Hi all! *looks around at the void smugly* hehe. No doubt you are all reading the real thing! I am jealous! I am also glad though, because I am not sure of the quality of this chapter. I am not very well versed in Ludo Bagman, and I am kind of going to mould him as I like.

You might be wondering where Snape is today. I gave him permission to go attend the new book release. The poor dear, he hopes so dearly that more insights into his character will be in it!

So… *takes Snape's tumbler and pours in amaretto on the rocks* Let's start, shall we?

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For once, Severus Snape and Sirius Black agreed with each other. They had the same scowl on their faces, they tightened their fists in the same effort to contain themselves and be civil in the face of the new Minister of Magic. Dumbledore looked forlorn, Lupin looked stoic.

Ludo Bagman beamed as if he had just won the Best Smile Award in Witch Weekly. The elation oozed around him in concentric waves almost to a sickening level.

"I am so glad to meet the most famous members of the Order of the Phoenix! It is almost as great an honour as being offered the post of Minister of Magic! To think that I have proven myself so well to have the whole wizarding community bestow their very lives in my hands!"

The way he said it rang ominously in the ears of those comprising the shield of the wizarding world against Voldemort. Snape could not resist the urge to snort, and Black rolled his eyes. Bagman didn't seem to notice. His flamboyance did not diminish in the least.

"I had hoped to meet Harry Potter once again. We did not have many chances to speak during the Triwizard Tournament, and besides, he must be dramatically changed now, what with his blindness and all. Truly, what did cause the poor boy to go blind?" Bagman queried, and his eyes flashed in greedy impulse. Sirius gritted his teeth and opened his mouth to reply, but Severus' cool fingers tightened suddenly around the animagus' wrist, giving Snape the time to answer in his place, in that impeccably correct, yet demeaning manner that he saved for officials and other little inferior creatures he had to tolerate.

"Mr. Potter wishes for that information to remain confidential, Minister." the coldness in the potions master's voice spread, and Bagman eyed him equally coldly.

"Of course." he said and turned his eyes to Dumbledore. He forced his mouth to contort into a smile and asked the Order Leader:

"I assume by your lingering, Headmaster, that you are here for more than just the formality of meeting me and making me pledge my allegiance to the Order. Which I have already done."

"Indeed, Ludo, I am here for information in addition to your allegiance. I need to know exactly the manner in which Cornelius Fudge was killed. I have been told that the Dark Mark was raised above the Ministry."

"Oh well, that is true. After all many people saw the damn thing. We are still looking into it. He was cursed, of course. We are trying to see if he was seeing anyone that was secretly a Death Eater with this mission. How else could it have happened?"

Snape's fingers trembled stiffly, as if he wanted to wrap them around Bagman's neck. It was painfully obvious that the current Minister didn't care jack about how his predecessor was removed from office. Dumbledore seemed to form the same opinion, because he did not press the Minister for more information. Instead he smiled amiably and retired with his three companions.

"Albus, surely it is daft to think a Death Eater would walk in here in broad daylight to murder Fudge. When they make hits, they do it when the victim is at home and with his family, and that is purposeful." Snape said as Dumbledore walked out of the office.

"I do not think Ludo has the correct outlook on things, Severus. You don't have to argue your point."

"Is this why we are going to see Percy?" Remus asked, noticing they were not heading for the exit.

"I think that the eldest Weasley will be far more informative than his employer." Albus' eyes twinkled as they entered in the small office that Percy had. The redheaded young man blinked and stood up. He was still pale and looked shocked. Sirius could practically smell the fear on the lad. Upon seeing who it was, Percy seemed to be in the same time relieved and apprehensive. he straightened up and stood behind his office.

"Headmaster Dumbledore. I thought the Minister had received you right away."

"That he did, Percy, that he did. We are finished with him, as a matter of fact, and I thought we would drop by to say hello." Dumbledore said in a casual manner that contrasted painfully with the formality of the group he was leading. Percy's eyes darted from face to face and he breathed. The past events and the Hogwarts attack, the fact that his father was a member in the Order, his own consideration to join, the harsh shattering of the safety that he thought the ministry provided had shaken some of the attitude and important air out from him.

"You are here for the letter, aren't you?"

"Letter?" Sirius asked. Snape arched an eyebrow.

"The letter that killed Minister Fudge…" Percy trailed away and realised that his current boss had not informed the Order of the exact details. He paled, unsure if it was because he disclosed information that perhaps his boss wanted to keep confidential, or because he realised that perhaps his boss had intended for these crucial details to be confidential.

"Well, speak up!" Snape growled as if Percy was still in his classroom. Remus shook his head at him, and the potions master met the werewolf's glance with a sneer.

"It is alright, Percy. Everything is under control. We need, however, to hear your side of the sad event in all the detail you can gather." Remus said, still eyeing Severus warily.

