Chapter 2
Harry and Ginny sat down in the orchard outside of the Burrow, both in their finery, not willing to let the day end yet. “That was lovely,” Ginny said fondly, leaning back against Harry. He could smell the drinks they’d had on her breath. It had been Tonks’ idea to toast the wedding. When they’d waved Remus and Tonks off on the honeymoon that Harry had paid for, they had stayed and had a few more.
“What do you think our wedding will be like?” Harry asked, drawing pictures on Ginny’s arms. The dress she was wearing was pretty. They’d been to buy it the day before the wedding, as Ginny had complained about not knowing what to wear, even as she’d celebrated being allowed to join the Order – and as her parents had very much complained about it.
Ginny curled up more comfortably on Harry’s lap and Harry hummed his approval, wrapping his arms around her. “I think our wedding will be big,” Ginny said and Harry looked at her, amused. “I mean, I think we’ll try and make it small but it will just grow. You won’t be able to say no to anyone who wants to come. My family are the size of a small country. And it will grow quickly out of control but it’ll still be beautiful. We’ll have a big cake. I’ll wear a beautiful dress. And then we’ll sneak away from our own party to go to that cabin your parents owned in Canada and go and have three weeks of solid sex.”
“Three weeks?” Harry asked.
“Yeah, I’d say that would be as long as I could distract you before you needed to come and save someone.”
Harry snorted. “When do you envision this being then?”
Ginny shrugged, turning to look at him seriously. “I don’t mind. I’d marry you tomorrow.” Harry laughed and tightened his hold of her, pressing a kiss to her neck.
“I’d marry you tonight,” he teased. “I would have shoved Remus and Tonks away from the altar and married you then and there.”
Ginny hummed with happiness. “If we had our own room here, I’d be dragging you away and fucking you right now.”
“Oh, would you?” Harry growled in her ear. Sparks lighted the tree above them and Harry laughed, loud and long. Ginny spun around on his lap and sat on top of him, looping her arms around his neck.
“I’m getting better!” she protested.
“You are,” he agreed. “I’d almost trust you to defend me.”
“Almost,” she sighed. “I suppose you have to be better than me at something.”
“This and quidditch.”
Ginny’s eyes flashed and, before she could argue with him about quidditch, he kissed her, running his hands through her beautiful hair until it met the small knots that the wind had made in it today. He pulled away from her.
“I hate sleeping without you,” he murmured in her ear. He stroked his hands up and down her smooth bare legs. Her dress had ridden up around her waist from her position on his lap.
“Me too, love,” Ginny responded, her smile tight.
“If you need me, shout,” he said.
Ginny smiled and then it turned to a smirk. She pulled her dress up even higher and Harry grinned. “Harry?” she said and he hummed delightedly, moving his hands from her calves to her thighs to her arse. “I need you.”
And Harry needed her too.
XXX
Five hours after he’d fucked Ginny in the orchard, Harry Potter woke up with a hoarse shout. He jumped up from his bed, barely making it to the bedroom bin before he was being sick. He hadn’t heard the door go but he felt hands stroking his back. Not Ginny’s hands. Harry stumbled back and vanished his sick with a swipe of his hands. He groaned, pressing his face into his hands.
“What happened?” Bill asked softly. Harry looked up and saw Ginny at the door. He moaned softly and she came to him, falling sleepily into his arms. He held her, stroking her back.
“Planning an attack,” Harry said, his voice hoarse. He wondered if he’d screamed before he’d woken up. “Voldemort was excited. That’s what made me sick.” Ginny pressed her face into his neck.
“Is everything okay?” Harry heard Mr Weasley at the door. He thought for a second about pushing Ginny away but she was too essential to his breathing at that moment. He hardly paid attention to Bill explaining to Mr Weasley.
“Planning an attack, tomorrow. Don’t know what time or where. Full death eater contingent.” Harry stroked the back of Ginny’s hair. He closed his eyes against her head.
“Can I get you anything, Harry, dear?” he heard Mrs Weasley say nervously. He looked up and shook his head.
“I’ll go and get some water.” Ginny looked up at him and there was still sleep in her eyes. He smiled. “Go back to bed, love.”
“Don’t you want me to come and train with you?” she slurred.
