Midnight & Destiny | Harry Potter FanFiction

Capitulum Viginti-quinque

When the following morning arrived, the news of Fudge's removal from office covered the front page of the 'Daily Prophet'. Excited chatter immediately broke out, everyone appearing to have their own opinion to the type of Minister Cornelius Fudge had been. Susan Bones became an instant celebrity since her aunt was now the acting Minister, something that she really didn't appreciate. She had made it clear when the Death Eaters had broken out of Azkaban that she hated the type of attention that always followed Harry like a shadow.

In light of what Remus had said, Harry made a point to avoid Professor Dumbledore in every way possible which wasn't difficult. The absence of a Minister had left the Ministry in a panic forcing Dumbledore to spend half of his time aiding in sorting out the mess Fudge had left behind and the other half at Hogwarts. Everything seemed to operate out of habit. Classes took place, extracurricular activities went on as they normally would and mealtimes were as loud as ever. It was as normal as Hogwarts ever was so why did it feel so wrong?

The only reason Harry could think of was that life outside of Hogwarts was anything but normal at the moment. The entire wizarding world seemed to be in a state of panic. It didn't matter whether anyone believed Voldemort had returned or not. The vote of no confidence against Cornelius Fudge had proved that there were severe problems in the Ministry of Magic. Editorials were published on who should permanently replace Fudge daily. Thankfully Lucius Malfoy and the rest of the Death Eaters Harry had identified were not on the list.

As April faded into May, all excitement concerning potential Ministers faded with the changing months. The D.A. had put a halt to their meetings so more focus could be put on the end of the year exams. Now, instead of practical defense lessons in the Room of Requirement, members of the D.A. had formed study groups for any other subject that was causing problems. Potions was the most popular group followed by Transfiguration but for completely different reasons. The Potions study group was a theoretical group so students could understand whatever Professor Snape didn't explain in class. Transfiguration was a practical study group to help everyone along in the difficult transfigurations they had been attempting in class.

Quidditch practice was now every night to prepare for the final game of the season which was scheduled for the end of the month. Practices were early allowing Harry to still work on schoolwork and even have his Occlumency lessons but it was still exhausting. Professor Snape was increasing the intensity of the mental attacks which had a tendency to cause Harry's scar to sting more than normal but thankfully there were no dreams about the Department of Mysteries or visions of what Voldemort was doing. That was the last thing Harry needed at the moment.

Everything was extremely normal for Harry until one morning when he woke up early with a pounding headache that made his scar headaches seem like a minor annoyance. Opening his eyes was a major mistake. The room was entirely too bright and only made the pain worse. Any sort of thought whatsoever only made the pain worse. Every second seemed like an eternity and all Harry could do was to wait for it to pass. Voices filled his ears only to be pushed aside by a soothing voice Harry had heard once before when he had been under the affects of the Dementors.

"Hold on, my son. The pain will pass."

Dad? Am...am I dying? How can I hear you?

"No son, you're not dying. Be strong. Trust me. The pain won't last forever."

What's happening to me?

"I don't know, son. Try to focus on my voice and not the pain. Breathe Harry. Concentrate on the smaller things."

At a flash of warmth, Harry opened his eyes to see a flash of flame followed by the appearance of a familiar phoenix. The bird began singing softly, soothingly forcing Harry to relax. The pain started to decrease as Harry's eyes closed again. Everything seemed to fade away as Fawkes' powerful trilling washed over him, covering him like a blanket. He was falling into bliss, into peace. Nothing could harm him here.