|
Adventures of the Heart | ||||||
|
Category: Post-DH/AB Characters:All Genres: Romance Warnings: None Story is Complete Rating: PG-13 Reviews: 71 Summary: A book that contains the chapters that the Deathly Hallows could have had between the defeat of Voldemort and the chapter "19 Years Later". It focuses mainly on the developing relationship between Harry and Ginny, and shows how everybody finally manages to go back to leading a normal life. Hitcount: Story Total: 36256; Chapter Total: 6387 |
Previous Next |
|
||||
|
Ginny. It took Harry a while to wake up, having spent the night and most of the morning in the comfortable bed in Sirius' old room at no. 12 Grimauld Place, but she was already on his mind again. Ginny had been a constant source of comfort for him, and he for her, during the past week and a half. The cup of chocolate in the common room of Gryffindor Tower had been the first of several such evenings, and each time they had talked. They had hugged, of course, as friends did, and sat in companionable silence as they sipped their chocolate. The grief and stress were still too much for them, and the friendship they offered each other was the best comfort they had. Though he had not asked her, Harry suspected that Ginny enjoyed their private time together as much as he did. Their decision to just be friends for a while at the end of that first nightly encounter had, he reflected, been a good one. They had needed comfort from each other much more than they had needed anything else, and he knew that what more was between them needed to grow again before he could act on it. In truth, they had been drawing closer to each other again every since that first evening, and he hoped the time would soon be right to act on his feelings for Ginny again. Five days after the battle of Hogwarts, the fallen defenders had been buried in a ceremony that was as grand as anything the broken Wizarding community could have mustered. Though the bodies of the fallen were each interred in the place of their families' choosing, the joined ceremony to honor them was impressive to say the least. Kingsley had asked him to say a few words on behalf of the fallen, of course. He had expected that duty, and had spent days nervously writing the first real speech of his life. Ginny had held his hand right up until he had to step up onto the stage, and he had marveled once again at how much comfort that simple contact with her had brought. She had allowed herself to cry during his speech, and her tears had broken the blockade he had put on his own. Though his voice broke and he had to steady himself a few times, he had not faltered in speaking the words he had so carefully written from the heart. Afterwards, they had held eachother and cried freely as other speakers took the stand. Fred was laid to rest on the graveyard of Ottery St. Catchpole in a more private ceremony where only the family had been welcome to attend. Harry and Hermione were honored to have been included in that company. The week after Fred's burial was, he now reflected, the first step on the road to healing for many Wizarding families, and the Weasleys were no exception. Though they grieved for the loss of Fred, the weight of the war had been lifted from their shoulders, and it soon became apparent to Harry that they would survive this ordeal as a stronger family than they had already been. Though Ginny still gravitated towards him for comfort, and he mostly to her, her natural strength quickly reasserted itself. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were taking the loss of their son hardest of all, and all their children worked to help them deal with their loss. Though he and Hermione often joined them and did their part, they both understood that the Weasleys needed to deal with this in their own unique way, and that as close as they might be to the redheaded family, their places were on the sideline. Thus it was that Harry found himself listening to Hermione as she talked about how much things had changed since the battle of Hogwarts. "I really still can't believe that the war is finally over," she had said, as the two of them sat against the tree in the back garden of the Burrow. Ron and Ginny were helping Molly in the kitchen, while Bill, George, Percy and Charly helped Arthur with the broken motorbike he had stored in the chicken pen. "We spent so much time fearing so many things at the same time for so long, that it's positively disorienting to suddenly be out of danger again. The only thing that we really have on our minds now is healing. Well, and I guess I have Ron on my mind too." She sighed, and he smiled at her in heartfelt sympathy as he waited for her to continue. "Things have changed between us since, well, you know." Harry remembered the kiss Ron and Hermione had shared during the battle, and nodded. Hermione looked almost scared as she met his eyes