The Life of a Wizard

Harry walked into the living room to see his favorite people spread out, most still asleep, on the floor and the couches. Ginny looked up and smiled at him. “Here we go again,” she said as he sat on the couch next to her.

“Another day, another night, and we are nearly there, yet so far away,” Harry heard from the couch opposite of theirs.

Hermione and Ron had woken up and were both looking at Harry and Ginny.

“I got in late last night, so I just went upstairs,” Harry explained to them.

They were currently in the living room of Harry’s house, located in the heart of Godric’s Hollow. They had used his parent’s old house as a meeting place and a home for the past year and a half. They had been slowly coming across information of the whereabouts of still loose Death Eaters, and they had an accurate list of 150 Death Eater’s addresses, and had been picking them off slowly.

It had been four years since Hermione, Ron, and Harry had left Hogwarts, a year earlier than they should have, but they had accomplished so much. When Ginny Weasley found them two years ago, they began to round up people they knew could help and formed a second branch of the Order. So far, no one was able to identify the location, name, or members of the Living Wizards. The only thing people knew was that there was a group of people who had been killing Death Eaters consistently over the past year.

“Remus called last night,” Ron informed the group. “We need to hold off on any more searches for about a week.”

“We can’t do that!” Harry protested as he jumped up. “We are so close to finding so many more of th…”

“He and Tonks are getting married a week from today,” Ron said with a grin. “They want us to come and help a little and be there for the ceremony.

Hermione looked at her fiancé and smacked him upside the head. “Oww,” Ron exclaimed when Hermione hit him. “What was that for?”

“Why didn’t you tell us last night? That would have made a little more sense you know.”

Harry and Ginny had toppled over laughing. “They will never change,” laughed Ginny, “no matter how in love they are.” Harry smiled at his girlfriend and then at Hermione and Ron. Everything seemed so right at that moment, it seemed impossible that they were still in more danger than anyone could imagine.

Harry heard footsteps coming down the stirs and looked. Luke and his wife Nita were walking heavily down the stairs. Luke and Nita were the newest members of the Living Wizards, but were four years older than Harry. They had come to Arthur Weasley six months ago to ask what they could do for the Order. Mr. Weasley immediately told them to search out Harry and talk to him. After some questions and a little help from Veritaserum, Luke and his wife were accepted. They had connections spread around the world that proved to be a tremendous help.

“Good morning,” Nita yawned as she approached the group. She looked at the twenty-some-odd year old wizards and couldn’t help but smile. They were the most amazing people she had ever known.

“Breakfast, anyone?” With a wave of her wand, Ginny produced a large amount of pancakes, bacon, sausage, waffles, and eggs. Everyone ran to the kitchen and grabbed plates. Harry smiled at the group of people and wrapped his arms around Ginny.

“This is going to work,” he whispered in her ear. She responded with a nod and a smile. Ginny was happy to be there in Harry’s arms, happy for the first time that week.

*********************************

“Bill, run!”

Bill turned around to see a flash of green shooting towards him. He rolled on the ground, scurried up and ran towards his father. He grabbed Arthur’s arm and kept running until it seemed quiet.

“Bill, stop,” Arthur Weasley told his son. They halted for a moment, listening. They hear footsteps racing to them and stood, braced with their wands. When they saw it was their fellow Order members, they relaxed a little.

“We finished off the ones that didn’t Disapparate,” Remus Lupin told them, “But a fair few got away.”

“Is everyone with us alright?” Nymphadora Tonks asked as she looked around. With a quick head count, she realized that someone was missing. Wands bared, they took off back into the forest. They searched through the fallen Death Eaters until they saw an unmasked, familiar face, sprawled out on the ground. Arthur ran towards his fallen son, Charlie, and lifted him up.

“I think he’s alive, but he was hit with something that did considerable damage.”

Arthur held Charlie around the middle and draped his head over his shoulder.

“I’ll meet you back at headquarters,” he yelled to the others and turned on the spot. He and Charlie were gone in a ‘pop’.

---

A knock came at the door of the Shrieking Shack. Molly Weasley opened the door to see her husband half-carrying her son.

“Arthur, what happened?” Molly squealed as she fought to hold back tears. Charlie looked so pale she thought he was dead.

“He was hit with something. Call a Healer right a way.” Arthur went down to the basement where the Order had changed the layout to resemble a home. He laid his son down on the couch and sat down next to him. He heard about ten different popping noises and looked up to see the other Order members who were present at the forest. They looked at Arthur for a minute and heard two sets of footsteps approaching them.

Molly Weasley came into the room followed by a person they did not know.

“This is Healer Valorem,” Molly explained. The Healer didn’t wait for any further introduction before clearing the people out of the room so she could examine Charlie.

“The others will be here sometime today, we’ll explain what happened to us when they get here,” Lupin told Arthur. Lupin was referring to Harry and the others. They were supposed to arrive sometime that night. Almost as if on cue, six people appeared in front of the elder men.

Chapter 2: A Question, A Memory, and A Thought

“Did you recognize any of the death eaters that escaped?” Harry had asked this question right off the bat. Whoever had done this was going to pay, and soon. He knew that no more lives within the order could be taken; there weren’t enough people any longer.

“Parker Entrieve, Padonas Jerwill and Tonia Markson were three we know for sure,” Mr. Weasley answered after a moment of thinking.

“Great, we have the addresses for the first two. We’ve found our next targets.”
Harry was thrilled. He couldn’t wait to go out there and find the people who had done this.

“You’ll have to wait a little while, Harry,” Lupin reminded him. “We want you here this weekend.”

Harry felt a smaller hand grab his. Ginny whispered, “You need a break. We’ll only be here a week, and after the wedding we can pick up where we left off.”

