A/N: beta'd by :)
The Atrium was full, the entire Ministry workforce present, looking towards the recently appointed Minister for news.
We all stood in silence, no one daring to speak. On everyone's faces all I could seewas fear and dread.
We had never expected this.
We'd thought we had a foolproof plan for every possible thing that could go wrong; we had been naive.
It had been less than twenty-four hours, yet our world had already changed forever.
And not, definitely not, for the better.
I watched as my father ascended the podium, pointing his wand to his throat, magically enhancing his voice. My mother beside me wiped a tear from her eye, trying her best to remain composed.
As were we all.
"I am afraid to announce-" My father began, before taking a moment to gather himself, visibly taking a breath.
I stared up at him, feeling every ounce of his pain. It wasn't fair, for this to happen to him.
No, it wasn't fair that this happened to any of us, that it happened at all.
"-that we have failed. All efforts to contain the situation have failed."
The room shuddered. I saw many close their eyes, trying to contain their disappointment, their fear for the future, their worries.
"The day has finally come. A significant amount of the Muggle population is now aware of our existence following the incident in Peru.
Unfortunately, the International Confederation of Wizards and Ministries worldwide now have no choice. The International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy has been dissolved."
A woman to my left burst into tears, someone behind me cried out 'No!' softly. My mother paled, her hand gripping mine tightly.
My father stayed completely still, letting us absorb the news. All around the world, people were recieving the same information.
Some would celebrate, some would not know what to feel; others would be in the same state of shock and sadness that I was in.
We were out in the open. For the first time since the seventeeth century.