Hermione, Draco and Ron stood off to the side, watching as the other students milled about in the Great Hall, quietly talking amongst themselves during another one of their free periods.
Full classes still hadn't resumed, and that was after a week spent at Hogwarts already.
Draco couldn't help but sigh, seeing all the missed opportunities, and things he had once believed were important, when they were anything but.
"What is it?" Hermione asked curiously, petting Mrs. Norris's head.
"All the ideas my father put in my head," Draco replied, shaking his head. "About blood purity, house rivalries. It all seems so foolish after everything we lost."
Ron nodded, "tell me about it. My biggest fears were not getting into Gryffindor, and having to put up with a bunch of slimy snakes," he joked, lighting the somber mood.
Draco couldn't help but snort, letting out a bark of laughter. "Better than a pack of idiotic Gryffindors."
"Boys," Hermione muttered, shaking her head, but also with a small smile on her face.
"Seriously though," Ron continued. "Who would have thought back then we would all rather stay together in the Great Hall together than go back to our common rooms after classes?"
"It seems like so long ago," Hermione agreed wholeheartedly. "All I cared about was passing the next test and getting to the top of the student rankings."
"Flint's been talking to Davies," Draco said, looking over at their classmates sitting together at the Slytherin table. "They're talking about putting on the Quidditch finals."
"The finals?" Ron asked with a raised eyebrow. "I thought Dumbledore canceled it."
"Nothing official," Draco replied. "Just something to get everyone's spirits up, and get our minds off things."
"Dumbledore's already sold the school brooms," Ron said, getting a dark look in his eyes, thinking about what the Headmaster had done with Harry's donation. "What are they supposed to play on?"
"The plan is to either use their own brooms or borrow them," Draco replied.
Hermione looked off to the other side of the Great Hall, seeing Davies and Flint sitting together, laughing like old friends. They along with Wood, and Diggory, the other quidditch captains, once bitter rivals now fast friends.
"Yeah?" Ron asked. "That might work," he nodded his head.
Draco looked up, a curious look on his face as he spotted an owl flying through the open window, followed by at least a dozen more. "I wonder what that's about?" He thought out loud. "The Prophet's already come this morning."
"Don't remind me," Ron said, getting a dirty look on his face. "All that tripe about Dumbledore closing the portal? Do they really think anyone's going to believe that?"
"The way my father talks about it, yeah," Draco replied, reminding them of what he told them about the National Media Oversight Board. "What happened at the ritual site is a national secret. Talking about what really happened is a one-way trip to Azkaban."
Hermione shivered, not liking the parallels in history when the government either took over or abolished the free press entirely. "They've effectively shut down the Quibbler."
"This is just the way it starts," Hermione continued. "It starts with suppressing information, and manipulating public opinion, before moving into outright propaganda, and if left unchecked, political imprisonment, human rights violations, even assassinations."
"It looks like the Quibbler plans to go down swinging then," Ron said, picking up the newspaper the owl dropped on his table, and unfurling it with a satisfied smile.
We're Back!
By Rita Skeeter
After a much longer hiatus than we originally intended, I am proud to say the Quibbler is back!
The reason for our absence is a new ministry department called the National Media Oversight Board (NMOB), and its accompanying legislation, but don't let its banal name fool you. It is far from innocent.
The formation of the NMOB has a singular purpose, to abolish the free press. Under the new legislation, which the Wizengamot quietly passed, all forms of media must first be submitted to the NMOB for review and approval before anything can be published or otherwise disseminated to the public.
The law is so poorly written it not only covers newspapers but also magazines such as Witch Weekly, Transfiguration Today, the Wizarding Wireless Network, and even text and reference books.
This is a massive overreach by the government, and well out the norms of a free society, and the punishment for not abiding by the new laws is equally draconian.
The first offense is a six-month stint in Azkaban, the second is a year, and the third is ten years with the forced dissolution of the publication in question.
Also buried deep in the fine print is a clause stating the offending media outlet must print a retraction. If they refuse to do so in what the Ministry deems a timely manner, the Ministry may then seize their facilities to print the retraction on their behalf.
