The memorial was set to take place at the grounds near the lake, where unknown to Harry, Hagrid and Professor Flitwick had been levitating and sculpting various pieces of rubble to make a pyramid, which was an ancient symbol of good's victory over evil. Each of the three sides of the pyramid had been divided into smaller rectangles, onto which the names of those who had perished during the battle were to be carved by their next of kin. Around the pyramid in a circle were the headstones of Fred, Remus, Tonks, Colin and the others where a small message was going to be etched in their honour. Harry had already talked to Professor McGonagall about having Professor Snape's name there as well, considering the contributions he had made by being the spy and the number of times he had helped save Harry's life, starting from that first Quidditch match.
About two hundred seats were lined up facing the memorial, beside which a temporary dais had been set up. Kingsley, Professor McGonagall and the small wizard who had officiated at Dumbledore's funeral stood on it when Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny made their way to the grounds.
As Harry looked at the people who had assembled, he noticed that nearly everyone there had lost at least one loved one during the battle. He could not help but think that if he had been a little more decisive, he could have prevented a lot of their deaths. As Harry looked through the crowd for the Weasleys, he spotter Andromeda Tonks sitting near them, his godson Teddy Lupin cradled in her arms. She looked extremely harried, like she hadn't slept for days at end. Grabbing Ginny's arm, he made his way towards the grandmother- godson pair.
"To what do I owe the pleasure of getting to meet Harry Potter and his girlfriend" asked Mrs Tonks with a smile on her face.
"Well..uh..um if you weren't aware Mrs Tonks, Remus made me Teddy's godfather when he came to announce his birth at Shell Cottage." Harry replied hesitantly.
"I'm well aware of that young fellow me lad. Here, hold your godson. And no calling me Mrs Tonks. I think we will be getting to know each other fairly well in the years to come, so, please just call me Andromeda" she said, nothing about her revealing that she was actually Bellatrix Lestrange's sister.
When Andromeda handed Teddy to Harry, he was hesitant to hold him at first, but after she had showed him the correct way to hold a baby, he took him in his arms and said softly to him "Hey Teddy. I'm your godfather, Harry. You and I are going to have some very fun times together, I promise you. I'll buy you your first broomstick and everything. Your parents were wonderful people, Teddy, but just like me, you got to spend very little time with them. But unlike me, you'll be surrounded by people who love you, so hopefully you won't miss them as much. I promise to tell you about them when you're older". Tears sprung to his eyes as he looked at Teddy open his eyes upon hearing his voice. Looking at Harry, he smiled a toothless grin before changing his hair colour to Harry's jet black and his eye colour to green.
Looking at that, Ginny exclaimed, "Awwh he looks so cute! Come on let me hold him". Hearing the glee in her voice, Harry wordlessly handed over Teddy into Ginny's outstretched arms. She immediately began to lightly tickle Teddy's stomach, causing him to giggle and turn his hair red and eyes brown.
"Looks like he likes you, Ginny. And I must say, he has an excellent choice in women" said Harry with a laugh.
"Alright you two. The memorial is about to begin, so go find your seats and you can help me change Teddy's nappies later" said Andromeda, a smirk appearing on her face at the looks on Harry and Ginny's faces.
"Before we leave, Mrs… Andromeda, if you ever need anything, be it gold or babysitting services, don't hesitate to ask. And when he gets a bit older, maybe I could take him for the weekends. I haven't gotten to play with wizarding toys, so the both of us should have a lot of fun discovering them together" said Harry before leaning in to give both Teddy and Andromeda a hug.
"Of course Harry. And don't worry about gold. I think my husband left me more than enough to take care of Teddy"
That being said, Harry and Ginny quickly made their way to their seats beside Ron and Hermione just as the small wizard stood up on the dais to address the crowd.
"Today, we are gathered here to celebrate our victory against Lord Voldemort. But before we do that, we must not forget what we lost in order for this war to be won. We have lost many people, and today we honour their memory, in hopes that their sacrifice will never be forgotten and so that we live our lives following their examples of self-sacrifice and bravery."
With that, the small wizard pulled out a piece of parchment and began to read the names of those who had died during the battle. Their next of kin would come up, often with two people at their side, and carve their names onto the pyramid. Then, they would carve their name onto the headstone, followed by a small message. By the time they returned to their seats, they were often in tears and as more and more names were read, more and more sobs were heard throughout the grounds, and a sombre atmosphere began to take place.
"Remus John Lupin" called out the wizard.
