Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Weapon	By : uqui Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Voldemort Views: 105435 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 26
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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16/03/2012

Thank you to SuryaPrakash for the betaing. If there are mistakes, they are my fault.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed. LeaniaSTL Thank you and yep Sirius was bad for forgetting the Dragons. Unneeded thank you as always for the review. I always try to answer questions :D Snape will appear shortly.

Weapon LXIV – The Ministry Wants to Talk

Harry looked down at The Prophet and the Quibbler. He'd taken out a subscription in both to try to keep abreast of what the wizarding world thought. He didn't care what they thought, the outcome was inevitable, but it was easier to ride the wave of prejudice and opinion when you knew what it was.

Three weeks.

The Ministry had sat on the news about Azkaban for three weeks! And now the wizarding world knew and already Harry could feel the panic rising in the students. As if the released prisoners of Azkaban had much interest in a bunch of kids. Though he would give the Prophet a bit of credit, they were good at manipulating the fears of the community. The Quibbler was surprisingly more down to earth, and they had actually broken the news first. Luna had been smug about that when the break out had been reported in the Quibbler yesterday and only today was the Prophet catching up.

The Quibbler had actually been helpful about the break out and had given advice and tips on what to do if you saw any of the prisoners and the Dementors. The Prophet was just screaming that they had broken out. There was nothing useful in the trash that they were writing, though because they were the more favoured Ministry rag they did have lists of the prisoners and photos. Harry would have to have a word with Luna to know why The Quibbler didn't, though as he looked through the photos, focusing on those he knew to be in his beloved's inner circle, he cast his mind back to the Order of the Phoenix meeting he had gone to three days ago now.

From the way the other Order Members were acting, Harry had assumed that the meeting was fairly routine, though Molly Weasley had been exuberant in her greetings. It had remained routine until Snape had been asked to give his report. While Harry didn't know all the details about Azkaban, his Shadows had at least told him it had happened. The Order was shocked, and that shock very quickly turned into panic before Dumbledore had re-asserted his control. Some members of the Order had known. Kingsley had just sat quietly, but he had obviously been instructed not to tell anyone and Harry had wondered of the sense in that. In this war, knowledge was power and hording knowledge would just get people killed.

Snape had gone on to give a list of who had survived and Harry had noticed Kingsley making notes. The Ministry had obviously known who was on Azkaban, but they hadn't known who died. He was a bit surprised himself to hear of the fate of the medium term prisoners. He'd have to find out what they had done to annoy his beloved that much. As Snape had finished his report on Azkaban, Harry's servants had begun chuckling. It was a slow thing, a small display of mirth that became full blown laughter and Harry had felt their happiness. He really couldn't tell what they were so happy about though and the Shadows were in no condition to answer him as Snape continued on to report that the Dark Lord was asking all his forces a single question. Snape had not yet been asked and he had no idea what the question was since the Death Eaters who did know simply said it was worth their lives to speak of it...just as it was worth their lives if they answered incorrectly.

As he flicked green eyes over the paper now, he was beginning to see what his servants had been so happy about. At that thought, the Shadows started laughing again and Harry did his best to block them out. For what was such a little thing they seemed exorbitantly happy.

After they had discussed Azkaban, the meeting had moved on. There really wasn't much they could discuss about Azkaban anyway. It had already happened. What they did spend some time on was how to kill Dementors, and Harry was horrified at what it took to kill one. If they were that hard to kill, he wondered how it was that they hadn't just taken over! There had to be an easier way that did not involve his servants eating them all and Harry had made a mental note to ask Hermione to think about it. He didn't really want to kill them all but he had to appear as if he was doing something. The be all and end all of Azkaban was that the Death Eaters were free and recovering which was why the Dark Lord was being so quiet. The non-Death Eaters were either becoming Death Eaters or dying, and the Dementors were so firmly on Voldemort's side that nothing would move them.

Kingsley had given a report then and he had included Harry in his discussion. That had been something Harry was grateful for. They all said he was going to be the one to fight but when the time came, no matter that he was supposedly a full member, they seemed reluctant to tell him anything. At least the Ministry had worked out what they wanted to do with him and though Kingsley couldn't officially tell him, he had indicated that Harry would be getting some letters in the near future which would outline the Ministry's plans.

