Disclaimer : I don't own Harry Potter, JKR does.
A/N : There will be some drama here on (mostly political in nature), actions of a few characters might seem gray or out of character but there will be reasons behind them. And anyway, desperate times call for desperate measures.
Please review.
Chapter Twenty-Six : The Bug Problem
The color from Ron's face had drained and not yet reappeared, it was clear that he was really shocked and worried. "I don't feel so good about it."
They had just spoken to Sirius and were now discussing the situation among themselves. The assurances given by Sirius had sounded hollow to all three of them but they did not voice their opinions. Harry was standing by the window, his eyes focused at distance, he wasn't looking anywhere particular, he was just thinking. "Neither do I, Ron."
Hermione was sitting close to Ron, rubbing his back in an attempt to keep him calm. "We need to do something, think something."
Harry was deep in his thoughts, his brows furrowed in concentration, his hands resting on the window sill, his fingers tapping on the stone rhythmically. He glanced at his two oldest friends, he could see all the worries and emotions playing on their faces. He needed to do something. His mind was racing through a thousand possibilities and scenarios and options. He needed to do something and do it before the nominations are filed.
"Hermione, get the bug, pick some writing material on your way and bring your warding kit along. Ron, get Nev, Hannah and Susan. I need to talk to the twins and meet me outside the corridor leading to Fluffy in fifteen minutes." Harry fired the instructions, he just had a 'Eureka moment'. Ron and Hermione gave him a confused look, not understanding the sudden change. Before they could ask him any questions, he commented. "I will explain when we get there. Hurry now!"
Hermione was the first to leave, Harry stopped Ron as he was about to exit the dorm. "Ron, take this and find the three of them as soon as possible. If Susan is with her aunt, let her be."
Harry passed the map in Ron's waiting hands. Ron did not waste any time as he ran out of the dorm towards the great hall. Harry pocketed the enchanted mirror and went to the seventh-year dorm. He knocked a couple of times but there was no response, he waited a few seconds before he tried to open it but the door was locked. He knocked again, this time more urgently. a few seconds later, Angelina opened the door, her hair completely disheveled. Harry was shocked but he schooled his expressions pretty well. "Morning, Angelina."
"What are you doing here?" Angelina asked groggily, her voice raspy with sleep. She was wearing a nightgown over her school shirt as Harry could see the collar of the shirt peeking from the top of the gown. The gown itself looked slightly larger in size for her, he noticed that it had an F embroidered on the left breast. Harry knew it belonged to Fred, Harry saved the information for the future.
"Same question, what are you doing here?" Harry asked back.
"Good point, let's not talk about it. What's the matter?" Angelina was trying to rub her sleep off her eyes but wasn't very successful, both her hands trying to keep her head steady, the hangover was killing her.
"Need to talk to Fred and George." Harry answered plainly. "It's urgent."
"They are sleeping, Harry." She replied, her annoyance clear on her face. "It's Saturday morning for Merlin's sake."
"Alright, let them sleep." He needed to get through her and speak with the twins. "But I don't think McGonagall would appreciate the sleeping arrangement of her seventh-year Gryffindors, and by the way Angelina, nice gown."
Harry gave her that cheeky grin with a raised eyebrow, he knew that this would get her working to wake the twins up. She just gave him a nod and closed the door, five seconds later, Fred was standing in front of him. "What!"
"The ward scheme you were talking about last night, I need it now." Harry pushed ahead, trying to express his urgency without using the words to do so. "No questions asked."
Fred closed the door and returned a few seconds later with a journal in his hand. "Here, all details and procedure is in there. Some extra stuff is there too, ignore that or not, your wish."
As Harry was about to take the notebook out of his hands, Fred moved it away. "Let's keep this quiet for eternity, shall we?"
Harry understood that he was talking about everything that had happened. He agreed to it. "With pleasure."
-0X0-0X0-0X0-
Harry was on his way to the third-floor corridor, he did not come across anyone as today was Saturday and the sun was up, students were most probably enjoying the bright day. He turned towards the last passage leading to the said corridor, Hermione was standing a few steps away from the concerned door of the corridor, a leather-made toolbox in her hand.
They both entered the corridor after unlocking the door. They waited for Ron and the rest of the group on the other side of the wooden door. They didn't need to wait long. Harry opened the door and motioned them to enter. Neville and Hannah were present but Susan was missing, that was understandable. Both Hannah and Neville looked confused, worried and afraid, Harry tried to assure them that they don't need to worry. He locked the door and put up a ward to alert him about intruders and then led them through the corridor towards the room at the end.
Once they walked through the corridor and into the room where Fluffy was kept, Harry turned towards them. "Sorry for all this, it was something important and I wouldn't have done this otherwise."
"But before I elaborate on why we are all here, there are a few things that need to be taken care of." He pulled out the journal from his robe and handed it to Hermione. "Bill designed a ward scheme for the twins for this chamber, can you implement it, Hermione?"
"Let me check." She took the journal and flipped through the pages, her brows furrowed in concentration. "I can give it a try, but it will take some time."
"I can help her with that." Hannah stepped closer to Hermione, peeking over her shoulder to look at the journal.
"Sounds good." Harry turned to Neville to talk to him next. "Nev, I want you to write a letter to your Gran ma and ask her for the list of Wizengamot members and what side they are more inclined to, ask her the probable candidates for the membership of the select committee. Request her to reply as soon as possible and that it is important."
"I don't have quill and parchment." Neville countered, his face showing the utter confusion and a significant amount of fear that he would need to talk to his Gran regarding this.
