Search:

SIYE Time:13:11 on 28th March 2024
SIYE Login: no


Harry Potter & the Veil of Shadows
By elaithin

- Text Size +

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: 160514; Chapter Total: 7490





Author's Notes:
Beta'd by TeyriJen (Whose input is especially invaluable), TopGun and FaithfulCynic this chapter. Thanks to everyone who's reading the story - and please, review! Don't you know all authors are feedback whores?




ChapterPrinter
StoryPrinter


Chapter Seven - "Vires, Veneratio quod Diligo"

"Ginny, Harry, would you open the door, please?" came the infinitely polite and patient voice of her father.

Ginny muttered something unintelligible then before drawing back from Harry. They both then proceeded to start straightening their clothes - and hope that they didn't look too flushed or obvious. "Coming, Daddy," she called louder as Harry stood and walked over to the door to unlock it.

Harry took a deep breath before twisting the knob and pulling the door wide. Standing outside were, unsurprisingly, Molly and Arthur, both looking patient, though Molly looked a bit flushed. The glance she tossed back down the hallway set Harry's mind partially at ease - her anger, it seemed, wasn't directed at him at least. "Mr. and Mrs. Weasley," he greeted them as neutrally as possible, stepping aside to invite them with an outstretched hand to enter the drawing room.

Molly sighed, fixing Harry with one of her 'mother's stares' as she did so. "Twaddle, Harry. We've been through this. You know very well its 'Molly and Arthur'," she corrected both gently and firmly in that way that she had that he still hadn't figured out.

"I didn't want to assume," Harry mumbled as Arthur drew his wand and conjured up two chintzy settees. The conjuring - even more than the Burrow - gave Harry a sudden insight into the eldest Weasley. He was suddenly aware that Arthur rather liked a ramshackle, run-down style. A bit of rebellion, perhaps, against his pure-blood upbringing?

Sure, Harry. You're observant now. Where was your brain half an hour ago?

"Think nothing of it, son," Arthur said absently as he and Molly sat down on one of the love-seats and waved Harry and Ginny both towards the other. "Sit, sit, you two. I think we should talk."

If Ginny was as surprised as Harry that Arthur was taking the lead in this situation, she didn't show it. He was so accustomed to anything of this sort coming from Molly, with Arthur only quietly stepping in as needed, that this was serving to throw him even more off-balance. Then he wondered if that was the whole point, but decided there was such a thing as paranoia after all. Mutely, he accepted Ginny's hand as she led him to sit as well. Equally quiet, she snuggled up next to his side, and Harry couldn't help but be nervous at the open display of Ginny's affection, especially right in front of her parents. After a moment's thought, he realized that she was openly stating exactly what her preferences were. Harry couldn't help but feel appreciative of that.

"So..," Arthur began, clearly trying to figure out just were to start this conversation.

A silent moment passed.

"Men," Molly muttered under her breath in exasperation, causing Ginny to giggle and Arthur to chuckle softly. Harry did as well, though a bit more nervously. "Such nonsense. After all we've been through, there's no reason for this discussion to be difficult."

She and Arthur locked eyes for a moment, and he gave a quick nod. At that, Molly turned back to face Harry and Ginny, who were waiting expectantly to see just what her parents were going to say. Ginny was chewing softly on her bottom lip, and Molly thought Harry rather looked like a cat waiting to get pounced on by a very large dog, so she launched into it with no further hesitation. "Arthur told me about your little slip of the tongue in the other room, Harry dear. He also told me how those ill-behaved boys of mine reacted. Don't let it bother you one bit. But I do have to confess that we are a bit... concerned."

Harry felt Ginny tense slightly next to him and knew that he'd done the same. He also knew it was obvious, because he'd barely begun replying with Arthur interrupted with a single palm held up in the air.

"Don't mistake what we're saying, you two. I'm - We're - happy to know that you feel that strongly for Ginny. And if I know my daughter - and I like to think that I do - then I'm quite certain she feels the same about you. Frankly, it's not even much of a surprise. And we know you're both adults - or you will be, Princess, in just a few weeks. But all the same, what concerns us is that, right now, you're both too -"

It was Ginny's turn to interrupt then. "Young, yes Daddy, we know," she admitted, and Harry could tell she was gratified to see that statement throw both of her parents for a loop. He had to fight to smile about it himself - here was Ginny Weasley, admitting she was too young for something? Surely Hell now had an ice-skating rink.

"We've..." Harry began, hesitantly. "We've talked about it, just now. We love each other, yes, but our relationship - what all of that means... well, it's still all very new. Especially to me. I've never - I've never felt this way about anyone, or had anyone feel this way about me before, Mr. and Mrs. -erm, Molly, Arthur, and - "

Ginny laid a hand softly on his. "What Harry's trying to say, Mum, is that we know we're not ready for marriage. So you don't have to worry - we're not going to go and elope the day after my birthday."

Something in Molly's expression suggested to Harry that she had feared precisely that. But something else made him wonder that, perhaps, it wasn't the idea of him and Ginny being married that had worried Molly so, but rather, that the Weasley matriarch wouldn't get to be a part of it.

For some reason, this realization pleased him almost as much as the end of his and Ginny's talk earlier, though for very, very different reasons.

* * * * *

When Harry and Ginny emerged from the library some time later, they found Ron standing in front of Charlie, Percy, and George with folded arms. The sight brought a wry smile to Harry's face, and for the first time, he truly appreciated the changes the last year had wrought on his friend. Ron had always been tall, but he wasn't nearly so lanky anymore. He'd broadened out - especially once they'd gotten used to being fully fed regularly once more, rather than the admittedly slim diet of much of the last year - and even more so in the weeks he and Hermione had been away in Australia.

