After the War

Chapter 9

With the funerals attended and the dead buried, life at the Burrow tried its best to go back to normal. The three elder Weasley kids lived in their own separate homes, but George had decided to remain at the Burrow for a bit longer, not wanting to live alone in the ghost of his shop. After more than two weeks of staying at home after the war, Mr. Weasley returned to work at the Ministry where Kingsley had promoted him to the Head of the Law Regarding Muggles whereas Ron, Hermione, Harry, and Ginny spent their days as they pleased.

Harry walked slowly down the steps towards Mrs. Weasley's call for lunch. He walked past George's room where the redhead lay on his bed, fiddling with an old prototype. Out the window from a landing, he saw Ginny flying around the constructed Quidditch posts, honing her skills and getting lost in thought. He passed Ginny's room where Hermione sat hunched over maps and lists of Australia, searching for her parents with Ron beside her trying to convince her to just ask Kingsley for help.

Alone at the table for the time being, Harry helped himself to the delicious food before the rest joined him. Just as Ginny made her way inside, her hair windswept and cheeks red, an owl flew in through the open door. It collapsed its large gray wings as it landed and ruffled its feathers importantly before sticking out its leg to Harry. He grabbed the envelope and the owl soared away, narrowly dodging Mrs. Weasley on its way out the window.

"Who's it from, Harry?" George asked, looking curiously across the table as he sat. He slit open the official Gringotts seal and pulled out a thick sheet of parchment.

"It's from Gringotts. They want me to go in to 'discuss something of great importance' in two days," he answered after reading the short letter.

"Maybe it's about the dragon," Hermione mused, coming down the steps.

"Maybe they want to press charges for the break-in!" Ron said, suddenly full of worry.

"Don't be silly, Ronald. I'm sure it's nothing like that," his mother chided. Yet, her own expression betrayed her charade of worry-free confidence.

"I guess I'll find out soon," he said, eyeing the letter. 

And in a blur of impromptu Quidditch matches, intense games of Wizard's chess and Exploding Snap, and being forced to clean their rooms even though it felt absurdly simple and domestic after their year of danger, the day had finally come to find out what the letter was referring to.

After the uncomfortable experience of being squeezed through darkness, Harry appeared at the start of Diagon Alley next to Mr. Weasley who Harry had invited along for assistance. The magical street that Harry had walked along on his eleventh birthday so many years ago was barely recognizable. Shop owners were still in the process of reconstructing their storefronts, leaving many broken, charred, litterred, or simply abandoned. The abandoned stores showed only ghosts of their past glory, still covered in posters from the war where Harry's face was plastered under the title "Undesirable No. 1" and flyers were posted to beware of Muggleborns and even muggles themselves. Some people still shopped happily at the available stores, but the usual hustle and bustle was definitely missing. Mr. Weasley led Harry along the cobblestone street towards the gleaming white building towering over the smaller shops at the end of the main row.

He saw that Madam Malkin's was still prospering and the windows glistened in the light. They passed a bright pink building called "Sugarplum's Sweetshops" where a little girl skipped out happily, holding a recently bought chocolate frog.

"Watch where you're going!" her mother called, and the girl stopped abruptly, right before colliding with Harry's leg who had tried to step out of her way.