Bad Love Keeperoliver Chapter 17

As Harry completed his turn back to what he thought was the castle, he found himself facing the dark figure of death once again. Harry gave him a look of questioning.

"No Harry Potter, you are not dead, not yet anyway. No, I have been asked to bring you here by the Council. They believe I deceived you when last we met. So, you now get a chance to meet someone very dear to you."

"How was it you deceived me?"

"It does not matter how, just that they believe I did."

"That is not what I wish to hear. I wish to know how I was deceived. I also wish to know if you did deceive me, can I reverse my decision. If it has to do Sirius, then I will let it go and keep things the way they are."

"So, if I were to tell you that you could get someone back, but only if you released Mr. Black and Miss Antoinette back to me, you would refuse?"

"That would be correct. You see sir, Sirius has become very close to me, and Marie to him. So to do this would be a very dirty trick. If I were to bring back, say, my mother and father, and they knew what I had to do to bring them back, they would never speak to me. Quite possibly disown me. So I would lose more by doing that. If this is what you are offering, then keep it to yourself as I want no part of it."

Before he could reply to Harry's statement, Death was distracted by a calling from what Harry could only assume was the Council. He did not hear what was said and had to wait for several minutes while Death was in consultation with who ever it was.

Mean while, back at Hogwarts, Ginny who had been the closest to Harry ran to him in tears as she saw him collapse. She lifted his head and brought it to her bosom and cradled it in her arms. She thought he was dead and could not take the pain of losing him. She was soon joined by Luna, Sirius, Draco, Marie, Hermione, Blaise, and everyone who could walk. They surrounded her and Harry, all shedding tears.

Then Madam Pomfrey joined them to examine Harry. Her words left them all speechless. "Please give them room to breathe. Harry is not dead. He is suffering from core depletion. It may take some time, but he should recover fully. Mr. Black, if you would please, carry Mr. Potter to the Hospital wing. Every one else, please attend to the others in need. Miss Weasley, please come with me."

They all did what was asked and the scene was one of relief as they moved back towards the castle. The tears from Ginny were now tears of joy, knowing that Harry was still alive.

BL-}

Death finished his consultation with the Council and turned back to Harry. "Well Mr. Potter, it seems that I was not entirely misleading you. It all depended on who it was that you were asking about."

"What do you mean, not entirely? What was it you were asking me that caused it to be misleading? Even though I have a feeling I already know the answer, I need to know for sure."

"When you asked if you could bring someone back to life, I told you no. Even though it in it self is true, you could have asked me to bring someone back to life. However, there was a restriction to that as well."

"I believe I see what you are getting at. You believed I was going to ask for the return of my mother and father, and you would have been right. But, if I asked for Albus Dumbledore to be returned, you could have granted that request. Am I not correct?"

"That you are son. Only someone who had died within the last year could be recalled due to the person not yet being acclimated or adjusted to the new surrounding. Your mother and father had been dead far too long, and were well adjusted to their surroundings. I am sorry for this, as it was my belief that you would be asking for your parents return, and I would have hated to deny your request. I thought it best to just let you down easy. But, I have been asked by the council to let you visit your parents during your recovery time which should be about a month in real time, or back in your world. Would you like to see your parents Mr. Potter?"

Harry could not hold back the excitement in his reply, "Hell yes I wish to see my parents. Why have you wasted so much time with this silly explanation, when I could now be talking with them!"

Harry saw the vision of Death shake after he finished his statement, and thought he said something wrong and made Death mad. In fact, Death was laughing at the thought of Harry using his domain to get a point across.

Once again Harry turned around when Death asked him to, and when he did, he was now looking at two people he wished to see more than anyone else in the world. Lily and James Potter.

BL-}

Harry has been carried to the ward and placed on the same bed that Charlie occupied not too long ago. Ginny followed him there and sat beside him and once he was placed on the bed, she took a seat and

grabbed his hand to hold so that he would know that someone was there for him should he wake up.

So intent on her task was Ginny, she did not hear Luna take a spot behind her to watch over the two. It was like this when they both heard Harry mumble something.

It was loud enough for them to hear. "Mum, Dad?"

Those were his only words that night. Ginny wondered if he was with his parents, or if he was calling for them. She hoped for the meeting because if he was calling for them, he was probably lost and looking for help. Ginny hated not knowing for sure which it was. Luna surprised her when she made known her thoughts on the matter.

