Chapter 3 – Trials and Tribulations

Harry was propped up by pillows on a special sofa in the sitting room that had a line of sight from the kitchen. Molly would spend hours in the kitchen baking and keeping an eye on Harry. Arthur would come home after a long day at the Ministry to find stacks of baked goods ready to be delivered to family and friends. He only raised an eyebrow once and the look he received warned him of the dangers of comment or inquiry.

Hermione spent entire afternoons in a chair next to Harry revising her spell books from sixth year and forcing Harry to revise with her at any opportunity.

The Burrow had lost none of its appeal. It was everything the house on Privet Lane was not. The lopsided home had a rustic charm and a lived in feel that calmed Harry. Much of the furniture and décor were mismatched but had the cosy comfy feel of home. Everything about the house from the smells to the sounds to the feel were that of a loving mum who had aspirations of becoming a grandmother.

Harry was in a terrific mood despite the fact his newly grown muscles would erupt in spasms at any opportunity. All that dampened his spirits was the family clock, particularly the hand with Ginny's picture on it, which read "Away Safe." He secretly wished she'd cut her visit with Luna short.

Mrs. Weasley called out to her adopted son, "Harry, would you like some soup? It's nearly ready."

It took her a few days but she'd finally grown used to seeing Harry as he was. She admitted quietly one evening to her husband that it still broke her heart to see him in such a state but it helped that Harry was always in such good spirits. "Never a complaint from that boy. If anything, I'd think Fred had possessed him." That was because more than once he'd instigated and masterminded a series of pranks that most of the wizards of the house believed were being carried on amongst themselves. He even encouraged Shacklebolt to implement a few of the pranks on the Weasleys at Ministry Headquarters so as to take suspicion away from him.

So much was happening so quickly now that Voldemort was gone. Ron had just walked in from a hard day at the Ministry and was now lounging on a sofa next to Hermione, "Harry, you are a ruddy git."

"Ronald Weasley! I'll have none of that talk in my house. I'll remind you that your 'mate' is recovering from a near death experience and you should show him every kindness you can imagine." Ron's face screwed into a scowl. Mum was there to defend Harry at every turn. "Apologise to Harry," she insisted over the soup simmering in the kitchen.

"I apologise," Ron said loudly enough for his mum to hear. Then more quietly so that only Harry and Hermione heard it, "...that you're such a ruddy git." Harry laughed so hard it hurt his stomach. What resulted was a laughing moan. The pain of it only made him laugh harder.

Hermione belted Ron on the arm and he rubbed it tenderly claiming, "You've bewitched all the witches Harry. I'm outnumbered in my own home."

Hermione smirked,"Serves you right for picking on poor Harry. Besides, what did he do to you?" She was only half joking. The young witch had become even more protective of Harry than Molly had. Madam Pomfrey had returned to school part time and now visited Harry only two hours a day for his exercises. Hermione made it her mission to watch after him most of the day.

"I was forced to go in and defend Draco this afternoon." Hermione made a face and gave Harry perhaps the first look of disapproval since he'd woken up from his injuries, "Harry, I can see why you'd speak on his behalf. Dumbledore wanted him found innocent. But why ask Ron to do it?"

Harry ignored Hermione's question, "Did you give the testimony just like we rehearsed?"

Ron nodded.

"You are a good mate," Harry's eyes twinkled, "Thank you for trusting me and doing as I asked. I promise I will explain later."

"You're welcome Harry. But you're still a ruddy git," Ron cheeked.

Molly quietly walked over and swatted him lightly on the back of the head. Ron couldn't help but grimace, "You've bewitched them all, I say."