"It is a command of the Order," Sirius added in an important voice that infuriated Snape to no end. Percy seemed to be impressed, however, and he looked at the Headmaster again. Percy believed in hierarchy and order in the system; that is why he was always so uptight about formalities and what he was supposed to do and say as a ministry employee. But what would he do in this case? He couldn't very well ask Dumbledore to wait so he could go inquire if he should disclose information. And even so, it was a non written law that the Order was above the ministry, especially in times such as these.

Non-written laws were always stronger.

"What exactly is the letter you mentioned, Percy?" Dumbledore asked gently, waiting him out. Percy breathed in, and decided which authority to follow.

"The one that killed Minister Fudge." he announced, and proceeded to say everything he knew about it.

***

"Potter? Are you here!?"

The urgency in Draco's voice made Harry come out from the corner in the library where he always curled up, reading his books with the Touch spell that Professor McGonagall had taught him to use instead of his eyes. He heard the other boy jump and snort. No doubt Draco would also be scowling at the startling Harry had caused him.

"What's the matter?" Harry asked in his quiet voice.

"Do you know where Dumbledore is? It is an emergency, and I don't know where he is."

"If you mean the password to his office, I don't know of it. Try all the candy you can possibly think of."

"He is not in his office, Potter! Do you think I would have come looking for you so openly if there were other ways!?" Draco's voice hissed. Harry got up and unfolded his cane.

"If he is not here, perhaps he has gone to the Ministry to swear in the new minister. The Order is supposed to be there for things like that."

Draco swore under his breath, but had no misconceptions that what he said wouldn't be heard loud and clear from his once-upon-a-time nemesis.

"Zambini is in danger. Come with me, she's waiting in Moaning Myrtle's girl bathroom."

Harry smirked. Apparently the Gryffindor trio was not the only one aware of the special secretive qualities of a haunted bathroom. He tapped about, walking easily alongside Draco. He paused for a while, then he asked gently.

"Are you staying in Hogwarts for Easter?"

"Yes. What is it to you?"

"I was wondering what you would do when summer comes."

Draco blinked, and felt slightly ill. He had not looked into the future as far as summer. His mother had owled him once since the Hogwarts attack, demanding that he stay at Hogwarts for Christmas. His father was in prison, and he had no idea if any fellow Death Eater of his father's had seen him and Weasley help each other against the golems. It was obvious that all it took was just one sentence to make himself persona non grata in his own house.

Summer would be difficult indeed… perhaps even deadly.

"I will manage." Draco sneered, but he wasn't nearly as certain as before.

"Perhaps you should discuss the management with Professor Snape. He would know what to advise you." Harry said with conviction. Draco looked at the gryffindor's profile.

"He really did help you that much since your blindness?" he said, not thinking to put it in more tactful terms. Harry nodded. Nothing more was said, as they reached the sound of weeping and wailing. Apparently Myrtle was trying to accompany Blaise in lament.

Draco walked in first, and Harry followed. The weeping sound was considerably lowered, but the girl found it impossible to quench. Harry knew just how the feeling was.

"Zambini, I brought help."

"I don't want his help. I don't want your help either!" Blaise snapped, holding her striped tie to her eyes, dabbing them with it.

"Oh, pardon me, princess, for not leaving Crabbe and Goyle, or even worse Nott find you sniffling with the letter open for everyone to see! A mudblood would be more thankful!" Draco snorted, rather disgruntled at the blatant display of unthankfulness.

The sniffling continued, and Harry walked past Draco towards it, and he gently laid a hand on where he calculated Blaise's shoulder to be. He achieved it the second time, and he felt the slytherin girl tense at his touch.

Blaise almost shrunk away from the gentle touch. Not because it was a boy touching, not at all; Blaise had had enough experience of being touched, and not all of it pleasant. It was just that Harry Potter's touch was just so… different. Wispy, ethereal, so gentle that it was almost not felt, and in the same time encouraging and supporting, as if he knew the pain she was going through and understood it… and moreover, that he knew a way out of it.

"What did the letter say?" he said gently, the voice stroking at her ears in the same way that Draco's irritated them. She wanted to scowl at the Gryffindor and snarl and be abusive, but the tone of the voice, together with the touch disarmed her completely.

"My mother is dead. Voldemort caught her yesterday morning. She knew they would come for her."

Harry frowned. That was the vision he had seen the previous day. The woman screaming and screaming… the pain and the soul that wailed… Blaise's mother. Voldemort's repercussion. Harry flinched and sighed.

"I am sorry," he said, and he felt a hot tear fall on the back of his hand. It made him want to cry too.

"Voldemort killed her mother because she refused to harbour injured Death Eaters during Christmas, after her husband's death on Hogwart's attack." Draco said in an emotionless voice. He had hoped that his mother would be like Blaise's and show him any sign that he could still trust and confide in her; none had come. However, he preferred it this way than having her tortured to death for a madman's whim.

Blaise gritted her teeth.

"If I wanted to tell him that, Malfoy, I would have!"

