Winning the War
A/N: Written in response to ToManyLetters' "The Daily Score Challenge" using March 9th's score "Words Win Wars" from Doctor Who.
River; he called himself River. He fought back against oppression and evil with his voice, a voice carried over the airwaves, in defiance of the Dark Lord and his minions, spreading truth and hope in the face of deception and panic. He inspired wizards to protect their Muggle neighbours. He reminded wizards of who they were and why they fought.
Molly and Arthur relied on his assurance that their sons still lived. Andromeda listened, worried for her husband. Ginny listened, hoping every day that those she loved were still alive. River was the only link to the rest of the world for some who traveled in hiding, working to save it. The world listened in secret and in silence, careful not to miss one single word.
He wasn't a genius or a prodigy. He wasn't an athlete or a star duellist. He couldn't defeat Voldemort, never even pulled the Sword out of the Hat. But his was no small contribution; he kept hope alive, his words of encouragement slicing through the darkness to reach the hearts of those who needed it most.
Standing amidst the aftermath of their victory, Lee blinked back tears which stung his eyes. With so many dead, it hardly felt like they had won. He rubbed the back of his hand across his tired eyes and sighed.
"Lee," a voice said from behind him and he felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning, he saw Harry; the hero who had saved the world just a few hours earlier, the boy in whom they had put their faith and to whom they had tied all their hopes. "I, uh," Harry began, "I just wanted to say 'thank you.'"
Lee blinked a couple of times in confusion. Harry was thanking him? Whatever for? His contributions to the battle had been mediocre at best; he'd rather felt he was in the way for most of it. He hadn't defeated a single Death Eater or even managed to save the life of anyone on his side.
"Potterwatch," Harry explained. "I must admit it felt a little bizarre to have a radio programme named after me, but, well, it was like a lifeline. When I was out there, with just Ron and Hermione, on the run for our lives, it was the only way we had to know…anything about what was going on for the rest of you. It kinda…kept me going, kept all of us going. We didn't feel so alone; it reminded us that it wasn't just us, that others were on our side, and that people, well, that people believed in me." Harry ran a hand through his hair, looking somewhat embarrassed. "Anyway, I wanted to thank you for that."
Lee nodded. "Yeah, well, hey, don't mention it."
"Sure, so long as you don't mention me defeating Voldemort." Harry grinned, a flicker of light-hearted humour in his eyes.
Lee laughed ruefully at that. "I guess you'll never live that one down, mate. Our grandkids will be reading about you in their first year defence against the dark arts textbooks."
"I'll ask them to include a paragraph or two about you; I don't know if I—if we could have done it without you."
