The Turtle Prince

Chapter One

Thoughts

"Hey, Hermione..."

"What?"

"Have you ever wondered...?"

"What?"
"Have you ever wondered...?"
"Spit it out, Harry!"
"Have you ever wondered...?" Harry's eyes searched her face, and he said, already knowing the answer, "Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be an Animagus?"
Hermione snorted. "Of course, Harry. I'm seventeen years old - who hasn't thought about being and Animagus?"
"I dunno...Ron?" Harry suggested, grinning.

"What did you say about me?" Ron grunted from the corner of the Weasleys' living room. He was absorbed in a Chudley Cannons book while Harry and Hermione played Wizard's chess on the floor.

"Nothing," said Harry airily, commanding a knight to move to E5.

Harry sneaked a glance out the window - it was a bright, warm, summer's day. What he would give to be out in the orchard, playing Quidditch with Ginny, Fred, and George...but that would never happen. George had been killed in the Last Battle against Voldemort, nearly four months ago. Ginny had been hurt forever - her beautiful face now bore the scars of the Death Eater who had tortured her, nearly strangled her...and raped her, right in front of everyone. Harry could do nothing - he was pinned against the wall by Voldemort himself. He escaped, somehow, and managed to release Ginny from the clutches of the Death Eater. Harry, Ron, and Hermione had all shot the Killing Curse at Voldemort. And...he was gone. Just like that. When Harry looked back at that day, that cold, horrifying day in April, he could hardly believe it was just four months ago. Four months. He shivered and looked at Ron - his face was half in shadow, hiding the ugly scar running along his left cheek. He turned to look at Hermione, who was staring at the chess pieces. A scar ran along the width of her nose, ending under her right eye. A Death Eater - Severus Snape, in fact - had nearly killed her. Ron, of course, had saved her, resulting in a broken wrist and three toes.

Harry realized that it seemed hardly possible that he, Ron, and Hermione could be so happy when George and Tonks were dead.

Tonks. He felt his heart rip in half when he remembered seeing her lifeless body on the floor, blood oozing slowly out of her stomach, reddening her silvery-blonde hair. Lupin had tried to save her, and so had Hermione, but to no avail...Bellatrix Lestrange had killed her....The same woman who had killed Sirius...

Harry couldn't believe it had been two years. Two whole years since Sirius had died...he couldn't accept it. He could hardly accept that fact that he was forevermore free of the Dursleys...he would never be going back...

And he would never be going back to Hogwarts, either. That he knew. Unless he was offered a job, and he would probably refuse...the place held too many dark memories.

But Fred and Tonks weren't the only ones who had died. Neville had also died. Harry had watched. Watched as Voldemort raised his wand and preformed and Unforgivable Curse. First Crucio, and then Advada Kedavra, and Neville's body stopped twitching. Hermione sobbed in a corner as Ron bit his lip. Harry couldn't hold back the tears - he had considered Neville a great friend, a brother, even...

"Harry!" Hermione's voice cut him out of his thoughts.

"Wha - what is it?" he said, starting and looking at her.
"It...it's your move..." she said slowly, looking at Harry with concern in her chocolate eyes. "Harry...are you okay?"

He realized that he was crying. Crying for Neville. Crying for George, and Sirius, and Tonks...

"Er...no," he admitted, wiping his eyes on his sleeve. "Sorry," he added, looking at Hermione quickly, hoping that she wouldn't think he was a wimpy little hero.

"You...you don't have to be sorry," she said thickly, and Harry realized that she was crying too.
"Hermione..." Harry said quietly, looking at her with amazement. "Hermione..."

"No...no, Harry," Hermione said quickly, wiping her tears off her cheeks. "It's okay to cry."

There was a loud sniffle from the corner, and both Harry and Hermione jumped. Ron was weeping, too. Harry grinned and Hermione gave Ron a watery smile.

"Yeah...sure...whatever you say, Hermione..." Ron said, a pink tinge appearing in his cheeks.

"Listen to her, Ron," Harry said, winking at Hermione, who giggled, a few more tears trickling down her cheeks. She reminded him of Tonks so much...he had loved her like a sister...

"You miss her, don't you?" asked Hermione sadly. "Tonks?"

Harry felt his throat tightening. "Yeah, I do..."

