Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Jaded	By : Lilyyuri Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Remus Views: 18219 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: The Harry Potter universe and characters are the sole property of J.K. Rowling. I make absolutely no profit out of writing any of these stories.

Chapter List
- 1-Jaded
- 2-2
- 3-3
- 4-4
- 5-5
- 6-6
- 7-7
- 8-8
- 9-9
- 10-10
- 11-11
- 12-12
- 13-13
- 14-14
- 15-15
- 16-16
- 17-17
- 18-18
- 19-19
- 20-20
- 21-21
- 22-22
- 23-23
- 24-24
- 25-25
- 26-26
- 27-27
- 28-28
- 29-29
- 30-30
- 31-31
- 32-32
- 33-33
- 34-34
- 35-35
- 36-36
- 37-37
- 38-38
- 39-39
- 40-40
- 41-41
- 42-42
- 43-43
- 37
- 38
- 39
JADED

For Summery, warnings, spoilers and disclaimers see chapter one.

There probably should be a warning of death character in this chapter, and I�m not going to tell you who� (snickers evilly)� Oh, alright, I�ll just say it�s not Harry, or Remus, or Draco, or Neville, Or� Why don�t I let you find out for yourselves�

Also, a rather mild Dumbledore bashing that would probably be worse in the up coming chapters.

I think this is the perfect opportunity to remind you all that I have never read past chapter eight of �Deathly Hollows� and therefore I really don�t know how the final battle went (though I do know what happened in the epilogue� weird, I know), so this is my point of view on things and is in no way consistent of the way things were written in the original book (or if they are, it�s unintentional), so I�d appreciate if you kept the �That�s not the way it went� flames to a minimum. Thank you.

I'd like to send special thanks to my beta Dragon who not only beta my story but also keeps me from falling into plot potholes of the first five books, because let's face it; the last time I've read them was� when the world was greener and much quieter�
And to my sweet Kat, who is overrun by work, but still manages to keep a positive look on things.

I think there�s something else� Oh, right! The story! Hehe, enjoy.

..oo00oo..

Chapter Thirty-eight: Well, everywhere is war, me say war
(Title from �War� by Bob Marley and �The Wailers�, Album- Rastaman Vibration)

..o0o.. ..o0o.. ..o0o..

A soft groan was heard, nearly a moan really, and Harry briefly wondered who was hurt. He waited; eyes firmly closed trying to pinpoint the direction in which the moan was coming from. Soon a second moan followed, and this time Harry knew it was coming from him, and the realization made his eyes snap open.

Everything around him was white, pristine white and nothing more. Harry tried to quench the feeling of horror that was spreading fast inside him, why was everything so white? Where the hell was he? If this was death and Heaven, it certainly sucked. He closed his eyes and wished Remus was here to hold him, but that would mean Remus was dead as well, wouldn�t it? Harry sighed; he didn�t want his wolf to die, but spending the rest of eternity alone?

After a while he sighed and opened his eyes again, deciding there was nothing for it. In front of him floated the grinning face of Ginny Weasley and Harry sucked in a shocked breath. Why does everyone insist on watching him sleep? He squashed the brief feeling of disappointment at seeing his death-partner, telling himself that Ginny was better than nothing.

�Oh, good, you�re awake. How are you feeling?� For the first time since he woke up Harry took the time to look around him. White ceiling joined to white wall and down to a white screen and� bullocks, heaven looked just like the Hospital Wing of Hogwarts� What a hell.

�Where am I?� He croaked, shocked that the squeaky voice was coming from him, �Am I dead?� Ginny chuckled softly,

�No such luck, I�m afraid,� She said happily, �You�re in the Hospital Wing, naturally.� Harry sighed again, well, that was a good sign, at least he had something to look forward to when he did die, a place that did not look like the bloody Hogwarts infirmary.

�What happened? Where�s Remus?� He cried, suddenly eager to see the man, just to make sure Remus wasn�t dead. That would royally suck if he managed to cheat death only to be left alone. He looked up at Ginny again, noticing for the first time she was wearing uniform quite similar to the ones Madame Pomfrey used to wear, �What are you doing here?� He blurted rather rudely but Ginny didn�t seem fazed by it,

�Aren�t you curious today�� She clacked her tongue at him, �I�m here as Madame Pomfrey�s assistant,� She said proudly, something that was completely lost on Harry, �And your boyfriend is just over there.� She finished somewhat dryly, pointing her thumb behind her.

