Chapter 53 - Prophecy?
The visit went smoothly enough once the Unspeakables agreed not to divulge the information they learned that day from him to anyone without his permission and that their efforts would not harm him. Harry and the others were well aware that some would be only too willing to do just about anything to understand how he had survived the Killing Curse on that night. That is, it went smoothly once he got the pair of hidden watchers to make the vows too.
As promised, a couple of minutes of standing around and a nod, then Harry was directed to pick up a small glass orb on a shelf above the following label:
S.P.T to A.P.W.B.D
Dark Lord
and (?) Harry Potter
The orb was warm in his hand and Bode gave a very satisfied smile. "Excellent, Mr Potter. What you hold in your hand is a Prophecy Record. As you saw, this dates from sixteen years ago. It is, as the name suggests, the record of a prophecy."
Harry nodded impatiently. "While I don't believe in them, per se, I am familiar with the practice according to the books in the Hogwarts Library."
Body sighed in resignation. "A common attitude, Mr Potter, I am sorry to say. Our Department's records are quite clear, however. True Prophecy provides a glimpse of a future, one that can be attained or denied if one understands the message. Unfortunately, Seers never remember them afterwards and many were lost in the early days before we set up our monitoring. The one in your hand, though, that one concerns you, we believe. The fact you were able to pick it up is strong evidence of that."
"So what does it say?" Harry asked. "I can see that it was given directly to Dumbledore by someone. The obvious suspect to have given the message would be 'Professor' Trelawney, too."
Bode was impressed. "Indeed it was given by Madam Trelawney to Chief Warlock Dumbledore, Mr Potter, very good. As for what it says, you may find out by placing it in the receptacle guarded by the Keeper of the Hall of Prophecies. The receptacle is this way, Mr Potter."
With that, he was off, walking unhurriedly to another door that Harry would have sworn wasn't there before. It was disturbing to him that anything could be hidden so well by magic, but it was far better to be aware of the problem.
Once on the other side, Bode closed the door behind Harry, trapping him there alone with the elder wizard.
"Oh, please relax, Mr Potter," Bode said with his back turned to Harry, "I have no intention of harming you. This is my job and I would like to keep it, after all. Now.." Bode mucked around with things that Harry had trouble focusing on for a minute then turned around with what looked for all the world like an egg cup. Shrugging, Harry put the orb on the cup, committing the entire experience to memory as from within a face appeared out of a blue mist.
One short, cryptic message later, Harry felt very annoyed. "Are all prophecies that uselessly vague?"
Bode chuckled. "All the true ones have been. We have done some research into this one and, naturally, you are free to share the wording with others you trust, but first I would think you would like to hear what we have come up with."
Nodding tightly, Harry settled in for a story. Bode pointed out that at first, it appeared that the Prophecy had been fulfilled that Halloween night. "Unfortunately, there have been indications from abroad that the Dark Lord mentioned did not perish. That was confirmed when Madam Bones got your statement after the Third Task." Harry immediately tensed. "Yes, Mr Potter, we know what you really said and we have kept it quiet as you wished."
Harry calmed at that. "What if Voldemort is not the Dark Lord mentioned in the Prophecy? Could it be someone else?"
Bode was startled. "Who else could it be?"
"Dumbledore, perhaps? His actions in abandoning me to the 'mercy' of my mother's sister and her family, and abandoning my godfather to a life sentence in Azkaban could be said to fit that of a ruthless manipulator. He betrayed people who trusted him, costing us so much."
Bode nodded, "I see your point, however it cannot be Chief Warlock Dumbledore no matter what else he has done. The Seer used a term that was only applied to one wizard at that time, Voldemort. Since Voldemort was the only recognised Dark Lord at the time, that much is certain."
"Thank you." Harry replied. "While I don't trust Dumbledore, I would rather not be forced to kill him by some prophecy. As for Voldemort, he killed James and Lily Potter and a host of others. Getting rid of him is a service to society."
Bode watched the boy, no, the young man carefully after that. As Harry had said at the beginning, the prophecy was vague, leading to many possible interpretations. "Nevertheless," he summarised, "the Prophecy does seem to be about you and Voldemort since you could pick it up. It suggests you will 'vanquish' him and the sphere is active, indicating it has yet to be fulfilled. It doesn't require you to kill him, as such, just to defeat him."
Harry nodded respectfully, understanding that their time was nearly at a close. "I had best put this back. Should anyone else pick it up, the protections will wreck their minds unless the prophecy is their own. And if the Dark Lord picks up this one, alarms will blare throughout the DMLE."
"Sir, how about putting in a fake one instead and leaving this one in here?"
"And what would you have it say?" Bode inquired in his spooky voice.
