Pieces of Us

Chapter 1: Harry is... Happy?

Familiar voices awoke Harry from a very deep slumber. He knew instinctually whom the various voices belonged to, but he found it difficult to shake off his drowsiness. It's almost if I don't want to wake, Harry thought. As if... I want to sleep forever.

Repressing the thought, Harry used every last bit of energy he possessed to force his eyes open. He blinked rapidly, unaccustomed to the bright lights that filtered through wherever he was.

"Harry? Harry, are you awake now? I swear I saw his eyes open!" a feminine voice cried. A face surrounded by a large, brown blob bobbed within his line of vision. Harry could not discern any features, but he was certain the face belonged to one of his best friends, Hermione.

"Err," he mumbled, unable to find his voice. His throat felt as if it had not been used for a very, very long time. He reached up to touch his throat, and while nothing around his neck felt out of the ordinary, Harry was shocked to find it almost impossible to raise his arm. His muscles ached with a raging tenderness; Harry felt as if someone had beaten him with a blunt object repeatedly.

"HARRY!" Several voices blended together, and Harry felt several arms enveloping him in warm hugs.

"Err," he mumbled again. "Hi. Wh-where am I?" He attempted to focus on his surroundings, but without his glasses, it was hopeless. His fingers slowly moved around the bed, seeking out the missing glasses.

"St. Mungo's," an extremely familiar male voice replied from Harry's right side.

The figure on his right handed Harry his glasses. As the frames slid onto Harry's nose, he identified the person as Ron. "Thanks Ron," Harry said, his voice more hoarse than he'd remembered. He attempted to bring his hand to his throat once more, but the effort of having done it once had exhausted him.

"Sure, Harry," Ron said, and Harry noticed that Ron's voice was also more hoarse than he remembered. Merlin, he gave us a scare, Ron thought, staring anxiously at his best friend.

After a few minutes of struggling, Harry forced his body to sit up. The ache in his muscles made it difficult, but a helping hand from Ron got the job done. Looking up, Harry focused his attention on the people in the room. The Weasleys (minus Percy), Hermione, and Remus encircled the bed and were intently gazing at him with unquestionable concern written on their faces.

"How long... how long have I been here?" Harry muttered, squinting at the bright lights as his eyes strained to adjust. He shifted in the bed and grimaced; his muscles felt just as unused as his throat.

"Only a three days," Hermione said feebly, and Harry noticed that she too sounded very croaky.

"THREE DAYS?" He exclaimed. He hadn't really slept for three days straight, had he? As Harry looked at their concerned faces, the horrors of his last waking hour came rushing back. "What happened... is Voldemort...?" Harry attempted to remember how the night had ended, but found his memory surprisingly blank. "Voldemort... did I... is he dead?"

All ten faces lit with smiles. "Harry..." Remus faltered, uncertain where and how to begin. Finally, he chose the simplest way to tell Harry. "Harry, it's over."

Harry couldn't help but look incredulous. He fell back onto his pillows, uncertainty and hope filling his eyes at the same time. "Over... you mean..."

"Yes, Harry," Mr. Weasley answered quietly. "V-Voldemort is dead. The war is over. "

Mrs. Weasley grasped Harry's hand tightly, looking so fiercely proud Harry thought she might burst. "Harry dear, you did it. You fulfilled the prophecy." Harry didn't bother asking how she knew about the prophecy. The awe of a world without Voldemort had captured his full attention. Mrs. Weasley released his hand, and Harry saw Mr. Weasley clasp her hand instead.

"But..." Harry sat upright in his bed very quickly, despite the pain it caused, and felt extremely scared. He glanced at the room of happy faces, which only exacerbated his fear. Harry couldn't recall a single detail about how he had defeated Voldemort. What if...? What if I didn't... and he's...

"Well, really, we all did it," Bill said. "But you, Harry, you were the real reason it worked because..."

"Yeah," Charlie interrupted. "I mean, Hermione here came up with the spell, but if you weren't so completely loveable, we'd be in a spot of trouble now, wouldn't we?" He winked at Harry.

