Disclaimer: Check first chapter for full disclaimer and other warnings.

Chapter 10 – Books and Politics

In his reduced state, Gabriel was using crutches to move around Grace's mobile home, but couldn't very well act as a monster in the ride. Not to mention that it would be most dangerous. So, he was stranded home. Joan was with him most of the time, though. Both youngsters began to share their stories, most of them coming from the red-haired girl, though, because he didn't have that many memories. Still, recounting the diverse reactions of people he scared was funny.

The very evening he went home, Grace had invited the Freyrs again, to Gabriel's delight, and she had told him that he should read a book or two, to pass time. Joan and he had decided to go to the nearby bookstore the next day. He still wasn't comfortable using crutches, and didn't want to ride downtown. The same evening, Michael, having a stand of target shooting, had also suggested that Gabriel should distract himself with some gun practise. He could perhaps, he added sombrely, buy one later and defend himself against these ruffians.

The next morning saw Joan and a wobbling Gabriel nearing the local bookstore. As soon as they entered, the door closing behind them, Gabriel was taken by the serious atmosphere. The place was very dark, with dust hanging in the air, and very few children books around. Closing his eye, he seemed to remember a place like this. No, he reflected, more than one place, and he liked to go there with his friends.

Friends.

Who were they?

Disturbed at his jumbled mind state, he advanced towards the shelves, only to go back immediately, in fear the sturdy and visibly heavy furniture may fall down on him. Then he rationalized. Why would he be afraid of furniture that seemed to be there from the beginning of time? Doubt tainting his features, he advanced towards the furthest set shelf, not aware that his every reactions were watched by Joan, while she followed him silently.

'He's pretty beneath his scared face,' she thought, 'I wonder how he looked like before. And his insecurity is so cute. But I saw how he's strong inside, and how he looks at my hair. Boyfriend material?'

Oblivious to her, Gabriel pushed himself towards the distant shelves, and, upon arriving there, looked at the books in wonder. These books appeared positively ancient! Why would he concern himself with them?

Why, indeed?

He looked around, noticing Joan's close by, looking at a nearby shelf; and the old shopkeeper, seemingly reading a novel.

He turned back towards the antique books and, not understanding their presence in a regular bookstore and not a museum. Frowning, he concentrated on the books' aspect, and especially titles. "Dancing with trolls." "The 1,001 uses of the snake's skin." "Potions for the dumb." All these titles were really weird. Taking one for closer inspection, he was surprised by two things. Firstly, the book didn't appear as old in his hands as it was on the shelf. Secondly, the shopkeeper, a wizened old man, had silently appeared right beside him, eliciting a surprised yelp from Joan. His raspy voice asked, "How may I be of service, lad?"

Suspecting that the man didn't want mere kids to touch his precious aged books, he fumbled to put the book back in the shelf, before answering. "No... I mean... Thank you, sir, we... I was just browsing."

"Beware of some of these books, lad. When improperly handled, their content may harm you." The old man's eyes were boring into his, and he couldn't find his voice for a moment. Moreover, the old man's strange choice of words was tugging at lost memories again, and Gabriel was at a lost about the shopkeeper, the books, and especially himself.

Shaking his head, he finally answered, "thank you sir, I'll... I'll be careful."

"Good." and the man went back to his desk, the floor creaking on each of his step. 'How did he appear so suddenly and noiselessly?' wondered Harry, before turning back to Joan.

She had been following him, but couldn't concentrate on the antique books he was looking at. She really had no need of these, she thought, and went the next shelf, picked a random book, and had started browsing it. When the old man had appeared next to Gabriel, it had seemed to her that he did just that, appear from thin air right next to Gabriel. Shaking her head, she went back to the book she was holding, about garden plantations and how to grow record-breaking pumpkins, and quickly dismissed the whole incident, attributing it to the confined room of the bookstore.

Why was she reading anything about garden plantations, anyway? She was following Gabriel, and...

Gabriel?

He wasn't in front of the shelf of old books anymore. Turning wildly, she was startled, but happy, to find him right behind her. He had also picked a small random book from the shelf, and he was frowning to decipher it. Glancing at the title, she chuckled silently, before whispering to him. "Gabe, are you really interested in 'puzzles to boggle your mind'?"