"Hermione has some, get it from her." Harry suggested. "And Nev, she would want to know the reason for your unusual request, tell her that you have started to find the wizard politics quite interesting and want to learn more."
Neville gave him a nod and got himself busy in completing the task he was assigned a few moments ago.
"What am I to do?" Ron asked, his patience very close to the limit.
"Come with me." They both descended through the rope-ladder into the chamber below. It was a good thing that Harry had come down there yesterday to refresh his memory of the place. He went ahead to the first door that led to the chamber where Harry had to catch the flying bird-key. He went and locked the door.
"Dobby!" Harry called and the house elf appeared with a crack.
"Harry Potter called Dobby!" His ears were perked, his eyes wide open with excitement, he was bouncing on the ball of his feet. "Dobby at service!"
"Hello Dobby." Harry wished the small creature. "How are you?"
"Dobby is Happy, Harry Potter sir." The reverence was plain for anyone to see.
"Hello Dobby." Ron also stepped ahead, offering his hand to the elf to shake. "Haven't seen you in a while."
Dobby looked at Harry before shaking the offered hand with both of his, the shake was so gentle and soft as if his hands just brushed Ron's. "Hello, sir Weasley. Dobby been busy working."
"Dobby, we need your help." Harry asked the elf, he noticed that the elf stood straighter, a determined look on his face. "Can you help us, discreetly?"
"Yes sir, absolutely sir!" Dobby nodded, his bat like ears flapping with the nod. Harry was concerned that the elf might fracture his neck.
"Is there some spare furniture around the castle that can be used?" Harry asked. He continued after receiving an affirmative nod from the Dobby. "Can you bring some usable pieces here, maybe a bed, a desk and ten chairs and place them here?"
The elf was gone even before Harry finished his question, a few seconds later the room was filled with enough articles of furniture to decorate a small family home. Another snap of Dobby's fingers and the furniture arranged itself to give the chamber a homely feel. There was a bedroom set on the right-hand side of the room, a queen-sized bed, side-table, a wardrobe and a dresser were on either side of the bed, a dressing screen was present near the wardrobe.
On the opposite side of the chamber was the replica of a study, there was a free hanging fireplace which had a chimney going nowhere. The flames in the fireplace were not the usual ones, they were floating above the base and were blue in color, giving them an ethereal feel. On the right side of the fireplace was a study desk and a plush looking old wingback chair. On the left side of the fireplace was an oval table with ten comfortable chairs around it.
The walls around the chamber had brackets in which lit torches were present. Every piece of furniture was equipped with the proper accessories. Both the sections had curtains present which would separate the section of the chamber from the passage leading through the door on the third wall. This was way beyond what Harry had in mind. "Amazing!"
The elf squealed in delight with the appreciation of his work. "Thank you, Harry Potter sir."
"No Dobby, thank you. This is brilliant." Ron still had to recover from the shock, he had his mouth hanging open, which was promptly closed by Harry as he also admired the newly furnished chamber.
"It's great but you missed a washroom." Ron commented.
"Forgive me, sir, Dobby is sorry." Dobby was pulling his ears with his own hands over his eyes. "Dobby is a stupid elf."
"Oh no no no. You are good, you just need to add a washroom." Ron tried to pacify the elf and clarify his statement.
"Ron, you have no tact." Harry teased.
"Yeah, you are the one to talk about tact." Ron replied with the same intent of teasing.
Before the discussion could go any further, Harry asked Dobby if he can create a washroom. A snap of his fingers later, a small all-in-one washroom cubicle appeared out of thin air on the bedroom side of the chamber, rearranging bedroom set some what.
"Water comes in by the runes sir and waste vanishes on its own." Dobby said, the tone of pride distinctly present in his voice.
"Blimey." Ron checked the bed and found it satisfactorily soft and bouncy. "What's this all about, Harry?"
"Let the other's come down too. Then I will explain." Harry replied. "Dobby, can you reappear a few minutes later if we need you again?"
"Oh yes sir, Dobby can sir." Dobby nodded enthusiastically and was gone with another click of his fingers.
Harry turned towards Ron, somewhat relieved. "Don't tell Hermione about it."
"Yeah and she won't notice." Ron rolled his eyes at Harry's words.
"Good point." Harry conceded. "I'm going to get an earful for making Dobby do all this without paying him."
"You can pay him later or give him something useful." Ron replied, his response was surprisingly thoughtful.
"This thoughtfulness doesn't suit you Ron." Harry teased.
"And planning and scheming doesn't suit you." Ron replied, enjoying the banter. "You charge head on without giving it a second thought."
"Desperately trying to change that here." Harry replied, his arms open wide as if trying to show the surroundings.
Their discussion was interrupted as the remaining three members of their group walked in. Their eyes going as wide as Dobby's with amazement. They made all the right positive noises of admiration. Hermione commented as she came in and stood on the side of Harry. "This is wonderful, Harry."
"Not my doing, Dobby did all this." Harry replied with a shrug. "I didn't even imagine it this wonderful."
"Ooh, there is a washroom too." Hannah chimed in. "And it's quite nice."
"And a charmed fireplace. They are very rare." Neville pointed out.
"You brought us all here to show us this?" Hermione asked. "It's amazing but it could have waited."
"I didn't bring you here to show this." Harry turned to the rest of the group. "Let's sit and then I will explain myself."
Harry sat in the chair at the far end of the oval table, the seat of the head. Hermione and Ron were on his right while Neville and Hannah occupied the seats on his left in that order, respectively.
"The reason I brought all of you here and hoped Susan could have joined us too is the news in the Prophet today. The news itself is not the reason but just the trigger for the action." He was trying to keep his voice level steady and his words focused. "Things are going pear-shaped pretty quickly and we can't let that happen."
