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Chapter 4.
Harry appeared before a black house with dirty windows, grimy walls and a battered door. He smiled, the first time he laid his eyes on this building he'd never thought this would be his first own home. Fearing the worst, he tentatively opened the door and entered. To Harry's great relief, the curse Mad-Eye had placed in the hall appeared to have run its course, as the dusty Dumbledore didn't appear.
Apparently, his fears were for naught. As far as he could see, Grimmauld Place was left just the way it was when he, Ron and Hermione left to raid the Ministry. "Maybe Bellatrix insisted on leaving it intact," he mused. He entered the basement kitchen, which he hadn't used since his fifth year, when they were waiting on news about Mr. Weasley's condition.
"Kreacher!"
*Plop*
"Master Harry is awake! Kreacher has been worried for months." Kreacher said as he groveled for Harry's feet. Not touching him but staying just close enough to be in Harry's personal space.
"None of that "Master" stuff, it's Harry. And stand up, I won't have you bowing for me," Harry said sternly. Kreacher shot to his feet and bobbed his head.
"I want to thank you for your help at Hogwarts, you didn't have to be there and still you fought bravely. Regulus would be proud."
Kreacher's' eyes became moist at that and he puffed his chest out a little, "Thank you Master Harry, Kreacher is glad he could help end noble Master Regulus's work."
"Did the Death Eaters destroy anything in the house? Do you need my help repairing anything?"
Kreacher shook his head violently, his ears flailing wildly, "Oh no Master Harry, Kreacher sealed the house and went to Hogwarts to work in the kitchen. Because Kreacher is not a Hogwarts elf Kreacher could sneak food into the Common Rooms without breaking the rules."
Harry smiled at that, they'd underestimated Elf Magic again. "Good job Kreacher, I'm sure they appreciated that." Seeing the little Elf before him, he figured he might as well figure out if he knew what happened the past months. Kreacher acknowledged his request and started talking.
"Master Weasley had someone by your bed the first two months, then the Ministry tried to move Master." He looked Harry up and down, "Master's magic reacted violently, threw them out. Ministry then decreed nobody was allowed near you, except Madam Pomfrey. Miss Granger left a letter in Kreacher's safekeeping."
The letter materialized before Harry, "Thanks Kreacher! I'll read it now, can you make something to eat? I'm famished. Oh, and don't call me Master."
Kreacher bowed, "Of course Master Harry. Dinner will be served in an hour," and with a soft plop he disapparated.
Shaking his head in exasperation, Harry sat down on the closest chair, remembering how cute he thought it was seeing a certain red-head sitting there curled like a cat that night. He opened the letter, in hopes of good news.
June 4
Dear Harry,
If you're reading this, Ron and I haven't returned from Australia yet and you've woken up from your coma. I'm so sorry we couldn't wait for you, but the Ministry was talking about closing the borders and I couldn't leave my parents without their memories for too long (according to Confusius' Second Law, the longer you wait with restoring memories, the harder it is for the patient). Not to mention that I miss them terribly, I can only imagine how you cope without yours.
I hope we'll be back before September 1st, but as it looks like Hogwarts isn't opening anytime soon, we might stay there longer to make the transition easier for my parents. I also think it would be good for Ron to be away from daily reminders of Fred. The Weasleys are taking their loss hard Harry. During the funeral Mrs. Weasley collapsed, George didn't even seem to notice, Ron cried hard and Ginny clung to me the entire day (not exaggerating, she even followed me to the bathroom). Mr. Weasley and the eldest three tried to hold them together, but they're hurting as well.
The Burrow's ransacked. When they found out Ron was with us and the Weasley's left for Aunt Muriel, the Death Eaters took out their anger on the Burrow. They'll be starting the repairs somewhere in August I think.
Things are looking gloomy Harry. I don't know what to do without you. Kingsley's been cast aside as Interim Minister and everyone who stayed in the Ministry is being held under suspicion, like Mr. Weasley, Percy and Tonks. It's starting to look a lot like the end of the first war, but without you nobody will listen to me or other DA members, the Order isn't functioning with their leaders occupied, imprisoned or d-d-dead (Kingsley, McGonagall, Remus).
Let me know when you wake up.
Love,
Hermione
Ps: Ron says not to mope, nothing that happened is your fault and he'll knock your lights out again if you're brooding about when we get back. He also said to visit the family, they're anxiously waiting for news from you.
"Damn, it's worse than I thought." Checking the clock, he noted that he had at least half an hour before dinner would be ready. Making up his mind he shouted, "Kreacher, I'll be going to the Burrow for a minute, I'll be back before dinner." Without waiting for a response he disapparated.
