Epilogue
Author's note: My lasting gratitude to Zsenya for the beta-reading. My best of thanking to everyone who have reviewed my stories and thanks for all the encouragement. Special thanks to Miss Pince, Sarah Black and alphabet for their enthusiasm and support. Without them, I wouldn't have finished this story in time for the publication of OotP.
Slowly Harry drifted to consciousness. At first he wasn't sure what had made him wake up, but then he felt the ache in his neck. He had fallen asleep in a chair with no support for his head. With a muffled groan, he straightened his back and adjusted his glasses. It took him few seconds to register where he was. He was in Ginny's room, and she was there - sleeping.
He studied her closer where she was lying on her bed. Her red hair was like a halo around her head and she had kicked the covers from her feet. She looked very pretty in her sleep, even when she brought her hand to her face to rub it and then turn on her side with a slight snore.
There was a reason he'd ended up in her room. Surprisingly it didn't have that much to do with what had transpired between them last night. It had more to do with him wanting to be there for her after seeing her brother nearly being killed. The events of last night had unsettled both of them. Their scarred souls had hurt last night. Instinctively he knew that they were connecting at that level. Sensing the pain within each other and understanding. He wasn't very sure how all this was happening, but it was. It was at work inside him and steadily building up feelings for Ginny. There were so many things to look forward to. So many things to learn about Ginny, everything from her favourite colour to her fondest childhood memories. He felt excited. None of this came easily to him. The only certain thing about his future was that nothing was certain. Yet he had hope and he wished with all his heart that Ginny wanted to be a part of the hope. He looked back at her sleeping form, and wondered what Ron and Hermione would say when they knew what he was thinking.
Ron and Hermione. A small smile flickered on his lips. Even though he had still been in shock after the events last night, he had noticed that Ron had his arm around Hermione. He had also noticed that Hermione hadn't returned to Ginny's room all night. She might have come while he was sleeping but obviously she hadn't stayed. Perhaps they had finally got together. This was going to be weird but he would get used to it. Besides they had to get used to him and Ginny.
She stirred, her eyes slowly opening. He bit his lip to suppress a happy sigh; he didn't want to startle her. She seemed to be aware of his presence because she turned to him and smiled.
~~~
It hadn't just been a dream. Harry was really there. He had been there the whole night. Well, if she should be honest, they hadn't gone to bed until very late. For obvious reasons. She didn't want Harry to go and he didn't seem to want to leave her alone. There was no use asking him to share her bed, he had sat on the chair before she was able to say anything about it. Besides, it would have been awkward for them to share a bed the whole night.
"Ginny, are you awake?" Harry whispered.
"Hmmm ." was her reply as she raised herself slightly in bed and rested her head in her hand, making space next to her.
"Are you okay?" Harry sounded a bit concerned.
"I'm fine, Harry. Come here," she said and patted on her bed indicating that she wanted him to come. He seemed a bit reluctant. Still, he abandoned his chair and slid in the bed, facing her.
"So, what now?" She tried her best not to sound demanding. She just wanted to know where they stood.
"We could go down and get breakfast." She saw he wasn't being serious - the corners of his mouth twitched slightly.
"Good try. I suppose I must say it then. Are we boyfriend and girlfriend?" He looked at her and seemed to be contemplating her question.
"If you want to. I know I'd love to." His voice sounded timid.
"You know I want it."
"I like you a lot." She wasn't quite expecting him to say that but she couldn't help but smiling.
"We aren't moving too fast or anything?" The fear that she'd put him off, lingered in her.
"I'm not going to ask you to marry me right away." She giggled.
"I hope not."
"And . there's . well, I can't promise anything about the future. With . Volde . I mean You-Know-Who and all."
"I know, Harry, and you can call him Voldemort. I don't mind. Maybe because I know just how evil he is. I know what to fear and it's not his name." He nodded.
"So we just take what the future brings us."
" Right."
