 1995

The next day Harry rose early. He decided to head down to the kitchen, only to hear an argument coming out of it.

"I am the elf of this house!" said the voice of Kreacher.

"Harry Potter is my friend!" yelled the unmistakable voice of Dobby.

Harry ran into the kitchens. "Dobby!" he said excitedly, "What are you doing here?"

"I hired him on to help clean the place up," said Sirius, who was already at the table. "Only for the summer. He volunteered, if you believe it. He goes back to Hogwarts once school starts. He got that picture of my mother off the wall." Kreacher scowled at that.

"Seriously Harry," started Ginny as she walked into the room, "Be glad it's gone. That portrait was a nightmare."

There was a hoot as owls flew in delivering the morning editions of the Daily Prophet. Harry picked one up. The Prophet had a note on how they were looking for new investors. New ownership more like. The same note had been there for months. Harry grinned. He didn't have to look far to find what he had wanted.

"Oh my," said Harry, "Looks like the Ministry is accusing me not only of underage magic, but a violation of the Statute of Secrecy. And I apparently have no good explanation for my actions. Well, this is certainly libelous, as they didn't even ask me for my comment!"

Sirius grinned. "So you gonna bring them before the Wizengamot?"

Harry looked at Sirius shrewdly. "How'd you like to have something to do while I am before the Wizengamot?"

Sirius's eyes glittered, "What do you have in mind?"

"All you'll have to do is wait. I'll have Brokgut waiting there for you. When the result of my trial comes in, you'll make the Board of Directors for the Prophet an offer they can't refuse," said Harry with a grin.

XXXXX

July 11th, 1995

Harry and Sirius Flooed over to the Ministry on the day of the trial. While Arthur had argued that a non-magical means of transport might be better, Daphne had rejected that, saying that this might be seen as an admission of guilt to some. Daphne's advice was to act normally.

Harry and Daphne met with Arthur in the atrium. It was a large impressive space, but it was currently being remodeled. Apparently Fudge had thought the old atrium had not properly reflected his importance to the Ministry.

"Good thing you're here," said Arthur, "Fudge tried to move the time of the hearing up, but Dumbledore quashed that. Fudge was pretty mad."

"Well, I will see you two after the trial," said Sirius.

"You aren't going to stay?" asked Arthur.

"I have to be elsewhere when the verdict comes in," said Sirius, "I need to catch someone off guard. I'll come back and pick Harry up after I'm done."

Arthur led Harry and Daphne to check in. After that he led the two of them to the main lift.

"We're in Courtroom 10," said Arthur.

"Wait, we're holding this on level 10?" demanded Daphne, "That is for serious criminal proceedings! What is Fudge thinking?"

"He isn't," said Arthur, "I don't think he fully understands how badly this is about to backfire on him. I managed to confirm with an associate of mine in the Improper Use of Magic office that Umbridge only checked with them the day after the dementor incident. She is going to be in hot water once this goes south for her."

They got off the lift on level 9, which happened to be where the Department of Mysteries was. That would make Harry's next task a lot easier. They took a short staircase down to the next level, and stopped at Courtroom 10.

"Good luck Harry," said Arthur.

Daphne and Harry waited in an antechamber for several minutes, then an Auror ushered them into the Courtroom proper. Dumbledore was in the middle, next to Amelia Bones, running proceedings, and the Minister was to one side, with Percy sitting next to him, behind a very toad-like woman who was sitting in the prosecutors seat. Harry saw most of his allies opposite Fudge, including Bryant Greengrass and Augusta Longbottom.

Harry marched up to the center of the room and sat in the chair there, but he did not put his arms in the manacles attached to the chair. Daphne strode forward to address the Wizengamot.

"Who are you?" demanded the toad-like woman, "The defendant is not allowed guests on the floor of the chamber. Get out!"

"I am Daphne Greengrass, Senior Undersecretary Umbridge," said Daphne with a professional smile, "Successor Designate to Bryant Greengrass, and I am here serving as Harry Potter's counsel, with the permission of my father of course."

"This has indeed been logged with the court," said Dumbledore.

"She's just a girl!" objected Umbridge.

"I am Successor Designate," said Daphne, "I have the right."

"She does indeed," said Fudge, "Let's move on with this Dolores." Fudge clearly thought Harry was making a mistake.

Umbridge nodded, though she didn't look happy. She had probably been looking forward to running roughshod over Harry. Apparently Fudge had tried to take over the Chief Warlock's seat himself, but he didn't have enough votes to unseat Dumbledore.

"Harry Potter stands accused of two counts. One, is a count of underage use of magic. How do you plead to this count?" intoned Dumbledore.

"Not Guilty," said Harry.