Harry knew they were right, but was angry all the same. He wrapped his arm around Ginny’s shoulder and kissed the top of her head. “Ok dear, if you say so,” he said in a very mocking voice. Everyone laughed and sat down to talk.

About half-an-hour later, Healer Valorem came into the room. Everybody immediately stopped talking and looked at the witch.

“Charlie will be alright. He was hit by the Cruciatus Curse and the Imperuis Curse at the same time. It had an unusual effect on him. He should be back to normal in a few days.”

Everyone in the room breathed a sigh of relief. Ron hugged Hermione close and kissed her. Ginny shook a little and tried to laugh it off. Harry and Ginny went into see Charlie, hand in hand. When they stood over him, he looked up at them. “Garry, Hinny… how are you both?” Charlie had the most peculiar look on his face, and Ginny began to cry. Charlie shook his head and closed his eyes. Harry stood there, holding Ginny, and feeling a rush of hate fill his body. He hated the people who did this. Charlie would be fine, but the thought of the others who had lost their lives to the death eaters made Harry almost break into tears.

A picture faded into Harry’s mind when he closed his eyes. It was a scene he had seen nearly a year ago. Dumbledore had come to Godric’s Hollow to see Harry. He had shown his a scene in his Pensive from twenty years ago. Harry was three months old and in the arms of Lily Potter. Dumbledore was speaking to them about a prophecy he had heard. Lily didn’t quite understand what it had to do with them. James, on the other hand, looked concerned. Harry had been standing next to the elder Dumbledore, stunned. He had told Lily and James about what could happen. It was then he realized that was why they had gone into hiding. Harry looked around and began to walk. He opened the door to the next room, and as he expected, saw his godfather sitting alone on a chair. He looked terrified.

Harry hadn’t seen Sirius in three years, and the sight of him made Harry tear up. Sirius had overheard everything Dumbledore was saying to his friends, and knew he couldn’t be their secret-keeper.

Harry went back into the other room and asked Dumbledore why they were there.
You need to hear this, Dumbledore had said.

Harry waited a few more seconds, and then Sirius appeared.

I can’t do it. I can’t be your secret-keeper. Lily and James looked stunned.

Who can we go to? You are our most trusted friend. James looked hurt and betrayed.

Peter Pettigrew. You can ask him. With that Sirius left.

A moment later, Harry felt Dumbledore’s hand on his elbow. They came out of the Pensive.

“Your parents didn’t ever see Sirius again. He went into hiding as well. Did you see how terrified he looked?”

Harry nodded. He couldn’t believe Sirius had just left like that. No wonder he had always felt so guilty.

“Why did you need to show me that?” Harry inquired from the headmaster.

“I think you know why.”

Ever since that visit, Harry had been trying to contact Sirius. Not that he hadn’t been before, he had, but he had strengthened his efforts over the past six months. That was why he had been out so late at nights. He was using all of his connections and efforts to find his distressed godfather.

Ginny lifted her head and saw Harry’s eyes were glazed over. “Harry,” she whispered.

Deep in thought, Harry heard a small, familiar voice in his head.

Harry looked down at Ginny and smiled. “Sorry, I dozed off for a minuet there.”

The couple walked out the door of Charlie’s room. Harry let go of Ginny with a promise to be right back. He couldn’t believe how stupid he had been. He had been so concerned with finding Sirius; he had forgotten to ask the most obvious source.

Chapter Three: A Switch of Tasks

“Professor, I need to talk to you.”

Harry had gone to talk to Lupin nearly ten times the past three days. He was always gone or sleeping or too busy, and Harry couldn’t take no as an answer again.

“Harry, for the last time, the need to call me ‘Professor’ has long passed. Lupin, Remus, either of those would be fine.” He smiled at the young wizard but noticed concern in his eyes. “Are you alright?”

“This seems like an odd, blunt question. I only wish I had though of coming to you earlier. Where’s Sirius? You have to know!”

Lupin’s smile turned into a frown. “Listen Harry, there’s a few things you need to know.”

******************************

Harry knocked. He waited a minute before knocking again. He looked up to the second story window of the run-down old home in Ireland. He thought for a second he saw the curtain move. Harry went to knock a third time, but seconds before his fist made contact with the splintered, black, wooden door, it was pulled open with so much force, he nearly fell, but was embraced my a familiar smelling person.

“Harry. I’m so sorry.”

Harry didn’t know what his godfather was sorry about, but he didn’t inquire any further. Sirius pulled away from Harry and grabbed his face.

“Come in, come in,” Sirius Black said as he motioned inside.

Harry stepped into the house and found it to be magnificent. It was beautiful and looked as if it couldn’t belong to the exterior. The walls were crimson red and the carpet was a strange but wonderful sand color. It seemed that there was no end to the ceiling, but the spiral staircase was the most interesting spot in the whole room.

“It’s quite a change from my last home,” Sirius said with a small smile. He looked around at his house along with Harry. It was rather beautiful.

Harry stopped his visual examination of the room and looked to his godfather. The years had done him some good. His face was finally taking back shape, and his mangy hair had been trimmed and combed more than once a month. His skin had more color and his face had been clean shaven. Harry thought he looked great, but when his godfather turned to look at him, his perception of his wonderful new life fell away.

Harry looked into the eyes of the man who had practically been his father in his late teens and saw the pain, the hurt, and the guilt that Sirius had been holding in. Harry felt the need to hug his godfather and tell him that nothing was his fault. But he didn’t.

Sirius read the mind of the young man standing in front of him.

