A Knut to Start the Revolution
Chapter 3
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.
The voice on the other end of the phone conversation sounded a bit tinny in Harry's ear but it was recognisably Hermione's.
He said, "Hello, Hermione, it's me—"
Hermione replied excitedly, "Harry! It's so good to hear from you! How are you? Are your relatives treating you all right? Oh—I'm running off at the mouth again, aren't I?"
Harry grinned. Hermione of the Thousand Questions, she was.
"First, I'm fine. Second, yes, thanks in part to the real Mad-Eye Moody. Third, yes, you are running off a bit, but that's you, Hermione. Don't change on my account."
He heard a chuckle in his ear, as the witch tried not to laugh.
"You know," she said, "it feels strange to have no summer assignments, but I guess we can't until we get our OWL results. But why did you call me?"
"I was thinking about restarting the DA, but with additional work for the six of us who went to the Ministry. I've got an idea for creating a kind of elte attack squad; I want the six of us to be able to take down six Death Eaters in a fight. What do you think?"
"Well, I think that would actually be a very good idea. That spell Dolohov got off at me could have been a really nasty one if it had been any stronger. I should have realised people can cast spells non-verbally; I just never thought of it!" Hermione's frustration with herself was evident, given that she prided herself on her intelligence and swift thinking.
Reassuringly, Harry said, "Look, Hermione, the important thing about all this is we got out alive. And as for mistakes, they're meant to be learned from so we don't make them again. So from now on, we'll cover nonverbal casting as well as verbal.
"Anyway, I've written the Ministry to ask for an exemption from the underage magic restrictions. I wrote to Madam Bones, as I don't trust that idiot Fudge. Second, I need your help. The way I was treated last year by the Ministry and the Prophet was utterly abominable, and I intend to settle accounts!"
Hermione, apparently surprised, actually waited several seconds before she replied, "Harry, surely what has already happened has redressed that, hasn't it? After all the Ministry have admitted they were wrong, and Dumbledore is back on the Wizengamot and so on. As for 'settling accounts', don't you think that sounds a bit selfish?"
"No, I have not been redressed sufficiently. Where is the apology from that brass knockers for brains Fudge for trying to railroad me out of Hogwarts because he wanted to pursue his own agenda?
"And as for being selfish—" Harry let that dangle for a few seconds, and then called up his unerringly harsh tongue from the last summer, and spoke with all his sadness, anguish and despair. "How much more do I have to give to everybody else? How many more times do I have to rush off and save the entire bloody world from itself so all the self-important little shites like Fudge and Malfoy can go back to bribery, corruption and blatant manipulation of the Wizengamot and our government to screw everything up for the rest of us? I am sick and tired of everybody in wizarding Britain thinking that I can either be their poster boy or their punching bag at their whim! If there is to be any victory against Voldemort, it has to start with the world understanding that Harry Potter works for himself, and not for Dumbledore, and not for that idiot Fudge!"
He broke off, willing himself not to cry as he thought of Sirius and how so many people cocked that night up. Snape, Dumbledore, Umbridge, Fudge, Voldemort, and last but not least, himself.
In a small voice, Hermione said, "I'm sorry, Harry. I wish I could help."
Firmly, he replied said, "But you can, Hermione, you can. Just help me. Harry Potter wants justice. Every injustice wrought against me will be overturned. Mark my words."
"Harry…"
"Don't 'Harry' me, Hermione. Either help me, or get out of my way. I am sick and tired of being the plush play-toy of the day for some arse at the Ministry, or when Dumbledore thinks of another way to screw my life up with a brilliant idea like leaving me with the Dursleys who shoved me in a cupboard under the stairs. The first thing I need from you is anything you've got on Occlumency. That git Snape will no doubt preen and parade and do his little Legilimens thing on me to try and prove I'm a lack-witted idiot, and I want to show him up."
Hermione's resolve stiffened as she heard the undercurrent of pain and anger in Harry's words, and she said only one word. "Yes."
