Disclaimer: Nope still not mine. *tear* One can still hope though.
'be' Celebration of Life Weasley Wizard Wheezes Style
Dinner in the Great hall was forgotten as all the Weasley's, Harry, and Hermione left and went to the common room. Harry called Kreacher for some food, but hardly anyone ate anything. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley sat on the couch, comforting each other after seeing their dead son's spirit. Bill, Fleur, Percy, and Charlie sat at a table munching on some sandwiches and talking about Fred in quiet tones. Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione all sat on a couch in silence. Ron had his eyes closed while Hermione ran her fingers through his hair soothingly. Harry and Ginny sat cuddling each other and both staring off into the distance.
George was standing on the other side of the room, staring out the window. For half an hour, no one said anything and the only sounds were that of the occasional sniffle from Mrs. Weasley or the munching of food from the table. Finally, George stepped forward and cleared his throat.
"I need to leave for a few hours. I need to get a few things ready. I should be back for the memorial tomorrow," he finished and turned to the door. Everyone shouted for him to stop, and he did.
"George, we can't just let you leave on your own right now. Today was an extremely difficult day for you. For all of us," Mr. Weasley said softly.
"Dad, I have to do this. It'll help me come to terms with…with it," George said quietly still not meeting anyone's gaze.
"Well, at least bring someone with you, please. It'll keep our minds from worrying too much. Please?" Mr. Weasley asked of his son. George looked around the room.
"Percy and Charlie. Will that be alright?" He looked to his brothers and they nodded. "We'll be back by about half past nine tomorrow. Come on." The three left the room together, leaving everyone else wondering what the broken twin was planning. Fleur yawned which started the yawning chain around the room.
"Bed-time everyone. We all have a big day tomorrow, and we'll be going back to the Burrow in the afternoon." Mrs. Weasley ushered everyone off to their beds, yawning all the way.
"Um, George? What are we going to be doing?" Percy asked quietly as the threesome walked to the gates. Charlie watched George's dark form ahead of him.
"We're getting some supplies for tomorrow's memorial. After we got back to the common room tonight, I took some time to think. I think tomorrow is going to be sappy and tearful. Fred wouldn't want that. So we're going to the shop and getting some supplies. Tomorrow isn't going to be a sad, soppy memorial to weep over the death and destruction, it's going to be a celebration of life, and the heroics of those who died. So, lots of fireworks, laughter, and pranks. No weeping or sappy sob stories. No one who died would have wanted that," George said while walking away from them. He was still not making eye contact with anyone, which worried them. They reached the gates and George said at them from over his shoulder, "Go to the shop," and disappeared on the spot. They looked at each other.
"I sure hope this means we'll have the same old George back soon," Charlie said.
"I don't think we'll ever have the same old George back, but hopefully, we'll have one that's nearly the same," Percy said quietly. Older brother looked at younger brother, and younger looked at the spot a short ways away that George disappeared from.
"You've changed a lot, Perce. I hope it's for the better." Charlie disappeared then. Percy looked up at the stars.
"I hope so, too," Then, he also disappeared.
~*~
Percy arrived to see the shop for the first time. Bright colors and sounds assaulted him from every direction. A weird, rotting smell was coming from a shelf near the side of the store. George was standing by the counter making a list with Charlie standing off to the side examining a shelf with utter revulsion etched into his features.
"I haven't been back here since about New Years'," George said without looking up from his parchment. "That's when they started suspecting us for Potterwatch and we had to go into hiding. It's obvious that someone has gone through the back room, and by the smell of this place some product has gone bad. I have a lot of work to do to get this place ready for re-opening. I'll probably be up all night cleaning and restocking. If you guys want to sleep, you can go upstairs to the apartment. I haven't been up there yet, but it was probably searched also." George looked at a book with numbers in it, checked a date and wrote next to it 04/May/97. Percy and Charlie looked at each other and nodded.
"It's okay, George; we're not tired. We can help you. Tell us what to do," Percy replied. George finally looked up at them.
"Are you guys sure? I'll probably be up all night." Percy and Charlie saw a glint in their younger brother's eyes they didn't recognize.
"Nope, we don't mind. We had too much sleep at the castle anyways, so we need something to do." Relief flooded George's eyes and it was then that they realized he didn't want to be left alone. This realization strengthened their resolve to stay with George all night if they had to. George promptly put them to work taking all the outdated product off the shelves and throwing them in the bin in the back alley while he checked the books and wrote in all the new products they shelved, everything they threw out, and made lists of all the stuff they needed to make fresh. They worked quietly for a couple hours before Charlie, sweating, asked for some music at least. George shrugged and said that the radio was upstairs and he'd be right back. Percy and Charlie kept working for ten minutes.
"Er, you think he's been gone long enough? We should go find him," Percy said to Charlie. The two went upstairs to find chaos: books had been ripped apart and thrown around the room, chairs had been slashed, and stuffing spewed onto the floor, mirrors and picture frames and plates and cups and anything else that was glass or breakable were shattered and cracked. Pictures had been ripped from albums and frames and torn in half. In the middle of the room George sat hunched over, cradling something in his arms, rocking back and forth, and staring at the destruction with his mouth agape and a blank look of horror on his face.
"George!" Percy and Charlie bolted for him and fell to their knees ignoring the glass that pierced them. The hugged George and told him it was okay, everything was fixable, they'd help him fix it all.
"Percy, we need to get him out of here. At least the destruction down there wasn't as personal. Come on help me lift him." They hoisted George by the armpits and wrapped him arms around their shoulders, never noticing the item that George had released on the ground in front of him. They marched down the stairs and walked George over to a sofa that was placed behind the counter for slow days.
"Percy, you stay with him, I'm going to take a look around upstairs, okay? I'll tidy it up a bit, and fix the things that are broken. I'll yell if I need you." In an undertone that he hoped George couldn't hear he added, "Try and get him to talk. About anything. He needs to talk." Charlie went upstairs and Percy say down next to his younger brother.
