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Harry Potter and the Eye of Darkness

Chapter 4: The "No Darkness" Ceremony

A/N: I know it's been a long time, and this fic's gone too far for anyone to see it. I thought I'd write this chapter anyway, but I need at least a couple more reviews to continue. Enjoy!J

On the day of Fudge's ceremony, at around 6:00 pm, they prepared to leave. Harry put on his green dress robes, and Ron wore his new orange ones. ( which Fred and George had gotten him) At first, Ron's parents had had their doubts about Harry, Ron, Hermione, the twins, and Ginny going, for they were afraid they would believe the ideas Fudge was planting in everyone's heads. But they assured Mr. and Mrs. Weasley that they were there out of curiosity, that they knew Voldemort had returned, and that they wouldn't let Fudge talk them into believing otherwise. Mr. Weasley and Percy, as official members of the Ministry, had to go anyway. Mr. Weasley had warned Harry that Fudge would probably say a lot of things Harry didn't like, and that he would have to stay quiet and not object. Harry had agreed and had given Mr. Weasley his word.

The ceremony was to be in an enormous, fancy hall in the Ministry of Magic itself, and there would be music and food. It was generally like a normal party or ball, except that it was there for a purpose. Fudge had even given it a name: The "No Darkness" Ceremony.

The Ministry was located not too far from where the Weasleys lived, so they went walking, except for Percy, who just Apparated. As they approached the huge, beautiful building and went inside, many wizards who worked with Mr. Weasley greeted them.

One, and extremely tall wizard wearing dark purple robes, stopped them for a chat. 'Ahoy, there, Arthur!" he called, grinning widely from ear to ear.

"Marcus! What a pleasure to see you again! Everyone, allow me to introduce Marcus Destire. He works in the department of Wizard Safety and Health Care. Marcus, this is my wife Molly, my kids, Percy, Fred, George, Ron, and Ginny. And these are Ron's friends, Harry and Hermione.

"Pleasure to meet you all," said Mr. Destire. He suddenly caught sight of Harry, and his eyes did the familiar look up his forehead, and widened when he saw the scar.

"Blimey, Arthur- Harry, did you say? Surely not THE Harry Potter? That's you, isn't it, son?"

"Er, right," said Harry awkwardly, though he was used to this treatement. He managed a grin.

"Well, you can tell 'em , boy," said Mr. Destire. "you saw him, didn't you? Saw him come back?"

Harry shifted uncomfortably. Only his friends and a couple other close people had known the exact details of what had happened between him and Voldemort. He hadn't even described it all to Ron and Hermione until the summer, by letters. It was a sensitive subject, especially that he blamed himself for Cedric Diggory's death.

"Yes," said Harry. "But, er- the minister wouldn't believe a word of it."

Mr. Destire sighed. " I hear you, Harry. I'm one of those who believe it, and I'm supposed to convince everyone not to, considering my job."

"Oh!" exclaimed Hermione. "You're responsible for wizard safety, so you're forced to tell everyone that he's not coming back!"

"Yep," said Destire. " But in this way I'm endangering their safety more than preserving it, by keeping them off their guard. Still, I'm under orders from the minister. Nothing I can do. Anyway, I'd best be going. Lots of work to do. Catch you later, Arthur." And he rushed off.

There was still time for the ceremony to begin, so Mr. Weasley and Percy gave them a quick tour of the Ministry, with Percy babbling on here and there about how important he was in certain places. "Fudge's office is not far from here," he said, pointing. "Across the corridor and to the right. 'Course, you'd need an appointment beforehand to go in there. Well, I think it's about time for the ceremony. Shall we lead them to the hall, dad?"

As they followed Mr. Weasley and Percy to the Main Hall, where the ceremony was to be held, Harry caught a glimpse of a tall wizard storming out of Fudge's office. He looked extremely angry. He squinted for a better lood, but the wizard had disappeared. He sped up to catch up with the rest.

They reached the Main Hall, which looked magnificent. Enormous crystal chandeliers were hanging from the ceiling, and there were brightly lit candles everywhere, lightening the dim room. There was a stage with a podium on one side, and beneath it, small round tables everywhere, elegantly decorated, and loaded with delicious looking plates of food. The floor was golden, and a long red carpet led up to the stage. On the far left was a large balcony, which included a small stage loaded with music band equipment. The balcony was obviously a place for dancing.

More and more people started entering, and Harry recognized many people he knew, including their friend Seamus Finnigan with his family, Cedric Diggory's parents, and in a far off table, Harry noticed a couple of his professors. There was Professor Snape, the Potions Master and his least favorite teacher, and Professor McGonagall, the Transfiguration teacher and head of Harry's house. (Gryffindor) Both of them looked quite annoyed.

As they found a table and sat down, Harry spotted his least favorite people in the magical world, the Malfoys. Harry was surprised they'd even had the nerve to show up; the father, Lucius Malfoy, was a death eater, one of Voldemort's supporters. Harry had seen him himself along with all the other death eaters, obeying Voldemort's every command. His son, Draco, had been Harry's worst enemy ever since their first year. Along with all the other people who hated Harry, he was in Slytherin House, the house which had produced the darkest wizards alive.

