Author's Note: Sorry for the time it took to update, everyone! This is a really long one, but it gets through most of the recovery process. I promise things are going to start lightening up in the next chapter! Thanks for the reviews, keep it up! I want to know what you think! Ciao, Hannah Renee
Once inside the Burrow, however, Harry noticed a much more somber tone to things. Most everything in the house was now black or had something black attached to it. Harry's eyes were attracted to movement and he saw Mrs. Weasley's clock. It had seemingly grown another hand since last summer, possibly the same day that Harry had last left the Burrow. Of course, this hand read "Fleur", and was sitting on "Home" instead of the newly grown space, "Shell Cottage". The movement, Harry observed, was that of Ginny and Ron's hands moving from "Traveling" to "Home". For the first time in several visits to the Weasleys, no hands sat on "Mortal Peril". Fred's hand, however, seemed to have popped off the clock: it was sitting on the table below the clock, a thin black ribbon tied around it.
"Oh thank goodness you're here. Hello, Hermione, sweetheart; Harry, dear. Come in, come in you four. Everyone's gathered in the sitting room, but you all probably would like some sleep." She said, thinking. As she spoke, Harry noticed for the first time just how tired he really was. The two hours he had slept really weren't helping things, he yawned so loudly that Ron gave him a quizzical look, although the yawn quickly spread to his, Hermione's, and Ginny's faces as well. This action seemed to affirm Mrs. Weasley's suggestion.
"Yes, bed! Harry, Ron's room; Hermione, Ginny's." She said, pushing them off towards the stairs. On the way, the four passed the sitting room. Harry looked inside, and immediately wished he hadn't. They were all so sad, as they should be, but something fell in the pit of his stomach, and he stopped walking. He had caused this. If he had just run into Snape earlier, if he had just… anything! It was like a pit had replaced his heart, he couldn't move. He wanted to die, he felt so awful.
While Harry stood there Mrs. Weasley went back to the kitchen, Ron and Hermione started up the stairs, and the mourning in the sitting room continued. Harry felt alone, which he thought was the correct state to be in, as he felt condemned. Filthy. It wasn't until he felt pressure on his shoulder that he came out of his reverie. Placing his opposite hand on the place, he felt a small, familiar hand laying there. Turning towards her, he started to speak,
"Ginny, I…" He started, but stopped when he saw a strange glint in her eye. It was almost malicious, and he felt even guiltier at causing the family that had practically adopted him so much pain. Yet when Ginny spoke, she surprised him.
"Oh hell no, Harry. This isn't your fault. You saved every one of our fucking lives last night. Everyone in the whole damn Wizarding World, you hear me? Don't go on a guilt trip, you don't deserve it."
"Except Fred, Remus, Tonks, and fifty others…" He muttered darkly. To Harry's even further surprise, Ginny raised her hand, and in one swift movement, slapped him quickly across the face.
"Don't you dare blame yourself about them Harry James Potter! This wasn't your fault. Voldemort would have killed us all, think of all the lives you saved! Or do you regret that, too?" She asked, and Harry saw that she was close to tears.
"No…Ginny…don't…" he started, but tears were leaking down the face that was red from rage.
"You know, Harry, I don't think I can stand being here with someone who's thickheaded enough to believe that he caused all of this. Have a nice sleep." She said, turning on her heel and rushing up the stairs. After a few seconds he heard a door slam overhead.
If anything, Harry felt sicker than ever. His grief and guilt were now nearly doubled, and it was with a pounding headache that he started up the stairs. He paused briefly to stare at the door on the first floor landing before going up to Ron's room. It was stupid, he thought as he ascended the stairs, to have upset Ginny further. She had lost her brother in the past twenty-four hours, along with Tonks, with whom Ginny had greatly admired.
When Harry opened the door on the top floor he expected to see Ron in his bed already, but was again surprised at what he saw. Ron was sitting on his bed, alright, but just behind him was Hermione, her arms across Ron's chest, her chin sitting on his left shoulder. Both appeared to be crying. Upon hearing the door open, they had both looked up.
