Chapter 107 – Explanations

Year end exams were over! With his Charms exam completed, Harry joined Neville and Ron for a walk outside before lunch, to soak up some sun and just relax. The boys were on their own, because Hermione was the only one in the group who had taken Ancient Runes, which meant that she had one final exam to take that afternoon. Typically, she went off to the library for some last-minute revising before lunch.

"Come on, guys! This is a perfect day for flying!" Ron exhorted his friends as he led the trio out of the castle and down the stone steps. Neville did not look too enthused; while his flying had improved a bit after his memorable first flying lesson, he was still not really comfortable on a broom, and would certainly think twice before flying too high or too fast, both basic characteristics of Ron's flying. Harry looked appalled, as he hadn't been down to the Quidditch pitch since that horrible day when the Elder Demon arrived to destroy it.

Ron finally realized that neither of his companions shared his enthusiasm, so he explained. "No, not at the pitch! The pitch is cleaned up – it's going to be fine for games next year, I'm sure, but no one flies there now, 'cause it's not been all repaired yet. But we can fly over the lawn down by the lake, or even go over the lake. I heard that the Giant Squid has been watching out for fliers and caught a first year who fell off his broom last week, carried him to shore. It's a brilliant way to spend an hour, come on!"

Harry had perked up a bit at the idea of a fly around the lawn and over the lake; he'd always found that a bit of flying really calmed him down. Neville remained unconvinced, now adding flight over water to his concerns about flying in general. Neville's concerns evaporated when he was approached by one of the warriors.

"Neville, lad, might you have an hour or so? I've got a bit of an issue up at my farm – there's an infestation of some sort, killing the barley plants. Could you come along with us and take a look?"

Neville did not have to be asked twice – he immediately waved goodbye to Ron and Harry and walked off toward the encampment of warriors, several of whom were waiting with butterbeer caps in hand to travel to the farms via portkeys.

Ron and Harry waved back, and broke into a slow jog over to the broom shed to gather up some school brooms for their impromptu fly.

Harry kicked off right outside the broom bshed, and spiraled up to tree-top level before darting toward the shore of the lake. He zigged and zagged, followed closely by Ron. They spotted the Giant Squid a few dozen meters offshore, just about the same time that it spotted them, and the large fish kept a wary eye on them as they flew over the water. The boys flew several laps around the lake shore, sometimes ranging far over the water, and other times over the land. By the time Harry landed back on the land, he was windblown, rosy-cheeked, slightly winded and absolutely glad that he'd taken Ron up on the invitation to go flying. He'd nearly forgotten how totally exhilarating a flight for the pure joy of flying could be.

"Ron, that was fantastic!" Harry gasped as he got his breath back. "I haven't done that in a long time, and it felt so good."

Ron was trying to rake his fingers through his red hair to smooth it down, and having only minimal success. He grinned back at Harry. "Yeah, mate. It's been too long since we did that. I missed it, too."

It was still about a quarter hour before lunch, so the two took their time strolling along the path back to the castle, catching up.

"So, you ready for tonight? My dad's thrilled to be speaking at the class, even more to be sharing the night with you," Ron ventured.

"Yeah, it will be good. I met with him last Sunday to go over what we each will be saying, so I think we're good to go, and we have everything covered. He'll be great," Harry added, suspecting that Ron was a bit nervous. "He's so enthusiastic, and genuine, you know? People will just know, when he talks, that he's serious and excited about what he's saying. That comes through, and he'll be a great ambassador for the Ministry. They couldn't have picked a better person to speak for them."

Ron looked proud to hear Harry say that about his dad, and Harry, noticing Ron's reaction, was secretly pleased that he thought to share his admiration of Arthur with Ron.

Ron suddenly looked a bit ill at ease – something was clearly bothering him and he was very reluctant to bring it up. "So, um, er . . . how are things going with you and Snape?"

