Harry Potter and the Silver Dragons
Chapter 9: A Ray of Hope
True to his word, Scrimgeour had all of the documents waiting for Harry and Ginny when they got out of the lift. Using a shrinking charm, they took all of the records back to Grimmauld Place where they, along with Ron and Hermione began to go through them.
It only took them the better part of the day to go through all the records, and less time than that before they realized the reports they were looking for were not there. "I can't believe this," Ron complained, tossing one of the reports off to the side, "I would have thought we would have found something."
"I know," Hermione agreed, placing the parchment she was reading onto a neat pile, "I really thought this would work."
"It's not your fault Hermione," Harry said, throwing his parchment piece on top of Ron's, "it was a good idea in essence."
"More than likely," Ginny informed them as she continued to read her piece of parchment, "Voldemort had one of his spies in the Ministry get rid of the records just in case somebody tried this very trick."
Harry looked at both Ron and Hermione. Now that he thought about it, what Ginny had just said made a great deal of sense. If Voldemort was afraid somebody like Dumbledore were to figure out his secret, then it would only make sense to destroy any official records of possible locations.
"How goes the search for the Horcrux?" Came a voice from the doorway.
Everyone looked up and saw Lupin standing there. He walked over to the table, eyeing the pieces of parchment scattered all over it. Looking up, he saw the disgruntled looks on everyone's face. "I take it not very well." He said.
"We just figured out this was a wild Nobtail search." Ron said.
"What Ron means," Hermione put in, "is we just thought about the fact that Voldemort might have had one of his spies at the Ministry tamper with these records in case somebody tried to do what we were doing."
"I see." Lupin said, taking a seat at the head of the table. Appearing to consider the situation for a moment, "It seems to me like you have hit a dead end." Then he looked at all four of them in turn, "Would I be out of place to make a suggestion at this time?" When nobody answered, Lupin continued, "It seems to me like you might have the answer sitting right in front of you and don't even know it."
"What do you mean?" Ginny asked.
"What I mean is Harry here might very well know where this place is." Lupin said, looking right at Harry.
"But I don't remember the name of the town." Harry immediately protested, throwing his hands up in the air. "Otherwise we would have gone there to get the Horcrux already." Lupin didn't say anything, just giving Harry a warm smile.
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A few hours later, they were gathered around the kitchen table, starring into a stone basin, which was lined with rune symbols. Dumbledore's Pensive sat there empty of any type of silvery substance Harry had always seen in it before.
"So this is the Pensive you've been telling us about Harry." Ron muttered as he examined it, "I was expecting something more impressive."
"You can't always judge something by its looks Ron." Lupin told them.
Harry nodded, raising his eyebrows, "Trust me, when we go inside it, you won't be saying that." He then looked at Hermione, "I have been wondering what the symbols around it meant, can you translate them?"
Hermione took a closer look at the rune symbols. "It just says this is a Pensive, and it can be used to bring back memories that have long since been forgotten."
"Like the dream Harry had just before the Quidditch World Cup." Ginny commented.
"Exactly," Lupin told them, "that dream might have some clue in it about where this Horcrux could be hidden." Lupin looked around at them, "I think we are ready to go." He then looked right at Harry, "Are you sure you want to do this Harry? I won't lie to you. It is difficult enough to extract a good memory, but a memory of a dream, even one as vivid as you seemed to think it was is extremely hard. You don't have to do this if you don't want to."
Harry shook his head, "That's just the thing. I don't have a choice in the matter. We are beginning to run out of options and the longer we wait the more powerful Voldemort becomes."
"Very well then," Lupin said, "now concentrate hard on the memory you wish to extract." While Lupin told him this, Harry closed his eyes and looked deep down into his thoughts, trying to lock onto the memory of the dream he had three years earlier. "Once you have it," Lupin continued, "move it to the surface of your mind, then touch the tip of your wand to your temple, and slowly pull it away."
Harry did as he was told. Once he had the remnants of the dream, he moved them to the surface of his mind, and slowly touched the tip of his wand to his temple. Almost as if it were a fish biting a baited hook, the memory latched onto his wand tip, and he began to slowly pull it away from his temple. As Harry did this, the memory began to fade almost out of existence.
When he was sure the memory was out of his head, Harry opened his eyes and saw there was a long silvery string hanging off of the tip of his wand. Hermione grabbed the bottle and held it up for Harry to put the memory in. Once in the bottle, it began to coil up and then expand until it looked something like a thick silvery mist.
