Chapter Twelve
The funeral for former Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Dumbledore was the largest gathering of witches and wizards in centuries. Thousands of people flocked to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, aided by a monumental effort by the Ministry of Magic to ensure that everyone arrived safely, on time, and, most importantly, didn't alert the entire Muggle world to the presence of magic in their lives.
If the ICW Conference in Versailles had been a cramped and chaotic affair, then Dumbledore's funeral made that look sparsely attended and well organized. For the past three days, Diagon Alley had been practically flooded with people, the line to get into the Ministry of Magic took more than an hour, and every bed in New Hogsmeade, London, Dublin, and Glasgow had been filled and then some.
Dumbledore had made his wishes perfectly clear in his will. With no children, the entirety of his considerable financial resources would go to Hogwarts as well as much of his personal archives would also go to Hogwarts. The few exceptions were given to his brother, Aberforth, and Harry, who had received a rather large box of books on Monday evening, almost all of which were simply the resources that Dumbledore had used to aid his research on Voldemort's time traveling plan.
The other item that Dumbledore had specifically addressed in his will was his own funeral. As was tradition for former Headmasters, it was to be held on the grounds of Hogwarts. However, unlike normal, there would be absolutely no Ministry presence for the ceremony itself. Instead, Dumbledore had asked Remus to officiate the ceremony and then asked for Harry to perform the eulogy.
Normally, Harry might have considered refusing. Public speaking was not really something that he was built for. However, he knew that the world was watching this funeral, which meant that somewhere, Voldemort was paying a great deal of attention to the funeral. This was, in his mind, a great victory: the death of his oldest enemy at his hand. It was the best opportunity that Harry would ever get to grab Voldemort's attention.
And as much as Harry disliked speaking in public, he was honored that Dumbledore had asked him to speak. Dumbledore was the most influential wizard of the last several centuries. He had been the Headmaster of one of the world's most prestigious schools of magic, the Supreme Mugwump of the Internal Confederation of Wizards for the better part of fifty years, a noted magical researcher, and one of the wizarding world's greatest champions for the rights of non-Purebloods the world had ever seen. There must have been hundreds of people over his lifetime that could have spoken more eloquently or more completely about Albus Dumbledore and yet, Albus had chosen him.
Even as early as Tuesday morning, dignitaries from all over the world began to flood the area. In all, representatives from more than one hundred nations would be in attendance, most of them current or former heads of state who had relied on Albus for guidance and stability. In all his years in the wizarding world, Harry had never seen so many people in the same place.
In the middle of the day on Tuesday, Harry's office door at the Ministry opened to reveal none other than current Italian Minister of Magic Francesca Esposito. Harry had kept in touch with Francesca over the last few years, but he hadn't seen her since the ICW in Versailles. An hour later, Sarah Diaz, the Assistant Minister of Magic from Argentina, made a quick visit before Hideki Kato, the son of the former Japanese Ambassador to the French Ministry Haruko Kato, showed up to offer his condolences. In all, Harry ended up meeting with more than two dozen foreign leaders, all of whom wanted to offer their deepest sympathies and their assistance in England's time of need.
It was the first time since he'd been back that Harry really felt like Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived. For the most part, his rather isolated day-to-day life meant that he rarely appeared in public and the few appearances that he made at the Ministry were often filled with meetings with the SAF, which left little time for other public appearances, especially since Percy hated any opportunity to give Harry free press.
Unfortunately, it was well known that Harry was the one who was close to Dumbledore. Rumor had it that Percy's office had been empty for the better part of two hours in the middle of the day before the funeral. While others around the world may have had a less visceral reaction to Percy's leadership than Harry, they certainly didn't appear to like working with him. More than one of them, Scott Herron, the Australian Chief Auror, in particular, had suggested that they would openly support whoever the next candidate was for Minister of Magic.
On Tuesday evening, the members of The Lightning Legion gathered at Potter Manor for the first large gathering that Harry had held since Bill and Tonks' wedding. In truth, Harry was hosting in name only. Ginny had heard from Hermione that they had fixed the ballroom and, as a result, Ginny had decided that, if she was going to come back home from her honeymoon early (since she stated there was no way that she was missing Dumbledore's funeral), then they were going to throw a celebration in Dumbledore's honor, but only for those people who had been a part of the Order of the Phoenix or the Lightning Legion.
