|
The Time of Destiny | ||||||
|
Category: Post-OotP, Buried Gems Characters:All Genres: Action/Adventure, Fluff, General Warnings: Death, Sexual Situations, Violence Story is Complete Rating: R Reviews: 503 Summary: Sequel to "The Refiner's Fire." Harry Potter returns to Privet Drive for the last time, prior to his Seventh Year at Hogwarts. Much to the Dursley's surprise, Remus is going to stay with him due to a head injury Harry received on the train. The Dursleys are not happy with this situation, as you can well-imagine. This fic covers both the summer before Harry's seventh year, and his entire last year at school. Canon-based with some OC. Ships, for those who care: H/G, R/H, R/T Hitcount: Story Total: 508964; Chapter Total: 19433 Awards: View Trophy Room |
Previous Next |
|
||||
|
DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. Author notes: Many thanks to my brilliant Brit-picker, Kelpie, and my betas, Blakevich, Starfox, Iris and Asad. St. Rita, after whom I named a hospital in Holland, is the patron saint of healing of wounds, so I thought that name would be appropriate. “Stonker” was my Brit-picker’s suggestion when I had “doozie” in a speech of Harry’s about the hexes Ginny knows (“and she knows some doozies!”). You can join the Yahoo! Group for this fic at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPR efinersFire A sudden gust of cool air from the door being thrown open awakened Harry. He glanced around blearily. Someone had removed his glasses. Even without them, he knew the tall, angry redhead storming into the room was Ron. “What’s going on? This was supposed to take an hour, that’s all!” Ron demanded. With one glance at Harry, Ron whipped out his wand and pointed it steadily at Healer Pomfrey’s heart. “What have you done to him?” Remus raised his hands in a placating gesture. “The tests were more extensive and more painful than Healer Pomfrey expected them to be, Ron.” When he saw Remus, Ron lowered his wand. “Why didn’t someone let me know? I’ve been worried sick since he’s been so long, and Ginny has been calling us at the shop on the Floo Network so often we can’t get anything done.” He noticed Harry was awake and smiling at him. “Harry, mate, are you all right? Talk to me!” “Came to rescue me, did you?” Harry said wearily, but with a chuckle in his voice. “Thanks!” “After some of the stuff you’ve been through, when you didn’t turn up after an hour, I started to wonder. When you didn’t show up after two hours, I started to worry. And after three hours with no word from you, I came to look for you.” He straightened up, squaring his shoulders proudly. “I think I gave that ruddy nurse out there a good scare!” “Tell me everything,” Harry said, absolutely delighted Ron had come to look for him. “Oh, no. I’ll get skinned alive if I don’t report back to Mum straightaway! And you’d better call Ginny on that ring. She’s about to lose her mind worrying that you’ve been kidnapped or something,” Ron replied seriously. “She didn’t want to call you in case you were in the middle of something. . .um. . .delicate.” He glanced at his friend’s bare shoulders. He knew Harry probably had to be nude for these exams due to the wide extent of his injuries, and he hated to think how he, himself, would feel about that. It must be a nightmare for his friend. His ears a bit pink at this thought, Ron turned to the healers. “I’m sorry for bursting in on you and all that. I didn’t know Remus was here to look after Harry.” “I wasn’t here until a little while ago,” Remus said. “Harry was here alone. Your instincts were good, Ron. Thanks for looking after him so well.” Ron shrugged, his ears growing pinker under Remus’s praise. “’S’OK. I knew he didn’t want to bother you about it, since you’ve been spending so much time away from work to look after him. I thought I should . . .well. . .anyway, where’s a fire so I can call my mum and my brothers?” They directed him to the nearest fire on the Floo Network while Harry called Ginny on his ring. “Hi, sweetheart,” he said, smiling at her translucent face hovering above his ring. “Are you all right? What’s taking so long?” she cried, just as worried as Ron had said she was. “I’m fine,” Harry assured her. “No, you’re not. I can see you, remember? You look awful. And you’re lying down, aren’t you?” “How could you tell that?” he said, astonished. “The way your hair is lying, silly,” she said fondly. “What’s wrong, Harry? Don’t lie to me!” He sighed. “The tests were a lot more painful than I expected, and it’s taken them a lot longer to do the examination than I thought it would. Now we’re waiting for the specialist’s mentor to come here after a meeting he’s in or something. He knows more about wounds like mine than the specialist who examined me this morning, so they tell me.” “So are they going to hurt you again?” she said, aghast. “I expect so. It seems to be the only way for them to work out how bad my injuries are,” he said with half a shrug. Ginny’s face leaned toward him seriously. “You’re scared, aren’t you?” she asked in a whisper. He swallowed hard, determined to be brave for her. “It’ll be over soon. I’ll call you then, all right?” “Answer me, Harry. You’re scared, aren’t you?” she insisted. He hesitated a long time before muttering, “I’m all right.” “I’ll be right there,” she said and turned off her ring before he could protest. A few minutes later, Ron came back to the room with Ginny behind him. “I was talking to Mum and Ginny just pushed her aside and came through the fire,” he said in response to Harry’s look of surprise. “She’s determined to stay here and look after you.” “Ginny, you didn’t have to come,” Harry protested, trying hard to hide his gratitude for her being there. “Yes, I did,” she said authoritatively. She bent down and kissed him, then ran her hands through his hair. “You look more than a bit peaky, sweetie. Mum wants you and Remus to come out for dinner so she can feed you up. She thinks you’re still not getting enough to eat at your aunt’s house.” “She doesn’t have to. . .” he began. “She knows that. Now behave yourself and let me find out what’s going on, all right?” she said determinedly. “I just love it when you take over my life,” he said with a tender smile and a chuckle in his voice. “I know you do,” she murmured, leaning down to kiss him again before she turned and strode over to where the healers were conferring in the corner. “What’s going on here? What else do you plan to do to him?” “Hello, Miss Weasley,” Marcus said fondly. He introduced her to the other healer and told her what they’d done so far, and what they expected to do once Healer Litteken arrived. “He’ll need a considerable amount of home care, so it’s good you showed up.” “Considerable amount of home care?” Harry called from across the room. “What do you mean, ‘considerable amount of home care’?” He sounded very annoyed. “You never said anything. . . .” “I did tell you that there would be a long-term treatment to reduce the scarring, Harry. That’s what I’m talking about,” Marcus explained. “Oh,” Harry said in a small voice, looking somewhat vexed. “But I don’t have to stay in bed, do I?” “Absolutely not,” Marcus assured him. “Once the specialist has finished today, you’ll be free to do whatever you can comfortably do. So that means you’ll need to wait a little while before you try flying again, but other things should be fine.” A nurse opened the door and called Healer Grener outside. She was gone for several minutes, during which time Marcus enjoyed visiting with the Weasleys and Remus. Harry was in much better spirits with his friends around him. Polly came back into the room, followed by a wizened old wizard. Through the open door, they could see at least fifteen others of various ages pushing each other to look inside the room. “Um. . .Mr. Potter?” Healer Grener said hesitantly. “Who are all those people?” Ginny said fiercely. “What’s going on? Did somebody tell the media that Harry’s here?” Polly hastened to make introductions. “This is Healer Litteken, my mentor, and those people are the healers from the seminar he gave today. Since Mr. Potter’s injuries are so severe and so rare, Healer Litteken thought this would be an excellent learning opportunity for the staff here at St. Mungo’s.” She looked hopefully at Harry. “Is that all right with you?” Harry was blushing madly. It was bad enough to have two healers examining him. Having to put up with the whole agonizing process for another one was nearly more than he could bear, but to have the room full of people who were going to see him naked, talk about him as if he wasn’t there, maybe touch his scars? He shuddered nervously. “No.” “But, Mr. Potter, we don’t get to see this type of injury often. I’ve never seen anything so extensive, nor this particular type of injury, and I’ve been a specialist for years,” Polly said, doing her best to persuade him. “If we get another such injury and Healer Litteken and I aren’t here, no one will know how to treat it. “Harry, I’m so sorry about all of this,” Marcus interjected. “I had no idea the wounds would heal as badly as they did and need such specialized treatment. I did the best I could to put you together properly when you were injured, but I didn’t have proper training in such things either. I was just trying to keep you alive.” “I know that,” Harry replied cautiously. “I appreciate what you did for me.” “Healer Grener is right, though. If neither she nor Healer Litteken, or possibly me, since as your primary healer I’m observing closely today, are around if you get hurt this way again, no one will know how to treat your wounds,” Marcus said, hoping he was explaining things in a way that the young man would understand. “This is a priceless learning opportunity. It’s a quiet day in the hospital, as well, so we have a lot of healers who are free and interested in learning this healing technique. That’s why they’re all standing out there in the hall — they’re hoping to have the chance to learn something to improve their healing skills. What they learn here today will be added to the teaching criteria in our healer schools, as well. Your case could be very important to improving the care of future patients.” Harry’s face grew thoughtful. He looked around at his friends, then back at Marcus. “I’m not thrilled with this whole idea,” he said cautiously. “Mr. Potter,” Healer Litteken began with a small, gracious inclination of his head, “it is a tremendous honour to meet you. I read about your battles and heard about your wounds. I’m very sorry you were so grievously injured. Healer Grener has told me the results of her examination and the questions she has which she believes I may be able to answer. There aren’t many healers left working today who were active during our last troubles, so there are few who can pass along the knowledge of dealing with such extreme and unusual injuries. You have presented us with a wonderful opportunity to broaden the education of the staff here at St. Mungo’s, if you will just permit these others, all of whom are fully qualified healers, to observe what we do here.” He gestured toward the closed door, beyond which the group of healers awaited Harry’s decision. “They are here to learn. Will you please allow them this opportunity? It may well benefit others who are wounded in the conflicts facing our people these days.” Remus stepped forward, standing protectively between Harry and the healers. “I’m Harry’s godfather, Remus Lupin. He doesn’t seem to be comfortable with this idea. I would prefer there to be as few healers in here as possible — just you and these two. However, he’s nearly an adult, and it’s up to him to decide what he wants to do.” He glanced at Harry and saw the boy’s anxious eyes flitting from one stranger to another. “If he does agree — and I’m not saying he will — they will need to treat him with respect. Too often, people treat Harry as. . .an object or something, just because he’s famous. He doesn’t need that. And Dumbledore didn’t approve all of these others being here. Harry’s safety is our primary concern.” “Oh, Mr. Lupin, of course!” Healer Litteken assured him. “We are all professionals here. They will observe, and at times may come forward to see something I wish to point out to them, but that’s all. They’ll remain quiet and none of us will bother him any more than necessary.” Remus turned to his godson, raising an eyebrow to him. “Harry?” “Ginny, you want to be a healer,” Harry said suddenly, gazing deeply into his girlfriend’s eyes. “What do you think?” She thought for a few moments before answering. “Since it’s you, I’d rather you didn’t have to do it. But if I were a healer and such an unusual case came to the hospital, I’d want to see how it was treated so I’d learn how to treat it myself if I ever had such a case to deal with,” she said carefully. “But you have to do what feels right to you, sweetheart.” Harry looked at Marcus. “Are you sure all of them are all right?” Marcus stepped into the hall and looked at the group waiting there, studying each face in turn. He returned to the room and said, “I’ve known all of them for at least three