Harry’s head hurt as he sat up in his bed at the Dursley’s. He had not slept well in weeks. There had been too much to think about and there was too much going on.
The floor in Harry’s room was so completely covered with papers that the hardwood floor was no longer visible. Written on every paper on the floor was detailed plans and things that needed to be done in order to defeat Voldemort. Harry had also managed to scribble down some thoughts and ideas that he thought needed to be heard.
Looking at the alarm clock positioned on the nightstand next to his bed, Harry realized that it was way too early for him to be getting up”3:21.
As Harry glanced at his alarm clock, the picture on his nightstand caught his eye. In the picture Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were all waving and blowing kisses at Harry. They had sent it to him 4 days after they all got home from Hogwarts.
Harry still could not believe that Dumbledore was dead. Every time the thought came to his mind, Harry always tried to think of something else. But then his mind would normally shift to Ginny and he’d rather think about Dumbledore than ponder his feelings on Ginny again. Why does everything have to be so complicated? Harry thought as he tried hard to fall back asleep.
After a good 20 minutes Harry drifted back into a deep sleep where he dreamt that he found the four other horcruxes. Harry awoke at 8:00 that morning to reality”the Dursley’s screaming for him.
“HARRY GET DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW. THERE IS ANOTHER OWL IN THE KITCHEN!” Uncle Vernon yelled from the kitchen as he pounded a broomstick into the ceiling which was the floor of Harry’s room.
Harry let out a large yawn as he managed to get himself out of bed and grab a bathrobe. He wondered who the owl was from, although he hoped it was Ron, Hermione or someone from the Order.
Harry walked into the kitchen to find a purple-faced Vernon and a frightened Petunia. Both gave Harry looks of disgust as he walked over to the owl he immediately recognized and untied the letter attached to his foot. The owl took off as soon as Harry had taken the letter.
Harry did his best not to acknowledge the presence of his aunt and uncle as he unrolled the letter and began to read.
Dear Harry,
I hope that everything is going well with your
aunt and uncle. Well mum made me write a letter
to you to make sure that you are doing okay,
although I already know how you are. Hermione
and Ginny both say hello also. It has been absolute
madness here the last week or so with all the
preparations for Bill and Fleur’s wedding taking
place. We are all really excited to see you. Only
4 more days until Fred and George will pick you
up! So just respond with a quick hello so that I
can show mum you’re still alive.
Best Wishes,
Ron
Harry rolled the letter back up as the smile on his face began to fade. He turned to leave the kitchen but before he took another step Uncle Vernon stopped him.
“When will you be leaving?” He asked as if it couldn’t be soon enough.
“Four days,” Harry replied and turned to leave again.
“Wait”Harry?” Aunt Petunia said. Harry turned, stunned that she had spoken so politely to him. Apparently Uncle Vernon was too.
“Yeah?”
“Didn’t”didn’t Dumble”Dumbledore say you had to stay here until your birthday?” She asked as she looked at the floor. Uncle Vernon was now giving her a look of disgust.
“Well, that was before he died. And I’m gonna be at the Weasley’s. I’ll be safe there,” Harry was surprised that she actually cared.
“He died?” She asked. Her voice sounded a little shaky.
“Yeah, he did. And I was lucky enough to witness it,” Harry said in a sarcastic yet monotone voice as he left the room. There was no way he was going to sit there and talk about Dumbledore’s death with Aunt Petunia. Why did she care anyways?
When Harry was finally safely back in his room, he sat down and wrote a letter back to Ron. It was short”only a few sentences that said he was happy to see them and that he was doing fine.
**************************
The next few days went by slowly as Harry put all his effort into listing every possible thing that could be a horcrux. His list was so long and explicit that Harry wished he could give up right then and there. But he knew he couldn’t.
It finally came the day that Fred and George would be stopping by to pick Harry up. They had told him that they would be arriving at around 1:00 in the afternoon, so at about 12 Harry began to gather all his things together. There was no time to organize all the papers on the floor, so he simply put them all in a large pile and placed them near the top of his trunk.
At 1:03 to be exact, Harry heard a knock on the front door. He raced down the steps so that he could beat one of the Dursley’s there, threw open the door, and hugged the two Weasley’s standing before him.
“Hiya, Harry! How are you doing?” Fred asked.
“Okay,” Harry replied. “Let me go grab my trunk.”
