Who: Albus and all Hogwarts
What: Talk
When: Before breakfast this morning
Where: Great Hall
Rating: Plotty
Status: IC/OOC
Before breakfast, Prefects moved through rooms of students who hadn’t slept the night before and called them all to the Great Hall. The assembly was mandatory, and ghosts and portraits helped to hurry the students along and make sure that no student missed the discussion.
When everyone was seated at their tables, Albus stood. He had not spoken at a feast since the beginning of the term, and moved slowly to do so now. His voice, though, when he spoke, was as strong and as full of conviction as ever.
“Students. You’ve come with questions, and it’s right that you have them. Unfortunately, today, we, your professors, do not have all the answers. We know that last night, the forces of Lord Voldemort took control of the Ministry of Magic by deadly force. Many of you have parents and loved ones who work for the Ministry, and though we know the fate of some we do not know the fate of all. For that we are sorry. We will find out what we can.”
Albus waited for the cries of surprise and outrage to quiet before he went on. “What I do know, standing before you today, is that this is only the beginning. You are safe, here, and there are forces outside our walls working to help your families and anyone else who may need it find safety. We will continue the work of this school and focus on her defense. Hogwarts no longer recognizes the authority of the Ministry of Magic. Death Eaters and the Dark Lord himself will not be walking our halls.”
“We have a job to do here, and I do not yet know what changes that job will bring to the school in the coming days.” Here Albus looked at the Slytherin table. “You must not let the prejudices of others define your futures. Or....” He looked to the other table slowly, “the actions of those outside these walls define how you are going to treat others. When Voldemort returned you were told that one day you would need to make a choice. Today, you must make that choice. The forces of darkness will batter us at all sides, and we must choose, every day, not to let them in. Not in to this school, and not in to our spirits.”
Finally, Albus looked at the Gryffindor table and directly at Harry Potter. “You must not be afraid to do what must be done.”
With that, Albus cleared his throat and turned to the other Professors, urging them to stand. “Now, if we could have a nice rendition of the schools song...”
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