Harry Potter and the Arch of Hades
Chapter 1: Nobody Loves You When You're Seventeen
THE DAILY PROPHET- July 1, 1997
Is Peter Pettigrew alive?
Recent sighting of a wizard that supposedly bears a great resemblance to the deceased hero (murdered by one Sirius Black) are being reported to the Ministry of Magic, most especially from survivors of Death Eaters attacks/raids. The Ministry states these claims to be ludicrous, especially considering the state of said survivors after the horrors of such an experience....
THE EVENING PROPHET- July 4, 1997
Mysterious Order of the Phoenix in jeopardy?
Reports say that Minister Fudge is furious with Albus Dumbledore, Hogwarts headmaster and supposed head of the aforementioned Order.
"Well, really," says the Minister, "I'm grateful to the Order for what it's done, but Dumbledore is making a certain ridiculous claim. He says that a certain person is innocent, and really, it's quite stupid, but I can't say anymore...."
In other news, another sighting of Peter Pettigrew has been reported...
WITCH WEEKLY- July 7, 1997
Is the Boy-Who-Lived Insane?
"Naturally," says a St. Mungo's worker who wishes to remain anonymous, "Aren't all saviors a bit mad? Just look at Dumbledore. In Harry Potter's situation, it's completely natural to lose your mind, what with all he's been through. I highly doubt he'd hurt anyone, though- except for You-Know-Who, of course....."
Letters to the Editors- July 14, 1997
Dear Witch Weekly,
You horrible people! How dare you accuse poor, innocent Harry of being mad! He's the most wonderful boy you'll meet, and he cares so much about all the people in this world. You have no idea what he has been through, don't you go accusing him of something again! It was bad enough when you cited Hermione Granger as his girlfriend; I can assure you that that is completely ridiculous; they're like brother and sister. If you write about that poor child ever again, I'll lodge a complaint with the Slander Office in the Ministry!
-Wicked Mother
THE DAILY PROPHET- July 17, 1997
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SIRIUS BLACK DEAD!
The Wizarding World rejoices! Word came out this morning that infamous murderer Sirius Black is, indeed, dead, but information as to how he came to this fate has yet to be released. Black was accused and found guilty of selling the Potters to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and orphaning the young Potter boy...
THE AFTERNOON PROPHET- July 17, 1997
NEWS FLASH!
Was Black innocent? A statement from the Order of the Phoenix seems to say so. The Order claims to have evidence attesting to Black's innocence, proof stating that Peter Pettigrew is indeed alive and that Black died a hero's death. The Ministry has yet to comment officially, but anonymous Ministry workers seem to be of mixed opinion.
"I went to school with Black, I did," says one fellow, "and 'e was the nicest bloke you could meet. 'S no way 'e really 'old the Potters to ol' You-Know-'Oo."
"Sirius Black, innocent? That is simply preposterous," another says, "and I am absolutely certain that any minute now the Minister will release a statement saying that it's all rubbish. He's supposed to be in a meeting with Dumbledore at the moment..."
THE DAILY PROPHET- July 18, 1997
No official released statement from the Ministry has gotten many people to wonder if Black was indeed innocent. The Minister's assistant undersecretary, Dolores Umbridge, says that the Minister and Dumbledore are still in a private meeting...
In other news, the Edinburgh branch of Gringotts was raided in an attack by the Death Eaters. Rumors of numerous deaths have yet to be verified...
THE DAILY PROPHET- July 19, 1997
Protesters have begun to picket outside of the Ministry as the third day of silence rolls around. The goal of the protesters is to get the Minister to speak. As of this printing, the Minister was indeed still within a private meeting with Dumbledore...
THE EVENING PROPHET- July 19, 1997
Attack on Hogsmeade!
There was a large-scale Death Eater attack on Hogsmeade this afternoon, just after three o' clock. The Death Eaters streamed into the village and leveled and plundered everything, leaving nothing in their wake. Families of the injured and deceased have been sent owls regarding their loved ones. Further details pending.
THE DAILY PROPHET- July 23, 1997
SIRIUS BLACK PROCLAIMED INNOCENT!
After a week-long meeting, Minister Cornelius Fudge and Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Percival Wulfric Brain Dumbledore gave a joint press statement- the transcript is as following:
Minister Fudge: "After an exhaustive meeting in which the two of us went through photographs, detailed accounts, and witnesses' statements, among other things, we have come to a conclusion.
Headmaster Dumbledore: "Sirius Black was indeed innocent."
Minister Fudge: "I hereby formerly strip one Peter Pettigrew of his Order of Merlin, First Class, and hereby declare him alive and in the service of the Dark Lord. He is to be considered armed and dangerous.
Headmaster Dumbledore: "Also let it be noted that Pettigrew is an Animagi. He can turn into what looks like an ordinary garden rat with one silver paw.
Minister Fudge: "Harry Potter is not to be pestered in any way with this information. The Boy-Who-Lived now has the right to owl the Ministry at any time in order to get rid of any reporters."
Headmaster: "Furthermore, Sirius Black is hereby formerly awarded an Order of Merlin, First Class, for a hero's death. He passed away fighting to protect Harry Potter."
Minister Fudge: "We ask that no one questions any of this. Thank you."
While delivering this speech, both the Minister and Dumbledore looked exhausted from their meeting.
One cannot help but wonder- if Black was indeed innocent, then who else has been falsely accused?
THE DAILY PROPHET- July 29, 1997
The Love Goddess's Corner- Aphrodite Waers
In two days, July 31, it is the Boy-Who-Lived's seventeenth birthday. This section of the Prophet hereby promises to bring to you an exclusive interview with the Boy-Who-Lived as soon as it is readily available....
