The Awakening of a Magus

The Awakening of a Magus
Chapter 13 - Sat, Jul 22 - Day 2
Convincing Cornelius and Assigning Arthur

"Me first!" Ron yelled at his brothers, Fred and George as the owl came in to deliver the Daily Prophet to the Weasley household.

"Ah, go ahead. Since Rita Skeeter took off, there's nothing interesting anymore." Fred grumbled, then went back to whispering with George about some future prank.

Hermione retorted, "Interesting? That woman just made up the most hateful stories I ever heard of!"

George looked up, grinning. "Yeah! Interesting!"

"Hey, 'Mione, look! Skeeter's replacement made the front page, and so did Fudge. Listen: 'The Year of the Magus? Fudge Says: Hoax!'" Ron read aloud.

Molly Weasley looked up suddenly from her chores. "Ron, did you say 'Magus'? Arthur!" she said to her husband, who was just walking in. "Something about a Magus. Ron, give the paper to your father."

"Aw, can't I read it? Puhleez?" Ron wheedled. Molly sighed, then nodded. "Right! Let's see ..."

'The Rumor of the Century is out. Two Ministry employees claim to have discovered a newly-awakened Magus. The team of Forester and Trelawney refuse to divulge the man's name, but admit that they have selected Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbulldoor as the Mentor.'

"Sheesh! She can't even spell Dumbledore's name right!"

'Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge refuses to believe the report, and may suspend the two, pending an investigation. As you should know, a Magus is an extremely rare wizard. Your brilliant reporter has it on the best authority that the Purple Code is the Ministry's secret designation for a Magus, and considers a Magus ultra-top-secret. All the best wizards of the past were Maguses, and if there is a new one, who knows what he'll do? Take over? Ah, no wonder Minister Fudge refuses to accept the report. Be assured, this reporter will not rest until the truth is out, though there is a great deal of speculation on who the alleged Magus might be. In the interests of national, even world security, I will restrain myself from reporting mere rumor, but I feel confident that I have guessed who the Magus really is. Until next time, I am your faithful reporter, Tammy Tattler.'

"Good grief! I could write better than that!" Ron finished.

"Mr. Weasley, can you tell us if any of this could possibly be true?" asked Hermione. Arthur and Molly exchanged looks for several long moments, trying to decide how much to tell the teens. As the moments stretched out, all the youngsters stared at the Weasley parents, realizing that something important was going on. Finally, Molly nodded to Arthur, Arthur sighed, then they both sat down at the table.

Arthur began. "Well, since it's made the paper, there won't be any way to cover it up. She has a few things close to right, and if she isn't lying about Forester and Trelawney being the discovery team, then I'd bet a year's salary this is for real. Where to begin? What do you know about a Magus, or Magi (not Maguses, hmpf!)?"

As usual, Hermione had an answer first. "I saw a reference once that said that certain of the most powerful wizards of the past were called Magi, like Darius and Merlin. And something about their magical aura being purple."

"Well, that's more than someone your age normally knows," Arthur conceded. "Anyone else? No? Alright. First, about the team. Sylvia Forester is a niece, a couple of generations removed, of Albus Dumbledore, and she's a very reliable Auror. Erasmus Trelawney is the brother of your Divination teacher ... wait, I know what that look means. Don't judge a man by his sister. He's a very capable Obliviator, and honorable to a fault, even if he sometimes gets a bit pompous. It makes sense she'd choose Dumbledore as the Mentor. Oh, and the Magus is a Code Purple, not Purple Code. You'd have learned some basics about Magi in seventh year. The Ministry teaches some of its departments more about it, but the definitive reference on the Magi is a book written by none other than Albus Dumbledore, which is probably somewhere in the restricted section of the Hogwarts library."

