Hermione slowly pulled her head out from under Ginny's pillow. She could no longer hear any of the horrible sounds from the living room that had carried on for quite some time. Her face flushed red with the memory of what she had witnessed. She was completely mortified, and she had no clue on how she was going to explain this to Harry and Ginny. Getting off the bed, she managed to sneak a look into the living room. This again turned her face crimson.
Harry and Ginny were asleep on the couch, holding each other in their arms. They also were completely starkers. Hermione grabbed a blanket off the bed, walked into the living room and laid it over the couple. She began debating if she should move Ginny back into her room and just hope that somehow neither of them would remember what had happened. She had just decided on that course of action when the front door swung open to reveal Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, as well as the entire family.
Ron was looking at her furiously. No one had seen Harry or Ginny yet due to the fact that the couch was turned at an opposite angle from the front door.
"Hermione, what is going on? Kingsley came by and said that Harry was here in Ginny's flat. What the HELL!" Ron shouted. He had walked around to Hermione and seen the sleeping forms of his friend and his sister on the couch.
"Ronald Weasley, I will not tolerate that lang..." Mrs. Weasley had started as she stalked over to Ron. She stopped in mid-sentence as she too took in the scene on the couch.
"Bloody hell!" Mrs. Weasley shouted.
The entire family was shocked to the root of their flaming hair.
"Molly! What in the name of Merlin could...oh!" Arthur had also now seen the couple.
The rest of the family walked around and stood in shock. Finally, Bill spoke with a dangerous gleam in his eyes.
"He's dead. Potter is a dead man!" he growled, his scarred face twisting in a frightening grimace as he lunged at the couch.
"Bill, no!" Arthur shouted at the same time that Fleur grabbed his arm.
"Everyone will go back to the Burrow. NOW!" Arthur roared as his family began to argue.
"Molly, Ron, Hermione, you stay. Everyone else had better be gone by the time I get to five," he said in such an authoritative voice that immediately everyone began Apparating back to the Burrow.
Once they were gone, he shut the front door. Hermione quickly found herself facing a wall of red-heads that were all looking rather angry. She shifted her eyes around and gulped nervously.
"Okay, Hermione. Explain," Ron said quietly.
"I'm not sure I should be the one explaining things. I think you should ask Ginny. I've only been involved for the past few weeks..." She trailed off. She knew it was wrong to push this all off on Ginny, but at same time it was Ginny's fault all this had happened.
Mr. Weasley blew out an extremely unhappy breath and ground his teeth together.
"Fine, Hermione, I'll start with her. However, you still have questions to answer," he said fiercely. She nodded wordlessly. No one had ever seen Arthur Weasley act quite this way.
"Can you at least go gather up her clothes? Ron, will you be good enough to move Harry into the other room and find something for him to wear."
Ron levitated Harry into the other room, trying to avoid the fact that his friend didn't have any clothes on. Hermione, meanwhile, had gathered up most of Ginny's clothes and brought them over to the couch where she was still sleeping with the blanket mostly covering her.
Ron walked back in with worry on his face.
"I think something is wrong with Harry. He is breathing, but I can't get him to wake up. I at least got his boxers on him, for Merlin's sake."
Hermione gasped. "Ron, he needs to sleep. If he wakes up too early, I'm not sure what will happen."
She gulped again as Mr. Weasley's eyes bored into hers. She managed a quick look at Mrs. Weasley, who had not moved or spoken through all of this. Her eyes were focused on her daughter, a look of abject horror on her face.
Mr. Weasley turned to his son.
"Ron and I are going to go into the kitchen. Molly and Hermione, will you please wake Ginny and help her get dressed. Let us know when we can come back in."
Ron hesitated a moment and then followed his father into the kitchen.
Mrs. Weasley looked at Hermione with an unreadable expression. When she didn't move, Hermione walked over to the couch and began to gently shake her friend.
"Ginny, wake up." When she didn't wake, Hermione shook her harder. "Ginny, please wake up."
Ginny stirred briefly, and then her eyes fluttered open.
"Oh, Hermione. I had the most amazing dream."
