Chapter VI

Next morning, Ron left to invite Mr. Weasley for launch. He was supposed to find Mr. Weasley under the pretence of having trouble with renovating the house and to ask him to come and take another look at the portrait of Mrs. Black.

Harry had instructed Kreacher to make the house presentable and to make something nice for launch.

Mr. Weasley arrived at Grimmauld place at 14:30. Once he and Ron were passed the portrait of Ms. Black, they were greeted by Harry and Hermione.

"Hey kids, how have you been?" Mr. Weasley smiled, but Harry could see a note of suspicion in his eyes.

"Hello Mr. Weasley, It's great to see you!" Said Harry with a handshake.

"Hermione, I expect this," He pointed around at the spotless house. "is your doing, I don't suppose these two care that much." Said Mr. Weasley humorously.

"Oh I had to threaten to jinx them." Replied Hermione playfully as she too shook Mr. Weasley's hand.

"Mr. Weasley lunch is ready if you'd like to eat now." Said Harry

"Oh yes I'm starving and can't wait to try this reformed Kreacher's cooking!" Said Mr. Weasley as he rubbed his hand together.

They went into the kitchen and sat around the table as Kreacher served them Super Tender Braised Lamb Shanks and an assortment of other treats and finger foods, along with ale and wine from the Black cellar.

"Wow!" Whispered Mr. Weasley in amazement.

"Well done Kreacher! Everything looks great!" Said Harry to Kreacher.

"Kreacher is happy to serve master and his guests." Kreacher smiled and bowed deeply before leaving the kitchen.

"Well dig in." Harry encouraged the room at large.

"So dad what news from that Sheraldov guy?" Ron asked as he attacked a large piece lamb.

"Oh he will be minister for magic in a few days. He is turning the ministry inside out, and his already got the support of the people as well the Wizengamot's." He paused to take a sip of wine. "Ah that's good stuff Harry." Harry inclined his head as Mr. Weasley continued. "He hates everything about the dark arts and passes severe sentences for any use of them. Just last week a mere 4th year student was put under house arrest for trying a slightly modified silencing charm on a fellow student, and as I said, there is a strong chance that he will be elected minister for magic before the trial, just to give him full authority!" Said Mr. Weasley

"How come we didn't hear about it?" Asked Harry.

"Well they're keeping everything very quiet. I think that the prophet will announce him as the minister soon enough. They also don't want to agitate the public. They want people to think the war is over, so that in turn the criminals think they have a little more room to wiggle."

"Is that working beyond minor mishaps Mr. Weasley ?" Asked Hermione.

"Ahh..." Sighed Mr. Weasley "Not really, but how fierce Sheraldov truly is, is about to be examined this week."

"At the trials?" Asked Harry quickly.

"Yes, the Malfoys." Said Mr. Weasley with a stern look on his face.

"I bet he has already bribed half the Wizengamot!" Said Ron.

"It's a possibility..." Said Mr. Weasley between his bites.

"Why don't they confiscate their gold? Won't they ever learn?" Said Harry.

"Yea why don't they? I mean not just the Malfoys, any wealthy wizarding family who is known to have bribed and bought their way in and out of things!" Said Hermione

"Even without their gold, I bet Lucius could just promise to pay them once his name is cleared." Said Harry.

"So they're untouchable!" Ron groaned, slumping in his chair. "They never really go away."

Mr. Weasley sighed, the familiar, weary look of a ministry man who has fought these battles before crossing his face. "The Malfoys are not only wealthy kids, they are connected, and you might say that doesn't matter, but there are many key people in our world who benefit greatly from the Malfoys connections. If they were to go away or have their gold confiscated, our world would suffer quite a blow."

"What? How?" Asked Ron incredulously.

"Yes well Lucius Malfoy, in particular, is known for his charisma and influence within the Ministry of Magic, and other influential circles. The removal of the Malfoys, particularly Lucius, from positions of influence would disrupt the existing power dynamics within the Ministry and other spheres of influence." He smiled as he saw the bewildered looks on their faces.

"Think of it this way," Mr. Weasley continued, leaning forward. "Lucius Malfoy doesn't just bribe individuals, he bankrolls factions. His gold pays for departmental budgets the Ministry can't-or won't fund. It subsidizes the Quidditch World Cup and renovates St. Mungo's wings. When he donates, he creates a web of obligation that stretches from the Minister's office down to the bloke who approves his import licences."

He paused to cut his meat and take another sip of his wine, before continuing.

