The authorities, both at Hogwarts and at the Ministry, had decided to not inform the Hogwarts students the next morning, figuring that they would read all about Slughorn's passing in the evening edition of the Daily Prophet. Harry had broken during the train ride. It wouldn't hurt to let Neville, Ginny, Luna and Ron know. After their initial shock, they all agreed that the person behind the poisoning was most likely the same one that had put Katie in St Mungo's.
Harry suspected Malfoy because it seemed like the sort of "task" the boy had been talking about. Especially if he was carrying it out for Voldemort. Even so, he wasn't sure Malfoy had it in him to take someone's life, even with poison. He wondered whether Slughorn had been the target for the necklace as well, as they knew for certain that Katie had just been part of the delivery. Slughorn had been on the run during the summer, he seemed to be an obvious target for Voldemort. So, Harry was sure that Malfoy had succeeded with his task.
After telling him what had happened with Slughorn, Ginny immediately began whispering to Harry about how it wasn't his fault. Ron probably agreed but he was still apathetic about most things. And Harry didn't feel as guilty as he might have expected. He couldn't be blamed for the fact someone had given Slughorn poisoned mead, this he knew. But he did feel guilty about apparently having given Slughorn a reason to try to drown his sorrows in expensive liquor. Even if Harry had left Slughorn shaken, Harry was reasonably sure that Slughorn had not committed suicide. But he could have gone about getting the memory differently. Had he been too rough, pressed too hard?
He would never know.
Saturday was spent mostly catching up with Mr and Mrs Weasley, talking about Slughorn and trading stories. When Ron went to bed early, Harry and Ginny gave her parents a larger explanation about what caused Ron to break down.
Then, on Sunday, an edition of Witch Weekly was delivered to Mrs Weasley, who had had a subscription for years. It featured an article, by a journalist Harry had not thought about in months, that had made Harry furious but also made him the target of a lot of good-natured ribbing from Ginny, and most likely the other Weasleys when they would show up for Christmas.
The Chosen One's Chosen One(s)?
Rita Skeeter
Harry Potter, 16, known as the Boy-Who-Lived, Triwizard Champion, the Chosen One, has now added yet another new nickname: Hogwarts Heart-Throb. After suffering the passing of his long-time off-and-on girlfriend, Hermione Granger, last summer, it seems the Boy-Who-Lived has bounced back.
Mr Potter was in attendance at a Christmas party hosted at Hogwarts Friday evening. Eye-witness accounts state that Mr Potter was enjoying himself in the company of two witches: Luna Lovegood, daughter of Xenophilius Lovegood, Editor of Entertainment Magazine The Quibbler, and Ginerva Weasley, of the Weasley family that has hosted the Chosen One for many summers.
Miss Lovegood, a small girl with overly large grey-blue eyes that give her a look that some might describe as 'unique', if not 'eccentric', was the one to accompany Mr Potter to the party. While interviewing Harry last year, this correspondent had the pleasure to meet Miss Lovegood. Miss Lovegood has a personality to match her look. While seen dancing with the blonde, Mr Potter, as may be expected, was mostly seen talking to Miss Weasley during the party.
Miss Weasley, who goes by the name 'Ginny', seems to be another new 'friend' of Mr Potter. With the fame, the money and the opportunities that come with being the Boy-Who-Lived, many will wonder whether this explains why Mr Potter spends so much time at the Weasley household during the summers.
The question remains, while Wizarding Britain has chosen the Boy-Who-Lived, who will he choose to be his Girl-He-Lives-With?
The article was accompanied by photos of the three of them, which weren't particularly flattering to either Ginny or Luna. It featured the same photograph of Harry that had appeared in the Quibbler last year.
The reasons for Harry's anger were fourfold. First of all, the way Skeeter had written about Ginny, misspelling her name wrong in the process, made it sound like the Weasleys were grooming the both of them to become a couple, to profit off of Harry's fame. Which was both demonstrably false and also hurtful toward the only real family Harry had ever known.
