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Subject: To those who gave us hope
From: Andromeda Tonks
It is with a bittersweet mixture of pride and sadness that I look at my grandson go over his first year booklist and pester me to get him a wand ahead of his eleventh birthday. He is to attend Hogwarts next year, yet he has not stopped talking about it for the better part of last month. I only wish that his mother Nymphadora had been alive today to see her son grow up. She and Remus would have been proud.
I lost my daughter and her husband ten years ago, almost to the day, during that fateful battle at the very school Edward is to attend soon. Though the castle has changed quite a bit since then, I still cannot find in myself the strength to visit the site where Nymphadora and Remus lost their lives to Voldemort and his Death Eaters. I cannot bear to think that it may have been my own sister who might have cast the curse that ensured their demise.
I am far from alone in this. Many lost loved ones that day. Ten years may have passed, but the memories are as fresh as yesterday.
Hence, I write this today to urge the readers of the Prophet to remember. Remember the sacrifices they - and many others - made, so that we could send our children and grandchildren out into the world today without fear. Remember those who fell in those darkest of hours so that our children might have a new dawn. I am proud of the legacy Edward will carry forward when he sets foot on that train to Hogwarts - a legacy defined by unbounded courage and inexpressible loss, but ultimately one that gives the world a new hope for tomorrow.
- Andromeda Tonks
From: Andromeda Tonks
It is with a bittersweet mixture of pride and sadness that I look at my grandson go over his first year booklist and pester me to get him a wand ahead of his eleventh birthday. He is to attend Hogwarts next year, yet he has not stopped talking about it for the better part of last month. I only wish that his mother Nymphadora had been alive today to see her son grow up. She and Remus would have been proud.
I lost my daughter and her husband ten years ago, almost to the day, during that fateful battle at the very school Edward is to attend soon. Though the castle has changed quite a bit since then, I still cannot find in myself the strength to visit the site where Nymphadora and Remus lost their lives to Voldemort and his Death Eaters. I cannot bear to think that it may have been my own sister who might have cast the curse that ensured their demise.
I am far from alone in this. Many lost loved ones that day. Ten years may have passed, but the memories are as fresh as yesterday.
Hence, I write this today to urge the readers of the Prophet to remember. Remember the sacrifices they - and many others - made, so that we could send our children and grandchildren out into the world today without fear. Remember those who fell in those darkest of hours so that our children might have a new dawn. I am proud of the legacy Edward will carry forward when he sets foot on that train to Hogwarts - a legacy defined by unbounded courage and inexpressible loss, but ultimately one that gives the world a new hope for tomorrow.
- Andromeda Tonks
Subject: A thanks to our goblin friends
From: Bill Weasley
On this momentous occasion, many deserve to be remembered. Our fellow witches and wizards who gave their lives during the Battle of Hogwarts. The centaurs who fought alongside them and made sacrifices in a war that wasn’t theirs. I remember even the elves as they ran towards the Death Eaters, waving kitchen knives, unafraid to defend the ancient castle.
But one magical creature often gets omitted from our memory, whether by nature or by design. Our goblin brethren have sacrificed no less than any wizard. We live in a different world today, a world where policies crafted by Hermione Granger and Minister Shacklebolt have somewhat begun to repair the long-strained relations between wizards and other magical creatures. Yet there is much to be done, and more importantly, there is much to ensure does not get forgotten from our collective memory.
Thus, this letter is written to not only refresh our memories, but to honour theirs. To honour Gornuk, who lost his life helping my brother and his friends escape the Malfoy Manor, where he was tortured for weeks. To honour Griphook, who was killed by Voldemort after helping them get into the Lestrange vault. To honour Ragnok, a friend who stayed by me despite our differences. To honour the many more who were murdered when Voldemort and his Death Eaters raided Gringotts - murdered just because they knew too much.
I did not know them all, not as well as I wish I would have. Nor, I might add regrettably, was I necessarily friendly with those I did know. But I have worked with goblins for most of my life, and while relations between our species have always been strained, the least we can do is acknowledge their loss and their sacrifices. We entrust them with our economy - they make and handle our gold and silver, after all. Why not attempt to heal this long-standing divide then?