Hermione read the article out loud to Harry:

Friday 22 May 1998

Greyback Apprehended by Team of Aurors

Nearly three weeks after Death Eaters ravaged the countryside in what is now being called "The Final Purge" a team of Aurors led by Ewan Duncan finally pinned in a pack of Death Eaters that included the notorious sympathiser Fenrir Greyback and forced them into submission. Ewan Duncan claimed in his statement that while all of the Aurors performed admirably it was the tactics of a Trainee named Ronald Weasley that turned the tide in the Auror's favour. "The fighting was hit and miss for a while . Both sides seemed evenly matched. This young bloke Ron has proved time and again to be strong at placing his fellow trainees in superior positions during training exercises so when he made a recommendation to me in the midst of battle I couldn't help but listen. Once we made the adjustment, the skirmish couldn't have last two more minutes."

Auror Duncan refused to share just what adjustments were made in case they might prove useful again in the future. This writer has been informed by unnamed sources that the move has been dubbed "The Weasley Gambit" and will be taught as a regular part of the Auror's training in the future...

Hermione could hear Ron barrel down the steps in anticipation of the morning's breakfast, "Harry, when Ron reads this we won't be able to fit his head through the door." She'd intentionally made her comment just loud enough that he could hear it but not so loud that it was obvious.

"When I hear about what?" Ron asked as he made for the kitchen.

Hermione had him hooked, "Just some foolish tactical mumbo jumbo that the Aurors used this weekend. That Auror Duncan said one of the Trainees came up with it and that he was going to name it after Harry since he was the first to die in the fight against the Death Eaters. He announced they'd call it the 'Potter Gambit.'" Harry had to cover his face with a book to keep his mate from catching his smirk. Ron steamed as if someone had given him a double dose of Pepper Up Potion. His mum walked out of the kitchen with a plate of bacon, "Is Hermione getting you wound up about that Gambit nonsense?"

"Potter Gambit," grumbled Ron as he tucked in. "Next time I'll let the bleeder just rush in and get his head cursed off." Hermione couldn't hold it in any longer and she handed him the paper as Molly made a plate for Harry. As Ron read, Hermione got Harry's attention, "Tomorrow you sit over here with us – Pomfrey's Orders." Harry grunted. His physical therapy seemed more a test of their ability to subject him to pain than an exercise in getting him to walk. "Harry, she says you are progressing much more quickly than she had expected."

Mr. Weasley walked in prepared for his day at the Ministry, "Why aren't you dressed yet, boy?"

"Wead," Ron handed him the Prophet as did his best to chew the mouthful of eggs. He now looked more proud than irritated.

Seconds later Arthur looked up from the article, "This is very impressive son but why did you have him name the move after me?" Ron turned bright red. The rest of the table erupted in laughter. Harry felt lucky to have been taken in by such a wonderful family. Eventually he'd be alone again but for now he was as happy as he'd ever been. The only improvement he could have made would have been if Ginny had chosen to stay at home instead of with Luna for the remainder of the holiday.

Since Voldemort's defeat, all Harry could think of was Ginny. He wanted to tell her he loved her. Now he couldn't. Besides, he was sure she found him hideous to look at and was revolted by him. Hermione had been quite the opposite; she spent the past week doting on him and treating him as if he was the most important person on Earth. This of course created small jealousies on his best mate's part and he had to insist she go spend time with Ron alone but it was kind of Hermione all the same.

Harry was dreading tomorrow when he'd have to walk to the table but he was also looking forward to it. He wanted to be able to do all of the things he used to do...like fly.

Harry willed himself step by step to the table as Hermione coaxed him along. The pain was excruciating. Each step made his intestines feel like they were being shredded by nails. Madam Pomfrey insisted this was normal. He knew better. She'd said a week before that his surgery had never been performed so there was no way she could know how it felt. When he challenged her she replied, "Muggles have 'hernia' surgeries all the time. I've been assured the feeling is the same. The only way for the pain to go away is for you to walk as much as possible."

