Here comes Chapter 4.
Not going to say what this chapter is exactly about. But, I will say it will be longer than the last chapter.
Not in the mood for much chit-chat right now, nor do I really know what to say. So, let's get going. (Hope the chapter title isn't too bad. Got it from a song title, actually. But, it features just more than a return to the Burrow.)
Chapter 4- Homeward Bound
Ginny sighed with happiness as she leaned against Harry's shoulder. They were sitting at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall. They were not eating. They were just sitting there, content to just be with each other. So far, they hadn't been interrupted, as the Weasleys had left the hall after Harry had, and had not yet returned.
After a few minutes of this, Harry asked Ginny, "What do you think Ron's going to say about us being back together?" Ginny smirked. "If it's anything less than being happy for us, I'm jinxing him." Harry smiled. "And that's one reason why I love you." Ginny smiled back.
"Harry! Ginny!" The two sat up and turned towards the entrance to the hall. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Bill and Fleur, and Ron and Hermione were hurrying towards them.
Harry and Ginny smiled at them, bracing themselves for any kind of reaction. Once she reached them, Mrs. Weasley threw her arms around both of them. "I'm so happy you're feeling alright, Ginny." "Thanks, mom," Ginny gasped out. Sensing she was driving the air out of her daughter, Mrs. Weasley released her and Harry.
After releasing them, Mrs. Weasley smiled at them and said, "You two are so cute together. I couldn't ask for a better man for my daughter." Both Ginny and Harry went bright red.
Then, Mr. Weasley suddenly appeared over his wife's shoulder. Harry looked Mr. Weasley in the eye. They had a quick silent conversation which ended with Mr. Weasley smiling broadly and nodding slightly to show his approval of his and Ginny's relationship.
Then, the happy couple had to endure hugs and congratulations from Fleur, who seemed extremely happy at the thought of the two being together. Luckily, Bill was able to calm his wife down. Then, Harry and Ginny came face to face with Ron. Hermione was standing beside him, looking quite nervous, but wisely staying silent.
Harry, feeling nervous about Ron's reaction, put his arm around Ginny, holding her close, trying to show Ron he wasn't going to be scared away from Ginny by Ron.
Harry and Ron looked at each other for a few moments. Then, Ron kind of sighed, before he said, "Well, I guess anything I say isn't going to have any effect on you guys." "Nope," Ginny said immediately, "We're going to be together no matter what you say." Harry nodded to show he thought the same.
Ron sighed again. "Then, I guess I've got no choice but to be happy for you." Then he smiled, "I'll admit, there's nobody I'd rather be with my sister than my best mate." He extended his hand and said, "I approve of you two." Ginny scowled slightly at the idea that they needed Ron's approval.
"Treat her well, mate," Ron said with a smile. "You know I'd never treat her any less than a queen," said Harry. Ginny smiled at that, and actually let a tear flow. Harry reached out and took Ron's hand. Then, a second later, Ron pulled Harry away from Ginny and embraced him.
Harry and Ron embraced for a moment, then pulled apart and smiled at each other.
Suddenly, a deep voice interrupted the happy meeting. "Excuse me, Harry." Everyone turned, already knowing who it was. Kingsley stood a few feet away. By the look of it, he had been standing there for a minute.
"Hello, Minister," said Harry. "Harry, we've known each other for too long. You have permission to just call me Kingsley. All of you do," Kingsley responded. Everyone smiled.
"I have a few things to discuss with Harry. I know you all are planning on going back to the Burrow later today, so I need to talk to you before then. Would you mind coming with me now?" Kingsley asked. Harry looked at Ginny, who didn't look too pleased with having Harry taken away from her again, but she gave the tiniest nod. Harry turned to Kingsley and said, "Sure thing, Kingsley."
Kingsley led Harry out of the Great Hall and into a small room nearby. The ceiling had cracked open, but it wasn't damaged too bad.
Kingsley looked at Harry with a smile. "How are you holding up?" "Alright," said Harry. Kingsley smiled again, then put on a more serious expression.
"I have a few questions for you. First off, I need ask you about where you were with Ron and Hermione this past year. You were hunting Voldemort's Horcruxes weren't you?"
