The Final Lesson
by Jardyn39
Chapter 22 - Constituency Visit
Harry sat awkwardly in the seat opposite Kingsley's field desk. He looked around the large tent, but nothing could distract him from the uncomfortable silence between himself and Kingsley. Harry still had no idea where they were, although he guessed it was in a different place from the last time he visited the Auror camp.
"So, um, you confirmed that Harriet was under an Imperious Curse," said Harry.
Kingsley did not look up. Instead he ignored Harry's feeble attempt to make conversation and continued to read.
Harry gave up and looked down at the many pieces of parchment strewn across the desk. Somewhere amongst them, he was sure, was the report that confirmed what had happened to Harriett Castle. Careem had written to Harry advising that she had been admitted to St. Mungos briefly, and that he would be taking her to an undisclosed location so she could complete her recovery.
Careem's letter had answered hardly any of the questions that had occupied Harry's thoughts for the last week. At last he had been invited to meet with Kingsley, though. Unfortunately his hopes of receiving some answers were fading fast.
After what seemed an age, Kingsley looked up, lost in thought.
"She's identified the man in Bateman's photograph," said Kingsley, absently placing the parchment he'd been holding down on the desk.
"Tardov?"
"Yes. He programmed her to commit suicide rather than answer questions."
"Why didn't he just kill her?"
"I suppose she was an asset. He may have needed to use her again. From the state she was in when they found her, I suspect that he is inexperienced in using the Imperious Curse. That would indicate that this isn't something that Voldemort is involved with. He wouldn't have made such a mistake."
"Not Voldemort?"
"Harry, I need a favour."
"Sure, anything," said Harry at once.
"I'd like you to pay Scrimgeour another visit."
"Why?"
"He introduced this Tardov character to you. I've working at the Ministry for years but I've never seen nor heard of him before. I'm going to order his arrest on sight. If Scrimgeour has authorised the use of the Unforgivable Curses he hasn't publicly acknowledged it yet."
"What do you want me to tell Scrimgeour?"
"Just tell him what you know, Harry, and report back anything you learn."
"Why don't you tell him yourself?"
"Bateman asked you to tell me something, didn't he?"
"Er, yes, he did," replied Harry, slightly annoyed that he hadn't been the one to bring it up.
"So, tell me now."
"Look," said Harry angrily, "I'm getting a little fed up with being kept in the dark like this, you know?"
*
Harry was still fuming as he stood in line to have his wand checked in the Ministry entrance lobby. He had been sent there directly after Kingsley ended their meeting, with specific instructions that he was not to consult with anyone else before seeing Scrimgeour. He was also very annoyed that he hadn't been able to elicit any further information from Kingsley.
He was sure that Kingsley meant Hermione when he told him not to consult anyone.
Harry was still in half a mind to turn about and go back to Grimmauld Place just to spite Kingsley, when he heard his name being called out.
"Harry?"
He turned to see Scrimgeour limping towards him.
"'Bout time too," said Scrimgeour loudly, but smiled as soon as he was close enough to shake his hand.
"Come on up," he said, leaning heavily on Harry's shoulder and turning towards the lifts. "It's alright, Eric. Potter is with me."
"Yes, Minister," said the watch wizard.
As soon as the lift gates closed, Scrimgeour turned to Harry and said, "So, to what do I owe this pleasure?"
"I assumed you were expecting me."
"I was, but I've no idea why you've come."
"Kingsley sent me, although to be honest I'm not sure why myself. He just said to tell you what I know."
"Did he, indeed? Okay. What do you know, Harry?"
"Is it okay to talk here?"
"Damn sight better than in my office, boy."
"Oh, I see. That's why you came down for me?"
"Indeed. Things are getting interesting around here. I thought we'd impose ourselves on dear Delores for a few moments."
"Is that wise?" Harry found himself asking.
"I have every confidence in my Head of Auror Department, Harry," said Scrimgeour firmly. "Besides, I happen to know she's been sent on an errand and won't be back at her desk for at least another hour."
*
Harry walked past the empty cubicles towards Umbridge's offices when he was called back by Scrimgeour.
"Let's talk in here, Harry."
Harry was a little confused by this request, but he complied and sat in one of the two seats that occupied the closest cubicle.
"These booths are sound proof," explained Scrimgeour. "No-one outside will be able to hear us. My old office has the same charms, actually, but here we'll have the advantage of seeing anyone coming."
Scrimgeour took something out of his robes and placed it on the desk. He tapped it with his wand and it jumped up and stood upright on its single pointed foot. It then proceeded to rotate slowly.
"What's that?" asked Harry, looking at the curved mirrored surfaces.
"It's a kind of portable Foe Glass. I'm getting as paranoid as old Mad-Eye these days. To be honest, it isn't that useful. If you look closely, you'll see all the faces reflected in the mirrors are all wearing masks."
Harry nodded and then proceeded to tell Scrimgeour about Colonel Falcon's Journal and the trail of clues that led them to Harriet Castle. He omitted to say where they had located the Journal, though.
"She has identified Tardov as the one who put her under an Imperious Curse," finished Harry.
