The-Merry-Yule (III) [Chapter 221]

“Daphne…” Angelica muttered with a somber look on her face before she threw Harry a dirty look. Even though Harry noticed the look he was getting from the woman, he decided to pay it no mind. She can be displeased with him all she wants, but her displeasure was of no consequence.

“It is alright, Mom. In fact, I believe this is better” Daphne also noticed the look her mother gave her before she started to glare at Harry, so she decided to comfort her mother and explain her reasons to the woman. “Voldemort is back and this time, he wouldn’t have accepted our neutrality. He would have forced us to join him” Daphne explained slowly.

“There is always that…” Harry admitted. “Now that you have accepted my offer, your Family will be protected from the big bad noseless” Harry added with a chuckle, making Cyrus nod his head even though he looked quite reluctant.

“Is the protection going to apply to us too?” Amelia asked as soon as Harry stopped chuckling.

“That would depend on you, Amelia” Harry answered. “So, what do you think of my offer?” Harry asked, wanting to know if she still wanted her revenge or not, but considering she accepted the dinner invitation on her own accord, he was certain that she was going to accept his offer, but he still needed to hear it from her own mouth.

Amelia glanced toward her niece, who gave her a determined nod. Though concern was clear in Susan’s eyes. “Yes, I have decided to accept your offer. Now that I am no longer the Head of DMLE, your offer is the only choice I have” Amelia admitted grimly. It was clear that she wasn’t happy to accept the offer, but it was something she was willing to do.

“Fantastic!” Harry exclaimed cheerfully as he clapped his hands in joy before he finally turned toward Saul Croaker. “Then, Mr Croaker, how may I help you?” Harry asked as he once again leaned back on the couch.

“I want to make a deal with you on behalf of the Department of Mysteries” Saul spoke, surprising the Greengrasses and Susan. None of them were expecting someone from the Department of Mysteries to not only reveal their identity but also make a deal with someone who was also wanted by the Ministry.

“I am listening” Harry said with a nod of his head as he gestured Saul to continue.

“...We want the Department to keep functioning as it is and get an assurance that the Department would remain safe from you” Saul revealed what he wanted from Harry after a small pause.

Harry raised his brows in amusement. “And what would I get in return?” Harry asked, after all, Saul was asking for a deal, so obviously he was offering something in return.

“You will be getting our services and we will also allow you free access to our Departments” Saul answered flatly without giving away anything, and after listening to the offer, Harry started to ponder while rubbing his chin with a thoughtful frown on his face.

“How can I be sure that you guys are not going to betray me?” Harry asked as he leaned forward.

“We can always draw a Magical Contract for that” Saul suggested easily. He already knew that Harry might feel squeamish about trusting them, so he had already considered a Magical Contract.

“Good, we can always decide the details on some other day” Harry accepted the suggestion with a nod of his head before he decided to speak again. “But what if someone among you is a Death Eater?” Harry asked curiously.

“We can always add a clause for that. If someone is a fool enough to join Voldemort then death is what they deserve…” Saul accepted with a shrug. Harry knew that Rockwood was a huge blow to their reputation when he was caught and if it wasn’t for the Ministry, then the Unspeakables would have made Rockwood disappear a long time ago.

“I am glad to hear that!” Harry exclaimed with a grin. “Now, there is something I do want from you as soon as possible” Harry said in a cryptic fashion.

“If it is the Prophecy you are talking about then I can take you right now if you want” Saul offered and Harry simply smiled at the man.

“That won’t be necessary, Mr Croaker… The Prophecy is going nowhere, we will visit tomorrow” Harry answered before he turned toward Amelia. “Now, there is something I need your help with. It is not necessary for you to agree, but I will be glad if you did” Harry said softly and Amelia tensed at his words.

‘If you stare at the abyss, the abyss will stare back at you…’ Amelia mused inside her mind as she forced herself to relax. Even before she was ready to accept the offer, she knew that the offer wasn’t free… Harry would want something from her. “What can I do for you?” Amelia asked.

“I want you to become the Minister” Harry revealed, stunning everyone to silence.

“W-What? I can’t be…” Amelia was the first one to regain her bearings and the first thing she tried was to deny the task, but before she could finish speaking, Harry cut her off.

“Yes, you might have been dismissed by the previous Minister from your job, but the public doesn’t know that. He wanted you to take the fall for the whole mess, but he passed away before he could complete his plan… Now, you are in a very good position. The public knows you, they love you, they respect you” Harry said passionately.

“I agree, if you throw your name in the lot, then you will win” Saul agreed with a nod of his head. To be honest, he was impressed with the plan.

“But as I said before, I am not going to force you to become the Minister. So, no pressure” Harry added with a smile.

Amelia seemed to ponder her options before she glanced toward her niece, who was looking at her expectantly. If she became the Minister, then she would be able to lead Britain through War better than anyone else could, but therein lay the problem… The question was, how many of those decisions were going to be hers?

Amelia turned back toward Harry and the look on her face hardened… “You want me to be a puppet Minister?” Amelia asked flatly, trying to hide the coldness she was feeling.

“If I wanted a puppet then I would have simply Imperiused the new Minister. Running a country sounds extremely troublesome, and that is exactly why I am not forcing you to become the Minister. Though I know that you are probably the best Minister Wizarding Britain could ask for in this situation” Harry explained with a snort.

Amelia didn’t know what to say… Her inner Auror was screaming at her in protest, but she knew that she was no longer an Auror. She did her job honestly for so many years, but what did she get in return? An early dismissal from her job without any benefits.

“Can I think about it?” Amelia asked in an unsure tone. If Harry was telling the truth, then there was no reason to deny the task, but at the same time, she was also hesitant to accept the task as it was going to paint a target on Susan’s back and with the junior Death Eaters at Hogwarts, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to risk it.

“Of course, but the Wizengamot is going to convene for a meeting on the day after tomorrow and I am certain that they are going to elect a new Minister or at least nominate the candidates on that day” Harry said with a smile.

“What about my niece? She will be in danger at school” Amelia asked with a frown.

“The school needs a Transfiguration and Potions Professor, I will send one of my people to keep an eye on her and if that is not up to your liking, then I can always replace a student for one of my people to take their place” Harry suggested, and once again Amelia was left completely speechless.

“You are not planning to kill anyone, are you?” Susan asked nervously. She didn’t want any of the students to die so that Harry could replace them. That would be horrible.

“Of course, not. I would ask them nicely, but I have a better idea…” Harry denied the accusation and trailed off before he slowly turned toward Daphne Greengrass. “Ms Greengrass, I have a task for you” Harry said and Daphne didn’t even need to ask what he wanted her to do.

“It will be hard, I only share a couple of classes with her and I can’t spend the whole day with her” Daphne pointed out cautiously, after all, she didn’t want to seem like making excuses.

“I understand, but you don’t need to spend the day with her… You simply need to root out any naughty guys and deal with them in an appropriate fashion” Harry declared nonchalantly and Daphne simply stared at him for a few seconds before nodding her head.

“I can do that” Daphne agreed. There were junior Death Eaters in all the houses, but most of them were in Slytherin and there was only one junior Death Eater in Hufflepuff, so it wouldn’t be hard for her to check if any of them were up to no good… If she couldn’t even protect someone from school kids then all of her hard work was nothing but waste…

Though what Harry didn’t tell her was the fact that he would be keeping a close eye on Susan on his own…