At first, Harry was unsure how to reply to Hermione's letter. Should he tell her what he really thought about her staying in Australia? Although if it was what she wanted to do and it made her happy… And he hadn't even gotten round to mentioning Ginny yet; for some inexplicable reason he was worried that the news of their break-up might change his relationship with Hermione. Eventually he settled for ignoring the fact that she might never come back and only saying that as Ginny hadn't written to him he had no idea how she was. He was aware that the letter ended up sounding terse and detached but he wasn't sure how he could change it. Writing had never been one of his strong points.
He wasn't really sure when things had changed between himself and Hermione, but somehow they had. Perhaps it was just the stress of the last year, but Harry had been certain that the trio's friendship had been strong enough to survive that. Whatever the reason, Hermione's letters were a lot less frequent - although he noticed that Ron still got them twice a week. Despite the gap that had appeared between the two of them Harry still missed her heaps. There was no one there to roll your eyes with when Ron did something daft or to bring the two of them back down to earth with a bump when they hatched another scheme to pass the time.
True to his word Archie Willoughby got back to them in just under a week. Harry had awoken to discover that Ron had already gone downstairs, presumably in search of breakfast. He lay there for a moment listening to the reinstated ghoul clanking around in the attic before pulling on his dressing gown and glasses and making his way to the kitchen. Stumbling sleepily down the last flight of stairs he heard Ron talking to someone, and so was momentarily confused when he entered the room to find no one there. Frowning he spotted Ron crouched by the fireplace - toast in hand - looking at a drawing.
"Harry," Ron heard him come in, "come and look at this for a minute."
As Harry neared he saw the disembodied head of Archie Willoughby floating in the flames. He smiled when he saw Harry. "Good morning Mr Potter! I've just been showing young Weasley here the sketch of the monument."
Ron passed him a parchment showing a sizeable chunk of stone depicting and outsider's idea of the Battle. Actually it was more a carving of a group of people, house-elves and centaurs charging towards the viewer in what Harry supposed was meant to be a heroic manner. Hardly an accurate representation of the devastation. This covered two of the faces, the other visible side showed squiggly lines meant to represent writing.
"It's very…" Harry searched for the right word, "impressive." If he was honest it was a bit more ostentatious than he had envisaged, but then again it wasn't for him.
"There's going to be an unveiling ceremony on Friday, we'd be honoured if you would both attend, and perhaps Miss Granger too? You've all been sent official invites. We even wondered if perhaps you would give a speech," Willoughby looked at Harry who was now gaping at him. "Is something wrong? Are the designs not to your taste? I could maybe -"
"No, no! They're fine, I - you built this in a week?!"
Archie Willoughby's head managed to look surprised and relieved at the same time. "Well, yes. We had the best stonecharmers in the country working on it all week, it's not totally complete yet and some of the minor details diverge from the initial sketch, but it's essentially the same."
"Is it going to have their names on it?" All of a sudden Ron looked serious. "Because it should you know, they should be remembered. All of them."
"Yes of course," Willoughby assured him, "and we also considered -"
"Shhh!" Harry hissed, "someone's coming. You've got to go, now!" He flapped his hands agitatedly in Willoughby's direction. By mutual consensus neither he or Ron had told the Weasley's about their detour at the Ministry, in case they got their hopes up and Archie had failed to come through on his promise. Now that he had, Harry felt that they should hear it from them, or wait until their invites to the ceremony arrived. In any case he wanted Willoughby out of the fire place now before the surprise was spoiled, he wasn't sure what the family's reaction might be, especially Mrs Weasley.
Mr Willoughby nodded once in understanding and with a gurgling pop his head vanished from the fire. Not a moment too soon Mrs Weasley breezed into the kitchen.
"Morning boys, let's see about some breakfast shall we?"
