A/N: Thanks to all of you who have read this story and as I have said many times before, but can never say enough. Thank you to those of you who have not only read this but have reviewed it as well. I hope you enjoy this chapter, for it gives us a different look at the hidden side of Harry. A side only two people knew about. Thanks again. Jade.
Chapter 18
Harry's Magical Gifts
The Burrow
Current Day
"I love it," David says to the room full of people Harry called family but was too afraid to tell them. "I love it," he repeats in a whisper with his eyes closed and the awe can still be heard in his voice.
"He has the forms we would be," Alexandra asks shocked by this news and yet at the same time honored.
"Yep," David says with a knowing smile.
"You would be a Panda," Ron asks David and the looks to Alexandra, "and you would be a Husky," he says in awe.
"A few months ago he showed me how he came up with these animals for us and I must agree with the small fact he did put a lot of time into it," David tells them. "I couldn't find fault with it, his results were very precise," he says to Ron.
Alexandra looks at her husband in question, "a few months ago," she asks wonder why and how she was able to miss something this important.
"Girls day out," David tells her, "I always go there, it is so relaxing," he tells them all. "Harry told me I was welcome anytime and he has even given me a key to the place, and," he pauses, "how it he put it," he says as he thinks for a moment. "He put my essence into the shields, whatever that means," David says with a shrug.
"You have a key to Harry's house and you are keyed to his security shields," Neville asks shocked beyond words at this news.
"Yes," David says to the room. "Since," he stops and quickly glances at his daughter before looking back to Neville. "Well, since the house wasn't going to become a home, Harry decided it would be okay if he filled a couple of the rooms with needed things, as far as I know he did three rooms," he explains to them. "Two bedrooms, well, two guest rooms, as far as I know he has never re-entered the master bedroom," he says with a sad shake of his head. "anyway, he placed a king size bed in each room, a night stand, a desk and two chairs, a rocking chair and a antique looking bookcase, well, you get the idea," he tells them. "He told me the second room is there for me to use anytime, I will either sit there or in the library when I am there, I even stayed overnight once, when I was on the way home from a convention," he says with a small smile at the memory.
"That's only two rooms," Ginny says to David wondering if he miscounted.
"The third is the library," David says looking to Ginny and then to his wife and daughter. "You could go months without reading the same book twice," he tells Hermione with a smile. "I know I haven't," he informs them. Looking around the room for a moment, "he started filling in the shelves on the third landing, or floor. He wants to leave as much as possible untouched," he continues telling them. "When I went there right after hearing he had disappeared, I thought maybe, just maybe he was there," he says and stops as his head drops down and he looks down at the floor.
Alexandra smiles as at long last she has finally learned where her husband disappears to when they fight and where he went that night when the horrible news reached them and where he stayed for three days. She smiles at the thought her husband still kept in touch with Harry and that Harry never blamed them and still cared for them and their daughter. "So that is where you disappear to," she says aloud changing David's train of thought.
David looks to his wife and smiles, "yep," he says with a nod. "I went there and spent three days in the large yet still empty library just waiting for him to walk through the door, I kept praying he would show up and smile away my fears," he says as his voice drifts off at the end, "he never came," he whispers.
Hermione stares at her father in total and complete shock, "he built a house for me," she asks in a whisper not really believing what she is hearing, expecting to wake up and have it all be a dream.
"Yes dear he did," David says with a nod of agreement.
"And is it as nice as you described it," she asks still in shock, yet a small smile can be seen tugging at the corners of her mouth.
"Actually dear, my words are unable to do it justice, it makes magic seem common," David says with a shrug.
Silence is the only sound as father and daughter stare into each other's eyes. "Actually David," Dumbledore finally says, "Harry has furnished as far as I know two other rooms," he says to him thus breaking the silence.
David looks over at Dumbledore, "he has," he asks, "he's never showed me," he says yet knowing it could be truth, knowing it is truth.
