CHAPTER TWO – MEMORIES
The Home of Arthur and Molly Weasley – The Burrow
December 25, 1997
11:00 PM
The day had been filled with laughter and happiness, despite the rising toll of the war with Voldemort. Harry had desperately needed a day like today – like Christmas at the Burrow. Everyone had enjoyed it – although Harry could sense an underlying sadness from Mr. and Mrs. Weasley at the absence of their son Percy. Percy had never reconciled with his parents or family for their lack of support for Minister Fudge, even when it was painfully obvious that Fudge had been a fool.
But, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had been able to put those thoughts aside – for the most part – and focus on their children. And Harry finally knew that he was included in that title. Despite the unwavering love and commitment Arthur and Molly Weasley had shown him over the years, he only recently come to accept that without question. Part of it had to do with Ginny, of course. She was always, it seemed, helping Harry to understand basic things about relationships that most people took for granted. And she finally did so without complaint, understanding that his own experience with family had been so horrid as to leave him with no real grasp of interpersonal skills.
Harry had been at first uncertain about visiting the Weasleys at the Burrow. He was understandably concerned about an attack by Voldemort and his Death Eaters. But Dumbledore, Flitwick, and Bill Weasley had cast some very powerful wards that Dumbledore assured him would protect the Weasleys. Harry had finally conceded, especially after the almost pleading letter he had received from Mrs. Weasley.
So, a perfectly normal holiday had passed and nothing bad had happened. Harry could only smile in deep satisfaction as he drained the last of his hot chocolate and peered down lovingly at the redhead whose head was in his lap as she read a book. He glanced over at Ron and Hermione, snuggled together on the other coach and basking in the warmth of the fire. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were talking quietly with their two oldest children, Charlie and Bill. And the twins, of course, we in a corner having a whispered conversation that Harry knew would lead to some new torment for either Ron or himself. Both Ginny and Hermione had gotten even with the twins in sufficiently embarrassing fashion to deter the two mischief makers in the future – leaving himself and Ron as their only targets.
It was getting late and Mrs. Weasley finally shooed her children up to bed. With the exception of Ginny, everyone was of age, but none of her "children" – as Harry and Hermione now were – would dare try to argue with her. They all began making their way upstairs to the various bedrooms, saying good night to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley Harry and Ginny gave Ron and Hermione plenty of time to say good night to each other – a quick snog in other words – before heading upstairs themselves. Harry made sure to hug both Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and thank them again for the splendid day. Mrs. Weasley's eyes filled with tears at hearing Harry's gratitude and again thought that someone so young shouldn't be surprised to have a day pass by so happily.
Once they were sure the hallway was clear, Harry himself said goodnight to Ginny with a few deep kisses. They slowly parted and, after a final longing look at one another, went to their separate bedrooms. It wasn't long before Harry was deep asleep, dreams of the youngest Weasley dancing in his head.
Harry jerked awake when he heard a huge explosion outside. His battle instincts took over and he rolled out of bed as he snatched his wand and glassed from the night stand. He landed in a crouch with his wand pointed at the door. He noted that Ron had followed suit and, like the well oiled machine they were, had rolled in the opposite direction. Had anyone burst into the room, they would have only been able to see one of them without sweeping the room.
They heard the sounds of yelling voices and spells being cast outside. The two young men shared one, hard look and moved for the door to their bedroom. As Ron opened the door a crack, Harry dropped to the floor and peered out. Seeing no one, he covered Ron as he slipped out into the hallway. Harry quickly got to his feet and padded after his friend. They met Ginny and Hermione in the hallway, the two girls having gone through similar motions at the sounds.
The four youngsters made their way down stairs, carefully covering one another but at the same time making sure their wands were not pointed AT one another. They reached the bottom of the stairs and made their way into the kitchen. They could see the flash and noise of spells out in the back yard. With a practiced eye, Harry quickly assessed that a pitched battle between Death Eaters and the Order of the Phoenix was taking place outside.
He turned to his friends and said, "This doesn't look good!"
"How did they get past the wards?" Hermione asked. "They shouldn't have been able to reach the Burrow – not with that modified Fidelius Charm Dumbledore cast"
"Well," Ron said pragmatically, "I don't think we should worry about that right now. I think our primary concern should be to stay alive!"
Harry and Ginny both nodded at this, but Hermione still looked thoughtful.
