Kapitel 175: CHAPTER {221-223}
****THE-MERRY-YULE (III)****
"Daphne…" Angelica muttered with a somber look on her face before she threw Harry a dirty look. Even though Harry noticed the look he was getting from the woman, he decided to pay it no mind. She can be displeased with him all she wants, but her displeasure was of no consequence.
"It is alright, Mom. In fact, I believe this is better" Daphne also noticed the look her mother gave her before she started to glare at Harry, so she decided to comfort her mother and explain her reasons to the woman. "Voldemort is back and this time, he wouldn't have accepted our neutrality. He would have forced us to join him" Daphne explained slowly.
"There is always that…" Harry admitted. "Now that you have accepted my offer, your Family will be protected from the big bad noseless" Harry added with a chuckle, making Cyrus nod his head even though he looked quite reluctant.
"Is the protection going to apply to us too?" Amelia asked as soon as Harry stopped chuckling.
"That would depend on you, Amelia" Harry answered. "So, what do you think of my offer?" Harry asked, wanting to know if she still wanted her revenge or not, but considering she accepted the dinner invitation on her own accord, he was certain that she was going to accept his offer, but he still needed to hear it from her own mouth.
Amelia glanced toward her niece, who gave her a determined nod. Though concern was clear in Susan's eyes. "Yes, I have decided to accept your offer. Now that I am no longer the Head of DMLE, your offer is the only choice I have" Amelia admitted grimly. It was clear that she wasn't happy to accept the offer, but it was something she was willing to do.
"Fantastic!" Harry exclaimed cheerfully as he clapped his hands in joy before he finally turned toward Saul Croaker. "Then, Mr Croaker, how may I help you?" Harry asked as he once again leaned back on the couch.
"I want to make a deal with you on behalf of the Department of Mysteries" Saul spoke, surprising the Greengrasses and Susan. None of them were expecting someone from the Department of Mysteries to not only reveal their identity but also make a deal with someone who was also wanted by the Ministry.
"I am listening" Harry said with a nod of his head as he gestured Saul to continue.
"...We want the Department to keep functioning as it is and get an assurance that the Department would remain safe from you" Saul revealed what he wanted from Harry after a small pause.
Harry raised his brows in amusement. "And what would I get in return?" Harry asked, after all, Saul was asking for a deal, so obviously he was offering something in return.
"You will be getting our services and we will also allow you free access to our Departments" Saul answered flatly without giving away anything, and after listening to the offer, Harry started to ponder while rubbing his chin with a thoughtful frown on his face.
"How can I be sure that you guys are not going to betray me?" Harry asked as he leaned forward.
"We can always draw a Magical Contract for that" Saul suggested easily. He already knew that Harry might feel squeamish about trusting them, so he had already considered a Magical Contract.
"Good, we can always decide the details on some other day" Harry accepted the suggestion with a nod of his head before he decided to speak again. "But what if someone among you is a Death Eater?" Harry asked curiously.
"We can always add a clause for that. If someone is a fool enough to join Voldemort then death is what they deserve…" Saul accepted with a shrug. Harry knew that Rockwood was a huge blow to their reputation when he was caught and if it wasn't for the Ministry, then the Unspeakables would have made Rockwood disappear a long time ago.
"I am glad to hear that!" Harry exclaimed with a grin. "Now, there is something I do want from you as soon as possible" Harry said in a cryptic fashion.
"If it is the Prophecy you are talking about then I can take you right now if you want" Saul offered and Harry simply smiled at the man.
"That won't be necessary, Mr Croaker… The Prophecy is going nowhere, we will visit tomorrow" Harry answered before he turned toward Amelia. "Now, there is something I need your help with. It is not necessary for you to agree, but I will be glad if you did" Harry said softly and Amelia tensed at his words.
'If you stare at the abyss, the abyss will stare back at you…' Amelia mused inside her mind as she forced herself to relax. Even before she was ready to accept the offer, she knew that the offer wasn't free… Harry would want something from her. "What can I do for you?" Amelia asked.
