Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Sorry it that disappoints you.
AN:
I had reviews! I'm in shock actually, I wasn't expecting any. Wow, thanks. I hope you all continue to like my story. Sorry about the little wait though. Work caught up to me and I had to hide for a few days in hopes the managers wouldn't see me. Didn't work, but worth a try.
Also, a thank you to my beta-reader, Eagle-Eyes, you have no idea how bad the grammar looks before she reviews it.
"…" denotes speech
'…' denotes thoughts
A Journey's End
Chapter 3: Day Off or Off Day
After leaving Hogwarts, the group spent the rest of the morning around the surrounding village. Upon entering the Three Broomsticks they found Tonks waiting and talked for a few hours catching up.
During lunch Harry pulled out the letter from Dumbledore. While the first part briefly apologized for "not surviving whatever it was that sent him onto his next great adventure", the second dealt mostly with wards and suggestions for Grimmauld Place. At the bottom was a note that made Harry pause and when he showed it to the others in the group it they had mixed feelings mostly leaning towards anger.
P.S. If my death was caused by Professor Snape, please hold him little blame. He had my trust and I am certain there was nothing else that could have been done. Harry, there are reasons for everything. Even those not clear at the time can become so when viewed from the proper perspective. Do not hold ill will without the whole story.
Oddly, it was the vagueness of the statement that caused most of the unrest. As Ron put it, "How can he say that he trusted that bastard? What reason could possibly exist for what he did beyond him being a traitorous Death Eater?"
Deciding that yelling would draw too much attention, Tonks steered the conversation back towards another topic.
"So, my ancestor Phineas told you not to let anything go to waste." Tonks smiled a bit, and silently cast a spell to prevent eavesdropping. "Mad-Eye and I spent the better part of a year going over the place to ensure the wards were okay. Turns out they weren't too much of a problem; but now with Dumbledore gone, I don't know. He put several of the wards up himself; the Fidelius was only one of them. This is going to take some work."
"Well, according to Dumbledore's letter all we really need to do is get a new secret keeper, and then possibly replace some of the wards. He even gave a list of people." Hermione put the letter down on the table and motioned to several of the lines.
Remus picked it up and looked over it. "I know one of the people on here. American, not the nicest guy, but trustworthy. He'd probably be the best." He looked around noticing the amount of other people in the tavern.
Catching the hint, Ron, decided to change the topic a bit, "How is the rest of the Order getting along?"
Remus shook her head, "Not here." He motioned with her head to the other people around, "Even with security and silencing spells, there's too much chance of eavesdropping."
Getting up, they paid their tab and headed out of the Three Broomsticks. Glancing at her watch Hermione gasped, "It's all ready two o'clock! I promised my parents I would drop by around one and have lunch."
Even though she had convinced her parents to let her stay at the Dursley's to help Harry, she still spent time with them. The way she had explained it to Harry, the only real reason why her parents had consented was because she could apparate to and fro easily enough and she had explained the situation with Voldemort to them. While they didn't like the idea that their daughter was now involved in a war, they knew she wouldn't be willing to stay at home and do nothing when it involved her best friends and she could help. Besides, she had spent most of the last six years growing up away from them in a world they knew little about, so in their eyes she had grown up and they were willing to let her make her own choices.
Saying goodbye, she closed her eyes and disappeared as she apparated away.
"I really wish I could do that," Ron said quietly, thinking of his failed test that spring.
Charlie chuckled, "You will soon enough. Just think, at the end of the month you can try again." He looked over at Harry, "I hope you don't mind Harry, but Mum insists on seeing him today. Seems he doesn't want to come home for some reason."
Harry smiled. The reason Ron didn't want to go home involved the fact that Mrs. Weasley and Fleur had turned the Burrow upside down trying to get things ready for the wedding. After everything that happened, the wedding had to be changed. Bill needed to recover, more security needed to be added, and robes needed to be fitted. From what Ginny and the twins had told him, the chaos had supposedly just begun and was scheduled to only get worse. Of course, with the twins you really can't take things at face value.