Secondly, the way Rita had describe Luna was less than complimentary. Sure, Luna wasn't traditionally beautiful by any stretch of the imagination but Harry didn't think her unique look was something bad. Harry would never judge people on how they looked, he knew how annoying it was to be stared at and gaped at. Everyone had something that made them positively stand out. In Luna's case, Harry liked her eyes. The silvery blue colour always seemed to hold so much mystery.
Thirdly, and related to Luna, he saw right through Skeeters' dig at the Quibbler. Calling it an "Entertainment Magazine" was insulting to both Luna and her dad, who took their stories seriously. Even though Harry agreed that most stories were quite out there, at the same time the Quibbler was not at risk of being influenced by the Ministry. After the interview he had done with Luna, he would always have a special fondness for the outlet.
And lastly, the mention of Hermione as his "long-time off-and-on girlfriend" hurt in multiple ways. The least of which was that it made Harry out to be some kind of major playboy, flirting with two girls only months after his supposed girlfriend had passed away, which then also made him out to be some kind of cold-hearted arsehole. He was also worried about its effect on Ron.
While Skeeter's article made Harry furious, it was another article published that weekend that had actually hurt him. It was published in the Daily Prophet the day before Christmas Eve.
Harry Potter possible suspect in death of Hogwarts Potion's Teacher?
Hogwarts was rocked late Friday night when famed Potion's Master Horace Slughorn was found dead in his office, just minutes after the end of his own Christmas Party (see Saturday's Evening Prophet for more information).
New eyewitness accounts now state that none other than Harry Potter was seen entering the Potion Teacher's office with him and then leaving alone some ten minutes later. Slughorn was then seen coming back into the party after Potter had left, to announce that the party would soon end. He was said to look distracted, nervous, and pale. A half-hour later he was found dead by Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, who was seen at the crime scene with Potter.
The Auror Department has been careful in saying whether Potter is suspected of anything. A spokesperson was quoted to have said: "Mr Potter is a person of interest due to eyewitness reports stating that he had been in the victim's vicinity the entire evening, even going into his private offices. We plan to bring in Mr Potter for a conversation at some point after Christmas."
The last two years rumours about Potter's mental stability have been rampant. This latest development might put a dent into the trust many citizens have in Potter.
Ginny had been indignant with rage. "Rumours were rampant?" she growled in unbelieving tones. "Only because this, this rag of a newspaper, was the one spreading it!"
It spoke to Mrs Weasley's ire with the paper that she didn't even admonish Ginny for shouting in the kitchen. She looked nearly as indignant as her daughter. It warmed Harry that they would defend him so vehemently.
That evening Tonks dropped by the Burrow. Her stated goal was to inform Harry about what was going on, but the way her hair turned brown when, Harry supposed, she saw that Remus wasn't there did show there had been a different primary goal for her.
"You are not seen as an actual suspect," she reiterated to Harry after they had been given some privacy in the Weasley's laundry room, "we have already established that the bottle of mead wasn't tampered with in at least the past week or so. So either it was poisoned while being bottled or it has been tampered with before you went into the office. Our biggest question right now is how the bottle made it into the castle, as everything and everyone should have been checked."
Tonks frowned and continued, "They do consider you a key-witness, though, because you were seen leaving with him. So they would have wanted to speak with you anyway," she sighed and looked at him seriously. "But King and I both agree that they will use the opportunity to press you about what Dumbledore is doing, and about whatever the Minister talked to you about last summer."
"Great," Harry answered sarcastically. "So, they are going to interrogate me about things that have nothing to do with Slughorn?"
"No," Tonks disagreed, "they will also want to know what you and Slughorn discussed. And I suggest you prepare an answer, not answering won't help."
