Disclaimer : I don't own Harry Potter, JKR does.

A/N : My apologies for this long break… life took a weird turn.

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Chapter Twenty Eight : The Committee

It was an uneventful evening in early October, the Weasley Twins had started putting up the posters for their products on the notice boards in all the common rooms except the Slytherin one for pre-booking of their trick products. They had named their brand as "Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes". They had proposed to roll out a number of different trick items before Halloween, and this had created enough interest.

They had given a few samples to their friends from the other two houses as demo items, suffice to say that it was getting a positive reaction from the students. Surprisingly, this whole event has yet remained out of the notice of teachers, and Filch was neither any wiser.

Ron was adjusting the footrest on the broom in his hand, preparing to mount it and take his spot. He was already nervous and the angry pep talk didn't help. His hands felt numb while holding the overused and slippery handle of the flying broom as it started to rise through the air, his ears had gone deaf with the nervousness. Angelina was shouting some instructions at him, and all he could hear was a buzz. If it was not for the height, he would have happily fainted right now. He tried to shake off the feeling, but it remained solidly in place.

He didn't get much time as a quaffle came whooshing at his face, and his body reacted purely on reflex action as he moved his head out of its way. He didn't get enough time to comprehend what was happening before Angelina came face to face with him. Her nose flared and her eyebrows scrunched in anger as she angrily said, "who are you?".

Ron stuttered nervously in his response. "I'm R...ron."

That pushed Angelina's temper a notch higher. "I'm not asking your name dumbass, I'm asking who you are right now."

"I'm the keeper." Ron replied meekly. His eyes shy of meeting Angelina's.

"Then bloody well act like one." Her voice was rising with each of those words, everyone present on the pitch could hear her loud and clear. "Keeper has to keep the ball from going through the hoop, not dodge it and let it pass. Or is it too difficult for your thick brain to understand?"

Before this can continue any further, Fred came flying in to pacify the situation. "Calm down, Lina! He is just nervous and this is not a House match, we are just practicing here."

She gave her boyfriend a look filled with anger, but Fred had enough practice dealing with angry women that this wasn't anything out of his league. He knew when to change tact, "I know Ronnie here is acting like a blind troll on a broomstick, nothing that a flying bludger wouldn't solve. This is just the first training session, there is enough time to get him dancing."

This didn't erase her anger but reduced it enough that she could get back to the practice session at hand.

After another hour of a similar turn of play, the team was sitting in the Gryffindor Quidditch Locker room. Angelina was first to enter, followed by the rest of the team. She placed her broom in her locker at the farthest end of the room before throwing her gloves angrily and slamming shut the door of her locker. She turned to look at the group in front of her. It wasn't a team, at least not yet. As a captain, she had decided to create a reserve team as well, and as she looked at her picks, she was second guessing her decision.

She had picked Cormac McLaggen and Ron for the keeper position, and today's session was to decide who would be their first choice keeper. Now she was thinking that it would be better to just keep the loops unguarded instead of having Ron defend it. He had a decent tryout performance but this evening, he was just horrendous. She looked at everyone, making sure she had the attention of everyone in the locker room.

"It is a good thing that the only match we are playing in this term is at the end of November." She continued talking while removing her arm guard without looking and threw it forcefully on the floor. "I'm not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing that the match is against Slytherin."

"As things stand after today's practice session, Cormac would be our primary keeper." Her gaze was fixed on Ron as she continued. "I would have no problem in calling for another trial for the reserve team if the performance on the pitch doesn't start improving."

-OXO-OXO-OXO-

It was a shock to everyone when Ron was absent from the Great Hall during dinner. The shock continued when he wasn't to be found in their dormitory. Harry pulled out the map as Hermione and he decided to look for him. He wasn't in any of the nearby corridors, nor was he on the grounds, nor in the Prefect's bath. To Harry's utter surprise, Ron was nowhere to be found on the map. Harry decided to take a glance at the library, just by an off chance he was there with Padma, but it wasn't to be so.