Arthur took a deep breath and continued, telling them the basics about Magi and the Mentor bond. Then he continued. "The Ministry decided centuries ago that the next time a Magus awakened, they would require anonymity for the Magus and select a Mentor to help ground him and keep him from overextending until he was fully accustomed to his powers. The last Magus was lost to the world barely three months after his awakening because of burnout. His name was Liam, and he awakened over 600 years ago at the age of 50. He died from burnout when he tried to save several villages from the Black Plague. The weakest Magus's power is so much stronger than even the best wizard power, that a normal human body just can't handle it, so over time the magic actually changes his body so it can handle the load. I once read part of Dumbledore's book, and he believes that the only thing that can kill a Magus is the Magus himself pushing himself beyond his limits, or using too much power before his body can handle it. Darius died at age 200, trying to prevent the sinking of Atlantis, to give you an idea. He almost succeeded according to some ancient records."

The teens were drinking in the information, barely breathing. Then Ron looked at Hermione. "Whoa ! This is absolutely wicked! Do you suppose that's why ..."

Hermione continued, "... why Dumbledore moved Harry to Hogwarts! The Magus can protect him! And that's what Harry couldn't tell us about in the message. It just has to be that! Oh, I wish we could talk to him or to Dumbledore."

"I wonder if they'll let us meet the Magus at Harry's birthday," Ron speculated.

Arthur sighed, and Molly mused, "I wish we could talk to Dumbledore about this."

Moments later, a voice came from the fireplace, and an image of Dumbledore's head said, "Arthur, there's something I need to speak with you about ..."

After Harry was scolded, again, about apparating on school grounds without warning his passengers, and everyone began to pull themselves together at this new evidence of Harry's uniqueness, the professors had Harry try various other forms. After about 20 different animals, from bear to butterfly, they decided to just assume he could take any shape. Dumbledore took this opportunity to remind Harry, and inform McGonagall and Snape, that part of the Mentor's job was to protect the Magus from burnout.

"Harry, in a way, this matter with your animagus forms only reinforces my concerns about your progressing too quickly. It's been less than 24 hours, and I'd wager you've progressed faster than any previous Magus. Yes, you've already had a significant transformation to accommodate your powers, but since your powers appear to be so much greater than past Magi, you will need to be especially cautious. Yesterday, you almost passed out after the triple attack. After removing the Dark Mark from Severus, you were unconscious for most of the next 18 hours." Dumbledore took a deep breath. "Harry, we can't afford to lose you, and personally, I don't know if I could bear it."

Harry considered all this, and knew that it was true. "Just how long do I need to take it how slow? Do you have any idea how hard that is? Much of the time it's not a problem, but sometimes, it's like trying to ... hold a tornado. And it's so ... beautiful to work the energy. I just can't explain," he finished wearily.

"Well, luckily, I'm beginning to understand some things I'm sensing from you, especially that odd power-source link I mentioned earlier." Dumbledore shook his head. "For now, please, unless there are lives at stake, check with me before you do anything that requires more power than, well, than you think I could handle. The fact you can do it without your wand isn't important; it's the power level I'm concerned about. Will you do that for me, for an old man's peace of mind?" Dumbledore tilted his head and smiled.

"I'd like to echo that sentiment, except I'm more concerned with my sanity!" said an exasperated Snape. "By the way, you're due at the Ministry in 20 minutes."

McGonagall interjected, "I think that whether the Minister chooses that test or not, you should choose two of your forms and demonstrate, though I'd advise against letting him know about the dragon form, or that you have unlimited forms. Perhaps, the panther and the raven?"

Harry thought about sensing Snape's raven form and suggested, "How about panther and butterfly? I kind of enjoyed being something that small. It gives an amazing perspective." He paused, then thought at Dumbledore, /* Can I tell them about your form? */ Dumbledore paused a moment, then nodded, so Harry said, "When I was preparing to use the animagus spell the first time, I realized I could sense animagus potential, at least within the circle. We already know about Minerva's cat form. But I also found that Albus can become a phoenix." He paused, seeing that McGonagall knew, but Snape didn't. Then, the big surprise, "And Severus, you would change into a raven if you used the animagus spell."

