Redemption
Chapter 5
By Kinsfire
"I see what you mean about First Class, Harry," Ron said. "This is incredible. Thanks again."
"Why do you think I wanted it? It is incredible. And I'll tell you five again. If I have to go bankrupt to make up to you for abandoning you when you needed me most, I will. You mean more to me than any amount of money in the bank."
Ginny looked at her hand and grinned. "I can tell. You know, Mum is going to have a conniption when she sees this, especially since all six of us are wearing the exact same ring."
"How do you think my folks are going to feel?" Hermione said. "I left six weeks ago to find Harry, do so almost immediately, and come back to talk to them with incipient grandchild."
"Nowhere nearly as badly as Mum will react when she learns the same about Ginny, Luna, and Tonks," Ron said, turning mildly green at the thought.
"And that the father is either you or me," Harry said, also turning green. "How in hell could you all be fertile at the same time?!" he finished, squeaking the last words out. "I mean, Hermione, what were the odds that was going to happen?"
She blushed. "Actually, given the fact that Tonks helped us brew the Fertility Potion…" She couldn’t help but laugh at Harry’s jaw dropping.
"All four of you?"
It was Luna’s turn to blush. "Actually, no. You got me in the shower. That was nature at work."
Harry laughed fairly hard. "Gods, another thing for the Ministry to hate me for." He wiped a tear of laughter away from his eye. "This is going to be amusing. ‘Boy-Who-Saved-The-World flaunts societal rules again!’ reads the Prophet’s headline."
"Thinking what you are about the Ministry," Tonks said, "it’s odd that you’re looking at it the way you are. I wouldn’t expect laughter."
"Well, either I’m insane, or I trust the group of you when you say that the Minister for Magic is someone friendly to me." He paused for a moment. "I’m still not certain that the first choice isn’t the right one. I mean, think about it. I’m willingly walking back into a situation where I could end up in Azkaban for the remainder of my life."
He heard knuckles crack. "You won’t, Harry. I won’t let it happen." He turned to face Hermione, who had a fierce look on her face. "I will not let my husband go to prison for justifiable homicide."
"Guys," Tonks said quietly. "Trust me when I say that the Minister will understand. I’ve already talked with him, and told him your concerns. He’s spent these last six weeks researching, and I believe him when he says that he’ll twist arms if necessary to keep you out of prison, Harry."
"I still don’t understand why the Minister would care so much for me, unless it’s as politically expedient for him to praise me as it was for Fudge to vilify me. I am really not looking forward to seeing the power-hungry fool they’ve replaced Fudge with," he said, closing his eyes. "We’ll be landing in a couple hours, I think, and I want to nap a little."
He opened his eyes just before they landed, and were quickly shuttled through Heathrow’s Customs checkpoint to the waiting car, a man standing in the waiting area with a card reading ‘Harry Potter’. They were quickly hustled into the car, to discover Percy inside. Before Harry could say anything, Percy spoke.
"I can never apologize enough to you, Harry, for the things I said about you in the past few years, and even if I did apologize, I would expect you not to accept it. If I know my brother Ron, I’ve already been called a ‘thundering arse-hole’, and he’s absolutely right."
"Actually, Percy," Ginny interjected, "he called you a prat, but said that you’re no longer a thundering arse-hole." She laughed as she finished, and Percy chuckled with her.
"My dear siblings are more forgiving than I deserve, Harry. I should have been sorted into Slytherin, and I think we all know that now. Fred and George may have forgiven me, but there’s one person who will never forgive me, nor should he."
"Who?" Harry asked, intrigued.
"Me. What I did was unforgivable, and at least one person is smart enough to remember that."
Harry scowled. "Percy, you’re being too hard on yourself. Given the situation at the time, you truly felt you were doing the right thing, didn’t you? You were certain that I was less than stable — I mean, here was this child saying that the Dark Lord has returned, when everyone knew he was dead. What possible reason would you have had to believe me? You thought I was crazy, and that I was able to convince your parents and siblings that I was right. You were doing what you thought was right, not having full information, to protect your family."
"George and Fred have forgiven you, right?" Percy nodded. "The twins, who wanted you strung up and tortured before they got nasty? Then that’s good enough for me. You did what was right in your own mind, and you owned up to your mistakes once you realized that they were mistakes. You faced up to your accusers, and now they accept you again. Even if you don’t feel that you’re worth loving, you are." He stuck his hand out to Percy, who took it. Harry surprised him by pulling him closer and hugging him. "Welcome back, Percy, and I hope someday you find it in your heart to forgive yourself."
