Edited by the mighty pazed!
Sorry for the for the delay in chapters, technical issues prevented earlier posting.
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Chapter 27
Minerva McGonagall led the small group along the pathway leading up to Hogwarts listening in as they talked amongst themselves.
"Is that the giant squid?" one of the visitors asked, pointing towards the remains of the groundskeeper's cabin that had been crushed by the body of the immense creature.
"It is," was the only reply that McGonagall gave as she continued on towards the castle. She sighed sadly as the murmurs intensified behind her.
Another voice from the group asked, "What happened to the Forbidden Forest? Why is it burnt so badly?"
"That is a question I am sure will be answered shortly," she said in a carefully metered voice. Minerva wasn't sure why Harry and Hermione wanted that… person here but the others had agreed with it so all she could do was tolerate the individual.
"We will be joining the others in the Great Hall," she said, pausing to turn and look at the group as they approached their destination, where Filius Flitwick awaited them. "What you are going to learn here today will most likely be surprising, and perhaps unsettling. For that reason, as well your safety, I have been asked to collect all wands before you enter Hogwarts. This will also be standard procedure for any guests within the castle, other than law enforcement, in the future."
That sent the majority of the group into a frenzy of angry arguments aimed at her. She waited for a moment then yelled, "SILENCE! You are no longer children! You have been asked here to meet with the people that saved our lives! They have put their lives on the line multiple times to aid us against the darkest of foes! And I assure you that it is not in the name of their safety that they ask this, but yours! As well as the children's that are housed within these walls! The only wands in people's hands within the walls, at the moment, are those in the hand of the remaining staff or those personally chosen by us!"
She glared at the group in front of her for a moment, then continued. "We want no misunderstandings here! If you will not comply then Hagrid…" she gestured to the area behind them, where they spotted the half giant standing for the first time, a huge crossbow held loosely in his arms... "will escort you back outside the Hogwarts wards! This school is still on a war footing, its defenses are at their highest levels. Be assured that you will not come to harm within these halls!"
Slowly the muttering group members formed a queue and shuffled their way past, each passing a wand to her.
As one of the men passed her, she spoke again. "While I appreciate that you were Alistair Moody's friend, as well as one of my own, and a decorated auror, you are not here in that capacity at the moment, and it would do a disservice to his memory if I let you walk into the castle with the other two wands you have on your person… I will take the knife as well."
The man turned to her shocked. "Bu-"
McGonagall's glare intensified. "You were one of those requested, by name; if you wish to find out why, give them to me, otherwise collect your wand and be about your day!" The aggravation in her voice was plain.
He slowly nodded, knelt and drew an extra wand from his right boot, and then another from a sheath hidden by his cloak along his back, along with a long bladed knife from the opposite side.
She smiled softly at the man. "Thank you."
After the last one entered she hung back, as they were led inside by her friend. Passing the box she had conjured to hold the wands to Hagrid, she checked that they were out of both sight and hearing range. "Thank you for your help Mr. Stark… you must understand it was a time of war and those that were carrying extra wands... they were just being careful," she said to no one.
A voice replied over the device that he had given her to be placed in her ear. "Oh, we understand Professor," the disembodied voice of Tony Stark said. "And we don't hold it against them, we just want everyone safe. The fewer weapons in the room to worry about the better."
She sighed. "You are correct of course… it's just… we never have treated a wand as weapon… but a tool."
Tony chuckled. "And I am sure that is the way most people use them as well, but that still doesn't mean they can't be used as weapons. Most tools are like that, from the simple lever on up. It's best that we be as safe as we can."
She nodded absently. "Agreed, but thank you for using your amazing armor to make it easier."
You could almost hear the shrug in his voice. "Meh… No problem. Now that my scanners know what to look for…"
A roar came from overhead, as a suit of red and gold flew down from the ramparts and landed. Ironman's faceplate opened, and he gave her a roguish smile. "It was no trouble at all."