�Is he hurt?� Harry asked, craning his neck, trying to get a glimpse behind the curtain,

�Nope, just recovering from the Full Moon.�

�I want to see him.� Harry said in a tone that broke no argument. But he forgot that he was talking to a girl that had six older brothers and was hardly moved by commanding voices,

�Harry, you�ve been out of it for quite a while,� She said gently, �You should rest.�

�Please Ginny; I want to see him�� Harry tried to plea, with his best puppy-dog eyes and pout. Ginny weighed the pros and cons of letting Harry out of bed, on the one hand, he shouldn�t leave the bed no matter what, on the other hand, knowing who her patient was- it was very likely Harry would try to sneak out of his bed anyway, and that undoubtedly would end up worse than if she helped him.

�Oh, alright.� She finally decided, �But don�t come crying to me when Madame Pomfrey fries your arse for getting up too soon!� She threatened with a raised finger at Harry, who grinned sweetly at her,

�Thanks Gin.� He cried happily. Ginny helped him get off the bed, and Harry groaned again as his muscles where forced back into action after who knows how long, and forced him into a wheelchair. Harry decided he wasn�t about to argue with her on her treating him like an invalid, partly because he wanted to stay on her good graces and partly because he was feeling rather weak.

Ginny wheeled him around the curtain and Harry�s breath caught in his throat, looking at the pale man lying in the bed. Remus looked quite ragged, more so than usual after the Full Moon and Harry wondered just how long he�d been in a coma. With the help of Ginny he climbed onto Remus� bed and settled beside his bond-mate. Ginny watched as Harry tenderly reached over and brushed the fringe back from Remus� forehead, causing the wolf to stir. She smiled softly and retreated quietly, giving the couple their privacy.

�Hello Pookybear.� Harry said softly when the groggy amber eyes slowly opened. Remus blinked a few times, wondering what sort of bizarre dream was that, and reaching out his hand to poke Harry lightly in the arm, just to make sure.

�Well, well, well,� He smirked feebly, �Look who�s back from the beyond.� Harry�s smile broadened,

�Did you miss me?� He asked in a satisfied voice,

�Very much.� Harry sighed in bliss and let his head drop gently onto Remus� shoulder. The older man pulled his lover closer, needing to reassure himself that Harry was indeed awake after so long.

�What the hell happened?� Harry asked after a while, �I can�t remember anything.�

�Well, you were in a coma for five weeks.� Harry�s head lifted in shock,

�Five weeks?�

�Yup.� Five weeks� Harry returned his head to Remus� shoulder, feeling completely overwhelmed with the fact that he just missed five whole weeks of his life, five weeks in which he was suppose to establish his relationship with Remus, five weeks to celebrate the fact they were bonded together. An alarming thought crossed Harry�s mind and he lifted his wrist to his face for inspection. He let out a relieved breath when he saw the shimmering band still circling the column of his arm.

�Five weeks��

�Indeed, five weeks is a long time for me and my right hand all by our lonesome selves.� Remus said in a grave tone, which made Harry simper,

�Oh, you poor thing�� Remus gave him a little kiss on the crown of Harry�s head. Harry would have preferred if they cut the bullshit and went straight for the five weeks worth of sex, but sadly he knew that both he and Remus were completely out of shape for that sort of thing right now,

�What�s the last thing you remember?� Remus� voice was cutting through Harry�s calculations of how long it would take for both of them to be fit for sex again and he took a moment to ponder on that,

�Hmm, let�s see� I remember Dumbledore declaring war��

�Ah, well, that was quite a while back�� Remus mused; trying to find a way to broach the subject in a way that would not leave Harry feeling like every damn thing that goes wrong with the world was his personal fault. �After the old man declared war the entire house went into quarantine. No more trips to the corner shop for fish and chips, no more working at the twins� shop, in fact- Molly even called in Fred and George, demanding they stay at Grimmauld Place in case someone tried something funny with their store.�

�So everyone was stuck in the house?� Harry asked in astonishment, gods if he didn�t know any better he�d say it was a crafty and cunning plan of Voldemort�s. �Merlin, the tension must have lifted the roof!� Remus smiled in reminiscent,

�Oh, yeah it was quite fun,� He chirped and Harry smiled, �Draco refused to leave his room, Molly barricaded herself in the kitchen, supplying meals and sour faces, Hermione went into a complete meltdown, yelling and screaming about how unfair it was that she could do nothing, Ron walked around looking like his pet kneazle just died and I don�t have to tell you what Fred and George are like when trapped indoors!�

�I�m starting to feel glad I can�t remember any of this�� Harry muttered, snuggling closer to Remus. He didn�t really care anymore what went on in the house since his birthday, he was just too happy and content to be in his lover�s arms again,

�I don�t blame you.� Remus said with a sigh. Lucky Harry. �Do you� Hum� Have you ever heard of Horcruxes?� Remus asked tentatively, not wanting to reawaken painful memories for Harry.

