SIYE Time:21:02 on 17th April 2024 SIYE Login: no | | |
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Category: Post-DH/AB
Characters:Harry/Ginny
Genres: Drama, General, Romance
Warnings: Death, Extreme Language, Intimate Sexual Situations, Mild Language, Mild Sexual Situations, Sexual Situations, Violence
Story is Complete
Rating: R
Reviews: 128
Summary: "I've had enough trouble for a lifetime," Harry Potter tells his friends after the Battle of Hogwarts. Life, however, is not done with Harry. The Wizarding community is left in chaos and it's up to Harry to fix it, and there's the small matter of repairing his relationship with Ginny, strained after months apart. Will Harry ever be able to settle and enjoy a simple life with the ones he loves?
Hitcount: Story Total: 59478; Chapter Total: 3116
Awards: View Trophy Room
Author's Notes: This story will start wrapping itself up in the next two chapters, I promise! Thank you so much to everyone who has stuck through it for this long! You're all wonderful. Please forgive any logical fallacies, plot holes, or that the narrative has become so dark. Like I've said before, I've really learned my lesson about the importance of *planning*. Chapter titled after "Cloudbusting" by Kate Bush.
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The tension in Courtroom Ten was almost too much for Harry to bear as the jury filed back in and sat, one-by-one, on the bench lining the right side of the room. He fidgeted just slightly in his seat as Elphias Doge stood slowly and looked, with great sincerity, into the face of each juror.
"I now ask you, the jury," he cried in his wheezy voice, "how you find the defendant, Thorfinn Rowle, in light of the charges laid against him?"
A wispy little witch stood from her seat, holding a piece of parchment. "We, the jury, find the defendant, Thorfinn Rowle, to be guilty of all charges laid against him."
Harry glanced to Ron, sitting beside him, and saw his friend's posture relax just slightly.
"Very well," wheezed Elphias. "Then we, the Wizengamot of the Ministry of Magic of Great Britain, sentence the defendant to life in Azkaban, without possibility of parole."
There were whoops and cries of joy throughout the chamber as two Azkaban guards stepped forward and led Thorfinn from the room.
Harry and Ron stood to leave.
"Relieved?" Harry asked as they made their way along the crowded benches towards the exit. The various witches and wizards who had been attending the weeklong trial were chatting animatedly amongst themselves, but Harry felt only exhaustion as he contemplated returning to his cubicle above.
"Yeah, well, we didn't expect much else, did we?" Ron answered.
Harry didn't say anything. The pair made their way in silence from the courtrooms to the lifts. Ron turned to Harry abruptly as the doors clanged shut.
"Listen, mate, there's something I need to talk to you about," Ron said, reminding Harry painfully of Rowle's hearing last August, when Neville had informed him of his decision to leave the Ministry.
"You're not quitting, are you?" Harry asked with a laugh, but even as he spoke, he saw Ron's face fall just slightly as his best friend stared guiltily at his shoes. Harry suddenly felt as though he'd been punched in the gut.
"You're joking," he said.
"I gave Robards my notice this morning," Ron answered as he looked up from his feet and met Harry's gaze directly.
"Why?" demanded Harry as the lift opened to the second level of the Ministry. The two stepped out and made their way to the doors of the Auror Office.
"Same reason as Neville, I suppose," Ron said with a shrug. "These hours we're pulling, the stress of it. It seems like my whole life is this job, and yet I get no satisfaction from it."
"They just found Rowle guilty!" Harry exclaimed as they reached their cubicle.
"Which is why I've stuck around this long," Ron muttered. "Hermione thinks I needed the closure." He threw himself into his chair and swiveled towards Harry, crossing his arms across his chest defensively.
"What are you going to do for work?" Harry pushed, utterly dumbfounded.
"George has offered me a place at the shop," Ron answered. "Verity's having a baby in the fall and I guess her bloke doesn't want her working, so George has asked me if I'd come aboard."
"I can't believe it," Harry said, slumping into his own chair.
