A/N: I am editing all old chapters, they will be marked with a 'be' at the beginning of the title.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Or Ron, Hermione, Ginny, George, any of the Weasleys, or other minor characters. I do own my own books and movies though, and trading cards, and Bertie Botts Every Flavor beans and Jelly Slugs. Oh and the soundtracks! lol
'be' The Public Informed
The next morning, Harry awoke very early. He glanced out of the window to notice that the sun was barely rising over the trees. He laid back down on his pillow and thought about the day ahead of him. He knew the day would be long and torturously sad. The press conference would make some horrible memories resurface, and as much as he didn't want to share them with everyone, at least he'd have Ron and Hermione there with him.
Harry lay there for a quarter of an hour before he decided to get up. He went through his morning ritual of a shower and shave before re-entering the dorm room. Due to their extremely loud snoring, the Weasley men who were sharing the dorm room graciously consented to placing Silencing charms around their beds. Harry, who was eternally grateful for this, walked over to Ron's bed keen on waking his friend up with a good whack of a pillow up side the head. He stuck his head in the drapes of Ron's bed opening his mouth to shout, but the sight before him shocked him to his very core. He pulled his head out of Ron's bed and stumbled backwards until his legs hit his bed and caused him to sit fast. For several moments Harry mimicked a goldfish before his mind caught up with what he saw. Harry started laughing. He laughed for a few moments before he sat back up and wiped his eyes.
"Well, as much as I love those two, I hope to never see that again," he muttered to himself. He stood up and conjured a camera, walked back to Ron's bed, and stuck his head back in with his eyes nearly closed as said, "Aw, isn't this just a-DOR-able? Okay, now say cheese!" Harry snapped a picture just as Ron and Hermione both sat straight upright, clutching the sheets to their chests. Harry could see stray articles of clothing on the headboard above their heads as he snapped a few more pictures.
"Bloody hell Harry, are you trying to give me a heart attack?" Ron asked as he lay back down. Suddenly, he bolted upright again realizing why Harry would take a picture of him waking up. "HARRY POTTER! YOU BETTER GIVE ME THOSE PICTURES RIGHT NOW, OR I'LL CURSE YOU SO BAD YOU CAN'T—"
"Ronald Weasley, you shut you're loud mouth right now before your brothers hear you!" Hermione hissed through her teeth. Ron immediately shut up, glaring at Harry.
"Looks like you two had fun last night. You both better be dressed soon and perhaps not in the same bed, it's almost time for everyone to get up. Just be glad it was me who found you and not Mrs. Weasley. Tootles!" With that Harry snapped one last picture, turned and left the room laughing softly at their horrified faces, and with camera in hand.
Harry was still chuckling as he entered the common room. He looked around and saw Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Bill, Fleur, and Ginny all sitting around talking. They looked up as he entered.
"Good morning Harry," Mrs. Weasley greeted.
"What are you so happy about this early in the morning? And what's with the camera?" Ginny asked as she stood up to give him a peck on the cheek.
"Oh, nothing really. Just happy. The camera?" Harry looked down and realized that he had it. "Um, well, er, I was wondering if one of you could maybe take some pictures today for me. I, er, want to remember it." Harry finished lamely. Ginny looked at him curiously, while Mrs. Weasley teared up.
"Oh, Harry dear, of course we'll take pictures for you. Here, I'll hold onto that." She reached over to take the camera from him. He reluctantly handed it over. Ginny caught his eye and raised her eyebrow, he had to fight a laugh from escaping. He discreetly winked at her and nodded towards the door. She rose and told her parents she and Harry were heading down for breakfast, she took Harry's hand and they left the common room. When they were out of hearing range Harry burst out laughing. He laughed so hard he had to lean against a wall for support. Ginny who had really never seen Harry laugh so hard, was stunned.
"Er, Harry, love? What's so funny?" she asked him warily. It took all his strength to tone down his laughter, but he managed to do so eventually. Still, he ended up sitting on the ground with Ginny crouched next to him, concern etched on her face.
"Oh, sorry Gin, really, it's just so…I forgot I had the camera when I came down. I honestly hope your parents don't develop that film." The thought of what Ron's face would look like if his mum did see those pictures caused him to laugh some more.