Snape was stunned. He had always wanted an animagus form, but the times he tried in his school years had proved a complete failure, and he never had the courage to face the disappointment again. In some ways, that was part of the resentment he had towards the Marauders all those years ago ... that they had been able to achieve animagus forms and keep them secret. "Are you sure, Harry? I tried for over three years, many years ago, but there was nothing." He spoke softly.

"It's there. Whenever you're ready to try, I can help you break through," Harry Magus promised his friend.

Dumbledore then broke in. "There are three other matters I plan to bring up once we've convinced Cornelius of your status. First, I want to talk him into appointing a special deputy minister to deal with Magus issues, and, less noticeably, with the issue of Voldemort. I propose to ask Arthur Weasley if he would take the position. Secondly, I want the Magus to insist that Harry Potter be given adult privileges because of the need for accelerated training, such as allowing you to test for an apparition license even though you aren't 17 yet. Finally, if Harry is willing, I'd like him to do a Memorare to show Cornelius about Voldemort's rebirth. Think you can manage it?"

"If it will get him off his tail and stop the cover-up, I can manage just about anything," Harry stated emphatically.

"Let me take a couple of minutes to talk Arthur into the position. I expect he's seen the paper by now, and will be wishing I could confirm his conclusions." He went to sit beside the fireplace, cast the spell to contact Arthur Weasley at the Burrow, and said, "Arthur, there's something I need to speak with you about ..."

Arthur chased the rest of the family out of the room, promising to tell them everything he was allowed to tell, then listened to Dumbledore's offer. Dumbledore ended with, "At this point, once we convince him about the Magus, we could probably get his attention on other matters, but he's more effective as a figurehead, since he can play all those blasted political games. You would be the Ministry's primary liaison with the Magus, and all matters regarding Voldemort. If you and the Magus agree, I believe you should join his inner circle. If one of you isn't ready for such a step, an alternate security spell could be cast to protect you from attempts to learn the secrets of the Magus. Please say you'll accept when we push Cornelius on the issue!"

Arthur thought for several minutes and Dumbledore waited patiently. "Alright, if you can talk him into it, I'll do it. How much can I tell my family at the moment?"

"Well," Dumbledore said, "at the moment you don't know much more than anyone else in the Ministry, so you can tell the family whatever you choose of what you know now. After you have met the Magus, we'll discuss this again. We need to be off, though. The Magus and I have an appointment with the Minister to prove the awakening. Cornelius may be something of a fool, but he's a devious fool. We'll either call you or transport there when we're done, depending on how it goes. Be well, Arthur, and thank you." And Dumbledore's head disappeared from the fire. Then the rest of the family, who had been listening at the door, rushed in, bombarding Arthur with questions.

At precisely 10 am, the Mentor and the Magus apparated to a conference room just off Fudge's office, where Fudge was rereading the Tammy Tattler article for the fifth time, trying to remember when he said some of the things she claimed. He started, stood up suddenly, and saw Albus Dumbledore with a tall, athletic, black-haired man, who appeared to be in his mid-20s. "Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, I present to you the Seventh Magus, who shall at this time remain unnamed. His appearance is that of the great Magus, Darius, from a portrait done not long after his awakening over three thousand years ago. My Lord Magus, Minister Fudge. Obviously, he has already learned his shapeshifting ability. So, what tests have you thought of? I don't guarantee we'll accept them all, but I wanted to give you the opportunity to come up with something that will convince you."

Fudge stood up and began pacing, repeatedly glancing at the Magus, who hadn't spoken yet, then glancing away. After gathering his courage, Fudge put on his most pompous attitude and demanded, "It is known that only a Magus has two animagus forms. Show me!"

A rich baritone voice chuckled. "We need to tell Minerva McGonagall that she guessed right. He did choose that for a test. Well, Minister, because of Professor McGonagall's foresight, I am prepared to show you two animagus shapes. Do you want large or small first?"

"H-how large?" Fudge stuttered slightly.

