Hey everyone,
So this chapter is going to be Umbridge, Sirius, Ron and Harry and next chapter is going to be Ron and the Order as well as Amelia and her "mystery" boyfriend. I know that I said that she would play more of a role in chapter 17 and that, in the end, this didn't happen. So I decided on a change of plan and to give this story another unexpected twist. So now my question to all of you; who do you think the boyfriend could be?
Let me know,

Venquine1990

Chapter 19
Secrets, Tests and Trouble

24th of December 1995
Minister's Office, London
Cornelius' POV

"Dolores, what is the meaning of this?" I ask as I stare at the woman who stands in front of my desk, a look of delighted desire on her face. I shudder at this as the combination of lust, desire and delight make the woman look slightly mad – or better said madder than I know most of our coworkers think her to be. "It really is quite simple, Fudge. That werewolf and foolish old man promised me the right to call dibs on Riddle's death and so I am.
And considering what happened to the last person who supposedly did this and how I have done much more for our precious community than you ever could, I deserve to get a well-deserved reward for my actions of the other day. So either you go and hand me the seat and make my position official in the press conference that will announce his death or I will utterly destroy you at the upcoming elections. The choice is yours, dearie."

The woman might try to sound sweet and loving, like a caring grandma, but the tone of her voice and the look on her face just make me shudder in revulsion all over again. But then I notice something and turn my gaze at Percy for a short moment. And that short moment is enough to spot him winking at me, as if he tells me without words: "Just let her, trust me." I wonder what the redhead might know that I don't, but then I realize it.
My gaze returns to focus on Dolores and I release a breath of conflicted emotions as I say: "I don't want to fight you, Dolores. You have been helping me for years and I don't want that to end in strive." The woman's grin widens even more, which I wouldn't have thought possible if not for her face sort of resembling that of a toad, yet I continue and say: "However, there is one thing you should know before I start preparing for my press conference.
This is something that all new candidates are told before they take office, but that is kept quiet from the rest of the Wizarding world.""What is? And why is it kept secret?""It's a test. And it's kept secret, because some old Ministers from ages ago believed that, if the wizarding world knew of this, it would discourage potential candidates. The test was implemented to ensure that the position was given to the right kind of person."

I don't know why I'm not being clearer with the woman, but I do notice Percy giving me a nod of encouragement. I also notice that Dolores' grin has grown even bigger and she simpers as she says: "Well, I can't imagine this test finding me anything other than acceptable. Where and when do I take this test?" I motion for the huge clock in the right back corner of my office and say: "You need to knock your date of birth on the glass.
And each knock needs to correspond with where the number is on the clock's face. So if your date is like the 12th or the 26th, you need to knock the spot of the 2 and then the six." The woman nods, a grin of victory on her face and she asks: "And I can take this test right now?" I nod at this and the woman sends me a grin that makes me glad I'm sitting down as it makes me weak in the knees with fright. "It was a delight working for you, Cornelius. I'll make sure you get your due, I promise."

I gulp as, while the words were probably meant to be reassuring, they almost make me fear for my life instead. And suddenly I get what Percy was hinting at with his nod as I remember the other function of this test. And while I try not to let this realization show on my face, I watch as Dolores heads for the clock and knocks on the points for 2, 6, 8, 1, 9, 6 and finally 5. The whole clock moves and twists to the side, showing a small alcove hidden behind it.
"Just step in there. The magic of the Ministry and of the very land that Magical England is build onto and into will surround you. It will then test you, Dolores, both your looks and what is in your heart and on your mind. It will judge you based on all of that." I explain and the woman seems to contemplate this, but then her grin returns and says: "Well then, to our continued cooperation." And she steps into the stone grey area as she says this.

