Chapter 8: Battle Scars

A/N: Hello all. I had this done a while ago (surprising, I know) but there was a glitch-two actually. The first one is still happening, it doesn't let me browse and add a document successfully so I have to copy and paste. Second glitch: Back when there was only about 2000 words, when I clicked "submit document" there was over 12,000 words and it was mostly some kind of code. Anyway, you prolly don't care, but that's why this is kinda late.

Disclaimer: Really?

That's erm—very thoughtful of you, George."

George sucked in breath through his teeth. "Yep."

"Well, erm... Let's," Ron clapped his hands together, "do something other than awkwardly stand here."

Hermione walked out muttering, "Once again, no tact." under her breath. Everybody filed out and Molly made them tea.

"Hello, everyone," Mr. Weasley said cheerfully.

"Oh, Arthur. You missed it," Mrs. Weasley cried while hugging her husband.

"Missed what," he asked blankly.

"Harry turned into a baby," Ron supplied while Harry blushed. Arthur furrowed his brow and opened his mouth, before closing it multiple times.

"Harry somehow took a dose of De-Aging Potion," George winked, which went unnoticed by everyone except the matriarch of the Weasley family, "And he turned five," Ginny explained.

"Interesting," he said slowly.

"We taught him how to swim, and we went in the old tree house, and we went to the park, the village, and we chased Harry around the field," Hermione said.

"Seems like you lot had a very fun day." During this conversation, Harry sat in his chair ducking his head and blushing. Ginny noticed this and leaned over to give him a kiss on the cheek.

George went back to Lee Jordan's house, Mr and Mrs. Weasley had retired to their bedroom, and the others were in the sitting room.

"Oh, Harry, you were so cute as a baby," Hermione cooed. Harry growled.

"It's true, mate, you were really cute."

"So you just want me to do it again and just marvel at how I was?"

"About right," Ginny teased. Harry looked at her, she had a big grin on her face.

"Shut up, Gin," he shoved her shoulder. "And anyway, everyone's cute when they're five."

"But you were really, really, really, cute." Harry rolled his eyes.

"Bullshit," he drawled.

"Just admit it, Harry. You were cute."

"Fine. I was cute when I was five."

"You're cute now," Ginny poked his nose. Ron made a gagging noise. "Oh, honestly, Ron. You act like I haven't walked in on you and Hermione snogging." Now it was their turn to blush. "But do I say anything?—no—because I'm happy you two finally got together."

"What do you mean 'finally'," Hermione asked.

"Oh, really? The whole school—even the Slytherins—have been waiting on it. Fred and George made a betting pool-"

"And practically the whole school has participated-"

"Even some of the teachers," Harry finished.

"Is that so," Hermione pursed her lips.

"Yes, even Lavender-" Hermione huffed "-knew it-"

"Oh," Ron suddenly exclaimed. "Why don't we go see Lavender tomorrow?"

"Excellent idea, Ron."

"I wonder how she's doing," Ginny said.

"Probably not so great. Hermione had to curse Greyback off of her," said Harry.

"Do you think she's a werewolf now," Ron asked.

"No clue, she's either terribly injured or a werewolf-"

"Or both," Ginny added.

"Yes," Hermione nodded, "or both." She got up. "I'll go owl Parvati."

"I'll come with you," Ron said quickly. As they disappeared from sight, Harry and Ginny smirked.

"They'll just end up snogging, anyway," Ginny said.

"It probably won't even be written."

Dear Parvati,

Would it be okay if Ron, Harry, Ginny, and I came to visit Lavender? During the battle, we (excluding Ginny) saw her being attacked by Fenrir Greyback.

-The writing changed to Ron's untidy scrawl.-

Hermione cursed him off of her but we don't know how serious her injuries were and we'd just like to visit and see how she's doing.

Sincerely,

Ron and Hermione

Although they did end up snogging, the letter was written, and sent.

Parvati got back to them almost immediately.

Dear Ron and Hermione,

Yes, it is perfectly fine for you to come over. Lavender is doing... better, much better and she's very happy you lot hadn't forgotten about her. Anyway, she's in a wheelchair and very fragile—don't tell her I said that, by the way—so please be as gentle as you can. You can Floo or Apparate. To Floo, it's 'Patil Residence' and the coordinates to Apparate are 54:37:73.562N 394:67:45.626W (A/N: Okay listen. I legit looked up how to write coordinates, copied it down, and changed the numbers. I don't know if this is even possible, and if it is, I don't where it is. Look it up if you want.) You can come tomorrow round three.

