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oakstone730Part One
Harry stood in front of the Hog's Head, the sound of loud cheers and raucous laughter was coming through the open windows. He slipped on his Invisibility Cloak and pulled the door open and stepped inside. The room was packed with wizards. Harry hadn't seen it so crowded since the first Dumbledore's Army meeting. Some of the occupants looked like they had come to celebrate the day before and never left. A few slept on the floor or in their chairs slumped over a table.
"Aberforth, it's Harry, I need to talk to you," He whispered to Aberforth as he stood behind the bar. Aberforth didn't give any surprise at hearing Harry's voice coming out of nowhere.
"You do, do you. I'm a tad bit busy right now," Aberforth opened a bottle of butterbeer and slid it over to the waiting hands of a customer. "Do me a favor. Harry, next time you are decide to launch a battle and defeat a Dark Wizard steps from my doorway give me fair warning so I can lay in my supplies and restock on firewhiskey. I just served my last bottle of butterbeer and the firewhiskey will be gone in less time it takes for someone to shout out another toast for the great Harry Potter."
"To the Great Harry Potter," a drunken voice slurred out from the back of the room. "To Harry Potter!" came the echoing cries.
"Told you," said Aberforth, but he untied his apron and shouted down to the other bartender. "I'm going down to check the cellar to see if we have anything to keep this lot happy."
Aberforth pulled up the door to the cellar and followed Harry down the stairs, pulling door down behind him. Once he was safely inside the cellar Harry pulled off the cloak and sat down on a crate. The sounds of the bar room filtered down through the floor. He groaned as he faintly heard, "Three cheers for Harry Potter"
"That is what I need to talk to you about; I don't want to be the Great Harry Potter. At the ceremony tomorrow they want me to give a speech. I don't want to do it. I just want to live a normal life for once in my life,” Harry knew he was whinging but didn’t care.
"A normal life? What exactly do you suppose a normal life is?" asked Aberforth as he rummaged behind crates looking for any bottles that may have been missed.
"You know, live like they do, have a girlfriend, go to school, go to work, not have people constantly talking about you and then stop talking as soon as you walk into a room."
"Hmmm. Do you suppose Lupin had a 'normal life'? Or Sirius, do you suppose he had a normal life locked away he was for most of it in Azkaban? Or Dumbledore, do you think he had a normal life, the greatest wizard the world has ever known who chose to live it hidden away for the most part at a school, with no family but me and haunted by his past. Or me, behind the counter in a barroom kept company only by drunks and thieves and the portrait of his sister who died just wanting a normal life."
Aberforth's voice had risen during and he ended up shouting out the last bit. A voice called down from above, "You okay down there Aberforth?"
"Yeah, yeah, those damn horned weasels got into the crates again," he turned back to Harry and resumed in a calmer voice.
"There is just life and what you do with it. And all-in-all you should be proud of the life you have. Don't hide your talents away. Don't live life in the shadows or under that Invisibility Cloak of yours just because people may talk. It is your life, you decide how it is going to be and that is what your normal is going to be."
With a sudden shout of glee Aberforth darted to a distant corner of the room and picked up a half-filled crate of dusty bottles. "Make the speech or don't make the speech, but whether or not you do or don't it isn't going to give you a normal life. That was decided long before you picked up your first wand."
Balancing the crate on his shoulder he headed back up the stairs. "This might see us through to the morning," he said over his shoulder. "They are going to close up Dumbledore's tomb tonight, Hagrid is repairing the damage that Voldemort did to it right now. I thought you should know."
Harry just sat there, he wasn't sure what he expected when he had come to the Hog's Head but it hadn't been a slap on the side of the head. The anger he had felt at Aberforth's words faded quickly.
He had never truly expected that this day would come, that Voldemort would be dead and he would be alive. That he would have a chance at a life of his choosing, not one that had been forced on to him by Voldemort and his Death Eaters.
