The next time Bill and Fleur came over to the hunting lodge they had a guest with them. The four had discussed how to best get access to the Hogwarts wards to get rid of Riddle and the one that would know best how to do it would be Minerva McGonagall. So it was decided that she would be invited by Bill for tea on a Hogsmeade weekend, something which surprised Harry and Hermione still took place, even if Death Eaters ran the school. Fleur would set up an illusion charm to fool anybody watching shell cottage into believing that they were still there, even if they had apparated to the wood around the lodge, of course over three stations between that, where they would meet Harry and Hermione and McGonagall would be shown the note that allowed her access to the secured lodge.
Professor McGonagall was very relieved to see two of her favourite students safe and sound, despite the fact that they had high bounties on their heads. A travesty in her eyes, but that was the corrupt government under You-Know-Who's rule for you.
"Mr Potter, Miss Granger, I'm really pleased to see you well," she greeted them happily.
"Likewise, Professor McGonagall. Let's go inside to talk," Hermione replied and handed her the note with the secret.
"You've come a long way being able to set up a fidelius charm," McGonagall commented.
"True, Harry has become really good at casting it," Hermione commented.
McGonagall seemed a bit surprised, but didn't voice it.
"So, how have you been?" She asked once they were all inside and Harry had served tea and a cake he had baked himself. It was a marble cake with chocolate frosting.
"It wasn't easy a lot of times, but we're close to finishing the mission we had now, thanks to the help of Bill and Fleur," Harry said.
"Really, would you mind telling me what you were doing? You weren't very open about giving me that information at the end of the last school year," McGonagall asked.
Harry nodded and then relayed the story what Riddle had done, how Dumbledore had told him, then the hunt for the horcruxes and in the end the involvement of Bill and Fleur and how that had shortened the mission massively, because they knew exactly how to easily get rid of the problem, thanks to their work as curse breakers.
"You mean to tell me that we wouldn't have had to go through all these horrible years, not to mention have had to mourn those victims, if Albus had just asked a professional curse-breaker, one of which was even part of the Order?" McGonagall asked angrily.
"Yes, that nicely sums it up," Hermione nodded, "We could have prevented all the deaths that occurred since the resurrection of Riddle if only he had asked for help from those whose job it is to break curses and deal with dark magic all the time. He said he had proof for his theories since Harry handed him the diary. Give him a year to do research, and we could have been done with Tom Riddle and his idiot followers before they even became a problem again."
"That's a lot to take in. But I'm glad that you managed to trap all those soul pieces. So now you need a way to get the magic drained, which will effectively kill Riddle and take away the magic of every branded follower," she stated.
"Yes. And we don't have to feel guilty for that. Each and every Death Eater committed horrible crimes to get his dark mark. We know for sure that use of the cruciatus curse is involved and the killing of a victim. Not always the killing curse, but they have to kill before they take the mark. The consequences of losing their magic for that aren't as severe as killing them all would be. And it costs no lives on our side, which any other option would have," Harry explained, "And it also won't harm the ones that are imperiused to help them. I can live with this solution the best way."
McGonagall nodded. It was true. Actions had consequences and it was high time that certain people learned to live with those for their actions.
"Well, we would need to have access to the ward stone of the castle to start the transfer of the magic in Riddle's soul and the Death Eaters that will be drawn in as well. The ward stone is located in the Great Hall, as that is where the highest number of magicals will be assembled at the same time regularly, meaning the meals. It is the centrepiece of the Hogwarts crest on the floor in front of the head table. The crests on the walls are connected magic collectors that direct the magic into the ward stone. There is a reason why Hogwarts is considered the safest place in Britain. All school crests inside the castle have the ability to absorb excess magic.
"Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin created the concept together. They knew that no single person could ever power wards strong enough to give the students the protection from outside threats that they would need. Therefore, they decided to spread the burden out. While learning magic, children always use more magic than necessary. That excess magic wouldn't harm anybody if it was used in the wards. The children would rebuild that magic overnight anyway. Helga Hufflepuff added to her friends' scheme and brought a special kind of trees in, which are planted all over the Forbidden Forest. They take up excess magic from the creatures and plants in the forest and direct it into the wards as well.