The mutters amongst the group fell silent as they entered the Great Hall and found it filled with the students of Hogwarts finishing their breakfast. It was only a matter of moments before several families were being reunited with tears of joy.
"It does my old heart joy to see such a sight," said McGonagall to Tony, now with his visor closed again, walking beside her.
"Makes me feel the same way," he replied as they moved towards the front of the room, several of their new guests gasping at the sight of Ironman as they passed.
The heads of the adults slowly swiveled to follow them as they made their way to the front of the room where they were joined by not only the Hogwarts staff, but several others in odd clothing.
A blond man dressed in red white and blue and carrying a shield stepped forward, at his side a dark headed teen dressed in blue so deep it almost appeared to be black at first glance. An intense look on both of their faces quieted the room as he addressed the newcomers more than the children in the room. "My name is Steve Rodgers, but most people know me as Captain America."
The teen next to him spoke next. "And I believe most of you know me, but I have grown a bit over the last year or so since my last new picture appeared in the Prophet. My name is Harry Potter."
"Kids," Steve said, addressing the younger members of the group. "Would you please return to your seats and finish your breakfast, if you haven't already, while our visitors get settled…" He smiled at the disappointed looks on both the older and younger people in front of him. "They aren't going anywhere, and neither are you. We want you to hear what is said here today, and afterwards you can spend time with your parents, okay?"
Still looking disappointed they all hugged their parents once again and returned to their seats. "Once arrangements can be made publicly and announced, the staff will be ready to send the children home; they don't believe that will be more than a week or two. Hopefully that will be enough time for parents or other loved ones to make arrangements for them to arrive."
A tall black man dressed in dark robes rose and extended his hand. "Kingsley Shacklebolt, I was an Auror before the takeover and on the team that protected the Prime Minister… I saw what you and your friends did in New York on the news report… He… the Prime Minister, had it on the entire day. You saved thousands of lives that day!"
Steve sighed, as he took the man's hand. "But the cost was high… that was a terrible day for the city… Come, sit. We have much to discuss." He led the group to the front of the room and a small set of tables in front of the staff's seating area.
"Fred? George?" Harry asked. "Have you got everything ready?"
"Just finishing-" said one of the twins from the right side of the table.
"-checking over everything," said the other from the other side, as they both stood.
"Good, we said we would be on the air at nine this morning, let's get started," Harry said as the group moved to take their seats.
A short time later one of the twins gave Harry a thumb up sign. "Good morning, my name is Harry Potter. As you were told in yesterday's Daily Prophet, this broadcast is coming to you live from Hogwarts. For those of you that sent owls to the school yesterday please do not do so again, and please do not come to Hogwarts yourself as the school's siege wards are still operational at this time and will remain so until arrangements can be made for the assured safe return of your children. All of the students that were in attendance this year are safe, and accounted for."
He paused for a moment before continuing, "All owls are restricted and will stay that way for the foreseeable future. If the name of a student did not appear in the list that was published in the Prophet yesterday and that you believed to be at Hogwarts, please address an owl to the Ministry, care of the new Child Safety Department, and it will be forwarded to the Hogwarts staff as they have agreed to help out in this time of need. Once received you will be contacted as soon as possible… And please remember, they are doing all they can to try and return Ministry services as soon as possible. Thank you."
As Harry stepped away from the podium another approached the microphone. "This is Minerva McGonagall, interim Headmaster of Hogwarts. Once again I wish to assure all of the parents out there, your children are perfectly safe within the wards of Hogwarts. That said," she continued, "it will be my pleasure to introduce, to those gathered here, as well to those of you at home, those we owe a great debt for not only defeating the self styled Lord Voldemort…"
Many in the gathered audience gasped at her use of the man's name, including many of the adults. She continued, "otherwise known as Tom Marvolo Riddle, but his followers as well."
Several people in the audience looked confused by the pronouncement, as she spoke again. "For those of you listening on the Wizarding Wireless, pictures will be included in tomorrow's Prophet of those I am about to introduce-"
"Wait!" said a redhead that was suddenly standing at the table. "Who is this Tom Riddle? And what does he have to do with He-Who- Shall-Not-Be-Named?"
