Chapter 11: Moving On

The end of August was approaching and Harry was packing, ready to return to Hogwarts School for his third year of teaching. Ginny was sitting in his bedroom at the Burrow, talking to him as he gathered together the last pieces that he needed. Ginny now wore her engagement ring on her finger all the time. Although she hadn't thought about doing so before, she unclasped the gold chain that hung around her neck, then she walked over to Harry and refastened it around his. She stood behind him and gently stroked the sticking-up hair on the back of his head. She would soon be leaving, too, to continue her career as a Chaser, with The Holyhead Harpies.

"Are you still certain it's what you really want to do?"

"Yes, certain," said Harry. "Are you coming to the station?"

"Of course, Darling!"

Harry knocked upon the door of Minerva McGonagall's study and waited to be asked to enter.

"Good evening, Minerva."

"Good evening, Harry. How can I help you?"

"Well, I've given the matter a lot of thought, and I've decided that I will be leaving Hogwarts after this year."

"I don't think I need to ask why, Harry, you will no doubt be wanting to get married and start your own family soon, and you don't feel that you can do that while you are at Hogwarts. You have been a great asset to us, Harry, and you will be sorely missed."

"Thank you, Minerva, I knew that you would understand. Well, yes, what you say is a part of the reason, although it's not the only one. I will, of course, stay until the summer, which will give you plenty of time to find a replacement. I'll tell Hagrid and Neville, but I'll ask them not to tell anyone else."

"Do you know what you are going to do next, Harry? I do not wish to pry, and I am sure that you are a quite a wealthy young man already, but you have a good heart and a good brain, Harry, and it would be a pity not to use them in some way."

"Yes, of course I've thought about this a lot over the summer, too. I do enjoy teaching, but I think that I am getting too comfortable. I think that while it can be liberating, it can also be confining—I need a new challenge. This might surprise you, but I'm thinking about applying to The Daily Prophet for a job.

"Since I have been at Hogwarts, I've seen how education can mould the way that people think and act, and I know that this can be a powerful force for both good or bad. But ever since I've been teaching, I have also come to realise just how much the use of words alone can be made to influence attitudes and opinions. At Hogwarts we use words to create and harness magic, but we emphasise this and we don't teach the young witches and wizards how ordinary words can also be a powerful force that can be manipulated: skilfully corrupted and twisted, until people don't know what to believe any more. In the past, it has frustrated and bothered me a lot when I've seen how decent, honest peoples' good names and reputations can become tarnished or even destroyed by gossip, innuendo and lies.

"I believe, and I'm sure that you do, too, Minerva, that everyone has the right, and should expect, to be told the truth by their own government, and anybody else who can exert an influence over the way that they live their lives—even if sometimes this causes them anguish or pain. Neither the printed, nor the spoken word should ever be used deliberately or indiscriminately as the tools or the playthings of an individual, a minority, or self-interest group, who seek to use them only to exploit the weak and vulnerable, to knowingly cause unnecessary distress, or to undermine legitimate governments in order to bring about their downfall for purely personal gain.

"We both know that if we want to see evidence of the power of words, we only have to look within this school, to remember how Tom Riddle used them to gain influence and ultimately control of peoples' lives. And we both remember when Fudge's Ministry of Magic suppressed the truth—itself a form of lying, I believe—in order to deny that Voldermort had returned, and that those of us who said that he had were somehow a threat to society.

"I know this might sound idealistic, Minerva, but I think that I have gained some influence with the Ministry now, and that by working together with them and The Daily Prophet, I hope that in the future I can do the same thing for truth and honesty that you and others have achieved for the unity of mind and spirit in this school."

Professor McGonagall nodded and smiled in agreement with Harry.

"These are noble sentiments, which I am sure that you can help to bring about," she said. "You are a fine young man, Harry, I am proud of you, and I am proud of the part that this school has played in making you what you are today."

By usual newspaper standards, the announcement was a very modest affair. About half way down the front page of The Daily Prophet, there appeared the following:

It was announced today by Professor Minerva McGonagall, long-time teacher of Transfiguration and, since the tragic death of Albus Dumbledore, the popular Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, that Mr Harry Potter, the wizard who brought about the end of Lord Voldermort, would be leaving his post of Advanced Defensive Magic master at the school, at the end of the summer term.

When asked to comment, Professor McGonagall was quoted as saying, that: "Harry Potter's contribution to the school, both as a pupil and a teacher, has been truly outstanding and all of the school wishes him well in his choice of future career."

Professor McGonagall went on to say that applications for the post of Advanced Defensive Magic teacher should be sent to her at the school, by owl, to be received no later than July the 1st.

Three days later, there was another announcement:

HARRY POTTER JOINS THE PROPHET!

Following his decision to leave Hogwarts School, where he has achieved great acclaim as teacher of Advanced Defensive Magic (formerly known as Defence Against the Dark Arts), Harry Potter will be joining The Daily Prophet.

When asked why he had decided to take up a new career, just as he was proving to be so successful in his present one, Harry (as he wishes us to call him) made the following statement:

"It is a well known fact that my relationship in the past with The Daily Prophet has not always been a happy one. However, I was later given the opportunity to challenge some of the statements that were made about me and others, at a time when this country was in a state of disarray, brought about by the forces of evil, who, while their power was at its most destructive, were able to assert a negative influence upon the Ministry of Magic and its officials. Fortunately, however, that state of affairs has now been eliminated completely and justice, honour and decency now stand in its place.

When I was asked by my former employer, Minerva McGonagall, why I was leaving Hogwarts, I told her that I now wished to champion 'the truth'. I believe that in the healthier society that we live in now, it is my greatest hope that everyone who reads this newspaper will sincerely believe that while I am associated with it:

The Daily Prophet always tells the truth!"

Well, readers, if that's an example of what we can expect from Harry in the future, you must all be sure to look out for his articles when he joins us later in the year!

Although Harry stood by his quote in the article, he knew that truth was not an absolute condition: that for many people it was just the thing that they wanted to believe at the time. He knew, too, that some people would believe what he said just because of who he was. But this wasn't what he wanted at all. He believed that the truth was something important, and that he should have to convince people that he told the truth. He thought that he could do this by trying to offer clear evidence that supported his beliefs—and then hope that he could either alter or confirm theirs. Harry also believed that while he would never try to deliberately mislead or deceive, sometimes something that he sincerely thought to be true turned out not to be so. When this happens, he thought, he should always be prepared to admit his mistakes.