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SIYE Time:20:17 on 28th March 2024
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Harry Potter & the Veil of Shadows
By elaithin

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Category: Post-DH/AB
Characters:All
Genres: Action/Adventure, Drama, Fluff, General, Romance
Warnings: Death, Extreme Language, Sexual Situations, Violence
Rating: R
Reviews: 306
Summary: Moving on, strange dreams, mysterious newcomers, Death Eaters, the Veil of Shadows, and a little bit of life, laughter and love. Join Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione for their last year at Hogwarts - and the first year of the rest of their lives as they learn that just because Voldemort's gone doesn't mean life's going to be easy!
Hitcount: Story Total: 160517; Chapter Total: 6701





Author's Notes:
Thanks to TeyriJen, Geluf and IcarusPhoenix for their beta work this chapter - especially for the parts we fought over, which are all the better for it. Enjoy - and please review - I definitely want folks opinions on this one! Also - to everyone that's nominated me for DSTAs lately - Thanks!




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Chapter 13 - "While You Weren't Here"

*****

CHOSEN ONE KILLS DEATH EATER IN DIAGON ALLEY DUEL!

By Jameson Robins, Staff Writer, Daily Prophet

Diagon Alley was transformed into a horrific scene yesterday, the site of a duel between apparently newly-appointed Reserve Aurors Harry Potter (Aged 18) and Ronald Weasley (18) were first on the scene, accompanied by Ginevra Weasley (16) and Hermione Granger (18). The attack was apparently an ambush by four Death Eaters, two of which had been reported deceased. Rodolphus and Rabastan Lestrange, brothers, have a long history with the Death Eaters (see page 13), and were accompanied by younger accomplices Marcus Flint and Darrick Pucey. The Death Eaters attacked the Chosen One and his party as they were exiting Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, and this reporter had a front-row seat for the ensuing battle. It is unknown at this time how the Death Eaters knew of Potter's location, but it is believed that a WWN announcement, covering some comments the young wizard had made at an earlier impromptu press conference outside the offices of the Daily Prophet was responsible. (For The Chosen One's statement on the announcement of Rita Skeeter's latest biography, of Harry Potter himself, please see page 22.)

The battle lasted barely thirty minutes. Auror Potter, acting in an official capacity for the first time since joining the new Reserve Auror program, called for the Lestranges to surrender, which the Death Eaters declined to do. This began a pitched battle, the likes of which this reporter never personally witnessed even during the heights of the Second War - including Potter intercepting a Cruciatus curse meant for Ms. Weasley. While Auror Potter and Ms. Weasley faced down the Lestrange brothers, Auror Weasley and Ms. Granger faced Mssrs. Flint and Pucey. Mr. Potter's companions, along with Rodolphus Lestrange's, were all wounded in the altercation, though St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies reports that the foursome are all recovering fine, and should be released later today. Potter himself took on the elder Lestrange in a one-on-one duel that left part of Diagon Alley wrecked. It is believed by many that Harry Potter is as powerful a wizard as the late Albus Dumbledore was, and having seen his fight with Rodolphus Lestrange, one of the worst of Voldemort's former Death Eaters, that is not hard to doubt. Potter suffered serious injuries during the duel, including damage to his shoulder and an unknown kind of cutting curse to his leg. Still, he persevered, and managed to knock Lestrange unconscious. When full-time Aurors finally arrived at the scene, they were able to take Lestrange, Flint and Pucey into custody.


Young Ms. Ginevra Weasley, who Mr. Potter recently publicly confirmed that he is romantically involved with, incapacitated Rabastan Lestrange earlier in the battle, and moved to assist him then. While she did so, Rabastan Lestrange had apparently regained consciousness, and attacked. Mr. Potter was able to warn Ms. Weasley in time, and responded with a disarming charm. It should be mentioned that the Chosen One also defeated Voldemort, a.k.a. Tom Marvolo Riddle, with the same charm. Unfortunately, the force of Auror Potter's charm sent the suspect flying into a brick wall. Rabastan Lestrange died at the scene from the resulting head injury. Head Auror Gawain Robards, speaking on behalf of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement this morning, after viewing a Penseive Memory supplied by witness Mr. George Weasley of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, commended Reserve Aurors Potter and Weasley for their quick action, and reported that there would be no further investigation into Auror Potter's action. Auror Robards also expressed his regret that the Auror Division itself is still so understaffed that it simply could not get anyone into the scene quickly. This continues to highlight the new Ministry's ongoing staffing problems...

Harry tossed the paper onto the small table that sat by the window of his hospital room. He'd passed out shortly after the end of the battle and hadn't woken up until a few hours ago. Despite its sensational headline - no surprise there - Harry was rather surprised to see a fair accounting of what had happened in the papers. Fair treatment from the Daily Prophet? That was something he certainly wasn't accustomed to.

