A/N: English is my second language and this chapter didn't pass through a beta.
CHAPTER FIVE
Kingsley Shacklebolt wasn't happy. He would like the chance to check the other Order members and, especially, he would like to know how Harry was and what had happened exactly. But Kingsley was very serious about his job, so he was in the Ministry holding cells, helping to sort out the bunch of Death Eaters that they apprehended in this night's operation.
The Minister himself was there with his assistant and a list of names. The two men were checking the list, confirming if the person was indeed captured and how that happened. All the Aurors that went to Malfoy Manor had already been debriefed. Only the Order members were still waiting to be interviewed.
Professor Flitwick, after helping to bound and transports the captured Death Eaters, took a Portkey back to Hogwarts.
Diggory, Towler, Moody and Tonks were seated in the far corner of the room. Diggory and Towler were completely knackered and they rested against the wall, falling promptly into a light sleep.
Tonks was fidgeting, wriggling her hands, tapping her feet and changing the colour of her hair in an uncontrolled demonstration of her nervousness.
Moody was sitting straight, both hands grapping his cane, his good eye trained on the floor, where a bag lay, and his magic eye rolling in dazzling speed.
Shacklebolt, on his feet, closer to the door, sighed tiredly and started to walk toward his Order companions.
'No reason to stay by myself, worrying. Let's see if I can find what happened with the others.' Kingsley thought while walking and sitting by Moody's side.
The older man turned both his eyes toward the other Auror.
"Curious enough, Shacklebolt?"
"I thought I would be able to go to Hogwarts and find out by myself, but…" He made a gesture toward the Minister and his assistant.
"Yeah! Bureaucrats can really get in the way," Moody growled.
"Come on, Moody!" Tonks stopped her nervous actions. "Tell us what you know!"
"I already told you, Tonks!"
"No! You just said that everything would be ok. What happened under the house? Flitwick said that Hestia and Charlie got hurt. What about the Death Eaters you found?"
"Yes, Moody. Give us some information here," Shacklebolt asked.
Moody sighed. "I'll have to repeat everything for the two morons over there. I prefer to retell this only once."
Tonks jumped to stand up and started to move toward the Minister. Moody smirked but Shacklebolt jumped after her, catching her arm before she reach the middle of the room.
"Calm down, Tonks. Let's not get in more trouble than we need to be."
"But I want to know about Remus and Harry!"
"In a moment, Tonks. They'd want to know what we did. Sit down."
By now Diggory and Towler were awake, watching the exchange with mild interest.
Moody had his unsettling smile on his face and Shacklebolt dragged Tonks back and then pushed her into a chair.
The small disturbance seemed to draw the attention from the two bureaucrats, who finally looked up and stared at the Order members. The Minister let out a sigh and made a discreet signal to his assistant, indicating it was time to talk with the people waiting there.
"Let's try to wrap this up," Percy said in his 'ministry worker' voice.
The five people on the other side of the room didn't answer or comment but the eyebrows shooting up or the twist of mouths transmitted very well the sentiment on all of them.
"We know that Mr. Potter is in a magical coma…" Percy started just to be interrupted by a frantic scream from Tonks.
"Coma?! Oh, my! What happened to him? Moody, why didn't you say something?! I should be with him!"
"Calm down, Tonks!" Again Shacklebolt hold the younger woman by her arm.
"Lupin, that Granger girl and the younger Weasley went back to Hogwarts with him," Moody informed.
"Madam Pomfrey said he would be well after some rest," Percy said calmly.
"If we can resolve this quick, you can go check on the boy," the Minister said.
Tonks spent many seconds taking deep breaths trying to calm herself.
"So, if we may continue," Percy tried again.
"Look, sonny, why don't you just ask what you want to know?" Moody growled. "At least twenty Aurors just gave you their statements. What do you want from us?"
Percy huffed because of the interruption. He tried to appear taller and looked the old Auror in the eyes.
"We need to know what happened prior to the arrival of the Aurors. How this… 'mission' was planned. Who went on it and what was done. We witnessed the arrival of various Death Eaters while in the Hogwarts Hospital Wing. We need details."
Sighs filled the room. The one word that spelled trouble and long, long hours when spoken by a bureaucrat: 'details'.