"So, er…George, I can't say I know how you feel because I don't, but I can't help you if you don't talk to me. What are you feeling? What are you fears? Are you feeling angry? Sad? Vengeful? In shock?" Percy went quiet to wait for an answer. He waited a long time.
"Numb," George whispered.
"Numb? What do you mean?" Percy asked, though he thought he knew the answer. He needed George to talk.
"I just…don't know how to feel. Before I was…overwhelmed by the grief and…scared about being alone for the rest of my life. But then I got to talk to his…to him. I got to say goodbye, and that I…that I loved him. Now, I don't know. He told me it wasn't my time. I just…don't know what to do anymore," George said, still staring blankly ahead. Percy blinked back tears; George didn't need that right now. He needed someone stronger than he was feeling, and since Percy was the only one around him at the moment, it was left to him. He sent a short Patronus message to Charlie telling him to get a bedroom cleaned first.
Percy thought long and hard about what he could say to his brother. He has always thought Fred and George to be nuisances, pesky little brothers brought into this world to annoy him. He truly did not know how to console his brother, mainly because the twins had never seemed to need anyone else but the other, so Percy had never felt the importance of getting closer to them. They had each other and he had…himself. He came to this realization that he had no friends among his siblings. Yes, they all loved each other, to a point, but to be friends with his brothers and sister were a complete anomaly to him. As he realized this, a part of him ached with longing to be as close to his siblings as the twins once had been, to always have a friend nearby, and he vowed to use this tragedy to his advantage and learn more about George and be there for him whenever he needed him no matter what. He looked down at his brother and the words started flowing.
"I can't tell you what to do, George, but I can give you ideas and my opinions." George looked up at him, blank eyes gleaming. "The first thing I think you should do is get some sleep. In the morning, you'll have a fresh start to a new day. It'll be a long day tomorrow, especially if we are going to turn it into a celebration. You'll need your wits about you. Two, after tomorrow, you'll live day by day until you've gotten past the grieving stage. It'll take a long time; you two were closer than anyone, but I assure you, you will get past this so that one day, you'll only remember the good times, which were plentiful. You'll be able to tell your kids about their Uncle Fred and how you two got into so much trouble. The swamp you placed in the school, the inventions you made, flying a car to Surry to get their Uncle Harry from his awful relatives...all of it. Your kids will know their Uncle Fred better than half of us who were his siblings. Then your kids will act like the two of you did in school and you will be the parent who acts disappointed in front of them, but secretly couldn't be prouder. You will live life for both you and Fred. See sights with your wife and kids, make new inventions to make a teacher's life hell, and…and Fred will be watching you, and laughing his arse off. He will always know what you are doing, and he will always laugh at your mistakes. And if your kids become Prefects or Head Boy or Girl, you know he'd be the first to act disappointed, but still be proud. I'm not going to tell you what he would have wanted, because you should already know that. Hell, he told you himself you two practically shared a brain. Now, lets get you upstairs and in bed. Charlie and I will work a little longer on getting everything cleaned up then we'll sleep too. Okay?" Percy stood up and George followed.
"Perce?" George started, Percy stopped and looked at him. "Who are you and what did you do with the real Percy?" Percy smiled.
"I'm right here, George. This is me. I just came to a realization, and figured out that I should have paid closer attention to you guys when we were kids. Maybe got in on some of your pranks instead of telling on you to mum. I was an adult before I was a kid, and I regret that now. I regret not being closer to you guys, Ron and Ginny too, when we were younger. I truly was a giant prat as a kid." George smiled a sad smile and nodded.
"Yeah you were. But being closer to us doesn't mean we would have let you prank with us. We didn't even let Ron and Ginny in on those." Percy smiled, glad to see George able to speak about Fred still. They turned to head upstairs again when George once again stopped him. Percy looked at George who had a faint smile on his lips.
"Thanks. I needed to hear that." Percy clapped George on the back as they walked back upstairs. The first thing that they noticed when they got up to the flat was that it looked much better with everything fixed and cleaned up. They walked down the hall calling out for Charlie. Charlie came out of the bathroom holding some dirty towels and looking less sweaty.
"I got your message to get the bedroom cleaned. It's ready for you George," Charlie and Percy left George to get ready for bed. They went to the living room. They were having a whispered conversation about what Percy told George while Charlie was cleaning, when George came back into the living room. They stopped talking when they noticed him.
"You guys don't have to stop talking just because I'm here. I just came out to get a bottle of water and some Dreamless Sleep Potion." He went to the kitchen and they followed.
"Why do you have Dreamless Sleep Potion?" asked Percy.
"Well, when it was getting close to the time when we had to go into hiding, Fred and I took turns keeping watch at night. We both had a hard time staying awake while the other was sleeping so we invented these little caffeine mint things. We were thinking of calling them InsomniMints. The problem we had though was that at first they gave you such a strong dose of caffeine that you had to counter it with the sleep potion. We tried about a hundred different recipes and nothing worked, the most memorable incident was when Fred took one and said he felt fine and then he had a burst of energy, that was normal, it lasted for about five minutes and he was working and getting things done, all of a sudden he fell off his stool and fell to the floor, in an extremely deep sleep. He slept for nearly twelve hours. He woke up and had another burst of energy and didn't realize that he had fallen asleep. It was pretty funny. We finally realized that the only good dose we could get right was when we also drank a sleep potion to counter the energy burst. We had about a four hour burst of energy, before we needed another mint. We made a recipe that included a Sleep potion in it, and it was perfect. All we had left to do was patent it. Then we had to go into hiding. I'm just glad that Fred remembered to grab all our notes." George took a long swig of water.
"We realized that the mint thing was probably the most dangerous product we've ever invented. Ask me why," he asked before he took another drink of water.
