Harry closed his eyes in disgust. He had never seen such an absolutely sickening sight. He heard Ron's sharp intake of breath behind him, and Hermione gasped in revulsion. Harry started sprinting backwards towards them.
"C'mon," he bellowed. "We've got to get out of here. Voldemort and Gremur are powerful, and we're no match for two of them." Ron nodded faintly, grabbed Hermione's hand, and they vanished with a ferociously loud CRACK! Harry whirled around to see Voldemort advancing upon Gremur, who was slowly but surely panicking.
"I-I'll kill you," he snarled, stammering only slightly. Voldemort laughed in a high, cruel voice and swished his wand down upon Gremur.
"Crucio!" But Gremur had disappeared. Voldemort threw a menacing look towards the empty space, beckoned to the few Death Eaters who were slowly rising from their positions lying on the floor, and with a loathing look at Harry, disapparated. Apparently he was not in the mood for a battle and wished to postpone his one with Harry, who breathed heavily. Gremur's followers started progressing upon the terrified partiers, who backed up and trembling, raised their wands. Suddenly, each hooded figure clutched their right forearm and screamed in pain. One fell right onto the floor and started withering right in front of Harry's feet. He looked down with disgust, and shoved the dark wizard away. They all vanished until one was left sobbing with her head in her hands.
"Harry, help me!" Cho shrieked, grabbing her left wrist. Huge, hot tears were rolling down her face and she was screaming out in pain. "Harry, please!" A hooded figure appeared, roughly grabbed Cho by her dark black robes, and they vanished. Harry ran towards the spot where she had been only seconds before.
"Cho!" he shouted. "Cho, come back! Cho!" He started crying, and fell to his knees.
"Gremur will kill her!" he screamed."He's killing her right now with that disgusting curse, and there's nothing I can do. I'll kill him!" he screamed once more. "I've lost everyone, I won't lose her, too!" He grabbed Ginny's wand tightly, and tried to Apparate. Nothing happened.
"Harry, dear," Mrs. Weasley cried, "There's pink smog in the air. He's put up an anti-apparation spell!" Harry looked at the fog, and cursed loudly, while some flinched. He finally surrendered, collapsing on the floor. Someone lifted his chin tenderly and gently, and he came face to face with an angry Ginny.
"Hello, Harry," she said coldly. "I had a great trip, just in case you're wondering." Harry opened his mouth to reply but she continued harshly. "My boyfriend sends me somewhere without my permission, and I had to make an illegal Portkey to get back here. It's my family here, Harry!" she shouted. "My bloody family! I'm sixteen Harry, I'm not a child! But obviously, Cho was! You seemed a little upset over her, Harry," she added with a thundering look in her eyes. "A little too upset for me, Harry." She stormed off, mumbling incoherent words under her breath, while Harry stared after he in frustration.
"Right," he said angrily. Fred and George walked over to him nervously, and attempted at a comforting session.
"It's all right Harry," Fred tried. "She always gets in these moods. She'll forgive you, mate. I mean, she's a girl. Girls are always moody."
"Yeah," George said half-convinced. "Besides, you didn't even do anything wrong, right Fred?" he turned to his brother for support, who nodded enthusiastically. Harry glared at them.
"Thanks," he said bitterly. "But this time, it won't help. She's right." He jammed his fists down at his sides, clenched his teeth, and walked away.
"Harry, where are you going?" Mrs. Weasley cried in panic. He was an angry teenage boy, she had raised five of them, and right now he would surely go and do something stupid.
"Away," Harry answered shortly, and left.
The party members tried desperately to regain the happy, carefree feeling that had filled the room moments ago, but it was all fake. Bill looked stunned, and Fleur cried upon his shoulder, staining the beautiful material of his robes. Hagrid was howling like a wounded dog, and his great shaggy whiskers were sopping wet. Even Fred and George stood together in a corner, looking serious and grave. Ron reappeared with a loud CRACK! And sat miserably on a huge couch, with Hermione beside him.
"I can't stand it!" he said bitterly. "Just when something goes right for Harry, Voldemort or someone snatches it away."
"I know," Hermione said in a small voice.
"Bloody hell, the kid deserves something good in his life for once!" Ron exploded, making an extremely rude hand gesture. It was a sign of the atmosphere surrounding them that Hermione did not even comment on it.
"I know," Hermione said miserably. "You-you know what Ron? I…I don't think tha-that Harry really wants to live after he kills Voldemort." Ron stared at the floor dully. "I mean, he'll hate knowing that he killed so-someone, even if it is Vol-Voldemort. He hates his life." Ron nodded in agreement, his eyes staring in fascination at nothing in particular on the wooden floor. His concentration broke when a tall figure blocked his view.
