With a sigh, Harry thought, 'Well, looks like I'm stuck with Dobby, after all.'
He'd been hoping to convince the elf to stay with Sirius. They were obviously good for one another. Sirius was next down, only about fifteen minutes later. And Luna was down about five minutes after that.
At the time, Harry had finished his breakfast and didn't even have a chance to take his dishes to the sink before Dobby popped them away.
Instead, he was again going through the scrapbooks, looking more closely at some of the information within. There were a few issues he wanted to speak with Luna and Sirius about that wasn't included. This time, though, he was writing things down.
At his request, Dobby brought parchment, quill and ink just as an owl flew in with the latest issue of the Daily Prophet.
When it looked like the other two had finished the food portions of their breakfasts and were just sipping their teas, Harry said, "Let me see if I can give the highlights, here."
Luna nodded. "For the Ministry: Fudge resigned, probably minutes before he was going to be fired by the Wizengamot when it was discovered Umbridge had sent the dementors after me at Privet Drive. They were able to learn that because someone had tipped off Bones that she... Umbridge, that is... was a half-blood, not the pureblood she claimed to be; and was therefore not able to claim immunity to being dosed with Veritaserum. Fudge disappeared while Umbridge went to jail for life for both the attempted murder of me and the use of the Cruciatus curse on Minerva McGonagall.
"As a result of all that had happened, besides Sirius here duelling Riddle in the atrium of the Ministry and being seen doing so by over two dozen people, Sirius was properly trialled and exonerated of all charges. Everyone finally accepted I'd been telling the truth and were then feeling mighty guilty about that and the Ministry finally got off their collective arses and started to switch to a war footing. Other than Bellatrix LeStrange, the six Death Eaters who were at the Ministry that night who were all escapees from Azkaban all got kissed and then tossed through the Veil.
"I can tell you they didn't arrive on Hadrian with me, though.
"Riddle claimed, at the time, that Sirius had just killed Bella LeStrange and, as no one's seen her since, that seems to have been verified. The other six, including Lucius Malfoy, were all sent to Azkaban for life based on Priori Incantatem being used on their wands and showing they'd all at least once used the Killing or Cruciatus curses. Bones was the driving force of all of that.
"For Dumbledore: The old man did not get reinstated as the Chief Warlock or Supreme Mugwump of the ICW, but did manage to get the Headmaster's slot back. He's then had to do his damnedest to just keep his job and was ordered by the new Minister, Bones, to keep his nose out of Ministry business. She's kept doing that right up until now.
"Even so, Dumbledore's managed to convince Augusta Longbottom, Neville's grandmother, that Neville is the prophecised one to defeat Riddle. And then immediately began to organise specialised training for the boy using Mad-Eye Moody, Professor Flitwick and himself to teach him. Neville, after breaking his father's wand in the Ministry that night, got a new wand. With the new wand he immediately started to show he's actually got bucket-loads of magical reserves, which Dumbledore used to confirm Neville is the new 'golden boy'. Instead, it's the simple fact the boy now has a wand that actually matches him... rather than his father's, which didn't... that is the answer. I'm left wondering if Neville using his father's wand was something preplanned by Dumbledore." "No," said Luna. "However, it didn't stop him from using that happenstance to his own advantage."
"For his Order of the Basted Turkey: The old man's also managed to build up the Order to about thirty strong; but lost Sirius, Remus, Tonks, Shacklebolt, Vance and Jones very soon after Voldemort became known to be alive. Due to Bones, while still Head of the DMLE at the time, telling them they could either be aurors or members of the Order, not both, that took out Tonks, Shacklebolt, Vance and Jones. The new Head of the DMLE, Rufus Scrimgeour, ratified that order and, after he was killed a couple months later, his replacement, Constance Hammer, re-ratified it. Sirius and Remus quit because Dumbledore failed to keep his promise to protect me and it was shown Dumbledore had made no effort to get Sirius his trial, as promised. However, Remus and Tonks rejoined about six months later with Bones's secret blessing, but both are actually Sirius's spies in the Order.
"So far, you know... of those I know from school... the Weasley twins, Ron, Ginny, Neville of course, Angie Johnston, Alicia Spinnet, Shay Finnegan and a few others have since joined the Order. However, Shay, Ernie MacMillan, Kevin Entwhistle and Stephen Cornfoot have been killed. Since then, the twins, Angie Johnson and Alicia Spinnet have quit, due to what they believe... and I agree... are Dumbledore's direct orders they were to only stun or otherwise incapacitate any Death Eaters they managed to face.
"There's also been a swag of others, all muggle-born, who've been attacked in their homes and killed by Death Eaters. That kept happening until Bones finally got permission from the Wizengamot, after the fact for many of them, of giving each muggle-born an emergency portkey to Saint Mungo's. She then started to also give them to the half-bloods.
"Riddle won't attack, or allow any of his thugs to attack, Saint Mungo's because he believes rightly, according to Luna - that the Healer's Collegiate would ban all Healers applying any aid to a marked Death Eater through their Bonham Oaths of medical aid. They threatened him with that back in the first war and it worked as well then as it does now.
"The Order comes across as being successful in driving Riddle and his Death Eaters away when they turn up, but Luna says it's because Riddle knows of the prophecy now and doesn't want to be anywhere within the vicinity of Neville. He doesn't want to 'mark' him, thereby making him possibly the one mentioned in the prophecy. He thinks if he marks him, or one of his Death Eaters does it as his 'hand', then it will make the prophecy 'active' again. "That's crap, because I've already figured out it was me; and my name was on the little card under the prophecy orb. However, Riddle's not taking any chances.
"As a result of Riddle and his Death Eaters always running away when Neville turns up, just in case one of them accidentally 'marks' him, the sheep now think it's true Neville is the Chosen One; plus, many think Neville has apparently turned into something of a big-headed arrogant idiot as a result, which is not actually true; it's what's others have been pushing to promote, though... probably on Riddle's orders.
"For my supposed friends: Ron Weasley, who claimed to always be my best mate... though I now know different... has latched himself onto Neville and is now claiming Neville is his best mate. Ginny, where she used to claim she was always going to marry me, is now claiming she will be marrying Nevilleonce Neville has 'managed to pin Riddle down so he can kill him'. Hermione is in Massachusetts and keeps in semi-regular contact with Sirius, but no one else. And Luna is the only one who's stayed true. Even the Twins have backed right off and have even stopped paying gold into the Potter vaults as my share of their business."
"I told them to do that, Harry," said Sirius. "They've more than paid back what you originally gave them - five fold."
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