Chapter 3: A Somber Affair

The Weasley's all met Harry and Hermione out in the front yard so they could apparate away once more to the outer most grounds at Hogwarts. Harry and Ginny apparated away together again, leaving after everyone else had. For the second time within the week, Ginny found herself clinging to her one-time boyfriend for dear life, so she didn't get all disoriented and nearly fall again. As they were walking up to the castle, Harry and Ginny found that their swinging arms made their hands brush up against one another; but they didn't join hands, not as though thy didn't want to, but were just unsure. They all walked into the Great Hall together and there was already a huge crowd gathered there. The whole front row of benches were reserved for the Weasley family, Harry, and Hermione. The same tufty haired man was behind a podium, next to all the caskets of people who died, but four were at the forefront: Fred, Tonks, Remus, and Colin.

The small man droned on for what seemed like days, but in reality it was only like an hour and a half. He went on about how talented and graceful Tonks was, how Lupin was fairly carefree, and he even decided to portray Fred as a serious, respectable person – like an uptight suit. Harry had to put a stop to all this madness before people actually believed these lies. So after the man stopped talking, Harry walked up and asked to say a few words. No one could really deny him anything right now, because he was Harry freaking Potter (probably one of the few times he will actually make use of his fame). So he stood behind the podium and surveyed the crowd: the entire Weasley clan nodded in their approval at him, as well as Andromeda Tonks.

"I know that everyone here must still be grieving in their own way, and will be for some time to come. I too am grieving for loved ones that I've lost during the past few years. When I listened to the man giving the eulogy, I couldn't help but laugh at some bits. I know that whole speech was just for show, because we all know our loved ones weren't the perfect people that he portrayed them to be – as much as we would like them to be. Whenever you're at a funeral, people always say the nicest things about the deceased, but I personally would like to remember them how they were in real life, not in our dream world. So I had four very close personal friends die at the final battle and they weren't the top-notch Colin, the respectable Fred, the graceful Tonks, or the carefree Remus. These are the shells that society wants to see.

"I don't know about you all, but what I remember about Nymphadora Tonks-Lupin is that she would kick my arse if she knew that I said her full name in front of this many people (* crowd chuckled *). She was so mad that that was her name, so we all had to call her Tonks, even after she decided to marry Remus. I also remember that she was anything but graceful. She was a great Auror, don't get me wrong, but she was so uncoordinated, and the farthest thing from graceful that there could be. At my house, there is an ugly old troll foot umbrella stand, and without fail, every time she came into the house, she would trip on it; and this would wake up a very loud and raucous painting at the end of the hall."

The Weasley family gave a quiet chuckle, because they actually knew what he was talking about. Mrs. Black never let her forget that she was a 'blood-traitor'.

"Now Remus; he happened to be our Defense Against the Dark Arts professor a few years back, but decided to resign, because people found out about his little 'furry problem'. Personally I didn't really give a damn, but I guess people think that being a wolf once a month is a horrible offense, even though it wasn't his fault he was bitten. Personally when Tonks had her time of the month, I didn't want to be around her either; I would have rather been around Remus when he transformed." The crowd chuckled a bit. "He was my parents' best friend, along with Sirius Black. And he was a great link to them, because he was able to tell me stories and give me some pictures he had of them, something I would never have since they died before I could really remember them. Not many people wanted to get to know him because of his Lycanthropy. I think that made him a brilliant person, because he understood being prejudiced against, and that made him more honorable in my eyes. He had a few great friends through out his life and that made him all the better, and I think I'm a better person for having him in my life. I was so happy that Tonks married him and had Teddy. I'm deeply sorry for their loss and that my godson will have to grow up as on orphan like I did. But he will be loved far more than I ever was growing up.

"Now as for Colin Creevey. This kid would always come up to me and shove a camera practically up my nose," Harry began, looking at his younger brother Dennis, who let a small smile grace his face. "But once I got to know him better, and he joined up with the DA that we started, I grew to respect him. He tried so hard every time we got together, and I've seen him fight before. Colin was what Gryffindor's embodied, courage and bravery. He was brave, and was not ready to die. He had so much more life to live, and it's a damn shame that he can't live that now. I know that his brother will carry on Colin's legacy in the house for years to come.

