The Speech
The owl post was busy on Wednesday, July 24, 1996.
The Daily Prophet, the Evening Prophet, Challenges in Charming, Seeker Weekly, The Practical Potioneer, The Quibbler, Transfiguration Today, Rumors!, Witch Weekly, and the WWN all received copies of the memo. So did the Minister of Magic, the top ten members of the Wizengamot (by seniority, not influence), every Department Head in the Ministry of Magic, and, oddly enough, every instructor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Each business owner in Diagon Alley received a copy, and duplicates were posted (without permission, apparently) on the doors of both the Leaky Cauldron and Gringotts Bank. And these were just the ones that attracted attention. Who knows how many more were sent, and to whom?
The memo, letter, summons, or whatever you wished to call it read as follows.
One week from today, on Wednesday, July 31, 1996, at noon precisely,
I will hold a press conference on the steps of Gringotts Bank, Diagon Alley Branch.
During this meeting I will discuss several controversial topics.
Those wishing to attend are welcome; those who wish not to should stay home.
For those reporters who feel the need to slant my comments to their own use,
I suggest you leave your Poison Quill at home, as every media outlet has been invited.
You don't wish your own bias to show when you are the only source with a different set of quotes, do you?
Please Note: Any person reading this notice that has connections to the organization known as 'Death Eaters',
please request your leader to not interrupt the press conference. He may be surprised at what I have to say.
Harry Potter
)O( )O( )O( )O( )O( )O( )O(
The uproar this document caused was tremendous. The wizengamot met unofficially to try to determine what the-boy-who-lived was going to discuss. They argued with their Chief Warlock, Albus Dumbledore, for days trying to get him to reassure them that it was good news. The Minister of Magic and his department heads also busied themselves in endless meetings, trying to decipher Mr Potter's memo. Any controversy he raised (especially after he had announced the return of He-who-must-not-be-named) had to be immediately countered and put out of the minds of the shee-, I mean people. The Daily Prophet's editors were faster in their decisions. They immediately told both Rita Skeeter and Betty Braithwaite they would cover the conference, Rita with her Poison Quill ©, and Betty with a Truth Quill ©. They would decide which version to use when the conference was over. Both reporters would share the byline; the author of the version used would get first byline. The atmosphere in Diagon Alley was even more contentious. The shop owners 'discussed' the upcoming event at length with their customers. Customers tossed out idea after idea at each other. The goblins were surlier than ever, trying to determine if it was worth it to charge Potter for using their property for his announcements.
And every time you looked around there were, if not Death Eaters themselves, then Death Eater sympathizers, trying to discredit the upcoming press conference. They didn't care what Potter had to say, if he was saying it then they were against it. So they argued about 'a boy his age shouldn't be calling conferences', or 'if what he had to say was that import ant, why wasn't he saying it to the wizengamot in private?'. Then they would bring up his 'history of rabble rousing'; start ing with his claims of the Heir of Slytherin stalking the halls of Hogwarts back in 1992, then bringing up his declaration of the return of the Dark Lord back in 1995, and 'wasn't he found wandering the halls of the Ministry of Magic unescorted just this spring?' As if that wasn't enough, they started quoting Percy Weasley, of the Minister's office. 'Isn't he an unstable liar, just seeking attention?' and so on.
Most disturbing of all, the inner circle of the group known as the Death Eaters gathered in their master's chambers. The stood silently for hours at a time while their leader pondered the last lines of Potter's memo. Occasionally the one called Lord Voldemort would ask an opinion from one of his followers, and then lapse back into silence after hearing the response. The lack of pain spells upon the advisors caused the inner circle the deepest fear.
)O( )O( )O( )O( )O( )O( )O(
Finally the day came. Amidst the festival atmosphere of the morning, with shop owners offering 'Potter Specials' and street vendors offering memorabilia of the day, the aurors had their hands full maintaining the peace of the day. The crowds were anxious to hear their savior speak, no matter how ominous the announcement sounded. The goblins, seeing the crowds forming, responded by sending a squad of fully armored warriors onto the front steps of the bank, hoping to deter any vandalism. Reporters were having a field day getting 'background atmosphere' quotes and images.