Harry stood up without hesitation and began to make his way towards the pyramid, at his side both Ginny and Andromeda. Although he looked calm on the outside, his mind was being flooded with the excellent memories of Remus teaching him how to conjure a patronus, that night in the Shrieking Shack, how he had taken the time to comfort Harry after Sirius' death and many, many others. Tears soon started flooding down his cheeks as he approached the pyramid and took out his wand to etch Remus' name. He was only able to make it to the 'J' before his hand started to waver, but before it could fall, Ginny grabbed his wrist and helped him to finish writing his name. She also had tears running down her cheeks as the trio made their way to the headstone with Remus' name. Harry stopped to think about what would be a fitting tribute to Remus, and the solution was so easy he was surprised he hadn't thought of it before. As Harry made his way back to his seat, the headstone said, Moony, with a furry little problem.
Tonks' name was next to be called out, and Andromeda made her way back to the pyramid to write Tonks' name, Mr and Mrs Weasley supporting her. When at the headstone, Andromeda crouched down and wrote, Nymphadora Tonks, who prefers to be known by her surname only.
Fred's name was the last to be called out, and George stood up with his arms around Bill and Charlie. Tears were streaming down their faces, and nobody could imagine how George felt. Fred and George were joined at the hip since birth, and were virtually inseparable. When he reached the pyramid and started etching his name, he faltered ant the first 'e', but Bill and Charlie were there to help him get through it before they made their way to his headstone. George had already decided what he was going to write and as the officiating wizard began his closing speech, all that Fred's headstone said was Mischief Managed.
During this whole time, Harry had never relinquished his grip on Ginny's hand, and when Fred's name was called out, she buried her face in his shoulder and started to sob uncontrollably. He did what he could to comfort her, murmuring soft words of comfort in her ear and stroking her back and hair while planting soft kisses on her cheeks and lips.
A similar situation was going on beside the couple, but in this case, Hermione was the one comforting Ron as he grieved the loss of his brother. He was trying to be strong, but that didn't stop the steady stream of tears that were flowing down his cheeks. Hermione was also crying, but at the same time she was trying to comfort Ron by whispering in his ear and offering her shoulder for him to lean on.
Once the small wizard had finished his closing remarks, he raised his wand to put a number of spells to protect the memorial from destruction. Once he was done, he took his seat and Kingsley took his place at the centre of the dais to start speaking.
"As we mourn our dead and celebrate our victory today, let us not forget the people who have made this possible. So today, the Ministry of Magic would like to honour those who were essential in making this possible."
As Harry heard those words he realised that he was going to be honoured, praised and applauded. And this made him sick to the stomach. As he was about to stand up to leave, Ginny placed a hand on his shoulder and forced him to sit down before whispering, "They want to honour you because you helped them Harry. Accept the fact that you have done a great service to the Wizarding World. Take this as a way for it to thank you. It'll be considered disrespectful if you leave now".
Grudgingly, Harry sat back down and listened as Kingsley mentioned how the DA formed the core of the army that had battled against the Death Eaters, and how they opposed the rule of the Carrows during the past nine months. Hearing that, Harry could not help but feel a sense of pride in his friends as they went up to receive their Order of Merlin, Third Class.
"Next, we would like to award Order of Merlin, Second Class to the three members of the DA whole led them in their fight against the Death Eaters in the absence of the original leaders. I am, of course, talking about Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood, and Ginny Weasley. Will the three of you please come up to receive your medals."
Before Ginny stood up, she turned around to give Harry a huge kiss on the lips, her face beaming with pride and her eyes alit with the enthusiasm that had first drawn Harry to her. As Harry stood up to applaud her, he could hear Mrs Weasley crying behind him, but this time he knew that they were tears of a mother's love and pride for her daughter.
Once the trio had made their way back to their seats, Kingsley's deep voice once again boomed over the crowd. "And last, but not least, I would like to thank the three people that made this all possible, risking their lives for the past three months on the run while trying to defeat Voldemort, had it not been for these three, we would not be standing here today. I am of course talking to you about Ms Hermione Granger, Mr Ron Weasley and Mr Harry Potter".
When their names were announced, a great roar went up as the grounds of Hogwarts were filled with sounds of everybody applauding. The three of them were extremely red- faced as they began to walk towards the dais to receive their Order of Merlin's, First Class. Harry shook hands with Kingsley after he had pinned the badge on his robe and he heard a chant of "Speech, speech, speech" go up around the crowd. Ron and Hermione immediately stepped backward, thinking that this was Harry's moment of glory, but he pulled the two of them back to either side of him anyways before speaking.
