A/N: this is the next chapter (well...duh...) Please please please review...I NEED REVIEWS! Trust me, I have amazing ideas for this brainchild, and I hope you are there to witness it!
That night, Mrs. Weasley expressed her frustration to her husband. "Damn that Harry James Potter! I thought we had taught him the best we could, him without parents and all, but now look what's happened. And our Hermione, who would have thought? Ooh, it just makes me so ANGRY!" Mr. Weasley just mumbled an "it'll be alright dear" to her and proceeded to let her pummel a pillow with frightening ferocity. He wasn't entirely sure what happened, but somehow, his wife ended up sobbing on the edge of the bed. "We've already lost Ginny, now we have to cope with this? And what's going to happen when the baby is born? Is Harry planning to take care of them? Will he be able to get a job? What about Hermione? How is she going to start a career with a baby in tow? It's just not fair!" Mr. Weasley scooted over and comforted his wife, but she pushed him away.
The next morning, Hermione woke up and felt very ill. She rushed to the washroom and emptied the contents of her stomach. Mrs. Weasley came up behind her and gently said, "You'll get used to it. It will go away after a few months." Hermione only nodded and bent over the loo again. Mrs. Weasley wandered into the kitchen to prepare breakfast. The post owl nearly missed her head as it zoomed in through and open window. Mrs. Weasley absently paid it, and shrieked when she saw the cover. There, smiling and waving, was a massive photo of Harry on the front page, under the headline, "The Chosen One?" Everyone came running into the kitchen to see what was amiss. Mrs. Weasley speechlessly showed the gathered family the Daily Prophet. "That's…me!" Harry said. "What am I doing on the front of the Daily Prophet?" Mrs. Weasley read the article out loud.
"Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, the Chosen One, whatever you know him as, has disappeared. Last May, he dropped out of Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry for so-called 'personal reasons' and has not been seen or heard from since. It is believed that he went after You-Know-Who, acting on the late Albus Dumbledore's instructions. However, we have not been able to confirm this, so it seems that Harry Potter has run away. We caught hold of Minerva McGonagall, Headmistress at Hogwarts, but she refused to divulge any information. A young man by the name of Cormac McLaggen told us that Potter had been having issues with Lucius Malfoy's son Draco, who also has not been seen for many months. If you have any information concerning Harry Potter, please contact the Ministry for Magic. Any information leading to the discovery of Potter's whereabouts will result in a reward of one hundred galleons." Mrs. Weasley finished the last sentence with a quivering voice. Everyone in the kitchen was silent. "What exactly, well, what exactly happened between you and You-Know-Who?"
"He's dead." Mr. Weasley inhaled sharply and Ms. Weasley and Ron quivered with fear. "I found the rest of the Horcruxes, and then I tracked him down. By the time he realized what was happening, I was nearly caught up with him. Then he came back here and murdered Ginny, I think to throw me off balance. It didn't really work; it only mad me angrier. I followed him to Siberia and duelled him. He tried to kill me obviously, but I beat him to it. I took his ashes, just to prove that he's really dead, and because it will remind of all the people who killed. I don't want them to be forgotten. He's dead, for real this time." Harry finished. Mr. Weasley cleared his throat.
"I think it's time we went to the Ministry for Magic. How long have been back for?"
"I got back two days ago, then Hermione arrived and we came here. I am exhausted. Killing Voldemort is no easy task." He said grimly. Mr. Weasley nodded. "All the same," he said. "It's time they know the truth. There's an entire world out there paralyzed with fear, Harry, waiting for you. They knew you could do it, and you have. You owe them the truth." Harry nodded respectfully and followed Mr. Weasley to the fireplace. "Now, take some Floo powder and follow me." Mr. Weasley turned to the fireplace, tossed in a pinch of Floo powder and said loudly and clearly, "Ministry for Magic". He stepped into the now green flames and disappeared. Harry followed him, and bade the rest of the people gathered in the kitchen farewell.
"Follow me closely, Harry. And keep your head down until we get to the Minister's office. Too bad you didn't grab your invisibility cloak, Harry. It would have been useful."
"But I did, Mr. Weasley. I've kept it in my pocket since Dumbledore died. It's proved dead useful there. Shall I put it on?" Harry looked towards Mr. Weasley. He nodded.
