Ron Weasley was not the smartest in the trio, nor was he the leader… and he was perfectly fine with it. Having grown up in such a large family, he had learnt that standing out wasn't always the best thing. Yes he suffered like any other teen aged boy with jealousy and envy, but he had hoped he had outgrown them during the last year.
He still felt guilty for leaving them when he did, and knew that his lack of belief had hurt their trust; even though they had said that they didn't blame him. They had explained how the locket had worked on your fears and deepest desires, but for the man himself, he still felt that he had to atone for it.
"Madam Bones, Auror Shacklebolt and a Mr. Akingbade are waiting for you." Professor McGonagall said as she led them to her office on the third floor.
"You're not coming?" Hermione asked as she stared at the door.
The door itself was just like any other door in the castle. It had scars from the battle that had taken place, chunks of stone still littered the ground in the corridor though it had been pushed to the side to make walking through the halls easier.
"You are all of age Miss Granger," McGonagall answered though the slight grimace on her face said she clearly didn't agree with the idea of them entering alone.
"Minerva, I can take them from here. Harry, Hermione, Ron; come in." Shaklebolt's deep voice startled the trio, causing all three of them to reach for their wands.
"I'm sorry, but I would feel better if she came in." Hermione stated, crossing her arms across her chest.
"I trust you Shacklebolt, but I'm not going in without the Professor. Too much has happened, and I trust her explicitly." Harry continued before standing beside her.
"Besides, we might be of age, but I'm not talking about this without someone I've known for most of my life." I added before joining the other two.
"I see; Professor, you are more than welcome to join us. We do however hope whatever you hear inside you keep to yourself." Shacklebolt smiled as he looked at them.
"Naturally." she smiled as she laid her hand on Harry's shoulder, softly pushing him into the room.
As he walked into the office, he noticed the two others sitting on chairs near the fireplace. Thankfully the large table that McGonagall had always used when meeting with any students had been pushed back to the side wall. The walls seemed to be relatively damage free, with only a few cracks showing that the damage outside had far more impact than first thought. Her small sitting area was essentially bare of all personal effects, only her tartan hanging on the back wall showed that this office belonged to which professor.
Turning his eyes to the two others in the room, he took stock of who they were. Madam bones, though he knew of her, he had never met her. She sat stiffly on the chair, her hands resting in her lap as she watched them enter. A monocle sitting over her left eye, reminding him somewhat of Moody, and wondering if it too had special abilities like the former auror. She was dressed in black robes with the Ministry insignia on her left shoulder while her badge sat just below it.
The second individual he had never set eyes on, had still been younger than what he thought he would be. His red robes and gray suit clashed with his darker skin and hair. As Ron looked the man over, he noticed the unusual insignia sitting on his left shoulder. Floating between the two of them was a quill and parchment, while a pensive sat on the table.
"Please come in." The stranger said pointing to the chairs.
"I'm sorry but with everything, Madam Bones, where did I first meet you?" Hermione asked her wand pointing at the woman.
"Miss Granger, is that necessary?" Professor McGonagall asked.
As Ron turned towards the professor, he noticed that both Shacklebolt and Harry had their wands pointed at one another.
"Yes, after everything that has happened, it is. We know you are who you are, professor, because you have set the anti-animagus ward; which does not allow for those with the ability to pass through the wards onto the grounds. It also means that if you were not who you are, you would have been ejected from the ground seconds after you had set it." She nodded though her eyes never left Madam Bones.
"It's perfectly fine Minerva. I don't blame any of them. I first met you down at the boat houses while you threatened two of my younger aurors who were discussing tampering with a scene." she smiled somewhat as Hermione lowered her wand.
"Name all the members who took polyjuice potion to become me when you picked me up from the Dursleys." Harry nodded as his wand seemed even steadier than before.
"Hermione, Ron, Fleur, Mundungus, George, and Fred. Who questioned me when we landed at the Burrow that fateful night?" Shacklebolt replied.
"Remus, he asked you what Dumbledore said the last time you saw him alive." Harry's arm dropped as he nodded.
