A/N: This chapter is going to be kind of confusing, because it's not written in the 'normal' dialogue. Just, work with me here. Time is a very important factor in this chapter... and I measured time to the copyright date on the first book, which is 1997. So, in this fic, Harry's first year at Hogwarts was 1997. If that's wrong, don't kill me, please! Enough with my excuses. On with the story!
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Letter from Harry Potter to Ron Weasley, June 17, 2004.
Ron-
You wouldn't believe what just happened. Yesterday, when I came after I got back from the station, Uncle Vernon told me that I had a month to clear out of his house before he kicked me out. Would it be rude on my part to accept that invitation to your house a bit early? It wouldn't be for that long, maybe for the summer or so, until I can get a job somewhere. I can stay here for about a month longer, so take your time replying.
-Harry
Conversation at the Weasley's dinner table, June 19, 2004.
Mr. Weasley: ...Then he had the audacity to say that he had the authority to take away my job! All I did was take apart a microwave, and they went biserk!
Mrs. Weasley: Well, I can't say I didn't expect you to get caught sooner or later.
Mr. Weasley: Just whose side are you on, anyway?!
Ron: Mom? Dad?
Mr. and Mrs. Weasley: What?!
Ron: Would it be too much trouble to invite Harry over for the rest of the summer?
Ginny: Harry? What does he want over here?
Ron: His aunt and uncle said that he had a month to clear out of the house, before they kicked him out.
Mrs. Weasley: You're joking! Muggles can be so rude. And such a dear boy, too. Yes, of course you may invite him over.
Mr. Weasley: Tell him to come over in a month. I'm going to be doing some research, and this house will be very crowded and dirty. Your mother is going to have a fit.
Ron: Thanks, Mum and Dad.
Conversation between Lucius and Draco Malfoy, June 19, 2004
Mr. Malfoy: So, how was the school year, Son?
Draco: Just fine, Father. Long and boring as normal.
Mr. Malfoy: That's good. Why don't you go upstairs? I'll call you when dinner is ready.
Draco: Yes, Father.
Voice: Is your son gone?
Mr. Malfoy: Yes, my liege.
Voice: Good. And you're positive that Harry Potter has left Hogwarts for good?
Mr. Malfoy: He was in the same year as my son. I'm positive.
Voice: For your own sake, I hope you're right.
Mr. Malfoy: I'm positive, my lord. Positive.
Conversation at the Dursley's dinner table, June 19, 2004.
Mr. Dursley: About time you showed up.
Harry: Sorry, Uncle Vernon. I was writing a letter.
Mrs. Dursley: You're not writing to those friends of....your kind, are you?!
Harry: N-n-no...
Dudley: Harry's gettin' in trouble...Harry's gettin' in trouble....
Harry: Shut up, Dudley. I was writing to an apartment complex. I'm looking into an apartment to rent.
Dudley: Harry told me to shut up!
Mr. Dursley: Shut up, then. I'm glad you got some of the common sense from my side of the family, boy. I don't want to see your ruddy face around here ever again.
Harry: Only a month longer....one more month...
Mrs. Dursley: What did you say?
Harry: Nothing...nothing...
Conversation at the Ministry of Magic, June 20, 2004.
Mr. Gray: Fudge, you have to listen to me! You-Know-Who is on the rise again!
Mr. Fudge: Look, Cadron. I told you once, if I told you a thousand times! I can't go on these vague allegations. You have to have proof. Do you have any proof?
Mr. Gray: Only my gut feeling. And I tell you, Cornilius, my gut doesn't lie.
Mr. Malfoy: This is preposterous! Fudge, you can't be taking this old crackpot seriously, can you? The Dark Lord is off somewhere in Albania, half-dead! He has no powers, and a certain... Harry Potter is a fully trained wizard. Do you actually think that Vold-... You-Know-Who could rise again, even if he tried?!
Mr. Weasley: You should take his word for it, Fudge. Lucius would know more about the Dark Lord than everybody else. Considering that he was in his inner circle....
Mr. Malfoy: I never! You couldn't prove that in a million years, Weasley!
Mr. Weasley: That doesn't mean that you didn't, Malfoy. One of these days, the truth will come out, and don't expect any mercy from me.
Mr. Fudge: Enough! Mr. Weasley, back to your office, same with you, Lucius. Cadron, you have no proof about You-Know-Who other than your gut feeling, and gut feelings don't count as evidence! Now, ladies and gentlemen, please, can we get back to more important matters?!