"Mr. Weasley," Professor McGonogall said, looking extremely severe and foreboding.
"Yes Professor," Ron supplied in a monotone voice. Professor McGonogall was startled by the maturity and gloominess of such a young man, but let the matter drop. "Mr. Weasley? Miss. Granger? I know that Harry informed you of his doings during his last…outing…with Albus. Am I correct?" Her eyes were oddly intense. Hermione noticed this.
"Well, I suppose so," she said in surprise. Professor McGonogall nodded.
"Good," she said distractedly. "That's very good. Would you perhaps be capable of telling me?" Hermione sat rigid.
"No," she said firmly. "Harry told us not to tell anyone. We're keeping our promise. I'm sorry."
Professor McGonogall sighed in frustration. Kids these days, she marveled! No respect for their elders. I suppose I'll simply have to use different methods with them, that's all.
Harry sat on a crooked bench looking over the gray sky. The seat was wooden and half rotten. The non-rotten part was collapsing halfway and crumbling in tiny pieces to the ground, but Harry didn't care or notice. He fingered Ginny's wand, tracing the wood grains with his index finger, taking great care not to leave a smudge.
Sirius, I wish you were here, he thought gloomily. You always knew what to say, how to fix things. You just can't be gone! Everyone's leaving me, it's not fair.
"Who said life was ever fair?" Startled, Harry spun around in his seat.
"Professor Lupin?" Lupin smiled tragically and nodded.
"Please Harry," he said. "Call me Remus." Harry did not smile.
"You're a Legilimes?" he asked dully. Remus tried to look apologetic. Harry turned his head away.
"What do you want?" he demanded. "I want to be left alone. Please," he emphasized. Lupin sighed, but did not leave. Instead, he took a seat next to Harry, holding his back and wincing with pain. Harry suddenly noticed with a start that Lupin was getting old. Not as old as Dumbledore had been, or Professor McGonogall, but he was no longer a fun-loving, cheerful young man. He had only been two years younger two years ago, but with Sirius, somehow it had been different. Lupin was a depressed man now, one who had lost all of his friends. That's one thing I have that someone else doesn't have, Harry thought in dismay. I've still got Ron and Hermione. And maybe Ginny?…
Harry's eyes suddenly welled up with tears, and he blinked furiously, trying to fight them back. How dare you, he thought. How dare you make me look weak. Lupin noticed the tears.
"Harry, it's all right," he pleaded. "You're human. You can cry. You don't have to be strong all the time. You're still a boy."
"No, I'm not," Harry said softly. Lupin looked at the boy with a mixture of pity and sorrow. "I've never been a boy," Harry continued, his face flinching at the truth. "I've always been the Boy-Who-Lived, or the hero. You've never had to carry that weight. No one knows how many times a day I wish I were someone else. But now, I actually have to do something to deserve my title. And I'm scared."
And for the first time in his life, Harry leaned his head on someone else's shoulder to cry on. Lupin patted his back and stroked his hair, making it extremely messy and causing it to stick straight up.
Harry mechanically tried to straighten everything in his trunk, but was unsuccessful. Hermione silently entered his room, and cleared her throat to announce her presence. Harry whirled around.
"Oh, it's you," he said. Hermione grinned.
"Yes, it's me," she laughed. Harry turned around and resumed his excuse of packing. "Harry, you've got to snap out of this mood you've been in," she said firmly. "You've got everyone in the Burrow upset. Including me." Harry didn't turned around, and sighing, Hermione left. Harry didn't notice someone else come in.
"Harry?" Harry growled, and grabbed his hair in frustration.
"Hermione, please leave me alone!"
"I'm not Hermione," Melinda replied just as menacingly. She flicked her wand, and Harry froze. His arms snapped to his sides and his face went rigid. He fell backwards onto the rough wooden floor with a painful sounding THUMP! Melinda stood over him and looked freely into his glaring eyes. "Right, now we've got that settled." Harry could not speak, but if he had, he would have put a Bat Bogey Hex on her so bad she would have been slapping at her face for weeks. He tried to use wandless magic, but he was not nearly powerful enough.
"Harry, you're not good enough to do magic without a wand," Melinda chuckled, showing off and levitating him with a wave of her left hand. Harry eyes almost widened in amazement. Melinda rolled her eyes. "You're embarrassing me," she accused. "Now, we're going out." She clicked her fingers and Harry disappeared. She stiffened, and with a whirl of her magenta robes, she disappeared in a cloud of smoke.