The Potter Timeline
Chapter 66 - A Trip to the Ministry
Harry rose the next morning feeling nervous. This would be his first time visiting the Ministry of Magic and its formidable wizarding court. But while the thought filled him with apprehension it also had him curious.
A material witness? What exactly did that mean and what would the court expect from him? The idea of having to stand in front of the Interrogators seemed daunting.
But perhaps it wouldn't be as bad as he imagined. He wasn't the one on trial, after all. And hopefully, everything would go as the Order anticipated: a sentencing for Pettigrew and his godfather's acquittal. Harry would do whatever he could to help that happen. But how it would all turn out remained to be seen.
One consolation was that Professor Lupin would be accompanying him. It was required, in fact, as underage wizards and witches were not allowed inside the Ministry without an adult escort. Besides this, neither Remus nor Sirius would let Harry go off alone - not with the former Death Eaters' threat his godfather mentioned. But having the professor with him at the Ministry and the Wizengamot (Lupin was himself summoned as a witness) put Harry's mind more at ease. The man's knowledge of wizarding society would be a definite asset during their time in London.
After dressing a little nicer than usual, throwing on a pair of khaki trousers and the one good dress shirt he owned (given to him secondhand by his Aunt Marge at Christmas one year because it was two sizes too small for Dudley), Harry wet his hair and combed it as neatly as possible in front of the large dorm room mirror. But no matter what he did, those dark locks just seemed to have a mind of their own and resisted his attempts at bringing them under control. Harry frowned at his reflection but could do nothing more. Maybe Hermione could dig up a charm in one of her books that would get his hair to lay flat for once.
Bounding down the steps into the common room, Harry found the girl waiting for him in one of the sofa chairs by the window. She was wearing her school robes and Gryffindor tie, ready for a day of classes...without him. Hermione looked up and smiled, closing her Magical Theory book on her lap and leaving it on a side table before heading over.
"Good morning," she said, throwing those soft eyes at him while taking one of his hands.
"Morning," he replied with a warm look. Just the sight of Hermione seemed to cause any concerns over the upcoming day's events to evaporate.
"How are you feeling?" she asked.
Harry shrugged.
"A little on edge, honestly. I'm not sure what to expect."
Hermione nodded.
"Well, that's understandable, it being your first time to the Ministry and all. But with Professor Lupin there, I'm sure it'll be fine."
"Yeah," he responded with a nod.
"It should be a great learning experience, no doubt," he continued more confidently as the pair moved toward the Fat Lady's portrait, "part of me is actually looking forward to it, in fact."
"That's good. You'll have to tell me all about it when you get back."
"I will," Harry said before leaning a bit closer to her, "I might even bring you back a souvenir."
Hermione laughed and Harry followed suit. The two left the common room and headed to the Great Hall for breakfast.
They had nearly finished their meal when Professor Lupin entered the hall and walked over to them. He wore a dark brown tweed suit with a black tie over an off-white dress shirt. Despite the wrinkles under the man's eyes, Remus looked very smart and not so shabby this time.
"Good morning," he said pleasantly while stopping at the Gryffindor table.
"Good morning," the pair replied.
"Ready, Harry?" the wizard asked.
Harry nodded and stood from the table, Hermione standing with him. Harry then looked at the girl next to him.
"Well, have fun in classes," he told her. She gave him a slightly worried look while taking his hand again.
"I will," she replied, "and I'll make a note of everything we did so you can catch up when you get back."
"Alright. Thanks," he replied.
Hermione then leaned up and gave Harry a brief peck on the cheek.
"Good luck!" she told him.
Harry smiled at her, squeezed her hand, then let go and walked with Lupin out of the Hall. The two headed down the main stairwell toward the castle entrance.
"So, how are we getting to the Ministry, professor?" Harry asked.
"Apparition," Remus replied.
A sour look came over the teenager and he frowned. If he had known this ahead of time, Harry would have skipped breakfast. Lupin smiled.
"I take it by your response that you've side-along apparated before."
Harry nodded.
