kbinnz - Harry's New Home

The pose of the wizards deliberately evoked the Prophet's front page photo several months ago of Draco, Ron, and Harry. While the men didn't have their arms slung around each other's necks as the boys had, there was no mistaking the congenial solidarity of the heads of these three ancient, historically antagonistic pureblood houses.

"Sirius!" Remus choked, staring at the banner. "You тАУ you - !"

Sirius was literally dancing with excitement at having been able to pull off such a stellar prank without his nearest and dearest finding out. "Isn't it brilliant, Moony?"

"I'm impressed with your ability to keep a secret," Snape commented coolly, though inwardly he was jubilant. This was a brilliant piece of politicking by Lucius.

"How could you!" Fudge's screaming at Lucius finally overrode the press corps' shouted questions to him. "I trusted you! You promised to get me elected again!"

"Minister!" Rita Skeeter had known that anything happening at Hogwarts would be good for her career. "Are you saying that Ministerial elections are controlled by a coterie of pureblood houses? Did Lucius Malfoy deliver your last victory? For what consideration did he do such a thing?"

Fudge went first purple then white. "I тАУ I never said that," he backpedaled hastily, clutching his bowler hat in terror.

"Then what did you mean by alleging that Mr Malfoy 'promised' to get you elected? Are you suggesting that our elections do not in fact represent the will of the British wizarding society?"

Lucius watched happily as Fudge gobbled and blustered. Severus had been right; this was just as much fun as Crucio'ing Muggles. After all, where was the sport in that? It's not like the pathetic creatures could put up much of a fight. But today, watching the Minister of Magic twist and writhe in agony that he had caused, Lucius remembered why he had thought that following the Dark Lord was a good idea. He managed to suppress a shudder of pleasure.

Rita Skeeter didn't even bother to suppress the exquisite sensations that were running through her body just then. This was the sort of story that toppled regimes! She led the press corps' advance on the beleaguered Fudge, who began to back up and up before finally breaking and making a run for the border of the anti-Apparition wards. The pack of reporters followed in hot pursuit, baying questions.

"My, my, what a reaction to our little poster," Malfoy remarked, strolling up to the three men and Harry.

Sirius snorted. "You're a sadistic prick, Malfoy, but I have to admit that was great fun to watch."

Malfoy dabbed delicately at his upper lip with a silk handkerchief. "Well, you know what they say about those who would rather watch than do, Black."

"No, what?" Harry asked innocently.

Snape had the pleasure of watching Malfoy utterly disconcerted for once. Knowing that Harry was likely to share with Draco anything he said severely limited Lucius' ability to answer the question.

"Never mind, Mr Potter," Snape interrupted sternly. "I would like you to alert Hagrid that the press conference appears to be over and the grounds should be returned to their usual state."

Harry looked disappointed, but he knew better than to argue with that tone. He jogged away, leaving Black and Malfoy to glare at each other.

"Nice, Malfoy. Couldn't wait to bring up your sexual deviancy in front of my godson?"

"And who was it who began the name calling, Black?" Lucius hissed back.

"Well, dear cousin," Sirius snarled, knowing Lucius detested any reminder of their relationship by marriage, "perhaps if you weren't such a perv тАУ"

"Enough! How did the two of you manage to get that banner made without hexing each other?" Remus demanded.

"Arthur stood between us and wouldn't let us talk to each other," Sirius grumbled.

Remus sighed. "What a smart man."

Malfoy looked over at Snape. "I trust today's events were satisfactory to you?"

Snape inclined his head. "Well played."

Malfoy smirked and sauntered away.

"This was your doing?" Sirus stared at him. "I just figured when Malfoy called me that he had finally realized what a wanker Fudge is, and after what Fudge tried to do to Harry, I was happy to help him bring down the idiot. But you mean you were behind all this?"

Remus smiled at Severus. "I think Severus has engineered a great many things on Harry's behalf that we don't know about, Padfoot. We just need to stand ready to help out however we can."

Sirius shrugged. "Yeah, okay. So, what next, oh great and sneaky one?"

Snape rolled his eyes. Idiot Gryffindors. Still, at least they appear moderately trainable. "Since you have asked," he replied, deciding that this was as good a time as any to launch the next phase of his plan, "I would like you to approach Amelia Bones and encourage her to run against Fudge in the upcoming election."

"Me?" Sirius was simultaneously surprised and flattered. "Why me?"

"She is more likely to trust the advice of an ex-Auror than a former Death Eater," Snape pointed out drily. "You are also the head of an ancient pureblood House and have just gone on record as wishing to see Fudge removed. You can offer her financial and political support, and so long as you bring the werewolf with you to the meeting, you should be able to remember your lines adequately."

"It was, technically, her investigation that cleared you," Remus pointed out, "so she'd likely believe that, whatever grudge you might hold against the government, you bear her personally no ill will."

"Okay," Sirius said agreeably. "But once she's in office, she's not likely to be a patsy like Fudge. She wasn't even a member of the Order, you know."

"I am counting on her independence from any forms of influence," Snape said firmly. "From all accounts Madame Bones owes allegiance to no one and is a fair-minded, if somewhat abrasive, witch. Furthermore, as the head of the MLE, she will be unlikely to underestimate the threat posed by You Know Who's return and will therefore help to support and protect Potter."

As he had known it would, this last argument won the day, and both Black and Lupin agreed to see Bones at her earliest convenience.

In the days that followed, several other influential families, including the Longbottoms and the Parkinsons, endorsed Bones and repudiated Fudge. While Malfoy wasn't stupid enough to offer Bones his support тАУ knowing that the MLE head still considered him a Death Eater тАУ the lack of any opposition from him also sent a message, particularly to those who looked to Lucius Malfoy for guidance during Voldemort's absence. The Dark Lord's other supporters might have been confused by Lucius' apparent approval of such a witch as Amelia Bones for Minister, but they were used to his Byzantine plots and had been well trained to obedience by their absent master.

The eventual election, which was called rather quickly following the Prophet's explosive headlines, was anti-climactic, and Amelia Bones was sworn in as Minister of Magic, with Kingsley Shacklebolt becoming head of the MLE. Dumbledore was both stunned and ecstatic, while Snape was privately toasted тАУ much to his external grumpiness and internal exultation тАУ by the Marauders.

##

By the end of the summer, Harry had acquired a healthy tan from spending a great deal of time outdoors, walking the grounds (but not the Forbidden Forest) with Hagrid or flying with Hooch, who had returned early from her holidays for the chance to coach Harry. She had visions of the boy going on to play professional Quidditch and was eager to be known as the one who had first encouraged him.

Harry also completed all of his summer assignments and, thanks to his tutoring, advanced dramatically in most subjects, particularly DADA, Potions, and Transfiguration. He helped Sprout in the greenhouses as well because he liked both the work and the kind Hufflepuff, but it was clear that he would still require Neville's assistance with Herbology homework.