"It would seem that Harry has some very comforting company with him, doesn't it Ginny?"

"Luna, you scared me. What do you mean he has company?"

"You heard as well as I did. He asked if they were his Mum and Dad. You don't think it was something else now do you?"

"What if he was calling for them because he was all alone? He could be there all alone and scared. Unsure of where he is and why he was there. If he was dead or alive even. He said nothing definitive about being with his parents."

"I don't think so Ginny. He was talking like they were right there with him. If he was searching for them, I believe his pleas would have been more desperate sounding. No, he is definitely with Lily and James as we speak. I hope they have a wonderful visit, and Harry is able to be with them for a while. We want him back, but there is no hurry. Unless you need him for something that needs taken care of right away?" Luna snickered after this thought.

"Alright Luna, get you mind out of the gutter, although I could use a little comforting right now. But if what you said is true, then I hope he is able to stay with them for a while. There has to be a lot to share with each other."

"I would imagine so. After all, it has been sixteen years since they last saw each other, and they couldn't carry on much of a conversation then with Harry only fifteen months old."

"I didn't think I had to go into detail to explain what I said. But thank you for sharing that with me just the same. Luna, do you think he knows that someone is here with him while he is there with them?"

Luna smiled at her friend, "I would believe he does Ginny, and he is telling them of it, going into detail of who it is."

"Then sit with me and hold his other hand. Then after a while go get Hermione, if she able to leave Ron, and have her come sit with him and me. I believe if different people come sit and hold his hand, he can tell Lily and James all about us. I will eventually need some sleep, and I think someone should be here at all times."

"You could always share his bed with him." Luna snickered once again, as she took her seat on the other side of Harry and took his hand.

BL-}

Hermione had been at Ron's side since he was put in the wing. Madam Pomfrey had spent hours working on him to get his legs and back in better shape. Even with the time spent, she was not sure if Ron would be able to walk right again. So much damage was done to his nervous system, it was hard to tell. Many visitors came in to see how he was doing, and it was Bill who told her about Harry. Now she was worrying about two people she cared very much about. She would ask someone to take her place for a while so that she could go see about Harry.

Luna didn't have to leave to find anyone to relieve her and Ginny, as people came in constantly to see how he was doing. They were more than willing to do their share to help out. Especially Sirius and Remus with their mates. Sirius wished he could share Harry's explanation of Marie to Lils and James.

Remus wished he could share his telling them of Teddy and Tonks. How much he was blessed to have them both. Of course Teddy wasn't here yet, but that didn't mean his presence wasn't felt.

It was Hermione and Neville that took Ginny and Luna's place at Harry's side. Neville sat to his left and Hermione to his right. It was only ten minutes later when they heard Harry making broken statements. "Mum...he almost...now he...you would not believe her. And Remus... is amazing. They...and their..."

But then the talk took a different direction, "Mum and Dad. I have tom tell you about who is sitting with me right now in the live world. Alice and Frank Longbottom's son Neville and my best friend over the years, Hermione Granger. She has saved my life on more occasions then I care to remember. I'm afraid I treated her wrong this last year, but I had to be sure that certain people didn't know what I was doing. I should have had more faith in her." there was a brief pause then Harry began again. "Mum, I told her I was sorry for what I did, but you have to understand that one of my group had to be protected and the only way to do it was to keep to a minimum who knew the secret." then, "Yes Mum, he is back again in my full graces. She is like the sister I never had...Mum, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you cry. I know you did what you thought needed to be done in order to protect me. It was that way for me as well. I didn't want to hurt Hermione, but I could not get her to see that trusting in Dumbledore put me at a greater risk. He held too much back and released what he did too late."

That was all they heard , and Neville let go of Harry's hand to go hold Hermione as she began to weep over the lost year of being Harry's friend. It was a long four hours for the two.

The same thing happened for Sirius and Marie. They heard broken statements about themselves and had to laugh as they heard things like, "Dad, give them a...It's not like that...I don't know for sure... were you like this in school...Thanks Mum, I don't think I would have gotten a straight answer from him...YOU REALLY DID THAT TO PROFESSOR SNAPE? What were you...no wonder he didn't...no Mum he never hit me...no he was not like that...I would too...thanks for understanding Mum."

