Chap. 21: Breakfast news, visiting the DOIMC
Monday, May 1, 2000
Harry and Daphne woke Monday morning, showered, dressed, and made their way down to the kitchen for breakfast. As the newly wedded couple were half-way through their meal, an owl brought in a paper, which Kreacher retrieved, and brought it to his master and mistress.
"That's not the Prophet," Daphne remarked.
"No," Harry replied, "let's see what it is."
Harry unrolled the paper, and held it out from him so Daphne could see it across the table. It was the Wednesday Odesa Wizarding News, English edition, and it had a very interesting story on the front page.
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Odesa Wizarding News, English Edition
Wednesday, April 26, 2000
Yacht Of Potions Exporter Magnate Sinks!
A large motor yacht belonging to Anatoli Shevchenko, who is the CEO of Odessa Potions Exports, mysteriously sank in its berth Wednesday night. Shevchenko has been in the news before, where he was accused of illegal potions smuggling by western officials.
The aurors that took over the scene, and investigated the sinking, stated that it looked as though the yacht may have been moored in polluted waters recently, or something was spilled in its engine room. They went on to state that whatever chemical or potion the hull had made contact with, dissolved the hull at the transom and keel. This new yacht, just over a year old, was manufactured using muggle-made "fiberglass technology," a "composite" that is made up of "glass fibers, and a resin." One auror said that, "It reminds me of the damage done by a strong acid."
Of course, the owner was completely upset when we tried to interview him. Not only had he suffered a huge monetary loss not long back, by losing a shipment of potions ingredients in the UK to "a warehouse fire," but, according to a member of his staff, they also said that this yacht cost Shevchenko G 2,400,000. His staffer said that it was equivalent to sinking a very large and ultra-expensive manor house. "Everything inside was ruined," the staffer said.
Shevchenko was seen shouting at everyone around the jetty at his yacht club, and could be heard muttering something about "Jamaicans."
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"Well, what do you know about that," Harry said with a huge smirk.
Daphne looked at Harry with raised eyebrows over this. "I don't want to know, do I?"
"No," Harry said, as he wiped his mouth with the linen napkin from his lap. "I think it's time we head in, as I have a trip to make to the Department of International Magical Cooperation this morning."
Harry and Daphne arrived at the DOCS HQ ten minutes early, and asked the operatives about their health after their intense week long training spree. Some were still stiff and sore over it, they found, but they all said they would be fine. As the two directors made their way out of the bullpen, Harry tossed Seamus the Odesa paper, and made his way down the stairs. About half-way down, both heard Seamus belt out a huge booming laugh.
"Well," Harry said, while making his way to the front entrance and splitting off from his wife, "I'll be back in a few. Hopefully I can get into see someone quick at the DOIMC."
"Remember tomorrow afternoon, Harry," Daphne reminded him. "We have the celebration to attend, and then we're off to Venice."
Harry gave Daphne a besotted grin at this. "Why yes, we are, aren't we!"
Harry walked down the steps, and across the courtyard with a spring in his step, as after the celebrations were over, he and Daphne were finally off on the honeymoon, which would really be number three, though with no work this time, or at least he hoped.
Harry stopped by the fountain, looked back at the castle, and grinned, then, he turned on his heel and apparated with a small pop.
The Ministry lift came to a halt on level five, where a female voice announced, "Department of International Magical Cooperation, incorporating the International Magical Trading Standards Body, the International Magical Office of Law, and the International Confederation of Wizards, British Seats."
When the door opened, Harry stepped out, and made his way to the Head of International Magical Cooperation's office. There was a young secretary there, who was typing a memo when he walked up, so, he cleared his throat.
Mrs. Miranda Goshawk, who was named after her grandmother, looked up, and quickly stopped her typing. "Sir Harry! How can I help you today?"
"I need to speak with Gareth," Harry replied. "It's urgent."
Gareth Greengrass, who was Cyrus' older brother, had been coaxed into leaving the DOM to take this position by Harry, Cyrus, and Kingsley.