Two days later, the invites arrived. It was also the day that news of the memorial hit the press courtesy of one Rita Skeeter. Archie Willoughby had wanted the whole thing kept under wraps until the invites were sent out, but somehow, and perhaps unsurprisingly, Rita got there first. It was mid morning and Harry, Ron and the remaining Weasley's had been about to leave on a trip to Diagon Alley to visit George, who had returned to the flat above the shop. They were all clustered in the kitchen putting on travelling clothes, and in Ron's case finishing his breakfast, when suddenly two owls swooped in the open window. One landed on Harry's shoulder whilst the other took up a perch on the back of a chair. Reaching up he removed the owl from his shoulder, retrieved the proffered newspaper and then paid it before letting it fly back out the window. Quickly he unrolled the Daily Prophet as Ron tried to coax the mail from the slightly less compliant owl on the chair.
"So what's the news today then Harry?" Mr Weasley asked.
Harry took one look at the headline: Hogwarts remembers the fallen, and pulled the paper away from Mr Weasley's waiting hands.
"Mmm… let's see," he tried to stall whilst coming up with a reason not to show them the paper, or possibly just an explanation of why they hadn't told them earlier what he and Ron had done. It had, after all, been Mr Weasley's idea in the first place. He attempted to surreptitiously scan Rita's article to see whether or not she looked upon the idea favourably.
Thankfully, at that moment Ron got the post away from the possessive owl - with several minor cuts to show for his efforts - and handed the post to his father.
"What in the world could this be? It's from the Ministry." He slit open the official purple seal and read the thick parchment inside. "Archie never mentioned this!" He exclaimed as he finished. "Although knowing him he probably forgot."
"What is it dear?" Mrs Weasley rushed over worriedly and began reading over his shoulder. "… delighted to invite… on Friday afternoon - an unveiling ceremony for a memorial at Hogwarts! Oh Arthur, Archie must have carried out your idea after all." She beamed up at him with tears in her eyes.
"Actually," Ron began, "Harry and I -"
Harry stepped heavily sideways onto Ron's foot.
"Ouch! Erm… yeah we'd love to go, wouldn't we Harry?"
Harry nodded quickly as Mrs Weasley smiled at him, "of course you shall dear, we all will, for - for Fred." She dabbed at her eyes with the edge of her cloak.
"I theenk eet is a wonderful idea!" Purred Fleur - she and Bill were due to return to Shell Cottage the next day. "C'est magnifique. But we must now go to tell George no?"
Mrs Weasley smiled at her daughter-in-law; their relationship had steadily improved over the summer with Molly ever hopeful for a grandchild.
"Yes we must." Taking a handful of Floo powder she threw it into the fire and vanished as the rest of the family and Harry followed suit.
Friday morning dawned clear and bright with only a few clouds to mar the unending blue sky. At half past twelve Harry, Ron Percy and their parents apparated to Hogsmeade where they were to meet with the rest of Ron's family - minus Ginny of course who was at the school anyway. To tell the truth he was a bit nervous about having to face Ginny today. It was supposed to be a day for remembering those who had made the ultimate sacrifice to ensure that Voldemort was defeated, he didn't want that ruined because she ignored him or made a scene.
George was the last of the group to arrive, looking extremely pale - a fact that was exacerbated by the lurid green robes he was wearing. After he had extricated himself from his mother's embrace the solemn party made their way towards the school gates. Once they were in the grounds they just had time to see other groups, both students and families, drifting around on the lawn before they were accosted by Archie Willoughby.
"Welcome Arthur… oh and Mr Potter and Mr Weasley too I see. Arthur this must be your family, do introduce me."
As Archie greeted the rest of the family, Harry and Ron quietly detached themselves from the group and headed towards the castle. A huge marquee had been set up next to the lake - only about two hundred yards away from Dumbledore's grave - with some wooden garden seats outside next to a small group of musicians playing a ballad. It was quite odd, Harry thought, to be back at the school but no longer be a pupil. He felt the castle should look different somehow, but it was still the same as ever. Even all the evidence of the Battle had been cleared away and repaired. Except of course it wasn't the same: Dumbledore's grave was there across the lake, alone and aloof - as he had been in life, and then there was the new memorial next to the tent shrouded in red velvet. However there was a different feeling to the place, a strange quality to the air. It was filled with memories and the lost promise of the lives that had been given up. His reverie was painfully disrupted when Ron pinched him sharply on the arm and hissed, "it's her, what do I do?"
