Title: Exiles
Rating: PG-13
Pairings: H/G, R/Hr, B/F
Summary: After Harry wins the war, life quickly returns to as it was and not in a good way. A bit of a twist on things going downhill and what Harry and friends have to do to survive … in a different way with a few OC's along the way.
(A/N: First draft has this at 6 chapters and around 60K-words. You should be able to assume "canon" through the final battle, where the story branches right after that.)
Exiles
Harry trudged up the stairs to the boy's dorm rooms in Gryffindor Tower. Turning into the first room he came to, he walked over to a bed that didn't look like anyone had claimed. For reasons he wasn't quite sure why, he lifted the mattress a little and shoved the Elder wand and his Invisibility Cloak into hiding. After a moment, he used his free hand and dug the ring he'd just retrieved from the forest and shoved it in there too before he lowered the mattress. There was no need to leave something so powerful laying around where anyone could take them while he was asleep. For good measure, he pulled out his newly repaired holly wand and Mokeskin bag to also hide it in the bundle. Draco's wand was placed on the nightstand.
Kicking off of his shoes but leaving the rest of his clothes on, he laid down and pulled the top cover over himself and relaxed. He was so tired. Sure he'd just defeated Voldemort barely an hour ago, but he knew most of his tiredness came from being on the run and all they had done over the last eleven or so months.
Harry would have been happy to have Ginny curled up with him, but he'd seen her family trying to pull themselves together after the loss of Fred and he wouldn't intrude on that. They now had years to be together based on the looks she'd given him when he'd first appeared at the school today. He smiled to himself and slipped into a deep sleep, forgetting to even take his glasses off.
— — —
Feeling a jolt of energy going through him, Harry jerked and rolled to grab a wand only to smash his hand into a stone wall. "Bloody hell!" he swore through clenched teeth before he heard laughing behind him. Turning to his other side he looked across a small room, through a door made of only metal bars, to see two Aurors and Lucius Malfoy staring and laughing at him. At least he had his glasses to see them, before he considered Malfoy probably made sure he could see him.
"Nice of you to join us, Potter," he smirked.
Harry wasn't sure how he knew, maybe it was the uneasy feel in the air, but somehow he knew exactly where he was because it was exactly as Sirius had described it once: Azkaban. "What's happened? Why am I here?"
"It's simple Potter," Malfoy said with a look of victory. "You killed some Purebloods and we can't have that. Then there's the matter of you breaking into my house." The man leaned forward a little until his face was almost touching the bars, looking as if he was imparting a secret. "Bad form." He laughed again as he straightened up.
"But I didn't kill anyone!" Harry protested.
"People saw you casting spells and Purebloods dying, Potter." Malfoy shrugged as he continued to smile. "You may have removed the head, but the rest of the body is doing well. We'll file charges if we remember."
"Too many people saw what happened. You can't get away with this," Harry said as he rose from the blanket he'd been lying on.
Malfoy looked thoughtful before he smiled again. "Sadly, most of the Hogwarts teachers didn't survive, including McGonagall and Flitwick. Nor did your little girlfriend's parents." He gestured over his shoulder. "Even that big half-breed of a friend of yours who carried you out of the forest didn't make it. No, there really aren't any witnesses to help you."
Harry shoved the lump in his throat down for a moment as he thought of the Weasley parents being gone. "I helped to protect your son at the end and this is how you repay me?" Harry tried, hoping this ploy worked.
Malfoy continued to smile at him. "Narcissa thanks you for that, but not even that will get you out, Potter. No, you're really too dangerous to our plans. Perhaps I'll see you later and find out if you've accepted your new lot in life, but I doubt it as I have no desire to return here again. You can be assured the guards will come find you and your friends tomorrow though. Jansen," he nodded to his left, "wants to see how long it will take you to start screaming when he uses the Cruciatus curse on you, as he's heard you have some tolerance for it. While Iverson here," he nodded at the other guard wants to see what your girlfriend is like, to see if she puts up as much of a fight as her mother, although her mother fought well for a blood traitor. Her father didn't do so well."
Harry was shocked at the turn of events and what he was being told.
"I understand it's about dinner time, so I'll go enjoy my steak dinner and leave you to enjoy whatever they have for you. I'm told you only get fed twice a day, so do be a good boy and eat up to conserve your strength." While Malfoy laughed again he pulled out a wand and held it in front of him. "I don't think you'll be needing this." He snapped it and the three walked way laughing.
Harry just blinked at the sight of the man not even recognizing his own son's wand before he broke it. Now that he was alone, Harry took the three large steps over to the door and looked out. To the left was the door Malfoy had just left through, which he could barely see. To the right were a few barred doors, but he couldn't tell how long the corridor was.
There was a door across from him. "Ginny!" he called but received no answer. If he'd been stunned it was likely she had been too. The idea of her being here too made him very angry. He would have punched the wall, but he'd inadvertently done that before and his hand was just starting to feel better so he didn't.
Noticing a small window on the wall across from the door, he jumped up and grabbed the ledge, pulling himself up to see out, and saw only the sea. Dropping back down to the floor, the only other things in his cell was a single blanket, an empty pan and cup near the door, and a small empty bucket in the corner. As he slid down the wall to return to the blanket, he considered that he did still have his clothes and trainers.
`Damn it!` he shouted in his mind. After all he'd done for the wizarding world, here he was in Azkaban along with his girlfriend and he didn't know who else.
There was a noise from outside this corridor. He started to get up to see what it was when he felt their presence. Instinctively he moved back to the corner furthest away from the door and pulled his knees up in front of him and tried to hide. It didn't do any good as the horrible feelings started to come and he heard his mother's pleading voice. A few seconds later he saw two Dementors glide down the small corridor past his cell and towards the ones further down.
Yet another guard came by and ladled a single serving of something wet and runny into the empty plate by the door by putting the kitchen implement through the bars to drop it in. "Yeah, you stay back there if you want food and water. If I can't see you then you won't get any." He laughed as he pushed a new cup in and took the cup that had been Harry's before he left.
Not moving Harry did his best to ignore the unnatural chill and feelings of despair for a few minutes, until it intensified as the Dementors returned and stopped to look in the door. Their breath rattled a little as they looked at him, as if memorizing him, before they left. Leaning over, Harry saw them do the same at the door across from him before they left out to the main corridor with the guard who had served dinner not too far behind them. That door was slammed at the end.
Harry wrapped the blanket around him and continued to sit there for a few moments as he tried to come to grips with this and think about what he was going to do. Eventually, he crawled over to the food but one whiff caused him to push it to the side. He wasn't that hungry yet. He did drink the water, almost finishing it but stopping himself before he did in case he needed it later.
He wasn't sure, but he thought he might have heard some sobbing coming from his right. He almost called out to find out who was there, but didn't know what he'd say so he kept quiet. He had to do something, but what?
