CHAPTER THREE – AFTERMATH
The Home of Harry Potter – 12 Grimmauld Place
December 26, 1998
2:00 AM
Harry's eyes fluttered open and a gray blur appeared in front of him. He realized weakly that he didn't have his glasses on.
"Drink this," a distant voice said.
He couldn't hear the words distinctly enough to figure out who it was. He coughed at first, but then let the potion slide down his throat. He felt like he was swallowing a potion that was made from the essence of sweaty Quidditich robes, Dudley's dirty socks, and moldy bread. Altogether he thought, it was one of the better potions he had tasted in his life. He blacked out moments after finishing the potion.
When next he awoke, he could see the sun trying to force its way around the dark curtains in his bedroom. He realized with a start that he was actually in bed.
'How in Merlin's name did I get here?' he thought. 'The last I remember was passing out after finishing the charm. No. Wait. Someone gave me a potion.'
He lifted his head carefully – years of injuries had taught him the wisdom of not sitting up abruptly – and finally was able to make out a figure sitting in a chair to his left. He didn't have his glasses on yet and the person was partially in the shadows, so he had no idea who it was. He cautiously reached out for the glasses on his bed side table and slipped them on. He was about to take a closer look at his ... visitor when they spoke.
"I see that you are finally back among the living, Potter," Snape drawled as he leaned forward. "Pity."
Harry started in surprise at seeing his former Potions' master in the chair! In the chair in his bedroom! In the chair in his bedroom in his house!
"What are you doing here?" Harry spat out.
"Trust me, Potter," Snape sneered, "I have better things to do with my time than clean up after your messes."
"What are you talking about?" Harry said, curious despite himself.
"What I am talking about is this," Snape said as he waved Harry's notes on the modified charm around.
Harry eyes widened and he started to speak, but Snape cut him off, "Spare me the explanations, Potter! I have read through your notes. They are surprisingly well organized and researched. You obviously had Granger's help on this. Why wasn't she here with you?"
"Hermione had nothing to do with this," Harry replied.
Snape raised a single eyebrow, but Harry caught the sudden glint of something – respect? – in Snape's eyes at that.
"Explain this," Snape said with another wave of Harry's notes.
Harry was tempted to just tell Snape to sod off, but something in Snape's manner – some small way in which Snape seemed to be holding back – made Harry reconsider.
"Do you know what those notes outline?" Harry asked civilly.
"Yes, I do," Snape answered just as civilly.
"I figured you did if you'd read them," Harry said with a nod.
Snape seemed momentarily surprised. He couldn't decide if Harry was assuming Snape's understanding because of the wonderful and magnificent clarity of a Harry Potter research project or because he was in some way complimenting Snape's abilities. For once, Snape decided to reserve his decision on the subject.
"And do you know what I was trying to do with that charm?" Harry asked as he looked into the Potions Master's dark eyes.
"No," Snape said slowly. "I became aware of someone casting the Fidelius Charm last night, but wasn't able to determine who or what was being put under it."
Harry looked startled at Snape mention of knowing the charm had been cast and said so.
"How did you know I cast the charm, Professor?" Harry asked curiously.
Snape almost sneered, then relented and answered, "Because I am a Master Occlumens, Potter. Although the nature of the charm prevents me from stopping the information from being wiped out of my memory, I certainly knew that something had just been nicked from my brain!"
Snape seemed annoyed that Harry had in some way gotten into his head – even if it was through the use of a rather complex charm.
"And just what were you hiding," Snape asked. He wasn't sure if Harry was going to answer or not. The Fidelius Charm was, after all, designed to keep people from knowing information.
For several moments, it looked as if Harry was not going to answer the question. Then he asked Snape for some parchment and a quill, who grudging retrieved the items for him. He quickly wrote a single sentence on the parchment and, with a small sigh, handed it to his former Professor.
Snape took the parchment and looked down at it. As he read it, his eyebrows rose.
The Death Eater who murdered Molly Weasley was Percy Weasley.
Snape looked back at Harry with a shocked look on his face.
