Capítulo 159: Question Everything
When Harry stepped off the train, the Dursleys were not there to meet him. They'd received notice of the events that had transpired, specifically in regard to Voldemort's death. No more Voldemort meant no reason to stay at the Dursleys' house anymore. The protections on it only worked against Voldemort, so far as anyone knew.
This being the case, it was Sirius waiting for him at the station.
"Oh good," Harry said, "you remembered."
"Well, I was thinking of going out with Moony, but I thought I'd see you off the train first."
Harry and Sirius smirked at one another, then left the station.
Sirius unlocked the door when they got to his flat, then led the way inside. It was a bit of a mess, but he didn't seem to care. Nor did Harry; he cleared a space for himself and sat down.
"It's hard to believe he's really gone," Sirius said. "It seems like He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has always been looming over us."
"He wasn't gone last time," Harry said. ��How do we know he is this time?"
"His Death Eaters are gone," Sirius said. "Most of them were found dead inside Hogwarts, so even if he isn't, that will be a crippling blow. Malfoy called in the Ministry, which was unlike him. It seems there's no one left. Besides, he was turned to dust, wasn't he?"
Harry thought back to the previous night. He could see it clearly in his head. Hermione trying to stop Rose, Rose nearly killing her, Neville stepping in to stop her. Neville turning to dust. Voldemort coming in, Rose turning on him. A green flash from Voldemort, a green ray from Rose, and they were both dead.
Yet, the brief conversations they'd had with Hermione since suggested that's not what she'd seen. That nagged at the back of Harry's mind, but he dismissed it as best he could. Hermione had been fond of Rose, perhaps too fond of her. She never thought clearly when it came to Rose, so it was no wonder she refused to believe any of it.
"Harry?"
Harry snapped back to the present and looked at Sirius, who was staring at him.
"You in there?"
"Of course."
"I was saying what you wanted to do for the summer, now that we don't need to worry about keeping you safe from you-know-who."
"Voldemort." Sirius flinched when Harry said the name. "He's gone, so we don't have to be afraid of him."
"Right. Anyway, what do you want to do?"
"The Weasleys will want me to stay with them for part of the summer of course. I'd like to check on Sally-Anne sometime to see how she's doing. Rose killing Malfoy really shook her up."
"What for? He was a pompous little—"
"Probably, but she liked him, so there must've been something to him."
Harry still didn't understand why she liked him. Draco Malfoy had been nothing but rude and insulting to him since they'd met. Still, if there were anyone who could make him see the error of his ways, it was Sally-Anne. From what she'd said, he'd refused to work with the Death Eaters, and that was something.
"Today, I'd like to relax," Harry said. "After everything that's happened, I need some time."
Sirius looked him over, then nodded.
"One thing first," Harry said, leaning forward. "What did you do to Professor Snape that made him hate you so much?"
Sirius glanced around, suddenly wanting to look anywhere except at Harry.
"He's dead. What does it matter?"
"He died saving us from Rose. He specifically put himself in harm's way to protect Hermione. We fought off Pettigrew together, so—"
Harry's voice trailed off as something occurred to him.
"What happened to Pettigrew? Did they find him?"
"They found his body. He was dead, like most of the Death Eaters. Him, the Carrows, Fenrir Greyback… Bellatrix Lestrange was the only one they found alive, but she was paralyzed. Someone had broken her spine. When they told her… Voldemort was dead, that Rose had killed him, she bit through her own tongue and bled out."
"That was Luna that broke her spine," Harry said.
Sirius stared at him in disbelief.
"Luna Lovegood?"
"Yup. Neville watched her do it. She took on Lestrange single-handed."
Sirius continued to stare at him.
"Luna Lovegood?" he said again.
"Who killed Pettigrew?" Harry asked, ignoring him. "He was alive when Professor Snape, Remus, and I left him. So…"
It didn't take long for the answer to reach him. Who else could it have been? Who else would've gone around and killed Death Eaters for fun?
