"No, you don't. Minerva came through, the Ministry have announced Harry sentence and what's involved in it. She's asking us, you and me, to tell everyone here about it and maybe answer some questions."

"The Great Hall?"

"Yes." Kingsley nodded.

"When?"

"As soon as we can. Dinner is in an hour, if we can get it over with by then, that would be good."

"Alright. Let's go tell the masses what their saviour is going to do." Hermione sneered.

"We're not mentioning those going in the trunk, are we?"

"No, the public doesn't need to know." Hermione agreed.

Hermione stayed at Kingsley's side as they entered the Great Hall and walked down the centre of the crowded space, ignoring Ron and his family's calls to join them. Up onto the small platform that usually held the staff table but was now just another rubble laden area of the Hall.

"Your attention please." McGonagall used a sonorous charm to amplify her voice. "You've all seen the notice put out by the Ministry this evening. And I know that many of you have questions. I've asked Kingsley Shacklebolt and Hermione Granger, who were present during the proceedings, to give us what additional information they can and if possible, to answer some of your questions. Kingsley, Hermione?"

"Thank you, Professor McGonagall." Kingsley's deep voice filled the Hall. "I've read the Prophet's article and it's quite accurate… for a change. So, I won't go into what happened, instead I'll try and explain how it happened and what that means for you, for Harry and for our future."

"Thank you, Kingsley." McGonagall nodded.

"Because the previous Minister died in battle, even though he was under the imperius curse, this caused the Ministry to fall under Mordred's Law. The problem there was that, under Mordred's Law, no new Minister could be named until all outstanding Class One warrants must be finalised. And Harry's was the only one."

Someone shouted that the warrant should have been invalid because you-know-who had ordered it, that Harry had been the victim.

"Personally, I agree." Kingsley said. "But it wasn't up to me, it had been officially issued by the Wizengamot and has to be dealt with by them. The good thing about Mordred's Law is that when sitting in judgement under it, the Wizengamot members are placed under a special set of memory charms. Under those charms, they had no idea who Harry was, they wouldn't remember his name or ever having heard it before. They have to judge him solely on the evidence provided. And unfortunately, there's quite a bit of it. He was involved in two attacks on the Ministry and in the death of a number of people. Yes, they were to thwart you-know-who, but they still happened."

"He lost." Hermione stood beside Kingsley. "There were so many things that we did during the war... things that might have had to be done to get rid of you-know-who, but we still did them. The Wizengamot gave Harry his choice out of three sentences. Life imprisonment. Life in Exile. Or go through the Veil." The hall went silent.

"Life imprisonment, he discarded that instantly." Kingsley said. "He'd seen what that did to people."

"Life in Exile, he considered. But as a part of it would be binding his core and locking away his memories, he couldn't stand that." Hermione went on.

"He chose the Veil. He'll keep his memories, his magic and his possessions." Kingsley said. "This makes things complicated, for Harry and for the Ministry. Albus Dumbledore sealed James and Lily Potter's Wills and placed himself as Harry's guardian, but legally... he wasn't. The Ministry, Gringotts and Harry now have to sort out the estate of Harry's parents, his godfather and he was also named as executor of Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks-Lupin's Wills. Gringotts have to audit and ratify everything that has Harry's name attached to it or any business that he's a shareholder in. That's going to take time."

"As a result of this," Hermione said, "Harry's sentence won't happen for a while, the exact time is undetermined, as yet. It depends on the Department of Mysteries' investigation."

"While he waits, Harry's being given some leniencies, but there are certain things that are standard procedure. From the moment the sentence was decided on, until it is enacted, Harry will remain under Auror guard, he'll wear a protection cuff with his Auror guard wearing the other, this will limit him to not being able to go more than six feet from his guard before he'll be portkeyed back to the Ministry, if that happens, he may lose that privilege altogether. As with all convicts, he'll be given a sterility potion, these are reapplied each year. He will be allowed a maximum of three hours per day outside the Ministry." It was actually four hours, but they felt that having that extra hour, that no-one knew about might come in handy, when it came time for Harry to face the public. "He will not be permitted to eat or drink outside the DMLE, unless the food or drinks have been tested by his Auror guard. And he'll wear a spell redirection cuff, to ensure that he's safe from stray curses and the like." Kingsley went on.

The silence was… loud.

"And that's where he is now." Hermione sighed.

"Questions?" Kingsley asked.

"The Veil of Death? Won't that kill him?" Molly whispered. And even though she whispered, the Hall was so quiet that everyone heard her.

