Hello! Yes, I am still alive and writing. I am soooo sorry that this took so long to get up. This December has been absolutely… well… not so good. I was in the middle of some very difficult finals, while helping with my church's Christmas program and dealing with transferring to my new college. To make things worse, they screwed up my transfer application so I've been yelli… er… politely informing them of their mistakes and trying to get the classes that I need (and failing miserably, but after the way that my month has been, who's really surprised by this?). I have also sprained my knee, wrecked my car (the telephone pole is fine, my car isn't) (I'm fine, my pride isn't) and lost a disk with about three pages of this chapter on it. It is VERY hard to write something when you know you already have. Quite frankly, this story has been the last thing on my mind. That being said, hopefully I can return to some type of a normal update schedule soon. I don't know if it will be weekly again or not, especially until I get settled with school and everything, but I promise that I will not abandon this story. Harry would come and hurt me, and I really don't need the stress of that right now…
Anyway, some questions to be answered. Harry just turned 21 a few chapters ago. Up until now, I've been updating weekly, and I do hope to get back to that eventually, but I'm probably not quite there yet. Maybe in January. OOC for Harry to take advantage of his position, well, maybe. It certainly is with current canon Harry, but remember, here Harry is very confident, Voldemort's gone, and he doesn't have the respect-for-elders-and-or-authority thing going on at all. I guess my interpretation is that what Harry went through brought out more of his Slytherin nature (and I think he has one, even in canon) and taking advantage of the situation like that is definitely something that a Slytherin would do.
One last thing. Ron's nose. Yes, Harry was more violent (with less provocation) there than he had been before. But come on, it's RON! And I firmly maintain that he deserved it. Hermione and Ron, although they may never know it, are definitely missing out on the brunt of Harry's anger, just through the passage of time. Lucky them. Unlucky Sirius and Remus. But, literally, they asked for it…
Now that I've bored you all silly, read on!!!
DISCLAIMER IN CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 25
Melting
It was midmorning before Harry even tried to get out of bed, and, quite frankly, he wouldn't have even attempted it then if it hadn't been for a suspiciously heavy weight on his legs. Mumbling grumpily, he managed to roll over and sit up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he went. However tired he still was, any thought of further sleep immediately fled his mind as soon as his eyes opened. Sitting on his legs, piercing eyes staring straight at and through him, was a very familiar bird.
"Fawkes?" Harry was surprised. He hadn't seen the beautiful phoenix since before his incarceration. At the thought of what he had missed while locked up in that hellhole, the familiar melancholy feeling washed over him. He'd always liked Fawkes. He wondered if he would have gotten to know the beautiful bird any better if he had been able to stay at Hogwarts where he had belonged.
The phoenix, in that uncanny way that only that type of magical creatures have, sensed Harry's sadness and decided to do something about it. Spreading his flame colored wings, Fawkes lifted his head to the ceiling and let out a burst of song that sent chills up and down Harry's spine. It was haunting and strange to his ears, but somehow it caused all of his regrets to vanish. He closed his eyes and listened for a while, losing track of time as the magical melody of the phoenix soothed his wounded heart.
Finally, the clear tones drifted to a halt and Harry opened his eyes again. "Thank you, Fawkes." He took a deep breath and let it out, feeling revitalized and whole for the first time in a very long while. "What brings you here?"
Fawkes looked wise and flew over to the window. Just inside was a very familiar looking trunk, with a letter stuck onto the lid. He perched on the trunk for a just second, sang another note that made Harry think of a fond farewell, and then flew out the window, speeding away so quickly that by the time that Harry got to the window to look out he was already out of sight. Harry grinned, for once happy with the world. It wasn't everyday one got phoenix song as an alarm clock. Looking down, he picked up the letter and opened it.
Dear Harry,
I hope this finds you well. I doubt that you are quite in the mood to receive a letter from me, which is understandable, as I was the one who failed you most. Words cannot express my deep sorrow at that fact, but unfortunately, I cannot change the past, no matter how much I wish that I could. I once again apologize. It is all I can do, and I hope that someday you can remember me without hatred. If not, then it is no less than I deserve.
I asked Fawkes to bring you your trunk. Sirius had been keeping it, but obviously didn't have time to collect it before his quick departure with you. Several of your possessions, namely your invisibility cloak and the ingenious little map your father and his friends created, were used in the fight against Voldemort, but it is past time they were returned to their rightful owner. I apologize for keeping them from you, but I admit that I was not aware that they were still in Sirius' old quarters until the rooms were cleaned in preparation for the start of term.