Harry was a bit puzzled by the question, but willing to answer. "Pretty good, actually. We've been getting along well. He's almost never snarky, and he really looks after me, you know? This past week, during exams, he actually fussed over me. It was weird, but in a good way."

Ron seemed somewhat but not entirely relieved. "I was wondering if, um, you know, um . . . oh, never mind."

"No, Ron, don't be like that. You're my best mate, if you have a question, you can ask it. If I can't answer, I'll tell you."

Ron was now in full blush, his freckles standing out against a very red face, which clashed badly with his red hair. He looked quite miserable. "Look, I'm sorry I started this."

Harry was torn between amusement and annoyance. "You aren't getting off that easily. What did you want to ask me?"

With a roll of his eyes and an air of resignation, Ron nodded glumly. "Well, Hermione's been hinting about our relationship, and I saw her whispering with you the other day. I wondered if she mentioned me. And I was just wondering if you and Snape had moved along from where you were."

Oblique and not clearly stated, but Harry knew Ron well enough to understand what he meant.

"Hermione hadn't mentioned anything about what was going on between you and her. I will say, I could tell something changed between you when you both stopped acting weird, but she never told me what happened. She was all worried about whether I'd had an argument with Aunt Petunia when I ran into her in the greenhouses the other day, and she was just pressing for details." Ron was relieved to hear that; he'd seen the two friends whispering back and forth very intently at the table and wasn't sure what they'd been talking about.

"As for Severus and me, well, he's always made it clear that he was not going to mature our bond until I was certain about the direction I wanted to take with him, and while he never came out and said it, I suspect he's thinking that I won't know that until I turn 17. I'm actually sure that I want to stay with Severus – he's my family now, and that's just what I want. So, what's going on then with you and Hermione?"

Ron swallowed before answering. "Actually, I think we're in a place not too far from where you and Snape are. We've talked about taking our relationship to the next level, which of course is girl-talk for having sex, but I want it to be special, not just rolling around on the dirt behind the greenhouses. Not with Moine. Where on earth in this crowded castle we're going to find the privacy and time for this, anytime soon, I don't know. But we've talked about it, and, well, there you are."

Harry's face broke into a wide grin. "I have a suggestion for you, Ron – the Room of Requirement! You need a quiet, peaceful bedroom setting, I'd imagine, and I'm sure it can help you out."

Ron's face broke into an even wider grin. "OK, I can see that I wouldn't think of something like that, but I can't believe that you came up with it and Hermione hasn't thought of it yet." The grin faded a bit as he got back to Harry's situation. "You're sure you want to stay bonded to Snape, then?"

That was a serious question, and Harry gave it a serious answer. "I've made up my mind. The Marriage Stone did know what it was talking about when it chose him for me. He's not the easiest person to deal with" Harry chucked as he jabbed Ron in the ribs in response to the eye-roll that comment elicited, "but he's making me very happy." Still giggling at Ron, he added "I'll spare you the intimate details. But I am certain that Severus and I have a future together."

Ron shook his head in wonder at that. "Thanks for not overdoing the details. Who'd've thought? I'm happy for you, then."

"Yeah, well, it's only fair. You and Mione have a future together, it seems. Get started on that soon," Harry offered with a wink, causing Ron to blush, very predictably, again.

Laughing, the two headed into the castle for lunch.

X X X X X X X X X X

Amaranth was almost too nervous to eat at dinner that evening. The girl was frequently high-strung, but Petunia had never seen her this wound-up. Their little group at their table had expanded to include several other women. Petunia had learned from experience that a bigger group at dinner before these events kept the conversation going and it helped distract Amaranth and ease her jitters, so she'd made sure to have a small group join them.

Petunia had become acquainted with these women over the past weekend on the excursion to Hogsmeade. A group of half a dozen women, including witches and squibs, had made the trek to the quaint little town on Saturday, walking there in late morning to enjoy lunch in one of the nicer tearooms and then doing some browsing and shopping. Petunia had been rather startled to realize that the day – the lunch, the shopping, the conversations, all of it – had been exactly like days she often enjoyed in the muggle world with her muggle friends. Of course, she kept that to herself, but it still made her think.