�Yes, Dumbledore wants me to find and destroy them.� Harry answered in monotones, wondering where the hell he should even start his search,

�After Dumbledore pretty much sealed the house, he decided to send only the older members of the order to hunt them.� Remus explained, knowing he�d have to ease Harry into the news, building up the story of the war so that the young man would understand fully,

�You? You went hunting for Horcruxes?� Harry nearly jumped to his feet and started pacing the room but Remus� strong arms kept him in place, �How could Dumbledore let you do that? It�s far too dangerous!�

�For an old and frail man like me?� Remus asked dryly. He didn�t like the argument the first time they had it and it felt just as annoying now,

�No, that�s not what I meant�� Harry at least had the decency to blush,

�I know,� Remus said clemently, �And I refuse to have this argument with you again. Besides,� He said, unable to resist repeating his main assertion, �If it�s dangerous for me than it would be ten times more so for you.�

�But I have to do it,� Harry whispered miserably, �It�s in the prophecy��

�Bullshit!� Harry looked up at his mate, quite shocked to hear the man using curse words, and with such vigour no less. �The stupid prophecy said nothing about you having to hunt down bloody pieces of Voldemort�s soul!� Remus felt like hexing Dumbledore every time the prophecy was mentioned, how could this man, who claimed he loved Harry like his own grandson (or possibly great-great grandson) could have messed with his mind like that? It still irked Remus thinking of how the old man manipulated him and how Remus was too weak to fight him off and thus causing Harry�s childhood to be the worst thing imaginable. �Dumbledore just thought it was more convenient.� He snarled and Harry tried to smile, his heart filling with love and adoration for the man who wanted to protect him while his mind was objecting the character assassination of his mentor.

�So� You went to hunt them instead of me?� Remus shrugged,

�Not much of a hunt really, Dumbledore apparently had this �secret source� who knew exactly where each one of the Horcruxes was hidden so it was fairly easy. Me, Tonks and her merry band of Aurors had them all gathered and rid of within a week.�

�Tonks and her merry band of Aurors?� Remus smiled, his eyes glinting,

�You didn�t actually think that Kingsley or Moody were in charge, did you?� Harry nodded,

�Guess not.� He returned his head to Remus� chest, letting the soft and steady heartbeat under his ear relax him, combined with Remus� melodic voice; Harry just hoped he wouldn�t fall asleep before Remus finished his story. �So you found and destroyed all the Horcruxes?�

�All save for two. One was Voldemort himself, and the other was��

�Me.� Remus looked down at the young man in his arms. Harry�s whole posture radiated with misery.

�What?� Harry lifted his head, looking at Remus with an apologetic and pleading look, pointing at his scar as a way of explanation,

�The other Horcrux was me, right?� Remus carded his fingers through the impossibly messy dark locks, smiling at his lover,

�I�m very sorry to disappoint you cub, but no, you�re not a Horcrux.� He said with tightness that was hiding his smile. Must Harry be so dramatic all the time? �Voldemort tried to kill you because he, like so many other fools in our world, believed in a prophecy. You survived because of Lily�s protection, the killing curse was deflected from you and it hit Voldemort instead, that�s how you got your scar.�

�I know that!� Harry called, miffed at the fact that Remus, of all people was treating him like a retarded four years old, �But there�s this connectiong between me and Voldemort.� Remus shrugged,

�A side effect, something Voldemort didn�t plan. That doesn�t make you a Horcrux.� Harry sighed and looked away, that was good news, surely, but in a way it was also almost disappointing. Ever since he learned of the existence of Horcruxes he truly believed he was one of them, which made it all the harder to think about what killing Voldemort would mean. And now�

�So� What was the last Horcrux?� He asked in a small voice,

�It was Nagini, Voldemort�s snake.� Harry nodded absently, still shocked by the revelation. Remus decided he�d give the young man all the time he needed in order for him to come to terms with the fact that maybe things weren�t exactly as he thought. Remus, much like Lily had, never believed in the stupid prophecy of a demented woman. Prophecies only came true because people were so adamant to see them through to the end. And poor Harry had this prophecy drilled into his mind ever since he was fifteen years old with no one to put his foot down and force the lad to think for himself.

