Harry Potter and Grief's Wisdom

Poetheather

A/N: Sorry for the delay. Between getting my book out, working on a new project that could end up making me money, prepping for surgery, and my 10th anniversary, life has been a touch crazy. I will be busy for the next several weeks, recovering but I will try to get the next chapter out as time allows. Thank you all for reading and for your patience.

This is a work of fiction using the characters created by J.K. Rowling. They are not used with her permission. All actions follow the events of book five of the series. Any similarity between any person living or dead is purely coincidental and unintentional. If you happen to find your life reflected in this piece I'll be impressed and perhaps a little scared.

Chap. 25

"…and so now I am dating both of them," concluded Harry, as calmly and factually as he could manage.

The guys in the group were gaping at him in amazement, clearly trying to wrap their heads around this notion, while all the girls cut their eyes over to Hermione and Luna, narrowing them intently, apparently teetering between jealously and envy. Dean seemed to shake the stupor off first and asked in a voice filled with disbelief and wonder, "So wait… you all kiss and everything?"

Harry sighed and lowered his head. Sometimes people really did not seem to be able to understand simple English. "It's a regular relationship Dean, like any other, just with three instead of two."

"That's not an answer."

Luna got this look in her eye that Harry was coming to dread. He tried to prepare himself for what was to come, all the while knowing that there was nothing he could really do to manage that. In a very happily dreamy voice, Luna explained, "I must admit, they both kiss really well. No problems or anything and it makes me feel for tingly."

Harry and Hermione both blushed darkly, glaring at Luna who looked perfectly serious and content with what she had just expressed.

"You… Hermione… both… really?" squeaked Seamus, eyes so wide that Harry was concerned that they might just fall out of his head. He had no idea if that were even possible and he had no urge to ever discover that fact.

To prove the veracity of her statement, Luna leaned over and planted one right of Hermione's lips, sliding a hand into her hair to help pull her closer. The Gryffindor started some in surprise but did not back away and instead kissed the blonde back, her own hands moving into the blonde locks. That got people gaping in surprise again, clearly thrown by the display before them. Harry shook his head. Sure the plan had been to let people all know at once, so that they could answer whatever questions they might have. It had however not been to break them. "Guys?"

Several people shook their heads, as if trying to clear the images that had doubtless been burned into their retinas and brains before thy turned their heads and looked at Harry, who was trying to shift things from the physical side of the relationship to more practical matters, "Really, what the three of us have is just a normal relationship, like other people have. Like I said, due to my being the Head of two Houses that are pretty much destroyed, I am socially obligated to have a Lady for each House. It was explained that I needed to rebuild each of them back to their former glory and so, being in a plural relationship would not be strange. I liked both of them already and they already knew me as Harry and not the Boy-who-lived so it seemed like the most natural thing to do."

Ron was off to the side, remaining calm and showing silent support for his best mate. Thankfully the three of them had told him almost immediately after the fact else this would be a much more tumultuous scene. Of that there would be no doubt as it had been when it had occurred. After a mess of heated words, in the end it needed Harry to take him outside and away from the girls in order to speak with him for an hour or so. Mostly it had been for Ron's safety as the two girls had not been reacting to his yelling. Some of what had been said had shocked Harry. Truthfully, Harry had not been aware that Ron had been into Hermione for quite a while, but that was easily passed off due to his cluelessness at times. The two argued all the time, and not the bickering that loving couples did but rather the kind that required intervention before things came to blows. Harry now got that his best friend felt cheated and like Harry took everything. It had pissed him off when that had been thrown in his face but he got it. They had nearly come to blows over that but things worked out in the end.

One of the things that had made the biggest impact on the redhead was when Ron's father had explained the issues a Head of House had to deal with, especially with a prominent family being so near the end of a Family line and the reasoning behind this to help him deal. Ron admitted that it really did sound like that even when Harry seemed to win he was losing somehow. If that were occurring now instead of days ago… Harry really didn't want to think about it. Hell, even Hermione had spoken with Ron, to help smooth things over when they had both gotten calmer. It had been a nightmare that had at least ended happily, though only after hours.