again. "Are you really okay with us being together, Harry?" Harry felt his eyebrows shoot up in genuine surprise, and then laughed out loud at the expression on Hermione's face. He scooted his chair closer to hers and put an arm around her shoulder, squeezing her to him in a tight hug. "Of course I'm okay with you two being together. I'm more than okay with it, I think it's absolutely brilliant. The only reason I yelled at you about it during the battle, was the whole explosions and death eaters running around thing." When Hermione stayed quiet for a while, he softly added "You two are made for each other. Don't think that this makes us any less good friends, or that I feel left out or anything. Be happy, okay? You deserve it." Hermione sniffed against his shoulder, and he realized just how insecure she had been about this. After a while, she pulled back, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek as she went. "Thank you for that, Harry." She said it, meeting his eyes, and he saw that her smile now included her eyes as well. "Now, tell me about you and Ginny." The sheer bluntness of her words had him talking before he realized what she had asked. "I guess we've been a great comfort to each other. We're friends, for the time being." Hermione gave him one of her knowing smiles, and he sat back in his chair with a sigh. "Well, you know how I feel about her. I've not been able to hide anything from you in years, even with Occlumency. It's just bad timing right now, isn't it? I mean, she's just lost her brother. She needs a bit of time with her family." She patted his hand, and nodded. "You're right, of course. But promise me you'll seek a bit of happiness for yourself. We're not the only ones who deserve it, you know." They both smiled, and he nodded. That conversation was almost two weeks ago. He had moved out of the Burrow and into Grimauld Place a week ago, saying that he needed a bit of time to himself, and with Hermione's help had renewed the Fidelius charm on the place. Reporters had been harrowing him like flies wherever he went, and it was bliss to just sit in the comfort of his own house with only Kreacher for company. All the Weasleys had been given the address right away, of course, as well as Andromeda Tonks, who had come by with Teddy twice already. They had decided that Andromeda would raise the boy, and that Harry would help her however he could. Once Teddy got old enough, Harry could come and take him out to trips, have him stay over, and generally do the things men do together. As godfather, he wanted to do right by the boy, even if he would not be the one to raise him directly. He had offered to be the boy's full-time parent, but Andromeda had only smiled sadly and told him in no uncertain terms that he deserved to have a life of his own for a while first. She had also reassured him that she had a great deal of experience with parenting a young metamorph, and that she would prefer to keep Teddy close now that she had lost her husband and only daughter to the war against Voldemort. After they had Flooed home, Harry had resolved to spend as much time as he could with them. Now, as he got up from the bed and reached for his glasses, he suddenly found himself wondering what kind of impact the fulltime care of a baby boy would have on his life. From there, his thoughts spiraled on. He had a life now, a life after Voldemort. There was still pain in this life, the grief of having lost friends and the vague frustration he kept feeling whenever he thought of Ginny, but there truly was a life for him out there. He could be his own man now, unbound by any prophecies, and in charge of his own decisions. Was there room in this life for a child already? No, he mused, there was not. Andromeda had been wiser than he had been, though his offer had been sincere. He had accepted the role of godfather for Teddy, and he intended to do all in his power to help the boy grow into a man Remus and Tonks would be proud of. Still, he now realized that he would first need to gain a firm grasp on his own life before he could think about raising children. What was it he truly wanted in life? Harry shuffled sleepily into the bathroom and turned on the shower. Warm water, precisely the correct temperature, poured forth, and he sighed in contentment as it hit him. It had taken him weeks to get used to the fact that he was still alive, but he now finally realized that every minute he now lived was a minute extra, a minute to be enjoyed to the fullest. He had always enjoyed being alive, but he now realized that he could truly love his life, and make his life what he wanted it to be. So, as he started scrubbing himself more vigorously than he needed to, wincing every now and then when he hit a spot that was not yet fully healed, he mused. His greatest desire in life, mundane though it may be, was to live a full and happy life. He