"Before I say anything, I would like for all of you to know that Ron and Hermione had as big a role to play in helping defeat Voldemort as I did. Without them, I would not have even survived for a day on the run. Ron was the glue that kept us together, always lightening the mood with his sarcasm. He also had a different way of looking at things that helped us out of many tight spots. Hermione was the brains behind the mission, and without her knowledge of, well, everything, we would probably have been caught very soon. So first of all I want to thank the two of you and everybody else that participated during the battle for your courage and sacrifice. But now, we must make sure that a villain like Voldemort doesn't rise again. Why did the Hogwarts going Tom Riddle become Lord Voldemort? That was because his whole life, he had been devoid of love. He was the product of a witch who had fallen in love with a muggle and bewitched him such that he would return her love. In the end, when Tom Riddle Sr. found out the truth about his relationship with his wife he ran off, leaving her to give birth to who we now know as Lord Voldemort, and dying in the process. What do you think would have happened if instead of growing up in an orphanage devoid of love, Tom had grown up in a family that cared for him and who he was? Professor Dumbledore once told me that I had a weapon Voldemort did not. It was love. I did not believe him at first, but now I think that moving forward if we love our fellow wizard or witch, not taking into consideration blood or financial status, it will be very difficult for the likes of Tom Riddle to rise again."
As Harry finished his applause erupted again, punctuated by a few wolf whistles from Seamus and Dean and everyone started to make their way back to the Great Hall for dinner. However, before Harry could follow the crowd, Kingsley and Professor McGonagall stopped them and he said "If you did not know, I have been appointed Temporary Minister of Magic. The reporters have been banging at our door for a press conference, so I would like to discuss with the three of you which parts of the story you want released to the public. I would also like to talk about a few other things, so is it okay to ask you to follow me to the Head's office?"
While Kingsley was talking, Harry kept glancing back to see if he could catch Ginny's eye, and heaved a sigh when he saw the smile playing on her lips.
"Harry?" Ron said bringing him back to reality.
"Yeah, sure. Is it ok if Ginny comes?" asked Harry tentatively.
"Sure"
Hearing the affirmation, Harry practically ran to Ginny and asked her to follow him to the Head's office, explaining everything on the way.
When they stopped at the stone gargoyle outside the office, Professor McGonagall said "Lemon drop" and the gargoyle groaned open to reveal the spiral staircase. Once inside, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny sat on one side of the table while Kingsley and Professor McGonagall sat on the other side.
Hermione was the first to speak and said "I don't think it would be wise to reveal anything about the Hallows, or our visit to see Xenophilius Lovegood. We should also leave out the part where Ron.. um.. leaves"
"But many of the reporters saw him at Shell Cottage, and wandering about. I know the two of you have forgiven him, but we have to say something" replied Kingsley, everyone in the room clearly sensing Ron's discomfort.
Putting a hand on his best mate's shoulder, Harry said "We can just tell them that we sent him out to find out how his family was doing, and after that he couldn't find us because we had to keep moving".
"That'll work. So, anything else you want to exclude?" asked Kingsley.
"Nothing in detail about the horcruxes bit, I reckon. We don't want anybody getting any ideas now, do we?" said Ron nonchalantly.
"Right. I'll draft up a press release, so you people don't have to do a press conference until sometime later"
"We still have to do it though?" asked Ginny, knowing Harry's dislike for reporters.
"It's not something we can cancel, but we can push it back Miss Weasley" said Professor McGonagall, a slight grin on her normally serious face. Harry shrugged at her response, thinking later is better than now.
"Ok, secondly, I need your help. The Ministry is extremely understaffed at the moment, especially the Aurors department. I really need you two to come in as soon as possible, and that may mean not taking your NEWts. I know you were reluctant, but most of the Death Eaters escaped before we could capture them, and I do not know anyone with a better knowledge of them than you. I really need your help" said Kingsley, a pleading tone in his voice.
"Don't you think they've helped enough?" asked Ginny, not wanting to spend another year away from Harry. Harry on the other hand was feeling angry at the fact that all the Death Eaters had escaped. But before he could ask the question, Ron jumped in and asked it for him "How could you not have captured the Death Eaters? They were right there!" shouted Ron, clearly agitated at the fact that the people who had caused Fred's death and Hermione's torture were on the loose.
"Please lower your voice Mr Weasley. The Aurors could not arrive in time to make the arrests, and we were all a little tired to do it ourselves"
"All the more reason to join as soon as possible" whispered Harry.
"ARE YOU MAD! WE JUST SPENT A YEAR APART AND NOW YOU WANT TO GO RUN OFF WITH THE AURORS?" screamed Ginny, before stomping off out of the Head's office.
"Well, aren't you going to go after her?" asked Hermione.
"Yeah. But whatever happens Kingsley, I'll be joining the Aurors on September 2nd, and you can send whatever training manuals you have to the Burrow. Ron and I will try to go over most of them by the time we start. Between then and now, if you need our help, don't hesitate to ask, but I won't be going on any missions"
"Same here" said Ron.
And don't worry Mr Potter, special arrangements will be made so that you and Mr Weasley may visit your girlfriends at school. It's the least we can do" said Professor McGonagall, the smile more visible on her face
With that done, Harry rushed out of the office to try and placate his girlfriend, not knowing whether she would listen to reason. In his head, he was already forming a plan about how he could be with Ginny and still join the Aurors.