Hermione then moved it over to the basin and dumped the contents in it. "Ok," she said as she turned back to face Harry and Lupin, "that should do it."
"Are you sure you know what to do in order to get back out?" Lupin asked. Hermione nodded, "Then good luck." He told them.
Harry walked over to the table and like he had done so many times before lowered his face into the substance. As soon as the tip of his nose touched the substance, Harry had the sensation of falling, but as usual, he landed lightly. Looking around, he saw he was in a small kitchen. Hearing a soft footfall behind him, he saw Hermione had joined him. Not all that long after Ron appeared next to her.
Before any of them could say a word though, an old man walked into the room, carrying a hot water bottle and walking with a bit of a limp. With sudden recognition, Harry realized he had seen the old man before. "I recognize him." Harry whispered to Ron and Hermione.
"Where?" Hermione inquired.
"He was one of the ghostly figures that came out of Voldemort's wand when we dueled the night he returned." Harry told them as the old man began to fill a teapot he had picked up off an old stove.
"What the hell…damn those kids." The old man shouted and dropping his hot water bottle bolted out of the room.
Harry and Ron moved over to the window the old man had just been looking out of. Across what looked like a well kept lawn and garden, there stood an old house that looked as if it had seen better days. Harry then saw what had gotten the old mans attention, a light that was defiantly a fire could be seen though one of the windows. "That must be the Riddle House." Ron stated as he stared at the old building.
"Well the newspaper won't help out," Hermione said from a small table in the corner of the kitchen, "it's completely blank."
This didn't surprise Harry all that much, since more than likely the paper was not in his dream, which meant it could not be read. He didn't have time to voice this opinion before the old man was back in the kitchen, this time fully dressed. "This time I will make sure those kids parents pay for any damages they caused to the house." He said, grabbing a walking stick and an old rusty key.
The three of them followed the old man up to the house where he first checked the front door, more than likely to see if it had been forced open, then went around to the back where he used the key to open the door. Not bothering to close it again, the old man proceeded to make his way though a dimly lit kitchen. Harry had the suspicion the old man had done this more than enough times to know his way around the place.
They continued to follow him as he began to climb up a stairway. They turned right and stopped at a doorway that obviously led into the room where the fire was lit. "There is a little more in the bottle, My Lord, if you are still hungry." Came an all too familiar voice from inside the room.
"That's Wormtail." Harry stated.
"Then does that mean You-Know-Who is with him?" Ron asked.
But the answer to that question came only seconds later when a high pitched voice replied, "Later, move me closer to the fire, Wormtail." Harry looked over at the old man and saw he was inching forward in order to hear all the better. "Were is Nagini at?" Voldemort asked.
"I -- I don't know, My Lord," Wormtail said nervously. "She set out to explore the house, I think..."
"You will milk her before we retire, Wormtail," Voldemort said. "I will need feeding in the night. The journey has tired me greatly."
Harry looked at Ron and Hermione, "I wish that we could see what was going on in there." He told them.
"At least we can still hear there conversation." Hermione said.
Harry thought about it, and nodded. He then went to the task of listening to the conversation that Wormtail and Voldemort were having. He could also clearly see that the old man was trying to clean out his ears. Obviously he had overheard something he thought he must have misheard.
"Because, fool, at this very moment wizards are pouring into the country from all over the world, and every meddler from the Ministry of Magic will be on duty, on the watch for signs of unusual activity, checking and double-checking identities. They will be obsessed with security, lest the Muggles notice anything. So we wait." Voldemort told Wormtail angrily.
The old man stopped trying to clean out his ears at this point. Harry assumed he figured out he was not mishearing anything at all.
"Your Lordship is still determined, then?" Wormtail said quietly.
"Certainly I am determined, Wormtail." There was a note of menace in Voldemort's voice now.
"It could be done without Harry Potter, My Lord." Wormtail said nervously.
Harry looked at Ron and Hermione again, and they all knew what Wormtail was referring to.
"Without Harry Potter?" breathed Voldemort softly. "I see..."
"My Lord, I do not say this out of concern for the boy!" Said Wormtail, his voice rising squeakily. "The boy is nothing to me, nothing at all! It is merely that if we were to use another witch or wizard, any wizard, the thing could be done so much more quickly! If you allowed me to leave you for a short while, you know that I can disguise myself most effectively, I could be back here in as little as two days with a suitable person."