Sincerely,

Parvati

Ron and Hermione came back down rather disheveled.

"We got a letter back from Parvati-" Hermione started.

"And she said we can come tomorrow at three," Ron finished.

"How are we getting there," Harry asked.

"Floo, I don't think we're experienced enough to do coordinates," Hermione explained.

When they arrived, Parvati was already there, tapping her foot impatiently.

"C'mon you lot, Padma's in there with Lav," she led them into the kitchen where Padma and Lavender were talking. Lavender was in a wheelchair and looked pale, she had more scars than Remus.

There were variations of, "Hi Lavender! How are you?"

"Oh, I'm better, thanks," she said gently. "Would any of you, maybe know who cursed Greyback off of me? I'd really like to thank them."

"Oh, that was Hermione," Ron said. Her eyes widened.

"Really? Oh, Hermione, come here!" She said, gesturing rapidly. Hermione walked over to her and Lavender hugged her tightly. "Thank you, thank you, thank you," she repeated. "I don't know where I would be without you. And especially since the whole sixth year thing, that's very great of you," she said this all quickly, still holding Hermione as tight as a boa constrictor.

"Really, Lavender, it's no problem. It was the right thing to do. You don't deserve to be brutally murdered because of the whole sixth year fiasco," Hermione said, awkwardly patting her on the back.

Meanwhile, Ron was blushing, and Harry and Ginny were sniggering quietly.

"How did that turn out," Lavender asked, eyeing Ron. The aforementioned walked over and kissed Hermione on the cheek. Lavender, Parvati, and Padma squealed.

"Really?! Merlin, finally," Parvati said.

"When did this," Padma said gesturing to Ron and Hermione, "happened."

"Erm-"

"-in the middle of the bloody battle," Harry cut in.

"How romantic," Lavender said sarcastically.

"I guess—George isn't carrying out the betting pool, then," Padma said.

"I would've won, though," Parvati said, trying to bring the sadness out of the air. "I guessed seventh year—it technically still counts, they would've been in seventh year."

Harry was having a nightmare. He dreamed of Death Eaters attacking the Burrow. Everyone was either injured severely or dead. He was the only one standing.

The Death Eaters were just beyond the Apparation point, some working diligently to tear down the wards, and others were shooting spells and curses at them.

The battled waged for a while, everyone was the ground except for Harry, Ginny, Molly, and Bill. A purple flame shot towards Bill, and he was too busy to stop it.

Harry, Ginny, and Molly were the only ones standing.

A red beam, was cast at Mrs. Weasley and she put up a shield just a tad too late. Molly hit the ground, unconscious.

Harry and Ginny were left, fighting tirelessly.

Grass was burnt, parts of the Burrow were scorched, and there were small fires strategically cast everywhere. They didn't know what to do, so they kept fighting

A curse shot towards them, and they both dropped to the ground. Harry rolled, but a spell flew at Ginny, dirt and grass obscuring her vision.

She didn't get up.

The nightmare was so realistic, Harry felt internal pain watching Ginny's lifeless body. He woke up screaming.

"Bloody hell," Ron mumbled. "Mate? Harry? Are you all right?" Ron rolled off of his bed, tangled in sheets, but got up quickly to check on Harry. The rest of the residents of the Burrow crowded into Ron's room.

Harry was breathing heavily, his shirt damp with sweat.

"Honey, are you okay," a concerned Ginny asked, running over to him.

"I just had a- a really bad nightmare," he said quickly, getting out of bed.

"Harry, what is it," Mr. Weasley asked. Harry ignored them, looked out a window, and walked down the steps. They followed and saw Harry peering out of a window. He saw the beginning of his dream in reality. His eyes widened and ran out the door, casting spells before he even crossed the threshold. The Weasleys, Hermione, and Nyla (A/N: Yes, she's back) followed him curiously with their wands out. There were about thirty Death Eaters. They immediately started the fight. Since they weren't able to cross the invisible barrier, there was a good amount of distance between them.

