Damaged Bridges

Rites of Passage

There was a moment of silence in Dumbledore's office following Mundungus Fletcher's furious outburst, over which could be heard only the ruffling of Fawkes's feathers. The Phoenix's piercing gaze mirrored his human's, his beady black eyes fixed as they were on the cross looking thief.

"Bloody 'ell!" Mundungus snapped after several moments passed, "I tol' ya wot you wanted t'know, didn' I? Now call this bloody 'ouse-elf off and let me outta here!"

Dumbledore blinked. "Momentarily, Mundungus. You and I have some unfinished business to attend to - namely your general disregard for even the most basic levels of decency to be accorded those you counted among your friends. And when we have sorted that out, you will live up to your promise to return the remaining things you have stolen from Number Twelve, and Kreacher shall be accompanying you to assure your compliance."

Kreacher's face broke into an ugly grin at Dumbledore's pronouncement and Mundungus groaned. A swell of satisfaction filled Harry's chest.

"Now," Dumbledore continued, turning his attention to Harry, Hermione, and Dora, "obtaining the locket presents a serious problem which requires careful consideration, given the current set of circumstances. And this is probably not the best time to discuss our options..." Dumbledore's eyes flickered meaningfully towards Mundungus Fletcher again.

Fletcher snorted. "Why don' you just set the 'ouse-elf on the hag like you did on me?"

"Because said 'hag' is now Minister," sighed Dumbledore, "with all the magical protections which are afforded the office..."

~o0o~

"I don't see why that wouldn't work," Harry muttered as Dora escorted him and Hermione back to their quarters. "I mean, whatever magical protections Scrimgeour had didn't protect him from getting nabbed by wizards, and House-Elf magic is different from wizard magic, right?"

"Well, whether it was Ministry folk - like Unspeakables - or Voldy's Death Eaters - either way, the Minister's protections aren't impregnable to highly skilled wizards," said Dora. "And I suppose Ministry House-Elves protect the Ministry from being invaded by other House-Elves, but I admit, I don't really know why we couldn't send Kreacher or your friend Dobby to snatch it off 'er neck when she's not at the Ministry."

"Maybe there's some sort of special enchantment that prevents House-Elves from attacking the Minister," Hermione suggested, "to prevent the possibility of a House-Elf insurrection. After all, House-Elves are magically enslaved and forced to obey their Masters specifically... It only stands to reason that they'd be forced to obey the Head of the wizarding government too."

"Oh!" Dora's eyebrows shot up, and she looked very impressed with Hermione's logic. "I never thought o' that. I suppose you're right."

"Yeah, of course," Harry sighed, rubbing at his itching scar. "That makes perfect sense, Hermione. I should've known it wouldn't be that easy! ... And I guess we can't really go after Umbridge directly ourselves without proof that she's corrupt or in league with Voldemort."

"No, we can't! That's true Harry," said Dora. "We'll 'ave to burgle the Minister somehow to grab the locket - can't really ask Shacklebolt t'do it. S'pose we'll just have to work it out with Dumbledore later. ... Anyway, what about your folks, guys? Did you write to them yet to give them a heads up about movin' them for their safety?"

Hermione flushed guiltily.

Harry shook his head and scowled. "No! I'll let Moody deal with the Dursleys. But I'm not sure what to tell Hermione's parents..."

"Hunh? What d'you mean Harry?"

"Er..." Harry glanced at Hermione.

"My parents," Hermione moaned, turning even redder. "I've been putting it off because I never told them about Voldemort, or much of anything beyond my school-work really. After I wrote and told them about the Troll incident in First Year, I could tell from the tone of the letters I got back that they - well, Dad anyway - I could tell he was having second thoughts about letting me come to Hogwarts.