or four years. They should be fine.” Harry sighed deeply, steeling himself, then nodded. “Let them in.” Marcus went to the door and spoke to the group of healers gathered in the hall, telling them the behaviour that would be expected of them while observing the treatment. A few moments later, they filed in and grouped themselves along the walls of the room. As they settled in place and Healer Grener began explaining Harry’s injuries to them, Harry looked from one healer to the next, studying their faces, wondering uneasily if he should really trust them, or if he was putting himself in danger somehow. His eyes shot back abruptly toward someone he’d studied a moment before. He swiftly grabbed his wand from the bedside table and pointed it toward that person. “Push up your sleeve,” he ordered, suddenly deadly serious. “What?” the man said, his face stunned. “Do it,” Harry replied sternly as he sat up, his wand not wavering a bit despite his exhaustion. The man in question looked around and saw Remus, Ron and Ginny all had their wands pointed at his heart. “What’s the matter?” Healer Litteken said uneasily, astonished at the behaviour of Harry and his friends. “He has a Dark Mark. I saw the edge of it when he scratched his arm a minute ago,” Harry growled. “I said push up that sleeve! Do it, or I’ll do it for you!” The man complied with shaking hands. “I renounced the Dark Lord years ago,” he said in a quavering voice as the Dark Mark emerged from under his sleeve. “That doesn’t seem to matter to most Death Eaters,” Harry snarled. “All of you. Push up your sleeves.” Most of the healers complied immediately, but three hesitated. They were instantly faced with either a stern-faced Weasley or Remus, after which they pushed their sleeves up obediently. “Four,” Harry growled. He turned enraged eyes on Healer Litteken. “Did you know you were bringing four Death Eaters in to see me?” he demanded, his wand now on the elderly healer’s heart. “No, I did not,” Healer Litteken said, looking sadly at the four men who were now being tied up with Incarcerous Charms. “These men have been on staff here for years. I trained many of them myself.” “That doesn’t matter. They could still be active Death Eaters. They seem to come from all walks of life,” Remus said sternly. “I’ll go and call the Aurors. They can get to the bottom of this.” He and Ron pushed the four men, none too gently, outside the room. “We’ll be back as soon as we can, Harry,” Remus called over his shoulder. “If they’ve been cleared of all charges, they’ll be back here soon,” Harry assured the now much less confident healers gathered in his room. “But as you can imagine, it’s not safe for me to just allow Death Eaters to be part of a group such as this.” “We completely understand, Harry,” Marcus said, very upset by the turn of events. “I didn’t know those men had the Dark Mark. I would never have allowed them in here–” “I know,” Harry replied quietly. “You, I trust. These others are all strangers to me. You know I have to be careful.” “Yes, I know,” Marcus agreed, mentally kicking himself for not warning Polly more seriously about bringing strangers near Harry. “If you can vouch for these others,” Harry said, looking from Marcus to Healer Litteken to the group hovering nervously around the edges of his room, “they can stay and watch.” “Harry,” Marcus replied, “I know all of these people, and I think they’re fine. But I will help Ginny stand guard if that will help.” He lifted his wand and aimed it at the other healers, then glanced at Ginny, whose wand was still pointed at the group, her eyes scanning cautiously from person to person, watching for any sudden moves from any of them. “Thanks,” Harry replied. He looked at the gathered healers. “I should warn you. She’s a bit quick with her hexes, and she knows some stonkers. Don’t make any sudden moves she might misunderstand, OK? We don’t want anyone to get hurt here.” He slid his legs over the side of exam table so he could sit up more comfortably, his wand still in his hand. He opened his hand and allowed the wand to remain on the table, his hand resting quietly over it. “Can we get on with this, please? I’d like to leave soon.” “Of course, Mr. Potter, of course,” Healer Litteken said effusively. “I’m sorry for the problem. Thank you for allowing the others to stay. I’m sure this treatment will be an excellent learning experience for them.” “OK,” Harry said, relaxing a bit as he felt a small hand slide under his and squeeze it. Ginny had been on the far side of the exam table when the group came in, and hadn’t moved from her spot. She was keeping her eyes on all the strangers, and her wand, as well, but she wanted Harry to know she was there to comfort him too. He smiled and squeezed her hand in return before she pulled it away from him so she could concentrate on guarding him. Healer Litteken took out his wand and a crystal ball, then started examining Harry’s scars as soon as the boy took off the hospital gown. Once again, Harry was clutching the gown in front of him, trying to conserve a bit of his modesty. He turned around obediently, answered questions asked by any of the healers and cooperated in every way he could. He was not going to bring out his wings for these people, and was relieved when the subject never even came up. After a while, the elderly healer had the others come forward one at a time to look through his crystal ball, which he was holding on top of certain spots in the massive scarring on the boy’s back, to see the damage inside Harry’s body. Ginny leaned around and glanced at it too, earning a smile from the old healer. “I understand you want to be a healer, young lady,” Litteken said kindly. “Would you like to look closer?” “I have to watch them,” she said regretfully. “I can do that,” Harry said, picking up his wand as he stood up and stepped a bit away from the table so the healer and Ginny could stand behind him. “I’ll watch them and you can see my insides, how’s that?” Ginny smiled at his flippancy, but gratefully stepped in behind him to see what the healer had been showing his students. “You see, Miss Weasley, how the striations of the muscles line up beside each other, so neatly, yes?” She nodded. “This is good muscle tissue — and I must say, he has very well toned muscles,” the old man chuckled, “as I’m sure you’ve noticed!” Ginny blushed and smiled back at him. “Yes, I’ve noticed.” He moved the crystals over the worst of Harry’s injuries. “Here we see where the tissues have not knit together properly. You see how the little lines in the muscles look almost knotted?” She nodded. “This is what we’ll be working on today.” He turned to his students and began an explanation. Ginny ducked out from behind Harry and took up her guardian stance once more, just as Ron and Remus re-entered the room. “Harry? Is everything OK here?” Remus asked cautiously. “Yes, it’s fine,” Harry assured him as he put down his wand and sat on the edge of the exam table. “What happened?” “The Aurors took them to the Ministry for questioning,” Remus replied, choosing a place along the wall to stand and turning his wand on the remaining healers, just as Ron was doing. “Ginny, we’ll stand guard so you can watch what they’re doing.” “Thanks,” she said, not lowering her wand. Healer Litteken looked from Remus to the two Weasleys a bit uneasily, then cleared his throat and got back to work. “I’ve just completed the examination, and am about to begin healing the damage to Mr. Potter’s muscle tissues,” he explained. “Mr. Potter has been kind enough to allow my students to observe the examination closely. Now I will begin the repair work. Mr. Potter, if you would lie down, please?” “Which way?” “On your stomach to start with. I will heal the worst injuries first, working my way down to the least serious ones, in order to get as much healing accomplished as possible while your stamina lasts. This will not, I regret to say, be a comfortable process for you. We will give you another potion to ease the discomfort when the one you received recently wears off. We do not want you to be completely unconscious, as we’ll need you to move various ways, stretch and contract different muscles, from time to time. I’m afraid you will feel some pain at times. I do apologize for that, young man. The worst will be when I’m creating new tissue to fill in the gaps where you’ve had large sections of muscle tissues cut out of you. I will be, in essence, stretching the existing muscles to fill the gap, and then will magically enhance them so they will replace the tissues that were lost. The stretching of those tissues will be most uncomfortable, I’m afraid, and there’s nothing we can do about it. The next most painful will be the untangling of those ‘knotted’ places such as I showed Miss Weasley. The least painful will be where the tissues are already trying to close gaps where they’ve been cut straight across the tissues, so closing those gaps won’t be complicated. Do you understand the process I’ve described?” he asked. Harry nodded, a look of resignation on his face as he took his glasses off and put them carefully on the shelf by the exam table. He turned and lay down on his stomach, his face buried in his good right arm, his left arm lying stiff at his side. He could use it, but pulling it up to help support his head was too painful, with the limited range of motion he had developed since overtaxing his muscles by flying like a bird too soon after being injured. “How long will this take?” Ginny asked quietly. “At least two hours, possibly more, depending on how things go and how often we need to let him rest,” the old wizard replied. “Try to relax, Mr. Potter. We’ll take the best possible care of you.” The healing process went on for nearly four hours. Ginny stood at Harry’s head, free now to comfort him since Ron and Remus were keeping an eye on the strangers in the room. She ran her fingers through his silky hair over and over, leaning down to murmur things in his ear from time to time. Every so often, Harry cried out in pain, but most of the time he managed to keep his reactions to grunts. The other healers were allowed to come, one at a time, and observe the method the old wizard was using to knit Harry’s muscles together, one small section at a time to minimize scarring and give him as much freedom of motion as possible. “You’re doing beautifully, sweetheart,” Ginny murmured at one point. He just grumbled something in response. “What was that, sweetie?” she asked, leaning down closer to him. “I said, if I live through this,” he groaned suddenly, then continued when he caught his breath again painfully, “if I live through this, I’ll . . .oh bloody hell, I’ve forgotten.” He sounded quite disgusted about it. The strain of the long healing session was showing quite clearly on Ginny’s face, but Harry couldn’t see that. When he made his comment, she forced herself to snort with laughter, knowing he’d tried to come up with something funny to say to try to comfort her. “That’s my sweet baby, always finding ways to make me laugh,” she murmured tenderly, kissing the back of his head and continuing to soothe him with her gentle caresses. Finally, the old healer was finished with the young man’s back, and had done as much as he could with Harry’s side as well. “I need to turn you on your back now, Mr. Potter. You relax. I’ll do it with a Levitation Charm, and I’ll be as careful as possible.” He raised his wand, did the “swish and flick” movement while muttering the incantation, and lifted Harry’s body gently off of the examination table, rotating the young man’s body slowly in mid-air until he was face up, then every so lightly settled his body back on the table. “All right, Mr. Potter?” the healer asked kindly. “Yeah,” Harry grunted, then shifted around a bit uncomfortably. When he’d been lifted, his hospital gown had been left behind, and now he was bare to the world. He felt a blush suffusing his whole body. The healer saw Harry’s flushed skin and noticed the gown still bunched up uncomfortably under the young man’s back. He smiled and Levitated his patient off the table just enough to pull the gown out from under him, then spread it across Harry’s lap with no comment, earning a relieved half-smile from his patient. “Better?” Healer Litteken said with a smile. “Much,” Harry replied, his blush beginning to recede. “Thanks.” “My apologies,” the old man muttered. “I should have brought that along with you in the Levitation Spell.” Ginny leaned over Harry’s face and caught his eye, giving him a lascivious wink and stifling a giggle. “Oh, you are a bad girl,” Harry teased her quietly, making her laugh out loud. She leaned down and gave him an upside-down kiss. “Mmm, that was fun. We’ll have to try that when I’m not in agonizing pain sometime,” he said with a silly grin. “I’ll make a note of that, sir,” she replied saucily. She smoothed his hair back from his face, her gentle touch more comforting than anything Harry could have imagined. “I’m so glad you came,” he murmured. “I don’t know how I’d get through this without you.” “Always happy to be of service,” she said cheekily, then