Harry Potter, Heir of Gryffindor

Letters and a Confession

Harry had gotten used to sleeping with his window open so that Hedwig could come and go as she pleased - another benefit of Mad-Eye's little warning that had taken place at King's Cross Station a few days earlier - and was rudely awoken at four o'clock the next morning by the incessant twittering of a particularly annoying little owl not much larger than a tennis ball with two letters attached to its leg. Harry rolled out of bed, put his glasses on and switched on the lamp. Looking around he spotted Pig flitting about near the window. After grabbing the bird, being careful not to injure him, Harry untied the letters and set Pig down next to Hedwig's cage. Hedwig was still out and he didn't think she would mind if Pig got some water and a quick nap before heading home.

Yawning and running his fingers through his hair Harry walked over and turned on the light while looking curiously at the two envelopes in his hand. He was fairly certain that one of them must be from Ron but whom could the other one be from? Returning to his desk he looked at the envelopes. One of them was definitely from Ron with his messy scrawl. The writing on the other one, however, was much more delicate, almost dainty. He wondered whom it could be from. Shrugging his shoulders he set the second letter aside and opened Ron's first, hoping it would reveal the author of the second.

Dear Harry,

I heard about your trip to Diagon Alley from Bill and the twins.
Rotten luck that Malfoy Sr. got out but Dad says Fudge is getting
desperate. He even says that there are rumors of someone calling
for a recall vote later in the summer. I hope he gets canned!
For what he's done they ought to throw him in Azkaban and throw
away the key.

George told me that you are still pretty upset about what happened
in . . . well, you know. He also told me what Tonks said. She's right
you know. I can't imagine what it must be like for you but I want
you to know that you are still my best mate. I'm dealing with these
memories and it is slowly getting easier. I don't hold you responsible
for what happened. I don't remember all of it and no one will tell me
everything that happened. I think I'm starting to understand how you
felt last summer when we couldn't tell you anything.

We will be going back to where we were last summer in a couple of weeks.
Mum wants us - Ginny and me - to get the Burrow cleaned up before we
leave and turn it over to Bill, Fred, George and Percy. Yeah, that's
right, Percy's back. GIT! He came crawling in the day we got back,
begging for forgiveness. Mum, Dad and Bill seem to be able to forgive him
but it will take more than asking for me to forgive him. I want a formal
written apology and I want him to admit that he was wrong. Even then I don't
think I will be able to forgive him because of what he did to Mum and Dad.

Well, I had better close before this gets too long. In case you are wondering,
the other letter is from Ginny. She won't tell me what is in it so I'd be
careful if I was you. She can be as bad as the twins if she wants to be and
I don't trust the look she has in her eyes right now.

Your friend,

Ron

P.S. Like I said, please don't worry about what happened because I'm dealing
with it. I have an appointment with some of the Unspeakables from the DoM next
week to see if they can help me figure out what is going on and maybe help me
adjust to whatever it is.

P.P.S. How are the muggles treating you?

Harry was relieved that Ron wasn't blaming him for what happened but it still bothered him that it had happened at all. Inwardly, however, he was privately pleased that Ron was beginning to know what he had felt like the year before. He still didn't understand why Dumbledore had insisted that they not tell him anything but on some level he had come to terms with that as well and it no longer really bothered him. He was also glad that Ron was going to be getting help with whatever those brain things had been. Maybe, with time and understanding, Ron could deal with it more effectively and it wouldn't have too many lasting results.

As he read the letter a second time he felt he could understand Mr. and Mrs. Weasley's willingness to accept Percy back into the family. He was, after all, their son. He didn't know Bill well enough to make any firm judgments on that particular bit of news but he suspected that it might have something to do with him being the oldest sibling and wanting to set a good example. And given Ron's temper he could easily understand his view of Percy's return.

On the third reading he looked over at the other letter. Ginny had never written to him before. In fact, until recently she had been too shy to even speak to him without blushing. Last year she had been going out with Michael Cornor until they had broken up after the quidditch final. Then, on the train, she had said that she was dating Dean Thomas. So why was she writing to him? Laying Ron's letter aside Harry shrugged his shoulders and picked up the envelope with Ginny's letter and opened it.

Dear Harry,

I am writing to let you know that I am NOT a Scarlet Woman, as Ron calls it.
I just said that I was going out with Dean Thomas to get on his nerves. I am
still pretty broken up about Michael. I really thought we had something but
I guess I was wrong. I am not really looking to get involved with anyone
right now but under the circumstances - what with Sirius' death and all - I
thought you could use a friend who has been through something similar, not
completely identical by any measure but similar. I was also hoping that we
could take some time to get to know each other and possibly become friends.

