Chapter 2: Forgiveness
"The day I came to you to talk to you about how Bill and Fleur were married, you said I should be elevated." There was a nod of affirmation before Harry continued. "Why? Fleur was marrying another man, why should I be happy about that?"
"Is that jealousy I hear?" Dumbledore chuckled. "Tell me, do you view Miss Delacour as property?"
"What? No!" Harry sputtered, glaring at the rather younger version of Albus Dumbledore. "Fleur is her own person! "
"There's your answer Harry," Dumbledore smiled, patting Harry on the shoulder. "Fleur is an individual. If you truly loved her, you would be happy if she was."
"Not like it matters now." Harry muttered, his eyes tracing the ripples within the glistening clear blue ocean. "The Ministry decided it was my time to go and there was nothing I could do about it."
"Yes, Bones is a rather effective leader, but her overzealousness may have blinded her somewhat." Dumbledore murmured quietly. "Do not blame her for her actions. Voldemort has taken much in her life."
"I don't blame her at all," Harry spoke, grabbing a flat stone sitting next to him before skipping it across the ocean waters. "I blame Voldemort. I blame his followers. And I blame myself. I helped cause so much misery in the world. Death. Destruction. Whom am I to decide who lived and who died? It makes me wonder why I was even allowed to be here instead of being sent to suffer alongside the rest.
"Because you are a hero," Dumbledore said silently, staring sadly at the boy who had gone through trials no one his age should have. "An unspoken one, an unknown one. You did your best to save the ones you could at the expense of a select few. Your actions, while detestable, were forgivable because of the motives behind them. The victims of your actions have all forgiven you. After insight into your current status, they were understanding.
"Lucky me," Harry snorted.
"There was nothing lucky about it." Dumbledore said. "Your motivations, your feelings, your thoughts, were all laid bare to them when they entered into the afterlife. But they never had the ability to decide where you went for your next great adventure. There was nothing but pity for you. The discovery of what you sacrificed to save everyone was something that had many in tears."
Harry paused before gathering the rest of his nerves. "Sirius hates me."
"Pardon me?" Dumbledore questioned, clearly taken back from Harry's admission.
Harry repeated his statement which caused Dumbledore to frown.
"I believe he was merely allowing grief to speak for him." Dumbledore spoke which only caused Harry's eyes to harden.
"No it wasn't," Harry spat. "He hates me, I saw it in his eyes. I meant nothing to him anymore. As I laid there, he kept on repeated how filth like me had no place in the world as he rained punch after punch upon me."
"Sirius is an impulsive man, immature as well." The words caused Harry to raise an eyebrow. Dumbledore continued, "He is blinded by what he thinks. Unless faced with solid evidence, his opinion will not waver. But I promise you that sooner or later, he will come to regret his actions. Especially considering those devious little trinkets you left within your cell."
At Harry's wide eyes, Dumbledore laughed. Not a small chuckle of amusement but rather full blown laughter.
"Do not think I wasted my time dawdling here Harry." Dumbledore continued, after his laughing fit. "I understood that my death had caused some complications to arise and it was rather heartbreaking to see how troublesome my death was in your life. But you persevered, you grew. But despite succeeding in your accomplishment and celebrating your victory with everyone, I watched as you were tossed away. What I never expected was for you to somehow manage to wandlessly conjure multiple vials to store your most important memories."
"In my eyes, it was a bit of crude humor." Harry shrugged indifferently. "I felt I deserved Azkaban for the crimes I committed during my life and setting those vials aside was my way of saying how if I showed those memories, I would have never seen the inside of an Azkaban cell. And in doing so, I would have never been properly punished for the crimes I accomplished."
"Do you regret doing so?" The answer immediately came to Harry after his question.
"Every day, there was nothing more I wanted then to present my memories and beg my family and Fleur for forgiveness. But deep down I knew I had to pay for all the hurt I committed." Dumbledore nodded at Harry's answer before frowning at the second part.
