The atmosphere around the table changed perceptibly. Chris looked at Harry sharply and Sirius stood up. Harry t Chris' eyes and gave an almost invisible nod, then stood up as well. Everybody looked from Scrimgeour to Harry. Nobody seed to find Scrimgeour's pretence that he did not know Harry's na convincing.
"Yeah, all right," said Harry into the silence.
Sirius opened his mouth angrily but Harry repeated, "It's fine."
"Wonderful!" said Scrimgeour.
"Harry —" Sirius began disapprovingly and Aurelia tugged on his hand.
"He is a big boy, Sirius," she whispered.
Though Sirius still looked angry, Harry didn't wait for him. He went out with Scrimgeour.
"We'll just take a turn around the garden, and Percy and I'll be off. Carry on, everyone!" Scrimgeour said brightly before following Harry out.
"This is ridiculous!" Sirius turned to Aurelia. "Why did you stop ? Harry shouldn't be talking with that Minister! He is a —"
"He is the Minister," said Percy coldly. "You can't say things about him in front of the head assistant of the Minister."
"Then what the hell the head assistant of the Minister is doing in our house?" Ginny burst out.
"Ginny!" Mrs Weasley looked at her daughter shocked.
"Gin!" Chris tried to stop her.
"Don't Chris," snapped Ginny. "We all want to know why he is here — no, let rephrase it, we all know why he is here, aren't we?"
Ginny and Percy glared at each other.
Chris glanced out of the window and she had an idea.
"You are still a kid, Ginny," grumbled Percy. "I don't expect you to understand —"
"We are old enough but we still don't understand Percy," said Fred cutting him off. "We just think that you are a Ministry loving idiot."
"Luna, please stay with Ginny," Chris whispered to Luna and then turned to her father. "I will be back in a bit."
Without waiting Chris slipped out of the kitchen as Percy shouted, "How dare you?"
After reaching the second floor Chris changed into her Animagus form and while Fred, George, Ginny and Ron shouted at Percy, she went outside unnoticed.
She slid near the place where Harry and Scrimgeour were standing but made sure that her snake form was hidden in shadows. After reaching close enough she heard Scrimgeour talking, "— And what has Dumbledore told you, Harry?"
"Sorry, but that's between us," said Harry without looking at him. Chris was impressed with Harry, who kept his voice as pleasant as Scrimgeour, and Scrimgeour's tone, too, beca more light and friendly as he said, "Oh, of course, if it's a question of confidences, I wouldn't want you to divulge . . . no, no . . . and in any case, does it really matter whether you are 'the Chosen One' or not?"
Harry took a few seconds before responding. "I don't really know what you an, Minister."
"Well, of course, to you it will matter enormously," said Scrimgeour with a laugh. "But to the Wizarding community at large . . . it's all perception, isn't it? It's what people believe that's important."
Harry said nothing but Chris understood where they were heading.
"People believe you are 'the Chosen One,' you see," said Scrimgeour. "They think you quite the hero — which, of course, you are, Harry, chosen or not! How many tis have you faced He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Nad now? Well, anyway," he pressed on, without waiting for a reply, "the point is, you are a symbol of hope for many, Harry. The idea that there is sobody out there who might be able, who might even be destined, to destroy He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Nad — well, naturally, it gives people a lift. And I can't help but feel that, once you realize this, you might consider it, well, almost a duty, to stand alongside the Ministry, and give everyone a boost."
Chris thought if she was in her human form right now, she would have rolled her eyes on the Minister's face. However, Harry decided to play dumb.
"I don't exactly understand what you want," said Harry slowly. "'Stand alongside the Ministry' . . . What does that an?"
"Oh, well, nothing at all onerous, I assure you," said Scrimgeour. "If you were to be seen popping in and out of the Ministry from ti to ti, for instance, that would give the right impression. And of course, while you were there, you would have ample opportunity to speak to Gawain Robards, my successor as Head of the Auror office. And I've heard that you cherish an ambition to beco an Auror. Well, that could be arranged very easily. . . ."