"Look, Harry," Ron said. "I knew this was going to upset you, but you've got to understand; my marriage is falling apart. Hermione and I can't communicate worth a damn these days because I'm here from seven in the morning until eight at night trying to track down the Lestranges, who, for what it's worth, I don't even believe to be in the country. I can't keep doing this. I didn't survive the bloody war to be stuck in a job I hate for the rest of my life."
"Is that how you see me?" Harry asked.
Ron didn't say anything.
"It is."
"No," Ron said cautiously. "I just…. Look, d'you remember what you said to me and Hermione after the war ended?"
"No," Harry said, unsure of where his friend was going.
"You told us that you'd had enough trouble for a lifetime," Ron said. "And I agreed with you. I know it's not really in your nature to take a backseat when it comes to Voldemort and the Death Eaters, but you're wearing yourself thin. I mean… Harry, are you happy?"
Harry didn't need to think much about that one. It was no secret that being an Auror didn't bring him the satisfaction that he thought it would. He had never expected that he'd keep hitting so many walls, that he'd be forced through so many bureaucratic hoops, or that he'd be stuck at the mercy of Robards and Savage.
Ron smiled sadly at Harry's lack of response.
"So, what?" Harry asked angrily. "What, should I quit, too, and we can all go work at the joke shop and leave the Lestranges for someone else to handle?"
"Did I say that?" Ron asked. "You're a damn good Auror, Harry, but I'm only worried that you're being too hard on yourself."
"I'm not," Harry said curtly. "Look, Ginny and I have got Teddy this weekend. I need to go."
"Really?" Ron asked, a hint of annoyance in his voice. "I thought we could talk about this, Harry."
"Isn't that what we've been doing?" Harry snapped. "You're leaving. Is there anything I can say to change your mind?"
Ron didn't respond. Harry sighed before reaching under his desk to grab his bag. He didn't look back at Ron as he left the cubicle.
The impact of Ron's decision followed Harry's thoughts from the office, into the lifts, and through the Atrium. Feeling particularly brooding, Harry chose to forgo Flooing home in favor of walking through the blustery March air, going over the his exchange with Ron in his head and reimagining the scenario into one where he gave his friend a real telling-off for leaving the Ministry when things were still so unsettled.
The vestibule of his building was welcome warmth, and Harry unwound his scarf from around his neck before marching up the stairs to his flat, stopping in front of his large, white door.
He opened it hesitantly, unsure of the scene he would find before of him, for Ginny was in the midst of training for semi-finals, and her mood was largely dependent on how the day's practice had gone.
He had no cause for fear, however, for Ginny bounded up to him happily, placing a kiss on his lips.
"You look miserable!" she exclaimed. "What's happened? Don't forget we have Teddy tonight! Surely that'll turn your frown upside-down!"
"Good practice today?" Harry asked, hanging his things on the coat rack.
"Gwenog reckons we'll obliterate the Tornados next Saturday. We ran our drills so well she even let us go early!" Ginny said.
Harry smiled, her fantastic mood brightening his poor one.
"Really, though," Ginny said, pushing him into the sofa and plopping down beside him. "What's bothering you?"
Harry took a deep breath. "Ron's gone and quit the Ministry. He gave Robards his notice this morning."
Ginny's mouth popped open.
"He did what?"
"He's leaving to help George run the shop."
"You're joking."
"That's what I said to him."
"Did he say why?" Ginny pushed.
"He's not happy being an Auror. He said it's ruining his relationship with Hermione," Harry told her.
Ginny snorted. "Yeah, sure. Being an Auror is what's ruining his relationship with Hermione," she said sarcastically.
Harry sat up straighter. "You know what, Ginny? You've been making comments like that for months now, and I've no idea what you're talking about. Do you know what's going on with them?"
Ginny had the decency to look embarrassed.
"Not really," she admitted. "I know my brother's a giant prat. They had a big row last summer because Ron tried to get Hermione to leave her job."
"Really?" Harry was shocked. Hermione adored her career in the Department of the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, which she had spent most of the last two years single-handedly deregulating. Harry knew that she was currently in the midst of drafting legislation that would provide affordable housing for emancipated house elves. "Why?"