She also had her first brush with wizard money. Petunia had inspected the strange coins Harry had sent to her with a certain suspicion. She also consulted Amaranth, who gave her an overview of the relative value of the different kinds of coins used in the magical world. However, Petunia still had no idea of the buying power of Galleons, or how they equated to muggle money. She was a bit nervous that she might not have enough, and was very surprised to discover that just one of the big golden coins covered her share of the very lovely luncheon and got her a handful of other coins as change.

Petunia was also very taken with the quaintness of Hogsmeade. To her, it looked like a reconstructed medieval village, but instead of being a tourist destination, it was seemingly a thriving village in which quite a few people resided and happily went about their business despite the apparent lack of modern amenities. The greatest shock, however, was the view of Hogwarts Castle as the group walked back. She'd not seen the castle from any distance before, and was quite amazed by the imposing grandeur of the building. Just like Hogsmeade, it appeared to be something lifted straight out of centuries-ago history, or maybe even a fairy tale. It was almost hard to fathom that she'd been living there for a couple of months now.

Petunia had no problem getting a few of these women to join her and Amaranth at Wednesday's dinner. The squib program that evening was all everyone, magical as well as squib, had been talking about for several weeks now and her role as the organizer had made Amaranth something of a celebrity herself. An older woman, a witch named Marie something-or-other, had maneuvered herself into a seat next to Amaranth and was peppering her with questions.

"My husband Harold tells me that the talk at the Ministry is that the Minister herself will be coming to the program tonight. Did you ever imagine that the program that you proposed would attract such attention?"

Amaranth shook her head a bit as she smiled. "No, ma'am. I really thought in terms of helping those who were brand new to this world to learn something about it, to better understand what it was like, how things worked here, that sort of thing. I was amazed at the number of volunteers we got, immediately, to present on all manner of topics. Most of the professors here, including the Headmaster, were quite enthused, but we've had several members of the Wizengamot speak, as well as businessmen and even the Head Goblin at Gringotts. It's been quite astonishing, really, quite beyond my expectations."

Amaranth had heard from Professor Sprout earlier that afternoon that the Ministry had contacted the Headmaster because Minister Bones wished to attend. It had momentarily made her extremely nervous, but Professor Sprout was quick to reassure her that Minister Bones was a very lovely lady. It turned out that they'd been classmates at Hogwarts and while sorted into different Houses, they'd been friends. Thanks to Professor Sprout's quick reassurances, the Minister for Magic was just about the only dignitary associated with the program whose attendance did not cause Amaranth to get upset.

"And how on earth did you get Harry Potter to agree to present to the squibs of all people? That is beyond amazing. I'd have to imagine that he's busy with all sorts of important things – I almost could not believe it when I heard he was going to speak tonight."

The gushing reference to her nephew caught Petunia's ear, but she held her tongue to see how Amaranth answered. She was catching on to the fact that her low opinion of the boy was a decidedly minority viewpoint in the wizarding world, and of course, that horrid boyfriend of Harry's made any criticism of the boy cause for endless embarrassment.

"He's the most remarkable, down-to-earth young man. He's attended every one of our programs, no doubt a big contribution to their success. He wanted to speak, and either he or his bondmate approached Professor Sprout with his request. I don't know him, personally, but she's had him in classes since he arrived here, and thinks he's a wonderful person."

"Of course, hadn't we all been waiting for the boy to come back to the magical world, from wherever the Headmaster hid him, but then to find out he's not just The Boy Who Lived, but the King of the wizarding world – well, that's almost too much!" Marie gushed on.

Amaranth stole a quick look over at Petunia, and was surprised to see that she had a pensive look on her face as she stabbed at her food with her scramasax. Usually, she looked murderous when hearing her nephew praised like that. Amaranth was relieved that Petunia had not responded in her usual manner, even if she wasn't sure if this represented any change in heart.