“Harry. I’m so sorry I wasn’t here for you these past few years. I couldn’t be around this war. I couldn’t be there to see your life in so much danger. I couldn’t lose you and know I could have prevented it. Had I been around, I would have kept a shield over you and you would have grown to resent me.” Sirius tried to explain his reasons the best he could. He knew Harry would want the deeper reasons soon enough, but this could buy him some time.

Harry finally spoke. “Sirius, how do you justify my parent’s deaths as your fault?”

Sirius gaped at Harry. He’s grown so strong, Sirius thought to himself. “I should never have left them.” There it was. He confessed it. “I could have been there to help them, I could have prevented everything that happened, but I was a coward. I was more concerned with my own safety. I should have stayed in that house with you and your parents. Three against one, we could have done something more. Even if he had escaped, they wouldn’t have died.”

Harry saw the guilt of Sirius’s past flow from his eyes in the form of tears. Harry had never thought of that. If Sirius had stayed in the house, he could have helped. Harry thought that this revelation would spark hatred toward the man in front of him, but he soon realized that hatred toward Sirius was impossible. Harry’s unconditional love for his godfather was stronger than any other feeling he had ever been a witness to.

Harry took this moment to hug Sirius. “To tell you the truth, I’m glad you left. Not that I don’t trust your abilities, but you would have died as well. Then where would I be?”

Sirius’s tears were absorbed by the back of Harry’s robes. He is different. He is so much like James yet so different. Sirius felt alive for the first time in seven years. He felt alive for the first time since he lost his chance to take Harry. He felt alive for the first time since he was a free man.

“Come back with me. Start over.” Harry had every intention to bring Sirius home with him before he even left Hogsmeade, but it was now impossible to leave him.

“Gladly.”

Chapter 4: Return of Padfoot



Ginny had been waiting in Harry’s room for what seemed like days. In actuality, she had only been there for four hours, but she was getting anxious. He had promised to be home that night, and it was nearing one o’clock in the morning. The next morning, she thought to herself. Maybe he couldn’t find Sirius, or maybe, they got caught up with some Death Eaters, or maybe… her thoughts ended there. No. Harry would be fine.



Her mind still buzzing, she drifted off to sleep.



*******************************



Harry brushed his lips on Ginny’s forehead. She was sleeping across his bed. He lifted up her legs and moved them so that her body was straight on only one side of the bed. He looked over at Sirius who was standing in the doorway, watching him.



“Ginny and I have been dating for nearly two years now,” said Harry. He had been filling his godfather in on the recent happenings in his life. He had explained about the Living Wizards, about Ron and Hermione’s engagement, the numerous attacks, including the one on Charlie.

After they had gotten home, it took Harry a minute to figure out why Ginny was in his room. He realized she must have been awaiting his arrival back home and felt awful for showing up so late.



“I always knew you two would be together some day,” Sirius whispered, bringing Harry back to reality. “Just one more question… where am I staying?”



Harry smacked himself on the forehead. “Right, a place for you to sleep.” Harry thought for a moment, took out his wand, muttered and incantation, and tapped Ginny’s head. “Stay in here,” he said to his godfather as he picked Ginny up and draped her over his shoulder. “Neat little trick I learned from an anonymous teacher last year,” he said when he saw he quizzical look on Sirius’s face.



“It wasn’t that, but thanks. Where are you staying?” Sirius laughed.



“I’ll conjure up a bed in Ginny’s room. She won’t mind,” he said with a wink. Sirius had to laugh at his godson. Nothing could help him get over how much Harry had grown up.



“I’ll see you in the morning then. Oh, and do me a favor. Don’t leave this room until I come up and get you. I don’t want people freaking out if you suddenly appear at the house, especially since you don’t exactly look, well, the same. Good night.” Harry left without another word.



He carried Ginny down the hall to her room and laid her down. He flicked his wand and a bed similar to hers appeared at his knees. He muttered the counter-incantation under his breath and tapped her head again. She stirred for a second, but didn’t wake. Harry kissed her on the forehead, crawled into his bed, and was asleep the moment his head touched the pillow.



***********************



Ginny woke up and jumped. Harry’s face was less than a foot from hers. Something was different, and she realized she was in her own room. She looked over at her clock and realized that it was six in the morning. She shook Harry’s arm and he opened his eyes.



“Good morning, beautiful,” he whispered to the pretty young lady laying across from him.



“When did you get home? Did you find him? Where was he? How does he look? Oh wait, did you find him?”



Harry laughed. He leaned over and kissed her on the mouth. “Yes. He’s great, he was in Ireland, he looks fine. Sirius is home.”



Remembering that Harry had made his godfather promise not to leave until Harry talked to him, he got up. He went up to his room to grab some clothes. Sirius was still asleep, which gave Harry time. He dug through the dresser and found a black t-shirt and some jeans that he quickly, but silently, threw on. He tiptoed out of the room and shut the door quietly. He turned around and almost screamed when someone suddenly appeared in front of him.



“Ron, bloody hell, don’t sneak up on me like that!” he said to his best friend.



“You found him, huh?” Ron was so excited to see Sirius that he seemed liked he was about to barge into the room, but Harry restrained him.



“We have to tell everyone that he’s here so people don’t get surprised.”



Within the hour, the whole place was up and moving. It took Harry several minutes to wrangle everybody together to talk to them.



“Good morning,” he said in a very formal tone. “As most of you know, I went looking for Sirius the other night. I found him. He is currently upstairs, asleep in my room. He will be coming downstairs shortly, so don’t be alarmed when you see him. He looks, different, healthy. Finally.”



He stared at the group for amoment, not knowing what else to say, but was saved by Mrs. Weasley, who quickly said, “Breakfast, anyone?”



Harry began to walk upstairs when he heard someone following him. He turned around and saw Ginny right behind him. She grabbed his hand, and he continued. He knocked on the door in which behind, his godfather sat waiting.



