*NOTES* Wow you guys are way too good to actually be reading my insane babble but you do. Coolbeans. Now, on to some more rambling. You didn't actually think I was going to go right into Hermione's letters did you? Come on you should know me better by now. This chapter took some time and get use to the wait because in between friends and homework and classes and sleeping and eating, it might take me a while to type something I like. This took me longer than I thought because I had to organize my thoughts and wow did they need it. Plus I got back to getting inside Remus's mind. HEHEHE! Anyway I would also like to say thank you to my loyal readers and reviewers, especially PJ for reading the chapters with Ron's letters.
Thank you all and please enjoy this chapter.
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It was decided that they would all take a break from the readings until after lunch and seeing as how it was just going on ten they all thought this was a wise decision. Remus stumbled out the kitchen doors and into the fresh air, he gulped at it greedily. Finally he turned to look at the house that was behind him, all three teenagers had so many happy memories here it didn't take a fool to realize why they had chose this as the gathering point. But Remus felt like there was something out of place, something was missing.
"You felt it to?" He had watched Professor McGonagall exit the house and now she stood in front of him. Somewhere along the way, this year, she had gotten some of Dumbledore's habits. He wondered if it came with the power of taking over the school.
"Felt what?" His voice sounded strange to him. He had not heard that sound in years, seventeen to be exact, and yet he couldn't seem to place the sound.
"Something is missing, isn't it Remus?"
"Yes, Professor McGonagall something is missing." And with that Remus turned and apparated out of there, he knew what was missing. Quietly he treaded on soft ground as he looked to the looming castle in the distance. Remus Lupin had just apparated into Hogsmead. But instead of turning to the castle he went astray and looked at the town. It was completely deserted and it had been for a year.
Casually he walked through the town. He saw old buildings that had become trademarks for the town, like Rosemerta's pub and Zonko's. Finally he came upon the one he like and hated the most. He found himself standing in front of the shrieking shack. Remus gave an involuntary shudder as he stepped over the low fence.
What most people who knew about the three teenagers did not know that they could be found sometimes at Hogwarts and they got in by the tunnel under the shack. They had also spent many a night in the shack for they had gotten tips that Hogwarts might be attacked. And everyone knew that those three were never going to let that happen without putting up one hell of a fight.
Remus stepped over the fence and into the garden that seemed to grow without rule. He smiled as he thought of how only four, alive, people knew how to get in from the outside, but not many people would ever go into the most haunted building in England.
Thankfully for his sane mind Remus did not need to go inside as he saw what he needed the moment he stepped on the first stair. Remus grabbed the gold chain and with a quick look at his past he apparated out of there.
"That didn't take long," Remus found himself facing Professor McGonagall once more. He grinned at her as
Molly came out of the house looking for who made that sound. Remus quickly assured her that it had been him and that
everything was alright. "You know the last time I saw that was on the hand of the most deserving women," Her
Scottish accent became thick as Remus looked down to see what the gold chain held.
He saw that it held a ring, an exquisite ring, one he had seen in a long time. Carefully he held it up to his eyes and peered at the engraving J.P loves L.E. So simple and yet it was so sweet. Remus didn't know when or how Harry got this ring but he knew that it meant something important.
"Professor, why did he leave this at the Shrieking Shack?" Remus forced his voice to work, to produce any sound and it actually did, to his amazement.
"Even after all these year, Remus, you still call me Professor. How am I ever going to drill it into your head, it is Minerva." She smiled slightly at his face which held little shock just a grin, "as to your question, well I guess we just have to wait and see." And with that she walked back into the house as Tonks walked out.
"Professor McGonagall," Tonks said merrily as she passed by the stern looking witch. She reached Remus as he put something in his shirt pocket. "Another trinket the trio left?" She said as she peered up at him, he wasn't much taller than her but she liked looking at him from different angles. After all being a metamorphmagus meant she did a lot of studying how different people reacted to certain things.
"You never answered my question?" Remus said as he looked pointedly at his feet.
"Well you never answered mine? Remus are you doing this because you think that they might not have lived thru this and now Voldemort is all powerful? Are you doing this because our world might end?" Somewhere along the way she had given up being afraid of a name.
Remus looked at her as he carefully pondered her questions. He loved Tonks, no doubt about it, but why did he propose at that time. Something inside of him had told him it was right. "Tonks," his hand had somehow found its way to her cheek. "It just felt like the right time. Something inside of me told me to stop being nervous about asking you and be a man."
"Well in that case I guess I have to say yes." She smiled at him as he started to chuckle and she soon found herself laughing too.
The sound of their laughter floated into the kitchen where Ginny sat at the table. She picked up the letter Ron wrote to Hermione and scrutinized it. After rereading all the words of it she then picked up the letter he had written to his siblings and looked over that. There had to be some clue as to what had gone on or even if they were coming back.
Slowly the letters were placed back on the table as she let out a sigh. She would not think about them. Harry and Hermione were just friends; they denied being more so many times that they had to be right. After all, why would Hermione help her get Harry if she liked him herself?
Decidedly she turned her thoughts to Ron and as she did she glanced around the room. You could always find Ron in the kitchen at different points in the day. Ron had always been there for her, a bit protective sometimes, but she knew he cared. Now there was every possibility that she might not see him again. She was never going to be able to pick on him or yell at him or laugh with him. But most of all she wouldn't be the youngest of six anymore and that really got to her.