"Er, why?" chuckled Charlie. Percy was grinning, he could still see glimpses of the old George in his brother, and this made him positive that things would return to almost normal.
"Because with the early experiments it would give you so much energy you'd basically exhaust yourself to death," George said simply. The other two gawked at him.
"Yeah, you'd take it and run around all day like a chicken with it's head cut off, get so exhausted you'd literally fall into sleep, but you're body would keep up the work as if it was running a marathon. Your heart and such would literally beat itself to death. Muggles call it a heart attack. None of our other products could do that. Now that we have this perfected all we…" George stopped, realizing that he was speaking as if Fred were still there. "All I have to do is write up a warning for the label," he finished looking defeated. While he had been talking about the product he had the old George look, now he only looked sad and tired.
"I'm going to bed. See you in the morning. Remember, we need to wake up a little earlier since we didn't get anything ready tonight. Goodnight." George left them sitting at the table. The two of them looked at each other and sighed.
"I would love to be able to take some sleep potion but I think we both need to be alert tonight. Agree?" Charlie asked Percy who nodded. "Should we get some of the stuff ready tonight so we can sleep a little longer in the morning?" Percy nodded again. They got to work gathering every type of WWW fireworks they could find. They also gathered as many trick treats and sweets that weren't out of date yet. At about one in the morning they crashed in the living room, only staying awake long enough to set an alarm.
At Hogwarts the next morning, the remaining Weasleys, as well as Harry and Hermione, sat and ate breakfast wondering how the three at the shop were faring.
"I should go check on them. What if they forgot to set an alarm and they wake up late? What are they going to eat for breakfast? Arthur, I need to go wake them and make them breakfast." Mr. Weasley was having a hard time restraining his wife.
"Molly, dear, all three of them have lived on their own for a few years. You know that Charlie and Percy are responsible enough to take care of an alarm and breakfast. Well, at least we know Percy is. Sit down and enjoy this food, relax, the boys are okay on their own. Save your energy, you know how hard this day is going to be." He turned and ate a few kippers before listening to a conversation Hermione and Harry were having about Hermione's parents.
"Harry, I really need to go find them, soon. I just don't know how I'm going to do it. Australia has different laws and customs than England. It will probably take a few weeks. I'll need to find a new house for them to live in here since I sold our old house, and they'll need a new premises for their dentist office because I sold that too. We'll probably have to fly home the Muggle way because I don't know if a Portkey will work at that distance or with Muggles." Hermione was near panic mode.
"Actually, I can use my connections in the Ministry to get you a Long Distance Portkey to and from Australia if you'd like. And yes, Portkeys do work with Muggles if they are programmed that way," Mr. Weasley said to try and calm her down.
"And I can help you out with the money to get a house and premises."
"Oh, Harry you don't have to do that! And thank you Mr. Weasley, I would really appreciate that," Hermione beamed at him.
"It would be no trouble Hermione. I'd be glad to help." Mr. Weasley went back to talking to his wife.
"Hermione, I can help you with the money. You know I have enough, and I want to help." Harry was eating a sausage with mustard wrapped in a pancake.
"Okay, Harry: one, that's disgusting. Two, I can't accept that money, it was left to you from Sirius and your parents." Hermione turned away as he took a large enough bite to rival Ron. "Okay, you better chew that good, you don't want to choke," she added with a disgusted look.
"Aaah-igh," he said through his gigantic mouth of food.
"Ugh, you do know that you're turning into Ron, right? Don't answer that until you've swallowed," she retorted. He grinned and swallowed the hunk, and it made a visible blob on his neck as it went down. She made a disgusted noise and he laughed.
"I know how much that bugs you, and since Ron is still asleep I thought I'd make sure we didn't break our breakfast tradition of you being disgusted by our manly antics. You know I don't want that money. I'd rather work hard for my money than live off what others gave me. Let me help. Besides, I don't know if I'll be able to come with you. I may need to go find the Dursleys; I have no idea where they were taken. If you want, when you and your parents get back, your family can stay at Grimmauld Place with me until you're able to find a new home. And I insist you let me help you pay for it." Harry's argument was a little lacking but he could see Hermione's resolve slipping. "Please Hermione, it would make me feel better, I feel like it's my fault that you had to send them away. Let me help, please?" Harry gave her the sad puppy eyes and she laughed.
"Alright, Harry, I'll let you help, but I'm going to pay you back. I mean it." She giggled. Ginny showed up and sat next to Harry. She looked as though she could have used another few hours of sleep.
"You mean what?" she asked as she poured herself a strong cup of tea and piled a Weasley-sized plate of food in front of her.
"I offered to help her pay for a new house and business for her parents. She said she's going to pay me back for it. But what she doesn't know is I already have a plan for her re-payment," Harry smiled evilly. Both girls laughed at his face.
"And what would that be, Mr. Potter?" asked Hermione.
"You'll see. It's for me to know and for you to find out when you get back," Harry said in a snotty voice. Ginny laughed.
"You'll tell me right?" she asked with a mock pout.
"Of course I will, just not where she'll hear me," Harry laughed.
"Yay!" Ginny cheered and raised her hands above her head laughing. Her shout had drawn the attention of a few people, who merely turned their heads and smiled. The three all laughed.
"Okay, so I'm not going to find out till when?" Hermione asked.
"You'll see," Harry said vaguely. This was the cue for Ron to show his red head.
"Hullo," he mumbled pouring himself a strong cup of tea.
"Wow, that looks familiar. Where did I see that?" Harry looked thoughtful for a moment then snapped his fingers. "Ah yes, a few moments ago, when Ginny came down and did the same thing. Poured herself some tea and made a huge plate of food. You know, if anyone ever didn't believe you two were siblings, they'd have to be crazy," Harry stated while Hermione laughed. The two Weasley siblings frowned and sent a rude hand gesture to their counterparts, making sure their mother didn't see, which made Harry and Hermione laugh harder.
