44 Chapter 10: The Pursuit of Truth. Part 3

After a late dinner, the Granger parents finally opened the letter. John read the letter first. His eyes widened as he read through the contents.

Dear John and Claire,

First of all, I need to thank you for having me over during the summer. I really appreciate your kindness and hospitality you displayed every time I've visited. But the purpose of this letter is not just to thank you.

I know that you miss Hermione terribly when she is at Hogwarts. I know she misses you two a lot. I can understand that you might feel that you may be losing your daughter to the magical world without your knowledge.

My friends and I came up with a method to instantly travel back and forth between Hogwarts and your house. This way, she can visit you anytime she wants to, and you don't have to wait for months to see her.

A fair warning, the object we utilized for the travel is a fairly large cabinet. Dobby would help you place the cabinet in your house.

Best,

Harry.

P.S. Luna's father did most of the work on the cabinet, you should really thank them.

P.P.S We plan to have a surprise birthday party for her at your house.

"What is it, John?" Claire asked, puzzled by her husband's change.

He wordlessly handed the letter to Claire, who smiled joyfully at the end of the letter.

"This is amazing," Claire cried as she fiercely hugged her husband. He placed a hand on the small of her back.

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Ted was a man on a mission. He briskly walked towards the Atrium. He did not grace the guard with as much as a look today as he registered Ted's wand. If he walked with purpose the last time he visited the second floor of the Ministry of Magic, this time he walked intending to wreak absolute hell.

He did not even bother speaking to the secretary as he forcefully opened the door and slammed it shut.

Madame Bones looked livid at the forceful entry. She was occupied with her scheduled meeting with Rufus Scrimgeour, the current Head Auror.

"You barged into my office by force, for all intents and purposes I should have you arrested where you stand," she growled venomously.

"Spare me your petty threats Bones. Do tell me why and how the fuck did the train to Hogwarts didn't have a single auror last night?" Ted yelled out.

"Again Tonks, I don't answer to you nor your firm. I don't have to justify anything," she bit out equally ferociously.

"You can enjoy the public clusterfuck of massive proportions that your petty little ministry will face once I am done. Let me tell you, ministry bureaucrats, what happened yesterday. The dementors attacked the train yesterday," Ted spat venomously.

That got their attention. Scrimgeour looked like he browned his pants and Amelia's monocle fell off her face.

"The train that had your last remaining family in Amelia! That train was filled with helpless children who were attacked by dementors, who also coincidentally were on their way to Hogwarts," Ted furiously stated.

Amelia and Rufus were silent. Madame Bones especially looked almost broken. Ever since her brother and his wife were killed by the Death Eaters, she took care of her niece. To hear that Susan nearly faced a fate worse than death due to the ministry's incompetence made her blood turn cold.

"It turns out, you don't even know about what happened on the train. How could you let this situation slip so badly?" Ted asked.

"No, we were not made aware of the situation, if it were even reported to the ministry," Amelia responded, still dazed from Ted's words earlier.

Amelia suddenly got up. "Let's take a little walk down to the Minister's office."

She walked briskly out of the office and Ted easily followed her pace. Scrimgeour struggled to keep up with the Head of the DMLE and the law-wizard. 'It is amusing how I'm more physically fit than an auror. But then again, there are some really unfit policemen in the muggle world.'

"Level one, Minister for Magic and Support Staff," the soothing voice announced as the door to the lift opened. Amelia and Ted almost charged into the Minister's office, the Head Auror was comedically lagging behind the formidable duo.

The minister's secretary quickly got up and blocked the path to the office.

"The Minister is in an important meeting with Mr. Malfoy and Undersecretary Umbridge. Madame Bones, please come back another time," the ministry employee snootily declared to the group.

Amelia took a couple of steps and stood face to face with the middle-aged secretary. Amelia narrowed her eyes. "Unless you think addressing dementors attacking the train to Hogwarts is not a significant reason for the Head of the DMLE to meet with the Minister, be my guest."

The secretary hesitated slightly, but she stood her ground. "Madame Bones, I apologize but I cannot let you through. I am under strict instructions to not allow any interruptions."

"Then we can have this talk at the bullpen back in the auror's office, Ms. Quill. After all, this can be considered as an obstruction of justice," Scrimgeour frowned heavily.

The secretary stepped back a stepped back in fright and Madame Bones walked past the secretary to the door. Madame Bones grabbed the doorknob and frowned; she then tapped the knob with her wand.

"The door is locked, and the privacy wards are activated. The Minister can only raise the privacy wards if and only if they are discussing a matter of national security and confidential legal information pertaining to sensitive legal matters. None of which should be discussed with a private witch or wizard," Bones mentioned, her frustration increased by every wasted second.

Amelia turned to the secretary. "Inform the Minister that I am here on a national security matter and if he doesn't open the door, I will set the entire Department of Magical Law Enforcement after his flea-bitten arse."

The woman fiercely shook her letter and took out a parchment and hurriedly scribbled down the message. Not even five minutes later, a livid Dolores Umbridge opened the door.

