This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations.

I thank Rowling for the universe she has created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

"Did you finish the redraft?" Harry asked, screwing back on the cap of the bottle of Diet Coke on the table before him.

"I had Cho put it on your desk before I came here," Dennis replied from directly across the table, taking a break from devouring his sandwiches to answer. "I left the end as it was since you seemed to like it but I have changed the second last paragraph a bit to try and get a proper buildup for the conclusion."

Harry nodded in reply as Ron and Hermione came to the table, Ron sitting next to Harry with Hermione next to Dennis.

"So you see, the Seeker has to be involved in his team's build up play," Ron explained to a slightly bored and confused Hermione. "The chance of catching the snitch early enough to make up for the lack of help for the chasers is very low."

"I think I understand the idea," Hermione said slowly, finding it difficult to deal with something she just couldn't get her head around. "What you're saying is that the snitch is actually too difficult to find for a quick enough capture."

"Exactly," Ron agreed. "Occasionally a seeker will catch the snitch within the first twenty minutes but that's really uncommon, even for the best seekers. It's due to luck mostly."

"Not to mention that the snitch is designed to be more evasive in the first hour of the game," Harry added.

"Wait, is that true?" Dennis asked in surprise. "Does the snitch actually get easier to catch the longer games are played?"

"Yeah," Ron replied. "It's a pretty recent thing that most people weren't really told about. The whole idea is that eventually the snitch will be so easy to catch that even a rubbish seeker could manage."

"Thereby preventing day long games," Harry explained to Hermione and Dennis.

"Was that ever really an issue?" Hermione asked.

"Have you ever heard about the 1456 Quidditch World Cup Final?" Ron responded. "Seven days it took before the snitch was caught. Then everyone got pissed at the Norwegian Seeker for catching the snitch after the teams had decided to finish for the day."

"Did that count?" Dennis asked.

"Yes," Ron replied. "The break was unofficial, as Quidditch is a game with only short timeouts that will only finish when the snitch is caught. Arne Ostberg, the Norwegian Seeker, sneaked back out when everyone had gone to bed and caught the snitch. The referee didn't even find out until the next morning."

"They actually decided to introduce these new snitches after the end of the regular season six years ago," Harry told them. "It was a race for the title between the Kenmore Kestrels and the Ballycastle Bats. The Bats won their game but needed Kenmore to lose to the Wasps by over two hundred points. They had to wait over four days to eventually find out they'd lost the title after the Kestrels won by fifty. I remember the final score was well into the thousands."

"The injury count was almost as high," Ron added. "The players got so tired that they kept on getting hit by Bludgers. There were only nine players left on the field by the time it was finished, even after all the substitutes came on."

"Wow," Hermione said, slightly impressed. "Ron, do you realise how much you could do if you applied your attention to Quidditch to your work?"

Ron shrugged. "I get by as is," he replied nonchalantly. "And everyone needs a hobby. Thank you," he said as a waitress brought him his bacon roll, also placing a ham and cheese panini in front of Harry before she walked away.

"That's another thing," Hermione said as Harry and Ron started eating. "Why are we meeting here?"

"To get away from Neville," Harry replied thickly. "He's been trying to rope everyone into organising the 'Private Lives' interviews this afternoon."

"So we're hiding from him," Hermione concluded. Harry nodded, smiling at her slightly perplexed expression. "What about you, Ron? I thought you agreed with the idea of having the interview?"

Ron took his time to swallow the bite he'd taken out of his roll before responding. "Yeah, I agreed," he said casually. "But that doesn't mean I want to help set it all up."

"And Amos and Remus?" Hermione questioned.

"In a meeting with the goblins," Harry replied. "The Minister is having lunch with Ginny and all the assistants are busy running our departments whilst we're here."

"Did you set this all up just to punish Neville?" Dennis asked, slightly concerned.

Harry shrugged in response. "Well, just ask yourself, would you be here if it weren't for me?" There was silence as the four colleagues ate their lunch, the everyday sounds of the friendly looking cafe they were sitting in surrounding them as people went about their everyday lives.

"Well done on the talk show, by the way," Ron said to Harry between bites. "You really had the Minister rip into those guys."

Harry shrugged. "The Minister was feeling it," he responded. "He is the one who should be congratulated."

"The debate on foreign policy was very well navigated," Hermione said her part. "I assume you advised the Minister to steer conversation towards our outreach programs."

"Yeah," Harry replied. "I just didn't want anyone to fixate on the gaff we made in Argentina."

"I can't believe you guys didn't realise you didn't have an ambassador there," Dennis said, part amused part concerned by the error. "Did you not wonder why no one was ever talking to you about them?"

"Not really," Ron said. "So far Argentina have done nothing to bring our attention to them. Even when they hosted the World Cup we talked directly to their Department of Magical Transportation, we didn't need an ambassador."

"Have you got one now?" Dennis asked.

"We're working on it," Harry assured him. "Although sometimes I wonder who exactly is working on it."

"Amos," Hermione told them. "He told me to prepare to release a name for ambassador a few weeks back and nothing came from it."

"Wait, Amos is the one screwing this up?" Ron said in surprise. "I mean, he'd be the last one I'd expect to drop the ball."

"Maybe he's just being careful over his choice," Hermione reasoned. "Argentina have given previous Ministries problems, perhaps he is looking for the best possible candidate."

"Or perhaps the best candidates don't want the job," Harry said suddenly, an idea popping into his head. "It's a dangerous role, it wasn't too long ago that all the foreign ambassadors in Argentina were imprisoned."

"That was under a dictatorship over ten years ago," Hermione argued.

"Ten years in a country's history," Harry countered. "That's not long. Argentina may be more stable now, especially after having hosted the World Cup, but they still have problems."

"What's the issue with Argentina now?" Dennis asked.

"Violence, smuggling," Harry started listing.

"Drug abuse, black-market potion trading," Ron added.

"Child labour, poverty, low life expectancy, anti-European sentiment," Hermione finished reluctantly, seeing Harry's point. "The Argentinian government are friendlier to other Ministries than they have ever been but the fall of the Jacinto regime has led to sheer chaos in a previously oppressed nation."

"Are you saying that dictatorship was better for Argentina?" Dennis asked in amazement, not quite sure he was hearing right.

"Not in the long run," Hermione hurriedly explained. "Once the Argentine Ministry are able to pull things together the country will be much better off than it was before."

"But in the short term, yes," Harry answered, saying the words that Hermione dared not utter. "Ten years ago in Argentina life expectancy was higher, criminal activity was low and the country was more or less united around its leader. The same could not be said now."

"The current Ministry is rather unpopular," Hermione said. "They were voted in by Argentina's first ever election, yet the people have lost faith and now the people they'd just got rid of are finding support again for their cause."

"It's important that this Argentinian government succeeds," Ron stressed. "The people may not get the chance to elect another one like it if they don't."

"Wait, is that why the World Cup was given to Argentina?" Dennis asked. "It was such a scandal when it was announced, what with all the reports of violence."

"You've got to think that was the case," Harry replied. "None of us can know for sure but the other candidates, Russia, Germany, the USA, were all better prepared for it."

"We're very thankful that the World Cup Committee decided to award the finals to Argentina," Hermione said. "The good that the finals did, especially considering they were achieved without any major incidents, is perhaps the strongest positive the government have to work with."

Suddenly each of their phones started going off, surprising the nearby patrons as the four Ministry staffers simply glanced down at their phones in despair.

"Looks like our break's over," Harry commented, standing up and popping the last of his panini into his mouth as he and his three colleagues left the peaceful cafe.

"Harry," Neville called as he spotted Harry walking past, crowds of maintenance men surrounding him as they worked to set up the interview studio.

