Harry Potter and the Mask of Death

rex41e

Story Summary:
Set immediately after the events of Deathly Hallows. Lord Voldemort has been defeated and Harry returns to Hogwarts for his Seventh Year. The wizarding world is rebuilding themselves under the new Minister of Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt. But a few Death Eaters still roam free and they plan to either resurrect their old master or elect a new master -- the only problem is they need a weapon that death himself wields. Join Harry, Hermione, Ron and Ginny in their greatest adventure yet.

Chapter 01 - The Survivors

Posted:
10/18/2007
Hits:
692
Author's Note:
Special Thanks and Love go to my beta Kas. Thanks for bringing my work to life. You are truly amazing.


The Sarah Murphy™ is trademark of Casca. Author of Seeking Ginny.

Harry's dream sequence at the beginning of this fic is taken from Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows by Author J.K. Rowling.

Special Thanks and Love go to my beta Kas. Thanks for bringing my work to life. You are truly amazing.

The sun was shining brightly over the castle grounds as Harry adjusted his position while sleeping in the four-poster bed. In his dream he was circling Lord Voldemort, their wands drawn and their eyes locked together.

"You dare - "

"Yes, I dare," said Harry. "I know things you don't know, Tom Riddle. I know lots of important things that you don't. Want to hear some before you make another big mistake?"

"Is it love again? Dumbledore's favourite solution, love..." said Voldemort. "If it's not love that will save you this time, you must believe that you have magic that I do not, or else a weapon more powerful than mine."

"I believe both."

"But what does it matter?" Voldemort said softly. "Even if you are right, Potter, it makes no difference to you and me. You no longer have the phoenix wand: we duel on skill alone..."

"Avada Kedavra!"

"Expelliarmus!"

Two bolts of light collided in the great hall, one green and one red, and at the same instant the green bolt rebounded and hit its caster square in the chest. He fell in slow motion, his hands spread apart on the floor. Voldemort was no more.

Harry woke up with a start and stared at his surroundings. He was in the Gryffindor boys' dormitory. He knew because of the four-poster bed he was lying on, and because Ron's trademark snores could be heard coming from the corner of the room.

He got up and slowly crept out of the room, not wanting to disturb the others. Apart from Ron and himself, Neville and Dean were also asleep in the dormitory. The only person apparently missing was Seamus Finnigan. He remembered casting a shield in front of Seamus to protect to him from Voldemort, but a rebounding curse must have hit him from somewhere. He wondered why he was thinking such things. It was only then he remembered yesterday's battle against Voldemort.

A tight knot formed in Harry's stomach as he remembered his dream and the events of yesterday's battle. Voldemort had finally been defeated, but he'd made sure he'd scared the people who'd survived. So many had lost their lives yesterday, so many families had been torn apart. Harry crept down the spiral staircase and into the Gryffindor common room. There he saw George looking out the windows and into the school grounds. Not wanting to face him, he tried to sneak past and suddenly bumped into Angelina coming through the Fat Lady's portrait.

"Hi Harry," she said. "You all right?"

"Yeah I'm okay, you?"

"I'm okay, just taking these to George,' she said, holding the two cups of hot chocolate in front of her.

"Oh, see you around then."

He went out of the common room and descended down the stairs heading towards the Great Hall.

He started thinking about George and Fred. The pair had been inseparable. He thought about the times they'd played Quidditch, the times they'd mocked Ron, and the Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. The shop had been going so well. Fred had even forgiven Percy for being such a huge prat. They were brothers after all. But now he was gone, there was no more Fred. No more twins, just George. He was going to miss getting their names mixed up.

He remembered meeting Fred on the train platform like it was yesterday. He had accepted him into his family, and had been willing give up his life for him. Come to think of it, the whole Weasley family had readily given up their lives to ensure his protection. He knew he was forever in debt to them, they had taken him as one of their own, and now they had paid the price: they had lost one of their sons, all because of him.

"But it's all over now..." a small voice said in his head. "Voldemort's gone, you defeated him."

He shook his head a little and stopped halfway down the stairs he was descending. There he sat as the stairs rotated from one landing to the other. His thoughts filled with the people who had decided to fight against Voldemort and his Death Eaters. More than fifty people had lost their lives yesterday. Fifty people!