The clock moves again and returns to its original position before its face turns blank and the pendulum and weights disappear. I grimace at this and then my eyes widen as I notice the space where the pendulum was hanging starting to fill itself up with dark grey mud and dark blood-like water. What's even worse is that the substances rise up until they have filled up more than half of the open space. "How evil is that woman?"
Percy asks in frightened shock and I can only respond with a question of my own: "Percy, what did we subject those students to? What did we subject your siblings to?" Percy looks at me and I hear Umbridge starting to hit the back of the clock and yelling for either of us to let her out of the space in which she is now stuck. I ignore this and tell him: "Go. Head for Hogwarts. Question your brothers and see if you can gather evidence.
Don't worry about her. The magic of Magical England will keep her in that until Amelia comes to retrieve her. All of her crimes and what she planned to do to the people of England that can be considered illegal or immoral has already been reported and send to her office. Once she comes back from escorting Black to Hogwarts, she'll see this and will come here instantly. You make sure you have that evidence by that time." Percy nods, grabs his robe and dashes for my fireplace. And for the first time in months, I am glad that Albus' office is under speedfloo.

At the same time
At the Hogwarts Station
Ron's POV

Last night was actually quite fun. After the students heard about Riddle's defeat and then heard that the twins had actually helped in the whole thing, the Gryffindor common room had been loud and more boisterous than ever before. Students were either partying over the fact that there won't be a war for them to worry about, that their late family has been avenged or they had questioned the twins about what they did and what it was like.
The twins had actually remained amazingly neutral and solemn and while most students had wondered about this, I had definitely understood. "Guys, think. Riddle was a monster, one who used all kinds of horrible dark arts to achieve his goals. What do you think that would have made him look like?" And me asking this question had made everyone understand and had made a First Year ask: "You – you saw him?" The twins and Fred muttered: "He made a Dementor look like Miss Magic."
This had temporarily brought the atmosphere down, but Lee and the others hadn't let this go for too long. Lee had really taken on the role that the twins usually played during parties and had even set off a bit of fireworks halfway through the night. What's also true is that, after the twins describing Riddle, there had been a strong decrease in the amount of students asking them about their experiences. Still I was quite sure that, once the break was over, the queries would resume.

At around nine or ten Sirius had joined us, the man looking like he had had the time of his life and he had actually made the party go even longer and feel even wilder. Yet he had pretended to be exhausted at around 11.30 and asked me if he could crash in Harry's bed for the night. I had easily spotted the look of amusement in his eyes and had easily agreed to this. And even without looking around, I felt sure that the other Keepers had also caught on.
All of us had waited until Seamus and Dean had fallen asleep and while I had trusted Neville to keep our secret, had the team, Lee and I snuck Sirius out of the tower and out of the castle. There I had shared a look with the team and they had nodded as a sign that, while they didn't quite know what I was planning, they trusted me. And so I had snuck Sirius into the forest, but only the edge, past the first few rows of trees.
I had taken him past here for a few miles and constantly made sure to keep an eye out for either Centaurs, other monsters from the Forest or worse, Hagrid. We had avoided all of this and I had reached my destination. And while I had raised my voice just enough that only Sirius would be able to hear me, I had whispered: "Impendimenta." While I aimed my wand at the Whomping Willow. And while Sirius was blindfolded, I undid this before casting.

The man had also transformed into his dog form before we had left and his eyes had been wide when he saw what I did. Yet then he had given me a doggy kind of grin and I had winked at him before whispering the secret in his ear, just to be sure. The dog had gently licked my face and had then dashed for the small hole in the ground between the roots of the tree. And before it had started to move again, I had left and returned to my team.

Now I am waiting for the express to be ready to depart and Hermione and I are grinning in guilty delight as we hear a lot of students wondering where Sirius is. I had told the girl what I had done earlier this morning and she had asked: "Do you think Sirius will convince Harry to spend Christmas with us?" But while it had hurt, I had answered: "I don't think so. I think it's more likely that they just want to spend Christmas together, as a family."
"Your mum's not going to be happy about that." Hermione had told me, but I had retorted: "Mum's been able to have Harry over for Christmas for two of the last four years. She couldn't do so in our first because she went to visit Charlie and last year because of the Tournament. Besides, Sirius deserves to spend his freedom however he sees fit and whoever he wants to." The girl had nodded and agreed with me.