Just then, Mrs. Weasley burst into the kitchen and skidded to a halt as four wands suddenly jerked in her direction. None of the four Gryffindors were trigger happy enough to hex the woman, but it did give her a fright.
"There you four are!" Mrs. Weasley said. "I tried to find you in your rooms!"
"Come on, Mum," Ginny said. "None of us are deep sleepers anymore! Did you think that explosion outside wasn't going to wake us?"
Mrs. Weasley smiled somewhat ruefully. Harry realized that she probably thought exactly that – or at least hoped that the war hadn't touched them that much. Mrs. Weasley's thought seemed to mirror Harry's and her face took on a harder look.
"Well, be that as it may," Mrs. Weasley said, "we need to get the four of to saf ..."
Mrs. Weasley's words were cut off as the wall of the kitchen suddenly blew inwards. Everyone was thrown off their feet. Harry staggered back to his feet quickly, generally unharmed. As he stood up a little unsteadily, he could see that Ron and Hermione seemed out for the count. He could see their chests rising and falling, but they were clearly unconscious. Ginny looked only marginally better – given her position she must have hit her head on the fireplace mantle rather hard. She was conscious, but dazed. Mrs. Weasley was struggling to her feet, but it looked like she might have hurt her leg. Her wand was nowhere in sight.
Before Harry could do anything for his friends or Mrs. Weasley, a Death Eater stepped in through the gaping hole in the side of the house. Harry immediately sent several spells his way. The Death Eater spun out of the way of most of Harry's spells while deflecting the rest with a shield charm. A pitched battle ensued for a couple of moments between the two until Harry went down.
He had still not completely recovered his equilibrium from the explosion that took out the wall and had stumbled over a broken chair. The Death Eater caught him with a Disarming Charm before he could regain his feet – and suddenly Harry was wandless. The Death Eater started to advance on Harry as he scrambled to his feet. With a flick of his wand and a muttered spell, Harry's arms and legs snapped to his side as he was imprisoned by a full body bind.
"I'm going to enjoy this, Harry," the Death Eater said. As the words reached Harry's ears he could only mentally shake his head in confusion. He felt like he knew that voice, but couldn't place it.
Mrs. Weasley gasped in horror, her hand going to her mouth.
"PERCY?!" she screeched. Harry flinched in shock.
The Death Eater reached up and pulled the mask off and threw back the hood of their robes. As Mrs. Weasley had surmised, it was Percy Weasley.
"Hello, Mother," Percy said contemptuously.
"Oh, no, Percy," Mrs. Weasley sobbed. "What have you done?!"
She started to hobble forward towards her son, but his wand was suddenly pointed at her.
"I wouldn't move another step if I were you, Mother," Percy said in a voice as cold as the arctic wind.
"Whuh ... why are you doing this?" Mrs. Weasley asked. Harry's eyes darted around the room looking for a weapon, any kind of weapon. But he knew a weapon would be useless with the full body bind in place.
"Why?" Percy asked in surprise. "You have to ask why, Mother. You turned your back on me – on me and the Ministry. All for the sake of this boy (Percy pointed angrily at Harry). And now its very clear that the Dark Lord is going to be the victor in this war. I do not intend to be on the losing side in this!"
Mrs. Weasley stared at him in shock. She couldn't believe that this was her son. He must be under the Imperius Curse, she thought to herself.
"What are you going to do?" Mrs. Weasley asked.
"I'm going to take Harry to meet my Master," Percy said in a tone that sent shivers down Harry's spine. "After that, you won't have to worry about Potter ever again!"
Percy suddenly looked a little uncertain and said, "Its not too late for you, you know. For you and the others."
"What?" Mrs. Weasley asked in surprise. "Do you honestly think we're going to join up with that vile creature?"
Percy looked saddened for a moment, then his gaze hardened. He said, "No, I guess I was fooling myself to think that you would see the error of your ways. You're all going to die when the Dark Lord takes over – and you're all foolish enough to believe that you are noble by defying him!"
Percy turned away from his mother and looked at Harry. He withdrew an old ashtray from his pocket.
"Come along, Harry," Percy said, "and no one else needs to get hurt. This is a portkey that will take us to see my Master. Touch it and all of the Death Eaters will know you've been taken to see the Dark Lord. They'll leave the Burrow alone after that. If I release you from the full body bind, will you come of your own free will."