"Er, Harry, I think you need to explain some more," said Ginny, who finally realized that Harry hadn't lost his mind. She sat down next to him on the floor.
"Sorry. Okay, so this morning I found Ron and a certain someone in the same bed. I happened to wake the two by snapping some excellent pictures. And then I just gave your mum the camera with the film holding those pictures. I just keep seeing Ron's face when he realizes his mum has the pictures." They both started laughing hard enough to need to hold each other up.
"Oh, Harry this is such great blackmail! I could hold this over Ron for so long!" Ginny wiped the tears off her face.
"Ah, ah, ah, Miss Weasley. May I remind you, I took those pictures. So, it's my blackmail material to be used at MY discretion. Besides, Ron's not the only one in them, I wouldn't want to anger Hermione. She knows way too many curses to be on her bad side," Harry said as they walked towards the Great Hall.
"Too true, Mr. Potter, too true. But I think we'll think of something. Maybe let Hermione know that we'd never actually use them. What do you think?"
"Possibly. But first we need that camera. It won't do any good if your mother sees them. So, I am going to put you to the task of retrieving that camera. Okay?" She nodded and saluted him. "Good. Now I have a big day ahead of me, I need a big breakfast. Shall we?" He held out his arm for her to take and they entered the Hall together.
A short while later the rest of the Weasleys showed up. Ron and Hermione were holding hands and both blushed at the sight of Harry. Harry acted like he didn't know anything. Ginny on the other hand, glanced at her brother and Hermione and when they saw her watching them she raised her eyebrows a few times and winked at them. Ron had the decency to act like he didn't see her, but Hermione blushed and ducked her head to try and hide it. Harry smirked and continued to eat his breakfast.
"Okay, Harry, you'll need to wear your dress robes for the press conference today. Ron and Hermione, you'll both need dress robes also. The rest of us will be in the crowd watching the whole thing. Now, there will be no reason to worry, I'm sure you'll need to gather with the rest of the speakers before hand," Mrs. Weasley was rambling. Harry, realizing what he was going to be doing later in the day, tensed. Ginny who was sitting next to him noticed and took his hand in hers.
"It'll be fine. You'll do great. The press won't bother you too much with Kingsley around and Rita has been taken care of. All you have to do is get up there and tell your story. Ron and Hermione will be right there with you, and I will be in the crowd watching and waiting for you to be done, so that we can wander off on our own and relax by the lake by ourselves and think about nothing. Okay?" Ginny whispered in his ear while her mother kept rambling. Harry looked at her with wide eyes. How does she know what I'm thinking? Can she read my mind?
"Don't be silly. It's not like I can read your mind. I felt you tense, and knew that you were worried about today." Ginny giggled at his even more astonished look. Everyone finished up their breakfast and went their separate ways for prepare for the press conference. As Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione were all leaving, Headmistress McGonagall walked up to them and requested that the trio would join her in her office to talk about the conference.
"Go on. I'll be in the common room when you get done. If it takes all day, I'll see you after the thing. Okay?" Ginny pecked him on the check and walked away from them. A thought came to Harry and he yelled, "Ginny! Hold on a sec," and he ran up to her. Ron and Hermione watched them talk for a minute and then saw Ginny nod her head. Harry thanked her and walked back to them.
The trio followed the professor to her office for a meeting of what they would cover in their speech and who would cover what. An hour later they were walking down to the front lawns. When they arrived a little early they saw that the grounds had been transformed. What had once been a slightly hilly expanse from the front steps down to the lake, now was a large stage with several chairs on it and a podium. Several hundred chairs were facing the stage, a smaller podium placed at the front of all the chairs in the middle of the isle for people to ask their questions from. A dozen or so workers were wandering around placing charms around so people could hear questions from all directions. There were two very large chairs to the side of the sea of chairs, obviously made for a half-giant and one full giant.
Harry looked towards the gates and saw several groups of people walking closer. Many of them had cameras and were taking pictures of the scorch marks on the ground, and the school which had very visible damage to several areas. Harry grabbed Ron and Hermione's arms and dragged them away. They still had a half an hour till they were needed again. They got the hint and followed him towards the lake.
