Chapter 16: A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes...
Harry sat with his friends on one of the couches in the living room of the Granger home. Dumbledore was fiddling with the fireplace so that they would have a safe way to get back to the Burrow. Harry didn't need to be told that no one approved of his means of travel. Anna and Jeff Granger were busily packing in suitcases Mr. Weasley had charmed to be larger inside. They would be staying with the Weasley family for awhile. They were reluctant to leave their business indefinitely but after pleading from Hermione they agreed to it. Hermione was beaming as they told her how proud they were of her. They were left with no doubts now that being a witch was her best and safest bet.
In the meantime the muggle television was broadcasting a marathon of Walt Disney movies. "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes..." was playing in the background and Harry couldn't help but think that if that was true, he was one of the most sadistic bastards of all time. He certainly didn't want his dreams to come true, thank you very much.
Finally Dumbledore announced that the fireplace was a safe portal to the Weasley home. After checking that nothing had been forgotten everyone began disappearing through the fireplace. Thankfully there was no need for flu powder. Harry didn't know how Dumbledore had rigged it but he was grateful. He merely stepped into the fireplace and out of the Weasley's fireplace. Very impressive. It was definitely much better than flu and it wasn't a portkey either. When they'd all arrived Dumbledore appeared and closed the fireplace off. Soon an improvised wing was being added to the Burrow and Harry realized he had been right to think magic was what was holding it together. Mr. Weasley began emptying his pockets removing shrunken furniture and after allowing Mrs. Granger to arrange it he reversed the charm. Molly Weasley was soon busy helping Anna decorate and they were bustling happily around the room. It was funny Harry thought how one minute they'd all been terrified and now it was a cheery get together. He was definitely glad the Grangers weren't too shell-shocked. Though they were perfectly friendly he took care too avoid them. He found himself slipping away into the garden. He knew they had every reason to hate him. He'd endangered the lives of their family just by befriending their daughter. They'd already been against that before the attack apparently. He resolved to try and make himself invisible to them for everyone's comfort. It was something he'd developed a knack for at the Dursley's.
Harry was lost completely in his own thoughts and therefore was thoroughly surprised when he felt a hand on his shoulder. The hand wasn't beefy but it was strong. As the memories came once more he instinctively ducked from the grasp and jerked away quickly finding himself on the ground.
"Please don't-" he began, waiting for a blow to land. Then he came to his senses and rose. "Sorry about that Mr. Granger. I just didn't expect to.."
"It's alright," the man told him, with a slight frown. "I didn't mean to scare you. I only came out here to thank you."
"Thank me?" Harry said curiously, "But why would you want to thank me?"
"You saved our lives Harry," said Jeff Granger, "Isn't that worth some thanks?"
"They wouldn't have been in danger in the first place if it wasn't for me," said Harry, still failing to meet the man's eyes and desperately trying to regain composure after his unpleasant flashback.
"We've talked to Hermione already," said Mr. Granger, "And we realize after tonight that if anything she's safer having you as a friend. Either way she'd be a target because she doesn't come from a wizarding family. Don't try to blame yourself for it. You have no idea how grateful we are to you."
Jeff Granger gave the boy a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder before walking back to the kitchen. He watched the boy flinch again and wondered why he was so jumpy. Something had to have happened to cause it. The boy didn't seem the overly nervous type. He'd managed to take down a death eater as the wizarding community called them. Perhaps being on the Moldevort's hit list was making the boy overly paranoid, but for some reason he didn't buy that explanation at all. It just didn't fit. He'd have to ask his daughter about this later. In the mean time he was going to go brush his teeth. There was nothing like a good tooth brushing. Hey, he was a dentist wasn't he? Everybody was allowed at least one small obsession. Taking care of teeth was his.
~*~
Harry sat in the kitchen the next morning by himself. Everyone else seemed to be asleep and after everything that had happened the night prior one couldn't really blame them if they slept all day. Harry on the other hand had been roused early from bed by yet another unpleasant dream. Thankfully it wasn't one of the scar-linked dreams, but it had still been horrendous. He shook his head again as if he could physically shake away the images that had played through his head. He didn't know why he'd dreamed it. Usually any of his normal nightmares had included his friend's deaths. This one had contained a different type of terror and he supposed it might have been brought about by the flashbacks he had last night. He still needed to work on that too. He wasn't sure how he'd explain it at school if he set to cowering every time someone approached him in the corridor. It wasn't fair, he thought, how even now that he had escaped his uncle forever that in a way part of him was still trapped, still there, waiting with baited breath for his uncle to return.
A moment later Ginny appeared in the kitchen and took a seat next to him at the table.
"Rough night?" she asked.
"I'll say," he replied.
She gave him a small smile and squeezed his hand reassuringly before buttering herself a piece of toast.
And he thought, maybe, just maybe, things would be alright. As long as he had friends like these, he had his hope. And he was damned if he was going to let some bastard dark lord take them from him.