As the clock moved to 11 am things seemed to get more interesting. A herd of centaurs appeared, entering Diagon Alley through Knockturn Alley. How they reached Knockturn no one would explain. A squad of aurors moved to maintain a gap between the centaurs and the wiz ards, hoping to avoid a massacre when (not if) one side offended the other. The aurors's leader called for backup. By 11:30 the craziness had reached a new plateau, as fifty house elves appeared. The oldest of the little creatures approached the auror captain and presented a copy of Potter's memo as proof that they were invited to 'hear the great wizard speak'. The Minister of Magic, his Department Heads, and the entire Wizengamot chose that moment to descend on the Alley en masse. Having settled the VIPs into position by 11:55, the auror squads sighed in relief with the realization that the only group not represented, officially at least, were the Death Eaters.
Two school friends of Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley and Neville Longbottom, came out of the Leaky Cauldron carrying a large podium. They slowly made their way through the crowds up to the steps of Gringotts Bank. Maneuvering carefully, they managed to get the podium up on the steps of the bank just as the clock struck noon. The audience gasped in amazement as the two boys stepped back from the lectern and Harry Potter stepped up to it, right on schedule. No one had seen him before that moment. He began to speak.
)O( )O( )O( )O( )O( )O( )O(
Thank you for coming. You have all wondered, discussed and argued for the last week over what my speech today may be about. I won't keep you in suspense any longer.
The majority of those listening to me know me by reputation only. That reputation includes such things as my survival of the killing curse as a child, as the prophesied savior of the British Wizarding world, and as a over-excitable student who makes up stories to remain in the public's eye. Not every reputation is made up completely of truths, or of lies. In order to redeem my reputation I must first sort out for you the facts from the fiction.
The wizarding world has been at war for over 20 years. The person whose name you all refuse to say spent the first portion of that war slaughtering your families and friends at will, with none of you willing to put forth the effort to track down and stop him and his followers. The aurors were handicapped by both the Ministry of Magic and the Wizengamot of the time, and left with little option but to change tactics from offensively tracking down the terrorist group called the Death Eaters to the defensive strategy of protecting high-profile targets from attack while accumulating evidence of who may or may not be a death eater.
On top of this situation a prophecy was made. According to Albus Dumbledore, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, a prophecy was given to him during the summer of 1980. This prophecy included details of how the person to defeat the evil threatening the wizarding world could be recognized, a clue of how the defeat may occur, and the results for the involved wizards after the prophecy was fulfilled.
As the prophecy was given to Mr. Dumbledore, he felt it was his duty to ensure that it was fulfilled. He took it upon himself to share paraphrased versions of the prophecy to a select few people, but not to the Ministry or Wizengamot, who could have used the information to stop the self-styled Dark Lord before my parents were killed by him. Portions of the prophecy have been leaked to society at large in such a fashion that everyone knows that I am the savior you are waiting for. He has then 'arranged' events in my life so that I would be capable of fulfilling the prophecy on his terms. And in doing so he has trained each and every one of you to stand and wait for one person to come and save you, no matter who dies during the wait.
I, for one, do not wish to believe that my life is ruled by an ambiguous and vague bit of poetry locked in a crystal ball. My decisions and my actions stem from my own desires. Be that as it may, Mr. Dumbledore's insistence that the entire wizarding world know that I am featured in some prophecy has ensured that his version of the prophecy will come true. I will fulfill my role and destroy the man now known as Voldemort.
The prophecy states that the only way this war will end will be if I destroy the dark lord, or if he destroys me. No one else. If anyone besides the one you fear kills me, if a death eater was to raise his wand right now both sides LOSE. Your enemy will be free to destroy anyone that threatens his power or his secrets. No one will be safe. Starting with the one that shows the power to kill me, he'll kill everyone with a hint of power to protect himself. If he doesn't kill me himself, then the prophecy must be about someone else, so he'll rampage. Every muggle in Britain will be killed for fear that they will give birth to more unregistered muggleborn wizards, one of whom may attack his reign. Anyone with magic will be killed for fear of the same thing. The prophecy doesn't claim the saviour will be a wizard. 'Anyone with magic' means witch or wizard, goblin, centaur, house elf, troll, giant, and on and on. Voldemort won't stop until he is the only living creature in Britain.