"Hmm, hmmm..." he answered absent-mindedly.

"Gabe?"

"Hmm?"

"You know, if you are to continue answering like this, I may leave you all alone..." she answered, half-seducing, half-pouting.

"Hmm... what?"

"Nice to see you alert once more." she said, sarcastically. "If you like this book that much, pick it up already."

"Errm... I'm not... was I..."

"You were so absorbed that I could have danced naked in front of you and you wouldn't have noticed me!"

"Errm..." he was blushing now, "did you?"

"No! You prat!" the exclamation and the following slap on the arm earned them a disapproving look from the shopkeeper. Lower, she added "Buy this book and off we go. I don't like this place anyways. Next time, promise me we'll go to London proper?"

"What? Ah, okay, okay..."

And he went to buy the book. While counting his money for it, the aged shopkeeper asked "What are you doing with it, lad?"

"Well... I like the... challenges? And," he continued, pointing to his leg and crutches, "it's not like I'm up to physical ones at the moment."

The man was holding a crooked smile at that, and, after a time reflecting about it, answered "Well, if you finish all the puzzles, I may have something else for you. How's that for a challenge, heh?"

Gabriel smiled too, just before exiting the store. "I'd like to. Goodbye, sir."

"Bye, son." muttered the wizened man after the couple's departure. Then, slowly returning to the shelf with these aged books, he muttered again "On the only day in half a century that one of them shows himself and ask to browse these, I forget to hide it afterwards. And the boy went straight to them. Weird that, given his broken leg healing the muggle way... I wonder..." the rest of the old man's monologue became internal as he removed a particular book, and then pressed a hidden button, and the shelf containing the old books vanished into the wall.

The teen's return to the mobile homes was thoughtful, each stealing glances at the other. Only once he deposited his book in 'his' home, did they speak again.

"I have to help dad with the stall. I suppose we can eat together around midday."

"I'd love too, J. I will replace Grace, and I'll fetch you afterwards."

"J?"

"Yes, I think it's you." he said dreamily, passing his hand on her hair. The name had come naturally, and it felt good on his tongue.

Smiling, she answered, while guiding him towards the stands, "You know, you're the first to dub me with that name. Some people called me Joan of Arch, or Jean... some French tourists even called me Yellow! But 'J'..." she looked at him, and then smiled. "I like that! Bye!" Having arrived at the separation point between their respective shops, she went to her toes, and kissed him lightly on the cheek, before leaving. For her, the physical sensation wasn't very pleasant, because of his numerous scars, but the emotional one was exhilarating. Gabriel, however, was overwhelmed.

Not able to move or even think coherently for a few minutes, the young man stood there, a hand holding his cheek and a goofy smile plastered on his face, before shaking himself awake, and moving towards the horror train ride show. He was not even conscious of the spring in his step, unhindered by the crutches.

Some time later, a gloomy teen was sulking internally, while displaying his best smile. He had been left in charge of the booth, for the rest of the morning, and client after client, almost everyone was afraid of his appearance first, then either laughed in discomfort, or, for those of them who recognized him from inside the ride, wanted to take pictures or shake hands. His popularity was rising but he didn't want to be remembered in his life as a freak.

That word, again, summoning dark memories from his subconscious.

A curtain, quick as lightning and hard as reinforced steel, fell down between his conscious mind and the remembrance. Whatever his earlier memories were, he sighed, they weren't beautiful. Still, he couldn't repress a pang of regret about not knowing his past.

That afternoon, after a good-heartedly eaten meal with Joan, he went with her to her father's stall, and, enjoying a moment of calmness while clients were digesting, she showed him how to use the air rifles. All in all, they had a great time together.

At the Ministry main meeting room...

"...so, you see. We are undertaking a large change from Cornelius, and we want to do it the right and legal way. We are going to hold elections for the Ministry, and, as much as I want all this to proceed smoothly, I also want to continue with my work in this office. What I propose is that you take the position while the elections process unfolds itself, and you'll pass it to the newly appointed Minister just before starting Hogwarts again. What do you say?"