There was silence in the car for a moment before Luna whispered into it, "Physician, heal thyself."
"That’s entirely different, Luna, and you know it," he replied hotly.
Those piercing eyes of hers bored into him. "Think of exactly what you said to Percy, and tell me how the situations are different. He did what he felt was the right thing at the time, to protect those that he loves more than anything; more than life itself. Once he knew what he had done, he distanced himself from everyone, not feeling worthy of them. Once made aware that he was loved, he chose to face up to what he had done, clear the air, and accept whatever punishment was due him." She smiled at him. "You’re absolutely right, Harry. Absolutely nothing about the situations is in any way similar."
Ginny laughed. "Percy, Harry was saying on the plane that he's not looking forward to meeting the ... what was the phrase you used, Harry?"
"I believe I used the phrase 'power-hungry fool' to describe him," Harry said. He closed his eyes for the drive. "I am still tired, folks. These have been six weeks of a roller-coaster ride I wouldn't wish on anyone. Except maybe ... nah, even if they were still alive, this would be too kind for them. Besides, they'd have to have souls to feel pain."
He didn't see the looks that passed between the occupants of the car.
Once in the parking garage of the Ministry, they quickly headed upstairs, Percy heading up first to let the Minister know that Harry was there. "Damn, I hate this," Harry grumbled. "I'll either be fawned over or berated in one way or another. Nothing I've ever done has made the Ministry happy. The death of Voldemort was at my hands, due to Neville's sacrifice, and they couldn't find any way to take credit for it. Then I finish off the Death Eaters before the Aurors can come in and do anything except clean up after me. At least I gave them a proper 'Crazy Boy-Who-Lived' story to work with."
The lift rose all the way to the top floor, and it opened into the waiting room for the office space of the Minister for Magic. He found Arthur Weasley standing there. "Harry my boy!" he said thickly, enveloping Harry in a hug. "I've been asked to escort you into the office for the Minister," he grinned.
"Sir? I've said some things over the years, and I so need to apologize to you for not being there for Ginny and Ron when they needed me most."
"Let's step into the Minister's office and we'll talk about it, son," Arthur led him to the door, through it, and to a chair. He then sat behind the desk and placed the nameplate on the desk with a grin. It read 'Arthur Weasley, Minister for Magic'.
Harry stood and walked to the door. "Ron, Ginny, Percy; could you come here and punch me as hard as you possibly can for insulting your father?"
The two younger male Weasleys motioned Ginny forward. "It was agreed that I'd deliver the punishment, since I can outdo Fred and George for deviousness." She pulled him down and delivered a kiss that sent the blood pounding in his ears - and other places. "Now you have to have that meeting with Dad with no concentration whatsoever. And you get to explain to him why I kissed you like that."
"Oh my god, you are evil, Ginny," Harry groaned. He attempted to readjust himself and turned to face Arthur Weasley again. With the door open, he said, so that everyone could hear, "Minister, I owe you an apology, and a public one at that. Without trying to find out who the new Minister was, I referred to the person in that position, meaning you, as a power-mad fool. At very best, this is an insulting thing to say about one of the kindest men it has ever been my pleasure to know, as well as a man who has proved time and again that he is neither power mad nor a fool." Harry closed the door behind himself at that point.
Arthur looked at him for a long time. "I never thought it was possible to hate Vernon Dursley more than I already did."
"I don't understand, sir."
"Please, Harry, after all this time, I think you can call me Arthur. The reason that I say what I do is that you have a tendency to take all the blame for things onto yourself. The death of Cedric Diggory, for example. How were you to know that you were touching a portkey? Had it been the way it was supposed to be, both you and Cedric would have been declared the winners of the Tri-Wizard competition, and that would have been that. You were given a teacher for Occlumency who hated you, and Dumbledore could not see that, so of course you didn't do well with the lessons. You blame yourself for the death of Neville, if I know you. Honestly, if I know you, you probably have found a way to blame yourself for the deaths of your parents."
"And the entirety of this self-hatred of yours falls squarely on the shoulders of Vernon Dursley. If it were permissible, I would curse him such that he’d never recover." He paused for a moment. "If it means anything to you, I accept the apology for something you have no need to apologize for. You have far too much experience with people like the late Cornelius Fudge. So of course you got used to the position being filled by a power mad fool."
He grinned then. "Would you have a problem being invited to the Burrow for a proper Molly-cooked meal? You know she’ll want to greet you properly, now that you’re back in England."