"What the hell," Harry muttered as he looked around, seeing the various camera equipment and sound systems surrounding the seating area in the centre. "We're having the interviews here?" He complained. "We need to get through here to work."

"Yeah, I know," Neville replied, his face flushed from his exertions. "It won't be that bad once everything is finished. People will just have to be quiet when passing this area, or else go by past Hermione's office."

Harry nodded reluctantly. "Alright, why did you call me over?"

"I just wanted to show you how everything will work," Neville said, leading him past the bank of cameras and onto the set. "The presenters will be sitting here," he gestured to the sofa sitting on the left. "While we will be sitting here," Neville pointed at the three individual chairs lined up, half facing the presenters sofa and half facing the cameras.

"Have we got a running order yet?" Harry asked, examining the rest of the set and glancing out at the cameras, trying to imagine what it would be like once the interviews had started.

"Yes," Neville replied, rifling through the papers in his arms. "We'll start with Amos, then Ron and Remus, then we'll do me, Hermione, you and then we'll finish with the Minister."

"Is that all?" Harry asked. "I thought they wanted an idea of life in the Ministry, wouldn't they also want an assistant's point of view or something?"

Neville shrugged, his finger still flitting through the papers. "I'll talk to them about it," Neville said. "Actually, they want the Minister to be the one to close the interview at the end. They've written a speech for him to use but I thought you'd rather have a go at this yourself."

Harry nodded as he accepted the sheet from Neville. "This looks like it's been written by a 12 year old," Harry commented as he skimmed through it. "'It's with great pleasure… honesty and integrity… public', it's like we're admitting that we've been hiding things from them. Who wrote this?"

Neville jerked his head slightly behind him to one of the TV crew members, a man who seemed to be doing his best not to listen to what was being said.

"I'll have a look at it," Harry assured Neville, sticking the paper under his arm. "I have to get going."

"Wait," Neville said as Harry made to turn away. "I saw the others rush past here, what's going on?"

Harry thought about answering before glancing at the cameras surrounding them, mindful of the fact they were surrounded by outsiders. "There's a story that's about to break," Harry whispered quietly to him, turning to conceal his face in case the cameras were on. "Charlie Weasley has apparently made a comment about foreign dragons we're importing for the new dragon reserve in Wales."

"What sort of comments?" Neville asked.

"We're not entirely sure," Harry replied. "We haven't heard the quote ourselves but someone has got the story. Hermione's trying to find out who."

"I assume Charlie is coming to see the Minister?" Neville asked.

"Yeah," Harry replied. "We're sure it's nothing, just a misquote or poor word choice or something. Anyway, we're working on keeping this from being a big thing."

"Alright, I'll keep you up to date on what's going on here," Neville assured him and Harry left.

Harry didn't take long to get to his office, the studio being very close by. Placing the speech he'd just received on the desk, Harry started to read it over, standing over it and sipping from a mug of coffee.

There was a knock on his door. "Excuse me, are you Harry Potter?" The speaker was a rather beautiful young woman with rich brown hair that was well styled over her shoulder.

"Yes," Harry asked, taking another sip from his mug. "Who's asking?"

The brunette smiled widely at him, displaying dazzling white teeth as she stepped into his office properly. "Hi, I'm Sharon Wakefield," she introduced herself, holding out her hand.

"Pleasure to meet you," Harry replied, taking her hand. "Now, who are you?"

Sharon laughed at this, bringing her hand back so she could brush her hair out of her face. "I'm the producer for the show," she explained. "I just wanted to check in with the Communications Director, considering it would seem appropriate for him to be the one in charge of all this."

"You've talked with Neville Longbottom?" Harry asked, to which she nodded. "He's your guy. Believe me, I am very against this whole idea."

"Why?" Sharon asked, leaning herself against his desk as she spoke.

Harry shrugged. "Because it's an opportunity to make a major gaff to the public," he responded. "Your show has magnificent ratings and continues to draw in more and more viewers, we make a mistake and everyone finds out."

"It could also be used to make yourself look good to the public," Sharon replied. "A good appearance will make you much more likeable as an administration."

Harry took a second to reply to that, having not expected a well reasoned response. "You have a point," Harry conceded. "Except that the vast majority of your viewers don't vote. For the people who do vote they won't hear about us being nice and friendly, but they will hear of any mistakes we may make whilst we're on air."

"Word can spread," Sharon argued. "And maybe hearing you guys speak and hearing you as humans will encourage more people to vote."

"It won't," Harry replied shortly.

"Why not?"

"They don't trust the system," Harry said simply. "Everyone is perfectly on board with choosing their own government, but the system used makes them think they're being cheated."

"Then why not change the system?" Sharon asked.

"Because it works," Harry replied. "We divide the country based on magical population and give each region a vote or number of votes that best represents the population of that particular region. Besides," he said, looking at other documents scattered across his desk. "It's always a bad idea for a Ministry to change an election system, it just makes it look like they're trying to get a bigger advantage."

"You're a pretty good talker," Sharon complimented him. "I've seen you on TV but to hear it in person is something else."

"Well thank you, I do pride myself on my public speaking," Harry said lightly. "Cho!"

"Yes," Cho said, quickly striding into Harry's office at his call.

"Contact Remus or Amos and tell them I'm ready for a brief on what they talked about with the goblins today," Harry told her. "Start with Remus, I expect Amos will be busy at the moment."

"Yes, Harry," Cho replied, striding swiftly back out of his office as quickly as she'd come.

There was a small silence in the office as Cho left, Harry looking through his files whilst Sharon continued to look around his office in interest.

"So you know the running order?" she asked suddenly.

"Neville's informed me," Harry replied without looking up. "I'm happy with it if you are."

"I'm not," Sharon replied.

"I'm not surprised," Harry said, looking up at this to watch the producer.

"The whole idea was that we would be finding out about life at the Ministry," Sharon said, getting animated. "We can't get an idea of that simply by talking to the Senior Staff. You'll all just be ridiculously smart and stay true to the policies of the Ministry, looking to score political points at every opportunity presented to you. I want more."

Harry looked at her interestedly, noting the way her cheeks flushed and her chest was rising and falling rapidly as she grew ever more passionate about her cause. "Talk to Neville," he said simply.

"I want to talk to secretaries, assistants, anyone who works here could be of interest to me," Sharon pushed forward. "Listen to what I'm saying, I'm offering to let some of the Senior Staff off the hook in order to talk to the lower ranks. What secrets do you think they'll let out, huh?"

"Miss Wakefield," Harry said calmly. "This isn't my party. Talk to Neville, you'll find him at the studio."

Sharon seemed a bit put off by being pushed aside, perhaps feeling that Harry was simply dismissing her. Harry quickly looked to head that off. "Seriously, go," he said, making a little shooing motion. "You talk to Neville about this and he'll work something out."

Sharon seemed to hesitate for a moment, torn between leaving or staying. Eventually her good sense won out. "Okay, I will," she said, standing somewhat awkwardly halfway between Harry's desk and the door. "Thank you for your time."

Harry waved her off as she left the room, walking in the direction of the makeshift studio. Looking up from his papers, Harry watched her go with interest, surprised by the conversation he'd just had.

"Harry," Cho said as she came into his line of sight. "Remus is free right now if you want."

Harry nodded. "I'll just go see him," he said, moving around his desk. "Thanks, Cho."

Charlie Weasley wandered quietly through the halls of the Ministry, various members of staff hurrying around him, not even giving him a second glance. He'd never been in this section of the Ministry before and was currently walking blind in the hope he was still on track, following the welcome desk's directions.

Pausing for a moment to get his bearings, Charlie took a left, finding himself in an office area with two large work stations. As he stepped inside the two workers looked up at him, not seeming surprised by his appearance but at the same time seemingly unaware of his purpose.

"Can we help you?" the woman asked.

