Chapter 26: The Great Ministry Secret

"Well for what it's worth, your deductive skills are becoming quite good. But I supposed you've figured things out like this before- you're quite keen on anything regarding Draco" Hermione smirked lightly, which lessened the deeply purple bags under her eyes. Harry guessed his mustn't look much better as he hadn't slept at all since their midnight meeting. Waving his wand to quickly quiet the coffee pot, he poured him and his friend a mug.

"Are we good to discuss here or should we take another hike through the moor?" Upon hearing some shuffling in the kitchenette, Hermione beckoned to the backyard and the two set out silently into the wintry morning.

The fresh snow shone fiercely white and made Harry's eyes squint, but the cold had seemed to recede in the night. After a way, he slowed to face Hermione, tilting his head. She paused for a length and started carefully, "As I said, it's not my choice to keep you all so uninformed. It's hard to separate workplace decorum when, well, I mean half of you are family and the others might as well be. It's not like this in the muggle world you know, well, at least not in London, but the wizarding community is much smaller…."

Harry shook his head understandingly, "I suppose that's how all corruption starts- among friends. And it doesn't help that the War made heroes of our peers no? Of course we fill up half the Ministry"

Hermione chuckled, "And we haven't even grown old yet."

"Speak for yourself, James regularly out-flies me these days. Brooms are, well I have to stretch now…" another chuckle, though Hermione pursed her lips, clearly ready to start the real discussion.

"The vanishing cabinet survived the fire, yes- apparently the old ones are very well charmed to resist these kinds of things. But, to your second point, no, we have no need for a secret portal into Hogwarts from Diagon Alley. We confiscated the Borgin and Burke one a while ago actually- it's in the Ministry at the moment with eight others. Draco thinks four can be useable by March."

"So you've already given him the job then?" Harry inquired. Hermione reddened, "He doesn't know what they're for as of yet but obviously we want to check their efficacy at the target locations and he'll gather what's going on. And the charms necessary for the Hogwarts cabinet render it highly fragile so he'll have to do repairs there."

Harry pondered this more, but Hermione suddenly waved her hand impatiently, "You've already figured out enough I might as well tell you but DON'T tell Ron you know a wink understand?" Harry nodded.

Hermione took a rather long sip of coffee before starting, "Well, I guess to begin with, Shacklebolt didn't use Ministry funds to party in the Caribbean…"

Harry snorted, "Hermione even Ron has figured that much out himself. We saw Atterberry talking with him in a Muggle petrol station about a month after his resignation, showing him documents and such. We figured he just needed lower profile excuse- I mean, Fenrir escaped Azkaban under his orders and that wasn't released to the public until much later. I assume he made a deal or something."

Hermione looked somewhere between terrified and angry, but replied, weakly, "It's got everything to do with Greyback…. " She shuddered involuntarily, "He, he built a colony down in Wales and…"

"What do you mean 'built'" Harry's coffee was suddenly nauseatingly bitter.

"He was taking children." Said Hermione, "But there were other werewolves in allegiance with him, adults… adult wizards that were bitten. They… Lupin was right to fear about his condition being hereditary I guess- or maybe both parents need to be… turned. I don't know, but the taken children weren't surviving nearly as long as the offspring. That's why he hasn't surfaced recently"

Now even the smell of his drink was making him sick. Harry swallowed. "So we have second generation werewolves…. And there's more?" Hermione's face was stricken, "I suppose these, well what are they children? Pups? They don't have greater powers do they?"

"They are children Harry," Hermione said firmly, "They're abused and have done horrible things but they're children nonetheless."

"They've done horrible things?" Harry questioned sharply.

"From what we've gathered, they only want the ones that aren't wizards and the ones that are, they… practice on- I really don't want to get further into this. They-he- they're all terrified and starved and made to make awful decisions… you remember how hard an adult like Lupin had to try to control his transitions."

"So that's what Shacklebolt showed you that trip."

Hermione half-shook her head. "Well yes, but we had no idea what we were dealing with then. I went on an extraction."

Harry looked at her quizzically, "How did you even find them in the first place?"

Hermione laughed mirthlessly, " They, the magical ones… they turned eleven Harry."

A creeping dread had sunk into Harry's stomach. He recalled a scene just before Hermione and Shacklebolt had set off on that very odd weekend where McGonagall had all but blown down the Minister's door to talk about some urgent matter, "Hermione are they at Hogwarts? They got letters didn't they?"

