Chapter 7
Dumbledore would never be comfortable with the safety measures that Amelia was able to provide for Harry, and believed that his being at the Grangers was equivalent to Harry signing death warrants for the Grangers. He summoned Severus Snape to his office. Dispensing with the usual chit chat that others would prefer to hear, Dumbledore started in. "Severus, I have a most important and most delicate job that I'd ask you to do."
Snape was a bit surprised, at his words and replied, "How can I help you, Headmaster?"
"I need to get Harry to realize that he needs to be in a safer place than where he is currently staying."
Unless Dumbledore was asking him to launch an attack against Potter or one of his little friends, Snape had no interest. "Pardon my asking, Headmaster, but why are Potter's holiday sleeping arrangements anyone's concern?"
Dumbledore looked at Snape carefully and said, "The events from June should have made that clear. Harry is involved with Riddle through the prophecy that you heard some sixteen years ago. He has had to bear incredible burdens and deserves our support and respect."
Snape scowled. "He may have his destiny, but that does not excuse his arrogance."
Dumbledore shook his head. 'Severus would never change his opinion about Harry and would carry a grudge against James to his death.' "There is no arrogance in wearing rags to school Severus. There was no arrogance in being forced to live in a cupboard and endure years of abuse from his uncle. There was no arrogance in being ridiculed and called a liar in the newspapers and magazines for a year."
Snape hadn't heard many of these things before, but they did nothing to change his personal opinion of the brat. "What would you like me to do?"
"If you are willing, I would ask you to make an appearance in Death Eater garb at the Grangers and attempt to scare them without revealing yourself, hurting anyone, or getting caught by the single guard that Amelia has placed there."
After considering the request for a minute Snape said that he would take care of it next Saturday, and not to worry about complications.
Dumbledore was relieved that Harry had agreed to help Arthur. He knew that Harry would do almost anything to help the quirky but loveable father of seven. Dumbledore's only hesitation in having Harry endorse Arthur's plan was the increased attention placed on the boy. He would feel much better when Harry was safely back at Grimmauld place.
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With Hermione's help, Harry was at last satisfied with his letter to the editor of both the Quibbler and the Prophet. While it would have been Harry's preference to send the letter only to Luna's father and help them out, Hermione pointed out that in this case time was of the essence.
Harry handed the letter to Emma to read.
An open letter to the Managers of the Ministry and the Wizengamot:
It is my opinion that Cornelius Fudge is the wrong man for the job. It was my bad luck to be at the rebirth of Voldemort on 24 June 1995. Tied to a grave marker in a Little Hangleton cemetery not too far from his father's old residence, I saw him rise out of a large cauldron. I saw him call for his Death Eaters by touching a wand to the Dark Mark that had been burned into the arm of one of his followers. As they answered Voldemort's call, I watched as he greeted them by name. Miraculously when he dueled with me, I managed to escape.
When I returned to the Hogwarts school with the body of the other student that I was with, Cedric Diggory, via the portkey that we had both been tricked into using, I reported these events to Professor Dumbledore, who reported them exactly as they happened to Minister of Magic Fudge. I gave him the names of the Death Eaters that I had personally heard Voldemort name that evening.
Minister Fudge did nothing, except call me a liar, and whine to Dumbledore that "It can't be. It just can't be." No one wanted Voldemort to come back, but he had.
A year passed before Voldemort went public. What was he doing in that time? One can only imagine that he was out gathering supporters. How much was the Ministry Auror squad allowed to grow in that time? None. My understanding is that the size of the Auror department was frozen on 4 June 1995 by direction from Minister Fudge.
Minister Fudge did nothing until the evening of 28 June 1996 when Voldemort and twelve of his Death Eaters initiated a raid at the Department of Mysteries. I was there and helped capture 11 of the 12 Death Eaters. I among others watched as Professor Dumbledore personally dueled with Voldemort. Minister Fudge came in wearing his pajamas and saw it too.
What has he done since? Has he authorized the Auror team to double in size? No. The manpower freeze is still on.
Is this the man that we believe can lead the wizarding world to victory in a time of war?
I don't think so.
Arthur Weasley is taking a risk by initiating a vote of no confidence. Others will take risks in doing their part. I believe that the time has come for change in how we fight Voldemort and his followers. Witches and wizards need to be able to defend themselves. They need the skills and in many cases the authorization to be able to perform magic. They need to know that an adequate sized group of professionals is there to assist them, not simply by defending, but attacking his Death Eaters where they stand.