"Mrs. Weasley's death is hard enough to deal with," Harry said simply. "But knowing it was her own son who killed him and that Mr. Weasley then killed Percy ... Well, that has been tearing the family apart. They are closer as a family because of it, but they are so devastated by the event that they will never be able to move on."
Harry rubbed his eyes quickly, afraid to shed the tears that had sprung up. Snape looked away in thought for several seconds. Harry couldn't decide if it was to give him time to compose himself or because Snape was, truly, thinking.
Harry sighed and continued, "I modified the basic Fidelius Charm to not only hide the identity of Mrs. Weasley's killer, but implant a false memory that it was Lucius Malfoy who had done it. Mr. Weasley had killed Malfoy that night – quite by accident – but it is true none-the-less. I also modified the memory to make it so that Percy had died defending his family."
"Did it work?" Harry asked. Harry continued as he pointed at the parchment in Snape's hand, "Is that how you remembered it until your saw that parchment?"
"Yes," Snape said in shock, impressed despite himself. "Yes it was."
"Good," Harry said, "Now only you and I know the truth."
Snape turned to look fully at Harry. Harry took a deep breath and said, "But ... "
Harry trailed off and Snape looked on curiously. Harry finally tried again "I have never really asked you for anything, Professor Snape. But right here, right now, I need to ask you for a very large favor."
Harry looked up expectantly at Snape, who waved at Harry to continue.
"I need ..." Harry's voice broke and this time he let the tears fall.
Snape took a step forward, unsure why as he watched Harry being to cry.
Harry looked up at Snape with tears running down his face and said, "I need you to obliviate me."
"WHAT?!" Snape blurted out.
"I have given the Weasleys as much peace as I can," Harry said. "They will hopefully be able to deal with their grief and move on. Not forgetting Mrs. Weasley, but no longer stuck in the place that they are. I need the same for myself. I never knew my mother, Professor. Even you know her more than I do – and probably always will. But Mrs. Weasley was like a mother to me – and all of the Weasleys have been like a family to me. I need this as much for myself as I want it for them."
"Please, Professor," Harry suddenly pleaded. "Please take that memory away from me. I can't live with seeing her body hit the floor night after night. I can't live with watching the horror on Ron's face ... on Ginny's face as they look down at their mother's body. Please ... please ...:"
Harry trailed off, whispering please over and over again as he wrapped his arms around his knees and rocked himself back and forth.
For the first time in his life, Severus Snape was completely unsure of what to do. Potter had been like a thorn in his side for the last seven years. Granted, he had defeated Voldemort and made it possible for Snape to live again without a shadow hanging ominously over him, but still ... this was James Potter's son. And Sirius Black's godson.
Before he knew what was happening, Snape was standing by Harry's bed and had placed a hand gently on Harry's head. He fumbled for a moment as he tried to stroke the distraught young man's hair, but finally recovered himself enough to do it properly. Harry looked up at Snape and it was like they were seeing each other for the first time.
Snape nodded and said, "Very well, Potter. But let me explain why."
Harry looked at Snape for a moment, curiously, then nodded.
"First, let me ask you something," Snape said as he sat down on the bed. "Do you realize how close you came to dying last night?"
Harry's eyes widened suddenly and Snape said dryly, "I'll take that as a 'no'!"
"The work you did on modifying the Fidelius Charm was brilliant, Potter," Snape said grudgingly. "And if you ever tell anyone I said your work was brilliant I'll hex you back to a first year (Harry grinned). Brilliant, but dangerous. The sheer amount of people, texts, and information sources that had to be modified to make your modified charm work were enormous. The Weasley family is very close to you and you are notably famous (Snape said those words with a little distaste). So the events we are talking about were known by virtually the entire wizarding world, I daresay. In addition, very few people can perform the Fidelous Charm in its basic form because of the huge magical energy requirements in casting it – magical energy that comes from the caster. So, you are probably the only person who could possibly have cast that spell last night. And it drained you of nearly all of your magical energy."
Harry eyes had grown more and more alarmed as Snape spoke, who sighed.