Harry laughed softly, pressing his forehead to hers. “No, Gin. Go to bed.”
“Mmkay,” she said, standing. Her parents left then too, after seeing her into her room. Fleur and Bill turned to Harry.
“Are you okay?” Bill asked. Harry nodded. “Are you going back to sleep?”
Harry shook his head. “No chance. I’m going to get some water and then train. Maybe go and carry on the wards at Grimmauld.”
Bill nodded. “I’ll come and join you in a few hours.” Harry smiled appreciatively. Fleur pressed a kiss to his cheek and they both left. Harry closed his eyes, pressed his hands against them and found himself some clothes.
Wards needed to go up everywhere.
XXX
“No, Ginny, you can’t,” her mum said firmly when Ginny asked to side-along with Bill to Grimmauld Place, where Harry was redoing wards. “Your fifteen years old and there is a war going on.” Her mum pointed to the clock which, as usual, read ‘Mortal Peril’.
“Harry’s there and he’s sixteen!”
“Ginny,” her mum said with a sigh, “Harry isn’t actually my son. I can’t tell him what to do.”
“You told him not to sleep in my bed well enough,” she grumbled. Her mum gave her a severe look that made her duck down over her cup of tea. “Mum, please, Harry needs me!”
Her mum shook her head and nodded at Bill. “You go, love, and take Harry some food.” Ginny groaned dramatically, stood, taking her tea and breakfast and made her way up to her room. She slammed the door with her foot.
Eating her cereal angrily, Ginny thought about everything she hadn’t learned. There was so much she needed to do – most of all, take full control of her magic again. Once she’d finished her cereal and downed her tea, she crossed her legs on her bed, closed her eyes and tried.
It took hours of this, concentrating on bigger and bigger spells. There were crashes and bangs of the like that used to come out of the twins’ room. But when, at twelve, six hours after Bill had left, Bill and Harry arrived back at the Burrow, Ginny was under control. And starving.
She stormed downstairs with a grin on her face. Even seeing Harry didn’t set her magic off. Even touching his arm and pressing a kiss to his jaw. Even his half smile. She flicked her hand to turn on the hob, again to place a pan on it and again to fill the pan with water. Harry met her eyes. She forgot anyone else was in the room as she continued, each movement of her hand precise and measured, until she was poaching eggs for herself and her boyfriend, and making toast to go alongside it.
Harry let out a whoop and picked her up, spinning her around. “You’re fantastic,” he told her, much to the amusement of Bill and her mum who were watching.
“I know,” she said, smugly. “Now, eat up. I want you to teach me to apparate.”
Harry’s face fell. “I will eat with you, Gin, but I have to figure out where this attack is going to be. And I have to work with Bill and Kingsley to get the wards up everywhere. They could arrive any minute. You have your Order coin on you, right?” he said urgently.
“Yes, love,” she said with a sigh. “I suppose Ron could teach me to apparate.” Harry snorted. “He was there for the lessons! Even if he did fail his test,” she said with a cringe. Harry apologised again and Ginny shrugged it off, waving her hand to bring the food onto plates in front of them.
“Nothing for me?” Bill complained. “I’ve just spent the morning with your paranoid boyfriend and I get no consolation.”
“Your fiancée is upstairs. She can make you some food – ooh, actually, she can teach me to apparate!”
Bill sighed. “Be nice to her, Gin.” Ginny looked up at him, affronted.
“I take exception to that,” she said, her mouth full of food.
“God, you’re attractive,” Harry said, his voice full of false admiration. Ginny glared at him and he only grinned, waggling his brows and stealing another piece of toast from her plate.
XXX
Harry and Bill stood outside the Burrow, trying to tie the wards to the wardstone. The problem was that they could only build one at a time and they were time-consuming. The Fidelius charm – the last one they would do – took seven hours to complete. Harry had nearly finished it earlier when Bill had arrived at Grimmauld Place, to take the secret into his own heart.
First, they set up an unplottable ward. Then, protego totalum and an intruder alarm. At a closer distance, they set up a caterwauling charm. Harry went through each room in the house and cast a security spell. And, then, over it all, Bill, Kingsley and Harry each cast fianto duri, which hardened all the wards they had cast.
