Re: Savannah/Jamie
"Never mind. It was a far more confusing conversation between us that doesn't really have anything to do with this discussion."
Sighing, Jamie took a beat to figure out how to say what he needed to say. "Why are they celebrating, Savannah? These twenty five people who make up the entirety of our society, whose descendants will be the ones to make up any future society we have, why would they celebrate him? The future society is going to be taught by his family, by the people his family calls friends, and by people who don't idolize him."
He shook his head. "Dad isn't the one who saved everyone. He took down Riddle, yes. But, that alone did not save everyone. The people in this room saved everyone. Padma and Parvati were here, in the castle, protecting those students who couldn't protect themselves, fighting back with Luna and Neville and Mum. My aunt and uncle were right there every step of the way with Dad. My grandparents, Sirius, Remus, Dumbledore, Marlene, even Peter all sacrificed their lives for this. There's a reason Dad reads all the names of every person who died, who gave up their life in this very castle so that you and I could debate why we need a holiday. And those same people are going to celebrate his birthday because it's his birthday, not because he saved the world. They are going to teach their children and grandchild, who will be the society of the future, why they choose to do the right thing and why they love not just Dad, but their friends and family. The people like Malfoy and Nott and Regulus will teach the history and might enjoy a day off, but they won't be celebrating Dad."
One shoulder raised in a shrug. "If you want to honour my dad, honour what he stood for, the message he would want to leave the world. And let him have one day of peace. Because if there's no celebrations, then making a holiday out of his birthday is really more about what people want from him than what he wants and deserves."