"Come Harry, I like to show you something." Harry looked back to see Dumbledore holding a hand out to him. After an internal debate, Harry decided to clasp his arm before they were whisked away.
-()-
"You said these were found in his cell?"
"Correct, Minister." The Auror spoke nervously. "After the guards managed to drive away the Dementor, they found these memories hidden beneath his pillow."
"Curious," Amelia Bones tapped her quill upon the parchment thoughtfully. "Bring them to the Unspeakables, have them diagnose the memories to discover if they contain any ill-content or tampering before sending their report back to me.
"Yes Minister." The Auror quickly scuttled from her office with the rack of vials.
Amelia sighed and leaned back in her armchair. Harry Potter. The name brought a foul taste to her mouth. To learn that her niece attended school with the Death Eater for four years caused her to feel fear and rage for her niece's life. As one of the last surviving members of the Ancient and Noble house of Bones, Susan could essentially be easily used as blackmail against her. Especially since she, herself, was in a rather influential position during Susan's school years.
After the imprisonment of Harry James Potter, she had consulted with the Potter and Black families. She wanted to discover the reason behind why Harry Potter decided to join the Death Eaters. Was it because of jealousy? Or was it something more? The two families had no answers but it was clear that they were distraught.
Harry Potter also had his visitation rights banned after the short excursion of one Lord Sirius Black who decided to assault the Azkaban inhabitant. While firm with the Lord Black, she subtly notified him that she rather approved of his actions against the Death Eater. Just a small pension for those the boy thought he had the right to kill.
Deciding she needed a break, Amelia rose from her seat and exited her office. Walking down to the break room several feet away from her office, she noticed how even after the Wizarding War, the workers were all weary and cautious. It served as a reminder that the Wizarding War truly left a deep scar in everyone that survived.
Upon entering the break room, she noticed Aurors Potter and Black standing remotely in the corner of the room.
"Gentlemen," Amelia greeted to which she received two solemn nods in return. Grabbing a cup of tea, she walked towards the two. As she neared, she noticed heavy bags beneath Auror Potter's eyes as he blankly stirred his tea.
Upon her questioning look, Auror Black answered. "It's Harry's birthday today."
Even in the break room, she found she couldn't receive a reprieve from the name Harry Potter. Nodding, she began to turn to leave before Auror Potter spoke.
"I keep asking myself if I did something wrong, or if there was something I missed." James Potter whispered, his eyes unfocused. "Was Harry always dark deep down? Or was it something that accumulated over time? If so, did I cause it? Was it something I did?"
"No one saw it coming Prongs," Sirius Black admonished. "You can't blame yourself for something you didn't see coming. Merlin, it surprised all of us. We all loved Harry but I guess it wasn't enough for him."
As Amelia stared at the two, she slowly found herself coming to a quandary. Despite the death of Harry James Potter two days ago, the two in front of her still didn't know about it. And would possibly not learn about it until the week was over.
"Inner Circle Death Eater," Sirius Black laughed bitterly. "Really smacked us in the face with that one didn't he? Especially when he killed Dumbledore's spy right in the middle of Diagon Alley."
"He was a very dangerous criminal," Amelia slowly stated, deliberately choosing her words as she knew she was dancing across a volatile minefield. "It took us all by surprise to see someone fresh out of Hogwarts quickly rising through You-Know-Who's ranks."
Sirius nodded. "Admit it James, I bet no matter what, Harry would have always turned out to be a bad egg. No one rises up that fast without being a bit deranged in the head."
There was a sudden crash which had Amelia adjusting to the sight of James Potter punching Sirius in the face without restraint. Quickly snapping off two Incarcerous spells to restrain the two, Amelia found herself in the midst of a rampage.