"To drain the amulet, it would need to be put onto the main crest in the Great Hall," McGonagall explained.
"Could you do that?" Harry asked, "It would be easiest for you to do it, as sneaking in would be nearly impossible for any of us."
"I certainly can do that. I would only have to do it in the early hours of the morning, as then the Carrows and Snape are still asleep. We should soon be rid of the problem," McGonagall confirmed.
"Good, the sooner it is done, the sooner we can work on cleaning up. There is a lot of work to do and Hermione is eager to return to get back into swing to study for our NEWTs," Harry said smiling.
"That sounds like a great idea. Oh, and you can prepare to become my new head duo. I was against making Mr Weasley a prefect, but Albus overruled me, even if the nomination of prefects should be my decision, not his. So I think it is overdue that you get a bit more appreciation for your actions and services for the school, Mr Potter," McGonagall smiled.
Harry smiled back and enjoyed the kiss from his girlfriend.
It was three in the morning and, thanks to Harry letting her borrow the Marauder's Map, Minerva McGonagall was sure that nobody was around to stop her ending the war once and for all. While she had scolded Harry for the map, his impish grin had been good to see. Not to mention the similarities of having James Potter's son falling for another very bright muggleborn witch. She had thought early in their school career that sooner or later they would be together, as Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger were simply too different to ever work out.
Harry Potter had a much easier personality for the girl to accept and they had proven to be a great team over the years. Not to mention that she couldn't help but notice the kicked puppy look that Harry had had when Hermione had been petrified and he looked at her normal seat in class or in the Great Hall. He probably hadn't realised it then, but he was falling for the girl early on. Hearing that Molly Weasley had again tried to interfere with other people's lives made her furious. She had thought that after the scandal that had been found out in 1987, when the only reason why no charges against the Weasleys had been brought in front of the Wizengamot had been Albus' interference and the results of the medical exams.
The families of the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff girls had refrained from suing the Weasleys on the condition that Molly was seen to by a mind healer and that she wouldn't try anything like that again. Sadly it seemed that now, ten years later, she had decided that it was okay to try again, to help her two youngest to get the spouses that they wanted. Well, she would implement a number of changes once she got her rightful position as headmistress.
She reached the Great Hall and undid the weak alarm that was set on the doors. Any witch of her experience could do that. She checked the map again and the Carrows, Snape and Filch were in their rooms. To make sure she waited for ten minutes before she acted. She took out the amulet and placed it onto the centre of the Hogwarts crest.
"Poetic justice that Hogwarts herself will be the medium to end the reign of terror of that madman. Ward charging, activate," she said and as deputy headmistress the wards immediately reacted to her command.
The four parts of the crest flashed in the house's colour once and then the centre part, the H, flashed and the amulet was stuck to the crest. She could see how the crest started to glow golden from the centre going outwards. The ward stone would pull any magic that was connected with the amulet into itself. The amulet was truly a work of art, even if the process to create it was surprisingly simple. She had enjoyed hearing the story and thought that they really needed a new History of Magic Professor. The children didn't learn anything in Cuthbert's classes.
The glow had now reached the crests of the houses and to her surprise the first one to glow was the Hufflepuff crest and the others stayed in their previous state. The crest needed one hour to be fully glowing, when the Ravenclaw crest began the same process. It continued until all four crests were glowing golden. Occasionally she checked the map, but nobody was approaching the Great Hall.
Minerva McGonagall felt how powerful the wards were becoming. How old and forgotten wards suddenly activated again. Magic long forgotten spread through the whole school and in all common rooms dark objects were detected and transported away by one of the house elves that were commanded by the castle itself. Many forgot it, but the house elves were bound to the building, not the position of headmaster. They obeyed the teachers, because they worked for the school, but in the end, the teachers couldn't command the elves to do anything that would harm the students
The Carrows had wondered why the students didn't seem to bow to their punishment of withholding meals, well, the elves made sure that sandwiches were placed in the common rooms to give the students the food that they needed. While the Carrows could forbid that they students got to eat in the Great Hall, nobody could stop the elves from sending it to the common rooms, as it was part of the school's founding charter. No student was to go hungry on orders of any teacher. The elves would always obey to the charter of the school over a bad teacher.
