A/N: Happy New Year, everyone!
Harry lay on his camp bed thinking about Ginny. He had told her about the prophecy, and she hadn't run away screaming. Of course, she knew now how it ended. But she had held his hand and listened, and he had seen the tears in her eyes when he talked about his mum refusing to move out of the way. Ginny just— she just let him talk, even encouraged him to talk, and Harry found it was a relief for her to know. He wondered if telling her other things, about the Horcruxes and the other times he had been in Voldemort's mind, would make him feel relieved too.
She had kissed him. They hadn't really— well, they hadn't really kissed since last summer. She had kissed him once, that first night he had gone looking for her and found her flying in the orchard, but that was just a peck, really. A chaste thank-you. Tonight was— not a friendly kiss, exactly, more like … like the way you might kiss someone if you weren't sure they wanted to kiss you back. Soft, and tentative, and—
Wait a minute. Did Ginny think he might not want to be with her, might not be receptive to kissing her? Because he wanted very much to go back to the way things had been when they were together at Hogwarts, when they were relaxed and comfortable in each other's presence, when they had kissed and touched easily. He just wasn't sure how to get there. And he worried it wasn't … appropriate, given the circumstances. What with her brother dying and all, he didn't want to seem as if he were taking advantage. Whatever Ginny said, Harry still felt responsible for Fred's death.
And what about Ginny, what did she want? He had broken up with her and left without warning and not seen or spoken to her for nine months. It didn't seem right to just pick back up snogging in the sunshine. But she said she wanted to start over. "Dating," she had said. Whatever that meant.
Harry thought back over the last few nights they spent together in the orchard. Ginny had reached for his hand, lain beside him with her head on his shoulder, and both times they had kissed, it had been she who initiated it. So, she wouldn't mind if he kissed her, right? Maybe not like last year, when she sometimes let him do a little more than kiss her, but—
The bedroom door opened and Ron came in. Harry jerked the covers up to his chin. Ron raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Harry decided to go on the offensive.
"Where have you been?"
"With Hermione."
"She's not sleeping up here tonight?" Hermione continued to have nightmares about Malfoy Manor.
Ron shook his head, shucking his jeans and tossing them in the dirty laundry.
"How are the preparations for Australia coming?"
Ron rolled his eyes. "You know Hermione. It's like exams all over again, only it's her parents, so it's like O.W.L.s, the Ministry of Magic, and Gringotts all rolled into one. She's barking."
"Can I do anything?"
"That reminds me." Ron dug in the pockets of his just-discarded jeans and pulled out a piece of paper. "Here," he said, tossing it at Harry. "That's the address for the Australian Ministry of Magic. Hermione says you can contact us there until we get established somewhere."
"Okay." Harry used a Sticking Charm to attach the paper to the wall above his bed. "Ron, if you need—"
He held up a hand. "Bill and Charlie and Percy and George have already offered. I thought George was going to beat me upside the head with the money, actually. Said Fred would have wanted me to have it."
"I'm sure he would. Still, if you get there and need anything—"
"You'll be my first owl," Ron said, climbing into bed.
"It's the least I can do."
"Hermione is working on reversing all the charms for her parents' bank accounts and dental practice and everything. She's going to have someone come in and clean the house, but if you and Ginny could go over and make sure everything looks okay, maybe do the shopping…."
"Of course we will. Just tell us when."
Ron flicked the Deluminator, and they were quiet for a few minutes.
"You okay with flying in an airplane?"
"Don't have much choice."
"You could take a Portkey back, let Hermione travel with her parents."
Harry heard the rustle of Ron's head shaking against his pillow. "Hermione reckons her parents are going to be rather leery of magic after what she did, and I reckon she's right. I don't want to do anything to make it worse."
"You mean you don't want to do anything to make them not like you," Harry said.
"That too."
Harry wished he could reassure his best mate, but what Hermione had done … anyone else, in any other circumstance, would serve time in Azkaban.
"They're just people, Ron," Harry said. "People who care about their daughter like your parents care about you and your brothers and Ginny."
"I just don't want to do anything or say anything that will mess this up for her. She— if her parents don't forgive her, if they won't come back home, it's going to crush her."
Harry didn't want to think about it.
()()()()
Up early in preparation for attending several funerals today, Harry was just serving himself breakfast when George walked into the kitchen dressed in magenta robes.
"Where are you going?" Ron said.
"To work," George said shortly.
"But it's only—"
"I haven't been into the shop in months, since before Easter." George spoke over top of his sister. "Loads of work to do."
"Surely it could wait a few more days—" Charlie began, but he dropped off at George's dark look.
"Do you want some help?" Percy said.
"Not from you."
Everyone at the table flinched. Harry had wondered if this would happen, if George would resent Percy for Fred's death, for coming back to the family the same night Fred left it.
