Finally Home by Weasley Mom
A/N: All of the characters contained herein are the property of Ms. Rowling.
Harry nervously paced the floor of the Gryffindor locker room, rubbing his scar. Today marked his first match as quidditch captain, and he was, quite honestly, a wreck. He’d spent hours going through strategy with Ron the night before, not going to bed until well after midnight. He hadn’t fallen asleep until a long while later, and even then, it was deeply troubled. He’d had nightmares which had blended the upcoming match with scenes from the battle in Diagon Alley, resulting in horrifying visions of himself incinerating Slytherin’s seeker for getting too close to the snitch. He’d finally risen just before dawn, coming down to the quidditch pitch.
“Harry! There you are. We’ve been looking all over for you. You alright?” Ron said from the doorway. Harry looked up, startled.
“Obviously he’s not, Ronald. Harry, you look horrible, and you missed breakfast,” Hermione, who was standing just behind Ron, said as she handed him several pieces of toast wrapped in a napkin.
“Thanks,” Harry said as he began to eat. Hermione shook her head.
“Do you remember your first quidditch match?” Hermione asked him. Harry and Ron both grinned happily at the memory.
“Yeah,” Harry said. “We flattened Slytherin. Wood was even more excited then I was, I think.”
“And Malfoy was so angry. One of my favorite moments,” Ron chortled gleefully.
“Exactly. You were just as nervous then as you are now,” Hermione said. Harry snorted.
“Thanks for that, Hermione. I really needed to be told that I’m a wreck,” he said. She rolled her eyes, and muttered something about thick-headed males, before continuing.
“My point is, Harry, that you have nothing to worry about. You’ll do fine, just like you did then,” she stated simply.
“Hermione is right, mate. We’re going to kick some snakey arse today. Our team is the best its been since third year,” Ron said, putting a supportive arm around his friend. Harry smiled then, a true, genuine smile.
“Thank you, guys,” he told them, meaning it this time. He felt the tension begin to ease somewhat, and he and Ron started to go over strategy once more. The rest of the team started to filter in then, so Hermione hugged Harry and kissed Ron, before departing to find a spot in the stands. Harry waited for everyone to get changed and settled, then took a deep breath to give the traditional pre-game speech.
“All right team, we’ve got a tough match ahead of us. Slytherin has us in both size and experience,” he said.
“They play very dirty, too,” Ron added unnecessarily. Harry nodded.
“Yes, they do. We play smarter, however. We’re also alot faster and much better fliers. Our strategy is to use that against them today. Kirke and Sloper, your job for this match is solely to keep the bludgers off of Ginny, Natalie, and Colin. Don’t worry about stopping Slytherin from scoring. Their chasers haven’t got anything that Ron can’t handle. They won’t get by him. Chasers, the most important thing for you to remember today is to keep the quaffle moving. Don’t give them the opportunity to zero in on it or you. Not one of their players will hesitate to smash you if you hold still long enough for them to do it. This team is beatable, as long as we use our heads, we’ll win. I know you guys can do it,” he said, eyeing the solemn faces before him. “Let’s go out there and show Slytherin who is going to win the House Cup again this year!”
Harry breathed a sigh of relief as the team rose and headed through the tunnel towards the pitch. As speeches go, he felt he could have done much worse. It was maybe not as inspiring as he would’ve liked, but at least he had been coherent. Taking a deep breath, he squared his shoulders and switched his thoughts from the speech to the match.
“Everyone ready?” he asked. At the team’s determined nods, Harry led the way into the stadium. The roar of the crowd rose up as soon as they stepped into the sunlight.
“And here comes Gryffindor! Potter, Weasley, Weasley, Creevey, McDonald, Kirke, and Sloper,” said the voice of Seamus Finnegan, who had taken the job of announcing the matches, as Lee Jordan had graduated. “The team is led this year by Captain Harry Potter, who is returning from a completely unwarranted ban last season. Potter is a superb seeker, and was the youngest player to make a house team in nearly a century. Ron Weasley, Kirke, and Sloper are returning from last year as keeper and beaters, respectively. McDonald and Creevey are new additions to the team this year at chaser, while Ginny Weasley is moving over from the seeker spot, which she filled last year during Potter’s ban.”
