Longbottom Manor

Donations spike up 5 times at Children's wing at St. Mungo's

In response to the act of charity done by Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom, the donations at the children's wing at St. Mungos's have spiked up as the wizarding world elite rushed to emulate their hero and their saviour.

Healer Payne, who is the in-charge of the wing said, "People have started to come out to show kindness and empathy towards these children who are orphans and have no home or relatives. Yesterday, we received donations in excess of 30,000 Galleons from as many 10 wizards and witches of whom many belong to the Ancient and Most Noble houses. Most of them however refused to be named for they don't seek recognition for their acts from the ministry."

There you have it, readers. As this reported had anticipated, the wizarding world is striving to join hands with its saviour in helping us being over these tough times. Let's hope that the efforts will continue.

Harry for his part was delighted. It was a good start. For the first time, he felt his fame was of some use to the wizarding world. In his sixth year, he had refused Rufus Scrimgeour's attempts to enlist him as poster boy of the ministry but if Kingsley could use his image to really do good for the public and not merely use him to attempt to delude others then he was not saying no to it. He was also thinking about the foster program which Kingsley had mentioned but he wanted someone else on it. Someone who could be the ideal face for the ministry to show to the world. It was something that he could talk to Kingsley when they would meet the next day.

For now, the meeting that he was invited to by Neville's gran was on his mind. He had no experience of playing politics in the past. Sure he had been offered by Scrimgeour but he had chosen to stay above it. Now however he had to become involved if he wanted to change things. For good or worse, the wizarding world was his own than the muggle world and he would be damned if he didn't try to change it. He chose his best clothes to wear for this meeting at Neville's and a cloak which Kreacher had found for him. It had once belonged to Regulus Black in the past and still looked new even if it was in fashion about a decade ago.

Harry arrived in the Longbottom manor at exactly 5:00 p.m. as Neville had asked him during the day. He had sent a letter to Harry asking him to come at the appointed hour along with the floo address. He had realised the error that Harry didn't knew his floo address so he had remedied it by a letter. Harry couldn't send him a letter because he didn't have an owl. The Longbottom owl which had brought his mail had flew away as soon as Harry could untie his letter from its claws.

As he made one of his spectacular exits from the floo, landing on his butt, Neville grabbed him by the arm, "Alright there, mate?"

Harry scowled, "I would never get used to the modes of magical travel. Can't get out of the floo even without falling on my face."

Neville chuckled, "Takes a little practice. Every now and then I fall on my butt when using the floo."

The Longbottom manor was, there was no other word for it, huge. The floo room itself was as big as the common room back in the Gryffindor tower. The corridor which led from it could accommodate 4 people side by side and was about 10 metres long. The long corridor was lined up with rows of portraits of Longbottom family members. Harry could feel their eyes on him as Neville led him through the gallery to the meeting room which was at the end of the corridor. The meeting room was enormous in itself. There was a large table in the middle which could seat as many as 30 people at once and it was circular opposed to square or rectangular. That way everyone was at equal distance from each other. There were more portraits in the meeting room, tapestries, and photos. He could also see Neville's handiwork as there were many plants lined up on the shelves around the room. He also saw the now infamous mimbus mimbletonia which was famous for covering people with stinksap.

Augusta Longbottom was at the head of the table and she stood from her place when Harry entered. He extended hand to her. She shook his hand saying, "Welcome to Longbottom manor, Mr. Potter. This visit was long due."

"Thank you, Mrs. Longbottom", he replied, "I never really got the time in the years to go anywhere except my home and the Weasleys."

She nodded, "Dumbledore kept you under his crooked nose, didn't he?"

Harry snorted, "Not so much under his nose but under his watchful eyes. I mean things were fine till 4th year but then Voldemort returned and we had to be very careful. Besides if I was seen too much fraternizing with people, they would have been targeted just to get at me."

She nodded, "You are as noble as your ancestors were. I had the fortune to know Fleamont and Euphemia personally."

Harry asked her, "Fleamont and Euphemia?"

She nodded, "Yes, they were your grand-parents. Weren't they?"

Harry said in small voice, "I never knew. I figure I should have asked people."

She looked scandalised, "You know nothing of your family history, Mr. Potter?"

He shook his head, "Only a little of what has been told over the years. I only know that my grand-father invented Sleakeazy which is the most selling cosmetic potion in the world."

"I am sorry, Mr. Potter. I thought you knew about your family."

He nodded, "I am trying to know now. Can I ask a few questions?"

She said encouragingly, "yes, please."

"Mrs. Longbottom, you could have let Neville tell me about this meeting or he could have given this letter in person to me. Why not do that? What is this meeting about? And please call me Harry."