"RON! RON! Ron, over here!" A familiar voice suddenly shouts and I turn around, my eyes wide with shock and confusion when I see Percy waving me over. I turn to look at Ginny in confusion as Hermione is escorting the First Years that are leaving and Neville – who got named Prefect after I handed in my badge – is helping her. But the girl shrugs at me and the two of us head over to where he's standing.
"Percy, what are you doing here?""I can't tell you, not yet. Where are the twins?" Percy retorts and Ginny answers: "They're already on the train." Percy actually curses at this and my eyes widen even more as I have never heard my ever proper brother curse. "Stay here. I have the Minister's orders to check on you guys first and the rest of the school after. I need to have a full report of evidence." And before I can ask what he means, he has forced himself through the ongoing flow of students and onto one of the carriages.
Ginny and I turn to stare from where he disappeared to each other and I can't help but ask: "What the heck is going on at that Ministry?" Ginny shrugs, but then she says: "I think it has something to do with Umbridge. After all, unlike Snape, Dumbledore and McGonagall, she didn't return from killing Riddle yesterday." My eyes widen again as I realize that my sister is right and I feel hope blooming. Hope that the woman is about to get her due.

Earlier the other night
At the Shrieking Shack
Sirius' POV

I may not remember that this was where I went to little over a week ago, but that doesn't change how I feel about the fact that Harry has been hiding here for almost 2 and a half months now. Intense pride and even a strong sense of amusement fills me at the fact that my boy is hiding himself in the same spot I hid myself in two years ago. Yet at the same time I can't help but wonder how it is that, while Harry hides here, no one has seen him walk past the windows or something.
I trekked through the tunnel as Snuffles, but changed back to my human form by the time I got to the entrance into the Shack. And because I don't have a clear memory of what the place looked like the last time I was here, my eyes widen when I see what's been done to the place. The walls have been solidified and the wood now looks much newer, fresher and very clean. The curtains look like they got brought in just last week and there is even a rug on the floor.

"How is this not visible from the outside? I don't think I ever heard Harry talk about learning spells to hide this kind of stuff. Or did he actually manage to activate the lecture mode that we installed on the Map before we lost it?" I wonder to myself while I look around. Then I notice that Harry hasn't come down to check on who's here yet and I quickly change into Snuffles again. I raise my head and sniff the air.
And instantly I notice that his scent is stronger up in the air, which means that he must be somewhere upstairs. I change back and head up there myself. And while I walk, I feel my amazement grow as the wood of the staircase looks to have been changed from old and broken to new and strong. And because of this, it doesn't creak as I walk, yet I am not entirely sure if this is a good thing. But then I berate myself and think: "There is no way Ron will let anyone else in here."

Yet again I feel a strong sense of pride and kinship for the youngest Weasley male as well as a sense of relief as, upon my discovery that he was both Pettigrew's owner and Harry's closest friend, I had been worried that he could be coaxed into following in his pet's footsteps. Yet over the last two months Ron has really proven himself to be everything I wish I could have been for James and this had eased the pain of being separate from my boy quite greatly.
I reach the upper landing and my sensitive hearing picks up on soft breathing noises that are coming from the bedroom. I start to softly tiptoe over to the doorway and while the improved interior in the room again increases my amazement, there is also a sight within that warms my heart. The bed has been completely replaced with a better version, with a warm purple comforter and white and purple pillows. And Harry is sleeping softly within it.

I watch my boy for a few seconds, one part of me not wanting to wake him up as I remember how much trouble he had with sleeping over summer. Yet I ignore this small part of me and tread softly over to the bed. I sit down on it and my eyes widen at how well the mattress supports my weight, yet it also molds itself to help me sit comfortably. I watch Harry for a few more minutes and then I reach out and softly stroke his hair.
And only then I notice it. Harry's face has lost most of the haunted look it had over summer, the bags under his eyes have disappeared entirely and his tan seems to have, somehow, improved quite nicely. His hair is also healthy looking, even though it's still just as messy and before, yet it doesn't look like it's been growing for the past two months or as if it needs to be cut. And while the blanket hides it slightly, I'm willing to bet that Harry has filled out nicely even.

