Power Plays Chapter 62

As days followed Parvati’s first meeting with Aurora, Harry became concerned that his ploy hadn’t worked. Parvati ensured him that she was still talking with Aurora regularly and that his name was brought up more than once by both of them, but still nothing was progressing on that front.

So, Harry found himself focusing on a different tactic.

In the quiet calm of the Auror Department, Tonks slipped into his office with a tired expression on her face. She’d been stuck overseeing the Auror Department at night for the last week as it was finally her turn on the rotation. Teddy spent his days with Andromeda when she wasn’t at work and back home with Astoria and Draco when she was. A scroll of parchment dangled out of her clenched fist as she sat down opposite him.

“Rhys still isn’t doing anything notable,” Tonks said with a frustrated sigh. She dropped the parchment onto Harry’s desk, and he quickly unfurled it and began skimming over the notes held within. It included detailed movements and records of who he met with over the past week, and as Tonks said, none of it was unusual.

“Are we certain that we have full coverage on him?” Harry asked with a frown.

“The only times we don’t is in his private residence and whenever he slips into some private room with whatever witch he’s shagging that day,” Tonks informed him.

Harry nodded, already knowing that. Even though they couldn’t see inside of his house, they did have the floo network logs to track any comings and goings, and nothing unusual was found there. It was possible that people were apparating in and out under their noses or that Rhys had some sort of illegal portkey, but Harry had no way of confirming either of those possibilities unless he received approval from either the Wizengamot, Amelia, or the Minister to enact more strict surveillance measures.

“And nothing with Aurora Calderon?” Harry asked.

Tonks shook her head. “Rhys is a player and rarely sticks around any one witch, let alone Aurora Calderon. She’s a bit of an anomaly in that she’s stuck around by his side for so long. As far as we’ve been able to tell, he’s never made any direct moves on her. All of their meetings are public or within the Ministry itself. If they’re shagging, they’re doing a damned good job of hiding it.”

Aurora and Rhys’ relationship confused Harry. Within the Wizengamot, Rhys primarily surrounded himself with men. The few women he did associate with were kept on the fringes of his alliance, always vying for a closer spot to the top of the pile. It was an outdated way of operating that was exclusively done by the most conservative pure-blood factions.

Besides Aurora, Rhys only had wizards working underneath him. She was a strange case in that she seemed to have gained a tremendous amount of influence in a short period of time within his entourage, and it was quite clear from their surveillance that she was deftly capable of handling any task that Rhys threw her way.

“Did the American Ministry have anything to say about her?” Harry asked.

Again, Tonks shook her head, letting more of her frustration seep through onto her face. “Without more formal requests, we’re going to be limited in what we get. They confirmed for us that Aurora Calderon is an American citizen. She was home schooled instead of attending Ilvermorny, but she passed her N.E.W.T.s handedly. She didn’t have any public employment history available though. Beyond that, there wasn’t much that we didn’t already know.”

Harry figured as much, but it was good to confirm it. “Back to Rhys, has he really still not named himself as a candidate in the election?”

“Nope,” Tonks confirmed. “Even if he wanted to, the deadline to register is almost up.”

In truth, this was what worried Harry the most. Rhys and his followers were the ones calling for Kingsley’s dismissal the loudest, and now none of them were making a single move to try to become the next Minister for Magic. It reeked of something devious and underhanded, but he still couldn’t figure out what Rhys was planning.

“We need to figure out something,” Harry said as he stood up from behind his desk. He put on his best commanding voice as he began pacing back and forth behind his desk. As he did so, he caught a brief glimpse of the Omnioculars that were stashed in the upper corner of his office. Someone was still replacing the spying devices regularly as the Omnioculars could only hold a day’s worth of footage at a time. They weren’t in his office every day, but when they were, he ensured that he put forward the juiciest bits of info to trick whoever was listening in. “Rhys or Amelia was behind that attack on Daphne, and whoever it was needs to be taken to task.

“The Ministry isn’t safe while criminals linger about within its walls,” Harry continued. “Either this is some grudge from Amelia because I wasn’t able to save Susan or Rhys is just coming after a rival in the Wizengamot. We need to focus on surveying both of them closely.”

Tonks nodded in complete understanding. After Harry had subtly pointed out the Omnioculars to her and Gabrielle, they both knew how to spot them out if they were in Harry’s office or anywhere else in the Auror Department. If there was anything important that they didn’t want recorded, they’d speak about it later.

“Gabrielle and I will continue to watch over them,” Tonks assured Harry. “In the meantime, I need to get back home; I’m exhausted.”

