Chapter 15: The Meeting

The front page of the Daily Prophet was covered with a massive moving photo of Albus Dumbledore standing in all his glory, wand out and expression stern. There was no trace of the kindly, grandfatherly eccentric that the aged wizard projected the majority of the time. One of the headlines read, "Chief Warlock Destroys Poltergeist, Protects Students" and the article described in uncanny detail how the Headmaster had dealt with Peeves and handled the situation. The Headmaster had uncharacteristically been missing from the Great Hall during breakfast the past couple days.

"Can you believe this garbage?" Harry said with a scowl looking at an opinion piece in the editorial section. At an inquisitive glance from Hermione, Harry read a quote from the article which not so subtly hinted that Dumbledore had a hidden agenda in teaching at Hogwarts. "I mean, it's totally ridiculous! And this part where it says it's dangerous for students to be around a wizard as violent and powerful as Dumbledore, what a load of hippogriff dung!"

"At least it isn't you this time, Harry," Ron said between mouthfuls.

With a grimace, Harry turned to page two of the paper for Ron, which featured a rather large photo of him brandishing his wand his wand with Dumbledore in the background. "Well, nobody is blaming me for anything, but that article on Dumbledore makes it out like the Headmaster is raising me to be some kind of weapon or something."

Hermione shook her head in exasperation. "Which is all perfectly silly. Dumbledore is not the head of some secret organization out to control the wizarding world. And Harry is certainly not his secret weapon!"

There was a loud squawk, followed by the appearance of Hedwig alighting on the table with a large, ornate envelope tied to its left foot. Harry untied the envelope with a befuddled expression on his face. He hadn't remembered sending Hedwig out to deliver anything to anyone. How then had his faithful snowy owl come by this delivery for him? When the envelope came free, Ron gave out an audible gasp.

"What is it, Ron?" Harry asked.

"That's an official letter from the International Confederation of Wizards, that's what that is!"

Harry pursed his lips as he opened the letter up. Sure enough, the letter was from the ICW, signed at the bottom by the Supreme Mugwump himself, Albus Dumbledore.

"Well, Harry, what does it say?" Hermione asked anxiously.

Harry shrugged his shoulders. "Nothing much. Just an invitation to a meeting tonight. Apparently, this time Hogwarts is the venue for the meeting and the committee is interested in hearing about the incident with curing Remus and then with those dementors."

"Blimey, Harry!" Ron said, picking up on one of Hagrid's speech habits. "Do you know how rare it is to get an invitation to an ICW meeting? There's like only a half dozen or so people in all of Britain who ever get to go!" An evil gleam appeared in Ron's eyes as he took the letter from Harry. "Come on, Harry, let's go rub this in Malfoy's face! He'll be mortified that you got an invitation and his daddy never has!"

With a frown, Harry summoned the letter back to his own hands and put it away. "I don't think that's a good idea, Ron." Hermione gave Harry a look of approval as the young wizard continued. "This is supposed to be a private meeting, we shouldn't spread it around that I'm going." Seeing Ron's unconvinced expression, Harry added, "Besides, that's something that a Slytherin ponce would do. We don't want to be like Malfoy."

Ron frowned but nodded. "I guess you're right, Harry. You're no fun, but you're right."

Weasley Seer

"Welcome to the International Confederation of Wizards," Ablus Dumbledore said, spreading his arms open in welcome. Harry Potter sat in a seat directly next to Dumbledore's head position, taking in the mostly unfamiliar witches and wizards seated around the table. Other than Dumbledore, the only other person Harry recognized was Professor Trelawney. "Tell me, Harry, do you know the purpose of the ICW?"

Harry nodded his head. "Well," Harry began, "according to what I've read in class, the ICW was created to foster cooperation between nations, mediate international conflicts, regulate international commerce and transportation, and to act as a judiciary for issues involving international treaties and violations of international statutes, such as the International Statue of Secrecy." He smiled over at the Headmaster, pleased that his studying up on the subject had paid off and would reflect well on the school.

"Very good Harry. That is 100% incorrect. 10 points to Gryffindor."

Harry boggled, trying to make sense of the conflicting signals he was getting. Praise yet being told he was wrong. A smile and a twinkle from the Headmaster but chuckles from the other ICW members. A reward for failure. Not to mention that he was sure what he had recited was what all the books on the subject said it was.