X X X X X X X X X X

The squib program got underway precisely as scheduled, before the largest audience yet to assemble for one of the sessions. The house elves had expanded the Great Hall to nearly double its size, and even with the trestle tables removed, it was very crowded. There was the usual group of squibs staying at Hogwarts, as well as most of the other castle inhabitants, including the staff. But tonight, quite a few members of the Wizengamot, as well as the Minister of Magic, were in attendance, as were many Ministry officials and employees. Hermione had insisted that her parents come to the castle tonight, as had many other students, both muggle, squib and magical born. Pretty much anyone who could come up with any reason to be at Hogwarts today had shown up, and then stayed for the session, and many others arrived in the evening. There were also reporters and photographers present to cover the session.

Finally, Amaranth stepped up to the podium and the audience slowly quieted down.

"Good evening, one and all. I am delighted at the turn-out that we have for our final program this year, by far our largest audience ever! And who can blame you? We are thrilled to be hearing this evening from Mr. Arthur Weasley, head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Department at the Ministry of Magic and speaking to us tonight on behalf of the Ministry's Department of Explanations, and from Mr. Harry Potter himself! I would also like to acknowledge Madam Bones, the Minister of Magic, who has joined us this evening, together with many members of the Wizengamot and officials and employees at the Ministry." Madam Bones, seated in the front row with a few other magical dignitaries as well as the squib princes, stood and waved back at the audience, which offered polite applause in response.

"May I now present Mr. Arthur Weasley." Amaranth offered, as she turned the podium over to the tall, redheaded man.

Arthur's initial discomfort at speaking to a large audience evaporated by the time he'd bid the audience a good evening. He began telling them some wizard history, explaining in very general terms the rise of a very evil wizard twenty five or so years ago. He then surprised the audience by noting "When Harry and I reviewed what we were each going to be sharing with you tonight, we agreed that it would make the most sense for us to share one presentation rather than speak separately. Harry will explain what happened next, just over 15 years ago."

Any whispering or squirming about came to an immediate halt as Harry stepped up beside Arthur. The room grew completely silent.

"Thank you, Mr. Weasley. I'm sure that those of you who don't know this story already are wondering why I cover the part of this story that begins when I was just a bit over a year old. Obviously, my recollection of this is mainly what I've learned from others."

"Before I get to that, I want to make an observation. It's important for everyone here to remember that whether we are magical, or muggle or squib, we're all human. And just as there are good and bad people in the muggle world, there are good and bad people in the wizarding world. When a wizard goes bad, he can create more havoc in the world, but that's just because magic gives him the opportunity to be bad on a larger scale. This is all about human nature, not whether one has magic or not."

"Anyway, this evil wizard from 25 years ago was named Tom Riddle. He was the son of a muggle and a witch. His muggle father abandoned his mother, and she died when he was born. He was raised in a muggle orphanage and brought to school here at Hogwarts. After he left school, he reinvented himself as he pursued a path of evil, or dark, magic. He began to call himself Lord Voldemort. As you hear from the way quite a few in the audience reacted when I said his name," Harry continued over the gasps and whispers that swelled up in the audience, "there is great superstition in the magical world about even uttering his name. Most call him "You Know Who" or "He Who Must Not Be Named." For someone who had a muggle father, it might surprise you to know that he attacked muggles and those who have magic but are not born into magical families. He appealed to others who valued pure blood, that is, witches and wizards from families that did not have muggles in their family lines. He was gathering followers and killing off those who opposed him, until about 15 years ago. This is where I come into the story. My parents worked hard to oppose Voldemort, and he came to our home to kill them."

At this point, Arthur, who had been standing several steps behind the podium as Harry spoke, stepped forward, and put a fatherly arm around Harry's shoulders as he continued. Harry stole a very quick glance up at Arthur, thanking him for his support with a small smile and a nod. From a spot against the wall near the front of the room, Severus felt a momentary flare of jealously seeing anyone else put his arm around Harry, although under the circumstances, he had to silently thank Arthur himself for showing Harry needed support at that moment.

