Chapter 23
Roll the Bones
As Minister Bones waited (or perhaps hoped) for Fawkes to return, she idly swirled the tea in her cup. The friendly phoenix had taken a while to recover from the bindings, and then chose to remain with her a for a time. She had no idea how long that would be the case, but she did appreciate his presence.
And Susan adored him.
Her niece was off with Hannah Abbot for the weekend, which was no great surprise. Those two had been thick as thieves for as long as they could remember. And while normally Susan's absence grated, today she was thankful for the opportunity to rest.
It had been another busy week for the Minister of Magic.
The worst part was, she wasn't actually moving the country forward, per se, no matter how much she would like to. She was too busy repairing the damage caused by the last two Ministers. Between them, Bagnold and Fudge had nearly destroyed the country.
Another half decade or so would have seen the financial collapse of Magical Britain, and they had so thoroughly trashed international relations that help would not have been available from any external source.
Amelia expected it to take another year just to ensure they were on an upward trajectory out of that particular hole. They wouldn't have a budget surplus for at least another decade. It certainly explained why Cornelius was so desperate to get his hands on the Potter fortune.
The Wizengamot was stunned silent when she told them. Fortunately, she had then outlined her plan for fixing it, and they quickly signed off. Without the Death Eaters and Dumbledore running interference, that body was at least marginally functional now, though they did still have the occasional dumb idea.
She had hoped to be able to take time off six months ago to go find the Potters, but that was now a pipe dream. As Minister of Magic, she could do no such thing, at least not without scrutiny. She had no desire to lead the British press right to their doorstep.
It wasn't until now that Fawkes decided he was willing to take a letter to them. She had asked monthly, but had received a reluctant shake of the head each time. This time, though, Fawkes chirped happily at her in the affirmative.
She wondered what he'd been waiting for, but knew she would never have an answer to that; phoenixes were mysterious that way.
And as though her thoughts had summoned him, Fawkes chose that exact moment to return, and she was pleased to see a message gripped in his beak.
He landed on the arm of her chair, and she gently retrieved it, taking a moment to scratch his neck in the way he seemed to like. She knew better than to think he would stay forever — he hadn't bonded to her, or to anyone else to her knowledge — but she really did like him. She was horrified by what Dumbledore had done.
"Thank you," she offered quietly.
Fawkes chirped brightly at her, and she had the distinct impression he was unusually happy about something. Curious, she opened the letter, and was surprised by how short it was — and even more so by the content:
Minister Bones,
Congratulations on the new job! Can you visit for an hour or so? Fawkes will bring you. If you can't, then feel free to suggest a time. We're not comfortable with visiting you there.
GP
Amelia immediately recognized the writing as Ginevra's and smiled. It was a weekend, and nobody would know a damn thing if she left her own home for a couple of hours via phoenix. Nobody even knew that Fawkes was staying with her.
"Would you be willing to take me to them, Fawkes?" she asked.
The bird chirped a happy affirmative back at her.
"Let me grab a few things then," she smiled.
Increasingly excited at finally seeing them (and getting certain answers), Amelia quickly retrieved a box from the bottom of her closet. The contents had been kept current in case she ever had the opportunity to send it to them. She wasn't certain, but she felt they would appreciate the effort.
Fawkes flew up in front of her as she entered the room, somehow knowing that she was ready. She grabbed his tail, and then she was gone.
===[~]===
Emily sat there silently as they finished explaining. Her shock was easy to read; like everyone else, she'd assumed Harry's name to be a coincidence. The idea that he was the famous Harry Potter, was a lot to swallow.
"S-so you're the a-actual Harry P-potter?" she stuttered.
Harry's heart truly went out to her. She was a very sweet girl, and deserved far better than she'd had to endure thus far. He could only hope that they could ease her fears about interacting with others, but that would be a long-term project.
"I am," he nodded. "I'm still the Harry Potter you know, though. This is the real me. I hated being the other one, and still do."
Ginny wrapped an arm around him, sensing his disquiet. He was already having second thoughts now that Fawkes had gone to deliver the invitation. The past was crashing back into their lives, and while he wanted Ginny to have her answers — and her family back — he really had no interest in being part of that community again.
Neither did she beyond her family, and that was the saving grace.
Emily nodded her understanding. "We s-should have known," she frowned. "You're obviously B-british."
"And to the best of our knowledge, there was only ever one Harry Potter in the modern British community," agreed Ginny. "People see what they want to see, and in this case we're happy to let them. We were going to tell you anyway since you're family now, but the rest can just wonder."
"I don't need more fans," Harry grumbled. "I like being able to walk down the street without people staring at me or mobbing me."
Emily smiled a bit at that. She never smiled fully, at least that they'd seen; she lived under too much constant strain. It was good to see that she wasn't upset with them, though.
And that was as far as they got before their time was up.
===[~]===
When the flame receded, Amelia found herself in a room that seemed somehow unusual to her. It was clearly of muggle origin, and elegantly decorated in a very cozy style; the only thing missing was a fireplace. There was something odd about it that she couldn't put her finger on, though, and it wasn't the city lights she could make out through the glass door behind the couch.
