Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

The following month Harry spent studying at a dizzying pace. He was ready for his NEWTs and had managed to secure a testing slot so he could get them over with. He was just leaving the ministry after his final test-charms-to be whisked away by none other than the minister himself.

"Good afternoon, Minister. What can I do for you today?" Lucius nodded and steered him towards his office before cutting to the chase.

"Please, have a seat Mr. Potter. I'm afraid there was something I wished to bring to your attention." Harry gestured for him to continue. "It would seem that there are many within our world that are skeptical about the demise of You-Know-Who. I was curious if you would be willing to share your memories on the night for public viewing to placate them."

"I understand that very few were there to witness what had happened that day, but why is this just now becoming an issue? From what I've seen, everyone seems to have accepted it." Lucius nodded and poured them some tea.

"Ah, yes. You see, the public saw him disappear the night he gave you your infamous scar. Sure, there was talk that he would be back-he was feared that greatly. But they took Albus Dumbledore's words as blind truth. They believed him to be dead and then he returned. I'm sure you can see how they would be wary to believe that he's truly gone once more when they have not seen him die. Talk has been spreading that this is the same as it was before-that he will return one day because they have seen it happen." Harry nodded. After all, it made sense. The public had trusted blindly once before and had been put in immense danger because of it.

"Alright. But I have conditions. It's only available to the public until I'm of age, it's only going to be viewable in the Ministry's atrium as a projection so multiple people can view it at once and it will be free. If you think the populace will want to leave a donation then set up donation boxes."

The blond haired man nodded and wrote down Harry's conditions. "What sort of charity would you wish the donations to go to?"

"Are there any orphanages for magical children?" Lucius shook his head slowly.

"No, now that I think of it. It would be a good idea to have one."

"Give me a few days. I'll owl you with the donation information and the memory as soon as I get a few things squared away."

"A what? I'm sure I can't have heard you correctly. For a moment there I thought you said you wanted to open an orphanage for magical children." Severus snickered in the back of the library as Tom processed the information.

"You heard me! Look, you grew up as an orphan in the muggle world. You were stripped of any semblance of normalcy as an infant and I was beaten at the hands of my 'caretakers' because of the magic in my veins. Do you really want others to grow as we did?" This stopped Tom's impending rant in its tracks.

"No, I suppose not. I've heard the muggle world has gotten less cruel to those that are different; however, children naturally ostracize what is different. But we don't have anyone to run this orphanage of yours. And how will we maintain it? Where will it even be, I certainly don't have any properties that will be suitable for this." At this, Severus stepped forward.

"I'm sure there will be plenty of properties that belong to the Potter line that would be suitable. And I've heard that a certain red-headed matriarch is getting restless without her children at home. And with all the various laws regarding elf rights now, I'm sure we will be able to find many who wish to work but who either don't have families to serve or have been turned out for one reason or another. And there's a certain bushy-haired know-it-all who loves to push paperwork that would make a great addition."

Harry smiled, glad that his father was willing to support his endeavor.

"And even if donations stop-which I don't think will happen-I'll have much more than enough to support it until I can find a way to make it self-sufficient." Tom looked from one man to the other and smiled.

"You both seemed determined. I suppose I'll support it. You'll have to make a trip to Gringotts for a list of all the properties you've inherited." Harry beamed and held out a stack of parchment.

"I've already done that."

Choosing a location was much harder than Harry had anticipated. Only three properties were counted out as they were smaller cottages. The rest were all manors or small castles that were plenty large enough to house not only the orphans but the staff as well. Deciding he needed to come up with a better plan of attack, he created a list of must-haves for what he wanted this orphanage to be.

Must have a minimum of:

Fifty small bedrooms/nurseries (Fifteen shared bathrooms)

Ten living quarters

Adequate housing for house elves

Three large living areas

Three offices

Large kitchen for house elves to prepare food

Large kitchen for resident use

Dining hall

Garden area for vegetables, fruits and flowers

Four visiting rooms

Five bathrooms throughout non-living spaces

Once he had his list, he managed to narrow his options down to four different properties. Wildflower Manor, Seaway Castle, Meadow Estate and Sanctuaire Chateau.