"Alright, we will give you details. It would probably be best if each one of us recounted what happened. But I think I will start with the end."
With that statement, Moody stood up and grabbed the bag that was at his feet. He walked toward the Minister and his assistant and put the bag over the table. He opened it and displayed what was inside.
"The boy, Potter, did what he planned to do. He finished up old You-Know-Who. This was all we found of him after the others Portkeyed Potter away."
The Order members and the two bureaucrats went to look what was inside the bag on the table. Some sharp intakes and a muffled 'oh!' were heard from the group of the fighters for the Light.
The Minister jumped backward and tripped over his chair, falling on the floor.
Percy Weasley opened his mouth and let out a very high and very girly shriek.
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At Hogwarts Hospital Wing the movement and stress were finally winding down. All the life threaten or severe cases were reverted to St. Mungos and the light wounds were treated.
The only bed currently occupied was exactly the one that had the most use on the last seven years. The bed that Harry Potter called his own. Lying there, once more, was the Boy-Who-Lived, this time in a magical coma. The option to transfer him to St. Mungos was briefly brought up but also quickly shot down. His friends wanted to be close to him and none trusted the security at the hospital. Even if the last operation apprehended around 50 Death Eaters, there were still plenty of Voldemort's followers around to worry about.
Headmistress McGonagall had finally left the Hospital Wing to meet with the teachers that were protecting the school. She felt oblige to pass on all the information she could. Minerva McGonagall knew she would have to deal with a very distressed Hagrid when he found out about Harry's condition, but it was unavoidable.
But a quick and casual encounter with Pomona Sprout permitted the Headmistress to pass on some information and gather the news she wanted without much emotion display. She let the good Hufflepuff Head of House to deal with the other professors and walked to her office.
She got to the room quickly, barely sparing a glance to the gargoyle guarding the staircase. Minerva seated heavily on the chair behind the big desk, closed her eyes and let her head rest against the back of the chair. She tried to control herself through long and calming breaths.
'It seems that it's finally over. No more You-Know-Who. No more Death Eaters. No more war.' The witch thought to herself.
The sound of an owl flying into the office made her open her eyes. She faced a non-descript brown owl offering her its leg with a message attached.
Still functioning in the paranoid mode that had guided all their lives for the last year, Professor McGonagall pointed her wand toward the message and scanned it for harmful spells. When none was indicated, she released the bird of the parchment and opened it to read. The owl flew toward Fawkes old perch, the one Minerva kept telling herself that it was for any visiting owls, but deep inside she knew she liked to believe that the phoenix would come back someday.
One last deep breath and Minerva turned all her attention to the letter in her hands.
Dear Minerva,
A few hours ago the Dark Mark burnt horrible and then faded almost to non-existent. I gather that this meant the Potter brat… boy managed to finally do his duty and destroyed the Dark Lord. With the Dark Mark fading to almost nothing, maybe my knowledge would still be needed to identify the Death Eaters that weren't captured.
But I will need some reassurance so I can get out of hiding. I don't want to risk going to Azkaban. I've done my duty and paid my dues to the Wizarding Society. I want to live the rest of my life in peace.
Could you arrange it, Minerva?
The owl will wait for your answer. It's the only one that can find me. I am very careful with my safety. Even if I don't like old Moody, the man has some lessons worth learning.
Severus Snape
Minerva McGonagall sat on her chair behind her big desk inside the Hogwarts Headmistress office holding the letter she just received absolutely flabbergasted.
'That… That… That arrogant man! Demanding! Oh! How I want to just send him a resonant no!' The witch was lost in her thoughts when Dumbledore's voice sounded from his painting.
"This is the owl I gave Severus when we made that plan to help young Mr. Malfoy."
McGonagall turned her head abruptly toward the painting.
"What?"
"I gave him the owl already spelled to be able to always find him. So if he ever had to go into hiding, he would have a safe way to contact me or the Order." The figure's eyes in the painting twinkled. "You can trust the letter is really from Severus."
"Oh, I never doubted that!" The woman answered with contempt. "The tone is unmistakable his!"
"So, what is the news? Severus knows something about young Harry's mission?"
"We don't need Snape's report on that, Albus." Her patience was severely short right now. "Harry is in the Hospital Wing, in a magical coma!"
