In the Ministry of Magic's resplendent Entrance Hall, a crowd of reporters had gathered. Around the Fountain of Magical Brethren—its set of solid-gold statues depicting witches, wizards, a Centaur, a Goblin, and a House-elf, with jets of water spraying from different parts of the sculpture—they had set up all sorts of photographic equipment.
The reporters bustled about, preparing for interviews, while several Ministry of Magic employees directed tables, chairs, and red cloth to fly into place in front of the fountain, setting up the platform for the press conference. Though the scene was busy, everyone took care to keep their voices down, and the hall never grew too noisy.
Every few seconds, with a soft "pop" and a burst of green flame out of thin air, a wizard emerged from one of the row of fireplaces, then made their way to the neatly arranged seats around the fountain and sat down. As time gradually passed, aside from the fountain's tinkling, splashing water, there was hardly any sound.
After a while, a noisy rush of footsteps came. The photographers immediately swung their Video Cameras around, aiming their lenses at the arrivals. Owen strode over with Lenn and Allen.
Owen and the others sat down calmly before the press seats. Using silent and wandless technique, Owen cast Sonorus. After a brief welcome, he said, "As everyone knows, yesterday a battle took place between the Ministry of Magic and You-Know-Who and his Death Eaters. In this battle, many of our Auror comrades disregarded their own safety and did everything in their power to ensure the security of our Magical World. After deliberation, the Ministry of Magic has decided to commend the Aurors who distinguished themselves. I will now announce the list of honorees..."
In Owen's steady voice, one valiant Auror after another stepped