“I’m up,” Harry heard a faint voice say from inside. “You can come downstairs now; Mrs. Weasley is making breakfast and can’t wait to see you.”



“Good morning, Sirius,” Ginny piped in from behind Harry. She couldn’t contain herself. She looked up at Harry, and saw him smiling at her.



“Morning Ginny,” Sirius laughed from the other end. “Glad to see you’re awake, and that Mister Potter there didn’t leave you to sleep forever.” By then, Sirius had come to the door and opened it.



“Excuse me?” Ginny stared at Harry, who was blushing considerably.



“You’re first day back and you’re already causing trouble,” Harry joked to his godfather. “I have no idea why I bothered to come looking or you. I should have known you would be nothing but a problem.” Sirius laughed at the pair in front of him.



“Well, it’s not a good idea to keep a Weasley woman waiting is it?” Sirius inquired to Ginny. “Let’s eat.”

Chapter 5: A Wedding, a Question, and a Raid

Sirius, Harry and Ginny walked into the kitchen. Sirius had a look on his face, but Harry wasn’t sure if he was pleased or nervous. He didn’t have much time to think on it because the moment they appeared around the corner, Sirius was engulfed in a Mrs. Weasley hug.

“Sirius,” she cried, “We are so happy to have you back. I’ve been so worried about you for a while, and I’m glad you’re here. You look so good. You look healthy...” She was cut off by her husband saying, “Molly, dear, let the man breathe.” Everybody laughed, including Mrs. Weasley, who was turning red.

Sirius sat down at the table and grabbed a plate. Harry and Ginny followed him and everybody there was soon laughing, talking, and eating a few too many helpings of Mrs. Weasley’s excellent cooking.

While Harry was eating, he thought. He suddenly remembered that he had been gone three days looking for Sirius. Then that meant that today was… “Ginny,” he whispered to his girlfriend sitting next to him. “What day is it?”

She looked at him with an eye of speculation and said, “Saturday.”

Harry nearly choked on his eggs. “Saturday?” he asked in a blind panic. The wedding was today. “I don’t have anything. No dress robes, no present, no nothing!” Ginny looked at him and laughed. “I bought everything while you were gone. I got you black and blue dress robes and a present from the both of us. You don’t have to worry. The robes are in your room if you want to try them on.” Harry stared at her in amazement for a minute before leaning over and kissing her. “You never cease to amaze me,” he whispered in her ear making her blush.

Four hours later, everyone was gathered in the living room of the Shrieking Shack wearing their best dress clothes. Ginny was in a brilliant shade of midnight blue, Hermione and Ron accompanied each other in red and black. Lupin and Tonks were the only people missing, but they would be arriving later. Harry wasn’t quite sure where they were going, and when he addressed this concern to Ginny, she smiled. “Hold onto my arm, and you’ll arrive just fine.” Harry placed her arm in his, and with a turn, the group was gone.

***************************
The first thing that Harry saw was a magnificent garden. Roses, lilies and violets scattered the ground along with the greenest grass he had ever seen. The group began to move over to a set-up of chairs, tables, and an alter.

“Harry.” Harry turned his head and saw Remus Lupin hiding in the bushes a few feet away. Harry walked over to him, a little confused.

“What are you doing here?” he inquired to the squatting man. “Is everything alright?”

“Everything is fine. I just wanted to ask you, would you be my best man? I know it’s short notice and all, but I really want you up there. I know you’re thinking that I should ask Sirius or Arthur, but having you up there as well would mean so much to me, and it would be like having a part of James with me, as well.” Harry smiled and nodded. “I would be honored to be your best man,” he said with a grin, and took off after Ginny.

Harry was standing at the top of a line of men, which included Sirius, Arthur, Charlie and a man Harry didn’t recognize. He looked over to the other side and saw Ginny, Molly, and Nita, and a woman he didn’t know either. He turned to Mr. Weasley and asked, “Who is that man at the end of our line, and who is the woman at the end of the other?”

Mr. Weasley looked over his shoulder and to the end of the woman’s line and said, “The woman is Remus’s sister, and that man is her husband. They don’t like to be involved in Order business, but he convinced them to come down to take part in the ceremony.”

Harry smiled. He looked around the garden and saw Bill and his wife, Fleur, with their baby girl, Tabby. He also saw Ron and Hermione sitting next to Luke. He smiled at them and turned to the center isle. The music began and Harry saw Lupin appear in front of him.

He turned down the isle and shook his head. Tonks had turned her hair a silk brown and had it half-way down her back. Harry did all he could not to laugh at her bubblegum pink dress though. She looked different, but when she stuck her tongue out at Harry, he knew it was the same Tonks.

After the ceremony, Harry and Ginny were sitting at their table, when Ginny exclaimed, “I love this song.” Harry saw her head bobbing to the music and had an idea.

“Ginny, do you want to dance?” he asked her. Her eyes lit up and she replied, “Why, Mister Potter, I would love to.”

They stood up, and he took her hand in his. He led her to the dance floor and wrapped his arm around her waist, while she wrapped hers around his shoulder. They danced for nearly three songs when it came to Harry. “Ginny,” he whispered into her ear.

“Yes?” She looked into his emerald green eyes.

“Will you marry me?”

A loud bang was heard across the garden, and Harry saw nearly one hundred Death Eaters approaching their tent.

Chapter 6: Answers

Ginny looked horrified. Harry hoped in all his heart that it was because of the Death Eaters. He grabbed his wand and followed most of the other men who were running at the large group.

This was not good. The Death Eaters had just interrupted an event that contained nearly every member of the Order along with every member of the Living Wizards. He heard several popping noises from behind and hoped that it was people Disapparating to safety.