"Oh, I hope that horrible woman doesn't show her face. I swear, I'll hex her so fast…" Hermione was looking around as if to search for a bug with spectacle shapes around the eyes.
"Don't worry, I took care of Rita Skeeter last night." Harry said with a smile. They both turned to look at him.
"Harry, I know you asked specifically that she not be allowed but we all know her little secret. There's really no way for us to not—"
"Yes, we all know her secret and now so does the Ministry." Harry laughed at the expression on her face. A mix of incredulity and shock, and a little disappointment.
"What do you mean, Harry?" Ron asked.
"Well, last night Ginny I spent about an hour talking about everything, and I mean everything. As we were about to leave to come inside, I heard a twig snap behind me. I spun around and Stunned who was in the bushes behind us. When I went to look, it was Rita. I took her wand, bound her and placed that handy anti-transform spell you told us about," he nodded to Hermione. "Then I Enervated her and told her I was going to destroy her notes and her quill. She screamed, cried, and threw a hissy fit when I told her we were going to turn her in, so she got angry. Ginny and I brought her to McGonagall's office, where an Order meeting was in full swing, with the Minister himself in attendance. I told them I found her sneaking around, listening to me talk about everything, and showed them her notes. Kingsley said he'd take care of it. She called Ginny a few bad names and to anger her more I spilled about her being unregistered. Kingsley is going to question her and charm her memory for us. She's also going to be spending some time in good ol' Azkaban, for not registering." Harry smiled at them. Ron looked ecstatic, but Hermione looked almost disappointed.
"What's wrong Hermione? I thought this would make you happy," Harry asked quietly.
"Oh, I am happy Harry, I'm glad she's being put away. It's just…I kinda wish I had been there to see it. She's been so horrible for so long, I would have liked to see that bitch come crashing down," said Hermione as she looked out to the lake. The guys were silent for a long time, so she turned around to see their faces so shocked. "What?" she asked though she thought she might know their answer.
"Hermione…you cussed! I just…I…I think my world just unraveled a bit," Harry joked while she hit him in the arm. Ron was gaping. Harry nudged him. Ron looked at Harry then at Hermione.
"Harry…I've said it before and I'll say it again; I think we're a bad influence on her." Ron laughed and so did Harry. Hermione huffed, then joined in their laughter. They sat and laughed together reminiscing about their days before the war for several long minutes until it was time to rejoin the crowd.
"Where have you three been? I have been looking for you everywhere! You three need to change into your robes, now! You have five minutes before you're needed on stage, here I brought your robes with me, just use that antechamber off the Great Hall, and then bring me your used robes. Hurry now!" Mrs. Weasley ushered them inside. Hermione went first into the chamber to provide her with more privacy. A few minutes later she emerged and handed her stuff to the frazzled older woman while the boys ran inside and changed in under a minute. The emerged looking as though they changed inside a tornado and the two women sighed and each took one of the guys aside and fixed them up as best they could in one minute.
They turned and ran towards the stage, leaving Mrs. Weasley behind when they heard the sound of the bells ringing to announce the start of the press conference. They burst out onto the stage and took their seats just as Kingsley turned to look for them. He smiled at them and turned towards the huge crowd.
"Ahem, may I please have your attention? Thank you. My name is Kingsley Shacklebolt, and I am your Interim Minister. We are here today to discuss the battle that happened the night of May the 1st and continued until morning of May the 2nd. This was the battle to end the war, finally.
"I will answer the one question everyone has been asking: Yes, Voldemort is dead. Undeniably, incontrovertibly dead. His body is being held at a safe location and being watched for extra measure, but there is no question in my mind, I am one thousand percent sure he is not going to be returning." After Kingsley finished his short spiel about how dead the ex-dark lord now was, cheers rang out from the whole crowd. Even the people who were there to see him fall were cheering and openly crying. People were hugging people they didn't know, others were telling anyone who'd listen that they were there and watched the bastard fall. For several long minutes everyone celebrated with everyone else.
