Beater 2: Write about a character making a large impact on society or the world.

Optional Prompts:

#3 (colour) midnight blue

#5: (quote) 'The stars will never be won by little minds; we must be big as space itself.' — Robert A. Heinlein

#12: (word) curious

"The Saviour's Address"

Harry swallowed thickly as he looked in the mirror and adjusted his maroon tie. He couldn't help the trembling of his fingers and the shakiness of his breathing as he tried desperately to calm down. No matter what he did, his body wouldn't stop reacting to the crazy amount of nervousness going through his system.

Raising his hands to his hair, he tried to flatten it, but soon realized it was futile. Everything else about his appearance was fine — that was about as good as it would get. His hair would never cooperate, even for one of the biggest days of Harry's life.

Harry took a step back and looked his Hogwarts robes up and down. It had been over a year since he had last worn them, and they felt almost foreign. Harry wasn't intending on returning to Hogwarts, but it had been a request that all who attend the address who currently attended Hogwarts should wear their Hogwarts robes. Even though he wasn't currently a student, he felt he was recent enough to wear his own Gryffindor robes.

Taking a deep breath, Harry turned away from the mirror and towards the door to his bedroom. Muttering snippets of his speech under his breath, he walked out of the room.

Ever since the war had ended, 12 Grimmauld Place always seemed to be filled with people. Harry almost never had a lack of company, and he personally believed that it was because they didn't want to know what he would do if he was alone. They were worried about him, and it was obvious — but they didn't need to be.

Harry was honestly happier than he had been in years. The war was over and his mind could finally be clear of the heavy burden that was his looming fight with Voldemort. Although the deaths of so many still weighed heavily on the back of his mind, Harry felt better than before.

Walking down the stairs to see Ginny, Ron, and Hermione sitting at the kitchen table brought a familiar feeling of happiness, and Harry smiled. Their banter quieted when they noticed Harry walking down the stairs. They turned to look at him, and Harry stopped in his place.

"You look really nice, Harry," Ginny complimented him, smiling slightly.

Harry grinned right back and let some of his stress off with a laugh. "Thanks, Gin. You look great, too."

"Are you ready to go?" Hermione asked, looking concerned as she noticed Harry's nervousness. If his shaking hands hadn't given it away, the nervous laughter and constant swallowing definitely did.

"Yeah, I think so," Harry said, trying to calm yet again, only to try and calm Hermione. He continued walking down the stairs and joined them at the table. "I was up practicing all night, so I feel pretty good about it."

Hermione didn't seem to believe him, but she let it go anyway. "Are you using the Heinlein quote I suggested?"

"Yep, it'll be my closing line. It was a great suggestion, Hermione, thanks a lot."

A proud grin graced Hermione's face, and she thanked Harry for the compliment. Then, checking the muggle watch on her wrist, she stood up. "I think we should get going — we want to be there early, after all, right?"

The rest stood up in unison, following Hermione over to the fireplace. Hermione and Ron went in first, Hermione grabbing a handful of floo powder and throwing it down, exclaiming, "Ministry of Magic!"

As the green flames died down, Ginny turned to Harry and smiled, stepping in close. "You're going to do great, Harry, I just know it."

Harry smiled and kissed her. It only lasted for a second, but it gave Harry the boost of confidence that he needed. "Thanks, Ginny. I needed that."

Holding hands, the two of them stepped into the fireplace and copied what Hermione and Ron had done. Harry braced himself; if he fell over upon arrival, he didn't think he'd ever be able to live it down.

Thankfully, Harry landed smoothly when he reappeared in one of the many Ministry fireplaces. If Ginny's small pep-talk didn't bring up Harry's confidence, his smooth landing definitely did.

Stepping out, Hermione and Ron asked, "What took so long?"

Ginny couldn't help but laugh, and Harry tried to stifle a laugh but failed. Ron and Hermione soon joined in.