Thinking of this, Harry smiled as his friend paled. For Ron, going home meant dealing with Fleur panicking over things planned months ago in advance that were not going right, when they most likely would all work out in the end.
"Charlie, um, is it really necessary for me to come home now? I can come back in a few weeks, er days, uh, after it's calmed down, um, later."
Charlie smiled. Apparently the twins had spooked his little brother by telling him all about the preparations. Sure they had been chaotic lately, but they weren't that bad. Course, he himself spent as much time out of the house as he could so he couldn't say much.
"Trust me Ron, the sooner the better." Charlie turned to the remaining three and said, "Well, see you all later. Harry." The last part was given with a nod before he took Ron's arm and vanished as Hermione had a few moments earlier.
Harry thought for a moment about how Charlie's nod seemed out of respect. Then it dawned on him how certain people seemed to be a lot more respectful than usual. "Is it just me, or are people in the order showing a lot more faith in me?"
Not realizing he had voiced this thought out loud, he jumped a bit when Tonks put her hand on his shoulder. "Yes, Harry they are. Dumbledore cared about you more than any other student. All of us noticed it. And with him letting you help him last year, some of us view you as his apprentice in a way. He left us all letters asking us to help you however we can."
"But, I don't understand. How can you all see me as his apprentice? I'm no where near as powerful as he was, and in the end I couldn't help him at all."
This time it was Remus who answered. "Don't fool yourself Harry. You've done things many my age can't. Your patronus is only one example. You have to remember that Professor Dumbledore was much older and more experienced. He didn't just start off that way. Besides, it's not power that people see; it's the way you help and protect people. It's the way you stand up and do things that only he did. Most would run from the idea of doing what you're planning, yet you won't even think about not doing it."
Harry looked at Remus with a sense of awe. Sure he knew people looked to him, but to hear it said that way from someone he had always looked to for guidance was overwhelming. He hoped that if Remus saw him like that, then he would be able to live up to it.
Tonks sighed and with a small grimace changed her hair from the light green it had been to a bright blue. "Okay, lets move on to less depressing topics." She thought for a minute and looked over at Remus. "We really should get going if we want to get fitted for robes. The wedding is only a week away."
Harry looked at her and shrunk back when she turned to him with a huge grin on her face. Something told him he was not going to enjoy the rest of the day anymore than Ron.
Harry walked slowly towards a stream near the Burrow. He had been right. What Tonks had planned was not much fun. Between visiting Madam Malkin's for the initial fitting and then visiting a dozen different other shops, he was exhausted. 'Merlin, I'd rather face Voldemort than have to go through all this again. At least I won't have to worry about needing anything else.'
He sighed. He liked being here; it felt more like home than anywhere else but Hogwarts. He just didn't want to think about everyone who lived there.
All day Remus had been trying to get Harry to talk about Ginny. Only after trying to explain how he couldn't live with himself if she were hurt because of him did Remus stop. Unfortunately, Tonks finally said something on the matter that had hit him like a slap in the face.
"And you could live with yourself if you were hurting her? Because you are."
The look in her eyes as she looked at him before turning to Remus had been one of pain. It was the same haunting look he remembered her having whenever he had seen her last year. The idea that he was hurting Ginny like that…
Shortly afterwards the group had headed over to the Burrow.
'So here I am, hiding from everyone. Okay, sure things aren't as panicked as Ron believed, but still. It doesn't help with the looks I keep getting from Mrs. Weasley and the others. Especially after Ginny showed up a little while ago.'
He closed his eyes to try and forget the look he had seen in her eyes when she had arrived. After Tonk's comment earlier, he couldn't miss the pained look she had. 'God, I feel like part of me died when she looked at me like that.'