"How are you two so bloody perky in the morning?" Ron grumbled. The rest of breakfast was eaten quickly as everyone had much to do to get ready. The memorial would last well into the afternoon. Speeches were to be made, and a monument was to be revealed, then a large luncheon for everybody provided by the Hogwarts house elves.
But first, everyone was to spend the morning getting the castle ready. The Weasleys had volunteered their services to help ready the castle for the surge of guests it was getting. So they were spending the beginning of the day decorating the halls and setting up chairs and the stage along with a dozen other people.
George, Percy, and Charlie all showed up at a quarter after nine, but declined the request to help set up. They said it was because they had their own things to set up. Everyone noticed how tired the two older guys looked, yet George looked well rested and had the mischievous glint in his eyes. They wondered why that was but didn't say anything hoping that the glint they saw was there to stay and that the old George was back.
At ten o'clock everyone was seated in their spots and was ready for the Minister to start the show. Kingsley stood up and cleared his throat. All of a sudden fireworks were shooting off into the sky. Some spelled words like Heroes, Remember, and They Will Live On! Another more memorable one was a giant Dark Mark but it was captured in a cage made of lightning bolts. The rest were standard WWW fireworks. Harry saw the caged Dark Mark and laughed out loud. The crowd, after realizing they weren't being attacked, cheered and laughed at the sight before them. For a quarter of an hour they sat and watched the display. While everyone's eyes were skyward, George walked up to Kingsley and asked to speak first. Kingsley knew it was thanks to George for the wonderful display, so he agreed.
When everything had settled down, everyone looked forward to see George standing at the podium. Silence settled around the crowd.
"My name is George Weasley for those of you who don't know me. Five days ago I had a twin named Fred. We owned the shop the Weasley's Wizard Wheezes in Diagon Alley." At this remark many people, mostly school aged, cheered. "Thank you. Fred and I loved to play pranks and invent things. Most of those fireworks we just witnessed were from our shop." To this remark even more people cheered. "The reason I brought them here today was because Fred wouldn't have wanted this memorial to be a weep-athon. No, he would have wanted us to celebrate life." All the Weasleys smiled, it seemed that George was on the way to recovery.
"I know that many of the people who died in the battle five days ago would have wanted this also. So, I asked to speak first today so that I could remind everyone of that fact. And I ask you, today, when you speak of your loved ones and friends who have past on, remember them for their life and celebrate the fact that they died heroes. They wouldn't have wanted us to grieve for them, but to remember them and then move on and live. Not just day to day, but really live. My brother, Percy, sat me down last night and we talked. Well, actually it was more he talked and I listened, but he made some really good points. It'll be hard for a while, there's no doubt about that. It'll be a chore to get out of bed each morning and go about our daily business, but we'll do it because that's was they would have wanted of us. We'll go on, and one day have kids of our own or grandkids that we can tell stories to about our lost loved ones.
"So let's not cry and ask why, let's party and celebrate the lives that are still left to live. Thank you." George stepped down from the podium to a thunderous applause. It seemed that everyone in the crowd stood up and gave him a standing ovation. He smiled, then turned around and ran back to the podium.
"One last thing. I've brought more things than just the fireworks, so during the day we'll have sudden reminders to laugh. Enjoy the day!" George left the podium and sat down next to his mother who flung herself on him crying.
"Oh, Georgie, you were magnificent! I'm so happy that you're getting better," she wailed. He patted her back and discreetly rolled her off his shoulder onto his fathers. When he turned around Percy was hugging him.
"Thank you, George. I wasn't expecting you to use my advice like that," Percy said wiping his eyes.
"Don't worry about it Perce. It was great advice and I thought it should be shared." George patted him on the back. Everyone turned and listened to Kingsley's speech.
Kingsley stood back up and walked back to the podium. "Thank you Mr. Weasley for that inspiring show. I agree with you that the people who gave their lives to the war effort would not have wanted us to mourn them and waste part of our lives living in yesterday. They would have wanted us to move on and remember them with smiles on our faces and laughter in our hearts. So let me start off the day with a story.
"A few years ago I met the Weasley family. I remember sitting down at the table and eating dinner with them after a meeting for the Order of the Phoenix. There were several people at the table, eight of the nine Weasleys were there and several other order members also. As we all bit into our lasagna suddenly everyone's hair had turned the colors of the rainbow and stuck straight up. I will also add that it was very glittery." The crowd started laughing. "Mrs. Weasley was yelling up a storm at her twins and they just sat there smiling probably because her hair still looked like a rainbow. Later that night, as they were washing the dishes for their punishment, I ended up having a talk with them about their products. I learned that they were young inventors that had products that would rival most of Zonko's products. Over the next few months I helped them find a premises and a few workers to help them produce the products they invented. I will tell you now, though, my favorite of theirs is still the one that turned everyone's hair into a rainbow.
"Now back to business. In a month or two there will be an awards ceremony to honor the heroes of this war. During the ceremony everyone who fought will be awarded with a medal of some sort and a small monetary sum also." The crowd applauded and the Minister waited.
"I would like to spend a moment now talking about the bravery of the people who fought in the two wars. It takes a lot of courage and bravery to stand up to a group of tyrants who think they're better than you. I have spent the last fifteen years as an Auror and in the last few years with Voldemort rising back and his followers getting increasingly rowdy I have seen many regular people stand up and do what's right. So many people who defend the innocent until the more qualified trained people arrive. Not everyone who fought this war fought openly and explicitly spent their time dedicated to ending this war. Many people were everyday shop owners who rescued people off the street when it was under attack or even Quidditch or music celebrities who spent a certain amount of their money to the Auror training unit or the Order of the Phoenix. I want to thank everyone who blocked a spell aimed at an innocent or donated money to the effort, or maybe joined the Auror program to help fight. Everyone helped in their own way and I thank you for that.
