Disclaimer: Harry Potter, its characters, and the Harry Potter Universe belong to JK Rowling. I only lay claim to the situations I am about to put them in for your entertainment. I hope you enjoy my writing but warn you it will sound different than JK Rowling's style.
Chapter 21: A first class party
The next day Harry was still in a good mood. Professor Babbling did need some convincing, but with what he learned from Hermione over the last year, Harry was able to discuss runic theory enough to convince the teacher he was serious and would not be a waste of time. He also concocted an idea to use his Morpheus Orb to memorize the various rune sets both thoroughly and quickly. That work couldn't start until after his assignment for McGonagall, but he would reprogram the orb as soon as possible if McGonagall let him keep it for the year. Bathsheba had been impressed with this solution since over half the work in years 3-7 of Ancient Runes was memorization of the runes and their potential uses. Bathsheba consented to the classes saying that if it worked well, he should be able to take his owl by the Winter break, but it was doubtful Harry would be able to complete the NEWT which was much heavier on theory and the interactions caused by combining runes.
Surprisingly, Hagrid was more reluctant. He was flattered by Harry's interest at first, and then quickly surmised Harry was less interested in learning the care of magical creatures and more interested in the warning signs and weaknesses of said creatures. Harry feared that Hagrid's insistence that magical creatures were just misunderstood and should be treated in a loving manner would get in the way of the utility of the lessons, so he chose to abandon those lessons for now.
Professor Flitwick on the other hand felt the conversation and training with Harry was long overdue. After the defeat of Voldemort, the prophecy had been made public knowledge and Filius was extremely upset that Dumbledore had not decided to include him in training Harry sooner. With Harry's fighting history, the teacher was brimming with excitement to try and get one of the Hogwarts students on the professional dueling circuit.
With the Defense teacher unannounced at this point, that conversation would have to happen once school had begun for the year. All in all Harry felt like this school year had the potential to be the best he'd ever had. He left for the library to get an early start on background information on his extra circular classes for the year.
A few days later Harry found himself preparing for the Ministry of Magic's Ceremony. He had to actually go shopping for the event, and decided to have a bit of fun. Madam Malkins had showed him many options based on various shades of traditional grays and blacks with various accents set into the lines. They were all very nice and Harry agreed they would be perfect for the event, but weren't what he had in mind. After a brief conversation about what he was looking for, Madam Malkins got a gleam in her eye and went to the back of her store to bring out some fabrics to custom make his robes. What she came back with was a base fabric of a royal purple inlaid with twinkling gold stars throughout the pattern. She brought a second fabric of lilac to trim the set in. As Harry saw the materials he thought it would be a set of robes that Dumbledore would be proud of, but the rest of the wizarding world would cringe at. As one of the people being honored no one would say anything about it, well maybe there would be a mention in the Daily Prophet, but definitely no one would say anything to his face. Harry was just happy to give a slight nod to the wizard who had led the light for so long.
Harry also returned his RSVP to the ministry and worked on a brief speech he knew would be required of him. All in all the week leading up to the event was low key aside from his making up with Ginny. It was a lengthy conversation and while it was a less than pleasant experience at first, Harry enjoyed the normalcy of the conversation compared to the last serious conversation they had where he broke up with her due to hunting down a mass murder. Following the discussion, Ginny and Harry made plans to attend the ministry event together and Ginny made plans to have Madam Malkins making her lilac robes with royal purple accents to complement Harry's. The main difference was she chose to be a bit more conservative and leave off the twinkling stars.
Finally the day he was dreading was upon him and Harry steeled himself for the onslaught of attention. For a moment he wished he had Gilderoy Lockhart here to soak up the attention and divert peoples focus from him. Then Harry remembered what that had been like and decided he was better served having Gilderoy in Saint Mungos. With a last glance at a mirror, Harry slowly trod to the Great Hall where he was meeting Ginny. His stomach seemed twisted in knots at the anticipation of the upcoming event, but that all faded away as Ginny turned to face him. Her gown was more appropriate for a ball, but Madam Malkins had gone all out and it showed. Ginny's hair was elegantly tied back in a braid and Harry stumbled over his words "Wow… you look stunning..." Then he had an idea and with a grin he added "But something is missing." He pulled out his wand and conjured a single lilac and tucked it behind her ear. "Now Aphrodite herself would be jealous" and he leaned into a blushing Ginny for gentle kiss. "With you by my side I may be able to enjoy this evening after all." Harry offered Ginny her arm and they were off.