Harry, I realize that you have no reason to listen to me, but please consider a few words of wisdom from someone who has lived for far too long. Do not let your fear of betrayal keep you from living. It may keep you from trusting easily, and that is normal, but I beg you, do not allow my mistakes to ruin your life any more than they already have.
I'll just close with a sincere compliment on your actions and words of yesterday. Both of your parents would have been extremely proud of the wizard that you have become, Harry. Never doubt that.
Sincerely,
Albus Dumbledore
Harry sighed and refolded the letter. He wasn't quite sure what he thought about the headmaster right now. He shrugged it off and knelt by his trunk. Folded neatly on top of the miscellaneous paraphernalia was the invisibility cloak. Although he really didn't need it to become invisible anymore, Harry was still very glad to have that one piece of this father back again. With a grin, he swirled it around his shoulders and glanced across the room to the full-length mirror in the corner. Sure enough, the only thing visible was his floating head. He shrugged out of it and carefully placed it in an empty drawer in his desk. Slowly, his room and the whole castle in general was beginning to feel right, as it gathered those little personal touches and memories that make a house, or in this case a castle, feel like a home.
He dug farther down into the mess that was in the inside of his trunk, stopping from time to time to reminisce, and once to gleefully incinerate a very smelly old pair of Uncle Vernon's socks. Finally, he reached to bottom. Sitting back on his heels he looked at the stacks of books, clothes, and odds and ends piled on the floor around him. Something was missing, and Harry had absolutely no idea where it was. But he did know who probably would know.
Wandering into the main hall, Harry got lucky and found Remus and Sirius eating a late breakfast. Harry came to a stop in front of them. Sirius glanced up and sent him a tentative half smile, obviously unsure about Harry's mood. Harry didn't return the smile, but he didn't frown or glare either. "I have a question that I'm hoping that one or the other of you will know." Both men turned all their attention to Harry and waited patiently. He continued. "Where's my Firebolt?"
Sirius paled, glanced at Remus and then slid bonelessly under the table. Harry blinked. That hadn't been quite the reaction that he'd been expecting. Remus looked rather panicked as well. "Sirius!" He hissed. "Get back up here!"
A thump that sounded faintly like a head hitting a wooden table leg was all that came from underneath the table. Remus, meanwhile, was looking suspiciously like it was only his pride that was keeping him from joining his friend. Harry was beginning to feel rather amused, but hid it. It was becoming rapidly obvious to him that something unfortunate had happened to his broom, and that the men in front of it had had something to do with it. He folded his arms and waited, unknowingly looking rather menacing. Not that he would have done any different had he been aware that he was being intimidating.
Finally, Remus, looking uncharacteristically nervous, spoke up. "Um, I'm afraid it got… broken. I am very sorry."
"Me too." This came from under the table.
Harry blinked. "Broken? Oh. How did that happen?"
Remus began to look trapped. "Um, well…" He trailed off into silence.
Harry waited for a moment, but no explanation seemed to be forthcoming. He sighed. "Fine. Tell me what happened to my broom." That was an order.
Remus slowly raised his eyes to Harry's, looking resigned. "You have to understand… we were very… upset… when we thought that you… well, that you…" He sputtered off into silence.
"Turned into a dark wizard and murdered a whole bunch of people in cold blood?" Harry supplied helpfully. It sounded absolutely stupid when he said it like that. Sirius obviously agreed, because another loud and painful sounding thump sounded from under the table, accompanied by some rather vulgar and self-derogatory muttering.
Remus winced. "Well, yes, and we, well, it was a full moon, and wetoreupyourbroom."
Harry blinked as he deciphered the rather hurried statement. "You tore up my Firebolt." Remus nodded and once again looked as if he was considering the wisdom of putting the thick wooden table between himself and Harry. "You chewed on my broom? MY broom?" Harry took a deep breath. "My broom got ate by a werewolf?" Remus flinched.
At that, Sirius finally emerged from under the table, obviously drawing the line at letting Remus take all the blame for the incident. "It was me, it was my idea, my fault." He was babbling.