“Harry, take a group to the left and get behind them.” Harry had no idea who had told him this, but he did it none the less.

Twelve men followed Harry around the group by means of the forest next to them. When they were finally behind the group of Death Eaters, the night was filled with shouts and blinding lights of every color. Death Eaters fell like flies. There were a few cracks; some of the standing Death Eaters Apparated before anyone could get to them. Within ten minutes, the ground was littered with stunned, injured or dead bodies. All of the dead were Death Eaters, but many of the injured people were Order members.

Harry helped bring people over to the tents to be looked after and transported to St. Mungo’s. The stunned Death Eaters were bound up and watched.

“Wow, we’ve gotten freakishly good at this.” Harry turned around to see Bill standing next to him, supporting a busted lip and a black eye. Harry tried to laugh, but it sounded more like he needed to vomit. “Are you alright?” Bill asked him. “You look sick.”

Harry hated the Death Eaters. Not only were they trying to kill everybody he knew, but they always came at the most inconvenient times. He laughed in spite of himself. “Yes,” he responded, “I’m fine.”

Bill left to go check on his wife and daughter. Harry searched through the crowd to find Ginny, and felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to meet, not Ginny, but Hermione. “She went with a group to St. Mungo’s.” Harry stared at his friend, horrified. “She wasn’t hurt,” Hermione quickly added, when she saw the look on Harry’s face. “She is helping transport injured people to St. Mungo’s.”

Harry relaxed a bit. “This sucks,” he said under his breath, but Hermione heard him.

“Yes it does,” she said to him. “Poor Tonks, her wedding was just ruined.”

“Not my wedding, my reception, so it’s ok. The important part was good.”

They turned around to see Tonks standing there. She was wearing a very torn, burnt, and smaller version of her wedding dress. “Well, I didn’t have time to change,” she said as she noticed the shocked faces on the people in front of her.

Lupin came into the group and put his arm around Tonks. “Well, that was the most fun I’ve had in ages. We should have our wedding interrupted by Death Eaters more often. Adds some spice to my life.” Everyone laughed and broke apart.

People began Apparating back home until only Harry, Ron and Hermione were left. Ron and Hermione looked at their friend and simultaneously said, “What is it now?”

Harry looked up and responded, “I had it all planned out. We danced, we were happy, I asked her, and they show up. Great.”

Hermione screamed and hugged Harry. “You did?! You asked her? Harry, that’s wonderful!” Ron looked confused. “Asked who what?” Harry laughed. Ron was definitely a little clueless at times. “I proposed to your sister, but don’t get too excited. I didn’t get an answer. We were interrupted when the Death Eaters showed up.”

Harry smiled and turned. He appeared in Ginny’s room next to his bed. He climbed in without even changing and fell asleep.

******************************
“Well, where are they?” came a snarling voice from the chair.

“We didn’t realise that the entire Order of the Phoenix would be there, master. Only ten of us survived to come back.”

“I thought I told you not to come back here unless Dumbledore and Black were in your hands? When did you try this attack?”

“I think it was a wedding.” This last remark was followed by a scream from a Death Eater.

“You fools! Remus Lupin’s wedding? Of course the entire Order would be there!” Voldemort’s hissing voice was angry, and it was apparent in the screams of his twitching Death Eater. “Jerwill, Markson, Malfoy. Come here.” The three Death-Eaters approached their master on their knees. “What is it my Lord?” they asked.

“Round up an army larger that the one present tonight. You are now leading this force. I want Dumbledore and Black, and I want them alive.”

As the three Death Eaters turned to leave, Voldemort’s voice called them back. “Let’s make this a little more interesting... I also want the Weasley girl. This should increase the draw on Potter.”

The Death Eaters bowed and left, leaving Voldemort to laugh and Entrieve to twitch.

*********************************

Harry, feeling as though no time had passed, woke up. Ginny Weasley was lying awake next to him, lwatching him.

“Yes,” she whispered. Harry smiled and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a tight hug. “I love you, Ginny Weasley” he told her and kissed the top of her head. “Harry James Potter, I love you too.” Harry and Ginny sat talking about the way nothing in their lives was ever quiet, and laughing about how nothing ever went as planned.After a while, exhaustion started to set in. When they closed their eyes, they were instantly asleep.

*********************************

“I bet she said yes.”

“Of course she said yes! She’s not stupid. You can’t bet on the obvious, it’s not fair.”

Harry awoke to the sound of his friend’s bickering. He turned over and saw Hermione and Ron outside in the hall, facing the room. He was still holding his recent fiancé in his arms. It must be early, he thought to himself. He worked Ginny out of his grasp and joined his friends outside.

“Oh, good morning,” Hermione said when she saw him.

“Don’t be pleasant, what’d she say?!” Hermione slapped Ron upside the head. “You have the sensitivity of a piranha; you know that, don’t you.” Hermione was staring at Ron who was laughing. “You just say that because you love me,” Ron retorted.

Harry smiled at his friends. “She said yes.” Neither of the other two noticed. They were bickering, again. Harry laughed and cleared his throat. Hermione turned her head and asked, “Did you say something?”

Harry smiled and nodded, and Hermione squealed. “That’s so wonderful! You and Ginny are going to get married, I always knew you would someday!”

Ron punched Harry in the arm and said, “Congratulations mate. I can’t wait to see mum’s face when she finds out. She’ll be through the roof!”

Harry talked to his friends for a little while then bade them good-bye. He went back into his room and laid back down. A glance at his clock told him it was six o’clock in the morning. He turned his head to see Ginny’s large, brown eyes upon him.

“Good morning,” she said. “Talk about an eventful evening.” Harry laughed.

