I'm so glad that I can finally give you the next in the series. Just know I've already read Book Six and have taken my notes. Now ... I can start to write it.

Thanks must go out to my team. My pre-reader Pienuniek and my Beta Alice's White Rabbit. I would be lost without the pair of you, truly.

I don't own Twilight, or Harry Potter, I'd be a richer person if I did. But I do so love to create my own places for them out in the world. No copyright infringement is intended.

See you at the bottom ...

Chapter Five – Return to the Ministry of Magic

The room was quiet as we all looked at Harry. He was looking down at the letter in shock. After it had finished speaking, it folded itself back up and landed in front of Harry.

"How?" I finally managed to ask. "And why only Harry? We all used our wands, we all cast Patronus charms!"

"Oh …" Harry face-palmed. "Oh no."

"What, Harry?" Bella asked.

"… No, I didn't."

"Harry?" This time it was Neville.

"Oh crap."

"Harry!" Newt said forcefully, catching his attention. "What's the problem?"

"I used the wrong wand."

There was no sound, no thought, at Harry's words.

"What did you say?" I had to ask. I had to make sure I heard him correctly.

"I was cleaning my wands while Neville was reading something when the dementors attacked. I must have grabbed the wand from Ollivanders instead of the one from Opi. It's how they knew it was me and not how the rest of you were involved." Harry looked up at me. "What have I done?"

"This reeks of Minister Fudge," I growled. "Or someone trying to get rid of you."

Newt nodded. "Possibly. But before we get into that, I need to know everything that happened today."

"That's where I can help." Bella smiled. "Let's all go back to Swan Manor."

"This sounds interesting. Lead the way." Newt smirked.

Emmett and Rose decided that they wanted to be a part of this conversation so they followed the rest of us back to Swan Manor.

"What did you do to Jessica, Newt?" Rose asked as we stepped through the woods. "And more importantly, will it wear off?"

Newt smirked. He was well versed in spells, considering he was thrown out of Hogwarts. "I used a spell called 'Obliviate'. This spell allowed me to erase the memories that were causing Jessica to question your readiness for more foster children. I didn't want you to miss out on the joy of raising your own because of someone else." Newt turned and walked backward for a few seconds so he could look at Rose. "It won't wear off, Rosalie. She might remember the feeling of the dementors, but she will never remember wanting to put a stop to your application."

Before Newt could turn, Rose sped forward from her spot next to me and hugged Newt as tight as she dared. "Thank you," she whispered. "Just thank you."

"You're very welcome," Newt replied. Rosalie kept his hand in hers when they turned to continue walking to Swan Manor. I had a feeling Newt would become godfather to at least one of Emmett and Rose's foster/adoptive children.

"Okay, everyone, I need you all to head into the dining room. That will be the easiest place to do this!" Bella called when we walked through the kitchen door. We went through to the dining room while Bella headed to the library.

"Gee, she's a bossy thing," Emmett murmured loud enough that Neville and Harry nodded along with him.

"All the good ones are, my boy. You should know that." Newt laughed, causing me to chuckle with him.

"Ain't that the truth," I agreed, only to stop short when I saw the Weasley owl sitting on our dining room table holding a letter. I picked it up and handed it off to Harry when I saw it was addressed to him. "Hopefully, this is better news."

I could hear Bella entering her laboratory just as Harry opened the envelope. But it wasn't just this that caught my attention because, at the very same time, the fireplace flared twice from the family room, and two more sets of thoughts entered my mind. And they were early.

"You hoo! Iz anybody 'ere?" Fleur called out.

"Bella?" Gabrielle yelled. She was most excited to be going to Hogwarts this year.

I couldn't help but smile when Bella's thoughts exploded with excitement. She'd been looking forward to them moving in, even though their timing was a little off.

Harry looked up at me. "Edward? Do you want to know what Arthur said?"

I held up a finger. "Just one minute; I'll be right back," I answered before I headed for the family room. "Fleur, Gabrielle, so good to see you both." The fireplace flared again as their luggage arrived.

"Edward, it iz good to be 'ere. Where iz evry'ne?" Fleur stepped forward to give me a hug as Gabrielle barreled into me with a laugh.

"We've had a bit of an incident today; come into the dining room and we'll explain it to you. Bella's just gone to get something to help with that."

Fleur stepped back from the hug to look up at me. She could see the seriousness on my face. "It must 'ave been bad."

"It was."

"Zen lead the way." Fleur nodded in the direction I had come from and followed me when I turned back to the dining room.

Fleur and Gabrielle said hello to everyone while they found places to sit at the dining room table.

"Edward?" Harry asked, holding up his letter from Arthur. Bella walked back into the dining room as Harry continued, "Arthur told me to stay put, that Dumbledore is at the ministry, right now, arguing against my expulsion from Hogwarts. He's also told me under no circumstances am I to hand over my wand."

I nodded, taking my seat while Bella gave Fleur and Gabrielle a hug. "Good. And the ministry officials would have to get through me to get your wand. That won't happen."

Bella snorted. "They'd have to get through all of us. That won't happen."

"What is this contraption?" Newt asked, interrupting the conversation. "It looks like a pensieve."

"That's because it was a pensieve," Bella said cheekily. She then went on to explain the premise behind the Memovisum and the way that it worked. When Newt wanted a close look, Bella slid it down the table for him to scrutinize.

"This will go a long way to stopping corruption in our trials, Bella. Not many people can edit their memories," Newt mused.