Suddenly, it popped up in Hermione's mind to check if he was in their lair. But the only way to check that, was to go there personally. Harry and Hermione decided that Harry would go and check it out. It wasn't yet curfew time, he could wander freely. Although, had never been a problem for Harry, especially now as he had made it a habit of his to keep his map and cloak on his person as much as possible. The same was for the dagger.

As Harry came down from the hanging stairs, he noticed that Ron was sitting on one of the chairs around the oval table, hurriedly stuffing something in his bag. But Harry couldn't see clearly what it was. But before he could say anything to Ron, he heard the most annoying voice in this room, to be fair, in most rooms. "Well, well, well… if it isn't' the great Boy-Who-Lived."

"Oh I didn't recognise you Ms Skeeter, I had grown used to seeing you in your bug form." Harry replied as he looked at her, sitting on her bed, reading a book by the lamp on her bedside table. It was irrelevant to Harry but he acknowledged that Skeeter didn't look bad for someone in her forties. She just ignored Harry's remark and kept reading ahead. As Harry turned to look at Ron, he saw that he was already climbing up the hanging stairs. Harry did the same.

"Ron, wait for me." Harry said loudly as he closed the trap door to the dungeon. Ron didn't stop so Harry picked up pace to catch up with him. By the time he got hold of him, they were out in the third floor corridor. Harry pulled Ron back with his hand on Ron's shoulder. "What's the matter with you?"

"Harry, I don't want to talk, I just want to stay alone for one night. Can't you understand that?" Ron shouted as his eyes met Harry's, Harry could see that Ron had probably cried out. But why would he do that in front of Rita, that confused Harry. But Harry was wise enough to not probe any further, so he just pulled his hands away and took a step back. Ron turned and walked away without any more words.

Ron didn't give any acknowledgement to what Hermione was saying as he entered the common room and went straight to the dormitory. By the time Harry reached the dormitory, later in the evening, Ron's four-poster curtains were closed. Probably he was long asleep, Harry thought. He didn't stay up much longer that night, he was also tired with the practice.

-OXO-OXO-OXO-

He moved quickly, almost at a running speed, through the busy alleys of the primary commercial hub of wizarding London. He was late for lunch, she must be waiting for him for the last twenty minutes, and he knew she didn't like it one bit. He reached the small cafe and found her sitting on her usual table, her arms crossed in front of her and lips pursed in anger. He stepped closer to her, dropping a kiss on her cheek before sitting opposite from her. "Sorry Penny dear, I'm so sorry."

"Yeah yeah, you have made a habit of being late, especially when it comes to me." She didn't look at him, her eyes still looking out of the window. "Wasn't this your plan to celebrate our anniversary on lunch?"

"Penny darling, I'm really sorry, I told you things are too hectic in the Ministry at the moment." He pulled her crossed arms towards him, holding her hands gently in his. "We will celebrate properly tonight too, I just wanted to have a timely meal with you, especially at our favourite cafe. I don't know when I will be back home tonight."

"I have barely seen you this week, Percy, it seems as if you come home just to sleep." Her eyes were downcast, her sadness and concern clear in her expressions. "The most we have spoken in the last week was this morning when you told me that we would meet here for lunch for our anniversary."

"I know Penny, but there are too many things happening at the Ministry right now." He turned her face up by her chin, so he could look in her eyes. "And you know this well enough that I'm doing this all for us, don't you?"

She gave him a soft smile and nodded gently. He stood up from his chair, gave her a kiss on the forehead and went to the counter to order food. He was starving, and why wouldn't he, he was busy through the morning, auditing the Auror Office and its staff. He was amazed at how active the new DMLE Chief was. He used to believe that Mr Yaxley was appointed just because of his family name, but Percy would happily admit that he was being proven wrong. They had not even completed the audit of Auror applicants from Hogwarts of the last ten years and they have noticed a pattern that most candidates were either barely qualified to begin with or underperformed in the final level certification examination of Auror Academy. This was despite the fact that they were trained by one of the most famous auror of the last half-a-century, Alastor Moody.

