Chapter 9 Homeward Bound
Nearly three weeks later found Harry sat high upon a dune watching several brave surfers fight against strong winds and tall waves. He reached up and brushed some of his hair out of his face. It was late in the afternoon and temperature had turned cooler over the past couple of days, but even though the wind was blowing strong and cold and Harry was bundled up in a thick jumper he had taken off his shoes and socks and had buried his toes in the sand. It was peaceful, not a soul nearby, and no one who would be calling his name and claiming he was a saviour.
Hermione had spent the past two weeks with her parents. It had taken the Grangers a while to come to terms with what had happened and though they were sure there could've been another way they had accepted her back into the family. They had refused to return back to England, stating they were set up and comfortable where they were. Hermione was more than happy with the arrangement, promising that she would return to visit as regularly as she could, just happy that she had her parents back. She had liaised with the Australian ministry and they had agreed to set up an annual portkey, so that she could visit without having to waste time using muggle transport.
The Grangers had also met and spent time with Ron, welcoming him into the family as Hermione's boyfriend and finding his wonder at muggle devices and inventions rather amusing. They had allowed Harry into their homes on a number of occasions, though their attitude around him was one of confusion; unsure of whether they should be mad at him for what had cause Hermione to do what she did, or gratefulness for giving them their memories back with no side effects.
Their coolness towards him meant that Harry had spent a lot of his time by himself, whilst Ron and Hermione were at the Grangers. He hadn't minded and had, with some Ministry assistance, spent some time seeking out possibly properties to buy. He hadn't yet found one, and was still staying in the hotel, though had recently swapped rooms with Hermione so that she and Ron could spend some time together after he had inadvertently walked in to find them both sharing a shower one afternoon.
He turned his head slightly as he sensed footsteps behind him and smiled slightly as his friends walked up and sat on either side of him.
"Back to the circus tomorrow." Ron said, breaking the silence.
"Are you going straight back?" Harry asked.
Ron nodded. "We did think about making a detour on the way home, maybe stop off back in Egypt or somewhere, but I spoke to mum on the International Floo yesterday and she said there is still so much to be done. Hogwarts still needs a lot of work, as does Gringotts and the Ministry, and they're hoping to set up the school ready for the new year to start in September."
"Are you sure you aren't coming back?" Hermione asked and Harry tried to ignore the pleading in her voice.
Harry shrugged. "I want to stay," he said. "It's so peaceful not having anyone on my back. No dark wizards. No one calling my name. It feels like a clean slate. An opportunity to find myself."
Hermione bit a lip. "I'm worried about you, though." She said. "I really don't think you should be alone right now, not after what you've been through."
"I've been walking around by myself for the past two weeks, Hermione." Harry said. "It's been the best two weeks of my life, and you know I won't be gone forever. Just until I get myself back on my feet. I just need this break, Hermione. I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry, Harry." Ron said. "We both know how you hate the attention, and you have no immediate family or anything to go back to. Other than Teddy of course. I guess we'll have to let Andromeda know that you won't be able to look after him like you said."
Harry frowned, sensing that there was something else laced in Ron's tone of voice.
"I'm not abandoning him." He said, trying to defend himself, though mentally kicking himself because he had forgotten to spare a thought about his Godson this past fortnight.
"Well, I'm hoping that the school will be up and running, and that we can return to complete our final year." Hermione said. "Molly mentioned that the castle was barely habitable. It would be a shame not to be able to go back. I'm planning on helping them with the rebuild once we're home."
Harry's frown increased but he didn't say anything.
"What do you think is going to happen with the Goblins?" Ron asked after a short time. "We didn't get a chance to publicly apologise to them before we left. Do you think they'll give us access to our vaults?"
Harry looked to him. "Has your family not managed to get into them yet?" he asked.
"To be honest, I didn't get a chance to ask mum." Ron said. "The ministry has been helping out where they can, and the family have been working so hard in repairing the damage that I don't think they've had time to check. Even George has been helping out with the school. Took him a while to gain the nerve to go back, and I don't think he's actually been in the main castle, but he has been helping Hagrid build up his hut again. But you'll need to get some access to money, won't you? To be able to buy or rent somewhere here?"
Harry sucked in a breath, he had a lot of money but he hadn't really thought about not being able to access it. He knew Ron's point was right though.
"And of course you'd have to find a place here to complete your education." Hermione said. "Even if you do get access to your vault, I can't see you doing nothing for the rest of your life. You've been given another chance to live, and I know you aren't going to waste that. You'll need to finish your NEWTs."
"Do you have any ideas what you want to do?" Ron asked.
