Chapter 1

Aftermath

2-May-1998.

"I always knew you were mental!" said Ron in a feeble attempt to make them smile after Harry had put the the Elder Wand back in Dumbledore's tomb. Hermione, meanwhile, was trying not to cry, and her face was marred with dust, but she couldn't bring up the energy to care for it.

"It's why we are friends, Ron," Harry said and went forward to hug his friend. Hermione joined them from the other side.

"I guess...as Harry said, we had enough trouble for a lifetime," she said quietly, her head resting on Ron's shoulder and his cheek on her head. They stood there in silence staring at the White Tomb which contained their old mentor. Their old headmaster.

"What's next?" asked Ron.

"Honestly...I don't know..." mumbled Harry. "But Hermione does, don't you?"Harry looked past Ron at Hermione. Ron turned towards her too. She smiled.

"Of course..." The Golden Trio went quiet again. Possibly wondering what they had to do now. There were many questions. Too many. One of them was: What now? So many had died, so many...

Voldemort was gone; Harry had defeated him. He could live a normal life... He scoffed, chuckling inwardly. His life would be anything but normal. He just didn't know what his goal was. Hermione was of course going to complete her education, no matter what. She would know what to do. She always did. The brightest witch of their age...The relief Harry felt while standing here was beyond him. He was thinking about Hermione and her face when he refused to continue his education. Education had seemed like a faraway thing not long ago and now he was thinking about it. It was relief. He was relieved that he could now think about things without wondering whether his death was being plotted.

Ron, like Harry, wouldn't know what to do. He had his goal settled on making the world a better place; never had he left Harry alone and had stuck with Harry no matter what, tangling himself in this Voldemort business even when he was afraid to say the name. Harry felt a sudden gratitude towards Ron; he was after all his best friend. Ron had taken half of the problems of an orphan who had too much resting on his shoulders, who knew nothing and was Voldemort's number one target. Never had Ron left him alone.

"I met them..." Harry blurted out without even thinking, his eyes still on the White Tomb. Ron turned around to look at him.

"Who?"

"Sirius, Remus, Mum...Dad." Harry felt his insides crumpling. A painful reminder that he hadn't earned anything for himself but only for the world. Once again the noble prat, as Ginny liked to call him, was guilted by the world to save everyone and lose everything. "I was ready to die...and the Resurrection Stone, I think... resurrected their... spirits… It was like when Tom came out from the diary..."

Ron looked directly at him for a second. Harry could see the question coming. Fred wasn't there. Harry didn't blink and Ron found his answer. Hermione looked between Ron and Harry. Both of them had a blank expression, heads bent down. Hermione moved a little to stand in front of them, one hand around Ron and another around Harry. They did the same and then they were standing in a circle, their heads pressed together.

"They were there until the end...Mum was looking at me so... so eagerly...she looked so happy..." Harry mumbled. No response came from the other two. Neither of them needed to nod or say anything; Harry just knew they were listening. They knew they didn't need to talk to communicate. Harry felt his eyes watering as he thought about his mother now, how eager had she looked, how much love had shone from those eyes. "Dad..." Harry gulped, "he said he was proud."

His insides churned at the thought of them. All of them, oh what would he give just to see them again. A part of him even wished that he had gone with them. "Sirius was happy though...I think he was happy to join Dad..."

Ron patted him lightly. "He was always a bit mental," Ron said in a hoarse whisper. An attempt to lighten the mood. Hermione smiled sadly as a tear leaked out from her eyes.

"Remus...he said he would be sorry that he wouldn't be able to know... Edward..." Harry finally let go. Tears leaked out one by one from his eyes. He had passed on his fate to someone. A orphan. He had made Edward a orphan, hadn't he? Edward would blame him. Harry just knew he would. Even if Edward didn't, Harry would still feel guilty. He remembered all the times he had the Weasleys around him. They were family but there was always something missing. Edward would feel that too and blame him. "Edward...he lost his father... because of..."

Hermione patted him lightly trying not to just break the brave facade she had put on herself in these past days. Her heart was already thundering in her ribcage. She wanted to flee to Australia now but it wasn't the right time. She was feeling selfish but she didn't care. She just wanted to embrace her parents and bawl. "We will tell Edward...he would be so, so proud...so proud..." said Hermione, her head bent low as tear after tear cascaded down her cheeks.

"I didn't want anyone... anyone to die for me..." Harry let out a harsh breath. "Ron, I never... I am sorry... Fred..."