He'd almost made it to the table when the kitchen door swung open. Molly came charging in dragging her son George behind her by his good ear. Hermione and Harry were rooted in place. Mrs. Weasley had her eyes firmly on Harry, "Harry James Potter. I want you to tell this boy right now that his brother did not pass on to the next plane in order for him to waste his life away in a bottle." Harry looked at George helplessly. George shrugged back and was rewarded by a rough twist to the ear by his mum.

"I did not raise my son to be a lush. And to top it all, Harry? I found George sleeping off a pub crawl while his younger brother WHO HAS A JOB was spending his day off doing his big brother's work."

"But...Oyyy!" George's ear began to turn purple.

"I will not hear you make excuses. I may not care much for your so-called business but I know enough to know Saturday is your busiest day. Furthermore, I have it on very good information you've not been in the shop in a week. You've let your employees piddle away unsupervised each week and then Ron has been forced to clean up and restock the shelves."

"That little Weasel. That Rat! I'm going to get him...Ahhhh..Ahh..Oy!"

"He was most certainly not 'the Rat' and you will apologize to him for calling him one. In fact, I smacked him in the back of the head for lying to me and saying you'd been down helping but had gone up for a kip." Mrs. Weasley's eyes somehow became fiercer than before, "The Rat was your lazy little counter girl. She told me the whole story and worked on her nails while she did it. I decided to come back this morning to confirm what she said." Mrs. Weasley let go of his ear and turned on him. "What's worst of all is that by letting your shop go you are letting down the one person that had faith in you in the first place. You'd be selling your little toys out of a box if not for your silent partner."

George and Harry eyed each other in a panic. Harry consciously became cautious not to turn an ear toward Mrs. Weasley. Hermione slowly made her way to the table to get out of the crossfire. Mrs. Weasley began another head of steam, "Oh, you thought I didn't know? You and Fred talked about your 'Silent Partner' with unparalleled reverence before you opened the shop so I knew it wasn't an adult. It took a year to figure it out but Harry was the only boy that you and Fred both had as much respect for as yourselves. It's probably a good thing for Hogwarts he met Ron before you and Fred. The three of you loose on Hogwarts would have been a Catastrophe!"

Harry exhaled as Mrs. Weasley turned her full attention back to George, "Sit while I make breakfast. Once the rest of the Weasley's wake up you will be moving the rest of your things to the Burrow. You may move into Percy's old room."

"But Muuum!" George whined, "I'm of Age. You can't make me!"

Mrs. Weasley looked dangerous, "There are more persuasive means than laws." George quietly shrank in his chair as he covered his ear.

Harry felt bad for George but knew this would be good for him. Hermione mentioned that George hadn't been the same since the funeral. Harry had wanted to be there so badly. Fred and George had kept an eye on Harry from his second year on and treated him like a brother. Because of them he had the Marauder's Map.

There were funerals small and large held all around England the week following the Battle at Hogwarts. It was rumoured that Harry's funeral was very small and only involved the Weasley's and Hermione. There had been much speculation as to where he was buried and the Prophet even ran a small gossip piece saying the editor had it on good authority his ashes had been spread in Godric's Hollow so that he could be with his parents.

Fred's service was held Tuesday, 5 May 1998 and even Shacklebolt made it a point to attend the viewing (he disappeared before the service because he didn't want to take away from the event). Hermione insisted it was a beautiful service and there wasn't a dry eye there. George kept his word and did not do anything out of ordinary during the service. Of course, he'd had his own private ceremony for Fred after everyone had left.

That night the Burrow became very noisy as George brought kegs of Butterbeer, Firewhiskey and even Guinness Stout. Ginny had sat with the boys and her dad winked when he caught her sneaking the firewhiskey. After an hour, the Weasley men were singing old Hogwarts and Gryffindor songs. After another hour the songs degraded to old songs the boys would sing after Quidditch matches in the Common Room:

I met a lady of Gryffindor
She kissed me at the portrait door
I threw up her robes for a grand display
She slapped me and hexed me I'm proud to say!