Harry groaned and dropped his head into his hands, carding his fingers into his hair and tugging on it.
"I know what you are trying to do." He said, and turned to Ron. "And you told me that you understood why I had to stay away."
Ron nodded, "I know." He said. "But what's to say that we don't return for a year, finish school, get everything settled and then go traveling? We can take a year out and do a world tour or something."
"What if we don't get the chance?" Harry returned. "What if I go back, get roped into something that I don't want to do? What if I don't get to return here, to spend the time to find myself?"
"Harry, we have the rest of our lives." Hermione said. "Nothing is going to happen now. Voldemort's gone. Most of the inner-circle's been caught. Kingsley is doing well in re-establishing the Ministry in a way that actually works and McGonagall is doing the same with the school. There is nothing to get in the way of you living your life."
"So let me." Harry said bluntly, grabbing his shoes and standing up.
He walked away down the dune towards the ocean.
"Harry!" He turned slightly to look at his friends. "You'll come to the airport tomorrow to see us off, right?" Ron asked, trying to hide the concern and disappointment in his voice.
Harry nodded. "Of course." He said, then turned back and continued to walk away.
The next morning found Hermione and Ron standing once more in Sydney airport, staring up at the screens for the departure time of their plane. They hadn't seen Harry that morning and had waited until the last possible moment before using the portkey to return to the airport in case he turned up to wish them a safe travel.
Ron was quietly fuming about the fact his friend hadn't turned up, and though Hermione tried to placate him, it was clear she was also hurt by Harry's actions.
"Gate 4, right?" Ron said. Hermione nodded and picked up her luggage. She had given Ron the task of being in charge of the journey in order to distract him slightly, and so far he had performed well in the company of muggles.
They walked towards the line, checking in their luggage and walking through to the departure lounge. "We have about an hour before we board." Hermione said, setting her luggage near some chairs and checking her watch. "Do you fancy getting something to eat?"
"I'd recommend the Thai restaurant over there." A voice from behind them said.
Both of them spun around to see Harry standing there, a slightly sheepish expression on his face and his rucksack at his feet.
Hermione gave a squeal and jumped into his arms, squeezing him hard as he laughed in her ear.
Ron just looked at him. "You coming with us?" he said, and Harry nodded.
"Your attempt to remind me of all the things I am still responsible for gave me a massive guilt trip." He said. "I spent all night on the beach thinking about it. You were right. I can't abandon Teddy. I need to get the Gringott's vaults sorted out, if only to set up a trust fund for him so he can come to Hogwarts. And of course then I realized that Hogwarts will need to be fixed should he want to go, and the Elder wand can help with that. I was also thinking that the wand can help with a few other people that have been affected by the war." He looked to Hermione. "It returned your parents memories without a hitch so I was just wondering what it could do for Neville's parents. Whether the wand could help with them." He sucked in a breath. "I also need to make sure that you both are set up and settled. It's the least I can do for all the help and support you've given me over the past few years. Once all that is sorted, I'm going to hide the Elder wand. There is no need for me to keep it and so I'll hide it away and have someone obliviate me so that even I won't know its location. I think it would be safer that way."
Hermione and Ron just looked at him. "That's a lot to do." Ron said.
Harry nodded. "But I can't abandon everyone now." He said. "If I did that, then my self-discovery mission would've all been for nowt. I'd return home to find people won't know me. They'd probably feel bitter that I had ran out on them. And, even though I need my space and need some time to sort myself out, one thing is for sure and that is that I don't want to stay away for ever. I need to make sure there will be a place for me once I decide to come back."
Hermione nodded, tears in her eyes. "And, from an entirely selfish point of view, I'd miss you if you went away." She said.
Harry smiled. "It hasn't stopped me from getting a holiday home here though." He said "The Australian Ministry is going to hold it for me until the vault situation is all sorted. Its just a small one bedroom hut not far from the beach, but whenever I need to, I can just portkey back for a week and walk on the beach and do nothing. It is a bit of a compromise, but I hope you'll at least give me this."
"Of course, mate." Ron said, stepping forward and giving Harry a one-armed hug. "Now, shall we get something to eat before we take off?"
Harry groaned as Ron jumped across his shoulders and ruffled his hair. "How can you still be happy after a 25 hour fight?" he groaned, hoisting his bag back up onto his shoulder and trying to straighten his posture.
"I'm just happy to be off that bloody plane!" Ron said with a laugh.
Harry sympathized. Even though he had grown a few inches over the time they had been running Ron still towered over him, and squeezing his long frame into the tight seats on the return plane had meant for a rather grumpy Weasley.