"We might have great people on our side but whatever they are trying to do is just isn't working. They are being outplayed and outmaneuvered at each and every step." Harry was starting to feel his temperature rise with his temper. "We need to supplement and compliment their efforts. We need to change our approach, drastically. We can't just sit here and do nothing, even if we can't leave school, we can certainly help."
Everyone sitting around the table was shocked at Harry's words, they were left speechless. Usually, Harry would prefer to stay away from all these activities or stay uninvolved until and unless he was pushed in the middle of it. But the Harry sitting in front of them right now was saying the exact opposite of it. He was a Gryffindor through and through, and right now he was acting like one. Their brains were trying to process all of this, unable to see where he was going with it.
"Harry, is everything alright?" Hermione whispered, her hand sliding to touch Harry's on the table.
"Yeah Harry, you are freaking me out right now." Neville commented, his face had lost most of its color. His eyes looking between Harry and Hermione, alternating every second.
"Everything is not alright." His shoulders finally slumped a bit, the heat waning from his voice. "The situation has been worsening throughout this summer. And we have been unable to handle it."
He took a deep steadying breath and released it with a sigh. "We just can't sit here doing nothing when we can do something."
"Sorry mate but you need to be more specific with whatever you are going on about." Ron trying to steer Harry's monologue towards a the actual topic of discussion, i.e. Harry's idea.
"I will get to that but first we need to tell Neville and Hannah about Padfoot." Harry looked at Ron and Hermione, silently asking them for their support in it.
"I don't think that's a good idea, Harry." Hermione was doing what she did the best, to be the voice of reason. "It's Padfoot's decision if he wants to tell someone about his situation. You telling anyone not in-the-know will be a serious breach of his trust."
"You can ask him." Ron commented and received a stinging glare from Hermione for his big-mouthed attitude. "Sorry, but that was the only thing that came to my mind."
"What the hell are you three talking about?" Hannah inquired into this secret matter. "Who is Padfoot?"
"Harry, if its a closely guarded secret and you are entrusted with it, I think you should keep it among the people aware of this." Neville jumped in the conversation, showcasing his Hufflepuff attribute with his words.
These opinions made Harry rethink his plan of action, the seed of doubt was sown in his mind. "Maybe you are right, I don't know. But I can't just sit here doing nothing."
"I'm sure Prof. Dumbledore must be doing everything in his power to rectify the situation." Hermione attempted to pacify the raging thoughts in Harry's head. "Order is still trying their best to set everything straight."
Ron nodded in agreement to what Hermione said and so did Neville. Hannah was not impressed though. "I beg to differ."
"What do you mean?" Hermione asked skeptically, her focus shifting from Harry to Hannah. "You can't be seriously thinking that Prof. Dumbledore isn't doing everything in his power."
"Hermione, Dumbledore might be a very powerful wizard but he is not a good politician and after losing all his major authority positions, he is even weaker." Hannah was trying to get her point through to Hermione. "He isn't as influential as I have heard he was previously."
"But even then, he is our best hope." Hermione was trying to plead her case in favor of Dumbledore but wasn't very effective.
"We are our own best hope, Hermione." Harry commented. His face had the look of hopelessness towards Dumbledore. "Whatever he is trying to do isn't working Hermione and I don't think he is trying his best."
"That's quite preposterous of you to say something like this Harry." Hermione was seriously baffled at what Harry was suggesting.
"Yeah mate, Dumbledore is the Leader of the Order. He is the most powerful wizard alive." Ron jumped in the discussion, defending the headmaster. "And you know what people say, Dumbledore is the only wizard You-Know-Who is afraid of."
"I think Harry is right." Neville commented very quietly, his voice barely audible. Hermione and Ron turned to look at him in shock. "Think about it, you two, Dumbledore isn't acting like he is really trying. Gran thinks that age is taking its toll on Dumbledore and he isn't as sharp and wise as he was when Harry vanquished You-Know-Who."
"These are baseless arguments, Neville. You can't just throw unverifiable opinions as facts in an argument." Hermione shouted at Neville, her voice rising a few decibels.
"Come to think of it Hermione." Harry turned her attention away from Neville. "There are a lot of things he could have done many a times which he chose not to do."
"How do you mean?" Hermione was now intrigued at the line of thought Harry was following.
"In our third year, Dementors were continuously trying to suck my soul and they came very close thrice." Harry shuddered at the thought and memory. "Even after my fall during the Quidditch match, Dementors remained around the school, they were not present on the grounds but they were stationed close."
"But that was for your own safety, Harry." Hermione pleaded, trying to show him the mistake of his views.
"And in the end, when we told him about Padfoot, instead of doing something himself, negotiating with the Minister for some kind of understanding, he sent us back in time on a mission we had no idea how to accomplish. The outcome would certainly have been different if he had been the one doing something, being more powerful, knowledgeable and experienced."
"What mission? What are you two talking about?" Hannah's interest increased multi fold and so did her suspicion. "Whatever information you are holding as secret, we both need to know."
"You would need to wait, Abbott. If you haven't already noticed, we are having a crucial discussion here." Ron replied in a voice that cut and bruised anyone's self-respect and ego.
"Nobody asked your opinion Weasley. It would be better for your health if you keep your mouth shut and let elders talk." Hannah responded in a similar tone.
"That's enough, both of you." Harry barked. He didn't want the discussion to derail. "Hannah, I will tell you everything but you would have to wait for a while. Ron, keep the mocking to a minimum, right now."
