Chapter 6: Moving Along.
Thanks for reading and reviewing.
I added some to the last chapter. Not much and I don't think it changed the story, just added to it. It's a bad habit of mine. I must read the last few chapters to remind myself where I'm at. I have a bad memory. If you have read my past stories, you'll know that. I usually kill someone in chapter three and then have them fight in chapter twenty. Lol. I try not to do that, but… If someone points it out, I'll change it, but it happens too often for my taste.
Anyway, on with the story.
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Harry woke up nice and early the next morning and went downstairs to the kitchen to see Dobby cooking up a full English breakfast. Molly was glaring at the elf for all she was worth. "Good morning, everyone," he said to everyone that was sitting at the table. Which was the whole Weasley clan, bar Percy and Charlie, Fleur, Tonks, Hermione and Sirius. Remus wasn't there, since tonight was the full moon.
"Good morning, Harry," said most of the table. They were all sitting and waiting for the meal, sipping on juice, coffee or tea, and eating some toast. There were some conversations going on, usually about work or school. The twins were discussing their shop, and Bill, Fleur and Arthur were talking about their jobs. Hermione, Ron and Ginny were talking about summer homework. Tonks and Molly were talking about cleaning the house.
"How is everyone doing this morning?" he asked, waiting for breakfast to be served. He poured some juice from the pitcher. It was fresh squeezed orange juice with pulp, just as he liked it. There was another pitcher without pulp, but he liked his with a bit of the fruit.
"I am doing well," said Hermione, smiling brilliantly at him. "I slept well and am going to do some research in the library today," she stated, nibbling on a piece of toast that was littering the table. There was some butter and jam to go with it, but not much as there was a big breakfast being cooked up.
"What are you researching?" Harry asked, wondering what she could possibly be studying at this time of year. They had done their summer homework, well all but Ron. He had done his in the grey space, and then some. Like he said, he could sit his NEWTs if he wanted to. He might just do that, if this year went the way of the last four.
"House elves," she said, looking at Dobby. They had had a talk last night after everyone had gone to bed. She had asked him some things about house elves, and he had answered some of her questions that she couldn't find in the books.
"Oh, you're still going ahead with S.P.E.W?" he asked, looking at her questioningly. He had thought she had given up on that. She had not gotten any support on it from her fellow students. Only he, Ron, Neville, Ginny and a girl named Luna had supported her.
"Yes, but I think I'm going to change my platform. I've talked to Dobby, and he has given me a few ideas," she said, getting excited and bouncing up and down a bit. Many of the males at the table took note that she was a developing female.
Harry noticed that they noticed and glared at them. That was his sister they were looking at. "That's great, Hermione," he said, smiling at her. "What about you, Sirius? What are you up to today?" he asked his godfather, taking the attention away from Hermione.
"I am waiting for that missive you talked to me about," Sirius answered, sipping on some coffee. He was really excited to hear from the law office. He wanted to get it over with. He wanted to be free to walk in public again.
"Right," Harry said, looking around the table to see if anyone else wanted to strike up a conversation.
"Good morning, Harry," Bill said, lifting his coffee cup to the boy. "I want to talk to you after breakfast, if I may," he requested with a wink. He might not want to keep the horcruxes a secret from the adults, but he didn't want to tell the kids.
"Sure," Harry said, nodding at him. He got the gist of the wink and didn't call the man out. He didn't think Ginny or Ron needed to know about the horcruxes either.
"Us too," the twins said, wanting their time with him.
"What about?" Harry asked the twins.
"We want to make you a partner," Fred said, George nodding his agreement. They had talked about it last night and agreed that it would be a three way split.
"Oh, okay. That sounds reasonable," Harry said, wondering if they should go to Waters office for that.
Just then Dobby served breakfast and all thoughts on business were put to the wayside as the smell of meat and eggs wafted up to their nostrils. They all dug in, and the sounds of eating were all that was heard for a few moments. Once they got over how good everything tasted, they started talking about mundane things and breakfast went off without any fighting or squabbling. Only Molly was put out by not being able to cook.
