A Succession of Ministers

Sitting in the Transfiguration classroom, James waved his wand over the hedgehog on the desk and watched it shrink down into the size and shape of a pincushion. Prodding the still-gray ball with his wand, he frowned as it wiggled in protest and released the spell with a sigh. Trying again, he narrowed his eyes in total concentration, and the hedgehog gave out a small squeak as it morphed into a pincushion again, this time a bright orange.

Leaning over to admire his handiwork, Remus asked, "How did you get it so quickly?"

Shrugging, James leaned back in his chair as he watched the others work. "I don't know. Maybe you just need to try harder."

"I probably just need more practice," Remus agreed with a frown at his furry pincushion. Glancing over at Remus' Transfigured hedgehog, Peter waved his wand over his own animal with a quick motion. Instead of transforming, the hedgehog merely yelped as it was struck by a zap of blue light, and Peter groaned.

"How are you even supposed to make it turn a different color?" he pleaded with his roommates as his hedgehog attempted to run off of the desk. "I don't think I'll ever get the hang of this!"

"Cross-Species Switches start next week," Sirius cut in, his feet planted on the desk in front of him. "Wait until you have to turn the hedgehog into another animal."

As Peter moaned and buried his head in his arms, Remus shot a short glance at Sirius' Transfigured pincushion, which was still crawling about the desk with its tiny legs. Whistling, Sirius waited until Professor McGonagall stepped over him before taking his legs off of the desk at her sharp glare.

"Have you tried a Cross-Species Switch yet?" McGonagall inquired of James, laying eyes on his perfectly-manufactured pincushion.

"Not yet," James replied, and McGonagall pulled a pin out of his cushion to examine it.

"You might want to consider getting in some practice," she suggested, pushing the pin back into place. "It might work out some of that boundless energy of yours."

Moving away, she left the others to stare at their own pincushions in silence; shaking his head, Remus released his spell as Peter sighed deeply, staring at his agitated hedgehog. Grimacing at Professor McGonagall's back, Sirius tapped his pincushion with his wand again, and it stopped moving as its legs disappeared from underneath it. Smiling to himself, James studied his pincushion for a moment and pulled out a pin in interest; maybe Cross-Species Switches would be helpful for becoming Animagi.

Suddenly struck with a thought, he started pulling out all of the pins from his Transfigured hedgehog. After staring at him for a moment, Sirius seemed to realize what he was doing and began to help until the pincushion was completely stripped. Waving his wand, James released the now quill-less hedgehog to walk about freely on the desk just as Professor McGonagall announced the end of class. Pushing up from his seat with the rest of the students, he left behind the strangely bald-looking animal and heard someone scream behind him on the way out. Before he could crack a joke to his friends, he was stopped by Dedalus Diggle as he ran up from behind and beamed at James.

"Hi, James!"

"Er . . . hi," James answered, squinting down at the first-year. "Do you want something?"

"I don't think that we've met," Diggle replied in his squeaky voice, struggling to keep up with the older students. "I'm Dedalus Diggle, Gryffindor House!" When James only stared at him, he grinned again. "I heard that you're on the Quidditch team! Some even say that you're the best player we have, maybe in the whole school!"

"Do they?" James asked, considerably more interested, and he puffed out his chest. "Well, Diggle, they're right; you're looking at the finest Chaser that Gryffindor has seen in years!"

Gasping, Diggle stared up at James with wide eyes as Sirius snorted, giving Remus a small shove. "Wow, that's amazing!" Diggle exclaimed. "Can you show me some tricks?"

"I would if I had my broom," James told him, "but you'd have to pay. Do you have any money?"

Blinking, Diggle reached into his pocket experimentally before pulling out a single silver coin. "All I have is a Sickle. Is that enough?"

"That'll earn you a trick or two," James replied, snatching up the Sickle. "Catch up with me later, okay?"

Suppressing a sigh, Remus said to Diggle, "You know that games are free, right? You can watch him anytime."

"Ah, but he won't get to see all of my stunts!" James interjected, raising a finger. "I can offer behind-the-scenes glimpses of my best work for those who can afford it!"

"It's okay!" Diggle told Remus as he rolled his eyes. "Cassius said that he'd show me some tricks, too!"

"He did?" James questioned, his good mood instantly evaporating.

"Yeah," Diggle answered, examining his empty pockets. "He only charged a few Knuts, though."

"That's because he's not that great at Quidditch," James harrumphed. "He would naturally be worth less."

"Really?" Diggle inquired, tilting his head. "He seemed pretty good to me. He told me lots about Quidditch that I didn't know. He even said that he would bring out his best tricks in the first match!"

Narrowing his eyes, James stared at Diggle more closely. "Wait, weren't you the one to go fetch a professor when Sirius and I were dueling Regulus?"

"Er . . . yeah, that was me," Diggle answered, red-faced as James slowly reversed his frown.

"Say, Diggle, would you like to see a trick right now?" he offered, pulling out his wand slyly as the first-year brightened.

"Sure!"

"It goes like this," James said, and he flicked his wand at Diggle before Remus could stop him. "Bogeus Voloteus!"

Doubling over as a stream of screaming bats erupted from his nostrils, Diggle gasped and slapped his hands to his nose. Leaving him behind in the middle of the hallway, James waved as Sirius held his stomach from laughter.

"That's for trying to rat us out!" James called to Diggle as he started to walk off. "Think better of it next time!"

"Bye, James!" Diggle yelled back through the din of the shrieking bats, waving as he turned and waddled bravely down the hallway.

"James, he's just a first-year!" Remus exclaimed, running up to James' side as the others snickered. "Why would you do that to him?"

"Hey, he's not completely harmless, if you remember how he tried to get us in trouble," James responded, grinning at Remus. "He'll be fine: he seems like a tough little kid."

Although he glanced over his shoulder, Remus did not dissent again as Sirius and Peter continued to chuckle. Twirling his wand before stashing it in his pocket, James strolled out onto the castle grounds, joining the rest of the Gryffindor and Slytherin fourth-years for their Care of Magical Creatures lesson. Next to Professor Kettleburn's right wooden leg stood a cage on a stand, which contained a dozen lizard-like creatures of about the size of Mrs. Norris. On each of the animals' heads was a prominent pustule that was surrounded on both sides by a small horn. Standing on its hind legs like a monkey, one of the creatures opened its mouth at the students to reveal a long, pink tongue and two rows of razor-sharp teeth. Taken aback by the threatening gesture, Peter stumbled towards the far side of the waiting crowd while his roommates joined him.

"Welcome to Care of Magical Creatures!" Professor Kettleburn chirruped as the students all eyed the cage from a safe distance. "Today, we will be learning about Clabberts, which I was able to procure with the help of Rubeus here," he announced, gesturing to the bearded Gameskeeper with his only arm. Waving unnecessarily, Hagrid beamed down at the class, his ruddy cheeks uplifted in anticipation of the lesson.

Turning towards the cage sitting next to him, Kettleburn struggled with the latch for a moment before opening the door and allowing one of the creatures inside to climb onto his shoulder. "Tamed Clabberts are very friendly, so there's nothing to fear by holding one," Kettleburn explained, but none of the students relaxed when the green-scaled animal startled picking through the professor's golden hair. "Don't let this fool you," the professor laughed, nodding at the Clabbert. "Their general diet consists of small lizards and birds, although insects will do in a pinch."

Staring at the Clabbert's sharp teeth, James thought that the animal would have no problem feasting on his arm if it came down to it. A moment later, he made a face when the creature found something of interest in Professor Kettleburn's hair and popped it into his mouth. Swallowing, the Clabbert crawled down to Kettleburn's forearm at the professor's bidding, hanging upside-down by its prehensile tail and baring its teeth in what could easily be either a hiss or a smile.

"Can I have a volunteer to hold Jasper here?" Kettleburn asked, swinging his arm from the right to the left with the Clabbert attached firmly to his wrist. "Anyone at all? Potter, how about you? You have a strong arm from throwing all of those Quaffles! How about it?"

Taken aback, James glanced at the other students, meeting blank stares and a barely-suppressed smirk from Snape in the back. As he turned back to Professor Kettleburn, his eyes briefly crossed Lily's where she was standing with her friends, and his stomach gave a small flip-flop.

"Sure, why not?" he answered Kettleburn, stepping forward with his arm outstretched. Beaming at his enthusiasm, Kettleburn coaxed the Clabbert onto James with a few clicking noises, and it scampered all the way onto James' shoulder. Steadying himself against the animal's surprisingly heavy weight, James lowered his arm sheepishly as the creature began picking at his hair.

"Er, does it do this with everyone?" he asked Kettleburn as a few of the other students started laughing.

"Pretty much," he answered with a smile and shrug of his shoulder.

"You might tell Jasper to be careful!" Sirius joked as the lizard-like creature rifled through James' wild hair. "He might find anything in there!"

Although the class chuckled again, the Clabbert rotated its head as the pustule between its horns suddenly flashed a bright red. It leaped off of James' shoulder with its limbs splayed out, and James let out a cry as it yanked a few of his hair follicles before landing on Professor Kettleburn's chest. Quivering, the Clabbert clung to his robes with its long fingers, and it stared back at the students with bared teeth while James gaped at the animal.

"Well, that's odd," Kettleburn spoke, prying the Clabbert off of his chest with his one hand. "Their foreheads only flash red like that when they sense danger. Wizards sometimes use them to watch out for Muggle intruders."

"I knew it!" James cried, commanding attention back to himself as he thrust his finger into the air. "Peter's a Muggle!"

The tension immediately released, and everyone laughed as James' roommates each sent him a faint smile, all of them knowing the real reason for the Clabbert's sudden flight. While Remus edged away from both James and Professor Kettleburn, the latter beckoned to the rest of the class.

"All right, I need each of you to take a Clabbert from the cage and soothe it before we can proceed. Don't worry, they don't bite!"

Slowly moving forward, the students formed a queue in front of the cage. Exchanging another look, James, Sirius, and Peter all faced Remus, who did not seem keen on approaching the cage lest all the rest of the animals' pustules started flashing red. Waving his hand at Professor Kettleburn while the other students were occupied, Remus called his name.

"Professor Kettleburn? I'm feeling ill. May I go see Madam Pomfrey?"

Starting, Kettleburn blinked at him while Hagrid helped with the Clabbert-distribution. "Of course—take care of yourself."

Nodding at him, Remus gave his roommates one last look before trotting off towards the castle. Turning back around, James joined the queue and approached Hagrid, who gave him a Clabbert and a wide smile through his scraggly beard.

"How are yeh doin', James?" Hagrid asked as he reached for another Clabbert. "Are yeh ready fer yer first Quidditch game?"

Remembering his interaction with Diggle earlier that day, James glowered at the ground. "I'd rather not talk about it," he answered, and Hagrid furrowed his brow as Sirius moved forward to collect a Clabbert.

"Oh," the Gamekeeper stated simply, obviously curious but afraid to press the matter. "'Ow about yeh, Sirius?" he questioned, handing him a smaller, more energetic animal.

"I'm all right," Sirius told him, attempting to keep the Clabbert from climbing into his shirt.

"Did yeh hear about the Rightons?" Hagrid asked, making James and the others stare at him.

"What about them?" James inquired.

"They were finally carted off ter Azkaban after being questioned at the Ministry," Hagrid responded, giving Peter a Clabbert without looking his way. "It took far longer than it should 'ave, after attackin' yer class last year an' all."

"Why weren't they put into Azkaban sooner?" James prodded. "There were at least a dozen Aurors at the castle afterwards! I thought that it was all settled!"

"Well, yeh see, Milo made up a story about his innocence, and the Ministry 'ad to go through a 'ole investigation," Hagrid explained, itching the back of his hairy neck. "A few of their departments stopped by Hogwarts over the summer to look over the place, actually."

"But they were guilty!" Peter exclaimed, his Clabbert swaying precariously on his arm. "Couldn't Professor Val tell them so?"

"She an' Flannegin were out of the country at the time, from what I could gather from the Aurors," Hagrid told him. Lowering his voice, he glanced around and whispered, "I heard tha' He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was spotted somewhere in northern Europe, an' Valerie was one o' the first to leave."

"Did she get back in time to lock the Rightons away?" Sirius asked, and Hagrid shook his head.

"It was actually Bartemius Crouch tha' sped up the process," he answered. "He's the 'ead of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, an' he's often fightin' with the Minister ter make the Wizengamot more effective about criminal justice. He really 'ates the Death Eaters, an' he's tryin' ter change the laws so tha' it'll be easier to lock 'em away."

"Well, that's fine by me!" Sirius attested, grabbing his Clabbert by the tail before it could squeeze past his collar. "We could use more force when it comes to capturing Death Eaters!"

"That's wha' I say," Hagrid agreed, standing at his full height with a beam, "but Jenkins likes to play things by the rules. Actually, if it wasn't fer our last Minister's sad retirement, we might 'ave an easier time roundin' up the Dark wizards."

"Who was the last Minister?" Peter asked.

"He was a Muggle-born by the name of Nobby Leach," Hagrid replied. "Yeh're probably too young ter remember, but his election was a big deal. He was the firs' Muggle-born to 'old the office, an' nearly half of the Wizengamot walked out in protest. It was a bright day fer the wizarding world, but Leach was soon ousted after bein' taken ill by a mysterious disease." Scowling, Hagrid growled, "Not all people believe this, but some say tha' it was a group of spiteful purebloods tha' gave the illness ter 'im. The Healers at St. Mungo's never did identify the ailment, an' 'e died shortly after."

"But who would have cursed him?" Peter gasped.

"Abraxas Malfoy," Hagrid accused, and the boys all started.

"Malfoy?" James repeated. "Then he was—"

"Our very own Lucius Malfoy's father," Hagrid finished for him, nodding darkly. "I've met Abraxas in the past, an' I never did take a likin' ter 'im. He inherited all of what makes the Malfoy family a cruel, slimy breed. I don't doubt for one moment tha' 'e was the one to poison Leach."

"What if he knew that Lord Voldemort was rising to power?" James asked, and Hagrid nearly cried out at the name. "What if he was purposely trying to get Leach out of the way so Jenkins could take his place right before the Death Eaters rose up?"

"Now, now," Hagrid backtracked, eyes wide, "I wouldn't know if I would take it tha' far. Jenkins did a fine job with the pureblood riots a few years ago, after all, an' she never would 'ave become Minister if she wasn't cut out fer the position. Still," he said, stroking his hair chin, "quite a bit of purebloods voted fer Jenkins. I always thought tha' they were too fed up with Leach to put up much of a fuss with a new Minister, but yeh never know . . ."

"Wait, one more thing," Sirius piped up. "You don't think that Jenkins has been controlling The Daily Prophet, do you?"

"Controllin' The Daily Prophet?" Hagrid repeated, frowning. "She migh' like ter do tha' if it would benefit her, I won't deny it. But wha' makes yeh think so?"

Pausing, Sirius turned to James. "Er . . ."

Thankfully, he was saved from an explanation by Professor Kettleburn's raised voice. "Are you ready to try feeding your Clabberts?" he yelled out to the class, and James, Sirius, and Peter quickly left Hagrid and gathered around a bucket of lizard carcasses.