"First class next time, maybe." Hermione said with a smile, her petite frame had had no problem curling up and using either Ron's or Harry's shoulders as a pillow had meant she had slept most of the way.
"If Gringotts release my funds." Harry said. "I wonder if Kingsley has made any headway with the goblins?"
"You could ask him yourself." Ron said, coming to a halt at the temporary barriers and pointing at the crowd in front of them.
Harry walked up beside his friend and frowned as he saw the towering dark figure standing next to the imposing image of McGonagall.
"What do you think they want?" Harry asked. "I didn't even tell anyone that we were returning today."
"Neither did we." Hermione said. "Something must've happened for them to be here waiting for us."
Ron's happy mood quickly disappeared. "What if something has happened to my family?" he asked.
Harry frowned as they walked their way through the gates towards the two adults. "This is a bit of surprise" he said as they neared, not too sure how to receive McGonagall's greeting and quick hug before shaking Kingsley's hand. "Is everything okay?"
"Everything is fine, Harry." Kingsley said with a reassuring smile, though his facial expression didn't match that in his eyes.
Ron quickly picked up on this. "Is everyone okay?" he amended.
"Your family is fine, Mr Weasley." McGonagall replied, "They've all been working hard, sharing their time between the ministry and the school. Your mother has been particularly anxious of late, worrying that you were going to disappear off for another year."
"Not yet," Hermione said, "Though my parents have decided to stay in Australia, so no doubt we'll be making regular visits when we have the time."
The two adults nodded and Harry shifted his bag slightly. "So what do we owe the pleasure of you meeting us today?" he said suspiciously.
"We figured you would like a lift home." Kingsley said, indicating with his hand towards the exit of the expansive airport.
"We were planning on apparating." Harry said. "I appreciate not all of us have a license, but as we've been doing it all year anyhow I didn't see that would be too much of a problem. Besides, we didn't tell anyone we were arriving home today. How did you know when our flight was?"
"We contacted the Australian Ministry yesterday morning." Kingsley admitted, realizing that the trio weren't going to let up on their unexpected welcoming party and stopping so they were out of the way of the main crowds. "We figured you'd be out there for about a month and they advised us what flight you would be on. I can see you aren't going to accept anything less then honesty here, so I'll tell you outright. There have been several threats made against your lives."
The trio just stood still, waiting for the Acting Minister to elaborate.
"More specifically you, Harry." He added, and Ron snorted.
"Maybe you should've stayed in Oz." he muttered out the side of his mouth to his friend.
Harry turned to him. "You were the ones that gave me a guilt trip to return." He replied, childishly prodding his friend in the arm with a finger.
Hermione just rolled her eyes. "What's the threat?" she asked, trying to bring the topic back on focus. "It must be something major if you felt you had to catch us as soon as we stepped foot in the country?"
"There are a few Death Eaters that have teamed up with the Snatchers." Kingsley quickly explained. "We're still trying to work out who is leading the group, but needless to say that they aren't too happy with the outcome of the battle and seem to be focused on getting their hands on the Elder Wand and, in addition to that, the Stone in order to make things right again."
"They want to try to bring Voldemort back again?" Harry asked with a frown. "How did they even hear about the Stone?"
"We've discussed it and think that one of them made the connection between the wand being the wand of power from the Tale of the Three Brothers and come to the conclusion that you must've held all three in order to have survived."
"The Master of Death." Hermione muttered. Harry glanced at his friend and knew that what she said rang with truth. There were larger magicks at play than just luck when he had faced off with Voldemort and came back to life again. The Horcrux, his mother's sacrifice, his own sacrifice and the combination of all three Hallows had all come together as one to triumph that day. Harry felt like he had just been the vessel to bring them all together.
"What do you suggest we do?" Harry asked, rubbing at the large scar in the middle of his chest.
"Keep the Hallows safe." McGonagall said. "I believe that you still have the Elder wand, which is what they are really after. I've seen – or rather not seen - the cloak way too many times in my teaching career to believe that you aren't going to keep that to pass onto your eldest child when they attend Hogwarts. We have no knowledge of where the stone is at this time, but our largest concern is that you keep the three of them apart."
Harry nodded. "I hid the stone before I left for Australia." He said, remembering the afternoon when he had walked through the grounds of Hogwarts and buried it under the small headstone that he had placed over Snape's remains. He had figured at the time that so many people still thought badly of Snape that they wouldn't think of looking past the tomb of Dumbledore in their search for any of the Hallows. Besides, the Hallow was so small it would likely be mistaken for a pebble or small gem, though he had still put a spell over the area to alert him should anyone move the headstone and start digging around.
