The Temporary Minister of Magic was waiting behind his desk for his guests when they arrived.
"Come in! Come in!" Kingsley called with a smile as he arose from his desk and joined the party. "I've had lunch brought up for everyone," he said, pointing to his right to a credenza full of food straight from the Ministry cafeteria, "so, let's eat and then we can get down to business."
"Where's Harry?" Ginny immediately demanded.
"Yes, Kingsley, I'd like to know that too!" said Molly Weasley, giving Kingsley Shacklebolt her sternest look, one that had typically been reserved for her twins, George and the late Fred.
Kingsley regarded the two witches warily. Ginny, he could handle, or so he thought, but Molly? She was a different story altogether. She was a force of nature when she was determined enough, and Kingsley knew Molly long enough to know that right now she was determined enough. That, coupled with the look of concern and anxiety in the witches' eyes, Ginny's brimming with tears, broke Kingsley's reticence.
Nodding slowly, Kingsley replied, "Okay, let's start with business, then." He motioned for the party to gather around a smaller circular conference table to the right of his desk. The table only seated six, so Kingsley sat in the chair nearest his desk, just in case he needed anything, and the women of the party sat in the remaining seats. The Weasley men and Neville Longbottom stood behind the women.
"Let me start by saying Harry will be here shortly. He's currently being treated at St. Mungo's…"
Kingsley's speech was interrupted by several voices at once. "Why?" "What's happened?" "What's wrong?"
He held up his hand and said nothing until everyone quieted down. "As I told Arthur, he's fine. When he was in here this morning, I noticed he had several cuts and bruises, some of which were still fresh. After taking care of a few matters, I sent him to St. Mungo's to get cleaned up. Like I said, he should be back shortly."
Kingsley paused to look around the table. Most seemed assuaged and Ginny appeared somewhat relieved. However, Ron seemed to be chewing on something mentally, as if he had questions he hadn't quite formulated in his brain yet.
Kingsley continued, turning to Arthur, "Before we get into the rest of the matters to discuss, could you tell me about arrangements for Fred?"
Arthur explained that the Weasleys had scheduled the funeral for eleven in the morning two days hence in Ottery St. Catchpole. Kingsley countered that the Weasleys may have to revisit that idea at the end of the meeting, vaguely citing 'logistical concerns'. Just then, Ron started snapping his fingers and waving at Kingsley as the question finally materialized in his head.
"You said Harry was here this morning to discuss other matters?"
Kingsley nodded, "Yes, much of which also involves you and Miss Granger."
"Like what?" Hermione asked.
"Well, for starters, when Harry gets here, I'd like the three of you to write a report for me on your part in the Battle of Hogwarts and on what the three of you have been doing over the past year. I also need to discuss with you three what we plan on doing as far as press conferences and press releases are concerned, and then there was the issue with Gringotts."
"Umm, yeah, what's going on with that?" Ron asked sheepishly.
Clearing his throat, Kingsley replied, "The, ah, Goblins, well, they were very angry as you could imagine, but after Harry and I each spoke with them we've settled things."
Bill jumped in, "Just like that? Minister, I've been working with Goblins for all of my adult life and they don't 'just settle things!'"
"No, you're right, Bill," Kingsley explained, "but once the Goblins understood the noble purpose of Harry's and Ron's and Hermione's actions, a significant portion of the tension was diffused. And, after a few concessions and additional negotiations, we came to an agreement."
Bill asked, "What kind of concessions?"
Kingsley could see that Bill was starting to get on a roll and Kingsley did not want to get into Harry's personal financial difficulties with the Weasleys or anyone else. Kingsley knew, or at least was under the impression, that Harry's agreement to forfeit all of his gold to the Goblins was the real reason the matter was resolved so quickly. He decided to throw the smaller, but flashier, concession into the ring.
"Well, for starters, there was the Sword of Godric Gryffindor." Kingsley then explained how the sword would be returned to the Goblins and how it would still be available to Gryffindors of worthy need.
Once again, Ron started snapping his fingers and waving at Kingsley as another question materialized in his head.
