After the Storm
He didn't want to open his eyes yet. He hung on to the soft darkness as hard as he could. This quiet and restful dark ocean which had taken him away from the strange white place. Reluctantly, he let his senses come back. The first thing he felt was the vibration of the ground under his cheek. Then the noise filled his ears. Hushed cries and sorrowful whispers. But above all, a sad and despaired hiss that broke his heart.
He opened his eyes and saw… nothing. In front of him was a dark green wall. But the wall seemed alive. It took him a few seconds to understand that what he was seeing was Supra's body shielding him from the rest of the crowd. He must have rushed to Harry's side as soon as he had seen the beam of green light. And now he was protecting the remains of his master.
Harry raised a hand and pressed it gently against the cold and soft skin of his basilisk.
'It's all right Supra, I am here.'
The basilisk turned brutally towards Harry and froze a few seconds. Harry was about to add something when Supra's head plunged towards him. For a moment, Harry thought he was dead. But the nose of the basilisk only bumped his body backward gently and he found himself sitting on the snake's coils. Supra's hiss could almost have been a growl.
'You stubborn little one!'
'I am sorry,' said Harry with an appeasing voice. 'It would be complicated to explain, but I had too.'
'How is it that you survived?' Asked the basilisk who was starting to calm down.
'Let's say that I chose to come back,' smiled Harry while raising his hand towards his friend's head.
The snake looked at the hand and slowly pressed his head against it. His hiss was now a purring sound.
'I am glad you came back.'
They stayed a few seconds like this until Harry noticed something rather disturbing. Silence. A deafening, uncomfortable silence.
'I hope you still have some force within you,' said the basilisk who had noticed it too. 'You're up for a round of applause.'
'I was afraid of this,' replied Harry with a crisped smile.
'That bold man we talked about,' continued Supra, 'this Dumbledore. He really cares about you. Like Salazar told you, it is up to you to trust him again. But I don't think you would make a mistake in doing so.'
'Bold?' Questionned Harry while raising an eyebrow.
'I think this describes correctly a man ready to approach a balisik such as me,' replied Supra with a hint of pride in his hiss.
Harry laughed and contemplated his basilisk a few more seconds, savouring his last instant of calm. When he finally stood up, Supra tilted his head and moved to reveal the inert body of Tom Riddle. Harry approached it slowly. It seemed the curse had rebounded once more.
But he didn't have the time to reflect on Tom's death as he heard hurried steps before he was pulled in a tight and strong embrace. He smiled as he recognised immediately the two people that had run towards him.
'Hey guys,' he said with a muffled voice. 'Hermione, I think your arm is on my throat.'
'You shut up,' muttered his friend who had her face buried in his shoulder. 'So… so stupid.'
But she eventually let go him. She wasn't crying but her eyes were red.
'Mate, you look like crap.'
'It's good to see you too Ron,' smiled Harry.
It had been a long time since Ron and Hermione had seen a genuine smile on their friend's face. A wave of people surrounded them, and the deafening silence was replaced by joyful cheering and relieved laughs. Everything was over, and all thanks to Harry Potter. Again.
Harry managed to slip out this happy chaos under the caring eye of his basilisk. He noticed that not everyone had joined the improvised celebration. The people from the Ministry were gathered on the other side of the glade, staring at the cheerful crowd with a mortified look on their face. Cornelius Fudge was in deep conversation with Albus Dumbledore who was clearly enjoying the talk. The same couldn't be said about Fudge who seemed to want to get it over with as quickly as possible.
Harry approached them while completely ignoring the crowd of Aurors. Fudge stood silent when he noticed that Harry had joined them.
'I am sorry,' said Harry with a mischievous smile, 'am I interrupting?'
'Not at all Harry,' smiled Dumbledore. 'The Minister was just informing me that my Hearing next week had been canceled and that they would see me at the Minister once the situation at hand would be dealt with.'
'What situation are you talking about?' Asked Harry innocently.
Dumbledore turned his eyes towards Fudge, waiting for his answer.
'Well, we have a dead body on Hogwarts ground, and we need to open an investigation,' replied nervously the Minister avoiding Harry's look.
'Would you be so kind to tell us whose body it is?' Asked Dumbledore candidly.
'You know very well who we are talking about!' Exclaimed Fudge with a harsh tone.
'I do indeed,' replied Dumbledore. He wasn't sounding candid anymore and his voice was now strong and sharp. 'You'll excuse my lack of subtleness but the least you owe that boy is to tell him who we are talking about. And I want a name, Cornelius.'
Fudge stared at Dumbledore, but he couldn't withstand the piercing gaze.
'Lord… Lord Voldemort.' Finally said Fudge as if each word was burning his tongue. He sighed and turned towards Harry, still not daring to look directly at the boy. 'On behalf on the Ministry I want to address you my sincere apologies and thanks.'
'Good,' smiled Dumbledore, 'I hope we will be able to read a more elaborated speech on the Prophet tomorrow morning.'
Fudge mumbled unintelligible words and turned his heels to join the Aurors. Harry's eyes followed him with a ferocious satisfaction. The humiliation of the Minister for Magic in front of his Aurors would be enough for the time being. Fudge waved at four Aurors who cautiously approached Voldemort's body as if he was still alive. When they were settled, they all Disapparated in a loud noise and Harry became suddenly aware of Dumbledore's presence at his side.
Around them the members of the Order were still cheering and savouring the sweet taste of victory. But it was like Harry was trapped in a bubble of silence which was dampening every sound. He finally found the courage to face Dumbledore and immediately met the relieved and proud eyes of his Headmaster.
'Before you say anything,' started Dumbledore, 'I want you to know that whatever course of action you choose to follow, I'll respect it. Hogwarts will always be opened to you, my boy.' His voice wavered. 'But if you choose to leave, I won't stand in your way, and I'll make sure no one does.'
A loud joyful exclamation coming from the happy crowd echoed off the trees and Harry suddenly started to feel tired. All this mess was making it difficult for him to order his thoughts. He looked at his friends without seeing them. Their happiness warmed him up but he realised he didn't want it. He didn't want the gratitude of people, however dear they were to him, who had close to no clue about what had happened tonight. For a moment he thought about leaving. Going straight into the Forest and disappearing. It didn't matter that no one would understand. It didn't matter it would hurt people, as they were now free.
Did it?
He sighed and turned towards Dumbledore again. The twinkling blue eyes were looking at him patiently. And just like that, every doubt that had seized Harry's soul faded as if a mild breeze had blown them away. Dumbledore had kept all of his promises to him and had continued to watch over him while respecting his choices. Harry understood he was tired of of being angry at the World. He had taken so much upon himslef over the past months. Perhaps it was time to let his old mentor back in. Perhaps it was now time to rest.
'I think I am ready to tell you,' he finally said. As soon as the words crossed his lips, a substantial part of the weight he was feeling in his chest disappeared.
'To tell me what?' Asked Dumbledore gently, completely oblivious to the happy chaos surrounding them.
'Everything,' replied Harry. He looked at his Headmaster and realised that right now, the only place he wanted to be was Dumbledore's office. A calm haven in which he would with the only wizard that had always stood besides him. The only one he ever fully trusted. He didn't know what would come out of it, but he didn't care. Tom had been right, if Harry could find the courage to rebuild this trust, it would be worth everything.