"It's okay, Harry. We miss her too," Hermione said gently, placing her hand on the table.

"Yeah...yeah..." Harry said distractedly, reaching out and putting his hand on hers in a friendly gesture.

"Oh Harry..." Hermione whispered, tears leaking out of her eyes.

They spent the rest of the day crying.

The next morning at breakfast, hardly anyone said anything except, "Pass the butter" or "Could I have some toast?" It had been exactly four months ago that George, Tonks, and Neville had been killed.

Harry had just buttered his toast when Fred got up from the table and sighed, his head down. He mumbled something about, "Joke shop" and slowly trudged up the stairs.
Harry sneaked a glance at Ron, who was staring out the window, his face rather red. Hermione's eyes were filled with tears as she stared at her plate, blinking only occasionally. Harry looked away and took a nibble of toast and tried to swallow, but to no avail - his throat was tight and he felt as though he would cry any second. He abandoned his toast and stood up, looking expectantly at Ron and Hermione. Hermione caught his eye and gently nudged Ron in the arm. Ron started and looked at Hermione.
"What?" he said quietly.

Hermione jerked her head toward Harry, and Ron must have comprehended, because he nodded and stood up; so did Hermione. Harry slowly walked toward the front door, gently opened it, and stepped outside. The warm August air felt good against his face, and he walked aways around the house and into the backyard. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the kitchen through the open window. He crouched down underneath it and heard Ginny let out a dry sob.

"There, there," he heard Mrs. Weasley say heavily. "It's okay, Ginny. It's...okay..." Her voice broke and Harry felt his throat constrict again.
"Oh, Mum," Ginny sobbed. Harry's heart broke in two, and he felt her pain. He would never see George, Neville, or Tonks again...

He felt a tear slowly trickle down his cheek, but he ignored it. Ginny said something, and her mother murmured something. Something, apparently, that was comforting, because Ginny's sobs quieted down a bit.

He heard footsteps and a whisper. Terrified that Ron and Hermione would think he was spying, he hastily straightened up and took a few paces from the window, wiping the tears off his face.

"Hi," Harry said quietly, looking at the ground.

"Oh, Harry..." Hermione said quietly, taking a step toward him with Ron right beside her.

"What is it?" he said, looking up and saw that Hermione's eyes were swimming with tears.

"Don't pretend you don't know, mate," Ron said heavily, laying a hand on Harry's shoulder. Harry was startled to see that Ron's eyes were also filled with tears. "Don't...don't ever forget..." He broke off in a sob and sat down on a stump, burying his face in his hands.

"Ron..." Hermione said, sniffling. "It...it's okay. We won't forget t-them. N-never." She also sat down, this time at Ron's feet. Harry sat down on the soft green grass, facing the both of them.

"Yeah...yeah..." Harry said wearily, staring off into the distance. He saw the apple orchard, situated lazily on top of a hill which he had climbed many times and spent many happy hours with Fred, George, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione up there. He felt his eyes fill with tears again....

There was a long silence, and then -

"It's all my fault." Harry felt relieve when he said those words. He gripped his hair and felt hot tears prick the corners of his eyes, blurring his vision.
"What?" Ron said sadly. "What do you mean, Harry?"

"It's my fault that" - his throat constricted - "that they died."

There was a sharp intake of breath from Hermione and Ron looked up, shocked. Harry raised his eyes a bit and saw Hermione looking at him angrily.

"Don't you dare say that, Harry James Potter," she spat with such rage that Harry wouldn't have been surprised if she would have been breathing fire. "It wasn't your fault and you know it."

"I...I could have saved them," Harry said, taken aback.

"It was no use, mate," Ron said heavily. "When...when You-Know-Who wants someone dead, it happens - they're killed. And the same for Death Eaters, too."

"So it wasn't your fault," Hermione growled, a tear rolling down her cheek. "It wasn't...your...freaking...fault, okay?"
"Whatever." Harry sighed and looked out into the distance. "It's just...I wish I could have done something to save them."

"Harry," said Hermione seriously, seizing him by his shoulders and looking him in the eye, "there's nothing you could have done. There's nothing you can do. They're...they're gone." She let go of him roughly, looking like she was going to cry more than ever.