"Confiscating the Malfoys gold could have ripple effects throughout the wizarding economy. The Malfoys have investments and assets that contribute to the financial stability of the wizarding world. They have major holdings in potion ingredients, broomstick manufacturing, and international portkey services. Seize their assets, and you risk crippling businesses, creating shortages, and putting hundreds of witches and wizards out of work. Even Hogwarts relies on his seat on the board of governors, they are the main financial provider. Seizing their wealth could destabilize markets and businesses, leading to economic downturns."

"But that's... that's monstrous!" Hermione whispered, her horror not at the evil, but at the complicity.

"And if those aren't enough, the Malfoys represent a certain aspect of wizarding society, particularly the old, pure-blood elite. Their downfall would symbolize a shift in power and ideology within the wizarding world, potentially leading to tensions and conflicts among different factions that lead to another war. And many at the Ministry would rather live with a devil they know than risk the chaos of what comes next. Even Voldemort hurried to recruit Lucius for his uses." Finished Mr. Weasley.

All three of them stared at him with comically gaping mouths.

"You have so much to learn guys." Mr. Weasley Said with a kind smile.

"So the trial is what- just a mockery, and a show?" Asked Hermione.

"There is a chance that it might be, but Sheraldov... I don't know... he has a certain disregard for the old ways... we'll have to see." He turned to Harry. "Harry you should have received a letter from the ministry about their hearing, haven't you?"

"What? Why? I don't open letters anymore." Said Harry in surprise.

"Well you should! You are summoned by no other than Sheraldov himself to provide testimony or add any valuable insight about the role of the Malfoys in the whole affairs of the past two years."

"Why? Don't they have investigators for that sort of thing?"

"Isn't it obvious Harry? We were at the Malfoy manor. We broke into the Lestrange vault. You told the entire school that the elder wand was Draco Malfoy's, should I go on?" Said Hermione frantically

"Well what the fu... Ehm sorry Mr. Weasley... What do they want from me?" Harry asked irritably.

"Oh c'mon mate don't be thick, they want you to spill the beans on them. Get them a solid conviction.". Said Ron.

"Ron is right." Said Mr. Weasley "They want you to give them solid evidence that they were more than happy to serve him."

"But they weren't happy..." Said Harry, more to himself.

"If you exonerate them Harry, I swear to Merlin I'll never forgive you." Said Ron, pointing a stabbed potato at him.

Harry understood were this sudden outburst of anger was coming from. It was the Malfoy's fault that Hermione was tortured. She still bore the marks and the nightmares.

"Ron, I won't be able to exonerate or convict them, but whatever the Malfoys were and are, they were not happy in Voldemorts service."

"That's just because Lucius is an incompetent piece of shit and could not satisfy his master." Ron retorted angrily and after seeing the look on Mr. Weasley's face he quickly added "Sorry dad but if he had got the prophecy, he wouldn't have fallen out of favor."

"Yea I know that, but Draco didn't sell us out. He knew it was me and didn't say so! AND-" Harry raised his voice as Ron opened his mouth to interrupt. "Narcissa knew I wasn't dead, and lied straight to Voldemort's face. I wouldn't have survived another Avadakdavra you know!"

"Yea well maybe he's only half a death eater and his mom isn't a wrinkly old soulless whor..."

"RON that's enough. I have kept quite so far, but you will not call a woman that in front of me just because you don't like her! I will not tolerate that from any son of mine!" Roared Mr. Weasley.

There was a brief pause. Neither of them had ever seen Mr. Weasley shout at his children; it was usually Mrs. Weasley who did the yelling.

"Sorry dad, I didn't... Well... I mean... She was a death eater..." Ron pleaded red-faced.

"Then call her that!" said Mr. Weasley flatly. "And Harry." He continued turning to Harry "You should only speak the truth at the hearing, nothing more, nothing less. It is not up to you or any other single testimony to decide the outcome of this trial. You keep your good name clean and be honest." Finished Mr. Weasley.

"Alright Mr. Weasley!" said Harry calmly.

They just noticed that Hermione was oddly quiet. She was staring at her plate while firmly grabbing her forearm with her other hand. Precisely were they knew, maybe not Mr. Weasley, but Harry and Ron knew that the word mudblood was carved into her flesh.

Ron reached out and gently placed his hand on her shoulder as Mr. Weasley called her kindly.

"Hermione dear?"

"Oh... Yes... I was... Well Harry I think Mr. Weasley is right, you should just tell the truth." Said Hermione as she came out of her reverie.

"Dad's right, it wouldn't do to lie or try to make them look worse, but I don't think you should miss out on the bad stuff either, and..." Ron hesitated "I didn't mean to shout or anything its just..."

