Harry Potter and the Year that Changed Everything

Harry Potter and the Year that Changed Everything

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Chapter Twenty-Three: Conversations

For Harry, arriving at the Burrow after a year spent at Hogwarts felt as reassuringly natural as eating and breathing. The other members of the group had come to feel the same way, even if only two of them had actually grown up there. The Burrow was more than just a home to them, it had become a safe haven amidst a troubled world. The Burrow provided them all a place where they could simply be themselves, and it would soon become the place where they would be united forever.

Before any wedding could take place, however, there were many things that had to be done. Being a time of war, plans to survive the here and now took precedent over any thoughts of the future.

To Harry, this was how his life had always been. From the moment he had discovered magic he had been living from one crisis to the next. Ron and Hermione had been right by his side through it all, as had Ginny and Neville. For her part, Luna had quickly become the most important person in his life, as well as a formidable ally in the fight against the coming darkness. Even if there hadn't been a war going on all around them, Harry could not imagine spending his summer with anyone else.

For the others, the feeling was mutual.

"Right, then. We girls will take our stuff to our rooms while you guys make up some sandwiches. We'll be back down in a bit."

Ron, who had already been intent on getting to the kitchen as soon as humanly possible ever since they had arrived home, paused mid-stride.

"Wait, what's this about us blokes making the sandwiches? You think that just because were engaged you lot can tell us what to do?"

Hermione sent Ron a look that could have curdled milk.

"Yes."

Ron's face drained of color as Neville and Harry quickly moved away from him.

"I'll be sure to give you extra pickles, Ginny. I love you."

"I'll be sure to make a smiley face with the mustard on yours, Luna. I love you, Angel."

The three females turned and went up the stairs leaving the boys to get started on lunch. The color had now returned to Ron's face. In fact, it was now a rather remarkable shade of red.

"Thanks for backing me up there, guys. I can certainly see who is going to be wearing the pants in your marriages."

Harry laughed and gave his closest friend a pat on the back.

"You can wear the pants all you want, mate. Just don't expect for our Hermione to let you into hers while you are."

Ron would later consider this some of the best advice he had ever been given.

"Hermione likes her sandwiches cut into triangles, doesn't she?"

* * * * * * * * * *

After all the teens had finished their lunch and were relaxing together, Ginny's face suddenly turned serious. Neville, who had been lazily running a hand through her long fiery hair, noticed it first.

"What's wrong, Gin?"

The others all turned their attentions to their usually up-beat friend.

"I was just thinking, next year it will just be Luna and I at Hogwarts. Assuming it will still be open. I'll be the only Weasley in the school, actually. That hasn't happened in a really long time, you know?"

Harry, who was currently sitting with a curled up Luna in his lap, gave her a sympathetic smile.

"You two will be fine. The professors will still be there, and I'm sure we'll be stopping in to see Dumbledore from time to time. It won't be so bad."

Hermione, who had mostly forgiven Ron by now, wasn't as optimistic.

"You'll both need to be careful, though. Especially you, Luna. When the information gets out that you're with Harry, well, every Death Eater in the country will be after you. Maybe Dumbledore could get the two of you your own quarters somewhere secure. I hate to say it, but the Slytherins wouldn't be above attacking you in your dorms. Look what they did to Millicent, and she was supposed to be their friend!"

Luna, who currently sat reveling in the feeling of Harry's strong arms wrapped around her, merely smiled her usual dreamy smile.

"Ginny and I will be fine, I think. We've both shown that we're more than capable of handling ourselves, and the security will be quite heavy. I would venture to say that we'll be a great deal safer than the rest of you will."

Harry's face turned serious.

"Hermione has a point, though. With Ginny being a Weasley, and you being engaged to me, I can see where a wanna-be Death Eater might want to try and make a name for themselves. If anyone tries anything to hurt either of you, anything at all, let a professor know right away. Better yet, let one of us know through our mirror communicators and we'll be there right away."

Neville unconsciously pulled Ginny's body closer to his own.

"I wouldn't even bother telling the professors. You just let us know someone is bothering you. We'll sort them out.."

