Empty souls

Chapter 3.-Confronting the truth.



( Big empty- Stone Temple Pilots )







A week after the talk with Remus, Harry decided that was best to take the advice: make the last arragements of the wedding. This, of course, was the last thing that Harry would like to do, but he was engaged, and it wasn’t a way to go back; he will do it, even if that means renounce Hermione because it was his man honour to do it.







Confronting Ginny with this was not an option, so he talked with her exposing that postponing the wedding won’t get Hermione back and almost everything for the event was already done. Calculating his words, Harry made it see like he did really want marry her. At first, Ginny was shocked to hear him say that would be best if they carried the wedding in forthnight days and she argued that Hermione should be there as her bridesmaid. Harry was specting Ginny to at least smile a bit and show a bit of joy in her freckled face. Instead, she almost cried that it wasn’t the best moment, that maybe they could wait at least a month or two. So Harry did the best he could: let her to think it over.







The next day Ginny cornered Harry in the backyard and almost at the verge of tears agree with him; in forthnight will be the wedding. They kissed, but something in Harry was yelling that it wasn’t right, that it was the most coward thing leave this way the situation, therefore his kisses weren’t as Ginny remembered. Fisically he was there, kissing her on the lips but the shivers in her when this happen weren’t. She noticed that something was not fine. But rapidly she reasoned mentally that maybe it’s because all was afresh: the war, the daths, the fear.







Then, the time to say it to Molly was something... akward. The first thing that she did was cry. She explained that was because, she as well as the rest of the family, needed this happiness after all that awfulthings and the thought of Arthur for not being able to take his daughter to the altar, something that he really waslooking forward to do. They marked the date. It’ll be June 1rst.







Fleur, knowing the nerves of the up´coming wedding, suggested that it’ll be good to have a reunion with friends to let them know. This same day, a boast of owls were send with an invitation to assist the next afternoon at the burrow, While Molly, Ginny, Luna and Fleur prepared the meal. Harry, Remus, Bill, Fred, George and Neville made the invitations with a new invention of the twins that consisted in a letter with little fireworks of diferent colors completly harmless. Molly was reluctant at first, but seeing as Ginny was amused wiht the idea, agreed. Once it was done, the parlor of the burrow was, once again, cudled of people, mostly males because the females were still in the kitchen.





While they talk, not animatedly as always, Remus looked at Harry. For his part, Harry was not talking, but looking intently at the window that showed that the night was fully dark. It seemed that Harry was lost in his thoughts, and Remus wanted to knowif he was ok, unfortunately, Fred and George noticed the same thing, and Fred asked:







“¿Are you still worried for Hermione?”







This seemed to be the exact thing that Harry was thinking, because the question brought him back to reality in an instant. Harry was startled and inmediatly his cheeks were red with embarrassment.







“¿What?”







“I asked if you are still worried for Hermione” Harry’s eyebrows were knited and frown.







“¿And you aren’t?”







“Well, yeah, of course we are” answered George indignated and Fred nod his head. “It’s just that..”







“You seemed so far from here that...” Fred continue.







“We wondered if that was ... or maybe the wedding...”







“You aren’t speaking at all, mate. You should be Happy”.







Harry didn’t answered, simply shrugged his shoulders like it was nothing, while the rest waited for him to say something. Remus, sensing that the topic was not the best to push, said:







“Drop it” Remus was glaring at them soflty. “Maybe Harry is tired. Actually I think that all of us are”.







“True” mediate Bill. “I’m half asleep. I enjoying talk to you , guys, but I’m worn off, and tomorrow will be a party. I suggest to call it a night”.







At that moment, Molly, Fleur, Luna and Ginny came out of the kitchen with tired faces, though they were smiling. Harry thought that it was good that they were together in the parlor and even better the opinion of being exhausted, which was truth, and the suggestion to go to sleep. Fred and George were pushing him with questions and Harry was almost mad, not just because the wedding, but the fear that Harry was expearencing for the whereabouts of Hermione as well.







“It’s bed time” said Molly like she was talking to a group of ten-year old kids. “Everything is ready for tomorrow and we need to gather all of our energy for the party. Harry dear, are you ok?” Molly just has noticed that his face was downcast. Ginny hurried to Harry’s side and took a seat in the couch with him, their side were touching and Harry feeling this he instinctively winced, like he was scared. Ginny knited her brows in wonder. She put a hand in one of his knees trying to calm him down.