Tonks and Lupin had been amongst them. Damn! Tonks had just had a baby boy. Now he was going to be raised as an orphan, another child whose parents had been taken away from him by Voldemort, another child who would have to grow up to learn that his parents could not be there to comfort him, to show him love, to blow out the candles with him on his first birthday cake.

Harry buried his face into his hands, and he suddenly felt a huge hole appear in his heart. He had never liked Zacharias Smith: he had often felt Smith was a bit proud and pompous. After all, he was running ahead of the first years to escape, but had in the long run to fight against the Death Eaters. Colin Creevey wasn't even of age, but he had also stayed to fight, and now both he and Zachariahs were dead. He let the emotions rise in him as streams of tears flooded from his eyes. He sat there for minutes or even hours, he wasn't sure how long, but he sat there, the stairs swinging from one side to the other until he was ready to go down into the Great Hall.

As soon as he entered, the whole hall went silent. There was a moment of complete stillness, and then the whole hall erupted into cheers, shouts and cries of joy. He would have traded all the gold in Gringotts to be anywhere else as people stood, bowing and clapping their hands.

He wanted to tell them to stop, that it was okay, that there was no need for them idolise him anymore, that he had only played his part in the prophecy. But before he could say anything, Professor McGonagall pulled him towards the huge oak doors leading to the entrance, simultaneously ushering the crowd to be silent and continue eating. She held his hands as they walked through the castle grounds towards the lake.

"I'm so proud of you, Harry," she said, blinking back tears. "You've been through so much...Oh, Harry!" she said again, pulling him into a tight hug. Releasing him, she cleared her throat and quickly wiped at her eyes.

"I want you to know that you, Miss Granger, and Mr Weasley are welcome to return to Hogwarts to complete your seventh year."

Harry smiled at her abrupt return to her brisk, snappish manner.

"So Hogwarts will reopen?" he asked, looking at McGonagall and then at the castle. The stairs leading to the entrance courtyard and Great Hall lay in ruins, there were huge mounds of earth where the giants had fought Grawp last night, trees looked felled in the Forbidden Forest and a part of the castle looked like it was tilting.

"It will be rebuilt," she said, as if she was reading his mind. "Kingsley promised that the re-construction of Hogwarts will be the Ministry's top priority."

Harry smiled and looked beyond the lake, at the part of Hagrid's cabin that was visible over the treetops. He sure wasn't going to miss a chance to return to his first true home. The only place he had really belonged. He gave Professor McGonagall a smile and accepted her offer, saying he would gladly return to finish his seventh year.

He walked back to the doors leading to the Great Hall with Professor McGonagall, both of them silent and lost in their own thoughts. Harry was thinking of the million things he had to tell Ginny. Now that the war was over, there was no excuse for him not to be with her. There was no one to fear, and there was no fear that she might be trapped or used against him.

He was free, she was free, and it was over.

It was really over. No more Death Eaters, no more Voldemort, no more waiting for terrible news from the Daily Prophet and, best of all, no more pain from his scar. He absent-mindedly slid his hand under his hair and touched his scar.

"I'll leave you now, there are things I need to attend to," said Professor McGonagall, her voice breaking into his thoughts. He simply nodded and she walked away towards the Headmistress's office.

Harry walked back into the Great Hall. To his relief there were fewer people. He walked over to the Gryffindor table where Ron and Hermione were seated. Ron had his hands on her waist and she was leaning on his shoulder. He looked at them for a moment and smiled. It had taken the events of yesterday's war to finally get them to appreciate their feelings, and now they were sitting there, holding each other like lovers who had been together for centuries.

At least some good had come out of the war.

As he approached they turned to him, oblivious to the fact that everyone else in the hall had stopped to look, and sat down.

"Hey. Where have you been?" asked Hermione.

"Having a talk with Professor McGonagall," Harry replied, helping himself to some rice pudding. Ron was too busy with his mouthful to reply. All he could do was nod to acknowledge Harry's presence.

"She says we're invited to return to Hogwarts to finish our seventh year if we want."

"Great!" Hermione said. "You told her we'd love to, right?"

"Err...Yeah, I did - "

"'Ot! 'Fter all we 'ave don!" exclaimed Ron, bits of food flying everywhere. Taking a hard swallow he continued. "We don't need school, we should be inducted into the ministry and given Orders of Merlin, I mean, seriously - "

"Oh, shut up, Ron! Harry, you're glad to return to school, aren't you?"