He turned back towards Hermione to continue their discussion. "I don't know whether he isn't doing much deliberately or he is unable to do what he could or what is needed. Either way, he isn't our best chance."
"Padfoot isn't the only case, Hermione. Last year, he had me participating in a dangerous tournament, even though I hadn't put my name into the Goblet myself and he did nothing to get me out of it or find a way to keep me safe in the tournament." Harry tried to appeal to Hermione's emotional side.
"But he was bound by rules of the tournament and his hands were tied." Ron tried to further the argument but he wasn't very convincing in his attempt.
"Ron, he found a way to keep Snape out of prison despite the fact that he was a proven and branded Death Eater." Harry dropped the bomb on the present company.
"Woow, wait a minute!" Hannah could not hold it in. "Snape is a Death Eater? How is even in the school?"
"Gran said that Dumbledore's testimony in front of Wizengamot saved him from a lifetime imprisonment in Azkaban." Neville provided the necessary information.
"Do you see my point?" Harry tried to hit the final nail into the coffin. "If he can find a way for Snape, he could have done something for Padfoot. And he could have surely done something regarding the tournament."
"I understand what you mean Harry but I think you are over-analyzing whatever had happened." Hermione was trying to hold onto her side of argument although just by a feeble thread that was about to snap.
"And what about this summer, Hermione?" Harry knew that his next point would make her doubt her side of argument to the extent that she would start questioning the events of past and Dumbledore's involvement in it. "He got outfoxed and beaten badly at his own game by Fudge and Malfoy. That is enough for me to start doubting his political credentials."
"But mate, you can't just judge his credentials for being caught on the wrong foot." Ron's reasoning wasn't compelling enough, even for himself. "Since then, he is working to re-establish the balance."
"And despite everything he has done, your father is under investigation." Harry knew that the argument was over with that. "He is unable to keep the people in his inner circle safe anymore. That doesn't fill me with confidence for the rest of the wizarding populus of the country."
Harry leaned back in his chair, seeing the thoughtful faces of the four friends of his. Since the day Cedric died, Harry had been pondering about everything that has been happening in his life and the people involved in it. He did not have any false hopes from any of the adults in his life nor did he expect any positive support from the people he knew. He was going through a conflict of conscience but he had since then realized that he needed to do something on his own to change things around him. It had taken a lot of his time to come to this conclusion, the news this morning just accelerated the process.
Mr. Weasley was one of the most kind-hearted and generous person he knew, despite his obvious financial constraints. It pained Harry to realize that he set off the chain of events that led to this investigation. He wasn't blaming himself for it completely but he had accepted that he contributed a lot into it.
"What do you want to do then?" Neville asked, his face was blank, no expressions at all, except the anticipation of the response from Harry.
Harry squared his shoulders and took a deep breath to calm and focus his mind on his plan. "I plan to use a secret weapon, it's more effective than whatever Dumbledore might be planning on doing."
He extended his right arm towards Hermione, his open palm facing the ceiling. "The bug, Hermione."
"Harry, I don't think it's a great idea. It isn't safe here." Hermione was trying to change Harry's mind. she leaned in to whisper. "We are not at the headquarters, Harry."
"The bug, Hermione." he gestured her to pass him the vial in which the bug was kept. Hermione relented, she pulled out the vial from an inner pocket from her robe and handed it to Harry.
Harry rose from his chair and went to the center of the chamber before calling out. "Dobby!"
The elf appeared with a cracking sound. "Harry Potter called Dobby?"
"Yes Dobby, can you do something for me?" Harry asked in a gentle requesting manner.
"Dobby do anything for Harry Potter!" He was about to start jumping from one foot to the other.
"Can you conjure an article of jewelery like a ring or a bracelet and charm it so that whoever wears it, can't do animagus transformation and can't use magic and can't remove it on their own." Harry requested but it sounded more like a command. Dobby complied and a plain silver wristband appeared with just a click of his fingers.
Harry wasn't finished yet, he needed a few more things to be taken care of. "Can you put wards around this chamber so that whoever is wearing this can't leave it?"
Dobby clicked his fingers again and the walls of the chamber glowed a pale blue for a moment, the wards were now in place.
"Thanks Dobby, just one final request." Harry said with an appreciative nod to the house elf. "Please take care of our guest here and make sure they don't misbehave."
"Dobby will do, Harry Potter!" He gave a bow and disappeared with a crack.
Harry turned to look at the group, Neville and Hannah were sporting an utterly confused look, Hermione had worry pasted all over her face and Ron just looked, well, curious. Harry held the vial from the end of it and looked at the bug inside. "I hope you will behave when I let you out of this confinement. I just hope that I wouldn't need to use a bug removal spell."
The bug inside the vial did not move even a millimeter, Harry was confident that he wouldn't need to take any harsh measures but just as a precaution, he asked everyone to draw their wand and stun the bug if it went anywhere else. He place the vial at the floor and removed the cork that kept it sealed. He flipped the vial so the bug fell out of it. It didn't make any move for a couple of seconds so Harry asked it to transform back into the human form, it didn't.
Harry was about to kneel down when suddenly the bug took a flight. Everyone one of them started to fire stunners at the bug, everyone except Harry. He had trained his wand tip at the bug, waiting for it to get into a perfect angle before he cast a spell none of them has heard, except Hermione.
'Homorphus!'
It was a brilliant piece of skill to perfectly aim a charm at a flying beetle. It would have earned him widespread admiration if the situation was different. Hermione was the only one who looked surprised, not at the transformation but at the charm. Ron was surprised that Harry could do that. Neville and Hannah were shocked to watch the beetle transform in mid-air into a woman and fall to the floor with a thump, the shock intensified when they realized that the woman was none other than Rita Skeeter.
