Attack on Diagon Alley!
Harry Potter saves us once again!
The Ministry punishes citizens for defending themselves!
Those were headlines on the special edition of The Daily Prophet that came the same evening to Potter Manor. Hermione was the first person to snatch the newspaper, and at her mom's request, she started reading aloud.
Attack on Diagon Alley!
This morning, at around 9 a.m., a group of masked Death Eaters invaded Diagon Alley. Motivations for the attack are unknown, but our journalists had come up with unofficial information that, besides spreading panic and terror, their main target was an office of law company owned by Lord Cyrus Greengrass, who was hired to become legal counsel for Boy Who Lived. They knew that their alliance would pose a threat to their illegal organization, so they wanted to intimidate Lord Greengrass to break that cooperation. Besides his company, attackers had demolished a few nearby shops and injured five people; all of them were transported to St. Mungos. Thankfully, the injuries were not fatal, and they are expected to make a full recovery. The identity of the attackers is, at the moment, unknown, and we are awaiting an official statement from the Ministry of Magic.
Noah Wood
"I am surprised that no one in the Ministry has decided to make a comment about the attack." Said Daniel
"They knew that reporters would bother them about Penny, so they decided to avoid them altogether," Harry explained and nodded to Hermione so she could continue.
Harry Potter saves us again!
Due to a lack of official information from the Ministry of Magic, the Daily Prophet decided to conduct our investigation into today's attacks. After talking with witnesses, we managed to find out that Harry Potter (age 17) had single-handedly managed to defeat most of the attackers, and he was the sole reason for today's attack failure. It is said that he was in Lord Greengrass's office when the attacks started. Our eyewitness told us the story of how he managed to win against such unfavourable odds.
"I have seen the situation from the window of my flat," said Doris Dixon (age 53). "He came from the Greengrass office and checked the situation in the alley. He stayed hidden, waiting for the attackers to split so he could take care of them one by one and stay unnoticed. When there were only two of them left, he showed himself, stunned the third one using their surprise, and managed to easily win the duel with the last one. I don't know who the Death Eater was, but this duel looked like a fight between a grown-up wizard and an 11-year-old kid who got a wand in his hand for the first time." Doris had told our reporter. Shortly after this fight, aurors arrived in Diagon Alley and took control of the situation.
Once more, Harry Potter had saved the lives of innocent people, and we in the Daily Prophet are asking, why was he forced to do that again? For how long will we need to live in fear of the next Death Eater's attack?
"We should thank fate for giving our country people like Harry Potter. Our society owes him a big debt, and the Ministry, as our voice, should find some way to thank him for his heroism.
Rita Skeeter
"Rita Skeeter wrote only facts and praised me in her article. Someone, please pinch me." Harry commented but got shushed by Dora, who wanted to know more.
The Ministry punishes citizens for defending themselves!
During our investigation, our reporter found out that one of our innocent citizens, Miss Penelope Clearwater (age 22), was arrested by the authorities after the attack. She was doing some shopping during the attack, and when Death Eaters arrived, she took her wand and defended a group of mothers with children who were hiding in the same store she was in. She managed to win her duel, but due to an unfortunate landing, one of the attackers lost his life. Because of that, she is charged right now with the murder of another wizard and is in the custody of the authorities. Her arrest had caused outrage among the witnesses; the most prominent among them was Harry Potter. Miss Clearwater is a longtime friend of his, and when our saviour found out about her being detained, he immediately stood up in her defence. He turned for help to the Minister of Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt, for an intervention, as he is the person who could stop the investigation or grant parole to the woman. Witnesses had told us that the minister stood there quietly, allowing the proceedings to go forward. We don't know at what stage the investigation is now, but we got information that she will be represented by Oscar Greengrass, a renowned criminal attorney and the privately owned brother of Lord Cyrus Greengrass. While the Ministry had refused to give any comment on that situation, Harry Potter had no problem talking with the reporter.
"I have severe dissatisfaction with the ministry. Every citizen is entitled to self-defence, and this right should not be curtailed. I find it saddening that we continue to maintain Voldemort's disgraceful laws even after he is dead. I think it's apparent that rules protecting only purebloods will soon be overturned; therefore, we shouldn't use the same blatantly discriminatory regulations to penalize Miss Clearwater. I'm hoping Minister Shacklebolt will recognize that and act appropriately."
We also appeal to the Minister to stop the investigation against Miss Clearwater. In the past, Ministers of Magic were not afraid to use their right to grant pardon for crimes, and many times, the offenders did not deserve to be freed. A prominent example of that is Lucius Malfoy, who avoided prison for many years due to his friendship with ex-Minister Fudge. So granting freedom to Miss Clearwater is the only morally right decision. We cannot deny citizens their right to defend themselves. Especially in a situation where women and children are involved.
Barnabas Cuffe
"I've had enough; Penelope shouldn't have been arrested," exclaimed Hermione.
"True. Fortunately, she won't be there for long, and her arrest will backfire on the Ministry," replied Harry.
"Why do you think that?" asked Emma.
"Having the Daily Prophet on your side is already half of the battle won. Add a well-liked person there, and the Ministry will have no choice but to give in. And there is no one more liked than Harry at this moment," explained Andromeda.
"I hope you're right," replied the older Granger woman.
"What will happen to her if the Minister doesn't do something?" asked Daniel.
"Then she will be tried by the Wizengamot. And, honestly, you can't predict what verdict they will give. So we need to do everything we can to make Kingsley pardon her," replied Harry.
