The Meeting with the Minister
Summary: After Fudge's impeachment, Rufus Scrimgeour is appointed the new Minister of Magic. He requests to meet with Harry to understand what happened that night of the Third Task. Harry agrees with the hope that everyone will realize that Voldemort is back. Will it work to warn the Wizarding World of an upcoming war?
Set in the summer following Goblet of Fire.
James knew what the memo said before he even opened it. It had flown into his office in the Auror Department five minutes ago, landing on his desk on top of a stack of files he had been reviewing. He left it lying there as he picked up the files one by one.
It had been two days since Fudge had been impeached.
The reason? His refusal to believe that Voldemort had returned or Harry's story of what happened in the graveyard. It was enough for Amelia to call for a Wizengamot emergency session to call for Fudge to be impeached or removed from the Minister's office.
Unanimously, the Wizengamot agreed to impeach Cornelius Fudge. The news made headlines across the news on the Wireless and the Daily Prophet.
Amelia was acting Minister of Magic until Rufus Scrimgeour was sworn into office. That ceremony took place yesterday morning. Next week, Kingsley was to be sworn in as the new Head Auror for the Auror Department. He had chosen James as his Deputy Head.
That was the least of James's concerns at the moment.
Rufus had mentioned that he would like to speak with Harry. James knew why. He had a feeling it was more than what he was thinking.
Taking a deep breath, he opened the memo.
James,
Meet me in my office at your earliest convenience.
Rufus.
Having worked with Rufus all these years, James knew how he operated. He knew people in the Wizarding World had questions, and his son was the one with most of the answers.
This had been a topic of conversation he and Lily had last night after Harry had left the table. James had waited until he heard the door to Harry's room close to bring up the topic. He knew how Lily felt about it. Unfortunately, they may not have a choice, especially if they ask Harry what he wants to do.
James knew the answer to that question. He would tell him or rather show them what happened that night. Dumbledore had already collected Harry's memory of what happened that night. It was in a vial in a drawer in James's desk at the house.
He was brought out of his thoughts when Sirius stepped into his office.
"Close the door," James said.
"Hello to you," Sirius commented as he closed the door, the latch clicking loudly in the quiet office.
James held up the memo in between two fingers. "Want to know what this is?"
"Rufus wants to meet with Harry?" Sirius guessed.
"Give the man a cookie. You're correct, Padfoot." James threw down the memo. He sighed. "I don't think we can put it off any longer."
"How does Lily feel about it?" Sirius asked.
"How do you think she feels about it?"
Sirius knew. When it came to Harry, the Mama Lioness came out in Lily if anyone dared to threaten her son or when her protective instincts kicked in. They had been in high gear since the night of the third task.
"I know how Prongslet feels about it. He would tell him what happened that night. Unless Dumbledore has collected the memory of what happened from him."
"He did. Albus suggested it. Most likely for this very reason."
Sirius nodded.
"So what are you going to do?"
James looked up at the question. "The first thing I want to do is speak with Rufus and find out exactly what he wants. So when I talk to Lily later, I'll have all the information, and we can make a decision on whether or not to involve Harry. But then again, it might be out of our hands."
Sirius reached for the picture frame on James's desk close to him. It was a five-year-old, Harry, in his first school picture. He wished he could still see the innocence on his face.
"I was looking at that picture this morning, wishing we could go back."
Sirius knew what James meant: a time before Harry witnessed Cedric's death and the return of Voldemort.
"I guess I better go speak with Rufus."
James stood up from his desk chair and walked around the desk. Sirius stood up, following him out of his office, but turned to return to his own office.
"I'll let you know how it went," James said.
Sirius nodded.
James left the Auror office, approaching the lifts. He passed a stand where a boy was selling the Daily Prophet. The day's headline announced that change was coming to the Ministry. It was about the changes of heads of departments with Rufus's promotion to Minister and replacing those who were either fired or resigned following Fudge's impeachment.
"And to think he said he would resign before he was impeached," James murmured.
Amelia called the meeting for his impeachment so quickly, and the proceedings had already begun before he had the chance. She had even given Fudge a chance to speak. He didn't take it.
James took the lifts down to level one. He rode on the lift alone, allowing him to collect his thoughts.
"Level one, Minister for Magic and Support Staff."
The lift doors open to the small corridor lined with thick purple carpet. James approached the small reception area near the office of the Minister of Magic. Lois, Rufus's long-time secretary, sat at the desk in front of the reception area. Jules, assistant to the Minister, sat beside her.
