The Price of Peace

Chapter VI

Seamus and Dean walked Harry back to their room in Gryffindor Tower, just as Lavender and Parvati walked Hermione back to theirs. Harry changed into his pajamas and robe, and sat on his bed. He seemed unable to do anything more than that on his own.

"Harry," Dean said, sitting down next to him, "it's not going to do anyone any good if you just sit here and stare at Ron's bed."

Seamus had gone out while Harry changed. He now walked back in carrying three mugs. He held one out to Harry. "Drink some soup, Harry. The next few days are going to be difficult to get through, and you'll need your strength."

Harry took one mug of cream of chicken soup, and drank a little of it, and then drank half of it off, more because he was so thirsty rather than from hunger. Dean took another mug. "Thanks, guys," Harry said. He finished drinking the soup and sat the mug on the nightstand between his and Ron's bed. "I never thought Ron would, well, you know, be the one. I always thought that if anyone one of us was . . . killed, it would be me."

Dean put his free hand on Harry's shoulder. "Harry, are you a better man than me?"

"What?" Harry asked, startled. "No!"

"Are you a better man than Seamus, or Neville, or Ron?"

"No, of course I'm not!" Harry gave his room mates a sad twisted smile. "If anyone knows I'm nothing special, it should be you two."

"Harry, mate," Seamus asked, "tell me in all honesty. Would you risk your life to save me?"

Harry looked up, startled.

"You know you would," Dean said. "You'd risk your life for any one at Hogwarts, right down to the house elves, including Snape."

"Probably not Malfoy, though," Seamus added.

"Malfoy knew," Harry stated.

"Knew what?" Seamus asked.

"He and the remnant of the pro-Death Eaters were all missing from the train," Harry told them. "Ron and Blaise both noticed it. That's why we decided to go on alert. Draco must have known something was going to happen, even if he didn't know exactly what."

"I'll kill the bloody little shite!" Seamus pledged.

"No, you won't," Harry told him. "I don't want to kill the little ferret, either. But try and help to keep him away from Hermione and me. If he mouths off, I might just kill him."

Seamus patted Harry's shoulder. Dean, however, went back to the point he and Seamus had been trying to make. "Harry, you're right, for now we'll forget the little ferret. The point is, you would have tried saving Ron if you'd been standing behind him. Ron did what you would have done, what Neville would have done, what I hope Seamus or I would have done, for each other or for anyone else. He did what he felt he had to do, and he just miscalculated how to do it to save you both. He didn't mean to sacrifice himself, he just thought it was worth the risk to save you as well as himself. There's no reason for you to feel guilty."

"Be as angry at the bitch that led the attack as you want," Seamus agreed, "grieve as much as you want, but don't feel guilty."

"You look hungry and thirsty," Dean said. "Take our soup, drink what you can. Seamus and I will try to make sure the little ones are getting ready for bed."

"Write Luna a note and lay down after you drink the soup," Seamus added.

"Thanks, guys," Harry said, with great sincerity. He decided he really was hungry and thirsty after all, and so did what they told him to do. He fell asleep less than fifteen minutes later, a loving message from Luna giving him a little comfort.

Since Harry had fallen asleep a little after 9:00, he was not very surprised to find himself wide awake at 4:30 am. Harry did not want to stay in the dorm room, looking at Ron's bed. He got up and got dressed, being careful not to wake Dean or Seamus.

Harry considered taking the cloak and map, but he knew there was only one place he would end up, and he was not ready to face the hall where Ron was. After a visit to the toilet, he went down to the common room, where he might be able to brood in peace until 6:30 or so.

A wave of his wand set the dead fire going. Harry went to sit down in one of the chairs, but saw Hermione lying on the sofa nearest the fireplace, looking back at him.

"Couldn't sleep either?" Hermione asked. She sat up and patted the sofa next to her. Harry had never seen her hair this frizzy or wild, which was saying something.

"Actually, I fell asleep a little after Nine," Harry admitted as he sat next to her. "Maybe Seamus drugged the cream of chicken soup."

"Duggins' Sleeping Draught For Children was designed to go into creamy dishes," Hermione reminded Harry. "It's pretty mild, so you wouldn't sleep too long or feel bad when you woke up, no matter how much you consumed. He might have slipped some in at that." (Actually, Luna had asked Dobby to provide the potion and the soup; Seamus then added it at Dobby's request.)

