An Effective Abstraction
By Muirnin Cocan
Chapter 7 - Ashes to Ashes
"Oh Harry," she sobbed he loosened his hold and she twisting her body around to face him, then she wrapped her arms around him. They held each other in a tight embrace not wanting to let go, both shedding tears and releasing their sorrows. Once the tears subsided, they just held each other with Hermione's head resting against Harry's chest.
Harry could see the trails that her tears had left and gently ran his thumb over her wet cheeks. She looked up into his emerald green eyes and saw a look that she had never seen from him before. It was more than just sincerity that she saw…
Their eyes locked for what seemed an eternity and what Harry saw shining back at him from her eyes of dark honey brown was hope…
Slowly in a silent joint affirmation, Harry lowered his head towards Hermione's upturned face and their lips inched closer…
A bell rang suddenly, startling them both causing them to stop their forward momentum, Hermione dropping her forehead down upon Harry's chest and beginning to giggle, which only made Harry laugh as well.
"What the hell was that?" Hermione asked through his chest.
Harry chuckled some more than said "Dobby announcing supper… I guess he took my suggestion quite literally."
"You told him to ring a bell." Hermione said bubbling with laughter still not taking her eyes off his chest.
"You got it in one… I figured with your Grandmother here, it wouldn't be a good idea for him to be seen, so I sort of suggested to ring a bell or something to get my attention for dinner…" Harry said unwrapping his arms from around Hermione. "Come on, we probably should get in there. I hadn't realised we had been gone so long… We have been out here quite a long time."
"Harry, can you do me a favour and promise me one thing…" Hermione said as she began to walk back into her bedroom.
"What's that?" Harry asked.
"If Professor Dumbledore is still out there, please do not let me lose my temper." Hermione pleaded.
"Only if you promise me the same thing." He said with a gentle smile. "Today has been quite emotional for all of us and I am trying my hardest not to let my temper get the better of me. However, besides all of the emotions and after everything else that man has put me through, I'm afraid I may break." Harry said sincerely.
"It's a …" Hermione started to say when there was a knock at the bedroom door.
"Herja" Came the voice of Mary Sullivan through the door. "Herja, I think that you and Harry need to come eat something… it is not good to starve yourselves when you are grieving."
"Be right out Nana…" Hermione said obligingly.
"Ok, Curiosity is getting the best of me... I have to ask… what is this Herja she keeps calling you." Harry asked as he saw Hermione begin to blush with his question.
"Umm it's my nickname that she gave me when I was a baby… It is a shortened version of my name… Hermione Jane… Herja…" She said with a slight twist of her mouth. "She did the same thing with my mum… Her name was Alexandria Evelynda Sullivan Granger… Alexeve for short…"
Harry looked at her for a couple of seconds for clarity to set in "Duh… I feel so stupid, that makes perfect sense. I guess I just never think about a nickname for you… because to me you are just Hermione… all though I do like how Dobby calls you… Mione…"
"No… you have that wrong," she said with a wink as she headed towards the door, "its Harry Potter's Mione."
Harry reached out and grabbed her hand and pulled her back… "And are you?" he said softly his inner feelings beginning to surface once again.
Hermione looked up into his eyes once again and said tenderly, "Am I what?"
"Are you Harry Potter's Mione?" He asked, his eyes burning into hers.
"That is who I am…" she scooted closer towards him and felt him wrap his arms around her once more, "I have always only been yours…" she added even softer.
Not wasting a second Harry lowered his lips to hers and kissed her, relaying all of the buried feelings that he held for this special woman. The gasp from Hermione at his actions did not stop her from returning the kiss in kind.
The kiss was gentle and sincere, relaying only the feelings buried deep within their hearts. They let the kiss linger until another call from Mary Sullivan reminding them to come to supper finally broke them apart.
"You know Nana really has bad timing…" Hermione said softly with a chuckle.
"Actually I think her timing isn't too bad… Not that I don't want to kiss you more, but we do have other things to deal with right now." Harry said as he took her hand in his and led her towards the door.
"I know Harry… my heart is telling me to never stop kissing you… which by the way you are a great kisser for my first kiss." Hermione said with a grin, "Anyway" she blushed, "The logical side of me where my brain is in command… it keeps telling me that we kissed because of the emotional roller coaster we have been on all day…"
"I will tell you this Mione," he said with a tender smile. "In my heart… you are my first kiss."
"What about Cho?" Hermione asked as they headed slowly towards the dining room.
"As I told you the night it happened… I never would have tried to kiss her… she just came at me… I will admit she was a crush… but she never once held my heart." Harry said honestly.
"That's good to know…"
The table was laden with a huge assortment of food, enough to feed an army… or a very hungry Ronald Weasley. Professor Dumbledore stayed to eat with them but did little to initiate a conversation with Harry or Hermione. They listened to Mary Sullivan regale them with stories about her youth and her time with her first husband Malcolm, leading into more discussions about the Wizarding World. With desserts served, they took their coffee into the lounge. Petunia was in a deep conversation with Mary Sullivan, discussing about losing a spouse to the Dark Lord's manipulations.
Dumbledore separated himself with his two students; feeling that there were unanswered questions that they most likely held. His long-term knowledge of both Harry and Hermione informed him that they were holding in a deep anger towards him, nevertheless he also knew that he had matters to discuss with them.
"It is getting rather late, however I do want to ask both of you if you need me to take care of any details as I offered before." Dumbledore addressed both Harry and Hermione.
"No sir, that is quite all right. Remus was able to get the information that we required and I have started a mental list of things we need to do and who we need to contact tomorrow." Harry said.
"If there is anything…"
"Sir, I understand that… however, this is something that" Harry paused and looked at Hermione before he continued, "that we need to do on our own. I am taking this burden off Aunt Petunia because it is my responsibility… I am now the man of the family… and I am assisting Hermione because it is also my duty as her best friend."
"Professor Dumbledore, please understand Harry and I need to do this as a way of closure for our losses." Hermione said with an unknown edge to her voice, holding back caustic remarks about how Dumbledore had handled the death and services of Harry's parents and how he had deposited Harry as a baby into the home of people who did not care or love him the way they should have.
For a few moments, Albus Dumbledore did nothing but stared intently at Hermione, while she refused to break his stare. "I see, all right Miss Granger, I understand."
