73. Meetings
When Minerva Apparated to the Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix for the first time, she happened to do so at the exact same moment as another Order member. In theory, there was enough room on the front step of number twelve Grimmauld Place for two people to stand there comfortably. But the other witch seemed to find it difficult to catch her balance. Probably because she was flailing her arms around unnecessarily. Quickly, Minerva reached out to stop her from taking a tumble down the stairs.
"Thanks, Professor," the younger witch breathed. "Didn't see you there."
Minerva recognised her immediately. Not because she had known to expect her but because of her shockingly violet, spiky hair. "Hello, Nymphadora."
Her eyes widened and she snapped, "Don't call me…!"
She never got to finish that sentence before a third person appeared on the steps. They were now becoming somewhat crowded.
"Will you stop shouting, you bloody fools!" growled Alastor Moody and clamped a hand over Tonks' mouth.
Minerva was about to protest that she had done nothing to warrant such an admonishment, but she realised that Moody had a point. They shouldn't linger outside of the house like this for much longer. She pushed open the door and stepped inside a dark hall.
The other two followed her. Moody took great care to close the door behind him carefully, but his efforts were in vain when Tonks wondered loudly, "Why is it so dark in here?" and then cried, "Lumos!"
Two things happened almost simultaneously. The tip of Tonks' wand lit up to illuminate the hallway and somebody to Minerva's right began to scream. Curtains flew open to reveal the portrait of a haughty-looking woman who was shouting so furiously at them that her face was turning red.
"Now look what you did!" roared Moody. "I swear I don't know why I ever agreed to train you or how you managed to complete the Auror training programme at all."
"Oy, no need to get personal, Mad-Eye. It's not my fault the house is screaming at us. All I did was turn on the light!" Tonks defended herself, raising her voice to be heard.
Meanwhile, Minerva hoped that Albus had remembered to add Noise Cancelling Charms to the protection of the house, so the Muggle neighbours wouldn't hear all this ruckus.
Finally, there were hurried footsteps and Sirius Black came running to meet them. His face was contorted in anger, but it was directed at the portrait, not at them. He struggled with the curtains for a moment, then closed them and managed to put an end to the screeching.
Panting heavily, he said, "Sorry for the rude welcoming. If you come down into the kitchen, we can talk. If we're too loud in here, Mother will just start up again."
"That's your mother?" Tonks repeated without hiding her curiosity or trying to be tactful. "Merlin's pants, I always thought it wasn't a big surprise that you went off the rails. Anyone who had to live with that side of our family tree would have. Of course, you never actually went crazy and murdered all those people, did you? But I'm just saying, it would be perfectly understandable if you had."
They all stared at Tonks with varying degrees of surprise and disbelief. "Er, thanks. I think?" said Sirius eventually.
"You're welcome! And it's great to finally meet you, seeing as you're not a murderer and we're first cousins once removed." Tonks stuck out her hand. It seemed to Minerva that Sirius could have either been offended or amused by her behaviour.
He chose the latter and shook her hand. "Oh, you're Andromeda's kid?" He looked at her curiously, especially at her hair, and laughed. "Of course you are! We have met before, actually. I guess you were too young to remember and you were still figuring out your Metamorphmagus skills back then. You were in a bit of a rainbow phase. Looks like that hasn't changed much, eh? But your mom was always my favourite cousin. In fact, she might have been the only member of the family I liked."
Tonks beamed at him. "Yep, she's great, as long as she doesn't have to give you a name. Anyway, I was worried for a while that they might not let me become an Auror because I was distantly related to such a famous criminal."
"Sorry if I made things difficult for you. I tend to do that to people," Sirius said wryly.
"You were not the reason why she almost failed to become an Auror. You can trust me on that," Moody chimed in and he made a shooing motion that reminded them to move along to the kitchen like Sirius had suggested.
"Why did you almost fail then?" Sirius asked.
Before Tonks could answer, there was a loud crash as she tripped over something heavy. It turned out to be an umbrella stand and it also provided Sirius with an answer to his question. Tonks was still every bit as clumsy as she had been when Minerva had taught her back at Hogwarts. No other student had ever caused so many accidents in her classes, though Neville Longbottom was currently giving Tonks a run for her money.