Ron closed his eyes and shook his head as if trying to just bury it all inside him. The thought of Fred not being here. The thought of his mother bawling in the Great Hall. The thought of George wandering like a inferi. It felt like his brain would bleed, and his stomach felt like it was empty, like a pitless hole."He knew...He knew what he was fighting for..." said Ron. Harry didn't need him whining right now. He should be supportive and so Ron coughed and tried to get rid of the feeling which made him feel like he was drowning, like his throat was closing.

Silence claimed the scenario again as they stood there huddled together, heads bent low. Harsh breaths and tears mangled together. All of them, not ready to face the world. Not ready to face anything.

Wars, fought for better or worse, brought a lot of pain.

Neville looked around the hall. So many of them laid down their life for a better future and Neville was ready to make a difference. He just didn't know how. Should he fight? Help? Grieve? What should he do? Fight and not pay his respects or mourn, like he didn't care. Stop to mourn and give their murderers time to recover. What should he do? He couldn't let them die for nothing. Neville could still hear Peeves cackling outside the hall, taking revenge from Voldemort's body with anything he could find.

I would like to throw in a kick too, Neville thought.

The sword of Gryffindor lay behind Neville as he looked around at the bodies of the Fallen Fifty. Colin...his favorite pupil. Once the student who had roamed around chanting nothing but Harry, he had grown up to be a cherished warrior. Neville still could remember when Colin had blasted off five DA members in one attempt. He died a death of a warrior.

His eyes then fell on Remus...his old professor, of whom once Neville had been so scared. He smiled at his own stupidity. A man so gentle, Neville couldn't even imagine him as a monster. He died fighting for people who hadn't spared him a second glance and Neville felt a sudden rage towards the Ministry, towards Greyback, towards everyone who had hurt a man like him. He could have just left but he fought for people who hated him. Who thought of him as a monster. Neville wiped his tears with the back of his hand. His left hand tightened around his thigh.

Behind Remus was Tonks; she was truly the fierce one. Neville recalled some encounters he had with her. Professor Lupin would never have taken someone that close to him out of fear of hurting them, but Tonks was fierce. No wonder, she managed to get even Professor Lupin settled. For a minute Neville wondered if he could just trade his life for them. They were the ones who deserved to live more than anyone. They served without worrying about the outcome. They didn't need to fight. Neville had his reasons. None in the hall had deserved to die.

He looked past Tonks and Lupin to where George was kneeling by his brother's body, pale as parchment, with Lee, Angelina and Wood all clustered behind him. Angelina was crying softly while others were urging him to let it all out but George was doing nothing except staring blankly at Fred. Never in his life had Neville seen them apart. The sight was too much to bear. He turned his head in another direction, towards Ernie.

Ernie, who gave his life for his wife Susan and her child. His lieutenant. His best friend. He had promised to be the best man at his wedding. Neville could remember how nervous he was when the DA had hosted his wedding. Susan had flown with Neville's grandmother; she ought to be here. Neville took a hold of the table behind him. It was just too much to bear. A child abandoned. Orphaned. His throat closed.

Parvati, the exotic beauty of Hogwarts, died the most ugliest death. Her half body was liquid already, and she was slowly melting in a dark puddle of water. Her face was marred with so many scars... Neville recalled the time when she and Lavender were whining about nothing but nail polish. In a span of six months she had turned into a woman none of them could have dreamed that Parvati Patil could be.

Behind her was her twin, Padma. Whose body had been turned inside out... Their parents cried softly behind them. Neville felt numb. None of them deserved to die and then he felt guilty. As the leader, he should have died with them. Dean Thomas, Sally-Anne and so many...so, so many of them. Neville stopped breathing for a second.

There was Lavender, drained totally. White as salt, the most horrible death claimed her. Neville and Ron had slaughtered Greyback. But it was too late. They had lost so much because of Greyback, and Neville had the sudden thought that he had led the first Wizarding War. He was the one acquainted with Bellatrix and he was the one who had killed Lavender. It was enough for Neville to strike.

"They look peaceful, don't they?" asked someone softly. He turned around to find Hannah sitting behind him looking straight at her fellow friends.

"Very much," mumbled Neville.

"It looks...so empty. It doesn't feel like we have won..." she said. Neville didn't reply. They both just sat there, silently sharing the pain.

