Categories > Books > Harry Potter > Heart of the Warrior Book V
Chapter 25: The New Interim Minister
0 reviewsNinja Turtles 2003/Harry Potter Crossover. Sequel to Books I through IV. With Voldemort returning to power, Harry encounters some of his most dangerous perils yet. Can he survive?
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Chapter Twenty Five: The New Interim Minister
It was early morning at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, on the weekend before the Wizengamot was to choose an Interim Minister of Magic who would run things until the official election at the end of November. Many of the students were still asleep at this early point in the morning.
One Harry Potter had never been known to sleep in. He woke early to wrap up his schoolwork that he had not gotten around to completely previously. Harry joyously completed that task and now decided to take a walk down the corridors of Hogwarts to kill time, while sticking to the shadows to avoid detection. Technically he wasn’t doing anything wrong, but he didn’t want to give Umbridge any chance to formulate some trumped up charges against him.
Harry reflected on what he had learned over the past couple of weeks. Namely, the recently formed alliance between his two most dangerous enemies, the Shredder and Lord Voldemort. After the initial shock wore off from learning two dangerous forces aligned, something came to mind that caused Harry even more distress than the simple fact Shredder and Voldemort were aligned. Harry seriously wondered what the motive for this alliance could be. Granted, he had a feeling that he was partially the reason, but he doubted very much that he was the entire reason that brought these two evil forces together. Shredder didn’t strike him as someone who aligned with someone without a reason that benefited him and Voldemort was much of the same way. Harry wondered if he should just sit back and let these two stab each other in the back.
Of course, Harry couldn’t really make an informed decision about that until he figured out why in the hell Voldemort and Shredder were aligned.
“Harry Potter,” chanted a misty voice which caused Harry to spin around, pointing his wand at the voice of his momentarily disturbance.
Harry backed off, as he saw the form of Professor Trelawney standing in the shadows, with an absolutely horrified expression on her face.
“Oh, it’s you,” remarked Harry calmly.
Harry had only a few run ins with Trelawney during his time at Hogwarts and each one made Harry thankful that he never took Divination. That woman seemed to take a sickening pleasure of predicating Harry’s inevitable and impending doom every time they met.
“My dear boy, you must listen to me as I bring you a message of your utter destruction,” declared Trelawney in a cryptic voice, as she stared at Harry with a wide expression. “I’m afraid you will be in grave danger if you do not heed my warning. The haunting specter of destruction is looming ever closer. You must tread carefully around your enemies and even more so around your friends. I feel there is a traitor in the midst, Harry Potter.”
“Right,” said Harry sarcastically, brushing off Trelawney’s warnings has the usual clap trap and nonsense, before deciding that there should be no reason why he shouldn’t have his bit of fun at the expense of the alleged seer. “But wait; there is something, something dark that looms on the horizon for you as well, Professor Trelawney.”
Harry’s eyes went wide as he looked at Trelawney with an utterly serious expression before he slipped into a trance.
“What is it?” asked Trelawney in a saddened voice, obviously taking Harry’s fake trance to be one hundred percent.
“You need to, you must beware….the Ides of March,” concluded Harry dramatically as Trelawney gasped in horror.
“Indeed, I must, you might have some seer blood in you yet, Harry Potter, quite unfortunate you decided not to take my class, but I’m certain fate had their reasons,” said Trelawney mistily before she slipped off with another word.
Harry turned, looking slightly amused by how naïve Trelawney was to believe him. Umbridge had put the Divination teacher on probation and she obviously was attempting to save face by making a prediction about him being in danger.
Harry put the matter out of his mind as he continued his walk down the hall, being a bit more cautious not to attract the attention of any more people.
Around the time Harry was pacing the hallways, Lord Voldemort sat in a cavernous, musty, chamber deep within his Salazar tower headquarters, waiting for Lucius to report to him about a really pressing matter. Potter’s curiosity should have been sufficiently piqued by now, due to the clue that Voldemort requested Oroku Saki plant. A subtle clue but one that Potter would most certainly pick up on straight away. All appeared to be going to plan as Saki, Potter, Dumbledore, and the Ministry of Magic were all playing nicely into the Dark Lord’s hands.
Voldemort was brought out his thoughts by the arrival of Lucius Malfoy. Malfoy cautiously walked across the room before kneeling down before the Dark Lord.
“Speak,” hissed Voldemort in an impatient voice.
“My Lord, Lily Potter is meeting with the Wizengamot,” prompted Lucius Malfoy. “This Monday, the day before they choose the interim Minister of Magic.”
“I fail to see the problem with this Lucius,” hissed Voldemort. “So the Mudblood is desperately trying convince a few more Wizengamot members to vote her way. It should matter little as roughly forty percent of the Wizengamot is comprised of people that have support towards our goals; even through they have not officially joined us yet.”
“Respectively speaking my Lord, a few of those who support our cause support their position in the Wizengamot even more,” responded Lucius quickly. “They might be swayed to vote for someone different. The public has been demanding a change.”
Voldemort stared at Lucius before laughing in his face.
“Lucius, I’m rather disappointed in you,” said Voldemort in a calm voice. “Don’t you think I haven’t made such precautions in case of such of a rebellion?”
“Of course not my Lord,” stammered Lucius quickly.
“Still, she could be a bit of a problem,” declared Voldemort thoughtfully. “You are to win Lucius and make sure Lily Potter doesn’t come anywhere close to becoming interim Minister of Magic. It matters little how you do that, just do it.”
“Of course, my Lord,” answered Lucius, bowing his head respectively as he slowly backed from the room. “I will not let you down.”
“You better not Lucius,” hissed Voldemort as he kept both of his eyes on Malfoy.
Voldemort watched Lucius leave with a satisfied expression, as the Dark Lord reflected on the events that lead up to Lucius being put in the position that he was. Fudge was becoming too much of a liability to his cause as the bumbling fool believed his own press and thought he actually accomplished something. Voldemort managed to plant some evidence within the Ministry to force Fudge’s resignation. Now with Fudge out of the way, Lucius could gain the position of Interim Minister of Magic and eliminate the obstacles so the Dark Lord could complete the first phase of his plan that would result in his ultimate takeover of Magical Britain.
Late in the morning in the Room of Requirement, Harry watched as Luna and Ginny directed the Defense Against the Dark arts study group before going back to what he was writing. With his assistance, they were able to do an excellent job to get what Harry wanted accomplished. The truth was, Harry hoped that by the end of the year, everyone learned enough to defend themselves long enough to get to safety should any of Voldemort’s Death Eaters come calling. He didn’t seen Voldemort staying in the shadows for too much more time. Most likely, Voldemort wanted to make sure each and every witch and wizard in the world knew he was back when he decided to show himself up. Harry had a sinking feeling he was going to face off against Voldemort in their fifth meeting all too soon.
Harry watched the group that he had gotten off the ground with pride. While they weren’t up to his level, Harry never really expected them to be that magically powerful. Still, everyone in the group was a lot better off from when they first started out. A bit over half of the group seemed to have some basic grasp of simple wandless magic, while the rest were rapidly on their way to getting to that point.
