A/N: Let me remind you the year of Connor's summer between his second and third year was 2001. In addition, Connor is a Seer. Consequently, I will be talking about the events of September 11, 2001. As an American and a Canadian, I remember how upsetting those events were. Do know it is not my intent to offend anyone or to be insensitive by referring to those events but Connor is set in the real world and had he not Seen those, he would not have been a real Seer.

Chapter 20 – Reality Sets In

Connor was looking out the window of a very tall building he had never been in before. In all directions, he could see the city extend for miles upon miles. He could also see a river on each side of the building, joining together in front of it and with a very busy port on the left. Every few seconds, he would see an airplane leave from an airport nearby, on the left, just beyond the port.

Something in the sky suddenly grabbed his attention. It looked like a strange bird which was flying in his direction. As the minutes trickled by the bird grew, larger and larger, and Connor realised it was an airplane. Other people around him had stopped what they were doing to look at the plane, wondering at its odd flight pattern which seemed to send it on a directly path to them. When people began to realise a collision was eminent, they began to scream and run for the nearest staircase, Connor among them. He was in the stairway, among horror filled faces, when the plane struck. The explosion that ensued instantaneously pulverised and burned the people around him who screamed in agony as they burned and died.

Connor sat upright in his bed, a remnant of gasoline and burning flesh smell in his nose and the pain of burning on his skin. He ran to the open window and gulped numerous breaths of fresh air which smelled of wet grass and fresh dirt. He looked around, not sure where he was for a moment then recognized the Burrow.

As he could think more coherently, his own reality began to set in.

Today, they would be burying his parents in the village cemetery. Today was ten days after their tragic end.

Connor went to his desk and took his journal. His three journals were another very rare items which had been saved since he never went anywhere without them. He wrote his dream and his thoughts, as directed by Profina, and went down the stairs for breakfast. Mrs Weasley was already there, preparing breakfast, while Mr Weasley who had taken off from work for the funeral was reading the paper. This scene was now becoming familiar to Connor and he smiled sadly. On the back of a chair next to where he usually sat, he noticed black robes.

"Ah! Connor!" said Mrs Weasley when she saw him. "Tuck in, dear," she said, pulling a plate on the table for him.

He ate slowly and without great appetite, as usual. He wondered if he'll ever be able to enjoy food like he used to again. Then he remembered what George had told him. But I'm not like him, he thought, not believing for a moment he would one day feel any better.

"Connor, dear, I found these robes upstairs in the attic," said Mrs Weasley, showing him the robes. "They use to belong to Percy. I thought maybe you would want to wear them today."

Connor simply nodded for an answer and Mrs Weasley smiled in relief. Connor hadn't wanted to go to Diagon Alley when she offered and he now realised he did not have anything suitable for a funeral. In a way, he was grateful Mrs Weasley had found a solution which did not involve him going out in public.

Connor finished eating, took the robes and went to his bedroom to change. The funerals were at ten that morning and by the time he was ready, they would have just enough time to walk to the village. Connor went down the stairs where Mrs Weasley, also wearing black, fussed over him for an instant and pronounced him adequate. She then fussed over Mr Weasley's black robes and once she was satisfied, they made their way to the village chapel, followed by Connor's half-kneazles. When they arrived, Harry and Ginny met them, both wearing black.

"All right there?" asked Harry.

Connor nodded even if he was not. He wanted people to stop asking him that. It was a stupid question and anybody who would think he may be anywhere remotely "all right" was a fool.

Hermione and Ron were waiting for them on the church stoop. Ron opened his mouth to ask him if he was all right but no words came out of his mouth. His eyes opened wide in surprised, Ron looked at Connor who only shrugged. While he hadn't realised he had actually cast a spell to prevent people from asking him the dreaded question, he felt an intense satisfaction in knowing his desire to not be asked again had the same result.

They walked into the church where more people than he expected were in attendance. All the Weasley children were there with their spouses. Even Charlie, whom Connor had seen only at the previous New Year celebrations, had come from Romania. Hermione's parents, the Minister and Erika were also in attendance. All had a sober air and most nodded their sympathies at him. Connor then looked at the front, which he hadn't dared look at just yet. On the right was a large black and white picture of his beautiful mum. She was smiling happily at the crowd in that moving manner all magical pictures had. Her eyes reflected the insatiable joie-de-vivre she was so well known for. On the left was a picture of his dad who was laughing, his seeing eyes sparkling with an inner fire Connor knew so well. At the sight of those beautiful pictures, Connor's eyes watered and tears ran down his face. Accompanied by Harry, he made his way to the beautifully crafted coffins and touched the polished grain of the dark cherry wood.