Spells were flying everywhere, it was a confusing battle. Harry did everything in his power to prevent the events of his nightmare play out.

No one was on the ground, which meant Harry was doing his job. There were around twenty Death Eaters left, and they were slowly dropping to the ground. Arthur and Molly were tiring, but still fighting diligently.

There were five Death Eaters left, Molly, Arthur, Percy, and George were on the ground, but still breathing.

There were three left now, the ones lying on the ground, forgotten. A large part of a wall started falling, Ron would be hit. Harry had to act fast. He cast a shield, and ran to push Ron out of the way. The wall fell on his legs, trapping half of his body. He yelled in pain. Ron rolled off the ground and ran to Harry.

"Harry, wha—why?"

"It's my hero-complex," he smiled weakly. Ron laughed. "And, mate, do me a favor: Stupefy me—so I don't have to suffer."

Harry woke up in a bright, white, and pristine room. He was in starch sheets. His legs felt somehow... constricted. He blinked slowly.

"He's awake!" Ginny whispered. Her hair made a curtain of red around his face.

"You gave us a right scare, mate. As soon as we revived you, you passed out," Ron explained.

"Oh, Harry," Hermione gushed. She hugged him tightly, but carefully. He hugged her back and then opened his arms to hug Ron.

"Could you two leave for a sec," Ginny asked. Ron and Hermione nodded and left. "Harry! You scared the hell out of me!"

"I'm sorry," he mumbled.

"What happed, before Ron Stunned you?"

"Erm... it's a bit foggy, but we were fighting Death Eaters at the Burrow... And I saw Ron about to get crushed by a piece of a wall so I pushed him out of the way and I guess it fell on my legs," he said.

"Merlin's beard, you're gonna give me a heart attack someday," she said before crushing her lips to his.

"Why do my ribs hurt?"

"Oh, shit, I forgot, sorry," she said quickly. "You cracked a rib and broke both legs,"

"Re-" The door opened.

"Hi, Mr. Potter. I'm Healer Payn-" Harry laughed out loud.

"Ow. No, no, sorry, continue—please—sir." Healer Payne chuckled.

"I know, Mr. Potter, I don't have a plausible name for a Healer. Anywho, it's nice to see that you are awake. The diagnosis: a cracked rib on your right side and both legs broken. Could you tell me how this happened?"

"Er, yeah. I was fighting Death Eaters and a piece of a wall was about to crush my friend so I pushed him out of the way and the wall fell on me."

"I've heard of your bravery, Mr. Potter, but never of your selflessness," the Healer complimented. Harry blushed.

"Sir, why do I have casts, when wizards usually just fix it magically," Harry asked.

"Ah, yes. Good question. Your legs have been broken before but healed improperly. I thought it best for them to heal the Muggle way.

Ron and Hermione while Healer Payn was instructing Harry.

"I'll make sure he does it, sir," Ginny smiled. Healer Payn winked and walked out.

"What do you have to do, Harry," Hermione asked.

"I have to take two of these, a dose of this, and another dose of this one daily, for a month," he said holding up a pill bottle, and two potions.

The Healer came in with a wheelchair, and Harry groaned.

Everyone was making sure Harry took his medication every day and took turns pushing him—although Ginny mostly did that. He didn't like the attention. Or having people take time out of their day to push him around. Ginny helped him get dressed and Ron helped him in and out of bed. The worse thing about it was that he couldn't fly.

Inevitably, Ginny saw the scar.

"What the bleeding hell, Harry," Ginny practically yelled. Harry cringed.

"I was gonna tell you someday," he muttered. Ginny took a calming breath.

"What's the black stuff around it," she asked and false-sweet voice.

"That's a story for a time where I want to be able to get away," Harry smiled nervously.

"No, you're going to bloody well tell me right now, Harry James Potter," she said threateningly.

"You're cute when you're mad," Harry said, sounding distracted.

"Harry, I swear to Merlin." Harry put his hands up, as if surrendering.

"I was one of Voldemort's Horcruxes," Harry whispered. Ginny's eyes widened, it would've been comical if it wasn't such a serious topic.

"Are you kidding me?!" Harry lightly shook his head. "Merlin's beard, Harry."