Hermione and Molly sat in the kitchen clucking their tongues. One was heard saying, "What an awful song." The other lamented, "Pre-adolescent gibberish."

Even so, Hermione eventually had a few drinks of her own and Ron had to explain to his father how the two of them ended up in the same room with her skimpiest pair of pyjamas on. Hermione insisted it would have been worse if they'd been caught by his mum.

The young witch went on to say the service for Lupin and Tonks had been much more sombre from beginning to end. "With your disappearance, Andromeda become melancholy. Your loss was too much to bear after the loss of her husband, her daughter and her son-in-law. She was at a loss as to what to do." What Hermione did not tell Harry was that she had promised Andromeda that if Harry was not found or was unable then she would do what she could to help Teddy. Harry was her best mate and it was the least she could do. Andromeda insisted it was not necessary but seemed to relax a bit with Hermione's promise.

Unfortunately, once the Services came to an end everyone still had to return to their lives. For someone like George in particular it meant constant reminders of his brother. They shared a flat over the shop so going home was no help. Soon, he was out drinking every night with his other mates in order to get away from the flat and the memories it held.

George was not the only one with problems. Hermione confessed the morning after Harry woke that she'd had several nightmares about her parents. Harry promised that as soon his vault was returned he would give her the money to take a trip and find them. This only made her more upset and she insisted she wanted to solve the problem herself.

"Even if I had the Galleons to get to Australia I wouldn't know how to would tell them what I'd done." She'd given them every bit of their savings and modified their memories so they wouldn't remember anything about her. Unfortunately, because of how far she had to go back to wipe their memories, there was a good chance that most of their memories would not be salvageable. Also, something a seventeen year old witch would not consider – neither the loans on their home or their dental practice were paid in their absence. Everything that was not packed into her parent's luggage or in her bag was lost when the home and office were repossessed by the bank. Hermione insisted her parents did not have anything to come back to and she was all but inconsolable. Worse, she didn't feel like she could talk to Ron about it because she was worried he'd think she was a monster, "You must promise not to tell Ron or anyone in the family." Reluctantly Harry agreed.

The nightmares grew worse as the guilt began to consume Hermione. Each time Harry offered to help she only became angrier, "This is my problem. I just don't know what to say to them. Maybe it would be better if I didn't find them at all." Harry eventually ran out of things to say to comfort her.

As George sat down at the table and Molly made her way to the kitchen to serve breakfast, Harry continued to stand in pain. His body felt like it had been torn in two and sewn back together again.

"Harry, are you going to come here to the table or continue to stand in place until you collapse from exhaustion?" He had not moved through the whole ordeal. He'd gotten lost in his thoughts. Hermione stood by his chair as if to coax him to it, "Only eight more steps - six more if you can make them big ones." Harry took one gut wrenching step. Then another. Soon, though his stomach felt like it had been set on fire, he was able to sit with Hermione's help. "Good job, Harry." She rewarded him with a hug.

Once Harry had regained his breath he tried to make conversation with George, "What happened?"

As if recounting a conspiracy, George explained with a hushed voice "I've been a out a few nights - I give you that. It's been a rough time. Lee and I have a few pints of Bitter at a pub near the Alley. We've been out at Muggle pubs to avoid talk. This morning I'm lying in bed and she comes storming in. Didn't knock to see if I was dressed or nothing. She pulled me to the dresser by the ear and throws clothes at me. Once I was dressed...well, you saw."

Harry was worried. Ron hadn't said anything about where he'd been getting off to. He'd just disappear, "Did you really leave Ron to keep the place up? And leave the shop to your help?"

George sighed pensively, "Maybe Mum's right. I've done the best I can, mate. It's been slow so I didn't think much of it. Every time I looked up I found something that reminded me of Fred. Maybe I should stay here a while." Having gotten past his own problems, George finally got a good look at Harry, "Blimey! Has anyone told you yet that you looked like the arse end of a dragon? You look like bloody hell."