"Something meaning that he will die by my hand unless he quits the Dark Lord business." Harry suggested with a smile. "After all, I will be doing my best to make that one come true."
"While an intriguing concept, it is impossible to do it without Ministerial command." Bode replied, dismissing the matter from his mind.
Bode opened the door and Harry swiftly rejoined his family. Amelia Bones led the way to the outbound Apparation point and took Harry first, enjoying the excuse to hold him again, while a pair of Aurors took his parents back.
While the Aurors got refreshments, Amelia and the Kitsune Clan gathered around the kitchen table for the discussion. Harry played back the memory for Ino-mum who then transferred it to the others. A minute later, the discussion began.
"First of all, I would like to see their proof that these prophecies are anything more than hot air before I put any stock in them." Naruto was skeptical of any prophecy.
"That will be difficult at best. The Department of Mysteries is notoriously secretive. Nevertheless, it is widely accepted that some prophecies are real. I believe young Luna Lovegood is descended from a number of Seers, if I am remembering the right branch of the family.
"What is clear is that this explains why Dumbledore has kept Trelawney around all these years. I would have to check but this is around the time she was hired to become the Divination Professor when there were rumours Dumbledore wanted to shut down the course entirely." Amelia looked around.
"He can do that? Just shut down a course at the school he's teaching? Have any previous Headmasters or Headmistresses done that?" Yuugao was openly disapproving of the notion.
"I couldn't tell you offhand, I'm sorry, but since he's Dumbledore, he could probably get away with it. A lot of wizards and witches have little respect for the subject so they may even welcome the move," Amelia explained.
"I want to know just how Voldemort learned of the Prophecy. Pettigrew confirmed under Veritaserum that the bastard already knew about it. The whole thing is suspicious." Yuugao growled.
"Very much so." Harry was grim. "My parents knew that we were being targeted so why did they stick around in hiding? There was plenty of money to pay for moving overseas. Once there, they could have disappeared into regular society and Riddle's forces would have been at a loss to find us. More than that, how did Dumbledore know we were being targeted so early? My parents went into hiding very soon after I was born, telling me that he already knew they were at risk."
Amelia nodded. "Yes, that is one of my questions for him if I ever get him to start answering."
"So, supposedly you're going to have to 'vanquish' Riddle, Harry?" Anko smirked.
"Something like that, I guess." Harry allowed.
"It's a pity your previous encounters don't count," Hinata replied. "The one where you were a toddler was almost certainly your parents' work but First Year, Second Year and this year were all your own work. A thrown senbon needle to the face, a poisoned sword and stack of knives have taken him out each time, all of them from your hand."
"I am wondering just how he survived losing his body each time. Normally that kills wizards, right?" Harry checked.
"Right, Harry." Amelia nodded. "Another mystery for the Department of Mysteries to solve. And this time, they will be sharing their answers."
Amelia was as good as her word, setting this as a high priority for the secretive group and making sure they understood that failure to share any answers would see them assigned to the worst jobs she could find. Thanks to long experience, she felt she already had an appropriate punishment in mind, having to stand guard on the Prime Minister without the use of any magic except in defence of themselves or their assignment. It would be boring and stressful and that's even with magic available to them.
Very few in their society were at all comfortable with living without magic. That's what made snapping a wand such a harsh punishment. Amelia's reflections came at a time when she was having to live more and more without magic herself since she had moved to Cranleigh.
The Statute of Secrecy had protected wizards and witches but only at the cost of making them helpless among normal people without their wands.
Soon enough, July came to a close and with it came Harry's fifteenth birthday party.
The usual array of birthday gifts were exchanged, almost all of them handmade rather than anything expensive since if Harry wanted to buy something normal he or the Clan could afford it. That led to an assortment of unusual gifts and surprises so the birthday boy was well pleased, even more that it didn't hurt his friends' finances.
Justin led the young men in a rousing chorus of "For he's a jolly good fellow." He laughed afterwards, much to Harry's ire. By now, they all knew he had enhanced hearing and the pitfalls of that when it came to people singing off-key. That made it a fairly obvious but successful prank on the birthday boy which led to some roughhousing and games, letting off steam for all involved.
Once they calmed down again, Harry was nursing a cold butterbeer as he grinned at the guys. "So who do you lot fancy in the Premier League this year?"
"I've always been partial to Arsenal since you showed me the first game." Mark replied.
The others groaned and Ernie gave Justin a Sickle. "Of course, you do, Mark. I prefer Man U."
The guys settled in, talking about their favourite subjects, sports and girls. By unspoken consent, Harry's Jewels were off the list of hottest girls, no matter how good looking they were. Harry did ask how the others were going with their girlfriends or attempts to find one.