"I wanted to be able to show people the truth about what happened in the graveyard, that Voldemort was back. I haven't made it for the Ministry to get their hands on." Bella crossed her arms, frowning at the thought of the Ministry tampering with her creation.

Newt frowned at her. He realized that he'd stepped on a nerve. "Oh, I know that. But as long as you've patented the design, they won't be able to change it to tell their version. But alas, show me what happened this afternoon."

To show Harry how to copy his memory of what happened, Bella copied her memory of what we had experienced and placed it in the Memovisum. Once Harry had copied his and placed it in, they all looked back to Bella.

Instead of explaining, Bella just tapped her wand on the side of the bowl and played Harry's memory. Harry's memory started out with him and Neville in the family room of the magical portion of Emmett and Rose's house. Neville was reading and Harry had both of his wands out cleaning them.

For the next few minutes, we watched both Harry's and Bella's memories of what happened. It wasn't until we were done that anyone spoke.

"You were attacked by dementors? Ze creatures zat guard Azkaban?" Fleur gasped horrified. "But why?"

Everyone was quiet. It was only Emmett who broke it. "That is a question, but the bigger question is 'why today?'"

Again, we were all quiet as we thought about Emmett's question. There were many ideas floating around, the biggest being Voldemort. Especially from Harry.

Exposure. Bella's eyes flew to mine with that thought. What if it wasn't Voldemort? What if it was a way to expose Harry? A way to remove him from the wizarding world? To discredit him further?

My eyebrows shot up at Bella's thoughts. Huh. If so, it could possibly be coming from someone in Fudge's camp.

"We'd have to find out somehow, first," I said out loud.

"They'll probably be at the disciplinary hearing," Bella replied. "You'll have to listen to see what you can hear."

"How? Harry's the only one who's had a letter from the Ministry."

Newt must have caught on because he was next to say something. "Because Harry can have witnesses. If we prepare for this, we can have a slew of witnesses to show the ministry that Harry had to use the Patronus Charm."

"But what will that do?" Harry asked.

"It could very well get you out of your expulsion from Hogwarts. And that's the most important thing right now." Newt looked over at my girl. "Bella, are you willing to take your Memovisum to the hearing? You may need it."

Bella was nodding before Newt finished asking.

"Good." Newt sighed. "Now, before we're distracted by something else … what the hell was that out there? How did you two manage to conjure a patronus of my Nandu, and how did it destroy those dementors?"

"Your guess is as good as ours," I answered while Bella shrugged. I went on to explain what happened with the Nandu when we visited his trunk last summer and how he said that he would help us when the time came. "We didn't think it would be quite so dramatic."

Newt shook his head in disbelief. "No, I can imagine you didn't. I have never seen anything like that. Dementors aren't supposed to be able to be killed. I should look into this." He looked at both of us. "There's something niggling at the back of my mind about dementors. Don't let anyone else know about this for now." We both nodded at Newt's words because we trusted him implicitly. Newt went to say something else when another screech owl flew through the owl door in the kitchen. "Bloody hell. What do they want now?"

Gabrielle gasped at Newt's words, breaking the ice, and causing us to chuckle at her as Harry stood to get the next letter. He turned it around to show us it was addressed to him, and that it was from the Ministry. Carefully, Harry ripped the envelope open and read it through before sighing.

"What does it say?" Neville asked.

Harry looked up at the group gathered around him. He could feel the support and knew he wasn't alone in this. He didn't know if we could stop the ministry from expelling him from Hogwarts, but he knew we would do all that we could to stop it from happening.

"That they've cancelled the order of destruction for my wand. Instead of being expelled, I've been suspended, pending further investigation." Harry looked back down at the letter in his hands. "I've still got to attend the hearing on the twelfth, but this is better."

"I'm glad you've got good news this time, Harry," Rose stated as she stood. "I'll be there to support you, be a witness, at your hearing, but I'd like to head home. Today has been quite trying."

Emmett stood with Rose and nodded his agreement. Both of them leaving out through the back door. But as they exited, another owl entered. This one a brilliant white.

"Hedwig! Where've you been?" Harry asked, patting his owl when she landed on the table next to him. Hedwig nipped at his fingers, just once, as he pulled the piece of parchment from her leg. "Thank you, Hedwig. Can she rest in your owlery?"

"Absolutely," Bella smiled. "Athan and Saffy would love to have her."

With a hoot, Hedwig gave her thanks before flying out the owl door.

Stay where I am? Where the hell am I supposed to go? It's not like dad or Sirius have been home this summer, Harry thought bitterly when he read the note from Sirius. Harry sighed. I don't begrudge them a job, something for them. I was just so used to them being around when I was little. This change is hard to get used to. Especially since I shouldn't be anywhere on my own.

Newt stood. "Well, I must be off as well. My Tina will be wondering where I am."

"Of course. Let me walk you out. Bella, can you show Gabrielle and Fleur where they're staying?"

"Of course, Edward. C'mon, girls. I'm so glad you're here!"

Quietly, Newt and I walked to the fireplace, both pondering everything that had happened this afternoon. Newt reached out and scooped some floo powder but stopped and looked at me before he stepped into the fireplace.

"I have a feeling the ministry, and whoever ordered this attack, will try to stop at nothing to have Harry expelled. You're going to have to use that lawyering degree to fight this."

I snorted at Newt's words. "Law degree, Newt?" I laughed harder when he waved off my words. "Won't Dumbledore be there to handle this case since I'm a witness?"

Newt shrugged, which told me more than words could say. "More than likely, but who knows what that man is up to now-a-days."