And if one of you people listening to me happens to get the chance to slice his throat, he'll be replaced by five members of his filthy organization that feel they are worthy of filling his blood-soaked robes. Instead of one dark lord threatening Britain, there will be many.
BUT!
But that doesn't excuse anyone else.
The wizarding world has been at war for 20 years against more people than just the Dark Lord Voldemort. The prophecy says I will defeat the Dark Lord. It doesn't say 'the dark lord and his followers'. Every attack by the Death Eaters for the last 20 years has endangered the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy, therefore endangering YOU. Every time the aurors have to obliviate some muggle the wizarding world is in danger. And you stand here and let the death eaters attack at will? Every time the Ministry of Magic, or one of its members, restricts the ability of the aurors to fight the terrorists they are guilty of being terrorists themselves. And you keep re-electing them? Who has been stopping the death eaters in all that time? You say that you are the members of the light, therefore you don't kill? But you keep calling me the icon of the Light, and expect me to kill Voldemort. If the icon is expected to kill in the name of the preservation of the Light, shouldn't the followers also be expected to do the same? But no, you people stand aside and let the death eaters kill your friends, kill your family, and destroy your property. You run away when they appear? Stand up to them and save yourselves!
SILENCE!
I learned in my first year at Hogwarts that you don't need to use Dark magic to stop dark creatures. If I can use wingardium leviosa to knock out a troll you can use it to bash in the brains of a death eater. If my friends can use petrificus totalis to keep ourselves from being delayed in the saving of the school, you can use it to bind someone who is trying to kill your family. I say that if the wizarding world wants to stop this war it should stop ignoring the war! If you see death eaters in their uniform of grey robes and facemask, kill them! If you suspect your employer of being a death eater, stun them and call the aurors! If you believe your parents have the Dark Mark and don't wish to join the destroyers of Britain, report them. The Ministry is here to protect you from evil. Force them to do their jobs for a change.
It doesn't matter if you refuse to believe that He-with-too-many-names has returned to a body. Killing him is my job. Killing his followers is YOURS! Stop standing around complaining that I wasn't there to save your husband, or your wife, or your kids or your parents. STAND UP and do it yourself! And while you are saving your family save your friends' families. Save the muggles. Save everyone you can. Leave Voldemort to me, as the prophecy says. Kill the rest yourselves, because even I can't be everywhere at once.
I need to go train for my battle with the one Mr Dumbledore's prophecy says can only be destroyed by me. The rest of you need to go destroy his followers. Good Day.
)O( )O( )O( )O( )O( )O( )O(
The uproar in the Alley roared louder and louder as Ron Weasley and Neville Longbottom stepped forward to retrieve the lectern. The noise became louder when Harry Potter disappeared from view and didn't reappear. It dimmed in fascination as the goblin warriors who had glared fiercely at any who came near the steps of the bank during the speech formed an honour guard to escort the young men back to the Leaky Cauldron.
As the assembled crowd finally released their outrage and considered what Mr Potter had said, furtive looks began to be tossed around. The unspoken questions were loud in everyone's faces. 'Is he a Death Eater?', 'Will the Ministry really listen to my suspicions about...?', 'If I report... will I be protected?'. The first to stop questioning and start casting hexes against the enemies of their way of life would start a riot.
The members of the government began seeking the fastest way out of Diagon Alley. Too many of the furtive looks were coming THEIR way. The aurors would never be able to stop them all.
And as the house elves 'popped' out to where ever they called home the Centaurs drew their weapons as one, and marched steadily and with dignity back towards Knockturn Alley. While none would dare accuse either group of being in league with the common enemy, in a riot as this was sure to become it was better not to be a convenient target.
The Death Eaters in the crowd realized the danger they were in. After a damning speech like that if they attacked then the crowd would destroy them. Ignoring their orders from Voldemort for the first time they let their wands remain sheathed and slid back into the throngs, seeking escape, and for the chance to be the first to warn their lord of the changing opinions of the public.
On the street corner nearest to the steps of Gringotts Bank, Diagon Alley Branch, stood the feared enemy himself, using a disillusionment charm. He stood there for over an hour after the speech had ended; contemplating every word of the speech, and listening to the shee- I mean public's conversations. Finally he stalked towards Knockturn Alley, clutching his portkey like an amulet against evil.
Harry Potter had announced his war strategy, and Wizarding Britain would never be the same again.