"Rose," Harry said. "She must've disposed of them for fun. She either didn't get to Lestrange, or wanted to watch her suffer."
Harry thought back to seeing Rose drag Ginny to Hogwarts. His friend still had scars and a deformed face from where Rose had beaten her. Ginny would never look the same, despite Madame Pomfrey's best efforts. He hoped Ginny remembered that there was nothing wrong with her, although her new tendency to keep her hair over her face said otherwise.
"She always was sadistic," Harry muttered to himself.
"Anyway," Sirius said. "Plans for today?"
"Relax and talk about anything except last night," Harry said. "Like what you did to make Snape hate you."
Sirius looked around again, likely for a distraction. Harry kept his eyes fixed on Sirius, letting him know there was no escaping it this time.
"I… when Moony started at Hogwarts, they planted the Whomping Willow. He'd go to it before he'd transform, poke the paralyzing knot with a stick, then go into the Shrieking Shack where he could stay safe from everyone else."
"Okay," Harry said, getting an idea of where this was going.
"Your dad, Pettigrew, and I all worked out how to transform later in our Hogwarts careers, and we started going with him. James and I were big enough to handle him if he lost it, so we'd wander the grounds at night instead."
"With a werewolf."
"Nothing bad happened. Like I said, James and I kept him in check. Well, Snivelus—"
"Never call him that again."
Sirius paused, eyeing him as if he'd lost his mind.
"Alright. Anyway, Sniv— erm, Snape wanted to know what we were doing every night. I told him about the tree and the knot, so he went in one night while Remus was there."
"While a werewolf was transforming."
Harry tapped his fingers, trying not to sound angry with his godfather.
"James found out about it, and pulled him out before he got too close."
Harry stared at Sirius, who, to his credit, didn't look pleased about it.
"You tried to kill him!"
"Remus was fine then. I knew it—"
"He was a werewolf! He could've attacked Snape, or worse, bitten him! How were you not expelled?!"
Despite asking the question, Harry was certain Rose had done worse and not been expelled. Still, his anger prompted him to say something about it.
"Dumbledore didn't want it getting out about Remus being a werewolf. He made everyone keep quiet about it. I was given detention for the rest of the year as punishment."
"Good," Harry said, knowing Sally-Anne would've been chewing Sirius out had she been there. Part of him wanted to make Sirius feel small and ashamed. Snape had given his life protecting Hermione, not to mention helping Harry. He deserved better than that.
"I'm not proud of what I did," Sirius said. "Really, I'm not."
Harry nodded, not believing the words, but the look on Sirius's face.
"Let's go do something else," he said, standing up. "Something to put this all behind us."
"I'd like nothing more," Sirius said.
It wasn't long before the funerals started. Sally-Anne felt like she was drifting back and forth between them. The first was held for Neville, which was by far the smallest. It wasn't because of him in particular, but because of the others she attended, all of which were helpfully planned around one another.
Fortunately, both Hermione and Luna attended. It was hard for her to tell what Luna was thinking; she didn't make much sound, and her eyes remained unfocused. She sat near the front, a position Professor Sprout had insisted she have. Sally-Anne hadn't spoken much with Neville lately, something she was regretting most of all, but she was a little surprised to see his gran with Luna. His gran was almost hostile towards her. It occurred to her that his gran might have blamed Luna for it.
No one made mention of how he died, which was good, because every time someone approached the subject, Hermione would glare at them. It made Sally-Anne more than a little uncomfortable, but still, she had to approach her about it. She knew she had to if there was to be a chance that Hermione return to normal.
His gran got up and spoke, as did Professor Sprout. Sally-Anne hoped one of their friends would, Luna in particular, even if Neville's gran didn't approve of her. She'd known him better than anyone. The way they'd been around one another, Sally-Anne thought that there'd been a chance they'd continue to be together after Hogwarts. But it had been stolen away from them, by Rose of all people. Just like she'd stolen Ron's chance with Lavender, and her chance with Draco. That was all she seemed to do anymore, take and take.
