chapter 4: Political Analysis

"Well, despite the politicking that I managed to accomplish, this evening was quite infuriating." Lucius Malfoy growled as he swung his cloak off his shoulders, allowing the runes woven into the collar to carry the garment onto the waiting hook. "Not only did that Potter Brat manage to charm Fudge without relying on the usual bribes and outright flattery, he also managed to get Warbeck to sing for him!"

"He did indeed." Narcissa agreed calmly while Draco concentrated on attracting as little of his father's ire as possible. "Did you know that the only money he paid her was to cover the costs?"

Lucius stiffened. "…what?"

"He also made quite a substantial donation to St. Mungo's." Narcissa continued. "Almost forty thousand galleons to the Janos Thickory ward."

"That's where the Longbottoms are." Lucius said slowly. "Do you think he knew that?"

"Neville Longbottom is his room-mate." Draco offered diffidently as he hung up his own cloak. "Him not knowing would actually be more surprising."

"I see." Lucius said, bringing his temper back under control. "That one Ball has more than countered the lingering effects of the story I had planted in the Prophet. Having Warbeck singing Happy Birthday to him and Heir Longbottom while that cameraman from the Prophet took pictures… getting the tide of public opinion back to our side will be… problematic."

"Problematic, but not impossible, my love." Narcissa smiled. "The public is fickle and easily swayed. You just need to find a way to sway them back."

"Indeed, my beloved."Lucius almost purred. "All I need to do is show that the modernists are not able to do what is needed to do what is required and… and I know just what to do!"

Narcissa looked at her husband quizzically, but he simply smiled and strode out of the room.

"Oh dear." She sighed. "Draco, I'll see you in the morning. I need to try and find out what your father has in mind this time."

"Yes, mother." Draco replied. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, my son."

.

"Well, that was quite a get-together." Amelia Bones commented as she accepted a glass of Firewhiskey from her long-time political ally, Augusta Longbottom, the pair having returned to Longbottom Manor. "But I have to ask, why did he invite Malfoy? Are they allies or something?"

"No, they aren't." Augusta replied as she sat down, cradling her own glass. "However, snubbing Malfoy would have also been a public snub to all of his allies, meaning that they would have had a reason to take action against Lord Potter, maybe even barring him from taking his eventual place in the Wizengamot. On the other hand, by inviting Malfoy to a Ball where the one singer that he has never managed to hire is performing for costs only, that's a massive blow to his reputation, one that he has to simply smile and accept gracefully."

"And Fudge is one of Malfoy's allies." Amelia sighed, then she waved her hand. "I know, I know, they're not Ally allies, but Fudge listens to Malfoy a lot."

"He also listens to Dumbledore a lot," Augusta offered, "but now Potter's shown he's available as an ally too."

"Dumbledore didn't show up." Amelia mused. "Was that a deliberate action? Perhaps to imply that Lord Potter is his own man and not a mere follower?"

"It could be taken that way." Augusta agreed with a slight shrug. "In fact, it almost certainly will. Albus is always the center of attention at social events which means that by not showing up, he's saying that Harry is the one to pay attention to, not him."

"Subtle, but effective." Amelia commented wryly. "Of course, by doing so, he's also placed Harry in position to start building his own faction."

"Neville noted that Harry is rather independent." Augusta smiled, lifting her glass as if in a toast. "I believe that Albus has realized that too and decided that a hands-off approach would be best."

"Unusual for him." Amelia frowned. "I wonder what happened to cause that?"

.

"Ah, Filius. How fortuitous to meet you here."

Filius rolled his eyes before turning to face the Headmaster who had just exited the Three Broomsticks.

"Albus." The Duelist returned the greeting politely even as he mentally cursed himself for having that third Firewhiskey at the Hog's Head. "I was just heading back to Hogwarts."

"As was I." Albus smiled. "I trust that you enjoyed your evening?"

"I don't get invited to many balls." Filius replied. "It was certainly quite interesting, seeing wizards and witches in their natural environments."