"Yes, Potter," Snape said, "your charms work is brilliant. However, if you are planning on continuing this type of work, I would suggest you study Arithmancy. It will give an understanding of the energy requirements for spell casting and hopefully prevent something like this in the future. If I had not been able to track the source of your charm back to you and get a couple of critical potions into you, you would have died."
Harry continued to look greatly disturbed for several moments, then said, "Than I suppose a 'thank you' is in order."
"You're welcome," Snape said quietly. "Anyway, I will remove this memory of yours, and even place the modified one you used in your charm. for one reason. Molly Weasley was an extraordinary woman – as was your mother, Potter. Even if she did marry James. Molly never judged me the way many other people did. Oh, she fought with me on many occasions – usually after I made some comment about you. But she never judged me simply because I had been in Slytherin or because I used to be a Death Eater. She simply took me for who I seemed to be."
"Yeah," Harry said quietly, "I know what you mean."
Snape snorted and said, "Yes, I guess you, oh Boy-Who-Lived!"
"The charm you cast last night has removed a stain on Molly Weasley's name," Snape said. "Percy Weasley was her son and his actions, his betrayal, became a taint on her name. For that reason alone I will do what you asked. I know you did it to ease the pain of her family and that is a very ... Gryffindor (Snape had trouble saying the word without a sneer) thing to do. For myself, knowing that the rest of the world will look more kindly on Molly Weasley is enough."
"Thank you, Professor," Harry said quietly.
Snape nodded. He flicked his wand out to the parchment Harry had written that morning and it erupted in a small ball of fire. Snape also grabbed the notes that Harry had used to develop the charm and did the same. He performed a couple of quick cleaning charms to remove evidence of his destruction of those notes and his presence in the house.
"You will probably be temporarily unconscious after I do this, Potter," Snape said.
"Okay, Professor," Harry said. "And ... thank you, again."
Snape nodded and said, "I am no longer your professor, Potter. When next we meet, you may call me Severus."
At Harry's startled look, Snape added, "If that is all right with you ... Harry."
It was strange to hear Snape – Severus! – call him 'Harry', but he nodded and smiled slightly.
Harry saw Snape point his wand at him and say "OBLIVIATE!"
At the Burrow, Ginny Weasley woke up and stretched. She looked over at the picture of her family – the one taken in Egypt before her second year. It was the last time the family had been all together. She felt a pang of loss again at seeing her mother and Percy. She knew she would never forget them, but for some reason felt more at ease with it than before. She decided to head down and get breakfast started for her family.
Arthur Weasley smiled, truly smiled, in what felt like ages as he walked into the kitchen at the Burrow to find Ginny up and about making breakfast for everyone. His smile turned bittersweet upon thinking that it should be Molly in there, but he saw his wife reflected in Ginny in a variety of small ways. He kissed his only daughters on the cheek as she slid a plate full of eggs and sausage in front of him, earning a beaming smile in return. He had a momentary thought that he ought to learn how to cook himself. Given the rather serious nature of Ginny's relationship with Harry, he was not sure he would have her around much longer. Not to mention that he was tired of grabbing something at the Ministry cafeteria every morning while Ginny was finishing her seventh year at Hogwarts.
Not many things could wake Ron Weasley up when he wanted to sleep. One of those things was Hermione Granger – but he would never, ever let his family know when, or how, she had woken him up before! The other thing that could wake Ron from a dead sleep was food. And the smells of eggs, sausage, and toast drifting up from the kitchen were too much for Ron. He blinked his eyes open as his mouth chewed on some imaginary food. He woke fully as his teeth clicked together on air and he grinned sheepishly, thankful that no one had seen him. He quickly threw on some clothes and dashed down stairs to join his father and sister for breakfast. He noted as her sat down to with overflowing plate that it seemed like a beautiful winter day – just the kind that Mum loved, he thought fondly.
It wasn't long before Fred and George were downstairs as well, doing their best to impersonate Ron as they shoveled food in at an alarming rate. When their father commented on this, they shared a look and said that they needed their energy. They had realized that morning they had been getting sloppy at the joke shop. Low inventory, no new jokes, and business had been slacking off. The twins vowed to get back into the swing of things.