"Please quiet down. Can we have some order here? Thank you. I understand that you are all relieved and happy, but I must insist that we carry ourselves with a bit of decorum and modesty. We are all happy he is gone for good, but we have to remember our laws. Please don't go around spouting off fireworks and shouting to the heavens that You-Know-Who is gone to any and all who will listen, we cannot afford to have the Muggles learn about us. In the days to come, the Ministry will be taking any offense to the Statue of Secrecy very seriously. If you are caught breaking the law, don't expect the Ministry to go easy on you just because you were celebrating. Being careless is no excuse to allow the Muggles to learn of our existence." Kingsley continued for a short while about laws and rules, what he was planning for the Ministry in the months to come, and so on. Harry had spent much time the last few hours thinking about what he would say to the crowd of press. He figured the truth was the best bet, but what did he want to hide from them all? The Horcruxes for sure, and the Hallows, but what else was required of him? Should he explain why Voldemort was searching for him? What if someone asked why he chose to bring the fight to Hogwarts? He hoped that no one asked certain questions because he would find it hard to answer. He barely listened to Kingsley's speech, because he was worrying so much about his own speech he was about to make. He was jerked out if his musings when he heard his name.
"I will be answering any questions you may have afterwards, but now I hand the stage over to Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley, and Hermione Granger to tell their story." Kingsley stepped away and waved his wand extending the podium to fit the three of them comfortably with three magical microphones attached. The three walked up to it slowly, glancing at the others out of the corners of their eyes. They arrived at the podium together and looked out at the crowd. Harry took a deep breath and cleared his throat.
"Th-Thank you all for being here today. I, er, I'm not sure what I'm supposed to talk about so I'll just start at the end of last summer. I was staying at the Weasley's house for their son Bill's wedding. During the wedding, Minister Scrimgeour was killed. We got a warning from someone during the reception of the wedding and Ron, Hermione, and I Apparated away. I knew Voldemort was after me, and that he had his claws in the Ministry, so I had to stay away. I had to accomplish a few tasks to make sure he would actually die this time before I could finish him. I can't go into details of that because it's confidential Ministry information, and I wouldn't go into it if you asked. Some things need to stay secret.
"Now, when I was fifteen months old, Voldemort killed my parents and tried to kill me. The reason he came after me in the first place was a prophecy made about the two of us. It was stated as thus: 'The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches. Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies, and the Dark Lord will mark him as equal-'" Harry pointed to his scar. "'-but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not. Either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives.' I know many of you read the Prophet when it claimed me to be the Chosen One last year, I guess it was correct.
"Long story short, he didn't hear the whole thing, tried to kill me after killing my family, it rebounded and hit him. He was vaporized and his soul set loose, his body was gone, and I was sent to live with some muggle relatives of mine. When I was finally told about the Prophecy at the age of fifteen, Albus Dumbledore told me his thoughts on what my so-called power-he-knows-not was. He told me it was love, or more like the ability to love others. My mother sacrificed herself to save my life. She stepped in front of the curse and took it for me, therefore placing upon me a blood protection based on her love. Voldemort couldn't touch me without feeling horrendous pain, he also couldn't find me if I was taken in by my mothers blood relatives, her sister.
"Voldemort, on the other hand, grew up in an orphanage, he never really felt the love of a family, never had a girlfriend, he lived his life friendless, only having meaningless minions following his every order. His whole life was based around fear, his followers feared the retribution of failing, so they tried their hardest not to fail.
"The scar you all hold in the highest of regards, acted like a link between my mind and Voldemorts. I could feel his strong emotions of hate, and pleasure at causing pain. Every time he cast the torture curse, I felt him feeling happy. He could also send me visions, like what happened in my fifth year. Some visions saved lives, others didn't." Harry paused and made a lightning quick decision. He continued, knowing that the public needed to know.
"I have fought Voldemort nearly my whole life. I just had a ten year hiatus before I came to school. Without going into details I have fought Voldemort or his followers every year since my fist year. Seven years I've been in the Wizarding world, and everyone of them I have fought for my life. This fight was not just mine though. Many more people have been fighting for a lot longer than I have." Harry paused and the audience was silent, waiting for him to continue.