"Yes," Charlie said, moving forward to her desk. "I'm supposed to be meeting with the Minister. Am I in the right place?"

"Of course," Daphne told him, standing up. "I'll just go see if he's available."

"Thank you," Charlie said, watching her walk through another door. Standing awkwardly in the office, Charlie glanced down at the man at the other desk, who had already returned to his work. Looking around Charlie found a few seats lined up against the wall behind him. Just as he thought to sit down Daphne returned.

"He can see you now," she told him, leaving the office door ajar as she walked back to her desk. Taking a deep breath, Charlie walked up to the door and walked inside.

"Charlie," the Minister greeted him. "It's been such a long time, how are you doing?"

"I'm doing fine, dad," Charlie said stiffly, walking a few steps into the office before stopping.

The Minister noticed his reluctance with worry, not sure what was wrong with his second son. "Take a seat," he offered, gesturing to the seating area as he walked around the desk.

Almost automatically Charlie walked over and sat on the sofa offered, his back straight as he continued to stare straight ahead of him. Growing more concerned the Minister joined him, slowly settling into his favourite armchair.

"So, Charlie," the Minister started again, trying to engage his son in small talk. "What's going on with you at the moment? We haven't heard from you in a while, and you know how much that worries your mother."

"It doesn't worry you?" Charlie asked.

"Well, I know you can look after yourself," the Minister replied with a frown. "Something your mother seems to forget with every one of her children."

"I suppose it doesn't hurt you've got Ministry security keeping an eye on me," Charlie added.

The Minister chuckled at that, though Charlie still refused to crack a smile. "Yes, that is a bit of a comfort," he admitted. "But what's new in your life Charlie? It seems like ages since we last spoke."

"It has been," Charlie mumbled under his breath. "But let's not talk about that right now. You called me here for a reason."

The Minister was rather put out by this, but nevertheless got down to business. "We have reports going around the Ministry at the moment that say a reporter is planning on publishing a story that has you quoted as saying we should not import dragons into the dragon reserve in Wales," the Minister told him. "Do you know anything about this?"

"Yes," Charlie replied simply. "I do know something about this because I did tell a reporter that you were wrong to import dragons."

The Minister blinked in surprise. "You did?" he said owlishly. "Why?"

"Because it's true," Charlie countered. "The dragons you are importing come from all around the world, most notably from Africa and South America. They don't belong in Wales. Welsh Greens belong in Wales. Hebridean Blacks can live there too, maybe even Normandy Bluespikes, Norwegian Ridgebacks or Swedish Short-snouts. But not the Argentinian Blue-snout or the Peruvian Vipertooth and certainly not the Antipodean Opaleye."

"Don't you think we thought about this?" the Minister countered. "We've got some of the best dragon experts the country has to offer working on making the reserve inhabitable for every breed of dragon we bring in."

"And I'm sure they'll do a great job," Charlie agreed. "But it's not the same as being in their native land. These dragons are not in abundance in the wild. In fact, several of them are dying out and we're only contributing to that by taking them from their homes."

There was a knock on the door as the father and son stared at each other, halting them mid argument. "Minister," Blaise said as he stepped inside. "Kingsley Shacklebolt would like to see you."

"Is it time?" the Minister asked, glancing up at the clock on the wall.

"Yes, sir," Blaise replied.

The Minister sighed. "Alright, tell him I'll be right through," the Minister told Blaise, who nodded and left the room. "I'm sorry about this, Charlie, but I've got a meeting with the Ministry security council that I need to get to. We'll continue our discussion when I get back."

"How long will you be?" Charlie asked, standing up as the Minister did.

"It will be a while, I'm afraid," the Minister sighed. "These meetings tend to overrun. Why don't you go to The Burrow and see your mother, I'll call for you when I'm free again."

"Alright," Charlie agreed, slightly uneasy about the way he was being told to do this. As the Minister walked swiftly out of the office, Charlie began to wonder when his father became the Minister to him.

Harry scribbled on the Minister's closing statement for a second, before leaning back and examining what was now written, the original sheet covered in nearly unrecognisable scrawls as he chopped and changed. Finally satisfied, Harry pulled out a new sheet of parchment and started to write out his final draft, squinting to recognise his own handwriting as he copied down his corrections.

"Harry," Cho said as she walked into his office, her heels clicking softly on the floor as she walked. Harry held a hand up to stop her, his right hand still flying across the parchment as he made his speech legible. Finishing with the copy, Harry picked it up and read through it again, his lips mouthing the words as he went. Finally he set the parchment down and looked up.

"Yeah?"

"I just wanted to inform you that you are scheduled to appear on the show soon," Cho told him, reading off the schedule in her arms. "When you come on you'll be interviewed with Ron…"

"Then with Ron and Hermione and lastly on my own," Harry recited from memory, having seen the schedule and studied it at length. "Cho, did you change your clothes?"

Cho blushed, caught out as she looked down at her best clothes. "Um, yes," she said nervously, a hand going to her hair which Harry just noticed was styled more than usual. "Well, when Neville added me to the schedule I wanted to look my best."

"So you changed," Harry continued. "And you did your hair and make up." Cho blushed again, looking down in embarrassment. "It looks good," Harry complimented her.

"Really?" Cho looked up in surprise.

"Yeah," Harry replied. "Lets just hope that no one at the show saw you before you changed." Harry strode past a slightly bewildered Cho, who at that moment was racing through her head trying to remember if she'd talked to any of the TV people.

"Oh shit," she swore, hurrying after Harry as she remembered. "Harry, I was talking to one of the camera men earlier," she said in a hushed voice, following Harry closely as he strode casually down the corridor. "Oh god, and the producer saw me when she was in your office."

"Cho, I was joking," Harry replied straight faced, giving Cho a raised eyebrow as she followed him. "Now, take this to the Minister's office and tell him to memorise it for his closing statement."

Cho nodded as she hurried away with the sheet of parchment. Harry, meanwhile, reached the makeshift studio, watching as Ron was being interviewed.

"How's it going?" Harry whispered quietly to Neville as he moved in beside him, back to the wall.

"It's going well," Neville replied. "Amos led off strongly, made the discussion political a few times and confused the presenters. Then we had Luna," Harry snorted, "so naturally the presenters were even more confused. Ron's been on for a few minutes now, and the presenters are really relieved to have someone to just talk to."

"I can imagine," Harry replied quietly. "Nice going, starting with Amos and Luna, that sounds like it worked really well."

"Yeah, it has," Neville replied thoughtfully. "I'm having a few thoughts about the lineup later though. Should we really put Lizzie on?"

Harry nodded. "I think it's just what the public want," he replied. "She's going on at the same time as Cho, isn't she, so that'll help her out."

"I suppose," Neville said uncertainly. "If you're sure then okay, but just make sure you speak to her and lay down the law."

"Of course," Harry replied.

"And Dennis," Neville continued. "He's new as well, perhaps having someone else alongside him wouldn't be a bad idea."

"You mean me?" Harry said, reading between the lines.

"Not necessarily you," Neville said. "But it would make more sense for the Deputy Communications Director to be interviewed with the Communications Director."

"Aren't you concerned we'll give the idea that we're not trusting our new recruits?" Harry asked.

"We don't trust them really," Neville countered. "They are both really new to this, it would be really useful to have a more experienced head sitting next to them."

"But still, having Dennis interviewed with his boss," Harry replied, shaking his head. "Alright, a compromise. I'll join Dennis for half his interview."

"Which half?" Neville asked. "If you do the first half it'll seem like you are making sure he won't say anything before leaving, if you do the second half it'll seem as though you only came on because he said something wrong."

Harry stroked his chin in thought, eyes watching the interview before him unseeing. "Make it the second half," he answered finally. "I'll play it casual, tell Dennis so he won't seem surprised when I turn up."