"We could not leave them opened," said Harry sadly. "The damage by the fire was too extensive."

"But I want to see them," said Connor quietly.

"No, Connor. It's really not a good idea," said Harry. "You need to remember them like in those pictures, not the way they look in there."

"But what if it's not them?" asked Connor through his tears.

"Believe me, Connor, it's them," said Harry, sadly putting his hand on the coffin near his.

"You've... seen them?"

"Yes, I have. And I really wish I hadn't," answered Harry.

Connor nodded satisfied by his mentor answer. A priest in wizarding robes joined them.

"I'm Father Albert," said the older man. "Are you Connor?"

Connor nodded.

"I'm very sorry for your loss," he said sadly. "I wanted to know if you wanted to say something during the ceremony."

Connor shook his head and looked at Harry.

"I'll do it, Father," said Harry.

The ceremony was a blur to Connor. What he mostly remembered were his tears which did not stop and somebody holding him close telling him he wasn't alone and he would eventually be fine. Had he been asked, he would not have known who it was.

At the end of the ceremony, Hermione cast a spell on the coffins, and he and three other people were sent to lift his mum's which now was feather light. They walked the coffin to the cemetery where it was lowered in the grave next to his father's. He was so distraught, he had no idea how his father's coffin had made it there.

Finally, they were quietly buried by the men in front of a tombstone which read his parents name and 'Beloved parents and friends.' Connor only saw a couple of shovelfuls of dirt hit the coffins before his eyes were full of tears again. When Mrs Weasley took him in her arms, he cried shamelessly, huge sobs rocking his body and giving him a headache.

After the ceremony, they all walked back to the Burrow in silence. While Connor did not really feel any better, he at least felt a sense of closure. His parents were now resting in peace and were watching over him, wherever they were. He promised himself at that moment that however hard his life was, he would make them proud. He looked up at his mentor and remembered Harry was also an orphan. All thing considered Connor thought he was luckier than Harry: at least, he got to know how nice his parents were.

When they arrived at the Burrow, Mrs Weasley took him by the arm and guided him to the front door, while the rest of the party went to the back garden.

"We've got you something," she said. "It's not much but it's something to remember your parents by. If you don't like it, we can remove it."

They walked into the house and there, on the mantle next to Fred's ever smiling picture was a picture of his parents, taken the previous summer during their visit. It was one of the most beautiful pictures of his parents Connor had ever seen. Their heads were close together and they were smiling at the camera. Some of his mum's blond hair had escaped its binding and was floating in the air. Her cheeks were darker and she looked healthier than she had had when she had worked long hours to allow them to survive. His dad was smiling, his arm around his mum's shoulder. His beard was neatly trimmed and his short hair nicely combed. His eyes were sparkling with joy.

"It's beautiful," said Connor, more tears coming to his eyes.

"If you want us to move it somewhere else..." began Mrs Weasley.

"No!" quickly said Connor, grateful the Weasleys cared enough for him to put the picture up in their living room.

It just went to show how very serious they were about wanting him to stay.

"My parents... they would have loved it."

"I certainly hope so, my dear," said Mrs Weasley gently. "We've also prepared a photo album you can take with you to Hogwarts when you go back to school."

"Thank you," he said quietly.

Mrs Weasley patted his arm and walked to the kitchen. Connor followed her a few moments later and was surprised to see Malda and Kraecher working at the stove.

"Master Connor," said Malda, running to Connor with tears in her huge eyes. "Malda be so sorry for Mr and Mrs McKeithan. Malda will miss them horribly."

"Thank you, Malda," said Connor, hugging the small house-elf. "I'll miss them too."

Malda gave him a sad watery smile and returned to her cooking. Connor walked outside where the party had assembled for a light lunch. The entire lunch seemed surreal to Connor, as if his parents would walk out of the house at any time and tell them all how bad of a joke it really was. But his parents never joined them, and never would again. It was mid-afternoon when the party began to dissipate. None of the guests had asked him if he was all right but all of them gave him their sympathies. The last to leave were Harry and Ginny. When Harry told him he would be by the next day, Connor wondered why but soon forgot about the comment, happy to finally be able to find the solitude of his bedroom.

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"Connor, dear, time to come down for breakfast now. Harry's here!" called Mrs Weasley from the ground floor.