Knowing it was rude to Apparate into a house, Harry focused on Mr. Weasley's tool shed. Within moments the inside of the shed came into focus and he could see the Burrow standing in the distance from a small window. It appeared that the Weasley's were just starting to fix the damage, as several redheaded figures were walking and waving their wands around the damaged structure.
Harry started walking towards the door, when it opened from the other side. Pulling his wand, just in case, the object of his affections walked in.
"Ginny," he breathed. Her smell attacked his nostrils, her enticing red hair flickered in the fading sunlight and her Butterbeer colored eyes hypnotized him on spot. Yet when she spotted him, her breath hitched, her eyes hardened and she scowled.
"Oh Merlin, I don't have time for this," she grumbled as she pulled her wand. Harry's eyes widened.
"Gi-Ginny? What are you doing? I came here to -," he stuttered. She'd never pulled her wand on him before, and memories of being abused by the Dursley unconsciously came to surface.
"Don't talk to me, you abomination!" She snarled. She swiped her wand in an arc and started an incantation.
"R-"
Before she could finish the spell her wand flew to Harry's outstretched hand. Heartbroken, he stared at it.
"I see," he said. He stood still, not knowing what to do. Neither did Ginny, as her mouth was open and if he could judge her face correctly, she looked a little scared.
Then, she started to laugh hysterically.
'At least that's one thing clear,' He thought. 'So she doesn't want anything to do with me.'
Figuring he owed the Weasley's at least that much, he threw her wand at her feet, nodded his head to Ginny who started to hiccup during her laugh, but she had closed her eyes and didn't notice him disapparated with a crack.
Back at Grimmauld Place, Harry started searching the library. He had 15 minutes before dinner, so he figured he'd better make good use of them.
"Kreacher, seal the house again from everyone currently in Britain. That includes Owl Post, except from the Ministry!" Then he turned around to the shelves and started looking for useful books. Getting annoyed with the menial task, he pulled out his wand again.
"Accio Taboo Book!" Three books flew from the shelves and hovered before him. He plucked them out the air and placed them on the table.
'If Voldemort can cast a Taboo over the United Kingdom, I should be able to Taboo her name around me,' Harry thought morosely, and flipped open the first book as he sat down at the table.
Next Day
Harry Apparated back to the Burrow. After thinking everything through last night, he realized he owed the Weasleys' too much to leave them hanging, even if he'll never have Ginny again. Of course, this doesn't mean he had to face them right now, as he owns the best Invisibility Cloak known to man. Quietly, he sneaks into the kitchen, to observe the family he once thought would be his as well.
What he found out shocked him to the core. None of the Weasley's were functioning. Mrs. Weasley wasn't cooking, only crying and stayed in her room alone. Mr. Weasley didn't go to work and stared at the kitchen table before sleeping on the couch. Bill and Fleur had moved back to the Burrow, to help out with the housekeeping, but were failing miserably. Charlie went out flying every day but seemed even more agitated every time he came back. Percy had huge bags under his eyes and just sat outside, ignoring the world. He hadn't even changed from the robes he wore during the Battle, if the smell was any indication. George had a bottle of Firewhiskey glued to his hand and was seen drinking the entire day.
All in all, things were beyond terrible.
When everyone went to sleep, Harry started planning how to help them. He quietly cast a Scourgify to clean the ground floor. Dishes were cleaned, dust disappeared, filthy clothes looked bright new and as far as he could see, the Burrow looked like it did before Bill and Fleur's wedding. As he sat down at the kitchen table, he started to compile a list what to do.
"One down, 10 problems to go." Harry thought sardonically, when he finished with his task. He was just about to Apparate back to Grimmauld Place when he heard a faint whimper. Before it would wake everyone up, Harry quickly ran up the stairs to the room he only visited once. As quietly as he could he opened the door to find Ginny thrashing about in her bed, obviously having a nightmare.
Not wanting to wake her and see her hate filled glare again, Harry conjured a stuffed animal and placed it in her arms, while adding some charms to keep her nightmares away. When Ginny calmed down, he softly smiled at her sleeping form and left the room.
'If I can make her sleep peacefully again, it'll all be worth it.' He thought before disappearing with a faint plop.
All his carefully laid plans were delayed however, when the next day he found a Summons before the Wizengamot for "Vigilante Behaviour; Breaking into the Ministry of Magic, Using Dark Magic, Breaking into Gringotts, Cold-Blooded Murder and Altering a Historical Site".
That's all for now. I hope you enjoyed the story so far! Thanks for the follows/favs and reviews! Let me know what you think!
