Birdwatcher

Chapter 4
Sunday, 17 April 2005

Midnight blue hued overhead, the moon and stars operatic above Godric's Hollow. St Jerome's Church presided over the many tombstones in the graveyard of which James, Harry, and Hermione lurked, its stained-glass windows painting colourful shapes over them. They reached the mausoleums at the back, taking refuge between the burial chambers there. Locals insisted the area was haunted, claiming to have witnessed the Danse Macabre on Halloween night when decrepit skeletons danced in the churchyard to the tune of Death's fiddle. Harry thought this was a load of tosh.

"Sorry about all the privacy, but I think the cottage has been bugged by your lot," James said, looking at Harry and Hermione. "Ghost teams would've done the trick, wouldn't they?"

"They conduct black bag operations against persons of interest," Harry replied, hands in his trouser pockets. "Last I heard, the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement was pretty low on that particular totem pole."

"Maybe it's the company we keep," James said, taking off his suit jacket and draping it over Hermione's slender shoulders. When she smiled at him in appreciation, Harry grew irritated that he didn't think to offer her his own suit jacket for warmth. "As it so happens, Fudge invited me for a cuppa earlier today, wanting to discuss some important developments I think you should know about. It was companionable enough until Tom Riddle showed up."

"Tom Riddle was there?" Harry asked, uneasy. "I can't imagine Fudge was curious about your opinions if Jaffa cakes were actually biscuits in disguise, was he?"

"Was Draco Malfoy's ledger discussed?" Hermione suddenly intervened.

James surveyed her from the nearby streetlamps that blazed like miniature suns and asked, "How do you know about that?"

Glancing around, she said, "I assume Cormac McLaggen's name came up a fair bit, did it?" When James nodded, she continued, "A couple of months ago, Cormac took me to Wiltons on Jermyn Street to celebrate his birthday. After downing a healthy number of white ladies, he was an open book. Apparently, Tiberius told him Draco Malfoy's ledger experienced significant gains since January of this year."

"Who's Tiberius?" Harry asked.

"Cormac's uncle," Hermione answered. "He's the head of the Goblin Liaison Office. His main responsibility includes taking care of the goblin economy and making sure it's current with the Ministry of Magic."

"You're rather clever, aren't you?" James said, his eyes full of admiration. "This is why you insisted she come, is it?" he asked Harry.

Harry nodded, confident the rose bouquets that bloomed across Hermione's cheeks had nothing to do with the falling temperatures outside. But he had a point. Hermione was extremely clever. There was a reason why she was the best in their year, save for Defense Against the Dark Arts. And though her intelligence was to be admired and respected, she was physically alluring to boot. Her hair, barbaric whilst at Hogwarts, had been tamed into a neat bun, the single strand that managed to escape tucked behind her ear. A conservative amount of makeup decorated her face, making her brown eyes emerge like lighthouses, helping to guide the vessel that Harry was the captain of closer and closer towards her. Even her lips were begging for a passionate snog he was more than willing to volunteer for. The fact that Hermione never put much effort into her appearance was incredibly attractive, something he was blind to before. Ginny, on the other hand, was all fur coat and no knickers. How could he have been such a muppet for so long?

"What did the Minister for Magic have to say?" she urged.

"He spoke at length about the Red Serpent. Heard of it before?"

"Sorry?" Harry said, shifting his attention away from the lascivious thoughts that involved the witch standing next to him and the noises he'd love to procure from her in his bedroom.

"The Red Serpent," James repeated, quirking a brow at Harry knowingly. "It's a brothel run by Draco Malfoy in one of the seedier parts of Knockturn Alley. You mind reaching into one of the pockets there?" he asked Hermione, indicating his suit jacket she still wore. "Fudge gave me an early edition of the Daily Prophet they plan to publish first thing tomorrow morning."

Hermione rummaged around, pulling out the broadsheet and indicating for Harry to come nearer. When he did, he silently lit his wand so they could read what was written. The light illuminated the following headline: PROSTITUTION SCANDAL KOs THE WIZENGAMOT! ALL FIFTY MEMBERS EXPECTED TO RESIGN! Scanning the article by Rita Skeeter, Harry saw it was littered with barbs that, when used, were sharp enough to draw blood. But he assumed this is what Rita wanted, appearing to remedy the Wizengamot's involvement in the prostitution scandal by referring to its members as shriveled and troll-like, too fragile to beat the bishop and instead wanting to have a shindig of ball bags and balloon knots with the bints who are too lazy to get up off their backs to do anything of real importance. However, Rita's journalism, or lack thereof, simply paled in comparison to the consequences the scandal was expected to have on the Ministry of Magic.

"This is what you were referring to at the OCP, weren't you?" Harry asked, eyes on Hermione's. "That Cormac was going to be featured in a major news story printed by this bog roll?"

"I had a vague idea."

Harry sighed, "It's hard to believe Cormac's the whistleblower." His picture monopolised a large section of the front page, his eyes almost predatory as they swung back and forth like a pendulum. "He's an Auror, isn't he?"

"Top marks in the Auror Training Programme," James confirmed.