"And we're out," the director said, removing his headset as he spoke.

"Well, I'll say things are going well so far," Sharon said as she approached Harry and Neville. "Charles and Grace have really had a tough time keeping up with you guys. Somehow I don't think that was an accident."

Harry and Neville looked at each other. "While we are on the subject," Neville said, bringing out his revised schedule. "We've decided to stick Harry in about halfway through Dennis' interview."

"Why?" Sharon asked, looking between the two men. "Is this what the two of you were whispering about?"

"Yes," Harry replied simply. "And I think it would be a good idea to bring Ron back in after the interview with Ginny."

"Not with Ginny?" Neville asked.

"I think it would be nice to finish up with a Weasley run up to the end," Harry replied. "Ginny as a more social interview choice, Ron bridging the gap between that and the political aspects of the Ministry before we finish off with the Minister himself."

"If we're going to do that then perhaps we should try to pull in other Weasley's for the finale," Neville suggested. "We could call Bill over from Gringotts and Charlie is in the Ministry already."

Harry shook his head. "It's not enough notice for Bill and Charlie doesn't have anything to do with the Ministry, he spends all his time in Romania looking after the dragons," Harry told him. "No, what we've got, that's good."

"One minute," the director called, prompting an aide to run up to Harry and escort him to the set.

"Pleasure to meet you," the male presenter said. "Charles Dane, and this is Grace Brook."

"Harry Potter," Harry greeted, shaking their hands.

"30 seconds," the director called, prompting Harry to take his seat next to Ron, who gave him a nod of acknowledgement. "We're on in 5…4…3…2…" he went silent as he counted the last second before signalling they were on.

"Good afternoon and welcome back to a special edition of Private Lives," Charles spoke, smiling broadly as he faced the camera. "Today we'll be talking with various people in and around the Ministry of Magic to find out just what the people who are involved in the running of our country are actually like."

"That's right," Grace piped in. "Before we left we were talking with Political Strategy Director Ron Weasley, and now he is joined by the Communications Director, Harry Potter. Now, Harry, perhaps you could explain for us just what your job entails?"

"Of course," Harry said politely, smiling at Grace as he leaned forward in his seat to answer.

Amos sat quietly behind his desk, watching the ongoing interview as he awaited his next appointment. On the screen Hermione joined Harry and Ron on set just as there was a knock on his office door.

"Stewart Diaz to see you," Luna said as she stepped inside.

"Send him in," Amos replied, muting the TV and getting up from his seat. "Stewart," he greeted as the man walked in, smiling broadly as he shook Amos' hand.

"Amos, so good to see you," Stewart replied enthusiastically. "Actually, this is the second time I've seen you today," he added with a meaningful nod to the TV.

"Oh, you saw that," Amos replied, somewhat surprised to find he watched such shows.

"My wife is a big fan," Stewart replied, taking a seat as Amos went back behind his desk. "She always jokes she's going to run off with that Charles bloke, she'll be annoyed that you bashed him around like that."

"I thought I was going easy on him," Amos said good-naturedly.

"Undoubtedly you were," Stewart laughed. "Although if my wife hears about this I may find myself on the sofa tonight, so lips zipped, eh Amos."

"You have my silence," Amos replied. "As a married man myself I would be a traitor to do otherwise."

"That's the ticket," Stewart said with a grin. "Now, why did you want to meet me, I assume it wasn't just to catch up."

"That assumption would be correct," Amos agreed. "I actually came to you with a business proposition."

"No," Stewart said immediately.

"No?" Amos repeated. "I haven't even told you what the proposition is yet."

"I know what it is," Stewart retorted. "It's not difficult to see. I'm a well respected politician with good foreign policy experience and with roots in Argentina through my father, I'm obviously your favoured candidate."

"And why won't you consider it?" Amos asked. "You just said it yourself, you're the perfect candidate. You are a very easy man to get along with, not to mention you speak both English and Spanish fluently."

"Argentina is not safe," Stewart said. "It's not even close. Maybe if I was young and driven, and more importantly, single, I would consider throwing myself into the action. But I'm not, I can't take the risk. I've got a family now, a wife, children, my first grandchild is due in just over a month."

"I know that," Amos replied. "But I'm appealing to the part of you that believes in doing what is right. I'm appealing to the part of you that campaigned for the classification of werewolves as beings rather than beasts. I'm appealing to the part that first introduced the idea of compulsory muggle and wizarding studies before anyone else had even considered the thought. Argentina needs you."

"Argentina needs someone," Stewart corrected him.

"It could be you," Amos replied.

"It could be lots of people," Stewart countered.

"No it couldn't," Amos denied. "I've had a long time to think about this decision. It's a decision I need to get right. And I've decided that you're the best man for the job."

Stewart stood up, pacing the width of the room as he rubbed at his head. "What about Esparza, or Ibanez?" he suggested.

"Ezequiel Esparza has a three year old son with another on the way," Amos said. "His family concerns are even greater than yours. And Marcos Ibanez was friendly with the Jacinto regime, he'd be hated before he even got there and it would send a terrible signal of our intentions for Argentina."

Stewart paced the room again, an inner battle raging inside him as Amos watched patiently. "I can't do it," he said, still pacing. "I can't move my wife there, she doesn't speak Spanish and she'd hardly fit in with the locals even if she could."

"Whoever we appoint as ambassador will receive accommodation with the best security available," Amos replied. "Your wife will have plenty of people to talk to with the families of other officials, most of them have much the same difficulties you just described."

"I still don't think you've made the right choice," Stewart said, going back to his previous argument. "I don't have much to do with Argentina. I've never been there. I've lived in England all my life."

"I know," Amos replied. "But your father was well respected in Argentina. He fought the Jacinto regime and is considered a hero for doing so. By taking this job you'll have the opportunity to influence an entire nation."

"I'm sorry Amos, I can't do this," Stewart shook his head, heading for the door. "You're going to have to find someone else."

"There is no one else," Amos said to his back, halting him in his tracks. "You're it. Don't you want a chance to steer a country down the right path." Amos stood up and walked around his desk, approaching Stewart who had turned slightly to see him.

"I know you're worried, with good reason," he said softly. "But Argentina needs you, and I know your dad left you with something more than just the Spanish language. He left you with tales of what Argentina used to be, when he was just a young man with the world at his feet. I'm not going to force you to take this job if you don't want it, but I think you want it more than you're willing to let on."

There was silence as the old friends looked at each other. "It'll be dangerous," Stewart said. "Argentina has so many problems."

"Which is why you need to go," Amos told him. "Argentina has the potential for so much more, they just need to be shown the way."

Without realising it Stewart found himself nodding in agreement, hearing his own true beliefs parroted to him as clear as day. "I'll talk to Meredith," he said quietly. "It was nice seeing you Amos."

"You too, Stewart," Amos replied, offering his hand. "Good luck."

Stewart took his hand and with a nod of respect left the office.

Amos sighed as his whole body seemed to sag. He walked back to his desk and sunk into his chair, holding his head in his hands as he contemplated just what he'd made Stewart do. He knew the risks, perhaps better than anyone, but he also knew what was needed. And he hated it.

Glancing at his decanter of fire-whiskey, Amos resisted for just a moment before he went to pour himself a glass, his hands shaking nervously. Recapping the fire-whiskey, Amos gulped down his glass in one swift motion, grimacing slightly as the liquid passed over his tongue. With a sigh he placed his glass back down and walked back to his desk, the interview still playing on the TV beside him.

"So, Hermione, how does it feel to be the only female member of the Senior Staff?" Grace asked, leaning forward. "I mean, it must be difficult without any girlfriends to chat to during the day."

"It's not really an issue for me," Hermione replied casually, an answer she'd actually prepared days in advance. "During the day there is very little time for small talk so it's something that hasn't made too much of a difference in my day to day life."