"And Fred Weasley, part of the Weasley twins. He wasn't the highly respectable that the guy was going on about, at least not in the traditional sense. I mean, he was a savvy businessman. They both knew what they wanted, but didn't go the typical way of getting things. He kept people laughing while the war was going on. Don't get me wrong, I love and respect Fred, but we all know that you can't take him serious half the time. But boy are they smart," Harry said, looking at George. "I mean it took some pretty advanced magic to make some of those items. Just ask Hermione, she would agree." She chuckled, because she had said something along those lines about two years ago. "I mean, have you seen that portable swamp they left here a few years ago? It was brilliant. I will miss him dearly. All of these people did so much, so we could be here, in the land of the living that is now Voldemort free. They all knew what they were getting into when they came to this battle, and they died valiantly. You all should be proud of them, remembering the good about them, as well as the eccentricities that made them who they are. Thank you."

Harry finished his speech and was applauded by the large crowd before he resumed his seat. George stood up, shook Harry's hand, and proceeded to the podium, determined to say something about this brother.

"Hello everyone," he started with a small smile on his face. "If you don't know me by now, then I'm George Weasley, the better looking twin, and my twin died a few days ago. We were together from birth, through the trouble we used to get into and got chased by Mum's flying spoons, which would beat our bottoms until they broke. There were bad times sure, but good times as well. I mean, I can remember when Fred and I found Charlie just before he took his first shot of firewhiskey. Fred told Mum and she went ballistic." Charlie chuckled. "And there was the time we locked Ron in the closet. Fred put a silencing charm on the closet so no one would find him." George went on to tell a few funny stories involving the rest of his family, some funny, and others rather embarrassing. Harry was so proud of George, not only because he got up there, but he did what he did best, entertained the people.

When George and the other speakers were done their bit, everyone stood up and gave a standing ovation; they had done the hardest things possible that they had ever done in their lives. They faced their grief head-on and let everyone know how they felt. Harry stood up and looked around for a familiar face that he needed to find, and finally did when Andromeda made her way to a less crowded area. He saw her rocking a baby back and forth, trying to sooth the wailing Teddy.

"Hello Mrs. Tonks," Harry greeted as he walked up.

"Oh, hello Harry," she said hurriedly. "Sorry, he's not normally like this."

"May I?" Harry asked, extending his arms to the crying child. Harry desperately wanted to spend time with his godson, and have the child know that there was going to be someone there for him his whole life.

"Are you sure?" she questioned doubtfully.

"Yeah, I mean, after all, he is my godson."

Andromeda helped Harry settle the fussy child in his arms. He rubbed the small child's back and whispered softly into his ear, "its okay" over and over again. And after several minutes of this, then Teddy calmed down; he looked up at Harry, his eyes shown bright green, just like Harry's. With a pained look on his face, Teddy changed his hair color, to bright 'Weasley' red.

"Oh," Harry gasped at the sight. The baby bore a similar appearance to a male version of his mother. He repositioned the baby in his arms and cuddled him closer to his body. "Do you mind if I take him out for a walk around the grounds. I need a bit a fresh air."

"No, of course not, go ahead," she said. Harry held the baby close to him as he left the Great Hall and strolled across the grounds, veering toward the Quidditch pitch first. He turned a bit and saw the Whomping Willow in the near distance, so he walked over there with the baby, stopping a safe distance away from it.

"You're dad had to come here every month while he was at school. You see, he was a werewolf, but he was a good one. He didn't want to be one, but he was bitten when he was very young. But once he came to Hogwarts he made three good friends, even though one didn't turn out to be such a good person. But they would turn into Anamagi, animals. They would spend the full moon with him, pal around, and keep him from hurting people," Harry spoke to the baby. He wanted Teddy to know as much about his parents as he could. This innocent young life would never live the life that he had lived; left completely in the dark about his family until he was eleven years old. Harry let a tear call down his cheeks before Teddy screwed up his face again. When he opened his eyes, Teddy had soft, familiar amber eyes, and unruly black hair.

"Oh," a familiar female voice said from behind him. Harry turned around, pulling Teddy closer to his chest and his wand out to face his 'attacker'. He came face to face with Ginny Weasley, so he lowered his wand.