Connor opened his eyes and remembered the previous day's comment from Harry. Again, he wondered what his mentor was doing here today. He got dressed slowly and made his way down the stairs. Harry was already sitting at the table, eating. At Connor's usual seat was a letter waiting for him. Connor immediately recognized the green ink of Hogwarts. Then it drew on him: it was the first of August, the day he was scheduled to go to Diagon Alley to get his school supplies. Connor had forgotten all about the arrangement which had been taken between his parents and Harry over a month ago.

Connor did not want to go, not at all. He did not want to see any of his friends. He did not want to have to tell anyone what had happened and why he hadn't written. But Harry was already here, ready to go.

He sat at the table and opened his Hogwarts letter. As expected, it was his list of needed supplies. He put it aside and took the plate Mrs Weasley was offering him. She took the list and read it.

"Oh, pretty standard," she said, giving the list to Harry. "And you've also got the form to allow you to go to Hogsmeade," she added, fetching a quill and some ink.

She signed it and dried it with a quick spell.

"Here you go, dear, you're all set for Hogsmeade. I'll put it in your room when I go upstairs later on."

"Thank you, Mrs Weasley," said Connor.

Once he was done eating, he followed Harry to the living room.

"Have you taken the Floo Network before?" asked Harry.

Connor shook his head.

"Now, here is how it's done: you take the powder, throw it in the chimney and say your destination very clearly. Then you step in the chimney and tuck your elbows in. Once you arrive at your destination, the Network should spit you out. Be careful: the landing is often tough, okay?"

Connor nodded.

"Let me go first," said Harry.

He took the powder and threw it in the chimney.

"Leaky Cauldron!" he said and the next moment, he was gone.

Connor did like Harry told him and a few moments later he was being bounced around in the Floo Network. It felt like a very bumpy elevator and Connor did not like it one bit. However, he had to admit he liked it better than Apparating. After what seemed like an eternity, Connoe was spit out of the Network and would have fallen on his hands and knees hadn't Harry been there to catch him, effectively saving him the embarrassment.

"Hey Harry! Hey Connor!" greeted Hannah behind the counter. "Here to shop for school supplies?" she asked.

"Yeah!" answered Harry. "Connor's third year!"

"Well, enjoy," she said. "Neville told me you'll be around for lunch."

"Yes, we will be," answered Harry.
"See you then," she said smiling brightly.

Connor followed Harry to the back door and entrance to Diagon Alley relieved she had behaved normally around him.

"Harry, does she know?" he asked, wondering.

"Of course she does," said Harry who understood his question without more details. "She is dating Neville so she has to know. You'll be surprised how many people will not say anything to you. They don't mean to be rude; it's just their way to respect your privacy."

Connor nodded as the doorway to Diagon Alley opened before them. Connor followed Harry into the Alley, dragging his feet, really not wanting to be there at all.

"Connor, I know you would rather have stayed home, but you've got to do this, and contrary to what you may believe, you really can do it," said Harry who had noticed his lack of enthusiasm. "Who knows, you may actually enjoy yourself."

Somehow, Connor rather doubted it but he quickened his steps to keep up with Harry. His first real test came a few minutes later when they met Lucas and his parents. Lucas was not the most diplomatic student in his group of friends and he was bound to say something he shouldn't.

"Hi, Connor! I'm so sorry for what happened," he said sincerely. "Will you be okay? Do you need anything from us? We'll help you anyway we can, you know," he said, his parents agreeing with a nod.

Connor was relieved. If that was all Lucas would say, maybe meeting the others wouldn't be too bad after all.

"I'm fine, thank you," said Connor. "It's not easy but I manage."

"Mate, I don't know what I would do if it was me," said Lucas, shaking his head sadly. "But if there's anything, anything at all you need, do ask."

Connor nodded as he heard running footsteps approaching. He had barely time to look up when Allison jumped in his arms and hugged him fiercely.

"Oh! Connor," she said, tears threatening to fall from her eyes. "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay," said Connor, smiling sadly at the American girl.

"When I heard..."

She looked up at her parents who were approaching them and Connor could see in her eyes she thought what Lucas had just told him: if it had happened to her, she didn't know what she would have done.

Connor had to admit, while seeing them with their parents was painful, their sympathies and friendship warmed his heart. A few moments later, they were joined by Zarek and his parents, and Gregory and Ernie. Connor looked up at Harry intrigued. He wondered why he seemed to be meeting all of his friends when they had barely taken two steps into the Alley; he wondered how come they knew about his parents when he hadn't written to any of them. He wondered if Harry had something to do with it.

Before long, Guinevere, Noëlla, Joanna, Lena and Theo had joined them and offered their sympathies and Connor had to admit, he was glad this part was finally over. They had all agreed to get ice cream right after lunch when Connor turned and saw Rajiv, beautiful and peaceful Rajiv, walked towards him followed by his dad.