Neville smiled when his turn came around. They all knew his grandmother had done her best to scare off any girls that didn't measure up to her standards. Despite all of that, Faye had ignored the old witch and made him see her as a girl in her own right. That courage and desire for him had endeared her to Neville, and he was happy to see where it would go even if he wasn't brave enough yet to tell her so.
Harry smiled back, happy seeing his friends relaxed and having fun.
That wasn't the best bit of his day, however. That started with his Jewels slipping out of the party in what had become a tradition. As each one arrived in their private living room, Harry made another clone to cuddle with her.
One way this year was different was the presence of Fleur, Yvette and Angelique. The three Veela are holding back their Allure to minimum, wanting to keep everything sweet and loving rather than the orgy it could so easily become, but it isn't easy for them. Their new chakra pools give them more energy than before and at times this translates into surges of the Allure as it escapes their control. Happily, this is one of those times where they did keep it down, mostly, and the other girls are grateful for that.
Amelia and Angelique were talking about various things when the French lady blushed. "What is it, Angelique?"
"Oh, I was about to say somezing I shouldn't have."
"You can tell me, surely?"
"It is... well, I have been wondering 'ow Harry compares."
Amelia's eyes widened. "You mean?"
"I wanted Mr Right, yes? Well, it took me too long but I have found him. The other men I have had were, well, they were not bad. They were nothing to Harry, yes?"
Amelia blushed at the memories. "Yes, very much so. He is more powerful, more commanding and more-" She gestured and giggled. "When I am with him, I can relax in a way I have never known. There is such freedom in giving him control and he never fails to satisfy."
The two ladies continued to gossip for a while until the other guests had left and it was only the Jewels remaining. Fleur and Yvette exchanged a mischievous look before relaxing all control on their Allures and grabbing the birthday boy between them, kissing him as much as they could. The grins from the other Jewels told Harry that they were fine with the development.
In the morning, Amelia smiled up at Harry, feeling his arms around her and his lips brushing her throat, making her groan.
"Good morning, Madam Minister." Harry said playfully when she opened her eyes at last.
"Not yet, Harry, but it will be." Amelia Bones returned as her right hand slipped down between them, starting her day off right.
Out in the kitchen, the Jewels were talking and eating their breakfast when the morning papers arrived, full of the 'news' that Amelia Bones would become Minister that day at nine a.m. This, despite the fact that the papers had mentioned that date a dozen times each, was regarded as Big News. Still, for a small town newspaper, which the Daily Prophet was, in terms of circulation, it wasn't like there was that much else going on so they had a habit of milking every story as much as possible.
There were still bits referring to the Triwizard Tournament that had finished months back, analyses of tactics and strengths.
So the front page being filled with her elevation made sense and was far better than the usual rubbish they had to print. It described the ceremony involved with Amelia having to shed her robes and lose her hat as Head of DMLE, formally renouncing her old position in order to receive the new. After that, she would divest herself of any and all magical protections before walking through a wall of fire, symbolising her courage, willingness to endure pain and her rebirth as Minister. A Flame-Freezing Charm would be cast, of course, since no one really wanted to have to go to the trouble of fixing up a badly-burned new Minister.
After that, she would get to recover her possessions and don the new robes as Minister for Magic of Britain. Tradition then dictated that she make some speech to the Wizengamot and the press with most of them extolling the strength and superiority of wizards and witches, especially British ones. It made the voters feel good to be told how great they were, a sensation easily confused with feeling they had made the right choice.
Amelia came out of her room a little before eight o'clock, grabbing a quick bite to eat before Apparating with her guards to the Ministry in order to get everything prepared for the formal assumption of power. As she walked through the Ministry building, a memory came over her of talking to Naruto about the possibility of her becoming Minister.
Only years of training saw her continue through her shock as she realised that the Clan had expertly maneuvered her and the rest of Britain into this. 'They have been planning this for years,' she thought to herself in admiration.
At no point had the Clan hidden their preference for her in the Minister's chair nor lied to her about anything that she could remember. They wanted her for Minister and she had agreed she would do a much better job than Fudge. Then again, almost anyone would be more competent and honest although she could name dozens of wizards and witches who would take the country in exactly the wrong direction. Curiously, most of them were Death Eaters or their supporters and the rest were Wizengamot members.
While the Minister was elected by popular vote, the Wizengamot members were selected from within. When one died or retired, their fellows would pick another to replace them. This was supposed to ensure that the Wizengamot was immune to the vagaries of public opinion and select only the finest minds for their court and legislature. In practice, it had turned the place into a bastion of power for the older families.
In a way, Amelia couldn't complain about that since it was what had given her her seat there and her first taste of political power, power she had learned to wield to make life harder for the never to be sufficiently damned Death Eaters who had stolen her family from her.
