Chap. 55: The "Other Minister" redux, a flight, and returning to Black Manor.
Harry hadn't been in his office very long that Monday morning when a leonine patronus appeared in his office telling him to come upstairs at once. Harry took the last sip of his coffee and tossed the Prophet down on his desk, which he snorted at, because it had, with the article, a photo of he and his wife, along with their friends, sitting at the Gryffindor table. The headline read, "Hogwarts New Power Couples - Who's Who."
Here, Harry stood, sighed, left his office, and made his way toward the lifts.
Harry had planned on visiting Bath, Bristol, Avonmouth, and Chittering that morning to see if all the repairs from the so-called hurricane were complete. They were the result of the Death Eater's Night Ride from the north, while the giants started their attack at Burnham-on-Sea and made their way west. Bath and Bristol had been the last on his list, as the worst of the damage had been in Minehead, where the giants had ended their assault and wreaked havoc before heading for the literal hills. Harry did, after all, represent a wizarding district that included all of County Somerset, and the area from Trowbridge, at the edge of Wiltshire, to Chittering, which was part of County Bristol.
Bristol had received a royal charter in 1155 and was historically divided between Gloucestershire and Somerset until 1373 when it became a county corporate. That, then, became part of his magical Somerset district when the Ministry of Magic was formed.
After his visit, he was going to have The Magic Eye run an interview, with him, for the witches and wizards of his district, where he would explain all the repairs, and to assure them that they were now safe from the giants.
Harry left the lift while thinking about this, and quickly made his way down the hall toward the minister's office, where Mrs. Vane had motioned for him to enter, which seemed to disgruntle a few that were waiting, though they had arrived early.
When Harry closed the door behind him and was now standing in Scrimgeour's office, he noticed that Rufus had just signed a letter that he handed to Percy.
"Minister," Harry said, "you wish to see me?"
"Yes, yes, Harry," Rufus said, "I need you to go with me to visit the Muggle Prime Minister.
"It's generally the Minister for Magic that makes these appointments with the Muggle PM during the evening, but it was him that did so, this time, and in the morning, which is rare, and that sets off warning bells to me. I thought that I might need your expertise with the muggles this time."
Percy first scowled at this, and then looked as if he had swallowed a rather large flobberworm, dirt, mucous, and all. Harry smirked at Percy, of course, especially after Percy started to complain while mentioning Fudge, but the minister only glared at him and pointed toward the door.
Once the door was shut, Scrimgeour stood from his chair with a grimace.
"Damn leg," Rufus grumbled, "bad weather, today, son. Raining like it's pouring down toads and nifflers.
"Harry, I need you with me, as you can speak to the muggles better than I. Plus, I don't trust Cornelius with this, since this time, it's the muggle PM asking to see me, personally."
"Really?" Harry replied.
"Yes," Rufus said as he made his way to his private floo, "and that really worries me, son; it does. Come, grab a bit of floo powder, and his floo address is Number Ten, Downing Street."
The Muggle PM was in a bit of a bother, as his term seemed to be coming to a sudden halt with not only those in the Tories but with the public, too. He was being blamed for the sudden rash of disasters and crime, which he knew was being caused by "their lot." Worse, Labour would be taking control, which made him grimace.
"They are on their way, Minister Major," Minister Ulick Gamp said, who was the frog-like little man wearing a long silver wig that was depicted in a small and dirty oil painting in the far corner of the room.
"They?" The Prime Minister inquired, but Gamp stayed silent. Here, he sighed and looked outside at the cold rain pouring down, which was supposed to stop by noon.
Finally, the PM quickly adjusted his tie, picked up his glass of scotch, and settled himself behind his desk just as the hearth in the room's fireplace flared green. Here, he clenched his teeth when he watched Scrimgeour step out, and within two seconds, another stepped out behind him as well, who he didn't know, causing him to stand.
This was a young man, the PM noticed, who was dressed in a very well-tailored three-piece suit, which, he thought, had to have come from Savile Row in Mayfair. The young man had jet-black hair, which seemed to be a tad unruly and similar to his own, and he had striking green eyes behind a pair of stylish wire-rimmed spectacles.
"Ah, Minister Major, good to see you again," Scrimgeour stated as he made his way forward to shake hands. "Allow me to introduce you to my counterpart, Lord Potter, who I'm sure you've heard of." The last bit was a statement, not a question, Major noticed.
When the young man held his hand out, and he shook it, Major couldn't help but ask, "Harry Potter?"
"Yes, Minister," Harry replied with a smile, "it is I."
Goodness, Major thought, the lad didn't look anything like he did in that photo that Fudge had shown him.
"Lord?"