"Good." He smiled. "But what do you suppose happened to Hermione?"
"Obvious, isn't it? I think she and my brother finally figured things out."
"Yeah, I thought so too. How do you think they'll react when they know about us?"
"Don't worry about that. Ron might say something, being the stupid git he is, but I can handle him. No problem." There was no need to discuss the matter any further. She turned to her back and pulled him with her so he was on the top of her. They stared at each other for a moment till he reached down and kissed her. A soft, fluttery kiss. Nice - but she wanted more. Much more. Harry didn't know what hit him when she grabbed his head and kissed him hard. Still he didn't seem to mind.
~~~
Hermione wasn't sure if she was awake or sleeping but that didn't matter for she felt like a stampede of erumpents had run her over several times. As she slowly opened her eyes, an orange brightness hit them. It didn't take her long to realize that she was in Ron's room and that he was currently fast asleep besides her. The events of the night before slowly came to her and to her horror, she recalled how she had behaved. The drinking, the flirting, the dancing and then kissing Ron and touching him. She groaned and hid her face in the pillow. Thankfully Ron had stopped her before she did something that she would have really regretted, though she doubted they would have gone far. What had happened downstairs would have interrupted that in some way. Oh god, that had been horrible and it had been all too much for her after the drinking. She had started sobbing hysterically afterwards and Ron had brought her up to his room, wrapped her in a blanket and laid her in his bed. He had intended to sleep on Harry's bed but she had asked him to hold her for a little while. That little while had turned into the whole night. It didn't feel so awkward. Maybe it even felt a little bit right.
She really didn't feel well, she had a throbbing headache and she felt a little sick. Maybe she could crawl over Ron without waking him and get to the bathroom but somehow he had his foot over hers and moving it would probably wake him up. The only way was to have him turn on his other side in his sleep. She tried to hold him and turn him with her but just as she thought she had settled him on his other side, he opened his eyes.
"Good morning, Hermione," he said in a raspy voice. She smiled weakly and turned away from him.
"You okay?" He sounded concerned. She didn't say anything but got up from the bed.
"Hermione, where are you going?"
"The bathroom," she murmured because she felt really sick now and she felt dizzy. The hallway seemed to be spinning and she almost lost her footing. Still she managed to make it to the bathroom. She dropped to her knees besides the toilet bowl and gagged. She couldn't recall ever feeling this awful. Just as she was becoming convinced that her insides were turning inside out, she felt something cold on her forehead while her hair was being pushed from her face.
"It's okay. You just had too much to drink. You'll feel better once you stop." It was Ron! Ron was holding a cold towel to her forehead and pulling her hair back so she wouldn't vomit in it. If she wasn't dying already, she would die of mortification right now. He was watching her being all icky and definitely regretting very much kissing her. Still there was something reassuring in the way he stroked her hair back.
It was over fairly quickly and she got up on shaky feet. Without saying anything, Ron had led to the sink and handed her a toothbrush and toothpaste. After having brushed her teeth and freshened up, she whispered her thanks to Ron and turned away.
"Wait, Hermione." He said hurriedly. "I wanted ." She turned back, expecting that he would say that it would just be best for them to remain friends or something.
"I . you . you know . like you." He looked almost terrified. She was stunned. He liked her even after she had just vomited. Oh, this wasn't the right time to start crying but still the tears were burning in the corners of her eyes. With small sniffle, she looked up at him and tried to smile.
"I like you too, Ron."
~~~
She . she liked him too. That crazy girl that he had to take care off just few minutes before. There she stood all pale with her hair as wild as it had ever been and his heart was exploding. He couldn't just stand there and let her go. Suddenly, he brought his right hand to her hair while his left hand was on her shoulder.
"You have the prettiest eyes," he said. Her eyes grew bigger and he saw she had tears in them. All he could do was to bring his lips to her cheeks and kiss the tears away. He couldn't help it, otherwise she might start to cry and he couldn't possibly handle that.
