Chapter 24.1- Doom Days

He walked with his trunk floating behind him, trying not to attract too much attention to himself even if he knew it was fruitless. He’d been here yesterday, and clearly word had gone round. One reporter had even taken the risk of assuming that he’d show up today as well and had reaaped the payoff of that gamble. It must have been a slow news week if he was able to get time off for something like this.

“What do you think about how the Ministry has handled the Hogwarts Massacre?” The man asked, but Harry kept walking, trying to make it obvious that he was not interested.

“Is your presence in the Ministry a sign that you stand behind Minister Fudge?” He asked again. I handed my wand over to the security guard at the checkpoint. It was the same man from yesterday so he nodded and waived me over. He didn’t even ask where I was going. That was all well and good, though. I’d visited already to buy the tickets. I walked to the elevator, with the reporter still trailing me like some sort of lost puppy.

“Do you agree with Mr. Malfoy’s assertion that Britain must go to war against Magical Asia to avenge the Massacre?” What? That hadn’t been in any of the papers he’d read. War? An International war, at that? Sure, people had been making noise about it on the Op-ed sections, but that was far different from it being mentioned by a member of the Wizengamot of all people.

The reporter could clearly tell that he’d surprised me or hit some sort of shockpoint, because he pursued that line like a dog with a ball.

“Dame Augusta Longbottom believes that the Japanese Ministry owes Hogwarts and Magical Britain at large reparations for the attack. Do you agree with this?” He dug in.

“What do you have to say to the people of Wizarding Britain in this trying time?”

“You were at the Yule Ball, did you see the attack coming?”

“Reports say that you were one of the first to escape the attack. Neither you, nor Minister Fudge or even Professor Dumbledore were harmed in the attack. Some say that this could be a sign that the Ministry was forewarned about the attack and is using it as a tool to drum up support for a war that Britain can scarcely afford.”

“I didn’t hear a question there” I said cheekily, but immediately regretted it as he took it as encouragement to keep going.

“What do you have to say about that?”

“No comment” I tried, beginning to feel a bit sorry for the man who clearly hadn’t been long out of Hogwarts and probably needed something like this to break out his career.

We left the elevator and began walking into the Department of transportation.

“Do you believe-“

He cut himself off as I turned to him.

“What’s your name?” I asked.

“Galahad Stillwater” He replied.

“Stillwater. You’re muggleborn, yes?” I asked. He instantly became defe