Dumbledore had seemed happy enough with that. He probably already knew what the plans were but had felt it best not to tell Harry. He had suppressed a sigh then and he suppressed one now. The more they tried to hide information from him, the harder they made it on themselves. It really was pathetic to think that if Dumbledore had of been upfront and open at the beginning then the outcome of the Dark Lord's courting probably would have been different. They had no one to blame but themselves. You did not rely on someone but never tell them anything.

No one had said anything about Sirius. No one had even asked. Harry had been listening for news of his Godfather but it seemed everyone was content with pretending he didn't exist. If the Shadows didn't exist then he wouldn't have known anything.

"Harry!" Hermione broke into his thoughts.

"Hmm?"

"Did you know about this?" she whispered pointing towards the paper.

Harry shook his head. "I'm blocking him," he replied. "One thing I could use was his Occulemcy skills, and apparently I'm a bit too good at it."

"Better to block him completely than have him learn things," Hermione said with complete faith.

"It wasn't that bad." He could barely remember what it had been like. It had been more than a year since he had felt pain from feeling the Dark Lord's thoughts.

Hermione just gave him a look. "It was that bad," she said simply, "You didn't have to watch you in pain. We did."

"All right, perhaps it was bad, but it was useful."

At that, Harry could see she conceded a little in the way she held her head and he remembered his mental note. "Actually, there's something I want to ask you."

"Oh?"

"It's about Dementors. I found out how to kill them and it's difficult..."

Harry would have said more but McGonagall chose that moment to come down the aisle between the tables to stand beside him. "Mr. Potter, the Headmaster would like to see you," she announced quietly but the entire Hall heard.

"Yes, Professor," Harry said smiling. This probably meant the Ministry was finally up to speaking to him. He grabbed another piece of toast and bacon and with a smile towards his friends he got up and trotted out of the Great Hall. If the Ministry had finally gotten their act together, then he didn't want to be late.

Harry made his way to the Headmaster's office. The gargoyle swung out of his way automatically now and he patted it almost fondly. As he rode the steps up, he stretched his senses. Dumbledore was there, as was Kingsley and a man and a woman he didn't recognise. Xeoaph wasn't there and he couldn't sense any other Vampires either. It would be nice not to deal with them.

He knocked and before he lowered his hand, Albus had bid him enter. "You wanted to see me?"

"Yes Harry, come in, come in," Dumbledore would have ushered him to a chair if he wasn't sitting behind his desk. The man and woman whom Harry didn't recognise were sitting and wore the robes of Aurors and from the glimpse of rank it was a captain and the Auror Commander.

:The captain is a moron so try not to get annoyed,: the Shadows whispered to him. :And it's Auror Commander Amelia Bones.:

Inwardly, Harry nodded. It appeared Kingsley was as good as his word and the Ministry really did have an idea of what they wanted to do. Or maybe it was the Aurors and they were just going to forget to tell the rest of the Ministry. That would make more sense. He sat in one of the chairs when Dumbledore gestured that he should.

"Harry, this is the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Madam Bones, and Auror Captain Baross."

"Pleased to meet you," Harry murmured as he nodded politely.

"Equally," Madam Bones said calmly. "I have heard much about you, Mr. Potter."

Dumbledore smiled happily. Harry resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the elder wizard. Instead Harry focused his attention on the Aurors who were also in the office. He nodded slightly towards Madam Bones and addressed her as an equal. "What brings you here today?" he asked.

"We came to talk to you," Madam Bones said.

Harry raised an eyebrow to question her statement.

"The completion of your O.W.L.s last year brought you to our attention. You have to be aware that you showed a great amount of skill during your dual with the examiners and the Aurors and the members of the Order of the Phoenix."

"I was also aware that the Ministry was not meant to speak to me without my Godfather present."

Madam Bones smiled at the comment. "Your Godfather was very insistent that anything for the Ministry was not to impact upon your educational requirements for the future. However Mr. Potter I have seen your results and academically speaking your future is rather good."

Harry smiled. "Forgive me Madam Bones, I have not seen my results. From your statement I can imply that they are more than acceptable however I'm afraid that the Ministry, while allowing me to enrol in Sixth Year, has not seen fit to officially award me my O.W.L.s."

