Disclaimer: See previous chapters.

Chapter 6.

Tonks' Residence

"Thank you for your help, and I appreciate your efforts during the war but if this is your way to bribe me to hand Teddy's custody I'm afraid you will leave a very disappointed man, Mr. Potter." The stern witch before him said. One the one hand, Harry was glad Teddy still had a family member that loved him with such fierce abandon. On the other hand, he wished she wasn't questioning his motives and just give him some time alone with his Godson.

'Then again, she was a Black and a Slytherin to top it off. Maybe it's part of her upbringing.' He thought morosely, as he scanned the pictures on her mantle. Her husband, daughter and son-in-law were smiling at them. All dead now.

"Mrs. Tonks, I have no intention of taking Teddy's custody from you, but I'd like to get to know my Godson. Sirius was my Godfather and he did everything in his power to let me know my parents loved me. Remus always made time to help me out and Tonks risked her life for me on more than one occasion. I owe it to them to let their son know what amazing people they were." Harry said.

Mrs. Tonks relaxes a little, but kept her haughty mask on. "I can imagine raising a baby is hard work," Harry said, and he swore Mrs. Tonks snorted in amusement, but her expression betrayed nothing. "I would like you to have Kreacher around whenever you need him. He'd love to serve the Noble and Ancient House of Black again."

She eyed the sleeping baby, now sporting a turquoise afro. Today Teddy had been good, but he sure had energy in abundance. 'Just like her mother,' Andromeda thought.

Eventually, she nodded, "That is appreciated. Thank you, Mr. Potter."

"Harry, please."

The first smile of the day broke through her mask, Harry noted. "Call me Andromeda, Andy if you prefer."

Harry smiled back, "Thank you, Andromeda." It would be a while before he was comfortable enough calling her Andy.

"Now, if you want to take care of my grandson there are several things to learn. First, changing his diaper and feeding him properly..."

St. Mungos, several hours later

The clinical cleanness of hospitals always made Harry cringe. It felt too detached. In his opinion healing required warmth, which was non-existent in the large entryway of St. Mungos. Patiently, he waited at the reception. In front of him stood a man with a third leg attached to his head and a man in desperate need of a Hangover Potion.

After a few minutes, it was his turn and the witch behind the reception didn't even look up from her paperwork. Bored, she just said "Yes?"

"I'm here to visit some of the victims of the Battle of Hogwarts, can you tell me which floor I need to be?"

"Who do you want to see? Most are on the Fourth floor, Heather Pollingtonious Ward but one is on the first floor, Dai Llewellyn Ward."

Thanking the witch, Harry quickly moved out of line to let the witch behind him move to the counter, who'd just started to violently puke. Making his way to the first floor, he was send back to his fifth year when Mr. Weasley was bitten. Realization sunk in, he knew immediately who was placed there. Indignant fury rose, making his adrenaline pump and gave him the energy to sprint to the Ward. Without knocking, he swung open the door and the sole occupant of the room jumped a little in her bed.

When she saw who came to visit her, her eyes went wide but her shoulders slumped a little. "Hello Harry,"

"Hello Lavender, how are you?" Harry asked, while slowly entering the room. His heart thumped heavily against his chest, but he tried to stay as calm as possible for his classmate. A little nervous, he sat down in a hard wooden chair next to her bed.

She laughed, but it was a bitter one. She eyed him up and down, sizing him up. "I've been in this bloody room for almost 4 months, what do you think?"

Before Harry could reply, she spoke again, a little annoyed, "Cut the crap Harry, you never were one for small talk. What do you want?"

Feeling a pang of loss, seeing his chatty, gossiping classmate reduced to a bitter, hurting patient whose right side of her face was covered in heavy bandages, Harry gave her a concerned look. "Why are you still here? Greyback wasn't transformed, so it shouldn't take more than a week or two to heal those wounds."

Confused, Lavender stared at him. Then, it all seemed to click, "Oh, of course! You've been in a coma yourself." A scowl formed on her face, "To answer that, my mother was concerned I might be infected and had me placed here. I'm not allowed to leave, even after 3 full moons without transforming."