"He has furnished rooms for Hagrid and I to use when we needed to get away," Dumbledore informs him. Thinking for a moment Dumbledore decides to tell them something he knows only himself and Hagrid know. Something that will make them understand, how much one man cared for them all, how much Harry loved them. "Do you know he has never purchased any furniture," he asks the room. "This chair included," he tells them as he looks down at the chair he is currently sitting in and a smile flashes across his saddened features for a fleeting moment.
Molly looks at Albus confused, "he gave me the chair for my birthday," she says to him wondering what he is saying.
"Have you ever seen another like it," he asks her and she shakes her head no, "have you ever wondered why," he asks her.
"I figured he got it from the Muggle world," Molly says to him wondering where he is going with this and what does the chair have to do with Harry.
"And the feelings you feel from it," Dumbledore asks making Molly open and close her mouth quickly at a loss for words. "And you David and Alexandra," Dumbledore asks turning to them and leaving Molly to wonder at his questions.
"We figured he got it from the Magical world, for that is the only way we could explain the softness, the feelings we feel when we sit in them" Alexandra says curiously.
"Remus, Minerva, Ron, Fred, George, Bill, Charles, Ginny, Severus," he asks.
"I haven't been into furniture stores much, but I have to agree with Alexandra on the feelings," Remus confesses.
"I've been busy with classes," Minerva says to them and then thinks about it for a moment and then continues. "However it is the most comfortable and inviting chair I've ever owned. For some reason or another when I sit in it I know I am loved and safe," Minerva confesses with a blush.
"I know what you mean Minerva," Severus says in agreement, "only it is like someone actually cares about what happens to me," he says.
"I," Ron says and then looks over at Lavender, 'we," he corrects. "We feel like being welcomed home, safe, warm, loved, an awesome feeling we can't explain," he says and shrugs not knowing how else to explain it.
"Same here," Bill, Charles, Fred, and George agree.
"We agree," Neville says receiving an agreeing nod from Ginny.
"Hermione," Albus asks.
"I just love it," she says to him. "After I told him to leave, it is the only chair I sit in," she confesses. "I never looked for another, I knew someone had put a lot of time into making it. I know it is one of a kind. I know it is charmed for it to be comfortable, relaxing and well, loving and some other wonderful things I can't explain," she answers wondering what all this has to do with Harry.
"David," Albus says looking at him. "When you stay in your room how does it feel," he asks.
"Relaxing," David says instantly. "All of my problems and fears just seem to float away, to become more manageable," he says with a smile at the memory.
"I know I love the chair he gave me," Albus says with his own smile, "as does Hagrid," he adds on. "He added his own magic to our worlds don't you agree," he asks with a small smile.
"He is my world," Hermione says to the group softly.
Alexandra looks at her daughter and then pulls her into her arms once again, then looking up at Dumbledore she asks, "What does the furniture have to do with Harry and how he hasn't purchased furniture."
"You see everything I just asked you about, the beds in all of the rooms, the bookcases, the nightstands, the chairs, both in and out the rooms, he made by hand," Dumbledore tells them. Everyone looks at Dumbledore as though he has gone mad, they didn't hear him right.
"He made them you say," Severus asks shocked beyond believe.
"Every single one of them," Dumbledore confirms.
"By hand," Molly echoes in question.
"With his own two hands," Dumbledore confirms raising his old hands palms up as if to show exactly what he means.
"I didn't know he can do anything like that," Ron confesses feeling stupid for not knowing.
"Don't worry Ron, he didn't even tell Hagrid," Dumbledore tells him. "Hagrid went to visit him one day and stumbled upon Harry making a chair, which one I don't know," he says as he thinks for a moment. "Harry explained to Hagrid how he builds and constructs everything," he continues. "He said he will only work on one thing or one person at a time, having a different room for each project. Having different things in the work area to remind him of whom it is for," he says as his brow furrows. "I think he meant he would work with things he was building for one person at a time, because as he was working he was using a very old and forgotten enchantment," he pauses here waiting for what he knows is to come, mentally counting down, three, two, and one.
