Harry was released later that day and they all headed for the ministry of magic. Hermione had informed Harry that the news of Voldemort�s demise had still not broken. He was slightly angry, there were a lot of people out there still living in terror, but he figured that it was possible they were waiting for the debate over the remains to be solved before they let the story out.
Harry had not been in the ministry since the day Sirius died and he had to admit to himself that he was a bit worried. He didn�t want to break down in front of all the people who would undoubtably be there. As they entered the lobby, the first thing Harry noticed was the fountain. It had been restored after Voldemort�s attack three years before. Harry walked over to it, placing his hand on the head of the goblin. He laughed mirthlessly, �what a lie,� he thought to himself.
Just then, Arthur came hurrying towards him.
�Harry! Come, let us go to my office, the council is meeting there, we have decided that today is the day that we break the big story!� he was grinning, yet looked nervous.
�Mr. Weasley, what�s wrong, you seem a bit jittery,� Harry watched him with a raised eyebrow.
�Yes, it�s er-we�ll talk about it in the meeting please!� he looked around to all the people who were staring at himself and his companion, two of the most identifiable faces in the wizarding world!
�Alright, sir,� Harry nodded and followed, thinking that there was something odd going on.
As soon as they stepped into the minister�s office, Harry knew why Arthur had been so edgy.
�Dementors!� Harry�s entire being was repelled by the idea of stepping one foot further into the room. �why are they here?� his voice sounded very young.
One of the politicians stepped over to him, �now Mr. Potter! They have been duped by the dark lord, just like many goblins who had agreed to help him,� he gestured to a table of apprehensive looking goblins, �they were promised freedoms that we will not allow them and so strayed from their duties at Azkaban and other prisons but v...Voldemort,� he shuttered a little at saying the name, �only uses them and they want to come back to our side and help in the fight.� The man stared at Harry, wide eyed, hoping he would go along with their plans. They obviously wanted to get these groups on their own side again before the news of Voldemort�s final downfall was open to the public.
Harry nodded but pulled his wand nevertheless, �fine but just so they know, I was the youngest wizard in ages to perfect a patronis, and I�m not afraid to use it!� He nodded once and sat down in a chair as far across the room as possible from the foul beings.
Someone across the room muttered that he sounded like mad-eye Moody, to which the real Moody burst out in gruff laughter. This seemed to break a bit of the tension as well as make the dementors shrink further into the corner in which they were standing. Even Harry broke into a slight smile.
His attention soon waned though, once they began attempting to make deals with the dementors and the goblins. �More politics! Honestly, I don�t know HOW Mr. Weasley deals with these people day in and day out!� Harry shook his head in disgust, �after all the people whom had been terrorized by the dementors since Voldemort�s second rise, and here is the very government which is supposed to protect those same people, making deals with the horrible creatures!� he laughed bitterly to himself Finally, they had come to some sort of concession and the dementors disappeared in a cloud of oily looking black smoke and the goblins headed for the door. The politicians looked more at ease now that the dealings were closed and they looked at each other as smiles began to spread on their faces. Some started congratulating Arthur who looked slightly queasy.
He sighed and shrugged off one of the hands that was patting him on the shoulder, �please do not thank ME for this,� he gestured to the stack of magical contracts, �you all know my feelings on this matter, the only reason I agreed to this is to get those beings off of the street and back on azkaban island where they belong!� he threw his quill forcefully onto the table, breaking it.
Many of the government officials looked at him in dismay but Dumbledore and Moody were both nodding in agreement. It was Harry who spoke first, �well then I think you have done the right thing. Keeping them on their little island is what they deserve and it will keep people safe.� He stood, looking around the room, �we have to be sure that something like this never happens again though.� they all nodded and he continued, taking charge of the meeting a bit, �now, what is being done with Voldemort�s remains? And how exactly is the news story of the decade going to be put out there?�
They all began talking at once, Harry grew impatient and slammed his fist down on the table, �one at a time! You!� he pointed to a young, nervous looking fellow who was obviously a secretary of some sort, �I�m sure you have this all written down, so just tell me straight out the whithertoos and whyfores of it all.�
The secretary began stammering, until Harry raised a single eyebrow, impatiently. �Er...yessir, um...let�s see yes umm the d..dark lords uuuh remains? Will be taken by an Unspeakable from the Department of Mysteries where it will be placed with the remains of Grindelwald in a locked vault. And as far as the news of his demise...well that�s sort of why you�re here sir!� the mans voice cracked slightly, �you see we need your help in fleshing out the details.� He looked nervously around the room at the other council members, mouth agape.
�Why do you need me? I don�t want the credit for this! I have too much publicity about myself as it is, say it was a platoon from the order of the phoenix and the rest is confidential. Or give the credit to one of the aurors! I just want to live a normal life. Just...me and my friends and the family I want to make. They don�t need this hanging over their heads either.�
The room fell into silence until Dumbledore cleared his throat as Arthur stood. �Harry, if that is what you want, that is what we will do.� He smiled warmly at the boy he considered and adopted son, �I tell you what though, with the way you take control I had better watch out for my job!� the room burst into guffaws of laughter.
After they had written the official press statement, the meeting was adjourned. Harry lingered behind though, waiting for an opportunity to talk to Dumbledore and Mr. Weasley in private. When everyone except the three men (plus Allestor Moody) had left Harry cleared his throat.
�Umm...sirs? I would like to talk about professor Snape and my aunt Petuina.�
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