From what Harry could see from the faces of the DA members there was not a similar storm brewing amongst the others. That was the good news and made him relax even more. He had to concede the point that a number of the girls did look upset with Luna and Hermione but he knew better than to put himself in the middle of that mess. Getting involved with that sort of issue would only lead to tears, more than likely his own. Helping matters, Saunders was standing off to the side snickering and shaking his head. Harry glared at the man for all the good it did, not even denting the sound. The bodyguard seemed to take the teenage antics of the entire group rather amusedly, which was annoying. This was actually a serious conversation and would impact how well the group would be able to work together from this point forward.

"Are there any more questions about our relationship or are we all good?" asked Hermione, scanning across the faces.

No one had anything else to say at that point, as there had been a mess of answers to both relevant and impertinent questions. With that last bit of fun taken care of, people trickled out while Harry used the map to ensure there was no one nearby to catch them. Once everyone left, Harry turned to Saunders and asked, "So what do you think? Will this room work for training purposes?"

Saunders scanned the room again with a smile on his face. "I think it will. This is just an amazing room and the training tools you already have on hand here are excellent. I only wish our training rooms back at the Ministry were this good. There are a few things I can think of to help make things better but on the whole it is perfect as it is. You really lucked out with this."

"Good." Harry was pleased with that and grinned as he scanned the room one more time. Something occurred to him and made him even happier. "And maybe it can give us someplace to run during the winter."

"So let me get this straight, this room can become anything you ask it to?" asked Saunders, clearly thinking about something in particular.

"Everything that has been asked so far," replied Harry with a shrug.

The man nodded thoughtfully. It was almost possible to see the wheels spinning in his head. After a last nod, where apparently the last of his thoughts fell into place, Saunders clapped Harry on the shoulder and said, "Well come on Lord Potter. I am sure there is homework left to write."

The group of them exited the room and the door faded out of existence. Returning to his suite with the girls, Harry walked slowly, letting his thoughts go over what actual homework he had left to write tonight. So far as he knew there was only the one report left to write, as there were no other pressing bits of homework that he was aware of. Once through the door, he got out his supplies to work on the Herbology report. It was only eight inches long so he figured that it shouldn't take too long to write up. Hermione and Luna both had their books with them as well, setting up at the table with him. Hermione was already done with that report and was starting a Runes project that was due next week. While they were trying to get their work started, Dobby brought by mugs of orange juice for them all instead of the far thicker pumpkin juice, since he knew that they preferred it.

After buckling down and completing his report, he thankfully put down his quill and sighed, stretching his hand to work out a few of the cramps he had. Hermione and Luna both looked up from where they were working, since his shaking hand had caught their eyes. Sensing something from the cast of his face, Hermione asked, "What is it Harry?"

He looked around, unsure for a moment before his nebulous thoughts began to take on more form. There actually was something bothering him and it was only now starting to take shape in his thoughts. Gesturing around, Harry grumbled, "This, all of this, what the hell?"

Both Hermione and Luna shared a questioning look and turned back to Harry, their quills both getting set aside. "What?"

"I mean," Harry floundered for words briefly before he blurted out, "What the hell? Look at this; I am in a bloody suite for Christ's sake."

"Language!" chided Hermione.

"Sorry Mione. But I mean, think about this… if I had known about claiming my inheritance sooner this probably would have been my suite for a while now. We would have had a safe place to talk, to plot. We could have brewed the polyjuice in the safety of these rooms, without having to risk discovery in Myrtle's bathroom. We could have met here last year instead of Hog's Head when we started the DA, keeping us off Umbridge's radar. We could have been safer, a lot safer, but no, stupid Dumbledore didn't bother to let me know this really vital part of my own inheritance. Without Sirius… without Sirius… making an…" Harry was too chocked up to continue, words closing up in his throat.

The girls moved closer practically as one and hugged him, each pair of arms clasped around a different level. Hermione, not sure what to say in response, talked slowly and softly, her thinking stretching out what she had to say. "Yes there are a lot of things you didn't know before now. We are working on fixing that, making sure you know everything you need to know. Yes Professor Dumbledore seems to be hoarding information and doling it out rather slowly. We are working on that too; wanting you have answers to as many of your questions as possible. All we can do right now is just hold each other and our friends. Things are out of control but maybe this year we can do better than usual. Maybe we can keep from blundering blindly. Your inheritance is not a bad thing Harry. Perhaps you need to think about the fact that it shows the love your family and your Godfather had for you."

Harry grabbed one of her arms and squeezed, letting her know that he heard her, as he still hadn't found full use of his words. His breath came out shaky along with what words he was able to speak, "Love you. Thank you."