"The Unspeakables don't call it the Veil of death, they call it the Veil of Judgement. They believe it was created to judge a person when the Wizengamot weren't able to reach a verdict." Hermione paraphrased the description Croaker had given her after they'd left Harry. "Depending on its judgement, he'll be set somewhere else."

"Where will the veil take him?" Someone yelled from the back of the Hall.

"That's unknown at this time, but there's a strong possibility that it will be to either a parallel world or to an alternate universe, the DoM are still investigating that." Kingsley answered.

"It's a part of why his sentence won't start for a while, they need more information. Until they get it, he's staying in an interview room in the DMLE." Hermione added.

"You said Gringotts are involved in sorting out the Potter estate, what will happen to the properties?" An older man asked.

"I'd guess, and this is just a guess, because nothing has been finalised... that he'll either give them to friends or get the goblins to sell them and use the money to fund the rebuilding of Hogwarts. It hasn't really been discussed in depth, until the goblins know exactly what he has in the way of assets, those type of plans are pointless." Hermione answered.

"Is he allowed visitors?" A woman asked.

"He is, but all visitors have to abide by the standard DMLE visitation rules. No food, no potions, no charms, no portkeys, no wands, no privacy. Not while waiting for his sentence to start." Kingsley answered. "He'll have an Auror guard with him twenty-four hours a day."

There was a smattering of disappointed mutters from a lot of people.

"What is he taking with him?" A young boy wearing Hufflepuff robes asked.

"At this point we don't know, not really. Definitely a trunk with clothes, books, a tent, potions, food and money. After that? I don't know, we haven't got that far. We've only known about this for… what? A few hours? Three? Maybe less? Give us a few more days and we'll have a better idea." Kingsley replied.

"Which brings us to a point. The things on Harry's list are fairly evenly split between muggle-based and wizarding. I won't have time to get them all, so I'm hoping that some of you will help out with some shopping, you'll be paid for your time, of course. If you're interested, put your names in the box outside the Headmaster's… sorry, Headmistress' office and I'll try and get to each of you."

"Headmaster's office." McGonagall corrected. "I'm retiring, my health hasn't been good since… for the last few years and the healers from St. Mungo's have recommended that I not continue teaching. It's time to be with my family. Professor Flitwick will be the new Headmaster but... with a pair of administrative assistants to help with the parchmentwork, he'll still be teaching charms. Angelina Cole has been asked to join the staff as the Muggle Studies Professor and head of Gryffindor house. Chester Davies will be taking the transfiguration post and will be the new head of Ravenclaw. I will remain until mid-June and have agreed to assist Miss Granger in preparing for Mr Potter's… sentence. After which I will be travelling with Miss Granger as she leaves to be with her family."

"How is Harry?" Oliver Wood asked.

"Tired, mostly." Hermione sighed. "He's been seen by a healer and while he has a lot of injuries, few of them are from the war, most are unhealed or poorly healed injuries from his family and his earlier years here. Madam Pomfrey did the best she could but keeping Harry alive was often more important than a badly healed injury, sustained during the summer. As a result, St. Mungo's are going to have vanish and regrow a number of his bones and nerves. His eyesight will be repaired, and curse-breakers will be called in to assist in the removal of curse-inflicted scars."

"Until St. Mungo's are through with their treatments, Harry won't be leaving the DMLE's hospital wing. That could be as far away as two weeks." Kingsley's comment brought gasps of shock. Most injuries could be healed in a matter of hours, so two weeks of healers, only emphasised the severity of Harry's condition.

"Can gifts be sent to him?" Cho Chang asked. "We should be thanking him for freeing us."

"You can, but all gifts would have to pass a screening process. For the moment, the goblins are handling all correspondence to Harry. You can send anything via Gringotts, but a warning… Any items that hold harmful charms, jinxes, hexes, curses or potions will be given to the DMLE and charges will be laid. Don't even bother trying, because they just won't get to Harry and you'll end up in a holding cell of your own." Kingsley answered.

There were a few of the younger girls who's shoulders slumped. Ginny Weasley looked like she was about to burst into tears and Molly was no better.

"Is Harry the reason why, you told me not to decide anything about the shop?" George asked.

"Yes, George. Harry gave you the start-up gold and you named him as a silent partner. That's put your shop under observation, along with everything else that Harry's connected to." Kingsley nodded.

"When will that be resolved, do you think?" Percy asked officiously.

"It could be a week, it could be a month, it could take until the day before Harry enters the veil. We don't know. The goblins are working on it, but they have to consult with Harry and everyone else that's named." Kingsley said.