Just as Harry had gotten home from the Ministry, Ginny and Katie had come flying in, almost literally. More than once, Harry had wondered if their feet were actually touching the ground. In less than an hour, they had set up the ballroom for more than fifty people, considering spouses and a few children.
The evening was set to begin at seven, but, to absolutely no one's surprise, people started Flooing in just a little after six. By six-fifteen, the entirety of the Weasley clan was already present and helping Ginny put the finishing touches on the ballroom, which ended up looking like a facsimile of the Great Hall, complete with a replica of the large chair that Albus had used for meals at Hogwarts.
Despite the sadness that Harry felt for Albus's death, he knew that the Headmaster would have appreciated the level of effort that some were going to in order to keep the affair light. While the Weasleys raced around the house, Harry stayed in the ballroom with Hermione and welcomed those who came through the fireplace. Among the first to arrive were Parvati and Padma, which was thankfully not as awkward as Harry had anticipated. They were followed by Angelina and Oliver, Aberforth Dumbledore, Remus Lupin, and Arabella Figg.
Luna and Neville arrived together and then almost immediately separated; Neville went to go speak to Ron and Luna to Ginny. From across the room, Harry had no earthly clue what they were talking about, but he imagined that, given the fact that both Luna and Neville seemed to staring quite at each other quite a bit, even from across the room, they had finally committed to going on a date, something that they had been avoiding since sixth year. Not surprisingly, they were followed shortly by Augusta Longbottom, who directly preceded Andromeda Tonks.
Susan, Cho, and Alicia arrived together and quickly found their Weasley counterparts just as Mundungus Fletcher stepped through the fireplace and then was nearly trampled by Hagrid, who, for his part, didn't look particularly upset that he nearly killed the crook. Behind Hagrid was Lee Jordan, who immediately sought out the Weasley twins.
The one person who had not been a member of the Legion to come that evening was Seamus Finnigan, who was brought by Dean Thomas. No one had been particularly surprised a couple of years earlier when Dean announced that they were dating. The only thing that surprised anyone was that they waited four months after that announcement to announce that they were getting married. They had been married in a quaint ceremony in east Ireland.
Harry had received an invitation, but he had been in the midst of his training with Dumbledore and had been unable to attend. Besides, his relationship with Seamus was not a strong one. Seamus had been vocally dismissive of Harry during his fifth year and abandoned the Legion during their sixth. It was only because of Dean that Harry tolerated Seamus's presence in his house at all.
Daphne was among the last people to arrive, beating only Fleur Delacour, who escorted a weak but very pleasant Filius Flitwick. By the time Harry finished talking to Flitwick, Harry thought that his arm might fall off. Thankfully, that was the end of the guest list and Harry was finally clear to go hide in a corner with a glass of wine.
Still, Harry couldn't help but smile as the members of The Legion took this opportunity to spend time together. It was a sad occasion that brought them together, but this was the first time that they'd all been in the same place since The Battle of Godric's Hollow. Seeing everyone here together reminded Harry just how much he had to be thankful for. His life had never been what someone would call easy, but he had friends, family, people who cared about him and for that, Harry was truly thankful.
As the night passed, Harry was eventually asked to say a few words to the members of The Legion. And so, he stepped up to the front of the room, glass in hand. The very moment that he stepped up on the pedestal that had been erected for him, the room went silent with every eye on him.
"I'll keep this short as I'm sure that you'd all rather be talking and drinking thann listen to me talk," Harry said, garnering a few chuckles from around the room. "Thank you all for coming tonight. Thanks to Ginny and Katie for setting all of this up. This might be my house, but I'm as much a guest tonight as anyone."
There was a smattering of applause from around the room for the two ladies.
"There are only a few things in this world that connect everyone. Albus Dumbledore was one of those things. Almost everyone in this room was his student at one point or another. Even if you weren't in his classroom, you learned from him. If you learned from me, you learned from him. Not since the Founders of Hogwarts has there been a more important wizard."