When he had wiped away her tears, she buried her face in his chest and they stood embracing each other for a while. Ron kept wondering how this had happened. He felt like he had liked Hermione for eons and the possibility that they would ever be like this, become a couple, had hardly occurred to him. Hermione sighed and she shifted against him. This was like some kind of torture, he couldn't take more of it. He bent down and caught her lips with his own. Her mouth was a bit cold and he felt the stinging mint taste of her toothpaste, but it was Hermione. As to remind him exactly of that, she pressed to him and snaked her arms around his neck. Kissing her was something he could imagine doing forever.
Despite his imagination, he broke the kiss fairly soon.
"Should we go downstairs for breakfast?" She nodded and then mentioned that she might need a dressing gown, she was still in her dress from last night. By some stroke of lock, they had taken her dressing gown with them to Ron's room.
There was no need to worry because the only people awake downstairs were Harry and Ginny.
"Good morning," said Ginny and smiled impishly at them.
"Good morning to you." She was one to talk or not to talk because it looked like she was holding hands with Harry under the table. Well, he could tease them about it later.
"So how did you sleep, Harry?" But Harry didn't seem unnerved by the question.
"Okay, I slept on a chair. My neck feels a bit stiff." He brought a hand to his neck. It looked like he was telling the truth. Meanwhile Ginny had offered Hermione some toast. "No thank you. I don't think I'd be able to keep it down."
"Not even dry toast?"
"Especially not dry toast." He couldn't resist but to put an arm around Hermione and hug her tight. Harry and Ginny sniggered but it was okay. For at the moment, everything felt okay.
~~~
George hadn't slept all night. He wasn't sure if he should blame the living room sofa or that he had a lot of things on his mind. The events of last night stood clear but what weighed heaviest was Parvati. There was a sharp sting in his stomach every time he thought about her. He had broken her heart and he knew how it felt. What had happened last summer stood very clear in his heart and now he had caused such pain to another. Never before had he been so angry at himself. Still what was he supposed to do? Rushing into some relationship wasn't an option. Perhaps, if he got to know Parvati as a friend, then maybe he could make amends.
His thoughts were interrupted when he heard a scratching sound outside the window. There was a large owl there, carrying a letter. He went to open the window to let the owl in but it just hovered in the window, extending its leg so he could get the letter it was carrying.
The letter was addressed to him. In a very familiar feminine hand. He tore the letter open and read:
Dear George
I somewhat feel like a character in my favourite Muggle book when he has to write a letter to the girl that refused his proposal the night before. Unlike in the book, there is no slant for me to correct. Things are very simple, I sent you a ton of anonymous letters and thought you would fall head over heels in love with me. Obviously I was wrong and I apologize from the bottom of my heart. This was all very foolish of me. Yet I hope that we can become friends. I promise that I won't, what can I say, make any advances. I think you are really funny and I do believe that we might have things in common. So, see you in school and because I didn't have the opportunity to wish you a happy new year before, Happy New Year!
Love Parvati.
With the letter still open in his hands, he let out a chuckle. He felt relieved thought he wasn't completely over his guilt and funnily enough, he looked forward to talk to her. She was, after all, a very pretty girl.
He got to his feet. There were probably a bit more tidying up to do and he could swear that he smelled toast. Breakfast was something he could do with very well at the moment.
~~~
There was something warm and heavy lying on Fred's chest. It didn't take him long to realize what it was, even without opening his eyes. It was Angelina and when he opened his eyes, he saw this was what he wanted to wake up to for the rest of his life. What was better yet, he didn't have hurry to get up. After the commotion of last night, most of the people wanted to go home right away. That was good because no one had been in the mood for more party. It took surprisingly little time to clear the Burrow of the crowd that had gathered there. Everyone had just grabbed their Portkey and left.
