Atrum Viridis

AN: Thank you so much for all your support! It makes me so happy to read your reviews and know that you like the story! I have an announcement though ^^ I decided that because you’re all so supportive that I’m going to hold a little contest! The person who writes the 30th review will be put in as a cameo into the story for a chapter! ^^ I’ll contact that person and they can give me a faint description of how they would like to be seen as – appearance and such – and I’ll add them in. I can’t promise a huge part but I thought it might be fun! So if you wanna be a cameo please review! ^^ Thank you! (please add an email address at the bottom of the review for me to contact you if you want to win. If the 20th person doesn’t have a way for me to contact them I will go to the next person who does.)







Chapter Six: Cold Rain





It was still raining when they had gone back to the Burrow and then slipped out of the house to go visit the family graveyard. Apparently it wasn’t uncommon for a pure-blooded family to have their own private burial land where just those blood or marriage related would be put to rest there. Harry hadn’t been very surprised – he had heard of things like that in the muggle world – but it was still daunting to be walking through the worn path of the nearby forest towards where almost the entire Weasley family had been buried.



The drizzling rain dripping from the canopy of trees above made his skin prickle uncomfortably as chills washed down his spine. Ron and Hermione had fallen into silence as they walked ahead of him, fingers intertwined as she tried to give her boyfriend some small resemblance of comfort. Harry looked away, digging his hands deep into his pockets and tried not to focus too much on anything – which wasn’t very hard considering that it was already swimming with so many different thoughts and emotions that he almost felt numb in a sense. As if it wasn’t really him feeling them and he was just a spectator to the whole ordeal but at the same time was acutely aware of everything around him.



The trio walked for a good few minutes before Ron and Hermione stopped at the outskirts of the forest. Harry almost bumped into them in his dazed state but quickly pulled back and glanced over. Ron shifted, not showing his face before shaking his head as he stared at the ground.



“I…can’t…” he whispered softly, his voice breaking.



Hermione instantly stepped in to help and nodded at Harry as she rubbed Ron’s arm gently.



“We’ll wait here for you, Harry…it’s just over the little hill…” she said softly.



Harry swallowed thickly before nodding, not knowing what to say to try and help Ron so he just walked past them without a word. He trudged up the small incline but paused at the top.



The graveyard was nestled serenely in the middle of the forest, like a small open field of grass being protected by the trees that didn’t pass the boundaries. A gray, wrought-iron fence surrounded the area and looked antique with a faint style of grandeur that might have come generations ago when the Weasley name held more money and influence. The whole scene was cold and for a moment Harry couldn’t move his feet as an intense pressure weighed down on his body and made it hard to draw breath. He struggled with his nerve for a long moment before he finally managed to move again and carefully started to head down the path towards the graveyard. The gate loomed over him like a threatening specter, almost seeming to hold resentment at him for not having been there when they laid her to rest. Then again it could have just been his guilty conscious as he timidly put his hand on the gate and eased it open.



The metal gave way and Harry stepped in cautiously, almost afraid that Ginny’s ghost would suddenly appear and start screaming at him like from his dream. When nothing happened he gathered his courage and stepped in. Looking around the graveyard seemed just like any other graveyard – gloomy and foreboding, as if it was a restricted area and he was going to get yelled for being there. That he didn’t BELONG there. So much sorrow and pain filling the very air until it practically seeped into every pore of the body. Well…there was one difference that was obvious. He doubted the statues in muggle graveyards moved. Memorials of all sizes and ages littered the large field, some chatting to one another while others seemed to be resting. When he stepped closer though almost all of them turned to watch. They didn’t get many visitors after all so watching a boy they had never seen before show up when there wasn’t a funeral was a bit unusual.



Harry blushed darkly, ducking his head to hide from the granite eyes before looking around carefully. Ron hadn’t told him where she was buried so he had to timidly start walking down the rows looking for Ginny. At each new tombstone or statue he would flinch, his stomach clenching in fear that it was hers but then his anxiousness and nervousness rising when he saw that it wasn’t. Silence so loud it was deafening filled his ears so that the only thing heard was the crunching on grass and leaves under his feet and his ragged breath. He half imagined that his heartbeat was audible as well; it’s hard, rapid thumping in his chest filling his ears.



He walked the length of the graveyard before finding himself finally in front of her. He should have known that she would probably be towards the back with the newer graves…or maybe he just had unconsciously been taking his time in hopes of not having to face it. He couldn’t run away anymore, however, now that he was there. His mind struggled to comprehend what he was looking at, trying to accept what had happened as he stared down blankly at the soft granite flicked with flecks of pinks and greens. The lettering was inscribed with a faintly curved tilt, lined with a thin strip of gold.



Ginerva Molly Weasley

Our beloved daughter and sister who was lost to Lord Voldemort

May your strength and courage keep us strong and may you always be remembered for your sacrifice.