In most other ways, however, she abhorred the status quo and even she had realised that letting a twenty-two year old witch with no training or known talent become part of such an important body was a dangerous thing, indeed. The Wizengamot was needed as a check on the Ministry and her own former Department of Magical Law Enforcement but it hadn't truly done its job in decades. It was supposed to ensure trials were judged on the basis of law and fact, not the depth of the defendant's pockets or the purity of his blood or the acceptability of his beliefs.
Pushing through reforms of that august body would be difficult but she was sure with enough hard work it was not only possible but far sooner than any of those old witches and wizards would ever imagine.
Between the Potter Alliance, their influence over the Daily Prophet, the Lily Potter Foundation and last, but by no means least, Harry Potter, Amelia had a big lever for change and she was going to push.
She came back to awareness of her surroundings to notice the delegation from the Wizengamot watching her and Dumbledore as Chief Warlock asking in the archaic, formal language if she was ready for the responsibilities of her new office, ready to shed her old life. Amelia gave back the correct responses, already getting out of her heavy formal robes and restraining a laugh at the looks on the old bastard's face at her decidedly 'Muggle' clothing underneath, made for her by Harry himself to be both flattering and professional. The clean lines and solid royal blue colour were a statement in their own right, eschewing the bohemian or downright bizarre decorative styles in favour of pure, straightforward utility. The blouse was opaque but did nothing to minimise her clearly feminine attributes, her auburn hair spilling down the back in a simple ponytail, and her black trousers had two enhanced pockets able to carry almost anything she would need in her normal work day.
They had tested the garments in preparation for the day, both against a regular fire and against one magically affected by the Flame-Freezing Charm, and pronounced it good. It proved itself as she strode forth proudly through the wall of fire before her, reflecting that even if the spell had failed or someone had sabotaged it, she would still have made it safe and sound thanks to her new bloodline and training.
A hand was held out imperiously for her new robes and her chief guard and friend clothed her in the new garments as she studied the reactions of the delegates and of Dumbledore in particular. The Wizengamot members were torn between lust at her body and scorn at her for flaunting it so brazenly. Albus, on the other hand, had his eyes twinkling as brightly as ever and she glared at him as she felt the probe from his Legilimency.
Normally such a probe would have slipped past any of her natural defences and observed some of her current thoughts and feelings. Instead, Albus felt like his mind was on fire when Amelia put extra power into her counter and he hastily withdrew the probe. 'Where in Merlin's name did she get such shields?! A normal Occlumens would have hidden their memories, even thrown up false ones that appeared true. That was an actual barrier! I thought only I had the idea for those.'
Albus had found the reference in an ancient tome that he had to translate himself from a treatise on the Mind Arts in Middle English, written only a scant two centuries after the Founders had taken over a castle to make their school Hogwarts. The tome was mislabelled and misfiled in the Hogwarts Library in a section on mining for gold, an art that had long been left to the goblins and dwarves following one of the early Goblin Rebellions. Whether the error was accidental or deliberate, Albus couldn't tell since there was a layer of dust over all of that section and the book had clearly not been opened in over a century.
He had discreetly removed the book after returning to Hogwarts following his confrontation with Gellert and his acquisition of the Elder Wand. He had already used its advice to improve his brilliant mind before that battle and, fearing that its secrets could be turned to the Dark, took it from the Library to protect students from falling into temptation.
Feeling his mind wandering, Albus forced himself back on track, feeling Amelia's glare. 'Oh, that's right. She is upset that I tried to have a quick peek.' Mentally shrugging, Albus murmured a quick apology, eyes twinkling in a more friendly manner. The glare ended and Albus mentally patted himself on the back at a job well done.
It wasn't well done, however. All that his apology did was to remind Amelia of the need to control herself. Giving a tight nod to the elder wizard, she turned back to the delegates and gave the rote responses to their questions regarding her legitimacy to rule the wizards and witches of Britain.
Finally, turning to the members of the press who had been watching, listening and taking notes, she gave her own speech. Again, she broke with tradition and talked not about how great British wizards and witches were but about how much they needed to fix.
"...I stand before you and affirm my promise to you that I will fight the corruption and incompetence that was a hallmark of the previous Minister's term in office. By stripping away the graft and promoting on merit to fill the vacancies, the Ministry of Magic will have the funds available to restore some programs cut over the last decade without raising taxes.
"With your support, the Ministry of Magic can become great again."
The Wizengamot delegates had become progressively paler as she had allowed her zeal for fighting corruption, crime and incompetence full rein. There had been a few previous wizards and witches that had wanted to reform the Ministry in their long lives but they had been handled. Two became corrupted by the power and opportunities of their office, one had resigned in disgrace after a manufactured scandal ended public confidence in him and the last had disappeared one weekend, never seen again, shortly before her bill to enforce honesty in the Ministry would have come before them. In the chaos of her disappearance, the measure had been quietly dropped.