As for the attacker, he and George followed him out to see if they'd be able to catch him. They saw him in a distance, running and they cursed their slow reflexes. When they were returning inside, they found someone lying outside under a tree. It was Lee, but he was out cold. They were able to revive them and Lee told them he'd been knocked out by someone he didn't see. Someone, probably Hermione, had suggested that the attacker must have used Polyjuice Potion. Still his identity was unknown. Ron insisted it had been Draco Malfoy but they could never be sure. Lee, on the other hand, after hearing what had happened, wanted to go home and sleep. No one blamed him.
As for the cleaning, Percy had done most of that, using magic. When his brothers had expressed their astonishment, he told them that this was in exchange for their silence about the attack. Their mother was never to hear about it. Fred considered it to be a very fair exchange because he had no desire to let their mother or their father know a single thing about that night. Percy made them also promise that they would never throw a party in Burrow again without their parents' consent. Fred knew that they all counted it as a blessing that their parents wouldn't be back until the afternoon. Thank Merlin that Auntie always insisted that her guests stayed the night.
Angelina stirred and lifted her head up.
"Good morning, angel," he said, smiling. She lifted her eyebrows, looking a bit groggy.
"Mmmm, I'm sleepy."
"I wasn't waking you up."
"I know." She turned on her side. "I'm just not used to this."
"I hope you will be." He started tracing her cheeks and mouth with his hand.
"Oh, I'm counting on it actually." He kissed her for that. It couldn't be avoided, there she was telling him that yes, she wanted to wake up with him every morning and his heart was almost exploding of happiness.
"Would you, when we are finished with Hogwarts, want to live with me perhaps?" She didn't answer him right away. Just stared at him for a minute.
"Does this include George?" She finally asked.
"What do you mean? That George will live with us? I kind of assumed that."
"Fred, I'm not sure if I would handle that. Still, I want to live with you." Fred frowned, he had obviously not thought it through. He and George had talked about living together on their own ever since they first thought of starting a joke shop. It was something he would love to do but he wanted also to have Angelina with him. This was a dilemma.
"Okay, let's think about it for a while and perhaps discuss it with George?" She nodded.
"You know that we have other things to worry about, like Quidditch and the N.E.W.T.s." He laughed, she was ambitious and it made him feel good that it was a trait they shared.
"I know, angel."
"Yeah, but are you aware?"
"Damn you woman."
"You wish." She grinned, a wide satisfied grin. Why was she so irresistible? He couldn't help but kiss her, positively rain her with kisses. They were in no hurry.
~~~
The apartment was dark. Marcus hadn't turned on the light at all. He sat in a huddle on the floor and felt like he would never get up. Suspended in a limbo, it was how he assessed his situation. He had now taken a step from the darkness but he was nowhere near the light and perhaps he didn't intend to head in that direction.
He wasn't worried that he'd compromised his status with the Death Eaters, he would just feed some story to Draco about the reasons why he failed with the Weasleys and no one else was supposed to know about it either. What worried him was that he was no longer sure if he wanted to participate in Death Eaters' activity. He laughed out loud, a hoarse laughter, he made it sound like the Death Eaters were some kind of a hobby club. Something for bored Dark wizards to do with their time. Another hoarse laughter escaped him, was he to become some cynic that would survey his surroundings but never partake in any of it? He longed for a direction in any way.
Delilah would have laughed at him and told him to do what would serve him the best. Then again what did she know? She had been killed.
Perhaps he should concentrate on one day at time. Take things like they were represented to him. Make a decision when he had to and not a moment before. Lay down all strategies. Maybe this was a way out of the limbo. A way to cut down on the uncertainty.
He had never known anyone that seemed to think that way. It was hardly the Slytherin way of thinking and not how a Quidditch player would think. Yet it didn't make him fearful. What had he to lose? His life? It wasn't much good to him at the moment and if he were to lose it, well, he could blame himself.
Strange how things sometimes ended. He had changed. But it was easy for him to ignore what had happened. Fate either had a funny humour or just simply didn't exist.
