A/N Hope you like this chapter, might be a bit short I don't know yet. If it is short I apologise a lot!!
Thanks to reviewers:
SierraPotter Thanks for your review, I know with Dead it's weird, but I seem to remember her being out with him for a time in one of the books, so I thought it would be a strange little plot!
Kitkat Sorry if you don't like don't read!
Kp I'm glad the wait won't stop you from reading; I've got loads of schoolwork at the moment that's why this chapter has also taken such a long time, I'm really sorry about that by the way! And thanks for saying you liked the chapter.
Glory
Potter's Story of
Life and Death:
Revealed at Last!
Harry Potter, the Boy who lived, has come forward today, on the 5th of May, to finally reveal to the Wizarding world what happened at the start of April.
Potter, aged seventeen, has requested an interview with Mr Andrew Finch, the head editor and reporter of the Daily Prophet, to discuss the events that happened back in April. 'Firstly, Mr Potter, I'd like to thank you on behalf of the whole Wizarding community for proposing an interview,' Mr Finch said before interviewing. Potter, who was perhaps a little paler and a little thinner than we remember him, smiled weakly and nodded for the interview to begin.
Mr Potter, I'm sure you can guess what my first question will be; but tedious as it is, the world needs reassurance that their suspicions are correct. Have you forever vanquished, that is to say, killed, you-know-who?
Yes.
You are saying Mr Potter, that Lord Voldemort, the most evil Wizard ever known, is dead, forever?
Yes.
Well, this news shall bring joy to the Wizarding community, and even some out of it. Are you aware of what date you managed this great task?
It was the fourth of April.
Did you have any witnesses to the death?
Yeah, there were a few Death Eaters, about six I think.
Do you know or remember any of the Death Eaters names?
I can't really remember actually. I was so focused on Voldemort that I didn't really pay attention. My friends would know though, they fought them, held them back for me while I battled Voldemort. I think Lucious Malfoy was there, and someone McNair, Bellatrix Lestrange – she must have been there…
Thank you Mr Potter. But you mentioned friends, who were they? And why did they end up going with you?
Well, my friends are the whole reason that Voldemort is dead. When he was alive, he invaded my mind in my dreams. I saw him torturing people, but he hadn't ever started doing it. On that day in April, Ron, Hermione and I were in Hogsmede, and I could tell what Voldemort's feelings were. He was really happy about something, and I got really happy. Then it was like he put me under the Imperius curse and I dragged Ron and Hermione off into a small forest type of thing. And then…
This Ron and Hermione, they are your best friends?
Yeah, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. They've been my best friends since my first year at Hogwarts.
And they never stopped being friends with you because of your, shall we say, situation?
No, laughs they'd never do that to me. When things got worse in my fourth year, we agreed that we'd be there for each other all the time or none of the time. They weren't going to run away from me then things got tough and come back when it was better.
Loyal friends to such a great hero, almost makes them hero's themselves. Now Mr Potter, you were saying, about your Hogsmede trip?
Yeah. Well I was walking away from them so fast that neither me nor Hermione noticed when Ron disappeared. Then I fell and saw Voldemort and I knew what he was going to do. I explained it all to Hermione and we ran back to Ron's twin brothers' shop. It was lucky that Professor McGonagall was in there as well, and Ron's little sister, Ginny. I told them what had happened and Professor McGonagall told me to side apparate them all to where Ron and Voldemort were. I was the only one who knew where to go because I recognised it in my vision…
How did you recognise it?
It was the same place where… stumbles on words and tears show in his eyes where Dumbledore died…
You were there when Albus Dumbledore died?
I saw it happen.
Why didn't you inform anyone that you were there when he died?
I did, everyone at school knew. But the ministry doesn't have to know everything that goes on in my life!
So, what happened after you had gotten everyone to this place? And could you verify everyone that was there from our side?
Well there was me, Fred, George and Ginny Weasley and Hermione. And when we snuck up on the Death Eaters, Voldemort left Ron and he recovered and fought with us as well.
How old are all of these people?
Well Ron and Hermione are my age, Fred and George are nineteen, and Ginny is sixteen.
So you're saying that six teenagers took on a pack of Death Eaters and an evil Wizard?
No, I'm saying that five teenagers took on a pack of Death Eaters and I took on an evil Wizard.
You seem quite proud of this fact.
No, I'm not gloating or anything. I just want it known that I was obsessed with killing this wizard. I lost my life because of it. And when people close to me were dying I didn't care, I just got more and more angry and I forgot to grieve. I want it known that I killed him because I had to. No one else could. He'd ruined my life and almost everything I had to live for. No one can hate a person as much as I hated this thing. That's why it was my job to do it. I told everyone to stay away from him, to leave him to me. So that I could make my life normal.
And did everyone do this?
Considers and looks away from interviewer. Then says as a whisper No.
Who disobeyed you? How angry were you that they wouldn't let you do what you needed to do to get your life back on track?
I'm not saying who it was. But I'll never forgive them. They may always be my friend, but this will stay with me forever.
You're very forgiving, Mr Potter. Now, how did you kill you-know-who?
Well obviously I used the killing curse. But I assume you mean what happened before hand? Well we were duelling. And he hit me with it.
With what?
The killing curse. He hit me square on in the chest.
No! This is why you were in St Mungo's for so long? And why you wouldn't tell the Healers what was wrong when you woke up?
