Harry Potter and the Time of Shadows

- Chapter Twenty-Two-

Fudge versus Fudge

The three of them lay on the grass by the lake, basking in the sunshine, for the first time in recent memory not worrying about the O.W.Ls. Or at least -- Harry and Ron weren't.

"How can you two be so calm?" Hermione said shrilly. "These exams are so important. What if we all fail?"

"Well, that's a definite possibility for me," Ron said lazily. "But come on, you're top of the year!"

"But the pressure's really been getting to me! I might have panicked, and I could have done terribly!"

"Hermione," Harry said, looking up at the sky, his head resting on his hands. "You have got to get a hold of yourself. I've only got three hours before I have to go to that detention for Fudge, and I don't want to spend the whole time trying to get you to calm down."

"I still can't believe Fudge gave you detention," Ron said. "All you did was turn around."

"He looked like he was copying another boy's answers," Hermione pointed out. "I still don't understand why you were moving around anyway."

"I heard something," Harry said, sitting up. "It sounded like it was coming from the Forest. There was something moving around."

"So?" Ron said. "There's always things moving around in the Forest. That's the reason we don't go in there."

"This was different," Harry said firmly. "It was something big. It was near the edge of the Forest."

"Maybe it was the centaur," Hermione suggested. "He had to go back to the Forest after Charlie took him for our lesson."

"Yeah," Harry said. "Maybe it was."

"D'you wanna do something?" Ron asked suddenly. "I'm getting a little bored just laying here. We could play some Quidditch!"

"Don't you think we've played enough Quidditch lately?" Harry asked.

"And I don't even like flying very much," Hermione said.

"OK, it was just a suggestion," Ron said.

Fred and George had just walked out of the castle doors, and spotted the three of them.

"Hi guys," said Fred cheerfully, who seemed to have taken his break-up with Angelina very well.

"How are you?" George asked, and wicked grins spread over both their faces.

"What have you two done?" Ron asked.

"We've just been celebrating finishing our NEWTs," Fred replied.

"What have you done?" Ron repeated.

To answer his question for him, Charlie came waddling out into the grounds, almost twice his normal size. It looked like Fred and George had given him a Jumbo Snack.

He saw the twins, and started to run towards them, but he was soon tired from the effort of carrying so much extra body weight.

"Fred, George," he panted. "I should've known you were up to something when you offered me a packet of crisps!"

"Yeah well, live and learn," George said.

"You'll miss it when we're gone," Fred added.

"Not bloody likely," Charlie muttered.

"Don't worry, you'll be back to normal in a few minutes," Fred assured him.

Sure enough, five minutes later, Charlie started to deflate. He did not seem too angry with them, but laughed along.

"Oh, I just remembered," Charlie said when he was his normal size again. I want to see all of you tonight. We can meet by Hagrid's hut at nine. There's something I need to show you."

"What is it?" Hermione asked, but Charlie had already walked away.

Harry ran after him, struck by a sudden inspiration.

"Charlie," he shouted.

He stopped and turned around. "What is it Harry?" he asked.

"I need to talk to you about something," Harry said. "In private."

"What is it?" he asked seriously.

They walked to a place away from an other students, and whispered, "I know about Drazen and Malfoy."

Charlie smiled. "How did you find out?" he asked. "There's no way that Malfoy told you."

"The Malfoys' old house-elf works in the kitchens now," Harry said, hoping Charlie would tell him what it was, thinking he already knew. "I asked him."

"Very clever Harry," Charlie smiled. "What do you think about it?"

"Er," said Harry, trying to think of something vague. "I think I'll be able to have a lot of fun with Draco."

"Yep," Charlie said, laughing. "I expect he'll want to keep it quiet at any cost."

Harry was starting to feel frustrated. Was he ever going to find out what a Drazen was? Charlie was being just as vague, and it was very annoying.

"D'you think I should tell anyone?" Harry asked.

"I dunno," Charlie replied. "If I were you, I'd keep it to myself. It could be worth more if you're the only student that knows."

"How did you find out about Drazen anyway, Charlie?" Harry asked. This had to give him some kind of clue.

"Simple, my dad told me. Don't ask how he found out, I ain't got a clue. I think Bill knows too. The others definitely don't."

"Right," Harry said absently. He was running out of ways to find out this Drazen secret. He was really desperate to know. It had to be something big, from the way that Malfoy would react whenever it was mentioned.