Harry didn't need to be told that they were dragging him into one of their pointless arguments again. Some things, it seemed, were never going to change. His two best friends had stuck with him until the very end, risked their lives for him, and fought with him. Now they had found love together, but it seemed like their endless bickering would never stop.

He suddenly looked down at the golden goblet he was using to drink his pumpkin juice, feigning interest to avoid being dragged into the argument that was still going on between Ron and Hermione. It had the Hogwarts insignia on one side and the Gryffindors' on the other. He wondered whether the other houses had insignias on their plates and goblets and, if they did, what would happen if he were to stand up and switch them. How would the house-elves react?

He was suddenly distracted by a flock of owls flying into the Great Hall.

They landed on different tables, delivering their post to the correct recipients. He was sure the news of Voldemort's defeat was only just beginning to reach every nook and cranny of the wizarding world. To his surprise, however, he was shocked to see half a dozen owls heading in his direction. Before he knew it, letters were pouring into his lap, onto his pudding, and onto the table.

"Gee Harry - I never knew you had so many fans."

"Thanks, Neville," Harry said dryly as Neville took a seat at the table opposite him. "Help me open these, will you?"

They spent the next few minutes reading letters from various wizards and witches, most of them expressing how grateful they were for the Dark Lord's defeat.

He also received a few letters from children who said he was their favourite hero. Many of them asked for his autograph so they could boast to their friends. A few letters, however, were completely off trail.

"Would you look at this, Harry?" Ron exclaimed, holding a picture of a middle-aged witch. She had her back facing the picture and was doing some sort of unimaginable twist, managing to pull her robes above her waist to expose her behind. Her letter contained graphic descriptions of just what she wanted to do to Harry lest she ever meet him. Ron read the letter over Harry's shoulder and whistled.

"Bottoms like that and any guy..." He stopped suddenly as Hermione shot him a scorching look. Before he knew it, the picture had suddenly burst into flames. Hermione dropped her wand back into her robes as Ron yelped. Harry laughed with Neville and the others on the Gryffindor table.

His eyes suddenly caught Hermione's, who were looking at something behind him in surprise.

"What?" he asked, turning his head sharply to see what she looking at.

It was Cho Chang. He'd almost forgotten that she was here, and that she'd answered Neville's call to the DA, fighting in the battle yesterday.

"Hi Harry," she said, flushing a shade of deep pink.

"Hi, Cho... err...Are you doing all right?"

"Yeah...I s'pose...Can I talk to you real quick? I mean - away from here." She glanced coldly at Hermione as she spoke the last words, and the two girls shared a look of mutual dislike.

"Sure." He turned to Ron and Hermione. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

Hermione was about to protest, when Ron shook his head to silence her. She began whispering into his ear, but he shook his head again adamantly as Cho led Harry towards the door to trophy room.

*-*-*-*-*

Ron woke up and looked around him, remembering he was in the Gryffindor boys' dormitory. He mind trailed back to the events of yesterday and he sat upright, thinking about Voldemort's defeat. It was finally over.

Then he thought about Fred and his heart ached.

The twins had always been a source of inspiration to him, although he would rather kiss a gnome than let them know. He always looked up to them, and they never disappointed him when it came to their mischief. He remembered the stunts they'd pulled in his fifth year when they tortured Umbridge. That was a great laugh - the swamp, he had no idea how they'd even thought of it, let alone created it. They were geniuses. And now they were forever separated, Fred was no more. He was going to miss their synchronised way of talking. He was going to miss Fred. He didn't think anything would ever be able to take away the hurt he was feeling.

Somewhere in the depths of his thoughts he saw a face with bushy hair. She was smiling at him.

He had finally come to terms with his feelings for Hermione. He gave a little grin. If there was something good about this war, it was that it had brought a little love to everyone's lives. He felt like a prat for having to wait until they were right in the middle of a war for him to express his true feelings, but happy nonetheless.

He went down into the common room to find Angelina and Fred talking.

No - of course it wasn't Fred. It was George she was talking to. For that fraction of second there had been a slight hope, a slight possibility, that it was all in his imagination, that Fred had survived and there he was- talking to Angelina. He simply nodded at George and said hi to Angelina, sitting in one of the armchairs near the fireplace. He was just about to head down to the Great Hall when Hermione came downstairs from the girls' dormitories.

