Chapter 16 – A friendly drink

Standard disclaimer – don't own any of JK Rowling's works, nor am I profiting from them.

A/N: Sorry it took so long to develop this chapter, I am still not that satisfied with it, but I always knew this transition (which has a few more chapters to go) towards the next arc would be the most difficult. I appreciate all the follows and favorites, and I am especially grateful that very few bailed on the story during the hiatus. To the 16 new favorites and 23 follows, welcome!

Reviews let me know what you like, dislike, want addressed in the next chapter and so on, it is the best way for you to contribute and make the story partly yours.

A/N2: I edited a few items here and there that bothered me on a re-read. Plus I wanted to give a shout to Awakening5, whose reviews I look forward to with each chapter.

"He will always exist in some part of your mind, but he will fade over time. I should know, after the … Chamber, it took time, but I found something that helped to hold onto, a talisman if you will." She smiled distantly, as if recalling a memory.

"A talisman? What was it, something Bill gave you, your DA coin?" Harry's stuffy voice emerged from around Ginny's shoulder.

Ginny pulled slightly away from him as she poured all her love through her gaze as she locked her eyes into his green ones. "You, Harry, I held onto you. You protected me then, and when I was afraid, I looked to you." She curled herself under his chin and into his warmth and pulled him down onto her bed and waited until his breathing evened out and relaxed before she sent a message to Hermione to stay with Ron for the night.

Harry had waited until Ginny had fallen asleep to make his escape from the Burrow. He was not ready to talk more about Vernon with anyone and that had included Ginny, but she managed to insert herself in when he needed it most. He smiled wistfully at the thought. He wasn't ready for Molly's intense desire to treat him like he was a child that needed protecting, nor Hermione and Ron's questions about everything related to his treatment or being a Peverell.

It was unfair, and selfish to keep them out of the loop, but Harry needed space and time to deal with confronting his family and while Ginny kept him from doing something he would regret, he also needed to learn to live outside his friends. He wasn't sure when it would be safe to see them at all, especially being here now, in the unofficial Undersecretary's home. He had complete confidence in Arthur; it was just a potentially terrible position to have Harry here in his home. It would lead to some uncomfortable questions and Arthur and the Weasleys had always been very good to him. He felt a bit sheepish for leaving Ginny, but he would see her soon, on her birthday if things worked out right. But just as an apology, he left his Patronus there to ask her forgiveness.

Being here in Britain, he should visit George at the Cauldron and then Garrick, who now had time to finish the Black tome. It was time to see if the Ollivander name was truly gifted or just a reputation from years' past. It would be the last stop before he would return to Japan to see if Kenji was alright or saddled with madness.

Speaking of madness … The Shade Cloak should be finished by now and it was the excuse he needed to check up on George. If the Dursley's taught him anything it was that submerging your anger and grief wouldn't solve anything. He knew staying busy would only help for a short time to massage away the acute pain, eventually it would force itself to the surface, volcanic and roiling, demanding attention.

Ginny awoke to a pleasantly warm sensation against her cheek and lips. She smiled slightly in her sleep, Harry was rarely this affectionate this early in the morning, and with everything that happened yesterday, it was a welcome surprise.

"Harry …" she murmured as her eyes fluttered open and she reached over to pull him over to her. Her confusion mounted as she felt nothing and took a quick peek at his side of the bed. It seemed awfully bright and much too early for sunlight and she was about to tell Harry to stop practicing his new found magic, when she noticed that the warm sensation was a nose … which belonged to the bright snout of a stag Patronus. It had been nuzzling her as it watched over her. The screaming lasted only a few moments, the swearing a few moments more, but Ginny knew she had roused the entire Burrow.

The stag was different than she remembered, larger and more majestic, paralleling his magical growth. It nosed her again and spoke with Harry's voice, "Ginny, I am sorry I had to leave, I wanted to sort this all out first but I will see you soon, hopefully around your birthday." She glared at the Patronus, who stood there seemingly waiting. "Tell him it is ok, but he owes me a proper cuddle and not one with his bloody reindeer. Now go, everyone will be charging in here in a few moments." The stag snorted indignantly at being called a mere deer but nodded and shot off through her window as a mote of light.