The sunlight was fading fast so he had maybe twelve hours to figure out how to escape; however, he figured he probably shouldn't take more than ten for a little safety. But what could he do in that amount of time? Sirius had…
He knew what Sirius had done, but he'd had that talent before coming in and he was sure the story was it had taken something like two years to develop that talent while he had ten hours. This made it more along the lines of "directed accidental magic", which he was sure Hermione would say was an oxymoron. Try as he might, he couldn't think of anything else after a few minutes.
Doing his best to make himself comfortable on the floor with the blanket still wrapped around him, Harry closed his eyes and did his best to clear his mind before trying to "look inside himself" for his magic and an animal - hopefully a small one that was still useful. He could also only hope this could work because Sirius had never told him how to become an Animagus.
After some unknown time he felt warmer and totally peaceful. He felt like he could have dropped the blanket but didn't. He also felt movement something like a gentle wind blowing all through him. Eventually he accepted himself as he was, something he realized he'd never done before. He was…
Harry felt himself change. It wasn't quite painful, but definitely was uncomfortable. When the new feelings stopped, he felt smaller and the blanket was partially on top of him. Looking around, he found he could see even though it was dark, though his vision was strange as the colors were all wrong. Twisting his neck, he looked back on his body easily and saw that it was long and thin.
`Damn! There was a reason I was a Parselmouth.` He tried to move and only went a little ways. What was it that Sirius had said? Right, let the animal do what it does and guide it, or something like that. So Harry concentrated on the goal of moving towards the door and his body started to slither and pick up speed.
He paused by the door and couldn't help but taste the air. There were a multitude of scents in the air, many of which he didn't care for; however, there was one that seemed slightly familiar and it seemed to be right in front of him.
Looking to the left, he saw the door to the man corridor; looking to the right he saw three more sets of doors plus two more at the end making ten total on this corridor.
Moving ahead, he crossed the corridor and slithered into the cell to find a small person with long hair, probably red. With relief that she looked unhurt even if she was curled into a ball and seemed to be whimpering or maybe crying softly in addition to her ragged breathing.
Not wanting to scare her, he made sure all of him was inside the door before thinking really hard about turning back into his human self. It took a long moment as it was the first time to do this transition, but he slowly turned back into a human.
With a triumphant grin he celebrated in his mind for a few seconds. "Ginny?" he called very quietly. He saw her jerk slightly before she uncurled a little and started to turn her head.
"Harry?" she called out quietly, sounding very scared yet hopeful. It was obvious when she saw him because she froze for barely a second before she threw herself around and jumped to her feet to lunge at him, throwing her arms around him, her head on his shoulder. "Harry," she sobbed and held him tightly.
He put his arms around her and held her just as tightly. "Shush," he told her in almost a whisper. "It's going to be all right."
Her head jerked back. "It's not going to be all right. We're in Azkaban and they've threatened horrible things and they killed…" her voice was rising in hysteria.
"Ginny!" he said in a harsh whisper as he grabbed her head and held her face in front of his, causing her to stop. "Ginny, it may be hard, but we're going to get out of here very soon." He looked to her window and saw it was still dark, but he had little doubt his efforts had taken hours and morning would be here all too soon.
"Listen, I need to go check on the others and plan, but I have an idea and if there is any way possible I'll get us out of here," he told her with a little shake to try to get her so think it through. "I'll be back soon and spend time with you until we leave."
"Promise?" she urged, sounding like a little girl who was afraid it wouldn't come true.
"I promise."
Ginny slowly nodded and took a deep breath. "Sorry for freaking out on you, but we're in Azkaban and that's not supposed to happen." She sounded close to tears again. "How did you get in here?"
He pushed her back a little and she let go. "No screaming, right?" When she nodded, Harry concentrated and felt himself changing, getting a little faster with this next try.
A muffled gasp caused him to look up and see that Ginny was looking at him with wide eyes and her hands over her mouth. "When did you learn that?" she whispered hoarsely.
He sort of shook his head to try to say 'Not now' before he turned and slithered out of her door. He would have changed back to a human to walk to the next door but it wasn't that far so he stayed as a snake since he'd have to change back to get in, or he thought that would be better for now.
In the cell next to Ginny, he slithered in to find another familiar girl who was asleep. Changing back to human and staying on all fours he shook her shoulder lightly as he'd done for almost the last year.
She startled awake before she gasped, "Harry?"
"Shush," he told her. "We need to talk and we don't have long."
Hermione sat up quickly and grabbed him for a hug, her breathing ragged as she held on tightly. "There is so much wrong. How did you get in here?"
"Promise you won't yell or scream?" he asked. At her nod, he pulled back and changed into his snake form and stayed that way maybe half a minute before he changed back.
Hermione seemed to be looking at him intently, even if it was a little hard for her. "When did you learn to do that?"
"In the last few hours, sort of accidental magic that I've learned to control," he answered. "Can you tell what kind I am? I feel very confident and dangerous," he admitted. "I can also see reasonably well in the dark though colors and things look different, but it's easier to see people than the stone."
"It's hard to tell because of the low light and you're almost black," she replied, "but I think some kind of viper which can be really dangerous, unless you're an adder then you're not so dangerous. The fact that you can see heated objects better means you're probably a pit viper though, so don't bite anyone."
He couldn't help it and snorted. "Hermione, I'm going to have to bite some people to get us out of here." He explained what he wanted to do and as for much last for the last year she helped him refine his plan to become more workable.
"Do you know we got here?" he asked. "I forgot to ask Ginny."
"She's here? That's good, I think." Hermione shook her head. "I went to Gryffindor Tower like you did, as I checked on you. I went maybe an hour later, so I was caught when I was asleep too."
"All right." He looked out the window and the sky looked to be lightening a little. "I need to go as I think the day is coming."
She hugged him again. "Be careful, Harry."
"I'll do my best as always."
Hermione smiled at him. "You're best always seems to work; I have faith in you."
"Thanks," he replied with a smile before he changed back to a snake and left.
The next cell held Luna, who was awake and watched him slither in to join her. "Hi Harry," she said very quietly. "This makes sense."
He changed back to human. "Hi Luna. I'm going to try to get us out of here. Be thinking about what you need to do before we go into hiding."
"Not much." She paused and looked down. "They killed daddy. Ginny's parents too. All the professors that were there and any students who fought back. So much blood. So many of them. So many Wracksports." She shivered.
Harry wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly. "I'm sorry you had to see all of that, but thanks for telling me – I'd wondered."
"After they stunned a few at first like George and Lee who didn't see them come in, they killed most of the others. Then they searched the castle to find you. I wanted to warn you but they stunned me before I could get away – Ginny too" she said, still looking into his shoulder.
"It's all right, Luna, and I'm sorry about your father. Do you know how many they captured?" he asked.
"No, but it wasn't many. I think we're all here together," she told him.