"Hello, James. How can I help you?" Lois asked.
"Rufus requested to speak with me," James replied.
"I'll let him know you're here," Jules said as she stood up.
While she was gone, Lois and James made small talk while he waited.
Jules returned a moment later.
"He's ready to see you, Mr. Potter."
"Thank you," James replied.
"Can I get you a cup of tea or a coffee?" Jules asked.
James shook his head. "No, thank you."
He walked into the Minister of Magic's office. Rufus had done a little redecorating since he took the office.
"I see Melinda's been here," James commented as he came into the room, noticing the decor.
"She's had a hand in decorating. Did you get my memo?" Rufus asked.
James nodded. "I did, and I think you know what I'm going to say."
Rufus nodded as he leaned back in his chair.
"I do."
"Harry has been through enough. I'm not going to drag him through more. I know there are questions everyone has, and some people believe Fudge's claims that Harry is lying. At the same, my son is just a fourteen, almost fifteen-year-old boy."
Rufus nodded.
"People do have questions. Unfortunately, Harry has the most of the answers."
"That I know," James sighed. "I'll need to speak with Lily, and obviously, I'll talk with Harry."
"There is one thing I can assure you of James. I have no plans of making Harry a poster boy for the Ministry. I know that is probably what you and Lily think I was doing."
"I wouldn't stand for it, and neither would Lily," James stated. "I've known you for how many years now? I've never known you to be anything but fair. I respect that."
"Thank you," Rufus murmured.
"I do want to make one thing clear. It will be Harry's choice if he chooses to speak with you, and I want to review anything that goes to the Prophet."
"I understand," Rufus said.
"I'm going to speak with Lily before we schedule a meeting for you to talk to Harry. I'm not going to make a decision like this without discussing it with her."
Rufus nodded.
"And knowing Lily, she wouldn't appreciate being left out."
James snorted. "She wouldn't be happy, definitely."
Rufus leaned back in his chair. "I know how protective you and Lily are of Harry, and with the recent events, I can't blame you if the protectiveness has increased. I can't imagine what you and your family have been through."
"Well, it's nothing compared to what Amos and his family are going through."
Rufus nodded, closing his eyes. Amos was on bereavement leave with no return to work date.
"Can't imagine," Rufus murmured. He shook his head.
They sat in silence for a moment before Rufus broke it.
"Take your time making a decision," He said.
James nodded. "I'll let you know what we've decided by the end of the week."
James stood up to leave. Rufus stood up to walk out with him. They made small talk about the Head/Deputy Head Auror swearing-in scheduled for the following week.
They shook hands before James headed to the lifts to return to the Auror office.
He had a lot on his mind.
OoOoOoOoOoOoO
James came home to find Lily in the kitchen. The smell of garlic and tomato sauce greeted him.
"Smells good, Flower," He commented as he walked around the counter to the stove where Lily stood. He kissed her cheek before she turned her head to greet him with a kiss.
"We'll be ready to eat in about an hour. I just got home. I'm throwing together a pasta bake. It's a recipe I got from Jane."
"Sounds good. Where's Harry?" James asked.
"He's outside."
James looked outside to find their son in the hammock in the garden. He was releasing and catching a snitch while lying in the hammock, his foot hanging out. The hammock rocked softly in the wind.
He still had to do a doubletake when he looked at his son.
Harry had been home for less than a week when he asked Lily if she could cut his hair. She had cut it shorter than usual, leaving the front a little longer to cover his scar if they needed to.
"While he's out of the house, there's something we need to discuss," James said.
Lily stopped stirring the pasta, turning her attention to her husband. She recognized his tone. This was something serious.
"What is it, James?" She asked.
"Remember I told you Rufus might want to speak with Harry?" James began.
Lily sighed. "He wants to speak with Harry, doesn't he?"
"Yes."
Lily resumed her stirring and then drained the pasta. She began to assemble the pasta bake, layering the bake with the pasta, sauce, and cheese. When she was done assembling the pasta bake, Lily opened the oven door and slid the dish inside. Closing the door, she set the temperature and the timer before returning her full attention to her husband.
"I don't think we have much of a choice," She said.
James sighed.
"I don't think we do either. People have questions, Rufus said. Harry has a few of the answers, but not all of them."
Lily gathered supplies to make a salad. James figured it was an excuse to chop things with a knife aggressively.
He wasn't wrong when she attacked a head of lettuce and a carrot.
"We'll need to talk to Harry about this."