wanted to enjoy a career in the magical world, find a job he could be proud of, marry a witch he loved, have children he could raise and cherish, and create many happy memories for himself. Did he still want to be an Auror? It was a harder question to answer than he would have expected. Did he have to work at all? Yes, he thought, he would have to work. Even if he did not have to do it for the money, which he had plenty of, he would have to do it because it would give structure to his life. What job options did he have? He considered a few, forcing himself to think beyond what he had always told himself, that he could not imagine any other career than that of an Auror. He could, in fact, do quite a lot of things. He could become a curse breaker, like Bill, or he could try for a career in professional Quiddich. He might even decide to take up teaching, though he doubted that professor McGonagall would take him on without a few more years under his belt. He discounted a desk job at the ministry, though. There had to be a challenge to the job, and he instictinvely knew that paperwork was not for him. He could become an Unspeakable though. There were suddenly opportunities everywhere. He could try out for any Quiddich team today if he wanted - or at least make an appointment today - but he suddenly realized one more thing that would make him happy. He wanted to graduate from Hogwarts. For six years he had been happy at school, and he had somehow always imagined taking his N.E.W.T.'s at some point or the other. Hermione would want to finish school, and Ron would join her just because it would mean spending another year of relatively carefree time with her. Would the students who had been at Hogwarts this year be going on to their next years? How great would it be if Ron, Hermione, Ginny and he would graduate together? Ginny, there she was again. Washing his hair, he allowed himself to consider her fully. There would be hours, maybe even years, in which they could talk, he had thought right after the battle. What if all they would ever do together would be that, talk? That thought made his stomach clench. Ginny had been his distraction all throughout his journeys to stop Voldemort this past year. He would take out the Marauder's Map and watch her move around the castle, or sleep in her dorm, and he had hoped that against all odds he might see her again. When he had finally seen her again, he had been busy tracking down the diadem horcrux, and he remembered clearly how agonizingly worried he had been. He had wanted her to stay safe, but she had been determined to fight. Yet they had both lived, and now lived in a truce that he found more and more uneasy. What if they ended up like the Ron and Hermione, and took years to get back together? What if she did not even want to get back together? What if she was over him? He realized that he still had his hands in his hair and that shampoo was beginning to cover his face, and stuck his head under the shower. He had to do something about Ginny. For better or for worse, he had to know if they had a chance. Turning off the shower, he walked purposefully towards the towel rack. Voldemort was in the past, and he had set himself a new task. He would seize control of his future. After a few minutes of getting clothes together, dumping the towel in the laundry basket and brushing his teeth, Harry sat down at his writing desk, still pulling a comfortable sweater over his damp hair, and grabbed a roll of parchment and a quill. Not allowing himself a moment's hesitation, he put the quill to the paper and began to write. "Dear Ginny," An hour later, he was still staring at the non-existent next line of his letter to Ginny. He had planned to write her a letter in which he explained how he felt and asked her if there was a chance they might get back together, but all he could think to write down was "Dear Ginny,". Frowning at himself, he realized that he could not write her a letter and hope that would fix everything between them. It was too easy, too careless, and too stupid. He wanted Ginny to feel special around him, and asking her about this stuff in a letter was too impersonal and... well... not very romantic. Today, he thought, was a day full of realizations. He wanted her to feel special. He wanted to charm her. Maybe it was time for him to open up that book of Ron's. Pushing his chair back, he got up and turned towards the door. Just then, there was a hoot, and a handsome tawny owl came soaring in through the open window. It landed neatly on his desk, away from any ink bottles it might turn over, and unceremoniously held out its leg. Harry frowned, not expecting any letters from people he did not know, and this was not an owl he remembered seeing before. He untied the scroll of parchment and summoned an owl treat from downstairs. The owl did not take off immediately, probably expecting a reply