The burning question I'm sure you all have is if this is all true, how is the Quibbler able to tell the truth without suffering those same consequences?
The answer lies within the poorly written law itself. See page two for a full copy of the National Media Oversight Decree ratified into law by the Wizengamot.
This law covers all media outlets headquartered within Britain, but does not make any distinction on outlets headquartered outside of Britain that maintain a customer base within the country.
As of the printing of this article, the Quibbler is officially headquartered in France, putting our newspaper outside the jurisdiction of the Ministry and the Wizengamot, but this is only the tip of the iceberg.
The far more pressing question is why. Why did the Wizengamot see fit to do this? What are they trying to hide from you? What do they hope to gain by controlling the flow of information?
We at the Quibbler will be answering those questions and many more soon, so if you don't have a subscription yet, I strongly urge you to do so, before the Ministry and the Wizengamot pass anymore laws to prevent you from learning the truth.
***
Albus sat in his office fuming, a copy of the Quibbler still sitting crumpled on his desk. He had been a fool to leave it up to Ogden and the Wizengamot to craft the new legislation.
Instead of waiting for the next Wizengamot meeting to be reinstated as Mugwump he should have pushed for an emergency session to return to power, a decision he was kicking himself for now, especially after their latest screwup.
Of course Skeeter and Lovegood had pounced on it, finding the loophole in the legislation and exploiting it for all it was worth.
His only saving grace had been his foresight, knowing that for his long-term goals he couldn't afford to have his name attached to the legislation, in case it ever became public knowledge.
It had only been a day since Skeeter's explosive article, but the effects were already devastating. The Prophet didn't even know how to respond to the article since Skeeter had somehow got her hands on the legislation and printed it in full in the Quibbler.
There was no way to discredit her, no way to track her down, and worst of all, no way to shut down her damn newspaper.
"Anything?" Albus asked as Elphias stuck his head through his fireplace.
"No," Elphias replied, stepping into Albus's office. "I've checked with my contacts in France, and while the Quibbler is now incorporated there, no one knows the location of their printing facilities."
"No one knows, or no one will tell us," Albus asked, noting the hesitation in Elphias's tone.
"A little of both, I think," Elphias said, sitting down heavily. "And that's assuming Skeeter and Lovegood were telling the truth about their printing facility being in France to begin with. The bottom line is, no politician in Europe wants to touch this with a ten-foot pole. They don't want any of this blowing back on them and hurting their own political standing."
The fireplace flared to life, this time with Moody stepping through. Both men looked up at him, hoping that he had better news to share.
"I've got nothing," Moody admitted, sitting down as well.
"Nothing?" Albus asked, surprised. "There has to be something. She can't be that good at covering her tracks, can she?"
"Better," Moody replied. "Lovegood and Skeeter's homes have both been cleared out. They didn't leave so much as a scrap piece of parchment behind. I hate to say it, but unless they make a big mistake, which is unlikely given Skeeter's reputation, we're not going to find them."
Albus sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Losing Evergreen had been bad enough, but this was infinitely worse. Controlling the flow of information had been the cornerstone of his new long-term plans, and there was no telling what Skeeter and Lovegood would uncover next.
"Things at the Wizengamot are no better," Elphias added. "They're already working on a new version of the law to close the loophole, but the cat's already out of the bag, and likely to make things worse if they attempt to introduce any new legislation."
"Lovegood has a daughter," Moody pointed out. "She's old enough to attend Hogwarts next year. Following her back to her father wouldn't be too difficult."
Albus sighed, stroking his beard. September was a long way away, and it was unlikely for her to even attend Hogwarts considering everything that happened.
He looked up, hearing a tapping on his window, and went to open it, allowing the owl to fly in, a familiar newspaper clutched in its claws.
He unfurled the newspaper with some trepidation, wondering what he would find this time.
The Battle of Hogwarts
By Xeno Lovegood
As many of you are aware, there was a devastating attack on Hogwarts a few short weeks ago, but what has been reported in the press has been anything but accurate.
