Disclaimer:
Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 225: Ravens
The next day, most eyes were on him.
Rumors move quickly inside Hogwarts, and even those who were not in the game or did not see him directly knew what happened already.
The only spell used by Harry that the students were able to recognize was the Patronus he used at the beginning, so that is what they talked about the most.
'At least all they do is look at me.' He was used to the stares. As long as people didn't approach him and started to annoy him, he would not mind it that much.
But before he could arrive at his table for breakfast, a small boy stood in his way.
"H-Hi! I-I…I'm Colin Creevey!" The young blonde boy raised an old school camera and pointed it at him. "Can I take a picture?" The flash of light that followed indicated he already did.
"Fine…you have your picture, now let me eat in peace," Harry told the boy.
"W-wait, I am a member of Hogwarts' Newspaper. Can I do an interview with you?" Creevey followed him.
"We have a newspaper?" Parvati asked.
"Yeah, why haven't I heard about that? I usually hear about everything that happens here," Lavender inquired.
Hermione made a face of displeasure. She obviously hadn't heard about it either but didn't want to admit it.
"Well…actually, it has been reinstated this year…by me," Creevey admitted.
"Wait, don't tell me…it's just you," Lavender said.
The boy nodded bashfully. "For the moment…but my brother said he will join!"
His eyes moved back to Harry. "I just want to ask you a few questions. People want to know more about Hogwarts' mysterious genius."
Harry raised an eyebrow at the name. "What did you say?"
Creevey became more nervous. "T-that's what people have been calling you since last year."
"It is kinda your fault, Harry," Lyra leaned closer to him. "You are not very approachable, to be honest. A lot of people ask me questions about you because they don't dare to speak with you in person."
"Yes, many students find you very scary," Hermione added. "You didn't know that?"
Harry glanced over the Great Hall. Hermione was not wrong. He could recognize the mixture of fear and curiosity in their eyes. 'It's better that way, I guess.'
Since Harry didn't answer the boy, Ron took it upon himself to deal with him. "Just let him eat alone, Creevey. Harry doesn't want your stupid interview," the redhead shouted at the timid boy.
"I-I…yes…sorry!" Colin Creevey ran away from the Great Hall.
"Ron, that was totally uncalled for. Colin didn't deserve that," Ginny smacked her brother on the shoulder.
"But he is so annoying! Someone had to do something," Ron stood his ground.
"Harry," one of the Weasley twins called for him.
"We just wanted to say thank you for helping our little sister," the other one added.
"No problem…so, how is your ankle?" Harry asked.
"Madam Pomfrey fixed it in like two seconds. No need to worry abou—"
George was interrupted when a commotion erupted in the Great Hall.
A group of black birds had entered the room and were circling around.
"Are those black owls? There are four of them," Lyra watched with interest, wondering what kind of message they were bringing.
"They look very small to be owls," Ginny pointed out.
"Those are not owls…" Hermione was the first one to notice. "They are ravens."
<><><><><><><><><><>
The previous night, Parkinson's second manor
Lord Parkinson arrived late to his meeting. Minister Fudge had insisted he stayed in his office to help fine-tune his speech for the next day.
"How did it go?" Lord Flint asked.
Lord Parkinson did not answer immediately. Instead, he continued to walk until he reached his usual seat at the head of the table.
He sat down and observed the faces of the fifteen people sitting in his dining hall.
He had more allies, but these fifteen were his most trustworthy ones…his inner circle.
"Well?" Corban Yaxley was a man of little patience, and even less so after spending a decade in Azkaban.
"I believe…" Lord Parkinson started. "That the poor Minister Fudge will not be able to keep his position for long. Very soon…we will be the ones in control of this country."
"It would have been faster if we just killed that pudgy bastard, like I suggested," Augustus Rookwood chuckled.
"Yes, we heard that 'fantastic' suggestion of yours…but killing the Minister of Magic would have created a lot of extra problems for us," Lord Montague said.
"And it was just a matter of time before that incompetent man got himself into trouble," Lord Derrick said.
"Well, I can't wait…like we talked about it before. We want to be in charge of Hogwarts," Amycus Carrow said with a cruel grin.
"We are going to put all those mudbloods where they belong," his sister added.
Lord Parkinson had to put some effort into avoiding a reaction. Those two always creeped him out. He already had a good idea of what they wanted to do with those mudblood children.
"Speaking of Hogwarts…what about Dumbledore?" Avery Jr. asked.
"Yes, it's not like Fudge was ever much of a problem…but even the Dark Lord was wary of that old man," Lord Selwyn reminded them.
"The Headmaster won't be a problem for long," Lord Parkinson's eyes went to a burly man sitting close by. "Isn't that right, Dolohov?"
"About that…" The man made a troubled face. "Greyback is asking for an extra fifty percent…"
"What?!"
"Outrageous!"
"Who does he think he is? That beast!"
"Pay him." Parkinson did not hesitate. Before the other Lords could begin complaining, he raised his hand in a placating manner. "Once we have complete control over Magical Britain, we will strip all those Blood Traitor Families of their assets…money will not be an issue, as long as we win. So pay that man what he asks. His role is a crucial one."
"Speaking of Blood Traitors…" Montague glanced at the other Lords next to him.
"We decided to send the ravens to Potter in the morrow," Lord Derrick added. "Unless you have any objections?"
Lord Parkinson considered telling them about his private talk with Harry Potter, but he decided against it.
Nothing good would come out of that, and Potter had rejected it anyway…before telling him all that nonsense. "Go ahead…" Lord Parkinson said.
'With Harry Potter's death, there will be one less headache for the future…I hope Pansy doesn't take it too badly.'
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