"Nice to see you, Ms. Skeeter." Harry offered her a hand to help her up which she accepted. She did not expect Harry to put the wristband on her left wrist, severely curtailing the possibility of her transforming back into her animagus form.
Hermione turned her focus on Harry, a serious question on her tip of tongue and a look of pride in her eyes. "That spell, it was for werewolves."
"Moony told me that it was for animagi, someone modified its use for werewolves." Harry answered, giving her a smile, noticing the pride she felt. "Easy, that one."
It took a full twenty seconds before Hannah found her voice and ten more seconds for Neville to find his. "You kidnapped her?"
Hannah was looking between Harry and Hermione, her eyes wide as saucers. Hermione took a step closer to her in an attempt to explain the situation but Hannah was having none of it. But before she could run away, Neville gripped her wrist to halt her escape. "Wait, Hannah. They must be having a solid explanation for this criminal act. I hope so."
Before Hermione could start her explanation, Harry interrupted. "There are too many things that needs to be explained but they would have to wait, Nev. Just trust me on this for a bit longer."
Neville looked into Harry's eyes, he immediately noticed the sincerity. He gave Harry a nod of understanding, he would remain patient for time being, he decide.
"Thanks, Nev." Harry turned back to the Ex-reporter, his voice had an acidly sweet edge to it. "As for you, Ms. Skeeter, please make yourself comfortable. This is going be your home for the foreseeable future."
Her shoulders slumped but her eyes were burning with rage. "You all are going to pay for this. I'm going to ruin all your lives for what you are doing to me. You will suffer utter humiliation, just wait for it."
Harry made a sniffing noise, exaggerated, stepping closer to Skeeter. "Do you smell this stink, Ms. Skeeter? Maybe your beetle form can smell it better. It is the stink of your despicable actions and the bile in your words."
He could she the ambers in her eyes, she was seething at his comments but Harry wasn't done yet. He was going to poke her again. "Maybe you should take a shower, Ms. Skeeter. You really stink very bad."
She just turned on her heel and walked to the other side of the chamber towards the bedroom section. Harry made the last comment before turning towards his friends. "And while you are there, please close the curtains."
"Explanations are in order now, Potter." Hannah's patience was waning with every passing second.
"Let's have a seat first." Harry motioned them to take the seats around the table. Once they were properly seated, Harry asked Hermione to explain the peculiar situation with Rita. After the five minutes long explanation in which nothing was mentioned nor indicated about Sirius, Neville and Hannah looked at the trio as if they all had grown up another head or a pair of ears.
"Pardon my language but what the effing nuts!" Hannah could not hold herself back any longer. "You are telling me that you had spent a whole summer with that freak-show?"
"You are way deep down the rabbit hole already." Neville commented. "Kidnapping is the least of your concern now if she gets out of this. And not 'if', it's a matter of 'when'."
"We are well aware of that and we need to find a solution of a permanent nature but that's a discussion for some other time." Harry replied to address Neville's concerns. He was already thinking about solutions for it but he needed a more mature and experienced opinion regarding that.
"So why do you need Skeeter here?" Ron popped the question that was on everyone's mind.
"For persuasion." Harry answered flatly. A small, yet mischievous smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "Do you remember Ron, the discussion we had when I arrived at the HQ about the happening in the Wizengamot?"
Ron just gave an unsure nod in response. Harry then picked up his line of thought to elaborate further. "Malfoy was able to built up an organized block of supporters in Wizengamot using every available option of persuasion, from manipulation to bribing, from deceit to intimidation and from loyalty to blackmail."
"We don't have money to bribe people, we can't use intimidation or deceit from here and there are very few people loyal to Dumbledore or to our cause. That leaves us with very few options." Harry paused for a second for his words to sink in. He could clearly see the moment when the meaning was understood by each and everyone.
"You are going to blackmail people?" Neville was scandalized with what Harry was suggesting. He wanted to change a few things and help but he didn't want to go against his morals. "Harry, let me remind you that blackmailing is criminal offense and ethically and morally incorrect."
"No, I'm not suggesting blackmailing them, I'm just proposing that we should give them a nudge in the proper direction." Harry tried to clarify his stand.
"You sound like a politician, Harry." Hannah commented, she wasn't sure how to react over it. She did not want to do something illegal but the method appealed to her very deeply.
"Neville, I think what Harry is suggesting is right." Ron provided his verbal support to Harry. He was thinking about assuring his family's safety without doing much. "We can't fight against the likes of Malfoy if we don't want to get our hands a little dirty."
"I'm not sure that's the right thing to do. If we do something like this, there is no difference between us and the likes of Malfoy." Hermione gave a very logical response but even before Harry could response, Ron Jumped on the opportunity. "Hermione, frankly speaking, I don't give a rat's ass about legality of our methods. I would be more concerned about how to keep our people safe."
"But you can't go on justifying your means for a noble end. That isn't ethical and I am certain its not legal." Hermione defended her point of view.
"And what they did to Padfoot was ethical or legal?" Ron turned the tables on her.
"One of you, please tell me who Padfoot is." Hannah so badly needed to know who this guy with the weird nickname was. Harry and Hermione shared a quick look which didn't go unnoticed by Hannah. "What was that?"
Harry finally decided to tell Neville and Hannah about Sirius and the truth of his crime. They were left completely thrown off their sits, metaphorically, by the revelation. Neville took it better than Hannah, by a long margin. "Merlin's effing pants!"