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"So, what did you want to talk about?" Harry asked Bill as they both went into one of the studies on the ground floor. It was a smaller study that held only a desk, some chairs and bookcases.
"I need to know where the rest of the horcruxes are," Bill said, taking a seat on one of the chairs in front of the desk. He had done the tests last night and knew that there were at least five more. He just wanted to make sure that his and Harry's answers were the same.
Harry joined him there and said, "Okay, there's one in Gringotts, one in Hogwarts, one in Little Hangleton, one in me, and Nagini. That one is going to be the hardest. She's with Voldemort," he listed them off, counting them off on his fingers.
"You?" Bill shouted, then lowered his voice. "You have one?" he asked, not believing what he was hearing. Sure, the one with Voldemort was going to be difficult, but getting one out of Harry was going to be impossible. He'd never even heard of a living horcrux, let alone two. He could kill Nagini, but not Harry. What was he going to do?
"It's in my scar," Harry said, keeping his voice steady. He already knew how to get rid of it. Merlin had told him. They had spent many hours going over it in the grey space. Harry wasn't the slightest bit worried. He knew what they had come up with was foolproof.
"Why are you not concerned about this?" the curse breaker wanted to know. He was sweating bullets over what he was going to do. This was the Boy-Who-Lived. If he died over this there was going to be hell to pay.
"Because I can give you the ritual to get it out," Harry said calmly. He went around the desk and got out some ink, a quill and parchment and started writing. It took a few minutes, but he got it all written down. He blew on the ink and then handed it over to Bill. He smiled a tranquil smile and tried to calm the other man down.
Bill read the ritual and his eyes blew wide. It was so simple and in English not Latin. This was genius. "Where did you learn this?" he asked, looking at the Boy-Who-Lived. "This is a mastermind spell," he added, knowing that the teen in front of him wasn't that smart. "Where did you get it?" he asked with a tilt of his head.
"When I was missing, a man I was with gave it to me," Harry stated, coming back around the desk and sitting in the chair he had vacated. "He's one of the most brilliant men in existence. I won't tell you who, you wouldn't believe me, but just know he's magnificent," he said, waving to the parchment as testament.
"Why didn't he do it?" Bill wanted to know. "I mean, he came up with this, he could have done the spell. Why didn't he?" This didn't make sense to him. Why leave the horcrux in Harry?
"Then you wouldn't have the spell, and you needed it," was the answer.
"Oh," was all Bill could say to that, though he furrowed his brow. "Can you write down where the horcruxes are and what they are?" he asked, changing the subject, thinking he could copy the list and hand them out to the others.
"Sure," Harry said, going back to the other side of the desk and doing just that. It took the better part of ten minutes, but he got it done. He handed the list to Bill and then flexed his aching hand. He hated quills. They were so narrow.
"Thanks, Harry, this is going to help a lot," the curse breaker stated, going over the list and confirming that it concurred with his tests. He'd get with Moody and Kingsley tonight and they would come up with a strategy that would get rid of Voldemort sooner rather than later. He'd get Moody to get the one at Hogwarts, and the others to get the other ones. He'd get the one at Gringotts. They'd all tackle Nagini, that one would take a team. Maybe they might recruit Snape. That would be tricky.
"Not a problem. I don't want to hunt them down. I'm just a kid with only a few years education," Harry pointed out. He could if he wanted to, but he didn't. He was tired of being the hero and he wanted Dumbledore to clean up his own mess. Or well, the adults to take care of it. It looked like Bill, and his lot were going to do it. He wondered what Dumbledore was going to do.
"I don't know what Dumbledore was thinking, keeping this to himself," Bill mumbled, getting up and going to the door. He was still reading the list and going over his game plan.