"I could use another wizard," said Voldemort softly, "that is true..."
"My Lord, it makes sense," said Wormtail, sounding thoroughly relieved now. "Laying hands on Harry Potter would be so difficult, he is so well protected."
"And so you volunteer to go and fetch me a substitute? I wonder...perhaps the task of nursing me has become wearisome for you, Wormtail? Could this suggestion of abandoning the plan be nothing more than an attempt to desert me?"
"My Lord! I, I have no wish to leave you, none at all…"
"Do not lie to me!" Hissed Voldemort. "I can always tell, Wormtail! You are regretting that you ever returned to me. I revolt you. I see you flinch when you look at me, feel you shudder when you touch me..."
"No! My devotion to Your Lordship…"
"Your devotion is nothing more than cowardice. You would not be here if you had anywhere else to go. How am I to survive without you, when I need feeding every few hours? Who is to milk Nagini?"
"But you seem so much stronger, My Lord…"
"Liar," breathed Voldemort. "I am no stronger, and a few days alone would be enough to rob me of the little health I have regained under your clumsy care. Silence!"
There was a few seconds of silence where Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at each other again. During this silence, Harry remembered what Dumbledore had told him the night that Wormtail had escaped, 'When one wizard saves another ones life that wizard is indebted to the other.' It sounded to Harry that Wormtail was indeed trying to repay him for saving his life.
"I have my reasons for using the boy, as I have already explained to you, and I will use no other. I have waited thirteen years. A few more months will make no difference. As for the protection surrounding the boy, I believe my plan will be effective. All that is needed is a little courage from you, Wormtail, courage you will find, unless you wish to feel the full extent of Lord Voldemort's wrath."
"My Lord, I must speak!" Said Wormtail, panic in his voice now. "All through our journey, I have gone over the plan in my head, My Lord, Bertha Jorkin's disappearance will not go unnoticed for long, and if we proceed, if I murder…"
"If?" Whispered Voldemort. "If? If you follow the plan, Wormtail, the Ministry need never know that anyone else has died. You will do it quietly and without fuss; I only wish that I could do it myself, but in my present condition...Come, Wormtail, one more death and our path to Harry Potter is clear. I am not asking you to do it alone. By that time, my faithful servant will have rejoined us."
"He must be talking about Barty Crouch." Ron said.
Harry nodded, "From what I can remember from Dumbledore's interrogation of him, Barty Crouch rejoined Voldemort not to long after this."
"Shhh..." Hermione told them, "I'm trying to hear what they are saying."
"I found you," said Wormtail, and there was definitely a sulky edge to his voice now. "I was the one who found you. I brought you Bertha Jorkins."
"That is true," Voldemort said in an amused voice. "A stroke of brilliance I would not have thought possible from you, Wormtail, though, if truth be told, you were not aware how useful she would be when you caught her, were you?"
"I, I thought she might be useful, My Lord…"
"Liar," said Voldemort, the cruel amusement more pronounced than ever. "However, I do not deny that her information was invaluable. Without it, I could never have formed our plan, and for that, you will have your reward, Wormtail. I will allow you to perform an essential task for me, one that many of my followers would give their right hands to perform..."
"Yeah," Harry said, unable to help himself, "he did give his right hand, literally." Hermione shot him a look, and Harry stopped himself from saying anything else.
"R-really, My Lord? What?" Wormtail sounded terrified again.
"Ah, Wormtail, you don't want me to spoil the surprise? Your part will come at the very end...but I promise you, you will have the honor of being just as useful as Bertha Jorkins."
"You...you..." Wormtail's voice suddenly sounded hoarse, as though his mouth had gone very dry. "You...are going...to kill me too?"
"Wormtail, Wormtail," said Voldemort silkily, "why would I kill you? I killed Bertha because I had to. She was fit for nothing after my questioning, quite useless. In any case, awkward questions would have been asked if she had gone back to the Ministry with the news that she had met you on her holidays. Wizards who are supposed to be dead would do well not to run into Ministry of Magic witches at wayside inns..."
Wormtail told Voldemort something so quietly that none of them could hear it, but whatever he did say it made Voldemort laugh a cold merciless laugh.