"Will George and I meeting with Harry, bring that forward?" Percy asked.

"No, for two reasons." Kingsley squared his jaw. "One, as of the close of business yesterday, your name was not listed on the shop's papers, so you won't be involved in whatever discussion happens. Two, Gringotts have to work their way through all items in chronological order, from the day Harry's parents died. The shop is going to be one of the last items to be assessed. I'm sorry, that just how it's going to be, the older items have influenced many newer items and that has to be taken into consideration."

Percy nodded sharply and proceeded to stalk his way out of the Hall.

"I think that's enough for tonight." Professor Flitwick called out. "I would ask Auror Shacklebolt and Miss Granger to keep us up to date on Mr Potter's progress. If anyone has new questions, I'll put a box here in the Hall, clearly labelled 'Potter questions' and a noticeboard where answers can be posted, as we find them out. For now, let us eat and retire for the night, the next few weeks are going to be quite stressful. Staff, I would ask to meet me in the staffroom so that we can work out what will happen in relation to classes and exams." The tiny Professor clapped his hands and tables began to rearrange themselves.

Barely had a table came to halt, when platters of food appeared, piles of clean plates at intervals along the tables. Benches righted themselves and skidded across the flagstone floor to form small groups.

"I suggest that people prepare themselves a plate and find somewhere to sit. The house elves assure me that there is ample for us all." Flitwick added.

"Hermione?" Ron nudged her. "We're going back to the new Burrow. Get your stuff and meet us in the Entrance Hall."

"I'm staying here, Ron." Hermione sighed tiredly.

"No, you're coming with us." Ron objected.

"No, Ronald, I'm not. I am staying here, in Hogwarts." Hermione said clearly.

"Hermione…?" Ron wasn't sure what she meant.

"No." Hermione stood up and moved away. "No, Ronald, no. I am not going with you, I am not going to stay with your family, I am not going to let you tell me what to do."

"But… you kissed me… you're my girlfriend… that's what happens, boyfriends tell girlfriends what to do…" Ron looked at her in confusion.

"Really? So, Ginny's boyfriends are allowed to tell her where she's going to live, are they?" Hermione looked at the angry looks on a number of girls' faces. "No, Ronald that's not how it works. Boyfriends should respect their girlfriends and their choices. But irrespective of that, I am not your girlfriend. I kissed you, so what? You've not asked and quite bluntly, I have no interest in being a trophy girlfriend and that is all you want, at present. And right now? I don't have time for a boyfriend. I have a brother to see to and parents to find. Maybe later, but definitely not now." With that Hermione stalked away.

In the battered remains of the Gryffindor common room, Hermione found Angelina, Alicia and Lee, holding a lethargic George.

"Excellent, you're all here, I need to speak to you four." Hermione stomped over to them and cast a strong privacy ward. "I need your help."

"George needs us more." Lee cut her off.

"Actually, this is bigger than me or George. There were survivors from last night, but if the Ministry finds out about them, they'll be executed." Hermione replied candidly. "Five students were attacked by werewolves, Madam Pomfrey doesn't know if they've been turned, it's too early for it to register on the testing charms. In addition to them, there's a number of muggleborn orphans and you know what Umbridge has done about them."

Alicia looked at Hermione. "So, how can we help? What do you expect us to do?"

"The trunk going with Harry? McGonagall, Pomfrey and Kingsley want me to make it liveable with pocket-spaces and send the at endangered students with Harry. Kingsley also said that he didn't want Harry to know, as he would try to fight for them and that would just make things worse." Hermione answered.

"Who're you talking about?" Lee frowned.

"The Creevey brothers, Colin survived, but was attacked, both are muggleborn and now orphans thanks to the Death-Eaters." Hermione started. "Same with Natalie McDonald and Katie. Lavender and Parvati might be purebloods, but that won't save them, not after Greyback bit them both. They'd be dead within minutes of the Ministry knowing about them. Then there's the muggleborns and muggle-raised. Euan Abercrombie, Justin Finch-Fletchly, Dean, Seamus and you three. Umbridge would have your wands snapped, your cores bound, and your memories removed within hours. The only options are getting you out of the country and with the way the Ministry is right now? That's not easy." Hermione sighed. "And Padma? Her sister is… possibly… a werewolf. As far as the Ministry is concerned, her reputation is gone."