"Oh, my." The painted Dumbledore shook his head. "What happened?"
Minerva sniffed and took a deep breath. "Harry destroyed You-Know-Who. He ended it."
Now all the portraits stopped pretending they weren't listening and some cheered at the news. A big smile spread over Dumbledore's face and his eyes went on full twinkle.
"Wonderful! The boy really managed it! Things will be so much better now! And the Death Eaters? They were all caught?"
Minerva breathed in and out carefully, in an exercise to control her temper. Yes, the news was important and quite uplifting but after all the tension, after all the worry, Minerva could only feel relieve and weariness. Maybe happiness would come later.
"Yes, Albus. A great number of Death Eaters were captured. It seems that Harry was able to get four Inner Circle Death Eaters before he destroyed the Dark Lord and his pet snake. Things seemed to be going the right direction, finally."
"So, my lovely lady, why the long face?" That question come from another portrait, it was Headmaster Everard.
"I am too tired to be happy right now, Everard. And I am too worried about Harry's state. And this letter didn't help one bit. Is that enough?"
"No need to get all thorny on us, Madam."
"I apologize," Minerva said tiredly.
"What Severus might have said that put you in such a state, Minerva?" Dumbledore asked.
"He didn't say anything, Albus." McGonagall sneered. "He demanded! He demanded that I made certain that his actions won't have any ill repercussions for him. He wants me to guarantee that he won't be send to Azkaban."
"I don't think that his request is too much."
"It wasn't a request! He demanded! After all he did!"
"All he did was to help us."
"No, it was not, Albus! Don't tell me that he overhead the prophecy and went straight to You-Know-Who to tell it thinking that it would help us!"
"That was one mistake, Minerva. One mistake he paid dearly for. And his actions after that should have cleaned any slate he had."
"Well, Albus, considering the way he always treated Mr. Potter and all Gryffindors, for that matter, or better yet, all non-Slytherins, I don't think his slate is completely clean. And we suffered too much because of your demise to just go and forgive Snape."
"You must, Minerva. Now that the Wizarding world is finally free of Voldemort, we cannot harbour ill feelings anymore."
"Albus," McGonagall took a deep breath and looked directly into the portrait's eyes. "You might be above such petty feelings, but the rest of us, humans, are not. Forgiveness is not something you demand. It must be offered and deserved. And I must say that I don't believe Severus Snape deserves to be forgiven for everything he ever did. And with him demanding it, it will be even more difficult to think about offering it."
"Minerva, you know how his life was always hard. You must understand why he acts the way he does."
"I could try to understand it, Albus, if he offered the same courtesy to others."
Albus' portrait sighed and assumed a disappointed stance.
"My dear Minerva, we must lead by example. How others would know what is right if we don't show them the way?"
Minerva McGonagall gasped in surprise. "I'm not here to lead anyone, Albus! I'm too much of a normal person to be a leader to others! I'm not so forgiving nor am I wise enough to go around dispensing advice and guiding people! I would say that this was your part. And since you're not around anymore to do that, I think you will have to let us, simple mortals, to make our own decisions, right or wrong as they came!"
"But, Minerva…" But Dumbledore's portrait couldn't even finish whatever he was planning to say. McGonagall simply stormed out of the office, walking in a hurry toward the Great Hall where almost everyone from the Order and the Hogwarts staff were congregating.
The clipped steps heard through the Great Hall made the group that was lazing around at the table to turn to the door and wait to see who was arriving in such bad mood.
"Minerva!" Molly Weasley called as soon as the Headmistress entered the room. "Nothing else happened, right? Harry is alright?"
"Mr. Potter is as well as possible, Molly. "Minerva answered. "Poppy believes he will wake up tomorrow."
"So, what put you in such a state, Minerva? Something from the Ministry?" This time it was Professor Flitwick that asked.
"No, Filius. No contact from the Ministry so far."
"Shacklebolt, Tonks, Moody and Amos Diggory are still there," Arthur Weasley informed. "And that young Auror, Towler, I think, too."
"Well, I believe that they are more than capable to deal with Minister Scrimegour," Minerva answered and finally seated at the table, letting out a profound sigh.
"Will you tell us what made you so agitated, Minerva?" Hestia Jones asked.