Author's note: My lasting gratitude to Zsenya for the beta-reading. My best of thanking to everyone who have reviewed my stories and thanks for all the encouragement. Special thanks to Miss Pince, Sarah Black and alphabet for their enthusiasm and support. Without them, I wouldn't have finished this story in time for the publication of OotP.
Slowly Harry drifted to consciousness. At first he wasn't sure what had made him wake up, but then he felt the ache in his neck. He had fallen asleep in a chair with no support for his head. With a muffled groan, he straightened his back and adjusted his glasses. It took him few seconds to register where he was. He was in Ginny's room, and she was there - sleeping.
He studied her closer where she was lying on her bed. Her red hair was like a halo around her head and she had kicked the covers from her feet. She looked very pretty in her sleep, even when she brought her hand to her face to rub it and then turn on her side with a slight snore.
There was a reason he'd ended up in her room. Surprisingly it didn't have that much to do with what had transpired between them last night. It had more to do with him wanting to be there for her after seeing her brother nearly being killed. The events of last night had unsettled both of them. Their scarred souls had hurt last night. Instinctively he knew that they were connecting at that level. Sensing the pain within each other and understanding. He wasn't very sure how all this was happening, but it was. It was at work inside him and steadily building up feelings for Ginny. There were so many things to look forward to. So many things to learn about Ginny, everything from her favourite colour to her fondest childhood memories. He felt excited. None of this came easily to him. The only certain thing about his future was that nothing was certain. Yet he had hope and he wished with all his heart that Ginny wanted to be a part of the hope. He looked back at her sleeping form, and wondered what Ron and Hermione would say when they knew what he was thinking.
Ron and Hermione. A small smile flickered on his lips. Even though he had still been in shock after the events last night, he had noticed that Ron had his arm around Hermione. He had also noticed that Hermione hadn't returned to Ginny's room all night. She might have come while he was sleeping but obviously she hadn't stayed. Perhaps they had finally got together. This was going to be weird but he would get used to it. Besides they had to get used to him and Ginny.
She stirred, her eyes slowly opening. He bit his lip to suppress a happy sigh; he didn't want to startle her. She seemed to be aware of his presence because she turned to him and smiled.
~~~
It hadn't just been a dream. Harry was really there. He had been there the whole night. Well, if she should be honest, they hadn't gone to bed until very late. For obvious reasons. She didn't want Harry to go and he didn't seem to want to leave her alone. There was no use asking him to share her bed, he had sat on the chair before she was able to say anything about it. Besides, it would have been awkward for them to share a bed the whole night.
"Ginny, are you awake?" Harry whispered.
"Hmmm ." was her reply as she raised herself slightly in bed and rested her head in her hand, making space next to her.
"Are you okay?" Harry sounded a bit concerned.
"I'm fine, Harry. Come here," she said and patted on her bed indicating that she wanted him to come. He seemed a bit reluctant. Still, he abandoned his chair and slid in the bed, facing her.
"So, what now?" She tried her best not to sound demanding. She just wanted to know where they stood.
"We could go down and get breakfast." She saw he wasn't being serious - the corners of his mouth twitched slightly.
"Good try. I suppose I must say it then. Are we boyfriend and girlfriend?" He looked at her and seemed to be contemplating her question.
"If you want to. I know I'd love to." His voice sounded timid.
"You know I want it."
"I like you a lot." She wasn't quite expecting him to say that but she couldn't help but smiling.
"We aren't moving too fast or anything?" The fear that she'd put him off, lingered in her.
"I'm not going to ask you to marry me right away." She giggled.
"I hope not."
"And . there's . well, I can't promise anything about the future. With . Volde . I mean You-Know-Who and all."
"I know, Harry, and you can call him Voldemort. I don't mind. Maybe because I know just how evil he is. I know what to fear and it's not his name." He nodded.
"So we just take what the future brings us."
" Right."