"Confused, Harry?" Dumbledore asked with a smile. "Good. That is exactly how we want it. The International Confederation of Wizards publicly tells the witches and wizards of the world that our purpose is exactly what you so concisely described. When in fact, it is something far, far more important.

"In truth, the ICW is no more and no less than a secret organization that controls the wizarding world from the shadows," Albus Dumbledore said, steepling his fingers together and looking at Harry expectantly. "The International Confederation of Wizards has inherited the sacred duty of protecting magical beings from themselves, a duty passed down from generation to generation since the time of Merlin."

Harry waited for the punch line for a few seconds, before slowly turning to look at the other members one by one. Not one of them looked like they were joking. "You're serious," Harry said, his surprise evident. "You mean, the Daily Prophet was actually right about you being the leader of a secret organization out to control the world?"

Dumbledore chuckled, a twinkle in his eyes. "Ironically, yes."

"You really are the leader of a secret organization?" he repeated.

"Two, to be perfectly honest," Dumbledore answered. "But it isn't quite what the paper makes it out to be. While it is true that the ICW is involved in controlling the world, it is not for personal gain—at least not beyond the advantage of living in a world that hasn't sunken into madness and utter chaos. Rather than regulating trade or commerce, Harry, the ICW's primary role is to control the spread of knowledge of the true nature of magic."

Harry was dumbfounded. "There's an entire organization out there just for that?"

"Indeed. It's quite a responsibility. Once you reach the age of majority, you will be invited to join the ICW as a full member. For now, you are here as a provisional member."

"And what about my being some kind of secret weapon?"

Dumbledore gave the Boy-Who-Lived a pointed look, then he gazed over at Sybill Trelawney, then back to Harry. "What do you think?"

"The prophecy, right," Harry said. "Never mind, then. Just checking."

Dumbledore turned his head from Harry to a white-haired wizard seated on the other side of him. "So then, shall we get to business?"

The man nodded before standing up. "Present: Albus Percival Brian Dumbledore, Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, Mugwump of the London Branch of the ICW; Xenophilius Lovegood, Scribe of London Branch of the ICW," he said, indicating himself. The wizard, Xenophilius Lovegood, continued around the table taking note of each attendee and stating their membership status. Of the twelve in attendance, most were from Great Britain, with the Deputy Headmistress of Beauxbatons and an instructor from Durmstrang being the exceptions, apparently attending out of convenience during the Tri-wizard Tournament. "And Harry James Potter, Fourth Year student of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, attending as a provisional member under the sponsorship of the Supreme Mugwump."

Xenophilius Lovegood then passed around a parchment, which each of the members briefly perused. Harry had barely begun to read the document when the ICW scribe spoke again. "It is moved that the members accept the following as the official minutes of this meeting. Any call for amendments?"

Harry looked at his document, then back at the assembled witches and wizards in confusion. The meeting had not even started yet, and Harry could see just from the list of attending wizards that the minutes had errors. "You have a question, Harry?" Dumbledore asked, noting the boy's confusion.

"Well, um, yes sir. If I understand the concept of 'minutes' correctly, shouldn't they be written during the meeting? And I don't see a Master Parker Po-Fei Huang anywhere at this table. Unless he's invisible or something…"

Dumbledore smiled benignly. "Ah, you were under the impression that these minutes are supposed to reflect what actually transpires at this meeting."

"They're not?"

"Most certainly not. These are the official transcripts of this meeting. The actual content of this meeting will be protected by a socius secretum charm, accessible only by members of the ICW."

With that explained, the meeting began in earnest, and Harry quickly found himself in the unfamiliar situation of being both fascinated and bored at the same time. On the one hand, he was getting an inside view of exactly how the ICW controlled wizard thought, and how they influenced the British government with subtle manipulations. On the other hand, the amount of minutiae discussed and the degree of technicality were enough to blunt any enthusiasm Harry might have felt about such insights. As topics cropped up, Harry endeavored to maintain his attention, but inevitably he found his mind wandering in and out of the discussion.

"…shows a 1.2% increase in the reported belief in the existence of 'nargles' among non-readers, as compared to a net .3% drop in the reported belief in Wendersnaven…"

Harry tried to keep up with the discussion of creating belief in imaginary creatures, but simply did not understand half of what was being said and his focus faded back out. He decided he would be subscribing to the Quibbler, though, for kicks if nothing else.