Miranda looked around the waiting area, and noticed two appointments already there, but was told that if Harry or Daphne showed up, then they were to be sent directly to Gareth. She stood, walked over the Gareth's door, knocked, and stuck her head in.
Gareth came out of his office, leaving a dismayed Dutch representative sitting in the chair across from his desk. "Miranda, bring him some tea. I'll only be a moment." Of course, this also disgruntled the French and Belgium representatives sitting in the waiting area, which Harry could tell were upset by the looks on their faces. They both looked constipated.
"Follow me, Sir Harry," Gareth said, as they walked down the hall to an unoccupied office.
Harry followed him in, shut the door behind him, and waved his hand, casting a strong privacy ward. "Gareth, I'll just be a moment."
"What have you got."
"You need to warn the Jamaican minister," Harry replied, "that he may have some very unwelcome company coming, tied to what happened with that drug supplier down in Gayle." Harry picked up a quill, and wrote down a name on a scrap of parchment, then handed it to Gareth.
"Anatoli Shevchenko?"
"Yes," Harry said. "Bad business he is, too. That's the Russian mob boss in Ukraine, and the Jamaican minister asked me, as 'Commander Black,' to warn him if anything else looked to be coming his way. I think it is, soon, so tell him that if Shevchenko steps foot on Jamaican soil, that they should tail him everywhere, or apprehend him on something if they can, and boot him out. We have intelligence that Shevchenko is heading there, and he's up to no good."
Gareth put the piece of parchment in his jacket pocket, and walked to the door. "I'll have it done by this afternoon."
"Thanks Gareth." Harry nodded, as he waved his hand cancelling the ward, and left the office behind the Head of the DOIMC.
As Harry was making his way back to the lift, it hit him that he had a new tailored suit to pick up, for tonight, at Douglas Hayward's at 95 Mount Street in Mayfair. He did have to keep up "that look."
Daphne was wondering what was taking Harry so long, until he walked into their office carrying a new suit in a bag. That's when it hit her that she had a new dress waiting for her in Diagon Alley, at Twilfitt and Tattings. Both had been so busy lately that they had forgotten. This also meant that she would have to try it on one last time, just as Harry would have had to have done his shirt, slacks, and jacket, then sign off for it. Bespoke clothing could be an absolute nightmare with the fittings, but luckily, this was the last step for both. Oh, she thought, she would need some new shoes, too!
"Forgot your suit?"
"Almost," Harry said, as he hang the bag on the coat rack, and gave Daphne a quick peck on the lips before sitting down.
Next, Daphne stood, and started putting on her peacoat. Harry grinned. "Where are you off to?"
"Forgot my dress!" Daphne gave Harry another quick kiss, and was out the door in a flash.
"We do make a right pair," Harry chortled out, while shaking his head. He quickly began his mountain of paperwork, which he would try to finish up before his upcoming honeymoon.
Tuesday, May 2, 2000
Harry and Daphne were dressed in their new formal evening attire this afternoon, and they were supposed to arrive by 5:00 at a private venue the ministry rented just outside Felcourt, Sussex, at the Yew Lodge, for the Hogwartians who were the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry students and staff, their relatives, or the residents of Hogsmeade that fought on May 2nd, 1998. They suffered at least fifty known casualties, and the dinner would also be in their remembrance.
Harry was dressed in a new bespoke black tuxedo, with a white bow tie, and a fitted white shirt. Daphne wore a long and flowing emerald gown, also bespoke, with the large diamond teardrop necklace from House Potter. Harry held out his right arm, which Daphne took, and walked with her husband out of Potter Manor to the fountain at the roundabout, where they apparated.
The two appeared in front of a sixteen room, 'Arts and Crafts' style, brick lodge, that was built up from a manor dating from 1891, but was added onto in 1908. It was owned by her uncle, Emory Macmillan, who was Ernie's father, and her mother's brother.