"So, what you're saying is that you never have the opportunity to talk to people?" Grace asked.

"Now that's another matter altogether," Hermione laughed. "I talk to people all the time. Every time I walk in and out of my office I'll greet my assistant and in our line of work there is an awful lot of communication between various members of staff. It's not uncommon for me to visit Harry in his office in the morning, have Ron come to mine that afternoon and then bump into Neville Longbottom, the Deputy Chief of Staff, on my way out."

"Great, well I've got a question for all three of you," Charles announced. "After having spent over a year working together how do you think you get along personally as well as professionally?"

"Well, I'd start off by saying we've been working together longer than that," Harry corrected. "We were each heavily involved with Minister Weasley's election campaign, so you can add another year or so onto that."

"But the answer really is that we've been friends personally for quite some time," Hermione cut in. "We've been friends since our first year at Hogwarts together. We were each sorted into Gryffindor and through some unusual events we ended up becoming best friends. And we have been ever since."

"Aw, what a nice story," Grace fawned dramatically. "It's amazing that the three of you ended up working together over ten years after leaving Hogwarts. What a coincidence."

"Oh, it's no coincidence," Ron informed her. "Naturally I knew before most people that my dad was going to run for Minister, so I told my dad that if he wanted to win he needed the best and brightest people around him, so I told him to get Hermione."

"You can imagine my surprise when the father of one of my best friends calls me up and offers me a job like this," Hermione said. "I would have thought it was a hoax had I not known the reputation of Ron's father."

"So the Minister called you in," Charles concluded. "But how did Harry join you?"

"Actually, Ron called me himself," Harry said. "I was working at the Liverpool City Council under Darrell Pierce when Ron called me up and asked if I wanted to work for the next Minister for Magic."

"He must have sold it well to have caused you to quit?" Charles said, more serious.

Ron laughed. "Hardly," he chortled. "As soon as I mentioned it was going to be me and Hermione with him on the campaign trail he was straight on board."

"Our political lives had kept us from staying in touch the way we wanted to," Hermione said. "When we were given this offer it was simply impossible for us to say no."

"Exactly," Harry agreed.

"Okay," Charles said. "Now that we've established the three of you are friends, what kind of friend are you? What role do you play in your group?"

"Hermione's the smart one," Ron said immediately, to which Harry nodded. "Seriously, you should have seen her at school, she'd get full marks on everything."

"So if she's the smart one then who's the jock?" Grace asked eagerly.

Harry and Ron looked at each other. "That's probably you," Harry said. "You're more laid back than I am, I tend to worry too much to be a jock."

"Well I suppose that makes you the funny one," Charles joked.

"I can live with that," Harry smiled.

"Alright, we've got time for just one more question before the interval and Ron and Hermione have to leave us," Charles said at the prompting of the director. "Now, I've heard Hermione isn't a great Quidditch fan but word is the two of you are. Question, which team do you support and why?"

"The Chudley Cannons," Ron answered proudly. "Supported them since I went to see my very first game and Chudley won by just 10 points."

"They haven't, of course, won since then," Harry joked. "Hey look, I am the funny one." Ron hit him good-naturedly.

"Well then, who do you support Harry?" Grace asked.

"Puddlemere United," Harry answered. "I was on the quidditch team during all seven of my years at Hogwarts and in those first three years my captain was Oliver Wood, the current captain of Puddlemere."

"Wow," Charles said. "I'd love to go into this more but unfortunately it's time for a break." He turned to the camera. "Please stay with us as we continue this very special edition of Private Lives. After the break Ron and Hermione will be leaving us but Harry will still be here, so stay tuned."

"We're out," the director called, leading to movement as crew shifted about to prepare for the next shoot.

"How's everything going?" Ron asked. "Is Charlie still here?"

"The Minister had to go to a meeting," Hermione told him. "I'm not sure if Charlie is still in the building or not."

"Never mind, I'll ask Daphne," Ron said as he stood up. "Have you got anything you need to get to Hermione?"

"Yeah," Hermione sighed wearily. "I've got to find out who Charlie spoke to in the press and stop them from writing about it."

"What are you going to do?" Harry asked.

"Well, I'll talk to Michael and see if he knows anything," Hermione said. "But if he doesn't it'll be near impossible to find who has the story before it's published."

"Good luck," Harry told her before she strode away. It wasn't long before Demelza fell into step beside her.

"Hey Hermione, you were good on there," Demelza told her.

"Thank you," Hermione replied. "What have you got for me?"

"You know, I was thinking that perhaps before we go home today the two of us could have a talk," Demelza said.

"A talk?" Hermione questioned. "What's the matter? What do you need to talk about?"

"Oh, you know, girl stuff," Demelza said airily, bringing an even more confused look from Hermione. "You know you said on the interview you don't really get that much of an opportunity so I thought-"

"Give me the file," Hermione cut across her, rolling her eyes at her assistant's behaviour. Demelza reluctantly stopped talking and passed her the file.

"I've also got a message from Amos," she continued. "He wants you to prepare yourself for releasing the name of our new ambassador to Argentina."

"Do we have a new ambassador to Argentina?" Hermione asked.

"Not yet, but Amos said it's in the bag," Demelza confirmed.

"Well, let's hope he's right," Hermione said under her breath as she and Demelza split up, Demelza walking on to her desk whilst Hermione turned off to visit the press offices.

"Hey," Hermione said as she walked into Michael's cubicle, causing him to look up from his work.

"Hey," he replied with a smile. "How are you?"

"I'm good," Hermione said. "But unfortunately I'm here on business rather than pleasure."

"Ah," Michael said. "And here I was thinking you were coming by my office to surprise me with a beautiful candle lit dinner. What do you need?"

"Do you know anything about a story that's been going around about Charlie Weasley?" Hermione asked. "Apparently he's been quoted speaking out against the Davidson Memorial Dragon Reserve and I was trying to find the journalist he spoke to."

"Well," Michael said, twirling his quill in his hands. "You're in luck, I know who he talked to."

"Who?" Hermione asked urgently.

"Me," Michael replied.

Hermione blinked at him in surprise. "Michael, you're the one who got the quote?" Hermione said in astonishment. "I didn't think you were one to go out of your way to harass members of the Minister's family."

"I'm not," Michael said defensively. "I didn't go to him, he called me."

Hermione stood in silence for a moment. "Charlie called you?" she repeated, not quite comprehending it.

"Yes, he called me," Michael confirmed. "It was quite late yesterday and he phoned my boss asking to speak to the Ministry correspondent. My boss naturally handed the call to me and I accurately quoted what he told me."

"Right," Hermione said, trying to get herself back on track after the surprise. "Alright, well, that's clearly something the Minister and Charlie have to sort out and is therefore none of our business."

"I agree," Michael said.

"So you won't print the story?" Hermione pressed, trying to make sure she'd got a deal.

"No," Michael told her. "I am going to print it."

"What?" Hermione asked, astonished. "Why? You just said it's none of our business."

"What I said was that the fact Charlie called me to give the quote is none of our business," Michael corrected her. "But a dragon expert, who happens to be related to the Minister, reportedly speaking out against the Minister's plans for a dragon reserve is news."

"So you're going to print it?" Hermione concluded. "And there is nothing that will convince you not to?"

Michael shook his head. "This is my job," he told her. "Just because we're in a relationship doesn't mean I should be nice and do everything you ask when we're in this building. And if you think I'm lying just ask yourself, would I have printed this story had I not been going out with you?"

Hermione was silent for a moment as she looked down at the floor. "I don't think you would have," she said quietly.

Michael sighed regretfully. "Then maybe you didn't know me as well as you thought you did."

"Maybe not," Hermione agreed as she turned to leave.

