The Potter Twins and the Order of the Phoenix {5}

41. Stormy Weather

"And why is always stormy weather? And brother tell me when does it get better?" ~ Brother, Falling in Reverse

HE WHO MUST NOT BE NAMED RETURNS
'In a brief statement on Friday night, Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge confirmed that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has returned to this country and is once more active.

'"It is with great regret that I must confirm that the wizard styling himself Lord--well, you know who I mean--is alive and among us again," said Fudge, looking tired and flustered as he addressed reporters. "It is with almost equal regret that we report the mass revolt of the dementors of Azkaban, who have shown themselves averse to continuing in the Ministry's employ. We believe the dementors are currently taking direction from Lord-- Thingy.

'"We urge the magician population to remain vigilant. The Ministry is currently publishing guides to elementary home and personal defence which will be delivered free to all wizarding homes within the coming month."

'The Minister's statement was met with dismay and alarm from the wizarding community, which as recently as last Wednesday was receiving Ministry assurances that there was "no truth whatsoever in these persistent rumours that You-Know-Who is operating amongst us once more."

'Details of the events that led to the Ministry turnaround are still hazy, though it is believed that He Who Must Not Be Named and a select band of followers (known as Death Eaters) gained entry to the Ministry of Magic itself on Thursday evening.

'Albus Dumbledore, newly reinstated Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, reinstated member of the International Confederation of Wizards and reinstated Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, has so far been unavailable for comment. He has insisted over the past year that You-Know-Who is not dead, as was widely hoped and believed, but is recruiting followers once more for afresh attempt to seize power. Meanwhile, the "Twins Who Lived"--'

"There you are,  I knew they'd drag you into it somehow," says Hermione, looking over the top of the paper at us. 

We're in the hospital wing. Harry is sitting on the end of Ron's bed and they've been listening to Hermione read the front page of the Sunday Prophet. Ginny, whose ankle has been mended in a trice by Madam Pomfrey, is curled up at the foot of Hermione's bed; Riley and I have pulled a bed over and laid it horizontally in front of Ron and Hermione's, both of us squeezed in as we lay side by side; Neville, whose nose has likewise been returned to its normal size and shape, is in a chair between the three beds; and Luna, who has dropped in to visit, ctluching the latest edition of The Quibbler, is reading the magazine upside and apparently not taking in a word Hermione is saying. Asher never returned to Hogwarts after the Ministry and chose to remain with his family. I'm somewhat glad for this, as I don't know if I could stand to see him. 

"They're the 'twins who lived' again now, though, aren't they?" says Ron darkly. "Not deluded show-offs anymore, eh?"

Riley helps himself to a handful of Chocolate Frogs, the bruise on his jaw slowly changing in colour. Meanwhile, there are still deep welts on Ron's forearms from where the brain's tentacles had wrapped around him. According to Madam Pomfrey, they could leave deeper scarring than almost anything else, though since she has started applying copious amounts of Dr Ubbly's Oblvious Unction there seems to have been some improvement. 

"Yes, they're very complimentary about you now," says Hermione, scanning down the article. "'Lone voices of truth ... perceived as unbalanced, yet never wavered in their story ... forced to bear ridicule and slander ...'Hmmm," she says, frowning, "I notice they don't mention the fact that it was them doing all the ridiculing and slandering in the Prophet ..."

She winces slightly and puts a hand to her ribs. The curse Dolohov had used on her, though less effective than it would have been had he been able to say the incantation aloud, had nevertheless caused, in Madam Pomfrey's words, 'quite enough damage to be going on with'. Hermione is having to take ten different types of potion every day, is improving greatly, and is already bored with the hospital wing.

"You-Know-Who's Last Attempt to Take Over, pages two to four, What the Ministry Should Have Told Us, page five, Why Nobody Listened to Albus Dumbledore, pages six to eight, Exclusive Interview with Harry and Haylee Potter, page nine ...Well," says Hermione, folding up the newspaper and throwing it aside, "it's certainly given them lots to write about. And that interview with Harry and Haylee isn't exclusive, it's the one that was in The Quibbler months ago ..."

"Daddy sold it to them," says Luna vaguely, turning a page of The Quibbler. "He got a very good price for it, too, so we're going to go on an expedition to Sweden this summer to see if we can catch a Crumple-Horned Snorkack."

Hermione seems to struggle with herself for a moment, then says, "That sounds lovely."

Riley grins for a brief moment, somewhat setting my heart at ease. He was in hysterics when I first saw him, and it took almost an hour to calm him down. Since then he's been quite silent, and this grin is the first sign of his usual personality shining through the grief. There's a strange cloud over the room, and the sharp absence of Tay is undeniable.  Yet since Riley's outburst, nobody has said a word about her.