“You’ve done well,” Harry told her. “Get some rest, and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Harry saw Tonks out the door and then followed her out into the open room. He walked across the open floor in between the desks spread about in neat and tidy rows, nodding to all who greeted him. At the wall on the opposite side of the large room as his office, he secretly gave a flick of his wand and caught the invisible Omnioculars that he’d stashed up high on the wall. They fell into his waiting hand, and no one was any the wiser.

He stepped into a private meeting room and shuttered the blinds before he dispelled the invisibility charm he’d layered onto the Omnioculars and began playing the footage that it recorded over the past day. Although most people only used Omnioculars to slow down footage when they were watching Quidditch, they also had a speed-up mode that made watching an entire day far more bearable.

The vast majority of what Harry watched were the normal goings on at the office. Dozens of Aurors moved back and forth from their desks to various spots within the office. Some left, travelling out to go on their assigned patrol routes, and others hunkered down for a busy day of paperwork. Harry saw himself leaving the office at half five as he normally did, and he sealed his office up. About ten minutes later, an inter-departmental memo tried to fly into his office but just ended up smacking against the door. It twirled around dizzily until it reoriented itself back towards his secretary’s desk.

Night fell fast, though the office remained bright. Tonks was a familiar face moving through the office constantly as she checked in with returning patrols and dealt with any minor issues that cropped up. Harry amused himself by counting just how many different mugs of coffee that he saw her carrying with her throughout the night.

It wasn’t until the early hours of the morning that Harry saw anything suspicious. A pair of cleaners that he hadn’t ever seen before made their way past his office. One of them tried the handle, found that it was locked, shrugged, and then moved on. Harry waited until he saw them pass by the Omnioculars again before he decided that it was just normal behaviour on their part.

But when four in the morning rolled around, something else strange happened. Proudfoot, who Harry kept on remote assignment away from the Ministry, reappeared half an hour before his scheduled check in. It wasn’t unusual for an Auror to do this if there was something important to report, but Proudfoot didn’t make his way towards Tonks’ office as he should’ve. Instead, he stopped in front of Harry’s office and waited casually until the right moment.

Harry couldn’t believe his eyes as he watched Proudfoot so easily bypass the wards protecting his office. He slipped inside and then came back out a moment later. There was no sign of any Omnioculars on him before or after his incursion, but that didn’t mean that he didn’t have any safely stowed away on his person.

So, it really was Proudfoot who was spying on him, which meant that Amelia had to know about it. Had she authorised this?

If she had, then this would be difficult. If Harry tried to implicate her directly, then things would become messy very quickly. It was even possible that Kingsley or the Wizengamot could temporarily strip him of his authority if it was decided that an inquest into Harry and Amelia was necessary.

No, Harry couldn’t implicate Amelia yet. If Proudfoot volunteered the information that Amelia was behind this, then so be it. He would have enough to go on the offensive then. But until then, he had to stick to the man he’d caught red handed breaking into the Head of the Auror Department’s office.

Proudfoot would be home right now sleeping after a night shift, but Harry didn’t care. He had to strike while the iron was hot and put pressure on him and Amelia.

Harry stowed the Omnioculars within his robes and left the meeting room. On his way back to his office, he stopped by Cathy’s desk. The secretary had her head down as he approached, but she looked up sharply as soon as he cleared his throat.

“I require Senior Auror Proudfoot to return to the Ministry at once,” Harry informed her. “Please send out a Class Two notice that he must appear before me within half an hour.”

Cathy knew better than to question if there was some type of emergency or demand more information. Her eyes went slightly wide at his request though—a Class Two notice signalled an important, non-violent emergency that required additional Auror presence. “Right away, sir.”

Harry returned to his office and sat down behind his desk, stewing as he stared blankly at paperwork that needed doing. He wished that he could muster up the energy to fill out these pointless forms and reply to the endless correspondence that bogged him down, but he simply couldn’t. His body was trembling with the type of anxious energy that came before a fight.

It was sixteen minutes and thirty-two seconds later that Proudfoot appeared in the doorway to his office. He looked exhausted and haggard, clearly wearing the Auror robes that he’d shed only a couple hours ago when he finally returned home. He was leaning heavily on his cane that he only ever used when his cursed knee was bothering him terribly.

“Sir,” Proudfoot said with only barely disguised disdain.

“Come in,” Harry said evenly. “And close the door behind you.”

Proudfoot did as he was bade, though his eyes were searching the room for hidden traps as he did so. He took a seat and watched warily as Harry stood up and walked right over to where the Omnioculars were hidden.

