Harry Potter and the House Divided

Chapter Twenty-Five Dead Women Walking

"It can't be!" an elderly wizard sitting a few benches away cried before collapsing in a dead faint. Other witches and wizards were screaming, wands raised toward the witch who bore Lily Potter's face and form.

"Order!" Professor Dumbledore's voice boomed over the counsel.

It took some time for everyone to return to their seats but silence, restive though it might have been, soon returned to the chamber.

"I assume that the House of Potter has a reason for this unusual display?" asked the Supreme Mugwump. "It does," Tonks said, eyes fixed on the podium. "Then we should like to hear it."

"I am Nymphadora Tonks and I come here today In Loco Familialis for Harry Potter, whose regency I hold until his seventeenth birthday. As many here know, I am a metamorphmagus. I have chosen to come before the council wearing Lily Potter's face and form to accuse the current Ministry of incompetence, slander and profound lack of judgment resulting in hundreds of deaths in the wizarding and muggle worlds since Lord Voldemort..."

Tonks ignored the screams that greeted her use of the enemy's assumed name

"...returned to corporal form, nearly eighteen months ago. Further, I accuse Minister Fudge of conspiracy through negligent oversight of underlings who plotted to destroy the innocent young man whose regency I hold and whose mother's image I have assumed to remind the wizarding world of the debt that it owes Harry, and House Potter as well."

"Although the Minister did not give permission for Senior Undersecretary Delores Umbridge to order Dementors to be sent against Harry Potter last August, it is almost certain that he did order her to take action that would force Harry to use magic outside of School. I have access to information that clearly shows that Secretary Umbridge did send Dementors to Harry's neighborhood. Harry and his cousin Dudley Dursley were nearly kissed by the dementors that Secretary Umbridge sent into Harry's neighbourhood because the minister and his staff refused to admit that Lord Voldemort had returned to power. Along with assault on an innocent young wizard whose story could have been proven had they wished, the Ministry's inaction allowed the enemy to collect its forces for a year and endangered the lives of hundreds of innocents who are just like the witches and wizards sitting in this room today. These lives were lost because those responsible for leading our community neither encouraged nor allowed the actions needed to protect the homes that have been destroyed and the families that have been killed since Lord Voldemort's servants became active this July."

"This dangerous and poorly considered policy and the actions rising from it are the only thanks that our community has offered to a boy who tried to warn us of the danger that has returned to our world. A young man whose parents are dead and whose mere existence gave all of us thirteen years of peace for reasons that we may never fully understand." "Many witches and wizards are alive today because Lord Voldemort's supporters could not continue to kill others for differing with their narrow view on the nature and organization of the wizarding world. Views that led directly to the most damaging wizarding war in history. A war that recommenced almost eighteen months ago in a small muggle graveyard in a little village called Little Hangleton."

"Minister Fudge's refusal to act on the information brought to him by Harry Potter gave Lord Voldemort a year to consolidate his support and prepare for actions, including the destruction of the prison at Azkaban Fortress and the murdering of many witches and wizards throughout Britain and Western Europe." "The former action was taken to increase the number of followers for Voldemort and the deaths that his servants have caused can only be attributed to a cowardly love of intimidation and thuggery. I should point out that Minister Fudge also refused to contact the goblins to ensure that the financial assets of those who were either directly or indirectly under Lord Voldemort's control sixteen years ago were monitored. He did not provide Mr. Potter protection beyond loudly voiced ministerial contempt. Contempt that an unassuming boy whose life has been threatened several times while at Hogwarts School did not deserve for the simple reason that he has never sought it. Rather, he has always been forced to the centre of events in our world by adults who would not be responsible to maintain the peace that a magical miracle gave us thirteen years ago." "Minister Fudge's refusal to take defensive action means that witches and Wizards around the world have not gotten the training that they need in order to defend themselves. Therefore, they can't give the auror corpse, which has been thinned by retirements and losses in battle, enough time to help them."

"Most importantly, the community has not been told several significant truths that could swing the entire course of the war for life and freedom that a crazed halfblood has forced upon us."

"That's right," Tonks said, ignoring the whispers erupting around the chamber. "The nutter who calls himself Lord Voldemort is a halfblood."

"Can House Potter prove its claims?" yelled someone from across the chamber.

"I offer you two proofs to support this claim," Tonks said, in response to the question that Harry knew she expected would come.