"I'm telling you all this so that you know, I didn't just spend the last ten months fighting that snake-like bastard, I've spent nearly my whole life fighting him because of a prophecy made before I was even born. I didn't have to fight, the reason I always seemed to be fighting is because Voldemort set such store by the prophecy and came after me. He believed that if he didn't fight me, he'd be in danger all his life. That's the way he saw it. I fought because of all the people in my life who sacrificed themselves for me to live. I wasn't going to let their sacrifices be in vain. All I've ever wanted is to live a normal life, be a normal teenager, without the hassels of saving the Ministry from Dark Lords. All I ask of you is please don't treat me like I'm the only one who fought, because so many people were involved in this war. I wasn't the only one. Too many lost their lives or the lives of loved ones. I never wanted to be this hero placed on a pedestal; I'm not perfect, so please don't treat me like I am. Thank you." Harry waited for the applause to die down before turning to Ron. He held in a chuckle as he saw his friend swallow and take a deep breath before stepping closer to the podium. Ron cleared his throat.
"A-hem, well, my name for those of you who don't know it, is Ron Weasley. I was with Harry for most of the last ten months helping him plan and strategize." The trio had all decided what each would talk about during the speech, and all agreed that certain white lies were acceptable of the situation. "Most of the ten months, we were in hiding, planning the battle and working our way through a few obstacles Voldemort placed in our way.
"We spent most of our time in many different locations. We'd Apparate to a new location nearly everyday. We slept in a tent and often times had to scrounge a forest for food. There were a few times we came into near contact with wizards, the more memorable event was when we had to break into Gringotts." The crowd gasped. And the three chuckled.
"I won't go into detail about why we had to do this, I'll just say that there was an object that we needed to get from Bellatrix Lestrange's vault that was crucial to the defeat of the Dark Tosser. What I will tell you is that we were found out by the goblins, pretty quickly I might add. Our only way to escape was to free the dragon gaurding the Lestrange vault. We rode the dragon out of Gringotts and halfway to Hogwarts. When it flew over a small lake to take a drink we dove into the lake and swum for shore. When we got to shore and the dragon flew away, we were able to calm our nerves and apparate to Hogsmeade. We accidently set off the Catterwauling charm set on the town and had to escape the Death Eaters stationed their by help of Aberforth Dumbledore. He was able to convince the people chasing us that the stag Patronus they saw Harry let off, was accually his goat Patronus. They weren't the most intellegent of Death Eaters, I'd say." The crowd laughed and the trio saw Aberforth laughing very hard at the back of the crowd, which made them all smile.
"Well, he was able to get us into the school by means of a secret passageway. It was there that everything began." Ron looked at Hermione and she took up her place in the speech.
"Well, my name is Hermione Granger. I guess I'll explain the group of people who showed up to help us fight. In our fifth year, Dolores Umbridge was our Defense professor. She refused to teach us practical defense so it was my idea to have Harry teach us all how to fight so that we could pass our O.W.L.s. He was the only one of us, besides a select few, to have actually fought Death Eaters and Voldemort and survive, so it was a logical choice. Besides, he was top of our year in Defense for a few years in a row. We started a defense club, that was quickly banned by Umbridge because the Ministry, and by Ministry I mean Fudge, thought that Dumbledore was creating an army to take over the Ministry. Which is a load of tosh really. Dumbledore had nothing to do with our club besides being the namesake, we named the club Dumbledore's Army, or the D.A. for short. Our purpose was to learn how to defend ourselves and those around us to keep us all safe. We all knew that there would be a war soon, so we learned to fight.
"It was this group that either left their dorms or came to the school a few nights ago to help us fight. Everyone in the D.A. fought bravely and we can't thank you all enough. If it weren't for everyone who fought, we never would have won this war. Harry, Ron and I would like to thank you all for joining us." Hermione stepped back from the podium to thunderous applause.
"Ok, well, we'll now answer a few questions from the audience. You over there." Hermione pointed to a man wearing bright blue robes and carrying a Muggle notebook and pen.
"Yes, my question is for Mr. Potter. I heard someone say that you think Sirius Black is innocent? How is that possible?"