"I see," said Scrimgeour seriously, speaking for the first time since Harry had begun. He had listened intently with an almost permanent frown on his brow.
"Did you authorise the use of illegal curses?" demanded Harry.
"No, of course I didn't. I'm old enough to remember the chaos the last time the Minister for Magic did that. It took years to reign some of our people back in, even after the fall of You-Know-Who."
Harry considered Scrimgeour a moment, wondering if he was telling the truth.
"Did you order Tardov to spy on the Muggles?"
"Yes," answered Scrimgeour at once. "That has been one of his primary tasks ever since he was appointed."
"The Muggles have been trying to help us. Why did you lead me to believe you weren't taking much interest in their activities?"
"I knew of your loyalty to them but we couldn't be sure of their true motives. Spying on them was the only way we could be sure. They'd do the same to us if they were able, I'm sure."
"Don't you owe the Prime Minister an explanation and an apology?"
"It would be much simpler just to keep quiet about the whole thing. They don't suspect a thing, after all. They think their own people are responsible for all the leaks."
"Somehow I doubt if that will work, especially now that Miss Alice and Bateman have joined forces. It could be very damaging for you when this all comes out."
"Perhaps."
"What do you know about the new Muggle set-up?"
"I don't think there is one, to be honest."
"So, what you're really saying is either Tardov has not been able to breach their new security or Tardov isn't telling you what they have discovered."
Scrimgeour smiled and said, "You're catching on, boy."
"How sure are you that Tardov is working just for you?" asked Harry.
"I don't know."
"What is Tardov's true identity?"
"I have no idea. He has always insisted upon complete anonymity."
"Okay," said Harry. "I think we should pay the Prime Minister a visit and tell him everything. If you're going to deny anything, then obviously I'd rather not take you with me."
"Of course I'd rather not admit to what we've been up to," said Scrimgeour, "but I do owe him an apology."
"I was hoping you'd see it that way."
"Why are you so keen to see him?"
"Miss Alice and Bateman were wrongly accused. The Prime Minister needs to know what they have discovered so far, even if he chooses to continue to keep them out of the loop."
Scrimgeour nodded thoughtfully.
"Does Kingsley know you planned to visit the Prime Minister?"
"No. He told me to do nothing except report immediately back to him."
"I bet that burned you, didn't it?"
"I just have the feeling he's not telling me everything."
"I'm sure he's keeping plenty of things from the both of us. By the way, how's Percy holding up?"
Harry snorted and asked, "How did you know?"
"I didn't, but it was a fairly easy guess to make. Frankly, I'm amazed he's stuck it for so long."
"Mrs Weasley has been motivated to keep him there, and she's also had a little help," Harry admitted. "Should I move him?"
"No. I've increased security around there, but only on the premise that it was for Arthur. I would like you to take Percy a message for me, though?"
"Sure."
"It really wouldn't be a sensible move for him to come back here for the moment," said Scrimgeour quietly. "However, if he has to be away he might at least make himself useful."
*
Harry sat on a small stool crammed between a filing cabinet and a table stacked with old campaign pamphlets while he listened to Scrimgeour give his explanations and apologies to the Prime Minister.
The three of them were alone in the makeshift office created from a spare bedroom in the Prime Minister's constituency home.
Downstairs, political assistants created an almost constant telephone chatter in the background while shadowy security figures patrolled outside.
Harry realised that there was just enough furniture and personal effects around the house to make the small terraced house appear lived in, but he doubted very much that the Prime Minister's family visited the place very much.
Harry had given the Prime Minister an update and now waited for Scrimgeour to finish.
He thought Scrimgeour's apology sounded particularly hollow, but the Prime Minister didn't seem to need anything more sincere. Perhaps, Harry thought, as a politician, he was used to such apologies.
Indeed, Harry was more struck by how unsurprised the Prime Minister appeared to be about the Ministry of Magic's attempts to spy on their activities.
"So, Miss Alice and Sergeant Bateman are entirely innocent?" asked the Prime Minister.
"We don't actually know that yet. Bateman had his memory modified. For a long time Miss Alice thought he had used that to remove memories of his complicity as well."
"What do you think?" he asked, turning to Harry.
"I think that neither of them would have willingly betrayed you."
"Willingly?"
"Yes. It is possible that either or both of them was made to co-operate using an Imperious Curse."
"What is that?"
"Imperio!" said Scrimgeour pointing his wand at the PM who immediately picked up his silver letter opener and stabbed himself in his arm.
"Argh!"
"I'm sorry, but it seemed the quickest way to persuade you how easy it would be."
"Here," said Harry, pointing his wand at the wound and performing a simple skin healing charm. The wound was not deep.
Harry decided to leave the tear in the fabric as a reminder.
The Prime Minister was looking livid and barely noticed that his arm wasn't hurting any more.
"Where the hell is my personal protection when I need it?"
"Both of them are sound asleep just outside." said Scrimgeour.
"How comforting," growled the Prime Minister.
"Prime Minister," said Scrimgeour earnestly. "I'm convinced that one or more members of the group I tasked to spy on you have been working against both our interests. One of my junior assistants was attacked because he had our only copy Sergeant Bateman's report on the Archive raid."