The Invisibility Cloak was still on his lap. He rubbed the slippery fabric with his fingers. What Aberforth said was true, he didn't need it to conceal himself from danger anymore. Today he had put it on to avoid people, to escape all of the stares.
If he was going to live his life for himself he didn't want to have to hide to do it. He wanted to be able to walk down the street and not feel self-conscious. The only way that was going to happen was if people got used to seeing him, and he would just have to ignore that attention until that happened. He slowly put the cloak into his pocket, he would save it to use only when it was really needed.
Harry went back up the cellar stairs and entered the bar room. "Where did you come from!" the startled bartender said as Harry suddenly appeared.
"Godric's Hollow," said Harry with a laugh, turning he saw Aberforth down at the other end of the bar. "See ya' Aberforth."
"See ya' Harry," Aberforth replied, a tad louder than necessary.
Harry heard the shouts of recognition but he was already heading out the door. By the time he got back to Hogwarts the sun was setting. He went around to Dumbledore's tomb. Hagrid and Grawp were there removing the broken slabs of marble that had shattered by Voldemort.
"Hey Harry, bastard that You Know Who was he even smashed Dumbledore's grave."
"Are you about done?" asked Harry, not sure how he was going to accomplish what he needed to, and dreading having to do it.
"Yup, we've gotten the broken bits away, and we'll just put the new bit on the top."
"Could I have a minute with him?" he asked hesitantly.
Hagrid looked at him closely, "Of course, yeh can Harry, we'll just hold off over 'ere for a bit."
Harry slowly approached the tomb. Looking over his shoulder to make sure that no one could see, he slipped the Elder Wand from his robe and slid it into Dumbledore's robes.
He wasn't sure if putting it back where it had already been stolen once before was a good idea, but it was the safest place he could think. He gazed one last time at the face that had gently guided him through so many of the difficulties he had encountered while at Hogwarts. The final betrayal, if it could be called that, was immaterial. Harry knew that he would not have wanted to know as an 11 year old boy that he had to die as a 17-year old, and he was fairly sure that if Dumbledore had to do it again, he would follow the same path.
He stood up and dusted off his knees and gave his thanks to Hagrid. "Alright then Harry, we'll close it up."
Hagrid told Grawp to go ahead and his giant half-brother carefully picked up the slab and placed it across the tomb. There was a flash of silver light and the tomb once again formed one solid block.
"May 'e rest in peace," said Hagrid, blowing his nose in a handkerchief the size of a bath towel.
"And not have some Dark Lord smash his tomb into bits," added Harry.
"Aye, that too," agreed Hagrid. "Come on now, they have supper already to go."
The two of them turned back towards the castle, Grawp went back into the Forbidden Forest with a wave of his hand. "'e feels more comfortable in there," said Hagrid affectionately "'e loves playing with the Thestrals."
Supper was spread out in the Room of Requirement, Harry felt a great sigh of relief that the room still had its magical ability to transform into whatever was needed, the Fiendfyre hadn't destroyed it. Tonight it had been transformed into a great dining hall, ten times the size of the Great Hall downstairs. The facility was packed with the hundreds of people who had been traveling to Hogwarts as news of the victory had spread.
Professor McGonagall was at the lead table with the other faculty members. Harry pushed his way through the crowd to get to her. "Yes, Harry?"
"I'll do it." he said simply with a nod towards Shacklebolt who sat next to her.
"Very good," she said with a smile. "And you will be glad to know that Gryffindor tower has been inspected and has been deemed safe to use."
Harry didn't know how he would find anyone in the crowd but scanning the crowds he saw the bright red hair that was an instant identifier to the Weasleys at a distant table. He joined them all and saw that the Grangers and his Aunt and Dudley were sitting there as well. The only seat was a frustrating 10 feet away from Ginny, Dudley was sitting next to her.
"Harry, we wondered you were!" Mr. Weasley greeted him. "Percy has made it back too. It is good to have everyone together again."