"Don't you dare say anything like that against my son Black! Or need I remind you of your dark incestuous family?" James snarled as he strained against the ropes wounded tightly around him. "Didn't you enjoy playing with your cousin Bellatrix? I wonder if perhaps you could have persuaded her from joining Voldemort instead of running away from your mummy's home like the coward you are!"
"Enough!" Amelia shouted, as she noticed Sirius's face turn a remarkable shade of red. "Stand down, both of you. Your incessant arguing will not help each other. Grow up or get the hell out."
Reversing the spells she watched as the two Aurors glared at each other before James Potter turned to her.
"Let me talk to my son." James growled, still burning anger from Sirius's remark. "You forbade visitation to my son but allow me visit him at least just this once. I have questions I need answers to."
"I'm afraid I cannot." Amelia answered, her own glare meeting the Auror's in front of her. "I suggest you cool off before coming to see me again."
Right before James Potter could respond, an Auror burst into the room.
"Minister?" The Auror's eyes flickered to Potter and Black who were standing across from Amelia Bones. "It's the Unspeakables. They told me that the memories you sent to them… they are real and… it adds a new perspective upon the Potter trial."
Looking towards the two Aurors beside her, Amelia gestured them to follow as they trailed after the messenger. When they reached her office, Amelia immediately noticed an Unspeakable, wearing one of their infamous grey cloaks, standing to the side with a pensive resting upon her desk.
"Minister." Came the monotone voice of the Unspeakable.
"Tell me what you found," Amelia ordered, staring curiously at the swirling pool of memories within the pensive.
"The memories all come from the individual known as Harry James Potter which explains how he came to be affiliated with the Death Eaters." The Unspeakable spoke. "I can confirm that the memories are completely genuine and that the boy himself is quite interesting. It does remind me a bit of those tragic hero stories those muggles are rather fond of."
Stepping backwards without uttering another word, the Unspeakable gestured towards the pensive. Looking behind her, she noticed how Aurors Black and Potter seemed rather interested in the pensive.
"Let's see through the eyes of Harry Potter shall we?"
-()-
Lily Potter stared emptily at the room in front of her.
Gently stepping forward, she raised at the bare bed before here. There was no crease, no wrinkle, nothing to symbolize that someone had recently slept there.
Nothing was present in this room that would fill the void that was placed in her heart years ago. Lily slowly walked to the wall covered with frames decorating multiple achievements. Parchments filled with perfect grades, letters of recommendation from highly proficient dueling masters, and last but not least, the perfect grades detailing OWLs and NEWT scores.
Her son was a prodigy.
Pictures of a smiling Harry decorated the room. Some by himself, some with his family and some with his ex-girlfriend. But the most prominent in the room were the pictures of Harry and Lily together. Smiling and laughing on vacations or accomplishments that Harry had achieved.
Resting upon the desk adjacent to the main window sat a single picture. Harry was only nine or ten when the photo was taken but in it, Lily could still see the same cheeky smile on his face as he held tightly to his mother who was smiling down at him in adoration.
She missed those days. When everything was peaceful. When Harry was innocent and playful.
When she was still able to hold him tightly and kiss him on his cheek, telling him how he was her entire world.
Placing the photo down, she turned to the trunk resting at the foot of the bed. Slowly entering the combination code, she unlocked his trunk to reveal the contents of his personal belongings.
Books and school supplies littered the trunk. Lifting the school robes out of the trunk, Lily found several school books occupying the bottom of the trunk. Reaching inside, she withdrew the first book her hands laid upon.
A Beginner's Guide to Potion-Making: Volume Seven
Opening the book, Lily found that it was one of her own. One she thought she misplaced years ago. Flipping through the pages, she found her own notes rewriting instructions littering the pages. Most were her own notes, but some she found were crossed out and replaced with the calligraphy her son was so fond of.
A small chuckle escaped her lips as she pictured her son cheekily pilfering the book from beneath her very nose.
"Mum?"
Lily turned towards the doorway where she found her second son, Charles, standing awkwardly.