Ginny and Luna both noticed the stern faces of their respective boyfriends and were reminded yet again of how much they loved their husbands-to-be. Giving each other a nod of understanding, both young witches threw their arms around their beloved's necks and rewarded them for their concern with a kiss.

"Our heroes!"

While the two snogging couples lost themselves in their own little worlds, the sole non-snogging couple looked away from the rather overt display of affection before them. Ron noticed that Hermione had a rather wistful look in her eyes.

"Hermione, you know I feel the same way about you, don't you?"

Hermione blushed slightly at letting her emotions show. If Ron had been able to pick up on it she must have been pretty obvious.

"Yes, I know you do. I was just being stupid."

Ron laughed.

"You, being stupid? We both know that's not possible. Hermione, I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I'd do anything for you. Hell, I'd fight every Death Eater in England starkers if you wanted me to."

Hermione laughed, but Ron could tell that she appreciated the sentiment. The smile that now graced her lips made him feel like the luckiest wizard on Earth.

"Thank you, Ron. I love you, too."

Hermione leaned over and kissed her intended deeply. Pulling back, Ron pretended to be in deep thought about something.

"I wonder if there are any advantages to dueling naked. What do you think?"

Hermione's smile turned devilish.

"I don't know. I'd have to see you naked first."

Ron quickly gained a better appreciation for research.

"Oh, that can easily be arranged."

* * * * * * * * * *

Conversation at dinner that evening centered mostly around the discussion of the triple wedding to be held at the Burrow that summer. Actually, to be more precise, Mrs. Weasley kept the conversation centered around the triple wedding to be held at the Burrow that summer.

"We'll need to make sure there are plenty of chairs. How do you think we should organize the seating? Should we have five different seating areas, or just lump all the groom's party on one side, and the bride's side on the other?"

At first, some of the people actually involved in the wedding thought that they were being asked for their opinions on the matter.

"Well, I thought that..."

They weren't.

"And what about invitations? Should we put a limit on the amount of guests people can bring? I'd hate to neglect anyone, but there's only so many we can fit in. How many do you think will come from Hogwarts? What about the Ministry? How are we going to get all the Muggles here? Will they all want white cake? What if someone gets drunk at the reception? What if...?"

Mrs. Weasley's non-stop onslaught of questions went on for the rest of the evening. While everyone else ate and drank to their fill she was caught up in matters ranging from what kind of flowers to have, to the practicality of hiring a band. By the end of dinner, all of those present were no longer sure if they were planning a wedding, or organizing the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.

Seeking an escape, the respective couples decided that they would spend the next day visiting with family to talk with them about the impending nuptials. With Ron and Ginny being covered already, the would only need to go through the ordeal once. For the others, it promised to be a long and trying day.

The Following Day

Granger Residence-Knightsbridge

"Mr. and Mrs. Granger, I want to ask for your permission to marry your daughter."

Ron Weasley was as nervous as a kneazle in a room full of rocking chairs. To him, the chess match in the Chamber of Secrets seemed now like a delightful interlude. It was only due to the feeling of his fiancee's hand in his own that was keeping him grounded. Fortunately, his sense of anxiety was quickly put to rest by the familiar feeling of the all encompassing, and apparently hereditary, Granger hug.

"Of course you can marry our daughter, Ron. I'm so glad that my baby has found someone to love her the way she deserves. Welcome to the family, dear."

Mrs. Granger continued to hug Ron into near unconsciousness before releasing him to move on to her daughter. As he was re-introducing himself to oxygen, Mr. Granger smiled and offered him his hand.

"Don't worry, you'll get used to the hugs eventually. It runs in her mother's side of the family. I had the exact same look on my face after I talked to Emma's parents. You're lucky, you've had Quidditch to help bulk you up. I was a spotty little bookworm. Emma's mum broke two of my ribs. I still get teased about it. Still, I am very lucky to have found someone so special to share my life with. We both are. Treat her well and be happy. That's all I ask."

Ron smiled widely as he shook his soon to be father-in-law's hand. Despite the kind words and smile on the older man's face, the strength of his grip made it obvious that his advice on treating his daughter well was no mere idle chatter. It was an order.