She smiled, "Harry it is, then. Now as to your questions then house business is formal and official business. It is always conducted by the head of house or the Regent and not the heir or heir apparent. Neville as of now is still an heir apparent to the House of Longbottom. He cannot make such communications in that capacity until his investment in the next session which is in exactly 4 days from now. At the time of his investment, he will become the lord and I will abdicate for him. This meeting which is called today is to find prospective allies on the wizengamot. Whenever any bill or motion is brought before the wizengamot, it is has to be passed through it before it can become a law. The members always form coalitions to oppose or support a motion which they feel is contrary to or favourable to their interests. The last wizengamot was heavily dominated by the purebloods that supported you-know-who and therefore, progress was hindered during that time. This time, we are hoping for a wizengamot where we have majority of people who are of the same thinking as us. I called a meeting of everyone I think would like to ally together. Let's see where it goes."

Neville asked, "Uh... Gran, if you abdicate in my favour then how you will be able to move this coalition? I mean without you being up there, we wouldn't know what stance we are going to take."

She smiled, "I will still be here, Neville. We will hold meetings and we will decide everything beforehand."

Harry asked her, "What if everybody doesn't agree to this alliance or whatever?

She smiled, "First of all, that is not going to happen. You are the saviour of the wizarding world and everyone would want to be seen with you. I am willing to let you take the lead if the need be and you can always make your choices. If someone still doesn't want to ally with us then we will find some new ones."

The Burrow

Ginny had been doing honest soul searching for the last few days since the war was over. She had loved Harry and a little part of her still did but something had changed fundamentally. She didn't feel her heart flutter every time she saw him. She hadn't really known him until she had started dating him. When she did, she begun to appreciate the differences between what she thought he was and what he really was.

She had loved and idolised the idea of the boy-who-lived. She was swayed off her feet with all those stories she had heard about him since she was little. When Ron had written a letter home telling that he had become Harry Potter's friend, Ginny wanted him to tell everything. The truth didn't match the description she had in her mind but that didn't deter her. She was even afraid to speak in her presence for three years at least until Hermione told her to get confident with herself and he would notice her in time. That had happened and it broke a lot of assumptions she had made. She had seen him beaten, broken, wounded and at times vulnerable. It all had started to make her see him as Harry Potter and not the knight in shining armour.

She had realised he was as much as normal as they were and it had disenchanted her. She was trying to see if she had any romantic feelings towards him. They had spent almost a year away from each other during which she had noticed others in his absence. She wouldn't have noticed Neville otherwise who had stepped up in his role as the new leader of the resurrected Dumbledore's Army. She knew he had withstood a lot of torture at the hands of the Carrows for leading the rebellion against them but Neville never gave up. In fact, she had realised that he was as brave as Harry but he didn't needed to step up in that role until it fell on his shoulders. He had led the students in the battle and fought with death eaters without fearing for his life. He had even faced Voldemort and lived to tell the tale which made him one among the few who could claim that.

She had also noticed that he was broken inside. Hannah Abbott's death had taken its toll on him. He already had seen enough in his life with his parents being incapacitated in St. Mungo's for life and then Hannah's death had hit it too close to home for him. Yet the boy refused to stop or let anything hinder him. He and Harry truly were made of different stuff than others.

"A knut for your thoughts, Ginny", said Ron who slid in a chair opposite her.

She scowled, "My thoughts are more precious than a knut, Ron."

He nodded, "So what are you thinking?"

She took her time to form a reply, "I had been making involuntary comparisons between Harry and Neville. I mean I have known both for the same time and I realised that they both are so alike. They both love private lives but they are both leaders and they are very Gryffindor-ish in their behaviour. When you lot were out there doing whatever you needed to bring Voldemort down, Neville was leading the Dumbledore's army and enduring torture at the hands of Carrows but he didn't back down. In the battle, he led by example and inspired us to keep fighting. I won't forget how he faced down Voldemort before the battle resumed in the morning."

Ron chuckled, "You are hero worshipping him."

She scowled at him, her eyes turning a dark shade of red, "I am not hero-worshipping anyone. I got over that a long time ago. I still see Neville as the clumsy forgetful Gryffindor he was but I also know how he grew up over the years and became a powerful wizard. If their lives were inter-changed, I think he would have done as honourable as Harry did."

Ron sighed, "I don't really understand these sort of things, Ginny but yes Neville is as brave as Harry is."

Longbottom Manor

Everyone who had been invited by Lady Longbottom was there in the meeting room of the manor. To his surprise Harry noticed that Mr. Weasley was there too and he was more than sure that Arthur didn't have a seat on the wizengamot. To his woe, he noticed Daphne was there too. Ernie was also there with a man who greatly resembled him, Susan was also there and there were many more whom he couldn't recognise. He counted at least 15 persons in total in the meeting room and almost all of them came to shake his hand.

When everyone had arrived, Augusta stood in her place, "Welcome to Longbottom manor. We know there are a few among us who are not the wizengamot however when it reconvenes this time, we are going to try to put in some new names for the seats previously held by the death eaters. Also we are going to form a block on the Wizengamot which will act under the leadership of one of us, chosen by everyone's consent."

The man with Ernie raised his hand, "Can I say a word, Dowager Longbottom?"

She nodded, "Yes Lord Macmillan."

He stood and started speaking, "we all here agree that no one among is more experienced on the wizengamot than you so I propose you to lead this block."

