This story is inspired by the fanfiction story titled 'Guy Fawkes Day' by MisterQ. Go read it! Space Expansion Charms are unforgiving when misused in that story.
Just writing a story for fun and enjoyment. Thanks to Rowling for giving the world Harry Potter and his friends (and enemies). She owns everything and I'm just imagining shapes in the clouds on a summer day.
~~~ scene change ~~~
Second MorningAt breakfast on 3 September, the owls arrived with the Daily Prophet and letters during breakfast. The newspaper was only four sheets thick and included multiple photos of the Ministry building, Diagon Alley, and Saint Mungo's.
There were lists of missing people that included Alastor Moody, and Molly, Ronald, and Ginevra Weasley. A second list included many people the adults believed to be dead. That list included Cornelius Fudge and Dolores Umbridge.
More definitive was the list of sites where the floo exploded including the minister's office, multiple floos in the Atrium of the ministry, Three Broomsticks, Hogsmeade Tavern, Leaky Cauldron, Kings Cross Station, one receiving room in Gringotts Bank, several shops in Diagon Alley, and private homes including Bones Manor, Malfoy Manor, Longbottom Retreat (to the Neville's surprise), and the Weasley home known as the Burrow. As an afterthought, the reporter mentioned that only Malfoy Manor and the Burrow had burned to the ground.
Susan Bones arrived during lunch and her arrival lifted everyone's spirits. Before the meal ended, Zach Smith joined his house at the Hufflepuff table – he and his family were in the Netherlands when the floo system in Britain exploded and couldn't get home for two days.
As they filed out for their next class, Zach announced, "Someone kept saying we could use muddy transportation, but my mum was terrified of their horseless carriages."
Headmaster Dumbledore remained absent from Hogwarts again that day. The Daily Prophet's photo spread that morning included one picture of the headmaster/chief warlock in an animated discussion with DMLE Director Amelia Bones. The witch had half of her head covered with bandages though Susan was certain her aunt was fully healed when they left Saint Mungo's.
Harry considered the bandages worn by Director Bones for several minutes, but he didn't mention his questions to Hermione. His Gryffindor friend had buried herself in transfiguration assignments already. In a discussion at another table in the library where he was seated with Blaise Zabini, the two boys decided that Director Bones was channelling her Slytherin side – Dumbledore had to be careful to not appear too critical of a witch who'd returned to her important job with the ministry before she was fully healed. Her 'sacrifice' would be noted by the public and give greater weight to any statements she made.
"I guess anyone can be ambitious and use planning while being in any house here," Harry confided to Blaise who nodded.
"We often wondered how Draco managed to miss being in Gryffindor at his sorting," the Slytherin wizard said quietly. "But he's missing so we're not talking about him that much."
In a moment of retrospection, Harry wondered how it felt to mourn for someone who died – someone he had known in life before they died. 'I don't remember my Mum and Dad but I mourn the idea of parents. Aunt Petunia was wrong to lie about them and never tell me anything about them. I never even knew my father's name until I met Hagrid.'
Thinking about his time at Hogwarts, Harry thought about Professor Quirrell for a moment – the wizard had died after Harry touched him and caused his flesh and bones to burn away. 'He doesn't count – if he hadn't died, I would have.'
Walking toward the Great Hall alone and unafraid of being ambushed – every student was behaving themselves these first days of the term – Harry hoped that Ron, his mum and sister were alive and well. In his mind, he admitted, 'I'd miss Ron if he died.'
~~~ scene change ~~~
Third MorningThe headlines in Daily Prophet on 4 September announced 'Assassination!' The first article included a list of persons known to be dead (as verified by the inheritance department at Gringotts). The list began with Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge, Senior Undersecretary Dolores Umbridge, the Aurors who had been in the minister's security detail in his office, all members of the Malfoy family (Lucius, Narcissa, and Draco,) and all members of the Parkinson family (Ambrose, Daisy, and Pansy.)
Another verified dead person was Auror Alastor Moody (retired) who had been scheduled to be the DADA instructor at Hogwarts.