Albus gave his shorter colleague a glance of wry amusement. "I have found their activities to be rather amusing, myself. I look forwards to reading about it tomorrow in the Prophet."

"Xenophilius was there as well," Flitwick noted, "Although he did a very good job of staying low-key. I believe that the Quibbler will have an interesting take on it."

"Out of interest, has young Harry any House Elves in his employ? I believe that his grandparents had two..."

"He doesn't need them." Flitwick smirked. "His mansion is a Genius Loci that can move things around inside it as well as manifest its awareness as a ghost. I talked to him, he called himself Jorel."

"…I'm not aware of any member of the Potter line of that name." Albus frowned.

"Apparently, he became what he is in order to serve the Potter Line, but he only awoke fully a couple of years ago, during the rebuilding of The Pottery." Filius shrugged. "Since he's also tied into the protections around The Pottery, it is quite an interesting mental exercise to consider how the wards could be taken down."

"With an actual intelligence guiding them? Manipulating them for maximum effect without a single second's delay? Deploying counter-measures and targeted offensive strikes? I wouldn't wish to try." Albus shivered. "Well, it would seem that my fears about young Harry's safety were completely unfounded, for which I am most grateful."

The duo walked in silence for several minutes as the gates of Hogwarts rose in front of them, then Albus broke the silence.

"I did hear some unusual rumors at the Three Broomsticks. Does young Harry really have his own Quidditch pitch?"

"Lord Potter does indeed, one which is recessed into the ground in order to make concealing it easier." Filius confirmed while trying to hint to Albus that his preferred term of reference for the student in question may not be fully appropriate. "He also has one of the new Quidditch Tables."

"Ah yes, Professor Vector asked me to convert several adjacent classrooms into a special room to hold the one her students created." Albus nodded. "This means that many of our students will be able to watch the matches even as they listen to them on the Wireless. Truly amazing."

"And we have Miss Granger to thank for the original idea that sparked it all." Filius gloated.

"We do indeed."

.

"Dolores?"

"Yes, Minister?" The Undersecretary in question simpered as Cornelius Fudge strode past her towards his office. "Is there a problem? I wasn't expecting you to return until Monday. Do I need to summon Madam Bones?"

"No, nothing like that. In fact, I've just returned from an event that she was attending too." Cornelius waved off Umbridge's concern as he entered his office, Dolores following him as she pulled out an Ever-Inked Quill and notebook. "I just need to make some notes before I forget them."

"Of course, sir." Umbridge responded, angling her notebook ready to note down his words. Fudge leaned back in his chair, interlacing his fingers across his belly as he ordered his thoughts.

"First, it would seem that Potter hasn't learned about our… misadventure last year, so as long as no-one talks, there won't be any fall-out over it."

"That is very reassuring, sir." Umbridge commented as her quill almost danced across the page.

"I agree." Fudge sighed. "Second, Dumbledore did not attend."

"Interesting." Umbridge mused. "When he does attend social events, he tends to be the most important person there, even more important than the person hosting it."

"Which is why I believe that it was a message that he has no intentions to overtly bring Potter onto his side." Fudge concluded. "This means that either Potter is going to be a covert ally or the leader of a completely separate faction."

"Not an adversary?" Dolored queried and Fudge shook his head.

"Dumbledore would have been there if that was the case. He prefers to keep track of all the alliances and oppositions in politics and if Potter was actually opposed to him, he would have been there and paying very close attention to everything that was going on."

"That does make sense, sir."

"Third, contact the Unspeakables. Potter has a special type of glass that can absorb spellfire and redirect it to strengthen the wards it's linked to. I want the same so I can have bigger windows."

"The security aspects would be quite important, too." Umbridge mused. "So noted, sir."

"Fourth, another project for the Unspeakables." Fudge continued. "The possibility of ghosts controlling wards..."

"Sounds risky, sir." Umbridge interjected. "Ghosts tend to be very… opinionated. You would have to choose the ghost in question very carefully."