"…when considering the net Prewett Effect, this revision to The Standard Book of Spells Grade 3 will be negligible. Allowing an adjustment of this nature would…"

In a general sense, Harry was very much intrigued in the entire concept of an Educational Oversight Department within the Ministry of Magic, but when it came right down to the actual details he couldn't care less. There was apparently some way of measuring the degree to which one arbitrary way of explaining magic was more effective in gaining results than another, presupposing the ignorance of the subject of the real nature of magic, but all the discussion of testing methods almost put Harry to sleep.

"…poses far too great a risk of exposure within the Wizengamot. We need a more subtle method of introducing such restrictions without…"

At this point, Harry caught himself almost snoring and tried a little harder to pay attention.

"…which brings us to the matter of reclassification of poltergeists."

Now Harry was wide awake. The memory of what happened with Peeves was still fresh in his mind and realizing that this would have international repercussions allowed him to listen raptly as the different members discussed the impact of Dumbledore's destruction of Peeves. Here, Harry found he was well enough informed to actually follow the discussion.

A tall, dark haired wizard wearing somewhat stylish deep purple robes was standing and speaking with conviction. Harry didn't recognize him, but the way the man spoke Harry felt he was a person he should respect. "…to have this occur right on the heels of Mr. Potter's destruction of a number of dementors, well, this will be quite a blow to the concept of non-beings as a limiting factor on the power of magic. It sets a very bad precedent, regardless of the fact that it was the Chief Warlock and the Boy-Who-Lived respectively who accomplished these feats."

"I quite agree, Maximus," Dumbledore said with a nod. "Despite the recent events it is critical that we maintain the classification of 'non-beings' and the quality of their indestructibility in the mind of the general populace. Seeing as how dementors and a poltergeist, two of the most well-known examples of non-beings have recently been quite publicly destroyed, this will be easier said than done."

Xenophilius Lovegood, the wizard serving as the scribe for the meeting, lifted his hand and began speaking. "As reported in previous meetings, response to the heliopath rumor has been exceptionally positive. Perhaps a leak from the Unspeakables might cement belief in their existence? They could easily be classified as non-beings…"

There were murmurs around the room at this suggestion, too many fractured conversations for Harry to follow at once. The French Deputy Headmistress, Madame Sandrine Mercier stood and shook her head, "Zat maybe fine for ze English, but I don' zink ze French weel believe een zis. Your Quibb-lere iz not so populere in Paris, Monsieur Lovegood, as it iz een England."

A quick furor ensued, Xenophilius appearing genuinely affronted. All present began speaking heatedly, the tone of the meeting turning slightly hostile.

Dumbledore stood and raised his hands, quickly getting everyone's attention. "Ladies, Gentleman, there is no need to argue. Xeno's suggestion is something to take into consideration, thinking through all the ramifications, but Madame Mercier is correct that such a move will not be enough." At that there was a discontented quiet before the Supreme Mugwump continued. "I did come to this meeting with an idea in mind which I believe will settle this issue. If you will allow me to present my suggestion?

"Rather than adjust the definition of non-being or removing poltergeists from that category of magical being, I believe it would be more expeditious to reclassify just a single individual. Rather than saying that poltergeists can be destroyed by wizard magic, it would be better to say that I was able to exorcise Peeves as I would a ghost because Peeves was not, in fact, a poltergeist."

"But Albus!" a sandy haired witch protested, "Everyone knows that Peeves was not a ghost! We can't hope to make a revision like that with so many witches and wizards alive who went to school with that...that haunt. And it's in all the current editions of the history books. We can't get away with it."

"On the contrary, I think it is because so many of those involved with the incident were familiar with Peeves that it will be easy to convince them." Dumbledore adjusted his spectacles, all eyes were on him. Dumbledore's eyes, however, were on Harry. "Tell me, Harry, what did you learn in Defense Against the Dark Arts about the difference between ghosts and poltergeists."

With a frown, Harry tried to recall what he had learned back in Third Year. "Well, ghosts and poltergeists are both immaterial—you can't really touch them." Harry internally winced, realizing that of course everyone already knew what immaterial meant. Talking down to the ICW? Smooth. Dumbledore gave him an encouraging nod, though, and he continued. "The biggest difference, I guess, is that ghosts are the spirits of people who were dead, while a poltergeist was never a person. According to our textbook, a poltergeist is made up of pure chaos. A ghost can be forced out of a place or even completely out of the realm of the living through an exorcism, while a poltergeist cannot be."

