The next morning, Harry wanted to do a few things at Hogwarts before he left for the Burrow. So after breakfast that morning and a lengthy round of goodbyes with everyone who was leaving, he asked Bill to come with him as he slipped out from the Great Hall under the Invisibility Cloak and led Bill towards the grounds.
"May I ask where we are going, and to do what?" whispered Bill with a grin on his face, as he was well aware of Harry's secretive tendencies.
"You remember me telling Voldemort about how I was the master of the Elder Wand? Well I don't want the wand, and I Dumbledore was its previous master. So we're going to put the wand back in the tomb, and I was hoping you could help me place some advanced wards around it so nobody can come breaking in again" came a reply from seeming nowhere, although it was Harry from under the cloak.
"Sure, I can do that. Only one question. Why don't you want to keep the wand?" asked Bill, with a trace of longing in his voice.
"If people found out that I have the Elder Wand, they'll try and kill me to get hold of it. This way, we can tell the people it's in a secure location and I won't have countless power hungry wizards trying to kill me again"
"Alright then, let's get cracking" said Bill once they had reached Dumbledore's tomb. He took out from his robe a torn and tattered notebook, while Harry took of the Invisibility Cloak and reached into his robes to pull out the Elder Wand and his own holly wand. With the holly, Harry cracked the tomb open, and the face of his wizened mentor came into view. Suppressing the surge of emotion that came welling through him, he placed the Elder Wand back where it belonged before resealing the tomb and applying the usual wards which he knew.
Thereafter, Bill got to work as he flipped several pages of his notebook and muttered incantations under his breath while walking around the tomb. It took him ten minutes to accomplish what was needed, before he closed the notebook and stuffed both that and his wand back into his robe before motioning to Harry to put on his Invisibility Cloak and follow him back to the grounds.
"I've put all the non- fatal wards and curses I knew of on the tomb, so I highly doubt anyone but a curse breaker will be able to get past those" said Bill, his tone all business-like.
"Thanks Bill. If you don't mind me asking, what was that notebook you kept referring to when you were placing the wards?" asked Harry.
"I've had that notebook since my fifth year at Hogwarts. That's when I decided I wanted to be a curse breaker. One of my friends gave me some muggle treasure finding books to read, and I was taken. Since then, I've been putting all I know into this book so I carry it around wherever I go" replied Bill, a reminiscent look on his face. "Now, do you mind if I ask you a question?"
"Sure. But before that, I wanted to thank you and Fleur for letting us stay at Shell Cottage and taking such good care of us. I know it must have been hard for you two, not knowing what was going on, but I hope now everything is much clearer" said Harry, now wondering what Bill wanted to ask him about.
"It was no problem. If you must know, Fleur rather liked having more people around and it really brought out her mothering instinct. We've been talking quite a bit about you these past few days, and she is extremely sorry about the way she treated you during the TriWizard Tournament. Now, she thinks you are extremely brave to have willingly given yourself up" said Bill with a pat on Harry's back. "Now back to my question. What are your intentions with my sister? You broke her heart once, and I don't think I want to see her like that again."
Harry was a little bit hesitant about what to say before he decided to go with the truth and said "I love Ginny with all my heart and promise to honour and protect her. I don't think I could bear breaking up with her again so I don't think your family has anything to worry about."
"That's good to hear, Harry. Personally, I don't thing Ginny could've chosen anyone better. And here me and my brothers were thinking we were going to take the mickey out of the guys Ginny brought home" said Bill, as they sat back down at the Gryffindor Table. Ginny had not come down for breakfast yet, and Harry was waiting for her as the next thing he needed to do was with her.
"Why can't you take the mickey out of me? I won't mind it all that much you know" said Harry with a smile on his face. To be honest, he wanted nothing more than for the Weasleys to accept him, and if this was needed to achieve it, he had no problem.
"How are we supposed to take the mickey out of the Chosen Saviour of All Wizardkind?" said George, who had overheard Bill and him talking. When he heard his new nickname, he let out a very audible groan, eliciting laughs from all those around him before an idea sprang to his mind.