She rose out of bed and winced when seeing Hermione's bed was still empty. She tried to banish whatever images came to mind, but it was pointless. She asked Hermione to stay away and Ginny knew what most likely was happening, and if she wasn't slightly jealous she would have been happy for her best friend. As it was, she allowed herself a little grin. It would certain keep Mum off my back for a while.

She decided to spend the afternoon revising for the upcoming term, last year with the Carrows, wasn't particularly conducive to progressing to her N.E.W.T.s. There was only a few weeks left before Hogwarts and she needed to be ready with her studies. Going back to the venerable school would be trying enough emotionally without the extra academic stress and Hermione would probably be in the same predicament with her academics too. I am sure there weren't a lot of studying opportunities learning ways to defeat Voldemort and on the run. She should invite Luna and Neville over as well; they could all use at least a bit of a refresher and friendship. Those thoughts were put on hold as Ron and a gloriously disheveled Hermione both burst into her room, wands at the ready.

"Ginny, what is it?" Ron's frenzied voice cut through her afternoon plans and made her wince at his volume and then at the lack of a shirt.

"It's nothing Ron, just a bad dream." Her response was flat and slightly hopeful. But that was crushed when Hermione eyed her suspiciously.

"You were cursing at a deer, if I could sort through all of that swearing. Harry's Patronus is a stag." Hermione's eyes finished the entire conversation while boring into Ginny's returned gaze.

"Oh, alright. It wasn't just a dream, it was a nightmare. About Harry when he came back to Hogwarts …"

She hated lying to her brother and best friend, but she wanted to hold some piece of Harry for herself. And it truly wasn't all a lie, she did have nightmares about the Forbidden forest, Harry dying, and her role in pushing him away. It was the main reason why she held onto those private moments between the two of them; they were new memories to hopefully repair some of the damage they had both inflicted on each other.

Instantly, Hermione's eyes lost her edge and she sat down on Ginny's small bed, absently plucking at a bit of the worn comforter.

"I am so sorry Ginny, I know it's not easy, especially when we all thought he would be here with us. He has given up so much already …"

"I know, Hermione, I just really needed to be alone last night. Just thinking about my birthday and going back to Hogwarts with what happened and not knowing about how he is doing is … impossible." She let out one of her more guarded fears and hoped that Hermione had the good sense not to delve into it now with her brother standing there.

Her bushy hair bounced knowingly as she wrapped her arm around the petite redhead. She nodded and mouthed, not here, and gave Ginny a firm squeeze which turned to a punishing clamp when Ginny mouthed back with a smirk, nice hair.

Ron watched the whole silent conversation and rolled his eyes. He wasn't stupid and his emotional range was at least a ladle by now, obviously Harry's Patronus was here and had scared his sister. He knew awful things had happened at Hogwarts last year; probably things that would make him want to punch through a wall but that wasn't what his sister needed now. He had already chosen anger over family once, and while that was goaded on by the locket, he would try his damndest to never let it happen again.

He cleared his throat louder than necessary, "Merlin, I am starving, what's for breakfast?" He laughed inside at his girlfriend's and sister's looks of exasperation. He smirked as he heard a "same old Ron" from his baby sister. Same Ron indeed.

Harry arrived at the Cauldron well past midnight fully expecting it to be empty, not to see both George and Kreacher hard at work. Harry raised an eyebrow at both of them and with a slight shake of the head settled near them. George looked like a man who hadn't slept well in a few days and judging by the concerned looks Kreacher gave him, Harry's assumption was probably right.

"Hello Harry, what brings you here to the Cauldron?" George's overly cheerful voice was the first clue that he was still not coping well. The haunted dead stare in the twin's face was still as present as ever and his color was pale and wasting. Gone was the George with wisecracks and effervescence, only to be replaced by this pale robot working day and night. Harry closed his eyes mournfully for a moment before responding by flicking his eyes over towards the cloak rack and eying the impossibly dark cloak.

"Ahh, checking up on your investment? It's ready if you want to use it. Kreacher if you will …" George pointed with a flourish of his hand and then went back to designing a secondary rune scheme, what Harry wanted it for was anyone's guess. As Kreacher led him to the cloak, Master and elf shared a knowing glance.

"Vernon?" Kreacher nodded in acknowledgement.

"Clean break as you asked Master, he remembers nothing of your … visit. His injuries are mostly healed, he believes he was in an auto accident. Unfortunately some injuries weren't healed entirely."