"Now, be quick and quiet." Mr. Weasley stepped out into the bustling hallway, full of wizards and witches making their way to work. It was rush hour in the fireplaces, and Mr. Weasley was glad that they had been able to come through so easily. He hated being made to wait in the fireplace, spinning around until there was one open. Thankfully, today was not on of those days. Good thing too, he had important business. He guided Harry along until they got to a desk with a young witch sitting behind it. "Good morning, Miss Clearwater. I'd like an appointment with the Minister, as quickly as possible if you don't mind." Harry suppressed a laugh. The secretary was Percy's old girlfriend.
"Mr. Scrimgeour is very busy right now. If you'll just sit down and wait…"
"It's got to do with Harry Potter."
"I see. Go right in." Mr. Weasley walked to a door nearby that had the name 'Rufus Scrimgeour' on it. Harry had never liked Scrimgeour, even less than he had liked Fudge, but there was no helping that now. Mr. Weasley waited and paused at the door. Harry took this as his cue to slip through. Mr. Weasley walked in after him.
"Good morning, Rufus."
"Good morning, Arthur. Penelope said you had some information about Harry Potter for me."
"Better than just information. Take your cloak off, Harry." Harry followed Mr. Weasley's instructions and took off his cloak.
"My lord! It's Harry Potter in the flesh! Where have you been Harry?" Rufus Scrimgeour said the last sentence in a rather stern voice that did not make Harry feel like talking to him. Still, he had to. As Mr. Weasley had said, it was his duty.
"Getting rid of Voldemort." As with most people who heard the name 'Voldemort' spoken out loud, Scrimgeour flinched.
"How did you manage to do that? You're absolutely sure he's gone? Positively? Amazing!" Scrimgeour called for a reporter. Harry had expected this, although he wasn't pleased. He told Scrimgeour the entire story, from start to finish, but not going into great detail about the Horcruxes. Still, when he mentioned them, Scrimgeour looked surprised. "Really? And he made seven of them?" He shuddered and asked Harry to continue. When the Minister finally said it was time to wrap it up, there were nine more wizards in Scrimgeour's office and it was nearly six in the evening. Harry was swaying on his feet, and he was ready to go home. "Thank you for coming Harry. We thought you had disappeared." Scrimgeour shook Harry's hand, and passed a bag over to Mr. Weasley. "Here's your reward. I daresay it's more than your day's wage, so don't worry about missing work today. You did the right thing Arthur." He shook Mr. Weasley's hand too, then sent them out. Mr. Weasley turned to Harry and asked, "Would you rather Apparate home, Harry? It would be faster." Harry nodded, then focussed his mind on the Burrow. He closed his eyes and stepped into that funny realm between here and there.
When he opened his eyes, he saw the kitchen in the Burrow. He loved this place; it has always felt like really having a family. "Harry! How did it go?" Hermione had been waiting anxiously for Harry since the moment he left that morning. Mrs. Weasley was pleased that Hermione liked Harry so much. It might work out, she thought to herself. Hermione got off her chair and walked over to Harry. Harry enveloped her in a hug and whispered to her.
"It was fine. I'm just tired now. My guess is that tomorrow's Daily Prophet will feature the Boy Who Lived and Who Has Now Killed You-Know-Who." He sighed and Hermione tried to comfort him. He stroked her hair to comfort himself. It soothed him, and he began to think of other things, like what life would be like without Hermione. Hermione thought of the same thing, except about Harry. It was then that they discovered that they wanted to be together always. Somehow, they decided without any words, and that was incredibly romantic in its own way. Mrs. Weasley cleared her throat. "Supper's on the table, dears!"
Supper was a pleasant affair, full of good talk and good people. Harry had quite recovered from his ordeal and went for a walk with Hermione after it was finished. Ron sat glooming in the kitchen. "What's wrong, Ron?" asked Fred (or George). They had shown up sometime during the afternoon and were planning on spending the night. "Why the long face?" asked George (or Fred).
"It's nothing, really… Well, it's just that Harry and Hermione have each other, but I've got no one." Ron said pathetically.
"You've got us!" quipped George. "Aren't we good enough? Come along Fred, let's go sulk ourselves!" George grabbed Fred's arm and began tugging him away. Fred just laughed and winked at Ron, who was laughing by now too. George turned around. "Everything will work out Ron. You'll find a soul mate one day."
"Even if she's ugly" muttered Fred, and George burst out laughing. Ron's ears turned red and he went up to his room.
A/N: Hope you liked it. Sorry if the POV changes annnoy you, but I think it makes it interesting to see what other people are thinking about. Think of it as third person omnicient AND first person AT THE SAME TIME! woo! exciting! Don't forget to review! Please and Thank You!