"I want you to become the Minister" Harry revealed, stunning everyone to silence.
"W-What? I can't be…" Amelia was the first one to regain her bearings and the first thing she tried was to deny the task, but before she could finish speaking, Harry cut her off.
"Yes, you might have been dismissed by the previous Minister from your job, but the public doesn't know that. He wanted you to take the fall for the whole mess, but he passed away before he could complete his plan… Now, you are in a very good position. The public knows you, they love you, they respect you" Harry said passionately.
"I agree, if you throw your name in the lot, then you will win" Saul agreed with a nod of his head. To be honest, he was impressed with the plan.
"But as I said before, I am not going to force you to become the Minister. So, no pressure" Harry added with a smile.
Amelia seemed to ponder her options before she glanced toward her niece, who was looking at her expectantly. If she became the Minister, then she would be able to lead Britain through War better than anyone else could, but therein lay the problem… The question was, how many of those decisions were going to be hers?
Amelia turned back toward Harry and the look on her face hardened… "You want me to be a puppet Minister?" Amelia asked flatly, trying to hide the coldness she was feeling.
"If I wanted a puppet then I would have simply Imperiused the new Minister. Running a country sounds extremely troublesome, and that is exactly why I am not forcing you to become the Minister. Though I know that you are probably the best Minister Wizarding Britain could ask for in this situation" Harry explained with a snort.
Amelia didn't know what to say… Her inner Auror was screaming at her in protest, but she knew that she was no longer an Auror. She did her job honestly for so many years, but what did she get in return? An early dismissal from her job without any benefits.
"Can I think about it?" Amelia asked in an unsure tone. If Harry was telling the truth, then there was no reason to deny the task, but at the same time, she was also hesitant to accept the task as it was going to paint a target on Susan's back and with the junior Death Eaters at Hogwarts, she wasn't sure if she wanted to risk it.
"Of course, but the Wizengamot is going to convene for a meeting on the day after tomorrow and I am certain that they are going to elect a new Minister or at least nominate the candidates on that day" Harry said with a smile.
"What about my niece? She will be in danger at school" Amelia asked with a frown.
"The school needs a Transfiguration and Potions Professor, I will send one of my people to keep an eye on her and if that is not up to your liking, then I can always replace a student for one of my people to take their place" Harry suggested, and once again Amelia was left completely speechless.
"You are not planning to kill anyone, are you?" Susan asked nervously. She didn't want any of the students to die so that Harry could replace them. That would be horrible.
"Of course, not. I would ask them nicely, but I have a better idea…" Harry denied the accusation and trailed off before he slowly turned toward Daphne Greengrass. "Ms Greengrass, I have a task for you" Harry said and Daphne didn't even need to ask what he wanted her to do.
"It will be hard, I only share a couple of classes with her and I can't spend the whole day with her" Daphne pointed out cautiously, after all, she didn't want to seem like making excuses.
"I understand, but you don't need to spend the day with her… You simply need to root out any naughty guys and deal with them in an appropriate fashion" Harry declared nonchalantly and Daphne simply stared at him for a few seconds before nodding her head.
"I can do that" Daphne agreed. There were junior Death Eaters in all the houses, but most of them were in Slytherin and there was only one junior Death Eater in Hufflepuff, so it wouldn't be hard for her to check if any of them were up to no good… If she couldn't even protect someone from school kids then all of her hard work was nothing but waste…
Though what Harry didn't tell her was the fact that he would be keeping a close eye on Susan on his own…
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****THE-MERRY-YULE (IV)****
"So, what exactly are you expecting from me?" Amelia asked after Harry assured her that Susan was going to be protected inside Hogwarts. Though she wasn't sure if she could trust a fourth year Slytherin to protect her niece or not, but considering Harry was also a fourteen year old, she wasn't sure what to think.
