"I don't get what you're asking me," Harry said, frustrated. "These people are going to be defenceless-"
"They're not!" Blake retorted. "Soon, Amelia Bones is probably going to make a bid for Minister - once she does Umbridge is gone, Harry! It'll be back to normal, and probably even better!"
"And if she doesn't?" Harry snapped back. "And if in the meantime they're attacked or tracked down? Not all the muggleborn students have the privilege of two separate organisations protecting them, or the powers of Blake Renshaw!"
"The Ministry hasn't been infiltrated yet," Blake said, doing his best to ignore Harry's digs. "You're just getting yourself and your friends - and my brother - in trouble for no reason!"
"No reason?" Harry said, recoiling. "So it's fine if these people have to go home defenceless against Voldemort and the Death Eaters?"
"I told you, you just need to wait-"
"Easy for you to say," Harry said quietly. "All your friends are from families that won't be hurt, and that have the ability to fight back. And your family's got protection from literally every organisation that opposes them, and Connor's basically as good at DADA as I am. And then there's you."
"My friends won't be targeted?" Blake scoffed. "Just because I haven't told you about them, doesn't mean-"
"It doesn't matter," Harry said. "I'm not disbanding the DA."
Blake clenched his teeth.
"Then I will."
/
The next day, Blake put his plan into action.
"We should do this more often," Zabini said lazily, as he lounged in a comfortable chair in the Room of Requirement, Tracey sitting on his lap.
"We could," Blake agreed.
"Get off him, Tracey," Daphne said, annoyed.
"You're just jealous. Anyway, when's Potter coming?"
Suddenly, they heard arguing from outside.
"Now," Blake said, smiling widely, before standing up to open the door.
"What a pleasant surprise," he said, looking at the faces of Harry and the others standing outside the door.
"This isn't funny, Blake," Hermione said angrily.
"Never said it was."
"Is this your plan?" Harry asked, sneering slightly. "You're just gonna hoard the Room of Requirement for the rest of the year?"
"No clue what you're talking about," he said, stretching. "All I know is that I'll be here for some time."
"Back off, Renshaw," a voice from behind Harry said. It came from some blonde Hufflepuff - Ernie Macmillan, if Blake remembered correctly. He just ignored him.
"Blake, please," Connor asked.
"Nope. Good luck finding another place for… whatever this is."
He slammed the door in their faces, listening in.
"We can take him!" the same voice from that boy - Macmillan - said.
"No, we can't!" a girl's voice said fearfully. "Are you crazy?"
"He's just one-"
"We really can't," someone else interrupted. "He's literally got the highest Death Eater capture list of this war, for Merlin's sake!"
"We're not fighting my brother!" Connor said loudly. "Right, Harry?"
"Just because he's your brother doesn't mean he gets a free pass to do whatever. Right, Potter?"
Harry was silent for a while.
"We're not fighting Blake," he said firmly after a while. "And besides," he muttered. "I doubt we could take him even by himself, let alone against Zabini and Greengrass and the rest of them that are probably with him right now."
"Then where will we go?" Ron asked, having been oddly silent throughout this whole ordeal.
"We'll find a place," Harry promised, as the crowd's footsteps grew further and further away.
"Think that'll do it?" Charlotte asked.
"Maybe," Blake replied. "It depends on how desperate he is."
/
The DA were found out the following week.
"Damn," Zabini said, as he heard the story one evening. "So Edgecombe betrayed them?"
"That's what I heard," Daphne replied. "Weasley and Granger's Prefect badges were taken, and they've been held in a classroom, and their wands confiscated."
"Everyone?" Blake asked.
"Everyone," Daphne said firmly.
"This is going to the Prophet soon, isn't it?" Tracey sighed. "Fudge's definitely going to come and see you tomorrow, Blake."
"Yeah, I know," he said, running his hands through his hair.
"I might be slightly f*cked."
/
The next morning, Blake woke up with a feeling of dread embedded deep in his gut.
What am I going to do?
My only option is-
Suddenly, something hit his face.
"Read that," Zabini said, smirking.
Blake opened his mouth to curse him out, but his words faltered as he read the frontpage.
YOU-KNOW-WHO ATTACK ON AZKABAN: DEATH EATERS FREED, ORDER MEMBERS TORTURED AND KILLED, AND AMELIA BONES ANNOUNCES CONTEST FOR MINISTRY
He was stunned.
"I mean, this means that Fudge will be even more insistent, but-"
"Thank Merlin," Blake said, utterly relieved. Everything had changed in a half second. "Thanks, Zabini. But I think I'm fine now."
/
Percy Weasley came to collect him that same day at lunch.
"Renshaw," he said politely, smiling. "The Minister would like a word."
"Of course," Blake replied, standing up and following him out. Blake could feel the eyes of everyone in the Great Hall on him, but he shrugged it off, walking forward as if nothing was amiss.
He smirked to himself.
This is going to be interesting.
/
"Blake!" Fudge said, standing up to greet him immediately. The man was clearly going through it, and Blake would be sympathetic if he wasn't such a snivelling, weak, incompetent coward. Umbridge stood behind, a smile faker than her hastily applied makeup plastered onto her face. Standing slightly away from them, stood a lady that Blake recognised immediately. Rita Skeeter, he said in his head, disgusted. He hadn't had the displeasure of meeting the woman personally before, having chosen to leave her to Hermione, but he was sure she wouldn't be an issue if he let her know he knew.
"How are you, Minister?" Blake said, with faux sympathy. "I read about what happened last night."
