Chapter 3: Trouble at the Ministry
Harry returned to Ron's bedroom pale as a Hogwarts ghost. He sat down on Ron's bed shaking, the conversation he heard chilling him to the bones. He started to tell Ron about everything he heard his parents discussing in the bedroom. Ron started to get paler and paler as Harry continued. Once he started talking he couldn't stop. He started to tell Ron about the mysterious gift he received and the dream he had before coming and the bad feelings he had about the egg Hermione found that no one had ever seen before. By the end, Ron was shaking in fear.
"Ha-ha-harry? Why didn't you tell me earlier about the dream and getting the mystery watch? Have you written to Hermione, Dumbledore or Sirius about this? They might know more about it." Harry was amazed with himself for not thinking about writing to Sirius, his godfather. Even though he knew that Sirius was doing something important for Dumbledore this summer, Hedwig never had any problems finding him.
"You're right Ron. I should write to Sirius about this. Hermione and Dumbledore will find out soon enough." Ron gave Harry a piece of parchment and he began to write the letter to Sirius, using the code name they had developed for him.
Dear Snuffles,
How are you? It's been a while since I've written to you. I hope whatever Dumbledore has asked you to do went well. My summer vacation has been going pretty good so far. I'm currently over at Ron's house to spend the rest of the summer vacation. An interesting gift came to me on my birthday. It was a watch with a basilisk fighting a gryffin on it. The note said that it belonged to my mother, but it was unsigned. I was wondering if you knew anything about it.
Keep safe and I hope to see you again soon, Harry
"There! As soon as Hedwig gets back from hunting I'll send off the letter to Sirius. Now don't worry about it. I'm sure either Sirius or Dumbledore sent it. Neither of them have signed any gifts that they have given me. You'll see." Harry wasn't so confident that Sirius or Dumbledore had anything to do with the watch whatsoever, especially after hearing the conversation between Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, but Ron seemed to regain some of the colour to his face so Harry pushed it out of his mind and tried to get some sleep. They still had the rest of the summer ahead of them and he didn't want to be worrying about a watch he received as a gift.
Early the next morning, Harry went downstairs after waking up. He didn't sleep well the night before with thoughts of being abducted by Voldemort again floating through his mind. Inside the Weasley's fireplace, Harry noticed a disembodied head floating amongst the flames. He recognized the head as being one of the members of the Ministry of Magic that he met last summer at the Quidditch World Cup, and father to Cedric Diggory.
"Listen Arthur, it is quite crucial that you talk to Albus about this. If he goes around doing whatever it is that pleases him, Fudge will have him removed as headmaster of Hogwarts. Then who will be left to protect Harry."
"I know Amos. Albus is very stubborn on this point. We all know that You-Know-Who has returned and Fudge is starting to see that he can't cover it up anymore. If anything, Fudge will have to step down as Minister for Magic if he doesn't start revealing the truth about what's going on. The Aurors have not worked this much since the last time You-Know-Who was in power. They're getting around three calls a night - "
"You don't even know the half of it Arthur. The Ministry is in a state of panic this morning. The Dark Mark was found over the house of You- Know-Who's latest victim. Fudge is preparing to speak to the Daily Prophet reporters right now. It does not look good for him."
"There's been another killing?" Mr. Weasley looked shocked and the great strain the entire ordeal was putting on him was quite clear. "Why was I not informed of this sooner? Who was it this time Amos?"
Amos Diggory paused for a moment, as if contemplating whether or not Arthur Weasley would be able to handle the information. "It was the Smyths over on the other side of London. All 5 of them were just lying dead on the living room floor in front of the fireplace. The Aurors believe that they were distracted by a visitor in the fire when a few Death Eaters came in. There is no sign of a struggle so whoever it was snuck in and hit them quickly with the Killing Curse. This is only the beginning Arthur. This is only the beginning." With that, Amos Diggory's head disappeared from the flames, and Arthur Weasley turned around to head back into the kitchen.