"We could have modified her memory? But Memory Charms can be broken by a powerful wizard, as I proved when I questioned her. It would be an insult to her memory not to use the information I extracted from her, Wormtail."
Harry looked over at the old man, and saw he was now gripping his walking stick. He wondered what was going through his mind right now. Should he call the police, but would the police be able to do anything if these people were who, not to mention what, they appeared to be, and would they even believe him. Whatever the old man was thinking, Harry knew he wanted nothing more than to be anywhere but here right now.
"One more murder...my faithful servant at Hogwarts...Harry Potter is as good as mine, Wormtail. It is decided. There will be no more argument. But quiet...I think I hear Nagini..."
Voldemort started to spit and hiss. Ron and Hermione immediately looked at Harry, and for good reason, Voldemort was talking in Parcel Tong.
"What's he saying Harry?" Hermione asked.
Harry listened to Voldemort, "He is calling Nagini to him." He told them.
"Listen!" Ron said. They all stained their ears, and heard the unmistakable sound of something approaching them. Harry once again looked at the old man, and saw he was petrified with fear at the sight of the gigantic snake that was coming right at him. Nagini came level with the old man and then passed right by him.
Harry could see the sweat on the old mans forehead and the hand, which was gripping the walking stick, was not trembling. But he did not dwell on this for very long, for Voldemort had begun to hiss and spit again, as he talked to Nagini. Once again, Harry translated for Ron and Hermione, "Nagini is telling Voldemort about the old man."
"How terrible," Hermione said as she watched the old man, "and it appears the sight of Nagini was so terrifying he can't even move."
"Nagini has interesting news, Wormtail," Voldemort finally said.
"In-indeed, My Lord?" Said Wormtail.
"Indeed, yes," said Voldemort, "According to Nagini, there is an old Muggle standing right outside this room, listening to every word we say."
Harry, Ron, ad Hermione watched as the door flew open and Wormtail stood there staring at the old man. Harry almost thought he saw pity in his eyes.
"Invite him inside, Wormtail. Where are your manners?"
Harry could now see properly into the room for the first time now that the door was open. There was an old chair sitting in front of a fire. Obviously this was where Voldemort was sitting. Nagini on the other hand was curled up on an old rotting hearth rug, much like a dog would do.
Wormtail beckoned the old man into the room. Though still deeply shaken, Harry could see he was determined not to show any fear to this person, and taking a firmer grip on his walking stick, the old man limped over the threshold, Harry, Ron, and Hermione right behind him. They then took up places where they could watch everything that was happening.
The fire was the only source of light in the room, it cast long, spidery shadows upon the walls. The old man stared at the back of the armchair, but it was obvious he could not see Voldemort in it.
"You heard everything, Muggle?" Voldemort said in that cold voice.
"What's that you're calling me?" Said the old man defiantly, although Harry did notice he seemed a lot braver now that he was in the room. He could defiantly relate to that feeling.
"I am calling you a Muggle," said Voldemort coolly. "It means you are not a wizard."
"I don't know what you mean by wizard," said the old man, his voice growing steadier. "All I know is I've heard enough to interest the police tonight, I have. You've done murder and you're planning more! And I'll tell you this too, my wife knows I'm up here, and if I don't come back…"
"You have no wife," said Voldemort, very quietly. Harry had to admit that normally that bluff would have worked, but not now. "Nobody knows you are here. You told nobody that you were coming. Do not lie to Lord Voldemort, Muggle, for he knows...he always knows..."
"Is that right?" Said the old man roughly. "Lord, is it? Well, I don't think much of your manners, My Lord. Turn 'round and face me like a man, why don't you?"
"But I am not a man, Muggle," said Voldemort, barely audible now over the crackling of the flames. "I am much, much more than a man. However...why not? I will face you...Wormtail, come turn my chair around."
Wormtail gave a whimper.
"You heard me, Wormtail."
Slowly, Wormtail turned the chair around to face the old man. When it was turned around fully, the old man screamed in fear when he saw Voldemort. Harry could also hear gasp from both Ron and Hermione when they got their first real look at Voldemort as he was at that time. While the old man screamed, Voldemort pulled out his wand and pointed it at him. Harry knew what was going to happen even before Voldemort spoke the words that were the last thing many a wizard heard, "Avada Kedavera!" There was a flash of green light, a rushing sound, and then they were standing in the kitchen of Number Twelve Grimmauld Place once again
"Did you find out anything?" Ginny asked.