"He has help. It must be that House Elf that helped the Weasleys with their luggage a few days ago." I realize suddenly as I remember my shock over this discovery so shortly after hearing about Arthur's attack and Reggie's actual cause of death. I look at Harry again and relief and pride fill me up from within as I had been worried about his health after he left me back in October. And after I stroke his hair a bit more, his face crunches up as proof that he's waking up.
His eyes slowly blink a few times and he turns his head my way. Instantly his eyes widen and he pushes himself into a seating position as he asks: "Sirius, what are you doing here? What's going on? Did something happen? Is Ron okay? What about the others?" I quickly grab his shoulders as a way to reassure him and it stops his myriad of questions. "Harry, everything's fine. Ron let me come here, because I have news to share with you.
Riddle's dead, Harry. Lupin, Albus and the others worked together with Fudge, the Ministry and the Goblins of Gringotts earlier this morning and they got him. Umbridge, according to what I heard, was even the one who killed him. Bill told me that he tricked her into being the one to do so. He told me he has something planned that will see her lose all her power, but he wouldn't tell me what. He just said that he played Goblin games on her."

The boy is gaping at me and I happily pull him close against my form as I whisper: "He's dead, Harry. The man that took your parents from us is finally dead. He's gone and he will never get a chance to hurt you or anyone you love again. It's over, kiddo. It's over before it could even begin. There's not going to be a war." And I feel the boy's body sagging down against mine and I pull him a little closer as I can definitely understand his shock.
It had definitely been a great shock to me when I saw the twins arrive with Bill earlier this morning and both Molly and I had been incredibly worried when we realized that they were the only ones who had arrived. But then Bill had told us how this was part of the plan and how they had left because they had completed their part of the mission. And less than ten minutes later Lupin and the others had also arrived, though Lupin had been pretty white.

That's when I learned about Umbridge wanting to become Minister, but Bill had reassured us all and said: "If you can trick a Goblin into using his weakness for your benefit, you can do that with anyone else. And Umbridge's greatest weakness is her ego. She's so prideful, she'll only hear and see what she wants. So as long as you know how to talk to those desires, you can convince her of anything, even things you know more about than she does.
Trust me, that woman will never get the office. But her trying will be her undoing." And while I had wondered what he knew about the process of becoming Minister for Magic that Umbridge doesn't, I had ignored it for the time being for the sake of celebrating Riddle's death. And then I remember something else that I got told. I push Harry so that I can look him in the eye again and say: "There's more, Harry. Umbridge didn't just kill Riddle, she took out Pettigrew too."
"But what about your freedom? Your innocence?" Harry instantly asks, fright and concern clear in his voice and I give him a short, reassuring hug before I say: "Fudge was there as well, Harry. And Bill had already shown him evidence of Pettigrew being alive and guilty. Lupin even told me that Fudge considered me innocent a few days ago. They just wanted to keep it quiet until they got Riddle. He's probably declaring it for the world to hear as we speak."

Harry stares at me, but I just smile at him and then look down as I say: "Glad to see that you're using my Christmas gift." And Harry looks startled before he also starts to look down with a large smile on his face as he says: "Yeah, but – how did you know that my favorite color is purple? Almost all of my friends think it's either red because Gryffindor or green because of my mum." I grin at him and ruffle his hair as I say:
"You wore purple shirts almost every time we met in your fourth. And when you were staying over at London, you constantly wore old stuff while you were cleaning, but you would always change into a purple shirt after you guys were done. It took me maybe two weeks to realize. I actually got Molly to knit it for me." Harry nods and says: "I could tell the minute I unwrapped it. Though to be honest, I only did so because –."

The boy holds quiet here and I pull him close again, my need to have him close and express my care for him as much as possible quite strong after these last few months apart, and I whisper: "You thought you'd be spending Christmas by yourself, with nothing but your little help to deliver our gifts for you. And I guess that you had him buy your gifts for us as well?" But Harry shakes his head and says: "Ron bought them for me, the day he got taken by Riddle."
And to my relief, I don't see a haunted look cross his face as he says this, unlike the few rare times Cedric would be brought up over summer. I smile at my godson and softly run my hand down his face. He turns to look at me and I say: "Sorry, I'm just – I worried over you. I was afraid that, with you here and all by yourself, all the demons that you tried to keep locked away over summer would overwhelm you or something. I'm glad to see that the opposite is true."
Harry gently beams back at me and says: "You might not believe me, but House Elves are excellent listeners. And House Elves that once served dark wizards have an incredible sense of empathy and understanding. They somehow just know when you want to rant and rave and make sure that you're not heard and know when, if they let you do so, it will end badly, so they step in. Also yes, my help keeps the windows enchanted to not show what I do to the outside world."