"Harry! My gosh, how much of that did you hear?" Mr. Weasley seemed even more strained now that he knew that Harry had overheard some of what he and Amos were talking about. He wondered how much Harry knew about what was going on this year.
"Not much Mr. Weasley. I just came in at the end." Harry began to flush with embarrassment. "I did however overhear you and Mrs. Weasley speaking last night." Arthur looked up in shock. "I was heading downstairs to grab a glass of water because I couldn't sleep and I heard you mentioning my name. I tried to ignore it and walk away but I also heard you mentioning something about You-Know-Who and I just couldn't move."
"Harry, Harry, Harry, I didn't want you to have to hear anything like that. I had wanted to tell you upfront so that you wouldn't be going around blundering into things you shouldn't be because you didn't know. I'm sure however, if you heard everything, you should know that Dumbledore has a lot of extra protection floating around Hogwarts this year to make sure that nothing happens to you. As long as you promise not to leave Hogwarts grounds you'll be safe."
Harry started to get a little bit nervous and looked as if he was hiding something from Mr. Weasley. "Is there something else you're not telling me Harry. If you know something, or if you had a dream again, let me know what it was about. I might be able to help you."
Harry debated whether or not Mr. Weasley would be able to help him identify either the animal that produced the egg or the watch. Soon Harry found himself revealing the entire story about how no one had ever seen anything like that egg and how he received a mysterious watch that was supposed to belong to his mother.
Mr. Weasley was startled when Harry mentioned the watch. "Do you have the watch with you now Harry?" Harry nodded. "May I see it?" Harry took it off his wrist and handed it to Mr. Weasley. The colour drained from Mr. Weasley's face. "Do you mind if I take this in to the Office and see if anyone knows what this is about?" Harry could tell that Mr. Weasley was hiding something from him, but he agreed to let him take it in to the Office and ask around. He left for work promptly, leaving Harry sitting at the kitchen table to think about the events that just transpired. He couldn't wait to get back to Hogwarts so that he could stop thinking about Voldemort trying to kill him. A strenuous Quidditch practice would leave him too tired to worry. He went back upstairs to Ron's bedroom to go to sleep for a few hours. His sleepless night began to catch up to him.
A few hours later, Harry and Ron awoke to shouting in the kitchen. It seemed as if Percy and Mrs. Weasley were fighting about something again.
"I'm beginning to worry about Percy lately. He's gotten really secretive lately. And we all know that he has a lust for power. I just hope he's not doing anything that can get him in trouble," Ron confessed to Harry. "He just hasn't seemed like himself lately."
"Percy? Get in to trouble? I don't think he knows how. You don't have to worry about Percy. He does everything by the book, and I doubt being evil is a regulation in the Ministry of Magic," Harry said with a grin to cheer Ron up. "I'm sure he's just under a lot of pressure at work with You-Know-Who being back. I bet those cauldron bottoms aren't as important as he thought they were," Harry snickered.
"But Mum! The Ministry is in upheaval, what with Fudge resigning and all. After the Daily Prophet found out that he had been covering up the return of You-Know-Who for so long, witches and wizards everywhere began to push for Fudge's resignation. With no one to lead them we are exactly where You-Know-Who wants us to be. Without a leader when we need one the most. I think Dad should run for Minister. He's what the Ministry needs right now." "No Percy! I will not allow you to try to convince your father to run for Minister. He's already working around the clock. Becoming Minister for Magic would be the death of him. Yes, he would be quite capable of handling the job, and he is what the Ministry needs right now, but being Minister is not what your father needs right now. He's old. He's getting frazzled. Let someone else, someone who's younger take up the position. Do not go putting fancy ideas in to your father's head. Am I clear?" Percy stormed up to his bedroom.
"Fudge resigned his position?" Ron looked at Harry in surprise. "Who's going to be the new Minister now that Fudge is gone?" Harry and Ron discussed who could be replacing Fudge as minister over breakfast and then went outside to play Quidditch.
