A/N: Yay I'm typing it! The next few chapters might be a bit slow in coming because hopefully, starting next week, I'll *finally* have a job, and the local school's Spring Break is next week, so I'll be babysitting my little brothers, *and* I'm having knee surgery soon. And I am now juggling three fics… this one, Living in Twilight, and a new one titled Naked Man in a Trench Coat. And I *really* need to finish another fic that I've been working on for a *really* long time to post on Through the Mirror. So yeah. The theme song for this chappy is "Inside Out" by Eve 6. This chapter isn't supposed to be funny… but I find it funny. Yep. I thought about waiting to post this until I got some reviews for my last chapter, so y'all got lucky.
Disclaimer: Obviously they're not mine, or I wouldn't be a starving college student/actress/dancer/writer, and I would have my very own set of redheaded Mr. Slaves.
Inside Out by Eve 6
{Chorus}
I would swallow my pride
I would choke on the rhines
But the lack thereof would leave me empty inside
I would swallow my doubt
Turn it inside out
Find nothing but faith in nothing
Want to put my tender
Heart in a blender
Watch it spend round
To a beautiful oblivion
Rendezvous
Then I'm through with you
I burn
burn like a wicker cabinet
Chalk white and oh so frail
I see our time has gotten stale
The tick-tock of the clock is painful
All sane and logical
I want to tear it off the wall
I hear words and clips and phrases
I think sick like ginger ale
My stomach turns and I exhale
{Chorus}
So Cal is where my
mind states
But it's not my state of mind
I'm not as ugly sad as you
Or am I origami?
Folded up and just pretend
Demented as the motives in your head
{Chorus}
I alone
am the one you don't know you need
Take heed feed your ego
Make me blind when you eyes close
Sink when you get close
Tie me to the bedpost
I alone
am the one you don't know you need
You don't know you need me
Make me blind when you get close
Tie me to the bedpost
{Chorus}
Now I'm through with you!
Rendezvous
Then I'm through with you
Chapter 11: Ice Pick
Dumbledore sat down at his desk with a very grim expression on his face. He had just gotten an urgent owl from the Ministry of Magic. He needed a meeting with the Order of Phoenix… *ASAP*.
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"I apologize for the suddenness of this meeting. However, I fear that it is necessary. Our Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, has been assassinated… with an ice pick," Dumbledore announced, his face drawn.
Exclamations of "An ice pick?", "What's an ice pick?", and "Whodunit?" were rampant.
"Yes, an ice pick. An ice pick is a sharp knife-like thing that Muggles use to breakup ice for drinking purposes. And witnesses say that the Dark Mark was seen over the Ministry this morning, so we can assume that it was a Death Eater," said the Headmaster, answering everyone's questions.
"But why would a Death Eater use a Muggle device as a weapon? It is widely known that the Dark Lord and all his followers hate Muggles," Sirius Black said, stepping forward.
"Yes, but it is a not so widely known fact that Fudge had an immense phobia of… ice picks," Dumbledore replied.
"The Ministry has asked me to either step into the position of Minister, or appoint someone of my choice. After much deliberation, I have decided to appoint Arthur Weasley as the new Minister of Magic," he continued.
"M-m-me?" Arthur stammered.
"Yes you, Arthur. You are the best man for the job. And because of the danger now associated with this position, you, Molly, Percy, and Bill will be joining the rest of your children here at Hogwarts," the old man said with a twinkle in his eye.
The four younger Weasley children looked absolutely horrified at this.
"You will be inducted tomorrow and will immediately move into the castle as our guests. I do have one request… I ask that your first order of business be to fully pardon Sirius here. Now, if you will excuse me, I have a dinner to eat and upcoming Halloween festivities to announce," the Professor said and left with the students and professors, while the rest of the attendees hurried through the corridors to the front door of the castle.
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"Students and staff, as you well know, Halloween is two weeks away. This year we will be doing something different. Hogwarts will be hosting a Halloween Masquerade. All students and professors are required to participate, and are encouraged to find a date. Costumes are *mandatory*, and Muggle characters are welcome. Now, on a darker note, our esteemed Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, has been ruthlessly murdered by one of the Dark Lord's followers. Tomorrow morning, Arthur Weasley will be inducted as the new Minister, and he and the remainder of his family will be joining us here at Hogwarts. Let's eat!" Dumbledore announced at the start of supper.
It was a morbid thought, but he couldn't help but think that due to Fudge's death, they might be able to get somewhere with this war.
He was just about to indulge in a nice bit of chicken, when the doors of the Great Hall swung open. Walking up the aisle was a young girl who looked to be around fourteen. She had long light brown hair and large jade eyes. She was clothed in a medieval-style Celtic dress, much like what the Snape women and Aeredhwyn (the elf representative in the Order of Phoenix) wore on a regular basis.
Vicious Snape stood up and said, "Ebony my dear, so good to see you… in human form…"
"Yeppy-doo. I will be staying the rest of the year," Ebony replied with a smile.
"Um… why?" Vicious inquired.
Ebony looked at her and said, very matter-of-factly, "Because Professor Dumbledore asked me to."
"Yes, it's so nice to see that you made it Ebony. Now, we must sort you," the Professor said, pulling the tattered old Sorting Hat out of one his many pockets.
He walked over to where Ebony was standing and placed the Hat on her head. After about a minute the Hat proclaimed that she was a Gryffindor.
"Ebony is a fifth year and will be joining the other Gryffindors for classes tomorrow," Professor Dumbledore announced as Ebony sat down next to Harry Potter at the Gryffindor table.
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"Arthur Weasley, do you solemnly swear on the beard of Merlin that you will uphold the laws of the Wizarding world, do all you can to defend the magical community, and seek justice with all your strength?" Albus Dumbledore asked Arthur Weasley the next morning in Diagon Alley.
"I do," Arthur replied.
"As the Minister of Magic, what will your first order of business be?" Dumbledore asked.
"I would like to exonerate an innocent man. Sirius Black is hereby fully pardoned and the Ministry will immediately commence in striving to apprehend the *real* culprit: Peter Pettigrew," Arthur announced.
There were many gasps and faces full of shock, but Arthur continued.
"As it should be obvious by now, He Who Must Not Be Named *has* risen again. We *are* at war. And we *are* fighting for our survival."
This brought mixed responses. Some wondered if Dumbledore had gone senile and were not entirely sure that Arthur Weasley was the right wizard for the position. He had barely had the job for two minutes and he was already pardoning the most wanted criminal in all the magical community, save You-Know-Who, *and* he was declaring war. Still, others thought it was about time that someone took some action.
Later that evening, Sirius joined the Great Hall for dinner. He would now be staying at Hogwarts to look after Harry. Severus Snape saw this as the perfect opportunity for a good taunting.
He strutted into the Great Hall, clad in a tight mesh fuchsia tank top, purple and pink striped crushed velvet tights, pink three-inch stiletto heels, and a bright pink weave in his hair.
He stood by Sirius and said in an I'm-so-cute-but-completely-flaming voice, "You're not bad… for a POOP-EH!!!", then kissed him deeply and passionately and sat down beside his wife.
Sirius didn't know whether to be flattered or disgusted… or both.
A/N: "POOP-Eh" is an inside joke, and mine and Caytin's word for "puppy." If you don't want to know, don't ask. I have the next (*counts on fingers*) three chapters all planned out. Chapter 14 is going to be *complete* insanity. Oh and I realized that I never gave the proper pronunciation for Vicious… it's pronounced VIH-see-us. ^_^