Sirius told Marie, "I wonder which incident James told Harry about? I'll bet it was the time we changed his shampoo with glue. It took days to get it all out. Or maybe it was the time..."

"Enough Sirius, I don't wish to hear all the things you did to poor Severus during your time in school." Marie cut off Sirius' remarks.

"Poor Sev? Do you think he just received our pranks and never returned any? Being a genius at potions

certainly gave him an upper hand at times. Why he..."

"I said enough Sirius. Now just sit there and be quiet."

Harry must have relayed what he heard to his Dad, as he then said, "Oh yes, Marie has Sirius tied around her little finger, just like Mum has you... Oh you know she does Dad."

Sirius and Marie were relieved at this time by Remus and Tonks. They sat just in time to hear Harry say, "Both Sirius and Remus told me how you made a fool of yourself in school, chasing Mum."

Remus just said, "I wonder what that is all about? James must have denied something, and Harry is giving him what for."

"Did James really make a fool of himself in school?" Tonks asked.

"An arse is more like it. He must have been turned down a thousand times before she finally agreed to go out with him. It was pure torture for him. She even asked me to take her to Hogsmeade as a date in our sixth year, just to rub salt in his wounds. I was only too happy to agree. We had to do something to get him to pull his head out of his arse."

Between Harry and Remus, Tonks laughed through the next four hours, hearing the stories and adventures of the Marauders. She also cried when Harry was able to pass on the reaction of his mother when she was told of Remus and Tonks marriage and the state that she was currently in. Remus laughed at James reaction, as he went in search for some cigars to pass out, knowing there was no such thing where he was at.

This was the way it went for the people who sat with Harry as he spent time with his parents.

BL-}

Harry's time with his parents was a mixture of bad and good. Happy and sad. It was like a roller coaster ride, or a ride on the carts in Gringotts. As Harry told them of his life prior to Hogwarts, Lily swore to find Albus, and rip his beard off his face. Then he told them of his school years, and the tasks he had to face. As he went through the years, and they learned about Hermione and Ron, Lily began to see where Harry got his thoughts from. Hermione was a very sweet girl, but looked to authority figures as always being right. Even though Albus ignored Harry during his fifth year, Made him take part in the tournament in fourth year. Never told Harry about the prophecy until Sirius was sucked into the mirror and it was too late to do anything about it. Lily and James knew of the prophecy and never believed in it. It was Tom's belief that created the whole situation. How Hermione could still look to Albus as someone that had Harry's best interest in mind was beyond their comprehension.

Ron was a different sort. He had issues that stemmed from his own inadequacies. He never felt good enough to be associated with Harry and Hermione, and was intimidated by them. Hermione because she was so smart, and Harry because of his fame and money. He had none of these qualities as he called them. He actually felt that Harry was loved by his family, thus throwing him off to the side. Even Fred and George never pranked Harry. He didn't know that they tried and failed in each attempt, making Harry off limits for them. Plus his Quidditch abilities made the Gryffindors a much better team.

It wasn't like they got to know all the people Harry told them about, but it did tell them that though they all had their faults, including Harry who never took the time to explain all of his feelings and it cost him by falling for the wrong girl in Cho when there was Hermione, Luna and Ginny there for him. By not telling Ginny how he felt, he almost lost her as well. He was lucky that Michael was such a heel.

As their talks grew, so did James and Lily's appreciation for Molly and Arthur. They had taken the role of true parental figures and showed Harry that he was really cared for. He was accepted into their home and treated like a member of the family, but not better than any of their own. Only Ron and Percy felt different about the way they treated Harry over them.

They shared laughs and tears over the month Harry was with his parents and he loved every minute of it, but finally Harry was called before Death and was allowed to say goodbye to his Mum and Dad, before he was returned to his body.

BL-}

Charley and Celia were sitting at Harry's side when he began his return to the living. He was just coming to his senses when he heard Charlie ask Celia to marry him. He pretended to still be unconscious to hear her reply.

"Charlie, I am unsure of your ways, but if what I know of them are true then what you ask is for me to become your life mate. Is this what you are asking me?"

"Yes Celia, I am asking you to become my life mate. I am asking you to commit to being a part of me for as long as you and I live."