Finally, they started the Fidelius charm, with the plan to put it in Kingsley’s heart. But, before they could, Bill froze. Harry’s head snapped to the side, where Fleur and Ginny were busy with apparition lessons. “What is it?” Harry asked, casting a quick salvio hexia over the area, to ensure any hexes could not get in. It was not a strong ward, nor a particularly long-lasting one.
“Anti-apparition ward has been put up,” Bill said flatly. “They’re here, probably trying to break through the others. I’ll call for the Order. Kingsley, go and tell Mum and Ron to check the floo but they’ve probably already blocked it. Harry, Ginny and Fleur. I’ll start some defensive charms,” he said with a smirk, raising his wand. Harry furrowed his brow and sprinted to Ginny, panic rising in his chest.
“They’re here,” he panted when he reached her. Ginny met his eyes. Fleur nodded hastily, brushing her hands on her robes. “Anti-apparition ward is already up.” Why – oh why – had they not created emergency portkeys for this sort of thing? Harry swore. The Order would not even be able to get in until after the Death Eaters.
“What do we do?” Ginny asked. “How long do we have?”
Harry blew out a breath. “Depends who’s here. Our wards are strong but they’ll break through them eventually. I should’ve known it would be here, shouldn’t have bothered with the fidelius at HQ.”
Ginny shook her head. “You didn’t know. It was just as likely to be HQ.” Harry nodded.
“But you weren’t at HQ.”
Ginny smiled in a line. “We’ll be okay, love.” Harry blew out a breath.
“Okay, Fleur, Bill is putting up defensive charms. Get creative with things. What can we use as defence? There’s going to be a lot of them. We need to buy time for the Order to get here.” He swore as he thought of the new members they hadn’t inducted yet.
The ground shook. Harry shook his head. They would be in soon. Fleur nodded at him and fled to the orchard. Harry had no idea what sort of thing she would come up with but they each had their strengths. Ginny grinned. “Let’s get inside,” she suggested. Harry nodded and sent a patronus to Bill and Fleur suggesting that they got in as soon as possible.
Harry and Ginny found Molly panicking, even as she charmed the cutlery and crockery to defend them. Ron was pushing the furniture up against the windows. Harry nodded at him and started to charm the pieces of furniture, even as Ginny hexed the windows and doors. Bill and Fleur came in moments later, through the back door.
“Protego totalum is the only thing standing,” Bill whispered to Harry. He nodded, feeling his throat constrict. The Order all knew by now. He’d felt his coin heat against his chest, but ignored it. He wondered how Mr Weasley was feeling, Charlie, the twins, Hermione. He closed his eyes and hoped that Remus and Tonks hadn’t taken their coin on their honeymoon. But he was willing to bet that they had.
“What do we reckon?” Bill muttered. “I’ve got the broomsticks. They’re in the kitchen. I think we should all fight with one strapped to our back, just in case.” Harry nodded.
“Good plan.” They each did so. “This waiting is awful.”
“But it gives us notice and the Order time to come,” Mrs Weasley said with a firm nod of her head.
“Mum, are you okay?”
Mrs Weasley nodded with a laugh. “Of course, Bill. I can fight too, you know.”
Harry frowned and the fear built in his chest. Ginny took his hand and pressed a kiss to his jaw. “I love you,” she murmured. Harry heard Bill and Fleur having the same conversation. Harry cupped Ginny’s cheek and kissed her properly.
“I love you,” he said, slightly out of breath as he pulled away.
And then they all felt – and heard – the final ward breached – the intruder alarm. Harry swallowed. There was more waiting to come. The caterwauling charm would alert them when they were closer at least. Bill was communicating with the Order via the coin. Kingsley was adding more and more charms. Harry was trying to think of more. He knew that Ron and Ginny didn’t know enough. He didn’t either, really.
When the caterwauling charm went off a few moments later, Harry swore softly. “Two minutes max.”
It was less than that. They watched the trees that Fleur had charmed start to attack the death eaters. They were a nuisance more than anything. It would have given them time to get away, were there a way. Bill’s defensive charms were more aggressive. The chicken shed, the broom shed, these came apart and attacked, staking three death eaters through the heart. The Quidditch hoops worked as lassos, picking up and throwing more of the darkly dressed villains.
