CHAPTER 27
With life falling under a somewhat normal pattern over the last two days, Mackenzie and George showed their extreme aggravation to their family and the public as they lashed out and looked irritated with anything going on around them when they'd received a note from former Minister Scrimgeour insisting that their hearing continue without anymore delay. This announcement was also made public, upping the amount of public interest once again. The couple could only be left alone when they were hidden away with their friends and family.
As George paced the room of their small home, Mackenzie flipped the letter over in her hands, also examining documents for the trial, documents that referred back to the war and its events. Not only had Scrimgeour demanded the hearing go on without any more postponement, but he'd also informed the public that the inquiries into the death of Angelina Johnson, showing no traces of force or evidence had now been halted until any further theories could be formed. The former Minister being made to think that the power of these investigations belonged in his hands. That was Mackenzie's doing as well as her father had managed to finally manage a way to allow the other man to force his hand, or in this case imagine Samuel's hand forced. But the former Minister had gone much too far when he sent Mackenzie's favorite reporter to "spy" on the couple. The latest headlines of the Prophet spoke of the fights George and Mackenzie were now having, with Mackenzie sneaking off for late night rendezvous' with Draco, fights that involved hexes and throwing objects. Mackenzie was irate, and George was no calmer.
She stood. "I'm going to see Harry. He and Gin are usually at the Burrow at this time of day." She informed her husband. "Are you coming with me?"
George nodded, grasping her hand following her out the front door as they both picked up their wands before leaving. They sprinted to the nearby apparition space before instantly disappearing into nothing. Seconds later, they were outside of The Burrow, where George muttered an incantation, causing Mackenzie to give a funny look.
"Harry put some new security charms on the house. Mum threw a fit."
"I bet." She chuckled as the two then apparated onto the front step a second later.
The door opened only a minute after they rang the bell. Mackenzie impatiently walked into the house as Ginny opened the door. "Hello Gin." She greeted her sister with a smile."
"You look angry." Ginny hesitantly hugged Mackenzie. "You must want to yell at someone, and if that's the case, I suggest you not yell at Harry. He was in with all of the Aurors and your dad all morning about this Angelina thing, and he's looking about as angry as you both." Ginny then hugged her brother.
"I'm not going to yell Gin." Mackenzie said. "But I do need to talk to him right now."
"He's in the kitchen." Ginny pointed toward the room.
Both Mackenzie and George followed her direction, moving quickly into the back room.
"Harry." The stressed out woman walked into the room to see her brother in law standing with Hermione.
"Hi Kenny." The two said, smiling as she and George walked in. "Hi George."
"Hi." The two greeted.
"Harry, I need to talk to you." Mackenzie insisted.
Harry nodded, sensing the resolve set in her voice. "We can talk this way." He held out a hand, ready to speak in private.
"Actually, since Hermione is here, I think she can enlighten me to a few answers as well." Mackenzie sat down beside George as the pair sat across from Harry and Hermione.
"What kind of answers do you need Ken?" Hermione questioned.
She looked intolerant of the subject at hand. "I want you to tell me why it was you in particular who had to fight this Voldemort thing during the war." She stared at Harry. "I want to know why Hermione, Ron, and the reset of the family were in danger too, and…" She paused, trying to collect her questions, trying not to ramble on, attempting to make sense. "First I think I want you to tell me what the hell a Voldemort is." She stated firmly.
Harry and Hermione's expressions both changed , wary to tell their sister about the parts of their lives that she knew nothing about.
"I knew this conversation would come up again sooner or later." George sighed in a low voice. "I should've thought to discuss it with you sooner Kens. I'm sorry." He squeezed her hand.
Mackenzie turned to her husband, seeing the sort of despondent look in his eyes. She turned back to Harry and Hermione.
"What happened?" She insisted, feeling more concerned now.
Harry cleared his throat, reaching a hand across the table. Mackenzie moved her hand across to his, taking his hand with hers.
"Kenny, I think it's my responsibility to tell this story. Take a walk with me?" He asked, standing, her hand still linked with his.
She nodded and stood with him, moving down the length of the table with him. She gave George a disquiet look until he nodded once quietly telling her she should go with Harry. Hermione now looked troubled as she watched Harry lead Mackenzie out the back door into the garden as they went off to talk together.
"Do you think Mackenzie can handle this?" Hermione shifted to ask George. "Do you think this is the right time for her to hear all of that with everything you two are…"
George glanced back to her, silencing her concerns.
"I think my wife can handle anything. She's strong enough to hear everything Harry tells her."
