Re: The Meeting
"It's rather curious that these objections should come from you, my dear boy," Albus said with a big smile, "because I remember hearing the same thing from Severus, when was that again?" he asked, looking at Severus. "Oh yes, 1991. I believe he couldn't understand how I should give an eleven year old a chance to prove himself when there were so many more experienced wizards around, and then that little boy with the help of his two friends found the Philosopher's Stone and the mirror of erised, despite the fact that my best teachers had set up tests that no one but the greatest minds were supposed to pass. However even after that, people still complained. In fact, I'm pretty sure that I've had this discussion on an yearly basis and yet the faith of our world rested not on one sixteen year old, but three of them. Perhaps, I should have listened to everyone and stopped you, but then, Tom might still be running the country.
"War has a great impact on all of us. It ages all of us, and James has already faced his mortality. He's not wallowed in pity, but instead, he has reacted. He's trained extensively with Severus and now with me. I believe he will face those responsibilities just like you did when you were still a school boy," he said.
"What leadership abilities did Harry have when he was fifteen? Even less than James, and yet people followed him. I've seen his friends do the same with James. He's hardly going to take over for me, Mr. Weasley," he said. "I'm still here. He also wouldn't be deciding by himself; there are Severus and Moody as well. So yes, I'm willing to wait and hope that we can create a leader that can take the Order into the next century, because that's really what we're talking about, not just a leader for the next few years, but someone that can keep it going for decades to come."
Albus shrugged. "It's an order, not an invitation to dinner, Mr. Weasle. He doesn't have to master anything other than saying 'this is what was decided, we need you to do X'. Again, James is not handing out orders by himself. I can make sure to have Moody tell them what to do if that's an issue, or Severus, if you think that either one of them is more diplomatic."