"I am expecting you to help rebuild the country" Harry answered with a straight face. "Let's not kid ourselves, we all know that almost the whole Dark Faction is in bed with Voldemort and that is not where it ends, he even has some sympathizers among the Grey Faction, tell me if I am wrong?" Harry turned and asked Cyrus.
The man gave a reluctant nod… Cyrus was the de facto Leader of the Grey Faction and even though he would like to believe that he ran a tight ship, he knew the truth. There were a few who believed in You-Know-Who's cause even though they were a part of the Grey Faction. "There are some…" Cyrus admitted reluctantly.
"Then there is the matter of Death Eaters in the Ministry itself… All Departments of the Ministry, except for the DOM are filled with Death Eaters. Voldemort only needs to give the order and the Ministry would fall" Harry snapped his fingers in the air, to add some dramatic effect.
"Voldemort might be an evil fucking bastard, but at the end of the day, he is simply one man. Yes, he is strong considering the standards, but still, he is only one man. He might be leading the Death Eaters, but he sure didn't create them… He might have united them and created the group, but the people who support him were already there" Harry slowly explained.
"If it wasn't Voldemort, then it would have been someone else… They only needed a strong leader who was strong enough to oppose Dumbledore and the Ministry. Even if we kill Voldemort, the problem is not going to disappear… The Death Eaters are simply going to lie low and wait for the next Voldemort to appear" Harry explained maliciously.
"What exactly are you suggesting?" Cyrus asked in a fearful tone after taking a gulp. He could already see where Harry was going, and from the horrified looks on everyone's faces, they could also say what Harry was trying to say.
"What I am trying to say is that I am going to kill all of them" Harry revealed with a nod of his face. The look on his face was completely calm and serene like he just didn't admit that he was planning to kill hundreds of people. He didn't even seem to be bothered in the slightest at his own admission.
Chills started to chase each other up and down Cyrus' spine as he reeled back in shock at his admission… If Harry really carried out his plan then not only the Ministry, but Wizarding Britain as a whole would collapse…
"Can you hear yourself?!!" Amelia snapped as she slammed her fist on the table. Cyrus slowly turned around to stare at the outraged woman… He could understand why she was outraged, but he wasn't sure if it was a good idea to scream at the boy in front of them. Then he glanced toward Saul…
The man was looking really uncomfortable, but Cyrus believed that the man was more concerned about Amelia, rather than the fate of the followers of the Dark Lord… Then he finally turned toward the rest of his family. His wife was completely aghast and he couldn't blame her. So, he slowly grabbed her hand to support her.
He finally understood why Daphne decided to follow the boy… No, that was wrong. Harry Potter was no mere boy. He was a force of nature… He had seen the memories. He wasn't sure if even the whole might of ICW would be able to face him. Albus Dumbledore, the Dark Lord and Gellert Grindelwald were Magical Titans and Grindelwald would have succeeded if it wasn't for Dumbledore, but Dumbledore was no longer young, so he wasn't sure if Dumbledore could stop him again.
Then there was Harry or Hadrian Potter, whose Magical Might trumped the power of all of the current Magical Titans combined… He glanced toward his eldest daughter and she looked as calm as always even though Astoria was shaking like a leaf… He hated himself for putting his daughters through this, but he was completely helpless.
When he was forced to sign a Marriage Contract to keep his family safe, he knew that money couldn't buy everything… Real and tangible power trumped everything else. 'I didn't even notice when Daphne grew up so much…' Cyrus thought wistfully as he started to wonder if he could have done something different.
"Of course, I can hear myself. I will let you know that my ears are in perfect condition" Harry declared mirthfully before his expressions shifted and his expressions turned cold. "It is clear that you don't agree with me, but are you going to oppose me? Considering you know someone strong enough to stop me" Harry asked coldly and when Amelia didn't say anything, Harry simply cracked a smile.
"Let me tell you a story…" Harry trailed off as he leaned back on the couch, completely unbothered by the hateful glare Amelia was giving him. "There used to be a peaceful kingdom. The King was loved by everyone, but in a few years, the kingdom was invaded and the invaders successfully took over. At first, the citizens weren't happy, but after a couple of decades, nobody even remembered the previous King and his bloodline".