Ginny couldn't stop her tears. She had lost one brother but it felt like Fred had taken George with him. So many memories, So many thoughts. Had she fought in vain?

Her eyes drifted off to her family where her mother was crying softly on Percy's shoulder while her father was helping the other injured and calling someone to take Fred's body. She had never seen her father so drained. Ginny herself felt like she had been kissed by a Dementor. She tried to cover her sobs with her hands.

"I am going to make a lot of life," Luna said suddenly. Ginny looked up to find the dreamy blonde throwing a sandwich at Grawp from the big wall which had been blasted off in the battle. Ginny didn't even have the energy to say anything. She just nodded a little.

"I mean...we have lost so much..." The dreamy blonde mumbled to herself as she kept looking out. Ginny tried answering again but all that came out was a strangled sigh.

"I think everyone will focus on making lives. So you are not going to be the only girl with seven brothers now." Ginny let out a muffled sob. Seven... Luna silently took her in a embrace. She patted her slowly. "It's always going to be seven… Whether they're here or not, seven..."

And it went on until the end.

Draco couldn't feel his heart anymore. He wondered if he even had one. His mother was grasping his hand so tightly while his father still had the audacity to sneer at the people around him. Draco seriously wanted to punch his father, right there. Couldn't he see what had happened? Couldn't he see how many had been lost?

Draco couldn't comprehend it. If only he had been brave enough to fight it all...

Maybe the outcome wouldn't have been this... Maybe some of them had lived... Maybe some of them were worth more than him. He looked over at his mother. She look ready to burst into tears any minute. People passed them with dirty looks. Nobody asked them to move but nobody welcomed them either.

Draco seriously didn't know what he was going to do with himself.

"Call a team from St. Mungo's. Ask them to visit Hogwarts as soon as possible. And send a security team there too. I don't want one reporter to enter Hogwarts. Not one." Kingsley gave his instructions loud and clear to his secretary. "And tell the Aurors not to waste time celebrating, I want half of the department at Hogwarts to take notes of the deaths and report them. I want the other half to follow the Death Eaters who fled. Set Unspeakables on every Death Eater, every person involved. Imperiused or not. Go, go, go!" He ushered his secretary out of the room.

She closed the door with a panicked "Yes sir!" and rushed off. Kingsley walked down to the Ministry Atrium. His friends had died today and he was not going to let it all be in vain.

He apparited at the edge of the Forbidden Forest just behind Hagrid's hut. He felt the familiar tug at the base of his navel as he landed.

His breath caught in his throat as he took in the view of his old school.

It was so broken. There was blood on the grounds outside, everywhere. Their blood mingling with that of the enemy. The east tower had fallen completely, ripped to shreds. The west tower was half down, giving the view of the Gryffindor common room which was under the rocks. The front gates had been blasted off with the walls and the castle was hardly standing. Kingsley shook his head and moved forward, not wanting to dwell on what had gone.

Don't pity the dead, pity the living.

He went straight to the hall. He was welcomed by Voldemort's body which lay dead outside the gate of the hall. He kicked it out of sight and stumbled in. There was not one. Not one person celebrating Voldemort's defeat. Either they were crying over the lost or just plain fussing over the alive. Kingsley couldn't find Harry, or Ron and Hermione for that matter, but he could see Neville. Neville was sitting at a table with a blonde, whom Kingsley remembered as Hannah Abbott, the new owner of the Leaky Cauldron. Not that she would know that now.

Kingsley needed Harry to make an announcement at the Potterwatch.

"Attention!" Suddenly Professor McGonagall's voice boomed through the hall. "I request all of the House Elves to take care of themselves now, rather than us wizards." There was a loud uproar of protest from the house elves, but Professor McGonagall raised a hand. The elves quieted. "Wizards have hands and their wands, and they can take whatever they want themselves. Moreover, any students who would like to go home can do so… If anyone wants to complete their year, they will be welcomed back this September." With that, Professor McGonagall sat back on the bench with Madam Pomfrey just behind her, tending to Pomona Sprout's bleeding leg. Not one student or parent moved. The whole Great Hall was filled with parents crying over the deaths of their children. Soon the Great Hall was flooded by witches and wizards both from the Auror department and St. Mungo's.

By night time, the whole hall had gone silent. Most of the students had retreated to their houses, while some remained with the Hogwarts staff, Longbottoms, Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ronald Weasley, and the whole clan, Luna Lovegood, despite the fact that her father was at St. Mungo's clinging onto life, Oliver Wood and many other members of the DA.