"First, historical proof that can be checked by any witch or wizard willing to access any of a wide variety of records at Hogwarts School and the Ministry of Magic." "As early as his sixth year at Hogwarts School, Tom Marvolo Riddle who was head boy there in 1944-45, had taken on a new title and begun to acquire followers. Many of whom were the senior Death Eaters during Lord Voldemort's first rise to power. You can research these connections for yourself. I can also offer you another kind of evidence to support my claims."

At this, Tonks pulled her wand, flicked it and fiery letters that spelled "Tom Marvolo Riddle" hung in the air. She then moved them around so that they said: "I am Lord Voldemort".

"Tom Marvolo Riddle is a perfect anagram for the statement: "I am Lord Voldemort", and this is House Potter's second piece of proof concerning the identity of the man whose followers call him "The Dark Lord" and whom the rest of us have become far too used to describing as 'You-Know-Who'." "Now that our enemy's history has been established," Tonks said, "it is time to consider his nature."

At this point she paused for a moment and conjured a glass of water. after emptying it she sighed, banished it and continued to speak.

"Anyone who knows about Lord Voldemort knows that he uses fear to control his followers, and by extension to affect the decisions of many witches and wizards who would never follow his standard. So what happens should he win? Soon enough, he will have no-one to fear save his servants themselves. Therefore, I would suggest that should he gain control, Voldemort will soon recognize that his servants are the greatest threat to his power because they will be the only danger to him, as long as he chooses to avoid conflict with the muggles." "I am glad to say that I do not know how Lord Voldemort treats those whom he uses as servants now and will doubtless come to fear later. However, many sitting in this chamber might have thoughts on the matter," Tonks said, icy emerald eyes sweeping across many pureblood representatives, finally locking on those of her aunt Narcissa.

"Fortunately, we have every reason to believe that Lord Voldemort and his followers can be defeated. Eleven of Lord Voldemort's most powerful followers planned a cowardly ambush for one young wizard last June. Fortunately, Harry Potter's friends are loyal in ways that the servants of Lord Voldemort could never be. Harry's friends, mere children who are not yet fully trained witches and wizards, demonstrated their love for Harry by choosing to go with him to try to save something of great importance to him. Although the prophecy that Lord Voldemort hoped Harry would retrieve for him was lost, six school-aged children were able to survive for nearly an hour before Professor Dumbledore and several fully trained witches and wizards came to seal the Death Eaters' defeat. I say to you that if six children can fight eleven Death Eaters to a stand-still for nearly an hour, you can do it too." "In fact, as fully trained witches and wizards, you can do more than hold them off, you can defeat them yourselves," Tonks said, voice rising with emotion.

The effect of her words was obvious as many within the chamber began whispering to each other, looks of hope crossing faces that held fear to that point.

"House Potter offers any witch or wizard who will swear an unbreakable vow to oppose the Dark Lord and his servants the training that they may need to do so. Dementors can be repulsed by the Patronus Charm. Tools of concealment such as the polyjuice potion can be countered and House Potter will offer these counters to the wizarding public if the Ministry continues its current policy concerning civilian defence."

"In return, it asks only two things of you. First, recognize that although our enemies are terrible, our determination is even greater. Determination that can drive our cowardly enemies into the light where we, as a society can deal with them. Second, we ask that you support the candidate for Minister of magic whom you think will do the most to counter the threat to our lives and society that Lord Voldemort and his servants represent. Part of that effort will be cooperation with other magical beings. Giants, Centaurs, Werewolves, Veela and Goblins are powerful in their own right and we must set aside our fears in order to ensure that Lord Voldemort does not win the loyalty of beings who could take the lives and well-being of thousands here and abroad. Albus Dumbledore has always championed greater contacts with beings who use magic and uncomfortable though it is for many of us, we must recognize that he has been right to do so. He has also been right to demand that we confront the evil in our own society and has opposed it for more years than most of us have been alive. For these reasons and many others we therefore ask the wizarding community to second our call for cooperation between the new administration and Albus Dumbledore who has always been at the forefront in defending the light."

Before the noise in the chamber grew too intense to hear anything that might be said more than a few rows away, Harry clearly heard an old wisard say "Takes stones to call 'You-Know-Who' out like that...."

