Harry Potter 06 - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

hand.
    Scrimgeour grasped it briefly, his eyes scanning the room, then pulled out a wand from under his robes.
    ‘Fudge told you everything?’ he asked, striding over to the door and tapping the keyhole with his wand. The Prime Minister heard the lock click.
    ‘Er – yes,’ said the Prime Minister. ‘And if you don’t mind, I’d rather that door remained unlocked.’
    ‘I’d rather not be interrupted,’ said Scrimgeour shortly, ‘or watched,’ he added, pointing his wand at the windows so that the curtains swept across them. ‘Right, well, I’m a busy man, so let’s get down to business. First of all, we need to discuss your security.’
    The Prime Minister drew himself up to his fullest height and replied, ‘I am perfectly happy with the security I’ve already got, thank you very –’
    ‘Well, we’re not,’ Scrimgeour cut in. ‘It’ll be a poor lookout for the Muggles if their Prime Minister gets put under the Imperius Curse. The new secretary in your outer office –’
    ‘I’m not getting rid of Kingsley Shacklebolt, if that’s what you’re suggesting!’ said the Prime Minister hotly. ‘He’s highly efficient, gets through twice the work the rest of them –’
    ‘That’s because he’s a wizard,’ said Scrimgeour, without a flicker of a smile. ‘A highly trained Auror, who has been assigned to you for your protection.’
    ‘Now, wait a moment!’ declared the Prime Minister. ‘You can’t just put your people into my office, I decide who works for me –’
    ‘I thought you were happy with Shacklebolt?’ said Scrimgeour coldly.
    ‘I am – that’s to say, I was –’
    ‘Then there’s no problem, is there?’ said Scrimgeour.
    ‘I … well, as long as Shacklebolt’s work continues to be … er … excellent,’ said the Prime Minister lamely, but Scrimgeour barely seemed to hear him.
    ‘Now, about Herbert Chorley – your Junior Minister,’ he continued. ‘The one who has been entertaining the public by impersonating a duck.’
    ‘What about him?’ asked the Prime Minister.
    ‘He has clearly reacted to a poorly performed Imperius Curse,’ said Scrimgeour. ‘It’s addled his brains, but he could still be dangerous.’
    ‘He’s only quacking!’ said the Prime Minister weakly. ‘Surely a bit of a rest … maybe go easy on the drink …’
    ‘A team of Healers from St Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries is examining him as we speak. So far he has attempted to strangle three of them,’ said Scrimgeour. ‘I think it best that we remove him from Muggle society for a while.’
    ‘I … well … he’ll be all right, won’t he?’ said the Prime Minister anxiously. Scrimgeour merely shrugged, already moving back towards the fireplace.
    ‘Well, that’s really all I had to say. I will keep you posted of developments, Prime Minister – or, at least, I shall probably be too busy to come personally, in which case I shall send Fudge here. He has consented to stay on in an advisory capacity.’
    Fudge attempted to smile, but was unsuccessful; he merely looked as though he had toothache. Scrimgeour was already rummaging in his pocket for the mysterious powder that turned the fire green. The Prime Minister gazed hopelessly at the pair of them for a moment, then the words he had fought to suppress all evening burst from him at last.
    ‘But for heaven’s sake – you’re wizards ! You can do magic ! Surely you can sort out – well – anything !’
    Scrimgeour turned slowly on the spot and exchanged an incredulous look with Fudge, who really did manage a smile this time as he said kindly, ‘The trouble is, the other side can do magic too, Prime Minister.’
    And with that, the two wizards stepped one after the other into the bright green fire and vanished.

 
     
— CHAPTER TWO —
     
Spinner’s End
    Many miles away the chilly mist that had pressed against the Prime Minister’s windows drifted over a dirty river that wound between overgrown, rubbish-strewn banks. An immense chimney, relic of a disused mill, reared up, shadowy and ominous. There was no sound apart from the whisper of the black water and no sign of life apart from a scrawny fox that had slunk down the bank to nose hopefully at some old fish-and-chip wrappings in the tall grass.
    But then, with a very faint pop , a slim hooded figure appeared out of thin air on the edge of the river. The fox froze, wary eyes fixed upon this strange new phenomenon. The figure seemed to take its