This was in stark contrast to the foreign applicants to the Auror Academy, especially the Americans and the Germans. They had a solid performance track record as well as higher standard of qualification during joining. This had made him realize how poor the level of education was at Hogwarts, especially when it came to Defence Against Dark Arts. He had hoped that the audit report would result in some important changes in Hogwarts.

-OXO-OXO-OXO-

His feet touched the grass-covered ground as he appeared out of thin air, the apparition didn't break his stride. The large wooden doors opened on their own accord as he stepped on the top step, giving him entrance to his home. He removed his cloak from his shoulders and dropped it on the floor, it disappeared before it touched the floor. A smirk came to his face. It's not very often that he notices it nowadays, he had grown used to it long ago, when he was just a kid. His house-elves had strict instructions to not be seen unless commanded to do so.

He sat down on the couch, moving his braided hair to the side and resting his head on the cushions. It had been a long and tiring day, he had to sit there and interview a whole bunch of Ministry people, and Merlin it was a mind-numbing work. His eyes were closed as he tried to relax, he knew he was late for the dinner, and he also knew that she must be waiting for him.

He didn't get any more time to think about it when a pair of gentle hands cupped his face from behind, a gentle kiss dropped on his forehead by a pair of soft lips. Eighteen years of marriage and yet their romance still continues. It was a good thing that his son was in Hogwarts for the better part of the year, otherwise they had to be very discreet in his presence.

"Hey Cissy..." He didn't even open his eyes as his hands gripped hers by the wrist, pulling her closer. Her dark hair, streaked with shiny silver bands, falling around his face to cover it from view completely. She whispered in his ear as she bit his earlobe, "there is something quite special for you in dinner, and I know you would definitely enjoy the dessert afterwards".

But he was in no mood to wait that long, so he instantaneously stood up from the couch and jumped over to her side, he was still in prime physical condition. There was a mischievous smile on her face, her eyes dark with a certain kind of feeling as she motioned him closer with her finger. In a swift move, he picked her up, in his arms, bridal style, and all she could do was to let a surprised shriek out. Her voice was heavy with anticipation as she teased him, "Lucy wants to be a bad boy?"

He just smirked as he started walking up the stairs to their bedroom. "Lucy is always the bad boy, I thought you were well aware of it since I asked for your hand."

As they were about to reach the door to their bedroom, he almost dropped his wife as there was a burning sensation on his left arm, a sensation that could rival the pain of fire branding. He was so irritated at that moment as he put his wife back on her feet and rubbed his left forearm. She gave him a look of sympathy as he stood there, clutching his left arm tightly.

"The Dark Lord is calling me. Please have your dinner and please don't wait for me." He pulled her in for a kiss before turning on his heel, Lucius walked out of the house within no time. She opened the door to her bedroom and dropped on the soft and comfortable bed, her appetite was completely gone and her mood had taken a deep dive. Narcissa was one very unhappy witch right now.

-OXO-OXO-OXO-

Harry woke up with a start, a burning pain searing through the mark on his forehead, the nightmare that preceded was horrifying. He sat up in his bed, his right hand pressed on his forehead, where his mark was. He checked the time, it was past 2 AM, he decided to use the washroom, wash his face, clean up the sweat and go back to sleep. On his way to the washroom, he noticed that all the four-poster drapes were closed shut, nothing out of ordinary.

Harry was surprised when he returned to the dormitory, Ron was just entering the dorm. Ron had a surprised look on his face as his eyes met Harry's, he was caught red-handed. Ron just turned his gaze and went to his bed, Harry decided to ask Ron where he was at this late hour. He walked up to him and whispered in a low voice. "What's going on with you? Where have you been, Ron?"