In Romania and Egypt, the oldest Weasley boys also woke to find that their heads and their hearts were lighter. They began to take joy in the simple pleasures of life again and to move on.
Harry woke up on the morning of the 26th feeling better than he had in a while. He smiled fondly, but somewhat sadly, at his memories of being at the Burrow yesterday. He, Hermione, and the Weasleys had managed to get through their first Christmas without Mrs. Weasley and Percy. Harry smiled in grim satisfaction as he remembered that at least Mrs. Weasley had been avenged by Mr. Weasley.
As he showered, he felt for some reason that today was different than other days. It felt like ... it felt like things had changed overnight. He smiled as he thought about stealing Ginny away from the Burrow for a shopping trip to Diagon Alley. Harry thought a quiet day for the two of them was long overdue.
No one was more surprised than Harry when he and Ginny ran into Professor Snape later that day.
They were just walking out of Flourish and Bott's when they almost collided with the Hogwarts' Potions Master.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Harry said before noticing who he had run into. For some strange reason, he did not feel the usual irritation when he saw Snape.
"Yes, we're very sorry, Professor," Ginny added quickly.
"Quite all right, Ms. Weasley," Snape said without a trace of rancor. "I'm afraid I was moving rather quickly."
"Um, right," Harry said uncertainly. "Well, have a pleasant day and a Happy New Year, Severus!"
Harry – and Ginny – started in shock as they both realized that Harry had used Snape's first name. The reaction they got left them even more speechless.
"And to you too, Harry," Snape said with a small smile. "And also to you, um, Ginny."
Snape nodded at the two and moved on. As the young couple stood there in shock, Harry said, "Will wonders never cease?"
"Not with you around, Harry," Ginny said warmly as she snuggled up to him. "Not with you around."
Snape glanced back over his shoulder and watched as Harry and Ginny moved down the street.
"Rest in peace, Molly," he whispered softly. "Rest in peace."
The Home of Harry Potter – 12 Grimmauld Place
December 26, 1998
2:00 AM
Harry's eyes fluttered open and a gray blur appeared in front of him. He realized weakly that he didn't have his glasses on.
"Drink this," a distant voice said.
He couldn't hear the words distinctly enough to figure out who it was. He coughed at first, but then let the potion slide down his throat. He felt like he was swallowing a potion that was made from the essence of sweaty Quidditich robes, Dudley's dirty socks, and moldy bread. Altogether he thought, it was one of the better potions he had tasted in his life. He blacked out moments after finishing the potion.
When next he awoke, he could see the sun trying to force its way around the dark curtains in his bedroom. He realized with a start that he was actually in bed.
'How in Merlin's name did I get here?' he thought. 'The last I remember was passing out after finishing the charm. No. Wait. Someone gave me a potion.'
He lifted his head carefully – years of injuries had taught him the wisdom of not sitting up abruptly – and finally was able to make out a figure sitting in a chair to his left. He didn't have his glasses on yet and the person was partially in the shadows, so he had no idea who it was. He cautiously reached out for the glasses on his bed side table and slipped them on. He was about to take a closer look at his ... visitor when they spoke.
"I see that you are finally back among the living, Potter," Snape drawled as he leaned forward. "Pity."
Harry started in surprise at seeing his former Potions' master in the chair! In the chair in his bedroom! In the chair in his bedroom in his house!
"What are you doing here?" Harry spat out.
"Trust me, Potter," Snape sneered, "I have better things to do with my time than clean up after your messes."
"What are you talking about?" Harry said, curious despite himself.
"What I am talking about is this," Snape said as he waved Harry's notes on the modified charm around.
Harry eyes widened and he started to speak, but Snape cut him off, "Spare me the explanations, Potter! I have read through your notes. They are surprisingly well organized and researched. You obviously had Granger's help on this. Why wasn't she here with you?"
"Hermione had nothing to do with this," Harry replied.