But they were getting closer. Ron and Fleur were stationed on the second floor, Ginny and Molly on the first. Kingsley, Harry and Bill took the ground floor, hoping that those on the upper floors would take out a few of those who were going to come in.
“Steady,” Kingsley said, his low tone comforting Harry somehow. Their defences worked, Ginny’s hexes taking out the first few people to try to spell doors or windows. Eventually, though, even that wasn’t enough and they smashed through the door. There was a second where time seemed to freeze before the first masked death eater cast the first spell at them. Harry was grateful that he had fought with Kingsley and Bill so many times because he knew their styles, knew how best to complement them.
They were clearly going for Harry first and foremost but Harry heard more than one call of “where is she?”. Panic rose in his throat, thinking of Ginny upstairs, hexing death eaters down below.
His wandless magic was helpful and he felt more powerful than he ever had in one of these situations, but a cutting curse to the cheek reminded him that he was hardly infallible.
He had no idea who each opponent was but he had yet to hear a voice he recognised, no cackling laugh of Bellatrix. He was using a variety of spells, as much as he could, trying not to just stick to expelliarmus or stupefy. Saying that, expelliarmus had earned him three wands so far, which he’d tucked into his pocket. There was nothing so humiliating than someone taking your wand.
He heard vague shouts from upstairs and, with a panic, wondered how the hell death eaters had got up there. He was halfway to the staircase when he saw Bill overwhelmed with three opponents. He cast Ginny out of his mind and jumped back in to save Bill, from opponents, but, then, suddenly, from the roof caving in.
With one hand, he pushed Bill out of the way, thinking suddenly of his injuries from just days ago, hoping to goodness that Kingsley was safe too. And Ginny. Merlin, Ginny.
Bill and Harry got out of the house, just in time to smell the reason that the ceiling had caved in. Fire. Bill swore loudly, attacking the death eater in front of him with visceral ferocity. Harry heard Kingsley more than saw him and let out a sigh of a relief.
He shot a stupefy and an expelliarmus in quick succession, relieved as he realised that the Order members had started to arrive, including the twins and Charlie, who were fighting ferociously for their house and their family. Half the house was burning now. When he wasn’t distracted by death eaters, Harry was shooting water charms at it, trying and failing to put it out. He thought with gratitude of the day that Bill had taught him protective charms – and the night that he’d not been able to sleep, during which he’d charmed the heck out of his case. But the memories the Weasleys had at the Burrow were not under the same protection.
With a wave of his hand, Harry took out a trio of Death Eaters, furious at the sight of the happiest place he’d ever been burning down. He dove one way and then the next, throwing bits of the Burrow out of his way, aiming at Death Eaters as he ran. Inside the Burrow, he shouted for Ginny to get out, grateful for the thought they’d had to escape via the broomsticks. Thank goodness for Bill.
It was a foolish escapade, Harry thought. He could hear the fire burning the house, but he had to – he didn’t know what he was doing! He grabbed things randomly, spellbooks, a cookbook, some pictures and threw them with a shrinking charm into his pocket, before racing back out to the attack.
XXX
Ginny watched Ron and her mum escape on Ron’s broom and let out a premature sigh of relief. “You next, Fleur,” Ginny said between clenched teeth, focussing all her energy on keeping the floor steady with her magic. Fleur pressed a kiss to her cheek and leapt from the window on her broom.
Ginny gritted her teeth and looked back at the fire. It was in front of the twins’ room. Harry’s room. She thought of the Marauders’ Map, of the Invisibility Cloak, of Harry’s photo album. With a deep breath, she turned, straddled her broom and dove out of the window.
From above, the battle looked immense. Ginny breathed slowly as she tried to determine the best place for her to land. She couldn’t see Harry, though she did recognise a few ginger heads down there. Determining which one was in the most trouble, Ginny landed and slung her broom across her back.
Ginny’s magic reacted well, shooting a spray of sparks to knock out one of the three cloaked men who were overwhelming Charlie. “Hey,” she said with a tight smile. There was no more time for talking as the two of them duelled with their three opponents. Ginny felt a curse burn away part of her t-shirt, the sting distracting her enough for one of the two she was battling to hit her with a hex and pile onto Charlie.
