Dumbledore's Secret

Chapter 11

The Burrow practically sizzled with tension as they waited for word, any word, of what was happening at the Ministry. But by now, Hermione was used to tension. It had been, after all, a tense summer, even before she had arrived at the Burrow. She'd spent the first three weeks of vacation at home, avoiding her parents when at all possible. They had kept asking her about school, about what was happening in the wizarding world ... her mother had even tried to sneak into her room and nab her copies of the Daily Prophet. Hermione had, luckily, walked in just in time, and she'd thrown the biggest fit of her life. She knew she was acting like a brat, and it killed her to see the sadness in her parents' eyes, but she just couldn't afford to have them find out.

She hated Voldemort more than ever, if that was possible; not only had he attacked her and her friends, murdered acquaintances, and wrecked havoc on a world she loved, but now he had also driven a wedge between her and her family. She had always known, from the moment she'd gotten the Hogwarts letter, that she and her parents were in danger of growing apart. How could they ever understand what it was like to be a witch? And how could she ever be content with the muggle world again? But in those first few years at Hogwarts, they had found ways to remain close. She had told them everything she could about the wizarding world, and they had always listened with interest. During her summers at home, her parents would enroll her in muggle sports and activities, and she'd hang out with muggle friends, all as a way of keeping some contact with her parents' world.

But since Voldemort had returned, everything had been different. She knew that if her parents had ever discovered the kind of danger that she was in, they'd pull her out of Hogwarts immediately. And as much as she loved her parents, she realized that she could never return to a strictly muggle life. Now she told them little to nothing about what was going on in her life. She knew that her abrupt withdrawal had seemed suspicious, that if she had really wanted to keep them from knowing that something big had happened, she should have fed them little lies, made them believe that everything was just the same as always. But she couldn't bring herself to do it; she couldn't trivialize what had happened to Harry, and she couldn't force herself to lie to her parents. So she simply stopped talking to them, holing herself up in her room whenever she came home from school.

The most difficult part of her time at home had been asking to stay at the Burrow for the last weeks of holidays. Her father's face had fallen, and her mother had begun to cry. She'd expected them to say no, and she had been prepared to accept it, sullenly, but to her surprise, they had agreed. "Just take care, dear," had been all her mother had said to her when they'd dropped her off in Diagon Alley. Her father had grabbed her by the shoulders and embraced her tightly. "Remember that we love you," he had said. Thinking back on the scene, Hermione felt herself shiver, even in the muggy heat of late July. It had almost been as if they were saying their final goodbyes.

"Hermione? Are you okay?" Ron whispered beside her. They were sitting in the kitchen, their books spread out across the table. If it hadn't been pouring rain, there would have been no way she'd have gotten Ron inside to work on his summer assignments. But, as there was little else to do, she, Ron, and Ginny were crowded around the table, scribbling away on potions and arithmancy and history.

She looked over at Mrs. Weasley, who sat in a rocking chair near the unlit fireplace, and whispered, "Are you sure that you heard ..."

Mrs. Weasley looked up at them, and Hermione ducked her head quickly to avoid the older woman's astute gaze. Hermione pulled out a scrap of parchment and scribbled, "Are you sure that you heard Dumbledore tell the Order to watch after my family? You think there's a guard there, now? I didn't see anyone when I was there, and ..."

Ron pushed her hand away and wrote, "Don't worry. I'm sure they're fine." He glanced up and gave her a sympathetic look.

She tried to smile, then wrote, "We just parted on such bad terms ...What if something has happened to them? What if Fudge's downfall has something to do with another attack?"

Ron sighed.

"What's wrong, you two?" Mrs. Wealsey asked. Ginny looked up and, with her back to her mother, rolled her eyes.

Hermione said quickly, "Nothing. Everything's fine."

"Hmm," Mrs. Weasley said, pursing her lips. She gave them another searching look before going back to her book.

Ron glanced over at his mother, then scrawled, "Dad would have let us know if anything that bad had happened." He paused, then wrote, "I wonder if that Odgen bloke will replace Fudge. I wish Dad would have told us more this morning."

Hermione nodded. They'd been having breakfast when Mr. Weasley had received an urgent floo call from the Ministry. "There's been another breakout at Azkaban, and Fudge has resigned! His office is cleaned out ...he's disappeared!" Perkins, Mr. Weasley's coworker, had exclaimed, his head bobbing wildly in the green flames. "No one knows who's in charge anymore, and with Dumbledore out of the country ..." Mr. Weasley had left for the ministry immediately, only once sending any word, an owl letting them know not to wait up for him.