This was a battle fought on a scale unheard of in the Wizarding World, putting every conflict we have ever faced to shame. It was bloody, brutal, and devastating in a way we may never fully recover from.
It was battle fought mainly by school children and professors, most of which have never fought in a war, or trained in battle tactics, and who even now we have not fully supported in their recovery.
The first stage of the battle began in the Great Hall, when a group of fanatics took the students and professors hostage. They claimed to be the good guys, claimed to keep them there for their protection, but we know that to be a lie.
At the first signs of descent, as the students and professors demanded answers, they attacked. (Please see page three for a list of students, professors, Hogwarts staff, and Aurors that lost their lives in the battle).
Make no mistake, these fanatics didn't just subdue the students and professors with stunning curses and body binds. They quickly escalated to cutting curses, explosion hexes, and bone breakers with no regard whatsoever for the children they maimed and killed.
One student in particular, a first year, Harry Potter deserves the most credit for defeating them, turning what could only be described as an outright slaughter into a fighting chance, then finally turning the tables on them.
The fanatics, in a desperate and cowardly attempt to win the battle began a ritual which in turn caused an explosion that not only killed many students and professors but themselves as well.
This activated what was later described as an iron golem that tore through the floor of the Great Hall, attacking the students and professors still standing.
(See pages three and fours for pictures of the golem taken from the memories of the students and professors that survived the attack.)
The golem killed Professor Olivia Green as she valiantly fought to defend her students against this monstrous threat.
Professor Minerva McGonagall was the next to engage the golem, damaging its head, but nearly lost her own life in the process.
It was at this moment when Harry Potter, still heavily injured from fighting the golem earlier, stepped in, protecting McGonagall. (See pages five, six, and seven, for pictures of Harry Potter battling the golem.)
It is still unclear at this time how Harry Potter managed it, but through a mixture of magical and physical attacks that would put fully grown wizards and witches to shame, he tore through the golem's previously thought to be impregnable armor.
It was at this point the Aurors arrived on the scene, but despite their best efforts they could not defeat the golem, forcing Harry Potter to once again step in, landing the deceive and final blow that defeated the golem.
This is far from the end of our coverage on exactly what happened at Hogwarts on that terrible day, and we will have another article out shortly covering the next stage of the battle.
Please remain vigilante, as even now the Ministry and the Wizengamot are working to close the loophole we used to publish this article.
Albus put down the newspaper, rubbing his temples as he felt a headache coming on.
It was far worse than he could have imagined. If the article wasn't bad enough, the pictures they printed certainly were, showing the harsh, and unvarnished truth of the attack, and the utter devastation left in its wake.
Elphias snatched up the newspaper next, skimming through the article as Moody read over his shoulder.
"Where does this leave us?" Elphias asked, setting the newspaper back down heavily.
"You have to ask?" Moody said, looking over the pictures of the attack again, impressed despite himself by how Harry handled himself. "The kid's come a long way," he praised.
Elphias looked at him questioningly, seeing the ghost of a smile on his grizzled face.
"Got into a bit of a scrap with him before the start of term," Moody explained. "The kid was good, better than any first year had any right to be, but this," he said, letting out a low whistle. "I've never seen anything like it. Probably give you a run for your money, eh, Albus?"
Albus kept his face impassive as he stared at Moody, then Dodge. Neither one of his allies would understand the necessity of what he had to do about Harry.
"I'm afraid we will never know," he finally replied. "I visited the boy at St. Mungos. The healers say he only has a few days left at most before he goes on to the next great adventure."
"Bah!" Moody said with a snort, dismissively waving his hand. "The kid's going to be just fine."
"How can you be so sure of that?" Albus asked, wondering what insights Moody might have into this.
"He ain't dead yet, is he?" Moody pointed out. "If it was going to happen, it would have been right after the battle, not weeks later. Mark my words, the kid's going to survive this, and come out even stronger for it."
"And the Wizengamot? This new decree? Skeeter and Lovegood just took a sledgehammer to our plans," Elphias pointed out. "There's going to be blow back on you for this Albus, things we haven't accounted for."