“This should be an eventful day,” he told her. “Ron reckons your mum will be delighted. He and Hermione have a small bet going on the facial expression she’ll use.”

Ginny broke into a fit of laughter. “Was Ron’s bet that she would cry? That’s mine. I wonder if I can still get my money in the pool.” Harry laughed and kissed her.

“We’ve only got one day left here, you know. We need to be going tomorrow,” Harry reminded her.

Ginny looked at him and said, “I know. We need to get back to business.”

“But there’s one thing we need to do here, first. The house sounds awake. When’s a better time than now?” Ginny smiled at him, and the pair got dressed.

As they descended the steps, Harry was anxious. He couldn’t wait for everyone to know about the engagement, but was a little nervous none the less. Being as he practically knew Mrs. Weasley’s reaction, he was now wondering what the elder Weasley men would think. Ginny was the only girl in the family (not counting Mrs. Weasley, of course) and Harry knew how protective her brothers were.

Harry didn’t realise they were in the kitchen until Ginny nudged him in the side. He looked around and everyone was there. He opened his mouth to call for people’s attention, but nothing came out. He sat down and grabbed a plate of food.

Ginny looked at him with a hurt expression. Harry didn’t know why he hadn’t said anything until he took another look around. Sirius wasn’t there.

“Gin, I want Sirius here when I tell them.” She then smiled and nodded. “So do I,” she replied.

As if on cue, Sirius came bounding down the stairs and sat next to Harry. Harry smiled at his godfather and stood up.

“Excuse me. Hello?” It took him a minute to get everyone to look up. “Well, I don’t exactly know what I’m supposed to say before this, so, here we go. Ginny and I… we’re engaged.”

Chapter 7
A Celebration and An Abduction


Nobody moved for a minute. Harry looked at Ginny with slight alarm in his face and she returned an equally panicked look. They scanned the room and after what seemed like an eternity, Mr. Weasley stood up. He walked over to the couple and held out his hand to Harry. The younger wizard took it and was immediately pulled into a hug.

At once, everyone started applauding and running over to the young couple, eager to shake their hands and wish them their heartfelt congratulations. Mrs. Weasley took them both into a hug and began to cry. Harry and Ginny laughed as they hugged her back.

When they were finally released and everybody fell back into a calmer state, Harry said, “Well, I guess it’s alright with them.”

Ginny laughed and wrapped her arms around his waist. She laid her head on his chest, looking at her family and friends. Harry wrapped his arm around her shoulders and smiled. “I’m going to have a family,” he whispered to Ginny.

“You always have,” Ginny said, looking up at him. “You always have.”

****************************

As the evening progressed, Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione sat down to talk. Harry filled a gap in the conversation with, “You always talk about being brothers with your best friend when you’re younger. It’s strange to think it actually sometimes happens.” Ginny joked, “Is that the only reason you’re marrying me, to be Ron’s brother?” “Harry smiled and said, “No. I also get to be related to your mother.” Everybody laughed.

“You know, the nice thing for you to have done, Harry, would be to ask me if it was ok to marry my sister,” Ron said in a mocking voice. Ginny threw a pillow at him and laughed when it smacked him in the face.

“Have you talked about a date yet?” Hermione piped in. Harry shook his head. It had only been last night after all.

“Oh, well, of course not, it’s recent. Well, Ron and I were thinking, and I know it seems lame and everything, but maybe we could pull it into a double wedding.” Hermione turned very red as she said this. Ginny looked over at Harry and smiled. She loves the idea, Harry read from her face, and he did too.

“Actually,” he said and Hermione turned redder, “we would love that.” Hermione relaxed and smiled. She reached over and hugged the pair of them. “We were thinking that in about six month’s time, does that sound alright to the two of you?” It sounded perfect, and they began to sort out the details.

When Mrs. Weasley heard the news, she went into a silent tear fit and began talking about this, that and the other. She was talking more to herself than anyone, and it made the four of them have to stuff their fists into their mouths to keep from laughing.
This is great, Harry was thinking. I just wish I wasn’t so nervous about going back tomorrow.

They sat down for dinner that night under a huge ‘Congratulations Harry and Ginny’ banner. They had a buffet style dinner and didn’t go to bed until it neared two the next morning.

When they finally went upstairs to sleep, Harry pulled the Living Wizards together. He told them about the plans for the next days, and bade them good-night. When he and Ginny crawled into bed, they were asleep within minutes.

******************************

Harry, Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Luke, Nita, and the newest addition to the group, Sirius, took off early the next morning. They travelled to Godric’s Hollow by means of a taxi. They had disguised themselves to keep from being tracked.

“Does something seem…off?” Ginny whispered as they entered the town. She was right. There were no people, shops were missing windows, and the air smelled faintly of smoke.

Hermione gasped. “Oh no. Oh no, oh no, oh no,” she cried. Ginny was half-way down the broken driveway of their former house before it sunk into Harry’s mind.

“It’s gone,” he gasped. He was entirely correct. The house was nothing more than a pile of stones on torn up grass. Splinters of wood lay all over, and the dust was settling.

The dust isn’t settled yet, Harry thought to himself. That means... He whipped around and yelled, “Ginny!” but was too late. A hooded man suddenly grabbed her around the chest. Sirius charged after them, and the moment he reached the two, the Death-Eater grabbed his wrist and all three of them vanished!

“No!” Harry yelled as he began to run towards the spot. He felt a hand on his wrist and was jerked backwards. Nita had grabbed a hold of him and was yelling something, but he didn’t know what. He was so disoriented that he couldn’t think of anything but how to get Ginny and Sirius back. He looked around and realized that Luke had gone.

“He went to tell Dumbledore and then alert the Order,” he faintly remembered Nita saying that to him, still holding his wrist. “We need to get out of here,” she said franticly as she tried to pull him away. She pulled him onto the remains of the house and one by one they disappeared.