The wizard, known as the most powerful of this time, was hunched on his cane, and reflecting about Amelia's proposition. Albus Dumbledore wasn't sure to be able to manage the Ministry, the upcoming Hogwarts starting term, and his regular sessions with the Wizengamot, among other responsibilities. He turned towards his Deputy Headmistress, the Transfiguration Professor McGonagall. She merely looked back and nodded, once, thus silently accepting the full burden of responsibilities and work from the Headmaster. They had spent so much time together that they could communicate only with a slight gesture. That was a level of communication generally shared by twins or long-married couples, even if those two weren't engaged in anything remotely intimate.

"I accept. Who's going to run for the office?"

"Myself," Amelia started, "and Arthur," at which Arthur Weasley rose on his feet. "That's all for the moment. Once we announce the elections, though, I'm sure that we'll have more opponents."

The following days were hectic, as people learnt the replacement of Amelia Bones by Albus Dumbledore, so that she could run for the position, legally. And, as Amelia predicted, two more contestants joined the fray. The first wasn't a big fish, as Friedrich Humbert seemed to be a rich and obscure entrepreneur who made most of his fortune abroad, and wasn't known by the public. The last, though, surprised everyone, especially those that were so close to Harry that they knew about his romp to Malfoy Manor. Lucius Malfoy was back.

At the Burrow...

Usually, the summers were spent sending and receiving owls, and visiting friends, generally having a good time. That summer at the Burrow, though, was as sad as one could be without actually losing one of their family members. Well, in fact, even if Harry wasn't technically a family member, they had more or less adopted him. With Molly supporting Arthur, who, with Percy, was working at the Ministry, the kids were left more or less alone. Even more so when their friends left them most of the time as well. While their friends knew the reason behind their silence, it wasn't comfortable for them either.

Some of them took drastic measures. On the first week of the vacation, Hermione had been dragged by Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown into a shopping spree into muggle London's clothing shops. Although she had been reluctant at first, grumbling about the lost study time, she finally enjoyed herself. Especially when, trying dresses in a muggle shop, and, following her friends' advices, she dressed sexily for the first time ever. That sure caught the eyes of the few males in the shop, and the three young witches fled the premises, all giggling. It wasn't the best memory of Hermione's, but that was close.

Bill Weasley, the oldest brother of the brood, took pity of the sombre mood of the Fred and George and invited them in Egypt with him. He even brought them to his job a few times. The twins seemed to love the trip and the sights, but, unbeknownst to Bill, what the twins liked most was watching him doing his dangerous job of curse-breaking. They even borrowed some text books about location curses and their breaking. To appear innocent, they chose only two, among with plenty of tourist books and muggle novels concerning Egypt. All this went in front of Bill's eyes, but he was so happy to see his brothers smile again that he didn't give a second thought about their sudden interest in deadly curses.

For their part, the other boys of Ron and Harry's dormitory plotted together to drag Ron out of the Burrow, where he was merely living, oblivious of the passing of time. Ron was also speaking out of context all the time, and it unnerved everyone. Especially Ginny, who couldn't refrain from thinking about Luna each and every time he did that. Strangely, some remarks from Ron weren't as much out of context as they seemed first, and some of them even appeared clear long after he uttered them. These times, it was as if Ron was living in the future, and it was scary.

So, as Neville was on a trip in Africa with his grandmother, Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan took upon themselves to bring some smile on Ron's face. Ron being somewhat unresponsive, it was Ginny that answered the fire-call. When she did, Dean and Thomas invited her at the same time, and they all decided to meet at Dean's house the following week, for a day of fun. Ginny hoped that it would work, as she had never seen Ron so impassive for such a long time. She even suspected some long-term effect.

At the ministry, six days later...

Everybody in the room was upset. Arthur Weasley was upset, Amelia Bones was upset, even Albus Dumbledore was upset. They had been had, royally.

In the previous week, they had arranged for every witch and wizard of age and living in Britain to receive a charmed scroll on which people could vote. That has been the way of voting for centuries, and the scrolls were charmed so that they couldn't be intercepted, nor read behind one's back. The person's name was already on it, and only this person could check the box near the chosen name. This couldn't have been the problem.