As Harry plucked Proudfoot’s Omnioculars from the wall, he stared at the man out of the corner of his eye. Nothing in Proudfoot’s expression gave away any hint that he knew what this was all about.

Harry placed the Omnioculars down on his desk and then sat again. He was silent for several seconds as he stared down Proudfoot, waiting for the man to break. When he didn’t, Harry spoke.

“Care to explain this?” Harry asked him.

Proudfoot’s gruff voice seemed to echo. “Didn’t think you’d find it to be honest.”

At the very least he wasn’t trying to hide his actions. Regardless of whatever he was, Proudfoot always respected the chain of command and didn’t explicitly lie to his superiors, especially when confronted with something that he did.

“If you thought that I wouldn’t notice a magical object like this hiding in my office, then you’ve sorely underestimated what I’m capable of.”

Proudfoot nodded, taking in Harry’s words. “Our old Headmaster had a similar talent for things like that. Dumbledore once sensed that I was carrying around a miniature Foe-Glass on me back at Hogwarts. Never did figure out how he managed that.”

“It takes a frighteningly powerful wizard to sense magical objects like that,” Harry told Proudfoot dangerously.

“Then I suppose my surveillance has all been for nought if you’ve been aware of this,” Proudfoot let out a sigh like he was dealing with something tedious rather than the serious situation he found himself in.

Harry didn’t answer the question. He’d rather let Proudfoot wonder if maybe his Omnioculars had caught something real in the initial few days that it was up. “Were you the only one involved in this clandestine project of yours?”

Proudfoot chuckled lowly. “Fishing around for information? I can tell you that I’m the only person who planted anything in your office.”

Was he trying to flip the script back on Harry and make him paranoid about the truth? If he was being frank, he couldn’t see Amelia pushing for something obviously illegal like this, but then again he never expected Proudfoot to try something like this either.

“What did you hope to gain from this?” Harry prompted him.

“You already know what I’m after,” Proudfoot replied fiercely. “You had something to do with Dawlish’s downfall. I’d never believe for a second that that man would ever spill secrets to any Death Eater, knowingly or unknowingly. He was a devoted husband to his dear wife, who’s been stuck in St Mungo’s ever since he was sentenced to Azkaban. She cries out for him in the moments when she’s lucid, and no one can take away that pain from her. That’s what you caused.”

“You’re mistaken,” Harry replied coldly, swallowing down the guilt he felt over what Ethel was experiencing. “I had nothing to do with Dawlish; I merely uncovered his guilt.”

“And how did you do that exactly?” Proudfoot pushed. “All you’ve ever said is that he admitted to it, but the circumstance around it never comes up. If your story is true, then how did he even make the connection that it was a man associated with the Death Eaters that he’d told? Why didn’t he tell anyone else? Why was it that the only person who found out about the truth was a man who he didn’t even like? I don’t buy any of it. You did something to him. Whether you put him under the Imperius or implanted him with a memory charm or some other foul magic to compel him to speak lies, you’re guilty of a grave crime, and the world will find it out sooner or later.”

No they won’t, Harry thought morosely. In a just world, they would, but this wasn’t a just world. He had to do the best with what he had available to him, and if that meant taking down lazy, corrupt, or otherwise ineffectual leaders to see real proper change affect Britain, then he’d do it.

“These delusions of yours have grown dreadful,” Harry sighed. “Auror Proudfoot, I have no choice but to arrest you on crimes of espionage regarding protected information of a Ministry official. Further charges may be applied to you pending a full investigation on behalf of the Auror Department. You are hereby placed on unpaid leave until such a time as your case has been concluded.”

Proudfoot didn’t seem bothered in the slightest by Harry’s words. He listened to them carefully, mentally filing away the important bits of information, and waited for him to finish before speaking. He leaned forward and stared deep into Harry’s eyes.

“Your charade won’t last forever. The truth will come out one way or another. Arrest me if you must, but you will regret it.”

Silently, Harry drew his wand and, with a flick of his wrist, bound Proudfoot’s wrists tightly together. He walked around his desk and plucked Proudfoot’s wand directly from his inner robes’ pocket and gestured for the man to stand up.

“Your false claims end here,” Harry told Proudfoot. “Whatever you may believe to be the truth is nothing but a mental fabrication you have developed. And if you believe that Amelia Bones can help you out of this, then you’re sorely mistaken.”

Proudfoot gave a crooked smile. “I expect nothing from anyone, except for you to be the secret bastard that you’ve always been. I’ll look forward to my trial where I can lay everything at the feet of the Wizengamot and see if they’re clever enough to recognise you for the man that you truly are.”