In a scandalous piece of journalism, an unknown reporter contributed two articles – first the reporter detailed the hidden cost in galleons and lives that the proposed Triwizard Tournament would cost Magical Britain. The initial cost of ʛ800,000 was woefully under reported and Magical Britain could expect no less than 250 dead members of the audience.
'Why do you think neither other school volunteered to host this tournament? Only Headmaster Dumbledore's insistence brought this bloodbath back to the Magical World.'
In the second article, a truly poison pen exposé, the reporter documented how well the school was operating without the headmaster present. 'Deputy Headmistress did all the work to prepare for the new school year and now with the problems at the Ministry for Magic, Albus Dumbledore is absent from the school.'
The article continued with a blatant attack on the headmaster proposing a terrible scenario. 'There needs to be a head of the school present to manage the wards that protect the children. If another Death Eater attack occurred, would the terrorists wait for Albus Dumbledore to return from London to raise the wards?'
No one brought the articles to the attention of the headmaster and for two days, Albus Dumbledore was too busy to discover the articles, or address any duties at Hogwarts while whispers spread among the Wizengamot.
Again that day, Fred and George continued to present a brave face with Molly, Ronald, and Ginevra Weasley still listed among the missing.
~~~ scene change ~~~
Fourth MorningOn 5 September, the Daily Prophet's headlines announced that the Triwizard Tournament was cancelled for a least one full year. The only reason it was not cancelled outright was the Headmaster Albus Dumbledore promised to reform his behaviour and resign from his other posts as soon as the situation in Magical Britain was resolved.
Harry began to enjoy the varied conversations with students from Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. Hermione wanted to deny that she too liked talking with the Slytherin and Ravenclaw minds that could keep up with her thought processes, but she was too honest.
When they joined an impromptu Hufflepuff discussion group in the Great Hall for a study period that afternoon, Harry and Hermione learned that the muggleborn in that house were educating the magicborn about maths, English composition, paper and biros.
~~~ scene change ~~~
Fifth Morning HeadlinesOn the fifth morning of the new school year, the Daily Prophet arrived on time: 'Eat Death! Attempt to Behead the Government by Followers of Dark Lord Failed!'
The Great Hall was largely silent as the students and professors read the articles and only discussed the information in quiet whispers with the persons seated beside them. The lead article followed the report by DMLE Director Amelia Bones on the assassination of Minister Fudge by Lucius Malfoy.
The article included many amazing facts:
In 1981, Malfoy had proclaimed his innocence due to the Imperious curse during the Death Eater insurrection. But this summer, Lucius had cooperated with other Death Eaters and the spirit of the Dark Lord as part of an attempt to be resurrected.
The first move by the Death Eaters had been to incite fear and panic at the World Quidditch Cup in August. The second step in the Death Eater plot had been to decapitate the Ministry for Magic by assassinating three leaders – Fudge, Bones, and Dumbledore.
Fortunately for Magical Britain, the spell attack misfired, but the misfire caused multiple fireplaces on the floo network around Magical Britain to explode, rather than just the three targeted fireplaces.
The first explosion in the ministry killed Minister Fudge (and Undersecretary Dolores Umbridge) gathered around the fireplace in his office. The backfire from the exploding floo immolated the ring leaders (Death Eaters) and their families who were gathered around the fireplace in Malfoy Manor.
The memory of ministry clerk Percival Weatherby documented the minister's last moments. Cornelius Fudge and Undersecretary Umbridge gathered at the floo for a call with Lucius Malfoy and Parkinson before their children left for the ride on the Hogwarts Express to begin another year at the school.
Weatherby was standing outside the office door when the explosion occurred, and he was thrown back behind the secretary's desk.
Other targets of assassination were Chief Warlock Albus Dumbledore and DMLE Director Amelia Bones. The floo at Hogwarts exploded but Dumbledore was absent from his office when the explosion occurred. The floo at the manor house of the Bones family exploded but Madam Bones (Director of DMLE) was only injured and already returned to work.
Bartemius Crouch, Sr, Ministry Secretary for International Cooperation, thwarted the beginning of a third attack at the officials in our government. When Crouch stepped out of his home to apparate to the Ministry, he had been attacked by a wizard in the company of a homunculus. (A magical creation – also called a golem – a homunculus can appear with magic and many human characteristics.)
