The Gryffindor common room was a cozy, oval-shaped space filled with plush armchairs. Two spiral staircases led up to the boys' and girls' dormitories, and at the entrance hung the famous portrait of the Fat Lady.
At the moment, several newspapers were scattered across the armchairs, while near the foot of the stairs, a group of younger Gryffindor students were chatting excitedly—
"Hey, have you seen today's The Daily Prophet?"
"No… isn't it always the same old stuff? I stopped reading it ages ago."
"No, no, no! They launched a new column today—it's about the heroic witches and wizards who have risen in the fight against You-Know-Who."
"Really? That actually sounds pretty interesting!"
"Yeah… today's the first issue, and it features Professor Horace Slughorn's life story."
"Professor Slughorn? Seriously? Isn't he the Head of Slytherin? I never would've thought he was one of the heroes fighting You-Know-Who!"
"That's right. You should really read that interview—it's an exclusive by the famous reporter Rita Skeeter. My mum's a huge fan of hers…"
"So what does it actually say?"
"It says that starting sixteen years ago, Professor Slughorn infiltrated the Death Eaters while secretly working for the Order of the Phoenix…"
"…Wait… the Order of the Phoenix? What's that?"
"Oh, the column actually explains it at the beginning. It's an organization founded by our former headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, to fight You-Know-Who and the Death Eaters. Apparently, a lot of famous witches and wizards are members—like the current Minister for Magic's brother, and even some of our school's Heads of House…"
"I see… I've never even heard of it before!"
"Professor Slughorn risked his life passing information from inside the Death Eaters to the Order of the Phoenix… They say the reason You-Know-Who was defeated again a month ago was largely because he uncovered You-Know-Who's real plan…"
...
As the younger Gryffindors continued their animated discussion, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley walked over.
Unsurprisingly, they were talking about the same article in The Daily Prophet.
"Who would've thought The Daily Prophet would ever be on our side?" Harry said with a hint of sarcasm. It was clear he still hadn't forgotten how the paper had smeared him and Dumbledore over the past year or two.
"Well, You-Know-Who's been defeated now," Ron said, trying to reassure him. "Still, I didn't expect the first interview to be about Slughorn… I only found out a few days ago he was part of the Order of the Phoenix. I thought they'd start with Mad-Eye or Remus…"
"Who knows?" Harry shrugged. "Seems like it's getting a pretty good response, though."
"As Hermione would say… the wizarding world needs heroes right now." Ron nodded thoughtfully. "I've got a feeling the next few interviews will be even more explosive!"
After a pause, Ron added, "Oh, right—Harry, I think Slughorn mentioned your mum in the interview…"
"My mum was one of his favorite students," Harry said shortly, clearly not wanting to dwell on it.
"Harry!"
A sudden shout from the side nearly made him jump.
It was Colin Creevey, a fifth-year, clutching a stack of books as he hurried back into the Gryffindor common room.
"Afternoon, Colin…" Harry said, a bit awkwardly.
"I heard—you're a member of the Order of the Phoenix too?" Colin exclaimed, wide-eyed.
"What—well… yes, I am… but how did you—" Harry stammered.
"I heard it from a portrait near the Headmaster's Office! That's incredible… I never imagined you were one of those heroes risking your life to fight You-Know-Who…" Colin said loudly, staring at Harry with open admiration.
His voice carried clearly across the room.
The entire Gryffindor common room seemed to quiet down. Students everywhere—including the younger ones who had been chatting earlier—turned to look at Harry in astonishment.
Sensing things might get out of control, Ron gave Harry a light nudge. Amid a sea of admiring gazes, the two of them quickly slipped away up the spiral staircase to the boys' dormitory.
...
At the same time, several corridors away in the Headmaster's Office, Jon was keeping a close eye on the situation.
"I hear the response to that interview has been quite good," Jon said calmly, glancing at the portraits around him.
"Seems that way," Headmaster Everard nodded. "I just came from the Ministry of Magic—everyone there is talking about it."
"A promising start," Headmistress Dilys Derwent added with a smile. "I heard plenty of witches and wizards discussing it at St. Mungo's just now."
"But it's not all good news," Jon said calmly. "I just received a letter from The Daily Prophet's editorial office, signed by their editor-in-chief, Barnabas Cuffe—"
"Mr. Barnabas Cuffe says that some senior officials in the Ministry's Department of Magical Law Enforcement are quite dissatisfied with the article. They believe The Daily Prophet is clearly implying that the Ministry performed incompetently in the war against You-Know-Who…"
"Isn't that the truth?" a headmaster in the corner suddenly interjected.
That immediately drew laughter.
"What should we do?" Dilys Derwent asked, looking at Jon with concern. "Are you saying this column might be forced to shut down after just one issue because of pressure from the Ministry?"
"Of course not." Jon shook his head. "In fact, I've already arranged the next round of interviews. I've contacted Hestia Jones, Sturgis Podmore, and Alastor Moody—they'll be speaking with Rita Skeeter in a few days."
"You're planning to feature all of them together this time?" Everard asked.
"Not quite." Jon shook his head again. "They'll simply be sharing their memories of a fallen member of the Order of the Phoenix—someone who died sixteen years ago."
"Edgar Bones."