"I'll go." Hermione said gently, placing a kiss on Ron's cheek before pulling her right leg back from around Ron. As she stood up, Ron caught her by one of her arms and pulled her into a quick hug before throwing himself back down onto the bed across where Hermione had been sitting. On Hermione's way out she stopped to give Harry a quick hug. Pulling back, she saw the look on Harry's face.
"You and Ginny had a fight." She said softly. Harry only nodded, his head pounding with his headache.
"Get some sleep, Harry. I'm sure that everything'll clear itself up this evening." She said reassuringly.
"Yeah…I hope… have a good sleep." He said, and watched her leave the room. When the door shut, Ron sat up a little.
"What did you two fight over? He asked, and Harry could tell that it was a sign of their friendship and Ron's assumed big brother responsibilities that Ron was forgoing a few moments of his slumber to ask.
"She reckons I shouldn't feel it's my fault that she's now missing a brother, sister figure, and former teacher." He said, pulling down the sheets of his camper bed and plopping down bodily.
Ron gave him a look of sympathy before stating "Yeah, well, she's right mate. Now go to behd-ed" He said, his last word coming through a yawn. Harry removed his glasses and lay down, and within seconds he was lost in a dreamless sleep.
"Harry?" A gentle voice sounded somewhere above him. It seemed like a few seconds later, but as he opened his eyes and saw less light pouring in from the east-facing window he noticed that it was early evening at the earliest. He reached for his glasses, but a hand (probably belonging to the owner of the voice, he thought to himself) placed them in his hand.
As he put them on and sat up, he realized that it was Ginny standing beside his bed. Her dark red hair was pulled loosely back with an elastic, and she had changed into a Holyhead Harpies shirt and jeans.
"Harry, mum said to come get you, we're about to eat." She said, looking a bit timid. Harry was confused until his memories from earlier in the day came back to him. He grimaced, thinking of how he had hurt her.
"Ginny, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have upset you." He said, looking down ashamedly. He couldn't bring it on himself to look her in the eye. A sinking feeling near his feet told him that Ginny had sat on the camper bed.
"No, Harry, I overreacted. This has to be even harder for you, I was being selfish." She said, causing him to look up. She scooted up a bit on the bed and took his hands in hers. Harry gave her a quick squeeze, a thankful smile crossing his lips. "We've got to get through this, Harry. Together. No more fighting, deal?" She said, staring straight into his eyes.
"Absolutely." He said, not dropping the gaze.
"Well then, I've got to get downstairs and help finish dinner, you change. Ron and Hermione are already downstairs." She said, a little briskly. Harry watched her leave the room before setting about to changing.
Once down in the kitchen, Harry found the attitude to be slightly less somber than he expected, but solemn nonetheless. Mr. Weasley sat at the head of the table, looking grief-stricken and barely picking at his potato soup. Bill and Fleur sat to Mr. Weasley's right, Bill eating a steak Mrs. Weasley had made for him and Fleur was making a gallant attempt at eating the potato soup, which all could see was not to her palate. Across from Bill and Fleur were Charlie and Percy, both absorbed in eating the soup quickly and quietly. Ron sat next to Percy, Hermione at his left. Across from Ron was Ginny, who motioned for Harry to sit next to her.
"Here you are, Harry. Careful, it's hot." Mrs. Weasley said, ladling him a steaming bowl of soup. She then sat down at the end of the table opposite to Mr. Weasley, staring at her own bowl through puffy red eyes.
Dinner was a quiet affair; the only sounds were the clanking of spoons on bowls and an occasional sigh. Looking around, a thought came to Harry that he couldn't believe he hadn't thought of earlier. He supposed it was the fact that he had never been at the Weasley's table with one twin and not the other that he had completely missed his presence.
"Where's George?" He asked Ginny, leaning close to her ear. He didn't want to upset the whole family, but he was confused. The rest of the Weasleys and Hermione didn't even look up from their food; Harry supposed they were engrossed in their own thoughts. Ginny, however, turned and met his eyes, hers were dry and looked as though she hadn't cried since the morning.
"His room. I took him some soup on my way up to get you, he didn't want to come out." She whispered back, reaching out her right hand and squeezing his left. Harry let a phantom of a smile graze his lips before he returned to his soup.
