The New Magical Minister

Harry stared. He waved the Blocking charm away and stepped forward, kneeling next to the creature. "Dobby?"

Dobby's great green eyes watered. He tried to run forward, but tripped over his chains and fell on his face. This wrenched Harry's heart so that it jumped about in his chest. He leaped forward and helped Dobby up.

"Harry," Ron hissed, still standing a good few feet away. "Look."

Harry looked to the back of the shed and found a few hundred House Elves staring back at him, their eyes unblinking and terrified. "Blimey," Ron whispered, his expression mimicking how Harry felt. "You don't think this is a trap, do you?"

Harry shook his head. "'Course not. This is just - just cruelty!"

"Oh Harry Potter! 'Tis a shame...'tis a big, big shame!" Dobby cried, rubbing his red and raw ankles.

"What's a shame, Dobby?"

The green balls looked up at Harry. "Dobby thinks good Ministry did this, but - but D-Dobby not to say...."

Harry's eyes swiveled to Ron's. Both pairs narrowed angrily. "The Ministry did this, Dobby? But why?"

"Hogwarts," Ron said. "Hogwarts was closed. They didn't want a bunch of House Elves running about, so they-"

"Chained them like animals!" Harry exploded. He was fairly sure that if Hermione was here, she would have blown the roof off the shed already. Harry sat down on the dirt floor, leaning his back against the moldy and rotten wood. The air was foul smelling. "We have to call a pause in the exercise," Harry said. "We can't have someone come in and take us."

"Right," Ron said, and drew a circle in the air with his wand. He whispered a charm and waited for the air in the circle to settle on Mitch's face. "Mitch, we've got a problem."

Mitch's sharp eyes glared. "Are you sure?"

"Very sure."

*

Hermione was sitting in her grimy office when suddenly a letter went breezing through her open window. Now that the rain had ceased, the air was fresh and wonderful. The letter carried the scent of the air with it as it thudded into Hermione's head.

She snatched it up and glanced at the front of the folded wad. Immediately she could tell that it was from Harry. Funny, she thought, I thought he was training this morning. Worried, she unfolded it and read:

Hermione, Ron and I are in Northern England somewhere training. We found a shed full of House Elves from Hogwarts. Dobby said the Ministry did this. I hope you get this at the Daily Prophet, because I want you to burn an effigy for the Ministry for me. Good luck, and don't worry about us,

-Harry

Hermione threw the letter down, pounding her fist on the table. She reached behind her and grabbed some parchment and a new quill. She dunked the quill into the ink well on her desk and began scrawling quickly and furiously.

The Ministry has done it again. First they've ignored the blatant threats that the Dark forces give us. Then the Minister decides to close Hogwarts when neighboring Hogsmeade is attacked. And yet the Ministry still denies the fact that the Dark Lord is in power and is killing innocent children. Now, just as things seemed to be dwindling for the current administration, a shocking new discovery could prove to be fatal....

*

"'....nearly seven-hundred House Elves are being held in a shed in Northern England. What sort of inhuman justice is this? The Ministry has just given us proof that they have no common sense nor a sense of feeling -' Dammit, she's good, Maria!"

"No good for us," Maria replied, casually flicking her hair over her shoulder. He shook his head lightly and continued to scan Hermione's article. He found himself grinning with glee. This was just what this administration had coming.

"Did you even know about those House Elves?"

"What House Elves?" Maria said sardonically. She stood up, pushing away from the small table. "This will take a lot of cleaning up."

"Mmm-hmm," Sirius said, still looking at the newspaper. This was obviously not suitable for Maria, for she grabbed the middle section of the newspaper and yanked it down. Her brown eyes glared at him imploringly.

"Did you hear me?"

Sirius was startled. She has a wispy smell about her. Something like rose and vanilla. "Yes," he replied, slightly intoxicated. "Harry Potter's backing this article up."

"You're kidding me." Maria bent down the paper even further so she could read it. Craning her neck, she exposed her tanned neck. Her thick, black hair tumbled over her shoulder. Cinnamon, Sirius decided, she smells like cinnamon. Maria sighed and stepped back, looking very troubled. "Does Fudge know?"

"Probably," Sirius said, tossing the newspaper aside. "It's going to be a long night."

"The press will have a party."

"I'll take care of it."

"You want to get some food before the torture commences?"

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "Sure. But let's go somewhere in Diagon Alley.... The Ministry is serving broccoli soup."

At this Maria grinned. It was a sweeping, pretty smile. Sirius grinned back and the two walked down to the fresh air of Diagon Alley. The sun was a pleasant change from the cold walls of the Ministry. Sirius let it brush his face, and he inhaled the rain-fresh air. Maria led him to Florean Fortesque's ice cream shop. He remembered the many times he had come here over the summer to visit with his friends. The brightly colored umbrellas were still the same.