rubbed noses with him. Harry couldn’t believe Ginny was being so openly affectionate in front of so many strangers, but she was doing an excellent job of keeping his mind off of his pain. He’d have to find some wonderful way to repay her for this immense kindness she was doing for him. After what seemed like a lifetime of painstaking and very painful, to poor Harry, work, the old wizard finally straightened up and said, “It’s done. That’s the very best I can do, and my best is rather something, if I do say so myself.” He turned to the watching healers, who had remained silent throughout the entire procedure. “You are dismissed. I hope that you will never need to use what you learned here today, but if you do, now you’re prepared.” As the group left, a charming, impish smile creased the old wizard’s weary face. “I haven’t worked that hard in a long time. I could use some chocolate.” He fumbled through his pockets as he spoke. “I believe this young man would benefit from some as well.” Remus was already holding out a bar of Honeyduke’s Best, while Ron stood there with a handful of chocolate frogs as his offering. Healer Litteken gratefully took a frog from Ron’s hands, exclaiming delightedly when he opened it and found a Harry Potter Famous Wizard Card in the package. “Oh, this is a good omen!” the old man said cheerily. “I’ve collected these cards since my youth. I heard about the Harry Potter ones but this is the first one I’ve found! How lovely!” Harry had rolled onto his right side, his face weary and pale. He was chewing on a huge chunk of Honeyduke’s Best from Remus’s bar. “How long before he’s back to full strength?” Ginny asked, taking one of Ron’s frogs and quickly biting its head off before it could jump away. “His muscles are well on their way to a good recovery now,” the old wizard said. “You’ll need to take it easy for a week, Mr. Potter. No heavy lifting, nothing that will strain those muscles.” “No Quidditch?” Harry asked suddenly. “I have a game this Saturday.” “But school’s out, isn’t it?” Healer Litteken said, perplexed. “I promised Healer Pomfrey a game, and Saturday is the first time he’s been available,” Harry replied with a shrug. “I’m free on Saturday two weeks from now, as well,” Marcus told Harry. “Let’s make it then and not take any chances, all right?” “Yeah, that’s fine,” Harry agreed. “As for the scars themselves,” Litteken said, “I believe Healer Grener has the proper potions for you.” He glanced at her and she nodded. “Yes? Good! It will take about a month for those to do their job completely.” “So no flying for a month?” Harry said, aghast. “You can certainly fly, Mr. Potter,” Litteken replied. “We’re talking about superficial injuries here — all the deep tissues have been reassembled and will heal quickly now, as you’ll find when you touch the places where the scars are thickest. They have already become smaller, simply by the underlying tissues being put in their place correctly. Follow your healer’s orders and you’ll be your old self again very soon, young man!” “Herr Litteken,” Marcus said suddenly. “There’s something we couldn’t tell you with everyone here. Something you should be aware of.” He looked at Remus and Harry to see if they agreed. “What are you talking about?” Remus said suspiciously. “Harry’s flying,” Marcus said, giving Remus a significant look. “Oh,” Remus said, cottoning on. “Yes. Harry? What do you think?” Harry sighed. “May as well,” he muttered resignedly. “What are you talking about?” Herr Littekin said. Polly locked the door. “Harry has something to show you. We never did get that other set examined, either, Mr. Potter.” Harry sat on the edge of the exam table again, not looking forward to this at all. “Do I have to?” “Yes, Harry, it’s important,” Marcus replied. “All right.” He watched Herr Litteken’s face as he made the raven’s wings emerge. “Hey, that doesn’t hurt as much!” he said in relief. “What is this?” Litteken said, looking at the wings. “Harry is a multiple Animagus. If you can’t keep his secret, we’ll have to Memory Charm you,” Remus said quite seriously. “You need to examine him with his wings out to make certain everything is working properly,” Polly explained. “I see,” Litteken said, already examining the muscles where the wings attached, and then the wings themselves. “Very interesting. Yes, I see a small problem here,” he said, touching a wing. “It seems this wing has been damaged.” “It was the thestral’s wing that was damaged,” Harry said, pulling in the raven’s wings and looking around to see if there was room for the thestral’s. “Thestral?” Litteken said, his eyes wide. “Yeah,” Harry said. “Ron, can you shove that cart against the wall? My wings are going to be cramped in here as it is.” “No problem, mate,” Ron said, pushing the cart out of the way. “Stand back,” Harry warned. A tremendous pair of black bat-like wings emerged from his back, their span compressed by the confines of the room. “Hang on,” Remus said, then did an Enlarging Charm on the room. “Better?” “Yeah, thanks,” Harry said, spreading his wings wider now that the room had tripled in size. “Harry had a serious injury to that wing,” Remus explained, pointing to the scars there, “and it never healed quite right. He hasn’t flown much as a thestral since it healed because of that.” “It doesn’t feel as strong as it was,” Harry said, “and I don’t want to damage it further.” “I see,” Litteken replied, examining the wing closely. “Yes, I can repair these. You had serious damage here, young man.” A snort of laughter escaped Harry. “Yeah, I know.” A short time later, Litteken was finished. “I think you’ll do now, Mr. Potter. Thank you for showing me your wings. They were quite interesting to work on.” Harry flexed his wings, then beat them a bit. “That feels a lot better,” he said with a smile. He retracted his wings and stretched his arms above his head and in various directions. “My back feels loads better, but my left arm is still stiff,” he said, looking at the old healer curiously. “It will always be a bit stiff, Mr. Potter,” Litteken said sadly. “You lost too much tissue there for me to restore it perfectly.” “Would exercise improve it?” Harry asked. Certainly exercise will help with your range of motion as well as your strength, but that arm will always be a bit stiff. I’m sorry I can’t heal it completely,” Litteken said apologetically. “That’s OK,” Harry said with a shrug. “At least I still have an arm there and it works pretty well. And I’m right-handed anyway. Thanks for what you did for me.” “I’m glad I could help,” the old wizard said. Harry studied the scars on his chest and arm and asked the question he’d been dreading. “Erm. . .what will my scars look like when they’re healed?” he asked cautiously, wondering if they’d be like his curse scar, or the ragged one on his bum, or if they’d actually disappear the way the ones on his face had. “They will be faint, flat, thin lines on your body, I expect,” the old man assured him. “I don’t see any reason for them to heal with any more visible presence than that. The small ones should disappear completely, but the large ones will leave a faint mark.” “Wow! Thanks!” Harry said with a relieved grin. “That’s a lot better than I’d hoped for. When can I go back to work?” “You should rest tonight and tomorrow, then you can return to work — as long as there is no strenuous activity and you feel up to it — the next day,” Litteken replied. Harry looked at Ron. “You get all the strenuous activity, then,” he said with a cheeky grin. Ron just made a face at him in response. Harry held his hand out to the old man. “Thank you, sir. I appreciate what you’ve done for me.” “And I am honoured to have been of service to you, young man,” the healer said warmly, clasping Harry’s hand in both of his. “Take care of yourself. It was a pleasure to meet you.” “And you, as well,” Harry said with a smile. Goodbyes and thanks were said and the old healer left. Healer Grener showed Remus and Ginny how to apply the ointments to Harry’s scars and gave them directions on the potions he was to take, then she and Marcus left, as well. “Well, that was a day!” Ron said, breathing a sigh of relief. “Yeah,” Harry agreed. “Can you hand me my clothes? I can’t wait to get out of here!” Ginny turned her back as Ron helped Harry, who was still stiff, sore and not feeling his best, get dressed. “Mum’s making dinner for all of us,” Ginny called over her shoulder. “I hope you’re hungry!” “I could eat a horse,” Harry said wearily, “but I think I’m not going to be very good company. I need a nap pretty badly.” “Your bed’s probably in my room already,” Ron said. “Mum told me that she’d set it up in there when I talked to her earlier.” Harry smiled at his friend. “You Weasleys think of everything, don’t you?” “We try!” Ginny said with a grin. “Harry can’t stay there long,” Remus reminded them. “He has to go back to Privet Drive for a bit longer.” “Just for tonight, then, OK?” Ginny pleaded. “Yeah, Remus, just for tonight?” Harry agreed. “All right. Just for tonight, then,” Remus conceded with a laugh. Marcus came back into the room, looking upset. The others were instantly on guard. “What’s wrong?” Remus said, worry in his eyes. “Somebody called the press and told them Harry was here. They’ve been out there for hours. I’ve tried to get them to leave, but they demand to see you, Harry, to see if you’re all right. They want to know what happened. I’ve never dealt with something like this. I don’t know what to do. I’ve called Security, but the reporters are all behaving themselves, just waiting out there.” “Like vultures,” Harry said grimly. “Yes, I think you’re right,” Marcus agreed. “I don’t know who told them, but once we find out, that person will be fired. I did promise you anonymity when you agreed to come here and I was serious about that. There will be severe consequences once we get to the bottom of this. I am so very sorry, Harry.” “It wasn’t your fault, Healer Pomfrey. You, I trust. One of those others must have blabbed,” Harry said wearily. He looked at his godfather and his friends. “What do we do? We can’t Apparate from inside here. I could get out with Merlin, but they’d make up some awful story about me being dead or something.” He thought a moment, watching his friends nod in agreement with what he’d said. He sighed. “Where’s Hermione when I need her?” “Italy,” Ron replied sourly. “Yeah,” Harry agreed. “If she were here, she’d probably say we need to face this head-on,” Ginny said after a moment’s thought. “Get Healer Litteken to say what he did for you, and then you just make a brief statement that you were here for a check-up on your battle wounds, and Healer Litteken just happened to be here and decided to see if he could minimize your scarring. It’s all the truth, and there’s nothing there that’s too private to release, is there?” Harry considered what she’d said. “Remus? What do you think?” “I think she’s right,” he replied. Harry took a deep, calming breath and released it slowly. “All right. How do I look?” “You should get rid of the beard,” Ginny advised, “so you look the way they expect you to. And you’re pale and weak looking, but I think I can fix that,” she added with an impish smile. “Get rid of the beard?” Harry said, looking around at the others. Seeing their nods, he complied with her wishes. “Oh, I’ve missed your dimple!” she said, standing on tiptoe and trying to reach his chin. “Bend down here!” “Ginny,” Harry began, blushing fiercely as she got more and more aggressive in trying to reach his chin. “There! Your colour’s better already!” she said in satisfaction. “Huh?” he said, confused. “Before we see them, I’ll give you a big kiss and you’ll be so flushed, you’ll look completely healthy!” she said, pleased with her plan. And so it went, exactly as Ginny had said. Marcus led them toward the lobby, where a huge crowd of reporters and photographers waited. He had sent a message to Healer Litteken explaining the situation, so now the old wizard was waiting for them in the corridor with a serious-looking hospital official. After a brief conference with Marcus and Healer Litteken, the official strode to the front of the waiting crowd of journalists. “Ladies and gentlemen, please, may I have your attention? Thank you. I’m Colin Sheffield, the Administrator of St. Mungo’s. The person who told you that Harry Potter was a patient here is going to lose his job for breaking patient confidentiality. Mr. Potter was assured that he could come here quietly for a check-up, and yet, here you are. He deserves better than this, don’t you think? Don’t you want privacy when you go to see your healer?” He could see that his attempt at shaming them into treating Harry decently wasn’t having much effect. “Mr. Potter and a visiting professor of healing have agreed to speak to you briefly, in order to quell any rumours that may have started today. First to speak to you will be Healer Adelfried Litteken, visiting professor from St. Rita’s Hospital in Holland. He is an internationally renowned specialist in the treatment of deep tissue injuries and scars.” Healer Litteken gave a brief description