"Enchantment," Hermione says instantly and disbelievingly, right on the mark. "Harry can't enchant, Wizards or Witches who are capable of enchanting are one in three billion and the training to become one takes decades," she quotes to him. Everyone in the room, minus the Muggles, was nodding in agreement.
Minerva looks to Albus to see if he is joking and is surprised to see mischief and truth in his features and then it hits her. "Another thing he didn't want us to know," Minerva asks the wizened old man beside her. "Another thing to make him different from the rest of us," she says restating it in a way she herself understands.
"Yes Minerva," he agreed. "When he was still at Hogwarts, he and I learned about his talent and I taught him every evening for nearly four months before he no longer needed assistance," Dumbledore explains.
"He can enchant things," Charles asks surprised.
"Yes Mr. Weasley he can and he does," Dumbledore tells them. "David, Alexandra," he says looking at the confused looks on their faces. "Enchanting is different than charming or hexing, charms wear off whereas enchantments never do," he explains to them. "For magical folk to buy things with an enchantment placed on it is very expensive, I mean in the hundreds of thousands of galleons," he tells them as their eyes widen in shock at the meaning of his words.
"You mean to tell me," Alexandra asks, "Harry could've sold this talent for that much money, he could be rich and he didn't tell anyone, he does it for free, for us," she asks surprised.
"Yes," Dumbledore says succinctly.
"Are you saying it only took Harry four months to master this skill," Arthur asks looking at Dumbledore, not sure if he should believe what he is hearing.
"Actually a little under it, but he wanted to find or make a spell that could transmit his feelings into things he wished them to be. At first I didn't understand what he was searching for, but in the end I learned he knew what he was looking for," he tells Arthur, "and I can tell you now every one of us is reaping the rewards of his search," he says.
"In the chairs," Bill says curiously.
"In whatever he made," Dumbledore corrects but nods his head in agreement of his statement. "For example," he continues seeing the confused looks of the people with him. "The room you stay in David, you said it make you feel relaxed as though your problems don't matter or aren't as bad as you first seen them to be," he says more or less repeating what David said earlier.
"Yes," David agrees slowly.
"I was there when he was building the furniture in your room, I was confused by his emotions as he was working," Dumbledore tells them. "He was listening to some Muggle music I can't name but enjoyed, he was calmer than any commanding officer in the middle of a war had the right to be," he says with a smile. "He was at ease and I could tell he enjoyed working with his hands on these projects," he pauses here for a moment letting the memory wash over him.
"Are you saying he made it so I would feel welcome, relaxed, calm," he drifts off not knowing how to phrase what he feels when he is in the room.
"He made it so you and Alexandra would feel that way yes," Dumbledore corrects with a nod. "You see Harry made those things for the both of you, he was thinking about not only how he wanted you to feel in his house but how he felt about you," he tells them.
"So he really didn't mind me going there," David asks in a gasp, feeling for the first time he isn't intruding.
"Do you feel like he minds, does the room make you not want to stay there," Dumbledore asks in return.
"I feel like I could stay there forever and still never get used to the wonderful feelings the room conveys to me," David says as for the first time in nearly a month tears form in his eyes as he realizes just how much Harry cared for him and his wife. If the feeling in the room were even a small amount of how he felt, he knows, David knows Harry loved them, not just cared for them but loved them with all his heart.
Hermione sees her father start to cry and she wonders what has caused this, she has never seen her father cry. "Daddy," she whispers in question.
"He loves us Alex," David says looking over to his wife, "if what I feel in that room is a sliver of what he feels he loves us," at his words Alexandra starts to cry as well knowing her husband would never cry if he didn't truly believe it and she knows from the feelings she gets from the chairs he is right. "He loves us," David whispers, "and he will never know we return his love," he says looking into Alexandra eyes. Hermione stands up and sits on the other side of her father and enfolds him in her embrace as she too cries tears she thought she had no more of.