There was a clear confidence to his step and posture. It was a combination, Harry suspected, that was a result of both everything they'd been through and the fact that Ron was now openly in love with the girl of his dreams. Harry was blind to these changes in himself of course, until Ginny had pointed them out. He didn't really believe her, but he could see the difference readily enough in Ron - especially as he was now cowing three of his older brothers, one of whom faced down dragons for a living, with nothing more than folded arms and a glare that would (and did, as Molly and Arthur had followed them into room) do his mother proud.

Ron's gaze flicked up at the pair as they entered, and Harry saw his friend relax visibly as he determined that Harry and Ginny were fine. Then he returned his flat-iron stare to his brothers, who were now turning to face the young couple.

It was once again George who spoke first. And he, at least, had the good grace to be looking more sheepish and embarrassed than Harry had ever seen. "Harry, mate -"

Ron cleared his throat with an emphasis that would have been exaggerated in any other circumstance, and George sighed.

"Harry, Ginny," George corrected, shifting his gaze to include the both of them. Ron had apparently made it abundantly clear that apologies were owed to more than just Harry, which the dark-haired man appreciated greatly. "We're sorry for jumping to conclusions, and - "

"Well, that doesn't mean we were wrong," Percy interjected swiftly, "They're both far too young to - "

"Percy," Ron said in warning before either Molly or Arthur could reprimand their third-youngest, his eyes growing even more steely. Percy's mouth obligingly snapped closed. Quickly.

"Yes, well," Charlie stepped in, partially to take the flak, and partially to prevent any new tensions with Percy. "What my idiot brothers and I are trying to say is that we're sorry," he said honestly. "We shouldn't have jumped to conclusions, and Ginny, we really shouldn't have gotten in the way when you were trying to go after Harry."

Harry's eyes flicked down to Ginny. She hadn't mentioned any of this. "Gin?" he said, knowing she'd understand his question.

"Wasn't important," she replied immediately, knowing Harry would demand the whole story out of her later. Instead, she turned her gaze back to her older brothers, folding her arms as she leveled a suspicious gaze at all of them. "Wait a moment. You lot have never - ever - apologized for anything this quickly in my whole life. What happened?"

Ron just shrugged slightly. "I threatened 'em with a bunch of curses, and then reminded them that Harry was the one who'd taught them to me," he responded easily, fighting back a smile of his own. It wasn't a kind smile, either, and Harry briefly felt a strong surge of loyalty to this man who was closer to him than a brother - and who, he sometimes thought, considered Harry himself to be closer than any of his own brothers.

"Ickle Ronnie-kins has gotten bloody terrifying is what it is," George amended sotto voce, giving the tallest of the Weasley boys a respectfully wary gaze.

"That'd do it," Harry murmured under his breath, and he was smiling himself then. "No harm done then, you lot, right Gin?" he said, and was satisfied with the nods he got from Charlie and George, though Percy was still looking at him oddly. That wasn't new, however. He was used to that from Percy, though Harry supposed that 'concern for little sister' ranked above 'dangerously psychotic nutter'.

"Right," she said through gritted teeth. It was clear she hadn't entirely forgiven her brothers, either, but was equally willing to let it go for now. Though it wouldn't be a surprise to soon discover any Weasley Wizarding Wheezes products being shortly put to good use, Harry suspected. Then he wondered if Gin would want help.

"Now that that's settled," said Bill's voice from an adjoining doorway, "Perhaps we can get on with remodeling Harry's house? Harry, Percy's got blueprints over here, we need you to tell us what you want done so that we can get the details taken care of."

"Right," Harry replied, breathing a sigh of relief that no one seemed incline to comment any more on the previous topic. With Ginny and Ron at his sides, he approached the table that Bill had conjured and Percy had set up the blueprints on, and started telling them everything he had in mind. The tension in the room abated as everyone moved on, and by shortly before lunch, was largely forgotten.

Finally, some of the noise from the kitchen wafted his way, and Harry frowned in puzzlement as he looked over at Ginny. "Gin?"

"Yes?"

"Why's your mum... humming?"

Ginny just smiled, but decided not to reply as she saw Bill and Ron share a look that suggested that they understood quite well just what had their mother in such a mood. After all, what Molly was humming the Wizarding world's version of the bridal march. It was a tune that Harry had only ever heard once in his life, and to be fair, she knew he had been rather distracted from by what he'd described to her as 'a red-haired temptress in a gold dress'.

Instead, she just patted his hand softly in a manner that Harry found extremely patronizing and said, "Don't worry about it, luv."

* * * * *

Three days later, Hermione had surprised him once again. At that point, Harry had decided that he rather liked being pleasantly surprised for a change, and found it to be infinitely better than the alternative to which he was so accustomed.

"I've got it!" she said, her eyes glowing brightly as she slammed a stack of parchments down on the kitchen table in front of him, causing Harry to drop the crisps he was absently eating as he and Ginny stared over the blueprints for the third floor.

Harry grinned broadly in recognition as his eyes scanned over the documents in front of him. Ginny, however, had no clue whatsoever why Hermione was so excited, or why Harry was suddenly so happy. Needless to say, her curiosity was thoroughly piqued. "Got what?" she finally asked when neither volunteered any further information.

Hermione frowned for a moment, and then her expression cleared. "Oh - Harry didn't tell you? He's had me working on a way to change the Black family tree - that awful tapestry in the drawing room?"

Ginny nodded, and refrained from pointing out that Hermione's need to specify further had been rather unnecessary. "Change it into what?" she asked, looking at Harry this time for an answer. He would at least keep it brief.

"Erm..." Harry started, a little uncomfortable. He'd become better at expressing himself, particularly thanks to her, but it was still difficult for him at times. "I thought it might be... nice... if... well, it's my house, so I thought that it should have my family tree on it instead. With nobody burned off."