"Tom? What do you think about these? They're really the only ones large enough that are within reasonable travel distance." Tom looked over his choices and handed him back the Seaway Castle paperwork.

"This one would be too cold. The North Sea is beautiful but gets incredibly bitter in the winter. And the Chateau in southern France, although having a wonderful name and reputation, is still a long way to travel for some." He handed back the parchments. "I think your best bet is either the Wildflower Manor or the Meadow Estate. They both have comparable accommodations, it looks like it's mostly your preference in architecture and the layout if location doesn't bother you."

"Location isn't a huge concern for me since Holland isn't that far away. But I'm not sure I know what these types of architecture look like. Maybe we should visit them so I can see them in person? There's only so much that descriptions can do for me." They left that afternoon to visit the two properties.

They visited the Meadow Estate first and Harry looked up in awe. The tudor styled building fit in nicely with the vast rolling hills behind it. Walking in, Harry had to remind himself to pick up his jaw. Large open spaces made up the foyer and beyond that was a simple staircase. All the wood was stained dark and the rest of the walls were cream. Simple lights hung from the ceilings.

"Well, what are your thoughts?" Tom's voice practically echoed.

"I'm not sure, to be honest. It's very plain, but definitely large enough. I'm afraid applicants would think it's too...clinical, almost."

"Yes, the tudor style can do that at times. It's very minimalistic. Although I'm sure you would find a way to decorate the place that wouldn't detract from the simplicity, it'll take time." They moved on to the Wildflower Manor in England.

What awaited them took Harry's breath away. The Jacobean style reminded him of a smaller, more intricate version of Hogwarts. He opened the doors to the foyer and gasped. Intricate designs were everywhere and made the large areas seem less cold and more cozy. The crystal chandelier glittered and they continued on to the grand staircase. As they toured the manor, Harry noticed that all of the stairways had larger platforms and were shorter in height than he was used to seeing. The lower wall trims, although just as intricate as higher trims, never seemed to have sharp edges. The only floors that had carpet were the bedrooms, although the entertaining rooms and the library all had expansive rugs that covered huge portions of the floor.

The lower level had a potions lab and a wine cellar in addition to the lower kitchens and housing for house elves. They noticed there were a few staircases leading up to the first floor, one of which lead to a secret door in one of the studies.

The general bedrooms that they would be using for the children were all on the second floor. Harry had been absolutely floored to see the amount of planning that went into the layout of the place. Some rooms were smaller, and some were larger, but most of the rooms on this floor were just big enough for two small beds and each room connected to jack-and-jill bathrooms.

At some point Tom led them upstairs to peruse the living quarters. There were twelve in total, each one with; a master bedroom-complete with a full bathroom, a smaller bedroom, a kitchenette, a half bathroom and a living room. Harry, unable to hide his excitement any longer, stopped Tom in his tracks as they started for the stairs.

"Tom, I think this is the one. This is going to be the orphanage."

"I take it you have ideas?" Harry's eyes practically sparkled with excitement.

"Oh yes, I have plenty of ideas."

Minister,

I've decided that any and all monetary donations can be collected in the enclosed container. Physical donations can be owled to the following location: Wildflower Manor. I've also enclosed the memory for viewing. Upon the moment I am of legal age, this memory will finish the current viewing and then no longer be able to be viewed. I've already owled all the major publications with further details. You can expect to be hearing about the orphanage paperwork soon.

Harry Potter

Tom smiled as he finished glossing over Harry's letter to the minister. Giving him the go ahead to send it and the charmed box directly to Lucius, he started in on his own letters to various contacts.

He started with Lucius, detailing a timeline of the orphanage and when they planned to have major steps completed as well as a request for any legal paperwork they would have to fill out for adoption. The next was to Gringotts, inquiring about opening a vault for the orphanage and what all would be needed to ensure that everything would go smoothly.

