Burning Man

Part 3
Dirty

I huddled on my cot, trying to sleep. The nurse was a woman I knew, I knew her face, knew what her body shape was, her hair color, I even knew how old she appeared to be but every time she told me her name, it was like trying to listen through water. She just smiled as I repeated my question and soon I gave up. She was very kind with pretty strawberry blonde hair-I looked up at the passing shadows through the window in the door. I looked down at the door as the people passed. They didn't stop at my room but screams permeated the halls, filtering through my heavy door. I got up and tried to peer through the hole but all I could see was dark hair and a struggling form, female from the screams and cries. I frowned but went back to bed.

“Wake up Mr. Potter,” Terry Boot rapped his knuckles on my door, I sighed and got up as he unlocked my door and opened it. I followed him out to the cafeteria. Terry was an intern here and was soon to be one of the Healers. It was crazy to think that the world was changing even here, that people of my age were starting to take positions of power. Sure Granger was part of the Ministry but that was different. The woman from last night wasn't there but that was to be expected, she was probably new and wouldn't be here among the rest of us for a while. The others were those injured and on the mend, able to partially take care of themselves. Then there were those like me, those who I guess were insane or obliviated or something of that nature.

“Harry Potter!” Alecto Carrow gasped, we went through this every morning. The tall witch grasped my hands in hers, joy covering her face as she shook it heartedly. Her brother, Amycus to the side of her, his hands rubbing her upper arm like a nervous tick.

“Good morning Alecto,” I murmured, pulling my hands away from her.

“And how good a morning it is Mr. Potter!” Amycus wheezed, his face twitching, I nodded to them both and continued on, barely glancing at the dark mark burned into Alecto's arm as she reached for me again but was pulled back by her brother. They were one of the insane ones but harmless on most accounts. There were times when they were seen violently fighting with each other over something or other. I sat down after gathering my meal and started eating. I chewed over my meeting with Granger yesterday. She seemed different for some reason, sure lots of things were off. Like how the days had blended together here, I couldn't remember anything and Granger telling me that I was 20 yesterday seemed really wrong. I was older than 20. And there were other things like how no one mentioned the outside world, I was isolated here and that was sort of frightening, didn't I have a life after I graduated? Didn't I have a wife to think about? But that was wrong, Ginny hadn't come to see me, I had a feeling I wasn't married anymore. But I remembered children, when I thought of babies, my head began to ache and I just changed the running narrative in my head.

“Hallo Harry,” my nurse sat down looking tired, I smiled warmly at her. She was the only one that didn't call me Mr. Potter.

“Morning,” I replied, offering her my apple, she shook her head, opening up an ancient looking tome. Her long silk hair was pulled back in a loose twist at the back of her shapely head and tendrils graced her slender column of a neck. Her skin was ivory and delicate but her eyes were steal blue and reminded me of someone. Her mouth looked mischevious like the Weasley twins. That's right, the twins but they were no longer twins since Fred was killed. But that was also strange, something about the other one and Fleur, they of course had been married but-

“Vee?” I breathed, she snapped her eyes up at me, looking shocked down to her core.

“That's right, Uncle Harry-” she started but I shook my head, getting up.

“I'm sorry my dear, must be going back to my room,” I didn't want to think about it, I felt a wave of despair start to crash over me. I remember her name, Victoire Weasley, first daughter of Fleur and George but they were dead and I didn't know how they died. Something big had happened, it was in the dark reaches of my mind but I didn't want to believe that they were gone. Because if they were gone, who else was gone? Who else had I forgotten in this island of misfit time? I had a second epiphany as I walked back to my room, I was at Fleur's wedding during the war...and she didn't marry George and the french maiden had visited me just last week, she wasn't dead. She had married Bill, they had a beautiful happy wedding and had three children. Something had really gone wrong with my brain, something very wrong. The fact that I thought any of the Weasley's had died after the war was preposterous, see? I wasn't crazy, I was fine, I can remember. In these padded off white cells where the people wore white, even the fucking death eaters rocking back and forth in their hysteria over all the horrible things they had done. They were starting to make even me question my sanity. Why the fuck was I here?!

Part 4
Dead Zone

Hermione looked down into the white crib, her finger clasped tightly by a chubby little hand as I helped Scorpius pick up his toys, James and Albus were downstairs, running through the huge corridors playing hide and seek with young Fred and Roxanne. Lily was sitting on the floor watching us work with her soft, all knowing emerald eyes, her round baby face looked so serious, so like her father even though her shock of deep dark red hair was all her mother's. Rose started to fuss in her crib next to Hugo who was too busy trying to hold onto his mother.