She sniffed disdainfully when she spotted Ted, who stood next to Amelia.

"The Minister is entertaining an important guest at this moment, Amelia. I'm sure your little issue can wait a day or two," Umbridge remarked in her usual fashion.

Amelia raised an eyebrow. "That would be quite enough of your drivel Dolores. You can tell the Minister that I will meet him immediately, or I will drag him from his bollocks in front of the Wizengamot and have him charged for the negligence of duty."

"Tut, tut, tut. Your lack of respect for the highest position of the Ministry of Magic is noticeably lacking," Umbridge smirked.

"My only allegiance is to the rule of law and justice for the entirety of Magical Britain," Amelia countered, completely stone-faced in front of the detestable toad.

Suddenly Amelia grinned menacingly. "I wonder how the public would react to the latest attack on the train to Hogwarts. I'd imagine that the Minister wouldn't want to waste his precious time dousing media fires."

Amelia shoved past the undersecretary and Ted did not miss the opportunity to sneak past the pink toad and shoot her a smirk. Umbridge's face twisted with disgust and when Rufus entered the room, she forcefully closed the door.

The Office of the Minister was a lavishly decorated space. The office was covered with the portraits of various ministers of the past, except for the single muggle-born minister. The furnishing in the room was the finest available in Magical Britain. All in all, it perfectly depicts the character of its current occupant, a pompous idiot who only cares about appearances.

Fudge and Malfoy sat across each other in lavish armchairs with an equally luxurious tea table between the chairs. Ted noted that Malfoy curled his lip in distaste when he stepped into the room. Ted just shot him a smug smirk.

Fudge stood up, and his indignation was as clear as day. "Amelia, what nonsense is this! I was attending to some very important business with Mr. Malfoy here and you interrupt us spouting some nonsense about national security."

Amelia rolled her eyes. She had no time to play with self-important, pompous, bigoted, and moronic politicians. "Dear Minister Fudge, must I remind you that enacting privacy wards suggests a discussion of vital national information and secrets, something that Mr. Malfoy is not privy to."

"Ridiculous, such an upstanding individual who has committed a vast portion of his fortune and efforts must be treated with the utmost respect," Fudge retorted.

"Well then, you can send your little guest running along now. Teatime is over and we have a business to discuss," Amelia snorted.

"Madame Bones, your words are as sharp as ever. Cornelius has often trusted my council on many a matter with regards to our wonderful nation. Surely you can consider myself to be an advisor to the minister," Malfoy silkily mentioned while taking a light sip from his teacup.

"All that hogwash means nothing, and you do not hold any official authority within the ministry, Mr. Malfoy. By your leave then?" Amelia countered simply.

Malfoy lifted a finely manicured eyebrow and indicated towards Tonks. "Then why is he here? He doesn't hold any authority within the ministry."

"Considering how I am this close to sue the ministry for negligence, manslaughter, and a whole bevy of other horrible deeds, I believe that the ministry has to negotiate with me," Ted replied brightly.

Ted walked and sat down on a chair next to Malfoy. He then crossed his legs and exclaimed, "Well hello, fancy meeting you here my dear brother-in-law. How is Narcissa doing?"

Malfoy snarled, "Know your place, Tonks. You are of no relation to me."

"Considering that we have married two sisters, I beg to differ on that," Tonks smiled brilliantly.

Malfoy fell silent. He knew Tonks was provoking him to draw some sort of irrational response. The man was well-versed in the art of manipulation, thus engaging him any further would only be to his detriment.

Lucius Malfoy simply got up and walked out of the office. He knew that Fudge would inform him of today's proceedings.

"Shame, we barely get to catch up on our families. I am sure Andy would love to know about her sister's wellbeing," Ted sighed.

The corners of Amelia's mouth twitched with mirth. Fudge looked irritated and Umbridge shot murderous glances at Ted, who ignored the existence of the vile woman.

Amelia cleared her throat. "Let me get right to the issue at hand. Dementors attacked the train yesterday and we were exceptionally lucky that there were no casualties."

Fudge waved his hand in dismissal. He retorted, "That's a one-off event Amelia, there is no need to fear."

"Minister, with all due respect, that is preposterous. There was no one from the Auror Force dispatched to the train to ensure all the students arrive safely. How can you just wash your hands from the issue?" Ted pressed. He tried to contain his emotions as he spoke, despite the overwhelming desire to pummel the fool to a pulp.

"Mr. Tonks, Albus assured me that there was a member of the staff on board. Additionally, students won't have to fear anything once they are inside the castle. The dementors cannot enter the castle," Fudge presented in a patronizing tone.

"That is not good enough. What about the castle grounds? What about Hogsmeade? What about the chance that dementors go rogue? There are too many unknown variables if the dementors are unchecked," Ted instantly rebutted.

"I can assure you Mr. Tonks that the Ministry of Magic has the situation well under control," Fudge mentioned.

"That does not mean much minister. Last year we saw an attack on several students at Hogwarts. Somehow you managed to arrest and imprison the wrong person without due process. At this point it is pretty clear that your assurances mean less than a leprechaun's gold," Ted argued.