Harry felt that recently everything recently was becoming smoother then he could have ever hoped. The Slytherin Quidditch Team was flying the better than they have ever been as long as anyone could remember. Harry was absolutely they would have no problem in their next Quidditch Match against Ravenclaw on the first weekend in March if they kept flying the way they are. Harry also couldn’t understand the level of success that his Defense group was achieving. Everyone was working hard to make up for the lack of teaching that Umbridge had given them. At this rate, the fifth years in the group would be more then prepared for their O.W.L.s when they take place in March.
Harry was brought out of his thoughts by everyone stopping their spell work and moving towards the exit of the Room of Requirement as the time Harry had recommend to Luna and Ginny that should be allowed for the lesson having drawn to a conclusion. Ginny walked over to Harry as the people filed out of the room.
“They are improving Harry,” informed Ginny. “But it’s going to take a while before they unlearn several years of what the teachers at Hogwarts have been drilling into their heads about controlled magic not being able.”
“I realize that,” replied Harry as he looked over his writing. “I just hope they will be sufficient enough before the summer holidays. As long as you and Luna keep following making sure they follow the steps I’ve thought you, I think they will be fine. ”
Harry went back to his paper, crossing out line on the paper, before writing something else. Hermione, Daphne, Theodore, and Hailey walked over towards Harry, looking at him curiously.
“What exactly are you working on anyway, Harry?” asked Theodore curiously.
“Yeah, Harry, I’m curious about that too, you just put yourself in a secluded corner before the meeting and started working on it,” said Daphne. “You haven’t moved since.”
“If you must know, I’m working on a way to sway a group of pureblood supremacists to vote a muggleborn into the post of interim Minister of Magic,” said Harry calmly.
“So, while you’re working on that impossible plan, will you also be figuring out a way to solve world hunger?” asked Hailey.
“No, but I think this might work,” muttered Harry to himself, ignoring his sister. “I’d have to run this by Mum first, but I think making the purebloods feel insufficient and worthless without actually saying it may actually work. Yes, it has to work. Those egotistical bigots don’t like their respect to be challenge.”
“Harry, I’ve just been thinking,” remarked Hermione in a slowly voice. “If your mother somehow does win, don’t you think that Voldemort might decide to make himself known before you’re ready.”
“No,” said Harry curtly, without a moment’s thought.
Needless to say, that one word caused him to get bewildered looks from Hailey, Ginny, Hermione, Daphne, and Theodore.
“How could you be sure through?” asked Theodore. “Voldemort isn’t going to stand by and let the Ministry be turned into something that is going to actively expose his sympathizers.”
“It’s not about Voldemort standing by, he wants to get his hands on something that would be nearly impossible for him to acquire with everyone knowing he’s back,” explained Harry.
“What, that fake Prophecy that Dumbledore concocted that caused Voldemort to come after you in the first place?” asked Ginny.
“Maybe,” said Harry skeptically.
The fake Prophecy would hold great interest to Voldemort but Harry couldn’t deny a nagging suspicion that Voldemort wanted to get his hands on something else. The thing that was really eating away at Harry is that he couldn’t think of what Voldemort was after. All Harry could figure out is that it was extremely important. Otherwise, Voldemort wouldn’t have all of his Death Eaters in Azkaban broken out recently.
Harry went back to writing his mother’s speech for the Wizengamot, making a few alterations as the other’s walked from the room in order to leave Harry to his work in peace.
In the Headmaster’s office, Albus Dumbledore looked across the room with a tired expression, as he rubbed his forehead with a tired expression. The few years hadn’t been one that Dumbledore would fondly recover. Dumbledore could pinpoint his recent misfortunes all starting with Harry Potter constantly slipping out from underneath his thumb thanks to those wretched reptiles and that meddlesome rat sensei. Dumbledore could have perhaps subtly maneuvered Potter where he wanted him to go if one thing hadn’t have happened. Dumbledore knew he had lost any chance to persuade the boy to follow his ideals when it was revealed that Lily Potter survived Dumbledore’s attempt to dispose of her all of those years, shortly after she managed to find a way to block the Killing Curse. Lily never really did trust Dumbledore. The stupid muggleborn had the audacity to question the most powerful wizard of all time on more than one occasion. The thing that perversely amused Dumbledore the most of all was how perilously close Lily had come to find out the truth about him. Dumbledore made sure to actually remove those particular memories that would have pointed Lily in the right direction given a bit more research before he disposed her. Now more than ever, Dumbledore was glad that he took that precaution even through he had planned for the girl to parish in a New York alleyway.
Dumbledore’s primitive form was requiring daily doses of the Elixir of Life to maintain his body, at times a couple of times a day depending on whether Dumbledore ventured outside of his office. The Headmaster aimed to limit his appearances to the outside world, as it was getting harder and harder to shield the rate that his body was degenerating at an alarmingly rapid rate. If his body completely shut down past the point of repair, then he would be trapped without a means of unlocking his former powers and form. Dumbledore needed to locate that artifact and manipulate someone into destroying it before he could proceed with the plans that he had meant to accomplish in a past lifetime.
Dumbledore ignored the smell of rotting fresh as he gingerly rose to his feet. He was to leave the school tonight to meet with his fellow Order of the Phoenix members. Bitterly, he recalled how he didn’t seem to be able to recruit many further members then the original members. Dumbledore had a strange suspicion that someone was poisoning prospective members against him, but the thought seemed to be utterly foolish. Granted, there were those who would try and make Dumbledore look bad in the eyes of others. Dumbledore was certain that this was because they were threatened by his status in the Wizarding World and wanted to make a name for themselves at his expense. Of course, Dumbledore was at a loss to figure out exactly they got their hands on certain sensitive information regarding what people had had intended to recruit to achieve his own means. Dumbledore needed a certain amount of able bodied witches and wizards that were able to fight and die for what he had promoted to be the greater good of the entire Wizarding World.
Dumbledore walked across his office towards the exit, using a series of wandless charms to eliminate the rotting odor currently emitting from his body.
“Maybe today will be the day that Severus has new information about what Voldemort’s plans are,” muttered Dumbledore to himself as he prepared to take a dose of the Elixir of Life, while thinking about how Snape hadn’t been exactly useful about bringing him new information about Voldemort’s plans recently. Dumbledore was also discouraged about the fact that he couldn’t find out anything more substantial on Oroku Saki.
Dumbledore shook his head, clearing the frustrations that he was having before he departed for the meeting of the Order of the Phoenix.
The rest of the weekend was pretty much quiet on all fronts. A bit of the calm before the storm as the members of the Wizengamot court were preparing to carefully select a brand new Interim Minister of Magic. It was a process that a few of them were not taking lightly, looking objectively at how each candidate would help the Ministry of Magic help everyone in the magical world as a whole. Then there was everyone else in the Wizengamot, the majority that only looked out for themselves. Those people were set to only vote for the person who would best represent their interests in maintaining their high level position in the Ministry of Magic.
