The Finish, Part 1
Still Friday, 8th September That afternoon
27 days after Harry's trial At Hogwarts
During a morning never to be forgotten, Headmaster Dumbledore was stripped of his magic by Queen Elizabeth II, and Dumbledore and Sam Flint of Slytherin were arrested. When Dumbledore lost his magic, Hogwarts instantly made Minerva McGonagall the new headmistress.
Hours later, the Weasley twins were summoned to the office of the headmaster/headmistress. The twins could not guess why they had been summoned.
"Do you think she knows about our secret potion-brewing classroom?" Fred asked. "Merlin, I hope not!" replied George.
Once the twins were seated in front of Professor McGonagall, she said, "This school is supposed to be a haven for children to learn magic. Instead, it's become a war zone. Albus is to blame, Severus is to blame and," she sighed, "I kept silent and went along with Albus's decisions, so I am to blame too. But that stops now."
The twins looked at each other in puzzlement. They could not guess where "Minnie" was headed.
The headmistress said, "At dinner, I'll announce a new policy on bullying. Attacks on any first-year student will receive punishment, up to expulsion. Attacks by any student on a student more than three years younger will receive punishment, up to expulsion. Attacking a student so as to cause him pain, with him requiring a trip to the hospital wing, will result in expulsion. At my discretion, if I expel someone, I might also hand the student over to the DMLE."
"Whoa," said the twins, in unison.
McGonagall did not need to point out to the twins that, with Senior Auror Grenwick on loan to Hogwarts this year, the headmistress would not even need to make a Floo-call to get an
Auror "on the scene."
The twins wanted clarification on the new rules. Casting one Stinging Hex on a seventh-year would not rate expulsion, because the victim could be fixed up with the Episkey spell without the victim needing to visit Madam Pomfrey; but hitting someone with fifty Stinging Hexes would bring down the Wrath of Minnie on the offender. Turning someone's skin purple and their hair white would almost certainly require that the victim visit Madam Pomfrey; but since the victim was not in pain, no punishment would be given to the pranksters.
Headmistress McGonagall clarified, "For purpose of this rule, humiliation is not pain. Pain is 'Ouch,' not 'You made me look foolish.' "
The Headmistress pointed out something that scared the twins witless: "Since your second year, you've handed out tricked-out candies and biscuits to unsuspecting firsties. Listen carefully: After this afternoon, if even one firstie complains to me, you two could go to a holding cell."
After the twins calmed down, George asked, "Why are you telling us this in private, before the general announcement?"
The headmistress replied, "Because for this to work, the Slytherins have to see that I don't play favourites. And frankly, in the past, some of your 'pranks' against the Slytherins have crossed the line. Starting tonight, those 'pranks' will be unacceptable, and I don't want to expel you in your seventh year."
The twins looked at each other. Then Fred asked, "But all the boy Slytherins in the Great Hall suddenly going starkers except for red-and-yellow-striped nappies, this is still okay?"
****
The next day: Saturday, 9th September
The Daily Prophet printed, on the front page, a letter to the editor. Only half of the reason why this letter rated the front page was because the letter had been written by Harry Potter.
Mr Cuffe,
In the Daily Prophet's news story about Thursday's battle with Death Eaters at Manchester Magical Academy, your subheadline read, "Harry Potter Kills More Death Eaters." This
sentence is untrue.
All I did on Thursday was to mount my broom and to fly myself and my passenger, Hermione Granger, so that no spells from Death Eaters hit us. I managed this feat by using every bit of broom-trickery I had ever learnt on the Hogwarts Quidditch pitch. During Hermione's and my part of the battle with the Death Eaters, both of my hands were on the broomstick the
entire time, my wand was not out and I cast no spells wandlessly. I, Harry Potter, killed not one Death Eater.