Letter from Ron Weasley to Harry Potter, June 20, 2004.
Harry-
Mom and Dad said that you could come over when your month at the Dursley's is up. Sorry, I would invite you earlier, but Dad is doing this research thing, and the house will be crowded enough. Bring all of your stuff with you. Well, obviously, since you probably wouldn't be coming back to your aunt's house. Dad came back in a really bad mood today from the Ministry, muttering something about how he'd like to wring Lucius Malfoy's neck. Mom and Percy were outraged by his behavior. You can imagine their reaction when Fred and George asked Dad if he would like some help in doing so!
-Ron
Exert from a letter, from Cornilius Fudge to Albus Dumbledore, July 1, 2004.
...A most upsetting thing has been bothering me lately, Albus. Nearly everyday, old Mr. Gray of the Treasury Department comes to me with the same message. He claims that the Dark Lord is coming back. Just for curiosity's sake, I looked up his records. It did say that in school, he was training to be a Seer, but that was before he took a strong attachment to numbers. That means that he must have some Inner Eye, right? The oddest thing is that Gray never bothers to tell me this in secret, he tells it to the entire Ministry! Most of the men scoff, and tell me that he's probably gone off of his rocker from age, but I'm not so sure. Help me Albus! Once again, I have no idea what to do.
On a lighter note, Gringotts has had exceptional inspections lately...
Conversation between Vernon Dursley and Harry Potter, July 18, 2004.
Harry: Umm, Uncle Vernon?
Mr. Dursley: Eh?
Harry: I'll be leaving within the next two weeks.
Mr. Dursley: Leaving? Oh, that's right. Good riddance, then.
Harry: I'm going to pack now.
Mr. Dursley: Don't let the door hit you on the way out.
A radio broadcast from WIZ, the Wiz, July 20, 2004.
Wendy Walyla: That was 'Wizardly Wonderful', by Selena Warbeck. You're listening to WIZ, the Wiz! And now, for news with Jim Jayne!
Jim Jayne: Thank you Wendy. Actually, some disturbing news tonight.
Wendy Walyla: Oh no. Has Cornilius Fudge lost his toothpicks again?
Jim Jayne: No....
Wendy Walyla: Have the muggles found out about us yet?
Jim Jayne: No...
Wendy Walyla: Has...
Jim Jayne: WENDY!!
Wendy Walyla: Oh. Sorry Jim. Carry on.
Jim Jayne: Thank you. As I was saying, some Seers have been seeing some terrible things in their crystal balls lately.
Wendy Walyla: Uh-oh.
Jim Jayne: Yes, it's been said that the Dark Lord is going to make a comeback, and take over wizard-kind. The Seers say that they have adequate proof that this is going to happen, as the bad vibes in the air are continuing to worsen, and the visions are becoming more frequent. Us dedicated newsfolk at the Wiz will keep you informed as the situation unfolds. Wendy?
Wendy Walyla: Thank you, Jim. The Wiz will be right back, after a word from our sponsors!
Announcer: Do you have troubles getting the fingerprints off of your crystal balls? Well, worry no more, because it's Slip'n'Shine to the rescue......
Wendy Walyla: You don't actually believe in all of that crystal ball Seeing and junk, do you?
Jim Jayne: Not really, Wendy. I took Divination when I was in Hogwarts. I didn't see any truth in it. I don't think we have anything to worry about at all.
Conversation between Sibyll Trelawney and Albus Dumbledore, July 31, 2004.
Professor Trelawney: Albus! Albus!
Professor Dumbledore: Good Heavens, Sybill! What's the matter?
Professor Trelawney: The wizarding - no, the entire world - is in great peril!
Professor Dumbledore: Oh. So I see.
Professor Trelawney: You're mocking me, Albus.
Professor Dumbledore: I most certainly am not.
Professor Trelawney: Yes, you are.
Professor Dumbledore: Well, you have to admit, you busting in here unexpectedly and telling me that the world is going to end isn't exactly easy to swallow, now is it?
Professor Trelawney: Have I ever steered anybody wrong?
Professor Dumbledore: Sybill, you predict the death of a student every year, and there has yet to see one die.
Professor Trelawney: Just hear me out.
Professor Dumbledore: That's what I'm here for. Go on.
Professor Trelawney: Now that Harry Potter has left Hogwarts, we are in danger! You-Know-Who is going to try a comeback! Please, Albus, I'm serious this time!