Hermione looked teary, "There were about twelve of them, sets- you see you can sort of tell it was funny- they are all born as twins…" She sniffled slightly, "We did know what was going on so we sent a team of officials to check the…. Well we thought it was a village. But we were attacked-it's not like we thought it would be dangerous- Shacklebolt just needed officials with good obliviate spells since we figured most would be muggleborns. They…. I saw Fenrir and then I didn't and when we finally fought through the clan we found them and, he'd just killed them- every single one. I think he wanted magical ones at first but they're detectable so… we haven't received letters like that since, which means…"

The tears were now streaming readily from Hermione's face and Harry clutched his friend tightly, looking into the beautiful December mist with utmost apathy. But another thought slowly crept into his consciousness- a conversation with Al, "Hermione, my son- Al- he has a set of twins in his year—he said they're sickly…"

Hermione pulled away and wiped her eyes furiously, "The Markov's probably- there's another set as well, probably doing much better. Their mother found us after the extract… disaster. Just handed them over- you could tell they were well cared for. We found her and her husband about a month later- butchered. It's barbaric" She paused and eyed Harry apologetically, "The Markovs were rescued by… we found Katie Bell Harry."

Harry jerked away and fixed Hermione with an icy stare but couldn't speak.

"She was with Fenrir. I guess she was a trophy of sorts I- well she doesn't talk to anyone. One of the wizards had kept her Imperioused and somehow she was able to break free and managed to take those two along. She's in St. Mungo's- it's been less than a year."

"Harry, she has refused to see anyone and we have to respect it I guess. I couldn't tell you. Even me mentioning it now is more than she wants you to know."

Harry barely heard her last pleading words. He was trying to cry but the only thing his mind could summon was a blistering rage at it all. He hated himself and Hermione and Minerva and Shacklebolt and he whole mess that seemed to pass from his detection. Hermione seemed to think lesser emotions were flooding him because she continued, to his chagrin, " I get weekly reports on her health, physically she's recovering… and she saw the twins over the holiday. We've told her that once she's passed her psyche evaluations there might be an opportunity to adopt… so far that's been the only motivation that's worked…"

"Is she a… did he bite her." Harry stated flatly. Hermione brightened a little, "No she doesn't turn but she's obviously been mauled- it's a Bill situation, a little more severe. We suspect he wanted to control her more and feared giving her abilities…. I…. I'm sorry Harry this has to be upsetting."

"And so Shacklebolt's been up to what exactly," Harry hollowly pushed further. Hermione winced at his tone.

"He's been finding out where they moved. We can't detect any more in Britain so we guess he'd left the bounds of the Ministry. We informed France and Germany-as far as India-and none know of any situation. The other countries, well, the Eastern Bloc doesn't even track muggleborns if they don't attend Duramstag so I doubt they're monitoring much else, but Kingsley thinks that if he wanted wizards, that would be the place to go. It's been a diplomatic mess to be honest- Percy and Audrey being able to travel there was a miracle. Atterberry wouldn't even set up a meeting with the Senate."

"He just ignored all of this when he came to office?" Harry questioned, incredulous. After Fudge, he had no tolerance for Band-Aid politicians, and Atterberry certainly seemed the sort.

"He's vile," muttered Hermione, "He tried to confine them to special homes- he was building a space in St. Mungo's to hold them. He covers it up with safety, but he doesn't consider them wizards worthy of being in society. He completely drained the funding for accessible learning at Hogwarts. That was the true destination of Shacklebolt's 'tropical spending'."

The two sat in silence for a while more. The rationality of Hermione's decisions was beginning to assuage the white-hot anger, but even the cold winter air couldn't cool him completely. He breathed in the frost and tried block out the visual of Bill Weasley in the Hogwarts Hospital after the Astronomy tower skirmish. Or the defeated manner of Lupin, a wizard fully educated and yet so hardly accepted.

"I just don't know how something like this can be told correctly," Hermione whispered. Harry nodded.

"And you think Malfoy will approve of this use?"

Again Hermione stiffened, "I was worried about it but honestly… he's been okay with me. We're not friends and he obviously thinks I'm horribly underqualified as a leader but there's respect- at least in regards to the genuine effort he puts into his work. His critiques are fair, and he describes other magic folk with regard. He's a good wizard and talented- and that's without a proper wand."