She looked around the common room and smiled. Moving towards him first, she gave him a quick kiss before joining George and Angelina. From the corner of his eye, he could see George raise an eyebrow at the sight of the kiss.

At least his brother still had a sense of humour.

He got up from the chair a few minutes later and motioned to Hermione that he was going down for lunch. She bade farewell to George and Angelina and joined him. When they climbed out the portrait hole she grabbed his hands and pulled him to face her. Suddenly, she placed a soft kiss on his cheek before heading down to the stairs to the great hall.

*-*-*-*-*

Hermione woke up in the girls' dormitory and sat up in her poster bed, looking around. She had a headache and it had nothing to do with the fact that she'd been sleeping or had a nightmare. She looked around grudgingly- even the day after a war of epic proportions, she still wasn't a morning person. Yawning, she headed to the bathrooms to take a shower. Inside she heard Lavender Brown talking to someone else across the cubicle.

"I know, but it hurts me that Ron never talked to me about anything."

"Oh, give up on him already, Lavender! He was no good for you anyway, we both know that."

There was a huge sigh and Lavender said, "I think he likes know-it-all Granger."

"I would expect so. Who does she like? Is she with Harry or Ron or both of them?"

Hermione listened in shock as the girls continued to gossip. How foolish could they be? She stepped out of the bathroom and re-entered with an obviously exaggerated bang. She slipped off her sleeping dress and stepped into the shower. It sent warm water down her body, each sprinkle taking her pains and washing them away. Several seconds later she noticed the two girls had stopped talking and were taking their own baths in silence.

Her mind drifted to yesterday. She couldn't help thinking about the Elder Wand and the Deathly Hallows - they'd been a fairy tale, and yet, they'd been real. Harry was right all along. She'd had the answers all the time, but had chosen not to believe. Harry had even told her that Dumbledore had counted on her to slow him down, and it had worked. It had allowed Harry to master the Hallows. She remembered how Ron had come up with the idea to retrieve the Basilisk fangs and how he had thought of using parseltounge to open the chamber. He really was amazing sometimes.

Her thoughts churned in her head as the warm spray continued to shower her body. Once down in the chamber, she and Ron had tried to use the Basilisk's fangs to pierce the Horcrux. Little did she know how difficult it would turn out to be.

She had lifted the fang high into the air and brought it down in a swift arc. The cup had cracked on the first impact, and a faint mist rose from its surface. She hesitated for a moment.

It was a moment too long.

The figures slowly transformed into her parents.

"You have failed us Hermione. We're pretty disappointed in you, sugar teeth," the mist said with the dreamy, yet terrifying, voice of her dad.

"Hermione, no! Don't listen to it!" Ron said as she took a step backwards, away from the figures. "Stab it, it's only trying to confuse you! Those aren't your parents!"

She lifted her hands again, tears in her eyes, and walked towards the cup. She paused as the figures of her parents transformed into McGonagall and Dumbledore.

"You have failed, Miss Granger." The Dumbledore figure spoke. "You have failed Harry and Ron. Voldemort has won, you were not smart enough..."

"Stab it! Hermione - "

"You're not even a witch, you're definitely not worthy to carry magic in your veins." The McGonagall figure spoke.

"S-S-She's right," Hermione stuttered as she broke down and sank to the floor, tears pouring down her face.

"No! You're not Hermione, you're not, we got this far because we all worked hard together. You're the one who worked out the Beedle book, you figured out the swords importance, you came up with the ideas for infiltrating the Ministry, and you saved our lives with your spells. You're the most intelligent witch I know." He moved closer towards her.

"Do it for us all. For yourself, your parents, for Harry. Do it for me..."

Ron's last words finally sank in, and for a moment she was scared. She didn't want to use him as her resolve.

She took a deep, shuddering breath and rose shakily to her feet. Raising the fang high over her head again, she stabbed the cup fiercely, concentrating all her terror into that one blow. It shattered completely, breaking into pieces.

The mist, which had already began to shape into another figure, let out a high-pitched scream and vanished. Her mind was a little fuzzy on the details, but she remembered Ron holding her in an embrace and trying to comfort her.