Ginny's eyes twinkled at that. "Harry, I think it's brilliant. How'd you figure it out, Hermione?" she asked, turned her attention back to the brunette.

"Well, it was really hard at first. I had to get Percy to get the genealogical records from the Ministry - "

"Wait, you found a family tree of mine?" Harry interrupted. He didn't know anything about his family beyond his parents - and Ignotus Peverell - and now... "There was a record at the Ministry, all this time?"

Hermione nodded briskly. "Harry, your family is one of the oldest wizarding families in Britain. Didn't you ever wonder why Malfoy was so eager to ally himself with you before you knew each other?"

"I always figured it was because of, you know," he replied, pointing quickly to the lighting-bolt scar on his forehead.

"Well, that was likely a part of it," she conceded with a nod. "But it was mostly because that sort of alliance is how all those old pure-blood families work, and yours is one of the oldest there is, Harry, going even farther back than the Weasleys or the Malfoys. And like Sirius said, all the purebloods are related if you go back far enough. There's at least one of the Malfoys, Weasleys, Blacks and Smiths all on there at one place or another. I've got a... erm... copy of the record here."

"Hermione!" Ginny cried out in shock, recognizing Hermione's hesitation for what it was. Without her background, though, Harry was lost as to her surprise, and regarded her response with confusion. Seeing that, she clarified. "Those records are sealed, Harry - only Ministry officials and family members are allowed to access them, and taking them out of the Archives is against the law."

Harry raised his eyebrows in respect. "˜Mione? You broke the law for me?" he asked, his lips quirking at his friend's growing embarrassment. He wasn't particularly bothered by the notion, and found Hermione's tendency to shift priorities wherever he or Ron were concerned especially endearing.

"Don't be ridiculous, Harry, I didn't do anything illegal," she said sharply, before her expression shifted into a conspiratorial grin. "Percy did."

"Percy?!" Harry wasn't sure if he'd said it first or Ginny had, or whether the cry had come from them both.

"Mm-hmm." Hermione gave another nod, and then paused a moment, looking as though she was trying to decide how much to say. "He wanted to help."

Ginny murmured something largely unintelligible under her breath, but Harry pretended not to hear it. "I'll have to thank him, then."

Both girls recognized the inherent gesture in his reply, and Hermione decided it would be best to leave that topic there for now. She knew why Harry and Percy were still on rocky ground at times, though she was also well aware that it was for rather different reasons than the ones Harry thought. She also recognized that Ron and Ginny's ongoing irritation with their brother was largely on Harry's behalf. She was briefly tempted to, as Ron called it, meddle, but then bit her tongue as she remembered her promise to him to try to avoid just such a thing. "And then I had to talk to Mrs. Weasley about how she'd made her clock - that gave me the final answer, and I was able to create a spell to modify the tapestry - and restore it at the same time, of course, because I didn't think you'd want it to stay all ratty - "

"Show me, then," Harry instructed her, preferring to get down to the details.

His friend then launched into a detailed explanation of the spell that Harry would have to perform, describing carefully what he would have to keep in mind, and repeatedly going over the incantation. "When did you want to do this, Harry?"

"No time like the present," he replied as he stood. "Coming, Gin?"

She shook her head briskly, and took on a wicked grin as she looked Harry dead in the eye. "You two go on, I'll come and look when you're done. I want to finish mapping out the changes to the master bedroom - and the bathroom, of course," she added, seemingly as an afterthought.

Harry felt the rising flush creep up his cheeks at that. He'd shared the thoughts he'd had with her about the master bathroom from the first morning he'd awakened here, and had been subjected to rather merciless teasing on the topic ever since. As he saw Hermione's expression flicker from confusion to comprehension, he blushed even harder, and was incredibly thankful it was Hermione who had heard Ginny, and not Ron. His friend's acceptance could probably only be pushed so far, after all.

"Right, then," Harry said, drawing himself up and trying to assume some semblance of dignity. "Let's be about it." He left the dining room first - and winced as the two girls broke out into open laughter behind him.

Hermione didn't keep him waiting in the drawing room long, however, and she entered to find him staring at the tapestry. His embarrassment had faded completely, and he had adopted what she recognized as his 'thinking face'. "All right there, Harry?"

"Hmmn?" he asked distractedly, coming out of his thoughts. "Oh, I was just thinking."

"About?"

"About... "He gestured haphazardly toward the tapestry. "About family. Isn't it funny how much emphasis some of the pure-bloods place on lineage and bloodlines and everything else? It'd be ridiculous if it wasn't so damn sad. They're so caught up with the form of the thing, that they forget the meaning. I reckon the Weasleys are some of the only ones who have the right of it."

"That's likely why they're so often called ' blood-traitors'." She made a mocking gesture with her fingertips. Her expression made it plain that she found that term to be just as distasteful as 'Mudblood', and rightly so. "You know, Harry, the Potters were considered blood-traitors, too."

"Yeah?" he asked brightly. Harry found that to be a comforting notion. He was beginning to worry what he'd find, knowing that there were Malfoys and Blacks in his family tree...

"Yes," she confirmed, handing him the folded sheets of parchment that contained the Ministry record of his family tree. "You'll need this in your other hand, when you activate the spell."

"Right," he said, swallowing nervously for a moment. Clutching the parchment tightly, he began following Hermione's instructions. He emptied his mind of all thoughts except for that of his family. His parents, whom he had only seen as memories or shades, but now he felt he finally knew through the recollections of others - and finally being able to speak to them, all too briefly, that night with the stone. He thought of all the family he didn't know, had never gotten a chance to know. His grandparents were all dead - he knew the Evanses had been the ones to die in the car crash that the Dursleys had always claimed killed his parents. His aunt had always said his father had been driving, and growing up, he'd thought that was why they'd hated him so much. But obviously James hadn't been driving the car, so what had happened there? And what about the Potters? They were in the pictures of his parents wedding, but no one had ever said anything about them being killed by Voldemort, just that they were dead. What had happened there?

