Hey everyone,
I just want you all to know that you can consider this chapter to be like the interlude between the end of the last storyline – Riddle's destruction – and the main storyline – Harry staying hidden until the moral compass of the Order gets restored. Like I said, Harry isn't just going to come out of hiding now that Riddle is gone as that wasn't even the reason he went into hiding. And also like I said, it's going to take a few people some time to realize this.
Let's do this,

Venquine1990
PS. So far I've managed to keep about two to three chapters ahead of my daily posts. Let's so how long that lasts.

Chapter 18
The News Spreads

23rd of December 1995
Great Hall, Hogwarts
Dumbledore's POV

There had been quite a few students who had been upset when we postponed the winter break, yet because I felt sure that we'd be able to send them home with the news of Riddle's defeat, I had put my foot down on this one. And luckily, though she never explained to others why, Dolores backed me up on it. I still feel greatly shocked and even worried over the idea of her being the new Minister, but decide to leave that till later.
For now it's the leaving feast before the Christmas Break and the students deserve to know the good news before they return home. And a small part of me hopes that, because the Weasleys are all heading to London, Harry might return there for Christmas as well. Especially now that he no longer has to fear for his life and that Sirius has been officially declared innocent of all charges. Fudge was able to get this done, regardless of Peter's horrifying death.

"Your attention, please!" I call out a few minutes after the last student has taken their seat at the House Tables and all chatter instantly stops. "I know that many of you are excited to be returning home for Christmas break tomorrow morning, but I feel I owe you an explanation as to why your break was postponed. However, it won't be myself or the staff, who will explain this to you. Please welcome our speaker, Curse Breaker William Weasley."
Loud applause rings through the hall, though it's obvious that the students are confused and that some – like Mr. Malfoy – are refusing to give a Blood traitor any kind of welcome. Yet William is unfazed by this as he just gently and gratefully waves at those that do cheer, his siblings naturally being the loudest of them all, though misters Fred and George aren't their usual rowdy selves. Yet I can definitely understand why this is.

"Thank you, Hogwarts. Now, I know that it's sort of Hogwarts custom to be slightly indirect, vague, kind, warm of heart, gentle and careful with you guys as you're just kids, children and all that, but – I like to believe that, because I was your age only a few years ago, I know better than that. So if you annoy or insult me, expect me to bite back and defend myself." I grimace at the young man's words, but I can't really find fault with them either.
"Onto my explanation as to why your Christmas break was postponed. As the Headmaster said, I am a Curse Breaker. At Gringotts, that is on the same level as an Assistant to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement or International Cooperation. Because of this, I have permission to retrieve certain bits of information in regards to the vaults of other lines and families. Now, don't get your wands in a knot, I can only retrieve info that tells me if the vault is still active or not, nothing more."

I notice that a lot of students, mostly the Slytherins, still look cross with this, but with others I notice looks of growing intrigue and curiosity. I also grin as I spot several students switch their gazes between the eldest of the Weasley brood and his younger siblings. And all those that do this, obviously notice that while Ronald and Ginerva look intrigued, Fred and George just look calm, their looks proving that this isn't anything new to them.
"Why is this important? Because I decided a few weeks ago to put the whole debacle of a debate between the Ministry and Dumbledore to rest. I researched Voldemort, discovered his original birth name and asked with the Goblins of Gringotts if there was a Vault active under that name." I notice that a lot of students, more than I would like, are now sharing looks of indifference and annoyance with each other.
Yet these looks change to shock when William pulls a manila folder from his bag, holds it up and states: "There was." Shocked silence rings through the hall and William takes advantage of this. "Allow me to prove it. The name on this folder states Tom Marvolo Riddle." And like Harry told me Riddle did for him a few years ago, William writes the name in red burning letters in the sky. He aims his wand at a certain point of the name and says:

"Now, let's move the Vol of Marvolo away and put the De of Riddle behind it. Then switch the T & M of Tom and put the R of Riddle behind the O of Tom and put that behind the rest." And as he puts the letters in a different order and changes the name, I can see many faces whiten with horror and realization. William then quickly takes care of the rest of the name and the words I Am Lord Voldemort are now burning in the air above the owl stand.
Yet before pandemonium can erupt among the students, William makes the words disappear with a loud bang of his wand before he opens the manila folder. And with a few swishes and waves of his wand, words float up from the page and up in the air, replacing the previous letters. Vault permanently inactive as of 23-12-1995. Cause: death of Tom Marvolo Riddle.The shock a lot of students feel is obviously increased by this and William resumes his speech.

