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Chapter 59 - Chapter 59: The Club Address

Chapter 59: The Club Address

As Ryan began to speak, he could feel a sense of cautious optimism in the room. He knew that most of the students were willing to give his ideas a try, but were also ready to give up at the first sign of difficulty.

"I have something to say," he began, his voice clear and steady. "Please, listen."

The room fell silent.

"Some of us come from wizarding families," he said. "Some of us come from Muggle families. But right now, we are all students of Hogwarts."

"We study magic for different reasons. Some for the pursuit of knowledge, some for power, some for fame. But the fact that we are all gathered here today means that we are all exceptional. We are all talented. We are all different. And for that very reason, we cannot expect an easy path."

"An easy path is one that has already been paved by others, a path for ordinary people to walk."

"But we," he said, his voice rising, "are adventurers. We are pioneers. We are the true spirit of Hogwarts!"

He could see that his words were having an effect. Every teenager, no matter their age or house, harbored a secret desire to be extraordinary. And now, a person they all respected was telling them that they were.

"Some of you may ask," he continued, "if there is an easy path, why should we choose the difficult one? It is not just for the fame, the respect, the power, the money, the status. Those things are secondary. I do not believe any of you are so shallow."

Actually, many of them thought, we are that shallow. Please, feel free to humiliate us with fame, power, money, and status.

"It is because," Ryan said, his voice ringing with conviction, "the difficult path is there, and we cannot ignore it. Long ago, when the Four Founders created Hogwarts, the wizarding world was in turmoil. Wizards were persecuted, forced to live in hiding. But with their power, the Founders could have easily lived in peace. So why did they create this school? Why did they fight off the Dark Wizards who threatened it, time and time again? Godric Gryffindor fought his entire life. Salazar Slytherin, even after he left, continued to protect Hogwarts in his own way. And Rowena Ravenclaw and Helga Hufflepuff dedicated their lives to caring for and educating young wizards."

"It is because," he declared, his voice now a roar, "the persecuted young wizards were there, and they could not ignore them!"

"And now, in our own time, why did Headmaster Dumbledore stand up to Voldemort when he was at the height of his power? He could have remained safe within the walls of this castle. But he stood up, and he became the one person Voldemort feared. Because Voldemort was persecuting wizards, and he could not ignore it!"

Ryan had been about to mention the two Dark Lords, but he caught himself. The speech might leak, and he didn't want a late-night "invitation" from Dumbledore for a private dueling lesson. Besides, a man's greatest tragedy should not be used as a talking point.

The older students, who had grown up under the shadow of Voldemort, were deeply moved. Some of their own families had fought and died in the war. Even Malfoy, the son of a Death Eater, now looked at his former idols with a new, contemptuous expression.

Ryan slammed his hands on the table. "Our predecessors stood up, and so we had Hogwarts, and generations of young wizards were able to grow up in safety! Our teachers stood up, and so we were able to grow up in safety! And now, we are Hogwarts!"

"We are not being asked to fight a war of life and death. We are only being asked to use our effort, our wisdom, to make our lives better! Should we give up? Should we allow our friends and families to live in a world of stagnation? A world where a letter takes days to arrive, where we are all isolated islands, connected only by the slow, flapping wings of an owl?"

"Should we ignore the problems we see, and allow a creation that could change the world to die before it is even born? Should we ignore the fame, the reputation, the respect we could earn, and resign ourselves to becoming ordinary wizards? Can we give up?!"

Of course, he thought, disrupting a major industry's economic interests is also a kind of fight to the death. But that's a problem I can handle.

"We cannot give up," he said, his voice now a low, intense whisper. "We should not give up. We will never give up!"

Teenagers are so easy, Ryan thought to himself. Talk about their dreams, compare them to heroes, tell them the future of the wizarding world is in their hands… It's a foolproof recipe for igniting their passion. Now, if this were a room full of jaded old wizards, he mused, I'd have to take a different approach. I'd talk about their wages, their families, the need for social reform, the breaking of the glass ceiling, the redistribution of wealth… Maybe I should give a speech at the Leaky Cauldron about the class conflict between the pure-bloods and the common wizards. And the rising price of Butterbeer. But that might be a bit too harsh on the pure-bloods.

His thoughts were interrupted by a roar from the Gryffindors. "NEVER!"

The lions are on board, he thought with a smile. The Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs already held him in high regard. And Vaisey was his staunchest supporter in Slytherin, with Malfoy now firmly in his orbit. The room was now a cacophony of agreement, a wave of sound that shook the very foundations of the castle.

Outside, Dumbledore, who had been about to knock, slowly lowered his hand and walked away, a worried expression on his face.

~~~

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