"Yes. A couple of times with Professor Dumbledore over the summer. It wasn't pleasant, to say the least."
"I see. Well, you best get used to it now before you begin your own apparition lessons in a couple of years. Rest assured, however. Once you're accustomed to it, you'll find apparition to be the quickest, most efficient means of getting around."
When they exited the castle through the heavy oak doors, they spotted several Dementors hovering in the distance over the stand of woods to the left of the entrance drive. But the creatures merely watched the wizards walk down the drive in the direction of Hogsmeade. Harry again noted that this seemed strange. But then again, perhaps they dared not attempt anything with Professor Lupin who clearly knew how to deal with them.
"Now that the Ministry has Sirius in their custody, shouldn't they have told the Dementors to leave the school?" Harry asked while staring at the phantom-like beings.
"Well, that only happened yesterday, Harry," Remus replied while gazing at the creatures himself, "and knowing Ministry efficiency, I wouldn't be surprised if they aren't dismissed for another week or two at least. Though I do expect them to be withdrawn eventually. And speaking of Dementors, do you and Hermione still wish to learn the Patronus charm even when they've returned to Azkaban?"
"Yes, professor. You never know when it might come in handy. Adding that to our repertoire would be a definite advantage, I think. And I'm certain Hermione still wants to learn it."
"Very well. Once all this business with the Wizengamot is finished, let's set aside a time, perhaps on a weekend, to go over the charm."
"Thanks. And...speaking of the Wizengamot. Do you think the Interrogators will make us stand up in front of everyone and talk?"
"It's possible. Though if the line of questioning involves what happened the night your parents were murdered, there's not a lot of information you can provide, for obvious reasons. So, I'm not sure why they are requiring you to appear as a witness. But I wouldn't worry about it. I understand Professor Dumbledore himself will be presiding over the interrogations as Chief Warlock. That gives me the confidence the proceedings will be fair and go according to procedure, not according to one particular party's interests or another."
Harry nodded and felt more relieved at this news. And to see Dumbledore acting in his role as Chief Warlock should be a fascinating experience as well.
The mid-September air was cool with a bright morning sun just cresting over the tops of the trees. And the first falling leaves of Autumn had littered the Hogwarts entrance road with shades of red, orange, and yellow. The two wizards continued down the old dirt road, their feet crunching on the dried leaves, until they stepped through the iron entrance gate. Lupin then stopped and turned to look up at the Hogwarts emblem at the crest of the archway. Harry followed suit.
"Well, I think this is sufficient distance from the protective wards," Remus stated before turning to Harry.
"Ready?" he asked.
Harry nodded with a frown.
"Sure."
"Very well," the professor said while retrieving his wand, "take my arm."
Harry did so, and just like his side-along apparition during the summer, as soon as he and Lupin disapparated, Harry felt dizzy and almost vomited up the breakfast he had just eaten. However, he recovered sufficiently and the environment they appeared in distracted him enough to put the dizziness and nausea aside.
Harry was astonished.
They stood at the end of an enormous hall. The walls and floor of this hall were covered with a shiny dark wood paneling, giving the space a rather gloomy look. But this was offset by a high ceiling of the deepest blue Harry had ever seen - like he was looking at a perfect, cloudless sky high above the earth. And across this ceiling numerous symbols of gleaming gold floated or drifted, appearing and disappearing at random. Some were circular or hexagonal frames containing Celtic crosses or Egyptian keys, there was a tree-like diagram, something which looked like a four-leaf clover, and even a symbol that eerily resembled the one from The Tale of the Three Brothers. Some appeared together as though producing some ancient language long lost. What was the purpose of these symbols, or were they merely a form of wizarding decoration?
But no sooner did Harry notice the symboled ceiling of azure than his attention was drawn to multiple flashes of green light accompanied by whooshing sounds on both sides of the hall. Numerous large fireplaces sat on both the left and right, their front covered with gilded decoration. Wizards and witches suddenly appeared with these flashes of light in each of the fireplaces on the left, exiting and veering to their left, heading to the opposite end of the hall. On the right, magical folk waited in several queues before the fireplaces, each person stepping inside, flicking something downward with their hand, then disappearing with a green flash and whoosh. While Harry had never witnessed it before, he guessed these fireplaces were part of the Floo Network, as Hagrid mentioned back in the summer.