None of that could hold her attention for long, however.
Three people were rising from the curved couch directly in front of her. One she didn't recognize at all, but was about the same age as the other two. And those other two were exactly who she came to see.
Harry and Ginevra Potter, in the flesh!
"Welcome to our home, Minister Bones," said Ginevra quietly. "Thank you for coming on such short notice."
"It's my pleasure," she smiled back. "I truly am glad to see you both looking so well."
They both smiled a little at that, though she noted that it was strained. Clearly they were uncomfortable, and she had a feeling it wasn't her personally that was causing it. It was probably to do with their past in Britain, and lingering fears of possible consequences.
"Please make yourself comfortable," offered Harry. "Winky, would you please bring tea for us and the Minister?"
She wasn't surprised when a House Elf popped in a moment later to hand her a cup of tea as she set her box on the floor and took her seat, even as her hosts did the same. The plush armchair was very comfortable, too. More so than her own easy chair at home, in fact, and she made a mental note to go have a look in a muggle furniture store at some point.
"This is Emily Park," Ginevra told her, finally identifying the third one in the room. "She joined our family just recently. Legally speaking we're her guardians, and we've known her long enough that we don't need to keep secrets from her."
Turning to Emily she added, "Em, meet Minister Amelia Bones of the British Ministry of Magic."
Emily was clearly deeply shy; Amelia recognized it from Susan's younger years, before she grew out of it. The girl nodded and gave her a slight wave, but little else. It was probably unwise to expect much from her socially, at least during this meeting.
"It's nice to meet you, Miss Park," she offered.
A smile flickered on the girl's lips, and another small nod was issued, but that was all.
"Please feel free to call us Harry and Ginny, by the way," offered Ginny with a small smile.
"Thank you, and you can call me Amelia," she offered. "This visit is off the record as far as the Ministry is concerned, unless you say otherwise." Turning to Harry she added, "I can easily think of a number of reasons why you might choose to stay dead, so to speak, and I'm not going to compromise that."
"Thank you," he nodded, a little of the tension running out of him. "I didn't set that up, but Skeeter's stupidity actually did me a favor for once. If they find out I'm still alive, I'll probably have reporters chasing me even here. I like being normal for a change."
Amelia couldn't help her morbid amusement. "Boy do I know that one," she admitted ruefully. "Just as head of the DMLE they flocked, but now?" She shook her head. "Even more reason to never take this job, but given how much damage Bagnold and Fudge did, I have to at least try to fix it before I quit."
They all chuckled a little, and Amelia settled in for the coming conversation. She had never met these two before, but she had a good feeling about them. They seemed surprisingly friendly, though that would undoubtedly change in a blink if they felt threatened for some reason.
"You two are happy with your situation, I presume?" she wondered. "I'm guessing we're in America since I know you asked for asylum there."
"Very much so, and yes, this is America," frowned Ginny, "but how did you know about that?"
"I'm much more knowledgeable about muggles than most," she smiled. "I had a meeting with the head of Her Majesty's Special Intelligence Service, and I asked them what they knew. They apparently watch us much more closely than we realized, because they already had the information readily available."
Harry and Ginny both blinked at that. "Wait, the muggles knew where we were?" asked Ginny incredulously.
"They did," nodded Amelia. "I don't know why they were watching, but I saw two photos. One was of you entering a building at Portsmouth before you left, and one was when you entered a building in New York when you arrived. They knew your aliases and which cruise you were on, though I didn't talk to them until after you were already here."
The pair exchanged a startled look. "Something to remember if we ever have to disappear again I suppose," frowned Ginny.
Harry just nodded.
"For what it's worth," added Amelia, "you impressed the Director of the SIS. She said she would have recruited you if she thought she could get away with it."
Harry snorted. "No thanks."
"We both figured you would feel that way," grinned Amelia. Then she sobered. "I'm guessing you came here looking for peace, Harry. I truly do hope you've found it."
"So far," he said softly. "We're just hoping it stays that way. And thank you for dealing with Dumbledore. I really do think he would have gotten me killed sooner or later."
"He was trying," nodded Amelia, "but I think you already knew that. This box contains copies of all of the trial transcripts and a few other bits of the investigation, so you can look them over if you like. It will explain a lot of what he was doing, though it certainly doesn't excuse it even remotely."
"Hence the trip to Hotel Azkaban," said a grimly satisfied Ginny.
"Exactly."
There was a very brief silence before Ginny spoke up again. "Sorry to change the subject," she said quietly, "but can you tell me about my family? I'm rather worried about those consequences you mentioned."
Winky silently popped in and handed another cup to Emily, who smiled briefly at the elf. The girl was watching and taking it all in, and it was easy to forget she was there. And her presence reminded Amelia of the formalities.
"Do I have your authorization to discuss the business of House Weasley in the presence of Harry Potter and Emily Park?" she asked semi-formally.
"Yes," nodded Ginny. "They're family, so they'll find out anyway. May as well hear it directly."
Amelia noted just how flattered Emily looked by that statement. She was increasingly curious what the situation was there, but knew better than to ask. Yet, anyway.