The event was to take place on the school grounds in an open expanse near the Forbidden Forest. Great tents and seating were arranged around the stage. There were loads of security, reporters, and ministry employees working the event and droves of witches and wizards hurrying to their seats. As Harry and Ginny approached, everyone's attention gravitated to the pair. While Harry went to intentionally increase his gait and get to his seat quickly, Ginny held him back. She smiled at him and quietly reassured him, "Don't let them get to you. It's just you and me, taking a walk. No one else is here just stay focused on me. We can do this together." She saw him make the effort to appear relaxed, and knew it was taking a significant amount of self control to appear at ease. She continued with the small talk to further the process. "I wonder what the minister has planned. Do you know anything about the ceremony?"
Harry took a second to collect himself as he looked into Ginny's eyes. "I suggested the minister recognize everyone's efforts, it should be interesting to see how he chose to do that. Also, he helped me to craft a speech to inaugurate the memorial." They continued forward into the crowd and were promptly led to a table that was front and center of the festivities. Harry could see Ron and Hermione were already there, and much to his surprise Neville and Hannah Abbot were as well. Based on the conversation he had with Hannah, he wondered who got up the courage to ask the other out. As they neared their seats, the crowd spotted them and slowly got to their feet and applause broke out. Harry ducked his head in embarrassment and continued to his table. To his surprise, his friends were on their feet clapping as well. Ginny dropped his hand, and stood back to join in. Harry had been through much in his life but never had he been this uncomfortable. He looked up at the crowd, gave a nervous wave, a slight smile and a nod of acknowledgement, and then pulled out Ginny's chair to hopefully serve a cue for everyone to sit back down. The action wasn't enough, but after a minute or two more the applause faded away.
After an awkward half hour of hors d'oeuvres and random people thanking him the event kicked off. The dinner progressed slowly and then speakers started. The first memorable speaker listed those who had died at the hand of Voldemort or were suspected of being killed by Death Eaters. Few of the names struck a chord with Harry, but of those that did they hit hard. Fred Weasley, Alastor Moody, Sirius, Remus, Tonks, Dumbledore, his parents, and even Dobby were listed. An audible gasp was let out as Regulus Black was acknowledge for his efforts in ending Tom Riddle, and uncomfortable silence followed the announcement of Vincent Crabbe's inadvertent assistance of the Dark Lord's downfall. As the speeches from the ministry representatives were wrapping up, a notice-me-not ward was brought down and a magnificent polished black phoenix could be seen behind the stage.
Kingsley stepped onto the stage and continued the presentation. "It is now my pleasure to recognize four individuals for contributions and services provided to the wizarding world beyond compare. I would first like to recognize that the count would have been five medals, but as Albus Dumbledore had previously been recognized by the ministry, he is unable to be recognized further. As I call your names please join me on stage. Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger!"
The couple got up and stood on the stage nervously. "You have shown bravery, cunning, perseverance, and taken on an endeavor beyond the ordinary in your assistance in the ultimate defeat of Tom Riddle. Severus Snape has likewise shown these attributes as a spy for the Order of the Phoenix and died while protecting our world. On behalf of the Ministry of Magic and the wizarding world, it is my pleasure to not only thank you, but award each you the Order of Merlin, second class."