Shortly after she came in, she disappeared. Unfortunately, that didn't help Harry's feelings any. It was with these thoughts that he wandered towards a large tree near the side of the stream; unaware that the very person he was thinking about was sitting against that same tree.
Ginny's day had been going good up until she got home. Working for the twins wasn't too bad, and the pay was good. But the moment she got home Fleur immediately accosted her. Apparently the dress robes Fleur had picked for both her and Gabrielle had arrived, and she had to try it on to make sure it fit properly.
'It's not that I don't like the robe, but she could have tried to make it look like it wasn't made specifically with her sister in mind.'
She shook her head, 'No. It's not her fault I'm in such a bad mood. It was coming home and seeing Harry here. He looked so miserable when he looked at me.'
She hadn't expected to see him, and it had thrown her completely off guard. And the look in his eyes; something was hurting him and she wanted desperately to hold him and make it go away. At the very least she wanted to talk to him. For two weeks she had been telling herself she could wait until her birthday next year. That if Harry wanted to just be friends until then to make himself feel she was safe, she could do it. She didn't want him hurt because of her, but seeing him had almost made her break down right then and there. She couldn't get away fast enough.
Now here she was, sitting beneath a tree looking at a stream. She pulled her legs to her and started crying. For a few weeks she had had the one thing she wanted most. As much as she believed she could wait, as much as she tried to tell herself, she knew when she saw him she couldn't.
It was with these thoughts she heard a branch snapping. Startled, she whipped her head around the tree to see green eyes looking down at her with the same surprise.
For a moment Harry froze. He looked down at her, the tears still falling down her face. He couldn't think of anything to say. Walking over he sat down next to her and did the only thing he could think of. Pulling her to him, he held her until she finally stopped crying.
She pulled herself closer to him and just let out all the pain she had been feeling. All the worry for her family, the war, all she had felt lately. She let it all out. As she did she buried her face in his shoulder, not caring anymore about trying to hide it. When she finally stopped she sniffed a few times while she tried to compose herself.
Pushing herself away she tried to get up, "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to just breakdown like that."
Harry pulled her back down so she was sitting with her back to him in his lap. He wrapped his arms around her and rested his head against hers. "No. Don't be."
She realized for the first time he was crying to. She didn't need to see it; she could hear it in his words.
"I'm the one who is sorry," he continued in a quiet whisper. "I wanted to keep you safe. To prevent you from being hurt, but. But, I,"
She reached her hand up and put it on the side of his face. "Funny, I thought I was doing the same," she replied trying to sound jokingly. "For two weeks I've been so stupid, trying to be strong. I, I can't anymore."
"Shhh. I know. Me too. After all I told myself this was best, I couldn't after seeing how much it was hurting you."
She leaned back into him and wiped a few stray tears away. "So here we are, two idiots trying to protect each other from being hurt by causing pain. A perfect pair."
"A perfect pair." He smiled a bit and sighed into her hair. "It's not going to be safe."
"I don't care. I was planning on joining you sometime anyways. I've been trying to convince myself it would be in a year when I'm seventeen, but truthfully I doubt I could wait that long. I know you're going after him, and I know he'll try and use me to get to you. If school reopens I can be safe there, but I don't think I could concentrate on schoolwork. Not if I don't have you. Safe or not, I would be too worried about you to do much. I'd be too nervous about getting a letter or seeing an article in the Profit that you had been hurt. I have to be there, I want to help keep you safe…"
Harry pulled her tight as she started to breakdown again. "Then I guess we'll have to look out for each other."
She sniffled and smiled a bit, "That I can do." She turned her head to look at him and put her lips to his kissing him for a few moments.
She sighed and looked back at the stream, truly happy for the first time since before school ended as she pulled his arms tighter around her waist. "That I can do."
Looking down from the top of a hill, Remus smiled. 'Those two look so much like James and Lily it's scary.'
He turned and headed back to the Burrow to give the two a few more minutes. 'I almost feel sorry for the poor idiot who actually hurts one of them. If the one doesn't tear them apart, the other certainly will.'