Harry just couldn't help it. His upper lip started twitching. For some reason, he was finding this whole situation very funny. It was just too unreal. This type of thing would only happen to him. And Remus and Sirius were just so afraid that he was going to blow up at them. Well, in their defense, he had given them reason to expect that type of behavior from him. They had no way of knowing that he was in the process of softening a little in regards to them. Their ignorance made for an absolutely hilarious encounter, though. He ignored the still babbling Sirius and backed up to lean against the wall. The twitch became a grin, and the grin became a chuckle. Sirius sputtered to a stop and stared as the chuckle became a full-blown roar of laughter. Then he glanced worriedly at Remus, who was also staring in shock at the shaking form of Harry Potter.
After several moments, Harry finally stopped laughing and met the eyes of the two concerned marauders. Stifling another chuckle at the look of mirrored confusion in their eyes, he spoke. "Get your cloaks and be ready. I'm going to Diagon Ally and you two royal idiots just got elected to carry all my packages. Including, now, a new broom." With that, Harry walked away, chuckling and muttering under his breath. "Only me. I swear, only me."
They watched him leave. Then Remus punched Sirius in the arm. Hard. "Just leave me to explain everything, why don't you? Bloody coward!"
Sirius looked apologetic and unobtrusively rubbed his arm. "Sorry, Moony."
"Hmmph. No, you're not." Remus wasn't stupid, and he knew his friend very, very well.
Sure enough, the apologetic look vanished. "True."
Remus looked thoughtful. "He's changed, Padfoot. He's more open."
"I know! He's actually talking to us! And he was laughing! I'm not sure I've even seen him smile yet, and he was laughing!" Sirius grinned wildly, just happy to see Harry acting somewhat normally again. He wasn't deluding himself by thinking that Harry would ever forgive him, but he was desperately hoping that Harry would be able to put the past behind him and move on. He didn't think that he could bear it if his stupidity cost Harry his happiness. Sirius knew quite well that he had already lost Harry his parents, not to mention his chance for a normal childhood. Knowing that he had doomed him to a life of bitterness and hate as well would be just too much for Sirius to bear.
Remus just sighed and summoned his cloak. Then, as an afterthought, he summoned Sirius' as well, since it didn't look likely that Sirius would remember. He wasn't sure why Harry had made such a turn around, but he liked it and didn't want to risk it by not being ready when Harry was. He just hoped that Harry's good mood would last. In any case, it looked like they would be having another interesting day.
A half an hour later, three cloaked men entered the Leaky Cauldron. Tom, at the bar, hardly even looked up from the newspaper he had his nose buried in. Harry took one look at the six inch headlines proclaiming 'BOY-WHO-LIVED ALIVE!' and 'HARRY POTTER TELLS IT LIKE IT IS; FUDGE FLEES!' and hurried moved on to the alley behind the tavern. He was not in the mood to be gawked at today. Remus and Sirius, still unsure about how to react to Harry's new attitude, followed along obediently about a half a step behind him as he activated the brick wall entryway and moved onto the Diagon Ally.
Harry just stopped for a moment and stared, letting the familiar sights and sounds wash over him. This was the exact place that he'd been standing on when he'd gotten his first glimpse of the wonders of the magical world ten years ago. He remembered quite clearly the awe he had felt as an eleven-year-old seeing something that he'd always longed for. A place to belong, where he wasn't a freak, and where he could be just who and what he wanted to be. Wonders, yes, but he had discovered soon enough that any world had its horrors.
Diagon Ally was crowded, the rush of Hogwarts students and their parents flowing in and out of the stores, while other witches and wizards all seemed to be reading the same newspaper that Tom had been. Harry sighed and pulled his hood a little closer to his face, casting a charm to mask his features just to be sure. He had a funny feeling that fighting Voldemort again might be easier than getting out of here if everyone figured out that their hero was among them.
The street wasn't exactly the way that he remembered it, it seemed to have been widened, and a circular plaza had been made near the entrance for shoppers to rest and chat. A group of laughing students pushed past Harry as they headed for a nearby bench, and he snapped out of his memories and started shopping in earnest. He first headed to Gringotts, where he found, after a thrilling cart ride, that not only was his former vault in the same condition that it had previously been, but that there was now a new vault added directly to the left of it. It was piled high with gold and was obviously the reparations from the ministry. Harry took as much as he thought he would need and then left, picking up his companions by the door where he had left them.
