Chapter 11: Bearer of Halfway Decent News

July 31, 1984

"Harry, I am not going to ask you again!" Remus called in exasperation as he heard another ominous crash in the sitting room. "Do not use that broomstick in the house!"

"It isn't even a real broomstick, Remus!" Harry called back indignantly. "It's only a toy and I can play with toys in the house!"

"Not if they fly!" Remus repeated, for what felt like the thousandth time. "Harry James Potter, when I get into that sitting room in a minute, you had better not be in the air. Do you hear me? I so much as see you mounted on that broomstick and it's going into the attic under lock and key until you're 11!"

"You're really cranky after full moon," Harry complained as Remus appeared in the doorway. He was just dismounting the toy broomstick when Remus got there. "It's not fair. It's not my fault it's full moon."

Remus had a brief pang in his heart at those words, remembering years earlier and a different Potter complaining about the post-full moon crankies. In fact, James might've even made the same comment about how it wasn't his fault, too.

The difference being, of course, that James had been old enough to remember when full moon rose – Harry was still too small to remember that he hadn't spent the night away yesterday, so it couldn't have been full moon. He just remembered that Remus was never in a good mood after full moon.

"Come on, Harry, put away the broomstick. Hermione's coming over soon and we've got to get to London. I don't want to be in Diagon Alley when England National arrives at Quality Quidditch, especially if Hermione's with us today. You know she's still not used to being in Diagon Alley."

Still grumbling under his breath, Harry set the toy broomstick back into the closet. He looked so morose after that, that Remus couldn't help but scoop up his young charge in his arms. "Oh, come on, Harry. Tell you what – you can pick your own birthday present at Diagon Alley today. Maybe an owl?" he offered, knowing full well that Harry had been wanting a pet for some time. Owls didn't seem to have nearly the skittishness around Remus that other types of wizarding pets did, so it seemed to be the safest choice for Harry.

Harry's face lit up. "An owl, Remus? Really? You mean it? Any owl I wanted?"

"We'll go check out the Emporium while we're in Diagon Alley," Remus laughed. "Maybe they have an owlet we can buy so that it grows with you." He set Harry back down again and headed for the front hallway when the bell sounded. "Oh, I think that's Hermione there now, buddy. Do you want to go ahead and open the door?"

Harry was already halfway to the door when Remus asked him that, so it seemed like a moot question at that point. The young boy pulled open the door and shrieked excitedly, "Hermione, guess what? I'm getting an owl today for my birthday! Isn't that the best birthday present ever?!"

"That is a spectacular present, Harry," came Dumbledore's amused reply. "But I believe you may have me confused with somebody else."

Remus tried to contain his chuckles. "Sorry, professor. Hermione is supposed to be arriving any minute. She's coming with us to Diagon Alley today." He pulled Harry back from the doorway. "Harry, can I speak with Professor Dumbledore alone? Go watch for Hermione out the sitting room window."

"All right," Harry sighed in disappointment, and stomped off towards the sitting room again.

"What can I do for you, professor?" Remus asked, as Dumbledore closed the door behind himself.

Dumbledore paused, a degree of seriousness in his eyes that Remus hadn't seen since their war days. "Maybe we should go into the kitchen, Remus?" he asked, moving towards the kitchen as he said it… So it was bad news, whatever it was he needed to discuss with Remus. Something that Harry didn't need to overhear, evidently.

"Sure, professor," Remus said warily, following behind his former headmaster. "What's this about?" he asked when they'd finally arrived in the kitchen.

Dumbledore turned to face him again. "Have you seen the Daily Prophet yet today?"

Remus' heart stopped. "N-no, I haven't," he answered. "I was going to pick up a copy this morning. Why?"

"It's about the building collapse," Dumbledore replied. "They've identified the survivor."

After that, things got a little blurry for Remus. He vaguely recognized the sensation of collapsing into one of the kitchen chairs, and Dumbledore's hand gripping his shoulder tightly. Words were leaving his mouth, but he couldn't understand what he was saying. It was an incredibly surreal experience – one that he couldn't liken to anything else he'd ever gone through in his life.

When he finally registered what Dumbledore was trying to say, after what seemed like an eternity, the words seemed so out of place. "Remus, take a breath."

"Who… who was it, professor?" Remus finally managed to gasp out. Maybe that was what he had been saying for Merlin only knew how long. "Who was it that survived?"