But - more often as he tried to clear them - he found his thoughts drifting to the people he really thought of as his family. Ginny - his girlfriend? That seemed such a simple, inadequate word to describe how he felt about her, and she him. Teddy, his godson, a boy he would help raise as though he were his own, a boy who would never, ever go through life not knowing the kind of people his parents had been. If it wouldn't mean taking the last family she had from Andy, Harry would cheerfully raise the boy himself.

Ron, his brother in every way but blood. Ron had been the first real friend he'd ever made, the first person to accept him, and Harry - hadn't he done the same for Ron? Hadn't he been the first person to ever treat the youngest Weasley brother not like a tag-along? Hermione, his sister in just the same way - he knew things had been rough for her in Muggle schools - being the smartest in a class always was. How much had it hurt her to hear the same sentiments - which Harry hadn't denied - from Ron, back in first year? How much had it then meant for the two of them to risk their lives to save her? Like with Ginny, the language seemed inadequate - "Friends" just didn't cover what the three of them were to each other.

And Dumbledore - Harry knew he'd had a different relationship with Albus Dumbledore than almost anyone he knew of. The one he knew wasn't even the man that Ron and Hermione had been acquainted with, and indeed, Harry found himself wondering for the first time whether anyone other than Aberforth or Minerva McGonagall had known the headmaster in the way he had. Hadn't that make him rather like a grandfather to Harry? Harry wasn't sure - he'd never had a proper grandfather, but he suspected Dumbledore would have liked the comparison.

The Weasleys - all of them, even Percy. Molly and Arthur were the parents he'd never known - they'd exposed him to what a parent's love felt like for the first time in his life. Molly had doted on him like one of her own. Her words from before his fifth year echoed through his mind. "He's as good as, who else has he got?" Arthur had shown him, in every way that Vernon had failed, what being a father really meant, and Harry could only hope that, whenever that day came, he was even half as good a father to his own children.

Bill - his first thoughts about him still stood. Bill was just cool. He was the big brother Harry had never had until he'd met the Weasleys, and Harry abruptly realized once again that he did have brothers - six of them. Five, he forcibly corrected himself. There was Fleur, who he had other things in common with - the Tournament, being the only Weasleys without red hair... Charlie, who he was the least closest to, but who had jumped at the chance to help Harry and Ron and Hagrid even back in first year, with getting rid of Norbert. Norberta, Harry corrected himself again.

Percy who, for all his faults, had still broken the law (something Harry couldn't ever recall, and nor would he have ever thought likely) to help Harry with this very project. Fred and George - it was difficult, even now, to separate the twins in his mind. He was closest to them, aside from Ron and Ginny, of all the Weasleys - they'd been there, taking the mickey out of him from before his first Quidditch game, and all the way to the end, when they'd been among the first to show up when the call had gone out (even if Harry hadn't intended it) that Harry was at Hogwarts, and that it was time to fight. There were so many ties between himself and the Weasleys - blood didn't even seem to matter in comparison.

Then there were the others, Sirius, Remus, Tonks, and lately, even Andromeda. Andy, he corrected himself yet again. Those who had assumed the roles of Uncles and Aunts in his life - teaching him the things his parents wouldn't have, guiding him in the ways his parents couldn't... (Then again, considering what Harry knew of James, that might not have been accurate) and generally being everything Vernon and Petunia Dursley should have been.

Ironically - the Dursleys, his only living blood family - didn't even rate. Though there was hope, maybe, for Dudley, if he really had grown as much as he'd seemed to last year.

I do have family, Harry thought, I have more family than most people ever get.

I am not an orphan.

That thought firmly in mind, Harry raised his wand, and cast the spell Hermione had taught him with such careful deliberation. "Pondero Potter Prosapia Nemus" he whispered, and a broad, bright green light flashed out from his wand and engulfed the entire tapestry that represented the generations of history of the Noble and Ancient House of Black. He held his concentration until the brightness of the light faded away, and Harry had to blink several times afterwards to restore his vision.

"Oh, Harry..." Hermione breathed, a hand pressed to her mouth. "It's incredible... "

"Blimey," Harry breathed in astonishment as his own gaze spread itself across the new tapestry. It settled first on the coat of arms, down at the base of the tree, that he recognized bearing the Potter crest. He'd certainly become familiar with it after bringing the heirlooms from his family vault, though he'd hardly gone through all of them - they were up in the attic until the house was ready. There was a Knight's helm, as viewed from the side, visor raised, with elaborate patterns in red, silver and gold flowing from behind it. Before it stood a pointed shield emblazoned in a pattern of grey and black with a checkered bar aligned across the center; And then, atop the helm, Harry couldn't help but smile broadly as he saw Gryffindor's lion rearing its proud head and forelegs back. Below it was the family motto - "Vires, Veneratio quod Diligo" or, translated from the Latin - "Strength, Honor & Love". Just those simple words were enough to make Harry's heart proud, so different were they from the Black's purity-obsessed motto of 'Toujours pur," and any lingering doubts about his family history were lain firmly to rest.



Blood-traitors, indeed
, Harry thought with a wide smile.

From there, at the base of the tree, were his first ancestors, their animated woven faces showing pride, with dates going back almost as far as the founding of Hogwarts, and as Harry's gaze traveled upward, he realized that even the tree itself was different. Where the Blacks had been a dead, rotted thing, the new Potter Family Tree was very much alive, it's bark a rich brown and it's vibrant green leaves blowing in an imaginary wind. His eyes traveled across, taking in the names and faces of his ancestors and really feeling that he was connected to all of those people. He had family, he had history, and he had -

"Oh, I'd wondered if that would happen!" Hermione squealed excitedly, drawing Harry from his thoughts.