"Professor, I do have a question for you…" Harry said trying to break the staring contest going on between Hermione and the Headmaster.
"What is that Harry?"
"Four of us heard the confessions of Draco Malfoy, Gregory Goyle, and Vincent Crabbe admitting to sending the bombs that killed a great many people." Harry glared intently at the Headmaster asking pointedly, "What is the Wizengamont going to do about them?"
"Your confessions will be addressed before the Wizengamont," Dumbledore started, "However, we also have to remember that we are dealing with crimes within the Non-Magical world and because of that we have the Statute of Secrecy…"
"You can just fuck the Statute of Secrecy… My parent's are dead" Hermione seethed. "Mrs. Dursley's husband, only son and sister-in-law are also dead … not to mention the partners in my parent's dental clinic their patients… From what I can see, those bloody bastards are going to walk away without even a slap on the wrist!"
Hermione angrily stood up from her seat, went over to her Grandmother and said a tearful goodnight then, stormed out of the lounge. Harry took a deep breath and than glared back at Dumbledore.
"So as you were saying, we have the statute of secrecy that will keep the Slytherin trio silent from the Muggles." Harry spoke with resoluteness, "Let me guess, Scotland Yard cannot do anything because of the confessions heard in Diagon Alley… Therefore, my family and Hermione's family… and the families of all those others who were murdered; justice will not be served… Do I understand you correctly SIR?" Harry growled, his voice was sharp and intense, with an even intense glare he continued without letting the Headmaster talk. "It was all right to throw Sirius into Azkaban without a trial based your incorrect averment that he was the secret keeper and on muggle eye witness accounts… muggles who were oblivated after they gave their accounts… but because in this instance, it is a MALFOY involved, so the Ministry won't do that again, because he would deserve a trial."
"Harry, we are going to do everything we can…"
"It's NOT enough!" seethed Harry; "I already lost many valuable years with my Godfather because of the Ministries duplicitous laws… I do not trust the Ministry to handle this at all…" Harry declared eyeing the Headmaster directly, "I will promise you this… one way or another justice will be served… if not by the Ministry and not by Scotland Yard then by ME…" His voice lowered to a dangerous level, "You have already told me that I have to kill Voldemort in order to pull the Wizarding world out of the shite it's in and if needs be, I will make damn sure that those three do not live happily ever after."
"Harry, please do not do anything rash…" Dumbledore pleaded.
"Sir, I believe that this conversation is over," still carrying the emotional threat as before he asked, "How do YOU expect me to believe that the Ministries laws will help when they wanted to throw me into Azkaban for saving my cousin's life last year?" Harry stood up and glared, his irritability mounting "No sir, I will NOT listen to anything more you have to say! Good night, you can see yourself to the door." Harry raged out of the room.
Harry headed straight to his bedroom slamming the door behind him. He angrily paced about the room kicking furniture. He tore off the shirt and tie he still wore from earlier and stripped down to his boxers. His intention was just to go straight to bed, his breathing heavy, his heart pounding; he was still so wound up that he stomped out onto the balcony and leaned heavily against the railing.
"FUCK…" he muttered angrily to himself.
"We did a fine job of keeping our tempers with the Headmaster didn't we…" the soft voice of Hermione said as she wandered from her position on the balcony to where Harry was standing.
"I shouldn't have asked that fucking question… I knew the answer already." Harry said berating himself for his lack of control.
"No Harry, you did need to ask that question… Dumbledore cannot conceal this within the shroud of Ministry ambiguity. Too many lives were lost…"
"I still should have waited…" Harry's voice cracked as his deeper emotions of grief and sorrow began to surface. "I hated the Dursley's… even though they were my family, I didn't want them dead… and all for what… so some sycophants can please an egomaniacal bastard just to get retaliation against me… all because I am the fucking boy who lived…"
"It's not your fault Harry… none of it…" Hermione said wrapping her arms around Harry, and pulling him close. She too had gotten ready for bed having changed into a deep royal blue satin nightdress that hung provocatively against her creamy skin.
"Mione, your parents are dead because those fucking arseholes wanted to make me pay for their father's being in prison…"
"You heard Malfoy… he wanted me dead… because to him I am nothing but a Mudblood… my bloodline has nothing to do with you… it is who I am…" her voice softened, "it wasn't just because I am your best friend that Malfoy and his goons decided to make both of us suffer…. Have you not figured it out yet Harry? It is not YOU who is to blame for any of it…"
"I know it's Voldemort's fault… same as it was for Sirius… but I can't help blaming myself for all of these deaths…" Harry mournfully whispered. "There are times I wish that bastard would just finish me off and get it over with."
"NO!" Hermione cried out as tears began to fall from her eyes, "This is exactly what Voldemort wants! He thrives on the fears and hopeless ness in others… Don't you see Harry, this is what he wants you to do… he wants you to give up so HE can win… I won't let you do this to yourself…." She turned him to face her, showing how strong she really is "I can't let you give up like that… I just can't… Don't you see? If you give up because of Voldemort… I lose you! I can't live without you!" wrapping her arms around him once more and sobbing into his shoulder. "I can't lose you…" she muttered repeatedly.
"I don't want to lose you either Mione… You are all I have to live for… the only thing worth living for…"
They held onto each other, crying together over the realities that faced their young lives. Finally, Hermione spoke again softly but with resolve, "We just have to find a way to make sure that you live…"
"How? How am I supposed to defeat a Dark Wizard who has decades more experience than I? It's rather hopeless you know…"
"It's only hopeless if you think that way… You thought the same thing before the Tri Wizard Tournament… Harry, we will find a way… once we get to Godric's Hollow we will go through the books that Sirius left me… we will find answers there… I will not stop looking until we have found a way to train you so you can kill Voldemort finally. I told you last night; I have to figure out that Prophecy… I need to study it… I won't rest until I find away to keep you alive."
"Mione, we have so little time before we are back in school…" Harry countered dejectedly.
"All of the achievements that I had hoped to have while at Hogwarts died when Voldemort's little parasites killed my parents… At this moment… I don't care if I never set foot in that castle again." Hermione said laying her head against Harry's shoulder.