Dumbledore paused for another moment. "It was Jenny, Remus. Right now, Magical Catastrophes believes that Sirius must've put some form of protective charm up prior to the collapse. Something that would've ensured Jenny's survival if she were to be trapped."

"Why is this the first time we're hearing about it?" Remus asked hoarsely.

Dumbledore sighed heavily. "She's suffered some memory loss, Remus. She couldn't recall that there would be other people asking about her. She still doesn't recall that she was married to a wizard. Magical Law Enforcement picked up a flag on the name in the civil records. She went into the Muggle offices last week to make some name changes."

"Name changes?" Remus asked again, feeling like he was missing something major in what Dumbledore was saying. "What sort of name changes?"

"A change to her surname," Dumbledore replied. "And a change to her son's surname."

"What?" Remus asked yet again. Now he sort of felt like a broken record. After so long – years by now – he could barely make any sort of sense out of what Dumbledore was telling him. Sirius was dead. Jenny was alive, and she didn't remember Sirius. And they had had a son? Wait. If Jenny didn't even remember Sirius… who were the Ministry to say that this child was even –

"The timing is right for the boy to be Sirius' child," Dumbledore said quietly, as if reading Remus' mind. "I checked the Hogwarts register to be certain. It seems that Jenny remarried last week. Her new husband is in the process of adopting the boy – but seeing as he's the child of a reasonably known wizard in the community…"

"The Ministry is getting shirty about letting it pass," Remus finished. "It was one thing for Michael Nottingham, a whole different matter for Sirius Black, right?"

Dumbledore nodded. "Essentially, that's the Ministry's thought process on the matter. They're bringing it before the Wizengamot that the child be returned to the magical community." It had been happening in the years since James' and Lily's death: half-blood children, their bloodline hidden by their magical parents or orphaned before they reached Hogwarts age, were being taken away from their Muggle families and returned to their magical families to be raised in the community. It had caused quite a bit of uproar – in fact, some of those children were still on the Muggle missing persons' register. Many magical families objected to the kidnappings but with the removals being authorized by the Ministry, there was very little anybody could do – and even less that the Muggle families could do.

"Well, what do they expect to do about it? It's not like Sirius had any family who would be willing to take in the child. Can you see Narcissa Malfoy raising a half-blood child?" He raised an eyebrow at Dumbledore with that question. Why exactly was Remus being told all of this?

Dumbledore sighed. "Believe it or not, Remus, they actually have a different reasoning in mind for the boy." He paused for a moment while Remus tried to figure out what else could possibly be on the docket for this unknown child of Sirius'. Even the Ministry had never gone so far as to take a child when there was no magical blood relation to raise them. That was exactly how Sam Thomas' son had gotten looked over.

"Please, professor, can we just… cut to the point?" Remus finally asked as a shout of excitement came from the sitting room. Harry had evidently spotted the Grangers' car turning onto the drive. "We aren't going to have the privacy much longer," he added.

Dumbledore nodded. "The Ministry wants to deliver custody to you, Remus. Apparently, they're already considering it a noble gesture when you maintained custody of Harry rather than Jenny's family."

Remus tried not to burst out laughing. "Oh, really?" he managed to choke out. "Are they simply conveniently overlooking the fact that we are technically hiding out from the wizarding world? Hell, Harry doesn't attend any wizarding early childhood centres, we're in Diagon Alley maybe once a month, we don't even own an owl. I work in the Muggle world. We live in a Muggle community. Oh, and are they going to ignore the fact I'm a werewolf?"

"Apparently you've maintained enough of a connection to be considered a wizarding alternative," Dumbledore replied. "If I might be so bold, Remus, your offer to the Granger family in the winter did not go unnoticed at the Ministry. They're calling a 'concerted effort to maximize child wizard exposure to our world' – I'm not joking, Remus!" he added as Remus lost the fight with his composure and started laughing hysterically. "The Muggle Family Liaisons office is halfway to implementing a program thanks to you!"

"Yeah, maximize exposure to the wizarding world, minimize the exposure to a werewolf," Remus said wryly. "Or were they planning on offering me a job at the same rate of pay that they'd give an ordinary wizard? Because then I might actually consider it."

"I can't speak to that end, Remus, but I do know that Mafalda Hopkirk was singularly impressed with the way you handled that scenario."

