Kapitel 365: HPF371-380
Chapter 371
The three were up reasonably early the
next morning. And, though they felt they
had definitely earned a sleep-in even if it
was a school day, they knew they needed
to be in the Great Hall for breakfast. They
needed to be there to assure everyone all
was well.
As they walked into the Hall, the noise
dipped only momentarily, before rising to
it's normal levels. And they walked over to
join Luna sitting in the middle of the
Ravenclaw table. On the way, they made
sure the Headmistress was aware of their
presence.
All three were still, pretty much,
exhausted. But they also knew a good
feed for breakfast often lifted energy
levels again. Though, not wanting to eat
much just yet, Harry decided to grab a
small bowl and partially fill it with
porridge, a tablespoon of diced fruit, and
milk.
Looking up at the head table as he ate,
Harry could see the senior staff looked as
tired as he felt.
"You did something really big, last night;
didn't you?" asked Luna.
Hermione snorted a little before she
calmly said, "Yes, Luna; we did."
"What did you do?" she asked.
"Something that will make everyone...
well, nearly everyone... very happy,"
replied Daphne. "I'm sure the
Headmistress will make an announcement
about it in a few minutes."
"Oh, have you managed to rid the castle
of the nests of Blibbering Humdingers?"
she asked.
"Something even better, dear Luna,"
replied Harry. "Now, hush. You don't want
to spoil the surprise."
A few moments later, one of the
Ravenclaws in their year, Michael Corner,
leaned over and asked, "You're not still
contagious, are you?"
"I... what?" asked a confused Hermione.
"Contagious? What're you talking about?"
"Well, the three of you were off sick,
yesterday; right?" he replied. "Supposedly,
it was with something highly contagious.
That's why you spent the day in your
apartment, rather than in the Infirmary."
Daphne gave a little snort but didn't say
anything.
"Michael; no," said Harry. "We weren't
sick. We had... something else we had to
attend to."
"What do you mean?" the boy frowned.
"And, why all three of you?"
"You'll find out before breakfast is over,"
scowled Hermione. "You'll need to wait
for the Headmistress's announcement."
"No hints?" asked Corner. "Not even
a little one?"
Hermione scowled but seemed to think
about it. Eventually, she said, "You think
we were sick? You're not even close!"
"What does that mean?" asked Corner,
clearly completely confused.
Before Hermione could snap at the boy, as
Harry could clearly see she was about to
do, he said, "You have your little clue,
Mister Corner. It is not Hermione's fault
you don't understand it."
When Corner pulled back to tell those
around him what he'd been told, Harry
leaned in to Hermione and quietly said,
"Careful, love. You're tired. And, when
you're tired, you become a little...
waspish."
She sighed and leaned back towards him.
"Sorry," she said. "I just wish McGonagall
would get on with it."
Quickly checking his watch, Harry said,
"Soon. It's just gone 8.00am; so, she'll
stand before the owls are due at 8.15."
When Headmistress McGonagall finally
stood about five minutes later and made
her way to the lectern, the whole Hall was
waiting for her to speak.
With a little clear of her throat,
McGonagall allowed the magics of the
lectern to carry her voice across the Hall.
"Good morning, students," she said.
Once what little noise there was died
down, she continued, "For those who
don't already know, the reason you were
asked to all be here, this morning, was
because I have a very important
announcement to make. Today is a day for
celebrations."
She let that settle into the minds of the
students before she continued. "Last night,
after the evening meal, I was visited in my
office by three of our own. There, they
informed me of the most auspicious news.
"Once they left for the evening, I was able
to confirm their news...
beyond any shadow of a doubt... with
both Madam Bones of the DMLE, and the
Minister himself.
"At a little after 7.00pm last night, while
we were all enjoying the last moments of
our evening meal, the Dark Wizard, Tom
Riddle, otherwise known as the Dark Lord,
Lord Voldemort..." there were only a few
gasps... "... was killed in combat."
It took a moment, but the Hall suddenly
erupted with cheers and shouting of joy.
However, there were a few who either
chose to simply disbelieve the news, or
were very unhappy with it.
Harry could even hear one foolish
Slytherin exclaim, "But, the Dark Lord's
immortal! He can't be killed!" His voice
was almost lost in the din.
After allowing the school body to cheer
for a while, Professor McGonagall then
managed to calm them down enough to
sit down again and listen.
"Quiet!" she snapped to one student who
hadn't gotten the hint already.
When that student, a Gryffindor, finally
calmed down, she gave another little
throat clear and said, "I assure you, all,
that it has been confirmed by many that
Tom Marvolo Riddle is dead. For myself,
this information was confirmed by
Minister Ogden, Madam Amelia Bones of
the DMLE and Unspeakable Croaker of the
Department of Mysteries. They had it
confirmed by experts in necromantic and
soul magics."
She hesitated a moment before she
turned to look directly at Harry, Daphne
and Hermione. "Will the Potters please
come up here and stand before the
student body."
With a groan and sigh, Harry stood;
Daphne and Hermione only a moment
behind him.
Stepping over the bench seating at the
Ravenclaw table, he led his ladies towards
the front of the Hall. Many students were
whispering among themselves as to why.
Professor McGonagall, looking at them
with both pity and kindness and a small
smile, gestured for them to stand
side-by-side in front of the lectern and off
the dais.
"Yesterday," the Headmistress called out.
"Most of you were aware that the Potters
did not attend classes. The reason is
because they were involved in a highly
secret operation, run through the offices
of the Departments of Magical Law
Enforcement and Mysteries. And, yes, that
operation concerned the take-down of
Tom Riddle. They were not even in the
castle, at the time.
Chapter 372
"It is these three students... Mister Harry
Potter, Missus Greengrass-Potter and
Missus Granger-Potter... who faced Dark
Wizard Riddle in combat of magic in the
middle of the atrium at the Ministry of
Magic, and defeated him."
She then stepped away from the lectern
and began to applaud them. In moments
everyone else had joined in a standing
ovation, with lots of cheering and yelling,
from the entire Hall.
Harry had just turned to stare daggers at a
very unconcerned Headmistress, who just
smirked back.
After allowing it to go on for over a minute,
the Headmistress lowered her hands and
stepped back to the lectern. This was the
signal for everyone else to settle down
again. It took about another half-minute
before she, again, had the attention of the
Hall.
"Secondly, classes for today are cancelled;
so you may spend the day in quiet
celebration. Please remember that there
are those in the final weeks of their study
for their OWL and NEWT exams, and give
them the respect to study for those
important examinations in peace."
"Now that we've shown our gratitude to
the Potters," she spoke up. "I think it's
time I allowed the owl mail to be
delivered.
As she stepped away from the lectern, and
gestured for the Potters to return to their
seats, the owls began to stream in through
the owl windows at the peak of the roof
to deliver their loads. Of course, many of
them were carrying copies of the Daily
Prophet to those students who held a
subscription.
Of course, the front page of
the Prophet led with the sensationalist
headline, 'HE'S DEAD!' and opened with
the paragraph, 'Last night, one time hero
of the wizarding world, Mister Harry
Potter (15), again rid us of the Dark Wizard,
Tom Riddle, writes your source of all the
news that's critical to you, Rita Skeeter.'
Reading through it, Harry grumbled until
he reached the third paragraph. "Well," he
scoffed. "Neither of you two ladies even
gets a mention until the third paragraph.
And all the Unspeakables and aurors, that
did most of the work, don't even get a
mention until towards the end."
"The wizarding world needs a hero,
Harry," said Daphne. "Not a whole heap of
them."
Harry, Daphne and Hermione were still
going through the paper to point out all
the inaccuracies to one another when
they were interrupted by a voice opposite.
"Is it true, Potter?" asked the voice. "Did
you really kill the Dar... Riddle?"
Looking up into the face of Justin
Finch-Fletchley, Harry snarked, "No,
Finch-Fletchley. This whole thing has been
one massive great prank... perpetuated by
us, the Ministry, the Daily Prophet and the
staff of Hogwarts... just to prank you.
"Of course it's bloody true, you pillock!