When everyone had finished eating, Mr. Weasley stood up at his end of the table, finally taking his eyes off his food to look around at his family, Harry, and Hermione. He sighed, looking suddenly fascinated with the pepper shaker for a few moments before he returned to gazing at everyone sitting around the table.
"Tomorrow night we're going to bury Fred at sunset. Then the next day we're going to Andromeda Tonks's house at four in the afternoon for tea and then Remus and Dora's funeral. Harry, you can settle affairs about Teddy while over there. We've also been invited to a memorial service and dedication that evening just after dark at Hogwarts." He said solemnly. Suddenly, a thought hit Harry with the speed of a flying curse: Teddy. He was Teddy's godfather, he had promised Remus to take care of Teddy if something happened. But Harry was only seventeen, and planning on returning to Hogwarts next year. He felt Ginny's hand on his shoulder and touched it lightly.
"I'm off to bed, then. Charlie, Bill, Fleur, Percy, you all can stay here tonight. Percy, your room is undisturbed, but could you share with Charlie? Bill, you and Fleur can stay in your room." Molly said quietly, standing up as well and attempting her usual bossy attitude towards her family, but failing miserably.
"No, Mum, Fleur and I'll go home for the night. Thank you though." Bill said, walking over to his mother and kissing her lightly on the cheek, then went over and embraced his father. Fleur hugged both Mr. and Mrs. Weasley before taking her cloak from the hook on the wall and following Bill out the door. Mrs. Weasley followed them to the door, pulled back the curtain on the door window, and watched them until they disapparated in the fields. She then turned to her clock. Two of the hands had moved to traveling, and in the next instant they read "Shell Cottage".
"Alright, you lot slept through most the day, but don't stay up too late." She said, and with that walked up the stairs. Percy and Charlie soon followed, Arthur after them. This left Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione alone in the room. Ron and Hermione appeared to be holding hands again under the table, and Harry's hand was still sitting lightly upon Ginny's, which was perched on his shoulder.
"I'm sure Andromeda will continue caring for Teddy, Harry." Said Ginny bracingly, causing Harry to turn towards her.
"Undoubtedly, seeing as you're gong back to school! She couldn't keep you from your education." Hermione reasoned, and Harry saw Ron's lip curl into a slight smile.
"No mate, she'll probably keep him. She won't want her grandson in the hands of a teenager." Ron said, pulling Hermione's chair closer to his, Hermione squealing slightly. He then draped the hand that had been holding hers over her shoulder and leaned back in his own chair.
"I s'pose you're right. Especially since I didn't make the greatest of first impressions." He said, folding his hands on the table. Ginny gave him a soft pat then removed her hand from his shoulder. She then crossed her arms on the table and rested her head on top of them.
"What did you do?" Asked Hermione, slightly accusatory.
"Nothing like that!" Harry hurried to assure her. "She came into the room right after the attack from Voldemort, and she looks a lot like Bellatrix. I kind of yelled at her. Don't look at me like that…I was a little addled, I had just found out that Hagrid was still alive after jumping off of Sirius's bike!" He said, exasperated in the end. Ginny and Ron were grinning.
"Way to thank people for their hospitality, Harry." Ron said, fighting the urge to laugh. Beside him, Ginny was shaking with suppressed laughter. The four stayed up until around two talking and laughing, all mourning pressed to the very back of their minds.
An attitude of deepest grief settled on the house overnight. When Harry and Ron woke up and descended to the kitchen the next day, they were barely acknowledged. Ginny, Hermione and Mrs. Weasley were busy cooking lunch, and Harry could see Arthur through the window. He was out in a field near the orchard where Harry had played Quidditch what seemed like a lifetime ago with Bill, surveying the ground. Harry's heart gave a lurch as he saw them start siphoning dirt out of the ground with their wands. Turning away quickly, he walked with Ron into the sitting room. Percy and Charlie were grouped around the wireless, although their blank expressions made him doubt that they were taking in a note of the live Weird Sisters Broadcast. It wasn't until Harry and Ron took their seats next to the pair that they noticed a third gloomy figure over in the far corner. Harry's heart fell as he saw the shape George Weasley was in. His hair was messy, his eyes with bags under them, and he was still wearing his pajamas. George looked almost like a corpse to Harry, and he had the feeling that George was downstairs solely because his family had asked it of him.