"What?" he asked in confusion, looking to where his bushy-haired friend was pointing.

"Here, Harry, here - look!"

Harry's jaw dropped as he found what she meant. There, traveling from the spot on the branches near the top of the tree, were his parents' faces, smiling kindly as they saw him. From there, a single branch led to Harry - where a whirl of branches of varying strengths led away from his own name. There, closest to his face and name, was Ginny, their names connected by the shadow of a line that was just beginning to fill in. Harry let loose a bark of laughter when he saw his fabric counterpart and Ginny's picture casting blushing glances as they looked at each other, which was rarely at the same time. And then, also from his name was another pair of branches, these thicker, connecting him to where Ron and Hermione were shown on the Tree. (Ron's picture was laughing at the looks being tossed back and forth between the miniature heads of Harry and Ginny, he noted.)

And then, even more branches spread out from his name - to Teddy, which had Remus and Tonks and Andy linked to it, and to thin, but solid branches connecting Harry himself once again to Sirius and Hagrid and Dumbledore - and then, there, from Ron and Ginny's names to Arthur, Molly, and the Weasley's - all of them, there were Bill and Fleur, with a shadow of a branch extending from them, and a shadow that had a name that he couldn't quite make out. And there was Charlie, and Fred and George - the representations of both twins happily making faces at the next, Percy. Harry's jaw dropped as he saw that Percy's name had a branch attached to his own, with a smiling girl bearing the name 'Penelope Weasley.'

They were all there - all of his family. Not just by blood, but the family he'd chosen, as well. This thought was quickly followed by another - Percy's married?! He eloped!

"Hermione," he trailed, his fingers tracing the branch connecting him and Ginny. By instinct, he knew that - when, if? - they were married, it would grow solid. "How is this possible?"

Hermione was beaming excitedly - clearly she'd been waiting for just that expression. "It's the way the spell works. You had the family tree in your hand - " Harry noticed at this that the parchment was gone as though it had never been "- but it works on more than just that, it's not just your family by blood, but the family that's in your heart, in your soul and Harry, well, we're your family too, and - Oh! I'm on here! I knew Ginny would be, and Ronald, of course - but I didn't expect..."

Harry felt a bit dazed, trying to follow the speed of her explanation. "Well of course you are," he said as though the whole thing were obvious. "You're my sister, aren't you? Why wouldn't you be?"

She was still beaming as she embraced Harry in a fierce hug that was so tight that Harry rather thought she'd been taking lessons from Molly. Or Ginny. Finally she drew back, and Harry could see the mist in her eyes. "˜Mione?" he asked, hoping that this wouldn't be another female thing that he had absolutely no hope of comprehending.

"It's nothing, Harry, Everything's changed so much, and - "she started with a smile. "Well, it's nothing. I'm just very glad I could help."

"Thank you," he said fervently, and turned back to examine the tree that now bore the likenesses of his family, all of them.



* * * * *

All told, it only took about two weeks to transform number twelve Grimmauld Place from a horribly dank, dark den devoted to the dark arts into a different - and much nicer - place entirely.

There was what Harry had taken care of that first day, getting rid of all the furniture. It proved remarkably easy to transfigure most of it, though some pieces were just so foul that Harry found he didn't want them, even in a transfigured state. Those were taken out to a corner of the Burrow's field, and then disposed of in a very satisfying bonfire. Bill proved to be the greatest asset to this phase of the entire project, as he was able to teach Harry how to transfigure the furniture into pieces that he liked.

Then, of course, there had been Hermione's help with the tapestry. That had excited everyone - Molly in particular had been ecstatic to see how Hermione had adapted some of the charms from her clock. It had led to a bit of a situation, however, when all of the Weasleys had found out Percy's marital status. (Harry hadn't been able to figure out how to tell them, and had, in the end, simply decided to show them the tapestry. This discovery further complicated when it was learned that Percy and Penelope had eloped the weekend before. The former Miss Clearwater had broken things off with Percy some time ago - because of the way he'd treated his family, it turned out - and had only taken him back once he'd returned to the fold.)

George, it turned out, had already known about the sudden and quiet wedding, as he had been the best man and the one who had encouraged the pair of them to nail things down 'before Mum gets a hold of you both.' He had also apparently traded shamelessly on the absence of Fred, and managed to convince Percy that 'it was what Fred would have wanted.'

Harry and Ginny had agreed - well out of the earshot of Molly - that Fred probably would have found the whole thing hilarious.

Molly had not been amused, but the family had been quickly taken with the bookish, yet vibrant Penelope who was now sharing Percy's room at the Burrow. And Ginny repeatedly assured him that Molly would get over it - probably around the time that Percy and Penelope provided her with a grandchild. Harry still suspected that the fact that Penelope had dumped Percy until he'd gotten his head out of his arse had pretty much solidified her acceptance by the rest of the family - especially Charlie and Ron. He knew it made him approve of the newest Weasley.

Penelope's presence had also paid dividends, since she was an Unspeakable, and she, Bill, Harry and Hermione had spent the next day ripping down all of the old and ancient wards around the house, especially those based in Dark magic, and creating new ones that were much more to Harry's liking. With some research, they had even pulled down the Fidelius Charm that Dumbledore himself had placed on the house. This, though, had backfired when Rita Skeeter had located the place the next day, even if Hermione had once again captured her in her Animagus form. Harry himself had enlisted Professor Flitwick's aid in teaching him how to cast a new Fidelius shortly thereafter.