to carry back to it's master, so Harry quickly turned to examining the parchment. The seal on it indicated that it was from the Minister for Magic, so he broke it and opened the letter. It was in Kingsley's neat, bold hand. "Dear Mr. Potter, This letter is charmed so that none except you may read it. Though the contents of it are not truly shocking, I respect your privacy and do not wish to cause you worry. We here at the ministry, as well as I personally, hope that you are well and recovering from your recent confrontation with the dark wizard Voldemort at Hogwarts school. It is the opinion of many people that, now that the war is over, a celebration is in order. To that end, the Ministry is organizing a ball, and though the official invitation will be arriving shortly by owl, I am writing to you personally to impress upon you how grateful we would be if you would attend. Let us be frank. I am aware of how uncomfortable you are when placed in the center of attention. This, however, is an opportunity for you to make a public appearance, so that reporters can have their chance to take your picture or get a quote. Though we all know that they will be following you for years to come, this might at least diminish their lust for information for a while. I have instructed my owl to wait for your reply, so that you may send one if you wish. Once again, hoping you are well. Yours sincerely, Kingsley Shacklebolt Minister for Magic" Just when Harry finished reading the letter, a second owl fluttered in, bearing a slightly larger and elaborately embossed enveloppe with a prominent Ministry seal. This, he thought, must be the invitation. Had this come at any other time, he mused, he might have considered not going. Now, he took the invitation from the owl and opened it. The letter, it's lettering in gold on a thick piece of parchment embossed with the Ministry logo, was indeed an invitation to a ball, which was to be held in his honor, one week from now. Scanning the invitation, he found what he was looking for. It was an invitation for "Mr. Harry Potter and guest", which indicated that he could (or perhaps even should) bring a date. Feeling the corners of his lips twitch of their own accord, he put the enveloppe down and picked up his quill once again. Resolutely, he set it to paper. "Dear Kingsley, I accept your invitation, and hope to see you there in good health. Kind regards, Harry Potter" He tied the letter to the first owl's leg, summoned another owl treat for the second owl, and went to the dressing room to put on more decent clothes. Fifteen minutes later, he appeared with a loud pop near the big tree in the Burrow's garden, and was rewarded with the sight of Ron and Hermione jumping apart and whipping out their wands. Ron scowled when he recognized his friend and Hermione let out a sigh of relief. "It's only me," he said, rather stupidly, since they had already shown that they had recognized him. Then he saw how much grass was in Hermione's hair, and understanding dawned. "Sorry to interrupt," he said, unable to keep the smile off his face. "I'm just popping in to talk to Ginny." He started towards the house, intending to give his friends the privacy they were obviously seeking here, but Hermione stopped him. "Harry, have you heard about the ball?" She asked it quickly, and Harry nodded. "Yup," he said, "I've just accepted the invitation. Why?" She beamed at him. "Oh, I was worrying you might not want to go. But it's great that you're coming, especially since it's in your honor that they're having it in the first place." Harry smiled back, and she continued. "We, that is, Ron and I, each got a personal letter from Kingsley with our invitation. Did you get one, too?" Harry nodded again, knowing that he would not need to elaborate on the contents. "It's good that he took the time to write to you too," he said, "It means they recognize the work you did, and how important you were for the outcome of the war." Ron walked up behind Hermione and slipped his arms around her waist, meeting Harry's eye. With a wink, Harry said "We can talk more later if you want, I really need to have a word with Ginny." As he resolutely turned around and headed to the house, he thought he saw gratitude in Ron's eyes. The two had probably not had any chance of privacy, with the number of people the Burrow always seemed to contain. He resisted the urge to look back and see if they'd already tumbled back into the grass together and smiled, feeling happy for his friends. The back door was open, so he called out to make sure nobody else would draw a wand on him in surprise. Ginny stuck her head out from around a corner, and came to give him a hug when he walked in. "Hi," she said, as he grinned at her. She smiled at him. "Missed us already, did you?" He forced the grin down a bit, and said "Well, I'm actually here to see you. Can I..." He got no further