"Yes Charlie?"
Charles shuffled nervously before speaking. "It's Harry's birthday today mum."
Lily nodded sadly before opening her arms. Shuffling forward, Charles entered his mother's embrace, returning it as well.
"I miss him Charlie." Lily softly cried as she buried herself in her son's ebony hair.
"Me too." Charles whispered as he gripped his mother tighter.
Minutes passed before the two decided to let go. Charles watched as his mother slowly began to observe the room in a daze. A room that Charles quickly recognized belonged to his older brother's.
"Did I ever tell you about the time Hermione and I were in the Forest of Dean last year?" Charles asked to which his mother shook her head in the negative.
"Well." Charles began, rubbing the back of his neck as he led his mother into a sitting position on Harry's bed. "There I was on watch duty when I see this doe exit the tree line. It wasn't just any random doe though, it was a Patronus, kind of like yours. I followed it you know, because I was curious on who was casting it."
Lily nodded intrigued. Charles inwardly smiled, knowing that his story was distracting his mum from the rather dour state he found her in.
"Well it led me to this clearing you see." Charles continued. "I thought at first it was a trap but I didn't see anyone. I was about to leave when I saw the Cup of Helga Hufflepuff sitting there. When I grabbed it, I immediately knew it was one of Voldemort's Horcruxes. But as soon as I grabbed it, I heard this rustle in the bushes next to me before hearing the soft pop of apparition. But I swear I saw Harry's eyes in the bushes watching me before he disapparated."
"You think your brother helped you?" Lily questioned hopefully, gripping her son's hand tightly.
Charles nodded. "I told it to Hermione and Ron later but they didn't believe me. Because why would a Death Eater who killed Dumbledore, Voldemort's greatest opponent, decide to suddenly help me? So I kept it to myself, but I never stopped thinking it was him that night."
"I wish I had the chance to ask him," Charles said solemnly. "The last time I saw him was when he was besides Voldemort in the Forbidden Forest. Dumbledore once told me how that night when Grandma and Grandpa sacrificed themselves for me, Voldemort placed a Horcrux inside of me. And that the only way to remove it was through Voldemort himself. When I entered the clearing, I noticed that Harry refused to look at me. I tried to talk to him but he ignored me. That's the last I remember before Voldemort tried to kill me."
Lily hugged her son as Charles lost himself in his memories. It was painful to remember how Harry refused to recognize him. The nonverbal rejection hurt, but he didn't give it much thought until now.
"Thank you Charlie." Lily whispered. Charles nodded.
A knock echoed throughout the room as James Potter stood at the entrance into the bedroom.
"James?"
Lily watched as James shook his head before encompassing them both in a large hug. When James spoke, Lily was shocked before a feeling of jubilation began to rise inside her. That was until James said his next set of words to which Lily felt everything come crashing down.
-()-
An article was released in the Daily Prophet the next day. One that drew the attentions of many like a moth to a flame. Within the article, it spoke of the tragedies of one Harry James Potter. How, with bravery, decided to abandon everyone he loved and cared for in order to protect them all. And how they turned their backs on the unsung hero in disgust. It detailed how memories obtained by the Department of Mysteries showed of the innocence of the unsung hero and how the memories would be sent to the Potter family for personal closure upon the death of their oldest son.
However, no one felt more distraught than Sirius Black himself.
Drowning his sorrows in a flask of Firewhiskey, Sirius glared bitterly at the bottle of Firewhiskey in front of him. He was wrong. When he emerged from the pensive, it felt as if Fate had sucker-punched him into the next century.
"It's my fault the Potter's couldn't see their son. Maybe if I listened, if I pushed harder, asking for Veritaserum during his trial, none of this would have happened." Sirius growled. Images of Harry's bruised and bloody body flashed through his mind causing Sirius to yell in frustration and throw his bottle of Firewhiskey at the wall.
