1"Ron!" Hermione and Molly both hollered as they quickly bent down to help him up after he fell off of the bed. When Ron fell he had knocked over the vase of flowers that was sitting on the bedside table. Both women slipped on the water and joined Ron on the floor. Every time one of them would try to stand, they would slip again. Finally, Arthur had the sense to perform a drying spell to get rid of the water.
Ron mumbled apologies to his wife and mother once all three were back on their feet. "I was just shocked to see Harry," he explained. He looked at the group that had just entered the room, "Hi, Ginny. Hello, Professor Dumbledore. Uh, hi. Harry?"
Hermione looked to the pair standing behind Dumbledore. "Harry! It really is you," she cried and ran to wrap him in a hug.
He looked slightly shocked to find this woman in his arms and awkwardly patted her on the back. George and Ron soon joined them. Ron gently pried Hermione off of Harry. George shook Harry's hand heartily, "So it really is you! It's great to see you, mate."
Hermione slipped out of Ron's arms. She went to Ginny and hugged her. Ron stood awkwardly in front of Harry for a moment before grasping him in a manly, backslapping hug. When Ron stepped back, Harry looked at him and realized he was the man from the brick house with all the kids. He started to tell him that he had seen him the previous day but saw Lori first and did a double take.
"Lori, what are you doing here?" he questioned her.
"Hi, Harrison, I thought this might happen if you came to England. There are just too many Weasleys for you not to run into a least one of them." She laughed softly and smiled at Harry. "Maybe you should sit down and we'll try to explain everything to you."
Harry stepped further into the room and glanced around for a place to sit. Dumbledore noticed there were not enough seats for everyone and quickly conjured up chairs for everyone who was in need of a place to sit. Jamie laughed at the looks on Harry and Jason's faces.
"I guess I should start since I was there for the beginning of this story," Dumbledore said. Everyone waited for him to begin. "After the final battle, Harry came to me quite distraught. He had been through more than anyone should ever have to endure. He had just defeated the most evil wizard of our time but instead of celebrating his victory, he was fearful for his loved ones," he looked around at the people gathered around him. "There were still countless Death Eaters on the loose. Most of who wanted nothing more than to hurt or kill Harry and would do anything to get to him. Including hurt his family. Harry and I had previously discussed a drastic option that could provide protection for him and his loved ones. However, in order to receive this protection he would have to give up everything. His family, friends, memories, powers, everything."
Harry interrupted,
"Wait, that doesn't make any sense. I mean I have lots of
memories from before ten years ago."
Dumbledore explained, "When
you decided to utilize this option you were given new memories and
set up with an entirely new life."
"Okay, but how do you explain Lori? I remember growing up together."
"Maybe I should explain," Lori spoke up. "You see, Harrison, or I guess I should say Harry, I'm not actually your sister. I work for the American Department of Magic in the Wizard Protection Agency. Your case was unique and I was assigned to ensure your safety. The best way to do that was for me to be able to get close to you and the easiest way to do that was for you to be given memories of a sister and for me to be that sister," she looked directly in his eyes. "I'm so sorry I could not be entirely honest with you but you have to understand that it was all done to protect you and your loved ones. And I really do love you and Jason, just like I do own family."
"So you are telling me that my entire life is not real," Harry said in a hollow voice.
"The last ten years are real. Jason is very real," Lori voiced.
"Jason, come here," Harry quietly said. Jason walked to his father's side. Harry stood up and embraced his son. He looked over Jason's head and addressed the rest of the room, "This is a lot to take in." He sat back down and stared at Dumbledore, "Is there anyway to get those memories back?"
"Yes, they are stored in a secure location at the ministry. However, as I'm sure everyone will agree, I do not think it would be wise for you to regain them all at once. There are some very difficult memories in there. But I also feel that eventually you will have to deal with all of them."
"Lori, do you think that the dream I've been having could actually be a memory. I mean they," he indicated both Ginny and Dumbledore, "are both in the dream." She nodded and he continued, "And you, sir, mentioned something about powers," he addressed Dumbledore. "What did you mean by that?"
"Well, as you and Jason have probably already figured out, we are blessed with magical ability. When you left, your powers were bound but that can be reversed. Now, I understand that Jason has not begun to show powers yet. I know he is magical, his name showed up in the Hogwart's book at his birth," at Harry's confused look, he explained, "His powers would have been detected. As Lori stated earlier, your case was special and was monitored very closely."
"What makes my situation so special?" he asked.
"Harry you saved the world from a horrible fate at the hands of a very dark wizard. In our world you are very famous, quite possibly the most famous wizard there has ever been. Everyone knows your name," Dumbledore answered.
"Cool!"
Jason exclaimed, looking at his dad with awe.
Dumbledore stood up,
"I imagine this is a lot to deal with, I think I should give you a
little time and I will be in contact with you shortly to discuss
regaining your memories." He walked over to where Harry was sitting
and embraced Harry once again.
