Warnings: Ignores DH, Dark!Harry. Sirius is alive (though barely mentioned). Sexual themes - nothing explicit.
Thanks to my wonderful beta cupcake0118 for reading through this and clearing it out! :)
In the deserted grounds of a great castle, there is a monument standing in the center. It shows a young boy standing over a disfigured body, a sword raised high with a grim expression on his face.
In front of the monument, there lies an upraised plaque on a stand. It reads: 'On this spot, in 1997, fell the Dark Lord Voldemort at the hands of Harry Potter, who was elected Minister of Magic in the elections that immediately followed his victory. Let this spot stand as a memory to the mistakes of the past and the dangers produced by ignoring the welfare of those magical children who are muggleborn or muggle-raised.'
A scarlet-hued bird appears near the monument in a burst of flame, just as two faded newspaper clippings float down to the ground from a window high in the castle. The first shows a young man, not yet twenty, with messy black hair, glasses, and a lightning bolt scar. He is the same boy who is depicted in the monument.
He is standing in the Ministry Atrium, addressing a crowd of reporters, and a couple of bystanders. He is surrounded by a number of other people, who have grown to be well known figures in their own right – a tall man with red hair and freckles, a young woman with bushy brown hair, and another with long red hair. There is a tired looking older man holding the hand of a handsome man with dark hair. They are standing next to a woman with ever-changing hair and pair of redheaded twins. Standing close to him, at his right, is a young man of the same age, with platinum blond hair, and a pointed face. His hand is clutched tightly in that of the Minister.
"MINISTER POTTER ANNOUNCES SWEEPING REFORMS!"
"Nearly a year has passed since our Saviour was elected Minister for Magic. After a year filled with rebuilding the magical world to what it once was, Minister Harry Potter yesterday announced sweeping reforms in nearly all areas of wizarding life.
The Minister announced the widespread repealing of anti-creature laws, including those affecting werewolves, Veela, and part-giants. The old laws severely limited employment options for those witches and wizards affected, and required them to register their status with Ministry. Perhaps most shockingly, it allowed Aurors and hit-wizards to overlook basic rights provided to other wizards before arresting them – such as making sure they were guilty.
Among the laws amended are laws governing house-elves. It is now a criminally punishable act to abuse your house-elf, or order them to hurt themselves (for more information about the anti-creature laws repealed or amended, see page 5).
…Most importantly, the Minister announced the start of an "immersion programme" to help muggle-born and raised children adjust to the magical world.
'At this point in time, we let children from Muggle backgrounds enter our world at the age of 11, and then expect them to be absolutely comfortable with doing so despite having no knowledge of the wizarding world. These children, along with their parents, are understandably apprehensive, but along with them, so are the purebloods. Because we offer children from muggle backgrounds no insight into our world, we leave them uneducated about our ancient traditions and practices. All they get are what they can glean from books, which never offer a complete picture.
I am a half-blood who was raised in a muggle home, and until Draco and his parents sat me down and educated me, I had no knowledge of magical traditions. And my best friend is Hermione Granger!
This lack of education is terrifying the purebloods, and many of the halfbloods. They are worried that within a few generations, all knowledge of the old ways will have been lost. This is exactly what allowed Voldemort to gain the initial foothold in his campaign to "purify" wizarding kind. What I am allowing is the creation of a summer programme for all who wish to attend it, regardless of background. This will provide insights into magical tradition, and will be conducted during the month before the start of the Hogwarts year. For all Hogwarts students, it will be a compulsory part of their education. Ignorance will not be allowed to be the first step to war any more.'
Minister Potter also announced the creation of Child Protection Squad for Magical Children (CPS) under the Department for Magical Law Enforcement. This department will be in constant contact with its Muggle counterpart.
On this topic, the Minister had the following to say:
'We seem to be becoming increasingly neglectful of our children, who we should be protecting, not abusing.
We have never been able to rival the Muggles in terms of sheer population, and Voldemort and the wars he caused killed a large number of witches and wizards. Due to this, we have an unprecedented number of orphaned children who have been left in our care, with no facility to house them until they reach the age of majority.
The disproportionate number of muggleborns and halfbloods killed by Voldemort and his followers in their quest for blood purity would have once meant that their children would have been placed in the houses of Muggle relatives, with no concern for their safety. Following this policy means ignoring the greatest lesson of the Voldemort wars. Both Voldemort and I were raised in a Muggle environment, with no one to care about our well-being. Voldemort grew up in a bleak, cheerless orphanage, and I, in an abusive home. It is only luck that I did not grow up to be another Voldemort, and that is not a risk that I am willing to take with any more children.
Before setting any of the war orphans – or, indeed, any other orphans – into a home, be it Muggle or wizard, the prospective family will be investigated thoroughly by the CPS to make sure that it is a safe and loving environment for the child to grow up in. We will also be conducting occasional checks in the homes once the children are placed in order to ensure their well-being.
These checks will also be carried out in the homes of muggleborns by the Muggle CPS to make sure that the special abilities the children have will not bring about abuse or neglect. Professor Minerva McGonagall, Hogwarts Headmistress, who will check the Hogwarts Book of Names each year, will provide us a list of all Muggleborns in the United Kingdom.
We are also working on setting up an easy way for wizarding children to contact the Ministry and report any child abuse happening in their homes.
For too long, the problem of child abuse has been overlooked. This has played a part in the rise of many of the Dark Lords of the past. Our steps may not wipe out this heinous problem completely, but it is a step in the right direction."
Potter's announcements leave a world with more questions than answers, however, it is our hope that the actions taken yesterday will prevent the rise of more problems for our world."
The second article is shorter and cheerier than the first. It shows the same young man, once again in the Ministry Atrium. This time, however, the Atrium is formally decorated. The young man is dressed in formal robes, and is accompanied by the blond man from the first article, who is similarly dressed.