"I mean, Lucius Malfoy did a really good job of covering it up," Charlie continued. "He would go crazy if anyone found out he had a Squib in his family."

"What?" Harry exploded.

Charlie stopped smiling. "You didn't know that, did you? And I've just told you. Great."

Harry's smile got much bigger. "No, I didn't know. All the house-elf told me was the word Drazen. He didn't say what it was."

"Very clever Harry," Charlie said, looking around to see if there was anyone listening to them.

"Drazen Malfoy is a Squib?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, he's Lucius Malfoy's younger brother," Charlie told him. "He's probably about twenty-one now. Of course, Lucius denies any relation with him. He put a powerful Memory Charm on Drazen. I'm pretty sure he thinks he's a Bosnian orphan named Drazen Riverra, if he's still alive."

"How could no one realise that Lucius Malfoy's brother just disappeared?" Harry asked, scanning the grounds to try and see Malfoy, but not finding him.

"More Memory Charms," Charlie replied simply. "He wiped the memory of anyone who knew about him. Wizards really do have the power to cover up things, even really big things."

"Wow," said Harry. He had turned his back on his own brother. Although, it did not surprise Harry too much that he would do something like that. More so, he would expect Lucius Malfoy to just kill his brother, and make a cleaner job of it.

"Why didn't he just kill Drazen?" Harry asked Charlie.

"Harry," Charlie said gently. "I think that even Slytherins have limits. The bond between brothers is very strong, I don't think even Lucius Malfoy would do something as despicable as killing his own brother. But, maybe not. Maybe the only reason was his mum wouldn't let him," he added lightly.

"Sure," Harry responded. "So, I'll see you at nine tonight."

"Right," Charlie replied, and they both walked away from each other, and Harry sat back down by the lake, relaxing.

"What was that about?" Ron asked casually.

"Oh...nothing," Harry replied, quickly trying to hide the huge smile appearing on his face. He decided not to tell them about Drazen Malfoy, it would have to be another one of the many secrets he was keeping from his two best friends.

Harry closed his eyes again, and lifted his head to the sun. He could just sit there forever, lounging in the afternoon sun. He would love it if he could simply stop time, and stay with his friends, in the perfect weather, with almost no worries. But, as he knew only too well, time stands still for no one.

"Harry?" a girl standing above him said uncertainly, forcing Harry away from his thoughts.

Very slowly, he opened his eyes. It was Cho, silhouetted against the sun. She was looking down at him, and Harry instantly got to his feet.

"What do you want?" he asked coldly. He had not forgotten about how she had manipulated him to try and win the Quidditch Cup.

"I need to talk to you," she said softly. She looked genuinely hurt at his reaction. It was hard to hate a girl who was standing before him, so beautiful and fragile.

Stop it Potter, he told himself. Remember what she did to you.

"I don't think we have anything to say to each other," he said unfeelingly.

"Why are you acting like this?" Cho asked, backing away from him. "I thought you and I had something Harry."

"Oh please," Harry snapped. "I know what you were doing to me! You were just pretending to like me so I would go easy on you in the match!"

"What?" Cho shrieked. "You think I would do something like that? How dare you!" She raised her hand and slapped him hard on the face. Harry staggered backwards, and raised his hand to his cheek, where he felt his skin turning red.

"You thought that I would try and make you throw the match! I can't believe you Harry Potter! I thought I knew you! I thought you were a good person! I didn't think I could date anyone after Cedric, but I really liked you! And then you do something like this!"

"I -- I'm sorry Cho," Harry said. He suddenly felt terrible, and the mention of Cedric made it ten times worse.

"You're sorry!" she screamed. "Ah! I can't even look at you now! Just leave me alone!"

Cho turned on her heel, and thundered away.

"Cho!" Harry called after her. "Cho, I'm really sorry!"

He sank back on the grass, with his head in his hands. He watched her walk away through a gap in his fingers, and when she was gone he let out a loud sigh.

"Harry," Ron said uneasily. Harry then realised that both he and Hermione had been there and heard the entire conversation. "I'm sorry mate, I shouldn't've put the idea in your head."

"It's not your fault Ron," Harry assured him. "I was the one who accused her. I'm just an idiot. It's all my fault."

"It's not just you Harry," Hermione said wisely. "When it comes to relationships, all men are idiots."