I snicker at this and mutter: "I figured as much. I couldn't believe how much better this place looks and didn't remember you talking about such spells over summer." Harry snickers, but then suddenly he sobers up. I look at him confused and the boy looks down and starts to fumble with the comforter as he asks: "They're going to expect me to leave, aren't they? Now that Riddle is gone, people are going to expect me to just – just forget all that happened and move on?"
But while I'm sure he's right, I grab hold of his hands and say: "You won't." Harry looks up and I say: "A few hours ago the school had the leaving feast as Albus had postponed the Christmas break to accommodate their mission to end Riddle. During it, someone asked Ron if he was going to convince you to come out of hiding. He said no and told them that it wasn't Riddle that made you go into hiding in the first place. He looked at Dumbledore and they obviously had a silent conversation.

I'm sure that, when Ron arrives at London tomorrow, he is going to be invited to another Order meeting and he will probably use the rest of the Christmas break to judge the behavior of Lupin and the others. And trust me, he's not going to ask you to come out of hiding until he's deemed their behavior acceptable or heard them all apologize for their actions." Yet Harry rolls his eyes and I smirk as I ask: "You're not expecting them to, are you?"
Harry shakes his head and says: "Let's face facts here, Sirius. After my parents were killed, their friends just left me to wherever Dumbledore had dumped me for ten years. And when I finally came back, some of them treated it as if I came back from a year long world tour with my band or something. They acted as if the previous ten years weren't even that long or as if they hadn't abandoned their friends' son for that long.

And some of them did so for even longer than that. Heck, Lupin – wait, when did you start calling him that?" Harry suddenly asks and I growl: "When I found out what he did while on Potter guard." Harry's own expression also turns sour and he crosses his arms. And I can clearly hear his own disbelief as he asks: "Did they apologize?" I sniff in annoyance and defeat and mutter: "Some of them did. Tonks and Moody. Kingsley also seems to feel slightly guilty, but – not guilty enough, at least not in my eyes."
"And Lupin?" Harry asks, but while he tries to hide it, I can detect the hint of hope that sounds in the back of his throat. I sigh at this as I can definitely understand why the lad would want one of his closest friends to feel remorseful and I just know that he's going to be hurt over what I have to tell him. But like Bill did with the students earlier, I know I can't be anything but honest with the boy and I mutter: "He gave an apology, alright. One that was insincere and just meant to get the job done, not one that proved he believed he had done something wrong."

Harry looks down and away, a look of pained betrayal on his face and I can't help but think: "I should take a picture of that look for Lupin to see. Maybe then he'll realize what he's doing." Yet then I remember what Bill found out about Remus and what he did shortly after he left his teaching position a few years ago and I again mentally ask myself: "Am I fighting a losing battle? And – do I really want to?" Yet I don't have an answer, at least not a pleasant one.
"So – now what?" Harry asks after a few minutes of silence and I grin at the boy as I say: "Now, I'm going to stay here over Christmas break and we spend it together, just like your parents wanted us to all those years ago. After all, I've been missing out on your Christmas time since you were born, I've got years to catch up on.""Wait what? How did you miss my first Christmas?" Harry asks shocked and I laugh as I launch into the tale.

Whew, crisis averted.
And with that I mean that I almost ended this chapter on Sirius not able to come up with a pleasant answer to his question in regards to Lupin. But this chapter takes place shortly before Christmas and I wanted to end it on a delightful tone. Besides, the whole thing with the Order put the chapter down more than enough I didn't feel like ending it on a bad note. And while the next chapter is going to cover the Order, Ron, Amelia and Fudge again, I will probably come back to this loveable duo after that. So expect a dog and pup Christmas chapter sometime soon.
Fun, fun, fun,

Venquine1990