"I spoke with Dumbledore last night, he said that you should stick to the story that you convinced Slughorn to show you memories of your mother," Tonks explained hastily, seeing the dismay on Harry's face. Then continuing: "And you met Dumbledore when you were making your way back to the Common Room after walking Luna," Tonks smirked, and wriggled her eyebrows, "to Ravenclaw tower."
Of course, the Headmaster had already come up with a plan, Harry thought. And it was a good plan as well. Harry had no idea whether they could check whether Slughorn had extracted a memory but he had, so that would hopefully explain it if they could. And, they had discussed Harry's mother, so he wouldn't even be necessarily lying. That could also explain why Slughorn had looked distracted and nervous if Harry had forced him to relive memories of his favourite student.
"Okay, thanks, Tonks," Harry said. Then, awkwardly, "er… how have you been?"
"As great as can be expected, I guess," Tonks said through a false smile. Even her hair flashed a bit lighter for a second. She then smiled mischievously.
"So, what's this I read about you having two girlfriends?"
Harry groaned.
–In Her Memory –
Even with everything that was going on, Christmas with the Weasleys at the Burrow was enough for Harry to let his troubles escape his mind for a day of two. Especially when Remus came to spend Christmas with them.
Harry had wasted no time to talk with him about what Harry had heard Snape say to Malfoy. Remus said that Snape was probably just trying to find out what Malfoy was up to. He also wanted to hear nothing about Dumbledore being wrong about Snape.
Christmas Eve was spent mostly updating the Weasley family about Ron, who had gone up to bed as soon as he felt he could. The Weasleys were naturally worried about his lethargy, even if Harry had the idea that they didn't all understand it.
After dinner they made their way into the living room, having quiet conversations with each other to distract themselves from Celestina Warbeck's voice, which was coming through the Wireless. When Fleur decided to imitate her, they all suddenly realized that it was time for bed. Harry was bunking with Ron again, Bill with Fred & George, because Remus got a room to himself. Which meant Ginny had to share her room with Fleur, something both seemed decidedly unhappy about.
Harry woke up the next day to a mountain of presents. Some of them were expected, like the books on dark creatures and defensive magic from Remus, and the jumper from Mrs Weasley. This year it featured a Snitch. Others were much less expected. Bill and Ginny had worked together and had come up with a tiny Rune he could carve into the inside of his glasses to keep them from being summoned off his face. Ginny told him later she had gotten the idea after Flitwick had summoned his glasses off. Harry, having no idea how runes worked, was thankful that the accompanying note said that Bill would carve the rune. It was a simple solution to a possibly large issue. He had been contemplating trying out contact lenses but the idea of putting stuff in his eyes did not appeal to him at all. So he was glad for this solution.
The Twins had given him a scroll with the following message:
Harrykins,
What you have before you is the latest version of the Instant-Letter, which is now in the late stages of rigorous testing. For this, we'd like your help. The only thing you have to do is take this one with you to Hogwarts and use it. We'll swap this one for the eventual finished product when it's done.
You know what the password is.
Merry Christmas!
Fred & George
Harry looked at the scroll with renewed interest. It featured two rods, one at the top and one at the bottom, that when turned made the message on the parchment move up and down, without the parchment itself moving.
Duly impressed, Harry tapped his wand to the parchment. "Mischief Managed," he murmured, and the two rods moved toward each other, closing the Instant-Letter. "I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good," he said, and the Instant-Letter opened again. Harry got a quill out and wrote, about two inches under their message:
Fred, George,
Considered me impressed! Thanks!
Now just think of a better name than "Instant-Letter", it's a mouthful!
Merry Christmas
Harry
The other presents included a pair of socks from Dobby, candy from Ron, and a book called Charming Witches from Fleur. A quick look through the contents made him blush.
"Ron!" he called loudly, seeing Ron was still sleeping, "presents!"
His friend shot up in his bed. "What?," he said groggily, clearly half-asleep. "Presents!" he exclaimed when he saw the small mountain of presents.