The crash woke Mrs Black all over again and forced Sirius to hurry back to the ranting portrait. As he did so, the front door opened and another member of the Order entered the hall and stopped dead when he surveyed the scene before him. Tonks was lying flat on her face, being helped back up by a mumbling Moody, while Minerva was picking up the knocked-over umbrella stand and Sirius was fighting with his howling mother.
Severus Snape looked as though he was sorely tempted to make an about-turn and leave before anyone had properly noticed him.
But Moody's magical eye had known about his presence all along and Tonks was now on her feet again, grinning at them sheepishly. Sirius managed to quieten Mrs Black once more, turned around and froze when he saw who was standing right behind him.
"Oh," he muttered, "I didn't realise my dear old mum was right this time. I really should be more careful who or what I invite into this house."
"Don't worry, Black. I have no desire to spend any more time in this, er, house than I have to. Dear me, I was told you were given the job of cleaning this place," Severus sneered, casting a critical look around.
"I decided not to bother, knowing that you would just make everything greasy all over again," Sirius retorted.
The tension between the two men was so thick that Minerva wondered how Albus expected them to be in the same room for longer than a minute, let alone work together. He must have hoped that their common enemy would be of greater importance to them than their dislike for one another, even as deep as it undoubtedly still was. She cleared her throat. "Shall we go down to the kitchen now?"
"Is he here yet?" Severus looked directly at her. Apparently, he thought that Minerva was the most likely person to know about Albus' whereabouts. Much to her dismay, he thought wrong.
"I don't think so, no," she replied curtly.
Again, Severus looked as though he would have preferred to wait outside, but that would have been stupid and downright dangerous. He had no choice but to follow the rest of them into the kitchen.
A couple of old and new Order members were already there and a round of introductions followed. In Minerva's case that wasn't really necessary. Everyone there knew her. She had taught almost all of them at some point or another or at least met them before in some other capacity. That realisation made her feel terribly old all of a sudden. It also made her feel sick to her stomach – to watch while Arthur and Molly silently held hands, Tonks talked amicably with Remus and Bill Weasley asked Dedalus Diggle how they had done things last time while Hestia Jones leaned in to listen eagerly. They were all too young to fight and, God forbid, to die in a war such as the one that was surely coming.
Albus was the last one to arrive without explaining why or where he had been. Personally, Minerva kept hoping that he would show up with the news that he had found a new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. But when their eyes met across the room, she could tell from the expression on his face that they had no such luck.
"I want to thank you all for being courageous and selfless enough to come tonight – and also for trusting me rather than the Daily Prophet," Albus said by way of a greeting.
"They wrote about you again today, about the speech you gave in front of the International Confederation of Wizards," Remus said, perhaps assuming that Albus didn't have the time or didn't bother to read the paper anymore. Minerva had certainly stopped doing so. It was sheer self-preservation. She would have spontaneously combusted if she had continued to read that rubbish. "It was brave of you to announce Voldemort's return like that in front of everyone."
Remus was one of the few people Albus had convinced to speak the name. Most of the others in the room flinched just as uncomfortably as Minerva did. Albus ignored their reactions and he was right to do so. They were here to fight that monster after all. They shouldn't cower in fear simply because someone spoke his name.
"It wasn't brave at all," Albus contradicted. "It needed to be said and I believe in always telling the truth if I can."
"But they kicked you out for saying all that, didn't they?" asked Tonks carefully. "You're no longer Supreme Mugwump, are you?"
Albus inclined his head. "That is also true, yes."
"Was it worth it then? After what happened with the Wizengamot a reaction like this was to be expected, and now you've lost all of your influence internationally." Kingsley Shacklebolt's voice was deep and calm. There was no hint of an accusation. He was merely looking at this from a strategic point of view. He had always been a reasonable man, even back in school, and Minerva was not surprised that he was now an accomplished Auror. And a valuable new member of the Order.
Nevertheless, Minerva couldn't stop herself from bristling. "It's not Dumbledore's fault that the entire Confederation of Wizards decided to act like spineless, scared, little…"
Her voice trailed off when Albus quieted her with a discreet look. She swallowed her words, but she was still seething with anger and she didn't bother to hide it. It hurt her more than Albus, it seemed, that the Ministry did everything they could to discredit him.