"We've heard, Connor, and we're so sorry. I know it is not a big consolation, but we're here for you should you need anything," he said. "The mermaids have felt your pain and are very worried. Would you consider visiting with us so we can visit the lake?"

"I... I do not have my comb anymore, or my earplugs," said Connor sadly.

"They know, and they've got new ones to replace them," said Rajiv with a reassuring smile. "My parents and I also got you books to replace the ones I gave you last year."

"You did?" asked Connor surprised. "You shouldn't have."

"Did the books bring you joy?" simply asked Rajiv.

Connor nodded.

"Then we should have," he said. "Books that bring you joy are worth having."

"Thank you Rajiv," said Connor with a sincere smile. "It means a lot to me."

"Will you consider coming to Hogsmeade?" asked Rajiv again.

"Yes, I will," answered Connor. "I have to confirm with Mrs Weasley but would Saturday work for you?"

Rajiv looked at his dad who nodded.

"Yes," he said. "Send us an owl."

Talking with Rajiv made Connor feel so much better he actually looked forward to his visit. He wondered if Rajiv's inner peace was not also a gift he possessed, a gift which allowed him to calm other people's inner turmoil. Connor was reminded of his conversation with the Minister about the trauma the war orphans had gone through and wondered if Rajiv could not help. He would have to talk to Rajiv about it.

"Ready to go?" asked Harry who was silently standing by his side.
"Yes," he answered, actually smiling for the first time in days. "Rajiv," he called before the other youth could get too far. "We're getting ice cream after lunch. I would love if you could join us."

Rajiv looked up at his dad who smiled serenely.

"Thank you, Connor," said Rajiv also smiling. "We'll be there."

Once Rajiv was gone, Connor looked at his mentor.

"It's your doing, all this, isn't it?" he asked.

"Actually no," answered Harry. "It's Ginny's. She remembered how she felt when Fred passed and she wished somebody had done something similar for her. She thought it would have been easier for her."

"Tell her thank you for me," said Connor. "She was right: it did help."

After these encounters, Connor was able to relax and actually enjoy himself a little. Once they were done buying his school supplies, Harry turned to him.

"Now, we've got to get you Muggle clothes and anything else you no longer have and would like back."

There was more than one thing he would like replaced.

"But Harry, who will pay for all this? I mean, I have no money," said Connor.

"I don't want you to worry about it," said Harry firmly. "First of, I have more money that I can ever wish to spend in my lifetime and second of all, if I was not paying for it, someone else would have been more than willing to do so, like the Weasleys for instance. So, please, do us a favour and just accept there are people out there willing to help you and make your life easier. You are thirteen years old, Connor. You should not worry about who will pay for what. Let us figure it out.

"Now, we can do this two ways: I can go with you or give you the money to go and do it yourself."

Connor looked at the ground. As much as the idea to go by himself was appealing, he also wanted the shielding Harry was providing him.

"Would you come?" he asked.

"Sure I will," answered Harry with a smile. "Now what is it you would like to replace?"

"My Latin books," he answered first. "And I'd like a dictionary too, if I can, an English and Latin one."

"Anything else?"

"Yes," he said shyly. "My Divination books and cages for my half-kneazles."

"That should be easy," said Harry with a smile. "Anything else?"

"Not that I can think of at this moment," he answered.

"You're not holding in on me, are you?" challenged Harry.

Connor only shook his head in answer.

"Okay then; let's get these and then we'll go for the Muggle clothes."

They spent a fair amount of time at Flourish and Botts where Connor really indulged in Harry's generosity by buying himself more than the Latin and Divination books. Harry seemed amused by his choice of books which was mostly centred around the history of Merlin.

"You know, they should have taught that to us in school instead of Goblin's wars," he said to Connor.

"They are now," said Connor. "Binns was only teaching first-years last year."

Harry frowned. Clearly, he hadn't known of this change.

"That must be quite an improvement," he said.

Connor nodded with a shadow of a smile on his lips.

After they acquired the books, they went to the Leaky Cauldron to have lunch with Neville.

"So I reckon it will be only the two of us this year, won't it?" said Neville to Connor once they had been served their dragon burger.

Connor nodded once. He had found out that Hermione would not be coming back, instead moving on to resume her Ministry career.

"I won't be spending the nights at Hogwarts all the time however," continued Neville.

Harry looked at his friend with a frown.

"Hannah," said Neville with a grin. "She wants me to move in here with her."

"So, when's the big day?" asked Harry, grinning also.