Harry smiled. It was good to see Ron so carelessly joyful for a moment. The feeling didn't stay long though, as something had clearly sparked a memory for Ron. While he did get up to unwrap his presents, he was frowning a bit while doing so.
Nevertheless, he still thanked Harry for the mountain of Chocolate Cards he had given him. He even smiled, probably thinking the gift was a call-back to their conversation last Summer.
Harry got up, pulled on his Weasley jumper and the socks he had gotten from Dobby (and hid Fleur's gift in his trunk) and made his way downstairs. Before the Christmas activities really started, he wanted to give his gifts to Dobby and Kreacher. Initially, he hadn't thought to give Kreacher anything, he wasn't sure whether that was something people did. But giving Dobby something and then not give Kreacher something felt wrong.
For Dobby his idea was easy. He had written Mrs Weasley and requested she make a Weasley jumper for Dobby. He even offered to pay her for it, but she hadn't responded to that particular inquiry.
For Kreacher, it also wasn't that difficult. There was only one thing that Harry could give him, that Kreacher actually wanted.
"Kreacher?" he called when he was in the living room.
A pop and there Kreacher was, looking cleaner yet again, but still scowling. "Master called?", he croaked.
"Hello, Kreacher, Merry Christmas," Harry said, a bit cautiously, unsure of how Kreacher would respond to well-wishes.
At first, he didn't respond at all. Then, cautiously and askance, "Merry Christmas, Master?"
"I've been thinking about what I should give you as a Christmas Present," Harry started. Kreacher immediately began muttering to himself. Harry thought he could hear something about good House Elves not getting presents, and Kreacher not wanting anything from him. But Harry just continued.
"There's only one thing I can give you, though, so I want you to go back to Grimmauld Place and pick something you want to have, as long as you show it to me so I can accept it," Harry said, talking over Kreacher's muttering.
Kreacher stilled at once and looked up at Harry with unbelieving eyes.
"Master wants Kreacher to…" he croaked, trailing off, with eyes wide and ears drooping.
"… go to Grimmauld Place and pick out something you want from there to keep, as your Christmas Present," Harry confirmed.
Kreacher looked so shocked that he forgot to answer before he popped away. Harry was secretly a bit scared that he had somehow broken Kreacher but he went on to call Dobby.
"Harry Potter, sir! Merry Christmas!" Dobby said almost immediately after popping into the living room. He had colour-coordinated his many different accessories: they were all Holly-red and Holly-green. He was also wearing a Christmas hat, making him look like he had walked straight out of Santa's Workshop.
"Hi, Dobby, Merry Christmas. Thanks for the socks!" he responded, lifting a trouser leg to show he was wearing them.
Dobby blushed and smiled so brightly it almost hurt Harry's eyes. "Harry Potter is wearing the socks!" he squealed happily.
"I actually have a present for you too, Dobby. I didn't know how to have it delivered, that's why I called for you," Harry explained. He grabbed the gift and gave it to Dobby. "I hope it fits," he said. Mrs Weasley had had no idea what size the jumper should be so she had guessed.
Dobby's wide eyes grew even wider, "A Christmas present!" he hastily unwrapped the jumper and his eyes moistened as he saw the jumper. Harry also looked at it with wide eyes. Apparently, Mrs Weasley had a bit of a mischievous streak herself: she had knitted a golden outline of Harry's hair, glasses and scar unto a crimson jumper.
Dobby immediately pulled the jumper on, which fell halfway to his knees. "It fits!" he beamed at Harry. Harry thought it looked more like a dress than a jumper, but Dobby had always had a unique sense of fashion.
A pop heralded the arrival of Kreacher. In his hands, he held a ring. "Master, is this…?"
"Merry Christmas, Kreacher," Dobby said happily. Kreacher ignored him.
Harry picked up the ring and examined it. It was quite heavy and seemingly made of silver. It featured the Black family crest. "What is it, Kreacher?"