The people who had a decent chance to gain the post of interim Minster of Magic were present in the chambers of the Wizengamot the day before the election, in an attempt to get in a few last words. Tensions were running high as the scandal involving Fudge’s resignation followed closely by the mass breakout at Azkaban caused the public to get into an uproar. People demanded that the Ministry needed change and many of the more corrupt members of the Wizengamot whose loyalties changed depending on the opinions of the public, wondered how they could shift the public uproar into something that would benefit them.
The entire court was seated as Lucius Malfoy rose to his feet, preparing to say a few words to the Wizengamot Court, especially certain members. Malfoy decided that it would be in his benefit to remind certain members of the court where their loyalties lied for the following day’s election.
“Ladies and Gentlemen of the Wizengamot,” prompted Malfoy. “I stand before you to remind the importance of selecting a candidate that would handle the workload of the being the Minister of Magic, even for a short time. Someone who isn’t prone to sudden…lapses of memory.”
Lucius looked over to the Mudblood, but her eyes had a blank and unemotional look, as if she wasn’t rattled by Malfoy’s words.
“The Ministry demands that a respected name take control, to prevent the corruption that was caused that resulted into the sudden departure of ex-Minister Cornelius Fudge,” declared Malfoy in a serious, yet flat, tone of voice. “Someone who is willing to ensure the Ministry is able to govern the whole of Magical Britain the way it has always been run. The way it should always be governed to maintain its establishment as the foremost Magical Government in the world. Radical practices should be discouraged and those who attempt to harm the stability of the Ministry by such thoughts do more harm then good. The way that this government has been run has worked for centuries, as you, the esteemed members of the Wizengamot should understand. The old pureblood families have worked tirelessly to make the British Magical Government a success, and our hard work should not be discounted by radicals. I myself allocated some of my vast portion towards charitable contributions as my father did before me and his father did before his. When you think of well respected magical families, no family has done for the stability of the Magical World. To suggest anything less would suggest the kind of naivety which the Magical World can do without.”
Malfoy sat down, as many of the Wizengamot members remained quiet. Lily felt herself on the cusp of boredom because of Malfoy’s tired and rather outdated dull rhetoric. Without a moment’s pause, Lily rose to her feet, preparing to give the speech that her son had suggested; along with the few modifications that she had made herself.
“Now, I am not going to stand here and insult your intelligence my presenting a face of benevolence in public while hiding my true nature,” remarked Lily in a sharp tone of voice, which gained the attention of nearly everyone in the court. Whether it was because they were interested in what she had to say or whether there were some that wanted to find a way to cut her legs out from underneath her before she did too much damage, Lily couldn’t decide. She decided to press on. “I’m going to be blunt. Since the defeat of Gridelwald over fifty years ago, the Ministry of Magic has had one inept Minister after another. Anyone who might have the slightest idea is promptly silenced and painted to be some kind of radical. Why is this? I think the answer is rather simple if anyone would stop and think of it.”
Lily stepped forward, staring directly at the Wizengamot, her eyes completely focused and not blinking.
“The facts are simple. As of today, Magical Britain is the most influential magical government in the entire world. There is no disputing that. However, the one thing I’m disputing is the mistaken belief that the Ministry will always be around if they follow the same formula of governing that they did three hundred years ago!” cried Lily in a dynamic voice, her eyes going wide in enthusiasm. “The recent breakout of Azkaban was something that shouldn’t have happened. Yet it did! Since Voldemort began his ascent to power, subtle cracks in the Ministry have been showing. Granted, you can’t see them in less you are looking for them. They aren’t glaringly visible right now, but they are in fact there!”
Lily put her head to her forehead growing utterly serious as the entire Wizengamot watched her in anticipation of what she was going to say next.
“Unless there is a distinct change of policy, as the Ministry isn’t run here in 1996 like it was in 1696, then the most influential Magical government will cease to exist and will become a textbook example in the future of how not to run a magical government. Truthfully, in the best of times, you may not have all that much time left, but due to outdated policies, the descent is rapidly accelerating ladies and gentlemen,” said Lily in a calm and somber voice, with a tragic expression etched on her face if she was lamenting the impending death and rapidly accelerating death of magical Britain due to the outdated policies.
A few people whispered “What does she mean by, we don’t have much time left?” before looking up and listening intently for what Lily had to say next.
“For those who brush off what I say as delusions and misinterpretations, historical evidence should contradict any skeptical notions you have about my warnings,” said Lily in a grim tone of voice. “Long before the British Ministry of Magic, there was a magical government that was a renowned power throughout the entire magical world. For centuries, the Roman Magical Empire was the center of the entire magical world. They had a successful formula of running a government for many years, with the same old pureblood families in high positions of power. Most of those pureblood families have been completely wiped out today. Granted, for many years, the government was run well, but after a while, the old ways weren’t becoming good enough. Even through signs of strain were showing in the government structure, the old pureblood families who were in high positions of power did not want to relinquish their high level jobs!”
Lily’s eyes swept over the Wizengamot for a few seconds.
“Over the next few decades, the government began to crumble, helped along by an ineptly managed war against a tribe of barbarian dark wizards who sought to increase their power by viciously rolling over the Roman Magical Empire!” exclaimed Lily. “Many of the old pureblood families sided with this threat to their own government, hoping to gain a bit of power and corruption ran rampant through the Roman Magical Empire. They soon found out, much too late, that the way that things were run didn’t cut it and in time, the Roman Magical Empire fell and the entire Magical World plunged into a dark age that it didn’t fully recover from until the establishment of Hogwarts.”
Lily took a deep breath before proceeding with her story.
“The sad thing is, the pureblood families thought, even as Rome crumbled from around then, that if nothing else they would have their respect and their fortunes,” said Lily quietly. “When the Roman Magical Empire fell completely, they had neither. Their family names faded over time and they are not remembered as being anything over then the contributing cause of the downfall of what was the most powerful magical government of all time. So, with that in mind, when you select an Interim Minister of Magic tomorrow, think of the welfare of everyone in the magical world and think of the implications of what will happen if you allow this Ministry of Magic to fall in the ugly matter that the Roman Magical Empire did because they were content with governing the same exact way that they always had.”
Lily took her seat without another word as a few people clapped respectively while others muttered about what she had just said. Some of the more corrupt purebloods exchanged worried looks. Surely, history wouldn’t repeat itself. After all, their families had been high ranking in the Ministry for hundreds of years and they didn’t have to worry about their respect crumbling.
Lily had a satisfied expression on her face. She had planted seeds of doubt within the Wizengamot and had mad Malfoy look bad, without indirectly saying so. Lily looked at Malfoy, who looked as if he wanted to murder her on the spot, had there not been so many witnesses. Malfoy was also beginning to turn a brilliant shade of green that could have made him pass as the fifth Turtle, if he wasn’t lacking a shell.
Later that day during dinner at Hogwarts, Harry, Ginny, Daphne, Theodore, and Hermione were at the Slytherin table, just finishing eating up dinner.
“Harry,” said Hermione in a tentative voice, as she looked towards the head table.