She channelled all of her magic into fighting the hex, until she was finally able to fire off another spell at the bastard, splitting his robe and then blasting his mask off before stupefying him halfway across the clearing, earning her a “nice one” from Charlie. There was nothing but dodging and shielding and shooting spells where they could squeeze one in.
And they seemed to just keep coming. Ginny was grateful for her brother who had saved her more times than she could count. Duelling with Tonks was one thing, a battle of this magnitude was quite another. Especially when she had no idea where Harry was.
Hours might have passed, or minutes. Ginny tried to make her way back to where she’d last seen Harry, only to lose ground again. She saw some of her friends, other Order members, take hits, but never fall. Having lost track of most of her family, she had to continually press down the worry and focus on the people she could see. Not Harry.
And not focus on her home up in flames.
When it finally collapsed, she heard it crash and screamed as she sent her next spell at her opponent, the energy pulsing out of her body with the raw grief of her childhood falling down around her.
That was when the sparks were shot up into the air to signal retreat.
Ginny and Charlie fought their way out past the anti-apparition wards, ignoring the increasing intensity of the death eaters’ curses as they realised that the Order were leaving. Ginny cried out as she was hit by some sort of fiery curse on the back. Charlie dragged her up next to him, protecting her with some sort of charm as her vision swam with the pain.
When they reached the boundary, Ginny could barely stand. Charlie wrapped her up in his arms and they apparated. Upon arrival, Ginny fell to her feet and was vomiting before she had even properly realised where they were. She did not stop vomiting as she was scooped up by someone and carried away, screeching at the pain of their arms on her back. She tried not to thrash but also couldn’t do anything but.
It was dark where they took her and lay her down on her stomach. Someone put a bucket next to her for her to vomit into. She barely noticed as her clothes were cut open to access the top of her back, right at the top, practically on her shoulder, where Ginny could only assume a colony of bugs had taken root.
She thought she might have passed out at some point, but, by the point she’d been healed – or, rather, numbing and cooling charms had been applied, the sky was beginning to darken and she finally took stock of where they were. Tonks was talking to her parents in the kitchen. Ginny hadn’t heard or seen her arrive. Her mother looked remarkably like Bellatrix Lestrange. Charlie told her that she was wrong when she started to splutter about the long-haired woman who was trying to stop her screaming.
As soon as Tonks’ mother had finished with her, Charlie covered her up with a blanket on her front and carefully picked her up, not touching the numbed burns on her back. Charlie swept her out of the house, not even giving her time to say thank you to her healer. Tonks followed them and handed Charlie a scrap of paper that he passed to Ginny afterwards. She read it blearily.
The Black residence is located at 12 Grimmauld Place.
Ginny nodded tiredly and lit it on fire. Before she knew what was happening, she was being side-apparated to the house in which she had spent her summer before fourth year. She vomited immediately. The feeling of being unceremoniously side-apparated was not a pleasant one, particularly after such a trying and painful day.
Charlie, grimacing at the vomit now coating his shirt, nodded at Tonks to go ahead of them and carried Ginny into 12 Grimmauld Place.
“Is Harry here?” Ginny murmured as they entered the dark hallway. Charlie didn’t answer, only continued to carry her until she was in the living room and lying down on the sofa, surrounded by noisy Order members. Her mother immediately came to her and crouched beside her, swabbing at her head. Ginny batted away her hands.
“Hey, Gin,” another bleary voice said from the opposite sofa. Ginny blinked and looked over, trying to clear the fuzz caused by the pain potion she’d been given. Her brother was lying there. Blinking again, she realised it was George. And he had a head wound. She tried to pull herself up, clutching at her blanket that was covering her almost naked chest. Her mother chastised her and Ginny had to content herself with just talking to her injured brother.
“What’s happened to you then?” she asked.
“Hearing issues,” he said. Her mother tutted and darted over to him, giving Ginny the opportunity to sit up and look over. She was horrified to realise that he had lost an ear. George grimaced. “Horrid, isn’t it?”
“Oh, my boy,” her mother said and Ginny realised more clearly that she had been crying.
“What’s got you sofa-laden, sister?”