Lee looked at her in shock. "Bloody hell…"

"Exactly. And that's not all of the survivors, I can't name the others, not without their permission, but all up? Not including you three, there's at least fifteen people to hide and that's likely to increase. We just don't have the resources to hide them, get them new identities, get them out of the country and set them up. Well, we have the finances, but not the manpower. We need help. Most of those involved are students and thanks to the Death-Eaters, they have nothing but what is here at the school. The DoM are fairly confident that where Harry's going to end up, identification is not going to be an issue, why that is, they haven't told me. If they stay here, it's going to be a nightmare to deal with. Trying to create new Ids in other countries is going to have to involve other governments and that will alert ours and that will put the students at even more risk. No, sending them with Harry is the easiest option. The Ministry won't act until he's no longer a threat, so we have a little breathing room but once Harry's gone...? If you're not going with him, your time is running out."

Alicia tilted her head. "Yeah, you might be right."

"But each person needs so much." Hermione warned. "Some of them we can smuggle into the muggle world and they'll be fine to do their own shopping, but some are too badly injured. I need shoppers, in the wizarding world and in the muggle world. Will you help?"

"I want to go with Harry." George whispered. Lee, Angelina and Alicia all gasped. "No." He held up a hand. "No, let me finish. Fred's… Fred's… and mum's already trying to get me to sign over the shop. Percy's already trying to change it. Ron's whining about me not giving him products, Ginny wants a job, but doesn't want to put in the hours. They've gone back home and not one of them has realised that I'm up here and not with them."

"Bill and Charlie did, but they felt that we would be more comfort, than the rest of the family." Angelina sneered the last word.

"Alright, George. I'm not going to try and talk you out of it, because I don't think you should stay here. I'm not. I've followed Harry since Halloween of our first year and I'm not about to stop now." Hermione shook her head.

"Of course, you're not." Alicia snorted. "We could have told you that."

"You'd never leave your brother to fend for himself." Lee added.

"And we all know that you see Harry as a brother." Angelina said.

"What should I do about the shop?" George asked.

"Get a product listing and pack up half the stock, empty out the vault, all except for enough to keep the shop running for the next six weeks. The Unspeakables are recommending that we buy everything we could possibly need and convert anything we have left to gold and gems. Ingots, jewellery, cut stones. No actual money, wizarding or muggle." Hermione answered. "Let Molly think that you're coming around to their way of thinking, that running the shop without Fred is too much. Then the day before Harry enters the veil, empty the vaults, again and sign the papers. Let them have the shop, you know they'll go belly up, very quick, none of them have your skills with pranks."

"If George's going, so are we." Lee point to Angelina, Alicia and back to himself.

"That's fine. But you're going to have to help, I can't do this alone." Hermione agreed.

"Should we talk to Bill and Charlie?" George asked.

"Only if you can do it, in such a way that no-one else can overhear." Hermione warned. "It might be better to leave that to me or Kingsley. We need to speak to Bill about Ollivander, anyway. Harry's going to need new wands and because the chances are, he'll never be anywhere that he can get a replacement, he needs backups."

"Can we get new wands, too?" Lee asked. "The muggleborn registry took mine and while I've got my dads', it doesn't like me much."

"We can do that." Hermione nodded.

"What are we going to tell people?" Angelina asked.

"We'll just tell them that you're my primary shoppers and that you're using it as a way to keep George occupied and stop him from moping." Hermione smiled. "That way we can plan in public and people will think that we're planning on Harry's behalf."

"Why weren't you sorted into Slytherin?" Lee asked, tilting his head in curiosity.

"Muggleborn…" Hermione reminded him.

"Huh... yeah, I forgot." He muttered.

"Trust me, I didn't." Hermione huffed.

"Alright, where do we start?" Angelina asked.

Hermione grinned and dropped the privacy charm. "We start at the beginning. I know that Harry needs clothes, but… St. Mungo's are still working on him, they think that with proper healing, he should be taller and broader."

"Why didn't Madam Pomfrey pick up on his condition?" Alicia asked.

"She did, she says she even reported it to Dumbledore, filled out all the appropriate forms, but nothing ever came of it. She sent requests for permission to treat him, buy nothing was ever sent back. Now, she believes that Dumbledore may have been stalling her. If Harry had gone to St. Mungo's, the Ministry would have been notified, which would have alerted the Death-Eaters. Like I said in the Great Hall, keeping Harry alive was more important than repairing an old injury."

"So, clothes aren't first on the list." Alicia huffed.

"No, not yet." Hermione agreed.

"Look we'll make some notes. You go and talk to… some of the others, see if you can get a few more helping. Longbottom can put together a greenhouse, Harry may not have access to potions and ingredients if he doesn't take them with him." Angelina said.

"Thanks, guys." Hermione left the common room in search of Neville and Luna.