- Bill Weasley
Subject: Albus’s vision, realized
From: Elphias Doge
My last contribution to the Daily Prophet was eleven years ago, when I penned an obituary to my dear friend Albus. The world, of course, knew him as the brilliant, eccentric, and legendary Professor Dumbledore. His accolades would require more inches than the Prophet affords, so I will not bother trying to list them. Others have done that far better than I, and yet more have documented his life and death.
No, my aim today is not to talk about the revered Professor Dumbledore, but about Albus, the friend I attended Hogwarts with. More specifically, I want to talk about the vision that he had for wizardkind.
Albus, perhaps in his unending humility, might not have foreseen the greatness he was destined for, but it was evident to any who knew him even then, just from hearing his thoughts about the world he lived in. He had a perspective that few others could envision - the mind of a revolutionary in the head of a pacifist. He was convinced of the potential for greatness in every witch and wizard, and I firmly believe that it was that conviction that guided his actions throughout his life. He wanted all of us to achieve that greatness, and to keep striving until we did so. To move beyond our individuality and keep working for something bigger - for the greater good.
I look around me today, and I smile. I look at the cases brought forward in the Wizengamot these days. Petty thieves and misguided wretches, most of them. A far cry from the hardened murderers and torturers I had become accustomed to seeing over my decades with the Ministry. Gone are the days of Grindelwald’s army proudly declaring their hatred of Muggles in my courtroom, or the days of Voldemort’s Death Eaters being sentenced for torturing people to insanity.
Witches and wizards live in peace. Not just with each other, but also with other creatures. The Ministry under Shacklebolt has been revolutionized. We’ve extended hands of friendship to many who were marginalized: centaurs, giants, goblins, even elves! I have lived during enough tumultuous times, but I am happy to know that in the twilight of my life, I had the chance to see peace truly realized.
The world is a better place now; quieter. Albus, you would have liked it.
- Elphias Doge
Subject: A glimpse of our pasts in our futures
From: Minerva McGonagall
I confess to being unused to this - my usual correspondence is with Transfiguration Today, and then only to correct the rare error published therein. But it would be remiss for the Headmistress of Hogwarts to not pen a few words on the tenth year anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts.
There is much I want to say - and much I have to keep myself in check for. It is for others to recount the moments of those few hours, moments that I am certain will be seared forever in the minds of those who were present to live them. Ten years after Lord Voldemort fell to Harry Potter - ten years after darkness was vanquished by light - it is not the pain I want to remember, but the happiness. It is not what we lost that I will try to futilely encapsulate, but that which lives on.
I want to talk about our children - for perhaps, as headmistress of a school, children are what I can most confidently talk about. I want to talk about how I see myself in the children of today and tomorrow, and how those glimpses give me immense joy. As a teacher, there is no better realization than the knowledge that your words and guidance impacted your students’ lives meaningfully.
I want to talk about how watching Harry’s prowess on the Quidditch field during his school days reminded me of my own days as a Gryffindor Quidditch player. How Neville’s journey from being my student to my colleague and friend is eerily reminiscent of my own with Albus (Neville and I were even both Aurors for a bit!). How Hermione’s fierce determination and intelligence reminded me of the nights I spent studying for OWLs and NEWTs. How Ronald’s loyalty makes me proud to call myself a Gryffindor. How watching Ginevra blossom from a shy young girl to a strong, confident woman reminded me of my own trials with love and marriage.
These snippets bring me indescribable happiness. They are proof of timeless events - events that echo through generations. Events like forming friendships, enjoying sports, studying for exams, falling in love. These are all part of growing up, and these are what connect generations together. I went from giving detention to James and Sirius, to giving detention to Fred and George. I will have another James Potter and Fred Weasley under my care. Who knows what they will get up to. I, for one, am honoured to be here to find out.
- Minerva McGonagall