Harry felt astonished. "How did you know that?" Kingsley grinned. "I had always wondered why Voldemort survived what happened in Godric's Hollow all those years ago. I had suspicions about it. But, yesterday, during the last little bit of the battle, right before Voldemort died, I saw Neville kill Voldemort's snake, Nagini. I had seen Nagini take a lot without getting hurt, and I had seen you three had been very fixed on killing it. Then, when Neville killed Nagini, she just dissolved into smoke. When I saw that, everything clicked. I knew why Voldemort had survived what happened in Godric's Hollow, and I felt sure I knew what you had been up to the last year. So, that is what you were doing?"
Harry felt surprised. Kingsley was smarter than he thought. Harry nodded and said, "Yes." Kingsley nodded, then asked, "May I ask what they were, and where they were?"
Harry nodded. "Voldemort made six Horcruxes. Before Dumbledore died, two had already been destroyed. One was the diary of Tom Riddle I destroyed in my second year. The second was a ring belonging to Voldemort's uncle that Dumbledore destroyed right before the start of my sixth year.
"The third Horcrux was a locket belonging to Salazar Slytherin. It was hidden in a cave by the sea. However, Regulus Black stole it with the intention of destroying it. Mundungus stole it from Grimmauld Place, then sold it to Dolores Umbridge. We had to break into the Ministry to get it.
"The fourth Horcrux was a cup belonging to Helga Hufflepuff. It had been placed in the Lestrange's vault in Gringotts. We broke into Gringotts to get it.
"The fifth Horcrux was the lost diadem of Rowena Ravenclaw. When he was at school, Voldemort managed to get its location out of Helena Ravenclaw, then, after making it into a Horcrux, hid it in the Room of Requirement.
"Then, the sixth Horcrux was Nagini. But, as it turned out, he accidently made a seventh Horcrux: me." Kingsley looked surprised. "When he tried to kill me, and the Killing Curse rebounded, part of his soul was blasted free of him and latched itself onto me. That's why I tried to let Voldemort kill me. That was the only way to get rid of the piece of Voldemort's soul that was in me."
Kingsley looked at Harry in amazement. "That is incredible. Thank you for telling me all of that." Harry nodded.
Then, Kingsley spoke again, with a more business-like tone. "Now, I have a proposal to make to you. I have known for a while that your dream is to be an Auror. Is that still your intention?" "Yes," said Harry, "Even though Voldemort is gone, a lot of Death Eaters are still out there. And, eventually, more wizards will come forward to try and make trouble."
Kingsley grinned. "I couldn't have expected anything less from you." Then, he said something that surprised Harry. "Given all that you have done in the past year, I would like to offer a position in our Auror training program immediately. However, me and professor McGonagall have a request for you. It should be obvious that we currently have no Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. We would like to offer the position to you next year. After that, we will try and get a permanent teacher. But, we thought it would be nice for you to return to Hogwarts, albeit as a teacher, and I can't imagine young Miss Weasley would object." Harry grinned, going a little bit red.
"If you do well enough, then you can enter the training program right after the school year is over. Also, we will cut your training period down to a year at most, unless we receive indication you need more time. Also, being here would give you some time to study up on some of the other subjects you need to know to be an Auror. Potions in particular."
Harry didn't know what to think. "Well, what do you say?" asked Kingsley.
Harry thought about it for another minute. Then, he started to get a good feeling. He could see enormous benefits to accepting the offer. Plus, he would get to be with Ginny more than he would otherwise.
"Okay," said Harry after a minute, "I accept. I'll be the teacher for next year. But only for one year." Kingsley smiled. "That's all we want from you," he said.
"We'll need you to come to Hogwarts a little early to get ready for the position. Also, we would like you to tell nobody about this." "But, what about Ginny? And Ron and Hermione?" Harry asked. "We would prefer this be kept a secret. I know Ginny will be returning next year, and I believe Hermione will too. I guess, if Ron doesn't return, then you can tell him, but only if he promises to keep the secret."
Harry smiled. He was going to be a Hogwarts professor.
Kingsley smiled to. "Now, I would suggest you get back to the Weasleys. I believe they intend to leave for the Burrow soon." Harry nodded, then left the room.
(A few hours later)
It had been a few hours since Harry had his discussion with Kingsley. Now, he and the Weasleys were preparing to leave for the Burrow.
The whole Weasley family had gathered outside the castle, huddled around a broken chair that had been turned into a Portkey. They were waiting to grab onto it, waiting until it got ready to leave.
George was with the family. It was the first time Harry had seen him since leaving the Great Hall the previous day with Ron and Hermione. He seemed to be holding up surprisingly well. When he had seen Harry, he told him quietly that he wanted to speak to him alone when they reached the Burrow.