"Well, at least have some breakfast," Ginny said quickly, standing up. "I have eggs scrambled, or do you want fried? You like them over easy, right?"
"Fred liked them over easy. I don't want breakfast, and I don't want eggs. I want to get out of here and do something."
George slammed the back door behind him, leaving Ginny standing by the stove with a hurt look on her face and Harry angry at him for the first time he could remember.
"Git," Ron muttered.
"Ron!" Ginny looked even more upset.
"He's not the only one who's grieving."
"Fred was his twin. It's different," she said, but Harry thought she sounded unconvincing.
"He was our brother too!"
"All right," Charlie said, standing up and leading Ginny back to her seat. "Let's not fight about it. We all loved Fred, and we all miss him. He and George ran the shop together. Maybe George feels closer to him there. Let's give him some space, okay?"
The siblings continued with the meal. Harry noticed no one ate much, but Ginny transferred her strawberries to Percy's plate. Percy gave her a faint smile, which she returned. Hermione leaned against Ron's shoulder. Charlie picked at his toast, and Harry wished he had just slept through breakfast.
()()()()
Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Charlie, and Percy worked all through that afternoon cleaning the house and preparing for the Order dinner. Hermione had sent Percy to put fresh towels in the bathroom twenty minutes ago, but he hadn't returned. Harry assumed, having not been an Order member, that Percy simply disappeared to save his family the embarrassment of introducing him. Ginny didn't notice; she was still fretting over how many people would show up when Bill and Fleur arrived half an hour early.
"I hope you prepared for at least fifty, Ginny," Bill said in a serious voice, smirking behind her back.
But Ginny was in no mood for jokes. "Fifty! How did you get— Bill Weasley, that is not funny!"
"Relax, Gin-Gin," he said, taking advantage of both her hands being in pie crust dough to kiss her on the forehead. "As long as you have some food, you can magically increase the amount. Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration, right, Ron?" He winked.
"So Hermione says."
"Are you sure you can—"
"Ginny, there's enough food here to feed an army," Hermione said soothingly. "A literal army. We counted everyone we could think of, added ten more, and planned on the men eating thirds. It will be fine."
"Oh, are you making pie? I wish you had told me, Ginny, I would have brought some dirigible plums. They've just started to ripen."
"Luna! And Neville! What are you two doing here?"
"I Floo-called them yesterday," Harry said, shaking Neville's hand. "The three of you ran the DA while we were gone. You deserve to be here."
Ginny had no more time to fret over how many people were coming as the Weasleys' fireplace flared green again and again. Charlie propped open the back door as the members of the Order of the Phoenix arrived by Floo and Apparition over the next several minutes. Seeing that everyone wanted to speak with him, at least for a moment, Harry stepped outside into the garden where Bill and George were setting up tables. Harry was pleased to see Mrs. Weasley come outside; this would be the first meal she'd had with her family since arriving home from Hogwarts. There were also a few people Harry had never met before: a dark-haired and dark-eyed couple who were friends of Charlie's from Romania, and three of Fleur's friends from Beauxbatons Academy of Magic. Both Charlie and Bill shot frequent glances at the gate, and Harry wondered if Amy Green was supposed to be here too.
()()()()
Kingsley waited for almost everyone to clean their plates before he stood and called the meeting to order, sending a significant glance to Ginny, Neville, and Luna, who sat with Harry, Ron, and Hermione in the middle of one of the tables.
"This is Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood, and Ginny Weasley," Harry said, loudly enough for everyone to hear. "They ran Dumbledore's Army this year, the resistance at Hogwarts. I invited them." He met Kingsley's gaze without blinking.
"It's all right, Kingsley," McGonagall said.
"Welcome," Kingsley said in his deep, slow voice, finally breaking Harry's gaze. "We also have several of our international members here tonight. Charlie and Fleur, would you—"
"Sorry, sorry, sorry I'm late!" Amy Green came flying through the garden gate with a loud squeak and a clatter, holding her robes up with one hand and a shoe in the other and looking more than a little disheveled. "My transfer point in Romania turned into a marsh invested with Dugbogs." She glared in Charlie's direction, and Harry noticed several bloody bites on her feet and ankles as she replaced her sandal.
"I told you, if you don't want to end up in the marsh, be sure to Apparate to point eight-nine-two, not eight-two-nine," Charlie said.
"Next time, don't tell me what not to do," Amy retorted, dropping her robes and running her hand through her hair, or attempting to; her fingers caught in a snarl at the back of her head. Muttering under her breath, she gave her long hair a series of quick twists and shoved her wand through the dark mass to hold it in place before taking an empty seat at the very end of Harry's table. "Again, my apologies," she said. "Please continue." She folded her hands in her lap and smiled sweetly at Kingsley.
"Charlie and Fleur, please introduce your guests."
