"Maybe they're right." Harry mumbled, barely able to talk through the waves of relaxation and pleasure that Bellatrix's nimble fingers were effectively sending through his body. "What would my mum think of me? Have I dishonored her memory?"
Bellatrix snorted, but did not stop the massage. "Have you done anything wrong? Like kill innocent people? Have you stolen money? Have you told lies about your friends?"
"No."
"Then you have nothing to be ashamed of, Harry."
A smile crossed Harry's face as he enjoyed his special treatment. Bellatrix had effectively drawn out the stiffness in his body as she drew out his emotional pains. Deep down, he had know all along that he was doing the right thing and that everything Dumbledore, Ron, and Hermione had said were hogwash, but it felt better knowing that someone he cared about agreed with him.
"That's it. All done." Bellatrix announced.
Harry overcame the urge to fall asleep on the massage table that she had conjured using the House-Sprite magic and stood up, wrapping the towel around him securely. "Thank you." he said gratefully. "How much do I owe you?"
"Well…" she said, grinning mischievously, "you can give me a massage when-"
The door to their suite opened and Tess walked in holding a small radio. "I'm sorry to interrupt, my lord, lady, but I think that you should hear this." she announced grimly. The radio was set down and Harry's assistant twiddled with the knobs a bit before the signal came through loud and clear.
"… and for those of you just joining us, we have some very critical and breaking news." the announcer said in a serious voice that barely hid his own excitement at being the one to help proclaim a big news story to the public. Harry and Bellatrix glanced at each other nervously. It couldn't be good.
"In a shocking report released by the Ministry of Magic, it is revealed that during the Christmas holiday and while home with his aunt and uncle, Harry James Potter- The Boy Who Lived- was arrested and convicted of the mass murder of Muggles living on his home street of Privet Drive in Surrey. Even more shocking is the fact that Potter and another prisoner, Bellatrix Black, escaped Azkaban shortly after his imprisonment on the island."
Harry growled as his hackles rose, but he stopped when Bellatrix laid a calming hand on his arm.
"After his escape, the Ministry believed that Potter and possibly Black- formerly Lestrange, intended to flee to another country and forget about Britain. However, significant evidence suggests that Potter masterminded the attack on St. Mungo's hospital that has left all of its patients missing."
"We'd better see to getting them back." Bellatrix sighed and looked at Tess who signaled that she would see to it as soon as possible while Harry muttered about people too blind to see Death Eaters running amok.
The broadcast continued. "Due to the fact that Potter was unmasked at the hospital attack, law-enforcement officials believe that he no longer intends to play his hand from behind the scenes. The public is warned that Harry James Potter is armed with a wand and is dangerous. Any sightings of him are to be reported immediately. Watchers are also advised that Potter has a small army of followers who are very proficient in magic. No one should approach them if they are spotted. The public is also advised to watch for Bellatrix Black. She is an escaped prisoner and likely in cahoots with Potter."
"It's not as bad as it could be." Harry said, trying to put on a brave face. "Not everyone believes everything the Ministry tells them, especially after the whole coverup on Voldemort when I was in fifth-year." Bellatrix only nodded silently.
After the announcer went on to detail instructions for contacting the authorities if 'The Boy Who Killed' was spotted, the program continued. "We have right here statements from Potter's closest friends at Hogwarts. Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger."
"Harry has become very twisted and evil." crackled Hermione's recorded voice. "His mind no longer functions properly. Everything is twisted in his perception. If you do see him, do not let him sweet-talk you. He will manipulate you and will say anything to achieve his purposes."
Harry's mouth dropped open and before he could let out an exclamation, Ron's voice followed.
"The only thing he wants is money and power. He will kill, rob, and intimidate to get it. Don't let him get away with it."
"How dare he?" Harry shouted angrily as both Bellatrix and Tess cringed.
Bellatrix quickly placed both her hands on his arms and looked him directly in the eye. "You know as well as I that getting angry will not solve anything, Harry. We must formulate a plan of action. I am fairly sure that this can all be countered with tomorrow's Daily Prophet. We can even have some free copies distributed to non-subscribers."
Harry nodded and waved his hand to dismiss Tess so that she could return to her normal duties and see to arrange for the evacuated patients to be returned to St. Mungo's which had been declared suitable for their return. "I guess that you're right."
Draco Malfoy quailed as the Dark lord strode into the small room. He had received an emergency signal early in the morning that indicated he should immediately leave Hogwarts and make his way to the secret cabin that his family had always relied on for refuge from the Ministry.
He quickly bowed to Voldemort who had stopped and was now observing him as a Death Eater, Wormtail, entered the room in a very servile manner. "What is it, my lord?"
"Your father met his end in battle last night, child." Voldemort said neutrally, showing no sympathy, remorse, or joy at the fact. "He fought for our most noble cause and fell honorably. He will always be remembered."