"About human size. Ready?" Fudge nodded mechanically, and the Magus smoothly transformed into his black panther shape. He growled softly, glided toward Fudge (who backed away), then returned to where Dumbledore was standing.

Dumbledore challenged, "Do you need to perform any tests to verify that he actually changed form?"

Fudge stuttered, "Uh, no. That's enough." The Magus transformed back to his human form, and stood quietly with a small smile. After swallowing hard, Fudge then asked, "What's the other form?" A faint purple haze surrounded the Magus as he seemed to dissolve. In his place fluttered a beautiful black and purple exotic butterfly, which hovered a moment, then landed on the table near Fudge. Fudge was torn by a host of different emotions. A small part of him, which was already convinced this was a Magus, was trying to decide how he could use this young man to advance himself. "Impressive. But I'm not ready to concede the issue."

The butterfly flitted back to where the Magus had been standing, and changed back again to the Darius form. "Of course you aren't. What else did you have in mind?" asked the Magus.

"A Magus is supposed to be immune to the Unforgivable Curses. Obviously the Killing Curse would be too risky, but perhaps the Crucio or Imperio?" Fudge had a sneaky look in his eye. He didn't expect them to accept this test.

"You are out of your mind!" Harry exclaimed.

"I knew you couldn't do it!" Fudge said with a self-satisfied smirk.

"Oh, I would have no problem deflecting either curse. The problem is, the curse will then rebound back to the spellcaster, amplified. Do you really want to be hit with an amplified Crucio?" The Magus stood there, arms crossed on his chest, looking quite dangerous for the first time. "I will only agree if it's the Imperio, since that can't really harm you. I promise to only force some small action, enough to convince you, and then release the curse."

"But some people can resist the Imperius Curse to some extent," Fudge objected.

"Yes, but it doesn't automatically rebound on the caster in those cases," Dumbledore pointed out.

"Very well." Fudge decided that, just in case the Magus wasn't bluffing, he really didn't want to be hit with a Crucio, not at all. Fudge raised his wand. "You are agreeing to be the target of an Unforgivable Curse, so you can't object later, you understand." The Magus nodded, standing relaxed. "Imperio!" Fudge yelled.

A purple haze flared for a moment around the Magus, then Fudge felt his mind go strangely blank. A voice said in his mind, /* Get up on the table and do a tap dance.*/ Without hesitation, he climbed up on a chair, then the table, and began the worst tap dance routine in human history.

"Enough!" Harry yelled, laughing. "I can't stand any more. Get down." As Fudge came down off the table and stood before the Magus, Harry reached into his mind to remove the curse. It was then he realized that Fudge was already under another Imperius Curse.

He linked with his Mentor. /* Albus, look what's here! He's been under an Imperio for some time. The directive seems to be to refuse to do anything concerning Voldemort, and in particular, not to believe anything you tell him. No wonder he was so block-headed last month! And I think there's something here about trusting Lucius Malfoy, though I don't suppose that's enough to charge him with the casting itself. */ Then Harry carefully removed all traces of all Imperius Curses that remained in Fudge's mind, but left behind the knowledge of what the directives had been.

Fudge blinked his eyes, looking confused. Then he looked at Dumbledore, who, after all, had always been there for advice since he had become Minister. Then he got very angry. "Who would have dared do that to me, to the Minister of Magic?"

The Magus and his Mentor were also quite disturbed. Harry answered, "I wish I could tell you. If I had more experience, I might have been able to definitely identify the wizard or witch that had controlled you this way. But I'm too new to this, which is why, I believe, the Ministry directives indicated secrecy and anonymity for a new Magus."

Fudge was a fool, but he wasn't that stupid. If someone had resorted to an Imperius Curse specifically designed to prevent him from acknowledging ... You-Know-Who, then maybe You-Know-Who really had come back. Now, Fudge was looking at both the Magus and Dumbledore with a calculating gaze. He thought to himself, How do I get these two to deal with it for me? Aloud, he said. "I suppose I must, in light of this, reevaluate your concerns last month, Albus. What can you tell me?"