"The entire wizarding community will protest, the Muggle Minister will most definitely say something, and I'm sure Fudge'll lock himself in his office and point fingers at us," Maria said angrily. "What are we going to do?"

As Florean came by to take their orders, Sirius replied, "Maybe it's time for Fudge to get his own medicine."

"What are you thinking?" Maria asked, leaning in to listen.

"Well," Sirius began, "we've been shouldering Fudge's mistakes - ones we didn't even know about - for too long. We can claim we had no idea."

"You wouldn't."

"Wouldn't I." And with that, Sirius dug into his sundae.

*

Ginny shoved her way through the crowd, using all her limbs to push people aside. She paused and bobbed up and down, trying to see over the heads. No luck. She grunted and barreled through. After a fair amount of protests and complaints, Ginny found herself staring at the large platform the Ministry had set up. It was lopsided (probably done with magic, Ginny decided), with a maroon ribbon running along the side. On top of the platform was a podium.

And behind that podium was Sirius Black, dressed in smart black robes with the maroon embroidery on the right, signifying that he was with the Ministry. Beside him was what would have been a beautiful Spanish woman, but her glare threw Ginny off.

Sirius looked around, listening as everybody shouted and called to him. Ginny marveled at how composed he appeared. She had seen the commotion from Remus' office and wondered what was going on. Since Remus had disappeared and there were no clients, she had closed shop and made her way down.

Sirius started speaking quite suddenly. "Thank you for coming on such short notice." Ginny stared at him blankly. He caught her eye and grinned secretively. "I expect most have heard of the findings in Northern England?"

There was a mixture of agreement and confusion. Ginny was one of the many who hadn't heard. Sirius glanced at the woman beside him, and without looking at him, she nodded. "For those who haven't heard, I urge you to subscribe to the Daily Prophet. While on an Auror training mission, Harry Potter and his friend, Ronald Weasley-" Ginny was gaping at that point, "-found a shed filled with imprisoned House Elves from Hogwarts."

Ginny felt a clench in her chest as the crowd gasped. How awful!

"Fudge has sent word to every newspaper and magazine in the wizarding community, claiming that he had no idea what was taking place. I'm afraid to tell you that this is not true. Fudge knew very well what evilness was taking place. In fact, he knew it better than his advisors." Here Sirius stopped and glared, letting the flashbulbs go off like crazy. Ginny shivered in the breeze and wrapped her arms around her torso.

"For the past few years, Fudge has skipped past our views and decided what to do on his own. He closed Hogwarts without regarding our suggestions. He put away those House Elves without even consulting us," Sirius growled. Ginny could tell that this was not an act. "We're just as horrified as the lot of you, and we sincerely hope you do something about it. You, as the people of the wizarding community, have the right to demand a change in the administration. Thank you."

As Sirius and the woman stepped off the platform, Ginny wondered what he had suggested. Surely, surely he wasn't suggesting an impeachment of the Minister? Not that Ginny would mind that change, but it was such a radical thing to think about. She had grown up knowing no other than bumbling Fudge, and all of a sudden there was buzz about his career ending.

She watched as someone magicked the platform and podium away. Ginny jumped when a man spoke behind her. "Can't wait to see that git be thrown out of office," he said. He was obviously talking to Ginny, but she couldn't turn around in the tight jumble of bodies.

"This could be the best thing that happened to us!"

The man snorted softly. "Indeed," he mused, "indeed it could be. I'll see you around, Ginny Weasley."

Ginny started. She tried to pivot, but only her head and shoulders could move. With a glance behind her, Ginny briefly saw a head of blonde hair. And right before she was pushed along by the crowd, her last thought to it was that he looked strangely familiar.

*

Harry knocked on the door lightly and exchanged a glance with Ron. It opened a crack, allowing one large brown eye to peer out. "Oh!" Ginny cried from the other side, throwing the door open. She beamed. "I didn't expect you two!"

Harry immediately felt like and intruder. "Er, sorry-"

"You don't mind," Ron said, barging through and brushing past Ginny. Ginny waved her hand, urging Harry to follow.

"How funny that you came, because-"

"Hermione!" Ron said, clearly surprised.

"See what I mean?" Ginny asked.

Harry laughed. "We went looking for Hermione, but we couldn't find her." At this, Ginny laughed, too. Harry shut the door behind him, letting it close with a soft snap. He felt rather nervous, for this was only his second time in Ginny's flat. With the impression that he was invading, Harry examined the front room. It was fairly messy. Clothes were strewn under the desk (his face heated and he averted his eyes at a pair of blue knickers) and papers were sticking out from under the couch. Ginny, who stood beside him, seemed to have noticed what Harry was looking at.