"All right, that helps." The sky looked a little lighter. "I have to go check on the others but I'll get you out somehow."
She nodded and let go. He patted her on the shoulder and changed back to a snake and left. To save time, he became a human in the corridor and didn't plan on entering any other cells.
The last on the left held Lee Jordan of all people. The two cells at the end were empty. Coming back to his side of the corridor, he found George Weasley then Neville and finally Ron – all asleep.
Returning to Ginny's cell, he wasn't surprised to see her sitting on the floor by the door and looking out as she waited for him. Her smile looked a little forced when he returned and changed back. Her arms went around him instantly and they held each other before they slipped to the floor with Harry making sure he was by the door for a fast exit.
"Harry," she whispered.
"It's all right," he answered. "I have a plan and Hermione is here and helped me make it better. We'll get out of here."
"That's good, but not what I wanted. Are you-" she paused for a long moment, "are you a venomous snake?"
"I think so, why?"
"Promise me," she said intently, "that if your plan doesn't work that you'll try your best to come back to me and bite me. I don't want to stay in here alive. Mum never knew I was listening, but I heard a few stories Dad told her about the prison. Unless you're a full loon like Bellatrix Lestrange was, it's not good to be a woman here."
"Don't worry," he told her, "the only way you're not getting out of here is if they kill me while I'm trying to kill them. I-" He had to pause now. "I've tried not killing like Dumbledore did, but I don't think I have that luxury now."
"Do what you need to Harry. I promise I won't think any less of you for anything you have to do to rescue us or defend us. I'll be there every step of the way and if that means I have to kill the Death Eaters or their supporters who keep us in here, then so be it."
"So be it," he murmured.
They held each other as the sky continued to lighten. Before the sun could come in the window, a sound was heard from out in the main corridor. Harry didn't even say good-bye, he just changed and slithered out of Ginny's cell towards the main door. He put himself in the crease where the wall met the floor near the door and waited. Despite the sun coming up he was still almost invisible in the shadows.
A few minutes later, he heard two voices and the lock in the door was undone before the door opened. In walked one and then the other, the two guards from last night. Fortunately, neither had his wand out although one was putting keys away.
As the second one turned from the now closed door, Harry coiled and then struck, his mouth open wide and catching the man in the back of the leg at about knee height. His fangs easily went thru the cloth trousers and sunk into flesh where he injected a full dose of venom before he let go. The man did something of a silent scream as he fell to his knees then onto his hands.
Harry didn't hesitate and slithered to the side and hiding behind the man as he waited for the first guard who was turning and rushing over.
"Jansen, what happened?"
Harry coiled and struck again. Because the man was leaning over and Harry had sufficient length, it wasn't hard to go for the neck. His fangs plunged into the man's neck and more venom went in. The man screamed but managed to grab Harry and rip him off, but that just tore flesh and brought another scream before he let go to grab at his neck.
Turning, Harry saw Janson looking at him in horror. Harry also noticed he was looking at the man's wand right in front of him so he changed back into a human. Grabbing the wand, he didn't even need to aim and just cast a Stunning spell which hit the man's lower stomach. A twist at the waist and another spell and the other guard who had been fumbling for his wand was unconscious too, making the whole area very quiet.
"Harry, are you all right?"
He looked up to see Ginny standing at her door and looking right at him.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Surprise made it easier." He reached over and grabbed the other guard's wand too so he could test them. The first wand worked a little better so he kept it and handed the other to Ginny. "See if you can unlock it." He sealed the door to the corridor for a little extra warning if someone came.
"Harry?" He heard Ron's voice then Hermione's.
Ginny tried the Unlocking spell, but the door didn't open. Searching the guards again, he found the ring of keys. The first one he tried opened her door. "Be there in a minute, Ron." He went to unlock his own door to make it match the others.
"How did you get out?" Ron asked incredulously.
"A story for later," Harry answered as he opened Ron's door then moved to Hermione's. He was glad he could put the tale off for a bit as he worried about Ron's reaction, at least a little, until he considered Ron was pragmatic enough he'd probably ignore Harry being a snake as long as it got Ron out of prison.
"Harry, is it really you?" Neville asked, obviously woken up after the screaming. Harry would have worried about the noise, but screaming was supposed to be fairly normal in the prison he'd been told, so he didn't worry too much – just a little.
Luna calmly accepted her release, but Lee and George were more like Neville in their wonder.
"Now what?" George asked.
"Pass the other wand around and find out who can use it the best," Harry ordered. "We're going to need a hole in a wall as fast as possible." He walked into George's cell and start casting a Cutting then a Piercing hex, finding the Piercing seemed to work a little better although neither removed very much stone from the wall. He would have tried a Blasting Curse but thought that might attract too much attention. "This is going slower than I'd like."
Surprisingly, it was Lee Jordon who stepped up beside him and did a spell, which removed nearly ten times the amount of rock Harry's spell had.
"What did you do?" Harry asked incredulously.
"A Vanishing spell?" Lee replied a little apologetically.
Harry returned to the wall and did his best vanishing spell, causing even more stone to disappear. "Better".
"Try a transfiguration to air or water," Hermione suggested.
Harry tried that and an even larger chuck of stone disappeared as water dropped to the floor.
"Nice," Lee said and copied the action.
Maybe ten minutes of solid casting later by the two created a hole large enough for them to exit. Looking down they saw they were on the third floor above a rocky beach. He cast several cushioning charms below.
"It's cushioned. Lee, cast Arresto Momentum at each person as they jump. I need to get something first." He moved out of the cell and heard Lee helping the first person out.
Ginny was waiting for him and watching as he cast a spell at each man's head, encasing it in a bubble but this one didn't let air in. He couldn't bring himself to just cut off a head or anything so messy. A few minutes later, each man had stopped breathing so he transfigured each corpse into a long stick like a walking stick; he could hold the two in one hand.
"What are they for?" she asked, not looking like she was bothered by what he'd just done.
"Our transportation, I hope, as well as to remove the evidence and cast suspicion on them." He gestured to the hole and she moved over and let Lee help her down. He looked at his friend and recent radio announcer. "You or me last?"
"I got this, just be sure you get me when I come out," Lee told him.
"Right, hit me and then follow immediately." Harry stepped out and the spell hit him. As he slowly fell, he looked up and saw Lee come out. Harry cast the arresting spell just as Lee started falling. The two floated down, past a couple of prisoner's windows, but no one was looking out.
When Harry landed, he went to the edge of the water and transfigured one of the sticks into a long canoe. "Everyone in quickly," he said in a quiet voice. As each entered, he cast a Disillusionment charm on each.
He made George wait until the end, when he Disillusioned himself then George before pushing the wand to George who took it. "I'm getting in and then you're last. You'll also be doing the spells to push us. I'm getting tired after all of that and being up all night."
"No problem, I got this mate," George told him before he crawled in.
