Chapter 33

"Good thinking," replied the Minister "I'm sure that the castle can provide you with private accommodation."

"What about contingency plans?" asked Madam Bones.

"What in the name of Merlin do you mean, Amelia?" asked Madam Umbridge.

"Contingency plans," repeated Madam Bones "You know, back up plans. We use them all the time within my department. Something to fall back on in case things go wrong."

Harry nodded and commented "Sounds smart, especially as we will be at Hogwarts, where all sorts of strange things happen."

Fudge had a thoughtful expression on his face as he asked "What kind of contingency plans might we need?"

"Well, there should always be something in place in case someone is compromised," replied Madam Bones "Suppose someone decided to stun Madam Umbridge here and replace her with another person who used Polyjuice potion to imitate her." Here Madam Umbridge visibly bristled, but Madam Bones went on unabated "What would happen then? I mean, there are not guarantees that we would find out right away, but when we eventually did so, what would need to happen."

The office was quiet for a moment before Harry offered "How about in the event of the High Inquisitor becoming compromised, all staff reviewed and approved by her will be suspended without pay pending the results of the ensuing investigation."

"Excellent," said Fudge "I can see that we certainly are going to benefit from having you on board, Mr Potter. Now then, for obvious reasons we are concerned that our upcoming actions may cause quite a stir. Usually I would not ask this of anyone, but do you think that you might do us the courtesy of providing an interview with the Daily Prophet? It could do a lot to assuage people's fears, especially as you yourself will have a key role in all of this. Both Dolores and I will be doing so as well."

Harry thought carefully for a few moments before replying.

"I suppose that it could not hurt to give them an interview. The world deserves to know the truth of what we are doing, after all. However, I will not be a Ministry mouthpiece, Minister. I will gladly tell them of anything that you are doing that I approve of, but I reserve the right to speak negatively about anything that I believe the Ministry to be doing wrong. I have to preserve my own reputation, after all."

"And is there anything that we are doing that you disapprove of?" asked Madam Umbridge with a dangerous edge to her voice.

"No, there isn't," lied Harry "And I hope that it remains that way. But as Madam Bones rightly pointed out, we have to have contingencies."

Fudge studied him for a few moments before giving a nod of his head and replying "Very well. All I can ask in return is that if we do run into such a problem down the line that we can discuss it in a proper and civilised manner before anyone talks to the Prophet."

"That's fine," replied Harry "Oh, and make sure that the reporter isn't Rita Skeeter. I simply cannot stand that woman."

Fudge looked surprised and said "Didn't you know, Mr Potter? Rita Skeeter no longer writes for the Daily Prophet. She disappeared for two weeks at the end of the last school year, turned up out of nowhere and handed her notice in. Said something about "learning her lesson"."

"Huh," was Harry's very eloquent outward response, but on the inside he said "Well, at least that proved that Hermione is still good for something."

The conversation went on for a while longer, discussing a few finer points as well as what Harry would be getting paid for his role. They all agreed that it would be best to not tell the world of Harry's role yet. It would be better left secret until he was back at school, as this would make things a bit more difficult for Dumbledore.

The interview was scheduled to take place on the 1st of September at eight o'clock in the morning in the Minister's office. From there Harry would go directly to the Hogwarts Express. Once at Hogwarts, both Madam Umbridge and Harry would address the entire school during the welcoming speech, and the Prophet interview would be in the Prophet the following morning.

On the highest floor of Gringotts Wizarding Bank, in a large office there sat a stately looking Goblin behind a large mahogany desk.

He was furious, beyond anything that he had ever felt in his life before. In his hand he clutched a letter from one of the banks most important customers, a letter that provided damning evidence against many, ether wizard or goblin. Or perhaps even both.

It read

"To the Goblin Director of Gringotts Wizarding Bank,

My name is Harry James Potter and I should like to express a few grievances that I have had in the way that my accounts are being dealt with.

Until very recently I was unaware that I should be receiving monthly statements regarding my trust vault, provided to me by my parents in order to oversee my schooling as Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

The problem is that I have not been receiving those statements, and this has left me in doubt.

I am hoping that this was merely an oversight by the employees of Gringotts, and something that they will hasten to correct. The only other possibility is that there is a sinister plot afoot.

If it is the former, then please make the appropriate chances as soon as possible and start sending the statements for my trust fund directly to me. I would also request that all possible statements regarding the past of my trust be sent to me as well. Should this be done, then I will take no further action.

However, if there is something more sinister going on, please let me know as soon as possible. By all means investigate the issue, but please do nothing to tip off the guilty as there currently seems to be several attempts to manipulate me going on and we are trying to avoid them getting wind of current investigations into the matter. I request that any information that you might find be forwarded to Madam Bones of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement of the Ministry of magic so that she might continue to build her case. Again please begin sending me statements from my trust fund, if it is possible to do so without alerting the guilty. And again please include copies of all previous statements.

I understand that Gringotts takes its security seriously, and so do I. As such I enclose three of my hairs and a blood sample to verify my identity. If this is not satisfactory, and you would prefer a meeting face to face, please contact either Madam Amelia Bones or Healer Sarah Abbott and they will make the necessary arrangements.

Yours in good faith,

Harry James Potter.

Ragnok the Goblin gripped the piece of parchment that the letter was written on so tightly that it crumpled up in his clawed hand. He did not need to meet the boy in person, as he had been advised correctly and the samples provided gave him all the information that he needed to know.

As the Goblin Director, he knew instinctively that this was no mere oversight on the part of his people. The employees of Gringotts Wizarding Bank did not make mistakes like this one. Like Madam Bones and Mr Potter, the Goblin Director smelled a conspiracy. And he knew exactly who the main culprit was. How many times had there been requests made to meet with the heir of the Potter family only for that man to decline on the boy's behalf, after ensuring them that he was acting in loco parentis?

Ragnok would do everything in his power to sort this out. Not only was one of Gringotts most important accounts at risk, but so was the bank itself as well as the entire Goblin nation. He would personally ensure that every scrap of information that they unearthed on this case was presented to the head of the DMLE.

The reputation of the nation depended upon it.

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