"What are you doing out here?" he asked, now bouncing the child lightly in his arms. Teddy was crying again apparently Ginny's sudden presence scared him. "Its okay Teddy," Harry cooed. After a few minutes, Teddy's tears stopped falling, and his screams turned into gurgles.

"I was just wondering where you were. Mum wants to head home, but I told her that we would come home later, if that's okay?"

"Yeah, of course, I want to spend time with my godson."

"He's beautiful," Ginny said softly, brushing his hair out of his face. "He looks just like you."

"He looked just like you earlier."

Ginny stood close to Harry, playing peek-a-boo with Teddy over Harry's shoulder. Mrs. Weasley and Andromeda looked down on them from the entrance to the school.

"They look adorable together," Andromeda commented.

"They do," Molly said, acknowledging Harry and Ginny as well as Harry and Teddy. "I do hope the two of them work out. I would really like for him to be a part of this family, officially anyway." It didn't take the two teenagers long to realize that they were being watched, and they headed up the hill to talk to the two ladies.

"Here you go Teddy, back to Nonna," Harry cooed to the baby, and passed him back over to his maternal grandmother.

"I think you'll be a wonderful father some day, Harry," Andromeda said as she cradled the baby close to her, smiling brightly.

"I'll settle for godfather for right now," he said, returning her smile. "And if you ever need a babysitter, if you ever need to just get out of the house, please, don't hesitate to let me know."

"I will," she replied warmly.

'Umm, Mrs. Weasley, I just want to take a walk around the grounds. I'll apparate home later," Harry told his mother figure.

"Me too," piped up Ginny, then turned to Harry. "If that's okay?"

"Sure," Molly and Harry said simultaneously, but she finished it. "Just be careful, Ron and Hermione are around here somewhere. Just take care of her Harry, won't you?"

"Don't worry Mrs. Weasley, I will," Harry said, with a chuckle.

Mrs. Weasley and Andromeda walked through the grounds toward Hogsmeade, where they apparated away. Harry turned to Ginny and offered his arm, she gratefully accepted it. They set a course to walk around the castle, all the while taking in the incredible amount of damage that had been inflicted upon it a few days ago. They knew that an extensive rebuild would have to take place before the school would be opened again. Nearly every wall outside had damage to it; whether it was a few crumbling stones from the tops or complete sections blasted away. They wound their way around the Quidditch pitch, sharing particular memories, shying away from the one from the last match his sixth year. "Oh, remember Lockhart?" Ginny giggled. "He was such a pansy."

"Yeah, he couldn't even do a bloody healing spell right," Harry grumbled. "Took all the bones from my arm and I had to have skelegrow and a stay in Hospital Wing."

"I think the best story I've heard was when you caught the snitch in your mouth first year," Ginny regaled.

"It may have been great for everyone else, but when it happened, I nearly wanted to vomit. They don't taste particularly good," Harry grimaced. He told her about the snitch willed to him by Dumbledore and how that got him out of an uncomfortable spot, and that he was able to talk to his parents, Sirius, and Remus again. Once they walked around the pitch, they reached a very familiar and very memorable tree.

"Hey, look," Ginny pointed out. "It's our tree."

She was right; many people had referred to as their tree. After their 'free show' in the common room after that last fateful match, they left the crowds, seeing refuge under the tree. They sat at the base of it, and discussed the match, albeit briefly between their heated kisses. Harry led her over and sat down in the old, yet familiar spot. He beckoned for the spunky red-head to join him; she took a seat in his lap, and laid her head on his chest. He automatically wrapped his arms around her slender waist.

"What are we doing Gin?" Harry asked.

"Well, we were just walking around the grounds at our school, and now we're sitting under our tree, silly," she giggled.

"No, I mean, what are we doing in a larger sense?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I woke up just last week, and I thought I was dreaming. You were in my bed, wrapped around me. I mean I haven't really seen you in a year, so excuse me for a being a bit confused. I mean, now it's like you're always touching me," he said, but backtracked quickly. "Not that I mind though. But now you're on my lap, under our tree, so I wanna know what we're doing."

"I don't know," Ginny replied softly. Harry shifted her weight so they could look at each other.

"I think you do know," Harry said, putting a hand on her cheek. "You just aren't willing to admit it."