"Have you been awake all night?" Harry asked.

Hermione nodded. "I think so. I might have cat-napped a few minutes here and there, but I don't think so." She sighed. "I just can't believe Ron is gone."

"I know. You'd think there'd be some sort of acceptable magic that could bring him back. I mean," Harry added quickly, to make certain Hermione did not start listing all the reasons why black magic should not be used to restore life, "Ron just died! It wasn't like he was sick, or was beheaded, or anything . . . physical. Magic whisked his life away, and there should be some way of putting it back, without his being some zombie or worse."

"There should be," Hermione agreed, "but there isn't." Her eyes fell away from Harry. "I was always afraid he'd get killed like this."

"Saving me, you mean?" Harry asked grimly.

"No, Harry," Hermione assured him, and her red-rimmed eyes seemed to plead that he understand. "I know in those situations you can't stop and think, but Ron, well, you know how I feel, err, felt about him."

"I know you're not bad-mouthing Ron," Harry assured her. If anyone other than Hermione, Ginny, or Luna dared question Ron's perfection at the moment, Harry might hex them, but Harry knew those three could not be malicious towards Ron, especially under the circumstances.

"Ron sometimes acted not only before he could think things through, but even before his instincts could do anything except react," Hermione said sadly. "He wanted to save you, but from what people where saying, if he'd just dropped to the ground and dragged you with him, it would have saved both of you."

"You're right," Harry said. "I don't even know for sure that either hex would have hit me if Ron hadn't moved. The one he was making me dodge might have hit either one or both of us, or might have missed." Harry looked to the fire. "That doesn't make me feel any better, though."

"I know." Hermione put her hand on Harry's shoulder. "I'm sorry you had to kill Rodolphus Lestrange."

"Rastaban, I think, not that it makes any difference. And I guess I am, too," Harry said. He put his arm around his surviving best friend's shoulders, and hugged her. Hermione laid her head on his shoulder, and sighed deeply.

"Lay down," Harry said. "Rest at least." He summonsed a pouf so he could put his feet up.

Hermione did just that, placing her head on his lap and staring at the ceiling. "You know I don't blame you in any way, I hope," Hermione said.

"Thanks," Harry replied. "I hope Mrs. Weasley and Ginny feel the same."

"They will," Hermione assured him. "Ginny didn't come back, by the way. She's still with Neville."

"That should be good for both of them," Harry said.

Hermione gave a wan smile. "That sounds more like Luna than you."

"It was," Harry admitted.

"I didn't like her very much," Hermione told him, yawning. "Not until last September. I've really come to appreciate her, especially these last two months or so. She's sweet, if a little weird."

"What made you change your mind?"

"She's very good for you, and very good to you," Hermione said simply. "You matter a lot to me, Harry."

"You matter a lot to me, too," Harry said. "I guess that's why Rita Skeeter printed those things about us."

"I guess." Hermione paused. "I did fancy you a little, you know, right at the start of our Fourth year," Hermione confessed.

"Really?" Harry looked at her a little sheepishly. "I always thought you were attractive, even before you changed your teeth. Why didn't we do anything about it, I wonder?"

"Inexperience, I guess. You've been as much the brother I never had as my best friend, you know." Hermione's voice was fading. "I love you, Harry."

"I know, and I love you, too." He thought a moment. "Ron was the first friend I ever really had, but I've always needed, well, need, you, too."

"Is there anything you regret not having done, or said, to Ron?" Hermione asked softly, after a few moments of silence.

"No, not really," Harry answered. "I mean, I was looking forward to making a speech at your wedding," he teased.

Hermione smiled wistfully. "I wish we had made love," she said very quietly. "We slept together at your place, but we didn't, well, we just didn't."

"The same for me and Luna," Harry acknowledged. "Even if we both think we're right for each other, we just weren't ready to go quite that far."

Hermione shuddered, seeming to wake up completely again.

"What?" Harry asked.

"Do you know what my Mum's family business is?"

Harry thought a moment. "I don't think you ever said, why?"

"Well, one of my cousins calls himself a 'funeral furnisher' now," she said, "but they've been funeral directors for like seven generations."

"Undertakers?" Harry asked.

She nodded. "They've been 'Middlesex Funerals' since two brothers got back from serving at Waterloo. I know a fair amount about what they do to Muggles when they prepare them for a funeral. None of it is anything but ugly." She paused, and her voice became very small, and sounded very young. "I wonder what they're doing to Ron and Jaime and the others."