"She won't tell me, but she was furious," Ginny said in a rather guarded tone, suggesting that even if Hermione didn't say why, Ginny held her own private suspicions.
Harry sank back into the sofa.
"Ron asked me today if I was happy, and I couldn't answer," Harry admitted. Ginny frowned, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"You don't think you are?" Ginny asked.
"I just wish we could leave the war in the past," Harry said. "I'm ready to move on."
Ginny regarded him thoughtfully. "Not being able to move on from the war makes you feel unhappy?" she asked. "Even with the Lestranges in hiding, I find so many moments of happiness that I never had during the war. When I hold my niece and think about how hard we all fought for her existence, I feel joy. When I wake up and see you, safe and healthy, sleeping next to me, I feel peace."
"I suppose I just thought that if we could just get through Voldemort, everything else would feel like cake," Harry admitted.
"Well, that's trauma for you," Ginny said as stood up and walked over to the icebox, where she grabbed a couple of butterbeers. She brought them back to the settee and handed one to Harry. "I don't think life will ever be easy for us, Harry. We've all been through too much, you most of all. But we can work to make sure Teddy's life is as happy as possible, and Victoire's, and even our children's... one day, Harry. Merlin, don't look at me like that," she finished, for Harry had looked up in surprise at the mention of their children. "And we can find gifts in the good moments. Good moments like drinking a butterbeer with your beautiful girlfriend in the flat that she spent all evening cleaning after her captain let her go home early, because she killed it at practice today."
Harry smiled and clinked his bottle against hers. "You'd think the Master of Death would have a healthier outlook on life," he murmured and Ginny laughed.
"Oh, my darling Master of Death," she sighed dramatically. "I think you're having a hard time because your whole existence was on a singular track for the first eighteen years of your life, whether you knew it or not. You're free to do whatever you want now, and that's a difficult thing and a beautiful thing. You can keep working your arse off to find the Lestranges or you can shift speeds and do something else. You have choice."
"Alright, alright," Harry said, holding his hands up in surrender. "Thanks for talking it through with me."
"Always," Ginny said kindly, just as there was a knock at the door. Harry stood up and made his way over to the entryway, wrenching open the door to reveal Teddy and Andromeda, the former carrying a very realistic model dragon and the latter with an overnight bag.
"Harry," Andromeda said briskly, handing him the bag. "Apologies, but I really must dash. He's already had dinner!"
Before Harry could respond she gently pushed Teddy across the threshold and made her way down the staircase. Harry shrugged as Ginny giggled from behind him.
"Does she have a fit date, d'you think?" she laughed, coming forward to greet Teddy.
"Who knows," Harry answered. "Hullo, Ted."
"Harry," Teddy said in his most serious voice. "I has a new dragon."
"Well let's see it then," Harry said, bowing down and picking up his godson, throwing him over his shoulder before walking over to the sofa.
The three plopped down on the couch, admiring Teddy's dragon happily.
"Shall we make it fly, Ted?" Harry asked, pointing his wand at the dragon and levitating it into the air.
Teddy laughed gleefully as the dragon flew around the flat, his hair turning to a deep shade of purple to match the dragon's scaly belly.
"What kind of dragon is it, Ginny?" Harry asked in his most inquisitive voice. Teddy looked between the pair curiously.
"I have absolutely no idea," Ginny said with a laugh. "What makes you assume I'm the dragon expert? You're the one who's ridden one!"
She clapped her hand over her mouth as she realized what she'd said, but it hadn't been missed by the sponge that was Teddy Lupin.
A small smile spread across the two-and-a-half year old's face. "You flied a dragon?" he asked skeptically, his eyebrows raising in anticipation.
"Only once," Harry admitted, ruffling Teddy's purple hair, which promptly turned jet black.
"Were you so scared?" Teddy asked, and his brow furrowed.
"Not really," Harry replied, causing Ginny to roll her eyes.
The trio sat on the sofa for nearly an hour, Harry and Ginny entertaining Teddy with stories of dragons and bursts of bubbles and smoke from their wands. As darkness fell, Ginny volunteered to put Teddy to bed while Harry did the washing up.