"Would you like me to give a vow on my magic to prove that I am who I am?" Akingbode asked.
"If you don't mind. I'm sorry, but the safety of my students comes before your questioning." Professor Mcgonagall nodded.
"I vow on my magic that I am Babajibe Akingbode, member of the International Confederate of Wizardry, representative of the African nations." he spoke, before shooting red and green sparks from his wand.
"I am sure you are wondering why we have asked to meet you three, especially so soon after the battle has finished. After I left Harry and Hermione in the headmaster's office I headed back to the Ministry of Magic. I'm sure you can imagine how chaotic it was. The Wizenmont had called for an emergency meeting to argue who would be in charge. It is within my power as the Head of the Auror office to call the ICW when a state of emergency has risen. With the fall of the Ministry and no Minister in charge, I'm sure you would agree we had met the criteria to do so." Madam Bones stated as the quill moved across the parchment.
"As a representative for the ICW, I have been tasked with finding out all that had happened. From information that I have been given, Mr. Potter here is the one who would be best to speak to. We have spoken already with a few members of the Phoenix they are called; however it is imperative that we get as much information as possible." Akingbode continued.
"Please if you can start from the beginning." Madam Bones nodded towards the three of us.
"Which part?" I asked as I looked between the two of them. "From when he was a baby, or when he returned to the wizarding world?"
"It is well documented about his first encounter with the Dark Lord. I would suggest when he returned." Akingbode smiled somewhat.
"Then you would miss the part about the prophecy that connected Tom Riddle, also known as Voldemort, and myself." Harry stated, ignoring the flinches the others made in the room.
As we sat there, listening to Harry retell everything that he could remember, both Hermione and me cutting in with parts that I doubted Harry remembered or thought necessary. We ignored the gasps or comments, only stopping when questions were asked about certain incidents that had happened. We sat there until well after the candles were lit and a fire was set to keep us warm. Food had been delivered twice as we continued.
"Is there anything you can think of that may help us with our investigations?"
"Yeah, Umbridge is evil. She was head of the Muggle-born crap." I smiled as they turned to me.
"Do you have any proof?" Madam bones smiled, her face predatory as she moved forward on her chair.
"Yeah, we used polyjuice potion and I ended up being Mr. Cattermole. His wife was being tried by Umbridge and we ended up there. Hermione was Mafilda Hopkirt and Harry was Runcorn. She had Dementors in the courtroom and Harry used his patronus to get us all out of there."
"I may need you to testify in her trial." Madam Bones grinned as she pulled her memory from the meeting and placed it into the small vial.
"We'll be there with bells on." Hermione laughed as we all looked at her.
"It's a muggle saying. Means we wouldn't miss it." Harry laughed as he stood shaking their hands.
"Mr. Potter. If you need anything, please owl me. Day or night. The magical world owes you a debt that I don't think we could ever repay you." Madam bones nodded before she took a small pinch of floo powder and tossed it into the fireplace.
"Mister's Potter and Weasley, Miss Granger. It's been a pleasure meeting you." Mr. Akingbode shook our hands once more before following Madam bones.
"I noticed you didn't mention the Order's role in much." Shacklebolt noted as he too stood and made his way to the fireplace.
"The Order wasn't a bad thing, a bit blindsided and misinformed. Besides, you didn't say you were part of it, and by the looks Madam Bones gave you when Mr. Akingbode mentioned Phoenix, I'm pretty sure she knew all about it." Hermione smiled as she came to stand between Harry and me.
"Hey Kingsley, can you see if I can speak to the Malfoy's? Just Mrs. Malfoy and Draco?" Harry asked, surprising almost everyone in the room. "I need to know some things. It's important."
"I will see what I can do. Look for my owl." he replied after a few minutes.
"Thank you." Harry nodded as Shacklebolt threw the powder into the fireplace and stepped through the flames.
"You do realize you need to explain why right?" I asked as we headed towards Gryffindor tower once more.
"Mrs. Malfoy saved my life, so did Draco. I need to know why."