"I will turn the podium over to Headmistress McGonagall now to talk about the school and the D.A. Thank you." As he stepped down McGonagall stepped up.
"Over the last few terms the school has been in control of the Death Eaters, and therefore, Voldemort. Now that I am Headmistress, I promise that I will do my best to bring this school back to what it was like before Voldemort got his fangs into it. No more Dark Arts classes, we will be going back to Defense Against the Dark Arts. Muggle Studies will no longer be a class to teach why we are better, but how Muggles live without magic. I hope to bring this school back to the way it was run before Albus Dumbledore died." The crowd was cheering once again, led by the students who lived under the Carrows' rules.
"Many of the students, this past year were tormented and ruthlessly punished by the Death Eaters who were running the school. The reason the other teachers and I did not stop them on a daily basis was because the only way we could protect the students in the long run was by being at the school, and if we had prevented most of the less harsher punishments we would have been fired and forced to leave the school. We worked against the Carrows and when we caught a student doing something they shouldn't have we punished them ourselves with lines during class or something similar. We knew that most of the things that were now legal to do in school were absurd.
"There were a few students who revolted against the Carrows and pulled a few pranks, my personal favorite being the Love Potion Hexagon." McGonagall glanced towards Ginny who was laughing quite hard, drawing stares from those around her. McGonagall smiled and continued.
"Two years ago, the school was being controlled by the Ministry, by a certain unnamed witch. A group was formed by a few students in their O.W.L. year to help each other study Defense Against the Dark Arts, which they were not learning under said witch's tutelage. Shortly after all groups, teams, and clubs were banned unless okay-ed by that witch. This group knew that they would never get the okay from her, so they continued secretly. This group was called the D.A., or Dumbledore's Army in secret. They studied hard all year long and near the end of the year were discovered and broken up. Since then, all the members have kept in touch and kept the notification device they used for new meetings. The hour or two before the final battle happened, many of them were notified by their devices that the DA needed them at the school. It was this group that arrived to help the Aurors and the Order of the Phoenix fight the last battle. Of this large group only one died that night: Colin Creevey, aged 16. Colin was reported to have evacuated with the rest of the students, but must have returned to help his friends.
"Today, I will be placing several new plaques in the trophy room. The first will be a Special Services to the School in Colin Creevey's name. Colin's name will be on this plaque for many years. He will be remembered for his bravery and great courage.
"The next plaque will be one with many names on it. It will name each and every D.A. member who fought in the battle. It will also be a Special Services to the School plaque.
"The next two will be for Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. The fought valiantly, and risked their own lives for the safety of their fellow students and the lives of their friends. I thank you two for your courage and selflessness. These two plaques will also be Special Service ones.
"The last two plaques will be awarded to Mr. Harry Potter. The first will be a Special Services to thank Mr. Potter for fighting and nearly losing his life to save everyone else. The second will be an Honorary Plaque that names him as the creator of the newest school club, the Defense Association, or the D.A. for short." She glanced over at Harry and his friends who were all shocked, and smiled. They had been told about the Special Services but not the club plaque. She smiled.
"I decided last night that I would allow this club to be official and last for as many years as there will be students to join. The D.A. was a group of people who were from different Houses who were able to put aside their differences and work together. This club created House unity that this school hasn't seen for many years, and I personally thought that it was worth keeping.
"Finally, I would like to announce that soon the Board of Governors will be getting back to me about whether they think the school should be opening in the fall and their opinions on the ideas I had for those students who missed their last year of school. It will be announced in the paper with in the next month. I would like to introduce now Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger as the next speakers." She stepped down and they all shook her hand as they walked past her. Harry leaned in to talk to her without being heard.
"Thank you for making the D.A. official; it means a lot to me," whispered Harry as he walked past the teacher. She smiled and nodded her reply. Ron and Hermione looked back to see where Harry was. He hurried up to get up front with them. They looked to him to start.
"Um, well, hello everyone. I'm Harry Potter, next to me is Ron Weasley, and this is Hermione Granger. We were asked to say a few words and then reveal the monument," he said as he turned to Hermione. She cleared her throat and stepped forward.
"Harry, Ron and I have spent most of our school age lives fighting the bad guys. We've seen school mates fall, and family members wounded or killed. It's changed our lives forever, but we wouldn't be the people we are today without the history we've had together. I remember the first time we met Colin Creevey. It was in our second year. He carried this camera with him everywhere and he insisted on taking pictures of Harry all the time. One time he even asked him to autograph it for him," she glanced over and saw that Ron was chuckling.
"Harry was mortified. He's never thought of himself as a hero and then here's this tiny little kid about ready to start a fan club. Well, after the years went by, Colin got used to being around Harry and realized that Harry was just one of the guys. But one of my favorite memories of Colin was when Harry yelled at him for trying to take pictures of him after he had all the bones removed from his arm by accident after a Bludger broke his arm, and Professor Lockhart messed up the charm to fix it. Despite Colin taking pictures at most of the worst times in Harry's life, he was always there for the good pictures, too. Most of our favorite photographs are by Colin. He will be missed by everyone who knew him." Hermione wiped away some tears as she stepped back. Harry looked out and saw Ginny smiling through her own tears. Ron stepped forward with a smile.
"In this war and the last one too, I have lost several family members. My mothers brothers, Fabian and Gideon Prewett, and my brother Fred were the closest related. Fred was…unique. Well, I don't know if that word describes just Fred, but he was an interesting person. I never met my uncles but I know that they were Aurors who fought in the first half of this war. I know my mum misses them and she's having a hard time with losing her son, too, but they all died as heroes, and that's what helps me get through the day. They wouldn't have wanted to sit on their backsides doing nothing; they were all they type of people that would have wanted to die fighting. And they did. Fabian and Gideon took several Death Eaters down with them and it took many more to bring them down. Fred died fighting and laughing, just the way he would have wanted. My brother George is right, we need to celebrate life and live life to its fullest. We should mourn our loved ones but remember who they were and celebrate that they lived their lives to the fullest and died as heroes." The crowd cheered and wiped their tears as Harry took his place. He took a deep breath and remembered why he was doing this.