By the time Ginny emerged from the second bedroom nearly another hour had passed, and she found Harry waiting in front of the fireplace, two beers on the coffee table.
"A welcome sight," she sighed, settling down next to him on the sofa and curling up like a cat. "I had to tell him four different stories to get him down, all involving you and a dragon."
"You brought that one on yourself," Harry said with a smirk, running a hand across her thigh.
"Don't remind me. Though you're definitely in competition with Sirius for World's Coolest Godfather, I'll give you that," Ginny said.
"It's funny, isn't it?" Harry mused, taking a sip from his beer. "Teddy's generation… they're going to hear about the stuff we went through like it's myth or legend."
"Oh, don't be so modest," said Ginny. "Anytime you see Dean or Seamus they make you recount the great dragon ride over Britain. You, Ron, and Hermione are already legends."
Harry flushed. "I suppose," he said.
"It's okay to revel in it," Ginny told him. "You defeated the Dark Wizard, flew off on the dragon, and got the girl. Three things to be happy about, if you ask me."
Harry grinned. "I think the girl got me," he said seriously.
"Good answer," Ginny said. She leaned forward and kissed him gently before grabbing his hand and standing. "Come on, let's go to bed, and I'll give you another thing to be happy about."
Harry couldn't get up from the sofa quickly enough.
☾
Harry and Ron's cubicle was a somber place Monday morning.
"Come on, Harry, you'll still have me!" Padma said in a transparent attempt to lighten the mood, but she was quickly silenced by Harry's expression.
The day passed slowly, Harry and Ron refusing to acknowledge one another. Harry busied himself by going over the prison reforms that he and Kingsley had drafted that winter. They were scheduled to go in front of the Wizengamot in a few weeks time and Harry wanted to ensure that they were perfect.
He was so engrossed in the legislation that he almost disregarded the great transparent mare as she galloped through the office, throwing back her shimmering mane as heads turned in her direction.
"Harry," Ron said, and Harry looked up, surprised at Ron's address. "Isn't that…."
The mare opened her long mouth and spoke with Ginny's voice.
"Harry, please, come to Holyhead as soon as you can," she cried urgently. "Bring Ron."
The horse vanished into a wisp of smoke as a shiver ran up Harry's spine. He had never heard Ginny's voice like that before.
She sounded terrified.
Panic engulfed Harry and he stood from his desk.
"Ron," he called, his voice sounding terribly high pitched. Ron stood from his chair with a concerned look, but was not moving near-quickly enough for Harry's liking.
"Harry," Padma warned. "Harry, it could be some kind of trap-"
"It's not," Harry cried. "RON!"
Heads were sticking up over the tops of the cubicles as the scene unfolded in the middle of the office. Ron took up his wand, looking weary.
"It's Ginny's Patronus; only she could've cast it," Harry said weakly. "We have to go."
Ron steeled himself and nodded, gathering his cloak and following Harry from the cubicle.
They ran through the office to the lifts, Harry squeezing his eyes shut in concentration and picturing the Harpies stadium as they passed cubicle after cubicle. Ron took notice.
"Harry," he said as they turned a corner. "Don't even try it, you know you won't be able to Apparate until we've reached the Atrium."
"She could be hurt," Harry gasped. "Or captured, or-"
"She's well enough to cast her Patronus," Ron said bracingly. The lift was mercifully already at their floor, and the flew into it, stopping for breath as the doors clanged behind them.
"I've never heard her sound like that," Harry said, terror saturating his own voice as he paced nervously around the lift. "What could've possibly happened…."
Ron looked uneasy. "She did sound off," he admitted. "We're almost there, Harry, we'll get it sorted, alright?"
The doors of the lift opened and Harry ran to the center of the Atrium, reaching out for Ron and Disapparating with a loud crack.
The pair rematerialized in the middle of the muddy Harpies pitch, and Harry immediately looked up, hoping to see the team hard at practice, whizzing back and forth across his field of vision. All he saw, however, were clouds, and he felt panic surge again, until Ron cried out, "Look!"