Hermione spit pumpkin juice out of her nose. A guffaw could be heard from where Molly was finishing the sandwiches, "And you thought you had problems, eh George?"

Harry continued to grow stronger. Each day he looked more and more like himself and less like a warmed over Inferius. Mornings began with a visit with Shacklebolt in his room discussing no-one knew what but when they came out he seemed to always be thanking Harry for his ideas.

Molly sat over tea wondering, "Does it seem odd that the Minister would ask a teenage boy advice?"

Hermione was willing to hazard a guess, "I suppose it's much easier to take someone's counsel once they've taken a curse for you."

Whatever they spoke about Harry did not share – even with her. Her mate's best quality besides his bravery and his compassion was his discretion. He'd proven many a time his unwillingness to share a secret that wasn't his to share. It had been a week since Harry had begun to walk and he now limped gingerly out of his room and escorted Shacklebolt to the kitchen door. As they walked out, she looked up from her tea to hear Harry quietly ask, "Do you think the Goblins will do it?" The Minister replied, "If they don't I will have their heads."

Minutes later Harry returned, "Would you like to go for a walk? I promised Madam Pomfrey I'd walk to the pond and back today."

"Of course, Harry." She marked her book and set it on the table. Within moments she had her trainers and met him at the door. Slowly they strolled to the pond - each step still a small chore for Harry. Hermione's curiosity got the better of her and she had to ask, "What was the talk about the goblins? -I mean, if you can talk about it."

Harry nearly tripped as he stepped awkwardly on a rock. He regained his balance and remembered her question, "I'm sorry Hermione. I have been terribly quiet the past few days. Kingsley is helping me with my vault at Gringotts. They insist it was my fault that the bank was damaged and are trying to take it and everything in it as compensation. The Ministry can't pay for the damages, as you know, and so the Minister is trying to find a solution. It doesn't look good."

"But it's not fair Harry. We had to break in. If we hadn't, Voldemort would still be here and once you were dead he'd have enslaved everyone and any creature that was not a pure blood wizard or witch. He'd have likely enslaved the goblins or killed them outright."

"Hermione, that's true. Right or not, we knew the potential consequences. Honestly? A small part of me thinks it would be best if I start fresh without a knut to my name." Harry again lost his balance as he stepped awkwardly into a small hole that had been burrowed by a garden gnome near the gate. The gnome popped out of the hole as Harry stepped past and it threw up a fist threateningly as he uttered what Hermione could only imagine was a curse.

"You can't really mean that..." Hermione stopped. Arguing with Harry over this wouldn't make it any better. Shacklebolt was obviously working on the problem. "Have you decided what you are going to do once you heal? Ron and Neville are clearly doing well as Auror Trainees. They've already helped catch many of the Death Eaters. Rookwood, Greyback and the Crabbes have been caught. Nott and the Carrows are still on the loose but Ron seems to think that they will have a breakthrough any day and find them."

Harry made a face, "I don't know yet. I've been offered a position...not that you didn't know that. Unfortunately, Shacklebolt said they are insisting that all Trainees complete their NEWTS next term."

Her boyfriend had said as much, "Ron tells me that the Aurors only let them participate in limited raids as support and the rest of the time is spent reading and doing practical training. They also help escort the criminals to Azkaban and back. But yeah, they finish NEWTS and full training they are not allowed out in the field unless they are with an Auror."

"I didn't know the two of you had the time to speak with all that snogging you do." When she blushed he made another go at her, "I know I don't much experience with the witches but that doesn't mean you have to put on nightly demonstrations. I can figure some of it out on my own."

"I...I..." Hermione was at a loss for words until Harry's grin gave him away. She pushed him playfully and almost knocked him over. As they walked the rest of the way to the pond, Hermione wondered how much longer they'd enjoy the peace. She knew that life would eventually return to normal.

But, with Voldemort now gone, what was normal?