CHAPTER TWELVE
RETURN TO THE BURROW

Harry entered the fireplace as soon as McGonagall had thrown the Floo Powder in.

"THE BURROW!" he cried. There was a horrible sensation of endless spinning, until Harry found himself flying out of the hearth and into the Weasley's kitchen. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were at the table, along with Bill and Charlie.

"HARRY!" cried Mrs. Weasley, jumping out of her chair, and hurrying over to Harry, who was still on the ground. She held out her hand and pulled him up into a hug.
"Good to see you, dear" she said, her eyes sparkling but her smile genuine. "What happened?"

Before Harry could answer, there was a rushing sound and suddenly Hermione, Neville, Luna, Tonks, Draco, Ginny, Lupin and McGonagall were flying out of the fireplace, coming to a crashing halt on the floor.

"Oh my goodness!" cried Mrs. Weasley, looking at all the arrivals with mild exasperation. "You've… You've all come."

"Mum, it's alright" mumbled Ginny, getting to her feet. "They all know we're poor."

"GINNY!" cried Mrs. Weasley, pulling her into a back-breaking embrace. "You're alright!"

Ginny grimaced in pain slightly but still had her arms wrapped tightly around her mother's neck.

"They've had enough for one day, Molly" said Lupin firmly, getting to his feet, along with Tonks and McGonagall. "You all should go up to bed." He said quietly. "Don't worry, Molly" he said, as Mrs. Weasley was about to interrupt, "you'll hear everything later."

Harry was grateful. He didn't feel like talking about it right now. He was hugged by Mrs. Weasley once more (and returned the hug this time), and turned to go upstairs along with Hermione, Neville, Draco, Ginny, and Luna. It all became as clear as though it were only yesterday. He remembered coming up here with Ron and Hermione three years earlier, before they went to the TriWizard Tournament together. He remembered coming up here with Ron five years ago, the very first time he had ever been to his house. Harry tried to shut them out as he entered Ron's room (which was still decorated in bright orange, for the Chudley Cannons) but it was useless. He collapsed onto Ron's bed, as Neville and Draco sat at the foot of it, staring nervously at him as he stared up at the ceiling blankly, his eyes bloodshot and sparkling. Neville was the first to speak after what seemed like ages.

"Harry, are you alright?"

Harry jumped.

"What… oh" he said, remembering where he was, "oh, yes, I-I'm fine, Neville."

Neville still eyed him suspiciously.

"What?" Harry snapped.

"I… I just think you should tell the truth."

"Really?" said Harry, sitting up and staring at Neville hard. The effect made Neville's eyes widen slightly. "How do you think I feel? Ron's dead! It's all my fault he's dead. You wouldn't want someone asking you how you were if you were in my place, would you? If your best friend died, do you think you'd be all right?"

Harry's eyes were stinging, but he didn't care. He was too angry to care. Neville and Draco only looked at him in awe. Before Harry knew what was happening, he was shouting.

"DO YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT IT'S BEEN LIKE TO LIVE IN MY PLACE! WITH THE FEELING THAT YOU'VE BEEN THE CAUSE OF SO MANY DEATHS! I HAD TO WATCH CEDRIC DIE THREE YEARS AGO! I HAD TO WATCH SIRIUS DIE LAST YEAR! I HAD TO WATCH DUMBLEDORE DIE AT THE END OF LAST TERM! I HAD TO WATCH RON DIE YESTERDAY! YOU'VE NEVER BEEN THROUGH MORE THAN ME! WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT ME!"
"H-h-harry" said Neville, his lip trembling furiously, and his eyes full of tears, "I was just asking"

"DON'T ASK ME ANYTHING ELSE, NEVILLE, DO YOU UNDERSTAND!"

Neville got off the bed, his eyes staring at Harry, hoping that maybe he would return to normal. When he didn't however, Neville spoke, "I thought I was your friend… I guess I was wrong…"

Neville's words hit Harry like a train. He suddenly felt like an idiot.

