CHAPTER 38: The Afermath

Harry made his way back into the eerily silent castle. He wasn't entirely sure where he should head first, so he decided on the hospital wing. Unfortunately it was completely empty, as were all of the corridors. Harry made his way up to the Gryffindor common room. He knew he was moving quickly but he felt as if he was in a slow motion dream. When the fat lady swung open, a worried look on her face, Harry stepped inside.

"Harry, where have you been?" Dumbledore asked with a concerned look, Harry ignored the question.

"Where is she?" Dumbledore looked away and didn't respond. "I asked you where Ginny's body is, you will not hide her from me." Harry's voice was like ice and caused Dumbledore to look at him again. He opened his eyes as if to speak but then shut it. Harry felt the anger boiling up inside him and focused on the Headmaster's eyes. He saw the familiar movie playing before him. "You took her to St. Mungo's?" Dumbledore said nothing. Harry thought about saying something but decided it was a waste of his time. With a crack he dissapparated.

"Mr. Potter! What are you doing here?" The receptionist asked him with a look of shock on her face.

"Ginny Weasley, where is she?" He said simply, her face fell.

"Mr. Potter, you see, when she arrived, well-"

"I know she's d- I just know, where is she?" Harry was unable to admit it, he knew that she was gone but it was as if speaking the word would make it true. He felt like he was about to cry but couldn't shed a tear.

"Well, strictly speaking nobody is supposed to-" She stopped at a withering glance from the Boy-Who-Lived. "Downstairs, there is no elevator you have to take the stairs in the back. Her family is on it's way."

Harry tore off down the hallway in search for the stairs. When he ran down them two at a time and nearly knocked over an old wizard who muttered, 'my word' before continuing on. Harry's heart was racing but he couldn't understand it. When he reached the bottom he was in a cold, grey room. He was in a morgue.

He looked around frantically before seeing two silver steel tables near the back. He ran towards them and lifted the sheet off the first and gasped. Staring back at him were the lifeless eyes of Minerva McGonagall. Harry quickly recovered and bowed his head slightly. He put his hands over her eyes to close the eyelids gently before replacing the white sheet. Harry moved on towards the second table but was almost too scared to pick up the white sheet.

Harry looked around the empty room, not entirely sure what he was looking for before he reached for the white sheet. He slowly pulled it back to reveal first long red hair, as he continued pulling the sheet back he saw Ginny with cuts, bruises, and dried blood on her face. He felt like he had been hit with a full body bind.

"Harry?" A quiet voice floated across the room. Harry snapped out of his trance after realizing that the Weasleys had arrived. He couldn't let them see Ginny like this. He put his hand over her head and closed his eyes. He pictured Ginny as he remembered her, beautiful. He felt a warm, tingling sensation go through his palm and fingertips. When the feeling stopped he opened his eyes and looked down at the girl on the table. She looked the same as in Harry's mind, peacefully asleep.

"Oh my God, Ginny!" Harry was pushed aside as Molly Weasley ran to her child. Harry saw the rest of the Weasleys entering the morgue and decided it would be best to leave. He still felt somewhat numb but knew that he should allow the family to be alone with her.

"Harry…" Hermione's voice was unexpected. He looked up into her brown eyes and realized that she had been crying. Before he knew what was happening he was hugging her very tightly and she sobbed on his shoulder.

"Come on, Hermione. Give the Weasleys some time." Harry put his arm around her waist and led her towards the stairs. They made the trip slowly as Hermione could barely walk. When they reached the top of the stairs they moved out into the brightly lit corridor and Harry summoned a comfortable couch. They sat down next to each other and Hermione turned and resumed crying into his shoulder. Comforting her may have been the only thing holding him together.

After several minutes Hermione stopped crying and relaxed her grip on Harry. "I'm sorry, I'm being selfish." Harry cupped her chin with his hand.

"No, you're not being selfish. You and Ginny were good friends, there is no reason you shouldn't be upset." Hermione looked like she was going to cry again but he held her gaze. She stared at him, visibly holding back the tears. After some time sitting like this Mr. Weasley appeared, Harry realized that he too had been crying.

"Harry…" He said weakly. "Could you come back down for a minute?"

"I don't want to intrude…it should be just the family…" Arthur shook his head.

"You are family, Harry. Please come down. Hermione you can come too, I don't want you to sit up here all alone." He turned and headed quickly back down the stairs. Harry stood up and offered Hermione his hand which she squeezed. She followed him down the stairs slowly. When he entered the room the whole Weasley family was there, save Percy. Harry decided not to bring it up.