I know I can't know what you are going through but I can at least try. I think
I went through something similar during the summer after my first year. It was
horrible! I was blaming myself for everything that happened that year. I
don't think I could have lived with myself if anyone had died. It still haunts
me sometimes but I am slowly getting over it. I have a feeling that this is
what it is going to be like for you.

I'm sure you are probably sick and tired of hearing this, Harry, but it really
wasn't your fault. We've all made choices and we've all made mistakes.
What's done is done. All we can do now it pick up the pieces and try to move
on. Ron, Hermione, Neville, Luna and I chose to follow you. That was our
choice, Harry. Please don't blame yourself for what happened. I know you
probably don't feel like talking about Sirius yet (it took weeks for me to even
begin to want to talk about what could have happened but didn't) but I want you
to know that I will be here for you when you are ready.

Love,

Ginny

Harry was so stunned by Ginny's letter that he read it three more times. A part of him - the part that he didn't understand yet - was glad that she was not dating Dean and that she had only said that to get on Ron's nerves and he smiled as he remembered Ron's reaction. But more than that he was amazed at her maturity. Perhaps he had been misjudging and underestimating her all along. And something told him that maybe . . . just maybe she could understand what he was going through.

He checked the time and was about to open a drawer to retrieve a quill, some ink and a sheet of parchment to respond to Ginny's letter when a tawny owl flew in through the window, dropped a letter on his head, turned around and flew back out. Picking up the letter he saw that it was from Hermione.

Dear Harry,

I have been thinking about what happened in the Department of Mysteries and I
want you to know that I really am sorry. I know you don't want my sympathy but
I don't know how else to say it. I know you think I'm smart and all but if the
truth be told there are just some things I cannot figure out. Unfortunately,
one of those things is telling people how I really feel. Oh, sure, I can make
all kinds of potions and cast all kinds of charms and spells and stuff but when
it comes to telling people how I really feel about them I'm just not very good
at it. I care about you, Harry. I really do. I love you like a brother and
it hurts me when you hurt. Professor Dumbledore told us that you probably
wouldn't want to talk about . . . well, you know, for a while because of what
happened but I want you to know that I am here for you if you should ever want
or need to talk about it.

I have been rereading the Buddhist spiritual philosophy. It is really quite
interesting. I am taking notes, trying to sift through all of the information
and get to the main points but it isn't going to be easy. Hopefully I should
have my outline finished by the end of the week.

I got a letter from Ron this morning and he says he is almost finished with his
homework. Excuse me? Ronald Weasley voluntarily doing homework? Something
really strange must have happened to him when he was attacked by those brain
things.

I should probably tell you that I am fine. I haven't told Mum or Dad anything
about our trip to the DoM yet because they would probably go ballistic and try
to pull me out of school. I don't want that to happen because I would still be
a target (because I am a muggle-born witch) and I wouldn't be able to defend
myself. I'm sure they know something is going on but I don't think they know
what yet.

I am going back to where I was last summer in about three weeks. I haven't
head anything about when they might be coming to get you but one can always hope.

Well, I guess I had better let you go so you can get to work on the Jewish and
Christian philosophies.

With love from,

Hermione

P.S. Please take care of yourself.

Harry smiled at Hermione's honesty. And it was nice to know that she thought of him like a brother; but he didn't think she would understand, not like Remus or Tonks or, possibly, Ginny. He appreciated the offer though. Then he thought of the statement about outlining the entire Buddhist philosophy in a week. Well, he thought, if anyone can do it it will probably be her.

Looking at his clock again he saw that it was almost 4:30 so he lay Hermione's letter on top of Ron and Ginny's letters and place a bottle of ink on top of them so they wouldn't blow away if a sudden gust of wind came up while he was out. Getting dressed in a light grey set of sweats with a matching sweat shirt and his new trainers he reviewed the stretches he and Remus had gone over the night before and started warming up for the day. Hedwig returned a few minutes later and, upon seeing Pig napping in her cage, gave a disgruntled hoot but made room for him as she returned to her perch. Harry looked up and smiled, knowing that while Hedwig might not think highly of the excitable little owl she harbored no ill will towards him. At five o'clock Harry saw a small jet of red sparks shoot up from the street below. He quietly turned off the lights, left his room and made his way down the stairs and out of the house. Once outside he heard the disembodied voice from the previous morning greet him and direct him to the end of the drive where he met Remus and Neville. "Morning, Harry," Neville said.

"Morning, Neville, Remus," Harry greeted.

"Were you able to warm up?" Remus asked.

"Yes," Harry said. "Pig showed up at four o'clock so I read my mail then did some stretching."

Remus chuckled. "Good little alarm clock, that one. All right then! A little bit faster and a little bit farther."

Harry and Neville groaned at Remus' enthusiasm but quickly fell into step behind the werewolf.