"We're still on for tonight?" Michael asked worriedly.

Hermione barely stopped to nod, leaving the cubicle swiftly as she fought with her emotions to stay professional. Back in the cubicle Michael sighed tiredly, wondering just how many more fights his job would bring to his relationship.

"Alright, putting quidditch aside for a moment," Charles said. "One thing the public have been very interested about with you is your relationship with the Minister's daughter."

"Yes, I'm surprised that hasn't come up already," Harry replied, keeping his cheerful facade up as he internally sighed.

"Yes, well, after the accusations by Rita Skeeter of Witch Weekly, which were proven false, by the way," Charles assured the audience. "It was brought to public attention that you were in a long term relationship with Ginny Weasley. Now, how long is long term?"

"Well, within a couple of months we will be celebrating our 2 year anniversary," Harry told them.

"That's a long time," Grace noted. "So that would put you back on the Minister's election campaign when you got together. How did the two of you meet?"

"Well, technically we met back at Hogwarts," Harry started. "She was a Gryffindor in the year below me. But, of course, I was best friends with her brother and she had her own separate group of friends so we didn't really talk to each other much."

"When we actually got together we were campaigning in Manchester," Harry told them. "The Minister had just finished giving a speech and this young woman with brilliant red hair approached me at the bar and congratulated me on the speech."

"Are you saying you didn't recognise her?" Grace asked with a giggle.

"Not at first," Harry admitted. "It'd been nearly ten years since I'd last seen her and I was so distracted by the campaign that it took me ages to put two and two together. It was a shock when I did."

"I can imagine," Charles commented. "And I can imagine it was quite a shock for her brother and father too."

"I imagine," Harry replied. "I didn't actually realise that the Minister had known about our relationship all the way back then until quite recently. He never said anything to even hint he knew about us."

"But it must have been weird when Ron found out," Charles prodded. "You were his best friend."

"Exactly," Harry said with a smile. "I was his best friend, which is perhaps the only reason he didn't punch me when I told him."

"What did he do?" Grace asked.

"Well, he lost the ability to speak for a while," Harry said lightly. "But he actually got over it very quickly. I think he perhaps expected something to be up given how much time Ginny would spend with the campaign crew."

Harry's focus was diverted as he noticed Cho walking towards him. Nervously she skirted round the cameras before she had no choice but to simply walk onto the set to reach him. Tilting his head slightly, Harry listened carefully to what she had to say as everyone else waited.

"Alright, I'm afraid I must go," Harry told them as Cho finished speaking, surprising the assorted crew members as he stood up.

"Can you tell us what you are going to do?" Grace asked.

"Afraid not," Harry replied. "I'm not allowed to speak on Ministry work until we are ready to release the details to the press." Harry stood for a second, weighing up his options, before speaking again. "But don't worry, Cho here will be more than happy to take my place."

Cho looked at him in surprise, clearly not ready to be on TV yet. "Knock 'em dead," Harry told Cho cheekily as he walked off, leaving a stunned Cho to take the seat he'd just vacated. Harry strode quickly away and, as he moved past his office, caught sight of Lizzie.

"Lizzie, you're on," Harry called to her, gesturing to the TV to get his point across. Lizzie went pale as she got his meaning, but nevertheless stood up resolutely and made her way towards the studio.

Harry continued past his office and onwards, eventually reaching Amos's office door, which he entered after knocking. "You wanted to see me?" Harry asked, noting on the TV that Lizzie had joined the set and was talking rapidly in a nervous fashion.

"Yes, I want to give you the heads up about something," Amos told him, muting the TV. "I'm appointing Stewart Diaz as our Ambassador to Argentina."

"Is that confirmed?" Harry asked interestedly.

"Not yet," Amos admitted. "But I've got Stewart convinced. He's an idealistic guy, I know how to push his buttons."

"Was he worried about the instability of the Argentine Ministry?" Harry asked. "I'm sure you had to have mentioned that when you spoke to him."

"He's well aware of the dangers," Amos confirmed. "He had many arguments on why he couldn't do it based on that very theme but his sense of duty won out."

"His sense of duty to us?" Harry asked.

"His sense of duty to Argentina," Amos replied. "He may never have been there before but his surname has always given him a link to the country of his father that he can't help but hold on to."

"Alright," Harry said. "Thank you for letting me know."

"You know why I told you?" Amos asked, not getting a reply from Harry. "You're going to be working with this guy, a lot I expect. You're going to be the one that hears his reports and tells him what this Ministry wants him to do."

"So what you're saying is that I'm going to be responsible for him," Harry said warily.

"You're his contact with us," Amos told him. "When things are happening it's going to be you he calls."

"Shall I set up a meeting?" Harry asked, eyes glancing distractedly to the TV screen.

"I will once we've officially confirmed the appointment," Amos told him. "He'll also need to see the Minister before he's officially given the position."

"Is the Minister in?" Harry asked, breaking off on a tangent.

"He's talking with Charlie right now," Amos said. "I'd wait until they're done."

Harry bit his lip. "Well, I need to speak with him before he goes on Private Lives," Harry told Amos. "I need to go over his closing statement."

"Tell Daphne to remind the Minister," Amos told him. "By the way, how's the interview going?"

Harry sighed. "It's going good so far," Harry replied. "We've got Cho and Lizzie on right now. Then we'll have Neville and Remus, then me and Dennis, then Hermione, Ginny, Ron again before we finish up with the Minister."

"Ron's going on again?" Amos asked. "I thought we were just going to have Ginny before the Minister."

"We're trying to faze it into being more political for when the Minister joins," Harry told him. "The lineup isn't necessarily finalised so it may still change as we go."

"Like the fact you should still be on right now," Amos noted.

"Right," Harry replied, walking towards the door. "See you later, Amos."

Meanwhile, in the Minister's office an argument was brewing.

"I just got a message from Hermione," the Minister told Charlie as he moved to his desk, putting on his glasses to read the note. "You've met Hermione, right? She says that you were the one to call the reporter. Now, please tell me she's wrong."

"She's not wrong," Charlie replied. "Although how you knew I'd called him I don't know."

"The reporter works here Charlie," the Minister said angrily. "Michael Corner has an office in this very building. Now can you please explain to me why he's been given this story."

"Because," Charlie answered. "That's the only way to get the issue to your attention."

"Charlie, we have protocols for dealing with complaints," the Minister told him. "We have people whose job it is to listen and report back to me."

"Exactly," Charlie pointed out. "If I brought this up the normal way I'd never get anywhere near this office. Someone would meet with me, assure me that my concerns will be taken into account and then I'd hear nothing more on the subject."

"You really believe that?" the Minister asked, walking back round his desk. "Charlie, you're my son. If you want to talk to me about something then just call me. Heck, you can come visit me if you like and I'd be more than happy to listen to you."

"Yes," Charlie said softly, acknowledging the point. "Yes, I could have just called you. But that's not right." The Minister looked at him in surprise. "It's not right that I should be listened to any more than any other person in this country. Did you know that there are a group who have banded together to protest the dragon reserve?"

"Yes," the Minister answered simply. "The Scales Union, featuring members from Bulgaria, Latvia, Estonia and Romania."

"That's right," Charlie said. "Did you know I know one of the leaders?"

This caught the Minister off guard. "I did not know that," the Minister admitted. "I assume this is one of your friends from the dragon reserve in Romania?"

Charlie nodded. "They are meeting with your Communications Director today," he told the Minister. "And that's as far as they will get. Despite the support for their cause they'll just get blown off."

"So is that why you went to Michael?" the Minister asked. "To force me to listen to this group? Or perhaps the point is I should listen more to all protest groups?"

"Why can't they both be the point?" Charlie asked.

The Minister sighed as he swept a hand through what remained of his fiery red hair. "Why couldn't you have just come to talk to me, Charlie?" he asked sadly. "Why did you think you needed to talk to a reporter in the first place?"