Harry's gaze followed the direction that Ron was pointing. The Harpies were sitting high in the stands as the grey clouds swirled ominously around them. Harry immediately spotted Ginny's flaming hair in one of the lower sections, her teammate Siobhan's head resting on her shoulder. He breathed out a massive sigh of relief.
All the women looked as though they'd seen the Grim; their faces exceptionally pale and expressions downturned. Several had arms wrapped supportively around one another; some were crying. Harry's stomach lurched at the sight, and he looked at Ron in inquiry; his friend shrugged, his expression as bewildered as Harry felt.
They approached the stands, and Ginny stood, rubbing Siobhan on the back in coming to the edge of the bleachers so she could lean over and hear them.
"Are you alright?" Harry called urgently. "What's happened?"
Ginny's eyes widened in surprise, clearly of the belief that the cause for her team's misery should have been apparent. She shook her head like she was going to be sick, raising her hand to point wordlessly at the sky behind them.
Harry turned to face the village, down the hill below the pitch, just behind where he and Ron had Apparate. As he took in the sight, it felt as though the ground supporting him had suddenly become gelatinous.
"Oh, fuck," Ron whispered from beside him. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!"
The cloud cover over the village of Holyhead was dense, not unusual for March in Wales, but the glittering green skull with the emerald snake protruding from its mouth was clearly visible in the mid-afternoon sky.
Harry felt something inside him snap as he took in the image of the Dark Mark over Holyhead. He drew his wand immediately, raising it in defense as Ron turned back to the stands where the Quidditch team sat expectantly.
"Go home," Ron called up to them in his most authoritative voice. "Listen to your wireless and don't leave until the Department of Magical Law Enforcement makes a statement."
The witches in the stands nodded, gathering their brooms and wordlessly Disapparating in a series of loud cracks.
Harry turned back to see Ginny, no longer at the edge of the stands but on the pitch in front of him, her jaw set and a hand on her hip. He couldn't help but smile. She always had this effect on him; even in the most dismal of times, her presence was a mere comfort.
"I'm not going home," she said defiantly. Beside Harry, Ron was sending Patronuses back to the Ministry.
"Did I ask you to?" Harry said, raising his wand and murmuring, "Cave inimicum." He watched in satisfaction as a wall of blue light surrounded the Quidditch pitch.
Ginny's posture relaxed significantly. Harry cast another spell across the pitch before stepping towards her and placing a hand around her waist.
"You think I don't know better than to send you away?" he murmured into her ear. She pressed her lips to his jaw for a moment, before giving him a squeeze on the arm.
Harry pulled away from her, forcing himself not to look at the Dark Mark, still hovering over the village of Holyhead.
"You'll probably have to stay here," he admitted. "It being a crime scene."
Ginny nodded. Harry glanced at Fabian Prewett's battered watch.
"Is it mostly Muggle?" Harry asked her, gesturing down into the village. He'd never given too much thought to the actual town of Holyhead before, preferring to pay attention instead to their Quidditch statistics.
"It's half-and-half," Ginny said. "I'm sure the villagers have noticed by now."
There were a series of loud cracks and Harry stepped protectively in front of Ginny. Robards materialized in front of them and marched towards Ron in a way that reminded Harry of one of Aunt Marge's bulldogs. The Department head was followed by Savage and Williamson. Harry rolled his eyes. Of course they had left Ernie and Padma back at the Ministry.
"Weasley," Robards called briskly. "You called for backup?"
Ron, mimicking Ginny's gesture from moments earlier, pointed wordlessly at the great serpent stretching out grotesquely from the skull above their heads.
Robards' eyes widened for a moment, before springing into action.
"Right," he said, drawing his wand. "Savage, go back to the office and get together two teams. Williamson, go to Proudfoot and tell her we need Hit Wizards here, now, and to make sure the entire Department is on high alert."
The two men, staring open-mouthed at the Mark above the village, nodded without shifting their gaze and Disapparated in unison.