A sudden popping sound caused Harry to jump. A wizard wearing a neat black suit with a red tie had disapparated right behind them.
"Oh! Pardon me, gents!" the wizard uttered wide-eyed when he almost ran into the pair.
He veered right, gave them a smile and nod, then briskly headed for the other side of the hall like the Floo travelers. Several more pops around them now issued as other wizards or witches disapparated, falling in line with one another. Two of them, a young witch with golden hair and a middle-aged gentleman with brown locks disapparated at the same time, continuing a conversation they apparently started from whatever location they apparated from. They also headed toward what Harry now saw as tall golden gates at the other end of the hall.
"Professor, where are we?" he asked while taking in all these busy sights and sounds.
"The Atrium, Harry. The entrance hall to the Ministry which itself lies on the other side of the gates you see up ahead."
The sound of a 'ding' caught Harry's attention and he glanced to his left to see a red, glass-paned door swing open in the back wall which looked like the door to a telephone box. Out of this box an old witch with white hair strode carrying an enormous purple bag while moving with the others toward the golden gates.
"That's the visitors entrance, by the way," Remus informed Harry, "it's located inside one of those muggle phone booths on a little-used side street on the surface. Very clever, really."
Harry's gave Lupin a puzzled look.
"The surface? So...we're underground, then?" he asked.
"Yes. Deep underground. The perfect place for the Ministry out of sight of the muggles."
Harry nodded. Lupin continued.
"Well, we're required to stop by the security booth up ahead before we can enter the Ministry proper. Shall we?"
Harry nodded again and the two moved forward, falling in line with a multitude of Ministry workers heading in the same direction. Most were chatting with one another, some were quiet and glum. Several carried briefcases of various sorts, and a few held an armful of parchments. The clattering of footsteps and conversation echoed noisily across the hall at this busy hour.
But midway down the hall, the sound of rushing water could be heard, and there, just ahead, stood a large circular water fountain preceeding the gates.
In the midst of the fountain, the golden statue of a wizard stood pointing his wand to the sky, a stream of water pouring from its tip. A golden witch stood next to him, her own wand pointed upward out of which also streamed water. Beneath these two characters, a gold centaur, a house elf, and even a goblin all stood looking up at the wizard and witch. Water spewed from an arrow in the centaur's hand, out of the house elf's ears, and out of the top of the goblin's pointed hat. Remus and Harry approached the fountain and Harry stopped to read the inscription at its base.
All proceeds from the Fountain of Magical Brethren will be given to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.
"I normally throw in a few coins for luck," Lupin informed the teen, "but I'm afraid I didn't bring any with me this time."
Harry smiled.
"I brought some money just in case. I'll throw some in for both of us," he said while reaching into his pocket, suddenly thinking of Neville's parents at St. Mungo's as he did.
When he tossed a couple of sickles and a knut into the water, he saw the glittering of hundreds of other coins reflecting back.
"That's very kind of you, Harry," Lupin said with a smirk, "now, we should probably move along."
Harry was about to follow the professor around the fountain when he was startled by two arms wrapping tightly around him, bolting him in place. The person had also pressed their face briefly to his and Harry smelled a scent of pungent perfume. The person finally let go, and when Harry spun around to see who it was, he lit up.
"Tonks!" he uttered with a wide grin at the witch.
The Auror-in-training, her hair normal and brown this time, gave Harry a warm smile while taking both his hands affectionately.
"Wotcher, Harry!" she uttered, "it's a surprise to see you here! How have you been doing? How's your third year turning out?"
"Glad to see you too, Tonks! I'm good, and term is shaping up to be a bit...different so far, but it's going well."
Tonks smirked and nodded.
"That's great. And how's Hermione?" she asked eagerly.