That revelation and the truth behind the whole disaster turned the opinions of Hannah and Neville in the favor of Harry's plan. It left Hermione to defend her side of the argument alone, which was proving to be extremely difficult. But finally she relented when Harry made a very emotional argument. "Hermione, before my fifteenth birthday, I was attacked by Dementors in my neighborhood and I was almost kissed. And that's not even the saddest part. the saddest part is that it wasn't the first time it happened."
He took a deep breath and held both her hands in his, looking deep in her eyes. "Hermione, can you trust me that I won't do anything wrong or put someone innocent in harm's way? Hermione you know me well enough to realize that I won't do such a thing."
She just gave a nod, her emotions were now in control and steering her opinion to align with Harry's. "I promise you that if we ever put some innocent life in danger because of my actions, I will surrender myself."
The moment was interrupted as Rita entered the meeting area and took the seat opposite to Harry on the other end of the table. "Ah! Teenage romance, how lovely. Sorry but not sorry to interrupt your moment."
Harry gave a very disdainful look to the women sitting on the other end of the table, wearing a purple robe that looked like tailored for her only. She noticed Harry giving her a once over. "Oh, I am thankful for this robes. You aren't that bad a host. Although you forgot to ask me if I was hungry."
She had a smirk on her face, Harry didn't understand why she would be having that particular expression pasted on her face. Regardless, Harry wouldn't starve her, so he called Dobby. Dobby didn't appear but a plate filled with the traditional English breakfast appeared in front of Rita Skeeter. She dug in her breakfast, it was half-finished before she spoke again. "Your hospitality, it's quite impressive for a prison."
"You are not our prisoner, Ms. Skeeter. This is an arrangement of compulsions and conveniences." Harry replied truthfully, he had no intention to keep her any longer than they absolutely needed to.
He let her finish her breakfast before speaking up again, the breakfast didn't take more than three minutes anyways. "We have an offer for you."
"I'm listening." Rita pushed the plate away and rested both her elbows on the table, leaning forward, her eyes fixing Harry with an intrigued look. "It's not like I have an option."
"The only beneficial arrangement is that of mutual cooperation, Ms. Skeeter. You have what we need and we can certainly provide some essentials to you. And if things go well, you will be able to leave without anymore trouble very soon." Harry began the negotiations, he could feel the eyes of everyone in the room was alternating its focus between Harry and Rita. No other sound was audible in the room except the crackling coming from the torches in the brackets on the wall. The blue flames of the fireplace cast an eerie glow on Rita's face, giving her the look of a ghost, her blond hair certainly helping in the said look.
"You overestimate your position, Potter. Actually, you are in no position to make any demands, you have committed a very serious crime here." Her eyes boring into Harry. She looked at the rest of them, she wanted to make them squirm, to make them understand how bad the situation was for them.
"You aren't helping your own cause with this foolish talk, Beetle." Ron barked at her, he wasn't a fan of her and right now, he was angry. "Keep talking like this and I might feed you to Hermione's owl."
"Let it be, Ron."Harry was thinking about the next step, his first offer to be placed on the negotiation table. "You help us here and swear not to disclose the happenings in this interlude. And we will release you and I promise to give you an exclusive interview, twenty questions, all truth."
Her eyes twinkled at the offer but it was still way below the level of trouble she had to go through. She needed to make them very afraid, and they needed to succumb to her demands. She wasn't going to let them bargain in their favor. "You want to pay me with an exclusive interview for not ratting you to the Ministry which, I am sure, will sentence you for, at the very least, twenty years in Azkaban."
"You are forgetting something very crucial here, Skeeter." Harry was staring deep into her eyes. He knew that he needed to raise the bar of his offer but he wouldn't let it go that easily. "You are dealing with the godson on an escapee mass-murderer, I hope you understand the seriousness of that.
Harry bluffed, it was a veiled threat but a threat nonetheless. And he was sure that she would take the bluff. He could feel the gears in her brain working, her eyes were showed that pretty clearly. "An exclusive interview isn't worth all the trouble I had gone through. I want five-hundred- thousand galleons."
"What? Are you out of your mind?" Ron shouted, standing up from his chair, the chair toppling from the force. The similar shocked reaction came from Hannah and Hermione too. Harry and Neville were quiet, too quiet. Hermione noticed it and so did Skeeter.
"Oh, shut up and sit down." Rita gave them a bored look, she was enjoying this too much. She knew that she would get the deal of her life from this negotiation. "Blacks certainly have deep vaults and coin purses, and Potters were affluent enough. I'm sure they can afford that much. Longbottom boy knows it too."
Neville could feel the mocking undertones, but he knew a snippet of information that would be a sweet slap on her face. "Rita, just keep in mind that if it became known that you have been eavesdropping on Wizengamot members and other prominent members of our society, in your animagus form, you would be thrown into Azkaban for life to keep you shut. And Harry would be able to get out of Azkaban with far less than what you are demanding."
Rita's mind took a step back and her calculation began once again, she was losing ground slowly but she needed to conclude it as soon as possible to get the best deal she could. "Five exclusive interviews, twenty questions each. And I can schedule the interview whenever I want. In addition to this, two-hundred-thousand galleons."
"One interview with twenty questions, the whole story of my godfathers' life and escape, all secrets. And no gold. Sirius Black's life story is worth more than you might comprehend." Harry fired back, he knew his grip on the negotiation was tight enough and no gold will be going her way.
Her ears perked at that offer but there was no gold involved, which put her off very much. She needed to strike their vault, she can't let this golden opportunity slide through her fingers. "Five interviews with you, one with Sirius Black, and exclusive publication and revenue rights on the book on his life."