She nodded, "Thank you for the confidence shown in me, Lord Macmillan. Now I propose that we join our forces together and form a power block in the ministry which will reshape our world for a better future."

Daphne asked her, "Lady Longbottom, I ask for you forgiveness for my insolence of speaking out of turn but I want to know what is in it for us? I mean how do we benefit from this coalition that you are proposing?"

Augusta smiled, "Spoken like a true Slytherin, Ms. Greengrass. This alliance will be a great help to the ministry in reshaping our world. Individually most of us are here selflessly while others may have some interests which we can't foresee at this time. Any one of us can make a motion to the wizengamot in their interests and being honour bound we would have to honour our commitments. In a way, it will lead us to making what benefit we can of this while helping others. For example, I know your family has a potions business and that many of the ingredients or potions are banned in this country despite being useful to the world at large. Now while those potions can help others on the one hand then on other, you as manufacturer of the potions would get to make profits out of it."

Harry asked her, "What if I am not willing to support a motion?"

"In that case Mr. Potter, we can always talk about a unanimous vote before the motion is tabled. As the rules propose, advance notice is to be given before any motion can be moved. We will try to resolve our issues but if consensus can't be reached then the dissenters can do what they like. I am not going to ask you all to think of the greater good or anything like that. I'd rather that we pay attention to our present needs."

When the meeting was over and they were leaving, one of the men approached Harry, "Lord Potter, a moment please."

Harry walked towards the man and extended his hand for a greeting but other than that no other gesture was made to acknowledge the other man. He stiffened a bit but then relaxed, "I am Aurelius Fawley, head of the Fawley clan and I hold a place on the wizengamot. I wanted to ask a question of you."

He nodded, "What is it, Mr. Fawley?"

The man stiffened again for a moment before he smiled brightly, "Lord Potter, I have written letters to you over the years asking for an audience with you for my family did business with yours but none of my letters were responded to. Did we offend you in some way?"

Harry was surprised, "I never received a letter from you, Mr. Fawley. In fact, in all the years that I have been at Hogwarts, I never received a letter from anyone other than my friends or the school."

The man sounded worried, "That is troubling, Lord Potter. I reckon someone placed a redirection ward on you and has been diverting your mails. You never figured out that hundreds of letters would have been sent to you every year by people who revere you?"

Harry was thoughtful for a minute, "I think it may have been. Who do you think was redirecting my mails?"

Lord Fawley replied, "I don't know if I can answer this for I know very little of your life. You must ask these questions of someone who had the most influence on your life."

Harry nodded, "I can think of at least one man who can tell me about this."

Fawley smiled, "I hope I will have the fortune to host you under my roof some day, Lord Potter. And I am hoping you will join this alliance. We can do a lot of good for the wizarding world."

As Lord Fawley left, Harry was thinking about confronting the person who had influenced his life the most. Someone who was quite dead but there was a way he could talk to him. However that would be another day. For now, Teddy waited for him and he had promised the toddler to bring more toys for him.

Before he could leave however, Neville had stopped him to talk about something which the ministry in its infinite wisdom had chose to overlook for the last 2 years but now it was time to rectify that one mistake.

Ministry of Magic

The next morning, Harry was immediately summoned by Kingsley when he reported to the Auror office. Robards knew that Harry was much sought after so he released him whenever the minister required him to. It was so that Harry often found himself in being involved in tasks which meant more than Auror work.

When he entered Kingsley's office, the minister asked him bluntly without any preamble, "Harry what you think about the foster plan now?"

"Kingsley, the foster program is fine, in fact it is more than perfect but I don't think I am the right person for it."

Kingsley raised an eye-brow, "What do you mean?"

"Kingsley, you know I am just seventeen. I can't actually take in a child and be expected to care for it. I can't even look after Teddy all the day by myself. I did my bit by the interview which will be published in the Quibbler tomorrow but you need someone else for this campaign. Someone whose child was a hero, killed in the war and they are parents who know what it is to care about a child."

"Who are you referencing to, Harry?", Kingsley asked him.

"Mr. and Mrs. Diggory", Harry said simply. "They are the best suited for this because they lost their only child Cedric on that night when Voldemort returned and the second wizarding war began. He was the first casualty of the second wizarding war and it was his death that prompted many others to avenge him on the death eaters. He was loved by everyone who knew him and I would add that the Diggorys adopting or fostering a child under their roof would give the impetus that you need."

Kingsley was nodding, "so what do you suggest?"

"You need to call in Amos Diggory here. When you do that please don't keep me here though. Talk to him and tell him about the proposed foster plan. If he agrees then let him adopt a child tomorrow itself. If he doesn't then you can always find someone who would. And publish the news of the adoption of this child the day after tomorrow. This way, the interview and Diggorys adopting a child will prompt others to do the same."

Kingsley nodded, "That is a good idea. I will work on it, Harry. You can go now."

Harry shook his head, "Kingsley, for all the help that I am giving to you I need a favour in return."

"What favour?", he asked.

"Sirius was never acquitted formally. I never saw the ministry apologise about hounding an innocent man or throwing him in prison for 12 years without a trial. I want the ministry to correct this mistake now."