A knock at the door interrupted the rest of Dumbledore's speech, and the two men got to their feet as Harry clattered out into the hallway. "All I'm saying, Remus, is don't be surprised if Magical Law Enforcement shows up on your doorstep in the next few days with the boy. The movement to keep wizarding children in the wizarding world, regardless of their family in the Muggle world, is growing. They're on a mission, and I think we both know what the Ministry can be like when they get an idea in their head." With that said, he smiled softly at Remus. "I'll let you get back to the birthday boy." He tipped his glasses slightly in Remus' direction and added with sparkling eyes, "I believe the Owl Emporium just got a nest of owlets in the other day. They're calling it 'the right bird for the right child', if I recall correctly."

Remus laughed – a genuine laugh this time. "So what they're saying is that the owlets have minds of their own." He shook his head. "Thank you, professor. Harry and I will have to have a look at it when we go into the city."

They exited the kitchen to find Harry and Hermione just about bouncing off the walls with excitement, and Beverley trying futilely to calm them down before they broke something. "Harry, that's enough of that," Remus called warningly. "Calm down before you hurt yourself."

"Oh, please can we go to Diagon Alley now?" Harry begged, racing over to Remus.

"I'm sorry, Remus, I really don't know what's gotten into Hermione today," Beverley said apologetically. "She's just woken up full of energy… Oh, hello, Professor," she added in surprise. "Remus, do you need us to come back?"

"Good morning, Mrs. Granger. I was just on my way out, actually," Dumbledore said pleasantly. "Remus and I have finished our business. Well, Miss Granger, Master Potter, I bid you good day. Happy birthday, Harry. I hear you have a present in the works."

"An owl, professor!" Harry exclaimed again. "Remus said I could have an owl!" At that exclamation, Hermione shrieked in excitement again and the two children went racing off into the sitting room.

Beverley groaned. "Oh, my Lord. Remus, I am so sorry. If I didn't have to go into the office today, I would come with you. I feel terrible leaving her with you when she's like this. That's awful lot of energy for one person to manage in a busy market." She rubbed her forehead. "Feel free to drop her off as soon as 2 o'clock comes."

Remus laughed, as Dumbledore slipped back out the door and Disapparated. "Beverley, honestly, Hermione at her most energetic still has nothing on Harry. It'll be fine. Go, do what you need to do and stop worrying. She'll be home for dinner tonight."

Beverley looked at him worriedly. "Oh, I can't help it, Remus. He's bound to be off the wall, isn't he? And now I'm giving you my off the wall child, and the both of them together is just –"

"Go, Beverley."

Reluctantly, Beverley turned to go back to the car. "Hermione Jean, you behave yourself for Remus today, do you hear me?" she called futilely into the sitting room. Hermione didn't respond, so Beverley moaned again and left. "Thank you again, Remus. You are a saint."

"Goodbye, Beverley," Remus called with a laugh. He shut the door behind her and called into the sitting room, "Harry, Hermione, come on out. We have to get going." He picked up the moneybag with his wizarding currency and popped it into his pocket. "Let's go, let's go, let's go!"

"Remus, what did Professor Dumbledore want?" Harry asked eagerly as the two children bounced out into the hallway again. "You were talking for an awfully long time."

Remus sighed. That was not a topic he wanted to get into with Harry right at the moment. "I'll tell you later, Harry. Right now, let's get on with what we need to do before that Quidditch team arrives."

"Oh, couldn't we stay and see England National?" Harry begged. "Come on, Remus, you know I like Quidditch!"

Remus shook his head. Yes, he certainly did know that Harry loved his Quidditch – but he also knew that his estranged father was in charge of training England National for the 1986 World Cup. The last thing Remus really needed at this point in time was for somebody to put two and two together – his father had spent the last few decades trying to distance himself as much as humanly possible from any connection with Remus. John Lupin would never forgive him if the fact his son was a werewolf cost him his position, and severe consequences would be had… Some things were just never worth the cost. "There'll be far too many people there, Harry. You know how packed Diagon Alley can get."

"What's happening?" Hermione asked innocently.

"The national team is coming to Quality Quidditch for a signing, and Remus won't let me go see them," Harry replied with a pout. "Not even when it's my birthday, and it won't even cost a Knut."

"Get your cloak on, Harry," Remus sighed, pulling on his own. "It's cold today."