"…controlling wards and how to break said connections." Fudge finished, earning a nod of understanding from Umbridge. "I know I was just an Obliviator before I entered politics, but even I know a few things about Wards. Having Wards that can actively strike at Curse-breakers? Not good. If we ever need to capture Potter, we need a way past his defenses."

"Who cast the Wards?" umbridge asked. "Surely we have the Ward Schema in the archives somewhere…"

"The Goblins and no, we don't. At least, not any more." Fudge growled. "I checked. The plans we do have are outdated and the weak-points are no longer where they were, assuming that they even exist any more."

Umbridge gave a nod of annoyed understanding. The Ministry of Magic had specific guidelines that all certified Warders followed, guidelines that included the need for carefully-placed weak spots that would allow those who knew of them to collapse the wards within minutes. Said weaknesses were carefully kept secret so that only those with access to the Shadow Archives knew about them.

Even Hogwarts had weak points in its wards, a quiet triumph for the Ministry when it oversaw the recasting of the protections in question two centuries prior.

"Under certain circumstances, that could prove rather… problematic." She admitted.

"Fifth, Potter managed to hire Celestina Warbeck." Fudge said with a slight smile. "He seemed to be on good terms with her and I overheard something about a donation to St Mungos."

"I'll have the details on that by Monday." Dolores promised.

"Sixth," Fudge continued, "Potter seems to engage with the Muggle world."

Dolores hissed slightly.

"He sourced quite a bit of food and drink from there and hired quite a few Muggleborn to act as servers."

"No House-elves?" Umbridge asked despite herself.

"No, he doesn't need any, apparently. The ghost tied to his wards also acts like a house-elf in many ways."

"Sounds very secure." Umbridge sighed. "No chance of getting an operative in to keep a close eye on him."

"Unfortunately not." Fudge agreed. "We can still watch him at Hogwarts, though. Draft a message to our agent there."

Umbridge scowled slightly at the reminder of the Squib who worked in the hallowed institution, but she managed to compose herself before Fudge noticed her lapse.

"Seventh." Fudge continued, "It would seem that despite not knowing of the… incident, Potter has a dislike of Lucius. I'm not sure why, though."

"I can make inquiries if you wish, sir." Umbridge offered and Fudge shook his head.

"Not this time, Dolores. I think that's about it for now."

"I'll have the list written up and the research added by the time you get in on Monday, sir."

"Thank you, Dolores." Fudge smiled as he levered himself out of his comfortable chair. "There are times when I don't know what I'd do without you."

Dolores smiled at the compliment.

.

.

Party At The Pottery

By Rita Skeeter

Last night, The-Boy-Who-Lived hosted a high-society Ball at The Pottery, the ancient

home of the Potter Family which was destroyed in the war against You-Know-Who

and was recently rebuilt at the behest of Harry Potter, the last son of the Potter Family.

The rebuilt Pottery is quite a sight to see with its outer walls replaced by floor-to-ceiling

windows of the finest glass, not a single bubble to be seen. The internal walls are smooth

while the ceilings boasts integrated glow-panels that cast a clear light far superior to that

of traditional candles and lanterns. The furniture that adorns the rooms is that which once

filled the previous iteration of The Pottery, retrieved from the Gringotts Vault in which it

had been kept and placed with loving care back in the very rooms they had come from.

The grounds of The Pottery are just as amazing. The back lawn is easily large enough to

host a broomstick race and to one side is a Quidditch pitch, lowered below normal ground

level to make it easier to conceal, an innovation which will no doubt be copied by many of

the families who follow Quidditch and wish for their own pitch, but lack the finances to

maintain the needed wards that keep a normal pitch concealed from the view of Muggles

that often live nearby.

The Ball (which also doubled as a celebration of the birthday of The-Boy-Who-Lived) served

also as the celebration of the birthday of his best friend and Hogwarts Room-mate, Neville

Longbottom. Both boys were serenaded with a perfectly-sung rendition of Happy Birthday

by Celestina Warbeck, the famed Singing Sorceress whose presence alone marked the Ball

as being something extraordinary

…