MINISTRY OF MAGIC, GRAND MEETING ROOM

PERCIVAL enters near the stage, his side parting now super-aggressive, his robes spectacularly staid. With much fanfare, PERCIVAL climbs the steps to the stage. No one looks happy to be there, and the chatter has developed into a steady thrum of exasperated grumbling. PERCIVAL steps up to the podium.

PERCIVAL (in a serious voice): Order. Order, I said. You really are a most disappointing bunch. Do I have to conjure silence?

He pulls silence from the crowd using his wand. There is a sudden, total hush. Everything is instantly still. And slightly depressed. PERCIVAL swipes his wand a second time to return their voices.

(sounding posh) Welcome to this Extraordinary General Meeting. I'm pleased so many of you could make it.

There's some polite applause.

It's been twenty-one years since we defeated Voldemort at the Battle of Hogwarts. The wizarding world has been living in relative peace.

GEORGE (robust, from somewhere unseen): You say we've been living in relative peace, but I have it on good authority that your relatives still think you're a prat. Care to respond?

Chortles pervade the crowd. PERCIVAL knows that GEORGE is about to cause trouble. He keeps his composure but prepares for the worst.

PERCIVAL: I've got some things to say — I ask that we deal with questions — and there will be a lot of questions — after I speak.

GEORGE (his voice less distant): Questions like, why must we wait so long for this prat if he refuses to say something even the tiniest bit interesting?

PERCIVAL (trying desperately to still sound Ministerial): As many of you know — and I'm delighted to say — there is a new generation being brought up having known only the slightest conflict. As I previously stated...the wizarding world has been living in relative peace...

PERCIVAL gives them a severe and worrisome look. He had been planning for this moment.

...until now.

GEORGE appears beside RON and HERMIONE. He's wearing a bright purple trilby hat and raises a ludicrously tall feather quill.

GEORGE (full of drama — he's really enjoying this): Mister Minister — George Weasley from the Weasley Register. It's been nigh on twenty-two years since the well-known Battle of the Seven Potters, where one George Weasley — no relation — had lost a once remarkable ear. There's some buzz going round that this young man's cursed appendage may have sprouted its own body. Your opinion?

There's giggling.

You do know...the ear was never recovered after the battle.

PERCIVAL: There will be silence from the crowd. No more questions!

GEORGE: Follow up question. We have insider information that the mislaid ear once belonged to a twin. Ears do come in pairs, after all.

PERCIVAL is visibly shaken.

PERCIVAL (to GEORGE, finally losing his temper): George! Stop it! This is serious business! I am very important now, and I will not allow you to reduce my authority —

GEORGE: Would you be opposed to naming the reconstituted man? And, if so, might I suggest something Fred-like?

PERCIVAL: Fine thing, bringing him up. You, out of us all, should grasp the ramifications of what I have yet to say. (to the masses) Death is upon us. We are on the brink of war!

Doubts and inaudible questions rumble through the room. PERCIVAL collects himself.

I come with the gravest of news. I had hoped that my time as Minister would be nothing but peaceful, but it seems as though the terrorists we bravely overthrew at the Battle of Hogwarts have been reassembling for years. And now we know why. In fact, technically I'm endangering our entire operation... which is not... well, I'm not a natural risk-taker, as you know.

The uncertainties of the crowd escalate. HARRY looks confused. PERCIVAL opens his arms to corral their curiosity.

The past has come back to haunt us. No one is safe, Muggle-born or pure-blood. As your dutiful Minister of Magic, I will not hide the truth from the wizarding community, no matter how terrifying it would be, no matter how much the truth will inevitably lead to the deaths of those we hold most dear.

UNKNOWN WIZARD 01: Get on with it!

UNKNOWN WITCH 01: I'm through listening to this drivel.

Some turn to exit.

PERCIVAL: What we've been told for half our lives is that a certain evil has been vanquished. That — was — a lie! A witness has come forward, confirming our worst fears. And I want answers!

GEORGE (with a smile): You heard it here first. He's a prat.

PERCIVAL: I assure you, if anyone interrupts me again —

More are turning away from the podium. PERCIVAL puts a wand to his throat, amplifying his voice.

You-Know-Who has returned!