Dumbledore looked relieved and triumphant. "Earlier this morning, we discussed a way to persuade you." He then looked at Harry, who continued.

"I have the memories of Harry Potter's experience with Voldemort at the end of the Triwizard Tournament." Harry saw Fudge flinch at the Dark Lord's name. "I propose to use a variant of the Memorare so you can see and hear what he saw and heard, though you won't hear his thoughts or feel what he felt. No one should have to experience that." He said the last with a haunted echo in his voice. "Well?"

Fudge reluctantly agreed. It was a matter of self-preservation to know for sure what they faced; what he could persuade others to face for him.

Harry quickly made the preliminary link, then marked the memories within himself, filtering them to some extent so the physical pain at least wouldn't be transmitted. The terror lingered, and he couldn't and wouldn't filter it completely. Fudge had to know! The memories flowed: Cedric's death ... Wormtail preparing the ritual ... the twisted child-sized monster that was Voldemort's body ... the bloody ritual of rebirth ... the summoning of the Death Eaters ... As the memories reached the point where Voldemort cast the Crucio on a groveling Death Eater, Harry realized that Fudge couldn't handle any more and had to interrupt. Well, the Minister had seen the rebirth of Voldemort and the gathering of the Death Eaters. It would have to be enough.

Just as Harry finished and began to withdraw, he helped Fudge to a seat before the Minister collapsed completely. Then he went around to the other side of the table where he and Dumbledore sat, waiting for Fudge to assimilate and recover. Dumbledore conjured a good stiff drink for Cornelius and placed it within the Minister's reach, then conjured some lemonade for himself and Harry as they waited. /* How much were you able to send him before he gave out? */ Dumbledore asked.

Harry answered, /* After the Death Eaters arrived but before names were named ... but maybe that needs to be the new Deputy Minister's work anyway. Fudge would probably mess it up. */

As Fudge's eyes became less glazed-over, the Magus said, "We have a proposal for you." Fudge looked at them, pale, shaken, but hoping the proposal would get him out of this problem. And he grabbed the drink Dumbledore had left him, tossing it down in one gulp.

Dumbledore, as a known advisor, took over. "We would like to propose that you appoint a special deputy minister whose duties would be two-fold. First, he would be the liaison between the Ministry, and the Magus and me. Second, he would be the primary coordinator for all efforts directly involved with Voldemort and his followers."

"Who would be fool enough, I mean, who would be willing to take on a job like that?" Fudge queried.

"Arthur Weasley has agreed to take the position. Though I hadn't approached them yet, nor suggested it to Weasley, he might be assisted by Forester and Trelawney. They are both very capable, as you should have known, and are known to the Magus. You might even title it something like 'Special Deputy Minister in Charge of Dealing with Unusual Spellcasters'," Dumbledore said sarcastically, then nearly choked as he realized Cornelius actually liked it. "Oh, and of course, he would need a substantial raise for dealing with these critical duties." Dumbledore smiled at Fudge, but his eyes were hard. Fudge nodded, agreeing to the whole package.

While they had him, Harry decided to hit Fudge with his personal request. "By the way, Minister. Since you now agree that Voldemort is a true threat, you would have to realize that Harry Potter is a prime target. He has moved to Hogwarts at the headmaster's insistence and is being given special training for his protection and the protection of those around him." True enough, Harry thought to himself. "We want you to grant dispensation regarding anything that would be normally denied because he is a minor. He needs to be trained as far as he is capable. For instance, we need the minimum age waived so he can test for an apparition license." Harry was bravely containing his satisfaction and amusement; Dumbledore had more difficulty and stood to pace a bit so Cornelius wouldn't see his face. "And to avoid disturbing you with every little matter, could we get a general dispensation in writing ... with your seal?"

/* Bravo, Harry! Just the right argument for him. I think you may survive the politics of the situation after all! */ Dumbledore found he enjoyed being able to communicate like this, and he was heartened by Harry's adaptability so far.