Harry remembered reading an article in one of Dudley's many discarded (never opened for that matter) books. He knew how right Hermione was. "I'm sure it's nowhere near as bad."

Hermione was silent, and Harry saw she was asleep at last.

Harry sat quietly, just thinking, until a few minutes after 6:00. The first student down to join them was Parvati.

"I wondered where she'd gotten herself to," Parvati said quietly. "Did you sleep at all?"

"I slept from just after Nine to around Five. I came down, and she was awake. She fell asleep about an hour ago."

"I'll be right back!" Parvati ran lightly up the stairs, and came back a minute later. "Just wanted to let Lav know. We were worried when we woke up and she wasn't with us." She knelt next to Harry. "I promise you, Harry, we'll watch out for her."

"Thanks, Parvati," Harry said. He sighed and laid his head back on the sofa. "This is going to be the hardest few days of my life. Even worse than last June."

"You're not totally alone, Harry. We'll make certain we all get through this." She paused, then said, "And thanks, Harry."

"For what?" Harry was puzzled.

"If you hadn't been there, we would have been over-whelmed by the dementors on our side. That was very clear, there were too many, and we were too weak. If Doctor Potter hadn't been there, the other side would have been, too. Five nice people were killed yesterday, but without you and your cousin, we'd all be dead, living corpses, or tortured hostages." She stood. "Thank you for saving us, Harry. Never think you've failed. We didn't do as well as we wish we had, by any means, but we all would have been a lot worse off without you."

Harry managed a slight smile. "Thanks."

Hermione opened her eyes. "Harry? Parvati? I fell asleep?"

"It's only about a quarter past Six," Harry told her. "You should sleep some more."

"No," Hermione said. She sat up. "No, I'll have a quick brush-up and be back in fifteen minutes." She went up the stairs.

"She can't go on like this forever," Parvati said, worried.

"I know. We'll have to catch her when she collapses."

"We will, Harry. I promise we won't let you down."

Colin Creevy came down the stairs. "Harry!" He stopped and blushed. "Ah, hi!"

Harry and Parvati avoided rolling their eyes. "Colin, can you and Dennis do me a favor?" Harry asked. He'd done a lot of thinking in the past hour, and had come up with some ideas.

Colin straightened up to 'attention,' and Parvati stifled a giggle. "Anything," he said seriously.

"There are a couple of people who are likely to be, well, unsympathetic over what happened."

Colin nodded. "Malfoy and company." He paused, and then said, "Wait! None of them were on the return train!" Harry was glad Colin had figured that out on his own.

"That's right," Harry agreed. "They probably didn't know what was going to happen, but it would be a huge coincidence if they didn't know something was going to happen. Sooner or later, unless Draco shows more brains than he's ever shown before, he's going to say something to Hermione or me, and failing that, to someone else."

"So we need to set things up so that no one is alone with that bunch?" Colin asked.

"Right," Harry said, walking over to a desk and jotting a few things down. "We also need to punish them in such a way no one gets into trouble. I need you and Dennis to get with your friends in Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. Spread the word. I want Draco and his friends totally ignored. I don't want anyone to acknowledge they exist, unless it's necessary in a class situation. That also means being nice to the other Slytherins." He handed Colin a list. "If you have friends in Slytherin, assure them we don't hate them, we just can't trust Draco, Pansy, and company. I'll talk to Zabini about it, too."

"You had better tell Bulstrode," Parvati said. "She could rally the Slytherin girls more easily."

"I will," Harry assured her. "It's time all the students band together. We need to support the Slytherins that don't go to the extremes of Malfoy."

"You mean like the old-fashioned shunning Binns told us about in First year?" Colin asked.

"Exactly like that," Harry agreed.

Hermione came down the stairs. "Come on," Hermione said. She looked dead tired, but had managed to put her self back together.

Harry and Hermione left together, while Parvati ran upstairs to get dressed and Colin went to get Dennis.

Once in the entrance hall, Harry and Hermione's eyes strayed to the now-revealed door where Ron and the others were. The door was shut, and Hermione and Harry, after a moment of mutual hesitation, went towards the great hall.

There was only one student sitting in the hall. Luna stood and came over to them. She hugged them both, and kissed them on their cheeks.

Professor McGonagall was the only professor present. She stood and came over to the trio as well.

"Mister Potter?"

