*UPDATED*
Alright guys, welcome to this story, first off I hope you enjoy it, it's something that I've been thinking about for a while and hopefully you'll all enjoy the start as much I did trying to write it.
As for the story, obviously everything will be explained, but be patient, a lot has changed as the summary story of suggests and a lot is different from the original books but I wanted to put my spin on stuff and go through a different side of post war scenarios.
There are characters in here that were killed off etc in the books, but for this fic they're alive and all will be explained.
If you have any questions or reviews please feel free to message or leave a review, I like to read through them all and I even get ideas from them so they are all useful.
This is just a snippet of whats to come and I'm not honestly sure when the next one will be out but I'll try and get some sort of uploading schedule together.
Anyway, please enjoy and of course, I don't own any the rights to Harry Potter.
Look after yourselves and as always,
Buckle up and enjoy the ride,
Writey.
"HARRY POTTER IS DEAD!"
My body bolted upright, eyes blazon with tears and sweat dripping down every inch of my face.
I removed my hand from under the pillow in order to wipe away the tears that were currently clouding the sight I had of my surroundings.
I pulled my quilt up to the top of the head and used it as a cloth to remove the sweat that had started to form. It wasn't something that I was used to doing nor something I particularly enjoyed but, over time, it had just become something that was easily accessible at this time of night, something that had become a regular occurrence.
I reached for the table beside my bed…
"God damn it…" I whispered not trying to wake the sleeping brunette beside me.
It had been nice having company in my room recently. Growing up with six older brothers, it was actually nice to have someone else to help deal with all the testosterone that was raging around the place.
I felt my insides ache as I recalled previous events.
You've got to get used to saying five brothers.
It was hard to get used to…
Five brothers...
But in the end, it was the simple fact that it was truth…
And I had to get used to it…
I stepped cautiously out of my bed trying not to wake Hermione.
It wasn't usually like me to forget to bring water to bed. I'd do it all the time when I was younger and even at Hogwarts, I'd always have something to drink in case of a situation like this one but for some reason tonight it had just completely slipped my mind.
In my case, nightmares were a common occurrence. I'd had them ever since I was little. There wasn't a particular thing that they were about but usually they ended up in me waking just like this. When I was younger, I'd cry until mum came in but now, I'm just used to it.
I smiled to myself as I sorted my bed away.
The nightmares I had back then were like a bedtime story compared the ones I'd had more recently. Hogwarts nightmares usually occurred due to me missing home but now, they were just happening all the time and they were really quite awful.
Left two…
Right three…
Then you're home…
It may have sounded weird to you guys, but there was a pattern in this house of creaking floorboard and squeaky doors. Usually, I wouldn't have bothered but tomorrow was important and if I was being honest, I really didn't want to wake anyone up.
I followed the pattern of stable non-creaking floorboards all the way to the door until…
Wreeeeeeaaaaak…
I halted to a stop, unable to move.
RIGHT THREE THEN ONE TO THE LEFT GINNY!
I slowly moved myself around to check on Hermione. Thankfully I hadn't opened the door, so she was the only one that I had to worry about waking up at this present moment.
The soft breathing and movement of her chest indicated that I hadn't managed to disrupt her sleep thankfully.
I avoided the final squeaky panel again and made my way outside the room heading down towards the kitchen. Having managed to make my way through the pathway that was The Burrow staircase I found myself in open air. Well, when you say air, it was more a smell.
The smell of home.
I took one deep breath.
Nothing beat the smell of home.
Hogwarts was never like this especially given everything that happened to me whilst I was there…
I didn't know whether I was going back...
Whether I even wanted to go back...
I didn't know whether I could...
I tried to shift my thoughts…
Water, I came down for water…
I made my way into the kitchen. Mum always usually left it spotless before she went to bed, but just recently she hadn't and who could really blame her.
I picked a glass from one of the multiple cupboards and headed to the sink.
As I filled my glass with water I looked out across garden.
Well, technically it is pitch black outside, but you can imagine.
This place, it was all so homely, and everything was exactly how it needed to be at the moment…
Something familiar, something that made everyone feel comfortable.
"Can't sleep either?"
I jumped at the voice, a slight squeal leaving my lips and swiveled to see where it had come from.
I made a small smile to see my slightly older brother just across the kitchen from me.
"Bloody hell Ron…"
I locked eyes with my brother, it was clear he'd been awake a while and crying by the fact that they were stained bloodshot.
"Sorry Gin, didn't mean to scare you."
He dropped his head to look at the hands that rested on his knees. They looked bumped and bruised, knuckles beat red. He was sat on the windowsill which, in the daytime, overlooks the river that runs alongside the house. It was a nice place to reflect and I'd found him on more than one occasion watching the day go by in recent weeks.
