Love Heals

A tapping sound was coming from Harry's window, but he didn't wake up. The sound merely reminded him of when he had awoken to the thud of tapping on his window when he was staying with Hagrid over night. He was eleven at the time, and Hagrid was taking him for his first visit to Diagon Alley. This memory played in his dream.

Tap tap.

The dream changed as he was reminded of a time when that sound in the morning meant it was time to start the chores. Aunt Petunia would wake him up by banging on his door, and ensure he wouldn't eat until all the chores were done.

TAP TAP.

The sound grew louder as the owl outside grew impatient. Harry slowly came back to reality. Groaning at being woken up so early when he wanted to sleep in, he turned groggily to face his window. A relatively small barn owl was waiting for him to open the window. Harry sensed the intolerance coming from the owl, so he grudgingly got out of bed. As he stood, he glanced at the clock on his bedside table. 8:30. Great. The owl flew in the moment Harry opened the window. A letter fell onto his bed, and it made itself at home in Hedwig's cage. Hedwig glared at Harry for allowing this to occur, but he was too engaged in the letter to notice.

He had opened it without delay, and was already half way through.

Dear Mr. Potter,

You may be interested to know that it has been decided Hogwarts should remain open. We are not expecting many students for obvious reasons, but we feel that if even one student wishes to return, we should remain open for that one pupil. I expect Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger are with you, so I have not sent them this information. If they are not with you, please notify me.

I would like all three of you to come to Hogwarts as soon as possible, so we can discuss some important issues. I found a letter from Dumbledore yesterday that was very enlightening. I cannot possibly put anything I wish to speak to you about in writing, so it is essential that I see you.

Best,

Minerva McGonagall

P.S. It is necessary that I know where you are staying so I can hook your fireplace up to the floo network

Harry was no longer tired. His mind was bursting with questions. She found a letter from Dumbledore? What did that mean? When was this letter from? Why was it important for him to know about it? Everything was happening so fast. He had only just arrived at The Marden, and already a letter from Dumbledore was found--An enlightening letter. What did McGonagall know? Did she know about the Horcruxes? Did she know where Harry had gone with Dumbledore the night of his death?

He quickly pulled a quill and some ink out of his bag and began writing his reply:

Professor McGonagall-

Yes, Ron and Hermione are with me. We're staying at The Marden at Godric's Hollow, in suite number 2300. We'll leave as soon as we can get through the floo.

-Harry

Harry called the barn owl toward him and tied on his letter. The owl took off through the open window. Without thinking, Harry ran into Ron's room. There was a bag lying open on the floor of the room. He pulled out a shirt, rolled it up, and threw it at Ron. A tired sound came from the bed. "Ron, get up!" Harry said, annoyed. His friend turned slowly toward him.

"What?" he asked sleepily. Pigwidgeon hooted wearily in his cage.

"I just got a letter from McGonagall," Harry said as he left the room to go wake up Hermione. This was an easy task, for Hermione was already awake. Crookshanks leaped off her bed as she sat up.

"What's going on?" she asked, tired, but alert. Ron appeared in the doorway to her room.

"He got a letter from McGonagall," he told her.

"What? Can I see it?" Harry handed her the letter and went to sit on the edge of her bed. Ron walked behind her and read over her shoulder.

"What should we do?" Ron asked when he finished reading.

"Reply, of course," said Hermione, though she seemed to be thinking.

"I did that already," said Harry. Hermione was only slightly surprised, and she nodded in approval.

"When do we leave?" Ron asked.

"When the floo's hooked up," said Harry.

There was a silence as Ron and Hermione realized what this information meant.

*

Harry had more time to sleep that night, but none of it was restful. His mind was full of horrible thoughts about what could be happening in the Wizarding World at that moment.

When he had awoken in the morning, he, Ron, and Hermione went directly to find the fireplace. This was not as easy as finding the bedrooms, for there were fireplaces in almost every room. However, there was an enormous one in the living room, which they assumed was the one to use. The next few hours were spent in tense anticipation. If McGonagall had gotten his reply, they'd be leaving sometime that day.

A quiet pop was heard at about 2:00, and the three of them ran into the living room. McGonagall's head was visible in the fireplace. "If you are ready," she said, and disappeared. They looked at each other, surprised. There was reason for this feeling. One was that McGonagall had been unusually brisk, and another was that they didn't understand why they had to go to Hogwarts if they could just talk to her in the fire.