"She's an Auror and he's 'The-Boy-Who-Live' shouted a witch who was sitting closer to Harry. "She probably reckons that she'll be the one to do it." "You mean kill 'You-know-who'?" demanded another wizard who sat near them. "'Course," the witch replied, giving Tonks a look that mixed fear, loathing and more than a little respect. "After all, anyone who would dare come in here looking like Lily Potter has more nerve than is good for her." "How do you know what Lily Potter looked like?" demanded someone who Harry couldn't see. "Saw her on Diagon Alley once, about two months before,well..." "So Harry really has her eyes?" "Yeah," the witch said dreamily. "Beautiful eyes." "Maybe so," the first wizard said, "...but however you look at it I reckon that Potter's got to kill 'You-Know-Who'. He almost did it once and he was only a baby then."

"Harry kill Voldemort?" Tonks demanded loudly. "He's only a boy who hasn't even reached his majority yet and he's barely escaped every time he's fought Voldemort. Give the Auror corps the chance to do things right and we'll get him."

Harry sighed, knowing just how wrong Tonks was but not yet ready to share the prophecy with her. He knew that she would have to hear it soon, after all, she knew more about what he might need to learn than he did, but he hoped that they could avoid talking about it until they got back to Hogwarts.

Professor Dumbledore's voice rang out over the noise in the Great Chamber of the Wizarding Council, effectively preventing further discussion and giving Harry something else on which to focus his unhappy thoughts.

"I believe that we are due to vote on Minister Fudge's tenure now. Please say "Aye" if you wish him to retain office." There were very few "Ayes" to be heard in the chamber. "And those who wish him to depart should say "Nay" now."

Harry was nearly deafened by the rumble of voices calling for the removal of the Minister.

"Very well," Professor Dumbledore said, shoulders slumping slightly. "The Ministry of Cornelius Oswald Fudge is declared over as of November 1, 1996. After a short recess we will reconvene to accept nominations for the position of Interim Minister of Magic.

Whoever holds that seat will remain in it for one year. At the end of that period, elections for a new Minister of magic will be held using the normal procedures. Given the problems currently facing all of us, I urge all of you to think deeply and choose wisely in the hours to come."

Conversations erupted all over the chamber, witches and wizards rushing too and fro, trying to understand what had happened and determine who intended to vote for the individuals who had announced their interest in becoming interim Minister of Magic.

It didn't take long for Harry to feel the eyes that were focused on the bench where he sat with Tonks. Before anyone could do more than look at them, Tonks had them moving toward one of the many rooms that ringed the chamber. A large group of Aurors and representatives of families that Tonks trusted to support their agenda rose as well, and Harry was amazed by the rapidity with which they were able to reach a comparatively peaceful place.

"That went pretty well," the gruff voice of Amelia Bones barked from somewhere to Harry's left.

"You think so?" Tonks asked, the nerves that she felt at being at the centre of attention showing through for the first time that morning.

"Absolutely!" Barked Mrs. Bones. "Dumbledore seemed surprised at your little demonstration at first, but beyond that you've put whoever becomes the next Minister in the position of either doing what you want or looking like a collaborator."

"A lot of that was Remus Lupin's idea," Tonks admitted, surprising Harry who hadn't known that the last of the Marauders had been so closely involved in the planning for Tonks' speech. "He's a smart one," Mrs. Bones said with a nod. "He would have made a great Auror if it hadn't been for his affliction." "You know that we need to change that," Tonks said quietly. "What, take werewolves as aurors?" "Sure," Tonks said fiercely. "Beings like Remus or the veela who is watching over Harry's money are perfectly intelligent and able to do a lot in our world. It's our prejudices that keep us from taking full advantage of the things that they have to offer." "Maybe so," Mrs. Bones said, "but now's not the time for that kind of talk." "Right," Tonks sighed, "but we're going to have to do some of it soon or Voldemort'll do even better in those communities than he has already." "True enough," Mrs. Bones sighed. "With Greyback already so influential with the werewolves and Bain as chief of the centaurs we've already lost most of them. What about the veela?"

"Harry?" Tonks said, nudging his shoulder. "Uh," Harry said, surprised that he would have to answer this particular question. "Aren't you working with Katarina on something for that?" Tonks prompted gently. "Well," Harry said. "She did say something about that this summer but all she did was to have me talk with her a lot so that her charm wouldn't make me go barmy or something. I didn't really think that she really meant anything about my being ambassador," he said nervously. "Oh," Tonks said with a grin. "She's almost sure to have you meet the leaders of the veela this Christmas if I'm following what she's been saying to me." "Great," Harry sighed, hoping that the fact that he'd not seen Katarina since the morning of his departure for Hogwarts meant that she'd forgotten that particular idea.