The roar of the crowd turned to jeers from three-fourths of the stadium, as Slytherin made their entrance.
“And now, Slytherin. Montague, Warrington, Crabbe, Goyle, Bletchley, Pucey, and Parkinson. All of the Slytherin team from last year has returned, with the exception of their seeker Draco Malfoy, who is currently spending time in Ministry custody. Malfoy has been replaced with Marcus Parkinson, a rather unusual choice for seeker, who as they are traditionally small,” Seamus’ voice said over the loud speakers.
The two teams met in the middle of the pitch. Montague, the massive ape-like captain of the Slytherin team, glared at Harry, trying to intimidate him. Harry, having learned how to deal with brutes like him at a very young age, merely smirked at him.
“Captains, shake hands,” ordered Madame Hooch. Montague’s hand engulfed Harry’s, squeezing his fingers in a vice-like grip. Harry never allowed his gaze to falter, raising his eyebrow mockingly, in a very Sirius-like fashion, as the handshake’s pressure increased.
“Mount your brooms,” Madame Hooch said, placing her whistle in her mouth and blowing. The teams did as told, the balls were released, and all fourteen players shot into the air. Ron and Bletchley streaked off towards the goals, while Harry rose up, over the action and began to circle the pitch, scanning for the snitch.
“And Ginny Weasley has the quaffle, and she’s passed it to Creevey who ducks under Goyle and passes it to McDonald. McDonald streaks up the pitch, dodgeing a bludger from Goyle. That was a close one! McDonald passes it to Weasley. Weasley shoots, Slytherin’s keeper dives for it and... Gryffindor scores!!! Ten- Nil Gryffindor!” Seamus shouted.
“Slytherin now in possession. Pucey heads up the pitch and tosses it off to Warrington. Oh! Warrington hit by a bludger from Kirke, but he manages to hang on to the quaffle. Warrington passes it to Montague. Montague goes in for the score, and it’s blocked! Nice save by Weasley!” Seamus said over the score of the crowd, which had struck up the familiar chorus of Weasley is Our King upon Ron’s save.
Harry slowly circled the pitch, his eyes intent upon his search. Below him he saw Ginny racing up the field to score. Marcus Parkinson had apparently seen it too, as he abandoned his own search for the snitch to try and block her. Ginny merely feinted under him, before zooming up and over at the last second, scoring easily. It was then that Harry caught a faint glimmer of gold near the Gryffindor stands.
He sent his firebolt into a steep dive, racing for the snitch before Parkinson realized what his inattention had cost him. Ducking a bludger sent his way by Crabbe, Harry reached out to close his hand around the snitch right in front of a wildly cheering Remus, Tonks, Hagrid, and Hermione.
“And Potter catches the snitch! Gryffindor wins 170 - 0!!!” Seamus cheered.
“Way to go, Harry!!!” he heard Remus shout, as Tonks jumped up and down enthusiastically next to him.
“I told you that you’d win!” Hermione was screaming as she hugged Hagrid.
Harry was tackled in mid-air by his overjoyed team. They landed in a big huddle and were soon mobbed, as the stands emptied.
“Party in the Gryffindor common room!” Ron announced, as they were carried out of the stadium.
Several hours later, the party was still in full swing. Harry sat with his eyes closed in one of the armchairs near the fire. Ginny was snuggled comfortably in his lap. She was gently running her fingers through his hair, making him feel more relaxed than he had in a very long time.
“Harry?” she whispered, her voice slightly husky.
“Hmmmm?” he said, cracking open one eye.
“Do you think that they’d notice if we left?” she whispered, her breath gently tickling his ear.
“Left?” he murmured drowsily. “Where do you want to go?”
Ginny smiled mischieviously, and began to nibble on his ear. Harry came instantly awake. His eyes darted over to the corner where he had last seen Ron and Hermione. He was quite happy to notice that Hermione had Ron very thoroughly distracted.