"I get it, no hard feelings." Harry cut him off, He really did understand why he acted the way he did.

"Thank you for the hospitality Harry, Now, tell me the real reason why you summoned me here." Said Mr. Weasley knowingly.

They looked at each other

"Oh c'mon guys give me some credit. I raised enough kids to know when something is going on, and they're trying to be clever." Said Mr. Weasley with a smile

"Oh, very well, Do you want to explain Hermione?" Sighed Harry, their plan ruined.

"Hmm, well alright."

And with that she launched into a very lengthy overly-detailed explanation of what they were intending to do and every little reason of why they were doing it. It took 15 minutes for her to finish the tale, during which Mr. Weasley listened calmly and nodded occasionally, though Harry could swear that he saw the shadow of horror on Mr. Weasley's face at the mention of trinity charm, he quickly rearranged his features.

"So you see Mr. Weasley, I... We wouldn't ask it wasn't a matter of life and death..." Finished Hermione.

"Who else knows about this?" Asked Mr. Weasley, surveying them with a searching look.

"No one, just us, and the portrait of Phineas Nigellus in the basement if that even counts." Said Harry.

"Harry Have you been taking advice from a portrait?" Asked Mr. Weasley, worry in his voice.

"Not really Mr. Weasley, he just told me the names of the books and I read them, and then Hermione read them even more." Explained Harry.

"What do you even know about soul magic?" Asked Mr. Weasley sharply.

"As much as the books tell." Answered Hermione timidly.

"What books?"

Hermione summoned the books with a wave of her wand, they flew in and stacked themselves neatly on the dinning table. Mr. Weasley took the books one by one and read their titles.

"This is dark stuff kids, really dark stuff."

"Mr. Weasley we know there are dark stuff in those books, but we are only going to perform a safe and rudimentary ritual." Said Harry.

"Harry you of all people should know the dangers of fiddling with soul magic!"

They looked at each other in surprise. Could Mr. Weasley mean what they thought he means? After all they never revealed the knowledge of Horcruxes to the public or to the order for that matter. Harry had surely told the entire school that there were no more Horcruxes as he was taunting Riddle, but they had no way of figuring out what that meant, but perhaps some cleverer wizards like Mr. Weasley or other order members just had to put the pieces together.

"The underlying magic for what then becomes a Horcrux is there!" He tapped on one the pile of books with his index finger. "That's where it's rooted, soul magic!"

"Dad do you honestly think that Harry or either of us is interested in bloody Horcruxes?" Said Ron.

"No I don't! But I want you to understand what you are delving into!"

"Mr. Weasley if you don't want to be a part of it, we understand." Said Harry politely.

"And will you send me off with an oblivious?" Asked Mr. Weasley.

"What? Of course not! Why would I do that?" He said, incredulously.

"Because if you are prepared to do this, then you have to be prepared to do a lot more!"

"Mr. Weasley, as Hermione said, we only want to perform a simple and informative ritual, It's nothing dark really!"

"There is nothing simple about soul magic, least of all with a charm like that! Do you have any idea how much magical power you must muster to even attempt something like this? Do you know how much, preparation, skill, knowledge and focus is required?" Asked Mr. Weasley sternly.

"We've pulled off quite a lot in the past, Mr. Weasley, I think we'll do fine." Said Harry.

"So you're telling me that there is no changing your mind?"

"No I'm afraid not, even if Ron and Hermione wouldn't help me, I'd find other people. I have to do this." Said Harry stubbornly.

"Dad we never managed to talk Harry out of anything, we can just make sure he doesn't end up getting himself killed!" Said Ron airily.

"That's actually true." Confirmed Hermione.

Harry wasn't sure if this was a compliment or a downright insult about his pigheadedness.

"Do you even have ingredients?" Asked Mr. Weasley.

"Well we have the right people, and I'll order the rest by owl." Answered Harry.

"Don't!" Said Mr. Weasley quickly. "The ministry is watching everything, weren't you listening when I said that Sheraldov is brutally harsh about the dark arts?"

"But there are many things that we need to buy for the ritual Mr. Weasley!" Interjected Hermione.

"I'll have to think about this. You, all three of you better promise me to not do anything, I mean, ANYTHING, until we meet again!" Said Mr. Weasley seriously.

"Umm..." Was all that was heard from Harry.

"You brought me into this, and I'm now in it, and I will not let you do this without carefully examining every aspect of it!" Said Mr. Weasley firmly.

"That's fine Mr. Weasley, we'll wait, but not forever, I hope that's alright!" Replied Harry as politely as he could muster.

"I won't take forever." Said Mr. Weasley bitterly.