For the rest of the evening, the mood was sombre. Even though only Hermione and Harry knew Penny directly, everyone was concerned about her. They all hoped that Harry was right and that she would be freed the next day. However, they all knew in their hearts that things weren't quite that simple. They tried to stay positive for Penny's sake, but the uncertainty weighed on them.
The next morning, Harry woke up early, intending to do some work. He knew that he could be called to the Ministry at any time. But before he could start, Mimsy informed him that Cyrus was waiting to talk to him and was waiting in the Floo.
"What's going on, Cyrus?" Harry asked, still half-asleep.
"I have more information about Penelope."
"Go on."
"They will interrogate her today, and she will stay there for sure one more night. Luckily for them, she is being treated well. My brother will be with her for the whole day, and I will spend my day talking to members of the Wizengamot to put more pressure on the Minister."
"Sounds good to me. Let me know if anything changes."
"Of course," replied the older man before disappearing. Harry went back to his bedroom to get dressed as he was still in his pyjamas. After breakfast, he left the Manor. Even though he had planned to work from home, Cyrus's visit gave him peace of mind that Penny was being taken care of. With Cyrus talking with the Wizengamot, Harry would be free to go outside. His destination was Elliot Thomas's office. It took him about half an hour to get there, and after speaking with the secretary, he was invited to Thomas's office.
"Good morning, Mr. Thomas."
"Mr. Potter, good to see you. What brings you here?" the older man asked.
"I'm here to tell you not to invest this month's interest."
"Interesting. Are you in need of money?" his broker asked.
"I plan to invest in the real estate market, so I need some cash to make purchases," Harry explained.
"Not a bad idea. It's good to have a diversified portfolio of profits."
"Exactly my thoughts. So on the first of the month, please pay taxes and your fee. The rest of the money should go into a separate account."
"Of course, Mr. Potter."
"Also, please continue to work as usual. There's no need to make any changes if everything is working so well," Harry gave his last order to his broker. They spoke for a few more minutes, and then Harry left to go back to his office.
He was contemplating his last idea and realized he needed help with his job as he was struggling to keep it all together. He identified two crucial qualities that his workers should have - trustworthiness and intelligence. However, there were not many people that he could honestly say he trusted. Hence, intelligence became the most important quality he was looking for in a potential candidate.
With this in mind, his list of potential candidates was short. He decided not to waste any time and talked to them. He gave them the offer, but the final decision was theirs to make. Fortunately, three of the candidates he had in mind were already in his home. He left his office and decided to approach Daniel Granger first. He found him reading a book in the garden.
"Daniel, can I have a word with you?" Harry asked him.
"Of course Harry, what do you need?" Daniel replied.
"Can we take it to my office?"
"Sure, lead the way."
After a brief moment, they were in Harry's office where Harry started talking.
"Have you decided on your future career?" he asked the older man.
"Not yet. Why are you asking?"
"Because I would like to offer you a job."
Daniel was surprised. He had not expected to have that kind of conversation that day.
"What kind of a job?"
"Your potential position could be split into two parts. Firstly, you will be my right-hand person in the muggle world. As you know, I have a lot of money in the stock market, and I soon will invest in real estate. I will need someone to keep a close eye on everything there. Secondly, you would coordinate muggle-borns. Part of my plan is to help them find a job and a place to live. You will be the person they come to when they decide to ask for help."
"I have no qualifications in that matter. Why do you want me to do that job?" asked curious Daniel.
"No one has that kind of qualification. The reason I want you is simple. I've decided that my closest coworkers need to have two qualities: intelligence and trust. You may not have all the abilities needed, but I know you can learn them in no time. Secondly, I trust you. Although we haven't known each other long, in the days you have been here, I have gained a lot of respect and trust for you. Lastly, Miss Hermione Granger gave you a stellar reference. For the last seven years, I have heard more about you than you can imagine. There is nothing that can top that recommendation."
"Well, I see that you have thought about it. How long do I have to give you an answer?"
"You have a few days. I need to hire someone soon, so I can't give you too much time."
"Of course. I will talk about it with Emma and let you know."
"That sounds great to me." They both stood up, shook hands, and Daniel left Harry's office. Harry was content with how the conversation went and decided to keep going. He went to find Ted and Andromeda. He found them when they came back from their walk around the property. He invited them to his office so they could talk there.
"So, Harry, what is going on?" asked Ted.
"I invited you here because I would like to offer you a job," Harry replied bluntly.
Ted was surprised to hear that offer, but Andromeda showed her pureblood upbringing. She sat up straighter and her face went into full business mode.
"And what positions would you like to offer us?" she asked.
"For Ted, I would like to offer him the position of my property manager. As you know, I have a few dozen holiday properties. They all need to be renovated and prepared to work again. I need someone to manage the renovations and then be responsible for maintenance, keeping up with repairs, renting the houses, and assigning tasks for house elves."
"And what job do you have for me?" asked Andromeda again.
"I would like you to lead the orphanage project. Your main tasks will be hiring staff, preparing the property, and creating a good opinion of the foundation."
"Why us?"
"Because I trust you, and I know you can do a fabulous job. Ted's experience as a hotel manager tells me that he will be able to do this work. As for you, Andromeda, I know that there is no one else who could lead the project better than you. I know that you hate pure-blood ideology, but you are still proud of being born black, and you also know how to play their games. In the long term, I want the foundation to live from donations from people, and I know that ladies are responsible for that. I do not doubt that you can get us a lot of support from there."
Ted and Andromeda seemed to have a wordless conversation between them for a moment until Andromeda spoke up.
"We are interested in your offer, but we want to talk about it in private. We will give you the answer in a few days."
"Fabulous," Harry replied, and they ended it on that note. They all left his office and spent the rest of the day preparing for tomorrow's ceremony.