"I will, Sir. And don't worry, her brother would kill me if I did anything to hurt her.

Mr. Granger suddenly looked confused.

"Her...brother?"

If he had been a house-elf, Ron would have taken this opportunity to shut his head in a cupboard door. However, being a human very used to saying the wrong thing at the wrong time, he came up with an excuse on the fly.

"I mean Harry, of course. The two of them are really close. He's like a brother to her. The same goes for me, too. I mean that Harry is like a brother to me, not that I'm like a brother to Hermione. That would be gross. I mean, we aren't Welsh, or anything."

Mr. Granger became more and more confused as Ron nervously prattled on. Being a native Londoner, however, he laughed at the joke about the Welsh. Seeing his opportunity to escape, the once again anxious wizard took hold of his girlfriend's hand and squeezed it to get her attention.

"What's wrong?"

"We should go. I nearly let something slip to your father."

"What about?"

"Your brother."

"What about him?"

"The fact that you have one."

Hermione's eyes widened.

"Oh my god, Ron!"

Ron raised his hands in an attempt to calm the now rapidly flushing Hermione.

"Shh! It's ok. I talked my way out of it. I told him that Harry was 'like' a brother to you."

Hermione closed her eyes and shook her head.

"Oh, you said he was 'like' a brother, did you? Is that similar to how you have something 'like' a brain in your thick head?"

Ron lowered his eyes to the floor and shuffled his feet. Hermione's anger turned immediately to sympathy. He hadn't meant to do anything wrong.

"I'm sorry, Ron. It was an honest mistake. You did just fine tonight. I can tell that my parents really like you."

Ron's face brightened as he returned his gaze to looking Hermione in the eyes.

"I hope you're right. We should still get back home, though. I hope Ginny is behaving herself around Neville's grandmother."

Hermione didn't look as optimistic.

"Ginny, behave? Have you actually met your sister?"

Ron frowned.

"I guess we can scratch the Longbottom family off the guess list, then. Maybe it's best that Neville's parents can't be there."

Longbottom Estate

"Gran, I wanted you and Gin to get to know one another a bit better before we got married."

Madam Longbottom looked from her grandson to the ginger-haired young woman next to him. A sense of deja-vu overtook her immediately. Her grandson, once stunted both physically and magically, had matured into the very picture of his father, her son. She recalled Frank bringing his own fiancee to gain her approval as well. At the time, the matriarch of the Longbottom family had been very skeptical of the woman who would be her daughter-in-law. She had known very little about the family she had come from, apart from the fact that they were affluent and influential. Now, with her grandson's intended, the very opposite was true.

The Weasley and Longbottom families had been allied together for many generations. In fact, when the current form of the English Ministry of Magic was first formed, a Longbottom and a Weasley were amongst the driving forces behind it. Despite their long and storied past, however, the Weasley family had never amassed the sizable fortune that most of the other old pureblood families had. Not that long ago this fact would have meant that a joining of the two families through marriage would have been unthinkable. Still today, many who still held to the traditional line of thinking would consider any such merger as social and political suicide for the much better positioned House of Longbottom.

Fortunately for the two lovers, Madam Longbottom was not one of those people.

She did, however, hold the traditional line when it came to her grandson. He was the last of the Longbottom line. He would be the one to inherit everything upon her passing. And, above all else, he was the last remaining link she had to her own dear Frank. She would not share him with just anyone.

"Thank you, Neville. Miss Weasley, it is good to see you again. I hope you will come to consider Longbottom Manor as much your home as the Burrow."

Ginny smiled as she felt Neville's hand becoming more and more clammy. The idea of her finding the sparse and unnaturally tidy estate homey seemed about as likely as a pygmy puff eating a bale of hay, but she would keep smiling along. She could fake emotion with the best of them. Dean Thomas had found that out.

"Thank you, Madam Longbottom. And please, call me Ginny."

The smile the girl offered her was about as genuine as a three galleon coin, but the one she directed towards her grandson was one of pure affection. For Madam Longbottom, that was all that mattered.

"You are entirely welcome, Ginny. Now, being a Weasley, I'm afraid that I must ask you if you share the same genetic defect as the rest of your family."