"Give me a wand," Hermione said and Lee's was passed to her. "I'll cast a Notice-Me-Not on the canoe to hide us.
As she did that, George pushed off from the shore and did the first spell to push them along. As they came around the end of the island, they saw the normal dock to come to the prison. Thankfully it was empty.
"How long until we get to shore?" someone asked, Ron he thought.
"Don't know, but hopefully not too long from now we'll leave the Anti-Apparation wards and then we don't have to go all the way back in this. I thought we'd go to your brother's house as it was hidden. Did anyone see anything happen to Bill or Fleur?"
All he heard was variations of "I didn't see them at the end". There was hope for help then.
Five minutes later they felt themselves leave the Anti-Apparation wards. "Luna, you've been there. Can you take someone?"
"Yes. Neville is next to me," Luna replied.
They all heard a "Hey!" before a crack.
"Ron?" Harry called out. As he tossed the unused "stick" in the water.
"Sorry, I can get there but best I don't take anyone, if you know what I mean," he said quietly and a little down.
Harry remembered his friend's Splinching accident. "Right, you go on then." As a crack sounded, he called out, Hermione?"
"I'll take Ginny as she's next to me." Another crack sounded.
"Lee, come to back of the boat," Harry said as he grabbed George's arm then Lee's when he'd come over. "George, I'm going to count down from three. When I say one, blast a big hole in this boat so it sinks or at least doesn't look like a boat.
"Ready, three, two, one..." There was a splintering noise and Harry Apparated the three of them and landed right outside Bill's wards to Shell Cottage. He'd barely landed when the counter to the Disillusionment hit him, then the other two became visible too.
It was with relief that he saw Bill and Fleur standing there with wands pointing them, though the pair didn't look too friendly.
"Keep the wands pointed down and how do we know you're really who you are?" Bill said as he covered them.
Ginny rolled her eyes. "Because, brother, I can tell you about the time you came home at three in the morning after visiting with Michelle whom Mum had forbid you from..."
"Enough!" Bill said and actually looked embarrassed. He grabbed his little sister for a big hug. "Don't ever finish that story," he said quietly but the rest heard him anyway and Fleur was giving him an interested look. Pulling a piece of paper out he pushed it to those who hadn't been here before. "The rest of you can go on in, as it'll be a good test."
Harry shrugged and started walking slowly towards the cottage, except that he saw Dobby's grave and stopped to pay his respects. Ginny caught up to him. "Oh," she said as she looked between the grave stone and Harry.
"Yeah, he died helping us escape from Bella. I'm glad your Mum..." he stopped as he realized what he was about to say.
Ginny nodded but tears were already coming.
"I'm so sorry, I loved them too," he told her as he wrapped her in his arms and they cried together. Bill came by and gestured at the house as all of the others were already on their way. Harry said, "In a moment." Bill went on his way.
Eventually, Harry managed to loosen her grip and walk her slowly towards the house as they dried the tracks of their tears and did their best to push their emotions away for a little while longer.
Inside Fleur was handing out tea and water with the promise of food soon.
"I'm so glad you're here, but how did you make it away?" Harry asked as he sat beside Ginny. "I was told they stunned and locked up the few of us here, but the rest were..." He had trouble saying it.
Bill didn't have any trouble talking and he was angry. "Murdered," he finished for Harry. "We were leaving when they all arrived with spells flying almost instantly. We were already half out a side door and there were so many of them I saw we had no hope of winning so Fleur and I ran out the door and lost ourselves in the secret passageways until we managed to leave out of a first floor window and make it to the Forbidden Forest where we Apparated here. The radio said you'd been captured with your friends while the rest resisted arrest and were dealt with," he ended bitterly. "How did you make it out of Azkaban?"
Harry told him and the others who didn't know about his getting lucky and figuring out how to become an Animagus overnight and that he was lucky enough for it to be something small and deadly. Hermione explained the rest of their escape.
To Harry's relief, Ron and all of the others looked amazed at his Animagus transformation but didn't say a negative word.
"What do we do?" Neville asked. "We can't stay here forever and I'm sure they're looking for Bill and Fleur too since they seemed to be going after the entire Weasley family."
"Percy?" Ginny gasped suddenly.
"We haven't heard anything about him," Bill said quietly.
As most thought about family members, Harry said, "I have a possible plan. I think I need some help on parts, but it's an idea that should work."
"Should?" Hermione prompted with a lot of questioning in her tone.
"Hey, it's been working so far but I'm only taking this one step at a time," he defended himself.
"You're doing well, Harry," Ginny told him as she gripped his hand.
"I know what I need to do," Luna said, "and then I can join you. I'll need about an hour."
Harry nodded. "That's part of it. Do whatever you need before we leave the country, but don't get caught whatever you do. Meet at Sirius's house and we'll go from there. I was thinking of going to France first, but I'm not sure how to leave the country without being noticed."
"I've thought about that already as we were planning on leaving soon to join Fleur's parents," Bill told them. "We take one of the Muggle ferries to France. We can disguise ourselves or just hide with magic. Once we get to France we can go to Gringotts in Paris to get money and then to the Delacours … at least for a short time. They won't want to publicize that you escaped Azkaban, but they will start searching for you very, very soon; therefore, we need to leave within the next few hours."
"What about wands?" Ron asked and several others agreed.
"Come with me to Sirius's place first. There are some extras there that you can try and pick the best. That will have to do until we can get others," Harry suggested.
"I need to go home and turn on some wards and look for Gran," Neville said as he rose.
"You won't find her there," Bill said quietly. "She resisted in a Wizengamot meeting and was made an example of." Neville collapsed back in his seat and hid his face in his hands.
"I already know about Daddy, but I too need to go home. I know my Mum's wand works for me. Since I don't know where to meet, I'll come back here. Can I leave from here?" At Bill's nod she Apparated away.
"I have nothing to get," Ginny said dejectedly.
"We'll see what we can find for you or else shop in France," Harry told her gently. "I'll help anyone else who needs it after I've been to Gringotts in Paris."
"I need to get some things from the shop and close up then I'll meet you there," George said. "Lee, I can get you into our meeting place if you want to go with me."
"Yeah, let's go to my home first then we can go to the shop," Lee replied. "My parents need to know."
"Don't stay long," Bill warned, "they may already be looking for you there."
"I only need five minutes, maybe less," Lee said. He looked at George and there was a double crack as the two left.
"I'll go with you too," Ron said looking at Harry. "Hermione?" She nodded.
"Neville?" Harry said caringly.
The young man took a deep breath and wiped at his eyes. "I'm be fine for now. Tonight might be different though. I need about an hour too. I'll come back here." Another deep breath he stood and was gone.
"Bill," Harry looked at the oldest brother, "I need to get my money from Gringotts, but I'm probably in a spot of trouble with them. If I went there now it could be a long time until we get out."
"A spot of trouble is an understatement," Bill said sarcastically. "I heard what you three did."