"How'd it happen, Harry?" Molly asked after rushing over and giving him a bone crushing hug. Harry opened his mouth to respond but was at a loss for words.

"You can tell us the truth, Harry. You won't upset us. This family has lost people before. You can't really get used to it though…" Mr. Weasley trailed off and couldn't take his gaze from his only daughter. Molly broke down again.

"First Gideon and Fabian…now Ginny!" She wailed. "When is this war going to be over?"

"Soon." Harry promised, everyone in the room stopped and looked at him. "It will be over soon."

"So what…what happened?" Bill asked, it seemed like he was trapped in a nightmare.

"It was Voldemort. He used the connection that was established through that diary a few years ago to possess her. He tried to kill me but couldn't. A stray curse struck Professor McGonagall-" Hermione's grip tightened around his hand. "When he realized he couldn't kill me he made her step up onto the window sill and…and-" Harry couldn't bring himself to say it. He stared intently at his shoelaces. "I tried to catch her, I bounced and she didn't. I don't know why-" Harry's voice broke but he kept going. "I don't know why I couldn't save her." He was enveloped by another bone crushing hug.

When she let him go the family turned their attention back towards the steel table. Harry led Hermione by the hand up the stairs and back into the well lit corridor above. They sat down on the couch in silence. Neither of them knew what to say, but they didn't really have to say anything.

"Harry?" He turned to Hermione and waited for her to continue. "I-uh-can you answer a question for me?" Harry arched an eyebrow and she continued. "It's a hypothetical situation." Hermione was back in her element.

"What is it?" Harry could see her logical mind was churning but there was something else, something personal.

"If you saw a bunch of strangers about to get crushed by a boulder and you saw me…or Ron or someone you care about who was about to get killed by a curse, who would u save?"

"I don't know what you want me to say…"

"It's not about what I want you to say, it's about what you think. What was your first reaction, would you save me or the group of strangers?" Harry didn't know how to respond, he was more caught up in the image of a fatal curse bearing down on her.

"I'd deflect the boulder as I dove in front of the curse. Everybody gets saved." Hermione's eyes brimmed with tears.

"Not everyone." She started to cry, but as Harry reached for her she pushed him away and ran for the lobby. Harry had no idea what to think. Harry went after her and found her sobbing quietly in a deserted corner.

"Hermione…" She threw her arms around him and buried her face in his shoulder.

"Why can't anything good happen to you?"

"Something good did happen to me. You happened to me." She looked at him and he was at a lost for words for a moment. "And Ron happened to me, you guys are my best friends, that's why I need you to stay away from me."

"That won't happen, Harry." She snapped.

"Hermione, there was more to the prophecy than the fight with Voldemort. 'Neither can live while the other survives.' I can't have a real life until he's dead. Every time I try to get close to someone they die, now I understand why that is."

"I've survived this long. I'll take my chances with you." She threw her arms around him again, but as he pulled her close he felt her shudder and grimace.

"What's wrong, Hermione?"

"N-nothing." Harry raised his eyebrows and looked at her. He didn't want to resort to legilimency but he had the feeling this was important. "Fine, I'll tell you, but not here." Harry was relieved, but wondered what could be so important that she couldn't discuss it in public, even if they were alone.

"Harry, Miss Granger, would you come with me, please?" Dumbledore's voice was strained and he had a very pained look in his eye. It suddenly dawned on Harry that aside from losing a favorite student of his he had lost Professor McGonagall. Harry took Hermione's hand and followed the Headmaster's long strides. When they arrived at a fireplace he handed them a bag of floo powder. "It would be best for you to return to Hogwarts, the Weasleys will want some time alone." Harry nodded, he was still somewhat numb from the whole episode.

When Harry stepped out of the fire in the Gryffindor Common room the area was deserted. The rooms had been fixed after the battle and Harry and Hermione took the familiar seat by the fireplace.

"Yu going to tell me what's going on now?" Harry asked quietly, Hermione looked around and then nodded.

"Look, it's nothing I can't handle. It's just that the hex I got hit with during the fight in the room of requirement brought back some…old pains."

"What's that mean?"

"I got hit in the chest, in the same place that Dolohov hit me last year. The curse didn't heal perfectly, but it wasn't bad. I guess this one just reopened the wound."

