Chapter 7: Love Someone

Harry and Hermione shared a few drinks with as many people as they could. They had both resorted to pretending to take a drink with how many times people came up to them to cheer them on the occasion. They found a table as far away from the center of the room as possible for dinner and actually shared a lovely conversation with Hagrid and Madam Maxine whom Harry had specifically chosen to sit by as to have them act as literal buffers for him. But finally they heard Minerva's voice ring out over the tent for everyone to please make their way to the Quidditch pitch.

She caught Harry as he was trying to sneak into the stands unnoticed as directed them to their reserved seats right next to the stage. As he glanced around the pitch while people continued to file in Harry realized he had been wrong when he had compared it to the pitch for the World Cup, this was bigger. Harry figured that every magical person in all of Europe must be there by the scope of it all and he felt his heart begin to speed up but then something strange happened. He felt a hand in his lap and he glanced down to see Hermione smiling at him as he took her soft hand in his. Instantly he relaxed. This was just another test and as long as he had Hermione by his side he knew there was no way he wouldn't pass it.

After some time it finally seemed as though the seats had been filled and McGonagall stepped up to the podium. The old Headmistress still had the same effect on people that she always had and almost immediately she had the entire stadium in silence. "Thank you all so much for coming to this grand celebration. Never has this school been host to such a wide reaching audience and I am ever so grateful that you all have chosen to take the time to celebrate with us. We are here tonight to remember not just a date in time but rather many lifetimes of events that led up to the dramatic climax that took place within these grounds 10 years ago tonight. There are so many to thank and so many to remember but first I wish to bring up someone who needs no introduction. He is the man who has led us all out of our darkest hour and has shown us all what leadership truly can be when given to the right person. So please help me in welcoming my dear friend Minister Kinsley Shaklebolt."

There was a round of applause as Kingsley walked onto the stage and greeted Minerva who took a seat. "Thank you Headmistress for your all too kind words. I too wish to thank you all for coming tonight and of course encourage all of our foreign friends here with us this evening to not let this visit to our fair country be your last. I also want to thank the wizarding world as a whole. While we still may have our problems it is because of all of you that the idea of war is one that has only been discussed as history for these 10 long, glorious years. Without each and every one of you continuing to strive for peace we could just as easily be fighting a new war. But I digress, there are a few people here who I am sure you will all be much more interested in hearing from than some old boring politician. So please if you would all please help me in welcoming back the original leader of the war which we remember tonight," Kingsley said as two house elves brought out a huge board covered by a curtain. "He may not be with us in body but I assure you he is always with us in heart. I give you, Professor Albus Dumbledore."

With those words the curtain dropped and Harry saw the portrait of the man that hung over the headmistresses' desk only several times larger. He felt a tear begin to trickle down his face and he glanced over to see them falling down Hermione's cheeks as well. A roar erupted over the crowd for nearly a minute before they finally settled and Dumbledore began to speak. "Yes thank you all, thank you all. Might I say a special thank you to you Minerva. You have done so much more for this school than you will ever realize but most importantly, thanks for getting rid of that awful carpet in your office. We portraits really were getting sick of it." There was a gentle laughter and Harry looked over to see McGonagall in tears as well. "To those of you who have never spent much time conversing with a portrait allow me to shed some light on my existence. I had no idea it had been more than ten years since I had died. For as much as I knew, it had been a week and as such the events that led up to the night we are here to celebrate are very much still fresh in my brush strokes. I asked to speak to you all tonight because I wished to once and for all say a very public thank you to those that fought this war. I asked too much of far too many of you. I left you with vague clues and convoluted ideas and you followed them without question. I may have led this was but I never could have finished it. it took much greater leadership than I could have ever given. I do not need to mention the names of those that lead the charge but you all know just how amazing they were. This could have very easily been a very different event if it weren't for those that never gave up fighting for what they believed was right. Please forgive this old man for leaving you with the mess I did and thank you all so much for fixing it. I rather like my place over the desk in the office, seeing new young faces come through the doors, all so excited to learn and I know that without all of you and all of your encouragement it could not have happened. I may have begun the war but it was all of you that finished it, thank you, thank you, thank you," he finished with a tear rubbing down his painted cheek.

The crowd applauded again the elves took the painting away and Minerva stepped back to the podium. "We have just one more speaker this evening and I know you all have been waiting anxiously to hear from him almost as much as he has been dreading it," she said looking down at Harry who felt his face flush.