Albus sighed, having come to the same conclusion himself. He didn't write, nor did he sign the decree, and he hadn't given a single interview to the Prophet either. He had deniability on his side, but he wasn't sure how long that would last in the current political climate.
"…We'll weather it. We always do," he finally replied. "Besides, it was Ogden acting as Supreme Mugwump during that attack," he reminded them. "He ultimately chose not to send the Aurors to investigate."
"I hope you're right," Elphias said, as he and Moody left.
Albus sighed, looking out the window, deep in thought. It was a bitter pill to swallow, but without the mastery of the elder wand, he was at his weakest, and getting to Harry before he passed on seemed like a more daunting task with each passing day.
There was a slim chance that after Harry passed, the elder wand's allegiance would return to him, but it wasn't something he could count on, and if Moody was right, and Harry did survive the wand would be all but useless to him.
He reached into his desk drawer, pulling out a small wooden box, and flipped it open, looking at the item he had recovered from the ritual sight for the thousandth time, the finger of the entity.
He had already brought it to Ollivander to examine. The wand maker's initial finding had been promising, calling it the single most magically dense object he had ever examined, but therein lay the problem.
It was far too powerful to be contained in any wand. Any normal wood would shatter from the sheer force of magic flowing through it, even with the simplest of spells.
He hadn't given up on the idea yet, instructing Ollivander to look into less conventional materials for a solution, while he used a replacement wand in the meantime, but it still left him feeling uneasy.
His mind flashed back to how Harry looked in the battle, literally glowing with magic, as he fought not just Andre Egwu, but the entity itself.
He glanced at the elder wand sitting on his desk, the wand he had once thought to be unbeatable, wondering if even that would be enough to defeat Harry should he survive.
***
Hermione glanced up from the latest addition of the Prophet, shaking her head in disbelief. The Quibbler had put out two newspapers talking about what happened at Hogwarts, and the Prophet hadn't so much as mentioned it, not even printing a retraction for their earlier coverage of the battle.
"I can't believe you still have a subscription to that rag," Ron said, sitting down beside her in the great hall for breakfast.
"Me either," Hermione said, tossing the Prophet aside in disgust. "Their headline is about the next ICW meeting in Italy next month! They're not even pretending to be impartial anymore."
As if on cue, another group of owls flew into the Great Hall, carrying the Quibbler between their talons.
"Thank god for that," Neville muttered from his seat across from them as he took his own copy of the Quibbler.
His gran had refused to tell him what happened at the emergency Wizengamot session she attended, telling him he was too young to deal with such things.
He had been furious at the time, but forced to accept it, and if not for the Quibbler, he would still be in the dark.
He glanced up at the Professor's table, surprised that none of them had made a move to confiscate the Quibbler yet, even after the last couple of editions revealed the truth about what Dumbledore actually did.
Albus exhaled in frustration as his copy of the Quibbler landed on top of his beans and toast, fighting the urge to confiscate every copy he saw in the great hall, and ban Lovegood's rag outright.
He took a calming breath, reminding himself that it would only be a matter of time before the Quibbler wrote about what happened at the ritual site, permanently taking the shine off his victory.
His hands were tied, not doubting for a second that Skeeter had her little spies amongst the students now, and anything he said or did would soon find its way back to her and come out in the latest edition of her 'newspaper.'
As much as it galled him to sit back and do nothing, he had to keep his distance from all of it. It was the only way to maintain the plausible deniability he had crafted for himself.
The strategy would benefit him in the long term, he was sure of it, but in the short term it was devastating to his reputation.
Rather than continue to face the accusing eyes of the students, he got to his feet, leaving his half finished breakfast behind as he retreated to his office.
Minerva watched Dumbledore leave, glaring daggers into his back, silently questioning how she could have ever respected that man, and how she had never seen his true nature.
She picked up her own copy of the Quibbler, a subscription she had started the moment the Quibbler came back from hiatus.
The Second Battle of Hogwarts
By Rita Skeeter
The aftermath of the battle with the Golem was panic, chaos, and a mad dash to see to the injured students and professors. (see yesterday's edition of the Quibbler for the full details).