"Ah, yes, that," Harry said as he took a seat. "Yes, I took up my hereditary seat in the Wizengamot, that of House Potter, and because my godfather, Sirius Black, made me his heir, I am now Lord Black as well."
"Si - Si - Sirius Black!"
Here, Harry chortled. "Yes, I'm guessing that Fudge told you about he and his lot getting that all wrong, did he not? I tried to tell him the truth, Minister, and early on, but he ignored it, along with several other things, and now look at the mess that we find ourselves in."
Rufus cleared his throat at this and gave Harry a slight shake of his head, though Minister Major noticed it.
"But, you're only sixteen, lad," Major said.
"It is allowed," Rufus replied, "because Harry, here, is the last of his line. When this occurs, they are allowed to take their seat once they receive their OWLs at Hogwarts.
"Owls?"
"When we take our Ordinary Wizarding Level tests at Hogwarts, Minister, at sixteen" Harry explained. "I left Hogwarts to sit in the Wizengamot and moved into the Black family's old manor, where I will study for my NEWTs, and take the exam at the ministry later on. The NEWTs, or our Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests, are the last ones for the graduates unless they take up a specialty. My mother was thinking of doing a Charms Mastery before her death, you see."
"Who do you represent," Major asked, "if I may ask?" This was something that any politician was very interested in.
"Counties Somerset and Bristol, sir," Harry replied. "I also represent West Yorkshire for the Blacks, but that is through a proxy seat at the Wizengamot via my father-in-law's brother, sir. I can't sit two seats at once, you see."
This caused Major to do a double take, and then he noticed Harry's wedding band.
"You're married, too?"
"Very happily!" Harry exclaimed as he sat back in his chair with a huge smile, and clasped his hands in his lap. "You should meet my wife, sir, as she's a very lovely person, but so is her entire family to be honest. My father-in-law sits the seat for the Sevenoaks district of Kent."
"Really?" Major muttered, and at Harry's nod, it hit the minister about just how well-connected this young Lord really was. "Did your wife also leave Hogwarts?"
"Oh, no sir, couldn't have that," Harry said with a shake of his head. "No, Daphne'll graduate from school, though it does make matters hard on us, where I only get to see her on the weekends and vacations, but we do talk to each other every day. We just came back from our home down in Barbados on the first, and had a wonderful time there for Christmas!"
Well, that explained the young wizard's fading tan, Major thought. "Where are my manners," Major finally said as he stood, again, "allow me to pour you two a drink, eh? Some scotch or I could have tea brought in?"
"Scotch is fine," Rufus stated, which made Major raise his right eyebrow over Harry's age, but no matter.
The PM made his way over to the sideboard, where he poured the "Other Minister" and Lord Potter a glass, which he sat in front of them before retaking his seat.
"I'm glad you came today, Lord Potter, as I want to talk about Somerset, especially Minehead, and I'm sure you understand why. What I want to know is, has that mess been cleaned up so to speak?"
"Actually," replied Harry, "I was about to apparate there, myself, and take in the repairs from Chittering to Minehead. I figured I could do a fly-over on my broom, and visit the affected spots. The giants affected Minehead the worst. The damage around Bristol to Burnham-on-Sea was done by the Death Eaters off brooms during a night ride before they joined up with those directing the giants."
"Apparate?" Major inquired.
"Oh," Harry smiled, "that means teleporting oneself from one area to the next in a snap of your fingers. I could demonstrate it if you like?"
"Please, do," Major said, as he seemed to like the young Potter heir the more he spoke to him.
Here, Harry stood, and from beside his chair, he disappeared after turning on his heel, with a slight pop, only to reappear across the room within a second. Next, he apparated back beside his chair, where he took his seat.
Major was slack-jawed now, but he finally came to himself, and asked, "You can travel to Bristol that quick?"
"It takes a few seconds, Minister," Harry explained, "but yes, it's our quickest way to travel. Takes some getting used to, though, what with the G-Force squeezing you, but you get used to it. It would be what an RAF pilot feels while traveling at several mach in their plane."
"Er," Major asked, "what other methods do you have, besides using fire?"
"Floo travel, you mean?" Harry asked, and when Major nodded, Harry sat back and explained.
"Well, there's flying by broom, or by winged horses. Some nations still use flying carpets, but they're banned here, and we have carriages pulled by flying horses as well. Headmaster Dumbledore likes that method of transportation, sometimes, when he visits London. I am also having my godfather's flying motorbike rebuilt."
"Really?" Major asked, who was flummoxed.
At Harry's quick nod and grin, Minister Major continued. "I thought about us taking a helicopter to examine the area if you're both up to it?"
"Not me," Rufus said with a scowl. "I'm too busy trying to clean up Fudge's mess, but I agree that Harry should go with you."
