Harry only had a few moments until the entire lot of his friends (including Fred and George)burst into the room. They all began speaking animatedly as soon as they saw him. Ginny ran and jumped on him, hugging him and covering him with little kisses. �You�re all right, you�re all right!� she said between each one.
Ron cleared his throat and everyone paused for a moment. �Er, Harry? Was that SNAPE I saw leaving? And was he....CRYING?�
Harry blushed slightly and looked at the ceiling, �yes, it was Snape, I don�t know about the crying though, he came to apologize for how badly we got on all these years.� everyone gaped at him in silence. He turned even redder and coughed softly �well...near death experiences and all that?� they seemed to accept this and began talking again.
Fred had brought one of their inventions--a little ball that spouted flowers and sang a get well ditty--he was attempting to catch and subdue it as George was laughing at his brother�s efforts. Ron joined the two of them as Hermione sat gently on the side of Harry�s bed, �are you sure you�re ok?� Harry began to speak but she interrupted him, �yes I�m aware that they have declared you fit, physically anyways, but what about how you feel? I mean with everything that�s happened...even Snape having a change of heart...� she trailed off as Harry�s face became shrouded in tension.
�Yes, there are things I have to work through, Dumbledore says I�ve never mourned and I will now have to go through that before I can ever truly move on with my life. I�m supposed to start some sort of counseling.� Hermione nodded as he continued, �but, the Snape thing that�that�s something different,� he lowered his voice, �I will tell the three of you once Fred and George get bored and leave.� Hermione opened her mouth to speak but then thought better of it just as Ginny unceremoniously kicked her older brothers out with a threat of bat bogeys.
They were perturbed at being forced out but shouted through the door that they were going to the tearoom for some snacks. Harry breathed a sigh of relief--now that they were gone. It was always nice to see them but they were really quite rowdy and he kind of just wanted some peace and quiet. He closed his eyes for a moment...
Until Hermione nudged him with her wand. �Uh, Harry? You were going to tell us something?� she raised her eyebrows, unable to contain her curiosity.
He rubbed his temple as Ginny began getting defensive, �he�s tired, can�t you see that! Maybe we should just come back later.�
�NO. I�m telling the story! I just needed a minute now that the twins are gone, they leave quite a wake as I�m sure you are aware,� the tree of them laughed, especially Ron and Ginny as they had lived with the two boys their entire lives. Harry took a deep breath and dove into the story. He told them everything that happened, from when they left the order headquarters--including the bit on the headset--right up until they came in. Hermione stared at him in horror when he was done. However, Ron and Ginny didn�t look very surprised.
�Petunia was a witch? I don�t understand! She....� comprehension dawned on her, �of course! It makes sense I suppose, its rare that only one wizard child is born, it�s all in the genetics...um, the way things are passed down from parents to children. What? I wanted to be a biologist before I found out I was a witch� she explained for Ron and Ginny. �Why don�t you two seem surprised at this?� she narrowed her eyes at Ron especially.
�Yeah, what do you two know?� Harry nudged Ron.
It was Ginny who spoke, �after Sirius...well, after he died, my mum snuck out and made a little trip to privet drive. She met with Petunia, asking her, as a woman, to treat you with a little kindness. I caught her sneaking back in and threatened to tell the lot of my brothers, who were in hot water for sneaking out themselves. She told me where she�d been but I didn�t understand why Petunia would have listened. She explained that there is some part of her that knows what should be done, and she let it slip that Petunia had been a witch but wouldn�t tell me what happened or why she had turned her back on our world. She made me promise not to tell a soul, because of Petunia�s non-existence as far as the wizarding community is concerned. She said it was a great bit of protection for you as well...now I know why, she was under a protection spell the whole time.�
Hermione nodded then turned to Ron �Yes, but how did YOU know?� Hermione hit him in the arm.
�Oi! I was listening at the door! Its what I�m good at there!� he rubbed his arm, sulking.
She immediately softened, �aww, I�m sorry if I hurt you,� she kissed his arm and then him�for several minutes causing Harry to roll his eyes.
�Ahem! So, when IS the wedding you two? Now that we all know I�m not going to die, I expect it to be soon!� Harry clapped Ron on the shoulder--as he practically choked. Harry smiled a true smile, the first in a long time.
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