Fudge handed the waiver for Harry to Dumbledore. Then he asked, "You said Weasley has already agreed?"

"Pending your offering the position to him, yes. You might also suggest that the discovery team be a part of his department." Dumbledore urged. "Do you have any other business with us? The Magus needs to be in training."

Fudge moved to a chair near the fireplace, staring at the fire as he prepared to call Arthur Weasley, wondering how he could turn all this to his own advantage. "No, no, nothing else. I have a great deal to think about."

So the Magus and the Mentor quietly apparated to a spot just outside the Burrow, to talk to the Weasley household, and not incidentally, to Harry's two best school chums, Ron and Hermione.

Chapter 14 - Sat, Jul 22 - Day 2
Surprises Good and Bad

After Fred and George left to visit some friends for the rest of the day, Molly Weasley was out in the yard tending to some flowers when she noticed someone was apparating in. She had known someone was going to drop in for lunch ... she always knew when there would be company for a meal and planned for extra food, but this time, she hadn't a clue who would be coming. That was a first for her. Well, now she would see who her guests were.

She looked up to see Albus Dumbledore and a tall young man she didn't recognize. "Well, hello Albus! I knew someone was coming, but couldn't tell who." She looked at the young man, giving Dumbledore a chance to make introductions.

Instead, the young man in question grinned and said, "Well, Mrs. Weasley, that was probably my fault. You see, this ..." he spread his arms and glanced quickly down at himself, "isn't really me. The shapeshifting I did probably messed up your magic senses." Harry knew about Molly's gift for knowing about unexpected guests.

At Molly's surprise at finding out she was hosting a shapeshifter, Dumbledore stepped forward a bit and performed introductions. "Molly, I have the pleasure to present to you, the object of much rumor, the Magus. For the moment, his name is still secret outside his circle."

The Magus looked slightly embarrassed at this, since Harry knew Molly Weasley so well. He said, "How about this, Mrs. Weasley. Since I'm a walking portrait of Darius Magus, maybe you could just call me Darius for now. Do you see any problem with that, Albus? I certainly don't want to go around having people calling me 'My Lord Magus' everywhere I go."

Molly thought to herself, Now, there's a modest young man, if he really is a young man. I can imagine something like this could go to one's head rather quickly. Then she said aloud, "Darius it is, then. Albus, can you tell me anything about your meeting with Cornelius? Arthur has been pacing and muttering ever since he talked to you."

"We just left the Ministry," Dumbledore confirmed. "If he isn't already talking to Cornelius, he will be soon."

Just then, they heard Ron running out of the house towards them. "Mum! Guess who Dad is talking to ... right ... now ..." His voice trailed off as he slowed to a stop and stared at the guests. Hermione had been following, and ran into Ron's back before she could stop. They both looked at Dumbledore and the dark-haired man, then looked at each other, and spoke at the same time:

"Ron, do you suppose that's ..." Hermione began.

"Hermione, I'll just bet that's ..." Ron began.

Then together they quietly squeaked, "... the Magus?"

All three 'adults' were smiling as they walked toward the house, though Harry was extremely nervous. He just wasn't sure he was ready for this, either to be Darius to his friends, or to tell them the truth. After that time during fourth year when he and Ron hadn't been speaking to each other, Harry knew how much both Ron and Hermione meant to him. He was afraid that his being a Magus would come between them all, causing a permanent break in their friendship. In a way, it was harder than facing Voldemort ... Voldemort couldn't hurt his soul.

All five were gathered at the front door when Arthur Weasley, slightly dazed, came out to tell everyone the news. "He did it. He actually did it, Molly. I've got the promotion, a huge raise, and he suggested the Magus discovery team be transferred to my new department. Albus, I really didn't think he'd do it." Then he realized that there was someone else there. "Are you ..."

Harry stuck his hand out to shake, "Mr. Weasley, just call me Darius until we deal with who I really am. That's whose form I'm using for now as a disguise."