"You don't mean that do you… You love school, you love to study… it is what you are so great at" Harry said.
"As I said, at this moment… Harry don't you see, my only concern…" she paused, "My only desire is to insure that you live… beyond that, I don't care about anything…"
Harry gave a look that held more intensity than he ever had shown to her before, "Is that your only desire Mione?"
"Mr. Potter, I do believe you are flirting with me," she said teasingly.
"Now why on earth would I do something like that?" he responded in kind, then turned serious, "Mione, you are my best friend…"
"Mine as well, and what ever this is that we have between us…" she said, "what ever it can become… it is my desire as well…"
Harry smoothed her hair away from her face where the slight breeze had displaced the strands. He cupped her cheek and said softly, "Sometimes… best friends can become something more…"
"I certainly hope so… in our case." She whispered back reaching up to the back of his neck and pulled his mouth down until it engulfed hers.
This kiss held far more than the one before, where that previous kiss had been gentle, this kiss bestowed all the passion that both of them felt…
Finally, when the kiss ended Harry rested his forehead against Hermione's and sighed. "I cannot believe that it was only last night…"
"… when we accidentally kissed…" Hermione finished.
"… and look at us now." Harry added as he sighed. "My mind is going as fast as my heart is pounding…"
"Mine too." Hermione agreed. "Do you think…"
"… that we are going too fast?" Harry completed her thought. "You know how you were talking earlier of your heart and mind being opposing forces… that's how I am right now." Harry said gently, absently tracing circles with his fingers along her bareback. "I feel like we have been building up to this moment for nearly six years… yet, even though everything seems so right…"
"I know Harry…" Hermione concurred. "In the next few days we are going to be having to make some extremely difficult decisions…" she gave a sudden shiver at the acceptance of this knowledge.
"Perhaps we should continue this inside, it's getting a bit cold out here." Harry said suddenly aware at how little he was wearing at that moment.
Hermione nodded to Harry as they entered his bedroom; she looked at him and asked "Do you mind if I sleep in here with you tonight, I don't really want to be alone."
"Of course Mione… I just hope that my nightmares won't disturb you." Harry said wearily as he pulled back the duvet and motioned Hermione to get in on the other side of the large bed.
She crawled into bed and snuggled up against Harry feeling safe within his arms. "I keep thinking of everything we need to plan for the funerals…"
"I know, so have I" Harry sighed as he held Hermione close. "After I go through and handle the identifications, I am going to contact some of Dudley's friends to ask them to be pallbearers. I probably should see if I can get a few of the guys from school as well…"
"Do you think that Ron will be coming tomorrow with is mum?" Hermione asked tentatively.
"I have no idea… I probably should have sent an owl to him earlier and asked him to join us… I just didn't know how he would handle this whole thing."
"Do you mean about you and me?"
Harry gave a slight chuckle, "Actually no… although that is a good point… I probably should talk to him about how I feel about you."
"About both of our feelings…" Hermione corrected then added, "We should talk to him together about that."
"Yes, you do bring up good points…" Harry smiled then clarified, "What I was thinking is I would like him with me when I go to identify the bodies, but I wasn't sure if he could handle that kind of situation, with the deaths and all…"
"Harry, it is a reality in life that he is going to have to face at one time or another… Best if he doesn't have to handle it for himself the first time he has to deal with it…" she said, "Besides, he is your best mate… I am sure that he would want to be there for you."
"But who is going to be there for you? We are going to two separate locations to view the bodies… I hate that I am not going to be with you for that. Would you like me to go with you first and then I can take care of the Dursley's?"
"You would do that for me?"
"Of course love… I don't know why I didn't think about it sooner…" Harry said, suddenly getting out of bed and heading over to where Hedwig rested upon a perch in his room.
"Harry, what are you doing out of bed?" Hermione asked perplexed.
"I'm going to send Ron a note asking him to come with his mum in the morning…"
"Good idea, but don't forget to tell him to dress like a muggle." Hermione reminded.
Harry nodded and quickly wrote a note to Ron. Tying the note to Hedwig's leg he said quietly to her "Ok I need you to get this to Ron immediately, make sure he reads it tonight alright?"
Hedwig gave a quiet hoot and after affectionately nipping his finger, she took wing and was gone.
"Well that's done…" Harry said climbing back into bed, allowing Hermione to lie within his arms once more. He kissed her on the top of her head, "Let's get some sleep, hopefully he will be able to come in the morning… I'm sure if he doesn't have anything proper to wear I can transfigure some of what I have to fit him."
Hermione yawned, "I keep forgetting you can do magic out of school now…" she giggled softly.
"Yeah and here you thought you would be the first of us… Poor Ron has to wait until next March." Harry said with a quiet chuckle.
"I am just a little bit jealous that you can do magic now and I can't…" she said sleepily, "But come Christmas, we will be able to do all kinds of magic…" She yawned again through closed eyes, "Good night Harry…"
"Good night love…" Harry said softly, removing his glasses to the bedside table, as his eyelids finally succumbed to his exhaustion, thinking about how much his life changed in just the last day.
When daylight had broken through the French doors of his room, for the first time in as long as Harry could remember, his dreams held none of the violence and dread he had come to expect. Contently, Harry smiled as he remembered the vivid dreams he had experienced from the night before. The graphic dreams consisted of the woman curled up against his body and a future that he wanted to share…
Looking over at the clock on the bedside table, he saw that it was just after six in the morning. Hedwig swooped in at that moment and fluttered over to where she saw that Harry was awake and held out her leg for him to take the note from her. Untying the parchment, he quickly put on his glasses and read the note.
Dear Harry,
Mum had told us at Dinner what happened to yours and Hermione's families… I am so sorry this has happened to you both. I got permission from mum to let me come with her so I will be there about half past 8 in the morning… Ginny was bugging mum about letting her come with, but Mum said no… I sort of didn't want her tagging along either truth be told. Mum has been baking all night; I think this has upset her more than normal…
See ya,
Ron
Harry set the note down, looked at the sleeping figure next to him, and smiled. Hermione looked like an angel, not wanting to disturb her sleep he got out of bed, gathered some clothing to wear and went in to shower and get ready for the day.
