Disclaimer: See previous chapters.

Chapter 5.

Harry knew how to Apparate silently. It costs a lot of power and determination, but he could do it if he wanted to. Today was not one of these days. With as much force as he could muster he blasted through the still weak wards of the Ministry. Landing in front of the despicable fountain, he scowled and pulled out the Elder Wand. His anger fueling his magic, Harry cast the strongest vanishing spell he knew and the entire fountain disappeared, leaving a gaping hole in the middle of the Atrium.

He turned around, with his cloak fluttering behind him like a cape. None of the Ministry workers dared to stop him and the crowd parted for him like the Red Sea did for Moses. Absentmindedly he wondered why he hadn't entered the Ministry like this last September. Then he noticed all the people staring at him, some with awestruck faces but most backed away in fear. 'Right, bad idea for a stealthy break-in' He thought. Harry entered the elevators and waited till it stopped at the Courtroom floors.

Harry huffed, "Just wait till they see what I'm about to do, that'll give them something to be scared off." And continued to walk to the Courtrooms. As he saw the doors coming into view, he also noted the first group of people not fleeing by the mere sight of him. He recognized Dawlish, the idiot Auror who tried to take down Dumbledore and capture Hagrid and failed to incapacitate Mrs. Longbottom. Harry grinned, he had no problem at all to deal with this idiot and his merry band of followers.

Stopping just a few feet away from Dawlish and the other Aurors, Dawlish asked, "Just what do you think you're doing here Potter? You've done your job, been a good boy, now let the adults do their jobs."

Harry didn't vocally reply, but just banished them all against the heavy oaken doors behind them, splintering the doors into little pieces. Cries of outrage came from the stands in the Courtroom, quickly to silence when they noticed Harry walking in. None of the Aurors were able to stand against him, so Harry ignored them for now.

"Mr. Potter! What are you doing here? It is highly illegal for anyone not sitting in the Wizengamot to disturb a voting."

Harry eyed the little man with the hammer. He'd remembered him from somewhere, but he couldn't exactly pinpoint from where. Dismissing the thought, he scanned the room. Most of the wizards and witches there were familiar. Recognizing more and more faces, Harry's temper started to rise again. Half of the room was filled with 'Imperius Victims' of the First War, or Pureblood sympathizers.

"I'm here in my official capacity as Master of Death. Things are going to change around here." Harry stated coldly. He didn't have time for this shite. He was going to take these bastards done quick and painfully.

Pointing his wand at the ceiling, Harry murmured "Morsmordre" and a giant green skull flew out of his wand; a snake crawling through the sockets.

"Mr. Potter what is the meaning of this! I'll have you arrested for summoning You-Know-Who's Mark!" The little guy with the hammer called out. Harry still couldn't exactly place him, but seeing the sweat pour off his face made him feel better, so he figured the man wasn't in one of his pleasant memories. Harry quickly performed a Legilimens on the man and scanned through his mind about his plans with the Wizengamot. Recognizing several redheads he wanted to punish, Harry continued with his plan with renewed vigor. Harry pointed the Elder Wand at the Dark Mark and murmured "Reducto".

The effect was instantaneous. The moment Harry's second spell impacted the Dark Mark, the Skull exploded. At the same time, all Death Eaters in the seatings started to scream in pain as the tattoo exploded on their arms, blasting their right arm off. The Wizengamot members not affected by the display sat in shock, some with blood and gore dripping from their robes. Harry smirked and turned to the little man with the hammer. Evidently, he wasn't Marked, but his face was pale and sweating even more than before.

'If I'd let him sweat some more, he might die from dehydration.' Harry thought.

"I believe this is enough evidence that a large part of the esteemed Wizengamot's crawled up Voldemort's arse. Those who have not taken the Dark Mark but sympathize with the cause can submit what they did to the Aurors under Veritaserum. Those not corrupt won't have anything to fear. Meanwhile I'll be breaking Kingsley out of jail."

Harry marched to the exit, but was stopped in his tracks by a toad-like witch clad in pink entering the room, her arms stacked with files. Harry recognized his own file because of the pink parchment attached which read 'to be punished'. Before she could do more than shriek, Harry called out.

"OH HELL NO!"

Quickly, Harry stunned and bound her. He picked her up, turned to the Wizengamot and said, "Don't bother with the paperwork or a proper trial. I'll throw her in Kingsley's cell and she's staying there for the rest of her life." Harry was about to leave when he seemed to remember something. "Oh, and if I come back and hear you slandering any war hero, say someone like Tonks or the Weasleys because they kept their position here,- well let's just say that I can do a lot more than just blast off your arms."