"It is Cygnus Black the Second's family ring, Master," Kreacher said reverently.
"Cygnus?" Harry questioned, "who was he again?"
Kreacher explained in soft, almost loving tones. "Cygnus Black was Kreacher's first master, the third son of Phineas Nigelius Black, father of Pollux, Cassiopeia, Dorea and the bloodtraitor Marius," Kreacher didn't even sneer when he said that last part. Harry supposed it was some sort of muscle memory by now, to call someone a bloodtraitor. Kreacher continued, "After Master Cygnus passed away," Kreacher croaked sadly, "Kreacher became House Elf for Sirius Black the Second."
"So, this ring has sentimental value for you? Does it have any magic or anything like that?"
Kreacher shook his head, making his ears flap around. "Master Cygnus was never the Head of the House," he explained.
"Alright," Harry said easily, "in that case, Merry Christmas, Kreacher," and with that he handed the ring back.
Kreacher looked at it with wide eyes, as if it would disappear if he blinked. "Master is sure…?"
"Yes, Kreacher," Harry confirmed.
"Kreacher thanks you, Master, thank you," Kreacher said with bright eyes, before popping away.
Suddenly, something Sirius once told Harry, Ron and Hermione came to him, "if you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals". Whatever the reason, Sirius had not lived up to that sentiment when it came to Kreacher. Considering what Kreacher had done, Harry was proud he could rise above the mistakes of his godfather.
"Dobby thinks you made Kreacher very happy, Harry Potter, sir," Dobby weighed in. Harry smiled at him.
When he walked into the kitchen he was immediately swarmed by the Weasleys thanking him for his gifts. They were all wearing their jumpers, of course.
"Thank you for le vin français, Harry," Fleur said smiling brightly before hugging him, "It is one of my favourites!"
From some of the letters that Fleur had sent him, Harry suspected she was feeling a bit homesick, so he had had the idea of giving her a bottle of French wine. Furthermore, from the way Fleur kept him up to date about Gabriel in her letters, Harry knew she missed her sister a lot. And from the little interaction, Fleur and Ginny had had thus far, Harry had begun to suspect that some of the tension between the two found its origin there.
After Harry had explained what an amusement park was precisely (the Muggle Studies curriculum hadn't touch upon that), Ginny was very excited by his gift of a day at a Muggle amusement park. Harry's description of rollercoasters as a mix between the rides at Gringotts and a mechanical broom ride only made her more eager. Mr Weasley immediately invited himself as well. Supposedly, to ensure that Ginny didn't perform any faux-pas in communicating with Muggles, but most likely just because he was too interested to let that go.
Mrs Weasley hugged him tight to thank him for his gift. He had made them a voucher for a night on the town, paid for by him. Her eyes were bright as she complimented Harry on his thoughtfulness, because, yes, they had been quite stressed as of late.
Comparable, Harry realized, his gift to Ron seemed quite weak, if you didn't know that he had paid extra to get the Chocolate Cards he wanted. Luckily, Ron didn't seem to have noticed though.
The rest of Christmas day was spent with good food, good friends and with making good memories.
- In Her Memory -
The day after Christmas, Tonks came to the Burrow again. Officially she was there as an Auror to pick up Harry for his interrogation, she had volunteered to do so. Harry wasn't sure whether it was a good idea for her to openly acknowledge they knew each other. But he was glad either way that it was a friendly face picking him up.
Like the summer before fifth year Harry was feeling quite nervous. Sure, he wasn't at risk of being expelled this time, at least he didn't think so, but he was considered a key witness in a murder case, and he was likely to be confronted by Scrimgeour again. On top of that, the last time he'd been at the Ministery… Suffice it to say, there were many places he'd rather be.
Wearing refitted dress robes from Mr Weasley, Harry walked with Tonks across the Atrium. Harry didn't think dress robes were necessary but Mrs Weasley had insisted. The statue was repaired, and all the windows that had been broken were repaired. There were no visual reminders of what had happened there but Harry saw them everywhere anyway.