With Hermione and Daphne helping me,
I blew his fucking head off with a reductor
curse, in front of a whole slew of aurors
and Unspeakables!"
He was just about to turn back to reading
over Hermione's shoulder her copy of
the Prophet when he looked back up and
said, "Oh. And, you're welcome. We fixed
your bloody problem; just like you had
the gall to demand I do."
Finch-Fletchley flinched and looked like he
wanted to say something back. Instead, he
just gave a slight nod and walked away.
As the boy walked off, Daphne smacked
him in the back of the head.
"Ow!" he said, glancing accusingly at him.
"What was that for?"
"Try to, at least, be a little gracious of their
thanks," she replied. "It's the best they
can do."
"I'm supposed to be gracious after what
he said to me the other day?" he asked in
disbelief.
"Yes, you are," she firmly replied.
With a little sigh of annoyance he
grumbled, "Fine!"
While sitting apart a little to check out his
mail, Harry noticed a couple of official
letters from the Ministry. Of course,
before he opened them, he checked all of
it for portkeys, potions and the like.
The first he opened was a personal letter
from the Minister. This time it was an
'official' personal thank you from him;
together with a note informing him the
Minister would be paying 'all due care and
attention' towards a more public thanks
from the people of Wizarding Britain. Plus,
an addendum informing him his presence
was not required for that day's emergency
session of the Wizengamot.
The next was a letter from the
Wizengamot Administration Services
informing him of an emergency session of
the Wizengamot being called for that early
afternoon. And that he was required to
attend as a full sitting member. Clearly,
this was the session the Minister had
already excused him from.
He actually didn't want to attend it, as he
felt 'those old blowhards will spend the
whole time telling him what a wonderful
person he was; and he could do without it,
thank you very much.'
His real reason was he wanted to fulfil his
promise to his wives he made the
previous evening, and spend the rest of
the day in bed having wild and passionate
sex.
Thankfully, the swarms of mail he knew
he'd soon be receiving had yet to be sent.
He made a mental note to himself to work
with Dobby to continue to have all that
mail redirected and searched. He had little
doubt the hyperactive little elf would be
responding to most of it in his name.
Once all the mail was out of the way, and
it appeared his two ladies were pretty
much finished with their own mail and
reading the Prophet, he gestured them in
close.
"I think it's time for classes, ladies," he
softly said.
"But, Harry," said Hermione, a little
confused. "Headmistress McGonagall said
today's classes had been cancelled."
"Ah!" he said. "But, I'm talking about our
personal class on... Advanced Sexology, to
be held in the master bedroom of our
apartment in about twenty minutes."
While Hermione blushed quite deeply,
Daphne burst into laughter.
With Harry still grinning at Hermione, and
trying to waggle his eyebrows thinking it
was in a seductive manner, Daphne wiped
her mouth of the last remnants of
breakfast and said to Hermione, "Come on,
Hermione-love. I do believe we have... as
Harry suggested... classes to attend. And, I
daresay, there is likely to be plenty of...
practical applications."
"But, I... he..." stuttered Hermione. Harry
just scooped her up by the arm and the
three of them beat a hasty retreat for the
seventh floor.
By the time lunch approached, the three
of them were sprawled over the bed,
naked, and half-dozing.
Chapter 373
What had started as a tender foray into
three-way sex, quickly became a lot more
vigorous in its application. A first time
became a second, quickly followed by a
third. It was only that they were getting
exhausted from all the physical activity
that they finally collapsed.
"I'm getting hungry," muttered Harry.
"Then get up, call for your crazy little elf,
have him set up the dining table in the
common room, and then have him lay on
a lunch for us," suggested Daphne.
"Why do I have to be the one to get up?"
he whined.
"Because you're the one who said they
were hungry," said Hermione.
"And you're not?" he asked.
"I am," she calmly replied. "However,
you're the one who mentioned it first."
"Harry," said Daphne. "I'm hungry now,
too. Get up and organise lunch for us."
"Hey, aren't I supposed to be the man of
the house?" he whined. "Why can't I order
you..."
While Harry was whining with his version
of logic, Daphne calmly reached for her
wand in Harry's cubbyhole in the head of
the bed.
The next thing he knew he was hit with a
Depulso charm and sent flying off the foot
of the bed. He landed on the floor with a
thump.
"Oh, good," said Hermione, in a chipper
but tired voice. "You're up."
Both wives snickered as Harry groaned
and climbed to his feet to glare at them.
"Somehow, I don't think that's what
the banishing charm was designed for," he
snarled.
"Oh?" asked Daphne. "Mother tells me
she's used it that way on father a few
times now. Where did you think I got the
idea from?"
As both wives snickered again, Harry
began snatching up clothes left strewn on
the floor and angrily pulled them on while
grumbling to himself.
Only wearing pants and a shirt, he
stormed out of the room into the common
room.
Forcing himself to take a couple of deep
breaths first so he wouldn't appear angry
at the elf, he called, "Dobby."
The little elf immediately arrived with a
pop. "Yes, Master Harry?"
"We'll be having lunch in here, today,
Dobs," said Harry. "Can you set things up
so we can sit down for lunch in about... a
half hour? Something light, please."
"Yes, Master Harry," replied Dobby, before
he popped away again.
Walking back into the bedroom, Harry
looked at both his wives, still sprawled on
the bed, and said, "Lunch will be light, and
in about half an hour. Since I was so
rudely flung out of my own bed, I'm going
for a shower."
"A shower sounds good," chirped
Hermione. "I reek of sex." A moment later,
she said, "I can still taste Daphne on my
lips."
Already stripped back off again, Harry had
a most evil thought.
Turning to his wives and the bed, he
wandlessly and incantlessly summoned his
wand to his hand. Then he turned it on
Hermione.
A quick incantless total body petrifying
charm, followed by incantless silencing
and body levitation charms, and he had
the girl off the bed and following him in
through the door and into the shower. He
stood her, frozen, in the shower stall
before going back for Daphne.
He was surprised to discover Daphne
hadn't even noticed her sister wife had
disappeared. He hit her with the same
three charms and soon had her in the
shower stall, as well. Both were propped
against the wall.
He grinned at them both before
immediately turning the shower on cold,
then releasing the petrification charms
and jumping back, out of the way.
Both girls immediately screeched and
screamed, and tried to stop themselves
collapsing to the floor of the shower in a
tangle of naked arms and legs as they
were drenched with near freezing shower
water.
Howling with laughter, Harry had backed
off to the wall near the door and was
leaning against it, watching their antics as
they screamed threats of dire harm at
him.
A few seconds later, one of them managed
to at least turn the hot water on to stop
them half-freezing to death.
Once the water had warmed up to a
suitable temperature, and the girls
weren't yelling at him anymore, he calmly
walked into the enlarged shower to join
them.
"Since you've finally decided to join us,
you can start by washing my back," huffed
Daphne, dumping her wash cloth into his
hand and turning around.
Now that the fun was over, he was happy
to .
Once they'd finished their shower and
were suitably attired in casual wear, the
three of them walked out of their
bedroom and into the common room well
after the original half hour Harry had set
Dobby. There, they found Luna, Blaise,
Tracey and Draco chowing down
on their lunch.
"Hey, that was supposed to be ours!"
complained Harry.
"You weren't here, and it was going to
waste," said Draco with a sniff as he ate a
combined fruit and cheese plate with
water crackers.
"Thankfully, at least someone asked
Dobby to enlarge the table first," said
Hermione.
Where she'd expected their usual round
table set for three, was the rectangular
table set for eight.
As they walked over, Dobby popped more
food on the table for them.
As the three sat down, Harry asked, "What
brings you four to unexpectedly visit?"
"We came up to find out the truth, rather
than what was written in the Prophet,"
said Draco. "Luna was already here and let
us in."
As the three looked to Luna, she calmly
said, "I came up to see if you were
finished having sex yet, and wanted to ask
if you'd provide an interview for the
Quibbler."
That caused Draco to cough up what was
in his mouth across the table.
Blaise and Tracey, sitting opposite,
immediately pulled a face as Tracey
exclaimed, "Eww!"
