Resurrection (A Harry Potter, After the War Fanfiction)

May 6, 1998

The previous afternoon, Harry had brought in the Weasleys to say their goodbyes to Fred. He had intended to move on to the next person on his list that same night, but the weight on his chest remained longer than he anticipated.

Harry had awoken from at just past five-thirty the next morning. Voldemort's voice still lingered in his head, even though Harry knew there was no possible way in which the dark wizard could come for the third time. He stood up from his bed and made his way over to the window. The sun was beginning to rise, and he could make out a small figure making his way towards the ruined quidditch pitch. Harry recognized the figure immediately, so he got dressed and started making his way down there as well.

Harry found Dennis Creevey sitting in a patch of green grass in the middle of the pitch, one of the only parts of the once glorious stadium that hadn't been scorched or destroyed. He sat next to the boy and thought about how much the young boy had changed over the years. Gone was the small first-year who idolized Harry (to a somewhat obsessive amount) and took photographs of every occasion, big or small; left in his wake was a broken younger brother. The boy that sat before Harry was merely sixteen years old, but he might as well have looked like he was forty. You could see the pain of loss in his eyes, the stress that the last year took on him on his face, and the bruises and cuts and scars that littered his body as a result of the Carrows and of the battle four days ago.

The two boys sat together in silence, neither one ready to talk. The sun had nearly risen over the horizon when Dennis broke the silence.

"How do you do it, Harry?" The boy said barely above a whisper.

"Do what, Dennis?" Harry replied, unsure of where the conversation was headed.

Dennis sat up a little straighter, wiped his nose with his sweater, and spoke a little louder this time. "How are you able to keep on living when the people closest to you are...?" His voice cracked with sadness and although he was unable to finish his sentence, Harry had heard enough to respond.

"I am going to be frank with you, it is not easy. It takes every ounce of strength you have to get out of bed every morning, plus a little extra to get through the rest of the day, but I can promise you that it is possible". Harry felt the tears welling up in his eyes, but would not let them fall. This time, he had to stay strong for Dennis's sake.

Dennis shuddered and let out a heart-wrenching sob as he said, "I didn't even get the chance to say goodbye."

After a few minutes, Harry stood up and offered his hand to the younger boy. "I think I can help with that." Dennis took his hand, stood up, and walked with Harry to the castle, unsure of what The Boy Who Lived meant.

Harry led them to the small room off of the Great Hall. The wooden chairs were still in the same place as yesterday, and the Resurrection stone sat unassumingly on the desk in the center of the room.

Harry motioned for Dennis to sit in one of the chairs and handed him the Resurrection stone.

"Turn it over three times".

Dennis looked at him quizically. "Harry this stupid stone is not going to bring my brother back".

Harry smirked and responded, "Just trust me".

Dennis did as Harry said. For a moment, it looked like nothing had happened. Then, a figure began forming out of midair. At first, the figure appeared to be made of mist and sunlight, but after a moment, the figure became solid and it became clear that the figure was his older brother, Colin.

Dennis immediately began sobbing, rushing forward to hug his brother, not even bothering to be careful of the film camera slung around his brother's neck. The two brothers embraced for what felt like hours; Harry smiled at the two as he took in the scene.

When they finally pulled apart, Dennis began mumbling an apology through his tears. "Couldn't protect you...failed...I'm sorry" is all he managed to get out.

Colin patted his younger brother on the back. "You have nothing to apologize for, Dennis. I died fighting for the entirety of the wizarding world, and now more people like us get to live safely, and..." the solid image began flickering back and forth between the misty sunlit figure and the solid form of Colin Creevey.

"What's going on?" Dennis cried out, tears once again streaming down his face.

Colin smiled sadly up at his younger brother. "It's time for me to go back". No sooner had he finished that sentence did Dennis let out an almighty sob.

"I'm not ready to say goodbye again", Dennis whimpered.

It was heartbreaking for Harry to watch this take place, but he knew that Dennis understood that it was time for Colin to return.

The two brothers embraced once again, and as Colin was messing up Dennis's hair for the last time, Colin pulled away. He took the camera off of his neck and placed it around Dennis's. His figure was fading into nothingness, but Colin managed to get out his final words.

"Tell mom and dad I love them."

"I will", Dennis promised.

"And Dennis? Promise me that you'll never stop taking pictures. Capture the world for me."

Dennis smiled sadly and whispered as his brother faded away.

"I promise". 

-----------------------------------------------

Hello to my very few readers! I know its been almost 10 months since I've updated, but life's been throwing curveball after curveball at me so updating this was the last thing on my mind. Now that I am preparing to return to college next month, I decided to restart (perfect timing, right?). My goal is to get this story completed, or mostly completed, by the time I move back. I love writing this, but I don't know how much time I'll have once I go back to school. 

Anyway, I hope that you few readers enjoyed this chapter! I can't wait to begin working on the next one later today!

xoxo, Miranda :)