Harry's eyebrow rose in askance. "Nothing that would arouse outside suspicion, after all the car accident was quite a severe one", but the malice in his elf's eyes led him to believe that those unhealed injuries came well after Harry had left with Ginny.

Harry's line of questions died as he heard George's tired mutterings from across the room. The bench and table he slouched upon groaned under the strain of propping up the Weasley twin. It seemed the bench top itself was all that was keeping him from collapsing.

"How long has he been stuck like this?" Harry whispered quickly to his elf as they stalled for time, meandering around the cloak rack.

"I know you meant well, Master, but he is struggling to move on, this work is just putting it off." Kreacher replied hesitantly, fearing his Master's response. Harry sighed heavily, he gave George a crusade and he could think of nothing else. It was similar to how Harry felt his sixth year after Sirius died, he obsessed over Malfoy, trying to find any way to get even with the Death Eaters; that he was proven right only slightly excused his fanatical behavior. And now he put George on that same path, and he knew he had to fix his mistake, before it was too late.

"Thank you, Kreacher, for watching out for him." Harry remarked as he pulled the cloak from the stand and watched as the cloak melted into the shadows it created. He smiled at their handiwork; it really did exceed all of his expectations. It was like walking instant darkness powder. "Master, George has had a few visitors at the regular store, a Miss Angelina Johnson, in particular has been volunteering her time to help. She didn't seem too interested in the Wheezes' stock…" His elf's implications sounded clearly in Harry's mind and a plan to return George Weasley to the living began to take root. Harry smirked, Angelina Johnson who would have thought. He knew she was with Fred for a time at Hogwarts, but they had parted ways rather amicably …

As they walked back to George, the redhead asked into the air as he stared at the bizarre rune scheme, "Just what are you playing at here, Harry? I can't even understand what these runes mean together; it's rubbish."

Harry flashed his rakish smile, "It is a dampening rune scheme, something that will in theory neutralize magic in an area. The reason it looks like rubbish is because it is, it interferes with magic on a basic level, much like how electronics fail in the magical world." George's eyebrows rose. "Are you trying to make Muggles of us all?"

Harry shook his head, "it has limited uses for us here, I admit, but it's the application of the theory that I want to see in action. But it's something that can wait for later." He gestured to George, "We're getting out of here. You need some air and a few of Ogden's finest and I need to talk shop as an investor. Kreacher, that thing we talked about earlier, I'll need to have it ready at the Leaky Cauldron. I'll see you later."

George's frowning face showed Harry exactly how far he had fallen. The old George would have jumped at the chance to throw a few back and have a good time, but to this new George, it was merely an annoyance, just another chance to feel the pain of only having half of yourself instead of drowning in work.

"We need to talk George, about a lot of things, we're going to the Leaky, my treat." Harry grabbed his arm in a tight undeniable grip and began walking him to the door leading back to the store.

George's eyes narrowed as he looked like he was about to object, but if Harry was buying then he was going to get pissed. There was no better way to forget than firewhiskey, and now that he had completed the major task of the cloak, there was no reason to have to feel anything tonight or if he got really pissed, tomorrow either. He relented and nodded slightly.

"Not to make a deal about it, but you are slightly famous and while I don't mind being attacked by admirers …"

Harry grinned at the momentary return of the Weasley humor, he pulled Dumbledore's ring and slipped it on. "I am simply an interested investor in your store and we are going to the Leaky for a drink to discuss terms."

They settled into a large booth that Harry's galleons had afforded on short notice. Harry's blond hair and electric blue eyes were very distinctive, but completely different than the Chosen One's. He relaxed slightly; he was here with a friend and a tremendous disguise, on first glance he may have even passed as a Malfoy. George needed to talk, to yell, to open up those terrible wounds to start them healing, but that wouldn't happen without a bit of liquid encouragement, the mere mention of Fred's name around George was still taboo.

He slid two bubbling shots of Ogden's finest towards the redhead and gathered his own two glasses. He motioned to Tom and Hannah to run up a tab, brandishing a black note from Gringotts. Their wide eyes told Harry that they understood the situation and the amount of money that was about to join their coffers. Harry and George stared at the drinks and George raised his, "To the Chosen One."