Harry still found it rather humorous how careful Remus and Sirius were being around him. He was continually getting the feeling that if he yelled 'Boo!' loudly Sirius might just pass out. He was still unsure about what he really felt about them, and the world in general. Was he still furious with them, well, no, but he did still feel betrayed and somewhat lonely. He was following his father's advice and working through his feelings of hurt, but it wasn't easy and it wouldn't be finished overnight. It had only been two days since he had made the decision to try to forgive, and although he was reasonably pleased with his progress so far, he was still far from finished. Just because he hadn't been his normal cold self for the last few days didn't mean that he wasn't feeling the emotions that had caused that type of action from him in the first place. Harry shook off his introspective mood and turned back to his shopping. He had six years worth of stuff to catch up on, and since he certainly wasn't hurting for money, he planned on buying anything that caught his eye. After all, it wasn't like he had to carry anything.
Two hours later, Harry finally headed for Flourish and Blotts, which he planned to make his last stop. Remus and Sirius were now loaded down with packages filled with both everyday and formal robes, potions supplies, a cauldron set, a new owl and all the necessary supplies, a variety of writing supplies, a couple of wizarding landscape pictures that had caught his eye, a supply of floo powder and an application for hook up, healing supplies, a set of Quidditch balls, and a brand new Cleansweep Ultra, which was the newest and best broom on the market. Harry was quite enjoying himself.
The bookstore was crowded with Hogwarts shoppers, and the three men had to wait just to get into the store. Harry turned and glanced in the window. Then he blinked in surprise and looked again. Sitting on a pedestal was a framed Daily Prophet displaying the headline 'DARK LORD DEAD! HARRY POTTER INNOCENT FREE AND VICTORIOUS!!' and a gold foil stamp that proudly proclaimed 'Collectible Issue, Edition #1'.
Remus noticed his gaze and spoke up. "He won't sell it, and he's had some generous offers, too. I tried myself. He says it's priceless."
Harry allowed a small smile to cross his face. "Good for him. I'm rather partial to it myself, but I think that it would look a little funny if I had one."
Sirius spoke from Harry's other side, looking through his packages. Somehow, Remus had managed to foist off all the bulky and odd shaped ones off on his friend. "I doubt anyone would comment." Harry chuckled softly and entered the shop at last, leaving his two companions to discuss the day so far.
Rows and rows of books lay in piles, on shelves or suspended in midair. Harry moved quickly past the noisy and crowded school book area and towards the dusty shelves in the back. Ten minutes later, he looked up and realized that he had only made his way down half of one shelf and that his arms were full. There had to be a better way. Harry approached the front desk, where several clerks were dealing with a long line of customers. An elderly man seemed to be overseeing things, so Harry approached him. He looked up as Harry neared him and smiled politely. "Hello, can I help you?"
"Yes. I was wondering if you have some type of a mail order system. I need to update my library, and I'll be needing far more than I can carry…"
The elderly man looked excited at the thought of such a large sale. "Ah, yes. Wait for just a moment…" He ducked down and started scrabbling for something under the counter. Finally, he emerged with a large book. "Here we go. When large purchases need to me made, we offer this catalogue. It is magically updated, and shows all the books that we either have in stock or that we can find with in a reasonable time. Take it home with you and peruse at your pleasure. Merely tap the picture of the books that you want with your wand and say 'buy'. The volumes will instantly leave our shelves and appear in a holding room. When you have finished your selections, you can pick up the books here or we can ship them to you, for a nominal fee, of course."
Harry pocketed the catalogue, nodded his thanks, purchased his armload of books and left the store. Outside, he found Remus and Sirius and headed back towards the Leaky Cauldron, tired and ready to get home. Shopping was fun, but exhausting, especially when battling crowds like this. Although, tired as he was, he was still going to try out his new broom as soon as he got home. Some things superseded mere exhaustion. Flying was definitely one of those things.
It was as they reentered the plaza in back of the entryway back to the muggle world that Harry noticed something that he had missed on the way in. There was a statue in the center of the paved area.
It was a statue of Harry Potter, in all his triumphant glory. Harry dropped his armload of books and gaped, quite sure that he had never looked that confident and powerful ever, and certainly not immediately after leaving Azkaban. Statue Harry was also holding what appeared to be a wizards staff and was looking out over the crowded street with an expression that made one think of omnipotence and immeasurable power. To put it quite frankly, the statue looked godlike. Not to mention, quite ridiculous. That, at least, was certainly Harry's opinion.
Harry shook his head slowly, still battling with disbelief. It wasn't everyday you came face to face with a fifteen-foot statue of yourself. He slowly turned to his companions, who were in the process of gathering Harry's dropped books off of the ground. Harry absentmindedly waved a hand and pocketed the now pebble sized books. "What is this… this…" Harry was at a loss for words.
