Chapter 2
Ron visited his father's work several times. But Arthur Weasley's office, even though he was department head, was nothing like Amelia Bones's. The room immediately struck him as a stark contrast to his father's cluttered workspace. It exuded an air of sophistication and authority. As he glanced around, Ron couldn't help but feel a sense of unease, as if he were stepping into the realm of high society where every object had been chosen for its opulence.
The office was spacious, with tall windows that allowed ample natural light in, illuminating the room and casting a warm glow on the elegant furnishings. The walls were adorned with ornate tapestries that looked a bit gloomy. There were also a few dormant portraits (perhaps Madam Bones' predecessors) that looked tough and judgmental rather than peaceful.
Ron's eyes were drawn to the bookshelves lining the walls, filled with ancient tomes. Most of the names were in Latin, but he recognized a few runic inscriptions. There were also many books, in languages he could not identify. Hermione would have been enthralled by the prospect of exploring those volumes, he thought.
There were various magical devices in the room, the purpose of which Ron could not guess. But despite their presence, the atmosphere was not even remotely reminiscent of the one that was in Headmaster Dumbledore's office.
In general, the room looked quite... pretentious. And if there were more green tones in the office, then Ron would assume that some kind of Lucius Malfoy works here. Well, or another rich and purebred snob from Slytherin. He shifted his gaze to Madam Bones, who meanwhile settled into her chair and gestured to an imposing visitor's chair where he could sit.
She wasn't like that, was she?
While the Bones were not part of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, they were an old, respected family. He pushed the thought away from himself. Now was not the best time to think about prejudice. In addition, the same Longbottoms were an old and respectable family, but at the same time remained normal people. Or the Abbots, or... no other examples of good old families (other than his own, of course) came to mind.
When he had thought of Amelia Bones before, he had somehow imagined a much older version of Susan. Right now, all he could do was hope that their nature with Susan wasn't as distant as Ginny's and Aunt Muriel's. And despite such an impressive (perhaps rather frightening) office, the woman will be decent and adequate.
Then Ron finally looked at Madam Bones. When he had more time to examine the woman, he was able to notice that she did not look quite like he had imagined her. She was much younger than he thought. No, of course, she was still quite old... but rather as old as his parents were, and not as old as Aunt Muriel. She had short hair with almost no gray. And her face looked calm, even though her lips were pressed into a thin line. The woman was dressed in a dark blue robe, which could at least be called luxurious.
Expensive clothes do not mean that a person is bad, right?
When the secretary entered the room and brought tea, Ron shifted his gaze to the stone statue of an owl standing on the table.
"So," began Madam Bones, distracting him from thinking that if the statue wasn't made of transparent stone, it would look like a real bird.
Right now, he needed to pull himself together and stop being distracted by the elements of the interior. He must do everything he can to convince the head of the DMLE of their story. And given that now his words were against the words of the Minister of Magic himself, then he needs to do everything and much more.
"How are your exams? Did you pass everything successfully?"
Ron expected her to get straight to the point, but the woman managed to surprise him.
"It seems so, madam. Not as good as my brother Percy, but still pretty good."
"I heard he got a job in the Department of International Magical Co-operation. This is a very good start for a career in the Ministry."
Ron shrugged. His ears were scarlet. Small talk was even more awkward than trying to prove oneself right on an important issue. Especially if it was about Ron's most boring brother and his boring job.
"Are you also going to follow in the footsteps of your father and work in the Ministry?"
"I don't think so... I'm not as smart as Percy." Instead, Ron wanted to say that he didn't want to work in a place full of corrupt idiots, but that would have been too rude.
"Really?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. Then she went on with a faint smile. "You don't have to be smart to work in the Ministry."
Ron choked on his tea as Madam Bones continued.
"Well, back to the situation with Black. What do you think I should know?"
Ron breathed out. Okay, talking about Black isn't as bad as talking about Percy. Everything will be fine.
"Black is not guilty, madam," Ron began with all the confidence he could muster. Then he told her about everything, from how Black stood with a knife over his bed to how a man kidnapped him. "But he really didn't mean to hurt me, Madam Bones. Or catch Harry kidnapping his best friend. All this time, he's been trying to catch the Scabbers. This is my rat. Or... was my rat."
If at first Ron was worried that the head of the MDLE would think he was crazy or that he was playing a prank on her, then the more he talked, the more confident he became. The woman listened to him calmly and unperturbed. And he thought it was a good sign.
"You see, Scabbers has always been weird. Well, that is not always. He always acted like a rat. But he was in our family for twelve years. And such a life expectancy is rather strange for an ordinary rat, right? And Crookshanks, this is Hermione's cat... this is my friend, treated him badly from the very beginning. So, in fact, Scabbers is not a rat at all. This is Peter Pettigrew. And he's an animagus."
He watched Madam Bones closely, but she remained calm. Did that mean she believed?
He thought his story sounded strange enough without mentioning that Sirius and Harry's father were also animagus, but he didn't think it was a good idea to mention it now. So Ron continued to speak. He said that the Potters had actually made Pettigrew their secret keeper, not Black, and that he had actually betrayed them.
"And anyway, how can someone sentence a person to Azkaban and even more so to the kiss of a dementor, even without a trial?"
The woman raised her eyebrows in surprise.
"Did Black say he didn't have a trial?"
"No madam. We decided that because how could a court send an innocent person to prison?"
"Indeed," she said, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. "Well, Black had a trial."
Now Ron was surprised. But how...
"Actually, it was a very high-profile case. Because of this, many officials subsequently lost their jobs. Even Minister Bagnold nearly resigned."
Ron didn't know what to say about that.
"Have you been in contact with Black since that meeting?"
"No, madam," Ron practically didn't lie. Sirius was technically talking to Harry, not him.
"Very well," she said thoughtfully. "I have a few questions. First, why..."
Before Madam Bones could finish speaking, the stone owl lit up with a bright green light. Ron nearly fell to the floor in surprise. The owl then spoke in Fudge's nervous voice.
"My dear Madam Bones, please come into my office immediately. The European delegation will be here soon to discuss the Triwizard Tournament."