Harry Potter and the Order of Mercaba
by SeraphimBlue
Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all the characters of his universe are owned by J.K. Rowling. I hold no claim over anyone here, except for my original characters and the Order of Mercaba, which is my own creation.
A/N: This is a shorter interlude to show what's going on while Harry is away. I will go back to longer parts in the next one. Thank you.
Chapter Sixteen
Ministry of Magic
Minister of Magic, Millicent Bagnold, stared at the article on her desk and sighed. Things were blowing up in her face and try as much as she wanted to deny it, she couldn't. In a fit of temper, she had let the moment get the best of her and had threatened the reporter, as he reported in his article. Now it was coming back to bite her in the butt.
"Do you deny threatening Mister Pierce? Remember, if you lie… our monitors will know."
Millicent looked at the woman sitting across from her and her two guards and shook her head. She was a representative of the ICW and had been sent to step in.
"It was an accident… but no, I don't deny it. I did… essentially… threaten him. He was going to release information that the Ministry does not want the public to know. If they knew, we would lose what level of control we have right now and so much is in turmoil ever since the bombings last year."
A year earlier almost to the day, some Death Eaters had gathered up the nerve and had invaded Azkaban Prison… trying to release those kept inside. Thankfully they were not able to get past the island's forces… but it still showed that not everything was as peaceful as the Ministry was leading them to believe.
"That is no excuse to threaten someone's life. You do not have that power and the fact that you believed you did makes me feel that you no longer can hold this position."
Wincing, Millicent sighed and shook her head.
"You can't remove me as Minister. The only ones currently in the running who might replace me are all corrupt and the only ones who might be good for the position are either too young or too old."
The woman opened a folder and pulled out a list of names.
"We have quite a few choices. As a courtesy, please give me your impressions of those on the list."
She handed the list over and Millicent gave it a look.
"Well Fudge is out. He's a simpering idiot who will follow whoever pays him the most. Diggle is a devout follower of the late Albus Dumbledore and still believes the sun shined out of his arse. Longbottom might be okay, if you can keep her under control; she has a problem with going power mad at times."
She looked down at the list and frowned.
"A few of these names are currently in Azkaban, so I'm surprised to see them here."
The woman frowned.
"Show me."
Millicent pointed out the names and they vanished from the page, leaving only a few left.
"As for the remaining names… Bones and Black. Amelia Bones is young but talented. She has a good head on her shoulders and doesn't let anyone push her around. She will defend those she feels are endangered and won't let people sway her opinion. She's inexperienced though and might do better if she were more seasoned."
The woman nodded as Millicent paused.
"Now Arcturus Black… he's a different type of wizard. He's strong, determined, ruthless to the extreme at times but very protective. He will do as he sees best for any situation with no fear about repercussions. He's extremely fair and experienced and won't take anyone's bullshit. You can't bribe him to do anything and those who have tried have been severely punished for it. He knows what to do to do the job… but he has no patience for anyone trying to weasel their way through things. He will openly call them out on their lies and underhanded threats and destroy them verbally or sometimes physically."
The woman nodded and looked through her files.
"Are you referring to the death of Abraxas Malfoy five years ago?"
Millicent nodded.
"That and the deaths of Antonius Nott, Franklin Goyle and Stephan Parkinson. All three tried to attack or threaten them and before the Aurors could step in… Black destroyed them easily. The only reason he's not in Azkaban himself is because there were so many witnesses who testified that it was self defense. Black is good like that."
The woman took her files and placed them back in her satchel.
"Thank you for your opinions on this matter. You have helped me come to a decision."
Millicent sighed.
"You're going with Arcturus Black, aren't you."
The woman smiled and nodded.
"We will present him with the offer. Should he refuse then we shall speak with Miss Bones as an alternate."
She stood and nodded to her guards.
"You have two weeks to finalize your affairs before you are removed. Do not think about destroying evidence or enacting new laws before you go. I have agents scattered about watching you."
Millicent nodded as the woman left, then dropped her head onto her desk and cried.
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Headmistress Minerva Mcgonagall stared at the article and rubbed her eyes. Every since Pierce's story had been published, the flood of owls she had received from worried parents was insane. So many wanting to know if it was true and if it was, what was she going to do about it?
What could she do about it? The curriculum had been decided by Dumbledore for so many years and when he was gone, the Board of Governors had been against making any changes to things. She tried to go around them but it was no use.
"I don't know what I'm going to do. Hogwarts needs a full redo and no one will allow it. Every time I try to suggest something, I get blocked."
A rustle of fabric nearby caught her attention and she saw the Sorting Hat staring at her.
"You need someone on the inside… someone strong and tough… someone who will kick the arses of those idiots on the Board."
Minerva nodded in agreement.
"True… but who?"
The hat pondered that for a bit and grimaced.
"I can think of someone… but after the way his family had been treated by the school… it might be difficult."
