LEGAL, JUST BARELY
Harry woke up bright and early that day. He stretched his magic and mind for two hours before he started to get tired. He sat back down at his desk and pulled out the letter he finished writing last night.
"Good morning girl, have a nice night?"
Hedwig flew over to him from the window and hooted her answer.
"Good I have a letter for you to deliver. You know where it is going. I will be at the ministry most of the day so you can give me a reply when you get one." Harry said to his owl before attaching a letter to her leg.
She flew out the window and Harry opened his sight to watch her until she was many miles away, and he could no longer sense her.
Well I guess I should be on my way, lots to do today, he mused to himself before pulling a set of white robes with his family crest embroidered on the back.
Harry appeared in front of a fountain inside the Ministry of Magic. Several people looked up at him but turned away when they saw he wasn't a death eater. He walked up to the security guard and weighed in his wand then headed up the main stairs.
When he reached the office he was looking for he went in and rang the bell on the desk.
"Just a minute please and I will be right with you," said an attractive girl behind the desk.
"Take your time ma'am I'm in no hurry today." Harry said taking a seat in an empty chair.
"Ok sir, sorry about that, are you here to apply for your apparition license"
"Yes ma'am, I'm sorry I didn't know if I needed an appointment or not, but I was here on other business so I thought I would stop in and ask.
Well usually you need an appointment, but it is slow this morning so I can fit you in, just fill out these papers and we can begin Mr.?
Oh sorry ma'am my name is Harry, Harry Potter.
"I'm sorry Mister Potter I didn't recognize you, and I wasn't aware you were old enough to get a license. You have to be a legal adult to apply for this test," She said sheepishly from her desk.
That's ok ma'am and you can call me Harry. I'll be sixteen soon but when my godfather died he made we a legal adult in his will," Harry said as he handed her his legal documents.
"Ok everything seems to be in order here Harry and you can call me Jane I believe you know my daughter Hannah she is a Hufflepuff in your year at Hogwarts. She talks very highly of you and, said you were a remarkable Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher last year. If the rumors I have been hearing are true, then all the members of your group received top marks on their O. W. L.'s. So, congratulations Harry and I thank you for helping out my daughter last term."
"Well Jane, your daughter didn't need that much help to begin with. She is a very smart girl and she almost had a full patronus down before our meetings were interrupted last year. You can tell her I'm planning on keeping the group going this coming year and she should keep her galleon handy for the time changes."
"I will pass on your message Harry. Are you ready to take the test?"
"Yes, but I was wondering if you could keep my visit here between us. I would rather my ability didn't get back to any death eater's or Voldemort if possible."
"That will be no problem Harry, I understand your concerns. With Fudge in charge things have been very easy for the death eaters over the years. Our meeting will stay between us. Now all you have to do is pop over to Diagon Alley and back, there is an Auror at the front gate, tell him you're taking your apparition test. He will sign this parchment verifying you were there, then you can floo back to my office from the Leaky Cauldron. You just have to say 'apparition office, ministry of magic' and it will bring you here. The wards surrounding the building have been upgraded and you can only get in at the apparition point or the floo if someone unblocks it to let you in. It is a hassle but it is better than death eaters getting into the building. So I will give you 25 minutes and when you make it back I will give you your license."
"Sounds good to me, be back in a jiffy." And with that Harry disappeared without a sound away from her office.
She was just sitting back down in her chair when Harry came back in the same spot as when he left. "Sorry Jane I didn't mean to startle you" Harry said as he helped her to her feet.
"What? How did you get back in here? It's supposed to be impossible. The wards should prevent anyone from coming into this building. Albus helped the Unspeakables and Aurors put them up."
"I have found that nothing is impossible if you put your mind to it. I have been breaking rules ever since I was born so I thought I would save myself the trouble of going to the Leaky Cauldron and flooing here. I am sorry I startled you. Here is your paperwork back. Mr. Jones signed it for me."
"It's ok Harry, but it makes me question how safe we are if people can still apparate here from the outside. I should tell the Unspeakables about this, I will have to inform them you were here but they will keep you out of any reports they file. Here is your license, use it well and good luck in the coming school year."
