-1Chapter 1: The end of a War
The war against the Dark Lord had been over for a month now and things seemed to have gone back to normal. Nearly all the Death Eaters had been taken down and Voldemort had been beat. There was nothing to worry about for the now 18 year old Harry Potter. The boy had been through so much, and was happy to call it over. He had been cursed at the innocent age of one, and he had been through hell since he was eleven. He was a marked man, destined to take down the evil known as Lord Voldemort. The dark lord had marked him his equal the night of his first fall, and Harry always knew he had been doomed to die.
The night of the war, death was not in the cards for Harry Potter though. Everyone fought with him, trying to keep the death eaters away while he took care of Voldemort. After three long hours of fighting, he was able to take care of the powerful wizard, with the use of the spell that had scarred him. The Avada Kedavra.
Harry walked away from the fight with no wounds. He was in slight pain, from the torture his opponent put him through, but it was nothing that wouldn't go away within a day or two. The most noticeable thing about Harry Potter though, he was no longer scarred. The lightning bolt that had always caused him to stand out against the world, was now gone.
"Ron? Hermione?" He asked as he walked through the rubble. It appeared that most of the loyal followers fled once their fearless leader was defeated. He walked through the rubble and dead bodies, trying to find his best friends. Neither of whom were anywhere in sight. He sighed, hoping that they hadn't been hurt. He didn't know what he would do if either of them had been harmed, or killed while they fought.
"Harry! Over here" He heard Hermione scream. He smiled softly at her voice and ran over to her as quickly as possible. His smile faded though when he got there. She was lying over Ron's dead body, sobbing. He fell to his knees and began to cry also. Ron had been his best friend, and brother since they were eleven. Tears began to fall freely from his eyes, he must have been there for hours.
He woke up to a weeping Molly standing above him. He was laying in Ron's bedroom, Hermione fast asleep in Ron's bed. He sat up quickly and looked around, hoping it was just a bad dream, Ron's death. He put on his glasses and saw Hermione not far from him, still fast asleep.
"The poor dear. She is taking it really hard" Molly said with a heavy sigh. She didn't sound too great herself.
"Taking what?" He asked, hoping that she was simply talking about a low score that Hermione got on a test.
"Why.. Harry, please don't make me. You were there, don't you remember?" She asked, wiping her eyes with one of Ron's old tee shirts. He knew that his worst fears had been true, it wasn't a terrible dream. He looked down and closed his eyes, pushing the tears back.
"I remember, I just hoped…" He said quietly, cutting himself off. He looked back up, and was immediately pulled into Mrs. Weasley's tight embrace. Another wave of tears came as she was holding him. Harry had to attempt to drown out her quiet screams as he held her. He wrapped his arms around her and just let her cry. He knew this had to be hard for her to deal with.
"People have been coming all day. We will need to be getting some food out for them." She said with a nod, replacing her grief with food. Harry sighed and watched her walk back downstairs, still wiping her eyes with the shirt.
Harry looked over to Hermione, whose eyes were now fluttering open. Apparently Molly's shrieks had woken her up. He sighed and watched her. She didn't move for several minutes. He hoped that she wouldn't turn into a faucet too… Molly was enough for the moment.
"Harry, Your finally awake!" she said, sounding downtrodden, though it seemed she was trying to be happier than she really was. Harry raised a eyebrow and nodded.
"Of course I am. How long have I been asleep?" He asked quietly, believing that he had only been there for a few hours.
"Three days." She said blankly. "Arthur said the shock of the deaths, we just brought you back here and let you be. You must be starving" She said with a nod, obviously trying to hold back tears. He knew this had to be hard for her. She and Ron had come to terms with the fact that they were meant for each other, and started dating only two months before the war. He watched as she fiddled with a ring. He sighed, remembering Ron telling him that he was going to ask her to marry him. The day he finally got up the courage to do so, was the happiest day of his life. And no, it was ripped away from them. They didn't deserve this. None of the family did. He took a deep breath and looked back at her.
"A bit" He said with a nod. His stomach wasn't really the first thing on his mind right now. Hermione nodded and went down with Mrs. Weasley, obviously replacing her grief with food also. He yawned and got out of bed, not excited to get downstairs. He slowly pulled on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, and headed down. He wandered slowly down the stairs, not feeling ready to face the family.
He turned the corner and saw that not much of the extended family was there. Percy had returned to pay his respects, and the twins were also at the table. Accompanying them was Ginny, the older brothers, and Arthur. None of them were in good spirits. He lowered his head and walked over to the crowded table and sat down between Ginny and Hermione, neither of whom spoke a word. Ginny though, did attempt a weak smile, on his behalf.
He had always known that defeating Voldemort would be a happy occasion. He always hoped that he could celebrate, and laugh about it. But he couldn't laugh now. He hadn't thought that the final battle would be when he lost his best friend. He hoped that if they made it that far, they would make it past it.