"Good." He smiled. "But what do you suppose happened to Hermione?"
"Obvious, isn't it? I think she and my brother finally figured things out."
"Yeah, I thought so too. How do you think they'll react when they know about us?"
"Don't worry about that. Ron might say something, being the stupid git he is, but I can handle him. No problem." There was no need to discuss the matter any further. She turned to her back and pulled him with her so he was on the top of her. They stared at each other for a moment till he reached down and kissed her. A soft, fluttery kiss. Nice - but she wanted more. Much more. Harry didn't know what hit him when she grabbed his head and kissed him hard. Still he didn't seem to mind.
~~~
Hermione wasn't sure if she was awake or sleeping but that didn't matter for she felt like a stampede of erumpents had run her over several times. As she slowly opened her eyes, an orange brightness hit them. It didn't take her long to realize that she was in Ron's room and that he was currently fast asleep besides her. The events of the night before slowly came to her and to her horror, she recalled how she had behaved. The drinking, the flirting, the dancing and then kissing Ron and touching him. She groaned and hid her face in the pillow. Thankfully Ron had stopped her before she did something that she would have really regretted, though she doubted they would have gone far. What had happened downstairs would have interrupted that in some way. Oh god, that had been horrible and it had been all too much for her after the drinking. She had started sobbing hysterically afterwards and Ron had brought her up to his room, wrapped her in a blanket and laid her in his bed. He had intended to sleep on Harry's bed but she had asked him to hold her for a little while. That little while had turned into the whole night. It didn't feel so awkward. Maybe it even felt a little bit right.
She really didn't feel well, she had a throbbing headache and she felt a little sick. Maybe she could crawl over Ron without waking him and get to the bathroom but somehow he had his foot over hers and moving it would probably wake him up. The only way was to have him turn on his other side in his sleep. She tried to hold him and turn him with her but just as she thought she had settled him on his other side, he opened his eyes.
"Good morning, Hermione," he said in a raspy voice. She smiled weakly and turned away from him.
"You okay?" He sounded concerned. She didn't say anything but got up from the bed.
"Hermione, where are you going?"
"The bathroom," she murmured because she felt really sick now and she felt dizzy. The hallway seemed to be spinning and she almost lost her footing. Still she managed to make it to the bathroom. She dropped to her knees besides the toilet bowl and gagged. She couldn't recall ever feeling this awful. Just as she was becoming convinced that her insides were turning inside out, she felt something cold on her forehead while her hair was being pushed from her face.
"It's okay. You just had too much to drink. You'll feel better once you stop." It was Ron! Ron was holding a cold towel to her forehead and pulling her hair back so she wouldn't vomit in it. If she wasn't dying already, she would die of mortification right now. He was watching her being all icky and definitely regretting very much kissing her. Still there was something reassuring in the way he stroked her hair back.
It was over fairly quickly and she got up on shaky feet. Without saying anything, Ron had led to the sink and handed her a toothbrush and toothpaste. After having brushed her teeth and freshened up, she whispered her thanks to Ron and turned away.
"Wait, Hermione." He said hurriedly. "I wanted ." She turned back, expecting that he would say that it would just be best for them to remain friends or something.
"I . you . you know . like you." He looked almost terrified. She was stunned. He liked her even after she had just vomited. Oh, this wasn't the right time to start crying but still the tears were burning in the corners of her eyes. With small sniffle, she looked up at him and tried to smile.
"I like you too, Ron."
~~~
She . she liked him too. That crazy girl that he had to take care off just few minutes before. There she stood all pale with her hair as wild as it had ever been and his heart was exploding. He couldn't just stand there and let her go. Suddenly, he brought his right hand to her hair while his left hand was on her shoulder.
"You have the prettiest eyes," he said. Her eyes grew bigger and he saw she had tears in them. All he could do was to bring his lips to her cheeks and kiss the tears away. He couldn't help it, otherwise she might start to cry and he couldn't possibly handle that.