He withered under the glare turned on him by the elder Professor. "Percy Weasley! Do sit down! That will be one of the points of discussion shortly, after the introductions are made!" She huffed as the young man sat, and adjusted her wire rimmed glasses. "As I was saying, pictures, as well as a small biography, of those I am about to introduce will be included in tomorrow's Daily Prophet, along with a transcript of today's Wizarding Wireless transmission."
"Our first guest is Captain Steve Rogers," she said, gesturing to the Star Spangled Avenger, "or as he is known world wide, Captain America."
Steve waved a red gloved hand as Bozo the photographer from the Daily Prophet snapped a picture of him, as they awaited the polite applause to die down.
"To his right is Mr. Tony Stark, also known as Ironman." Tony removed his helmet and waved to the people gathered. "Next is Clint Barton, Hawkeye." He waved, looking uncomfortable. "And Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow. Together they are known as the Avengers. All of them have traveled here from the colonies to assist us in our time of darkness."
She turned to the next group. "Now from our side of the pond, Spitfire," The woman dressed in red and gold waved. "And the Black Knight." Several people in the audience gasped as Dane stood next to his new friends. "And a visitor unlike any I have met before, Motormouth…" The young woman took her place next to Dane, a smirk on her dark painted lips.
Stepping forward next came a green giantess. "The next is a name I am sure all of you are familiar with, Hermione Granger… Or as she is coming to be known, She-Hulk." At that point there were several gasps of shock and murmurs throughout the room.
"And of course, Harry Potter." Harry stepped forward next into the rank of heroes. He may not have liked it but Steve had explained how important it was for him to be seen as a role model especially as they were trying to move forward from here.
"I give you the Heroes of Hogwarts!" she said, backing away from the podium, and clapping.
After the applause broke down Harry approached the podium once more. "Thank you all for your kind applause," he said trying to keep a handle on the nervousness he felt about the next part of the speech the Avengers had helped him craft.
"I know that you all have questions," he said, then took a deep breath. "And we will try our best to answer them, but first I need to tell you a little more about how we came to meet the Avengers."
He took a moment to look at his new friends, then out into the surrounding crowd. "Over the last year…" He turned to Hermione and grasped her hand pulling her up beside him. "Hermione and I, along with Ron Weasley for much of the time, were on the run from the Death Eaters that had gained control of the Ministry. However this was not just for being Public Enemy number 1 and 2. No it was also for another reason, a reason only known to us and given, personally, to us by Albus Dumbledore."
"Tom Marvolo Riddle," he said, waving his wand and causing the name to form in the air in floating flames, "was Lord Voldemort's real name. He was a student at this verry school," he continued, as the letters rearranged themselves in front of their eyes to say I AM LORD VOLDEMORT. "He was even given an award for special services to the school, it's up in the trophy room… I've had to polish it more than once," he said with a chuckle.
"He had undergone several dark rituals over his lifetime, and we were searching for rare items to help us undo or suppress those rituals, hoping they would be the key that would allow his defeat." He saw the look of surprise on many of the adults sitting in front of him.
"As for why Professor Dumbledore chose three students that had yet to finish their education to do this is unknown… Even to us." He shook his head, slowly. "There were many times we wished for any form of help while we were on the run… finally a time came when Ron had to leave us as well, as the ruse of his illness with Spattergroit was about to expose his family to more danger." He looked at his old friend and his family sitting at the Gryffindor table. "You did the right thing mate…" Harry said with a soft smile. "I'm glad your family made it through…"
He turned back to the microphone and wiped his eyes. "We were alone, and just about to give up hope when the Avengers found us."
He smiled as he looked at the group to his right. "It wasn't the greatest way to meet, but when they heard our story they were all ready to help… They are some of the greatest friends we could ever hope for."