The campaigning had gone relatively fairly, each of them being allowed equal time and space in the media. So, with the ideas proposed by each of the candidates, people could have identified themselves quite easily. Even Malfoy was blameless, as he politely greeted each and every person coming his way.

But Albus, Amelia, and Arthur knew that something was amiss. The people couldn't have voted freely for Lucius Malfoy. Not with more than 75 of the votes!

Unknown to them, the plan upheld by Lucius Malfoy was threefold. The first part was to ingrain some doubts about the other candidates, through the regular media. But this was fair game, and everybody did it. It was putting salt in the throat of honest candidates, but they wanted to hold elections the normal way, before Albus Dumbledore was too tired and retire.

The second part of Malfoy's campaign had been a 'personal' letter sent to most wizards and witches, except those known for their affiliation to, or spying for, Dumbledore. The letter explained in much more details the real program of Lucius Malfoy. It couldn't be displayed in the press because it was so harsh, so spiteful, and so unlawful even, that he would have been shot down immediately if it was displayed on a public media. So, the reporters didn't receive that letter either, nor the ministry employees. All in all, a rough eighty percent of the wizarding population of Britain received it. The letter underlined the current security problems, and linking them to the way the Ministry worked as a corrupt and powerless administration. Lucius literally wrote that the future Minister would have all power to do as he pleased in any regards, but, drowning this in fake facts and real reports of violence, it got the people fearful to vote for any other candidate.

The third part of the plan, reinforcing the second, was to schedule several Death Eaters attacks around the place where the largest number of witches and wizards lived. Not particularly deadly, these attacks were made only to scare. And they succeeded. Lucius also openly admitted that Voldemort had reappeared and killed his son. That got him the sympathy of the people, and the deal was closed. 78 of the voting population gave their voice to Lucius Malfoy for Minister, whereas only 10 chose Arthur Weasley, and 9 voted for Amelia Bones. Following such score, the man threw a party at his Manor to celebrate his victory. Albus Dumbledore was to pass the reins the next day at noon, and it was already two in the afternoon.

The voters who had received the letter knew that, should Malfoy execute his program to the letter, all the creatures dubbed as "sub-specie" would be visibly identified and sent to work camps. Now, that didn't disturb the regular politically blind person, because they all thought that it referred only to dangerous creatures. As always, everything was good as soon as each voter was unconcerned. However, they didn't know that Malfoy, and Voldemort behind him, would extend the definition of "sub-specie" as soon as he would be seated in the Minister seat. Natural werewolves would be freed to cause rampage to the muggles, and most of the bitten ones would be grouped in camps surrounded in silver-coated barbed wire. All half-bloods would be grouped, marked as such, and denied any right. Only the "pureblood" ones would remain.

Albus Dumbledore finally got hold of the letter, and, coupled with the attack reports, which also undermined the Ministry's resources and Amelia Bones' time, it gave him a feeling of dread. On the sideline of all that agitation, something was disturbing Dumbledore even more than Malfoy's success, something vital, but he couldn't pinpoint it. In the current state of the political sphere, he was like a puppet in a tornado, thrown in all directions, and couldn't even get a minute of rest. So he called for one of his friends, one in which he had deposited such trust so many years ago, and one that had stayed faithfully to his side. One who would be able to enter his tired mind and sort the disturbance before it was too late. One Severus Snape.

Same time, around the funfair...

A week had passed, and the hospital removed the cast after the same doctor, accompanied by some older ones, commented on his quick recovery. He was asked many questions, and answered as truthfully as he could, but was rapidly seeing that they still were frustrated from not knowing how he healed himself so fast.

He left the place rapidly, on his two working legs, before going straight to the bookstore. In the course of the week, his forced semi-inactivity had pushed him to finish the coding/decoding puzzles quite quickly. Most of them were variations of substitution and replacement codes, already well-known by the time of ancient Greeks and Romans.

As Joan was holding her dad's stall, Michael himself having a last-minute appointment at the bank, he was alone when he pushed the door of the bookworm paradise. The first thing he remarked was that the "antiques" shelf had disappeared, replaced by a wall, seemingly as old as the others around it. It was as if the shelf had never been there. He didn't even remember it clearly, it was like it has been a dream, including the shopkeeper's sly appearance. The other change was the shopkeeper himself. Well... herself. Instead of a wizened man clicking his cane on the floor, a plump woman in her sixties, clad in shades of purple with a black scarf, was up on a ladder, busily moving books around and dusting the place, causing much coughing and sneezing.