A soft tapping garnered his attention. Turning to the side, Sirius watched as his wife, Marlene McKinnon, walk up towards him angrily.
"Our daughter is sleeping and you are down here throwing a hissy fit, what has gotten into you?" Marlene growled, glaring into Sirius's grey orbs.
"Harry's innocent." Sirius croaked, glaring bitterly at the ground. "Harry's innocent and I beat him. My own godson. I walked into his cell because I was angry, furious at him. And I decided to hurt him. He didn't even fight back, he just laid there and took it!"
"So you are upset you hurt a hurt a defenseless person?" Marlene spoke, raising an eyebrow in question.
"No! Yes? I just, why didn't he tell me? Or his parents? Someone?" Sirius answered. "If he didn't keep it to himself then maybe he wouldn't have gone to Azkaban. Maybe he wouldn't have died. I wonder if maybe it's because of me that Harry gave up the will to live?"
Sirius suddenly found himself yanked downwards by his ear. Straight into the snarling face of his wife.
"Listen to me very carefully Black." Marlene snarled. "Harry's death is not your fault. Harry died because it was his time. If you want to honor Harry, do it with respect, don't drink yourself into a complete waste because you feel sorry for yourself. If Harry was here, I would apologize for the part I played against him. But he isn't, but do you see me drinking and sobbing to myself? I will show Harry the respect he deserves. I will make sure that our daughter knows the heroics her godbrother committed and I will do whatever I can to make sure that everyone understands the sacrifices Harry underwent in order to save the rest of us."
Sirius stared deeply into his wife's eyes before giving her a steely nod. "Thank you Marly. I wonder where I would be without you."
"Certainly drowning yourself with your twentieth bottle of Firewhiskey, that's for sure." Marlene snorted before gently pecking her husband on the cheek.
-()-
Fleur watched as the body was lowered into the ground.
The tears and pain had long since passed and now all that Fleur felt was numbness. Harry didn't deserve this. He didn't deserve to die alone and cold, no one besides him to help him as the Dementor claimed his soul.
The body before her contained no trace of the cheeky, handsome boy she fell in love with. Instead, a malnourished starved body was laid to rest. A body that had a waxy, sunken complexion. It was an insult to the unsung hero who helped save them all.
Ministry officials were there to offer their condolences to the Potter family but she could see the Ministry for what they really were.
Sheep.
Cowards.
The people offering their empty apologies had nothing heartfelt to offer. Public image cochons. There was no obituary offered from the Potter family. Nor the Black family. Instead the Ministry stepped forward and procured a half-assed speech given to honor the dead member of the Potter family.
There was one member of the Black family, a small grey eyed child who could have been no older than three or four. She looked around confused, perhaps wondering why her parents and others were shedding tears over what the child perceived to be just an empty patch of dirt. Her lack of experience with the concept of life was shining clearly.
Harry would have loved her.
As people began to leave, Fleur decided to walk towards the woman standing alone in front of the gravestone. Standing beside her, they both were silent, until Fleur decided to speak.
"'E deserved better."
The woman turned, revealing herself as Lily Potter.
"Yes." Lily agreed, smiling bitterly. "Yes he did."
Fleur flinched from the hidden barb tossed her way but decided to remain strong. "I made a mistake, somezing I can never forgive myself for. I can only 'ope zat one day, when I get the chance, I can throw myself onto my knees and beg for his forgiveness."
The woman besides her kept quiet so Fleur decided to continue. "'Arry was ze first to make me feel alive. People all ze time tell me zey want to zee ze real me but zey always want to try to get into my pants. 'Arry wasn't like zat. When I first met 'Arry, 'e marched right up to me and began to berate me. 'E scolded me for insulting 'is brother and told me to apologize."
The woman snorted but offered no comment.
"I wuz brash and arrogant, zo, I told him maybe eef 'e could best me in a duel, I would apologize. I zought eet would be an easy win because I wuz ze dueling champion of Beauxbatons."