"Don't think that the fact that you've not seen her doesn't mean that she's not thinking about it," Tonks said. "The problem's been to come up with a way for you to meet with her without having all the teenaged boys at Hogwarts go completely round the twist, after all, they're close enough to that already," Tonks said cheekily. "Thanks, Tonks," Harry said , glaring at his guardian. "Always glad to help." "What about something away from the school?" Director Bones asked, bringing them back to the matter at hand. "Can't figure out a way to get Harry away for enough time to teach him what he needs to know without people wondering what's going on." "How many spies does Dumbledore think are there?" "Too many," Tonks sighed. "Then you'll have to bring her to the school." "We would except that the wards are keyed against fullblood veela and Headmaster Dumbledore is not sure that he can pull them down without somebody catching on." "Portkey?" "Illegal for Veela in the UK without special dispensation.""Right," Mrs. Bones sighed. "That is quite a pickle." "Sure is," Tonks agreed. "At least we've got Bill Weasley to help with the goblins. If we didn't, we'd had to get either Harry or the Headmaster away to talk with them, too."

The door to the small meeting room burst open, admitting a teary-eyed Mrs. Weasley who was accompanied by Bill, Charlie, Fred and George. "Oh, Harry," she said, catching him up in one of the suffocating hugs that he'd feared he would never receive from her again. "I'm s-s-sorry that I responded so poorly to that article about Percy. I knew that you hadn't meant to be overheard but Percy was already in trouble after Cornelius admitted that 'You-Know-Who' was back. When that article came out it was the end for him, and he was so happy working there in the Minister's office."

"You know that I'm sorry about that," Harry said after extricating himself from Mrs. Weasley's embrace.

"I do, dear," she said, trying to master her tears. "You've done nothing but try to help him since and you know that he appreciates it." "He'd better, the git," Fred muttered behind his mother's back. "Fred!" she snapped, rounding on him. "Yes, mother," Fred crooned sweetly. Before an argument could erupt, a grinning Bill slapped Tonks on the back. "Nice job with the speech. How're you planning to do the Self-Defence classes?"

"Well," Tonks said with a grin, "Since I'm on leave as an Auror until Harry's birthday, I'll probably be at Hogwarts trying to cram all of the knowledge that he'll need into that thick head of his. When I'm not on that, Dumbledore said that I could run some remedial classes for people wanting to know the Patronus Charm, some simple Warding Techniques and some basic Duelling. "You never said anything about taking time off from being an auror," Harry said, shocked. "Nope," Tonks agreed, "but when you're the regent for a wizard who is the most important wizard under a hundred and the prime target for the nastiest wizard in a millennium, you really can't do anything else. Besides, it'll let me help you with some things and give us a chance to keep Snape on his toes." "But..."

"None of that," Tonks barked. "I did it knowing fully-well what would happen. You need the help and I need to help, so let me and don't complain about it."

"Thanks," Harry said, anger at his situation warring with pleasure that Tonks thought enough of him to make such a sacrifice. "Happy to," Tonks said with a wink. "But something I'm not so glad to do is get back out there to make sure that we get the votes we need. Bill, Charlie, you willing to play bodyguard for a while?" "Sure," the eldest Weasley brothers said, "guarding someone as beautiful as Lily Potter must have been a full time job," Charlie added with a grin.

"No idea," Tonks said, "but guarding someone with as big of a mouth as they say that Nymphadora Tonks has, well, that may be beyond even you two." "Never!" Charlie said, slinging an arm around Tonks' shoulders. "We'll see, that's for sure," she said, gently disengaging herself from Charlie's grip. "In the mean-time, why don't you go with Mrs. Weasley, Fred, George and Madame Bones. She's one of the sharpest witches I've ever met and pretty tough too," Tonks said, returning her attention to Harry. "Why thank-you, Nymphadora," Mrs. Bones said, giving the younger woman a surprisingly friendly smile. "All true," Tonks said with a grin, "and a lot easier to say when I don't have to report to you until August at the very least. Oh and don't call me Nymphadora." "Hmph!" said Mrs. Bones. "Don't think that I'll take that kind of cheek from you when you're back on duty," she added before grabbing Harry by the shoulder and shoving him toward the corridor. "See you," Harry said weakly, realizing that he wouldn't be able to stay with Tonks no matter how much he might have wanted to. "Probably too soon and too much," Tonks said with a wave that swept Bill and Charlie toward the Council Chamber.