Harry grinned. "I’d love it." His face fell then. "But there are two things to deal with first, before I can do that. I need to tell you something, and I need to find Albus Dumbledore, to apologize to him, and accept what punishment he decrees."
"I can get you Albus’ location, so you can deal with that in a while. What do you need to tell me?"
"Well, it’s something that I need to tell your family, and since you’re right here…" He stood and walked to the door. "Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Luna, Tonks; could you come in here?" He could see Hermione bite back a comment, and he grinned at her.
"What do you need, Harry?" Ginny asked.
"Well, I thought it was a good time to explain why you kissed me in a manner that pretty much demanded that we borrow a couch." She blushed as Harry turned to face Arthur. "You need to know that I can now be referred to as ‘The Boy Who Lived and Became a Pervert’ or some such thing. For all intents and purposes, I am married to all five of these people. I love them more than my own life, sir."
Arthur sat down in his chair again, somewhat heavily. Hermione spoke. "Actually, it’s a little more complicated than that, sir."
"Let me," Ron said. "I was never really an adult before, and it’s time I took responsibility for my own actions. In every way important, Dad, we’re all married to each other. And yes, that means that Ginny’s included. Doesn’t mean we’re having sex, but the relationship’s more than brother-sister now."
Ginny blushed fiercely as she stared at her father. "Doesn’t mean we’re not having sex either. Dad, the six of us have a weird relationship, but it works for us."
Arthur blinked for a few moments before finally speaking. "Answer me one question. Same question to all of you. Are you happy with this arrangement?" They circled Harry and hugged him, nodding happily. Harry closed his eyes and felt tears leaking, but the smile on his face answered the question. "Then I have no problems with it." He looked to Ginny. "Just try to be careful, pregnancy-wise, okay?" All four of the women blushed. "Already?" he laughed. "Well, it just gives a new meaning to the phrase Molly-coddling, I guess."
He walked to the door and looked to the secretary. "Matilda, I think that I am taking the rest of the day off. I don't care how many people I annoy; family comes first, and my seventh son has finally come home."
"Anyone who is worth anything will understand, sir," the woman replied. "And Mr Potter? May I offer my thanks for your part in bringing down Voldemort?"
"Thank you for phrasing it that way," he replied. "I couldn't have succeeded without the help of a lot of people, especially Neville."
"I'm one of Neville's aunt's," she said, tears in her eyes. "Thank you for remembering him."
"How could I not? I literally would not have succeeded if Neville hadn't been wearing that bastard down." He blushed. "Even if it is accurate, it's still bad form. My apologies."
She laughed. "Hearing problems, don't you know?" she said. "I seem to lose my hearing when somebody tells the truth in a somewhat embarrassing manner." He grinned back at her.
Soon, the group was en route to the Burrow, and Harry soon found himself smothered in a deep hug by Molly Weasley. The group surrounded him when they realised that the instant acceptance from her had broken through another of his walls, because he was once again sobbing, this time against the Weasley matron.
"Sorry about that, Mum," he whispered in a rough voice.
"None of that, Harry. If you need to cry on me, then you do so. I've always thought of you as one of my sons, and the fact that you felt willing to cry on me makes me feel -" She stopped and sniffed. "Well, I feel like your mother right now."
When he finally was reluctantly released from the embrace, he found Luna's eyes sitting in a glass of water. "I told you - crying makes them sticky. If it's going to be like this for a while, I'll leave them out." She smiled serenely. "I'll cry for a month, if it's happy tears like these, though."
Harry smiled back, and was bemused to watch her turn to face him, and her eyes spin in the glass until they were obviously focused on him. She moved the glass in front of her, to make it easier on Harry. He laughed as he realized the placement. "Oh great, after all this time of learning not to talk to a beautiful woman's chest, now I have to. Not that I'm complaining, mind you," he added quickly.
"It's so good to see you smiling again," Arthur said, and Molly merely sniffled her agreement.
"It's because of them, sir. They all came back from their own private hells for me. I've still got a long road ahead of me, I know that. Healing doesn't happen overnight. But with these four with me, I'll make it." He smiled and looked at them again. "One of them said the night they found me, 'If you insist on taking the responsibility for our hurts, then you must take the responsibility for our healing as well.' They came back for me, sir. How can I do any less for them?" He frowned. "Healing comes in many parts, though. One of them is attempting to make up for the damage I caused. Which is why I'm here. First, I need to contact someone to apologize, and accept whatever curse he feels is proper. Second, I need to look to the Ministry to see what punishments I may have run out on."
