"The Minister extends his sincerest welcome to you both and hopes that you will greatly enjoy the evening," the doorman expressed with a wide, fake smile and immediately granted them entrance.
...
Looking around the entrance hall, grand tapestries hung from the walls, with complex patterns of different runes and colors on display, all blended together in a show of wealth and status. The marble floor was highly polished, nearly gleaming in the light, as an attractive, well-dressed witch stepped up to them with another equally wide smile, just as fake as the doorman's.
"Would you allow me to take your cloaks for you, sirs?" the pretty brunette witch asked.
"Yes, of course you may," Sirius acknowledged, taking his cloak off whilst Harry did the same. "Lord Black and Harry Potter." Giving her their names so that they could retrieve them upon leaving, she then handed their cloaks to a waiting house-elf who promptly disappeared with them.
"Please have a pleasant evening on the Ministry's behalf, Lord Black," the hostess voiced, dismissing them as the next couple entered the entry hall.
Stepping through another set of doors into the main hall, his eyes were immediately drawn to the towering and sparkling Christmas tree, much like the one in Hogwarts' own Great Hall. However, this one was in a distinctly winter theme, with crystalline ice shards hanging from its branches and real snow fairies flying in and out of the branches at random. Then there was the massive ice star at the very top, glowing gold with seemingly limitless energy, unfortunately bringing back memories of the ambush before he dismissed that thought with his mind magic. The aurors would have checked the place thoroughly several times in the run-up to this event.
Moving his gaze away from the magical Christmas tree, he noticed the tables on either side of the dance floor in the middle of the room, covered with clean white tablecloths with equally fine silverware. However, in the center of the tables there were sculptures made of ice, with magical energy glowing inside them. The most impressive piece of ice art was in the center of the room; right in the middle of the dance floor sat a dragon made entirely out of ice. Every so often it would arch its back and stretch its wings before bellowing out blue magical flames at the ceiling, making the nearby dancers jump in surprise. It was a truly beautiful image, the dragon made of sparkling ice juxtaposed with the flames. The Ministry must have paid a handsome sum to the magical artist who created it. He wondered if maybe he should get the artist's name to use for his home when the time came.
He watched in awe as the flames turned to snow upon hitting the ceiling before falling gently down on the dancers below, disappearing as soon as it touched them or the ground, as heels could be heard clicking across the dance floor.
Then there was the band at the far end of the room on an elevated stage, playing music under the watchful eye of their conductor, and with what he took to be the Minister's table at the far end. The table was separate from everyone, thus displaying the man's position as the head of the Ministry, with a massive ornate clock hanging above the table, silently ticking away, counting down the minutes to midnight and the New Year.
"Seems like the Ministry has gone all out this year. I wonder which vital department's budget this little party came out of," Sirius noted warily, with a hint of malcontent as a waiter stepped up to them, holding a silver tray full of glasses.
"Would you like a drink, sir?"
"Yes, thank you. I have a feeling this is going to be one long night," Sirius muttered as the waiter genuinely smiled. Sirius took the offered drink, passing it to Harry before taking another one for himself, much to the waiter's shock, as Harry sipped some of the fine champagne. "Good stuff this year," Sirius noted.
"The Ministry always provides the best service it can and will always do its best for its citizens," the waiter replied half-heartedly, the words clearly a scripted response that they were required to use.
"Come on, pup, let's go and mingle," Sirius urged, moving into the hall as a new song started, far more upbeat than the previous few. 'At least it's not the frog choir,' he noted, moving onto the floor after his godfather.
...
Listening to the newly christened Minister of Magic as he held court, Harry played the role of young, respectful heir perfectly as he listened to the elder politician explain his political career, clearly loving the fact that Harry was so clearly interested as he listed off the various political offices he once held and the bills the man had engineered on his way to the top. Harry concluded one thing: the man was vain and liked far too much having people around him who catered to his enormous ego. He could prove easily manipulated if one pressed the right buttons, as he silently watched Lord Malfoy masterfully stroke the man's ego.
