A New Life
Chapter Two
Feeling Lost
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It was late afternoon before the Burrow started stirring once more. One by one the Weasley's came downstairs to sit groggily at the kitchen table. When Harry entered the kitchen about ten minuets after everyone else they all have give him a feeble "morning" and went about nursing there coffees and teas. Mr. Weasley was hidden behind this mornings normal Daily Prophet, which was now sporting a photograph of the all night party that, took place in Diagon Ally. Mrs. Weasley was making a late breakfast while Ginny was setting plates down in front of everyone. Just as Mrs. Weasley started tipping sausages onto everyone's plate, two loud pops were heard from outside followed by talking and laughing.
Fred and George walked through the kitchen door still sporting the previous night's clothes. It seemed as if they hadn't been to bed yet and Harry assumed that they were one of the many occupants of today's Daily Prophet photograph. They greeted the room at large, gave Harry a hard slap on the back and sat down at the table. Everyone in the room seemed too groggy to say anything to the twins about there chipper mood, even Mrs. Weasley found nothing to say about there all night adventures.
Everyone ate their breakfast while Fred and George retold the many tales they heard from other members of the "Freedom Party" as they called it. Harry couldn't help but laugh as one witch (according to Fred) had told a reporter that Harry killed Voldemort then danced a jig on top of him and his death eaters. Fred even got up and demonstrated what the witch was doing. Apparently another person told George that he swore he personally killed Voldemort and that Harry was in Gringotts at the time it happened. Of course only He, Ron, and Hermione knew what really happened. But Harry supposed that sooner or later he would be asked to re-tell his version, not that it even mattered much. That fact that Voldemort was dead should have been enough.
Everyone had finished eating and was now starting to depart the kitchen. Mr. Weasley went into work, Bill and Fleur went home to get some more sleep, Fred and George went back to work, and soon the only remaining people were Mrs. Weasley, Ron, Harry, Ginny, and Hermione.
Hermione was still dressed in her night things when she suddenly got up and went out the back door. Ron and Harry exchanged looks of interest and followed her outside. Hermione was sitting on a small bench in the Weasley's garden watching a gnome climbing over their fence.
"Hermione, is something wrong?" Ron asked while sitting down on the bench beside her. Harry made himself comfortable on the ground in front of them.
"Well, yes and no." She replied. "I was just thinking. What do we do now? I mean we have been helping Harry with those horcruxes the past year. We didn't go back to school. So…now what?"
Harry took a deep sigh; Hermione had just said the very thing he had been thinking about all morning. "I wish I could say that I knew what to do now, but I honestly never thought that I would be sitting on this side of the war. I didn't care much about my future before, did either of you?"
"No, not really, all that mattered was killing Voldemort, and now we did. So it's like Hermione said, what do we do now?" Ron replied.
Harry stood up and started pacing slightly. "We just do what we can, I guess. Maybe we can get jobs or finish school, I'm sure that they will re-open Hogwarts now. I don't even know if they would let us come back to finish. I don't think there is much point in becoming an Auror anymore. We could get a place together; I have enough to support us all for awhile." Rambled Harry, more to himself than to the others.
Hermione jumped up excitedly. "Yeah Harry, let's do that. Why don't the three of us get a place together, get used to all of this and then we can deal with everything else when we need to."
"Could I get on this too? I don't want to go back to school even if they do re-open." Came a soft voice from the corner of the house. Ginny was standing some twenty feet away trying to hid her embarrassment at listening into there conversation.
Hermione walked over to Ginny, grabbed her hand and pulled her over to the bench where they were standing. "I think it would be a great idea if you joined us Ginny. What do you say Harry?"
"That would be perfect! You two girls could share a room and then Ron and I could take another. I guess we need to start looking for places." Harry said.
"You know Harry that you already have a place, what are you going to do with it." Ron asked not looking at Harry in the hopes that what he said did notstart a fight.
"I don't want Grimmauld Place; I'd rather find a flat or an apartment somewhere. Number twelve can just stay there and rot for all I care." Harry said forcefully.
"Alright Harry, we don't blame you." Hermione said shooting Ron a dirty look. "We can go looking for somewhere together. Just let us know when."
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"So, did you find anything?" Hermione asked as she opened the door for Ron and Harry who had just arrived home after a day of house hunting.
Ron looked at Harry and said, "Well…do you want to tell her or should I?"
"No, no…the honors all yours mate." Smiled Harry.
"We found the perfect place! It's an apartment down in the village not far from here. So we will still be close to home but have our own place!" Ron said excitedly.
"Oh, that's wonderful Ron!" Exclaimed Hermione. "But we have another problem."
"Why what's wrong?" Asked Harry.
"Well, It's Ginny. They posted in the Prophet today that they are going to re-open Hogwarts and Mrs. Weasley is making her go back for her last year. But Mrs. Weasley said she could spend the rest of the summer with us if she wanted." Hermione said.
"Where is Ginny?" Harry asked.
"She's in her room I think."
Harry started towards the stairs and Ron followed him. Hermione jumped up and grabbed Ron's arm to hold him back, Ron was going to argue but Hermione just shook her head and Harry continued up the stairs. Harry had no trouble finding Ginny due to the loud bangs that were issuing from her room. Harry cautiously opened her bedroom door and had to suppress a smile because Ginny was kicking everything within her reach. Several boxes and books were now flying towards the door and Harry had to jump backwards to avoid a rather large spell book.
"Oh! Harry, I didn't see you there. Sorry about that." Ginny said as her cheeks turned bright red. "So I guess you heard that my mother is being stupid?"
"Yeah I heard." Harry said as he started picking up her books. "But at least she is going to let you spend the summer with us."
"Yeah, I guess, but I don't see why I have to go back. I mean I didn't even do my sixth year cause the school was closed, what exactly are they going to make the seventh years do? I'll be of age in August and I just don't see a point of me going back." Ginny said with another hard kick to her dresser.
"To be honest I wouldn't mind going back myself, but I don't even think that's an option. But it won't be so bad Ginny. It is only one year, it will go by fast, and when you graduate you can come and stay with us again." Harry said while making space for himself to sit on her bed, Ginny sat down beside him.
"Harry, I have been wanting to tell you something. I'm sorry that I wasn't there with you last week, you know, when you killed him. Mom refused to let me join the Order that night because I'm still underage. I tried to tell her that I fought with you at the Ministry back in fourth year but she didn't care. "
"Well, I'm glad you weren't there, you could have been hurt or killed. Were really lucky that most of the Order survived anyway, I think your Mom was right." Harry replied.
Ginny looked slightly insulted but didn't want to argue. "Yeah, I suppose so Harry. I just wish I could have been there with you."
Harry couldn't think of what to say and was spared from the awkward silence because at that point Ron came bounding up the stairs calling for Harry.
"Harry! Harry? Are you up here still?" Called Ron.
Harry poked his head out of Ginny's door and saw Ron just standing in the hallway, apparently he didn't want to barge into Ginny's room out of fear of seeing something he didn't want to see.
"Yeah Ron, what do you want?" Harry called.
"Hermione and I are going to go check out the new place, want to tag along?" He asked.
"I'm coming too!" Ginny said while jumping off the bed beside Harry and running out the door. "After all, it is my home too for a few months."