*

At quarter to seven, Harry made his way to Professor Fudge's office, and waited for Fudge to come.

"Ah Harry," he said when he got there. "Sorry about what happened in the lesson today. I had to, you understand?"

"Yeah," Harry said gloomily. "I guess."

"You did very well in the lesson today," he said. "I'm not really supposed to say, mind you."

"Thanks, what have I got to do?" Harry asked, wondering what the rest of the fifth year were doing.

"Nothing too bad, just sorting out some paperwork."

Harry nodded, and Professor Fudge put the pile of papers in front of him.

"I'll come back to check on you in a little while," he said. "I just have an errand I have to do."

Harry sat there putting each piece of parchment in a different pile depending on who they were to or from. After about twenty minutes, Professor Fudge came back in, by which time Harry was already half-done.

"Good job Harry," Professor Fudge said. "You should be out of here before long."

Harry smiled at his professor, and continued working. Fudge left the room again, saying that he had just remembered that he had to send an owl.

"Oh, could you light the fire quickly Harry," he asked casually. "I have to speak to someone soon, it's quite important."

And then he closed the door behind him.

Harry took out his wand, and pointed it at the fireplace to the left of the desk.

"Incendio," he said, and flames shot up in the grate.

Almost immediately, Harry felt the sweltering heat of the hot June day, made ten times worse now that there was a roaring fire less than ten feet away from him. The stifling wave swept over him, and he quickly removed his robes, so he was just wearing his trousers and a T-shirt.

When he at last finished on the paper work half an hour later, Fudge came back in again.

"Ah, excellent Harry," he said, taking some Floo powder from a glass on the window sill. "You can go now Harry, thanks."

Harry got up, opened the door, and walked out. As soon as he left, he heard the roar of the flames grow louder, and Fudge yelled "Minister for Magic!"

Professor Fudge was talking to his brother. Was that what all of the 'errands' and 'urgent owls' were about? Harry's curiosity kept him in place, outside Fudge's office door.

"Cornelius!" Professor Fudge yelled.

"Jedediah," the Minister said solemnly.

It was very confusing for Harry to listen to. The twin's voices were indistinguishable from each other.

"Are you in place Jedediah?"

"Yes, I'm ready. It didn't take long."

"Good, I hope you can do the job well, try not to make any mistakes, like last time."

"You blame me for that? It was your fault for not telling me!"

"You blame me? I wasn't the one who got too close to Arthur Weasley!"

Harry had to clasp his hand over his mouth. Were the Fudge brothers up to something? And how was Mr Weasley involved?

"Never mind Cornelius," said Professor Fudge calmly. "We could each pass the blame to each other. It happened, but he swore he would stay quiet."

"Yes, but now that Dumbledore has got this ridiculous idea about You-Know-Who returning, Weasley may find his loyalties divided."

They were both silent for a moment.

"You still don't believe it then?" Professor Fudge asked.

"Of course I don't believe it! And even if you do, I never asked for your opinion!"

"Don't talk to me like that Cornelius! You need me more than I need you! If it weren't for me, you would never have been made Minister!"

"Shut up! We don't have time for this! We have work to do! Just shut up and do your job!"

"I'd be careful about threatening me, Minister. You don't want to say something you'll regret later."

"Say something? Like that I have a useless ungrateful brother who doesn't appreciate how hard my situation is because he's too wrapped up in his own selfishness, who takes the word of a senile old man's ramblings over his own flash and blood?"

"I -- I've been covering up for you --" Professor Fudge said, his voice trembling dangerously. "All these years. Well -- no more!"

"What? What are you saying?"

"It's over Cornelius! I won't do your dirty work any more! If it weren't for me you'd be a disgrace, shunned by everyone."

"Now -- come on -- be reasonable. I'm sure we could work something out -- we could come to some understanding."

"I've fallen for that line too many times, I won't do it again. Let's just see how long you last -- without me!"

"Jedediah -- wait!"

"This conversation's over!"

"NO!"

There was a faint pop, then silence. Professor Fudge stirred inside his office, then started walking towards the door. Harry quickly tried to run away, but he had not got very far before Professor Fudge opened the door.

"Potter!" he shouted.

"Er -- Professor," Harry said, trying to sound innocent. While he had normally quite liked Professor Fudge, he had sounded very, very angry with his brother.