Then, when the Gryffindor crest, the last of the four, glowed fully, she felt the full weight of the wards settle into her magic. It was the way of the school to tell her that she was now the official headmistress. She had to smile. It was seven in the morning and the whole operation had taken four hours. Four hours were all that had been needed to free their country from a threat that had been haunting them since the early seventies. She was incredibly happy. Now she only needed to assemble those of the teachers that weren't on the Death Eater's side, meaning everybody except them, and have them help her arrest the ones that had lost their magic.
The old cells down in the dungeons would find a good use today. It would take some time until they could declare that the war was over, but they were really close now.
The students of Hogwarts were confused when they found an unusual development in the Great Hall. As per the new rules, they were only allowed into the Great Hall for breakfast from a quarter past eight to a quarter to nine in the morning, they all waited outside until the doors opened. Some noticed that there was a much lesser number of senior members of Slytherin with the occasional Ravenclaw also missing. The male seventh year Slytherins were even completely absent and of the females only Daphne Greengrass and Tracy Davis were present. The sixth years had a similarly low number.
Then the doors opened and some students were shocked to see Professor McGonagall sitting in the seat reserved for the headmaster.
"Come in everybody, take your seats and eat. I have some important announcements to make after breakfast," Professor McGonagall called out smiling, which was a good sign in the eyes of most students.
They all took seats and started eating, not really daring to talk much, as that had been strictly forbidden by Snape and the Carrows before. Who were suspiciously absent. Finally they finished eating and turned to look at Professor McGonagall.
"I am sure most of you are wondering why I'm sitting in the seat of the head of the school," she started her speech, "Well, the reason is that as of seven o'clock this morning I am the headmistress of Hogwarts."
That caused cheers from three houses and a few relieved smiles from the Slytherin table. Though many members of that house were outraged.
"Thank you all. From today on things will change massively around here. The last three months were a disgrace for our proud school and I won't let that continue," She said.
"The dark lord will not allow that!" One obnoxious fifth-year Slytherin girl shouted only to be hit with a stunner from Professor Flitwick, who then bound her in ropes.
"Thank you, Filius, I think Miss Warrington will join the others in the cells in the dungeons," Professor McGonagall said pleasantly, to the surprise of the students, "As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, things will change. We will return to being the premier school for magic in our country without teachers and students torturing and oppressing other students. We will also clean the school of any dark object, any potions used to control or harm another person, and yes, that does include love potions, and anybody that thinks he had a right to harm another person.
"Over the past months, ever since the Ministry fell into the hands of the terrorist organisation, also known as the Death Eaters and their leader, Tom Marvolo Riddle, more commonly known as You-Know-Who, Harry Potter and Hermione Granger were busy trying to find a way to cut the magic that allowed Riddle to cheat his death in 1981, when he murdered James and Lily Potter. Harry and Hermione, with the help of William and Fleur Weasley, managed to undo the horrible magic Riddle had performed to bind himself to life. They trapped his soul in a magical amulet.
"That happened a few days ago. Tom Riddle was neutralised at that time, but still not dead. For that one other step had to be done. His magic had to be drained in a safe way. As the only option for that is directing the magic into large magical wards, they contacted me to add the magic to the wards of Hogwarts. The school's magic would always overpower any kind of dark taint that that murderer's dark magic would have. At three o'clock last night, I connected the amulet to the school's wards when our dear headmaster and his compatriots were fast asleep. At seven in the morning, the deed was done. Tom Marvolo Riddle is dead," she declared and the students erupted in loud cheers.
Some hugged their friends, some cried in relief, some didn't want to believe it, but they knew Professor McGonagall too well to doubt her in this regard. Secretly she was glad that none of the Death Eaters had noticed the sudden disappearance of their leader. Finally, after twenty minutes of celebration, it was quiet enough to continue.
"We found out, when we went to apprehend the criminals that have harmed the students, that the draining of You-Know-Who's magic also drained the magic of everybody that bore his dark mark. Those that were marked that is, are either squibs now, or dead. I can tell you that all students that bore the mark survived, but that Amycus Carrow and Severus Snape are dead. Alecto Carrow is imprisoned in one of the school's old cells in the dungeons, as are all the students that were found with the dark mark. As we lack a number of teachers, we're going to cancel classes for this week," she said, causing another round of cheers.