Harry couldn't see any choice. He didn't want anyone getting hurt – let alone killed – because of him. He was able to make a small nod despite the body bind. Percy raised his wand to release the spell when Mrs. Weasley suddenly lurched in front of him.
"If you want him," Mrs Weasley said savagely, "you going to have to TAKE him! You're going to have to go through me – and the rest of your FORMER family to do it."
Percy looked surprised at his mother's actions and definitely hurt at the use of her phrase "former family".
"If you want him," Mrs. Weasley spat, "you're going to have to kill me!"
Percy looked even more shocked, then his gaze hardened and he said, "Very well then!"
Harry could only watch in horror.
Percy's arm snapped up and he shouted, "Avada Kedavra!"
The green killing curse flew across the room. Molly Weasley's eyes widened in shock before the curse struck.
In one, single moment it was over. Molly Weasley, mother of six wonderful children and one murderer, was dead. Harry looked down at Mrs. Weasley's crumpled from in complete, utter heartwrenching shock. He looked up at the haunted eyes of Percy Weasley – eyes that simultaneously showed determination as his wand now pointed at Harry.
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE???!!!" Mr. Weasley screamed despairingly as he looked through the gaping hole in the wall. He was looking back and forth between Percy and his wife of many years.
When it happened, no one could have stopped it. Harry had never seen a human being move so fast in his life. Percy had seen it in his father's eyes and tried to swing around to bring his wand to bear, but he had hardly moved when Mr. Weasley bellowed, "AVADA KEDAVRA!"
For the second time in less than a minute, a sickly green light illuminated the inside of the Burrow's kitchen. Percy didn't have time to dodge or even register shock. The curse hit with the force of a hurricane. Percy Weasley was hurled across the room and struck the opposing wall with a crunch that would have killed him – if he hadn't already been dead.
Mr. Weasley raced over to his wife's body and cradled her head in his lap. He stroked the red hair and whispered, "Oh, Molly!" over and over again. Harry heard movement from behind him, but he couldn't tell which of his friends were moving. He heard a very subdued Hermione mutter, "Finite incantatum" and his body bind was released. He sagged and would have gone to his knees if not for Ron.
He looked over at his best friend and had to hold back the rising gorge in his throat. The utter defeat on Ron's face was almost more than he could bear. Tears stained the redhead's face – and a small corner of Harry's mind realized that he had never seen Ron cry. Harry looked around to see Ginny curled in a little ball, whimpering. Harry realized with a growing horror that his best friend and his girlfriend must have seen the whole thing. How horrible to watch your brother kill your mother – and then see your father kill that brother.
The emotional scars that this single event was going to leave on the Weasley family were incalculable. Harry had gotten past blaming himself for every death in the war with Voldemort. But he had vowed to make Voldemort's death unpleasant. Harry had long ago decided that he wasn't going to use something as simple as the Killing Curse to kill Voldemort. No, he wanted something that would HURT – that would cause the self-styled Dark Lord pain beyond a 100 Cruciatus Curses.
Now, staring around as the other Weasley children made their way in to the shattered kitchen, sharing looks of shock, sadness, and grief, Harry vowed to make Voldemort's death much, much more unpleasant. He intended to take his time, making every second a living hell for the Dark Lord.
Harry went over to Ginny and knelt down beside her. He called her name softly, but she didn't respond, only rocked faster. Harry finally reached out and pulled her into his arms, cradling her like a small child – for at that moment she was one again. She stiffened in his arms at first, then suddenly latched on to him with a fierceness he hadn't thought possible. Her silence was broken with a grief stricken wail "NNOO!" Harry just rocked her in his arms. He was afraid to speak – he knew he'd only say something stupid like "Its going to be alright". He wanted to comfort Ginny through this – he needed to comfort her to comfort himself.
As Harry surveyed the room again, Ron was sobbing uncontrollably into Hermione's shoulder as she stroked his hair and let her own tears flow freely. Mr. Weasley was still kneeling by his wife's now lifeless body and whispering to her. Bill and Charlie Weasley were being comforted by some of the Order of the Phoenix members who had finally made it into the house. The twins had truly frightening looks on their faces. Harry had never seen the constantly mischievous boys looking so serious and outright ... deadly through the tears they now shed. Harry shuddered momentarily and was suddenly glad he was on their side.
Harry also noted Dumbledore leaning wearily against the counter. He looked like every one of his many years had suddenly come crashing down on him as he stood there. The hand over his eyes and his bowed head could not hide the salty rivulets running down his face.