Hermione looked at Harry's forest green cloak longingly. "Mummy gave me £20 to spend today. I think I'd really like a cloak. All of the other children wear one in Diagon Alley."

Remus laughed. "That sounds like it would be lovely thing to buy, Hermione. Tell you what, we'll go get your pounds changed when we get there, and we'll stop by the cloak shop. Come on, then, both of you. We've got quite the list of things to accomplish today."

Hermione was still preening over her brand new royal blue cloak with a white lace collar and a bright silver clasp when they stopped for lunch at the Leaky Cauldron. Harry still hadn't gotten his owlet, so he was starting to get a bit antsy. Remus just felt exhausted. Two children were clearly way more work than one – he'd known that for months, but today just reinforced that thought in his mind.

That thought brought the morning's conversation with Dumbledore back to the forefront of his mind. He really didn't want to think about the possibility of government-assisted child abduction. Dumbledore hadn't been lying when he said that the movement had been growing – today alone he'd overheard a dozen or more wizards discussing the idea in approving tones. It was a Ministry policy (or close enough to one) that Remus found personally distasteful, and one that – quite frankly – he would probably fight to the ends of the earth. He didn't want to be handed custody of a child taken away from their parents and treated like a hero for doing it.

"Harry, that's enough playing with your food," Remus said sharply when he caught sight of Harry creating volcanoes out of his mashed potatoes. "Eat it properly."

Harry frowned at him again unhappily. "Stop being cranky," he said.

"Stop being silly and maybe I will," Remus replied. "Take some lessons on table manners from Hermione, would you?"

"I can't wait until I'm grown up and nobody can tell me how to eat my food!" Harry seethed and stamped down his volcano with his fork again. Remus bit back the exasperated laugh and returned his own attention to untouched plate in front of him. "I mean it!"

"Sure, Harry," Remus said with a shake of his head. "Finish up with your plate and then we can get going to the Emporium." With that being said, Harry immediately turned his attention back to eating – just as Remus knew that he would. His young charge wanted that little owlet too much to risk being told he couldn't have it for another year because of his behaviour. "Good choice there, buddy."

"I still have money left over," Hermione spoke up happily. "Remus, do I have enough money for a book?" She dropped the handful of coins onto the table, and counted them up slowly. "I have 10 of these ones," she said, pushing the Knuts into a pile. "And two of these," she continued, carefully piling up the Sickles. "Is that enough for a book, Remus?"

Remus laughed. "We'll have to take a look at the bookstore before we leave, Hermione. You might be able to get a storybook with that."

"No, I want to get Hogwarts: a History," Hermione said with certainty. "I like history books."

Remus barely managed to retain his laughter. "You definitely don't have enough for Hogwarts: a History. It's a bit too advanced for you right now, too, isn't it, Hermione?"

Hermione frowned. "Well, Mummy and Daddy can read it to me."

"Wait for a few years before you buy that one, Hermione," Remus advised. "Try a storybook. You might be able to buy a copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard."

Harry perked up. "Oh, those are fun stories, Hermione. You'll like those ones. I had a copy of it, but I lost it." Hermione looked at him reluctantly, and then put her money back into her coat pocket. "Remus, can I get a copy of that one, too?"

"We'll see, Harry," Remus replied. "You're already getting an owl today." He smiled as Harry wrinkled his small nose at him and then went back to his meal. The nice thing about 4-year-olds, despite all of their moods? They were quite easily distracted.

The Owl Emporium was always so noisy, a person could barely hear themselves think over the squawking of dozens of birds, the rustling of feathers and the flapping of wings. The yowling of cats, the squeaking of mice and rats, the clattering of a variety of items falling onto the floor. Add a fully-grown adult werewolf to the mix, and the noise was almost unbearable.

"Can I help you with anything?" the young worker asked pleasantly as Hermione and Harry both ran off in the direction of the owls' enclosure.

"I was hoping that you could show us some of your younger owls," Remus said with a slight smile. "I have a 4-year-old who was promised an owl for his birthday today."

"Ah," the worker said with a knowing smile. "So an owlet, maybe? Owls are pretty smart choice for a young boy – practical, and they more or less take care of themselves."

"That was my thought," Remus admitted. "Now, I thought I heard somewhere had you had just gotten a batch of owlets recently?"