"What time did Harry get here this morning?"
Kingsley was about to reply when the conversation was quickly brought to a halt by a loud bang at the entrance to Kingsley's office. Before anyone could blink, all of the Weasley men and Neville Longbottom had their wands trained on the two individuals who'd burst through the office doors. Noticing the two were aurors, the men lowered their wands.
The aurors were sweating profusely and bent over double with their hands on their knees, trying to suck in vast amounts of air into their heaving bodies. One of Kingsley's secretaries followed the aurors into the room, stammering apologies to the Minister about trying to explain to the aurors that he wasn't to be interrupted. Kingsley just thanked her and waived her off, and she shut the doors behind her.
The two aurors slowly slid into the near left corner of the room, as far away from the Minister's guests as possible. Still unable to breathe, they wordlessly waved Kingsley over to their corner of the room, one with an envelope flopping about in his hand. Kingsley rose and silently walked over to the men, where the three began whispering animatedly.
"WHAT? HOW THE HELL DID THAT HAPPEN!"
The auror holding the envelope handed it to Kingsley.
From where they sat and stood, the Minister's guests could tell that trouble was brewing. They felt the waves of magical energy flowing from Kingsley. He was seriously angry. The only bits of conversation they could overhear were the plethora of unmentionable expletives uttered by Arthur's long-time friend. Arthur never saw Kingsley this upset before. Kingsley was usually the picture of grace and poise. Arthur silently motioned to the others that they were not to inquire about the conversation unless Kingsley raised the matter himself.
"GET YOUR BLOODY ARSES OUT OF HERE, GO ASSEMBLE A TEAM, AND… AND…" Whatever Kingsley said next came out as a garbled, strained whisper. The two aurors slunk out of the room.
Kingsley stood facing the wall away from his guests for several moments to regain his composure. He then turned to face them, but held his hand up as if to ask that they give him a few more minutes. He stared at the envelope for a moment and breathed a heavy sigh, his hands shaking from both anger and apprehension. He pulled out his wand to open the envelope the auror had given him. Dropping down into an armchair, he opened the envelope and extracted the letter inside. After reading the letter a few times, Kingsley put the letter on the coffee table in front of him, picked up the envelope again, and pulled out two more tiny envelopes. Using his wand, he enlarged the two envelopes, briefly looked inside, nodded, and re-closed the envelopes, placing them on the coffee table as well.
Kingsley quietly beckoned Arthur over to him as he sat with his face in his hands.
Conjuring a chair next to his old friend, Arthur sat, picked up the letter, and somberly began to read.
Dear Kingsley,
First, I would like to say to you, 'I'm sorry'. You have been a good friend and you have always had my best interest at heart. It hurts me to know that I'm probably putting you in a bad position by doing what I'm about to tell you.
By the time you read this, I will have left the wizarding world.
Ever since I entered this world at the age of eleven, death and bloodshed have followed me. Far too many times during my life those I care about most, and even those I didn't even know, have had to suffer because of me. My only true family, the Weasleys, and my closest friends are in constant danger and cannot know a peaceful existence as long as I am in their lives. I thought that with the death of Voldemort the killing would end, but I was wrong. If you don't believe me, just ask Alison Friel's husband and daughter. Everyone will be safer by simply removing the Death Eaters' target, me, from the equation.
Please extend my apologies to the rest of the wizarding world. If I'd only faced Voldemort sooner, so many more lives would have been saved. The blame for all of their suffering rests squarely on my shoulders.
In light of our discussion this morning, I've been able to secure two suitable safe-houses. Don't bother asking how I got them, I wouldn't tell you anyway.
There are two envelopes enclosed in this letter, shrunken down, one envelope for each safe-house. Expand them and you will find portkeys inside. The portkeys are Goblin-made and duplicates cannot be made without the consent of the owner of the property. Also, no one can get past the wards without a portkey or without being accompanied by someone with one. To use one of these portkeys, the holder must turn it over in his or her hand three times and say 'levemnie'.