Is he seriously trying to bribe Harry?
"So basically," Harry said. The anger unmistakable in his voice, "you'd like to give the impression that I'm working for the Ministry?"
"It would give everyone a lift to think you were more involved, Harry," said Scrimgeour, sounding relieved that Harry had cottoned on so quickly. "'The Chosen One,' you know . . . It's all about giving people hope, the feeling that exciting things are happening. . . ."
"But if I keep running in and out of the Ministry," said Harry, "won't that seem as though I approve of what the Ministry's up to?"
"Well," said Scrimgeour, frowning slightly, "well, yes, that's partly why we'd like —"
"No, I don't think that'll work," said Harry pleasantly. "You see, I don't like so of the things the Ministry's doing. I don't want to be a part of it."
They looked at each other, long and hard. Finally, Scrimgeour said, with no pretence at warmth, "I see. You prefer — like your hero, Dumbledore — to disassociate yourself from the Ministry?"
"I don't want to be used," said Harry shortly.
"So would say it's your duty to be used by the Ministry!"
"Yeah, and others might say it's your duty to check that people really are Death Eaters before you chuck them in prison," said Harry, his temper rising now. "You're doing what Barty Crouch did. You never get it right, you people, do you? Either we've got Fudge, pretending everything's lovely while people get murdered right under his nose, or we've got you, chucking the wrong people into jail and trying to pretend you've got 'the Chosen One' working for you!"
"So you're not 'the Chosen One'?" said Scrimgeour.
"I thought you said it didn't matter either way?" said Harry, with a bitter laugh. "Not to you anyway."
"I shouldn't have said that," said Scrimgeour quickly. "It was tactless —"
"No, it was honest," said Harry. "One of the only honest things you've said to . You don't care whether I live or die, but you do care that I help you convince everyone you're winning the war against Voldemort. I don't rember you rushing to my defence when I was trying to tell everyone Voldemort was back. The Ministry wasn't so keen to be pals last year."
"What is Dumbledore up to?" said Scrimgeour brusquely. "Where does he go when he is absent from Hogwarts?"
"No idea," said Harry.
"And you wouldn't tell if you knew," said Scrimgeour, "would you?"
"No, I wouldn't," said Harry.
"Well, then, I shall have to see whether I can't find out by other ans."
"You can try," said Harry indifferently. "But you seem cleverer than Fudge, so I'd have thought you'd have learned from his mistakes. He tried interfering at Hogwarts. You might have noticed he's not Minister anymore, but Dumbledore's still headmaster. I'd leave Dumbledore alone, if I were you."
There was a long pause.
"Well, it is clear to that he has done a very good job on you," said Scrimgeour, his eyes cold and hard behind his wire-rimd glasses. "Dumbledore's man through and through, aren't you, Potter?"
"Yeah, I am," said Harry. "Glad we straightened that out."
Harry walked inside the house while Minister glared at him.
Chris never felt so proud of Harry. Feeling amazed she changed back to her human form and stepped out of the shadows.
"Dumbledore says, if you want people to respect and trust you, you need to earn that," she said and Scrimgeour spun around holding his wand.
"I didn't think Dumbledore had people to eavesdrop on the Ministry matter, Miss," Scrimgeour said coldly as he noticed Chris.
"Dumbledore didn't ask anything," Chris smiled. "I ca here on my own but I wouldn't call it eavesdropping — for it's an observation." Scrimgeour said nothing so Chris continued, "Honestly, Minister I really respect you. The forr head of the Auror departnt, I can understand why people choose you. You are a man of action but was that necessary to drag a mother's feelings and this false pretence to talk to Harry?"
"Miss Christina Norton," Scrimgeour narrowed his eyes as he recognized Chris. "I should have guessed."
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To be continued. . .
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