Unfortunately for their comfortable arrangements, Amelia Bones was made of sterner stuff. She had already been part of the machinery of government and resisted the temptations for decades so corrupting her was unlikely at best. A scandal was also problematic since covert questioning had revealed that she already had ties to the ownership of the Daily Prophet and was well respected by the other publications so they would hardly go along with any faked story they tried to plant. A true scandal would be delicious but unlikely, however much they wished it. And after she had publicly revealed her survival of an assassination attempt by dozens of adult wizards, they felt grimly certain that any follow-up attempt would only backfire on them.
Still, she would require the support of the Wizengamot in order to push through her radical agenda so that would slow her down, at worst, or completely stymie her at best. All they had to do was stand united. 'Oh Merlin!' one thought. 'This will require all sorts of dragon-trading in order to present a united front against the blasted woman.'
Unbeknownst to the esteemed Wizengamot members, Minister Bones already knew all of this. During her time as a member of the Wizengamot, she had studied a history of both it and the Ministry, digging up what had happened to the previous reformers. Like them, she knew that she was relatively safe from each of the dangers that had befallen them and she was already prepared to take action against their delaying tactics. For one, she was prepared to publish their voting records and motions to delay proceedings, making sure that the right people got the blame. While the Wizengamot members were paid a nice stipend for their troubles, the ones who would put up the most resistance were also the ones with the most to lose, financially, if their obstructionism was revealed. They were already in trouble as their family businesses were heading toward the red thanks to the competition from new businesses, many created with the backing of the Foundation.
If people started to boycott their businesses in protest, it would hit them where it hurt most, and best of all it would be totally legal. Running the business into the ground would ruin them financially in time, selling or closing the business would ruin their standing in society, both for their apparent incompetence and for the offence of destroying part of the common British heritage. It was a tactic they had used on their own rivals in times past, though there their tools had been special levies, licenses, fines and taxes.
Boycotts would not be her first resort, however. For one, it would be escalating matters severely. For another, it would be exposing the tactic to her enemies. Last, and most important, however, it would cost some innocent people their livelihoods as their jobs became casualties. Amelia wanted to be sure those people had alternative opportunities available before she hauled out economic warfare. Her first resort would be normal politics, the deals and negotiations to get things done. The difference between her and other Ministers was that she wouldn't be selling out her principles. Well, that and the strength of the her backing from her DMLE.
Amelia's pleasant thoughts were rudely interrupted by a reporter from the Wizarding Wireless Network. "Minister Bones! Minister Bones! What are your thoughts on the mass breakout from Azkaban?!"
Amelia glared at the witch for half a second then got herself under control. "That you need to tell me what this story is before I can comment one way or the other."
There was a gleam in the witch's eye as she replied, "I just heard that a number of prisoners have been taken from Azkaban and that the Dementors have deserted the place en masse."
"How do you know any of this?" Amelia pressed.
"Are you saying that the public don't have the right to know?" the witch ignored her question in favour of one of her own to trap the unaware Minister. "Or are you ignorant of what's happening at your own prison?"
"Control of Azkaban prison had been taken from the DMLE under Minister Bagnold. If you will recall, one of my initiatives was to fix that state of affairs. Since I haven't had even one minute with the staff in charge yet, I don't understand how you think I could have discovered this. As for the citizens of this country, I will inform them later what I think of this story when I have had the chance to talk to the people whose job it was to handle the prison. First I must find out if there is any truth to it.
"Now, I will ask again, how did you hear anything?" Amelia was angry. "Before you answer, I will remind you that this is now a criminal investigation, either of the break-in or of wasting DMLE time."
"One of the Wizarding Wireless Network's contacts," the witch replied, "I just got told to ask you, Madam Bones," she added guiltily.
"Then I am sure you will not mind giving a statement to one of my fine staff in the DMLE."
"Yes, Madam Bones."
"First, however, I will be going to my new office. There are a number of changes I promised to make and the first one is about to be made." Amelia strode off towards the Minister's office, her office, and called in Senior Undersecretary Dolores Umbridge. While waiting for the outspoken critic of 'half-breeds' who had been retained by two previous Ministers, Amelia also sent for Head Auror Rufus Scrimgeour to take a team to Azkaban prison to investigate.
Unfortunately, the story was true and, naturally, it made every paper, even Teen Witch Weekly and The Quibbler carried it, while the Daily Prophet had a multi-page series on the scandal.
