For QLFC S5 R8
There's a little teeny easter egg in here from one of my other stories! I wonder if you can find it?
The headcanon I received was from my very own teammate, the lovely Suzi! It was: Severus and Sirius live; Hermione and Ron never get married. I'm sure this isn't quite what she had in mind, but my Romione heart still beats strong.
The war ends not with cheers, but with silence. There are no fireworks, no couples embracing in the rubble, no triumphant music playing in the background.
Instead, there's this: a girl sobbing faintly in the background. Lavender's body, discarded on the steps of the school she used to adore, unrecognizable but for her red nails and long curly hair. Molly Weasley crumpled on the ground, all the fight gone right out of her at the sight of Fred's body.
Harry stares at the ground and wants nothing more than to lie down and sleep for a hundred years. But out of the corner of his eye he sees Neville stagger to his feet and begin to take care of the dead and he feels something like shame rise up in himself.
Be brave a little longer, he tells himself sternly. Harry stands up. And as if he was their cue, the rest of the survivors begin to pick up the pieces of their previous lives.
McGonagall takes up the mantle from here, giving orders as if it's what she was born to do. She assigns groups of students to tidy up different parts of the castle and contacts the Ministry and St. Mungo's, all the while keeping a cool and steady composure. Rubble is cleared, the injured are patched up as best as they can, and students are sent home back to their families as soon as the Hogwarts Express is up and running.
An hour into clean up, a shout arises from afar. Hermione comes running from the direction of the Whomping Willow, her face flushed and frantic.
"I need a medic, quick!" she yells. "It's Snape — he's still alive, but barely!"
Madame Pomfrey is nearby, and she moves faster than Harry's ever seen. Her plump figure disappears after Hermione's into the tunnel leading to the Shrieking Shack. Harry holds his breath and prays silently under his breath.
Snape makes it through the night.
...
There are bad days. There are days when Harry shuts down and locks himself in his room in Grimmauld Place for weeks.
In his mind he sees them all again. The dead bodies, the funerals, the wounded. Sometimes he'll pass by his old classmates and he'll see a silent accusation in their eyes.
Why didn't you come save us sooner, they seem to be asking. So many people were lost because of you.
On those days, it takes Ron and Hermione and the entire Weasley family to wrest him out of his funks. They forcefully barge into his room and order him to "take a shower Harry, come on, we're going for dinner with the family and you don't have a say in this".
It's not quite enough, but it's a start, and he appreciates the effort. And on the days they break down, he's right there along with them, returning the favour.
...
"Aren't you going to ask her to marry you?" Harry asks Ron out of the blue.
Once, Ron might've freaked out at the question. Now, all Harry gets is a thoughtful furrow of his brow.
They've all changed, little by little. It's a bittersweet realization.
"Maybe," Ron finally says, "but not now. I think we both need a little time to discover ourselves again, away from each other." The look he sends her isn't one of a man madly in love, but a quiet sort of love that says she is, and always will be, special to him. Harry smiles at that, knowing that whatever happens next, they'll get through it with grace.
"I think I'll ask Ginny to marry me," Harry says, changing the subject. It's a little gratifying to see Ron choke on his drink.
"You're like, nineteen," he protests. "She just turned eighteen."
"We're both adults now," Harry counters. "If she wants to wait, I'll respect her decision. But if she wants this like I do, then I don't see a reason to delay it."
After another five minutes of sputtering, Ron sits back in his seat and sighs. He narrows his eyes at Harry.
"If you hurt her…" he says warningly.
"I won't," Harry says, his tone leaving no room for question. "I would never."
…
There are miracles as well.
Harry grips the owl mail so tightly in his hand that the heavy duty cardstock creases. He reads the content of the letter, then reads it again to check.
Sirius found at Ministry, it says in Arthur's messy scrawl. At St. Mungo's now.
A second later, he's rushing out the door. He feels like he's fallen in some sort of trance. He doesn't even know how he gets to the hospital, but none of that matters when he's standing by Sirius bedside.
The man is still unconscious and looking alarmingly similar to when he'd broken out of Azkaban — but he's here, alive and breathing.
Harry collapses into the chair by the bed and weeps.
…
They begin to heal, slowly.
Ginny and Harry get married quietly, out of the eyes of the press. It's a quiet ceremony with only their immediate family — basically the extended Weasley family, plus Hermione.
At work, he gets warm congratulations and lots of cards and small gifts stuffed into his bag when he's not looking.
He passes by Rita Skeeter at the Ministry, who shoots him a venomous glare. Harry's sure that in a week's time, there'll be another gossip article written about him and a made up mistress.
He almost looks forward to it now, seeing what kinds of ridiculous things the tabloids come up with.
…
And then there are days like this. Harry wakes up, warm and with Ginny tucked sleepily into his side. She stirs when he moves to get out of bed, grabbing at his sleeve to prevent her heat source from leaving.
Harry chuckles gently. "Ginny, dear," he says. "It's time to wake up."
Her brow furrows. "Ten more minutes," she mumbles.
"That's what you always say, and then you end up sleeping for another hour," he says, extricating his sleeve from her hand and peeling the covers off of her.
Her eyes fly open at the shock of cold air and she scowls at him in betrayal.
"Today's the day," Harry reminds her.
Ginny pouts, snatching the covers back from him. "Fine," she huffs. "You wash up first. I'll be there in a bit."
He finishes first, and while she stomps around noisily in their bathroom, Harry whips up a quick breakfast for the two of them.
Shortly after, they make their way back to Hogwarts, where everything began for the first time. The air is still chilly, caught right in between spring and summer, but the sky is clear and the birds are already chirping a hopeful song.
They trace their way past the Whomping Willow and follow the weathered stone of the castle until a large, black obelisk comes into sight. They're not the first ones there.
Luna, Neville, and Hannah smile and wave them over, handing them a cup of hot butterbeer. Harry hums his appreciation.
"Hey!" Ginny shouts suddenly, warm. Harry looks up to see Ron and Hermione approaching, their shoulders brushing. They had never gotten married, but they had remained close throughout the years. And something in the warm gaze shared between the two of them tells him that they perhaps they didn't need, or want, a label like husband and wife.
"Hey," Hermione greets, gratefully accepting her own cup of butterbeer to warm her fingers.
The sun warms up the chilly day, evaporating the dew still clinging stubbornly to the grass. The dark black of the obelisk sucks up the sunlight greedily. Harry unwinds his scarf and traces the names of all the people who had died.
Ginny leaves after paying her respects, but Harry lingers around the memorial site, catching up with the people coming and going periodically through the day. At one point, he thinks he sees a dark cloaked figure hovering along the edges of the clearing, before disappearing just as quickly. Sirius eyes the place where the man had disappeared, and excuses himself from their conversation to hurry after him.
He walks back through the Hogwarts halls and sees the four long tables dismantled, every colour mixed equally throughout the Great Hall.
It was all worth it in the end.