Blaise drew his wand with a disgusted
expression on his face and vanished the
mess.
"Sorry," coughed Draco, as he reached for
a goblet of pumpkin juice, taking a huge
swig. "Wrong hole."
Luna simply sat there with a knowing
smirk on her face.
"If you must know, Luna; we were...
ensuring the strength of our bond,"
muttered Hermione.
"Is that why you were screaming those
nasty words from the shower?" she
innocently asked. "You'll have to tell me
what some of them mean, later."
Trying not to laugh, Harry blushed and
coughed. "Hermione and Daphne did not
appreciate the nuance of a sudden cold
shower. Especially when it's so...
unexpected."
"And why would they..." began Blaise,
before he suddenly waved his hand as if
swatting them away. "No. Don't tell me. I
really don't want to know."
Hermione gave a bit of a haughty sniff and
said, "Harry got a bit miffed when Daphne
used a banishing charm to toss his bum
out of bed. He retaliated by using
petrification and levitation charms on us
and put us in the shower, before turning
the cold water full on. Only then did he
release the petrifications."
"Oh," said Luna, as the three Slytherins
grinned. "Yes. That would do it."
"Anyway," said Harry, as the three
Slytherins grinned. "In answer to your
request, Luna; I think we'd be happy to
provide an interview for the Quibbler.
However, if I remember correctly, the
Minister will be dropping by some time
after about 4.00pm. I suspect there will be
quite a few people with him, including the
press. You're more than welcome to join
us."
"Thank you, Harry. That would be nice,"
replied Luna.
"Actually, we should probably discuss that
with the Headmistress, before the
Minister and his... entourage get here,"
said Hermione. "We don't know, for sure,
that she knows."
"You should probably ask her if you can
have the Great Hall reconfigured for his
visit, too," suggested Draco. "If the
Minister intends for you to give an
interview, there'll be a lot of people
coming. He'll want everyone there to
witness it."
Harry just kept eating, glared at his cousin
and muttered dark thoughts as he ate.
"Hey!" said Draco, a bit affronted by what
he thought was an attack on him when he
heard some of the imprecations.
"You're the one that went out and decided
to kill the Dark Lord. What did you
expect?"
"To be left alone now I've gotten rid of the
problem for them?" Harry asked a little
irritated. "After all, everyone's been saying
I should go and do it; so, we did. Is it too
much to ask they leave me alone, now?"
"In order: that's never going to happen,
just because they said you should doesn't
mean you had to, and yes," said Blaise,
ticking them off on his fingers. "You've up
and made yourself a hero, again. What
happened at breakfast this morning is only
the very tip of what's about to befall you.
And, by being with you, Daphne and
Hermione."
"Damn it," growled Harry. "All I've ever
really wanted is to be left to grow up
happy and healthy; marry; raise a family;
have lots of grandchildren I can spoil...
Now, I'm once more touted as the hero of
the wizarding world. I'm never going to
get a moment's peace each time I step
outside our wards."
"Too bad," said Tracey, a little angry at him.
"You're alive; you beat him; you have two
lovely wives, who are going to spend the
better part of their lives making you happy;
you're going to have plenty of children
and, through them, those grandchildren.
Be happy with that."
"You've been sheltered from your fame
pretty much all your life, Harry," said
Draco, gently. "That, at least, was
something to be thankful to Dumbledore
about; irrespective of the rest of his
manipulations.
"However, now you have to get used to it
coming at you, directly. This time, you
can't be hidden away. And, the Harry
Potter I know wouldn't do it. The Harry
Potter I know is more than capable of
being able to face the surge coming at him,
and will bear it with dignity and nobility."
Staring at his cousin in shock and a little
awe, Harry softly exclaimed, "Damn,
Draco!"
Chapter 374
After the talk settled down to more
mundane tasks, such as the upcoming
OWL examinations, it was a while before
the seven of them were joined by Neville,
Hannah and Susan, who all entered
together.
The table was expanded by Dobby, who
then brought in butterbeers for everyone.
"That leaves the only ones of our friends
missing as the twins and Horace," said
Harry. He turned to the Slytherins and
asked, where is he, by the way? I'd've
thought, now that the dark tosser's dead,
he might feel he could rejoin us."
After glancing between themselves for a
few moments, Blaise said, "Ummm...
Horace's father was killed last night. He's
already gone home. As a sixth year, he
doesn't need to worry about OWL or
NEWT exams."
"Ahh... crap!" sighed Harry. "Where was
he? I thought the Ministry people had
done a damn good job of taking them all
alive."
"Apparently, his father was one of the
ones who joined Riddle in going to the
Dee-oh-Emm," said Draco. "He was killed
in the atrium."
Harry sighed again and said, "That meant
he was both a member of Riddle's Inner
Circle, and one of his most trusted."
"Again... apparently, he was," nodded
Blaise.
As silence descended into the now
uncomfortable situation, Neville suddenly
asked, "Where did you disappear to in
such a rush this morning, Potters?"
"They came back here to have sex," said
Luna.
While Neville gaped back at her in shock,
Harry saw the expression and began to
chuckle. Susan and Hannah had both
instantly blushed and refused to look at
anyone.
Finally, Harry managed to get Neville's
attention. "She says things like that just to
shock you, Neville," he giggled.
"Sh-she... does?" asked the boy in a
slightly squeaky strained voice.
"She does," grinned Harry.
"But, it makes it no less true," said Luna.
"They did come back here to have sex."
"Luna, stop it!" Hermione scowled at her.
Her expression changed a little to a slight
smirk, and she almost haughtily said,
"You're just jealous you weren't invited to
join us."
"True," Luna readily agreed, almost
happily. "From the way I've seen both you
and Daphne walk, sometimes, I think
Harry must have a wonderful broomstick.
That had Draco spray up a mouthful of
butterbeer and proceed to try and cough
his lungs up, Daphne was quietly trying to
smother her giggles, while Hermione
couldn't seem to make up her mind
between glaring daggers at the little
blonde Ravenclaw, and blushing.
With another look of distaste, Blaise drew
his wand yet again and vanished the mess.
"Really, Black," he drawled. "You have no
manners, at all."
After coughing for a while and waving his
hands about, Draco eventually stared at
Luna and snapped, "Stop that!"
Luna just smiled back at him.
Once they had a semi-organised plan to
handle the rest of the afternoon until the
Minister arrived, the group of ten friends
left the apartment and headed for the
Headmistress's office. However, as they
descended the stairs towards the third
floor, they were met by Madam Bones and
two aurors coming up.
"Ah, Mister Potter, ladies, friends," she
said, nodding to each in turn.
"Madam Bones," smiled Harry. "I take it
you're here to give us advanced notice of
what the Minister's up to?"
The smile on her face confirmed his belief.
"Indeed, Mister Potter," she smiled. "Shall
we head for that wonderful conference
room you showed us, before?"
"Why not," he shrugged.
And, together, the now group of thirteen
made their way down to the second floor
conference room.
As they walked, she quietly asked him,
"Are you sure you want all your... friends...
to accompany us?"
"They're fine, Ma'am," he said.
"Everything's going to be public soon
enough, anyway. They may as well join
us."
She 'hmmed' and nodded in agreement.
Once everyone walked into the room, no
one felt there was a need to put up
privacy wards or seal the door. With
Dumbledore dead, they felt there was
little risk of being disturbed.
When everyone was sitting down, Madam
Bones pulled out a shrunken package of
notes and returned them to normal size
before placing them on the table in front
of her.
"Alright," she said, causing everyone to
quiet down from their softly spoken quiet
conversations. "Here's what's been going
on since you left the Ministry, last night."
She hesitated a moment before she said,
"Just so you know, two aurors and four
Unspeakables died during the various
battles, last night."
Harry was horrified. He didn't know his
wives reacted in a similar fashion.
Quickly holding up her hand in a stop
gesture before any of the teens could say
anything, she said, "No one... is blaming
you, Mister Potter, for those deaths. The
two aurors and one Unspeakable were
killed when one of the Death Eaters who
accompanied Riddle back to the atrium
cast a wide area asphyxiation curse at
them, before he died. And no one realised
they were in trouble until it was too late.
