He gave a slight shrug and said, "What do you want to know about it? I also remind you, Minister, you are no longer an auror. It's not your place to investigate."
"No," Harry heard from the woman behind him. "It's mine."
Without even turning around Harry said, "Well... person standing behind me, staring at the back of my head and probably with her wand in her hand... perhaps if you were to ask me questions, instead of the Minister, I might be willing to answer you. However, you've been nothing but rude since I've entered the room. So... nup."
Minister Bones cocked an eyebrow at Harry as she tried to smother the smirk she was desperately trying not to show.
Harry saw it and openly grinned at her.
In response, she just gave a huff of annoyance and adopted a slightly annoyed mien, but Harry could see she still saw humour in the situation. It was in her eyes, if not on her face.
Finally giving herself the slightest of shakes, Bones finally looked at Harry and asked, "If you don't mind sharing, how is it you came to inherit the Potter fortune?"
"The old fashioned way," he replied. "Trace back through the line of Potters and you come to a Peverell."
Curious she asked, "So, it's true that the Potters were descended from the Peverells?"
"The main branch, yes," he replied. "However, a Hardwin Potter married an Iolanthe Peverell. I'm sure, from that, you can see how it is I'm called Hardwin. The line by which I inherit through primogenitor is by her father, Denzel."
She gave a nod and said, "You clearly don't want to share where you've been. How about other details?" "Such as?" he asked.
"Date of birth?"
He grinned back and replied. "I'm over the age of consent, if that's what you're implying."
She didn't so much blush as her cheeks pinked a little. "I'm sure you are," she wryly said. "However, we should have your pertinent details for our records."
"Should?" he pressed. "No; you mean, 'want'. Sorry, no."
Frowning slightly she said, "In these times of heightened concern, we prefer―"
As Harry started to snicker a little she shut up. Then frowned at him.
"'Heightened concern'?" he asked, smirking at her. "Wow! Is there something about moving into this office that makes idiots out of politicians?" Leaning forward a bit, he stared at her and firmly stated, "You're in a civil war, Minister Bones. Call it what it is." Then sat back again. "'Heightened concern', indeed. You are in a civil war brought on by an insurrectionist movement based on bigotry and hate and which is led by a man whose only goal is for him to become supreme ruler of everything, or he destroys everything.
"The one you lot keep calling 'You-Know-Who', etcetera, has already caused deliberate breaches of the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy; if not directly, then through the actions of his minions. In some countries, such as the MaCUSA, that's an automatic death sentence on the spot. The MaCUSA do not naff about with threats to that specific Statute, because they know what it means if the muggles... or the no-majs, as they call them over there... actually discover the magical world exists. "Sooner or later, Minister Bones... unless you start treating this as the war it actually is... by first formally declaring it the war it is... you're going to have to inform the ICW you are unable to stop Tom. That means, the ICW are going to have to step in. When that happens... have no fear... you and your government will very likely be sacked on the spot by the combined might of the ICW for sheer naffing incompetence. And, why? Because you've had it in your power since you moved into this office to have the issue dealt with... and you haven't done it. I have little doubt your 'heightened concern' would not have existed beyond less than a week once, for example, the MaCUSA Pride turned up on your shores.
"So, I have to ask... as a concerned citizen questioning the head of my elected government... when are you going to release your aurors to fight 'He-Who' and his minions as the insurrectionist movement they are, or admit defeat and call in the ICW?" At first showing anger caused by Harry laughing at her, as Harry talked Bones finally slumped a little in defeat.
Finally, she said, "I'd never get a Declaration of War past the Wizengamot."
"You don't need to," he returned. "You only need to get such a Declaration past the Wizengamot when you're intending to initiate an International war. You're not doing that. Firstly, you're not the one initiating it; and secondly, this is not yet an International war.
"All you need to do is inform the Wizengamot you've declared... past tense... magical Britain is in a state of civil war. Once you've done that, you declare you're putting the country on a war footing. Part of that will be you releasing your aurors from treating Death Eaters as criminals, even though that's currently exactly what they are, and ordering they be treated as enemy combatants. "As enemy combatants, they will no longer be recognised as 'pure-bloods'; meaning, when you catch one of them, you can pour Veritaserum down their throats. As enemy combatants, when your aurors go up against them, they're not there to arrest them they're there to stop them. As you'd now be in a state of war, that means the use of lethal force right off the beater's bat. Your aurors will not be arresting those who give up, they'll be taking into custody enemy prisoners who survive their encounter with your aurors.
"Trust me; if the ICW step in because they feel you've for too long shown yourselves to be incompetent in dealing with this little insurrection problem of yours, putting the Statute of Secrecy at even greater risk, they won't be coming in to arrest Death Eaters; they'll be coming in to put them down like the disease-riddled dogs they've shown themselves to be. There'll be no, 'Aurors! You're all under arrest!'; it'll be, 'Deprimo! Bitch!'; right off the bat."
Giving that a moment to sink in he gave a slight shrug and said, "Mind you, if your aurors start doing that, I happen to think that could only be a good thing.
"At the moment, those who can think about the situation realise that if they oppose the Death Eaters, then there's a very good chance they'll die after first being raped and tortured. However, if they become a Death Eater and oppose the aurors, then it is far more likely they'll just be stunned, arrested and thrown in jail. In other words, not being a Death Eater can get you tortured and killed; being a Death Eater means you're more likely to live. When you think about it like that it's kind of an easy choice, isn't it?
"If you want to stop people joining Tom and his merry band of thugs, you need to make it so joining up and becoming a Death Eater will be even more hazardous to your health than not. Do what the Pride are going to do when they breach your borders if you continue down the path you're on; go lethal on first contact. Make becoming a Death Eater literally a suicidal choice.
"Anyway," he sighed, "You're the Minister. It's your job to do what is right, rather than what is easy; not mine."
"I... am not prepared to do that," she lowly replied.
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