Molly watched as her daughter's face became a mirror of thoughts. She wished there was something she could do but she knew that right now Ginny needed her space. Quietly she conjured up pots and pans and set her thoughts on to lunch. But unconsciously she kept her eyes on her daughter.
She remember the moment she learned that her seven child was going to be a girl. Molly had cried so long and for no reason what so ever. She loved all of her boys but she had always wanted a girl, someone she could pass on all of her wisdom to. But her daughter, over the years, became even more than that. Ginny became much more independent then either of her parents could believe. They loved how strong she had become and how she didn't let any of her brothers boss her around. But Ginny was her princess and now her heart might have been broken. Molly honestly didn't know what to do, she had only loved one man in her life and that had been enough for her.
"Mum," Ginny's voice sounded so soft, so scared when she spoke. "Do you think we are being stupid holding on to the hope that they might come back?"
Arthur sat in the living room with four out of his six sons, His eyes traveled over each of them as he gazed about the room. Fred and George were playing chess, Charlie was pretending to read a book, and Bill was talking with his wife Fleur. They seemed to be having a heated discussion about something. But he didn't question it as his eyes traveled back to the clock on the mantel. It still hadn't changed.
"Knight to E5," Fred spoke as he and George played a friendly game of chess. They were trying their hardest to have the game take their mind off of what they heard in Ron's letters. "George, do you think that Ron was right?"
George watch as the knight took one of his pawns and finally he looked up to his twin. "Right about what?"
"About it being hard to adjust after the war, especially for them? Do you think that when they come back they are going to be different?"
Their crystal blue eyes met as the pieces on the chess board awaited George's move. Fear was mirrored in their eyes; fear that even if they got their brother back he wasn't going to be their brother any more. It scared Fred to think that Ron was going to be anything but Ron, and it scared George to think that Fred had thought about it.
"I don't know, Fred. Queen to E5," he said and they went back to their game.
Charlie was listening intently to the twins conversation and to be honest it scared him more than facing a grown dragon, which he did almost everyday. His eyes were glued on the page of the Quidditch book he was holding but his mind was wondering. At first it went to the first time Ron had said his name, it had come out Warlie. He remembered being the one to teach Ron how to ride a broom. His little baby brother had been so scared he was going to fall and he was only a foot from the ground, yet Charlie had promised him he was right there and he wouldn't let him fall.
Then there was the summer right after he graduated. He had only come home for a week but during that week Ron pestered him about everything Hogwarts. The night before Charlie was to leave Ron had told him he didn't want him to go because he didn't want to lose him. Charlie had given Ron something special he gave him his wand and told him that by using that wand Charlie would always be with him.
His mum had thanked him profusely for doing that as it saved on buying one more thing for the new Hogwarts student. Charlie the next day made a special trip and picked up a new wand.
Bill and Fleur were holding an intense conversation in their own corner of the room. And just as Bill was going to say something the smell of food made its way into the living room and Fleur rushed out of the room holding her mouth. Every looked from her to Bill, who just shrugged.
"She says it is just the flu but I still want her to get checked out by a healer but she won't." He explained to everyone in the room and seeing as how they were all boys they took this as a good answer.
Jane, Edward, and Hagrid were out by the orchard. Hagrid was telling them about the time that Hermione and Harry had saved Buckbeak's life. "And then they said that Sirius rode off on Buckbeak into the night. Hermione and Harry compared it to a Western Movie, but I had no clue what they were talking about." Hagrid laughed as Jane and Edward tried to explain a western to him. He waved their explanation off and they fell silent.
"Hermione is the smartest witch of her age, never invented a spell our Hermione couldn't do. I told her that once and she took it with such grace that it amazed me. You raised that one right," Hagrid said as they made their way back to the Burrow.
"Hagrid what can you tell us about Harry? Hermione has mentioned him so much that we feel like we know him and yet we don't. She never mentions anything from his up-bringing. Hagrid what happened there?"
Hagrid looked out over the trees as Jane finished her sentence, he actually looked pained. "I brought him to those people, took him from his parent's broken house and all." He took a deep breath as if the strength required to continue was huge, and of course it was. "The Dursleys were the only family he had left and they didn't like that too much. They actually feared anything that was abnormal basically they hated Harry for being Harry. I don't understand why Dumbledore left him there knowing that but he did and I went along with it. I gave him his first ever birthday present, or at least the first one he remembered. I'm sure you've met her, nicest owl there ever was, that Hedwig."
Hagrid paused on seeing Tonks and Remus sitting out by the garden. "When he came to Hogwarts I thought he was finally going to have that safety he deserved, the love he deserved. Well he had the love of his friends and that became his family, but he didn't have the safety."
Remus waved to Hagrid as Jane, Edward, and him, went inside the house. Hagrid almost bent in half to make it through the door. "Tonks I'm not as scared anymore," he breathed in her scent of lilacs and vanilla, a unique scent that fit perfectly for her.
"I didn't think you were scared, Remus. I just thought you were angry that you were going to be the only left, again." She rubbed her hand across his chin and let out a laugh, "you need to shave." Just as they were about to do something completely teenagerish Molly called out to them that lunch was ready.
"Well one set of letters down and two to go." He pulled her up from the ground and quickly into a hug. "But as always we must be fed and watered first." They went into the house laughing and knowing that for right now everything wasn't perfect but it wasn't horrible either. Horrible would have to wait for another day.
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