So how did the Death Eaters all die? First-generation magicals (Muggle-borns) killed them all. Seven first-gen MMA professors, including the late Professor Weston, and my first-gen
betrothed, Hermione Granger, killed all those Purebloods. Except for Professor Weston, none of the first-gens suffered even a scratch during the battle.
This definitely gives the lie to "Purebloods are superior," doesn't it?
And whilst I'm on the subject of first-generation magicals not getting the respect they deserve
—
Since 1981, Albus Dumbledore has spread the story that somehow I, at age fifteen months, "killed" Voldemort. Because it was the great Albus Dumbledore (the treasonous nobbler) who said this, nobody has ever questioned the story that a toddler defeated a Dark Lord. This story is why I was treated like a hero in July of 1991 when I was buying my school supplies, before I even entered Hogwarts. But I don't take credit for defeating Voldemort in 1981; no, I give the credit to Lily Potter, my mother, who likely did something brilliant with runes and/or rituals. But because she was a first-generation witch, I've never heard even a whisper of "Want to know how the boy survived the Killing Curse? I think his genius mother caused this."
A Muggle in Britain can send a message to Australia in less time than it takes a British magical to owl his next-door neighbour. A Muggle-born in Britain can send a magical message to Australia, in some circumstances, in less than a second. First-generation
magicals in Britain do not deserve the mistreatment they receive from the rest of you, and they are no longer willing to wait for your "generosity."
Harry James Potter
For the next week, Purebloods wrote to Barnabas Cuffe at the Prophet, saying things like "How dare you print the scribblings of that murderous half-blood ingrate!"
Others wrote in and said, "How dare Harry Potter insult Albus Dumbledore, who defeated Grindelwald!"
But Muggle-borns also wrote in (although anonymously), and said, "Everything Potter said is true. Anyone except a fool already knows Harry Potter is no liar, because now he has a phoenix on his shoulder."
****
Three days later: Tuesday, 12th September
The Daily Prophet printed a letter to the editor that caught Amelia's attention. The letter was about the eight Death Eaters in Azkaban who had been killed by mysterious means; Amelia suspected Harry Potter was their killer.
I'm a second-year Ravenclaw student at Hogwarts, and I want to tell you about a rumour I heard.
First, some background.
Not quite a fortnight ago, eight Death Eaters in the maximum-security wing of Azkaban Prison were killed during the night. All of the Death Eaters' cell doors, which only can be opened by using the "Snakestone" (a runestone that speaks snake-language), were opened somehow, and Dementors swooped in and Kissed the Death Eaters. The prison wards didn't notice anyone sneaking into the prison that night, nor did the wards notice anyone leaving
the prison that night.
The Warden and all the Aurors at the prison had to answer questions under truth potion, and other Aurors tracked down where the Snakestone was, during every hour of that night. Those other Aurors were thorough at talking to people and at reading records, so their investigation took a long while. The other Aurors decided that the Warden hadn't killed those eight
murderers, the prison-guard Aurors hadn't killed those eight murderers, and the Snakestone had stayed where it was supposed to be during the entire night, without being stolen,
borrowed, moved or copied. Those other Aurors are sure who did not kill the Death Eaters
(the Warden and prison-guard Aurors), but they don't know who did kill the Death Eaters, or how the murderer(s) moved in and out of the prison. Those other Aurors don't know how the Death Eaters' cell doors were opened.
So according to the DMLE, the eight murders of murderers still are unsolved, but a rumour that I heard, explains what happened.
That night, a prisoner in the minimum-security wing (which means no Dementors) had a tummyache. He couldn't sleep, and he was looking out his barred window to get fresh air. He saw a ghost-boat move up to the prison's boat dock. The boat was glowing blueish-white.
Forty-seven ghosts walked out of the ghost-boat, and walked towards the prison building.
The ghosts all were wearing Muggle clothes. The prisoner realised he was seeing the ghosts of dead Muggle-borns—Muggle-borns surely killed by the eight Death Eaters. The Muggle- born ghost who was at the front of the group of ghosts, he had a ghost-snake draped about his neck.