The two Potters walked to the entry doors of the function hall, where they entered into an entry area, which flowed to the right, into the bar. They bypassed the bar area, which already had several witches and wizards having cocktails before the feast. They walked to the right, and though the two large glass doors of the main function hall. Here, Harry pinched the bridge of his nose, and waited for what was to come, which made Daphne chortle, as the majordomo spotted them entering.
"Introducing Sir Harry, Knight Grand Cross, Order of Merlin First Class, and his wife, Lady Potter, Order of Merlin Second Class, as the Lord and Lady of The Noble and Most Ancient Houses of Potter and Black."
This brought several claps and whistles from those sitting at the twenty tables throughout the hall, which would sit ten guests, each. Harry, though, plastered on a grin, and made his way to their hosts, who were Daphne's aunt and uncle.
Once the niceties were over with the Macmillans, they made their way over to Kingsley and Karena. This went on for two hours, mingling with the Hogwartians, until it was time for them to take their seats at the long table at the front, which was for the Ministry of Magic's department heads, and the Hogwarts' staff. Luckily, they were seated between Ron and Hermione, and Minerva McGonagall. All of them, Harry noticed, were wearing their Order of Merlin. Harry, Minerva, Kingsley, and Horace Slughorn were some of the few that wore first class medals, because they all had crossed wands with Voldemort, himself.
Harry noticed that the DA members, many who now worked for he and Daphne, were proudly wearing a galleon hanging from their neck on a golden chain. That meant, to Harry, just as much as the Order of Merlin did, as those were the DA galleons. He also nodded at the rest of the Weasley clan, and the Greengrasses, who were sitting at the tables closest to them.
After ordering their meals, which was similar to how they ordered them during the Triwizard Tournament's Yule Ball, Minerva leaned over toward Harry. "Someone mentioned that you and Daphne have a special day coming up tomorrow, Harry."
"Yes," Harry replied, after blotting his lips with his napkin, "tomorrow, we'll be heading off to Venice on our honeymoon."
"I wish you both a wonderful trip!"
"Thank you Minerva," Daphne said, who had overheard the conversation while she was whispering something to Hermione.
Harry noticed that Hermione was a little wide-eyed at what Daphne told her. Oh, well, Daphne would tell him if it was something important. He went back to his meal, and continued to make small talk all the way through dessert, as Minerva told Daphne all the antics that the "Golden Trio" had gotten up to at Hogwarts. Minerva had Harry, Ron, and Hermione all blushing, and a blush didn't look good on Ron, who complained that it made him look like an overripe tomato.
Once everyone had finished, Kingsley stood, and walked up to the podium, which was at the center of the long table, and next to where he had been seated. There was a round of applause for the minister, as everyone here appreciated and respected Kingsley.
"Thank you all for coming!
"We're here, today, over the brave deeds done by all of you, in the fight to topple and evil foe. Sadly, we're also here to honor the fallen, and I remember every last one of them."
Here, Kingsley sighed.
"The fight's not over, though, as evil still lurks around the corner. Not many of you will know about it, as we silently work behind the scene to stop it before it starts. That is why, just after the war, we formed the new department that most of you became aware of not long back, the Department of Clandestine Services."
Here, he received more applause, until he held up his hand, the the crowd quietened.
"Yes, it was something that was sorely lacking, but we got it pushed through, and now, we have stopped many crimes, and several dark wizards in their tracks. Many didn't even make it onto our shores!
"Of course, we couldn't have done this without an excellent DMLE, auror, hit wizard, and unspeakable force, which works hand in hand with our new department.
"I also want to congratulate Gareth Greengrass, Cyrus' brother, on his job as the Head of International Magical Cooperation. He and MDOCS have been working seamlessly together, and it has made a world of difference, everywhere."
This brought more applause, which caused Gareth to quickly stand, and give a small bow toward the guests. The Greengrass family clapped loudly for him from their table.
"There's much more to come, my fellow wizards and witches. We have just begun a long battle to clean up corruption, and we will clean it up. That is why we are seeking more aurors and people to work within the DMLE. We have a lot to do, and believe me, they don't sit at their desks all day and twiddle their thumbs any more.