Harry ran up to his room and began to drag the trunk into the hallway. George was there and he took the trunk with a quick sweep of his wand and brought it down the stairs. Harry walked back into his room again and grabbed Hedwig in her cage. As he turned to leave, he realized that this was probably the last time he’d ever be in this room. He nodded to it, as if saying thank you, and closed the door behind him.
Harry marched down the stairs and placed Hedwig on top of his trunk. He turned to see if Petunia or Vernon were around so that he could at least tell them he was leaving for good. Harry noticed Petunia standing in the kitchen washing dishes. He walked into the room and looked at her for a minute before he said anything. She looked back.
“I, um, just wanted to let you know I was leaving,” Harry said as he turned around. He noticed Vernon looking at him as if he had just won the lottery.
Aunt Petunia stopped Harry before he could take a step further. “Now, you take care of yourself. I know my sister would be so proud of you.”
Harry left the room quickly”as he was puzzled over Petunia’s odd behavior over the course of the last few days. She had been treating him as if he was her own.
When Harry was safely out the door and walking towards the car that Fred and George had, he turned around and took one last glance at the house. “Goodbye, Privet Drive.”
He could not have sounded any happier.
*************************************
When Harry arrived at the Burrow, Fred and George took Harry’s things immediately into the house. When Harry walked into the house, it was like walking into a madhouse. Papers, bowls, plates, and food was scattered everywhere on the first floor. It was like Fleur had turned the Burrow into her wedding office. Harry looked around for the sign of people but found none.
“Ron, Hermione, and Ginny are outside near the woods doing whatever,” Fred told Harry as if he could read his mind. “Mum and Dad are upstairs talking about Fleur…they probably got into some argument again,” Fred rolled his eyes.
Harry’s heart at skipped a beat when Fred had said Ginny’s name. For the entire week Harry had been dreading the fact that coming to the Burrow meant that he would be seeing Ginny. He didn’t know what to do about her.
It wasn’t that Harry didn’t like her or care about her”because he did”it was just that he did not want to see her getting hurt in the war. Suddenly, Harry began to worry. What was he going to do when he saw her? What was he going to say? And it was as if fate had a way of stepping in”because at that exact moment”Ginny walked through the door.
Harry froze.
Ginny froze.
They both looked at each other for a minute before Ginny said, “Hi, Harry.”
Harry ruffled his hair awkwardly as he said, “Hi,” in return.
Seconds later, Ron and Hermione walked into the house. Hermione ran over and gave Harry a hug, and Ron said hello a few minutes later.
Hermione sensed the silence between Harry and Ginny and quickly thought of a way to get Harry out of the sticky situation. “Harry, can I talk to you alone for a sec?” Hermione asked.
Harry nodded and walked out the front door. Hermione followed a few seconds later.
“Yeah?” Harry asked as he began to walk into the open field next to the house.
“Harry, what’s the whole deal with Ginny? I mean, like, I understand what you said to her”but do you still have feelings for her?”
Harry didn’t say anything. He had been afraid of this.
“I don’t mean to make you feel bad or anything, it’s just that she has been rather upset. She just cares about you so much”I don’t know if you really realize how much she loves you. She wants to help as much as possible”and you are now not even including her in your life.”
Harry looked up at Hermione and anger took over him, “Don’t say that to me. Don’t say I’m not including her. Hermione, you have no idea how hard this is for me. I care about her just as much as she cares about me. But we can’t be together. Voldemort will go after her if we are together. If I had to go to her funeral, I would”I would die. If I was able to control everything that was going on, then we would be together. But life isn’t like that for me, I can’t put her in danger just to make me happy,” Harry finished and looked at her. Harry couldn’t remember the last time he had spoken so sternly to Hermione.
“You wouldn’t just be making yourself, Harry. You would not be being selfish”she would do anything to be with you. She knows what being with you means. She’s not stupid, Harry.”
“Hermione, I know you’re really trying to help right now, but you are just making things more complicated. If this is how Ginny feels, then she can talk to me herself,” The instant Harry had said this he regretted it. Now he was going to have to talk to her one-on-one.
“Okay, fine. She’ll be talking to you. Trust me.”
And with that, Hermione turned and walked back into the house. Harry sat down on the ground underneath a tree. He had come to the Burrow for Bill and Fleur’s wedding”for something happy. And now, it was just turning into another stressful event.
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