"She's good too. We've both a load of schoolwork but we're managing to keep our heads above water. How about you? How are things going with your training? James told us about your test, the...Iron Gauntlet."
Tonks gave Harry a wide-eyed, apprehensive look.
"Oh yes! The practice nearly kicked my arse! But the test itself isn't until next Spring, so I have plenty of time to prepare for it. Some of my compatriots are already talking about more practice in a few months, in fact, in the upper Highlands this time. And while I'm all for doing what I can, I'm not looking forward to freezing my bum off, as you might imagine."
Harry chuckled. He then realized he'd forgotten someone.
"Oh!" he said while turning toward Remus who had been quietly watching this exchange from the side, "this is Professor Lupin. He's our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher."
Tonks turned and threw a wide-eyed look at Remus.
"Really!" she uttered, gazing up and down at the professor. Lupin, with his hands behind his back, gave the young woman a nod and smile. Tonks quickly stood upright and brushed a swath of her hair, which suddenly turned bright red, behind each of her ears. She then straightened her robes as though preparing herself in front of a mirror and held out a hand to the professor.
"Dora Tonks...Auror-in-training...third year," she muttered a bit nervously as though she was introducing herself to some famous muggle actor or musician. The professor shook her hand.
"Remus Lupin. A pleasure, Miss Tonks," he replied very gentlemanlike.
The witch's cheeks burned pink.
"Please, call me Dora. And the pleasure's all mine," she replied with a broad smile. She then looked at Harry while still shaking Lupin's hand.
"I had no idea Dumbledore made 'handsome' one of the qualifications for the Dark Arts post!" she told the teen under her breath, though still loud enough for the professor to hear. Lupin's own cheeks turned pink as he smirked with some embarrassment. Harry chuckled at the two. But the Auror finally let go of Lupin's hand. She then gave them both a curious look.
"So, what brings you to the Ministry today?" she asked.
"We've been called in as witnesses at the Wizengamot for the interrogation of Peter Pettigrew and my godfather," Harry informed her.
Tonk's eyes grew wide as saucers as she threw them both an amazed look.
"You don't say!" she uttered, "well, I'm sure you can imagine what an uproar the Ministry's been in since Black was brought in yesterday. I've never seen such bedlam in our department before. In fact, we were all called in for special duty this morning due to the interrogation."
The witch's shoulders dropped and she frowned deeply.
"And Shacklebolt's going to have my head! I overslept and should have been here a half hour ago! But I'm guessing the two of you need to register at the department before heading into the court, so I'll be happy to escort you."
"That's the normal procedure, then?" Remus asked her.
"Yes, from what I was told. Director Bones is required to speak with you first."
Harry and Remus exchanged looks. The professor then looked at Tonks.
"Very well. If you'd be so kind...Dora," he uttered with a smile.
The witch returned his smile with bright eyes at the man.
"This way," she said cheerily while pointing to the gates ahead.
The three moved around the fountain and fell in with the crowd of Ministry workers who had bunched up before the gates in a chaotic queue. But instead of taking Harry and Remus directly to the gates, Tonks led them to a desk off to one side.
On the wall above the desk, a shiny brass plaque was hung with the word "SECURITY" embossed on its face. On top of the desk sat a strange-looking brass contraption and behind the desk sat a wizard in royal blue robes. He had short black hair with flecks of grey strewn throughout and wore black stubble on his unshaven face. He was reading a copy of The Daily Prophet and held the face of the paper high enough that Harry could read the headline on the front page.
SIRIUS BLACK ARRESTED!
THE WIZARD-AT-LARGE IN MINISTRY CUSTODY!
Beneath this headline was the same moving photo of his godfather he'd seen back in the summer: the mad-looking version of the man yelling at the photo taker. Harry frowned. The thought of his godfather in the authorities' hands still bothered him, despite the fact the Order had intended as such.
"Morning, Eric," Tonks told the guard.
The man slowly lowered the paper and glanced up at the three standing before him. A deep frown crested on his face as though they were rudely interrupting his reading.