The Home of Arthur and Molly Weasley – The Burrow
December 25, 1997
11:00 PM
The day had been filled with laughter and happiness, despite the rising toll of the war with Voldemort. Harry had desperately needed a day like today – like Christmas at the Burrow. Everyone had enjoyed it – although Harry could sense an underlying sadness from Mr. and Mrs. Weasley at the absence of their son Percy. Percy had never reconciled with his parents or family for their lack of support for Minister Fudge, even when it was painfully obvious that Fudge had been a fool.
But, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had been able to put those thoughts aside – for the most part – and focus on their children. And Harry finally knew that he was included in that title. Despite the unwavering love and commitment Arthur and Molly Weasley had shown him over the years, he only recently come to accept that without question. Part of it had to do with Ginny, of course. She was always, it seemed, helping Harry to understand basic things about relationships that most people took for granted. And she finally did so without complaint, understanding that his own experience with family had been so horrid as to leave him with no real grasp of interpersonal skills.
Harry had been at first uncertain about visiting the Weasleys at the Burrow. He was understandably concerned about an attack by Voldemort and his Death Eaters. But Dumbledore, Flitwick, and Bill Weasley had cast some very powerful wards that Dumbledore assured him would protect the Weasleys. Harry had finally conceded, especially after the almost pleading letter he had received from Mrs. Weasley.
So, a perfectly normal holiday had passed and nothing bad had happened. Harry could only smile in deep satisfaction as he drained the last of his hot chocolate and peered down lovingly at the redhead whose head was in his lap as she read a book. He glanced over at Ron and Hermione, snuggled together on the other coach and basking in the warmth of the fire. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were talking quietly with their two oldest children, Charlie and Bill. And the twins, of course, we in a corner having a whispered conversation that Harry knew would lead to some new torment for either Ron or himself. Both Ginny and Hermione had gotten even with the twins in sufficiently embarrassing fashion to deter the two mischief makers in the future – leaving himself and Ron as their only targets.
It was getting late and Mrs. Weasley finally shooed her children up to bed. With the exception of Ginny, everyone was of age, but none of her "children" – as Harry and Hermione now were – would dare try to argue with her. They all began making their way upstairs to the various bedrooms, saying good night to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley Harry and Ginny gave Ron and Hermione plenty of time to say good night to each other – a quick snog in other words – before heading upstairs themselves. Harry made sure to hug both Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and thank them again for the splendid day. Mrs. Weasley's eyes filled with tears at hearing Harry's gratitude and again thought that someone so young shouldn't be surprised to have a day pass by so happily.
Once they were sure the hallway was clear, Harry himself said goodnight to Ginny with a few deep kisses. They slowly parted and, after a final longing look at one another, went to their separate bedrooms. It wasn't long before Harry was deep asleep, dreams of the youngest Weasley dancing in his head.
Harry jerked awake when he heard a huge explosion outside. His battle instincts took over and he rolled out of bed as he snatched his wand and glassed from the night stand. He landed in a crouch with his wand pointed at the door. He noted that Ron had followed suit and, like the well oiled machine they were, had rolled in the opposite direction. Had anyone burst into the room, they would have only been able to see one of them without sweeping the room.
They heard the sounds of yelling voices and spells being cast outside. The two young men shared one, hard look and moved for the door to their bedroom. As Ron opened the door a crack, Harry dropped to the floor and peered out. Seeing no one, he covered Ron as he slipped out into the hallway. Harry quickly got to his feet and padded after his friend. They met Ginny and Hermione in the hallway, the two girls having gone through similar motions at the sounds.
The four youngsters made their way down stairs, carefully covering one another but at the same time making sure their wands were not pointed AT one another. They reached the bottom of the stairs and made their way into the kitchen. They could see the flash and noise of spells out in the back yard. With a practiced eye, Harry quickly assessed that a pitched battle between Death Eaters and the Order of the Phoenix was taking place outside.
He turned to his friends and said, "This doesn't look good!"
"How did they get past the wards?" Hermione asked. "They shouldn't have been able to reach the Burrow – not with that modified Fidelius Charm Dumbledore cast"
"Well," Ron said pragmatically, "I don't think we should worry about that right now. I think our primary concern should be to stay alive!"
Harry and Ginny both nodded at this, but Hermione still looked thoughtful.