Introductions and pleasantries aside, Kingsley called for Professor McGonagall to share the plans for the rebuilding of Hogwarts.
"As many of you are aware, volunteers have been arriving at Hogwarts day by day and are working in various areas of the castle and grounds. Mr. Filch has an extensive list of volunteers who will be contacted by owl post over the next two days to develop a more organized schedule. The staff has covered the castle with reinforcement and stabilizing charms, and we are hopeful these will hold so the castle can be repaired in sections. We have also been working on the staff's living quarters. Group cleanup will begin on Saturday, continuing with the Entrance and Great Halls and the hospital wing. The Ministry is reviewing architects' bids, and we hope to have someone hired to supervise the project by next week. Due to damage from the giants, the library's archives are too unstable to enter right now—"
Hermione gave a little moan.
"So we have obtained copies of the architectural plans of the castle from the Ministry. However, these do not cover the castle's towers or anything below the level of the Entrance Hall, so we will need volunteers from all houses to complete these sections. If any of you know someone with magical construction experience who would be willing to supervise the volunteers, please see me after the meeting."
"Thank you, Minerva. Aberforth, an update on Voldemort, please."
Harry exchanged looks with Ron and Hermione. He couldn't believe they hadn't noticed that Voldemort's name was not on the list of scheduled funerals that appeared in the Daily Prophet last Friday.
The Hog's Head barman stood up and addressed not Kingsley, but Harry. "Voldemort's body was buried last week beside his father in the cemetery at Little Hangleton under the name Tom Riddle Junior. That information has not been released to the press, nor will it be." He looked away from Harry to glare at each person present before sitting down.
"The hunt for fleeing Death Eaters continues," Kingsley said. "We have sent requests for cooperation to every country in the International Confederation of Wizards, and the Wizengamot hopes to begin trials soon. Those of you who have personal knowledge of Death Eaters currently in custody can expect to receive summons to testify. I have also nominated each of you, and those members who are no longer with us, for Orders of Merlin, Third Class, and I expect this to be approved without difficulty. I have heard nothing but praise and gratitude for all of you over the last ten days, and it has been my privilege to serve with each and every one of you." Kingsley paused to look round the group. "At this time I'm opening the floor for any new business."
Mr. Diggle raised his hand and stood at Kingsley's nod. "Hestia and I are planning to bring the Dursleys home this weekend. I stopped by their house this evening, and it could use some sprucing up before their return. Mr. Potter, how would you like to handle that?"
"Er—" Harry had no desire to ever step foot on Privet Drive again. "I guess I could.… "
"I'll volunteer," said Neville. "If that's okay with you, Harry."
"Thanks, Neville. But they're Muggles. There should be someone with you who knows—"
"I can help with that," Mrs. Figg said. "I'll make sure everything in the house is working properly. I've been having my nephew mow the grass. I'll ask him to come by on Friday, and you can bring them home on Saturday, Dedalus. Does that work for you, Mr. Longbottom?"
"Friday's fine," Neville said.
"I'll help too, Harry," Luna said, and there were multiple offers from every table.
"That's settled then," Mr. Diggle said, and resumed his seat.
"I have something." Harry stood up. "Not all of you were there at the end, and you deserve to know the truth. I have irrefutable evidence that Severus Snape was a genuine member of the Order of the Phoenix." There was quiet rustling and murmuring from the group, and Harry waited for it to die down. "He was on our side the whole time. Dumbledore planned his death with Snape. Snape told Dumbledore that Voldemort had assigned Draco Malfoy to kill him, and Dumbledore asked Snape to do it instead. He was one of Voldemort's most trusted Death Eaters, and his bravery helped us win the war."
"Anything else, from anyone?" Kingsley said. Several seconds passed. "Very well then, let's give a big round of applause to Arthur and Molly Weasley for their generous hospitality over—" The words weren't even out of his mouth before there was thunderous applause and whistling that lasted until Mr. Weasley raised his hands in acknowledgement.
"And Miss Ginny Weasley—" Another round of whistling, mostly from her brothers and Harry— "who, since she is still a few months shy of her seventeenth birthday, prepared this lovely feast for us without the use of magic." He smiled at Ginny and dropped her a wink.
Ginny blushed with pleasure as everyone joined in the applause.
When it had died down, Kingsley sobered. "Aberforth, would you do the honors?"
The old man swallowed, and Harry thought there was a glint of moisture in the piercing blue eyes. "I move that the Order of the Phoenix be disbanded."
"Seconded," McGonagall said promptly, and it was the huskiness in her voice that reminded Harry that it was Albus Dumbledore who first formed the Order, and he who must have dissolved it after that night in Godric's Hollow nearly seventeen years ago.
"All in favor?"
"Aye!"
"Any opposed?
"Motion carries."