"Like all of you I have lost loved ones in this war. Whether my parents, godfather, or friends, each death was a reason for me to go on. I've been told several times in the past that they sacrificed themselves so that I could live my life. And that is the advice I'm going to give to all of you. Our loved ones fought to the death so that we all could have a better, more peaceful life. Let's not let their sacrifice be in vain.
"We three were given the privilege to pull the curtain covering the monument today and make the request that everyone come up and read the names on it at some point during the day. The monument will be here for years to come so we will not forget the troubles we went through to truly earn our freedom." Harry, Ron, and Hermione all grabbed a corner and pulled. The curtain fell away and revealed a white marble, seven-foot tall obelisk with hundreds of names on them. The two sides had three lines going the entire length top to bottom; one for names, then that person's birth date, and death date. One side covered all the names from the first half of the war and the other side the second half of the war. The columns included both Magical and Muggle names and started with Tom Riddle Sr., Born-?, Died-June 1944. Following Tom Sr. was his parents Thomas and Mary Riddle. Farther along the line was Hepzibah Smith. As Harry read further he saw his parents. Near the end, he saw Fred, Colin, Remus and Tonks' names. He turned back to the crowd as Ron and Hermione walked back to their seats.
"Too many people died because one man was treated badly as a child. That child grew up alone and virtually friendless. That child grew up to be Tom Riddle, or Voldemort as we all knew him. Remember that man because when you forget him, you leave an opening for the next Dark wizard to rise. History has been known to repeat itself but that is only because history is forgotten as the years go by. There will be more Dark wizards in the future, and I hope that none are as bad as Voldemort. But if we all stick together and never forget our past, we will be able to fight them before we end up in the same situation where our Ministry is overcome and Hogwarts falls. Please, never forget what we have fought for. Thank you." Harry walked back to his place to thunderous applause. Ron and Hermione were smiling at him. Kingsley took his place at the podium one more time.
"Thank you Harry for those humbling words of advice. May they ring true for many years to help us avoid more tragedy. To everyone, I say, thank you for being here today. The Hogwarts house elves have prepared a great feast for us to eat," Kingsley waved his wand to the back of the crowd where a very long table materialized full of Hogwarts best food. "I would like to introduce a new, upcoming band named the Animagus Experience. They are Stripes, Vixen, Bambi, and Rocky. They will be playing some of their music for us while we eat and mingle. Please enjoy the music and food. Tell stories of your loved ones and most importantly laugh and smile and enjoy the day. Thank you!" The large group of people all applauded and stood up. Suddenly, more fireworks went off over the lake. For ten minutes people watched the display. Some got plates of food and sat on the edge of the lake some wandered towards the monument to find their loved ones names. Harry, Ron, and Hermione all gathered by the rest of the Weasleys.
"Ron, Harry, Hermione, you guys were great. Ron, I didn't know you were going to mention my brothers; they would have loved that. Thank you," Mrs. Weasley hugged her son extra hard then turned and hugged her honorary children too.
"George, mate, I love that one firework of the caged dark mark! That was brilliant!" Harry walked up to George, who smiled at the praise.
"Really Harry? I was a little worried you'd be angry. I only tweaked them this morning. We stopped at the Burrow for a few minutes to test it before coming here. Seriously, you like them?" George was beaming.
"Yeah, it was really clever." Harry replied. "What else do you have in store?"
"Ah, my good friend and benefactor, that is for me to know and you to find out," George winked and mouthed later to him when no one was looking. Harry chuckled and nodded.
"Okay, then, I'll just have to avoid the food for now," laughed Harry.
The group of older Weasley's moved towards the monument leaving the five younger people alone. Harry, Ginny, George, Ron, and Hermione all sat at a table conjured by Hermione and talked for a short while before Ginny and Ron decided they were hungry and would risk the food for now. Hermione got up and walked with them leaving Harry and George to save the table.
"So, my benefactor, would you like to know what else is in store?" George winked at him, which caused Harry to chuckle and nod.
"Well, there are a few dozen Canary Creams mixed into the Custard Creams. I also brought along some new inventions that haven't been able to be sold in the store yet. I have Penguin Pasties, Chihuahua Chips, and Catnip Cakes. My favorite one is the Ferret Fries dedicated to the ever-vigilant Mad-Eye Moody." Harry was laughing fairly hard now. "Oh, but wait there's more! Another newbie, Hiccup-puffs, little puffs of sugar that cause hiccups to last for hours." Harry was still chuckling when the other three came back to the table.
"Ron, I don't understand why you have a problem with it. I'll just go to Australia and after a few days, maybe a week or two, come back with my parents. It's not a big deal." Hermione was saying as she sat down. Her plate looked fairly clean of suspect food, mainly because she stayed with the healthier looking food. Ron and Ginny's plates however each had a new sweet invention that both Harry and George noticed, which caused both to laugh out loud.
"What's your guys' deal? What's so funny?" Ron asked as he bit into a Catnip Cake, which promptly turned him into a reddish-sand colored feline. The little kitty turned and looked at itself, flipped around jumped into George's lap and hissed loudly trying to scratch the laughing George. Harry was practically falling off his chair he was laughing so hard. While Hermione and Ginny were chuckling and nervously glancing at their food.
"Don't worry Ron, you'll turn back in a few minutes. Girls I'd like to introduce you to…Pumpkin, he's cute, and he's adorable. Pet him; he'll purr, I bet." George laughed and stood up quickly when Pumpkin/Ron scratched him across the arm. Pumpkin/Ron landed on the ground growling up at George. Hermione reached over and picked up her boyfriend the cat and placed him in her lap.