But Hermione hadn't been that surprised, not after all the things Ron and Ginny had told her about the Order meeting. Hermione suddenly grinned. Now, that had been shocking ... successfully spying on the Order! She supposed she should have been horrified, but she was too desperate for the information to care how they'd gotten it. "Though Ron almost blew it!" Ginny had complained, explaining their close call with Dumbledore's granddaughter. Hermione still hadn't told them what she'd seen in the hospital wing that night before the end of term. She felt a little guilty about withholding information when they'd been so willing to tell her everything they knew. But, she figured she didn't really have anything to add - they already knew about Dumbledore's granddaughter and Snape's blown cover - and besides, she'd made a promise to Dumbledore.

Ron suddenly looked up from his history book and said, "Mom? Tomorrow's Harry's birthday, you know."

Mrs. Weasley sighed. "Yes, I had hoped we'd have gotten to see him by now, but until we hear from Dumbledore ..." She sighed again. "Well, if we don't hear anything in a few hours, we'll send Pig and Errol with our presents. At least he'll have something for his day, and maybe next year ..."

Hermione's shoulders slumped. That Harry might get to spend his birthday with them had been the one piece of good news from the Order meeting, and now it looked as if even that was going to fall through. She glanced at Ron, who looked dejected as well. She leaned close to him and whispered, "Hey, it'll be okay. We'll see him soon." She'd meant the words to console the both of them, but as she leaned up against him, she felt anything but comfortable. He met her eyes, and she nearly stopped breathing. Her heart began to beat too quickly, and she felt her stomach clench. Yet another form of tension ... but as she felt Ron's hand reach for hers underneath the kitchen table, she decided that this tension wasn't so bad.

The front door suddenly swung open, and the four residents of the Burrow looked up expectantly.

"Oh, it's you two," Mrs. Weasley said as Fred and George strolled in.

The twins put on identical expressions of mock hurt. "Oh, Mother, you wound us to the core," George said, clasping his heart. Mrs. Weasley rolled her eyes as she got up from her chair and hugged them.

Fred said, "We thought you might need a man or two in the house tonight ..." Ron sputtered at this. "We heard about Dad getting stuck at the Ministry." Fred plopped down at the table, his sopping wet clothing dripping on the floor.

"Get those wet clothes off my furniture!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed. Then she pointed her wand at him, muttered a drought charm, and immediately Fred was dry.

"Crazy stuff with Fudge, isn't it?" George asked, grabbing an orange from the fruit bowl on the counter. He pulled out his wand and tapped the fruit, and as it peeled automatically he said, "Though, Dad predicted this would happen."

Mrs. Weasley cleared her throat and looked pointedly at Ginny, Ron and Hermione.

"Oh, that's right ... Order business ..." Fred said with a wicked grin.

Ginny stuck her tongue out at him. "You can keep your Order business ... why aren't you at the shop, anyway?"

Fred said, "Lee is watching the shop right now. And we've got a couple of summer employees, some kids from Hogwarts ..."

"Wow," Hermione said. "You must really be doing well if you've got employees!"

The twins shrugged nonchalantly, and Mrs. Weasley said, "Yes, they're doing quite well!" The twins shot her a look, and she said, "Well, I can admit when I'm wrong. Though the way you left school ..."

Ron laughed. "That was brilliant! You'll never be forgotten!"

George winked. "Especially not by Umbridge."

Mrs. Weasley shot them a disapproving glance, then said, "Clear off the table, you lot. Let's get ready for dinner."

"Is Bill coming by?" George asked as he picked up Hermione's schoolbooks and shoved them onto the floor.

"Hey!" she exclaimed, getting up from the table. She looked over at Ron, who still had her hand. "Uh ..."

He blushed and let go. "Oh, sorry..."

"No, I don't want to let go, it's just that ..." Hermione stopped when she realized that the other Weasleys were looking at them with silent grins. Her face reddened, and she snapped at George, "Be more careful with my books!"

"So long as you're careful with my brother's heart!" he said sappily.

Though she didn't think it was possible, her face grew hotter.

"Now, now," Mrs. Weasley said, smiling broadly. Then she turned to George. "No, Bill's going out to dinner with Fleur."

Suddenly, Ron grinned at the twins and said, "So, where are your girlfriends?" He puffed out his chest, and Hermione didn't know whether to laugh or scream. On the one hand, it was nice to be thought of as Ron Weasley's girlfriend (especially after years of him not realizing she was a girl at all). On the other hand, she didn't know if she liked being used as bragging rights.

"Real romantic, Ron," Ginny said, shooting Hermione a sympathetic look.