"I haven't asked her yet. I'm waiting to see how it'll work out soon."

"Are you guys coming to Hermione's wedding?"

It was Connor's turn to frown. He hadn't heard about Hermione getting married. In fact, he wondered when that came about. He had lived at the Weasleys for almost two weeks and hadn't heard a thing about it.

"You didn't know?" asked Harry, surprised when he saw Connor's reaction.

Connor shook his head.

"I'm sorry about that," said Harry, shaking his head. "She announced it a week after school was over. They'll get married on August 18."

"Will it be at the Burrow?" asked Neville.

"Yes," answered Harry. "Mrs Weasley has been working on some of the preparations but I think a lot of it has been done by Hermione and her mum."

Connor would not have known, since most of the time he kept to his bedroom.

"Hannah and I should be there," said Neville with a smile. "To come back to what I was saying: I won't be at Hogwarts every night but I'll make sure you've got my schedule," he said, turning to Connor. "If there's an emergency, Professor McGonagall can contact us," he added, waving his hand and indicating Harry and himself.

In a way, Connor felt abandoned. Harry was no longer at Hogwarts, Hermione was also gone, and Neville would not be there all the time... and his wonderful parents were no longer an owl away. If that was getting older, Connor did not know if he was ready for it. And he could safely say he didn't like it at all.

"Harry, how did you manage?" he asked quietly once Neville had left them.

"You mean without my parents?" asked Harry.

Connor nodded.

"I don't know, to tell you the truth," said Harry honestly. "Not having parents is all I ever knew. My aunt and uncle were not really the nurturing sort so I didn't really know how it could be to have parents until I was invited to the Weasleys during the summer between my first and second year. Up until then, I was pretty much taking care of myself and I was pretty much on my own."

"Didn't you wish you had your parents?"

"Yes, very much so," answered Harry. "The Dursleys were not very nice people. Actually, they were horrible to me. They didn't beat me but they did abuse me. I knew in my heart my parents would have treated me better. I was lucky when I was admitted to Hogwarts and met Ron and the Weasleys.

"Connor, I know it's hard to believe, but you'll be all right. I'm not going to tell you it'll be easy, but you'll find a way to get through this."

Connor nodded once before looking away.

"We better go if we want to meet the others for ice cream," said Harry, standing up.

Connor followed reluctantly. The time he had spent shopping made him dread the encounter again.

"You'll be fine," said Harry to his ear as they walked into the ice cream parlour.

And he was.

He ordered his ice cream and went to sit beside Rajiv who was already there, talking with Noëlla and Allison. A few minutes later, all the others had arrived and were happily talking about their summer and the upcoming school year. Once they were done, Harry and Connor resumed their shopping.

"Harry, weren't you supposed to help a first year too?" asked Connor once they were done with the Muggle clothes shopping.

"Yes, I did yesterday," he answered. "It was better that way. The school decided to send the first year letter out earlier this year so the Muggles who had never been to the Alley didn't get too overwhelmed."

"And Ginny?"

"Yes, she helped a new first year, too," said Harry with a smile.

"Do you know if any were found in group homes or orphanage?" he asked.

"You've been talking to Kingsley, haven't you?" asked Harry.

Connor nodded.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, there were two," answered Harry. "They were brother and sister but not twins."

"Are they okay?"

"I'm not sure," answered Harry. "I haven't met them. Professor McGonagall took care of them. Why do you ask?"

"Something the Minister said."

"About group homes?" prompted Harry.

Connor nodded, deeply hoping these two first years had been sent to a better home than he had. He could only imagine spending three years in that horrible place.

"What about next summer?" he asked. "Will they have to go back?"

"No," answered Harry. "None of the orphans we found had to go back if they were in a bad place. The Ministry has been able to place those who were found in wizarding families."

"Were they any in my year?"

"Yes, they were," answered Harry.

Connor knew better than to ask who. He was pretty sure Harry would not answer him. The only thing he knew was none of his immediate friends were war orphans.

"How many first years this year?"

"Eighty five," answered Harry, shaking his head. "That is quite a lot. I think despite the fact Professor McGonagall has to hire new teachers, she's really happy about it. It's really good for the wizarding world. We need new wizards and witches, we need them indeed."

It was close to dinner when Connor and Harry took the Floo back to the Burrow. They had just finished dinner when Connor asked to go to Hogsmeade to visit Rajiv the following Saturday. Mrs Weasley immediately agreed.

"It will do you good to get out of the house," she said with a smile. "Now, give me those new clothes of yours so I can wash them. That way, you'll have something nice to wear this weekend."