"Voldemort succeeded in killing my parents, but when he directed the Killing Curse at me, it bounced off me, and nearly killed him. I am told that I am the first person known to have survived the Killing Curse, and I am told that I survived because of my mother's valiant effort to protect me – the love she showed in shielding me from Voldemort is what actually saved me. That's why you sometimes hear me called "The Boy Who Lived." Unfortunately, Voldemort did not die, either, when his Killing Curse bounced off me, but it did weaken him terribly, and he disappeared, for a long time."

At this point, Arthur continued the story, still standing with his arm around Harry's shoulders. He told of the efforts to round up Voldemort's supporters, but the very limited success the Ministry had in doing so. He also told of Voldemort's efforts to return to full strength (although in very general terms, Harry having persuaded him that too graphic a description of his efforts to recover a body would appall the squibs and later the muggles), and how those eventually succeeded two years ago. "Your newspapers have actually covered some of the most recent activities of You Know Who and his followers. When wizards and witches direct magic at the muggle world, you usually don't see it as magic, but explain it in terms muggles understand. You had a very cold, misty summer with some terrible storms a couple of years ago, but that was actually the result of magic unleashed by You Know Who. There were reports in your newspapers about bridges that collapsed, and some terribly violent explosions. Those events were all the result of magic, although muggles believed that this was all caused by structural deficiencies that failed in the face of terrible storms. The violent explosions around the world a few months ago, those were actually the work of an Elder Demon that You Know Who summoned."

Harry took up the narrative here. "The last place the Elder Demon appeared that Saturday was right here, at Hogwarts, right in the middle of the Quidditch Pitch, that really tall stadium you can see from the front of the castle. The Demon succeeded in killing a number of magical people here, before we were able to cast a spell to banish it." There had been quite a discussion on Sunday afternoon about what else to say here, especially as it pertained to identifying Harry as the King of the wizarding world, and his use of the King's Banishment. Harry was adamant – that was not a necessary part of this story, and his preference ultimately swayed the others. He left it very general, very deliberately.

"Just three days after that, Voldemort unleashed a spell on the world. He put every human being in the world to sleep. That doesn't sound very dramatic, does it? But he started with an ancient spell that could put a person to sleep for years, not overnight, and he stripped out a part of the spell that would keep them safe from dehydration or starvation and most other ills for that time. Once he was done modifying the spell, sending it throughout the world, it was weaker, but still was going to put all human beings to sleep for a few months, and without the stasis component to keep them well, humans could not survive that long without water or food. He meant to kill everyone in the world."

There were a number of gasps in the room at that statement, and a few people began sobbing, while others more stoically dabbed at the tears pooling in their eyes. In theory, they all knew this. References to all this had been in the articles in the Daily Prophet, and they'd heard it spoken of, at least piecemeal. Somehow, put so plainly by Harry, the true horror stood out.

"I was able to send a spell out myself, right after I realized what Voldemort had done, but my spell only worked on people who had magic. I was able to waken everyone in the world who had some magic in them. That's how so many of you discovered that you were squibs."

Arthur continued, explaining the concern about what, if anything, the wizarding world could do to save the muggles, and the initial efforts to bring at least those muggles with family in the magical world to places like Hogwarts where they could be cared for. Harry then picked up with the story of developing and casting a spell to keep sleeping muggles safe.

Arthur took a deep breath as he took the floor again. "The Ministry has worked tirelessly to get the muggle world back to rights, but you need to understand that some things could not be fixed. When people fell asleep, there were airplanes in the air, and cars and busses being driven, so there were many bad accidents. We could not undo what happened there. We've rebuilt buildings, and especially thanks to squibs who knew how these things worked, kept the muggle power grid up."

Harry caught Severus' eye as Arthur mentioned the power grid and they shared a smile. It had taken quite a bit of coaching to get Arthur to just say that, and not go off, as he was prone to do, about how marvelous muggle technology was.