He had chosen to wear one of the muggle suits that he had found in the wardrobe. The suit he chose was a finely tailored, summer worsted woollen in a double-breasted cut, of deep charcoal grey. He had chosen a silk tie of dark burgundy with a deep gold pinstripe that reminded him slightly of his house colours at Hogwarts.
By the time he had returned to his room he noted that it was already just past seven. He looked over at his bed where he found Hermione still sound asleep. She had kicked the duvet from her body while he had been gone and had gathered his pillow up into her arms where she cuddled it close to her body. He distractedly took in the pleasing shape of her body as she slept and smiled appreciatively at knowing her feelings for him as well.
Having wasted enough time staring at her, he quietly walked over and sat down on the side of the bed, leaning down and kissed her softly on her cheek.
"Mione," he whispered into her ear, "Time to get up love, it's after seven… Ron will be here in a bit."
She groaned in protest, "Don't want to…" she murmured… "Want to sleep…"
"Come on love… it's time to get up…" Harry said as he placed gentle kisses along her earlobe and her neck.
"You keep that up and I'll force you back into this bed…" Hermione purred, stretching contently at the new sensations his kisses were causing her body to react.
He chuckled, "too late, I am already showered, dressed and…" he kissed her lips, "if you force me to, I will pick you up and toss you into the shower…" He laughed at her reaction to this latest pronouncement.
"Oh you wouldn't dare…" Hermione said staring at Harry who cocked his eyebrow at her and grinned mischievously. Her eyes widened in shock as she realised he wasn't kidding; he made to pick her up from where she lay.
"Dare is one of those four letter words, that I am bound by my Marauder blood to abide by…"
"HARRY!" Hermione squealed as he picked her up in his arms, "Put me down!" she gasped in mock fear.
"Only if you will get up now…" he shrugged, "Otherwise, I will have to toss you into the shower… possibly involving icy cold water… fully clothed…"
"I promise… I promise…" she begged, then felt her self being thrown playfully back onto the bed where she bounced and collapsed back into giggles.
"Merlin, you are beautiful Mione…" Harry said as he looked at the helpless woman on his bed, he leaned down and captured her lips, kissing her with deepest affection. "Now that is the way I would have rather woken up this morning… Good morning my love…" his voice deep and throaty.
"Hmmm good morning to you…" Hermione responded. "That is a much better way of waking up…" she sighed, "I guess there is no point in my delaying what's to come…"
"Unfortunately no… we have a list of things to do and Ron will be here shortly with his mum… I have a feeling that Dobby has breakfast ready, so while you are getting showered and dressed, I am going to go check on Aunt Petunia and see about getting some coffee."
"That sounds good" Hermione said as she got out of bed and stretched, blushing after catching the look upon Harry's face. "Er… so how did you sleep last night, any nightmares?"
"Nary a one…" Harry said and then with a sly grin added, "I could get used to having you in my bed. The dreams I did have were very…" he winked, "pleasant indeed."
"Oh you don't say…" she teased, "Perhaps we should compare notes some day…"
"Now that would be a very interesting discussion." Harry agreed, "Go on now and get dressed… I will see you in the dining room when you are ready." He said kissing her softly and then watched as she went back out onto the balcony and headed towards her room.
Harry sighed happily as he thought about the dreams from the night before, a small part of him hoped that Voldemort had tried to peer into his head… If what Dumbledore had said about Love being the power that the Dark Lord knew not was true, Harry could only imagine what kind of damage his imaginative dreams had caused the evil bastard.
Walking into the dining room Harry noticed that he was not alone. Both Remus and Tonks were sitting at the table eating breakfast and talking softly. "Good morning to both of you… I wasn't expecting you for another hour or two." Harry said as he sat down, filling his mug with hot coffee then fixed his plate of food.
"Well we wanted to get Hermione's things from her house so she would have them here…" Tonks said brightly and then with a wicked grin added, "Imagine my surprise when I found her bed empty this morning…"
"Er… she stayed in my room last night… but nothing happened." Harry explained as he absently munched a slice of bacon.
Tonks winked "Yes, I know where she stayed… I checked on you to make sure you were alright and I found her curled up with a pillow upon your bed…"
"Dora…" Remus warned. "I am sure that Harry and Hermione have a logical explanation for last night."
"She didn't want to be alone…" Harry said, "You told me yourself yesterday Moony to take care of her and I did…"
"No doubt…" Tonks added causing Harry to glare at her for her accusations.
"Nothing happened…" Harry tensed, "I care far too much for Hermione to ever do anything like what you are suggesting… I do not take advantage of my friends."
"I'm only teasing Harry…" Tonks apologised. "Merlin's beard, you are tense…"
"Well I do have a FEW things on my mind." Harry growled, taking a sip of his coffee "Ron will be coming with Mrs. Weasley in a bit. We wrote to him last night to join us. He and I will be going with Hermione first then we will go and identify the Dursley's bodies…"
"That's fine Harry," Remus said "I believe that Arabella Figg will be here about that same time… Professor Dumbledore was arranging for her transportation over here. I wanted to ask you have you thought about pall bearers for the funeral."
"Well, I'm not really sure how many we will need, but I am going to contact a few of Dudley's friends… if necessary I can ask the Weasley's as well as some of the boys from the DA. I figured that it would be easier on Aunt Petunia if we just had the one funeral for all three of them rather than have separate ceremonies…"
"You can pretty much figure that you will need 6 - 8 pall bearers for each casket… Of course, if you chose to you could also just have a graveside service instead… It's all a matter of what you want to do…" Remus explained in his patented instructor mode.
"I think I need to talk that part over with Aunt Petunia… is she up yet."
"When I checked on you this morning, I also checked on your aunt… She is still in bed, but I did speak with her and she told me that it was rather late when Hermione's grandmother left last night…" Tonks said.
"I'm not sure what time she left… Hermione and I both got rather upset last night…" Harry stated.