"We have so many girlfriends, it's hard to keep track," Fred said, waving his wand at the silverware drawer. An army of forks and knives and spoons zipped from the cabinet and arranged themselves neatly on the table.

"Oh really?" Mrs. Weasley asked as she charmed several knives to chop vegetables. "And just why have we never been honored enough to meet one of these young women?"

Suddenly, there was a knock on the front door, and George said with a laugh, "Why, there's one right now!"

Mrs. Weasley exclaimed, "You invited someone and didn't tell me?" she looked down at her dowdy robes. "George Weasley ..."

"I think he's just playing with you, Mom," Ginny said as she headed to the door.

"No, I'm dead serious," George said. "Just you wait and see, that's the love of my life on the other side of that door ... or at least one of them ..."

Ginny pulled open the door to reveal Professor McGonagall. They all burst into laughter.

Professor McGonagall raised an eyebrow.

"I'm so sorry, Minerva!" Mrs. Weasley said between giggles as she ushered the transfiguration professor to the most comfortable seat in the house. "It's only that George ..."

Professor McGonagall shook her head and shot George a stern look. "I'm not sure I want to know."

Mrs. Weasley's face suddenly became serious. "Is there something wrong? The ministry? The Order?"

McGonagall smiled gently. "No, Molly, everything is fine. I've come by, actually, to see if you're ready to meet Harry at Grimmauld Place."

Hermione and Ron grinned at each other, and Fred started giving George and Ginny high fives.

"Absolutely!" Mrs. Weasley said, handing the professor a mug of steaming tea. "This is good news!"

McGonagall breathed in the fragrant steam of the tea, then said, "Yes, but I'm afraid it's rather short notice. Harry will be at Grimmauld later tonight. If you can't make it until tomorrow, I'm sure he'll understand ..."

Mrs. Weasley glanced at everyone else. "We can be ready tonight, can't we?"

They all nodded enthusiastically. Then Ginny said, "And we should plan a party for him, a surprise party. Fred and George, you can bring the fireworks, and Mom, you can bake a cake, and Ron, Hermione and I will make decorations..."

Mrs. Weasley said with a badly concealed grin, "You've been giving this some thought, have you, Ginny?"

She only lifted her chin and said, "Well, he's never had a birthday party before."

McGonagall nodded. "That's a fine idea, Miss Weasley. I've already arranged a little surprise present to be delivered to Privet Drive tonight, via Hagrid."

Ron and Hermione exchanged glances. "What is it?" Ron asked excitedly.

"You'll just have to wait and see, won't you, Mr. Weasley?" McGonagall said with a small smile. "By the way, I wanted to congratulate both you and Miss Granger on your outstanding performances on your transfiguration exams. You both did quite well."

Mrs. Weasley practically glowed, and Ron blushed and mumbled, "Thanks, Professor."

Hermione's smile was bright, but a bit forced. Somehow, when she'd received her O.W.L. scores, she hadn't been as thrilled as she thought she would be. Oh, she had gotten all Os, and the letter had informed her that she had received the best scores in her class. But somehow, the news had rung hollow. Perhaps it was because she'd gotten the scores after she'd already heard the news from the Order meeting, and O.W.L.s just didn't seem that important in comparison. Or perhaps it was because she'd been at the Burrow, and her parents hadn't been there to hear the news. They would be so proud ... but something had kept her from writing and telling them. She was afraid if she told them one thing about her school life, she'd breakdown and admit everything.

"Well then," Mrs. Weasley said, "we'll have a quick dinner and be off ... Minerva, please join us. It won't be much but ..."

Professor McGonagall took a last sip of her tea, then stood. "Thank you Molly, but I think I should be on my way to see Harry." Then she turned to Ron and Hermione. "Has he written you this summer?"

The two of them exchanged a wary glance, then Ron said, "Yes, but ..."

McGonagall looked at him expectantly.

Hermione said, "But he hasn't said much, if you know what we mean. His letters have been rather ..." Her voice trailed off.

"... empty," Ron finished for her.

McGonagall nodded. "Yes, I suppose that is to be expected, given what has happened ..." She sighed. "Well, I'll be off. Thanks, Molly, for the tea. And don't expect us until late tonight. I doubt Albus will be able to get away from the Ministry anytime soon."

Mrs. Weasley nodded. "Yes, terrible business, isn't it? Do you know anything ..."

McGonagall shook her head. "We only found out this afternoon, and by a newspaper, of all things! We would have thought that someone from the Ministry or the Order ..."

Mrs. Weasley gaped. "But, Arthur's been trying to owl you all day."

