A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for leaving all of you fabulous readers waiting for this update for over a year, but I just haven't had much muse for this story. I know this chapter isn't as good as the first, but I hope you enjoy the Weasley family bonding (that includes Hermione and Harry, by the way). I might come back with a third chapter, or I might just leave it as is, I don't know yet. Oh, and disclaimer is in the first chapter!
Chapter 2: A Flower Garden and a Star-filled Night
Harry had been sneaking off for months after the war, and he always wore long sleeves, even in the sweltering heat. Molly and Hermione were suspicious.
It was a blistering day during early July, the hottest day of the year so far. Everyone was sweating, and the Weasley boys had long since shed their shirts and changed into swim trunks to go swimming in the pond. Harry, however, uncharacteristically refused to join them.
"At least change into a tee shirt. You're going to get heat stroke," Molly begged.
Harry refused yet again, and other than Molly's sighs of frustration, that was that. That is, until Harry's sleeve slid up while passing the potatoes during lunch, and Hermione's eyes zeroed in on his arm like a hawk.
"Harry, is that a tattoo?" Hermione asked dangerously.
Harry, though hearing the danger in Hermione's tone couldn't resist. "Technically, it's a lot of tattoos," he sassed.
"Oh boy, here we go," Bill muttered, remembering his mother's tirade when he came home with runic tattoos and a fang earring. At least he didn't get his sleeve done like Harry seemed to have.
"Harry James Potter, you have tattoos? Do you realize how irresponsible that is? What if the job you apply for doesn't accept people with tattoos? What if your future girlfriend doesn't like them? What will Teddy think when he's old enough? What if they warp when you get older?" Molly ranted.
"Yes, Mrs. Weasley, I happen to have quite a few. I did my homework this time, so I don't think that it's irresponsible. I plan on being an Auror, which accepts tattoos, or managing my family finances if that doesn't work out, where I will be my own boss. I'd like to think that I wouldn't date a girl who judges people on appearances. As for Teddy, I assume that he'll think the same thing about the ink on my skin as he does the fact that his hair changes—that it looks cool and is just something he's grown up knowing. When it comes to the warping, well, they're magical tattoos, so they'll adjust to my skin," Harry answered.
Mrs. Weasley sputtered. He had just dismantled her arguments so expertly, and other than her personally thinking that spending money on putting pictures on one's skin was a waste of time and money, she really had no more complaints.
"Did he just win a fight with Mum?" Charlie whispered.
"I think so," George replied.
Clearly this feat was more impressive to the Weasley siblings than Harry's defeat of Voldemort. None of them could remember ever beating their mother in an argument.
"I still don't understand what would possess you to get tattoos in the first place," Hermione told Harry.
"I wanted to honor those who died. What's not to get?" Harry retorted.
"How is scarring your body purposely honoring the dead?" Hermione asked skeptically.
Harry pulled up his left sleeve to reveal a garden of flowers of different kinds and colors. Most prominent was a yellow lily curling down Harry's wrist. It was chaotic and beautiful, and the whole table stared.
"Each flower is for a person who died in the First War," Harry said quietly.
He then pulled up his right sleeve, showing off hundreds of white stars, contrasting excellently with his brown skin. The effect was mesmerizing.
"Every star is for a person who died in the Second War," Harry said in the same tone.
"They're beautiful," Ginny whispered from her spot, and the rest of the Weasleys and Hermione had to agree.
"Well, I suppose that's understandable," Hermione acquiesced.
"Do you have any other ones?" Ron asked. He was obviously interested. Perhaps he wanted to get one as well.
"Yeah," Harry answered, pulling his shirt over his head.
Harry had filled out since the end of the war, given reliable access to food and less stress. While still thin, he was no longer emaciated and now covered in lean muscle. His skin glowed healthily, and was peppered with marks. There were of course, the dragon and the 'Mischief Managed' tattoo, but there were also two Ginny had never seen before.
"What are the ones that weren't there last time?" Ginny queried.
"Last time? When did you see Harry without a shirt?" Bill demanded.
"My fifth year, now quiet," Ginny shushed him.
Blushing at the glares he was receiving from the Weasley brothers, Harry hastened to explain.
"They aren't really tattoos. They're scars," Harry admitted.
Pointing to something that looked like a whitened circle with lightning bolts escaping from it over his heart, Harry said, "The circle is from Slytherin's Locket, and the lightning bolts are from the Killing Curse."
Everyone looked slightly uncomfortable at the mention of such horrible things, but Harry continued, gesturing at a triangle with a circle in its center, bisected by a line, that was situated on his hip. "This showed up when I woke up after the Final Battle, and I haven't been able to find any of the Deathly Hallows since, so I assume they became part of me or something."
Ron lightly slapped the back of his head. "Why didn't you tell us this before?"
Discomfort welled within Harry. "I didn't want to worry you."
"I have a right to worry. You're my best mate and weird shite keeps happening to you," Ron said.
"Sorry," Harry apologized.
"You don't have to apologize, just stop trying to hide things from us because you think we'll be upset. We're your family. We are here to help you." Ron rolled his eyes.
Harry smiled at Ron in gratitude, and everyone went back to eating.