Charlie's comment was clearly a joke; everyone in the room except Harry laughed. Harry was so confused about what had happened that he felt annoyed by their laughter. What happened!? Someone tell me what the hell is going on! his mind shouted angrily.

Ginny was the first to notice the irritated look on Harry's face and hastily tried to explain. "Hermione devised a spell called Demorior Patronum. It's a lot like Expecto Patronum, except it only works if you love someone very much..." she faded for a second, and the infamous Weasley blush crept into her cheeks. I cannot believe I just said that, she mentally shouted. Stop blushing. Stop stop stop.

"Basically, Demorior Patronum protects whoever you are directing your love at. It protects you the same way a Patronus does with Dementors, only it works against things like curses and spells too," Ron summarized for her. He noticed Ginny's blush and smiled inwardly. It's no good Ginny, you can't hide that Weasley blush.

Vague memories of the awful night drifted back to Harry. He remembered a blast during his final feast in the Great Hall. The next thing he touched transported him to Godric's Hollow, though he had not known it at first. A duel had broken out between him and Voldemort. But Voldemort eventually overpowered him, and Harry remembered Voldemort telling him that it was over. After that, Voldemort threw the Cruciatus Curse a few times and all Harry remembered was intense pain and his miserable pleas for death. But somewhere in the haze of pain, Harry had been sure he had heard Dumbledore.

"So what happened next?" Harry leaned forward eagerly, his irritation quickly ebbing away.

"We noticed right away that V-Voldemort had taken you, or had someone else do it, during the attack, but everyone was panicking," Ginny explained, and Harry realized he had never heard Ginny or any of the Weasleys say Voldemort's name before. "There were only a few of us there who knew about the spell, but Dumbledore had the Order wearing Portkeys for Hogwarts, so pretty much everyone from the Order arrived within 10 minutes."

"Ron, Ginny, and I-" Hermione gestured to themselves. "-were frantic with worry because we had no idea how we would find you. But Dumbledore had a hunch as to where Voldemort would try to kill you. He really is brilliant. He supposed that Voldemort would want to end things where they began, so he transported you to Godric's Hollow..." Hermione's voice faded like Ginny's, as if she thought that the mention of where Harry's parents had died would upset him, which she did. What was I thinking? Hermione wondered irritably to herself. How careless could she be, mentioning something like that to him, when he'd barely woken up out of a three day coma? As if reading her thoughts, Ginny shot her a sympathizing look, and Hermione felt a little better.

"So Dumbledore turned a nearby stool into a Portkey and those of us close to you went with Dumbledore, while the rest of the order stayed to fight off the Death Eaters and Dementors," Ron continued for her. "When we arrived, well, V-V-Voldemort was..." Ron's voice wavered slightly. He still struggled to use the name Voldemort opposed to You-Know-Who. "He was ready to kill you, and I reckon he'd used the Cruciatus a few times already."

Everyone in the room collectively shuddered, and Mrs. Weasley sniffled loudly.

"When he saw Dumbledore though..." Fred began.

"He got scared," George finished. "Really scared."

"So he did the only thing he could. He pointed his wand at you and said the killing curse," Remus said. "Only we were ready for it, thanks to Hermione." Hermione blushed but grinned nevertheless. "Her spell was based on the concept that if we focused on our love for you, Patronuses of ourselves would appear and protect you."

Harry was floored. He had no idea what to say or how to thank them for what they had done. Recalling the strange, silver people he had seen before passing out, Harry realized what they had done for him. They had saved his life.

"And the thing is Harry, apparently you're quite popular," Bill joked, but he grew serious. "So many people used the stool Portkey that he never stood a chance. The Demorior Patronuses surrounded you like a protective shield and rebounded the killing curse. He died at the hand of his own curse."

Ron snorted. "And if it wasn't that that killed him, it was certainly all the love in the air." Once again, the group broke out into laughter without Harry. "After he died though, the strangest thing happened."

"He had apparently cast a spell so that if he truly died, all of his followers and the Dementors would die as well," Hermione said. "When we returned to the castle, all the Death Eaters and Dementors were just lifelessly lying on the ground."

"It was really eerie," Ginny murmured. "Mind you, we weren't even sure if they were actually dead, but they were."