Harry saw that there were a few scratches on Ron's neck, they didn't look deep but they were scratches nonetheless. Ron didn't even look into Harry's eyes as he was removing his shoes and socks. He just muttered his response flatly. "You should sleep Harry, good night!"

If it was anywhere else and at any other time of the day, he would have pulled him up from his bed and would have asked him again for a clearer answer. But right now, he had other things on his mind, the nightmare, to be precise. He went to his own bed and pulled the drapes closed. He was wide awake, mulling his thoughts over about the nightmare he just had.

If the dream that he had was as real as it felt, then he just witnessed the bone-chilling torture and brutal murder of Igor Karkaroff, at the hands of Voldemort. If that wasn't bad enough, he had strangled Karkaroff's body and dug his teeth, or fangs, in his skull. He could taste the metallic taste of human blood in his mouth, if it was up to him, he would have vomited right there, right now.

What's worse is that he could feel the feeling of jubilation and satisfaction. He wouldn't lie, he was scared. He wanted to go and tell Dumbledore about it; he had seen the group of Death Eaters standing in a circle as Voldemort tortured Karkaroff, and then murdered him. But he was pissed at Dumbledore, he had tried to talk to him a couple of times but Dumbledore has been avoiding and ignoring him. He decided to just pull out the map and try to distract himself. He lit up his wand and activated the map, it was spread on his bed. There was nothing out of ordinary, at least at the first glance. But then he noticed that an unexpected name was moving from the grounds to the entrance of the castle. It was none other than the Hogwarts' potion master. Harry kept an eye on his name as it floated not towards his chambers but towards the Astronomy Tower, the name 'Albus Dumbledore' was floating at the destination.

Harry found it suspicious but not something that hadn't happened before, at least in parts. So he shifted his focus to other parts of the map. He noticed that Luna Lovegood was at the stone bridge that led to the forest. It was odd as all the entrances to the castle were locked after curfew time, and only teachers were allowed to be on the grounds, for patrolling duties.

Luna has been a very positive addition to his friend circle, her eccentricity was a welcome change. The limited interactions with her has been among the highlights of his few interesting days in this term at Hogwarts, especially considering that all the real drama was taking place outside the walls of Hogwarts, beyond his reach. One such thing was the inquiry being conducted by the Select Committee of Wizengamot.

He remembered the day the Select Committee of the Wizengamot was elected, quite vividly. Saying that they were stunned and disheartened by the composition of the Committee would be an understatement.

They were in their new lair just after dinner, Harry had the mirror placed on the table and the six of them had arranged their chairs so they could all see and listen to what Sirius was going to tell them. They had closed the curtains, Dobby had been very excited to tell them that the curtains had a silencing charm imbibed into it, keeping their conversations safe from the Beetle. Before calling Sirius, Harry had to explain everything to Susan, to say that she was gobsmacked and flummoxed, would be putting it mildly. Once she was somewhat under self-control and had regained her composure, Harry called Sirius.

A few moments later, the face of Sirius Black appeared in the mirror, along with Remus Lupin. They both looked tired, their eyes completely devoid of any positive feeling. Harry asked the question everyone wanted to ask, "how did the vote go in WIzengamot?"

Sirius looked at Remus before answering that question. "Not good, not good at all."

Sirius paused, taking a deep breath before continuing. "Even before the vote actually took place, something unexpected happened, Wizengamot decided to turn the Select Committee into a permanent one. Now the committee would be inquiring and investigating each and every case recommended to it by the Ministry. They are calling it the Vigilance Commission."

"Don't be so shocked this soon, the bad news hasn't yet begun in the earnest." Sirius continued after seeing their reaction to the news. "Lucius Malfoy would be the Chairman of the Vigilance Commission."

They were stunned to silence with that information. No audible reaction or response coming from their side so Sirius continued with his bundle of information. "And the only person completely on our side is going to be Elphias Doge. He is in the Order, he has been an eminent jurist at Wizengamot for decades, and a very close friend of Dumbledore."