A flood of emotions shot through Draco's cold veins. Mostly hate and fear. Had he loved his father? Maybe. It didn't matter. Pride and honor dictated that he should seek revenge, especially for an offense against the Malfoy name. "Who killed him?" he growled, all while showing Voldemort the proper respect.
"The Count of Trazkaban who was acting on the orders of Harry Potter." Voldemort stated.
"What do you mean?" Draco whispered in shock.
Voldemort briefly informed Draco of the exact events of the battle to the best of his knowledge. It wasn't out of courtesy to the deceased offspring however. It was for his own purposes. "Potter has become the Lord of Polairix and is responsible for your father's death. If you come with me, I can help you get revenge."
"Wouldn't it be better for me to stay at Hogwarts and go on as normal? It would be good to have someone on the inside if you know what I mean, my lord."
"There are others." Voldemort stated in a dismissive manner. "You could be useful though, and at this point I must use you or lose you."
"What do you mean?"
Voldemort twisted his lips in what could best be described as a scowl. "Your mother's actions have complicated things and your father's death has made them worse. None of your Malfoy relatives have legal standing at this point in time. Harry Potter, who is now the Head of House Black could easily take you into custody if he was so inclined. That old fool at Hogwarts could certainly thing up of something to keep his claws in you."
"So I have to escape before anything happens?" Malfoy said, completing Voldemort's thought.
"Yes."
Draco nodded and pointlessly considered Voldemort's proposal. There was obviously no other choice in the matter. There was one question though. "You said that Potter is the Lord of Polairix, that could turn the tide in this war against us if the Ministry allies with us. How will you prevent that?"
"You will find out shortly." Voldemort sneered. "I'll see to Potter's further ostracization. In fact, the wheels are in motion as I speak.
"These two are here because they are Harry's former friends." Dumbledore said to Snape, Kingsley, Arthur Weasley, and Professor McGonagall, in order to validate Ron and Hermione's presence at the small meeting at Hogwarts.
Snape rolled his eyes. "If you say so."
Dumbledore ignored Snape's caustic mood. It was probably a side effect of the events he had been involved with for the past twenty-four hours. "Harry is the Earl of the North and that means he now has great power. Enough power to destroy Voldemort, or us. Maybe even both. We must make plans to deal with this situation."
"Well, we could always manipulate him so that we can force him to blindly do what you want him to do." Snape suggested idly.
"Severus!" McGonagall said tersely. "We realize that you aren't feeling well, but could you please keep your comments to yourself?"
Arthur leaned forward and spoke to everyone in his most convincing voice. "I think that we should attempt to reason with him. Listen to his story, tell him ours, and then make some sort of compromise that at least gets You-Know-Who out of the way."
"We already tried that, Mr. Weasley." Hermione said practically. "He won't listen to us."
"We can hunt him down and attack him!" Ron declared. "Then we can worry about You-Know-Who."
Kingsley shook his head negatively. "You should have enough sense to realize that wouldn't work, Ronald. One, we don't even know where he is. Two, the Ministry isn't strong enough to adequately face those sorcerers, and three- we have no formal grounds on which we can accuse him of any crime thus far."
"Attack his influence." McGonagall said dryly. "It's easier to fight an enemy if he can't affect you on the inside. His control of the Daily Prophet is a problem. In fact, his money is a problem."
"Only for Death Eaters thus far." Snape added.
"I think you may be right, Minerva." Dumbledore commented. "I have a meeting with the Minister of Magic scheduled. I should probably depart now to be on time. This meeting is dismissed."
Andy Cargney studied the final version of the next morning's edition of the Daily Prophet. It seemed rather strange to have the final draft ready so early in the day. However, the owner of the paper had specifically provided all the content for the next morning's paper.
He looked up at his assistant. "This looks perfect, Willy. I guess we can run it."
Willy nodded and took the copy back. "Yes, I guess we can. It sure seems odd to be defending Harry Potter and accusing the Ministry of corruption while the Wireless Network accuses him of high crimes and misdemeanors."
"We don't have much choice." Andy replied dryly. "I don't care. It's just the business. Besides, I'm not so sure that the WWN has their information right anyway."
"Oh?"
Willy was about to ask what his boss meant when an explosion rocked the Prophet building and all the windows that looked out to Diagon Alley shattered inward. All the staff members screamed and dove for their desks, fully expecting the Dark lord himself to appear and begin shooting of Killing Curses.
However, this belief was contradicted when the dust settled and they found the room filled with Aurors holding drawn wands and aiming them at anything that moved. They were all further shocked when Percival Weasley, one of the Minister of Magic's top aides entered the building.
With an arrogant flourish, Percy Weasley withdrew an official piece of parchment from his cloak and began to read in a pompous voice. "Be it known to all that on the grounds that Harry James Potter, the Lord of Polairix is guilty of high treason against the British Ministry of Magic, all of his commercial property and money is hereby forfeited to the Ministry. By command of the Minister of Magic, the Daily Prophet is to be shut down and the press and all copies of the Daily Prophet are to be burned."