Harry gave Rufus a look that silently said, thanks a lot, before turning back to the Prime Minister.
"When did you want to go, Minister?"
"Today, if you can swing it," Major told him.
Here, Harry looked back at Rufus, who only nodded.
"Now, Minister Scrimgeour," Major inquired, "what did you mean by stating that it was Fudge's mess?"
Rufus gave Harry a glance and a nod at this.
"It was Fudge, Minister Major, that ignored what Headmaster Dumbledore and I had been trying to tell him ever since my godfather escaped Azkaban to save me. We tried to tell him that Sirius was innocent, then, but he tried to claim that I had been confunded." Here, Harry gave out a snort and shook his head. "Then, when I tried to tell him that You-Know-Who was back at the end of the Triwizard Tournament, he tried to say that I was crazy and then tried to smear Headmaster Dumbledore and I in the press, because we were telling everyone that he had returned. That has cost us a lot of valuable time, you see, and it allowed You-Know-Who to gain power."
The Prime Minister had a sinking feeling at this. So, he thought, that was why Fudge was actually booted out, blackmail, or not.
"When Minister Scrimgeour visited me at Little Whinging back in June, to read my godfather's last will, I was emancipated because I was the magical executor of the estate. There, I also became Lord Black and found out that I was now betrothed due to a magically binding betrothal contract between the houses of Black and Greengrass for a line continuance. Luckily, Daphne and I hit it off, and are very happy, actually, where we were wed in October. I was already in politics by that time, starting in August, and began working with my father-in-law in the family business just after I was married."
"Family business?"
"Yes, Minister Major," Harry replied, "the Greengrass families are merchants and import exporters. The Greengrass family has a dock and warehouse by the River Medway, and just north beside the Royal Navy's Dockyard at Chatham. It's hidden by magic, you see. We import and export for Britain's magical community there.
"My family, the Potters, have been traditionally in the potions and apothecary business going back to around 1200 AD.
"My wife, sir, will be at the head of her family's company, as the heiress, when, God forbid, my father-in-law passes on one day, and I hope that doesn't occur until long into the future, and over old age at that. I quite like my in-laws, you see."
So, Major thought, the lad was extremely wealthy, too. That meant that he had much more skin in the game than most.
"Well," Scrimgeour said after he took the last sip of his scotch, and stood, "I'll leave Lord Potter here with you, Minister, and he can answer any questions that you have about how far along we are with the war. If I do say so, myself, we have gained much headway, and we are winning. I hope it's not much longer until I can inform you that this nasty bit of business is over, and, for good."
"Thank you, Minister," Minister Major replied. "I'm looking forward to that, but if that doesn't happen soon, I fear that I may no longer be the Prime Minister. The Tories are losing their parliamentary majority, you see."
Here, Harry and Major stood, where they said their goodbyes as Scrimgeour left by the floo.
"Now, what do we do?" Harry inquired as the Prime Minister was putting on an overcoat.
"I'll have them to bring the car in, and we'll travel over to RAF Station Northolt where we'll catch a heli."
Harry nodded at this and followed the PM out of Number 10, where they were seated in the back of a black Mercedes, which was being led by several Met Police on motorbikes.
As their car started to slowly roll away from Number 10, Harry heard someone on a bullhorn, and it sounded like an activist.
"Is that a protester?"
"Yes," Major said with a scowl. "The bloody imbecile is there every morning, all the while screaming about the world going to end and the sky falling. One of those environmentalist loons, you see."
"Want me to, uh," Harry inquired in a low voice, "see him off?"
"Would you?" Major whispered back with a smirk.
"Of course," Harry replied. "What side is he on?"
"Yours," Major said, so Harry rolled down his window, and placed the tip of his Mayhaw wand just over the windowsill on the door.
When the car rolled through the gate, the PM had the driver to go slow and watched as Harry slyly cast a spell at the protester who was wearing a large, green, and fuzzy, belled top hat, even though he was drenched from the rain. The driver didn't notice it.
The protester suddenly dropped his bullhorn on the wet sidewalk and grabbed the seat of his pants with a grimace, and when he turned to quickly trot away while emitting a rather loud and rude noise from his bum, Minister Major noticed that the man had shat himself. This caused the minister to let out a loud guffaw, along with the driver, who had just noticed the man, too, and Harry, who quickly rolled the power window back up.
"Best not tell anyone about that, Minister," Harry muttered as their car rolled out onto the street to follow the motorbikes, "as, strictly speaking, I'm not supposed to do that unless it's an emergency."
"Your secret is safe with me, Lord Potter. Blimey, that was hilarious! Well done, I say, well done!"