than that, because Arthur and Molly Weasley chose that moment to enter from the living room. Belatedly, he realized that he still had his arms around Ginny's waist, and pulled them back slowly as he smiled at them. "Hi Mr. Weasley, Mrs. Weasley," he said, hoping his voice would not betray the disappointment he felt at not being able to ask Ginny to the ball then and there. It must not have, since Molly gripped him in as motherly a hug as she always did, and Arthur shook his hand with no less warmth. "Hello Harry dear," Molly said as she pulled back. "Everything settled at Grimauld Place? Are you staying for dinner?" He could not help but smile. "Actually..." he began, but Arthur cut him off, saying "Of course he'll stay for dinner, Molly dear, why else would he be here at this time of day?" He tried again. "Well, I..." But Molly had already exclaimed in delight and began checking all the pans she had already put on. "Oh good," she said, waving her wand in the direction of the stove, and an extra pan floated onto it, catching a few things that flew from the cupboards to fill it. "Mrs. Weasley, please..." He mumbled, knowing it would not help anyway. Sighing, he decided to just stay for dinner. He would have to let Kreacher know though, the house elf would be disappointed if he did not show up for dinner tonight without letting him know. "Ok, I'll stay." He said it in what he hoped was a grateful tone, and found Ginny grinning at him when he turned back to her. "Ginny, could I have a..." There was an explosion somewhere behind the house, and he paused just long enough to catch the stricken looks on the faces of the Weasleys around him before he pulled out his wand and ran out the back door, inwardly cursing at how hard it was to find an opportunity to just ask one simple question. He arrived at the scene of the explosion, an open stretch of grass next to the shed that housed Sirius' old motorbike, at the same time that Ron and Hermione did. They both had their wands out, and the three fell into a defensive formation seemingly without noticing as they approached the crater and the thick clouds of smoke that hung low over the grass. Out of the cloud, a single figure stumbled towards them, and they all stood staring transfixedly at the lanky, soot-covered figure before Ron yelled "George!" and charged forward to catch his brother. The man was shaking, tears streaming down his face, and he was so thickly covered in soot that his red hair was almost completely black. As they all drew closer to comfort him, however, Harry was surprised to notice that George was laughing, not crying. The billowing clouds began to envelop them, as well as the other Weasleys, and Harry felt Ginny's hand slipping into his from where she arrived panting beside him. Suddenly he felt giddy, and he started chuckling despite the strangeness of the situation. In front of him, both Ron and Hermione burst into laughter, as did Ginny, and the rest of the family, and they were soon rolling around laughing uncontrollably. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Harry could not understand what was so funny that he would laugh this hard about it, but his mind was strangely clouded and somehow all he could feel were the strange feeling of elation and the feel of Ginny's hand still clutched in his as they rolled around laughing together. Through the din of laughing Weasleys, he vaguely heard George's voice call out "Tergeo!", and slowly the smoke started to thin, finally giving way to the fresh air that streamed in to fill the space George was creating by siphoning off the smoke. As the smoke lifted, so did the feeling of elation, and Harry finally felt his laughter coming back under his control until it died down. He wiped the tears from his eyes with his free hand, stil feeling Ginny's hand in his other, and they helped each other get up onto their still wobbly legs. His ribs and abdominal muscles hurt, but he felt strangely light, and he saw happy smiles all around him. Mr. Weasley had an arm around his wife's shoulders, and she was still chuckling as she clung to him. Ron was patting George on the shoulder as they grinned at eachother, and Hermione was looking at something between Ginny and Harry with one of her knowing smiles. Harry glanced at where she was looking, and saw Ginny's hand still clasped in his. He looked back at her and raised an eyebrow in defiance, but she only winked at him and turned to George, who was explaining what had just happened. "...and we'd always thought about making explosions of happiness wherever our products were being used," he was saying, "and I just figured that would be a good idea for a new product. So I was just testing the first Burst of Laughter. That's only a working title, of course..." Harry smiled in genuine fondness of the remaining part of the Weasley's Wizard Wheezes duo, and then chanced a glance