Arthur kept going. "Their pets and farm animals were fed, plants tended, crops planted or harvested, so when the muggles awaken, in two weeks or so, many things in their world will be as they were. But there are changes that they will see right away. It was spring when they were last awake, and now it's mid-summer. They will notice that there were muggles who died in the immediate aftermath of falling asleep. And, they will be aware of the existence of the magical world."

A major hubbub erupted at that last statement. There were some near-shouts of protests from Ministry workers and others who devoted their days to the efforts made to shield the magical world from muggle eyes. Beneath the louder noises were a flood of whispers between people seated together, some commenting on the announcement and others asking what the fuss was about.

Harry and Arthur allowed the noise to go on for a minute, but then Harry resumed speaking, using the Sonorus charm to enable him to speak over the others still discussing Arthur's announcement. He also spoke with authority – it was critical to all that they needed to accomplish that everyone understand that this was not open to discussion, but was absolutely the course of action that the magical world was going to follow.

"The Ministry of Magic created a special department to focus on this issue, the Department of Explanations. We will absolutely have to disclose the existence of our world, at least for now, and at least to some extent. And not just in Britain, but across the world. I think some of you know that our Minister does meet periodically with the muggle Prime Minister and a few senior members of his government, so some key leaders know about us. That's how it's handled in every country. I support what the Ministry proposes to do here in Britain, and will be helping them deliver the message, along with the princes. Minister Bones, might you be willing to speak to us all for a few minutes about your new Department and give us some idea of what you have planned?"

The Minister made her way from the front row up to the podium, accompanied by the flashlights of the cameras of the Daily Prophet and other wizarding newspapers. She stood for a few moments with Harry and Arthur, as more photos were taken, before the two men stepped back a few paces and left her standing alone.

"Thank you Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley. Well done. To you, my fellow members of the magical community in Britain, whether you grew up in this community or learned about it for the first time just a couple of months ago, I confirm that some of the fundamentals of our way of life are about to change. As Mr. Potter said, at least for now, and at least to some extent. I have spent a great deal of time in discussions over the last month with members of our own Wizengamot and with member of similar bodies in other countries across the world, and also in discussion with members of the International Confederation of Sorcerers. We have looked at this situation from every possible angle, considering all constituencies. We were even able speak with two members of the sitting royal family in Britain, princes who learned that in addition to being members of the royal family here, they are also squibs and thus members of the magical world, too. We cannot hide our world totally at this time, as we did for so many centuries. We need to share at least some information about who we are and what we can do, to explain what happened and how we've tried to rebuild the world for our muggle cousins. There is no choice in that."

Minister Bones took a deep breath. What she was not sharing, of course, was concern that at least some part of the upcoming battle with You Know Who was almost certainly to be fought out in the open, in full view of muggles. The Elder Demon was not recognized for what it was, so while it wrought great damage, no one connected it to the magical world. All of her advisors agreed (a first, in itself) that You Know Who would find a way to make his battles visible to the muggles, possibly even deliberately putting them in harm's way. "A team in the Department of Explanations is developing guidelines that will be shared with the press and distributed widely in the next week. We will outline for you all what we will be telling the muggles, and providing guidance for you about what magic can be used in front of muggles, should you have contact with them. I realize that many of you live in the unplottable counties and have no direct contact with the muggle world, so for you, nothing will change. For those who do have contact, either because you live in the muggle world or interact with it for other reasons, you'll need to be prepared to adhere to the new guidelines. The squibs who will be going back to the muggle world will need to know how to explain what they saw and learned here, to the extent that they wish to share information about this."

"The princes have agreed to help us calm the muggles when they wake and begin the process of informing them about what happened. They will use the muggle technology known as the television, which I believe most here have heard about. They will record a message that will be viewable on the televisions, which we expect most muggles will turn on as soon as they wake up. Muggles know who the princes are, and we hope will be receptive to the things they say. Mr. Potter will join them."