Hermione paused and gazed intently at Harry, trying to piece together what his words meant, while he was still too busy trying to reign in his emotions to register what he had just said. Luna beamed at Hermione over his bowed head and gave her a hug, happy for her. They just waited for him, rubbing his back. When Harry seemed to have better control over himself she asked, "Better now Harry?"

"Yes thank you." He smiled weakly, his emotions still turbulent.

"It's okay Harry. You lost your Godfather, who you were very close to only a short while ago," commented Luna, switching to nails instead of simply rubbing. "That is a big thing Harry. When I lost my Mother I was inconsolable for a very long time. That sort of response is a normal thing. You just need to stay close to those who love you and who you love and you will be right as rain in no time."

Harry had to admit that made sense and did make him feel a bit lighter. Luna had to have some secret magic in her that could explain why she was so good at that. "I just miss him."

Hermione ran a hand down his hair, resting her hand at the back of his neck. "We know Harry. I miss him too. He was a wonderful man who loved you deeply. You must never forget that."

He nodded, looking down at his clasped hands, trying to settle his emotions and thoughts. This was so hard. For so much of his life he had kept things closed off, protected, so that the words and actions of his relatives couldn't hurt him. He had worked hard to keep his heart and mind safe from the abuse he had suffered. It was surely not the best possible plan, but it had worked for him for years. But Sirius had gotten inside his guard, almost faster than he could imagine, possibly because he was a connection to his parents, a man who cared about him so much that he had risked his life several times in the hopes that he could keep Harry safe. Sirius might have had some trouble saying things sometimes but his actions practically screamed out what he thought. What hurt was that Harry had never really felt that before Sirius had entered his life, that there was an adult who truly cared for him and was looking out for his greater good. It was so out of his experience that he had no protection against it.

He might have been able to work something out, to find a way to protect himself again, but before he was able to work something out, the girls slid right inside and refused to budge, digging in and making themselves at home. In so many ways he held no desire to dislodge them from his heart. Dumbledore might insist that Love was the power that Riddle knew not, but Harry wasn't stupid enough to fool himself on the matter since it wasn't like he knew much about it either. For so much of his life there had been no love for him. His relatives could care less if he would live or die. He was a pariah who had darkened their door and so they had made their displeasure known. And now, now he felt like he was drowning in love. Between what he had felt for Sirius, what he felt for the girls, the differences there, what he felt for Ron, Ginny, Neville, all these other people who had become important to him, he was growing aware that just maybe he really did know something about love. Well, maybe not know per se, as he still had no clue, but he could recognize that he was rich in this.

"Hermione, Luna… thank you both for everything. I don't know how I would have made it through this summer without the two of you. Hell, even Tonks helped, though that might not have been her intension." He smirked slightly, amused with what he had said about Tonks. "I never knew that I had a cousin, that I had more relatives besides the Dursleys until this summer. I have worked so hard to keep focused on the training, to keep from letting all this overwhelm me, and I never would have managed on my own. Thank you."

"Tosh. You would have managed just fine Harry. You always do. You are very strong in all the ways that really matter and that has made all the difference. It has always been one of the things I have most admired about you. I am so happy to be your girlfriend because you, Harry James Potter, are a wonderful man." Hermione said, leaning over and resting her head on his shoulder, tightening her grip on his arm.

"That is very true Harry. I know you don't see that about yourself but that has more to do with wrackspurts than anything else. You are wonderful and loving. That you love the both of us is a very clear sign of that." Luna leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. "You are a great man."

Harry blushed slightly. It was a little overwhelming to realize just how much these two cared for him. He wanted to make it clear to them just how much they meant to him. Summoning his courage, he decided to say what he had been saying for a while in the privacy of his own thoughts. "Thank you. I… I love you both, very much. You two have made me more aware of what love actually is than anyone else. I can't imagine my life without you."

The girls tightened their hugs and kissed him on the cheeks at the same time. As his blush deepened the two just giggled at him, obviously pleased. Harry was amazed at how the girls had taken him from so sad and crushed to being happy in only a few minutes. It was… well, magical. Their touch settled him and made him feel less jangled inside, more in control of himself. He was glad that everyone knew about the three of them now, as he wouldn't have to keep what he felt for them inside. He could make what he felt clear to all who could see. They were amazing. He was a very, very lucky man and was sure that belief would never change.