"You did, did you?" Fudge replied, laughing awkwardly. "Well, well, we have it all under control, I can assure you. Anyway, that's not what I came to speak to you about. You're aware of Dumbledore's criminality, I'm sure?"
"I am," Blake said neutrally.
"Well, my boy, it seems that the matter has settled itself, has it not?" he said, smiling predatorily. "Now that Dumbledore's been deemed a criminal, then there's no issue showing your support, is there?"
Blake nodded, unconvinced.
"And, of course," Fudge continued, in a slightly quieter voice, to which Percy Weasley and Umbridge leaned in slightly closer, "there's the small matter of - what was it called again, Dolores?"
"Dumbledore's Army," she said nasally.
"Of course," he said with contempt. "Dumbledore's Army. I'm sure you're aware of it by now?"
"I am," Blake said again.
"Of course you, intelligent young man like yourself," he said, eyes glittering. "And so you'll probably know that - unfortunately - your little brother, Connor, was a member as well. I'm sure you can understand how grave of a situation he's in - supporting the leader of a known terrorist organisation - saying he's a part of his army no less!"
Fudge seemed to expect Blake to respond, but seeing the young man showed no signs of doing so, he hastened to speak.
"Of course, I'm sure the young man was manipulated," Fudge said quickly. "In the same house, he was probably enamoured with Potter, the poor boy, and manipulated by his lies and promises. That's where I think I can help you out, Blake."
He paused for dramatic effect.
"The students who were members of Dumbledore's Army, save for Miss Edgecombe, of course, will mostly be expelled - an unfortunate necessity - but support of terrorism cannot be allowed. However, your brother - considering the strong probability of him being manipulated and tricked - and the fact that we know that you, Blake, will steer him on the right path - will be allowed to stay at Hogwarts. How does that sound to you?"
Blake smiled for a second, and Fudge seemed to take that as confirmation his idea was working.
"Of course, this will be all contingent on your support, Blake. After all, we can't let Connor stay unless everyone knows that you're on the right path, to steer him along. So, what do you think?"
Blake was silent for a moment, before smiling widely.
"Just tell me what to do."
/
Five minutes later, Blake and Fudge were seated across from each other, with Rita Skeeter seated to the side of them, ready to take notes and photographs.
Fudge seemed to be much more relaxed now, smiling as if a weight had just been removed from his shoulders.
"You haven't met Rita here yet, have you, Blake?"
"I haven't had the privilege, no," he said, extending his hand out to her. The woman seemed surprised, but took it nonetheless.
"Nice to meet you, Ms Skeeter," he said, smiling.
"And you-"
"This might be a weird thing to say," he interrupted her abruptly. "Can I guess your favourite animal?"
Skeeter looked at him, utterly perplexed.
"I-"
"I think it would be a beetle."
For a woman that was normally quick to speak, she didn't have much to say for a good few seconds.
"Am I right?"
"I- you-"
"Only joking," Blake said, laughing good-naturedly. "Should we begin?"
"Yes, yes," Fudge said impatiently. "Ready, Rita?"
"Of course," she said, collecting herself, before shooting Blake a hideous look.
"A picture first, Minister," Umbridge piped up.
"Let's wait to the end, Headmistress," Blake said, "I think it's probably best to do it once the interview's out of the way, y'know?"
"I agree," Fudge concurred. "So, Blake, are you ready to begin?"
"I am," he said, smiling, before turning to Skeeter.
"This is a Two Way Mirror," she said, holding a small mirror up. "The Directors of the Daily Prophet are on the other end. We decided that that was best, given the importance of this interview. I hope that's fine?"
"It is," Blake said, unable to hide his glee.
"Let's begin then. Mr Renshaw, you can just - say what comes to mind," Weasley said.
He inhaled deeply.
"My name is Blake Renshaw," he began.
"A lot of you probably know me as the student that defeated and captured some Death Eaters in combat at the Quidditch World Cup and at Lord Voldemort's resurrection. As such, I think I have the experience to speak on the matter of Lord Voldemort's return, and the War with the Death Eaters, and I'm hoping that everyone reading this will agree to some extent."
Skeeter's Quill was scribbling away, and everyone's eyes were on him. Fudge's face was twisting into a wide smile, eyes glittering.
"Yesterday night, as you all know, there was an attack on Azkaban, and all of the worst Death Eaters were freed - Bellatrix Lestrange, Augustus Rookwood, Rodolphus Lestrange, Rabastan Lestrange, the man I captured myself - Lucius Malfoy - and many more. The worst of the worst. Not only that, but their first actions were to torture and murder two other prisoners - Order of the Phoenix members who directly opposed them - Hestia Jones and Sturgis Podmore. I can't even begin to imagine the pain and suffering that these people went through in their final moments, and I mourn their deaths."
Fudge shifted uncomfortably. 'Why is he speaking about the Order sympathetically?' he was probably thinking.
"Let me be clear. As always, the actions of Voldemort and the Death Eaters are unforgivable, and they will pay for their crimes - they must pay for their crimes. But these deaths - the first of the Second Wizarding War - could've been prevented, and the selfishness, hunger for power, cowardice, and weakness of one man is responsible."
Blake paused, before turning to smirk at Fudge, Umbridge and Percy Weasley. All at once, they seemed to realise what he was about to say.
"Stop the interview!" Fudge screamed, as Percy Weasley and Umbridge drew their wands.
But Blake was faster, and he silently cast a protection spell around him and Skeeter. The three Ministry officials tried to destroy the barrier, but they couldn't.
"Cornelius Fudge," Blake said, and Skeeter's eyes widened dramatically, as Fudge, Umbridge and Weasley stopped their barrage in disbelief.
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