Title: Harvesters
Author: Emmylou
Summary: Grief is a selfish emotion, and when Harry and Ron become desperate for the things that meant so much to Hermione, will these things give them comfort or rip them further apart?
Disclaimer: Harry Potter, the characters, creations, and settings are the property of JK Rowling, Warner Bros. and other associated trademarks. This is a fictional piece created solely in respect of the original work with no infringement intended, nor any profit being made.
The rest of the day was just about one of the worst Harry had spent quite a few years. He staggered back to his bed, still muddy, and collapsed onto it. He got up occasionally to make toast or to get a glass of water but everything and did was coated with the terror of no longer having any friends at all. Was Ron, at this very moment, bearing down upon the house ready to beat the snot out of him?
After a while fear and curiosity got the better of him. If he stayed in bed, Ginny would pass on the story and the anger against him would build up. He wanted to get out there and talk to Ron, even if he did beat the crap out of him.
He dressed a bit haphazardly, forgetting totally to shave and headed off to the bank, determined to find Ron.
He arrived in time to hit the late afternoon rush and he had to elbow several people out of the way to head up to the front of the queue.
"Janie," he said breathlessly. "I need to talk to Ron."
"I need to talk to you about you financial status," said Janie, and deaf to his complaints, she called up a Goblin to take her place at the counter and steered him back through the corridors to the bare little room they had met in before.
"Now, providing you have got a job by New Year and there are no further complications you should take ownership of the house on the first of January."
"Great," said Harry. "How do I find Ron Weasley?"
"Now until then we've put an all-encompassing protection spell on the property. Trained wizards will arrive on the scene should there be any break-ins or unexpected tress-passing."
"Listen I really need to talk to Ron-"
At that moment Ron Weasley opened the door and stepped in. "Jane…I want to talk to you about- Harry?"
"We were just having a chat about Harry's financial status," said Janie smoothly.
"Oh," said Ron, barely listening. "Look Harry-"
"Has Ginny spoken to you lately?" demanded Harry.
"No- why? No, it doesn't matter, I just remembered something important! I was just coming to find you." Unexpectedly his face broke into a wild grin. "C'mon, I'll tell you on the way."
"But what about our discussion?" called Janie, as Harry was steered from the office.
"Later!" called Harry over his shoulder.
"Harry…I can't believe I forgot!" said Ron, practically dragging Harry along the corridor. "This is better than the pictures! D' you remember-"
"About the pictures," interrupted Harry, "I need to explain."
"Never mind," said Ron impatiently. "Do you remember back…back before the end of the war. We thought we were going to die? We were so scared?"
Pretty much all of Harry's recollections of the late part of the war involved one or all of them being scared they were going to die.
"Yeah…remember that night- we were holed up in that shack. We'd had to run and leave our wands behind and it was snowing and all we thought we were going t freeze to death, never mind the people after us. You remember?"
Harry nodded, it wasn't fair. After going through so many situations like that they all deserved to be alive and healthy…not mourning for an unfair loss.
"Remember all Hermione had on her was that diary she liked to write in towards the end? She thought she was going to die first…she was shaking so badly and she'd been out in the snow for hours before we had. We were all sitting on that soaking floor and she just sat and wrote in the diary. Remember what she said after the war?"
His eyes gleamed in triumph as Harry remembered.
"She-she said that on that night she wrote everything she'd ever want us to know if she died. I remember…she said that wanted us to read it if she died first- even if we were all two-hundred."
"And remember how she said we'd find it?" Ron nodded, encouraging Harry to join the dots together.
"She said she carved a map on the underside on a table with the locations. Safer than maps, she said." Harry looked up; the excitement that had Ron so happy was flooding him too. The argument with Ginny seemed a very long way away indeed. This was his chance to read Hermione's last message. Once he'd read it, everyone would know that he was over his lapses in judgement. They'd know he'd mourned properly and it was over. Ron wouldn't hate him and Ginny would apologise…"Would her parents have the table?" he asked eagerly.
"No," said Ron. "She bought most of the furniture with the money from the loan…it's still in the house."
Harry almost cheered. It would be easy to get the letter.
"But the bank will have security spells all over it…" said Ron with a frown. "We'll be hexed before we even get close."
They were now nearly running, they leapt over the velvet cord into the lobby; the girl at the counter shouted something after them but they didn't listen and raced ahead out of the bank towards Diagon Alley, through it, and into the Leaky Cauldron where they promptly disapparated and arrived, staggering slightly, in the mud at the bottom of the hill leading up to Hermione's house.
"C'mon…if we're quick we might get away before the spells kick in!" shouted Ron as he ran.
They staggered upwards, their robes and shoes caked in mud and everywhere else soaked in the rain that was pouring down.
"I don't remember it being this muddy before," called Harry over the noise of the rain as he pulled his shoe out of the mud and kept going after Ron, not bothering to put it back on.
He had not been Gryffindor's best seeker in many years without reason, even without his shoe he beat Ron to the door had tries two unlocking spells before Ron panted to a stop behind him.
"Spells aren't going to work…" called Ron, he had begun checking the visible windows in the decreasing light. "Here!" he tugged at a board on the window "SOLD" clearly painted over the 'For Sale' signs that they had seen at the auction.
Where Harry had the speed, Ron had the strength to get the board a good way off of the window before Harry needed to help.
The boys both grabbed a section of the wood each and began ramming one end into the window.
"Sorry about that Hermione!" Ron called to the raining heavens. The window smashed and Harry scrambled through it, leaving Ron the smash the final pieces away.
By the time Ron was finished, Harry had already tilted the first table over and had lit his wand to see in the dusk. Ron scrambled over too…and set off one of the loudest claxon sounds Harry had heard in a long time.
Ron swore and dashed to help Harry turn yet another table over.
"GET OUT OF HERE!" yelled Harry and they wrestled the dining table to the floor. "You'll get into trouble!"
"SO WILL YOU!" bellowed Ron back as the claxon wail became even louder.
"I WON'T!"
"This house is under the protection of Wizarding Securities!" rang a female voice through the house, clearly being magnified by the Sonorous spell. Harry and Ron clamped their hands to their ears, the noise was now unbearable.
"Drop your wand to the ground and come out of the house!"
"DON'T STOP!" yelled Ron. "KEEP LOOKING!"
They scrambled about the room, upturning the bare tables and desks. There was a crash as the door to the house was thrown open and sounds of footsteps were heard along with the other noise.
Harry and Ron raced to the kitchen, and Ron skidded underneath to check for any carvings.
The door to the kitchen flew open and a robed figure thundered through. Harry held up his wand.
"You are under arrest!" rang the woman's voice. "Come out from under the table."
Ron climbed out, but only to yell "This is the one!" and beginning trying to turn it upside down with help from Harry.
"All magical people found to be breaking and entering with be prosecuted under the- Harry? Ron?"
The woman lowered her hood, showing the short red hair of Ginny Weasley.