Kingsley hesitated, "Harry, what you are asking will put the ministry in bad light."

"Kingsley, you were not the minister then. You were the Auror who was tasked with catching Sirius Black so it would look better coming from you that you tried to tell them that Sirius was innocent but the idiot Fudge didn't wanted to listen. Besides most of the blame lies on the previous administration for everything that went wrong. I don't know what you will do but I want full justice for Sirius Black."

Kingsley nodded, "don't forget to check the Daily Prophet or the Quibbler tomorrow."

Black Townhouse

This morning, there was a surprise. When Harry woke up, he found the surprise of his life in the kitchen. Andromeda was bustling in the kitchen, tending to everything that was there to do while Kreacher was looking after Ted who, it looked like, wanted nothing more than to get the stranger creature near so Teddy could pull its ears or just touch him to see if he can see what sort of creature it was.

Kreacher, for some unexplained reason, was very giddy with joy and muttered to himself while trying to entertain Teddy. Harry, in fact had never seen the ancient elf look so happy but if something made him happy then Harry was not one to object to it.

"What would you like for a breakfast, Harry?", Andromeda asked him, bringing him out of his musings.

"Eggs and bacon would be fine, Andromeda", he replied, "What are you doing here though?"

She smiled brightly, "Teddy was restless and I thought may be a change in scenery would be good for him. Also I think he makes Kreacher very happy."

Harry nodded, "I haven't seen him looking so happy before this."

"Elves generally love children and are very fond of them. Also since Teddy is the only child with Black blood in his veins for the moment, Kreacher loves him more for it. Kreacher is hopelessly devoted to the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black."

As eggs and bacon were being loaded in his plate, Harry thought of something which had pestered him for the last few days, "Andromeda, I never got around to ask this but how do you manage you time between your work and Teddy? I mean he requires all of your attention."

She smiled ruefully, "I don't work Harry. Ted used to earn enough to tend to our needs and made some savings during the years while I was busy raising Nymphadora. Later, Nymphadora was also working so I kept the house as I had been taught during my early years. I go by with the savings that Ted and I had managed over the years."

"But how can you manage with a little to go by? And does it not get worrisome for you? And you both being alone in the house does make you worry about your security?"

She nodded, "It does but what can be done about it?"

Harry said excitedly, "You can live here in Grimmauld Place. I daresay the Weasleys can live here with place to spare so two won't be a bother at all."

She still hesitated, "We would be in the way, Harry."

He scoffed, "You won't be in the way. In fact, I find it very desolate and dreary with no one to live around. I would be delighted if Teddy would be around me all the time."

She opened her mouth to protest again, but he said enthusiastically, "I won't hear a word more of it, Andromeda. You are coming to live here by yourself or I will haul all your stuff here. I can be with Teddy every time that way".

Finally, she gave in and asked to borrow Kreacher for the day to help her pack.

After he had seen her through, he made sure that Teddy was in his crib and sleeping before he turned to the newspaper which had arrived sometime before and perhaps attended to by Andromeda. As Kingsley had said, he turned it to the first page at once.

"SIRIUS BLACK EXONERATED POSTHUMOUSLY

In a startling revelation made to the press last night, the Ministry of Magic has disclosed that the alleged infamous mass murderer Sirius Black was after all, innocent. In a bizarre turn of events, the acting Minister of Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt called a press conference where he made this announcement. He also revealed some startling secrets which make us question the sanity of the previous ministers who acted like idiots while trying to cling to their power. They literally threw us to the wolves in their quest to remain in power while the Order of the Phoenix scrambled on its own to resist the evil which pervaded our world until recently. Below is a description of the events as told by the minister himself.

Q - Minister, is it true that Sirius Black was innocent?

A- Yes, it is true that Sirius Black was innocent. He was framed for the betrayal of Potters and the murder of those 13 muggles with Peter Pettigrew.

Q- How can you say that?

A- When Voldemort returned three years ago, Harry Potter's claims regarding his return were denied and we even labelled him as a lying brat. The former minister Cornelius Fudge aided by Dolores Umbridge led a smear campaign against him and late Albus Dumbledore and they kept lying for a year keeping all of us in dark and delayed a year of vital preparations. Since Voldemort's fall at the end of the first war, we were never in shape to fight another war and their denial made our situation more precarious. Harry Potter had claimed that Peter Pettigrew murdered Cedric Diggory and brought Voldemort back into a body. I didn't have any reasons to dispute his claim then and now.

I was a Senior Auror at that time and made responsible for tracking and catching Sirius Black. I met with Harry Potter and his friends in my quest to find Black's whereabouts and they even told me that they had seen Pettigrew well and alive in 1994 when they encountered him with Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. Peter Pettigrew had confessed to being the secret keeper of the Potters and that he had turned a death eater. He had also cast the bombarda hex which had killed those muggles and then escaped from the scene by taking the form of a rat which was his animagus form.