McGonagall sighed as she walked to the door. "No doubt this is Ogden's doing ..."

"Yes, well ..." Mrs. Weasley suddenly looked back at Ron, Ginny, and Hermione. "You three, you'd better start packing if you want to be ready to go." She waved a hand, and the three of them reluctantly headed upstairs.

"Still got those ears with you?" Hermione asked Ginny.

Ginny grinned. "Who would have thought? Hermione Granger, willing to spy on a teacher ..." Then she shook her head. "They're up in my room, but by the time I go get them ..."

"Besides," Ron said. "We know the basic outline. The Order, as usual, is in a deep pile of shit."

"Ron!" Hermione scolded automatically. Then she sighed. "Well, it will all work out ... somehow." Cheering up, she said, "At least we get to see Harry tonight!"

The three of them raced up stairs, chattering excitedly as they planned Harry's party.

*

Arthur anxiously scanned the room. Nearly everyone in the Ministry, from the heads of department to the lowliest of mail clerks, was crammed into the large courtroom. But Arthur was more concerned about who wasn't present than who was. Albus was missing, and as Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, his authority was sorely needed in the midst of this chaos. Arthur had sent several of the ministry's fastest owls to contact the headmaster, but to no avail. According to the secretary of the Wizengamot, Albus was now in Ireland, so the owls should have had plenty of time to deliver the messages. But after the fourth owl, Arthur had given up, and he suspected that somebody - and it wasn't difficult to guess who - was making sure Albus didn't know about this meeting.

Kingsley and Tonks were also missing, and Arthur wondered if their absence was due to Ministry or Order business. As of late, they had been working so hard on Order affairs that Arthur was amazed that they managed to keep their superiors unaware of their extracurricular activities.

Mad Eye - who had, after much begging by Amelia Bones, returned to the Auror force - was present, as was Emmaline. Both Aurors looked harried; they'd no doubt spent the day organizing the futile search for the newly escaped death eaters. Pressing his way through the crowd, Arthur made his way to Mad Eye.

"Any sign of Tonks or Kingsley?" he asked the old Auror quietly. Mad Eye shook his grisly head and said, "Damned kids, left this morning without a word to either of us."

Emmaline sighed. "Hope whatever they're up to is going more smoothly than the search for the escapees. And with no leadership ...I know I said I wanted anyone but Fudge, yet ..." she looked around at the chaos and shrugged helplessly. "What a mess it's been today!"

Arthur nodded. "Do you know what this meeting is about?"

Emmaline said quietly, "I heard that Odgen called all the department heads together ..."

Arthur scowled. Of course, he hadn't been called. He wondered whether this was because the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office wasn't seen as an important department or if it was Odgen's way of keeping Dumbledore's closest associates out of the loop.

"... and Odgen told them that he was taking over as interim minister. I'm assuming this is the official announcement," Emmaline finished.

Frowning, Arthur said, "And he just decided this on his own?"

"Well," Emmaline said, crossing her arms. "Look at the chaos! Someone has to take control."

Before Arthur could respond to this, he felt someone tap his shoulder. He looked over at a young woman wearing a Department of Magical Transportation badge. "Penelope!" he said with surprise. "Well, how are you?" he asked, awkwardly. His son's girlfriend looked as uncomfortable as he sounded. With a glance at the other people nearby, Arthur wondered if Percy was among them. He'd looked for his son as soon as he'd entered the room, but he hadn't been able to spot him. Percy's absence had disappointed Arthur even more than that of Albus, Kingsley or Tonks. He'd hoped that perhaps Fudge's departure would open the door for reconciliation.

Suddenly, Arthur pictured Percy as an earnest 5-year-old, eyes wide as they walked through the Ministry of Magic entrance. "Daddy, do you run this place?" Arthur had laughed and told him that, no, he only worked in one of the offices. "Well, I'm going to run this place someday," he had announced boldly, and Arthur had said, "If that's what you want, then I'm sure you can, Percy, I'm sure you can."

"Uh, can we talk in private for a minute?" Penelope asked, her voice feeble.

Arthur nodded, though there really wasn't any place that could be deemed "private" in the crowded auditorium. Still, he managed to steer her toward a relatively empty corner of the room. Without any dithering, Arthur asked quickly, "Is Percy alright?"

Penelope would not meet his eyes. "Uh, well, that's what I was hoping to ask you."

Arthur's breath caught in his throat. "But, well, you know we haven't been talking ..."

"I know, but ... Mr. Weasley, your son is a very proud man, and ..."