"Well," Harry started, "It all has to do with when my parents went into hiding. They had their house put under the Fidelius charm. Everyone believed that they would use Sirius as the Secret Keeper because he was my father's best friend. Sirius knew this and told them to use Peter Pettigrew because no one would suspect him. It was the mistake that led to their deaths, because Pettigrew was already working for Voldemort. The scene that everyone knows, that Sirius cornered Pettigrew on a crowded street and proceeded to blow it up is wrong. Sirius did go after Pettigrew, but what no one knows is that Peter Pettigrew was a rat Animagus. My father and his friends all secretly learned to be an Animagus in school. He had his wand behind his back and he cut off his finger, blew up the street, transformed, and spent the next twelve years as a rat. Sirius was sent to Azkaban without a trial and without a chance to defend himself. And because the Ministry was so hurried and unfair, an innocent man spent twelve years of his life suffering in Azkaban, then the next two years of his life in hiding. This was a severe injustice because not only did an innocent life suffer, but my godfather was taken away, and Remus Lupin lost not only his two friends to death and me to my relatives, but he also lost a best friend to prison and who he thought was a best friend murdered by the other. So many lives were ruined that night, because one man made a bad decision." Harry stepped back ending his speech and chose another person.
"Yes, my question is for Ron Weasley. You said that breaking into Gringotts was the most memorable of your encounters, were there others as daring as that one?" All three of them laughed, Ron looked at them and they nodded.
"Well, actually yes, there was one other break-in we did, but that one almost ended in disaster so we didn't really think we should bring it up."
"Oh, Ron, there were other reasons we didn't bring it up, like for example it was in the Ministry." Hermione laughed as the crowd gasped. More hands raised up, but Hermione told them to wait while Ron told the story. They answered the press' questions for ten minutes, and the final question was aimed at Harry.
"Mr. Potter, what did you think of Severus Snape being appointed Headmaster? Do you support the appointment of Headmistress McGonagall for the new term?"
The three of them looked at each other and smiled sadly.
"I whole-heartedly support Professor McGonagall as Headmistress, she's an excellent professor and she's great at her job. She knows how to discipline and yet still be able to show support to that person without showing favoritism. She'll be an excellent Headmistress." The trio saw McGonagall at the side of the crowd dab at her eyes in a rare show of emotion.
As that was the last question Ron and Hermione began to turn around to sit back down but Harry stepped forward once more. Ron and Hermione looked confused for a moment until they heard what Harry said next.
"There is one more person I would like to talk about before I sit back down." Ron and Hermione smiled their encouragement to Harry before they turned and walked back to their seats.
"Their was one person who fought bravely since before I was born and up until his death a few days ago. Before I tell you his name, I'd like to tell you all a story. If you understand at any point who I'm talking about, please stay quiet and hear the rest of the story:
"A young man, who grew up in a broken home, came to Hogwarts. He was taught just like all the other kids. As he grew up he fell in love, with a beautiful young lady. The problem was, he was a Slytherin and she was a Gryfindor. She was a Muggle-born and he was a half-blood. The group of people who were friends with the young lady teased and tourtured the young man all his school life. The young lady fell in love with one of his tormenters and they left school and got married and had a child together. This young man became a Death Eater.
"The young man still loved this young lady even though she was lost to him. He didn't know that when he told his master what he had over heard at a bar one night, it would send his master after his only love. When he found out that the information he had given his master would lead to the deaths of James and Lily Potter, he fled to the only man he knew would give him salvation and a chance to explain, Dumbledore. He explained that he loved Lily Potter and would never cause her harm intentionally. Dumbledore said he would do all in his power to save them. Dumbledore let the man repent and provided him with a chance to redeem himself. He became a spy for the Order of the Phoenix. Soon after that my parents were killed and I defeated Voldemort as a 15-month old child. The young man was horrified by what he had done, and vowed to Dumbledore that he would never be on the same side of the man who killed his only love, Lily. He vowed to help Dumbledore to protect the child of his love, me, for my mother's sake.
