Chapter 18
The redheaded Minister of Magic looked over his shoulder at the sound of Draco's yell.
Draco paced up to him and faced him with a stern look. "You tell me what's going on at once," Draco demanded, not caring anymore that he was an inferior to the man. "You were talking to Snape and Bellatrix earlier today about stuff that happened with Ron-- which, I know is not the first time you've spoken with them about the same matter-- and now you were just talking to Zabini and his sorry excuse of a female accompaniment that is your daughter. I demand to hear something on your end about all this."
Arthur's eyes looked exhausted as he met Draco's gaze. He gave a sigh. "Draco Malfoy…I will need to set up another meeting with you to tell you how sorry I am for all the trouble I've caused. But Snape and Bellatrix finally came clean with me about what they've been up to. Apparently, that prisoner who's been sneaking out of Azkaban is someone whom they are indebted to, because that person freed them from their trapped unconscious states. After they were defeated before the Battle of Hogwarts nearly four years ago, that prisoner kept their bodies safely hidden and found a way to pause them to keep them in a coma-like state. They therefore were never truly dead. And their bodies were kept in a hidden place-- buried beneath the house you're all currently occupying-- until the prisoner was able to discover a way to restore them into a conscious state.
"Well….when the prisoner found a way to restore them to a conscious state, the restoration involved putting them in an 'unbreakable vow' sort of state. Basically, they were restored to a state in which their souls were adherent to an unbreakable vow to that prisoner, even though they never made such a vow with the prisoner on their own will. The restoration process of their souls restored their souls in that particular state. I hope that makes sense."
"It does," said Draco, narrowing his eyes. "Basically they were reprogrammed as if they had already made that unbreakable vow to the prisoner." He then clenched his fists. "What was their unbreakable vow?"
"That they would obey every command the prisoner ever told them," said Arthur. "Especially the command for them to make me lose my position as Minister of Magic, so that they can takeover and set orders in the Ministry the way the prisoner wanted them to."
Draco raised his eyebrows. "And the Imperius Curse on Ron…"
"They were ordered to do that as a scheme to tarnish the Weasley reputation," said Arthur, sweating and looking distressed now. "There was camera footage that happened to catch the rape….my son had left it on. But I had to delete it, because I knew Snape and Bellatrix were trying to tarnish the Weasley reputation. I knew they were after me and my Minister Position since the moment they were discovered to be alive-- they made that part very clear to me. But I never knew they were doing it because they were under an unbreakable vow to some third party." He hung his head. "Now that it's been discovered that a prisoner has been apparating in and out of Azkaban, the prisoner was able to have been caught, and Snape and Bellatrix were found to have been under an unbreakable vow with that prisoner. Harry and I spent all day today investigating it-- we got the prisoner to drink Veritaserum and confess everything about Snape and Bellatrix involvement. Potter is still swamped at this very moment, trying to prepare for the court case of this prisoner, which will take place tomorrow afternoon."
Draco stared at Arthur, his eyes wide. "I see."
Arthur then gave a sigh. "You know...whether it was their fault or not, it was wrong for me to treat all Slytherins like I've been doing. Hatred is what fosters prejudice.....and it should never be the foundation for why you do anything. But love....love is what conquers all. Especially loving your enemies."
Draco raised an eyebrow at the man. Why the heck was he going on about this? Still...Draco found himself intrigued to hear the man speak.
Arthur went on, "Love should be the foundation for anything you do to others, or with others. I always believed that in some form or another, but...I never thought it would be possible when a Slytherin is involved. And then....that changed when I saw how much compassion Blaise had toward my daughter. There's no denying the genuineness of the love between them. If love is proving to be a great foundation for their romantic relationship, it would certainly be a great foundation for my professional relationship toward Slytherins as a whole."
Draco gazed at Arthur curiously. "Well….that's good to hear, then," he said.
A silence passed between them. Then Draco asked, "So….the hearing of this prisoner will be tomorrow. Who exactly is this prisoner?"
Arthur handed him a folder full of some paperwork. "This is the prisoner's file. I was bound to give this to you anyway, since you'll be at the hearing as well. Given that you've worked closely with Harry and Hermione to track down Ron and uncover some stuff."
He then nodded to Draco. "I will see you tomorrow."
Draco watched Arthur walk down the sidewalk and disappear in the distance. Then he turned to gaze down at the folder. He opened it up and his heart stopped as he saw the photo and name of the prisoner.
Dolores Umbridge.