He also noticed that the Minister had expensive tastes based on the jewelry the man wore and was clearly a womanizer, he concluded, after seeing Fudge's eyes discreetly wander a number of times over the course of the discussion to take a look at a few of the Lords' wives, his hands wandering just a tiny bit whenever he greeted a couple, but never enough to call him on it.
"Yes, yes, Lord Newbury, the Ministry is doing everything in its power to get to the bottom of the Chamber of Secrets business," Fudge stated. "Hopefully, it will all be sorted out by the start of the new school year; your son shall be perfectly safe, I assure you."
"That's reassuring, Minister," he voiced, speaking up for the first time and attracting the group's attention. Before this, he had been content to merely play the dutiful listener in the group and had not yet actually spoken to the Minister.
"Do I know you, my boy? Where's your guardian?" the Minister asked, whilst the group looked at him questioningly, clearly wondering who he belonged to.
"Harry James Potter, heir to the Most Ancient and Noble Houses of Potter and Black," he said evenly, noticing the Minister's demeanor change in an instant upon hearing his position. The group around them now paid just a bit more attention than they had previously. "My guardian, Lord Black, is conducting business," answering both questions succinctly. "So, Minister, has the Ministry made any progress in finding my parents' betrayer?" he challenged.
"Unfortunately not, my dear boy, but where are my manners? Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic," offering his hand in introduction.
He took care to shake the hand quite firmly. "Pleasure to meet you, Minister Fudge," Harry greeted back.
"You have a good grip there, my boy," the Minister expressed, flexing his hand discreetly once their hands had separated. "Are you enjoying yourself tonight?" the aging politician asked, clearly trying to judge Harry.
"Yes, if one doesn't mind the constant politics," he expressed, catching the group's attention at his reply. It was strange to them that such a young child would even be aware of it going on. "So what progress has the Ministry made in catching the individual responsible for the Chamber of Secrets? My classmates would be comforted by the knowledge that it was all under control and that they can rest easily now."
"We have a suspect; the aurors are just gathering the necessary evidence to make an arrest," the Minister said before sipping some of his drink. "However, we're considering deploying the dementors to Hogwarts to guard the grounds against your parents' betrayer." As one, the group shivered unconsciously at the mention of the dark creatures. He was not one of them.
"It was Madam Umbridge's idea, actually," gesturing over to the Undersecretary, who was wearing a pink ball gown and seemed to be basking in the impromptu praise and temporary spotlight. "We're just waiting for the Headmaster's permission."
"Interesting idea," he offered, whilst his mind just flashed red warning lights after hearing Sirius' stories of the foul beasts and his own research into the soul-consuming creatures. "But isn't that a bit dangerous? What happens if a student is attacked by chance and is fed upon? I can't see parents being happy about having soul-consuming creatures of darkness so near to their precious children, especially considering the only charm known that is effective against them is NEWT level at best, and even then many still can't perform it effectively in a dementor's presence." Several of the listening adults muttered similar thoughts in agreement to his observation as Fudge paled.
"It was just an idea, I assure you," Fudge assured everyone listening, the politician backtracking quickly in the face of actual opposition, as Madam Umbridge suddenly looked far less cheerful and quickly stepped away from the group altogether before slipping into the crowd unnoticed, before someone called her out on her dreadful idea.
"That's comforting," he expressed, sipping his own drink as a cameraman suddenly appeared out of nowhere, followed quickly by his reporter Rita, taking him by surprise at her unexpected appearance, as she had practically begged to be allowed to do her own thing this evening. His mind magic ensured that none of his surprise was visible.
"Do you mind if we take some pictures, Minister?" Rita cooed, flipping her blonde hair in hand as the cameraman stepped forward, taking another picture without asking or waiting.
"Of course not, Miss Skeeter," Fudge responded quickly, already moving into position and clapping Harry on the shoulder like a grandfather figure.
...
if you want to read ahead of the public release you can join my p atreon :
p atreon.com/loveran