Many charitable trusts made their way to Hogwarts to help the school build again. Draco and Narcissa Malfoy were left alone on the statement of Harry Potter, but Lucius Malfoy, after trying to bribe them with several offers of galleons, was dragged by the Aurors to the Ministry, possibly to the Wizengamot. Finally, the bodies of the Fallen Fifty were buried in the grounds not far from Hogwarts. All of them, all the war heroes together.

Harry with the other DA members, teachers and families visited all the graves. Every one of them was a martyr, even Severus Snape, Many parents were enraged that he was buried beside their children, until Harry explained what Severus Snape did and why he was one of the bravest men he ever knew. Edward Lupin was brought by Andromeda to visit his father and mother's grave.

Harry stood on the steps that lead to the teachers' table in the Great Hall. His friends and colleagues stared back at him. Not just Ron and Hermione, but all the staff of Hogwarts, every single member of the DA. Even Andromeda and baby Lupin were huddled together at the back.

The elves had been at work, cleaning up the dust and rubble, and the walls had been restored. The House tables had been returned to their proper places.

He stood at the end of the hall just on the stairs which led to the teachers' table.

"I am not really great at speeches," Harry started. The buzzing whispers quietened down as everyone turned their attention to him, except baby Edward, who was entranced by his grandmother's hair.

"But you all have done so much, and I..." He hesitated then looked at Hermione and Ron. "We think that you deserve to know some things. But I don't want any of it out of these doors. Out of this castle...can you...if you all could please," Harry asked, looking very guilty, "if you all could take an oath not to let anything you hear out of this room." His mouth set in a grim smile.

After a little murmuring, every single one of them took a oath. "Thank you, let's start with from when me, Ron and Hermione left The Burrow. It was my best friend's brother's wedding. It was attacked by Death Eaters. We three were on the run, and we were going to leave the next day anyway. We, Hermione was prepared for us. We were looking for some things, some things we knew that could destroy Voldemort." He passed a apologetic look to Slughorn who was still in his pyjamas and frowning.

"Voldemort had divided his soul in seven pieces." There was a loud gasp. The murmuring started again. "Anyone familiar with Dark Magic would know what a Horcrux is." Kingsley felt like the air had been punched out of him. While he was worrying and hiding, these kids were hunting Horcruxes and to think of it he was not the only one who thought that Harry Potter was running. Looking around the room, nearly everyone had the same reaction. Horcruxes were considered the foulest magic after Blood Bond rituals. People looked away in embarrassment and shame at having doubted this brave boy who lived.

"We were at Grimmauld Place, we didn't have a direction. We didn't know what Horcruxes were or where they were. We just knew we had to find them. On the day before Dumbledore's death, me and him were on a hunt for a Horcrux. Dumbledore had to endure hours of torture to get it, and when we reached it, we found that the Horcrux was already taken by a person named R.A.B and then we reached Hogwarts. The Battle of the Astronomy Tower took place and Draco Malfoy was sent to kill Dumbledore with two choices. Either he kills Dumbledore or he kills his family. His choice was clear, he wanted to kill Dumbledore and save his family." Harry looked around, his smile long gone. Hermione and Ron passed him encouraging smiles.

"He went there to kill him but he couldn't do it. Draco didn't want to but he didn't have a choice. Draco managed to disarm him but didn't kill him and I might even say that he wouldn't have... That's when Severus Snape entered the scene. He came and killed Dumbledore just like that," said Harry. "We all knew that. We all blamed Severus Snape but what we didn't know was Dumbledore's death was already planned between him and Severus Snape"

"But why would he kill himself? Wasn't he the master of the Elder Wand? Couldn't he just stop it all?" Seamus Finnegan raised a question that was on everyone's mind. Harry nodded and turned to the crowd one more time.

"Severus Snape was a spy for Dumbledore from the moment Voldemort killed my mother. For his own personal reasons. I won't reveal them. By the time Snape killed Dumbledore, he was already dying. Kingsley, remember that Polyjuice Potion suggested by Mundungus?" Kingsley nodded, uncertain what Harry getting at. "It was Snape, he had Mundungus confounded and he was the one to report the time of my departing to Voldemort, but to save me, he had suggested Polyjuice. He had to earn Voldemort's trust because he had to live till the end.