Mr. Weasley's smile dimmed slightly and he looked down, "Fred would have wanted everyone to be here," he ended firmly.
"Aunt Petunia, are you feeling okay?" Harry still wasn't sure how he felt about her and Dudley's intrusion into Hogwarts.
"Oh yes, I had a nice lie down and then the Grangers and Dudley and I all walked the grounds."
Hermione leaned over and whispered to Harry, "I saw you talking to McGonagall, what did you tell her?"
"I told her yes."
Hermione's eyes opened in surprise, "You did? Have you written your speech yet? Do you want me to read it?"
Harry gave a snort of laughter, "I only just decided to do it, and you want me to have already written it?"
"Harry, just think you are going to be speaking to all of these people and probably hundreds more."
The smile fell from Harry's face as he looked around. He had been so worried about whether or not to do it, it hadn't occurred to him to worry about what he was going to say.
"Meet me in the Gryffindor common room after supper," said Hermione. "I’ve made an outline, just in case," she said hastily when he looked at her disbelievingly. "You always leave things to the last minute, remember the Triwizard competition? And you don't have to use any of it, but it might give you a head start."
Despite the sober reason that had all brought all of the wizards and Muggles together, supper had a celebratory feel. The only type of official speech came from Professor McGonagall who stood up and said. "We welcome all of the Muggle and wizard families who have gathered together tonight. Tomorrow will be a day of mourning for those who have fallen, but let tonight be one of celebration to the spirits of those who we lost and a celebration of the end of such a dark period in wizarding history."
Former classmates stopped by their table to say hello, the ghosts floated jubilantly over the tables shouting greetings, a few wizards even held Patronus races - sending their Patronuses racing down the room above the tables. Harry, Ron and Hermione shared some of their adventures with their families, telling them of all the different places they stayed, how they had avoided detection.
Finally, supper was over and they were all walking down the corridor. Aunt Petunia put her hand on Harry's arm and pulled him aside. Harry looked at her with surprise.
"Is something wrong, Aunt Petunia?" Harry asked, looking over his shoulder where Ginny was walking away with her family.
"I just wanted to tell you," Aunt Petunia pulled herself up to her full height, "You clearly belong here. You are just like her."
"My mother?" asked Harry puzzled. Aunt Petunia had never spoken about his mother.
"I never understood how she could leave us, leave her family to go with people like that," Aunt Petunia pointed at a group of wizards who were passing by wearing bright robes and were entertaining themselves by sending multi-colored sparkles and stars cascade down the stairs. "But she was never happier; she glowed when she talked about Hogwarts. And I was jealous, I wanted to be a part of her life, and I couldn't be. It made me mad that she had to be so different."
"My mother was a very gifted witch, one of the best that ever came through Hogwarts, they tell me," Harry said defensively.
Petunia went on as if she hadn't heard him, "When you were a little boy I could tell, that you were different, just like she had been. And I knew that you would have to go away, just like she had. And it made me so angry; to know that I would lose the last thing my sister had held dear. And I hated you because of it," She looked straight at Harry.
"But you still let me go to the school, you let me come back."
"I knew that you were lost to us the very first time you made a toy float up in the air. I'm not going to apologize for anything that happened, but I will say that I am glad you found a place where you belong. You are happy with these people. Lily would have wanted that for you." With that she stalked alone down the corridor.
Harry watched her leave. He had never understood why he had been so ignored as a child, how anyone could treat a child like the Dursleys had done him. He remembered the young Petunia that had appeared in the Snapes's memory in the Pensieve.
Petunia had written to Hogwarts to try and get admitted. Like it or not, she and Dudley were the last link he had to his mother. As he hurried to catch up to Ron, Hermione and Ginny he wondered if the Dursleys coming to Hogwarts was the first tentative connection that would prevent that link from being permanently broken.
"Your aunt and Dudley were nice," said Ginny as they were climbing the steps to Gryffindor tower. "They don't seem anything like you talked about."