"Yeah," Harry looked down embarrassed. "Do you think we can take care of it in Paris or will it have to be done here?"
Bill looked at his wife who was packing up food when it was decided they were leaving instead of staying for a while. "It can be done in Paris, I think," she replied.
"Probably so, but you're going to pay some steep fines and it'll take longer to get it all straightened out, but it'll be safer too," Bill pointed out. "Yeah, let's wait on the bank until we get to Paris."
"Right, can you come with us and let Fleur wait for the other two? I need you to remove the Fidelius at Sirius's place and put up another."
"Sure, I can do that," Bill answered. "Give me a few minutes to pack and I'll be over. It might be a few years before we can come back." Fleur nodded sadly.
"Let's go to the back door," Harry suggested and left.
The other three were only a few seconds behind him before they all entered.
"Kreacher?" Harry called.
The elf popped in. "Master called?" he asked civilly, really more in a bored tone.
"Is anyone else here?"
"No, man from the Ministry looked around but left when one-eye's trick caught him. No one has come here since," the elf explained.
Harry looked at his bushy-haired friend. "I know you carried everything in your beaded purse. Where did you leave that?"
"I left it under my bed at Hogwarts. I used the dorm room on the first floor of the girls' side in Gryffindor Tower," Hermione explained.
"Kreacher," Harry looked at the elf, "I want you to go to Hogwarts and look for Hermione's beaded bag where she just described and get it if you can find it; it's white. I slept in the first boys' dorm room in Gryffindor Tower. Look under the mattress for a bundle of silvery cloth with things in it. If you can find it, please bring it all back and without anyone knowing. First, you should probably go to the kitchens and see if you can find Winky the house-elf. Ask her if she'd like to work for a family and if so then bring her back with you. I'd ask you to come with us but I know you'd prefer to serve the House of Black." The elf nodded and left.
"Harry," Hermione started to protest.
"Not now, please," he told her before looking at the group. "You three can go check the bedrooms to see if you can find any clothes that are about your size. I'll go find the extra wands for you to try in a moment," he told them just before the elf returned with a visitor.
"They were where you said," Kreacher held the items out.
Hermione snatched the purse. "I'm sure they took my wand since I left it on the nightstand, but at least I'll have some clothes in there and my books."
Harry and Ron shared a look and shook their heads in a moment of mirth.
"Kreacher, are there any trunks here, especially ones with expanded interiors?" Harry asked.
"One, master."
"Go get it and meet me in the library." Harry knelt down on one knee. "Winky, we could use your help if you'd like to join us. I'll do whatever you want to make you happy. You can be free and paid or you can bond with my family."
"Winky would like to a part of your family," the elf said with a big smile and held out her hand. Harry took it and felt magic pass between them.
"Harry," Hermione protested, "you know you shouldn't bond her to your family. She should be free not a slave."
"So, you're saying you want Winky to be unhappy?" Ron asked thoughtfully.
"No," Hermione denied.
"But Harry gave Winky the choice to do what would make her happiest, which you're trying to deny her," Ron pointed out. "That makes it sound like you don't want her to be happy."
Hermione started to protest then had to close her mouth as she understood what he was saying.
"He's got you there," Ginny said with a smirk, while Harry smiled.
"Let's go; you come with me, Winky," Harry said and went upstairs with the others following. Hermione, still not happy, went with Ginny to see if they could find her any clothes while Ron went to Sirius's room as it was the most likely to have what he needed.
Harry stopped by the study and wrote a short note which he stuck in his pocket for now. He also found the box of about a dozen wands on a shelf that he'd remembered seeing last time he was here. Thankfully, Fletcher hadn't taken them too.
Using the elder wand, Harry started shrinking the books on the shelves and Winky helped. They had a good start by the time Kreacher arrived with the trunk. "Did Sirius leave any emergency money here? Or any vault keys?"
Kreacher didn't look pleased to see Harry shrinking the books, but he had to answer. "Yes, he had some money and the main family vault key."
"Bring them both to me," Harry requested as he finished shrinking the books and had Winky start loading the very small books into the trunk, which did look fairly large on the inside.
Ron came in wearing different clothes as the elf returned from his errand and handed a small suitcase over along with a key. "I found a few things that should fit me," Ron commented. "Found a few shirts that would work for you but the trousers are more my size," he said with a shrug. Harry took his shirt off and threw it in the trunk before putting on an extra that Ron handed him.
Hermione and Ginny returned with each girl in different clothes; Ginny's looked loose. "I didn't find any for me and this is Hermione's," the redhead said with disappointment. "That's the problem with being short."
"I like you as you are," Harry told her with a smile which she returned. "There's the box of wands as well as the one I used to escape with," he said pointing to the ones on the table. "See what works for you since I have my own again." He didn't mention the Elder wand.
Bill was heard coming up the stairs and he joined them. "I'm ready."
When Bill took the old Fidelius down, Harry made him wait before he put the new one up. "Kreacher, can you find Andromeda Tonks? She was raised a Black and I think you could get along with her."
"She's a blood-" the elf stopped himself.
"Before she married her husband, who's now dead, did you like her?" Harry asked with some exasperation.
"He's dead?" Kreacher perked up. "So it is possible for her to become normal again." He nodded. "Yes, I think I can find her."
Harry pulled out the note he'd written in the study and handed it to the elf. "Please find her as soon as possible and give this to her. I need you to bring an answer back immediately, unless she says she'll come and could be here in a few minutes with your help. If she can come immediately, please bring her." The elf took the note and left.
"Sorry," he told Bill, "but I need to give her the house and it'll be easier now without a Fidelius and then do it while she's here," Harry explained.
"Sure, I understand and it'll give me the few minutes I need to get ready," Bill answered easily. "By the way, I stopped by Gringotts to find out how much trouble you're in. They've already fixed the bank floor, but the dragon... They had to put the one you took down and buy a young one as an adult won't go thru the doors in a normal way. Really, Harry, did you have to take the dragon? They aren't cheap to replace."
Harry shrugged and then grinned. "Seemed like the best idea at the time, but we didn't have a lot of time to think about it, you know?"
Kreacher popped in with Andromeda Tonks, who was carrying little Teddy. "Harry, is it really you?" she asked. "I heard you were arrested and in Azkaban."
"Sorry, but we don't have time for the story, but we decided to leave. In fact, we're about to leave the country..."
She snorted. "It's your only option."
"Yeah, well," Harry said, as he thought about what to say. "I don't see most of us ever coming back here as long as the same people are running things, so I don't need the house and I thought you might like to take it as it will have better protections than your old house. I'm Sirius's heir so I can give that also to you, or maybe you and Teddy."
He dug in his pocket and pulled out the Black Family vault key. "Here, take this, it will help you out."
"Seriously?!" she exclaimed, truly surprised.