Harry wasn't surprised. This was just the type of thing he had come to expect from Voldemort. However, all the new information was overwhelming him. He didn't know how, but he eventually found his voice. "And... how many, how many people were there, at Godric's Hollow? Was anyone hurt?"

His friends and family looked around, trying to count each other. Charlie determined a number first. "Well, I'd have to say about seventeen or so," he answered. "And no, he never touched a hair on any of our heads."

"During the battle in the Great Hall though, a lot of people were injured and some people died," Hermione whispered, biting her lower lip. "But with all the hexes, curses, that were used, it's really hard to know what's going to happen. We haven't heard too much."

"Though we've haven't left this room much," George noted.

"Yeah, waiting for some rough looking kid to wake up," Fred joked.

Everyone else laughed once more, but Harry could not. Seventeen people had loved him enough to save his life and defeat Voldemort. The idea was almost more than he could comprehend.

His shock must have registered on his face, because Mrs. Weasley laughed and clutched his hand tightly once more. "Harry dear, you must know by now you're family! We..." she paused, and Harry could see tears glistening in her eyes. "We love you, Harry. Not because you're the Boy Who Lived, but because you're family."

"I..." Harry had never been more grateful in his life, and he struggled to find the right words. "Thank you," he said sincerely, hoping it had been the right thing to say. Everyone happily beamed at him, except for the twins.

"THANK YOU?" Fred and George erupted simultaneously.

"Well, that's fame for you," Fred announced.

"We save Harry from quite possibly the evilest wizard ever, and he thanks us," George sighed. "Really, Harry."

Harry couldn't help but laugh. "I mean, well, you know." A blush rivaling Ginny's crept up his cheeks slowly, and he hoped no one would notice it. "So what now? After Voldemort... what happens now?"

"Well," Mr. Weasley began. "This war hasn't come without costs..." A somber mood settled in the room, and Harry wished he could ignore the bad news Mr. Weasley was sure to deliver. "There was an attack at the Ministry during the attack at Hogwarts. The whole administration is falling apart. Most of the employees are dead."

Remus nodded. "It will take time for things to return to normal, but I'm certain the new Minister will do his best," he said, a twinkle glimmering in his eyes.

"A new Minister?" Harry asked slowly, unsure if he wanted to know what had happened to the old Minister. He was certain he could guess. "Who is it? And what happened to Fudge?"

"It's Dad!" Ron, Ginny, Fred, George, Charlie, and Bill exclaimed proudly. Harry winced at the loudness, but smiled at the huge, proud grins shared by the Weasley siblings.

"As for Fudge, we reckon the Death Eaters got him. No one's been able to find him," Ron explained.

"Honestly, they very well may not find him. The attack on the Ministry was very serious," Mr. Weasley said. "And I'm not exactly the Minister, I'm more of a surrogate until order is established."

"Oh Arthur, really," Mrs. Weasley admonished, looking at him with pride. "You're the Minister. Don't listen to him, Harry."

Harry could think of nobody in the world who deserved to be Minister of Magic more than Mr. Weasley, who was one of the fairest people Harry had ever met. "You deserve it, Mr. Weasley."

"Ah, thank you Harry. Granted, the job won't be easy, but with the help of the right people, I think we can certainly make some necessary changes at the Ministry."

"Well, as much as we'd love to stay and chat," George said.

"We've got business to attend to," Fred said. "We reckon you'll feel much better now, Harry, without a Dark Lord trying to kill you all the time."

"Though, if you don't feel better, we're certain Ginny would love to take care of you," George teased. "Wouldn't you, Gin-Gin?" However, before Ginny could reply or retaliate, simultaneous 'pops' sounded and everyone knew the twin boys had Apparated.

Ginny's face grew red once more, but when she spoke, she did not sound nearly as embarrassed as her face suggested. "Stupid gits. Of course I want to help you, we all do," Ginny said, gesturing to everyone who remained. Oh, wait till I see those two again! Ginny seethed. A couple of Bogey Bat hexes will put those prats in their place!

Harry grew a little red but quickly began questioning Mr. Weasley about the Ministry to avoid teasing.