“Yes, Hermione, what is it?” asked Harry in an absent minded voice.
“Is there any particular reason why Umbridge is staring at you with a mixture of fear and hatred?” asked Hermione.
“The hatred is nothing new, but the fear is something I don’t think I’ve ever seen,” remarked Daphne in an off handed voice. “So what did you do to piss Umbridge off this time Harry?”
“I didn’t do anything to Umbridge today…yet,” remarked Harry in a defensive voice before whispering to his friends. “Although I must admit replacing her regular ink with ink that vanishes as soon as you are done writing something yesterday was amusing.”
“I don’t think that’s it, Harry,” said Ginny fighting back amusement in spite of herself. “There’s something else. I really don’t think it’s you.”
Harry looked up seeing dozens of owls flying into the Great Hall, apparently bringing a special evening addition of the Daily Prophet to the people at Hogwarts who subscribed to the paper.
“I have a funny feeling we are about to find out what has put Umbridge in such a tizzy right now,” remarked Harry in an off handed voice. “Just call it a crazy hunch.”
Daphne, who was receiving the Daily Prophet, reached forward as the owl carrying her paper dropped it on the table. She scanned the paper briefly, before nodding her head.
“Yes, Harry, you might be right,” said Daphne as she tossed the paper down onto the table. “Read this.”
Harry, Ginny, Daphne, Theodore, and Hermione looked forward to see what the Daily Prophet had written today.
Interim Minister of Magic Candidate Lily Potter Suggests that a Change in policy is Necessary to Maintain the Stability of the Ministry of Magic.
In a shocking speech earlier tonight, Lily Potter (muggleborn mother of the Boy-Who-Lived Harry Potter, who had her memories temporarily blocked instead of being killed as originally thought during the fall of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named) declared that the Ministry of Magic is heading towards a path that could lead to the fall of the government that is widely acknowledged as the pivotal force in the entire Magical World. While many intentional regarded her warnings as mere delusions, Mrs. Potter backed up her claims by citing the fall of the once great Roman Magical Empire. She briefly recounted how many respected pureblood families throughout that time thought that the way that the government has always run was the right way to maintain the stability of the Roman Magical Empire and inevitably they failed. An interesting parallel to our government for sure given the attitude of those who have been known to support the administration of disgraced ex-Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge. Potter also pointed out that old Roman pureblood families aligning themselves with dangerous threats to the Roman Magical Government. Indeed, Lily Potter went as far as comparing He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named to the tribe of barbarian wizards who caused the violent collapse of the Roman Magical Government in the 5/th/ century. A comparison that in the opinion of this reporter may have a great deal of validity (for more on the vicious nature of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and how it compares to that of the barbarian tribes that caused the Roman Magical Empire to collapse, turn to page 12).
The Wizengamot should step back and consider the words of Lily Potter, who is one of the favorites to win the Interim Minister of Magic when the Wizengamot votes tomorrow. Should she win, Potter would make history as she would become the first ever muggleborn Minister of Magic. The other favorite to win, Lucius Malfoy, could very well do more harm than good to the stability of the people of Magical Britain. Malfoy is heavily rumored to be one of Cornelius Fudge’s advisors during his disgraced reign as Minister of Magic. Malfoy may be the antithesis of the changes that the Ministry of Magic needs to make in order to ensure the stability of the people of magical Britain. It might be better off for everyone in the magical world if those who worked closely with Cornelius Fudge never worked in any kind of position of power again. We here at the Daily Prophet sincerely hope that everyone in the Wizengamot considers the health of Magical Britain rather than the health of their own reputations as they select the Interim Minister of Magic.
Harry looked up the paper, blinking a couple of times in shock.
“Finally, a factual article in the Daily Prophet that doesn’t contort reality,” remarked Harry in a shocked voice.
“I’m really surprised Malfoy didn’t have the article axed,” said Ginny. “He does own quite a large amount of the Daily Prophet and this article doesn’t exactly paint him in a good light at all.”
“Yes, but he doesn’t own the majority of the Daily Prophet,” said Theodore in a quiet voice. “Of course, the other shareholders would have to all get together and overrule him to push something like this through.”
“Maybe they were sick of Malfoy using the Daily Prophet to further his own agenda and make the paper look bad by comparison,” suggested Daphne. “The Daily Prophet has dropped in quality over the past few years.”
“Well, it doesn’t really matter does it,” said Hermione in a matter of a fact voice. “All we know is Lily’s chances of becoming the Interim Minister of Magic are better then they have been and Lucius Malfoy now doesn’t much of a chance.”
Daphne and Theodore nodded in agreement but Harry and Ginny exchanged uneasy looks. They had a nagging suspicion that Malfoy wasn’t going to give up right now and he had a couple more tricks up his sleeve.
“We’ll see after tomorrow,” remarked Harry in a dark, cryptic voice.
The next day was one that had the entire British Magical World waiting to hear the decision of the Wizengamot on the Interim Minster of Magic. For better or for worse, there would be someone to take control of the Ministry of Magic after today.
Lily Potter walked across the floor of the Wizengamot, with her fingertips on her wand. She wouldn’t be surprised if Lucius Malfoy would hire someone to kill her or at least severely maim her. The speech she gave the previous day had stirred a great deal of controversy, a fact which benefited Lily’s chances to keep the post of Interim Minister of Magic away from Lucius Malfoy.
She looked around the chambers, but she didn’t see Lucius Malfoy anywhere in the chamber. Her toughest opponent in this entire process had yet to show himself. Lily felt oddly uneasy about this, but she saw Malfoy walking across the courtroom dressed in dress robes, with an unreadable expression plastered upon his face. He didn’t seem to be utterly nervous or confident whatsoever. He just seemed as if he was just there. Malfoy sat himself as far away from Lily as possible.
The Wizengamot members were walking back, having given their votes. To prevent any candidate swaying the votes, the members of the court gave voted for who they thought was the best person to fill the post of Interim Minister of Magic. It took nearly an hour to complete the process before every member of the Wizengamot returned to the chambers to vote.
Norman Artemius walked out with the tabulated results of what percentage each candidate selected by the Wizengamot had voted out of the potential candidates. Artemius was a member of the Wizengamot who had been a member of the court for years and did not tolerate those who practiced dark magic. He wasn’t one to bend to the will of corruption normally but unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond his control, he was forced to do just that. He looked down at the paper that listed the percentage of Wizengamot members who had voted for each candidate.
Interim Minister of Magic Votes (in descending order of Percentage)
Lily Potter- 39
Rufus Scrimgeour- 30
Amelia Bones- 14
Lucius Malfoy- 10
Allan Tallens- 7
Quickly, before anyone could see, the Imperius Curse that he was put under by one Lucius Malfoy forced Artemius to cast a silent spell that reversed two names on the list.
Lucius Malfoy- 39
Rufus Scrimgeour- 30
Amelia Bones- 14
Lily Potter- 10
Allan Tallens- 7
“Ladies and Gentlemen of the Wizengamot, the votes have been tabulated,” said Artemius in a slightly robotic tone of voice as he addressed the Wizengamot court. “And as a result of gaining thirty nine percent of the vote, Lucius Malfoy has been elected the new Interim Minister of Magic.”