"You heard," he said quietly, a mad glint in his eye that Harry did not like.

"Well -- not much," Harry said, gripping his wand tightly in his pocket in case he needed it.

"So then you know. Well you're not going to tell anyone. I'll make sure of that!"

Professor Fudge lunged at him, and Harry dived away, taking out his wand.

"Stupefy!" he bellowed.

Fudge stopped, and fell to the ground. Harry stood over his limp form. He raised his wand again, and conjured thick ropes, that twisted themselves around Professor Fudge's arms and legs.

Harry dragged him back into his office, and revived him.

"Potter!" he yelled again.

"Professor," Harry said calmly, not moving his wand away from him.

"What do you want from me? Anything!" he pleaded.

"All I want is the truth," Harry said to him. "Or we can just go straight to Dumbledore, and I can tell him what I heard."

"No!" Professor Fudge said, trying to wriggle around in his restraints. "You can't go to Dumbledore, I'll tell you everything. Just untie me first!"

"Talk from the floor," Harry said firmly.

"Fine," Professor Fudge said weakly. "I'll start at the top."

He took a deep breath, and Harry made himself comfortable by placing Fudge's chair next to his head, so Harry could hear everything well.

"Well, to start with, I'm not Jedediah Fudge. I'm Cornelius Fudge, the Minister for Magic!"

"No way!" said Harry. "The Minister's in his office in London, you were just talking to him."

"No, Jedediah is in my office -- I'm here. We switched places. We do it every now and then, I've taught you a few times."

"That explains why Professor Fudge gets so stressed sometimes," Harry said, more to himself than the Minister.

"Yes, Jedediah told me I needed to stay calm more when I'm impersonating him. I think I did it quite well today."

"You mean you were testing us on the O.W.Ls today?"

"Not all of it. Jedediah taught you for the practical exam, but he left the classroom and I went back in, I was waiting outside in his Invisibility Cloak. I sent an owl before me so it would reach the school when I was in place so we could switch places and Jedediah could get to the Ministry."

"But why do you switch places at all?"

"I -- I can't tell you," Cornelius Fudge said.

"Yes you will!" Harry said, pointing his wand at him again. Fudge was still silent, so Harry shot a few sparks at his face. He was not sure if he should be attacking the Minister for Magic, but the Minister had tried to attack him first. "And I can do a lot more than that!" he threatened.

"All right!" he yelled. "He takes my place whenever I have to go to an event where I need to perform magic. Jedediah does the magic for me, because I can't."

"You're a Squib?" Harry breathed.

"Yes! Are you happy? I'm a Squib! Do you think that was easy for me? My twin brother -- my identical twin brother could do magic, and I couldn't! He was always so powerful, even before he was accepted at Hogwarts! My mum and dad were so proud of what he could do, they treated me like I didn't even exist!"

"Well if you can't do magic," Harry said, waving aside the comment about his parents that was obviously intended to make Harry feel sympathetic. "How did you get to be Minister for Magic?"

"Firstly, Jedediah and I made up a story. We said that our mother couldn't afford to keep us both, so she gave me to a Muggle orphanage, thinking it was best for me. She died when we were fifteen, so we didn't have to worry about her backing us up.

"But, we told people that I was too magical to be kept by Muggles. I would constantly do accidental magic, and I became too dangerous for them, that's what we said. So I escaped from the orphanage, and I went to seek out my real family, and I found them, when we were twenty, after Jedediah had finished at Hogwarts. That's where our story ended.

"It was a big story in the Daily Prophet. They made me into something of a hero, a brave young man who was reunited with his long-lost brother against impossible odds.

"People started campaigning for me to be made into a fully qualified wizard. The Ministry found a law that would give me a wizarding licence if I passed certain tests, and I started to panic. But, Jedediah said that he would take the tests for me.

"Well, he passed, and I was made a wizard. But the publicity from the Prophet was stronger than I thought. I was so popular with the magical community, that I was allowed to enter the Ministry. And about thirty years later, I got the top job of Minister for Magic."

Harry took in all of the information. Fudge was a fraud.

"In all that time, didn't anyone realise that you never once did magic?" Harry asked.

"My brother was very helpful. He filled in for me whenever I needed him. I did him favours, I got him high-raking positions at the Ministry. Mostly, I put him where I needed him the most."