The worker nodded, a momentary flash of uncertainty passing through her eyes before she recovered and continued, "Yes. A whole nest of them, fresh into their fledgling feathers. Now, there's six in this hatching season–"

"Remus, I want that one!" Harry exclaimed emphatically as they reached the enclosure. He pointed at a tiny owlet evidently so young it hadn't even lost its newborn fuzz yet. It almost looked completely new – only a few days old.

"I thought you said they were all into their fledgling feathers," Remus said with a frown as he looked thoughtfully at the one Harry was pointing at. "That one doesn't even look old enough to be out of the nest. Harry, that one's a little too small, don't you think? It can't even fly yet."

"That's… strange," the worker said, stepping into the enclosure carefully. "I've never seen that one before." Gently, she lifted the bird into her hand, examining it closely. "A snowy, I would think. We haven't many of those as of late…"

"No, I want that one," Harry insisted, coming up to inspect the bird at close range. "She looks more special than the others, and I want a special one. You said I can have whichever one I wanted, Remus," he reminded Remus with a tug at his robe sleeve.

"Well, Harry, I wasn't thinking that you were going to want an owlet quite that small," Remus said, pulling Harry back from the worker. "She isn't even old enough to be sold yet." He pointed out another owlet nearby, squatting down to catch Harry before he could take off. "What about that one, Harry? He looks almost like the owl your dad had when we were at Hogwarts."

Actually, the raggedy owlet looked absolutely nothing like James' magnificent Great Grey, but Remus was hoping that the shameless use of James' mention would distract Harry from the owlet that he almost certainly wouldn't be getting.

"No, no, I want that one," Harry insisted as he reached out his hands to the worker. "Can I hold her?" he asked politely.

"Sweetheart, I really think you should listen to your –" the worker was kneeling down to look at Harry when she seemed to notice his trademark scar for the first time. "Oh, my Merlin," she gasped. She seemed so flabbergasted at having Harry Potter standing there in front of her that she didn't react in time to stop Harry from taking the tiny bird from her.

"Harry, careful!" Remus scolded, gently pulling Harry's fingers open a little more. "She's a brand-new baby bird, that one. You can't hold her that tightly." He watched as Harry released his grip immediately, wide green eyes never leaving the small bird as it flopped around his hand. It was trembling, reaching out blindly with its beak as if searching for food. "Are you certain that this one's been looked at?" he asked the worker. "I don't think it's even eaten."

"What do you feed a baby owl, Remus?" Hermione asked curiously as she crept closer.

"Well, meat, I suppose," Remus replied. "Harry, you need to give this lady back the baby owl now. We'll have to pick a different owl."

Harry's eyes welled up with tears. "But I want this one, Remus!" he protested, even as Remus was guiding his hands back over to deposit the baby owl gently into the worker's hands. "No, Remus, I don't want another one, I want this one! Remus!"

The worker was watching the exchange sympathetically, and then finally said, "You know what we could do, Master Potter?" She stood up and began to head towards the back room. "We could keep her here for a few weeks until she's big enough to go home, but she'll be marked as yours. We'll write up a bill of sale and everything."

Harry's eyes lit up and Remus relaxed slightly. "Well, that sounds perfect," Remus said gratefully. "Why don't we go get that sorted out, then?" Getting to his feet, he shooed both of the children towards the front desk. "Thank you," he said to the young worker.

"Oh, no worries," the worker replied. "I thought it would be an acceptable compromise. He does seem to have his heart set on this one."

Remus rolled his eyes. "Doesn't he, though?" He hoisted both of the children up onto the counter as the worker disappeared into the back room momentarily. "Well, Harry, you got what you wanted. You'd better think up a name for her before we start filling out papers."

"Oh, I know what I'm going to name her," Harry said immediately, and Hermione giggled.

"Oh, really?" Remus asked teasingly. "And what would that name be?"

"Hedwig," Harry announced. "Hermione and me thought of it when that lady came into the café with the head wig." He grinned at Remus proudly. "It's a good name, isn't it?"

Remus shook his head affectionately and mussed Harry's hair. "You've been thinking about this for a while, haven't you?" he asked. When Harry nodded emphatically, he rolled his eyes. "Yeah, that's what I thought. You're spoiled, is what you are. You know that, Harry James?"

Harry simply grinned back at him again. "Thank you, Remus."