“Harry, are you ok? You look pale”.







“Yeah” responded Harry in a lazily breath. “It’s just... I need to sleep...”







“¿Are you sure?” at this Harry just noded but Ginny pressed and whispered “¿Don’t you want to talk? Maybe if you are...”







“I’m ok, Ginny” said Harry tightly hoping to convey that he was fine and in no mood for company.







The tension was so dense that Molly sense that it was time to intervene.







“Ginny dear, I think it’s best for us to go to our rooms”







“We have to go to mrs. Weasley.” Said Neville in his usual shyly voice offering his hand to Luna, that was at his side.







“We too, mum” said in unison Fred and George “We’ll be here at noon to help” saying that both desapparated. Neville and Luna bid them good night and desappareated too.







Just as they were gone. Tonks burst in to the burrow with such a racket that let startled at the rest that were in the parlor, making them rise their wands like they were attacked. When they realised that Tonks was pale and with red eyes, lowered their wands and Remus hurriedly came up to her side.







“Love, wha_”







“There was an attack” Interrupted Tonks. Harry inmediatly suspected the worse: ‘Hermione’ thought ‘They found her... they hunted her’.







“¿Where?, ¿When?... ¿To whom?” asked Harry talking desperatly. “The death-eaters found her...” his precious green eyes were wide opened while Tonks tried to regaine the breath that loose in the way to the burrow.







“No” said Tonks shooking her head furiously. “In Canton... Susan Bones... is dead”. Harry just closed his eyes almost thanking God that it wasn’t Hermione, but at the same time for his friend lost.







Molly was back in the kitchen making some tea for Tonks. Remus made his girlfriend take a seat an put his hands in her shoulders trying to calm her down.







“It’s not all, isn’t it?”







“No. I just escape”







“¿Escape?” yelled Bill worriedly. “¿What do you mean?”







“Mr.Bones called to the floo asking for help just when the death-eaters broke in his house and he desapeared from the flames. Inmediatly me and four others were send there...” Tonks shook her head in horror. “...as soon as all of us got in there, found in the sky the dark mark...” Her gaze then diverted to Remus’s eyes and with a stressed voice continued: “... They were at least fifteen, we didn’t have time to ask for backup. I... I... I was the only one... the rest were killed...” At this point Remus and Harry’s were paled. “I was scared, Remus” Tonks began top trembling. “what I could see...”







Molly then came back with a coup of tea in her hand and give it to Remus, who offered the coup and Tonks drunk it to regaine energy. Her breaths were swallowed, like she was chocking for the lack of air.







“I just came here to alert Kingsley and he asked what happened... and... I told him...” she took a deep breath and continued “Mr. And Mrs. Bones were decapitated... I found Susan Bones while looking for a place to hide... I enterd in a room... and there she was, sorrunded by six death-eaters... she was naked... they almost caught me...” Molly and Ginny were crying covering their mouths with their hands listening Tonks words, and Harry had his fists at his side, his nuckles white. Bill was holding his wife to support her. “Kingsley is there now. The Bones girl was dead... she was unmoving with her eyes opened... it was horrible. I needed to retract, Remus... I was alone and the house was full of them... ¡God!” Then, right in front of everyone, Tonks cried wailing and Remus embraced tightly to show her that he was there and wasn’t pretending to leave her side at all.







All of them remained awake. Two hours has passed and no one told them what was the status. Ginny offered her room to Tonks and Remus took her to it. Almost reluctant to leave, Tonks climbed the stairs trailed by Molly.







“¿What will happen now?” asked Ginny seated in the couch while Harry was holding her.







“¿What do you mean?”







“Wiht the party... maybe... maybe it’s best to call it off, don’t you think?... I think it’s not the moment.”







Harry thought about it. Ginny has a point. That was one of the things that Harry loved of her: her undestanding of any situation, even if this ruined her own life.







“Yeah... you’re right”.







“I agree” said a voice that came from behind. Bill, Fleur, Harry and Ginny turned to see Kingsley and two aurors trailing behind. Harry inmediatly stood up, just to be dismised by him.







“¿What happened?” asked Harry with a hunted face. Kingsley frown and took a seat in one of the chairs beside the fire place.







“Harry, maybe it’s better that you don’t find out_”







“¿Why not?” Harry argued. “She was my friend”.







“I know, Harry, but... She was murdered in a way that well... I’ll say that is not sane for you to know”.







“Tonks already told us” interject Bill.







