"Cronus Rising"
"Chapter Fifteen: The Tomb"
Harry stood with his back against the countertop. He held a thermos in his hand as he waited for Ginny to finish with the breakfast muffins. He watched Teddy curiously who ate his cereal at the kitchen table and stared out in the backyard as though he were looking for something. The boy had been unusually quiet that morning as though something were bothering him. Upon inquiring, his godson clammed up and said he was fine.
Ginny handed him a muffin as she rose on her tip toes to give him a swift kiss on the cheek. He turned his attention to her, a frown etched into his features. He motioned to Teddy with his head only to see her shrug her shoulders in return.
Crossing the room, Harry placed his muffin and thermos on the table. He glanced out the back window and saw nothing out of the ordinary. He brushed a hand through Teddy's hair which caused the boy to look up.
"Are you leaving for work then?"
"Yeah, I got to go. You're sure you're alright? You seem quiet this morning," Harry said as he sat down in the chair next to his godson.
"I'm fine…" the boy trailed off as he stirred his cereal in milk. "Do you think you could get off work early tonight so we can go flying again?"
"I'll try to," replied Harry as he picked a piece off his muffin and popped it into his mouth. "I'm sure Ginny will take you out this afternoon."
"I know she will," Teddy said thoughtfully. "You let me go really high though."
Harry laughed as he glanced back to look at Ginny who was rolling her eyes. She had a tea towel in her hand as she walked over to the small table. She playfully hit Teddy over the head with the towel as she took a seat on the other side of him.
"I have no problem with you flying high," she said. "I just want to make sure you're comfortable and won't fall off."
"I'm good. I didn't fall off yesterday," he reminded her.
"Okay. Okay. Okay. You can go up as high as you want! I'm having my wand out to cast a Cushioning Charm though just in case."
"I'll see you tonight," Harry said as gave the boy a faint squeeze on the shoulder.
He kissed Ginny swiftly on the cheek before he walked out of the house, down to the corner, and Apparated to the London.
Upon entering the Ministry, he made his way to the Auror offices. He passed the cubicles, some colleagues engrossed in reports on their desks and others nodded their good mornings to him as he passed. He paused at his own cubicle and crouched down to access the small filing cabinet under his desk. Rifling through the contents, he pulled out several folders and tucked them neatly under his arm.
Straightening up, he stopped at a framed picture on his desk. It was a picture of Harry, Ginny, and Teddy from the boy's fifth birthday. They had held the celebration outside at Andromeda Tonks' home. All the Weasleys had been in attendance. Teddy was sitting in a chair at the head of the table, a party hat laid crooked on top of his blue head. A wide smile was spread across his face, a large homemade cake that his grandmother made was in front of him. Harry and Ginny had been on either side of him. Harry's arm was draped across the boy's shoulders, his body crouched down so they were the same height. Ginny was crouched on the other side of him, a radiant laugh reaching every single feature on her face. Her hands rested on the arm rest of the chair. The three laughed in the picture, joking, not a care in the world.
Harry swallowed a lump that had gathered unknowingly in his throat. With his free hand, he grabbed the picture and continued his way to the back of the Auror Department where Odin Vidar's office resided.
He kicked the door open softly with his foot, the lights bursting to life as soon as he entered. He tossed the files down gently onto the desk before walking around to take a seat in the leather chair. Gently, he set up the picture of his family.
Vidar was in stable condition at St. Mungo's. His prognosis was looking exceedingly better than it had a few days previous. While the man recovered, Harry had the responsibility to take over the Auror office until he was back on his feet. It was a task that Harry hadn't particularly wanted nor needed at this time. He had his hands full with a pregnant wife, a godson, heading the Order of the Phoenix, his job… it was all too much pressure and stress weighing him down.
He couldn't even remember the last time he got a good night's rest. He had a herd of Death Eaters on the loose, a psychotic Death Eater's son thinking he was the new Voldemort, spies within the Ministry but hopefully not within the Order. Terrible thoughts plagued his mind daily, constant fatigue wracking his body.
"Oi, I have my report on the Gringotts attack," Ron Weasley's voice rang in the doorway an hour after Harry had arrived at the office.
"It's only a few days late," Harry said with a smirk as he beckoned his best friend into the room.
"You know me, constantly putting off paperwork and putting as little effort into it as possible," Ron replied with a smile as he tossed the folder onto Harry's desk and sat down across from him. "How're you feeling?"
"I feel like I want to crawl into a hole and sleep all winter."
Ron chuckled as he leaned the chair back onto its back legs, his longs legs crossing one over the other as his shoes rested on top of the desk. Harry glanced up at his friend over his glasses at the motion but said nothing.
"How's the arm?"