It was early morning at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, on the weekend before the Wizengamot was to choose an Interim Minister of Magic who would run things until the official election at the end of November. Many of the students were still asleep at this early point in the morning.
One Harry Potter had never been known to sleep in. He woke early to wrap up his schoolwork that he had not gotten around to completely previously. Harry joyously completed that task and now decided to take a walk down the corridors of Hogwarts to kill time, while sticking to the shadows to avoid detection. Technically he wasn’t doing anything wrong, but he didn’t want to give Umbridge any chance to formulate some trumped up charges against him.
Harry reflected on what he had learned over the past couple of weeks. Namely, the recently formed alliance between his two most dangerous enemies, the Shredder and Lord Voldemort. After the initial shock wore off from learning two dangerous forces aligned, something came to mind that caused Harry even more distress than the simple fact Shredder and Voldemort were aligned. Harry seriously wondered what the motive for this alliance could be. Granted, he had a feeling that he was partially the reason, but he doubted very much that he was the entire reason that brought these two evil forces together. Shredder didn’t strike him as someone who aligned with someone without a reason that benefited him and Voldemort was much of the same way. Harry wondered if he should just sit back and let these two stab each other in the back.
Of course, Harry couldn’t really make an informed decision about that until he figured out why in the hell Voldemort and Shredder were aligned.
“Harry Potter,” chanted a misty voice which caused Harry to spin around, pointing his wand at the voice of his momentarily disturbance.
Harry backed off, as he saw the form of Professor Trelawney standing in the shadows, with an absolutely horrified expression on her face.
“Oh, it’s you,” remarked Harry calmly.
Harry had only a few run ins with Trelawney during his time at Hogwarts and each one made Harry thankful that he never took Divination. That woman seemed to take a sickening pleasure of predicating Harry’s inevitable and impending doom every time they met.
“My dear boy, you must listen to me as I bring you a message of your utter destruction,” declared Trelawney in a cryptic voice, as she stared at Harry with a wide expression. “I’m afraid you will be in grave danger if you do not heed my warning. The haunting specter of destruction is looming ever closer. You must tread carefully around your enemies and even more so around your friends. I feel there is a traitor in the midst, Harry Potter.”
“Right,” said Harry sarcastically, brushing off Trelawney’s warnings has the usual clap trap and nonsense, before deciding that there should be no reason why he shouldn’t have his bit of fun at the expense of the alleged seer. “But wait; there is something, something dark that looms on the horizon for you as well, Professor Trelawney.”
Harry’s eyes went wide as he looked at Trelawney with an utterly serious expression before he slipped into a trance.
“What is it?” asked Trelawney in a saddened voice, obviously taking Harry’s fake trance to be one hundred percent.
“You need to, you must beware….the Ides of March,” concluded Harry dramatically as Trelawney gasped in horror.
“Indeed, I must, you might have some seer blood in you yet, Harry Potter, quite unfortunate you decided not to take my class, but I’m certain fate had their reasons,” said Trelawney mistily before she slipped off with another word.
Harry turned, looking slightly amused by how naïve Trelawney was to believe him. Umbridge had put the Divination teacher on probation and she obviously was attempting to save face by making a prediction about him being in danger.
Harry put the matter out of his mind as he continued his walk down the hall, being a bit more cautious not to attract the attention of any more people.
Around the time Harry was pacing the hallways, Lord Voldemort sat in a cavernous, musty, chamber deep within his Salazar tower headquarters, waiting for Lucius to report to him about a really pressing matter. Potter’s curiosity should have been sufficiently piqued by now, due to the clue that Voldemort requested Oroku Saki plant. A subtle clue but one that Potter would most certainly pick up on straight away. All appeared to be going to plan as Saki, Potter, Dumbledore, and the Ministry of Magic were all playing nicely into the Dark Lord’s hands.
Voldemort was brought out his thoughts by the arrival of Lucius Malfoy. Malfoy cautiously walked across the room before kneeling down before the Dark Lord.
“Speak,” hissed Voldemort in an impatient voice.
“My Lord, Lily Potter is meeting with the Wizengamot,” prompted Lucius Malfoy. “This Monday, the day before they choose the interim Minister of Magic.”
“I fail to see the problem with this Lucius,” hissed Voldemort. “So the Mudblood is desperately trying convince a few more Wizengamot members to vote her way. It should matter little as roughly forty percent of the Wizengamot is comprised of people that have support towards our goals; even through they have not officially joined us yet.”
“Respectively speaking my Lord, a few of those who support our cause support their position in the Wizengamot even more,” responded Lucius quickly. “They might be swayed to vote for someone different. The public has been demanding a change.”
Voldemort stared at Lucius before laughing in his face.
“Lucius, I’m rather disappointed in you,” said Voldemort in a calm voice. “Don’t you think I haven’t made such precautions in case of such of a rebellion?”
“Of course not my Lord,” stammered Lucius quickly.
“Still, she could be a bit of a problem,” declared Voldemort thoughtfully. “You are to win Lucius and make sure Lily Potter doesn’t come anywhere close to becoming interim Minister of Magic. It matters little how you do that, just do it.”
“Of course, my Lord,” answered Lucius, bowing his head respectively as he slowly backed from the room. “I will not let you down.”
“You better not Lucius,” hissed Voldemort as he kept both of his eyes on Malfoy.
Voldemort watched Lucius leave with a satisfied expression, as the Dark Lord reflected on the events that lead up to Lucius being put in the position that he was. Fudge was becoming too much of a liability to his cause as the bumbling fool believed his own press and thought he actually accomplished something. Voldemort managed to plant some evidence within the Ministry to force Fudge’s resignation. Now with Fudge out of the way, Lucius could gain the position of Interim Minister of Magic and eliminate the obstacles so the Dark Lord could complete the first phase of his plan that would result in his ultimate takeover of Magical Britain.
Late in the morning in the Room of Requirement, Harry watched as Luna and Ginny directed the Defense Against the Dark arts study group before going back to what he was writing. With his assistance, they were able to do an excellent job to get what Harry wanted accomplished. The truth was, Harry hoped that by the end of the year, everyone learned enough to defend themselves long enough to get to safety should any of Voldemort’s Death Eaters come calling. He didn’t seen Voldemort staying in the shadows for too much more time. Most likely, Voldemort wanted to make sure each and every witch and wizard in the world knew he was back when he decided to show himself up. Harry had a sinking feeling he was going to face off against Voldemort in their fifth meeting all too soon.
Harry watched the group that he had gotten off the ground with pride. While they weren’t up to his level, Harry never really expected them to be that magically powerful. Still, everyone in the group was a lot better off from when they first started out. A bit over half of the group seemed to have some basic grasp of simple wandless magic, while the rest were rapidly on their way to getting to that point.