With that he turned around and Apparated away, with as much noise as he could muster, right through the Anti-Apparation wards to Azkaban.

Azkaban prison – Highest Security Level

Kingsley shook awake at the noise he heard. His hand went for his wand, when he realized where he was and that he hadn't seen it in months. He couldn't make out who came to see him, but knowing his luck he was already mentally preparing himself for pain.

Smiling, Harry turned to the inmate he was searching for. "Hello Kingsley, let's bust you out of this joint."

Kingsley's eyes lit up when he saw who was addressing him, then eyed the bundle floating behind him.

"H-H-Harry?"

"The one and only. I'd love to chat and catch up, but we've got a lot of work to do." Harry blasted the cell door open and banished Umbridge inside, then helped Kingsley stand. The tall, bald black man had lost a lot of weight since Harry had last seen him, but apparently didn't need any immediate medical care.

"If you don't mind, I'm going to Apparate us to Grimmauld, get you fed and updated, then have you reinstated as Minister. I've got something else to do after that, but you should be okay."

"Al-alright, thanks Harry." Kingsley weakly replied. Harry was a little worried if he should be asking this of someone who spend the last months in Azkaban, but he needed a reliable Minister so it couldn't be helped. Harry applied the strongest locking charms on the cell now occupied by Umbridge, coupled with a charm that repeated the sound of horses galloping every 30 minutes. Happy with his handiwork, he Apparated them both away.

Evening

Seeing Kingsley rip through the Ministry, after having a good meal provided by Kreacher, had been amusing. He threw out half the Wizengamot, canceled all laws they passed in his absence and those passed under Voldemort before working to fix the backlog. He vowed he would make changes how things were run, as well as make the Pureblood-Halfblood-Muggleborn ratio more representative. It was a small step, but at least a step in the right direction.

Now, Harry was looking at his second favorite building in the world. The Burrow still gave him the feeling of belonging, of family, even if the residents didn't feel the same. They would heal, in time. He'd make sure of that, Harry vowed again.

Harry eyed the two envelopes in his hand, addressed to Mr. Weasley and Percy. He could easily let it be delivered by a Ministry Owl, but somehow he knew that they would ignore that. Slowly, he started his track to the Burrow. He knew most of the Weasleys were asleep, or feigning to sleep right now, but Percy wouldn't have noticed hours have passed since he'd sat down outside and Mr. Weasley would still be at the kitchen table. Locating Percy first was easy, as he was sitting directly in his path.

Harry had specific instructions from Fred how to handle Percy, so he knew what to do. He just wasn't looking forward to it. Well, not much anyway. Maybe a little. Taking a few large steps, he stopped right in front of Percy. Quickly casting a Murmilio, he lifted him with one hand, while Percy exclaimed a surprised "Wha-", before Harry punched him in the face.

"That's for not believing me in my Fifth year and being a git!" Harry said to the fallen form of Percy. Both hands pressed against his jaw, he eyed Harry angrily but didn't respond. Harry lifted him to his feet and punched him again, this time aiming for Percy's gut.

"That's for bringing Scrimgeour to the Burrow and making your mother cry!"

Again, Percy did not respond apart from gasping for air. Harry lifted him to his feet again and pulled out his wand. Percy looked a little fearful, but held his ground. Harry admired his bravery, 'Gryffindor through and through' he thought amused. Then he performed several healing charms, clearing Percy's face and healed his ribs.

Finally, Percy responded with a dumbfounded look. "Wha- what are you doing? I don't deserve that. Punch me again!"

"No you don't! I healed you because you came back in time and because it isn't your fault Fred died. Fred knew the risk he was taking when he came to Hogwarts to fight, all of us did." Harry said sternly. Percy eyed him quietly, let it all sink in. Slowly, Percy's face lost the deadened look and did, in Harry's opinion, the most horrible thing he could have done.

Percy started to cry softly and threw his arms around Harry. Mortified, Harry tried to console him by awkwardly patting his back.

'Never thought I'd miss Cho's crying on me.' Harry thought sardonically.

What felt like a century, but were actually a few minutes, Percy let go of Harry. Relieved, Harry quickly handed him one of the Ministry letter.