"I can answer that second one easily, Harry," Arthur said. "Nothing you did requires intercession on the part of the Ministry. The Death Eaters you executed were not killed with Unforgivable Curses, so we don't truly care how they died, other than to remind us that it can be a bad idea to get some people angry. Note, by the way, my usage of the word 'executed'. You were simply carrying out a sentence that had already been passed on these final rogue Death Eaters."
Arthur paused. "Is it safe to assume that you need to contact Albus Dumbledore?" When Harry nodded, Arthur walked over to a desk and pulled an envelope from a slot. "Albus left this with us in the even that you ever decided to return and wished to speak to him. It gives directions on locating him."
"I am so scared right now," Harry said. "But I have to. I don't know when I'll return, because there will be penance of some sort." He opened the envelope, read the short letter inside, and smiled sadly. He stepped outside and disappeared with a loud crack.
Albus Dumbledore heard the crack outside his door, and knew that it was one of three people. Sadly, the third was the one he most wished to see, and likely never would. "Come in Molly, Arthur, the door is unlocked." As he finished dealing with his teapot, he heard a different voice speak.
"I'm not Mr. or Mrs. Weasley, but may I speak with you, sir?"
For the first time in his life, Harry saw Albus Dumbledore so shocked that he dropped something. "Accio teapot!" he said, and the pot flew to his hands, scalding them as he grabbed it. He carefully walked to the table and set it down. "I may have spilled some water, sir. Get me something and I'll clean it up."
"Harry, is that actually you, or have I become so old that I have begun to see things that are not there?"
"It's me, Professor, and I'm here to apologize to you."
He watched Dumbledore sit heavily in a chair and put his head in his hands for several seconds. His body shook for a few moments, and Harry felt his own façade trying to drop back into place, just to hide from the pain of seeing what he had done to this man. He ruthlessly quashed the attempt, and spoke again. "Correction, sir. I come to put myself at your command for having done the unforgivable." He dropped to his knees and bowed his head in submission.
It was a surprisingly short time before he felt a hand on his shoulder. "Rise, Harry. The man who saved us all should not bow to any man or woman."
"Yes sir." He stood and let Albus lead him to a chair.
"I had hoped to see you again someday, Harry. You look well. I take it that those four found you?"
Harry smiled. "Yes, sir, and Tonks. I'm on the road to healing." He stopped to take a deep breath. "That's why I'm here, sir. In my anger and pain, I did something hideously unforgivable to the greatest man I have ever known. I would offer an apology, but there is no excusing what I did to you. Instead, I place myself into your hands, to do with as you will." He met the old headmaster's eyes, trying not to cry.
"Even were I to tell you that you must do something that would be ultimately fatal to you?" Albus asked.
"Yes sir. Whether or not such truly exists between us, I feel that I owe you a tremendous wizard's debt, and if my life is required to pay that debt, then so be it."
Dumbledore looked at him for many moments before standing and walking over to Harry. He leaned down and kissed his forehead in benediction. "I understand your need for an apology, Harry, and whether or not you feel you deserve absolution, I grant it to you. Your actions helped me to realize that I was using people. Using them for good ends, but when all was examined in the end, those were my actions. I left you in a home for seventeen years where you suffered constant abuse, and refused to let you leave, convincing you that it was in your best interests. I continually told you only enough to pique your interest, to pull you deeper into your fate. In your fifth year, I changed my demeanour toward you from grandfatherly to merely that of teacher to student. I gave you a teacher who actively hated you for a series of lessons of an extremely intimate nature. I placed you on the path you took, which led inexorably toward Lucius Malfoy's heart beating on the table before me. I am as much to blame for your actions as you are, Harry. And yours are far more justified, based purely on the rage you felt at your four closest being so badly hurt."
Harry laughed bitterly. "And the final infamy — I’ve convinced you that you were the one in the wrong. The hatred I had developed at the end spilled over to everyone around. Neville was murdered by Voldemort, but not before damaging him enough to get me the opening I needed. The four remaining were so badly hurt in various ways that it drove me coldly insane. Whether or not the Ministry had marked him for execution, whether or not he raised the piece of mobile offal that raped my Hermione, I reached inside a man’s chest while he was conscious and tore out his heart. I simply carried that cruelty into the graduation and took that hatred out on you, the man who least deserved it. And who can I talk to? If I talk to the Muggles, I’ll end up in a hospital for the dangerously insane, and wizards will simply tell me that Lucius deserved it. How do I pay for the twenty cold-blooded murders that I performed, pretending it was in the name of justice? How do I pay for the destruction of the career of the best headmaster that Hogwarts ever saw, simply because I was so angry that I kept raging even after the reasons were dead?" Tears began to flow again. "Lucius wasn’t the only one whose heart I tore out. Luna stopped herself from saying it a week ago, but it stuck with me. What I did took the heart out of you as well." He lost control and began to sob.
