An Awarding Day
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The next day, the news broke that Harry was getting the Order of Merlin first class. It did not go well for him and his two best friends. Well, Hermione was okay for the most part, though she thought that she should at least have been mentioned. However, Ron was downright pissed. He started yelling right there in the Great Hall.
Remus seeing the fight start, went down to see if he could prevent it from escalating. “What seems to be the problem?” he asked when he got to the shouting boys. The rest of the teachers seeing him go down let him handle the problem.
“Ron is upset that he isn’t getting a medal for going down to the Chamber of Secrets,” Seamus said, not being part of the fight, though he was on Harry’s side on this one. He had heard many different sides of the story, and Harry’s and Ginny’s matched. He believed the two that were there.
“Ron, you know Harry didn’t have any part in nominating himself for this award, right?” Remus said, looking at the angry redhead. “That was all his godfather, Sirius Black,” he added for everyone’s benefit.
“Still, he is the one who told his godfather the story. He must have lied and left my part out,” Ron said, pushing Harry’s shoulder hard enough to knock the skinnier boy back a bit.
Harry stumbled back and came up swinging, but Remus caught his shoulder and held him firm. There was no need for punches. “I was there when Harry told us that story, and he did tell us what happened, and that you played a major role in getting to the Chamber of Secrets. However, you were on the other side of the cave-in. Harry had to go on alone. You did not take part in the slaying of the basilisk. Therefore, you cannot claim credit in the killing of the beast,” Remus said as calmly as he could. He knew he had to talk the boy down.
“What do you know? You weren’t there,” Ron said, sneering at the DADA professor like he wasn’t someone important.
“No, but I was,” Ginny said, pushing her way through the crowd and making her way to Harry’s side. “I was there, and only Harry was in that cavern, and only he slayed the basilisk. He did it with a sword, all by himself. He saved my life and probably the whole school. How dare you try to take that from him,” she snarled at her brother. The anger on her face was radiating out like a beacon.
“Now, Ginny,” Ron started, getting concerned. His sister was volatile when she was this angry. Even the twins didn’t mess with her when she was like this.
“Don’t you ‘Now, Ginny’ me, you backstabbing traitor,” she hissed, getting in his face. “Harry is your best friend, and this is how you treat him. He saved my life,” she said again as she got nose to nose with her taller brother. “I won’t let you demean him.”
“It’s alright, Ginny,” Harry said, not wanting siblings to fight. “I know where I stand with Ron now. First it was money, now this. I guess things are more important than friendship,” he added, turning and walking away. Neville, Seamus, and Dean walked with him. Hermione waited a moment, then joined them.
“That’s what you get when you let jealousy rule your life,” Ginny said, flipping her hair over her shoulder and walking away.
The crowd dispersed now that the fight was over. Many of them laughed at the redhead for losing his only friend over something so petty. Ron was left standing with Remus.
“What did I do?” he asked no one.
Remus answered anyway. “You let your emotions control your actions and lost one of your best friends. If I were you, I’d start thinking about what is more important in your life, the people in it, or the things?” he added, clapping the boy on the shoulder, and leaving him to his thoughts. He was just a kid. He still had time to change.
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Sirius was sitting with the Board of Governors watching Snape’s class for the fifth time this week. They had put the mirrors up that Monday, in every classroom and common room, and had watched one class a day for each teacher. Trying to get at least one grade level for each teacher. This was Harry’s class, and it was going about as well as any of Snape’s classes, which is to say, not well at all. The man just could not teach.
“Why did we not get rid of him in the beginning?” one of the board members asked, listening to Snape degrade Neville’s potion making skills one more time with great derision. He did that to all the Gryffindor students, but especially Potter and Longbottom. He seemed to hate those two with great prejudice.
“He does well with the older students,” Sirius said, pointing out the fact that the ones that did make it into his OWL level classes went on to make Master level potion makers.
