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The Ministry of Magic



The night before, while Bill and Hagrid were downstairs drinking their mead, Ermalene and Andy sat on the bed in the spare bedroom, a wizard chess set between them. Both took their wizard chess quite seriously, and the games were always quite time consuming when they played. Ermalene was calculating her move, staring down at the board, tapping her fingertips against her jaw as she considered her options. Andy was laying across the mattress, staring out the window at the water that stretched away from the cottage, glowing under the light of the moon.

The door creaked open and Bill stepped in. His eyes were a little bleary from the mead. “Just saying goodnight,” he informed them. “I’ll be going to London tomorrow to get some of the things Hagrid says I’ll need for the thestral… If you wanted, we could pop into the ministry and see my friend there about your records, Ermalene.”

She looked up eagerly, “Yes!”

Andy used his elbows to prop himself up and grinned at his grandfather.

Bill smiled, “Okay then. Be ready to leave after breakfast, then. Goodnight.”

When the door had closed again, Ermalene looked at Andy. “I’m afraid to be too excited,” she confessed, “After what happened last time.”

“Don’t worry, nobody’s goin’ to be able to access ministry records to set confundus spells like they could’ve that crummy old orphanage,” Andy said.

Ermalene nodded.

“Besides… Grampa’s friend… you’re going to be pretty excited to meet him.” Andy smirked.

Ermalene, who’d been about to reach for her chess piece, looked up. “Who is it?”

“Harry Potter.”


-*-*-*-*-*-



After Hagrid left in the morning, Bill, Andy and Ermalene said goodbye to Fleur and apparated to London. “Normally,” Bill said when they’d reoriented themselves to the busy streets, “We would’ve come by thestral. Fleur would prefer not to apparate if she can help it.” He led them through the Leaky Cauldron and down the cobblestoned streets of Diagon Alley to Eeylop’s.

Inside, the low ceilings were full of owls, asleep, their talons clutching the wooden beams as they ruffled their feathers or hooted quietly now and then as they dreamed. Ermalene stared up at all of them, clustered about in little groups. A couple cats lay on thick pillows in the sunlight streaming through the windows and along one wall was a whole bunch of aquariums and swimming ponds with singing frogs hopping among lilly pads. There were rats in cages and pygmy puffs in a big clear bowl, looking like some sort of strange colorful potion. As Bill spoke to the shop clerk about the thestral colt and the things Hagrid had recommended he get, Ermalene peered warily through glass at an array of snakes along one wall.

Andy stared at them, too, looking a bit more uncomfortable than even she did. “How anybody can like a snake -- or spiders, for that matter -- is beyond me,” he said.

“I think snakes get a bad rap,” Ermalene replied with a shrug. “They’re rather majestic in a way.”

“Majestic?” Andy looked at her like she had seventeen heads.

Ermalene answered, “Sure. I mean, they’re quite dangerous, aren’t they? Powerful. But they’re also one of the most seemingly harmless --”

“Harmless?” Andy spluttered, interrupting her.

“Sure,” she said, “I mean, look at it. Doesn’t even have any legs, does it.”

“It doesn’t need legs, it’s got fangs.” Andy mimicked the fangs with his fingers on his mouth.

Ermalene laughed, “But I mean, if you didn’t know a snake was dangerous, if you’d never heard of one before and you came across it and you saw this rubbery looking thing that hasn’t even got any legs, you wouldn’t exactly feel the instinct to go running from it.”

“I would,” Andy replied, staring at the snake. “Look at it’s eyes. Creepy.” He shuddered. Ermalene laughed and as he turned away, she lingered, staring at the snake a moment longer before turning with him to look at the owls. “See, these are way less creepy,” Andy was saying as she caught up to him, “And they’re dead useful.”

“I keep forgetting to owl my mother,” Ermalene frowned. “She must be worried sick.”

“Funny they haven’t gone to talk to my dad,” Andy said, “Being that you’re missing and all. I’d told him they might but they haven’t yet.”

“You’ve talked to your dad?”

Andy nodded, “Yeah. Bill had him on the floo last night.”