"Well if you can't take the mickey out of me, at least make fun of Ron. What, ickle Ronnekins has got himself a bird you know. A bird with the name Hermione Granger" said Harry, a huge grin plastered across his face.
"That's brilliant Harry! So many opportunities will fall upon us to make fun of ickle Ronnekins" said George, an identical grin plastered across his face. "Any ideas?"
'I've got one, but we'll need Fleur" said Harry, looking at Bill.
"What role my wife plays in this elaborate scheme of yours, may I ask?" replied Bill. Although his face was serious, his tone betrayed the boyish childishness that harry had come to love about the Weasley men.
"You know how Fleur greets everyone with two kisses on the cheek?" Everyone nodded. "Well, last summer when she was staying here, Ron always tried to get those kisses and when he did, he went utterly red in the face and Hermione looked horrified. I hope you catch my drift" said Harry, a plan formulating.
"So you boys are planneeng to take ze, 'ow I say, mickey out of Ron" said a voice behind them. All of them turned their heads to see Fleur Weasley standing there in all her beauty, an amused expression on her face as she leaned in to kiss her husband. Harry was as red as any of the Weasleys hair, and seeing that Fleur laughed, which sounded almost like a tinker. She looked at him questioning and said "You seem to be ze mastermind of zis plot, 'Arry. I'm in"
"Uh well, brilliant then" Harry stuttered.
Now as Harry turned his head towards the entrance of the Great Hall, he could see Ron, Hermione and Ginny walking towards them. He said in an undertone to everyone assembled "Let's do it".
The three of them got to the table and were about to sit down when Harry and Fleur approached them. Harry immediately went to Ginny, and gave her a kiss while whispering "Watch Fleur". She looked at him questioningly, but with a reassuring nod, she did as told.
Fleur on the hand had walked up to Ron and Hermione and exclaimed "Ron! 'Ermione! Good morning!" before giving Ron a long hug and then leaning in to kiss him on botth cheeks. Ron had gone beetroot red by this time, and had an embarrassed yet happy look on his face when Fleur was done with her ministrations. Hermione on the other hand looked furious and was ready to start bickering with Ron when he leaned in to kiss her full on the lips, pulling her closer to him and in the process forcing Fleur to move away. Everyone had a good laugh about it, before they sat down for breakfast once Mr and Mrs Weasley had arrived with Charlie and Percy.
Once everyone was done with breakfast, Harry motioned for Ron, Hermione and Ginny to follow him out of the Great Hall as he once again slipped under his Invisibility Cloak while the other Weasleys were discussing about Fred's funeral. As Ginny grabbed his hand while the four of them walked out of the Great Hall, he explained to them how he intended to find the Half- Blood Prince's potions book.
"Don't you think it burned down in the fire?" asked Hermione, always the practical one.
"Maybe, but if there's a chance it can be found, it'll be a great way to remember Snape. Besides, I have a feeling Ron and I are going to be needing some help with our potions during Auror training" replied Harry. At that Ron nodded while Hermione just shook her head. Ginny on the other hand was sceptical, remembering how the book had made Harry use Sectumsepra on Malfoy.
"Don't worry, I won't be using Sectumsempra anytime soon. That reminds me, you know how we thought Snape was the one who cut off George's ear?" When everyone replied in the affirmative he continued "Turns out he was trying to curse a Death Eater behind George but missed while flying. He never meant to curse of George's ear."
As Harry said that, the four of them had reached the seventh floor corridor where the Room of Requirement was. Harry walked across it three times asking for the Room of Hidden things, and the door opened.
What they found inside the room surprised all of them, as there was no more fire, and all the things that had been burned were back there. The room looked exactly like how Harry had seen it when he came to hide the Half- Blood Prince's copy of Advanced Potion Making. Harry went to look for the book and found it exactly where he had left it more than a year ago. Grabbing it, he hastened to exit out of the room.
"Why the hurry, sweetie" asked Ginny, once again taking her hand in his.
"That place still gives me the creeps. We almost died in there, and Crabbed did die" replied Harry with a shudder.
"That's one of the reasons why I don't want to come back to Hogwarts. Too many bad memories" replied Ron looking around the castle as they walked back to the Great Hall ready to make their way to the Burrow. The Weasleys wanted to get over with Fred's as soon as possible, so they had decided to hold it that afternoon itself. Harry, Hermione and the rest of the Weasleys were taking a portkey to the Burrow after breakfast to get ready for Fred's funeral.