"I just received a letter…" Minerva looked around the table. "Maybe this is something to be discussed as an Order issue."
"Well, let's take advantage of all the people here and you can tell the gist of it. If the majority thinks this deserves a full meeting, we just have to wait for the ones in the Ministry." Arthur offered.
"I got really upset when I first read this letter. Albus's portrait said that I can trust this is real. And he believes I should oblige the person."
"Who wrote this letter and what's in it?" It was Bill Weasley's turn to ask.
Another deep breath and Minerva McGonagall looked at everyone's face before answer.
"The letter is from Severus Snape and he asks for help to smooth things with the Ministry. He could name Death Eaters not captured in exchange to clear his name."
"What?!" Came various outrages cries.
"The slime git!" Ron shouted.
"Who he thinks he is to ask something like that after everything he's done?!" Another Order member commented.
"He did help us with information," Hermione said.
"Kill killed Dumbledore!" Ginny exclaimed.
"You know that it was a plan and Professor Dumbledore agreed to it. Professor Snape kept informing us after he ran away," Hermione tried again.
"I don't care! He is a git and can't just waltz back as if nothing had happened!" Ron stood up from the table, the top of his ears so red that they disappeared next to his hair.
"Now that You-Know-Who is gone, maybe it's time to try and mend the bridges. Offer a hand to Snape may be a nice beginning," Professor Flitwick said in his high pitched voice.
"Yeah! Harry is in a magical coma after duel and finish off You-Know-Who and a bunch of his minions! We worked our asses of destroying those Horcruxes! And the git will just appear from nowhere and say that everything is ok!" Ron's face was all red at this point.
"Ronald Weasley! Language!" Molly exclaimed.
"We cannot hold grudges, Ron!" Hermione stood up too.
"I CAN! And I can do that very well too!" Ginny shouted.
"SILENCE!" Minerva's voice was amplified. When the discussions around the table stopped and people were seated again, Headmistress McGonagall cancelled the Sonorus charm and addressed the Order members.
"I knew this would cause a major disagreement. Let's wait for the return of Moody and the others and we will have an official Order meeting to discuss this calmly!" She said before anyone could protest.
"Let's try to enjoy a nice meal and a good day," and she seated and started to choose what to eat.
A few heads around the table nodded in agreement, but the younger ones weren't satisfied. The silence continued for some time, but small talk started again and at the end of the meal things had calm down enough to avert new discussions.
Afterwards, the Hogwarts staff went to do their usual activities without the worry or the need of some extra protection for the castle. It was really easy to adapt to a less stressed situation and go back to a carefree life.
Everybody knew that Minister Scrimegour would prefer to hold on the information of the Dark Lord's demise but it was simply impossible to restrain the comments from all the people involved in the Malfoy Manor's invasion. Plus there were all the captured Death Eaters being held at the Ministry cells and a few injured Aurors and dark wizards at St. Mungos.
Between Harry's trip to Malfoy Manor and the end of the battle between Death Eaters and Aurors, it should have been twelve hours. In half a day the life of the Wizarding world had changed dramatically once again. And the rumours were starting to spread.
Minerva McGonagall was back in her office, doing her best to ignore all attempts from Dumbledore's painting to talk to her. She had a lot of papers to go through to prepare to the start of term. They were at the end of July and the letters for the first years were quite tardy.
The witch walked towards the small room with the enchanted Hogwarts enrolling book. She prepared a pile of parchment and initiated the spell that would write the invitation letters and address them to the young eleven year old witches and wizards.
After being sure that everything was working correctly, Minerva went back to her office and stopped surprised. At least a dozen owls were waiting by her desk. Headmistress McGonagall had to shout to make the birds behave and wait for her to take their messages. It seemed that the senders were quite anxious for answers because beside the owls eagerness in deliver their letters, none went away after Minerva collect them.
The witch seated behind her desk and opened the first parchment. After reading it quickly, she went on to the others and the words and tone might even change a bit, but the meaning of all the messages was the same.
The Wizarding world wanted to know if the worst Dark Lord for the last hundred years, the evil wizard that disappeared for thirteen years to come back greater and more terrible than ever, if He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was really, truly and permanently destroyed. The public wanted to know if the Boy-Who-Lived was now the Boy-Who-Conquered.
TBC…