Harry felt that recently everything recently was becoming smoother then he could have ever hoped. The Slytherin Quidditch Team was flying the better than they have ever been as long as anyone could remember. Harry was absolutely they would have no problem in their next Quidditch Match against Ravenclaw on the first weekend in March if they kept flying the way they are. Harry also couldn’t understand the level of success that his Defense group was achieving. Everyone was working hard to make up for the lack of teaching that Umbridge had given them. At this rate, the fifth years in the group would be more then prepared for their O.W.L.s when they take place in March.
Harry was brought out of his thoughts by everyone stopping their spell work and moving towards the exit of the Room of Requirement as the time Harry had recommend to Luna and Ginny that should be allowed for the lesson having drawn to a conclusion. Ginny walked over to Harry as the people filed out of the room.
“They are improving Harry,” informed Ginny. “But it’s going to take a while before they unlearn several years of what the teachers at Hogwarts have been drilling into their heads about controlled magic not being able.”
“I realize that,” replied Harry as he looked over his writing. “I just hope they will be sufficient enough before the summer holidays. As long as you and Luna keep following making sure they follow the steps I’ve thought you, I think they will be fine. ”
Harry went back to his paper, crossing out line on the paper, before writing something else. Hermione, Daphne, Theodore, and Hailey walked over towards Harry, looking at him curiously.
“What exactly are you working on anyway, Harry?” asked Theodore curiously.
“Yeah, Harry, I’m curious about that too, you just put yourself in a secluded corner before the meeting and started working on it,” said Daphne. “You haven’t moved since.”
“If you must know, I’m working on a way to sway a group of pureblood supremacists to vote a muggleborn into the post of interim Minister of Magic,” said Harry calmly.
“So, while you’re working on that impossible plan, will you also be figuring out a way to solve world hunger?” asked Hailey.
“No, but I think this might work,” muttered Harry to himself, ignoring his sister. “I’d have to run this by Mum first, but I think making the purebloods feel insufficient and worthless without actually saying it may actually work. Yes, it has to work. Those egotistical bigots don’t like their respect to be challenge.”
“Harry, I’ve just been thinking,” remarked Hermione in a slowly voice. “If your mother somehow does win, don’t you think that Voldemort might decide to make himself known before you’re ready.”
“No,” said Harry curtly, without a moment’s thought.
Needless to say, that one word caused him to get bewildered looks from Hailey, Ginny, Hermione, Daphne, and Theodore.
“How could you be sure through?” asked Theodore. “Voldemort isn’t going to stand by and let the Ministry be turned into something that is going to actively expose his sympathizers.”
“It’s not about Voldemort standing by, he wants to get his hands on something that would be nearly impossible for him to acquire with everyone knowing he’s back,” explained Harry.
“What, that fake Prophecy that Dumbledore concocted that caused Voldemort to come after you in the first place?” asked Ginny.
“Maybe,” said Harry skeptically.
The fake Prophecy would hold great interest to Voldemort but Harry couldn’t deny a nagging suspicion that Voldemort wanted to get his hands on something else. The thing that was really eating away at Harry is that he couldn’t think of what Voldemort was after. All Harry could figure out is that it was extremely important. Otherwise, Voldemort wouldn’t have all of his Death Eaters in Azkaban broken out recently.
Harry went back to writing his mother’s speech for the Wizengamot, making a few alterations as the other’s walked from the room in order to leave Harry to his work in peace.
In the Headmaster’s office, Albus Dumbledore looked across the room with a tired expression, as he rubbed his forehead with a tired expression. The few years hadn’t been one that Dumbledore would fondly recover. Dumbledore could pinpoint his recent misfortunes all starting with Harry Potter constantly slipping out from underneath his thumb thanks to those wretched reptiles and that meddlesome rat sensei. Dumbledore could have perhaps subtly maneuvered Potter where he wanted him to go if one thing hadn’t have happened. Dumbledore knew he had lost any chance to persuade the boy to follow his ideals when it was revealed that Lily Potter survived Dumbledore’s attempt to dispose of her all of those years, shortly after she managed to find a way to block the Killing Curse. Lily never really did trust Dumbledore. The stupid muggleborn had the audacity to question the most powerful wizard of all time on more than one occasion. The thing that perversely amused Dumbledore the most of all was how perilously close Lily had come to find out the truth about him. Dumbledore made sure to actually remove those particular memories that would have pointed Lily in the right direction given a bit more research before he disposed her. Now more than ever, Dumbledore was glad that he took that precaution even through he had planned for the girl to parish in a New York alleyway.
Dumbledore’s primitive form was requiring daily doses of the Elixir of Life to maintain his body, at times a couple of times a day depending on whether Dumbledore ventured outside of his office. The Headmaster aimed to limit his appearances to the outside world, as it was getting harder and harder to shield the rate that his body was degenerating at an alarmingly rapid rate. If his body completely shut down past the point of repair, then he would be trapped without a means of unlocking his former powers and form. Dumbledore needed to locate that artifact and manipulate someone into destroying it before he could proceed with the plans that he had meant to accomplish in a past lifetime.
Dumbledore ignored the smell of rotting fresh as he gingerly rose to his feet. He was to leave the school tonight to meet with his fellow Order of the Phoenix members. Bitterly, he recalled how he didn’t seem to be able to recruit many further members then the original members. Dumbledore had a strange suspicion that someone was poisoning prospective members against him, but the thought seemed to be utterly foolish. Granted, there were those who would try and make Dumbledore look bad in the eyes of others. Dumbledore was certain that this was because they were threatened by his status in the Wizarding World and wanted to make a name for themselves at his expense. Of course, Dumbledore was at a loss to figure out exactly they got their hands on certain sensitive information regarding what people had had intended to recruit to achieve his own means. Dumbledore needed a certain amount of able bodied witches and wizards that were able to fight and die for what he had promoted to be the greater good of the entire Wizarding World.
Dumbledore walked across his office towards the exit, using a series of wandless charms to eliminate the rotting odor currently emitting from his body.
“Maybe today will be the day that Severus has new information about what Voldemort’s plans are,” muttered Dumbledore to himself as he prepared to take a dose of the Elixir of Life, while thinking about how Snape hadn’t been exactly useful about bringing him new information about Voldemort’s plans recently. Dumbledore was also discouraged about the fact that he couldn’t find out anything more substantial on Oroku Saki.
Dumbledore shook his head, clearing the frustrations that he was having before he departed for the meeting of the Order of the Phoenix.
The rest of the weekend was pretty much quiet on all fronts. A bit of the calm before the storm as the members of the Wizengamot court were preparing to carefully select a brand new Interim Minister of Magic. It was a process that a few of them were not taking lightly, looking objectively at how each candidate would help the Ministry of Magic help everyone in the magical world as a whole. Then there was everyone else in the Wizengamot, the majority that only looked out for themselves. Those people were set to only vote for the person who would best represent their interests in maintaining their high level position in the Ministry of Magic.