"He then proceeded to knock you on your arse didn't he?" Lily spoke, amusement dancing within her tone while her face remained somber.
Fleur nodded. "Oui, I wuz embarrassed. But I am a lady of my word. I apologized and 'Arry thanked me of my apology even eef 'is brother wuz confused. I zen proceeded to challenge 'Arry over and over to regain my pride, and 'e beat me over and over. Eet soon became a game to us and one day 'e told me zat if I won, 'e would allow me to ask for anyzzing I wanted." Fleur immediately began to blush as details of the day began to float in her head. "We fought and I won."
"What did you ask for?"
"A date," Fleur answered, her cheeks tinging a dark pink hue.
Lily nodded, a sad smile crossing her face. "That was a nice story. But why a date of all things?"
"'Arry interested me. When I asked for a date, I told 'im to surprise me. Eet turned out to be ze best date I 'ave ever been on. And before I knew it, we were on anuzzer one. To zis day, I still don't know eef I truly won or eef 'Arry let me. All I know is zat I wish I 'ad more time with 'im."
"When I 'eerd zat 'Arry left me and joined ze Death Eaters, I wuz distraught. Zen 'ere comes zis man a few days later who I zought I could use to replace 'Arry with. And only days into our marriage, 'e began to cheet on me. Zo I left him and never looked back. Because I knew zat no one could ever replace 'Arry."
Lily frowned but nodded. "No one could ever replace Harry, he was special."
Fleur smiled softly. "'E talked about you often as well. Eet made me zink zat perhaps 'e wuz a bit of a mama's boy."
A soft tinkering laugh escaped Lily's lips as they proceeded to walk away from Harry's tomb. "He definitely was."
It was in that graveyard where two broken women began to heal.
-()-
"Why did you show me that?"
"To show you how your absence affected your family, did you really find it necessary to cause so much grief to those that cared so much about you? Was this the way you wanted to repay them for all the hurt you caused?" Dumbledore questioned, his eyes boring into Harry's.
"Love is a powerful thing Harry. Cherish it. And you will be able to discover wonders you would have never even dreamed of."
Harry narrowed his eyes. "What are you talking about old man?"
Dumbledore smiled and grabbed ahold of Harry once more. Gently, but firmly dragging him away from the observation bowl.
"There is no need to dwell upon something when you have the chance to fix it." Dumbledore spoke as a strange mirror began to appear in front of them.
"What is this?" Harry spoke as he began to observe the mirror. A faint remembrance pulsed within his mind but Harry couldn't place it.
"I believe you encountered this item during your fourth year at Hogwarts. The year when your brother Charles first stepped foot within Hogwarts's halls." Dumbledore smiled, his eyes twinkling.
"The Mirror of Erised?" Harry gasped as he noticed the inscription on the top of the glass pane.
"Death rewards those who aid him." Dumbledore answered in return.
"But… but what about you Professor? You helped stopped the rise of Voldemort too!" Harry sputtered as he stared into the mirror which showed his family sitting at the table at Potter Manor for dinner.
"I am old Harry… very old. I have lived my life and cherished it." Dumbledore answered sagely. "I am happy here. Besides, there is someone here I would like to apologize to and spend some quality time with."
Harry turned to the side to see a young girl with blond hair smiling in their direction. As he stared at her who began to wave, Harry noticed she had blue eyes, eyes so similar that it resembled the man right beside him.
"My sister, Ariana." Dumbledore clarified as he noticed Harry's questioning look. "There is much I wish to say to her. Just like there is much you need to tell your family and Miss Delacour."
As Harry began to step towards the mirror, he looked back once more to see Dumbledore's encouraging smile. "Remember Harry, don't pity the dead, pity the living."
With those final words, Harry gave a sad smile and stepped through the mirror.
A/N: I know from the first chapter some of you may be confused because I actually wrote PJO before this. This was just something to help me get back into writing.