“Burn,” Ginny said simply as she swung her legs around on the sofa, ignoring her mother and Charlie’s fussing. “Where’s everyone else? Where’s Harry?”
“Some people are down in the kitchen,” Charlie said reluctantly. “No Harry yet.”
Panic flooded her chest. “How much later is he than the others?” she asked her brother. Charlie hesitated.
“Twenty minutes.”
“And who else is missing?” she demanded.
Charlie hesitated again and Ginny repeated her question more loudly. “Bill,” Charlie admitted, “and Fred and Dad. A few others. Ron and Hermione are downstairs, fretting too.”
Ginny stood, adrenaline surging through her body. Two brothers, her father, and Harry. She rushed from the room, ignoring the clamours of her brother behind her. She strode into the kitchen and every eye turned to her. “Where are they?” she demanded of Kingsley and Remus who were talking tersely.
“Ah, Ginny,” Remus started but Ginny cut him off more strongly, “Where are they?”
And at that moment, cries came from the door. The crowd of somewhat injured Order members crushed out into the hall to find Harry with Bill in his arms, pushing into the living room where Ginny had been moments before. He lay Bill carefully down on Ginny’s sofa and Ginny pushed through the crowd of people.
“What has happened?” Fleur demanded, pushing past Ginny to crouch behind her husband-to-be.
“Bill collapsed,” her father said grimly. Ginny noticed a long cut on her father’s face, fatigue plaguing his skin. “Harry lashed him to his back and fought to the edge of the wards.”
“Saved my life on the way,” Fred added, his voice hollower than Ginny had ever heard. Ginny looked over at him and then at Harry, whose eyes were on George. She could practically feel his sadness and self-reprimand. When he finally turned, his eyes were all for her. They widened madly and then Ginny realised he was not the only one looking at her.
“Ginny,” he hissed but she ignored him and stepped once, twice and into his arms. He held her tightly and she ignored her mother’s shrieks about the fact that she was only wearing a bra as she let out her relief in a sigh. She felt him settle his chin on her head and faff about with his hands behind her back. Leaning back, she saw him grabbing a blanket from Charlie, which he proceeded to wrap around her, covering her up more modestly.
She flushed, as her panic regarding Harry faded, and she realised that she had walked around the Order HQ in only her bra and jeans. Arthur cleared the room of everyone but Weasleys and Harry.
“What happened?” he asked quietly, pulling her to one side, looking between her, Bill and George.
“I got a curse to the back. Burning. Numbing and cooling charms on it, nothing serious,” she said into his chest. “George lost an ear.” The reality of it all hadn’t hit home yet. “What happened to Bill?”
“Just too much for him, I think,” he said, his voice hollow. “After the Battle of Hogwarts as well.” Ginny opened her mouth to speak but he interrupted her, “Look, Gin, can we just – I – can’t – are Ron and Hermione both okay?”
“Yes,” she confirmed, reaching up to stroke his cheek and look at him fondly before she turned to go to her brothers. She’d not even taken a step before he pulled her back.
“Nothing to worry about?” he said, his voice low and growling. “Nothing to worry about?” His voice raised. Ginny turned back to him.
“She was sick on me multiple times,” Charlie added helpfully. Harry’s face showed his full-blown panic and Ginny rushed to comfort him, shooting a glare at Charlie. “He’s your boyfriend, Gin, you should always tell him the truth.”
“You should,” Harry said with more passion.
“Harry,” Ginny said with a slightly exasperated sigh. She pushed her face into his chest and he wrapped his arms around her tightly. She turned her head out to see her dad watching them fondly. “Did you really fight your way out with Bill lashed to your back?” she mumbled against his chest. He didn’t respond so she turned her head up to him. He was flushed.
“I put a featherlight charm on him first,” he said, hating the attention.
“You saved two of them today, Harry,” Ginny’s dad quiet voice said. Ginny felt Harry shift uncomfortably and she followed his gaze to the door. She squeezed his side and looked over at her brothers, one of whom was resting after passing out and one of whom was being pandered to by his twin and making silly jokes about ears and holes.
She pulled away from Harry, hearing him breath sharply again at seeing the top of her back. She pressed a kiss to George’s head and then Bill’s, with a squeeze to the hand for Fleur. “I’m just going to-” she said to her dad, indicating her head at Harry, but her dad cut her off with a nod and a trusting smile.