"Where did you get it from?"
"Kingsley Shacklebolt obtained it for me; I understood with your blessing. He said Bateman gave it to him before his memory was modified. You were present too, I believe."
"So, the spies might not have seen it either," suggested Harry. "I wondered if they only wanted to make sure we didn't read it."
"No, they couldn't have seen it," said the Prime Minister. "Bateman typed it himself in the presence of Kingsley and myself. We read it and then Kingsley made a fake copy for the records before delivering the original to you, Minister, in accordance with my instructions."
"A fake copy?" asked Harry.
"Yes. He made another file cover but then set the typewriter to type gibberish for several pages. Anyone seeing it would assume it was encrypted in some way. He also burned the typewriter ribbon afterwards."
"Why did you go to so much trouble?"
"Bateman was utterly convinced that there was something important in there. He didn't even know himself, but he was sure he had witnessed and reported something that could help identify the traitor. Frankly, had Miss Alice been trusted you would never have seen it."
"But there wasn't anything that we could see," said Harry.
Scrimgeour frowned and muttered, "Supposing ..."
"What?" the other two asked at the same time.
"What if Bateman had been subjected to a memory charm before he made the report?"
"Well," said Harry, "he did have a strange reaction to Kingsley's restorative potion."
Scrimgeour frowned slightly before addressing the Prime Minister once more.
"Are you prepared to tell us anything about the people who replaced Miss Alice, Sergeant Bateman and the others?"
"I hardly think that's wise."
"I can understand that," agreed Scrimgeour. "But what if they've been infiltrated?"
The Prime Minister considered them for a long moment before answering.
"I won't tell you everything, but perhaps I can give you some broad indications of our current activities.
"As soon as I learned that we may have become compromised, I ordered the complete dismantling of every technical resource used or known about under the previous group. All personnel were reassigned and monitored. We made sure Kingsley knew nothing about it before he was reassigned.
"That done, I ordered the new activities to be split into three groups who would work entirely independently. Each has no idea that any other group exists.
"The first group gathers intelligence from a number of sources. They are subdivided into a number of divisions, each looking through the same data for different connections. Regular executive reports are prepared and published to the other groups in various guises.
"The second group is a military run group that actively plans and executes small scale strikes.
"The third and last group leads clandestine activities. This has been limited to intelligence gathering so far, but there are plans to include kidnapping and assassination capabilities."
Harry sat there stunned.
"Who controls all these groups?" asked Scrimgeour.
"No single individual. Not even I know of their activities. The leaders and their reserves operate within Rules of Engagement that were set from the beginning."
"How do you know they aren't working for someone else?" asked Harry.
"There's something he's not telling us," said Scrimgeour shrewdly.
The Prime Minister smiled and said, "There is a further protocol, but I'm not prepared to share that with you at this time."
"But," protested Harry but stopped when the Prime Minister raised his hands to stop him.
"I'm not saying I won't ever tell you, but I feel we need some secrets, especially until the Ministry and Magic sorts itself out."
Harry made a further plea on behalf of Miss Alice and Bateman before they left, but he knew it was a lost cause. At least the Prime Minister didn't lie to him about their prospects at being readmitted into his task force.
*
Harry sat quietly while Percy read through his letter from Scrimgeour. He was surprised to find that he was still at the Burrow considering that his parents had now returned his wand to him.
"He says I'm to stay away from the Ministry for a while."
"Well, that's probably for the best," said Harry.
"He wants me to do something for him."
"Can you stay here to do it?" asked Harry, not wishing to ask outright what it was Scrimgeour had asked Percy to do. It was probably confidential.
"Not really. He wants me to keep an eye on Malemo. Apparently he's been finding excuses not to go into the Ministry very often just lately. The Minister wants me to make a note of his movements and who he comes into contact with."
"Do you want to borrow an invisibility cloak?"
"Thanks, Harry, but no. I took the precaution of signing out a Ministry cloak some time ago. The Minister will ask father to bring it home."
"That's handy," agreed Harry. "Just make sure you wear some of Fred and George's protective clothing. They work and you'll get a family discount, I'm sure." He hesitated before continuing, "So, how are things between you and your Dad, anyway?"
"Oh, still a little strained," Percy admitted, not looking up from his letter. "We do seem to have found common ground on quite a number of things."
Harry smiled warmly and said, "Good."
"Mother won't be happy, of course."
"Well, probably not," Harry agreed. "Maybe if you agreed to come back here to sleep? It would be safer anyway," he added, thinking of the additional security Scrimgeour had arranged.
"Maybe, although I wouldn't want to let the Minister down by not being on duty."
"You have to sleep, Percy. Besides, Scrimgeour is more concerned for your safety, I'm sure. I wonder who he's got to follow Ignatius and Johnson?"
"Yes, I was wondering that too."
"Kingsley?" Harry suggested.
"Unlikely, Harry. Delores Umbridge has absolutely refused to allow the Aurors to be side tracked from their field duties. Fudge used to have them running around at his every bid and call, but she's certainly put an end to that.
"Of course, the Minister was furious when she first refused him. However, even he has acknowledged that she has won his respect by her stance."
Harry bit his tongue.