Next had come the removal of all the Slytherin traces in the house - like the snake-engraved candelabras and other hangings, the tarnished silver door-handles, and in one case a wall-mounted mural depicting a battle between Salazar Slytherin and Godric Gryffindor. (Hermione had found this mural particularly insulting, as it had depicted Slytherin victorious over his former friend, when Hogwarts: A History clearly indicated that it had been Gryffindor who had forced Slytherin to flee from the castle.) All of the portraits except for that of Phineas Nigellus had been removed, and Harry currently had his account manager at Gringotts looking into possible buyers. That one remaining portrait had been relocated to what Harry had adopted as his study, for use if he ever needed to contact the Headmaster's Office at Hogwarts. The Order of the Phoenix wasn't officially active anymore... but then, it never hurt to be prepared.

Then had come the really difficult parts - and this was where Bill had proved his worth the most. First he'd instructed them to use the strongest cleaning charms possible, scouring everything - even Sirius and Regulus' rooms, once Harry had been satisfied that anything he wanted to keep was out of them - down to bare wood flooring and stone and wood walls. From there, he'd directed everyone on how to permanently transfigure the floors and walls, so that finally, a cherry wood layer covered every floor in the house, save for the attic and the basement. The paneling continued to waist height in most rooms, up to the white plaster that had replaced all of the old, badly grayed and chipped materials that filled the rest of the walls. A sufficiently Gryffindor scarlet wall-paper with gold inlay had then covered the plaster.

Ginny had even found a way to make her own mark on the place - with Harry's blessing, of course - and was in the process of turning the brownstone's flat rooftop into a garden. Charlie had helped her reinforce the roof, and George had built the magically-expanded broom and tool shed. He'd almost earned himself a hexing from Ginny when he had refused to explain why a particular portion of the shed was being set aside. Ginny was now quite certain that whatever project Harry and Arthur had been working on in the shed back at the Burrow all summer was quite related, and was growing even more short-tempered that she was, apparently, the only one out of the loop.

Harry, Percy and Arthur had even devised a way to run electricity to the house, replacing all the old torches and candles with more modern Muggle lighting, and electrical outlets. Several new torch and candle-holders were installed, however, for whenever a more traditional ambiance was desired. They had been nearly complete with this process until Hermione had pointed out that, with the Fidelius Charm still in place (weakened though it was), there was no way to tie into the neighborhood's electrical system.

A floo call to Professor Flitwick had sorted that particular difficulty out, however, and Harry had ended up able to charm the whole thing to work off of what was, essentially, a battery in the attic that Harry or Kreacher would have to periodically recharge. Arthur had been amazed to find out that several generations of Muggle-borns had already worked that out quite some time ago. Many Muggle-borns integrated the best parts of both worlds, after all, and Harry essentially was one, even if he was technically a half-blood.

Harry had then taken Ginny, Ron, and Hermione with him to a Muggle department store to order all the house-hold appliances he'd need. That had gone well, up until the point where they had realized they had no way to transport all of them, and that a delivery man wouldn't be able find number twelve Grimmauld Place.

That problem had been neatly solved when Hermione had revealed she had a driver's license, and they'd been able to rent a lorry to carry everything. They'd had to load it up the Muggle way - much to Ron's complaints - but had settled for driving it to a secluded area and then banishing each appliance one by one back to Grimmauld Place. Molly had then taught them all the charms to make the appliances work like the magical ones Ron and Ginny were used to, and Harry had hooked them up to run off of the house's electrical system. Therefore, any Muggle or Wizard who happened to be at Grimmauld Place would be able to use the appliances.

Of everything Harry had purchased, Ron had proclaimed the telly to be the best addition of all. This hadn't surprised Harry one bit - though Ginny's not-quite-as-obsessive fascination with it had been somewhat the opposite. It was not uncommon to find them fighting over the remote control that he and Hermione had shown them how to operate.

Next, the girls - Molly, Ginny, Hermione, Fleur and Penelope all - had set out themselves finding the other decorations for the house. They'd taken Harry and Ron with them initially, but after three hours of the boys standing uselessly about, the pair had been banished back to Grimmauld Place to finish up the minor spellwork remaining. They'd already found brass fixtures of a decidedly Gryffindor theme to replace the gone silver Slytherin -styled ones, and Harry knew that they were now looking for wall hangings, bedding, curtains (which he'd objected to, and been overruled on), and various things of that nature. At this point, he was simply going to have to assume that Ginny and Hermione knew his tastes well enough that he would be satisfied with what they bought.

Harry lowered his wand as he finished expanding the last window. All that remained now was to finish the wallpapering left undone on the first floor - George had been doing it, but had been banned from completing it after he'd wallpapered Percy to the wall for three hours yesterday afternoon - and then it would be time to move the furniture, old and new, back in.

"I'm knackered," Ron said with an exaggerated sigh. "Let's take a break, yeah?"

"Sounds good," Harry grunted, and wiped his forehead with his sleeve. They'd almost doubled the size of all the windows in the house with a charm Fleur had taught them and the amount of light now being let into the house was astounding. The kitchen - nor any of the rooms they'd performed the charm on - had seemed almost doubled in size, just by virtue of the addition of so much natural light. The now-clear windowpanes didn't hurt, either. Even undecorated, Grimmauld Place felt completely different than the crowded prison it had been for Sirius, and Harry suspected that his Godfather would rather approve of what he'd done with the place.

Grabbing a pair of butterbeers from the fridge, Harry handed one to Ron and twisted the top off with practiced ease. "Cheers," they both said before clinking the bottles and each taking a long pull. Ron had sat on top of the table and look out the kitchen's new bay window, and feeling not at all proper, Harry decided to join him there.