"Very well," she nodded. And then she continued in a softer tone. "I need to warn you that a lot of this is not pleasant, but know that you didn't have anything to do with it, other than alerting your brother to the problem."
"Thank you," she replied quietly.
"Firstly," said Amelia, "I think it's important for you to know that he wasn't ignoring you. Your mother told Dumbledore to restrict your mail so you couldn't contact Bill, and he did so. Illegally, I might add, as neither he nor even your parents had the authority to restrict you from contacting the Heir of the Family."
"Somehow I'm not surprised," sighed Ginny.
"Indeed," nodded Amelia. "Bill did exactly as you requested. First he temporarily stripped their access to the Family Magic, and then he and Charlie forced your parents into an examination at St. Mungo's."
Ginny winced, and Harry wrapped an arm around her. In that moment, just from the look on his face and the comfort it so obviously provided her, she knew that those two truly loved each other. That was something of a relief, but also a topic they could cover later.
"What did they find?" she asked quietly.
"Your mother was found to be functionally insane," said Amelia quietly. "The world she lives in is not the same one we all see. That's why evidence won't sway her; her mind doesn't even see it, let alone acknowledge it. She now resides in the long term care ward of St. Mungo's, because she has the potential to be an extreme danger to herself and others under seemingly innocuous circumstances."
Ginny closed her eyes and bowed her head for a long moment before sighing and pulling herself together. "And Dad?" she asked quietly.
"He was on heavy love potions, Ginny," said Amelia gently. "Your mother started dosing him before they were married. He wasn't himself for more than thirty years."
Ginny's eyes snapped to hers, horror blossoming on her features. Her mouth opened and closed a few times, but she clearly didn't know what to say to that. It was easily understandable; leaving aside the issue of line theft, thirty years under a love potion was just unfathomable.
"They were able to wean him off of it," she continued after a moment. "He's fine physically, and is recovering remarkably well mentally, though he still has a ways to go as you might imagine. He still loves his children regardless of what Molly did, and I have spoken with him recently, so I know he does love you and wants to see you again."
Ginny looked to be near to breaking down, and Harry reached over and gathered her up. Amelia remained respectfully silent; she doubted the poor girl had any idea of what the true problem was when she started this chain of events. But what she had done was absolutely necessary.
She was actually surprised when Emily reached over to gently rub Ginny's back. Her expression showed that she was deeply concerned. For all that she was shy, she was clearly comfortable with the Potters at least, and definitely cared about them.
Perhaps a minute passed before Ginny pulled herself back together and extracted herself from Harry's embrace. She managed to keep the tears from falling, but Amelia had a feeling that she would have a good cry later. After her guest left, though.
"What else?" she asked quietly.
Amelia couldn't hide her wince. "Your father held a family meeting once he was free of the potions," she said quietly. "Most of your brothers handled it very well."
Ginny frowned. "I'll guess that Ron didn't," she said flatly.
Amelia closed her eyes briefly in sympathy. "Unfortunately, no," she confirmed. "And his behavior during that meeting was so much like your mother's, that they decided to have him evaluated as well. He was found to have the same condition as your mother, and is also now residing in St. Mungo's."
Ginny closed her eyes and sighed in obvious disappointment, and it was Harry who picked up the thread. "I hesitate to ask this," he said quietly, "but did Dumbledore have anything to do with that? I know that Ron was spying on me, and from what Ginny told me, that's against the values they were raised with."
"In a way," nodded Amelia. "The cause and effect is somewhat unclear, but we know that Albus was aware of the potential, and tried to stave it off so he could use Mr. Weasley against you. It was likely treatable prior to the full break. Whether Albus made it worse or not is unknown. He's certainly not a qualified Healer."
Harry nodded his understanding.
"The others are okay?" asked Ginny quietly.
"Definitely," nodded Amelia. "They all miss you, and would like to see you again, but they are also aware that it may take some time."
"Do they know about our marriage?" asked Harry curiously.
"No," Amelia said with a shake of her head. "They know you might still be alive, and even that you might be together somewhere. I identified that possibility early on and told Bill, and he passed the theory on at that same family meeting. I didn't want to give them confirmation without your permission though. It was a difficult decision to make."
"Thank you for keeping our secrets," nodded Ginny. "We'll give you an answer on that before you leave. We're going to have to figure out what to do about seeing them again. I want to, of course, but Harry being seen alive in Britain would be bad."
Amelia could only chuckle at the understatement.
===[~]===
A/N: Amelia visits! I'll bet she'd really like some answers… Perhaps I'll publish the next one later today, rather than leaving you hanging. We shall see.
Urgazhi: She's their age, but I've deliberately left that vague. The general idea is that they got into the same year in school, and Emily is also in their year. Everything else is up to your imagination.
GinnyPotter6891: You say that now… She gets a lot more screen time in upcoming chapters, mostly as an observer of things. Like I said, I would have balanced it better if my muse would have cooperated. =)
To everyone else who reviewed, thank you as always! I really do appreciate your comments, and it's good to know that I'm actually entertaining you.
More soon!
