“Where are my kids?” Harry muttered.

“Hold on.” Snape pulled out his wand. “Expecto Patronum” He whispered.

A doe appeared in the room and stared at Snape.

“Find Molly Weasley. Tell her that Harry is awake.” Snape ordered.

It nodded at Snape and pranced out the window. When it was gone, Snape turned back to Harry.

“Harry, you don’t understand how elated I am that you are okay. You’ve had a lot of people worried about you.”

“How long have I been here?” Harry questioned.

“It’s been almost a week, if not more.”

“How long have you been here?”

“What do you mean?”

“I saw my mother. She said that you had a choice, which means that you saw her too.”

“I did see, Lily. The doctors told me that I had been here for three days.”

“Mom said that you made a promise and you had gone above and beyond what was expected of you. What was that promise?”

“I made an unbreakable vow with your mother. I was to protect you. At first, it was because Lily wanted me to. Then it became about you. Even if you were a trouble maker.”

Both men laughed uncomfortably. When it stopped, Snape looked worried.

“What’s wrong?” Harry questioned.

“Did you see Ginny?” He questioned quietly.

Harry knew that the subject was bound to come up and he knew that it would be touchy for both men.

“I did. She told me that…..she didn’t blame you. I don’t blame you either.”

The thought of Ginny not being there hurt so much.

“You shouldn’t blame yourself.” Snape commented.

“It’s my fault.”

Snape began to speak, but he was interrupted by a loud shout.

“Dad!” Albus yelled as he ran into the room. He jumped into his father’s arms.

Harry held his children for a long time. He picked up Lily, held her tight, and almost broke down. She had red hair just like Ginny, and her eyes pierced him like Ginny’s would. Lily could tell that something was wrong when she saw the tears in her dad’s eyes.

“Are you okay, Daddy?” Lily asked

“Yes, I’m fine. I’ve missed all of you so much.”

“We missed you too, Dad.” James reciprocated.

“Have you been listening to Grandma and Grandpa?” Harry questioned.

“Yes.” They all answered in unison.

“Good.”

“Harry!” A voice shrieked.

Mrs. Weasley ran into the room, Mr. Weasley following behind. Mrs. Weasley tried to hug Harry, but instead of a normal hug, she grabbed his head and held it tight. It was apparently funny because Harry’s kids where holding their sides in laughter. Mrs. Weasley was rocking back and forth, holding Harry’s head and crying as she did. Soon the tears subsided.

“Okay, Molly. We don’t want to suffocate him.” Mr. Weasley said.

“Sorry, Harry.” Mrs. Weasley released Harry. “I’m just glad that you are okay.”

“Have you seen Teddy?”

“He’s coming with Ron and Hermione. I told them as soon as I heard.”

As soon as she spoke, Hermione came bursting into the room. She saw Harry and attacked him with a hug. Harry wasn’t sure who crushed him more, Hermione or Mrs. Weasley. When she released him, Hermione spoke.

“You have so many people worried, Harry.”

“So I’ve heard.”

Ron approached Harry’s bed side and he could see the tears in his friends eyes. Harry had only seen Ron cry once. It was during the final battle. Somehow, it was comforting to Harry even though he had no idea whether Ron was crying for his sister or his friend. Harry reached up and gave Ron a proper hug.

“It’s okay, Ron.” Harry whispered before they let go of each other.

“Harry, we need to know…” Hermione began before a nurse entered the room.

“Mrs. Weasley, what are you doing back?” She questioned, then saw Harry. She stood in shock for a moment. “You’re awake Mr. Potter.” She stated.

“Yes, I am. I was wondering if there was a place where my kids could go while the adults talk.”

“Really Dad?” The kids protested.

“Yes. “

“Come follow me, kids.” The woman spoke before she left the room.

The kids, most reluctantly, followed the nurse. All of the Weasleys had taken a seat and the tone of the room became tense. It was Hermione who spoke first, breaking the silent tension.

“Harry, I need to know what happened?”

“Before I can tell you, you need to know what happened. Did you get my message?”

“I was just about to leave when I got your message. There were only three other people there. We called in all the back up we could. I knew that if you called, then it was serious. We got to your house too late. It was a scene of carnage, just awful. Yaxley was unconscious, both you and Severus were unresponsive, and only a few feet away from you was Gin-Ginny.” Hermione finished saying the name after taking one deep breath. “I knew she was gone when I went to check on her. Rob ran into the house when I inquired about your kids.”

“They took Yaxley to Azkaban and I just stood there in shock. Rob came back, telling me that he couldn’t find them. We were just about to send out a missing child alert, when I realized where they were. I ran into the house, grabbed them out of the safe room, and took them to the Burrow. I promise you, they never saw anything out side of the house.” Hermione finished, taking a deep breath.

She was out of breath, the words spilling out of her mouth like an avalanche. Harry, who was unsure of what to say to Hermione, turned to Mrs. Weasley.

“I’m sorry Mrs. Weasley. It’s my fault that Ginny is dead.”