Snape raised a single eyebrow, but Harry caught the sudden glint of something – respect? – in Snape's eyes at that.
"Explain this," Snape said with another wave of Harry's notes.
Harry was tempted to just tell Snape to sod off, but something in Snape's manner – some small way in which Snape seemed to be holding back – made Harry reconsider.
"Do you know what those notes outline?" Harry asked civilly.
"Yes, I do," Snape answered just as civilly.
"I figured you did if you'd read them," Harry said with a nod.
Snape seemed momentarily surprised. He couldn't decide if Harry was assuming Snape's understanding because of the wonderful and magnificent clarity of a Harry Potter research project or because he was in some way complimenting Snape's abilities. For once, Snape decided to reserve his decision on the subject.
"And do you know what I was trying to do with that charm?" Harry asked as he looked into the Potions Master's dark eyes.
"No," Snape said slowly. "I became aware of someone casting the Fidelius Charm last night, but wasn't able to determine who or what was being put under it."
Harry looked startled at Snape mention of knowing the charm had been cast and said so.
"How did you know I cast the charm, Professor?" Harry asked curiously.
Snape almost sneered, then relented and answered, "Because I am a Master Occlumens, Potter. Although the nature of the charm prevents me from stopping the information from being wiped out of my memory, I certainly knew that something had just been nicked from my brain!"
Snape seemed annoyed that Harry had in some way gotten into his head – even if it was through the use of a rather complex charm.
"And just what were you hiding," Snape asked. He wasn't sure if Harry was going to answer or not. The Fidelius Charm was, after all, designed to keep people from knowing information.
For several moments, it looked as if Harry was not going to answer the question. Then he asked Snape for some parchment and a quill, who grudging retrieved the items for him. He quickly wrote a single sentence on the parchment and, with a small sigh, handed it to his former Professor.
Snape took the parchment and looked down at it. As he read it, his eyebrows rose.
The Death Eater who murdered Molly Weasley was Percy Weasley.
Snape looked back at Harry with a shocked look on his face.
"Mrs. Weasley's death is hard enough to deal with," Harry said simply. "But knowing it was her own son who killed him and that Mr. Weasley then killed Percy ... Well, that has been tearing the family apart. They are closer as a family because of it, but they are so devastated by the event that they will never be able to move on."
Harry rubbed his eyes quickly, afraid to shed the tears that had sprung up. Snape looked away in thought for several seconds. Harry couldn't decide if it was to give him time to compose himself or because Snape was, truly, thinking.
Harry sighed and continued, "I modified the basic Fidelius Charm to not only hide the identity of Mrs. Weasley's killer, but implant a false memory that it was Lucius Malfoy who had done it. Mr. Weasley had killed Malfoy that night – quite by accident – but it is true none-the-less. I also modified the memory to make it so that Percy had died defending his family."
"Did it work?" Harry asked. Harry continued as he pointed at the parchment in Snape's hand, "Is that how you remembered it until your saw that parchment?"
"Yes," Snape said in shock, impressed despite himself. "Yes it was."
"Good," Harry said, "Now only you and I know the truth."
Snape turned to look fully at Harry. Harry took a deep breath and said, "But ... "
Harry trailed off and Snape looked on curiously. Harry finally tried again "I have never really asked you for anything, Professor Snape. But right here, right now, I need to ask you for a very large favor."
Harry looked up expectantly at Snape, who waved at Harry to continue.
"I need ..." Harry's voice broke and this time he let the tears fall.
Snape took a step forward, unsure why as he watched Harry being to cry.
Harry looked up at Snape with tears running down his face and said, "I need you to obliviate me."
"WHAT?!" Snape blurted out.
"I have given the Weasleys as much peace as I can," Harry said. "They will hopefully be able to deal with their grief and move on. Not forgetting Mrs. Weasley, but no longer stuck in the place that they are. I need the same for myself. I never knew my mother, Professor. Even you know her more than I do – and probably always will. But Mrs. Weasley was like a mother to me – and all of the Weasleys have been like a family to me. I need this as much for myself as I want it for them."
