Chapter 13
Harry stumbled into breakfast the following morning, still half asleep. All three of his guardians were already seated at the table. Winky put his plate in front of him, and he began to eat. After realizing that the room was quiet, he stopped with a forkful of scrambled eggs raised to his mouth and looked around. Everyone was watching him, amused about something.
"What?" he asked, reaching up to smooth down his hair, thinking that his appearance had something to do with their behavior.
Sirius cleared his throat. "Allow me," he said to the others, and then began to read from the front page of the Daily Prophet.
Death Eater, Peter Pettigrew, Captured by Harry Potter
Sirius Black Cleared of Any Wrongdoing
By George Bartholomew
In a press conference yesterday morning, Rufus Scrimgeour, Minister of Magic, announced that Harry Potter, the Chosen One, had captured Peter Pettigrew, a Death Eater and the true right-hand man of You-Know-Who. Under veritaserum, Pettigrew confessed to the crimes that Sirius Black had been accused of 15 years before. Mr. Black spent 12 years in Azkaban before being the first man to escape from the Wizarding prison. This vindication comes too late for Sirius Black, the godfather of Harry Potter. It is believed that he lost his life in the battle that took place in the Department of Mysteries in June of this year. Witnesses say that he died defending his godson from Death Eaters.
Mr. Scrimgeour apologized to the friends and family of Sirius Black for the ministry having wrongly imprisoned him without a trial. His estate will be awarded damages in the amount of 1,200,000 galleons—100,000 for each year he was incarcerated.
"With our world at war, we become so determined to punish the guilty that we sometimes imprison the innocent," Scrimgeour stated. "We enthusiastically carry out our duties, forgetting that not all suspects are criminals. We see so much that is wrong in our world that we forget all the things that are right. I have been guilty of this myself in the short time I've been your minister, and I am determined to right the wrongs that have been committed by me and by those who do my bidding. After a conversation with Harry Potter yesterday, I had my staff look into the recent arrests. We found that of 21 people arrested, 7 were innocent of any crimes. Those people were released immediately and awarded damages.
"It was not only the discovery that an innocent man had been imprisoned for 12 years that induced me to reevaluate my policies. It was a conversation I had with Mr. Potter that prompted me to take a closer look at my own actions. Yesterday, I asked Mr. Potter this question: 'What would it take for you to support me, Harry?' I will never forget his answer. He said, 'Professor Dumbledore once told me that we must choose between what is right and what is easy. By arresting innocent people, you have chosen to do what is easy. When you choose to do what is right, I'll support for you.'
"It was Mr. Potter and his guardian Remus Lupin who captured Peter Pettigrew and brought to light the injustices done to Sirius Black. This young man is not only a brave individual, but he has become the conscience of this administration. I no longer seek the support of Harry Potter or of any one else. I intend to earn it. From this day forward, I will choose to do what is right over what is easy."
Harry, who had sat motionless throughout the reading with the same forkful of eggs raised to his mouth, was speechless.
"I am so proud of you, Harry," Sirius said.
"As am I," his grandfather told him, patting him on the back.
"We're all proud of you, Harry," Remus said. "We were impressed by what you said to Scrimgeour yesterday, but I would never have believed that it would make a difference in the way he runs the Wizarding world. Obviously, he was just as impressed as we were."
Harry, blushing furiously, set his fork down on his plate and took a drink of pumpkin juice. He was glad that Scrimgeour had decided to do the right thing but hated that their conversation had been repeated in the Daily Prophet.
He finished his drink, sat the glass down, and looked around at the faces of his family. "So," he said. "Who wants to go flying today?"
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Having asked Dobby to meet with him in the Library, Charles and the house elf sat before the fireplace for a conversation. "How is it going with the prisoners, Dobby?" Charles asked. "Do you and Winky need more help?"
"No, Harry Potter's Granddad, Sir. Winky and Dobby don't need more help. We is doing fine. But Dobby had to make a change to prisoner's house."
