Fic: No Hiding Place book Five: High in the Sky (7/28)

[sua_lay]

Title: No Hiding Place: Book Five: High In The Sky (7/28)
Author: Rimau Sua Lay
Rating: overall NC-17, Angst, Drama, Action/Adventure, First Time
Fandom: Harry Potter
Pairings: Harry/Snape, Ron/Draco, (Sirius/Remus)
Date: December 2002 - May 2007
Disclaimers: Not mine, borrowed without permission, am not making any money. Please don't sue. Sherbet Lemon?
Summary for Book Five: - It's time to try to save the world. Fools and idiots may be the wizards' only hope. Revenge does indeed taste strange. Kinda furry.
Warning: This part contains deaths, gore, total stupidity, explicit sex between men, disturbing themes and angst.

The earlier parts of the fic can be found here.

Part 7

Amazingly enough, it was Blaise Zabini who actually asked Harry how he was doing the next morning as he sat down at his usual place at the Headquarters to read through the reports piled on his desk.

It was equally amazing that when Harry said he was fine, he wasn't lying.

Suppressing a yawn, Harry ignored the way people were staring at him and wished he could have stayed in bed instead of dragging himself back here so damn early. But he'd known he was needed here even before Snape had said it after breakfast.

Duty before anything else and all that crap.

The thought brought a cold smile to his lips, probably shocking everyone even more than his early appearance with the Potions master.

He was glad he'd followed his instincts and stayed with Snape last night; no matter how he accepted his place in their world, he wasn't going to sacrifice everything in order to keep up appearance. So if people wanted to see his absence as grief or shock, they were allowed to do so.

Yesterday had been awful, and the badly slept night only slightly better, but Harry knew that whatever Voldemort had intended to do with his attack, he had failed.

Snape's calm and quiet words this morning had showed he wasn't crushed under the remorse, just as Harry couldn't really find it in him to wallow.

A part of him wondered if that was a bad thing; if he should feel awful and blame himself. But he simply didn't have it in him to waste time doing exactly what Voldemort wanted.

He was going to sit through yet another day of endless meetings and maybe practice dueling with Arabella later on, maybe when the others were doing something else and he could fight as dirty as he wanted, knowing that she wouldn't be shocked by anything he threw at her anymore.

Sighing, he focused his gaze on the report again.

The small room was half empty, most of the people lounging around reading or scribbling down things were younger members of the Order and Hogwarts professors. Harry was glad of it; the new people always seemed to be so very much aware of where he was and what he was doing, and the peaceful atmosphere was exactly what he needed right now. No one was approaching him with anything, no one wanted to ask him questions.

Harry leaned against the backrest of his chair, stretching his legs in front of him and looked around.

Maybe he should have a cup of tea like Blaise who was sitting near by, his face blank as he sipped from his cup. He was certainly not going to pay any attention to the heated discussion between McGonagall and Hooch on the other side of the room, nor was he going to spend one moment worrying about the rather theatrical way Trelawney was shuffling through her deck of cards.

He pushed the report away, spotting extra cups on the table next to Blaise. A cup of tea was never a bad idea. "Hey, Blaise, you mind if I..."

Blaise turned around slowly at his hesitant words, his expression showing nothing but confusion. Even as Harry's words died away, he cocked his head as if he was hearing things that weren't really making sense, trying to pinpoint the source.

"Er... Blaise?" Harry looked at the Slytherin, wondering if he should alert someone. It almost looked like Blaise was going to have a fit.

Raising his head as if to look at Harry, Blaise tensed, his whole body going rigid. "Harry!"

It didn't sound pained, but Harry leaned forward anyway, ready to catch Blaise if he fell. "What is it?"

"Snape!"

That wasn't exactly what Harry had expected. "Huh?" He cast a look around instinctively, even though he knew Blaise couldn't see anything in the room, but there was no trace of Snape anywhere.

Frowning, Blaise shook his head. "Something's not right. No, wait..." He raised his face a little, sightless eyes staring at nothing. "Draco?"