Remus winced slightly. "Fudge's idea. Arthur Weasley managed to make sure that the one at the Ministry's Hall of Heroes was slightly more… realistic… but Fudge ordered this one himself. Notice the big plaque with his name?" Sure enough, the sign authorizing the placement of the statue there was at least four times as big as it needed to be.
"Oh, of course." Harry shook his head. "Honestly! This is just getting out of hand." He started chuckling softly.
Sirius hazarded a guess, pretty sure what the answer was going to be. "You don't like it?"
Harry sobered and shook his head. "No. They shouldn't remember me when there are so many others that should be…" And then Harry got an idea. Stepping forward, he raised his wand and concentrated.
Sirius, Remus, and most of the population of Diagon Ally watched in shock as the stone began to morph and change. Marble melted like ice, changing the statue into something entirely different. One ministry official moved forward to stop Harry, not knowing who it was that was 'defacing ministry property' but Sirius tripped him with the wrapped end of Harry's new broomstick. Harry worked on, disregarding the slight scuffle and the few cries of outrage from the crowd. No one liked to see anyone destroying their hero's statue, but no one felt like messing with someone who could make stone obey him like that either.
In the center of the plaza, a totally different statue was taking shape. Instead of a standing, triumphant looking man, the stone had shaped into a kneeling figure, huddled at the foot of a tombstone. On the tombstone was a lightly engraved dark mark. Sorrow and pain were evident in the slump of the man's shoulders, but his face was the true work of art. Instead of just a statue that faced one way, Harry seemed to have managed to portray two different meanings with the same statue. From the back of the tavern, to all who entered Diagon Ally there, the back of the slumped man seemed to cry, to mourn at the loss of a beloved friend or relative. Around the circular base of the statue in flowing script was the words 'NEVER FORGET'.
But it was from the front that the statue truly became what Harry wanted it to be. Facing out and looking over the tombstone was the face of the man, not looking at the tombstone itself, but looking beyond it, towards the street. The face seemed to resonate with sadness and pride, love and longing, but the dominant emotion visible on his stone face was fierce determination. Under that side of the statue, where everyone who exited Diagon Ally would have to see, was the most important message that Harry wanted to impart. 'NEVER AGAIN' was written in bold, almost harsh lettering as if trying to beat its way into the brains of everyone who read it that this tragedy of war and hate must never be allowed to occur again.
Harry stepped back. "There. That's the way that it should be." His words echoed slightly in the perfect silence that had fallen over the street.
The ministry official at Sirius' feet ignored the warning glares that he was getting from Harry's companions and stood to his feet angrily. "Who do you think you are? How dare you change Harry Potter's statue? Turn it back."
Harry shook his head. "No. It was ridiculous anyway." Gasps of astonishment circled the crowd, but Harry heard a few snorts of agreement. "I like this one better." More agreeing sounds. Harry smiled under the hood of his cloak. Perhaps it was just the ministry that was in favor of looking at Harry like he was Merlin himself. Harry could always hope, anyway.
The annoying official yelled again. "Who do you think you are?"
Harry hated to reveal himself, since he was liable to get mobbed, but then again, he wanted the statue to stay this way and not be removed by the ministry, so it was better that they know that he had put it there personally. They wouldn't dare remove it then. Plus, he was done shopping. He backed up to stand between Sirius and Remus. Then, in one swift movement, he pushed back his hood, waited a half of a second so that everyone could recognize him and then disapparated, taking the marauders with him.
The plaza in Diagon Ally was understandably chaotic for quite some time after that. Hundreds of people came to look and talk about the day's events. But Harry's memorial statue would outlive them all.
COMING SOON: Circumstances dictate a number of different visits to unsuspecting people.
(In other words, krtshadow is not quite sure which of several people Harry will actually be seeing and so is being rather vague to hide that fact…)
Whoosh. I dunno, kind of an odd chapter, really, but it just seemed to fit in, so I went with it. Hopefully, I'll get chapter 26 up before New Years… Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and A Wonderful New Year to everyone!!! May your mistletoe be appropriately placed, your eggnog spiked with what you want it to be spiked with, and your vacation just long enough to get bored in!
(To help me with this chapter of Redemption, I used the map of Diagon Ally found at The Harry Potter Lexicon. I'll put the link up on my author page if anyone is interested in checking it out…)
