Disclaimer: I do not own any people, places or things in this story. They belong to the fertile imagination of J.K. Rowling.
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Hermione Jane Granger awarded the Order of Merlin, First Class
-- by Luna Lovegood, Order of Merlin, 2nd class
Yesterday, at the Ministry of Magic, acting Minister of Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt, awarded Ms. Hermione Jane Granger with the highest honor in the wizarding world, the Order of Merlin, First Class. This highest of honors, given during this month long celebration of the downfall of He Who Must Not Be Named was awarded to the young teen for her actions which led to the defeat of You Know Who.
Warning! This is a reminder to our readers here at the Daily Quibbler. Under our agreement with Harry Potter for exclusive insights and interviews during this month long celebration of honors and awards for the defeat of He Who Must Not be Named or You Know Who, we are obligated to refer to him from this point forward in the article as either Tom Riddle or Voldemort. Mr. Potter wants us to remind our dear readers that the fear of the name only increases the fear of the person.
Unlike other honorees who have been awarded the Order of Merlin, Third Class for their valor in the defense of Hogwarts during the final battle or the Order of Merlin, Second Class for their leadership in the defense of Hogwarts, Ms. Granger's role had a much more direct impact in Tom Riddle's defeat. The full Wizengamut has heard from many sources including a summarized version of events of the past year from Harry Potter himself. According to Ms. Griselda Marchbanks, a member of the Wizengamut, who heard the testimony, Mr. Potter was adamant that but for Ms. Granger's help, he would not have been able to duel and win against Tom Riddle during the final battle at Hogwarts.
Before we get to more recent events, let us give the reader a short biography of Ms. Hermione Granger. Ms. Granger is a muggle born witch, the only child of two dentists. At Hogwarts she was sorted into Gryffindor where she quickly became friends with Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley, a recent recipient of the Order of Merlin, Second Class. Although she was muggle born, she was considered the cleverest witch of her year. Many of her classmates at Hogwarts over the years wondered why she was not sorted into Ravenclaw, but in hindsight it is obvious that she possesses the traits of bravery and action well know in Gryffindor. She is braver than she is smart which meant she was a much more dangerous opponent to Tom Riddle and his Death Eaters than they ever knew.
According to acting Hogwarts Headmistress Minerva McGonagall, recipient of the Order of Merlin, Second Class, Ms. Granger had the highest marks of all the students in each of her years at Hogwarts. She was selected to be a prefect in both her fifth and sixth year and had she enrolled in her seventh year, assuming she would have been allowed, Headmistress McGonagall believes she would most likely have been Head Girl. Headmistress McGonagall has nothing but high praises for Ms. Granger and wished that other students, especially her friends Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley would follow her example and focus more on their studies.
During Ms. Granger's fifth year, she was a founding member of Dumbledore's Army. Dumbledore's Army, is now a fixture at Hogwarts for all students who wish to learn more about the practical side of defense against the Dark Arts. In fact, according to Mr. Potter, it was Ms. Granger who came up with the idea of having a club to teach students practical defense against the Dark Arts because their teacher, the disgraced former Ministry employee Dolores Umbridge's idea of teaching students defense against the Dark Arts was to have the students sit in class and read their textbooks. Instead of actually using a wand for spell work she only wanted students to learn the theory but not the actual practical applications of defense against the Dark Arts. While Mr. Potter joked that Ms. Granger was afraid of doing poorly in Defense Against the Dart Arts in their OWL year, an unlikely scenario given her intelligence. He was serious that Dumbledore's Army helped everyone who participated become much better witches and wizards and helped them all fight the Death Eaters when they attacked Hogwarts. This is self evident given the numerous awards won by the original members of Dumbledore's Army.
Mr. Terry Boot, a Ravenclaw in the same year as Ms. Granger and a member of Dumbledore's Army, as well as a recipient of the Order of Merlin, Third Class, for his actions in the final battle of Hogwarts, remembers vividly how shocked he was at Ms. Granger's magical knowledge and abilities. While only a fifth year at the time, she was able to perform complex charms like the Protean charm to let the members of Dumbledore's Army know when the next meeting would take place. Readers may not be familiar with the Protean charm, but it is a spell that many fully grown witches and wizards are not able to do and is actually taught in advanced NEWT level classes.
In her sixth year, Ms. Granger was selected as a member of the prestigious group known as the "Slug Club" because Professor Slughorn, himself the recipient of an Order of Merlin, Third Class, heard of her keen intelligence. According to Professor Slughorn, Ms. Granger was an extremely clever witch. One of the brightest he has taught although not of the same caliber in potions as Mr. Potter. She was able to correctly identify various potions and spells. Indeed, Professor Slughorn believed Ms. Granger would go far in life, maybe even become Minister of Magic one day.
What would have been Ms. Granger's seventh year at Hogwarts was interrupted by Tom Riddle's power grab at the Ministry. She was wise not to attend the school because as a muggle born with, she would have been brutally treated by the Death Eater regime in charge of Hogwarts. Instead she chose a more dangerous path by accompanying Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley in their quest to defeat Tom Riddle. To say, she accompanied them is to minimize her role. Rather, according to Mr. Potter, Ms. Granger was mostly responsible for helping them to avoid capture for as long as they did.
The three of them needed to quickly hide after a brazen attack at the wedding of Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour, both recipients of the Order of Merlin, Third Class. While Mr. Potter and Mr. Ronald Weasley were unprepared, Ms. Granger not only anticipated the need to flee quickly, but had an idea of where they would go and what they would need. She also thought ahead and protected her muggle parents knowing they would be targets because of her. During the recent troubles, her parents were out of the country. She brought with her clothing for all three of them, food, shelter in the form of a magically charmed tent, medical supplies and a host of books with information they might need. Not only did she have the foresight to bring supplies. She also studied magical spells that would conceal their whereabouts. Every time the trio needed to move, it was Ms. Granger who performed the magical spells needed to conceal their whereabouts. Mr. Potter is especially grateful that Ms. Granger saved his life in an elaborate trap in Godric's Hollow at the home of Bathilda Bagshot.
We may never fully know or appreciate all her contributions to the downfall of Tom Riddle. Mr. Potter has already told all that he is willing to tell the wizarding world about what he and his companions have done over the last year in defeating Tom Riddle. We do know she successfully evaded Death Eaters and others when she was traveling with Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley. According to those two, she was clever, resourceful and well prepared against the unknown challenges they faced. She exhibited loyalty by teaming with Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley in their fight against Tom Riddle. She exhibited her bravery when she fought against Death Eaters in the Ministry as well as at Hogwarts. She, along with Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley broke into and out of the Ministry of Magic as well as Gringotts Bank, on the back of a dragon no less! She did her best and her best thankfully was good enough. For all those actions she received a well deserved honor as the youngest witch in all of wizarding history to receive the Order of Merlin, First Class. Congratulations, Ms. Hermione Jane Granger! A grateful world thanks you.