Harry stood up. "What's wrong?"

"Trouble!" Scrunching his scarred face into a deep frown, Blaise turned to Harry, starting to get to his feet as well, as if something was calling for him. There was no sign of hesitation in him anymore. "Snape and Draco are in trouble. Go to them! Now! Go!" He gestured unerringly at the door.

There was something compelling about him, making Harry gawk for only a second before running across the room as fast as he could.

Behind him, the room was full of shocked babble, Trelawney's voice raising above the commotion in a wail about Blaise Zabini having the Sight.

Harry didn't really care what had caused Blaise to urge him to go; it could be the Sight or it could be intuition similar to Draco's or maybe it was something quite different. The only thing that mattered was the uneasy feeling between his shoulder blades telling him that something was indeed wrong and that the only thing that mattered was getting to Snape and Draco before anything bad could happen.

Right now, those two should be in a meeting with people who were planning the extended training sessions. That meant Remus would be there as well and wherever he was, Sirius would be too. Harry refused to think they would have anything to do with the naked panic in Blaise's voice, more concerned that they might be in danger as well.

Passing by groups of stunned people, he ran towards the big training hall, hand already reaching for his wand.

This should be a safe place, safe from Voldemort and his people. He couldn't even guess what was happening, but that one thing kept playing in his head; the wards should indicate if it was a Death Eater attack, and anything else was just too horrible to contemplate.

"Harry! Thank Merlin you're here!" Lavender called out from the other side of the hallway. "They've gone insane!"

Not pausing to even ask of whom she was talking, he pushed his way through a group of gawking youngsters and stepped into the training hall just in time to see one of the Aurors he'd seen at the scene at Godric's Hollow aim a curse at Draco.

It was an insane scene; a battlefield inside the Order Headquarters, the fight almost like an organized training session if not for the looks on everyone's face.

Harry could only stare as Draco deflected the curse and then another one was aimed at the Aurors, not by him or Snape who was standing right there next to him, but by Bill Weasley who was covering his youngest brother with his body, his look grim. Next to him, two other redheads stood with their wands aimed at the Aurors.

Like so many times before, a strange calm set on Harry and he catalogued the situation with no hint of emotion. Two Aurors were down, but it didn't seem to concern the rest of them, more intent on aiming curses at Draco and Snape than checking their comrades. On the other side of the room, Snuffles was growling low as he stood between Remus and the curses, the warning coming from his throat the only sound echoing in the room before yet another curse was aimed.

That made Harry's detachment disappear and he banged the door fully open, stepping into the room.

"Enough!"

Everyone froze instantly.

In the sudden silence the yell caused, the Weasley brothers moved closer to Ron as if it was as important to them as breathing. Remus sighed with relief, putting his wand away and sharing a knowing look with Sirius who had morphed back into his human form the moment the door banged open.

The parchments on a side by table were fluttering as if they were disturbed by a magical wind. Lights were flickering, and the sense of barely controlled rage filled the room.

Squeezing his hands into fists, Harry stood there, taking in the situation, glaring at the Aurors facing Snape and Draco, both those on their feet and those who were lying still on the ground. He ignored them after the first glance, concentrating on his friends.

"Are you all right?"

The parchments fluttered harder, a stack of documents falling on the floor.

"We're fine," Snape said, his tone unreadable.

Harry wondered if it was pride talking. He knew Snape wouldn't admit he was in pain, not in front of anyone, especially the Aurors. "Would someone care to explain just exactly is happening here?"

His tone indicated it wasn't exactly a question, and not aimed at his friends.

After a moment of silence, one of the Aurors cleared his throat. "We... We thought that... He said that..." He looked down, unable to meet the angry green gaze anymore.

"Some of these people made comments about Slytherin Death Eaters." It was clear from Ron's voice that he couldn't believe he was saying this. "Er... Things got kind of out of hand after that."

"Yeah! He tried to curse us!" Outraged, one of the Aurors pointed at Snape who was still holding his wand ready. "With a Dark Curse!"