At least, they didn't need to head into the Department of Mysteries.
They took the lift down to the second level, where a voice announced they had reached the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. They made their way past the Hit Wizard office, the Improper Use of Magic Office and the Wizengamot Administration Services.
When they walked into the Auror Office, Tonks was greeted by her colleagues. Harry recognized some of them from their patrols at Hogwarts. Kingsley Shacklebolt didn't greet them, and Harry knew that even now the members of the Order tried to hide their allegiances.
A slightly grey-haired man with ditto facial hair made his way over to them. He was an older fellow but he was still powerfully built and his eyes had a sharpness to them.
"Mr Potter," the man greeted him, "I am Gawain Robards, head of the Auror Office. Glad to see you could make it."
It wasn't like I had a choice, Harry thought, but he politely greeted Robbard back.
"Shall we?" Robards said, showing him the way. Tonks squeezed his shoulder in reassurance. She had already told Harry that she wouldn't be able to come with him. Harry wondered whether Dumbledore would show up unexpectedly again. Probably not, considering he had already instructed Harry what to say through Tonks.
As they made their way to an interrogation room, Robards said: "Now, Mr Potter. Headmaster Dumbledore has already vowed for you, he and the Minister spoke directly. Therefore, as you should have been informed of, you are here as a witness. Here we are," he said, opening up the door.
Harry had his own interpretation of the situation. He was quite certain that if he only had to answer a few questions, they could have just sent an Auror to the Burrow or something. In any case, the interrogation room was unnecessary. It was probably just part of an intimidation tactic or something. And to get him somewhere he couldn't escape from, so he could be pressed by Scrimgeour again.
"Does the Head of the Auror Office usually deal with these kinds of eyewitness interviews?" Harry asked as he sat down in an uncomfortable steel chair. The shackles that hung from it rattled threateningly as he sat down.
Robards smiled indulgently at him. "No, Mr Potter. Normally not, but for cases that need a, delicate hand so to say, the Head is free to do so. Especially when the case involves someone famous," he said. Harry imagined Robards would have winked if had been a more jovial sort of person.
Harry's eyelid twitched anyway. The way Robards was talking to him and the way he said that the famous were treated differently robbed him the wrong way completely. But at this point, Harry wasn't even surprised anymore. Years of experience with the Ministry would make everyone that cynical. At least, he hoped so.
Robards sat down and opened up a binder, taking several different pages out of it. He took his time to peruse them, then looked at Harry.
"So, Mr Potter, you are here to answer some questions we have concerning the passing of Horace Slughorn, Potions Professor at Hogwarts. Throughout this conversation I'll be using a Dictaquill to record your answers," he began. Harry nodded.
"Before we start, would you like some tea? Or coffee?" Robards began.
"I'm fine, thank you," Harry said politely.
"Great, okay, let's start then. What can you tell me about the evening of December the 20th?"
Harry started explaining, beginning from when he entered the party with Luna. He skipped over the part where he had left the party to follow Malfoy. When asked, he explained, like Dumbledore had suggested, that he had gone with Slughorn to collect memories of Lily Evans.
"Why did Robbard not return to the party with you?" Robards asked.
"He was a bit distraught. My mum was one of his favourite students, and on top of that it reminded him of the current situation, I think. I assumed he wanted a moment for himself," Harry said, shrugging.
"And then what happened?" Robards prompted.
So, Harry continued with how he had gone back to the party, danced with Luna for a bit, then walked her back to the Ravenclaw common room.
"And then?" Robards asked, with a raised eyebrow and something akin to a smirk. Dirty old codger, Harry thought.
"Then I went back to the Common Room and met Professor Dumbledore on the way there," Harry finished.