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They walked through the garden and past the garage, out towards the orchard once again, because it was quiet and a distance from the house. Mackenzie found that Harry seemed to need that. He still held her hand, walking silently under trees and past the blooming plants. He stopped under a far off tree, motioning for her to sit with him. She kneeled down beside her brother. It was another five minutes that Mackenzie waiting patiently for Harry to speak. When he did begin, she quietly listened to him explain first about his parents and their deaths, the evil thing that killed them in order to facilitate his own immortality, the scar that Harry wore as a reminder still, and the past years after starting school, the trials and tribulations of the oncoming storm, and then the war. He did his best to explain the battle and all of its effects.
"So, wait." Mackenzie stopped him for the first time. "Scrimgeour wasn't dead? I don't understand."
"He was caught by the death eaters at the Ministry just before the war. He was tortured for days about information on me." Harry explained. "It was fortunate for me that he really didn't know anything. Still Voldemort had him tortured for days before Kingsley announced that he was dead. We all thought he really was dead. No one could survive an attack like that."
"So, he came back after the war?" She asked.
"So to speak. He came out of hiding, claiming to have been tortured the entire duration of the war." Harry paused in reflection. "He attempted to step back into the position of Minister of Magic, but the entire community called him a coward not believing his story, and forced him to step down, making it possible for your dad to win the position."
Mackenzie nodded again. "That is very enlightening. All of it is Harry." She immediately moved closer to him, hugging him close.
"We should've told you sooner Kenny, after you married George, or maybe even before that."
The two continued to talk well into the next few hours before George and Ginny came looking for their spouses. Mackenzie looked like she'd been crying when George approached her. He swept her up into his arms as she wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face into his chest, letting silent tears fall once more.
"I love you so much George." She professed. "You are so brave sweetheart. I don't know what I'd do if anything ever happened to you."
"Don't worry Kens." George assured her. "I'm here. I'm not going anywhere. We're all safe and protected. We will continue to get through everything we are facing together." He held her tighter before she let go, looking up into his bright eyes.
"We will." She agreed.
Ginny and Harry both held each other as they watched their siblings, before they all began their trek back to the house. Their conversations managed to find their way into the trial again as Mackenzie inadvertently whispered a hidden comment to Harry. Ginny heard the words Board of Governor's and became far too curious for avoidance. Mackenzie then had to explain her trip to the Board and how she had requested their help during the remainder of the trial.
"The Board of Governor's?" George questioned. "What can they do? What do they have to do with anything? What've you two done?"
Harry answered his questions for Mackenzie before she had a chance to speak.
"Don't be so skeptical and shocked." He told George. "Your wife is rather ruthless when she sees the opportunity."
"Yeah I know." George said in mock derision. He smiled when Mackenzie looked back at him.
When the four arrived back inside the house, they were accosted by both Molly and Hermione who handed them a letter that held the seals of the Ministry. George took the letter and opened it before it began speaking in the voice of Rufus Scrimgeour.
The death of Angelina Johnson has currently been ruled as unsolvable. There are no traces of evidence or conspiracy to be found in order to determine cause for any further course of action. The trial of George Weasley, Mackenzie Chase-Weasley, and Draco Malfoy will now continue as of ten am sharp the following morning of arrival of this letter. Any rescheduling or failure to appear will not be tolerated, and will immediately result in contempt of this court hearing.
"Are they serious?" Ron shrieked, entering the room as he too listened to the words.
"Sure not big on giving us any advance notice, are they?" Fred commented.
"What do they think we're going to do run away? Or better yet, skip the hearing and sleep the day away, ignoring the fact that we are chased wherever we go now?" George started to rant again. "This is completely out of control!"
"Sweetheart, calm down please." Mackenzie grasped his hand, pulling his arms protectively around her.
With his arms encircling his wife, George did calm down further, but still showed the signs of being pushed too far.
"I think we ought to go home and settle down before the morning." George then suggested to his wife, looking around the room at his family who all seemed to think he would spontaneously combust at any moment, keeping the facade of calm while surrounded.
Mackenzie stayed quiet for a few minutes, repeating the voiced letter in her head.
"There's a way to solve this." She quietly said, only getting a reaction from George when he'd heard her.
"What?" He questioned just as quiet.
"A way to solve this." She stayed quiet. "I think you're right." She voiced a little louder so others heard her. "We should go back home now." She grabbed his hand, said goodbye to the family, and pulled her husband to the floo network. The two stepped in, disappearing from the burrow to arrive home again.
Before George stepped out into their comfortable quiet home, Mackenzie pulled him back.
"We're going to Grimmauld Place." Mackenzie announced before grabbing more powder, whisking her and George off to their in laws place.