They learned many new hexes, curses and charms that day and Moody started lecturing them on the finer points of dueling and casting spells while tumbling, running or rolling. They also quickly learned that to become Master Duelers they would have to learn to incorporate Transfiguration and Charms as well as any number of curses, hexes, and jinxes into their dueling strategies. Towards the end of the morning Harry approached Kingsley and asked him how he was doing and if his injuries were healed. Kingsley chuckled. "Ah, yes. Tonks told me you might be asking about that. Rest assured, Harry. I am fine and I do not hold you responsible for what happened in the Department of Mysteries."

Harry smirked and said, "Thanks." Then he remembered something else and asked, "Uh, Kingsley? Aren't you an auror and don't you have to work during the day?"

Once again Kingsley chuckled. "Yes, I am and I do. Tonks and I have the afternoon patrol in Diagon Alley so what we do with our mornings is our own affair. You and Mister Longbottom are providing Tonks and me with and opportunity to brush up on our dueling skills so we thank you, Harry." Before Harry could ask his next question Kingsley held up his hand. "Yesterday was Tonks' day off," Kingsley said, in anticipation of Harry's question, "so no harm done."

Harry shook his head and smiled up at the tall black man. "I want to thank you all the same, though," Harry said. "So, thanks."

Kingsley smiled and clapped Harry on the shoulder. "You are a fine young man, Harry Potter, and it is an honor to be of service to someone with such a strong and pure heart."

After dropping Neville off at Mrs. Figg's house Harry and Remus made their way back to Privet Drive. Upon entering the Dursleys' home Harry and Remus were on their way past the kitchen door when Aunt Petunia called out to them. "Harry, Remus," she called out softly. The two wizards stopped and looked curiously into the kitchen where Aunt Petunia was sitting at the table, facing the door, her hands nervously working a napkin. "Could we talk?" she asked.

Harry and Remus looked at each other, both recognizing that everything about Aunt Petunia - from her uncharacteristically polite tone to her fidgety body language to the frightened look in her eyes - said that what she had to say was important and potentially dangerous and that she was frightened by the mere thought of what she was about to say. Harry entered first and sat down in the chair facing the window. Remus took the seat across from him and they both turned to look at the frightened form of Petunia Dursley whose hands were starting to shred the napkin on the table in front of her. "Yes, Aunt Petunia?" Harry asked gently, sensing that something was not right with his normally harsh aunt.

Petunia looked nervously over at Harry, her eyes searching his face for any sign of rejection then glanced apprehensively at the door, over at Remus and out the window before returning her gaze to the napkin in front of her. "I didn't really hate your mother you know." Harry's head shot up and he was about to retort and say something mean but a threatening glance from Remus stopped the words before they could form on his lips. "I know that what I've said in the past wasn't very nice," Petunia continued, "but we were scared and we don't really understand your world so we did everything we could to avoid it. And Vernon, as you know, doesn't want anything to do with . . . your abilities."

Harry could see that his aunt was struggling with her words and that this confession was not easy for her so he sat still and silently listened as she continued her story. "When you saved Dudley from those dementors last year one of my worst nightmares - that they would find us and attack our family because of you - was realized. I don't blame you," she said quickly to stem the flow of any argument, "because I knew it was only a matter of time until something like that happened and I thank you for saving my Dudley's life.

"When I got that howler that night I was rather forcefully reminded of the magical contract I signed when we took you in. I don't understand all of it but I do know that so long as we are both alive and you are able to call this house home for any length of time we will all be safe from this Voldemort character and his followers.

"If what you say is true and he is back and gaining strength then I'll be honest with you, Harry, I am frightened. Terrified, in fact, that something will happen to my family. I'm sorry it has taken so long for me to realize this but you've got to understand that it hasn't been easy. I will try to be a better aunt but I'm afraid you will still have to deal with Vernon and Dudley." Petunia's eyes were watering and her voice was about to crack. "I'm sorry, Harry," she sobbed into the shredded napkin and blew her nose into its remnains. "I hope you can forgive me."

Harry looked at his aunt and suddenly realized that she had been under a lot of pressure to keep what she knew about the wizarding world hidden for a lot of years. As he watched her start to fall apart before his eyes he knew that there was only one thing he could do. Reaching out he gently touched her arm and said, "It's okay, Aunt Petunia. I understand and I forgive you."

Petunia looked up into his eyes - tear filled blue meeting emerald green - and mouthed a heart felt "Thank you."

Remus fixed the three of them a comfortable lunch and they ate, for the most part, in silence, Petunia occasionally opening up and Remus helping her come to terms with her years of denial while Harry listened and learned more about his aunt than he had ever known existed. At ten minutes to one Remus looked up at the clock and said, "We've got to get going, Harry."