The Head of the DMLE nodded towards him and withdrew from her robe a tight scroll of parchment. It was similar to one that was sitting before the Headmaster. She held her copy out towards Harry. The black haired young man reached forward to take the parchment before he sat back and opened it; green eyes flickered over the words. He had taken his O.W.L.s in all subjects that were available and after his second test the papers had been replaced with N.E.W.T.s. He wasn't sure how the Ministry were going to tell him that, but it appeared that they would just let his results inform him of what had happened. There was a list of subjects running down the parchment and beside the name of each subject in a neat tabular format were four figures. The first was his O.W.L. result then two figures which represented his N.E.W.T.s result separating it into written and practical results. The last figure was the overall score for his N.E.W.T. in that subject. The subjects were listed alphabetically but Harry only cared about a few.

He smiled involuntarily when he saw that he had gotten the highest possible marks in Defence Against the Dark Arts. His smile grew wider as he looked at the rest of his results. Hermione would be jealous. In every subject in which he had taken his exam, he'd gotten the highest possible results both in the practical and the written sections except for Herbology and Potions. He remembered then that those two had been his first exams and they had probably not substituted them. Harry was not someone who deliberately tried to get good grades but at the same time he could not help but be pleased that it was very unlikely that anyone would ever get better results than he had even if the results were mostly because of his beloved's knowledge.

"Allow me to be one of the first to congratulate you on achieving the highest N.E.W.T.s in history," Madam Bones said in a genuinely admiring tone. "As you can see, extracurricular activities will not impinge upon your school results."

"Indeed," Harry was forced to agree with her. His servants laughed and whispered to him that it had never mattered what his results were. Both the Ministry and the Order of the Phoenix needed him to fight the Dark Lord. The green eyed young man smiled at the adults present as was expected and decided to approach what would come with an innocent demeanour. "So what happens now?"

Auror Captain Baross stirred slightly at his question. "Now you can stop dithering around and actually start fighting for us."

Harry wasn't the only one to look at the Auror captain with some surprise. The Shadows had told him that the captain was moron but he hadn't quite believed that someone of his rank could be that completely tactless. Green eyes flicked towards the Headmaster and Harry caught the small nod of approval not at the Auror but towards himself. With a tiny condescending smile he leaned towards the Auror captain placing one elbow on his knee and resting his chin in his hand. "You say it as if I am obliged."

"Of course you were obliged."

"To do what?"

"To fight!"

"Why?" Harry said the question as innocently as he could.

The Auror captain jerked back in surprise, he had obviously never expected such question. "Because... Because you have to."

"No, I don't have to. You needed me to." Harry couldn't resist looking slightly smug at his statement and he noticed that Madam Bones just looked frustrated. Kingsley looked a bit amused; he was no doubt the imagining the chewing out Baross would get when they got back to the office.

"You are correct, Mr. Potter, you do not have to fight, but I was under the impression that the Dark Lord would target you and while you may prefer not to fight, he will give you no choice if you wish to survive."

Harry nodded. He was impressed by the little he had seen of Madam Bones. She seemed to be logical as well as decent. He could tell she knew they needed him, but she was also upset that they had to rely on someone so young.

"You are correct, Madam, he does seem rather fixated on me," Harry replied.

Madam Bones closed her eyes briefly as she nodded. "That being the case, Harry, the Auror department would like to offer you some alternatives."

"What type of alternatives?" Harry asked somewhat suspiciously.

"If you truly you do not wish to fight," Madam Bones began, "then the DMLE would advise that you leave the country and create a new identity in the hope that he does not pursue and find you. Unfortunately, we equally advise that we do not think that this would work for very long."

"I agree," Dumbledore said softly.

After Harry had nodded, Madam Bones continued. "You are a true Gryffindor so I believe that you're more likely to fight him and therefore, the DMLE has a proposal for you. We understand that you do not wish to leave Hogwarts and we can accommodate that. You are after all a young man who should spend time with his friends. Since you are at an educational facility, I would ask that you consider taking this opportunity to pursue further education, specifically in areas where you feel it would be beneficial to achieve your Mastery."

"That really doesn't help me fight," Harry said.

"That would be in addition to taking a position with the DMLE," Madam Bones said easily. "Even Aurors don't fight all the time," she added quietly. "And to be honest, I have no intention of investing you as an Auror, even if you are of age. If you still wish it in a few years, then we would be happy to have you. However, it has been rightly pointed out me that it would be chaos to have you join the Aurors in combat if you are not a part of the chain of command. Put simply, we cannot have an outside party on the battlefield, no matter what your intentions are, as you are essentially a civilian. That being said, if you are willing, we would like to invest you as an Auror Apprentice. In combat you would be specifically answerable to Senior Aurors who are appointed to you."