"Without him, none of us are here. Tomorrow, I'll talk more about his achievements and what he meant to our world, but for us, Dumbledore is the reason that we're still alive. I got to know Albus pretty well while we were abroad and if there's one thing that I know, it's that there are dozens of people that he wished could have been here. Albus spent more time thinking about his failures than his successes, just like the rest of us. While I'm certain that he's happy that his death has brought us all together like this, I know that his thoughts would have gone to Minerva, Alastor, Kingsley, James, Lily, Sirius, Collin and Denis, Lavender, and the dozens of others who died before their time."
"Albus," Harry said, raising his glass in the air, "you were a teacher, a mentor, a leader, a father figure, but more than that, you were a friend. I hope that wherever you are, you are at peace and that you know just how indebted each of us is to you."
Harry thrust his glass forward towards the members of The Legion.
"To Albus," said Harry softly, his voice echoing into the silence.
"To Albus," came the reply of everyone in the room as they drank in honor of their fallen leader. At that point, the assembled went back to their conversations. Within an hour, the number of people present at Potter Manor had already dwindled by half and by eleven, the only people left were Harry, Hermione, and the Weasley contingency.
Less than a half an hour later, they had finished cleaning up and restored the ballroom to its original state. At that point, the Weasleys left, leaving Harry and Hermione alone.
"Do you need company tonight?" Hermione asked. There was nothing in her voice that suggested anything beyond companionship. She could tell that even though Harry was putting on a good front, he was struggling.
"I might," Harry admitted, "but I don't know that I'll be any fun to be around."
"You're not that fun to be around anyway," Hermione said in jest.
"Ouch."
"I was kidding," Hermione replied just as a flash of light came in through the windows. A moment later, the rumble of thunder could be felt in the distance. "Why don't we go up to the study and watch the storm?"
And that's what they did. Once Harry was seated, Hermione sat next to him and rested her head on his shoulder. On any other night, Harry would be worried about his feelings for Hermione. Tonight, he was just thankful that he had a friend like her.
It took less than an hour for both of them to fall asleep. Sometime in the night, Harry awoke to discover that Hermione had practically crawled on top of him, seeking warmth that the drafty halls of Potter Manor often lacked. Harry managed to extricate himself from underneath Hermione and then carried her to the guest room, which was thankfully just next door to the study.
After Harry tucked Hermione in, he returned to the study. The clock in the corner said that it was just after four in the morning. The storm had only intensified in the night with thunder and lightning crashing every few seconds, creating a light show out the window. Harry returned to his seat and watched the storm once more, thinking that it was a pretty good metaphor for what was going on inside his head.
Harry had hated the idea for Albus to sacrifice himself, but as they had gotten further away from Albus's death, Harry regretted it even more. When things had gotten tough, even when they hadn't seen eye to eye, Harry had gone to Albus for advice. Now, he was gone, sacrificed like a pawn in a game of chess.
He knew that he could have stopped Albus. But Albus didn't want to be stopped. In the end, it was Albus's choice and no matter how much Harry hated that, he respected the man too much to take that choice away from him.
A few hours later, Harry heard the door behind him open.
"When did I end up in the guest room?" Hermione asked.
"A couple of hours ago," Harry replied. "I figured sleeping on top of me couldn't have been too comfortable."
"Well, I don't remember falling asleep, or you moving me for that matter, so it couldn't have been too terrible," Hermione said as she sat down next to him. "Do you know what you're going to say today?"
"I have some thoughts written down."
"And you're still set on using your speech today to antagonize Riddle?"
"I wouldn't use the word antagonize, but yes, I do intend to coax Riddle into a more public arena."
"Even though people could get killed as a result?"
"Every course of action we take is going to lead to people getting killed," Harry replied. "In my opinion, there aren't many options worse than Voldemort going back in time and wiping us from existence. I just hope that we're able to respond before he's able to do any real damage."
That afternoon, thousands of witches and wizards from around the world sat in front of a stage specifically erected for the funeral just off the shore of The Black Lake. On the stage were two people, Remus and Harry. Remus had already thanked everyone for attending, offered a few brief remarks on Albus, and now, he had turned the podium over to Harry to speak on Albus's behalf.