Ginny pulled Harry out of the room, his hand in hers. She kept walking up the stairs until they reached Sirius’ room. Harry winced as they stopped but she tugged his hand to make him go in. He breathed rapidly as he looked around the room. Ginny went ahead and sat down on the bed, patting her hand down on the bed.
He tried to sit down beside her in the same position but she shook her head and adjusted him so that his head was in her lap. He sighed into her thighs and she stroked his hair. “I love you,” she said idly, “and I want you to sleep before you spend too long blaming yourself, even if I have to trap you between my thighs to do it.”
Harry didn’t even smile and Ginny reached for his hand, which he raised so that he could thread his fingers through hers.
He did eventually fall asleep and as did Ginny. She woke again, though, when the numbing and cooling charms had worn off. It couldn’t have been very long as there was still noise downstairs. Cursing softly, she glanced at Harry and, with this very memory in mind, she cast a patronus down to her family to help her.
Charlie and Ron arrived a few moments later and they both stopped still at the sight in front of them. Ginny gave them a tremulous smile and shushed them silently. They nodded and Ginny just pointed to her back, leaning forward slightly. Charlie cast both charms, with Ron standing at the door, staring at Harry. Ginny gave him what she hoped was a slightly apologetic smile as she felt the cooling and numbing charms go back on. She let out a sigh of relief and ran her hand through Harry’s hair.
As Charlie and Ron went to leave, she felt Harry stir and murmur, “Gin?”
“I’m here, love,” she replied and he pressed his face back into her legs. The look on Ron’s face was indecipherable but he left without saying anything. Harry stretched slightly and sat up, blinking away his nap. “You’ve not been asleep long. Go back to sleep.”
Harry shook his head, pressing a kiss to her cheek. “You should rest, love. Let your back heal.”
“What are you going to do?” Ginny asked, holding onto his hand.
“Just check on Bill and George.”
“Then, I’ll come,” she offered. Harry shook his head.
“Sleep here. I’ll be back.”
Ginny snorted. “My mum will never let you back into this room. Goodness knows what you’d do to me.”
“Nothing I’ve not done before,” Harry said as he stood up.
Ginny smiled at him in what she hoped was a sultry way. “I’m sure there’s a few things we’ve never done.”
A throat was cleared in the doorway and Ginny flushed, hopefully less so than Harry, who looked like a tomato. It was her mum. “The boys said you were awake,” she said, her voice prim. Ginny could tell she’d been crying.
“We were just coming down,” Ginny lied. Her mum hummed dubiously and Ginny felt seen. She shared a look with Harry, who looked chastised and embarrassed in a negative sense, not in the cheeky sense they’d shared before. She took his hand and rubbed her thumb on the back of his hand. “Come on, love.” He came with her and they followed her mum downstairs.
Remus and Tonks were the only ones remaining who were not Weasleys. Remus clapped his hand on Harry’s shoulder and Harry flinched, Ginny watching on with worry. Harry pulled away from her and, when Ginny tried to follow after him, to comfort him, her father held her back and against his chest.
Harry went to kneel beside Bill. “Potter,” he slurred. “Heard you carried me across the battlefield.” Harry shrugged self-consciously and Ginny almost wanted to cry.
“Least I could do,” he said. Ginny looked at her father, stricken, but her father only watched on, sadness in his eyes. Harry looked over at George and then stood, nodding. He disappeared out of the room before any of them could say anything.
“He might be the weirdest person I know,” Bill said weakly. Ginny frowned after Harry but stayed where she was, her father’s grip on her arm not lessening. “Gin, is he always this weird?”
“He thinks all this is his fault,” she snapped, yanking her arm away from her father’s grip. “So, if you could all just leave him alone!”
“Ginny,” Ron said quietly, touching her arm. “He does this. You just have to let him get over it.”
“Get over it?” Ginny nearly shrieked. She shook her head. “Sorry – sorry – just – I’m going to – I’m going to bed.” She sighed, closing her eyes. She was fairly sure there was nothing she could do for Harry at the moment. He could blame himself tonight and she would convince him he was an idiot in the morning.
