Back again?
27 August
On this day, the Dursleys decided to go back to the zoo again. Apparently, Dudley was so fascinated by the animals there that he wanted to see them again. The days since his birthday trip were all spent on talking about the elephant's majestic, beautiful trunk and monkeys' agile movement. So engrossed he was, that he unexpectedly toned down his beating of Harry, a fact that Harry was quite glad of. His suffering had dipped quite a lot and coupled with the knowledge that he was magical, made these two months certainly the best of his entire life, and could get even better once he got to Hogwarts and learned real magic! Harry, hearing that they were about to go back to the zoo again for a second zoo, was in seventh heaven. It felt like the icing on top of the cake. It would not only provide him with another brief respite from his miserable suffering at the Dursleys, but also give him the opportunity to see Diagon Alley again, experiencing the wondrous sense of magic lingering in the air. He additionally hoped that he would be able to meet Uncle Florean again, and learn more about the wizarding world. He was disappointed that he did not know magical history from 1945 to now, and was determined to learn it at all cost, especially since he might be able to attend Hogwarts to learn magic, in doing so, entering the magical world. On that day, he took out all his savings, 40 pounds, and put it in his pockets. It was best not to let the Dursleys know that he was able to save up even a pound! Occasionally during breakfast, he instinctively pushed his hands into his pockets, trying to ensure that the money was secure there. It would definitely do some good for him to buy more books on the wizarding world, especially history books from 1945 to now. This would give him the feel of what was about to come and how he should handle it. He was determined to do his best to fit into the magical world, so that he would not have to put up with the Dursleys ever again.
As the Dursleys left the house, with Harry following them like the previous time, Uncle Vernon gave him 10 pounds for lunch and dinner and warned him in the strictest tone possible that he was not to cause any trouble, and that if he did, he would not like the punishment. Harry swallowed down the saliva in his mouth and meekly agreed. Uncle Vernon really did have the magic of scaring people into obeying him unconditionally. However, Harry was not going to listen. How could he let Uncle Vernon threats stop him?
"Boy! Don't play that look on me!" Uncle Vernon screamed. It seemed that Harry had to resist his facial expressions a little more next time. He wondered how Uncle Vernon could see through his disguise. It would after all do no good for him to let Uncle Vernon catch a scent of what he was doing. Uncle Vernon had always thought about beating the freakishness out of him and Harry was sure that the freakishness referred to his magical ability. He always wondered where Uncle Vernon learned his freakishness from. Uncle Vernon was always tormenting and beating him from day one because of it. So, he must have known that Harry's real parents were magicals? That seemed the only true bet that Harry could give. Then, that would mean that he was just not a muggle-born? Maybe he was a haf-blood or pure-blood wizard? Harry knew that he would never know the answer. The unspoken understanding between Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia not to ever mention Harry's surname caused Harry unriddled curiosity. He really wondered his true heritage and was determined to find it out on that day.
Uncle Vernon, seeing Harry's thoughts waver, gruffed out loud. "I repeat loud and clear. If you caused any trouble, I will give you unprecedented punishment. It will be the worst you ever had, the worst you can possibly imagine, and the worst that would make you cry out loud for more than 2 days in a row!" Uncle Vernon warned the last time, before accompanying Aunt Petunia and Dudley into the zoo. As he entered, he shot a death glare at Harry, as if warning him not to do the something he knew. Harry wondered in fright if his Uncle caught wind of his knowledge about the wizarding world. He knew that his Uncle had never entered his bedroom, the cupboard under the stairs, but could he have sneaked in when Harry was gardening? Harry's mind slipped further and further into panic mode, but he was determined to find out more about the magical world. Seeing that Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia and Dudley were finally gone, Harry tried to find the pub, which stored the muggle entrance way into Diagon Alley. Immediately, he spotted the iconic blue building, and walked slowly towards it, not wanting to arouse suspicion of what he was about to do. This was despite the excitement in his mind, fervour in his heart and the tingling sensation of familiarity in his soul. Taking a step into it, he tried to find the magical opening door. Seeing it, he walked over, knocked three times, and a whole new world opened up for him, once again.
As he walked through into the streets of Diagon Alley, the precious rush of magic shivered his bones, as he was left awestruck at the strength of the magical power, and its specialness compared to the mundane muggle world. Every time he moved, a sense of magical power washed over him, constantly reminding him of how special he was. To him, the magical world was so beautiful and enjoyable, one to behold, one to enjoy. As he walked down the street to the ice-cream parlour owned by a nice old man named Florean Fortescue, wanting to know more about the magical world and its recent history, he awed at the several shops he walked past. The first time he was in Diagon Alley, he did not really take into detail much of the shops' appearances and their products as he was afraid of being in an unknown area and wanted to find an escape path, but now, he could enjoy the view of the shops and their products. As he walked past, he saw several brooms moving around at a shop's display window, advertising the speed of the brooms. Harry thought that the multi-sized and shaped brooms were used to play Quidditch, and desperately wanted to try riding one. The imagination of him soaring in the air and flying around made him extremely excited, with the sense of liberation such an appealing one. It was quite sad that his first try would most likely be when he was 11 years old, when he finally joined Hogwarts.