“Harry, you should not…”

“NO!” Harry shouted over her. The room froze in shock. “Please, just let me explain. She wanted to fight by my side and I let her. I made a fatal mistake. Professor Snape had been hit with a spell and I turned to make sure that he was okay. It’s the worse mistake I have ever made in my life. I saw the spell coming at her and I pushed her down. The spell hit her anyways. Had I not turned around, Ginny would still be here.”

Harry paused for a moment, then spoke before anyone else could.

“I do understand if you never want to see me again, and I understand if you are angry with me. You wouldn’t be the only one.”
“Who else is angry with you?” Mrs. Weasley asked.

“I am. It’s my fault that she’s dead.”

“Harry James Potter, now you listen here.” She began placing a hand on his. “After you and Severus left the Burrow that night, I got a chance to talk to Ginny. I asked her how she was doing. “I guess I’m fine now that Harry’s okay. I don’t think I am going to sleep for a while though. My mind is still in fear mode. Every time Harry walks out the door, I pray that he will walk back though later that night. I love every moment I get to spend with him. He’s made me the happiest woman on earth. I don’t know what I would do if he died.”

“You’ve made my daughter happy. All Ginny ever wanted was to be happy and to have a family. How can I be mad at the one person who has given her exactly what she wanted?”

Mrs. Weasley let the question hang in the air. Harry had tears in his eyes, caused by what Mrs. Weasley had said. Why hadn’t Ginny told Harry about that? He never wanted his wife to pray that he would return. If Ginny had just told him, Harry would have given up his job.

“Harry, we could never be made a t you. You are family and you gave Ginny the life that she wanted. You did what anyone else would have done. You made sure that your friend was okay. Anyone would have done that. You can’t go blaming yourself.” Mrs. Weasley told him in a soft whisper, finishing with a pat on the hand and a smile.

“Did the kids behave themselves?”

“You don’t have to ask that, Harry. They always do.”

Harry turned to Hermione.

“You said that they took Yaxley.”

“They took him to Azkaban. They wanted to send them to the dementors right away, but I talked the Minister into postponing it till you got out of the hospital. He said that it seemed only fair. Since you captured Yaxley, he believes that you deserve a medal.”

“Tell him I don’t want one or need one.”

“I will but he may insist that you have one.”

“Then tell him I will not be there to accept it. I don’t need a medal for my wife’s death.”

The room got awkwardly silent for a long time. When no one had spoke for minutes, Snape got up and ushered the children back into the room. For a few hours, Harry could see that his kids didn’t have a care in the world and it made Harry very happy. Before everyone knew it, darkness had fallen.

“Kids, I think we better start heading home.” Hermione suggested when she noticed how dark it was.

“I think it’s time that we go home to kids.” Mr. Weasley agreed.

“Can’t we stay with dad?” Lily questioned.

“Your dad needs to rest, sweetheart.” Mrs. Weasley answered.

“Go with grandma and grandpa. Before you know it, I will be home with you.” Harry comforted his kids.

Harry gave each kid a hug, followed by Mrs. Weasley, Ron and Hermione. When he gave Hermione a hug, he asked to speak with her privately. She let go and helped usher Mr. and Mrs. Weasley out of the room with Harry’s kids.

“Ron, go ahead with your parents. I’ll be right there.”

Ron agreed and left with his kids.

“What did you want Harry?”

“Next time you see Dawlish, tell him that I will be back to work in a couple of days.”

“No. You know the procedure, Harry. You get a month off, then you can’t come back until you are cleared by a shrink and a senior official.”

“Then go ahead and clear me, Hermione.”

“Harry, I would. I really would but you just lost your wife in a very violent manner. You need to take time off, be with your kids. They need you right now and work is not going to help you or them.”

“Can you at least just get me some files?”

“Harry, you shouldn’t worry about…”

“Please Hermione. It’s just two files.”

“This doesn’t mean that I am going to get them, but what files could they possibly be?”

“Yaxley’s file and the Malfoy accident file.”

“Harry, I think it’s a bad idea for you to have any of those files. Is there anyway I can talk you out of this?”

“No. There’s something I want to see.”

“Fine. I’ll give them to you when you get home.”

“Thank you, Hermione.”

She gave Harry another hug and left. For a long time, it stayed silent between Harry and Snape. Harry was one to break the silence.

“Thank you for helping Albus.”

“You’re welcome.” Snape answered.

The thanks did not phase Snape. He knew that Lily convinced Harry to come back. He did not wish to have Harry tell him what he saw. He did not want to bring those memories back to the forefront of the man’s mind. Harry needed to heal from his physical wounds right now. There would be lots of time for Harry to heal from his other wounds.

“Why don’t you sleep? You need to rest.” Snape spoke quietly.

“I’m not tired, believe me. Did my mother really call me ‘little cub’?”

“She did.”

“What did she tell you….when you saw her?”

“Potter, that is a story for another time. Right now, I think we both need to rest. I will be right here when you wake up.”

That reassured Harry a little and within a few minutes, Harry and Snape were both asleep.