"Then the new regime made themselves look like saviors and turned the previous King and his family into tyrants… Apparently, the invaders saved the citizens from a tyrant and everyone believed the story… Do you know why?" Harry asked and it was Saul who answered.
"History is written by victors and victors are always good and righteous" Saul answered grimly and Harry beamed at the man.
"Those who are at the Top always determine what's right! The Top is a neutral ground! You might say Justice will prevail. Of course, it will! After all, the one at the Top is Justice!" Harry finished passionately and clutched his hands. His eyes started to glow and his hair started to float. They could see the raw Magic radiating from his body.
Moments later, he finally reined in his Magic and smiled… "I am not at the Top, not yet, but in the future, I will be…" Harry growled in a determined tone and Cyrus couldn't help but frown at his words… He had seen what Harry was capable of and he was certain that it was probably only a glimpse of his power, so he couldn't understand why Harry didn't consider himself to be at the Top.
"I have no intention of taking over Wizarding Britain or any other place. That is why I want you to be the Minister… I want to leave this place in good hands" Harry said softly as he stared at Amelia. The woman didn't know what to say anymore after Harry's passionate declaration… Her whole being was completely against his plan, but what other choice did she have?
She didn't know anyone who was strong enough to face Harry and stop him…
"Master Hadrian, the food is ready" Before they could start talking about anything else, Norton appeared with a soft pop.
"Thank you, Norton" Harry thanked Norton as he stood up before smoothening his robes. Then he turned toward all of his guests. "Please, follow me" Harry urged and Norton disappeared with a soft pop to inform the other house elves that Harry was arriving with his guests.
"So, how is Ilvermorny?" Saul asked, making Harry raise his brows at the man. "Before anything else, I am a scholar and we don't get to meet many Ilvermorny students" Saul explained his reasons after he noticed the look he was getting from Harry.
"Well, you have probably heard, Isolt Sayre wanted to attend Hogwarts, but her aunt Gormlaith Gaunt, a Pureblood supremacist didn't allow her to, so she created Ilvermorny in the image of Hogwarts. In fact, it is really similar to Hogwarts. There are 7 floors, just like in Hogwarts, and there are four houses, just like in Hogwarts" Harry explained, but Saul wasn't the only one who was paying rapt attention to the story.
Daphne, Astoria, and Susan were also listening to his story very carefully… The three of them grew up extremely sheltered, so they never went out of Britain and learning about another Wizarding school was fascinating for them…
"Really? What about the Salem Witch Academy?" Saul asked curiously.
"There is not much I can tell as it is a Witch-exclusive school and even though MACUSA is backing the place, it is not recognized by the ICW. The Salem Witch Academy was created as a tribute to the women who were burned at the stake during the Salem Witch Trials" Harry explained with a thoughtful look on his face. To be honest, he never tried to learn about the place since he never considered it important.
"Women? Not Witches?" Daphne blurted out, surprising even herself. She wasn't planning to speak, but she ended up doing it before she could realize what she was even doing.
"Yes, women. Not just Witches… They grabbed any women they suspected of performing Witchcraft before sticking them to a stake. Some were genuine Witches, but most were Muggles… If there is anything Wixen are good at, then it is hiding. After all, we have centuries of experience in hiding" Harry explained with a shrug.
"Did MACUSA get the people responsible for the Witch Burnings?" Daphne asked again. She decided in for a knut then in for a Galleon.
"MACUSA came to be after the Witch trials were put to a stop in the first place. They wanted to avoid another repeat of such an incident, so they created MACUSA and united the American Wizarding Community, but from what I know, some people were killed and the rest disappeared into thin air… Just like the people from Church" Harry finished with a shrug.