And so the day went by, with barely a word spoken, not even when Mrs. Weasley and the girls brought in a tray of food and everyone ate. George made gestures that he was unwilling to eat, but Mrs. Weasley insisted. For a while the afternoon went as the morning had, with everyone sitting around in silence, until they heard the two o'clock bells from the village church over the hills. Mr. Weasley hurried over to the wireless, changed the frequency, tapped it with his wand, and muttered "Phoenix".
Harry knew it had worked the second Mr. Weasley uttered the password. The static cleared up, and Harry heard a familiar voice issuing around the room.
"Welcome to our pre-scheduled broadcast of Potterwatch. I am pleased to say that last night, long after announcing the time and password of the next broadcast; we were called to help take a stand to protect Hogwarts. As many already know, Harry Potter had arrived with his cohorts Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger. The three were searching Hogwarts for an undisclosed object when it became obvious that the Head Death Eater was on his way. Hogwarts took a stand, and after a tumultuous battle to be later discoursed, Harry Potter defeated Lord Voldemort in the Great Hall of the castle.
"Unfortunately, there were many losses in the battle, including two of our regular correspondents: Remus Lupin, who broadcasted under the codename "Romulus"; and Fred Weasley, "Rapier". There will be a full service at Hogwarts School tomorrow at nine in the evening. In the service will be a reading of all names belonging to those lost in the battle of Hogwarts, as well as the dedication of a memorial to all who died there. I, Lee Jordan, who has previously operated under the name of "River", urge all Potterwatch listeners to attend."
The broadcast continued for over an hour, Lee giving a blow-by-blow of the battle with all the skill earned of his Quidditch-announcing years. It was, of course, missing things such as Harry, Ron, Hermione, Crabbe, Goyle, and Malfoy's encounter in the Room of Requirement and the trip to the Shrieking Shack. Harry saw Ginny watching him through most of the transmition, and Harry knew what she wanted. She knew that Lee was not telling them what he, Ron, and Hermione had been doing during the battle.
After the program, Harry nodded to Ron, Hermione, and Ginny in turn and started out the room into the kitchen. As the three filed in behind him, he only asked where they could go without being overheard by the rest of the family. Ron looked puzzled, but Ginny immediately supplied an answer.
"The chicken coop. There's nothing there but the parts of Sirius' bike. The chickens all got out when the house was investigated. Guess the dunderheads didn't bother to worry about a family's chickens. Mom was right livid when she found they were gone this morning, Perce said." The four looked to see that no one was watching from the sitting room and headed out to the chicken pen. Once there, Harry sat down on the seat of the bike, Ginny on the detached handlebars and wheel, Ron on the also-detached back wheel, and Hermione on Mr. Weasley's worktable. The table was littered with burned small bits from various places on the bike, obviously in the process of being repared.
"We have to tell Ginny. She needs to know, too." Harry said bluntly. Hermione, who seemed to have expected this, merely nodded. Ron, however, seemed incredulous.
"Tell her what? You can't mean... Dumbledore said not to…" He started, but Harry shook his head.
"Dumbledore didn't want too many to know while Voldemort was still at large. But he's dead. We saw to that. Now we can tell whoever we please, and Ginny should know." He finished, somewhat lamely. He didn't expect Ron to understand why Harry had decided he absolutely needed to tell Ginny. He didn't expect that at all, even less than he expected what Ron said next.
"Well… if you think so. We'll tell her." And with that, the three started filling Ginny in on the details of what happened in the graveyard, the drama of Harry's fifth year, the horcrux searches of his sixth, and everything that had happened the past year. Ginny was an ideal audience, she sat through the whole hour-and-a-half explanation without question. When they had finished, it was with a broken voice that she asked her first question.
"So that night…that Dumbledore died…and you left…he was taking you in search of a Horcrux? You were in real danger that night?" She asked, her hands over her mouth.
"As were you lot, remember? Death Eaters invading?" He said, trying to draw attention away from Ginny's truth. It didn't work.