of what he’d done and thanked Harry profusely for allowing other healers to learn by observing his treatment. He reminded the reporters that those healers who had observed were bound by their Healers’ Oath to protect Harry’s privacy, and that they would lose their jobs if they spoke to the press. When he was done, Marcus stepped into the corridor where Harry and his friends were waiting and waved them toward the lobby full of reporters. “I’m so sorry,” Marcus repeated. “It’s not your fault,” Harry told him resignedly as he passed by on his way to meet the gathered reporters. Harry’s friends weren’t going to allow him to face a room full of strangers alone. As they moved into the lobby, a grim-faced Ron went first, then Remus, Harry and Ginny. Just before Harry turned the corner into the lobby, Ginny touched his arm. “What?” he said nervously. “Come here, baby,” she said, pulling on his sleeve. He bent down and she gave him a kiss deep and long enough to make him fairly dizzy. “Wow,” he breathed. “Your colour’s better now. Go get ‘em!” she said with a smirk, quite satisfied with the results of her ministrations. When Harry turned the corner and followed Remus and Ron to the open area in front of the massed reporters, his stomach did flip-flops. There were probably twenty or more people jostling each other for the best view. Flashes of light went off as photographers did their jobs, leaving white spots in Harry’s vision. He blinked, unnerved at being nearly blinded temporarily, and determinedly looked away from the photographers and their still-flashing cameras. The hubbub died down when Harry and his friends stopped moving and stood facing the crowd with serious faces. Ron, Remus and Ginny had their wands out, but by their sides, by previous agreement. Harry had his hand on his wand, which was still in his pocket. Who knew what enemies might be hiding in plain sight by being part of this crowd? In addition to the reporters, a throng of hospital workers and ambulatory patients had gathered in the room, making the area stifling hot and claustrophobic. After a brief moment’s silence, the reporters started screaming out questions. Harry looked nervously at his godfather. He didn’t know how to deal with this stuff. What was he supposed to do? Ron looked around the room uneasily. There were so many potential threats here, with such a crowd facing Harry. How was he going to protect him? The reporters’ shrieking voices grated on his nerves, and suddenly, Ron’s temper snapped. “Knock it off!” he snarled. In the startled silence, he added, “How do you expect him to talk to you when you lot won’t shut up?” “Who are you?” one reporter called out. “Ron Weasley. If you want to talk to Harry, you’ll have to do it in an organized way or it just won’t happen.” The horrors his best friend had been through that day were bad enough, but now this? He would do whatever he had to in order to protect Harry, and if it meant hexing these reporters, or yelling at them at the very least, well, so be it. Harry looked at his friend, a slow smile spreading across his face. The months of giving the D.A. orders had turned shy, bumbling Ron into an authoritative person who was taking charge of the situation, capable of bossing even adult strangers around — and without blushing. Amazing. “Um,” Remus said quietly, “perhaps it would be good to introduce all of us, so you know who we are. You’ve met Ron. I’m Remus Lupin, Harry’s godfather. The young lady is Ginny Weasley. And of course, this is Harry Potter. Harry has been kind enough to agree to speak to you for a few minutes. He’s going to make a full recovery very quickly, but he’s tired now and needs to go home, so we won’t stay here long. If you have a question, please don’t shout, just raise your hand and wait for Harry to ask you to speak, all right? That way, we can all get home more quickly, without tiring him any more than necessary.” “Hold it right there,” Ginny snapped suddenly. She glared from one reporter to the next, paying close attention to those who were taking notes. “If I see another Quick Quotes Quill in use,” she said, setting fire to two she’d seen in the crowd, “I’ll do more than set fire to them. They don’t write the truth; they embellish on what’s said in all kinds of ways. That’s not honest reporting.” She stared at the reporters who still had their Quick Quotes Quills poised above the parchment. “Get out regular quills or I’ll burn those too,” she warned. Once they complied, she relaxed and said, “Carry on.” There was a long moment of silence after Ginny’s outburst, but then someone called out, “Harry, do you have a statement you want to make first?” “Um. . .yeah, I guess so,” he said quietly. He stood there looking at the crowd, wondering what he should say. Finally, it came to him. “You were told I was just here to get a check-up, and that’s true. Healer Litteken happened to be here today, so they went ahead with the treatment they thought I needed as well. He has already explained to you what they did, so I don’t need to talk about that. I appreciate their help. And I appreciate that they were trying to maintain my privacy. It’s not their fault you’re here.” His anger growing, he glared at them, stony-faced, his eyes flashing emerald fire. “You lot have not treated me kindly in the past, nor have you reported anything accurately. If you want the truth about why I needed to come here in the first place, read Hermione Granger’s article about the Battle of Little Hangleton. That’s the only factual reporting that’s been done about that battle. I’ll be checking to see how badly you’ve mangled what’s being said here today. If you ever want any cooperation from me again, you’ll report the truth and not make things up. I’m fine. I’m healthy. I had some injuries that scarred and needed to be treated. They were treated today, and I’m fine.” Some questions were shouted, and Remus raised a quelling hand. “If you don’t raise your hands, you won’t be called on to speak,” he said in his best professorial voice. The crowd quieted when they saw they weren’t going to have their way, and then a sea of upraised hands was waving in Harry’s face. He was trying to hold his temper, but he was tired, in some pain, and just wanted to be left alone. A small hand crept into his and squeezed it gently, Ginny letting him know she was still there for him and understood his dilemma. He took a deep breath and then pointed at a little old man nearly buried by the tall, aggressive younger reporters around him. “You, sir. No, not you,” he said, waving away the more insistent reporters around the old man. “You. In the dark blue robes. Yes, you, sir. What’s your question?” “Thank you, Mr. Potter!” the old man said in delight. “I’m Alfred Snowden, of the Wizards News Weekly. I would like to know your take on the war so far. I’d also like to hear Mr. Weasley’s opinion on it.” “Fine,” Harry said, relieved the question wasn’t too personal. “We are at war, but a lot of the wizarding world seems to want to keep their eyes closed about it, as if they’re hoping it will all go away. It won’t. Everyone needs to be prepared to defend what they believe in, to protect their loved ones and their property from the Death Eaters, and to support those who are fighting on their behalf. Voldemort is alive, he’s real, he’s powerful, but he can be defeated. Giving in to him isn’t the way to go forward — that just makes him more arrogant. People need to learn defensive skills and do whatever they can to fight back when they’re attacked.” He turned to his best friend. “Ron?” “Um, well, yeah,” Ron began, his ears red as fire. He was fine when he had to protect Harry, but giving his opinion to a crowd of reporters? How was he going to manage that? He glanced at Harry, who smiled encouragingly. “Ron’s the general of Dumbledore’s Army,” Harry said helpfully, “and his brilliant strategies saved a lot of lives, as well as helping ensure a victory for our side.” At that, Ron’s ears turned even pinker, but he straightened his broad shoulders, took a deep breath and finally began to speak. Once he started speaking, his passion for the subject took over and he was eloquent. “You wanted to know my views on the war? I think it’s a shame that kids are the ones having to fight it. Where are the adults, other than Aurors and our professors, of course, who should be out there fighting? You have teenagers out there putting their lives on the line while adults sit in their comfortable chairs and moan over the state of things. Get off your arses and help us!” His voice had an authoritative snap to it that had the reporters staring at the tall redhead in surprise. “We are doing everything we can, but we could use your help. Stop reporting things hysterically. Be more objective and calm in your reporting so you don’t scare people to death and keep them from being any use to the war effort. Stop undermining the authority of those who are fighting. You reporters are causing a lot of the problems we’re having. We will be watching how you report on this meeting today. We do have our own ways of releasing news, and we’ll use them if you print lies about what was said here.” He turned back to Harry. “That’s all I had to say.” “Well done, Ron,” Harry said with a proud grin at his friend. “Next question.” Harry chose another quiet reporter rather than the pushy ones. The questions went on for fifteen minutes before he called a halt. He looked at his watch and said, “It’s late. I’ve had a long day, so I’m going home. Your families might appreciate it if you went home and had dinner with them, as well. Goodbye.” Harry, Ginny, Ron and Remus arrived just as Molly was telling the twins to set the table. “You’re finally here! I was so worried!” she cried to the new arrivals, obviously thrilled to see all of them. “Harry, dear, come sit down! You do look a bit peaky, Ginny was right. How are you?” “I’m fine,” he began, and then was shouted down by both Ginny and Ron. “You’re never fine when you say you are!” they teased, which resulted in a burst of laughter all around. “OK! OK! I’m not fine!” he said, laughing with everyone else. “I’m sore, I’m tired, I’m a bit grouchy. How’s that?” he added with a cheeky grin. “That sounds like the truth to me!” Ginny said, ruffling his hair fondly as she sat on the arm of the chair where her mother had seated Harry. “Tell me everything,” Molly urged as she carried one heavily laden dish after another from the kitchen to the table. Arthur, Remus and Ron moved to help her, while the twins were making a royal muddle of setting the table because they kept trying to do it with magic and were playing more than working, as usual. Harry started to get up to help, but Ginny locked her fingers gently but firmly in his hair and said, “Stay put, Potter! You’re supposed to be resting!” “Ouch! You’re supposed to be coddling me, not abusing me!” he protested mildly, then gently tugged on her hair in retaliation. “Coddle, coddle,” she said, kissing him on the temple, then getting up and grabbing the cutlery that Fred was levitating to the table. “You’ll make a mess that way, Fred!” she fussed, sounding a great deal like her mother. She set the table quickly, shooing her brothers off to get the rest of the food and dishes while she straightened up what they’d already laid out. Dinner was a fun affair, as was usual in the Weasley household. Harry let the others tell all about the exhausting day he’d had, including the impromptu press conference at the end of his visit to St. Mungo’s, just responding when asked a direct question. He really was tired, and would like nothing better than to rest somewhere with Ginny in his arms. A nap sounded quite appealing, actually. The cheerful voices around him became a quiet buzz in the back of his mind as his eyes closed and his head drooped. “Oh, look,” Arthur said quietly. “The poor lad’s so knackered, he’s drifting off.” He looked at Ron. “Help him up to bed, why don’t you?” he suggested. “’K,” he replied. “C’mon, mate! Beddy-bye for peaky boys!” “Huh?” Harry said, snapping awake from his doze. “What?” “You need to lie down, dear. You’re exhausted,” Molly said kindly. Harry’s cheeks flamed scarlet. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to. . .” “Hush. You’ve had a hard day. Go and get some rest now, all right?” Molly urged him. “I honestly don’t want to go to bed right now,” he protested. “I’m fine.” He glared defiantly at all the smiling faces surrounding him. “If he’s so fine,” George teased, “let him do the dishes.” “And scrub the floors,” Fred added. “And feed the chickens” George said. “And milk the cow,” Fred said. “We don’t have a cow,” George corrected. “And catch a cow and then milk it,” Fred amended. “Boys!” Molly chided them. “Leave Harry alone!” Harry snorted into his glass of pumpkin juice. The twins were always good for a laugh, or a distraction, at the very least. “Come on, sweetie, let’s go and sit in the living room,” Ginny said, standing up and tugging on his arm. “Um. . .OK,” he agreed after looking to see if her parents would object. He stood and picked up his dishes, trying to clean up after himself. “No, no, leave those, Harry,” Molly said. “You go with Ginny. We’ll take care of your dishes.” “Thanks,” he said sincerely, then followed Ginny into the living room and settled himself in the big easy chair that was normally Arthur’s domain. “You sure your dad won’t mind?” he said as Ginny burrowed in next to him. The chair was wide enough that they could cuddle in together comfortably. Harry stretched out his long legs and put his feet on the cushy pouf in front of the chair. Ginny tucked her legs underneath herself. “No, he won’t mind,” she said, wriggling under his arm and putting her head on his shoulder. “Relax, sweetheart. Mum was right. You’re still peaky.” “Uh-huh,” he said, “I feel peaky, as well.” He tightened his arm around her and rested his cheek on her hair, and was soon asleep. His dreams were pleasant ones, of a happy family milling around cheerfully, low voices rumbling quietly in the distance, and a lovely warm presence snuggled up beside him. He sighed contentedly, thoroughly enjoying this blissful moment in his life. A stifled snort of laughter brought him close to wakefulness some time later. His eyes still closed, he became aware of a happy purring-type sound by his shoulder, and a lovely soft weight in his hand. Struggling up from the depths of his dreams, he remembered his arm was around Ginny. Ginny’s purring? He wondered absently, nestling his cheek more firmly in her hair, drinking in the scent of her as he did so and trying to get back to sleep. His hand moved a bit and he realised it was cupping Ginny’s breast. Seemingly with a mind of its own, his hand was stroking her breast, kneading it gently, then moving forward to envelope its sweet mass in his palm. That snort of laughter came again, quickly stifled, but enough to wake Harry up and make him withdraw his hand. He opened his eyes and saw the twins sitting across from him and Ginny, elbowing each other and enjoying the show. Ginny had dozed off as well, but his movement woke her. “Mmm, I was having the nicest dream,” she purred, stretching like a cat. “Me too,” he murmured, blushing madly as the twins finally broke in to full-bodied laughter. “What’s so funny?” Ginny asked muzzily, rubbing her eyes and yawning. “Oh, nothing. Just the thought of what would happen if it had been someone other than us who caught you two,” Fred offered. “Caught us?” Ginny asked, truly perplexed. Harry was beet red. “Erm. . .my hand . . .um. . .,” he stammered. “I’m didn’t mean to — I was asleep, after all — but my hand wasn’t. . .erm. . .on its best behaviour.” “Didn’t mean to. . .wasn’t. . .huh?” She sat back and looked up at him, completely baffled. He threw her a hint by rubbing the side of her breast with his thumb for the briefest possible moment. She blushed madly as well. “Oh! Erm. . .well. . ..you were asleep. It’s OK,” she assured him. “What are you two grinning about?” Molly asked the twins as she came into the living room. “Oh, nothing,” they said together, the picture of innocence. Harry and Ginny did their best to stop blushing, but it was very difficult with the twins’ twinkling eyes locked on them. “Did you wake Harry up?” Molly chided the twins. “Um . . .no?” Fred said hopefully. “Not us!” George assured her. “You lot clear off and leave them alone,” their mother ordered. Grinning like madmen, the two left the room, but not without giving Harry huge winks behind their mother’s back. Ron came in and sat in a chair opposite his best friend and sister. “What are they on about?” he asked, nodding his head toward the departing twins. “The usual,” Ginny said with a sigh, straightening up to sit a bit more separately from Harry. “How are you feeling, sweetie?” she asked, turning her warm brown eyes up to study her boyfriend’s face. “Better. The nap helped,” he said. He leaned over and kissed her forehead. “Sorry about that,” he murmured against her hair. She giggled in reply. “What did the twins say about me needing so much time off work?” Harry asked Ron. “They don’t have a problem with it. It’s just a shame we’re so close on the assembly line. . . .” Ron said with a shrug. “Another day or two and we should have all the bugs worked out of it.” “Can you bring those plans we were working on here tomorrow?” Harry asked. “I can probably work on them with no problem.” “Sure!” Ron replied. “That would be great.” He glanced back toward the kitchen, where the rumble of the adults’ voices could be heard. “You’ve been asleep a while. It’s late. D’you want me to help you up to bed, or can you make it by yourself?” “I’ll be right there, mate,” Harry said, dropping his feet off the pouf and tightening his arm around Ginny. As Ron moved off, Harry pulled Ginny close and rubbed noses with her. “I love you, sweetheart,” he whispered before kissing her goodnight. “I love you, too,” she said, wrapping her arms around his neck and holding him as closely as she could without hurting him. “I’m so glad you’re OK.” “Me, too.” He pulled her into one last kiss, his tongue tracing the line of her lower lip, then slipping inside the delicious warmth of her mouth, breathing in her breath as if it were a life-giving potion. A sound from the kitchen broke them apart. “I’d better go before we get in trouble,” he said with a chuckle. “Yeah, I suppose,” she said, releasing him reluctantly. “See you in the morning.” By midmorning of the next day, Harry and Ron had Molly’s kitchen table completely covered in parchments filled with drawings, notes, calculations and other things understandable only to the two of them. They were working hard on completing the design of the assembly line for the twins’ shop. Ginny and Molly watched with interest, doing their best not to distract the boys. “What about. . .?” Ron asked, sliding a drawing over to Harry and pointing to some obscure part of the sketch. “Hmm? Oh. Um. . .yeah, right there. No, wait. That process should be moved to. . .” Harry paused as he dug madly through another stack of parchment. “Wait. Yeah. Here,” he said, pointing to something on the drawing he’d dug out. Molly stood up and leaned over their shoulders, trying to make sense of what they were doing. She shook her head, completely baffled, then picked up a basket and went out to the garden. Ginny took her place, standing back far enough that she hoped she wouldn’t disturb Harry. She found out she hadn’t stood back far enough when he reached back and squeezed her knee, without taking his eyes off his work or breaking his momentum. She giggled and moved away, leaving the boys to their work. “Hey, I thought I’d at least get a kiss out of that,” Harry grumbled when he felt her move away. “I didn’t want to bother you,” she said, walking up behind him and kissing the top of his head. “There. Is that better?” “Not much, but I suppose it will have to do for now,” he teased. “Oy, get a room,” Ron mumbled, doing his best to keep concentrating on his work. “Yeah, right,” Harry said, taking one of Ginny’s hands from its spot on his shoulder and kissing her palm. “Mmm, you taste good. What are you two up to?” he asked, glancing up at her. “More jams and fruit pies, eventually,” Ginny replied. “Just picking and cleaning fruit this morning.” “Heaven must be filled with the smells of a kitchen in the middle of jam season,” Harry mused. “And bread baking. And cakes. And treacle tarts. . .” “Harry!” Ron protested. “You’re making me hungry!” “You’re always hungry,” Harry replied with a laugh. “OK, I’m sorry. I’ll be good now.” He turned his face up to look at Ginny, who was still behind him. “That means, you, m’lady, will have to go out and torment garden gnomes or something so you’re not so close to me! You’re a distraction!” He smiled and pulled her down into an upside down kiss. “Mmmm, that’s lovely,” Ginny murmured, rubbing his nose with hers. “Yeah. Lovely indeed,” he replied, a besotted look on his face. “Hey! D’you mind? My girlfriend is still in Italy, and will be for several more weeks!” interjected a rather irritated Ron. “It’s not fair, you two having so much fun with me so frustrated.” Harry leaned his head on Ron’s shoulder and batted his eyelashes at his friend. “We’re so terribly sorry, Ronnikins,” he teased, then burst into laughter at the look on Ron’s face. Ron just made a disgusted noise in response. “OK, I’m going to help Mum so you two can finish your work,” Ginny said, waving as she went outside with a basket over her arm. Harry waved at her and then turned to Ron, a goofy grin on his face. “You’ve got it badly,” Ron teased. “She has you wrapped around her little finger.” “Yeah. And I like it!” Harry agreed cheerily. He felt so much better today. A good night’s rest was a huge help, but he could already tell a difference in his range of motion. There was a lot less pain than he’d had before, as well. Ginny had applied the ointments to his scars that morning and Harry was in less pain than he’d been in quite a while, which put him in quite a good mood. The boys worked diligently for several hours, only taking a short break for lunch. By mid-afternoon, they were finished. Ron took the completed plans to the twins, and Harry took a well-deserved rest by going for a walk with Ginny. “I wish life was always this nice,” Harry said, smiling down at his sweetheart as they walked hand-in-hand in the woods just over the hill from the house. “Me, too,” she agreed. “It will be someday. In the meantime, we’ve got a little time to ourselves, and I intend to enjoy it!” He wrapped his arms around her and she leaned back against them, smiling up at him tenderly. “Do you have any idea how much I love you?” Ginny said. “Nope. No idea at all,” he teased. “Come here, then, and I’ll show you,” she purred, grabbing the front of his shirt and tugging. Harry leaned down and rubbed noses with her, then kissed her forehead, each eye, the tip of her nose. Ever so tenderly, his lips brushed hers, teasing, tickling with gentle caresses. His tongue traced the sweet outline of her lips and then explored the warm depths of her mouth. Their tongues dancing around each other’s, they breathed each other’s breath and sighed with pure pleasure. The kiss went on until they were both dizzy with it, and then Harry pulled Ginny to the ground, his blood pounding in his veins, he was so filled with desire for her. His hands were exploring the lush contours of her breasts when they heard Molly calling them. They broke apart, gasping, then laughing, both of them blushing brightly. “Well, it was fun while it lasted,” Ginny said philosophically as she straightened her clothing. “Yeah. We have to get some time to ourselves. I miss you,” he said, kissing her quickly before helping her to her feet and brushing the leaves off of her clothes. “I’m right here, Harry,” she teased, brushing off his clothes in turn. “You know what I mean,” he said with his crooked grin. She laughed, knowing exactly what he meant. “HARRY! GINNY!” Molly called, her voice getting nearer. “Here we are, Mum!” Ginny cried, trying to get the last of the leaves out of her hair. “What’s up?” “Oh, there you are! Harry, Remus wants a word with you,” Molly said, panting a bit as she climbed the hill toward them. “He’s waiting in the fire.” “What’s up?” Harry asked as they followed her down the hill. He was glad Molly was in front of them. Ginny still had some twigs and leaves in her long silky hair. He picked at them until he finally had her presentable again. She grinned up at him mischievously and whispered, “Thanks!” “He wants to see how you’re feeling, I think,” Molly said with a fond smile. “He’s certainly become a good father-figure to you, hasn’t he?” “Yes, he has,” Harry agreed with a grin. Remus filled a gaping hole in Harry’s heart that had been there as long as he could remember. He was amazed and joyful every time he thought about the fact that he was finally part of a loving family, even if that family consisted of only his godfather. “Hi, Remus!” Harry said as he sat in front of the fire. “How are you?” “I’m fine. I was in meetings all day or I would’ve called earlier. I wanted to see how you’re feeling today. You look wonderful! The Weasleys must be taking excellent care of you,” Remus said with a grin and a twinkling glance at Ginny. “They tend to do that,” Harry agreed cheerily. “How are you feeling? Any pain, any problems?” Remus asked. “I’m feeling so much better than I did yesterday,” the boy replied with a happy smile. “The treatment really helped, and my scars are visibly smaller and lighter in colour! I was a bit tired last evening, but I’m fine today.” “You’re always fine!” Ginny scoffed, ruffling his hair playfully. Harry just grinned at her. “You do remember you need to come home tonight, don’t you?” Remus reminded him. “You only have a few days left to stay here, but. . .” “I’ll be back before tea,” Harry replied. “Oh, no, Harry, I’ve already started dinner with you in mind!” Molly called from the kitchen. “I’m making steak and kidney pie for you, and cherry tart, and. . .” Harry laughed at Molly’s wheedling tone. “OK, then, I’ll be back after tea!” he told Remus. “Is that all right?” “Certainly. See you later, then,” Remus said with a