"I've heard all about it from Albus already Harry…" Remus said, "I agree with what caused you to be upset… I don't trust the Ministry as far as I could throw them… and being a werewolf I do have some strength behind my throws… but it is still not good enough. I think this is going to be more of a wait and see situation then an on going investigation." Remus began to explain, "What I heard this morning from the Muggle news, their reports have some very interesting theories regarding the bombings. It seems that the most favourable theory is one that this was a revenge tactic involving rival rugby teams." Remus paused then said, "The most shocking detail that they announced, and of course I am quoting here, was that one of the victims Mr. Vernon Dursley has an only nephew. They named one Harry James Potter and his best friend Ronald Weasley, another reported apparent target. They added that you are both players for one of the rival Rugby teams. The reports then added that their best friend is Hermione Granger, whose parent's were both killed in a separate explosion and the three of them are being reported as students at what they called an elite preparatory college in Northern Scotland…"
"How did they connect us? I mean seriously…" Harry queried. "I can guess that they knew about the last names of Weasley and Granger from the shipping company… but not my name… There is no way they could have gotten Ron's first name from a package that got destroyed." Harry reasoned.
"I have no idea Harry, unless there was some sort of anonymous tip to Scotland Yard or to the media… but somehow they got your names…" Tonks added.
"Shite… this is even more damaging because of the Statute of Secrecy…" Harry muttered, "Malfoy will never be convicted for anything."
"I wouldn't be too sure about that Harry" Tonks said with a sly grin, "Apparently, Madam Bones is rather angry with all of these boys' manipulations in the wizarding press. It seems that Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle have been making wild statements to the Daily Prophet and evidently, Minister Fudge is rather embarrassed especially since the murders affect" she added dramatically, "'The Boy Who Lived'. It seems that there is a great many people who are seeking a dementors kiss for the Slytherin Trio…"
"Seeing as how you had been telling the truth about Voldemort's return, and the added fact that Malfoy and some of his cronies are locked up in prison as being Death Eaters… it would appear that the junior death eaters are not taking extra precautions… they are getting careless." Remus said with an equally sly grin, "Their rather vocal utterances that were overheard by us yesterday… it seems that we weren't the only ones that caught their comments."
"Dumbledore didn't tell me that last night!" Harry said in shock.
"He didn't know… There were quite a few Aurors as well as Order members that were all over the place yesterday afternoon…" Tonks confirmed, "I have a feeling that when the Wizengamont has an opportunity they are going to filet Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle into tiny little Slytherin steaks and roast them over an open pit! The Malfoy name is not as welcome in the Ministry of Magic as it once was… I also heard that the School Governors are petitioning to have all three boys expelled because of their involvement with known Death Eaters as well as their blatant disregard over the Statute of Secrecy… it's all rather comical with how much they have fucked up lately!"
"Snape will never expel them… not if he wants to keep his cover with Voldemort." Harry stated.
"Their expulsion would be by order of the School Governors… Professor Snape will have no say in the matter…" Remus said with a grin, causing Harry to realise that part of his glee was from the fact that Snape had been the one who let slip about his being Lycanthrope.
"It's about time that he gets his…" Hermione voice said as she entered the dining room. She was dressed in an oriental style black silk dress that had a mandarin collar. Her normally bushy brown hair had been swept back into an elegant twist at the back of her head.
"How much did you hear?" Harry asked, silently in awe at the beauty he beheld.
"Well when I found my school trunk in my room, I figured that Moony or Tonks was here so…" Hermione started to say as she pulled out a long flesh coloured string that Harry knew as an exclusive Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes Extendable Ear, "I grabbed this from my trunk and eavesdropped while I took my shower and got dressed… I heard it all!" she blushed.
"Rather clever of you to do so Miss Granger." Remus grinned broadly. "At least now we know we don't have to repeat this again. I will add one thing since you are here now. Do you remember that little bug on the wall in the Attestation Chamber yesterday?" Hermione nodded, "It seems that Cornelius Fudge was contacted yesterday afternoon about an article that is being written for the Daily Prophet." Remus grinned even wider, "and somehow there is even more leverage going on with the Minister's office with demands of expedience for justice. So, the article is being delayed, that of course is until all of the investigations into the bombings are done."
"Excellent!" Hermione exclaimed.
"It seems that Rita Skeeter is feeling rather magnanimous at the moment, along with a certain desire in assisting that your parent's murderers meet their combined fates."
"She's probably wanting an exclusive…" Harry said gloomily.
"If she pulls this off, she will GET an exclusive from me for a job well done." Hermione stated. "She has done exactly what we have asked and has now gone beyond the call to duty."
"Do you really want to give her an interview after all the shite she has put us through in the past?" Harry asked.
"I have no problem with that if it means that my parent's killers are convicted… We will deal with Rita later…" Hermione said looking at her watch, "We have about half hour before Ron and the others are here."
Mrs. Weasley, Ron and Mrs. Figg joined the foursome in the dining room as they finished their breakfasts. Harry had taken Ron back to his room to help him find a muggle suit to wear rather than the trousers and buttoned shirt he was wearing. The suits were magically charmed to adjust to the wearers' size and a deep blue suit was chosen for Ron.
"My goodness you boys look dapper today…" Mrs. Weasley said as she fussed at straitening Ron's light blue silk tie. "And Hermione, that dress suits you so well…"
Harry saw Hermione look at him and grinned as he gave her a secretive wink in admiration of her look.
"Mr. Gray has kindly arranged for a car and driver to take us where we need to go today. I agreed with him that with the five of us Hermione's car would be a tight squeeze." Remus mentioned.
"That makes sense, at least this way we won't have to drive ourselves." Harry commented.
"Harry, I can't believe how grown up you look in that suit… It seems like only yesterday that you were just a little boy sitting on my sofa reminiscing with me about my cats…" Mrs. Figg said with a sudden sadness to her tone.
"Sometimes it does feel like it was only yesterday," he said.
After travelling to where Hermione needed to identify her parent's bodies, two hours had passed and so with weariness, they headed to the location for the Dursley's identifications. Harry had suggested to Hermione that she stay out in the car with Remus and Tonks, he did not wish her to further vulnerability of another viewing.
Hermione refused, partially because she had grasped hold of his hand and refused to let it go. Ron had eyed this attachment to Harry; however, he remained silent in this regard. As the trio stood waiting for the coroner to bring the gurneys out of the cold storage Harry felt a prickling at his scar. His hand tensed upon Hermione's and she looked at him with concern.
"He is angry for some reason… probably heard about what a bunch of fuck ups that Malfoy and his gang have been." He whispered quickly to Hermione.
"No doubt…" she stated, "Are you going to be alright?"