"Some of them did believe me, I think," Albus went on. "I was voted out of the Chairmanship by Ministry wizards only. Most of them are just scared and for good reason. We shouldn't judge them too harshly and we shouldn't burn any bridges we may need later. If they choose to do so, we can't stop them, but we shall always be ready to reach out a hand in friendship should they reconsider."
"That's big of you," Tonks said admiringly. "I heard they might take away your Order of Merlin, too. Can they even do that? I mean, they can't pretend like Grindelwald didn't exist either, can they?"
"That I cannot tell you. But they would find it very difficult to take back my Order of Merlin since I don't even know where it is. I think I used it as a paperweight once." Albus glanced at Minerva as though he was honestly curious if she knew the whereabouts of his Order of Merlin. He seemed blissfully unaware that everyone else gaped at him. It was Minerva's turn to give him a pointed look. "What I'm trying to say is that I care very little about awards and titles. As long as they don't take me off the Chocolate Frog Cards, that is. Last I heard I had nearly made it into the top five of the most popular cards."
Tonks laughed loudly. Several others like Sirius and Remus grinned. But some of the new members who didn't know Albus very well seemed to wonder if the Daily Prophet was right about him being off his rocker.
Noticing those looks of uncertainty, Moody said, "Perhaps we should return to the matter at hand – talk about the Order, not you."
"We shall, indeed," Albus agreed lightly. "But if you do have questions about me, don't hesitate to ask. I will answer them to the best of my abilities. None of this will work without trust. Between all of us." His eyes lingered on Sirius and Severus a little longer than on anyone else.
"We trust you," said Arthur, his voice quiet but unwavering. "And we're all here because we're willing to do what it takes – for our children and a future that's worth fighting for. So how do we do that?"
"Well, it so happens that Voldemort is also wondering how to bring about a future that he deems desirable. I have long suspected and Severus has been able to confirm," Albus nodded graciously towards the Potions master, "that Voldemort has decided that the first thing he needs to do is to obtain some prophetic insight."
No one understood what he meant by that, other than Severus, who looked very pleased to be in the know.
"There's a room in the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry called the Hall of Prophecy. It contains exactly what it sounds like. Records of every prophecy ever made. One of these prophecies talks about the connection between Lord Voldemort and Harry Potter."
A shocked silence filled the kitchen while Albus continued. "Since Voldemort has failed to kill Harry on multiple occasions, always to his detriment, he now believes that he needs to hear the rest of this prophecy before he can try again."
"The rest of it?" Sirius asked shrewdly.
"Yes, he has already been told some of it but not all," Albus replied.
Perhaps Minerva was imagining this, but the look of superiority on Severus' face had not only vanished instantly, he now looked ashen and extremely tense, as though about to launch himself at Albus.
Entirely unconcerned by this odd behaviour, Albus went on, "Voldemort is convinced that hearing the full prophecy will help him to understand his previous mistakes and so he is quite desperate to get his hands on it."
"He can't just walk into the Ministry and get it himself, though that would make it a lot easier to convince everyone of his return," said Sturgis Podmore, one of the Order members who worked at the Ministry.
"Indeed. He will most likely send one of his supporters. Someone who's frequently seen at the Ministry and thus won't raise suspicion. Or he will try to overpower and use an actual Ministry official. What Voldemort doesn't know as of yet," Albus glanced at Severus, who, having relaxed a little, gave a curt nod, though he still looked slightly sick, "is that all of these attempts will be futile. The prophecies can only be lifted from the shelves by the very people to whom they refer."
"That's a stroke of luck. You-Know-Who can't go in, but could we send Potter in to get it?" wheezed Elphias Doge.
Arthur shook his head. "Fudge would never allow it."
"Thankfully, we don't need to get to the prophecy at all. We just need to keep it out of Voldemort's hands," Albus explained. "To that end, we must start to post a guard."
"Fudge won't go for that either," Arthur warned.
Albus' eyes gleamed. "I wasn't planning to involve him in this decision."
"Easier to ask forgiveness than get permission, eh?" snorted Mundungus Fletcher. Regrettably, he was still a member of the Order because he was still useful in his own ways.