Once all the four of them got back to the Great Hall, Mr Weasley made a portkey and they all grabbed it. Harry felt the familiar hooking sensation behind his navel, and before he knew it the whole family had landed outside the Burrow. All of them went inside the kitchen to sit for a while, before Mr Weasley and Bill went outside to make the grave that was to hold Fred's body. George, throughout this whole experience was extremely quiet and was trying to hold back tears. Soon he excused himself to his room.
The next few hours were unlike any others the Burrow had ever seen. There were no explosions coming from the twin's room, and Mrs Weasley was not in her usual cooking stride. Thinking that she might need some help, Harry got up and asked her quietly "Mrs Weasley, do you need any help?" I could always ask Kreacher to come and cook for us."
"No, I'm fine Harry. It's just Fred…". With that she began to sob on Harry's shoulder and tears flowed down her cheeks rapidly. Not knowing what to do, Harry just hugged her as she sobbed and rubbed her back. Ginny, Ron and Hermione joined them and tried to console her.
Mrs Weasley was soon dry, and she smiled at all three of them before saying "Thanks. I needed to have a good cry. Now don't worry about me and get on with what you were doing." Harry suddenly remembered what Professor Dumbledore had said to him at 'King's Cross' so he told Mrs Weasley "Professor Dumbledore once told me to pity those who lived without love, not those who were dead. Just imagine how happy Fred must be, now that he has joined the original Marauders. My dad, Sirius, Lupin and Fred must be giving everyone hell" said Harry with a smile on his face.
This brought smiles back to everyone's face but they were surprised to hear George's voice from behind them saying "Thanks Harry. I think I know what I'm going to do. Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes is going to be the first shop open on Diagon Alley. It's what Fred would have wanted" replied George, a determined look on his face.
Ginny looked at her brother smiled then gave him a tight hug before saying "That's the spirit brother. And don't worry, we'll all help"
Soon, Mr Weasley's head poked out of the door, announcing that the coffin had arrived and the funeral was going to start. It was going to be a small service, just family and a few of the Order.
As Fred's body was lowered into the grave, George rushed forward and began to sob "Freddie, we were supposed to die together. How could you die before me?" Before he could get hysterical, Bill and Charlie were on either side of him offering words of comfort. A surprise attendee was Angelina Johnson, who had tears in her eyes as she got up from her seat to take the crying George into her arms. Once George was okay to speak, he got up and said "Fred would have loved this attention you know" This got a few laughs from the assembled. He continued "But he wouldn't have wanted us to cry. We always tried to make everyone laugh, even in the darkest of times. So I say to everyone here, instead of crying over Fred, let's all make more time to just joke around." As he finished, George dissolved into tears and his mother rushed to wrap her arms around him. The dirt was lowered into Fred's grave, and a headstone placed that said Gred Weasley before George got up and with the help of Lee Jordan, set off a brilliant display of fireworks that's had everything form a huge W to the words Moony, Padfoot, Prongs and Gred: Live Long.
When the display was over, everyone paraded back into the Weasley home for the excellent dinner that had been made by Mrs Weasley. Ginny had been crying into Harry's shoulder for the whole funeral, and as everybody discussed their favourite Fred pranks, it got a smile back on Ron's and Ginny's faces. Harry and Hermione caught each other's eyes and both of them smiled in the knowledge that maybe, just maybe this family could return to normal even after suffering such a great loss. As Harry and Ron headed up to the attic at night everyone was feeling much better thanks to George's constant jokes. They were looking to the rest of their lives, and as Ron told Harry a story about how Fred had almost made him make an Unbreakable Vow, he thought that things were already getting better. He had a loving family, a beautiful girlfriend, two of the best friends he could ever ask for, and a summer to spend doing whatever he wanted. Harry could not wait for the fun to begin.
A/N: This is probably the worst chapter I've written so far. I'm so sorry, but I just cannot put grief into words. So please review, and tell me how to improve this, so maybe I'll edit it sometime. Thanks!