Harry nodded and then after releasing her hand walked over to the three gurneys. The sheet pulled back from the first and Harry identified the body as being his Uncle's sister Marjorie Dursley. Repeating the routine for the second body, Harry confirmed that this was his uncle Vernon Dursley. When the coroner had then repeated the task for the third and last time, Harry was unprepared.
"This isn't my cousin… I don't know who this man is!" Harry said suddenly as he looked at the body of an older man in his late 60's. "Are you sure that these are the only bodies that had been at Aunt Marge's home?"
"These were the only bodies found at the scene… Let me check the fingerprints for this body." After several tense moments he came back and said "We normally will run fingerprints on all bodies that come through here, then if nobody comes to claim them, we have a name to go with the corpse… this one matched with someone named 'Fubster'. Are you familiar with that name?"
Harry thought for a moment and remembered something from Aunt Marge's last visit. "Yeah, he sometimes manages her dogs… but usually only when she is out of town… I know they are friends but I have no other knowledge about his family or anything. Sir, where is my cousin Dudley?"
"These were the only bodies found at the scene… if he somehow managed to survive the blast, I am surprised that none of our investigators found him wandering around. You may want to check with some of his friends to see if they know anything."
Harry agreed and then signed the documents to have the bodies of Vernon and Marge released to the Mortuary. The three of them started to leave the building, when caught unawares by a voice that said, "Harry?"
"Oh my God, DUDLEY!" Harry shouted, surprisingly hugging the bulk of his stunned cousin. "Where have you been? Your mum and I thought you had died with Aunt Marge and your dad…"
"W-w-what happened Harry? W-w-where's m-m-mum?" Dudley stammered. His appearance was bedraggled with torn clothing; he looked exhausted and filthy, covered with mud and soot.
"She's fine, she is at an apartment that I own… Come on; let us get you back there; My God, she will be so glad to know you are not dead… Why are you not dead?" Harry asked still stunned himself at the appearance of his cousin.
Dudley still had not answered Harry's question, but followed him back to the waiting car. Nobody said anything on the drive back to the Towers. Remus had called ahead to alert Mrs. Weasley about Dudley's appearance, so to prepare Petunia for the surprise.
Surprise was an understatement when Petunia saw her son, alive and apparently well. He still had not explained how he had survived the explosion. Harry had quickly ordered Dobby to fix up the fourth bedroom for Dudley's use. After showing Dudley his new room, Harry suggested to Dobby that perhaps a good meal was in order. Harry then told Dudley to get showered, showed him where he could find some new clothing; that thankfully were magically charmed so that they would size to fit and left him to go seek solace with Ron and Hermione.
The three of them had gathered on Harry's portion of the wraparound balcony. "I just don't understand how he lived through that…" Harry said with shock.
"Did you see how relieved your Aunt was Harry?" Ron said with a grin. "I know that Lupin had felly toned ahead, but she was still in shock."
"It's telephoned… not felly… oh never mind… she still lost her husband because of all of this…" scolded Hermione. She lay a hand on Harry's shoulder, "Are you going to be all right Harry?" Her voice was soft and comforting to him.
He nodded then turned and looked at Hermione, silently asking her if they should talk to Ron right then. She nodded in agreement; then he quirked an eyebrow at her, begging her to start the conversation. She rolled her eyes at him in understanding and with the knowledge that he was a bit afraid to bring up the topic.
"Ron, I think it is time for us to have a talk about something…" Hermione started, not quite sure how exactly she was going to say what needed to be said.
"About what Hermione… planning on getting Dudley to join S.P.E.W.?" He joked.
"This isn't a joking matter Ron. It's about..." she sighed, "Ron you are our best friend… but you need to understand that my relationship with Harry has changed."
"What do you mean it's changed?" Ron's voice tensed with a hint of hidden rage. "What are you hiding from me now?
"Ron…" Harry started, "What we are trying to tell you is that Hermione and I have feelings for each other…"
"Oh and like my feelings for her don't matter?" Ron shouted. "Sure, go ahead… forget about the fact that I liked her first!"
"When have you EVER told me you liked me?" Hermione countered, "Never once have you shown me that you had any type of romantic feelings for me…"
"I've shown you plenty of times… I got you perfume for Christmas last year!" Ron fumed.
"Oh please… that's not showing romantic interest… that's barely showing me that you know I'm a girl! Ron…"
"Just because he is Harry bleeding Potter isn't it…" Ron growled.
"You still don't see it do you… I care about you as only a friend… but I am in love with Harry!" Hermione shouted back.
"And I love her Ron…" Harry added quietly, trying desperately to keep his temper under control. "When I thought she had died at the Department of Mysteries, I thought my life was over… If she died, I would die along with her… You may be my best mate Ron, but she is my life…"
"Why couldn't you love me?" Ron whined to Hermione, ignoring what Harry had said. "Why couldn't you love me?"
"I'm sorry Ron, but it's always been Harry… Just Harry for me… I do not care about his fame or fortune… I have always loved him… This may sound strange to you, but from the moment, I saw him that first day on the train… I just knew, he was a part of my life forever."
"I've got to get out of here…" Ron said suddenly not able to look at either of them in the eyes.
"Ron, please do not go away mad at us…" Harry pleaded, "We need you…"
"It's not fair… I've liked her for so long and you swoop in and steal her from me." Ron said angrily with tears in his eyes.
"He couldn't steal what you never had Ron…" Hermione said bluntly. "I do care about you deeply Ron, but our personalities have never meshed… we would never have been a couple, because one or the other would have had to change drastically… that's not how a relationship works. There needs to be mutual understanding and Harry understands me in ways you never could. There also needs to be respect of and for each other, but you do not respect me. You even accused me of betraying Harry to Viktor. That hurt me more then you will ever realise."
Harry gave Hermione a look that told her to let him talk to Ron privately, so she nodded and headed back to the other room. As he looked at his best friend he realised that Ron had tears falling to his cheeks.
"I am sorry I did not get a chance to talk to you about this before all this happened. When Sirius died, I was in shock and I did not want to be around anyone. It was very difficult the last couple of days when I found that the feelings that I had been holding inside of me actually meant something deeper than I have ever experienced before." Harry said quietly, "Ron, I had no idea that you liked Hermione… I want to be able to say that had I known I would have stepped aside and let you have your chance, but to be completely honest… I know that most likely would not have happened."