"Luna and I-"

"You told Luna and not me?" Harry's eyes darted around the room.

"Luna—Luna wouldn't freak out. And she has a different way of thinking—and I thought it would be best to tell her because she would give me good advice, I guess.

"Go on then," she said crossing her arms.

"Luna and I believe that the scar came from Voldemort using Avada Kedavra, like this one," he said pointing at the scar on his forehead. "And she thinks the blackness is from the part of his soul leaving my body." Ginny reached her head hand out. "Oh, and don't touch it. Luna did, and it shocked her. Said if felt like... the bite of the 'Flightless Gernuk'," he said trying to recall the memory.

"Well, shit."

"My thoughts exactly," Harry laughed.

"What do we do," she asked.

"I don't know, Gin. Luna says we should wait and see what happens," he shrugged.

"Hey, Harry," Ginny asked him one day, "what happened in that nightmare you had before we fought the Death Eaters?"

"Oh, I—er, basically had a dream about the fight before it happened. Except I was the only on standing."

"That's peculiar..."

The unconscious Death Eaters were taken into custody, and the dead ones had been identified and crossed off Harry and Kingsley's list of former Death Eaters.

Ginny pushed Harry up to her room where she helped him change, and then up to Ron's room. (Bill had charmed the steps so that they changed into a ramp every time Harry had to travel up and down.)

"G'night, Harry," Ginny said, kissing him softly.

"'Night, Gin."

They'd been dreading this day. The day Gringotts contacted them. Luckily, Harry had his casts taken off a couple days ago, but it still felt weird to walk. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny, went together.

Harry felt nostalgic walking up the staircase to those giant doors. Fortunately, Bill and Fluer were there. They, along with two other goblins led them to a room on the highest floor. None of them had ever been up there. It was a grand hallway, with a silver floor and gold-colored walls. The ceiling displayed two goblins fighting with swords, a wizard and goblin shaking hands—The Goblin Treaty of Hermione-knows-what, Harry presumed—and many other pictures of goblins making things, along with goblin-made things. They shuffled into the last door at the end of the hallway. It was dim, with rough stone walls, and a smooth stone ceiling and floor.

"The Head will be in shortly," a goblin said with a curt nod, and they left. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were waiting nervously, scared of what 'the Head' would do.

"Hello, Mr. Potter, Miss Granger, and Mr. and Miss Weasley," the goblin said politely.

"Hello, sir," they all said.

"Straight to the point: The dragon-"

"I know, sir, and we're really sorry, sir, we just needed to-" Hermione said quickly.

"Why did you do it?"

"We needed to escape, sir—we would've been sent to Voldemort."

"What was the item you stole," he asked. Harry's eyes darted between Ron, Ginny, and Hermione.

"It was a Horcrux, sir. An item essential to Voldemort's defeat."

"'Essential', you say?"

"Yes, without it, Voldemort wouldn't be dead."

"Well, I do thank you for defeating Voldemort, no charges have been pressed."

"Thank you, sir. I'd like to donate money to fixing the hole in the wall." The Head gave him a rare smile.

"Philanthropist," Hermione muttered quietly.

"Onto less pressing matters, you're of age. Now allowed to control the Potter Family Vault. Would you like to view it?"

"Yes, please, sir."

"Do you trust these three?"

"With my life," Harry answered. He led them out of his office and called, "Grimphorn!"

"Yes, sir," a goblin walked over immediately.

"Lead these four to the Potter Family Vault." A long walk and cart ride later, they were at the vault. The surprisingly kind goblin asked Harry to touch the door, being that only a Potter could open. The gold doors melted away, revealing a gigantic, round room filled with money, gold, jewelry, furniture, chests, and much more.

"Holy mother of God," Hermione whispered.

"Jesus Christ," Harry said in awe. Both Ginny and Ron looked confused.

"What's a 'jesus'," Ron asked. Both Harry and Hermione burst out laughing.

"Let's not get into that right now, sweetie," Hermione said.

"Spend as much time as you want, I'll be right outside. To get out, just touch the door again, Mr. Potter," the goblin said, and then he disappeared behind the door.

"Your family is bloody rich," Ginny said quietly.