"Yeah, I have a couple of vaults, although maybe not one of them for long," he replied while Bill snorted and nodded. "If you would, I'd appreciate it if you go to the bank and transfer up to half of the gold into my trust vault as I'll need it as we figure out where to live. If that doesn't leave with you much, then please keep more. While I'll need some extra money, I want you and Teddy not to have worry about money and you're more important; we'll find a way to get by if we have to."
"Oh Harry," the woman exclaimed with gratitude this time and gave him a surprisingly strong one-armed hug as the other was still holding the baby. "I'll go take care of it now."
"Hold on," Bill told her, "we're about to hide the house for extra protection and you should be here for that." He started working and was done a few minutes later, making Harry the secret keeper.
Harry wrote the secret on two pieces of parchment and handed them both to her. "In case you need to bring others in you can show them the secret. The second is in case you have to destroy the first one for some reason. If you need more, well, we'll have to figure out something but it could take months."
"Don't worry, Harry," she told him, "I'll make sure one of them is always safe. How long before you leave?"
"I don't know, twenty or thirty minutes, I'd guess," he answered.
"Let me go find out when our ride leaves, maybe get tickets too," Bill told him. "You should stay in hiding until the last moment."
Harry agreed and the other two left while he went back upstairs and told the other three the secret to the house, before he realized Fleur wouldn't be able to get in now. With a sigh, he Apparated to Shell Cottage to fix the problem.
He found a confused Fleur.
"Harry, why can I not remember where to go when I've been there multiple times?" she asked.
He explained about the change and gave her the new secret. Since he was there and didn't have anything else to do, he waited too and Luna then Neville soon appeared. He gave the secret to them and let Fleur take Luna. Harry also sent a Patronus message to George to come to Fleur's house before he took Neville.
By the time Fleur returned, Lee and George appeared.
— — —
Lee and George went to Lee's parents' house; his parents were both first generation magicals. After they hugged their son half to death, Lee left to pack and let George give the short version of what happened.
It was really hard to leave, but Lee's parents understood he had to go as long as Lee promised to get in touch with them in a few months through a relative who didn't live in Britain. Since his dad's wand worked well enough for Lee, his dad gave his wand to his son and said he'd get another later. His parents understood they'd have to leave too, or at least go into hiding for a while so they started packing also.
George took the pair to his shop. He had to stop when he realized it was solely his now, or rather majority his with Harry as a minor partner.
"Come on, man, we have to get moving," Lee reminded him as George stood there and looked around the closed shop.
George nodded. "I need to go take care of the back as it'll be tricky. Pack up everything you can here, starting with the most expensive stuff. Look in our flat above and you'll find both of our trunks; pack up there too."
Lee nodded. "I'll transfigure boxes into crates. I've got a little room left in my trunk too." He headed for the stairs in the back.
George headed to the workroom in the back to grab the most important things: their notes and raw materials. He and his brother had spare wands hidden there, so he grabbed them so he'd have one now plus Fred's as a backup. As he was packing quickly with lots of wand waving, he spied something he and Fred had found but had never done anything with. As foolhardy as he knew they both were, there were some things neither messed with without a lot of care.
Looking at the item again, a plan formed in his head. Stopping his packing, he found a box about the size to hold a Quaffle and hurried as much as he dared - throwing most of his caution to the wind as he still keenly felt his brother's loss. By the time he was finished and the box was wrapped in plain brown paper, Lee came in with multiple trunks behind him.
"I got most of it," Lee told him. "There were some girls outside and I gave all but two pairs of the pygmy puffs to them since they are alive; we can breed these two pairs to have more."
George gave him a horrified look.
"Relax," Lee said easily, "I wore a disguise, they never knew who I was. I thought you'd be done by now and what's in the box?"
"A present to someone from Fred," George replied far too calmly as he did a few more waves of his wand for the last of the items in this room go flying into a wooden crate which he shrunk down. Lee shrunk the three he had before George grabbed the small crate and the plain box. "Come one, I need to mail this then we can go."
A Patronus came thru the wall and hit him. "Ah, change of plans, back to Bill's place Harry said. Can you take this crate while I put on a disguise and mail the other?"
Lee stacked the now very small crate on top of his shrunken crates and trunk and left.
George disguised himself, locked the shop for the last time, before he left knowing he'd never get to return. Mailing the box took but a few minutes as the post office was nearby. He paid a little extra for it to be delivered later this evening.
Finally, he went to Bill's house where Fleur met him, locked her house, then he took him to Sirius's old house where everyone was waiting on him.
— — —
Harry had returned again with Lee, who was with the others. While he was waiting on George and Fleur to arrive, Andromeda returned and she was smiling. She handed him a new vault key. "I never knew how well off the main branch of the family was. Half is more than enough to take care of us even if I don't work. To protect you, I opened a new vault and put enough in there to hold it. The transfer will happen tonight so it'll be ready when you need it. Thank you, Harry."
"I'm glad to help," Harry said as he played with Teddy who was laughing at Harry and trying to grab his nose.
Ginny, Hermione, and Ron each had a wand now, although it wasn't a great match for any of them.
Lee searched thru the box and found a wand that worked. "Hey, I'll be back in less than a minute; I need to take my dad's wand back to him." He Apparated away on his own since he knew the new secret.
"What's our timeline?" Harry asked Bill who'd only returned a few minutes ago and was busy working on something.
"We need to leave in about half an hour. I purchased tickets on the ferry to France while I was there. Used up most of my Muggle money though, but it's for a good cause," Bill said as he did another duplication spell.
"I have plenty from Sirius's emergency box, maybe 50,000 Pounds I'd guess. There's a bundle of French Francs in there too. I can pay you back," Harry said casually. Bill stopped working and looked at him as did everyone else. "What?" the younger man asked.
"That's a lot of money, be careful with it," Bill said before he picked up what he'd been working on and handed it to Harry. "Hold that while I do a spell." The spell hit Harry and the little book.
Harry looked at the finished product. "Oh, a passport and it now has my picture. Hmm, I'm James Evanson now. I guess it'll do."
The others looked at Bill and almost at once called out, "I want to pick my own name!" Bill was glad they had a few extra minutes.
While that was going on, Harry asked Winky, "Can you be invisible and follow us?"
"Yes, Master Harry. Elves be very good about being invisible while working," she told him proudly.
After a last round of good-byes to Andromeda and Teddy, and even a few to Kreacher who was ordered to take orders from Andromeda now, the group took a Portkey that Bill made to an alley near the dock. He handed out their tickets and then guided them to the ferry. The small group got a few funny looks when they walked up, but most of the people ignored them. They ate the lunch Fleur had packed earlier on the ferry. Winky stayed invisible while staying near Harry.
— — —
It wasn't until the ferry left that the group sighed in relief. While they had little doubt the Aurors now knew they had escaped, they felt they had gotten away with it. In reality, despite it had been about three hours since their escape, the other guards were only now missing the two who'd left early this morning since it was common for them to take a few hours to "have fun" with the prisoners, that being the only form of entertainment other than playing cards.