"What about Arthur Weasley?" Harry asked. "What does he have to do with this?"

"Every year I have to inspect all the departments in the Ministry, then I have to renew their work licences. The licences are magical, it's the only way to make them forge-proof, so it takes magic to renew them. That's what Jedediah should be doing now, if he hadn't just decided to stop working for me!

"Anyway, last time Jedediah was renewing the licence for the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office, and he was talking to Arthur Weasley. Weasley started a casual conversation about his wife and children. Jedediah, unfortunately, did not know the children's names, as I do. Weasley suspected that it was an impostor, so he Stunned Jedediah, and gave him a dose of Veritaserum.

"Jedediah confessed to everything under the influence of that damn Truth Potion! When he realised what he had done, he notified me immediately, and I came. Jedediah was unwilling to put a Memory Charm on Weasley, and if I were to command anyone else to, I would have to tell them what to make him forget, and that person would know.

"I tried to bribe Weasley with promotions, and money. But he loved Muggles so much he refused to move. The only thing he asked for was that we give his son Percy a higher-ranking job in the Ministry. We did it, and he agreed to stay quiet."

"All right," said Harry when the Minister finished his story.

"Are you going to tell anyone?" he asked anxiously.

Harry thought. He knew the darkest secret of the highest ranking person in the wizarding world.

"I'll have to ask Dumbledore."

Harry left Fudge in his office, feeling it would attract far too much attention if he dragged him across the castle. When he reached the stone gargoyle, he gave it the password, and went up the moving staircase.

He knocked on Dumbledore's door, and went in when he was called.

"Harry?" Dumbledore said. "What's wrong? Is it your scar?"

"No Professor," Harry said. "My scar's fine. It's Fudge."

"What's the matter with Professor Fudge?" Dumbledore asked.

"Well -- that's the problem," Harry replied, and explained the whole story to Dumbledore.

Dumbledore listened to Harry's story, not interrupting once. Harry talked about the Daily Prophet articles about him finding his family, and how it was all a lie.

When Harry finished the tale, Dumbledore remained silent for a while.

"Where is Cornelius?" he asked eventually.

"He's tied up in his office," Harry replied. "Should I come with you?"

"Um, yes," Dumbledore said. "I think you should be there."

They left the office together, and headed for Professor Fudge's office. When they got there, the Minister was still trying to escape from his bonds. He looked particularly pathetic. Harry had never thought of him that way before, as a quivering little worm desperately trying to escape.

"Hello Cornelius," Dumbledore said calmly.

"Albus!" the Minister said urgently. "Potter's out of his mind! He was doing a detention with me and he just attacked me out of the blue!"

"Really?" said Dumbledore, his voice just as steady. "That's not the way Harry tells it."

"Who are you going to believe?" Fudge said bitterly. "Harry Potter, or Jedediah Fudge?"

"Jedediah?" Dumbledore repeated. "Strange, Harry here tells me that you are in fact Cornelius Fudge."

"What? Absurd!" the Minister spat. "The boy's out of his mind! I told you he was mental! I told you! Completely out of his mind!"

"I would calm down Cornelius. At the moment, you seem to be the one who is out of their mind."

"I'm telling the truth," he yelled. "Potter attacked me!"

"The truth?" Dumbledore said. "Well there are ways to tell if someone is telling the truth. I believe they work on everyone, including Squibs."

"A Squib?" Fudge repeated. "You think I'm a Squib? Is that another ludicrous thing Potter has told you?"

"If you're not a Squib," Harry interrupted. "Then maybe you can prove it by doing a bit of magic."

"Why should I have to prove myself to you?" Fudge asked.

"Because you're the one who's tied up on the floor," Harry said firmly.

"Fine! I'll do some magic, just let me out of these ropes!" Fudge pleaded.

"I'm sure you can do it there," Dumbledore said coldly. "After all, I've seen you do very powerful things without batting an eyelid, Jedediah."

"No -- I want -- just let me -- Fine!" he wailed. "I am Cornelius Fudge!"

"And you are a Squib?" Dumbledore stated.

"Yes! Are you happy?" Fudge yelled, the mad glint coming back into his eye.

"I would not say I was happy," Dumbledore said. "But I am sure that there are a number of things that you and I need to discuss."

"Professor!" Harry said suddenly, remembering something. "I have to go and see Char-- Professor Weasley now. Can I go?"