"I can go with you if you would like. They may have some questions about how I got in and where they can tighten security."
"That would be great Harry, follow me then."
Ten minutes later they were exiting the elevator on the bottom floor of the Ministry of Magic. Harry sat down as Jane went over to talk to the secretary. Five minutes later a wall became a door and a large man came walking out of it.
"Jane how good to see you again, please come into my office, so we can discus this problem. Mr. Potter my name is Agent Greenwood, this way please." Harry reached out with his senses and scanned the area. There were two more hidden doors in the room and several people were in them. He scanned the mind of the man in front of him quickly and found he was honest and meant him no harm.
"No problem Mr. Greenwood" Harry said as he followed the man through the door. They were led down a long corridor and into an office at the end.
"Please take a seat and tell me what happened Jane."
As Jane was recounting her story Harry felt something at his mind he scanned the area again and found three men standing around the room, in the shadows he raised his mental shields as well hiding his magic and aura from the men. Jane was done telling her story and Mr. Greenwood told her she could go back to her office and they would take care of the problem as he thanked her for bringing it to there attention.
"Now Mr. Potter can you tell me how you were able to get through the wards protecting this building?"
"Sure and as soon as your men step out of the shadows and introduce themselves I will be happy to help" Harry said smiling at the man.
"Very good Mr. Potter, not many people would have been able to notice those two standing in the shadows they are both Unspeakables as well. I'm curious how you could detect them."
"I'm sure you misspoke when you said two in the shadows, although the third one is hiding very well." he said as he got up and walked over to the wall. "These two are using invisibility cloaks," he said pointing at the wall where the two men were, "and the one behind your desk is using multiple spells as well as an invisibility cloak to hide." Harry said as he sat down again in his chair.
"Very good Mr. Potter you can show yourselves now guys and take a seat. Let me introduce agents Davies, Charleston and Zambini," he said as he pointed out the men, they sat down.
"Nice to meet you all, now can you tell me why you were trying to access my mind and what were you looking for?"
"We scan everyone that comes into this office Mr. Potter. We have to know their intentions, and so far, we are the only branch of ministry personal that are death eater free," Mr. Zambini said. "How were you able to block me out completely, only a few others have ever been able to do that, and they were old and powerful wizards with extensive training in both legimency and occlumeny?"
"I have many secrets I need to protect, but that is not why I am here today your anti-apparition wards I believe are the main problem?"
"Yes I believe we can discuss this at another time if you would be available, how is it you were able to pass through the wards Mr. Potter?"
"Just Harry, if you don't mind sir, and the current wards have many holes in them, I merely slipped through one of them."
"What do you mean holes in them Harry, we were some of the Unspeakables to put up the wards and I can't even get through them,"
"I can't really explain it but I suppose I could show you," Harry said standing up. "Meet me outside and I will show you," Harry said as he disappeared from the room.
Ten minutes later there were three pops beside him as the men all apperated in. "What took you so long?" Harry said with a smile and a mischievous twinkle in his eye.
"You put up that ward in my office didn't you, that is very complex magic and it took all three of us ten minutes to bring it down. How did you do it we didn't even see your wand out?"
"Wow! Ten minutes, I thought you Unspeakables were good. I wasn't even concentrating when I put up that charm," Harry said grinning from ear to ear.
"Just like your father, he was an unspeakable too, never missed a chance to catch us off guard or to pull a prank," Greenwood said smiling. "Back to the wards you said you were going to show us how you got through them."
"Ok! You will all have to hold on to me and not let go," he said eyes twinkling like mad again.
"I don't like that look," they all said as they reached out to grab his hand.
"Here we go, hold on and don't let go," He said as they disappeared from the road.
"Where are we?" Agent Greenwood asked as the others were looking all around them staring at the mass of lights in front of them.
"We are neither here nor there," said Harry with a smile. "We are in the void of magic. We left the alley and we are on our way back into your office. I stopped us here so you could see this," he said pointing around them. "Those lights are the wards surrounding the ministry. Do you see all the holes? I just picked one and I jumped through it. That is how I got back into Jane's office. I can fill these holes and strengthen the wards from here, if you would like." They all nodded as Harry pushed his magic out to seal all the holes then brought it back to him and nodded his head.