She sleepily sat up and rubbed her eyes. She looked over at Hermione and noticed her friend's red face and obvious nervousness. She realised all at once that her mother was standing at the other end of the couch staring at her. She also realised that she was under a blanket with not a stitch of clothes on.
"What happened?" she asked, thinking furiously.
"The potion? It worked! I remember that and then... and then... Oh my God, Hermione. Did that really happen?"
Hermione nodded her head. "I tried to stop you, but the effects were too strong. Please get dressed. Your father and Ron are in the kitchen."
Ginny blanched at the mention of her father.
"Dad and Ron? Did they see? I mean, do they know... um?" She couldn't finish because she saw the look in Hermione eyes.
"Most of your brothers were here too, but your dad made them leave."
Ginny fell back on the couch and pulled the blanket over her head.
This can't be happening, she thought. She suddenly jerked upright.
"Wait, is Harry okay? Did it work?"
Hermione actually managed a small smile.
"He hasn't woken up yet, but from what he said and what happened, I'm pretty sure it worked. We will have to wait until he wakes up to find out for sure."
At this point Molly decided she'd had enough.
"Ginevra, get dressed and meet your father and me in the kitchen," she hissed and then stalked out of the room.
Ginny looked stricken and began to dress as Hermione handed her clothes to her.
"I'm sorry, Ginny. I am so sorry."
Ginny gave a small sob. "At least my first time was with Harry. It wasn't quite how I imagined it, but it was an unbelievable experience. He is never going to forgive me for this, you know," she said sadly.
"Ginny, it was unknown magic. He can't blame you for this. Besides, he's the git that took the stupid Obliviate potion in the first place."
Ginny didn't answer as she finished dressing and slowly made her way to the kitchen to sit at the table opposite her parents.
"Hermione," Mr. Weasley called from the kitchen, "please come in here too. Don't think for a minute you are getting out of this or putting it all on Ginny."
Hermione slunk into the kitchen with her eyes downcast.
"Now," Mr. Weasley said with a hint of iron in his voice, "explain."
A long time later, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley sat stunned at the table.
"I'm trying to wrap my head around this, girls. You found Harry and have been living with him for the past three months. Ginny started dating Harry even though he couldn't remember who he was. Neither of you thought you should tell anyone, and tonight you used a dangerous piece of unknown, untested magic on yourself and Harry. That, while it seemed to have possibly restored his memory, it led to the scene we found when we got here. Does that about sum it up?" Arthur asked.
Both girls nodded with their eyes downcast.
“How in Merlin’s name did you think any of this was a good idea? Even if Harry has his memory restored, do you think he is going to be happy about all of this?” Mr. Weasley all but shouted.
Mrs. Weasley had still not spoken through the entire ordeal. Ginny glanced at her mother and gasped at the expression she saw there.
"Ginny, tell me why you didn't let the family know about your argument with Harry after the memorial. Explain to me why you let all of us think that we were the cause of his leaving. I already lost one son. Tell me why you did this." Her voice cracked, and she stopped with tears in her eyes.
"I'm sorry, Mum. I'm so sorry. I was so ashamed. I don't know what happened. I thought if I could find him, I could make it all go away."
Mr. Weasley looked at his wife with a worried expression on his face.
"Okay, girls. What do you think we should do now?"
~*~
Harry woke up with a start. He was momentarily disoriented as he tried to figure out where he was and what was going on. As his vision cleared, he recognized his room in the flat that he shared with Ginny.
Ginny!
He turned ashen as the memories of the last few months merged with the knowledge of his old life.
They reversed the potion, he thought, amazed. Quite unexpectedly, scenes of a beautiful, naked, Ginny moving underneath him on the couch filled his mind.
"Merlin..." he whispered.
Harry was shocked for a long moment. The memory that had surfaced was so sweet. It was everything he had ever wished for and more. It momentarily blocked out everything that had led to his flight from the Wizarding world. The key was momentarily. He soon remembered their last conversation, the guilt he felt after talking with her, and the way she had carried on with him these past few months. The happiness quickly turned to white hot, blinding rage.