"Yes, of course dear," Mrs. Weasley replied. She glanced at her husband and cleared her throat.

Mr. Weasley, however, did not hear her attempt to gain his attention as he animatedly talked to Harry about the new Muggle relation laws he was going to enact. "I've had some really excellent ideas for ages, but now I really have the opportunity to put them to good use. The only problem is Muggles don't even know there's a problem..." He said fondly.

Remus, on the other hand, noticed Mrs. Weasley's attempt and glanced at his watch. "Harry, I hate to leave you like this, but Arthur, Molly, Bill, Charlie, and I have to run." He smiled ruefully. "You're currently looking at a major portion of the people rebuilding the Ministry, who will actually be late for a few important meetings if they don't leave immediately."

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Bill, Charlie, and Remus all hugged Harry before saying their goodbyes. The familiar 'pop' signaled that the five had Apparated and the room filled with an almost awkward silence.

"Ron? Hermione?" They both looked at Harry with strange expressions, but he could not understand what the expressions meant.

Ginny, however, seemed to and quickly excused herself to the bathroom. Oh boy, she thought, as she smiled encouragingly at Hermione. 'Good luck,' she mouthed before she left.

"Is something wrong?" Harry demanded. That ever familiar surge of anger shot through him. He should have known. "Are you not telling me something?"

The last question struck a nerve with Hermione, as she blushed furiously and began sputtering. "Well... we, um-" Hermione looked at Ron expectantly, as if begging him to help her out.

Harry felt a swell of annoyance. "Well, what is it then?"

Ron cleared his throat. "Harry, Hermione and I are engaged. We know you might think that we're too young, but this war made us see how precious time is. You may want to stop us, but we know how we feel and think this is what's right of us. We also want you to be our best man," Ron finished importantly and took Hermione's hand in his own, as if to show how things were going to be from now on, even though the couple had been dating for almost two years.

Harry stifled his laughter. "Er, I completely understand and of course, I'll be your best man," Harry said and tried his best to ignore Ron and Hermione's amazed looks. Unable to resist, he muttered under his breath, "finally!" just loud enough for them to hear.

"Harry!" Hermione chided, but she couldn't hide her happiness. "You can't tell anyone, Harry. We want to keep it a secret for a while."

"What about Ginny?"

"Oh, she knows," Ron grumbled. "Hermione here-" He pointed an accusing finger at her "-couldn't resist blabbing the whole thing. And you should have heard the noises they were making!"

"Ron, as I recall, I've already informed you once that not everyone has the emotional range of a teaspoon like yourself." The remark was said acidly, but Harry knew it meant nothing. "Besides, I love you. Why wouldn't I be excited to be your wife?" She added uncharacteristically, a rather mischievous smirk playing on her face. Hermione had never been one for public displays of affection, and the way she was looking at Ron definitely qualified as one.

Hermione's words had the desired effect; Ron blushed and stared at the floor. "Oh, all right then," he mumbled.

"What? Don't you love me too, dear?" She purred, winking at Harry. He guffawed, as Ron's blush grew even deeper. This was so unlike Hermione, and yet, Harry was certain it seemed uncharacteristic only because he had never seen this side of her. Ron did not seem surprised at all.

Finally Ron looked up. "Of course I do. Almost as much as Quidditch."

"Ron!"

As the three of them laughed, Harry could not recall a time when he had ever felt this happy, with the exception of his times spent with his godfather, Sirius. Briefly, Harry's thoughts drifted to Sirius's death and he was surprised to find that he no longer felt loss or guilt. Harry only hoped Sirius was as happy as he was. Wondering what would have caused this drastic change in reasoning, Harry turned to Hermione. "Is there a reason I'm so-"

"The power of the spell leaves a bit of residual happiness. You probably feel happier than you normally might, given the circumstances," Hermione replied, reading the look on his face.

Harry nodded. He probably should have suspected as much. "How long does this residual stuff last?"

"I honestly don't know, we've never used the spell on anyone but you. But I expect it could last for ages, it's not everyday you have seventeen people save your life and defeat the evilest wizard in the world simply because they loved you," Hermione answered, her eyes sparkling.