The article continued to discuss the Ministry's ongoing efforts to rebuild its personnel, especially that of the Auror Division. Cleaning out the Death Eaters and their sympathizers, not to mention everyone who'd been killed, had sorely depleted the rank-and-file of Britain's magical government. Harry found the all of that rather boring - after all, he and Arthur had had several very long discussions on that very topic once the man had taken over the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

Ginny had been in earlier, though they hadn't spoken much. Harry had just wanted to sit quietly - it was his way, after all, and she had understood that. So she'd just sat with him, and they'd watched the bustle of the London street outside of the charmed window. She also understood that his reticence was related to the fact that Molly was there also - she had spent her morning traveling between his, Ginny's, and Hermione's rooms. Harry was polite, speaking whenever Molly directly addressed him, and he could see that she was clearly concerned for him. He hadn't been able to reassure her any more than simply telling her he was fine, which he was aware convinced no one.

According to Molly, Ginny hadn't left his side all night - even forcing the Healers to treat him while she stood nearby. She had, apparently, come close to hexing a mediwitch who'd tried to escort her out before Kingsley himself had shown up and told the mediwitch to let her be. There had been concern that one of the spells Lestrange had hit him with might have a timed effect, but that had thankfully not been the case. He'd just exhausted himself, physically and magically - and probably emotionally, too - and had needed to sleep it off. She herself had only consented to be treated once she was sure Harry was fine. He knew he should probably be cross with her for that, but Harry quite honestly doubted he'd have behaved any differently if the situations had been reversed.

She was gone now, to the healers for a follow-up checkup. Apparently one of the curses Lestrange had used during the battle had caught her incidentally, and they were checking her over to make sure everything was fine. It was a spell they hadn't been able to identify, and the Healers were concerned that it may have had some kind of time-delayed effect. Harry had never heard of such a thing, but it was apparently possible. Harry hadn't been allowed to accompany her because Kingsley had returned shortly before her departure, and introduced him to one of the most unfortunate of the many realities of an Auror's life - the paperwork.

He'd spent two hours going over the entire thing with the man who was now his top-most boss, as well as Arthur Weasley in his official capacity as Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and Gawain Robards, the Acting Head of the Auror Division. Ron had been present for that portion, though Harry had seen his friend was alarmed at the dispassionate manner in which the report had been delivered. With them, Harry had unemotionally relayed the entire series of event, including an accounting of what he saw as his own mistakes. He included the amount of force contained in the Disarming Charm he had struck Rabastan Lestrange at this, but even Harry could candidly admit that with the reflexive nature of that action, there was very little he could have done to prevent it.

Kingsley - and Arthur, especially - had repeatedly assured Harry that he'd handled the manner appropriately, stepping up to save the bystanders from the rampage of the four Death Eaters. They agreed that there would not have been a way to lead Lestrange and his party to a less populated area, nor to remove them to an area that Aurors would have been able to respond quicker to. A team of four Aurors had already been stationed in the Alley that day, but at that time had been responding to a reported break-in at Milling's Magical Curios - a high-priced store that sold many ancient - and dangerous - magical artifacts. There was no record of anything being taken, but the store was at the opposite end of the Alley, and by the time the more experienced Aurors had made it to the scene, the battle was already over.

Harry had nodded and accepted that, though he made very little in the nature of personal commentary. He almost exclusively spoke only when he delivered his report, and said nothing at all while Ron had delivered his.

While Kingsley and Arthur seemed to have believed that Harry had done his job appropriately, that opinion didn't seem to be a universal one. Robards' face had told a different story, Harry thought, but he didn't know the fellow. This was actually the first time he'd met the man who was now technically his boss. It was not the best first impression, Harry was sure. But for whatever reason, the Head Auror had not wished to contradict his own superiors.

Afterwards, Ron had departed in order to go check on Hermione. Harry knew now that she was the one of the two that had been wounded, as Flint had struck her with an Iron Lungs curse. It had left some residual damage in the lungs - Ron had spouted off a lot of medical terms that Harry had never heard before, and he suspected Ron hadn't either then - and the doctors now had her on several potions in order to repair the damage. Ron had only barely been able to reverse the curse in time, and his feverish attempts to counter it had left him unable to assist Harry in his duel with Lestrange. He seemed to feel guilty about that, though Harry reassured him that saving Hermione's life instead had been the right thing to do. Ron certainly couldn't disagree with that point of view.

When he left, Harry made the most personal comment he had yet said that morning, telling Ron to give Hermione his love. Ron had seemed to relax somewhat at that, though his worry for Harry was still written clearly on his features.