Soon, he reached the ice-cream parlour and saw Florean Fortescue inside, taking a rest. Harry wondered, will I be allowed to ask questions from Florean Fortescue about the magical world? What if he was fed up with me and just chased me away? In his life, Harry had never met a person who did things for people without asking for profit. These people in Britain were so obsessed with wealth that they viewed helping people for nothing as "charitable work" that was beneath them. Harry's uncle was exactly the same, always going on and on about raising the price of the cars and methods to cheat young and ignorant people into buying cars for a higher price, thus giving him a higher commission. In Uncle Vernon's mindset, it seemed that Uncle Vernon's view and method of doing business was accepted and praised by his boss Mr Grunning who owned the company, as seen by his numerous promotions to becoming the "Head Manager of Sales." Harry found their explosion of the weak and vulnerable as shameful and disgusting behaviour. He wondered how they could go to Church and talk about being good and honourable people with their daily life behaviour. They were the totally opposite of honourable people. Harry was afraid that Florean Fortescue would be such a person, in spite of his previous joyous behaviour the previous time they met.
Harry's musings were stopped when Florean Fortescue walked straight to him. Florean Fortescue had seen Harry outside his shop and wanted to see how Harry was. Seeing Harry's apprehensive behaviour, Florean Fortescue thought that Harry was afraid that he would deny Harry help and thus decided to walk up to Harry. He found it a pleasure to introduce people to the magical world, and chuckled at seeing Harry's behaviour. He also privately wondered about the cause for Harry's weird behaviour. Usually, muggle-born wizards and witches would bombard him with questions without a care for proper etiquette. Their curiosity had driven them to find out more about the wizarding world, and he was afraid that their behaviour would leave a bad first impression on other wizards and witches, especially pure-blood ones, and thus cause them problems during their study at Hogwarts and finding a job. The dark wizards and witches would find the muggle-borns' behaviour disgusting and beneath social norms, and the extreme ones would view them as "filth" and cast derogatory terms like "mud-blood" at them. They would use their "improper behaviour" as evidence of magical pure-blood supremacy and the importance of not allowing muggle-born wizards and witches into the magical world, least of all let them even know that they were magical and that the magical world really existed.
Harry was shocked to say the least when Florean Fortescue walked up to him, asking how he was. His heart almost stopped beating as he could not help but feel amazed at Florean Fortescue's friendly reaction to him. Harry thought that Florean Fortescue would just ignore him or ask him to go away if he asked Florean Fortescue for more knowledge about the magical world. Based on the books that he had read, many magical people were adverse to muggle-born wizards and witches and discriminated against them. Maybe Florean Fortescue was not such a person? Harry wondered excitedly. He could not wait to see how much more information he could get out from Florean Fortescue about the magical world! Maybe there would finally be someone who understood him? Someone who he could count as a friend? But usually pessimistic Harry was unwilling to get carried away. He knew how fast people's views could change.
Putting on the friendliest smile he could, Harry asked, "Good morning sir, today I came back to learn more about magical history. I have read through the books you have given me and found it an enjoyable read. However, I found out that the history of the magical world book only documented events until 1945. Is there any way that I could find out the history of the magical world from 1945 to now? I am very interested in the events that happened in the magical world from 1945 to now and how people's views have changed, along with the advancements in magical society."
Hearing that, Florean Fortescue put on a puzzled look," Didn't I also give you a book about magical history from 1935 to 1983?"
Harry replied," No sir, the only books I got were "The history of the magical world, from 600BC to 1945BC by Lucifer Waterfall, "The Wizengamot, voting patterns and alliances from 1788BC to 1987BC" by Thorton Gramp and "Basic spells to learn before Hogwarts" by Horton Gamp.
"Oh, dear me. How could I forget to give you that book?" Florean Fortescue laughed at his own carelessness. "I guess old age is catching up on me."
"Sir, how old are you?" Harry asked curiously. He also wondered what was the life expectancy in the magical world.
"Oh, I am 67 years old. And the average age for a wizard is 115 years old and the average age of a witch is 118 years old." Florean Fortescue laughed as he answered Harry's question.
"Oh, if you live to 115 years old, then your age now is not considered old." Harry inquired.