The banks that held her feelings for him were at their bursting point. She felt his heart beating against her body, and slowly her rhythm matched his. She wanted him to touch her, she wanted to feel his lips and have him pour his heart out to her. Before she knew it, she called his name with a soft moan.

"Err...Let's get going... Harry - the others..." She could hear the embarrassment in her voice- she hadn't expected her feelings to get the better of her at that particular moment. She noticed his disappointment as they left the chamber on the broom he had brought down with them: she tried not to associate it with the fact that they had almost shared a moment.

"It's because he saw me so weak, he thinks I'm weak, as always," she told herself. But when he mentioned saving the house elves, she saw something in him. She didn't know how she had always missed it, but here it was: in the middle of a war, he still cared about the things he knew she cared about. There was no other time, now was the right moment. With that line of thought, she leapt at him, feeling the need, the urge, to be in his arms again- the urge to feel him.

It was now or never.

He was taken aback by the kiss, but he soon found himself and kissed her back.

It was beautiful, like nothing she'd ever felt before. He lifted her up, and for that moment nothing mattered. Nothing- not the Death Eaters, the war, the Horcruxes. All that mattered was Ron, and the way he was kissing her.

Her thoughts broke off and she realised she had been in the shower for nearly forty minutes.

"Finite," she murmured to the shower as she stepped out to dry herself and get dressed. A few minutes later, she walked out of the dorm room and into the Gryffindor common room. She saw Ron sitting on the sofa all by himself. Suddenly she remembered him quoting her on Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration, and a quick smile spread across her face. She planted a kiss on him before joining Angelina and George in their conversation. A few minutes later she followed a hungry Ron out of the common room down into the Great Hall.

*-*-*-*-*

Ginny woke up, gave a tireless yawn, and sat up, rubbing her eyes. Looking over at her table, she picked up her watch. It was four thirty in the afternoon. She couldn't believe she had slept through lunch. She looked up as a feminine figure approached her bed from the other side of the room and pulled the curtains from her bed. It was her best friend Sarah Murphy.

"Thank god you're awake! I was getting ready to leave you and go have some lunch."

"I thought lunch would be over by now."

"No, no it's a whole day of feasting. There's too much to celebrate."

Ginny was just about to ask Sarah what she was talking about when she remembered the events of yesterday. Voldemort had been defeated, and his Death Eaters destroyed. She remembered seeing her life flash before her very eyes as Bellatrix sent a killing curse her way. She remembered thinking about lots of things, actually - things she was going to miss, things she had never done, things she had always said she would try to do.

Harry.

She remembered telling herself that she wouldn't be there to hug Harry when the fight was over, she wouldn't be there to run into his arms. Throwing caution to the wind as there would be nothing else. He wouldn't need to go and save the world anymore. She didn't know how she'd managed to get out of the way.

She told herself it was the thought of never seeing her family again, the thought of another girl nursing Harry's wounds after the battle, making him forget about her, the girl who had always loved him, the girl who had always waited for him.

No! she shrieked as she barely escaped death. She wouldn't allow it.

"Ginny! You're taking forever!" Sarah called from the Gryffindor's sixth year bedroom. "Hurry up!"

"All right, all right, I'm coming."

Emerging from the stairs, her eyes drifted over to Angelina, who was sitting on the couch, a man with bright red hair ensconced in her lap. It took Ginny a moment to comprehend that the man was George.

Moving closer, Ginny realised that he was asleep, his head on her shoulder, his face pale. Ginny reflected that it was probably the first time he'd slept since Fred had...

She swallowed hard, blinking back the sudden tears that sprang to her eyes. Glancing up, she saw Angelina looking at her squarely. Ginny fixed her with a gaze.

Take care of him for me, her eyes said silently. Please, don't let me lose another brother.

Angelina nodded slightly. "I will," she said softly.

Ginny smiled slightly and returned the nod. Forcing herself to turn away, she headed out of the portrait hole and downstairs, Sarah by her side.

*-*-*-*-*

Harry tried to look anywhere but into Cho's eyes, but she was making him very uncomfortable. He could hear the tears in her voice.

Why was she telling him all this now? Why couldn't she see things between them were over, that they had never really been that serious in the first place? What was it with war and people realising how much they needed each other?