"Err... Pardon me?" Gabriel wasn't even sure to be in the same store as before.

The woman looked from the top of her ladder, and, seeing that she had a customer waiting, went down quickly. "Yes, young man? What can I do for you?"

Refraining from asking the question about the disappeared shelf first, because he doesn't want to be seen as a...

freak

...mad person and kicked out, Gabriel asked about the old man first. Looking stricken, the woman answered that her father fell from a ladder in the previous week, and that his neck had been cracked. Gabriel now understood better the red-rimmed eyes of the woman, and he could only mutter a usual sentence at this circumstance.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be, young man. It's not your fault."

"I know. Still, even if I met him only once, he appeared to be... interesting."

"Interesting, you can say that..."

A silence ensued, before, having a flash of memory, Gabriel spoke again. "A friend of mine told me, once, that death is but the next adventure." missing the sharp look from the woman, he continued. "I don't remember him though."

"Strange, because that was what used to say one of his friends, a very old man. He died some time ago, though, a year or two, as I recall."

Another pause, while they collected themselves.

"Now, what has the old codger done to you for you to remember him?" she asked with a crooked smile, not unlike her father's. He started to speak about the book he has bought the previous week, and the old man's promise to show him another one. That did put her in a thinking mode, and she went under the counter, noisily rummaging through piles of unseen stuff. A shout after, her head turned back up and she was holding a thick envelope. She read the message on the envelope, and Gabriel immediately understood that he had been awaited for. It made him sad about the old man for a moment. For the special lad who successfully 'boggled his mind with puzzles.'

He started to rummage for his remaining money, hoping that he had enough, when the woman's hand catches his and she frowned.

"No, no. My father did put this envelope here, without any price tag on it. I consider it like one of his last actions. Let me give it to you, for free."

Impressed by the intensity of her voice, he accepted the package, politely nodding, but he added, "If I'm not going to pay for it, then I'm going to do something about it anyway. Let me help you sorting the books, for instance. It would help you, before the whole back-to-school rush, wouldn't it?" She was stunned. "I can be here for an hour a day, so, what do you think about my help," he glanced at the timetable on the door, "from 8 to 9 in the morning, say?"

The woman was looking at him, open-mouthed. His way of graciously accepting the gift and at the same time refusing its lowered price was almost otherworldly. Still, she nodded, and, smiling, asked for his name.

"Gabriel, madam. Gabriel Swift."

"I'm Mathilda Marshall, and my late father was Geoff Fisher. He lived so old that we all thought he was immortal. Oh the irony of it all. Perhaps, one day I'll lend you his Memoirs to read, they are most instructive." She looked sad, and at the same time, anxious that she may have told him too much for his own good. But Gabriel was already looking in the package, curious. There seemed to be a book, inside.

"Take it off, it won't bite." Gabriel's laugh at that was cut short as he remembered the old man telling him something like that a week ago. Still, he removed the book, and, glancing at the title, understood that he'll have to 'boggle his mind' some more. In his hands rested a dusty copy of 'cryptography principles – the theory behind secrets and codes'.

After a minute of staring at the book, he collected himself and took his leave of the plump woman, the vanished shelf forgotten.

Dean Thomas' living room, the next morning...

"Ouch, Ron, can't you look where you land?"

"Hmm hmmm..."

Ginny sighed exasperatedly, as she and her brother disentangled from the heap they made while arriving through the Floo.

Smiling, Dean helped his dorm mate and his sister up, before Ginny brushed herself and her brother from the stray ashes. Dean and Seamus had carefully planned the day, and all fun muggles activities were going to be thrown at them. Seamus was doubtful that a soccer match in the afternoon would get a smile through Ron's face, or even if Ron could play at all, but he was going to follow Dean's instincts. In these cases, better be united.