When he had wiped away her tears, she buried her face in his chest and they stood embracing each other for a while. Ron kept wondering how this had happened. He felt like he had liked Hermione for eons and the possibility that they would ever be like this, become a couple, had hardly occurred to him. Hermione sighed and she shifted against him. This was like some kind of torture, he couldn't take more of it. He bent down and caught her lips with his own. Her mouth was a bit cold and he felt the stinging mint taste of her toothpaste, but it was Hermione. As to remind him exactly of that, she pressed to him and snaked her arms around his neck. Kissing her was something he could imagine doing forever.
Despite his imagination, he broke the kiss fairly soon.
"Should we go downstairs for breakfast?" She nodded and then mentioned that she might need a dressing gown, she was still in her dress from last night. By some stroke of lock, they had taken her dressing gown with them to Ron's room.
There was no need to worry because the only people awake downstairs were Harry and Ginny.
"Good morning," said Ginny and smiled impishly at them.
"Good morning to you." She was one to talk or not to talk because it looked like she was holding hands with Harry under the table. Well, he could tease them about it later.
"So how did you sleep, Harry?" But Harry didn't seem unnerved by the question.
"Okay, I slept on a chair. My neck feels a bit stiff." He brought a hand to his neck. It looked like he was telling the truth. Meanwhile Ginny had offered Hermione some toast. "No thank you. I don't think I'd be able to keep it down."
"Not even dry toast?"
"Especially not dry toast." He couldn't resist but to put an arm around Hermione and hug her tight. Harry and Ginny sniggered but it was okay. For at the moment, everything felt okay.
~~~
George hadn't slept all night. He wasn't sure if he should blame the living room sofa or that he had a lot of things on his mind. The events of last night stood clear but what weighed heaviest was Parvati. There was a sharp sting in his stomach every time he thought about her. He had broken her heart and he knew how it felt. What had happened last summer stood very clear in his heart and now he had caused such pain to another. Never before had he been so angry at himself. Still what was he supposed to do? Rushing into some relationship wasn't an option. Perhaps, if he got to know Parvati as a friend, then maybe he could make amends.
His thoughts were interrupted when he heard a scratching sound outside the window. There was a large owl there, carrying a letter. He went to open the window to let the owl in but it just hovered in the window, extending its leg so he could get the letter it was carrying.
The letter was addressed to him. In a very familiar feminine hand. He tore the letter open and read:
Dear George
I somewhat feel like a character in my favourite Muggle book when he has to write a letter to the girl that refused his proposal the night before. Unlike in the book, there is no slant for me to correct. Things are very simple, I sent you a ton of anonymous letters and thought you would fall head over heels in love with me. Obviously I was wrong and I apologize from the bottom of my heart. This was all very foolish of me. Yet I hope that we can become friends. I promise that I won't, what can I say, make any advances. I think you are really funny and I do believe that we might have things in common. So, see you in school and because I didn't have the opportunity to wish you a happy new year before, Happy New Year!
Love Parvati.
With the letter still open in his hands, he let out a chuckle. He felt relieved thought he wasn't completely over his guilt and funnily enough, he looked forward to talk to her. She was, after all, a very pretty girl.
He got to his feet. There were probably a bit more tidying up to do and he could swear that he smelled toast. Breakfast was something he could do with very well at the moment.
~~~
There was something warm and heavy lying on Fred's chest. It didn't take him long to realize what it was, even without opening his eyes. It was Angelina and when he opened his eyes, he saw this was what he wanted to wake up to for the rest of his life. What was better yet, he didn't have hurry to get up. After the commotion of last night, most of the people wanted to go home right away. That was good because no one had been in the mood for more party. It took surprisingly little time to clear the Burrow of the crowd that had gathered there. Everyone had just grabbed their Portkey and left.