He came to his senses again being rocked gently by Albus. "I’m sorry, Professor."
"I think you are old enough to call me Albus, if you can bring yourself to it. Remember one thing concerning this, dear Harry. I survived the ordeal, which is more than I can say for Lucius." Harry looked at his old headmaster for a moment in surprise, and saw the old twinkle in the eyes. He couldn’t control it; he began to giggle as hysterically as he had been crying shortly before.
"I’m sorry, Profe…Albus, but something about that simply hit me as funny."
"I intended it so, Harry. We both have healing to do. If you insist on a geas of some sort from me, then I shall insist that it be this: you find what help you need to heal. In return, you shall help me to return to the land of the living." He helped Harry to his feet. "Shall we go? I believe that I would like a cup of Molly’s most excellent tea."
Hermione sat and fidgeted as she waited. Luna walked over and put her arms around her and smiled. "He’ll be all right, and I’ll bet he’ll bring the Headmaster back from his deep blue funk as well." The kiss she planted on Hermione’s neck made her melt slightly.
Molly cleared her throat. "Um, dears — does Harry know about your relationship?"
She was answered by Ron and Ginny bursting out laughing. "Mum, you have no idea!" Ron said. At her puzzled look, he explained, after a quick look around the room at the others. "When we found Harry, he broke down after we talked to him." He snorted. "I knew I could be clueless, but that was ridiculous!"
"Ron, you know better than that," Hermione said with a smile.
"Who made him cry, ‘Mione? Think back to that conversation." He turned back to his mother. "Well, we ended up eventually carrying him into his bedroom after he completely broke the second time. Short story is that he woke up sandwiched between Hermione and me." He blushed furiously. "It wasn’t much after that when I realized I was in the midst of an orgy."
"Correction, Ronald," Luna said. "It was a celebration of life, after so much death. It just happened to involve a lot of sex."
Molly was looking apoplectic, and Arthur was simply looking amused. Ron cleared his throat. "Mum, Dad? I have a confession to make. Not only am I in love with Luna, but I love Harry as well."
Luna chimed in again. "We’re going to stay with Harry until he decides that he no longer needs us to be there. If that means that we spend the balance of our lives with him, then so be it." The others nodded their agreement.
Molly was about to respond when two loud cracks happened in front of the door, followed by a knock.
It was opened to Albus Dumbledore, who said with a smile, "Greetings, Molly. Might I trouble you for a cup of your most exquisite tea?"
He walked in the door and looked at the assembled crowd. "Ah, I see." He turned to Harry. "You never stood a chance."
"I accept your geas, sir. With them, I’ll heal. Slowly, but I’ll heal." They swarmed around him to hug him, and a few moments later a startled squeak of "Ron!" came from the centre of the hug. When it broke, Harry was looking at him with amusement. "We’re at your parents’ house, Ron!"
"Well, after how worried you were, I just wanted to make sure everything was where it had been when you left," came the unrepentant answer, accompanied by a grin.
"What happens now?" Arthur finally asked after he and his wife had stopped laughing.
Harry sighed. "Well, I supposed that we let the wizarding world know that I’m back, if they still care. And the group of us get on with our lives."
"A noble sentiment, Harry," Albus smiled.
He stood on the balcony and looked out over one of the cities he lived in. It was July 31, 2008, and he stood looking out over Central Park in New York City. He heard footsteps behind him, and a small voice. "Coming inside, Daddy? Mama Ginny says that we're ready for you." He turned and scooped the violently redheaded little girl into his arms and smiled.
"I'm ready, Molly. Let's go get some birthday cake." He stepped inside with the six-year-old and grinned at the banners, the large cake, but most of all, at the gathering before him. The entire Weasley Clan, Tonks, Moody, Albus Dumbledore, and most importantly Hermione, Luna, and the three children each woman had borne. He laughed. "Thank you all for the greatest birthday present a man could ever get!"
"You haven’t opened your presents yet!" little Molly exclaimed. "How could you know that you’ve gotten the greatest present ever?"
He kissed her forehead. "My friends, your mommies, and your sisters are here for my birthday. I’ve already been given the best gift anyone could ever want. Your love." His eyes locked with Ginny, Hermione, Luna, and Ron for just a moment each, and he mouthed "Thank you," with tears in his eyes. "I love you all."