The ghosts walked into the prison. They didn't open the locked door, or knock, but walked
through the door.
Five minutes after the ghosts all had walked through the locked door, the prisoner with the tummyache heard screams from the maximum-security wing—
"NO! KEEP AWAY! STOP! STAY AWAY! AGGH!"
The prisoner with the tummyache also heard many loud cheers, and shouts of "GET HIM! SUCK HIS SOUL OUT!"
Five minutes after the screaming ended, the ghosts all walked out of the prison through the locked door, then they walked towards the ghost-boat. The prisoner saw that the forty-seven
ghosts were petting the ghost-snake and were smiling at it.
Then the ghosts boarded the ghost-boat, which silently moved away from the boat-dock. Seconds later, the ghost-boat disappeared.
Julie Mathers
Amelia recognised the letter-writer's surname. Julie's father was one of the Aurors at the prison who had been suspected of the Death Eaters' deaths, had been thoroughly investigated, and had eventually been cleared. Amelia was willing to bet that young Julie had not "heard" the rumour, but had made up the rumour, and was trying to get the "rumour" circulated in order to remove whatever suspicion about her father still lingered.
Amelia hoped that wizards and witches believed this ghost-story "rumour." If everyone believed the ghost story about how the eight Death Eaters died, this would not only take suspicion away from Auror Mathers, it would divert suspicion from Harry Potter.
****
Three days later: Friday, 15th September Edinburgh, Scotland
The treason trial of Albus P. Dumbledore in the High Court of Justiciary (the highest criminal court in Scotland) was unusual for four reasons.
Firstly, Dumbledore's Muggle trial was not a public trial, in front of a jury of ordinary citizens; but was a secret trial, in front of three judges.
Secondly, everyone involved in the trial—the defendant, the three judges, the barristers, the court reporter, the bailiff, the law clerks, and the witnesses—all had a connexion to the magical world. A few witnesses were magical, some of the courtroom people were magicals who had returned to the Muggle world of their childhood, some people involved in the trial were Squibs, and some of the people involved in the trial were Muggles who were the parents, siblings, or spouses of Muggle-borns.
The court had been forced to borrow magic-aware people from Scotland's sheriff-court system and from the England-Wales court system, but nobody who was involved in Dumbledore's trial was ignorant of the magical world and needed to be "read in."
Since the trial was being held in the High Court of Justiciary, a Muggle court, Veritaserum was not used; but the court record ascribed much testimony to "Inspector Pensieve," who had a flawless memory.
The third thing unusual about this trial was that it was so fast. Seven days after Dumbledore was arrested, he was put on trial.
The reason for the hurried trial became obvious when Dumbledore was brought into the courtroom. Dumbledore was 114 years old now, and a Muggle; and those few 114-year-old
Muggles who still were alive had huge health problems. Sometime during the week after Dumbledore had been arrested, he had suffered a massive stroke; now in the courtroom, the left side of his body was paralysed and his voice was slurred.
Dumbledore was charged with two counts of treason: Confundusing John Major, the Great Britain Prime Minister, by an enchanted cigarette lighter; and Confundusing the Queen of Great Britain by a hidden wand. Dumbledore's guilt was easily proven, once Harry Potter's and Amelia Bones's testimony was given and their pensieve memories were shown.
The fourth unusual thing about Dumbledore's treason trial: Once he was convicted and was sentenced to death by hanging, the appeals process was skipped entirely, by order of the Queen. Dumbledore's barrister did not protest this.
On Friday, 15th September, at 7:58 p.m, Albus Dumbledore was frog-marched to the gallows, which was in a fenced-off area behind the courthouse. As soon as the noose was dropped around Dumbledore's neck, he had a deadly heart attack.
The execution proceeded anyway—the hangman hung a warm corpse.