"Er, I'm not exactly a tidy person," she said, smiling shyly.

Harry grinned. His many years under Aunt Petunia's tidy eye had driven any liking of neatness from him. "It's great."

"Did you have a feast last night?" Ron said from the kitchen.

Harry looked to where Ron was pointing. In the sink was a pile of dirty dishes, stacked tall and lopsided. Ginny turned an interesting color of red.

"Daniel was over last night."

Hermione muffled her laughter more effectively than Ron, who cracked up, leaning on the counter. Harry stood, torn between amusement and a different sort of feeling. More like a hollowness in his chest.

"Daniel Gin!" Ron said, but it came out more of a laugh. "Ginny Gin!" Harry's smile faded slightly. Daniel was tall and dashing and certainly was in Ginny's interest.

"Shove it!"

"Ginny Gin-Gin with her hairy chin-chin!"

Hermione whacked him. "Oh, honestly Ron. Don't be such a child."

Ron continued laughing. "Will your name your child Tonic? So when he's at Sorting at Hogwarts, McGonagall will call Gin, Tonic?"

Ginny rolled her eyes and flicked her wand at the sink. Ron flinched, believing that the wand was aimed at him. Instead the dishes began to wash themselves. "How do you know my child will be going to Hogwarts?" she said, her voice near wobbling.

This seemed to sober everybody, including Ron. Ron stood up straight and looked down, unsure of what to say. Hermione nudged him, gave Harry a worried look that he knew so well, then turned to Ginny.

"Don't say that. You know Fudge'll be kicked out, and after that, who knows who might take over?"

'Thanks to your article," Harry said, and after a moment of silence, he added, "I wonder who'll run."

"Well, if anybody runs," Hermione said, slipping into her regular self, "it'll be the for the first time in thirty years. Fudge was elected because no one else would do it. Who would blame them, though? I wouldn't fancy being Minister while the Dark Lord is in power."

"You could do it, Hermione," Harry said. Hermione laughed through her nose.

"Could you imagine what people would say? I can see Malfoy now: 'A Mudblood?'" Hermione said. Her voice was sharp.

"Oh!" Ginny said quite suddenly. "That reminds me. Reckon I spotted Malfoy at Sirius' speech today."

"Malfoy?" Ron asked, his eyes narrowing. "What are you doing hanging around Malfoy?"

"Ron! He was hanging around Sirius, and that's perfectly normal. He has every right!" Ginny said.

"Did he talk to you?" Harry asked.

"Well...sort of. I didn't know it was him, though. It was bizarre."

The four stood in silence, contemplating. Harry frowned. Harry hadn't heard of Draco Malfoy in years. He had figured he had sunk himself into the Dark world, or better yet, died painfully. Not that Malfoy's silence was all together a bad thing, but it was curious he would show up just as the Ministry was in turmoil. Harry didn't like the look of it. So, to take their minds off it, he said, "Dumbledore should run."

"That'd be nice, but we all know that Dumbledore's place is at Hogwarts."

Ron laughed. "Could you imagine if Lockhart ran?"

"'I turned this institution around with my award-winning smile!'" Ginny mimicked. They all laughed, though Harry noticed with a bit of amusement that Hermione seemed put off.

"Too bad he's still a nutcase."

*

"I met with Dumbledore today," Remus said, staring at Sirius from the other side of the table. Sirius looked up.

"And?"

"The man was furious in his own right. He said he's doing all he can to throw Fudge out." And as Remus said this, he knew it was true. Dumbledore had more power than Fudge, both in magic and in society. Dumbledore had planned to write to the Ministers of countries close to England, and poke about in the Ministry to prove that Fudge was a madman.

"When did you go?" Sirius asked, looking up from some papers.

"This morning, right after Harry found those elves."

Sirius grinned. "It's always Harry, isn't it?"

"James was never that bad."

"No, but he didn't defeat Voldemort."

There was a comfortable silence after this. Remus knew that he and Sirius were thinking the same things, reminiscing, wondering what would have been of the old gang if things had been different that night. Remus hadn't thought of these things in the longest time; he had trained his mind to stray away. And now, like lightening, there it was again, invading his mind. The image of his friend was imprinted into his head. James, with his messy hair and crooked glasses, grinned at Remus through his mind's eye.

And now all that was left was Sirius and him. All alone, supporting each other. Remus couldn't imagine what he would do if Sirius left. They were brothers in every way but blood, they were lovers in every way but romantically. They were inseparable.

Both men started violently when the door to the musty room banged open. A woman who Remus recognized from somewhere came in, panting and looking quite flushed. Sirius stood up.