However, two others were saved by the
Unspeakables' healers, who were able to
get to them in time.
"The other three Unspeakables were killed
on the subsequent attack on Nott Manor.
Two ran afoul of a vicious war ward, and
the other died in the subsequent fighting.
"I only mentioned their deaths because
the Minister will be honouring their
sacrifice when he comes to speak with
you this afternoon. And, I didn't want to
see you surprised by that announcement."
Harry could only nod back.
"Now, whether you like it or not, you and
your wives are heroes, Mister Potter," she
said. "And there would be a massive
outcry from the wizarding public if the
Minister did not suitably award the three
of you for your heroic actions."
"Told you," muttered a grinning Draco.
Harry just flipped him two fingers without
even looking. His attention was on Madam
Bones.
With a twitch of a smile at Harry's gesture,
Madam Bones continued. "The Minister
will be coming here for a major press
conference... and award ceremony... to
commence at 4.00pm.
Chárter 375
"I have already spoken with Headmistress
McGonagall, as has the Minister's
Undersecretary, about setting up the
Great Hall to hold it. I don't think there's
anywhere else in the castle large enough
to seat everyone likely to attend. And the
Minister feels that it would be best to
award you... your award... here, at the
school; rather than summon you to the
Ministry, as he did with your first Order of
Merlin."
With a frown and heightened worry, he
asked, "What do you mean by first Order
of Merlin?"
Realising her slip, and that Harry had
quickly picked up on it, Madam Bones
gave a little wince before she sighed. "I
wasn't supposed to let that slip out of the
bag," she muttered, before firming her
shoulders and looking Harry directly in the
eye. "The Minister is going to award you
a second Order of Merlin, First Class, for
your actions in bringing down the dark
wizard Tom Riddle."
"No, he's bloody not!" Harry snarled as he
surged to his feet. "I told him, last night..."
"CALM... yourself, Mister Potter," she
snapped back, almost yelling the first
word.
With a frustrated sigh, Harry plonked
himself back onto his chair. "I told him..."
he tried again.
"I know what you told him," she
interrupted. "I also remember what
conditions you put on him before you'd
accept it."
"Conditions?" he repeated, a little
confused.
"You said, you would not accept an award
without your wives and everyone else
involved also receiving awards," she
replied. "The Minister agrees. That's why
Missus Daphne Greengrass-Potter and
Missus Hermione Granger-Potter will be
awarded Orders of Merlin, Second Class,
for their actions."
The gasps of shock from his wives and
friends was quite telling. Harry had to
admit, it wasn't something he'd expected,
either.
"After significant interviews held last night
and throughout today, we have gained a
better picture of what you've been up to,"
she said. "We're also aware of the roles
played by Professors Flitwick and Snape in
training the three of you, in secret, for
your eventual confrontation. They, too,
are being awarded. They shall each be
receiving the Medal of Meritorious Service
to Wizarding Britain. It is one step down
from an Order of Merlin, Third Class."
"Professor Snape should be receiving the
Third Class, at a minimum," disagreed
Hermione. "His work as a spy for the light
within Riddle's ranks had his life
constantly at high risk. That he managed
to survive over the past near year is more
to do with his indomitable skills and luck
than anything else."
"The only reason they're not receiving the
Third Class award is because the Minister
felt it would detract from the Order to be
handing them out in what he referred to
as, 'like confetti'. I happen to agree with
him, as does the leadership of the
Ministry.
"And you also need to be aware that,
before Severus Snape became that spy, he
was a fully active and participatory Death
Eater. It is only his work as that spy that
sees him not being sent to Azkaban for his
crimes."
Madam Bones allowed that to settle in for
a few moments, before she continued.
"Both myself and Unspeakable Croaker
have also received awards. However; as
we're employees of the Ministry, and it's
our role and duty to deal with dark
wizards; ours will be Meritorious Service
awards recognising we supposedly went
above and beyond our duty. Like you
obviously do, Harry, we don't believe we
deserve such; but, we're both going to
suck it up and accept them; just as you
will.
"The order of presentation will be: Myself
and Croaker; then Professors Flitwick and
Snape; then both Missuses Potter; and,
finally, yourself.
"You also need to be aware that you will
then be the first wizard or witch in over
three centuries to hold the Order of
Merlin, First Class and bar. The bar
designates the second award of the First
Class. That will also be the cause for much
discussion and debate among the
wizarding populace.
"To keep the presentations as brief as
possible, speeches will be kept to a
minimum. None of the awardees, except
you, will be required to speak other than a
few words of thanks. Even the Minister is
aware of public sentiment, and will keep
his remarks to a bare minimum.
"Immediately after the presentations, the
floor will be open to the press conference.
You will be expected to answer all
questions as honestly and briefly as you
can. To enable this, the Knowledge
Fidelius on the operation has been lifted
as of twelve noon, today. It was the last
thing Croaker and I did before I came to
see you today.
"Now, any questions?"
"How did you manage to get the Minister
not to waffle too much over the
presentations?" asked Hermione.
With an almost predatory grin, Madam
Bones replied, "I told him Headmistress
McGonagall would not let things run past
6.00pm. She'd want the Great Hall back so
it could be reconfigured for the evening
meal. Then I asked her to support that.
"Instead, she set the time limit to 5.45pm.
And berated the Minister like an errant
schoolboy until he agreed."
That elicited quiet chuckles among the
teens. They all knew exactly the tone the
Headmistress would employ, as they'd
been on the receiving end of it often
enough over the years.
The only change Harry was able to get
through as a demand, was he wanted
Draco to be the one who held the case as
he was presented the Order.
After Draco 'Eeped' in shock, then
spluttered about how he wasn't worthy of
such an honour, Harry eventually relented
and chose Sirius, in his stead.
"And, you two?" asked Madam Bones,
turning back to Daphne and Hermione.
"My father," Hermione instantly replied. "I
want my parents here for the presentation,
anyway. And this forces the Ministry to
allow them to come."
"Mine, too," nodded Daphne.
"I expected as much," she slyly smiled. "Be
assured they'll be here."
"Have Professors Flitwick and Snape been
informed?" asked Daphne.
"They have," she replied. "I had just
finished speaking with both before we
bumped into you on the stairs on our way
up to inform you."
After only a few more questions, and the
demand of a promise from Harry he'd go
along with it, Madam Bones and her
aurors left. They still had work to do, and
even Madam Bones grumbled about how
she had to pull out her dress uniform
robes again.
At 3.30pm the Potters were already
dressed and on their way to the
Headmistress's office. An elf had delivered
a message shortly after they'd returned to
the apartment to ask them to be already
dressed in their finest as it was likely
they'd not have opportunity to dress
afterwards.
Chapter 376
As the three walked into the office, the
first thing they saw was all four parents
and Sirius rising to their feet and turning
towards, from where they were sitting in
chairs before the Headmistress's desk.
Both parents hurried over and all three
teens found themselves enveloped in
almost crushing hugs, before being
released and handed to the next parent.
Surprising to the Potters, both Grangers
wore high quality robes. And both wore
the crest of the House of Granger on their
robe breasts on the left to match what
everyone else wore.
Even Headmistress McGonagall wore a
tartan sash with the crest of Clan
McGonagall emblazoned upon it at upper
chest level.
Once the hugs were out of the way, Ant
looked at the three and said, "I've heard
the three of you have already been
berated by Sirius, Matthias, Deece and
Remus. Well, now it's our turn."
Suddenly he reached out and grabbed
Harry by a lapel on his robe and gave him
a bit of a yank. He barked, "What the
bloody hell were you thinking?! You could
have got yourselves killed! Our only
children and you go and do something so
bloody foolish as that!"
Now quite used to being yelled at, while
Hermione and Daphne cringed back a
little from the force of Ant's tirade, Harry
stood firm. When his father-in-law finally
stopped, he intoned, "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, but he will have power the
Dark Lord knows not. And either must die
at the hand of the other for neither can
live while the other survives. The one with
the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will
be born as the seventh month dies.
