Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever, own Harry Potter. I am simply building new houses in her town :)
Harry could hear voices coming from above him, his mind collapsed to think when he suddenly felt a hard blow to his stomach, the wind being completely wiped from his lungs.
"Ooof" He groaned, and slowly opened his eyes to see two faces bending over him.
"Hey mate, welcome back to the land of the living." Ron called rather cheerfully, Hermione whacked his arm.
"Ronald Weasley, give him some space, do you not remember how you felt when Ginny jumped on you yesterday?" She said scathingly.
Harry sat up slowly and rubbed his eyes, looking around; he couldn't remember anything after being in Dumbledore's office.
"How did I end up here?" He asked,
Hermione had trouble stifling a giggle.
"Well..." She said, "Ron and Percy found you slumped on the stairs just outside the Portrait hole. The Fat Lady was getting quite agitated with you, one moment you were open-mouthed about to say the password and in the next minute you were slumped on the floor passed out from exhaustion."
"You looked so adorable laying there completely out to it, like a little cherub," Ron taunted, "So Percy and I levitated you up to the dormitory and let you sleep."
"We wanted to let you sleep and all, because you seemed to need it but after three days we started to worry so Ron came up with the bright idea of yelling your name until we could finally wake you, we've been at it for an hour…" Hermione continued.
"But I got bored, so I picked up Crookshanks and threw him at you," Ron finished with a twinkle of mischief in the corner of his eyes.
Harry laughed, "You two might as well be married like Fred and George with how you two keep finishing each other's sentences…" He stopped as he realized what he said, the smile fading from Ron's face as he remembered his fallen brother.
"Ron, I'm so sorry, I wasn't thinking… I shouldn't have said that." Harry stumbled on his words. Ron turned his head away and pushed past Hermione and out of the dormitory, she looked at Harry and he nodded indicating that she should follow him. Harry knew that she was the only one able to console him now. She rushed out of the dormitory, her robes fluttering in a wavebehind her. Harry slid out of bed and looked down at his attire to realize that he was still wearing the clothes he put on the day they left Shell Cottage for Gringotts.
"Kreacher!" He called, Kreacher appeared with a crack.
"Master called?"
"Yes Kreacher, could you please find me a clean pair of clothes for me to wear after my shower, and for the love of Merlin call me Harry."
"Of course Master Harry."
Harry exited the shower feeling more refreshed than he had in months, wearing only a towel and found Kreacher waiting for him holding a change of clothes. A smile graced his face as he noticed how much Kreacher had changed from the grumpy old elf at Grimmauld Place, now he would actually listen to someone other than Mrs. Black. Harry's eyes misted over as the thought brought back memories of the little amount of time he had had with Sirius there.
"Thanks Kreacher, hey you don't think you could make me a cheese sandwich do you?"
"Of course Master." Harry changed into the clean clothes Kreacher had brought before sitting down on the bed to wait for him. Harry knew that he needed to make his way down to the Great Hall; he also knew that this sandwich would only last so long before he had no other excuse to keep him stalling. It was about time Harry braved the throngs of people and the mass of questions before he was deemed incompetent. He did after all owe the Weasley's an apology, it was his fault Fred had died; in fact, it was his fault that Tonks, Remus, Colin and all the others found their way into the ground. He should have given in, should have allowed himself to be taken by Voldemort. He could have spared the lives of so many, and little Teddy would still have his parents. Harry would still have his friends… A crack brought Harry out of his thoughts, and into the cold harsh light of his current reality; Kreacher was back with his sandwich
"Thanks Kreacher, that's all, I don't need anything else right now." The elf was gone again with another crack.
Harry entered the Great Hall searching for where the Weasley's were bunched together, Hermione lost somewhere in their sea of red. One by one as people noticed his arrival, the dull buzz of chatter died till the air was so still that Harry swore he could hear the centaurs down in the Forbidden Forest. A shout of gratitude followed by the thunder of applause broke the silence;
"Oh Harry dear, you're finally up." Mrs Weasley rushed over and swept him up in a big hug. After finally disentangling himself from her vice like grip, he sat himself between Mr Weasley and Hermione, protecting himself from another squeeze and a remark about his little weight, and looked at all the Weasley's,
"I -" He said but before he could say anymore Ginny interrupted him,
"Harry we don't want to hear it, Fred didn't die for you; he died because he chose to fight. He didn't fight for you either; he fought because he wanted to make a change. I don't want to hear you apologize for anything at all." She snapped confidently.
He immediately closed his mouth; all it took were mere words from her mouth for him to ignore the feelings that had been nagging his heart from the first day he faced Voldemort. Glancing around the room he noticed that almost every single pair of eyes on him. He shifted uncomfortably under the pressure of what to do next. Hermione noticed this and nudged him;
"Just leave." She whispered.
"Uh, I'm going for a walk, Ginny will you come with me?"
"Um, sure, I guess so." Ginny replied as she stood up. Harry rose to his feet and together the two of them left the Great Hall. The second they were around the corner, Ginny stopped walking and started crying and punching Harry in the chest; her tiny fists felt like mere bites of a bug as they pounded against him in rage. Harry tried to console her, to silence her worries, but it was useless.
"You. Complete. Git. Harry. James. Potter. I. Can. Not. Believe. You. Left. For. 9. Months. And. Did. Not. Say. Good. Bye!" She yelled in-between sobs and punches,
"Ginny, I…" Harry barely let out a whisper.
"Save it." She yelled before sprinting off. Watching the beautiful vibrant hair of the girl he loved disappear round the corner, he felt his heart snap in two. What had he done wrong?
AN: A humongous thank you to my amazingly wonderful beta Somewhere Sky, this posting would not have been possible without her. She already knows how much I love her for her work, but I thought you all should know how amazing she is :)