Robards looked back to Harry and Ron. "How long since it was cast?" he demanded.
Ginny stepped forward from behind Harry. "We noticed it half-an-hour ago," she answered. "It couldn't have been up much longer than that, we've been in the air all day."
Robards nodded in her direction before addressing Harry and Ron again. "Once we get more Aurors here we'll go into the village to find the house."
"Yes, sir," Harry and Ron said simultaneously.
There seemed nothing to do but stand and stare at the glittering skull above Holyhead, but it didn't take long for Padma, Ernie and Savage's team of Aurors to make their appearance.
"Right," Robards said gruffly. "Potter, you and your team enter the village from the East and approach whatever home or building the Mark is over. Savage, your group will approach from the West, and I'll take MacMillan from the south. No one enters until we have reconvened."
Ernie, who had been staring at the Dark Mark with an expression of great terror, suddenly looked even more afraid at the prospect of being paired with Robards. Harry knew that Ernie sorely missed his former partner, Neville, and no new recruits had advanced through training recently enough to give Ernie a new cubicle-mate.
The three groups set off, Harry glancing nervously back at Ginny. He was confident that his protective enchantments over the pitch would hold, but he didn't like the thought of her alone at all. Still, he trusted that she could be the judge of her own safety, and he reckoned she was probably thinking the same thing about him now.
Harry, Ron, and Padma made their way into Holyhead without a word between them. All three had their eyes fixed upon the Mark, unwavering in the cloudy sky. It was certainly over a home, Harry assessed quickly, as Holyheads few buildings seemed regaled to just the high street.
Closer and closer they walked, until finally Padma said, "It's that one, there," and pointed to a small, whitewashed rowhouse. They were the first team to arrive, and the street was eerily quiet.
Savage and his group appeared first, quickly followed by Robards and Ernie.
"Did any of you meet anyone on your way in?" Savage asked.
Harry shook his head, and Robards said, "No," in a gruff voice.
"The place is dead," Libba voiced from her place beside Williamson.
Robards pointed his wand at the wooden door. The lock clicked and the door swung open.
Harry couldn't help but be reminded of his excursion into Kirkwall, though here, at least, he knew what he was in for. The stench of death had not yet permeated this home, but the victims were in plain sight, slumped over the dining table, a bowl of soup in front of each.
There were five of them: an elderly woman, a middle-aged man and woman, a younger woman who must've been in her mid-twenties, and a small boy. Harry's stomach lurched. Each face wore the same expression of sheer terror.
The sitting room was sparsely furnished; a sofa and an armchair, the dining table, and a small cot in the corner.
"Right," Robards said. "Any signs of struggle?"
Harry rolled his eyes and stepped forward, reaching gently into the man's pocket. His wand was there, and a wallet.
Harry pulled out the peeling leather booklet, unfolding it gingerly. A few Sickles had been shoved inside, but a crumpled Apparition license fell from within and landed on the wooden floors.
Ron bent over and picked it up, his expression turning to one of alarm as he took in the name.
"Robert Tuft, The Tannery, Barrowden, Rutland," he read aloud, looking up to Harry in shock.
"Tuft?" Harry said, reaching forward and grabbing the paper from Ron.
"The family in Barrowden?" Ernie asked, craning his neck to get a look at the license. Behind him, Libba had taken out her ancient camera and begun photographing the scene.
Robards said nothing as he surveyed the scene around them with an air of disdain. Savage approached him and murmured something quietly into his ear.
"We need someone to go back to their house, now, the one where Ron was injured in Barrowden," Harry said.
"That - that wasn't the Tuft house," Padma said quietly.
"What?" Harry said. "Of course it was, Rowle and those Snatchers that Neville captured were using it as a hideout, remember?"
"No, that was some abandoned Muggle place on the outskirts of village," Padma said. "The Tannery, the place where the Tufts lived, was right in the middle of the village, near where those Muggles were murdered. I put the address on Savage's list of interviewees when we were investigating that crime."
"It didn't seem relevant," Savage said confidently. "We knew Rowle had killed the family and stole their food when he was hiding in the village. The Tufts had no priors; quiet family, kept to themselves. We were more concerned with finding Death Eaters."