"Please excuse my being blunt, but I do not intend to ask Cornelius for either one. Not unless he decides to come to his senses."
"Then we'll need an Invisibility Cloak," growled Moody, "and we need to be bloody careful about how we're going to do this."
"Which makes you the ideal person to supervise the matter, Alastor," Albus suggested.
Moody nodded only too willingly. "About time I make myself useful after lying locked up in my own trunk for almost a year."
"Oh, there's more than enough work to be done," Albus assured them all. "And more that needs protecting than just the prophecy. I would also like to ask some of you to watch Harry."
"Do you think he's in danger?" Molly asked, speaking for the first time. Minerva thought it was fitting that she had chosen the subject of Potter's safety. She had practically adopted the boy into her family, probably would have adopted him for real if anyone had let her. "Didn't you say You-Know-Who won't try to hurt him just yet?"
"I did, but that is only a guess, albeit an educated one. I could be wrong or things could change. The risk is entirely too great. And sadly, Voldemort is not the only one who could prove dangerous to Harry. As I've told you on a previous occasion, Harry must stay with his aunt and uncle and he can't do any magic until he's safely back at Hogwarts. That is of the utmost importance." He paused to make sure that everyone had heard and understood. "Arabella has been kind enough to keep an eye on Harry all these years. But under the circumstances I want someone else there to assist her if need be."
"You can say it, Dumbledore," said Arabella Figg without hesitation. "We need someone who can actually do some bloody magic."
Albus nodded at the elder woman, who, being a Squib, must have been brought to the meeting by one of the witches or wizards in the room, possibly at Albus' request. He had always said that, Squib or not, Arabella had every right to fight for what she believed in and hence to be in the Order.
"If you would just tell Harry's aunt and uncle to get a dog, I could be with him around the clock," Sirius suggested. The longing in his voice was unmistakable – the longing to be with his godson or simply to be anywhere but in this house. Minerva felt for him and she wasn't the only one.
"It could work," Remus chimed in to support his friend. "Muggles get dogs all the time. Sure, Sirius isn't an average-sized dog, but if he promised to behave more like a normal dog..."
"I always behave myself," Sirius lied through his teeth.
"Uh-huh. You would have to walk on a lead and everything..."
"I've made bigger sacrifices than that," Sirius joked and shrugged his shoulders. But there was hope in the gesture as well.
It made Albus heave a sigh. Minerva could tell that he didn't want to say no to Sirius, but that he was about to. "We have talked about this, Sirius. How long do you think it would take until Voldemort would send one of his Death Eaters to do some spying of their own? And then, once they would have recognised you, would find a way to tell the Ministry about your whereabouts?"
Muttering a curse under his breath, Sirius' shoulders slumped. "Why am I even in the Order if there's nothing I can do?"
"You have given us a new base of operations," Albus reminded him kindly, though his words had little to no effect. "That is not nothing. Your presence here is of great use to us. Should our other means of communication fail, all messages can run through these Headquarters, meaning you."
"Then we will keep meeting here?" Emmeline Vance asked and looked dubiously around the dank kitchen.
"It'll look a lot better next time, I promise you." Molly did her best to sound cheerful. "Arthur, the kids and I are staying here for the summer. They keep saying that they want to help so they can help brighten this place up."
"Thank you, Molly." Albus smiled at her. "It's also as safe as we could want it to be. No one but me can divulge its location, which is not a sign of distrust but a means of protecting all of you. If you wish to make absolutely sure, you can Apparate directly onto the front step and no one shall see you arrive."
"And for the love of Merlin, try to be quiet in the hall until we can figure out how to get rid of my mother," Sirius added, sounding thoroughly annoyed.
So far Severus had been content to bask in the glory of being their primary source of inside information. He now gave a sudden snort.
"Got something to say?" Sirius hissed at him.
"Not to someone who can't even manage his own household," Severus replied smugly.
It was the wrong thing to say to someone who was already upset about being a prisoner in his own home. "You know, I was going to blast a hole in that bloody portrait later, but perhaps I should practise on you first!" Sirius snapped and rose to his feet.