"Please, Professor," Harry suddenly pleaded. "Please take that memory away from me. I can't live with seeing her body hit the floor night after night. I can't live with watching the horror on Ron's face ... on Ginny's face as they look down at their mother's body. Please ... please ...:"
Harry trailed off, whispering please over and over again as he wrapped his arms around his knees and rocked himself back and forth.
For the first time in his life, Severus Snape was completely unsure of what to do. Potter had been like a thorn in his side for the last seven years. Granted, he had defeated Voldemort and made it possible for Snape to live again without a shadow hanging ominously over him, but still ... this was James Potter's son. And Sirius Black's godson.
Before he knew what was happening, Snape was standing by Harry's bed and had placed a hand gently on Harry's head. He fumbled for a moment as he tried to stroke the distraught young man's hair, but finally recovered himself enough to do it properly. Harry looked up at Snape and it was like they were seeing each other for the first time.
Snape nodded and said, "Very well, Potter. But let me explain why."
Harry looked at Snape for a moment, curiously, then nodded.
"First, let me ask you something," Snape said as he sat down on the bed. "Do you realize how close you came to dying last night?"
Harry's eyes widened suddenly and Snape said dryly, "I'll take that as a 'no'!"
"The work you did on modifying the Fidelius Charm was brilliant, Potter," Snape said grudgingly. "And if you ever tell anyone I said your work was brilliant I'll hex you back to a first year (Harry grinned). Brilliant, but dangerous. The sheer amount of people, texts, and information sources that had to be modified to make your modified charm work were enormous. The Weasley family is very close to you and you are notably famous (Snape said those words with a little distaste). So the events we are talking about were known by virtually the entire wizarding world, I daresay. In addition, very few people can perform the Fidelous Charm in its basic form because of the huge magical energy requirements in casting it – magical energy that comes from the caster. So, you are probably the only person who could possibly have cast that spell last night. And it drained you of nearly all of your magical energy."
Harry eyes had grown more and more alarmed as Snape spoke, who sighed.
"Yes, Potter," Snape said, "your charms work is brilliant. However, if you are planning on continuing this type of work, I would suggest you study Arithmancy. It will give an understanding of the energy requirements for spell casting and hopefully prevent something like this in the future. If I had not been able to track the source of your charm back to you and get a couple of critical potions into you, you would have died."
Harry continued to look greatly disturbed for several moments, then said, "Than I suppose a 'thank you' is in order."
"You're welcome," Snape said quietly. "Anyway, I will remove this memory of yours, and even place the modified one you used in your charm. for one reason. Molly Weasley was an extraordinary woman – as was your mother, Potter. Even if she did marry James. Molly never judged me the way many other people did. Oh, she fought with me on many occasions – usually after I made some comment about you. But she never judged me simply because I had been in Slytherin or because I used to be a Death Eater. She simply took me for who I seemed to be."
"Yeah," Harry said quietly, "I know what you mean."
Snape snorted and said, "Yes, I guess you, oh Boy-Who-Lived!"
"The charm you cast last night has removed a stain on Molly Weasley's name," Snape said. "Percy Weasley was her son and his actions, his betrayal, became a taint on her name. For that reason alone I will do what you asked. I know you did it to ease the pain of her family and that is a very ... Gryffindor (Snape had trouble saying the word without a sneer) thing to do. For myself, knowing that the rest of the world will look more kindly on Molly Weasley is enough."
"Thank you, Professor," Harry said quietly.
Snape nodded. He flicked his wand out to the parchment Harry had written that morning and it erupted in a small ball of fire. Snape also grabbed the notes that Harry had used to develop the charm and did the same. He performed a couple of quick cleaning charms to remove evidence of his destruction of those notes and his presence in the house.
"You will probably be temporarily unconscious after I do this, Potter," Snape said.
"Okay, Professor," Harry said. "And ... thank you, again."
Snape nodded and said, "I am no longer your professor, Potter. When next we meet, you may call me Severus."
At Harry's startled look, Snape added, "If that is all right with you ... Harry."