"So, there's nothing wrong with you? No side effects?" Harry asked, checking out her bandaged ribs and face.

Lavender shook her head, "I didn't say that. The scars still hurt," Then she added with a small smile, "Seamus complains that I'm having a monthly twice a month."

Mortified, Harry blushed a little. Then he pulled out the Elder wand with a hard glance. Instinctively, Lavender crossed her arms over her ribs and looked scared. His eyes softened a little, seeing the scared girl in front of him.

"I'm here to help you. I can't make any promises, but do you give me permission to try?"

Lavender looked lost for a moment, suddenly she looked much younger than the battle-hardened veteran she was. Then, her face hardened and nodded, her mind made up, "You taught me to defend myself in my fifth year, even after I doubted your word at the beginning of the year. It saved my life when the Carrow's and Slytherins made Hogwarts hell. I trust you completely Harry."

Pride, gratefulness and sorrow battled in Harry's chest. He knew Hogwarts was hell last year, but there was nothing more he could've done for them. Instead of dwelling on these feelings, he used them to fuel his magic. He cut away the bandages, careful not to harm the skin underneath. When those fell away Harry didn't grimace, remembering how much he hated people staring at his scar.

Focusing solely on the damaged skin, Harry lightly pressed the Elder wand on it and mumbled "Evanesco". Slowly, inch by inch, the damage began to disappear. Finally, only a pale white line stood out on her face. He repeated the spell on her ribs, while Lavender watched him work with wide eyes.

"A vanishing spell. Really?" Harry nodded and chuckled at her dumbfounded expression.

"Don't tell the Healers the spell I used, they won't believe you. It takes too much power and control for them to use anyway." She confirmed she wouldn't, Harry told her he had other patients to visit and left after receiving a bone-crushing hug. Before he closed the door, he saw Lavender cry with a huge smile on her face.

A quick Patronus alerted Seamus that he should see Lavender as soon as possible. Harry smirked, he knew his Irish little friend would come running now. Heading to the 4th floor, he passed Seamus, heard him rapidly yell, "Hi-Harry-good-to-see-you-in-a-hurry-bye-Harry!" and continued his sprint to the Heather Pollingtonious Ward.

Opening the door there, he was amazed at the size of the Ward. At least 25 beds were made, all occupied.

"Harry!"

"Harry?"

"You're awake!"

At least 20 voices jumbled together to greet him. Everyone was happy to see him up and about. Most of the people in the ward were at the Battle; none showed any sign of leaving soon. Everywhere he looked he felt traces of Dark Magic, ranging from curses that would haunt someone's great-great-grandchildren to Crucio.

Harry nodded to everyone, before raising his hand. Immediately, everyone was silent. Eyeing everyone warily, thinking that he rather not know the answer, but still asked, "Let me guess, the Ministry, or some random relative, thought it was necessary to place you all here without a wand?" His statement got some angry nods, "And none of you are actively being treated by a Healer, right?" Again, he was met with nods. The entire room was waiting for his command, Harry realized with a start.

'Well, who am I to disappoint them?' He thought with a smile. His thought wandered to Ron and Hermione, his parents telling him they were proud of him, little Teddy morphing his skin the same shade of green as Harry's eyes. He pulled out the Elder Wand, placing it in his right hand, as well as his Holly in his left.

"Expecto Patronum!"

A huge silver stag burst free from his Holly wand, followed by a huge dog from the Elder. The two beasts circled each other, before dashing off to the other side of the room, dispelling the heavy atmosphere and the lingering effects of some of the Dark curses that still lingered.

"Wow Harry, I've never seen anyone do that!" Neville said, eyeing the stag with a look of admiration.

"But-but-but you're not supposed to do that! You can't have two Patronuses!" Padma Patil yelled, obviously distressed. Harry smiled at her, which made her breathing even more irregular. Terry Boot gave him an annoyed look which baffled Harry. He wasn't doing anything! He raised an eyebrow, and Terry averted his gaze, while Padma blushed and looked downcast. Oh. He winked at Terry, then motioned for Terry to grab her hand. Terry's fear shone through his eyes, which amused Harry greatly, but after a moment's hesitation the studious Ravenclaw grabbed Padma's hand, making her smile.