smile. “Remus, you’re welcome to join us,” Molly said fondly. “We always enjoy your company.” “Thanks, Molly, but I’ve got some work to finish. I’d better stay here and get it done,” he replied. Harry leaned closer to the fire, a cheeky grin on his face. “This gives you another free evening with Tonks! Take her somewhere special for dinner!” he said, teasing his godfather. “Don’t spend all your time working!” “I just might do that, lad!” Remus said, chuckling. “See you soon. Goodbye, Molly, Ginny. Thanks for taking such good care of him!” “Always our pleasure,” Molly called. “You come to tea when you can, Remus!” “I will, thanks! Goodbye!” With that, his head disappeared from the fire. “So, Harry,” Molly asked with a curious glint in her eye, “are Remus and Tonks becoming an item?” “An ‘item?’” he asked innocently, winking at Ginny when her mum looked away. “You know. Sweethearts,” Molly clarified. “Um, well. . .yeah, I think so,” Harry replied casually, sharing an expectant smirk with Ginny. As if on cue, Molly straightened up from her cooking. “Really? Tell me everything!” she said with a delighted smile. “I thought they seemed very chummy. Oooo, do tell me all! I just adore a good love story!” “Um. . .I’m not sure how to tell a love story,” he said, snorting with laughter. “Just tell me what’s been going on. She’s staying there at Privet Drive, right? Has there been any . . .um. . .hanky-panky going on?” she said, blushing as she asked, but gazing at him eagerly just the same. “Mum! Harry’s not one of those tabloid reporters!” Ginny chided her with a laugh. “Are you, baby?” “No, not me!” he said, blushing as he thought about the kinds of things he could tell if he wanted to. But he shouldn’t. But this was Mrs. Weasley, his dear friend. But he really, truly shouldn’t. She looked so disappointed, though. “Well. . .they spend a lot of time talking,” he said, wondering how much he could get away with telling. It would have to be just enough to keep Mrs. Weasley happy, but not so much that he was giving away secrets he shouldn’t. “Just talking?” Molly asked, looking a bit disappointed. “Talking and laughing,” Harry admitted. “They tease each other a lot. They seem to enjoy each other’s company.” “They seemed to enjoy each other’s company a lot when they were snogging during that film!” Ginny said with a laugh. “Ginny!” Harry cried, looking at her nervously, a blush creeping up his face. “Some things should be private!” “They were in a cinema! That’s not private!” she chortled. Harry gave his girlfriend a look and willed her to read his mind. Why haven’t I started teaching her Legilemency? he thought, kicking himself. If she keeps this up, her mum will realize we were snogging in the cinema too! “They’re adults, Ginny. They can get away with things like that,” Molly said serenely. She looked from Ginny to Harry and saw the blushes on both of their faces, and gave a knowing nod. She wasn’t stupid, and she remembered snogging with her boyfriends when she was her daughter’s age. She smiled at the two of them and went back to preparing the evening meal. “Well, I’m happy for them. Tonks seems to be good for Remus. I’ve never seen him as happy as he’s been the last few months.” “Yeah, she does make him happy. And she seems happy with him, too,” Harry agreed, glad Molly hadn’t pushed any further in the snogging discussion. He caught Ginny’s eye and they both had to stifle their laughter. Molly saw them and turned away, smiling to herself. She really did adore a good love story, and there seemed to be one blossoming under her own roof. Dinner that evening was delicious and fun, as usual at a Weasley meal. Molly continuously offered Harry extra helpings of everything, saying he needed “building up” after the hard day he’d had. He accepted her pampering with good grace and ate until he thought he would burst. “That was delicious, Mrs. Weasley,” the boy said with a grin, finishing off the last of his piece of cherry tart and sitting patiently still while Ginny playfully brushed crumbs out of his beard. “Thank you.” “I do so love to feed growing boys,” she said with delight. “I’m glad you enjoyed it.” “I’d better get my things together. I have to go back to Privet Drive tonight,” he said with a sigh, gently squeezing Ginny’s shoulder as he got up from the table. “I wish you didn’t have to go,” she said. “Me, too. But it’s only for a few more days, and then I can move to Grimmauld Place and never, ever have to go to Privet Drive again!” he said in excitement, his eyes dancing. “I can’t wait!” A short time later, Harry stood in the Weasleys’ garden, having said goodbye to the family. He held Ginny close for a moment, then bent to kiss her goodbye. When they broke the kiss, he rested his forehead against hers. “I miss you already.” “Me, too.” “See you soon. Thanks again for looking after me so well.” “Take care of yourself! Call me if you need anything,” she prompted. “I will. See you,” he said, kissing her once more, then stepping away from her and holding his hand out for Merlin. The phoenix flew from the fence rail where he’d been waiting and hovered over Harry just long enough for the young man to grab his tail. In a flash of light, Harry and Merlin disappeared from the Burrow, reappearing a moment later at Number Four Privet Drive. Harry entered the house and went quietly up to his room with Merlin on his shoulder, startling Remus and Tonks who were engaged in serious snogging on Remus’s bed. All three of them blushed madly. “Erm. . .sorry!” Harry said, his ears feeling as if they were on fire. Remus was blushing as badly as Harry, but Tonks was laughing merrily. “If you two could see yourselves!” she said, looking from one mortified man to the other. “You’re both too cute, you are!” She gave Remus a resoundingly loud smack of a kiss, then crossed the room to where Harry stood uncertainly by his door. “You are so adorable,” she said, standing on tiptoes to give Harry a kiss on the cheek. “Sorry about snogging in your room, but this is where I found him and I couldn’t keep my hands off him!” Tonks!” Remus cried, blushing even more, then laughing when she bounded over to him and shoved his shoulders hard, flattening him on the bed. “Now I’ve got you where I want you,” she teased as she leaned over him, her shoulder-length purple hair swinging forward to tickle his nose. “Um. . .I’ll come back later,” Harry said quietly, turning to go. “Oy, Harry, I’m just playing around,” Tonks said, immediately changing her behaviour from flirtatious to friendly. “I’m sorry. It’s my fault. He had work to do and I got tired of waiting for him to finish. You just arrived when I was, um, shall we say, ‘encouraging’ him to think about enjoying life a little.” Harry snorted. “You and Ginny have a lot in common,” he said, chuckling as he remembered her interrupting his and Ron’s work earlier that day. “Let’s go to that little café,” Remus began, looking fondly at Tonks. “Where we had our first dinner out together? Brilliant! They have excellent pie!” she replied eagerly. “Harry, do you want to come?” Remus invited. “No, thanks. Mrs. Weasley seems to think the best way to make someone feel better is to feed them until they’re ready to explode,” he replied with a grin. “You two kids go on and have a good time. Don’t forget your curfew!” he teased. The adults were both laughing as they left the room. “See you later,” Remus said. “Good night, sweetie!” Tonks called just before she danced lightly down the stairs. “Good night,” Harry replied, grinning as he closed his door. He wondered how Remus could keep up with Tonks’s boundless energy. She never slowed down! He was glad to see Remus so happy. Tonks was really good for him. Harry put on his pyjamas and pulled out his summer homework, determined to get it done as soon as possible so he could enjoy his summer with nothing hanging over his head. One of his essays for Remus was about the types of spells that would combat some of the Dark spells in those reference books Ben Dervish had given him. Harry spent a long time researching the spells he’d chosen to write about, and the proper defence to use against each one, making notes as he went. Tiring of this, he dug out some of the jinx and hex books from the Room of Requirement and made notes on the Knee-Reversing Hex, the Babbling Curse and others that he found interesting. “Knee-Reversing, huh?” he mumbled through a huge yawn. “Sounds like a good one.” He stretched and put his books, parchment, ink and quill away, then stretched out to sleep. Remus came in a short time later, closing the door quietly when he saw the darkened room. He gazed fondly at his godson, who was sprawled haphazardly on his narrow bed, long arms and legs hanging out in various directions. He moved silently to the boy’s bedside and gently tucked him in, warmed by the tender feelings such a simple act evoked in him. A fleeting smile crossed Harry’s face as he settled into his pillow more comfortably. Remus stood watching the peaceful expression on the boy’s face, the soft rise and fall of his chest as he slept, and was once again thankful that he was so fortunate to have this young man in his life. Remus got ready for bed himself and lay down to sleep. The last thing he saw as his eyes closed was his godson’s handsome face softly illuminated by the moonlight streaming through the windows. Remus had known very little love in his life. He would never have believed he’d be blessed with a love such as he felt for Harry, or the love he felt growing in his heart for Tonks. With a very contented sigh, Remus Lupin fell asleep. “Today’s the day! Today’s the day! Today’s the day!” Harry chortled, jumping on his bed over and over, eventually hitting his head on the ceiling. He was simply too tall to be jumping on his bed under the low ceiling of a Muggle bedroom. “Ouch!” he cried, clapping his hand on top of his head, and continuing to jump, if in a more crouched position, laughing all the while. “Happy to be leaving, are you?” Remus said with an amused grin as he looked up from his packing. “YES!” Harry cried, pumping his fists in the air as he bounced some more. “Blimey, I am such an idiot!” he muttered, then raised the ceiling magically so he could jump to his heart’s content. “Your aunt won’t appreciate your doing that, you know,” Remus chided him gently, watching the tall young man bouncing harder than ever. “I know! I’ve never been allowed to do this! That’s why I’m doing it, because it doesn’t matter anymore!” the young man said with an expression of pure bliss, finally flopping on his back, his arms and legs spread-eagled, chuckling at his own silliness. He sat up and gave his godfather a cheeky grin. “Hurry up, Remus! I’ve been packed for ages!” “You’ve been packed for approximately ten minutes,” Remus corrected him. “That’s not ages except to a house fly that only lives a grand total of three days, now, is it?” “Ages, simply AGES! C’mon, hurry up, let’s GO!” Harry urged him, bounding around the room, pulling out empty drawers, looking in his empty wardrobe, burrowing under his bed and in his secret hole under the floor, then scanning the bare walls to make sure he hadn’t left anything behind. He pulled the chart on which he’d counted down the days until he could leave Privet Drive out of the bin and started tearing it into tiny little pieces, throwing the bits around the room like so much confetti. “All right, then,” Remus said, closing his trunk at last. “I’m ready.” They put Shrinking Charms on their trunks and put them in their pockets. Harry did the same with Merlin’s perch and they were done. With a quick wave of his hand, Harry had all the bits of confetti neatly stowed in the bin and stripped the bed, sending the bed linens sailing into the clothes hamper, which he Banished to the laundry room. He looked around in great satisfaction. His room was as neat as a pin, as if no one had ever lived there. They grinned at each other, preparing to Apparate to Grimmauld Place, when they heard a tentative knock on the wall. “Oh, I forgot to take the hexes off the door and floor,” Harry muttered as he went to answer the door. He waved his hand casually at the door and toward his bed, beneath which resided his much-appreciated loose floorboard, and said “Finite incantatum,” just before opening the door. “Hello, Aunt Petunia,” he said cheerfully. Even the sight of his aunt’s uneasy, horsy face wasn’t going to mar his joy in this day for which he’d waited all of his life. “Um. . .hello, Harry,” Petunia replied nervously. “Ready to go, then?” “Yes, we were just leaving. I took the spell off the door. It won’t hurt anyone now. Go on, try it,” he urged her, pushing the door knob toward her. She held her hand out hesitantly, glancing up at him timidly. “Are you sure?” “Yes, I’m sure,” he replied in a kind voice. She touched the door knob gingerly at first, and then held it in a firm grip, gasping in relief when she didn’t turn into an iguana. “Thank you.” “No problem. What did you want?” “I wanted. . .I wondered. . .well, I knew you’d be leaving soon,” she said hesitantly. “I wondered if you’d go and see your uncle before you