This time, it was Harry's chance to get a little revenge, and stood up and started clapping for his friends. The crowd got to its feet to follow suit. While Hermione turned a bright shade of red, Ron seemed to puff out his chest and relish in the attention. They grabbed each other's hands in solidarity as the Minister hung the awards around their necks. As the applause died down, they left the stage and returned to their seats. Harry looked over and was congratulating his friends when he heard his name announced from the stage. His blood drained from his face, but he stood up none-the-less and took the stage next to the Minister for Magic. "It is with unreserved appreciation that the ministry wishes to award you, Harry James Potter, the Order of Merlin, First Class. This award is given for outstanding acts of bravery and the list of these you have completed is staggering. Most know of your victory over Voldemort as a baby, but they may not have heard of your victory over Voldemort as a first year when you prevented him from attaining the Philosopher's Stone. Nor may they have heard how you discovered the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets and killed a thousand year old basilisk with just a sword at your disposal. They may not have heard how you defended yourself and your falsely imprisoned godfather, Sirius Black, from all of the dementors of Azkaban with a single Patronus during your third year. They do know that you won the Tri-Wizard Tournament and fought Lord Voldemort once again in your fourth year. They also have heard how you broke into the Department of Mysteries during your fifth year and helped capture multiple Death Eaters and held Voldemort at bay once more. During your sixth year,you started working with Albus Dumbledore to bring Voldemort to his ultimate demise. And during what would have been your seventh year of school, you dedicated yourself to the finishing him off once and for all. Very few people appreciate the complexities of the mysteries you had to unravel and the true meddle of the crusade you set to complete. A challenge so complex that even Albus Dumbledore had but mere hints to help you on your way. All of that aside, the most astounding act of bravery was at the culmination of your crusade when you willingly took another killing curse to protect the wizarding world and yet again survived. Having the final battle looming, you confronted Voldemort one last time and defeated him once and for all. On behalf of the Ministry of Magic and the wizarding world, it is my distinct pleasure to award you the Order of Merlin, first class."
As Kingsley put the medal around his neck, he was overwhelmed with a wall of applause and cheers. Harry stood in the spot light and smiled and waved. He knew the award was for him, but he was accepting it for all of their sake. They needed this, it was the culmination of an ongoing war, of his parents' sacrifice and the sacrifice of so many others as well. For them, he would accept this. The cheering went on for a few minutes before he took to the podium. "Thank you Minister and thank you witches and wizards across Great Britain. I accept this award on behalf of all of those who contributed to the war, to those who died in service of freedom, and to those who were needlessly killed at a madman's whim. This battle has been raging since before I was born, and I was thrown into the center of the battle as an infant. A prophecy was made that could have been myself or one other person, but Voldemort chose me. My parents are the true heroes from that day when I was a baby. I don't know what they did, or how they did it, but I know their deaths powered the magic the shielded me that day. While Halloween has been a day of celebration for the wizarding world these last many years, I hope we can use it to remember all those who were lost in the war moving forward. Each year on Halloween I commit to renewing the magic of this monument in memory of them and I hope you will too. But what is this memorial and what does it represent? In order to acknowledge his help in downfall of Tom Riddle, the ministry with my support has asked Neville Longbottom to do the honors of providing the magic and initial memory to last here forevermore. What you may not know is that Neville was the only other person to whom the prophecy could have referred. When all hope seemed lost, and Voldemort appeared to be gloating over my lifeless body, he fought on and struck the blow that allowed me to fight the final battle. Neville, thank you for your bravery, your friendship, and your unerring ability to do what is right. Will you please do the honors?"
Neville stood up, pointed his want at the memorial and shouted "Expecto Patronum!" The shimmering light of his patronus rushed into statue. With a blinding flash the memorial was lit.
"This memorial was created by the unspeakables and has the unique ability to maintain the effects of a patronus cast at it. The statue itself is shaped in the image of a phoenix. Like the phoenix, we must rise from the ashes of this war and rebuild. We must learn from our mistakes and honor the fallen. All over this statue are the names of those lost to the war. The names are carved through to the core, and the lingering glow and emotions of a patronus can be felt as you near the memorial through these names. Whenever you see this memorial and think of your loved ones, add your patronuses' magic into the statue so that memory and those emotions will live on forever. Like the phoenix, they are the spark that will allow us to rise from the ashes of yesterday, into the future we will build together. Expecto Patronum!" Harry's stag patronus rushed into the memorial, adding his magic. This was quickly followed by Hermione, Ron, and Ginny's patronuses. And then everyone in the crowd that could contribute did. The light coming from the names became blinding and those in attendance could feel those positive emotions radiating from the statue, filling them up and warming their hearts. Harry slowly made his way off stage, took Ginny's hand, and made his way back to the castle.