The family was mostly quiet, with just occasional chit-chat coming up. They were leaving without Fred. They had decided, after much deliberation, that he would be buried at Hogwarts. It was hard for them to stand the thought of having to travel all the way to Hogwarts to see his grave. But, eventually, they decided it was for the best.
Harry squeezed Ginny's hand as they waited. She seemed to be handling Fred's loss pretty well. But, he wanted her to know he was there for her.
Suddenly, the broken chair began to glow blue. "Everyone!" Mr. Weasley warned. Everyone reached out and grabbed hold of the chair or placed their hands on it. Then, seconds later, there came the familiar jerk, and they spun away from Hogwarts.
Moments later, they landed on hard ground. Standing up and shaking their heads to clear them, they saw the Burrow. It was completely untouched.
Mr. Weasley put his arm around his wife, then led her towards the Burrow. Everyone else followed the two of them into the house.
As they entered, George said, "Harry. Can I please see you in my room real quick?" Harry nodded. He turned to Ginny real quick and gave her a quick nod, then followed George upstairs to his room.
As they entered, Harry asked George, "How are you?" George looked at him. Harry started to regret asking it before George said, "Decent enough. Losing...him, was horrible beyond description. But, while I was alone at the castle, I realized the last thing Fred would want would be for me to just ignore the world and concentrate on my grief. He'd want me to get back on my feet, get back to my life, and continue the joke shop."
Then, he got a more business-like look on his face. "Speaking of the shop, i wanted to tell you something. Your name has been listed as one of the owners of the shop since we started it. Me and Fred had a little bit of the profits deposited in your vault at Gringotts since we opened. You now own half of the shop."
Harry was shocked. "Are you serious?" he asked. George nodded. "I just thought I would tell you now. We were planning on telling you if we ever bought Zonko's. We were thinking of asking you to be the manager of that shop if we opened it."
"I'm honored George. In fact, I'll help fund the shop for the next little while, until you really get going again. And, if you're willing, I'd like to help at the shop for the next few months."
George smiled, which shocked Harry. "Thanks, harry. But, just to be curious, why just a few months?"
Harry paused, then decided he could trust George. "Because, Professor McGonagall and Kingsley have asked me to be the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher for the next school year, and I accepted," he said, after casting Muffliato just in case anyone came by the door.
George looked surprised, then beamed. "That's awesome, Harry. You'll make an awesome teacher." Harry grinned, a little embarrassed, then said, "You have to promise not to tell anyone. It's supposed to be a secret."
George smiled. "Of course. And I'd love to have you work at the shop until then."
Harry smiled. "It's my honor to be able to," said Harry, "It was my money that helped you get started after all. It's only right I put in some work there."
George smiled once more, then embraced Harry. But, before releasing him, George said, "If you do anything to my little sister, I have a special product me and Fred designed specifically to be used on anyone who hurt Ginny, and it's not pleasant."
Harry laughed as they released each other. "Oh, don't worry. I'd never hurt Ginny." George grinned. "Good. You two really deserve each other," he said.
Harry smiled. "Nice to talk to you George. I'm always there for you if you need someone." With that, he and George left the room.
When they got downstairs, everyone asked what they were talking about. Harry and George just said that Harry had promised to help out at the joke shop over the summer. In moments, Ginny, Ron, and Percy also volunteered to work at the shop over the summer.
The rest of the evening went by with a cheery mood. Everyone talked and joked. Mrs. Weasley made a wonderful dinner. And, a while after dark, everyone went to bed.
Except Harry. Once he felt that everyone was asleep, he snuck out of Ron's room and crept down the stairs. He walked out of the front door, careful to shut the door quietly, then hurried away from the Burrow. Once he was far enough away, he Disapparated.
The next second, he found himself in Godric's Hollow. He crept through the town until he reached the ruins of his old house. The place where his parents had died.
He climbed over the fence and made his way to the garden, where Dumbledore had said his parents had hidden something special.
It took Harry a while to find it, but he finally found the spot where the object had been buried in the garden. When he pulled it out and looked at it, he smiled. Yes. He definitely knew what he wanted to do with it.
And, that's the end of the chapter.
First off, yes, this mysterious item is the item Dumbledore mentioned in Chapter 2. You will finally get the revelation of what it is in the next Chapter. Feel free to guess what it is in reviews.
I know this came the same day as Chapter 3, but I want to be quick about publishing chapters of this story.
Okay, let's stop right here, with the usual request to please review and give me your critique.
Raptor2216 out.