Harry was overcome with a desperate urge to tear Savage limb from limb.
"Does it seem relevant now?" he growled, gesturing to the young boy, slumped over his lunch.
Robards looked between Savage and Harry for a moment, before taking a deep breath.
"We'll need a coroner here to remove the bodies," he said. "Williamson, I want you on this case. Get a team together and start conducting interviews and gathering evidence. Patil, I need you to go back to the office and make record of all spells cast in Holyhead today. Libba, finish taking photos here and then go to Barrowden and get pictures of the house there. Take a team of Hit Wizards with you. Potter, you're responsible for memory modifications here," Robards said.
"What?" Harry spat, already fuming that Robards had chosen to disregard Savage's obvious blunder. "That's a job for Obliviators, not an Auror!"
"You can summon them here, while I go report to the Minister, and then supervise their
efforts while ensuring that they don't disrupt the crime scene. When they have finished modifying the memories of the Muggles in this village, you are dismissed."
"Fuck that, Robards," Harry shouted. "This is my case!"
"Harry," Ron warned, but Robards was already marching up up to Harry.
"I am still the head of this office, Potter," Robards growled, jabbing a finger into Harry's chest. "I don't care a damn whether or not you are Shacklebolt's favourite, or if you defeated You-Know-Who, or about anything else you've done, for that matter, because you answer to me!"
Harry must've looked like he wanted to hit Robards, for Ron laid a hand on his shoulder.
"Leave it," he muttered.
"Listen to Weasley, Potter," Savage said with a sneer, handing Libba a Sneakoscope. Harry let out a long breath and turned away.
"I'll stay with you and wait for the Obliviators," Ron said, as the rest of the Aurors began to Disapparate. Ernie and Padma gave Harry sympathetic looks as he sent his stag racing off to the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes.
It took hours for the team from the Obliviator Headquarters to move through the village conducting modifications. Harry and Ron had little to contribute, and by the time they made their way back to the Harpies pitch night had fallen. Ginny was sitting in the stands, drumming her wand against her thigh. Sparks flew out of the end as she stood, gazing down at Harry and her brother expectantly.
"Well?" she asked.
"Remember the family in Barrowden? The ones who lived near those Muggles that Rowle murdered?" Ron asked. "When I was cursed?"
"Yeah," Ginny said, clearly confused.
Ron gestured over his shoulder, back to the village. "All of 'em."
Ginny's eyes widened in shock. "What?" she asked. "Here?"
Harry nodded, his lips pursed.
"Why aren't you still down there?" Ginny asked.
"Robards took Harry off the case," Ron said quickly.
"He did what?" Ginny cried.
"Libba's down there now taking pictures and Williamson is coming back with a team to collect evidence," Ron said in a rush. "Come on, let's get out of here. I told Hermione to wait at the Burrow."
Ginny collected herself, squinched her eyes shut, and Apparated down to the pitch beside them. Harry took her hand and closed his own eyes, rematerializing in front of the Burrow moments later. The lights were on in the downstairs windows.
The door flew opened with a smack and Hermione ran into the garden. Ron met her halfway, bringing her into an embrace. Ginny ran away from Harry into the kitchen, where Harry could see the silhouettes of Molly and Arthur sitting at the table.
He followed Ron and Hermione into the house, where Mr. and Mrs. Weasley stood in greeting and anticipation. Ginny went over to her mother and hugged her tightly. Molly looked surprised, but began murmuring quietly to her youngest and rubbing her back.
"Kingsley just Flooed Hermione and I," Mr. Weasley said. "He's on his way to Holyhead now, and he's absolutely furious about Robards, Harry. I'm sure you'll be back on the case in no time."
Harry tried to look appreciative towards Arthur's words, but could only grimace.
Hermione dropped Ron's hand and walked over to Harry. She hugged him tightly before pulling back with her hands on his shoulders.
"Please don't let yourself get too down over this," she said earnestly. "I've been reading all afternoon, and Grindelwald's supporters drew, carved, and cast the sign of the Deathly Hallows for years after his defeat."
