Harry Potter and the War of Souls

Chapter 7

Ginny's Tears

Harry apparated back to the Burrow as quickly after he could gather his few things at Grimmauld Place. Based on what he already knew from his dream, the scene around him at the Burrow was hardly surprising. Chairs that had been set in a wide half-circle for guests were now toppled on their sides. There were blast marks on overturned tables, and even patches of the ground itself appeared to be scorched.

Beneath a tall archway was a wreath of yellow roses that were lying alone, untouched. They looked so out of place amid the destruction that Harry couldn't help but notice them.

"Who's there?" a voice called from inside the Burrow. A brightly lit wand was aimed at him and Harry shielded his eyes. "Oh, Harry, it's you. Come inside, quickly."

Harry nodded and walked into the Burrow, seeing Charlie at the door. Inside the Burrow were the rest of the Weasleys and Hermione, all who looked up at him as he entered. His eyes met Ginny's. She had tear stains on her cheeks.

"I know," he said before anyone was forced to say something to him. "I'm sorry I wasn't here. I'm sorry about Fleur."

"You couldn't have stopped this, Harry," Mrs. Weasley said from a corner of the room where she was standing close to her husband. Her voice sounded more hollow than he'd ever heard it before. "Don't blame yourself."

Harry didn't respond and he was fairly sure nobody noticed why. She may have told him not to blame himself, but he wondered how they could pretend this didn't happen because of him.

He sat on the ground near Ron and Hermione and stared at the floor. After a few minutes, he became aware that Ginny, who was sitting on a chair behind them, had moved her leg so that it grazed against his shoulder. He leaned ever so slightly into it, and though the contact was minimal, it helped him get through the rest of the silent hour until Mr. Weasley finally announced they should all go up to bed.

When he and Ron were finally alone upstairs, Ron said, "You tricked Hermione and me, you know. When you said you'd meet us back at the Burrow, we thought that meant you were going there right away."

"I went to Grimmauld Place," Harry said tiredly.

"Why?"

"Remember when we were at Hogsmeade last fall and ran into Mundungus? I wanted to find out what he took."

"And did you?" Ron asked, climbing into bed.

"I think he took a horcrux. Maybe two."

Forgetting he had been upset with Harry, Ron sat back up. "Bloody hell, Harry! Then we just have to find out what he did with them and we can destroy them, right?"

"It's easier to talk about than to do, I s'pose, but that's the idea."

"Do you know how to do that, to destroy a horcrux?"

"No." When he destroyed Riddle's diary, he hadn't known the full significance of what he was doing. It just happened. And Dumbledore never told him how he destroyed Marvolo's ring. Harry could have kicked himself for not asking. It just hadn't ever occurred to him he wouldn't always have Dumbledore around to help him.

Harry was about to ask how Bill was doing, or where Bill even was, but he heard snores beside him. After what seemed like several hours, he fell asleep too.

Everyone in the home seemed busy when Harry finally woke up the next morning. He was nearly accosted by Mr. Weasley when he came downstairs.

"Harry? Can I have a word?"

"Yes sir."

He led Harry to the corner and said, "I understand that since the death of Sirius, Grimmauld Place passed to you."

"Yes, it did."

"There have been some questions about its security now that Dumbledore has gone, whether the charms placed upon it still exist."

"I've wondered the same thing."

"Molly and I stayed up late last night discussing this, but I must ask you about this now. We feel it's necessary to begin setting up new charms to protect the secrecy of Grimmauld Place. That will take a few days, of course, but then once we feel it's safe, we hope to go there to stay for awhile, just as we did before. It could be open to any member of the Order, anyone we trust who needs a safe place to stay."

"Of course," Harry said quickly.

"The Burrow isn't safe anymore. Last night's attack was directed at us, at our family. We're lucky not to have suffered more losses."

Harry nodded and wished again he had been here to help.