�So�� Harry�s quiet, almost childish voice brought Remus back from the dark path his thoughts have taken, �What was it like, out there I mean.�

�Out there?� Remus asked, trying to stall for time, because he could feel where this was heading and frankly that made him feel worse, because again he did nothing, convincing himself that it was for Harry�s best,

�I�ve been cooped up in that house for so long I can�t even remember what �out there� looks like.�

�It was only three months�� Remus was fighting a losing battle with his conscience,

�Three months in a house full of people who hate me,� Harry supplied dryly, �It felt like eons to me.� Remus sagged a little, this was just unfair,

�Yes, I suppose it was eons. Especially for a jittery, horny teenager. That�s just wrong! By all means you should be out there, having fun, going to pubs and clubs and movies and not worry about a madman�s megalomania!�

�I�ve never been to a club before.� Harry mused slowly, and Remus couldn�t help but smile,

�Then we�ll just have rectify this very soon.� He couldn�t help getting caught in the image of Harry in a club, dancing and moving that sweet and delicious body to the rhythm of the music, colourful lights twinkling and washing over him, dressed in fitted clothes and writhing against Remus as they moved together� Remus had to stop and mentally fan himself least he got too excited, which would not be good for either of them,

�You�re going to take me to a club?� Harry asked, astonished. He always associated clubs with sin and one-night-stands and the last thing he wanted was to lose Remus to some faceless twink.

�Why? You think I�m too old to go clubbing?� Remus challenged him, and Harry rolled his eyes, gods those couple of days just after the full moon always made Remus feel like he was a hundred years old and that made him grouchy, just like the old man he wasn�t.

�No! Stop being so sensitive!� He chided his lover, and Remus� lip curled in a lopsided smile, �Gods, this is going to be so much fun!� Harry smiled to himself, going out with Remus would be the epitome of fun as far as he was concerned. �Er� What does one do in a club��

�That would depend on what type of club you�re going to.� Harry�s green eyes opened wide,

�There are types?�

�You�re so adorable,� Remus laughed, delighted in Harry�s unrestrained reactions, �And Merlin but you make me feel old��

�I love you.� Harry said in a soft voice, reaching in for Remus� lips. The two men shared a moan as their mouths met. It�d been far too long since they did anything like this and Remus had missed his little sexy wolf so much he felt slightly overwhelmed.

�Mmm, me too.� Remus mumbled against Harry�s lips, before pulling back and settling back into his former position, �We got a little side-tracked there, I assume you meant what went out there war-wise,� Harry gave his lover a tired look, was Remus serious? �Anyway, it was quite chaotic, to be truly honest,� Remus prattled on, not in the least bit discouraged by Harry�s disinterest. �But not as bad as it was during the time of the first war.� Harry frowned at him,

�Really? Why?�

�I think it was because this time round people knew more of what was going on, the Ministry of Magic was quite forward this time.� Harry snorted in dismiss,

�It�s about bloody time! After Fudge tried to deny Voldemort�s return for a better part of a year.� Making me look like a delusional and demented person in the process, Harry thought bitterly, because even after all this time it still hurt that just when he was at his lowest, after witnessing Cedric�s death and involuntarily assisting the snake-face git�s return, Fudge came with all the power of his position and kicked him in the ribs, just to make sure Harry would stay on the ground.

�Fudge was an idiot,� Remus stated flatly, �But then again, so was Scrimgeour, but he was a different kind of idiot. I�m really glad he got booted out of office after the war.�

�Really? So who�s Minister now?�

�The job was first offered to Arthur Weasley, who said he didn�t want such strenuous job. Then they tried to give it to Kingsley Shacklebolt, and they say the entire building was shaking from his deep booming laughter, and then, finally they offered it to Amelia Bones, who was the most qualified person in the first place.� Harry chuckled softly,

�I bet Hermione had something to say in the matter.�

�Oh, you mean the Howler she send the ministry calling every last male there a chauvinistic pig?�

�Something like that, yes.� Harry yawned and stretched languidly next to Remus, who stroked his hair with an amused expression,

�Had enough for one day?� He asked softly but Harry shook his head,

�No, continue, I like hearing you speak.� He muttered and Remus smiled,

�Alright, so back to the story. While we were trapped in Grimmauld Place you were sent to train with Tonks and Moody in the ballroom.� Harry looked up in puzzlement,

�What ballroom?�

�The one in Grimmauld Place.� Remus chuckled at Harry�s confused expression. Too bad Harry couldn�t remember a thing, because he would sure relish this one. �You remember the first day of summer, when you yelled Mrs. Black�s portrait to submission?� Harry nodded, a small smile gracing his face, too bad Sirius hadn�t been there to see it, �Well, three days after your birthday there was an accident involving Tonks and the umbrella stand�� Harry rolled his eyes, in a way it was good to know that no matter what happened and what horrors and war were raging outside, Nymphadora Tonks still could not tell one foot from the other.