“Oh sweetheart, what's wrong?” Hermione pulled Rose up, the 18month old going into a full out scream as Hermione carried her around the room, Lily twisted around as Hermione passed behind her. I sighed and told Scorpius to go find the others so we could have dinner, he jumped up, his soft platinum hair sticking all over the place, he always messed with his hair, just like I used to. He ran off, his little four year old feet stumbling around the corner. Lily was the same age as Rose but they were different like night and day, Lily was dark and serious while Rose was bright with honey gold hair and bright light green eyes and freckled skin. I sighed and picked Lily up as I passed by Hugo who was kicking his blanket off of him, he would be 1 soon and the youngest out of all the children running around my mansion. Astoria had divorced me soon after Scorpius was born, taking half of my fortune which was her plan all along but she let me have what was rightfully mine, Scorpius. It was really all I wanted out of her, the only thing my father had forced us to do and the only thing my mother had wanted also. I took after my mother almost down to our views on décor. She was currently seated in her secluded parlor, probably smiling to herself as shouts filled the corridors from the children. She always loved children and had hated that she could only bare one. She had many miscarriages before and after me so I was her only love. My father had died of cancer a couple years back but he was very fond of Scorpius. I looked down on the small, beautiful face turned up at me, Lily was definitely my favorite out of all of them. I loved my son but Lily was so perfect.

“Hey! Stop it! Leave him alone!” Roxanne cried, she was five while Fred was eight and the eldest. James was second eldest at 6 while Albus was my son's age, near exact actually. I knew James was the reason why Ginny and Harry had gotten married when they did, right after the war she had gotten pregnant and that was it. Hermione was the last to get married and to Ron. I turned the corner and the elder Weasley and Potter scattered while Roxanne and Albus helped Scorpius to his spindley, fragile feet. Scorpius had already broken his leg last summer and was always scraping his near transparent skin. A bruise marred his smooth china white left cheek as he dusted himself off. Roxanne looked worriedly up at me as Albus hurried whispered to Scorpius, I imperiously stood behind them. I told Roxanne to hurry off to the dinner table as Albus turned to looked up at me, his hands on Scorpius'. I narrowed my eyes at them.

“It's nothing Father, I got into an argument with James and he pushed me,” Scorpius explained as Albus pulled away from my son. I nodded and gestured for them to go off to dinner. Soon we were all seated at the dinner table except for the babies which were napping while a nurse house elf watched over them. My mother was at the head while I was at the other side, Hermione next to me with the children scattered down the line, it was a huge table. James was seated next to my mother, they were conspiring with each other like usual. My mother treated all of them like her grandchildren but James was her favorite. Mostly because he was so strong, outspoken and stubborn. He always got into trouble and my mother always bailed him out. Fred was the loner out of all of them, mostly because he remembered his parents better than all of them, he had the worst trouble adjusting and rarely talked to us. He would rely on Hermione when he needed to but that was it. Roxanne loved her brother but she still didn't understand what had fully happened, she tried to follow her brother with his stoic silences and refusal to join the family but she felt a strong protectiveness over Scorpius just like Albus did, especially against James who daily would get into a fight with my son. I think it's mostly because my son was always the odd one out. He was the only child out of all of them and still had both his parents even though he rarely saw his mother. I looked over at Hermione who was eating next to me while talking with Scorpius and Albus on why Scorpius had a bruise on his cheek. Roxanne was closer to her brother who was sitting on the other side of my mother, across from James but she was pretty much in the middle with her cousin, Albus across from her and Scorpius next to him, they were all down a ways from us. Hermione glanced over at me but I shrugged, not wanting to exacerbate things more.

“I know you know who hit Scorpius,” Hermione murmured as she sat before the fire that night, I sitting next to her in a wing backed chair of my own, coffee between us as we stared into the flickering flames.

“What difference does it make? Scorpius can take care of himself, he's got Albus to help him out also,” I answered, she scowled but made no comment. Suddenly a firecall came in and Hermione immediately answered.

“Aunt Hermione, I thought you might like to know what happened today,” the eldest of all the young Weasleys, Victoire appeared. She had personally taken on nursing duties for her uncle and it was a noble cause since the man could never remember her even though he had helped raise her.

“What is it Vee?” Hermione asked, leaning forward.

“Harry...he actually said my name today! He said Vee but he got up and left. I've been trying to talk to him all day but he refused to talk about it...it's something though, right?” She asked, trying not to get excited about it but failing miserably.

“It could be but it could also bring him back a couple steps, I wouldn't mention it. Let him repair his head, we can't rush things, you know this Victoire,” Hermione explained carefully, Vee soberly nodded, her eyes filled with unshed tears and were rimmed in red. It was still so painful to all of us, only a short year had passed since the world had ended for us all.

TBC