I nodded in agreement with Newt before bidding him farewell as he stepped into the fireplace and headed home. I walked back into the dining room to see that Harry and Neville were still sitting in their places. They weren't talking much, but their faces said it all. Harry was scared. He knew Voldemort was after him, but now, it seemed that someone else had it out for him. Neville was worried about his friend—someone he had come to see as a brother.

I was going to try and say something comforting, but what could I say? Harry was in danger, and Voldemort was going to do everything in his power to try to kill him. There was nothing we could do but fight. And fight hard.

Instead of saying anything, I sat down and pulled some of the reading material toward me. We were still researching the most important artefacts in the magical world, especially if they were in connection to Hogwarts, seeing as we knew that two of what we were looking for were Rowena Ravenclaw's lost Diadem and Salazar Slytherin's ring. What else could be Voldemort's style?

Bella was upstairs, catching Fleur and Gabrielle up on everything that had happened since the end of the school year, while we waited in silence to see what would happen next. I had only been reading for a short while when several minds popped into my head. I frowned because I had no idea why so many had come here … now.

I made my way from the dining room, out through the foyer, and to the front door. I opened it to see Shane was there, poised to knock. The fact that I scared him slightly was just a bonus.

"What can I do for you?" I asked with a smirk on my face as I leaned against the doorframe. "And why are you all here?"

Shane looked at me, his face the most serious I had ever seen it. "We've come to take Harry to Potter Mansion."

"All of you?"

"We're the advanced guard, so yes. He'll be safe there."

I scanned the group. They seemed to all be members of the Order. There was Daedalus Diggle, Elphias Dodge, Hestia Jones, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Nymphadora Tonks, Emmeline Vance, Moody, Sirius Black, Remus, and of course, Shane.

I stood from my leaning position. "And he's not safe here? Or at Rose and Emmett's?"

James heaved a sigh. He had expected that question. "It's not that he's not safe. You, Bella, and the others did a hell of a job protecting my son. But he is that, my son. It's my job to keep him safe. On top of that, the dementors did find him. Someone had to have sent them in this general direction."

I could hear the others gathering in the foyer behind me. Harry was upset that his dad didn't think he would be safe here. He loved being with us, even if he was still slightly upset with Bella and I for what happened at the end of last year.

"And you don't think the fact that you had Potter Mansion reconnected to the floo network will have given the person who sent the dementors a general direction for you?"

Shane went to open his mouth, only to snap it closed again. He hadn't really thought about it further than getting Harry away from here.

"Mmm, that's what I thought," I murmured. "Be that as it may, I completely understand that you would want Harry somewhere you believed to be the safest place he can be." I stepped aside as Harry came through the door. "We'll see you at the meeting tonight. I believe we'll have a new member joining us."

"Oh? Who?"

I smirked. "You'll find out tonight. See you later." And with that, I shut the door in his face.

"That was a little rude, Edward." Bella looked up at me.

I shrugged as I walked toward the family room. "I need to get in contact with the twins. I think tonight would be the perfect time to test their latest spy invention. Gabrielle, how do you feel about listening in on the meeting from somewhere else?"

Bella, Gabrielle, and Fleur followed me into the room.

"What do you mean, Edward?" Gabrielle asked.

"Well … usually we'd let the younger members of our family attend the meetings, the youngest being Ginny, and we want you to know what's going on," I explained as I wrote out a short letter to Fred and George. "But this time, I think we need to help Fred and George explore their spy gear, and having you listen through their new, and improved, extendable ears might be more advantageous."

And Bill? Bella thought. He's part of the Order and will probably be there.

I shrugged. With the looming war and the talk that I had with Remus fresh in mind, I didn't think it fair we were keeping Fleur and Bill apart. The great thing was Bella worked that out very quickly. And it wasn't like they couldn't communicate while she was finishing her schooling.

Bella nodded. Then let's do it.

With a flair from the fireplace, a box landed on our family room floor; it seemed we were a go for the meeting.

~*~UHS~*~

On the drive over to Potter Mansion—because we had to show Fleur and Gabrielle how to enter—we discussed how to get Gabrielle onto a higher floor without detection. We wanted to make sure nobody would censor what they were saying because she was listening.

We talked about the layout of the house and how to sneak the listening device into the meeting room so that Gabrielle could hear. We were planning on sneaking her into one of the cleaned, but unused, bedrooms.

One thing I knew for sure; Fleur was going to be a surprise to them all.

Once we were there, we showed them how to get into Potter Mansion. James had given us a note that told them how to enter. I used my hearing to make sure nobody was around the entrance hall before leading them in.

"Zis place iz beautiful," Fleur whispered, looking around. Something I noticed about the two girls was that Fleur's accent was more pronounced than her sister's. I wondered why that was. "Where shall we hide Gabrielle?"

"This way." Bella indicated to the stairs and led the way over to them. Instead of speaking, we followed her up the stairs. Edward, listen for a clear room, please?

I walked up beside Bella and held her hand. When I found a room that would be suitable to our needs, I opened the door just to double check. Noting that nobody was in this room, and it looked like nobody had used it recently, I opened the door more, letting everyone in.

"This should work, Gabrielle." I looked at the girl in question, who nodded. "You know Kreacher is in the house, should you need him, and I'm only a thought away. If you have anything to say on things we discuss, just think it, and I'll bring up the question, okay?"

"Yes, Edward. I'm sure I'll be fine. Have fun surprising them all." Gabrielle smiled at all of us, giving us each a hug as we made our way out of the door.