Severus was about to do the same, but Albus said, "Sit down," in a voice that was calm but dared anyone to defy him. "Bickering amongst ourselves like this serves no purpose other than to weaken us further. I don't think it's too much to ask to be kind to one another and to respect the rules of this house. To be quiet upon entering sounds like common courtesy to me."
The atmosphere in the room was somewhat stiff and awkward after that.
Kingsley was cool and collected enough to get them back on track. "This prophecy you mentioned can't be all He Who Must Not Be Named is after."
"His second priority is of course to rebuild his army," Albus answered as though nothing had happened. "As far as we can tell, he's being very cautious about that. He hadn't planned on Harry escaping from the graveyard this June and telling us all about Voldemort's return immediately. It has given us the chance to match his movements and to tell as many people as possible the truth about him. Arthur, you have already done a marvellous job in convincing Kingsley and Nymphadora..."
"Don't...!" Tonks interrupted him instinctively and then cringed when she realised that it might not be up to her to tell Albus Dumbledore what to do.
"My apologies," Albus replied politely and finished his sentence, "... Miss Tonks, who does not wish to be called by her beautiful given name, to join our ranks. Please continue to talk to everyone at the Ministry whom you consider trustworthy. They don't have to join the Order. But every ear and heart that is open to us is closed to Lord Voldemort."
"Of course," Arthur agreed.
"We have a good idea what Voldemort is planning, but to ensure that we're not caught unawares and to find out who the other side is trying to recruit to their ranks, we should keep an eye on any known Death Eaters as much as possible. I assume I can ask you to take on this task, Minerva, at least until school starts? Since the Ministry has forfeited its chance to make use of your services as a feline spy."
She raised a brow in surprise. Albus had nearly managed to say that without choking on the words. "Naturally," she replied without further comment, not making this any harder than it had to be.
"What about Voldemort himself?" Sirius asked, breaking his sullen silence.
Severus leaned forward in his chair and said with a sneer, "I believe that is my responsibility."
"Is it now?" Sirius' voice was dripping with contempt. "Then why don't you tell us where he is so we can end this right now?"
"Do you honestly think that you are a match for the Dark Lord?" Severus scoffed.
Sirius' eyes narrowed. "Listen to you. Calling him the Dark Lord. Are you quite sure you haven't switched sides, Snivellus?"
Severus' eyes flashed in response to the derogatory nickname, but the smirk on his face remained. "If I had, I would hardly tell you, now would I?"
Minerva had spent enough time around the Head of Slytherin House to know that he had simply made a very poor joke. Others in the room were less sure and began to murmur worriedly.
Recognising the need to intervene, Albus raised his voice slightly. "Severus has only returned to Voldemort's side upon my request and at great personal risk. He cannot reveal Voldemort's place of hiding because he doesn't share that information freely. Also, it would be extremely unwise for us to attempt to overpower him and expose Severus' loyalty to us unless we were absolutely certain that we would succeed."
After a beat Dedalus Diggle asked, "But you would, wouldn't you? Be able to defeat him? For good, I mean?"
Albus was quiet for a long time. No one said anything as they waited breathlessly for his answer. Minerva was the only one who didn't want to hear it at all. The thought of what they expected Albus to do made her heart tighten in her chest.
"Lord Voldemort is no ordinary man," Albus said eventually. "And so his evil cannot be fully eradicated and he cannot be killed like an ordinary man. Certainly not at present. For now, all we can do is to stop him from spreading his terror from the shadows and force him out into the light before he gets even more power."
For once Minerva breathed a sigh of relief when she heard one of Albus' half answers. No one else dared to question it either.
The meeting came to an end not long after. Molly invited everyone to stay for dinner. Sirius opened his mouth and Minerva was sure he was about to uninvite the one person who didn't even wait for him to do so. Severus Snape left the house first. Albus excused himself as well and Minerva decided to follow his example so they could return to Hogwarts together.
Once they were back home and could not be overheard by anyone, Minerva sat on the sofa and mused, "This prophecy... you know what it says, don't you? That's why you're not interested in us getting to it, only in keeping it away from him." She had guessed as much earlier in the meeting, but she hadn't said anything because Albus had obviously not wanted to share that information with everyone. But Minerva wasn't everyone.
Albus did not pretend otherwise and after a pregnant pause he said, "Yes. It was made in my presence."