`Her' turned out to be Luna who was absently making her way towards them with Dean and Neville in tow.
"Hello Ronald, hi Harry - look who I found." The way she said it made the two boys behind her sound like two particularly interesting plant specimens - known only to Luna - that she had found under a bush. Harry hadn't seen either of the boys since a few days after the Battle, but after several awkward `how are you's?' the five of them were chatting away quite amicably.
Half way through a conversation with Neville about the herbology apprenticeship he had taken up, Harry became aware that Dean had fallen silent. Looking over he was surprised to see him glaring across at Ron and Luna who were completely oblivious, laughing at something Luna had said. Harry could have kicked himself; he'd suspected Dean had feelings for Luna at Shell Cottage. What an idiot he was, he should have warned Ron!
Harry was saved from having to violently attract Ron's attention by none other than Archie Willoughby who, having discovered that they had escaped him, had come over to talk to them again. Making excuses to their three friends he ushered Ron and Harry into the tent and turned to them gravely.
"Now gentlemen, if you remember when we spoke last I mentioned the possibility of you giving a speech at the unveiling," he addressed them both but it was Harry he looked at, "and I wondered if you had had a chance to prepare anything? You see we thought it might be quite fitting if we had another speech once the Minister had spoken. Perhaps give a slightly more personal angle, the view of the man… er, people who were at the epicentre of the struggle? What do you think? I realise this is quite short notice and I didn't really get a chance to talk about it properly before, but what do you say eh? Give it a go?" He eventually rambled to a stop.
"Well actually," Harry started, "Ron has prepared something." He could tell that Willoughby was trying to conceal his surprise and slight disappointment as he turned to look at Ron.
"You- you have? That's fantastic then. I'll go and let the Minister know at once," and he bustled off looking perplexed.
Ron looked sideways at his friend." Are you still sure?" he asked for the millionth time. Harry just rolled his eyes. It had taken him a while to persuade Ron that if anyone gave a speech it should be him. Lord knows he, Harry, didn't want too, he still felt far too guilty about everyone's deaths. Speaking at a memorial about them would feel far too hypocritical somehow, and he certainly didn't want any more notoriety. Besides Ron had much more right to speak than he ever would, his brother had died and two other members of his family had been seriously injured defending the wizarding world. He thought that speaking about it in public like this might give Ron some closure - although psychobabble was really Hermione's area of expertise. It would also give Ron some of the recognition he so desperately deserved.
Aware that the music had stopped and people seemed to be drifting towards the cloaked memorial Harry took a reluctant Ron by the arm and literally dragged him over to rejoin the rest of the Weasley's. Ginny had turned up from somewhere and was now standing calmly next to her parents, when she saw Harry she flashed him a radiant smile which he returned somewhat reluctantly.
Suddenly applause swept through the assembled crowd as Kingsley ascended the platform that had been erected next to the memorial. He was dressed much more smartly than Harry had ever seen him and his earring had been removed. From all that he had heard Kingsley was proving to be quite popular as Minister for Magic, stabilising the country after all the recent turmoil. His eyes swept the large audience acknowledging those he knew with a brief nod and then began to speak. It was mostly about the brave sacrifices that had been made, by pupils and staff, humans and magical creatures alike. About rebuilding new worlds from the ashes of the old, taking the best of the past and forging a new future for the wizarding world. It was about never forgetting what was owed to those who fought and recognizing the value of what had been given up. Irrespective of his policies, Kingsley was a great public speaker; he captured his audience's attention and held it. Harry even saw many people tearing up at his words, although that could just be the emotion of the day. As his speech drew to a close, the new Minister for Magic turned to the memorial and took hold of the edge of the scarlet fabric.
"And now I would like to present to you, a memorial, not only to those who died in the fight against You-know-who, but to all those who suffered during his reign of terror." And with a flourish he pulled off the covering.
Harry's first impression of it was that it was much bigger than he had thought it would be. At least fifteen feet high it was rather like a standing stone, but with four faces rather than two. The crowd were all standing in front of a face depicting half the battle, which curved around the side of the rock. The most obvious deviation from the sketch that Harry noticed was a tiny carving of a giant - presumably Grawp - in the background. A loud sniff behind Harry made him turn, at the back of the crowd stood that self same giant and his brother. Hagrid had his huge spotted handkerchief out and was dabbing at his eyes whilst Grawp patted him, rather forcefully, on the back. Harry smiled and turned back to hear Kingsley announce that Mr Ronald Weasley would like to say a few words.