If she thought I was mad last night after that phone call, wait until I get a hold of that, that...
Harry stopped short of cursing her in his mind. He just couldn't bring himself to do it.
He noticed his bag on the floor that he had packed last night. It contained all his belongings he had taken with him when he left. He Summoned his wand to him from its hiding place behind the window.
I'm guess I'm lucky I got my memory back before I left last night, or I might not ever have got my wand back. The question is: what do I do now? The potion obviously didn't work. I've got to be honest with myself. It was an act of desperation. I can't run from my problems. I guess I need to face this.
He quickly got dressed, grabbed his bag and walked into the living room just in time to hear Mr. Weasley ask the girls what they thought should happen now.
~*~
Harry walked to the entranceway of the kitchen. All conversation stopped as four pairs of eyes fixed on him. The fifth pair, belonging to Ginny, was staring decidedly on the floor.
"What's going to happen now is that all of you are going to leave my apartment. I am sincerely sorry about what you saw before. I'm pretty sure it wasn't either of our faults. I know that doesn't change what happened, and I promise you I will deal with any consequences. But for now, this is my flat, and I need for you to not be here."
Mr. Weasley was hurt but not surprised by Harry's reaction, given how their last meeting had gone. However, he wasn't prepared to walk away this time and abandon the boy, no matter what he had just seen.
"Harry, of course we will leave. Before we go though, there is something that we need to say. What happened with you and Ginny, while not your fault, certainly complicates my emotions. The one thing I do know is that before, at the memorial, we were totally in the wrong. I am so sorry, son, and I do mean the 'son' part. I don't know how to express this or explain to you what we were going through, though I guess it doesn't matter. No excuses. We're sorry. We were wrong. We love you."
Harry looked at Mr. Weasley with a thousand different emotions running wild in his head. Before he could say anything, Mrs. Weasley rushed forward and engulfed him in a massive hug. She sobbed into his shoulder.
"Harry, please believe us. We are so sorry. We are so sorry! Oh my son, my son!" she continued sobbing.
Harry gently but firmly disengaged himself from her arms.
"Mr. Weasley, Mrs. Weasley," he began, only to be interrupted by renewed sobs from Mrs. Weasley and a quiet, "Please, son, it's Arthur," from Mr. Weasley.
Harry paused and steeled himself before beginning again.
"Mr. Weasley," he said firmly. His heart fluttered for a moment at the pain on the man's face, but he continued. "I do believe you. I believe that you care for me and that you are sincerely sorry at this moment. I'm sorry though; it's just not enough. My whole life no one has ever loved me.”
Harry abruptly turned and sat in an open chair around the kitchen table, holding his head briefly in his hands.
“I lived with the Dursleys, who took every chance to betray me and make me feel worthless. I thought I had found a family with you; I truly did. It kills me to think back on how much we've been through together. It kills me because, despite all that, when it came down to it, I was on the outside looking in. Just like always. This time though, I knew what it meant to be on the inside, if only briefly, which made it all the worse. You hurt me more than the Dursleys ever did."
His voice broke and tears openly streamed down his face as Harry jumped up and moved to the edge of the kitchen with his back to the Weasleys.
"Please, just go. Just go..." He began sobbing.
Mrs. Weasley made an attempt to move to him, but was stopped by her husband. Molly looked at Arthur. He looked like he had aged fifty years in the past five minutes.
"Okay, son. We will go. Just know that we consider you family, and if you can ever forgive us, we will do whatever it takes."
Mr. and Mrs. Weasley began walking toward the door dragging Ron and Hermione slowly behind them. Ginny, however, didn't move. Finally she looked up.
"Harry, we need to talk about..." she began.
Harry spun, his anger finally getting the better of him.
"You don't get to talk to me. You never get to talk to me again."
"Harry, please!" she begged. “I am so sorry, you have to believe me. Everything I’ve done since the memorial was just to get a chance to say this to you. I never meant it, I was wrong. Please, oh God, you’ve got to believe me. I love you, I love you so much!” Ginny was openly weeping, her entire being willing him to listen to her, as she collapsed in on herself and sat on the kitchen floor.