After Ron and Robards had left, Kingsley and Arthur had both wanted to speak to him privately. Harry had acquiesced, aware that there was no real way he could refuse.

"I know it was in accident, Harry," the Minister assured him. "These things happen when you're trying to bring in a dangerous criminal. It would be nice if they all just came along quietly. Unfortunately, that hardly ever occurs. Just remember: you did the right thing."

"Thank you, sir," Harry said quietly. His lack of response otherwise made it clear to Kingsley that he wasn't trying to be rude - he just didn't care to talk about the matter. He didn't speak again until the Minister left him alone with the man who, in all likelihood, was going to be his father-in-law.

"How are you, son?" Arthur asked him kindly. Arthur's professional demeanor was gone now, and like his youngest son, concern for Harry was written across every inch of his features.

Harry was thoughtful for a second. "I really don't know how to answer that," he said honestly.

"I expect that's true," Arthur replied frankly, giving the younger man a small nod of concession. "I knew this day would come eventually, you know. I have to confess - I thought it would be back during the war."

"So did I," Harry admitted. It was a thought that had consumed him for a time, especially after Dumbledore had first revealed the nature of the Prophecy to him, after Sirius' death. "But in the end, I never had to kill anyone - not even Riddle. He did that to himself."

"And you even tried to stop that," Arthur pointed out, "just like you did yesterday. You're a good man, Harry, and like Kingsley says, you did the right thing. It may sound a bit trite, but it is the truth, nonetheless. You remember that, son. Now, I may be biased that it was my daughter you saved," Arthur gave him a small smile, "And by the fact that I already regard you as one of my own, but don't be too hard on yourself about this. You don't deserve it."

Harry gave him a weak smile, but still he betrayed none of his own inner thoughts. He was grateful for Arthur's words, and he did draw comfort from them, true enough. He could also see that Arthur was a bit concerned that Harry was still keeping his own counsel on the matter, before a dawning recognition set in the older man's eyes. "Ah, I see," Arthur said, almost to himself. Harry knew then that Arthur had realized that there was only one person Harry really wanted to open up to, and that was not him. "You'll be fine after all, I expect. I'll leave you to your thoughts then, shall I? I expect Ginny will be along shortly."

"Thank you, sir," Harry said, and then returned the hug that Arthur gave him. Harry was proud - he didn't even stiffen at the contact. Maybe all those years of being around the Weasleys (or more likely, his relationship with Ginny) was actually getting him accustomed to the physical expression of affection.

With no further words, Arthur left him with the aftermath that he least looked forward to: the paperwork.

And Dear Merlin was there a lot of it.

After-action reports. Signing off the signed statements of witnesses, verifying that their accounts matched his own, and identifying any abnormalities in those accounts. There seemed to be dozens of other forms, lists, and things Harry couldn't possibly see the reason for. Finally, however, a big part of it dawned on him:

It was there to help him work through any issues he might have concerning the event. It was, in essence, one of the ways that the Ministry kept their Aurors sane, an approach that the Muggle policemen also used. Instead of simply reliving it over and over in his head - something that would probably give him what Hermione had called 'post-traumatic stress disorder, Harry had to analyze it, to break down events, to look for the flaws. (Privately, Harry suspected that all he had been through in his life had already 'blessed' him with that condition. His nightmares, which he was glad to admit were decreasing, were fair proof of that.) But going through all of that, along with his own thoughts, led him to the simple conclusion that Kingsley and Arthur were bang on. He'd done the right thing. Lestrange had resisted arrest, and the consequences were on his own head. It was, perhaps, a cold way to regard the death of another human being, and a part of Harry quailed at the dismissal of that fact. He regretted the outcome, yes, but Harry found that he could simply not blame himself for the actions of others. It was a habit he had been possessed of for far too long in his life, and it pleased him to think that he had finally broken it.

Less work for Ginny then, he concluded, if she doesn't have to spend so much time talking me out of things. Easier to look at it honestly in the first place.

Harry leaned his arm against the window's side and resumed his earlier people-watching. After a short time had passed, he heard the door to his room open and then close again softly. Closing his eyes, he concentrated on the way it felt when he used his 'second sight', to see if he could identify the person by the 'feel' of their magic. It was a trick that probably wouldn't work with a Muggle, but Harry smiled when he found himself successful.

"Hey, Gin," he said quietly, without turning around.

"Hey, Harry," she answered in just as quiet a tone. She slipped up to his side with practiced ease, easing herself under his shoulder. One of her arms wrapped itself around his back, and the other slipped up against his chest. Harry found himself relaxing just under that simple touch, and he marveled once again that her simple presence made him feel so much better. "How did you know?"