Their moment of amusement was brought to a stop when Kingsley Shacklebolt walked up to them. They all recovered their composure as quickly as possible, but the smirk on his face showed that he had seen their little laughing fit.

He walked up to Harry first, putting out his hand. Harry took it, even though he and Kingsley had met multiple times before and it was a formality at this point. It was their way of showing respect.

After letting go of Harry's hand, Kingsley turned to Hermione, Ron, and Ginny and shook each of their hands as well. When he was finished, he took in the maroon ties that all four of them were wearing. "Wow," Kingsley laughed, shaking his head. "Well, I knew Harry was a Gryffindor, so I should've guessed that the rest of you would be Gryffindors too. I was actually a Hufflepuff during my time at Hogwarts."

"Really?" Harry was shocked. "You strike me as a Gryffindor!"

Kingsley laughed again, smiling a large grin that Harry had never seen before — happier smiles seemed to be a side effect of winning the war. "Most people think I'm a Gryffindor too — even the hat was torn. I begged it to put me in Hufflepuff because my parents were in Hufflepuff, and here I am!"

The five of them laughed for a few moments — Harry and Hermione had had similar experiences with the Sorting Hat. When they stopped, Kingsley explained, "So, I've been instructed to let you know about the schedule for this afternoon. Harry, you speak in fifteen minutes. You're the first one up and I'll be the one introducing you. Sound good?"

As Harry nodded, Kingsley led the group over to the stage and showed them the staircase where he would be entering.

Seeing the growing crowd, reality struck Harry hard. At last, his breathing slowed and his hands stopped trembling. Harry knew he had to give this speech, or he would regret it the rest of his life. He had the potential to help make this moment glorious for the survivors or the war, and he was determined not to let them down

Steeling himself, Harry took the seat where he was asked to wait. Hermione sat on his left, holding hands with Ron and leaning on his shoulder, wearing a smile that couldn't be stopped. Ginny was on his right, and her arm was linked with his.

Harry, lost in the moment of happiness, didn't even realize that the hall had filled up until he saw Kingsley walking up onto the stage. Kingsley shot sparks out of the end of his wand and the crowd silenced, turning their attention to him.

"Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Ministry of Magic," Kingsley began, pausing for a moment as he looked out over the crowd. "Today will be a post-war address in which we will inform you of what we plan on doing to recover from the previous corrupt administration."

The hall was so silent that you could hear a pin drop. The crowd was hanging on Kingsley's every word. Harry couldn't imagine anyone having nearly that much interest in what he had to say.

Kingsley spoke for another moment, summarizing what parts of the address would contain. Before Harry knew it, he was being introduced. Kingsley's booming voice only got louder as he announced, "Our first speaker today is the saviour of the wizarding world himself, Harry Potter."

A large round of applause echoed throughout the midnight blue walls of the main hall. Harry swallowed and blinked dumbly before standing and making his way slowly up to the podium. Every step felt like he was climbing a mountain, and he found himself begging himself not to trip.

Harry looked over the crowd with what felt like tunnel vision. There must have been at least five hundred people packed into the little — well, now it seemed little — hall. Harry felt a burst of pride as he identified many Hogwarts students in the crowd, recognized by their midnight blue, canary yellow, maroon, and emerald ties.

"Hello," Harry said into the enchanted microphone with a sheepish smile. He wasn't quite sure how it worked and quickly found that even if he was too close, the volume would increase or decrease for the listener. His mistake earned a few chuckles from the crowd.

"First of all, I'm Harry Potter. That was the only part of my introduction that Kingsley got right." Harry paused for what Hermione had described as dramatic effect. The crowd was silent, confused. "I am not the saviour of the wizarding world."

The confusion grew as Harry felt the hundreds of curious eyes trying to pry into his soul. "Every single person who fought in the war against Lord Voldemort should be considered on the saviours of the wizarding world. I could not have done what I have done without the help of everyone else along the way."

A small smattering of applause rose up but died quickly to let him speak. "Can everyone who fought in the Battle of Hogwarts please raise their hands?"