"Harry… we were dealing with Death Eaters in a building full of people to help us. You were hundreds of miles away in a lonely cave, and who knows what traps Voldemort could have put to use in that cave?" She said. Harry stood up and walked to her, clutching her hands in his.
"I know." He whispered, and looked into her maple colored eyes. True, they were wetter than usual, but to Harry's relief she wasn't crying. She spread out her arms and clasped Harry to her, not letting go.
The four spent another hour in the chicken coop discussing everything from the significance of the Elder Wand to the exact contents of Harry's dreams. Finally, Ron looked down at his watch.
"Oi, we've got to get inside and make ourselves decent. The funeral's in less than an hour." He said, and the four headed inside and changed into their dress robes. Hermione placed a temporary color-change charm on everything to make it black, and the four headed down to the field near the orchard.
The funeral was a quiet one, Harry noticed that much of the Weasley's extended family was missing. The Order and most of the D.A. attended, apparating just before sundown. The service was simple, Mr. Weasley gave a brief account of Fred's life and then asked the attendees to speak if they felt the need to do so. Mrs. Weasley spoke first, tears cascading down her face.
"Freddie… how can I apologize for all the times I scolded you, told you that you'd amount to nothing, tried to shoot down your dreams and replace them with my own? I wanted you to be something I thought worthy. I wanted you to be head of a department in the Ministry of Magic. I overlooked the greatest of your gifts: to bring joy to people. I didn't want you and George to open your jokeshop, and I'll never forgive myself for that. Please forgive me, Freddie…" Here she dissolved into further sobs. Mr. Weasley patted her on the back, a stony look on his face.
Bill was next to speak, but he barely said anything after Mrs. Weasley's speech.
"I'll miss you, Fred. Keep an eye on us, alright?" Bill then turned to Fleur, but Fleur shook her head, a few tears flying off her face in the effort. She turned to Charlie, who nodded.
"Bye, Fred." He said quietly, and looked at Percy. Percy was stock still, staring at the casket where Fred's body lay. Finally, Percy spoke.
"I'm a rotten prat. When I went away, you all were in your seventh year at Hogwarts. I abandoned you and the rest of my family to follow my ambitions. Then I didn't come back out of shame. In the effect, I missed my little brothers and sister growing up. Ginny was a fourth year, Ron a fifth, and I missed then until now. And I'm paying the price: I didn't get to know what you're like now, Fred. And when I did come back, you forgave me almost immediately. I won't forget that, ever. You were amazing, Fred. Don't think that I thought otherwise." He said, and Harry saw tears shining under his horned rimmed glasses.
Next in the circle that the attendees made was George. George wasn't as somber as before, in fact he had a shadow of a grin on his face as he said,
"Hey Fred, how's the weather? You should write…that'd be pretty cool. Listen, I'm keeping up the jokeshop. I'll be back in touch, don't worry." After this George looked at the ground, obviously not planning on speaking any more at the moment. Ron gulped, it was his turn.
"Fred… if I found out who killed you, they better already be dead." Was all he said, and Hermione gave Ron a squeeze on the arm.
"Fred, no matter what I ever said, I've always admired how good you were at magic. You can do things that I don't think I'll ever be able to do. You had a lot of skill, and I feel awful that I didn't tell you so."
Next it was Ginny who drew a deep breath before starting in.
"Fred, you would probably kill me if you saw me bloody crying at your funeral. But I am. I'm gonna miss you, and I wish you were still here. I always dreamed of having all six of my brothers at my wedding someday. You're cutting it down to five, how dare you. I love you, Fred. Don't forget it." Ginny whipped a tear from her eye, and turned to Harry. It was hard, a lump was stuck in Harry's throat.
"Fred, if I could have prevented this, I would have. I'm so sorry." He said, hanging his head. From here, there weren't as many people who had anything to say. Hagrid piped up, as did Professor McGonnagal. After a few others had spoken, the wheel turned back to Mr. Weasley. Wordlessly, he raised his wand and lowered the casket into the ground. Dirt swooped out of no where as Bill waved his wand as well, covering the grave. Next came the swoops of Mr. Weasley, Bill, and Charlie as a white marble memorial formed over the grave. A pinnacle stood eight feet tall when they had finished, and Mrs. Weasley thanked everyone for attending.