“Yeah, but look at all the dreams he smashes to get the few that make it that far,” she said, thinking of her own dreams of being a potions mistress.
“Speaking from experience?” the middle-aged member asked snidely, only to get a glare in return. He was one of the few new ones on the new board that never had Snape as a teacher. Most of the new board were younger people.
“Yes, to be frank. That man is a nightmare for a professor,” she said with a sniff.
“We need to get him out of the castle,” Sirius said. “Or at the very least out of the classroom. If Dumbles wants him in the castle, he can pay him out of his own pocket. Like he’s doing with Trelawney,” he added, not knowing why the old man was keeping the old drunk around.
Well, he knew, but he thought the old man was barmy for doing so. Dumbledore knew that seers didn’t remember their prophecies, so keeping her safe wouldn’t protect the prophecy from Voldemort. Like he said, barmy.
“He could brew for the infirmary,” one member suggested, thinking that would be a boon for the school. Snape was a great brewer, and they would be stupid to cast him aside.
“We will only pay for what he makes, not his time. That pay will come from somewhere else,” Sirius said, not budging on that. He was not going to support Severus Snape.
“I agree,” the first member said. She was in total agreement.
A few more members stated their agreements as well.
“We’ll get with the headmaster next week with our findings. We’ll need to find a new Potions professor and get a new book for Muggle Studies. Burbage is a good teacher, she just has bad information,” Sirius said, going over what they found. “We also need a teacher for the Care of Magical Creatures and keep Hagrid on as an assistant. Maybe in a few years, we can hire him back as a teacher. While Hagrid knows his creatures, he needs someone to keep him in line,” he added, having seen some of the classes.
“I also what to address the fact that they let that one girl use the time turner,” one member said, one that hadn’t been on the board before. He was a new member. His family was one that hadn’t been on the board, but they had been next in line. He was an older member, but he was more openminded. He was one of the few that never had Snape as a teacher, but he agreed that the man had to go.
“That was messed up from the start. The problem is the former Board let it happen. So, we can’t smack down Dumbles for that,” Sirius said, tapping his quill on the table, making one more note on Snape’s behavior as he once more made a derogatory remark at Harry.
“Bugger,” the man said, making note of that. “Can we at least get it away from the child?” he asked, hoping for a yes.
“I don’t see why not,” Sirius said, thinking that the girl didn’t need it. She could drop Muggle Studies, she was muggleborn after all, and Divinations was already gone. So, there was no need for her to have the time turner. That and there was no need for her to rescue him at the end of the year, but he couldn’t tell them that.
“Was there anything else?” another member asked, making a checkmark on her parchment as Snape did something she didn’t like.
“I also think that if they are a Head of House, then they need to stop any other office. McGonagall is stretched too far. She needs to make up her mind what she wants to do,” Sirius said, getting nods all around. Everyone agreed with that.
“We also need to stop the bullying that is happening in Ravenclaw. That Lovegood girl is going to die, if we don’t intervene,” one member said, having been bullied when she went to school.
“Yes, the Heads of Houses need to pay closer attention to what is happening in their houses,” Sirius agreed. There was too much partying in Gryffindor, too much bullying in Ravenclaw and Slytherin, and well the Hufflepuffs were actually doing okay. Sprout did a good job of keeping an eye on them.
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The award ceremony took place in the Great Hall of Hogwarts since the recipient was a schoolboy. Everyone important was there, including the press. The Great Hall was extended to hold all the people and there were three tables added to make them all fit.
Fudge was the Master of Ceremony. “Can Harry Potter please join me?” he asked as he stood in front of the Teachers’ Table, which had also been extended to hold the members of the Board of Governors. He was garbed in his lime green dress robes, sans his bowler hat.
Harry came from the antechamber, where he had been told to wait. He was wearing his school robes, but they had been pressed and his shoes had been shined. His hair had been combed, but it was as messy as it ever was. There was no taming that hair. He had had his speech all prepared for him by some lacky from the ministry, but he ignored it. He had some things he wanted to say.
