Author's Note: I'm really writing this story because for the most part, I've seen Pre- Epilogue stories that really didn't capture the amount of chaos and disarray that the world was thrown into. As for the relationships, we know where they end up, but how did they get there?
Summary: We know where the story ends, but before that, where did it begin. This story will cover the nineteen years that get us up to the Epilogue. H/G, R/H, of course.
Harry Potter lay in his four poster bed. His eyes were closed, and his messy raven black hair was strewn all across his pillow. He had not even taken off his Muggle clothing, which was messy and covered with patches of dirt. He was quite a sight against the backdrop of plain white sheets.
Anyone walking into the dorm could hear the young man snoring, and though he was doing so quite loudly, none of them had any intentions what so ever of waking him. Indeed, many of his dorm mates had taken the precaution of walking on tip toes just so that the floorboards would not creek and disturb the young man.
"Wake up," yelled Ron, throwing a pillow and hitting Harry squarely in the face.
Harry stirred a little bit as Ron picked up another pillow, preparing to throw it again.
"Do it and I'll hex you," Harry said groggily, though his eyes were still closed.
"Wake up mate," Ron said.
"What time is it?" Harry asked as he sat up and put on his glasses.
"It's 3 o'clock in the afternoon," Ron said.
Looking around the room, Harry saw that besides the two of them, no one else was in the room. "Where's everyone else at?"
"They've been up since earlier," Ron said. "Mostly everyone is downstairs helping to clean up the castle."
"Oh," said Harry quietly, and suddenly the rush of everything that had happened the night before came into his mind's eye. The deaths of so many caused a great sadness, but it was soon replaced with a feeling of triumph from knowing that the Dark Lord's reign of terror was put to rest.
"Where are Hermione and Ginny?" Harry asked standing and stretching.
"Ginny is downstairs with mum and the rest of the family," Ron said, and Harry noticed that his expression had darkened, no doubt due to the fact that he had lost his brother, "and Hermione was trying to get something to eat, and then she said she was going to come up here."
"How is…everyone?" Harry asked, and without actually saying it, he let Ron know that he was talking about his family.
"They're fine…for the most part," Ron said slowly. "It's only been a few hours and they've all calmed down a bit. Mum has stopped crying for the most part. She knew that there was a huge chance that all of us wouldn't make it out," he said quietly.
"So, who's in charge?" Harry asked, eager for the change of topic.
"Well," Ron said, "that's the thing. McGonagall is in charge of the school for the most part, but everyone knows what to do so they don't really need a leader. And there is no Minister, but from what I can piece together, Kingsley is in charge for now," he said.
"Well, that's a good thing," Harry said. "I hope they make him permanent Minister."
"It's much too early to make any final decisions," Hermione said, entering the room and handing a bagel to each Harry and Ron. "Everything is in chaos right now," she said, sitting down on Ron's bed.
"What do you mean?" Ron asked, smearing cream cheese and jam on his bagel.
"Well, Voldemort had control over mostly everything," she said. "The Ministry of Magic was corrupted for the most part. So many people there were taking orders from him that it's going to be hard for anyone to distinguish who was under the Imperious Curse and who was doing it under their own free will. Not to mention that so many people have been wrongfully placed into Azkaban or were driven from the country because they're muggleborns. Kingsley says that he thinks it'll be at least a year before things even seem remotely normal again."
Harry looked at her and was thoughtful for a moment. "Has anyone said anything about…burying anyone yet?"
"Well, no…not yet," Hermione said. "Even as temporary Minister, Kingsley is going to have his work cut out for him. He's preparing to leave from here soon, but he's already told McGonagall that if she needs anything, he can be contacted. He's convinced that since the media was under Voldemort's control that a lot of those deaths's that went unreported were left there if the Muggle authorities didn't pick them up," she explained.
"Wow," was all Harry could manage after a momentary silence. Looking down slightly, he noticed that Ron's free hand was now gripped tightly with Hermione's. Either they had not realized that they were doing it, or they were trying to minimize it, as not to arouse anyone's questions. "What's that all about?" Harry asked, indicating their joined hands.