“She shouldn’t told you”.







“They... they raped her... didn’t they?” said the whispering voice of Harry afraid fo hear that his thoughts were correct.







Kingsley give a great sigh, massaging his temples and noded. Ginny’s body pressed against Harry’s for comfort while sobbing.







“¿How could they? Tonks told us that as soon as Mr. Bones called for Help, she was there, with aurors...”







“When we got there we just foud the bodies... not a death-eater at sight. We looked at the crime scene and it seemed that Mr. And Mrs. Bones just arrived. I think that Susan was alone when the death-eaters came... maybe two or three hours before her patrents were back... I’m sorry”.







“¡This can’t be happening!” yelled Ginny, her precious features contorted in pain facing Kingsley. “¡She made it alive by cat’s hair after the battle! ¿No one was guarding her?”







“There were two aurors outside of her house.. they were murdered”.







“I can’t belive it, I just can’t” said Harry morosely.







There was silence, a silence for the new looses that was broke by Kingsley.







“I heard when you said that will call it off the party of tomorrow. I think it’ll be best...”







“¿Why you said that?” asked Bill.







“You send her an invitation, didn’t you?” Harry and Bill noded, “ We found the envelope but not the letter.” Harry give his full atention. “At this moment, I presumed that they know about the event. We need to alert at the people whom you invited to not attend. This would brought an attack”.







Kingsley was about to say something else, but an auror came in to the burrow with a parchment in his hand.







“Sir” said the auror panting, “the minister send this to you and said that it’s urgent”. Kingsley hurriedly snatch away the parchment and unrolled it. Rapidly read and reread the content and looked at the rest.







“It said that we need to back off from here. The burrow is no longer safe.







“¡What!” exclaimed Bill.







“The minister send orders to translade all of you to a safer place. London, Wales, Bristol and Southhampton were attacked”.







Harry stood up.







“Ginny, take an auror with you and bring back Molly, Tonks and Remus. While you’re up there, take what you need and get down here inmediatly. Bill, you go bring back the twins, Angelina and Kate, while the rest of us pack our things. I’ll be up here in a minute.” Harry gave their orders and instantly they did as what was asked, no one resisted or argued.







The house was full of movement to arrenge things; clothes and personal items were packed magically to be send to Grimmauld place. Kingsley send two aurors to Longbottom Manor and Neville and Luna were in the burrow within an hour with their proper things. They looked like were hurriedly awake, what was truth because they really were asleep when the aurors burst into the house with the bad news. Few minutes later the Twins, Angelina and Kate arrived. At three in the morning, everything was ready and then, with a portkey everyone, except the aurors, reached Black Manor.











( Don’t tell me- Avril Lavinge )







Minute by minute, Harry’s fears encreased like a plage, devouring him inside. ‘God, please, look out for Hermione’ thought Harry despereated while standing in the main room of twelve of Grimmauld place with the rest of the order in the meeting of the next morning. He was silent hearing the new attacks, the report of Kingsley, once he was back. The days before the murder of the Bones family was calmed. The people weren’t kidnapped or attacked and suddenly the death-eaters were back at full force.







Since the battle, just few of them were captured and non of them said useful things. It seemed that were new recruits, because the only information that the aurors were able to estract of them , even with veritaserum, was the location of two warehouses, one of them in Scottland. When a group of twenty aurors arrived just found two death-eaters, unfortunately they were dead. Seemed that they were no longer needed. That was two weeks before Harry and Ginny decide that they might as well continue with the wedding plans.







Harry emerged from his quandary when the voice of Mad-eye made note of one particular thing:







“... and personally, I thought that it was the news of the wedding that brought them back. No offence, lad” said this looking straight at Harry, “but I think that it was a bad idea to announce the festivities. Maybe you should postpone a few months more because the attacks increased dramatically at the point of revolt the ministry itself”.







Harry glared at Mad-eye offended by the suspiction. But he has to admitted that maybe he was right after all. If Ginny wasn’t in her room with her mother, inmediatly would argue about the subject. Remus reluctantly agreed with this.







“¿And what about Hermione? ¿Do you know something about her?”







“No, lad... not yet. And for the moment we need to suspend the search because now we need to track the death-eaters down before the damage erease with the magical comunity. The muggles are not safe anymore, which means that our work will employ all of our time”







“¡¡¿What?!!” exploded Harry. His green eyes almost out of his sockets. “¡¿You are going to stop the searching?!, ¡¿What if something happen to her?!, ¡We don’t even know where she is!”