"Oh, yes. But people react differently as they grow older. Some like Albus Dumbledore, now 110 years old, get better as they age. They don't feel the adverse effects of ageing as much as an ice-cream parlour owner like me. I guess they have some special ways to keep themselves powerful and fit. Examples include rituals. However, Dumbledore does not strike me as someone who will deliberately use them. Unlike some who might resort to arcane rituals or dark magics in pursuit of eternal youth, Dumbledore eschews such endeavours, preferring instead to embrace the ebb and flow of life's currents. He has also frequently advocated for the banning of such rituals, viewing it as illegal and acting against magic's power. Afterall, he has always talked about death as being the "next great adventure" and how futile it is to escape from "death." He has always welcomed it, unlike the majority of the magical population, not just in magical Britain, but also in all the magical communities all over the world. As for me, I don't use magic much, thus my body age just like a normal magical person. Using magic often can keep one fit and active and is commonly acknowledged as one of the pivotal ways to stay alive longer. Without the constant infusion of magic to sustain and invigorate one's body, they would find themselves subjected to the same ageing process as any other magical being.
"Oh, that's interesting. But why don't you use magic frequently, sir? Don't you want to live longer?" Harry asked, wanting to find out why Florence Fortescue was not taking steps that he saw were easy and simple to take. Afterall, everyone had a wand and saying some spells everyday seems like a really easy thing to do to prolong death.
"Oh, doing magic is not a simple thing to do. For instance, as one ages, their magical power decreases. One's magical skill is ranked upon 100. Ordinary wizards and witches rank at around 30-45. I feel that my magical power ranks about 45. It takes little effort to say a spell, but it takes a lot of effort, strength, magical power, precision to successfully cast a spell, and ensure that it completes what it is supposed to do." Florence Fortescue explained, meanwhile shaking his head at his low level of magical power. "Additionally, powerful wizards such as Dumbledore and You know who(whispered) and Grindelwand have a magical power at about 65-75. It is believed that less than 1% of the world's population have reached such magical power in their whole lifetime. Their magical power usually rises at about 30 years old and descends at about 65 years old."
"Oh, thank you for explaining this concept to me sir. But can I ask who is this You know who? This person seems quite terrifying from your method of pronunciation. However, I have not read his name in the books you have given me." Harry inquired, wondering why Florence Foretscue was so scared of this mysterious person. He was determined to uncover this person's history and wondered what was this person's real name.
"Oh, You know who (spoke with apprehension in a low whisper) is the most powerful Dark Lord in Britain's history. He terrorised the Magical population from 1975 to 1981. If not for Dumbledore, he would have all of us killed in a year and taken over the government. He is feared by all of us due to the countless deaths he has caused, the damage his Death Eaters created, and the genuine terror he has successfully instilled in all of us. Thankfully, he was defeated on 31 July 1981 by a 1 year old boy named Harry Potter! I am so glad Harry Potter defeated him, if not I am certain that I would be dead years ago," Florence Fortescue chuckled nervously and kept looking around with an afraid look, as if he was anticipating an attack any time. "Oh, yes. How could I have forgotten? Both of you share the same name. Such a wonderful coincidence. And both of you would be going to Hogwarts in the same year, 1991. Maybe, you both would be in the same house. That would certainly be such a lucky coincidence."
"Oh, that's terrifying. But why do people not speak his name? Afterall, it seems that you all have no fear in saying Grindelwald, which is his real name. Why do you all also go through such trouble to say his name as You know Who?" Harry asked, wondering whether this You know Who was more terrifying than Grindelwald.
"We never speak the name he calls himself. But I can write it down for you." Florence Fortescue took out a weird "pen" and "paper", before writing the name. His hands shook vigorously as he mentally considered whether to write or not. His hands vigored as he tried to keep the paper visible only to Harry. As he wrote, he closed his eyes, not wanting to see the name. After 1 minute, Harry saw the name " Lord Voldemort."
"Lord Voldemort?" Harry asked, as he said the name that was written on the "paper." "Why does he call himself a lord?" Harry inquired, determined to find out more about the super dangerous man who instilled fear in the whole wizarding Britain population.
"Shhh. Don't speak his name!" Florence Fortescue cautioned Harry. "Additionally, I don't know why he calls himself a lord so don't ask me." Florence Fortescue looked extremely agitated as he answered Harry's questions.
Florence Fortescue continued on, " His campaign of terror's damage is still prevalent in today's world. Countless people have died for no reason and thousands of properties and streets were destroyed. The ministry of Magic was in a mess and could have fallen in 1981. For me, I lost my Mother and Father in a Death Eater attack in 1979. Death Eaters are people under You Know Who's control and they are considered the best Dark wizards and witches in Magical Britain, personally trained by You know Who. These Death Eaters personally attacked our house with ferocious speed. My Mother and Father were sleeping and elderly, they would never have stood any chance," Florence Foretscue explained as he weeped, clearly distraught over their death. "They were my only living relatives. They were so kind to me, and brought me up so well… , luckily I was away in Diagon Alley when the attack took place." Florence Fortescue choked back on his tears, which were flowing down his face like a river. Harry was shocked to say the least, as he never saw anyone lose control of himself and cry freely. From this, Harry knew that his parents' death had hurt him greatly. Clearly, the pain and memories of losing a loved one was too deep for him. Harry wondered if he would have cried like that when his parents were killed. However, he did not really know his parents well and thus could not decide.
