�You know we didn�t ask your name.� the twin stated guiding her away from the fireplace.
�And I don�t know yours so were even.� Lizzy looked around the tidy kitchen taking in the details of the first real wizarding house she had been in. It was immediately obvious that the house was magical. The dishes were washing themselves and piling themselves neatly in the cupboards, and the radio in the corner was quietly talking about the weekly Quidditch scores.
A few seconds after Lizzy came out of the fireplace, her father appeared and was caught by the twin and saved from landing face first on the floor, but the soot from the fire sent him off coughing again.
�Jeremy, get you head out of the fireplace, if someone comes through you�ll get hurt.� A voice from the other room yelled out.
�But I�m not in the fireplace.� A much younger voice complained.
�Then who��
A few moments later a group of adults entered the kitchen followed by a larger group of children.
�Fred? George? Who�s running the shop?� The eldest, a women with greying red hair asked, �You really should take more responsibility for your business.�
Before she could continue a younger red-haired woman spoke, �I am sure they have a perfectly logical explanation for leaving the shop.�
�Of course we do.� George said.
�And we didn�t leave it unattended,� Fred continued, �Justin�s there.�
�Plus we had good reason to leaving, and you�ll thank us when you know what it is.�
�Yes, it seems that our lovable brother over at the school has been keeping secrets and ��
�Just tell her, please.� Harry said having gotten over his coughing fit but was now sitting on the floor next to the fireplace leaning on Lizzy�s shoulder suddenly feeling really tired.
The group at the door finally noticed the two on the kitchen floor and although the children didn�t have a clue as to who they were the adults recognised Harry instantly and swarmed all over him.
�How are you?�
�When did you get back?�
�Where have you been?�
�You look terrible.�
�What have you been doing?�
�Why didn�t you tell us you were back?�
The questions continued in a constant stream, giving him no time to get a single word in, let alone answer them.
He tried repeatedly to get a word in but when the talking died down enough for him to do so, Mrs. Weasley grabbed him in one of her huge motherly hugs which he used to love so much, and he did something that he had promised himself he wouldn�t do in front of anyone especially his daughter. He broke down and cried in the arms of the only woman who had ever been anything near to being a mother too him. He allowed himself to be steered into the next room and pushed down onto the couch next to Mrs. Weasley
He cried for the people he had lost in the war and their families. He cried for all he had lost when he left. He cried for the loss of the love he had found in Neville and the Weasley�s. He cried for the life he had had to lead and the effect it had on his daughter�s childhood. He cried for the time he wouldn�t spend with his daughter because of his illness and he cried for all the things he had missed in his exile. But mostly he cried because it was what he needed to do, he had gone through his life being the strong one who supported everyone around him and now he had come to a point where he couldn�t cope with it anymore.
He didn�t know how long he cried into her shoulder but he must have cried himself to sleep. He woke to hushed voices talking around him. He opened his eyes and found his head in someone�s lap. The room fell silent as he took in the faces around him.
The owner of his �lap pillow� was Mrs. Weasley who was still the short woman she had been almost 12 years before, except for the scattered threads of grey in her hair. Ginny was taller then he remembered and her hair now reached her lower back, she also had a small child of about 6 months. Claire was also there with a 2 year old child on the floor in front of her playing with a pile of blocks, one of which started to levitate, which Claire grabbed out of the air. Bill and Claire had been engaged when he left and due to marry a few days after Christmas so that the whole family could be there before school started again. So he assumed that they were now married.
Harry looked further around the room for Lizzy and when he couldn�t find her he sat up so he could see the whole room, panicking slightly.
�Where�s Lizzy?�
�I�m here Dad,� Lizzy came down the stairs followed closely by three other children who he assumed were a year or two younger then her or they would have been at Hogwarts.
�How are you feeling?�
�Better,� he said keeping his answer as vague as possible, then turning to face Mrs. Weasley, �I�m sorry for��
�Don�t worry about it dear.� Mrs. Weasley interrupted.
�No it was very inappropriate, I haven�t seen you in almost 12 years and the first thing I do when I see you again is to burst into tears.�
�Shh, don�t worry about it, now we are going to get you something to eat while you tell us what you�ve been doing the past 11 years.� Mrs Weasley said going into the kitchen before Harry could complain.
Ginny laughed at him when she saw his attempt to protest, �You should know better then to complain, she never takes no for an answer.� Ginny stood and put the baby on her hip, �It�s good to see you again, sorry if we overwhelmed you earlier, we were excited to see you to say the least.�
�That�s alright, I guess the stress of the last few weeks caught up with me, its good to see you too.�
Ginny gave him a one armed hug, which he returned with only the smallest hesitation. In the later years of school, Ginny had become like a little sister to him and while not as much as her brothers he had been quite protective of her, especially when she had announced in her 5th year her new boyfriend, who while he had gone to the side of right had still not really been trusted by everyone.
CONTINUE TO PART 2