�Figures��

�Yeah, anyway, you got fed up with Mrs. Black�s screeching and yelled at her again, this time with a blast of very impressive wandless magic, which resulted in two things. One, everyone found out about our hand-fastening, and two, you blew Mrs. Black clean off the wall and then we discovered that behind her portrait was a massive ballroom no-one knew existed.� Harry stared at Remus in complete shock,

�Fuck, I�m sorry��

�What for? We actually threw a party for the occasion. You even got snogged by Tonks.� Remus said happily, but Harry looked rather sceptical,

�I did?�

�Yup, but I growled her away.� He assured his young lover and Harry sniggered, pressing a kiss to Remus� lips,

�My sexy wolf�� He said with a wide grin, �But I meant I�m sorry about everyone finding out about us like that.� Remus shrugged,

�I�m not. It was bound to come out at some point, especially in that pressure-cooker of a house. Hermione was actually the first one to see the potential in the situation. At first she suggested that you bond yourself to everyone who consented in order to increase your powers but you quickly put you foot down on that one.�

�I should very much hope so!� Harry cried out, completely miffed. Yes, Hermione was a good friend (better since the whole �Ron issue�), but there was a limit to how much he�d take from even her! Remus smiled wide, obviously remembering some happy memories,

�Oh, yeah, it was very romantic, you stood there in front of the lot, explaining how we got bonded out of love and not because of power enhancement.� He smiled sweetly down at his mate, �I was awfully proud of you.� Harry gave him a cocky smile in return, sliding closer to whisper in Remus� ear,

�Did I get anything to show for it?� Remus� smile turned into a snicker which soon grew to a full laughter,

�A day off training on account of a sore arse.� Harry�s eyed snapped wide open with horror, surely Remus was joking�

�Oh, gods��

�Yeah, and apparently we forgot to put up a silencing charm that night as well�.� Harry buried his face in Remus� shoulder, feeling completely mortified at the thought. Remus wiped tears of laughter from his eyes, five months after the fact, he could definitely see the comical potential of the incident.

�Fuck, fuck, fuck� That�s so embarrassing�� Harry lamented softly, his voice muffled by Remus� shirt,

�Yes, you�re quite lucky you don�t remember any of this,� Because if you did we wouldn�t hear the end of it, just like we did back then� �Anyway, that got us all thinking and it took a couple of weeks but we did it.� Harry lifted his head in curiosity,

�Did what?�

�Created an amulet that would enable anyone who was willing to share power to do so and enhance your own.� Remus explained, gods if they had only thought of it a decade earlier�

�And then what happened?� Remus stroked the dark hair, taking a deep breath before he plunged back into his tale,

�The final battle took place on the thirty first of October.� Harry snorted in dismissal,

�How bloody symbolic��

�Yeah, Voldemort seemed to think so too. He lured us all to his father�s graveyard. It was really cold that night, we all stood there, freezing our bums off. It was actually quite funny to watch the Death Eaters, standing there with their breath coming out of their masks, like some steam powered robots.� Remus chuckled softly at the memory, again able to see the humour post-action. �I was almost certain that Lucius Malfoy was going to explode when he saw Draco standing with our ranks.

�And there he was, Tom Riddle, the infamous Lord Voldemort, standing in front of them, looking all cocky and sniggering, sure it was to be our downfall. We stood there in front of each other, the Order of the Phoenix versus the forces of darkness, it was all very epic�

�You stood there, in the front line, looking so strong and beautiful, your hair was wild and the air around you crackled with power. You looked older somehow, more confident. And damn but you look good in black.� Harry buried his face deeper into Remus� chest, feeling his face flushing with the compliments.

�Where were you?� He whispered,

�I was there too,� Remus said in a casual voice, after all, he wasn�t exactly the poster boy for Voldemort�s war. �Standing right by your side, scared shitless that something would happen to you and filled with rage at seeing the monsters who took away the most important people in my life.� Remus� voice turned somewhat grave after the lightness he tried to keep up for the majority of his story. Even now, eight weeks later he could remember so clearly the hatred, the wrath, and the overwhelming desire to hurt that was gushing in his veins that night.