Once again Harry nodded and felt a wave of awe at having so many people care so deeply about him. Dumbledore had been right; the power to destroy Voldemort had been love. He glanced at Hermione, only now fully realizing what she had done for him. "How did you- when did you come up with the spell? And how?"

Hermione's face glowed and she was thoughtfully silent for moment. "Well, Harry, after you told us about the Prophecy in our sixth year, I spent a lot of time thinking about how to defeat Voldemort. I knew the thought of being a murderer bothered you, so I focused on finding a way to defeat him without you having to use the Killing Curse." She said Voldemort's name confidently, having overcome her fear of the name in fifth year.

Harry stared at Hermione. He had never mentioned his fear of becoming a murderer to anyone. "H-How did you know that?"

Hermione blushed. "Well, I didn't really. Ginny told me she thought you kept the Prophecy from us for so long because you didn't fancy us knowing about you having to kill or be killed by Voldemort. She reckoned you didn't like the idea of being a murderer, even if it was Voldemort."

Amazed at Ginny's perceptiveness, Harry simply nodded. "I'm sorry, I just..."

"Harry, it's okay," Ron said. He shot Harry a look that indicated that they understood and nothing more needed to be said. Harry felt extremely grateful at not having to elaborate.

"Er, so Hermione, how did you figure the spell out?" Harry asked.

"I really focused on the part of the Prophecy about you having 'powers the Dark Lord knows not' because it felt important to me somehow. I spent loads of time in the library, but I couldn't find even a single bit of helpful information." Hermione sounded affronted as she said this, but Harry and Ron traded grins.

Ron whispered, "No helpful information in a room full of books? Perish the thought!"

Hermione continued as if she had not heard Ron, but judging by the absent frown on her face, Harry guessed she had not. "So, I started seeking out people who knew you to see if anyone had noticed something special that Ron and I hadn't. However, the only thing I gleaned from asking was that every person I spoke to cared about you a great deal. Not because you were the Boy-Who-Lived, Harry, but because you were their friend," Hermione paused a moment to let Harry absorb the information before continuing.

"So I began trying to think of a spell that would rein in all that love that people felt. I really had no idea what I was doing, until one night Ron was complaining after a D.A. meeting about how hard it was to produce a corporeal Patronus. Then it truly hit me! If we devised the spell like the Patronus, only using love instead of joy, then we could protect you! Because Dumbledore always said that the one thing Voldemort didn't understand was love."

"At first, I reckoned she was mental, because she muttered things like "love" and "Voldemort" and ran off to the library," Ron added. "But she worked the whole spell out in four hours and showed Dumbledore. Blimey, I'd never seen him look so happy." At this, Ron glanced at Hermione, both his love and pride quite evident. "Dumbledore called a special meeting to teach everyone in the Order who was close to you. Hermione taught Neville, Luna, Ginny, and me."

At this, Harry stared at the white sheets in front of him, very desperately trying not to shed tears. He blinked rapidly, and felt Hermione and Ron look away while he composed himself. After a few minutes of silence, Harry drew a haggard breath. "Why didn't you tell me about it?" he asked.

"We didn't want him to break through your Occumency shields and find out about it. And knowing how to defeat him would be a very hard emotion to hide," Hermione explained.

This made sense to Harry and he fell silent once more, trying to determine what question to ask next. "When did you figure this all out?"

"The beginning of seventh year. I wanted to tell you Harry, I really did, but we didn't want Voldemort to find out about it." Hermione's voice was sincere, and Harry couldn't find it in his heart to be angry.

"It's fine, Hermione. Who were the other people that did the spell? Ten people were here, who were the others?"

"Oh, it was Tonks, Moody, Luna, Neville, Professor McGonagall, and, of course, Dumbledore," Ron said quickly, his voice extremely low.

Harry looked at him in confusion. Tonks, Moody, Luna, Neville, McGonagall, Dumbledore...that's only six. "Wait a second, Ron, Charlie said seventeen. That's only six."

"Yeah..." Ron looked scared and a red blush inched up the back of his neck and settled into his ears. He let go of Hermione's hand and began twiddling his thumbs, which struck Harry as very odd because he had never seen Ron do so before.

