The End of a Long Road
Chapter 1
Harry Potter lay in his bed in the Gryffindor Tower. Sun was streaming through the windows. He couldn't shake the images of Fred, Lupin, Tonks, Colin, and everyone else that died fighting against Voldermort and the Death Eaters out of his mind. How their lives had just been taken away from them in the blink of an eye. Harry shuddered. They all died for him.
He pulled back the sheets or his four poster bed and sat up. The dorm was empty, except for him. He wondered where everyone was. Probably sleeping in the Great Hall, after celebrating into the night. Harry longed to speak to Ron, Hermione, Ginny… all the Weasley family. But he couldn't. He had caused everyone enough pain, enough heart ache all ready. They wouldn't want to speak to him.
Dressing quickly, Harry grabbed his invisibility cloak and headed down to the common room. Again, it was deserted. Strange. He had expected there to at least be a couple of people slouched on cushions, or asleep on sofa's. Still puzzled, Harry pulled on his cloak and climbed through the Portrait hole. Now that he was invisible, he could go where he liked without being hassled. He began to head to the hall, but thought better of it. He didn't want to hear everybody blaming him for what had happened to their loved ones. Harry decided to go out to the grounds. He needed to be alone.
The sun shone on Harry's back as he wondered across the Hogwarts Grounds. It was a lovely day, but there was a cold breeze and inside he felt icily cold. Shivering, he sat down under and old, twisted tree and looked out at the Great Lake. The water was gently rippling across the surface. Harry imagined all the mer people in the depths of the water. Would they have heard yet? Would they blame Harry for all the deaths? Probably, Harry thought coldly. He took off his cloak. He was the only one there. It was odd, and even odder that no-body had been around the castle. He didn't think all the survivors could fit in the great hall, not with all the bodies.
The bodies.
Harry took of his cloak. No one was around. Had they been moved yet? Or were they still as lifeless as they were yesterday? He was unsure, where would they have been moved to? He didn't like to think of them dumped somewhere. But then, Harry knew that no one would do that.
Harry glanced at his watch. It was coming up for nine o'clock. He couldn't avoid people for much longer. But he couldn't stand to see their faces - Ron's, Hermione's, Ginny's - when they blamed him for everything. He had to get away. Somewhere no one could find him. But where? There was the mountains. Hagrid had been hiding up there, so there was bound to be a cave of some sort. Or he could keep on the move. Yeah, that seemed sensible. He could stay at the Grimmauld Place, then go to Godrics Hollow, and so on. Lost in his thoughts, Harry only just noticed the gentle tap on his shoulder. He turned round, to be greeted by the face of Ginny Weasley. Caught off guard, Harry quickly moved back, ready for her to start shouting. But surprisingly she didn't. Ginny just sat down beside him, and took his hand. They stayed like that for a while. Harry almost thought that Ginny was fine with him. Maybe she didn't blame him after all. But then she let go of his hand and turned round to face him.
"Harry, we need to talk"