Of Breath And Bone

Part V: Remembrance

Ron Weasley let out a low sigh that was caught by the wind as he looked around the grounds that had once been Hogwarts. He closed his eyes and leaned back, trusting that the woman standing behind him would let him lean a bit. She did, and he opened his eyes in time to see the light of the day fall across her hair, making it seem a rainbow curtain of auburn hair instead of the plain brown that she had complained about for as long as he'd known that she actually cared in the slightest about her hair.

"I still can't believe you accepted the position of Potions Mistress at Alsden," he told her. "Bloody Potions Mistress; you'll be the next Snape!"

"I will do no such thing!" Hermione sniped at him cheerfully, pulling back to see if he would fall. He didn't. "The students of the next generation deserve to have a Potions professor that does more than snipe and moan and criticise."

"You criticize plenty."

"You two at it again?" Harry asked, his voice reaching them before he did.

Ron laughed and shook his head ruefully as he remembered the previous evening. After the past six months of Hermione evading the question, he had finally gotten the truth about the numbness that had settled over him shortly after the attack out of her. He had been livid, and she had been defensive, and that had settled into one of their usual rows that lasted half the night and into the next morning. At what had to have been half past four, Harry had irritably poked his head out of his bedroom and told the two of them that they were the only couple he knew of who needed silencing charms to quiet the sounds of their rows rather than the noise they made having sex.

He had slammed the bedroom door and gone back to bed, leaving the two of them standing there in sudden silence.

"Not really," Hermione responded while he tried to shake the train of thought away. "Ron is just commenting on the position I chose at Alsden."

"Is that what they're calling it?"

Only in the past fortnight had McGonagall and a few other notable witches and wizards in the United Kingdom banded together to recreate the school. He didn't know who else was involved other than McGonagall, Sirius, and Remus. Upon Dumbledore's request if anything was to happen to him while he was Headmaster of Hogwarts, they had called the new school, which was located elsewhere in Scotland, Alsden. There was no explanation, and with him dead, there wasn't likely to be one.

"I just thought of something, Hermione."

"Hmm?" she turned to him with a curious expression. Harry was standing on his other side, waiting curiously for what he was about to say.

"You could write the new book! I can see it now: 'Alsden, A History, ' by Hermione Granger," he grinned at her, and got hit in response. "Hey!"

"Well, Hermione, you always did know the book better than anybody else," Harry put in.

"You're not helping," she snapped at him, looking at Ron with irritation.

"It was just a thought," he shrugged.

"Honestly, Ron..."

He grinned. The entire reason he had told her that was to hear her tell him that. Turning to look at her again, he could tell by the look on her face that she knew it.

"Sometimes I think you say such things just to get a reaction out of me."

"You think," Harry snickered, "I know."

"It's true!"

Ron sighed and ran his hand through his hair. Six months had allowed him enough distance to come back here. It had been much the same for everyone involved in that final battle. During that battle, there hadn't been enough time to think, or to feel. Instead, there was nothing but action and strategy, two of the things that he had always been the best at. There was no time to realise that he was one of the few surviving members of the Weasley clan, other than George, who was still comatose in the hospital, and one of Charlie's small children, Asha. Now that he was back here, though, there was nothing to do *but* feel.

It hurt. *He* hurt.

For all the times he had been annoyed by the size of the family, and how easily he was overshadowed by the other members of his family, he missed them. He hadn't been back to the Burrow since the attack on it by the Death Eaters shortly before that last battle had started. He hadn't even known about it at the time. In retrospect, he was glad. He wasn't sure he could have done what had needed to be done if he had known. He had wanted to be known for himself, instead of being overshadowed by something someone else had done, and the fact that his family was one of the poorest of the wizarding families. He would have accepted all of that back if it had brought his family back with it. He wouldn't have even needed time to think about it.

A touch at his elbow brought Hermione's worried face back into view. He shook his head at her, "I'm all right, Hermione."

"You're not," she told him. "Well, I'm not, anyway. But it's time, Ron. Remus is ready to get this started."