Minerva perked up.
"Who are you thinking of?"
The hat looked her in the eyes and wiggled a bit taller.
"Arcturus Black. He has the guts and power to clean the Board of anything negative and get changes made. He has family here right now… young Nymphadora Tonks… with a few more family yet to come. If only for the betterment of her education alone, he might step in."
Minerva nodded reluctantly.
"True… but there is bad blood between us. Our treatment of Harry Potter and everything Albus did… he might hold a grudge."
The hat shrugged.
"Doesn't hurt to ask…"
Minerva sighed and pulled out a piece of parchment.
"You're correct… I just need to phrase this correctly."
Shaking her head, she began to write…
Castle Black
"Grandpa, grandpa…"
Arcturus Black looked up just as a pink haired bundle slammed into him.
"Hello to you too love. How is my Dora today? Are you excited about going back to Hogwarts?"
Nymphadora nodded but looked worried.
"I am… but I read the Daily Prophet and what Mister Pierce said has a lot of people worried. Hestia's mother is thinking about not letting her go back this year and Franklin's dad moved them to America. What if more of my friends are not going back?"
She pouted and her hair went black as her concentration relaxed.
"Mum and Dad have been talking too. They're worried as well. They haven't said anything, but I can tell they're not sure if I should go back or not too."
Arcturus pulled her into a hug and rubbed her back.
"Don't worry, little one. I'll talk to them and see what they're thinking… and even if they don't want you to go back to Hogwarts… I will make sure you get into any other school you might want."
Nymphadora looked up at him from his chest.
"Really?"
Arcturus nodded and smiled.
"Really… now why don't you go get us some tea and biscuits and we'll sit out on the patio and have a picnic."
Nymphadora smiled and nodded. She placed a soft kiss on his cheek before running off to the kitchen. Arcturus smirked at the affection and shook his head as two owls flew in.
"Well now… what have we here."
Reaching out, he took both letters and the owls flew to the rafter to wait for a reply. Opening the first one, he frowned as he read it.
"From the International Confederation of Wizards… this missive is to notify you, one Arcturus Black, that you have been requested to attend a meeting with Romelia Thatcher, Head of International Relations, to discuss the matter of the appointment of a new Minister of Magic for Britain…"
Arcturus read the rest of the letter and raised an eyebrow at what was there.
"They must be desperate if they want me to be the new Minister."
Shaking his head, he opened the second letter and snorted in surprise.
"When it rains, it pours… Hogwarts wants me to take over the Board of Governors and make changes within so that Hogwarts can correct it's curriculum."
He looked at the two letters and smirked.
"So much power. I could make some real changes… clean house both in the Ministry and Hogwarts… make things better."
He pondered the idea until Nymphadora returned.
"Ready Grandpa."
Arcturus smiled and got to his feet. This could wait until later. He had a tea party with his little Dora to enjoy right now.
"Coming sweetheart. I'll join you on the patio in just a minute."
Nymphadora smiled and ran outside as Arcturus wrote a quick reply to both letters… giving them back to their respective owls.
"Minister of Magic… might be fun."
Laughing softly, he headed outside into the late summer heat.
Gringots London – Office of Returns
Inside a quiet office filled with books, an elderly goblin worked diligently organizing the return of items to the correct families when discovered. A knock on the door caught Lapis' attention.
"Enter…"
The door opened and a young goblin poked his head into the room.
"There has been an… unusual delivery for you."
Lapis nodded and motioned him inside.
"What is it?"
The goblin brought a box over to the elder goblin's desk and placed it upon it gently. It was a nondescript brown box tied with what looked like black twine and a note was attached to the top.
"Has it been scanned for magic?"
The young goblin nodded.
"There is something magical inside but none of the dark magic detectors went off. They declared it safe."
Lapis nodded, pulled the note free and began to read.
"To Whom It May Concern… the enclosed item inside the box was found hidden away in the office of the late Albus Dumbledore. My associates and I examined it and after many years of research… sorry for the delay… it has been discovered that the item in question belongs to the Peverell Family, with Harry Potter being the only living survivor. We hereby request that it be added to his family vault so he can claim it when he reaches his first magical maturity at age eleven. We would send it to him directly, but every means of communication we've tried so far has not worked. Thank you in advance.
Department of Mysteries"
Lapis frowned and carefully opened the box. Inside lay a pile of fabric wrapped in a protective enclosure. He lifted it carefully and his eyes widened upon realizing what it was he was holding.
"Is that an invisibility cloak? Why would someone from the Department of Mysteries make such effort about a simple cloak?"
Lapis looked at the goblin and frowned… then shrugged.
"Wizards are strange. You go back to work. I will deliver this to the correct vault personally."
The young goblin nodded and scampered off, leaving Lapis to stare at the clock for a moment longer.
"Feldspar needs to know about this…"
Grabbing the box, he shoved the cloak back inside then hurried off...