Raising his arm in the air for Harry to see, Ron shook it a bit before plopping it back down into his lap.
"It's fine. Hermione reckons the Healers healed it alright."
"Glad she approves."
Harry leaned back into the chair, a sigh escaping his lips. Ron was looking at him curiously as though he were waiting for his best mate to collapse onto the floor. Harry scowled. He didn't need anyone hovering over him.
"How's Teddy and Ginny?"
"What's up, Ron?"
"What? Can't I see how my best friend, my sister, and my nephew are doing?"
Harry's heart constricted at the word nephew. Ron had never called Teddy his nephew, never called him anything except for Teddy to be honest. He had always just been Teddy, been Harry's godson, been Remus' son. Ron had never called the boy more than that. Sure, Ron always attended Teddy's birthdays, played and chatted with him at events, babysat the boy when needed, but never made such a familiar connection to him before. It made Harry happy and he knew that Teddy would have swelled with excitement at being called nephew. He craved the normalcy of a family and basked in the comfort when anyone made a mention that he was just that.
"They're fine," Harry replied, staring at Ron who was gazing up at the ceiling. "You just seemed to be lingering is all."
"Lingering?" Ron questioned as his gaze turned to his best friend and the front legs of the chair thumped onto the ground. "Can't a guy just hang out in his best mate's temporary office and engage in some lighthearted conversation?"
Harry smirked, his eyes rolling playfully. Ron grinned back, his freckles smushing together.
"Hermione and I are just worried about you," he said finally, the grin slowly falling from his pallid face. "You look dead tired lately as though you're not sleeping. You nearly died at Gringotts. Merlin, Harry, when you collapsed after battling Cronus, we thought the bloody worst. You were so pale and there was so much blood on you. I don't know how you even managed to finish that duel."
"I'm fine," stressed Harry.
"Oh, you're fine. We'll just stop worrying because you say you're fine," Ron snapped back. "I'll tell Hermione that you're fine. Just another Tuesday night, battling evil git wizards and nearly bleeding to death. All good and dandy."
Harry sighed with a frown working its way into his brows. He lolled his head backwards, a groan rumbling in his throat. This was the last thing he wanted to do.
"What do you want me to say, Ron?"
"I've only bloody known you since we've been eleven years old. I know when you're not fine and you're definitely not fine right now. Stop being a ginormous prat and talk to me."
Harry looked at his friend who was glaring at him with a mixture of concern and frustration. What could he really say? He wasn't sleeping. He was stressed beyond belief – more stressed now than he had even been with Voldemort. He now had a kid on the way and a godson who relied on him to keep them safe. That simple fact had made the weight on his shoulders an unbearable pressure. It was a pressure that he had never felt before. It was a pressure that made his heart ache and bile rise in his throat. He had two tiny little humans expecting him to keep them safe. It was a foreign, yet welcome, feeling.
With a flick of the wand, the door to the office slammed shut. With another wave, Harry placed a Silencing Charm around the room so the two best friends could not be overheard. He sighed, a long weighing sigh as he tossed his wand onto his desk.
"I have a fiancé at home. I have a godson at home. Now, I had an unborn baby at home. I have three people I have to protect – three people who rely on me for everything. Cronus knows he can get to me through them. He's attacked Ginny and Teddy before. He's attacked Ginny and me multiple times. I don't know what to do. We know he has spies in the bloody Ministry but I haven't the faintest idea who they are. We know he's been planning this for awhile. I just… I'm at a loss, Ron. I feel like I'm Harry bleeding Potter, Chosen One, War Hero, Defender of the Wizarding World and I'm failing. I'm failing the Wizarding World, I'm failing Ginny, I'm failing Teddy, I'm failing you, I'm failing everyone."
"You're not failing anyone," Ron snapped angrily. "It's not your job to defeat every evil wizard that comes along. You're putting too much pressure on yourself assuming it's your job or your duty."
"It's expected of me though. I'm twenty-three years old and I'm sitting in the Head Auror's office right now being interim Head. I haven't got the faintest idea what I'm doing here. I feel like I never know what I'm doing. We stumbled through the Horcruxes. I don't even know how we managed to get them all. It felt like it was all pure, dumb luck that we're even sitting here together."
"You just stopped Cronus from taking over Gringotts, Mate. That was all you. You're the one who battled Cronus. You're the one who disarmed him. You're the one who broke his bloody shoulder. Bloody hell, Harry, maybe his shoulder will never heal properly and his magic will suffer. You did that."
"I just… want this over with," Harry sighed. "I want things to go back to the way they were before Cronus killed Andromeda."
"Sucks, but it's never going to be the same again, Harry. To be honest, I don't think you'd want things to go back to the way they were before. You have Teddy living with you which I've known you've always wanted but never wanted to ask Andromeda for it."