"Who?"

"I was thinking your Godfather and Auror Captain Sturges," the Head of the DMLE said.

"Sirius isn't an Auror," Harry objected.

"When your Godfather was found to be innocent he was reinstated as an Auror who was on indefinite leave."

"Ah," Harry said softly. "What would I be required to do?"

Madam Bones smiled, which gave her a slightly grandmotherly look. It suited her and was far more natural on her face than Dumbledore's similar look. "Straight to the point I see. Officially, you would be aiding us in combat and the chain of command will directly apply to you. However realistically, no matter how much I might wish otherwise, the Dark Lord is likely to target you and your role then would be to fight him has best you are able with the Aurors as backup. It is a tricky situation and one that may change as time goes on.

"I think we are all agreed that the main aim of any hostilities this year will be to kill or otherwise negate the Serpent Lord. We have lived for too long with a constant threat of war and it is time things changed. As much as I regret that we must involve such a young fighter, I will do my best to ensure that you remain safe, Harry. The Dark Lord was created by my generation and should be dealt with by those whose prejudices have led to the situation. It truly pains me that you are involved."

Dumbledore chose that moment to speak. "It is not your fault, Amelia. Tom is the one who keeps involving Harry and we are left trying to make the best of a bad situation. Harry is both determined and resourceful and I'm sure he will use this as an opportunity to better determine if a career as an Auror is everything he thought it would be."

"Will I be able to use all my power?"

Dumbledore looked uncomfortable and Madam Bones was confused. "What you mean, Harry?"

"I mean, will I be able to use all my power?"

"What power?"

Before Dumbledore could object and hide the truth of it, Harry sat back with a small smile and willed his servants to appear. The Headmaster's office came alive with darkness but there was nothing threatening in the movement of the Shadows. They simply flickered and danced and Harry chuckled aloud when a couple of them flowed over the paintings behind the Headmaster as if they were shadow puppets.

Madam Bones was startled but she was not the head of the DMLE for nothing and she was quick to think on her feet. "What are they?" She asked sensibly.

"They are my power."

"Harry has been gifted with the old power," Albus said and Harry could detect a note of reluctance in his voice. The Headmaster did not wish to share this information. No doubt it was something that he had been hoping to reveal later which would have made Harry seem more powerful and would of course have given more credit to the Order of the Phoenix.

"The old power?"

"Most Dark Lords seek it and Voldemort unfortunately has it. Not the same power, instead he has the ancient power over serpents. You have faced him in person so you know how overwhelming he feels; that is a part of the old power."

"Do you have it?" Madam Bones looked pointedly at Dumbledore.

The Headmaster smiled attempting to appear innocuous. To the unwary eye he'd probably succeeded, but Harry was becoming more adept at reading the old wizard's mask. "No, I don't," Albus said and Harry was mildly surprised when his senses told him that the ancient wizard was speaking the truth. From the way leader of the light felt at times Harry would have said that he had some type of power.

:He does have some type of power,: the Shadows whispered to their master, :it's just not one of the old powers.:

:What is his power then?: Harry asked silently.

:Power,: the shadows said easily. :Regardless of anything else, Dumbledore is a very powerful and influential wizard. You might even say that Voldemort based himself on Albus.:

Harry was hard pressed not to laugh out loud, but he quickly turned his attention back to the Head of the DMLE as the witch looked at him with a measuring gaze.

"What exactly does your power do?"

"The Shadows are much like the serpents," Harry began. "Voldemort uses his snakes to spy on events and people he has an interest in. The Shadows are similar in that regard though they are more invasive but at the same time they are more easily blocked."

"How does that help in battle?"

"It means that the forces you have sneaking around under invisibility cloaks or spells or even just hiding behind the next corner won't be able to ambush me. The Shadows will tell me that they are there, and what their numbers are as well as any special abilities they may have."

Madam Bones frowned slightly, she did not like the implications of this but perhaps they could be useful. "Could they spy on the Dark Lord?"

Harry shook his head trying to project regret. "I thought about that, and have even sent one or two, but they never came back. Some of the Shadows are obeying the Serpent Lord."

"Ah yes," Madam Bones murmured. "I remember now, there was a report that you were attacked and Dumbledore could not tell us who did it. It was those Shadows wasn't it?"