"You do know that I am over a thousand of your years old, and could live that long still. Is this still what you wish?"

"I you will have me. I know that I have learned to love you in the short period of time we have known each other. I hope that you have the same feelings for me."

"I have feelings for you Charlie, but what they are I am not for sure. I have never known love other than family. But if what I feel is love for you, I like it. It makes me feel warm inside. It makes me happy to be around you. However, I feel that way with the others as well. Is this not strange?"

"No Celia, it is not. What you are feeling is friendship for the others. At least I hope that is all it is. Friends are like family. With me, I am more than a friend. I am a person that wishes to care for you for as long as I live. To hold you in my arms and cherish all the time we have left together. If it is a year or a century, then I wish to spend it with you."

"Do you mind if I talk to Luna about this before I answer. This is something I have to think about, and Luna could be the one to help me the most. She has been there for me in the past."

Harry had to break into the talk at this point, "Do either of you care if I could say my piece?"

"Harry, you're awake? How much have you heard?" Charlie asked.

"All of it. Celia, I don't think you need to talk with Luna. She is a great source, but it is what you feel that matters most. Look into your heart and search for how you truly feel. You say you feel warm inside when you are near Charlie, and you like that feeling. If that is the case, then why search for answers you already know the answer to."

Celia looked at Harry for a moment. She never heard him talk with such wisdom before. Yes, she knew he was wise, but not in the ways of love. Poor Ginny doesn't know how he truly feels. And now he is giving advice about the affairs of the heart. "Do you plan to follow your own words Harry? Ginny would like to know where she stands with you as well?"

"I plan to take care of that as soon as I know how everyone is. By the way Charlie, how are Ron and Fred?"

Harry could see the tears in his eyes as he began, "Ron may never walk again Harry. His legs are useless. Poppy says she knows a healer that may be able to help, but at most, it only has a 20% chance of success. Fred will be alright eventually, but right now he is recovering from a back injury. George is fine. But, Percy died Harry. He saved George from being crushed when he was taking care of Fred. A wall collapsed, and Percy pushed George out of the way. He fell over debris when he tried to move, and the wall fell on him. Mum and Dad are taking it very hard. Mum's worst fear was burying one of her kids. She always felt that no parent should have to bury a child. A parent was supposed to die before their children."

"I'm sorry Charlie, I didn't mean to bring up such a sorrowful memory. Is everyone alright?"

"No. That is why I asked Celia to Marry me, to bring some happiness back into everyone's life."

"Especially your own, hey Charlie?"

"This is no laughing matter, Harry. We nearly lost many more. After Colin was killed, Alistor became enraged and jumped on a broom and assaulted the DE's. He was joined by Sirius, Severus, Bill, Draco, Blaise and Dad. At first it was their daring that spared them, taking the De's by surprise. But once the surprise wore off, they were in trouble. What happened next was like something I had never seen before. It was like a lawn mower blade cutting grass. What ever it was, it mowed the DE's down by the dozens. There was no stopping it. It never touched the light riders though. What ever it was, it saved all seven of the riders in a matter of seconds."

Harry knew who it was that saved the light riders and said nothing except, "I'm sorry about the humor Charlie. I know it was not the right moment for it. As for the lawn mower, perhaps it was a spell by one of the Professors that created it?"

"If it was, no one took credit for it. Funny thing though, once everyone was back to the castle, Blaise went right for Luna and pulled her into a hug that would take your breath away. He must have thought he might never see her again. That was when you pulled your nap on us. You never got to see what we lost."

"Charlie, would you please take me to see Ron? I need to talk with him about my actions this past year. Both him and Hermione need to hear this and I assume that she will be with him."

"Don't you think we should get the OK from Madam Pomfrey before I take you anywhere Harry?"

"I think she knows me by now, and expects me to be up and about before she says it is OK. I really do need to explain myself to my best friends."

Charlie agreed and changed a chair into a wheel chair to transport Harry to see Ron. It was on the other side of the ward from where he was, and when he first saw him, Harry felt even worse than before.

Ron was in a body cast from the waist down. His left arm was also in a cast and his head was bandaged. Hermione sat to his right holding his hand as she talked to him. Tears were in her eyes as she talked. She looked up as Charlie approached with Harry. She did not rise when she saw him, she just said "Hi Harry. Good to see you up and around."