The people who had a decent chance to gain the post of interim Minster of Magic were present in the chambers of the Wizengamot the day before the election, in an attempt to get in a few last words. Tensions were running high as the scandal involving Fudge’s resignation followed closely by the mass breakout at Azkaban caused the public to get into an uproar. People demanded that the Ministry needed change and many of the more corrupt members of the Wizengamot whose loyalties changed depending on the opinions of the public, wondered how they could shift the public uproar into something that would benefit them.
The entire court was seated as Lucius Malfoy rose to his feet, preparing to say a few words to the Wizengamot Court, especially certain members. Malfoy decided that it would be in his benefit to remind certain members of the court where their loyalties lied for the following day’s election.
“Ladies and Gentlemen of the Wizengamot,” prompted Malfoy. “I stand before you to remind the importance of selecting a candidate that would handle the workload of the being the Minister of Magic, even for a short time. Someone who isn’t prone to sudden…lapses of memory.”
Lucius looked over to the Mudblood, but her eyes had a blank and unemotional look, as if she wasn’t rattled by Malfoy’s words.
“The Ministry demands that a respected name take control, to prevent the corruption that was caused that resulted into the sudden departure of ex-Minister Cornelius Fudge,” declared Malfoy in a serious, yet flat, tone of voice. “Someone who is willing to ensure the Ministry is able to govern the whole of Magical Britain the way it has always been run. The way it should always be governed to maintain its establishment as the foremost Magical Government in the world. Radical practices should be discouraged and those who attempt to harm the stability of the Ministry by such thoughts do more harm then good. The way that this government has been run has worked for centuries, as you, the esteemed members of the Wizengamot should understand. The old pureblood families have worked tirelessly to make the British Magical Government a success, and our hard work should not be discounted by radicals. I myself allocated some of my vast portion towards charitable contributions as my father did before me and his father did before his. When you think of well respected magical families, no family has done for the stability of the Magical World. To suggest anything less would suggest the kind of naivety which the Magical World can do without.”
Malfoy sat down, as many of the Wizengamot members remained quiet. Lily felt herself on the cusp of boredom because of Malfoy’s tired and rather outdated dull rhetoric. Without a moment’s pause, Lily rose to her feet, preparing to give the speech that her son had suggested; along with the few modifications that she had made herself.
“Now, I am not going to stand here and insult your intelligence my presenting a face of benevolence in public while hiding my true nature,” remarked Lily in a sharp tone of voice, which gained the attention of nearly everyone in the court. Whether it was because they were interested in what she had to say or whether there were some that wanted to find a way to cut her legs out from underneath her before she did too much damage, Lily couldn’t decide. She decided to press on. “I’m going to be blunt. Since the defeat of Gridelwald over fifty years ago, the Ministry of Magic has had one inept Minister after another. Anyone who might have the slightest idea is promptly silenced and painted to be some kind of radical. Why is this? I think the answer is rather simple if anyone would stop and think of it.”
Lily stepped forward, staring directly at the Wizengamot, her eyes completely focused and not blinking.
“The facts are simple. As of today, Magical Britain is the most influential magical government in the entire world. There is no disputing that. However, the one thing I’m disputing is the mistaken belief that the Ministry will always be around if they follow the same formula of governing that they did three hundred years ago!” cried Lily in a dynamic voice, her eyes going wide in enthusiasm. “The recent breakout of Azkaban was something that shouldn’t have happened. Yet it did! Since Voldemort began his ascent to power, subtle cracks in the Ministry have been showing. Granted, you can’t see them in less you are looking for them. They aren’t glaringly visible right now, but they are in fact there!”
Lily put her head to her forehead growing utterly serious as the entire Wizengamot watched her in anticipation of what she was going to say next.
“Unless there is a distinct change of policy, as the Ministry isn’t run here in 1996 like it was in 1696, then the most influential Magical government will cease to exist and will become a textbook example in the future of how not to run a magical government. Truthfully, in the best of times, you may not have all that much time left, but due to outdated policies, the descent is rapidly accelerating ladies and gentlemen,” said Lily in a calm and somber voice, with a tragic expression etched on her face if she was lamenting the impending death and rapidly accelerating death of magical Britain due to the outdated policies.
A few people whispered “What does she mean by, we don’t have much time left?” before looking up and listening intently for what Lily had to say next.
“For those who brush off what I say as delusions and misinterpretations, historical evidence should contradict any skeptical notions you have about my warnings,” said Lily in a grim tone of voice. “Long before the British Ministry of Magic, there was a magical government that was a renowned power throughout the entire magical world. For centuries, the Roman Magical Empire was the center of the entire magical world. They had a successful formula of running a government for many years, with the same old pureblood families in high positions of power. Most of those pureblood families have been completely wiped out today. Granted, for many years, the government was run well, but after a while, the old ways weren’t becoming good enough. Even through signs of strain were showing in the government structure, the old pureblood families who were in high positions of power did not want to relinquish their high level jobs!”
Lily’s eyes swept over the Wizengamot for a few seconds.
“Over the next few decades, the government began to crumble, helped along by an ineptly managed war against a tribe of barbarian dark wizards who sought to increase their power by viciously rolling over the Roman Magical Empire!” exclaimed Lily. “Many of the old pureblood families sided with this threat to their own government, hoping to gain a bit of power and corruption ran rampant through the Roman Magical Empire. They soon found out, much too late, that the way that things were run didn’t cut it and in time, the Roman Magical Empire fell and the entire Magical World plunged into a dark age that it didn’t fully recover from until the establishment of Hogwarts.”
Lily took a deep breath before proceeding with her story.
“The sad thing is, the pureblood families thought, even as Rome crumbled from around then, that if nothing else they would have their respect and their fortunes,” said Lily quietly. “When the Roman Magical Empire fell completely, they had neither. Their family names faded over time and they are not remembered as being anything over then the contributing cause of the downfall of what was the most powerful magical government of all time. So, with that in mind, when you select an Interim Minister of Magic tomorrow, think of the welfare of everyone in the magical world and think of the implications of what will happen if you allow this Ministry of Magic to fall in the ugly matter that the Roman Magical Empire did because they were content with governing the same exact way that they always had.”
Lily took her seat without another word as a few people clapped respectively while others muttered about what she had just said. Some of the more corrupt purebloods exchanged worried looks. Surely, history wouldn’t repeat itself. After all, their families had been high ranking in the Ministry for hundreds of years and they didn’t have to worry about their respect crumbling.
Lily had a satisfied expression on her face. She had planted seeds of doubt within the Wizengamot and had mad Malfoy look bad, without indirectly saying so. Lily looked at Malfoy, who looked as if he wanted to murder her on the spot, had there not been so many witnesses. Malfoy was also beginning to turn a brilliant shade of green that could have made him pass as the fifth Turtle, if he wasn’t lacking a shell.
Later that day during dinner at Hogwarts, Harry, Ginny, Daphne, Theodore, and Hermione were at the Slytherin table, just finishing eating up dinner.
“Harry,” said Hermione in a tentative voice, as she looked towards the head table.
“Yes, Hermione, what is it?” asked Harry in an absent minded voice.
“Is there any particular reason why Umbridge is staring at you with a mixture of fear and hatred?” asked Hermione.