The first stop of the day was the movies. Dean had bought them tickets for a morning presentation of a comical show. Even if the Weasley never saw a film before, they laughed through it. Well, Ron didn't laugh outright but smiled nonetheless. Dean was pleased by the little success, and proceeded with the plan, directing them out of the theatre to grab a piece of fast food. They laughed there also, when Ginny and Ron tried to understand the concept of eating without cutlery or dishes.

Afterwards, they took the underground to downtown London, and walked through the local sights. "To digest, it's important", Dean said with a mischievous smile. After two hours of sightseeing and relaxing, they went in the underground again, and, after a few laughs and almost losing Ron in a departing wagon, they went out of another station.

The noise of people screaming alerted them immediately, and Ginny searched frantically for her missing wand. When Dean and Seamus didn't react, apart from throwing her amused glances, she followed them outside, and understood. The screaming was coming from kids having a grand time being propelled in the air in several ways.

They had entered the funfair.

When she was sure that they didn't risk their physical health, Ginny tugged at Ron and they followed Dean and Seamus, as they explained the different shows. At one point, though, Ron reacted to something. Or rather someone.

"Ginny," he uttered, looking straight in front of him.

For the others, it was as if the outside world had been shushed. "What?" she asked.

Turning towards her, Ron appeared surprised, and asked "Ginny?"

She was annoyed at his lack of discussion, and snapped at him. "Yes, what?"

Not answering, he turned back towards the show in front of them, and pointed, saying "and Ginny."

Following his direction, his sister and friends couldn't believe their eyes. There, in front of them was another Ginny Weasley! Well, not exactly, as they discovered, approaching the stall, but close enough to be troubled by the similarity. The red-haired girl was vivaciously promoting her show, and pointing the targets and prizes to the kids who were playing at the moment, so she didn't notice them arriving and leaving.

Yes, they left, but not because they wanted to. They had to catch up with Ron, who had been walking away since they gawked at Ginny look-alike. When the long-legged redhead finally stopped, they were in the queue of another show, the "Dr Jekyll's horror train ride" which booth was held, as always, by Grace. When their turn arrived, Seamus paid for them all, still curious about why Ron would want to go there precisely. When Ginny passed the booth, her seat already paid, she didn't notice the stare the owner cast her. With a fatalism inherited from her Romanian ancestors, Grace let them pass without another glance.

The kids in the queue had been excitedly speaking about a new and really scary random monster, and that got Dean and Seamus excited as well. Oddly, Ron took Ginny's hand and they went first, Ron ignoring the curious looks from his old friends. And, as soon as the cart took off, he uttered a weak "weeeeee" as if he was screaming in joy, with the volume turned down.

The ride was making them going in a circle so that, most of the time, a cart's occupants weren't able to see the monsters ahead. Generally, Gabriel was hiding in the latest part, with the fake vampires and ghosts, and was jumping on the unsuspecting cart, making it swerve, before touching its occupants or boo-ing in their ear. When he jumped on the cart and rounded it to scare the kids there, he froze suddenly. He was looking straight at the smiling face of Ginny Weasley.

Ginny has been discovering what muggles used to get voluntarily afraid and, as all that stuff was common knowledge in the magical world, she was merely smiling amusedly. When the cart swerved, she was a little apprehensive, and when a scarred face looked directly into her eyes, her mind went blank.

Wise people say that the eyes are a window on the soul. Even if she hadn't known that, even if his eyes had changed, and even with the hideous scars, Ginny knew the soul in front of her. And he knew her, too, she reckoned. As they looked in each other's eyes, his right and only working one was changing colour, slowly and unconsciously turning towards the vibrant green she knew. But he didn't have time to complete the change. He didn't even have time to try to utter the beginning of her name.

Even if they could have stayed a very long time like this, motionless, the cart itself was advancing inexorably. They were totally oblivious about the approaching one-way exit doors, and, as he wasn't inside the safety of the car, he got hit by the mechanism. Falling behind the cart, he rebounded on the tracks, and collapsed on the side, unconscious, not even hearing the deafening scream from outside the now closed black doors.

"HARRY!"

To be continued in next chapter: Research and Development...

Oh, my! The angst of it all!
Will they meet normal at all?
To ease the small cliffhanger,
Review, it'll quench your hunger.