"All though, all is not lost." Sirius tried to put a less negative spin to the news. But the teenagers were so easy to be pacified. Ron was the first to find his voice, "Not all lost? Even after Malfoy became the Chairperson? Are you really gone bonkers this time Sirius?".

"Just listen to the rest of it and you can decide that for yourself." Remus interjected when Sirius didn't respond. "We are not sure how the other three members are going to align in their actions and activities under the Commission."

Sirius gave him a thankful nod before picking up the conversation where he had left. "The rest of the members are Dominic Dippet, Romilda Fawley and Consuela Zabini."

Harry had no idea who these were, Ron was the same. But before either of those could ask, Susan spoke. "I have met Ms Fawley, she is in the Administrative Service Board".

Remus gave her a small smile of acknowledgement as the other teenagers were looking at her. "You are correct, Susan, she is the Commissioner of Wizengamot's Administrative Services Board. She was the Head Girl in Hogwarts the year before we started our schooling, she comes from a long list of Ravenclaws."

"And the others?" Harry asked, he was impatient at the moment. But before either Sirius or Remus could answer, Neville spoke. "I know who that Zabini lady is. I read her books on the last Great War, the stories in her novels are horrifying. Gran gave me the set of those books on my thirteenth birthday."

"What? On your thirteenth birthday?" Sirius was a little surprised. "And I thought age-inappropriate gifts were a Black Family speciality."

"What's wrong with the books?" It was interesting to see that there was a book, read by one amongst them, that Hermione had no idea of.

"They are straight up gorefest." Sirius answered her question and continued with his explanation. "She chronicled the Great Wizarding War in its entirety. Her stories have nothing but glorification of violence. Quite ironic, considering her parents fled France during the war because of the violence. Well, to be fair to her, her books aren't the thing she is most famous for."

Remus couldn't stop himself from laughing at that last bit and Harry couldn't stop himself from asking the most obvious question. "Why are you laughing Remus?"

"She married seven rich, old, French wizards, and all of them died within one year of their marriage to her." Hannah answered seriously. When everyone was looking at her, with a look that might resemble amusement, she just raised her hands in defense. "What? I like to read Witch's Weekly sometimes."

"We are unsure about her allegiance at the moment. And before anyone else asks and answers, the last member is Dominic Dippet." Remus answered. "He is a prominent Wizarding Law expert, he is also the grand-nephew of the previous Headmaster Armando Dippet. He was in the same year as your father, Ron, they had a fierce rivalry. Considering that he was from Slytherin, it was inevitable."

"So where does this leave us?" Hermione asked. Sirius's hands came to his face, rubbing the tiredness off. He really looked quite tired at that moment. "There is nothing in our hands at the moment, for now, we just have to wait and let the process take its natural course."

It had been more than a month since that conversation took place. Since then, Sirius hadn't given any information regarding the inquiry. But by the look Sirius has every time he is asked that question, it was clear that things weren't going great. And the person reacting the worst to this was Ron, severely worse than how Susan was reacting. Ron was irritated most of the time. He was spending more time away from everyone. Even Padma had come and asked Hermione if everything was ok with Ron, as he was not behaving normally, even when the two of them were on patrolling duties.

And for the last few days, he was sporting some scratches and bruises on his body, nothing dangerous or major, but they were getting more noticeable. His only response, or excuse, was that he was training, everyone assumed it was for the keeper position on the Quidditch team. McGonagall had even arranged for some healing paste from the infirmary for his minor injuries, as a sign of her encouragement.

He was completely distracted from studies, more so than usual. A handful of times Harry had noticed that Ron was spending a lot of time in their lair, alone, and Harry came to this conclusion because on evenings when he didn't have patrolling duties or Quidditch practice, he would disappear until after the curfew.

Harry decided that he needed to have a talk with Ron very soon.

-OXO-OXO-OXO-

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