Harry gave a small smile. "I'm not sure you'll believe me," he said, looking down so that he could see her face while he spoke. It was the truth - like his 'second sight', it was an ability he had never read of, but one he had only seen Dumbledore perform. Abruptly, he realized one other had often similarly been able to identify someone's presence without looking - Severus Snape. Apparently, the late Potions master had been a much more powerful wizard than anyone had ever realized during his life.

"Try me," Ginny said impishly, unmistakably challenging him.

"I think it's what Dumbledore used to be able to do," he explained slowly. "Though it sounds a bit nutters, I know, but it's like I can - well, I think I can feel your magic. I knew it was you because that sense of you is different from what I feel from Ron and Hermione. They're the only other people I've been able to do it with yet."

"Neat trick," she chuckled. Harry saw something glint behind her eyes as she said so, and he had to wonder if she was able to do it as well. Thinking back to how often she seemed to know exactly where he was, he suspected so. He was deprived of the opportunity to ask, however, when she gave him an appraising look and asked, "So how are you?"

"You're the one who just saw the healer. Shouldn't I be asking you?" Harry asked pointedly.

"Pssh," Ginny said dismissively with a small wave of her hand, "You already know I'm fine, or Mum would have followed me in here. She wouldn't possibly be finished with that yet."

Harry laughed, "She's already had her go at me. Before you came by earlier."

Ginny winced in sympathy.

"She also said you never left my side while they were treating me - not even to get healed yourself," he added. He tried to put a note of reproach in his voice, but his words came out in a thankful tone instead.

Her brown eyes glittered as she gave her reply. "You'd have done no different," she said pointedly, "And you are avoiding the question. Hermione and Ron are talking about you, you know. They're convinced that you're either throwing the furniture around, or are 'on the verge of a major depressive episode.'"

"Hermione said the second one, didn't she?"

"Good call."

"I got over destroying furniture a few years ago," he said, thinking of Dumbledore's office. "It's out of my system." Harry watched her for a moment after he spoke. He looked to in her eyes, and wondered just what he would find. There was empathy there, understanding, and somehow, Harry's intuition told him that Ginny knew exactly - exactly - how he felt right now, as though it was a situation that she'd been in herself. His blood chilled as he made the realization. "And you?" he asked, "You're not worried?"

"No," Ginny shook her head, "No, I'm not. You're... different, Harry. You have been for awhile now, and I think it's taking people a bit to see it."

"But not you," Harry said. It wasn't a question - rather, it was an acknowledgement.

"If I hadn't noticed, Harry, we'd be in a world of trouble, wouldn't we?" Ginny asked rhetorically. "Do you want to talk about it?"

For so long, Harry's standard answer would have been 'I'm fine' or 'No', but now - well, Ginny was right. He had changed, and it showed that he was willing to admit the things he would have held so privately before. Maybe only with her, or Ron or Hermione - but, well, it was a start. "I think I do, yeah."

Ginny just nodded, and waited for Harry to begin. She guided him to the small two-person couch that lined the wall of the small hospital room, and took his hand in hers. Harry appreciated the gesture, certainly, and was grateful that Ginny's opinion of him hadn't changed in the last twenty-four hours.

"It's like..." Harry shook his head. "It's hard to explain. It's almost like I feel bad for not feeling worse about it..." He stopped, and raked his fingers through his hair as he tried to figure out how to put his feelings into words. He looked up to see that Ginny was chewing on her bottom lip - a sign that he recognized as meaning she was considering what to say as well. Given that he hadn't said anything at all yet, Harry was understandably confused by her actions. "Gin?" he asked.

Ginny took a deep breath, and then looked away from Harry. She wasn't staring at the wall across from him, he realized - she was reliving a memory of some kind. Remembering his earlier bout of inspiration, Harry abruptly knew that the memory was not a pleasant one.

"Would it make it easier for you, Harry," she started quietly, "to know that I've been where you are now? That I've taken a life?"

Harry tightened his one hand around hers, and then, with the other, drew her face back towards him. "Tell me," he urged softly.

Ginny nodded, and after a few heartbeats had passed, began the story. "It was last year - you've figured that, of course. Just before Easter - it's why my parents pulled me out, actually. Not much choice really, after that. Fred and George snuck in - they'd opened the Honeydukes tunnel back up a few months before, and took me out after what happened. The Carrows were getting more and more frustrated with those of us in the DA. Everything... else they'd done wasn't working. We were still resisting, so they... they let Greyback and one of his werewolves in. Did you know that some werewolves can do a partial change, just a few days before the full moon?"

"No, I didn't," Harry said quietly, piecing together where this story was headed. He frowned slightly at her oblique reference to 'everything else', but he still didn't want to push her on that issue quite yet. That she was telling him something that had happened last year at all even now was amazing in itself.