"I never wanted Andromeda dead," Harry replied coolly.
"I'm not saying you did. I'm just saying that I remember you telling Hermione and me you wished Teddy could live with you though. But, after her husband and daughter dying, you were too damn noble to ask for more custody."
"I didn't want to rock the boat," Harry said carefully. "Andromeda and I had a good relationship. Remus and Tonks never wrote a will so guardianship of Teddy was up for interpretation. She was his grandmother and I was just his godfather. Andromeda let me have him every single weekend. She let me take him anytime I asked for him to take him on holiday or for a random night during the week. There was an open invitation from her to show up for dinner whenever I pleased. I didn't want our relationship to become contentious and have Teddy suffer because of it."
"I get why you never asked, Mate. I'm just saying, I know you're glad Teddy is with you now."
Harry sighed as his squeezed the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. He could feel a headache coming on from lack of sleep and stress.
"You make me sound like a monster for being happy Teddy is with me while Andromeda's buried six feet under."
"I'm not saying that. Andromeda just assumed custody though. I mean, there wasn't even a conversation with you. She just assumed she was his primary guardian."
"He was with her when they died."
"While you were securing that his future wasn't a boundlessly dark mess of snatchers, taboos, and fear."
There was a knock at the door and Harry had never been so relieved. He did not want to carry on this conversation with Ron. Lifting the Silencing Charm off the room, he called for the person to enter the office.
"Auror Potter," a breathless voice wheezed in the doorway of the head Auror's office. "The Minister needs to see you. He said it's urgent and can't wait."
Harry gave Ron a glance before he nodded his head to the wizard. He did not know the man's name and didn't ask it. He stood up from his desk, tucking his wand safely into his pocket. He followed the young wizard through the Ministry, neither one talking. Harry figured he had no idea what the summons was about. He only hoped that it wasn't to announce the death of Draco Malfoy.
He entered Kingsley's office, his hands stuffing themselves into their pockets while the wizard who led him there shut the door with a soft snap. Kingsley had a deep frown etched into his features, his fingers nervously drumming on his desk and his lips drawn into a straight line.
"What's wrong?" Harry asked, his mind jumping from worst case scenario to worse case scenario. He suddenly felt the weight of the mirror shard in his pocket and wondered briefly if he should try to contact Teddy to ensure him and Ginny were alright.
"There's been a… disturbing… disturbance," Kingsley spoke softly and seemed like he was having trouble finding his words.
Harry took a few steps closer to the desk, his mouth going dry. His brows knitted downwards as he silently wished Kingsley would just spit out what had happened already. He needed to know that Ginny and Teddy were safe… that all the Weasleys were safe… that Malfoy hadn't been outed as the spy.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"There's been a grave robbery."
Whatever Harry thought Kingsley was going to say, grave robbery surely wasn't anywhere on the list. His shoulders relaxed, a heavy weight escaping from them.
"Look, Kingsley, I have enough on my plate right now. I can't look into a grave robbery too. Ask Ron or somebody."
"You aren't curious what grave was robbed?"
Harry blinked. His blood seemed to run cold. His eyes narrowed as his hands worked their way out of his pockets. His fingers curled on the back of the chair directly across from Kingsley's desk. Something told him that he would need the support.
"Who?" Harry asked in just above a whisper.
"Remus, Harry. It was Remus' grave."
Harry felt like someone had stabbed him. His breath hitched in his throat nearly suffocating him. He had just been at the gravesite last May with Teddy and Andromeda. It was a yearly tradition. On the anniversary of their death, when everyone else was out celebrating Voldemort's demise, the three of them would take a picnic to Remus and Tonks' graves. They would tell stories about the two, Teddy would talk to their headstones and normally end up crying and being carried home by Harry. There were always flowers, wreaths, trinkets. Andromeda always made sure the graves were kept up and nice looking. Harry was suddenly aware that the graves were probably overgrown with weeds and the flowers were probably dead. Shame rose in his heart as he should have been taking care of the graves but had failed to do so.
"Was he… I mean, was…"
"The body was still in the casket," Kingsley replied as though he were forcing the words out of his mouth.
Harry didn't know whether or not to be relieved. He wasn't quite sure what to ask. He couldn't imagine why Cronus would dig up Remus' casket. It baffled him.
"Was he… disturbed?"
"I'm not sure," Kingsley replied, the palms of his hands dug into his eye sockets. "Someone from the Magical Law Enforcement was notified. She said the body was very heavily decomposed… it was hard to tell if anything besides the actual casket was disturbed."
"Do you think it's a sick joke?" Harry whispered. "Do you think they're just trying to… to get to me?"