"By whom? Who makes the kind of prophecies you believe to be true?" She looked at him in bewilderment. She had heard about the Hall of Prophecy before, but she had never put much stock in such things and neither had Albus. Or so she had thought until now. If both Albus and You-Know-Who thought this prophecy was worth listening to, then it had to be the real deal.
"I don't think you really want to know that," Albus said evasively.
"What's that supposed to mean? Of course I... No!" Minerva jumped to her feet, having just realised something – something she truly wished she hadn't. "Not her!"
Albus chuckled. "I did try to warn you."
Minerva buried her face in her hands. "Urgh, it all makes sense now."
"What does?" Albus asked, sounding almost alarmed.
"Why you were willing to discontinue the subject of Divination one minute and then turned around and hired that woman to teach! Sybill Trelawney makes real prophecies..." Minerva would have preferred to believe that pigs could sprout wings and fly. "But she keeps prophesying that Potter is going to die!" Minerva remembered and a sudden panic welled within her.
Albus rested a hand on her chest, slowing her frantic heartbeat immediately. "She has no memory of making the real prophecy. Everything she has predicted since then, with one exception, has been a different kind of prophecy. Much less, ah, reliable."
"Oh, so you're saying that most of the time she's still a fraud," Minerva replied with an odd sense of relief. She could go back to despising her then.
Albus read her mind and smiled at her with a mixture of exasperation and fondness. That smile froze on his lips, however, when he saw Minerva's next question forming.
"What does it say?"
"There's a reason why only the ones the prophecy refers to can touch it. It's meant only for their ears. Although it's a bit more complicated in this case."
"I'll say. You've heard it and it's not your prophecy," Minerva pointed out.
"At the time Harry wasn't born yet, so I was a stand-in of sorts," Albus argued.
Frowning slightly, Minerva thought about this and then she relaxed. "I can respect that because today you respected and trusted me enough to let me work for the Order."
Albus laughed humourlessly. "Oh my love, after all these years you must know that it's not a question of trust but of how utterly terrified I am of losing you."
Minerva lifted a hand and ran a soft finger along his brow. "You didn't look terrified during that meeting. You looked completely sure of what to do and how best to do it." Everyone in the room had been willing to follow his lead and they had drawn strength and hope from him. Minerva had felt that very clearly and she was thankful for it but also a little wary. She knew it wasn't that easy.
"That is generally the best way to lead. Expecting people to follow you when you're trembling with fear seems hardly fair," Albus said ruefully.
"Not trembling with fear," Minerva corrected him, "but it's only natural to feel some of it. I would be a lot more concerned if you didn't admit to having doubts."
"Because you see all of me and you love me still and that is why I need you." Albus dropped a sweet kiss on her lips – an unnecessary but appreciated expression of his gratitude. "Tonight I'd prefer to share something other than my doubts, though." He walked over to the dinner table and reached for a bottle of wine. "Aberforth gave it to me," he explained.
"Why wasn't he at the meeting?" Minerva asked as she joined him to look at the bottle more closely.
"He's willing to help if we need him. Until then he prefers to keep to himself."
That answer sounded exactly like something Albus' brother would say. He didn't seem to enjoy being around other people – despite having chosen to be a barman. "This is for celebrating," Minerva said, referring to the expensive bottle of wine. "What is there to celebrate?"
"I suppose it was Aberforth's idea of a joke because of my recent fall from grace in the eyes of the public."
Minerva noticed the grimace on Albus' face and she didn't like it. Without saying anything, she went into the bedroom and rummaged in a drawer she had just unlocked. When she returned, she set the Order of Merlin, First Class, on the table next to the bottle of wine.
A smile ghosted across Albus' face. "I thought you might have hidden it somewhere."
"I did. Because I know you never wanted it, because you were never proud of what you did. But this award doesn't say that you're a bloody hero. It says that you always do what's right, even if it's the hardest thing you ever had to do, and that if you make mistakes, you'll own them and you'll fix them. If that is the kind of man our government thinks deserves all this ridicule and defamation, then I would rather fall to the fiery depths of hell with you than stay in anyone's good graces."
The light in Albus' eyes burned before he briefly looked away from her to pour two glasses for them. "If that's not a reason to celebrate, then I don't know what is."