Arthur nodded at Penelope. "I know. I know I didn't handle things as well as I could, I hurt him badly and ..." He stopped, realizing that perhaps it wasn't appropriate to pour his heart out to his estranged son's girlfriend. "Did he want to see me?"

"Uh ... no, not exactly, but I thought maybe with Fudge gone, he'd come around..." Suddenly she let out a sob.

"Penelope! What is it?"

Crying, she said, "I think something horrible has happened to him, Mr. Weasley! About a month ago, when You-Know-Who returned, well, Fudge demoted Percy."

"Oh. I hadn't heard ..."

"No, Fudge kept it pretty quiet, didn't want the rest of the ministry to think you-know-who's return affected him ... but Percy was so angry. He ... I'd never seen him that angry before. He said he'd become Fudge's scapegoat, that the Ministry was completely ineffective ... he started skipping work, and when he did go, he hated it because Fudge treated him horribly." And then she began to cry ever more loudly. "And then, a few weeks ago, I ... I broke it off with him. I know it was bad timing, but ..." She couldn't speak, she was weeping so much.

Arthur patted her shoulder awkwardly and said nothing.

Finally, Penelope sniffed and said, "Well, after I heard about Fudge today, I went by his office, to make sure he was doing okay, you know? But his office was empty. The secretary said he'd quit a couple of days ago, even before this mess."

Arthur closed his eyes. "He hasn't been seen since then?"

"No, well, I haven't seen him ... Oh, Mr. Weasley! I'm so sorry! I'm just so worried. I love your son, I really do!" she said, wiping the tears from her eyes. "But, near the end, he was becoming so ... so, I don't know. He was hanging out with Rich Bradshaw, a real jerk who was a couple years ahead of us in school. They'd always be talking about ..." She looked away. "They'd always be talking about how useless muggles and muggle lovers were. I thought he must have been angry with you, that he was saying these things because of you ... and I knew he was really upset with Fudge and the ministry as a whole. But in the last few weeks, the way he was talking, it was getting really bad. Right before we broke up ... he and I were walking around Diagon Alley. We ran into Rich, and he asked Percy if he wanted to have a little fun. I asked him what he meant, and he said they were going to go muggle hunting ... you know, they'd put on their invisibility cloaks and start messing with muggles in the streets of London ..." At the look of horror on Arthur's face, she said quickly, "They weren't going to do anything really bad, I don't think. I mean, just knock off their hats, or make their briefcases float around or ..."

"You sound," Arthur said slowly, "like you know a lot about this."

She looked away again. "Well, I went with them once before ... I didn't know! I didn't. And this time, I begged Percy to refuse, but then Rich told him he was being weak, letting his girlfriend boss him around and ... And Percy went. I told him I didn't want to speak to him ever again. I didn't mean it ... but how could he do that? How could he just walk away from me like that?" Penelope was becoming hysterical, and some of the nearby officials were looking over at them.

Arthur put a hand on her shoulder, but he couldn't speak. This was worse than he thought. According to Penelope, he sounded almost like a ...

"It'll be okay," Arthur said, more to himself than Penelope.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, may we have your attention please!" a voice cried out from the podium.

Arthur glanced down at the sunken dais in the center of the room and saw that Odgen and his coterie had gathered. Glancing over at Penelope he said, "Look, if you hear anything, anything at all..."

She nodded tearfully. "You too, please let me know..."

As he found a seat in one of the upper rows, a friendly voiced whispered, "You okay, Arthur?"

He glanced over at Hestia, who worked in the International Magical Office of Law. Barely managing a smile, he said, "Yeah, sure." Then, he muttered, "What's she doing with Odgen?"

"Who?" Hestia said, following his eyes to the dais. "Oh, you mean Umbridge."

"I would have thought she'd be on the outs, now that Fudge is ..."

"Well, you know what they say," Hestia murmured as the hall became quieter. "Cockroaches can survive just about anything."

Arthur grinned.

"Thank you all for your attendance at this meeting," Fustius Bridle, Secretary of the Wizengamot, said. As Bridle started recalling the events of the past day (which everyone in the ministry now knew by heart), Arthur studied Tiberius Odgen. He was an old wizard, though not as old as Albus or Madam Marchbanks (another missing person, he realized after another scan of the room). But he was one of those wizards who tried his damnedest to look 50 whatever his age: his hair was dyed dark brown, his beard, in contrast to Albus's, was trimmed short and neat, his face was curiously free of wrinkles (Molly always suspected an anti-wrinkle charm, and that alone was enough to make Arthur dislike Odgen). His face conveyed just the right amount of anxiety: he looked serious and concerned with his hand propped under his chin, but his lips were relaxed and calm, almost smiling.