"There you have it. Lord Voldemort, or Tom Marvolo Riddle, was killed earlier this morning. This was done by your own professor Umbridge, who I presented these same facts to a few days ago. And for those of you wondering but what about Halloween? What about the past 14 years? Allow me to explain. As you know I am a Curse Breaker. Specifically, one who previously worked in Egypt. And let me ask you all, what is the one thing Egypt is most known for?"
Curiosity and confusion is visible on a lot of faces, but then one student, a timid looking Second year from the Hufflepuff table, speaks up: "Ancient gods and pharaohs, who were considered gods due to their royal status." William nods and says: "Exactly. And the one thing Gods are known for is immortality. Yes, there are actually ways for a witch or wizard to become immortal. However –." And with that one word the man changes entirely.
From friendly, kind and strong, the man changes and turns hard and cold, his voice taking on a frosty tone of warning as he says: "Let me be perfectly clear. The second a Goblin finds out that you have used this magic, you are persona non grata to them and they will destroy the magic that you have used. And if the Ministry or someone else were to give permission, they would even execute you in punishment for using this magic. And that is my one and only warning."

I frown at the man and want to object, yet at the same time I can't help but think: "He ensured that my precious students won't tarnish their souls; that they won't be tempted to delve into this horrible branch of magic. You can't sugarcoat the severity of a situation like this and William proved this. I can't argue with his methods, not when the results will keep my students safe." And as much as I don't want to, I commend the young man.
William quickly undoes his magic and puts the folder away, but then surprisingly grabs another. "I know what I just told you is a lot to take in, but I do have some more news that was brought to my attention by the Goblins of Gringotts and that the Minister himself requested me to share with you all. You might not want to believe this, but Tom Riddle was not the only wizard to we wrongly believed to be dead for all these years.
However, this other wizard did not use the same horrendous magic to keep himself hidden; he merely faked his own death. I am talking – about Peter Pettigrew." And with a few swishes and flicks of his wand, the man makes three lines appear above his head. Name: Peter Pettigrew. Date of birth: 31st of July 1960. Date of Death: 23rd of December 1995.And a lot of eyes widen at the sight of the date of birth. Even Minerva whispers: "Was that why he did it?"

"Now, most of you probably remember that Sirius Black was accused of murdering Peter Pettigrew. As you can see, this is not true. Peter Pettigrew framed Sirius Black and hid himself as a pet of a wizarding family for 12 years. He then, accidentally, ended up in the newspaper and that newspaper just so happened to have been the one that Minister Cornelius Fudge took with him to Azkaban and gave to Sirius Black.
Black recognized Pettigrew, even in his Animagus form, and escaped with the need to set the record straight and clear his name. Sadly enough, while he was able to convince Harry of the truth, Pettigrew escaped his grasp before Fudge could be convinced. And unfortunately it took Harry until after Riddle's return to trust me enough with this information. However, shortly after I decided to end the debacle and all that ensued pushed the info of Black and Pettigrew to the back of my head.

Until now. Earlier this morning, I presented this info, this folder, to the Minister, who then accompanied the Headmaster, the Order of the Phoenix, Madam Bones and her Aurors and the Gringotts Goblins and myself to the location in which Riddle was hidden. And as luck would have it, we found Pettigrew there and executed him on the spot for his crimes. Particularly for framing an innocent wizard of horrendous crimes and illegally residing with another family."
"Hold on a second, isn't Black Potter's godfather?" A student suddenly asks and yet before William can answer, my eyes widen as I see Sirius enter the Great Hall, actually escorted by young Tonks and Amelia, and the man happily declares: "I sure am." Every head turns his way and Amelia tells Tonks: "He's in your hands now, Auror. Keep him safe and help him regain his place in society." Tonks nods and Amelia turns to Sirius, who also turns to her.