As they stood up Harry looked at his sweaty clothes then looked at Remus. Remus shook his head and smiled. "I can see that I'm going to have to teach you some cleansing charms," he said as he took out his wand. After stepping out into the hall to avoid being seen by any passers by or prying eyes Remus cast several cleansing charms on both Harry and himself and their clothes. Before they left Remus turned to Harry's aunt and said, "I'll be back. I think you need someone to talk to so after I drop Harry off at his lessons I'll come back so we can talk some more."

Aunt Petunia didn't say anything but smiled weakly and nodded her head.

That evening, after Occlumency lessons, visiting with Remus about his days at Hogwarts and several hours of reading, Harry looked at the letters he had received that morning and decided to write to his friends. After reading each of them again he decided to respond to Ginny's first. Pulling out a piece of parchment and a quill he wrote:

Dear Ginny,

Thank you. I am glad to hear that you are not a "Scarlet Woman." I
think the twins may have rubbed off on you a bit. As to our being friends, I
think that would be nice. As you probably already know, I have been talking
around the subject with a few of our friends. I don't think I'm ready to talk
about it just yet but when I am I will most definitely let you know. You were
right last December when you told me that I was not the only one who has had
dealings with Voldemort. You have been through things I cannot even begin to
imagine and I am sorry I wasn't there for you.

I think you should know that I was temporarily possessed by Voldamort towards
the end of the battle. He wanted Dumbledore to kill me so he possessed my body
and begged him to do so. I don't know exactly what happened but somehow I was
able to get rid of him. I think it might have something to do with the fact
that I was thinking about how much I love Sirius. I don't think he can stand
it when people love each other.

As you probably already know I am not a great people person. I try but it's
not easy. I would like to give our friendship a chance. Please write.

Your friend,

Harry

After putting Ginny's letter in an envelope Harry turned to Hermione's letter and, after reading it yet again, took out another piece of parchment and began writing.

Dear Hermione,

Thank you. Now that I think about it, I guess I kind of think of you as the
sister I never had.

Are you sure it was Ron? Somehow the idea of Ron doing his homework just
doesn't make sense. You are right, something really strange must have
happened to him in the DoM. Actually, I know something strange happened to him
in the DoM because he said that he has a meeting with some of their representatives
next week to see if they can figure out what is going on.

Remus and I have been spending a lot of time together, talking about his days
at Hogwarts and some of the pranks they pulled. Some of them were really quite
funny. Of course, Dumbledore was upset at first but I think he understands our
need to talk.

Remus is going great guns on the Muslim philosophy and I am starting to get
into the Hebrew faith but there is so much extraneous information that it is
going to take a lot of time to get through it all. Don't get me wrong; the
books you picked out are wonderful and easy to read but holy cow! Hasn't
anyone ever thought to make this stuff easy to understand?

I'm glad to hear that you are all right. I know you can't help but worry about
how your parents might react and I really don't know what to tell you on that
score. But maybe if they knew the truth and understood that there is no escape
they would be more understanding. You already know that you can't help who you
are and that hiding won't do any good. I'm not about to tell you what to do but
you can at least think about it.

Your friend,

Harry

Hedwig was watching him as he stuffed Hermione's letter in an envelope and addressed it. Sensing an imminent delivery she hooted softly and hopped down from the bureau, landing on the corner of his desk. Harry looked over at her and smiled. "You up for a delivery tonight, girl? I've got one more to write and then I'll let you have them."

Turning his attention to Ron's letter he read through it again and, pulling out a third piece of parchment, wrote:

Dear Ron,

Don't worry about the muggles. If Moody's warning wasn't enough then
regular visits by a certain werewolf have certainly made a lasting impression.

I'm really sorry about what happened in the DoM, Ron. I hope it is nothing
permanent but I want you to keep me posted on what you find out. Hermione says
you are almost done with your homework. Now, Ron, please don't take this the
wrong way but something is definitely not right if you are doing your homework
on the first day of holiday.

Don't be too hard on Ginny. After all, it did take a while to get that bat
bogey hex she put on Malfoy cleared up. I would hate to see something like that
happen to you. She just wants to be my friend and somehow I get the feeling
she might be able to understand what I am going through more than most.

I don't know what to tell you about Percy. I think I can understand where your
parents and Bill are coming from and I think I can definitely understand where
you are coming from. How does Ginny feel about it?

Well, take care of yourself, Ron, and please keep me posted on what you find out.

Your friend,

Harry

After reading this letter over he decided that he wasn't betraying too many of Ginny's confidences, put it in an envelope, addressed it to Ron and then handed all three envelopes to Hedwig. As the Snowy Owl clutched the letters in her scaly talons he caressed her head and carried her over to the window. "These go to Ron, Hermione and Ginny," he said.

As Hedwig took off and flew through the window Harry turned away, got ready for bed, turned off the light and crawled under his bed covers. His dreams that night were a mixture of dueling, Occlumency, Diagon Alley, the Marauders' pranks and hiding from Malfoy.