"You know what his answer is going to be, Lily."
Lily sighed.
"We can thank our lucky stars that Albus thought to extract the memory of that night from Harry. Maybe he won't need to retell the whole story."
James nodded. He opened a bottle of Butterbeer and took a long swig.
"So, are we on the same page?" He asked.
Lily paused from tossing the salad. She sighed once more and nodded.
"We're on the same page."
An hour later, dinner was ready. Lily opened the back door to call out to their son.
"Dinner's ready, come and eat."
Harry had moved from the hammock and had decided to lay in the grass. James noticed it had been mowed today.
"Did I ask Harry to mow today?" James asked, looking out the back patio doors.
"You told him last night at dinner to mow the grass if he could get the mower going. It started up without a problem."
"Oh, you were home today?"
Lily usually worked a few days in the summer at St. Mungo's, filling in for Healers or Potion Makers who were on holiday.
"I wasn't needed today," Lily replied. "I'm working in the lab tomorrow. I ran some errands after he finished mowing."
James nodded.
The back door opened and closed. Harry walked into the kitchen after taking his shoes off and leaving them in the scullery.
"Go wash up," Lily directed as she pulled the pasta bake out of the oven. A basket of bread was sitting on the counter.
"Hey, Dad," Harry greeted.
"Hi, Son. Thanks for mowing the grass."
"You're welcome."
James and Harry washed their hands in the downstairs loo. Returning to the kitchen, they sat down at their usual spots. James was at the head of the table facing the kitchen. Harry was in the chair beside him, facing the sitting room.
Harry had stopped to take the bread basket from the dividing counter to the table before sitting down. James had collected his bottle of Butterbeer, gotten one for Harry, and picked up a can of Diet Coke for Lily to take to the table.
Lily sent the salad to the table and then the pasta bake. She carried three plates with napkins and forks to the table. She handed James and Harry a fork and napkin and served the pasta bake on the plates, fixing James's first.
James waited until Lily had served Harry and herself and sat down before he began the conversation.
"Harry, there's something we need to discuss," He began.
"What is it?" Harry asked, slightly concerned.
"I spoke with the Minister today, and he wants to speak with you."
Harry nodded. "About the night of the third task?" He guessed.
"Yes."
James paused momentarily to allow Harry to take in the information he had just given him.
"I'll do it."
"Harry."
"Mum, I need to. Fudge didn't believe me, but Ameilia and Rufus do believe me."
Lily sighed, leaning back in her seat. She looked at James, telling him nonverbally to say something.
"Are you sure?" James asked.
"I'm sure," Harry replied, nodding his head.
"Alright then."
"When did Rufus want to meet with him?" Lily asked, admitting defeat.
She was hoping they could avoid a conversation. Just give Rufus the vial of Harry's memory, and that would be it. Dumbledore could answer any further questions since Harry had told him the story from start to finish.
"We can decide that. When do you think you would like to meet with Rufus?"
"One day next week?" Harry suggested.
James nodded. "Okay, I'll tell him when I go to work tomorrow."
"It shouldn't be too difficult," Harry murmured.
James shook his head.
"It shouldn't. Dumbledore collected the memory from you. I have the vial. We could show him that if you would rather do it that way."
Harry nodded.
"It shows what happened better than I can. I can explain what happened leading up to that."
Lily nodded.
"Rufus might have questions after he views the memory. We'll see," James informed his son.
"I'm aware of that, Dad," Harry assured him.
James didn't miss the look of relief on Lily's face when Harry took a second helping of the pasta bake.
Harry hadn't been eating much lately. Tonight was the first night in a week Harry didn't pick at his dinner. He actually cleaned his plate and took Lily on the offer of dessert—a bowl of chocolate ice cream.
James helped himself to his own ice cream, plain vanilla.
Lily helped herself to a mix of chocolate and vanilla. She returned the ice cream to the freezer before joining Harry and James at the table.
She knew this meeting with Rufus Scrimgeour needed to happen. Cornelius had made it sound like Harry was making up the fact Voldemort had returned. Shortly after he talked with Cornelius, Albus contacted Amelia. James had found out she was angry when Albus told her how Cornelius had refused to listen to him. When he had collected the memory from Harry the next day, Cornelius refused to see it.
Albus had given James the memory to hold on to it. He had it when Albus had spoken with Amelia. She had told Albus she would view the memory with the other members of the Wizengamot present.
Lily looked at her son as he and James discussed a Quidditch match they would attend the following week. Sirius had gotten the tickets for the match weeks ago.