“The hatred is nothing new, but the fear is something I don’t think I’ve ever seen,” remarked Daphne in an off handed voice. “So what did you do to piss Umbridge off this time Harry?”
“I didn’t do anything to Umbridge today…yet,” remarked Harry in a defensive voice before whispering to his friends. “Although I must admit replacing her regular ink with ink that vanishes as soon as you are done writing something yesterday was amusing.”
“I don’t think that’s it, Harry,” said Ginny fighting back amusement in spite of herself. “There’s something else. I really don’t think it’s you.”
Harry looked up seeing dozens of owls flying into the Great Hall, apparently bringing a special evening addition of the Daily Prophet to the people at Hogwarts who subscribed to the paper.
“I have a funny feeling we are about to find out what has put Umbridge in such a tizzy right now,” remarked Harry in an off handed voice. “Just call it a crazy hunch.”
Daphne, who was receiving the Daily Prophet, reached forward as the owl carrying her paper dropped it on the table. She scanned the paper briefly, before nodding her head.
“Yes, Harry, you might be right,” said Daphne as she tossed the paper down onto the table. “Read this.”
Harry, Ginny, Daphne, Theodore, and Hermione looked forward to see what the Daily Prophet had written today.
Interim Minister of Magic Candidate Lily Potter Suggests that a Change in policy is Necessary to Maintain the Stability of the Ministry of Magic.
In a shocking speech earlier tonight, Lily Potter (muggleborn mother of the Boy-Who-Lived Harry Potter, who had her memories temporarily blocked instead of being killed as originally thought during the fall of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named) declared that the Ministry of Magic is heading towards a path that could lead to the fall of the government that is widely acknowledged as the pivotal force in the entire Magical World. While many intentional regarded her warnings as mere delusions, Mrs. Potter backed up her claims by citing the fall of the once great Roman Magical Empire. She briefly recounted how many respected pureblood families throughout that time thought that the way that the government has always run was the right way to maintain the stability of the Roman Magical Empire and inevitably they failed. An interesting parallel to our government for sure given the attitude of those who have been known to support the administration of disgraced ex-Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge. Potter also pointed out that old Roman pureblood families aligning themselves with dangerous threats to the Roman Magical Government. Indeed, Lily Potter went as far as comparing He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named to the tribe of barbarian wizards who caused the violent collapse of the Roman Magical Government in the 5/th/ century. A comparison that in the opinion of this reporter may have a great deal of validity (for more on the vicious nature of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and how it compares to that of the barbarian tribes that caused the Roman Magical Empire to collapse, turn to page 12).
The Wizengamot should step back and consider the words of Lily Potter, who is one of the favorites to win the Interim Minister of Magic when the Wizengamot votes tomorrow. Should she win, Potter would make history as she would become the first ever muggleborn Minister of Magic. The other favorite to win, Lucius Malfoy, could very well do more harm than good to the stability of the people of Magical Britain. Malfoy is heavily rumored to be one of Cornelius Fudge’s advisors during his disgraced reign as Minister of Magic. Malfoy may be the antithesis of the changes that the Ministry of Magic needs to make in order to ensure the stability of the people of magical Britain. It might be better off for everyone in the magical world if those who worked closely with Cornelius Fudge never worked in any kind of position of power again. We here at the Daily Prophet sincerely hope that everyone in the Wizengamot considers the health of Magical Britain rather than the health of their own reputations as they select the Interim Minister of Magic.
Harry looked up the paper, blinking a couple of times in shock.
“Finally, a factual article in the Daily Prophet that doesn’t contort reality,” remarked Harry in a shocked voice.
“I’m really surprised Malfoy didn’t have the article axed,” said Ginny. “He does own quite a large amount of the Daily Prophet and this article doesn’t exactly paint him in a good light at all.”
“Yes, but he doesn’t own the majority of the Daily Prophet,” said Theodore in a quiet voice. “Of course, the other shareholders would have to all get together and overrule him to push something like this through.”
“Maybe they were sick of Malfoy using the Daily Prophet to further his own agenda and make the paper look bad by comparison,” suggested Daphne. “The Daily Prophet has dropped in quality over the past few years.”
“Well, it doesn’t really matter does it,” said Hermione in a matter of a fact voice. “All we know is Lily’s chances of becoming the Interim Minister of Magic are better then they have been and Lucius Malfoy now doesn’t much of a chance.”
Daphne and Theodore nodded in agreement but Harry and Ginny exchanged uneasy looks. They had a nagging suspicion that Malfoy wasn’t going to give up right now and he had a couple more tricks up his sleeve.
“We’ll see after tomorrow,” remarked Harry in a dark, cryptic voice.
The next day was one that had the entire British Magical World waiting to hear the decision of the Wizengamot on the Interim Minster of Magic. For better or for worse, there would be someone to take control of the Ministry of Magic after today.
Lily Potter walked across the floor of the Wizengamot, with her fingertips on her wand. She wouldn’t be surprised if Lucius Malfoy would hire someone to kill her or at least severely maim her. The speech she gave the previous day had stirred a great deal of controversy, a fact which benefited Lily’s chances to keep the post of Interim Minister of Magic away from Lucius Malfoy.
She looked around the chambers, but she didn’t see Lucius Malfoy anywhere in the chamber. Her toughest opponent in this entire process had yet to show himself. Lily felt oddly uneasy about this, but she saw Malfoy walking across the courtroom dressed in dress robes, with an unreadable expression plastered upon his face. He didn’t seem to be utterly nervous or confident whatsoever. He just seemed as if he was just there. Malfoy sat himself as far away from Lily as possible.
The Wizengamot members were walking back, having given their votes. To prevent any candidate swaying the votes, the members of the court gave voted for who they thought was the best person to fill the post of Interim Minister of Magic. It took nearly an hour to complete the process before every member of the Wizengamot returned to the chambers to vote.
Norman Artemius walked out with the tabulated results of what percentage each candidate selected by the Wizengamot had voted out of the potential candidates. Artemius was a member of the Wizengamot who had been a member of the court for years and did not tolerate those who practiced dark magic. He wasn’t one to bend to the will of corruption normally but unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond his control, he was forced to do just that. He looked down at the paper that listed the percentage of Wizengamot members who had voted for each candidate.
Interim Minister of Magic Votes (in descending order of Percentage)
Lily Potter- 39
Rufus Scrimgeour- 30
Amelia Bones- 14
Lucius Malfoy- 10
Allan Tallens- 7
Quickly, before anyone could see, the Imperius Curse that he was put under by one Lucius Malfoy forced Artemius to cast a silent spell that reversed two names on the list.
Lucius Malfoy- 39
Rufus Scrimgeour- 30
Amelia Bones- 14
Lily Potter- 10
Allan Tallens- 7
“Ladies and Gentlemen of the Wizengamot, the votes have been tabulated,” said Artemius in a slightly robotic tone of voice as he addressed the Wizengamot court. “And as a result of gaining thirty nine percent of the vote, Lucius Malfoy has been elected the new Interim Minister of Magic.”
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