"The other count is a Violation of the Statute of Secrecy. How do you plead to this count?"

"Not Guilty," said Harry.

Umbridge stood up. "On the day of July 7th, 1995, did you, Harry Potter cast a Patronus charm in full view of two non-magical persons?"

"I did," said Harry with a smile. Umbridge looked stunned at this admission.

"Really, what more needs to be said," said Umbridge, "He admits his guilt! Why waste anymore time with this charade? The prosecution rests "

"Why waste anymore time indeed!" said Fudge, "I say we render judgement now!"

"The defendant is entitled to a defense," said Amelia, her tone of voice rather cross.

"Indeed," said Dumbledore, "The defense will proceed."

Daphne smiled and took the place for the defense counsel. "I will deal with the charge of a violation of the Statute of Secrecy first. Can the prosecution give the identities of the non-magicals who saw Harry perform the Patronus charm?"

"What purpose does that information serve!" demanded Umbridge.

"The purpose of confirming for the court that the two people involved were indeed muggles," said Daphne with a smile.

"Of course," said Umbridge, with a smile of her own, "The two non-magicals were Dudley Dursley, and Arabella Figg."

"That is very strange," said Daphne, "as Arabella Figg is a squib, and Dudley Dursley is Harry's cousin who lives in the same household with him. Both are aware of the existence of magic! Casting spells in front of them is not a violation of the Statute of Secrecy, and you know it! I move that this charge be dismissed immediately!"

Even Fudge didn't dare object. The vote for dismissal was almost unanimous, with only Fudge and a few cronies voting no. Even the Death Eaters like Nott and Malfoy voted to dismiss.

"The second charge is more credible, at first glance," said Daphne, "Yet it too suffers from serious flaws. Harry, would you recount your story of what happened on July 7th?"

Harry told his story, omitting only the invisibility cloak and Hermione from the story. It wasn't really important anyway. He made sure to emphasize that the dementors withdrew as soon as he cast his Patronus.

"Now, that paints things in a much different light, doesn't it," said Daphne.

"Does Mr. Potter have any corroborating evidence for this story?" demanded Fudge.

"Do you?" demanded Daphne, "I have not yet even received a notice from the Improper Use of Magic Office showing that the Trace on Harry Potter was set off on July 7th. Please, if you could provide us with that, it would be most helpful."

"There is no need," said Umbridge, "He admitted he used the Patronus charm."

"That is right, he did," said Daphne, "Chief Warlock, for the record, what is the Patronus Charm?"

"It is a spell that summons a magical shield or protector to stave off certain dark creatures," said Dumbledore, "Its primary use is to drive off dementors and lethifolds."

"Sounds complicated," said Daphne, "I want to confirm that it was indeed the Patronus Charm that was cast. Surely you didn't expect Harry to just admit to using the Patronus Charm before this proceeding started? You must have the notice on you."

Umbridge looked surly. "Here it is," she said, holding out a scroll.

Daphne took it, read it then placed it on the desk of the Chief Warlock. "This is not evidence! There is no time and date when the Trace recorded his use of illegal magic. This is merely an affidavit stating that Harry used the Patronus charm at some point! Where is the actual magical record of the Trace being set off?"

Umbridge grumbled, but didn't speak up.

"Since the Senior Undersecretary won't speak up, I will. There is no record of this at the Improper Use of Magic office, for one simple reason: Harry Potter does not have the Trace on him!"

The Wizengamot began to buzz with excitement. "That is a blatant violation of magical law!" shouted Fudge.

"Quite the opposite, Minister!" shouted Daphne over the din, "The Trace is designed to break in situations where a magical guardian fails their charge. Chief Warlock, you were Harry's magical guardian last year. What happened on October 31st, 1994?"

"On that date, despite my best precautions, and Harry's warnings to me, Harry was entered in the Triwizard Tournament against his wishes," said Dumbledore.

"The tournament has been known to kill people!" cried Daphne, "Harry gave specific warning to Dumbledore that Barty Crouch Jr. might try to enter him into the contest. Dumbledore did not ward the cup against someone Crouch Jr.'s age. This body is already familiar with that case."

Most of the members of the Wizengamot nodded.

"May I test Harry to see if he has the Trace on him?" asked Amelia.

"Oh course," said Harry.

Amelia stood and walked over to Harry, casting a magic detecting charm of some sort. Nothing happened. "Harry does not have the Trace on him!" she said.

The chamber was again full of buzzing chatter.

"So I ask the prosecutor, if the Trace did not go off, how do you know anything about this incident at all?" demanded Daphne, "You accuse me of having no evidence, but I have the testimony of one Harry Potter! How did you come to be aware of this happening at all?"

Umbridge grinned. "There were witnesses," she said, "They reported this incident."