There is an intake of breath. GEORGE removes his trilby, confusedly. Silence is followed by immediate chaos. The panic is instant and infectious.

UNKNOWN WIZARD 02: No!

UNKNOWN WIZARD 03: How is that even possible?!

UNKNOWN WITCH 02: The Daily Prophet was right!

UNKNOWN WIZARD 04: Voldemort is alive?

UNKNOWN WIZARD 02: He can't be, he was killed!

PERCIVAL: Calm yourselves.

UNKNOWN WITCH 03: Why now?

UNKNOWN WITCH 04: This makes no sense.

PERCIVAL (in his element): I have recently learned that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named discovered a way to cheat death by splitting his very soul through the use of Dark wizardry. I understand that this is difficult for you to believe! But there is one truth we can't escape: He has been seen. He has returned. Here to explain to all of us how this was possible, and what actions or inactions led to this complete and utter failure — Harry Potter.

HARRY's face falls. Everyone in the scene turns to him.

HARRY (to himself): What?

HARRY looks around the room. He looks from an uncomfortable HERMIONE to a desperate DELPHI. The two of them speak in frantic whispers.

DELPHI: Is this possible?

HARRY: No. Of course, not.

DELPHI (looking past him): They're waiting. You need to say something.

HARRY: After that display?

Pause. She looks at him carefully.

DELPHI: They trust you, Harry. Just...tell them what you know.

HARRY has a moment's hesitation, then realizes the time for hesitation has passed. The crowd is getting restless, and their protests are now more concentrated. HARRY's face hardens. He begins to mount the stairs to the stage, his hair wild. DELPHI holds him back momentarily and fixes his hair with a spell. HARRY smiles gratefully and joins PERCIVAL on the stage.

PERCIVAL: Harry.

HARRY walks swiftly to the front of the stage. He looks around himself. He raises his hand for silence. Silence falls. He's surprised at the lack of effort it took. One person genuflects.

HARRY (looking at PERCIVAL, deeply annoyed): Yes, Voldemort's former allies — former — have been showing a pattern of synchronized movement for a few months now. We've followed trolls making their way across Europe, giants starting to cross the seas, and the werewolves — well, I'm distressed to say we lost sight of them some weeks ago. We don't know where they're going or who's encouraged them to move — but we are aware they are moving — and we are concerned what it might mean. Your Minister is being... overly cautious by revealing something he believes to be accurate... for the benefit of transparency.

UNKNOWN WIZARD 03: But what do you believe?

UNKNOWN WITCH 01: Should we be worried, Harry?

HARRY: No. Having just heard as you did, my opinion is that the Minister's statement is impossible. In the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, we pride ourselves on upholding the truth and seeking out answers through traditional, evidentiary means. We have no proof that Voldemort has returned. I know you have concerns. I'm willing to answer any of your questions, so let's begin. (HARRY changes his stance) Preferably nothing about George's missing ear, as it is a sensitive subject and the hunt is ongoing. (They all laugh, the air in the room is calmer) If you could raise a wand, we will hear everyone speak. First question.

UNKNOWN WITCH 02: Voldemort learned how to cheat death?

HARRY: Yes. Second question.

UNKNOWN WIZARD 04: Did he separate his soul?

HARRY: He did. That is how he was able to return after many years had passed. Third question.

UNKNOWN WITCH 04: So, he's dead for good?

HARRY: Easy question, easy answer: Yes.

UNKNOWN WITCH 03: How do you know for sure?

HARRY looks at UNKNOWN WITCH 03. He is thinking deeply.

HARRY: Voldemort was always seeking to increase his power. One way to do so, he believed, was through extending his life, even making himself immortal. Like when he tried to steal the Philosopher's Stone created by Nicolas Flamel. But success — true success — came in the form of...

HARRY doesn't know how to phrase what he has to say. His face falls.

During the second rise of Lord Voldemort, Albus Dumbledore learned that Voldemort had experimented with advanced Dark magic while attending Hogwarts. His pursuit of immortality succeeded in the creation of something that has been called the wickedest of all magical inventions — an object in which a person has concealed part of their soul — so that even if their body is destroyed, they cannot die. As a young student, Voldemort learned how to create...a Horcrux.