"This is an apology for trying to question your motives during the War and they hope you will continue your job at the Ministry. Please start working again Percy, they need good men. I don't want to see your post filled by a Death Eater wannabe." When Percy looked unconvinced, Harry went in for the kill.

"Fred wouldn't want you to waste your life away." Harry said, patted Percy's arm and went inside to find the Weasley patriarch. It wasn't that hard. As Harry predicted, Mr. Weasley sat alone in the kitchen, one candle alight.

Mr. Weasley looked even worse than the last time Harry saw him, the bags under his eyes more defined, his cheeks hollow and there were more bald patches on his head. He was holding an empty cup in his hands, but it looked to Harry that Mr. Weasley had forgotten it was there.

Harry cast Murmilio again and this time a Notice-Me-Not Charm as well. He didn't want to be overheard or meet either of the women in the house right now. He cleared his throat but Mr. Weasley simply ignored that.

Tentatively, Harry called out, "Mr. Weasley?" in hopes of getting a response. Still nothing. Mr. Weasley was still staring at the table, like he wasn't even in the room. Harry sighed, Fred had given him a way to get Mr. Weasley back to reality, but he certainly wasn't looking forward to it.

"Fred's disappointed there weren't any fireworks at his funeral."

Harry ducked just in time to avoid the cup flying towards his head. The last man alive Harry saw anything like a father-figure in was staring at him with genuine hatred. With a clenched jaw, he forced out, "Don't talk about my son like that."

Fred had warned him that his father's reaction would be violent and that this course would be necessary, but Harry still felt like the worst person in the world for being the messenger. Slowly, Harry sat down across Mr. Weasley on the kitchen table. He pulled his ring off and placed it on the table.

"Like what? I'm just saying, Fred lived life like it was a big joke. He told me he'd hoped his last goodbye would be a party instead of the tearfest it turned into." Quickly he added, "his words, not mine. I wasn't there you see. In a coma and all."

Mr. Weasley seemed calmer hearing that, but didn't say anything. Harry waited him out, he knew Mr. Weasley would need some time to process everything. After a few minutes of silence, "What do you mean, he told you? He only saw you briefly before the battle and the months before that nobody knew where you were."

Harry smiled, "You are familiar with the story of the three brothers by Beedle the Bard?" Mr. Weasley nodded and his eyes flickered to the ring on the table, "It's true, the Hallows exist and I united them. That makes me the Master of Death. I won't summon Fred for you, because that'll hurt both him and you but he's watching you all and he's concerned."

A tear escaped Mr. Weasley's eye, before he straightens his back and tries to compose himself, "Tell Fred that we'll try more to live up to his expectations," he said, in what was supposed to be a light tone, but failed miserably, as he sounded like he was suffering from a heavy cold. Harry didn't mind though, personal experience taught him that piece of mind doesn't come overnight. Time heals most wounds, but this one would always ache.

Harry picked up the ring again and replaced it with the envelope from the Ministry. "Please return to your job Mr. Weasley, it won't do any good if you mourn Fred by starving yourself to death. The Ministry, and more importantly your family, needs you."

Harry saw a flicker of a smile on Mr. Weasley's face before he accepted the envelope. "Thank you son, I needed to hear that." Harry nodded, and the Weasley patriarch stood up and went up the stairs for the first time in months.

Harry waited a few minutes before he was certain Mr. Weasley wouldn't be coming back and trekked up the stairs as well, Invisibility cloak activated. He stopped on the landing of the first floor and listened to hear if he heard any signs of a nightmare. Happy that all seemed silent, he slowly opened the door of Ginny's room.

Her flaming red hair was spread out over her pillow, making her look like a sleeping lion. She was clutching the stuffed animal Harry conjured only yesterday and slept with a smile. Harry felt a terrible longing at the sight of her and knew he shouldn't have done it, but he just couldn't leave without checking if she was okay. Now that his curiosity was satisfied, Harry closed the door again. Not wanting to risk breaking the wards, or running into Percy who had yet come up, he changed in his Animagus form and vanished into the night.

That's all for now. The conversations with the Weasley's were hard, as was the Ministry. I imagine only Molly will be harder to write than Mr. Weasley (and I haven't even started that one!) so I hope the rest will be better. Thoughts? Thanks for all the wonderful feedback, favs and follows! I'm glad you're enjoying the story. For the one negative anonymous comment (typical), I know he's overreacting, that's Harry. He doesn't do things by halves.