"Is that so?" Harry barely even looked at the Auror.

Snape nodded. "Yes." He offered no excuses or explanations. Words had never really changed anything. The facts were never on his side as long as his past was dragged into the daylight as a reason to justify attacks against him.

"They started it!" Sirius snarled. He didn't care about what the Aurors had said about Snape, but he drew the line on trying to curse Malfoy. Besides, having some hothead kill Snape would make Harry sad and no matter how he hated the git, Sirius never wanted that. No one was going to make Harry suffer if he could help it, and if someone were to have the satisfaction of killing Snape, Sirius thought that should probably be him.

At least the Aurors were smart enough not to cast any accusations on Sirius Black. Ever since Harry's little speech about his innocent godfather, they'd known better than to say bad things about him out loud. That didn't mean they would really trust the man.

No one who had been sentenced to Azkaban could be a true innocent. That simply didn't happen!

"But he cursed us with Dark Curses!" It was repeated as if the simple fact would be enough to explain every action.

Ron muttered quietly, "He didn't really hurt any of them." It had been strange to watch Snape fight the Aurors. Even stranger to stand next to him and assist him in his fight. He wasn't as good at curses as some, but even he could see when someone tried not to use unnecessary force.

The world was definitely turning upside down; him fighting Aurors, Snuffles defending Snape and Malfoy and Harry looking angry enough to kill someone.

His own fingers felt nerveless and all he wanted was to put down his wand and lean against Bill. His big brother looked just as murderous as Harry did. Next to him, both Charlie and George were holding their wands ready, pointing them at the Aurors with no hesitations.

"Why?" The question hanged in the air unanswered until Harry added, "Why would you attack on any member of the Order?"

The looks he received for that were incredulous. Did he really need it spelled out? Why would anyone confront someone like Malfoy or Snape? The answer should be obvious.

"My parents were killed by the Death Eaters," one of the Aurors spat out. "His father was seen at their house." He pointed at Draco.

Harry nodded curtly. "When you see Lucius Malfoy, you can challenge him into a duel if you want to. I'm sure most of us will cheer you on. But in case you haven't noticed, this is not Lucius Malfoy. His name is Draco, and he's a member of the Order. He's not the enemy."

The Aurors fidgeted uncomfortably.

There had been rumors and eye witness reports of the things that had happened in Hogwarts and Hogsmeade, and it was documented that Draco Malfoy did not only live with Harry Potter but had actually saved his life a while back. Maybe he wasn't the enemy, but someone else in this room definitely was.

"Snape is a Death Eater. There is nothing he can ever do to change that!"

This time there were others nodding, with no sign of the earlier embarrassment. Attacking the boy had been dubious, but this one was a legitimate target. They all knew it, had seen the Dark Mark on him.

Gaze hard, Harry said, "These men are both members of the Order. They're also both my friends. If anyone has a problem with that, they're free to leave." His voice didn't waver. "Of course leaving is only helping Voldemort and his people. Your choice."

"But..." It was clear the Aurors were not convinced.

Harry shivered at the rage that went through him. He had never felt like this towards anyone but Voldemort and his people and feeling the surge of white hot rage now was enough to make him nauseous. Squeezing his hands into fists, he growled out, "They are my friends." It didn't matter if Snape didn't like him using the word; he would probably like the other descriptions Harry wanted to use even less.

The silence in the room was absolute.

"You don't harass them. You don't hurt them." Harry could almost feel Snape's disgusted glare on the back of his head and didn't turn to look at him. "And you definitely don't try to kill them!"

He wasn't going to tolerate this. They would have to learn how to work together if they wanted to beat Voldemort. "If you have a problem with my friends, you talk about it. With them or with me, or if you prefer, you raise the question with Minister Weasley. But if I ever see you raise your wand against either of them again, I will kick your sorry arses."

The Order members who'd slowly drifted into the room to see what was going on nodded in agreement.