The group started to head away, Harry heading with the Weasleys and Hermione up to the Burrow when a hand caught at his shoulder. Turning, Harry saw Hannah Abbott standing there.
"Harry, Ernie's funeral is the day after tomorrow at the Hollow. Four in the afternoon. Could you all please attend? He'd like that." She said, her blue eyes peering up at him. Harry nodded without thinking twice.
"Of course, Hannah. We'll be there, don't worry." He said, giving her a reassuring smile. In a few seconds time he found himself hugging Hannah, patting her on the back gently.
"Thanks, Harry. It means a lot." She said, and headed away. Harry watched her until she apparated, and then turned around to find Ginny standing there.
"That was sweet of you, Harry. I guess we'll be attending a lot of those." She said, her voice falling on the last bit.
"Yeah, probably." He responded, putting an arm around her as they headed back to the house.
The next afternoon, Harry found himself, the Weasleys, and Hermione at the house of Andromeda Tonks. After they rang the bell, Harry saw the haughty face appear at the door.
"Come in. We'll be in the parlor, Teddy's already in there." She said, ushering them inside. Once in the parlor, Harry looked around for some sign of the small, squishy baby he had seen Remus's pictures. However, he couldn't see him. Then, out from behind a chair, something was wobbling towards the group. It had a tuft of orange hair on its head, but just as it got near them it fell flat on its face, wailing. This child was much larger than the baby in the pictures, but the second the baby hit the floor his hair turned to red as it screamed.
"Aww, Teddy, Teddy, Teddy, did you fall down?" Mrs. Weasley cooed as she walked over and scooped up the child. As she walked back over to the group, Harry got his first good look at his Godson. Of course, the baby's metamorphamagus tendencies caused it to seem silly, but Harry could see a bit of Remus around the baby's forehead and chin. The rest was distinctly coming from Tonks's side of the family.
"As you can see, this is my grandson, Ted Remus Lupin, your godson." She said, taking the baby from Mrs. Weasley and passing him to Harry. Not expecting this so soon, Harry nearly dropped him. Ginny came to the rescue, giving Teddy a bit of support from behind. She was fussing in a very Mrs. Weasley way, but when Harry caught her eye, she smiled.
"Hey, little fella! Your daddy was a good friend of me and my daddy. Your mum and dad are big heroes. I guess we're a lot alike, you and me." He said, watching as the baby looked up at him. His eyes turned from brown to blue, and Harry saw the baby smile.
"Look at you, Teddy! You're such a big boy! I guess you're about a year old now, aren't you?" Ginny said, running a hand through the wispy baby hair.
"Hey mate, look at you! When you get older, all the girls'll be all over you, you can change yourself to make sure they like how you look! Bloody h-" Yet Ron was interrupted when Hermione piped in.
"Ronald! Don't let him hear that word! Hello there, Teddy!" She said, coming up to coo over the baby as well. Harry liked holding the baby, especially since the baby smelled nice, but he was heavy. Not a seeker for nothing, Harry hoisted the baby up a little bit.
"Go ahead and put him down, the tea's ready," Andromeda said, she had been watching Harry handle Teddy.
After Teddy had been placed safely back down on the ground and the assembly settled at the table with tea in their cups, Andromeda spoke again.
"Are you planning on returning to Hogwarts, Harry?" She asked, daintily stirring sugar into her tea.
Harry had expected this question, but didn't know how his answer would be received. Would she tell him that it was his job to drop out of school and support Teddy? Would she say that he needed to find a way to support the toddler? "Yes." He said, staring down into the murky depths of his tea.
"A fine choice. And after Hogwarts?" She said before slowly sipping at her tea, her pinky finger held slightly aloft. Harry reflected that he had always thought this gesture cheesy, but when Andromeda did this it seemed elegant, correct.
"I've planned to go into auror training." He said. Again, he didn't know how this would be perceived. He would have three more years of training before he could support Teddy. Not to mention that Tonks had been an auror…
"An excellent career choice. Yes, Harry, I do want you to continue your school and continue towards your planned career. I am well settled off financially, and as I don't work I can stay home and raise little Ted. I do, however, want you to play a part in his life. While you are in school you won't have to worry about this, but other than that I would like you to have him over for dinner at least once a week. Of course, if that's alright with you, Molly? I'm supposing that you are who Harry will be staying with."