But he felt like he needed to say something, something to console her. He couldn't handle crying girls, he never could. And he knew Cho well enough to know that there were tears very close to the surface. But still - he had to tell her the truth - there was no them. There was only room for one girl in his heart and that girl was Ginny.

"Cho...err... listen... don't get me wrong," he started awkwardly.

"Oh Harry, I'm so sorry. I want us to be together."

"Err...It's not like - "

"No Harry, I know you're angry at me, but I cared for you all through, praying that you would be okay and now nothing can keep us apart!" Her speech was pressured and shrill, as if she had been building to this moment for months.

"I was..." he began again, but she cut him off.

"I love you Harry. I really do love you." She said the last part in such a low voice that it was barely audible over the noise he was hearing in the Great Hall. He stared at Cho in shock.

*-*-*-*-*

Ginny and Sarah entered the Great Hall, and automatically moved towards the Gryffindor table.

Not that it could be called the Gryffindor table anymore, seeing as though people had just sat wherever they pleased yesterday, Ginny reflected. Still, after six years of sitting at a particular table, you kind of got attached. Old habits died hard, she guessed.

They spotted two of their fellow sixth years that and moved towards them. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw two people disappear behind the door leading to the trophy room. She sat down, grinning at Ron and Hermione, who were seated on the far right with Neville with a dozen of letters scattered in front of them.

She had only just poured herself some pumpkin juice and started filling her plate when a disturbing thought occurred to her. She sprang up so fast that she startled Sarah, her goblet tipping over and spilling its contents everywhere.

Her eye caught Hermione's, and suddenly knew that her mind wasn't playing tricks on her. Hermione started to shake her head silently but she didn't let that stop her. That had been Harry going into the trophy room. With a girl.

Only it wasn't just any girl- it was Cho Chang. She could never forget that black hair and smooth body of hers, the body that Harry had been so attracted to.

"Where's Harry?" She directed her question to Hermione, who was seated a few places away. Hermione blushed scarlet.

"I - he - is..." she spluttered.

"That was him with Cho, wasn't it?" Ginny asked, but she didn't need Hermione's confirmation. She started running towards the trophy room, Hermione calling to her. But she had no time to reply.

He was in there with Cho. With Cho!

Merlin help him.

By the time she was done with him, he'd wish Voldemort had killed him.

*-*-*-*-*

Harry turned his head back and blinked for a second in shock, realising that Cho was so close to him now that he could see the moisture on her lips.

She stepped forward and he stepped back, desperate to put some distance between them. He felt so awkward that he was immensely grateful as he heard the trophy room door swing open behind him. He took another step closer to the exit so he could see who was running down the spiral stairs into the room, but as he turned his head back to Cho she grabbed him, her lips seeking his, desperate that the person coming down the stairs would interrupt the moment she was supposed to be having.

Harry was shocked by the kiss. Almost instantly he pulled back from a struggling Cho, and she looked dismayed. He looked up in time to see a flash of red hair whip out of sight, and the sound of sobs reached his ears. He felt his heart plummet to the soles of his shoes.

Ginny.

It took him a moment to realise that there was still someone standing at the foot of the stairs, their arms folded tightly, their face set in a grim line. Looking upwards into the face, he realised that he had never seen Hermione so angry before.

Authors Note:

I searched and searched for Ginny's best friend but couldn't find anyone in the novels. So I decided to use Sarah Murphy. She was created by one of my favourite fanfic authors Casca (Author of Seeking Ginny, www.thehiddentower.net.) Her character perfectly blends with the kind of best friend I wanted Ginny to have in my novel so I decided to borrow her. Credit and thanks go to Casca for creating such a wonderful character.

Writing Ron's character in the beginning was hard because I was trying to understand how he would feel after Fred's death, and I realised he really does have the emotional range of a teaspoon. So I just went creative about it.


I searched and searched for Ginny’s best friend but couldn’t find anyone in the novels. So I decided to use Sarah Murphy. She was created by one of my favourite fanfic authors Casca (Author of Seeking Ginny, www.thehiddentower.net.) Her character perfectly blends with the kind of best friend I wanted Ginny to have in my novel so I decided to borrow her. Credit and thanks go to Casca for creating such a wonderful character. Writing Ron’s character in the beginning was hard because I was trying to understand how he would feel after Fred’s death, and I realised he really does have the emotional range of a teaspoon. So I just went creative about it.