"And who was it who began the name calling, Black?" Lucius hissed back.
"Well, dear cousin," Sirius snarled, knowing Lucius detested any reminder of their relationship by marriage, "perhaps if you weren't such a perv тАУ"
"Enough! How did the two of you manage to get that banner made without hexing each other?" Remus demanded.
"Arthur stood between us and wouldn't let us talk to each other," Sirius grumbled.
Remus sighed. "What a smart man."
Malfoy looked over at Snape. "I trust today's events were satisfactory to you?"
Snape inclined his head. "Well played."
Malfoy smirked and sauntered away.
"This was your doing?" Sirus stared at him. "I just figured when Malfoy called me that he had finally realized what a wanker Fudge is, and after what Fudge tried to do to Harry, I was happy to help him bring down the idiot. But you mean you were behind all this?"
Remus smiled at Severus. "I think Severus has engineered a great many things on Harry's behalf that we don't know about, Padfoot. We just need to stand ready to help out however we can."
Sirius shrugged. "Yeah, okay. So, what next, oh great and sneaky one?"
Snape rolled his eyes. Idiot Gryffindors. Still, at least they appear moderately trainable. "Since you have asked," he replied, deciding that this was as good a time as any to launch the next phase of his plan, "I would like you to approach Amelia Bones and encourage her to run against Fudge in the upcoming election."
"Me?" Sirius was simultaneously surprised and flattered. "Why me?"
"She is more likely to trust the advice of an ex-Auror than a former Death Eater," Snape pointed out drily. "You are also the head of an ancient pureblood House and have just gone on record as wishing to see Fudge removed. You can offer her financial and political support, and so long as you bring the werewolf with you to the meeting, you should be able to remember your lines adequately."
"It was, technically, her investigation that cleared you," Remus pointed out, "so she'd likely believe that, whatever grudge you might hold against the government, you bear her personally no ill will."
"Okay," Sirius said agreeably. "But once she's in office, she's not likely to be a patsy like Fudge. She wasn't even a member of the Order, you know."
"I am counting on her independence from any forms of influence," Snape said firmly. "From all accounts Madame Bones owes allegiance to no one and is a fair-minded, if somewhat abrasive, witch. Furthermore, as the head of the MLE, she will be unlikely to underestimate the threat posed by You Know Who's return and will therefore help to support and protect Potter."
As he had known it would, this last argument won the day, and both Black and Lupin agreed to see Bones at her earliest convenience.
In the days that followed, several other influential families, including the Longbottoms and the Parkinsons, endorsed Bones and repudiated Fudge. While Malfoy wasn't stupid enough to offer Bones his support тАУ knowing that the MLE head still considered him a Death Eater тАУ the lack of any opposition from him also sent a message, particularly to those who looked to Lucius Malfoy for guidance during Voldemort's absence. The Dark Lord's other supporters might have been confused by Lucius' apparent approval of such a witch as Amelia Bones for Minister, but they were used to his Byzantine plots and had been well trained to obedience by their absent master.
The eventual election, which was called rather quickly following the Prophet's explosive headlines, was anti-climactic, and Amelia Bones was sworn in as Minister of Magic, with Kingsley Shacklebolt becoming head of the MLE. Dumbledore was both stunned and ecstatic, while Snape was privately toasted тАУ much to his external grumpiness and internal exultation тАУ by the Marauders.
##
By the end of the summer, Harry had acquired a healthy tan from spending a great deal of time outdoors, walking the grounds (but not the Forbidden Forest) with Hagrid or flying with Hooch, who had returned early from her holidays for the chance to coach Harry. She had visions of the boy going on to play professional Quidditch and was eager to be known as the one who had first encouraged him.
Harry also completed all of his summer assignments and, thanks to his tutoring, advanced dramatically in most subjects, particularly DADA, Potions, and Transfiguration. He helped Sprout in the greenhouses as well because he liked both the work and the kind Hufflepuff, but it was clear that he would still require Neville's assistance with Herbology homework.
He spent the last few days of the holidays back at the Burrow, accompanying the Weasleys on their annual school shopping expedition to Diagon Alley and even wresting permission to ride back to Hogwarts with the rest of the student body on the Express. There he spent most of the ride reassuring Ginny and her friend Luna that тАУ contrary to the twins' claims тАУ troll wrestling was not used to determine House assignment. Ginny was relieved, while Luna was sadly disappointed.
Draco had at first scorned the girls as firsties, and when Luna had come up with a particularly incoherent comment about crumple horned snorkacks, he had been ready to quit the compartment entirely. Then he learned that her father was the editor of the Quibbler, and he had reseated himself, sending an admiring glance over to Harry. "Clever, Potter!" he whispered. "Very Slytherin of you! Ingratiating yourself with the Press тАУ not bad."
Harry had frowned in confusion, but then dismissed the comment as one of Draco's not infrequent incomprehensible pronouncements. At that point Ron took out a portable chess set, Ginny produced a deck of cards for Exploding Snap, and the rest of the trip passed very companionably for all the children. Crabbe and Goyle contentedly munched on the rock cakes that Hagrid had sent to Harry via Hedwig "for th' train ride" and it was a tribute to their digestion that emergency medical (or dental) care was not required.
Upon their arrival, the new second years felt quite superior watching the firsties shepherded to the boats by Hagrid while they and the rest of the school climbed into the thestral-drawn carriages. The Welcoming Feast was notable by the absence of Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall, but any speculation about Dumbledore's condition was quickly supplanted by the horrifying announcement that Professor Snape was now Acting Deputy Headmaster in charge of discipline. Shudders ran through most of the student body, and the Weasley twins miserably weighed the boredom of a prank-free year against incurring the wrath of their formidable "Uncle Sev". By contrast, the appearance of two new professors was relatively understated, although many of the female students squabbled over the "dreamy" new teacher, who also happened to be a celebrity, rich, and single.
Remus settled into his faculty role with ease, though he did tend to be a more "hands on" Head of House than Professor McGonagall had been. While he didn't go so far as Professor Snape in setting bedtimes for the first years, he did make a point of spending time in the Common Room several nights a week and meeting with every student individually. And he established draconic punishments for bullying, whether intra- or inter-House.
The new Transfiguration professor was a bit harder for the students to classify. He had begun his classes with the earthshaking revelation that he would not give detention, but those students who eagerly (and foolishly) sought to take advantage of this bewildering largesse quickly found themselves the victims of pranks that were so stunning in their novelty and humiliation value that the Weasley twins approached Sirius on bended knee to beg to become his apprentices. The rest of the students quickly decided that public embarrassment was infinitely worse than private detention, and Sirius was rather disappointed with how well-behaved his classes became.