He strolled up to the minister and stood by the man’s side. His hands were shaking so bad, that he hid them in his robes. He looked out at the sea of faces. Some he knew, many he didn’t. He waited for the minister to finish speaking his long and boring speech about what a hero he was.
“Thank you, Minister Fudge, for that wonderful speech,” he said dryly, as he bent his head to receive the medal. He took it in his hands and looked at it. He then gave his speech, “I just want to say, that I didn’t do this alone. If it had not been for my two friends, I would not have been able to complete the task of saving the school. So, thank you, Hermione Granger, for finding out that the monster in the Chamber of Secrets was indeed a basilisk.” He paused there and gave a short bow to his female friend.
The crowd gave the blushing girl an applause. Though most were hesitant about it. They weren’t sure why Harry was sharing the glory. It wasn’t what most people would do.
“The next person I would like to thank is Ron Weasley. He did go down into the Chamber with me. He was separated from me, but I know that had he not been, he would have fought by my side. So, thanks, mate,” he said, though he didn’t bow to Ron just nodded his head.
Ron turned bright red and slouched down in his seat. He had already been given the cold shoulder from his friends and family over the treatment he had given Harry. Now, he felt like a right prat.
Harry continued speaking, “Two more to give thanks to. These two are the most important. To the Sorting Hat, which is where I got the sword, and to Fawkes the phoenix, who took care of the basilisk’s eyes. I would never have made it without them. And if I could, I’d share this medal with them. So, thanks,” he said, bowing to no one.
The crowd exploded with clapping as the phoenix flamed into existence with the Sorting Hat in its claws. The Hat landed on Harry’s head and Fawkes landed on his shoulder. Harry pulled out Gryffindor’s sword, put the Hat back on his head and held the sword aloft. He looked majestic.
The room was ablaze with flashbulbs as pictures were taken from every news media that was there. They all ate it up, Harry Potter looking like a hero with his medal around his neck, sword in hand, and phoenix on his shoulder.
When they were done, Harry put the sword back into the Hat, and Fawkes flamed away with the Hat. Harry stepped off the platform and went to the Gryffindor table. He sat near Neville and the other boys.
“That was a great speech, Harry,” the not so shy boy said, clapping him on the back.
“Thanks, I only wanted to give credit where credit was due,” he said, serving himself up some Shepard’s pie. His hands were still shaking a bit, but he got the serving on the plate without spilling it, so he called it a win.
“I don’t know if I would have,” Seamus said, also taking some lunch and eating it.
“I think I’d be so nervous, I’d pass out,” Neville confessed, eating some veggies before starting on some roasted chicken.
“I was almost there, mate,” Harry said, with a chuckle. “I had to keep thinking about breathing just to keep standing.” He looked up at the Teachers’ Table and spotted Sirius who was there with the minister. Sirius gave him a thumb’s up, and he smiled at his guardian.
“Still, better you than me,” Neville said as he continued eating.
“Yeah,” Harry said, looking at the Order of Merlin that hung around his neck. It was a circular golden medal with spikes on the sides, and a large M in the middle. It hung on a green ribbon that indicated it was first class. “I’m going to need to put this somewhere,” he said, looking at Sirius again. He got up and went to see his godfather. “Sirius, I don’t want to lose this. Can you put it in my vault?” he asked, taking it off and handing it to the man.
“Sure, Harry, we’ll figure how to secure it later,” his godfather said, putting it in his pocket. He then spelled the pocket to be sealed so only he could open it. That would keep it from falling out or being stolen.
“Thanks, Sirius,” Harry said and went to rejoin his friends.
“He’s a good kid,” Remus said after Harry left.
“Yeah, he is,” Sirius agreed, watching Harry joke with Neville. He was glad this Harry was more carefree than the one in the books. And he was going to keep it that way.