Harry Potter Starts An Orphanage!

That's right lovely readers, it has been confirmed that Harry Potter, Boy-Who-Lived, is opening an orphanage for magical children! In response to the public's unease with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's second-and final-death, Mr. Potter agreed to allow the general populace to view his memory of the occasion to put your mind at ease. The memory can be viewed, for free, within the Ministry of Magic's Atrium. Next to this projected memory, which plays upon request, is a donations box for the orphanage. Here's what the plaque reads:

Monetary donations to Salutem Orphanage can be received here. Item donations can be sent to Wildflower Manor.

Harry Potter himself has reached out to us here at The Daily Prophet to spread the word about his orphanage.

"Salutem Orphanage is scheduled to be opening December first of next year. All magical children will be welcome. It's our goal to be open before then, I'll keep you updated if the opening of the orphanage happens sooner. All ages are welcome, and a live-in healer will be available for a wide variety of services such as pregnancy checks for mothers who have decided upon adoption and surrogacy and births as well as the normal duties of healing the residents around the clock. Both magical and muggle ways will be taught as the children grow to give them a solid ground to stand on once they are old enough for Hogwarts. While I'm encouraging applicants to apply, I will not be responding to these applications until next year. Of course, donations are always welcome." When asked about the adoption process, Mr. Potter simply had this to say:

"Since Salutem [Orphanage] is the first magical orphanage, we are working with the ministry to form regulations and standards. I haven't been concerned about the adoption fees yet, and more about the adoption process itself. Since we'll be working closely with the ministry, I've insisted that we focus on paying attention to children who live with family as well. Children who are living in abusive households should be removed from the situation and taken to where they will be looked after properly; sadly, situations like this are often overlooked as there is nowhere to put these kids. I hope to remedy that concern so the ministry will be able to step in if necessary."

Mr. Potter plans on having more updates for us in the coming new year.

A red envelope landed in Harry's lap about an hour after the Prophet had released. Before he could process what was happening, Hermione's voice rang out across the house.

"HARRY JAMES POTTER! OPENING AN ORPHANAGE WITHOUT TALKING TO US FIRST?! WHAT IN MERLIN'S NAME WERE YOU THINKING BY NOT TELLING US FIRST? I'M EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTED IN YOU, YOUNG MAN! RONALD AND I WILL BE EXPECTING YOUR FATHER TO BRING US TO YOU ON THE HOLIDAY BREAK SO I CAN WRING YOUR NECK PERSONALLY FOR KEEPING SECRETS!"

The letter burst into flame and the ash landed in a neat pile on the coffee table in front of him.

"Did you forget to send her letter the day before you went to talk to the press?" Harry blushed a vibrant red.

"Yeah...I sent them out at the same time but it looks like her letter is taking a bit longer than I expected to arrive to her." At this, an irritated Hedwig flew through the window and landed on his leg with a letter attached to her foot. "Hey lovely, there's water and snacks waiting for you by your perch." She hooted gratefully and took off once he remove the letter.

Harry,

I'm so sorry for the howler you just received as Hedwig appeared just after I had sent it. I'm so excited you're opening an orphanage! Are you going to need help with the paperwork and legalities? I've been wondering what I'd really want to do, as politics don't appeal to me they way they used to. I'd love to have a future with the orphanage! And I'm sure Mrs. Weasley will want to help-she's got the empty nest syndrome pretty badly now that Ron and Ginny are almost done with school. And Madame Pomfrey has a niece who will be finishing her mastery in healing this spring. Oh, I'm so excited to help you with this! I still expect Professor Snape to be picking up Ron and I for at least a day during the holiday break.

Love,

Hermione

Harry shook his head and smiled. It wasn't like her to stop going to school early, but knowing her she had learned all of the NEWT level work anyway. Ron would likely continue school as normal before deciding what he wanted to do as a career. He couldn't believe it, but it looked like he was going to be overwhelmed with help rather than overwhelmed with work.