"I see," Robards said neutrally. He looked over the Dictaquill notes and then the notes he had brought with him. Harry was beginning to regret not accepting tea or a glass of water.
"Eyewitnesses state that they saw you talking a lot with Mr Slughorn during the party."
"I did speak with him, sir," Harry confirmed.
"Just speak with him? Do you disagree with the sentiment that you spoke to him "a lot"?" Robards pressed.
"Professor Slughorn was keen to introduce me to some of the non-Hogwarts guests there, sir, so I did probably spend more time in his presence than most of the other guests," Harry agreed.
"Yes, that does sound like Slughorn," Robards muttered to himself. Harry wasn't surprised he had known him. Slughorn had taught at Hogwarts for a long time after all. The Auror shifted some papers and looked here and there.
"Statements have been made that allude to the fact that you left the party for a while," Robards continued.
"Besides what we talked about, you mean?" Harry asked
"Did you leave the party prior to leaving with Slughorn?" Robards clarified.
Harry hesitated. He could tell the Head Auror about his suspicions of Malfoy, but he was afraid of how that would reflect on him. Would they think that he was just trying to shift the blame? He also had the feeling that Dumbledore would say that he shouldn't, because of whatever Snape was up to.
"I did step out for a moment, yes," Harry said carefully.
"Why did you do that?"
"I needed to cool down, sir, I was afraid of messing up my 'date'", Harry said, miming quote marks with his hands. Harry saw Robards hiding a smirk, so he quickly added, "Because, Luna was explaining how you guys were conspiring to overthrow the ministry through gum disease. She called it the Rotfang Conspiracy. While I suspect the Ministry of many things, this theory seemed far-fetched, so I had to step out before I accidentally hurt her feelings," Harry explained. Sorry, Luna he thought.
Robards blinked quickly, an unbelieving look on his face. This time rather than feeling sympathy, Harry relished being able to throw someone off guard with one of Luna's theories.
"That's certainly … interesting," Robards said distractedly. "She's from the Quibbler, right?"
Harry nodded.
Robards didn't say anything, just kept looking at him. As the silence stretched Harry began feeling the need to continue saying something. But stubborn could have been his middle name so he waited it out until Robards spoke up again.
"And then you went back to the party to dance with your girlfriends," he said while jotting down some notes.
"They're not my girlfriends," Harry grumbled, but Robards wasn't listening to him.
"Mr Potter, you strike me as some who is clever and attentive," he continued. "Someone who likes to know what is going on. What do you think happened to Professor Slughorn?"
Harry sighed, "I think Professor Slughorn was a bit tipsy and felt sad after reminiscing about my mum. After ending the party, I think he went back to his office to pour himself a nightcap and then…" Harry trailed off.
"And then he drank poisoned mead," Robards finished. "Why would anyone poison Mr Slughorn's mead, any idea?"
Harry hid his surprise. Where they actually asking him for ideas? "Well," Harry said slowly, "as far as I understand he had been on the run for the last year or so. The fact that Hogwarts was a safe place was one of the reasons that convinced him to start teaching again."
"Do you know why he had been on the run?" Robards asked curiously. Harry suspected they already knew but just wanted to know how in the know Harry was. So he decided to answer with something that anyone could have come up with.
"Unless he greatly exaggerated his influence, Slughorn seemed to be a political or societal powerful man, and a great Potions master on top of that. He would have been a great get for anyone, I guess," he shrugged. "And he was Head of Slytherin for a long time so I assume he knows a lot about many Death Eaters," he added.
"Is that why Dumbledore rehired him?"
Harry pursed his lips infinitesimally. "I wouldn't know, sir,"
"Of course, you don't," Robards scoffed.
Harry answered a couple more questions until they heard a knock on the door.
Just like Tonks and Kingsley had suspected, Rufus Scrimgeour, Minister of Magic, entered the room.
"Gawain, Mr Potter," he greeted them. Turning to Robards, he asked: "Gawain, would you mind giving me the room for a minute?"