They didn't really like Malfoy, but if he was going to fight his own family to do the right thing, he couldn't be a total git. With Snape it was different; dislike was too mild a word. Still, he'd saved their people and was helping them with the training.

Above all else was the loyalty they had to the Order. No one could argue that. If they had to choose between them or the Aurors, who had until now stayed locked in their ivory tower, hiding from the very real fight they were engaged in, the members of the Order would choose their own. Even if they were Malfoy and Snape.

"But.... It's Snape! He's a..."

Harry knew this couldn't become a real fight. Squabbles between Aurors and the Order would be utter stupidity. Keeping control over his emotions, he said quietly, "Snape has proven his loyalty over and over again. If I thought he was really a Death Eater, I would hex him myself."

He was certain the glare focused at him was murderous now.

It didn't matter. Snape could be as angry as he wanted, as long as he was alive. Everything he said was true. He trusted Snape. To make it absolutely clear, he repeated the words out loud, "I trust Snape with my life." All right, so it came out a bit differently than he'd planned, but he couldn't help it now.

That definitely shocked most of the people in the room, and not only the Aurors.

Not trusting his ability to keep other words unsaid, Harry muttered darkly, "Now get the hell out of here and don't come back before you've thought about what I said." His gesture towards the door was impossible to misinterpret.

The Aurors lined out without a word, most looking either shocked or embarrassed.

It was rather like a father sending his children to bed without supper.

"What a lovely declaration."

To Harry's amazement Snape actually sounded amused. Nodding firmly, he said, "I think they needed to hear the truth." Seeing the amusement turn into something slightly malevolent, he added, "Or at least a part of the truth."

Snape refused to comment on that, but he did wonder what the world would say if they knew what Harry really meant with his words.

The crowd of Order members was slowly relaxing, people lowering their wands now that the Aurors were gone. Casting curious looks at the disheveled Slytherins as well as Harry, they started muttering at each other, all fairly excited by the near disaster.

"Is he really... You think Snape's your friend?" No one was surprised it was Lavender asking the question. She'd always been too curious for her own good.

Harry stared at her, not saying a word.

The atmosphere in the room was becoming oppressive the longer the silence continued. It didn't take long for most of the people to find some excuse to leave.

Walking out of the room after Parvati, Lavender whispered, "I told you I was right about that dear man all along!"

Snape shivered at that. Not again! He would rather face an army of angry Aurors than the well meaning Gryffindors.

Somewhere behind the Weasleys, Sirius couldn't completely suppress the snort that wanted to escape.

Ignoring the people walking out, Harry turned to look at his friends. "Is anyone hurt?" That was the most important thing, even though other questions would undoubtedly follow.

Bill Weasley shook his head in behalf of all the Weasleys, casting a glance at Hermione as well. "Nah, we're all right." He still didn't know what this was all about, but the moment the Aurors had started casting curses and Ron had stepped in the fight right next to Malfoy, it had become their fight as well.

He was not going to lose another brother, no matter what.

"We're fine." Leaning against Sirius even though he didn't really need the support, Remus nodded as well. "They didn't really get to do anything serious before you appeared; there were some words and then some shoving and pushing before the curses, that's all."

The look Harry cast at him showed that he should probably practice his calming words. These ones weren't really working.

Harry turned to the Slytherins. "And you?" He could see that Draco was just shaken and not hurt. He knew that Snape had most likely shielded him from most of the curses, Slytherin solidarity showing in this unexpected moment.

It made him look at Snape more closely. He knew that the stubborn man would probably hide any and all injury even from people who were trying to help, choosing to suffer in silence and then self medicate in the dungeons.

Managing to curb the touch just barely, Harry asked, "Are you all right?" He could see the way Snape cradled his arm and could bet it was more than just a scratch.

"I'm fine." The words escaped before Snape could even think how ridiculous they would sound accompanying a flinch.

"Stop being so damn brave all the time!" Harry put his wand away and grabbed Snape's arm, noticing that his hands were shaking only when he touched the torn sleeve.

