(Book 7 FanFiction) Harry Potter: The Last Horcrux

Chapter 05: And Life Goes On

           

An unearthly fog covered the length of the Weasley meadow, where only moments before a celebration of life had been taking place. The floating candles had all been extinguished by the cold, damp fog that always accompanied the presence of Dementors. Shouts and muffled grunts mixed with the sounds of rapid spellfire as those guests who had chosen to stay and fight attempted to hold back the approaching Dementors.

Death Eaters could be seen gathering along the edge of the forest, casting a barrage of spells and further weakening the already strained wards.

Harry was cold and feeling slightly dizzy from the intensity of the memories flashing through his mind. His teeth chattered as he moved quickly toward the crouched figures of Fleur and Bill, Ginny's hand held firmly in his own. He could feel her small body trembling, and he knew the Dementors were affecting her as badly as they were him.

"What are you doing 'ere, 'Arry?" Fleur hissed, directing her butterfly Patronus toward the direction Harry had just sent Prongs. Her beautiful white wedding robes were smeared with dirt and mud, and one sleeve looked as if it had been singed. "If zose Death Eaters do get in, zey will come right for you. You should evacuate now."

"I'm not leaving," Harry said firmly, his eyes locked with Bill's. This was as much his home as any other place he'd ever stayed, and he would not leave it without a fight. He saw a look of acceptance and understanding flash on Bill's scarred face, and he was grateful for it.

Finally, someone who wouldn't treat him as if he were a child. Bill nodded, and Fleur apparently took this as reason enough to cease her demands. Auntie Muriel's tiara remained perched on her head, shimmering as the lights from various spells illuminated it. The thought rose unbidden in Harry's mind that it was Ginny's right to wear that one day, and he'd see to it that she got the chance.

"What are you trying to do?" he asked.

Bill sighed heavily, and Harry was struck by how strained and exhausted the eldest Weasley sibling appeared. The scars lining his face stood out starkly against the paleness of his skin. "The wards around the Burrow are failing. That loud clanging sound and the flickering lights that appear every few seconds are indications that the wards are about to collapse. I'm trying to strengthen them, but I don't know if I can."

"Strengthen them how?" Harry asked.

"I designed the framework for these wards by using strength from the positive emotions that I feel for the Burrow," Bill said, and Harry could easily envision him as a Professor of Ancient Runes. "The wards are capable of being strengthened by transferring power from a witch or wizard connected to the place within the boundaries. I reckoned that one of us would always be here in case of an attack and could use our emotions to power it. I hadn't expected the sheer number of spells being cast in each direction, however. The Burrow has always been crowded, but not this crowded."

"So, anyone who feels strongly about the Burrow could do it?" Harry asked, furrowing his brow.

"Anyone who feels positively about it, yes. It takes a lot of power, Harry, which is why I can't even stand up right now," Bill warned. "I don't think I have the strength to hold them up much longer."

Fleur placed her hand protectively on Bill's shoulder.

"What if we try to do it together?" Harry asked, and now he felt Ginny's hand on his own shoulder.

Bill looked at Harry uncertainly, his eyes flicking back and forth between his sister and Harry. Harry though he appeared vaguely uncomfortable, but he couldn't dwell on that now.

"Look, I love this place as if it were my own, and you said yourself that what you're doing now isn't going to work," Harry said with a hint of annoyance.