Harry scoffed and raised his in salute, "To Fred." His green eyes were staring into George's, never wavering as the words hung heavy in the air. Harry's courage almost failed him when he saw George's murderous glare but he waited and breathed again when he heard a gentle clink of the shot glasses and a murmured, "To Fred."

George's eyes were filling with tears and Harry's reprieve came in the form of slugging back his shot and quickly following it with the other. What started as a giving a bloke some emotional space turned into a wheezing burning hiss that erupted deep from within Harry's chest. Mercifully he regained control after the third cinnamon flavored cough.

"You alright, mate?" George's mocking voice carried through the burning spiciness in the back of his throat. Harry's eyes watered and he grunted. Mocking is good. The Weasley's voice dropped to an incredulous whisper, "You can absorb Fiendfyre, but Ogden's is too much?"

"I didn't drink the bloody Fiendfyre, though, did I? And I had my two already." Harry's voice was hoarse, but held a smile inside. George continued on, "Yeah, well maybe I don't want to sound like a Skrewt in heat." He smiled slightly and then refocused back to Harry. "Can't you change into something else, I feel like I am drinking with that ponce Lucius."

"Good, then no one will know that I am here." Harry already felt the quick rush of the firewhiskey and felt a jolt of panic. Getting drunk and losing control of himself here in the Leaky, so close to the Ministry would be asinine. He signaled for some cold Butterbeers despite the teasing Weasley.

"Called it quits so soon? I thought you were the Chosen One?" George was starting to feel the effects of the drink and settled into the soft oblivion but there was something different this time, this time he wasn't by himself, wasn't talking to … Fred.

"So, Angelina?" Harry's abrupt change of topic had the Weasley coughing back the sweet brew. "You alright, mate?" Harry's mocking grin mirrored George's own just a few minutes ago. "Kreacher tells me she's been around the store …"

George held up a hand, "She doesn't know about the Cauldron. I keep her well away from it."

"I didn't mean that, I meant she's been helping out, volunteering? Are you sure that's all she is doing?" Harry's teasing brought a slight tweaking of the twin's eye and a faint reddening around his face.

George polished off the rest of his firewhiskey and drank another quickly as if steadying himself, but blew out a heavy breath and muttered, "I know you are just taking the piss, but with Angelina it's …"

"Complicated? I know, right. She's pretty, very sweet, great at Quidditch, is helping for free at a store where only you work …"

"Damn it Harry!" They both winced and shot furtive glances around the Leaky. It wouldn't take a genius to figure out which Harry a Weasley would be out with. Luckily, only Tom and Hannah seemed to notice anything at all, and only because Harry's open account made them the highest priority customers, but he still saw Hannah give him a few extra looks.

"Shit, sorry mate." George's eyes glazed over as he took a pull from his bottle. "You sounded just like …"

"Fred?"

He nodded numbly and he stared off somewhere far away. "Ever since … the Battle, she's been coming around, trying to help. But she and Fred were so close."

"But George, Fred's not here, and yet she is still trying to help, to be with you and be around you and not just to talk about him." Harry spoke as gently as he could about Fred's absence, but he needed George to understand that people could see him for just himself, not as a matching set, including Angelina.

George flagged down Hannah for more firewhiskey and Harry declined, which raised his partner's eyebrows. Those same brows reached higher still when Harry requested three more cold Butterbeers.

"Look, I am rather fond of the Leaky, and I would rather not burn it down by losing control over some firewhiskey … besides I need to at least be presentable for a client we are meeting here." George's brow furrowed as he tried to remember when they had set up a meeting and began to catch on when staring at the third Butterbeer. "Who …"

"And here she is now!" Harry's voice couldn't hide the relief he felt as he noticed the smiling, friendly face of Angelina enter the Leaky. As he stood to signal her and motion her to the table, her genuinely happy albeit surprised face at seeing George almost deflected the searing heat of George's intense, certainly angry stare from his back. Almost.

It was a cruel thing to do to George, but honestly Harry thought it was a pretty ingenuous idea. George needed help at the shop, needed something to take his mind off of creating items for Harry, and needed someone who could help him move forward, even platonically. But given what Kreacher said, Angelina was more than just interested in helping inventory stock. She was interested in George, that much was obvious, and if George would just stop glaring his best impersonation of Snape at him, he might notice as well.