"We will have to be careful, as it is not possible to predict the full reaction of the muggle world to what we will be telling them. We do not want to leave them to their own devices and have another occurrence of the mess the colonists made in Massachusetts a couple of centuries ago – we intend to manage this to avoid that sort of nonsense this time. It is important for you all to be aware that the International Code of Wizarding Secrecy is suspended in certain ways, to enable the muggles to get their world back in order and get on with their lives. We'll be considering how to restore secrecy in the future, as I assume that will be desirable."

With that, she turned and shook both Harry's and Arthur's hands, and took her seat, as the noise level in the Great Hall rose again. Harry was watching the audience, to gauge their reaction. He saw some concern, but not as much as might have been expected. Arthur stepped forward to bring the program to an end.

"Thank you all for your attention today. Harry and I were very glad for the opportunity to speak to those of you who are new to magic. We are pleased that so many of you quite familiar with our world already joined us, as well, as we embark on an unprecedented period of openness with muggles. We bid all a good evening."

Any hope that Severus had of getting Harry out of there as soon as the presentation was over was squelched by an absolute flood of people pressing forward for a word with one of the dignitaries or presenters.

X X X X X X X X X X

In a seat toward the front but off to the side, Petunia listened to Harry and Arthur tell Harry's story.

Of course, the principal had shared the gist of this in the letter he tucked into Harry's blanket when he left the boy on her doorstep all those years ago. Vernon was quite adamant that they must have brought this all on themselves, with their "unnaturalness," and she had to agree with his argument. That quickly became her opinion, as well. But hearing Harry describe Lily's final act, shielding her baby son from a lunatic intent on killing them all, the kind of lunatic who would actually try to kill a year-old baby, brought a long-suppressed memory to the front of her mind.

She remembered an incident on a school playground, when she was probably seven and her sister six. One of the larger boys was bullying a much younger and smaller boy – she couldn't remember any details of that, except that the smaller boy was near to tears in the face of the physical intimidation. Lily saw what was going on and, without any hesitation, she went over and stood between the bully and the younger boy, loudly calling the brute on his behavior. Petunia remembered being horrified by her little sister's action, because of course, he was massively larger than Lily herself. Lily was incredibly brave when she saw something like that going on, but she'd also spotted one of the school matrons standing nearby and was able to speak loudly enough to get the woman's attention. The bully was actually trying to shove Lily away when the matron finally realized what was happening, and as Petunia recalled now, the boy got into a great deal of trouble for apparently attacking Lily.

"Why did you do that?" Petunia had demanded, when Lily was rescued from the bully by the matron. "He could have hurt you!"

"He's always picking on the little boys. I know he's bigger than me, but I can run faster and jump higher than him, so I can get away if he really chases me. Did you see that he was trying to move me, but he couldn't? I can stand where I want, and he can't shove me. He should be punished for what he did to the little boy. I just made sure that happened," Lily explained.

Petunia recalled telling her sister that she was a twit, or something like that, and Lily just shrugged and giggled. She wasn't going to let someone get away with mistreating the little boy, and she was fearless in standing up for the smaller child.

As Petunia sat in the crowded Great Hall and heard Harry tell his story, for some reason, tears pooled in her eyes, and several began to course down her cheeks.

X X X X X X X X X X

Michael and Anna Granger were seated in the same row as Petunia, but toward the center of the room. They'd arrived by floo late in the afternoon, and had enjoyed their dinner with Hermione. While most of Hermione's chatter was about how she thought she'd done on the year-end tests (some things didn't change), Anna was pretty sure that things were now going well with Ron. Hermione didn't come out and say anything directly; it was just intuition, but Anna was quite certain and very pleased.

"And Mr. Weasley is going to be speaking tonight on behalf of the Ministry of Magic! I was so pleased that he volunteered to speak, but then to have the Minister herself ask him to represent the Ministry, well, that was a surprise. He's thrilled, and nervous, of course, but his whole family has come to see him and Harry. Did you see them?" Hermione gushed.