"Now, saying this, and before the band starts, I'm going to turn this over to Sir Harry, and let him say a few words."
More applause broke out, along with whistles, especially a loud one from Hagrid sitting in the back.
Harry walked up to the podium, and looked out at all the guests. Many he went to school with and fought beside. Others, he visited at their shops in Hogsmeade, even Aberforth, who was sitting at a table to his left, who Harry nodded at.
"It's been two busy years," Harry sighed, "but worth every minute of it. I look out at all of you, especially at all of the DA members, and think back two years ago, about how lucky we all were to escape that battle with our lives!" Here, Harry shook his head. "We lost many good people that day, and even more before that, after Tom came back at the end of the tournament.
"My wake-up call was when I lost my wonderful godfather, Sirius Black, who was a very skilled duelist, during the Battle of the DOM. I'll never forget that night, nor will all my friends who were with me.
"We had started secretly training the DA in the Room of Requirement that year, but we were nowhere ready. I found that out that night at the DOM. The Death Eaters were very skilled with dark magic, and they were very dangerous. Ron, Hermione, Neville, Ginny, Luna, and I could have died that night, and Hermione nearly did. By the way, Dolohov, who cursed Hermione, will rot where he's at now, as I made sure of that. He's also under investigation, now, for other crimes, as well as a few others locked up with him. I can't go into any more details, but watch the Prophet and Quibbler.
"Dolohov also killed a very close family friend, Remus Lupin, who was the best Defense professor we had. Bellatrix murdered his wife, her own niece, and Sirius' cousin. I am their son's godfather, and Daphne and I do our best to take care of him like his parents would have. I just hope we're up to the job. Poor Andromeda, my godson's gran, who is also Sirius' cousin, lost both her daughter and her husband to those maniacs.
"Then there was a really good friend of mine, Fred Weasley, who was killed over an explosion from curses being thrown by Bellatrix's group. Ron and I were there with Percy and George when it happened. Luckily, Fred didn't suffer."
Molly was crying now, as were some of the other Weasleys.
"I will never forget walking out on the grounds, and seeing Oliver Wood carrying in the body of Colin Creevey. He was too young to be there, but his Gryffindor bravery caused him to slip back into the castle to fight.
"There were all those bodies laid out in the Great Hall, as well as those being treated for injuries. I remember it all like yesterday. We cannot let their deaths be in vain. They died for our freedom, and we all need to remember that."
Here, Harry sighed again, and pinched the bridge of his nose as he stared at the podium. He could have heard a pin drop at that moment.
"I swore that night, after Tom fell, that I would never allow this to happen again. Lo and behold, that afternoon, MACUSA came to offer their aid, thanks to Terry Boot, and Kingsley and I were told about a special department that they have. That's when Kingsley, I, and the President of The MACUSA got our heads together, and come up with the plan to form Daphne and I's department.
"Well, I can tell you this. As long as she and I can draw our breath, we will protect Magical Britain. As Kingsley told the Wizengamot, there will never be another Grindelwald nor Voldemort!"
That got a standing round of applause, and many whistles. After a minute, Harry held up his hand.
"Remember the fallen, and what they fought for. Remember the blood and the tears that we spilled that night. Never forget it!
"Now, it's time for me to take my seat, and let Kingsley start the band off. I just want to say that you're all Daphne and I's friends, and I'm glad you came, so enjoy the night! Kingsley?"
Harry stepped away from the podium and walked back to his seat, as Kingsley stood from his chair, and held up his champagne glass.
"A toast to you all, the Hogwartians, and let the fun begin!"
As everyone toasted Kingsley, a low light lighted up an area to the left, revealing the Weird Sisters band who began to play. Tonight, they started with a piece that most wizards or witches wouldn't know, but it was played at Harry and Daphne's wedding. It was Nobody Does It Better.
Harry took Daphne's hand, and kissed it. "May I have this dance, my Lady?"