Just before I walked through, I handed her one of the miniature, mobile extendable ears. The twins had outdone themselves on this design. No longer did they need to be attached by a tube for someone to hear at the other end. Bella's work had inspired Fred and George. And they had worked on how to get it to work through the Muffliato Charm. That part would need further testing, but for tonight, we were testing distance.

Gabrielle waved as I shut the door.

"Ready, Fleur?" I asked as we reached the dining room.

"I vas born ready," Fleur said with a snicker. "What about Viktor? Should he not be here too?"

Bella looked around me at Fleur. "We keep in contact with him. We tell him everything that's going on. He's a long-distance member, and he lets us know what's going on farther afield than England or Ireland."

"Zat is a good idea. To know what is happening in ozzer parts of ze world is smart. Do you have anyone in America zat you talk to?" Fleur looked up at me.

I shook my head. "I do, however, subscribe to a lot of muggle newspapers from the States. They keep me up to date on things. Especially since I know how to look for the weird and unusual in the stories." I listened to what was happening around the house. "Nobody is in the dining room right now. We should head in."

The girls followed me into the dining room and took seats on the side that Bella and I usually sat while I walked to various locations around the room and placed several of the extendable ears. I wanted Gabrielle to be able to have a comprehensive listen to what was being said. Bella and Fleur spoke softly even after I sat down. We only had to wait a few minutes for people to start to arrive.

First, it was the members of the Order who had stuck around after gathering Harry from Swan Manor, then some of the Weasleys appeared. Ginny—with Hermione in tow—came in first.

"Fleur!" Hermione and Ginny squealed. "When did you get here?" they asked together before Ginny looked around. "And where's Gabrielle?"

Fleur stood up to give them both a hug. "Gabrielle iz somewhere safe for ze time being. It iz so good to see you again."

I smiled indulgently as the four girls, although Fleur was more of a young woman, sat and chatted. That was until the older Weasleys—Molly, Arthur, Charlie, and Bill—walked through the door. They were followed by the twins, but Fleur, who had been talking to Ginny, stopped mid-sentence and stared.

"Fleur? Fleur is something wrong?" Ginny asked quietly. Ginny turned to see what had captured Fleur's attention.

Bella smiled a small smile. We knew Fleur would recognize him, even without the scars.

Fleur's head spun around so fast in our direction that I thought she would hurt herself. "You knew?" she whispered.

Bella reached forward and held her hands. "We did. I recognized the picture when you showed me."

"Why didn't you tell me then?" Fleur asked with a small part of hurt in her voice.

Bella sighed. "Look at him, Fleur. Really look. Tell me what looks different from the picture you drew, over and over again."

Fleur did as Bella asked. She remembered the picture she had drawn, and she brought up her memory of it. She held that memory beside what she now saw in front of her. I could see the subtle, and not-so-subtle, differences between what Bill looked like now and what he would become.

"Oh," Fleur breathed out when she, too, noticed the differences. "I wasn't supposed to meet him yet." She spun back around to face Bella and me. "Then why now?"

"Because we didn't think it fair for you to wait, considering what's coming," I answered her. "Everybody should have their happily ever after sooner rather than later."

Fleur launched herself into my arms, then Bella's, before standing and striding over to Bill. All she left us with was a heartfelt thought—thank you.

"Where is she going?" Hermione asked as she sat down next to Bella.

"Just watch." Bella smiled, watching Fleur.

Hermione watched with us as Fleur approached Bill cautiously. It didn't take Bill long to not only fall under Fleur's spell but to accept that she was now his, as much as he was hers. He looked at me over Fleur's head.

This is what you felt when you met Bella? Only not as intense? Bill opened his mind and showed me all that he was feeling. The feelings were the same, but there was some lust there, whereas Bella and I had none … yet. I nodded, showing him that I had heard him. Then thank you for bringing her to me.

"Aww, they're mates. Like you and Bella," Ginny cooed from my other side.

"Yeah." Bella sighed, turning to face me. She placed a kiss on my lips. "Just like us."

We weren't the only ones to realize what was happening to Fleur and Bill. Several members of the Order recognized it for what it was, as did the members of our family and the members of the misfits as they joined us in the dining room.

Edward? Did my sister find her mate? Gabrielle asked from her place on the floor above us. That is what I am hearing, right?

"Yes, Bella. You heard me correctly," I said loud enough for the extendable ear near us to pick up on it. That was the phrase we had picked if I needed to answer yes, or no, to a question Gabrielle had asked. Bella and Fleur knew what it meant, so they said nothing, except a quiet "thank you" from Bella. My family heard but didn't understand what I meant. Not that it mattered.

Oh, good. I'm so happy for her. Gabrielle's thoughts trailed off, wondering what Fleur's mate was like.

The rest of the Order floated into the room and took their places around the table, with Fleur dragging Bill over to us, and quietened down as Shane—now James—took his place at the head of the table.

"Thank you all for joining me for this impromptu meeting." He looked around the table to see that the whole Order was there, including Opi, Moody, and Izeldor, except for Professor Dumbledore. "Those who were involved in the advanced guard this afternoon already know this, but for the others, my son Harry and his friends were attacked by dementors this afternoon."

There were many gasps all around.

"He was forced to use magic, and the ministry found out. Professor Dumbledore is there now, arguing his case, but he still faces a disciplinary hearing for it. But that's not what we're here to discuss. Sirius, the floor is yours."