I silently made my way over to him, coming to a stop just in front of the windowsill that he was seated on.
Without a word, he silently moved up to allow me access to the perch, leaving just enough room so that we could both fit.
We sat in silence for a while, before I realised, I hadn't answered his original question.
"Yes," was all I said.
Ron looked briefly from the window and nodded at me. That was thing we'd found recently since everything, that we just understood each other better than anyone else did.
"It was a nightmare."
He nodded again. We didn't need to talk about the details because he already knew the general idea of what it was all about.
We sat again in silence for a while allowing the minutes to flow by as the family clock struck three in the morning.
"I don't know if I want to go tomorrow," he said, finally breaking our comfortable silence.
I dropped my head. I knew this was going to come about at some point or another.
"Firstly Ron, it's actually today now," that managed to pry a smile from his lips, even if it was only fleeting, "and secondly, you know that you need to be there, whether you like it or not."
As I looked at my brother, I saw the smile I'd created disappear in an instance as the words I had just spoken hit him.
He looked at me with such anger…
Anger and sadness…
"Do you know Gin, I don't like it, that's the point, first Fred and now this," I could tell he was getting louder as he got more emotional, "WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE LIKE THIS, AFTER EVERYTHING HE DID FOR EVERYONE, WHY DO WE GET TO DECIDE WHAT HAPPENS TO HIM, WHY CAN'T WE JUST WAIT."
Ron's body all but sagged as the tears started to flow once more. I stood and maneuvered myself so that I could hold him, just as he had held me many times before.
Everything he was saying was right…
It wasn't fair that we had lost so many during the war…
Fred…
Remus…
Tonks...
Colin...
They didn't deserve to go the way they did…
I know Sirius hadn't forgiven himself for leaving his best friend for one minute, let alone not being by his nieces' side when she took on ten death eaters at once.
I tried to shake the thoughts out my head.
We'd actually grown quite close recently and he was starting to open up about everything.
As I thought about it more, I started to understand Ron.
He'd seemed fine…
Granted, he'd fooled everyone at first…
But I saw him get away, I saw him flee…
If only I'd known what damage had already been done…
If I'd known that was the last time, I'd see those green eyes…
I squeezed my brother tighter. I didn't need to let my emotions get the better of me either. This was my time to comfort, not to be comforted.
I recalled those last few moments…
I knew he had to battle Voldemort….
That wasn't up for debate…
He wouldn't have had it any other way…
But only if we'd have known what it had done to his magical core…
Two parents wouldn't have to sit by a bed everyday watching, hoping for their son to wake…
A godfather wouldn't have to pretend like everything was okay even though it clearly wasn't…
A best friend wouldn't have to wait and see whether or not they were going to cut off the life support spell that was holding his truest friend from the edge of death…
I felt a small tear escape the corner of my left eye. I could have wiped it, but just this time, I would let it fall.
I would have to wait and hope, I wanted to get lost in those mystical green eyes one more time...
Everything fell silent for a while and after what seemed like hours but was only minutes, Ron shifted, signaling that he was okay to be released from the comfort I was giving him.
I slowly pried my hands from him, wondering whether he was truly okay.
"You alright?" I said to my brother as I took my seat opposite him once more. I knew what the answer was really, but we both needed to sleep and having this conversation go on for longer was never going to work.
"Yeah, I just think I'm going to head for bed now though," and with that Ron silently, trying not to wake the rest of the family moved his way slowly back to the comforts of his own room.
I looked at the empty corridor he had left.
I knew he wouldn't sleep…
Maybe he would cry himself there…
But it wouldn't be for very long…
I sat for a while myself, before the chime went signaling four in the morning.
Time for bed, I guess…
I slowly made my way over to the sink in order to continue filling my half full glass of water.
Once I finished, I started to make my way to bed, glass in hand, to try and gain any ounce of sleep that might become of me before the night was out.
As I neared the steps and took one final look at the family clock that had read something for almost two months now…
Harry: Dead
There you have it guys, that's the first little snippet. But of course there is much more to come.
I hope you guys enjoyed and I really would like any reviews that you might have.
I know it was a while since I looked at this but the reunion has given me a new lease of life.
Another one for you all to think about, but I would be looking for someone to go over the work with a fine tooth comb and just check for mistakes and to add any details that the think might enhance the story.
If you're interested then let me know and show me perhaps some of the work that you have worked on before.
Other than that look after yourselves. I won't be posting like this after every chapter but thought it be wise to do so after the first one.
Anyway, thank you for reading,
Writey x