�I know how you feel.� Harry stated simply. Remus nodded and took a deep breath, giving himself a moment to recompose himself,

�We stood there, knowing there wasn�t going to be a way back, I was so damn proud of you and your friends for standing there together.�

�Was� was Ron there?� Harry asked tentatively, not sure what he wanted the answer to be,

�Yes, and so were Hermione, Draco, Neville, Ginny and even Seamus and Dean. In fact, there were quite a lot of Hogwarts students there.� Remus sounded almost wondering and Harry smiled,

�Let me guess, most were Hufflepuff and Gryffindors some Ravenclaws but no Slytherins, all of them just graduated or in their last year?� Remus nodded, frowning, �It was the DA.�

�Oh, your little duelling club.� Remus waved his hand in recognition, �Or as Draco put it �Harry�s little brown-nosed fan club�.� Harry rolled his eyes,

�Draco�s just jealous because he was never invited.� He said haughtily, before his face broke in a huge grin, �So they all came� That�s so nice��

�Did you ever doubt for a second that they would?�

�No� But it�s still nice to know they did. So, what happened? Was it an epic fight? Hexes flying all over and lots of blood spilled, torn limbs flying through the air, and screams of pain?� Remus� expression turned disgusted,

�Where on earth do you get your ideas from?� He cried, and Harry shrugged,

��Saving Private Ryan�.�

�Well, not much to save is there?� Harry chuckled at his lover�s ignorance. It was quite amazing how Remus knew who David Bowie was but not a damn clue about Steven Spielberg. But he supposed that Remus didn�t have much time to go and watch films since he came back to the Wizarding World, when Harry was thirteen.

�It�s a muggle film.�

�Yes, well, muggles�� Remus said dismissively, �No, there were no torn limbs flying about and very little blood, and most of it came from Nagini. The rest came from Tonks who managed to stumble over a root and cracked her lip.�

�So what happened to Voldemort?� Harry cried out, the cold clutches of fear suddenly gripping his innards, �He isn�t dead?�

�Oh, he�s dead alright,� Remus reassured his lover, �You blew him up to dust.�

�I did?� Harry said weakly,

�Yes. He started his talking again, going on and on about how he killed you parents and all that but apparently you�ve lost all your patience for old annoying people lately and, well, you did it.�

�Did what?� Despite himself Harry couldn�t help but being captured by the story,

�I would like to say you yelled at him and he exploded but you actually sent a �stupefy� which blew him up.�

�What? How is that possible? �Stupefy� isn�t strong enough to do that!�

�You�re forgetting you were wearing the amplifying amulet, and you were angry, very angry at the bastard.� Remus said in a soft voice, and rubbed Harry�s back as the latter almost started to hyperventilate at the enormity of the news,

�He�s gone?� Harry whispered, his mind refusing to wrap around the fact that he was free at last,

�He is.� Harry lifted his green shimmering eyes at Remus, looking like he was about to explode with joy, and tears, and just yell himself hoarse to give his feelings an outlet.

�It�s over, really over?�

�Yes, my beautiful Cailean, it is.�

�It�s just� I�m� I just� I�ve wanted things to be over for so long� I�� Harry looked a tad lost, and Remus knew what he was feeling, this loss of purpose to life after he�d been so driven to accomplish something specific. But Remus wasn�t too worried, Harry was young, and passionate and he was sure the young man would find more� productive ways to channel his energy from now on,

�I know,� He said quietly, �I know.� A sudden thought struck Harry and he sat up in bed, looking quite alarmed,

�Wait! But what about Nagini? She was Horcrux, if she�s still alive��

�She isn�t.�

�Really?� Harry�s voice carried a tiny ray of hope,

�Really. After Voldemort fell there was complete chaos, you collapsed, the whole Death Eater body panicked and tried to flee but the Aurors had them rounded up and shipped to Azkaban. Nagini tried to slither away but the DA stopped her. Only� they were a little too enthusiastic, and ended up blowing her to smithereens.Then it started to look like your muggle film�� Remus said in a slightly disgusted tone, that none the less didn�t hide his joy, �It rained bits of snake all over the place, quite gory really.�

�What about you? Were you hurt?� Harry asked exasperatedly, without an ounce of concern to his own safe-sake,

�Not unless you count pulling bits of snake out of my hair.� Harry breathed a sigh of relief,

�That�s good. So, what happened then? What did you do?� Suddenly Remus� face turned blank, all trace of humour gone from his features and Harry grasped his hand, dreading what Remus was to say next,

�I did what I should have done years ago,� He said in a heavy tone, refusing to meet Harry�s eye, �I went after Wormtail.� Harry gulped and tightened his grip on Remus� hand,