"Neville" he began, "listen…"

But Neville had left the room, and slammed the door.

Draco still sat on the bed.

"Listen, Potter" he said slowly. "I'm going to leave you in here for a while. I don't think you should be around anyone right now. Neville and I'll go and find another place to rest."

And getting up, Draco walked to the door and exited it, closing the door softly behind him.

Harry fell back on the bed, breathing heavily and moaning. What had he been thinking? He had just yelled at his closest thing to a friend. Neville had only been trying to help him. He got up to go apologize, but had barely done so when there was a crack!

Fred and George Weasley appeared out of thin air in front of Harry, wearing dragon-hide robes; their red hair was about shoulder-length. Fred's was in a ponytail. George's was down and hanging about his face.

"Harry!" said George, shaking Harry's hand vigorously. "How are you, old chap?"

"We've just left downstairs. We heard about how you tackled Wormtail and You-Know-Who. Harry, that's amazing!"

"Bloody terrible of you, Harry!" said Fred with a wink. "I never knew you to be so violent."

Harry actually managed to grin.

"Listen, Mum will kill us if she finds out that we came up here" said George quietly. "She wants you to be alone for a while, but I just wanted to say we don't blame you at all for what happened to Ron. It's not your fault."

"Just watch after your-self mate" said Fred, ruffling Harry's hair. "That's the least you can do."

"Th-thanks, guys" said Harry, smiling.

"You just enjoy what you can, mate" they said at the same time, each giving Harry a rough, one-armed hug.

"We'll be here for a while. The funeral's going to be here. Well, we'd better crack. Mum's coming."

And they vanished with a crack.

Sure enough, Mrs. Weasley was hurrying up the stairs. She came to Harry's door, and listened. Harry felt he wanted to talk to her.

"Come in, Mrs. Weasley."

"Oh!" she cried from behind the door. "No, Harry, I just thought I heard voices!"

"No, I want you to come in."

Mrs. Weasley entered the room. Her eyes were staring at him determinedly. Harry knew she was trying not to look at all the colors of Ron's favorite Quidditch team.

"Thank you for letting me come in, Harry" she said, sitting on the bed beside him.

Harry nodded.

"Listen" he began.

"Don't, Harry" she said, holding up a hand. "I don't want to hear anything more about it. Ron chose to follow you no matter what. He told me he would do anything for you. If it's anyone's fault, it's his. But it was bound to happen. I guess I just wasn't completely prepared when it happened. But now it's happened, and I'll just have to try to move on, won't I? Harry, if there's anything to blame yourself for, it's just that you're so easy to love."

Harry choked, and hot tears spilled from his eyes.

"Oh, Harry, don't cry, dear" said Mrs. Weasley, wrapping her arms around Harry. "You've killed You-Know-Who. You should be rejoicing…we all should" she added as she wiped her eyes hastily.

"But why'd it have to happen to us?" muttered Harry, looking at the ceiling with shining eyes.

"Oh, Harry" cried Mrs. Weasley, "I don't know. Everything happens for a reason, I suspect."

Suddenly, Harry remembered that he had just shouted at Neville.

"I'm an idiot" he said.

"Harry, no you're not" said Mrs. Weasley sharply, "What makes you say that?"

"I just shouted at Neville because he asked me if I was okay." Harry muttered, looking at the ground. "He was only trying to be a friend, and I threw it in his face."

Mrs. Weasley straightened up.

"If you want to make things right, Harry" she said. "I think you'll have to do it when you wake up. I can't let you be active until at least the morning."

"All right" said Harry, lying back down on the bed. "Thank you for coming in, Mrs. Weasley" he said.

"Of course, Harry" said Mrs. Weasley, bending down and kissing Harry on the forehead. "I'll see you in the morning, dear." And closing the door behind her, Mrs. Weasley went back downstairs. Harry lay there for a moment, but it was only a few minutes before he felt extremely tired. Before he could even take his glasses off, he was asleep.