“Ummm...yeah... I think we’re good,” he said. Ginny giggled, standing up, and pulled Harry along with her. They were most of the way to the protrait hole, when a familiar owl zoomed in through one of the Tower’s windows, coming to hover in front of Ginny.
“Hermes?” Ginny said, reaching out to remove the note attached to the owl’s leg. She opened it, quickly scanning it. She gasped, and Harry saw the color drain from her face.
“Ginny? What is it? It’s not your Mum is it?” he asked. Wordlessly, she handed him the note, her hands shaking. He read the message then wrapped her in a hug, gently rubbing her back.
“It’ll be ok, love,” he said softly. Ron and Hermione, having noticed, despite their distraction with each other, that something was amiss, came over with worried looks on their faces.
“Ginny, what’s wrong?” Ron asked. She mutely shook her head. Ron turned to Harry, a questioning look on his face. Harry could tell he was trying not to jump to conclusions.
“She just got a note from Percy. They’ve set Malfoy’s trial for next week. Ginny and I have to be there,” he said grimly. He felt Ginny begin to tremble in his arms, and he held her tighter.
“I’m sorry. I-I th-thought I was past this. The nightmares... they had stopped finally, but now I have to g-g-go tell people about it,” she murmured through chattering teeth. Her shivers were becoming more noticeable now, and the lightning bolt scar, that Malfoy had carved on her forehead, was angry and red.
“Come on, sis. Let’s get you to Madame Pomfrey,” Ron said gently to her. Hermione nodded her agreement.
“I’m sure she can get you a calming draught or something,” Hermione said. Ginny shook her head.
“N-n-n-n-o, I don’t want to be there,” she said, trying to speak through her chills.
“Then at least let’s get you up to bed,” Hermione said, her face full of concern and compassion for what her friend was going through. Ginny, however, shook her head once more, and looked up at Harry with pleading eyes.
“ Stay with me, please. I don’t want to be alone, and I couldn’t sleep,” she said, her voice barely more than a whisper.
Harry couldn’t have denied her, even if he’d wanted to. He looked around the room, noticing all the stares and whispers they had attracted. His green eyes hardened and all of his protective instincts kicked in. Looking over Ginny’s head at Ron, he saw that he was not the only one who had noticed, and disliked, all the attention that they were attracting.
“Of course I’ll stay with you, love,” Harry said gently. “but not here. Ron, could you get my cloak and the map? I’m going to take her to Moony’s. We’ll be safe there and it’s private.”
“We’re coming with you,” Ron said immediately.
“No, you’re not. I know she is your sister and you’re worried, but someone has to cover for us, mate,” Harry said.
“But...” Ron began to protest angrily, Hermione’s hand on his arm forestalled him, however.
“He’s right, Ron. Go get the cloak, quickly. I think Parvati and Lavender are working their nerve up to come over and be nosey,” she said. Ron nodded, bounding up the stairs, returning a minute later with the invisibility cloak and Marauder's map in hand.
“You had better take care of her, Harry. If anything happens to her...” Ron said,handing him his things. Harry knew he meant more than just tonight.
“I promise, Ron,” he said, gently leading her out of the portrait hole, before covering them both with the cloak. They made their way switftly and silently to the whomping willow. Harry poked the knot, which stilled the tree’s branches, with a long stick.
He led Ginny into the hidden passage, igniting his wand and holding it aloft to light their way. Thoughts of Sirius flooded his mind as they traversed the tunnel. He ruthlessly tamped them down, however. The pale and trembling girl beside him was his concern tonight.
They reached the entrance to the Shrieking Shack, and he carefully moved the wooden panel aside. Picking Ginny up, he gently carried her into the room. He reflected, as he had the last time he had been there, when Remus had taught him how to fly the motorcycle, how many changes had been made. The broken furniture, tattered hangings, cobwebs and dust were gone, replaced with warm, cheerful curtains, plump, oversized couches and chairs, and vases of fragrant wildflowers.
“Moony?” Harry called tentatively into the dark and silent house. He heard a thump overhead, followed by the sound of walking feet, before seeing a shirtless, barefoot, and thoroughly rumpled looking Remus descend the stairs, followed by a very sleepy looking Tonks.