As for the attacker, he and George followed him out to see if they'd be able to catch him. They saw him in a distance, running and they cursed their slow reflexes. When they were returning inside, they found someone lying outside under a tree. It was Lee, but he was out cold. They were able to revive them and Lee told them he'd been knocked out by someone he didn't see. Someone, probably Hermione, had suggested that the attacker must have used Polyjuice Potion. Still his identity was unknown. Ron insisted it had been Draco Malfoy but they could never be sure. Lee, on the other hand, after hearing what had happened, wanted to go home and sleep. No one blamed him.
As for the cleaning, Percy had done most of that, using magic. When his brothers had expressed their astonishment, he told them that this was in exchange for their silence about the attack. Their mother was never to hear about it. Fred considered it to be a very fair exchange because he had no desire to let their mother or their father know a single thing about that night. Percy made them also promise that they would never throw a party in Burrow again without their parents' consent. Fred knew that they all counted it as a blessing that their parents wouldn't be back until the afternoon. Thank Merlin that Auntie always insisted that her guests stayed the night.
Angelina stirred and lifted her head up.
"Good morning, angel," he said, smiling. She lifted her eyebrows, looking a bit groggy.
"Mmmm, I'm sleepy."
"I wasn't waking you up."
"I know." She turned on her side. "I'm just not used to this."
"I hope you will be." He started tracing her cheeks and mouth with his hand.
"Oh, I'm counting on it actually." He kissed her for that. It couldn't be avoided, there she was telling him that yes, she wanted to wake up with him every morning and his heart was almost exploding of happiness.
"Would you, when we are finished with Hogwarts, want to live with me perhaps?" She didn't answer him right away. Just stared at him for a minute.
"Does this include George?" She finally asked.
"What do you mean? That George will live with us? I kind of assumed that."
"Fred, I'm not sure if I would handle that. Still, I want to live with you." Fred frowned, he had obviously not thought it through. He and George had talked about living together on their own ever since they first thought of starting a joke shop. It was something he would love to do but he wanted also to have Angelina with him. This was a dilemma.
"Okay, let's think about it for a while and perhaps discuss it with George?" She nodded.
"You know that we have other things to worry about, like Quidditch and the N.E.W.T.s." He laughed, she was ambitious and it made him feel good that it was a trait they shared.
"I know, angel."
"Yeah, but are you aware?"
"Damn you woman."
"You wish." She grinned, a wide satisfied grin. Why was she so irresistible? He couldn't help but kiss her, positively rain her with kisses. They were in no hurry.
~~~
The apartment was dark. Marcus hadn't turned on the light at all. He sat in a huddle on the floor and felt like he would never get up. Suspended in a limbo, it was how he assessed his situation. He had now taken a step from the darkness but he was nowhere near the light and perhaps he didn't intend to head in that direction.
He wasn't worried that he'd compromised his status with the Death Eaters, he would just feed some story to Draco about the reasons why he failed with the Weasleys and no one else was supposed to know about it either. What worried him was that he was no longer sure if he wanted to participate in Death Eaters' activity. He laughed out loud, a hoarse laughter, he made it sound like the Death Eaters were some kind of a hobby club. Something for bored Dark wizards to do with their time. Another hoarse laughter escaped him, was he to become some cynic that would survey his surroundings but never partake in any of it? He longed for a direction in any way.
Delilah would have laughed at him and told him to do what would serve him the best. Then again what did she know? She had been killed.
Perhaps he should concentrate on one day at time. Take things like they were represented to him. Make a decision when he had to and not a moment before. Lay down all strategies. Maybe this was a way out of the limbo. A way to cut down on the uncertainty.
He had never known anyone that seemed to think that way. It was hardly the Slytherin way of thinking and not how a Quidditch player would think. Yet it didn't make him fearful. What had he to lose? His life? It wasn't much good to him at the moment and if he were to lose it, well, he could blame himself.
Strange how things sometimes ended. He had changed. But it was easy for him to ignore what had happened. Fate either had a funny humour or just simply didn't exist.