A good leader would be spearheading this effort, not dragging their feet at every step. I support Arthur Weasley's effort to unseat Minister Fudge and will support the man or woman who has the courage and foresight to take the war to Voldemort.
Respectfully submitted,
Harry James Potter
Emma put the paper down and thought carefully about what the two teens had just written. She could see the places where Hermione had helped Harry with phrasing or grammar, but the letter was obviously his.
She had a hard time connecting that the young man with the unruly hair who had made such a wonderful dinner had faced that horror, and even worse, that the authorities had refused to believe him. How many people had died or would die due to the minister's inaction?
She reread the part about individuals needing the skills to be able to defend themselves.
She would talk with the two in the morning.
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At eight AM on Tuesday, Fawkes arrived. Harry had made three copies of his letter. He sent two with Fawkes, having previously sent the other to Mr. Weasley with Hedwig, and on Emma's advice, had kept the original.
Arthur was heartened at the powerful message that Harry had written supporting his effort. He hoped his own letter was received as well. Running out of time before work, he asked Molly to write Harry a proper thank-you note. He looked at his letter once more before leaving for the day.
Petition to initiate a vote of no confidence 16 July 1996
It is with equal amounts of sadness and conviction that I must act to call for a vote of no confidence in our Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge. In my observation, he is the very worst sort of leader for a time of war. He has exhibited indecisiveness from the start, freezing budgets in the Law Enforcement group, and looking the other way when faced with obvious wrongdoings of Death Eaters employed at the Ministry.
He was swayed by the influence of Death Eater Lucius Malfoy and other Death Eaters that had been allowed back into the employ of the ministry, in some cases achieving department head status.
Due to Fudge's refusal to admit that Voldemort had returned, we have lost out opportunity to push him back before he achieved a toehold. Now we are faced with fighting a full-blown war without that aid of an Auror team that should have been a year into expansion.
Each day that passes, he is getting stronger and we are faced with the increased likelihood that we will be forced to bring our children into the war.
I believe that the time is such that we are forced to look to new leadership. As such, we the undersigned request a vote of no confidence be taken on Wednesday 17 July 1996.
Arthur Weasley – Head – Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office
There were signature spots for the other fourteen signatures.
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After Arthur left for the day, Molly took the time to write Harry a proper thank you note. She was so grateful that he had come to their aid, and recognized that his was the greatest endorsement that she and Arthur could have received. Her only regret was that he and Ginny had not found more time for each other. She looked it over one last time before sending it.
Dear Harry,
Arthur and I would like to offer you our deepest appreciation for you having taken the time to write such a wonderful letter of support for Arthur's effort. We simply believed it to be the right thing to do and pray that the effort is successful.
Time and time again you have come to our aid. We are so indebted to you and could never begin to repay you for your many brave deeds.
We can only offer our love and thanks.
Molly and Arthur
She sent the letter off, and prayed that Arthur would be successful in gathering the eight signatures needed to present to the Wizengamot for final vote. If successful, tomorrow would be another stressful day. If unsuccessful, Arthur would return home carrying a box containing his personal belongings from his office.
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At breakfast, Emma asked Harry and Hermione about the home protection techniques that they had been studying. They decided to start with several rather simple charms - the imperturbable charm, the impervious charm and using runes to automatically create a flame freezing charm in the event of fire.
They also decided to see if they could place the house under an anti-disapparation ward, but knew that they would have to read up a lot more on the subject.
Dan had appointments at their surgery that morning, but Emma had the morning off. She visited with the other guardian of their home, Hit Wizard, Michael Wood. He knew Harry on more of a personal basis than the others as he had come to several of the Quidditch games in years past to watch his younger brother Oliver. As such, he was less in awe of Harry, and more respectful of the person.
When Hermione and Harry had finished, Wood looked at the work that they had done to the home and gave his approval.
He told Emma, "The advantage in the flame freezing charm is that few if any Death Eaters would ever notice that it was there. As such, they would spend many minutes attempting to light the house on fire with no real damage being done to the structure."
Emma nodded at his words, hoping that she would never find out just how good her daughter's work had really been.
The variation on the impervious charm that they used would act much like a shield charm and harden the home against a reducto blast or similar impact spells. Like the flame freezing charm, the intent was to slow down the effects of a potential attack, hoping to stall any serious damage until help could arrive.
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By 10 AM, Arthur had acquired seven signatures and still had five more managers to talk with. He met with Holly Bruce, the new manager of Magical Games and sports. After five minutes, she signed the paper.