Florence Foretscue continued on, "You-Know-Who and his followers sent the Dark Mark into the air whenever they killed. The Dark Mark was a colossal skull, composed of emerald stars, with a serpent protruding from its mouth like a tongue. The terror it inspired... you have no idea, you're too young. Just picture coming home and finding the Dark Mark hovering over your house, and knowing what you're about to find inside... Everyone's worst fear... the very worst. It could only mean one thing-the occupants were killed and none survived. Nothing was more terrifying than to see it in all its glory." As Florence Foretscue explained, he shivered uncontrollably, as if it had just brought back horrible nightmares from the past, unable to be written off, only stored away, yet would always come back to haunt him. "That was what I found when I came back." Florence Foretscue emphasised. "The worst nightmare had just become reality." As he talked, his eyes turned red and puffy. He looked down at the floor for a moment, wondering what would be now if his parents were not killed.
Harry, realising how much Florence Foretscue's parents death had hurt him, both physically and mentally, sought to comfort him, "Sir, I … I am truly very sorry for your loss. Is there anything I could do to help?"
"Oh no, I am not the only one. The whole wizarding population has been mourning for years. Families such as the Prewetts and Bones have lost countless family members. There is truly nothing you can do, I'm afraid. What we can only do now is to build back stronger, and ensure that he does not ever rise again." Florence Forestcue said.
"Oh. But what are his powers? And what was his popularity?" Harry was extremely excited to find out more about great wizards and witches. He was very curious over how they got so powerful.
"He is one of the most extraordinarily powerful wizards magical Britain had ever seen. He knew a lot of spells, created even more and used them to deathly effects. Some of his inventions include creating Inferius, a monster created by making the dead reborn. They are corpses, dead bodies that have been bewitched to do a Dark wizard's bidding. He killed many wizards and witches, and even more muggles to achieve this goal. It is suggested that Inferius were his private army, and that they were able to hunt down, and kill people as efficiently, due to them supposedly having his own magical power. I am not sure about the validity of this as the Inferius has thus far never been seen before, but stories fly fast and due to the mysterious disappearance of some people, as well as the twisted and deeply unique way they were found, I believe it may be true. Luckily, no Inferius has been spotted since you know who's disappearance and no more mysterious deaths were found, and I hope that it will remain this way. But the connectedness of these mysterious deaths, said not to be caused by any human touch or spell, something that have not been seen for thousands of years, make it more and more likely that the Inferius rumours were actually true. Despite all the help he had received due to his brilliant and destructive innovations, thankfully, not all of magical Britain died. It makes me wonder why he had not just released all these Inferius into the streets, into the magical world to just kill all of his opponents, but some people believe that the Inferius could not actually see or think. Thus, they could not differentiate who to kill, and one wrong move, maybe could have killed many of his followers. Even more worrisome is the fact that the Inferius could actually kill the Minister of Magic, sparking global outcry in the world, where the ICW would gather a bunch of wizards to take you know who dow. Even more troublesome would be the foreign support for Britain, and at that time, most countries were mostly neutral or light, they may just boycott magical Britain if you know who ever rose to power, threatening to destroy you know who's period of governance before it even began.
Additionally, he came up with a spell, enabling him to track down anyone who says his name, (pointing to the piece of parchment which wrote "Voldemort") at extraordinary speeds. It is reckoned that once someone spoke his name, that they would just have a 25% chance of surviving until the next day. I know it doesn't seem quite bad. 25% will of course not be such a big deal to you. That's becomes you know who's favourite method of dealing with people is not death, but something even more ever-lasting, something even more haunting, something even more terrifying that makes people beg for death. That is the power of the Cruciatus Curse, the torture curse, one of the most dangerous curse ever invented. (Florence Foretscue said as he gasped.) It is one of the most dangerous curse ever, and its after-effects is legendary. It managed to torture the Alice and Frank Longbottom into insanity, last I heard is that there are in the Incurable Sickly Diseases ward in , the magical Britain's only hospital.