"What kind of change?"
"Winky didn't like the smell in there, so Dobby made it so a shower and towels and clean clothes appear for prisoners every day. Shower appears 1 hour before breakfast and only stays for 30 minutes."
"I should have thought of that myself, Dobby. Thank you for doing that."
"It's not a problem, Harry Potter's Granddad, Sir."
Charles grinned. "You know, Dobby. I'd like it if you called me Charley. Would you do that for me, please?"
Dobby nodded.
"I also wanted to set up an area to put some galleons for you and Winky to use for the household, rather than take it from Harry and Remus's account. So, I've put a safe in the storage area near the kitchen. If you'll come with me, I'll show you how to open it."
Dobby followed him through the kitchen and into the storage area. On the floor in the far corner was a very small rubbish bin that Dobby had not noticed before. It had a foot pedal that, when stepped on, caused the top to open.
"Dobby, place your foot on the pedal gently," Charles said. Dobby obeyed, and when the top opened, he looked inside. It was empty. "Now, take your foot off and say '10 galleons' then open it again."
"Ten galleons," said Dobby, and then opened the rubbish bin. Inside was a small bag containing 10 galleons."
"That is a good trick!" said Dobby. "Dobby will show Winky and we will use this money."
"Thanks, Dobby. Oh, by the way, we have eight guests in the new Room of Requirement. Would you make sure that they get plenty to eat and whatever they need?" He thought about that for a moment, the added, "Make that whatever reasonable requests they have. If they ask for anything unusual, let me know, and I'll decide whether or not they can have it."
"They's not prisoners?"
"No, and two of them are children, but the older ones may not always be pleasant. I think you know some of them, Dobby. Draco Malfoy and his mother are here. However, they are not allowed to hurt you or Winky. If they try, you have permission to protect yourselves."
"Dobby not allow Winky to get hurt," he said. "And Dobby will protect himself. We is free house elves now."
"Good for you, Dobby," Charles said, patting him on the shoulder. "And thank you for all you and Winky do for Harry. He cares a lot about the two of you."
"Winky and Dobby cares a lot about Harry Potter, too." Dobby said, his huge eyes glistening. "Harry Potter is our friend."
"I think Harry thinks of you more as family, Dobby," Charles said, and then left before the elf burst into tears.
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When Dobby and Winky arrived in the Room of Requirement, they discovered two children riding the carousel and two very large teenage boys racing paddleboats.
At the Malfoy tent, they found Mrs. Malfoy and Draco in the lounge, talking.
"Dobby and Winky bring breakfast for Malfoy family," Dobby said. "But must tell you that we is free house elves now. Dobby will not allow anyone to hurt Winky or Dobby. If you have any reasonable requests, Dobby and Winky will do the best to provide for you."
Narcissa and Draco moved to the table in the dining area and allowed the elves to serve them breakfast.
"Is my father here?" Draco asked.
"Mr. Malfoy is in Granddad Charley's prison," Dobby answered.
"Is he being treated well?"
"He is treated very good. He gets shower every day and clean clothes. He walks in park in the sunshine every day. He gets books to read and three meals a day."
"What kind of food does he get?" Draco asked.
"Same food as you." Dobby told him.
Draco seemed impressed. The food was actually very good.
"Who's Granddad Charley?" he asked.
"Granddad Charley is who is protecting you from getting killed by Dark Lord," Dobby told him.
"Is he the one who looks like Potter?"
Dobby frowned. "Granddad Charley looks like Granddad Charley."
Draco snorted and his mother frowned at him. "Sorry," he said. "So Dobby, where are we?"
"You is here in the woods, Master Draco."
"But where are the woods located?"
Dobby leaned toward the boy and whispered. "In very secret place. No one knows where but Granddad Charley. You is very, very safe here."
Draco gave him a wry look. "Thanks for the information," he said sarcastically.
Dobby smiled. "You is very welcome, Master Draco." He and Winky popped out of the tent.