He was rarely this angry. It made him sick to think that this was done by those who were supposed to protect everyone. He didn't want to torture anyone, not even Voldemort. He wanted the war over, and if that meant killing the Dark Lord, then he would do it, but not like this. Not if it meant he was going to play with the man and take pleasure in doing so.

Muttering curses from under his breath, he peeled the black cloth away from Snape's arm, hissing with sympathy as he saw the blood. "You're bleeding!"

"What an astonishing observation." Of course he was bleeding! Snape wondered what inanity would come next. 'You're hurt?' It would definitely not surprise him.

"You'd better go and see Poppy about this." Harry doubted he would. More likely he'd try to heal it himself. "I'll come with you."

"You most certainly will not," Snape said. He didn't even bother to try to sound outraged at the suggestion; it was exactly what he'd anticipated. "I can take care of myself."

Harry wanted to disagree, but he managed to bite his lip. After a moment, he gave a curt nod. "All right. Go on then." He gazed at Hermione. "Would you please escort Snape back to Hogwarts? Take Mundungus with you just in case."

He was not going to see another one of his friends get hurt.

"Okay." Hermione was definitely not looking at Snape as she nodded, knowing that he would not like this at all.

"I don't need an escort!" Outraged, Snape drew himself straighter, ignoring the piercing pain on his arm. He was used to such agony already and didn't need this kind of fussing over.

Instead of arguing, Harry simply said, "Please." He didn't even try to hide his worry.

This was the one thing Snape couldn't argue against, not in public, and usually his half hearted arguments in private didn't work well either. "Fine!" He swept out of the room and headed towards the exit, not even waiting to see if Granger or anyone else was following him, quietly muttering darkly about the stupidity of overprotective idiots.

Back in the small meeting room, Harry was slowly letting go of the control, finally acknowledging the fact that he couldn't stop his hands from shaking. Damn it! Seeing the Aurors flinging curses towards his friends would probably haunt his dreams for a long time.

"Harry?" A hand landed on his shoulder. "Are you all right?"

Looking up, he saw Ron's concerned expression. He opened his mouth to say something vaguely assuring, but found out that he couldn't. "No." A deep breath. "I'm not all right. Those idiots almost killed you. They know you're my friends, and they still tried to..."

The bile rising to his mouth made him gag. They had really tried to hurt Draco and Snape. Maybe even kill them.

Looking around to see if there was something he could smash, he met with Bill Weasley's worried gaze. It made him hold his tongue, even though it was harder now to hold the nausea back. Seeing the four Weasley brothers stand side by side only reminded him of the losses.

He never wanted to lose another friend again. Not ever.

"No one really likes Slytherins." Nodding knowingly, George added, "And I've never heard anyone call Snape their friend before." He shook his head. "Defies all laws of nature."

Ignoring the heartwrenchingly familiar speech pattern, Harry squeezed his wand tighter. He knew it was a joke, but he didn't find it at all funny. "You don't know what you're saying." His throat hurt with the low growl his voice had turned into.

"Harry!" Seeing the rage bloom again in his friend's eyes, Ron stepped in before something horrendous happened. He knew Harry was mad at the Aurors and not George. "It's all right."

"No! It's not all right! They tried to kill my family! It's not all right!"

Maybe the Aurors had targeted only Snape and Draco, but they had ended up fighting against Ron and Hermione and Sirius and Remus and that was something Harry could not forgive!

Silence fell into the room after his declaration, broken only by his harsh breathing. The Weasleys all shared a very knowing glance of shared grief, while Draco was staring down at his shoes, mind completely blank.

Holding out his hand, Remus kept Sirius from going to Harry. He sensed it was too early for hugs.

Sirius wouldn't admit it, but he was glad of his touch. His mind was full of insane laughter at the word friend being used at someone like Severus Snape and the strong hand on his arm was grounding him, keeping the hysterical chuckles at bay.

"Harry..." Ron said quietly. "We're all right. No one got hurt. We're fine." He even made a gesture at Malfoy, who was still looking at the ground.