He may not have conquered magical Britain, but he had a super large following with also incredibly powerful wizards and witches, some 0f which he had personally trained, giving them his powers, and making them more deathly. It is estimated that 40% to even 60% of the magical population in Britain supported him in some capacity, from those who accept him and his proposals, to those who are willing to convince people to like him, to those who absolutely fawn over him, so much that they would put their family and lives at stake to fight for him or support him, no matter how harsh the consequences they may have to face. The broad based support from people of low significance to you know who, those who had limited political power, social standing, money or fighting power were known as the Liberators. They conducted spy campaigns, caused trouble in all parts of magical Britain, diverting the Ministry's attention away from the more dangerous wizards and witches to them, and selling false and dangerous products to others as ordinary people. These products and devices were known to contain spy cameras, aiding you know who in his search for his opponents. However, the more dangerous people, those who were of more importance to you know who were called the Death Eaters. It is speculated that the exact number of this "inner circle" ranged from 10 to 100, and although some members have since been known, it is widely believed that there are still a lot more in hiding. The inner circle consisted of you know who's advisers, those who were great at political work in the Wizengamot, to those who were conducting the Liberators, to those who were his best fighting wizards and witches. It is unknown what they were doing back then, must it must have been matters of importance that even you know who, known for his impatience, needed to know and understand, making those in this Inner Circle very important in his war efforts. Many of those who supported you know who wished deeply to be in this Inner Circle. They saw it as a privilege, an opportunity to prove their worth to you know who. Many would actually risk their life to be in this Inner Circle, so much that they conducted risky campaigns to kill high ranking opponents, despite having only 5% chance of succeeding, as they knew that if that had succeeded in killing and even managed to evade detection and returned safely to proclaim his victory, he or she may just be granted an audience with you know who, something only those in the Inner Circle have the privilege of attending, then they may just be accepted into the Inner Circle. To prove my point, during the month of March in 1981, no fewer than 34 people were caught trying to kill a wizard called Dedalus Diggle, an aged wizard, but a good friend of Albus Dumbledore, and supposedly in Dumbledore's own Inner Circle. No one knows whether Dumbledore even had one, but it seems that he did. The intruders were all weak in magical power, and just a single spell from the defence and detection system Diggle installed to prevent attempts on his life were enough to either restrain, immobilise or kill the intruders. Successive questioning of those still alive revealed that they wanted to kill Diggle to prove that they were competent in fighting, with the ultimate motive of being entered into the Inner Circle. This was how the Inner Circle, and the name they had kept in secret for so long, the "Death Eaters" was finally leaked to the public. The Death Eaters capable of fighting were brutal, powerful and killed and tortured countless people, instilling fear into many magical people. Their symbol was the Dark's Mark, which they wore proudly on their arm. Several known Death Eaters were Rodolphus Lestrange, Rabastan Lestrange, Bellatrix Lestrange, Dolohov and Sirius Black. These were some of the more dangerous death eaters we have ever known, famous not only in magical Britain, but also all around the world. The three Lestranges were known for their fury in battle, and their unparalleled dedication towards you know who, despite them potentially going to live in Azkaban for life. Their looks are already able to send one into a panic-attack, imagine what one will feel like meeting them real-life? Their torture techniques are legendary, one can find themselves not dead, yet physically and more importantly psychologically scarred for life. As for Azkaban, it is widely recognized worldwide as the most scary and horrendous prison in the world, situated offshore Britain. It was guarded by Dementors, a creature which sucked the happiness of one's soul and left it empty, making one bitter and unhappy. It is said that the feeling of going near a Dementor is one where someone feels like they may never be happy again. It is widely believed that after a week or two of constant exposure to Demoemtors, one would slowly lose his or her sanity, and eventually, they will be so lifeless, somewhat as if dead, if the effects of the Dementors were strong. No one wants to go near Dementors, no one wants to see the Dementors, no one even wants to imagine the Dementors. Even more feared was their infamous "Dementor's kiss", which sucks the soul out of one's body. It is even worse than death. The person is still not dead, but can do absolutely nothing, and nothing can even bring the person back to its original state." Florean Foretsue explained.
"Oh, then what was you know who's main aim? What did he want to do?" Harry asked
You know who's main aim was to eradicate Magical Britain of all muggle-borns, restore pure-blood supremacy, and conquer the non-magical community of non-magical Britain to eradicate them, leaving only magicals in Britain. These Death Eaters helped him greatly in this quest. They hunted down most of the muggle-borns, causing the muggle-born population to decrease by almost 50% in 4 years. Also, he tried to push through a lot of policies, rules and relegations through the Wizengamot, to take away muggle-borns rights and prevent them entry into the magical world. Luckily, he did not have the votes needed to pass through these measures. Of course he was not at the Wizengamot itself, but he utilised Lucius Malfoy, to propose these measures. The Malfoys are one of the most politically experienced families, and how they vote can really impact how other families vote. They had a lot, a lot of votes, as many other Death Eater families gave him their votes as proxies." Florean Fortescue explained.
"That's interesting, what happened to him?" Harry asked, and he guessed that Lucius Mlafoy must have went to Azbakan, but then according to the book "The Wizengamot, voting patterns and alliances from 1788BC to 1987BC" by Thorton Gramp, it seemed that Lucius Malfoy was still free, and active in politics.