Ginny's hands suddenly clamped onto Neville's in a grip that would have made Devil's Snare seem like wet tissue paper. A million hexes ran through her mind as she barely managed to speak between clenched teeth.

"And what defect is that, exactly?"

While Neville was attempting to grab hold of Ginny in hopes of restraining her, an event happened that caused the both of them to freeze in their actions.

Neville's grandmother, a witch renowned for her dour behavior and intolerance of frivolity... was smiling.

"You aren't a Chudley Cannons fan, are you? No great-grandchildren of mine are going to be brought up rooting for that mob of sheep worriers."

Ginny and Neville both felt as if the world had been turned upside down. Had the woman actually made a joke? Had she intentionally taken the mickey with them? Would dogs and cats soon be living together in harmony? After a moment of stunned silence Ginny finally found her voice again.

"No, I'm not. Well, Ron and dad are, but I favor the Harpies."

Madam Longbottom looked at Ginny for a moment before smiling again and extending her hand to her.

"Welcome to the family, Ginny."

Ginny, still a bit wrong-footed, looked at the older woman's hand as if it might suddenly burst into flame. Realizing that the woman was making an honestly compassionate gesture, she decided that a mere handshake was not enough.

"Thanks...Gran."

Ginny embraced the older woman in a hug she normally reserved for family only. To her, she was with family now. Both women had come to a better understanding of each other, along with a greater respect for each other, as well.

For his part, Neville looked at the two women and brushed a tear from his eye. He had been very young when his parents had been taken from him and his grandmother had been his entire world for most of his life. Ginny had become a major part of his life now, and he had been worried about what that meant for his relationship with the only mother figure he had ever known. He knew now that he could love his family with all his heart, and still love Ginny just as much. The only ache remaining in his heart was that his parents couldn't be there to share this with him.

Dursley Residence

"Aunt Petunia, I'd like you to meet my fiancee, Luna Lovegood."

Petunia Dursley couldn't help but smile as the wide-eyed girl before her dipped into a low curtsey. Not entirely sure how to correctly respond she gave the girl a nod of her head and offered an outstretched had to her nephew.

"I'm glad to finally meet you, Miss Lovegood. I'm sorry that my husband and son can't be here to join us but they've gone to a boxing competition in London. They are looking forward to being at the wedding, though. Harry has told me so much about you that I feel as if I already know you. I'm glad that he's found someone to love him the way he deserves to be loved. I'm afraid I've never done very well at that job."

Petunia's face saddened at the thought of the years she had wasted by allowing jealousy to prevent her from cherishing the last remaining link she had to her sister. Before Harry could attempt to console her, he felt the now familiar feeling of calm wash over him as Luna took the older woman's hands in her own.

"Mrs. Dursley, the past is a place of both the greatest joy and the most horrible pain. Memories, be they good or bad, are just that, memories. They are intangible, and yet they can do more damage than vast armies. We cannot change what has been, but we can determine what is to be. Harry feels no ill will towards you, and neither do I. The important thing to focus on now is that, despite the past, we are here now. One of the many reasons I love Harry is because of his infinite capacity for loving others. He loves you, Mrs. Dursley. It's time you started to love yourself."

Petunia felt as if a great weight had been lifted from her that she hadn't realized was there. For years, she had blamed herself for her alienation from her sister. For years she had felt haunted every time she had looked into her nephew's eyes and seen those of her sister. The constant reminder of her greatest mistake was too much for her and she had withdrawn from him. She could not look at him without feeling ashamed at what she had done. She hated herself for the way she had treated him, but now she had been given a second chance and she would not continue to allow her shame to keep her from doing what was right.

Pulling the smaller girl towards herself, Petunia held onto Luna as she began to cry on her shoulder.

"Thank you, Luna. I don't deserve either of your love and forgiveness, really. I spent so many years missing my sister, when all along I had a piece of her right beside me. Oh, I wish Lily could be here with us. She'd be so proud of you, Harry."

Petunia released Luna and turned to embrace Harry. A short time ago neither of them would have even considered the possibility of being polite to one another, let along hugging like this. Times had changed, and both were the better for it.