Harry returned to Ron's bedroom pale as a Hogwarts ghost. He sat down on Ron's bed shaking, the conversation he heard chilling him to the bones. He started to tell Ron about everything he heard his parents discussing in the bedroom. Ron started to get paler and paler as Harry continued. Once he started talking he couldn't stop. He started to tell Ron about the mysterious gift he received and the dream he had before coming and the bad feelings he had about the egg Hermione found that no one had ever seen before. By the end, Ron was shaking in fear.
"Ha-ha-harry? Why didn't you tell me earlier about the dream and getting the mystery watch? Have you written to Hermione, Dumbledore or Sirius about this? They might know more about it." Harry was amazed with himself for not thinking about writing to Sirius, his godfather. Even though he knew that Sirius was doing something important for Dumbledore this summer, Hedwig never had any problems finding him.
"You're right Ron. I should write to Sirius about this. Hermione and Dumbledore will find out soon enough." Ron gave Harry a piece of parchment and he began to write the letter to Sirius, using the code name they had developed for him.
Dear Snuffles,
How are you? It's been a while since I've written to you. I hope whatever Dumbledore has asked you to do went well. My summer vacation has been going pretty good so far. I'm currently over at Ron's house to spend the rest of the summer vacation. An interesting gift came to me on my birthday. It was a watch with a basilisk fighting a gryffin on it. The note said that it belonged to my mother, but it was unsigned. I was wondering if you knew anything about it.
Keep safe and I hope to see you again soon, Harry
"There! As soon as Hedwig gets back from hunting I'll send off the letter to Sirius. Now don't worry about it. I'm sure either Sirius or Dumbledore sent it. Neither of them have signed any gifts that they have given me. You'll see." Harry wasn't so confident that Sirius or Dumbledore had anything to do with the watch whatsoever, especially after hearing the conversation between Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, but Ron seemed to regain some of the colour to his face so Harry pushed it out of his mind and tried to get some sleep. They still had the rest of the summer ahead of them and he didn't want to be worrying about a watch he received as a gift.
Early the next morning, Harry went downstairs after waking up. He didn't sleep well the night before with thoughts of being abducted by Voldemort again floating through his mind. Inside the Weasley's fireplace, Harry noticed a disembodied head floating amongst the flames. He recognized the head as being one of the members of the Ministry of Magic that he met last summer at the Quidditch World Cup, and father to Cedric Diggory.
"Listen Arthur, it is quite crucial that you talk to Albus about this. If he goes around doing whatever it is that pleases him, Fudge will have him removed as headmaster of Hogwarts. Then who will be left to protect Harry."
"I know Amos. Albus is very stubborn on this point. We all know that You-Know-Who has returned and Fudge is starting to see that he can't cover it up anymore. If anything, Fudge will have to step down as Minister for Magic if he doesn't start revealing the truth about what's going on. The Aurors have not worked this much since the last time You-Know-Who was in power. They're getting around three calls a night - "
"You don't even know the half of it Arthur. The Ministry is in a state of panic this morning. The Dark Mark was found over the house of You- Know-Who's latest victim. Fudge is preparing to speak to the Daily Prophet reporters right now. It does not look good for him."
"There's been another killing?" Mr. Weasley looked shocked and the great strain the entire ordeal was putting on him was quite clear. "Why was I not informed of this sooner? Who was it this time Amos?"
Amos Diggory paused for a moment, as if contemplating whether or not Arthur Weasley would be able to handle the information. "It was the Smyths over on the other side of London. All 5 of them were just lying dead on the living room floor in front of the fireplace. The Aurors believe that they were distracted by a visitor in the fire when a few Death Eaters came in. There is no sign of a struggle so whoever it was snuck in and hit them quickly with the Killing Curse. This is only the beginning Arthur. This is only the beginning." With that, Amos Diggory's head disappeared from the flames, and Arthur Weasley turned around to head back into the kitchen.