For a moment it looked like Harry would nod. Then he shook his head instead. "You and Malfoy are, but they hurt Snape." The rage was building again. On the table, the parchments were fluttering once more. "They tried to kill him!"

He wanted to scream out the words, march into the meeting hall and declare that any assault against his friends, especially Snape, was a direct assault on him.

"You really like Snape?" Open curiosity that was so clear in George's eyes also echoed in his voice. "Like, really like him? Honestly?"

Harry looked at him, unable to control his expression. All his fear and anger were plain to see. "Yes." He wondered how many times people would ask him this.

"I think we should leave the kids alone now." Murmuring the words quietly, Remus tugged on Sirius' sleeve. He was a bit astonished to have his friend follow him without speaking, but was glad anyway. Sirius would probably rant and rave later, when they were alone, but that would be all right.

He didn't think Harry could handle any more arguing right now.

The slam of the door barely registered as everyone was still staring at Harry, most in confusion.

It was George who let out the, "Why?" He sounded genuine in his confusion. Why would anyone like Snape? This had to be a joke, the biggest joke of all times, and he couldn't see the punch line.

Harry took a deep breath. It helped to dissolve some of the rage, but otherwise it didn't do anything to help. He'd known all along that sooner or later one of the Weasleys would ask the question, and he had no idea what to say to them.

He glanced at Ron, wondering if he could just blurt out the good old 'Harry is shagging Snape!'. That way he wouldn't have to explain it to anyone in his own terms.

To his disappointment, his friend just stood there, looking slightly embarrassed, as if determined not to say it again, even if he wanted to.

"I'm... Seeing Snape," Harry finally said. It sounded inadequate even in his own ears.

His words didn't seem to register. The older Weasleys were waiting for an explanation that would make sense.

"I'm with Snape. Seeing him. You know?" The way everyone kept staring told Harry that they didn't. "Oh for crying out loud! I'm having a... I'm with Snape! As in him and me and stuff!"

Three stunned pairs of eyes focused on Ron, asking for some kind of a confirmation. Grimacing at his brothers, Ron nodded. "Yeah. You got it right." He almost made an obscene gesture, but curbed it at the last minute, knowing Harry would probably curse him with something even Bill would have problems breaking. Or tell everyone he was shagging Malfoy. He didn't know which would be worse.

Bill tried very hard to act as if he wasn't totally stunned, failing miserably. Next to him, Charlie was frozen in place, able to only stare at Harry with his mouth open. He could understand people raising dragons and breaking ages old curses. Compared to having a relationship with someone like Snape, they were a piece of cake.

"Really?" George didn't pause to think as he saw Harry nod. "Is he any good?" His gaze glinted with mirth.

A couple of years ago that information would have been worth his weight in Galleons.

His brothers all groaned. "George!" It was definitely not tactful to say something like that. However, all four Weasleys were intrigued on whether Harry would answer or not.

Harry hoped he wasn't blushing. He knew Ron and his brothers, and they would tease him forever for it. "That's none of your business."

"Whoa! That good, eh?" George crowed out.

The leer was such a normal reaction; the first time Harry didn't feel like there was something very wrong about being with Snape. It made him grin back at George. "Well if you really must know..."

"No!" It came from Ron, echoed by his older brothers. "We really don't need to know that. Ever." Seeing that George was going to say something, Bill placed his hand on his brother's mouth just in case.

It was good to laugh at the whole thing.

Harry waited until even Ron stopped laughing, wishing he didn't have to remind them all of what was going on and knowing it was still his job. "Bill, I need to talk to your father. Would you please go and ask him to come here as soon as he can?"

He didn't want to ask any of the Aurors or the Ministry officials working in the Headquarters. He didn't trust any of them, not like he trusted the Weasleys.

"Yeah." Recognizing the question as a barely veiled order, Bill nodded immediately and headed towards the door with Charlie and George in tow.