"Right now the Order of the Phoenix is securing the Ministry of Magic. Everybody working there will be tested under veritaserum about their guilt or innocence in the regime of terror that has been allowed to happen over the last few months. One thing I want to make very clear. There will be a no-tolerance policy for bullying other students from now on. Blood status won't win you any points anymore. The squads that were set up to ensure the obedience of other students are dismissed effective immediately. Thanks to the power boost that the wards got, I'll know immediately if you break those rules. And I won't let that go with simple point deduction and a soft detention.
"Furthermore, the four already played Quidditch matches are declared void. They'll be repeated in the new year when all those students that were prevented from attending Hogwarts have returned. We all know that they were biased and not at all a show of great abilities, only who could pay for the best broom and intimidation of others what would happen if they dared to beat Slytherin. That has nothing to do with the spirit of Quidditch. I hope that soon we can start anew and bring this year to a good end. You're free to go to your common rooms or stroll around the castle," McGonagall ended her speech.
The happy students rushed out of the hall mostly. Some remained. Among them the closest friends of Harry and Hermione. They walked up to the head table. In the centre was Neville Longbottom. He had come a long way since his first year at school. He stood tall and strong. She knew that he had been the leader of the student resistance. The other was Luna Lovegood. Her mysterious smile had dimmed a bit since the Carrows had started to punish the students regularly, especially her, as her father was the editor of the Quibbler, the only publication that had dared printing anything against the Death Eaters, but now it was stronger than before again. The last was Ginny Weasley, who she would be having some serious words with and force her into a mental evaluation from Poppy.
"Are Harry and Hermione coming back?" Neville asked.
"That's their plan. I spoke to them a few days ago when we came up with the plan to coordinate the death of Tom Riddle and the strike against the Ministry. We needed a few days to set everything up. Trying anything directly after being known to meet Bill and Fleur for tea on a Hogsmeade weekend would have been too dangerous," McGonagall answered.
"So, we can return to how things were before as soon as we have new teachers and some of the old ones, like Hagrid, back?" Ginny asked.
"In some way yes, in some way there will be changes," McGonagall said, "I want to make Hogwarts better and that will require that certain things are changed. We also have to undo a lot of damage that the bigoted teachings of the Carrows have caused. It will take time, but thanks to a lot of the main antagonists now being squibs or dead, we have a better chance."
"They're really squibs now, even Malfoy?" Ginny asked.
"Yes. They'll have to get used to not being at the top of society anymore. I think it will be a very healthy lesson. With others it will be harder, but I'm confident in achieving it," McGonagall confirmed.
"I have to write Daddy, so that he can print the news," Luna said happily and skipped out of the Great Hall.
"I guess I should write to Gran as well. If the Order was involved, Ginny's parents probably already are informed," Neville mused.
"True, I would also like to talk to Miss Weasley about some personal things that concern her family," Professor McGonagall said smiling and Neville left with a large smile and a much easier step.
"Did anything happen, Professor?" Ginny asked concerned.
"Let's go to my office, there we can talk in private. This isn't something that should be discussed in the open, Miss Weasley," McGonagall said and led the girl to the headmaster's office.
When they were inside, McGonagall subtly locked the door to prevent that the girl ran off. Once they had both sat down, McGonagall started talking.
"The reason why I called you here is that there has been a serious break of the terms set out for your mother back in 1987. I'm fairly sure you and your three next older brothers weren't told, but your mother came very close to spending a number of years in Azkaban," McGonagall said seriously and Ginny was totally shocked.
"What? But she would never commit a crime or use dark magic. Why would she be that close to time at Azkaban?" Ginny asked horrified, "She's a wonderful woman."
"Line theft," McGonagall stated, making Ginny gulp.
That was a serious offence if you were caught and the offending party demanded retribution. The Wizengamot would normally always judge in favour of the injured party. And it was laughable to think that anybody would try to do that with a Weasley. They were too poor for that, even if they were purebloods.
"What happened?" Ginny asked frightened.
"Your mother never truly got over the deaths of your uncles Fabian and Gideon. She tried to compensate by concentrating on her children and making sure that you were safe. From there on some mental problems developed. First was that she created an optimal image of what her children should do with their lives. In the beginning that wasn't really a reason for worry. She only encouraged doing your best at school, taking responsibilities serious and being respectful to your teachers. In itself that would have been harmless.