"Angelina Johnson, is it? I am James Evans, a silent investor in Weasley's Wheezes. I've heard some encouraging things from your stints here in helping George organize the shop."

He knew George's retribution would be swift and possibly painful, but he wasn't prepared for what happened over an hour later. He, George, and Angelina were discussing her taking a permanent paying role at the Wheezes. It was more Harry and Angelina were discussing terms of employment, while George kept gritting his teeth and suddenly his face relaxed and he excused himself to the bathroom. When he returned, the look of smug satisfaction was plastered to his face and Harry knew it was only a matter of time.

Twenty minutes later, the distinct pops of multiple Apparitions echoed from the far corner of the pub. When Harry saw the first face, he groaned aloud. It was going to be excruciatingly uncomfortable and so, so expensive tonight.

George flagged down two redheads, his brothers, Percy and Charlie. As other members of the Weasley family descended to their table, Tom looked to Harry's direction and at the Potter's nod, began racking up a dozen shots of Ogden's finest. His blond hair stood in stark contrast to the sea of red now engulfing him with only Hermione's bushy brown hair as his only buoy in all this madness. She and Ron must have brought all of Gryffindor tower with them. Harry's heart leapt into his mouth as Ginny entered followed by Luna and now the booth, while large was stifling. Tom understood Harry's pleading look and began to shuttle customers around to make room.

George would have none of it. "Tom bring them over. I hired a new employee for the Wheezes, and my silent partner here has decided to celebrate." George glanced at Harry with a daring smile, "He is rather new here to London, and I invited you all here share a story and a drink or two. The drinks are on the house!" With a wink to Tom who glanced surreptitiously to Harry, who merely nodded.

It wasn't the cost that was the payback, it was going to be listening to people castigate or praise him, in his presence, with George watching, driving them on. And Ginny, she was here and she hadn't heard a lot of the stories that Ron or Hermione would tell. Merlin this was going to be painful.

He listened intently at the banter, which rose steadily paralleling the amount of Ogden's tossed back, until they reached his fourth year. The year when Hogwarts ceased being fun and adventurous and became a place where people died and were lost forever. As he retreated from the chatter and drifted back into his own mind, he didn't hear the rustle of robes as his closest friends were gathered around him for what seemed the coup de grace.

"A toast, to Harry Potter, the reason the Wheezes were able to take off and fly and the reason we are all able to be here today. To Harry!" George's toast was heartfelt, but Harry's heart clenched when he felt that not all the Weasleys that should be here were.

"To Harry!" The loud refrain masked Harry's whispered toast but George heard it, "To Fred."

George nodded quickly to Harry with a bittersweet smile, settled in and brought Ginny over to sit next to Harry. "Ginny, we never told you the whole story last year of how we delivered Harry from his relatives…" George would never refer to the Dursleys as Harry's family. Ever. Not after what he saw of Harry's back.

Harry didn't have to wait long for the punchline. "… and being Polyjuiced, I had a bit of a go with his person." Hermione took in a sharp breath, looking scandalized. "It's no wonder he is the youngest Seeker in over a century, I mean, from what I saw, riding a broom isn't exactly difficult, not like it is for us … bigger Weasleys …" George's knowing glance and laugh was directed first at Charlie, who roared in laughter, and then right towards Harry.

It was all Harry could do to keep from dying of embarrassment there on the spot, with all of his closest friends there, tears rolling down their faces, and of course Ginny had a front row seat to the show. Hermione and Ron seemed to be lost in thought, and now Harry did flush, as he realized they were also trying to recall that night and remember that they too were Polyjuiced. As he began to slump down in his seat, he heard something that made him consider shifting away immediately, present company be damned.

"That's not what Ginny says." Luna's remark brought a thunderous silence to the entire table as all eyes became transfixed on the youngest Weasley. Percy and Charlie's disbelieving eyes would not hold their tongues for long. All eyes bored holes into the humiliated blushing witch except for one pair, and George's eyes were trained directly into Harry's face, whom refused to meet any gaze, flashing dangerously.

Her explanation would sound ridiculous, even to her, and she wouldn't dare reveal anything about Harry's condition in such mixed company. Harry's privacy meant a lot to Ginny and she would never betray that merely to keep herself from embarrassment. Only one thing was certain, Luna was going to die a painful death, if not now, then when they got back to Hogwarts. She was luckily saved from excusing the remark or murdering her friend when she heard a familiar Irish accent carry through the awkward silence.