The sound of the door closing behind them was loud, echoing in the training hall.

Before either Ron or Draco could say anything, Harry muttered, "Fuck!" Slowly, he managed to push his wand under his robes.

It was so uncharacteristic to Harry, Ron could only stare for a while. Damn, such language was his way of coping, not Harry's, and as soon as the thought materialized, he realized just how silly he was being. "Yeah. Indeed."

Draco said nothing, keeping his distance from the two Gryffindors.

Harry looked at Ron, his expression grave. "Thank you. I..." He didn't know how to say it. Ron disliked Snape, and no one really knew what he thought of Draco, probably Ron didn't know that himself either, but he had stood between them and the Aurors anyway. "Thank you, Ron."

"Sure. Anytime." Still feeling weird, Ron fingered his wand.

Looking slowly up from the floor, Draco muttered, "Yes. Thank you, Weasley." For once, there was no hint of sarcasm or a leer on his face.

Ron didn't know how to deal with Malfoy being honest and earnest, so he just shrugged. "Yeah." He didn't want to look too closely at the anger that had driven him to draw his wand at the Aurors, but it was a safe bet to say that it hadn't been to protect Snape.

"I... I should go and..." Gesturing at the door leading to the small changing room right next to the training hall, Draco hurried away before anyone could say a word.

Harry realized he probably needed some time alone. "We'll wait for you here." Turning to Ron, he muttered quietly, "I want you to stay with him today. Make sure none of the Aurors get close to him. Can you do that?"

Since it was a request for a favor, Ron could nod without hesitations. He'd thought of the same thing, but there was no force on earth that would make him volunteer to keep Malfoy safe. Not without a nudge from a friend anyway. "Sure."

The two friends stood alone in the large room, neither finding the silence oppressive, not really paying attention to the sounds of people walking and talking in the hallway. The door was firmly closed and Harry was certain no one would come to see what was going on.

Merlin! Wiping a hand down his face, he sagged against the wall. His hands weren't shaking anymore, but he knew the nausea would stay with him for a long time. It was a natural reaction to the shock, and he could only imagine how much worse it was for Ron, who had actually faced the Aurors with a wand drawn.

Squirming a little next to him, Ron murmured, "Harry... You..." He sounded like he didn't know how to finish that.

Harry let out an encouraging grunt, "Yes?" They were past all the lies and obfuscation. Whatever Ron needed to ask, he could. He'd try to even answer honestly.

"Do you ever have nightmares about those Death Eaters? When... When Bill... I mean when you... You know." Voice quiet, Ron let the words slip out. He didn't look at his friend, didn't want to see the pain his question would quite probably cause.

There was a long silence. Harry kept staring into the dueling platform on the far side of the room, his eyes unseeing. Did he ever dream of the men he had killed? He knew he could never tell his friend just how often. He dreamed of killing them over and over again or them killing Bill and Molly Weasley. Some nights the Death Eaters won, and he could see the green sparks flying at him.

The worst nights, their dead bodies morphed into Cedric Diggory, staring at him with unseeing eyes.

"Sometimes," he said, his voice tight in his throat.

Ron had known the answer, but he'd hoped he'd been wrong. "Do the dreams ever get better?" He didn't want to think he'd spend years seeing Terry's dead body in his dreams or staring into an Auror's wand as he stepped between it and Malfoy.

"I don't know." Harry wished he could assure his friend, but he couldn't. "I hope they will."

The quiet words made Ron stare. He'd never heard Harry sound like that; as if he'd seen too much and been through things that he did never want to think about again. It had to be the truth, and he hated it. "Oh." What could he say to that? Nothing, really.

Harry seemed to think that as well. "Yeah," he sighed.

---

Comments

[tommywy.livejournal.com]

Aren't people idiots? Just like in real life, LOL. I like Ron in this chapter, doing the Right Thing.

You know, when you started posting book 5, I'd just finished rereading the first four books. Now I'm at the same time ecstatic to see the new parts and sad because my fave WIP's going toward its end. :)