"I thought I had it all worked out… I would have Hermione, you would have Ginny, and we would be all part of the same family," Ron said sadly.
"But don't you see Ron, we are all part of the same family… you and Hermione are MY family. You are my brother in everyway but blood. You know this for fact… we are closer than you are to some of your own blood kin. I could never have gotten into a relationship with Ginny… she is my little sister" Harry said, "I was relieved when she finally got over her crush on me… it made being around her very difficult because I never could see her as anything other than a little sister. Do you mind if I make a bit of an observation here Ron?"
"What now…" Ron asked dryly.
"You treat Hermione the same way that you treat Ginny… as more of a sister than anything else. That is why it would never work for you and Hermione. I do know she cares about you… as the brother she has never had." Harry said sagely then pausing he cautioned, "Please do not make me have to choose between you and Hermione… if you ever do that, well, I do not think you will like my choice. I will always love you as my brother…"
"Yeah our replacement for Percy…" Ron quipped.
"Nah, Percy will come around someday," he stated then paused, "Well maybe not…" they both laughed.
"You are the Weasley brother without red hair." Ron joked sadly again, "I really thought I loved her."
"I don't doubt that you do love her… but you are not in love with her. There is a big difference with that. She is the air that I breathe, my reason for living… Ron, I really meant it when I said a part of me died when I thought she died… that is what finally made me realise what she means to me. She has always been special to me, been a part of me in ways that has only grown stronger over the years. This whole thing with the killings of our families has only made our feelings more intense than they had been…" Harry said honestly.
"It's going to take some time to get used to this you know…" Ron finally admitted.
Harry looked at his best friend, "I know there is someone out there for you… and she is special and wise in her own way… you just have to open your eyes and see her for who she truly is."
"And does this girl have a name?" Ron asked.
"Yes… not that I know it at this time, but then even if I did, that is not for me to tell you… you have to find her the hard way, just as I found the love of my life. Each of us has to find our own loves connection." Harry said in a softer tone, "so are we all ok now? You still consider me your best mate?"
"Yeah, we are okay…" Ron agreed
"Good… listen, I inherited some property from my folks… I want you and your family to come join me there in a couple of weeks." Harry invited, "Oh and by the way… just so you know" he cringed a tiny bit, "Part of my inheritance from Sirius was my emancipation… so I can practice magic outside of school. So I can train up quite a bit."
"Oh Bloody Hell… You mean I am going to be the last one of us three to get to do magic outside of school." Ron said in disbelief.
"Sorry mate… but if I have to kill Voldemort… Oh please would you stop tweaking every time I say his name." Harry reprimanded, "I know that I am destined to kill him and the only way I will be able to is if I can practice, that's part of why I want you to join me at my ancestral home. I got quite a few surprises after you and your family left yesterday… you know that portrait of Sirius… well after he was done with his portion of the proceedings, my mum and dad joined him."
"You got to talk to your mum and dad. That is great!" Ron stated with excitement. "So what all did you get."
"Honestly? A lot of headaches… This building here is only part of my Potter estate… I'll learn more once I get to Godric's Hollow, but there is a huge assortment of businesses both muggle and wizarding that I have an investment in or that I actually own outright. With all the stuff going on with the funerals, I have not even had the chance to go through all of the paperwork."
"I don't envy you there mate… I am sure that Hermione will be itching to help you with all the paperwork… she lives for that stuff." Ron commented.
"No doubt… However, she has already told me that she is going to be looking in all the books that are in my library at the mansion. You know how she gets when there is the chance to study something… she is probably planning to leave no stone unturned… which in a way I am very glad to have her on my side."
They talked for a few more moments and then went into the other room to join the others. Dobby had put out a huge spread of food, which Ron was very appreciative. Dudley had eaten very little but then went back into his bedroom.
Harry's thoughts kept going back to his cousin's rather shocking appearance and found he could not just ignore the unanswered questions. He told Hermione and Ron that he would go talk to Dudley and see if he could find out more privately. They agreed with that assessment and let him go to the other boy.
Dudley was sitting in one of the wicker chairs outside on the balcony attached to his room. He sat with his head in his hands, solemnly taking long drags from a cigarette he was smoking.
"Does you mum know you took up smoking Dud?" Harry asked quietly as he joined him in one of the other chairs.
"What's it to you what I do…" Dudley said harshly.
"I'm not here to pick a fight with you Dudley… when I found out about the explosion, and thought that you had died along with Uncle Vernon… it did upset me. I have lost so many people who I cared about and I realised that no matter what, you are my family and as crazy as it may seem, I never wanted to see you both dead." Harry said eyeing his cousin to see if he was paying attention to what he was saying. "And here you are still alive and I have to say, I'm glad because we now have a second chance."
"Colonel Fubster caught me smoking out behind Aunt Marge's barn yesterday morning… He told my dad and Aunt Marge. I was so mad at him and then Dad got really mad at me… we had a huge yelling match we said a bunch of stuff… I finally had enough and I took off, praying to God that they would just go away and leave me alone… I didn't want to go to Aunt Marge's in the first place…I told Dad that… after that I saw the house blow up with all of them inside… I went in and saw all three of them and they were d-d-dead." Dudley said, "I got really afraid then that someone would think I did that, so I ran away… I tried to call mum, but there was no answer at the house… So I figured I would try to see her when she claimed Dad's body… Then I saw you instead… I knew you had to know where mum was… I had no idea that she had been told I had died too…"
"We were at the Wizarding Bank yesterday morning in regards to my inheritances from my Godfather's and my parent's estates…" Harry explained. "If I had known you hadn't died too, I would have made sure you got back with your mum… All we were told was they had found three bodies… I just assumed… I am so sorry that this happened Dudley…"
"It's not your fault Harry, it's mine… I had prayed that Dad would just let me be… my prayer came true."
Harry looked sadly at his cousin understanding how he could feel such guilt for his dad's death. "That's not the way that prayers work Dud… You know that… besides, you didn't send the bombs… that was done by three kids from my school in retaliation for my getting their father's sent to prison…" Harry took a deep breath, "I know all about feeling guilty for someone dying… Both of my best friends were also targeted… you saw them earlier… My…Hermione… her parent's also died from a separate explosion." His voice cracked a touch relaying this information.