Black hair shook a little as Harry quivered. "Yes," he whispered "but I am the one they have to obey so while they attacked me they were also bound to me. I don't know what Voldemort has paid those Shadows to obey him, but they are loyal and I will only be able to bring them to our side if I touch them, one by one."

"It's very much like the serpents," the Headmaster began. The "Harry can usually persuade one to obey him, however if Voldemort is around they will automatically respond to the true lord and by the ancient power he is the true lord of serpents. There is one more thing Harry can do to help the ministry in combat. Harry and the Dark Lord's wands share brother cores. They will recognise each other and will be reluctant to cast spells against the other at full power."

"Very interesting," Baross finally spoke. "Is the rumour I hear about Mr. Potter having the Dark Lord's wand true?"

"Not at all," Dumbledore said and his voice had a slight edge to it. "Mr. Potter has his own wand."

Harry played along and drew his wand from his sleeve. It was almost comical to see the Auror Captain's eyes open wide in fear as the sight of thirteen and a half inches of yew. "That is not his wand!" Baross objected.

"I'm afraid you are mistaken," Harry said gently. "This is my wand."

"That is the wand that has killed countless wizards and witches."

"Once perhaps," Harry said distantly, "but no longer. Now it is my wand and if you wish to take it from me, then I will not work for the Ministry."

"We do not wish to take it from you," Madam Bones said, "though it is somewhat surprising to see the wand that we associate with the Dark Lord in your possession, Mr. Potter. Perhaps you could explain how this came to be?"

Harry smiled. Voldemort had given him his wand along with Xaos in an effort to help keep him safe, but the black haired boy could embellish the story a little. He didn't care if Dumbledore didn't want the information revealed. It was his story and he would tell whomever he wanted. "You are aware that the Dark Lord has been obsessed with me and has actually captured me a few times..?" he began.

Both Baross and Madam Bones nodded and Harry continued. "The last time was during Lucius's Rebellion. I don't remember much of it, but I do remember waking up and seeing him. I don't think he expected me to be awake that quickly because his wand was on a table so I grabbed it and then I apparated out of there very quickly."

Amelia chuckled. "That seems like a very reasonable thing to do," she said with some amusement. "So Mr. Potter, what do you think of our proposal?"

"I think I can work with it," he replied though he felt a small twinge of regret. From what he had seen, Madam Bones was the type of person he wanted to stand with them and her eventual defeat would hurt.

"There is just one more thing, Mr. Potter. We would like your permission to publish your N.E.W.T. results. You may think it's a waste of time, but I believe such news will greatly boost the wizarding community's morale."

Harry was shocked. They were actually asking if it was okay to publish something about him rather than pretending he would be okay with it. He really would regret when the day came to take down Madam Bones. "Which paper?" he heard himself ask.

"You have a preference?" She seemed a little surprised.

"I realise The Quibbler has a smaller readership but they present things in a much more helpful manner."

He was proficient enough at observing to see that Madam Bones was pleased at his reply, though she was careful to hide it. No doubt, she was Ministerially obligated to support The Daily Prophet, but that didn't preclude her having her own opinion. "I believe it would be best to give the story to both papers," she said diplomatically.

"Yes," Harry mused, "that would be best," he said, as if he hadn't thought about it like that at all. "If you think it's best, please do give them my results."

"Good," Madam Bones said rising, which lead to a tiny scramble from Baross as he followed suit. "Thank you for your time, Mr. Potter. My department will be in touch, though if you see your Godfather, tell him I am expecting him to appear for duty soon." The last was said while she looked at Harry, but it was clearly directed towards Dumbledore. She held out her hand to Harry and he took it, smiling up at the Head of the DMLE.

"I look forward to working with you, Mr. Potter," Amelia said simply.

"So do I," Harry replied, smiling at the way the Shadows were laughing. Dumbledore misread his expression and looked very pleased. No doubt this little arrangement would bring a great deal of power and credit to the Order of the Phoenix. Fawkes trilled, the notes happy, and everyone felt uplifted. Harry was almost surprised. It had been a while since he had felt the power of the phoenix's song.

:That's because it's been a while since he was genuine about it,: the Shadows commented and Harry nodded, watching as the Aurors flooed back to the Ministry. This had been a very useful meeting and it practically guaranteed the eventual outcome.

He felt sorry for Madam Bones though because the outcome would not be what she expected and there was nothing he would do to change that.

Rating good.

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