A gasp is heard. The crowd hangs on his every word. HARRY looks to DELPHI, who nods encouragingly.

Voldemort was able to return the first time because part of his soul remained earthbound. Undamaged. The reason I know for sure that he has not returned once more is because I helped to discover and destroy his Horcruxes prior to and during the Battle of Hogwarts.

UNKNOWN WIZARD 01: Wait, he had more than one? How do you know you got them all?

HARRY: Voldemort separated his soul into many parts, in fact. There was a total of...

HARRY looks at HERMIONE, who shakes her head.

Six. (beat) Six Horcruxes.

UNKNOWN WIZARD 04: Why six?

UNKNOWN WITCH 02: Seven is the most magical number. Voldemort would know that.

HARRY (nervously, attempting to hide the lie): Well... er... a portion of Voldemort's original soul remained in him as well. So, that's seven parts, isn't it?

This is something he's never said before, it resonates around his head a moment. The crowd looks at HARRY — disbelieving.

Would an example help? (to the sounds of grumbled incredulity) You may recall Voldemort's trusted pet snake, Nagini, that was killed during the battle of Hogwarts. It was the final Horcrux, slain by Neville Longbottom, now a Hogwarts professor, using the sword of Godric Gryffindor. This brave act left Voldemort truly vulnerable to death for the first time.

UNKNOWN WITCH 01: What were the other five?

HARRY: Three were items belonging to Hogwarts founders: the Diadem of Rowena Ravenclaw. The Cup of Helga Hufflepuff, and a locket belonging to Salazar Slytherin, which had been substituted with a counterfeit Horcrux by another unsung hero, Regulus Black. The final two were items close to Voldemort during his time as a student when he went by the name Tom Riddle: the ring of Marvolo Gaunt and an inconspicuous diary.

UNKNOWN WITCH 03: So, Nagini was the only living Horcrux?

HARRY: Yes.

HARRY touches his scar. It's on fire. HARRY looks out, unsure. HERMIONE and RON are open-mouthed — looking at each other — unsure, themselves.

UNKNOWN WIZARD 03: Hang on...diary of Tom Riddle? That belonged to Lucius Malfoy, as I recall. What do you know about this Draco?

UNKNOWN WIZARD 01: Malfoy, you have a Dark Mark...have you felt anything? Even a twinge?

DRACO MALFOY, his robes perfect, his blond hair precisely placed, emerges from within the crowd to stand beside GEORGE, RON, and HERMIONE.

DRACO (loudly, to the crowd): Isn't it obvious? They're trying to confuse you, and the objective is unmistakable — Potter and Clearwater are using your fears of the Dark Lord to gain approval for a new and controversial undertaking.

UNKNOWN WIZARD 01: What undertaking?

DRACO: An increase in raids. Why...there was just a raid last night, I hear! This is nothing more than discrimination against reformed Dark Markers and the harassment of connoisseurs like myself who have an appreciation of historical wizarding artifacts. (looking skeptical) The return of the Dark Lord... (DRACO laughs) Next thing you know, they'll say your Aunt Millie's hairpin holds some residue of Lord Voldemort's soul and use that as justification to ransack your property and remove items they deem to be unlawful. (to HARRY) Back to being prejudiced against those with a Dark Mark, are we, Potter? Relying on your famous name, are you? (to the crowd) Well, I, for one, think this meeting a sham. I am not going to stand by and listen to it a moment longer. I'm leaving.

UNKNOWN WIZARD 01: I agree with Draco.

UNKNOWN WITCH 04: We want answers, Potter.

UNKNOWN WIZARD 02: He's given you answers! It's Malfoy that's wrong.

UNKNOWN WITCH 03: Who is the source, Clearwater?

UNKNOWN WIZARD 03: Are raids increasing?

UNKNOWN WIZARD 04: Why are they doing this to us? Is Voldemort dead or not?

UNKNOWN WITCH 02: If we can't trust the Ministry, who can we trust?

UNKNOWN WITCH 01: We believe you, Harry!

HARRY looks to PERCIVAL who is standing far away, looking poised and not speaking. DRACO looks at HARRY carefully and then turns away. HARRY frowns, annoyed, as the stage clears.