The Greatest Weapon, Chapter 3

The next morning dawned bright and cloudless, although everyone was still rather subdued after the shock of the previous nights' Daily Prophet, the Slytherins especially so. Draco, in particular, seemed to be somewhat shellshocked.

Harry actually felt sorry for him, especially as he knew what was in the works. Draco, blessedly, had no idea, or he doubtless would have been still more miserable; as it was, the shock of his noble pureblood father having growled at the feet of a halfblood during the last war was a little too much for his Slytherin Prince ego.

But, fortunately or unfortunately, Harry had already sent a liberally marked and remarked outline to Rita, and Malfoy would totally be roasted. He would also be furious, but Harry could handle furious. Especially as Draco would have no idea it was him.

Currently, Harry was sitting at the Gryffindor table with his "sketch pad" taking notes of everything else he wanted to do, and actually doing some drawing too- he wanted to make sure his "sketching" excuse could be backed up, if necessary. Besides, he actually did like drawing.

His notes, however, were of vastly more importance right now. They comprised a list of all his ideas for articles and pamphlets, his notes on the reactions of different students, teachers, and houses at large, and most of all, the list of things he wanted to do when he got the time, and the things he wanted to look into personally. His notes were as follows:

Articles:Sirius's lack of trial, where do muggleborns get their magic, the Triwizard tournament, myself, Safety at Hogwarts, werewolf, house elf, and goblin rights, Wizarding etiquette and the joke that is muggle studies, bullying at Hogwarts, Hagrid's wand being snapped, Dark, dark, grey, and light magic...

Reaction Chart:

Gryffindors: seem to be universally glad about Umbridge article; are shocked about Voldemort's true nature, but more because of the lurid details than the blood status, and McG. is not at all surprised. Hortensia Blossom is the only one in the * !#!? he's a halfblood? camp.

Hufflepuffs: definitely glad that Umbridge is gone; there are more muggleborns in that house than any other and muggleborns were mostly the ones who got detention with the blood quill. Most shocked about Voldie's status and past, and some ! seem to be sorry for him. Zacherias Smith is saying that Voldie's status is what made him evil; keep an eye on him.

Ravenclaws: almost all visibly glad Umbridge is gone; some don't show it, but they're not sad either. They're debating on why Volde is evil and all of them seem to be doing extracurricular research. Some of the hardcore purebloods are trying to prove that his "tainted blood" is what made him evil, while others maintain it's his background. Flitwick seems to be encouraging the debates.

Slytherins: glad that Umbridge is gone with almost no exceptions. Well, that's one thing the whole school agrees on. Very subdued. Most are either discussing Voldie's status and changing their opinions or in denial. Interestingly, Daphne Greengrass didn't seem all that surprised, and she doesn't act very upset, either. Snape looks like he's bit into a green orange.

Things to look into:

Dumbledore- why doesn't he give me information when I need it. Why did he put dangerous animals in the school to protect the stone. Why did he have to protect the stone? Why wasn't he worried about the Flannels dying? Why didn't he check on me at Privet Drive? Why did he send Hagrid when I needed someone to introduce me to the Wizarding world- isn't McG. supposed to do that? Why didn't he push for Sirius to get a trial? Did he know who the secret keeper was? Why did he allow Hermione a time turner when she was burning herself out? What isn't he telling me about why Voldie wants me dead, and why? Why didn't he give me my dad's cloak as soon as I got to Hogwarts; it was mine, wasn't it?

Voldemort- how am I connected to him? Why is he hunting me down? How am I getting visions and how do I block them and can the visions be false? Why did he go after me in the 1st place? How does the Dark Mark work? Can the blood wards at my house keep him out now that he shares my blood?

Snape: why does he hate me so much? Who is he loyal to Voldemort? Dumbledore? How does occlumency work? Is he being affected by the Dark Mark or is he just a total git or is he both a bit and being controlled? How well did he know my parents?

Ron and Hermione: can I tell them? Can I trust them? Do I dare tell them, or should I keep them ignorant to keep them safe? Why did Molly Weasley talk so loud about the platform that one day I met them? Is Hermione safe at Hogwarts?