That demand stumped Harry and Rita realized it, a broad smile tugging at the edge of her lips. Harry needed to keep the power over how the information is going to released and when. He had to make sure that he controlled the stream of information and monitored the spread. He was deep in his thoughts when an idea popped into his head. "Two exclusives with me, one with with Sirius. You can write the book about him but I will edit the book and I will decide when to publish the book."
"Don't take me for a fool, Potter. I have entertained this far too long in good humor but now let's talk straight." she dragged her chair even closer, no smile on her face, her eyes filled with anger and determination. "You will release me latest by easter, I will have three exclusive interviews with you and one with Black. I will get the publication and revenue right on the book. No royalty to you or Black on both, interview and book. This is my final offer."
Harry was now in a tight position, the demands were certainly more in his favor but he had conceded some significant ground. But before he could give her an answer, Neville interjected. "Swear on your magic."
"What?" Rita could not believe that Neville could see through her ploy. She thought that these kids wouldn't be able to understand what she had omitted or what her plan was.
"Take an oath, swear on your magic and sign a binding Wizard's contract with blood." Neville continued with the demand. He had grown up in a pureblood environment, he was well aware of these kind of negotiation, he had never been present for one but his Gran had tutored him very well in these matters. He knew a few tricks which his Gran had taught him last year, after his fourteenth birthday when he was introduced to his estate as an heir to the house. "You agree to do that and we will consider your demands."
Even Harry was surprised at this turn of events. Who would have thought in their right minds that Neville would trump one of the shrewdest person. He looked at Neville with a new found respect for his fellow Gryffindor. And he also noticed the look of admiration Neville was receiving from Hannah. Although, Neville was unaware of this, completely. Harry turned back to join the negotiation. "Do you agree to that, Skeeter? If you don't, I would be more than Happy to send you back to my Godfather in that glass vial."
Rita slumped in her chair, the look of devastation on her face. She knew in that moment that her game was over. She just gave them a slow nod of surrender, she averted her eyes. She could not believe that she just lost the once in a lifetime opportunity because of her overconfidence.
"We will get the contract made soon, Skeeter." Neville concluded the negotiation for Harry. Harry then asked her to leave the table and give them some privacy, she complied with the demand without any fuss. "Hermione, please hand me some parchment, I have a couple of letters to write."
"Couple of letters?" Hermione asked, not knowing to whom the seconds letter was addressed to.
"Yeah, one to Gran and the other to Gringotts, we need that contract to be made." Neville answered, taking the parchment and quill that Hermione passed to him. He was about to start the letter when he could feel everyone's gaze on him. He looked up and found everyone looking at him with a questioning look on his face. "What?"
"You are directly writing to Gringotts?" Hannah asked curiously.
"You should be knowing this Hannah, you get the heirship at fourteen. Although, for girls the age is sixteen. And I am sure Harry must have got his heirship last year as well." Neville explained the custom, he got a nod of realization from Hannah. "Even then I would need my Gran's permission before agreeing to any contract. But this one, it will be between Mr. Black and Rita so I just have to pay for the contract to be made."
Harry was caught off-guard, he had no idea about this heirship business. And Neville made it sound like very routine. Only Hermione looked curious regarding that part of his words. Harry had to ask Neville for a clarification. "Sorry, what?"
Neville had to pause again, he hadn't written two lines of his first letter yet. "What?"
"Err… what do you mean by my heirship?" Harry asked, confusion clear on his face. Even Hermione was intently listening into it.
"You know the tradition, right? Heirs to old pureblood family lines get their heirship on their fourteenth birthday." Neville answered as if it was self-evident. "No?"
"Sorry Neville but we both have muggle upbringing, so this is a new for both of us." Hermione replied, her hand sliding into Harry's hand, resting on the table.
"Oh, ok. Maybe when you come of age, you might be introduced to it then. It might be because of your situation." Neville shrugged, he had never heard of a case like Harry.
"My situation?" Harry quizzed him further, he needed to know, it sounded important and it could be helpful in future.
"Oh, you know, since your parents aren't there anymore so you live with your muggle guardians. That might have something to do with it." Neville answered, but after seeing the look on Harry's face he gave a disclaimer before Harry could respond. "I'm merely speculating, the actual reason might be completely different or bizarre even."
Harry just gave a nod, he bookmarked this question in his head to ask Sirius about it later. Neville got back to writing the pair of letters. Hermione was busy with whatever was going through her brilliant brain. Ron, on the other hand, looked like he was itching to ask a question. "Hey, Nev! How much is your allowance now?"
For his stupid question, Hermione paid him a punch on his shoulder. "Oww! Harry, you need to keep your girl in control."
He received another blow on his shoulder, this one harder than the last one. "You should really get a grip on your tongue, Ronald."
Hannah was laughing at Ron's expense, Ron's ears turned a deep shade of red. Hannah teased on his reaction to Hermione's physical blow. "Aww, poor Ronnikins, beaten black and blue by a girl!"
"Ha ha, very funny." Ron replied before doing the most mature thing, sticking his tongue out at her. His stomach made a weird noise, turning every eye towards him. "What? I didn't have a proper breakfast, I'm hungry."
"You are always Hungry, Weasley. You can eat the whole Whomping Willow in lunch and still be as hungry as ever for dinner." Hannah teased again.
"You know Abbott, you are testing my patience to not eat you whole, right now." Ron replied with a pissed look.
"Oh, I'm scared! Someone please save me from this food monster." She mocked him with the voice of distressed woman, imitating the look too. That was getting to Ron now.
"I'm leaving if we are done here." Ron stood up from his seat, turning to leave.