�I should have killed that low-life rodent myself that night in the Shrieking Shack�� He hissed, the mere mention of Peter Pettigrew Making his skin crawl and his teeth to be bared, Remus shook his head sadly,

�No, Harry, you were right that night. James would never have wanted his two best friends to turn into murderers, not to mention Lily would probably haunt me for the rest of my life if I let you become one. But standing there, on that final battle, I had much more to hate him for,� Harry clenched his jaw and watched silently as the darkness took over the beautiful and joyful features of the man he loved the most,

�I hated him for betraying Lily and James in the first place, leaving you all alone and condemned you to a life of misery at the Dursleys. I hated him for causing Sirius� incarceration, I hated him for trying to beg his way out of what he did, throwing himself at your mercy when you stopped us from killing him, and then running back to his master, I hated him for the part he played in Voldemort�s return, and I hated him for threatening me with his silver hand.�

�What did you do?� Harry whispered, using the pain in his hand, where Remus squeezed the feeling out of it to mask the pain he was feeling inside,

�I killed him,� Remus said quietly, almost without feeling, �That was the only time I ever used the killing curse. And it scared me. It scared me how good it felt to do it, to see his beady little eyes go blank and knowing that this rat would never harm another soul again, knowing that James, Lily and Sirius could rest in peace.� Remus swallowed painfully, his chest constricting with the burden he was feeling, �I was sick afterwards, puking my guts out in the corner, know that I did the worst thing imaginable.�

�No! You mustn�t think that!� Harry cried, and Remus turned his face to look into those amazing whirlpools of jade,

�I took a man�s life, Harry.�

�So did I!� Remus leaned over and pressed a small, loving kiss to Harry�s lips, trying to reassure his lover,

�That�s hardly the same. You killed Voldemort in self-defence. And besides, he wasn�t even human to begin with.�

�From what you told me he was just standing there insulting my parents.� He tried to argue but Remus shook his head,

�I chose to end Peter�s life for the crimes he committed. That was not my decision to make, and for that I�m sorry, not for the fact that he�s dead.�

�I love you so much,� Harry whispered, �You�re so��

�Complex? Deep? A man with a strong moral fibre?� Harry shook his head, this mercurial ability of Remus to change moods was making him dizzy,

�I was going to say �mature� but now I�m thinking� vain?� Remus chuckled, glad to be rid of some of the guilt. He had spent long hours talking to Snape about what happened, drawing strength and comfort from the caustic comments, and the ability of the dark man to reduce every problem to a chewable size. �So, everyone lived.� Harry summed up the story with satisfaction, and Remus took a deep breath, well, here comes the really hard part,

�Almost everyone.�

�Oh, no, who died?� Harry tried not to panic, a part of him didn�t want to know which friend he had lost but another part of him had to find out so that he could grieve properly,

�Dumbledore.� Harry looked at Remus in complete shock, sure that he wasn�t hearing right,

�What? How?� He mumbled, the empty feeling from before returning. Sure Dumbledore had his faults, even Harry could see that, but he was still the greatest wizard of the 20th century and that was saying something and now he was�

�Five days after the final battle they found him lying in his bed, dead.�

�Was he injured? Was he hit by some unknown curse that took five days to work and nobody knew of?� Harry was rubbing his face frantically, refusing to believe this could really be true, �He was Dumbledore for fucks sake! He was invincible!�

�He was also a very old man who saw to the end of a dark lord.� Remus said quietly, trying to offer as much solace to his lover. �He left you a letter and Fawkes.�

�He what? Fawkes? His bird? His phoenix?�

�Yes, I think that some of the letter are instructions on how to take care of a phoenix, at least I hope so, Hagrid has been far to upset to be useful lately.� Remus prattled on but Harry wasn�t really listening still absorbing the shock,

�Dumbledore is gone� I can�t believe this, it�s like� That�s like the end of an era.�

�It most certainly is.�

�So what now? Were there any big celebrations for the end of the war or tears for Dumbledore�s death? I can�t believe I missed all that!� Remus ran his hand over Harry�s arm, trying to calm him down,

�I know. Actually it was both. First there were five days of celebrations and then about a week of shock and sadness for Dumbledore�s loss, in which time he was buried here on the Hogwarts grounds.�

�Gods, I wish I was there.�

�I know.�

�Ah, I see young Miss Weasley was correct and you are indeed awake.� Both Harry and Remus turned their heads to see Severus Snape walking into the room. He was leaning heavily on a cane and had a pinched expression of pain on his face. As soon as Remus saw him he averted his eyes and bit his lip, trying to hide his smile,