"What's the matter?"

Remus suddenly remembered that this was the woman who Sirius had been walking with after Fudge's rendezvous with the press. He watched with detached interest and the woman bounced about in a most childlike manner.

"Oh, Sirius!" she said breathlessly. "It's happened!"

"What?" Sirius asked. He put his arms on her shoulder's to make her stand still. "Maria, calm down."

Maria slumped into the chair where Sirius had sat a moment before. She glanced at Remus briefly. "Hullo."

Remus smiled in return, now more interested in the way Sirius was watching her alertly. He hadn't seen that look in Sirius' eyes for years. "Maria, what happened?"

"It's marvelous. Fudge's going under impeachment hearings!"

There was a ghostly silence. Remus, though he heard the words, did not process them. Sirius, by the look of his face, seemed flabbergasted. Then, quite suddenly, he laughed.

"You're kidding!"

"Of course not. Parliament got so many complaints," Maria said, once again composed. She looked away from Sirius. In a flash of her eyes, Remus caught a look of something else in her gaze. Something like glee, but more. Pride. Remus shook his head.

"I bet Dumbledore did it."

Maria looked directly at Remus. "Indeed he did. That man is amazing." Remus stood up, smoothing his robes.

"Sirius, I ought to tell the others," Remus said, speaking of Harry and the rest. Sirius nodded and Remus Disapparated to find the four.

*

It was a sad, depressing occasion, upon which every soul felt the hurt in the air. There was a thick blanket of torn pride, masking everything. The great walls of the Ministry seemed to have been shaken to their roots. Everyone within the building was helpless and desolate.

But Sirius really couldn't contain his glee. Disregarding the scandalized looks everyone gave him, Sirius bounced into Fudge's meeting room. It was one of many; this one, unlike the maroon one, was smaller and cozier, colored in a humble blue. Fudge, who sat in the corner near the fireplace, had his fingers in his mouth and his eyes upon the flames.

Sirius cleared his throat. Fudge waved him in without so much as a glance. Sirius closed the door behind him. He carefully monitored his face and posture and slid into the chair across from Fudge. His lazy eyes turned to Sirius, and a look of a lost man flashing in them. "Sirius, my friend...."

"You've heard the news?" Sirius kicked himself mentally. The entire wizarding world knew, of course Fudge knew.

Fudge, to Sirius' utter amazement, attempted a smile. "I have indeed. Strange, isn't it, that it came so suddenly?"

Sirius covered his snicker with a cough. "Shocking."

"Yes, yes, afraid so. Ah, not to worry!" Fudge said, brightening again. "It'll pass over quickly."

"Sir," Sirius said, and leaned forward, "I don't think it works like that. If the Parliament decides you should be impeached, you can never return to wizarding politics again."

Fudge dumped his flubber chin into his palms and heaved a heavy sigh. "Is that so?"

"And if by chance you're not impeached, then the entire community will despise you. You won't be able to get a thing done."

"S-Sirius," he stuttered, and Sirius noticed his hands trembling slightly. "How does this impeachment process go?"

"Well, it's basically like a trial. You, the defendant, are representing yourself. The Ministry will hire a lawyer to prosecute you, and if the jury - in this case, the Parliament - decides you are guilty, you're impeached. Elections are held one year from your impeachment date."

Fudge remained quiet. "And - and I can never enter politics again?"

Sirius refrained from throwing something at the man. "Never. The Law of McAller states that once impeached, a man can never again show his face in politics." Which, Sirius thought, is the best thing that has happened in wizard law...ever.

"Who's going to prosecute me?" Sirius, if he had been sensitive enough, would have crumpled at the sight of the forlorn man before him.

"The Ministry is announcing that sometime today."

"D-do you mind if I ask why you betrayed me to the public yesterday?" Fudge asked. His voice was low and he would not meet Sirius' eyes.

"Because it was wrong, sir, for Maria and I to take the blame." Sirius was amazed that he had no remorse or guilt welling within him. It was startling and rather troubling, but Sirius didn't think about it much more.

"Sirius," Fudge said, placing his hand on Sirius' own, "right now, we're equals. I am no greater than you, you no lesser than I. We can get rid of that 'sir' riff-raff, eh?"

"Of course, s-," and he caught himself, leaning back into the striped chair. "Anything for the press?"

"No, I don't believe so," Fudge said. "Where's Maria?"

"Taking care of someone or other...should I find her?"

"No need. Come and see me once the Ministry announces head of prosecution."

Sirius nodded, and when no words escaped from the Minister's mouth, he left the room. With a soft click, the door shut. Sirius leaned against the wooden door, resting his head on a panel. Slowly, a grin formed on his gruff face. This, he decided, was going to be extremely fun.