"I didn't either," Ginny said, almost mechanically. "It's a frightfully monstrous thing, a man like Greyback. And when they're half-transformed like that.... It was bloody terrifying, really. They brought them in to hunt down a few of us who were out after-hours. Neville and I were escorting two second-years, Francis Marsters and Jennifer Richards, back from seeing Madame Pomfrey in secret. They'd been tortured by Crabbe and Goyle, you see. Those two were rather good at that," she added in an aside.

Harry's horror grew as Ginny casually told her tale. He hadn't realized what a true Hell Hogwarts had been last year, and in that very moment, he resolved that not another day would pass before he got it all out of Ginny - whether she wanted to speak of it or not. And her tone about Crabbe and Goyle's abilities at torture... he knew now she had experienced that first hand. The beast in Harry's chest roared its righteous indignation, glad that Crabbe was dead, and hoping Goyle soon joined him.

"They found us. How could they not, with a werewolf's senses? They caught us by surprise on the fourth-floor corridor. Neville took on Greyback - Harry, you'd have been so proud of him. A few years ago, I'd have never thought Neville of all people could fight like that. While he was fighting him off, I went for the other one. Do you know I didn't even know his name? I still don't, actually. He was going for Francis, and I panicked. I remembered Remus' stories about how Greyback went after him as a child, and what that monster's done to Bill - so I hit him with the first curse I thought of. It was Sectumsempra'- and the way I caught him, it took that monster's head clean off."

She delivered the rest of her story in a monotone that almost frightened Harry. The next sentence, though, Ginny spoke with such a passion that Harry had no doubt of the truth of her words. "And it terrifies me, Harry. It terrifies me that I don't feel bad about that. That in a heartbeat, in the same situation, I would do it again," Ginny finally finished. "So yes, I think I know exactly how you feel right now."

"And you're right to say you'd do it again, Gin," Harry assured her. He knew then - really knew - that the truth of it applied to his own actions as well. "I'm sorry as hell you were in that situation. I'm sorry that -" Harry cut himself off. "Sorry. I'll have to get to that later. We need to talk, Gin, about a lot of things, I think."

"I think you're right," Ginny confessed, but then pointed at him. "But right now, Mr. Potter, we're talking about you."

"Very true," Harry nodded. "And... well, you're right. I wish to hell it hadn't happened, luv, I really do. I've never wanted to kill anyone. But at the same time, he was going for you, and I can't regret preventing that in the slightest. He wasn't a man who was ever going to reform, and had to have known it was a possibility. But..."

"But you can live with it," Ginny finished for him.

"Yeah," Harry said, blowing out a long breath. "I think I can."

"I'm impressed, Harry," she said, her voice taking on a bit of a teasing tone. "No temper tantrums, no throwing things, no sulking about and brooding for days on end - you just might be growing up a bit, after all."

Harry snorted. "You don't have to be so surprised about it, you know."

She laid a soft hand on his cheek. "I'm really not," she said quietly, tenderly.

She moved her head then, in a way that caused the sunlight from the window to filter through her hair, and for just a moment, Harry was struck again by how incredibly beautiful she really was - and how incredibly lucky he himself was. "Merlin, I love you, d'you know that?"

Ginny smiled then, her first true smile of the day. "I know, Harry. And I love you, too."

"Glad that's settled, then," Harry said.

"We need to talk about what you did yesterday, also," Ginny pointed out. At Harry's look of confusion, she clarified her point. "Not Lestrange. Taking that curse for me. Harry, I want you to promise me something."

He narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "What?"

"I want you to promise me you'll never take a curse for me like that again," Ginny said flatly. "I'm serious about this, Harry. I'm not a little girl. I don't need protection."

"I can't make that promise," Harry answered immediately.

"Harry-" she replied hotly, her temper beginning to grow. Harry saw all the warning signs, but he ignored them.

"No, Gin, I won't make that promise," he shot back. "You mean everything to me. I'd do it again, and I won't lie to you and tell you that I won't."

"Dammit, Harry! I've lived through it before, and I can live through it again! It's not worth you getting hurt over! I'm not - " Abruptly, Ginny clamped her mouth shut.

"You can save that line," Harry shot back. "I know the whole song. I practically wrote it. You're the one who made me see how stupid it was. But I'm telling you now, Gin, if I ever have the opportunity to prevent you harm, even taking a curse myself, I'm going to do it."

"I don't want you to!" She yelled back. They stared at each other for a moment, each one trying to reign in their tempers, and having very little success.

Suddenly, Harry found himself irritated with how close-mouthed she'd been about what all had happened at Hogwarts. He wondered if she'd been burying it all for so long now, that she just couldn't bring herself to open up. Something in him snapped be it due to leftover stress from the previous day, or the fatigue of pretending that nothing had happened to her, like she seemed to want to do, he decided that subtlety just wasn't going to work, and a more direct approach was required.