After the service, Sally-Anne glanced back at Hermione, trying to keep an eye on her before she missed her. Hermione got up and walked forward, heading straight towards Luna.
"Hermione," Sally-Anne said, but Hermione ignored her, making her way to Luna's side.
Sally-Anne walked forward to say her piece, but stopped when Luna fell into Hermione's arms, sobbing uncontrollably. Hermione held her close, burying her face in Luna's hair. Sally-Anne caught a glimpse of tears and knew it was best if she left it. She'd have plenty more chances.
She didn't see any of her friends at the next funeral. She'd been surprised to receive an invitation, and was still a little concerned about it, but she had to be there.
Her parents insisted on accompanying her to Draco's funeral. At least a hundred people were there, all smartly dressed, looking like they'd never known a day of hardship in their lives. People stared at her when they arrived, making her feel horribly out of place. She held her hands in front of her. One of them began to itch, like something was stuck on it, something that wouldn't come off.
Mr. Malfoy glanced away from the man with whom he was speaking and spotted them. He excused himself from the Minister and made his way down the aisle of chairs to them.
"Ms. Perks," he said, looking right at her. "I'm glad you could make it."
"I must confess, I was surprised to receive an invitation."
Malfoy motioned for her and her parents to follow him, leading the way farther and farther down the aisle. He finally stopped near the front and motioned to a row of seats that had been reserved.
"Make yourselves comfortable," he said.
"We are very sorry for your loss," her mum said.
Malfoy nodded, giving nothing away on his face.
Before they could settle in, the man with whom Malfoy had been speaking approached them and extended his hand in greeting.
"Rufus Scrimgeour," he said, shaking her dad's hand, then bowing respectfully to both she and her mum. "You must be Sally-Anne Perks. I've heard a great deal about you and your friends."
"Good things, I hope," Sally-Anne said, knowing she had both friends and enemies at the Ministry of Magic.
"Thanks to all of you, there were no more unfortunate casualties at Hogwarts."
"Yes, there was," she said. "His name was Neville Longbottom."
Through the haze of emotion, she swore she saw him glance nervously at her mum.
"Of course. I meant to say there were so few unfortunate casualties."
Sally-Anne opened her mouth to respond, but her dad cut in.
"Best stop while you're ahead, Mr. Scrimgeour," he said. "We're talking about people at the start of their lives. Two is far too many, not to mention the staff. Our Sally-Anne was friends with all of them."
"Of course. My condolences, of course."
He glanced away, then excused himself and walked off.
Few people took it upon themselves to approach them. It didn't surprise her; they were Muggles among the Pureblood elite. She was surprised so many people tolerated them being there. Almost as surprised as she was that Draco's parents weren't accusing her of turning him against them. She deserved it; he was dead, and it was all her fault.
Sally-Anne tried to corner Hermione at Professor Vector's funeral, but once again, Hermione made a quick escape. She was never with her parents, only ever on her own. Sally-Anne figured there was a reason for that, but had yet to have the chance to ask.
She was the same at Professor Snape's funeral. Sally-Anne was glad to see not only the staff of Hogwarts in attendance, but Harry and Sirius. Sirius looked like he'd rather have been anywhere else, but Harry looked somber and remorseful. It made her glad to see that he'd forgiven Professor Snape for his past problems. Professor McGonagall gave a moving eulogy, one full of respect and dignity, just the way Sally-Anne thought Professor Snape would've liked it. Although, she was also sure he would've appreciated at least one or two quick jabs at Gryffindor.
After that was the big one. All of Hogwarts, students, staff, and parents, attended Professor Dumbledore's funeral, which itself was held on the grounds. It seemed like half of England was there for it. She saw the Minister of Magic once again, but chose not to approach him unless he did so first. Luna and Hermione were there, sitting side by side. All of the Weasleys were there, along with every living member of the Order of the Phoenix.
Sally-Anne spotted a few open seats she suspected had been left open, one row behind the Weasleys (who themselves took up an entire row).