"Thankfully," Bridle was saying, "in this time of crisis, we have a leader among us, a man willing to step up and shoulder the heavy burdens of governing. Tiberius Odgen, a longtime member of the Wizengamot, holder of the Order of Merlin, First Class, former head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and a renowned Hit Wizard in his own day, has humbly agreed, after much petitioning by anxious parties ..." Arthur rolled his eyes. Just who these anxious parties were was left unsaid. "... to become interim Minister of Magic."

Odgen stood up, and the courtroom filled with applause. Arthur didn't bother putting his hands together, but he noted, somewhat pessimistically, that most of the audience clapped appreciatively.

"Thank you, Fustius," Odgen said, coming to the podium. "Thank you, everyone. Yes, it has indeed been a difficult day, one in which all of you have performed admirably. Let me give you a round of applause."

The crowd cheered.

"But we still have a great deal of work to do. Our foremost duty is to keep wizarding kind safe and secure. Previous administrations have been unable to do this. They have been unwilling to take the necessary measures to ensure your safety. But, I say to you now, that never again will any other consideration besides your security take precedence in my administration."

Fantastic, Arthur thought amid the enthusiastic shouts of approval, they've taken us away from our work for a pep rally.

"First, I want to say to all of you: do not let these ruffians who call themselves death eaters, do not let them scare you. Go about your daily lives! Show them that we are stronger than they by living as you normally do."

The audience applauded again, and Arthur sighed in exasperation. Live as they normally did? For the wizarding world, that meant continuing to believe that their society was far superior to muggle society. How in the gods' names were they supposed to defeat the darkest wizard in the modern age if, on a basic level at least, the majority of wizarding society actually agreed with his beliefs?

"However, in the government," Odgen continued, "we will have to make some small changes, changes that I believe will help us search more effectively for these criminals. It is out of my concern for the security of our people that I have decided to take the following measures, effective immediately: first, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement will be directly answerable to me." Arthur and Hestia exchanged anxious glances. What would this mean, Arthur wondered, for the Aurors in the Order? "This will make the agency more efficient and allow us to streamline our search for these criminal elements," Odgen continued.

It would also mean, Arthur realized, that it would become much more difficult for Kingsley and Tonks to do Order business in the guise of Ministry officials.

"Second, I have asked all news outlets to work in close cooperation with the Ministry, and they have agreed. Note, this is not censorship, but a joint cooperation which, I believe, will be in all of our best interest. Third, though I myself do not want this, I have been advised by many of you to delay all elections or changes in government until we can guarantee the security of Azkaban and ensure the maximum stability in our society. Let me restate: the security of our people will be my one and only concern."

"How curious," boomed a voice from the back of the room. Everyone turned and stared in amazement. "I was under the impression that the Minister's first priority was to uphold the law."

Arthur's heart swelled as Albus swept into the auditorium.

"He certainly knows how to make an entrance," Hestia whispered with a grin. They watched as the aging headmaster walked down to the dais.

Odgen had, for a moment, looked as if he was going to explode. But as quickly as the interim minister's mask had slipped, it was firmly back in place. "Albus! Thank the gods!" he said, holding out his arms. Then he turned to his audience. "We have been trying to get in touch with the Chief Warlock all day, and thankfully, he has returned.

Albus walked over to the podium and said, "Really? I had received no owls. Indeed, I only found out about the affairs of our government through a Russian newspaper."

"A Russian newspaper?" Odgen looked horrified. "Well! We thought you were in Ireland. But, let us not deal with such details right now ..."

"Of course not," Arthur whispered to Hestia.

"No doubt these details threaten the security of our nation," Hestia whispered back.

"I can say," Odgen told the audience, "that I am now thoroughly relieved. As you may have already heard, I accepted this position only reluctantly. Though I want nothing more than to serve, I wondered if there wasn't someone with more experience who should fill the position. But at the time, there was no one to answer the call, and so with great reluctance, I accepted. But now, I think it's very clear that the Chief Warlock, Albus Dumbledore, is most suited for this position ..."

The hall erupted into murmurs and side discussions. "Very clever," Arthur said to Hestia.

"Much more so than Fudge," she agreed. "He'd never offer up his power."

"Of course, Odgen knows there's no way Albus will ever accept it."

"Exactly ... quite the showman, isn't he?" Hestia said.

Albus raised a hand, and the hall immediately quieted. Arthur couldn't help but grin, thinking suddenly that this room full of stuffy bureaucrats was probably no more difficult for Albus to manage than a school of pubescent wizards and witches.