"Well, Lucius Malfoy was captured when You know who disappeared. However, he claimed that he was under the Imperius Curse, a spell that You Know Who supposedly twisted around to control people's minds. This Curse was originally non-harmful, and used to take control of one's mind to prevent them from doing reckless things. It was only permitted to be used in hospitals. But then, in a fit of genius, You know who used the spell instead to control a lot of people's minds, so that they can carry out missions for him, even though they were unwilling. For instance, he used to imperise many wizards and witches on Dumbledore's side to spy for him. This spell lets the person carry out normal things, but can make the person do what You know who wants him or her to do. For instance, the person can go for a meeting with Dumbledore, discuss plans, and then You know who can just summon the person to him, and make the person spill out everything and anything that was discussed with Dumbledore. It is hard to find out if a person is under the Imperius Curse, as the symptoms are not really clear. Lucius Malfoy and other Death Eaters used this to their advantage. As the effects of the Imperius Curse is not well known, and that previously only 1 or 2 people, nurses in the hospital learnt really how to use the curse, it is nearly impossible to differentiate whether Lucius Malfoy and the other Death Eaters really were under the Imperius Curse, whether they were lying about it, or just making a desperate story up. This ambiguity allowed them to escape from being imprisoned. More so, Lucius Malfoy has the money available to bribe Ministry officers to let him go. Corruption is quite prevalent in the magical world, especially as some unimportant Ministry officials are paid a pittance. With the money Malfoy gave them, they could live a lavish life almost 3 times over. So, even if Lucius Malfoy was found to be not under the Imperius Curse, some officials may just let him free and ignore the results if the money they are given is sufficient. The Malfoy family is one of the richest families in Britain right now, and with the combined Black fortune that Lucius malfoy can access once Lucius malfoy's son is 13 years old, I think they may be the richest ever.
"But, doesn't Lucius Malfoy need to bribe a lot of Ministry officials to ignore the result? I heard that there are about 200 Ministry officials." Harry asked, wondering how one person can bribe 2000 people to ignore the truth.
"Oh, the truth is that Lucius Malfoy does not really need to worry about money, due to You know who's operations, Lucius malfoy must have earned decent money from it. Also, as he would soon have the Black fortune, which is the largest in Britain, he does not need to worry about the Malfoy's family fortune running out. Also, Lucius Malfoy has a very profitable business, of which he could earn a lot of money from." Florean Fortescue explained.
"Thanks sir for explaining all these to me. Can I know if you think that Lucius Malfoy and all the other Death Eaters were really imperiused or is it a method to escape a sentence in Azkaban?" Harry asked, determined to understand the thoughts of Florean Fortescue.
"Well, I guessed that they were just putting on a show. These people were really strong wizards, and given how they so thoroughly executed the plans of You know who, it must have taken You know who a lot of power to maintain control over so many of these wizards or witches. If they were successfully imperisued, they would definitely have found a way to escape from the Imperius Curse, making their story unbelievable. Additionally, it is nearly impossible to maintain control of some many wizards and witches for such a long period of time. Unless You know who actually managed to maintain control over them for so long without anyone noticing, then I am certain that they were actually not even imperisued. Lastly, I am doubtful on how they managed to know that they were imperisued. I am sure that You know who would have tried all methods to make these Death eaters think that they were acting as their normal self. I don't believe that they could have uncovered the "truth" so easily. You know who must have put in a contingency plan to prevent them from leaking what he is potentially doing to them. So, I guess that they were just lying about being imperisued." Florean Foretsue explained to Harry his thoughts.
"Wait, sir. Sorry, but can I find out how you know who failed to kill Harry Potter?" Harry asked, curious to know how the apparently biggest event in the 1980s had happened.
"Oh, the thing is that we all do not know. There are only four people at Godric Hollow, the place where the Potters resided, at the time of attack. Two, James Potter and Lily Potter were killed by you know who. Harry Potter would be too young to remember the events that happened. If Harry Potter ever knew what had happened, Albus Dumbledore would know in an instance. As for you know who, he simply vanished, disappeared into thin air. There have been no sightings of him for almost 7 years. I don't think the Death Eaters themselves know what has happened to their leader. All of us don't know the true account and the only source of information we had was from Dumbledore. At approximately 12 am on 1st November, he announced on all forms of media that you know who was vanished by Harry Potter. He also said that James Potter and Lily Potter were killed while trying to oppose you know who. He ended his speech by proclaiming the war over and that the light side had won. He ordered all Death Eaters to surrender themselves to the ministry to be charged for their war crimes and that if they did not do that, the aurors would track all of them down, and Dumbledore lastly threatened that it was not a matter of if, but a matter of when. A month later, Dunmbedore added that he believed that You know who was not fully dead, but still living. He urged the wizarding population to look out for any suspicious signs of You know who's return to ensure that he will never return again." Florence Fortescue continued on, trying to ensure that Harry understood what he was talking about.
"There have been many rumours swirling around regarding You know who's mysterious disappearance and what actually happened in Godric Hollow. Some people say that Harry Potter is a super magically powerful person, almost at the same strength as Dumbledore and You know who. Only an equally or stronger magical person can even have a hope of defeating you know who, they reasoned. This was the view of the majority of Britain's wizarding population.