"You can't do that!" Andy screamed defiantly, more out of loyalty to the paper rather than to Harry Potter.
"I just did." Percy said smugly.
"Fudge had all his property seized?" Snape asked in shock. "What about Hogwarts?"
Tonks fidgeted uncomfortably. "Dumbledore and Fudge decided that having Hogwarts seized could result in some serious repercussions. The school was turned over to the House of Polairix too long ago to be sure that there aren't any enchantments that could come back and hurt Dumbledore and the Ministry."
"He isn't going to be happy about this." Snape muttered. "What about Gringotts? Have they gotten his money from there?"
"I don't know." Tonks said helplessly. "I sent a letter to Nair'icaix as soon as I heard the word, but there isn't a single thing that Harry can do."
Snape sighed. "We can pray that it doesn't get any worse."
"Take me to whoever is in charge." Percy snapped at the first goblin he and the Aurors encountered as they entered Gringotts. "I'm here on important Ministry business."
The goblin looked at Percy grimly before moving away quickly. When he returned, he motioned for them to follow him. The pompous Weasley smugly rehearsed what he was going to say as he briskly followed the creature that was leading him to the manager's office.
The goblin motioned for Percy and the Aurors to enter a large office and gestured to a very regal looking goblin seated behind a desk. "You may speak with Lord Gold." The goblin then left the room.
Percy approached the large desk that Lord Gold sat behind and then withdrew a document addressed to the chief goblin at Gringotts. He tossed the parchment down in front of the goblin. "You must comply with that order from Minister Fudge immediately."
"I'm not sure that I have to do anything." Lord Gold replied irritably. "What is the meaning of this? You have no right to just show up and demand an audience with me."
"Read the parchment and see." Percy snapped.
Lord Gold reached forward and picked the document up, treating it as if it had come from the depths of a sewer. The goblin shot an angry glance at Percy before reading it.
To Whom It May Concern:
By decree of the Minister of Magic, Gringotts Bank is to immediately turn over all assets belonging to Harry James Potter, the House of Polairix, the House of Potter, and the House of Black to the British Ministry of Magic on grounds that Harry James Potter is guilty of high treason against the aforementioned Ministry.
Gringotts must also swear to never deal with Mr. Potter's assets or accept his patronage in the future. Gringotts must also in no way give aid to Mr. Potter.
Cornelius Oswald Fudge
Minister of Magic
"Tell me, young pup. Do you have any idea as to how many treaties this 'thing' breaks? Does your moronic boss have any idea what a serious action this is?" Lord Gold whispered.
"Minister Fudge is well aware of all things." Percy stated. "In fact, he's aware of the fact that we're at war and that Harry Potter could be a potential threat."
Lord Gold smiled grimly. "A threat to Minister Fudge, certainly not the wizarding world."
"You don't know what you're talking about!" Percy retorted.
"I think I do, boy." Gold said, his voice showing nothing but contempt for Percy Weasley and his superior at the Ministry. "What happens if I should refuse to comply with this demand?"
Percy gestured toward the Aurors standing behind him. "That's what my escort is for. You can either turn over Potter's assets or be arrested for treason. Take your pick, goblin."
The goblin smiled evilly at Percy. "I will do neither. Gringotts Bank hereby refuses to comply with your Ministry's wishes." Lord Gold then raised his hand and snapped. Immediately, the walls enclosing the office seemed to fall away to reveal a squadron of heavily armed goblins training their weapons as Percy and the Aurors. "I suggest that you Apparate back to the Ministry."
"You won't get away with this." Percy growled as he fearfully drew his wand and Apparated away, the Aurors quickly following suit.
The Head of Gringotts was immediately joined by his compatriots, Lord Silvere and Bronze. "Have the staff begin to evacuate our records immediately. See to it that access to the vaults is blocked off from this building. I'll go to the lobby and order all humans to leave and notify Lord Polairix of the situation immediately."
Lord Silver and Bronze didn't waste any time departing to see to their individual tasks. Lord Gold smiled grimly and restored the illusion of walls around his office before making his way to the lobby of the bank. He stepped onto a special platform that immediately lifted off and hovered above the crowd of witches and wizards doing business.
The goblin's voice was automatically amplified as a result of a special charm on the platform. "Attention all Gringott's patrons. The British Ministry of Magic has blatantly broken its treaties with this establishment. Therefore, Gringotts of Britain is hereby closed until further notice. All those present may withdraw up to 500 Galleons from an available teller and have it credited away from their account. Those who don't take this opportunity will receive either twenty percent of their current deposit or 500 Galleons by owl."
"What has happened?" called out an anxious witch. The crowd fell silent in order to hear the goblin's response. "How long will this closure last?
"Ask your Minister of Magic." Lord Gold answered.