left.” “I hadn’t planned on it. I thought seeing me would give him another heart attack or something,” he said with a shrug. “That’s why you haven’t visited him?” Harry looked at her in disbelief. Why would she think he’d ever want to see his nasty uncle again? He decided to proceed carefully. “The sight of me makes him furious, and that can’t be good for his heart. I never wanted to make him ill, and I certainly don’t want to be the cause of a relapse now that he’s getting better.” He studied his aunt’s tense face. “He is getting better, isn’t he?” “Yes, the doctors are amazed, actually. His arteries should have been clogged, from all they knew, but his heart’s arteries were as clean as could be. They didn’t understand it. They’ve talked of little else all this time. They can’t imagine how those arteries could be so clean, when others they’ve checked through various tests did have blockages. They’ve done what they could to clear those.” She looked up at him, almost shyly. “You fixed those blockages when you worked on him, didn’t you?” “Yes. I didn’t know what else to do to get the blood flowing properly,” he said with a shrug. “Please, Harry, would you consider going to see him before you go?” “Why?” He was shocked she’d even ask. “I think he needs a chance to tell you goodbye.” “Does he want to?” His eyebrows were raised in surprise. He turned and looked over his shoulder at his godfather. “Remus, do you know anything about this?” “What do you mean?” “Did you put a Memory Charm on Uncle Vernon too?” “No, and I removed the one on your aunt this morning,” Remus assured him. “I left her the memories of how things have been since she had the Charm, but she should remember everything now.” “Everything?” Harry asked uneasily, wondering how she was going to act around him, or around his uncle, when she remembered her crush on James Potter. He ran his fingers nervously through his long hair, glad that its length and his beard made him look so much less like his dad. “Everything,” Remus said seriously. Petunia watched this exchange with sad eyes, then reached out and put her hand on Harry’s arm pleadingly. “Please. I know you don’t owe either of us anything. We’ve been so awful to you, and none of it was your fault. It was mine. I want to make things right. Would you please come to see him? Just for a few minutes?” Harry studied her face, not sure how to respond. He glanced back at his godfather again. Remus walked up behind him and put his hand on the young wizard’s shoulder. “I’ll go with you, if you like.” Harry looked at Remus quizzically. “You think I should go?” “I think everyone deserves a second chance,” Remus said with a shrug. “Even your uncle.” Harry sighed. He didn’t want to go. He was afraid the sight of him would throw his uncle into a rage and cause another heart attack. But in the back of his mind, he heard Casey talking about “closure.” He could see her face in his mind’s eye as she talked to him about facing things that hurt him and dealing with them. He could almost feel her presence, he felt he could almost reach out and touch her, but then his mental image of her dissolved into one of Ginny, smiling at him and telling him that deep down, possibly really deep, deep down, he really did love his uncle. Those feelings might be buried under years of anger and abuse, but they were there somewhere. He knew she would tell him he needed to face the man one last time in order to move on with his life. He sighed again. “All right. I’ll do it.” “Thank you,” Petunia said sincerely. “Visiting hours start at ten this morning. Can you be there then?” “Yes, I’ll be there,” he agreed. Remus and Harry had taken their things to Grimmauld Place and were now standing in the corridor outside Vernon’s room, just after the start of visiting hours. Petunia and Dudley were already with Vernon. Petunia wanted to prepare her husband for Harry’s visit before he came in. “I don’t feel right about this,” Harry said nervously. “What if I make him have another attack?” “He’s in a hospital. They’ll take care of him,” Remus assured him. “Harry! There you are!” a familiar voice called, and two redheads jogged down the corridor to join them. “Ron! Ginny! What are you doing here?” Harry said in delighted amazement. “Remus told us what was going on, and Ginny insisted on being here,” Ron explained. “Fred and George and our parents would have come too, but we thought that would be a bit much.” “Yeah,” Harry said with a grin as he held Ginny in his arms. “That would push him over the edge for sure.” He rested his cheek on her hair. “Thank you. I’m so glad you’re here,” he murmured in her ear as he kissed her neck. He looked up at Ron. “Thanks, mate. I mean it.” Ron just shrugged and grinned. “I wouldn’t miss this for anything. Good luck in there. You deserve it.” “Thanks,” Harry said, then turned his attention back to the lovely warm body currently wriggling in his arms. “I missed you.” “I missed you, too.” She snuggled into his arms with delight for another moment, then pushed him away. “You need a bit of fixing up before you go in,” she said in a businesslike voice. “I thought you would.” “Fixing up?” he said with a grin. “I did my best!” “First off — it’s a good job you got rid of the beard. He doesn’t like it,” she said, looking at him appraisingly. “And you shortened your hair, but it sticks up all over again. What can we do about that?” she mused, studying him seriously. “Oh, I know! Grow it again, a good bit longer than before, and don’t trim the sides.” “Why not?” he said, glancing around to make certain they weren’t being watched, then quickly lengthening his hair as directed. His hair soon flowed in a shiny black river waving down to his shoulder blades, all but his fringe, which he kept short to hide his scar. “Is this long enough?” “Perfect! Bend down,” she said, pulling something out of her pocket. “I came prepared for this.” She parted his hair on the right and smoothed it back into a low-set pony tail, then wrapped a band around it to secure it. “There.” “You think he’s going to like me with a pony tail?” Harry said in surprise. “I didn’t say I was done yet!” she said with a cheeky grin. “Lean down again. Sometimes it’s a bother that you’re so tall!” “Sometimes you sound just like your mother,” Harry said with a chuckle, “not that I mind, of course.” He bent down again so she could reach him. Ginny tucked the pony tail securely under his collar, made certain it was lying as flat on his back as possible, then glanced around to see if anyone was watching. “Cover me, Ron, Remus,” she whispered, then pulled out her wand. “What are you going to. . .?” Harry began before she shushed him. “There! Perfect!” Ginny said with a grin, stepping back from him and admiring her handiwork. “What did you do?” he asked, lifting his hand to touch the back of his hair. “Don’t touch it or you’ll mess it up! Don’t move around too much either. I’m not certain how well it will hold up,” she told him. “I’ve tucked your hair into your collar and secured it there magically. Then I Disillusioned just the pony tail part of it, so it looks as if you have normal, short hair in back. Pulling your hair back like that made all of it lie down properly. I think this may be what your uncle wishes you looked like. No reason not to do it just this once, right?” “Right,” he agreed, bending down to kiss her. “Thanks.” Just then, Petunia opened the door and called, “Harry?” She looked at his friends uncertainly. “They can wait out here,” Harry assured her, then followed her into the room. “What have you done to your hair?” his aunt asked nervously. “Ginny did it with magic. She thought he’d like to see my hair lying down for once,” Harry explained patiently. A small smile crossed his aunt’s face. “That was very thoughtful of you.” She glanced uneasily at Ginny. “Thank you.” “I hope he likes it,” Ginny said graciously. With another small, nervous smile, Petunia turned and entered the room, holding the door open behind her for her nephew to follow her. “Harry’s here, Vernon,” she said quietly. Harry was shocked by the change in his uncle. His normally florid complexion was pale and pasty. He’d lost weight in the last two and a half weeks and his skin hung on him in great folds. Vernon looked a great deal like Aunt Marge’s bulldogs with the sagging flaps of skin now hanging from his jowls. “Hello, Uncle Vernon. I’m glad you’re feeling better,” Harry said politely. “What have you done to yourself? You look different,” Vernon snapped. “Different?” Harry asked nervously. “Your hair.” Harry smiled. “Oh. My girlfriend . . . .” He didn’t know what to say. He was afraid to mention Ginny because the thought of her might send Vernon into a rage. He also couldn’t say she’d fixed his hair with magic for the same reason. “That redhead?” Vernon asked suddenly. “Yes. Ginny. That’s the one,” Harry replied. “Well,” Vernon said gruffly, “whatever she told you to do, it looks. . .better.” “Um. . .thanks.” A compliment from Uncle Vernon? Was the earth still spinning on its axis? Had the sun fallen out of the sky? A compliment from Vernon Dursley to Harry Potter had to be an earth-shattering event. Harry didn’t know what to say next. Apparently, neither did Vernon. Petunia filled the gap. “The doctors have been quite complimentary on how you managed when Vernon took ill,” she said carefully. “Haven’t they been saying that, Vernon, dear? That your heart was so damaged, they couldn’t imagine how Harry kept you alive until they got to you? And some things they found were unexpected, such as your arteries being as clear as they were?” “Yes, they’ve been saying that,” the man allowed brusquely. “I’m glad I could help,” Harry said quietly. Vernon studied the tall young man before him. Petunia had told him many bizarre stories once he’d grown strong enough to converse for very long. All of these stories involved young Potter, here. “Your aunt says. . .” he began, then stopped. He didn’t want to believe his wife’s mad tales, but even his own son agreed with her. The proof was standing in front of him. He’d get to the bottom of this right now. He sat up straighter and said with more determination, “Your aunt says you’ve been fighting that Voldy-person.” “Voldemort. Yes.” Harry looked at him in confusion. What was he after? “She says she’s seen films of you fighting him. She says you’re a decorated hero.” “Yes.” “I don’t believe her, you know,” Vernon said, squinting his piggy eyes at Harry wisely. “I think you’ve fooled her and Dudley both with some kind of. . .magic.” “I wish,” Harry replied in a snide voice, trying to quell his rising temper. He sighed. “Believe whatever you want, Uncle Vernon. I just came to say goodbye. I won’t be living with you anymore. I’m moving to London today.” “Why London?” “I inherited my godfather Sirius’s house. I’ll be living there,” he said simply. He watched Vernon’s face as the man digested this information. “Goodbye then,” he said, turning to leave. “Wait!” Vernon cried unexpectedly. “What?” “Will we be in danger now that you’re gone? Will that madman come after us?” he asked nervously. “I don’t know. He’s after me, not you, but he does assault people for no good reason, as well. I can’t say if you’ll be attacked or not. If you are, it won’t be because you’re related to me. It will just be random, just as when the Ashers were killed last summer.” Harry’s face was stony. The only thing his uncle had wanted from a visit with him was to know if his home would be attacked. OK, Harry had answered the question. He turned and grabbed the door handle, preparing to leave. “How can I believe there’s such a madman around?” Vernon said uncertainly. “I only have your word for it.” “Aunt Petunia and Dudley both saw him in that recording, saw me fighting with him,” Harry growled. “You don’t believe them?” “I find it hard to believe, yes,” Vernon allowed, looking at his nephew uneasily. “If you don’t believe them, you certainly won’t believe me,” Harry said, starting to pull the door open. “Wait!” Vernon cried. “Wait,” he said more calmly. “P-please,” he added with great effort. Harry turned around but held on to the door, keeping it open a crack. He knew Remus, Ron and Ginny were just outside the door. Having that crack in the door, so they were just that much closer, was a comfort to him somehow. “What?” “Your aunt. . .she told me. . .you have scars.” “Oh, yeah. Loads of them,” Harry said bitterly. Vernon looked Harry in the eye, for once not belligerently. “May. . .may I see?” “No!” Harry snapped. “I’m not a sideshow freak for you to goggle over.” He felt air move behind him as the door opened and Remus came in. “Hello, Mr. Dursley. I’m so glad you’re feeling better,” Remus said sincerely. “I heard part of what you and Harry just said. He’s telling the truth. He has fought Voldemort, he is a hero and he is scarred. He’s nearly died several times from these battles. If he weren’t such a powerful wizard, he would not have survived. We’re lucky to have him on our side.” Vernon stared at Remus, his face darkening as his temper rose, but then he sighed and forced himself to relax. “I’ve fought against this