“Harry? What are you doing here? And Ginny... Harry, what is going on?” his guardian asked.
“I’m sorry to bother you, but I had to get Ginny out of there to someplace safe, and I didn’t know where else to go, and I thought, well, maybe... could we stay here tonight Moony?” Harry said, knowing he was rambling and not making much sense.
“Slow down, Harry. Why did you have to get her out of there? What has happened?” Remus said calmly, considering he’d been woken up in the middle of the night by his ward and had no idea why. Harry quickly explained about the letter from Percy and Ginny’s resultant panic.
“I had to get her out of there, Moony,” he repeated. “It’s where the attack happened, and she couldn’t feel safe there. Then everyone started staring at her, and I had to protect her. I love her, Remus,” he said softly, his green eyes pleading, as Ginny’s had been earlier.
Remus and Tonks exchanged a look, and Tonks nodded.
“Lay her down on the couch, Harry,” Tonks said. Once she was settled, Tonks kneeled down in front of the silent girl. “You just sit here, Ginny. Nothing is going to happen tonight. I’ll make us all some chocolate. Remus, you’d better let Dumbledore know where they are. Knowing him, it’s probably not necessary, but just in case.”
Remus nodded his agreement, and he and Tonks left the room. Harry sat down next to Ginny, wrapping his arms around her once more. She hadn’t spoken since they’d left the common room, and Harry was becoming very worried. Remus and Tonks returned a short time later. Tonks pressed a steaming mug of chocolate into Ginny’s hand, while Remus covered both of the teens up with a thick, though faded and worn, quilt.
“Drink up, Ginny. Remus insists that chocolate is a cure for pretty much everything. We always have some handy,” Tonks said, in her usual cheerful manner, although her eyes showed her concern. Ginny mechanically obeyed. Remus and Tonks sat down in the nearby chairs, talking to Harry about the quidditch match earlier in the day. Harry felt Ginny’s tremors cease, and she even interjected a few comments, before her eyelids began to droop and she drifted off to sleep. Tonks sighed.
“That poor kid. Percy should be smacked, telling her in a letter like that,” she growled.
“I’m not sure there would be a good way for her to hear that she has to relive that attack, love,” Remus said in his hoarse voice.
“Still,” she said, shaking her head. “I’m just glad we had that calming draught and dreamless sleep potion on hand. You should’ve taken her to Madame Pomfrey, Harry.” Harry hung his head.
“I know. I’m sorry to drag you guys into this, but she didn’t want to go to Madame Pomfrey, and I just couldn’t tell her no, Tonks, not then. Thank you both, for, you know, being here for me... for us,” he said quietly. He felt Remus put a gentle hand on his shoulder.
“Harry, when will you learn? We will always be here for you, as long as you need us. We love you,” he said simply. Harry smiled shyly.
“I love you guys, too,” Harry replied so softly that it was almost inaudible. Remus beamed at him, a smile of pure joy at how far Harry had come. A year ago, even a few months ago, Remus would never have expected those words from the young man. He sometimes felt that dealing with Harry’s emotions was like dealing with a wounded animal. Harry did not trust easily nor lightly, and he would rather push people away then acknowledge that he needed them. Tonks stood up, grinning and ruffling Harry’s hair before bending and placing a kiss on his forehead.
“ Glad we could help. Now, you need to get some sleep too. We’ll be upstairs if you need anything,” she said.
“She’s right. You get some rest, and try not to worry. I’m sure Ginny will feel better in the morning,” Remus said, standing and following Tonks up the stairs.
Harry lay his head against the back of the couch, silently watching Ginny sleep and feeling like he knew, for the first time that he could really remember, what it was like to have parents. With that thought in his head, he fell asleep, a contented smile upon his face despite his concern for Ginny.
A/N: Poor Ginny, she’s had an awful year, and I just felt like she was dealing with it entirely too well. It was about time she broke down a little. Anyway...
Thanks go out as always to Danielle for moderating, my son for beta-ing, and all of you guys for reading and reviewing. As soon as all of these evil log-in problems are resolved,
I will do my best to respond.
Next chapter... Malfoy’s trial.