He reached out again and then they were all back in the office. Harry sat down as everyone found their seats again. They were all staring at him with their mouths hanging open. He winked at them and they all broke out of there stupor. I keyed you all into the wards. When I did that I figured it would be good if some people could come and go as they pleased."
"How did you do that? You just apparated three people, not including yourself, and strengthened the wards around the ministry, and you're not even breaking a sweat. Even our strongest people can only apparate with two people.
"Simple really," Harry said as he winked at them. "You want me to tell you a secret," he whispered leaning in closer to them as they leaned in and nodded there heads. "Magic," he whispered as he leaned back in his chair smiling as his green eyes twinkled merrily. They all laughed at the joke and discussed many things for the next hour or so before Harry had to excuse himself for another meeting.
"Well Harry you sure are filled with surprises, when you're done with school if you ever need a job come and find me. I think you would be an excellent addition to our team here. And until then if you need anything don't hesitate to ask. The Unspeakables aren't a direct part of the ministry so you have our full support if there is ever anything you need."
"Actually there is something I require from Mister Zambini, if you would care to meet me for dinner we can discuss it, say the Leaky Cauldron at five, Tom will have a private room for us."
Mr. Zambini nodded as Harry got up and disappeared from the office.
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Minister Fudge was having a great day. The reporters just left his press conference and although he gave them mostly half truths and lies they believed he was doing everything in his power to bring down Voldemort and his followers. His junior assistant had just come in with his recent population figures and he was just over fifty percent to the good. Things were starting to look up for our favorite minister. He looked up from his desk to see a snowy owl land on his desk with a letter in tow.
"Damn it, this looks like that Potter brat's owl." Slowly he untied the letter and started to read the tidy scrawl in blank ink.
Dear Minister Fudge,
I wanted to let you know that I will be holding a press conference tomorrow. What I tell them will be printed in a special edition of the Daily Prophet that will be released tomorrow night. I know they will print everything I say, just like the Quibbler did last year, because I own seventy five percent of the paper now. I will be having a long talk with them this evening about the way it has been run in the past. My interview will also be published in the Quibbler again, as well as several foreign news papers and radio shows.
I humbly ask for your presence at tea tonight, in the Leaky Cauldron, at half past five this evening; Tom will be holding a private room for us. I may need your assistance in a few matters, especially on what I tell the press and what I conveniently forget to mention to them. I would suggest you come alone, I know many secrets that even those in your own department would be eager to hear. My owl will wait for your reply, and I hope to see you for tea. Good day to you Minister.
Harry Potter
Boy Who Lived, Conqueror of He Who Must Not Be Named, Defender of the Light…
If any one was around the ministers office they would have heard a lot of obscenities being yelled for half an hour, while a snowy owl left the office with a note attached to it's leg.
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Harry Potter was just finishing dinner with a new ally in the war against Voldemort when his owl flew in the window and landed on the table in front of him.
"Well hello there girl, do you have good news for me? I hope you do." Harry asked her in his normal voice.
Hedwig hooted back a, 'yes I think so', and dropped the letter for him before flying over to a perch in the rafters.
Harry quickly skimmed over the letter before banishing the letter to the trash bin. He looked up at his new friend with a twinkle in his eye and smiled. "It seems Minister Fudge will be joining us for tea in a few moments at my request," Harry said as he winked at the last part. I would like you to remain hidden in the corner unless I ask for your assistance Mr. Zambini. You are free to listen in if you wish.
"I think I would like that very much Harry. I'm not sure what you have planned for our dear Minister of Magic but, by the look in your eye it should be a most pleasant evening."
"Yes I do believe it will be, for me anyway, I'm not sure the minister will agree though. I'm not that concerned about him right at the moment." Harry said as he got up from his chair and started casting multiple spells around the room. After five minutes there was a knock on the door and the minister came walking in.
"Good evening Minister, I'm so glad you could join me for tea this fine evening. Won't you have a seat?" Harry said pointing to a seat at the table with tea and a piece of parchment in front of it.
"Of course Harry I was so glad to get your message and invite for tea this evening. Thank you." He walked over to the indicated chair and sat down starting to read the note in front of his tea.