In the end, twelve of the fifteen managers signed the document. Arthur brought the document to Dumbledore who was in his Wizengamot office for the day.
Dumbledore had the paperwork already prepared and made the arrangements to send out the official notifications to the other judges and the managers. The vote would be taken at 10 AM. Arthur would have the opportunity to speak.
Dumbledore believed that once Fudge found out that the petition had successfully been drafted and approved, he would quickly tally up the likely votes and either prepare his rebuttal speech, or prepare a letter of resignation.
Dumbledore told Arthur that he believed the Wizengamot would currently vote 42 for his proposal with 8 voting against and 10 swing votes. With the 12 votes from the managers the vote would probably be 54 for dismissal 11 against and 10 swing votes. With Harry's published endorsement, Dumbledore believed the final vote would be 62 for and 13 against Fudge.
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Fudge was livid when he found out that a petition had been circulated, and outraged when he found the vote to be held the next day. He didn't want to go down in an embarrassing vote, but believed that he possessed a much higher degree of support than Dumbledore had estimated. He estimated that he had as many as 30 votes in the Wizengamot along with the 3 from the managers, leaving a failed vote of 42 – 33, or 8 votes short of the required 50 votes.
Fudge thought about possible replacements for that muggle-loving Arthur Weasley. 'Perhaps Weatherbee should be rewarded with a promotion'.
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Amelia Bones was surprised, but delighted when Arthur had come to her office with a no confidence petition with five signatures already on it. He had carefully considered (or had been coached) in selecting the order. The names read Weasley, Diggory, Hopkirk, Goshawk, and Croaker. She was happy to add her name as the sixth. They talked for a minute and Arthur left.
She called her senior Aurors to come for a short meeting. Everyone was there except Wood who was taking the shift at the Grangers. She advised them that most likely there would be a No Confidence vote taken tomorrow morning. Depending on the outcome, either Fudge or Weasley would be escorted out of the building in disgrace.
The Aurors and Hit Wizards as a group had little reason to endorse Fudge as a leader. Most of the Aurors had believed Dumbledore and Potter from the start, and realized that Fudge had done more to endanger their lives in the last year than Voldemort's ever growing band of Death Eaters.
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Snape arrived at the Malfoy manor after visiting with Dumbledore. He met with Malfoy and asked him to be ready at 11 PM on Friday evening.
Malfoy asked what Snape had in mind, but he refused to give the details. Snape would have a portkey available as the location would not be disclosed.
Refusing the opportunity to stay for dinner, Snape left to consider his plan. He wanted to eliminate as many of the risks as he could.
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At noon on Tuesday Arthur presented a petition to Dumbledore containing twelve signatures. Dumbledore countersigned the document and made several copies. He gave one back to Arthur, shook his hand and wished him well for the next day.
One went to Fudge, along with the official notification of the hearing and vote the next morning. He kept one for himself and sent the other with Fawkes.
Each of the Wizengamot judges were notified of the vote, as were the managers. By most estimates it would be a very close vote.
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Harry and Emma were in the back garden having a lemonade. Hermione was walking out the door carrying the pitcher and some ice when the beautiful phoenix appeared.
Harry took the letter from Fawkes, stroked him once, and the magnificent bird vanished in a flash of flame.
"What did you get," inquired Emma.
"Dunno," replied Harry. "But the professor wanted us to know something." Harry opened the letter and handed it to Hermione and Emma.
Hermione smiled at him, and gave him a little hug. "Harry, this is very good. Mr. Weasley needed to collect eight signatures and got twelve. With the help of your letter in the papers tomorrow, the vote looks like it will pass."
"I hope so," replied Harry. "A lot of things could go wrong."
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Dinner at the Weasley household that night was quite loud. All of the children (except Percy) were there. Arthur had told everyone what he had done. Bill, Charlie and the twins were amazed that their father had taken such a political stand.
Ginny was amazed that her father had been so manipulated to risk his entire career at the Ministry to serve as a piece in one of the professor's human chess games.
Molly didn't say much, but felt much the same as her daughter. Her Arthur had risked so very much on Dumbledore's suggestion. It wasn't until she passed around the letter that Harry had written for Wednesday's editions that the family united in their hope and prayer for a successful conclusion of the vote tomorrow.
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A/Ns
If Snape is discovered, would Dumbledore stand up for him, or leave him hanging?
Many people have suggested that Bones would be a better MoM. Would her Canon record justify such support?
UdderPD has started a great new fic #2310491. I thought it has a fantastic start.
Thanks for reviewing.
O-C