Reaching the rest of the group that had set out to find the missing pair he simply motioned over towards the stream and started laughing.
No one made mention of the scene when Harry and Ginny returned to the Burrow. They had stayed watching the stream in quiet comfort, knowing that eventually they would need to head back. Eventually, when the sun began to set, they reluctantly got up.
There were a few looks though. Mostly people seemed to be smiling, aside from Gabrielle. The glares she gave Ginny were almost funny in a way.
As the group heading back to Privet Drive was getting ready to leave, Mr. Weasley pulled Harry aside.
"Harry, I have an idea, and I would like your opinion of it. You're like a son to this family, and Molly has been missing Ron so much, she really cares for you and we want to make sure your safe. Why not pull together your things and move over here for the rest of the summer."
Harry looked at Mr. Weasley and smiled. Weighing his options he thought about the idea of moving in. The offer had been made at the beginning of summer of course, but he felt going back to Privet Drive was what Dumbledore would have wanted; at least for a few weeks. Besides he was worried about the safety of his favorite family of redheads if he moved in. He didn't want them hurt. But after two weeks of dealing with his relatives, and the prospect of having to deal with Dudley soon since he was due to return home the next day. The idea was sounding much better.
The sight of a smiling Ginny over in the corner didn't hurt any. Blood protections might keep him safe until his birthday, but here he could at least be happy. Preparing for Voldemort had had to be put on hold anyway.
As Remus had put it earlier, "Finding the Horcruxes will require more help than just your two best friends. The Order is willing to help, but let's face it. Even You-Know-Who seems to be letting Dumbledore's death sink in. I doubt even he thought it would actually work. Besides, there can't be that many clues for you three to go on. This may take more time than you think."
Remus was right. Moving forward was important, but living is what he would have wanted. Besides, even Hermione had tried to point out this very fact earlier in the morning.
Looking back at Mr. Weasley, Harry smiled, "Sure I'd love that. Just let us know when."
"Tomorrow might be best. I know you and your relatives haven't been getting on well this summer, and let's face it. Molly and the group will need a few extra hands later this week."
Harry nodded and quickly informed Ron about the little change in plans. It wasn't until then he remembered would have to convince Hermione's parents.
"I don't see why they wouldn't let her. At least here there are more people to 'chaperone' us. I think that was one of their biggest complaints," was Harry's response.
After a quick goodbye, Harry and Ron went back to Privet drive with Remus and Tonks providing the transportation.
When they arrived, the older pair split off, telling them to expect Remus in the morning with a portkey, and Ron and Harry made their way to the front door and went inside with a little help from Ron's wand.
Upon entering the house, the two noticed that nobody was home. Not waiting to find out why they headed into the kitchen to grab an early dinner. An hour later, they were sitting in the living room watching television when Hermione came in. The muggle invention had completely baffled and entrapped Ron. He had spent much of his free time the last two weeks watching it.
Offering her a plate, they started discussing their day. Apparently Hermione's parents had talked to Remus a few days ago about her moving some place with more people in it. Since the Granger's didn't have the highest opinion of the Dursley's from Hermione's descriptions, they were more inclined to agree with Remus.
Then Ron started in on the trip to the Burrow. After a few descriptions of what they had seen, and, what was a very embarrassing conversation for Harry, about his and Ginny's getting back together they had a good laugh.
Hearing a car pull up the three cleaned up real quick and started heading up stairs. The less time with the Dursley family the better. Unfortunately they weren't fast enough, and Vernon saw them heading up the stairs. He made a gruff noise and growled for them to get back downstairs as he slammed the door shut.
"I've had enough of you three here! You run off in morning, disappear all day doing who knows what unnaturalness, and then come back to eat our food! I do not spend all my hard earned money to feed freaks who leech off of decent folk like us!"
Harry sighed and walked back down stairs. "Uncle Vernon, look. We're leaving tomorrow. I'm sorry for the inconvenience."