We love you now and always.

August 11, 1981- May 8, 1998







Harry stared at the small tombstone, its engraved doves fluttering around calmly over the edges of the polished surface. The soil was still fresh but had settled a bit from the rain. Reality crashed around him. It had almost seemed that as long as he hadn’t seen this…hadn’t seen her gone…that she might have reappeared. It might fix itself or something would come up to say that it had all been a mistake or a joke. Now that he was there…that he saw this…he knew she was gone…it felt like his heart was carved out all over again.



His knees quaked before giving out completely, sending him to his knees as he reached out shakily to trace the name with trembling fingers. She was really gone. Remus was gone. It had all been real. He wasn’t going to see her again…get a chance to have a normal life…have kids even. Even if it hadn’t worked out…if they weren’t destined to be together forever…he had still wanted the chance to find out.



“I’m sorry Ginny.” He whispered; his voice cracked and thick with the emotions he was trying to control. “I’m so sorry…I should have been there…I should have protected you…you-you didn’t deserve this…”



His voice gave out and he had to swallow harshly as he sat there in the mud, the drips of rain pattering on his head and sliding down his neck, soaking his robes in the process. It hid his tears from sight as they blended into the water trailing down his face and hair – something he was grateful for.



Pain ripped through his heart as he dug his fingers into the soft soil and clenched at it desperately almost as if he could be closer to her if he could just reach her… It bubbled horribly in his throat until he was sobbing softly, head bowed and sitting there alone in front of her - his soul bare.



“G-gods…I should have made you stay-stay with me…I should-dn’t have let you go…its all m-my fault.” He cried, pleading with the young girl to forgive him…because he knew he would never be able to forgive himself. “I’m s-so…sorry…”



But no one answered. The statues all knew to look away, let the human grieve…but the one he needed to hear, the one he had to see wasn’t there. He would never be able to tell her just how much he had wanted a life with her…how much he had wished none of this had ever happened…



Harry suddenly realized that he hadn’t brought anything to give her. Flowers…she needed flowers… He stumbled to his feet, scrubbing desperately at his eyes to stop the tears before looking around. There was nothing in the graveyard…but at the fence he could see some daisies and wildflowers growing in reach. He quickly walked over and reached through the bars to carefully pick as many as possible. They were a little droopy from the rain but it was the best he could do for now… Quickly going back he knelt in front of her grave again and gently placed the large bouquet down against her headstone. They looked horrible in his eyes…she deserved hundreds of roses and everything else that she could want…but once again he wasn’t good enough. He was never good enough…nothing he did was good enough. He killed Voldemort but he couldn’t save those he loved…he lived on while those more worthy of life lay cold in the ground.



“I’m sorry…” he choked again, whipping his hands on his robes before tracing her name again. “If you can hear me Ginny…I’m sorry. I would give myself in your place if it would bring you back…I love you…I promise I’ll never let anyone ever take your place…”



A breeze rustled through his hair as he remained there for a long moment, wishing and hoping that his words some how reached her… He knew he couldn’t stay for much longer though or the others would worry so he stood slowly and took a step back, letting his eyes trail over the grave one more time.



“Goodbye Ginny…” he whispered, wanting to say more, so much more but he couldn’t find the words.



Taking a shuttering breath he turned to leave, a sinking, hollow feeling filling his chest. The gate closed behind him as he trudged out, mud on his robes and dirt smeared on his face. It didn’t hold to the filth that plagued his soul…





Once he reached Hermione and Ron again the bushy haired girl instantly cast a cleaning charm on him to scrub off the dirt before offering a soft smile and a gentle hug. No words were spoken but he didn’t pull back when she took his hand in hers and the three began walking back towards the Burrow, her other holding tightly to Ron’s who seemed to have managed to gather himself as well.



By the time they got back to the house the rain had eased to a few drops here and there and wonderful smells were wafting in from the kitchen. The three took their shoes off at the door then dried off with a few well placed heating charms as they stepped into the kitchen.

`

“We’re back, Mrs. Weasley.” Hermione said as they moved to sit at the table.



Molly made a soft sound and seemed to quickly be wiping tears from her eyes before turning a bright cheerful smile to them.



“Wonderful! Percy and Arthur should be returning from the Ministry soon and Charlie apparated back to Romania to check on the dragons. He’ll be back sometime tonight but not in time for dinner. I believe Bill will be staying at St. Mugo’s with Fred and George until I come to bring him some real food. Honestly, you’d think that they would be able to make proper food for patients.” She said, obviously thinking her son would be better off in her care.



The three nodded and Harry suddenly remembered that the two were going to explain something to him about what was going on in the Ministry. He glanced over to the two, giving them a look that said he wanted to know what was going on. Hermione and Ron both looked sheepish, probably having forgotten as well. They were about to make an excuse to go up to Ron’s room to talk when Mr. Weasley and Percy stepped in.