"That was a prophecy given to Albus
Dumbledore about three months before I
was born. And Riddle very quickly learned
of the first two lines of it. From that
moment on, I was specifically targeted by
Riddle.
"The prophecy was also a true prophecy.
And, because of the line 'either must die
at the hands of the other', only I could kill
him while I still lived. The only way for
someone else to be able to kill him was if
he'd already killed me. And, I was not
willing to allow that to happen.
"I'm sorry it caused you a great deal of
stress and worry. However, it was better
you not know too much in advance of
what was going on. Besides, the Ministry
had already placed all the information
about the operation under a Fidelius
charm; which meant we
physically couldn't tell you, even if we
wanted to."
As the Grangers and Greengrasses relaxed
again, Ant almost whined, "Please don't
go doing something like that, again."
"We have absolutely no intention of doing
so," replied Harry. "I'm done with being
the hero of the wizarding world, thank you
very much. Some else can go hunt bad
guys.
"I've even removed my desire to become
an auror when I graduate off the table. I'll
be quite happy being a gentleman farmer,
or some such, into my dotage."
"I hope you'll consider becoming a
Professor, at some time, Mister Potter,"
said the Headmistress. "I've no doubt I can
use your now prodigious skills in magical
combat in the role of DADA Professor, if
that... tickles your fancy."
Harry thought about that for a few long
moments before he said, "You know, I
think I'd like that... Professor Potter. It's
got a nice ring to it."
"Alliterative, too," smiled Hermione.
Just before everyone sat down, Sirius and
Matthias stepped forward and passed
their wands with a few softly muttered
incantations over the front of the robes of
the bondmates.
When he looked down at the result, Harry
could see the Black crest now sat high on
his right pectoral, and slightly smaller than
the Potter crest. It was joined side-by-side
with the Greengrass crest with the
Granger crest subservient.
On Hermione's robes, she wore the Potter
crest, the same as Harry. But her right
now also had the Black and Granger crests
with a much smaller version of the
Greengrass crest below it. Daphne's had
the Black and Greengrass crests with the
Granger crest in the subservient position.
"Damn, that's a lot of Houses," muttered
Harry.
"As well as being the Head of the House of
Potter, Harry," said Sirius. "You are the
Heir Presumptive of the House of Black;
the Heir Presumptive, through marriage,
of the House of Greengrass; and, since the
birth of their son, an Heir once removed,
through marriage, of the House of
Granger."
"And Daphne's and Hermione's crests
both reflect that, and recognise their
standings as daughters in their own
Houses," added Matthias.
After the initial yelling, then relaxing into a
more familial setting with the combined
families and Professor McGonagall, they
were soon joined by Professors Flitwick
and Snape.
"Hang on," said Harry, turning to Cele.
"Where's Way-err... William?"
She smiled and said, "Winky's looking
after him. She's more than proven she's
capable of caring for him."
"She actually begged us to leave him
behind so she could look after him,"
smiled Ant.
"And, she knows to bring him to us if
something actually does become a
problem," added Cele.
"I'm glad to see you're becoming
accepting of the skills of a house elf,"
smiled Deece to the Grangers. "I actually
think they're more capable of taking care
of an infant that the vast majority of
parents."
Nodding, Harry turned to Professor Snape
and noticed his robes reflected his
position as the Head of House Prince, and
his standing as a Potions Master; just as
Professor Flitwick's had an Heir's crest for
Gringotts and his standing as a Charms
Master. But, Professor Flitwick also wore a
highly polished battle-axe strapped to his
back, in easy reach of his right hand.
Harry took one look at the Potions
Master's expression before he snickered at
him.
"And, just what inconsequential matter
has you so amused, Mister Potter,"
grumbled Snape.
"The expression on your face," replied
Harry. "Mind sharing what your reaction
was, when Madam Bones informed you of
the award you're about to receive?"
The normally dour faced man gave a short
look of distaste before he sneered, "I
know not of what you speak."
That had Professor Flitwick chuckling close
to full blown laughter. "Nonsense,
Severus," he laughed. "I have to say I, for
one, much enjoyed your efforts in
berating our illustrious Madam Bones
about what you felt of the matter. I think
even she was impressed with your diatribe.
I thought, for a moment there, she was
going to stand and applaud you for your
efforts."
"Amelia has never been lacking in the skill
of using, shall we say, colourful
language when it's required," smiled the
Headmistress.
Chapter 377
"Oh, Severus never swore, Headmistress,"
said the Charms Master. "He never even
raised his voice. It was the depth of
emotion, and vituperousness he
employed in voicing his displeasure, that
was almost awe-inspiring."
With a soft smile, Professor McGonagall
murmured, "I'm sure."
Snape merely folded his arm and glared
back, daring anyone to speak of it with
him.
It was only a few minutes later when one
of the castle's house elves popped in to let
them know the Minister and his party had
just entered through the gates.
"Thank you, Dippy," said the Headmistress,
beginning to rise. "Shall we?" she asked,
gesturing towards the door.
Together with Professors Snape and
Flitwick and their families, Harry and his
wives waited off to one side on the dais
that usually held the head table as the
Minister, and far more people than Harry
expected, entered through the main doors
of the Great Hall. They were joined a few
moments later by Astoria, who had been
summoned by the Headmistress to join
them.
The aurors immediately began to sort the
large crowd out towards seating while the
Minister, his Undersecretary, Madam
Bones and Unspeakable Croaker, joined
the awardees and the family off to one
side.
"Everyone's ready?" asked the Minister.
Without waiting for an answer, he rubbed
his hands together and said, "Good,
good."
Madam Bones gave a sigh of annoyance
before she gestured to the seats on the
dais.
This time, sitting on the right were: Newt
Scamander - Order of Merlin, Second Class;
and Orabella Nuttley - Order of Merlin,
Second Class; and ex-Minister Fudge -
Order of Merlin, Third Class. Again, a chair
was set aside for Flophart with his picture
set on the chair.
Harry could see Fudge was expressing his
distaste for having to be seated next to a
framed photograph. But, he had no pity
for the man.
On the other side of the dais was: Madam
Bones, Unspeakable Croaker, Professors
Flitwick and Snape, Hermione, Daphne
and Harry.
Between them, and directly back from the
lectern, was a row of chairs that sat
Minister Ogden, Sirius, Ant, Matthias, and
the Undersecretary. The last four all held
small cases on their laps, with the
Undersecretary holding the largest of all.
The rest of the expanded family sat on the
opposite side of the Hall from the extra
large media contingent, which put them
directly in front of the recipients.
As promised, the Minister only gave a
general overview of the event, referred
everyone to that morning's edition of
the Daily Prophet for what had essentially
transpired and finally indicated for his
Undersecretary to join him.
First, he called up Madam Bones,
presented her with her award and a short
mention of how she'd earned it, and
called for applause. Next was Unspeakable
Croaker, with the same pomp.
The Minister then called up Professor
Flitwick, who assisted by conjuring for
himself a small set of steps, so the
Minister would not need to bend down to
pin the medal to his chest. Then came up
Professor Snape, who banished the steps
as he approached.
Then it was on to the Orders of Merlin.
The Undersecretary, Harry never did learn
the man's name, closed the now empty
case with a snap and returned to his seat.
Hermione was called first and was joined
by her father.
The Minister spoke quite well as to
Hermione's role over the past year and a
half and her role in the final battle; before
then picking up the ribbon supporting the
Order of Merlin, Second Class, medallion,
and lowering it gently over her bowed
head.
As Hermione straightened back up, she
gave her hair a flick to cause it to fall over
the ribbon at her neck, before she shook
the Minister's hand with a wide smile.
Ant then stepped forward and gave her a
quick hug and a peck on the cheek, before
he indicated she should turn and face the
Hall.
Once the applause died down - a little
quickly, Harry thought - she stepped to the
lectern and simply said, "Thank you, to all.
As we have two more of these to get
through, I'll just say we'll answer your
questions during the press conference."
Then she returned to her seat, fingering
the Order medallion, as she did so.
As Daphne was invited by the Minister to
step forward, her father walked forward
holding his own small case.