"Nobody needs this much money," Harry replied. All four spread out, looking in different "corners" of the room. Harry looked at a chest, it was filled with documents and small, Muggle objects. Harry skimmed through most of the parchment, and concluded they were descriptions, pictures, and Portkeys to land the Potters owned. He was just about to close it when he saw a picture that looked eerily looked like the Burrow. He read the description, Devon; Ottery Saint Catchpole. The Potters owned the Burrow? The mortgage was at a Galleon. Harry realized the Potters and Weasleys must go way back. He wondered if he could lower it to a Knut.

Hermione found a jewelry box filled with beautiful rings, necklaces, bracelets, watches, and earrings. There were all types of jewels, ruby, emerald, diamond, sapphire, and so on.

Ron found a humongous armoire filled with attractive ball gowns, dresses, suits, tuxedos, and dress robes. They were all a variety of colors.

Ginny found a chest, charmed to be bigger on the inside than on the outside, filled with huge books and tomes about all kinds of stuff. She thought that Hermione should've gone this way. They regrouped to the center of the room, but Harry tripped over a large box on the way there. He crouched down to inspect what it was. He opened it and found a letter, he decided to read it first.

They realized Harry wasn't there yet, they saw him crouched over something. They got closer and saw he was reading a letter and had tears in his eyes.

"Maybe we should wait," Ginny whispered. They nodded in agreement.

Dear, Harry

If you're reading this, we're dead and you're seventeen.

-The writing changed-

We obviously didn't survive Voldemort's attack, but you did. Dumbledore said there was a chance you would survive. We're so proud of you, you've made it this far. We just want to apologize for not being there for you. Parents should never leave their children unless they have to. In this box, is everything from our house in Godric's Hollow, except the furniture. Everything small, basically. It has your clothes, your mum's jewelry box, and other stuff such as Potter heirlooms. In this room, we're guessing is the Potter Vault in Gringotts, is the Potter legacy. Everything is here, from the beginning of the Potter line to the present. In my jewelry box, there's our engagement rings, our wedding rings, and our promise rings. You are free to do what you want with them. We love you, Harry, and we wish we could be there for you.

Love,

Your mum and dad,

James and Lily Potter

Harry didn't cry, his throat just felt as though there was something stuck in it and he was having trouble breathing. His parents had written this, had touched this. Ginny kneeled down beside him. She didn't say anything, she just held his hand, offering silent comfort. He thrust the letter into her hands and got up. While Ginny read the letter, Harry hugged Ron, breathing raggedly into his shoulder while Hermione rubbed his back soothingly.

They brought the box from Godric's Hollow and the chest full of documents to the Head's office. It was rather easy, Grimphorn just snapped his long fingers and they vanished.

When they got to the Head's room, they sorted through both boxes. The Head watched them, smiling pleasantly. Harry got up, "Excuse me, sir," he said.

"Yes, Mr. Potter."

"Would I be able to lower the mortgage on this land to a Knut," he asked apprehensively.

"Of course, sir," the goblin replied. "Any land owned by the Potters is at your command."

"Neat, okay. I would like that to be put into action immediately if that were possible, sir."

"It has already been done, sir," the goblin said.

"Thank you, sir. I would also like to transfer money to every person who lives in the Burrow."

"How much?"

"How much money is in the Potter account?"

"123487083514284 Galleons, 6987325 Sickles, and 6982641097 Knuts," he answered promptly.

"Holy hell. Erm—ten thousand Galleons in Molly and Arthur Weasley's account, and five thousand in Bill, Charlie, Percy, George, and Ron Weasley's and Hermione Granger's." He snapped his fingers.

"It is done, sir."

"And one more thing, sir. I give Ginny Weasley full access to my vault." The Head handed Harry a key and he slipped it into his pocket.

"Thank you, sir."

They went back down to the Potter Vault for Harry to withdraw some money. There wasn't even a dent in the piles of money. He got a pouch, and swept coins into it. He kept the letter his parents wrote, and all of their rings. He planned to put their engagement and wedding ring—welded together by magic—on a chain, and do something else with the promise rings.

"You have made a friend in me, Mr. Potter. You are the kindest wizard I have ever met," the Head said sincerely, shaking Harry's hand. Harry nodded.

"Thank you for all your help, sir," Harry said.

"Anytime, Mr. Potter, anytime."