Turning purple he slammed his hand against the wall. "Oh no. You don't get off like that. We've housed those two ingrates up there." He pointed up at Ron and Hermione who were actually still taken aback by the display. So far, other than the initial encounter, Vernon Dursley had avoided the trio.
"I've decided that it's high time you repay us for that and all those years we've sheltered you." If the grin forming on his face gave away any thing, the next words out of his mouth would not be good at all. "I don't know what rubbish that old man was spilling about you inheriting a house, but if you did, then I want the deed. Call it payment, for all these years. Give it over now."
To say Harry was livid was an understatement. Petunia simply gave him this smile that was asking him to find a way to worm his way out of it if he could as she walked towards the kitchen.
"You expect Harry to pay you for living here!" The outburst had come from Ron, who whipped out his wand. "What he inherited from Sirius was for him, not you! What right do you have trying to take it away?"
"You stay out of this! And if you or that little bitch freak do anything, I can have you arrested for assault. I don't care what kind of protection your kind has; normal people like us rule this country. Your kind is best left on the streets with the rest of the trash!"
Harry was now beyond upset. He pulled out his wand, but before he could do anything Vernon was blown clear off his feet by a banishing charm from Ron. "Don't you ever call her that again you bloody arrogant, greedy bastard!"
Petunia quickly ran for the phone only to have the door slam shut in her face. Turning she saw the bushy haired girl pointing her wand at her.
"Stay put." Turning, Hermione stormed past Ron towards Vernon. For her part Petunia dropped to the ground and just watched defeated. While the girl hadn't spoken above a whisper, the tone and her face was more than enough to get the threat across.
Harry walked over to Vernon and grabbed him. "You can insult me. You can yell at me. But you cannot take what is mine. And you cannot insult my friends!" Dragging him to eye level, Harry's anger giving him more strength than he would normally had. His voice changed suddenly to a whisper, "If you ever do it again, so help you, I will make Voldemort cringe at the thought of what I do to you."
Reaching the pair, Hermione shoved Harry out of the way. Vernon steadied himself and raised his arm to hit her only to stop and suck in a sharp breath as she drove her knee into his groin. "Bitch? Why you stupid, piggish, bloody…" Vernon curled up as he collapsed to the floor, as each word seemed to be accentuated by a hard kick.
Harry pulled her away from Vernon after recovering from the shock of seeing this kind of attack from Hermione. Petunia, who was looking at her husband on the floor across the room whimpering, realized that this wasn't going at all like they had discussed. It wasn't going anything like it was planned. The brat was supposed to knuckle under and give in, and if he or his friends tried any freakishness they would call the police. No matter what those freaks could do, the police would at the very least get rid of them.
She looked over at a second phone, only to see it explode before she could move towards it. Ron decided that even if he didn't understand how it worked, he wouldn't push his luck.
Calming down, Hermione looked back over at Vernon and then ran up the stairs shocked at what she had done. Harry looked over at Ron who ran up after her after a quiet look.
Looking at his ghostly pale aunt who was trembling in fright and calmly stated, "We will be leaving in the morning. What I was given by my godfather and by my parents is mine. We may never have been a happy little family, not even slightly close to it. But those two are like my brother and sister. Don't let me see him, " Harry looked at Vernon, "or you in the morning."
With that he turned and walked up the stairs, the lights flickering as he walked under them as his magic reacted to the anger he was feeling.
"And if there are any problems, you might want to remember that our world and yours don't mix well," Harry said softly over his shoulder, the words making Petunia shiver from the how cold they sounded.
A moment later there was the sound of a door slamming shut, leaving Vernon and Petunia realizing that they might have made the worst mistake they had made in the last several years.
AN: The make up scene by the stream is sappy and over done I know, but it's always been a favorite. Again, thanks for your reviews, and I hope you continue to enjoy reading this story as much as I enjoy writing it.