"Yes, he will, and of course Teddy can come over once a week!" Molly said, smiling broadly. Harry had a feeling that Molly had missed having babies around since all of her children were grown.
"It's settled then. Now, tell me Arthur, what are Kingsley's plans for restoring the Ministry?" Andromeda asked, and the conversation continued from there. Harry felt as if a burden had been lifted from him, the burden of not knowing what his future held for him. He now knew that he could care for Teddy and continue onwards towards his goal of being an auror. It was a great relief, and Harry had almost forgotten that he was about to attend another funeral by the time tea was over.
Standing outside in the garden, however, Harry full well remembered why he was at Andromeda Tonks's house. The two closed coffins of Nymphadora and Remus stood out in the sunlight, though there was no grave in sight. Again, this funeral followed the path of Fred's. Andromeda spoke a few words about each of them, but Harry was distracted from the tales. Teddy, who was sitting in the grass, was staring at the coffins of his parents. Harry couldn't help but feel that at least Teddy had a family member to love him, that he wouldn't go seventeen years without seeing his parents.
Harry was awoken from his reverie by the sound of Mrs. Weasley speaking. She was talking about how glad she was that Dora and Remus had some time together. There were many goodbyes, and then came Ginny. Ginny was close to tears as she thanked Dora for helping her through her teenage years, a female presence to a girl who had only brothers. Next was Harry.
"Hey Remus, hey Tonks. Remus, have fun with dad and Sirius, okay? And Tonks, be prepared. I'll look out for Teddy, don't worry. And I'll try to be a bit less reckless of a Godfather than Sirius was. Goodbye, you two." He said, smiling. He had already said most of what he needed to say to Remus. A warm feeling settled over his chest at saying goodbye.
After the funeral, the Weasleys, Harry, and Hermione headed to Hogsmeade. Somehow, they managed to find an empty table among the masses at the Three Broomsticks, and sat down. Mr. Weasley ordered two large bottles of firewhisky for them to share, and then the group descended into silence.
"Who's proceeding over the ceremony tonight?" Harry asked, breaking the silence. Mrs. Weasley looked up from fumbling with her handbag, obviously trying to speak lightly of the events.
"Minerva's doing most of the ceremony, and Professor Flitwick is helping out. There's going to be a repair of Dumbledore's grave, and then a new memorial dedicated. Kingsley's going to speak at this point, also." She said, and looked happy at the distraction of the firewhisky arriving.
"So we're going to Ernie's funeral tomorrow?" Hermione asked, pulling out her dayplanner. Harry was shocked at its reappearance; he hadn't seen it since before they set out on the mission.
"Yeah. Four in the afternoon. Chuck that thing in the fire, will you?" He said, and most of the table burst into laughter. Hermione quickly scribbled down the time before placing the planner back in her bag hastily, obviously trying to keep her dignity in the conversation.
Their laughter had attracted quite a bit of interest from the patrons of the pub, and they received many disapproving glances. Most, however, seemed confused. This was the group with the most to be sad about, wasn't it? Yet they were laughing merrily, apparently at the expense of the bushy brunette girl sitting at the far edge of the table.
Harry barely noticed any of this, and decided instead to continue enjoying himself. Taking the cork from the firewhisky bottle, he flicked it at the side of Ginny's head. It took her by surprise, and she made a motion of surprise before pulling out her wand, giving it a flick, and sending the stopper into a dead hit with Harry's head.
"No fair, no magic!" Ron said, taking the cork and flinging it at Hermione. The rest of the table watched in amusement as a game of girls versus boys cork-hockey ensued. All too soon, however, the pub began to empty, and Harry checked the watch Mrs. Weasley had given him for his seventeenth birthday. It was only thirty minutes until the ceremony, they needed to hurry up and get to their seats.
"Time to go." He said resignedly, picking up the firewhisky cork and tossing it in a wastebasket near the table. The others around the table stood up and filed between the tables of the pub, making their way out the door into the warm spring air. It was a lovely May evening, and Harry inhaled deeply.