I saw Sirius Black briefly in the ministry atrium in 1996 when he arrived to save Harry Potter and his friends from death eaters and was killed at the hands of Bellatrix Lestrange. Late Albus Dumbledore told me that he had verified that Sirius Black was indeed innocent.

Q- Why did it did not came out in his trial?

A- (Here the minister actually felt very uneasy) Uhh, he never got a trial in the first place. He was arrested at the closing of the first war and we all were overjoyed at the end of war and grieving over the death of Potters and the incapacitation of Longbottoms. The ministry in its haste threw him in Azkaban without even formality of a trial. Barty Crouch Sr. who was given free hand in the ministry at that time ordered for him to be carted off to Azkaban without even considering the fact that he might have been innocent of his perceived crimes. As it is, it was popularly known among the members of the Order of the Phoenix that Sirius Black was their secret keeper. His closeness with the Potters was such that he was named the godfather for Harry and thus there was no reason to doubt that someone else could be the secret keeper. Besides, he belonged to the Blacks and most of them were associated with Voldemort at that time.

Q- Why didn't Minister Fudge disclose this truth to the public in his last days in office?

A- As Harry Potter told me, he tried to convince the minister in 1994 that Sirius Black was innocent but Fudge refused to believe him discrediting his statements as rambling of a child. In the following years as Black remained on the run, he became the scapegoat for any mishap which happened and put the ministry in bad light. When the Azkaban prison was raided in 1996, he immediately blamed it on Sirius Black while it had been Voldemort's doing. After his death, Fudge's career was on the edge and any such revelation would have cascaded his downfall which was already coming. He name had been already sullied and dragged through the mud and Sirius Black's fiasco had come to light at that point, then it would have been really bad for him. Later when Rufus Scrimgeour became the minister, I hoped for him to reveal this truth to the public but he feared the backlash that this news would have generated.

Q- Sirius Black has been dead for two years now, Minister. Why do you disclose this now?

A- Because Sirius Black lived as a hero and he died as a hero. He deserves to be remembered as the hero that he was and not as some mass murderer as he is alleged to be. Also, he was the Lord of House Black at the time of his death so this needs to be mentioned. Today we exonerate him from his alleged crimes and declare him a hero of the wizarding world. We also extend our apologies for every wrong that was done to him by the ministry in particular and the wizarding world in general.

Q- Any other thing that you would like for the world to know, Minister?

A- (The minister had a wry grin on his face as he answered this) this is for Minerva McGonagall, temporary headmistress of Hogwarts. Minerva, three of your students were unregistered animagi so it's quite the time to update the animagus register. For their names, contact me.

As he finished reading the paper, Harry raised his fist and whooped in joy, startling Teddy who woke up and started crying loudly. He picked up the toddler, trying to get him to go back to sleep. Cradling him in his arms, it took about 5 minutes before Teddy went back to sleep. Calling Kreacher to take care of the child, he left for the ministry.

Office of the Minister of Magic

"May I come in, Minister?", asked Amos.

"Amos, please come in", Kingsley said rising from his place, pointing him to one of the vacant chairs opposite him.

When Amos was comfortably seated, Kingsley began speaking, "I would be straight with you, Amos. First of all, the post of the Head of the Department for Control and Regulation of Magical Creatures is lying vacant since the previous occupant Walden Macnair was killed by Rubeus Hagrid in the Great Hall at the Battle of Hogwarts. There is no one more able than you to fill in the position and I want you to take this role."

"But Kingsley, I am..." Amos tried to say something but Kingsley cut him in between, "I am not taking no for an answer, Amos. The position is yours now. The next thing is that the ministry has formed a plan which is being called 'the foster plan' unofficially and I wanted you input on it."

"What is it about?", Amos asked him cautiously.

"Amos, as you know, the war left behind too many orphans. Children who belonged to wizarding families as well as muggle borns have been left with no one to call family or to care for them. As per the latest count, there were at least 50 children who have no immediate family. In the similar way, many families were lost and many are on the edge of extinction. Many families lost their only child to the war including you. The orphans have nowhere to go and families like yours don't have any heirs left. The ministry has been mulling over allowing adoptions of such children by families who are in need of such children. Any adoptions would be magically valid and the said children will bear the name of the families they are adopted in. Additionally, if a family doesn't want to adopt a child then they can foster him. The department of child welfare will look after such adoptions and in the living conditions of such children and if it is found that the children are problematic or can't adopt in a particular family then they will be re-adopted by someone else."

Amos thought over it for a long time before he replied, "it is a fine proposal Kingsley but I must say that I don't understand what role you expect me to play in it?"

Kingsley said quietly, "Amos, I know no one can replace Cedric. He was a hero and he will always be remembered that way. However, you are getting on in years and you have no other child. It will be hard for you to live the rest of your life just by yourself and your wife without someone. I was hoping if you would adopt one child from the orphans because it will help a child and bring some joy in your life again. Besides, Cedric would not like to see you sad and grieving."

Amos said a little hotly, "Don't bring my boy in this. He was the apple of my eyes. I however will think about your proposal and I will have to talk to the wife about it. Do I get some time?"