"Hello, Alex," she said, trying to smile.
Alex looked up and smiled at her, something Sally-Anne could tell was harder than she made it seem.
"Princess. I'm sorry I've missed the others, but everything happened so fast."
"I'm sure Neville would understand, and I'm sure one more Gryffindor would've only upset Professor Snape."
Alex smiled, which looked only slightly forced, then motioned to the empty seats beside her.
"I saved you some seats. I hope you don't mind."
Ron turned around, seizing his chance to speak.
"I figured you'd want to sit among friends."
Sally-Anne smiled, knowing that it wasn't only he that had had that idea. She was happy all the same to be among friends, as he'd said.
Rufus Scrimgeour was the first to speak. He rattled off Dumbledore's accomplishments, making him sound quite grand. Professor McGonagall spoke afterwards, struggling to hold back tears. It was jarring to see her like that. She must've been the strongest person Sally-Anne knew, yet there she was, moved to tears by the loss of her friend.
Everything after that was a whirlwind, but Sally-Anne forced herself to stay focused, not on the people speaking, but on Hermione. She was determined to speak to her, to convince her to let it all go.
After the funeral, Hermione stayed beside Luna. The two of them were oddly composed, but Sally-Anne didn't stop to think about why. She made her way straight to them, and sat down behind them.
"Hermione."
"Her name's Brain," Luna said absentmindedly.
"Fine, Brain. Please talk to me."
"What do you want?" Hermione asked, turning to face her.
"You've been avoiding me. I want to make sure you're alright, that you're not about to run off on some wild adventure for no reason."
Hermione shook her head.
"I'd explain, but you'll only think that's exactly what I'm doing, or that it's some sort of post-traumatic stress."
"I've been through a lot too," Sally-Anne said, rubbing her wrist. "Believe me, you're not the only one suffering."
"How could you think I think that? I know I'm not. Look around, there are hundreds of people here."
"Every funeral we've been to had one thing in common: Rose was the cause."
Hermione gripped the back of her seat until her knuckles turned white.
"Not all of them," she hissed.
Sally-Anne could tell she was losing ground, but she was getting closer to her answer.
"Which one?"
"Toad's," Luna and Hermione said together.
Sally-Anne looked from one to the other. Apart from Luna not looking anywhere in particular, neither of them seemed unsure of that. In fact, it looked as though they'd never believed anything more strongly.
"We saw her do it."
Hermione and Luna stood up, apparently finished with their conversation.
"No," Hermione said as she walked off. ��You only remember that she did it."
Sally-Anne woke up early one summer morning. She got ready, then prepared breakfast for herself and her parents.
"Good morning," her mum said, entering the kitchen before the sun had risen.
"I thought I'd heard you moving about," Sally-Anne said. "You're up early, even for you."
"Busy day," her mum said.
"Doing…?"
"I decided I'd be a train conductor today," her mum said. "I've never conducted a train before."
Sally-Anne couldn't tell if her mum was joking or not, but served her breakfast all the same.
"Are you going to the Weasleys today?" her mum asked, though Sally-Anne was certain she knew the answer.
"That's the plan. A few days out in the country would be lovely."
"Are you going to bring your gloves?"
Sally-Anne shifted on her feet, then straightened up.
"Before you conjure some lie," her mum said, "I noticed your hands a week ago."
Sally-Anne looked down at her hands. She'd been wearing gloves almost since she'd gotten back. How had her mum noticed? Worse, if her mum had noticed, would Harry?
"How did you know?"
"I've got my ways," her mum replied.
"Which are terribly boring once you know what they are," her dad said, walking into the kitchen, yawning. "Isn't it still early?"
"Not early enough to spoil things," her mum said. "I've got work."
"She's gonna be a train conductor," Sally-Anne added. "Rather exciting."
She and her mum exchanged a quick glower. They didn't fight, certainly not like Hermione and her parents, but there were times they got on each other's nerves.