"You wouldn't have the stamina not to bawl after the first two words, Zambini. I had to read the letter to understand what you were sniffling all about." he sneered at the girl, and she yelled, lurching at the easy target for venting. Draco backstepped, but Harry caught her before she had time to launch her nails at Draco's face.

"Draco is only trying to help you. He is just being a bit of a jerk about it."

Blaise once more had the feeling that somehow the Boy-Who-Lived had disarmed her. Draco folded his arms and arched a challenging eyebrow, but she no longer saw red around her. She sank back on the toilet cover she was sitting on.

For a long while, nobody spoke. But nobody moved, either. Somehow it was as if the silence was filled with arguments and decisions, as if the most important conversation in Blaise's life was muted. But after an indefinite amount of time passed with her sitting down with Harry's hand on her shoulder and Draco's glance locked with hers, fire erupted in her soul, scorching and cold in the same time.

Blaise knew who she was now. No uncertainty governed her anymore. She got up. Harry backstepped and stood a little bit to her left. She eyed the two boys. She suddenly felt that the mysteries of the world around her were unveiled. She saw through Draco and his odd moodiness the past few months; Harry's quiet demeanour when it came to Potions; most of all, the clear lack of events of hostility between the two eternal antagonists.

She took her decision.

"I have to see Dumbledore. And Snape."

***

Remus, Sirius and Severus were all gathered around an object placed in an especially enchanted glass box to avoid any harm to come to the item. Or rather, items, as within the box were contained the remains of the iridescent, silvery letter that Fudge had so foolishly opened with his bare hands. Where it had torn apart, flecks of blood and flesh still clinged to the malicious envelope. On the little remnant of the back of the envelope, the upper half of the serpent's head followed the movements of the three men with hatred in its papery eye.

"Have you seen anything like it before?" Sirius asked Severus. Snape did not appreciate the suggestive tone.

"I have never been in charge of Voldemort's mail, mutt."

"Oh right, you only did the –really- grizzly stuff, like toilet detergent."

"Sirius, Severus, cut it out!" Remus said. He looked at Snape questioningly until the werewolf's penetrating glance made Snape break the contest of glances that he had entered with Black. He sneered and looked at the envelope again.

"I might be able to see what potion is was baptised in, and, if I am extremely lucky, who made it."

"How would you know who made a potion?"

"A potion of this potency and brilliance that would activate so specifically, and would cause death as well as procure the Dark Mark, can only be the work of a master. Master brewers tend to be vain enough to allow for a signature in their potions. It usually consists of a specific non-reacting, non-magical component in the potion that serves nothing but to identify who its maker is."

"Do you have a signature, Sevvie?" Sirius said in a mock-impressed voice, leaning towards Snape. Snape glared stonily at Sirius.

"Not one that is as obvious as a muggle ingredient."

"What, you add your hair grease or something?" Sirius did not let go. Snape made a face, with an air of superiority he knew Black would not be able to tolerate.

"Honestly, Black, now I understand why you would be made unspeakable out of anyone else."

Remus laughed, just as Black flushed in anger. Lupin's laughter always diffused a situation for some reason. Severus snorted and opened the glass box's lid carefully. Retrieving his wand, he charmed two pieces of the envelope into a glass flask and sealed it shut. He stepped back, signalling that the other two Order members could be free to cast spells on the remnants.

Remus and Sirius casted their charms simultaneously with a small curt nod between them. The Order would try to Scry for the sender and his location. Snape watched them work together for a while. A pang of wistfulness conquered him for a few moments as he watched the two wizards call upon the elements and magic flow to reach their goal. The two Marauders looked lacking without their third member—and more complete without the fourth. Severus swallowed, gripping the glass flask. He turned to go and shut the door gently behind him, so as not to distract the mutt. He used to be so easily distracted in their student days.

He walked alone towards the Potions classroom. He felt again left out, wishing he was part of a group in which he could never fit. In a way, he was thankful that James and Lily weren't there to demonstrate more things that he had forgotten his heart once desired.

"Professor Snape!"

He scowled at the audacious little twit that had the gall to interrupt one of his rare pity trips. It proved to be Draco Malfoy. He checked his speed and did not glare at the boy as much as he would have if it were any other. He still was not certain how to behave to Draco after the Hogwarts attack, and Lucius.

"Yes, Mr. Malfoy?"

"Headmaster needs you in his office. It's about Zambini."

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And that is it! next time, action will be taken!

I don't have time today for answers to questions, but for the record, I have to say something:

I am sorry there seem to be large gaps between paragraphs. My formatting always seems to be warped lately. Perhaps because I have just gotten word and I am doing something wrong. Anyhow, it is not a gimmick to make the chapter appear larger than it really is. The chapters are always 5-6 word pages long. Period. Not shorter, not longer.

As for the answers to reviewers, I feel that I have to answer to specific questions, or share some comments. So, this is not going to stop either… besides, those that there are answers for, probably expect me to answer, not ignore them.

So, see you! *runs off in search of Snape*