It was an unofficial Order meeting with only a handful of members present that Mundungus interrupted when he burst into the kitchen – his chest heaving, his eyes bloodshot and wide with fear.
"We got a problem," he managed in between quick breaths. "A darn big one."
"Yeah, because you shouldn't be here, Dung," Sirius snarled. "You should be watching Harry."
"Right, that, uh, it's complicated, er, you see… I was…"
"You left your post?" Albus interrupted him sharply.
Mundungus blanched. "My shift was only until midnight and I wasn't gonna go far. Nothing had ever happened before... how was I supposed to know there'd be bloody Dementors!?"
"Dementors?" Sirius croaked, the colour draining from his face as well.
"Potter's fine, though, and so is that fat cousin of his," Mundungus hurried to say. "From what Figgy said, Potter did a better job of fighting off the Dementors than I ever could have."
"Clearly, since you failed to follow even the simplest of instructions. Not to let Harry do magic, to say nothing of letting him be attacked on your watch," Albus replied in cold fury before he stood up and headed for the door.
Mundungus whimpered and covered his head with his arms as though he expected a beating. Albus brushed right past this pathetic sight. Oh, he was angry all right, but he couldn't lay all the blame at Mundungus' feet. He had always known what sort of man Mundungus was, had recruited him for that very reason, and so he should have also known that he wasn't trustworthy enough to watch over Harry. But the Order didn't have enough members yet and they needed all the help they could get.
"Are you going to talk to Harry?" Sirius asked anxiously, having followed Albus towards the front door.
"No. I'm going to talk to Cornelius."
Sirius paused, taken aback. "Why?"
"Because this is exactly what he's been waiting for." Albus stepped outside, twisted on the front step and Disapparated.
The first person Albus ran into at the Ministry was Arthur Weasley. "Thank Merlin you're here! I wasn't sure what to do. Fudge is beside himself with glee. He personally saw to it that the letter informing Harry of his expulsion was sent right away. Now he's trying to decide if he should confiscate Harry's wand in person rather than to send someone else."
"I figured that idea might appeal to him," Albus nodded grimly. Striding towards the lifts, he added, "Will you please send Harry another quick owl telling him that he's to stay at his aunt and uncle's and not to do any more magic or hand over his wand to anyone."
He saw Arthur nod his head before the doors of the lift closed. Albus willed it to go faster until he finally stepped out on Level One and walked right into Fudge's office.
"How in the name of Merlin's pants...? You can't just...! What are you...? You're not supposed to be here!" The Minister for Magic sputtered.
"I apologise for the intrusion, Cornelius," Albus said in a voice that was as polite as he could muster. "But since you have decided to usurp my authority, you leave me no choice but to reject yours in return."
"I have no idea what you're talking about!" Fudge claimed. His eyes told a different story. They seemed to go back and forth between excitement and fear.
"Did you not just inform Mr Harry Potter that he has been expelled from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry?" Albus pressed.
"Not me personally, but he has been sent a letter from the Improper Use of Magic Office, yes."
"Then it seems I must remind you that no Ministry employee, not even the Minister for Magic himself, has the right to expel students from Hogwarts. That right lies solely with the headmaster, which is to say, me."
Fudge stared at him. A flicker of annoyance visibly crossed his face. "Be that as it may, convicted criminals are not allowed to attend your school. We just took the liberty of informing the boy of his expulsion for you."
"You're right, of course. We do not teach convicted criminals at Hogwarts," Albus agreed. "Luckily, Harry is neither one nor the other."
"Not a criminal?" Fudge exclaimed, struggling to look tall and commanding. "He performed a Patronus Charm in a Muggle-inhabited area in the presence of a Muggle! I know you always have the most ludicrous explanations and outrageous lies at the ready to justify this boy's behaviour. But not even you can deny that this is a serious breach of the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery and the International Confederation of Warlocks' Statute of Secrecy."
He sounded as though he had rehearsed this. It was proof of how eager he was to use this opportunity he had been given. He also seemed completely surprised by this. It was thus unlikely that he had orchestrated the Dementor attack.
"I don't deny that a crime was committed tonight, but it remains to be seen what that crime is exactly or who the actual perpetrator was." Albus eyed Fudge closely, searching for any hint that he knew more than he was letting on.