"Don't worry Ron, I'll take care you." She giggled and started scratching his chin. Pumpkin/Ron closed his eyes and began purring, which caused everyone to laugh. "So George, what else have you invented?" Hermione asked as she fed a piece of ham to the cat in her lap.
"Well, future sister-in-law, the answer to your question is an easy one, but I'd prefer to wait to answer it. I will tell you one thing though…" he leaned over and whispered in her ear. She glanced at her plate and said, "Thanks."
"What did you tell her?" Ginny asked warily looking at Hermione's plate and then her own.
"My dear sister, that is called a secret. Usually those are not shared." George winked at Hermione. Harry was sitting back watching this and noticed Ginny pick up a chip, and bring it to her mouth. Harry stifled a chuckle just as she put it in her mouth. She chewed and swallowed and with a quick pop turned into a chihuahua. Harry laughed and reached over to the little bronze colored pooch.
"Well, I think that's a record! Two in five minutes!" George laughed. The little dog growled at her brother and crouched ready to pounce. George noticed and stood back up. "I think I will visit mum and dad for a few minutes." Harry and Hermione laughed as the red-head ran from the tiny dog. Ginny gave up after a few meters and returned to the table. She sat at Harry's feet and whimpered so he would glance down from his conversation with Hermione. He reached down and picked up his girlfriend, who sat in his lap and whined. She glanced up into his eyes.
"Well, if this isn't the definition of puppy eyes, I don't know what is." He laughed. "Sorry, Gin. He told me that there was no way to reverse it, you have to just wait it out. Would you like some ham?" as he reached over and pulled a piece off Hermione's plate. The cat noticed and hissed at Harry's hand. The dog sat up and growled at the cat. Harry and Hermione grinned at each other and both pushed the animals off their laps at each other. The cat streaked off closely followed by the small dog. Harry and Hermione laughed for awhile.
"So, what did George tell you?" Harry asked as he reached over to her plate for another piece of ham.
"He told me that my plate was clean, which I'm guessing you knew already since there are two other plates here without owners and yet you pick off mine?" she said raising one eyebrow.
"Well," said Harry shoving more ham into his mouth, "Oood ee gessink iigh." She rolled her eyes and shook her head.
"I'm going to ignore the immature attitude you are displaying and continue this conversation in the hopes that you grow up. Do you think you could talk to Ron, he's insisting that I shouldn't go to get my parents without a guard," she asked him. He shoved more of her food into his mouth, chewed for a moment and replied.
"Oal allck oo im uh I ink at ee ants oo oh eif oo." Harry said spraying her with bits of food.
"Ugh, that is so gross Harry, at least Ron doesn't spray me! Now swallow and repeat what you just mumbled to me," she yelled at him as she wiped food off her face.
"I said, oal allck oo im uh I ink at ee ants oo oh eif oo," Harry said smugly. She looked at him and opened her mouth to retort but he beat her to it. "You told me to repeat myself," he chuckled.
"I meant repeat what you just said so that a human could understand you."
"Oh! Well why didn't you say so. I said, I'll talk to him but I think he wants to go with you. That better, Ms. Human?" Harry joked. Hermione huffed and crossed her arms.
"Do you really think he wants to come with me?" she asked him quietly, still staring somewhere else. Harry looked to where she was staring and noticed a small cat hiding under Mrs. Weasley's chair with a small red puppy sneaking up behind it quietly. The sight brought a wide grin to his face.
"Yes, he loves you and wants to be with you. The idea that you might be leaving by yourself to a foreign country looking for two people who can't remember you right after a war, well, it scares him. He's worried that you might be hurt and he won't know it's until too late. At least that's how I'd feel if it were Ginny. Hell, I don't want you going alone either," Harry said watching the puppy sneak up to the cat.
Suddenly the cat, still under the chair, turned back into Ron. Harry and Hermione heard the scream Mrs. Weasley let out from across the grounds and burst out laughing. The rest of the Weasleys surrounding Ron and his mother were having a hard time breathing they were laughing so hard. They watched as Ron took off running towards them. They noticed a small red blur running towards them in front of Ron. As they neared the dog jumped and landed in Harry's lap.
"Harry, give me the mutt. I'm going to throw it in the lake." Ron was red-faced and fuming. The dog looked up at Harry and whimpered.
"Sorry Ron, if I do that, she'll never forgive me. I prefer to leave my boogies in my nose, thank you," Harry laughed. Suddenly, he had a full-grown red-headed girl in his lap.
"Good answer Harry. Thanks for protecting me," she said as she reached up and pulled him into an intense kiss. Ron scoffed but sat down next to Hermione.
The group of teens sat and listened to the new band play for awhile before George came back over and sat back down with them.
"These guys are good," he said. They nodded but kept listening. After the song ended the lead singer, Bambi, announced that the band was taking a break.
Harry and company sat around talking for a while and laughing occasionally. They were interrupted when four young people walked up to their table.
"Hello! I'm Sarah, Sarah Thompson," said the tall, tanned, blonde, "And these guys are Liam Davidson, Isabella Hernandez, and Blake Sheraton. We saw you guys sitting here listening to our music and thought we'd introduce ourselves." As she introduced her band mates she pointed to each in turn.
"Well," Harry looked around at his friends and they all nodded to him. "I'm Harry, this is my girlfriend Ginny, her brother Ron, his girlfriend Hermione, and their brother George. It's nice to meet you, we really like your music." The group of five then turned into a group of nine, when Liam conjured up four more chairs and expanded their table to fit everyone, as it was already a tight squeeze. The group sat and talked for a short time while the band had their break. Harry sat next to Ginny on his left, and Isabella to his right. Next to her were George, then Liam and Sarah. After them were Hermione, then Ron then Blake. Everyone was having a fun time learning about their new friends.
"So, Isabella, I've noticed you each have different accents. How did you all meet each other?" Harry asked the new girl.