Lupin: he never came to check on me at #4 Privet Drive, but he claims he was a friend of my parents. He's a werewolf but not Dark; but who is he loyal to? He seems suggestable. Why hasn't he at least tried to be in my life more?

Draco: Lucius Malfoy is definitely bad, marked etc. However, Draco seems more like a bully than a murderer. Maybe he can be turned to our side? He seems like he has at least a partial conscience. How will he react to the latest article? Is he enough of a pureblood snob that he'll reject Voldemort on grounds of blood purity?

Ginny: is she okay since the possession in her first year? How is she doing now? How do I very nicely stop her from crushing on me?

To Do: learn occlumency, get an animagus form, write and send all above articles, look into all above questions, get a place to live away from the Dursleys, look over my account with the goblins, do homework...

Harry might have written more, but at that moment the owls were dropping off the mail, and Harry eagerly pulled his paper out of his bowl of grapefruit, happily anticipating the chaos. It was nice to cause a stir, as long as he was anonymous.

Harry glanced at the Prophet and could scarcely swallow his goofy grin. Rita had outdone herself; he'd have to give her a pay raise. A big one. He'd only speculated about half of the notes he'd sent her, but evidently she'd used her animagus form to spy, and, from what it looked like, held some blackmail over Lucius Malfoy, because the article was a juicy one, and some of it had to have come from the man itself.

Lucius Malfoy Admits All! Harry risked a look at Draco, who had turned a ghastly color and was skimming the Prophet desperately.

Lucius Malfoy, an upstanding citizen and sponsor of St. Mungo's, has recently been found to be bribing current Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, who himself is under investigation for fraud, in a shocking turn of events! Recent research of the reporter's, however, as well as testimony from several sources, disclosed and anonymous, has hinted that there is more to the story.

"Mr. Malfoy has always been a good customer of mine," Mr. Borgin of Knock Turn Alley's Borgin and Burke's comments. "He has quite a stock of Dark artifacts; it's really a pleasure to work with him."

A senior auror, one Ophelia Lane, has less positive things to say. "We've known he has a hidden room of Dark artifacts for a long time now," she says, "but we just can't prove it! There's only so many times you can declare a search warrant for the same damn thing, but we keep getting so many reputable tip-offs that we can't not look. It's really annoying having to work around all the red tape that the slippery jerk puts in our way."

Worse than this, even, is the new, groundbreaking research into the Dark Mark.

"You can't take the Mark under imperius," says an [undisclosed] cursebreaker. "I've studied that thing every which way for a year, as my Master's thesis, and I can tell you, not only does it hurt like Hell when you're branded, but it breaks any spells you're under prior; Lord Thingy doesn't want his servants to be under glamor or imperius, because that means you're either deceiving him or not fully under his control."

If my sources are correct, then the imperius defence is invalid, which means that Mr. Malfoy chose to be a Death Eater! While it is easier to think that such an important and ostensibly good man was being used, we can't discount that it could have been a choice. Consider, also- who would be powerful enough to imperius such an outstanding and accomplished pureblood? And considering the record of muggle-baiting that Lucius accrued in his youth, would an imperius really be necessary?

And what of the rumors that Mr. Malfoy slipped a school child, a first year, even, a Dark artifact that nearly killed her and several others, including the Boy-Who-Lived? Aught not those be looked into? What is Dumbledore doing in that school of his that sparks such rumors? Or are they more than rumors?

Is there anyone competent and just enough to be a minister? A headmaster? A ministry paper-pusher even? If these are the secrets of the best and brightest members of our society, how will Wizarding Britain survive!

Harry skimmed the article, more watching the rest of the Hall than actually reading. Draco looked sick, either from what his father had done or what this would mean for the Malfoy family, Harry couldn't tell. Hermione had done the unpardonable; she'd snatched Percy's copy of the newspaper (he was the closest one to her with one) and was reading avidly, and most of the staff were showing various stages of shock. All in all, quite a good reaction. Harry hoped that after all this, the people's anger would be greater than Malfoy's gold.