Their reactions were quite funny. Ron, who had been casually enjoying his bagel, seemed to try to talk and swallow all that the same time. The result made food end up spattered on the floor, and Ron cough loudly. Hermione had looked down quite quickly, almost giving herself whiplash in the process. Her cheeks blushed furiously and turned bright red. Harry noticed though, that they had not let their hands free from one another.
"Well," Ron finally managed to stammer, brushing crumbs off of his lap, "Hermione and I have decided that we…well…we're-"
"What Ron is trying to say," Hermione piped up, "is that he and I have become a couple." It appeared as though it had taken a great amount of courage for her to finally admit this.
Harry looked at his two friends, who now looked very nervous. He felt something from the pit of his stomach and began to laugh uncontrollably. He continued for more than a minute and his friends soon joined in. The three of them, laughing in the dormitory over nothing in particular.
"It's about time," Harry managed, after the laughter had died down.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Ron asked, sitting back up.
"Nothing mate," Harry grinned. "I'm happy for you two, really."
"I suppose we can't stay up here all day long," Ron said.
"No," Harry agreed. "Actually, I'd like to get downstairs and help with the cleaning up."
"Me too," Hermione agreed.
Harry stuffed the bagel in his mouth and ate it quickly. Even he was surprised by how hungry he was.
The trio made their way downstairs, Ron and Hermione still holding hands. As they walked, they noticed that many of the portraits had their inhabitants back, and as they walked, many of them offered words of thanks or simple applause to Harry. Making their way to the first floor had been no easy task, as many stair cases were destroyed or covered with debris that prevented anyone from walking. Finally, they were outside the Great Hall. The doors themselves were very lose and so much trash was covering the floors.
Looking to his left he noticed the Malfoy's standing by the entrance doors. They looked at Harry and something inside Harry made him want to go say something to him. He looked at Ron and Hermione and nodded that it was alright for them to go inside. Harry walked slowly over to the Malfoy's.
"Thank you," Harry said to Narcissa. The pretty blonde woman looked at him for moment before speaking.
"Thank you, as well," she returned.
Harry turned and walked away after having a casual stare at Lucius Malfoy who looked as though he wanted to speak, but chose not to. He was half way to the Great Hall when Malfoy called him and ran up to him.
"Potter," He said.
"Malfoy," Harry returned.
Malfoy held out a hand for Harry to shake Harry looked down quickly at it and then gripped it tightly, shaking the young man's hand. The two former enemies did not need to speak any words. Everything that needed to be said was expressed in that one handshake.
They broke hands soon afterwards and Malfoy nodded to Harry. He turned and walked away, leaving Harry to do the same.
Harry walked slowly towards the oak doors that led to the Great Hall. He was wondering what would become of the Malfoy's. It was not sympathy that was getting to him, just curiosity.
Pushing the doors to the Great Hall open a little bit more, Harry walked in. What he saw when he entered had surprised him even more.
There were about a hundred more people in the hall than had been last night, and everyone inside the large room was applauding him as he entered. He looked around, seeing many familiar faces, and some he only knew in passing. He smiled weakly as he made his way to his friends, trying not to get caught up in the crowd of people who had come to thank him or congratulate him.
"Where'd all these people come from?" Harry asked as he stood in front of Hermione and Ron.
"Most of them are from St. Mungo's," Hermione said. "A lot of them were here last night; they just came after the battle."
Harry noticed that Mrs. Weasley had finally stopped crying. She was smiling weakly at Harry and gave him a little wave. He returned the wave and took a seat next to his best friends.
"There you guys are," came the voice of Ginny as she made her way through the crowd of people.
Harry's heart seemed to skip a beat as he thought of how close they had all come to losing her last night at the hands of Bellatrix LeStrange. He watched her as she walked over to them, almost seeming to have a glow around her.
"I was wondering if you'd ever wake up," She said, looking at Harry.
"Cut him a little slack," Ron joked.
"Why? All he did was defeat Voldemort and save the magical world as we know it," she joked.