"Actually, we just arrived when you came to find us, dear," Anna replied. "I don't believe I saw any of them in the Great Hall as we got here."

"It's going to be very interesting tonight. Harry told me that he and Mr. Weasley are going to share one presentation, and that the Minister herself is coming, and she'll be making a very important announcement. The princes are going to be here, but they won't be speaking."

Anna and Michael shared a look. Hermione's role in this world never ceased to surprise them. They were an ordinary family, with no particular "connections" in the world, so she did not grow up in regular contact with the politicians and leaders and royalty, but she was so comfortable in this situation. It was her new "normal."

When they entered the Great Hall this evening, they immediately ran into Molly and the others they had met at Christmas. As they stood exchanging pleasantries, they were joined by some of the professors they'd met before, and greeted warmly by Headmaster Dumbledore. The red-head contingent had seats being held in the front row, and the Grangers sought seats a few rows back. Hermione was going to sit with her parents, but Ron waved her to a seat next to him, and Anna was quick to encourage Hermione to move. "We'll be just fine here, dear. Go, sit with your young man!" Anna offered. Her seat was immediately occupied by Mrs. Longbottom, who had arrived on the arm of her charming, if very awkward-looking grandson, who seemed inordinately relieved to find her a single seat with people she knew, as he went off to find his classmates.

When Harry arrived, Anna took advantage of his presence at the front of the room to study the young man very closely. He looked much as he did when she'd seen him at Christmas and at a distance since she and her husband came to Hogwarts. He still had the same unruly dark mop of hair, and the piercing green eyes, but there was also something very different. She mulled that over as she watched him join Arthur at the podium and begin speaking, but she had a difficult time deciding what it was. He still had a charming smile, and a diffident manner, but he had a force, a power now that was not there before. It was fascinating to consider what contributed to this totally new presence, when the physical appearance hadn't changed.

Anna noticed Harry look off to the side at one point, and followed his line of sight. Harry had sought out Severus and they'd exchanged a quick look and a small smile. Anna blushed slightly as she recalled some of her original concerns when she'd heard that Hermione's friend had been married off to this man; it seemed so inappropriate and horrible, and yet had been accepted by the magical people. Now that she'd spotted Severus, he, too, came under her scrutiny. He certainly looked as fierce and forbidding as ever, but watching him watch after Harry from his spot at the side of the room was enlightening. He was totally focused on Harry, immediately there with a nod or (very) small smile if Harry looked to him. Harry was doing that rather frequently, seeming to get strength from Severus' encouragement.

Anna actually smiled when she saw the look on Severus' face when Arthur put a fatherly arm around Harry's shoulder, the jealously was so clear on his face. When Anna realized the topic being discussed, she immediately stopped smiling, but remained very focused on the interplay between the two men.

Hermione had suggested, in that oblique way children have of communicating intimate matters to their parents, that Harry was actually happy with Severus and seemed to be rather in love with the man. The relationship itself still bothered Anna in the back of her mind, but having gotten that clue from Hermione, she found herself looking for evidence to support her daughter's suspicion. She was amazed at how obvious the attraction between them was, once you looked for it.

Harry's eyes lit up when he was looking at Severus, but perhaps even more surprising, Severus' expression was actually softer when he was looking at Harry. There was a connection that seemed to stretch between the two – she wasn't sure if it was passion? Fascination? Love? But there was definitely something there.

When the session came to an end, Anna watched Severus try to get to Harry's side as quickly as he could, hampered by the throng of people trying to get to Harry, the Minister, the princes, all the dignitaries. Severus' eyes never lost sight of Harry, and with patience, he continued to press into the crowd and inch his way over to Harry. When the two finally connected, Harry visibly relaxed into the protective (possessive?) arm that Severus put around his shoulder.

That arm remained in place until Severus was able to steer Harry out through the door behind the podium. Just before the door closed, the arm fell from Harry's shoulder and Anna was sure that she saw Harry take Severus' hand as they disappeared into the corridor beyond.