“That’s the thing, Harry,” intervene Remus “We don’t know where she is. Non of us had heard of her, this means that she is in another country, and the same time means that she is safe”.







“But_”







“Harry,” interrupted Remus, placing a hand on a shoulder. “I gave you my word to keep looking for her and I’m not going to retract now. Unfortunately, in the mean time we need to look out for all of us that remain here. England is under attack. We didn’t heard of attacks in other countries yet, so we’re going to focus on the task at hand.









“He’s right, Harry” said Bill. “We all are worried for her, but our friendshere are in more danger”.









Defeated and desperated, Harry sunk in a chair holding his head with both hands wanting nothing more than to cry. No one said a single word until a soft hand placed in his back. Harry reluctantly lifted his face to his right and saw the sad face of Ginny staring at him apologetically.









“Come with me Harry” said Ginny sweetly and Harry did not object. Automatically stood up and left, letting himself be dragged out of there and up to his room in silence.







Once they arrived at the master bedroom, Harry walked to the window, looking at the sky intently again, as if Hermione was going to come in any minute, floating on thin air.







“She’s not going to come back, Harry”







“¿What do you mean?”







“I mean that Hermione does not care for us. She left us with no explanation. ¿Why are you doing this to yourself while she’s far away? You do not deserve it”.







Harry was shocked, and that was to say the least. He turned around slowly, not believing his own ears, glaring directly at Ginny’s eyes. She wasn’t scared, not sad or sick but proud. Her beautiful blue eyes were hurt, yes, but the furious glare of Harry just reinforced the brave in her. Confronting what was about to happen need all the Weasley courage that she needed at the moment.







“¿How could you said that, Ginny? You know that that is not true”.







“Tthen, ¿Why doesn’t come back? She knows that we are worried for her and doesn’t care about it. By now, she should know what it’s happening and send an owl to let us know that she’s ok... but no...” she placed right in front of Harry without break eye contac. Now Ginny was face to face with her fiancé, but he wasn’t backing away, nor he attempt to look in other direction. “I lover, Harry, She’s my friend too... but right now, when we need her here the most, desapareated. If she really loved us, she would be here... with us, it’s not like she doesn’t know where to find us”. The angry that was bursting in Harry was diminished a bit. He was fed up by all of this and his love for Hermione made his blood boil, but he has to admitt that Ginny certanly was right.







“I know Ginny” confronted Harry with greet teeth. “but she may has her reasons. I need to remind you that her parents were killed... her fiancé, your brother, my best friend was killed... she has no one whom take care of her”.







“She wouldn’t be if she was here... and you know that. It’s just that you don’t want to see the truth... ¡Why are you defending her?... and don’t tell me lies, because I’ll know”.







“I’m not defending her, but more likely worried”.







“She’s no longer here, Harry, and might as well accept it”. Ginny closed her eyes and sighed trying to regain her guts. When she opened her eyes one single tear scaped and rolled all the way to the cheek to land in her neck. She wasn’t sobbing or crying like she wanted, but the sadness was there. Gazing at the green eyes intently she discovered something else, something that it’s not supposed to be there, and Ginny understood inmediatly. “You love her” said in a whisper.







“Of course I love her, she’s my friend.”







“No... I mean that you lover... not as friend...”







“¿What do yo_”







“¡¡¡Don’t tell me ‘what do you mean’ because you know damn well what the hell I mean!!!” yelled Ginny, her voice full of despair, her hans in tight fists at her sides and her freckled face was as red as her hair. To be the always sweet Ginny, passed to be the enraged Ginevra.







Harry’s eyes were wide opened at seeing her so angry; at first he thought that it was for surprise and then it came to him that she knows... she already realised the truth. He gave a great sigh and defeated once again, glance everywhere but her eyes.







“¿Are you going to tell me? I want you to say the truth... ¿Are you in love with Hermione?”







Harry didn’t see the point of keep it any longer so he redirect his eyes to glance at the blue ones of Ginny that now were red and at the verge of tears.







“Yes”.







The next thing he was expecting it: with the force that he didn’t know Ginny possesed, she punched him in one cheek, leaving him seeing little dots of light. She didn’t say a thing, just turned around and proceed to leave the room, closing the door behind her with a loud BLAM!!







“I’m sorry, Ginny... really” whispered Harry at the empty place, where she stood a minute before