Once at the gates of the grounds, Harry could see the masses sitting near the castle, and even more standing about. Making their way forward, Harry wondered whether or not they would even be able to see the ceremony from the distance that was seating at the moment.
Yet even as Harry led the group towards the first available row of chairs, Harry saw Hagrid coming towards them.
"Harry! Hermione! Ron! Ginny! All o' yeh! The Order an' fighters have seatin' in the fron'!" He said once in reach of them.
"Alright, Hagrid, lead the way." Mr. Weasley said, and everyone went up towards the front. Percy, however, started to hang back.
"Maybe I shouldn't sit with the Order…" He started, but Hagrid grabbed him by the back of his collar and pulled him foreword.
"Percy, yeh fought with us, nobody's gonna hold anythin' from before against yeh." He said, pushing Percy towards a seat in the second row. "Oh, 'n Harry, yeh get a special seat." He said, a smile twitching at his beard. Harry looked and saw a row of seats just behind the podium that had been set up.
"Hagrid, you can't mean…" he started, but already knew the answer.
"O' course I do! Yeh four sit there, an' when Neville an' Luna get here, they'll be with yeh too. We're honoring the Hogwarts resis'ance." He said, and Harry noticed quickly that there were name plaques on the seats. Harry's, as he had been afraid of, was in equal center to Neville. Harry and the others took their seats, and sat in silence until the ceremony started.
The ceremony was an increasingly somber occasion. Candles were lit and floated among the audience, casting a mournful glow on the attendees. Dumbledore's tomb was mended by professor McGonnagal with a wave of her wand. After the repairs of Dumbledore's grave, Professor McGonnagal called Lee Jordan up to the podium, where he gave a long description of the battle of Hogwarts. Harry noticed that it differed slightly from his description earlier that day on Potterwatch, but covered the same events and ideas. Then Lee went into a description of the early days of the war, and asked every member of the D.A. in the audience to please stand. The six sitting behind the podium stood, as well as several others in the audience. At this point Lee acknowledged the memories of Colin and Ernie as well.
To Harry's surprise, the audience broke into applause. The Order applauded as well, all for the D.A. Next to him, Ginny was glowing. Two seats down, Hermione had been reduced to tears at the thought that her brainchild had led to such success. On the opposite end, Ron was smiling on her left as well. Luna was barely acknowledging the cheers; instead she was looking into the sky. Directly to his right, Neville was positively beaming at the crowd.
This acknowledgement, however, was sad for Harry. He had lost two of his fighters, and it felt as though even more were lost. He also felt as though it was fake that he was up here sitting as a member of the Hogwarts resistance when he had been missing the for almost a year, away from the beloved castle.
From here, McGonnagal gave the podium over to Professor Flitwick. Flitwick informed the viewers of the plans to restore Hogwarts. This made Harry feel even worse, because he felt partially responsible for the damage done to the great fortress.
Finally, McGonnagal took the podium for herself. Slowly and surely she read the names of all the known deaths in the war, from Cedric Diggory to Firenze, who had died in the morning of his wound from the battle. When she was done, she and Professor Flitwick waved their wands in unison. Just in front of the podium rose the most beautiful monument Harry thought he had ever seen. A golden phoenix perched above a glowing purple glass orb. Looking closer, Harry saw the names of people scratched into the five-foot tall globe.
Finally, after the erection of the monument, the ceremony was over. Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione met up with the others and walked back to Hogsmeade, from where they apparated back to the Burrow for the night.
Over the next week, Harry attended several funerals. Ernie's, Colin's, Firenze's, and several others of people he had barely met before. Yet by the end of May, the steady tide of funeral services had tapered off. Harry started feeling that he could start enjoying himself, and stopped feeling so guilty every time he looked outside the window of the Burrow and saw Fred's grave. He was spending most of his time with Ginny, Ron, and Hermione. The four stuck together mainly, and Harry had little time to be alone with Ginny. This didn't bother him, though. He had time enough to deal with that, and he didn't think that she was completely recovered yet. Harry repeatedly caught her staring out the window towards Fred's grave, a blank look on her face. Harry would just give her a smile and a squeeze on the arm, however. She still needed her time to cope.