"Gin," he finally stated, hoping - praying - that bluntness would get him somewhere. It needed to be out in the open, some little inner voice urged him. "What the hell happened to you last year? I know your story earlier wasn't all of it."

Ginny stood slowly from the couch then, and moved to where she was facing away from Harry. She folded her arms in front of her, and stood very still as she looked away. He did the only thing he could think of - he waited. "I don't want to talk about it Harry," she said, still trying to evade the topic. He had to give her credit - she was better at controlling her temper now. A year ago, his words would have set her off completely.

Fine, if that's how it's going to be, Harry thought. "I don't care," Harry said harshly. He was aware how uncaring he sounded, but then, he'd learned this very technique from Ginny herself. She'd used it to drag him out of his mood back when he'd thought Voldemort had been possessing him.

When she faced him once more, her arms were at her sides, her hands curled into fists. When she spoke, it was with very careful, deliberate words. "Harry, I've bloody well told you- "

'I'm not deaf, I heard you," Harry snapped. He knew he was treading on dangerous ground, but with each word, his voice rose. Maybe it was just months of pent-up frustration of trying to piece together the few clues she'd offered, but for a moment, Harry felt something else. He felt his temper growing, as though Ginny's carefully controlled anger was somehow feeding into him. But if the was also the only way to get her to talk, then so be it. If nothing else, Harry knew he had the ability to severely hack someone off. Might as well use it now. "But I don't really think that matters right now. I'm asking you, please, to tell me."

"Now?" she asked incredulously, and even though Harry wondered for a moment if his words hadn't gone too far. That blazing look had appeared in her eyes now, and every bit of it was directed his way. He hoped - fervently - that she wasn't really mad at him - she was mad at whatever she wasn't telling him - he was a convenient target. And he knew that, if it got the truth out of her - then he was willing to be one. Hopefully it wouldn't end up with her hexing his face - or other, more sensitive areas - off. "You want to know now?"

"I'm not stupid, Gin, I've picked things up, even if you haven't wanted to trust me - haven't wanted to tell me," Harry slipped, betraying a bit more of his true feelings about her silence than he would have liked. "You think I didn't notice how you were suddenly so bloody good at healing charms? Or the way you didn't say anything around Malfoy at Malkin's? Or the look Neville gives you whenever anyone mentions it around us?" Harry said heatedly. He knew he'd passed the safe point now, into straight out goading her - and it didn't even seem to matter.

"Why now, Harry?" she asked bitterly. "You think I haven't trusted you? Is that it? Because I've been waiting to see if you gave a damn! If you even cared enough to ask! And now - now that something's happened to you, you all of the sudden you care. No, Harry, I didn't miss that at all!"

"I thought you needed space!" Harry angrily retorted, all the patience he'd built up over the past months with the topic vanished, "I've been waiting for the slightest bloody clue that you wanted to talk about it. I hate people prying at me when I don't want to talk; I thought I was respecting your wishes!"

"I'M NOT YOU, HARRY!"

"YOU'RE BLOODY WELL ACTING LIKE IT!"

Ginny gave him no verbal answer. Instead, she shot forward as though from a cannon, drawing her wand on Harry in anger for the first time in their lives.

Harry stepped forward, so that the wand was mere inches from his face, and didn't break eye contact. "Do it then," he said calmly, quietly, willing every bit of his anger back down. "Do it if it'll make you feel better. I won't stop you. If that's what it takes to show you you're wrong, do it."

Ginny returned every inch of his piercing stare, a part of her unmistakably wanting to do just what he'd challenged her to. He could see the silent battle being waged behind her blazing brown eyes - should she let her temper burn and hex him - or finally, just maybe, let it all go? He knew the signs now, and understood what she had wrapped so tightly down. He could only hope hoped this broke her out of it. Finally, after what seemed an eternity to Harry, her fierce gaze broke, and her wand clattered to the floor.

Ginny followed a moment later, falling towards the floor as though she were a puppet whose strings had been abruptly severed.

Harry caught her.

He sank to the floor along with her; his arms enfolded protectively around her, and let her scream. She let loose her pain, screaming out a year and a half's worth of pain, anger, betrayal and sadness - everything that had been so tightly contained ever since Dumbledore's funeral - all came flooding out in that single moment. She screamed her voice raw, her words mostly unintelligible as the dam burst.

Some corner of Harry's mind was grateful that the privacy charms Kingsley had earlier cast were still in effect; as otherwise, there was no telling how many people would have come rushing in long ago.

Harry didn't know how long they sat there as Ginny vented every pent-up emotion that had been shored up behind her carefully-prepared walls. In all that time, Harry could see, she'd never let any of it out, and now, finally, the pressure he'd added had just been too much. When she was finally done, when Harry's whispered soothings were no longer necessary, she looked up at him, afraid to speak.