"Certainly, minister," and he got up, collected his papers and walked out, "Mr Potter and I were just finishing up here, anyway."
As the door closed, Scrimgeour sat down in the vacated chair.
"So, Mr Potter, we meet again," he said roughly.
"Indeed, we do," Harry said simply.
"How has your Christmas been?" the Minister asked politely.
"Fine, considering the circumstances," Harry answered honestly.
"Yes, yes, terrible news about Mr Slughorn," Scrimgeour said.
Harry didn't say anything and Scrimgeour's patience was clearly short.
"Now, Mr Potter, last time we met, we had a disagreement. I wondered whether you have given that discussion any more thought?"
"I have," Harry said.
"And?" the Minister pressed.
"I haven't changed my mind," Harry said firmly.
"I see," Scrimgeour said, looking at Harry.
"As a matter of fact," Harry continued slowly, "remember all the misgivings I had when we last spoke? You can add locking up Stan Shunpike to that list."
Scrimgeour's expression hardened.
Harry continued, "Just like you want to use me as a mascot, you're using Stan as a scapegoat," he stated flatly.
"Of course, you wouldn't understand," Scrimgeour said frostily.
"I think I understand perfectly well," Harry responded.
An icy silence spread between them.
"What is Dumbledore up to?" Scrimgeour then asked brusquely. "Where does he go, when he is absent from Hogwarts?"
"I have no idea," said Harry.
"And you wouldn't tell me if you knew," said Scrimgeour, "would you?"
"That's right," Harry confirmed with a smirk, "I can confirm that, one mustn't lie to the Minister, of course," he added, unconsciously clenching his fist.
The Minister looked at him from beneath his bushy eyebrows. "You do realize that I have the means to make your life very difficult, right?" He gestured to the interrogation room they were currently in.
Harry clenched his fist, "I do, and just the fact that you are saying it makes it even more unlikely that I'll ever play along with you," he snapped. Seriously, what was wrong with these Ministry people?
They looked at each other, long and hard. Finally, Scrimgeour said "Well, thank you for clearing up any questions the Aurors may have had, I'm sure you won't be needed again. Just remember any investigation can always be reopened." His voice held a small threat hidden in its neutral tones.
Well, that message was quite clear to Harry. Stay out of our way or else.
Harry made his way out of the room and breathed in slowly. Bloody hell. Scrimgeour might not be a coward, but he was still an untrustworthy bureaucrat if you asked Harry.
Tonks, who, going by the small pieces of parchment flittered around her cubicle, had clearly been stressing, looked up with relief when Harry approached.
"Everything okay?" she asked immediately.
"Sure," Harry said shrugging. Tonks nodded and stood up, together they walked towards the elevators.
As Harry and Tonks made their way through the Atrium toward the exits, someone walked into Harry.
"Ouch," the woman said, "I'm sorry, Mr Potter," Her curly blonde hair hid her face as she apologized profusely to Harry. Tonks had her wand in hand and was holding it actively, with narrowed eyes.
"It's okay," Harry said hastily and the woman fled. Harry watched her go, she seemed familiar somehow. But where did he know her from?
Then Tonks grabbed his shoulder and pulled him to the side, pushing him into a nook in the wall. She looked grim. "Quick, Harry, carefully check your pockets," she demanded in whispers, looking around the space behind them.
"What?" Harry said flabbergasted
"Check your pockets by touching them from the outside," Tonks said, "that woman did not walk into you by accident."
Harry blanched, swallowed, and carefully patted the pockets on his robed. There! As he patted the pocket on his right side, something crinkled.
"I think there's a note in there," he whispered to Tonks, who nodded and point her wand at the pocket.
"Can't be too careful," she murmured and began whispering spells until the note slowly drifted out of his pocket, drifting higher until Harry could read it. It held a simple but horrifying message.
Hermione's parents are to be obliviated in January.