The next day, Hermione Granger wrote Professor McGonagall, asking for permission to visit the Hogwarts library. Since her reputation for studiousness was unmatched except among some of the more fanatical Ravenclaws, Madam Pince, feeling a kindred spirit in the respect Hermione had for books, overlooked the fact that that her reading material was on the mental arts and Defence against the Dark Arts rather than Herbology or Potions. On her return trip, she harried the poor clerk at Flourish and Blotts in ruthlessly examining every book for possible applicability to Harry's situation.
A few days later, Hedwig and an unfamiliar owl landed on Harry's bed, bearing books and a note from Flourish and Blotts, which indicated that Hermione hadn't had the money to cover all the books, but since they were being delivered to Harry Potter, would he kindly make up the balance at his convenience? Her note, sent in a separate envelope with the library books, indicated some of the books were from the Hogwarts library, and others were owl ordered from the Diagon Alley bookstore. She'd paid for as much as she could, and politely asked for reimbursement.
Harry suspected that there had been some fiddling with the prices on the books, as a book he would have sworn cost seventeen Galleons was marked on the bill for twelve. Others were like this. He didn't begrudge spending the money, and would have, if he'd remembered, told Hermione to just charge the lot to his Gringotts vault. As it was, he would reimburse her, and find a very nice present for Hermione for Christmas or her birthday.
Settling in, Harry picked up one of the slimmer volumes and began reading The Mental Arts: What is Occlumency?
A few hours later, Harry Potter was seeing red, livid at Severus Snape. The arsehole had neglected to cover even the basics of how to clear one's mind, not to mention that a great deal of mental preparation went into getting comfortable with mental defences. Stupid git had just chucked him in the deep end and expected him to sink or swim.
Harry tried to stop fuming, and began doing some of the calming mental exercises he'd read about. They seemed to work after a bit, and Harry began slowly, but surely, applying the rest of the preliminaries to proper Occlumency. He realised he hadn't told Hermione all his plans yet, but he'd gotten too worked up to think straight and he needed to focus on defending his mind.
He could always call her again the next day, anyway. Plus, he had to write to his friends.
/\/\/\
Ron, Ginny, Neville, and Luna all got letters from Harry Potter that read, essentially, thus:
I hope you're all okay and that you're not in trouble or anything from that time in the Department of Mysteries. If I hadn't been so dead set on rushing off like that we could have avoided the whole thing. It's my fault and I'm sorry I got you all into a dangerous situation.
I'm also writing because I'd like to sort of make things up to you guys by restarting the DA next year. Ideally, at least the six of us should be like an elite attack squad, capable of taking down six Death Eaters, even if the other students never get that far. Are you with me on this? If not, I won't blame you, but I for one plan to train long and hard so I'm never that outmatched again.
Your friend (I hope),
Harry Potter.
Their replies were varied, but all assured Harry that they did not resent him for their choice to accompany him to the Department of Mysteries. Additionally, they enthusiastically supported his re-initiation of the DA along with the extra self-training Harry mentioned. Ron joked that he hadn't spent his fake Galleon yet, luckily.
/\/\/\
The day after Harry finished his book on Occlumency, he called Hermione again.
This time, a man's voice answered, and Harry said, hesitantly, "Um, hi. Is Hermione there?"
"Yes, she is. Who is this calling?"
"It's Harry Potter, sir. A friend from school."
Realisation seemed to dawn as the man's voice became friendlier. "Ah, that school! All right, one moment."
A short while later, Hermione was on the phone, and she said, "Harry! I haven't heard from you in a couple of days. Did you get all the books?"
Smiling, Harry said, "Yes, I did. Thanks a lot, and I'll gladly give you the money when we meet in Diagon Alley. I should have just told you to have Flourish and Blotts charge the books to my Gringotts account. Anyway, I didn't get to tell you what my long-range plans are."
Hermione's voice was guarded as she said, "And just what do you have planned?"
"Well, you know I want to restart the DA at school and such, but additionally... well, I'm going to run for Minister for Magic."
There was dead silence on the phone connection for the next thirty seconds, then all hell broke loose.
Author Notes:
Not all is as it seems when an underage wizard decides to try and bend a few rules to get on the Wizengamot ballot for the next election. :) And please note that I am making more than minor technical revisions to these chapters in some cases, so please re-read with a close eye. :)
Thanks go to Maddevillechilde for the beta work on the original version.