— — —
Once the group arrived in France, they had only a short wait before a three hour train trip to Paris, arriving in the late afternoon. They were going to stay in a hotel until Fleur told them "Non!" emphatically and led them around for a bit until they reached a gate that people were ignoring and walking by.
Inside, they found Paris's version of Diagon Alley. For a little money, they used the Floo Network and were soon at the Delacour Manor house, where Fleur greeted her parents happily and they returned the feelings. She introduced her friends.
When she introduced Harry, both parents hugged him and touched cheeks. "Thank you, Mr Potter," Apolline told him. "We still remember you saving our little Gabrielle."
Her husband agreed. "Yes, that has not been forgotten. But even without that, Fleur's friends are always welcome. Come in and sit and tell us why you're here, hmm?"
"Get them drinks, Jean," Apolline told her husband. "I'll tell our cook there will be extras for dinner. We should eat before all of the stories."
After a lovely meal, the group went to the formal living room and became comfortable. Harry had to tell the story again. He finished with, "I don't understand how good can become bad and bad becomes good."
Jean Delacour nodded. "It is difficult when bad people are in power over a country and the people stand by and do nothing." He sighed. "Eventually a resistance will form, but who can know how long it will take for the government to fall. What will you do now?"
"I hope you don't mind," Harry said sincerely, "but we need to stay here a few days to buy some things, I need to deal with Gringotts…"
"Me too," Neville added.
"Me three," George chimed in.
Harry nodded at them. "Yeah, then we need to get tickets to continue on. I was thinking of leaving for Australia at the end of the week."
"Why there?" Hermione asked a little suspiciously.
"First, for you to find your parents, and second because it's on the other side of the world from here, mostly. Third, because it'll be easier to move on to even more remote places from there if we need to," he finished.
"I would suggest moving on sooner rather than later," Jean said. "Australia is part of the ICW as Britain is, so when a request for capture comes along, if they find you then they will send you back. On the other hand, New Zealand is not part of the ICW. I'd think you'd have at least a few weeks and maybe even a month before Britain would say anything, but you do need to disappear for the next year and possibly longer."
Harry nodded. "Thanks for the advice; that seems reasonable."
"I'll go with you to Gringotts tomorrow too," Jean offered. "It sounds like it could be interesting. I enjoy crossing words with them about once a year and it's about time again." At Harry's and Bill's incredulous looks, Jean added, "It's really all a game to them and so if you understand that and go along, it's not so bad and can be fun."
Harry wasn't sure he believed that, but said, "Thanks, I'd appreciate any help you feel like giving."
"Thank you for thinking of my parents," Hermione told him. "I do have to ask how you're doing all of this. You said you were making it up as you go, but it doesn't seem like it."
Harry looked down. "Honestly, I sort of had a plan, I mean I had one after we left Azkaban, but getting out was more luck and desperation than planning as I never expected to be there." He sighed and they let him gather his thoughts.
"Some nights when I couldn't go to sleep while we were hunting for how to kill Voldemort, I'd sometimes think about what to do if the hunt didn't work out. I really thought it'd end with me dying most of the time, but I sometimes wondered if I failed but survived, then what? So I considered leaving the country after taking what I needed from Sirius's house and getting all of my money from Gringotts, before going to France for some initial safety before continuing on to Australia. That's really about the end of what I came up with."
He shrugged. "I don't know where we'll go exactly, but I'll try to find us a big house and we can all live there."
Ron stirred uncomfortably. "Mate, I appreciate what you've done so far, but … well … I can't really afford a share of a big house and you shouldn't have to buy the whole thing."
"I feel like I need to since a lot of this is my fault…" Harry was cut off by almost everyone shouting at him that it wasn't his fault.
"Wait!" Harry shouted back into the bedlam and held up his hands to get them to stop. "Let me fully explain that."
"It's not your fault," Ginny insisted with a glare.
"You're right that it's not," he replied, "and yet it is. I know all of you helped in some way and that's why you were taken in, probably when you didn't fight back too much. You all helped in the war and that's why it not only my fault. However, when I, err, remove Tom Riddle, Malfoy told me that I may have removed the head but the body was still alive. He didn't say it, but I sort of got the feeling that he likes it more this way, probably because he's more in charge. So you see, it's this way because I killed Riddle so there was no one to stop them."
"It's still not your fault," Hermione told him pointedly, "they would have done this anyway. It was only a matter of time; so don't go thinking this was your fault." Others agreed with her with emphatic nods and murmurs.
"Ignoring what might or might not have happened, you have an excellent start for someone who's never had to do this before," Jean complimented him. "I have a few ideas to help. You'll need your better clothes for tomorrow, but I can think of a few steps that will help you a lot."
Harry looked embarrassed again. "I don't really have any other clothes. In fact, some of us don't much more than what we're wearing."
Apolline brightened as did Fleur. "I'll be happy to take all of you shopping tomorrow," the mother said.
"Harry will need at least a few things before then," Jean said and stood. "Come, Harry, and any other man who has nothing for tomorrow. I know a store which is still open and we will get you at least a few days of clothes. You can do more shopping after the trip to Gringotts."
"Perhaps a quick run for a few necessities for the women," Apolline said and stood also. "Come ladies."
"Gentlemen," Jean said and lead them to the big fireplace. "Do not worry about money, you don't even need to repay me unless you want to."
— — —
In the end, it was only Ron that joined Harry and Jean. While Ron had a few clothes from Sirius's house, he needed underpants and socks right now. However, Harry needed it all. He knew he could use cleaning spells on his clothes, having done that multiple times over the last ten months, but he really preferred laundered clothes. He was also looking forward to a shower and a bed this evening despite his naps on the ferry and on the train.
Harry lent Ron some money as his friend felt better about that then taking it from Jean, but even then Harry could tell money was still a sore point with Ron.
When they arrived back at the Delacours' house after taking longer because Harry had so much more to buy, he found George waiting for him, who pulled him aside while Apolline showed Ron to his room. Fleur seemed to be waiting for him.
"Harry," George said quietly after they were by themselves, "we never really told you because we were waiting for you finish Hogwarts and then see what you wanted to do, but Fred and I set aside 20 percent of the profits for you since you were our initial investor."
"George, I didn't-" Harry started to protest.
"No, you listen, mate," George stopped him. "There really haven't been many profits to hand out since we put them back into the company to grow the business, but there was some left over from the last year. And now, well, we…" he had to pause for a moment. "I had to shut things down. I have some left over products and a number of ingredients we can use in potions as needed, but I will have all of the money from the business tomorrow and you are going to take some of it."
Harry glared at the now very serious friend but his friend didn't budge. "I was trying to say I didn't do it for the money but because I thought we all needed some laughs."