"We found that R.A.B was Regulus A. Black. The locket was lost but we found it later with Umbridge. Then after many attempts we still didn't know how to destroy it. Neville guessed right—we needed the sword of Gryffindor but not to kill Voldemort. Snape delivered the original sword to us, anonymously. With that our routine was to find the other Horcruxes and destroy them. Till the end, Severus Snape let Voldemort believe that he was the master of the Elder Wand since he had killed Dumbledore. Even when he was killed by Voldemort brutally. I disarmed Draco and the Elder Wand found its new master in me.

"And that's why, I was able to defeat Voldemort because the wand never worked on his order and a wand never kills its own master." This was a lot to take in. One could hear a clock ticking in the silence that filled the great hall. Suddenly Justin rose from his seat.

"You never told us how you survived the killing curse the second time?"

Harry flinched. "I..." He breathed. What was more horrible than Horcruxes? Ron reached the stage to support him while Hermione asked Justin to sit.

"This is something we want to keep to ourselves..." Ron raised his voice but there was a cry of outrage from Dennis Creevy.

"My brother died for this," he snarled " Why won't you tell us? If you could survive it...Maybe, maybe I could have saved my brother." He calmed down a little, his voice gaining a breaking edge but then he turned to them again, shrieking, "but you won't tell me!" Ron opened his mouth to retort but Hermione was fast.

"Enough!" she screamed. "If we had ways to bring the dead to life, don't you think Harry would have brought back his mother, father, or any of the other people he loved? What did you think, that he would just let Dumbledore, Fred, Remus and Tonks die?"

"Hermione," mumbled Harry but since he was under shouts, his mumble also was very loud. "I will tell them..."

"Are you mad? No, you don't need to-"

"I want to, Ron and Hermione..." He looked back at Hermione who nodded and went to stand on his left.

"The prophecy of mine and Voldemort said that, 'Neither can live while the other survives'. It meant that one of us had to die. On the Hallow's eve, seventeen years back when he came to kill me, my mother begged him to show me mercy but he didn't and asked her to step aside..." His voice broke.

"Mother didn't. He killed her but my mother's love gave me protection. The curse rebounded and that day Voldemort's soul was so weak after creating six Horcruxes that his soul tore itself away from him and launched itself in the only living thing it could find. Me. That's the reason I can talk to snakes, and I could look in his mind. There was a part of his soul that lived inside me. I was the Horcrux he never meant to make."

There was a sharp intake of breath but Harry continued. "His soul didn't have a body now, but he regained his body after taking my blood in the Triwizard Tournament. So for Voldemort to be killed it was necessary that he destroy the Horcrux that was in me, himself. Nagini was the last Horcrux that needed to be killed and Neville did it at the correct time."

Harry turned to Neville, who was white as a parchment, jaw hanging open. "I went to sacrifice myself because it was what should have happened. Severus Snape lived till the end to pass this information to me. When Voldemort fired Avada Kedavra on me, he didn't know I was a Horcrux. Dumbledore knew that there was like a one percent chance that I would survive and I was prepared to die...but then that one percent worked and Voldemort destroyed the Horcrux in me. He thought I was dead but I wasn't and the rest you know..." Harry completed.

"If Dumbledore knew all this, why didn't he tell you or us sooner? He could have saved lives. So many!" Hannah sobbed. There were many others who supported her.

"Well, how would that be?" Ron demanded, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Hey Harry, you have to find these Horcruxes and then get yourself killed by Voldemort. Or how about he would have gone to Voldemort and asked him to kill him. Voldemort would have just killed him. Right?" The crowd fell silent again.

"Whatever happened, happened for a reason. If we could, we would have spared lives. Snape had to be so cold because if he wasn't, he wouldn't have Voldemort's trust. Dumbledore didn't tell anyone because look what happened to him after touching one," Hermione completed. "Any more questions?" she asked sternly and nobody dared to raise a hand except Luna. Hermione sighed. "Yes, Luna?"

"Will you return for your last year?"

Hermione looked confused. "Yeah..."

"Good." Luna's smile gradually faded away and was soon replaced with a blank expression as she jumped down from the table she was sitting on. "I think it's all a lot to take in and we should go home," said Luna and turned and walked out of the hall. Her footsteps echoed in the hall. Nobody said anything for a moment. Until Neville coughed.

"Well... that went well."

Beta credits (turning it from a disaster to readable material)- 1- StopTalkingAtMe

Beta credits (flourishing the readable material because I didn't listen to my first beta :P)- 2- malaynamonkey2004