He nodded, and then the three of them joined the crowd as one. Remus was waiting at the front for them all to gather. Sirius was hovering at his shoulder, in case his lover would need support, for the month that he had been unconscious, as well as the loss of the werewolf's strength had left him suffering from occasional dizzy spells. The only reason Ron knew about them at all was the fact that he had seen the worried owls that Sirius had been sending to Harry, asking him if there was any idea of something that could help him.

They did all they could, and yet at moments like these, Ron worried whether it would be enough. Then again, he did worry more these days. He shifted his weight from one leg to the other as he waited for Remus to start. Finally, the man ran a hand through his shaggy gold hair and began to speak in an almost haunting tone:

"For many, Hogwarts was more than a school. For some it was a refuse, for others, a home. Ghosts haunted the corridors in more ways than just the recognisable ghosts that were known by us all. There were the ghosts of younger days, of days more touched by innocence. For as the years went by, the moments of innocence became fewer and more fleeting.

"Perhaps it was this way for all who left these hallowed halls, but particularly those who left the school during my time here, as well as any who left in the last couple of years. Some students never got the chance to leave, while others still stand among us. This day, this ceremony, and this remembrance is for both of them.

"For those, I have brought to this memorial a Pensieve," Remus paused long enough to place the silver bowl on top of the magical memorial. "Those of us here who have fond, loving memories of this place, I ask that some of these memories be donated. Now there are going to be people who will never know Hogwarts. Never know what it is, what it was, and the hundreds of things that it could have been and never received the opportunity to be.

"In closing, I would like to ask of you to not think of this as an ending. By all means, this is not an ending, but rather the beginning of a whole new chapter."

With a murmured thank you, Remus' speech came to a halt, and his words seemed to echo in the air by some unknown magic, one that none of them were actually familiar with, but knew the impact enough to recognise when it is present. Then, everyone broke into applause, and Ron laughed before calling Harry and Hermione's attention to the fact that Remus was blushing at all the attention he was being given.

"Some things just don't change," Harry shook his head, grinning.

"Nor should you expect them to," Hermione responded with a slight smile.

"Come on," Ron said, shifting uncomfortably. "Let's go on."

The three moved toward the Pensieve and watched as both Sirius and Remus added a memory into the swirling mass. They couldn't tell what it was as they climbed the stairs to the top of the memorial where the Pensieve rested. Remus' face was reflected in the silvery light for just a moment as he stared into the surface of the Pensieve. Sirius pulled him away from the memory, and there were tears on both of their faces.

"I wonder what memory they put in," Hermione said with a contemplative expression on her face.

"Dunno. We could go look."

"But I doubt we'd really know which one is theirs. Which are you going to put in, Ron?"

Ron sighed, and grinned, "One of the ones where all three of us were just sprawled on between the castle in the lake, eating and relaxing for a change."

"Instead of getting into trouble?" Hermione asked, laughing.

"We were good at that," Harry admitted.

"Harry, are you sure you won't change your mind about teaching at Alsden?" Ron asked him suddenly.

"Well, you're teaching Muggle studies, Hermione's teaching Potions, Remus has Defense Against the Dark Arts-"

"Of course," Hermione piped in.

"Who better? Well, other than you, Harry."

Harry just laughed and shook his head, "I don't know. I don't think I'm ready for that. Maybe eventually, but for right now, I'll just go about trying to enter the training program for being a mediwizard. Maybe I'll come to Alsden eventually, but for now, I don't think so."

Ron sighed at that, and placed his memory into the Pensieve. "Hermione? You're next."

She nodded and approached the Pensieve. Looking contemplative for a moment, she finally sorted through and pulled out a particular memory. Ron looked at her curiously, and even more so as a mischievous expression crossed her face. Finally, she pulled away from it, and grinned at them. Harry looked at her with a wary expression, and privately, Ron agreed with it. He wasn't sure he wanted to *know* what she had just put in there.

"Oh, I'll put you two out of your misery," she started, laughingly as she joined them again. "Remember first year when you two had managed to get yourselves into a fix with Filch because you actually thought that Malfoy would show up for something he dared you to do?"

"The wizard's duel?"

"That's the one. And we almost got caught, and ended up behind the door with Fluffy?"

"Cute widdle Fluffy," Ron cracked.

"There was nothing little about that dog," Harry retorted. "Although Hagrid did think he was the cutest thing, which I will never understand."