The headline reads "POTTER ANNOUNCED MINISTER-FOR-LIFE AT THE END OF HIS THIRD YEAR AS MINISTER!" A smaller headline underneath it reads "DRACO MALFOY ENGAGED TO MINISTER!"
Paragraphs jump out from the article.
"Bowing to public pressure, Wizengmont Chief Warlock Tiberius Ogden yesterday announced that Minister Harry Potter hads been named Minister-For-Life. The announcement came at the Ministry Ball held to celebrate Potter's third year as Minister. Public pressure has been high to give Potter the title ever since the changes brought about by his reforms became evident..."
"During his speech accepting the title of Minister-For-Life, Harry Potter announced his engagement to Draco Malfoy. This will undoubtedly result in thousands of broken hearts, both male and female, across the country, and indeed, the world. Potter made mention of the "love of my life, and my fiancé, Draco Malfoy" while thanking his friends and family for supporting him during his time as Minister. Potter released a statement to the media saying "I have been in love with Draco Malfoy since my sixth year, and he has been at my side for the past three years. He consented to marry me a few days ago, making me the happiest man in the world. That is all I have to say on this subject."
We wish Potter the best of luck in his new life…"
The bird disappears in a flash of flame.
A ball of fire appears in Wiltshire, with a bird following close after it. It appears in front of a large, opulent mansion.
From the windows of the mansion lower floors, two figures are visible. One has messy black hair – the other platinum blond.
Harry is sitting on a plush chair, completely naked, a blissful expression on his face. His gazed is focused on Draco, who is kneeling in front of him.
As the shudders that rack Harry's form slowly subside, Draco can be seen mouthing a few words continuously. They can easily be read by anyone looking at the intimate scene.
"IloveyouIloveyouIloveyou…" he repeats over and over again.
If one bypasses this achingly romantic – for all its sexual overtones – moment (and if one can fly), they will be able to see into the window of a palatial bedroom. A journal is lying open on the magnificent writing desk near the window. There is a half written entry clearly visible, easy for an observer to read.
I've finally found it – Flamel's Stone! 11 year old me may have believed Dumbledore's cock and bull story about destroying the Stone, but, unfortunately for him, I matured. I researched. And the one thing I found out was that he definitely did not have the amount of power needed to destroy a Philosopher's Stone.
What he didn't realize when he left me all his worldly possessions was that he was leaving me his journal as well. Everything was in there – how he had fooled Flamel into believing the Stone needed to be destroyed. His defeat of Grindlewald had made everyone certain that his magical power was unprecedented – how were they to know that most of the work had been done by the Elder Wand? And since destroying a Stone required wandless magic, Dumbledore would never have been able to manage it – not that he ever wanted to.
His journal was rather informative on that note – especially about how he planned to kill me and use my martyrdom to rule the wizarding world – an immortal thanks to the Elixir of Life. Flamel and his wife died for nothing, at the end.
It took me some time to defeat the protections on the Stone, but I've finally managed it! Instead of Dumbledore, it will be Draco and me who will rule the wizarding world immortally – with the help of a few people I trust implicitly, of course. I still haven't told anyone – even Draco – about the Stone and my plans for it. I will soon, but for now, the knowledge that even this, the last of that old coot's plans, has failed will undoubtedly keep me in a good mood for a long time.
The world sees me as having forgiven Draco for his betrayal of Dumbledore – how are they to know that it was more a favour than anything. I can do nothing about the reverence he is held in – the people need to believe in him. But I know the truth, and that is enough. For all the good that he did for the wizarding world, he was still bad for it in the long run – he held us back too much, not letting us advance to our true potential.
No one had anything negative to say about my election as Minister-for-Life, and I doubt they'll say much even if a couple of people suddenly become immortal. That's the thing about the wizarding world. To them, war heroes are immortal. It's more of a surprise when a war dies than if he lives forever, never aging.
See, that's the thing about the Elixir most people don't realize. It not only grants immortality, but it prevents aging as well. What's the point of being immortal if you end up a shriveled old thing by the end of it?
I promised Draco forever – it's ironic that the man who would have killed me as soon as he could is who has enabled me to keep that promise.
Draco may have thought…
The bird reads the entry with an unusual intelligence. It quickly vanishes forever in flash of flame, realizing that there is no place for it here anymore.
The laughter of children rings through the castle as they trickle onto the front lawn. Unlike what is known today as the Lost Generation, they are happy and content, having never known war. The castle itself shows a marked difference – the stones seem brighter, as though the destruction of the threat of war has returned it to what it was once meant to be.
A child has discarded a newspaper on the grass, preferring instead to feed the Giant Squid. The headline of the paper cheerfully announces, "MINISTER POTTER REACHES 100 YEARS IN OFFICE!"
"Minister Potter's years in office have brought about many changes, not least the discovery of potions that allow men to become pregnant and carry children. Minister Potter's eldest son, Brendan, joined us to talk about his famous father…"
(What the media hasn't realized that being carried by a parent who is using the Elixir of Life means that the Elixir's immortality granting powers are transferred to the child. It is the only known means to grant true immortality. It is a gift all the Potter-Malfoy children have received.)
The children move around the grounds, making the white tomb and the towering monument in the middle of the grounds, structures that were once regarded with awe and a touch of fear.
A bronze plaque at the side of the monument lists the name of the people who gave their lives so that this day could become a reality.
"In loving memory of those died fighting the Voldemort Wars. May their sacrifices never be forgotten.
James Potter, Lily Potter, Fabian Prewitt, Gideon Prewitt, Cedric Diggory, Albus Dumbledore, Severus Snape, Regulus Black, Cho Chang, Su Li, Wayne Hopkins…"