Sirius stood and paced one side of the table. "I know we aren't supposed to discuss this any further, but I will be writing a piece for The Truth because I know the Ministry isn't going to report it. That's all I will say." Sirius glared at James because he was going to argue. "But what I was asked to talk about is much different.

"We have all been doing research into what Voldemort could be wanting this time around. We all know that the last time he rose to power we all lost people." Here Sirius paused as he looked around at those present, lingering on James and Harry the longest. "Some more than others. What I have discovered is that Voldemort is after something, something he didn't have last time."

I smirked as I waited for someone to crack. Sirius wanted someone to ask the question. But they were all hanging on his every word, so they remained silent. Well, everyone except Emmett.

"What? What didn't he have last time?" Emmett blurted out when he couldn't take it anymore.

"The prophecy." Sirius waited to see if anyone caught on.

There were a few frowns as some of the Order thought about it. But it was Izeldor who spoke up. It was the one thing I must have missed telling him. "What prophecy?"

Sirius looked over at me with a "really?" look on his face. I laughed, holding up my hands. "Sorry."

"Back when Voldemort was in power the last time, a prophecy was recorded as to his downfall. It was recorded, then shared to a select few—most of those in this room as well as a few others—and then it was stored within the Hall of Prophecies." Sirius sighed with a shake of his head. "I have no idea how Voldemort learned of its existence, nor the reason that he only heard the first part of the prophecy. But he did, and that sent everything into motion."

"What does this prophecy say?" Izeldor asked.

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches … Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies …" Sirius started to quote, but Harry's thoughts caught my attention.

And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, Harry rubbed the scar on his forehead. Mark me he did. Harry looked around. But he will have power that the Dark Lord knows not … and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives … Harry froze for a moment. His thoughts spinning. He was coming to a specific conclusion. One that I might have thought of, briefly, the first time I heard it. Am I going to have to die to defeat him? Or am I just going to have to kill him? How? And why me?

I wished that I could comfort him. But I knew he had to come to these conclusions himself. He was the one who was going to have to face them, after all. What I didn't know was how he was going to face them, and how he would behave.

Bella's mind was also spinning. But hers was focusing on something completely different. How did Voldemort find out about the prophecy if only those in this room had access to it? Bella frowned but looked toward Sirius when he finished speaking. "Sirius?"

"Yes?"

"Who recorded the prophecy?"

Sirius frowned. "Why do you ask?"

Bella shrugged her shoulders, an entirely innocent expression pasted on her face. "Just wondering."

"Professor Dumbledore was the one who obtained it, recorded it, and then shared it here with the Order the first time around."

Is that so? Bella thought. "Thank you, Sirius." Bella turned to look at me. If Dumbledore was the one to collect the prophecy, did he share it with Snape?

My eyebrows shot up at Bella's question before they furrowed. "Was Snape a part of the first Order?" The question burst out without thought, but once it did, I knew I wouldn't have taken it back anyway.

"We have no idea. He never fought with us. Openly anyway," Remus answered, leaning forward and placing his elbows on the table. "Why do you ask?"

Instead of answering, I asked another question. "When did he swap sides?"

"Again, we have no idea. Dumbledore is the only one who knows the answers to these questions. Why?" I could see that Remus was getting upset with my questions and not answering his.

I ignored his question once more. "When did you guys find out? Was Snape there?"

"Dumbledore had collected the prophecy from the seer at The Hogs Head Pub. He brought it to us that night. Snape wasn't at the meeting. He never attended any the first time. Why, Edward?" Remus watched me. I could see in his thoughts that he wasn't sure where this line of questioning was going.

Oh! We can ask Aberforth next time we're in Hogsmeade, Bella thought quickly. We didn't want to give anything away about what we were thinking.

"I'm just gathering puzzle pieces, Remus. We weren't here for the first war, and we might see something new because we're fresh eyes. We might find a different way to put things together. Although, right now, we have more questions than answers." I placated him. He wasn't happy about it, but he knew I would speak to them if I had something to say. I looked down at Bella, who while looking at Remus made it clear her thoughts on the subject.

We need to find out more about this prophecy. Where was it collected within the pub, who was listening—patrons there that day—and from whom? They might give us the answers. I still think Snape had something to do with Voldemort finding out.

I leaned down and placed a kiss in Bella's hair, nodding ever so slightly. "As do I, sweet girl," I whispered. "As do I."

~*~UHS~*~

The next few days were … tense … to say the least. The conclusion that Harry had come to at the Order meeting had shaken him. He was terse, worried, and almost belligerent when it came to aspects of his safety. He didn't want to stay at Potter Mansion and had tried to leave a couple of times. We had finally convinced him that he was better off there than anywhere else.

The Daily Prophet was running another campaign; this one against The Truth. Sirius had written and run the article in The Truth. Bella had woken up the morning following the meeting giving me a sweet kiss before making her way to the bathroom. Instead of waiting for her as I usually do, I made my way down to the kitchen, hoping to make her breakfast. Kreacher was usually ahead of the curve, but I hoped.

"Morning, Kreacher," I said as I entered the kitchen.

"Morning, Master Edward. Does Miss Bella require breakfast? Kreacher hasn't started yet. Kreacher has been tending to the greenhouses."

I looked down at our house elf with gratitude. It seemed he had known without me telling him. "No, thank you. I want to make her breakfast myself."

Kreacher bowed with a small smile before making his way back out to the greenhouses. I got to work making Bella banana pancakes, hash browns, and some hot chocolate. While I was cooking, Athan flew in through the window, dropping the paper with a hoot before flying back out again.