"Hey Ginny, Neville! Are we too late to push the tab further?" Seamus and Dean flopped down into their own seats, looking a bit worse for wear, with Dean sliding very close to Ginny. "We just finished up a pub crawl down the Alley and finally fumbled out that blasted coin and it said there was a happening here at the Leaky! Damn thing nearly burned my bits." Neville laughed too loudly to break the tension and his ears pinked at the loud echo to which Harry added a small laugh. I certainly missed Neville last year.

Seamus' ramblings went unnoticed by Ginny as she felt Dean sitting much closer than was necessary, even considering the cramped quarters of the large booth as his arm strayed to rest behind her almost reaching that blonde investor. Her eyes narrowed when she felt the spicy scent of firewhiskey already on his breath and noticed that his eyes were fixed on her and then shamelessly roamed her body.

"Dean, how much have you had already?" She knew that look from Dean and she didn't want to see it from him again; she was hoping the quick admonishment would snap him out of what was surely a bad idea.

"Thinking of taking advantage of me, Red?" Dean's smooth reply and smug smile rippled uncomfortably through the booth especially amongst the other Weasleys, but George was watching Harry and saw how his idea of embarrassing Harry was turning dangerous, really dangerous, if Harry's iron grip on the table edge was any indication. Harry's ominous warning of losing control strangled George's voice and muted his normally glib tongue to tell Dean to shut the hell up before something terrible happened.

"No, you bloody arse, I don't fancy any of us having to carry you out of here." Ginny's cold reply struck a nerve with her ex-boyfriend. Her glare alone would have been enough to shut him down normally had Dean not had a few shots of liquid courage before coming to the Leaky himself.

"Don't be that way, Red." Dean slid his arm down behind her to rest on her shoulders. "So what were we talking about?" Ginny's temper was beyond boiling and her hand was sliding to reach for her wand, and George saw a perfect sphere of quicksilver roll down Harry's sleeve and come to rest, trembling violently, near Harry's empty Butterbeer bottle.

The tension in the air rested heavily as a confrontation was coming as surely as snow came to Hogwarts every winter. The Weasley men all shared veiled glances with one another and reached for their wands, Hufflepuffs weren't the only ones with loyalty in spades; what they weren't ready for was Luna's unique brand of clarity.

"We were asking Ginny to elaborate how she knew of Harry's large penis size … sooo …?" Luna's large eyes were wide in innocence as she urged her friend on. It certainly achieved the Ravenclaw's aim, Dean's arm snapped back from Ginny's shoulders as he furiously regarded her. The incredulous looks of everyone else was just a bonus.

"You bloody whore. You couldn't wait to get into Harry's pants, could you? Did he even have to ask or did you beg?" Even knowing the truth, Ginny Weasley would be damned to let someone speak such filth and lies about her. Her hand lashed out quick and venomous like a viper, leaving a scorching hand print on Dean's angry face. The resulting snap breathed air back into the silence and all hell break loose.

Harry shifted out of the booth, already feeling the sticky wetness seeping through his shirt, he couldn't leave until he knew Ginny was ok, but in this state he had to rein his emotions before he could help anyone and so bolted for the one place here where he could center himself, the loo. George was already holding back the furious tiger that was his sister from eviscerating her ex-boyfriend, while Seamus had Dean in a half-nelson dragging him towards the exit. Everyone else at the booth was needed to hold back the other Weasleys. Charlie was swearing as only a dragon handler could, fighting the four people holding him back, Ron was out cold and leaning against Hermione, her stunning spell hit him square in the back before he could join in. She knew there would be hell to pay when he woke up, but she didn't want this to become more of an all out melee.

But by far the angriest and most dangerous was Percy. Bookish, proper Percy had spent the whole war fighting with the Ministry against the Order and his own family and the lifetimes of shame and guilt from that choice suffocated him even after his family had welcomed him back. "You little shit", he roared as his fist connected to Dean's unprotected face. Before he reared back again, Hermione had hit him with a Bodybind curse.