Suddenly, there was a silence, and all the buzzing in the hall stopped. Cornelius Fudge entered the room, Albus Dumbledore by his side. Dumbledore didn't look too happy as he went to sit at the table with McGonagall and Snape. Harry supposed he was the one he's seen leaving Fudge's office.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Magic had stepped up on the stage and behind the podium. He was a short man, wearing his usual Pinstriped cloak and lime green bowler hat. He pointed his wand to his mouth, muttered something, then spoke, his voice magically magnified.

"Good evening, all! And I must say, I was pleased with the large amount of people who arrived. I didn't expect all of you to come. But of course, the more, the better. We are gathered here today for a reason. Now, it saddens me to say that our beloved community has begun to fall apart. If we don't take measures to prevent this, we will have noting left of all we have tried to restore for years, all because of rumors. Rumors, stories, and far-fetched lies."

Harry angrily sucked in his breath and opened his mouth, but Mr. Weasley placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. Harry controlled himself. Dumbledore, however, did not hesitate to make a funny coughing noise to express his disagreement.

Fudge glanced in his direction, opening his mouth to retort, then thought better or it and continued his speech. "I'm sure you have all heard of the disturbing news going around. I cannot believe that so many of you are falling for such lies. Our community prides itself on having honesty, trust, and good relationships. With such stories going around, all that will be gone. I suppose I have no choice but to say this directly to your faces." He paused. Then, "for those of you who don't know, there have been stories going around that the dark lord has risen back to power. Silly, made up stories that will surely put our community into a stake of fear and panic for absolutely no reason at all. I am here to guarantee the safety of each and every one of you, and to confirm that you-know-who has NOT, and will NOT return."

A buzz of murmurs filled the room; everyone was talking loudly.

Fudge held up a hand for silence. "Now, if you want to be even more convinced, a member from a department which is specifically made for the safety and health of all of you will speak to reassure you. Mr. Destire, if you please."

Marcus Destire stood up, climbed up on the stage, and stood next to the minister, behind the podium. He didn't look too happy about it, so he had obviously meant what he had said earlier.

"Hello, all," he began. (after magnifying his voice) As Mr. Fudge was saying, none of you have anything to worry about. As a representative of our department, I assure you that your safety lies in our hands, and you must trust us. Er- the dark lord hasn't come back. Now, if you'll excuse me, Minister, I have to step down."

Fudge smiled and started talking again. "There, you see! There you have it, right from the department of Wizard Safety and Health Care. Now, anything you are unsure of, anything you still have doubts about, please feel free to ask. Thank you."

A buzz filled the room again. Suddenly a witch stood up and shouted, " What about the kidnapping? The disappearance?! Surely you've heard of the incident, Minister!" The murmurs grew louder and louder. Harry, Ron, and Hermione exchanged glances. If it was Mrs. Figg's disappearance they were talking about, then she HAD to be a witch.

"Yeah!" shouted someone else. " What about Arabella Figg?" More shouts filled the air. " Did she just disappear into thin air?"

Mr. Weasley immediately spun around and looked at Harry. One look at him, and he knew that Harry had put two and two together and now he knew. Harry could have sworn even Dumbledore had glanced in his direction when Araballa Figg's name had been mentioned. So now they were certain she was a witch.

Meanwhile, Fudge was trying to find a way to respond to the audience, which was now talking as loudly as though in a big Quidditch game. "All right! ALL RIGHT!" he cried angrily. The room fell silent at once.

Fudge took a deep breath. " Just because there has been one disappearance doesn't mean that HE is back. It is purely a coincidence. If this is what you are saying, then I suppose every time a person dies or disappears, we shall say it is HIM. How ridicule!"

There were angry, disbelieving calls from the crowd now. Amos Diggory stood up. "WHAT ABOUT MY SON?! HE WAS MURDERED! DO YOU KNOW HOW, MINISTER?BY THE DARK LORD HIMSELF!" Diggory bellowed this angrily, then burst into sobs.

" Really, now, Mr. Diggory. Your son was killed accidentally in the third task of the Triwizard Tournament!"

This was too much for Dumbledore. He stood upabruptly, and everyone silenced for him to speak. Fudge folded his arms with a huff. Dumbledore spoke in his usual calm voice. " I would just like to mention something here. I have said this before, and I say it again: to say that Cedric Diggory has NOT died as a victim of Lord Voldemort is an insult to his memory, for he has died the bravest of deaths, and it is wrong to say otherwise."

Some people winced at Voldemort's name, as usual. But everyone seemed to be taking in what Dumbledore had just said. Arguing and fighting broke out among the hall, and there was total chaos. Ginny, declaring that she had a headache, went out to the balcony for some fresh air.

Diggory was now screaming, " We have a whitness! A whitness to poor Cedric's death! A whitness who was the one to bring his body back!" At this, almost every head in the hall turned to look at Harry. " He will tell you!" continued Diggory. " Come on up then, Mr. Potter!"

Now everyone was calling Harry to go up. Mr. Weasley put a protective arm on his shoulder. " Don't Harry, it's all right." Harry didn't want to either, but he had no choice, as the calls kept growing louder, and Fudge finally threw his hands up in the air and gestured for Harry to come up. He glared at the nervous boy as he reluctantly approached the stage.

But before Harry could say a word, a bloodcurdling scream filled the air, causing everyone to turn to the balcony and to look at Ginny Weasley.

Well, I hope that wasn't too long! I couldn't help putting a cliffhanger, btw.

Remember, review, review, review, or I won't continue L.

Ok, so in the end you're free(grins) but it's better if u do. For those of you who did, THANXJJ!!