"There is one more thing I should say and I hope you'll take this as it's meant," Mr. Weasley continued. "I believe we know each other well enough now to speak frankly. Harry, we believe that he-who-must-not-be-named is trying to get to you - indirectly. We see Him attempting to peel back the layers around you until ultimately, he hopes, you'll be left alone."

Harry lowered his eyes. That was as frank, and as accurate, as anyone could ever hope to be.

Then Mr. Weasley put his hand around Harry's neck, encouraging him to look up again. "But you will never be alone again, do you understand? Whatever happens, Harry, you are family here and always will be."

Harry felt a sting his eyes and pushed the tears away. He pressed his lips together and nodded, and felt grateful when Mr. Weasley said a quick, "Thanks then, for the use of Grimmauld Place," as he left.

Breakfast was a solemn affair and he was able to discern from the minimal conversation that Bill had gone with Fleur's family to escort her body away for burial. Mrs. Weasley said something that implied the Veela have their own funeral rituals, and other than Bill, preferred no other outsiders to attend.

Harry looked across the table and thought Ginny was unusually somber, even given the situation. She met his gaze once or twice during the meal and her face was so sad he wondered how she could even make the motions of eating.

But it wasn't until late that afternoon that he had a chance to talk to her alone. Ron and Hermione were on their own somewhere and so he had gone outside to walk around. Ginny was outside too, and was leaning against the shed, staring up at the sky.

"Hello," he said, walking up to her.

She looked over at him, but her gaze was vacant. "Hello. Have a seat if you want."

He sat on the ground beside her and felt the energy of being near her again. They sat in silence for a moment before she said, "Why did you leave your birthday party the other night like that? No explanation or word to anyone."

He shrugged. "I just had to get away, I guess."

"When you opened that box and collapsed, did that have something to do with Him, with Voldemort?"

"Yeah." He didn't elaborate and she didn't ask. After another long pause, he said, "I'm sorry I wasn't here last night. I could have helped."

"You can't be everywhere at once, Harry. Maybe if you were here, something would've happened to you too."

"Are you okay?"

Ginny's voice faltered a bit. "No, not really."

He looked over at her and saw she had tears on her cheeks. He pulled her into a close embrace and rubbed a hand down her hair. The strands of her hair felt like silk through his fingers and he wanted to move even closer to her. But when they parted, Ginny wiped her tears then said, "I really didn't like Fleur for such a long time. But after Bill was attacked, I began to see her in a different way. She was more than just a friend to me lately. She was like a sister."

Harry nodded and held her again. "Things won't be like this forever," he whispered. "This war will end."

She pushed away from him. "You plan to end this war, don't you?"

"I plan to help."

"The Daily Prophet writes about it all the time. Are you The Chosen One?"

Harry smiled in spite of himself. It was such a ridiculous way to refer to anyone, much less him.

"Don't laugh, Harry, you know what I mean. The papers say you were born to defeat Voldemort. Is that true?"

As far as he knew, other than himself, Ron and Hermione were the only ones who knew the full contents of the prophecy. But if anyone else had a right to know, it was her.

"I've got to kill him, or he's got to kill me," Harry said softly.

Ginny's hand flew to her mouth, but she made no other reaction of surprise. "How long have you known?"

"Since Sirius died."

"Do you know how you're going to kill Him?"

Harry shook his head. "That's not my biggest worry, though." He folded his fingers over her hand. "Ginny, you and I might not be together anymore, but it doesn't make you safe. Your family's not safe. Anyone He thinks I might have feelings for isn't safe. Please be extra careful from now on, okay? I can't lose you too."

She nodded solemnly. "I'll be careful if you will. You can't let Him win, Harry. You can't."

They stared at each other for a few moments until Harry knew he would kiss her unless he left immediately. He wanted to and could almost taste her lips from where he sat. But he couldn't let her in that close again. So he gave her as confident a smile as he could muster, patted her arm, then stood and walked away, his heart aching.