"That is my speech so far, I left some things out, but everything in there so far is truthful and can be proven with Veritaserum. And my name is Mister Potter to everyone but my close friends Minister." Harry watched in fascination as the man read on, his face getting paler by the minute.
"You, you can't print this, I will lose my job and be put in Azkaban for sure. The people will riot in the streets, and our world will turn to chaos. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named will have an easy victory, and the ministry will not be able to stop him. Surely you don't want that?"
Well as I said minister, I am willing to leave some things out of this press conference, for a price of course, but everything on that parchment is true and you know it. I have cast several charms and such on this room minister, so no one outside this room will ever hear of our conversation tonight. Here is what I want from you," he said as he took out another slip of parchment and handed it over to the minister.
"You can't be serious; you want me to resign and appoint Arthur Weasley as acting Minister of Magic, and give him my full support before I leave office. You want me to lower the underage restriction of magic for those who received an outstanding on their OWL's, and you want me to allow anyone capable of apparition to take the test no matter their age. I can't do all of that it's impossible, and even if I could it would take weeks before it all went through the ministry."
"Minister you underestimate yourself. I believe it is possible, and I have faith it will all be done by tomorrow evening, before my press conference, along with you getting rid of the underage magic law for these people as well, because they are friends of mine and will be in extreme danger from Voldemort and his followers in the coming years. I also don't want them being brought before a full wizengamot for trial if they feel the need to protect themselves from death eaters or dementors like I had to last year. You remember that don't you minister? When your undersecretary Madam Umbridge sent them to attack me? I am leaving that out as well, because she will get her trial soon enough for the crimes she has committed.
"I believe you can handle this minister, in time for our joint press conference tomorrow night where you make your announcement of early retirement and offer your support to Arthur and the Wizarding world. I will also let you keep your vault at Gringotts containing all of the bribe money the Malfoy's and others have sent your way for the small favors you have given them, like keeping known death eaters out of prison. I will offer my support to you and to Arthur as well, after your announcement, and you will hand me the restriction waivers for the last three names on the list because I want to hand deliver them myself. You will then be free to live your life however you want, although I would suggest you don't stay in the Wizarding world too long, I'm sure certain death eaters will be looking for you after they hear about your announcement."
"I see I have no choice in the matter but I will require two days to do all of this and then I will be able to send out notices with the OWL's as they are to be delivered in two days anyway. I will have letters sent out the same day to your other friends except those last three names on the list which I will bring to the conference in two days."
"Thank you minister I am glad we could reach this agreement. I hope the Wizarding world will benefit from our decisions tonight and the threat of Voldemort and his death eaters will be over soon. Now I would suggest you get started right away because some of those things should get done while the office is quiet I think," Harry said as he opened the door for Fudge to walk out of.
"Well that is definitely not what I was expecting to watch tonight Harry you do know that it is against the law to bribe a ministry official right?" Mr. Zambini said stepping out from the shadows.
"Well, yes it is, however, it isn't against the law to offer your minister advice in a time of great need for the Wizarding population," Harry said with a smirk.
"And the extra names you want removed from the underage restriction list wouldn't be the other members of your secret army by chance would they," asked Mr. Zambini with a smile?
"Of course I plan on activating my group this summer and training them up a bit and although we both know spells that would prevent the ministry from finding out; I wanted to make it as legal as possible."
"And the three you want to hand deliver," He asked.
"Well, they are not members yet, but I was hoping they would join the group. So if you would talk with your daughter, Blaise, for me, I would like her to join the group if she is interested. I would like to get some more Slytherins involved in the group, and she would be a good asset in that area as well. If you could owl me in about two weeks we could meet for dinner again at my house and the three of us could discuss it."
Very good, you will be hearing from me in two weeks, and I will see you at the press conference in two days. Good luck Harry. I think Arthur will make a great minister as well, he was an unspeakable during the first war after all," he said with a wink as he left the room.
Harry filed this new information away for later as he popped back home to train and practice for the next two days before the press conference.
A/N Well I hope you all liked the chapter and I hope to have more coming soon. Thanks to my beta and all the hard work she does for me. Read and review and suggestions are always welcome.