The envelope with the names Weasley, Granger, and Tonks written on the outside contains twelve portkeys for the following individuals: Arthur and Molly, Bill and Fleur, Charlie, Percy, George, Ron and Hermione, Ginny, and Andromeda and Teddy Tonks. I've added the Tonks' to the list because Andromeda will need help raising Teddy and I can think of none better than the Weasley family to help raise a child.
The envelope with the names Longbottom and Lovegood written on the outside contains four portkeys for the following individuals: Neville and Augusta, and Luna and Xenophilius.
The rest of this letter contains personal messages. Please pass them on.
To Mr. and Mrs. Weasley: I'm so, so sorry! I wish I could tell you how much you mean to me, but there just aren't any words. You opened your home to me and accepted me as one of your own. You are the parents I never had! I am eternally grateful and I'm sure Lily and James are as well.
To Ron and Hermione: You are my best mates, really more like a brother and sister to me, and I will miss you terribly! You have been my rock, my confidants, and my biggest supporters in the wizarding world. I hope your occasional(?) squabbles never outshine your vast love for each other. You two are made for each other. I'm glad you finally saw what the rest of us have seen for years!
To Bill, Charlie, and Percy: Thank you all for being the brothers I never had. I'm sorry for the mess I'm leaving behind. You three are strong. I'm confident you will provide the stability your family will need, particularly over the days and weeks to come.
To George: Please keep smiling. I miss Fred terribly too! But, like Fred, you have an incredible gift. You have inside you the divine spark of humor. Please don't let that gift go to waste. You and I both know Fred wouldn't have wanted that to happen!
To Neville: I'm so glad to call you my friend. I'm so, so proud of you. To watch you go from the bumbler you were in first year to the incredible wizard you are today is awe-inspiring!
To Luna: I'm so glad to call you my friend also. Please don't let anyone make you feel that your blunt truthfulness is a bad thing. Your truthfulness and wisdom were invaluable to me – thank you for that!
To Ginny: Oh, Merlin, this is the most painful part of my letter! I wish I had the guts in the past to tell you in person what I'm about to write. My love for you is unconditional! I hope you always remember that. I also hope you understand why I'm doing what I'm doing. I would rather see you live the rest of your days without me than die all too soon with me. You deserve better than that. You deserve a better life than what I can offer you. I'll love you always!
I will miss you all!
Harry
After a few moments, without raising his face from the parchment, Arthur quietly and shakily asked Kingsley, "Who's Alison Friel?"
Kingsley looked up from his hands and regarded his friend. He noticed that Arthur's eyes were welling a bit with tears. "We hadn't come to that part of the meeting yet."
Arthur silently reread the letter and then once again. The letter slipped from his fingers and landed on the floor as Arthur adopted the same posture as his old friend, face buried in hands.
From across the room the other guests watched and whispered to each other. They could tell something very wrong had happened. Ginny instinctively knew it had something to do with Harry. Drawing her knees up and wrapping her arms around them, she started muttering to herself in an almost catatonic state. Hermione reached over and gently wrapped her arms around Ginny to try to calm her.
Molly slowly approached the men across the room. Softly she asked, "Arthur, dear, is everything okay? What's wrong?"
Arthur stood and helped Molly into the chair he had occupied. He then picked up the letter from the floor and handed it to Molly to read.
Molly, her face contorted with a combination of sadness and anger, snapped across the room, "You two," she called to Ron and Hermione, "do you two know anything about this?"
Hermione rose and rushed to Mrs. Weasley with Ron closely behind. Mrs. Weasley handed the letter to Hermione. She read the letter with one hand covering her mouth as Ron read over her shoulder.
Shortly, Hermione shook her head and handed the letter back to Mrs. Weasley, quietly saying, "No, nothing."
Ron added, "We hadn't spoken to him since we escorted him back to the dormitory. We had no idea he was gonna do some idiotic thing like this."