Minister Bones, Harry Potter and Hermione Granger, and Aberforth Dumbledore all witnessed Albus Dumbledore's hanging. Neither the hangman nor the witnesses spoke.
In short, Albus Percival Dumbledore, the man who lived his life to always be the centre of attention, died with only five people present besides himself; and none of the five spoke to him or came to hear his words. Had he been alive then, he would have considered those last minutes to be a fate worse than death.
****
One week later: Friday, 22nd September
Harry Potter, "Lord EveryHouse," claimed his seats in the Wizengamot—twenty-two seats in all. He did this whilst he had a phoenix sitting on his shoulder. When Chief Warlock Greengrass asked the seemingly rhetorical question of which Coalition Lord Potter would be joining—Light, Grey, or Dark—Harry answered, "Light-sympathetic, but independent. My personal history has given me a quite different viewpoint towards Wizarding Britain and its problems."
Harry then announced that he had "three or four more years of school to attend," so he then named a proxy: Arthur Weasley.
The seat-holders in the Dark Coalition—the few who were still alive and who still had voting rights—smiled like jackals at this announcement. However, they would learn before the day was out that Arthur Weasley, now free from potions and with a harpy no longer living under his roof, no longer was a timid pushover.
As soon as Harry Potter's proxy was named, Minister Bones proposed a new bill. Hiring and promotion within the Ministry no longer would be done on the basis of blood purity, but now would be done on the basis of NEWT scores, with the hiring manager having discretion only
when two candidates had the same total number of NEWTs and the same scores on particular NEWTs.
The Dark Coalition acted outraged, and so did some of the Grey Coalition. (However, Chief Warlock Greengrass, a Grey, endorsed the bill.) No seat-holders in the Light Coalition spoke against the bill, but some of Dumbledore's elderly minions in the Wizengamot were scowling.
In the end, what mattered most was that "Lord EveryHouse" favoured the bill. Black, Bones, Greengrass, Longbottom, Weasley, and Weasley-voting-Potter lay down 27 Aye votes out of 50 cast.
Then Minister Bones proposed a second new bill, to have centaurs and goblins be given wand rights, and for them to no longer be classified as "creatures." Again, the Dark was theatrically outraged; but the measure passed 27-23.
(The next day, Gringotts issued a press release that said that Director Ragnok liked the part of the bill about not being a "creature" anymore, but goblins still would not carry wands or staffs. His reason? "A magical who relies on his wand is a pitiful, helpless wretch when the wand is take from him. I do not intend for any goblin to ever be helpless.")
Before the Wizengamot session ended, Minister Bones proposed a third groundbreaking bill. This bill changed the laws regarding murder; the bill passed, 27-23.
The murder of a Pureblood per se no longer was more harshly punished than the murder of a "lesser blood." The murder of a "lesser blood" or a Muggle no longer rated a wrist-slap punishment, but instead rated the same penalties as what before had been required for murdering a Pureblood. The new rule: If you murder a human, it doesn't matter what his magical level was, it doesn't matter what his blood-purity was—if you murder someone and you meant it, you'll be Kissed.
The few surviving Dark seat-holders in the Wizengamot were unhappy with that body's new direction. Dark seat-holders no longer had the numbers to steamroller over opposition, and they no longer could make veiled threats to other seat-holders that "sooner or later, blood- traitors will be dealt with, after hours."
Now it was the Dark seat-holders in the Wizengamot who were terrified—of a green-eyed, teenaged Merlin who was betrothed to a mudblood, and who could instantly travel anywhere because of the phoenix on his shoulder.
****
A week and a half later: Monday, 2nd October
It had been one month, exactly, since Harry Potter had announced, by means of a letter to Neville Longbottom, that he would loan the parents of Hogwarts Muggle-borns the money to transfer to MMA, whilst the Muggle parents waited for Hogwarts to refund the fees the parents had paid to the school for the 1995-1996 school year.