"So? How was the day?" Beverley asked cheerily as she entered the kitchen that evening. "Looks like multiple somebodies had a good trip," she added, looking around the table at the two beaming children. She exchanged a glance with Remus, who rolled his eyes and answered,

"Your daughter had a wonderful day, I think." He laughed as Hermione bounced to her feet and ran to her mother, showing her the box with her new cloak inside. "She decided that she wanted a cloak for our outings, and still had enough money left over for her book."

Beverley laughed. "And, young birthday boy, what did you get?"

"I got an owl," Harry said. "But she can't come home quite yet."

Beverley looked over at Remus questioningly. "He latched onto the smallest bird in the store. So new, I don't think its eyes were even open yet," Remus explained. "Won't be ready to be brought home for a few weeks. But she's ours, free and clear."

"No," Harry countered stubbornly. "She's mine."

"Oh, pardon me, you're right," Remus agreed with a smile. "She's yours."

"Her name is Hedwig, Mummy," Hermione spoke up. "She's fluffy and white. The lady at the shops said that she'll be white when she grows up and gets proper feathers, too!"

"Oooh, a snowy owl?" Beverley said interestedly. "Those are quite rare, aren't they?"

"I don't think I've ever seen one in England, to be honest," Remus admitted. "If anything else, we'll always be able to pick your owl out of a flock, won't we?" he asked Harry, ruffling his hair again.

"She's special," Harry agreed. "Mrs. Granger, would you like some cake?" he asked politely. "Hermione and I left some of my birthday cake for you."

"Well, isn't that sweet of you," Beverley laughed. "You know what? I think I will take a slice. And then a slice for Mr. Granger, too."

"Some tea, Beverley?" Remus asked with a smile as he went to get the cake before Harry got any bright ideas in his head. Disastrous things happened in the kitchen around an overexcited Harry, and Remus had a feeling that if Harry were to drop the remainder of his birthday cake onto the floor, it would destroy the rest of his evening. Possibly even the rest of his week.

"That'd be smashing, Remus, thank you," Beverley said with a sigh. "Mark's out to a conference this week, I wasn't looking forward to going home with Hermione to a quiet, empty house all night."

"Well, if there's one thing this house is not, it's quiet," Remus said. "Feel free to stay as long as you like. Hermione, why don't you show your mum the book you bought today?"

"Did you get that history book you were going on about, darling?" Beverley asked as Hermione snatched up her bag and climbed into her mother's lap.

"No, I didn't have enough," Hermione said in disappointment. "I had enough for this one, though," she added brightly, pulling a children's edition of The Tales of Beedle the Bard out of the bag. "It's got a whole bunch of stories in it. We can read it for bedtime, Mummy."

"Beedle the Bard?" Beverley asked, looking over at Remus as he set down the cake and tea in front of her. "What is it, poetry?"

"No, they're old wizarding folk tales," Remus answered, sitting back down at the table. "He's a bit like Aesop, that one. Actually, if we're going to be perfectly honest, I think the pair of them were related. In all truthfulness, Beverley!" he exclaimed when Beverley failed to conceal the snort of laughter. "I think they were cousins or something of the like!"

"Hmm. Old folk tales, you say?" Beverley mused, flipping through the pages. "I still can't get over the pictures," she said in awe. "The way they move so realistically… you'd think you were watching a film or something." She paused on a page. "Babbitty Rabbitty and the Cackling Stump? Really, Remus – that's the stuff of folk tales?"

"Well, the adult's version of the tale has a different name," Remus amended. "The book she got is the children's version. They changed the names, a bit of the circumstances. Just the way they did for many of the tales you probably know."

Beverley thought about that one for a moment. "All right, Remus. I'll take your word for it."

As the evening wore on, Remus found his mind drifting back to the conversation he'd had with Dumbledore that morning. He knew, deep down within himself, that he didn't really think that nothing was going to come of the discovery that Jenny had had a child. For a moment, Remus cursed the existence of the child – if it hadn't been for that one tiny little human being, the Ministry probably would've left everybody involved well enough alone. The Muggle widow of a dead wizard with memory loss was hardly the Ministry's top priority.

Then he thought better. What right did he have to blame anybody but the Ministry for what was surely going on at this very moment: the Wizengamot gathered, preparing to vote on whether to rip another child away from everything they know; Jenny, completely oblivious to the fact that the wizarding world was about to turn her life upside down again; even this unknown boy, whose entire life was about to change.

Nope. What was going on was far bigger than any one of them.