"I'm the only one who knows where it is." He indicated to the wand-holster that was on his wrist. "I still have the Elder wand with me, but my old wand has been fixed and works as good as ever. I want to keep the Elder wand a short time to help with fixing the school and, well, it's just a useful thing to have. I'm fully aware of the risks involved in having it taken off me though, so plan to hide it away and have Hermione obliviate me as soon as we think it's no longer of use."
"You've already decided to do that?" Kingsley said with surprise, thinking he was going to have a fight on his hands to convince Harry to separate the Hallows.
Harry nodded in return. "I'm going to keep the cloak, of course." He said. "It might not have helped my mum or dad, but it's certainly kept me hidden from death all this time. Hopefully it will continue to do the same."
He shifted nervously again as he saw his old teacher's eyes fill up with tears of pride, and the Minister also nodded his head in agreement.
"It is clear that the Hallows chose the right person." He said. "Too many people would be tempted to abuse the power they give and use them for their own gains."
Harry shrugged. "I've seen what power can do in the wrong hands." He said, "And I thought that is what we're trying to get away from with this fresh start. Besides, my use of the Hallows have not been completely selfless. I got to see my parents, Sirius and Remus one last time. Hermione's parents have been fixed with no adverse side-effects. And I aim to help the lives of a couple more people before I hide it away for good."
Kingsley nodded. "In which case just keep both wands near you, just in case. We'll keep you updated with any new intelligence we get, and if at any point you want extra protection, all you have to do is ask and it's yours."
Harry nodded. "Thank you." He said. "But I want everything to go back to as normal as possible. I want to keep a low profile, but I don't want to hide away anymore. I'm sure you can understand that?"
Both Kingsley and McGonagall nodded.
"What about the Goblins?" Hermione asked. "Have they been placated yet?"
Kingsley gave a laugh and shook his head. "What a bloody nightmare that was!" he said with a smile. "But they have finally released your vaults, and given the Ministry access to a lot of vaults that had been commandeered by the Death Eaters for their cause after a promise of a healthy donation to help fix the damage to the bank. Neville has returned the Sword of Gryffindor, though the Goblins know we have no sway over when and where it appears. We have signed an agreement that it will always be returned should it appear in our possession. We've even offered to provide another dragon to replace the one that escaped but, upon request from Charlie Weasley, there are going to be a number of welfare conditions put in place to make sure they live in more acceptable conditions. The Ministry is going to use the rest of the money to help fix up the damage to Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade, as well as providing support for families that lost a family member throughout the war. It appears that additional funds have been transferred from the Black family vault into the Potter's, so it might be worth putting aside a day or two to go down there to work your way through what you'd like to keep."
Harry grimaced. "Are you sure that's not just a ruse to lock me up down there?"
Kingsley shook his head. "It's taken a bit of negotiating, but we've managed to convince them that your only intention was to get the Horcrux which, in the long run, has helped their business more now Voldemort is dead. The grapevine has also been working hard and they heard of how you treated Dobby when he died, and your caring nature in general has done a lot to sway them back into a normal level of business, as did your final sacrifice which did hit a bit of a publicity peak whilst you were away, I'm afraid. You'll probably get a lot of stares when you go in, but you should be at no risk of harm. If anything, some of the goblins actually want to acknowledge you three as hero's, but daren't say anything public about it."
"That's a relief." Hermione said, and nudged Harry's elbow. "It means you can pay for your holiday home now." she added.
"Holiday home?" McGonagall queried.
"My parents have settled in a lovely place called Broome." Hermione explained. "We've all fallen in love with it and when things are sorted and after we've convinced Harry to sit his NEWTs then we'll probably be disappearing out there quite regularly."
"You three certainly deserve it." Kingsley said. "Now, shall we get you back to the Burrow? I'm sure Molly will be thrilled to have you home and under her wing again."
Harry and Hermione smirked as they followed Ron out of the terminal, finding an alley out of sight of the muggles the five of them apparated away.
The greeting at the Burrow was just as loud and emotional as Harry expected. Mrs Weasley was in her new, revamped kitchen already baking when the three of them walked up to the stable door, backpacks over their shoulders and large grins on their tanned faces. She burst into tears when she saw how relaxed they looked after their time away, and bustled them into the kitchen and sat them at the table to hear about their travels.
It was soon evident that the house was empty except for the Weasley matron. She advised the group as she poured some tea that the rest of the family were working down in Diagon Alley, working hard to repair all the damaged shops and create them into properties ready for new businesses to move in. Fleur was apparently in charge of assisting Ollivander, who was still recovering, in sorting and categorizing all the wands that hadn't been stolen or damaged during his kidnap. Bill was back in Gringotts, and Charlie and George were trying to recover all they could from the joke shop.
