Truth and Lies

Truth and Lies Chapter 05

'There you are, Harry, fingers crossed, as the Muggle's say!' Mr Weasley handed Harry a small, neat letter. Harry opened it, and took out the slip of parchment inside.

He read it out loud.

'Mr Harry James Potter,

It is the decision of the Ministry of Magic that you are to be cleared of all charges regarding your hearing five weeks ago. The Ministry offer its most profound apologies, and would like to award you an Order of Merlin, first class, for your courageous acts of saving the Minister for Magic's life, and for battling He Who Must Not Be Named. This will be awarded, should you accept, at a ceremony on the 17^th of February. We are sorry for any inconvenience your hearing and its consequences may have caused you.

Signed,

Amelia Bones, Head of the

Department of Magical Law

Enforcement.'

Several people spoke at once.

'You got an Order of Merlin!' Ron's mouth was hanging open in shock. 'First Class!'

'Merlin's beard,' Mr Weasley whispered, looking quite faint.

'"We are sorry for any inconvenience"? They ridiculed you! They sent you to Azkaban!' Sirius read the letter again. 'Honestly.'

Harry sighed. 'Well, at least I'm free. And now everyone has proof that Voldemort's back.'

'Oh, that reminds me, dear. Here you are,' Mrs Weasley fished around in her bag and drew out the latest edition of the Daily Prophet. She leant across the Hospital Wing bed and handed it to Harry.

Harry read the title.

YOU-KNOW-WHO RETURNS

Earlier today, Cornelius Fudge the Minister for Magic, (Below) answered very few of the questions put to him about what really happened at the former Azkaban prison.

'You-Know-Who is back!' Fudge informed one of our reporters, 'And that's all you need to know!' At that moment, Fudge excused himself, saying he had a rather important business meeting to attend to. He did, however, mention Harry Potter, who was apparently in Azkaban at the time of its destruction, but how he escaped is a mystery. Fudge refused to believe Potter's allegations (since proven to be correct) of the Dark Lord's return, so he took it upon himself to throw this poor boy into Azkaban. And speaking of the Boy Who Lived, (this article continues on page 13)

Harry put the paper down. 'Well at least they're telling the truth and are on my side.'

'For once,' Sirius added.

Harry tried to sit up a little straighter, but found it difficult, owing to the fact that he still couldn't move his legs.

He glanced at the other headings in the newspaper.

Basic defensive and offensive spells.

"My parents were both Death Eaters, so how did I end up as a Healer?"--Interview

Protection Amulets--do they work?

What does your wand say about you?

Top 50: Must-have defensive items

Who to call and where to go if you see something suspicious

Harry smiled sadly. 'Everything's going to change now,' he muttered, looking out of the window into the summer sunlight.

END