His Hogwarts letter had arrived a bit early this year. He tilted his head, considering it- his last Hogwarts letter. It was much thicker than usual, and there was an unusually-shaped lump in the envelope.
It couldn't be.
There was no way he had earned it. He certainly didn't have the highest grades. He got into trouble constantly, and he wasn't a Prefect- although, he supposed, that didn't really matter. His dad had gotten it, after all, and he supposedly had a pre-set day of the week for detention.
He supposed that he should open the letter.
He tossed it onto his bed.
That summer, Harry Potter hadn't really given a damn about much. He'd barely answered the letters from his friends and girlfriend. When Sirius had been proclaimed innocent, he had given a damn about that- but instead of firing off letters to his friends, he'd simply allowed Hedwig to go out hunting, shut his window, and looked through his photo album all day.
He turned and considered the envelope again. He didn't want to admit to himself that he really did care about what was inside of it. Crossing his room in two quick steps, he flipped over the envelope and broke the seal. Turning it over, he let the contents of the packet fall onto his bed. A letter and two small badges fell onto the fraying bedspread. Flopping down next to them, he reached out and grabbed the smaller of the two badges. With a deep swallow that made his Adam's apple bob up and down, he flipped it over.
It was shaped as a plain oval. The background of it was a deep Gryffindor scarlet. Carved into the metal was an elegant gold "Q"- the badge the Quidditch captain wore.
With a small whoop, Harry tossed the badge into the air and caught it happily. He'd made Quidditch captain! He made a mental note to thank McGonagall when he arrived at school.
Hands shaking slightly, he reached for the other badge. With trembling fingers, he slowly turned it over.
The words "Head Boy" glinted at him, the crimson lettering standing out sharply against the gold background.
He fell backwards onto the bed. He'd done it. He'd really done it.
The year beforehand, Harry had worked especially hard to keep his grades up. Despite the distractions of the prophecy and the Golden Apple, he had managed to study almost nightly. By the middle of the year, his grades had rivaled even Draco Malfoy's. By the end, they surpassed his.
Lifting up the badge, he moved it back and forth slowly, allowing the light to catch it.
A slow grin spread across his lips.
He pinned it on his shirt and darted into the hallway, then bounded down the stairwell and leapt over the last four steps. His grin widened at the sound of the Dursleys making lunch in the kitchen. They may not have been magical, but they knew what a "Head Boy" was.
The doorbell rang. Harry seized the badge and unpinned it quickly, stuffing it into his pocket. He knew that his Uncle Vernon did not want the neighbors to see that Harry had gotten Head Boy of any school- Harry normally wouldn't have cared, but Vernon's office had been suffering from a sharp decrease in sales, and the ill-tempered man had become more prone to throwing punches at Harry. As nimble as Harry was, he knew that he would suffer if his uncle ever landed a blow.
The bell rang again. Harry reached out and swung the door open.
The first thing Harry thought of was that the visitor was completely gorgeous.
After that, he wondered why in all the hells she was visiting the Dursleys' house.
The woman was wearing black robes that more looked like a dress then anything else- it had a sweetheart neckline, the sleeves were belled and slashed and came to just below her elbows, and the ragged hem fell a considerable height above her knees. Black fishnet tights clung to her toned legs, leading down to point-toed red dragon-skin boots. Her long blonde hair had messy layers that fell over her shoulders, the bottom layers dyed red, and her blue eyes were rimmed in black. A crocodile skin handbag swung from her wrist. Her hands were covered in black gloves, and a black witch's hat with a floppy brim shielded her face from the summer sun. Her wand was slung in a leather holster on her hip.
Harry stared.
"Hello," the woman purred, "I'm Aphrodite Waers."
Harry continued to stare. He noticed that she was considerably shorter then him- and that was saying something.
"I write 'The Love Goddess's Column' in The Daily Prophet. Before this summer, the column was in Witch Weekly."
Alarm bells were going off in Harry's mind. He struggled to clear the fog that had overtaken him with great difficulty.
Her neckline was very low....
Aphrodite cleared her throat.
Harry shook his head, hard. "Uhm, yes," he mumbled.
She tossed her hair. "I'm here to get an interview with you, Mr. Potter."
Harry mentally suppressed a groan. "No, thank you." He moved to close the door.
She put her hand on his arm. He froze, praying that she would not look down and thanking god that his shirt was long and loose.
"If you could do this for me, I could do something for you..." She let her sentence trail off suggestively. Her eyes flickered downward.
Harry swallowed with difficulty, feeling his Adam's apple bob up and down.
"I have a girlfriend," he said shortly. He brushed her hand off of his arm and pointedly put his hand on the doorframe.
She pouted. "That's no fun."
"Sorry." His face was quite red at that point, but his eyes were impassive. He continued to mentally pray that she would not look down again.
She smirked at him. "See you later." With a wink, she turned and sauntered down the sidewalk, allowing her hips to swing freely. Harry waited for her to Disapparate. Instead, she paused at the end of the walk, and turned back, her hand on her hip.
"I'd be careful if I were you, Mister Potter. I always get my scoop."
She winked again, playfully, then, with a twist of her wand, she was gone.
Quickly glancing around to make sure that no one had seen, Harry turned and calmly closed the door, the tips of his ears burning.
A/N: That was very, very fun- making Harry squirm, that is.
Just so no one takes offence, I AM NOT STEREOTYPING BLONDES! I'm a blonde myself.
Cheers,
Merusa