Soon enough, on an escapade to Diagon Alley, the Weasleys had found out what Harry had done. At first, they went to Molly and Arthur's so they could withdraw money, and saw it filled with thousands of Galleons. They all turned to Harry. He looked like a guilty puppy who had been caught.

"Surprise?" he said quietly.

"Harry, we can't accept this," Arthur Weasley said.

"I'm not taking it back," Harry said sternly, signaling that he wouldn't go back on his word. Mrs. Weasley sniffed and gave Harry a kiss on the cheek.

They went each of the Weasleys' vault to find and added amount of five thousand Galleons. The last stop was Hermione's vault, which also had an addition of five thousand Galleons. Hermione threw her arms around Harry's neck and muttered, "Philanthropist, I swear." He just grinned at her. Ginny felt left out, but she knew it was because she wasn't seventeen yet. As they were walking out of Gringotts, all smiling, Harry stopped.

"I've got something for you, Gin," he said, beaming at her. The others didn't notice and kept walking. He pulled a key out of his back pocket. Ginny put two and two together, smiled brightly, and flung her arms around his neck, kissing him until they both couldn't breathe. Harry had a dazed and goofy look on his face, and Ginny was just smiling when they looked at the rest of the Weasleys. Everyone except Ron and George, who looking at them in mock-disgust and chanting, "P.D.A!", were smiling at them.

With jingling pockets, and bright spirits, they headed off into Diagon Alley, shopping for all the essentials. They split up, making a meeting time and place for three o'clock in the Leaky Cauldron. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny went together, but split up eventually.

Harry and Ginny went into Muggle London, so he wouldn't be recognized—it was surprising that he already hadn't been—to buy new, much-needed clothes. They both finally had clothes that weren't hand-me-downs, and they bought enough to fill that gigantic armoire in the Potter Vault.

"Thanks, Harry," Ginny said, reaching up to give him a quick peck on the lips. "You're the best." Harry smiled down at her and nodded, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. They had also bought baseball caps and sunglasses in Muggle London, so they wouldn't be recognized when they went back.

The young couple stopped by Frank Fortescue's Ice Cream Shop—Harry was glad to see that he hadn't been killed. Harry ordered strawberry and peanut butter while Ginny ordered cookies 'n' cream.

Harry woke up one morning to see Ginny sneaking into his and Ron's room. He lowered his wand after he saw Ginny's familiar red hair, even though everything was blurry.

"Hey, Gin," he whispered, as to not wake up Ron.

"Hi, Harry."

"Wha'dd're you doin'," he said groggily. Ginny rolled her eyes. This man was so selfless, he forgot his own birthday. She climbed on top of him before answering.

"Happy birthday, Harry." He looked surprised for a moment.

"Oh—right." She tilted her head towards Ron. "Oh, yeah—right. Muffilato!"

"That's better," she said before kissing him soundly. It was a better repeat of last year's birthday present; no interruptions. There was no better feeling than kissing Ginny. They were in a heavenly stupor, nothing else in the world mattered. They broke away, breathing raggedly. Their hair was mussed, and their clothes disheveled. They were both flushed a faint pink with swollen lips.

"I love you," Harry said quietly.

"I know," Ginny gave him a huge smile.

"You cheeky sod," he chuckled. Ron rolled over, arm hanging off the side of his bed.

"I gotta go," she said, climbing off of him. The redhead gave him a kiss on the cheek and sauntered away.

Ron woke up a little later with a loud snort. "Happy birthday, mate," Ron said, voice cracking with sleep.

"Thanks, mate." Ron rolled over and squinted at Harry.

"Was Ginny in here," he asked suddenly.

"Yeah, why?" How did he know?

"You looked dazed," the Weasley said simply. Betrayal.

"She gave me a birt-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Don't wanna here it," Ron said waving his hand quickly. "She my sister for Merlin's sake."

"Then don't walk in with a goofy look on your face talking about Hermione," Harry replied bitterly.

"She's not y-"

"She's as good as."

"Deal," Ron held out his hand. Harry shook it,

"Deal."

A/N: Hey, there was a lot of plot in this chapter. The second longest, I think, too. It ended on kind of a cliffhanger, but not really, ya feel? You can tell me if you liked this chapter by reviewing!