Some people thought that it was actually a plot by Dumbledore to get rid of you know who. They claimed that instead of Harry Potter defeating you know who, it was actually Dumbleodre who quickly stepped in and defeated you know who in a legendary duel. However, because Dumbledore does not want the fame of defeating yet another dark lord, Dumbledore planned it so that Harry Potter could take the full credits for his actions. This was the view of about 8% of Britain's magical population.
Lastly, there were the Death Eaters' views. Most of them insisted that you know who, or the Dark Lord as they called him, was not at all dead and that he was still living. They claimed that it was impossible for you know who to be killed by a baby and that it was a fake and malicious plot by Dumbledore to discredit the Death eaters' movement and swing the public opinion in his favour. They insisted that the Dark Lord was invincible and immortal. Many high-profile Death Eaters said that the Dark Lord would one day return, and would kill all those who opposed him. "The Dark Lord would seize power in Magical Britain and defend the Dark Movement and bring it to glory," were the last words of many high profile death eaters before they were being sent to Azkaban.
Harry asked," Then, what were your views of the event on Godric Hollow?" Harry wanted to know what Florence Foretscue thought of it. There was something tingling within him that made him feel that he could trust Florence Foretscue, a near stranger, yet have treated him with more kindness than anyone in his whole entire life. Harry knew of the danger of trusting without evidence, especially someone he had after all met for less than 24 hours, but he was willing to shrug it off to make himself feel heard, made himself feel loved, and have someone he can talk to freely, without any misgivings. Besides, Harry thought that since Florence Foretscue had firstly told him of magic, secondly was willing to entertain his questions most would undoubtedly find annoying, and lastly gave him some books for free, he could thus be trusted.
"Oh, that's an interesting question, Harry. As for that, I don't know what to believe. Such a magically powerful person, like you know who doesn't just appear and disappear. Since he was a dark lord, the chances of him being killed are almost 0%. He must have read large and far, to learn the most extraordinary magic anyone had ever seen. Dumbledore has always consistently claimed that You know who is not at all dead. He says constantly that one day, he will rise again, to be more terrible than ever. I, for one, view Dumbledore's mumblings as absurd, death is the only reason why you know who is gone and the wizarding world in Britain. But, it would not surprise me if you know who had successfully tried ways to become immortal. After all, thousands of wizards and witches, if not millions have tried ways to evade death. Of course, I don't think that any one of them has succeeded. Death is inescapable, it would only drive one insane in hoping against hope for a method. Why, the greatest wizards and witches such as Merlin Emrys and Morgana Lefay have not found ways to do as such and died peacefully, how could these wizards and witches hope to achieve. But however, you know who was a horrible, dangerous, yet highly powerful dark wizard, he perhaps has found a way to escape from death, a method Dumbledore knows. I don't know who to believe, yet I hope that he would never ever return, and that when he attacked Harry Potter and miraculously failed, he was truly lost, dead in this world and moved on with death. This remains my greatest wish ever, and I am sure it would absolutely be the same for most of the wizards and witches in magical Britain, especially for those family members he killed. " Florence Foretscue concluded, sighing his head, hoping that the you know who's death on 31st October truly brought the end of you know who's reign of terror.
Soon, it was already 7 pm. The Durselys were going to pick him up at 7.30pm.
Just then, as Harry stuck his hand in his pockets, he felt the clinking of coins and suddenly remembered what he had wanted to do in Diagon Alley. He had wanted to buy some books, explaining wizarding history from 1945 to now, as he wanted to understand more on the current economic and social conditions, having already learnt about the political issue. Taking out his much treasured 40 pounds, Harry asked Florean Fortescue if he would mind taking him to the bookshop to purchase some books on wizarding history from 1945 to now. Seeing the look on Harry's face, Florean Fortesuce agreed to take Harry to the bookshop, and on the way, he insisted on paying the book cost for Harry. However, with the determined look on Harry's face to pay for the book on his own, Florean Fortesue eventually relented and took Harry to the wizarding book, named Gringotts to exchange for magical currency.
Gringotts Bank was something Harry had never seen before. Covered with gold, with emblems covering the top of the building, it looked grander than even the Queen's residence and 10 Downing Street.
Florean Foretscue explained to Harry how the currency exchange worked, "It is 5 pounds to a galleon. The wizarding currency consisted of three different coins: Galleon, Sickle, and Knut. They were gold, silver, and bronze, respectively. There are 17 Sickles in a Galleon, and 29 Knuts in a Sickle, meaning there were 493 Knuts in a Galleon. So, with 40 pounds, you can exchange for 8 galleons."
Before long, they reached the exchange counter. It was run by a globin, a short figure, with long fingers and feets. As the exchange process took place, Harry could feel the scorn he was receiving from other members of the bank. Some were jeering at him, and shook their heads in disgust upon meeting him. Their hostile act seemed to have its effects on Harry, who started to squirm, but Florean Fortescue put a hand on his shoulder, and told Harry to stand up straight. When they exited the bank, Harry asked if this was the normal behaviour of the Magicals, genuinely afraid that the abuse was something like what he had received earlier. He really wanted to enter the magical world, and of course didn't want to be ostracised during his study at Hogwarts.