"Tonks," he let out in a voice that was either bored, annoyed, or both.
"These two are for the Wizengamot," the Auror informed him, "I'm escorting them personally to Director Bones."
The man stared at Lupin and Harry while frowning again. He laid his copy of The Prophet on the desk then rose.
"Very well," he spoke in the same annoyed tone, as though doing his job was a bother.
He grabbed a long thin rod from off the table next to the contraption and moved around the desk.
"Hold still," he said to Harry.
Harry did so as the wizard waved the rod up and down in front and back of the teenager. He then did the same to Remus. The man placed the rod back onto the desk and turned to them both.
"Wands," he instructed with a hand held out.
The two retrieved their wands and handed them to the man. He then turned and placed Harry's wand on top of a brass dish that sat atop the strange contraption. There was a brief yellow glow and a thin strip of paper ejected out of the bottom of the device. The security guard took the paper and read it out loud.
"Holly, eleven inches, Phoenix-feather core, been in use two years," he said before glancing at Harry, "correct?"
"Yes," Harry answered with a nod.
The man placed the slip of paper on the table and handed Harry's wand back to him. He then repeated the procedure with Lupin's wand.
"Cypress, eleven and a half inches, Unicorn-hair core, been in use twenty-two years. Correct?"
Remus nodded affirmatively. The guard placed the slip of paper on the table and handed the professor's wand back to him.
"Proceed," he said to the three. He then returned to the back of the desk, sat down, and took up The Prophet again.
"Later, Eric," Tonks said.
The wizard nodded once at her without looking up from the paper. Harry and Remus then followed the Auror back into the crowd of queueing Ministry workers.
As they waited to pass through one of three iron bar gates, Harry glanced to his right and saw a doorway into a chamber behind the wall opposite the security desk. Several workers were entering and exiting this doorway and those coming out held various bags or boxes of who-knew-what. Peering briefly into the chamber, it appeared to be a food or gift shop of some kind as he saw a stand full of various candies as well as numerous sandwiches or pasties behind a glass enclosure. Behind these were what looked like shelves of supplies such as parchments and quills and even a stand of postcards. While he was joking with Hermione about bringing her back a souvenir from the Ministry, this shop suggested he might actually be able to do just that. If they had time after the interrogation, he'd try to visit it.
Finally, the three passed through the gates and now stood inside a smaller hall containing a bank of lifts, five on each side. The hall was thick with workers awaiting the next available lift, and out of a few lifts which arrived and opened (with quite a bit of clanking and rattling) several Ministry folks exited and headed for the Atrium. Tonks led Harry and Remus to the lift on the far-left end. Only a moment later, the compartment appeared, slowly descending to the hall floor behind a set of golden bars. Wizards or witches inside the lift appeared, some wearing robes, others suits or dresses. The compartment reached the floor with a clang, the bars retracted, and the crowd on the lift exited.
Tonks motioned to Harry and Remus to follow her quickly and they did so until the three stood at the back. A crowd of more Ministry workers followed until the compartment was as packed as a sardine can. The doors noisily closed shut and the lift began its ascent.
"Harry!" a familiar voice called out in the middle of the crowd inside the compartment.
Harry looked over to see a middle-aged man with a slightly-bald head of red hair staring back at him.
"Mr. Weasley!" he replied with a smile.
Arthur shoved his way through several people to get to Harry's position.
"Excuse me! Pardon me!" he uttered while receiving several glares.
"Ow!" a wizard rudely let out after the elder Weasley accidentally stepped on his foot.
"Sorry!" he replied apologetically.
He finally made it to the back and held out his hand to shake Harry's.
"What a surprise to see you here!" he let out with a lit-up face which quickly turned to one of puzzlement, "why aren't you in school?"
"Um...Professor Lupin and I have been called before the Wizengamot," he answered.
Mr. Weasley glanced wide-eyed at the wizard in the tweed suit next to Harry.
"Oh! Hello, Remus!" he said while shaking the professor's hand, "what a pleasant surprise!"