madness all the years he’s been in our house. I understand there’s proof that the stories are true. I’d like to see the films.” “We don’t have them here,” Remus told him. “And quite honestly, you may not be strong enough to watch them. They’re terrible to see.” “What do you want, Uncle Vernon?” Harry asked suddenly. “What do you mean?” the man said, startled. “What do you want from me? What will make you happy, so we can leave each other peacefully? I won’t be back. This is goodbye.” Harry stood totally still, resolute. If his uncle had some kind of reasonable request, he’d do what he could to fulfil it, but he was leaving as soon as possible, hopefully with Vernon still in decent health. “What do I. . .well. . . .” The man’s voice faded away. He stared at his nephew in bewilderment for a long moment, then turned suddenly when Petunia touched him on the arm. “Go on, dear. Tell him,” she urged. “Tell me what?” Harry demanded, suddenly wary. “Your aunt and I have, um, discussed this situation quite a bit since I’ve been well enough to visit with her,” Vernon began. “What situation?” Harry wanted to know. “The fact that she is now convinced that everything you’ve said is true, and I’m still. . .shall we say. . .sceptical.” “Aunt Petunia has had some interesting experiences in the last few weeks,” Harry replied, “experiences that would convince anyone that what I’ve been saying all these years is true.” “She told me you saved her from a demeny-whats-it,” Vernon said hesitantly. “A Dementor,” Harry corrected patiently. “Yes, I did.” “And you saved me from the heart attack?” “Yes.” Harry couldn’t fathom where Vernon was going with all this. “So you are a. . .a hero, then, by any measure,” the man concluded reluctantly. Harry’s eyes widened at this admission, but he didn’t respond. He had no idea how to answer that kind of statement. Apparently, his uncle must have been thinking about this subject very seriously for quite a while, to come to such a conclusion about someone he’d hated for so long. After a few moments, Vernon went on, “I’d like to understand about this Voldy-whosit.” “Voldemort. So would we all,” the young wizard commented dryly. “Why is he after you?” Harry sighed. “There was a prophecy made before I was born saying I would be the only one who could kill him. He’s been trying to kill me ever since.” “A prophecy?” Vernon said, his voice tinged with disbelief. “You asked a question and I answered it. I’m being as honest with you as humanly possible. A prophecy was made, and that’s what started everything,” Harry said, doing his best to maintain his calm demeanour. Vernon considered this for a moment, then said, “How can you possibly fight a grown man?” Harry stood quietly, not knowing how to answer. Remus came to his rescue. “He fights quite well, actually,” Remus said with a smile. “Harry is a very powerful wizard. He’s actually injured Voldemort rather badly in their last two battles, and decimated his followers.” “What do you mean, ‘decimated’?” Vernon asked carefully. “They’re either dead or in jail now, so they aren’t a threat anymore,” Harry snapped. Remus put a calming hand on the boy’s arm. “Dead? How did they die?” said Vernon. “I. Killed. Them.” the young man said distinctly. “It was a kill or be killed situation. Didn’t Aunt Petunia tell you that?” “Erm, yes. Yes, she did, actually. I just. . .” “Didn’t believe her?” Harry responded. “Um, yes, that’s it.” “Believe it. It’s true.” Harry forced himself to calm down, to slow his breathing and his racing heart, to soften his features so he looked as non-threatening as possible. “I don’t want to upset you, Uncle Vernon. It’s probably best if I just leave now.” “No, wait,” Vernon said urgently. “Please. I’m trying to understand.” “Understand what?” “If I’m to believe what Petunia says she saw on that film, you have killed people. And you just admitted it yourself, as well.” “Yes, it’s all true. I have killed people in battle.” “I know you hate me, yet you . . .saved my life. You saved Petunia’s, as well. Why?” the man looked genuinely puzzled. “Because I could,” Harry said simply. “It was the right thing to do.” The older man was quiet a few moments. “I. . .I don’t know what to say,” he said, looking stunned. “‘Thank you’ might be a good start,” Remus said quietly. “‘Goodbye’ would be a good finish,” Harry added shortly. Vernon sat looking from one wizard to the other. Finally, he held out his hand. It was a great effort for Vernon to do what he was about to do, but it needed to be done. “Th-th-thank you. Thank you, Harry.” Harry stepped forward and shook hands with his uncle. “No problem.” “I hope. . .I hope you win your war,” Vernon said, his eyes wide, his voice tremulous. “You really are at war?” Harry held on to his uncle’s hand for a moment longer, then sighed and released it. He stepped back and pulled his shirt out of his waistband and lifted it enough to expose his torso, hoping it wouldn’t mess up the pony tail Ginny had so carefully arranged. He turned his left side, and then his back, to his uncle, standing close enough that Vernon could touch the scars on his body. They were much improved since his treatment, but were still livid and horrifying to anyone who hadn’t seen them before. He heard his uncle’s shocked gasp, his aunt’s quiet moan, and Dudley’s grunt of disgust as they looked at the ravaged mess that used to be a well-formed, beautiful body. Vernon swallowed hard, forcing himself not to be sick, then finally reaching out a trembling hand and touching the thick ridges of scar tissue making diagonal tracks across the boy’s side and back. Some of the scars stood alone, but most were tangled webs of multiple injuries. When Vernon finally found his voice, he croaked out, “What. . .what did this?” “Voldemort made a whip with loads of lashes come out of the end of his wand,” Harry replied in a tense voice, doing his best to explain patiently. “It was like a cat-o’-nine tails you read about in the pirate stories, with sharp things in the ends of the lashes. It laid my skin open to the bone in a lot of places.” “How long ago was this?” Vernon asked, his face ghostly white as Harry pulled his shirt back down and tucked it back in. “Something over a month,” the boy replied. “How could. . .how. . .” Vernon finally gave up, his mouth working wordlessly as he tried to grasp what his nephew was saying. Harry understood what was bewildering his uncle. “Wizard medicine works much faster than Muggle medicine. And wizards heal faster than Muggles anyway. If we have a twenty foot fall and don’t stick out an arm or leg, we might bounce rather than breaking a bone. If we do break a bone and can get to a healer, the bone can be healed in seconds. I lost all the bones in my right arm my second year in school, due to a badly done spell someone put on me, and my bones were re-grown overnight. It was painful, but it was quick,” he said with a shrug. Vernon’s expression changed, as if a light had gone on in his head. “I don’t understand it. . .but I do believe you.” Harry couldn’t believe how those simple words filled his heart. He swallowed hard. “I’m glad.” The two of them gazed at each other across years of pain and torment, years of fear and sorrow, and something very fragile clicked into place at last. Vernon held his hand out again. “Take care of yourself, boy.” Harry shook his hand again. “I will. Get well soon.” He looked up at his aunt. “Thank you, Aunt Petunia.” “For what?” she said in surprise. “For this.” He glanced at Remus, who nodded. “We’ll be going now. Goodbye.” As they turned toward the door, Petunia’s voice stopped them. “Harry?” “Yes?” he said, turning back toward her. “Let us know how you are from time to time, all right?” Harry’s eyes widened in surprise. “Um. . .OK.” He turned back toward the door and opened it, finally leaving the Dursleys for the freedom of his own life, living where he chose and how he chose. His head was swimming with confusion over the experience he’d just gone through, and nearly dizzy with the lightness he felt knowing he’d never, ever have to live with the Dursleys again. As Remus closed the door behind them, Harry swept Ginny up into his arms and spun her around. “Free at last!” he murmured against her neck. Harry, Ron, Ginny and Remus all greeted Dobby cheerfully as he let them into Number 12 Grimmauld Place. Harry walked into the living room and spun around slowly, taking it all in. Gone were the dark walls, the silver Slytherin door knobs and candlesticks, all replaced by gold-coloured Gryffindor lions. The old door knobs and other Slytherin décor were solid, Goblin-made silver and brought a good price when Dobby sold them for Harry. Dobby had also gotten a very good price on gold-plated, rather than solid gold, Gryffindor decorative items to replace the ones that had been removed. The heavy, dark furniture was now covered with colourful throws in bright, cheerful colours, with the orange of the Chudley Cannons one of the prominent colours. “I see you’ve been helping Harry decorate,” Ginny teased her brother. “Well. . .we did do some shopping at lunch time one day. I had a few ideas for him,” Ron allowed, shrugging his shoulders. Harry looked at the cheerful, casual décor, the freshly painted walls, the bright new curtains and said, “I’m home,” with tremendous satisfaction. “I forgot to tell you, Harry,” Remus said, enjoying his godson’s obvious delight. “The Order members who’ve seen what you’ve done with the place like it very well.” Harry’s eyes sparkled. “Thanks! Well, it’s really Mrs. Weasley and Ginny who picked out most of the stuff, and Dobby and Winky who did most of the work, but I couldn’t be happier with it.” “I helped!” Ron protested mildly. “Yes you did,” Harry agreed. “Dobby, Winky — well done! Thanks!” Dobby and Winky stood with wide, happy eyes, enjoying their master’s pleasure in what they’d done. When Harry thanked them for their work, they both burst into tears. “Oh, please don’t cry!” Harry said, patting each of them on a small, thin shoulder. “I’m happy with what you’ve done here!” “We is so honoured to have pleased you, Harry Potter, sir,” Dobby said, dabbing at his eyes with his shirt tail. As Harry had ordered, they were dressed in clothes of their choosing. Dobby was wearing a Hawaiian shirt in bright red with green, orange and yellow flowers all over it, along with a red sock and a yellow sock. Winky was wearing a pretty little pink dress with an ivory-coloured apron. “Dobby has taken your things to your room, and Professor Lupin’s to his, as well,” the house-elf said when he got himself under control again. “Thanks,” Harry said, smiling at the elf. “What are you going to do your first afternoon in your very own house?” Ginny asked teasingly. Harry knew what he’d like to do, but Remus and Ron being there made it difficult to whisk Ginny up to his bedroom. “Dunno. D’you want to stay for tea?” “We promised Mum we’d be home for tea,” Ron said. “Charlie’s coming in and she thinks she’s got Percy talked into coming over as well. You’re welcome to come, both of you,” he added. “Thanks!” Harry replied. “That would be great. But you know what? I’d honestly like to spend some time in my house. I’ll only be here part of the summer and then off to school again. I’ve never had a home before,” he said wistfully, toying with the flowers Winky had put in a vase on a side table. “We’ll see you later, then,” Ron said, heading for the fireplace. “At least we can floo to you whenever we want now, without having to bother Mrs. Figg!” “Yeah, it’s great, isn’t it?” Harry said, smiling at his friends. He kissed Ginny and sent her after her brother. “Tell your parents I said thanks for the invitation. I hope they’ll understand.” “I’m sure they will,” Ginny assured him, running back and kissing him once more before throwing Floo Powder in the fireplace and saying “The Burrow,” then disappearing in a swirl of green flames. Harry and Remus had a quiet dinner with the house elves, despite the elves’ protests that elves shouldn’t eat with their masters, and then Harry explored his house, going room to room, finally ending up in the basement. There were his mosaic tools, carefully dusted and oiled by Dobby to maintain them. He poked through the boxes of marble and granite shards, pulling out various pieces and trying the colours next to each other. The thought of Casey was no longer a stabbing pain in his heart. She was a fond and cherished memory, as were her parents and sister. He found the broken mosaic he’d made for her and his heart ached, but then he set it resolutely aside. He got out his sketch pad and drew a design, working out the problems with it that were inherent in mosaic work, then colouring in the design with his coloured pencils. Satisfied with his work, he pulled out a piece of backing board and measured the size he wanted, then touched the power saw with his wand to start it so he could cut the board to size. Remus, sitting in the living room reading, heard the saw start up and smiled. Harry was back at work on his mosaics. His heart must be healed from last summer’s tragedies at last. |
| Reviews 503 |
Previous Next
|