"Hey, Edward, what are you doing?" Bella asked as she stepped into the kitchen.

I snorted. "You're a smart girl. What does it look like?"

Bella rolled her eyes. "Okay, smarty pants, why are you making breakfast? Kreacher usually does that."

"Because I wanted to make my girl breakfast. I was lucky because Kreacher hadn't started making it yet."

Aww, Bella thought, blushing. "Thank you."

I finished up and plated Bella's breakfast, placing it in front of her. I kissed her head, whispering you're welcome. I grabbed my breakfast and sat next to her. I picked up the paper, finding The Truth and the article Sirius had written, as I began to eat.

With all the news floating around about Voldemort from us here at The Truth, we expect that you're expecting the worst. Although, The Daily Prophet reports that everything is fine, that nothing is wrong, we believe you—our target audience—believe in what we have to tell you.

The Daily Prophet will not report what we are about to tell you. They'll claim that what happened was a child rebelling against the rules. That this child thinks the rules don't apply to him. But we know differently.

Yesterday, Harry Potter was at a friend's house, minding his own business, when the world around him started to get cold. The air seemed to get heavy, and all the happiness seemed to disappear.

We all know what that means, right?

Harry knew, and with that knowledge, he left the safety of the house and went outside. There he and his friend found no less than ten dementors.

Even with a muggle visiting the house, the boys fought bravely against the dementors, protecting themselves, their family, and the muggle. Even calling in reinforcements to help. It took some time, but eventually, the dementors fled the scene.

We all know that dementors are the guards of Azkaban. And surely, you'd think they'd return to where they had come from. But as of last night, when I was writing this article, none of those ten dementors had returned to Azkaban.

Instead of looking into the reason as to why an underage wizard would cast a Patronus Charm in front of a muggle, the Ministry instantly sent out a letter telling just Harry that he was expelled from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Does this sound like the actions of an innocent party? Why not investigate the incident before sending out this letter?

But my questions for all you readers are: Where are those dementors now? And why isn't The Ministry of Magic doing anything about it?

"So, what did Sirius have to say?" Bella interrupted my thoughts.

I slid the paper across the counter to let her read. I was quiet while she did so. "He raises very good questions. Think the Ministry will do anything?"

"Not if they're intent on blaming Harry," I answered. "Fudge won't look into the dementors. Especially if he, or his Ministry, sent them out in the first place."

Bella's mouth opened to ask the question on the tip of her tongue, but another voice beat her to it. "Do you really think ze Ministry has something so do wiz it?"

Bella and I spun to look at the door to find Gabrielle and Fleur standing there. It was the latter that had spoken.

I shrugged my shoulders. "I have no idea, but you can bet all of your magic that I'll be using my talents to find out when we're there for the disciplinary hearing. I want to know the truth."

"Something that only one paper in town seems to be able to do." Gabrielle smirked, tapping on the paper in front of Bella.

"Indeed." I chuckled.

That was how the last few tense days had started. We were all waiting on tenterhooks to see if anything else would happen.

There were two good things to come out of the meeting with the Order. The first was the fact that the twins Extendable Ears had been a complete success. Gabrielle had heard everything that had been said inside that dining room. The ears worked without having to have a cord running between them. The next thing the twins had us engaging in was exactly how far apart a pair would work. So far, we hadn't found a limit, and we'd tested them to five kilometers.

The second was Fleur and Bill meeting. They had spent as much time as they could together the last few days between Fleur settling in at Swan Manor and Bill's job at Gringotts Bank. But they had agreed that Fleur needed to complete her schooling. So, while she was at Hogwarts, he would continue working, and they would do all they could to keep in contact.

The rest of us tried to keep busy to keep our minds off what was coming for one of our own. Fred and George were brilliant with distractions, and not just because of the Extendable Ears. They had also started developing what they were calling their Skyving Snackboxes.

Inside the snack boxes were going to be color-coded candies with names that explained what they could do. Things like Puking Pastilles that would make you vomit. They also were creating Fainting Fancies and Nosebleed Nougat. They'd designed these candies so that one end would make you sick, faint, or have a nosebleed and the other cured you.

I had a feeling they would sell like hotcakes at school.

The biggest problem they had was keeping their experiments from their mother, so testing them at home was few and far between. Fred and George had plans to ask the students at school to test them more thoroughly before they released them on the market. We'd have to watch to make sure they didn't force the students to do it. Their plans were rather elaborate.

"Edward?" Alice asked, pulling me from my thoughts. I'd been reading in the library while Bella was, once again, experimenting on muggle technology in her laboratory.

"Yeah?"

"Do you know if Harry has a suit to wear for the hearing?"

I thought about it. "I don't think so. The only one he had was the tuxedo for the Yule Ball, and I'm not sure that's appropriate."

Alice shook her head. "No, it won't be. I've placed a new suit and dress into your suite for you and Bella tomorrow. I've provided the others with the appropriate clothes. I made some for Harry, so I'll send that over to him."

"I'm sure he'd appreciate that, Alice." I leaned back in my chair, waiting to see if she would say what else was on her mind. But when she didn't speak, I prompted her with, "Was there something else?"

That was when Alice's hidden thoughts bloomed. "We want to go with you! Jasper and I want to help."

"I know you do, Alice." I stood to give Alice a hug. "But this isn't like muggle court. The only spectators allowed in the room will be the witnesses. Neville because he helped. Emmett and Rose because they are squib witnesses to the whole incident. Bella and I because we also helped, and we have the memories to prove it. Plus, we have to be able to stop the memories before we show that we destroyed the dementors."