Hermione suddenly exclaimed, "That's who you look like! That portrait of Darius Magus I saw last summer." Ron gave her the look he usually gave her in such circumstances, as if she'd quoted 'Hogwarts: A History'. She glared back, then continued. "I talked my parents into taking me to the Merlin Memorial Museum of the Wizarding World last summer. There was a huge painting of Darius there, supposedly made when he was in his mid-20s. I think he even had on the same outfit!"

"Albus?" Harry looked at Dumbledore, asking if that was the same picture as in the book. When Dumbledore nodded, he continued. "Yes, Hermione, that's the picture I used as a model." Then the Magus sighed. "Well, everyone, suppose we go inside and talk about what happens next."

Not too long after Fudge finished his strained conversation with Arthur Weasley, he decided the best way to take some control of the situation was to hold a press conference that afternoon. He next contacted his secretary to set it up. "I don't care what plans you had for this afternoon, Esmeralda, I need this taken care of immediately. It's about the story in the Daily Prophet."

As usual, Esmeralda was quite impressed with her boss. She may have been a bit lacking where judging people was concerned, but she was marvelous with arranging details. She promised to have everything ready for the Ministry Press Corps in the public meeting room by 4 pm that afternoon. Then Fudge went home to plan for the press conference, and make himself another stiff drink.

Lucius Malfoy had informants everywhere, including the Ministry Press Corps. He knew before Tammy Tattler did about the impending press conference. This disturbed him, because he hadn't heard anything from Fudge, and Fudge rarely did anything this significant independently. He decided to call Fudge to check things out. First contacting him through the fire to confirm that Fudge was at home, he then apparated to the Minister's home for a conference.

"Cornelius, after reading the Daily Prophet this morning, I felt the need to discover the facts of the matter directly from you. What can you tell me about this Magus rumor?" Malfoy smoothly sat down in the study as he spoke. Almost by reflex, he sent a small spurt of magic towards Fudge to reinforce the moderate Imperius Curse he had placed in the Minister's mind, and was shocked to feel no response. Always the consummate actor when necessary, Malfoy gave no indication of his surprise, but listened attentively to Fudge's babble.

"I didn't believe it, but it's true. It must be. Albus and the Magus were in my office this morning and the proofs I saw can't be denied, no matter how much I'd like to." Fudge then gave a rambling but fairly complete report on his meeting with the Magus. "Can you believe it? Someone had the gall to put me under the Imperius Curse. And whoever it was tried to make me suspect you of all people. As long as we've known each other, I've valued your advice, but whichever one of You-Know-Who's people did this to me added a piece to ensure I trust you. But since I've always trusted you anyway, I knew it had to be a setup!" Fudge was so proud of his cleverness at discovering the flaw in his enemy's actions.

Malfoy was livid inside at this change in his puppet, and was thinking fiercely how best to salvage the situation. He would have to report his loss of Fudge to the Dark Lord. He didn't dare try to re-apply the Imperius. It would surely give him away to the Magus, assuming that some type of protection hadn't been left behind to prevent it altogether. Voldemort would not be pleased.

The best Malfoy could hope for was that Draco would be able to discover something valuable enough to get him out of trouble with the Dark Lord. Fortunately, Dumbledore and the Magus had set up the perfect excuse, since Malfoy had no legitimate way of knowing about Potter's presence at Hogwarts otherwise.

"You say that Potter is getting special advanced training? And you allowed waivers for any age-related limitations? This smacks of favoritism, I'm afraid! Preferential treatment. Some of the students and parents will not be pleased with this." Fudge was taken aback, and sputtered about how Potter had the excuse of being You-Know-Who's target, after all. "Nonetheless, I insist that you allow my son Draco to attend the same training sessions as Potter. He will be able to attest to how much is defensive necessity and how much is blatant favoritism by the faculty. And I want the same waivers for Draco ... that he be allowed any and all training and licensing he is capable of without regard to his age."

