Chapter 230 (Extra): The New Minister
Disclaimer:
Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 230 (Extra): The New Minister
A.N- This chapter didn't come out the way I liked it. The thing is...I wrote this one, along with some other chapters, last week. I spent most of the week with a fever and headaches so the writing quality took a dive there. So I will be adding this one as an extra chapter because is also too short.-
"The law of transfiguration?" Lily asked.
"That was a transfiguration?" James looked at Harry in disbelief.
"I see now…Harry didn't touch any of them."
"That's right! Transfiguration requires physical contact, but Harry used it from the other side of the arena." Lily said.
"There is always a way to bend the rules, you know this well, Professor," Harry commented.
"But this is hardly the best place to have this discussion…we should leave before that toad snaps and tries to get me arrested."
"Toad?" Lily asked.
"I assume he is referring to Madam Umbridge," James answered.
Lily appeared to be thinking for a moment before she started to chuckle.
"She does look like a toad!"
"Yes…but don't let her hear you say that. That woman has a nasty personality."
Harry would later on explain to Dumbledore how to accomplish his little trick.
It wasn't too complicated. One just needed perfect control over one's magic, as well as a large amount of it.
He then concentrated strands of magic until they became a pseudo-physical and tangible material, like very thin strands of fishing wire. They are almost impossible to see unless you know what to look for.
They could, however, be detected by the most skilled wizards.
Once these strands touched his target, Harry could use transfiguration on them with no issues.
Now, this was hardly an efficient way of killing by any means. Besides the high magical consumption, it is also unlikely to work on any powerful wizard.
The strands of magic can be detected and destroyed by the most skilled individuals.
And human transfiguration can be resisted by the target. The same way that the Imperio curse can be thrown off by people with strong minds, human transfiguration can suffer the same fate against those who are exceptionally powerful.
It was still useful if you chose the right targets.
Harry knew those four Lords would have no chance to defend themselves against it, making this a very efficient and decisive way to end this duel.
A.N - Allow me to clarify something. I know that in canon, transfiguration doesn't have these limitations. They are just something I added in this fic for mainly two reasons.
For one, it makes sense that in order to manipulate the shape of something, you need some form of physical contact to do so.
And I also believe it makes it more interesting for Harry to have the need to tap his wand on different surfaces in order to transform them. -
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The news about his duel did not take long to reach the ears of the school.
The next newspaper arrived with a very detailed and very unflattering article written by Rita Skeeter.
The whispers quieted down as the students saw Harry making his way to classes.
They would even move out of the way to let him pass.
If the students had been slightly afraid of him before…they were now completely terrified.
Perhaps calling the article 'unflattering' was an understatement, considering that the only source of information was no other than Dolores Umbridge.
It was an extremely one-sided story that tried to portray Harry, his family, and the Headmaster in the worst light possible.
Despite this having been a duel to the death that four Lords pushed on a thirteen-year-old boy, Rita would still find ways to make Harry appear as the bad guy of the story, and a ruthless murderer.
She even ended the article with a "Is this the potential beginning of a new Dark Lord?...should the Ministry do something about it before it's too late?"
His family was understandably outraged by the article. His mother had even sent several Howlers to the Prophet and his father sent a formal request to rectify the article.
Harry knew it wasn't going to work. Not only is Rita Skeeter an incredibly stubborn woman but at this point, Lord Parkinson should have a very strong grip on that newspaper. They won't retract something that benefits him.
The man wants to control the country using politics. So controlling the most popular newspaper would be crucial for that.
Most people will believe anything that was written in these, so he can decide what stories he wants them to believe.
He didn't really care that much about all of this. At the end of the day, Lord Parkinson's political plays were not going to save him.
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Two weeks later, and to the surprise of almost no one, another paper with big news appeared.
Perseus Parkinson had been selected as the new Minister of Magic, after a long Wizengamot session.
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