"Harry! My gosh, how much of that did you hear?" Mr. Weasley seemed even more strained now that he knew that Harry had overheard some of what he and Amos were talking about. He wondered how much Harry knew about what was going on this year.
"Not much Mr. Weasley. I just came in at the end." Harry began to flush with embarrassment. "I did however overhear you and Mrs. Weasley speaking last night." Arthur looked up in shock. "I was heading downstairs to grab a glass of water because I couldn't sleep and I heard you mentioning my name. I tried to ignore it and walk away but I also heard you mentioning something about You-Know-Who and I just couldn't move."
"Harry, Harry, Harry, I didn't want you to have to hear anything like that. I had wanted to tell you upfront so that you wouldn't be going around blundering into things you shouldn't be because you didn't know. I'm sure however, if you heard everything, you should know that Dumbledore has a lot of extra protection floating around Hogwarts this year to make sure that nothing happens to you. As long as you promise not to leave Hogwarts grounds you'll be safe."
Harry started to get a little bit nervous and looked as if he was hiding something from Mr. Weasley. "Is there something else you're not telling me Harry. If you know something, or if you had a dream again, let me know what it was about. I might be able to help you."
Harry debated whether or not Mr. Weasley would be able to help him identify either the animal that produced the egg or the watch. Soon Harry found himself revealing the entire story about how no one had ever seen anything like that egg and how he received a mysterious watch that was supposed to belong to his mother.
Mr. Weasley was startled when Harry mentioned the watch. "Do you have the watch with you now Harry?" Harry nodded. "May I see it?" Harry took it off his wrist and handed it to Mr. Weasley. The colour drained from Mr. Weasley's face. "Do you mind if I take this in to the Office and see if anyone knows what this is about?" Harry could tell that Mr. Weasley was hiding something from him, but he agreed to let him take it in to the Office and ask around. He left for work promptly, leaving Harry sitting at the kitchen table to think about the events that just transpired. He couldn't wait to get back to Hogwarts so that he could stop thinking about Voldemort trying to kill him. A strenuous Quidditch practice would leave him too tired to worry. He went back upstairs to Ron's bedroom to go to sleep for a few hours. His sleepless night began to catch up to him.
A few hours later, Harry and Ron awoke to shouting in the kitchen. It seemed as if Percy and Mrs. Weasley were fighting about something again.
"I'm beginning to worry about Percy lately. He's gotten really secretive lately. And we all know that he has a lust for power. I just hope he's not doing anything that can get him in trouble," Ron confessed to Harry. "He just hasn't seemed like himself lately."
"Percy? Get in to trouble? I don't think he knows how. You don't have to worry about Percy. He does everything by the book, and I doubt being evil is a regulation in the Ministry of Magic," Harry said with a grin to cheer Ron up. "I'm sure he's just under a lot of pressure at work with You-Know-Who being back. I bet those cauldron bottoms aren't as important as he thought they were," Harry snickered.
"But Mum! The Ministry is in upheaval, what with Fudge resigning and all. After the Daily Prophet found out that he had been covering up the return of You-Know-Who for so long, witches and wizards everywhere began to push for Fudge's resignation. With no one to lead them we are exactly where You-Know-Who wants us to be. Without a leader when we need one the most. I think Dad should run for Minister. He's what the Ministry needs right now." "No Percy! I will not allow you to try to convince your father to run for Minister. He's already working around the clock. Becoming Minister for Magic would be the death of him. Yes, he would be quite capable of handling the job, and he is what the Ministry needs right now, but being Minister is not what your father needs right now. He's old. He's getting frazzled. Let someone else, someone who's younger take up the position. Do not go putting fancy ideas in to your father's head. Am I clear?" Percy stormed up to his bedroom.
"Fudge resigned his position?" Ron looked at Harry in surprise. "Who's going to be the new Minister now that Fudge is gone?" Harry and Ron discussed who could be replacing Fudge as minister over breakfast and then went outside to play Quidditch.