Mrs. Crabbe and Mrs. Goyle were sitting in the park watching their children play when Dobby and Winky arrived. "Dobby and Winky bring breakfast for Crabbe and Goyle families," Dobby said. "Would families like to have picnic table in park?"
The ladies said they would, so Winky snapped her fingers and the table appeared, along with their food. Mrs. Goyle went over to the lake and called the children. Gregory and Vincent turned their paddleboats toward the shore, and the two little girls on the carousel hopped off and shared a paddleboat to the shore.
"This is a very nice place," Mrs. Crabb said. "The children are having a good time."
"Dobby and Winky is glad children are happy. If families need anything, tell Dobby and Winky and we gets it for you."
"We will," said Mrs. Goyle. "Thank you."
Dobby and Winky popped out of the Room of Requirement.
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After lunch, Charles Potter appeared in the Room of Requirement to check on their guests. Draco had come out of the tent and joined his two friends in a paddleboat race. He watched them for a moment before making his presence known. Draco, Gregory, and Vincent were laughing like young children, splashing each other when they got near enough, and generally having a good time.
Charles walked over to the lake and waved Draco over. "Mr. Malfoy," he said. "I promised you a visit with your father. Would you like to see him now?"
"Can my mother come?" he asked.
"Of course."
Draco got out of the boat and ran to his mother's tent. They appeared a moment later. Charles led them to another tent and motioned them in. Inside the tent was a door, which he opened, and they walked through.
They found themselves in a small room with a long table. Lucius Malfoy sat on one side of the table. On the other side were two chairs for his visitors. They sat down facing him, and Charley stood at the door.
"How are you, Lucius?" Narcissa asked.
"I'm well," he said. "And you?"
"Draco and I are managing quite well, thank you."
Lucius looked at his son. "Why am I here, Draco?" he asked, and then nodded toward Charles. "That man said that it was at your request."
"Yes, Sir," Draco said. "I asked for you to be moved to a better place."
Lucius leaned toward him and whispered. "Why would you do that? Did you not realize that the Dark Lord would come for me?"
Draco shook his head. "He wasn't coming, Father. He was upset with you for failing at the Department of Mysteries. He was going to have you killed."
Lucius stared at his son in shock. "How do you know that?"
"Aunt Bella came yesterday to take me to him. He told me that you had failed him and that he was going to give me a task to make it up to him. If I succeeded, he would mark me. If I failed, he would kill you and Mother."
"And the task?" Lucius asked.
"I never found out. Before he could tell me, I ended up here. But, Father, I don't believe the task would have been possible for me to do. I got the feeling that the Dark Lord was setting me up so that he could kill us all as a punishment."
"You do not question the Dark Lord!" Lucius whispered furiously.
Draco looked at him unbelievingly. "No, Father. You do not question the Dark Lord. I am not a Death Eater. I don't kneel or kow-tow to anyone. I won't stand there and be bullied and manipulated and tortured by that mutated half-blooded monster, and then kiss his feet and say, 'Oh, thank you, Master. I'm not worthy to kneel in your shadow!'"
Lucius stared at him in disbelief. "How dare you!" he spat. "How dare you imply that I—"
"I didn't imply anything, Father. I know! I know how he talks to his 'loyal followers;' how he crucios you when you make a mistake, or even when you don't. I heard him say that those who were captured at the DoM weren't worthy to serve him because you failed at a 'simple task.' I can just imagine what kind of simple task he would give 5 16-year-olds. He probably wanted us to kill Harry Potter when he himself has tried and failed to do it five times. Do you really think he meant to mark us, Father? Do you really think he wants 16-year-old Death Eaters? Why? To be his pawns? Well, I'm nobody's pawn, Father, including yours!"
He stood and turned to Charles Potter who was still standing in front of the door. "I'm ready to leave now," he said.
"Good-bye, Lucius," Narcissa said, standing and following her son out the door. Neither of them turned to look back at the man sitting at the table.