"Who was it?" Harry asked very slowly, though he suddenly had a very good idea. It couldn't be...

"Professor Snape," Hermione whispered. Tears filled her eyes, and she impatiently brushed them away.

Harry was very silent. Even though he had suspected so, hearing it confirmed hurt his ears and his heart. "Are you... are you sure? Would the spell even work for him?"

At this, Hermione flinched. "It would only work if... if he loved you."

"And did his... you know... work?"

Hermione didn't answer, but her eyes glistened with tears, confirming Harry's suspicions.

"Oh." Harry paused, thinking for a moment. "But you said all the Death Eaters died after Voldemort did."

"They did. Snape-" Ron began, but stopped when Hermione glared him. "Professor Snape is dead."

"Did he... Did he know what killing Voldemort would do?" Harry barely managed the question. Despite the seven years of torture Snape had subjected to him, he had never truly wanted Snape to die. By the end of his seventh year, the two had reached an almost mutual understanding and respect for one another. Snape still criticized everything Harry did and insulted his father, but the loathing looks and unreasonable marks had disappeared. He thought of all the times Snape had attempted to protect him... at the Quidditch matches in first year, at the Shrieking Shack his third year... the risks he had taken to be a spy for Dumbledore...

Ron and Hermione slowly nodded. "He knew," Ron stated grimly. "He was... very brave," Ron finally said. Harry knew how Ron felt; missing Snape and respecting him for his role in the war was a very strange feeling, even though they both knew it was well deserved.

"Oh."

Sensing Harry's discomfort, Ron quickly searched for a new topic. "I wish you could have seen the spell, mate."

Harry glanced at Ron curiously. "Why's that?"

"It was wicked. All seventeen of us marched up, following Dumbledore, and shouted the spell. Silver mist flew out of our wands just like in Expecto Patronum, but instead of animals, it turned into copies of us. And they all crowded around you, really angry that he had tried to kill you."

"Ron's copy was quite temperamental. In fact, I'd say he was downright furious at Voldemort for attempting to kill you." She winked at Harry, and he felt a great sisterly surge of affection for Hermione. Ron stopped twiddling his fingers and casually draped one arm across Hermione's shoulders.

Ron contentedly sighed, and the three of them sat in peace, lost in their own thoughts.

Hermione was the first to break the silence. "A part of me can't believe it's finally over, knowing how much we've lost these last two years," she murmured. Though she did not specify, Harry and Ron knew she was referring to the death of her parents, Hagrid, Percy, and the various families of friends who had been lost their sixth year. "I miss my parents and Hagrid terribly, but I can't help feeling lucky. We won. I have Ron, my fiancé. I have my best friend Harry. I have my best friend Ginny. The people I need most are still alive, despite the odds. Besides, all those attacks in sixth year seem so long ago..."

Her eyes misted over, but she was determined to keep the atmosphere happy. "I just hope that wherever they are, they know I'm happy and they are happy too."

Harry looked down at the sheets, blinking rapidly to stop the tears. Institutively, Harry knew Ron was doing the same. Moments like this hadn't happened very frequently before, but Harry sensed that many more were to come, judging by how many had happened just since he'd woken up. The war does things like that, he noted. Even after it's over.

"Hey... is it uh, safe to come back now?" Ginny's cautious voice floated into the room, as she peered through a small crack in the doorway.

"Of course," Hermione answered, wiping away a few final tears. I love you Mum and Dad, wherever you are.

"Oh good, because I walked around in so many circles waiting that one of the nurses thought I was a patient." She stuck her tongue out to convey her irritation, and flopped into a chair close to Harry. "She even tried to strap me to one of the beds!"

Looking at the trio, who all sported red rimmed eyes and stuffy noses, Ginny laughed. "What, were we having a pity party in here? And I wasn't invited? Scandalous!" Settling in a chair close to Harry, Ginny said, "So, firstly I was born into a family of all males, with the exception of Mum, so every doll I owned was missing its head. Life wasn't too dreadful, but then I met the twins and Ron and you can just imagine..."

As Ginny carried on, and the rest of them laughed, Harry was certain his life had never felt so promising.