"Afraid not!" Hermione said as she sat down at the table.
"We were able to see everything that happened to that old muggle," Ron said, "but it didn't give us any clues as to where we were at."
"I even looked at a paper that was lying around, and it was completely blank." Hermione told them, "Which I guess makes sense in a way."
They all looked at Harry, who after a moment shrugged, "It was a good idea, it just didn't work out all that well." Harry then headed for the door.
"Where are you going?" Ginny asked.
"To send Hedwig to Scrimgeour. I have to hold up my end of our bargain."
"But we didn't learn the location of the Horcrux mate." Ron protested.
Harry shook his head, "That was not Scrimgeour's fault," he told them, "I made a deal with him, and I intend to live up to my end of it."
"But Harry," Ginny spoke up, "you told him you would only hold up to your end of the bargain if you found what you were looking for."
"That is why Harry has to do this." Lupin said, "If the Minister and the rest of the Ministry of Magic thinks Harry has found what he was looking for, then they will be in more of a position to promise that this war will end. Then it will help to ease some of the tension Voldemort's return as brought on."
"And," Hermione added, "it may just allow them to stop imprisoning innocent people like they did to Sirius."
"It's all about hope." Lupin told them, "And just a little hope can be more powerful than any spell or jinx."
"Exactly," Harry told them, "the more I think about it the more I understand exactly what Scrimgeour wanted, even if he didn't understand it completely himself. He wanted me to give a ray of hope to the magical community. This is why I have to do this even if we didn't find what we were looking for. I still have an obligation to try and help if I can."
Ginny nodded that she understood what was being said, but Ron still had a bit of a confused look on his face. "I don't plan on making it sound like the Ministry of Magic has done nothing but good," Harry explained, more for Ron's benefit than any one else's, "but I will acknowledge they have taken steps in the right direction."
Ron was about to say something, but at that time the kitchen door opened and John Warrens stepped inside, "Harry it is time for your lesson." He told them.
"I had best be going anyway," Lupin said as he walked over to the table and poured the memories from the Pensive back into the glass bottle, "I told Minerva I would return this when we were finished with it." He put the Pensive in a traveling bag, "besides I also told Flitwick I would help him to finish his tests on both the cup and the locket." Lupin walked to the center of the room and with a soft POP disapparated from the room.
Harry followed John into the sitting room, which as always had been cleared of almost all of the furniture, and picked up one of the wooden practice swords, which he had learned during their first lesson were called bow kens. "Are you ready Harry?" John asked as he held his bow ken at the ready.
Harry nodded, and John rushed in with a stab to the chest. Harry defected his stab and brought his bow ken around to in a slashing move right at John's neck. John ducked under it and continued his fall into a sweep kick that knocked Harry flat on the floor, which knocked the air out of him. Before he knew what was happening, Harry found the tip of John's bow ken pointed right at him. He then pulled it away and offered his hand to help Harry up. "Again!" he said.
This continued for a little over hour, until they once again stood facing each other. "What are you thinking about Harry?" John asked.
"I don't know," Harry told him, "how to beat you perhaps."
John smiled at him, "There is your problem."
"What do you mean?"
"You are so concerned about beating me that you are not letting yourself win." When Harry gave him a confused look, John explained, "Your focus is entirely devoted to defeating me and not to the task of defending yourself. This is how I am able to get inside your defenses." Harry thought about it, and decided it did make some sense. "Have you heard of the Samurai Harry?" John asked.
Harry nodded, "It's a style of the martial arts."
"Very good," John told him, "but only partially correct. The Samurai were a group of warriors that used to not only protect Japan, but rule it as well, and did so for several hundred years. They were also the most revered swordsmen ever. Many forms of swordsmanship were based on their style."
"Ok," Harry said, "but what does this have to do with me defeating Voldemort?"
"The Samurai," John continued as if he was not interrupted, "were able to clear their minds of any thought and only focus on what they were doing. They could be in the thick of a battle, and still every warrior would be able to focus on their own opponent. That is what I am telling you to do Harry, clear your mind, and don't focus on how to defeat me, but how to defend yourself against me. Do you understand?"
Harry thought about it for a moment, and realized what John had told him made a lot of sense. He didn't have to defeat Voldemort right away, he just had to defend himself long enough for Voldemort to make a mistake. Then go in for the finishing blow.