"Yes, Professor?" Harry asked. Luna let the pair out of her hug, and went to stand behind them.

"You need to meet with representatives of the Ministry between Nine and Nine-thirty, I'm afraid."

"Another hearing?" he asked, slightly bitter.

"You did cast an Unforgivable," McGonagall reminded him. "Your cousin will be present for questioning as well. We collected statements from all of the student witnesses here or in their common rooms last night. They all agree: Bella Lestrange cast the first Unforgivable, and then the three Lestranges cast the Killing curse just before you retaliated. Still, a hearing is required."

"Is anyone checking on why certain Slytherins happened to miss the train?" Harry asked.

"They will all claim mere coincidence, I'm sure, once they return today," McGonagall said drily. "We cannot disprove it, at least not yet. If we ever can, that will be help put them in their place. Until then, no retaliation."

"And when Malfoy pulls his usual attacks when professors aren't around?"

"I would suggest you keep your tempers, but I saw how well that worked last year," she answered with some snip in her voice. "Make certain anything you do is at worst proportional; try to keep things low-keyed."

"Yes, ma'am," Harry said, fervently. She gave him a suspicious look, but said nothing more on the subject.

"Professor," Hermione said, "when can we see Ron?"

McGonagall bit her lip. Harry and Hermione finally noticed what Luna had already seen; the stoic professor had obviously been crying, and had probably gotten little more sleep than Hermione had. "The Weasleys will be down here around Eight; they arrived in the night, but are with Ginny right now. You may wait for them in the entrance hall. I know you both well enough to know you will not intrude if they are not yet ready to talk with you. If they don't signal, you will wait until they leave."

The students agreed.

"All right," Luna demanded as they sat, "what do you have planned for Draco?"

"A shunning," Harry said.

The two girls stared at him.

"You mean, like we read about in History of Magic?" Luna finally squeaked.

"Exactly, if we can organize it."

Luna looked over Harry's shoulder and waved her hand. Harry and Hermione looked up, and saw Blaise Zabini, his girlfriend (a Fourth year Slytherin), and Millicent Bulstrode.

"Harry has a plan he'd like to talk over with you three," Luna said when they came close enough to speak to easily.

"A plan for what?" Blaise asked.

"How to deal with Malfoy and his remaining stooges," Hermione said.

"They knew," Blaise agreed bitterly. "He didn't say anything directly, but he and three of the five others were almost bragging to some of the other Fourth years that something was coming a few days ago when they saw them in Diagon Alley." He was bitter because they had not told him until after the attack. He, and the students, were ashamed. Had they said something earlier, they might have had more help.

"Draco, the two Parkinsons, and who?" Harry asked.

"Martin Meliflua, Fourth year and Draco's bum boy since Crabbe and Goyle were killed," Blaise said. "I don't think the other two were told, but that might be because they were already planning to come back this morning. Draco and his crew will be back late this afternoon."

"The Cole cousins told some of us long before they left," Blaise's girlfriend said. "Some big family expedition to Switzerland. Like Blaise said, they should be back this morning." She looked at Harry beseechingly. "I really don't think they knew."

"Okay then, just Malfoy, the Parkinsons, and Meliflua, if most of the rest of the Slytherins will go along," Hermione said.

"For what?" Millicent demanded.

"A shunning," Harry said. A community deciding some members were not welcome, and so are shunned, ignored. Totally.

"H'mmm," Blaise mused.

"It's time all the rest of us put aside our differences. I doubt if any of us like the agreement the Ministry made with the Pure-Bloods. Some of us think it went too easy on them, and are too hard on non-Pure-bloods, some of you might think the exact opposite. Still, that's the new reality. Fine. Let's come together and agree to work within the system." The three Slytherins looked thoughtful.

"At the same time," Harry went on, "there's a group still dedicated to violence. We need to freeze-out their supporters here."

"So you trust the ones who made the agreement?" Millicent asked.

Harry gave her an honest answer. "No; I think Black and Malfoy are going to use it as a cover to support the terrorist group. But I do know there are plenty of people who hate the violence who will still support the agreement. I don't agree with them, but if we fight it out politically, I can live with it."

"In that case, since I know you're a man of your word, I'll support the shunning of Draco and his friends," Millicent said. She turned to Hermione. "We'll fight out our differences like Potter said, politically. Agreed?"

"Agreed," Hermione said. They shook hands.