With her hands scrunching the now-read letter and with tears trailing down her cheeks, Molly was escorted back across the room to the conference table by Arthur and Kingsley, with Ron and Hermione trailing behind. Hermione resumed her post next to Ginny, comforting her. No one spoke for several moments, waiting for Arthur, Molly or Kingsley to start.
Finally, Kingsley began to speak in a low rumbling tone. "First, allow me to get back to Ron's last question. Ron, you asked what time Harry arrived here this morning. It was about seven in the morning..."
Ron interrupted, "But Harry was up much earlier than that! I'm guessing sometime around two or three. Where could he have been most of the night?"
"And who's Alison Friel?" Arthur piled on.
"Who?" Charlie asked.
"Alison Friel. Harry mentioned her in his letter." Hermione chimed in. At that comment, Ginny let out a low moan, thinking Harry ran off with some other woman. Realizing how her comment might have been construed, she leaned back and whispered to Ginny that it was not what she was thinking.
Kingsley held his hand up to silence everyone and began again.
"Harry awoke at approximately three in the morning. He left the school shortly thereafter and walked down to Dumbledore's tomb. He placed Tom Riddle's wand in Dumbledore's hand and resealed the tomb… wordlessly and wandlessly I might add." Most around the table raised their eyebrows at this news. They were apparently as surprised as Kingsley was when he first heard of it. "He spent the next three hours sitting by Dumbledore's tomb silently."
"How do you know all of this?" asked Neville.
"After the battle, once I realized so many Death Eaters escaped, I assigned protection details to each of you. Didn't any of you notice?"
Most shook their heads, but Hermione said, "Ron and I did. The two Eastern Europeans you assigned to us weren't the friendliest of chaps."
The meeting was interrupted again, this time by one of Kingsley's secretaries. He rose and met the woman in the middle of office, where she handed him another envelope and promptly left. Kingsley stood there with his back to his guests, opened the letter, spent a few moments reading it, and then placed it in the pocket of his robes. Returning to the table, Kingsley began again.
"Umm, where were we? Oh, right. Well, apparently Harry had no idea he had a guard, or if he did, he didn't let on." Kingsley paused and then continued, "At just about daybreak, three Death Eaters emerged from the Forbidden Forest and fired the killing curse at Harry." Several of the party gasped.
"Harry ducked it just in the nick of time, but by ducking, he put Alison Friel in direct line with the curse. She didn't stand a chance. Alison was one of the two Irish aurors I assigned to protect him. As I understand the rest of it, Harry then turned, raised his hands at the Death Eaters, and blew them back into the forest so powerfully that two of them were killed simply by being smashed against the various trees and rocks there. Again, he did so without word or wand. The third was unconscious and Ms. Friel's partner bound him until other aurors arrived from the castle. I and a couple of other aurors then rushed Harry off the Hogwarts grounds. The aurors brought Harry to my office where he awaited my arrival."
George, so quiet for so long, spoke, "Well, I guess that explains the invasion of foreigners at Hogwarts."
Kingsley nodded.
Fleur spoke next, "Zo, why would 'arry put ze Riddle wand back een Dumblydore'z cercueil?"
"Because the wand wasn't Riddle's, it was Dumbledore's." Hermione informed them.
"But why would Riddle take Dumbledore's wand in the first place?" Kingsley asked.
Hermione looked Kingsley in the eye, like she wanted to say something, but she didn't. Instead, she asked, "Could you excuse us for a moment?"
She beckoned Ron to follow her over to the far corner of the room. Once there, she whispered, "We're going to have to tell them at some point, aren't we?" Ron nodded.
"So how much do we tell them?"
Ron surveyed everyone in the room and then turned back to Hermione. "Let's tell them everything. It's easier and, besides, I trust everyone here. I can't see any of them going out and making Horcruxes, trying to become the next Voldemort."
A/N:
Another chapter is up, I am trying to cut back on the writing a little bit because my personal life is starting to get a little crazy. My girlfriend and I broke up, school had been weighing down on me, I have things I need to take care of financially, yeah it's not going all to well for me.
Enough about me, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and please leave reviews, they help me incredibly.
God bless you!
-TheTrueHufflepuff