Harry stood at the podium, a few notes written on some scraps of parchment in front of him. He looked out over the crowd, unable to see the faces of the people more than a few rows back. He knew that Hermione and the Weasleys and the rest of the Legion were out there somewhere but right now, they were all a blur.
"Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore was one of the longest serving Headmasters in the history of Hogwarts," Harry said. "I likely would have learned that if I had ever bothered to read Hogwarts, A History. Instead, I learned it from Hermione about twenty minutes before this ceremony started. He was hired as the Transfiguration Professor in 1911, became the Head of Gryffindor House in 1927, and was finally named Headmaster of Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry in 1965, a position that he held for thirty-two years."
"You could have learned all of that from reading one of the thirty-seven biographies written about Albus or one of the over three hundred articles written about his life. These are the facts of his life, but they tell us nothing about the man. They wouldn't tell you that he had an odd taste in sweets, often favoring Muggle candies over those that Honeyduke's sold. Those books won't tell you that Albus secretly wished that he could have played Quidditch during his time at Hogwarts despite the fact that he was both afraid of flying and quite terrible at it. Those books won't include his relationship with his brother, Aberforth, or his parents."
"Those books also won't tell you how crushed Albus was by the death of his closest friend, Minerva McGonagall. I was with Albus in the days after her death and while I was furious with him at the time, I can tell you that he was a broken man after that. You won't read that in a book about him, because for most, Albus Dumbledore was more a figure than a man, an institution rather than a person."
"I lived with the man, traveled with him for four years and I can tell you that he was a man, an exceptional man to be sure, but a man. He wasn't the best man, even he would agree with that. Albus was supremely gifted and that made him arrogant, even though he desperately tried not to be. He had a tendency to keep secrets, even from those that he loved. There was a time where I hated Albus because of that tendency."
"But as time passed, I realized that he did what he did because he loved me and he loved the people of our world and he wanted nothing more than to keep them safe. Everything he did, every success, every failure was done out of love, out of a desire to protect those closest to him and those that he'd never met. I can understand that impulse since I am routinely guilty of it myself. We both wanted nothing more than to defeat Voldemort and protect those that we love. I'm just glad that Albus outlived his greatest enemies. He once told me that he would help me fight Voldemort until either he was dead or Voldemort was. He spent so much of his life fighting. I'm thankful that he was able to spend the last days of his life in a world free from the grip of Tom Riddle."
Harry immediately knew that his ploy had worked. The moment Harry had mentioned Voldemort, the crowd began to whisper to one another, each of them trying to confirm that they had heard Harry correctly.
With a smile, Harry continued.
"Thank you all for coming today. Everyone here was affected by Albus in one way or another and I know that he would be grateful for your presence. If Albus would want me to say one thing, it would simply be to tell you to keep your loved ones close. Tomorrow is promised to no one."
As Harry returned to his seat, he noticed the strange look in Remus' eye. Remus spent a few minutes thanking everyone for coming before he dismissed the crowd.
It took less than a minute for the first reporter to approach him.
"Mr. Potter, you said in your speech that you believe Lord Voldemort to be dead, is that correct?" she asked as a pool of reporters surrounded him.
Harry waited until they were all close before he answered.
"We haven't heard from Lord Voldemort in years. I spent the better part of four years looking for him and came up with nothing."
"That's not an answer," another reporter pointed out.
Harry smiled. "Tom Riddle is in his seventies. He's also clearly experimented on himself in some way. Who knows what that kind of magic can do to you?"
With that, Harry walked away, the reporters attempting to get a concrete answer from him. Unfortunately, they would never get that. Harry wasn't stupid enough to come out and say that Voldemort was dead. First, he knew that was a lie. Second, he knew that would escalate the conflict beyond what he thought that they could control.
But by implying it, Harry knew that Voldemort would likely make an appearance more often. It would certainly lead to more violence, but it would also distract him from his ultimate goal. It was a sacrifice, but one that Harry felt was necessary.
Unfortunately, as Harry walked away from the reporters, he walked directly into Tonks, who looked like she was ready to tear his head off.
"Are you mental?" Tonks growled as she took him by the arm and dragged him away from the departing crowd. Once they were far enough from everyone else, she let him go.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Tonks asked. "Are you trying to get people killed?"