"While your offer is quite magnanimous," Albus told Odgen, "it is highly irregular. I wasn't aware that you had the power to appoint ministers, even interim ones."

Odgen glared at Albus for a split second, then smiled toothily. "Of course not, Albus, I only meant ..."

"In any case, I cannot, even if it were constitutionally bestowed upon me, accept such a position," Albus said.

"Well, then, I think I should get back to my speech..."

"But I do wonder," Albus continued as if Odgen had never spoken. "I do wonder how you came by the position. As I recall - and please, Tiberius, correct me if I'm mistaken - but as I recall, the constitution requires that interim ministers be elected by the Wizengamot, under the guidance of either the Chief or Deputy Warlock, with the stipulation that a general election will take place no later than six months after the appointment of an interim minister."

"Yes, well," hemmed Odgen, who was now looking distinctly uncomfortable. "Well, as you were not available, decisions had to be made, and ..."

"And what of Madam Marchbanks?" Albus demanded. He scanned the crowd quickly. "I do not see her here. I believe, as Deputy Chief, she could have ..."

"Yes, well, Madam Marchbanks is quite ill, quite ill."

"Really? She mentioned nothing of it in her latest owl, which was only dated four days ago."

"Yes, it was a sudden attack, and we did not want to disturb her ..."

The crowd was growing restless, and Arthur smiled. "Now he's got him," he whispered to Hestia.

"But," Odgen said, his voice suddenly confident. "But as you are here now, and the entire Wizengamot ... minus Madam Marchbanks, of course ... is gathered, we can convene a vote right now, can we not?"

Albus said, "Without debate or discussion?"

"Hem hem."

Arthur gaped as Dolores Umbridge rose from her seat on the stage and came over to the podium. "Excuse me, Albus, Tiberius, but I wonder," she said in her sweetest voice, "I wonder if, given the present crisis, we really have time for debate? I know that I feel much safer with Tiberius ..."

Several sections of the auditorium seconded her with loud applause.

Albus stared down at Umbridge and said, "Interesting position, Dolores, considering you were the Undersecretary of Magic for Fudge and, as such, intimately involved in both his successes and failures."

The toad-like woman glared, and Odgen said, "Dolores has been a faithful public servant, one who has often been put in a bad position under previous administrations."

"In any case," said Amelia Bones from the audience. The crowd quieted immediately. "I believe we should resolve this matter with haste."

"Very well," Albus agreed. "I nominate you, Amelia, for the position of interim minister."

Madam Bones stood up and nodded. "Thank you, Albus, I accept your nomination."

Arthur and Hestia exchanged hopeful glances.

"And I," said someone else from the audience, "nominate Tiberius Odgen."

Odgen nodded his head and said, "I am honored."

"Is there any debate among the members of the Wizengamot?" Albus asked, looking out at the purple-robed witches and wizards in the audience. No one responded, and Arthur found himself wishing he could help, but as he was not part of that body, he could say nothing.

"Very well," the headmaster conceded, looking weary. "We will take a vote." With a nod of Albus's head, there appeared before every member of the Wizengamot a piece of parchment and a quill. Albus's own parchment floated in front of him, as did Odgen's. Both men quickly scrawled their choices on the parchment, and after it was clear that all the members had finished voting, Albus called out, "Accio!" and all the parchments flew to his hands.

"Well," he said after looking through each of them. "Tiberius, it seems you are to be interim minister."

Odgen smiled and said to the crowd, "I am so glad that the Chief Warlock finds it all in order."

Some of the crowd laughed, others began to murmur, and Arthur could see only a few who, like himself, frowned.

"Oh dear," Hestia murmured.

"Now then," Odgen said, "as I was saying ..."

"One last matter," Albus interrupted. "Within six months time, there must be a general election for a permanent minister of magic. For the next two weeks, we will accept nominations from the general public. I trust," he said, looking first at Odgen, then at the reporters from the Daily Prophet, who were sitting on the front row, "I trust that the press will make this announcement with all due haste?"

"Naturally!" Odgen said. "We want a good, clean election," he added with a jovial smile.

"I nominate Tiberius Odgen for Minister of Magic!" someone cried from the crowd. And several others called out, "Three cheers for Odgen!"

"Oh hell," Hestia muttered.

"Very well," Albus said. "I will make a note of that. Any other nominations will also be appreciated," he said to the audience.

The crowd began, once again, to talk amongst itself.

"Amelia," Albus called out. "Would you ..."

The head of Magical Law Enforcement stood and shook her head. "Interim minister is one thing ... minister is another thing completely. I believe I can do more good in Magical Law Enforcement."

"This is bad," Arthur whispered. "There probably won't be any serious nominations besides Odgen."