"Of course you can Harry," Dumbledore answered. "You have been of great help."

Harry walked out, wondering what they would arrange. Dumbledore could use this information very well. If they told the Daily Prophet, they could probably get Fudge to stand down as Minister for Magic, and bring in a replacement.

A replacement. There was only one man who would be made the new Minister if something happened to Fudge. The man who worked in the office next to Fudge at the Ministry. The man who had a silver door, next to Fudge's golden door; Lucius Malfoy.

They could definitely not make Fudge quit. If Lucius Malfoy was the Minister, then Voldemort would be in charge, he could take over everything.

Lost in his thoughts, Harry found that he had already walked all the way to Hagrid's hut. According to his watch, he was a bit late, and the others were already there. Ron, Hermione, Fred and George, Charlie, and --

"Percy!" Harry said. "What are you doing here?"

"I just came to see all of you," Percy said with a friendly smile. He had definitely changed since being engaged. There was no stiff, pompousness in him. He just looked happy.

"He wouldn't tell us why until you got here," Ron said.

"Yes, well now that you're here," Percy said. "I've got something to tell you."

"The wedding's off?" Fred said. "Penny came to her senses and dumped you."

"No!" Percy said, laughing. "We've set a date for the wedding. It's on the First of August. I hope you can all be there."

"Well we'll be there," said George.

"We've got nothing better to do," Fred agreed.

"That's true," Ron said casually.

"What about you two?" Percy asked Harry and Hermione. "D'you think you'd be allowed to come?"

"I'm sure my parents will let me," said Hermione. "I'll have a chance to see a real wizard wedding!"

"I'm not sure if the Dursleys would let me go," Harry said dully. "They might be glad to get me out of the house though. I'll write you in the summer after I've asked them."

"Great," said Percy. "There's one other thing as well. Charlie, I wanted to ask you if you'd be my Best Man."

"Of course I will mate," he said clapping his hand to his brother's shoulder.

"Why'd you ask him?" Fred asked.

"Well you two are always with each other," Percy said. "So, next to you, Charlie is the brother that's closest to me."

"I guess," Fred said.

"Is that it?" Ron asked.

"Er, yes, that's all I wanted to say," said Percy. "Do you all want to take a quick walk around the grounds?"

"Actually," Harry cut in. "I wanted a quick word with Ron and Hermione, if you don't mind."

"No," said Percy. "No, that's fine."

"Actually Perce," said Charlie. "There's a little job I could do with some help on, if you're not too busy."

"What is it?" Percy asked.

"Well, in the lesson, the students were studying a centaur. I've got to take him back to the Forest, and I would prefer a bit of company, going in there."

"He hasn't already gone back to the Forest?" Harry asked. If that sound was not Firenze, what was it?

"No," Charlie replied. "I kept him here to show to the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs, and I was too busy during exam week to go off into the Forbidden Forest."

"I'll go with you," Percy said.

"Thanks Perce," said Charlie. "I'll go get him, you wait here."

Charlie walked further into the grounds. Harry was sure he was going to the place where Hagrid had a small paddock to keep animals for his classes.

Harry led Ron and Hermione back to Gryffindor Tower, which was empty, as all of the students were outside, enjoying the sunshine. He explained to them about the Fudge brothers, and Dumbledore, but was careful not to mention Ron's dad.

"What do you think Dumbledore's going to do?" Hermione asked when he had finished.

"I don't know. But like I said, if Fudge stands down, Lucius Malfoy is the new Minister."

"Only You-Know-Who will be the real Minister," said Ron.

"Exactly," Harry said. "We'll just have to see what Dumbledore does about it."

"Yeah, he'll know what to do."

"I really want to know what's going on with them though," Harry said.

"Do you really think Dumbledore would let you listen in to a very private talk between him and the Minister?" Hermione asked.

"Maybe," Harry said. "He let me stay when Dumbledore first came into Fudge's office."

"But it doesn't sound like they talked about anything important when you were there," Hermione reasoned. "If they're blackmailing and threatening each other, are they really going to want you eavesdropping?"

"I guess not," Harry admitted. "But I was the one who found out about Fudge, I think I have the right to know what's going on."

"Well," Ron said testily. "You could always wear your Cloak."

"Yes! Of course! The Cloak!" Harry said.