"I'm truly sorry that this took so long, Sirius." But the man gives her a dazzling smile and says: "Bygones, Amelia. Just bygones. I'm sorry your old boyfriend is being such a prat." Yet Amelia seems confused over this and Sirius whispers something in her ear. Her eyes widen and he pulls away as he says: "Don't let him get away with it. I know that old mutt and he's probably going to say something like the war's over, why should it matter?"
Amelia frowns at this and says: "I'll make sure he doesn't get the chance. You keep him safe in the mean time." At this, while I truly feel curious over what they might be talking about, Sirius smiles and says: "How about I keep them both safe, for you." The woman beams at him and says: "I don't deserve to ask that of you." But Sirius shrugs and says: "Heh, it will keep me busy. And after twelve years of basically nothing, I can use some exercise."
Amelia snickers at this and says: "Then you live yourself out, Sirius. I'm going to go and get back to work. And Tonks, remember, keep him safe." The woman makes sure to emphasize each of the last three words and Tonks gives her a solemn nod. I then notice Sirius sending Ron a short glance before he turns to me and says: "If you don't mind, Albus, I'm going to take a sprint across the Hogwarts grounds. I've been cooped up long enough, thank you."

I nod, even though part of me wants to request that he simply heads for the Gryffindor common room or somewhere else he can be kept safe. Then Poppy stands up and says: "Mr. Black, I commend and respect your need to move and be out, but I must ask you to meet me in my wing before you retire for the night. I would like to see how well you have been keeping yourself healthy these past few years you were on the run."
Sirius nods at the woman, but I smile as I feel confident that the man will get a good clean bill of health, even if that does mean he will have to explain that he has been residing in a family estate these past few months. The man then turns to look at Tonks and a boyish grin shows on his face as he says: "Try to keep up." Before he, to the shock of many students, changes into his own Animagus form and, as a huge black dog, dashes out of the Entrance Courtyard.
Yet what surprises even myself is when Tonks' form also starts to change and suddenly, in her place, a beautiful scarlet red macaw parrot flies in the air. The bird lets out a loud caw and even the words I'm going to get you before she flies off after the dog. And while I have never known this of her, I can't help but think: "That sure is fitting. Her personality is just as wild and bubbly, after all." And I smile in amused enjoyment as the students start their discussions.

But then one voice shouts: "WHAT DO YOU MEAN NO?" Every head turns to Gryffindor and Ronald snaps at the girl who asked this: "Exactly that, no. I'm not going to break Harry's trust and I'm not going to undo the Fidelius.""But Riddle is dead. Why would you want to keep Potter hidden now?" And Ronald's words take all my amusement away as he says: "Because Riddle was never the reason Harry hid himself in the first place."
And the boy turns to me as he says this, while the girl, who is one year older than him, gapes at him. And the look on his face is a clear challenge that makes me think: "It's a good thing that the break starts tomorrow. With Molly having decided to stay at London because of Arthur, hopefully Ronald can be convinced that the Order is now trustworthy again." Yet for some reason a sense of foreboding goes through me as I think this.

Uh-ooooooooooh,
What could this sensation be? Why foreboding? And why would it concern the Order? Well, I'm going to reference a little something-something as a hint to you all for what's yet to come. One of the first people Harry met upon his return to the Wizarding world in his First year was Dedalus Diggle. And he was a member of the Original Order of the Phoenix, yet behaved just like everyone else who was a Boy-Who-Lived fan. Hmmm, I wonder why.
You'll see,

Venquine1990
PS. Don't worry, I haven't forgotten the Umbridge thing yet. That is also going to be covered quite soon, I promise.