The minister gave a false laugh. "Let me guess. You think that You-Know-Who took a little stroll through a Muggle town, accompanied by two Dementors, and decided to kill a random Muggle boy. Potter was only there by accident, of course."
"While Lord Voldemort is certainly capable of random acts of violence and murder, no, that is not what I believe," Albus replied calmly. "And as for your previous allegations, I'm sure you're aware that Clause Seven of the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery states that…"
"You don't have to quote the law at me!" Fudge interrupted him irritably. "We're not in court!"
Albus smiled at him serenely. "Exactly. And so consequently, Harry can't have been convicted of any wrongdoing just yet. Until such a time, I have no right to expel him from Hogwarts just as the Ministry has no right to destroy his wand. Innocent until proven guilty, Cornelius."
Fudge went red in the face as he tried to come up with a way to get what he wanted and didn't find one. "Fine!" he spat in Albus' face. "Potter is only suspended. But don't you think for a second that you'll get him out of this, Dumbledore! We'll get to the truth at his disciplinary hearing in a few days!"
"Of that I have no doubt, Cornelius. In my experience, the truth always prevails." Slowly Albus wiped some of Fudge's spittle from his face and left.
Arthur was still waiting for him in the atrium. "How did it go?"
"Harry's safe from further persecution until his hearing," Albus told him.
"Oh, that's good, or at least somewhat better. Gives us time to figure this out. What do you think happened? Who sent those Dementors?"
"I don't know and this is not the place to talk about it," Albus said quietly and walked briskly towards the exit. It was a risk for Arthur to be seen talking to him at all, even though it was well known that they were on friendly terms.
Arthur knew that, but right now it wasn't his own safety he was thinking about. "Of course, you probably want to go and explain everything to Harry."
"He'll get another official letter very soon, telling him that he's not expelled just yet."
"A letter? But surely you can't mean to…" Arthur stopped and reached out to pull Albus to a stop, too. Albus' brow furrowed in surprise, but Arthur seemed determined to say his piece. When he looked at Albus, he did so with the eyes of a man who was first and foremost a loving father. Even though, technically, he wasn't Harry's father. "Harry must be incredibly scared right now. Not to mention confused. He needs someone to talk to. I know you're trying to protect him by keeping him away from everything. But clearly it's not safe for him anymore. Isn't it time to let him come to… to London?"
Albus considered Arthur's plea in silence. No doubt he was right about Harry's emotional well-being. Until now Albus had been primarily concerned with keeping Harry alive and he had thought he had found the best way to do that. The arrival of the Dementors put that assumption in serious question. Albus didn't believe they had acted on Voldemort's orders. He trusted that Severus or Minerva or any other member of the Order currently spying for them would have warned him of such a plan. It hadn't been Fudge's doing either. He was delighted with it now but not brave enough to have come up with the idea.
That only made Albus feel more uneasy. There was someone else. Someone he couldn't name yet but someone who was diabolical and decisive enough to make an attempt on Harry's life. As long as they didn't have more information, there really was only one prudent course of action.
"All right, tell the others what happened. They'll be anxious to hear from us. And then ask Alastor to come up with the safest way to go and get Harry from his aunt and uncle's."
Arthur's expression relaxed into a smile and he hurried to get back to Grimmauld Place. After he had left the Ministry, Albus paused. For a brief moment he was sorely tempted to Apparate to Little Whinging. Just to see for himself that Harry was all right at the Dursley's. But once he was there and saw him, what was to stop him from going inside the house to talk to him?
He couldn't allow himself to do that. He would have to face Harry soon enough at the hearing. Until then Harry would be smart enough to stay inside. Unless, of course, his aunt and uncle had other ideas. Their son had been attacked by the Dementors as well. Albus could easily imagine that they weren't too happy with that or with Harry.
Yes, perhaps there was something Albus could do for Harry tonight after all. He would send Petunia a little reminder. A reminder that she was in the position to do something a lot of other people envied her for.
Bound by blood and promise, she could ensure that Harry Potter stayed safe.
A/N: This turned into a very long chapter, but it is a very long book, so I hope it didn't feel too long. Thanks for reading and leave me a review if you like.