"Because I don't think I would be here otherwise," Charlie answered. "If I had phoned you, what would have happened? Would you listen to me and properly discuss this? Or would you do your best to assure me that you've got this covered, and just brush over my concerns?"

"I'm sensing this isn't about dragons anymore," the Minister said ominously, catching Charlie's eye with a serious stare. "What did you really want to talk about?"

Charlie pursed his lips, seemingly on the verge of saying something yet being held back at the same time.

"Come on Charlie," the Minister said forcefully. "Tell me why you came here."

"Because I want to talk to you," Charlie blurted out, the words seeming to pass his lips before he could stop them.

The Minister's face softened. "Charlie," he whispered sadly, but Charlie wasn't having any of it.

"No, don't start," he warned him angrily. "This isn't me feeling sad and lonely, I'm angry. I'm angry by the fact that my father seems to have forgotten I exist. You say all I need to do is visit you at work, but that's not possible. You are working all the time, I can't just pop in and visit you."

"Charlie," the Minister pleaded, but Charlie didn't stop.

"It's not just me," Charlie continued his rant. "When was the last time you talked to Fred or George, or even Percy for that matter? Can you even remember talking to any of us about anything besides work? I can't, and neither can my brothers. Did you know that George is engaged?"

The Minister's eyes widened in shock at this, completely taken aback by the news. "When did this happen?" he asked breathlessly.

"Three weeks ago," Charlie replied. "Three weeks ago George proposed to Angelina Johnson, have you met her? He called me, he called Bill, he even called Percy and you still don't know. I'm gay, dad, and I have been for two years now."

There was silence in the room as Charlie finished his rant, his face red with both anger and pain. The Minister's face was white as a sheet as he stood stock still on shaking legs. He took a step forwards and sank gratefully into his armchair, staring off into space as he struggled with what to do.

"Welcome back to our very special edition of Private Lives," Grace said as she came back on air. "We've just finished speaking to Hermione Granger, the Ministry's Press Secretary, but now we're going to move on to our next guest."

"Yes, we're pleased to welcome the Minister's daughter, Ginny Weasley, into the studio," Charles continued as the camera moved to focus on Ginny, sitting comfortably in her seat with a smile on her face.

"Now, Ginny," Grace turned, a light of excitement in her eye. "There is undoubtedly a lot to talk about, being related both to the Minister and the Political Strategy Director, but first I'd like to talk about Harry Potter."

"Of course," Ginny laughed. "Since the news came out that's all anyone's ever asked me."

"Well we apologise for this then," Charles said with a smile. "But, what is it like dating a man who not only has an incredibly difficult and demanding job in the Ministry but is also under the direct employment of your own father."

"Well, where do I start?" Ginny said with a smile, causing the two presenters to chuckle. "I think one thing I'd like to say is that Harry is always very attentive to me. You may think that someone who has so much stress in their job might not be able to focus so much on their personal lives, but Harry isn't like that at all. In fact, I'd bet you anything that he's watching this interview right now."

Harry chuckled alongside the presenters as he sat in his office, watching his TV as his girlfriend dazzled the audience with another smile.

"Harry," Cho said from his office door, but Harry held up a hand to stop her, attention solely focused on the television.

"But, aside from Harry himself, how do you think your brother and father have taken to your relationship?" Charles asked on screen.

"Well, my brother loves Harry," Ginny said. "Seriously, Ron is closer to Harry than he is to any member of his actual family."

"And the Minister?" Charles asked.

"My father," Ginny said with a smile. "Actually likes Harry a lot too. He's worked with him for a long time now and he's grown to respect him, I think. Of course, Harry respects him too. I'd say my whole family quite like Harry, particularly the one's that have met him."

Harry tore his attention away from the TV as the interview moved away from the subject of himself. Nodding to Cho, Harry noted the three men who were waiting behind her, each of them in different stages of impatience.

"Harry, these men represent the protest group called the Scales Union," Cho introduced them, gesturing for the men to enter the office.

"Nice to meet you," Harry greeted, holding out his hand to be shaken by each of the three men in turn.

"Same here," smiled the middle man back, who revealed himself to have a soft english accent to contrast with the two eastern europeans that had joined him. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Ashton Jameson. These are my associates, Sergej Ivov and Bogdan Petran."

Harry nodded respectfully to the other two men. "Given the name of your organisation I think I can guess your purpose here," Harry said, taking his seat behind his desk as Cho produced a third seat for the visitors. "You don't want foreign dragons in Wales."

"No," Ashton said. "We don't, that is not where they belong."

"The fact that we've got some of the foremost experts working to make the reserve hospitable for the foreign dragons doesn't have any effect on your opinion?" Harry asked.

"You can try to recreate the conditions of other countries," Ashton agreed. "But it will get nowhere near close to the real thing."

"We can get close enough," Harry suggested.

"Says you," Bogdan said angrily, his voice a low grumble.

"Says twenty six dragon experts," Harry countered. "Including the grandfather-grandson team of Newt and Rolf Scamander. You've heard of them, I take it?"

"We understand that there has been a lot of work down on this," Ashton said, trying to moderate the discussion as Bogdan growled under his breath. "But Hungarian Horntails belong in Hungary, Portuguese Long-snouts belong in Portugal and Chinese Fireballs belong in China. That's where they thrive and that is where we should keep them."

"I understand your point," Harry told them. "Really, I do. I even agree with them, to an extent. The thing you've got to understand is this is not just about dragons."

"Then what is this about?" asked Sergej.

"International diplomacy," Harry answered. "The various Ministries across the wizarding world have often failed to work together and this is a symbol of cooperation between once divided nations."

"So, this is just for a symbol?" Ashton asked, amazement shown through his tone. "These are real creatures being subjected to this relocation just for a symbol?"

"Yes," Harry replied. "And it's been shown to work. Does anyone remember the attempt to revive the Tri-Wizard Tournament?"

"The first task," Sergej noted quietly. "A Swedish Short-snout, Hungarian Horntail and Chinese Fireball were brought to the grounds of Hogwarts."

"I've looked through the records," Harry told them. "There were no meetings from your organisation telling us we shouldn't have done that, even when it was more inconvenient for the dragons involved."

"That was our failing," Ashton replied. "We should have fought that just like we fight this. You can't play with dragons like this for political reasons."

"I can't?" Harry questioned, raising an eyebrow. "We are getting contributions from nations all across the globe. Argentina, Peru, South Africa, recognise a trend? These are unstable states with governments who are only just coming into being. The effect of accepting such a gift and thereby accepting these states into the international community is huge for them."

Harry sighed as he looked at the three men before him, knowing he would never be able to persuade them completely. "I'm sorry, but this is bigger than just a few dragons," he said. "Maybe the dragons won't be quite as well off here, we'll try to make it not so. But it's worth it just for the idea that the Chinese and United States governments could work together, or the Russians and the Germans. It may be a symbol, but it's an important one that just means so much."

There was silence in the room as he finished talking, the three representatives taking his words in with varying levels of acceptance. "I can see we're not going to convince you," Ashton said sadly. "It's perhaps best that we don't waste anymore of your time."

He rose to his feet, Petran rising with him, glaring hatefully at Harry as he did so. Sergej Ivov took a bit longer to stand, having seemed to be considering Harry's words much more deeply than the other two.

"My brother worked in the Bulgarian Ministry," he said as he eventually rose, his English coming out in a brittle stutter. "He was killed by agents of Russia. Are you saying that this could help stop that happening?"

"I'm saying it might," Harry said softly. "Things like these, they're no guarantee of peace. But if we do continue to work together rather than on our own, then perhaps we may succeed."