It was at this point that Ron's nerves got the better of him. Harry felt his friend freeze beside him and mutter to himself "I can't go up there - I can't."
"Ron go!" he hissed trying to push his best friend forwards. Ron shuffled a few steps before stopping again and looking anxiously back at Harry.
"Do I have to?" he mouthed at him. Harry just glared at him in response until Ron turned reluctantly back to the stage and walked up to the platform. As he turned to face the audience Ron's ears were scarlet, it didn't help that some people were muttering to each other and shooting questioning glances at Harry. Ron gave Harry one last pleading look, to which he smiled encouragingly, before clearing his throat and beginning to speak.
"Right, er… well - the…"
"Speak up!" someone shouted from the back.
Ron fumbled for his wand trying to remember the correct spell and by this point resembling a particularly large radish. Harry took pity on him and removing his wand from his back pocket - a habit he had never been able to break - he silently cast a sonorous charm at his friend. He thought Ron might have noticed this intervention, he certainly gave him a grateful smile, but he didn't think that anyone else in the crowd noticed. Finally, with his audience becoming restless, Ron began to speak.
"The tragic thing about today is that the people who made it possible are no longer with us to appreciate it. If it weren't for their sacrifice you wouldn't be here listening to me speak - although maybe that's no bad thing." He waited for a few chuckles to subside then continued, gaining confidence as he went. "Most of you will have lost someone, either a family member or a friend, if not then you'll know someone else who has. Voldemort's destruction left no one untouched," even now the name elicited several gasps, "and the legacy he left behind was one of hate and suffering. The thing is though, you can't hate forever. At some point you've got to wall off the hurt and keep on living - for them. I know how difficult that can be; I lost my brother and more than a few good friends over the last year. At the end of the day I can't say that it's all to rebuild a wonderful new world full of champagne and roses, because I don't know what's going to happen. The future is what we make it."
Ron broke off awkwardly as though embarrassed by his eloquence. "Ahem, I'd also like to say that we wouldn't be having this ceremony today if it weren't for one person in particular… my Dad. He wanted to do something to commemorate the life of the son and friends that he lost to be here today. So I think it is only right that we all acknowledge the part he had to play in bringing today about." Beckoning his highly embarrassed father up onto the stage Ron joined in with the applause, which was lead by a madly cheering Weasley family. Harry looked over at them to see Mrs Weasley with tears streaming down her face, cheering as loudly as any of her sons, George and Percy were practically jumping up and down as they clapped and whistled for their father and brother. Ginny stood next to Bill who had his arm firmly ensconced around Fleur's shoulders, both looking extremely proud. And all of a sudden Harry felt extremely lonely. As much as the Weasley's treated him like family and he felt he at home with them, it still wasn't enough. If Hermione had been here then he would have had someone… but Hermione wasn't here was she? She was in Australia and might never be coming back. It was just all so -
"Oh my god Harry! I've never been so embarrassed in all my life. Why did I let you talk me into going up on that stage?"
Harry grinned at his friend, all trace of self-pity vanishing. "Don't give me that, you were brilliant up there. All that stuff about making your own tomorrow and soldiering on that was really inspired I could never have managed something like that. Besides you enjoyed every minute of it."
Ron grinned back at him; he had as well.
A/N: OMG! I thought I would never finish this chapter, I didn't anticipate it being so long. The whole chapter just sort of ran away with me and editing has never been my strong suit. I'm not sure if the department Archie Willoughby runs would even exist - I imagine it to be some sort of building, planning and conservation dept - but I thought it would fit in with the story quite well and I loved his character so much that I just had to add him. I'm aware that Ron's speech was a bit out of character despite the fact that I had him maturing over the course of the story, but don't worry he hasn't suddenly grown a brain - well not a complete one anyway. But more on that later.
Hope to update soon, in the meantime please R&R!
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