“Oh hello Harry! It’s wonderful to see you again.” The man beamed, taking off his outer coat and hanging it up while his son did the same and they stepped in.



Harry couldn’t really manage much of a smile so he just nodded.



“Good evening Mr. Weasley…how are you?” he asked as the man came over and patted his back before taking a seat.



“I’m doing okay.” He said, though he looked much older now and had bags under his eyes. Both he and Mrs. Weasley.



“So dad, did you get everything sorted out at the ministry?” Ron asked, hoping that if they couldn’t hear about the problem directly it would make up for forgetting to tell Harry about what they had heard was going on.



Mrs. Weasley shot the boy a faint glare for bringing it up.



“That is nothing of importance and certainly not something to be discussed at dinner.” She said with a sniff.



Mr. Weasley smiled sheepishly, “Now now, Molly dear. I’m sure they are old enough to be able to know.” He said gently before looking at the three. “Besides, Ron and Hermione know, it’s not like we can keep it from Harry and…and well he deserves to know.”



Harry perked up at the other’s words before nodding in agreement.



Mrs. Weasley hesitated, obviously not wanting to admit that the children were indeed grown up and adults now. After all they had gone through…she just wanted protect them…



“Oh for heaven’s sake, it’s not that big of a deal.” She huffed, but turned her back to them and started working again, but showing that she wasn’t going to argue.



Percy and Mr. Weasley nodded and settled down at the table before Mr. Weasley folded his hands on the tablecloth.



“Well, Harry, the thing is that earlier today – well, last night really – the Ministry had a bit of a problem with some nasty letters sent to our new Minister – you know, Thomson? He was an Auror for years but he was elected as the Minister at least until proper elections could take place. He’s not bad at his job…but there are still many problems to deal with now even though Voldemort is gone. We’ve all been swamped with processing the Death Eaters and placing them into a high security prison until we can find a way to have Azkaban back into working order. It’ll be hard without the Dementors and all but-”



“Mr. Weasley, you were telling me about what happened this morning?” Harry prompted, smiling faintly as the other had started to go off on a tangent.



“What? Oh, oh right.” He smiled and nodded. “Well the thing is that we’ve gotten more than a few letters about what we should be doing and who people think are Death Eaters. Now that Voldemort’s gone there has been a ton of people accusing others of being his followers, now that they’re not afraid of being attacked. Even though we can check if they have the Dark Mark, not all of his followers did. It’s hard to find out who is and who isn’t. Anyway, when the usual pile of letters came in there was…an incident. It seems one of the letters had a dark magic curse on it that escaped the Auror’s sensors and tests. The man who delivered the letters was the first one to touch it with his bare skin and we’re not sure what has happened to him…but he’s in a coma. Because of that we are having to heighten security even more.”



“Is he going to be alright?” Harry asked worried.



Mr. Weasley sighed heavily. “We’re not sure…but see what’s going on? The person who sent it meant it for the Minister. If something happens now everyone will be just as afraid of the Death Eaters as Voldemort himself. We have to stop them before this gets worse.”



Harry nodded with a faint frown before glancing at Hermione and Ron beside him. The two nodded seriously in understanding, knowing that it would be later when they would be able to talk to each other again and sort through this. Before they could get anywhere though Mrs. Weasley swooped in with her wand and instantly the food she had been preparing was in bowls and plates on the table, ready for them to eat.



“Alright, enough of this, time to eat.” She beamed, though she was taking great care not to look at the chair in the corner of the table where Ginny always sat.



The five nodded in agreement and dug in, all eager not to dwell on any more depressing thoughts.



Harry’s mind was racing though over the new information. It wasn’t a surprise, with all that had happened after all. He knew there was going to be fallout with the Death Eaters and a struggled to find them all. He didn’t know what he had expected from them but he didn’t think that he had expected this really. Well…no… Harry firmly stopped the thoughts of what needed to be done or what it might mean. It wasn’t up to him anymore…it was over. He didn’t have to care about what happened…it was their turn to fix their own problems.



With that thought firmly placed in his mind he turned to the food in front of him. Even with Ginny gone…the idea that he was no longer a slave to some stupid prophecy made his heart lift higher than it had been since before Sirius had told him to come live with him. A new feeling of freedom and…relief washed over his body. His life was his own again, and no one else’s…and he planned on keeping it that way.



TO BE CONTINUED...



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AN: TT I can't believe how amazing you all are. You're so nice in the reviews! Thank you sooo much! I was planning on making this chapter longer but I thought you deserved no more delays. I'm sorry for how long it took but I just got back on campus and it was a bit of a hassle settling in. My posts will be a bit more spread apart but I'm going to do everything I can to keep this story going.