Daphne smiled, stood from her chair, gave Harry a peck on the lips, and took his hand. Both made their way out onto the dance floor, where Harry took Daphne's left hand in his right, and placed his left hand on her waist. This caused several other couples to join them around the floor, as the song started.
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Nobody does it better,
Makes me feel sad for the rest,
Nobody does it half as good as you,
Baby, you're the best!
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I wasn't lookin', but somehow you found me,
It tried to hide from your love light.
But like heaven above me,
The spy who loved me,
Is keepin' all my secrets safe tonight.
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And nobody does it better,
Though sometimes I wish someone could,
Nobody does it quite the way you do,
Why'd you have to be so good?
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The way that you hold me,
Whenever you hold me,
There's some kind of magic inside you,
That keeps me from runnin',
But just keep it comin',
How'd you learn to do the things you do?
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Oh, and nobody does it better,
Makes me feel sad for the rest,
Nobody does it half as good as you,
Baby, baby, darlin', you're the best!
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Baby you're the best!
Darlin', you're the best!
Baby you're the best!
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Oh, oh, oh!
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When Harry and Daphne took their eyes off each other, they noticed that the floor was now packed.
"Well, my dear," Harry whispered to his wife, "you are the best!"
Daphne kissed him, hard, which caused several catcalls from the other guests. Here, Merton Graves tapped on his large ribbon-type microphone, and announced the next song.
"Harry," Daphne said, "go ask Minerva to dance, while I ask Da' to dance with me."
Harry gave Daphne a quick peck on the lips, and they parted, making their way to Cyrus and Minerva.
Harry walked behind Minerva, and tapped her on the shoulder. "Headmistress, would you like to dance?"
Minerva blushed, but took her favorite student's hand, and followed him out onto the floor. "This is a song by a muggle singer named Sinatra," Harry told Minerva, as they slowly danced around the floor.
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"You only live twice, or so it seems.
One life for yourself, and one for your dreams.
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You drift through the years, and life seems tame,
Till one dream appears, and love is its name.
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And love is a stranger, who'll beckon you on.
Don't think of the danger, or the stranger is gone.
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(Harry laughed out at the song. "What is so funny, Mr. Potter?")
("Oh, I know who's been talking to Merton," Harry replied, "and told him what to play!")
("And who would that be?")
("Can't say," Harry laughed, "just that he's a close friend from across the pond." Harry continued to dance around the floor with a smile.)
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This dream is for you, so pay the price.
Make one dream come true, you only live twice.
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And love is a stranger, who'll beckon you on.
Don't think of the danger, or the stranger is gone.
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This dream is for you, so pay the price.
Make one dream come true, you only live twice.
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"Thank you for the lovely dance, Headmistress," Harry said with a bow, who then led her back to her chair, and took a seat, himself.
Harry noticed Daphne tell her Da' and mother something, and their eyes grew big like Hermione's before both of them hugged her, and sent her on her way back to Harry. Harry thought that it must have something to do with their honeymoon.
"Hello darling," Daphne purred, "ready for the next song?"
"Why yes I am," Harry grinned, and drink down the last bit of his champagne. He took his wife's hand, and headed back out to the dance floor, as the Weird Sisters sang a great rendition of Armstrong's 'What A Wonderful World.'
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I see trees of green, red roses too.
I see them bloom before me, and you.
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And I think to myself,
What a wonderful world.
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I see skies of blue, and clouds of white.
The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night.
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And I think to myself,
What a wonderful world.
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The colors of the rainbow, so pretty in the sky.
Or also on the faces, of people going by.
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I see friends shaking hands, saying, "How do you do?"
They're really saying, I love you.
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I hear babies cry, I watch them them grow.
They'll learn much more, than I'll never know.
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And I think to myself,
What a wonderful world.
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Yes, I think to myself,
What a wonderful world.
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Oh yeah...
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"Ready to slip out of here," Harry whispered, "and head back to the manor?"
Daphne grinned and nodded. She grabbed Harry's hand and made their way over to her parents to say their goodbyes. The young newlyweds told them that they would see them after five days, on Monday.
-=QE=-