"Don't know, don't care," Harry stated, following him to the door, and seeing the twins waiting for him there. "Come on in, you two." He held open the door and let the lookalikes in.
"Thanks, Harry," Fred said, sidling in the door. He took one of the chairs in front of the desk.
"Yeah, thanks," George said, following his brother, taking the other chair.
Harry sat behind the desk since there were only two chairs in front of it. "What can I do for you two?" he asked, smiling at them. He really did like the twins. He thought they were a breath of fresh air, and their pranks made him laugh.
"We want to make you a full partner," Fred said, getting right to the point.
"Yeah, none of that silent partner stuff either. We want everyone to know you are part of the business," George stated, pointing a finger at him.
"That would mean changing the name," Harry pointed out. "I rather like the name, so let's not do that," he said, not wanting to be put in the limelight.
"Oh, yeah, didn't think on that," George said, rubbing his chin.
"Having Potter in the name wouldn't flow off the tongue right," Fred agreed, running all the names with Potter in it through his head. None of them worked.
"So, let me remain a semi-silent partner. You can tell whomever you like, but keep my name off the sign," Harry said, grinning at them. He liked that idea better.
"Deal," the twins said together.
"Great, we'll get with my solicitor and draw up a contract. We can go now or make an appointment. I'd rather make an appointment, it is good business," he said, knowing that his solicitor would prefer it. When he showed up yesterday, the man was a bit upset. Walkins are frowned upon.
"Alright, Harry, owl him and set it up. We're open for any time you can set up," Fred said, holding out a hand to shake on it.
"I will," Harry said, shaking first his hand then George's.
"Good doing business with you, Harry," said George, and then the twins left the room.
"Well, today's going to be a profitable day," Harry said to himself as he sat to write a letter to Waters. He then went up to the owlery and spent some time with Hedwig, who had been returned to him. He was glad to see her and spent a good half an hour with her before sending her off to Waters.
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Later that day, around noon, Harry got a letter from Director Bones wanting a meeting with him. He didn't know how to react to that. She said it was a meet and greet. He'd never had one of those before, so he went to get some advice from Sirius.
"What do you think she wants?" he asked his godfather after showing him the letter.
"She probably wants to know how much of the rumors about you are true," Sirius answered, settling back in his chair. He picked up his glass of butterbeer and took a sip. He usually had firewhiskey right now, but he was cutting back on drinking. He was going to do right by Harry and getting drunk all the time wasn't doing that.
"Oh, so should I go?"
"Yes, if only to dispel the vicious ones. Just tell the truth and you'll be fine," his godfather stated, clapping him on the shoulder. He wanted Harry to get his story out there. If he could get Bones on his side, that would be a great boon.
"Alright, it says to come at my convenience. Does that mean anytime?" Harry asked, rereading the missive. He had time today since he had not heard from Waters yet.
"That usually means as soon as possible," Sirius said with a chuckle.
"I'll go now then, shall I?" Harry said, going to his closet and pulling out a nice shirt and donning it. It was better than the T-shirt he was wearing. Not that he was trying to impress anyone, but…
"That would be best. Can't keep the nice woman waiting," Sirius stated, going over and fussing with Harry's collar.
"Leave off, will ya," Harry said, slapping at the man's hands and laughing. He then left to go to the DMLE and talk to Amelia Bones. He'd put in a good word for Sirius while he was there, if he could do it without implicating that he knew where the man was.
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It took a while, but he got to the ministry in good time. Now that everyone knew he was back, they all wanted to talk to him. He finally put up a Notice-Me-Not Charm and made his way to the DMLE office. Once he got there, he dropped it and announced himself to the secretary. She went and told Bones that Harry was there, then showed him into the office.
"Welcome to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement," Amelia Bones told him when he came into the office. She stood and held out her hand in greeting.
"Thanks for inviting me," Harry said, taking her outstretched hand.