"If you ever want to talk about it," her dad said, "you can always come to us. You know that."
Sally-Anne nodded, then motioned to the eggs she'd prepared.
"Would you like some breakfast?"
Her dad glanced at her mum, then smiled at Sally-Anne.
"I suppose I'm up, and I won't get to walk into the kitchen and smell some delicious food for a few days, so yes, I'd love some."
Sally-Anne happily served her dad breakfast, which he mostly ate in silence. After her mum finished, she organized a few more things before running out the door.
"I meant what I said," her dad said after her mum had left. "You don't have to talk about any of it until you're ready, but please don't let it build up inside you. It'll only make the pain worse."
Sally-Anne looked down at her hands, knowing her dad didn't mean the damage she was doing to herself. At least, not entirely.
"Let's head off to the Burrow," he said, getting up from the table and bringing his dishes to the sink. "I think the countryside will be good for you. I doubt anyone apart from Mrs. Weasley will be awake by now anyway, and talking to her always seems to cheer you up."
She smiled and agreed. She gathered her belongings, ensuring once again that she had everything she needed for the next few days. When she reached for her pendant, she stopped. Did she really need it? It was a gift from Rose, although it was hard for her to remember that it was the same person that had mercilessly killed Neville, Draco, and Dumbledore. She'd seemed so different back then.
Her hand moved up to her hair, and she realized that she'd already tied her ribbon into her hair. On top of that, she'd already put on her dress, which was just about the only thing she ever wore anymore.
People wouldn't like me without them. Draco wouldn't have liked me without them.
After that, she finished gathering up her things, including her pendant, then met her dad at the front door. Not long after that, they arrived at the Burrow.
"You know the drill," her dad said. "Call us if there's trouble, and your mum will arrive with a train."
Sally-Anne smiled, happy for her dad's humor.
"Is she really driving a train?"
"How should I know?" he asked. "She might be."
Sally-Anne smiled, nearly laughing, then kissed her dad goodbye and walked up to the door.
Sure enough, Mrs. Weasley greeted her at the door and informed her that the others were still asleep.
"I'm still preparing breakfast," she said. "I think I heard Ron and Harry moving around upstairs, so they'll be down soon."
Ten minutes later, there were shuffling feet on the stairs, so Sally-Anne went to wash up. She closed the door, went to the sink, then took off one of her gloves.
Her hands were still red.
She turned on the water then put her hand under it. It wasn't hot enough. It never was anymore; she could still feel Draco's blood on her hands. She could feel it on her.
She scrubbed her hands, wincing when the water felt hotter. She kept it up until Ron knocked at the door.
"Are you alright?"
She turned off the water.
"I'm fine!"
She dried her hands, but she could still feel it. She was soaked in blood, but she knew how to hide it. Picking up her gloves, she slid them back over her hands. She checked herself in the mirror, then pressed her dress and stood up straight.
Manners, elocution. A lady mustn't let on that anything's wrong. Everything's fine.
She opened the door and smiled politely at Ron.
"Are you alright?" he asked. "You were in there a while."
"Everything's splendid," she said, resisting the urge to rub her wrist. "Shall we sit down for breakfast?"
They walked through together. Sally-Anne noticed Ron was avoiding eye contact. Was he alright?
"Is everything alright, Ron?" she asked. "Did you sleep well?"
"Fine," he said, his ears turning red. "Everything's fine."
They sat down to eat, alongside Harry and Ginny. Mrs. Weasley walked around the kitchen, levitating plates and food over to the table. Mr. Weasley was walking around, gathering his belongings.
"It's nice to see everyone," he said, "but I'm afraid I've got to run. It's been busy at work lately."
I know that shouldn't sound ominous, Sally-Anne thought as she watched him run out the door.
Several owls flew through the window. They swooped down, depositing letters in front of Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Sally-Anne.
"Those must be your supply lists," Mrs. Weasley said. "Brilliant. We can all go to Diagon Alley tomorrow and buy supplies."