Florean Fortescue, as if sensing Harry's thoughts comforted him," Is okay, this is not the usual behaviour of the magical population. The people you have met were all anti-muggle born people. There are plenty of people accepting of people like you in the magical world. The only reason why it is so bad is because only the rich Magicals can really afford to enter the place where you were exchanging money. Just beyond the exchange counter is the path to the bigger and more highly guarded vaults, used only by those who are extremely rich and have a lot of gold, treasures, artworks, books, and plenty of other family treasures to keep. So, the abuse is definitely lesser than the one you felt just now. Additionally, as Dumbledore is the Headmaster of Hogwarts and is very accepting of muggle borns, I am sure that you will have a great time in your schooling journey. There will be very few criticisms of you there, as the anti-muggle borns would keep their mouths shut to avoid repercussions once Dumbledore hears of this abuse."
Harry was not totally convinced about Florean Fortescue words. If they had a lot of money, then could n't they just try to make his life difficult, by pressuring people not to give him a job in the future, or letting their children bully and abuse him, but avoid consequences because they were able to pay their way out of trouble? But Harry decided to put all these thoughts away.
Soon, they were on their way to a magical bookshop called "Flourish and Blotts." There, he picked a book about "The 1900s explained and revisited in one book." by Bathilda Bagshot, who according to Florean Fortescue was quite a famous History author in Britain. The book cost 1 galleon and 8 sickles. Harry also picked a book on "Creatures in the Magical World" by Syud Jder, who was an Indian immigrant and a specialist in Magical Creatures. The book cost 9 sickles. After that, Harry went to the counter and paid 2 galleons for his purchase.
With that, Harry made his departure, with his two books hidden in his hand-carry bag. He hoped that the Dursleys would not notice the extra bump in the bag or bother to check the bag. However, Harry would not put it past them to do either one. The books must remain hidden at all cost, and Harry cannot afford to let the Dursleys know of his purchase, and its wider implications on his future life. The Dursleys always seemed to be hiding something from him, something like a terrible secret that must be hidden at all cost, for once it was leaked or released, it would totally destroy everything one ever knew. To Harry, magic seemed like something the Dursleys would hate. After all, they viewed themselves as moral and up-satnding citizens and did not like sudden changes. They always wanted their lifestyle to remain intact, with no changes. Magic seemed like something that would totally disrupt the Dursley's ideology, shaking up entirely what they have ever believed in. Harry knew that the Dursleys would put up a strong fight and oppose it, in accordance with Uncle Vernon 's "Never Say Die" attitude, where he would not go down fighting. Magic seemed like the perfect thing the Dursleys would try to hide from him. He would remember the funny looks the Dursleys would give him whenever something mysterious happened, then they would look around nervously, as if in anticipation of something mysterious and potentially disastrous happening towards them, before they would issue him a stern warning. Harry was sure that the warning was just a cover up to their uneasy feelings, to appear touch and not unbeatable. Therefore, Harry was sure that the Dursleys actually knew of magic, maybe through his parents? That was something that he was going to try and find out. Maybe, the first step would be to find his parents' surnames, and secondly, how he somehow ended up with the Dursleys.
~OOOO~
With that thought, Harry carefully repositioned his books to prevent arousing any suspicion. After that, he calmly walked out of Diagon Alley, making sure to keep a look out for the Dursleys, ensuring that they did not know where he had gone. To Harry's relief, the Dursleys were nowhere in sight. Sitting down on a nearby bench, Harr pretended to be enjoying the scenery.
Just a minute later, the Dursleys arrived.
"Boy, you didn't get into trouble, right?" Uncle Vernon asked menacingly, as if waiting for the prey, which was Harry to be intimidated and confess his misdoings.
"No, Uncle, I did not." Harry replied with a shaky voice, as Uncle Vernon's glare and tone of words were enough to even make a Queen quake in nervousness.
"You sure?" Uncle Vernon asked," You look like you are hiding something." At that moment, Harry wondered how Uncle Vernon was able to see through his face. According to a library book teaching one on the best way to lie, Harry was following most of the steps of a professional lier.
"Well, lets go." Uncle Vernon concluded this tense exchange, and Harry got into the car. Inside, Dudley used the figurines of animals he bought to try and intimidate Harry, which ended with Dudley punching Harry almost all over the body, with blood slowly but surely seeping down Harry's body. Any normal child would react in pain, but Harry did not. He was far used to it, and let the beatings continue.
In bed. Harry quickly took out a pen and paper, and jolted down when he could read the two new books he bought. As he reflected on this day, he could not help but feel delighted at how much he had learnt about the magical world. He decided to write it all down tomorrow for future reference, before he forgets the contents, which would be highly unlikely, as it would remain a treasured memory of his.