Again, the Minister spoke about her role,
especially around the final battle, and
picked up the ribbon for the medallion
from the now opened case.
Daphne's actions and words were very
similar to Hermione's, and she was soon
sitting back down.
When Harry was called up, he was already
wearing his original Order of Merlin. As
Sirius stood between them, the Minister
spoke more in-depth of what Harry had
accomplished, brushed on the battle with
the basilisk - which earned him his first
Order of Merlin, First Class - before going
into the final battle. A little uncomfortably,
he even mentioned that the battle was
the result of a prophecy between he and
Riddle; and that the full wording was now
considered a state secret.
Just before the Minister was about to
reach for the new Order of Merlin, he
softly said, "Mister Potter, you will need to
remove your original Order medallion, so I
may hang the new one around your neck."
Harry immediately reached up and
removed it, dropping it into the opened
case held by Sirius, but out of the way of
the Minister picking up the new one.
Then the Minister reached in and drew
the new one out.
Before hanging it around Harry's neck, he
pointed out the long bar on the ribbon,
that signified it as a second award of the
same calibre. "We actually had to delve
back into our records storage before we
had any idea what a second award would
look like," he spoke loud enough for the
gathered to hear.
Then he indicated for Harry to bow his
head, before then hanging the new ribbon
around his neck.
As the final awardee, and with the highest
honour, it was left to Harry to give the
longest speech. And he intended to make
full use of the opportunity.
Stepping up to the lectern after the
applause died down, and both Sirius and
the Minister returned to their chairs, he
withdrew a scroll of parchment from his
robes.
Chapter378
Laying it on the lectern, he gave himself a
few moments to collect his thoughts.
"First, thank you to Minister Ogden, and
the members who graciously agreed to
see me awarded the Order of Merlin, First
Class, for a second time; and my wives,
who also played a significant role in
bringing down Tom Riddle," he began. "I
have no doubt that, without their direct
assistance, I would not have been
successful.
"The same can also be said for the training
we three received from Professors Flitwick
and Snape. I can say that, just about
everything we threw at Tom last night,
was taught to us by them.
"And I also give my sincere thanks to
Department Heads Unspeakable Croaker
and Madam Bones, together with their
people. I have no idea why the Daily
Prophet, and other disreputable media
organisations of the same vein, believed I
could deal with the entire problem on my
own; because, I couldn't see it. It actually
beggars belief by anyone who has a brain
comprising more than two cells that such
could be even remotely successful.
Perhaps they expected me to walk to my
death, and allow someone else to kill the
dork lard. I have no idea."
That caused a bit of irritated grumbling
from the press seats.
"However, that's not what I want to talk to
you about," he continued, ignoring the
press. "What I want to talk to you about is
stopping what happened,
that created 'Lord Voldemort', from ever
happening again."
"Over the past two hundred plus years,"
he began after a slight pause, "Magical
Britain has felt the depredations of no less
than three dark wizards intent on forcing
their rule upon the world. They were, of
course, Tom Riddle, Gellert Grindelwald,
and Malachai Peabody.
"Riddle and Peabody were home-grown
dark wizards; and Grindelwald, even
though he was raised for the most part on
the continent, still had family within our
shores that he spent time with. All three
are, therefore, products of wizarding
society in Magical Britain.
"All three promoted very similar beliefs.
All three promoted blood bigotry at it's
worse. All three preyed on the blood
bigotry of the so-called pureblood
citizenry of Magical Britain as a whole to
further their quests for power.
"Now, I can see you're a little
uncomfortable hearing that. I can see
some of you do not believe it is that great
a problem. A storm in a teacup, so to
speak. However, I can easily prove just
how widespread and insidious the
problem is, just by what you have
witnessed in the last less than an hour.
Blood bigotry was, though subtle, on
display during the awards today.
"The awardees were called up with the,
shall we say, lowest award first;
culminating in the awarding to me of the
highest award; the Order of Merlin, First
Class.
"First called up were Madam Bones and
Unspeakable Croaker for identical awards.
I know that Unspeakable Croaker is a
pureblood, just as I know Madam Bones is
a half blood. And Madam Bones was
called up first. The furthest away from the
awarding of the Orders of Merlin.
"Next was Professors Flitwick and Snape,
also with identical awards. Professor
Flitwick is of mixed breed, while Professor
Snape is a supposed half blood. Professor
Flitwick was called first.
"Third was my wives, Missus Daphne
Greengrass-Potter and Missus Hermione
Granger-Potter. Daphne is a pureblood
and Hermione is a supposed
muggleborn. Hermione was called up first.
"Right there is three examples of those of...
supposedly... better blood being treated
better than others. Once is an accident,
twice is coincidence, three times is
deliberate. And, I daresay, the Minister
and his staff who planned all this and the
order folks were called, had no idea they'd
done it. The bigotry is such an ingrained
part of Magical British society, a great
many of those perpetuating it don't even
realise they're doing it.
"And the annoying thing of all this is,
there's no such thing as a muggleborn, or
a half-blood who has a so-called
muggleborn and a pureblood parent.
"Muggle scientists working in the field of
genetics right around the world all agree
on specific points. One of those is this: If
an identical genetic change occurs
between two diverse people it could have
been an incredible coincidence. The odds
of such are counted in the millions-to-one.
However, it is possible; and they recognise
that.
"If the identical change occurs a third time,
the chance is considered so
astronomically remote as to be considered
as close to impossible as it can get. The
odds are in the many
many trillions-to-one.
"If it occurs a fourth time, then it is
irrefutable proof it wasn't spontaneous.
Instead, it was clearly the result of a
predisposition. Something had to already
exist across the four that triggered that
change.
"Now, consider this: Hogwarts accepts as
students an average of six supposed
muggleborns each year; and that doesn't
include those whose parents decline the
invitation. In every case they demonstrate
the exact same genetic change. They
are all capable of wielding magic in a near
identical form. That form is the exact
same as those who are supposedly
pureblood. And this occurs every year.
"Every year approximately a half dozen
supposed muggleborns walk into this Hall
for the first time. And, out of a total
population of students, those supposed
muggleborns form about one seventh of
the total.
"If you were to take those figures to a
muggle geneticist, and try to convince him
or her that it was the result of spontaneity,
he or she would roar with laughter and
think you were trying to pull a prank on
them. And that's because they know that
the chance of that sort of thing happening
is inconceivably impossible.
"In other words, it's a nonsense. It could
never happen. Not even once. Not in a
million lifetimes.
"However, if you were to consider that
supposed muggleborns are actually the
descendants of magicals, then you start to
see possibility. We move from the realm
of impossibility to the realm of probability.
All those supposed muggleborns could
now have as inherited traits in their
genetic makeup the ability to wield magic
as well as any supposed pureblood.
"So, how do those genetic traits make
their way into the muggle world? Again,
it's simple to explain. And I can explain it
with one word: squibs.
"Since the time the magical world cut
itself off from the muggle world; magicals,
who should know better, have been
sending their squibs into the muggle
world. And, of course, in the muggle world,
they grow to adulthood, marry and have
children.
"These non-magical children of magicals,
and their children and so on, grow and live
with the ability to wield magic in their
very genes, their cells, inert. Then,
sometimes hundreds of years later, or as
soon as a couple of generations along,
that inert ability becomes active in a
newborn. And you have a so-called
muggleborn.
Chapter 379
"Muggleborns are, in reality, the children
of sometimes long lines of squibs.
However, at the very least, they can only
be referred to as half-bloods, due to
breeding with true muggles.
"And Gringotts recognises this. In chatting
with the goblins responsible for
recognising inheritances, they have
informed me it is the policy of the bank to
blood test as many so-called muggleborns
as possible. And the reason is obvious;
they're looking for the children of squibs
of pureblood lineage whose magical
predisposition has become active. And
their interest in doing so is to reactivate
long dormant vaults.
"Where the wizarding world believes a
family line is dead, the goblins know
better. They know the likelihood of the
children of squibs of those lines thought
dead but still being alive, is a near
certainty. But, they're patient.