"Hello, Arthur. Good to see you again," Lupin replied.
"It's been an age since we last saw one another, wouldn't you say?"
"Indeed. It does seem so."
"Well, when I heard you were taking the Dark Arts post for Dumbledore, I must confess I felt relief. I'd trust my children's education in your hands any day."
Remus smiled.
"Thanks. I appreciate that."
Tonks, who had been eyeing the professor nearly the entire time, turned her attention to Weasley.
"Morning, Arthur," she uttered cheerfully.
The man looked at her in surprise as well.
"Morning, Tonks! I suppose you're taking our guests to Amelia?"
"Yes. I volunteered after discovering them wandering about the Atrium," she said tongue-in-cheek while smirking at Harry and Lupin. The two smiled back.
"Excellent!" Arthur replied with a smile at the three.
"And how are things going in the Misuse office?" the Auror asked him.
Arthur frowned.
"Another rash of confiscations in Derbyshire, I'm afraid. Several of our citizens have been magically powering those muggle grass contraptions to mow their lawns all by themselves, scaring their muggle neighbors, as you can imagine. We've been working with the Obliviator Squad to modify so many memories it's given us all a headache, not to mention handing out more fines than we'd care to admit."
Tonks chuckled.
Suddenly, a female voice that seemed to come from everywhere chimed out.
"Level Seven, Department of Magical Games and Sports, incorporating the British and Irish Quidditch League headquarters, Official Gobstones Club, and Ludicrous Patents Office."
The voice was cool and robotic as Harry stared up at the ceiling trying to determine where it was coming from. Level seven then appeared and the doors to the lift opened with another clang. A couple of workers exited. As the voice had mentioned the word "Quidditch", Harry's curiosity jumped into high gear.
He stood on his toes as high as possible, glancing over the heads and shoulders of the other riders to get a glimpse of this floor. But the only thing he could see was a corridor with faded or dangling posters on the walls of various Quidditch teams and a single wizard standing in the middle of the hall before a batch of broomsticks leaning against one wall. He held a clipboard in one hand and with a quill in the other was counting each of the brooms. But then the door closed, the lift rattled, and level seven disappeared.
"So, standing before the Wizengamot, eh?" Arthur asked the two cheerily. He then leaned toward Harry with a stern face.
"What did you do this time?" he asked pointedly.
Harry gulped.
"Um..." he started to reply.
"Just joking, my boy!" Mr. Weasley uttered with a grin, "no doubt you're here for a more benign reason. But it must be terribly important if they dragged you out of Hogwarts for it."
"We've been called as witnesses for the interrogation of Sirius Black...and Peter Pettigrew," Lupin informed him.
The elder Weasley's face registered astonishment and nearly all the wizards and witches in the compartment threw the professor an astonished look. Several of them recognized Harry, no doubt due to his scar. They began whispering to one another, causing the teenager a bit of nervousness. Weasley continued.
"My, my! Is that so?" he uttered, "well, I..."
"Level Six..." the female voice interrupted him, "...Department of Magical Transport, incorporating the Floo Network Authority, Broom Regulatory Control, Portkey Office, and Apparition Test Center."
The door opened and three more workers exited. But before Harry could get a glimpse of this floor, he was surprised when several violet-colored paper airplanes flew into the compartment and started flying in circles around the miniature candelabra on the ceiling. Seeing the mystified look on the teen, Arthur glanced up at the planes himself.
"Interdepartmental memos, Harry," he stated with smile, "an efficient means of communication inside the Ministry."
He then gave Harry a sour expression.
"Used to use owls back in the day, believe it or not. But the mess on people's desks, not to mention their heads inside the lifts, became unbearable."
The door closed and the lift resumed. Arthur continued.
"Well, then. Everyone in the Ministry is on pins and needles as to what will come of the interrogations. But luckily you two will get to see it firsthand."
"The three of us actually, Arthur," Tonks said, "Jimmy and Kingsley are requiring all trainees to attend as..."
"Level Five, Department of International Cooperation, incorporating the International Magical Trading Standards Body, the International Magical Office of Law, and the International Confederation of Wizards, British Seats."