"No, I'm trying to distract Voldemort," Harry replied. "We think that we know what Voldemort's plan is, but we don't have a way to stop it yet."
"And so, you thought that pissing off Lord fucking Voldemort was a good way to distract him?" Tonks snapped. "Did you clear this with anyone? Percy or Amelia?"
"I did not."
Tonks's eyes narrowed. "Did the SAF know about this?"
"They did not," Harry lied. Harry was certain that Tonks saw straight through that lie, but he was not about to indict his team for something that they played no part in. They had been very clear that they thought it was a bad idea. He wasn't going to have them punished for refusing to report him.
Tonks was clearly frustrated, largely because Harry had put her in a bad spot. If someone asked if Harry had approved this, she could tell them that Harry had done it on his own. That would surely lead to Harry being removed from the SAF, but it would also reflect poorly on Tonks. However, if she revealed that she had authorized those remarks and then something bad happened, Tonks would likely lose her job along with Harry.
"I will keep quiet about this," Tonks growled. "But, let me be clear: if this blows up like I imagine that it will, you won't get a chance to resign. I'll fire your ass before Percy gets the chance and if Percy decides that he wants to charge you, you won't get any defense from me."
"I understand."
"Do you? Do you?" Tonks insisted. "Do you understand that your words carry more weight than anyone else's? Everything you say becomes news. He'll hear about this within an hour."
"I know. That's why I did it."
Tonks shook her head. "You're an idiot and if this backfires, it'll be your head. I love you like a little brother, but I'm not going down for your stupidity."
"I wouldn't expect you to."
"Good, you moron."
Tonks stomped off as the few people who remained outside the castle gave him a strange look. Thankfully, the reporters had all gone inside the castle for the reception. Harry was headed in that direction as he heard someone call his name.
He turned to see Daphne walking towards him.
"She seemed upset," Daphne observed as she watched Tonks walk away.
"I think that's an understatement," Harry replied. "She has every reason to be. I ambushed her with those comments."
"Which you knew you were going to do."
"I did," Harry admitted. "Did you need something?"
Daphne blushed, her eyes dropping to the ground.
"Daphne?"
"I...need a favor."
"What do you need?"
Daphne sighed and Harry saw a tear trickle down her cheek.
"As of noon yesterday, my sister has assumed control of The Greengrass Estate. Apparently, my father included a provision in his will that stated that I only got my portion of the Estate if I was working for him. By one o'clock, my vaults were empty and the wards to my home had been changed."
"Merlin."
"I have nothing," Daphne replied. "I spent most of the day yesterday trying to get into my home. I have some money stashed there, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't break the wards. The few friends that I have won't help me. Apparently, Astoria reached out to all of them and told them that if they helped me, they would forever be cut off from The Greengrass Estate. I have no money. I have no place to live. I stayed in my office last night."
"You can stay at Grimmauld Place."
"Grimmauld Place?" Daphne said.
"It's the Black family ancestral home. It's dark, depressing, and no one's lived there since my godfather died, but I imagine that it's better than continuing to share with me."
Immediately, a smile crossed Daphne's face and she threw her arms around Harry.
"Thank you!" she exclaimed in his ear, causing a temporary loss of hearing. "I don't know how to thank you."
"Don't worry about it," Harry said just as he got an idea. "In fact, let's go there now."
"Aren't you supposed to stick around for the reception?"
"Yeah, but I imagine that Albus wouldn't have cared if I ditched it. Besides, there's a lot of people who are pissed off at me right now and if I can avoid them, that would be lovely."
"Well, lead on then."
Harry and Daphne slipped past the entrance to the castle and then made their way back to New Hogsmeade. Once they left the grounds, Harry took Daphne by the hand and Apparated to Grimmauld Place, landing in the kitchen.
As expected, the house was exactly as they had left it. There was even a cup of tea sitting on the table, mold growing over the top. If Harry had to guess, Sirius had been sipping on it when he had gotten word that Harry had infiltrated the Department of Mysteries.
He, against his better judgement, had left Grimmauld Place and never returned.
"Harry?"
He turned and saw that Daphne was looking at him with concern.
"What?"