"Merlin, we make a pair, don't we?" he asked, giving her a warm smile. It was a smile that let her know it was okay, and he hoped she realized, that he loved her.

"Yeah," she said, chuckling slightly as Harry wiped away the last tear. The anger was gone - or at least, satiated, though her sadness clearly remained. That light tinkle of laughter, though, that gave Harry his answer. She still loved him. That was all he needed.

"I mean, all this time, I'm sitting here, thinking I'm doing the right thing by giving you space, and you're going spare waiting for me to ask," he observed. "It's almost funny."

"It is funny, when you put it like that," Ginny admitted with hesitation.

"I'm sorry, Gin," Harry said earnestly. "It seems like I'm always saying that, I know, but - I really thought that was the way to handle it."

"No," Ginny admitted, "No, I'm not saying you've not got any faults Harry, but this - this wasn't one of them. I was being stupid, expecting you to just know how I felt."

"You're not stupid, Gin," Harry corrected immediately. "Not now, not ever. How about we just chalk this one up to bad judgment on both of our parts? We've been through too much in our lives to expect that either of us is normal - I get that now. Do you think we can?"

Ginny nodded. "Harry, after the things we've been through, we can certainly work through this."

"Then talk to me," Harry softly urged. "Please."

She nodded once again. "Can we at least move back to the couch?"

"Sure," Harry grinned. "I think we can do that, yeah."

With no further words, they did so, and Ginny softly settled down next to Harry. He took her hand in his, and was gratified to see that she didn't flinch or pull away from the contact.

"It hurt like hell, Harry, when you didn't ask," she confessed, "And I was scared. And the more time went on - well, It's stupid, but I thought that, somehow, that you didn't want to know, or that..." she swallowed, drawing up all her Gryffindor courage before she could continue, "that you'd leave again, if you knew everything. But you were back, and things have been so good. It was easier to just pretend," she said with, no small bit of self-recrimination contained in that statement. "To pretend that everything was fine. We have the life now we should have had - I convinced myself that none of it mattered."

"Merlin," Harry muttered. "You know no one's ever meant as much to me as you do, right?" She nodded. "Then listen: I'm not leaving again. Ever."

"Is that really true, Harry?" she asked honestly, and it hurt that it was such a fair question. "Because don't tell me that if it's not true. I can't take that today."

"It's true," he said urgently. "It really is. I love you. I do now, and I always will. I made a horrible mistake turning away from you a year ago. Maybe its hindsight, but it was wrong of me to leave you behind. I never gave you a choice in the whole thing, and I swear to you I'll never do it again," he promised, and then cursed softly after that statement brought him a moment of insight. "Damn - I did it a week ago, too, didn't I?"

Ginny froze.

"I mean, there you were, taking me up to your bed, and I..." Harry thudded his head back against the glass. "And I rejected you. I didn't see what you thought, I just acted, and -"

"It's okay, Harry," Ginny said with a small smile. Her words were delivered with an earnestness that Harry couldn't deny, and he was glad for that. "I didn't really want my first time to be half-drunk with my parents in the house, either. Granted, if you hadn't had your attack of conscience, I'd have gone ahead with it - "

"But still -"

Ginny shushed him quietly. "No, listen now," she admonished. "It really is okay, Harry, because I wasn't ready, not truly. There was too much we hadn't said yet, and I was trying to distract you from asking too many questions. I didn't realize it then, but that's what it was. Given all of that, we both would have regretted it. And that's too important, Harry. I don't want to regret that. Not ever."

Harry nodded, but the guilt on his face was still clear. "I don't either," he whispered quietly.

"From now on," Ginny continued, "Let's have an agreement. You be patient with my temper, and I'll be patient with your... social inadequacies. And we make decisions together," she finished with clear emphasis on the last word. Then she held out her other hand to his, as though she wanted to shake. "Deal?"

Harry accepted the hand, and the terms it came with. "Deal," he replied, and Ginny surprised him by pulling him across the couch and into a kiss. It was a different kind of kiss, one made so by the release of their tensions. It was a slow, easy kiss that was still somehow undeniably passionate, as each tried to pour all of their regret and love into it at the same time, and it was no less memorable than their first.

"Damn," Ginny muttered when Harry pulled away. "Keep kissing me like that, Potter, and I'll put up with an awful lot,"

"I'll do my best," Harry said, giving her a cheeky grin. Ginny responded by giving him a shove that sent him sprawling backwards across of the couch. She then proceeded to stretch out on top of him, and they both settled into a comfortable spot, with his arms wrapped tightly around her. Harry summoned a blanket from the hospital bed when Ginny shivered a bit, but on the whole, the simple presence of each other brought both comfort. They sat in silence, enjoying the peace, each wrapped in their own thoughts then.