"But then she found faults with all the girlfriends of your oldest brother and he broke up with a number of them, because they couldn't stand the thought of being related to your mother, should anything serious develop. Your mother saw his constantly changing girlfriends as improper and decided to find him the perfect bride. The girl was decided to be a Hufflepuff girl in Bill's year. From an old family, with good manners in her opinion, proper attire and a good dowry. She sent both Bill and the girl love potions with their food. Nobody noticed. The girl broke up with her boyfriend, whom she actually truly loved and who was heartbroken over her going after Bill, which made him bitter towards her.
"It went on for nearly all of Bill's sixth year and some months of his seventh year. Your mother also didn't want to chance anything with your second oldest brother Charlie and went the same way as with Bill. Thankfully it only started in his fourth year and he wasn't under the potion for long. The one to notice that Bill and Charlie behaved off was Percy. He went to Madam Pomfrey and she put all four under a flushing potion. The Hufflepuff girl was devastated how she had lost her boyfriend and the Ravenclaw girl that was chosen for Charlie also wasn't happy, but for her it wasn't that bad, as she had at least liked Charlie a bit and knew that he was completely innocent in the matter.
"The parents of the Hufflepuff girl were going to sue your mother, who was forced to confess her actions, which your father didn't tolerate in any way and was furious about. Professor Dumbledore managed to stall them until the results of a medical examination were ready. It turned out that your mother was mentally unstable. She had lost her sense of right and wrong and thought it perfectly acceptable to help things along, as she called it. On the condition that she would be treated in a closed ward of St. Mungo's for a few months and some reparation, they agreed to not raise charges against Molly. Probably a big part of the reason was that there were so many innocent children that would suffer. Still, your mother had to promise to never again try anything like that. After the treatment by the mind healer, sadly not as long as advised, but it was the longest your father could afford, it seemed as if the worst of her obsessions had been curbed.
"Your father kept a close eye on her for the next few years. The problem that has come up is that your brother has given Hermione Granger love potions and we have documentation that Harry Potter was also under potions, among them love potions keyed to you, that Madam Pomfrey found at the beginning of his sixth year. She gave him immunisation potions that neutralised any kind of non-medical potion in his system" McGonagall pointed out.
Ginny paled. This could be so bad for her.
"I see you realise the consequences. As you're a minor, you will get away with a severe warning. This could have sent you to Azkaban, Ginny. I know your mother always told you fantasy stories about the Boy-Who-Lived, but there is a major difference between the real Harry Potter and the fantasy figure that those stories entailed. Harry isn't a knight in shining armour that rescues the damsel in distress. He isn't some flawless hero. Oh, he definitely is a hero, a very fine young man, but he has a lot of flaws. He has a hot temper, he likes to keep peace, even if he should speak out, he bottles all his problems up and his handwriting resembles chicken scratch. He is a normal wizard, not some glorified image.
"And you should also remember, he is now head of a number of ancient and noble houses. The Wizengamot is even harsher against those trying to commit line theft against them, than just a normal pureblood house. I suggest you honestly think about what you want to do with your life, now that you have the chance. First though, you're going to see Madam Pomfrey for a full physical and mental examination. I won't risk overlooking a similar trauma that your mother carried around. It should have happened directly after your involvement with the Chamber of Secrets disaster, but Professor Dumbledore convinced your parents that it wasn't necessary. A grave error. Madam Pomfrey expects you already and is waiting at the bottom of the stairs. See this as a chance to overcome a silly obsession. I want to be honest, I don't think that you ever had much of a chance against Hermione.
"Had there not been potions influencing both of them massively, they would probably have come together in their fifth or sixth year. In regards of your exemplary behaviour this year, and your engagement to protect the younger students against the horror of the last months, I really want to help you, Ginny. I think you're as much a victim here as the other two. You grew up with an idealised idea of a hero that coincidentally has the same name as a boy that would have simply loved to have you as a normal friend. Perhaps, after the examination is done and you got help, you can at least have that," McGonagall said softly and dismissed Ginny.
She really hoped that they could help the girl.