They sat for awhile like that, each just staring and keeping their own counsel as the sun began to fade over the London skyline. Finally, something prompted Ron to break the silence. "Bit weird, innit?"

"Hmmn?" Harry asked, dragging himself from his own thoughts - which at this moment, had been drifting into a rather pleasant daydream about the potential offered by Ginny's garden up on the roof.

"This," Ron clarified, waving at the house. "All this. I mean, all we've got to worry about is fixing up this old place, and not getting caught snogging our girlfriends by Mum, and what we're going to do for jobs. It's all so... normal."

"Yeah," Harry agreed, rather glad to know he wasn't the only one feeling that way. His restlessness had faded somewhat now, what with things with Ginny progressing as they were, and keeping busy fixing up Grimmauld Place. But that'd probably change soon enough, once that was done - and then Harry's mind abruptly seized on another part of Ron's statement, and he frowned slightly. "Oi, when did your Mum catch you?"

Ron snorted, though a flush began to work its way up his ears. "After we went to bed last night. 'Mione sneaked up to my room, and I forgot to toss the charms on the door. Mum had one of her nights where she randomly checks in on all of us, and she got a bit of an eyeful. Much longer and she'd have walked in us while we were... " The red flush worked its way up past the tops of Ron's ears at that admission.

Harry raised his eyebrows. He'd known they were growing closer, but it seemed as though they were purposefully taming it down around him. To find that they were already that intimate, and he hadn't suspected it - that was a bit of a surprise. "Really? You two are already..."

Ron nodded briefly, and Harry found his previous thoughts about the source of Ron's new-found self-confidence wholly confirmed. "We've wasted enough time dancing around each other, y'know? We're of age. We figured that there wasn't much reason to waste any more time. I think 'Mione was more worried about bolloxing it all up if we didn't, actually. Not that I'm complaining, mind."

"Hunh," Harry muttered, finding it surprising. "So what you're getting at it that 'Mione started it and you didn't want to stop?" He asked, strangely unsurprised to find that their bookish friend was the more aggressive of the pair.

"Well spotted, Potter," Ron conceded with a smirk as he took another pull from his drink.

That got Harry to chuckle. And yet - he couldn't help but feel an unpleasant twinge of jealousy that Ron and Hermione had progressed to that stage of their relationship, while he and Ginny were still waiting. What they were waiting for, precisely, was becoming an increasingly difficult question to answer.

His thoughts must have clearly illustrated themselves across his features, because Ron suddenly made a noise of disbelief. "You can't tell me you and Ginny haven't yet."

Harry felt an unaccountable desire to be honest with his best mate - even if he was his girlfriend's brother. "No, we haven't," he confirmed.

"Blimey," Ron muttered, shaking his head. "Way you two are I thought it was a sure thing by now. I mean, I overheard Mum checking the other day to make sure Ginny was taking her potions." The potion, Harry knew, was the magical equivalent of Muggle birth-control pills. Ginny had told him about it, but she'd never indicated that it was something she was already taking. That thought settled itself somewhat uneasily in Harry's stomach, but he pushed it aside. He didn't like the way that thought made him feel, and decided it was better off firmly ignored.

"Well, it's come close," Harry admitted frankly, bringing his attention back to Ron. "But..." he had to pause, trying to find the best words that wouldn't result in Ron launching himself across the table and wrapping his hands around Harry's throat. That would rather ruin the conversation. So instead Harry decided to be honest with himself for the first time as to just why they were 'waiting'. "Well, I'm kind of... scared," he finally admitted in a small mumble that, if he had not been so practiced at talking to Harry, Ron would never have heard.

Ron drew his head back, blinking away a stunned expression. "Sorry, what?" he asked in disbelief. "Blimey, Harry - you've fought dragons. You beat sodding Voldemort. This, you're scared of?"

Harry fixed a narrow-eyed glare on his friend. "I don't want to force Gin into anything, and I've never - well, she'd be my first - and last - you know that, and..." he didn't know how else to properly explain, but knew - well, hoped - that Ron would know what he meant.

"And you don't want to botch the whole thing and get the boot?" Ron finished frankly, displaying the intuitive understanding that Harry knew he so rarely allowed himself to show. But there was no mocking as he said it, just a gentle understanding that Harry was frankly grateful for.

"Yeah," Harry admitted weakly, and took another swig from his butterbeer.

Ron chuckled at that, which Harry took great exception to. He illustrated this by throwing his bottlecap at Ron's head. The redhead promptly dodged, but avoided retaliating - mainly because he had nothing in range to throw. "Sorry, mate. It's just funny."

"Care to explain that before I hex your bits off?" Harry was joking with his comment.

Mostly.

"It's just - like I said earlier - the way you two are?" Ron said, and Harry was gratified to see him speaking a little quicker than normal. "Ginny's yours, mate, and you're hers. You'd have to be a right idiot and intentionally bugger the whole thing to get her to leave you. As for the other stuff - just relax, and let things come as they come," Ron advised sagely.

"You realize, mate," Harry couldn't resist responding with a wide grin, "that you're giving me advice on how to sleep with your sister."

"Remind me of that again, and I'll be hexing your bits off," Ron said with an exaggerated shudder, but then his expression changed back to the serious one he'd had before. "Besides... I don't reckon it"s my job to protect her anymore - I reckon it's yours. And I'll have your back. Said I always will, mate, with this - and anything else that ever comes." He then grinned. "Besides, standing up to my family's not all too much harder than taking on Death Eaters."

"I know, Ron," Harry agreed in a whisper, smiling at the sudden display of loyalty that so embodied his friend. "And you know I'll - "

"I know."