“Ah, the floo.” Ermalene nodded. “We haven’t got a fireplace back home.”

“We haven’t really got one either,” Andy said, “Dad bewitched one of the closets to work with the network. Pretty useful, unless you floo in uninvited because you can’t get out unless dad’s got the door open. Keeps unexpected visitors away. Rather useful, actually. Plus it looks dead funny coming down the hall to see Dad leaning into the closet with his arse all up in the air like an ostrich.” Andy’s eyes twinkled with humor.

Ermalene laughed, picturing it.

“Alright you two,” Bill said, stepping back to them, “Ready for the Ministry?”

“What about all the gobs of things you just bought?” Andy looked at Bill’s empty hands.

“Being delivered by apparators later this afternoon,” Bill replied.

“Ohhh.” Andy nodded, then hooked his arm ‘round Ermalene’s and said, “Alright, we’re ready, I believe.”

One moment they were on the feather-strewn walk outside of Eeylop’s and the next -- snap -- in a busy London street that smelled of freshly cooked chips. Bill steadied Ermalene, who’d nearly toppled off the curb. “There we go,” he said, and he turned, leading the way to an old phone box a few feet away from where they’d come out. Ermalene, Andy, and Bill all crowded into the little box, which somehow fit them all, though any normal box certainly wouldn’t have. Ermalene smirked to herself thinking of the muggle TV show Doctor Who and how his phone box was also bigger on the inside. When she was young and her parents had watched the show on Sundays she’d never understood why the people were alarmed by the larger interior of the TARDIS. After all, their family pop-tent was a mansion inside.

Bill grabbed the telephone from the cradle, dialed a number, and a moment later the floor of the phone box shook and they lowered slowly underground, the city streets disappearing above their heads and finally closing off like they’d gone into an elevator. A few moments later, it opened into the wide hall of the Ministry of Magic.

Ermalene looked ‘round for the statue she’d always heard stories about - a witch, wizard, house-elf, and a goblin standing together, protecting a muggle. Andy looked up at the statue, too, then read the engraving on the plinth, “Eluceat omnibus lux…” He pulled a face, “They couldn’t even put it in English?”

“‘Let the light shine out from all’,” Ermalene said, translating, “It’s Latin, which is much more academic and official-like.” She stared up at it, “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

Andy said, “It’s big.”

“It represents all of the magical races becoming one together to protect the muggles,” Ermalene said, frustrated by his lack of appropriately measured awe. “It represents everything that wizardkind has fought for in the last century.”

“I get it,” Andy said, laughing, “It’s bloody brilliant. But it’s also bloody big!”

“Are you two coming along or what?” Bill’s voice echoed across the bustling hall and they looked up to realize he’d walked on past the statue ahead of them, and they scrambled to catch up to him. Bill led the way through the corridors of the Ministry until they reached a gold elevator. People nodded to him here and there, gave him a ‘howdoyoudo’ as they passed, or else glanced at Ermalene and Andy as though trying to figure out what they were doing with him. They piled into the gold elevator, and it carried them down another three floors, buzzing with paper birds that fluttered over their heads and swept in and out.

“Level three. Magical Law Enforcements - Offices of the Aurors - Head Auror’s Office,” announced a cool female voice overhead.

“Here we are,” Bill said, and he led the way out into the hallway.

Suddenly, as though being on the same level as him, Ermalene realized she was about to meet Harry Potter. She felt a lump rise in her throat as they walked down the hallway and Bill came to a stop in front of a door. Ermalene swept a hand through her hair and took a deep breath. Andy smirked at her out of the corner of his eyes. Bill knocked on the door.

“Comin’ - ouch! - Comin’.”

Ermalene had goosebumps.

The door of the office swung open and there stood a most disheveled-looking middle aged wizard with salt-and-pepper colored unruly hair that parted perfectly at the forehead to reveal a faded pink lightening bolt shaped scar. Behind him, there were little flying paper memos zooming about the office and a distinct smell of ashes.

“Bill!” Harry Potter practically shouted, “Oi mate! It’s been s’long!”