"I just wanted to get some of the stories straight about you," she said, waving a hand to a chair in front of her overly crowded desk. Her whole office seemed to be stuffed with parchmentwork. There was parchment everywhere other than the chairs. It was sticking out of the filing cabinet and sliding off the desk, and in piles on the floor. This woman was overworked. It wasn't that she was messy, she just didn't have time to catch up with all her cases.
He took the seat and said, "What do you want to know?"
She told him what Susan had told her the night before and he cleared up what was false and what was true. It took the better part of two hours. They were interrupted quite a few times with Amelia's job, but she got the true story after a while. She took many notes and asked many clarifying questions. She wasn't happy that there was so much false information about the boy's life and what was being reported in the paper.
"What do you think about what's being reported in the Daily Prophet?" she asked him, thinking the boy would be pissed that they were calling him deranged and delusional.
"I think I bought the newspaper yesterday and they will be singing a different tune from now on," Harry said, grinning a shit-eating grin. He acted as if they didn't affect him at all. Well, not too much anyway. Him buying the paper was just a side effect of their lying about him.
"Did you really?" she asked, not sure how to take that bit of news. She knew that Fudge wasn't going to like that one bit. That would mean the ministry would lose its mouthpiece.
"Yup, I had my solicitor buy it. No one is going to be slandering anyone, unless it is completely factual from now on," Harry said, buffing his nails on his shirt. He was quite proud of this bit of work.
"I'll believe that when I see it," Bones said, taking a note on that fact. She just couldn't see Skeeter reporting the truth. That woman couldn't write facts if her life depended on it. Then again, she couldn't see Harry Potter keeping her employed at the paper.
"Now that you know the truth about me, what are you going to do with it?" Harry asked, wondering why she needed to know.
"First of all, I'm going to set Susan right. She seems to think you're a tosspot," she said, frowning a bit. Now that she thought about it, Susan came off as a bit of an airhead last night. She was going to have to have a talk with her about believing in rumors. She was going to have to look closer at the girl's school records and see if she was applying herself.
"Well, no offense, but she's a bit of a stuck-up bitch," Harry stated, not blinking a bit. He had been on the other end of that girl's tongue.
"That is very offensive," she stated with a growl. She would not sit here and listen to this boy criticize her niece.
"She is the one judging me based on rumor. I am the one basing it on her actions," he defended his words.
"Still," Amelia said, looking at him with narrow eyes.
"Look, your niece has been looking down on me like I was something stuck to her shoe. I have done nothing to deserve that," Harry said, getting a bit angry. "Last year was the worse. The whole Hufflepuff House would have had me drawn and quartered. Even Sprout. It was a bloody nightmare," he added, folding his arms defensively. "Even when it came out that I had not put my name in that bloody cup, they still ridiculed me," he said with fire in his eyes.
"I see," Bones said, thinking about that. She could see how that would affect the way someone would feel about someone else.
"Anyway, Susan is not a big part of my life," Harry said, waving the topic away. He couldn't be bothered by the girl. She wasn't family. "What are you going to do with this information?" he asked again.
"If you really did kill a basilisk, I'll see you get the Order of Merlin: First Class," she said, making a note and pulling out a form from her drawer. "What did you do with the carcass?"
"That would be nice," Harry said, thinking that would help him in his goal. If he was going to invest in the wizarding world the Order of Merlin would give him a voice in the Wizengamot. It was a small voice, but a voice, nevertheless. "It's still in the Chamber."
"You can render it down and sell it," she suggested, making more notes. "The goblins can do that for you. You say you have a solicitor, have him draw up a contract."
"I'll do that," Harry said, thinking of the money that he could get from that. He was still thinking about getting richer than the Malfoys. He needed those riches to invest in the wizarding world to obtain his goals. Still, it all depended on how the year went.
"If you say that you saw Peter Pettigrew alive, I need yours and your friends' memories," she continued, making more notes. That would clarify the letter she got yesterday and make the Black case clearer.