"Doesn't matter, you invested in us so some of it is yours."
With a sigh, Harry gave in. "Fine, but don't give it to me. Ron needs it far more than I do. Give it to him and say its family money your dad gave you or something. Even if it's a lie, it's a small one and won't hurt anyone."
George snorted, "You mean like you had us buy him those new formal robes? Yeah, I suppose I can work it like that. Are you sure, Harry?"
"I'm sure."
"You're really a good friend," George clasped him on the shoulder and then pulled him for a hug. "Although I suppose that if Ginny gets her way we'll get to call you brother."
When they let go, Harry had a hard time looking at the older boy, which caused George to laugh. "Chin up, Harry-kins. I don't have a problem with you and her because I know you'll treat her right. Bill may glare a little but I know that after what you did for her in her first year he shouldn't give you a hard time either … but remind him of that time if he does."
"And Ron?" Harry queried.
George sighed. "He's the only one likely to say anything, but if what I've noticed between him and Hermione continues, he'll be too busy to say much. If he does, be sure to point out his actions; deflection is usually the best defense with him, as I'm sure you've found."
"True," Harry agreed and then yawned. "Sorry, I'm really tired after everything. I've been awake for far too long."
George pulled him back towards their host. "Thanks Fleur, he's all yours."
She laughed. "I do not think Bill or Ginny would appreciate that, so I should show him to his room."
Harry blushed slightly as he figured out her teasing. It seemed she wasn't done as she grabbed his arm at the elbow and steered him as if he was escorting her, going slowly and letting George go on. "Come, Harry, you are safe here; no need to rescue anyone."
Deciding to play along, he replied, "That's good because I don't think I have the energy to rescue anyone tonight."
"Of course," she continued as she led him up the stairs, "some rescues are much easier than others though. Also, remember that every damsel in distress loves to be rescued by a chivalrous knight. Keep your eyes open for one, hmm?"
"I'll be sleeping, so she'll have to be a dream damsel," he quipped, which made her laugh again before she stopped at a door.
"Here we are, our best room for visitors. It has a bathroom and everything else you might need," she told him with an impish smile he didn't understand. "I'll come by and knock on your door at eight, so sleep until then. Father wants to leave by nine. Have a good night's sleep."
She smirked at him before leaving, confusing him. Not knowing what else to do, he entered and closed the door behind him. He dropped his sack of new clothes on a chair next to another sack before he headed for the other door in the room. It wasn't until he almost reached the door that the idea of another sack being there struck him.
He was about to go find Fleur and tell her she made a mistake on the room when the door in front of him opened and Ginny walked in from the bathroom. She was in what looked like only a long T-shirt based on what he saw on top and went down to only the middle of her thighs and showed some very nice legs.
"There you are," she said casually as if expecting him. "I wondered what as taking you so long. If you don't mind, can you hurry in bathroom? I don't…" her breath caught. "Well, I'd rather not go to sleep until you're in bed too."
"Err," he said as his tired mind tried to process that as he looked between her and the only bed in the room, even if was a large one. "But…" Words just failed him at what he thought she was suggesting.
She stepped forward and placed her hands lightly on his shoulders. "Would sleeping, and I do mean only sleeping, with me be so bad?"
Not trusting himself, he merely shook his head.
Stretching up on her toes she kissed lightly him before dropping back down. "Then go take a shower. I need to hold someone and for someone to hold me and make me feel safe. Don't take long because you look as tired as I feel." She let go and then pushed him into the bathroom and closed the door.
Harry shook his head as he worked through it all in his head. Realizing the problem he was about to be in, he went back into the room to grab his sack. When Ginny looked at him in surprise, he said sheepishly, "I forgot my clothes." He hurried back into the bathroom to take care of cleaning up - quickly.
Ginny smiled to herself as she turned down the bed. She might have looked confident, but inside she was a bundle of nerves. She knew what she wanted, even needed, and hoped Harry was the same. She also hoped she wasn't rushing things, but she felt she really needed him like this tonight … and probably for some time to come.
Walking to the curtains, she moved one to the side and looked out the large window. There were no other houses nearby, though there were lights in the far distance. A quarter moon gave some illumination to what were probably beautiful grounds during the day.
That gave her pause and some interesting thoughts. If things hadn't gone so badly at home and she and Harry did end up together, as Mrs Potter she could have expected a fine home from what she knew and she'd hoped to play professional Quidditch. Now, they'd be living on the run for a while and then in hiding - at least until Britain sorted itself out and she had no hope that would be soon since the general populace hadn't truly rebelled in the last year. This really sort of sucked since she'd built up such a nice picture of what life could be like. Thinking it through some more, she decided that fantasy life didn't really matter. Harry was an amazing person and he was who she wanted, not some made-up life. Even if they were on the run and in hiding, they'd be together and that was good enough.
The door behind her opened so she closed the curtain and turned around to see Harry in just pyjama bottoms - so shirtless. It took all of her control not to gasp. With supreme effort, she tried to act normally and walked over to where he was standing and looking at her, still with damp hair. "Come on," she told him and was pleased her voice didn't betray her.
When he reached the other side of the bed, she picked up her wand from the nightstand and turned out the lights so it was almost pitch black in the room. "Crawl in, Harry. I won't bite unless you want me too." She heard him snort quietly and she smiled, please he hadn't lost his humor. The bed shifted as he crawled in too.
"In the middle please," she told him. He joined her, lying on his back. She laid beside him on her side, found his face with her hand, and stretched up and kissed him softly before lying down with her head on his shoulder and an arm across his chest.
"I'll apologize now for making your shoulder wet," she whispered. "I've been holding this in all day and trying not to think about it…
"We won the war and you put down a dark wizard, but we're the bad ones. They threw us in Azkaban and we were the lucky ones. Many of my friends at school are gone forever. Then there's Fred and probably Percy too. And my parents… Dad tried to protect me and I think that's why he…" Her voice broke and she lost it at that point and started sobbing in the dark. She felt his arms go around her and she snuggled in even more as her warm tears went down her face and onto his shoulder.
After a long moment, she barely heard, "It's not your fault. All of it is so wrong, but I have you and you're safe now." That made her sob a little harder even if it was what she wanted to hear.
Harry just held the shaking girl in his arms and told her she was safe and that he knew he couldn't replace her missing family but he was there for her. He understood more now; she'd seen her parents killed with her father protecting her as his last action. She clung to him tighter and threw a leg over him in an attempt to get closer. He also rubbed her back and did his best to relax despite his own tears as he considered the loss of the woman who cared for him and her easy-going husband - neither of whom he would get to see in this lifetime again.
Eventually, she quieted down and her breathing slowed, but her grip didn't lessen. Harry decided he didn't mind and eventually his exhaustion gave way to sleep.
(A/N: I can't recall a story where Harry -and- his friends end up in Azkaban right after the final battle, so here we are as they become … exiles.)