XXX
Harry arrived back at Grimmauld Place at around 3 in the morning, sneaking through the corridor and putting his head in to see George and Bill, who he imagined were still on the sofas downstairs.
“You’re back then,” a weary voice said from the room. Harry swore as he jumped, ignoring the soft chuckles. “Kitchen.”
Harry obeyed the voice, which belonged to Mr Weasley. He swallowed his self-disgust, his fear and his desire to go and get into bed with Ginny, and he headed down the corridors to the dark kitchen. He waved his hand to light a few candles and he boiled the kettle.
Only when the kettle was boiled and Harry had made two cups of tea did Mr Weasley speak, having sat down at the table. “Where have you been?”
“The Burrow,” he said, a hollow feeling in his throat and stomach. Hollow throughout his whole body.
“Why?” Mr Weasley said and Harry couldn’t quite figure out what it was in his voice.
Harry shook his head. “I charmed my trunk against fire. I went to get it.” His throat burned; his eyes filled with tears. “It – my dad’s cloak, my mum’s book, the Marauders’ Map. I had to get them.”
“Of course, you did, son,” Mr Weasley said, his voice warm. Harry flinched.
“Don’t call me that,” Harry said, his voice thick.
“Harry,” Mr Weasley sighed.
Harry shook his head vehemently, brushing wetness away from his eyes. “The Burrow is destroyed. It’s a pile of cinders.”
“We assumed so,” Ginny’s dad replied, his voice heavy. “That’s okay.”
“No, it’s not,” Harry said sharply. “How can you even say that? You have – you have nothing left of it now!”
Mr Weasley gave him a sad smile. “Harry, lad, I have my family – my children, my wife. Do you think I care about my belongings?”
“A bit, yeah,” Harry said, thinking of his case in the hallway and then of the few things he’d saved from the living room before it had fallen apart. “I – I got your wedding picture, by the way,” he said, pulling the few things he’d saved from his pocket and enlarging them again. “Mrs Weasley’s apron, a pillow, a cookbook. I didn’t know what to get.”
Mr Weasley shook his head, picking up the picture of he and Mrs Weasley on his wedding day. “Harry-”
“The rest of it is gone, because of me. All of your lives. All of Ginny and Ron’s childhoods.”
“It is not your fault.”
“They would never have come if not for me!”
Mr Weasley shook his head. “Harry, if that is true, then you would have to go back in time, stop being friends with Ron, not fall in love with Ginny. Being associated you is a danger.”
“Exactly-”
“It is also one of the greatest pleasures of my life.” Harry had to look away as he let out a sob. Mr Weasley stood and rushed over to him, pulling him into his chest. “Harry, we do not blame you for anything.”
“I should have – should have put the Burrow under a fidelius charm, before this place.”
“You gave us all a safe place to come after,” Mr Weasley reasoned against his head. Harry shook his head.
“Let me pay,” he begged, looking up. “Let me give you the money for the repairs.”
“Harry,” Mr Weasley sighed. “Harry, you are our son, even more so now that you are in love with our daughter.” Harry let out another sob. “You are not to blame for any of this. There is one person-”
“If I am your son,” Harry interrupted him, looking up, “then what is mine is yours and I want to fix the place that has always welcomed me as its own.” Mr Weasley only laughed at him. They were silent for a moment and Harry pulled away from him, feeling embarrassed. “Did you think I left? Did you tell Gin?”
Mr Weasley shook his head. “I thought you’d come back. Didn’t want to scare Ginny or Molly for what I hoped was a false alarm.” Harry let out a sigh of relief.
“Ginny would have murdered me.” Mr Weasley let out a loud laugh.
“Who needs You-Know-Who with a girl like that?” Harry grinned sheepishly. “And she’s got six brothers who might have something to say if you left her.”
“And Mrs Weasley.”
“Don’t you think it’s about time you called us Molly and Arthur?” Harry laughed, a bit nervously. “At least think about it, son.”
“I will,” Harry said, rubbing his hand over his face. “Think about what I said about the Burrow,” he asked. Mr Weasley sighed. “Please. We can’t live here.”
Mr Weasley laughed, patting Harry on the shoulder. “You’re quite right. We cannot live here.”