As they made their way through London, Harry was told about the PM and Tories' bad position and was warned about Blair, who, he said, was an "old commie" that believed in "Third-Way politics," which, Harry learned, was a mix of socialism and national socialism that was invented after WWII, and agreed upon at Chatham House by some of the MPs and wealthy elite. Next, he was told about how the UN was involved, and how the left in the states was also pushing that with the "philanderer" now in the Oval Office. Harry couldn't help but snort and laugh out loud at Minister Major's description of their muggle president.
Harry, then, described the Ministry of Magic, and how it was set up, as well as how MACUSA was set up in the US. He told the minister about all the differing wizarding governments around the globe, along with the several schools, and about the ICW as well. Next, he told him about his recent diplomatic trips to the mainland, and how he helped Rufus in the day-to-day affairs of the ministry.
Major studied Harry at this, and he thought to himself that Harry would be the Minister for Magic one day, and he would bet good money on that. He also thought that Harry was a good person, with a very good and easy-going personality, who could pull you deeply into an enjoyable conversation. Oh, why, Major thought, didn't they have someone like him running the Home Office?
Harry went on to tell the minister about the giants, and what happened to them. When he was asked about what happened to the survivors, Harry told him about them sneaking them back to Russia, and Russia not liking the idea of them returning. Major also noticed that Harry didn't like the idea of having to kill five of them, because they were a dying race.
When Harry told him about Grawp, Major started to become upset, until Harry spoke of how Hagrid was civilizing the small giant, and that Grawp had helped he and his friends not long ago. He also told him that he was confined within the enchantments of the Forbidden Forest at Hogwarts in Scotland and that they need not worry about him.
After telling him about Grawp, Harry began telling him about the Thestrals, Centaurs, and Unicorns in the forest, and that he was friends with a few of the Centaurs. Major told him that he always thought them to be a myth, whereas Harry told him about how they had hidden them away, much like the dragons that still existed.
Finally, Major broached the witch burnings in Britain, where Harry had to admit that the first of them, was, in fact, magicals or "wise folk." They were early "healers," Harry had told him. It started with a young witch named Alizon Device, Harry explained, who had encountered John Law around 1612, a pedlar from Halifax, and asked him for some pins. When the old man refused to sell to her, she accidentally cursed the man causing him to fall with apoplexy.
The young witch, who was so distraught with what she had done, admitted to it, and named her entire family, leading to the Pendle witch trial. It snowballed from there, where Matthew Hopkins was running a scam as a "witch hunter," and charging the local towns a lot of money to investigate witches. That wasn't stopped, Harry informed him, until John Gaule, a puritan cleric, outed Hopkins for what he was. Hopkins, Harry said, died broke and was infected with TB, it was thought. Harry, however, told him that someone could have cursed him to avenge the deaths of not only the witches and wizards hanged and burned due to Hopkins, but the many muggles who were as well. This, Harry said, was what caused the parting of ways between his people and the non-magicals, which led to the Statute of Secrecy, and the founding of the Ministry of Magic. Gamp, Major found out, who was in that small and dirty portrait in his office, was the first Minister for Magic.
Finally, they arrived at the airbase, and it had quit raining, so they both boarded a white Sikorsky S-76, and headed toward the west country.
After Harry had arrived back at Black Manor that afternoon, he told Bathilda about his day and complained about how drained he was. He told her about informing the muggle PM about what they had done to stop the Death Eaters and Tom, by hiring mercenaries, and imprisoning his followers stateside. Harry then told the elderly witch that the PM said that was a good idea, about hiding them away from not only Tom but the press.
He told her about them touring Somerset via a helicopter, which he had to explain to Bathilda. After that, she just called it a muggle flying contraption, and scolded Harry for stepping a foot into it, though Harry told her, with a chortle, that he could apparate away if something bad had happened.
He then told her of meeting with Rufus, where he informed him of what they discussed, which pleased the old minister, and then he told her about nailing the protester with the Fluxus Ventris hex, and what the aftermath of that was, which sent them both into loud laughter over their drinks.
Last, he told her about receiving a letter from the mercs, who said that they finally stunned Flint, and checked him for the dark mark. They completely undressed him and looked him over, before they woke him, and obliviated him, leaving him wandering around the magical district of Manchester completely nude.
Harry told her that Mercy said that didn't mean that Flint wasn't working for Tom, and to keep a close eye on him, as something didn't sit right with the mercs about Flint, at all.
Next, and with a yawn, Harry stood, where he hugged Bathilda goodnight and made his way upstairs to dress for bed, and to call Daphne on her mirror. He'd be up for a while, he said, because he had much to tell her.
A/N: Sorry for the delay, but I took it upon myself to listen to the audiobook versions of all the HP books. There were a few things that I wanted to dig into, and check, before I continued.