Lori got up and joined Dumbledore. She gave Jason and Harry both warm hugs. She then explained that Dumbledore was an old family friend and that he had offered to let her stay at Hogwarts during her visit. After telling everyone else goodbye and promising to see them all soon, they disapparated with twin 'pops'.
Once Dumbledore and Lori had left, George announced that he too had to be leaving. He approached Harry to give him a brotherly hug, "It is amazing to see you again. I would love to visit a little longer but my wife Katie is home alone with our three kids along with Ron and Hermione's five. Since this includes two sets of Wesley twins, she has her hands full and I should go rescue her. She'll be so happy to hear you are back. You were friends with her back at school."
George said good bye to everyone else and he too disapparated. Fred came over to Harry once his brother was gone, "Harry it really is great to see. We have a lot of catching up to do. Oh, and I'm sorry about stunning you earlier. You took me by surprise."
Before he left, he told Jason, "It was nice to meet you, next time I see you remind me to give you some merchandise from our store." This caused most of the adults to groan and Ron and Jamie to smile broadly.
Shortly after Fred left, Arthur and Molly also headed home. Molly made Harry promise to send Jason over to play with her grandchildren later in the week. Jason was the same age as George's twin boys and Ron's twin girls and there were numerous other Wesley children within a year or two of his age. Harry was pleased to find this out, he had always felt bad that Jason had no siblings.
The appearance of Harry had caused Hermione to forget about her attempt to get Ron to stay at the hospital and they too soon left. But only after getting Ginny and Harry to promise to have dinner at their home that evening. They both hugged everyone and left to collect their children from George and Katie's house.
When only Harry, Ginny, Jamie, and Jason remained in the room, Jamie looked at her dad shyly. She had not seen him since she was a year old and was not sure how to react to him being there. Ginny apparently sensed that Jamie needed to be alone with her father and asked Jason to escort her to the tea shop to get something to drink. Once they left, Harry came over and sat on the bed next to Jamie.
"So, I guess this is just about as confusing for you as it is for me," he said to her.
She swung her feet back and forth. "Yea, it's a little weird but I'm really glad you're here," she glanced up at him. When she saw he was smiling down at her, she too broke into a smile. He pulled her over and hugged her gently.
"I think weird is a good way to describe it," he replied to her statement.
"So you don't remember anything?" she inquired.
"Not really. I've seen you as a baby with your mum in a dream," he answered. He went on to explain, "But I have a sense of belonging here with all of you. It really feels like I've come home. Does that make any sense to you because it doesn't entirely to me?"
"Yeah, I think I understand."
Just then Ginny and Jason returned. Ginny smiled at them both and a very excited Jason ran to his dad, "Dad, you won't believe some of the stuff I saw. There was a man who had grown a tail, just like a dog! And another guy with nose hair all the way to the floor. Oh, and I heard this lady say there was a werewolf here!"
Harry looked to Ginny for an explanation for Jason's chatter. She laughed and told him, "The tail and nose hair were results of a family feud and some overenthusiastic hexing. But it really wasn't too bad. Trust me, Fred and George have done much worse. And the werewolf mentioned is a very close family friend. In fact, Harry, he was one of your dad's best friends and was a teacher for a while when we were in school."
Jason's eyes kept getting bigger and bigger. He finally looked at his dad and exclaimed, "Dad, can we stay here? This is the coolest place ever!"
Everyone laughed at Jason's enthusiasm.
"Well, instead of staying at the hospital why don't we go back to our house. We have a little time before we are supposed to go to Ron and Hermione's," Ginny suggested. "And next week, Jason, maybe you can come to Diagon Alley with us to do Jamie's school shopping. If you think the hospital is 'cool', just wait till you visit Diagon Alley. That is if it is okay with your dad."
"Can I, dad? Please!" Jason pleaded.
"Sure," Harry gave his permission and caused Jason to do a victory dance.
Once Jason calmed down, Ginny asked, "Is everyone ready to go?"
The group headed out the door and down to a large fireplace at the end of the hall. On the way, Harry got several curious stares. By the time they reached the end of the hallway, he was feeling a bit uncomfortable.
"Alright, Jamie why don't you go first, then Harry. Jason you can follow your dad and I'll bring up the rear," Ginny instructed as she reached for the container of complimentary Floo Powder.
"Hold on, what are you talking about? Are you saying that we are going to go home through a fireplace?" Harry inquired in a disbelieving voice.
"Yes, Jamie will demonstrate how it's done. Just keep your elbows in and speak clearly."
"And you might want to close your eyes, so you don't get nauseous," Jamie suggested before she reached for a handful of Floo Powder. She threw it into the flames, which then burned a bright green. Then much to Jason and Harry's shock she stepped into the flames and was gone in a flash of green light.