"No Harry!" Hermione said. "You could get into a lot of trouble for that!"

"Who's gonna know?" Ron said. "Unless Moody's there waiting for him, I don't think they'll know he's there!"

"Yes, -- but -- he shouldn't --!" Hermione stammered, searching for another argument.

"I'll be fine Hermione," Harry said. "I'll be careful, they'll never know I was there."

"Hmm," Hermione said. "I just have a bad feeling that it could be dangerous to spy on them."

"I'll be fine," Harry repeated. He went up the stairs to his dormitory, and took the Cloak out of his trunk. He threw it over himself, making sure that it was covering every inch of him.

He went back down the stairs, and came back into the common room.

"I'll be back soon," he said.

"Good luck," Ron said, speaking to some point on the other side of the room to where Harry was.

"We'll wait here until you get back," Hermione said, her head directed much closer to him than Ron had been.

"OK," Harry said to them both, and opened the portrait hole.

"Who's there?" the Fat Lady asked when she apparently saw the painting open itself. Harry stayed silent, listening to her mumbling about Peeves playing jokes.

Harry walked slowly down to Fudge's office. He reached the door, but could not open it without revealing he was there. Harry pressed his ear against the wall, and it was Cornelius Fudge who spoke first.

"Why?" he said. "What reason do you have for not forcing me to stand down as Minister for Magic?"

"I would have thought you would be happy," said Dumbledore plainly. "Don't you think it's better to just leave it alone?"

"I think it better to know everyone's motives," Fudge replied.

"My reasons, are my own," Dumbledore said. Harry was sure he was worried about Lucius Malfoy becoming Minister as well.

"But I trust that you want something in return for keeping quiet?" Fudge asked.

"Indeed I do," Dumbledore responded lightly. "I want a number of things in fact."

"I knew it!" Fudge said coldly. "You can act all noble and honest, claiming to be the greatest wizard in the world, but you're still not above blackmailing someone when you get the chance!"

Dumbledore still did not raise his voice, or show any sign of being insulted at all.

"There is nothing that I am asking for that you do not already owe me, and owe yourself, Cornelius."

"What do you want?" the Minister spat.

"Firstly, you will remove the Dementors from guarding the school gates. They are unnecessary, and a threat."

"Fine! They'll be gone by the end of term!"

"Good, secondly, you will appoint Aurors to find Hagrid. And when he is found, he will be rehired as gamekeeper."

"What? Oh, all right."

"Excellent, lastly, and most importantly: you will accept that Voldemort has indeed returned, and inform the magical community!"

"You can't in good conscience ask me to do that Dumbledore! If there was any proof, and evidence to back you up --"

"There is ample evidence. What more do you need? I happen to know that you have received countless owls from parents, urging you to go public with the news, but you have made every effort to cover it up."

"Preposterous!" Fudge cried. "How could I cover up something like that?"

"As you have just shown, Cornelius, you seem to be very good at covering things up."

The Minister was silent for a long time. He made occasional hums and grunts, before finally announcing his decision.

"If I do go public with You-Know-Who's return, you will stay quiet? Well then yes, we have a deal."

"Excellent," Dumbledore said. "Shall we go to the Ministry now then?"

"Sure."

There was a short fumbling inside the room, and Harry got out of the way of the door. It opened, and the two of them came out

"I'm going to kill my brother," Fudge muttered as they left.

Harry noticed that they had accidentally left the door slightly ajar when they left, so Harry slipped inside quickly to see if he could find anything else. He was careful to leave the Cloak on, in case Dumbledore, or anyone else came in.

The ropes he had tied Fudge up with were in a bunch on the floor, and the chairs had been rearranged. Harry opened the desk drawer, to see if there were any papers that were of any use to him.

Then, he heard it again, louder than before. The rustling of something big moving at the edge of the Forest. Harry went to the window, still wearing the Cloak, and looked out at the trees. He saw the sun sinking behind the tall trees, but nothing out of the ordinary. He noticed that Percy was still waiting for Charlie by the hut.

Harry turned his attention back to Fudge's office, and when he looked through a group of Daily Prophet articles, he found something. The Marauder's Map.

The rustling returned, and Harry saw his chance to find out exactly what it was. He looked at the Map, seeing himself, and traced out past the edge of the building to the Forbidden Forest. There, he saw what was making those sounds. It shocked him so much, that he was sure his heart had stopped beating.