Thankfully for Amelia, her comments to the Wizarding Wireless Network were accepted as the new Minister Getting Things Done swiftly rather than dithering on the decisions involved. One wing of the prison had been gutted in the assault and the inmates, Death Eaters all of them, had been removed from the bleak island. The prison guards had vanished, too, leaving open the question on their own involvement though the destruction pointed to a violent end rather than outright collusion.
On the other hand, it was true that the Dementors had abandoned the prison entirely. She had to deal with the fallout from all of this, not least of which was a meeting with the Prime Minister.
A more pleasant duty was firing the Senior Undersecretary Umbridge. No 'services no longer required', no placing her on indefinite leave, not even a transfer or demotion. No, she would be outright dismissed from the Ministry entirely after an acrimonious meeting with her new boss.
"Minister Bones." Dolores simpered in her too-sweet voice, the hideous pink cardigan very much in evidence.
"Madam Umbridge, I called you in in the hope that you may be willing to work with me. You have experience in your position so I owe it to myself to see if we can work together."
Dolores perked up. "Of course, Minister Bones, I would be only too happy to continue in-"
"You interrupted me, Madam. As I was saying, I owe it to myself to see if we can work together. However, that does not mean business as usual. I am serious in my commitment to clean up the Ministry, removing the incompetent and excising the corruption to clear the way to take our place as part of the wider world. A part of that program requires the willing cooperation of other nations and the other magical races, cooperation they are never going to give us if they expect mistreatment. Your... outspoken views on such matters is a hindrance to that goal. To solve this difficulty, you have a choice before you. You will swear, here and now in the privacy of this office, to keep such views to yourself and behave professionally to everyone in your dealings as my Senior Undersecretary or you may resign forthwith."
By the time Amelia had finished, Dolores was incensed. How dare the bitch interrupt her! "Who do you think you are to talk over me!"
"I am the Minister of Magic in my own office with the firm support of the majority of the wizards and witches of Great Britain and you, madam, interrupted me first. Do not forget your own breach of etiquette," Amelia commanded. "Before you respond, I remind you I am waiting for your decision."
Being put down by the young upstart was the last straw and Dolores went for her wand, or tried to draw it.
Amelia considered letting her do so in order to slap charges on the woman then decided against it. It was just too risky that Umbridge might surprise her. She rose from her desk and cast a Disarming Hex, catching both the registered wand and a dagger. The force of the spell pushed the other witch back into her chair from which she was trying to stand and drove the air from her body.
"Dolores Umbridge, for attempting to draw your wand on me I could see you sent to Azkaban!"
"You would never get the votes to convict an upstanding witch like myself." Dolores retorted.
"Are you willing to bet your life on that? I am sure if I tried, I could get the charges increased to an attack on a sitting Minister." Dolores sneered back at her. "As a suspect in such a serious case, Veritaserum would be administered as per standard operating procedure." Amelia continued, seeing a trace of fear.
"Or, I can save myself the hassle of trying to force through a conviction if you are no longer a threat to me or anyone else."
Dolores perked up at that then subsided. "And just what would you want from me?"
"For a start, an Oath that you would never again work against me or my allies and friends. In addition, I want your information on any crimes committed by people working in the Ministry or the Wizengamot. I will not divulge where the information comes from but I will get it."
"I can't! They'll kill me! They'll know it was me, you-" Dolores bit off the insult before it passed her lips.
Amelia nodded slowly. "Then what else can you offer me to make this worthwhile?"
"Gold! I-"
"Attempting to bribe the Minister is another charge, Dolores." Amelia interrupted her in an overly patient voice. "And you know how I hate corruption." Minister Bones added dangerously.
Dolores thought frantically then croaked out "I can spy for you? I can't give out the information I already have, but I could help get your Aurors in position where they can find out for themselves."
That was much better, and Amelia nodded. "Very well." One Oath later not to work against Amelia and to help lead picked Aurors to evidence, and Dolores was sacked from her post, shocked that the Minister had carried through on her ultimatum. Even if Dolores had wanted to, she could never have survived making an Oath to treat the subhumans as her equals so the termination was inevitable.
It was the first sign to the rest of the Ministry of how different times would be under Bones when a Pureblood was fired for the first time in over a hundred and fifty years. They had been shocked enough when a Dark proposal, known to come from Lucius Malfoy, to ban all those 'harmless' love potions was supported across the floor by then ordinary member Amelia Bones. Their shock had increased when she read out a statement by the Boy-Who-Lived throwing his own public weight behind the measure and roundly condemning the whole practice. That was only the beginning of their surprises, and the smarter ones could smell change on the wind.
"You what?!" The Rt Hon John Major, MP and Prime Minister of Great Britain and Northern Ireland was astounded. The meeting was taking place in a private room inside Number 10 a few days after Amelia took office.