"Does Ron know?" She shook her head. "Let me see it." She carefully considered him before unbuttoning the top portion of her shirt and revealing a rather ugly scar that ran just above anything she didn't want Harry seeing. He inspected the wound carefully and placed his hand gently on top of it. Her breath caught but soon relaxed. Harry closed his eyes and concentrated.

"Harry, how are you doing this?" Harry's eyes opened and there was a soft white light coming from his hand. Almost as soon as he had opened his eyes the light disappeared, the scar was gone.

"I've been working on it." He said modestly as she re-buttoned her shirt.

"Harry, you can't learn wandless magic, it's something you're born with!" She whispered excitedly.

"What the bloody hell is going on?" Harry turned and saw Ron glaring at them. He looked back at Hermione, who was quickly buttoning her shirt.

"Ron, this isn't what it looks like." Harry said softly, his hands up in a gesture of peace.

"The bloody hell it isn't! You were feeling up my girlfriend!"

"No Ron, it wasn't like that! Harry was healing a scar that I had from the Department of Mysteries. The curse that Dolohov hit me with never healed, Harry waas trying to heal it."

"Is that so?" Ron seethed, obviously not buying the story. "Then let's see the scar!" Hermione faltered.

"Well, he healed it, it's not there anymore." She looked away as she realized how hopeless the situation was.

"You bloody liar! I should've known you'd rather be with famous Potter here than me. Now that my little sister is dead the path was cleared for you, right HARRY?" Harry was too shocked to say anything, his mouth just hung open. Ron drew back and threw a punch which Harry easily sidestepped. Ron stumbled foreward and righted himself for another attack.

"Ron stop it. You know I wouldn't do that to you." Harry said calmly. Ron just roared and lunged again. This time Harry caught his lead arm, sidestepped and twisted the arm so Ron couldn't move but was in no pain. Ron struggled to get free so Harry shifted his weight quickly and gently deposited him on the floor. Harry rolled him over so he could look him in the eye without letting go off his arms.

"Like hell you wouldn't do that to me, you always try to keep the spotlight on you. You dumped Parvati for my little sister, and now that you as good as killed her you're trying to take my girlfriend!" He roared. Harry was caught so off guard by the outburst that he let go off Ron's arms and sat back. Ron immediately jumped up and threw his fist square into Harry's jaw. Harry stumbled back and looked at his former friend in shock. "Come on, Hermione. Let's get away from this little bastard." Ron offered his hand to Hermione, who looked at it with disgust.

"Get out of here you stupid git! How can you be such a prat? Harry has never done anything to you and you go and hit him, you're worse than Malfoy!" Ron stared at her the anger evident in his eyes. Ron raised his hand but Harry was across the room in the blink of an eye. He grabbed Ron's raised hand and tossed him from the room. When Ron landed he glared at the two of them before turning and walking out of the portrait hole.

"I'm sorry about that, Hermione." Harry said softly after a long, uncomfortable silence.

"You shouldn't be sorry, he should be. I'm never talking to him again." She said matter of factly. Harry got the feeling that she wasn't exaggerating.

After another long silence Hermione looked at him. "How did you do that?" Harry gave her a confused look.

"Do what?"

"Move so fast! One second Ron was about to hit me and you were halfway across the room, but before he could move you were next to him!" Harry looked at her in silence, debating with himself how much he should tell her.

"I think that's an elfish power, why I have it I don't know. When I met with the elves in the forest they told me they use magic to enhance their combat abilities, they mentioned that I could use the same power. Before then I thought it had something to do with a…special ability I seemed to have developed. You see, I can do things that most wizards can't. Magical barriers do not restrict me the same way. I can walk through almost any ward or barrier, that includes apparating on Hogwarts grounds and bypassing even a master occlumens' defenses." Hermione's face lit up.

"That explains so much! I've been trying to figure out how you walked through McClaggan's ward to save Parvati, but I assumed the Dementor broke them down!"

"I thought that too, but weird stuff happened. I can get into Dumbledore's office and the common room without a password. I haven't tried getting into the other houses but I assume I could. But when I started apparating around the grounds I was convinced."

"But you can't-" She started, but Harry apparated across the room to prove his point.

"Harry, don't you understand what this means?" Harry shook his head. "You could probably travel through the veil and see Sirius and your parents!" He went to respond but she cut him off. "You can't Harry! I shouldn't have said anything, you just can't risk it!" Harry knew she was right, he had thought about it more than he would have liked to, but he couldn't help but wonder.