George was clearly confused and disoriented by his wife's behavior, but didn't have a chance to voice concerns even when they arrived at Harry and Ginny's. Once there, Mackenzie threw in more floo powder, declaring that she then wished to be transported to the Ministry of Magic. Once there, George pulled out of Mackenzie's vice grip on his hand, stepping immediately out of the floo.
"Why are we here Kenny?" He demanded to know. "It isn't exactly safe for us to be here without any sort of protection."
"I'm not worried about safety yet George."
"You should be." He argued back.
She glanced at him. "I want to talk to Rufus Scrimgeour." She told him, gaining a look of horror now.
"What!"
"This is out of control because of him. It all seems to come full circle back to him somehow, and I don't know how, but I intend on figuring it out." She stepped away from the floo and began walking through the atrium, unaware of anyone or anything around her.
"You should've gone into law enforcement Kens. You'd make a great detective." George caught up to her as she walked.
"So I'm not a good attorney?"
George laughed. "Don't be ridiculous darling."
Mackenzie laughed a little too. The two arrived outside of the small office the former Minister used during the duration of the ongoing trial. They waited for the woman at the small desk outside of his office to acknowledge them. Mackenzie cleared her throat impatiently when a whole two minutes crawled by. The woman finally looked up from the paperwork she shifted through.
"I want to see Rufus Scrimgeour." Mackenzie stated to the woman who looked slightly afraid of the look in Mackenzie's eyes.
"He's not in." She said to the couple.
Mackenzie crossed her arms and stood firmly. "You're lying. If he weren't in his office, you wouldn't be here either. At least I'm under the assumption that that is the case. Now if you don't let me into his office, I will take this matter into my own hands and push my way past you in order to get in there."
The woman stood, still staring back at Mackenzie. "I can only allow one of you in, but I can assure you that he will only force you back out."
"You let her worry about that." George told the woman, allowing Mackenzie to lead her charge into the small office space.
"Let me in there." She demanded, squeezing George's hand before letting it drop.
George touched her shoulder in support just before she walked away following the woman who led her to the door behind the desk, opening it. The woman poked her head into the room.
"Someone to see you Mr. Minister." She spoke, causing Mackenzie to "accidentally" thrust her elbow into the woman's side. It wasn't enough to do any harm, but just enough to get a point across.
The woman groaned only for a second before standing up straight to allow Mackenzie access into the room.
"I knew you were lying." She spoke to the woman before entering the room.
"Mr. Scrimgeour," She said. "You'll excuse me if I don't fall to your feet, using false titles."
"What do you think you are doing here? What is the meaning of this?" Scrimgeour loudly spoke as if to intimidate the smaller woman, standing up from the desk he sat at, pulling his wand out slightly.
"I'm here to discuss your invalid campaign to be here, seated in the position that you are temporarily in."
"Excuse me? How dare you!" The man angrily said.
Mackenzie knew she was getting under his skin, making the comments she was, but that was the point after all. She wanted results to her questions and would get them by any means necessary.
"Dear man, you are not here because you wish for justice or out of any sort of unselfish reasons possible. Be honest. Why are you really here?"
Scrimgeour stepped away from the desk he stood behind. "You young lady are playing the wrong game with the wrong man."
"Who? Am I in some sort of danger now?" She feigned proper innocence. "Are you speaking about the troubles between myself and Draco Malfoy? I can assure you that I am no longer playing with his emotions. My secrets are out. I have nothing more to hide from anyone."
The man scoffed, giving her a condemning glare. "I hardly refer to the complaints of you and Mr. Malfoy. The childish accusations between you both are of no consequence to me. What do I care if you break the heart of one single man or another."
Mackenzie nodded, shifted her weight onto her right foot, her arms crossed to her chest again.
"So what you are saying is that you have no real interest in giving Draco Malfoy the ability to achieve his goal in this hearing, nor do you intend to see my husband and I reach any sort of goal. You truly are here for purely selfish cause."
"I said nothing like that… I will have you twisting my words…I…" The man stammered with words to correct his statement. "How dare you!" He ultimately shouted. "You Miss Chase will leave this office at once."
His address to her now further set the woman off. He insisted on pushing back as often as possible.
"You Scrimgeour are messing with the wrong lady. I am not one of your lackeys. You do not frighten me into submission. You have no rational basis to justify your being placed at the head of this court. I will not allow you to take down the fabric of this law system, flawed as it may be. I will not allow you to bully anyone else in order to spout of unacceptable, unfounded laws, and at your will request a hearing start and stop."
"The laws are not fair dear." He condescendingly said. "I suppose it is a lesson you'll just have to learn the hard way."
"Keep in mind that you are only holding your position temporarily Scrimgeour. And that position is held by a single thread."