"Why are Arthur, Sirius, and Shane going then?" Alice pouted, crossing her arms.

"C'mon, Alice, those answers are obvious, and I know you're not stupid."

"Because Arthur knows the Ministry, and because Shane and Sirius are Harry's guardians," Alice said sulking. "But why can't we go?"

"What would you do, Alice? You won't be allowed into the courtroom, and I have no idea if there's somewhere to wait."

Alice stopped to think about it, pacing away from me, then back again. "We could scope out the ministry. Surely, we'd hear more than your average wizard."

I opened my mouth to argue before snapping it closed. I thought about what she was saying. It was a relative secret throughout the wizarding world that vampires had better hearing than just about everyone else. "Possibly. But if you're going to do this, you need to come in separately and in disguise. Our family is well known now, thanks to the Triwizard Tournament. People will be wary around you because of it."

"You got it!" Alice beamed before rushing forward and squeezing me for all she was worth. "We'll be inconspicuous."

I'm not sure that's possible. Bella snorted. I smirked into the top of Alice's head at that thought but cleared my face of any emotion when she pulled back.

"This is your mission if you choose to accept …"

"Accepted!" Alice shouted, running out of the room. "The suit will be with Harry before you guys leave tomorrow!"

I chuckled; I couldn't help it. Alice really was one of a kind.

~*~UHS~*~

Everyone was nervous. They were so nervous, in fact, that they were all out of Swan Manor hours earlier than we had agreed upon. We were all anxious for this to be over. It wasn't just us, Harry, Sirius, and Shane who were at the house early, but Arthur as well.

"How are we getting to the Ministry?" Arthur asked as he stepped through our fireplace. "Back through this?"

I shook my head. "Nah, Harry wants to take the cars. Something about the scenic route and it being relaxing."

"In that case, maybe we should go?" Sirius asked instead of stated. "Will it take us long to get there?"

"Not with Edward and Emmett driving!" Bella snorted, jumping down the last few steps. "They make flying on a broom look like walking."

I opened my mouth to argue but changed my mind when Bella raised an eyebrow in my direction, so I shrugged instead. "If you say so, baby. May I say you look beautiful today?" And she did. Her dress was a royal blue wrap dress that I had seen Alice wear on occasion. It tied at the hip in a neat little bow. Bella was also wearing some new shoes. It seemed she was ready for heels. While they weren't huge, they certainly made her legs look fantastic.

I wiped my mouth to make sure I wasn't drooling. I had thought I was being subtle, but the low chuckle from several members of our family said otherwise.

"I do say so," Bella stated. "And thank you for the compliment, but you missed a bit right there in the corner." She leaned up and wiped at the corner of my mouth with a smirk. "Should we get going?"

I was about to answer her when Alice slipped into a vision that caught my attention. I snorted. It seemed our Minister for Magic was not done with his underhanded tactics just yet. "If we're taking the cars, then yes, we should get going. Minister Fudge is about to have Harry's hearing moved forward a few hours, hoping that we'll miss it. He's going to send out notification not a few scant minutes before it's due to start."

Arthur shook his head. "His fear is overriding everything he knows. Let's get going. I think using the floo network might be best."

Nods of agreement accompanied the shuffling of feet as everyone stood to make their way to the fireplace. It took several minutes to get the nine of us through the fireplace—with Bella asking me to go ahead of her; she still didn't like to use a fireplace if there were a lot of unknown people on the other side—and into the busy atrium of the Ministry of Magic. I listened to the thoughts of Emmett and Rose because they had never been, only to hear the awe at such a sight. Until they saw the statue in the middle of the fountain. They were as disgusted by it as I had been. The creatures I had seen and heard held no worship for the magical community. In fact, most of them were unhappy with how the administration had been run in recent years.

Something I could wholeheartedly agree with.

"Edward?" Arthur called as I looked around once more, only to notice what looked like a telephone booth floating up through the atrium and into the ceiling.

"Yeah?" I replied distractedly.

Arthur tapped my shoulder, bringing my attention to him. "That's the visitors' entrance. It's a phone booth placed near an abandoned building in an alley. Should you ever need to get here without the fireplaces, that's the best way to get inside. You'll need to dial the passcode of six-two-four-four-two into the phone for it to lower itself. I hope you'll never need it."

I nodded. "Me too, Arthur. Thank you for letting me know." I listened around for Alice and Jasper's thoughts as Bella and I followed the others while Arthur led the way to the security checkpoint where Eric, in his peacock blue robes, was still doing his job. But there were so many thoughts that I wasn't able to pinpoint either Alice or Jasper.

"Edward!" Eric called. "How have you been?"

I smiled, stepping forward. "I've been good. How about you, Eric?"

"Can't complain. Work is work, you know?"

I nodded, even though I had no idea. I hadn't worked a job a day in my life. "Let me introduce everyone. Arthur you know." Arthur waved from the side. "The others are my Bella, Emmett and Rose, my siblings." I pointed to them. "Sirius Black, Shane Newtonian, Neville Longbottom, and Harry Potter."

Eric did a doubletake at the last two names. Everyone knew who they were, but Eric was tactful enough not to say anything.

"What can I do for you today?" Eric asked instead.

Arthur stepped forward. "We're here for a disciplinary hearing. I'm sure you've heard about it."