"I think mum would be proud of both of us, Aunt Petunia."

Petunia Dursley smiled as she pulled back from her nephew and dried her eyes with a tissue. Thoughts of her sister caused her to remember one of her fonder memories from their childhood.

"Thank you, Harry. And please, don't call me Aunt Petunia anymore. That person no longer exists. Petunia will do fine. Your mother used to call me Petey, actually. "

Harry couldn't help but laugh. The idea of his aunt having a nickname, apart from the derogatory ones he had given her over the years, seemed absurd to him.

"Why did she call you that?"

Petunia laughed.

"When Lily was very young she had a hard time saying my name. One day she managed to get out 'Petey', and the name stuck. Father used to come home from work and ask how his 'little Lily and Petey' were. I'll bet it has been nearly twenty years since anyone has called me that. I'd give anything to hear Lily call me that one more time. I guess it's too late now, though."

While Petunia felt another tear run down her cheek, Harry shot Luna a knowing look and whispered in her ear.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that."

The Burrow

Ron looked up from reading the latest issue of Quidditch Monthly to see Ginny and Neville stepping out of the fireplace. Judging from the smiles on their faces he guessed that things with Neville's grandmother must have gone well. Hermione, who had been reading a book on wizarding marriage culture next to him, slammed the book shut and jumped up to greet them. Seeing that she had not used a bookmark to keep her place, Ron knew that she must have been anxious to see them.

"Well, how did it go? Was she pleased?"

Ginny laughed at the child-like excitement Hermione was exhibiting.

"Settle down, Hermione! Merlin, it's like you're a kid on Christmas morning. Yes, it went well. I don't know what everyone goes on about, really. Gran is actually a very sweet lady. She gave us both her blessing and welcomed me to the family. Easy-peasy."

Hermione blushed slightly at her over enthusiasm causing the others to laugh. Neville gave her a reassuring pat on the back.

"I've never seen anything like it in my life. I was standing there nearly wetting myself and Ginny was as cool as could be, even after she got teased about the Cannons!"

Ron's eyes flashed.

"What about the Cannons?"

Ginny laughed as she walked over to pat her brother on top of his head.

"Nothing, Ron. Nothing at all. So, how did it go with your parents, Hermione?"

Hermione, now relieved that everything had gone according to plan thus far, went back to sitting at the kitchen table next to Ron.

"Excellent! Well, apart from Ronald mentioning that Harry was my brother."

Ginny, who had been pouring herself and Neville a glass of pumpkin juice, nearly dropped the both of them at hearing what Hermione had said.

"He said WHAT?"

Ron blushed a color similar to his hair and grimaced at the memory of it.

"Hey, it just slipped out, ok? I managed to talk my way out of it. Her dad even ended up laughing about it. Everything went fine."

Ginny shook her head at her brother's ability to put his large foot in his even larger mouth.

"Smooth, Ron. What about Harry and Luna? Aren't they back yet?"

Hermione shook her head and looked at the Weasley clock. Harry's hand still pointed at "visiting."

"No, they haven't come back yet. I'm hoping that's a good sign, but I'm still a bit worried. I know that Harry's...our...relatives have changed a lot, but Luna can be a little much on a first meeting."

Hermione was getting more and more anxious as time seemed to creep by slowly. After another half-hour spent looking at the clock every few minutes she growled in frustration.

"Damn it, where the hell are they?"

St. Mungo's Long Term Care Ward

"Harry Potter! What are you doing here?"

Harry frowned as the witch behind the counter made sure that everyone in the surrounding area knew who he was. A reassuring squeeze of his hand from Luna quickly calmed him back down.

"We're here to see Frank and Alice Longbottom."

The young witch nodded her understanding and called for an orderly to take them to the Longbottom's room.

"It's a shame about the two of them. My parents told me that they were two of the best Aurors England has ever had. Now they'll never even leave this hospital again."

Harry thanked the woman for her assistance and turned to see Luna smiling knowingly at no one in particular. As she went by the desk her voice took on a sing-song tone.

"You should never say never..."