An onlooker in a hood lowered his newspaper and stared at the spot in which Harry Potter had disappeared, moments earlier. His red, cat-like eyes gleamed and he grinned. His plan had been set. Lord Voldemort knew that it wouldn’t be long before Harry was right where he wanted him.

Chapter 8
A Turn of Tides

Four wizards appeared outside of Number 12, Grimmauld Place. It was their last stop to make before panicking. Everywhere they had looked, the Order could not be found. Harry thought hard on the name of the place, and a door appeared between numbers eleven and thirteen. It was followed closely by a familiar house. The group quickly ran up the steps and through the door.

Harry breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Remus Lupin awaiting them in the entry hall. He took Harry in a quick hug and led them to the kitchen. They all sat down in complete silence until Harry burst out saying, “Well, are you going to tell us anything?”

“Dumbledore has taken members of the Order and spread them out. We are trying as hard as we can to find them, but we need you four to stay here.” Lupin looked anxiously at Harry’s face, expecting a fight, and he wasn’t disappointed.

“What do you mean stay here?! That’s my godfather and fiancé the Death Eaters have out there! I can’t just sit here like a little boy waiting for good news! I’m going to help!”

Lupin, not waiting for him to continue, began to talk. “You are not part of the search party; however, you will be a part of the rescue team. It will not take us long to find their whereabouts, however, the rescue may take a lot of time. A place is easy to locate, but not always as easy to obtain access to.”

A flash of red hit the table and made everybody jump. A phoenix feather was floating less than an inch from the table. Tied to it was a note. Lupin took it and read it over.

“They tracked the Death Eater and have a lead on where he is. Like I told you, it will not be long before we locate them. Go upstairs and get some rest. I’ll call you if we get any news.”

Lupin flicked his wand and a piece of parchment appeared. As he began scribbling a note down, Harry left the room. He, followed by Ron and Hermione, went upstairs into the room he had Ron had shared on a few occasions. Harry laid his head on the pillow of the bead and stared at the ceiling. He slowly began to cry.

He couldn’t contain himself. Within a minute of his first teardrop, Hermione was sitting next to him, holding him as he cried. He cried every emotion he had felt the past week. Anger, longing, love, happiness, anger again, and then, most powerfully, dread. He couldn’t stand to lose his godfather again. He had just found him. He had finally found him. Then there was Ginny. He couldn’t lose the love of his life, either. He had He had grown so much every passing year at Hogwarts and it was not until that moment, that he had realised how much he could love someone, but not that strong. That’s when it suddenly hit him.

“Nothing will happen to them,” he said in an almost inaudible whisper. “Voldemort isn’t after Ginny and Sirius, he’s after me. It’s a trap.”

Ron looked at his best friend with a look of terror in his eyes. He realised that of course, it was true. How did none of them realise it? “We need a plan,” Harry said, completely confident in what they had to do.

Harry had gathered together every member of the Order. They had been rounding up people over the past week, and now had nearly two hundred extra people on their side. Most of them were Aurors and Ministry Officials, but word had gotten out about the kidnapping and so, many ordinary citizens had also offered to help.

Harry had assigned certain people as captains. Each captain was in charge of relaying Harry’s message to their groups. The captains, along with the Order members, were now sitting in front of them.

“We need a disguise. I’m going to arrive at the scene alone,” he began to explain. “The Death Eaters are known to be residing in a forest near here, and they are keeping Sirius and Ginny in a clearing. They needed to be easy to find. At the first sign of a spell, the air raid will begin. Fly your brooms overhead and drop things, anything, including spells, on the Death Eaters. This way, they will be looking up and surprised when the other group charges out of the forest. If I send green sparks into the air, groups three and four join us, but if I send up red, stay out.” Harry was nearly smiling as he finished this explanation. He watched it play out in his head, and they won with ease.

Fifteen minutes later, everyone had left to explain the plan to the awaiting forces. Dumbledore approached Harry and put his hand on the young wizard’s shoulder. “The plan is great, but I need to make one adjustment. I want to enter the clearing with you. Don’t protest yet. There is a reason. The Death Eaters will be more inclined to believe you have no reinforcements if I enter with you. This way, the ambush will truly be a surprise. I’d also like you to make sure the forces are invisible when we arrive. They will have spies set, and if no help can be found, they will have nothing to report.”

Harry considered this for a moment before nodding. That was a brilliant idea. Dumbledore was right.

***************

Harry looked up at the brave, old wizard walking alongside him. Dumbledore had warned him that because his heart was involved in this, he’d be inclined to do something rash. Harry kept his focus.

Harry thought back to the forces awaiting his signal. It brought a smile to his face that was wiped away the minute they had reached a clearing. As soon as Dumbledore and Harry were out of the wooded area, they heard several rapid cracks; they didn’t even have to look around to realise that Death Eaters surrounded them. From the centre of a group in front of them, a voice emerged.

“I see you’re not alone Harry. Good choice in bringing Dumbledore.”

“Do you think I’d miss this event, Tom?” Dumbledore replied to Voldemort’s voice.

Before Voldemort could reply, Harry asked, “Where’s Ginny and Sirius? If you release them now, there will be no need to die.” Voldemort laughed. Harry’s plan worked.

The outermost ring of Death Eaters began to charge at the pair of wizards, yelling and firing hexes at them. And Harry was ready. The moment he detected the movement, he shot several green sparks into the air and so, the aerial attack began about just a second later, and was soon joined by the ground forces. While Harry was signalling for the reinforcements, Dumbledore covered Harry as well as himself. Then Harry charged at the Death Eaters, who had stopped in horror when they saw their opponent’s army, and fired hexes at them. They soon recovered and jinxes of all kinds were being thrown every way. People on Harry’s’ side were emerging out of the forest in herds. Within the minute, they were locked in a one-on-one combat.