"Is he going to re-open?" Harry asked, knowing that he would happily put in some time to assist the lone twin if he wanted it.
"I think he is still undecided." Molly said sadly. "He is doing so much better since you took him away that time." She said to Harry. "He refuses to say where you went or what you said, but it certainly helped him with his grief. I think he wants to re-open the shop in memory of Fred, but fears that he's only half as fun without his brother."
Harry glanced up at the Weasley clock and realized that Fred's name had been removed and hung on a hook next to the central feature with his picture hung next to it. He sighed slightly as he wished he could make things easier for George, but not even the Elder wand could fix the hole that Fred had left behind.
"Well, we'd be behind him all the way." Ron said. "I could even help out after school if I go back. I mean, we're adults, even if we are returning for classes it doesn't mean we have to stay there. I could even become a partner in the shop."
"You'll have to be careful, Ron." Hermione said. "Just because you want to help him doesn't mean that you should give up opportunities that you want to do with life. I'm sure we can all help, but do you really want to give your life over to running a shop like that?"
Ron shrugged. "To be honest, I don't really know what I want to do anymore." He admitted, being surprisingly open with just his friends and his mother in the room. "I did want to be an Auror, but now I've had my fair share of dark-lord hunting I'm not too sure I'd want to do it for the rest of my life."
"I don't really think there are that many Death Eaters left." Molly said, her hands around her mug and sitting surprisingly still at the table with the trio. Harry was so used to seeing her bustling around after one of her children or a guest, it just seemed strange to see her calm and relaxed and enjoying a cup of tea. "A lot died in the battle, Kingsley released a final count a couple of weeks ago. The rest have nearly all been rounded up."
The trio exchanged looks, the recent warning from Kingsley and McGonagall fresh in their minds. They silently agreed that they wouldn't concern Ron's mother with the fresh information, not when things were slowly returning to normal.
"So what other options have you considered?" Hermione asked and Ron shrugged.
"To be honest, life got in the way of thinking about the future, or rather the threat to life did." Ron said. "Maybe I should go back to school? McGonagall mentioned something before we left about new subjects, maybe something will catch my eye. If not, I could always apprentice in the ministry somewhere."
"Your father is helping Kingsley get everything back on track." Molly said proudly. "And Percy is right by his side, helping out with the paperwork side of organizing, your father was never all that great at getting things on record. I'll let your father explain properly when you see him, but there is a big push on re-evaluating the rights of magical creatures, with different laws and rights for each category of magical creature. There should be several jobs going by the time you've finished in school."
Ron looked to Hermione and nudged her shoulder with a grin. "S.P.E.W in action!" he said with a laugh.
Hermione nodded, her eyes alight with interest. "Do you think they will be apprenticing in that area of the Ministry?" she asked and Molly laughed at her eagerness
Harry sighed. "It's just a shame that Remus wouldn't be around to benefit from a change in werewolf legislation." He said.
"No, but I'm sure he'll be happy knowing that we are doing what we can to change things now we have the opportunity." Hermione said. "Molly's right, by the time that we finish school we're going to be in the perfect situation to go into the Ministry and run it the way it should be. We can come up with fresh ideas on how to approach things, the Wizengamot will not be able to ignore our suggestions, not after what we did in the final battle. And by "we" I mean Dumbledore's Army and all those that were there at the battle, not just us three."
Harry shook his head. "There are still going to be people that aren't happy about change." He said cynically.
Molly nodded. "The Wizengamot is an accumulation of the eldest and wisest wizards," she said, "Doesn't mean they have the most sense."
Harry agreed. "Dumbledore admitted the same." He said. "In the end, they are still human and still make mistakes. If they will accommodate new ideas that would be great. But I bet they won't be happy…"
"Well, we'll just have to convince them!" Ron said. "Peacefully, of course" he added at a look from his mother and Hermione.
"Let's just get through the next year." Hermione said. "Get good grades, keep ourselves out of trouble, and see where life leads us. If we decide to join the ministry after then we can only do what we can. We've survived a lot, and whatever happens I think that we'll never forget where we've come from, and that will affect everything we do in the future."
Ron snorted into his mug of tea. "Keep out of trouble?" he repeated. "Harry? No chance!" he said. "What is it you called yourself? A trouble magnet?"
Harry shrugged. "Just one chance to be normal is all I need." he said. "And I promise to behave!"
The four of them smiled over their mugs and spent the rest of the afternoon basking in each others company until the rest of the family returned home.