"But if you would allow this old Headmistress just a few moments I do have a few things I would like to say. It has been without a doubt the greatest honor of my life to lead this wonderful school. For more than fifty years I have watched students come in nervous and afraid and seven years later walk out confident, proud and ready to take on the world. I have had the great pleasure of watching so many of the leaders that Dumbledore and Kingsley mentioned walk through these grounds and I just hope that maybe, just maybe, they are a little bit wiser for having listened to me babble." There was a round of applause and Harry watched as Minerva wiped away a tear. "Ten years ago I was asked to lead this school away from its darkest hour and I fell that in some ways at least I have succeeded. But alas all good things must come to an end, even this wonderful celebration tonight must at some point cease and that is why tonight I announce that I am stepping down as Headmistress of Hogwarts effective this evening." There was a low rumble of chatter from all around the stadium but especially in the area that had been set aside for the students.

"I hope you all will look back at me fondly," she continued again silencing the crowd. "But I also know that you will be able to move on quickly because I could not be replaced by anyone more perfect than the man who signed his contract only hours ago. He is known by many names, The Boy Who Lived…" again there was an even louder roar of chatter for just a moment before Minerva silenced them by continuing on. "…The Chosen One, The Master of Death, even Gregory Goyle for a short time if the rumors are to be believed," she added as Harry and Hermione both blushed. "But in this case most importantly as Professor Potter. I do not take this lightly when I say that nearly everyone here owes their life to this man. I had the honor or being his first teacher when he first arrived here and while I love all of my students he will always hold an extra special place in my heart. So please help me welcome our hero, our greatest leader and new head of Hogwarts Headmaster Harry James Potter."

There came a roar next that Harry was sure could be heard in London. Hermione squeezed his hand and Harry looked over at her and smiled before getting to his feet. He met Minerva on the stage and saw the tears flowing down her face to match his. He grabbed her and pulled her into the biggest bear hug he could, lifting her off her feet causing the crowd to laugh again before he set her back down and helped her laughing back to her seat. As we walked back towards the podium the applause returned and continued for several minutes as he just smiled out at the crowd and wiped away his tears until finally he stepped to the podium and the crowd grew silent. "You are all far too kind," he began and now you could hear a pin drop. "Don't you all know that I'm just a bloke with glasses, mangy hair and an ugly scare on my head who got a D on my History of Magic O.W.L.?" he asked as the crowd laughed politely.

"Minerva said it, I don't really want to be here. This isn't really what I do. I'm a teacher but I'm not a speaker. I'm not one for pomp and circumstance and I'm sorry to our board of governors because I will never be a politician. But I mean since you all showed up tonight I suppose I should give you all a little bit of a show. Incendio contolle," he cried suddenly and she shot a bolt of light out to the top most roof of the stands above the only place where he could see that no one was sitting. The fire burned bright but stayed right where he had shot it, not growing any larger but still there were many shrieks of terror from the crowd. "That fire there, the one that cannot grow is but the smallest representation of the terror that surrounded us all on these grounds on that night ten years ago," Harry continued while letting the fire continue to burn.

"This entire place was in ruins. We were all brought to our knees in trepidation of the horrors that surrounded us that night. 56 people from our side lost their lives that night. 56 people paid the ultimate price for a cause they believed in with everything they had and I know that 56 people would do it all again. So would I, so would Minerva, so would Kingsley, so would Hermione, so would everyone who fought that night." There was a hush unlike Harry had ever hear now in the crowd.

"For 10 years now we have lived in relative peace but in order to celebrate that we must all know that it only takes one to rip all that apart again. Tom Riddle was just one man. There was absolutely nothing special about him. He was an orphan who had no special abilities when he began, he was just like any one of you students, scared and afraid when he first walked through these grounds. It only takes one and if we don't remember that, if we don't continually fight for peace then we will have none."

"I do not mean to say any of this to scare you. We can always stamp out the fear," and with a flick of his wand the fire above went out and everything looked exactly the same. "We can do it without scares, we can do it without fights but we can not do it without love. I may not know you all individually but I love you all. I love you because you continue to believe in peace and as long as I am around I will continue to fight every single day for that peace. I teach Defense Against the Dark Arts. I hope I teach the most worthless subject there is for as long as I teach it. I know we can do it because I know that the love is there. And so I'll leave you all with this. Tell someone you love them tonight. In fact tell a whole lot of someone's you love them tonight. Let the love explode from this place more powerfully than any stupid spell Riddle could have ever conjured. I love you all, now let's party." The crowd stood and erupted again and within moments the stage was filled with Harry's closest friends and family all there to tell him they loved him.