As Dean opened his bloodied mouth to thank her, Hermione cut across him, "Leave. Now." Dean shivered when he saw the anger in her eyes and shrank as she closed the distance. She hissed into his face, "Be lucky Harry wasn't here, or you would be dead on this floor. Stay clear of Ginny … and me, or you'd wish Harry was here." He didn't need any more motivation as he walked quickly towards the exit.

Charlie's anger had cooled as he caught an inadvertent elbow from Percy, and nothing tempers one's fury like a cracked nose. He assessed the damage and noticed that blonde walking quickly towards the loo, gripping at something in his robes. The realization then hit him. A stranger, inviting all of the war heroes to have drinks and loosening them up and listening to their stories, and the moment he got a juicy bit about his sister and Harry… he ran off. Charlie shot a scathing look at George as he bolted past him towards the loo, "He's from the Daily Prophet, you git!"

George knew that look in Charlie's eyes; it was the same one he gave dragons before putting them down. He grabbed Ginny's hand; he was going to need help to pry Charlie off of Harry, but she wouldn't budge. He traced her vision and he slowly closed his eyes when he felt her hand tighten. There was the perfect mirrored silver sphere, calmly resting beside the Butterbeer bottle amidst the chaos.

Harry had just finished splashing cold water on his face, when he was slammed face first into the wall. After the stars cleared from his vision, Harry judged by the calloused hands and freakish strength it was a stout male. When he was turned around, he smiled slightly at his accuracy but frowned at the lack of recognition on his face.

"The Daily Prophet? Witch's Weekly?" Charlie's rambling caught Harry off guard, he had forgotten about his glamour. Charlie's patience was already reedy thin and the man's smirk just angered his alcohol infused mind even more. He lashed out with a friendly punch to help jog the man's memory.

Harry's training and adrenaline were already on high alert thanks to Dean and he slipped the strike by closing the distance between them, slipping inside the wild haymaker, while twisting and reversing their positions against the wall. Charlie's eyes widened at his loss of balance and expert hand to hand fighting maneuver from a reporter, and barely registered the glint of metal emerging from the stranger's cloak. Not reporter, a Death Eater.

A furious Harry pulled his short tanto and slammed it into the wall, up to the hilt, centimeters from Charlie's eye, barely nicking his ear. That certainly got the Weasley's attention long enough for Harry to slip the ring from his finger. "Hagrid's Ridgeback is called Norberta, you told Hagrid at my birthday party last year."

Charlie's mouth hung open as the truth of it hit him and as Harry's appearance sprang back to normal. "I left because I was going to lose control of my magic." The dragon handler nodded numbly, he heard the stories about the terrorist attack on the Alley, and when Harry lost control of his magic recently, wizards ended up dead. "I didn't want to hurt any of your family, especially Ginny."

"Merlin Harry" Charlie had some clue what happened during the War to Harry to scar him, but not to turn him so … dangerous. But his sister's honor was at stake, and this was still ickle Harrykins, the unofficial Weasley. "About that, what Luna said …" Charlie recovered his wits but still couldn't bring himself to repeat the question, but his intention was clear.

Harry shook his head, "You have to ask Ginny yourself, but I wouldn't take advantage of her or hurt her."

"Not good enough, Harry. How does she know?" Charlie almost growled out the question. "You already hurt her once we won't let you hurt her again." He closed the distance and an all too familiar feeling of bullying and intimidation seeped into Harry's skin. Vernon, Dudley, Snape …

Harry bristled at Charlie's insinuation and drew himself up; he was several inches taller than the second oldest Weasley and speared him with his gaze. He wrenched the tanto from the mortar and held it up for Charlie's inspection and contemplation. "I respect you, Charlie, as well as all her other brothers, and I get that you all love her too. But Ginny's the only one that gets a say about what happens between us."

Charlie thought about Harry's admission and smiled slightly, backing off, "The big brother speech doesn't work as well when the boyfriend has already killed a Dark Lord and saved the world, I suppose."

Harry's face betrayed the hurt at being a killer only for a brief moment before he tensed at a sound at the bathroom door, he flicked his eyes down and met Charlie's while reaching for his wand. He relaxed as he recognized a familiar floral scent and slight pull on his magic.

"Great idea George, best prank ever." Harry said sardonically and a lopsided smile graced his features as he looked past his surprised partner to Ginny, looking glorious in her messy, fiery hair and deep red flush when she realized what Harry had admitted to her brother.