�Hello Professor Snape.� Harry greeted him pleasantly, somehow knowing by instinct they were no longer enemies,

�No need for that young man,� Snape chided him, �I�m no longer your teacher, you may call me �sir�.� He offered generously and now Harry was fighting off a laugh as well,

�Hmm, ok, sir.� Harry said and Snape took another pained step into the room, causing Harry to notice his injury for the first time, �Are you alright sir? What happened to your leg?� He then turned to Remus who was nearly bursting with suppressed giggles and slapped his arm, �You said no one got hurt!� Remus let out a bark of laughter that caused Snape to narrow his eyes at the wolf,

�Oh, Sev isn�t a war casualty.�

�Then what happened?�

�This is of no importance, Mr. Potter.� Snape snarled, but Remus was enjoying himself too much to let go as of yet,

�But it was so funny! That�ll teach you to dance with Tonks where a drunken Hagrid is.� Snape huffed in annoyance,

�I wasn�t dancing with her, I was trying to get away from her. The woman is a menace!�

�Why would you dance with Tonks in the first place?� Harry wondered aloud,

�Because, Mr. Potter, it is customary for the bride and groom to dance at their own wedding.� Harry�s jaw dropped, much the amusement of both his ex-professors,

�Wed� Why� W� How��

�I think he means when.� Remus supplied helpfully, coming to the aid of his stammering lover, and Snape smirked,

�Two days ago. Tonks wanted to wait until you were up and about but Madame Pomfrey said it would most likely take at least a month for your full recovery.�

�You� and Tonks� Wow� Well, I guess it worked,� He nudged Remus, reminding him of their little �match-up� game. Remus wriggled his eyebrows and smiled back at him, while Snape rolled his eyes pretending to be annoyed,

�If you two imbeciles think for one second that I�m going to gush out in thanks for your foolish meddling you�ve got another thing coming!�

�You�re very welcome sir.� Harry said with a blinding smile that was matched by Remus and caused Snape to snarl at them and hobble out of the room, muttering obscenities under his breath. Once the door closed behind Snape�s back Harry settled back into Remus� arms, feeling content at the aftermath of the war mixed with tendrils of sadness at the loss of Dumbledore but mostly he was just grateful that both he and Remus were alive and well.

�So, now that you�re up, and you missed all the fun, what do you want to do next?� Harry pretended to think about it for a few seconds,

�Right now I just want you to hold me. As soon as I�m given a clearance to get the hell out of here I want you to take me home and shag me for three days straight. Then I want to go visit my parents, and Sirius, and Dumbledore too.� Remus nodded,

�Sounds like a plan to me. Now, if you don�t mind I think I�ll kip for a bit. That three days sex marathon sounds awfully energy consuming and so I better get ready.� He finished with a small wink.

--:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:--
A/N: Erm, I kinda messed the timeline a bit, because I checked and it turns out that the December full moon of 1998 fell on the beginning of the month and not the end like I thought so that Harry's coma only lasted five months instead of the original eight I wrote. I went over things again and tried to fix it wherever I could and I hope I got it all, if not, I apologize and ask you to put a mental five where an eight is.

I�m pretty sure Harry�s memory will come back to him at some point; I just needed a nice way to tell the war story.

Just because a war doesn�t last years, doesn�t diminish the fact that it�s a horrible ordeal. I do not endorse war in any form, because violence will only bring more violence, and peace can be achieved only through talk, communication and understanding and the sooner the (male) world leaders realize that the better it�ll be for us all. That�s ok; I�m done with my anti-war campaign.

Er� �Saving Private Ryan� actually came out on the summer of 1998 (in my time line we�re at the end of December 1998) so technically Harry could not have seen it. But that�s a minor detail that isn�t really going to affect the plot so we don�t care, right? BTW, I must admit that I only saw the first five minutes of the film, and I just about had enough, I�m having a little Holocaust film-related trauma, and �Schindler�s list� had a big part of it.

As for Harry dancing in a club, please remember that Remus never actually saw Harry dancing before (lucky him) and besides, who know, Harry might be a smashing dancer when not forced to do the waltz. Yeah, right�

The way Harry is described during the final battle is actually taken from the image of Yuuri in �Kyou Kara Maou� when he changes into his �Maou form�. Here�s a picture, in case you haven�t seen the anime.
http://kyoukaramaou.com/images/Yuri071.JPG

37

38

39

You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Jaded