The Muggle parents waited in vain. One month after Harry Potter's announcement and the flurry of transfers that had followed, no Muggle parent had received either one copper penny or one bronze knut from Hogwarts.
The Board of Governors had plenty of excuses—which did not help them when Director Ragnok of Gringotts announced that "Goblin honour requires us not to be a party to theft." Gringotts on its own, withdrew from Hogwarts vaults 98 percent of the fees in dispute, and Gringotts paid this money directly to the Muggle parents in pounds.
Right after Director Ragnok made this announcement, Minister Bones ordered the Aurors to arrest for theft, every person in the Hogwarts Board of Governors. This included Augusta Longbottom.
The Board of Governors members, all of whom were Purebloods, were quickly acquitted of the theft charges at the 6th October 1995 meeting of the Wizengamot—but this did not mean their troubles were over. The Daily Prophet and the Quibbler both called the Board of Governors "thieves" and the Wizengamot "corrupt."
Augusta Longbottom wrote a letter of apology to the Daily Prophet, saying she had not pushed the other Governors enough, to pay to the Muggle parents the money that Hogwarts no longer was entitled to keep.
The Creevey parents, once they had received their Gringotts payment, actually hired an owl to rush that money to Harry Potter, to wipe out most of the debt that the Creevey family owed him. (The family still owed Harry money for the part of the loan that covered MMA schoolbooks.)
Reginald and Estelle Finch-Fletchley were the only parents of a Hogwarts-transferer, other than Dan and Emma Granger, not to borrow from Harry Potter for MMA fees and schoolbooks. When the Finch-Fletchley parents received their Gringotts payment, they did not bank all the money. Instead, the Finch-Fletchley parents used some of the money to buy a display ad in the London Times: "Harry Potter, the Finch-Fletchley family thanks you for all you've done."
****
4½ months later: Saturday, 17 February 1996 The Hogwarts Quidditch pitch
Today Gryffindor would play Hufflepuff. The Gryffindors were excited and the Hufflepuffs were excited; some Ravenclaws and Slytherins showed up to watch the game because they had nothing better to do.
Hogwarts students came to the game, and Hogwarts faculty. Also attending the game: a smattering of parents, Quidditch players' younger siblings and former Hogwarts students. None of this was a surprise.
What was a surprise was the other students who walked towards the stands. Some of these students, nobody in the crowd recognised; some of the students, nobody in the crowd ever
expected to see again. Everyone amongst the new group of students wore orange-and-white wool caps that said "MMA" on them.
Some of the MMA students wore red/yellow armbands on their winter coats; some MMA students wore yellow/black armbands. The MMA students who wore no armbands were rubbernecking, as though they had not ever seen a Quidditch pitch before. (In fact, half of them hadn't.)
In front of the Gryffindor section of the stands, Harry and Hermione hugged Justin Finch- Fletchley goodbye; then Harry, Hermione, Sally-Anne, Colin, Dennis and the other former Gryffindors, and MMA friends of the former Gryffindors, all climbed the stairs. Meanwhile Justin, the other ex-Hufflepuffs, and the MMA friends of the ex-Hufflepuffs walked onwards to the Hufflepuff section of the stands.
Hermione pointed out to Harry that their former yearmate Michael Corner was sitting in the Gryffindor section, despite wearing a blue/bronze scarf.
****
Once Justin et al got to the Hufflepuff seats, Justin congratulated the Minister for Magic, Amelia Bones-Black, on her marriage to Sirius Black and on her pregnancy (both of which started two months ago).
****
Sixteen minutes after the game started—meaning, one minute after Madam Hooch had released the Snitch—Harry in the stands had spotted the Snitch, before either Ginny or the Hufflepuff Seeker had made a move towards it. The MMA Quidditch-virgins were amazed that Harry could do this; the Gryffindors and former Gryffindors were not surprised at all.