"Oh, we are here… Let me introduce you to everyone" Harry said as the group finally arrived in the dining halls…
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****THE-MERRY-YULE (V)
Tonks was nervously eating her dinner as the tension was too much for her to deal with. Amelia had glared at her when Harry arrived with them in the dining hall and the woman only stopped glaring at her when Tonks somehow managed to convince her old boss that she never spied on them for Harry.
"This is too much, no one is going to start a fight, so can you guys finally calm down?!" Sirius snapped as he glared at everyone. "It's Christmas for Merlin's sake! So, can we stop acting like someone has died?" Sirius asked with a frown.
Harry could understand why everyone seemed to be uncomfortable, after all, it wasn't every day someone would get to share a table with Gellert Grindelwald. Though Gellert seemed to be completely at ease… After all, there was only one person at the table who posed a threat to him.
But, at the same time, Harry knew that Sirius was right, so he decided to change the topic and there was something bugging him since he laid his eyes on Neville Longbottom. Augusta Longbottom was his ally, so obviously Harry had invited her and her Grandson to the dinner.
"So, Neville, how is Hogwarts? You are in Gryffindor, right?" Harry asked and everyone turned toward the boy. Harry felt bad for putting the boy in the spot, but as soon as he finished speaking, much of the tension disappeared. Except for him, Jacklyn, Gellert, and Violetta, everyone else was from Hogwarts, and Harry's question started to bring back their own memories.
The boy froze and almost passed out when he realized that he had become the center of attention. He was already quite nervous due to the proximity to a former Dark Lord and then the presence of other high-class individuals… He was afraid that a fight might break out any moment and now that he had become the center of attention, he was barely holding himself back from passing out.
He slowly turned his head to glance at his grandmother from the corner of his eyes and from the looks she was giving him, he knew that he needed to start speaking very soon or he was going to get an earful from her.
"Uh…" Neville seemed to fumble. "Yes, Hogwarts is great and the Professors are really great, but I am not that good when it comes to Magic" Neville finished self-deprecatingly.
|Merlin, his confidence is shitty as fuck!| Harry exclaimed inside his head and when he noticed the look Augusta gave him, the boy whimpered and started to look down at his plate, like it was the most interesting thing in the room. Augusta was quite an overbearing woman, so he could see how the boy turned out like that.
"Ohhh… By the way, why are you carrying a mismatched Wand?" Harry asked, surprising both Neville and Augusta.
"Mismatched Wand?" Augusta asked, looking somewhat outraged.
"Yes, mismatched Wand. The Wand he is carrying doesn't match him at all" Harry clarified and Violetta, who seemed to be impatiently waiting for Harry to bring up this particular topic, beamed with a bright smile on her face. Her very soul was screaming at her to fix the travesty, but she didn't want to speak out of turn.
"What rubbish are you talking about? The Wand worked fine for Frank, so it should work for him too" Augusta stated firmly, but instead of answering Harry simply glanced toward Violetta, who realized that it was her cue to start speaking.
"Wands don't work like that. A Wand chooses a Wizard or a Witch… The Wand worked fine for his father doesn't mean that it would also work for his son. He is not his father, he also carries his mother's Magic… I have been making Wands for a long time and I have seen children whose Wands are nothing like their parents" Violetta explained.
Augusta gave the woman a skeptical look and she wasn't the only one… Everyone who didn't know her real identity looked at her skeptically. "You look pretty young, so I am not sure I believe your claims" Augusta said doubtfully.
Saul stared at Violetta for a few seconds, before his eyes grew wide in realization. "You are Violetta Beauvais, aren't you?" Saul asked with a frown, but it was pretty obvious that it wasn't really a question. There was a certain level of certainty in his voice.
Violetta looked at him completely surprised, but Harry couldn't fault Saul for connecting the dots… "I don't know what you are talking about. My name is Violet" Violetta immediately tried to play innocent, and Harry had to give it to her. If it wasn't for her initial reaction then she could have probably convinced people by playing innocent.
"Sure, whatever you say" Saul gave her a deep nod.