Sergej nodded in acceptance of that. Ashton seemed torn as he thought about leaving the office, eventually choosing to follow Petran who stomped furiously ahead of him. Sergej followed at a slower pace, his mind clearly elsewhere.

"I'm sorry about your brother," Harry said as he left the office.

Sergej grunted at that. "He was a good man," he said sadly. "He did not deserve that." He left with those parting words, leaving the office in silence with his departure.

"Cho," Harry called out eventually. Cho hurried to his office door, clearly having been lingering there ever since Petran stormed out. "I'm going to go and tell the Minister about this," he told her as he rounded his desk. "I need you to hold any calls for when I get back."

Cho nodded and returned quickly to her desk as Harry walked past, making his way towards the Minister's office.

"Hey," Ginny said brightly as she sidled along beside him. "I just finished with my interview, were you watching?"

"You seemed pretty confident I would be," Harry smiled at her as he replied. "By the way, it probably wasn't the best idea to tell the world that your entire family didn't have a problem with me."

Ginny shrugged. "They don't," she responded. "At least the ones that have met you."

"That's where the problem lies," Harry told her. "I haven't met Percy, Charlie or your mother."

"Well, Charlie's still in the Ministry last I heard," Ginny replied. "Maybe you'll get the introduction you so crave."

"Maybe," Harry replied. "Wait? Charlie is still here? He hasn't finished speaking with the Minister yet?"

"I don't think so," Ginny replied. "Why?"

"I need to talk to the Minister before he goes on air," Harry told her. "I'm actually on my way there now. Are you sure Charlie is still there?"

Ginny shrugged. "He was at the start of my interview," she told him.

"Alright," Harry sighed as he reached the outer office. "Daphne, is he free?"

"He's still speaking with Charlie," Daphne replied, a slight note of worry in her voice.

"Do you think it's okay if I interrupt?" Harry asked nervously, not sure just how serious the conversation going on beyond the door was.

"I'm not sure," Daphne said, biting her lip. "It's quiet now but earlier I heard shouting."

Harry didn't like the sound of that. Shifting his weight from one foot to the other, Harry made up his mind. "I've got to go in," he announced.

"I'll leave you to it," Ginny told him, patting him on the arm before exiting the outer office. Trying to take all the strength he could from the gesture, Harry knocked on the door and entered.

"Sir? I'm sorry to interrupt but I have to speak with you," Harry said, trying not to sound too nervous as he opened the door. Inside he found the Minister sitting in his favourite armchair, his face pale while Charlie stood before him. It seemed to take a while for the Minister's eyes to take him in.

"Yes, Harry?" he asked, his voice hoarse as he spoke. "You needed to speak with me?"

Harry nodded, his worries increasing from hearing the Minister's tone. "Yes, I wanted to tell you that I've met with the Scales Union," he said. "They recognise we aren't going to change our position but they aren't happy about it. I also needed to talk to you about the closing address for the interview, sir."

The Minister nodded slowly, his expression leading Harry to believe he wasn't all there.

"I could wait a bit if you need some time," Harry said, tentatively. "I just need to speak with you before you go on air."

The Minister's nods became more firm. "Yes," he said hoarsely. "Thank you Harry, if you could just give us a moment?" Harry nodded, backing out of the room and closing the door behind him, leaving Charlie and the Minister alone again.

"So," the Minister said slowly, leaning forward in his seat. "You're gay." Charlie nodded. "And you've known for two years?" Again Charlie nodded. "Then why didn't you say something?"

"When?" Charlie asked shakily, the adrenaline having left his body. "I haven't had the opportunity to talk to you since you first started your campaign."

"You could have called," the Minister said. "You could have come visit."

"You're too busy," Charlie denied. "There's always work you have to do, you just don't make time for your family anymore."

"That's not fair," the Minister argued. "This is a very time consuming job."

"I know," Charlie said. "I know. But that didn't stop you before." He sighed as he sat down on the sofa. "When I was growing up you used to work late so often," he said. "Some weeks we'd barely see you. But you made time for us. Whenever you had a free moment you were there to talk to us and play with us, and I know that now we're all grown up and it's not as easy anymore but that doesn't mean we should stop trying."

There was silence as Charlie finished speaking. The Minister mulled over Charlie's words carefully, wondering just how much of this was the truth. They were, however, interrupted as Daphne walked into the office, Harry right behind her.

"Minister, I'm afraid it's time for your interview," Daphne told him.

The Minister nodded, before he pulled himself up to his feet. Caught in two minds, he stood there for a moment, before walking to his desk. He picked up his phone and quickly punched in a number, waiting patiently for someone to pick up.

"Hey Fred, this is your father," he said as the phone was answered, his gaze directed at Charlie. "Yep, I just wanted to tell you that Charlie's in town so we're gathering everyone up at the Burrow for dinner tonight. Tell George and feel free to bring along any significant others you may have lurking around that I don't know about." He hung up the phone.

"Daphne, can you relay that message to Bill and Percy, and tell Ron and Ginny while you're at it," he told his assistant, who quickly strode away to do her task. "Harry, you of course are welcome to join us if you wish."

"Thank you sir," Harry said sincerely. "Just before you go I need to speak with you."

"About the closing address," the Minister responded. "I've had a good read over it already."

"Great," Harry replied. "Just make sure to speak clearly and confidently, and leave a short pause before you deliver the last line."

"I'll remember that," the Minister told him, nodding to him in dismissal. Once Harry had left, the Minister turned back to his second son. "You were right, I need to make more of an effort to keep in touch with my children," the Minister admitted.

"Thank you," Charlie said gratefully. "And I promise I'll do a better job of keeping in touch with you."

The Minister smiled. "Well, I think that's all we can ask of each other," he said lightly. "Now, why don't you head home and warn your mother she's going to be having guests. I imagine she'll be more than excited to have everyone back together again."

"Yes sir," Charlie said with a smile, exiting the office and briefly leaving the Minister on his own.

"Minister," Blaise said as he walked into the office.

"Yeah," the Minister nodded, striding past Blaise and out into the corridor.

"Well, I'm afraid we're coming to the end of our interview," Charles said with a sad smile.

"Already?" the Minister asked, feigning disappointment.

"Yes, we've just got time for one last closing statement," Charles said to the camera, before turning to the Minister. "Would you like to do the honours?"

"Certainly," the Minister said with a smile. "First, I'd like to thank the show for speaking with us, it's been a pleasure." The presenters shared a smile at that before the camera focused on the Minister, whose face had become more serious.

"Over the course of the last few hours you have had the opportunity to get a glimpse of what we, as people, are like in this Ministry," the Minister said, his eyes looking past the cameras and instead watching the various members of staff and family who had gathered to hear his closing address.

"There is one thing that hasn't been said today," he continued. "And quite frankly I'm not surprised, for it is something that many of the people here wish not to talk about. Working in the Ministry is hard. Everyone you've talked to today, even my daughter Ginny, have sacrificed a great deal for this Ministry. You may feel surprised that Hermione does not worry about being the only female member of the Senior Staff, or you may not agree with Ron on his belief that the Chudley Cannons are the best quidditch team, or you may think that we should not trust Remus for being a werewolf, but in here, that doesn't matter."

The Minister paused at that, his gaze staring straight into the camera as though he was watching everyone in front of their TV. "In the Ministry we put aside our personal differences to work together, for the good of our nation, and it is on that note that I leave you this evening. This has been your Ministry and we thank you for watching. Have a good night."

"And we're out," the director called. "Great work everybody." Applause broke out among the crew members, congratulating themselves on a job well done. The various members of staff started clapping too, except they were doing so for the Minister alone.

Shifting in his seat, the Minister caught Harry's eye. With a slight nod a thought was passed between them, congratulating each other silently. It had been a risky idea, and one that not all were happy with, but in the end it was a job well done.