The little group enjoyed a little laugh at her joke. "Are they finally dating?" she asked Harry. He nodded and looked at the expression on Hermione and Ron's faces.
"It's about time," Ginny mused.
"Why does everyone keep saying that?" Ron mumbled.
The little foursome decided to go out onto the grounds and do what they could to try and repair things. The outsides of the school were heavily damaged by Death Eaters and Giants alike trying to force their way inside.
After spending a little over an hour on it, they had fixed the school for the most part. The building looked to be the same as it had been before the attack with the exception of a few missing stones. They would have attempted to continue but Professor McGonagall had come outside and asked Harry, Ron, and Hermione to the Headmaster's office.
After conjuring chairs, the trio sat down. Professor McGonagall sat down at the desk, and looked at them for a moment.
"Do you three know why you're here?" she asked, and the three noted that there was new found warmth in her once stern voice.
They looked at one another and then shook their heads. "No," Harry said.
"Well," she began, "I'd like to remind you all that this was supposed to be your seventh year of school."
They again looked at one another, Hermione looking close to tears. Ron and Harry did not seem too bothered by the reminder though.
"Professor-" Hermione stammered through a shaky voice.
"Let me finish, Ms. Granger," Professor McGonagall interrupted. "I understand that the three of you had a task to do. And I also know that to stay hidden for as long as you were also takes great skill. Plus, if the rumors I have heard about you are indeed facts, you have done things that some aurors could not accomplish. After talking it over with a few of the Professor's, we have decided that it would be best if you graduated with your fellow seventh years."
The three of them sat there. They were not used to this kind of generosity, especially not from Professor McGonagall. When they had been doing their journey, none of them had any plans to return for their seventh year, and as they had not planned anything for afterwards, schooling had not been an issue.
"Are you sure?" Harry piped up, shocking himself as well as Ron.
"Yes," said Professor McGonagall firmly. "There is not much left that Hogwarts can teach you."
"Well…," Ron began, and from the expression on his face he appeared to be debating with himself, "Professor, have we missed N.E.W.T's?"
"No," she responded and was now gazing at him curiously.
"Well, I think that we should at least sit for those," He said. "At least then, we'd feel like we earned a place at Graduation."
Harry looked up, and for the first time, he saw Ron for what he had become. He had changed from the young jealous youth he once was to a responsible and passionate man. It also seemed that Hermione had noticed it as well, because the glint in her eyes was very much like the one she had the night before when she had kissed him in the Room of Requirement.
"I see no reason why not," Professor McGonagall responded. "In fact, I'm surprised it was you who brought it up, Mr. Weasley. It would seem that all those months on the run have given you a new found sense of responsibility."
"Thank you, Professor," Ron said.
"Well, if there is nothing else, let us all go a rejoin the cleaning efforts," Professor McGonagall said after a short silence.
"Wait," Harry said, and McGonagall sat back down. "Professor, what happened to all the Death Eaters and all the dead?" Harry asked. Including the Death Eaters and their victims all in one sentence almost seemed to be an injustice.
"Well," she began, and from her exasperated tone, they could tell she had hoped to avoid this subject, "most of the Death Eaters were just knocked unconscious. They're wands have been taken from them and they were quickly transported to Azkaban. There are aurors there processing them and placing them back in their cells. Most of the dead had families who have already come to take home their bodies. They've taken them home and we told them to notify us of their services so that we might attend." She paused for a moment, almost pondering if she should continue. "As for some other bodies…we do not know what to do with them. Bellatrix LeStrange has two sisters, yet, neither Andromeda or Narcissa wish to claim her. And as for You-Know-Who…no one is really sure what to do with him. Many have said that they wish to just burn it, or do some type of atrocity, and yet, we cannot be sure. For now, we have just agreed to keep him away from everyone until we decide what to do."
"That makes the most sense," Hermione said. "What about all those Death Eaters who got away? I know that most of his inner circle was caught, but what about everyone else? All those that didn't take the mark?"
"That, Ms. Granger, is something that I cannot answer," Said Professor McGonagall grimly.