"Hagrid?"

*

Harry pulled off the Cloak, and shoved it in his pocket, knowing he could move much faster without it. He opened the door, and tore from the office, heading for the edge of the Forest. He did not care how many people he knocked into or bowled over on his way; all he cared about was Hagrid.

The distance between him and Hagrid seemed to be infinite. The Forest did not seem to be getting any closer. Question after question went through his head, but none of them mattered. All that mattered was Hagrid was back.

Finally, after an eternity, he reached the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest. Harry listened for the rustling again, but heard nothing.

"Hagrid!" he called. "Hagrid!"

There was no answer. Harry started to worry. Where was he? This was where the dot labelled 'Rubeus Hagrid' was on the Marauder's Map. Had something happened to him?

He reached into his pocket for the Map, to see if Hagrid had moved. He reached into his other pocket, and found only the Invisibility Cloak. He must have left the Map in Professor Fudge's office, not thinking to pick it up in his haste.

"Hagrid!" he yelled desperately "HAGRID!"

Harry leaned against a tree, his legs not being able to support him any longer. He slowly slid down the trunk, feeling the rough bark tear at the back of his robes. He fell to the dry leaves covering the ground, and felt all of his strength leave him.

Then, as a last desperate possibility, Harry got back to his feet, and took his wand out. He cast a last look at the school grounds, and walked deeper into the Forest, until all of the thick trees around him blocked everything else from view.

"HAGRID!" he shouted into the trees, until his throat was hoarse. "ARE YOU HERE HAGRID?"

Deeper into the Forest he went, until the setting sun was completely shielded by the tree tops. He saw no one, no creatures or people, and no Hagrid. It was hopeless. The Forest was enormous, he could spend hours searching and cover only a fraction of it.

"Hagrid!" he tried again, sobs interrupting his pleas.

"'Arry?"

"Hagrid!" Harry saw Hagrid's gigantic figure silhouetted against the sunset.

"'Arry! 'Ow are ya, son?"

"I'm fine," Harry said dismissively. "How are you?"

"Fine, I'm fine," Hagrid said kindly, coming closer to Harry.

Harry suddenly threw his arms around Hagrid's waist, and Hagrid chuckled.

"Good ter see yer too 'Arry," he said.

"I missed you," Harry said emotionally. "We all missed you."

"Thanks 'Arry," Hagrid said, becoming more serious. "But we got impor'ant things ter take care o' now."

"Like what?" Harry asked, sensing something was wrong.

"There's somethin' 'ere tha' shouldn' be," Hagrid said gruffly. "We got ter make sure it don' do somethin' it shouldn'."

"Like what?" Harry asked, following Hagrid deeper into the Forest. "Hagrid? What's going on? Where've you been?"

"Don' matter," Hagrid replied. He turned his head sharply to the side suddenly, and Harry looked in case he had seen anything.

"Why are we here Hagrid?" Harry asked again.

"It ain' safe," Hagrid murmured. "'Arry, give us yer wand, I need it."

"Erm, OK," Harry said, handing it over.

"Thanks," Hagrid said, raising it carefully in front of him. "We gotta be quiet now."

"OK," Harry whispered.

Hagrid walked faster and faster, Harry had to run to equal his enormous strides. There was something strange about Hagrid, he seemed to be a more hardened person. Harry definitely did not want to know what had happened when he was away to make him that way.

"Are you OK?" Harry asked uncertainly. "Did something -- did something happen to you while you were away?"

But Hagrid did not reply. He was peering behind trees and raising Harry's wand. He would quickly turn around at so much as a crack of a twig.

Eventually, they found themselves in a small clearing, where there were few trees, and the grass was particularly overgrown. Everywhere else was shielded from view, with the exception of a gap, maybe eight feet wide, and beyond it was a ravine that dropped further than Harry could see.

"What are we looking for?" Harry tried to ask again, but got no response. He started to worry that they were both in a lot of danger.

"'Ere we are," Hagrid said simply.

"Here we are?" Harry repeated. "For what? Hagrid, what's going on here? Are you involved in some kind of --"

Hagrid smiled under his shaggy beard. He raised the wand again, and said one word. The last word Harry would expect to hear from Hagrid's mouth. The last word he thought Hagrid would be directing at him. But he said it:

"Crucio!"