at Ginny. She was gazing up at him, and his heart leapt when their eyes locked. She was beautiful, her face flushed, clutching her ribs from the abuse they had taken while she was laughing, but looking happier than he had seen her since the battle. With everybody else distracted, he decided that now was the time, and he pulled her aside a bit. "Ginny, I was hoping to have a word with you." She grinned. "Yeah," she replied, "kind of hard to get a private word in with everyone at the Burrow. What's up?" He pulled the invitation he had received out of his pocket. "Have you, um, heard of the ball next week?" She nodded, but did not say anything. "Would you, um, like to go with me? To the ball, I mean?" Her eyes widened a fraction, and Harry noticed that aside from the sound of a bird somewhere, there was no sound around them. Apparently, everyone had been paying attention. Apparently, everyone was still paying attention. He suddenly felt stupid. Why did he have to confront her with this in front of half of her family? Ginny glanced at the knot of Weasleys gathered just within hearing distance, then back up at him. "You mean... as your date?" She asked it softly, but he knew everyone was hanging on their every word. "Yeah," he replied just as softly, "as my date." He saw the corner of her mouth twitch. She blushed furiously. "Sure," she said, and kissed him on the cheek. Harry's heart soared. There was a collective "ahhh" from the gathered crowd, and when he glanced at Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, he was surprised to see a bit of surprise mingled in their smiles. Had anyone told them about what had happened between Ginny and him in her fifth year? Dinner, after they'd all cleaned the soot off themselves and after Hermione helped George repair the damage to the lawn, was finally the fun, loud affair again that it had always been at the Burrow. Harry and Ginny kept stealing glances at each other, and he could not help from smiling all evening. After dinner, Mr. Weasley motioned for him to come for a walk outside, and Harry followed him out the back door of the Burrow while George was expressively telling the rest of the family about the new line of products he had been thinking of. Outside, he walked beside the older man for a while, neither of them speaking, until they came to the tree where Harry had appeared earlier that day. "So," Mr. Weasley spoke then, letting the single syllable hang in the air a while. Harry felt an urge to explain, and took the obvious invitation to speak. "Mr. Weasley, I understand that you may be confused that I'm suddenly asking your daughter out to a ball." Arthur Weasley smiled at him as they continued walking slowly towards the pond. "I must admit," he said in his usual pleasant tone, "that you surprised me rather thoroughly. I had noticed that you seemed to draw close to Ginny, but I had assumed that with Ron and Hermione off on their own brush with romance, you two were just, ah... giving them some time together." Harry chuckled at that. "It would appear, however, that you have developed some more, ah... I believe the word would be 'fond'... feelings for my daughter in the recent past. Does that sum up your motives to ask her out?" Harry frowned. "No, it doesn't." He spoke more frankly than he had intended, and Mr. Weasley's eyebrows shot up. Harry hurried to catch himself. "I mean, well, yes, I do like Ginny, I like her a lot even. But that's not something new." He struggled to form the words that he needed to say, and finally decided on the simple truth minus the details he would not want to divulge without consulting Ginny first. "I've liked her for years, actually. Ever since my sixth year, maybe even earlier than that, I can't really be sure. It's just that, with Voldemort and all..." He let it trail off there, but saw understanding in Mr. Weasley's eyes. "It is good to hear you say these things, Harry." The older man spoke softly, and Harry noted the tone of relief in his voice. "I came out here to make sure that you were not just infatuated with her because of all the things you have been through these past weeks. She is my only daughter, you see, and I think she has always been taken with you. I would not want to see her being taken advantage of." Harry's eyebrows shot up at that. "I would never take advantage of Ginny, Mr. Weasley." Arthur Weasley put a hand on his shoulder. "I know, my boy, I know." He said it slowly, and Harry waited for the rest. "To be frank, I had always hoped this would happen one day. So, Molly and I, we hope this all goes well for the two of you." They finished their walk in silence, leaving Harry to ponder the meaning of Mr. Weasley's words until they got back to the house. After a nice evening of friendly banter with the Weasley's, he Apparated home feeling more content than he had in a long, long time. |
| Reviews 71 |
Previous Next
|