"Please, Prime Minister Major, this is serious enough as it is. Unlike the previous Ministers, I am going to keep you informed. This appointment was sought the same day that the news broke for that very reason. My people are, frankly, hopelessly stretched thanks to budget cuts by the incompetent who held office before me. While your people cannot see the Dementors themselves, they are still affected by them in other ways. There is a drop in temperature and leaching of happiness when they are near and worst of all, the Dementor's Kiss. This is effectively fatal as the victim becomes brain dead, in your terminology. They still eat and breathe but they never recover their mind.
"I don't know of what your people can do to stop or even track them but any assistance would be useful at this point. Once found, I can get people to the scene in minutes to handle them. As for the convicted criminals, they are violent and rabid followers of a terrorist and, to a man, believe your people are dirt that needs to be cleaned. They should all be treated as highly dangerous most of all because of their eagerness to use mind control and torture on their victims.
"Politically, I would prefer to recapture them and lock them away. Personally, I want them dead. These animals killed my brother and sister-in-law, my parents, and nearly killed me. While I doubt they would allow you the opportunity to take them, indeed I suspect they will only act to spread terror and death among your citizens rather than attack any hard targets, I will not reject your help."
The Prime Minister nodded, aware how much this was costing the woman politically to accept help from 'Muggles'. He did wonder if her own people were aware of her request then dismissed the thought. It was no skin off his nose if an uppity community of witches and wizards self-destructed, not when they and their ancestors had treated his side of the line with such contempt for so very long. 'Still, this is the first time one of that lot have bothered to ask rather than command our obedience.' Major thought and snorted mentally. 'Not like we would obey short of their magic!'
"I will see what I can do," he allowed, "but you must understand there is more going on in this country than just this."
"I do. You have your war in Bosnia and your own scandals. Nevertheless, for the sake of the innocents at risk I had to warn you."
Major grudgingly agreed about that, still not ready to trust the witch before him completely but he would admit she was better than anyone else from that Ministry he or anyone he knew had encountered. The Ministry of Morons was its nickname among those in the know but finally, Major believed they had elected someone with a lick of sense.
"I will see what I can do." he repeated in a far different tone. It was to everyone's advantage to keep her in office rather than risk a return to the usual crap.
"Thank you, Prime Minister Major." Minister Bones said as she prepared to leave.
The Clan's advice before the meeting had been simple but powerful: Remember that Mr Major was the head of his government and deserved to be treated as such. Her aides could follow up later with hammering out the details of the cooperation with the man's own staff, now that the initial agreement had been made.
That was far from the only meeting the newly installed Minister Bones had on her plate. In addition to getting some of her own people guarding and feeding the remaining prisoners, she also had to review reams of paperwork, signing her name hundreds of times to authorise actions and expenditure from the transitional period.
A reminder from Harry's clone stopped her from blindly signing everything just to get it out of the way, and it was barely in time. The document before her would have made it illegal for anyone in the DMLE to press a 'respected citizen', long the accepted code for a Pureblood, on their whereabouts at the time of a crime without sufficient evidence for a conviction of whatever crime was being investigated. The supposed justification was that it would be an unwarranted attack on their good names.
Since the point of the asking for that information was to get evidence, this would have made convicting Purebloods impossible.
Harry got her thanks, and those of her guard, for catching that one, slipped in between a report on cauldron bottom thickness and a report from the Muggle-Worthy Excuses Committee that they were now adding "Nuclear fallout" to their list of standard excuses.
Amelia groaned at the idiots' latest brainwave and sent back a scathing letter telling them that there was no way the Muggles would accept that. Likewise, "Panty raids" were out as an excuse. Amelia rubbed her temples at the sudden headache and decided that the entire Committee would be sent to spend time in regular Britain. They would be forbidden their wands for an entire week although she would allow a guard to watch out for them while they got a crash course in the culture they were supposed to know better than this.
A brief smile crossed her face when she pictured the horror this little measure would cause. 'Good,' she thought. 'It will do them good to get out of their comfort zones. Either they will become more competent or they will resign in protest and either way, they are out of the way.'
Unfortunately, there was still a mountain of paperwork ahead of her as well as all the meetings. Amelia reflected to herself that the gathering of Department Heads was just as frustrating when she was Minister as when she was 'only' one of the Heads, although the reason for that had changed. In theory, Amelia could have fired everyone there on a whim. In practice, unless she wanted to create even more opposition and interference, she had to be careful in her choices.
Still, she did get to daydream about firing one particularly long-winded wizard. With a cannon. 'Merlin, he was so dull and dry! And these are the people who consider 'Muggles' to be the boring ones!'