The Auror-in-training clenched her fists with an angry look.
"Do they really need to tell us every single department on every single floor every single time?! It's getting on my nerves!" she muttered through gritted teeth.
The three chuckled.
"Well, it's mainly for visitors, Tonks, like Harry and the professor here," Arthur told her, "but don't worry. When you've worked for the Ministry as long as I have, you get so accustomed to it you don't even notice..."
"Level Four, Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, incorporating Beast, Being, and Spirit Divisions, Goblin Liaison Office, and Pest Advisory Bureau."
Tonks let out an angry grunt. Harry and Lupin exchanged amused looks.
When the door opened, three more workers exited and several of the planes shot out of the compartment, flying down a long, narrow corridor. Two more flew in and took their place. But then, a familiar face appeared inside.
"Morning, Arthur," Amos Diggory uttered to the redhead. He wore his blue suit and tie and bowler hat this time. When Harry saw him last, during Dumbledore's announcement the previous year that the Chamber of Secrets had been found and its monster vanquished, Mr. Diggory was wearing his black Trapper outfit.
"Morning, Amos! How are things in the department?" Mr. Weasley answered.
Diggory held a deep frown on his face.
"Found another dragon hidden in a wizard's backyard. A rather nasty Norwegian Ridgeback this time," he replied, "heading up to Law Enforcement now to get warrants to apprehend the beast and its master..."
Diggory then shot a surprised look at Harry.
"Harry Potter! What a pleasant surprise!" he let out while holding out his hand to the teen, "how are you doing these days? How's your schooling coming along? You haven't experienced any further aftereffects from your possession last year, have you?"
Harry was bewildered by all the questions, wondering where to start.
"Hello, Mr. Diggory. No, I'm fine, thanks. There haven't been any..."
"Level Three, Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes, including the Accidental Magical Reversal Squad, Obliviator Headquarters, and Muggle-Worthy Excuse Committee."
Tonks' hair turned black as coal as she threw Harry a perturbed look. The teen chuckled.
When the door opened, all the remaining passengers left, leaving Mr. Weasley, Mr. Diggory, Harry, Tonks, and Remus. But this would soon change.
"I nearly forgot, Amos!" Arthur piped up suddenly, "got a minute to talk? I need to speak with the head Obliviator before heading up to the office anyway. But I wanted to ask you something about last week's incident near Suffolk. Care to step off with me?"
"Um...sure, Arthur. I'm not in a dread hurry at the moment."
"Excellent!" Arthur replied before turning to the others.
"Good luck in the Wizengamot, Harry, Remus!" he said cheerfully, "later, Tonks!"
"Arthur," she replied with a nod. The others nodded as well.
Mr. Weasley and Mr. Diggory stepped off the lift and stopped just outside it.
"I understand your Trappers discovered an old muggle cannon hidden in the culprit's basement..." Arthur uttered excitedly to Amos.
This was the last thing the three heard from him before the doors closed and the lift resumed.
"So, professor. What year did you finish at Hogwarts?" Tonks asked Remus.
"Class of '78," Lupin replied, "and you?"
"'91," she said with a grin, "and what House were you in?"
"Gryffindor."
Tonks nodded.
"I was a Hufflepuff," she informed him.
He nodded and smiled.
Silence then came over everyone as they waited for the next floor. Harry noticed Tonks would occasionally glance at Remus, sometimes almost fawningly. Lupin noticing this at one point, looked at her and smiled back, amused by the Auror's attention.
"Level Two, Department of Magical Law Enforcement, including the Improper Use of Magic Office, Auror Headquarters, and Wizengamot Administration Services."
"Well, this is us," Tonks informed the pair.
She then glanced at them apprehensively.
"Brace yourselves."
Harry gave her a puzzled look, wondering what she meant.
The lift stopped, the door rattled open, and the remaining paper memos shot out of the compartment. But before he could exit with Tonks and the professor, Harry was bolted in place, bewildered at the commotion before him.