Harry stared at her for a second.
"Get out of my flat!" Harry bellowed.
“Harry, no please…” Ginny cried.
“I SAID GET OUT OF MY FLAT!” Harry screamed.
Ginny stood, with a hint of anger on her face.
"It's my flat too!"
"Fine," Harry shouted. He turned and grabbed a fistful of Galleons from inside his bag. He tossed them at her, shaking with anger.
"That ought to cover it. Now get the hell out."
Ginny looked like she would speak again. Instead, she suddenly burst out sobbing again and ran from the apartment.
Harry looked up and saw the disapproving looks from his former family and friends.
"You don't like it? Tough. You don't get to tell me what to do anymore."
Without another word he marched to his room and slammed the door, cracking the frame that Hermione had repaired the previous night.
~*~
A very subdued Weasley family appeared back inside the Burrow. Bill, Charlie, Percy, and George were waiting for them and immediately jumped to their feet from around the kitchen table.
"What happened?" Bill growled. "Ginny just appeared and ran upstairs bawling her eyes out. Potter better have a damn good explanation for this."
"He does," Ron growled back. "If you had heard the explanation, you would know this is pretty much Ginny's fault. Oh, with a little help from wonder girl over here," Ron said, casting an angry look at Hermione.
"Ron, I'm sorry. The nature of what happened, if it wasn't handled right, could have us lost him forever."
"Well, good riddance, I say!" yelled Bill. "How can you just ignore what we saw? From the way Ginny was crying when she got here ,I'm pretty sure that they aren't together. How can he do that to our sister and then dump her? How can you defend him?!"
“I say I quite agree,” Percy began, but Ron wasn’t going to let him finish the thought.
“You shut up right now, you total wanker, or I’ll do to you what I did last year after the memorial. It’s not like you’ve been around much anyway, so how do you even get off pretending to be part of this. In fact, why are you even here?” Ron said in a low and angry voice.
“If you must know, Bill sent me a message telling me to come as quickly as I could,” Percy replied.
Ron spun toward his older brother.
“Bill..”
Mr. Weasley sighed as he sat down at the table.
“Boys, stop that. It’s not going to help anyone. It's not what you think. Molly, can you check on Ginny? I'll try and explain what happened to everyone else.” Mr. Weasley sighed as he looked at his angry sons.
Mrs. Weasley nodded and walked up the stairs. Mr. Weasley finished his story and waited expectantly for his boys to digest what he had just said. Charlie was the first to speak.
"I'm not sure I can fully understand this. The gist is that it's not really Harry's or Ginny's fault. She pretty much saved him, but all he can see is what happened after the memorial, right?"
Mr. Weasley nodded. "He is still a part of this family, and Harry and Ginny have both been through more than what most people will ever go through. I know we will have to deal with the fallout from the... um... incident, but for now, we need to show Harry that we love him. Maybe he can forgive us if we can do that."
"Forgive us?" Bill shouted jumping to his feet. "I don't care about potions or magic or any bull. I know what I saw, and the next time I see Potter he is going to pay."
Mr. Weasley didn't know what to say. Bill had always been protective of his sister, and it seemed he couldn't deal with the knowledge that she was innocent no longer. Arthur was saved from a response by a most unlikely source.
"Shut it, Bill," George said. Immediately, everyone was silent. George had gained a wisdom and understanding through his grief for his brother. The entire family recognised it and took seriously what he had to say.
"We chased Harry away. I know, from what's been said, that Ginny played a large role as well, but we have a responsibility. He is our brother. As for the rest, it wasn't their fault, and even if it was, who are we to say anything? I remember you telling me about sneaking girls off to the Forbidden Forest during your last year at Hogwarts. I am certain they are older than you were your first time."
George stopped and rubbed his eyes with his hand.
"Basically it comes down to this: we failed him as a family, and I won't allow you to make it worse by being an arse. We are going to get him back. End. Of. Discussion."