"Years later, I was brought to a graveyard and Voldemort was resurected. The young man was told he must return to be the spy the Order needed. He returned to Voldemort's side and brought news to the Order. A few years later Dumbeldore revealed a secret to the man which infuriated him. Dumbledore knew that I would need to sacrifice myself to stop Voldemort and the man said that he had not spent the last decade and a half trying to keep me safe only to let myself die for the greater good. Dumbledore asked him if he cared for me, and the man said, it was all for her, Lily. He then sent off his Patronus, which took the shape of a doe, the same Patronus that my mum had. It proved to Dumbledore that this man was truly and forever on the side of good.
"Later that year, Dumbledore was injured and knew that this injury would eventually kill him. He was also informed of a plot against his life by one Draco Malfoy. He didn't want Malfoy to become a murderer, so he planned with the man that when the opportune moment came, the man would kill Dumbeldore and gain Voldemort's total trust. This way the man would be able to help the Order in ways that no one else could. This man's name was Severus Snape." The audience was in an uproar. People were screaming that in no way could Snape, the man who had killed Dumbledore, be innocent. Harry held up his hand again and waited for calm to restore.
"I know that you all find this difficult to take in, believe me, I was there when Snape killed my mentor. I saw his face and heard him utter that spell. It wasn't until about thirty minutes before I went to Voldemort that I believed that Snape was truly innocent. I saw his memories of the past. I know they were not tampered with because I have seen tampered memories. Snape was innocent. He became headmaster to the school on Voldemort's orders…and Dumbledore's. We all know that Dumbledore trusted Snape explicitly, and now I do, too. I watched Voldemort kill Snape in cold blood. Snape spent his life as a spy, gaining information for the good, and feeding just enough information to the bad side to keep us all safe and yet keep himself in the inner circle of Voldemort's. We need to remember him as he was, but also remember him as a hero, because that was what he was. It takes more courage and bravery than even I have to do what Snape did.
"I wanted to tell you all this so you would know that he was a hero and that he derserves to be remembered as one. Thank you." Harry stepped away from the platform and sat back down while the audience applauded him. Kingsley stood back up and started talking about how he had also seen the memories and that what Harry had said was true. Ron and Hermione, who hadn't known that Harry was going to speak about Snape started whispering to him.
"You did the right thing Harry, Dumbledore would be proud," Hermione said to him.
"Yeah, but I'm sure Snape would have hated the fact that you told everyone that he loved your mum," Ron said, which made Harry chuckle.
"Too true, mate, too true," Harry whispered back quietly. He tuned into the end of Kingsley's speech.
"I want it to be known that the way the Ministry has been run in the past was old fashioned. Changes will be made. Bribery and blackmail will not be tolerated, and anyone found to be dealing in the Dark Arts will be immediately discharged and sentenced.
"Victems of the corrupt Ministry will be reimbursed with new wands or have their wands returned to them, and anyone deemed as an Undesirable, will be examined by a pannel and those who pass will no longer be Undesirable. They will receive a reward for having to deal with the corrupt Ministry and for the problems this title has caused. The public will be offered classes to learn how to defend themselves so that they can defend their families and themselves from danger. No longer will we leave the public to defend themselves in trying times. No longer will we try to use people for our own gains or to make the public feel safer.
"I vow that while I am Interim Minister, changes will be made for the good. This concludes the press conference. Reporters have five minutes to remove themselves and their photographers from the grounds now. And I would like to remind everyone that the memorial tomorrow will begin at ten AM sharp. Thank you."
Kingsley turned around to thunderous applause and walked off the stage and into the school. He was followed by the trio. They all walked to the Head's office for a quick meeting to discuss the next day's celebrations.
A/N: well this was a little drawn out, for anyone who has been wondering, the major plot line of this story is healing. There will be a few sub-plots in a little bit, but I wanted to let veyone know this. I seem to be loosing a lot of people after the first chapter, and It's bugging me a little. I made sure that it was very clear that the first chapter was a review ch. And that no one should judge my story by that chapter…but for some reason, I have just over 200 hits on chapter 1, but barely 150 is the following three chapters…which tells me people are reading the first chapter and not continuing. If there are people out there who like my story, please review and let me know that. It helps a lot to know I have people out there who like it. Critisism is welcome, point out any errors you may see, whatever. For having over 350 hits and only 2 reviews…it's a little depressing. You can also email me any questions you may have about plot line and where the story is going, I'll always reply! Thanks!