Ron heard this, "Harry, is that really you, mate?" He could not raise his head to see for himself.

"It's me Ron. I am sorry I could not be there to help you, Fred and George. You may not take this kindly, but my main worry was your sister, and she did indeed need my help."

"I know mate. Bill told me about it later. I want to thank you for that. It seems you spent half your life saving one of my family members or another. I suppose Charlie told you about Percy?"

"He did, and once again I'm sorry. It hurts to lose a family member, and believe me when I say you are family to me." Harry paused for a moment to gather his thoughts on how to proceed, "Ron, Hermione, I wish to apologize for the way I treated you both this past year. I treated you like stranger s for most of it, and then as distant friends for the rest of it. You did not deserve this. I thought I was doing it to keep Dumbledore out of my plans. It took my Mum to show me that to distant myself from you was wrong. She agreed that Hermione took too much for granted with her faith in him, but she never did waiver from this belief, and was therefore not about to give him information that you did not wish him to have, as she never did it before. And you Ron, never did give him any information period. He was always asking Hermione, and she only gave him what she felt he really needed to know. I knew this, but was afraid that he might use his mind to probe you for answers to something he needed to know. I could not take the chance for this to happen. After he died, I knew that the threat was still there with Professor Snape."

"I knew all this Harry. That was why I read up on blocks against Legilimancy. I would never let them steal from my mind. You never gave me a chance to tell you this."

"I know, and I am sorry. Now, if it is alright, I would like to find Ginny and talk with her. OH, by the way Hermione, I know I didn't deserve it, but thank you for sitting by my side while I was napping, as Charlie likes to put it."

"Maybe you didn't think so, but you were still my friend Harry. Then and now, and for always."

"I like the sound of that. For you too Ron. See you guys later." and Charlie took him to find Ginny.

They searched for fifteen minutes, and Harry turned to Charlie, "No need for you to continue Charlie. I will find he on my own, while you take Celia to introduce her to her new Mum."

"Harry, I have already met Molly. Why would I have to meet her again?"

Harry laughed, "You met her as a friend, Celia. Believe me when I say her hugs are different for family."

This got Charlie laughing as well, and put a worried look on Celia's face. She was still frowning as Charlie led her away from Harry.

Harry left in the other direction, still searching for Ginny. He stopped and and talked to those he knew as he passed them, but only for a moment.

He saw a large group of students ahead and recognized quite a few of them. Luna, Blaise, Draco, Astoria, Daphne, Tracy and others were there. He saw a flash of red among them and hoped it was Ginny. It was, as well as Fred and George. He listened as Fred was telling them all of his heroic deeds before he got hurt. George would elaborate on certain parts telling them of his acts as well. Ginny was just replying what a bunch of bull it was. "A Dragon fell on you is all it was. It was him who was the real hero."

"Well, someone had to guide him? I can't help it if a giant had to take a swing at him which knocked him into George and his Dragon. That sent Ron's Dragon into the wall that was weak from all the damage done to it. When it collapsed, It took everything we had to keep Ron safe. It just wasn't enough. What wasn't heroic about that?"

"Apart from the fact that you were both underneath your Dragons and couldn't see a thing?"

This shut up the twins from further comments. It was Ron's Dragon that saved him from the wall, by taking the full brunt of the collapse.

That was when Harry had to give his say, "How would you know what took place there Gin? It seemed to me like you were quite busy yourself trying to protect my back from those DE's that surrounded us."

Ginny looked up and saw Harry pushing his way through the crown in his wheel chair. She ran to him and took a seat on his lap and kissed him all over his face, to end it on his lips. She was about to say something when she heard, "Yeah sis, how could you see what happened if you were busy protecting our hero's arse?" George cried out.

"Bill told me all about it. Now shut up and let me talk to our hero. When did you come out of your coma Harry?"

"About an hour or so ago. I had to talk to Hermione and Ron before I went looking for you. I didn't know how long our meeting would take, so I went there first."

Their meeting took much longer with a little talk and much more kissing.

BL-}

Many questions needed to be answered, and Harry thought a memorial service was the best way to answer them. It was set up to take place prior to the funerals of all the fallen. They were to be buried around the grave of Albus Dumbledore, in honor of their sacrifice. The island that he was buried in in the center of Black Lake was cleared of all trees and the island was named Memorial Island from there on out.