"Though, in truth," he said, "we were lucky when we met them, even though it was during an accident that ended up with both Hermione and myself injured… I'm just grateful that they were willing to help, even if they didn't know a single thing about magic…"
That set the room into a stir, as several shouts of, "They're muggles?" were heard.
Harry stood quietly and waited for the pelting of shouts and questions to die down, finally it took a cannon blast charm from Flitwick to gain their attention as well as their silence.
In the end only one person remained standing in the audience, Kingsley Shacklebolt. Once it was quiet again he spoke. "Harry, you broke the Statute of Secrecy? They're going to need their memories altered. How cou-"
"How could I do such a thing?" he asked, cutting him off, angered by the man's question.
"Let me ask you a question, what you would have done?" Harry snapped. "You're lost, starving, injured in the edge of a battle not of your own making when you are found by good people, brought to their home and healed, at their expense, all while they are trying to stop an invasion of their city!"
Kingsley stepped back a half step as he spit out the last word. "Then they took the time to find out about us and help plan a way to free our bloody people from a sociopath and his followers! They stepped up! The Avengers, and the people that we met here, then took on those forces both here at Hogwarts, and at the Ministry! Just this group!" he growled.
Hermione placed her hand on his shoulder softly, and pulled him away. "Harry… he doesn't understand… He may have seen what they did in New York… but..."
Dane stepped forward and came to the microphone. "You do not know me," he said as he removed his helmet and set it on the pedestal, "but I suspect many of you here know of my family's mantle and the history of the Black Knight." He looked around the room slowly seeing nervousness in several people's eyes.
"For those of you who do not know of our story, the Black Knight is a mantle passed down through my family, one given to us by King Arthur and Merlin themselves and blessed by Avalon. One that places us in a position to be the final protection of the British realm, magical or not, from threats, be they from within our shores, or born from beyond, an honor my family had lost sight of for a time allowing the rise of not one, but two dark wizards from within our own lands. For this I can only offer you my humblest of apologies, and my assurance that we will not do so again, as Avalon has once again graced my family with its blessings," he said as he lay his hand on the hilt of his sword.
He looked towards his new friends, "These are people who are heroes, ones that have put their lives on the line against threats beyond your most wild of dreams, and against evils that boggle the mind. For their help I say we offer them our thanks, then look to ourselves to see that this type of thing never happens again."
An older woman stood from her chair, adjusting her vulture topped hat as she did. "Sir Knight, my name is Augusta Longbotttom… and yes while I know of, and respect, your mantle, do you expect us to trust them not to divulge our whereabouts, or that magic exists?"
Dane smiled at the older woman. "My dear woman, that is of little issue to them. You may not know this but they are famous throughout the world for their exploits. Captain America, Ironman, Hawkeye, and the Black Widow recently fought side by side with Thor, the Norse God of Thunder, to turn back an invasion of his brother Loki and his minions that would have seen this entire world in ruins. If these so called muggles can see and deal with something like that then I do not believe that keeping your world's existence quiet will be difficult."
"It's true Grams," Neville said, standing at the Gryffindor table. "We saw… well it was kind of like a pensieve of the invasion… It was terrifying."
Augusta Longbottom studied her grandson for a long moment before nodding. "Very well…" She looked at the group in question. "You must understand, we stay hidden for a reason, magic cannot solve all of your problems…"
Tony chuckled. "Miss, we 'muggles' do alright for ourselves," he said with a smile. "In fact I think you may just be surprised about what we can do… that is something that will need to be discussed in great detail in the near future once your government is functioning again. Muggle technology has caught up, and in many cases surpassed your magic."
There were a number of cries of astonishment and disbelief from around the room, at his statement, before the Knight could speak again. "My friend, Tony, speaks the truth. For too long have you blinded yourselves to the world of the non-magical, no longer are they simple uneducated farmers, and have a magic all of their own called science! And Tony Stark and his amazing armor stand at the forefront of their technology."
Tony put his helmet back on and rose into the air at that point and made a slow circle around the Great Hall, before landing again, his face plate popping open again.