That's right. He hit me with the curse and him and all his Death Eaters were laughing. I don't know how long I was on the floor for, but when I woke up I heard them. And Ron and everyone were scared; they all thought I was dead. But then I just got up and walked up behind Voldemort. One of his Death Eaters saw me and looked terrified. smiles and gives a short laugh It was quite funny actually. To have such a feared person scared of you. So Voldemort turned around and then I said it, no force or anything needed, I just said it. And then he was dead…
Marvellous! How did that feel? Knowing you had saved the world?
I didn't realise. I had… I had a connection with Voldemort, and when he died I just felt a little empty. Then I collapsed because I'd been hit with a killing curse. And, that was that really.
Mr Potter, when you say you had a connection with him…
I'm not going to turn into him, don't worry. The only reason saying those words felt so good was because I knew that in that second, I could watch my worst enemy die. And I knew that in that moment, I'd be normal. Ok, maybe people will still come up and talk to me in the street but I'm alive. There's no one trying to kill me anymore, no one wrecking my life and everything in it. I don't have to run around to find Horcruxes or worrying about my friends dying. Because it's not going to happen anymore.
You said Horcruxes, you-know-who had Horcruxes?
Yeah, seven.
Seven?
Yeah, and I had to find them. Dumbledore helped me a lot. He'd found loads before he died, then I had to find the rest.
Well Mr Potter, you have truly been through an ordeal, for your whole life. But know that now, it is over, you need worry no more.
Thank you.
Oh, one more question; Why did you leave it a month after killing him to give an interview? Or at least inform the world of his death?
I was quite messed up and I didn't even realise the enormity of what I'd done. Not until I went back to my house that a few Death Eaters had visited.
What had they done?
Oh, just written something that made me think. Their way of life is over now it's because of me. But all the better for us. And then for some reason I realised that the world must be totally on edge, not knowing if he's alive or dead. But he's dead. He's gone. He's never coming back.
Thank you very much Mr Potter. Not just for the interview, for everything.
Harry put down the prophet, smiling to himself. The interview he had given yesterday had really made him realise. He really had been through so much, more than any other person on the planet had been through at the young age of seventeen. It was quite an achievement to still be alive, and to have ridden the world of the darkest man ever.
It had been about two hours since the Daily Prophet had been released for the day and already Harry's desk was flooding with letters from 'admirers'. He hated the word, but Ron had assured him that that's what they were. Most of these letters were saying 'thank-you' and 'you saved our life'; but the ones from Ron and Hermione had been quite different. Ron had said that he was 'wicked' to mention them in his interview, to which Harry had wondered why on earth Ron thought he wouldn't mention them; and Hermione had written how proud of him she was, and there were tear blobs on the parchment, so it was true that she was as proud as his parents would be. He'd never expected to get so many letters once he gave an interview; he'd had letters from everyone in the Order to go along with those from complete strangers; but there was one letter that he had been expecting that hadn't come. Ginny.
Harry waited until two days after the interview had come out to get a letter from Ginny, but he didn't get one. Not once did he see the owl that he knew so well fly through his always open window and land gracefully next to Hedwig. Of course, it wasn't like he wanted a letter from her; he still hated her. But if felt like there was a big hole in his chest, and Ginny was the only reason he could find.
Finally, after two days of waiting, he sat down to write a letter in the moonlight, just as an owl came crashing into the closed window. Harry smiled at the thought of Ron turning bright red because of the old family owl, and went to open the window for it to fly in. The owl did so and dropped the letter from its beak before landing with a thud on the desk.
Harry recognised the writing to be Ron's and opened the letter.
Harry,
How are you mate? Haven't written to you in a while so I thought I would… How is everything? Going alright? Are you still getting loads of letters? We've had a few actually! Hermione, me and Ginny…
Ok mate, I won't beat around the bush any longer, you need to come over for a while. Yes, because of Ginny. She keeps saying she won't make a decision without you about this whole pregnancy thing; and mum and dad aren't being too nice about it either… I've called her a slag more than once, dad won't talk to her and mum keeps just looking at her and shaking her head. The truth is mate, this family is a wreck without you; you are family and you're the one that holds us together! Plus, I miss you and Hermione is always upset because you won't come to see her.
Please just think about coming over here, maybe just for a weekend; a shorter time is better than none.
Write back soon mate,
Ron.
Harry rolled his eyes at the letter; he couldn't believe the nerve of Ginny. She wouldn't make a decision without him? How childish and just plan pathetic could she get? It was her problem, nothing to do with him; so she could deal with it on her own. However, he did miss Ron and Hermione a great deal. And it was believable about Hermione getting upset all the time… He also appreciated Ron's calling Ginny a slag, it meant that he did care a lot about the feelings of Harry himself.
Harry sighed and looked at the piece of parchment on his desk, which was blank apart from the word 'Ginny' at the top. He hadn't even known what he was going to say to her in that letter, so he screwed it up and threw it in the bin across the room.
He suddenly felt very tired and collapsed in a heap on his bed; pulling off clothes and reaching for a sheet to pull over himself. Thinking with difficulty before sleep came, he decided that he would go to the Burrow, but not for Ginny, for himself. He wanted to see Ron and Hermione; also Mr and Mrs Weasley, just to let them know that he hadn't forgotten about them. Harry's mind ticked slowly off to sleep thinking about things he needed to pack for the weekend away; and when the darkness finally fell upon him, he had sweet dreams of best friends and socks, lots of socks…
A/N Wow, sorry about the long update! I started to write this chapter ages ago and loved writing the interview scene. But then I needed to decide what to write after it without making it sound boring, so I hope it worked because it was really hard to think of! And I thought we'd have a nice little bit of humour at the end, just for good measure! Hope you like that too!! Thanks for reading and please review!
