Battle Scars, Dragons, and a Feeling of Dread
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Harry's dreams
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Harry, his friends, and The Order of the Phoenix found themselves dueling Death Eaters in the department of mysteries. Harry and his allies had a few injuries but we're actually winning.
Most of the fighting took place in the death room. Hermione, Neville, and Harry captured Rabastan and Crabbe. Ron, Ginny, and Luna incapacitated Dolohov and Jugson. Moody defeated Macnair. Kingsley stunned Rockwood. And Remus, Sirius, and Tonks worked together to take down Bellatrix Lestrange. Lucius Malfoy had fled.
Just when the battle seemed to be won, Voldemort himself showed up. He apparently didn't like the idea of all of his followers being captured, so he'd come to rescue them.
Voldemort appeared out of thin air up on the dais by the veil of death. He was surrounded and outnumbered but took out most of Harry's allies in a matter of seconds with bludgeoners, cutters, and other dangerous yet simple curses. The darker, more lethal curses took longer to cast so Voldemort had not had enough time to actually kill any of them.
Only Harry was left standing. Harry's first few spells had missed or been blocked. His fourth spell, however, had been met by Voldemort's killing curse, and their wands connected like they had in the graveyard just a year prior.
Both Harry and Voldemort's feet were locked in place. Neither could move from the spot. Harry put all his will into pushing the spell thread back at Voldemort… and was starting to win. Suddenly, the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, entered, surrounded by several other ministry members.
"No… it can't be," Fudge exclaimed. "He's… he's back! Good heavens!"
Just moments after that, Sirius regained his faculties and launched a spell at Voldemort. His spell bounced off. The wand link made both Harry and Voldemort immune to other spells. So, without hesitation, Sirius charged. He ran straight up to Voldemort and kicked him square in the chest. The wand link broke sending the combined spell into the air where it exploded. Voldemort stumbled backwards into the veil of death and was gone.
The next morning
Fifteen year old Harry Potter laid in his bed in the morning staring up at the ceiling. He was counting all the reasons he had to be grateful. He had a lot to be grateful for.
For example, he'd won The Triwizard Tournament just a year ago. He thought back to the last task of the tournament and how he'd saved Cedric Diggory from an enormous acromantula. Harry had tried to convince Cedric to touch the cup at the same time as him, making them both winners.
Cedric had flat out refused declaring Harry had outperformed him in all three tasks and had just saved his life from the spider. Harry then reluctantly took the cup by himself.
And a good thing he did so, for the cup had been bewitched to take Harry away from Hogwarts. Voldemort was resurrected using Harry's blood just minutes later. Harry shuddered to think if Cedric would have survived the encounter had they both taken the cup together. He'd have been an interloper on Voldemort's plans. Harry had only survived because Voldemort had wanted to toy with Harry. Voldemort would have simply killed Cedric, Harry was sure if it.
Harry was also, of course, immensely grateful to have escaped the encounter in the graveyard. He was grateful his wand and Voldemort's wand had twin cores as he wouldn't have been able to get away otherwise.
Harry sat up in bed and thought about the previous year. He thought about how horrid Umbridge had been to them all. Not much to be grateful for there… well, The DA had been fun. He'd gotten to know several people from other houses much better, including Cedric, who had joined The DA of course.
He smiled remembering that just a week ago now, Umbridge had been taken away by the centaurs. She hadn't been seen since. She was probably dead. Whatever had become of her, the world was a better place with her gone.
Unbridge's demise wasn't even the biggest reason he was grateful, however, for just hours later he had gone to the ministry of magic where he and his godfather Sirius had defeated Voldemort in front of tons of witnesses.
Harry got ready for his day. He thought about how grateful he was that Sirius was exonerated and living with Remus. He was grateful he now lived with the Weasleys as staying at the Dursleys was no longer needed to keep him safe in the summers. And most of all, he was grateful Voldemort was gone.
Harry exited his attic bedroom and went down to breakfast. Ron and Ginny were already up. "Harry, dear, good morning!" Molly smiled, pushing eggs and bacon onto a plate for him. "Did you sleep well? Enjoying having your own room?"
"No, mum, I'm sure Harry would have preferred sharing with the ghoul," Ginny giggled, rolling her eyes.