"That feels good," Ginny whispered, her voice betraying the vulnerability she still felt. "Safe."

"You're always safe with me," he assured her in an answering whisper before they both lapsed into silence, gathering themselves back together from the emotional morning.

After a time, Ginny started speaking again. "Suppose I should get on with it, then," she mused. She tried to make her tone light, and Harry indulged her attempt by not calling attention to it.

"Only if you want to," Harry assured her. "I didn't want to push, Gin - I still don't, but I think it's important. I know more than anyone how bad it is to bottle up for too long. I've had a lot of experience," he admitted candidly.

"I think it's past time," she said decisively. Her voice turned husky with the last words, and Ginny cleared her throat before she continued. "It all started for me the day of the wedding, I suppose. When the Death Eaters crashed the reception. After you lot escaped, the chaos only got worse. Everyone was running around, looking about frantically for any family they could save before Disapparating out," Ginny paused for a moment, actually smiling. "Auntie Muriel completely lost her head and was hollering that she'd take on everyone if anything happened to her tiara. Uncle Orson grabbed her and Disapparated. Most of the guests managed to get away."

Harry nodded, remembering Lupin's account to them in Grimmauld Place of what had happened.

"Yaxley led the group that stayed to interrogate us. They kept us there for so long, asking questions, mostly about you, though some about Hermione and Ron, too. Mum was livid when they searched the house. The ghoul fooled them. I remember looking out the window seeing their cake, smashed on the ground. The cake that Mum had worked so hard on. It just - it made me absolutely furious to see the cake spread all over the ground like that..." Her voice sounded dreamy as she recalled the night, over a year ago, summoning to the front of her mind her feelings, her actions. Ginny shook her head slightly before continuing.

"When they questioned me... " she trailed for a moment, "Well, I wasn't exactly feeling cooperative. I was mad at you and Hermione and Ron for just disappearing, even though I was glad you were safe, and I was just so mad about that bloody cake," she paused again. "That was the first time I was put under the Cruciatus. I told them the truth - that you'd left me, that I didn't know for where or why, and it was enough for them. They finally left."

Harry winced, feeling guilty that while he'd been safe and sound at Grimmauld Place, Ginny had been being put under the torture curse. He winced also at the truth of her last words - put that way; he was just a right prat, wasn't he?

"Things calmed down, you might say, after a couple of days, but the house was under surveillance, and then Dad went back to work. He was so... strained, I guess, every night. Not knowing where you were, or Ron, Hermione, everything else that was happened with the Muggle-born Registration Act... It was almost a surprise to get our Hogwarts letters. Or, should I say, my Hogwarts letter, since I was the only one in the house going back. It was still signed by Professor McGonagall, but they didn't give us a book list. Said that all our books would be provided," she noted bitterly. "Should've had a clue then, I suppose."

Ginny paused then, drawing in a breath. "Finally, September 1st came up, and Mum took me to King's Cross. She and Dad had this enormous row about the night before, whether or not to even send me back. Mum wanted me to stay at home. Even if I'd wanted to, I didn't have a choice, though, not with attendance being compulsory for purebloods. Not with Mum and Dad trying to convince them we'd given up the fight, so he could keep getting information for the Order from inside the Ministry. So I had to go, simple as that. We didn't even learn Snape was the Headmaster until we got on the train."

"Wait," Harry frowned, "That was in the Daily Prophet."

"On September 1st. No one had time to read the paper that morning. No one trying to get students to King's Cross, anyway," Ginny pointed out.

Harry nodded at the realization, remembering how his stomach had twisted at the news that the man he had thought, then, to be Dumbledore's murderer had taken over his mentor's job.

"It was one shock after another, then. We found out none of the Muggleborns were being allowed back. Yaxley and the Carrows and some others were at King's Cross, barring 'Known Muggle-borns' from even boarding the train for 'suspected theft of magical ability', " she said with a derisive snort. "We found out Malfoy and Parkinson were Head Boy and Girl. I never told you, but I got made a prefect to replace Danielle Evans - she and her mum were killed by the Death Eaters. They fought back when the Muggleborn Registration Commission came for them."

"I'd wondered why you didn't seem excited about being a Prefect," Harry admitted. "Aside from the obvious, of course."

"Yeah," Ginny nodded, and then looked to Harry. "A lot happened while you weren't here, Harry. Are you sure you want to know? Some of it - Harry, some of it is things you're not going to want to know."

Harry's answering gaze never wavered from hers. "Yes. I want to know it all, Gin."

"All right," Ginny said, taking a deep breath. And then she launched into her tale...

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