The former head of the DMLE (1970-1982), Crouch killed the attacking wizard and subdued the homunculus.
The Department of Mysteries took the creature for study immediately and the horrifying news was that the magical construct housed the spirit of Tom Riddle (a.k.a. Lord Voldemort, He Who Must Not Be Named, and the Dark Lord) thought to have perished on 31 October 1981. The Unspeakables fed the golem the Draught of the Living Death to prevent any mishaps or escapes while they complete their study of the monster.
The DMLE announced the identity of the wizard involved in the attack on Secretary Crouch – Peter Pettigrew! The wizard was thought to be a hero who died fighting Sirius Black after the betrayal of the Potters on Halloween 1981. But Pettigrew was alive that morning during the attack and died of a cutting curse to the neck. After examining the wizard's body, the DMLE declared the man bore the Dark Lord's tattoo on his arm and showed no sign of the Imperious Curse. (The Unspeakables developed a method of detecting long-term evidence of the Imperious to use any time anyone claimed to be under the curse in the future after 1981).
The revelation that Pettigrew had been alive until 1 September 1994 and in the company of the Dark Lord meant that Sirius Black (presumptive Lord Black) might be innocent of the charges of betraying Lord and Lady Potter, killing Pettigrew, and killing a dozen muggles. Working through Gringotts because the DMLE was stretched thin searching for missing witches and wizards, Director Bones met with Sirius Black at the bank under the protections of Goblin Horde Chief Ragnock where the suspected criminal was administered Veritaserum and proved his innocence.
Currently under the care of his cousin, Mrs Andromeda Tonks (a recognized healer of great skill and knowledge), Lord Black would heal and return to Magical Britain in the future.
Sitting at a table of students from all four houses in the library, Harry and Hermione learned that Theo Nott had heard from Marcus Flint. The seventh year Slytherin was absent because his father had decided to provide private tutors for his son that year so he could also play as a reserve beater for the Portsmouth Falcons, a successful Quidditch team.
~~~ scene change ~~~
Author's Note: Beginning 1 September, Bartemius Crouch rewrote events to his benefit and once he was appointed Minister for Magic, he announced the Unspeakables had fed the Draught of the Living Death to the homunculus.
~~~ scene change ~~~
Wizengamot Machinations / 7 September 1994With the claims of assassination and additional attempts to kill the leaders of Magical Britain, Albus Dumbledore found his usual calls for leniency and forgiveness falling on deaf ears. Being a target of the terrorists and remembering the state of his charred office, he realized that if he had been seated at his desk when the floo exploded, he would be dead or so badly burned he'd have wished for death every minute of the remainder of his life.
No one was listening to Dumbledore's suggestions as the DMLE presented their findings that blamed the Death Eaters and the Dark Lord for the deaths and fires across Magical Britain. Every suspected Death Eater was arrested and questioned with Veritaserum – the participants in the raid at the World Cup were identified from among many of the wizards and witches who'd been pardoned for being under the imperious curse in 1981. Double jeopardy seemed to apply but Amelia Bones argued and convinced the Wizengamot that because there had been bribes involved, the pardons were not valid.
(Former Minister Millicent Bagnold was dead but her estate was seized, and her reputation permanently sullied).
From his throne above the Wizengamot chamber, Albus Dumbledore held his tongue as the newly appointed Minister Bartemius Crouch led the members through the questioning, trials, and convictions of terrorists. The Veil of Death was used to execute the Death Eaters.
The members of the Wizengamot voted almost unanimously for Bartemius Crouch to finish Cornelius Fudge's term as Minister for Magic, (over Dumbledore's nomination of Amos Diggory).
And despite Dumbledore's wish that everyone would forget his promise to resign from the Wizengamot, Minister Crouch stood in front of the members, thanked Albus Dumbledore for his many years of service, and wished him the best for his retirement (and focus on Hogwarts). Eustace Greengrass, a wizard recognized for his neutral position on most subjects, was elected as the new Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot.
~~~ scene change ~~~