"I don't know, Harry. I would just… be careful. I don't know whether they were trying to make Remus an Inferi or… I don't know. Whatever it was… I'm not sure they succeeded."
"I, uh… where's Remus'… body now?"
"I have some law enforcement guarding the body while others are obtaining a new casket. I'm not sure if we… rebury him or put him somewhere for safe keeping for awhile."
Harry felt bile rising in his throat. He was sure he was going to start puking all over Kingsley's office. His head bowed down, his knuckles turning white as they gripped the chair tighter.
"I need to go home. I need to talk to Ginny and I need to check on Teddy."
"Go… go home. Take the rest of the day off and take tomorrow off too if you need it. I'll contact you if we learn anything else."
Wordlessly, Harry walked out of Kingsley's office. He passed the Minister's secretary who waved pleasantly at him. Before he could reach the door to leave, Harry stopped at the trash bin. His hands gripped either side and he retched up his breakfast. Without turning to look at the secretary, he disappeared from the office and hurried to an Apparition point.
Harry found himself down the street from his new home. He walked briskly, as fast as his legs could carry him. He whipped out his wand as soon as he was within the wards and prodded the doorknob with his wand. The door flung open.
"Ginny!" Harry yelled, slamming the front door behind him.
He could hear rustling from the kitchen. He started towards that way when Ginny met him halfway. She was wiping her hands on her apron, her hair pulled back into a ponytail, a quizzical look on her face.
"Harry, what are you doing home? Are you okay?"
"Where's Teddy?"
"He's upstairs playing. I was making lunch and told him I'd call him down when it was ready," Ginny responded as her eyes narrowed, concern radiating off her. "What's wrong? You look like you're going to be sick."
"Someone grave robbed Remus' grave," Harry whispered dangerously low, his eyes darting towards the stairs to make Teddy was not listening.
"What?"
Harry just shrugged his shoulders, a wild look crossing his features. He made his way to the staircase. He had to be sure Teddy wasn't lurking around. He couldn't bear to tell his godson what had happened. With him slamming the door, he expected Teddy to be crouched at the top of the stairs listening. Except, the stairwell was empty. Harry's hand clenched the railing. Teddy was always eavesdropping. They had to place Silencing Charms around the kitchen at Grimmauld Place. Always had to check that he wasn't out of bed or lingering at the top of stairs listening. He craved information. He would know his godfather was home.
"Teddy?" Harry called, his voice shaking. "Teddy?"
Ginny, noticing Harry's panic, pushed past him on the stairs. She ran the rest of the way up and went directly to his room. A sob escaped her lips and Harry watched as Ginny fell to her knees in the doorway of the boy's room.
"TEDDY!" Ginny screamed. "TEDDY!"
Harry felt as though he was being pulled on puppet strings the rest of the way up the stairs. He could not breath, could not speak, could not even blink. He bypassed Ginny to walk into Teddy's room. On the floor was his Moony plush – the one toy he never went anywhere without. On his nightstand, next to the smiling picture of Remus, Tonks, and baby Teddy, was the Enemy Eyeglass. By the bay window was Teddy's toy castle with his knight and dragon figures.
"He- he was – he was here. Harry," Ginny sobbed. "He knew… he knew not to leave. Wh-why did he leave?"
Harry did not respond. He crouched down, his fingers dancing over Moony. It looked as though the wolf had been dropped to the floor carelessly as it was lying on its side. Teddy always took care to sit the stuffed animal upright whenever he wasn't carrying him. He gripped the stuffed toy in his hand as he blinked the tears out of his eyes.
"You're sure he's not anywhere else in the house?" Harry choked out, his voice surprisingly level.
"He… he would have co-come running when w-we called."
Harry stood up, Moony still clenched in his fist. He turned around to face Ginny. She was sobbing on the floor, her head in her hands. Wordlessly, he drew his wand out of his pocket and raised it into the air. Closing his eyes, his tongue licking his lips, he let out a Patronus to tell the Order the terrible news. He knew Kingsley would gather a team together at the Ministry, knew that Ron and Hermione would get the Order together. The stag galloped around the room almost sadly, as though it too was searching for the young boy, before disappearing through the ceiling.
Harry's arm dropped to his side, his wand escaping from his fingertips and plummeted to the floor. He closed the space between him and Ginny. He fell to the ground in front of her, his whole body numb. He laid Moony in-between them, his hands reaching out for Ginny. He pulled her close to his chest, his arms around her shoulders like a vise. He let out a terrible sob and then broke down completely.
I wasn't going to post this until the weekend, but I was too excited to post this chapter. Plus, I finished writing chapter 17 and started 18 (which may end up being the last chapter. I may combine the last two chapters I had planned). Please, leave a review! We are drawing to the end.