"Are you ready?" John asked. Harry cleared his mind of all thoughts of winning, and focused instead on defending himself. He nodded, and once again John lunged at him, this time with a slashing motion. Harry deflected this one easily, and when John drew back his bow ken to perform a stab, Harry just moved out of the way and was ready when John turned his stab into a slash. It continued on like this for several moments, until Harry finally saw an opening and struck by throwing his leg out and catching John in a sweep kick. Within seconds, John was on the floor with the tip of Harry's bow ken pointed at his throat. Without realizing how he'd done it, Harry also noticed that John's bow ken was lying several feet away. "Very good Harry," John said as Harry helped him up, "very good indeed, I am glad to see you took on my advice so quickly."
"Thanks John." Harry said as he pulled out his wand and conjured up a couple goblets of water. "I really started to understand what you were saying just before your first attack. Believe it or not, your advice also helped me to figure out a few other things."
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Harry sent Hedwig out with the letter to Scrimgeour later that day and began to work on his speech. Hedwig returned the next day with a reply saying that he would need to be present at a gathering for the press the following Monday, which gave him enough time to finish his speech, or so he hoped.
The night before he was to give his speech, Harry was still working on it. "Still having trouble with your speech?" came an all too well-known voice from the doorway into the office he was working in. Harry didn't need to turn around to know that Ginny was standing there.
"I thought that after what John told me the other day it would be easy to write this thing," he told her as he crumpled up the parchment that was in front of him and through it into the wastebasket were there was already a considerable amount of parchment balls, "but the words are just not coming out right." Harry felt Ginny place her hands on his shoulders and start to rub them, "This is just like back in the school I went to before I got my letter from Hogwarts, I can't seem to get the wording right. The only difference is that, unlike back then, I won't have Dudley there to make me nervous as I give this thing."
"Maybe I can help." Ginny offered, "What are you trying to say?"
Harry took a deep breath, "It won't do anyone any good if I praise the Ministry for every decision they have made, but at the same time it won't do any good to criticize them either. I need to find a way to compliment them on the things they have begun to do…"
"Even if it is too late for some of the people that they wrongfully accused." Ginny put in.
Harry nodded, "I also need to figure out a way to criticize them for all of the bad choices they have made over the years."
Ginny thought about this for a moment, "Maybe you are just thinking about this to much. I know that whenever I was working on an essay for one of my classes and I was stuck like you are, I would just clear my mind for a few moments and let it come to me."
Harry turned around and smiled at Ginny, "That is what John told me the other day during our sword lesson, I guess it will work here as well." Harry then stood up and kissed Ginny. When they broke apart, Harry sat back down and started to write again."
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Around noon the next day Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny stepped out of the one of the Floo network fires in the Grand Pavilion of the Ministry of Magic. Percy was standing there waiting for them. "Where have you been? It is nearly time to begin." He snapped at them
"Back off Percy we got held up." Ron snapped back at his brother.
Percy just ignored Ron and held out several pieces of parchment to Harry. "What is this?" Harry asked
"It is the statement I have prepared for you." Percy told him, "You had better read over it otherwise…What the hell are you doing?" he asked in shock as Harry pulled out his wand and ignited the speech that Percy had given him.
"Sorry Percy, but I have my own statement I will be reading from." Harry informed him as he dropped Percy's speech onto the floor and let it burn up.
He then headed for the Fountain of Magical Brethren were there was a large crowd gathered. Percy caught up to them just before they reached the back of the group, and muttering incoherently to himself, led the way to a small stage that was set up next to the fountain. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny all stood off to the side as Percy stepped up to a podium that was on the stage. "Thank you for coming today," he began, "I am Percival Weasley, the Minister of Magic's personal aid. The reason you have been called here today is for you to hear, and then publish in your various papers a statement that has been prepared by Harry Potter." Percy shot Harry a dirty look, and motioned for him to join him at the podium. "Without further delay, Harry Potter."
There was a short amount of applause as Harry stepped up to the podium. "Thank you." He said as he scanned over the crowd. In the front row, he saw Rita Skeeter sitting there with a piece of parchment on her lap, sucking with obvious relish on the tip of her acid green quill, just before she placed it on the parchment. Deciding he would just ignore Rita if he could, Harry continued, "The reason I am here is that I wanted to give both my praise and criticism," he heard a gasp of surprise and foreboding from Percy at this, "to the Ministry of Magic for the job they have done over the last few years, especially since Volde…sorry, You-Know-Who has returned.
