A Knut to Start the Revolution
Chapter 2

Disclaimer: This work of fan-fiction is not intended for personal profit. All characters utilized herein which are not creations of myself belong to J. K. Rowling.

Albus Dumbledore sat before Amelia Bones, who seemed extraordinarily pleased about something. Deciding that Bones would get to the point in her own way, Albus said, "Are the privacy wards on the office sufficient?"

The witch guardedly checked some orbs on her desk and muttered an incantation.

"We are currently behind an Imperturbable on the door, and several wards are active which will prevent anyone from trying to eavesdrop or overhear," she informed him. "Animagi, if they are here and unauthorised, will be immediately transported to the Auror Office.

"So what is it, Albus?"

"I would like to tackle the issue of the Order first."

"I take it you want to invite me into your Order of the Phoenix?"

The elderly wizard nodded gravely, and Bones replied, "Done. There has to be better liaison between the Ministry and your intelligence-gathering group. Now that Cornelius is somewhat neutralised I can act a bit more freely. If that Lucius Malfoy –" the way she bit off the name made it sound like it had four letters.

Dumbledore responded smoothly, "As it is, we are fortunate that some of Cornelius's financial backers can no longer delude him. There are no rituals required as far as Order membership goes aside from a vote on membership at the next meeting. In your case, it would be largely pro forma. But I wish to take up the issue of Harry Potter, as you indicated in your owl that you wanted to have a discussion with me regarding him."

Her monocled face broke into a rare smile as she leaned back in her chair.

"I'll say I do! The boy has taken quite the initiative already! That DA of his – a capital idea! Capital! Susan regaled me with several stories about it, and in light of the events at this Ministry recently, it strikes me that all the students who had been here, save Ginevra Weasley and Luna Lovegood, have tentatively been scored at least an E on their Defence OWLs. I have been privately told by the examiners that Mr Potter easily stood head and shoulders above the rest of the students who wrote the theoretical and took the practical.

"Anyway, Albus, I asked you here because the boy has written to me, asking for a waiver of the restriction on his use of magic during the summers away from Hogwarts. I will be granting it, no questions asked."

Dumbledore was quite surprised and he showed it by saying, "I was not expecting the young man to take the initiative to this extent. That having been said, he should have gotten such a waiver at the end of his fourth year when it was clear that Voldemort had returned."

Bones eyed him sharply, saying, "You sound as though you're not all that pleased that he asked on his own. Albus, the boy has his own mind and should be able to keep his own counsel if need be."

"I am not arguing that, Amelia," the old Headmaster interjected. "I am simply expressing my surprise that he seems to have rebounded from events at the Ministry. As you may or may not be aware, Sirius Black was his godfather, and is known to be innocent of any crimes he is supposed to have committed. The man died at the Department of Mysteries, and the boy took his death rather hard."

"Hmpf."

"Unfortunately, I had to send him back to his relatives for the summer. I have never told him why, before that night, he is so crucially important to the upcoming war effort. He did not take my revelations well, either. Madam Bones, I urge you to be as forthcoming with the boy as you can. He does not appreciate it when information is concealed from him, allegedly for his own good."

The Ministry witch appeared quite eerily like McGonagall as she pursed her lips and answered, "Indeed. And I'd like to ask you just what the hell you were and are doing, putting him with those idiot relatives of his who treat him abominably? Minerva McGonagall has told me a few details, and I know Arthur Weasley has mentioned one or two things. Even Auror Tonks has made comments."

The venerable Headmaster closed his eyes, sighed, and then spoke slowly. "One thing I know I will have to do is eventually account for myself to Molly Weasley, and I am not looking forward to that. You have to remember that in 1981, the defeat of Voldemort did not suddenly spring on us a brand-new world writ fresh. I feared that there might even be a civil war among the surviving wizarding elements once it was clear that Harry's mother's miraculous act turned the tide of a war that had been going badly.

"So I did what I thought was the logically smart thing to do, and used a form of blood magic based on the fact that Lily's sister was still alive and would likely take him in. If so, then it would be activated and anchor a series of powerful wards that keep out Death Eaters and other unsavoury elements.

"This protection for Harry came at the cost of his happiness, and… well, I failed Harry rather spectacularly this year, and his dislike of his situation is partly catalysed by having to remain at his relatives' for at least a month out of the year to renew the protections the wards have on him."

Bones's lips thinned quite noticeably as she said, "Albus, there are many in the world that respect and love you, but if the true story about Harry's home life ever becomes known there are a lot of people who would love to kiss your arse goodbye. I cannot deny, as a former Auror, the logic of your choice, but I sure as Hell question its wisdom! Did you never think of distance-based blood wards? You could have let old Figg adopt him, for Merlin's sake! You set her up there to do some sort of a job monitoring Mr Potter, although from the sounds of it you let her get away with a hell of a lot of goldbricking. Anyway, it is over and done with, but you made a certain set of decisions which, in retrospect, turn out to have been stunningly short-sighted."

Dumbledore said ruefully, "Madam Bones, I will be getting a lot of that, will I not?"

She smirked and said, "Yes, so I urge you to get it over with. Call an Order meeting, vote me in, and let them rake you over the coals once and get it done. Oh, and as far as the Order goes, you can expect my full assistance and cooperation in making sure the Department of Magical Law Enforcement coordinates actions and intelligence with you. It's well past time Cornelius stopped getting in the way."

Author Notes:

Thanks go to Maddevillechilde for the beta work on the original version. :)