Mr. Weasley looked at his son, his heart overflowing with pride at the man he had become.
George looked at his father. "I'm going to give it a few days, and then I'm going to talk to him. You'll see, Dad. Everything is going to be alright."
~*~
The day after Harry had chased away the only people that had ever been like a family to him, he walked down to the work site and gave his resignation to his boss. He knew that he could never explain how much that simple job and Mr. Smith's understanding had meant to him so he didn't even try. Instead, he did something better. He knew that Smith and Jones Construction were having financial difficulties. He also knew that Mr. Smith would never take charity. Harry quietly arranged to buy a majority stake in the firm's debt, on the conditions that he remain anonymous and that Mr. Smith and Mr. Jones could retain complete control of their company. He doubted that they would ever know what happened, and that was just fine with Harry.
After that, Harry didn't leave his flat. Literally. Most days he didn't even get out of bed. He was wracked by periodic bouts of guilt for how he treated the Weasleys, including Ginny, and anger at how he had been betrayed by those closest to him. Harry was, to put it mildly, a total train wreck.
On the seventh day of his isolation, Harry heard someone knock on the front door. "Go away. No one is here who wants to talk with you," he mouthed silently to himself.
Again there was a loud bang on the front door.
"Go away!" Harry yelled from his bedroom. At least he tried to yell. His voice came out roughly, like he had been screaming at the top of his lungs. Thinking back, he realised it was a real possibility that he had been.
The knocking ceased and Harry rolled back over, pulling the covers over his head.
Without warning, his door opened and a chipper-looking George strolled into his room. "Top o' the morning to ya, Harry!" he sang.
"I said go, aw...oh hey, George!" Harry said sitting up abruptly and actually smiling.
"Well, I have to say, Mr. Potter, I certainly didn't expect you to welcome me so warmly. By the way, you look like something out of the bottom of the lake," George said cheerily.
Harry managed to laugh out loud. "Why would I not welcome you, George?"
"I don't know. Red hair, last name. Last time I checked you weren't so friendly with the Weasley clan."
Harry looked seriously at George. "I heard you at the memorial. I heard what you said to your family before I disappeared. George, at the worst moment in your life, you stood by me. I'll never forget that."
George managed to look embarrassed, which was extremely rare for him.
"George," Harry began. "I'm so sorry about Fred. It's all my fault and I..." he trailed off as George stood up abruptly.
"Harry, don't you dare apologise for Fred. I will not let you belittle his memory and sacrifice with your self-pity. He died fighting for his family, Harry. Let his memory alone," George said firmly. "If you don't, I'm going to thrash you, yeah?"
Harry again managed a smile.
"But, George, it really is my fault and..." Again, he cut himself off. This time though it was because George had reared back and socked him in the face.
"Oww! You oaf. What was that for?" Harry demanded, angrily looking up into the smiling face of George who had moved to stand over him.
"I told you, Harry. I won't have you taking away what Fred did. It's not your fault, and I'm going to keep thrashing you until you understand that."
Harry jumped to his feet and moved his face close to George.
"It is my fault! All of it! Fred, Sirius, Lupin, Tonks, it's ALL MY FAULT!" Harry screamed.
George sighed dramatically and rolled up his sleeves.
"Okay, Potter, you asked for it."
Sometime later Harry found himself groggily waking up with a pounding headache. He was on the couch in the living room with a cold washcloth on his head. George was happily watching football on the television.
"Hey, lightweight, glad you could join me again. You know, these Muggle sports sure are boring. How do they watch this stuff?" George said with a smile.
"George, what happened?"
"I told you I was going to thrash you, didn't I? You understand yet, or do we need round two?" George asked seriously.
Harry smiled up at his friend.
"No thanks, George, round one was enough. You've got a mean right hook, you know that?"
George smiled broadly as he reached down and pulled Harry to his feet.
"How about we go out, grab some drinks and talk. Well, after you take a shower. You smell worse than Fang."
Harry looked George in the eye. "Thanks, George," he whispered.
George embraced him fiercely. "Harry, that's what brothers do. Never forget that."