Harry took out two Death Eaters at a time. As he was attacked, he caught quick glances around. They were winning. A spell grazed his left ear and he turned around quickly , muttering a hex. His spell hit the closest Death Eater in the chest, and the man fell backwards.

This warfare went on for ten minutes until Harry noticed Voldemort and Dumbledore dueling. This was the perfect moment. Harry ran.

The next minute happened in slow motion. Harry raised his wand from behind his enemy and shouted, “Avada Kedavra!” and was taken aback not a second later. Blinding red and white lights hit him from every angle, and he fell.

The Beginning of the End

The Death Eaters were gone. Dumbledore was crouched down next to Harry’s body. He felt his face and neck. “He’s alive, but won’t be for long. Get him to St. Mungo’s,” he yelled to a group of people running towards them. Dumbledore looked at the ground next to him.

Voldemort was dead. Dumbledore thought that he had escaped, but when the Death Eaters had all but disappeared, the body of their leader was seen motionless in the centre of the clearing. Dumbledore glanced around the clearing and at the dead bodies, many of which were hooded figures.

He looked at some of the people standing close to him. Ginny Weasley’s face was horror stricken and her eyes were a puffy red from crying. Ron Weasley was holding his sister and Hermione Granger, who was crying equally as hard. Arthur Weasley stared at the ground, expressionless, and Remus Lupin was kneeling over two bodies.

Sirius Black and Charlie Weasley were dead.


A week after the battle found the Order of the Phoenix and The Living Wizards completely dressed in black, standing over two graves. Hermione was crying on Ron’s shoulder, again. Harry was sitting in a wheelchair, Ginny’s hand on his shoulder. Silent tears were pouring down her face.

Charlie Weasley and Sirius Black had been buried a few moments earlier, and the funeral was just ending. Harry felt his chin quiver and noticed that a tears were freely falling down his face as well.

He felt weak again, and his neck was hurting from holding up his head. He rested his head onto Ginny’s chest behind him. It took all of his strength to keep his eyes open. Ginny stroked his hair, her tears drying. “I think it’s time we went back to St. Mungo’s.” She gave him a feeble smile.

Harry nodded. It was true. His Healers had been reluctant to let him leave, even for the two hours he needed for the funeral. But after he had reminded them that he was Harry Potter, the man who destroyed Voldemort, and this was his godfather’s funeral, they had agreed to let him go, as long as he would be surrounded by people the whole time.

When they arrived back at St. Mungo’s, Harry began going into some kind of convulsion. Healers were rushed to his room, and everyone was shooed out. Ginny was crying again, and the people int the room were trying to calm her.

Everyone but Ginny left St. Mungo’s three hours later. She stayed in the hallway thinking about the losses of the past week. She didn’t think she could bare it if she lost Harry as well, just after they had been engaged. Destined to live together for the rest of their life.

Tears silently poured down her face. After what felt like an eternity, the Healer told her she could come back in. She sat at Harry’s bedside all night.

When Harry was still in a coma-like state the next morning, she decided to go home and rest.

************************
Harry looked around the back yard of the Burrow. It looked beautiful. Chairs, flowers, a white linen pathway, and a white arch sat out. He looked to his left at the four empty chairs. Each chair had a banner draped over the back reading ‘In Memory Of’ and under each banner was a name. The chair next to him read the name ‘James Potter’, and next to it read ‘Lily Potter’. The third chair down read ‘Sirius Black’ and the final chair read ‘Charlie Weasley’. Harry smiled at Ginny’s idea of memory chairs.

The sound of music playing brought Harry back to reality. Ron grabbed his hand and helped him up. With one arm around his friend and the other holding a cane, he limped his way up under the arch.

St. Mungo’s had informed them that Harry had been hit by no less than fifteen stunning spells and more than twelve Cruciatus Curses. They held Harry at St. Mungo’s for over eight months. He hadn’t woken up for three weeks after his attack of convulsions after the funeral. He couldn’t remain awake for time spans longer than two hours until two weeks before he was released. He knew he wouldn’t walk normally for a long time, but he was on the path to recovery.

Harry leaned heavily on Ron until a different tune began to play. The entire crowd rose as Ginny and Hermione were escorted down the aisle by their fathers. When they reached the men, Hermione’s father kissed her forehead and Ron took her hand. Mr. Weasley was kissed on the cheek by his daughter, and with a wink in Harry’s direction, he joined the groomsmen line.

Ginny relieved her brother of Harry’s weight and supported him throughout the ceremony. Harry was amazed that she could hold him up that long, but she never faltered. He smiled down at his bride-to-be and kissed her on the forehead.

“I do.” Harry answered the final question. Harry kissed Ginny and Ron kissed Hermione. “May I present to you for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Weasley.” Everybody cheered as Ron and Hermione walked arm in arm down the aisle. “And, may I also present for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Harry Potter.” An equal amount of cheering started up as they began to move.

After two or three steps, Harry stumbled. Ten hands steadied him. He looked around. To his left, the nearly solid figure of his father stood with his arm around his son’s shoulders. Next to his father stood his mother, who held onto his hand. In front of his stood his godfather looking proud, and behind Ginny and Harry, stood Charlie.

Harry was taken aback for a moment, but relaxed and smiled. Tears welled up in his eyes as Ginny whispered, “I guess they wouldn’t want to miss this.” Harry looked at his wife who had her arm around his waist.

Harry stood up straighter and, with the help of the five people surrounding him, walked forward, prepared for everything he had to endure.