Family members of the fallen were asked to say words concerning their fallen member, then was the time the questions needed to be answered.

Harry stood up and took the podium. "The people we are here to honor are not just the ones who fell. Many people took part in this battle, and they are all just as much of heroes as were those we lost. A list of names of all who took part in the battle will be posted on Memorial island. It will also be posted in the main lobby of the Ministry. However, I would like to talk about a few in particular. Alistor Moony, Sirius Black, Severus Snape, Arthur Weasley, Bill Weasley, Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zabini all took part in a ferocious battle when Colin Creevy died trying to protect his Dragon. They started to turn the battle to our favor. However, they needed help from a mysterious force. I would like permission from this source to give credit where it is due."

Harry looked over the crowd to look for Luna. He didn't stop on her when he saw her agree with his request. "It seems that permission has been granted, so would Blaise Zabini, Luna Lovegood, Draco Malfoy, and Astoria Greengrass please join me up here. Ginny, Hermione, would you join us as well."

They all formed a line on the stage, and once again Harry started to speak. "I asked these students to join me up here because we all know our hero very well. What I have to say will hurt one of the people up here with me, and maybe two. But you just have to believe me when I say that if it wasn't for this person, all the others would be dead, including Ginny and myself. The act performed was one of sincere sacrifice. If you had known of it prior to it being used, you would have banned our hero from even being in school. Luna, would you step forward please?"

Everyone thought that she was going to tell her thanks to the hero. Instead it was Harry that once again spoke. "Luna as you all know is the kindest and dearest person there is. She would not hurt a nargle if her life depended on it. What you don't know is that she is a very special person in another sense of the word. She has a unique ancestry that gives her a power that Tom knew not. We all took her name to be Luna Selena Lovegood. It is not. Her name is Luna Medusa Lovegood. She is of the blood of Medusa, spoken of in Greek Mythology. As we all know, there is some fact with all myths. Along with her blood, there is also her powers, of which Luna shares both. Yes, Luna has the powers of Medusa, and that is what saved all of us here on stage. If not for her hair turning into a weapon when called upon, Tom may have one in the end. However, when his men turned and ran from Luna, Tom's battle was lost. Now, only four people knew of this power that Luna has. That was to keep the chances of Tom finding out to a minimum. As you can see, it worked out, and we are all standing here to talk about it. And to ease your minds, Luna has full control of her powers, and unlike her namesake, does not wish to use it at all, Except in time of great need."

Harry heard a question call out, "If she had these powers, why did she let the DE's escape? They will gather and rebuild. This means all we have done may be in vain."

Harry knew this was going to be asked at one point. "Only two knew this next part. Two house elves that were a huge part of our victory. We talked prior to the battle, and Dobby and Kreacher agreed to leave the battle half way through it to reform the elves, centaurs, Grawp, and Buckbeak, a Hippogryph. If any De's made a break from the school grounds and made it through the gates, they were to finish them before they made their escape. Dobby passed on to me that it was accomplished."

The rest of the memorial service went fast, and they left to say their final goodbyes to the fallen. Many boats surrounded the island as the services took place. It was a very touching moment when the final words were spoken over the graves by Amelia Bones, the newly appointed Minister of Magic. Kingsley was made her Undersecretary.

With the final battle over, and the Dark Lord defeated, Life for the magical world finally started to return to normal.

It took quite a while, but Ron finally was able to walk again, however it was a difficult undertaking. Fred returned to his normal self, and he and George reopened their shop and were soon sending the students back to school with bags of their unique gifts. Minerva would have he hands full when Severus would turn over the seat of Headmaster.

For the first time in over twenty years, Hogwarts would begin a school year that had no threat over it's head of any kind. Severus took the place of Horace as Potions instructor, and Remus was asked to return as the DADA instructor.

Harry and Ginny returned to school as a couple, and were able to play Quidditch with the team. Ron was not able to return as the Keeper. It was a gift that Harry saw a certain fifth year flying around the pitch one morning. He saw it was a Gryffindor and it turned out to be Dennis Creevy. Harry tested him as a Keeper, and he was excellent. He won his spot on the team at tryouts, and with him in goal, they won all their games and won the house cup and Quidditch cup in his last year.

What followed after this is history in the making.