That admission stalled the conversation, and Harry realized they'd both finished their butterbeers. With a few flicks of his wand, he summoned more from the fridge. Talking like this, so honestly and openly with Ron, it was something they rarely got to do anymore. There was no one, except for Ginny and Hermione, who he could talk to in this way, and frankly, Ron's just being another bloke lent him a perspective that didn't always match up with the views of either one of the girls. It always seemed there was something else going on, something to be done, or with the girls, or the family... it seemed there was precious little time when it was just the two of them.

A light entered Harry's eyes as the solution occurred to him. "Y'know... the Burrow's gonna be awful lonely for you this fall."

"Hunh?"

"Well, Gin'll be back at Hogwarts, and Hermione's going back, too. She hasn't said it, but we both know there's no way she won't, not with McGonagall's offer just hanging there. Your Mum'll be able to focus all her attention on you," Harry said in a teasing tone, indicating clearly that he had an idea, but Ron was going to have to work for it.

"Bugger," Ron cursed, then eyed Harry speculatively. "What're you on about, then?"

"Well..." Harry trailed. "Seems to me we're really too old to be living at home with our parents, y'know? Maybe it works for other people our age - but we've been on our own this last year... we're not like other kids our age."

Ron snorted, "You never were a kid, Harry. Except when it came to Quidditch."

Harry granted him that with a nod, "You either, Ron. Who else decides to sacrifice themselves for their friends at the age of eleven? We all grew up way too soon. Can't take that back, much as we might want to."

"Too right," Ron agreed. "I mean, I love Mum and all, and the Burrow, but since we've been back, it"s just been - "

"Like wearing clothes that don't fit anymore?" Harry suggested.

Ron nodded, "But you've got something in mind?"

Harry held his breath a moment. He really wanted Ron to agree, but wasn't sure he wanted the other man to know how much. There'd been enough frank honesty and sentimentality in this conversation already. Any more would be unseemly. "You could move in here. I've got plenty of space, and if we go to the Auror Academy, or go work for George or whatever, London's closer than Devon."

Ron's face darkened a moment. "Harry, I'll do it - but I won't take charity. I've got my own means now, and I won't - "

Harry had expected that objection. Ron had his own money now, true enough, but that stubborn Weasley pride was always going to be difficult to let go of. "Come off it, you git. It's not charity. You can pay me if you want - I won't accept it, but you can try. But are you telling me you'd rather stay with your Mum than live with me?"

"Well, Mum is a good cook," Ron started, pretending to trail off thoughtfully.

That earned him another bottlecap upside the head.

"Besides... you'd have somewhere to be alone with 'Mione," Harry grinned.

Ron considered it all for a moment before finally nodding. "Yeah... it'll be brilliant," he grinned widely, and Harry matched it. "But you get to tell Mum."

"Me, why me?" he sputtered.

"Because you're her favorite," Ron said easily. "She'd give the rest of us a right earful about all the mess you get away with." Harry just grinned even broader. A few moments passed, during which Ron's expression had grown thoughtful once more. "You don't really mind, about me and 'Mione, do you?"

Harry looked at him oddly. "Why would I? You two've been in love with each other since fourth year. You just couldn't stop arguing long enough to notice it. I owe Neville twenty Galleons - he bet me you two'd figure it out before we left Hogwarts."

Ron let out a bark of laughter. "˜Mione's been worried about it, you know. That's why we've been toning things down around you. She doesn't want to throw it in your face - you know how she is. It's been terrifying her that you think everything'll have to change now that she and I are together."

"So that's what it is," Harry muttered. "I was wondering."

"I didn't think you were completely thick."

"Shut it, you," Harry shot back. "She shouldn't worry - I really am fine with it, you know. I'm happy for you. And I've got Gin - it's not like things have to be different for all of us, it just means that Gin's a part of that now." She always should have been, he added to himself.

Once again, Ron seemed to read his thoughts. "Don't beat yourself up about it, mate," he told him. "I reckon we're both a good bit stupid when it comes to girls."

"Yeah... Won-Won," Harry acknowledged, taking the easy shot.

"Oi!" Ron yelled, launching himself across table finally. "You'll pay for that, Potter!"

Harry couldn't stop to protect himself, he was so busy laughing. Ron's tackle caught him right in the middle, and the pair tumbled off the table onto the tile floor. That didn't impede the impromptu wrestling match in the slightest, and they'd been going at it for several minutes when the floo flashed in the next room, and Molly, Ginny, Hermione, Penelope and Fleur entered, all carrying large packages - which were promptly dropped when they found the boys, apparently fighting.

Molly stopped first, her jaw hanging open in astonishment. "Boys!" she cried in protest.

"Harry!"

"Ronald!"

Ginny and Hermione managed to cry out at the same time, and both moved forward to intercept the pair. Before they could, however, Molly had her wand out, and the boys had been separated and were hanging in the air by the scruff of their collars.

Ron and Harry met eyes after seeing the girls' reactions, at their current predicament of being hung up by the scruff of their necks like errant puppies, both started laughing so hard that they were unable to stop for several minutes.

Reviews 306
ChapterPrinter
StoryPrinter




../back
‘! Go To Top ‘!

Sink Into Your Eyes is hosted by Grey Media Internet Services. HARRY POTTER, characters, names and related characters are trademarks of Warner Bros. TM & © 2001-2006. Harry Potter Publishing Rights © J.K.R. Note the opinions on this site are those made by the owners. All stories(fanfiction) are owned by the author and are subject to copyright law under transformative use. Authors on this site take no compensation for their works. This site © 2003-2006 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Special thanks to: Aredhel, Kaz, Michelle, and Jeco for all the hard work on SIYE 1.0 and to Marta for the wonderful artwork.
Featured Artwork © 2003-2006 by Yethro.
Design and code © 2006 by SteveD3(AdminQ)
Additional coding © 2008 by melkior and Bear