Her office hours ended at five o'clock but she didn't even bother thinking of going home yet. There was still far too much work to do and if she let it pile up now, she would find reforming the system even harder as she made the wrong impression of being incompetent to the job at hand. It wouldn't matter to the Wizengamot or anyone else that she was putting in far more real work than that idiot Fudge did. All they would see was a Minister bogged down by minutiae and they would create more to make sure she could never oppose them effectively. Abandoning the paperwork in order to pursue them was even worse. She would get the illusion of progress while they undermined the ground beneath her.
No, Amelia was stuck trying to clear the backlog. At least now, with the majority out of the building, she was free to use the full range of her Clan-taught abilities. The Paperwork no Jutsu and the speed-reading combined into a powerful weapon against that bane of sanity, bureaucracy.
An hour and a half later, Harry tapped her on the shoulder, giving her the smile he reserved just for the Jewels. "Time to go, Minister Bones. Dinner awaits you, and so do we."
Amelia dismissed her clones, having waded through stacks of forms taller than she was, and walked out to the outbound Apparation point, one guard going ahead while the other two waited for her to go next. Heading inside from the back of the Compound, Amelia smiled broadly.
"Home!" It was such a short word to be packed with meaning and joy.
Amelia Bones shared a smile with her lovely niece Susan as they lay face down allowing Harry to massage their pains and cares away. The rest of the Jewels were arrayed on tables surrounding them, producing a chorus of pleased sighs and moans after the gruelling training Harry had given them that morning.
Over at her table, Ginny gave a particularly heartfelt sigh, partly from the pleasure of a divine massage but mostly from the fact that her mother was still giving her grief.
When everyone was dressed again, however reluctantly in some cases, and chatting easily, Ginny broke off from a discussion with Luna and plonked herself down in Harry's lap, hugging tight.
"What's wrong, Ginny?" Harry asked as Luna followed her childhood friend over, rubbing Ginny's back.
"I have to head home tomorrow, back to the Burrow. Mother insists that she get to spend time with me, and Dad just accepts it. That woman just drives me batty! I know if I spend too long with her, something will go wrong again," she finished, Harry's arms holding her tighter.
"I'm sure you'll be fine, Ginny. You have been doing well with your meditation exercises and Yamanaka training, right?"
At her slow nod, he smiled, "Then I know you can handle that woman." Harry looked at her more and decided she needed more cheering up, cupping her chin and kissing her tenderly. As he finished, Luna turned Ginny's head and kissed her, too. One by one, the other Jewels hugged or kissed the littlest Weasley, making her smile well before the line finished.
Angelique had a wonderful idea as she returned to her loveseat, reclining against Harry's chest. "Alors, we should have a party!"
The rest looked at her curiously and she continued, making it up as she went along. "Yes, a party is just the thing, non? In fact, we shall have a soiree, a party about all things French!"
Tracey rolled her eyes. "And why does it have to be French?" she teased, sticking her tongue out. Angelique's naughty smile had the girl blushing but she persevered. "What's wrong with a good, English party?"
"Nothing at all, if you like that sort of thing," Fleur giggled, playing along. "But French culture has added a lot to the world, you know."
"Like French kissing!" Parvati called out, laughing. That broke the ice and Angelique's enthusiasm was infectious.
The Jewels were always happy to have fun. Before long, the room was buzzing with ideas and suggestions and requests and Ginny was in the centre, getting involved with the planning. After all, a party for her Harry had to be just right!
The real Harry whispered his thanks in Angelique's ear as he and a clone hugged her between them. Over lunch, the party planning was finished and clones were sent out to put everything into motion.
They had decided to use one of the buildings out the back for the night and Angelique showed off her command of magic with how she redecorated the place to give it a French feel in only a few minutes. The party started with a lesson on French history and culture accompanied by small treats from each era or locale, followed by a discussion on wider European history, again with food to keep up the interest. By the end of it, it was time for dinner, made by Harry's own hands, starting with a French onion soup and including bouillabaisse, something that made Fleur sigh happily, and various other dishes she had missed.
The food at Hogwarts was too heavy and overcooked for her taste, something that the rest agreed after sampling modern British cuisine and especially Clan cooking. She had appreciated the variety of new dishes that resulted from her friendship with Harry but this was nostalgic for all three French women.
After dinner, there was dancing and even singing from a talented Harry, singing songs from the musical of Les Misérables to the surprise and delight of the ladies.
With the entertainment over, Lavender decides to celebrate another French contribution by demonstrating with Harry her skills at kissing for the audience. This set the tone for the rest of the evening as the Jewels' mood took a more sexual turn.
That evening, lying in bed between Susan and Hannah with a sleeping Leanne on top of him, Harry reflected that life was good.
Thank you all for reading and for your feedback and support.