Sally-Anne opened hers, still amazed that the owls knew she would be at the Burrow. She had her supply list, but something else dropped out. A shiny badge with an H on it landed with a soft thud on the table.
Mrs. Weasley gasped as a similar badge slid out of Ron's envelope.
Sally-Anne didn't need to read the letter to know what it was; she'd been familiar enough with most of the people at Hogwarts, so she recognized the Head Girl badge.
"Ron!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed. "You've been made Head Boy!"
Mrs. Weasley threw her arms around Ron. Ron himself looked how Sally-Anne felt: quite unsure of what to make of the situation.
Sally-Anne started to look over her supply list, but Mrs. Weasley turned her attention to Sally-Anne.
"And Sally-Anne! You've been made Head Girl, oh, how splendid!"
Sally-Anne found herself in a bear hug from Mrs. Weasley. Despite the hug that threatened to strangle her, she still had the same numb feeling she'd had whenever anyone mentioned Hogwarts. She'd still be going back, but there'd be no Hermione, Luna, Neville, or Draco.
It didn't feel like she was going back. It felt like a different school. No Potions class with Professor Snape looming over them, scrutinizing Gryffindor unfairly. No Hermione obsessing over Arithmancy with Professor Vector. No Professor Dumbledore sitting at the staff table in complete control of every situation, a permanent look of interest on his face.
No Draco to talk to during rounds. No Draco to scoff at her. No Draco to blush and glower at something when she complemented him. No Draco to make her proud.
"Princess?" Ron asked. "Are you alright?"
Sally-Anne looked up, realizing that Mrs. Weasley had released her, and that everyone was staring at her. She also realized that she was crying.
Dabbing at her tears, she straightened herself in her chair.
"Fine, thank you," she said, hoping Ron would take the hint and not ask about it.
He looked at her for a moment, then returned to his own supply list.
"At least Professor McGonagall is taking over," Harry said, reading the list. "And Potions will be taught be someone called Slughorn."
"Oh, Professor Slughorn's nice," Mrs. Weasley said. "He taught Potions when Arthur and I were in school. I'm surprised they got him out of retirement. I'd heard he was absolutely refusing to come back."
"Professor Lupin's back teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts," Ron said. "I guess they finally broke the curse on the position. If that's not proof You-Know-Who's really gone, I don't know what is."
"They've got a Professor Kemra to teach Alchemy," Harry said. "And Professor Rix to teach Arithmancy."
"I half expected them to have hired Hermione for it," Ron said.
"She could if she wanted to," Ginny said. "Brain's brilliant at Arithmancy."
A silence fell over the room. They all had the same question on their minds, but no one wanted to ask it, fearing they knew the answer.
"Has anyone heard from her?" Harry asked. "Neither she nor Luna answer when I ask them anything."
They all exchanged glances, confirming each other's suspicions.
"We can walk to Moon's house," Ginny suggested. "She's not far."
Sally-Anne liked the idea of checking in on them, Luna especially. Neville's death had hit her harder than any of them. Sally-Anne could still see Hermione and Luna holding one another at his funeral, breaking down in one another's arms.
"What were they going on about?" Ron asked. "Trying to say Rose didn't kill him. We all saw it."
"Hermione's just…" Sally-Anne began. "You know how she is when it comes to Rose. She won't hear anything bad about her. I'm surprised she tried fighting back at all."
"But we saw it happen," Ron said, pressing the subject. "All of us. Rose killed him."
"I think that's quite enough about that!" Mrs. Weasley said, glaring at her son. "I'll have no more talk about death in this house. We're all safe. Let's look to the future, not the past."
She shot them all stern looks that insisted they drop the subject. Sally-Anne didn't see why Ron was bothering. Even after Rose had killed Lavender, Hermione still wouldn't hear a bad word about her. It wasn't until after Rose had killed Professor Vector that Hermione had finally woken up to it.