Dumbledore nodded. "Excellent, Harry. That is what is included in the current school curriculum at Hogwarts, and I do believe internationally." The foreign ICW members each gave a nod. "Poltergeists are noted most of all for being forces of chaos: creating clanking noises, causing things to break, disruptively throwing objects around a room, and even replaying particularly destructive events that occurred as a phatasmic projection. Certainly Peeves displayed all of these traits. However, I had always felt that Peeves was more than just a collection of chaos. No, I knew a spirit who could touch...who could feel..."

"He was a person!" Harry interjected suddenly. "You think Peeves was a person before!"

"Indeed," Dumbledore agreed. "If there is anything that can be said about Peeves, it was that he had a very colorful personality. But, more than that, he could think and reason. It is clear that Peeves was a force of chaos, but it is my belief that at some point in time he was a living wizard."

"Peeves always did look like a person," Harry nodded. "He was even more physically solid than the other Hogwarts ghosts. And Fred and George even got him to help in their pranks."

There was some muttering around the table. There were quite a few nods of approval, but still some dissent. It was Professor Trelawney who voiced the question aloud. "But Albus, it is public knowledge that previous headmasters of the school had attempted to expel Peeves and even exorcise him, but failed. How do we account for that?"

Dumbledore was prepared for that question. "By creating an entirely new subcategory of spirit. The reason why previous attempts to expel Peeves failed was that they were attempting to use spells intended to remove a standard ghost. When I cast the spell to exorcise him, I did so with the understanding that Peeves was neither ghost nor a true poltergeist, but a exceedingly rare mix of both. We can term him an entropic spirit: a subtype of ghost which has chaotic elements similar to that of a poltergeist. The very elements that make Peeves the most famous of poltergeists will also be used to reclassify him as something else entirely, leaving poltergeists as non-beings which cannot be slain or destroyed."

The motion passed easily, as did the remainder of the meeting. Harry shook hands with each of the members before they left. In the end, only he, the Headmaster, and Professor Trelawney were left. The Divinations teacher bid her goodbye before assuming her batty persona and wandering back out with a wink towards the pair.

"Professor Dumbledore," Harry said as the aged wizard was about to step from the room as well. "I have a question about what happened to Peeves after you—you know."

"Of course, Harry," the professor replied, "what would you like to know?"

"Well, sir," Harry scratched his head as he tried to figure out how to begin. "I'm curious about how Peeves lost his shape and turned into that smoky haze. What was that?"

Dumbledore's eyebrows rose above his spectacles. "A very astute question, Harry. Once I cast the spell to exorcise the spirit, Peeves was no longer a proper ghost or specter. The term for what he became is a 'wraith'—a disembodied spirit that has lost the cohesion that allows it to manifest as a ghost. They are very rarely seen, only upon the exorcism of a ghost or the recent destruction of a particularly powerful being that is resisting the pull of death."

"And when the misty form disappeared? What happened to Peeves?"

"Were Peeves a mere collection of chaotic energies, I would think he had been utterly destroyed, just as an image in the clouds is destroyed once the cloud that formed it is dispersed in the wind," the Headmaster said with a philosophical air. "But as I am convinced that Peeves truly was a spirit with a soul, I can say with some confidence that he passed on through death into the next life. Why do you ask, Harry?"

Harry was silent for a moment. "Well, sir," he paused, trying to think the matter through, "I believe I have seen a wraith before. Back in my first year. After Quirrell was destroyed, the spirit of Voldemort took on a misty form very much like what Peeves became. I think he tried to possess me the way Peeves possessed that boy from Hufflepuff, but he couldn't." Harry paused again, this time with a frown. "But with Voldemort, it was different than from what happened with Peeves. When you exorcised Peeves, he immediately started to dissipate and completely disappeared after a few minutes. Voldemort, though, didn't seem to be getting weaker."

Dumbledore made no response, standing near the door with his eyes fixed on Harry.

"What does this mean, sir?" Harry asked after a moment.

"I'm afraid, Harry," Dumbledore began, "that it means before we can be truly rid of Voldemort, that he must first be resurrected."