"Hold your Hippogriffs, Ron. We all are done here once Neville finishes the letter." Harry held his hands up, gesturing Ron to wait for some time. "We all are hungry."
"I'm almost done." Neville chimed in, not looking up from the letters. The first letter was completed and pushed towards Harry who picked it up and gave it a once over before passing it on to Hermione. It was addressed to someone at Gringotts, Harry was impressed with Neville's skill with writing in a formal manner. The letter seemed so 'official', the language, word selection, the tone, everything was on point. And by the look of it, Hermione was as impressed, if not more. It took him another thirty seconds to finish the letters.
He folded the one in his hand before asking Hermione for the other one. "Can I borrow your Hedwig, Harry?"
"Sure." Harry just shrugged, it wasn't something monumental for Neville to ask. "Gran liked Hedwig when she last time delivered your letter. Gran thinks that Hedwig has grace."
"She should meet Errol." Hermione commented cheekily.
"Oh she had. He broke one of her favorite vase in her her study. She was pretty mad." Neville told them about the incident. "Since then, I am made to sends Stuart, our owl and ask it to wait for a reply."
That got a laugh out of everyone sitting around the table, even Ron. He had to concede that much. "Errol is really clumsy, old age and all."
"Let's get going, don't want the ginger to starve." Neville said standing up from his seat and pulling Hannah's for her. She gave him an appreciative smile for his gentlemanly behavior.
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He was walking down the cobbled street of Diagon Alley, he had just dropped his girlfriend at Ollivanders' for her apprenticeship in wand-making. It was a busy day, the street was brimming with shoppers, every now and then someone would bump into him or graze his side. He reached up to Gringotts. The location was a five-way intersection, but it was named 'Merlin Square'. The Central Diagon Alley road split into two on the opposite side of the square and followed the two sides of Gringotts building in form of League Alley and Abnorm Alley. The two roads perpendicular to Central Diagon Alley were East Horizont Alley and West Horizont Alley.
He turned towards League Alley. The scenario here was totally different from Central Diagon Alley. Majority of crowd here were either Ministry employees spending their meal time or people involved with some proceedings of the Ministry or Gringotts. The street was lined with either offices of solicitors and barristers or restaurants frequented by the usual crowd. Today being a Sunday, the street was almost empty, with a handful of people scattered throughout the alley who were unfortunate enough to be working on a Sunday.
The end of the street led to the underground tunnel to the Ministry which was named Cryptick Alley. The tunnel was less than four-hundred meter long and it had other entrance, or exits, to other places too, like the Auror Academy or Embassies of other wizarding nations. The Ministry building was directly below the Whitehall of London where the Muggle Government was housed.
People preferred floo or apparation, some people even used the most disgusting method of transportation imaginable, 'flushing yourself down the toilet drain' to get to the Ministry. But he was different in that regard, he preferred to walk the short distance of one kilometer from his new apartment in East Horizont Alley. That part of the wizarding district was the residential area, along with West Horizont Alley, where most of the younger, aspiring and working population of wizarding Britain lived.
He had moved there less than six months ago with his girlfriend, Penelope Clearwater. He was happy, really happy. His job was going great, although there was a small hiccup in the form of an inquiry into Mr. Crouch's disappearance but he didn't face much problem because of it. He was demoted from Undersecretary to the post of Senior Assistant, but he was given additional responsibility as Scribe to the Wizengamot. He was recently transferred from DIMC to the Office of Senior Undersecretary. He had worked in two of the three central departments of the Ministries even before he turned twenty.
He was halfway down the League Alley when someone tapped him on the shoulder. He turned to look at the person to who that hand belonged, he was unpleasantly surprised to find that it was his brother Bill.
"Good morning, Percy." Bill offered his hand for him to shake which he ignored completely.
"What do you want?" Percy did not want to waste his time talking to Bill in the middle of the street.
"I need to talk to you." Bill emphasized his words with his expressions.
Percy was not impressed. "I don't have time for your family nonsense. I left to get away from this."
He was about to turn to leave when Bill gripped his shoulder, his grip tight and strong to prevent him from leaving. "We need to talk, Percy. Let's have a seat."
Percy was furious because of this hegemonic behavior but he did not want to create a scene so he relented. "Be quick."
They walked to a table-for-two, hidden from view by potted plants and a board. Bill quickly cast a nonverbal privacy charm before speaking. "Percy, we need your help."
Percy just scoffed at that. "And what do you need my help for? I believe you told me that father was capable enough to help all of you."
"Have some decency, Percy. Show some respect to dad." Bill's ear were turning red with anger but they were hidden by his long shoulder-length hair. "Besides, I'm not here to beg to you for anything."
"So, what do you want then?" Percy was not even a bit interested in this conversation, all he wanted to do was to be on his way to Ministry, as soon as possible.
"You need to know that You-Know-Who is back." Bill was looking straight into his eyes, trying to gauge his reaction. But there was just a smile.
"You are still stuck with that? Ministry has already said that this is all a ploy of Dumbledore to destabilize the Ministry and usurp his power." Percy replied straightaway.
"Can't you hear what you are saying?" Bill was not very much surprised at that reaction, he knew how Percy would lean. "We have seen the proof of it."
"You are all fools really, deluded fools." Percy smirked at that. "Open your eyes brother, I thought you were intelligent."
"Times are changing, Percy." Bill was trying his best to get through to his little brother but there was no way to that. "You should stick with your family."
"How many times do I need to tell this, I don't have a family anymore." Percy left his eldest brother sitting there, shocked, and left.
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A/N: I hope you liked it. Please Review.