She was seeking any hint of normalcy.
This summer had been anything but the usual.
The nightmares and sleepless nights, it had been a long summer already.
Lily hoped that this meeting with Rufus would start the healing process. Not only would the memory show Voldemort returning, but it would also show who was responsible for the death of Cedric.
Peter Pettigrew.
He had once again escaped from Azkaban after a month in prison. No words could describe James's pure rage when he was told what happened.
One of Rufus's first orders as minister was to increase security at the prison. Kingsley was enforcing it by hiring additional Aurors to guard the prison.
Time will tell if it works or not.
"Lily?"
Lily was brought back to the present by James's voice.
"Are you alright?"
Lily nodded.
"I'm alright."
Harry had left the table while Lily had been in her thoughts. He went into the family room to set up the Nintendo. James wanted another round of Mortal Kombat. They had played the night before, and Harry had won.
Lily was happy that Harry was slowly returning to his normal self.
But the summer had just begun.
She just hoped the slow return to normal would continue.
OoOoOoOoOoOoO
Harry sat across from Rufus in a chair across from his desk. His hand clasped tightly around the vial that held his memory from that night.
James sat in the chair beside him. It wasn't that he didn't trust Rufus. He had been his boss for years. This was more to appease Lily.
While she, too, trusted Rufus, she was looking out for their son.
She had asked James to be present for Harry and Rufus's talk. Although if you asked James, she didn't ask. She demanded he was there.
Rufus cleared his throat.
"Harry, on behalf of the Ministry, we sincerely apologize for not believing you. I myself believed you, but the previous administration..."
"An apology isn't necessary," Harry began.
"I feel that it is," Rufus said. "I know it must have added unnecessary trauma to what you've already been through."
Harry nodded.
Rufus sat up straighter. "I understand you brought a memory of the night?"
"Yes, Sir. But I feel I might need to explain what happened leading up to it."
Rufus nodded. Harry began by explaining how the Third Task had started and how he and Cedric had both reached the cup at the same time. It was then that Harry handed Rufus the vial.
A Pensieve appeared out of nowhere.
"Does the ministry have their own?" Harry asked.
"Yes, they do. The Auror office has one, and the Wizengamot has one, as well."
"This way, we can see what happened for ourselves."
Rufus wasn't going to be viewing the memory at that moment. He was going to view it with a few members of the Wizengamot. Albus was one of them, so he could answer questions based on what Harry had told him.
"This will be most enlightening."
Harry followed James to his office while Rufus, Ameilia, Albus, and a few other members of the Wizengamot viewed the memory. He was going to wait there while they reviewed it and discussed it. He would return to the minister's office if they had any further questions Albus couldn't answer.
"How did it go?" Sirius asked.
"They're viewing the memory now. Albus will let me know if they have any further questions," James explained.
Harry reached into James's cold box to get a can of Coke.
"Hand me one, Prongslet," Sirius requested.
Harry handed Sirius a can and took another one for himself.
"Will things be different now?"
James and Sirius paused at Harry's question. They looked at each other, matching expressions of concern on their faces.
James cleared his throat.
"Yes," He replied.
Albus's phoenix Patronus, flew into the room.
"James, Harry's presence is requested in the Minister's office."
Harry and James shared a look.
"Wonder what else they would want," Sirius pondered.
"We'll find out. Come on, Harry."
James and Harry left his office and walked out of the Auror department. They approached the lifts, Harry pressing the down button. The lift doors opened immediately, and they stepped on, Harry pressing the large one button.
The lift ride down to level one was silent. When the doors opened and the witch's voice announced they had arrived, Harry and James stepped off the lift and walked back down the corridor to the minister's office.
When they walked into the minister's office, Amelia Bones, Albus, and a few other members of the Wizengamot were standing there, along side Rufus.
"First and foremost, Harry, I know Rufus has already apologized on behalf of the ministry, but the Wizengamot would like to extend its apologies for not doing anything about this sooner," Amelia began.
"Apology isn't necessary," Harry said.
"I feel that it is. With this information, we'll be able to warn the people of the Wizarding World of what's to come." Amelia turned to Albus. "You had something to add, Chief Warlock?"
"I do. I know it was at my suggestion we collected this memory, without which we wouldn't be here today, but thank you, Harry, for sharing it with us," Dumbledore said.
"You're welcome."
"What happens now?" James asked.
Amelia shared a look with Albus before responding.