They know they only have to wait long
enough, and one of those children will
walk through their doors as a so-called
muggleborn. And they'll be able to
reactivate that vault.
"You have storekeepers in the Alley, in
Hogsmeade and in other wizarding towns
who refuse to serve anyone not
considered of pure blood. You have
different, higher, prices for those
considered of poorer blood to those of
known bloodlines. Your own ministry
employs far less so-called muggleborns
and half-bloods than would be the
average. If the hiring practices of the
Ministry was fair, it should currently
employ at least fifteen percent so-called
muggleborns. That it employs less than
one percent, is proof of it's inherent
bigotry.
"You have so-called muggleborns who,
once they graduate these hallowed halls,
find themselves unable to find work in
magical Britain, based solely on their
so-called blood status, and flee to other
shores. Mostly, they head for the United
States and Australia, but they also head
elsewhere. And there, they are welcomed
with open arms; leaving the rest of the
world laughing at us for losing educated,
skilled and capable witches and wizards;
for no other reason than they were seen
as lesser beings.
"Pureblood extremists will cry that
muggleborns are stealing magic. What a
load of hippogriff dung. It's only the magic
within the grandchild of a squib that's
changing from inert to active. It's only the
children of those who you threw out years
ago, activating, and allowing them
to return to the wizarding world. Nothing
less.
"Therefore, blood bigotry is a nonsense
that does nought but harm our society.
And, anyone who actively encourages it, is
an ignorant fool. Tom Riddle, Gelert
Grindelwald, Malachai Peabody, and
almost all those dark wizards and witches
who preceded them over the centuries,
spouted that nonsense as fact; and had
witches and wizards turn their wands on
each other in anger. For what?
"I, for one, am frankly sick of it. So, I make
this promise to you now: If you are unable
to rid yourselves of your bigotry... your
illogical, though often suppressed, hate...
and learn and understand the truth...
there's likely to be yet another dark wizard
or witch in your lifetime. However, next
time, there won't be a Potter there to save
you. You'll have proven
yourselves unworthy of the efforts of the
House of Potter to come to your aid, other
than to support our existing alliances.
"Change; or suffer the consequences."
As Harry rolled his scroll back up and
stepped back, bedlam ensued.
As he sat down, ignoring the shouts
coming from those who had been sitting
to witness the awards, Hermione leaned
over and asked, "I thought you said
muggleborns are the result of magical
souls inhabiting the bodies of muggles."
"They are," he replied. "I just had to get
things moving towards getting rid of the
bigotry; and something like convincing the
populace of the souls theory is harder
than this. It's the unborn physical bodies
of those with the predisposition to handle
a magical soul, that get them.
"If I can get them thinking, we can then
get them considering alternatives."
Leaning over, as she was sitting on the
other side of Hermione, Daphne asked,
"This is the start of the second stage, isn't
it?"
"That it is, my love," he smiled. "That it is."
Once Madam Bones and her aurors got
the crowd under control, the actual press
conference could begin.
However, they first had to move the
lectern out of the way, and replace it with
a shortened version of the head table. It
was when the awardees and the Minister
sat at the table, facing the crowd, that the
crowd finally finished settling down.
Though many were angry at Harry's
remarks.
And that's when the barrage of questions
began.
Many of the questions were more angry
retorts from those who considered
themselves purebloods. However, there
were a few that were asked where the
person asking was clearly considering
what Harry had said.
One questioner asked, "How do we rid
ourselves of, as you believe, our bigotry?"
"That is up to each of you," replied Harry.
"It's not my job to fix your problems for
you. However, I can tell you that bigotry is
often born from a position of ignorance
and fear. You solve both by educating
yourselves to the truth. So, go educate
yourselves. Open your minds. Look around
you without a heart filled with bias and
preconceived notions of what you believe
the truth to be. Question everything.
"Oh, and don't rely on just one source of
information, either. Over the past four and
a half years, since my return to the
wizarding world, according to the Daily
Prophet and the Wizarding Wireless, I've
gone from an ignorant muggle-raised; to a
dark wizard in the making, due to my
ability to speak parseltongue; to a poor
boy targeted for assassination by his
mass-murdering godfather, the same man
sitting only a few places to my right; to an
attention seeking liar, who entered his
own name into the Goblet of Fire; to the
so-called Chosen One, who would save
everybody by facing Riddle in one-on-one
combat killing him for you all.
"And you people continue to turn to that
rag and believe as near-gospel every word
within it. I don't hold a subscription to
the Daily Prophet, because I don't need
any more lining for my owl's roost as I
think that's all it's good for. However, my
wives subscribe so they can see who my
solicitors can next litigate against for
libel."
"What are your plans for the future?"
asked another.
"Pass my OWLs with lots of Outstandings,
relax, enjoy being a married man to the
two most beautiful witches in the world,
and have a decent holiday free of the
threat of a sociopath whose primary
desire is to kill me," he replied.
"And where do you plan to holiday?"
asked someone.
"I've no idea, yet," he replied. "But, I
envision a tropical island with a private
beach, somewhere. My wives and I have
spent so much effort on training up to
face Riddle we've not even had time to
properly enjoy a honeymoon, yet. The
short one we had was in solitude, hiding.
As soon as possible after OWLs are over,
we're off."
"If muggleborns believe they may have a
vault filled with treasures waiting for them
at Gringotts to claim," another grumped,
"I think the goblins are going to be very
unhappy with you. They'll be swamped."
Harry laughed, as did his wives and most
of his family. "That many people coming to
his bank to take blood tests? Besides
being able to claim a payment for the test
for each so-called muggleborn who walks
through their doors and asks for it, the
goblins want those vaults activated.
Inactive vaults make them no gold. No, as
a result I think Warlord Ragnock might
want to adopt me, or something. He's a
nice person; he enjoys a good laugh."
A question to Croaker, "What do you think
of Mister Potter's claims that muggleborns
are actually the descendants of
purebloods through squibs?"
"It would be an interesting research
project," replied Croaker.
"The Unspeakables aren't already looking
in to that?" asked the same.
"The Unspeakables, myself included, do
not speak about what we are currently
researching; or are not researching,"
replied Croaker.
"Will you be offering Mister Potter a job?"
the same questioner pressed.
"The hiring practices of the Department of
Mysteries are confidential," replied
Croaker.
Turning to Harry the same questioner
asked, "What about you, Mister Potter?
Are you looking for a position in the
Department of Mysteries?"
"I've not even sat my OWLs, yet," replied
Harry. "Therefore, I'm not ready to make a
decision as to my future employment
prospects."
"But, would you accept if offered?"
"As with any employment offer, when or if
it finally comes, it would be something I
would first discuss with my wives," he
replied.
Harry could hear Croaker lightly chuckling
from where he sat further along the table.
Obviously the man found the whole thing,
especially Harry's answers, pretty
amusing.
Someone finally asked a question of
someone else. The first was from a witch
in the press area to Hermione. "Missus
Granger-Potter," she asked. "My readers
of Witch Weekly would like to know how
it feels to be a muggleborn married to the
hero of the wizarding world."
"Bully for them," Hermione quietly said.
"Was there a question in there,
somewhere?"
That had her dad snort in amusement as
many of the family grinned or outright
chuckled.
The now flustered witch asked, "Well...
ummm... what's it like, as a muggleborn,
being married to the Boy-Who-Lived, and
now Man-Who-Conquered?"
Harry winced.
"You forgot Slayer-of-Slytherin's-Monster
among those hyphenated nicknames you
folks in the press have made up for him,
and Tri-Wizard Champion," smirked
Hermione. "As to your question; if Harry is
right, then there's no such thing as a
muggleborn. Therefore, your question is
moot. Would you like to reword it?"
Another female journalist apparently
came to the rescue of the well flustered
first. "What's it like being married to...
Harry Potter?"
"Well, as I've never been married to any
other wizard, I've no one to compare it
to," she calmly replied. "However, I can
tell you that Harry is a wonderful husband.
I could not ask for anyone better."
"And you, Missus Greengrass-Potter?"
asked the same witch.
