The Next Adventure

A long lost relative

The elevator kept going down.  Suddenly, it stoped moving. Harry could see through the glass elevator's doors an old, yet stable brick wall.

They waited for a moment and a crack was created at the center of the wall.  The doors of the elevator opened, along with the brick wall.

The bright light of the grand hall outside invaded the small cabin of the elevator.

Natasha and Harry got out of the elevator's cabin and into the great hall in front of them.

The room had the most extraordinary glare coming out of it. The walls were covered with light gray shinning tiles, bottom to top, where the ceiling started. The ceiling, on the other hand, was covered with white tiles, similar to the gray tiles. Two rows of columns were holding the ceiling to its rightful place.  At the top and at the bottom of its column, a lot of magical objects were sculptured. There were cauldrons, apples, wands, sparkles, owls, hats, mirrors and a lot of plants. And of course, who could forget about the magic portals/fireplaces which were located on the walls all across the room.

The hall was filled with people, others wearing suits with long coats, others wearing robes and a few groups of teenagers in school uniforms, following their teachers around the room. The school year wasn't over yet, even though Hogwarts have closed its gates to students earlier this year due to recent...events.

Harry have heard of the "American Hogwarts", Ilvermorny it was called, and of its different ways. He really liked the sorting ceremony, because it reminded him of his start. The way the students have a chance to choose the house they want to be sorted in, if they are wanted by more then one houses, reminded Harry of how the Sorting Hat took mind of his wish not to be sorted in Slytherin. For one second, he even got a little jealous of the Ilvermorny students, because they had the chance to actually visit the Ministry, even though the school was miles away... He quickly got over it of course, he was too kind to stay jealous of something for long, not to mention something so  insignificant to the day as school field trips.

Natasha and Harry walked across the room, to the opposite side's wall and waited. Above them, there was a sing saying "Department of magical laws" and a second just bellow the first saying "including Minister of Magic's office". Natasha flicked her wand and the wall cracked opened in half, creating a passage for them to go through. The minute they've walked their way through the passage, the walls closed firmly behind them.

They found themselves in a long blue-tiled corridor that seemed to go on and on for miles. Harry looked at Natasha and noticed she had had closed her eyes and was holding her wand in front of her chest with both of her hands. Harry felt weird, and looked ahead. It seemed to him that they were getting closer and closer to the end of the corridor. Only a moment after, they have reached a plain red door with a golden outline and a golden handle with runic details. In the middle of the door was a golden tag, matching the handle, on which was written the name of "Fleammont James McAllister" and below that, the words: "Minister of Magic".

Natasha put her fist in front of her cherry colored lips and coughed. She didn't turn to Harry, but seemed to have noticed his confused look and so she said, as if she was talking to air:

"Each passage leads to a different department with a specific number of rooms. You just have to know which department you're going to and then you just have to think your way to the room."

Natasha raised one eyebrow and looked unsurely at Harry.

"I suppose you have different levels for each department in your ministry?" She said tentatively.

Harry wasn't interested at all, at the moment at least, in getting to know how the American Ministry worked. He himself after all these years, have gotten,more or less, used to what extraordinary things magic can do. He was more interested in getting to know the purpose of all this. Many people in the past were eager to meet him but the way this Minister had gotten to all this trouble to keep Harry's presence a secret, was more than weird, and it reminded him of the past months.

Harry simply said "Yes." without bothering to look at Natasha.

She nodded and said "I see." before knocking the door.

A shallow angry male voice was heard from the inside, saying "Yes?"

Natasha rolled her eyes and said formally:

"Natasha Leonov, bringing Mr Harry Potter"

"Come in" said the voice in a completely different tone. It had became so much friendlier in a matter of moments.

The door opened magically and they entered the room.

There weren't any windows. The room was lightened by candles, most of were floating around the room in groups of three, and the rest were sitting on the office desk in the middle of the room. Despite the weak flames of the candles, the room was quiet bright. Behind the desk there was a man.

The door closed behind Natasha and Harry and the mysterious man stood up. A smile was drawn on the man's face.

"My,my." He said. "You really do look like James, Harry. Except from your eyes. They're..."

"My mother's eyes. Yeah I've heard..." said Harry. "But...you knew my parents?"

"Yes. I did." The man said sadly. "I am sorry for all the secrecy Harry, but I am afraid these are not the safest times we live in."

"What are you saying?" Harry said confused.

"I'm afraid that the war you and your friends have been giving for the past few years is not over. Because Voldemort may be gone, but a lot of his followers remain. And it's sad to say that  they are still faithful to his vision. The number of disappearances has increased during the past few week. The Deatheaters have been busy. But that's not the reason I called you here. It's the cause."

"And why am I here exactly?" Harry asked as politely as he could given the situation.

"To be protected until we have a plan to stop the Deatheaters of  course. You didn't imagine they whould be veey friendly with the boy...the man who defeated their master, did you?"

"Of course not. But how did you know I was here? I've only just arrived. And why do you care so much anyway?"

"Because, Harry, blood bonds are very important."

"Blood bonds? What do you mean? I don't have any relatives except my mother's and her family."

"That's what they told you, and that's what they should have told you. But now it's time for you to know the truth. My last name is not McAllister, as you may have read on the door. It is Potter. Like you."

Harry looked more confused than ever.

"I am your grandfather, Harry."