"That was very nice of Arthur's friend in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures to come remove that ghoul," Molly smiled. "I didn't mind having it, but we needed the room, didn't we?"
"They didn't do it for Dad," Ron rolled his eyes. "They did it for Harry… you know, savior of the wizarding world and all."
"I'm enjoying the attic room, Molly, thanks," Harry said. "I like looking out the window over the fields. It's a great view."
"I used to go up there just to look out the window like that," Ginny smiled. "That or I'd sit in the windowsill and read. The ghoul stayed far away from the sunlight and slept during the day…"
"Well you're welcome to come up any time," Harry smiled. "Just knock if the door is closed."
"When can we go and visit Hermione at Saint Mungo's?" Ron asked.
"You can go as soon as you've all eaten breakfast, but you know visitation doesn't start until nine, dear," Molly said.
"I know," Ron said, absentmindedly tracing the tentril shaped scars in his forearm where the brains had grabbed him. He had scars so over his neck, chest, and arms from his tussle with the giant brain monster. "It's just… nice to be near her… even if I can't see her till nine."
"Hermione will probably be released today," Ginny said. "That cut on her chest is mostly healed up now."
"I'll go get Bill," Molly said. "He said he'd take you today." And Molly scampered up the stairs to Bill and Charlie's room to fetch him.
—
A passage of time
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"Ron! Harry!" Hermione smiled, sitting up and stretching. Her oversized hospital gown fell loosely around her neckline.
"How are you feeling?" Ron said, rushing to her side and taking her by the hand. He sat on the bed beside her. She gripped his hand back firmly and moved her other hand to his arm to trace his scars. This is why Ron had taken to running his fingers over the scars on his arms. Because Hermione has started doing it first.
"Better than a few days ago," she smiled. "They're releasing me this afternoon."
"Where are you headed again after they let you out?" Harry asked, sitting on the other side of her bed.
"Mum and dad are taking me to Greece for two weeks," Hermione replied. "We don't leave right away. I have a few days to relax before we go. But honestly I'm feeling great. I could go today."
Hermione released Ron and traced the letters of the scar on the back of Harry's hand he'd gotten from Unbridge's detentions. Then she ran the finger up his forearm the the puncture wound scar he'd gotten from the Basilisk.
"We've all got scars now," Hermione said.
"At least you can hide all of yours," Harry laughed. He unconsciously ran his fingers through his hair, revealing the lightning scar on his head.
"I suppose mine's just on my chest, so yes, it will usually be covered," Hermione said. "It won't be covered while I'm on the beach in Greece though. I'll need a one-piece swimsuit I think…"
"I bet your scar looks great, Mione," Ron chuckled. "I think mine actually look pretty cool.
"They go across your chest and back too, don't they?" Hermione asked during his arms and neck.
"Yeah, Harry's seen them," Ron said. "I'll show you some time."
"I… okay," Hermione blushed. "You guys are proud of your scars, aren't you? I… I should be too. Nevermind that one-piece. I'm gonna let people see it. I'll show you mine sometime too, Ron."
"Merlin, keep your shirts on you two," Harry laughed, "or do I need to step out so you can ogle each other?"
Hermione and Ron both blushed furiously. "Harry!" Hermione hissed. "I'm not trying to ogle him! We're helping each other deal with our pain!"
"Right, bad joke," Harry scratched the back of his head. "Look, I'm glad you're okay. Enjoy your holiday and then come visit us at The Burrow, okay?"
"Definitely," Hermione replied. "Let's send Hedwig back and forth a few times while I'm away, okay? I love getting your letters over the summer," Hermione smiled at Harry before turning to Ron. "Both of you."
"Yeah, I'll write, no problem," Ron smiled.
"Hey, I'll step out so Ginny can come in," Harry said.
"The two visiter rule is ridiculous," Hermione sighed. "Come here, Harry. Give me a hug and a kiss. I won't see you for weeks."
Hermione and Harry shared a hug and Hermione kissed him on the cheek, just like she always did when they said goodbye for the summer since the end of second year.
"Come on then, Harry," she said, turning her head and presenting her cheek to him.