The Aurors acting quickly used the flu connection in the headmaster's office and the hospital wing to evacuate the most grievously injured students first, while healers from St. Mungo's apparated to the ward line, crossing the distance to Hogwarts on foot.
After seeing to their injuries, a group of students including Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Draco Malfoy, Ron Weasley, Fred Weasley, George Weasley, Lee Jordan, and Terence Higgs joined a contingent of ten Aurors, Cornelius Fudge, and Amelia Bones to continue on to the ritual site.
They met heavy resistance on the school grounds, immediately engaged by a large group of cultists.
From the accounts of both students and Aurors alike, this was a particularly vicious battle. The cultists no longer even pretending to have a more altruistic purpose for their actions as they sought to maim and kill the defenders.
Harry Potter once again showcased an outstanding aptitude for dueling and magical prowess as he turned the tide of the battle multiple times.
He was not alone on the battlefield as Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, and Draco Malfoy worked as a team, protecting each other while also attacking the cultists, taking down several members themselves. (see pages two, three, and four for pictures taken from this battle.)
Unfortunately, their skill and determination alone were not enough to make up for the sheer numbers of cultists, who, from all accounts, were both highly trained and dangerously effective, working together to overwhelm the defenders.
As the battle raged on, both the students and Aurors began dropping like flies, some due to magical exhaustion, and others after their injuries finally caught up with them.
Despite how valiantly they fought, the battle looked all but lost.
It was in that moment a miracle happened. A contingent of Goblins arrived on the scene, once again turning the tide of the battle, and finally allowing the defenders to regroup and defeat the cultists.
It was later learned that the timely intervention of the Goblins was no accident. They were there at the invitation of the former Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge.
It is still unclear how Fudge convinced the Goblins to come to his aide after decades of sour relations between the ministry and Gringotts, but he somehow managed it, and by all rights should be commended for his actions.
It is too early to tell, but this one event that united our two peoples may be the first real step to a more harmonious relationship between Wizard and Goblin.
Our coverage of the battle itself will conclude with the next edition of the Quibbler, but make no mistake, this is far from the end of our coverage of these events and the aftermath.
There are still a great many things the public still needs to know about what really happened.
Minerva put down the newspaper, unable to bring herself to look at the pictures, having seen enough death and destruction to last ten lifetimes.
There was a part of her that was upset with the Quibbler for even printing the pictures. Any young child could pick up the newspaper and easily be traumatized by what they found, but she also understood the necessity of it.
The Quibbler wasn't simply reporting on what happened. They were fighting an ideological war with the government, fighting for transparency and accountability from the people that stood by and did nothing, and allowed this tragedy to happen.
The only way to do that was to shake people out of their complacency, and there was no better remedy for that than the full, unvarnished reality of what happened.
***
Albus made his way to the great hall for the evening feast. After reading the article in the Quibbler from earlier in the morning, he knew he had to get ahead of this. Simply waiting for it all to blow over was no longer a viable option.
The article had been bad enough, but the pictures had been far more damaging, vividly painting a picture of the true cost of the battle.
Tomorrow morning, the narrative he crafted with the Prophet would collapse, but he had a plan. He wouldn't come out of it unscathed, but the Prophet itself would need to take the brunt of the fallout.
He sat down in his chair, glancing left and right at his fellow professors. Severus still had his arm in a sling, and it would remain that way for sometime, but even after he recovered he wouldn't regain full use of his arm.
It was much the same story for Filius, after loosing his leg he had lost much of his mobility and would never duel professionally again.
Quirinus, his muggle studies professor, and soon to be to defense professor still had his head wrapped in bandages even though the healers had taken care of his injuries, but the scaring left behind, and the damage to his skull were a gruesome sight, one that he agreed was better left hidden from the children.
He rose to his feet, calling for silence. "I have some announcements to make," he said, reciting the speech he had practiced earlier in the afternoon. "No doubt by now you have read the articles in the Quibbler and have noticed how it differs from the Prophet's coverage of what happened."
"The truth is obvious, and tomorrow's Quibbler article will reveal many more truths. Chief amongst them is that it was Harry Potter that closed the portal, not me," he said, the words feeling like ash in his mouth, but he had little choice in the matter now.