Just when Hermione said that, Harry felt as though someone had pierced a sword through his heart. He finally, truly realized it - they were gone - Neville, George, and Tonks - forever. He would never see them again, or talk to them. Icy claws gripped his heart, and he doubled over in silent sobs, feeling tear after tear stream down his face and drop off his chin onto the ground. Soon, Ron and Hermione's tears were mixing with his own. A small puddle quickly formed on the ground.

"Oh...Ron...Harry..." Hermione sobbed, and Harry looked up a bit and saw her sitting on the ground, head in her hands. "I...I just can't believe..."
"Yeah...I know..." Ron added thickly, wiping his streaming eyes on his shirt sleeve.

Harry didn't say anything. He shook his head and closed his eyes tightly, hoping no more tears were coming. When he opened them again, he saw a turtle crawling along on the grass. How nice it would be to be a turtle, he thought. No worries. Well, except when you next eat or sleep. But nothing else, really.

"I'd like to be a turtle," he said aloud.

"What?" Ron said thickly. "Why?"

"Because...you don't really have to worry. Wish I was a turtle. Wish I was an Animagus," he said bitterly.

He, Ron, and Hermione had fiddled a bit with human Transformation in the seventh year - alone, and not in any classes. Maybe more than just a bit. Hermione had actually halfway Transfigured into a cat before she had to be taken to the hospital wing, just like in the second year. It took a while, but she was finally Transfigured back into a human. Harry didn't want to try again, but he was almost able to fully Transfigure himself into...some sort of fuzzy thing, which he didn't know what it was.

"W-why?" Hermione quaked.
"Because you don't have to worry about...much. Just when you're going to eat and...and sleep," Harry said wearily.

"Well...we can try..." Hermione said, her voice shaking as she wiped away all the tears from her eyes.

"Try what?" said Harry roughly, looking thoroughly annoyed, because Hermione was supposed to know everything.

"Trans...Transforming...into...into turtles," Hermione said, not meeting Harry's furious gaze. She slowly drew a line in the dirt with one of fingers and looking up expectantly into Harry's eyes.
"Well?" Harry demanded, and Hermione flinched. Ron looked at Harry and then Hermione curiously but said nothing.

"It's...er...I...uh..." Hermione looked quite embarrassed, and she looked down, her face quite pink.

"What?" said Harry and Ron eagerly in unison.

Hermione looked up, her chocolate brown eyes shining with excitement and her face flushed more than it had been a few seconds previously. "It...it is...I'm..."

"Well, spit it out, Hermione!" Ron said irritably.

"It is possible, you know, to Transform into an animal, any specific animal," Hermione began slowly.

Ron grumbled something about that being obvious, but Harry elbowed him hard in the ribs, anxious to hear what Hermione had to say.

"Owww," Ron moaned, rubbing his ribs.

"Shut it!" Harry hissed out of the corner of his mouth. Ron scowled but fell silent.

"It's complicated, Harry," Hermione said seriously. "If...if you'd like to be a turtle...but there are some things that can - "

"I don't give a frickin' crap!" Harry exclaimed, startling both of them. "I just want to know how to...to end this, this...BEING HUMAN!!"

Hermione winced, her eyes wide, and said, "Okay, if you really want to..."

"I'm not going to do anything," Ron said, crossing his arms defiantly. "You two can do this - Mum'll kill be because...because she'll...she think..." He broke off abruptly, his face very red and his eyes very wet.

"What?" Hermione asked softly, rubbing his thigh gently.

"She'll think..." Ron's eyes glittered for a moment, and then he muttered, "She'll think she's lost another son."

"Oh...oh Ron...I didn't -" Hermione began, her eyes soft and shining with tears.

"Don't," Ron said firmly. "It's...it's okay. Don't worry about it."

Harry suddenly wished that a crater would form right where they were sitting - he was tired of all this crying and drama, so he said firmly, "What were you saying, Hermione?"

"Oh...right...sorry," Hermione said, awkwardly removing her hand from Ron's thigh. "Er...where was I?"
"You were stuttering around," Harry said, grinning.

"Oh...right," Hermione said, her face set. "Well...what I mean is..."

"Go on!" Harry said eagerly.

Hermione's eyes glittered, but not with tears. "I have a plan."