"Yes Amos, you can take your time but please tell me your decision tomorrow. And if you choose to accept, we are going to show you as the face of this campaign."

Amos was surprised, "Why me? I mean there are more likeable people out there. Why not Harry Potter? Everybody likes him."

Kingsley sighed, "Harry Potter is just a child, Amos. He is perhaps the most famous orphan of our world but we just can't expect him to step in role of a father of a child at his age. I mean he can't even do his laundry by himself. Besides your son was a hero who was the first to die in this war and everybody must know his story."

"I. I will let you know our decision tomorrow", replied Amos as he left the office.

Auror Floor

"I know you all are proficient in spell casting but you are no match in a duel to some of more skilled Aurors", barked Robards to the recruits, "you all need to be up to the standards that is expected of Aurors. Some of our most decorated Aurors could even hold Voldemort at bay so he took them out at the first opportunity. When you are not in field then you will be here learning what it takes to be an Auror. Is that clear?"

As the recruits answered with a resounding "Yes Sir", they were dismissed for the day. Harry was about to leave for Grimmauld Place when Neville hailed him, "Harry".

"Yes Neville, what's the matter?", he asked of the group huddled together. He could see most of the Auror trainees in the group.

"We were thinking that today is the last day that some of us get to celebrate before the Wizengamot session day after tomorrow when we would become Lords. We are planning a get together for all of us at Longbottom manor with butterbeers and fire whiskey if you want to join us. Bring Ron along if you want to."

Harry nodded, "I was planning to spend the entire evening with Teddy who has finally agreed to live in Grimmauld with me but I am sure I can make time for one evening. We both will be there."

Longbottom Manor

That evening, the Longbottom manor hosted a party the likes of which it had not hosted in a long time. The last time there was such party, it was hosted by Frank Longbottom and present in attendance were the likes of the marauders, the Prewett twins among many others, most of whom later became members of the Order of the Phoenix in the first war.

This evening, present in attendance were Neville Longbottom, Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley, Ernie Macmillan, Terry Boot, Anthony Goldstein, Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan with many of the girls recruits like Susan Bones, Lisa, Many Brocklehurst. Many of them invited were not even working as Aurors for the ministry but Ernie had spread the word that it will be last one such party where the most of them would be together so they had met.

Augusta had made herself scarce telling Neville that rooms had been arranged in the manor for those who could not return to their homes when their party broke. She had also supplied the party with firewhisky, butterbeers and some oak matured mead which she had found in her cellars. Her elf had been told to attend to the needs of the guests and see to their comfort.

They partied late in the night with some very rowdy and some very bizarre toasts being raised to things like Dumbledore's beard, Snape's greasy curtain of hair, McGonagall's tartan cloak, Flitwick's stack of books and Hagrid's beard.

At one time, Lisa cornered Harry, "So Potter, what are your plans now?"

"What do you mean, Lisa?", he asked.

"I have heard that you are single again", she said, with a smile at the corner of her mouth and a glint in her eye which made her look rather feral.

"What does that have to do with anything?", he asked cautiously.

She rolled her eyes, "Potter, you are so dense. I was thinking that if you are single again then may be, some of us poor girls can try to have a go at you. I mean you were so reserved at Hogwarts that you barely knew anyone outside your house."

Realisation dawned on him, "Sorry Lisa but right now, I am rather looking to settle down in my life as an Auror before I think of anything else."

She nodded, "Well, I will be around."

As she left, Ernie cornered him, "Lord Potter, what you think about the Wizengamot session in two days?"

"Why are you calling me a Lord?", Harry asked him.

"Clueless, isn't he?", said Neville as he came up, "I told you Macmillan that he knows nothing about it. We will need to feed it all to him slowly."

"Feed me what?"

"Tell you what it is to be a Lord of Wizengamot. What should be your decorum in the house and what is the expected behaviour of you at all times."

Harry groaned, "Why do I have to learn these things?"

Susan who had come to their group said, "Tradition. May be you never realised Harry but you are a part of the Wizarding World elite and everywhere you will be expected to behave that way."

Harry sighed, "Well I don't know what that entails and I don't really care."

As he moved to find some more butterbeer, Susan said to Ernie, "He is going to get himself ridiculed in the Wizengamot, isn't he?"

Ernie nodded, "Yes, he is."

The evening ended on a good note with Ron and Harry returning to Grimmauld where Ron's old room was made ready for him. Unlike the last time however, there was a single four poster bed and the room sparkled. There were no cobwebs on the ceiling and the wallpaper had been replaced and it gave the room a new vibe.

They both retired to their rooms almost instantly and Harry had not cast the silencing charms around his room for he wanted to know if Teddy woke up in the middle of night and he could attend to the child without having to wake up Andromeda.

He woke up about two hours later when Andromeda shook him by the shoulder, "Harry wake up. It's a nightmare. It's not real. Wake up."

He sat up groggily and it took him a few minutes to get his bearings, "What happened, Andy?"

"You were having a nightmare. You were saying 'Sirius NO! Not Sirius!", she said with concern laced in her voice. "Do you want to talk about it?"

