The Potter Twins and the Half-Blood Prince {6}

1. To Have a Home

"Home, I've heard that word before, but it's never meant much more than just a thing I'd never had" ~ To Have a Home, Starkid Productions 

Harry is snoring loudly. He's fallen asleep in the chair by our window, his face pressed against the glass is the most unflattering way possible. His glasses are askew, and his mouth wide open. I would wake him, but he looks oddly peaceful - and besides, he's been dangerous to wake up recently, as he usually jolts awake with violent motions of his arms. 

Curled up in bed, I look around our room now strewn with our possessions. Owl feathers, apple cores, and sweet wrappers litter the floor, a number of spellbooks lay among the foot of my bed, tangled with dirty robes and unfolded clothing. On our desk sits a collection of Daily Prophet newspapers, illuminated by the light coming from Harry's window. One headline blares:

HARRY AND HAYLEE POTTER; THE CHOSEN ONES?

 Rumors continue to fly about the mysterious recent disturbance at the Ministry of Magic, during which He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was sighted once more.

'We're not allowed to talk about it, don't ask me anything,' said one agitated Obliviator, who refused to give his name as he left the Ministry last night.

Nevertheless, highly placed sources within the Ministry have confirmed that the disturbance centred on the fabled Hall of Prophecy.

Though Ministry spokeswizards have hitherto refused even to confirm the existence of such a place, a growing number of the Wizarding community believe that the Death Eaters now serving sentences in Azkaban for trespass and attempted theft were attempting to steal two prophecies. The nature of those prophecies is unknown, although speculation is ripe that they concern Harry and Haylee Potter, the only people ever known to have survived the Killing Curse, and who are also known to have been at the Ministry on the night in question. Some are going so far as to call the Potters 'the Chosen Ones' believing that the prophecies name them as the only ones who will be able to rid us of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

The current whereabouts of the prophecies, if they exist, are unknown, although (cont. page 2, column 5)

A second newspaper lays beside the first. This one bears the headline:

SCRIMGEOUR SUCCEEDS FUDGE

Most of this front page is taken up with a large black-and-white picture of a man with a lionlike mane of thick hair and a rather ravaged face. The picture i moving--the man was waving at the ceiling.

Rufus Scrimgeour, previously Head of the Auror office in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, has succeeded Cornelius Fudge as Minister of Magic. The appointment has largely been greeted with enthusiasm by the Wizarding community, though rumours of a rift between the new Minister and Albus Dumbledore, newly reinstated Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, surfaced within hours of Scrimgeour taking office.

Scrimgeour's representatives admitted that he had met with Dumbledore at once upon taking possession of the top job, but refused to comment on the topics under discussion. Albus Dumbledore is known to (cont. page 3, column 2)

To the right of his article sits another, reading the headline AUROR'S DAUGHTER, TAYLOR SAUNTERS, VICTIM OF MINISTRY DISTURBANCE. I can't bear to continue reading his one, as it makes my heart ache. 

To the left of this paper sits another, which has been folded so that a story bearing the title MINISTRY GUARANTEES STUDENTS' SAFETY safety is visible.

Newly appointed Minister of Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour, spoke today of the tough new measures taken by his Ministry to ensure the safety of students returning to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry this autumn.

'For obvious reasons, the Ministry will not be going into detail about its stringent new security plans,' said the Minister, although an insider confirmed that measures include defensive spells and charms, a complex array of counter-curses, and a small task force of Aurors dedicated solely to the protection of Hogwarts School.

Most seem reassured by the new Minister's tough stand on student safety. Said Mrs Augusta Longbottom, 'My grandson, Neville... good friend of Harry and Haylee Potter's, incidentally, who fought the Death Eaters alongside him at the Ministry in June and --