Harry balked for just a moment. "Er, yeah… okay." He leaned in and kissed her cheek. It was nothing special, just a normal kiss… except it had been a first for him. He'd never kissed anyone in any sense of the word. He'd always just received kisses on the cheek from Molly and Hermione occasionally. He'd never given them back. So in a way, it had been very special.
"Was that the first time you ever kissed anyone?" Ron sniggered. Harry had apparently been wearing his thoughts on his sleeves.
"You're next, Ronald, you leave Harry alone," Hermione smirked. Ron gulped.
Harry stepped out to wait with Bill while Ginny went to visit Hermione too. The cheek she'd kissed still burned in a way he couldn't describe. His lips tingled where he'd kissed her back. Harry couldn't take his thoughts off of how cute she'd looked in that oversized gown.
"Still thinking about getting a tattoo?" Bill asked, abruptly pulling Harry's thoughts away from Hermione.
"Oh, yeah definitely, but I'm not even sixteen yet. Your mum won't let me," Harry said sheepishly. "I'll have to wait till I'm seventeen."
"My mum's not your guardian, Harry," Bill smirked. "Sirius is." Bill reached into his satchel bag and pulled out a small parchment. It was a waiver for the tattoo shop in Litter Alley, just a short walk from Florean Fortescue's ice cream shop in Diagon Alley. Sirius has signed it.
"Happy early birthday, Harry," Bill grinned. "I'll pay for anything you want as long as it's under forty galleons. Assuming you want to hide it from mum, that shouldn't be a problem. Only the bigger ones cost more than that."
"No way!" Harry said, taking the parchment from Bill's hands. "Bill, this is… wow! Thank you!"
"The healer kicked us out," Ginny said as she and Ron exited Hermione's room. "Had to change Hermine's bandages."
"What's that you're holding?" Ron said, eyeing Harry and Bill suspiciously.
"You two need to keep a secret," Bill began, taking the parchment back and sliding it back into his bag. "Come on. You'll see what that was once we get there."
"Get where?" Ginny asked automatically. Bill just smirked and turned on the spot to lead them back towards the floo in the lobby.
—
A passage of time
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Ginny knocked on Harry's attic bedroom door. "Harry, are you awake? May I come in?"
"Yeah, I'm up and I'm decent, come in," Harry said.
Ginny thought she and Harry had very different ideas of what 'decently dressed' meant. Harry was not wearing his shirt. She really should be used to seeing him like this by now. All summer her brothers took their shirts off to swim in the lake or play quidditch and Harry had done the same several times over the past week since he'd moved in.
Harry wouldn't be doing that anymore for a while though, as he now had a massive tattoo to hide from her mum. Harry had gotten a Hungarian horntail that took up most of his chest and spilled out onto his abs a bit. Bill had paid a little bit of the cost but Harry had still dropped over two hundred gallons on it. The magical ink made it look as if the horntail was alive. It mostly stayed in one pose but did move a little and it was visibly breathing and blinking. Occasionally it would roar as well. Harry had just been admiring it in the mirror, hence no shirt..
"Oh, I, er…" Ginny said, losing her train of thought.
"Did you want to read a book in the windowsill or maybe watch the sunset?" Harry asked. "Either is fine, I'm not planning to go to bed for a while yet."
"Oh, no, it's not that," Ginny blushed, ripping her eyes away from his toned chest. "I just wanted to check in on you. You sent me all those letters the summer after my first year. You talked me though what happened in the Chamber of Secrets. It really helped my mental health. I want to return the favor."
"Hey, I never thanked Percy for letting us borrow Hermes that summer," Harry said suddenly.
"Don't worry, I did. And don't change the subject! You killed V…Voldemort. Our friends were all injured. We almost lost Hermione. I just… want to make sure you're doing okay."
"Oh," Harry said, sitting on his bed. "Well for starters, Sirius killed Voldemort. I just helped."
"That's debatable," Ginny laughed, finally sitting in the windowsill. "But fine, you helped… now focus. I told you not to change the subject. How are you doing?"
"I… I don't know," Harry said hesitantly. "I guess I'm doing good. I've honestly never been this happy in my life before."
"You were falling apart two days ago, Harry," Ginny said, crossing her arms.