"What's wrong with it?"

"I guess it got snapped in the Battle and Ollivander refused to repair it or replace it. None of the other wandmakers wanted him in their shops- he got it repaired at some off-hand place in Knockturn before it was vacated. It's a little touchy that's all."

Harry did feel sorry for Draco. It had been a while since their talk in the Ministry but recently he'd been approached by his former classmate, looking gaunt as ever, while Christmas shopping in Diagon Alley. He'd suddenly appeared at his side looking through an assortment of new perfumes for witches.

"Astoria's allergic to most of these." He eyed a line of earrings a little down the counter, crowded with shoppers.

"Good to know," Harry inspected a small cylinder of pale periwinkle liquid, looking skeptical at the price.

"I'd try a tester before you buy."

This was also sound advice. The promising bottle smelled sharply flowery and Harry estimated Ginny wouldn't like this kind of scent for at least three more decades. Draco was concentrating on the glittering trinkets behind the counter. Finally, he spoke, weighing his words carefully, "I hear our sons are still getting along at school."

Harry suspected this had been the reason for the conversation, "Yeah I've heard- but I guess being herbology partners can make friends out of the worst enemies."

Draco smirked slightly, "I suppose it's a rite of passage, getting punched by a snargaluff." He paused. The two had been steadily inching toward the jewelry counter and Draco looked thoughtfully at a pair of planetary earrings. Harry nodded approvingly and tried to eye a few necklaces further ahead. Draco let out an anxious breath, "We have a New Years tradition- we go see a light show just out of Oxford. It's a whole affair; party masks, a carnival, ice sculptures." Harry had heard of the event, "Isn't it a muggle thing?" He inquired.

"Well a bit, but there's a few tents for wizards only- light dragons and fairy performances. We've taken Scorpius and Jeya- I think you must know her- for a few years. He asked me if Al could come this year…" Draco ended rather quietly and catching the jeweler's attention, beckoned towards the case. He purchased a set of Neptune earrings and a charm bracelet with the same planet as well as a constellation. The objects spun around the delicately weaved band and the stars turned into a pair of fish halfway around. "Tori is a Pisces…" He explained, "Always been into these sorts of superstitions, divination and all."

Harry nodded absentmindedly. He turned to Draco and appraised his schoolmate. Well-dressed, unflashy, pale and anxious. He could ask Ginny if they could take the family to the Carnival as well, but Harry mused that there was a reason only Al had been invited. Still, the Malfoy family were not the people he wanted to leave his son with although Jeya's muggle parents seemed fine with the arrangement….

"I suppose if Al wants to go we can let him- just ask." Harry eventually stated.

Draco looked genuinely shocked and perhaps, briefly, elated, "Well great- we, we have masks for him already if he has none and… here." He tore a parchment from his pocket and scribbled an address on it, "I suppose the easiest way to travel is by floo so that's our fireplace."

Harry took the piece, "You don't live at Malfoy Manor?" The parchment was for somewhere in Cokesworth.

"No," said Draco tiredly, "We moved once Tori started treatments with Dr. Siva- she's at a hospital near there." He nodded at the address, "So she can come home for the holidays."

"I see," said Harry sympathetically.

"My father has also been a nightmare so that's another…" Draco drifted off bitterly, "My mother comes around a bit. Tori's parents wouldn't even attend the wedding."

Harry bit his tongue at the mention of Lucius, who had weaseled himself out of Azkaban for a second time. "Well, I'll send this to Al, Malfoy- thanks, I'm sure he'll be excited."

"Yes well, Scorpius will be pleased," He shuffled awkwardly and folded his gift into his cloak, "I guess… well Happy Christmas Potter."

"Happy Christmas," said Harry.

"Harry are you okay? You've been awfully quiet." Hermione and Harry had also made it back to the Burrow garden. She'd let him fall into his thoughts for several minutes, "I'm really sorry again I didn't tell you… I particularly felt you ought to have known…"

Harry still felt panged with the information of the morning but it was nothing he hadn't dealt with before, "It's okay Hermione, I think… I think Draco is the man for the job. He'll be okay."

From the stone tower, Harry could see a long train of children scampering down the steps, probably woken up by the savory breakfast scents streaming out of the kitchen. Before he could enter, Hermione grasped his shoulder solidly and he turned to see her bewildered, beaming face, "Harry… Thanks… Merry Christmas."