"Did they kill entire families as well?" Harry asked. Hermione looked down awkwardly before taking a deep breath and
"There is a historical precedent for violence in the wake of wars," Hermione reminded him. "It hasn't even been three years and we've made so much progress. Please don't forget that, Harry."
Her kindness made Harry feel even worse. He knew that this was part of being an Auror, that he would always have to deal with hideous crimes, but he wanted to be preventing murder, not investigating it.
Arthur and Molly were looking at him sympathetically, but it was Ron that Harry turned to.
"Still planning on leaving, then?" Harry asked, a sarcastic edge to his voice. Ron immediately reddened.
"You know what, Harry?" Ron said. "If you're going to be so obtuse about this, I don't reckon I owe you an explanation at all."
"Ron!" Hermione cried, clearly distressed.
Ron marched toward the door, but seemed to decide that he did owe Harry an explanation, and turned back.
"I've been patient with you. I really have! I know you're worried about the Death Eaters, and I knew it would be hard for you to hear that I was leaving, but this is never what I wanted to do!" he shouted. "It makes me bloody miserable, and I never see Hermione, and my whole fucking life is falling apart because of those two fucking brothers!"
"What is wrong with you?" Harry demanded. "You and Neville, you just give up when we're not making enough progress. Someone has to hunt them down, you realize? They're not going to put themselves in Azkaban."
"Yeah," Ron replied moodily, though thankfully with quieter voice. "Yeah, I realize. But, Harry, Neville and I have done our part. We're not like you, alright? It's not that we don't care, or that we're just standing by. I gave up any chance I had at a normal life when I went with you to find the Horcruxes and Harry… I don't regret it. But it's been years, and I want to start living. It's starting to feel like that tent again, the same disappointments over and over again. I can only take so much of it. I need to have a laugh."
"But the Lestranges-," Harry began.
"It's awful," Ron interrupted. "It's horrible, but they're two men, Harry. There are always going to be 'bad guys', alright? If it's not them, it'll be someone else. And I know that it's important for you to put a bookend on the entire sodding war, but I don't think it will ever be that easy, Harry. This will never be behind us."
"People are being killed!" Harry shouted.
Ron flinched, but then seemed to stiffen, collecting himself as he forced his direct gaze upon Harry.
"Harry, listen to me. After the war I was - I was so angry about what had happened to Fred and the others that I joined the Department because it felt like the best way to handle that - that murderous rage. But it's been over two years, and I don't feel any better. I don't get fulfillment from chasing the bad guys the way you do. Can't you understand that I have to go?"
Harry felt anger bubble in the pit of his stomach, but he did understand, despite everything. Ron had done his part during the war itself, and then had spent additional years of his life trying to make their society a safer place. He'd played a huge role in the restructuring of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. He was allowed to be finished. But Harry felt overwhelmed and abandoned, and the task in front of him seemed impossible to conquer.
A small hand was suddenly at his back. He turned and saw Ginny, still pale, with an added air of utter exhaustion.
"I want to go home," she said, her voice small like a child's.
Harry wrapped an arm around her before glancing quickly up at Ron and nodding to him, hoping to convey that he did not want to part on poor terms. Ron inclined his chin back at Harry, turning back to the sitting room.
Harry and Ginny walked arm-in-arm to the edge of the garden wordlessly, though just before they reached the point from where they normally Apparated, Ginny stopped.
"Harry?" she asked, a quaver in her voice.
Harry turned back to her.
"I'm really-," Ginny took a deep breath. "I'm really frightened."
Harry felt himself deflate a bit, walking over to the place where she had stopped and wrapping his arms around her. They stood like that for a moment, the chilly air whipping around them. Harry could feel Ginny's heart against his own chest, beating rapidly. He couldn't think of a time that she'd ever admitted to feeling afraid openly.
He knew, then, that it was his turn to be her comfort, to help her keep up her strength, the way she always, always had for him.
"Everything's going to be alright," Harry said reassuringly. "Let's go home."
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