Many hands went up, probably a little more than half of the people in the room. It surprised Harry how many of them were present, but he found himself smiling slightly nonetheless. "I would like to thank every single one of you for fighting, and I want to apologize and offer condolences for any loved ones you may have lost during the battle."

"The Battle of Hogwarts was horrific, but every single moment of it was critical and needed to happen in order for us to win this war. I think it's time that we leave the horrors of the war behind and instead focus on rebuilding the Ministry and our society around the image that every one of us, no matter our blood status, is equal."

"While some of you may continue to hold the old-fashioned idea that muggleborns or half-bloods are inferior to pure-bloods, I believe we have to look past that. Those views have survived for much too long, and we have to acknowledge that quite a few of the most powerful witches and wizards ever were not of pure-blood status."

Harry noted that many people in the crowd went slightly pale or gave small gasps of disbelief. He knew that there would be pureblood supremacists here, but he also knew they wouldn't feel confident enough in this environment to speak out. He hoped that his speech would help dissuade them of their bigoted views.

"Our next step to a better future needs to be unity. We have always been separated, from the time that we are eleven years old and are sorted at Hogwarts. Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, or Slytherin — we're all wizards or witches and we're all equal. In order to reach our potential as a society, we have to work together and strive towards the happier future that we all want for our children and grandchildren."

The crowd was stunned, but Harry liked to think that it was because he had never spoken out politically and not because they disagreed with what he was saying. He rather liked being listened to. Years and years of feeling ignored by so many — the Dursleys, frequently Dumbledore, and even sometimes his closest friends — brought Harry a great feeling of accomplishment at his voice finally being heard

"Every single horror that I, and probably most of the people here, have experienced in my life has happened because, at some point, someone else looked down upon them and said, 'I am above them'. And they were wrong, but someone else believed them, and it led straight to pure-blood superiority being a widely accepted idea by many people. This led to people like Voldemort taking advantage of people's fears and sense of superiority and conning them into an unnecessary war that killed hundreds. Without the initial thought that led to the societal norm that is pure-blood superiority, thousands of lives throughout history could have been saved."

"Some of you might argue that this is simply a wizarding tradition. But can a tradition really be allowed to continue as a tradition if it's going to continue to kill thousands of people in the future? I say we put a stop to it now and save those thousands of lives. If we teach our children that treating others as if they're beneath you is wrong, then not only will we be raising kind-hearted, unbiased people, but they will teach their children those same ideals. This will inevitably lead to a stronger community among all witches and wizards along with a kinder world with much less prejudice than before."

Harry suddenly realized that his speech had gone on longer than he told Kingsley it should have and he turned to him sheepishly, shrugging his shoulders apologetically. The man just smiled and gestured for him to continue.

"Now, I know there are others who can say this much better than I can, and I'm going to step aside and let you hear from them. I'd like to thank you all for coming here today and wanting to help us lead the Ministry to a better future along with the whole Wizarding World. I ask you to heed my advice, for a better future for all of us. After all, the stars will never be won by little minds; we must be as big as space itself."

Harry smiled as the crowd applauded rapturously. His speech had gone better than he had ever expected! Whatever nerves he had previously had were gone with the rush of adrenaline that came with a speech well-spoken.

For the final time, Harry leaned forward and said, "Thank you."

Nobody heard it over their own loud cheers and claps, but he felt the need to thank them again anyway. Without many of the witches and wizards in that room, Harry would have never been able to make it to where he was today. And today was most definitely one of the happiest days of his life.

As Harry stepped away from the podium, it marked a new beginning.

A new beginning for the Ministry, as they would begin to change the racist laws that their previously corrupted administration had put into place.

A new beginning for Hogwarts, as staff would begin to put an emphasis on house inclusivity and encourage inter-house friendships.

And most importantly, a new beginning for Harry, as he could let go of the horrors and traumas of his past as he would move on to a bigger and brighter future.