"And even if there are," Hestia said, "I doubt they'll stand a chance against Odgen. All we can hope is that he screws up during his term as interim."

"Doubtful, as six months doesn't give him too much time to make a fool of himself. But even if the nominee can't beat Odgen, at least he or she might be able to force Odgen to debate some of the issues, perhaps even change some of his stances. If Odgen is uncontested, he'll take that as a mandate to do whatever he wants ..."

"Are there any more nominations this evening?" Albus asked the crowd.

For a moment, there was silence. Then, Hestia stood up suddenly. "I have a nomination."

Arthur's stomach sank. "Hestia ..." he whispered.

"Sorry!" she whispered back. "But you made a really good point." Then, in a loud voice, she said, "I would like to nominate Arthur Weasley."

A low buzz spread throughout the hall.

Even from the back of the hall, Arthur swore he could see the twinkle in Albus's eyes. "Arthur, do you accept this nomination?" he asked.

Arthur gulped. To accept would be suicide, he would be nothing but a sacrificial lamb, and six months of campaigning ... he and his family would be dragged through the mud, he just knew it. He got to his feet. "I accept."

As he plopped back down in his seat, Hestia whispered, "Sorry, Arthur, but you were exactly right, Odgen can't go uncontested and...You're going to kill me, aren't you?"

Arthur said faintly, "I think it's Molly you'll want to watch out for."

Albus said, "Very good. All other nominations should be forwarded to the Wizengamot by midnight, two weeks from today. Now," he said turning to Odgen, "I believe I interrupted your stirring speech on security and the state."

Albus left the stage, and Odgen finished speaking, though Arthur barely heard a word of the speech. He supposed he should have been listening; after all, this was his competition, so to speak. But he felt too dazed to concentrate on much of anything except the fact that he had somehow just agreed to run for Minister of Magic.

The meeting broke up a few minutes later, and Arthur immediately found himself swamped by reporters.

"Mr. Webley," one called out.

"Weasley, it's Weasley," he responded.

"Yes, Mr. Wealey, tell us, what is your platform? Do you disagree with Odgen? Should we not, given the present circumstances, be concerned with security?"

"Well, uh ..."

"I believe," Albus said, pushing his way through the crowd, "I believe Mr. Weasley - that's W -E-A-S-L-E-Y - will be available for questions tomorrow."

As Albus guided him out of the auditorium and back to Arthur's office, the younger man said, "I hope I did the right thing, Albus."

"Absolutely."

"But at the Order meeting ..."

"Well, things have changed since then. With Fudge run out of office ... well, it's worse than I thought."

"I'll never win."

Albus looked him in the eye. 'No, you probably won't. But Hestia did the right thing by nominating you. We need someone to counter Odgen ... if he goes uncontested ..."

"Yes, that is what we were thinking. Provide some balance."

"Exactly. And you, Arthur, are a moderate, sensible man."

"I'm a bumbling bureaucrat, Albus."

"Now, come, you give yourself too little credit. You're certainly a brave man."

"Yes, certainly. I'd have to be to go home to Molly tonight. She'll kill me."

Albus laughed as they entered Arthur's crammed, windowless office.

Arthur looked around at the stacks of books and papers and odd muggle artifacts. "Albus," he said with a hopeless glance at the wizard, "I really don't know what to do."

Albus nodded. "Well, we'll figure all that out as we go along. But for tonight ..." Albus pulled out his pocket watch and sighed. "For tonight, I think the best thing you can do is rest. I believe you will find your family waiting for you at the Headquarters."

"Headquarters? But ... that means Harry ..."

"Yes, I'm going to meet Minerva at Privet Drive as soon as we finish speaking. As tomorrow is Harry's birthday, we thought it would be nice if he had his family about to celebrate, don't you?" Albus smiled warmly.

"Yes, he's like our ..." Son, my son. "Percy," he muttered. Then he looked up at Albus and said, "Percy is missing, Albus. I'm really worried that he's done something horrible."

Albus sighed. "I noticed he wasn't at the meeting tonight."

"Yes, I think he's ..." Arthur couldn't say it.

Albus nodded. Then he said softly, "Arthur, you are a good father. You must always remember that."

Closing his eyes, Arthur said, "So you're thinking what I'm thinking."

"It's a possibility. Your son in an ambitious man, and he has suffered some severe disappointments as of late." Albus sighed. "Come now, it will do you no good to worry about that tonight. I'll see you at Headquarters." Albus clapped a hand to Arthur's shoulder, then smiled. "And you can tell Molly that this Minister of Magic business was all my idea."