Harry coughed.

"Padma, who taught you how to do a Patronus?" Her Indian heritage didn't show her blush much, but her skin became even darker as she answered, "You did," in a shy voice.

Harry clapped his hands, "Exactly, so stop worrying. I know what I'm doing. Everything will be fine!" Turning to the rest, he eyed Katie Bell lying catatonic in a bed, Oliver Wood with his left arm in a sling and several cuts in his face, Parvati Patil with only a stump for her right arm, Hannah Abbot had burn marks on the skin visible for Harry and the list went on and on.

Fueling his magic, Harry walked to the first bed, "Well, let's get you all up and running again!"

Closed Ward, 5th floor of St. Mungos

"Are you sure you know what you are doing?" A now healthy Neville Longbottom asked.

"Of course not, I've never done this before you know. Never stopped me before, did it?" Harry replied, angling his wand and moving the unresponsive patient slightly to the left.

"I-I guess. Still, we're going to muddle through my parents' minds on a hunch." Neville said uncertainly. They'd left the Heather Pottington Ward a while ago, all occupants cured and in possession of their wands. Harry gave him a hard look.

"Neville, first of all, we're doing it on Dumbledore's hunch. Second, do you really think we can damage their minds even more?"

Neville winced, and Harry instantly felt bad for being harsh but he needed Neville on his side. Harry handed him the Elder Wand. Neville eyed it warily, still looking uncertain. Harry put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Neville, it's going to be okay. Worst case scenario, nothing changes. Best case? You'll have your parents back."

Neville's eyes lit up, straightened his back and squared his shoulders, "Right. Let's do this."

Harry nodded, and walked a few steps backwards, his Holly wand in his hand.

"Alright, whenever you're ready Neville." Harry said, and got a confirming nod from his friend.

Neville aimed at Harry, and yelled, "Legilimens!"

As the spell flew out of the Elder Wand, Harry carefully waved his Holly Wand, "Protego".

Normally, reflecting the curse would give Harry an insight in Neville's brain. But since Neville used the Elder wand, it gave Harry some control over the spell and deflected it towards the still form of Frank Longbottom.

Instantly, Harry felt himself pulled into Frank's mind. Looking around, Harry notices several memories still intact. Most are about his family, Hogwarts or Auror training. To his left, Neville's examining a memory of him as a baby, playing with a raven-haired boy. Shocked, Harry realizes he's watching himself when he was a baby.

Focusing on the task at hand, Harry looks around at the memories not intact, which is around 75%. Harry quietly took back the Elder wand and starts shepherding the broken memories together. Slowly, the memories all blend together like rainbow colored ball. Then, Harry started to push his magic into it, very slowly moving the parts of memories back to the right memory. Every time a memory successfully repaired itself, it fell out of the ball and started to float around like the good memories. Neville examined as much of them as possible, to make sure they really were fixed.

After what felt like a year, all memories had left the orb and were floating around. Harry felt his head pound, his breathing was laboured and surely Harry felt some sort of magical resistance forming against him. Neville's breathing hitched, so he probably felt it too.

Quickly, Harry moved to his friend and pulled both out of Frank Longbottom's mind. The weird blobs and memories dissolved around them and for a moment everything was black. Then, Harry experienced the familiar feeling of doing a slow-motion somersault and the Ward came back into focus.

"Hello Harry Potter, you're done clearing the Wrackspurts away I see."

Turning around, Harry found his favorite blond sitting next to Alice Longbottom, braiding the older females' hair.

Harry smiled, "Hello Luna, what are you doing?"

"I'm braiding Mrs. Longbottom's hair. I thought that was obvious, Harry Potter."

"I meant here Luna, why aren't you heading home?" Harry said exasperated. Normally, he preferred Luna's company over most people, but with the building headache from the extended intrusion in Frank Longbottom's mind he felt drained. And he still needed to fix Mrs. Longbottom's mind.