"Oh shite…" Dudley said, "So why did you and Mum come here rather than going home?"
"From what my Headmaster told us yesterday, there had been four bombs that had been sent out…" Harry went on to relate all the details that he had regarding the murders. He then explained to Dudley about the discussions he had with Petunia as well as the newest revelation about her being a Witch.
"Dad would have had a fucking coronary if he knew that Mum was a witch." Dudley said in surprise.
"I'm surprised he didn't have one already to tell the truth… He sure hated me because of my being a wizard." Harry said.
"This doesn't mean I am going to turn magic or anything does it…" Dudley asked fearfully.
"That's not how it works Dud… your mum is a special case… but I can pretty much guess that you are pure muggle…"
"Well that's good…" Dudley said with relief, "Er… I mean…"
Harry laughed, "That's okay Dud… I understand… you should have seen the look on your mum's face though when she accidentally 'zipped Malfoy's lip' literally… a big ol' zipper appeared and shut his mouth up good."
"Sounds like something you would see in a cartoon…" Dudley laughed.
"You would be amazed at some of the shite I have seen…" Harry started, and then proceeded to give some comical antidotes from his past years at school… including the amazing bouncing ferret!
The comradeship that had developed between Harry and Dudley that evening continued on the rest of the week. Dudley contacted some of his friends and was genuinely surprised that none of them would help in regards to the funeral. Harry tried to reassure him that not everyone was able to handle the pressures of being a pallbearer and after contacting the Weasley's as well as many members of the DA; he was able to assemble the needed pallbearers.
Friday morning had dawned rather gloomy, setting forth the mood for the entire day. They had all gathered in the morning for the double funerals of Andrew Michael Granger and his wife Alexandria Evelynda Sullivan Granger. Harry had stayed close to Hermione, willing his strength to her as she watched the final moments of the burial that was taking place.
Mary Sullivan stood solemnly next to her only granddaughter, saddened by the knowledge that no parent should ever have to watch their child precede them in death.
Scheduled that afternoon was only a double graveside service for both Vernon and Marge, since neither of them had been staunch Anglicans. Harry listened to the words; In sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ, we commend to Almighty God our brother Vernon and our sister Marjorie; and we commit their bodies to the ground; earth to earth; ashes to ashes, dust to dust. The Lord bless them and keep them, the Lord make his face to shine upon them and be gracious unto them and give them peace. Amen.
Harry sat to the left of his aunt with Hermione seated on his right. Dudley sat on the other side of his mum, very silent. Harry felt tears sting his eyes and glanced quickly at his Aunt Petunia, who was weeping uncontrollably. He felt Hermione squeeze his hand and looked over at her. She too was crying, not out of loss for Vernon Dursley, but out of the tragedy that had befallen all of them.
Once the services were over, they all gathered back at the Towers. Harry had heard of a wake before, but had never been to one and felt oddly out of place and very alone even in the midst of all the people gathered. Many of Vernon's employees from Grunnings had come and were spending most of their time talking to Petunia and Dudley. The Weasley's had done a great deal for Harry's family in making sure everything was lacking in magic for the afternoon.
Many of the Granger's friends had also gathered, aware of the ties between Harry and Hermione. Students from Hogwarts had also joined them and though many of them had tried to reach out to Harry, he had preferred to close himself off and adjourned to the balcony. The overwhelming weight of the emotions from the past week besieged them again.
Try as Harry might he could only think of one thing… no matter what he would not stop until he had destroyed Lord Voldemort and his minions.
Author's Notes:
As I continue to write this chapter, I am filled with many thoughts of the exceptionally brilliant and beautiful woman who raised me and of the many things she taught me, for you see, today February 23, 2005 marks the 19th anniversary of my mother's death. Many of the thoughts and feelings that I have written in this chapter come straight from my own experience of that particular event in my life…so very complex the mind and how it tends to cast blame and consumes one with guilt… I am a firm believer that prayer works…I do believe in God… and God (or for those of you who have a disbelief of such a being - the higher power whomever or whatever you choose him or her to be) does answer prayers…you may not get the answers you really wanted… but he does answer all of them. Even the insane prayers you offer up when you are praying you will win the $65million in Lotto… (Sometimes the answer is a clear and concise NO…)
I won't go into all of the details as to what has caused me to come to this understanding… I have so many stories that I could relate to you giving a vast assortment of 'proof'… I just felt that I should let you know why this chapter has meant so much to me, and why I chose not to break up this large chapter…As I write this Author's note I haven't finished the chapter… it is already over 9,000 words long. I can't say at the moment that there will be no cliff hanger - that would be foolish since I am still writing it…I will say that I am trying to make sure that I post this chapter today… Computer willing that is…I find my system is not allowing me to log on at the moment. :rolls eyes:
I do want to say that I really do want to thank you for taking the time to read this story. I hate begging for review; I find it does something to a writer's credibility, however, I will admit to you that I get a profound sense of joy… when I read and reply to each and every one. They are my drugs of choice…I am also hopelessly addicted to the reviews I get and I hope that you will take a few moments to feed my review addiction…it is healthier than drugs and does not cost you a dime. Take care and have a good week!
Peace - As Always,
Muirnin - who firmly believes "An imaginative mind is a terrible thing to waste..." @}>---'---,---
Disclaimer: Why I write this is for my own guilty pleasure! I do not now, nor have I at any time owned any of the Harry Potter characters. This is an original plot from my own insane imagination, however some of the plot points may have already been used before - I can't guarantee that kind of originality. There are too many written works out in the vast universe…each of my words in some for or another has been used before… However, by no means is this plagiarism.
It is based on characters created by J. K. Rowling. In no way is any money being made, nor copyright or trademark infringement intended. J. K. Rowling owns all rights as well as various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, with additional rights belonging to Warner Bros., Inc. Some parts may be of an adult nature that may not be suitable for all readers. Reader discretion is strongly advised.
If after I have spelled it out to you like this you still feel that I am trying to be J. K. Rowling, I will ask you for the name of a good Literary Agent who will represent me in my own professional writing and thank you very much.