"Wait! Wait! Wait! Who is this Violetta Beauvais?" Sirius asked, looking somewhat alarmed and Harry could guess why. Knowing his Godfather, he must have stirred the ancient cauldron with his Wand.
"Violetta Beauvais is a renowned Wandmaker from America and I am not sure if she is as good as Ollivander…" Saul began to explain, but he paused when Violetta screamed in outrage.
"I am much better than him!" Violetta screamed on pure instinct when Saul insulated that Ollivander might be better than her before she could realize what she was doing. Calling Ollivander better than her right in front of her was a big no-no.
Saul smirked at her and Violetta finally realized her mistake… "...Though she is as old as Ollivander and a few months ago, her family held her funeral, but it looks like the rumors of her death had been exaggerated" Saul finished with a grin and Sirius turned toward Violetta before he turned slightly green.
|Maybe, this will teach him not to shag every beautiful woman he comes across| Lily huffed vindictively.
|I won't be sure about that| Harry wasn't sure if his Godfather was going to learn his lesson. Violetta was sexy and beautiful, there was no doubt about that, and it wouldn't be hard for her to convince Sirius to join her in the bed, once again. When it came to beautiful women, the head on top of his head stopped working and he would start thinking with his other head.
"You fucked her, didn't you?" Tonks asked accusingly and from the look on Sirius' face, it was obvious that she was right on her gold. She started to cackle madly.
"Nymphadora!!" Both Andi and Narcissa chastised Tonks, looking scandalized, but Tonks didn't stop laughing.
"What is wrong with that? I am beautiful and sexy" Violetta decided to defend her actions and to be honest, Harry didn't think there was anything wrong with that.
"Shut up, you old hag! I bet he found cobwebs down there" Jacklyn decided to include her two knuts. At her words, Tonks started to laugh even more loudly before she finally fell down from her chair, while Draco and Neville looked so red that it looked like his face was going to explode.
This time, even Augusta was looking scandalized. "I don't want to hear anything from you, the nineteen year old virgin" Violetta snapped back and Harry finally decided to step in before Spells could fly true.
"Everyone! Calm down! While it was quite funny, I believe we got distracted from the original topic" Harry stated with a meaningful look on his face and Jacklyn who was about to deliver her own scathing reply, stopped. Everyone decided to drop the matter even though Sirius was still looking somewhat sick. Tonks also started to calm down… She slowly stood up and fixed her chair before she plopped down on it.
It was obvious that she was having a hard time holding herself back from laughing at Sirius' misery, but she didn't want to offend Harry. That line of thought sobered her up in an instant… Here she was, jeering at Sirius, but she wanted Harry to stir her own cauldron and all of a sudden, the thought of incest was quite a turn-on for her.
"Back to the topic at hand, you could at least get him a new Wand which actually fits him and if that doesn't work, then he could always go back to using his father's Wand" Harry suggested and after thinking for a bit, the ancient woman nodded her head in agreement. It was obvious that she was a stubborn woman, and she didn't want to budge, but she realized that there was no harm in trying.
"Okay, Violetta can get him a fitting Wand after dinner" Harry stated with a smile and now that the previous tension was gone, small and mundane conversations started to break out all over. After dinner, as promised Violetta led everyone to her workshop and Neville looked even more nervous than before. He was afraid that even the new Wand was not going to work for him.
"12" Cherry and Unicorn Hair" Violetta said with a grin as she handed the Wand to Neville. It was the third Wand she handed him and she was almost certain that this was the Wand for him. Neville felt a warm feeling rush through his arm and engulf his entire body. He didn't know much about Wands, but the Wand in his hand felt right for him.
A smile bloomed on his face and decided to cast the most basic Spell with it. With his father's Wand, even the most basic Spell wasn't easy for him. "Lumos!" Neville exclaimed as he flicked the Wand and a white light engulfed the room. He kept grinning like a loon ignoring the fact that he almost blinded everyone except for Harry with the most basic Spell…
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