Professor Dumbledore: ...
Professor Trelawney: Albus, I swear on a stack of seeing books, it's a real prediction this time. You can also ask any other seer you like.
Professor Dumbledore: All right, all right. I'll look into it, I promise. Please, though, Sybill, I have to address these envelopes to the new first years.
Professor Trelawney: Very well, Albus. I'll leave, if you insist. But, pretty soon there won't be a Hogwarts for the first years to come to, if you don't act soon.
Conversation between Macnair and Lord Voldemort, August 2, 2004.
Mr. Macnair: Everything is ready, my Lord.
Voldemort: Very good. Now, please elaborate on what is going to take place? You ninnies haven't explained it well enough to me yet, and you leave your leader confused.
Mr. Macnair: Yes, sire. Zambini is working on a potion right now that will make you a new body shape; a temporary one. As long as you have some of the potion, you will have a body. Eventually, we can arrange for a human carrier, like you normally have had before, except for this one would conform to your own wishes.
Voldemort: Go on.
Mr. Macnair: We have also magicked all of the Seers, sire. They all have predicted the end of the world as your forthcoming. Of course, nobody believes them. We're hoping that this would create a reverse psychological effect, which will make people less aware of your presence than ever before, leaving them more venerable to attack.
Voldemort: Very complicated. Are you sure you blockheads won't screw it up, as you have before?!
Mr. Macnair: Yessir.
Voldemort: Any ill effects?
Mr. Macnair: No, sir. Wait, I take that back.
Voldemort: You're trying my patience.
Mr. Macnair: Sincere apologies, my Lord. The only bad thing that happens is that the potion that gives you a body results in some - ah - climatic occurrences.
Voldemort: What do you mean by that?!
Mr. Macnair: There will be some drastic weather changes. But nobody should be able to trace the whereabouts of the potion, unless they are looking for the exact kind of potion we are making.
Voldemort: And the chances of that are....?
Mr. Macnair: Incredibly unlikely, to say the least.
Voldemort: Very well. Have you found an accomplice within Hogwarts yet?
Mr. Macnair: Oh yes. That Professor Flitwick was easy to brainwash.
Voldemort: You are dismissed.
Exert from a letter from Albus Dumbledore to Cornilius Fudge, August 4, 2004.
...And in response to your earlier question concerning Mr. Gray, a rather curious thing has happened to me lately. Just the other day, Professor Trelawney burst in here, and gave me a prediction that was about the same thing as Mr. Gray's. It's rather upsetting, as most Seers never See the same things as other Seers. All the same, I remember reading somewhere that you can possess crystal balls, and tarot cards to make them predict what you want them to say. The last time a prediction like this was made was four years ago; when it was predicted that the end of the world would come on January 1, 2000, on the stroke of midnight. Many wizards and muggles alike held their breath for the end of the world, and it never came. On the wizarding part, it turned out to be a giant hoax, compliments of an angry witch that was furious with a Seer. I don't know what it was on the muggle basis, but that's a different story. I'd just wait it out, and see what becomes of it.
That's great to hear that Gringotts has gotten great inspections lately. I told you that if you increased their budget, they would do better...
Letter from Ron Weasley to Harry Potter, August 4, 2004.
Harry-
Can you come over by tomorrow? Dad's research is done, and he says that he is looking forward to seeing you again. So is everybody else. Honestly, Harry, you must have gotten some of the Potter charm, since my entire family is completely hooked on you. Too bad you couldn't have been born a Weasley; you probably would have been the favorite. See you tomorrow, I suppose.
-Ron
News report, television BBC, August 4, 2004.
Anchor: And now for weather with Susan Jai.
Susan Jai: Thank you, Carylon. Actually, some rather interesting news today. There have been reports of odd green and red clouds floating through the blue skies of London. Whenever we send a weather balloon up to check on it, the balloon dissipates into nothing! Meteorologists all over the world are baffled tonight, as this strange phenomenon continues.
Carylon Aremi: Certainly strange, Susan. All right, back to the top story of the day. A small boy falls out of an eleventh story window.... and survives to tell about it! More details with Alan Almond in the helicopter BBC. Alan?
Conversation between Professor Flitwick and Professor Dumbledore, August 4, 2004.
Professor Flitwick: Albus? Have a moment?
Professor Dumbledore: I suppose. It wouldn't be the first time that my letter addressing would be interrupted.
Professor Flitwick: Well, this won't take long. I just wanted to say that... that...