The narrative he meticulously crafted collapsed under its own weight thanks to Ogden, and the Wizengamot's ineptitude.
Ron looked at Dumbledore sharply, wondering what he was up to, and from the looks on Hermione, and his brother's faces, they were all thinking the same thing.
"As many of you are aware, I did not grant any interviews to the Prophet, because I disagreed with the decisions made by the National Media Oversight Board."
"While I believe in their overall mandate, they wildly overstepped their authority with this decision," he said, carefully threading the needle between absolving himself of the blame, and not turning the masses against the NMOB.
"Harry Potter is grievously wounded, and not expected to live much longer," he said to the shocked gasps of the students. "The NMOB, in conjunction with the office of the Minister, felt that such news would cause a panic, sprouting fears that an event like this could happen again, and without Harry amongst us, we would not be so lucky a second time."
"Their plan was to reveal the truth at a later date, after we had all grieved those we have lost in the hopes that calmer heads may prevail."
"I am here to reassure you all, such a thing will never happen again. All the items used to perform this heinous ritual have been confiscated and destroyed. This was an isolated event. The DMLE has already launched a manhunt to find and bring to justice any cultists that remain on the loose."
"Additionally, new security procedures have been put in place, including the hiring of new Aurors to make sure such an event never happens again."
"It has also come to my attention that within this tragedy there have also been great acts of heroism," Albus said with a smile, getting to the portion of his speech that would get the children back on side. "And heroism comes in many forms, not the least of which, healing the injured."
"Daphne Greengrass, your quick and timely use of the Episkey charm is directly responsible for saving the life of Marcus Flint, along with countless others. Take fifty points for Slytherin."
Ron looked at the Headmaster in disbelief. Did he really think he could buy everyone off with a few house points? The Headmaster may have saved them in the woods, but he also ignored Harry when he went to him for help. He ignored his duty as headmaster to protect the students until the very last moment.
"To Lee Jordan, Terrence Higgs, Fred Weasley, and George Weasley," Dumbledore said, oblivious to the growing tension in the room as the students remained deadly silent. "For putting aside long-standing house rivalries, and working together to defend your fellow students, take one hundred points each."
Hermione openly glared at the Headmaster as he continued his speech, only half listening as he awarded more and more house points, unable to reconcile the man depicted in her books with the one standing in front of her handing out house points like candy, as if it would heal their wounds, both physically, and emotionally.
Draco was not far behind as he remembered what his father had recounted about the Wizengamot session. How Fudge had pleaded with all of them for help, and how Dumbledore had sat back, and did nothing.
He remembered vividly how long after the Minister arrived that Dumbledore finally showed up, then sat back and took credit for Harry's accomplishments, for his sacrifice. It was enough to make his blood boil.
He shared a look with his fellow Slytherins. Not all of them knew the true extend of what happened, some of them still believing that Dumbledore had shown up and saved the day, but he could see the doubt in their eyes as they continued to listen to Dumbledore silently.
"And last but not least, to Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, and Draco-" Albus continued.
"SHUT IT!" Ron roared, standing up from his seat, eyes blazing with fury as everyone looked at him in stunned silence. "You think you can just buy us off with some measly house points?!" he roared. "You think that makes up for what happened to us?! Harry came to you for help, and what did you do?! What did you do?!" He demanded, his eyes blazing with fury.
"I'll tell you what," he growled, looking around the great hall at his fellow students. "You brushed him off. You wouldn't even speak to him. You abandoned us, only showing back up when there was no other option!"
"Do you even care how many of us died?" Hermione demanded angrily, jumping in as well.
"I-I of course I care," Dumbledore said, trying to recover, reeling from the accusations thrown at him. He had never had a student speak to him so disrespectfully, let alone two.
"How many?!" Ron roared. "If you care so much, you should know!"
Dumbledore stuttered, looking at his fellow professors for support, but they all remained silent, refusing to look at him, even Severus.
This was how it was always done. Both during Voldemort's fist rise, and the global Wizarding War proceeding it.