Just then, Mrs. Weasley burst into the kitchen and skidded to a halt as four wands suddenly jerked in her direction. None of the four Gryffindors were trigger happy enough to hex the woman, but it did give her a fright.
"There you four are!" Mrs. Weasley said. "I tried to find you in your rooms!"
"Come on, Mum," Ginny said. "None of us are deep sleepers anymore! Did you think that explosion outside wasn't going to wake us?"
Mrs. Weasley smiled somewhat ruefully. Harry realized that she probably thought exactly that – or at least hoped that the war hadn't touched them that much. Mrs. Weasley's thought seemed to mirror Harry's and her face took on a harder look.
"Well, be that as it may," Mrs. Weasley said, "we need to get the four of to saf ..."
Mrs. Weasley's words were cut off as the wall of the kitchen suddenly blew inwards. Everyone was thrown off their feet. Harry staggered back to his feet quickly, generally unharmed. As he stood up a little unsteadily, he could see that Ron and Hermione seemed out for the count. He could see their chests rising and falling, but they were clearly unconscious. Ginny looked only marginally better – given her position she must have hit her head on the fireplace mantle rather hard. She was conscious, but dazed. Mrs. Weasley was struggling to her feet, but it looked like she might have hurt her leg. Her wand was nowhere in sight.
Before Harry could do anything for his friends or Mrs. Weasley, a Death Eater stepped in through the gaping hole in the side of the house. Harry immediately sent several spells his way. The Death Eater spun out of the way of most of Harry's spells while deflecting the rest with a shield charm. A pitched battle ensued for a couple of moments between the two until Harry went down.
He had still not completely recovered his equilibrium from the explosion that took out the wall and had stumbled over a broken chair. The Death Eater caught him with a Disarming Charm before he could regain his feet – and suddenly Harry was wandless. The Death Eater started to advance on Harry as he scrambled to his feet. With a flick of his wand and a muttered spell, Harry's arms and legs snapped to his side as he was imprisoned by a full body bind.
"I'm going to enjoy this, Harry," the Death Eater said. As the words reached Harry's ears he could only mentally shake his head in confusion. He felt like he knew that voice, but couldn't place it.
Mrs. Weasley gasped in horror, her hand going to her mouth.
"PERCY?!" she screeched. Harry flinched in shock.
The Death Eater reached up and pulled the mask off and threw back the hood of their robes. As Mrs. Weasley had surmised, it was Percy Weasley.
"Hello, Mother," Percy said contemptuously.
"Oh, no, Percy," Mrs. Weasley sobbed. "What have you done?!"
She started to hobble forward towards her son, but his wand was suddenly pointed at her.
"I wouldn't move another step if I were you, Mother," Percy said in a voice as cold as the arctic wind.
"Whuh ... why are you doing this?" Mrs. Weasley asked. Harry's eyes darted around the room looking for a weapon, any kind of weapon. But he knew a weapon would be useless with the full body bind in place.
"Why?" Percy asked in surprise. "You have to ask why, Mother. You turned your back on me – on me and the Ministry. All for the sake of this boy (Percy pointed angrily at Harry). And now its very clear that the Dark Lord is going to be the victor in this war. I do not intend to be on the losing side in this!"
Mrs. Weasley stared at him in shock. She couldn't believe that this was her son. He must be under the Imperius Curse, she thought to herself.
"What are you going to do?" Mrs. Weasley asked.
"I'm going to take Harry to meet my Master," Percy said in a tone that sent shivers down Harry's spine. "After that, you won't have to worry about Potter ever again!"
Percy suddenly looked a little uncertain and said, "Its not too late for you, you know. For you and the others."
"What?" Mrs. Weasley asked in surprise. "Do you honestly think we're going to join up with that vile creature?"
Percy looked saddened for a moment, then his gaze hardened. He said, "No, I guess I was fooling myself to think that you would see the error of your ways. You're all going to die when the Dark Lord takes over – and you're all foolish enough to believe that you are noble by defying him!"
Percy turned away from his mother and looked at Harry. He withdrew an old ashtray from his pocket.
"Come along, Harry," Percy said, "and no one else needs to get hurt. This is a portkey that will take us to see my Master. Touch it and all of the Death Eaters will know you've been taken to see the Dark Lord. They'll leave the Burrow alone after that. If I release you from the full body bind, will you come of your own free will."
Harry couldn't see any choice. He didn't want anyone getting hurt – let alone killed – because of him. He was able to make a small nod despite the body bind. Percy raised his wand to release the spell when Mrs. Weasley suddenly lurched in front of him.