"I can do that. I'll get you theirs. They are under wards right now, and cannot come to you," he said, pulling out his wand and making motions for a vessel to put the memories in. Well, Hermione could, but it would just be easier for him to grab hers and send it via owl.
She pulled out some vials and handed them to him and he pulled out the memories and added them to the vial. He then handed them to her and sat back and waited for her to finish her notes. He pocketed two vials for Ron and Hermione. He hoped Ron would cooperate with him, but he doubted it. He might threaten him, but he'd see how it went.
"Now, you say that the Dark Lord has returned?" she questioned, not sure if she wanted to believe it. Then again, everything else the boy said was true.
"I can give you those memories as well," Harry offered, grabbing another vial and putting his wand to his head.
"Please," she said, nodding in agreement.
So, he did and handed her the vial. She took it and put it with the other one. "Was there anything else?" he asked when she looked at him.
"No, I think that's all. I am going to have words with your headmaster, for all the good it will do," she said, mumbling the last part. It never did in the past, the man held things too close to the chest. He never shared anything with anyone.
"Do you know when Sirius will be free?" Harry asked, looking at her anxiously.
"If Waters has anything to say about it, by the end of the week," she said, pursing her lips. Not that she didn't want Black free, she just didn't like being pushed like Waters was doing.
Just then Fudge walked into the office with his undersecretary, Dolores Umbridge. "What is he doing here?" the minister asked, pointing at Harry. He'd heard all over the ministry that the boy had been here all day talking to Bones. This was the first minute he had free time to find out why.
"Answering questions," Amelia stated, not the least bit intimidated. Fudge was not her direct boss and had no say on who she talked to. She answered to the Wizengamot, and only they could fire her and only if she was derelict in duty.
"Hem, hem," Dolores said, making that ridiculous noise she always makes before she talks. "Why is he answering questions without informing the minister?" she simpered in that little girl voice that put peoples' teeth on edge.
"I didn't realize that Cornelius had gotten a job in the DMLE," Amelia said, lifting an eyebrow. "The last time I looked he was the minister," she stated, looking at the undersecretary like she was an idiot.
"Who is this woman?" Harry asked, looking at the toad like she was a monster under the bed that needed to be squirted with a spray bottle of monster potion.
"Harry Potter, meet Dolores Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary of Cornelius Fudge. Umbridge, this is Harry Potter," Bones said, waving to each person as she introduced them.
"I'd say it's a pleasure, but I don't like you," Harry said, looking at the woman like she was a bug that had just bit him.
"How dare you," Dolores screeched, going towards him like she was going to slap him.
"Touch me and I'll sue the ministry for everything I can take it for," Harry stated, not even moving a centimeter. "I have a guardian and a solicitor; I am not afraid to use them. See if I don't," he threatened with slit-like eyes.
That stopped the woman short, but she still glared at him and was about to start yelling when Fudge spoke up.
"Dolores, control yourself," Fudge said, appalled that his undersecretary would lose control so easily.
"But, Cornelius, did you not hear what he said?" the toad cried, turning to her boss, whinging like a teenager.
"Get ahold of yourself, woman. He is a child, you're an adult," Bones said, glaring at the woman who was behaving like a child. "Why are you here, Fudge?" she asked the minister, dismissing the woman and turning her attention to the minister.
"I am not talking while Potter is here," Fudge said, looking at the teenager with a sneer.
"I was just leaving," Harry said, grinning like a fool. He knew no matter what the idiot thought, Sirius would be free by the end of the week. There was nothing they could do or say that would make him upset.
"Thank you for your time, Potter," Amelia said, giving him a small smile. She learned much from him today. Sure, he made her job harder, but now at least she and her department will be prepared. Well, as best as they can be with the budget they have.
"Not a problem, Director Bones," Harry said and left the room. He heard Fudge talk about what was going on with Sirius before the door closed. He smiled again and moved towards the lifts. He was happy about the way the day went.