Eric nodded, but all he said was, "Bad bit of luck, that was." But his thoughts were much louder. What is the Ministry thinking? I don't understand anything the minister is doing. Especially badmouthing Dumbledore. Why would he lie about Voldemort returning? It makes no sense.

"Then let's get you through the checkpoint so you can prepare." Eric was quick about scanning through the wands in the group. Neville and Harry had brought their Ollivander wands so as not to arouse suspicion, but Bella and I handed over our Opi wands. Eric didn't even bat an eye when Bella's came back that it had no trace. I wasn't sure he was going to report anything, had there been anything to report.

"Good luck, Harry. There are more of us behind you than you might think." Eric handed over our visitors' badges and waved us on, but Harry watched him as he did.

I could see that Harry was thinking about Eric's words as we made our way through to the bank of elevators. For as much as Harry knew he had our support—that of his family, friends, and those he considered family—he wondered whether The Daily Prophet had the ear, or eye, of the general public. Now, as he looked around, he could see that more people were giving him nods of encouragement than those who were giving him looks of caution.

Harry felt much more confident as we all filed into one elevator with one other person, holding a box, who also stepped on with us. A plume of fire shot out of the box, making Emmett, Rose, and myself take a small step backward with simultaneous "whoas".

Arthur let out a small chuckle. "What ya got there, Bob?"

Bob was a heavier-set wizard with a rather impressive beard. "A bog-standard chicken," he said with a chuckle.

"I don't know any chickens that breathe fire," Emmett muttered.

I chuckled. "No joke. Since when do they breathe fire?"

Bob's bushy beard lifted as he smiled at all of us. I had to pull Bella back to my side when she stepped forward to have a look. "Since someone broke the Ban on Experimental Breeding. This is the result when wizards experiment with muggle animals."

"A fire-breathing chicken?" Bella asked before she looked up at me. "Please, Edward? Can I see?"

I looked down at my girl, knowing that when I did, I wouldn't be able to deny her. There wasn't much I'd ever be able to. I sighed. "Can you keep from taking it home? You know fire and …"

"Vampires don't mix, I know." Bella rolled her eyes before looking back at me. "I won't call him to me. I just want to see."

"It's just a chicken," I argued petulantly, mostly for show.

Bella's bottom lip pouted, and her eyelids fluttered, which caused the others in the car to laugh. "Please?"

"Ugh, fine!" I gave in just as we passed level four, or the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, causing me to sneer out the gates when I heard the thoughts of the executioner, McNair.

Bella rushed over to Bob and the box he was holding to peer in through the hole the fire had created. "Aww, he's cute." The others snickered at her cooing. "You know, for a chicken."

I couldn't help but laugh at her. Bella had thought that the chicken would look different, might have taken on some characteristics of the animal it had been bred with. "Sorry to disappoint you, sweet girl. It's just a regular chicken."

"That breathes fire," she mumbled.

"That breathes fire."

Bob shook his head with a deep chuckle just as the elevator came to a stop at level three—the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes. He exited, taking the chicken with him, as well as a half a dozen flying memos.

I could see Emmett watching the memos, but his eyes got positively wide when he spotted what looked like a blimp trying to get onto the elevator, bumping Bob in the head as he stepped out. Bob swatted at it before stumbling off down the hall. Arthur stepped forward to stop the blimp from getting on board.

"No," Arthur said, holding his hand to the nose of the blimp and pushing backward. Slowly, he managed to turn it around—it was determined to get onboard—to face the staircase. "You aren't to get on board; you have to climb the stairs."

The blimp bobbed a little once Arthur had let go but otherwise floated off toward the stairs.

"What are they?" Emmett asked, pointing at the memos still floating and the blimp that had been outside the doors.

"Those paper planes above our head, Emmett, are interdepartmental memos that get sent around." Arthur pointed to the owl perches that I hadn't taken notice of. "We used to use owls, but the mess was unbelievable. The blimp was a file that had been requested. Everyone knows you're supposed to send those up the stairs, but I think the spellcaster gets lazy, and that's why they try to take the lift."

"And what? They just transform when they get there?" Even Rose rolled her eyes at that question from her husband.

"That's exactly what they do." Arthur looked at Emmett a little strangely. "Ah … here we are."

"Level two. Department of Magical Law Enforcement, including the Improper Use of Magic Office, Auror Headquarters, and Wizengamot Administration Services," the elevator said as we came to a stop.

"My office. Follow me." Arthur stepped out of the elevator with all of us following. Of course, I had been here before, but the others had not. Sirius and Shane were looking around calculating, registering every change since the last time they were there.

We had just made it to Arthur's office when an old, stooped wizard called out Arthur's name and ran to him faster than an old man should.

"I'm so glad I caught you, Arthur," the old man panted out. "Henry Perkins, the name," he introduced himself. "An urgent memo arrived for you a short while ago."

"Is it about the regurgitating toilet? Because I already know about that one. That memo was bold; it actually came to my house."

Regurgitating toilet? Several of our group thought, all with varying degrees of disgust. Except—I rolled my eyes—of course, for Emmett. He was fascinated.

Perkins shook his head even as he answered. "No, no. Not that. About the hearing. It will start in about half an hour. The minister had it moved forward."

Alice was right, Shane thought, looking at me. He's trying to get Harry expelled without an argument. Shane stood taller. Let's go give him one.

I leaned over to whisper to Shane but loud enough that those closest could hear me. "Let's go give the Minister a fight indeed. He won't know what hit him."

~*~UHS~*~

Well ... Cornelius Fudge has no idea what's coming for him.

See you in a fortnight!