"I asked if you were alright."
"I...will be," Harry said, looking around the room. "It's just...I haven't been back since Sirius died. It's dustier than I expected."
"There is quite a bit of dust."
"Let's take care of that, shall we?"
Over the next several hours, Harry and Daphne worked together to clean out the kitchen, one of the living rooms, and the guest bedroom on the second floor. Everything was covered in dust, which wasn't particularly hard to remove, but it was time consuming to ensure that they did it without spreading it around the room.
Additionally, the dirt and grim of more than five years of neglect had built up on almost everything. That took even longer to clean, even though they had magic that they use unlike the last time that Harry had been part of the cleaning crew for Grimmauld Place.
At every turn, Harry expected to run into Kreacher, but they never found him. Harry expected that the house elf had likely left Grimmauld Place with Bellatrix or Narcissa.
By the time the sun was finally setting, the house was at least habitable, although it wasn't pretty. Harry knew that it would take several more days of work to get it back to something that resembled clean, something he wasn't going to ask of Daphne.
Harry was standing in the kitchen with Daphne, marveling at their handiwork, readying to leave when a silver jack rabbit bounced through the far far and landed in front of him.
"Report to Diagon Alley," the jack rabbit said in Tonks' voice. He recognized the fire in Tonks' voice and knew that this was bad. Harry turned to Daphne, took her hand, and Apparated the two of them to Diagon Alley.
The first thing that Harry noticed was the flames. At least half of Diagon Alley was actively on fire including Ollivanders, Quality Quidditch Supplies, and Flourish and Blotts. The front of Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes had been entirely blown off and there was a crater where the entrance to The Leaky Cauldron had been.
But through the smoke, Harry could see that the fire should have been the least of his concerns. Bodies lined the streets. Some of them had entire sections of their skin that had been burned off. Others had been decapitated while a few had been cut in half. As they walked down the street, they choked on the smoke from the fires and walked past people screaming out for help until they reached the very center of Diagon Alley where Gringotts stood.
The bank was actively on fire but Harry hadn't noticed that. Instead, he saw the words that had been written on the doors to the bank in letters large enough for everyone to see.
Words written in blood.
LORD VOLDEMORT WILL NEVER DIE.
Harry immediately turned and vomited everything that he'd eaten in the last twelve hours into the gutter. Thankfully, Daphne caught him before he could collapse just as Tonks exited the remains of Chasers. Once she saw Harry, she walked the length of the Alley, a fury in her eyes that Harry had never seen before. She didn't stop as she approached. Instead, she threw a punch that hit Harry square in the nose. He felt his nose break as he dropped to the ground.
"Are you happy!?" Tonks screamed as two uniformed Aurors stepped between her and Harry. "Is this what you wanted?"
Harry said nothing. His ploy had worked. Voldemort wasn't focused on time travel any longer. Instead, he was massacring dozens of people and destroying most of Diagon Alley. Even with magic, it would take months to fix the damage that had been done, but there was no magic that could replace the lives that had been lost.
"You didn't need to come here," Tonks growled, "but I wanted you to see what you had done. Go to the Ministry and wait for me there. Auror Greengrass, I believe that Goran could use some help dousing the fire at Fortescue's."
Daphne gave Harry one look, a look that told him that she felt sorry for him, before she took off. For once, Harry never considered defying orders. He Apparated back to the Ministry and went directly to Tonks' office where he sat.
Nearly three hours passed while Harry sat and waited. All the while, the images of people burning etched themselves in his mind. He heard the screams of people on fire, smelled their flesh melting. There was nothing that he could do to keep the images at bay. He imagined that he would see those images in his sleep for the rest of his life.
Finally, Tonks walked into the office. Her face was black, covered in soot, sweat, and blood. She silently motioned for Harry to follow her, which he did, all the way to Percy's office.
As they reached the door, Tonks turned to him.
"If you know what's good for you, you'll tell the truth," Tonks said firmly. "I know you, Harry, and while I know that you didn't want anyone to get hurt, you screwed up. Be honest, take whatever punishment they give you, and one day, I won't want to hit you when I see your face."