He shook his head, "No. Not tonight. Sorry that you had to wake up in dead of night for me."

She scowled, "You don't need to be sorry, Harry. If you need me, I will be across in Regulus's old bedroom".

The next morning

When Harry arrived at the breakfast table next morning, a copy of the Quibbler was waiting for him. With shaking hands, he opened the magazine. On the front page was splattered a photo of Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom with the headline- "A candid interview with Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom- more interesting than the nargles right now."

A few days ago, Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom, who are my friends I must add, ran into me in Diagon Alley where they were on some informal business. One thing led to another and we shared a few gossips over a cup of tea while missing Florean and his ice-creams. In fact, whole Diagon Alley still looks like a ghost town with most of the shops still closed.

We eventually got around to talking about their purpose of visit to the bank and knew about the donation which they made to St. Mungo's and which is making a buzz these days. At last, they graciously agreed to give me an interview, the excerpts of which are below:

Q- So Harry, I know it is a touchy subject but can you tell us what it means growing up without parents?

A- Thank you for the question Luna. It is very hard for children to grow up without family. While other children have parents around them who keep them safe from the troubles of the world but the orphans have no one. They have to learn to tread the waters by themselves and brave whatever may come their way. If some of them are lucky, they might find a compassionate relative to take them while others may find some cruel relatives who want nothing to do with them. They would see the child as a liability and treat it a thing than a person, making them believe that they should be grateful for whatever comes their way by grace of their so called relatives.

Q- You are perhaps the most celebrated orphan in the magical world. What are your views on this, Harry?

A- (Here he actually chuckled) asking the tough questions, Luna? It may be so that I am most celebrated orphan in the wizarding world but Voldemort was also an orphan who grew up in an orphanage (here he promised that more on it would be published later). I never wanted to be the centre of attention that I always have been. When I returned to the magical world, I was happy that I was accepted as equal among my friends but I wanted nothing to do with my fame. Unluckily, my fame never left my side and every now and then, it only landed me in trouble. Being an orphan is already hard enough but it gets harder when you have a lot of expectations riding on your shoulders and you have no idea what you are supposed to do. Most of the times that I did something, half of the time I was running to save my life and the other half, I was being saved by my friends who kept sticking with me through thick and thin.

Q- It is popularly known that you lived with your muggle relatives until you started attending Hogwarts. Surely they would have loved you?

A- (Neville Longbottom spoke instead of Harry Potter answering the question for him) Harry never had a happy life with the muggles. We could see the signs of abuse that he went through with them when he arrived at Hogwarts. He lived very privately, never complained of anything and braved anything that came his way by himself. In situations where we would have given up, he held on and fought. I won't say that we all are grateful for whatever he has done for our world but at the same time, we failed him when we did not keep an eye on his living conditions from that Halloween night until he arrived at Hogwarts. Things would have been better if Harry was placed with someone who doted on him, loved him and nurtured him unlike those muggles. We hope that the children in the orphan wing would adopted by families who love children and that those children would find a purpose again in their life and would have easy lives unlike what Harry and I had.

Q- But you live with your grand-mother, don't you?

A- (Neville Longbottom) yes I live with my grand-mother but things were not easy living with her. I love her to bits and I would willingly take a killing curse meant for her but I never got loved like my parents would have loved me. Despite my parents being alive, I have lived like an orphan through my life. I know what it is like to see other children being hugged by their parents and you yearn for that parental touch, the love but you know you can't get it. I hope those children would not have to face what we have faced in our lives.

Q- I sympathise with you both while I know hollow words don't mean much. Harry surely you have parental figures in your life now? People who care for you?

A- (The boy-who-lived had such sadness in his eyes that I have never seen on him) I had many such figures through the years who have shielded me from everything that they could. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley took me in despite having 7 children of their own when I arrived at their home in the dead of night after having been rescued from the house of my relatives where I was kept imprisoned. They cared for me as their own since then and it even went as far as giving me a place in their home to stay during the holidays and they even went on to risk their lives for me during the years including fighting the recently concluded war. There was Professor Dumbledore who mentored me through the years and taught me enough so that I would be able to defeat Voldemort and live to tell the tale. It was a hard work with the ministry interfering and making it harder but he did what he could with the resources at his disposal. He kept guiding me even from the grave as we worked for bringing Voldemort's downfall. Professor McGonagall also have been very kind to me through the years and tried her best to protect me. She even duelled Severus Snape before the battle of Hogwarts began forcing him to run away. The victory at Battle of Hogwarts wouldn't have been possible without her and our losses would have been quite high. There is Hagrid who has been like an uncle to me and he has done a lot for me which can't be put in words to be described. He made living at Hogwarts a lot easier with the concern that he has for me and I can never thank him enough for it. There was Sirius Black who was my godfather and gave up his life in protecting me. There was Remus Lupin who cared for me the best way he could, his furry little problem notwithstanding.

Q- I think everyone would like to know more about your connection with Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, if you don't mind.