"If you want him," Mrs Weasley said savagely, "you going to have to TAKE him! You're going to have to go through me – and the rest of your FORMER family to do it."
Percy looked surprised at his mother's actions and definitely hurt at the use of her phrase "former family".
"If you want him," Mrs. Weasley spat, "you're going to have to kill me!"
Percy looked even more shocked, then his gaze hardened and he said, "Very well then!"
Harry could only watch in horror.
Percy's arm snapped up and he shouted, "Avada Kedavra!"
The green killing curse flew across the room. Molly Weasley's eyes widened in shock before the curse struck.
In one, single moment it was over. Molly Weasley, mother of six wonderful children and one murderer, was dead. Harry looked down at Mrs. Weasley's crumpled from in complete, utter heartwrenching shock. He looked up at the haunted eyes of Percy Weasley – eyes that simultaneously showed determination as his wand now pointed at Harry.
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE???!!!" Mr. Weasley screamed despairingly as he looked through the gaping hole in the wall. He was looking back and forth between Percy and his wife of many years.
When it happened, no one could have stopped it. Harry had never seen a human being move so fast in his life. Percy had seen it in his father's eyes and tried to swing around to bring his wand to bear, but he had hardly moved when Mr. Weasley bellowed, "AVADA KEDAVRA!"
For the second time in less than a minute, a sickly green light illuminated the inside of the Burrow's kitchen. Percy didn't have time to dodge or even register shock. The curse hit with the force of a hurricane. Percy Weasley was hurled across the room and struck the opposing wall with a crunch that would have killed him – if he hadn't already been dead.
Mr. Weasley raced over to his wife's body and cradled her head in his lap. He stroked the red hair and whispered, "Oh, Molly!" over and over again. Harry heard movement from behind him, but he couldn't tell which of his friends were moving. He heard a very subdued Hermione mutter, "Finite incantatum" and his body bind was released. He sagged and would have gone to his knees if not for Ron.
He looked over at his best friend and had to hold back the rising gorge in his throat. The utter defeat on Ron's face was almost more than he could bear. Tears stained the redhead's face – and a small corner of Harry's mind realized that he had never seen Ron cry. Harry looked around to see Ginny curled in a little ball, whimpering. Harry realized with a growing horror that his best friend and his girlfriend must have seen the whole thing. How horrible to watch your brother kill your mother – and then see your father kill that brother.
The emotional scars that this single event was going to leave on the Weasley family were incalculable. Harry had gotten past blaming himself for every death in the war with Voldemort. But he had vowed to make Voldemort's death unpleasant. Harry had long ago decided that he wasn't going to use something as simple as the Killing Curse to kill Voldemort. No, he wanted something that would HURT – that would cause the self-styled Dark Lord pain beyond a 100 Cruciatus Curses.
Now, staring around as the other Weasley children made their way in to the shattered kitchen, sharing looks of shock, sadness, and grief, Harry vowed to make Voldemort's death much, much more unpleasant. He intended to take his time, making every second a living hell for the Dark Lord.
Harry went over to Ginny and knelt down beside her. He called her name softly, but she didn't respond, only rocked faster. Harry finally reached out and pulled her into his arms, cradling her like a small child – for at that moment she was one again. She stiffened in his arms at first, then suddenly latched on to him with a fierceness he hadn't thought possible. Her silence was broken with a grief stricken wail "NNOO!" Harry just rocked her in his arms. He was afraid to speak – he knew he'd only say something stupid like "Its going to be alright". He wanted to comfort Ginny through this – he needed to comfort her to comfort himself.
As Harry surveyed the room again, Ron was sobbing uncontrollably into Hermione's shoulder as she stroked his hair and let her own tears flow freely. Mr. Weasley was still kneeling by his wife's now lifeless body and whispering to her. Bill and Charlie Weasley were being comforted by some of the Order of the Phoenix members who had finally made it into the house. The twins had truly frightening looks on their faces. Harry had never seen the constantly mischievous boys looking so serious and outright ... deadly through the tears they now shed. Harry shuddered momentarily and was suddenly glad he was on their side.
Harry also noted Dumbledore leaning wearily against the counter. He looked like every one of his many years had suddenly come crashing down on him as he stood there. The hand over his eyes and his bowed head could not hide the salty rivulets running down his face.