"Let me start by saying that though Rufus Scrimgeour is a much better minister in these times of war than Cornelius Fudge ever was, he has still done his share of mistakes. For instance, the unjustified imprisonment of Stan Shunpike last year was a grave injustice when there are real Death Eaters out there that are actually committing crimes that justify being sent to Azkaban for.
"But I will also be the first to admit that this Zero Tolerance policy of his seems to be a genuine attempt to make up for the mistakes the Ministry of Magic has committed, starting with the actions of Barty Crouch, who sent many people to Azkaban. Now, I am not saying all of those people were not Death Eaters. After all, the people that were picked up with his son after they tortured Frank and Alice Longbottom were most defiantly Death Eaters. But let's also not forget the innocent people that were sent there at that time as well, for instance Sirius Black, the man that was accused of the murder of my parents. Black was framed by Peter Pettigrew, the real person behind the murder of my parents.
"But I am not blaming the Ministry of Magic for all of the wrong's that have been committed there was also others who were behind these things. Lucius Malfoy for one mislead Cornelius Fudge every time he stepped foot here, with the exception of when he was captured last year.
"I also can't forget the injustice the Daily Prophet did to not only my reputation, but also that of Albus Dumbledore's last year, all of which was started by a certain reporter that, even though I would love to let out the identity of, will remain nameless at this time." Harry couldn't help but notice that Rita Skeeter had shifted uncomfortably in her chair. This more than anything else helped him to continue on.
"Then there were the actions of Delores Umbridge, who weaseled her way into Hogwarts under false pretences, and not only nearly failed all of the students that were taking their O.W.L.S and N.E.W.T.S, but also used questionable methods to not only make sure things turned so the Minister would come out smelling like a rose, but to ensure that the truth remained covered up."
Harry looked over at Ron, Hermione, and Ginny and saw they all had smiles on their faces. Percy on the other hand was standing their looking at Harry in disbelief with his jaw hanging open. It was at that time that Harry decided he should rap this up, "In short, no matter how it may sound, I did not come here today to criticize the Ministry of Magic, but to ask they do not repeat the mistakes they have made in the past, and continue to move on in a positive direction. Thank you!" Harry then moved away from the podium and headed over to where the others were standing.
"What the HELL was that?" Percy asked anger evident in his voice.
"It's simple, the only way I could think of to tell everyone that the Ministry is doing a good job, was to outline some of the wrongs they have committed over the last few years." Harry explained.
"I think it was brilliant." Ginny said and it was clear that both Ron and Hermione agreed with this statement.
Percy looked at Harry, then at Ginny, and then Ron, then at Hermione, then back at Harry, and then stormed off. "I don think he liked ya speech Harry." said a familiar voice from behind them.
"Hagrid," Harry said as he and the others walked over to him, "what are you doing here?"
"Came ta hear your speech Harry," Hagrid said as he dug through the many, many pockets on his mole skin overcoat, finally he seemed to find what he was looking for, "and ta give ya this." He handed Harry a small piece of parchment that was folded in half.
Harry opened it up and what was written on it, 'The last Horcrux you are looking for can be found in Little Hangleton, R.A.B.'. "Where did you get this Hagrid?" Harry asked.
"Was tol ta give it ta ya by Professor McGonagall, said she received it by owl yesterday." Hagrid explained. He then pulled out a gold watch from one of his pockets, "Blimmy, is that the time, I had best be off." And before anyone could say anything else, Hagrid disapparated from the spot.
"What does it say Harry?" Hermione asked.
Harry handed the note to Hermione, who read it with Ron and Ginny looking over her shoulder. When they had finished reading it they looked up at him, "We go in the day after tomorrow."
Authors Note: First off, I would like to point out that the reason this chapter was so long is because I pretty much copied the part in the Pensive word for word from Goblet of Fire, with a few alterations here and there so that it sounded like it was being watched from the outside, instead of from the perspective of Frank Bryce. Second, doing it in that way was the only way that I could think of to properly write out that part, so please don't give me reviews saying that it was not right for me to do that. Third I would like to thank everyone that has been reading my story for leaving all of the great reviews (all thirteen of them). I hope to have the next chapter up soon, later.