"That is because McGonagall put a charm on her," said Harry with a laugh.
"Seriously?"
"Seriously." said Hermione, "My mother said it was unbearable for the first week and then all of the sudden your aunt and uncle were being pleasant, if not altogether nice. It occurred right after a visit from Professor McGonagall."
They were standing in front of the Fat Lady and all of the sudden they realized that they had no idea what the password could be.
"Very good to have you all back" said the Fat Lady with a smile as she opened up the passageway.
"Where is everyone?" asked Hermione as they entered the empty room
"I think they went down to Hogsmeade to celebrate"
They all stood quietly looking around at how the room just looked like they had left it. "I didn't think I would ever be back here," said Hermione with a catch in her throat. Ron put an arm around her and they started kissing.
"And he warns me about snogging" said Ginny with a humph.
"No, Ron, I have to help Harry with his speech," broke away Hermione.
"Why don't I help him with his speech and you two go off somewhere," said Ginny staring at her brother rather pointedly.
"Okay, if you are sure, here is what I outlined already," Hermione pulled a scroll of parchment from her little beaded bag.
"You are still carrying that purse around?" asked Harry incredulously. Hermione gave a shrug and then smilingly followed Ron as he tugged her towards the boy's dormitory.
"Alone, at last," said Harry and he held her hand as they went over to the sofa by the windows.
"What about your speech?" protested Ginny.
"What speech?" asked Harry lowering his head to hers. He didn't think he would ever tire of having her in his arms.
They broke apart suddenly as they heard boisterous shouting by the portal as whoever was out there tried to guess the password. "Maybe they won't guess right" said Ginny hopefully.
Harry just smiled and pulled out his Invisibility Cloak, covering both of them up with the cloak he said "Where were we?" he murmured, just as there was a cheer of success as the portrait opened and Oliver Wood, Finnigan, and the others tumbled into the room, talking loudly. The other Gryffindors were about to sit down in the sofas when the cloak covering Harry and Ginny slid down and revealed their entwined heads.
"Bloody Hell!" yelped Wood, jumping back from the sofa where he had been about to sit down.
"How in the name of Peeves are they doing that?" said Finnigan.
Harry and Ginny, suddenly aware of the conversation, looked up with a grin and just pulled the cloak back over themselves.
"I reckon we better go off to bed then" said Woods with a chuckle to the group and they all snickered as they loudly tromped up the stairs.
Ginny and Harry both laughed as they heard another shout "Bloody Hell, close those curtains, Weasley!" followed by an "Awww, Hermione, come on back, they don't mind."
A flushed Hermione came down the stairs, "You could have shouted up a warning, Harry," she spoke to the room at large even though she couldn't see them.
Ginny laughed and broke away from Harry and removed the cloak. "Sorry, Harry. If I don’t get some sleep I’m going to collapse. Come on Hermione. Let's see what shape the girl’s dormitory is--"
"What about the speech?" Hermione looked pointedly at the parchment that was still rolled up on the table.
"I'll work on it now," promised Harry, "Maybe Ginny can help me some more?"
The two girls both laughed at him and went up the stairs to their dormitory. The smiled faded from Harry's face and he sat down at the table and unrolled Hermione's draft. As usual, she had been very thorough, "when did she have time to look up quotes from 'Hogwarts: a History?'" he asked himself, shaking his head. There was no way he could give the speech she had written.
Setting down the parchment he looked around the Gryffindor common room that had been his true home for so long. He remembered his amazement as a 11-year old boy walking into the room for the first time. All the times spent studying at the tables with Ron and Hermione, with the two of them bickering back and forth, talking to Sirius through the flue network, kissing Ginny for the first time during a jubilant celebration of the Gryffindor Quidditch win.
With a sigh, he headed up the stairs to the boy's dormitory. Woods, Finnigan, Weasley were already in their beds. His last thoughts before going to sleep were of Ginny.