"Well, Blake and I have known each other for years. I lived in northern Spain all my young life. Blake's family has a vacation home near my childhood home. He would come spend the summer and we would have a great time wreaking havoc around Estaca de Bares and Porto do Barqueiro. As we got older, we got bored with running around the small towns on the Bares so we made a promise that when we were old enough, we'd move to London together. Well, as soon as we could we bought a flat in London and goofed around here. We noticed two other people from our flat in Diagon Alley one day and had coffee with the both of them. Not long after, we had a band. We also moved into a larger flat in Diagon Alley so we could all live together. One day, Liam whipped out a guitar and we…well, made a band. I play drums, Liam is Lead guitar, Blake is the bassist, and Sarah is the singer." Isabella went on for a while talking about gigs they've had and places they had played.
Meanwhile, across the table Blake, Ron and Hermione were having a conversation.
"So, Blake, where are you from?" Hermione asked. She poked Ron in the side since she noticed him looking oddly at Blake's hair.
"Er, well, I guess I'm from London. I mean, really I grew up all over the place. But I was born in London," he responded glancing at Ron who was gawking at his spiky, black and pink hair.
"Where else did you live?" Hermione asked.
"Well, my family has vacation homes in Spain, Italy, the USA, and Japan. Though I've never been to the one in Japan. The others are quite nice. My favorite is the one in Spain though. That's where I met Isabella," he replied again glancing at Ron.
"Are you and Isabella dating then?" Ron asked.
"What? Oh, Merlin no! She's like my sister," Blake started laughing nervously. Sarah had overheard this conversation and interrupted.
"He's not dating her, god no. No, Blake-y here is gay. He wouldn't touch a woman with a twenty foot broomstick." Sarah laughed as if she had made a joke and then turned back to her conversation with Liam and George. Leaving Ron, Hermione, Harry, Ginny, Blake, and Isabella gaping at her. Isabella jumped up from her seat and tried to lunge across the table at Sarah but was caught by Harry and George.
"Sarah! I can not believe you just did that! That was such a horrible thing to do! You know Blake doesn't like to tell people right away, you can be such a…such a bitch sometimes." Isabella ripped her arms away from the two guys and stormed away towards the stage leaving everyone in a stunned silence.
"Oh dear. Blake I'm so sorry! I completely forgot. You'll forgive me right? You know how my memory gets with a little Firewhiskey. I completely forgot about how you don't tell people that your gay right away. I'm sorry." Sarah was looking at Blake with big, sad eyes and whining. No one believed that she was truly sorry, maybe about causing a scene at a memorial service to war heroes, but not about spilling someone's secret. Blake stood up look Sarah in the eyes and said, "I'm going to find Izzy. We should be getting back on stage soon. It was nice meeting you all, sorry about all this." He walked away from the table leaving everyone in silence again.
"Liam, do you think they're mad at me?" Sarah whispered.
"Yes, I do, come on. Blake was right, we do need to get back on stage. It was nice meeting you guys, sorry about all this. Usually we don't fight, Sarah just made a mistake. Isabella can get very touchy about Blake's feelings getting hurt. She also doesn't like Sarah that much. Maybe we can all get together after this party sometime?" Liam smiled and grabbed Sarah around the waist and they stumbled back to the stage.
"Well, they seem like a fun group of people, right?" George chuckled.
The group spent the rest of the day listening to the music, eating, talking, and laughing. Very few tears were shed this day. Many people turned into birds, dogs, cats, and ferrets. Many more ended up with hiccups for an hour or more. Thanks to George's speech at the beginning of the day, everyone enjoyed the day and thought of their loved ones with smiles on their faces and laughter in their hearts.
As night fell, the group was still sitting at their table. All through the day people joined them and sat with them. Lee Jordan and Angelina Johnson were sitting next to George and the three were talking about all the pranks Fred and George played on Filch, Snape, and Madam Pince throughout the years. Everyone jumped when a loud boom echoed over the lake. People stood up and drew their wands readying for a fight when I giant, sparkling Lightning bolt lit up the sky over the lake beginning a fireworks show that lasted well into a half an hour long. The night was spent watching the bright WWW fireworks cover the sky, lying in the grass with loved ones.
Ginny was laying between Harry and George. As the fireworks ended, Ginny heard her brother whisper into the night, "Goodbye twin."
Shortly after the show was over, Mrs. Weasley showed up by the group and whisked them away back home to the Burrow. Mr. Weasley had renewed the wards around the property and cleaned up the place the night before. Everyone arrived home and went straight to their beds and went to sleep.
Harry awoke after only a few hours of sleep and decided to go to the kitchen for a glass of water. He stood at the kitchen sink, sipping the cool water and looking at the door. He could see a small amount of the sky outside, and decided it would be nice to look at the stars. He opened the door and sat on the steps next to the pile of Wellington boots. He sat and looked up at the stars and sliver of moon and thought of Remus. At least he no longer has to be afraid of the moon, he thought. He sat reminiscing for a while until he heard the snap of a twig. He jumped up and pulled his wand out looking for the source.
"Harry? Is that you?"
A/N: Oohh, I'm Evil! Cliffhangers are my faves! I thought this chapter was getting obscenely long, so I'm leaving it here! Lol.
A/N 2: So I am still alive. Working on getting the early chaps beta'd. I forgot to add this to the first a/n but did anyone notice that Colin Creevey was a Muggle-born wizard and technically shouldn't have been at Hogwarts when it was evacuated? According to the rules of the Corrupt Ministry, any muggle-born who couldn't prove they were in some way related to another witch or wizard had their wands taken and weren't allowed to do anymore magic. I was wondering if anyone else thought that this was a huge mistake? I hope you all enjoy my story! I love reviews! And I reply to all that aren't anonymous. Questions you may have will be answered, either in a PM or in an a/n. Thanks to my beta eclipsed heart!