Professor Dumbledore: Well? What's the matter? Are you ill?
Professor Flitwick: That...
Professor Dumbledore: Are you all right? You don't look well. Why are your eyes glowing so?
Professor Flitwick: Slephern Metaphor!
Professor Dumbledore: What....?!
Professor Flitwick: What happened to me? Where am I? Albus? Albus?! Oh my God.... What did I do?
Mrs. Bulstrode: Move, you short fool!
Professor Flitwick: I just killed Albus Dumbledore! Oh, oh, oh...
Mr. Parkinson: Shut up! You didn't kill him, now get out of our way!
Professor Flitwick: Never! You evil, vile, heinous....!!
Mrs. Bulstrode: Do you honestly think that names matter anymore? For the last time, move!
Professor Flitwick: No.
Mr. Parkinson: Little stump of a guy has guts. Oh well. Sorry, Professor, I hope this won't hurt my daughter's grade any... Slephern Metaphor!
Professor Flitwick: How... could... you.....?
Mrs. Bulstrode: Move him out of the way. We have to report this to the Master... did you take care of the other professors?
Mr. Parkinson: Goyle and Crabbe were assigned to do that part. If they screw this up, it's not our doing. We need to report this, now.
Conversation at the Weasley residence, August 4, 2004.
Mr. Weasley: Molly, what are we having for dinner?
Mrs. Weasley: I don't know yet, I haven't fixed it. Patience is a virtue, dear.
Mr. Weasley: Now when you're hungry, it isn't!
Ginny: Harry's coming tomorrow! Harry's coming tomorrow!
Ron: Yes he is, but if you act all obsessive, than he'll want to go back to his aunt's house, I reckon.
Fred: Hey, Mum? What's that green stuff outside our window?
Mrs. Weasley: You tried that one on me yesterday. Nice try, boys.
George: Umm, no, Mum, we're serious this time...
Ron: What are you two talking about? There's no green... oh. I see.
Ginny: Mummy! There's weird stuff on our window!
Mr. Weasley: Wow. Amazing. They're not kidding this time, Molly...
Mrs. Weasley: It's a conspiracy! Oh, all right, I'll humor you, I suppose. Even though they'll be nothing... Oh my God.
Ginny: What happened to the lights?
Ron: They just... went out.
Fred: Another intelligent observation from Dr. Stupid.
Ron: Oh, shut up.
Mr. Malfoy: Hello. Such a nice evening, don't you think?
Mr. Weasley: Lucius... I knew it would be you...
Mr. Malfoy: Oh really?
Mr. Weasley: Don't you dare hurt my family, Lucius...
Mr. Malfoy: Would I do such a thing?
George: Probably.
Mrs. Weasley: George! Quiet!
Mr. Malfoy: I wouldn't.... Unless your brats don't shut up.
Ron: You want to talk about brats? I can think of a Draco Malfoy that could fit into that category...
Mrs. Weasley: Shut your trap, Ron.
Ron: I'm only human. I couldn't resist.
Mr. Malfoy: I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that... Say good night.
Mr. Weasley: I'm warning you... don't hurt the kids, Lucius, please.
Mr. Malfoy: I didn't plan on it.
Mr. Weasley: You... didn't...?
Mr. Malfoy: Nope. I was ordered to, but I don't think I will.
Mr. Weasley: Then what do you want?
Mr. Malfoy: Nothing really.
Mr. Weasley: ...
Mr. Malfoy: Good night. Slephern Metaphor!
Mr. Weasley: I.. didn't... think... this was a... friendly... visit...
Mr. Malfoy: They're asleep. Take em' away.
Cart loader: Right-o.
Mr. Malfoy: Well, Weasley, I didn't hurt your kids. Wasn't that the only requirement?
A telegram, found in the street by an anonymous muggle, August 5, 2004.
YOU-KNOW-WHO HAS STRUCK STOP ABANDON ALL HOMES AND TOWNS AT ONCE STOP FLEE TO THE MUGGLE WORLD STOP BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE STOP GOD GO WITH US STOP
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A/N: ^_^;; Well, I decided to try something different... please don't review saying this lacks emotion, that's the way it's supposed to be... No, the rest of the parts will not be like this... I just decided to try something a little different. *grins* I told you that this wouldn't be fluffy...
~Moxie ^_^
Disclaimer: I do not claim to own any characters in this story, save the news anchors, and the radio deejays. That good? ^_~