"There's a lot of things about the way Hagrid saw things that I don't believe we'll ever see," Hermione said. "Well, the memory was of the getting caught and the aftermath."

"'We could have been killed, or worse! Expelled!'" Ron mocked her.

Hermione snorted in response, trying to look angry with him, but failing miserably.

"Harry, what are you going to put in?"

"The year Gryffindor won the Quidditch final."

"Which time?" Hermione and Ron chorused, then looked at each other and started laughing all over again. Gryffindor had won the Cup three times over the seven year period they had been at Hogwarts, with Harry's innate flying talent and ability to find the Snitch leading them to that victory all three times.

After a moment, even Harry laughed, "Third year."

Hermione pulled him away then, and Ron didn't fight her overly much. It was odd how things that could have been painful to remember or think about was taken into a much more cheerful light. It was like the early days all over again, back before Voldemort had risen, and they had become so serious as to nearly forget what it was like to not have the knowledge of what was going on in the outside world hovering over them. When Hermione had pulled him far enough away and they stood and watched Harry place the memory he had spoken of into the Pensieve, he turned and told her so.

Another of the contemplative looks took her face, and Ron stood there watching her for a moment as she thought. Finally, she smiled, "You know, you're right."

"Cor, I don't know what's more amazing. The fact that I'm right, or the fact that you admitted I was right."

For a moment, she looked as though she didn't know whether to hit him again, or what. After a moment while he gave her the most innocent smile he was capable of, she grinned, threw her arms around his neck, and kissed him. He kissed back until he heard the subtle sound of someone clearing his throat behind them. Hermione pulled away and grinned at Harry.

"You're down here having all the fun."

"Yes, we are," Ron grinned wickedly at Hermione.

Hermione leaned in and asked Harry, "So, seeing Susan tonight?"

Harry laughed, "Just trying to make me feel better, Miss Granger?"

She winked at him, "You know it."

With that, they headed off toward the Forbidden Forest to get away from the crowds. Even after all this time, the people steered clear of the Forbidden Forest, fearing either the creatures that dwelled within, or what would happen if they disobeyed Dumbledore's long-standing order. However, the Trio had been defying that rule, either by circumstance, by necessity, or by choice since their first year, so the Forest held no fear for them. Then again, after all that had happened, Ron found himself musing, it would surprise him greatly if they were able to fear *anything*.

"Do you think you'll come back here?" Harry asked Ron.

"I dunno yet," he answered with a sigh. "Maybe. When there's not so many people. Do you know that the monument was actually enchanted so that you could see the person whose name you touch. That's what I want to do, eventually. Even if it is only to see Mum one last time, or Dad."

Hermione nodded. He turned a grateful smile to her; since this whole thing had begun, she hadn't been any further away from him than she needed to be. Eventually he would have to stop leaning on her, and let her lean on him more than she had been, but for the moment, he was content to have her there.

"Oh, I meant to ask, even though it's pretty obvious of the answer."

"What's that?"

"You two did make up, didn't you?"

They all looked at each other, and laughed. On impulse, Ron reached over and pulled Harry into a hug. He looked surprised for a moment, then hugged back.

"We're strongest together, Harry, and I'm sure Pomfrey would be glad to have someone to help her harass the students when they got out of hand. Think about it, will you?"

Harry paused for a moment, then nodded. "I will."

"Good."

They all fell silent, and Ron stared off into the forest. Not too far away, he saw two canine forms racing through the trees. The larger and darker form stopped and barked sharply, looking around. Hermione grasped his arm and pointed at the golden wolf that was slowly sneaking up behind the other. It was all they could do to keep from laughing as finally, the wolf leapt, and tackled the large black dog to the ground.

The expression on his face had been priceless.

"Let's let the boys have their fun, shall we?" Harry asked with a wry grin.

"Definitely."

They looked at each other, and for the first time since they had passed their Apparation test only a month ago, they all Apparated from the Forest to their flat. Hermione landed on top of Ron laughingly, and Harry collapsed in a chair.

"You know..."

"Hmm?"

"I suspect Remus was more right than he knew," Harry finished.

"About what?"

"This isn't the end. Instead, it's only the beginning."