He had learned the lesson from his predecessor Armando, and it had always worked before. Hand out a few house points, give a little public praise, and that was that. Everyone just moved on.
For the life of him, he couldn't understand where he went wrong. What did these ungrateful children expect from him? He had shown up, hadn't he? He'd found them in the forbidden forest on the brink of death and saved them all.
He opened his mouth to respond, ready to put these unruly children back in their place, when the door to the Great Hall slowly creaked open.
The shock must have shown on his face because the entire Great Hall turned to look at once, the room suddenly going completely silent.
Hermione's eyes widened, rubbing her eyes to make sure she wasn't seeing things. "Harry!" she screamed in joy, clambering out of her seat and running towards him, wrapping her friend in a tight hug.
Harry grunted, grimacing in pain as Hermione hugged him tight, aggravating the injuries he was still recovering from.
"Oh! Sorry!" Hermione said, pulling her arms back like they were on fire. "I didn't mean—"
"It's ok," Harry interrupted. "It's good to see you again too," he replied with a smile.
"Mate!" Ron said, rushing over as well, Draco on his heels as they surrounded their friend. "You're alright!"
"Mostly," Harry replied. "Still recovering, though."
"We didn't know if you would make it," Draco admitted.
Hermione nodded. "Promise me you'll never do something like that ever again."
Harry let out a small laugh, nodding. In truth, he didn't know if he could ever do something like that again. The whole area around the ritual site had been super saturated with magic, allowing him to channel far more magic than he ever thought possible.
It was slow at first, but the entire hall began to clap. Soon it turned into a deafening roar, as everyone cheered the first piece of good news they had received since the ritual as they all surrounded him.
Dumbledore looked on, stewing. In that moment, he knew there was nothing he could do, nothing he could say to return their focus back to him.
This was the reaction he was supposed to receive when he reopened Hogwarts and welcomed the students back, a reaction that never came.
It again should have happened during the feast, but Harry Potter had stolen that moment from him as well.
He stood there, a fake smile plastered on his face as he waited for the cheering to die down.
Moody had warned him that Harry would survive, but he hadn't truly believed it, seeing the state of him when he visited St. Mungos.
He reached into the pocket of his robes, running his finger along the familiar length of the elder wand. It still felt dead in his hands, no longer thrumming with magic like he was used to.
There was no escaping it now. Defeating Harry was the only way to regain the allegiance of the elder wand, if that was even possible.
Through it all, one question kept ringing in his mind. Why wasn't he informed of Harry's miraculous recovery? Why was it kept from him when he ordered both St. Mungo's and the DMLE to inform him of any changes to Harry's condition?
As the roar finally died down, he cleared his throat. "Welcome back, Harry Potter," he said, keeping the smile plastered on his face.
Harry nodded, looking back at Dumbledore. It was unlikely they would ever see eye to eye on much, but it was good to see his friends again, good to see that so many of them had survived.
His eyes drifted to the empty seats at the professor's table, the professors that died in the battle, then the gaps between the students sitting at their house tables, gaps that hadn't been there a few weeks ago.
"Now that you've returned we have a reason to celebrate," Dumbledore continued, lying through his teeth as all his plans went up in smoke. "Let the feast begin!"
***
Hi! Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed the new chapter. Harry is back, and the Wizengamot's narrative is beginning to crumble, any predictions on what will happen next?
There will be two more chapters, and then the epilogue to close out this arc, but Harry will be back in the second book, that I'm calling Legacy of Shadows.
Sorry about the delay in posting. I'm not feeling well right now, and its making it difficult for me to sit down and write for long stretches. I'll do my best to post on my regular day, but i apologize in advance if I'm late in posting over the next few weeks.
Please take the time to review, let me know what's working, what's not. It helps a lot with figuring out what I need to adjust or change to improve the story.
If you would like to support me and my writing, please consider visiting https://taplink.cc/jumpin for all the stories I'm currently working on and early access to chapters 77, 78 and the Epilogue of Legacy of Merlin, along with some character portraits for Merlin, Morgan and Nimue, and an audio versions of the chapters.