"I know, I think I do know what I'd like to go on," Ginny sighed, her body sagging against his. "But you broke up with me – albeit for bloody noble reasons – but you broke up with me just the same. I tried to move on, but then you came to my house that night. I tried to start something on your birthday, and it seemed like you enjoyed the kiss, but after Hermione and Ron walked in, you seemed to have a change of heart. You did nothing. You couldn't even dance with my at Bill's wedding. You didn't even look like your bloody self, and you couldn't have a simple dance with me! DID I MEAN THAT LITTLE TO YOU!"

Harry sat there and took it like a man, patiently listening to her while she gave him a well-deserved verbal flogging. "You mean every thing to me," Harry said quietly, after she finished her rant and was breathing rather heavily. "You giving me that kiss, did just what you said. It gave me something to think about when I was on the run. And believe me, I wanted to continue, but Ron was already pissed at me enough for breaking up with you, he thought I was just going to mess you around again. But that's what kept me going the whole time, the thought of coming back and begging your forgiveness after all the way I had treated you. And I know that if I would have danced with you at the wedding, I couldn't have left."

"But you didn't have to leave, the Order could have helped, I could have helped," Ginny cried, tears slowly tracking down her pale freckled face.

"The Order couldn't have helped. It was something Dumbledore said I was the only one who could do it. And Hermione and Ron gave me absolutely no choice about their coming. But as much as I would have liked to have you there, you had to go back to Hogwarts. You were underage, and the trace would have still been on you," Harry explained, rubbing a hand up and down her back. "Then Voldemort would have killed me instead of the other way around." Harry still felt his stomach churn at the thought that he had ended another person's life, even though Voldemort wasn't really human anymore. The guilt would always be settled in his chest whenever he thought about the events of the past year.

"I know," Ginny said. "I just wanted to keep you safe with me. I was being a selfish little girl."

"No, not selfish, or a little girl," Harry said. "You're just human. And we've had to grow up much faster than we were supposed to." Ginny looked confused.

"Not selfish?"

"Look, we're all human. It's a natural human emotion for you to have wanted me to stay; and believe me, I really wanted to stay, but I knew that I couldn't stay."

"Oh," was all she could manage to say before laying her head back on his chest.

"So," he said, stroking her hair gently. "About what you said last week; would you take me back someday?"

"I don't know."

"What's there to know?" he asked. "It's a simple yes or no."

"No its not, there's more to it."

"What?"

"Whether or not you're going to hurt me again," she said quietly, almost embarrassed to say it.

"Oh, Ginny," he said, now cradling her against his chest, hugging her to him tightly. "I never meant to hurt you, only protect you."

"But you still hurt me, intentionally or not. I finally got over you breaking up with me, but last week; when I saw Hagrid carrying you out of the forest, and Tom said you were dead, I almost died right then and there. You can't imagine the feelings I was having, how scared I was, how scared we all were. Then you showed up after Mum killed Bellatrix, and I couldn't believe it, I don't think anyone could. You came back to life, and I wanted to kill you myself. Don't you ever do that to me again," she said angrily, hitting his chest with her fist, so he knew she was serious.

"I won't, intentionally, ever again, I promise," he whispered into her ear, and kissed her temple gently. He held her like that for what seemed like an eternity. She left her fingers trace small patterns on the top of his chest. Ginny inhaled with her nose pressed against his shirt, taking in the scent of him, it smelled like home, like the Burrow. He had called it home earlier; she smiled inwardly at the thought.

"Harry?" she asked gently.

"Hmm?" he mumbled against her hair. He, in turn, was smelling her a bit as well, noting that she must wash her hair with that fruity shampoo.

"Yes," he murmured.

"What?"

"Yes, I would take you back."

"That's good," he said kissing the top of her head gently. "Cause I would really like to be your boyfriend again, someday."

"Slow, as long as we can take things slow," she said absentmindedly.

"Anything, as long as I can be with you." Ginny's heart nearly stopped at this sentiment. They last guy she said this to got really pissed at her, since slow is not good in most guys minds. Harry loved her that much, that he would respect her wishes to go ridiculously slow.

I hope you liked this chapter, I'm still working on getting the next chapters edited and such = ) so review and stick around