"I'm relaxing Mrs. Longbottom's mind, Harry Potter. This will make it easier for you and Neville to remove the Wrackspurts. Honestly Harry, entering someone's mind without relaxing them first trips off the Wrackspurts. Everybody knows that." Luna said, almost in a berating tone.

"Erm. Of course. Thanks Luna." Harry said, eyeing Neville in hopes of some support. Neville though still stared at his father's bed, ignoring the other occupants of the room. After a while, he tore his gaze away and bowed his head. Quietly, Neville said "It didn't work, did it?"

Before Harry could respond, Luna spoke up, "Of course it did, Neville. He just needs some time to adjust to the silence in his mind. He'll come to you when he's ready." Neville stared at the small blond girl with the large blue eyes as if seeing her for the very first time.

She walked up to him and nudged him gently, "Don't worry about your father, you have another parent to help. She's waiting for you."

Neville nodded, and angled himself between Alice and Harry, fingering the Elder Wand impatiently.

"Ready?" Harry nodded.

"Legilimens!"

"Protego"

Just like before, Alice's mind was in scrambles. However, the memories weren't moving as erratically.

'So, Luna's right after all.' Harry thought impressed, while directing the memories in a bubble.

Repeating the same process as before, Harry and Neville worked diligently to piece Mrs. Longbottom's mind back together.

Several hours later

Harry closed the door to the Ward, sealing of the emotional reunion of the family of three to the rest of the world. He closed his eyes and sighed. Today had gone well, his friends were fine. Physically, at least. Quickly, he turned and almost ran to the exit. He was just slightly exhausted- he just had to get back at Grimmauld Place fast before someone ruined it-

"Are you leaving without saying goodbye, Harry Potter?" an airy, voice called out. Only experience let Harry know there was a slight accusation mixed in her tone.

Sliding to a halt, Harry turned to answer "Sorry Luna, completely forgot you were here." Eyeing her up and down, "Why are you still here? Shouldn't you be with your father? I know he missed you terribly."

Luna's lips thinned, "Yes, well I'm very disappointed in him at the moment. I don't know if I can forgive him for trying to bargain with your lives for my freedom."

Harry was shocked, Luna was the most forgiving person he knew. "Luna, I'm not holding that against him. What he tried to do was wrong, but he did it to save you. He was desperate." Harry said, hoping to placate the girl in front of him. Taking in her form, she still looked malnourished and her eyes were haunted. At least after the Battle, some of steel left her stare and the more natural far-away look shone through more often.

Luna only shrugged, so Harry continued, "The way he stood, he reminded me of my mum. Besides, the information he gave me helped me defeat Voldemort, so I can't really be mad at him."

Luna's silvery eyes widened, "Really?" Harry nodded. Luna seemed to think this over, staying quiet for several minutes. Then she waved her arms around, almost like swatting away insects, before her face fell again, as if disappointed in the result.

"Well then, I might be able to forgive him in time." She hesitated, "Just, not yet. I'll go home tonight, but I'm not ready to forgive him. Not until the Floundering Glitterfay's left my head."

Harry struggled to keep a straight face, but managed to reply, "That's great Luna! Don't worry, forgiveness takes time."

Side by side they walked towards the exit in silence. Harry thinking about the events since he woke up; Luna was absentmindedly humming a tune. When they reached their destination, Harry turned to Luna, uncertain how to say goodbye.

Luna held no such reservations, and hugged him happily. When she released him, she kissed him on the lips, shocking him.

"Thank you for everything, Harry Potter. I'm glad you're my friend. You make me happy, I hope you'll be happy soon as well. I think it would help if you talk to Gin- ".

A soft pop was her answer, as a note floated where Harry stood. Curiously, Luna read it. Then she smacked her hand against her face.

"Flaming Nargles! Harry Potter, what have you done?"

That's all for now. Hope you enjoyed. Thanks for the views, favorites, follows and every single review! For the real Potterfans out there, you should know Heather Pollingtonious, she's a real Healer! She compiled The Healer's Helpmate.

Let me know what you think about the story so far!

PS: Longest chapter so far!