"Well, we thought Hermione was dying, didn't we?" Harry said defensively.
"She's very special to you, Harry… isn't she," Ginny said. "Would you say she's like a sister to you?"
"She and Ron are my closest friends," Harry said. "Our relationship is more than just a sibling type of relationship. I see you and your other brothers as siblings… and maybe Luna and Neville too after what happened last week… but no, Hermione and Ron are more than a sister and a brother to me."
"I see," Ginny said, her head now bowed. "Well, I'm honored you see me as family, Harry. And I expect you to come to me if you have anything you need to work through, got it? No brother of mine is going to suffer in silence."
"Thanks, Gin," Harry said, giving her his signature sideways smile. "I… okay, fine, something is bothering me. And it's not just almost losing Hermione, though that's part of it."
"Out with it then," Ginny said, sitting up straighter.
"I've got this feeling of… of dread," Harry said. "I know I shouldn't feel this way. I know I should be happy… I am happy. It's just, my life has been mishap after mishap for as long as I can remember. And now things are looking up but I can't escape this feeling that it will all come crashing down on me again."
"Like what if Umbridge shows up again and takes back over the school?" Harry commented. "What if Voldemort just steps back out of the veil? We don't know how that thing works… What if Hermione takes a turn for the worse and dies on the beach in Greece? What if that brain infected Ron somehow and… I don't know… his mind is affected. It could just take a while before some sort of parasite takes over… and what if your hit to the head last week gave you a blood clot… or what if Luna-"
"Okay, Harry, hold on, hold on," Ginny said, interrupting him. She stood and crossed the room to sit with him on his bed before placing a hand on his shoulder. "You're spiraling and that's not what I wanted to happen when I asked you how you are, so let's just pause, okay? Let's talk through one thing at a time."
Harry's eyes were beginning to water, but he wiped them and took a deep breath. "Okay… okay, one thing at a time."
"Let's start with Hermione," Ginny said. "Wizard healers aren't like muggle doctors, Harry. Their diagnostic spells and healing potions won't miss anything. If they say she's good to go, then she's good to go."
Harry nodded hesitantly. "I… okay," he sniffled.
Ginny continued. "That same argument applies to me and Ron and Luna and everyone else who got injured in that fight. We all got checked out by healers. We're all fine."
"I know… I just worry," Harry said. "Okay, we're all healthy. I'll try to accept that. But what if my enemies come back?"
"Umbridge is disgraced. If she ever does turn up again, she won't have any power. And Voldemort isn't coming back out of that veil, Harry," Ginny said, meeting his eyes with a determined gaze. "The unspeakables say so. Dumbledore says so. They may not know everything about the next life, but they know nothing can come back from that veil."
"And what if he's got another diary laying around?" Harry said, running his hand nervously through his hair again."
"Then I'm sure you'll stab it with another snake fang!" Ginny said defiantly.
"You… really believe in me, don't you?" Harry said, wiping away the last of his tears, not that there had been that many of them.
"Oh course I do, Harry!" Ginny said. "You're my hero in every sense of the word. But listen to me when I say that you don't need to be the hero anymore. You can relax, okay? Just… just be a teenage boy."
"I think I can handle that," Harry smiled. Ginny opened her arms and offered Harry a hug. He pulled her in and held her tight for nearly a full minute.
"Thank you, Ginny," Harry said, finally letting her go. "I feel a lot better now. I didn't even realize I felt bad."
Ginny was hesitant to pull away from him. Her hand lingered on his chest for just a moment. "You're welcome Harry," she said, standing up. She walked to the door but paused in the doorway before turning around.
"Harry… you know how I feel about you… right?' she said timidly.
"I do," Harry said, unable to meet her eyes. "And I'm sorry. Maybe one day I'll be ready. Maybe one day I'll see you the same way you see me."
"It's okay, Harry," Ginny said with a sigh. "What you need right now is a sister… not a partner. I can be that for you."
Harry signed. "Thanks, sis," Harry grinned. "Can I… can I call you sis?"
"Sure thing, bro!" she replied goofily, shooting him with finger guns. They both laughed.
"Get some sleep, Harry," Ginny smiled. "See you in the morning." And with that she turned and left.