Fudge had no problem agreeing to this. Besides, he assumed Draco could act as his spy as well. Draco would tell Lucius; Lucius would tell him ... perfect! He wrote up the waiver and sealed it with the usual spell, and bid Lucius a good day. Lucius could tell Dumbledore he was getting another special student for the summer.

After insisting that everyone have lunch before getting down to business, Molly Weasley decided to take care of some other questions not related (that she knew of) to the Magus ... Harry's presence at Hogwarts. "Albus, I know Harry couldn't tell Ron exactly what's going on, but since you're here, could you tell us just what happened? Is Harry really safe and unhurt?"

/* Uh oh! Now what? */ Harry sent to Dumbledore, who answered, /* We tell them approximately what happened as though Darius and Harry were two different people. */

Harry then thought to himself Yeah, right ...

"Let's see now," Dumbledore started, scrambling for just the right words. "The events leading to Harry's moving to Hogwarts actually coincide with Darius's awakening." True enough so far. Dumbledore didn't want to lie outright to the Weasleys and Hermione since at least those present would probably know the truth soon anyway.

Hermione's face fell. "Does that mean you can't tell us, then?" she asked, disappointed.

"I can tell you this much. Harry was out with the Dursleys and was being attacked by Death Eaters. Darius protected him and defeated the attackers. My niece Sylvia Forester, who is part of the Magus discovery team, contacted me. I decided Harry needed to come to Hogwarts and it was at that time it was decided I would be the Mentor for Darius." Dumbledore sent to Harry, /* See, it wasn't that bad. */

Harry tried to keep a straight face, though he had an unholy urge to giggle. Then he noticed Ron had an odd expression and the urge left him abruptly. Harry kept his shields up at a level to prevent him sensing anyone less than a true mindspeaker, or a member of the circle. But, the look on Ron's face was that wistful, sort of jealous look that said to those who knew him, 'Harry Potter's done it again.' Was Ron jealous of Harry's possible relationship with Darius, who was Harry? Harry thought to himself that he was about to have an identity crisis.

Hermione noticed Ron's expression, too, and kicked him under the table saying, "Well, we're certainly grateful you were there to save Harry, aren't we, Ron?"

Ron just looked at the Magus and said quietly, "Harry's part of your circle now, isn't he." There was a small note of pain, of being 'left out' in his voice. In his mind though, Ron just screamed to himself. It isn't fair, it just isn't fair. Even with Dad getting that promotion, Harry is still closer to the Magus than I can ever be. I thought for a minute I had a small chance to be something special. Bloody Hell." Then, Ron turned pale. Darius had looked at him suddenly, as though he had heard Ron's pity-party. /* Oh no, can you hear me? */ Ron tried to think at the Magus. He couldn't understand why Darius would have such a hurt look in his eyes, even if he did hear Ron. Then, somehow all the pieces fell into place and he knew what the answer must be ... /* Harry? */

For long moments, Harry tried to understand how he had heard Ron through his shields. Dumbledore tried to get his attention, to find out what was wrong, but Harry couldn't answer. He was torn between what he had heard, and how he had heard it. There was only one answer to how: Ron was a true mindspeaker. In the early stages of the gift, a true mindspeaker could be heard by any other true mindspeaker or by anyone with a mindspeech link in place. Eventually, when fully trained, a true mindspeaker could be heard by anyone in range he chose. The strength of the gift dictated the range of the mindspeech. Harry sensed that Ron would have quite a strong gift for a wizard. But first, he had to deal with Ron and with secrets.

First, he sent a quick thought to Ron. /* Guess what, pal ... you figured it out before Hermione did! */ And before Ron could react, Harry said aloud, "Professor Dumbledore, would you put up some privacy wards while I go ahead and tell everyone? Ron figured it out." Dumbledore sighed and raised his wand, casting the spell. Darius said to Ron, "Do you want to tell them, or should I?" When Ron just shook his head in shock, the Magus stood up and shapeshifted from the image of Darius Magus to that of a changed but recognizable Harry Potter.

(continued)