A- Sirius was my father's best friend during their days at Hogwarts with Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew. Their friendship went so deep that my father even named Sirius as his best man at his wedding and when I was born, Sirius was named my godfather. When my parents went into hiding, they tried to pull one on everyone and changed their secret keeper at the last moment. I don't who had performed the spell but their secret keeper was Peter Pettigrew and not Sirius Black. It was Peter who betrayed them and when Sirius cornered him, he blamed Sirius and escaped from the scene killing 13 muggles. Sirius was thrown into Azkaban without a trial by Barty Crouch Sr. who was harbouring his own death eater son in his home for 13 years before he was eventually killed by his own son. I met Sirius at the end of my third year where he forced a confession out of Peter Pettigrew who turned to be alive at that time and living as a rat. Due to some circumstances, Peter escaped before we could take him to the ministry. Later, Sirius escaped from Hogwarts and we kept in contact throughout the Triwizard Tournament when he lived near Hogsmeade to take care of me. I briefly lived with him during the summer before 5th year and at the end of 5th year, he came to save me from death eaters in the Ministry of Magic where he was killed at the hands of Bellatrix Lestrange.

Remus Lupin was also one of my father's best friends. He kept away for years because he believed that Sirius had betrayed my parents and killed Peter. Also despite being a war-hero, he was treated as a beast because he turned into a werewolf for twelve nights a year. He could not get a decent job and had to make do with what he got. When Dumbledore called him to teach at the end of our third year, he turned out to be the best defense teacher that we ever had. He kept in contact with me through the years and cared for me the best way he could. He also worked for the Order of the Phoenix and helped them in gathering information or trying to get the werewolves to remain neutral. He put his life on the line for us despite us not having done justice to him. He died fighting for us alongside his wife who was an Auror and they had a child a few months before the war ended. He was like the favourite uncle to me and his wife loved me like a little brother. I am the godfather for their son and I intend to teach him everything that they taught me. I am really thankful to the Minister who awarded him with Order of Merlin posthumously in recognition of the services that he has done to our world. I hope one day, he and Sirius will feature on the Chocolate frog cards as they once said.

Q- Many people have been wondering about Severus Snape and the things you said about him during your duel with Voldemort. Would you like to say anything about it?

A- I am afraid I can't go in detail about him for it will compromise many secrets but I will tell what I can. Severus Snape was a death eater at the start of the first war but sometime during the war, he changed sides and became a spy for Dumbledore. Dumbledore even vouched for him when the war ended and he escaped punishment. One of his chief concerns was my well-being and he stayed at Hogwarts just so he could remain near me and protect me. When Voldemort returned, he went to him as his faithful but he was a double agent. He helped our side the best he could and even gave me some very secret information just before he died with helped me bring down Voldemort permanently. It wouldn't have been possible without his help.

Q- There are many references to events that have not been told anywhere and I am sure the readers would agree that they deserve some answers. Would we get to know them later?

A- May be later, I will tell everything in detail to the world and all the questions will be answered.

Q- Do you both have any message for the wizarding world?

A- Children are precious. Treasure them. Teach them to be a good person in life and rest will follow. If I could, I would have adopted a child but being a child myself, it is not possible so I am doing the best that I can.

The interview generated much hype across the length of England. There were many questions through the years which had pervaded people's mind and most of them were answered with that interview but in turn, it raised many more questions. They could only hope that those questions would be answered at a later date.

Minerva McGonagall was never known to cry but as she read the interview, she cried unashamedly in the confines of her offices. The portraits of the headmasters watched her with concerned except Dumbledore who pretended to be asleep in his portrait. She had already written a letter to the minister asking about the three unregistered animagus. She already had a good idea about it but she just wanted to be sure about it.

Hagrid wept in his handkerchief and Grawp kept trying to console him and stop from crying. Fang licked his master's hand and looked morose with the way Hagrid was crying.

Molly Weasley had cried her eyes out after she was done reading the interview but she kept her calm and she was already preparing a feast for the evening and had instructed Arthur to bring Harry along.

When Harry met Arthur that day, Arthur told him that Molly expected him at dinner and that no excuses would be heard. Finally Harry had to relent when Arthur told him that he could bring Teddy with him. Teddy was always welcome in their household as being a part of the family even though they were not related closely. Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks had become a part of their family through the years of association with them and having put their lives on the line for their family.

The feast lasted for two hours and three course meals during which none of them allowed Harry to get near Teddy. He was kept wedged between Neville (who was there on Arthur's invitation) AND Ron who were determined to not let him near his godson. Andromeda for her part was happy with the arrangement. The Weasley women kept the child engaged between them and gave her some breathing room and it was quite funny to see Harry pouting and whining to himself about others not letting hiM near Teddy.

A/N- here is the next part. Might seem rushed to you but day by day details are not really interesting and make the story tedious. I hope you will enjoy this chapter and leave me some very lovely reviews to read.

p.s. Apart from every awesome fan out there, my heartfelt thanks to reader Ermac18 who translates this story in their language to read it for English is not their first language. I am absolutely thrilled that you are enjoying this story so much and your lovely reviews. Sé felíz siempre!