Harry narrowed his eyes at the woman and decided that she needed a real reality check. Clearly she had no idea of the severity of the situation that wizarding Britain was facing.
"We left the pub after we heard the explosions" he began, gesturing towards himself and the other Marauders. "The first thing we saw was four of those bastards firing lethal curses at third year students" he explained darkly. The minister paled noticeably before composing herself.
"Lethal spells at students?" she asked disbelievingly.
Harry simply nodded.
"They killed eleven of our own and we did what we could to stop it" he replied seriously. "There were no Aurors or no professors around".
"We were having a meeting, but as soon as I received Mr. Potter's message, myself and the members of staff were there as quickly as possible" Dumbledore interjected.
"Clearly not quickly enough Dumbledore" Crouch returned.
Dumbledore conceded the point with a disappointed bow of his head.
"The point is" Harry broke in, "is that it was left up to a bunch of under age students to defend each other and ourselves from attack because both the school and the ministry failed to do it" he pointed out irritably. "And clearly you want to condemn us for our actions when you should be blaming yourselves for your lack of preparation".
The minister and her entourage had the decency to look ashamed before the woman clearly saw an opening she was looking for.
"And just how did you defend yourselves?" she asked. "There was evidence of dark magic everywhere in the village and yet we found none of the attackers alive and only a few bodies".
"We fought fire with fire" Harry shrugged.
The minister frowned and shook her head.
"And where would you learn such magic?" she questioned dangerously, looking questioningly at the headmaster. "We are Blacks" Bellatrix cut in, indicating herself, her sisters and Sirius.
Bagnold sighed and nodded her understanding. She of course was very much aware of the Black reputation and the family magic they possessed.
"My dad is an Auror" Frank offered. "He's been teaching me to defend myself ever since I got a wand" he shrugged.
"And the rest of you?" Bagnold asked irritably.
"I taught my brother and his friends" Harry responded. "Lily, Marlene and Alice only shielded themselves".
The minister stared at Harry appraisingly for a moment before she addressed him once more.
"You are a very interesting young man" she mused aloud. "No one knew you existed until a few months ago and you have already created quite the reputation for yourself" she added. "Family secret" Harry shrugged casually, ignoring the note of nervousness he felt. "Privately tutored" he added in explanation.
"And you were taught dark magic?" Moody piped up.
"Depends on what you consider dark" Harry replied with a smirk. "I can kill you with a levitation spell as I could a severing curse".
Moody blinked and then barked in laughter.
"Too right lad" he conceded.
"And where did the Fiendfyre come from?" Bagnold broke in once more, bringing the conversation back to the topic she wished to discuss.
"One of those morons must have cast it and lost control" Harry shrugged.
He caught sight of Moody who was again staring at him speculatively. The man narrowed his eyes and shook his head. He knew the boy was lying and he decided that he would keep watch on the teen. If what he thought was correct then the young Potter was definitely one to watch, for good or for bad.
The minister sighed and shook her head once more, clearly more confused now than when she had arrived.
"I don't know what to do" she huffed.
"We arrest them all for using dark magic" Crouch answered angrily.
The students began to shuffle uncomfortably behind Harry and the professors all looked worried. The Malfoys looked gleeful at the idea and seemed to be waiting for the Aurors to respond.
"And make yourselves look like incompetent buffoons in the process" Harry bit back feeling his fury rise.
"Excuse me?" Crouch questioned dangerously. "Well how would it look on all of you if you arrest us and the media gets wind of the fact that it was up to a bunch of teenagers to defend ourselves because you weren't there?" Harry asked victoriously.
The ministry members all shared sheepish looks at the young mans observation.
"We did what we had to to survive because you weren't there to protect us" Harry reiterated.
"From some of the rumours I have heard it seems that you do not need protection, Mr. Potter" Bagnold replied defensively.
"You shouldn't listen to rumours minister" Harry advised. "You can only work with fact in your position".
Bagnold narrowed her eyes at him, clearly he had now annoyed her. The doors to the Great Hall opened before she could respond and Arcturus along with Charlus and Dorea entered the room.
After pausing briefly to consider the scene the elder Black stormed towards the assembly, clearly very angry at what he had deduced was transpiring.
"What the hell is this?" he asked dangerously. "You have no right to question underage students without the permission or presence of their parents" he pointed out.
"We were simply making inquiries Lord Black" Abraxus Malfoy answered.
"And yet you are not a member of the DMLE or staff here so piss of before I curse you back to the farm in France you crawled here from" Arcturus replied dangerously.
Lucius looked as though he would protest but was silenced by a look from his father. "I am a governor here" Abraxus reminded him.
"I don't care" Arcturus shrugged before he turned his attention to the minister who was looking very nervous by the arrival of the Black patriarch and the Potters.
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