"I think Hermione said it all," replied
Daphne. "And, while we appreciate you
need to ask questions for your nosey...
sorry... loyal readers; you will respect our
familial privacy."
That had Matthias murmur only loud
enough for family to hear, "Good answer!"
Finally, someone asked a question Harry
was near begging for. Someone asked
Snape a question. "Professor Snape,
having assisted in the training of Harry
Potter to face He-Who... Tom Riddle, how
do you feel?"
Harry looked down the table at the
professor, almost in glee, as he waited for
the man to answer.
Apparently considering his words carefully,
Professor Snape took a few moments
before responding. "Having spent a great
deal of time and effort in training th...
Mister Potter and his wives to face Riddle
in combat; as he managed to kill the man,
I feel he performed... adequately.
"As to how I personally feel; I feel
relieved... as, I think, does everyone in
Magical Britain... that Mister Potter
was somehow able to rid us of this
threat."
Looking down the table and watching the
Professor respond, Harry couldn't help but
grin his head off at the man. Snape
refused to look back. Instead, his
expression turned from its
customary slight annoyance,
to mild annoyance.
As backhanded a compliment as it was,
Harry could see the Potions Master was
still annoyed he actually had to say
something nice, in public, about him.
Harry was already considering copying the
memory and sending it with a nice card to
man for his own pensieve. He was even
thinking of tying a nice ribbon around the
phial for delivery and signing the card,
'With love, Harry'.
As the press conference wound down,
Headmistress McGonagall began making
noises and glaring at the Minister. Not
stupid, the Minister finally called a halt to
the press conference and sent those
watching on their way.
As the Hall emptied out, the Minister
turned to Harry and said, "I wish you'd
informed me of your remarks relating to
the muggleborn before you made them
today, Mister Potter. I may have been able
to advise you on how to word them so
they weren't so... inflammatory."
"I wrote and spoke them from the heart,
Minister," replied Harry. "Though I'm not a
politician, I'm not unaware of the
overwhelming support I've gained from
the populace. And, as such, I'm not
adverse to using that to make some
necessary changes."
"I see," said the man, clearly unhappy
with Harry. He then turned to Croaker and
said, "I want to see the Department of
Mysteries investigate Mister Potter's
claims, to see if there is any validity in his
beliefs. I expect to see a report on it."
"It bears investigating," replied Croaker.
"We'll have a report for you as soon as
we're able to fully assess the matter."
With a final nod, the Minister turned and
strode from the Hall. His undersecretary
and a pair of aurors followed him out.
As the Minister left, the Headmistress
came over. "Though I know you think you
know what you're doing, it pays not to
antagonise the Minister... unnecessarily."
"Oh, I think he's going to soon forget
about my remarks, today, Headmistress,"
he smiled. "I don't think he realises, just
yet, that he's going to have to elevate a
so-called muggleborn into the tiers of the
Wizengamot. As a new holder of an Order
of Merlin, Hermione's earned the right to
sit on that body."
Chapter 380
Harry heard Sirius snort in amusement
from behind. "Good one, pup," he
chuckled. "I think you might be right."
Headmistress McGonagall sighed and
pinched the bridge of her nose with one
hand as she hung her head. "Just... clear
off, while I have the Hall configured back
for the evening meal, would you?"
Impudently grinning back, Harry replied,
"Yes, Ma'am."
"And I think we should be heading back to
the Ministry," said Madam Bones. She
gave a little mock salute to the Potters and
the Headmistress before she and Croaker
left with the rest of the aurors in tow.
"I need to get changed," muttered Snape
before he walked away without
acknowledgement.
Professor Flitwick congratulated the
Potters before hurrying after the man.
"Back to our apartment before dinner?"
asked Daphne of the family.
"Yes, please," said Cele. "We've not had a
chance to have a decent look about yet.
This is our first time here."
"And that's once more than almost all
non-magical parents get," said Matthias.
"Sorry, but it's true. Due to the nature of
the wards on the castle and grounds;
muggles, such as yourself...
"No; wait. If Harry's right, you're actually
squibs. If that's the case, depending on
how much, or how little, magic you
actually have, you may or may not be able
to see the castle."
"Is there any way to test them for their
magical strength?" asked Hermione.
"Yes," replied Deece. "But, if it's very very
low, it'll need to be done at Saint Mungo's.
That's something we can organise for one
day when they've a day off work."
"If their magical power is at a reasonably
powerful squib level," pushed Hermione,
"Is it something Madam Pomfrey can
test?"
Deece frowned a little, thinking about
what was asked. "Yes. Possibly."
Harry gave a little snort, knowing what
was coming, stuck a finger into the air and
declared, "To the infirmary!"
Madam Pomfrey stepped back from both
beds, next to each other and with an adult
Granger on each, and lowered her wand.
"Well, sweet Merlin's ghost!" she said,
clearly surprised by what she'd
discovered.
"Well?" asked Hermione, almost hopping
from one foot to the other and back again.
After giving Hermione a look that said
'Watch your tone with me, young lady!',
Madam Pomfrey turned back to the adult
Grangers and said, "They're there. Both of
you have very weak magical cores...
Missus Granger's is a little stronger than
Mister Granger's... but both have a
magical core.
"Neither are at the level of what
we'd commonly refer to as a squib; but,
they're there, nevertheless."
"And just because the magical world does
not think of them as squibs, that they
have a magical core each
means magic thinks of them as squibs,"
stated Harry, quite pleased.
"This is actually quite astonishing," said
Madam Pomfrey, clearly surprised by her
findings. "I really must ask to go and visit
the homes of our muggleborns, and see if
their parents and siblings will allow me to
perform the same test."
"That means Harry's likely right," stated
Matthias.
Harry grinned back. "It would also explain
why magical souls are drawn to particular
so-called muggleborns in the first place.
With both Cele and Ant being squibs, it's
no wonder Hermione and William were
born magicals.
"I daresay you'll find the same with the
parents of the rest of the so-called
muggleborns."
The family left Madam Pomfrey muttering
to herself about the research possibilities
and continued on their trek back to the
Potter Apartment.
As they walked, Daphne and Hermione
showed them all one of the magical
suppression fields, and where the rune
array was located that powered it. That
then led to a discussion between Matthias,
Daphne and Hermione on how it worked.
As they had paused to inspect one of the
rune arrays, Harry called Dobby and told
the little elf they were expecting guests,
and to set up the seating accordingly.
Dobby took one look at the size of the
party, nodded, and popped away again.
Outside their apartment Hermione gave
Professor Whittaker the password, "The
Potters rule!", which replaced the old
password, 'The Headmaster is a
manipulative old coot'.
Inside, they could see Dobby had already
reconfigured the couch seating to take
into account the number of guests. It was
now getting to the point where Harry
recognised the same couches being used
over and over again.
"Harry," said Daphne. "Please entertain
our guests while we go get changed." And
she and Hermione immediately left the
room and walked to the master bedroom
without waiting for him to respond.
As the girls walked in, Cele and Deece
glanced at one another and chased the
girls in, firmly closing the door behind
them.
"Well; ordered about like a house elf,"
huffed Harry.
Matthias and Ant just laughed and Sirius
grinned.
"Get used to it, Harry," said Matthias. "It
means they've become very used to you,
and are starting to assert
their own authority on the marriage."
"But, aren't I supposed to be in charge?"
he asked, confused.
"In public, yes," said Ant as all three men
laughed. "In private, however... let's just
say, sleeping in the bed is far preferable to
sleeping on the couch."
"Either that, or buy yourself a
really, really comfortable couch you can
easily sleep on," added Matthias. "Until
you can accept the wives are in charge at
home, you're going to be spending a lot of
time sleeping on it."
"The ladies know... almost instinctively,
you could say... the Lady of the Manor is in
charge of the home," said Sirius. "And, for
the time being, this apartment is your
home. Therefore, they're in charge inside
this apartment."
"Don't worry, Harry," smiled Matthias.
"You're allowed to be in charge of
everything outside of the home."
"Allowed?" asked Harry.
"Allowed," Ant immediately and firmly
replied, as both other men nodded.
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein