The Daily Prophet arrived at Number 12 Grimmauld Place. On the front page, it announced:
ORDER OF THE PHOENIX TERRORIZES SMALL TOWN
Below was an evocative picture of a phoenix (actually not fawkes, this one had a larger tail*), seared into the village green, surrounded by half-burnt houes.
Harry Potter was shaking, his voice trembling as he asked, "They can't possibly believe this dragonsh-?"
Molly Weasley was quick to envelop Harry in her arms, but at that moment, he just wanted to fight back, not be coddled and comforted.
Arthur Weasley said, sadly, "Some will believe the lies. If I didn't know, well, us, I'd be wondering about the photographs. Now what does the article say?"
Harry looked at the paper, turning as close to a parchment sheet as he could manage with his complexion. "People died. The entire town died. Men, women, children. Even grandparents who couldn't hurt a thing. Even the squib." Harry had a hand out and punched the stone outer wall of the house. "The town's just about totaled too."
"Dumbledore will know what to do," Lupin said quietly. He'd been sitting so quietly that Harry hadn't noticed him! "Lupin! he cried. Remus Lupin was dressed as usual, as shabby as he generally was, it was a well-worn look. The sort a DADA professor ought to have, Harry thought.
The conversation shifted to anything else, and it only came back when Ron Weasley came downstairs. The only sign that he disliked the article was the downturning of his lips. "False flag operation." Ron Weasley said to the table.
"What's that?" Harry asked, frowning at his friend.
"Well, since we obviously didn't stand to gain from this, it wasn't us what did it." Ron said calmly. "But our finger'ints are all over it, and so we're first to get blamed."
Harry nodded, "Who benefits?"
Ron said, "I think that's obvious. The death eaters in general. The ministry, to the extent that they want to claim that He hasn't returned."
Harry said, "So we have two candidates. How do we rule one out?"
Ron said, "I'm not sure that's our first priority. We may need to save Dumbledore."
Harry frowned, "What do you mean?"
Ron said, "Well, the article starts to paint him as being mad. On an endless quest for someone who doesn't exist."
Harry frowned, and said, "For glory, right."
*Malfoy's visualization started from a peacock.
[a/n: Ah, Harry Potter, the endlessly inquisitive. Is this what you expected? Leave a review!]