Harry nodded. Tonks opened the door to reveal not just Percy, but Amelia and John Dawlish as well. Percy sat behind his desk while an expression that Harry immediately despised. He had the look of someone who couldn't decide to be upset or happy. On one hand, dozens of people had just died. On the other, Harry had finally screwed up.
"Sit," Percy said firmly and, for the first time, Harry followed his orders, taking a seat in the single chair that faced Percy. Harry might have looked at Amelia or Dawlish, but honestly, he didn't care what they thought. This was going to come down to Percy.
"We're going to have a very frank conversation, Harry," Percy said. "Thirty-seven people have died already and two dozen more are on their way to St. Mungo's. That doesn't include the untold level of damage that's been done to Diagon Alley."
Harry remained silent.
"Did you clear your remarks earlier today with anyone else at the Ministry?" Percy asked.
"No."
"Did you inform your team that you would be delivering them?"
"No."
"Did your team, in any way, know what you were going to do?"
"They knew that I was trying to encourage Voldemort to focus his attention on us, so that he couldn't focus his attention on his plan."
"What plan?" Dawlish asked.
"We have evidence that points to Voldemort working on something that could cause untold levels of damage. However, we have no way of knowing exactly when or where he'll use it. We do know that it's not done. So, I said what I said to distract him. I assumed that he would come after me."
"He didn't," Amelia scowled. "Instead, he personally showed up in Diagon Alley and murdered more than three dozen people."
"Wait, he was there?" Harry asked.
"We have eye witnesses that point to him painting the words on Gringotts himself," Tonks said coldly. "He did all of that by himself."
Harry had assumed that Voldemort had sent his Death Eaters. Even if he was expecting an attack, he never would have assumed that Voldemort would have shown up himself.
"You said that he's working on some kind of plan or project?" Percy asked. "What is it?"
"At this point, all the information we have is speculative," Harry replied. "It would do more harm than good to try and confirm something before we're absolutely certain."
"I don't care right now what you think will do harm," Percy barked. "You're the reason Voldemort just tore through Diagon Alley. You're the reason more than thirty people are dead! You will tell me what information you have so that someone with more than half a brain can use that information."
"And you think that's you?" Harry scoffed. He had done his best to remain respectful of Percy, even if he didn't feel one ounce of respect for the man. But Harry wasn't about to turn over all of the information that he had to Percy.
First, he didn't trust the Ministry to do the job.
Second, he didn't trust Percy to do anything.
"I'm the Minister of Magic-"
"For now," said Harry, cutting him off. "Did The Prophet have your approval ratings at somewhere around twenty percent last week?"
"That's none of your concern," Percy growled. "All you do is talk, Potter. You've been threatening to have me removed for years and you have done nothing! If you had any actual power, you'd do more than bad mouth me in the press, but since you can't do anything, you'll tell me what I want to know!"
"No, I won't, you jackass," Harry fired back.
Percy stood and slammed his hands on the desk in front of him.
"I am the Minister of Magic and you will do as I command!"
Everyone in the room froze and waited for Harry to respond Slowly, Harry stood, his eyes locked on Percy's. Harry opened his mouth to speak, but before he could say anything, Tonks stepped forward.
"Sir, I'm going to suspend Harry for four weeks from the SAF," Tonks said. "All of his research will be turned over to us. We can get what you want without things turning ugly."
"No, you can't."
Everyone in the room turned to Harry, including Tonks, who somehow looked even more furious at him.
"Excuse me?"
"I came to work with the Ministry, because I thought that the Ministry's primary concern was ending Voldemort. I thought that there was no way that even with a pompous, pathetic, overachieving piece of work like Percy Weasley in charge that the Ministry of Magic could screw that up."
"I will not be talked to-"
"I'll talk to you however I want to talk to you!" Harry shouted. "You had four years to do anything. You all had years to try and fight him. Instead, you hid. You pretended that everything was alright. Out of sight, out of mind, right? I came back to find a Ministry that is woefully unprepared to deal with any sort of threat, let alone one as powerful as Voldemort. So, no, Tonks, I will not be turning over any research to this Ministry as long as Percy Weasley is in charge. That research is mine. I am the one that will bring Voldemort down with or without the Ministry's help. If you want to help me, fine. If not, get the hell out of my way."