"It's probably all a ruse," Hermione said, pulling James's suit jacket tighter around her.

"What're you on about?" came Harry.

"Cormac is someone who has a strong sense of entitlement. His family is near the top of the Ministry of Magic pyramid, probably because of Tiberius. He expressed interest in the Minister for Magic position, convinced those who excelled in the role were Aurors once."

"That's how it starts," James agreed. "The best Ministers for Magic began as Aurors who were chosen to lead the Auror Office after the standard fifteen to twenty years on the job. This is followed by a promotion to become the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and eventually Minister for Magic, considering they want to run at all."

"Are you next in line then?" Hermione asked him innocently.

James laughed and said, "I don't want to be a bigger ponce than I already am."

"You're not!" she replied, indignant.

"I guess Cormac's plan to seize the Minister for Magic position are in flux," Harry said, pointing to Rita's call for him to be the new Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot.

"Maybe a bit, but as long as Cormac has power, he'll be satisfied no matter where it comes from. I imagine that's why he went to the Daily Prophet instead of Head Auror Robards," Hermione said. Addressing James, she asked, "How did he find out about the Red Serpent?"

"After Tiberius told Cormac about Draco's ledger, he went to Gringotts to confirm he was in the black, using his Auror credentials for access. He placed Draco under surveillance, following him around until the lad entered the Red Serpent. The entrance is behind a tapestry with a double-headed eagle, concealed by an advert of a couple of men drinking bloody snake tonic as a new beverage for patrons to try. You'll be granted access by touching one of the gents' hands with your wand. But Cormac inferred this was only a front organisation, as no such entity was registered with Her Majesty's Revenue and Magical Customs Department. Over Yule, he witnessed nearly half the Wizengamot enter the establishment. He used human transfiguration to investigate what was inside."

"Is prostitution illegal in England?" Harry asked.

"The act of engaging in sex as part of an exchange of sexual services is fine, owning a brothel is not," James said. "This whole thing is a damn mess and the first time the Wizengamot has been faced with such a predicament. The public will most likely expect a trial for those involved."

"The Wizengamot always needs a Chief Warlock, doesn't it?" Hermione said.

"More than likely, this will be a sort of probation period to see if Cormac is able to handle everything that comes with the Chief Warlock position," James told her.

"What about those that weren't part of it?" she asked. "Is it possible they'd be in contention for Chief Warlock instead?"

"There would be anarchy since it's likely the public believes they are just as guilty for having been unaware of any wrongdoing in the first place," James replied.

"Rita is demanding lifetime sentences in Azkaban," Harry said, shaking his head.

Even though he didn't have all the facts at hand, he couldn't help but think how unfair it was for the Daily Prophet to advocate for a complete overhaul of the Wizengamot. Those who busied themselves with the services the Red Serpent offered would surely go. Those who didn't should be given a chance to stay if they so wanted. But he didn't believe for one second integrity was going to have much of an influence in this situation. Rita was the type of person who would go digging for dirt in someone else's yard and incriminate them for the age-old crime.

"Tom Riddle suggested members of the Wizengamot should no longer be appointed by the Minister for Magic only. He proposed the idea the Wizengamot be comprised of the Ministry of Magic department heads, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement main division and subdivision heads, and five members of the public. So far, that adds up to twenty-three members," James said.

"And what about the remaining twenty-seven? Hermione asked. "The Wizards' Council mandated the Wizengamot must consist of fifty altogether."

"They'll be chosen by the Minister for Magic and his support staff. Fudge is putting together an application process that will be sent to eligible households before the general election next month." James checked the watch on his wrist and continued, "Robards has been authorised to arrest Malfoy and all members of the Wizengamot early tomorrow morning. Holding cells in Azkaban will do the trick until trial."

"The whole thing is fixed," Harry said quietly. James and Hermione stared at him. "I'm pretty sure Tom Riddle expects the Ministry department heads, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement main division and subdivision heads, and the five members of the public to vote together on any issue brought before the Wizengamot. Tom Riddle had to make the opposite side a larger fragment of the overall vote. That's probably why he insisted on using only five members of the public instead of ten or fifteen, wanting to make the sides just close enough that those voting against him believe they have a fighting chance."

"Only they never will," Hermione put in. "Twenty-seven votes will always be bigger than twenty-three."

"When you think about it, it's smart what Tom Riddle did," Harry finished, grabbing her hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. He barely caught James's frown. "I guess Fudge is going to remain as Tom Riddle's puppet until May, when he assumes power whether Fudge agrees to it or not. That divvy doesn't have the brains to coordinate such a cocked-up system of Parliament like Tom Riddle, does he? By the way," he went on, turning to his dad, "You don't happen to know anyone by the name of Augustus Rookwood, do you? It's this bloke, here."

"Doesn't ring a bell," James shook his head, staring at the picture Harry showed him that was hidden as a microdot within the British Family Planning Initiative. "What's he up to?"

"Dunno," Harry replied, his eyes on Hermione. "But it's something we have to figure out. I think a chat with Neville is in order."

A/N: I hope you enjoyed. Thanks for reading.