After a few moments of a fresh round of tears shared by everyone with one of Harry's gifts and the feeling behind not only the making but within the enchantments for him to give it so willingly and so freely. Dumbledore watches the scene unfold before him as he was finally able to give them something Harry always wished he could, yet he knows it is only a shadow, a reduced reflection of the true feelings. "Harry once told me," he says into the quite of the room, "he wished there was some way he could let everyone know how he truly feels for them, he said since he didn't know how to love, how to get across his feelings no one would know what they mean to him. It seems he is in fact successful in achieving his wish," he tells them.
"He made it with his own hands," Ron repeats amazed, "I know it must have taken forever, and those designs, like runes are amazing," he says for the first time loving the chair he never really understood but liked as his favorite.
"I asked him about that once," Dumbledore says with a smile. "It turns out when he is out in the field, in command," he tells them. "He takes some of his library of ancient runes with him, and search for the ones he wants, the ones that best describes what he was feeling or wants to say to the person he is thinking about," he says and stops here.
"I remember that," Bill says with a burst of laughter. "I remember having this really late night out on the field, it was horrid," he drops off here and then smiles as he remembers where he was going with this. "I woke up in the middle of night and decided to go and check up on him. Imagine my surprise on not only finding him awake, but finding his nose plastered in some book and him drawing on a piece of paper off to the side," he smiles wider at the memory. "I asked just what he thought he was doing, he looked up at me and simply said, 'relaxing'," Bill says with a shake of his head.
"Relaxing," Charles repeats knowingly. "I think everyone of us has noticed this at some point in time but never put two and two together," he tells them.
"Tell me about it," Ron snorts, "I mean I walked in on him doing that more and more, I was sorely tempted to call him Hermione but fought against it," he admits. "I didn't want to upset him more than he already is, I didn't want to ruin his relaxing activity," he tells them with a shrug.
"We didn't," Fred says with a smile.
"We were being dunces," George says with a nod.
"We showed up on the field," Fred starts to explain to the confused looks.
"Searching for our illustrious leader in crime, our dear partner," George continues.
"They needed help with one of their inventions," Ron clarifies for the room and snorts of laughter can be heard throughout the room as they remember times when they witnessed such events, most thinking partner in crime.
"Right," Fred says.
"Anyway, we were searching him out," George repeats.
"Only to find him," Fred smirks.
"With his nose buried in a book," George says looking pointedly at Hermione, who smiles slightly at the reference.
"Before one thought," Fred says.
"Could pass through our brains," George teases knowingly.
"We quickly said," Fred continues.
"Oops, sorry Hermione we were looking for Harry," they both chorus as one.
"Then we remembered our error," George explains to them there.
"We apologized profusely seeing him dropping his head on the table," Fred says.
"And his shoulders shaking fiercely," George continues.
"That is until we heard him snort," Fred explains.
"He looked up at us and he was redder than our hair," George tells them pointing to his head as reference.
"We were stunned, thinking we had messed up big time," Fred says.
"Until he almost passed out from laughing so loud," George continues with a smile remembering the event.
"The camp came to see what the new joke was and how they could use it on him," Fred says with a shake of his head.
"He eventually calmed down and thanked us," George says with raised eyebrows.
"He thanked us for the compliments, he didn't know he was a smart, brilliant and beautiful woman," Fred snorts out at this point.
"Sometimes that man is confusing, he's the only person who can catch us off guard," George agrees with his brother.
Dumbledore smiles at the show the twins still give to everyone, "he told me about that," he tells them. "He told it to me at the end of a really bad meeting, the both of us were still laughing when he left," he informs the twins. "He loves that the two of you don't try and skirt around topics you think might cause him pain," he informs the shocked twins. "He loves that you can brighten his days," he tells them honestly. "I also know he is making something more for the two of you to put in your shop," Dumbledore tells them, the twins look at him shocked. "I don't know if he finished it or not, I also know he felt stupid for what it was, but couldn't think of anything else at the moment. I can tell you this watching him building it was a sight to see," he says remembering that day so clearly in his mind.