"DO NOT THREATEN ME GIRL! GET OUT! I SAID GET OUT NOW!" The man shouted, causing both George and the other woman to stand up from their seats outside of the room.
"I will get Aurors to escort you out!"
"You seem to be laboring under the impression that you have the same power you once had as Minister. You are no longer Minister. I suggest you take a step back and open your eyes. My father is the Minister of Magic and you will be gone soon enough."
"We'll see about that."
Mackenzie turned to leave the office space. "If you'll excuse me, I have a hearing to attend in the morning, and must finish preparing for it. I intend on finding a way around your jurisdiction over this problem."
The man laughed. "That's not possible. You only have a few hours left. That's not nearly long enough."
"It's a shame you don't know what I am truly capable of."
Mackenzie walked out of the room, taking her waiting husband by the hand when he offered. The two left together, making their way down the hall only to be stopped again by more reporters and cameras. The frenzy startled Mackenzie this time. She had more than enough to deal with and simply wanted to go home and find answers.
"Mackenzie! What was said between you and the former Minister? Was this meeting planned?"
"Were you discussing the death of Angelina Johnson?"
"Were you discussing the trial?"
"Do you think this marriage of yours will last long?"
The couple turned to see where the last question had been shouted from, outraged by the boldness of whoever had asked it.
"Are you really in love with George Weasley or was this marriage just your way out of marrying Mr. Malfoy?"
Mackenzie lost control. "STOP IT! JUST STOP IT! LEAVE US ALONE!" She yelled out to everyone, gaining enough silence for the couple to make a get away.
"Get me out of here." She instructed George, who instantly pulled his wife closer, and ran with her.
The two ran to the nearest working floo, connected to their family compounds. They were stopped just before entering, reporters and cameras again less than a minute behind their escape, closing in. An arm grabbed onto Mackenzie's forcing her to turn with George connected to her. He turned as well.
"It's such a shame that the Weasley clan has managed to acquire the most beautiful woman aside from Fleur De la Coeur-Weasley, whom they've also gripped hold of. Both of you are in positions to deserve so much better. You spend your days with those who are beneath you."
"Blaise?" Mackenzie questioned, not understanding where his accusations were coming from. "Blaise, I understand your need to protect Draco, but…"
"You will get what you deserve Mackenzie. You are meant to be a Malfoy, and with Malfoy is the only way you can survive this."
"George can protect me just fine, and I am a Weasley, whether you approve of my choice or not. That will not change."
"You're going to be hurt Mackenzie! You're going to see the consequences of your actions. Angelina was not the last!"
"Blaise, what does that…" Mackenzie was unable to complete her question before George pulled her away into the fireplace, instantly returning to Harry and Ginny's home, startling the two when they'd arrived.
"George. Kenny." Ginny said. "What are you doing here? We thought you'd gone home."
"Kenny had to take a little side trip." George commented.
"Another one?" Harry joked.
"To the Ministry." George stated.
"What were you doing at the Ministry?" Harry questioned his sister.
Mackenzie explained her suspicions and actions to the pair, gaining support from both when she'd finished. She also mentioned the confrontation she'd had with Blaise Zabini before leaving the Ministry.
"That's it!" Harry commanded. "I'm going to guard you both myself!"
"No Harry." Mackenzie argued. "It's not your job to be personal security to us."
"It most certainly is." He challenged her, sounding insulted. "I am Head Auror at the Ministry. It is my job to look after those who need it, especially when those people being threatened are my family.
Mackenzie submitted when he added a threat to his own voice. "I am immediately sending more Aurors to protect the Minister." He paced out of the room and back in again minutes later. "I should also mention that Lilah has accepted the protection of Aurors during this hearing, at Fred's insistence." Harry told Mackenzie. "But Bailey is…"
"Resistant." Mackenzie finished. "She would be. She is likely still trying to knock sense into Draco." She said.
"What?" Ginny inquired. "Bailey and Draco?"
"Long story." Mackenzie stated. "Hopefully she has managed to talk to him already before the morning when I am still going to have to cross-examine him, because I have no intention of letting up on the defense we've created now."
"You can take on Draco Malfoy Kenny." Ginny commented in support.
"Thanks Gin." She said. "But it's not Draco I'm worried about." She turned to face Harry. "The Board of Governor's has agreed to help us. I'm hoping that they will arrive early enough to iron out the final details of this case."
Harry nodded. "We'll all have to hope." He said, placing a hand to Mackenzie's shoulder.
"Let's go home Ken." George pulled her away.
She agreed saying goodnight to Harry and Ginny. "We'll see you in the morning." Ginny said.
The couple stepped back into the fireplace and finally arrived home, taking in the silence that greeted them.