"There is a reporter here from the Daily Prophet. Harry doesn't need to speak with them."
"It isn't Rita Skeeter, is it?" Harry asked.
"No." Amelia shook her head.
"Okay."
"Thank you again, Harry, for sharing this with us. Again, we apologize for not doing anything about this sooner."
After talking with Ameilia about some Auror business, James and Harry left the minister's office to return to the Auror department. Harry will use James's floo to head home.
As they walked to the lifts, Harry took a sigh of relief. The truth was going to get out because of him. Now, he just needed to heal from it.
OoOoOoOoOoOoO
The next morning's Prophet arrived at its usual time. Lily took it, dropped a knut into the pouch, and offered the owl a treat before it flew away.
She unrolled the paper and was greeted with the day's headline.
Ministry Confirms: Voldemort has Returned!
She and James reviewed the section of the article that talked about Rufus's meeting with Harry and what he had seen from his memory of that night. Rufus had agreed to allow them to review it, knowing they were looking out for their son.
"It's real now," She said.
James sighed, picking up his coffee cup, his eyes not leaving the paper in front of him.
"At least people know now."
Lily nodded, cradling her cup of tea in her hands.
"True," She murmured.
James sat down his cup of coffee to pick up the paper.
The kitchen door opened, but they didn't need to look to see who it was. They knew.
"Good morning, Potters," Sirius greeted. "Lily, can you iron some pants for me?"
"Right now?" She asked.
"No, I don't have them with me. But can you?"
Lily sighed. "I guess."
She walked to the refrigerator to collect eggs and sausage.
"I guess you want breakfast too, Sirius?" She asked.
"Yes, please."
Lily began making breakfast as Sirius started to discuss a case with James.
"Is Harry asleep?" Sirius inquired.
"Yeah."
"I don't think he slept much last night," Lily added.
"Nightmares?" Sirius guessed.
James nodded. "I got up to get a drink of water and found him on the couch. He said he had a nightmare and couldn't get back to sleep."
"What happened this time?" Sirius asked.
"He said each of us, one by one, he found us dead. Me, Lily, You, Remus, Ron, Hermione, Neville, and another person he couldn't identify."
Sirius whispered a curse, shaking his head. "I figured it was the one where he said everyone blamed him for the death of Cedric."
James picked up his coffee cup.
"That was something else Harry's memory cleared up for the Ministry, who is at fault for Cedric's death."
"The rat," Sirius spat.
James nodded. "It wasn't they thought Harry was at fault. Amos and Mary don't blame him, but a few thought otherwise."
Lily brought two plates with eggs and sausage to the table, sitting them down in front of James and Sirius.
"Thank you, Lily," Sirius murmured.
As Lily returned to the stove to make more eggs and sausage, she looked up towards upstairs. James and Sirius were about to ask her what was wrong when they heard footsteps coming down the stairs.
Harry shuffled into the kitchen, his hair messy from his few hours of sleep.
"Good morning, Sweetheart."
"Hey, Kiddo," Sirius greeted.
"Morning," Harry murmured as he sat down at the table.
"Do you want eggs and sausage for breakfast?" Lily asked.
Harry nodded. "Sure. Did we get the paper?"
"We did," James said, pushing the paper towards Harry.
Harry took it, reading the article.
James watched Harry read it, knowing that he and Lily had already decided to allow Harry to read it. There wasn't a way to prevent Harry from ever reading it.
"What happens now?" He asked, handing James the newspaper back.
Lily brought a plate of eggs, sausage, and a fruit bowl to the table. She sat the fruit bowl on the table in the center and the plate of eggs and sausage in front of Harry.
"We'll see, Sweetheart," Lily said as she poured a glass of orange juice and sat it in front of Harry.
Harry nodded as he began eating breakfast.
James shared a look with Lily. They knew the meeting with the minister would make things better in some ways, even though they knew the Wizarding World was heading to war.
"So what are you going to do today?" Sirius asked Harry.
"Ron and Neville are coming over later. We're going to watch some movies and play video games."
Sirius nodded.
He shared a look with James and Lily. They knew what was coming, and they knew Harry would be on the front lines of it regardless of how they felt about it.
But they had something on their side: the Minister and the Ministry.
It could have been worse if they continued with Cornelius Fudge, who refused to believe Voldemort had returned. They didn't even want to entertain what their life would have been like if he had continued as Minister.
With Rufus, he was on their side. How long it would last, who knew?
Whatever was coming, at least they better be prepared.