"Why haven't we heard from them?" asked Daphne.

"They requested anonymity," said Umbridge.

"Witnesses cannot anonymously give testimony unless they are doing so under a security seal or as an exempt employee," said Daphne, "Which are you claiming?"

"They are exempt," said Umbridge, her smile triumphant.

"For those of you who are unaware," said Daphne, "In 1712, many exemptions were carved out in magical law for certain magical creatures and other categories to testify anonymously to deal with bias against those creatures. This is well known. What is substantially less known, is that since then, all but three exemptions have been repealed. Those three are, a goblin testifying against Gringotts, a centaur testifying against its own tribe, and a dementor under all circumstances."

"As this case has nothing to do with centaurs or goblins, only a dementor could claim an exemption!" roared Daphne.

The Wizengamot erupted angrily. Dumbledore smiled. Bryant was beaming proudly at his daughter.

"WAS THE EMPLOYEE THAT WITNESSED THIS ALTERCATION A DEMENTOR, SENIOR UNDERSECRETARY?" yelled Daphne over the noise. The hall immediately quieted.

Umbridge was trapped. If she said no, Daphne could accuse her of perjury. If she said yes, this case was over.

"Yes," said Umbridge.

"There was a dementor in Little Whinging on July 7th?" asked Daphne.

"Yes," said Umbridge, hanging her head. Fudge glared at her, his eyes almost murderous.

"Would anyone here not use a Patronus if a dementor was present in the muggle world?" said Daphne, "This is a clear cut case of self-defense. The defense rests."

"I move that all charges be dismissed, on account of self-defense," said Augusta Longbottom.

"I second," said Bryant.

Fudge didn't even wait for the vote to be called. He just stormed out. The vote was unanimous.

XXXXX

"Well done Daphne! And congratulations Harry!" said Bryant as he approached them outside the Wizengamot.

"It was a pathetically weak case," said Daphne modestly.

"Yes, but you absolutely tore it apart," said Harry.

"I did my best," said Daphne with a smile.

"Mr. Greengrass, could I ask you to do me a small favour," said Harry.

"What?" asked Bryant curiously.

"Could you distract Arthur Weasley for ten or fifteen minutes?" asked Daphne, "Harry has some business in the Department of Mysteries that we'd really rather keep a secret from everyone."

Bryant's eyes widened slightly. "In the Department of Mysteries? All right then."

Harry walked over to where Arthur was standing and beaming at Harry.

"I hear that Daphne gave a virtuoso performance," said Arthur.

"She did," said Harry.

"Now Harry, you should know that just because you don't have the Trace on you it doesn't mean you can use magic whenever you like,' said Arthur

"I'm aware," said Harry.

"Good," said Arthur.

"I have to use the loo real quick," said Harry.

"Of course," said Arthur.

"Arthur, I hear Ronald is likely to make prefect this year…" started Bryant.

Harry quickly made his way into the bathroom and took a stall. He reached under his robes, and pulled out his invisibility cloak. Putting it on he quickly made his way out of the bathroom and climbed the stairs to level 9. There he walked into the rather imposing looking door to the Department of Mysteries.

Dropping the cloak, he stopped in front of the first person he saw.

"What are you doing here?" said the Unspeakable.

"My name is Harry Potter," said Harry, "I'm here to pick up a prophecy."

XXXXX

"We are worried about what Fred and George are going to do after school," said Arthur, "They say they want to open their own joke shop, but I'm worried they don't have the money."

"Fred and George do have a talent in that direction," said Daphne, "Maybe Harry could help them out."

"I doubt they'd accept charity," said Arthur.

"It would be an investment, of course," said Daphne, "If I mention this to Sirius, he'll order Harry to invest in their joke shop."

"You're probably right," said Arthur, "Much as I like Sirius, he really hasn't grown up."

"Being stuck in Azkaban for over a decade will do that for you, if it doesn't do worse," said Daphne, "Though I know your wife is a bit angry with him for not stepping in with Hermione and Harry."

"I don't blame Sirius to be honest," said Arthur, "Harry and Hermione weren't doing anything inappropriate really, unlike you and Ronald." Arthur grinned mischievously.

"What's this, then?" asked Bryant.

"We were kissing!" said Daphne, her face turning red, "We were kissing a lot, but it was just kissing. Molly just got upset because we were laying down. Ron is very respectful of me."

"That's good to hear," said Bryant.

"Too respectful, really," muttered Daphne.

"That, not so much," Bryant said with a scowl setting across his features.

"What is taking Harry so long?" asked Arthur.

"Sorry I took so long!" said Harry as he returned, "There was a bit of a queue."