Harry glared at Percy, his words echoing around the room. Percy looked as if he were ready to jump over his desk and launch himself at Harry. In return, Harry stood, his entire body at the ready. If Percy made one aggressive move towards him, Percy would go flying through the wall behind him, Minister of Magic be damned.
Instead, Percy relaxed.
"Stay put," Percy ordered before he looked to the others. "A word?"
Silently, everyone followed Percy as he walked past Harry and into the hallway. Tonks was the last to follow.
"You really are an idiot."
"You're the one following him. Who's the idiot?"
"He's the Minister of Magic."
"So was Cornelius Fudge. If I recall, you joined the Order of the Phoenix when he was Minister."
Tonks shook her head and followed the others out of the office, leaving Harry alone. Almost immediately, Harry could hear the sounds of raised voices, but he couldn't make out exactly what was being said. The shouting lasted for the better part of a minute before the door opened once more.
Percy and Dawlish entered the room. Two people followed them, but they weren't Amelia or Tonks. Instead, two uniformed Aurors stood in their place. Harry immediately knew what was going to happen. Apparently, he had pushed Percy a step too far.
"Harry Potter, you have been permanently removed from your position within the SAF and your diplomatic status has been revoked."
"Fine."
"Give me everything you have on Voldemort's project."
"Not a chance."
Percy smiled. "Amelia and Tonks both recommended that punishment. More than thirty people are dead because of you and they wanted to give you a slap on the wrist. I'm tired of people giving you the benefit of the doubt simply because you're Harry Potter."
"Just like you did when I said that Voldemort was back and you sent a letter to Ron calling me a nutter?" Harry asked. "You really are the worst kind of politician, interested in the status that it brings you more than any changes you could make. You care more about people liking you than getting the job done."
"And you think you're a hero, destined to save the world because a glass ball told you so," Percy countered. "You're nothing more than an orphan, desperately hoping for someone to replace the family you lost."
"Excuse me?" Harry growled.
"You've spent your entire time in the wizarding world pining after my family because you couldn't have one of your own. You've spent your life pretending to be powerful and important just so that you'll be more than the boy whose parents died for him."
Whatever Harry had expected Percy to say, that was not it. However, his words were too sharp, too direct for Harry to even respond. All he felt was his breath leave his body.
"Minister…" Dawlish said, clearly uncomfortable with Percy's behavior. Clearly, Percy had crossed a line in Dawlish's eyes.
But the Minister of Magic wasn't done.
"Your father wasn't even smart enough to bring his wand with him in a fight against Lord Voldemort."
Percy Weasley wouldn't have been the first person to make fun of Harry for being an orphan. He'd been classmates with Draco Malfoy after all. But no decent person had ever said anything about his father like that and the moment those words came out of Percy's mouth, Harry saw red. He flicked his wand from its holster, hitting Dawlish and the two Aurors with Stunners before any of them could even draw their wands. Then, he threw himself at Percy. His right fist struck Percy in the face, causing him to lose his balance. Before he could fall, however, Harry grabbed Percy and slammed his head against the desk. Harry's nose had been broken earlier that evening and now Percy's matched.
Then, Harry grabbed Percy, who was howling in pain, and tossed him over the desk. He hit the bookshelf behind his desk, causing several books to fall off the shelves and hit Percy as he collapsed on the ground. Harry was about to jump over the desk when he felt someone grab him. On his left was Amelia and on his right, Tonks. Behind him, two other Aurors joined them, keeping Harry from throwing himself at Percy.
Meanwhile, Percy had slowly picked himself off the ground. He was bleeding from at least two different spots on the head, had the beginnings of a black eye, a broken nose, and when he smiled, two of his teeth were missing.
"Harry James Potter, I hereby charge you with assaulting the Minister of Magic and interfering with a Ministry investigation. You are to be remanded into the custody of the Ministry of Magic until a trial in front of the Wizengamot can be completed."
"You motherfucker," Harry growled. "If I ever get my hands on you, I'll-
"Take him," Percy said with a twisted grin.
Harry felt the two wizards begin to pull. When Harry tried to slip from their grasp, one of them grabbed him before there was a flash of red light and he knew no more.