Little Bird

Chapter Forty-Seven

Eve

Nearly a week after Dumbledore's death, the Dark Lord successfully infiltrated the Ministry. Scrimgeour was now Minister of Magic, replacing Cornelius Fudge—who had resigned after multiple threats from the Death Eaters and was now in extensive hiding. 

We found out from the Daily Prophet, because someone had left the newspaper lying on the kitchen counter and Scrimgeour's grinning face as he waved to a hidden crowd of paparazzi had been the first thing we'd seen. Draco and I leaned over the printed paper together to read the headline, both of us squinting in the fading afternoon light. We'd spent nearly the entire morning upstairs together and hadn't even come down for breakfast, so this was the first time we'd left Draco's bedroom in search of something decent to eat.

Of course, we found something much more upsetting than stale cereal. 

"I didn't think it would happen this soon," Draco admitted quietly without looking at me, gently flattening out the paper with his right hand. "I thought he'd wait a little longer, I dunno...especially after Dumbledore's death."

I nodded without saying anything, because I honestly didn't know what to say. The fact that the Dark Lord hadn't bothered to wait more than a week to infiltrate the Ministry after killing Dumbledore really showed that things were changing quickly—and it looked like it was only going to get worse. 

Draco told me to sit down so he could make the coffee, and I didn't bother to protest since he seemed upset after seeing the newspaper. I lifted myself onto a counter stool and pulled the Prophet closer to me so I could read the article, watching Draco carefully out of the corner of my eye as he filled the pot with water. After reading the article for a quiet minute, I looked up and asked, "Do you think he's influencing the papers, too?"

"I'd be surprised if he wasn't," Draco said reluctantly, leaning beside the stove across from me as the water slowly began to steam. "Why, does it sound like it?"

I shrugged, tilting the newspaper up again and reading aloud, "'Rufus Scrimgeour expects to place a number of new laws and restrictions on the Wizarding World in order to better our communities and societies themselves. It is widely believed and anticipated that this new minister will change our world and the non-Wizarding world for the better.'"

Draco scoffed and leaned forward slightly, reaching across the space between us to take the paper from me. He shook his head as he scanned the article, his eyes flicking back and forth across the paper quickly. "How can they expect people to believe any of this? Everyone knows Scrimgeour's a Death Eater, it's not even a secret anymore. There's no way they'll buy this bullshit."

I didn't say anything as Draco angrily crumpled the newspaper, knowing he was probably more upset than angry as he threw the printed paper into the bin. I rested my elbows on the edge of the marble countertop and watched Draco carefully from across the kitchen, my eyes following him as he removed the boiling water from the stove. While he was getting two mugs from the cabinet, I asked worriedly, "This...this probably means the police have been infiltrated as well, right?"

His back was to me as he poured the coffee into the mugs, and he replied tiredly, "Yeah. I heard Lucius talking to Yaxley a couple days ago, and I guess Dolohov is going to be appointed head of the Aurors."

My stomach sank, but I tried not to look upset as Draco crossed the kitchen and slid one of the mugs over to me. I wrapped my hands around it hastily, feeling the warmth from the hot ceramic seep into my bones. If the Aurors were influenced by the Dark Lord, there was no way they'd be making arrests of people who had actually done something illegal - in fact, they would almost certainly be going after people who didn't support the Death Eaters.