That still left the question about why Hermione seemed to refuse to accept that Rose had killed Neville. Both her and Luna. Through the brief conversations they'd had since then, Sally-Anne had gleamed that Hermione believed that Rose had killed Professor Vector, even Professor Dumbledore, but not Neville.
"Who's taking over Gryffindor?" Harry asked, changing the subject. "Does anyone know?"
While he asked it to them in general, his focus was on Ron.
Ron opened his letter again and looked over it. Sally-Anne did the same, but Ron found it first.
"Professor Lupin," he said with a grin. "It says Sally-Anne and I are to report to him for Prefect duties."
They exchanged smiles, each one delighted at the news. Sally-Anne enjoyed it especially. She needed good news after the somber topic of Hermione and Luna.
After they left the kitchen, Ron found himself absorbed in his thoughts yet again. Everyone insisted that the trouble was over, that there was nothing to fear. Yet, there were so many unanswered questions about Hermione and Luna.
Why didn't they believe that Rose had killed Neville? Why wouldn't they go back inside Hogwarts? Why weren't they returning that year? Why wouldn't they respond to anything anyone said to them?
Ron wanted to go ask them, or at least ask Luna, but he wondered if they'd get anything out of her. Perhaps Sally-Anne could. If anyone could get someone to talk, it was her. She was the only one to have gotten anything more out of Hermione.
No. You only remember that she did it.
Sally-Anne had told him that those were Hermione's exact words. What did that mean? Of course they remembered it, because it had happened.
Ron walked outside with the others. The sun shone down through a few clouds. A cool breeze kept them from getting too hot. To anyone else, it would've been a day to forget one's troubles.
"It still doesn't make sense," Ron muttered.
"We'll probably never have the answers," Harry said. "Hermione's obsessed with Rose, and doesn't want to accept that she killed Neville. That's it."
"It's probably some sort of post-traumatic stress," Sally-Anne said.
"Then why not with Professor Vector?" Ron asked. "Why only Neville?"
"Who knows?" Harry asked. "Drop it, okay?"
Harry's eyes darted towards Ginny, who had found something interesting on the ground. At least, that's what Ron would've thought a few years ago. He could tell it was upsetting his sister to talk about Rose.
Of course, it is. Why wouldn't it be?
He looked at Sally-Anne, hoping she would have something to say to cheer Ginny up. It ate away at him that no matter how hard he tried, he always managed to say the wrong thing.
You made a mistake, Sally-Anne would've said. Don't beat yourself up about it.
She wasn't saying anything out loud. Instead, she stared off into the distance, her thoughts miles away. Ron wondered if she were thinking about Draco again.
It's what I did when Lav died.
He hated seeing it still, but he knew Sally-Anne would see the same thing now when she closed her eyes. She'd see Draco dying in her arms, his blood covering her.
What was on her mind? Why did she keep rubbing her hands together? Had she hurt them? She had spent a bit too long washing up. Was she alright? Could he help her?
The flurry of questions kept him disconnected from reality. It was hard to stay focused when there was so much he wanted to know.
"Why don't we go sit down?" Harry asked, apparently the only one still present.
The others snapped out of their respective stupors and gave some indication of agreement. Together, they walked over to a tree and sat down in the grass.
"Has anyone any ideas about what to do?" he asked when they'd sat down.
"About what?" Ron asked.
"Nothing, just what to do today?"
"Oh." Ron stared out at the field. He didn't feel like doing anything. They didn't have enough for Quidditch, not with only three players. Besides, he didn't want to leave Sally-Anne out of it.
"What about Quidditch?" Sally-Anne asked, somewhat to Ron's surprise.
"What about you?" Ron asked a little louder than he'd intended.
"I'll be alright," she said, smiling at him.
He felt a little embarrassed, but with her smile, it didn't matter. Seeing her smile, he wanted to laugh.
"I could stay here," Ginny said quietly.
"Please, go have fun," Sally-Anne said.
"It'll be a good break," Harry said.
Sally-Anne shook her head.
"No, it will be a splendid way to start our new, boring lives."
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