It was strange to hear Snape – Severus! – call him 'Harry', but he nodded and smiled slightly.
Harry saw Snape point his wand at him and say "OBLIVIATE!"
At the Burrow, Ginny Weasley woke up and stretched. She looked over at the picture of her family – the one taken in Egypt before her second year. It was the last time the family had been all together. She felt a pang of loss again at seeing her mother and Percy. She knew she would never forget them, but for some reason felt more at ease with it than before. She decided to head down and get breakfast started for her family.
Arthur Weasley smiled, truly smiled, in what felt like ages as he walked into the kitchen at the Burrow to find Ginny up and about making breakfast for everyone. His smile turned bittersweet upon thinking that it should be Molly in there, but he saw his wife reflected in Ginny in a variety of small ways. He kissed his only daughters on the cheek as she slid a plate full of eggs and sausage in front of him, earning a beaming smile in return. He had a momentary thought that he ought to learn how to cook himself. Given the rather serious nature of Ginny's relationship with Harry, he was not sure he would have her around much longer. Not to mention that he was tired of grabbing something at the Ministry cafeteria every morning while Ginny was finishing her seventh year at Hogwarts.
Not many things could wake Ron Weasley up when he wanted to sleep. One of those things was Hermione Granger – but he would never, ever let his family know when, or how, she had woken him up before! The other thing that could wake Ron from a dead sleep was food. And the smells of eggs, sausage, and toast drifting up from the kitchen were too much for Ron. He blinked his eyes open as his mouth chewed on some imaginary food. He woke fully as his teeth clicked together on air and he grinned sheepishly, thankful that no one had seen him. He quickly threw on some clothes and dashed down stairs to join his father and sister for breakfast. He noted as her sat down to with overflowing plate that it seemed like a beautiful winter day – just the kind that Mum loved, he thought fondly.
It wasn't long before Fred and George were downstairs as well, doing their best to impersonate Ron as they shoveled food in at an alarming rate. When their father commented on this, they shared a look and said that they needed their energy. They had realized that morning they had been getting sloppy at the joke shop. Low inventory, no new jokes, and business had been slacking off. The twins vowed to get back into the swing of things.
In Romania and Egypt, the oldest Weasley boys also woke to find that their heads and their hearts were lighter. They began to take joy in the simple pleasures of life again and to move on.
Harry woke up on the morning of the 26th feeling better than he had in a while. He smiled fondly, but somewhat sadly, at his memories of being at the Burrow yesterday. He, Hermione, and the Weasleys had managed to get through their first Christmas without Mrs. Weasley and Percy. Harry smiled in grim satisfaction as he remembered that at least Mrs. Weasley had been avenged by Mr. Weasley.
As he showered, he felt for some reason that today was different than other days. It felt like ... it felt like things had changed overnight. He smiled as he thought about stealing Ginny away from the Burrow for a shopping trip to Diagon Alley. Harry thought a quiet day for the two of them was long overdue.
No one was more surprised than Harry when he and Ginny ran into Professor Snape later that day.
They were just walking out of Flourish and Bott's when they almost collided with the Hogwarts' Potions Master.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Harry said before noticing who he had run into. For some strange reason, he did not feel the usual irritation when he saw Snape.
"Yes, we're very sorry, Professor," Ginny added quickly.
"Quite all right, Ms. Weasley," Snape said without a trace of rancor. "I'm afraid I was moving rather quickly."
"Um, right," Harry said uncertainly. "Well, have a pleasant day and a Happy New Year, Severus!"
Harry – and Ginny – started in shock as they both realized that Harry had used Snape's first name. The reaction they got left them even more speechless.
"And to you too, Harry," Snape said with a small smile. "And also to you, um, Ginny."
Snape nodded at the two and moved on. As the young couple stood there in shock, Harry said, "Will wonders never cease?"
"Not with you around, Harry," Ginny said warmly as she snuggled up to him. "Not with you around."
Snape glanced back over his shoulder and watched as Harry and Ginny moved down the street.
"Rest in peace, Molly," he whispered softly. "Rest in peace."