Harry winked at Daphne. So far everything was going off without a hitch. Arthur took Harry back to his office. After a minute, Hedwig flew into the room with a letter. Harry reached out and took it. Upon reading the letter, Harry grinned.

"Did Sirius's secret task go well?" asked Arthur.

"Yes," said Harry, "You are now speaking to the new controlling owner of the Daily Prophet."

XXXXX

The note in Percy's inbox was brief, but on reading it, he realized that it had the potential to make a day that promised to be rather rough an absolute nightmare. Fudge is going to blow up at this, thought Percy. The Minister was ensconced with Lucius Malfoy at the moment, but this couldn't wait. It was potentially disastrous for Fudge. Not that Percy was unhappy with this turn of events. Percy could read between the lines, and knew that Harry was almost certainly behind this. One thing that was abundantly clear was that Percy's decision to help Harry had just been proven to be the right one.

Percy knocked on the Minister's door. "Enter Percy," said Fudge.

Percy strode into the room officiously. Fudge was looking rather animated. He'd probably been cursing out Umbridge. Percy hated that woman. "I just received a note. I think you will want to read it right away. And I think you will want some privacy as well."

Malfoy smiled at Percy, "You think to tell the Minister how to conduct his affairs?" asked the blond Death Eater. Percy resisted the urge to punch him. It was hard though, this man had tried to murder his sister.

"Percy has shown himself to be a reliable reader of my moods," said Fudge, "I take it I won't like what is in that note?"

"Not even a little," said Percy.

"We can continue this tomorrow, Lucius," said Fudge.

"Of course," said Malfoy, who briskly marched out of the room.

"You don't like Lucius," said Fudge.

"He did try to kill my sister by giving her a dark artifact," said Percy, "I understand the necessity of dealing with him of course, but…"

Fudge nodded, "Of course, I understand. I dislike him personally as well."

Percy proffered the note. "Once you read this, well, you may have to be even more circumspect with your dealings with Lucius from now on."

Fudge took the note and read it. His face flared in anger as he sat down, and sat down hard.

"Do you know what happened?" said Fudge, "Who did this?"

"I don't know," said Percy, "But there is an obvious suspect."

Fudge motioned Percy to continue.

"Sirius Black wasn't at his godson's trial. Where was he? I bet he was right outside the Daily Prophet, ready to spring this on them the moment his godson was exonerated. After all, Harry could sue them for libel after what they published about him. They'd have pretty much had to agree to any settlement Sirius offered them. And imagine if all Sirius wanted was for the Prophet to sell him a controlling share. They have been looking for buyers recently anyway. Two birds, one stone."

Fudge sat up. "Good eye there Percy, I didn't even notice Black wasn't there. I suppose I should have. If true though, this is a disaster."

"Minister, if I may?" asked Percy. Fudge motioned him to continue.

"I think after this we have to conclude that our attempts to smear Dumbledore and Potter have failed. We need to take a new tack."

"Do you have a suggestion?" asked Fudge.

Percy nodded. "I know Potter fairly well. And one thing I know is that he and Dumbledore do not get along. Attacking Potter puts him on the defensive. It also drums up sympathy for him. The Prophet was getting significant pushback for the story they published on his trial."

"As they should have," said Fudge angrily, "it turns out that we had nothing!"

"Why don't we target Dumbledore instead, try to imply that he is using Potter for his own ends, and that Potter is just an innocent victim," Percy paused to grin, "I can practically guarantee that Potter would use that to try to get some distance between him and Dumbledore. At that point, Dumbledore should be able to be neutralized more easily. And Potter will be more isolated as well."

"That is actually not a bad idea," said Fudge, "At the very least it would keep people from associating Potter and Dumbledore as immutable allies. Yes, there may be a way to do this."

Percy hoped that this was what Harry wanted, because it was the best he could do for now.

"Find me Dolores," said Fudge, "I'm going to have to ask her to take a break for a bit, especially if she is going to Hogwarts this next autumn."

"Senior Undersecretary Umbridge is going to Hogwarts?" asked Percy.

"Unless Dumbledore can find a new Defense against the Dark Arts Professor," said Fudge, "Hopefully she can handle a load of children better than she can the Wizengamot."

Percy wasn't so sure, given that one of those children had just made her look like an idiot. But that wasn't his business to point out.

Author's Note: Harry has finally reached the point that he just does not care what certain people want him to do, and he is willing to just do what he thinks needs to get done. He isn't going to just sit and let Dumbledore run things anymore. That being said, Harry did miss a chance to get answers from Dumbledore at the end of fourth year. Dumbledore legitimately felt horrible about what had happened and he hadn't had time to process that. In the next chapter Harry will finally try and have that conversation with Dumbledore, but the additional time... well it hasn't done Harry any favors.