In the Gryffindor stands, there was much talking during the game. (Not by Sally-Anne Perks, though; when someone asked her a question, her answers were brief as she blushed red.) Harry was explaining to the MMA Quidditch-virgins how the game was played, MMA students were informing Gryffindors what life in MMA was like—and Ron Weasley was telling Harry and Hermione, in a speaking voice louder than a whisper, that his former best friends had mistreated him and he did not like this.
Hermione hit Ron with a full body-bind and a passworded Silencing Charm, then rejoined the MMA-Gryffindor conversation.
Gryffindor beat Hufflepuff 160-60; it took fifteen minutes after the Snitch was released before Ginny caught it.
****
Both Gryffindor and Hufflepuff invited the MMA students who had sat in their part of the stands, to join them in their respective common rooms for a post-game party. Such a thing required the permission of the Headmistress, but this permission was freely given.
As the "Harry and Hermione Horde" of MMA students walked through Hogwarts, some Slytherins glared at them. Many of the MMA first-generation magicals glared back, having been warned about the Purebloods.
In the Gryffindor common room, Ron Weasley avoided the MMA students (including his former friends). The conversation between Harry and Hermione, and game-winner Ginny Weasley was strained; each of the three was wearing a fake smile at some point.
In the Gryffindor common room, the students from Hogwarts and MMA had intense discussions, which everyone (except Ron) seemed to enjoy, but many longstanding misunderstandings were not resolved. As one of the MMA first-generation students said, whilst talking to the Gryffindors, "You lot are right nice people—but you're all aliens."
****
The Gryffindor post-game party had been going for about a half-hour when two ginger-haired seventh-years sidled up to Harry and Hermione.
Said one of the gingers, "Professor Binns has been exorcised." Said the other, "Professor Tonks is a hundred times—" "—better at teaching Potions than Snape—"
"—and Professor Lupin is here to stay, teaching DADA." "Seventh-years caught bullying—"
"—have been expelled."
"Two fourth-year Slytherins caught bullying were expelled—" "—and their wands snapped."
The two ginger-haired young men asked Harry and Hermione in unison, "Can we entice you back to Hogwarts? Please?"
Harry noticed that the other MMA students, both the ex-Gryffindors and the never- Gryffindors, looked nervously at Harry and Hermione.
Harry shook his head. "Sorry, Gred and Forge, but that won't be happening. Hermione isn't leaving MMA, so I'm not leaving MMA."
"Why not for Hermione?" Neville Longbottom asked. "Are MMA's classes so much better?"
Hermione made her I'm forced to be the bearer of bad news face. "The best classes at Hogwarts are about the same as a typical magical class at MMA. And MMA offers nonmagical classes, which Hogwarts doesn't bother with."
Grinning Harry said, "Also, the oldest public library in Great Britain is in Manchester, and they let people come in and read their books. No way will Hermione give that up!"
****
Four months later: June 1996
Seventh-years at Hogwarts sat their new, harder, ICW-level NEWTs. (A steady stream of MMA seventh-levels had been taking their ICW-level NEWTs since February.)
Bringing the Wizarding Examinations Authority NEWT exams up to ICW standards did not make the hard parts of the exams any harder. But before, the WEA NEWTs had included some easier questions so that the more thickheaded Purebloods would not score disastrously
—but now all "easy" questions were only a fading memory.
Some exam-sitters who might have scored an "Exceeds" before the upgrade to ICW standards, now scored only "Acceptable"; and some who might have rated an "Acceptable" before, received a "Poor" or "Dreadful" for that NEWT exam.
To everyone's shock, the Weasley twins performed superbly: quite a few "Outstanding- pluses," many "Outstandings," only a few "Exceedses," and nothing below "Exceeds." With their mother in Azkaban, and thus unable to nag the twins about "getting a good job at the Ministry," the twins, for the first time since they had stepped onto the firstie train, truly showed everyone what they could do in a classroom.
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