Putting these feelings aside, Harry was the first to go through the floo. He barely had time to take in the fact he was in Dumbledore's old office, when Hermione came into the room. Ron followed closely. "Please sit down," McGonagall directed, and they complied. "Now," she continued, "as I explained, I had recently acquired a letter from Dumbledore. I was set to find it a week after his death." Harry looked at her questioningly. Did that mean what he thought it meant? "Yes," she said in response to Harry's silent inquiry. "His death was planned." About three seconds of ringing silence followed that statement. Harry finally managed to find his voice.

"But," he said, his mouth dry, "no. Snape killed him."

"Yes he did," said McGonagall softly. "But it was planned. He only killed him because Dumbledore ordered him to." She seemed to have expected him to react like this, for she went through her speech without stopping to think. "Yes, Dumbledore understood what was at stake," she continued. "You see, Snape had made an unbreakable vow with Narcissa Malfoy. He vowed to watch over her son, and to help him in any way he could. He also vowed to complete the task if Malfoy could not. Well, Snape had made up his mind. He was going to die that year. He was not going to fulfill the vow, and die. He planned on not telling the Headmaster what he had done, for fear of interference. Of course, Dumbledore found out anyway. He knew that Snape's position as spy had to remain. They argued on this case throughout the entire year, but Dumbledore was insistent."

"But...." Harry croaked out. He didn't believe what he was hearing. He didn't want to believe what he was hearing. Snape was... evil. He had always been evil in Harry's eyes. Snape was always the one Harry could blame things on.... It was all Snape's fault...always. But as much as Harry fought against it, this made sense. Everything was falling into place now. Why Snape saved him in his first year.... Why Snape contacted Order members at once in his fifth year, when Harry thought Voldemort had Sirius.... Why Snape came to find him in the forest that same year.... Why Dumbledore and Snape had been seen arguing about something in his sixth year.... It all made sense, and Harry hated it. "Where is Snape now?" he asked finally.

"He is working to protect the Malfoy family, and keep his position at the same time. I need you to realize this--all three of you--Snape is not on the Dark Side. I know how you must be feeling now, and I know that trusting him is something you probably won't ever be able to do. I just need you to understand that he is on our side. Can you try to do that?" Harry did not respond immediately. He didn't like this at all. But he did nod, slowly and unwillingly. He really didn't like this. He would never trust Snape, if that was what McGonagall was after. He assumed the others nodded, too, for McGonagall went on. "Now, I will need to speak with you alone for a moment, Harry. There is no need to leave the room," she indicated to Ron and Hermione as they stood. "Just wait up there, if you don't mind." Their eyes found where she was pointing. There were stairs that led up to a second floor.

Hermione nodded and pulled Ron along with her. "Harry," said McGonagall when the others were out of earshot. "I didn't know if Weasley and Granger knew about the prophecy or not, so I thought it was safest for us to be alone."

"No, they know," said Harry quietly. He was shocked that she knew about it.

"Yes, well, even so.... I know about that. I'm the only one other than you and your friends who does. I am also the only one who knows about the Horcruxes. Do they know about that?" So she did know.

"Yeah."

"This letter I found was very informative," she said as she looked at Harry's somewhat pained expression. "I feel it is important for you to know that I understand, and I am here to help you. If I can be of any assistance at all, please ask me."

Harry remained silent, mulling things over in his mind. She knew about the Horcruxes, as if that was her business... and she "understood." What did that mean? What did she understand? Nothing, as far as he was concerned.

"Harry?"

"Yeah?" he said after a short pause.

"Will you do that?"

"Will I do what?"

"Come to me if you need help?"

Yeah, like he was going to do that. What did she know? How could she help?

"Yes," he said anyway.

"Good." she called Ron and Hermione back down and beckoned them over to her desk. "Now I would like to speak with you two alone for a moment, please." Harry hadn't expected that. What could she tell Ron and Hermione that she couldn't tell him? "In the meantime, there's something else you should know...." Her voice trailed off a little, and Harry's mind raced. Whatever he had been expecting it hadn't been this-

"Hello Harry," came Ginny's voice from the doorway.