One of the boys, his robes highlighted in green and silver, was on his feet in moments. "And that is supposed to impress us? You stupid MUGGLE, we've been flying on brooms for generations! Your clunky armor is no match for..."
"Mr. Loch!" Minerva yelled. "You will sit back down and be silent!"
"No that's alright Professor," Tony said, waving her off. "No… Mr. Loch was it?" The young man nodded. "That was just a demonstration, nothing more… Let me ask you something, how long would it take you to fly from here to… Let's say where you catch the train in London."
The boy scoffed, "We wouldn't do it, it's too far."
Tony shrugged. "Humor me, how long?"
It was Fred and George Weasley who answered, "Top speed of Harry's Thunderbolt, the best on the market, is 240kph and it can reach that speed in ten seconds…"
"Ok, so that's easy to figure out," Tony said, clapping his gauntleted hands together. "How far is it to London?"
"Roughly 800km," McGonagall said.
"Alright then it would take a little over three hours…" Tony said. "I can make it in twenty minutes."
Several gasps came from around the room, but the same young man stood again. "So? We can floo there in just about no time from anyplace in Hogsmeade that is hooked to the network, and…"
Tony held up his hand, causing the boy to pause. "Okay let's make it harder. I can be in Paris France in less than an hour and a half and so can they." He pointed to the rest of the group. "Look, what you need to understand is, the world around you is changing, and you and your people are not! When was the last time a significant change came to your world? The antique train you ride to school in? You need to learn to adapt, and understand what has been happening around you because people are going to notice, and despite all of your amazing spells and hiding as you have, you will eventually be discovered and will be unable to hide yourselves away the same way again!"
"Is that a threat?" asked Kingsley.
It was Harry that stepped forward this time. "There was no threat, Auror Shaklebolt," he said, "Just the truth. You need to understand that these are people that sent men to walk on the moon, and have put permanent structures in orbit around the earth. One of which is an international hub for experimentation, and another is a giant telescope used to learn about the stars… We wizards may still be able to move about quicker by apparition or port-key, both limited greatly by the ability of the caster, but they can move people and cargo by the ton with ease."
Several of the guests looked at each other as he continued. "That is why we brought you here today, and are sending this transmission out live via Wizarding Wireless. This is your chance to change things for the better for your people, to stamp out the blatant corruption, and the pandering, and to put in place a government that is for all of the people not a chosen few. You can be the new leaders of your world, build something new, something that works for everyone, pureblood, half-blood or muggleborn."
It was Rita Skeeter that stood and spoke at that point. "You say that like you will not be a part of it," she said.
Harry looked at Hermione and his friends. "We… Hermione and I, have been through a lot, even more than usual for us over the last year," he said with a chuckle. "We need some time… a break… some time for ourselves. First to look deeper into the changes caused by Hermione's accident, and what it could mean for her future, then to possibly do something else for a while… possibly see some more of the world…"
Loud murmurs filled the room, till Ginny stood. "So that's it then? You're leaving?" she asked tears rolling down her cheeks.
Harry sighed. "For a while… we'll be back, but we need time. Time to rest… time to think. Our lives have been dictated to us for too long, between a psychopath trying to kill us and a headmaster with plans so convoluted that we still can't follow his reasoning," he said, exasperated.
Hermione placed her hand on his shoulder. "And we won't be completely unreachable, I promise, there will be people that will know how to reach us if need be… No worries Gin."
The girl smiled softly and sat again. "Rita, you and Luna," Hermione continued. "We will talk with you shortly and you can ask your questions to be published in both the Prophet as well as the new Quibbler… remember our deal after the Tri-Wizard…" she said, glaring at the woman
The now nervous woman nodded again and sat.
Minerva took that to be her cue. "Now for those of you that are visiting, please feel free to visit your children, and again for those parents at home, your children are safe here, and the Hogwarts Express will hopefully be returning them home in a few days. Thank you and please have a good morning," she finished, leaving the room to dissolve into happy reunited families and students talking about the possibilities of the future.